Warlord's Return
Page 19
“I love you, Ariq.” She rubbed the crimson, crescent-shaped brands she’d left on his skin, seeking to soothe that hurt.
“I love you, Xareni.” Her male murmured that against her neck.
Spark landed on his back, his wings flapping. The drakon shrieked at both of them.
Ariq’s form shook. “Spark loves you too.” His voice lilted with humor.
Xareni smiled. “He is such an ass.”
She loved both of them with all her heart.
When they finally reached Balvan and Elyce’s domicile, Xareni wondered how she had ever thought she was alone.
She held her male’s hand. Spark clung to her right shoulder and glowered at everyone around them.
The space was populated with warriors and mates and children of all species along with the vast collection of creatures the gatekeeper and his family had collected. It was noisy, full of activity, and it fed the tremendous joy inside of her.
One of the boys she’d played a mercenary for scurried past a horizontal support. The nourishment bar someone had set upon it disappeared. He glanced at her and grinned.
She pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to grin back. Thievery should not be rewarded.
The boy farted loudly and ran off.
“What is that child eating?” Ariq muttered that question under his breath.
“Boys smell.” Yazmin, Balvan and Elyce’s youngest daughter, made that proclamation.
Zaliki, their older daughter, bumped against her. The girl carried a gray puffker in her hand.
“Except for Twinkle.” Yazmin rubbed her nose against the fluffy creature’s fur. “Twinkle doesn’t smell.”
Spark shrieked and flapped his wings
“You don’t smell either.” Yazmin’s little hand reached upward.
Xareni hesitated for a moment and crouched, putting Spark at the girl’s level.
“You’re a good drakon.” The girl patted him on his scaly head.
The drakon, for some reason known only to him, tolerated that heavy-handed petting.
He folded his wings close to his body, remained quiet and still as Yazmin smacked him again and again. Smoke puffed from his nostrils.
Spark’s patience lasted longer than Yazmin’s attention span.
“Come on, Zaliki.” The girl pulled on her sister’s arm, her focus shifting from the drakon. “We have to show Twinkle to Tubby and Hitch. We promised Rin.”
The two girls skipped away from them.
“Spark isn’t a complete ass.” Ariq stroked the drakon on his head.
Spark snapped at him, shrieking with indignation.
Her warrior laughed. “I stand corrected. He is a complete ass.”
“He hides it when he is around children.” Xareni grinned at the male she loved. “He lets his full ass show around others.”
“And around ships.” Second and Lead Medic, his gerel, joined them. “We replaced the doors and plan to leave at sunrise.”
Xareni’s cheeks heated. “I’m sorry about—”
“I’m not sorry.” Second waved away her apology. “Chamele is at peace. There’s no urgency to return to the sector. Carinae E holds more excitement for us at the moment.” He paused. “And Kralj mentioned we wouldn’t be leaving that planet rotation.”
Lead Medic’s lips pursed. “His exact words were ‘You don’t want to leave that planet rotation.’”
“The results were the same.” Second shrugged. “We didn’t leave.”
“The results might be the same.” The Ruler entered the space and a hush fell over the crowd. “The message was not the same.”
Dita, Kralj’s assassin mate, held the all-powerful male’s hand.
Lysagh, the bounty-hunter-in-training, was positioned behind them. The girl was dressed in black leather, her outfit resembling Dita’s.
Ariq had mentioned she was moody. She didn’t seem that way at the moment. The girl appeared…invigorated. Her expression was animated. Her eyes were bright.
“Hulagu, Azalea.” Kralj turned his head toward the Chamele-human couple. “You have an announcement to make.”
“Yes, ummm…” The Chamele warrior clasped his gerel’s hand and stepped forward. “Brother, Lead Medic, my fellow Chameles.” A nervous excitement radiated from him as he gazed at everyone. “You have to travel to Chamele 2. We realize that.” He exchanged a glance with his gerel. “But we hope you’ll return to Carinae E soon.” He placed one of his palms on Azalea’s stomach. “Because we’ll soon have a new warrior to train.”
Mouths dropped open. Eyes widened.
Silence stretched.
“I’m going to be an uncle.” Second yelled that news into the blue sky.
Warriors, including Ariq, whooped and cheered.
Xareni smiled, happy for Hulagu and Azalea and especially for her warrior. The beings he loved would be venturing back to Carinae E and to the Refuge sooner than she had believed.
Second rushed toward the couple.
Azalea hastily stepped behind her warrior, as though she instinctively sought his protection.
“I’m so happy for you both.” Second whacked his brother on the shoulder. Hard.
Lead Medic had followed her warrior. The female watched the two males hug. A smile lit her face. Joy had engulfed the space, touching everyone, including Xareni.
“We’ll have a sword crafted, a very small sword.” Second’s next comments were lost in the flurry of well-wishes.
The soon-to-be parents were swarmed by Chameles and modified humanoids and their gerels and mates. There was much laughter and punching of arms and advice about the training of infants.
“Go. Be part of that crowd.” Xareni pushed her barbarian toward them. “Spark and I will wait for you here.”
There were too many beings in the space for her at the moment. She would offer her congratulations to the couple once the others had drifted away from them.
“The crowd can wait for me.” Ariq refused to leave. He lifted her high against his chest, conveying Spark with her. “Here is exactly where I want to be.” He met her gaze. The caring shining from his eyes warmed her to the bone. “I love you, Xareni.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
She blinked, the strength of her emotions almost overwhelming her. “I love you too, Ariq.”
He turned, swinging them faster and faster. Their surroundings blurred into a solid stream of color, of laughter, of love. It was dizzying, as exciting as a fast trip on a mounted transport.
She released his shoulders, trusting her male to hold her, and she leaned back, flinging herself into the experience. The wind rushed over her. The sky was endless above her. There were no walls, no constrictions, only him and her and Spark.
The drakon spread his wings and shrieked. That sound held unlimited glee.
Fuck yes. Xareni laughed, her bliss bursting out of her.
She was exactly where she wanted to be.
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Keep in touch with Cynthia using the following links:
Website: CynthiaSax.com
Newsletter: Taste of Cyn newsletter
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Blog: TasteOfCyn.com
Other Books By Cynthia Sax
Chamele Barbarian Warlord Series
Warlord Sky
Warlord's Bounty
Warlord Unarmed
Warlord Reunited
Warlord’s Mercy
Warlord’s Return
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Refuge Series
Dark Thoughts
Dark Flight
Dark Strength
Dark Fire
Dark Warlord
Dark Cure
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Cyborg Sizzle Series
Releasing Rage
Breathing Vapor
Being Green
Crash And Burn
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Defying Death
Chasing Mayhem
Jumping Barrel
Hers To Command
Ghost of a Machine
Seeking Vector
Knowing Zip
Taking Vengeance
The Cyborg's Secret Baby
Dark Arsenal
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Cyborg Space Exploration
Choosing Chuckles
Doc's Orders
Dominance And Dissent
Passion Surge
North Bound
Testing Truth
Dark Thoughts - Excerpt
The Chameles first appear in Dark Thoughts, the first story in the Refuge series. Here is an excerpt from that story.
“There’s no reason to kill me.” The tiny female pulled her goggles down, hung them around her neck, revealing eyes as blue as the sky above them. “I’m not inside your precious Refuge and I haven’t broken any of your beloved rules.”
“Yet.” His tone was dry.
“Yet.” She walked toward him, her gait loose, her lack of concern for the danger he presented perversely turning him on. The female was fearless.
“You’re a threat.” He didn’t know why he was waiting to eliminate her. “Are you alone?”
“I’m always alone.” Sadness flitted across her beautiful face, a cloud passing over the sun. Then her smile returned. “How am I a threat to you?” She purred, her full pink lips vibrating with each word.
He wanted to capture that tender flesh between his teeth and pull.
“You’re a big strong male.” She drifted her gaze over his physique, her perusal as sensual as a caress, heating him to the bone. “I’m a small human female.”
“You are small.” Kralj surveyed her form as slowly, savoring her slight curves, her lean muscles, her upturned face. He was much taller than she was, the height differential forcing her into an excitingly submissive stance. “And you’re definitely female.” He longed to see her on her knees before him. “But are you human?” He bared his fangs, showing her he wasn’t one of her kind. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Her eyelids partially lowered, that physical acknowledgment of his dominance pleasing his primal nature. “You know what I’m thinking.”
She slid her tongue over her bottom lip, wetting her flesh.
He tracked the movement with his gaze, achingly aware of her, of the need to possess this female, to subdue her. His brain warned him she was dangerous. His body didn’t care. “What are you?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Kralj.”
He liked the way she said his name. He didn’t like that he didn’t know hers.
“I’m human.” She moved within his reach.
An intriguing vitality surrounded her, calling to him. He’d been alone for so long, solitary, emotionally isolated, unable to touch another being without causing damage, without killing.
“I was born with a brain telepaths can’t access.” She verified that exciting fact.
The powerful humanoid part of him couldn’t harm her. He’d never met a being like her.
“That’s why I was chosen.” She swirled her fingertips over her right shoulder, tracing the aligned sun moon planet embossed in her body covering.
It was the symbol of the Dark Veil, a guild of assassins. She was a monster as he was, trained to end lives, violent and soulless.
His desire for her escalated.
“What are you?” She smiled up at him.
“I’m not a mere telepath.” His psychic abilities exceeded any type of measurement. “I’m unlike anything you’ve ever encountered.”
She lifted her chin. “You don’t know what I’ve encountered.”
“You haven’t encountered any being like me.” Kralj was certain of that fact. “I’m the beast hunting you in your nightmares, the fear you feel in the dark, the prickling over the back of your neck when you think you’re alone.” He gazed down at her, fighting the urge to grab her, to sink his fangs into her pale neck. “I’m not a male you play with, little one.”
“My name is Dita. And who said I was playing?” She walked her fingertips across his chest, heedless of the danger she was in, oblivious to how close he was to taking her, tasting her. “You’re an attractive male.”
He wasn’t an attractive male. He was a scarred beast, as hideous on the inside as he was on the outside. She dared to taunt him and that angered him.
“You find this appealing?” Kralj leaned forward, dissipating the shadows partially concealing his face, forcing her to look at his scars.
The right side of his face horrified the staunchest of beings. The skin from his forehead to his chin was angry and red, twisted, stretched, permanently melted.
It would repel her. She’d drop the irritatingly effective seductress act.
He could then view her as merely another enemy, kill her if that was the best solution to the problem she presented. There would be no hesitation, no emotions clouding his judgment.
“Yes.” Dita reached up and touched his scarred cheek.
He flinched, surprised, shocked, stimulated beyond all reason. Although he was tempted, his inner alarms ringing a warning, he didn’t retreat, didn’t draw his face away from her hand. He stood his ground.
She inflicted more damage on his equilibrium, her fingers calloused yet gentle, fluttering over his skin. “I find this extremely appealing, handsome.”
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About Cynthia Sax
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes contemporary, SciFi and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.
She lives in a world filled with magic and romance. Although her heroes may not always say, “I love you,” they will do anything for the women they adore. They live passionately. They play hard. They love the same women forever.
Cynthia has loved the same wonderful man forever. Her supportive hubby offers himself up to the joys and pains of research, while they travel the world together, meeting fascinating people and finding inspiration in exotic places such as Istanbul, Bali, and Chicago.
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Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled monthly newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
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Keep in touch with Cynthia using the following links:
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Website: CynthiaSax.com
Newsletter: Taste of Cyn newsletter
Twitter: @CynthiaSax
Blog: TasteOfCyn.com