Bearing Armen - Book Three

by Brenna Lyons

  His mouth left hers, his tongue massaging her lips for an extra moment. “You love sucking my cock, don’t you?” he grumbled.

  The sound of his voice and the sheer audacity of the question made her already-prepared body dampen further. “Yes. I do.”

  His cock bobbed against her stomach, and her head spun. The vague realization that Scott was precisely what she’d always wanted in a man settled in her mind. This was a man who didn’t walk on PC eggshells around her, scraping and apologizing at every turn. Scott was a man who dared to treat Katie like any other desirable woman and not a princess, a man who ordered the future Stone Vessel as he would any other female in the world.

  “Are you planning to do it again?” There was a hint of challenge in that.

  She licked her lips, and he stared at them hungrily. “Absolutely. Just say the word.”

  The soap appeared in his hands, making slick tracks from her throat and shoulders to her chest. His hands kneaded and pinched at her breasts until the sensations echoed in her womb and radiated down her thighs.

  She didn’t watch him bathe her. His eyes demanded she stay locked with them, and she did.

  Scott trailed the soap down her ribs, then her stomach, pausing to circle it over her shaven mound. Katie circled her hips beneath it, begging him silently to stroke lower.

  He smiled crookedly. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? Lower? Harder? Tell me.”

  “Yes.” Her voice came out a whisper.

  His expression was abruptly serious. “You want me to teach you how to be the bad girl.” His lips brushed over hers. “Don’t you?”

  “Yes, Scott.” Now. Whatever you do, do it now.

  “Say it. Say you’ll do what I say.”

  “Anything,” she vowed again.

  “Well then... I guess I should rinse this soap off.” Scott moved back a few inches, dropped the soap back in the dish and grasped the shower head.

  He took his time about it, patiently stroking away the soap, top to bottom. By the time he reached her mound again, Katie could barely stand independently.

  His fingers traced circles, lower and lower, playing counterpoint to the moving water, finally reaching her clit. Katie cried out, but he captured the sound in his mouth. Their breaths mixed, ragged gusts of air that announced how close to release they each were.

  “Spread wider,” he instructed.

  Katie did it, her sheath throbbing in time with her racing pulse, aching for his possession. Scott took his time, spreading her nether lips with two fingers. Her heart hammered so frantically that she was lightheaded. For a long moment, he did nothing more, as if he were deciding whether to finger her or skip straight to making love to her.

  The change in sound was the first indication that he intended something else. A stunned plea to Tes for mercy was cut short when the slowly pulsing water surged up into her. It buffeted the walls, the feeling of a man’s climax without benefit of his length buried inside her. The combination of feeling empty and full at the same time propelled her toward release.

  His thumb massaged her clit, a lazy circling that closely matched the pulse of water. “You’re close,” he whispered.

  She nodded, her mind seemingly disconnected from her mouth. Her body was connected just fine, though. Every touch wrenched inarticulate sounds that should have been pleas for him to fill her.

  “I’m close, too. The pre-come is already running down my cock for you.”

  She licked her lips, savoring the flavor of that come in her mouth.

  “The water is going to wash away some of your lubrication, so mine will have to be copious enough to ease the way.” He hesitated only a moment. “Oh, baby, it’s going to go in easy. Just watching you has me excited.”

  She attempted speech and failed, swallowing hard.

  “Are you holding tight to the bars?” he asked.

  Katie fisted them as the first whispers of approaching climax taunted her.

  “You’re on the edge.”

  She nodded, gasping out something that sounded remotely like ‘yes.’

  “Good.” He released the shower head and lifted her, impaling her on his length, sealing his mouth to hers to mute her scream of climax.

  She kissed him passionately, her body gripping him tight, starved for every sensation she could identify of him. His come swirled into her, so different than the water. Their cries came together, rumbling over dueling tongues.

  Scott turned off the water, bringing his hand back to caress the curve of her ass, his expression no less intense than it had been when she’d pulled the shower curtain back. Maybe he felt it. She prayed he did, because all question of his place as her mate had fled long ago, and the itch to seal printing was already burning in her. According to her parents, it was always this way for Blutjagdfrau and their mates. He had to feel something.

  At the very least, she’d make sure he felt something. Katie levered herself up by her grip on the bars, wrapping her legs around his waist. He shivered as he settled deeper within her.

  “Scott?” she prodded him.

  “I...” He buried his face in her wet hair, taking several deep breaths. “You don’t keep very quiet,” he teased.

  Confusion cut through her arousal. “Why should I?” She had autonomy, after all. Who she bedded and when was her own business. Okay, it’s the Stone’s business.

  He ignored her question, kissing the blood mark at the join of her upper arm and shoulder tenderly. “Did you mean anything, Katie?”

  “Gods, yes.” She’d never realized sex would be so addictive.

  “I’m going to take you to my bed now. I think a proper introduction with my mouth is long overdue.”

  Aftershocks rocked her body at that pronouncement. “You’re going to teach me to be a very bad girl,” she managed. “I must be pretty bad, because I love it.”

  Scott groaned into her blood mark, his breathing abruptly ragged. “But, since you seem incapable of self-control, I’ll have to keep your sweet mouth busy in return.”

  The image nearly sent her over again.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  November 3, 2049

  Scott ran his tongue around his mouth, savoring the taste of Katie. She’d only left for her own room a few hours earlier, and already he wanted to bring her back.

  His smile faltered. He didn’t just want to bring her back. He wanted to keep her there, and that wasn’t going to happen. Her friendly but not intimate manner with him out of bed, coupled with Tevin’s almost constant presence at her side, pointed to a very different future in store for her.

  He closed his eyes to the memory of her in the shower. How close had he come to blurting out that he loved her? Too close...more than once. It was insanity. How did she get under his skin so fast? For that matter, how did she get under his skin, at all? But, telling her would be even more insane.

  Why? I’m an eligible Warrior. I’m no different than Tevin and the others.

  Scott forced his eyes open. Was he? Well, he was undeniably not the typical Warrior, but was he an eligible Warrior for her to take to mate? Pages upon pages of Rules of Sanction and mores poured through his mind, and he examined one after another.

  “I’ll be damned,” he whispered.

  Technically, he was an eligible Warrior, but he was an anomaly, untrained by their standards, not even blood sealed. He was barely tolerated, even when he wasn’t going out of his way to be a pain in the ass.

  By the Armens. Has Katie ever been less than gracious to me, even when I was an ass?

  No. She hadn’t been. Of course, she was probably trained in diplomacy. A future ruler would have to possess tact and...

  Lacking many of them personally, Scott found himself at a loss for naming the skills. Well, she’d have to possess people skills of all sorts.

  His cock ached in renewed arousal. Katie didn’t just tolerate him. Scott didn’t have a name for the way she came to him and gave him free rein to touch her.

  He stretched out,
breathing her scent deep into his lungs. What would Katie do if he admitted how he felt about her? Would she respond in kind? Laugh at him? End their affair? Did he really want to find out?

  His stomach clenched in outright terror even as his heart ached in wanting to know. “Coward,” he muttered. Scott couldn’t even say why the thought of telling Katie he loved her scared him.

  Maybe he was seeing something that wasn’t there, and he was as crazy as Dear Old Mom. Was this the type of insanity that made Lynne decide to have a Warrior’s child despite the risks? That thought was more than mildly distasteful.

  What other options were there? Printing came immediately to mind. Maybe he was printing. According to the texts, that was supposed to make you nuts, too. Not to mention, he still would have no idea if she felt the same way, and if she didn’t, the fallout wouldn’t be pretty.

  Well, if she did return his feelings... No. That was just too much to ask for.

  Was it even possible to print this quickly? He hadn’t asked anyone directly, but the books talked about Warriors printing over weeks or months. He’d only known Katie for four days. It hardly seemed possible to print that quickly, but asking someone would mean tipping his hand, and that wasn’t an option.

  A chilling thought occurred to him. What if he was using Katie to escape Armen? Her mate would be free to roam with her and free from this blasted family. They could settle somewhere of their choosing or simply travel and see the world. Did he want to escape this range badly enough to latch onto a mad scheme to get it? And if he did, could he do this to Katie?

  No. I can’t do this to her...if it isn’t real, but how do I know if it’s real?

  Scott pushed from the bed and ambled to the shower to wash away Katie’s scent. He needed time to think. He needed to get out of this house for a while and clear his head. Maybe time without Katie and without distractions would allow him to see clearly.

  * * * *

  Katie’s heart skipped a beat. “Into town?”

  Matt sighed. “I’d almost swear the young men got together and planned a walk-out, but I know Scott didn’t go with the others. He never does.”

  “Yes. Of course.” She managed a strained smile. “Warriors will be Warriors.” Her heart ached at the realization that it was true.

  “Did you need to see him? Is there something I can do for you?”

  “No. Nothing really. It can wait until tomorrow.” She turned to go, meeting Bear’s eyes, then looking away, controlling her expression stoically. She was the Blutjagdfrau, the next Stone Vessel. The last thing she was about to do was cry in front of the Warriors.

  Truth be told, she didn’t really want to cry. The need to hurt someone rose up in her, eclipsing rational thought. Katie ran her hands over her weapons, taking inventory of the two sacred weapons at her hips and the four throwing blades her Uncle Adam had gifted her with at her back, all blessed in her mother’s fire.

  Bear followed her out into the night toward the garage. “Kates, you need to calm down. You don’t want me to have to sit on you.”

  Usually, she’d make a witty comeback to his final statement, but wit was beyond her now. “Calm down? Are you fucking insane?”

  He sighed. “Come on. I think you need a good workout to blow off steam.”

  “Only if you want to see the Warrior’s Rest tonight. And don’t you dare joke about it, because I will seriously hurt you tonight. If I don’t kill a beast or three...”

  “You’ll kill him? Oh, you are far gone.” There was just a flavor of humor in his comment.

  The thought tore at her. “I wish I could,” she grumbled.

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Stop being so damned rational. Damn him! How dare he...” She couldn’t voice the rest; just the thought of him taking another woman to bed made her want to rip them both apart. Okay, at least rip the little tramp he picks up apart. That man will beg before he touches me again.

  Though he was armed with a sacred weapon, Scott wasn’t blood sealed; he wasn’t permitted to hunt without a sealed Warrior of his house. He only lacked an amulet, because he was an adult and had refused it. If he wasn’t allowed to hunt, there was only one reason for him to go to town.

  “How dare he!”

  “Kates,” Bear sighed. “Has it occurred to you that Scott may have no clue what’s happening to him? Printing is traumatic under the best of circumstances, but for him... It’s probably freaking him out.”

  She turned on him. “So, now you’re defending him? You’re supposed to be on my side. Besides, I thought you hated Scott.”

  He turned her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her toward the garage, visibly fighting back a laugh. “He’s not so bad for a clueless pup. I don’t like him, but it’s not my place to approve your choice of mate.”

  Katie wrapped her arms around him, burying her cheek in his side. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Bear.”

  His arm tightened, but he didn’t comment. “Well,” he changed the subject, “what do you have in mind?”

  “I told you. There are always beasts stupid enough to want to expunge the next Stone Vessel. Let’s go find them.”

  “You got it, little sister.”

  She punched him in the ribs, smiling at his release of breath. “By fifteen minutes, and I still say you cheated.”

  Bear’s roar of laughter went a long way toward making her feel better, though it couldn’t erase the dull ache Scott caused her. Tonight, she would do her best to forget about Scott and throw herself into the hunt. It had been too long since they’d enjoyed a hunt together.

  * * * *

  Scott rocked the empty shot glass back and forth with his fingertip, keeping himself lightly ghosted. Oh, how the times have changed! The last time I spent an entire evening in a bar room, I didn’t even know what ghosting was called.

  He’d had only the single shot in the three hours he’d been here, but he didn’t want more. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, didn’t even want to look at the hot packages trolling for a man. He winced at that. If he relaxed his ghosting a bit, Scott could have any number of them all over him, but the thought of it did nothing to stir him. One thought of Katie, however...

  Too late, he tried to push the images away. The force of his arousal hit him like one of Tyler’s blows in training. Even Matt didn’t hit this hard.

  “What am I doing?” he whispered. Being away from the training house only made thinking harder. He wasn’t even sure why he’d stayed here this long. He wasn’t enjoying himself, and he wasn’t accomplishing anything. What was the point?

  Of course, if he went back to the house, the only thing he’d be able to think about would be Katie and how long it would take her to come to his bed once he got to his room. How long will it take her?

  That thought put him in motion. He tossed a five on the bar and headed for the cycle.

  Scott was more than a mile away and intent on reaching the training house when it hit him. Blutjagd. Someone was hunting. He tried to ignore it. Hunting wasn’t his driving force. He had a lady waiting for him, and there would be punishment if he poached on someone else’s hunt—even if he was allowed to hunt.

  Realization hit him hard, shocking him out of his arousal. Katie! There were two Warriors battling, Katie and her brother. He’d only tasted their Blutjagd once, when they were training together, but there was no doubt it was theirs.

  Anger coursed along his nerves, and he turned toward the battle without considering the consequences, the sanctions he would face for it later. Scott pulled his sacred weapon as he rounded the corner into the alleyway, taking the heart of one beast and the throat of another as they turned toward him. Beasts scattered, diving away or dematerializing as he roared toward the melee at the opposite end. Scott ignored them, making a beeline to Katie.

  Somehow the damned things had separated Corwyn from his sister, breaking them from their normal back-to-back style of fighting. She didn’t spare him a glance; Katie didn’t hav
e time to. It seemed she was in perpetual motion: taking a beast there, whipping around to drive off one at her back, wounding another without even looking his direction, throwing a small dagger at one trying to take Corwyn’s back.

  Scott ditched the cycle, took out a beast she’d driven back, and slid into place at her unprotected back. Working together, the beasts soon retreated. Katie turned toward Corwyn’s continuing fight, but his shout brought her up short.

  “Get her out of here, Danvers! Go...now! I’ll catch up.”

  Scott nodded and pulled her through the minefield of beast bodies, hefting his cycle up and throwing a leg over.

  To his surprise, Katie didn’t argue with him. She hopped up behind him and held on tight. “I’m set,” she informed him.

  They were well outside town before either of them spoke again.

  “How did you know?” she shouted.

  Scott slowed to allow them to talk easier. “That it was you?”

  “Yes. You—you knew it was me, didn’t you?”

  Her uncertainty tugged at some nameless place in his heart. He pulled the cycle over and stopped, searching for the words to explain it to her. It was another anomaly, and if he’d learned one thing it was that the Warriors didn’t care for anomalous Warriors. He prayed this wouldn’t be the final straw for Katie.

  She slid off and circled him, touching his cheek, her expression hopeful. “Scott?”

  “I’m a little odd, even for a Warrior,” he admitted, not quite meeting her eyes. That is the understatement of the millennium. “I can—identify individual Warriors by the...the flavor of the Blutjagd.”

  Katie smiled. “Oh, that’s wonderful,” she breathed.

  “Is it? I’m a freak in a race of weirdos.”

  Her brow furrowed and her smile faltered. “If you think that, you don’t know much about the Königs.”