Training the Warrior (5 page)

She followed him off the rail and they made
their way to the entrance. As they came closer, the crowd grew sparser.
Apparently, there weren’t too many visitors today. Perhaps the fortress wasn’t a
tourist destination, she thought nervously.

Once at the gate, Kern motioned for her to
wait for him. He approached one of the warriors on guard and they clasped
forearms. As required, they both wore their forearm restraints. It was a
friendly greeting Lydia recognized. Her mate knew the other warrior, who shot
her a polite glance, but didn’t let his gaze linger. He motioned toward the
gate while grunting out an order. Kern returned for her and then ushered her through
it, which was opened by another warrior just wide enough for them to both pass.

Once they were inside, Kern made an
immediate right alongside the wall and led her up a set of narrow stone steps.
Reaching a walkway running along the inside of the wall, he told her, “Continue
on until you reach the exercise area ahead. The field between this wall and the
citadel is where all the warriors train after they’re bladed. Every young warrior
you see out there is under eighteen…” He sighed and then snarled, “Twenty-seven
years of age, Galactic Standard. None are younger than twenty-four, Lydia.”

Lydia walked to the area he’d indicated
before she stopped. There were six warriors, all wearing thick forearm
restraints and fighting each other on the field right below her, no weapons,
just hand-to-hand combat. Others were in groups scattered out over the vast site.
They were all huge, heavily muscled, just like her mate. And if Kern told her
the truth, none were over twenty-seven Earth years old. She glanced at him,
puzzled by what she saw.

“How can you tell? They all look as if
they’re about Braedon’s age,” she said, knowing Kern’s partner was twenty-five
years past birth. She did the mental calculation. Braedon was a few months over
thirty-seven Earth years old.

Her mate’s broad smile widened. Damn him. He’d
made his point. He didn’t have to gloat about it. She fumed as she frowned back
at him.

“Lydia, I had to show you. Would you have
ever believed me?”

She focused her attention down on the young
warriors. “No, but I still don’t understand how they can mature so fast.”

“The ones you see here are only a few
months into their sixteenth year past birth.”

“A little over twenty-four in Earth years,
right?”

Physically, they appeared much older. The
only evidence to the contrary was a slight hint of youthful freshness in their
faces, especially around their eyes. Once they perfected what she termed a warrior’s
“proper scowl” then she suspected any trace of youth would be erased forever.

“Yes. They aren’t allowed to fight with
weapons for at least three months.”

Lydia was completely stunned. A matter of
weeks separated these warriors in age from the unbladed youths who reminded her
of overgrown puppies.
They aren’t human
, she reminded herself.
They
aren’t even like normal Taurans. Aliens.
Would she ever get used to these
beings and their strange world? Her human ideals didn’t always mesh well with
theirs at times.

“I’m sorry, Kern. For me it just still
seems so impossible. I know what my eyes see. It’s just my mind tells me
something different. How is it possible for them to change so much in just a
few weeks?”

She gazed at the alien male she’d fallen in
love with. Kern watched her, his expression so easy to read—love mixed with
frustration. Her warrior might be good at disguising his emotions around other
males, but he couldn’t hide his feelings from her. He was an open book, always.
At least she could depend on that.

Lydia leaned against him and he
automatically drew her closer. Just when she thought he was about to gather her
up and kiss her, he stopped. He took one step back and let out a low growl. He
sounded angry and annoyed.

“We should go now before we interrupt their
training too much,” he grumbled.

“What…” Lydia glanced down at the warriors.

Two young warriors had stopped fighting and
leered up at her. Judging from the tenting of their loincloths, it was clear
exactly what they were thinking
. Nasty
oversexed aliens.

She darted around Kern and ran to the
stairs. His laughter at her abrupt departure irritated her
. Damn males.

* * * *

When she remained skeptical even after the
visit to the fortress, Kern petitioned for permission to take her inside the citadel
to the sanctuary where the teachers went about their duties. A few days later,
they were summoned back to the citadel. Once inside, he waited for her in the
antechamber while a white-masked teacher wearing a dark blue hooded robe took
her deeper into the structure. Fully-trained warriors, mated or unmated, weren’t
allowed to cross the second threshold unless they were qualified handlers.

To say the experience was mind-changing
would have been a gross understatement. She saw more than she bargained for.
Halfway through the experience she became ill and almost passed out. From then
on, she was grateful for everything the teachers did to help the warrior clan
survive. Lydia was horrified and embarrassed by her own uneducated, judgmental
attitude. After she returned to the entrance, she found Kern pacing. It was his
way of waiting patiently.

She ran into his arms, buried her face
against his welcoming chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Without uttering a word,
he picked her up and carried her all the way to the rail. Lydia fell asleep in
the comfort of his embrace. She didn’t wake until Kern nudged her once the
railcar reached their stop. They walked in silence, holding hands, all the way
to their home.

Trying to banish all she’d seen at the citadel
from her mind, Lydia concentrated on the pristine stone walkway winding through
the lush foliage decorating the immaculate grounds of their housing area. She’d
never appreciated the beauty of the surroundings or the fragrant aroma from the
various blossoms as much as she did in that moment. Everything seemed different
to her now, more real.

Just a few decades ago, the large powerful
male strolling confidently at her side had been just like one of those young,
unbladed warriors. The torture he went through to become what he was now
staggered her. How they kept their sanity was a mystery to her. Unlike human
males, who had the luxury of years to go through puberty, the warriors endured
a physical and mental transformation unlike anything she could ever have
imagined. And they did it in a matter of days, not years. The revelation left
her numb.

 Once inside their apartment, Kern scooped
her up into his arms and carried her straight to their bedroom. Without a
single word, he undressed her, taking his time. Lydia raised her arms above her
head as he lifted the hem of her thigh-length tunic, drawing it up and over her
head. She shivered, her upper body chilled by the cool air. He made quick work
of untying the waist cord of her loose-fitting ankle-length pant-skirt, then
dropped it to the floor in a puddle of soft material. All warriors preferred
their mates to wear the modest-style while in public.

Clothed in the Tauran equivalent of bra and
panties, Lydia stepped forward and against his body, seeking the warmth he’d
willingly share. She yearned to breathe in his addictive, masculine scent.
While hugging him, she felt the familiar movements of her mate’s arms behind
her back as he unstrapped his stiff leather forearm restraints. The sound of
them hitting the floor was the only warning she got before he sliced through
the flimsy material of her undergarments.

Lydia sighed in exasperation.

“I like taking them off.” It was his usual
excuse.

“I’m running out of those,” she said,
trying her best to sound annoyed.

“Good.”

She lifted her face to gaze at him and smiled
indulgently at his unrepentant expression. His smirk spread into a sexy grin
and an unmistakable fire of lust glinted in his tan eyes. Her mate was
impossible at times, but always irresistible. Lydia rose to her toes in an
attempt to close the distance between their lips. Kern dropped his head,
meeting her halfway. His mouth claimed hers in a fierce, needy kiss. A growl
filled with savage desire rumbled forth from his massive chest. The sound sent
a surge of heated craving to her very core.

Lydia gasped. “I need you so much, Kern.
Please…”

Her plea was left unfinished as he gathered
her up into his arms. Kern had her on her back on their bed in an instant.
Seconds later, he’d shed his boots and tossed aside his loincloth so he could
join her.

Expecting him to take her immediately,
Lydia spread her legs, knees wide apart, to accept him. Instead Kern surprised
her by stretching out beside her. He kissed her lightly, tracing her lips with
his tongue, slowly driving her mad with desire as he teased. Once she was on
the verge of complaining, a battle-roughened palm glided up the inside of her
thigh. It skimmed over the top of her mound, tormenting her for a few seconds
before his fingers slid down, parting the slit of her pussy.

Lydia moaned in anticipation while
frantically trying to capture his lips for a deeper kiss. Only when she threw
her arms around his broad shoulders and tugged him toward her did he relent.
His mouth claimed hers in a crushing kiss just as he thrust two fingers inside
her slick sheath. The edge of his thumb strummed across her clit, bringing
forth a gush of moisture to bathe his palm. His hard thick cock pressed against
her thigh as she writhed on the bed. Her mate was ready for her, but not until
she was pleasured properly.

Awhirl in a spiral of sexual need, Lydia
had to break away from his lips to scream out his name as she came. Kern gave
her no time to recover. He trailed kisses down her chest, nuzzling and nipping
at each of her breasts until the stiff peaks tingled with aching need. All the
while, his hands roamed over her body, covering her skin with his scent. The
marking glands located near his wrists released the intoxicating aroma of her
mate, making sure other warriors kept their distance from her.

Wanting to keep his mouth at her breast,
Lydia tried to grab his head. Kern was faster. He evaded capture by shifting his
giant body across hers. He eased his shoulders between her spread thighs and settled
down. His bulk opened her wider, exposing her sex completely.

“You are so beautiful and your scent…”

Kern finished his statement by dipping his
head between her legs. Lydia mewled in delight as he hungrily licked the length
of her slit, lapping at the juices of her arousal before plunging inside her
vaginal canal in search of more. The feel of his hot tongue thrusting in and
out, lashing against the walls of her channel with each pass was almost enough
to send her over the edge again. Moaning loudly, Lydia thrashed her head from side
to side and fisted the sheets, tormented by the lure of satisfaction, which
Kern held dangling just out of reach.

“Please, Kern,” she begged, needing the
extra stimulation he denied her at the moment.

His answering growl vibrated through her
pussy, amplifying her pleasure in a way no vibrator could ever provide. As the
sound faded, Kern withdrew his tongue, replacing it with his fingers. Giving in
to her plea, his mouth closed around her clit, sucking hard while he lashed the
taut nub. Out of control, Lydia arched her back off the bed while she reached
down and grabbed his head to hold him in place. Her fingers curled into her
mate’s thick hair as her mind let go, exploding along with her entire body as
she came, moaning his name over and over in the throes of her orgasm.

Before she knew it, he had her flipped over
onto her stomach. He held her hips in his strong grasp, raising her ass up.
Lydia managed to gather her knees beneath her just as he positioned the broad
head of his massive cock at her entrance. She slumped forward, her breasts
pressing hard into the mattress. With one long thrust, he buried his shaft to
the root inside her soaked channel, stretching and filling her completely. The
satisfying sensation was overwhelming each and every time. Lydia was always
amazed she could accept every inch of him. Every part of her mate’s body was
huge.

Kern’s resulting snarl let her know he was
only beginning. With his erection still snuggly seated in her pussy, he looped
one arm beneath her hips to hold her while bracing his upper body on the bed
with the other. He curled over her until his lips grazed the back of her neck,
then he thrust deeper, making sure she was penetrated to the hilt. Lydia moaned.
The pleasure mixed with slight pain always made her vaginal walls clench.

His pointed canines grazed over skin,
coming to rest at the juncture between her neck and right shoulder.

Kern growled. “Mine!”

“Yes, my love.” Lydia sighed, anticipating
what came next.

After he opened his jaws and latched on,
the sharp points of his teeth came within millimeters of breaking her skin.
Once she was subdued, Kern rocked his hips back and forth, moving slow at first
and then quickening in tempo to her pants of encouragement until he pounded his
cock into her. His thrusts filled her, brushing the rim of his shaft’s broad
head across the opening of her womb while his balls slapped her swollen clit
mercilessly. Unable to move, Lydia cried out in ecstasy as wave upon wave of
ecstasy washed over her, carrying her closer to fulfillment with each of her
mate’s mighty thrusts.