Irresistible (Delroi Prophecy) (14 page)

He bent to the box and returned a moment
later with jewels dangling in his hand. Perfect teardrops, deep blue. She would
have reached out to touch them if she could have.

“Lapis lazuli?”

“Hmm, I bought them last year on Earth.”

Of course. His family's colors. Instead
of posts, they had tiny loops. He opened one, fit it around her nipple and
tightened it to just the verge of pain. Then he did the same to the other. He
sat back to admire his work.

“You know how we mark our women in the
south,” he said, voice husky with emotion. All she could manage was nod. He ran
his finger down the side of his face and neck, over his tattoos.

“These symbolize my name, my family, my
position. Women in the south bear their mate’s mark on their necks.”

He didn’t bother to hide his
anticipation. He wanted his tattoo on her skin. She trembled.

“But in the north,” he continued. “They
don’t follow our traditions. Their women are marked another way. Pierced,” he
whispered, leaning close to flick his tongue over one nipple. “I want you to
wear my jewelry. I want you wearing my brand.”

She should not have liked his
possessiveness. Should not have craved more of it. He closed his teeth on her
nipple, rolling his tongue over it until it was a hard wet peak. Then he
repeated the exercise on her other breast. He sat back with a satisfied look
and picked one of the rings. Pressing on the clamp to open the thin metal
circle he slipped it over her. She gasped when he released it. Sensation
bordering on pain flashed through her.

“Too much?” he asked, watching her
carefully.

She shook her head, afraid to try to
speak, and didn’t protest when he placed the second one on her other nipple.

“So pretty,
der’lan
,” he said softly. He kissed each tip before looking at her
regretfully. “I wanted to take my time with you today. Keep you so satisfied
you’d never consider leaving my bed.”

He sat back on his heels and pulled her
hips to him, spreading her thighs over his. Then he pressed the hard length of
his cock into her pussy. She couldn’t believe there could be anything hotter
than watching him take her. Until he started moving. Fast, hurried strokes as
he leaned down and closed his lips around her nipple. He sucked her hard so she
rode the edge of pleasure and pain. When he rubbed his thumb over her clit, she
exploded. He fucked her through the orgasm, still strumming her clit, teasing
her nipple until she came again. Harder. Longer. When she thought she couldn’t
take anymore he kissed his way up her body, to the curve of her neck and bit
her, muffled his shout as she felt him jerk and come inside her.

He rolled to her side, undid the buckles
that held her trapped and pulled her to drape over his chest. She didn’t
complain. It felt damned good to rest in strong, warm arms and she didn’t have
the energy to fight her emotions. She feared it was too late anyway. She was
drifting to sleep when Kaje's comm unit starting beeping, a fast loud blare
that seemed to scream emergency. He released her reluctantly.

“I have to answer this.” He pressed a
kiss to her lips, then stood and reached for his clothes. She rose to do the
same, felt the tug of the nipple rings as she did and winced. He stepped to
her, wrapped an arm around her waist and removed one. She gasped at the sting
of pain as blood rushed back into the tender area.

“Ready for the other one?” he asked.

She nodded, bracing herself, and he
removed the other. He dropped them onto the nightstand then watched with a dark
hooded gaze as she pulled on her clothes.

“Stay here,” he demanded.

Damn, she was tempted, but she wasn’t quite
ready yet. She was starting to believe he was serious about a permanent
relationship. She just had to be sure he would be okay with that in the long
run.

“I can’t,” she said firmly, shaking her
head. She expected him to argue and was surprised when he just nodded.

“Vidar will escort you to your quarters.
I'll bring dinner this evening.”

He was gone before she could protest.
Damn. Looked like she’d make that lunch with Vidar after all.

Chapter Thirteen

Anna Leigh stared at the screen, rereading
the message from Britt Anderson. She wanted to know Anna Leigh’s price for the
names. This was the risky part. She had no idea what her daughter had told
Britt, but it couldn’t be good. Not that Britt had mentioned Zola. Anna Leigh
wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t really expected any kind of acknowledgement.
Didn’t deserve it.

That didn’t mean she was giving up hope
that some day, somehow she could make it up to her daughter. To do that she had
to get to Delroi. She could demand asylum for the names. It was the kind of
thing they’d expect. They might give it to her, but she couldn’t be sure. She
could just give them the names as an offer of good faith and ask for asylum.
And they could deny her. She’d have to find another way onto the planet then.
She took a deep breath and replied to the message. Twelve names. Eight Tel
agents. Four Delroi rebels.

An hour later she had an offer. Since
she’d freely given over the names, they would grant her request, but it would
require she perform a favor for them. Leaning back in her chair, she considered
it. It seemed simple enough on the surface. They were holding a warrior they
thought her unique talents would be useful in questioning. If she was
interested she had twenty four hours to get to their base and perform the task.
After that she was on her own. It wasn’t a choice at all. She sent her
acceptance.

Several hours later she drove through
the gates and followed the directions to the Southern clans’ headquarters. She
parked in front and hesitated next to her car. They were waiting for her,
several warriors, big and hulking and severe looking. They all had the facial
tattoos of the southern clans. She was an assassin and a spy. She made no
excuses for what she was, but there was no way she could walk out of this alive
if it was a trap. Might as well get it over with. Inhaling deeply, fortifying
her resolve, she stepped forward and climbed the steps. One of them stepped
forward to meet her and she let her senses expand, realized he had a natural
shield. She’d bet they all did.

“Ms. Gray. I’m Galinn.”

She nodded. “Anna Leigh is fine.”

“Anna Leigh then,” he said. “I’ll need
your weapons.”

Of course. She handed over two pistols
and a blade. He gave her a hard look.

“We don’t have to do this the hard way.”

She sighed and gave him two more knives.
Finally he turned and walked inside where several more warriors waited. He
didn’t pause to speak to anyone. She followed him through the spacious lobby to
a door tucked in the back corner. They entered a conference room and a man
turned from the window to greet them. Anna Leigh saw her shock reflected in his
eyes and had no idea why. She’d never seen him before in her life. Then why did
she feel like she knew him? Like he knew her? The real woman.

If he was human she’d peg him as a
soldier, probably a high ranking officer, and an extremely well taken care of
fifty year old. Or thereabouts. He was a few inches over six feet, had cat
green eyes, and short hair that was more silver than black. Tattoos stretched
down the right side of his body. He was sexy as hell. He was a telepath. His
power stroked over her, almost seductively. And he was pissed off. He held her
gaze as he spoke.

“Galinn, tell Barak I apologize but I
will have to decline his offer.”

“He’ll banish you, Xan, and leave you
stranded here.”

“I can always appeal to the Overchief.”

Galinn shook his head. “He won’t hear
you out.”

The stranger switched to another
language and she didn’t hesitate to slip into his mind for the
translation.
 

“There are some things a
der’lan
should never know.”

Galinn’s eyes widened a fraction before
he regained control. What the hell was that?

“That complicates things,” Galinn
muttered in English.

“What’s a
der’lan
?”

The new guy, Xan, glared at her. “I
didn’t give you permission to enter my mind.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care. I agreed to
do a job for Britt Anderson. In exchange, I get off this planet. It would be
much easier for both of us if you cooperated. It’s you right? The one she wants
to make sure can be trusted?”

He didn’t respond, though his expression
was easy enough to read. He wanted her gone.

“There is a problem,” Galinn
interjected.

“No,” she snapped, not thinking before
she spoke because she was unaccountably angry at Xan for standing in her way.
“There isn’t. I need to get to Delroi. You want to be cleared. And I need to
know if I need to kill you before I leave.”

Xan laughed. “You think you could kill
me, love?”

She didn’t joke back, didn’t tease. She
let her power rise.

“Britt wouldn’t use me unless she
thought you might be a rebel. Am I right? Don’t bother answering, I can see
that I am.” She took a step forward. “You have no idea the lengths I will go
to, that I have gone to, to survive this long. I would slit your throat without
any hesitation at all if that was the price for this trip.”

“The Delroi don’t use women as
assassins,” he snarled, stalking closer though they were still separated by several
feet. She was tempted to close them. To make this altercation something else
entirely.

“I am not Delroi,” she said, resisting
the urge. Galinn looked like he wanted to intervene but wasn’t sure how. “Can
we get on with this? Britt hinted that I could leave tonight once this is
finished.”

“I’m sorry, my lady, I can’t compel Xan
in this. You will have to convince him yourself.”

She glared at them both but neither
relented. “If I ever discover that my next words were repeated I will hunt you
both down and make you pray for a slow death.”

She got no response. So be it. They’d
been warned and she wasn’t above manipulating to get what she wanted. It was no
secret the Delroi were overprotective when it came to women.

“My daughter is being hunted by two
different organizations. One is a group of human psychics. The other is your
rebels. I am of no help to her here.”

Xan scowled at Galinn. “I imagined I won’t
be briefed until I agree to this.”

“I can’t guarantee that you will be
then.”

Xan’s expression turned hard. “Oh, I
will be.”

He pulled a chair out from the table.
“Come on, love. Let’s get this over with.”

“What changed your mind? Being suspected
of being a rebel?”

He shook his head. “I am no rebel. But
if I don’t allow this, I won’t be in a position to protect you or your
daughter.”

“Why would you want to help me?” she
asked. She pretended to be suspicious at his sudden turn around. Maybe this was
the test.

He took the seat next to her and held
his hand out. She had no idea why she took it.

“It’s complicated and I don’t think
you’d believe me. Get this over with, Anna Leigh. Once I am reinstated we can
be on our way.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

His smile was grim and promised
retribution. She was intrigued. “My half brother is my clan chief. Turns out
he’s neck deep in the rebellion. I’m the only one who can take over the clan.
Otherwise, it will be absorbed by another.”

“You were willing to do whatever was
necessary before I walked in,” she said softly. “What changed?”

Many people were afraid of her, but he
had no idea who she was. He stroked his thumb over her wrist and her pulse
stuttered in response. He gave her a smile that was pure masculine confidence.

“Shouldn’t you be worried about clearing
my name first?” he countered.

Avoiding the question and using her
inexplicable attraction to him. She might regret not pursuing it later but at
least she’d be on a spaceship when it happened.

“Fine. Lower your shields.”

Chapter Fourteen

Kaje looked at the message. He wasn’t
very surprised to find Mikail Bana’s name at the top of the list. The man was
an ass and had never made secret his ambition to rule the South. His sister was
one of their missing scientists and half of the rebel warriors they’d caught or
killed in the Green Zone were members of his clan.

“Where did this come from?”

“Britt’s source,” Roarr answered, though
he didn’t mention the source was Zola’s mother.

“Her price?”

“She gave it freely but she did request
asylum.”

Kaje raised his eyebrows when Roarr
didn’t elaborate. “And?”

“Britt asked her to question Xan Bana
about his leanings. If he’s part of the rebellion, Barak will have to decide
what to do with the clan.”

Xan was Mikail’s cousin. He’d been a
good friend of Kaje’s father and he knew him well. He shook his head.

“Xan is solid. Even if he was
sympathetic to the rebellion Mikail would never bring him in. He hates him.”

“Falkor and I agree, but Barak just took
over. He wants to be positive.”

Kaje couldn’t fault him. “And Zola’s
mother?”

“I don’t know. Britt is probably talking
to Zola as we speak.”

Roarr’s comm chirped and after glancing
at it, he stood.

“Found him. He’s retreated to his desert
stronghold. We attack from the north, Barak from the south.”

“Who are you mobilizing?” Kaje asked as
he fell into step with Roarr, while sending a message to Vidar and Parker.

“The Second Strategic Company.” Good.
Not Vidar’s company; he wasn’t ready yet. “They’ve been on maneuvers near the
border so they’re prepared to go now. We’re flying out to meet them.”

An hour later he low crawled into
position next to Roarr and studied the valley floor through field lenses. It
was dominated by a huge stone edifice that backed up against a cliff. Dozens of
shuttles were parked along its sides. Hundreds of warriors loitered around and
in front of the castle.

The sides of the valley weren’t as steep
and were littered with trails and passes, though there was no major road into
the valley. Supplies had to be hiked or flown in. A smart man who intended to
entrench inside the castle would have sentries guarding all the passes. Bana
did not.

“What is he up to? He has to know we’re
here but he’s made no move to secure the valley.”

Sergei Trace appeared at his side so
silently Kaje barely managed to not react and shoot the man. He couldn’t
remember the last time someone had been able to sneak up on him, hadn’t
believed it was possible. He got the impression Sergei hadn’t done it on
purpose either. They did call him the Shadow after all.

“You have a message from Barak?” Roarr
asked.

Sergei turned grimmer than usual. “There
are women and children inside. Roarr has a team infiltrating to secure them but
it will take some time.”

“Hostages,” Roarr snarled. “That
explains the mixed emotions down there. Fury and fear from some of them and
anticipation and smugness from others. I bet it isn’t their women inside.”

“Janice and I agree. Once the team
secures them we’ll move in. Barak wants you to start moving your men through the
passes into position. They need to be ready to go when the inside team
signals.”

Kaje studied the valley floor again,
noting which passes would be best to hide large numbers of warriors until they
were needed. Then he switched his attention to the Bana warriors, zooming the
field lenses so he could make out individuals. They separated into groups, some
he knew were family groups, some friends or allies.

“They aren’t all armed,” he said,
handing the glasses to Roarr whose face took on a look of concentration. He
knew the clan chief was using his empathic abilities. After a moment he looked
at Kaje and Sergei.

“If they aren’t armed don’t engage
unless they attack. Some could be rebels hoping to infiltrate, but most
aren’t.”

Kaje agreed with Roarr’s assessment and
started giving orders to move their warriors into position. Then they waited.
It felt like hours later before Barak gave the order to attack, though it
wasn’t more than two. There was a lot of open ground to cover where even with
their protective gear, they’d be exposed. To turn the odds in their favor,
Barak launched concussion missiles at the edge of the line the Bana warriors
formed. They used countermeasures, exploding the missiles in the air, but
several still managed to get through, booming loudly when they impacted the
ground. Even at the distance he waited, Kaje had to shake his head to clear it
before he could move.

Moments later the battle began in
earnest. The missiles hadn’t incapacitated nearly enough of the enemy. Roarr at
his side, Kaje jumped into the fight with his pistol in one hand and knife in
the other. He large man charged him. Kaje fired and twisted away, but not
before he felt laser fire graze his shoulder. Before the warrior could try
again Kaje shot again, leaving a black smoking hole in his chest.

And so it continued, bloody and brutal.
Time meant nothing as he lost himself to the familiar rhythm of battle. Roarr’s
and Barak’s warriors were joined by the Bana men who’d started the battle
unarmed. They’d ripped the clan patches off their uniforms, the only way to
distinguish them. Finally, there was no one left to fight. They held the
courtyard and the house. He was joining Roarr and Barak as Mikail Bana was
dragged out, bleeding from a gash on his side but still defiant.

“You think you’ve won, Trace,” he spat
out. “You haven’t. I am only the beginning.”

“Find someplace to lock him up,” Barak
ordered the warriors holding him. “I’ll question him later.”

They led him away and Kaje was shocked
to see Britt and Janice exit the tall doors of the castle. He walked with Roarr
and Barak, Falkor intercepting, to meet the women. He couldn’t believe the
Trace warriors had allowed them to join the battle. Sergei joined them too.

“You’re scientists are inside. I
separated them. The women and children were pawns, most of them mated to
warriors who were in open opposition to Mikail,” Britt said.

“And no one thought to come to us.”

Britt shrugged. “They wanted to deal
with it inside the clan. Didn’t want everyone tainted.”

Kaje understood that, but now they had
the difficult task of figuring out who could be trusted and who should be
executed.

“Any word about Xan?” he asked. If he’d
passed the exam by Zola’s mother, then this was his mess.

“Anna Leigh said he’s loyal.”

“You believe her?”

“In this, yes. We’ll keep a close eye on
her, though. They’ve already left Earth.”

So they’d arrive in a week or so. “How
do you want to handle this?” he asked Barak, indicating the two groups of
warriors who’d been disarmed and now waiting under guard.

“Shackle that group,” he said of the
warriors who’d fought against them. “Let’s work on clearing the others first.”

They took over seven ground floor rooms,
each of them taking one, and began the questioning. It was after midnight when
Roarr came to get him.

“Come on. We’re heading back to the
Keep. Barak is taking command here. If they need us we’ll come back in the
morning.”