Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (11 page)

Savitar’s room. The air coming

through the open window had been

cool and with only a light blanket on

the bed she had been worried about

getting cold while they slept. After

they made love again and their

bodies cooled, Savitar curled around

her from behind. She had soon

discovered there was no need to

worry. His body temperature was

naturally higher than hers and it

seemed like heat pumped off him in

waves, making a blanket superfluous.

Raven tried to pull away then

blinked in surprise when Savitar

refused to release her. She turned to

look over her shoulder to find him

awake and staring at her with his

glowing golden eyes. “Where are you

going, mate?”

She could feel the satisfaction

surge through him when he said the

word “mate” and held back the urge

to roll her eyes at him. “Hold that

thought, big guy. I just have to make a

quick visit to the bathroom.”

Savitar released her and Raven all

but ran into the connecting bathing

room to take care of her pressing

morning needs. She made quick use

of the facilities and swished her

mouth

with

the

mint-flavored

cleansing liquid Savitar had shown

her the night before. It cleaned her

teeth and mouth better than any

brushing could have done and lasted

for days, but she was so used to

brushing her teeth in the morning that

it seemed odd not using it.

Acutely aware she was naked, she

hurried back into the bedroom and

jumped back on the bed. It bounced

slightly and Savitar chuckled at her

antics.

It

amazed

her

how

comfortable she felt with him, but she

did. It was like she had known him a

lot longer than just a day, which kind

of freaked her out, but when in

Arcadia…

Leaning over him, she placed both

hands on his chest and pushed him

onto his back. She propped her head

on her hands as she draped herself

across him and grinned. “Good

morning, sexy Savy.”

His brows rose at that and he

smiled. “Good rising, my love.”

She cocked her head to the side as

he wrapped his arms around her,

holding her to him. He made that odd

purring sound again. It was a rumble

deep within his chest that she found

both soothing and strangely arousing.

She could feel his joy at being with

her like this, but also his confusion

about something. She tried to

concentrate, but the sound of the

waves was making it difficult to think

beyond the pounding in her head.

“Something is wrong with my

hearing,” she said on a wince.

His brow furrowed with concern

then cleared as he realized what was

happening. “The blood bond has

heightened your senses. Just imagine

turning down the sounds in the

background as if you were turning a

knob.”

Raven focused on doing what he

suggested and, to her relief, it

worked. With the distraction gone

she could now focus on what was

bothering him. “Why are you upset?”

“I am not upset…only confused.”

“About?”

“I woke a few hours ago…”

That surprised her. “Then what are

you doing in bed still?”

Savitar hesitated for a moment. “I

was…watching you dream.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously?

You could see my dreams?”

“Nay…not see them exactly. It was

more like you were sharing them with

me.”

Wow,

this

could

be

really

awkward.

“Umm…what

was

I

dreaming

about?”

she

asked

cautiously. If she had been dreaming

she couldn’t remember what it was

about.

Savitar smiled. “You dreamed

about me…and your life back in your

old world.”

“Ah…”

His smile disappeared. “But the

moment you woke the connection was

broken.”

“You mean the blood bond thing,

right? So this isn’t normal?”

His brows furrowed in confusion

again. “Nay. Once the blood bond is

formed I should be able to access

your mind at will, just as you do

mine. You knew I was confused

because you can feel me and my

emotions, but I cannot feel you

anymore.”

Raven nibbled at her lip. This was

unexpected. She had actually come to

terms with him being able to access

her head, grudgingly so, but still. “Is

something wrong with me? Did I

mess up the bond thing? You bit me

three times last night and you even

cut yourself the first time and had me

drink from you.”

Raven’s stomach turned as she

recalled that part of the night.

Watching his fingernail turn into a

claw had pretty much shocked the

shit out of her. At first the claw had

freaked her out, but she just had to

remind herself that he wasn’t human.

It made sense now that he had been

trying to create a stronger bond

between them by having her take

more of his blood, but clearly

something was still wrong.

Then again, it was nice to know she

still had her privacy. Unlike Savitar

who was used to sharing thoughts

with his brothers, all of this was new

to her and it made her extremely

nervous to have three men running

around in her head. Her mind was

definitely not a fun place to be at

times, even for her. She wasn’t ready

to let her guard down completely, but

she knew how much this meant to

him.

Shit, how the hell could she be

screwing up this mating thing

already?

Savitar ran a loving hand over her

head, pushing the dark curls away

from her face as he smiled at her.

“You did nothing wrong, mate. The

bond is still there between us. You

just seem to have the ability to close

off your mind. Try opening yourself

up to me and speak to me with your

mind.”

Raven concentrated as she tried to

do what he asked. “Can you hear

me?”

“Aye, my love. I can hear you, but

I still cannot sense your emotions.

Let go of your control more.”

It was a struggle to figure out how

to do it, but it finally worked as she

imagined opening a heavy wooden

door and allowing Savitar to enter.

She could feel the connection

between them strengthen and smiled.

“Can you feel me now?”

“Aye,” he growled. “You want

me.”

“Well, duh. You and your super

cock are pretty spectacular but I

think I may need to eat something

before we go another round.”

He choked back a laugh. “Super

cock?”

She smiled at him, loving the sound

of his laughter because she knew how

rare the sound was. It pleased her

that she really did seem special to

him. She moved her hand to swirl a

finger lightly over his chest. “Well, it

feels pretty super to me.”

“Good,” he growled. “I am glad I

please my mate.”

Her smile dimmed as she thought

about that. There it was, the mating

thing again. Since she had arrived on

their planet, she had gone from

terrified out of her mind to worried

and now…content. Everything was

way too new for that, no matter how

much she enjoyed being with Savitar.

So why the hell did she feel like she

was exactly where she belonged?

Savitar frowned at her. “What is

that look for, mate?”

“I…” She blew out a breath and

went for honesty. “I guess I’m

worried. No, confused is more

accurate. Why does this feel so right?

Being here with you?”

His body relaxed under her and his

glowing

eyes

brightened

with

happiness. “It is the mating bond.

When a trio mates with a female, it

helps ensure that she will have

feelings for all of the brothers and not

just one.”

She wrinkled her nose at that. So

what she was feeling was because

she drank his blood? That was…ick.

Savitar sighed. “We shall get

dressed and go down to dine in the

main hall.”

Raven started to get up then paused

as she felt him holding something

back. “Spill it.”

“What?”

“Spill it. Whatever you are thinking

about that you don’t want to say.”

Savitar sat up in an impressive

display of abdominal muscles since

his arms were still wrapped around

her. He set her carefully on his lap

and she couldn’t help but squirm

against him when she felt his erection

poking at her hip. He growled in

warning. “Keep that up, mate, and we

will not be leaving this room for a

long while.”

She stopped moving and sobered as

she looked at him. “Okay, tell me

whatever you don’t want to tell me.”

He sighed. “Do you remember what

I told you about my connection with

my brothers?”

“Yeah, you said—” She gasped and

couldn’t help but blush. “Shit! So

they know what we did?”

“Aye, they know. Tristan is still

away from the palace on patrol, but

Kadan is in the main hall waiting for

us. He would like the chance to make

amends with you today.”

Raven held back her initial reaction

to deny the request then nodded her

head. She wanted to be fair and

spend some time with Kadan to help

her get over her animosity of what

had happened. “Fine, but would you

mind staying with us for a little while

until I’m more comfortable around

him?”

Savitar laughed. “Mind? My queen,

I would never leave your side if it

were up to me. But my brothers will

need time alone with you to truly

make amends for their behavior. If

you need me you have only to think of

me and I will come find you.”

His promise instantly made her feel

better. They got out of bed and she

watched as Savitar dressed in a pair

of soft black leather pants and a

matching warrior’s vest. She noticed

that the leather shimmered in the light

because the material had been

stitched together using a silver

thread.

“Silver is the color of the House of

Akira. It is law that only we are

allowed to wear shirts of that color

in this city,” Savitar explained. “But

the

warrior’s

vests

are

more

practical for everyday use, so we

have all of the elite guard’s vest

made using thread the color of our

house to signify their status.”

“Cool.”

After that they spent a few minutes

arguing over her clothes. Raven made

it very clear that there was no way in

hell she would be wearing one of

those transparent dresses anytime

soon. Savitar had given in when he

saw how serious she was and led her

into his walk-in closet after she

wrapped the blanket around herself.

She was okay with nudity, but it just

felt strange walking around bare-

assed naked when he was already

dressed.

In the closet he pulled a trunk out

from where it was stacked in the

back to reveal smaller sets of

warrior’s clothing that were more to

her liking. He took out a pair of black

leather pants that looked like they

would fit her and she raised a brow

in question. Clearing his throat, he

looked away to search through the

stored clothing to find her a top that

would fit her. “My mother kept some

of my clothing from when I was a

youngling. When she died I kept them

in hopes that one day I would have

my own.”

Raven’s heart clenched at the sheer

longing in his voice. Because she

wasn’t

actively

holding

the

connection open to him she knew that