Warrior's Plight (Cadi Warriors Book 6)

by Stephanie West

  That was painfully true and not just for her race as a whole but for herself. She felt like she was being crushed by the proverbial rock and a hard place.

  “I got you a first-floor room near the end,” Gary said when he returned to the Trailblazer. “Here. Take this cash.” He shoved a wad of bills along with the key into her hand.

  “Thank you. I will reach out to you when all this is over. But if you don’t hear from me, don’t come looking, don’t make a stink. Understand?”

  “Maya!”

  “Please,” she insisted, and her brother nodded begrudgingly. “I love you.” She gripped him in a tight hug.

  “I love you, too, sis,” his voice broke as he spoke.

  Maya swiftly got out of the car before she broke down completely. She watched Gary grab Vintor’s hand and gesture toward her. She smiled, knowing what her brother was probably asking Vintor. Vintor nodded and bowed his head then got out of the SUV.

  “Come on, please.” Maya led Vintor toward their room.

  Tears fell from her eyes in a continuous stream. She couldn’t look back, knowing her brother was sitting there and would till they disappeared. If she turned around she’d lose her nerve.

  It’s not goodbye, she told herself, knowing full well it was a lie considering what she was up against.

  It was a good thing it was already dark out. Even though Vintor was disguised, there was little they could do to hide his immense height. She felt damn near like a child just standing next to him. Maya unlocked their room, entered and immediately bolted the door behind them.

  “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” she announced.

  She trudged into the bathroom, collapsed on the toilet and sighed, feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. She needed to bathe, but all she could manage was resting her head on the counter. How had her life gotten so complicated?

  I just wanted to help people. And yet somewhere she was blown way off course.

  “Maya.” Vintor knocked on the door.

  Her head popped up. It felt like only a minute passed, but it had probably been longer. She glanced in the mirror and scrubbed the tears from her eyes.

  “Just a minute. Sorry.” He probably needs to use it. Come on, get your head together. Maya splashed some water on her face before opening the door.

  “Are you doing all right?” Vintor asked as he surveyed her, his brow creased in concern.

  “I’m okay.”

  “No. I scented your distress.” His frown deepened.

  Her head tilted. She was growing so comfortable with Vintor that it was easy to forget he wasn’t human and had senses she didn’t. Maya shook her head. She was getting distracted.

  “I’m gonna call for a cab. Stay here. It should be safe.” She went to grab the cheap cell her brother found in his stash of contraband.

  “Where are you going?” Vintor intercepted her.

  “I need to go to my house. I have to salvage what I can of my research.”

  “No,” he rumbled.

  “I doubt they’re still there. If I see anyone I won’t go in.”

  “No,” he growled. The sound came out frightening and deep.

  Her gaze shot up to meet Vintor’s, shocked at his vehemence and that he had the balls to think he could tell her what to do. Maya clenched her fists at her sides as frustrated anger filled her.

  “It’s not a deep burning desire I have, but it’s not really an option. If they get my research and figure out how to produce this virus, not only will I be at risk but everyone will, as in everyone on the planet and the whole damn galaxy,” she snapped.

  “I understand the peril, but we will go tomorrow. Not that much time has passed and the area you live is probably still swarming with warriors. We need to come up with a better plan than you just walking in there.” His deep voice had softened somewhat but was still gruff.

  “You are so damn chivalrous, but there’s no way I’m letting you risk yourself for me again. It'll be easier if I go alone.” There was no way she could live with herself if he got captured cleaning up her mess. It would be the cherry on top of the crap sundae otherwise known as her life.

  Maya sidestepped him, opened the door and headed out. Suddenly her world turned upside down and she squealed as Vintor picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. He quickly returned to their room.

  “I have to go. Put me down,” she hissed while hanging over his shoulder.

  “You’re tired and not thinking this through,” he rumbled as he locked the door.

  “I survived med school, so I can go days without sleep and still think clearly. And there’s never going to be a good time to go. You’ve done enough for me. Now, put me down.” Maya tugged insistently on his cat-like tail which was flicking in agitation, taunting her.

  Vintor tossed her on the bed and came down on top of her, his massive arms caging her in.

  “I will not have my mate running headlong into danger to protect me,” he snarled, baring his fangs.

  “You wouldn’t call me that if you knew all the horrible things I’ve done. I’m one of them, Vintor. My hands are dirty.” She shook her head in denial. “A man like you deserves someone better.”

  “No, Maya. You have compassion. You were in an inescapable situation and yet you still worked to thwart them,” he countered.

  “You were trapped in there all drugged up. You just needed someone to hold onto. That’s the only reason for this. I appreciate your sense of duty, but I release you from your obligation to me. You saved my life back there, that’s enough,” she reasoned.

  “There is no undoing our bond. I know humans mate differently, and I’m sorry for the way I took you. But I know you felt it when I marked you. You felt the way your body answered mine.” His long, red fingers gently brushed the bite mark on her neck.

  Her pulse quickened as she thought about his firm, warm lips on her neck. Even the bite of pain had been erotic torment. And the explosion of heat that followed. There was no describing it. Maya shook loose of her illicit thoughts. Biology was no reason for him to tie himself to her.

  She looked up into Vintor’s eyes. They were intense just like the rest of the massive man hovering so close that she felt every breath he took brush against her breasts. In their simmering obsidian depths, she saw more than frustration. There was adoration, true fear for her, tenderness, hope and unanswered need that went far deeper than some physical desire. Suddenly she realized he wasn’t merely nobly saving the enemy woman he accidentally mated. He truly cared for her, the way she did him. Circumstance had thrown them together and forged a bond that couldn’t be explained away by psychology or scientific theories.

  The realization was like a slap in the face. Love was the dream she’d given up on. Buried it so deep she could pretend it didn’t exist in the first place so the pain of it didn’t cripple her. She desperately wanted what they’d found together, but she couldn’t just walk away from what had to be done. Her face contorted as her heart cried out for things that couldn’t be.

  “Vintor, there’s no good end to this,” her voice broke as she whispered the agonizing truth.

  “You are not alone anymore.” He gently caressed her cheeks.

  Maya nodded as tears streamed from her eyes, running down the sides of her face to wet the pillow. Vintor leaned in and kissed each eye. The poignant gesture only made her tears flow faster. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. There’d been too few of these moments in her life. She wanted to soak up his tenderness for as long as it lasted, and needed him to feel her affection in return.

  Vintor’s lips found hers and she kissed him. It was a bruising, desperate kiss. Her tongue tangled with his as she explored his mouth, undaunted by his sharp fangs. He tasted like cinnamon and spice. She shivered as she drank him in. Her mouth tingled but it was just a taste of his unique effect on her. His mouth could do so many more wicked things. The thought had her nipples hardening to sharp points and her stomach cramping as desire struck her hard
. Maya pushed at Vintor’s shoulders till he lifted off her.

  “I am sorry. You have been through a lot and I presume too much.” He rolled off her.

  She saw a hint of pain and rejection flicker in his gaze as he lay back on the bed. She’d hurt him earlier by rejecting him as a mate and she just did it again by pulling away. That was the last thing she wanted. Maya rolled over and straddled Vintor’s stomach. His eyes widened in surprise.

  “You were the one doing all the running and the fighting. I don’t know what your customs are, but here, a woman takes care of her man after a long, hard day.” She smiled at his perplexed expression as she pulled her shirt over her head, taking her bra off in the process.

  “Maya?” he growled in that sexy husky voice she’d come to love.

  He stared at her exposed breasts. The look on his face shifted from confusion to carnal need that bordered on feral. His fangs were bared as he pulled in deep heaving breaths. His fiery black gaze followed her finger as she traced a slow path down her chest and circled one turgid nipple.

  “You like these?” she asked demurely.

  “Yes. You have the body of a goddess and the spirit of one, too.” Vintor gripped her hips as he attempted to rise to meet her.

  “No, you flatterer.” She pushed his chest back down. “You had your turn already. Now, it’s mine,” she alluded to the quick, feverish encounter in the cell knowing he wouldn’t deny her.

  Vintor called her a goddess, but he was the one with the body to die for. Her hand stroked over his sweatshirt, feeling the muscles hidden beneath the thick fabric. She shimmied down his stomach then stopped when her butt hit the impressive bulge tenting his pants. His compliment made her feel sexy but the way his body responded to her spoke volumes. Moisture flooded her as she recalled the equipment he was working with.

  There’ll be time for that. She wanted to take this slow and explore every inch of him.

  Maya shoved the hoodie up Vintor’s chest, exposing his deep red skin. He was smooth, with barely a hint of hair trailing from his stomach downward, disappearing beneath his pants. She salivated as she stared at his rock-hard abs. They trembled as she traced the ridges and valleys of the stacked rows of muscle. Vintor did a mini crunch, jerking off the bed when her finger drifted over the sensitive skin along his waistband.

  “You are testing my patience, female,” he rumbled in warning.

  “Nonsense.” She grinned evilly. “If I was testing your patience, I’d do something like this.”

  She leaned forward and started kissing his tempting flesh, her tongue following the path her fingers just travelled, paying special attention to his recent scar. Maya ground her ass against his arousal, rocking her hips so his bulge hit her clit. Her hands snaked up his sweatshirt to explore his broad chest as she continued to sample his skin. His masculine scent mixed with the taste and feel of his smooth skin over hard, quaking muscle had her senses reeling. Her breath quickened as she pressed harder against his arousal, reveling in the spikes of pleasure with each thrust of her pelvis.

  “Maya, unless you want me to ruin these clothes, get them off.” His grip on her hips tightened, stilling her.

  Even though she wanted to take things slow, she couldn’t really object. At the rate they were going they would have fabric burns on all their sensitive bits.

  “We probably shouldn’t do that.” They didn’t have others to change into.

  Vintor had her flipped on her back before the words made it out of her mouth and was standing beside the bed kicking off his military issue shoes. She giggled at the way he yanked the hoodie over his head, nearly getting tangled up in his enthusiasm.

  The laugh quickly died when he tugged down his pants and his erection sprang free. She felt like a deer caught in headlights as she stared at his impressive length pointing straight at her. He was so engorged that every glorious knot running along his shaft stood out. She was certain her memory over exaggerated things, but that clearly wasn’t the case. She could hardly believe he managed to fit that thing inside her. Maya swallowed hard and licked her lips.

  “I can scent your desire. I want to taste you again. Take those breeches off before I shred them.”

  Maya pulled off her shoes then knelt on the edge of the bed. Vintor watched her like a predator, his lips parted revealing his fangs as he took disturbingly calm, measured breaths. She was painfully aware that she had his full attention as she slowly lowered her scrubs, exposing her lacy pink panties. The tail he’d carefully kept hidden lashed out and wrapped around her waist. The tip rhythmically flicked her hip as he panned her nearly naked body.

  “I like that little delicate garment,” he growled, his voice deeper than it was a moment ago. “But it’s standing between me and what I want.”

  Vintor’s tail coiled around the lace waistband and with a jerk she felt her panties rip free of her body. She drew in a sharp breath. Maya didn’t dare look away from his intense stare. She could see the animal warring inside him. For some foolish reason, she thought he’d be more at ease this time. But he wasn’t human, not at all. And everything from his thick, studded cock to his wicked drugged bite screamed this man was made for sin.

  He tugged her closer with his tail. Maya planted her palms against his chest to steady herself. Vintor leaned in, his thick, muscular arms wrapping around her.

  “I have you.” His breath ghosted over the skin of her neck, making her shiver. And he did have her—completely.

  His heart beat beneath her palms. It felt so steady compared to hers, which was going a million miles a minute. The anticipation was killing her as he kissed a trail from her ear down to her shoulder. The tips of his fangs gently scraped her skin as he moved lower. Maya drew in a sharp breath as his tongue traced her areola, and her nipple grew even stiffer, if that was possible. When he sucked the hard peak into his mouth she felt another flood of moisture wet her inner thighs. The large palm resting on her lower back descended and kneaded her butt. She was incredibly sensitive and on edge. She cramped with need, spilling more liquid desire.

  “Mmm,” he groaned around her nipple, as his nostrils flared, pulling in her scent.

  The world tilted as Vintor laid her back on the mattress and pinned her with that gaze that made her feel vulnerable.

  “Spread your legs for me. I want to look at you.” His finger trailed up her knees and thighs, tracing the seam, urging her to open for him.

  As a doctor she shouldn’t have felt awkward with nudity, and yet suddenly she wanted to turn the lights off. Vintor certainly wasn’t uncomfortable, kneeling beside her with his studded cock exposed in all its glory. Then again, he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, from his broad, muscular shoulders to his stacked abs and tight ass, unlike herself with the extra padding on her tummy hips and thighs. Maybe it was the way he stared at her with barely-leashed passion churning in his dark eyes, or the way he caressed her curves as if he were worshipping her like the goddess he professed her to be, Maya found herself spreading her legs.

  “That’s it, gorgeous.” Vintor smiled a cocky, pleased grin as she let her knees fall open.

  He knelt between her splayed legs and ran his hands along the insides of her legs. They were the hands of a man, rough from work, but his touch was gentle, barely there, and the contrast made her senses scream. As his fingers inched up her thighs, he leaned in further, till his face was so close to her pussy she felt his breath skate over her intimate flesh. Maya’s heart pounded harder the longer he stared, frustrated that his hands had stopped so close and yet so far from where she wanted them.

  “Vintor, are you just going to stare?” She reached out and squeezed his shoulders.

  “Patience, goddess, I’m learning your body. You are different from Cadi females.”

  She could imagine. He was different from human men. She didn’t want to discourage him, since she too was curious, but it was a bit awkward.

  “You have not one, but two sets of petals hiding your well.” He pressed on her th
ighs, splaying them wider, and she felt her lips part, exposing her slit. She jumped when he explored her slick folds and traced the opening of her vagina. “You are so wet. I haven’t pierced you and stroked the sensitive flesh inside and yet you spill so much nectar, as if you’ve already found your peak. Is this common?”

  “Yes.” Maya nodded and smiled at the intrigue showing in his intent gaze. “But I am very turned on.”

  A pleased growl vibrated from him as he collected some of the moisture running down her cleft. Maya trembled when his finger, slick with her desire, travelled up to her clit. Her clit was so swollen it jutted out and felt like it was pulsing with a heartbeat of its own. She gasped, her back bowing off the bed when he circled it with one firm fingertip. Vintor’s chin jerked up in surprise, his gaze meeting hers.

  “Your pleasure center is on the outside,” he exclaimed, clearly stunned.

  “One of them. It’s my clit.”

  “Do you also have one inside?”

  “Human women are sensitive in many places. My neck.” She caressed the side of her neck and travelled down to her breasts. “My nipples.” Vintor watched with narrowed gaze as she circled then pinched her nipples like before. “And then nearly everything around my pussy. But my clit and a spot on the roof of my vagina are especially sensitive.”

  “And can I make you peak by just touching your pink little bud?” He massaged her clit, rolling it round and round.

  “Yes,” Maya gasped as pleasure arced up her spine.

  “But I’d drive you over the edge faster if I also caressed the spot inside?”

  “Yes,” she cried out when a thick finger delved into her pussy, bent slightly so it abraded her g-spot.

  “You are so unbelievably wet. And the way you’re quivering around my finger makes me desperate to bury my shaft inside your heat. Would you like that?” he asked as he stroked her faster and deeper.

  “Yes. The knots on your shaft feel so good,” she admitted and squeezed her eyes shut, reveling in the mounting pleasure.

  Her eyes flew open when his fingers suddenly disappeared just as she was getting so close.