HeroUnleased (10 page)

With each plunge, the chair butted against the wall, making
the entire house shudder. The delicious curve of his cock struck along every
nerve ending and pressed the head against a secret spot she didn’t know she
possessed. The rolling wave of lust she rode tossed her into rougher waters and
sucked her into an abyss of sex and need that had her screaming. Her hands
landed on his chest, her fingernails curling into his skin for purchase. Under
her palms his two hearts beat frantically, and beneath her own chest it was
like a bonfire had been lit and set her skin ablaze.

Broken grunts and stammered words like “tight” and “wet” and
“fuck” fell from his lips in both English and Skandavian. Blood rushed through
her ears, deafening her to his praises and hers. She could feel her lips
moving, but whether to beg for more or cry out in surrender, she hadn’t a clue.

Lucian’s eyes widened in shock. His head tipped back and his
mouth fell open to release a groan she felt ripped from her own gut. His
fingers dug into her breast and his cock twitched in her pussy as he released
his hot fluid with a series of furious thrusts. Seeing her straitlaced general
at his feral-base nature made her channel clamp down as the first strikes of
electricity radiated from her core.

“Lucian,” she screamed through tight vocal cords and she
swore a physical manifestation of her orgasm appeared as a white and blue light
swirled around her and Lucian before exploding in a burst of sparks.

She closed her eyes tight against the brilliance and the
deep-seated knowledge that being with Lucian had somehow changed her forever.

Chapter Six

Something was wrong, very wrong, and her discomfort wasn’t
due to the tenderness between her thighs or the raw ache of her nipples.

She knew once the civilized veneer of Lucianllanos was
removed, he’d become the rutting beast of her wildest fantasies. Since his
return into her life, she thought of nothing but what it would be like to
experience the taste of his kiss and the touch of his big hands. Now that she
had, the new consuming question was when could she experience it again. He ruined
her for any other man, human and non. Who would have thought it possible?

Yes, life as she knew it had changed, yet that wasn’t what
sent a shiver of foreboding down her spine.

She opened her eyes to see the bundle of wood and stuffing
that remained of the chair he had claimed her on. Was it possible to have the
piece repaired so that they could destroy it the same way again?

The bedside clock glowed six a.m.
Ack jus
, when was
the last time she slept for so long? With the warm, comforting arms of Lucian
holding her tight, a nice evening of cuddling after a round of incredible sex
was something she could get used to.

Speaking of Lucian, where was her fierce warrior? The last
image she remembered before falling into an orgasm-induced coma was the green blaze
of his eyes as he lifted her onto his bed and pulled the sheet up to her chin.
That same sheet was now cold with the absence of his heat.

The rise to consciousness was slow, but that nagging unease
of a thousand pins pricking her belly prodded her the rest of the way to full
wakefulness.

From the shadows, the sound of rhythmic slapping reached her
ears. The longer she listened, the faster her breaths came until her lungs
hurt. The sharp sound she recognized of leather hitting flesh. It was a noise
she heard at least ten times a night in her club, but why was she hearing it
now in Lucian’s home?

She gathered the sheet around her naked body and slipped
from the high bed. Using her ears like sonar, she crept one small step at a
time in the direction of the noise.

A thin strip of light glowed under the closed bathroom door.
As she approached, her pulse pounded hard and fast and her mouth went dry.
Chills shook her even as sweat gathered above her lip.

A thick shell of determination dampened the agony of whoever
was behind that door. Had Bale found them and was exacting his revenge on
Lucian? Between Lucian’s honor and the stories of Bale’s ruthlessness, it
wouldn’t surprise her if Lucian offered himself in exchange for her life, while
Bale left her broken with the knowledge she allowed Lucian to die while she
slept in languid peace in the next room.

Well, she may have been born to a life where she wasn’t
expected to lift a finger, but she possessed the ability to kick ass when
required. Despite the tremble in her hand, she reached for the doorknob and
pushed.

Dear Gods.

Blood and mayhem she expected, but this…what twisted hell
was this?

Lucian knelt on the floor, stripped of clothes and dignity.
The blue tile floor was spotted with the blood that dripped from hundreds of
lacerations on his back. In his hands he gripped the handle of a cat o’ nine
tails that scored the meat of his back with the flick of his wrist.

A sharp cry escaped from her tight throat, drawing his gaze
to meet hers in the mirror. Self-recrimination shadowed his eyes that lacked
the fire they had when he was buried inside her and immersed in the heat of
their joining.

Never before had she been struck dumb. Not even when she was
told she had to leave her homeland or when she heard of her mother’s death had
every molecule in her body turned to stone. Even her brain ceased to function.

Lucian turned on his knees and bent to kiss her feet. Blood
and sweat marred the white sheet. “My princess. I beg your forgiveness. While I
cannot change what has happened, know I am deeply sorry for my actions. I am
not worthy to be in your presence. Please, I gladly take your punishment.”

In his open palms, he offered the cat o’ nine tails and
bowed his head in supplication.

To see a man who commanded thousands, who leveled a platoon
of revolutionaries with only a blaster and a sword, brought to his knees
because he gave in to a need they both shared, pierced her hearts like a
serrated blade. His shame was a blistering slap in the face that stunned as
much as it ignited her fury.

How dare he. How dare he! A volcano of rage and hurt erupted
from her chest and stung her eyes before she wrestled the pain back into its
padlocked box and turned the key. He took her pleasure. He would not have her
pain.

She reached for the whip, the handle stained dark with the
blood that now coated her hand. Lucian may be contrite now, but she knew the
truth he refused to acknowledge. He wanted her last night and reveled in every
moment of their joining. This newfound remorse was an insult and he was a fool
to think she’d tolerate one second of it.

“You are right. You are not worthy to touch me.” Her grip
tightened on the pommel. She raised her hand and threw the whip against the
wall, smashing several tiles and punching a hole in the dry wall. “How could I
have ever lowered myself to be with someone as cowardly as you? You are a
disgrace to the
Llanos
name.”

He lifted his head, grief tightened his features as he
implored, “My princess.”

“No. I am not your anything. Do not come near me again. As
of now, you no longer exist.”

She ran from the room, racing straight down the stairs and
out the door wearing nothing but the bedsheet. The lack of clothing didn’t
bother her, and to stop and grab clothes would only drag out her embarrassment.
She had been stripped bare. No amount of clothing would change that.

* * * * *

“Holy shit,” Brett greeted when she opened the door. “Looks
like you had quite the night.”

Lucian knew what she saw on her doorstep. A sad man,
unshaven, rumpled and in so much physical and mental pain he couldn’t stand
straight.

Amaryllis’ barriers were good, but not even the strongest
steel could stop him from feeling the burning pain he unintentionally caused.

It was his job to protect the princess so she could shine as
the Gods intended. That was the job of
Llanos
. Not to sample her bounty.
Not to lose his focus and leave them exposed. His honor fell to his libido, but
his disgust lay solely with himself, never on Amaryllis.

The princess didn’t hide or make apologies for who she was, which
was a sexy, smart and vibrant woman who consumed life like a decadent buffet.
Those very qualities made her the spectacular woman she was. He failed her as
guard by crossing that line. An act punishable by death, and she had every
right to demand his blood.

But Amaryllis never did anything as expected. With his
misguided sense of righteousness, he hurt her more deeply than taking a molten
blade to her flesh. An outcome he regretted more deeply than making love to
her. While she refused to inflict punishment, he most solidly deserved it. His
back looked like ground chuck but he would heal. The wound he inflicted upon
her, he feared might never.

“Tell me she’s here.” Not only had he cut her to the quick,
he also left her vulnerable to Bale. Another failure.

“Yes, she’s here, or at least the blur of sheet that raced
through here earlier makes me think it was her. And now that scene makes so
much more sense.” She stepped back and waved her hand. “Come on in. Kristos is
making breakfast and Amaryllis is in the shower.”

The thought of Amaryllis in the shower, washing off his
touch, his possession, was another stab of agony. What he wanted and what was
right tore him into so many pieces, who knew if he could be put back together
into a semblance of the man he once was. Instinct made him want to interrupt
her shower and re-mark her with his essence. Temperance demand he allow her
time to dress and see him when she wasn’t at her most vulnerable. The little
honor he clung to won out and let her be.

“Would you like some coffee?” Brett asked as she led him
into the kitchen.

“No, thank you.”

“Hey, brother.” Kristos looked up from the skillet of eggs
he was supervising. “Mother of all! You’ve—”

“Kristos,” Brett slapped his arm. “Lucian’s had a hard
night. Let’s not make his morning difficult.”

Lucian winced at the phrase “hard night”. He fell onto a
seat at the table and dropped his head in his hands.

“I can’t believe you had sex with the princess.” Kristos sat
on the chair across from him.

“Is it that obvious?”

He shot his wife an incredulous look over his shoulder. She
scowled and shook her head, which led to an unspoken argument between the pair
consisting of head shakes, pinched foreheads and shrugged shoulders.

Kristos slashed at the air with a definitive hand and turned
to him to ask, “Was it that bad?”

Lucian snorted mirthlessly. “Quite the opposite.”

“Let me take a wild guess.” Brett placed a glass of orange
juice and a plate of toast on the table before him and took her own seat.
“After a mutually enjoyable evening, you said something only a
Llanos
would say.”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.
She is my princess and I her guard. She knows we can never be.”

“Why not?” She placed her hand over his. “Lucian, have you
realized that the only person who insists on drawing that line is you? If you
like her, do something about it.”

“Are you the same woman who had to face death in order to
realize her feelings for my brother?”

The tilt of her head dared him to speak further. “Learn from
my experience.”

“Kristos, you understand. Talk to your woman.”

Kristos swallowed a short laugh and reached for Brett’s
hand. “
Alskata
, there are rules in the Skandavian court that you do not
break. As you know, punishment sometimes meant death. Our ways are very traditional
and may appear antiquated, but the princess’s consort may one day rule the
kingdom, and as such, her contact with men is highly scrutinized. However, as
it’s been pointed out many times, this is not Skandavia. So what’s really
holding you back, Luc?”

“Are you serious? Have you forgotten there is an assassin
after us? After her? How can I protect her if all I am thinking about is…” A
vision of her full breasts bouncing with his every thrust into her rippling
sheath flashed before him. He blinked hard to clear the image from his
overworked mind and saw his family staring at him with a mixture of surprise
and amusement on their faces. “I will not let my affection for her place her in
danger.”

“And you won’t,” Brett argued. “Because you love her. Don’t
deny it. We can all see that you do, Lucian. That’s why you’re so upset. Love
her, protect her, but Jesus, don’t smother her.”

“Plus, you have us,” Kristos added. “I remember a somewhat
smart man once asked me if it was more important to be right or to have Brett.”

“Do not throw my words back at me.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

Afraid? Him? Inconceivable.

Or was it?

Amaryllis reminded him that to live was more than his hearts
beating and meaningless conversations. Life was a series of experiences that
made your blood fire and stirred your passion. She reminded him what it was to
feel
.
To love. To obtain that joy, to share in a love so powerful was a precious
gift. And to have that love taken away would leave him shattered. He had his
entire existence stripped away before and no amount of dermabrasion could
smooth away the scar of that loss. Perhaps he was afraid to feel, truly feel,
for fear of losing it all again.

Tragic events happened to people all the time. The brave
ones rose above the chaos and not only kept going but found the strength to
laugh, to love, to do more than merely exist from day to day. He had once
thought of himself as courageous. Could he draw on that courage now to claim
what he wanted for his very own?

As if Amaryllis would even give him the chance, he thought
bitterly.

“What I want no longer matters. She won’t acknowledge I
exist.”

“That’s because you hurt her feelings. She cares for you,
Lucian,” Brett said. “I know I’ve only just met her, but Amaryllis strikes me
as a woman who not only hurts deeply but loves deeply too. Talk to her. Tell
her what’s in your heart and ask for her forgiveness.”

“It’s not that simple.” He shook his head. Brett hadn’t felt
the burning stab of betrayal he had when he offered his whip.

A knowing smirk created a dimple in her cheek as she pulled
the cellphone from her pocket. “Hold still.” She snapped a picture of him and
turned the screen in his direction.

All he could do was stare in profound shock at the photo
that captured his eyes. Not possible. Not now. Irises that were usually a deep
green of cut emeralds were now milky white.

“Congratulations, brother!” Kristos slapped him on the back,
yet Lucian didn’t even flinch at the sting, he was so stupefied. “You’ve
bonded. Or at least have begun the process. Now you just have to get the girl.
Piece of cake.”

Lucian arched an incredulous brow. How was this possible? “I
didn’t speak the words.”

“Well, one of you did and the other was somewhat agreeable
or else your eyes wouldn’t have changed.”

True. Lucian looked in the direction of the guest bath where
his woman’s anger pulsed, despite the barriers she used to temper it.

Convince her that she had joined herself to him in an
emotional bond so strong, it carried on beyond death?

Right. Piece of cake.

* * * * *

Jesu
, did her eyes burn. Amaryllis pressed the cotton
bath towel to the throbbing orbs and pushed until they felt ready to burst from
their sockets.