Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (11 page)

“I do not need anything extra,” Wyst announced
and Rykhan wondered how the warrior could sound so sure of himself
when Rykhan felt anything close to it.

The Protectorate warrior, a holder of merits
and medals that told of his bravery in the field and in battle
within the Picardi Galaxy, realized he was completely out of his
depths. Nevertheless, Rykhan was determined not to let it
show.

Especially not in front of the woman he knew
beyond a shadow of a doubt was his.

Chapter Eight

As Leah sat back in the booth, she freely
admitted that Rykhan made her nervous. Whether it was the intensity
in the way he stared at her or the way he’d boldly confessed he was
very, very interested in being with her, it was just too much to
handle.

Which didn’t even come close to how she could
almost feel his emotions. How was that possible?

She somehow knew of his physical desire for her
as well as his feelings of acceptance of who she was, just as she
was. And when he’d spoken about being happy just being with her?
She’d known without a doubt he’d been totally honest.

But that wasn’t feasible, was it?

That was why she’d needed to pull Pam aside and
argue against leaving the casino. Sure both men were tall, buff and
too gorgeous for words. But wasn’t it a red flag? Why would guys
that looked like they did want to be with her and her friend,
especially when compared to all the other beautiful women that had
attended the event?

Leah shifted her eyes to Rykhan without turning
her head and the butterflies in her belly took flight at the view.
There was no denying the man was something from her dreams. Tall,
probably in the 6’5” range which meant he was still taller than she
was even in her blasted heels. Broad, too, if the amount of space
he took up in the booth was indicative of his size although he
seemed to carry most of his muscles in his upper body since she’d
noticed he had lean hips and legs.

She’d pretty much determined he was foreign not
only in just the look they’d shared across the over-crowded bar,
but his appearance as well. It was the light brown, sun-streaked,
shoulder-length wavy hair, Caribbean blue-green eyes and the tanned
gold of his skin that gave him away. Rykhan was completely
different from the other men attending. Different as in America was
not his native country.

As if she couldn’t tell that particular fact
from just his speech alone. His sexy hesitation over certain words
and certain consonants was endearing. The careful, deliberate way
his lips and tongue caught and tripped spoke volumes about how
English wasn’t his first language.

Hot, by any girl’s standards.

But for her, scary as hell.

Leah knew who she was and had Tony telling her
often enough in their years together what she wasn’t. Therefore,
the exotic foreigner’s words of ‘anywhere and everywhere’ had found
the alarm bells within her blaring long and loud. He was just
playing with her.

Even though she had somehow discerned his
intentions. She’d felt it like a warm layer of honey drizzling over
her insides as he’d spoken.

Although that level of honesty made her
suspicious as to his motives.

By just his looks alone, he had to be a player,
no matter what she felt emanating from him.

Her gaze wandered over his face, taking note of
how his broad smile came and went. His glances directed her way
even as he participated in the conversation spoke differently
though. It included her as if she was integral to the whole of
it.

To the whole of him.

Yet somehow and in some way, she could sense
his emotions.

This was just plain, ol’ bat-shit
crazy.

So why did she feel such a connection to the
man, this foreigner, who Pam said couldn’t take his eyes off her in
the main room? And what about the electrical charge that had
happened when he’d taken her hand or the emptiness she’d felt when
she had deliberately disengaged from his touch?

“And for you?” A voice cut through her reverie
and she dragged her eyes to the sound only to see the waiter
looking directly her way. God! She hadn’t been aware the guy had
returned with drinks before asking for their orders.

“Oh, uhm,” she responded and felt the heat hit
her face again. Leah hated how she blushed so easily but she had no
control over it, just as she had no way of tempering her attraction
for Rykhan. She knew without a shadow of doubt he was totally out
of her league. “The Chicken Caesar salad, please.”

Pam bumped against her arm with a laugh. “So,
you’re gonna let the rest of us clog our arteries while you take
the healthy route?”

Rykhan gently covered the hand she had rested
on the tabletop. Leah felt a peace steal over her at the comfort
and acceptance his simple touch provided. She couldn’t help looking
up at him and as their eyes caught and held, she felt herself
settle. It was as if all her worries and concerns melted away with
nothing more than his warm gaze and calm touch.

“All is well, yes?” he asked in a soft voice
bending his face towards hers. As she raised her chin, Leah had an
almost overwhelming urge to press her mouth to his. A mouth that
was only inches away. For whatever reason, the idea wasn’t
unpleasant or scary in the least. It felt like it would’ve been the
most natural movement in the world. At the mental image, she
stopped herself and her thoughts abruptly.

She couldn’t consider kissing a perfect
stranger, especially not in full view of the restaurant with their
friends looking on!

“Yes,” she replied, dropping her eyes before
sliding them to Pam in helplessness. She needed her friend to
remind her of what was real and what absolutely wasn’t in all the
craziness bubbling within her.

A fact her friend luckily picked up on. “You
guys aren’t from around here, that much is clear,” Pam said with a
smile that took in both men. “So where are you from and how long
have you been in the States?”

There was a half-beat of silence before Wyst
spoke. “A place you’ve probably never heard of.”

“We’ve only recently arrived,” Rykhan’s deep
reply came quickly, almost overriding his companion’s
voice.

Only Pam wasn’t deterred. Leah knew the woman
defined stubborn to a fault and, like a puppy with a new toy,
wouldn’t be easily distracted from whatever issue was at hand. “No,
fellas. I asked specifically about the where from and for how
long.”

“Galaxia.” Rykhan’s tone, for the first time
that evening sounded almost uncertain to Leah’s ears. In addition,
she noticed how uncomfortable Pam’s question had made him. It was
like a vague itch on her insides.

However, Wyst’s voice started almost as soon as
the object of Leah’s interest stopped. “We have only recently
arrived.”

“Define recent,” Pam demanded. Leah noticed her
friend’s eyes had narrowed the tiniest fraction and included a head
bob as if giving weight to her words. Panicky apprehension shot
through her and Rykhan shifted in his seat as he shot his gaze back
to her.

Wyst’s countenance appeared sheepish as he
replied. “Today?”

Pam rolled her eyes and turned fully to the man
sitting next to her. “Again? Geez, dude. Are you asking or telling
me?”

Rykhan’s warm fingers convulsed on the back of
Leah’s hand. “We only arrived this afternoon. This is our first
time in the United States of America,” he replied formally. Another
wave of apprehension flowed off him although she didn’t hear it in
his tone as he’d answered. The feeling was strong enough it caused
Leah to face him. “All of this is still very new to both of
us.”

Pam opened her mouth to speak but their waiter
interrupted placing their plates down in front of each of them.
“Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, and Chicken Caesar
salad. Your plates of chili-cheese fries are coming right up. Can I
get you anything else?”

Both men stared at the towering edifice of
beef, cheese, and bacon placed before them then their eyes shifted
to Leah’s overly large salad.

“Why does she get fresh food and we don’t?”
Wyst asked, breaking the silence around the table after the waiter
left to fetch the rest of their order.

“
Because we have taste and she’s on
a health kick.” Pam again nudged Leah’s arm as if to take away the
sting her words caused as she picked up her knife to cut the
behemoth before her in half. “I’m sure she’ll share though, if you
want to have a taste.”

“Would you like some?” Leah raised her gaze to
the heavily fringed eyes on her left. To the blue-green eyes she
couldn’t stay away from for very long. “I won’t be able to eat it
all myself.”

“You wish to feed me, my Leah?”

Every cell in her being sat up and took notice
at his softly spoken words, hardening and then moistening in places
better left unmentioned. And at the tenderness she felt coming off
him. “I don’t…I’m not sure I…”

His hand spasmed again in its covering of hers
and Leah found herself slipping out of his grasp. It was, all of
it—with his gaze, his touch and her ability to know what he was
feeling—was simply too much for her to handle. There had been
something in his voice that warned her that feeding him was an act
carrying more weight, more import for him than she could give at
this particular moment. “How about I put some on your plate and if
you like it, you can have more?”

His gaze remained steady as he reached to tuck
a strand of her hair behind her ear with the fingers not holding
hers. His action weakened her knees to the point she knew, if she
had been standing, would have found her on the floor. “Yes, my
beautiful one. Thank you for sharing your meal with me.”

Leah couldn’t move a muscle except the ones in
her throat as she swallowed hard and deep. A wave of desire hit
huge and so deep she somehow knew it wasn’t hers alone.

There was a low, deep groan that she
couldn’t be sure wasn’t hers until Wyst’s voice ground out,
“
Fracking
Posket
!”

“Does that mean good, wonderful and amazing?”
Pam asked around a mouthful of her own burger. “Because if you say
anything against this brand of heaven, you are gonna be exiled to
the farthest reaches of Siberia, big guy!”

“Perfection,” the large man moaned as his mouth
snagged another bite of his huge cheeseburger.

Pam’s smug smile matched anything a Cheshire
cat could produce as she slid the overwhelming plate of fries
covered in both chili and cheese towards Wyst. “Then consider
yourself completely defiled as you sample these,
foreigner!”

“This tastes amazing!” Rykhan
announced taking another full bite of the large burger that
actually appeared normal sized in his hands. She stared as he
chewed with eyes closed savoring every bit of flavor. Feelings of
amazement and deep, deep appreciation rolled off him.
“
Tsiran
! This is
wonderful and something we need to share with our
brothers!”

She somehow didn’t like his interest in his
food since it took the focus off her although she’d never been a
jealous person. But it seemed, with him anyway, she was. Using her
spoon and fork, Leah shoveled a heaping portion of her salad onto
his plate, making sure he had a sufficient
chicken-to-lettuce-with-parmesan-cheese ratio in order to enjoy her
offering.

After a quick look her way, Rykhan
speared both meat and romaine, using his knife to capture a portion
of the cheese before bringing the utensil to his mouth. As his lips
encompassed the whole of it, Leah felt a tightening begin deep
inside her. “Ah,
Tsiran
,” he moaned, dragging the tines of the fork out of his mouth
in a way that had her clenching her inner thighs together. “This is
what you choose to eat, my Leah? This is what you enjoy?” He
glanced down at the lessened mound of salad sitting lonely on the
side of his huge plate. “I can see why.”

His fork made a clink as he rested it on the
side of the dish. Rykhan lifted his hand to her face as his eyes
zeroed in on hers again. His thumb stroked across her cheekbone,
just as a wave of devotion wash over her. “Just like you. It is
perfect in its naturalness.”

All she could do was stare into his amazing
eyes as she nodded, stunned at his words, his movement and the
emotions she so freely sensed coming from him.

Who was this guy?

Leah didn’t contribute much to the conversation
swirling around her during the remaining portion of their meal. She
couldn’t. Because of how caught up she was in Rykhan’s reactions as
he sampled, tasted, and chewed through each dish his fork ventured
towards.

Much like Wyst, he seemed totally enthralled by
everything he ate. After each bite, his eyes made his ways to hers
and Leah knew there was more, so very much more on his mind than
just satisfying his need, his taste for, food. His gaze spoke of
wanting, almost needing her and completely aligned with what she
felt. Their mutual desire superseded any appetite she had and it
wasn’t long, before she realized simply she was rearranging the
salad on her plate instead of consuming it.