Warlord's Mate

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Warlord's Mate Page 23

by Lily Graison


  The way she turned and looked at him made his cock jerk. “You liked the dancing?”

  “I liked it very much.”

  She graced him with a smile that promised things he was ready for her to do now. “Then I’ll be sure to do it more often. But to answer your question, yes, I danced like that for others. I actually taught people how to dance like that.”

  “You instructed them on how to move in such a way to seduce a male?”

  She laughed. “Well, I never thought of it that way but I guess if one was really good at it, then I suppose seduction would be possible. Seeing how I found you passed out on the floor the morning after I danced for you, then I think I might need to work harder next time.”

  Her dance was more seductive than she thought it was. If he hadn’t been drugged, he would have had her ass in the air while he pounded into her for half the night, and on her back the other half.

  His cock jerked again just thinking about doing it. Having her under the waterfall had shaken his world. Her naked and secured to the pole in his hut, completely at his mercy, had left him undone, addicted to the sounds he pulled from her. He’d been between her thighs so many times now, but it still didn’t feel like enough. He craved her, loved to feel the sweep of her tongue on his flesh and hearing her whisper his name as she came sent him over the edge every single time.

  He inhaled a deep breath and pushed the thought away before he hauled her back to his bed. “Tell me what your planet is like.”

  She stilled a moment then shrugged her shoulders. “A bit like this one, I guess. Our oceans are blue, instead of the weird teal thing going on here. Earth is mostly water and what land masses we do have are over populated, some parts in desperate need of food, so theres starvation and disease.

  “We’ve ventured into space but only went as far as the moon. We’re not advanced enough to explore in any form other than probes and man-made robots or machines.” She picked another root and dropped it into her basket. “And while there are some things here that are familiar, others are not.” She smiled and walked to a cluster of vines near the base of the bush. “We don’t have singing flowers.” She picked one of the white blooms from the ground and held it up to him. “The others thought I was crazy when I told them these things sing.”

  He straightened. “You hear them?”

  She looked at him and nodded. “I hear them. Do you?”

  He smiled. “Yes.” He crossed to where she stood and took the flower from her, then brushed it against her lips. “This is a moon flower. I’ll bring you back tonight to see them. Their petals open and are dusted with a fine powdery substance that make them appear to be glowing. No one here other than those of my species have heard their song. No one other than you.”

  “So you think the hum they emit is really a song?”

  “I do. I think its how they communicate with each other.”

  “Communicate? As in the singing is actually a language?”

  “Possibly.”

  “They’re sentient?” She looked horrified. “No wonder they stop singing when I pick them. I’ve been killing them!”

  He laughed and realized it was the first time he’d done so since before Aris had disappeared. She was frowning at him and he leaned down, placing a light kiss to her lips. “Those lines around your mouth will freeze on your beautiful face if you stay upset about something you didn’t know.”

  The frown lines disappeared and genuine surprise lit her eyes. “You think I’m beautiful?”

  He pushed a strand of her red hair from her face. “Do not all males on your planet think so?”

  She laughed. “Not hardly. I’m tall for an earth girl and only a small percentage of men like red-heads.”

  “Then the men of your planet are stupid.” She laughed again. The sound seemed to erase what remaining melancholy he felt at the absence of Aris. “You are a comfort to me, Mar-see.” He weaved his fingers into her hair. “This place—it is harsh and ugly and it destroys the soul but you are restoring mine with nothing more than your smiles and the way you look at me.” He kissed her, smiling against her mouth when she dropped her basket and flung both arms around his neck. She was as eager for him as he was her and it showed in her kisses and in the way she rubbed her breasts against his chest. The moment she lifted her leg, wrapping it around his hip, he broke the kiss, grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder then listened to her laugh as he headed to his hut.

  Those in camp watched them as he carried her out of the woods. He ignored them as he’d been doing the past several moons. He had no desire to speak to them. All he wanted was the female in his arms. She was all he could think about. All he wanted to think about. He had no doubt she was his mate. He felt it in every fiber of his being and he craved her like the plants craved the sun.

  Stepping into the hut, her giggles quietened when he tossed her to the bed. She was still smiling and propped herself up on her bent elbows, her eyes following the path his hands were taking as he started to remove his clothing. He met her gaze when she looked back up. “Remove your garments.”

  She did so without hesitation and laid on her back once she’d bared her body to him. Jorrick tossed the last of his clothing aside and grabbed his cock, running his hand down the length of it. Her gaze followed the movement. It ached and throbbed with the need to be inside her.

  He grabbed her foot, pulled her closer and turned her to her belly. She squealed when he wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her to her knees, lined his cock up with her entrance and slid in.

  Mar-see gasped and murmured, “Oh, sweet baby kittens.” He had no clue what that was but he didn’t care. Her cunt was clenching around his length so sweetly, a shudder of pleasure rippled up his spine. His hands slid up her body, one going to her throat, the other grabbing her breast. His hips slammed into her as he held her against him, her breaths panted out harshly.

  “Harder.”

  Her demand made him shudder. She arched her back, laid her head on the bed , her fingers digging into the mattress under her, her core squeezing him. He pulled out before she came. The disgruntled gasp she made brought a smile to his face. She straightened on her knees and looked over his shoulder at him. “I’m not in the mood for games today.”

  “No?”

  “No.” She grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the bed. Jorrick fell forward and turned to lay flat on his back. “Then do as you wish, woman.”

  A look he’d never seen filled her eyes. She scanned the length of his body before lowering her head, kissing his inner thigh. He shifted his legs, a shiver racing up his spine as she kissed higher, her tongue darting out to lick his balls. They pulled in tight and he sucked in a breath as she licked up the length of him, the pink tip of her tongue circling the head of his cock before she sucked him in as far as she could, then let him slip from her mouth.

  She looked up the line of his body, then kissed her way up his belly and chest and grinned as she kissed his chin. “Today, you will take the orders.” She took his bottom lip between her teeth and shifted on her knees before crawling over his hips. When he thought she’d take him in hand and slide down his length, she kept crawling. The red curls at the apex of her thighs brushed his belly, and he knew where she was going before she made it to his chest. He grabbed her hips and pulled her forward, raising his head when she was close enough, and ran his tongue up the length of her cunt. She gasped and grabbed a handful of his hair and shifted her hips, making a circle around his tongue. “Don’t stop until I come.” He sucked her clit into his mouth and watched as her head fell back, the ends of her long hair tickling his belly while her mouth opened in a silent scream as she rode his face. When she came, screaming out her pleasure, his question of whether she could be a true mate for him even though she wasn’t one of his species was answered. She was his. He felt it in every fiber of his being, his heart filling with emotions he didn’t think he’d ever possess. She looked down at him, watching him lick her and the plans he’d made
to use her as a way to get back at Allok were forgotten as if he’d never even thought of them. She crawled down the length of him, stuck her tongue into his mouth and kissed him, deep and hard. Jorrick pulled her tight against him and guided his cock into her and lifted his hips while kissing her back.

  His plans to bait Allok be damned. All he wanted now was her scent on his flesh. For his mark to be on her for everyone to see. Mar-see was as alien to him as he was to her but alien or not, his soul screamed out for her. She belonged to him and he would never let her go.

  Chapter Twenty

  Besides feeling as if she was walking on a cloud of bliss, something was different around camp now. Marcy felt the change in the air. She could see it on the faces of those around her as well. Every alien she looked at wore the same expression. They looked wary, as if too afraid to get close to her and she knew why. Their warlord wasn’t the same man he was before and they knew it was her fault. Jorrick was still fierce and demanded obedience but the way he looked at her—there was no denying there was something there and as giddy as it made her….she was terrified.

  Jityria had told her once that, when the others found out the warlord had taken a pet that she’d be the most sought-after commodity on Prison Moon One. That the other warlords would want her because she belonged to him. She hadn’t thought much of her words then, but now she did. With all the strange looks he’d been getting lately, she wondered if making the warlord happy was going to get her killed.

  He was across camp with Vikram and she knew all it would take was a look over her shoulder to see him watching her. He did that more often than not now. She didn’t mind in the least, felt a tingle of pleasure ripple down her spine every time she saw him staring at her, but if she noticed it, others will to.

  Things between her and Jorrick were amazing. She still called him warlord in front of others but when they were alone, he was Jorrick. And he was gentle and kind and made her feel like she was the only female on the whole damn miserable planet. She was ready to thank those shit-head grays for kidnaping her and dumping her here she was so stinking happy. He was too. He smiled more often than not when they were alone and she felt it in every touch. He’d not said anything that even resembled an, “I love you,” but it was in his eyes and every brush of his hand against her flesh. In the long hours they laid alone in bed talking.

  And once others learned this—she was as good as dead.

  Marcy scooped more of the brain mixture out of the bowl and rubbed it into the hide she was working on. Even though her relationship with Jorrick had changed, one thing that hadn’t was the backbreaking work she did sun up to sun down.

  She’d thought more than once to say something about the way the women were treated here but decided against it. Just because she rode the warlord’s dick on a nightly basis didn’t give her a say in how he ran his camp, so she kept her mouth shut.

  “Looks as if they’re going on a hunt.”

  Marcy looked up as Krista spoke, then looked behind her. The hunters were indeed gearing up. Weapons were being strapped on, knives sharpened and slipped into scabbards.

  She looked for Jorrick but didn’t see him. A glance at the hut made her pulse leap. Jityria was walking inside.

  As long as she’d been here in camp, Jityria had been the personal servant to the warlord. She’d known it since day one and seeing her come and go in and out of the warlord’s hut was a daily occurrence but now—Marcy felt a rush of heat travel the length of her body.

  The urge to stand up and run over there was strong, but she refused to let anyone know how much she hated seeing that hateful thing anywhere near him. She could stop it in an instant though. All she’d have to do was tell Jorrick of the times Jityria had hit her or pushed her around but she wasn’t about to be the reason the bitch died. She’d feel guilty about it for the rest of her life, regardless of how badly Jityria treated her.

  Jorrick walked out of the hut, Jityria hot on his heels, and he started toward her, then stopped. Their eyes met, and she knew in an instant what he was thinking. He’d been coming to tell her he was leaving. And stopped before anyone realized he was about to do it.

  He adjusted the bandolier of knives over his bare chest and tightened the sword belt around his hips. Someone yelled, telling those going to head out, and Jorrick gave her one last look before he turned and followed them. He said something to Vikram who was apparently staying behind, then looked back at her before stepping into the trees. She bit back a smile when he winked at her.

  Jityria headed their way and Marcy rolled her eyes before turning back to what she was doing. Playing in Drexun brains and tanning hides was more pleasurable than talking to her and she hoped whatever it was she was coming to say was said quickly. Her being ordered to go help prepare the afternoon meal for those who remained behind wasn’t unusual, nor was the look of contempt on Jityria’s face.

  Marcy stood and washed her hands, then headed across camp with Krista. The rest of the day was filled with preparing and serving meals, foraging for nuts and roots and by the time the sun had lowered in the sky, Marcy was ready for the comfort of her bed, even if Jorrick wasn’t in it with her.

  She was halfway across camp when a buzzing sound whizzed past her ear. A scream followed, then all hell broke loose.

  They’d been attacked once before, but never to this extent. Marcy ran toward the females hut as dozens of aliens raced into camp, Vikram’s bellowing shout that they were being attacked ringing in her ears. Krista was the only one she saw when she reached the hut and grabbed her by the arm and ran to the cluster of bushes behind the dais Jorrick’s chair sat on.

  They fell to their knees, both panting for breath as Krista yelled, “What’s happening!”

  Marcy pulled clamped a hand over her mouth. “Be quiet.” She raised up enough to see what was happening. “My guess is we’re being attacked by a rival camp.” Which was pretty convenient now that Jorrick wasn’t here. Was there someone in camp conspiring against him? After everything he’s told her over the past few weeks, it wouldn’t be the first time.

  As camp followers went, it was impossible to tell one from the other. Unless she saw a face, she had no idea which alien fighting belonged to this camp or the one attacking. Marcy sank back down when she saw Tizhila and Sabera running her way. When the two fell to the ground where they sat, both of them panting for breath, Marcy eyed them both. “Where is Celestia?”

  “I don’t know.” Tezhila braced her palms on the top of her legs. “I didn’t see her.”

  Marcy raised up again, searching camp for her blue-skinned friend. As it had been the last time, the camp was in chaos, only now, the warlord and the other hunters weren’t running back into camp to save them. An alien whose lower half looked like a spider was by the fire pit. He grabbed the burning logs from the ground and started throwing them on the nearby huts and tents. Smoke filled the air as the structures started to catch fire.

  The noise was deafening then. The clang of metal and screaming along with the harsh sound of fire licking its way up old, dry wood filled the air and just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, Jorrick’s chair exploded in a shower of splintered wood that rained down on top of them. Marcy looked up when the others started screaming. The orange hulking alien Kr’Atek, who had tried to take her once before, stood on the dais grinning at her. His lipless smile looked almost feral and his eyes held a wild glint that had he been on earth, it would have made her think he’d smoked something potent.

  One of the three females behind her was screaming as if someone was killing her and Marcy knew if they didn’t move, that may very well be the case. She jumped to her feet, grabbed Krista’s arm and yelled, “Run!”

  Kr’Atek gave chase. She could tell by the thunderous stomping of his feet. She saw Celestia running across camp when they cleared the brush. She headed toward the path near Jorrick’s hut, the others behind her. They made it to the trees, and she glanced behind her to make sure the others were following. Sh
e tripped over her own feet a moment later. “Keep going,” she yelled, wincing as she tried to get back up.

  Something hit her a moment later, a hand clamping around her arm. She was jerked from the ground, her entire shoulder aching her arm was pulled so violently. “I told you I would have my revenge.” Jityria laughed in her ear, then gave her a shove. She landed at Kr’Atek’s feet.

  “Make sure she suffers the most,” Jityria said as Kr’Atek reached for her. Marcy turned her head as she was lifted from the ground. Jityria’s smiling face went out of focus when Kr’Atek raised his fist and slammed it into the side of her head. Her knees gave out, and she blinked against the pain as she watched men throwing burning limbs into the tents and huts as the others were being herded into a straight line. It looked as if she’d survive the attack but she had to wonder if death wouldn’t have been an easier out.

  It felt like the longest hunt he’d ever been on, which was pretty pathetic as they’d only been gone a day. Jorrick quickened his steps as they climbed the ridge, anticipation of seeing Mar-see a burning thing in his veins. Those in front of him slowed before coming to a stop and he shoved someone out of his way when they stood there unmoving. When he reached the top of the ridge line, he saw why they were all just standing there.

  His camp was smoldering.

  Smoke filled the sky, black and sooty. He could smell burning wood now and a look into camp showed the majority of everything burned to ash. His heart started pounding, and he was running before the others even moved.

  There wasn’t a structure standing when the hunting party made it back to camp. Dead lay everywhere, and those who were still alive were beaten and bloodied. All the faces he saw were those of the weakest under his protection. The others, the ones he’d left behind to protect the camp were either dead or no where to be seen.

  Jorrick’s gaze shot through camp looking for Mar-see. He stared toward his hut but stopped when he saw it’s smoking shell. It was destroyed. Nothing remained of it and he feared going further and finding her there.

 

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