Warriors of Phaeton: Hix
Page 23
As she came around his cock a second time, Maggie knew there was nothing she’d deny her husband. Hix’s teeth nipped sharply at her neck, the pointy canines giving just enough bite to stay on the darker edge of pleasure. With one final thrust, he collapsed against her back.
“I love you, Maggie-mine.” Hix dropped kisses over her damp shoulders, making her tired body shiver.
Maggie smiled sleepily, her sweaty face dampening the sheet underneath her cheek. “Ditto, Hix. Ditto.”
Epilogue
“Do you know why Kaine may have called us for another briefing?” Rowe asked, unsure what more the councilor would have to add to their already arranged mission to Djaromir. “Did he say anything about it to you?”
Paine shrugged but wouldn’t meet his eyes, leaving Rowe to think that his partner had done something to get them into trouble again. “No idea.”
“Paine,” Rowe said his friend’s name on a heavy sigh. “What did you do?”
“Why do you think I did something?” Paine asked, his voice as innocent as could be yet his face showed exactly the opposite. The expression wouldn’t have been caught by just anybody. No, Rowe knew Paine well enough to catch even the slightest trace of guilt on his visage regardless of how hard he tried to hide it.
“Because I know you,” Rowe hissed out, upset at the possibility that his friend had gotten them into trouble yet again with the Phaeton council. It had taken them this long to achieve the elite honor of serving the council as paired warriors and it wasn’t something he was prepared to give up. “How much trouble are we in now?”
“There is no trouble!” Paine snapped, whipping back around with his hands on his hips.
Rowe studied him, surprised at Paine’s uncommon show of temper. “I apologize, Paine.” Slapping his partner on the back, he made to move past but was stopped by Paine’s grip on his tunic. “What?”
“I am not aware of any trouble…” Paine hedged, his eyes darting back and forth as if he were nervous.
Rowe watched his friend closely, unable to shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. “Paine, what have you—”
“Rowe, is there a problem I need to be aware of?”
At the sound of Kaine’s voice, Paine immediately let go of where he was holding onto Rowe.
Arguing in front of a senior council member was not something either of them wanted to do. Especially considering they had just been placed on one of the most important missions ever to be handed down from the council.
“There is no problem, sir.” Rowe slapped Paine hard on the shoulder before moving away, hoping his friend understood that he wasn’t going to let whatever he was hiding be kept secret for long.
“Good.” Kaine passed both men and went to take a seat at the large conference table that the council used for their meetings.
Unsure what was happening, Rowe followed the senior councilman over and stood at attention in front of him with Paine mimicking his actions.
“I can see you are curious as to why you have been called to this meeting…” Kaine leaned back in his chair with an amused expression on his face.
“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison, easily falling back into soldier-mode in the blink of an eye.
“We needed to talk more about the mission you were given earlier.” Kaine leaned forward and set his elbows on the table, prompting both men to relax their own stances slightly. “The council was made aware of some information not long after the briefing ended. After some discussion it was decided that you should be made aware of the changes in the situation at hand.”
“What situation?”
“What information?”
The questions came out simultaneously as they looked back and forth at one another. Rowe was glad to see that Paine looked just as confused as he felt.
“Your application for the bridal pact was matched.” Kaine slid an unmarked file across the table.
Rowe couldn’t help but suck in a breath at the news. With one big step of his heavy boots, he was close enough to pick up the thin folder that held the identity of his future.
No, not just his.
Theirs.
Looking over at Paine, he waited for his partner to nod before he thumbed the file open. It was only a second before his friend was at his side, eager to see for himself what the folder contained.
“Indigo Marchant,” Rowe breathed out in reverence, savoring the feel of their bride’s name on his tongue.
“Why does that name sound familiar?” Paine asked. His brow wrinkled as he studied the page Rowe was still holding.
The chair in which Kaine sat creaked as he shifted back. “Because she is one of the missing brides.”
“Wait, what?” Rowe asked automatically, unable to believe what he was hearing. “I thought the stolen brides were unmatched.”
Paine reached for the file which Rowe handed over easily. As his partner continued to scan the single sheet contained, Rowe’s thoughts were scattered.
“From what we can gather, the liaison submitted each bridal application before immediately canceling the match requests using a code that is designated for a human who has changed their mind. It does not happen often, but according to our records there have been a few instances where the applicant has gotten something called ‘cold feet.’”
“What does that even mean?” Paine glanced down at his boots as he asked the question.
“Who cares?” Rowe snapped, his anxiety rising at the thought of their bride on a planet full of woman starved miners. “If the applications were pulled, how do you know she is our match?”
Kaine swiped a hand through his hair. “Once we retrieved the files from Maggie, a decision was made to input them into the system. Out of the thirty files entered, we had six positive matches immediately.”
“Six matches?” Paine’s face showed his shock. “And ours was one of them?”
Rowe could feel his excitement build as he thought about the beautiful bride pictured in the file. With short blue-black hair that curled around her face, Indigo Marchant was a sight to behold. Not because of her sparkling brown eyes or the barely-there dimple that graced her left cheek.
No, that wasn’t the reason why Rowe was so captivated.
He was entranced because she was theirs.
Theirs to care for. Theirs to protect. And most importantly, theirs to love.
“Now you know why you were called to this meeting,” Kaine said, interrupting Rowe’s thoughts. “The council believes that knowing one of the brides is a match for your pairing would be the most effective incentive needed to make sure your mission is a successful one.”
Both fighters cast each other a quick glance that could only be interpreted as ‘no shit,’ before grinning at one another.
“Paine, I believe it is time for us to go rescue our bride.” Rowe reached out his arm to the warrior who would stand beside him in caring for their future wife.
There was no hesitation on Paine’s part as he reached forward to roughly grip Rowe’s forearm in a warrior’s handshake. “Well…what are we waiting for?”
About Leora Gonzales
I am an original Kansas girl who misses the Sunflower State every day. I spend my time reading and writing making sure my two kids don’t kill themselves or each other. My addictions include tattoos, cursing, good food and good company (not necessarily in that order). I believe that tough moments in life can be combated with good humor, and I find a reason to laugh or smile daily.
Find me online at: www.leoragonzales.com
Sign up for my mailing list, follow me on Facebook and Twitter, or learn more about my other works.
Other works by Leora Gonzales
Warriors of Phaeton Series (Self-Published)
Bridal Pact
Bridal Bonds
Warriors of Phaeton: Dathrow
Warriors of Phaeton: Finch
Warriors of Phaeton: Hix
Miners of Djaromir (Self-Published)
Miners of Dja
romir: K’hor (coming early 2019)
Braving the Heat Series (Lyrical Press)
Melting Snow
Simmering Heat
Taming Fire
Still Burning (coming May 2019)