Paladin's Pride 3: Her Forever Knight

by Angelina Evans

  She groaned and shook her head.

  “What?” he demanded, lifting her up and turning her so he could see her face.

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “The whole time we were racing across the surface of YelAsta, the one thing I knew I wasn’t going to miss was being thrown over your shoulder.”

  He frowned down at her. “And?”

  “It just crossed my mind that I’m going to miss it and I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking that.”

  A wicked glint lit his golden eyes. He rose to his feet, caught her arm and expertly flipped her over his shoulder. She laughed as he strode into the dressing area off the main room of his private chambers. He lifted her off his shoulder and put her into the huge pool of clean-gel and followed her in. His hands started moving over her in firm, even strokes. He slowed to cup and play with her breasts and to trace the fascinating cleft of her buttocks and explore the secrets of her sex.

  “I’ll carry you anywhere you want to go.”

  She pushed at his shoulders as he smoothed down her legs and massaged her feet. She loved everything he did to her, but it was her turn.

  “What are you going to miss when we’re not alone and naked all the time?” she asked.

  He leaned back, his eyes closing as she rubbed his chest, paying close attention to his nipples and under his arms.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing.” She poked him in the side. “What do you mean? You’re not going to miss anything? There has to be something.”

  He shook his head. “If I want to carry you, I will. When I want you naked, I’ll get you that way.”

  She stroked down his stomach and around his erection to cup his balls. She smiled as his breath caught. He was responsive to her every touch. There was no playing with Kai, no teasing. His reactions were straightforward and honest like everything else about him.

  “I won’t miss being chased across the planet by laser fire.” She squeezed his balls in a slow rhythm.

  He grunted as her hand moved up to close around the thick evidence of his arousal.

  “I won’t miss having a League hunter chasing us.” She closed both hands around him and squeezed. She licked her lips as a small drop of white liquid appeared at the end of his penis, disappearing almost immediately in the clean-gel.

  Chapter 2

  One More Time

  Kai watched her through slitted eyes as she devoured him with her eyes. A low rumble vibrated in his chest as her tongue played over her lips.

  “Will you take me?” He hadn’t meant to ask but wasn’t sorry when he did. They didn’t have time but he wanted her. Her mouth on him was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced and he wanted it again before he had to share her.

  That was the one thing he would miss. Yes, they had barely escaped with their lives when the destroyer had ripped apart the surface of YelAsta to kill her, but she had been exclusively his. Once they were on Sai-sen-Sai that would no longer be true and he didn’t like it.

  She looked at him, her eyes heavy-lidded, her lips parted. “Stand up.” Her voice was husky, a sensual lure. Dark color started at her breasts and rose up her chest and neck and into her face. Her lips looked fuller, her nipples reddened, and her breasts swelled. Just looking at her made him ache.

  He rose to his feet and watched with pure male satisfaction as she settled on her knees before him. His gut knotted as she reached for him, her small hands closing around him and testing his length with strong, pulling strokes.

  “Take me in your mouth.”

  She looked up at him through her lashes, her eyes incredibly blue, her short cap of black curls the perfect frame for her sweet face. “Will you let me have all of you?”

  His breath caught at the question. The thought of her taking him in her mouth, of sucking and stroking him until he came was almost more than he could stand. He jerked in her tight hold. Pre-cum dampened the broad head of his cock.

  “Take all of me.” It was an order and a plea.

  Genae lowered her head and swirled her tongue over the end of his cock. She made a low sound of approval at his taste and her eyes closed.

  Kai threw back his head. His fingers sank into her hair and he held her close as she tortured him with the sweet torment of her mouth and hands. She sucked and licked, stroked and squeezed. She released his penis to suck on his male sac, one side and then the other. When his desire welled up from the depths of his cock, she took it, savored it and demanded more.

  He couldn’t breathe. His hips moved against her, driving his cock into her seeking mouth. Her hands squeezed and pulled. She took him deep, deeper.

  He clutched her head as he fucked her mouth. He couldn’t stop himself. Low sounds of pleasure, the sounds of sucking, the slight pop as he pulled out of her mouth, all built the inferno raging through him.

  “Take me.” Eyes narrowed, he growled the order as he rubbed his cock against her lips, seeking entrance once more.

  Genae smiled at him, blue fire flashing through her lashes. Her tongue, small and pink, peeked out of her lips and touched the end of him.

  He groaned and pressed insistently against her lips. She shared the most intimate act a man and woman could have with him and he wanted it all. No holding back, no stopping short of fulfillment. She would take him all, everything he had to give in this most intimate way.

  “Open for me.” His voice was dark and rough, his expression fierce.

  She took him into her mouth and sucked. She worked up and down his length, taking him as deep as she could as she worked his shaft with her hands. Using her tongue and lips, she drew on him until he couldn’t hold back. His cock swelled in her mouth. She sucked harder, squeezed, pulled him to her.

  His release rushed through him, from him as he roared. He gripped her head tight as he jerked into her, spilling the essence of life in her avid mouth. His body shook as she continued to suckle him. He wanted to stay in her mouth. He wanted to taste her feminine honey and make her explode as she had made him. There would be time. He would share her with his people as he had to. The information she carried was important to too many species throughout the universe; it had to be retrieved. He would do what he had to do but she was his. She belonged with him. Once the information was retrieved, he would let nothing come between them again.

  Wincing, he pulled his cock from her mouth and hands. She made a sound of protest that tightened his gut. He wanted to let her suck him until he was ready to come again and this time he wanted to be inside her. One day soon, when she was once more solely his, they would do this again and it wouldn’t end until he had taken her every way a male could take his mate. He would reward her well for the pleasure she gave him.

  Frustration made his expression harsh as he lifted her to her feet. He kissed her hard, his tongue stealing into her mouth and mating with hers in a wild foray. He tasted himself in her and a growl rumbled in his chest.

  A tone sounded followed by his second-in-command’s voice. “Paladin is expecting us on Sai-sen-Sai,” Teer announced.

  A muscle ticked in Kai’s jaw. He was a member of the pride, Paladin his acknowledged leader, but he resented the summons. He wanted to take Genae and find a place of their own, a place where no one and nothing could touch them.

  Honor won out over need. “Tell Paladin we’ll be transporting to the surface within the hour.” He had a duty to his people, to the other people of the universe, and he wouldn’t walk away from it. He wouldn’t have Genae exclusively to himself but she was still his. When duty was done, she would be in his arms, in his bed, a part of him and no other.

  * * *

  Moulina watched Paladin stride into the communications center. Kai and his traitor had to be close to the planet. A full VanDai guard, six warriors all heavily armed, had been sent to Portation City to escort them back to Boujara.

  She watched as Paladin strode back out of the com-center, and pretended to be busy with her chores. VanDai were considered an impressive sight and he stood out
even among his warriors. Damn him.

  He glanced at her as he passed.

  Her chin rose and she glared after him as he strode away. He thought it was over. He thought he could throw her aside and search for his perfect mate.

  A sneer lifted her lip. He was about to learn how wrong he was. He wasn’t invincible and things would not go his way. She would see to that.

  “Moulina?”

  Startled, she jumped and dropped her anti-grav-vac. Celn, one of Paladin’s warriors, stood in front of her.

  “What do you want?” she snapped, reaching out to snatch her vac from the air in front of her.

  “You were glaring at Paladin.”

  “How is that your business?” What was he going to do? Tell Paladin she’d been watching him? He was as stupid as all the others.

  Celn’s expression grew cold. “Don’t cause him trouble.”

  She widened her eyes, the picture of innocence. “Cause him trouble? Me? What could a discarded lover, a mere woman, do to the great Paladin?”

  Celn shook his head. “Just stay out of his way,” he ordered as he hurried after Paladin.

  She watched him disappear outside. She wouldn’t get in Paladin’s way. She was going to stop him completely.

  Chapter 3

  Safely Home

  Half an hour later, Genae sat beside Kai in a transport captained by Teer. Part of the planet’s defense system didn’t allow for molecular transport to the surface so the slower transports were used. She didn’t mind. This allowed her more time with Kai before the universe intruded.

  It was strange to be dressed. On YelAsta, she hadn’t been able to wear clothes at all and most of the past couple days aboard the Therik had been spent in Kai’s chambers, naked and in bed with him.

  Heat flooded her cheeks as she thought about all the ways they had been together. She really wanted to go back and try all of them again. It didn’t matter where they were if she could be with Kai and, at least for a few moments, forget what she had to do.

  She fingered the soft, flowing material of the dress Kai had provided for her. It was the same blue as her eyes. A simple sheath that covered her from her neck to mid-calf. It clung lovingly to her curves and felt like a constant caress on her skin. But it had been Kai’s reaction that made her feel beautiful. He’d taken one look and reached for her, his hands skimming over her breasts and settling on the gentle swell of her hips.

  “Every male on Sai-two will want you.” Pride and anger had mixed in his voice and expression.

  She pressed against him, needing to be as close to him as she could get. Everything she’d fought for was coming to a close. The Mriln healer would be arriving soon. The League destroyers would be in range of the planet at almost the same time. One way or another, it would soon be over.

  Her heart skipped a beat and she pressed her face into Kai’s shoulder. There wasn’t a force in the universe that could stand against a League destroyer, let alone three of them. It would come down to how fast the healer was and if the information could be sent to others before the League destroyed the planet.

  Kai wrapped his arm around her and drew her closer. She snuggled against him, soothed by the strong, steady beat of his heart and the strength of his arms. When he held her, she could believe they had a chance. He seemed invincible to her. Nothing had stopped him and she wanted to believe nothing could.

  * * *

  All too soon she felt the slight thump as the transport docked. Her heart beat wildly in her throat, trapping her breath in her chest. She’d made it. It was impossible and yet she’d done it.

  Kai stood and she stood with him. He took her hand in his and she clung to him. She’d made it because of him. Where she would have given up, he never had.

  She followed a step behind him as they walked off the transport. He’d never given up. And because he hadn’t, they were on Sai-sen-Sai. So why was she giving up now? Yes, there was little chance of surviving the information retrieval but there was a chance. Yes, there was little chance of the planet surviving an attack by three League destroyers, but there was a chance. Kai wouldn’t give up until he lost. If his people were anything like him they wouldn’t give up either, so why was she?

  She raised her chin, angry with herself. She wasn’t a quitter. If she had been, she would never have stolen the information from her father. She would never have tried to outrun a destroyer and she wouldn’t have run across the face of YelAsta with Kai. She wasn’t going to give up now and if there was a way to win, they would find it.

  * * *

  Moulina carried her vac back to its storage cupboard. She shoved it into its space and took out the solar-powered duster. At the same time she pocketed two thumbnail-sized disks. She hadn’t cleaned the arched entryway of the Palladium in two days. No one would even notice she was there.

  She fingered the tiny disks in her pocket as she strolled toward the entryway. Paladin should have sent her to another city the moment he kicked her out of his bed. It wouldn’t have changed what was going to happen but it would have proved him more intelligent than she’d ever given him credit for.

  * * *

  They emerged from the shadow of the transport and were immediately surrounded by a full VanDai guard. There was nothing honorary about the contingent and no one in the docking bay thought there was. Each member of the guard was armed with a hand blaster and VanDai tazer stars.

  As they moved across the large, vessel filled complex to a waiting floater, people moved out of their way. Having been raised as the League President’s daughter, Genae had been used to a certain status in all her travels but nothing like this. Some of the people who hurried out of their way showed fear, shaking and cowering. Others were more formal, bowing as they moved to the side. What amazed Genae, though, was the respect. Fearful or not, every being inclined their head or placed their hand on their chest or, in the case of a Gelian trader, waved a tentacle.

  Two members of the guard stepped into the waiting floater first. Teer stepped in next and Kai lifted her hand to Teer’s when the other male reached out. A princess wouldn’t have been treated with more care, she was sure. It made her feel warm and protected.

  Kai stepped in and the remaining four guardsmen stepped in behind him. All six members of the guard stood around them as they seated themselves. The driver wasted no time. He sent the floater spinning in a tight circle and raced out of the docking bay, wending his way through other floaters and transports, clearly expecting everyone to move out of his way.

  Genae watched the planet whip by below. The city that surrounded the docking bay wasn’t very large, sprawling out in unorganized clusters of buildings and stock piles. Beyond the city was sand. The earth was red-gold, scorched by the sun and lifeless. It smelled hot, dry and dusty and made her nose tickle. It wasn’t what she had expected and she wasn’t sure why. She’d never asked Kai about his home planet and hadn’t really speculated about it. There hadn’t been time.

  “This is the Sein desert,” Kai explained, leaning close so he didn’t have to raise his voice above the wind rushing over the floater’s half canopy. “It stretches several hundred kilometers south, north and west.”

  “What about to the east?”

  “It drops away into the Senshi delta.”

  “The Senshi delta?” She shivered at the exotic sound. As the president’s daughter, she’d been exposed to all different species and worlds, yet nothing had ever affected her like this. She felt shivery inside. Everything seemed new and wonderful. She wanted time to explore and learn everything about Kai, his world and his people.

  Kai nodded. “It’s a huge torrent where all the rivers of this hemisphere come together. It’s a wild place. Dangerous and beautiful too.”

  “I would love to see it.” She didn’t realize how wistful she sounded.

  Kai looked at her and smiled, his expression filled with pride. “I’ll take you there when we have more time.”

  She smiled back at him even as doubts intruded. Sh
e wanted to believe that there would be time, that there would be something left in two days, but it was hard. She’d been raised to believe in the ultimate power and invincibility of the League. Changing that mindset would take longer than she had.

  Kai slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close to his side. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing against him. There was no reason to worry about what anyone else would think or even if they cared. Beside him, having him hold her, was right where she wanted to be. She wasn’t going to apologize to anyone about that.

  Closing her eyes, she let her head settle on his shoulder. The sound of the wind was peaceful, the hot air draining what little energy she had. If she had money with her, she’d pay the floater’s driver to keep going forever, away from the worries and fears that had plagued her for most of a year.

  Kai shifted until his body curved around Genae’s. He held her cradled against his chest. She felt warm and right against him. He’d been responsible for the welfare of the VanDai for years. This was the first time he’d been responsible for one person specifically. One woman. His woman.

  He rubbed his chin against the top of her head, enjoying the springy curls catching on the fine hair that covered his chin. It was amazing that someone so small could be so resilient. Not once had she complained about what was happening to her. She worked with him, did what was needed and kept going. Yet her life had been one of privilege until recently. The League President’s daughter.

  He tensed.

  Consciously he forced himself to relax. She wasn’t the president’s daughter any longer. She was his woman and he wasn’t going to wait to claim her. The Mriln healer who was to extract the information planted in Genae’s heart would arrive on Sai-sen-Sai soon. The three League destroyers that had been sighted making their way toward the planet would arrive soon after. He wanted Genae bound to him before anything else happened. His people would take care of her because she had risked so much to get the president’s plan to them. As his official mate, though, she would have more rights and more privileges and he wanted that for her if something happened to him. The VanDai vessels had a better chance of standing up against the League destroyers than anyone suspected but the outcome of the coming confrontation was by no means sure.