The League 3: Paradise City

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  He pushed the controls to his room and she gasped at the luxury surrounding her. No expense had been spared, and she doubted if even a palace could have finer furnishings. His bed, like hers, was a bunk against the far wall. But there any resemblance to her room ended.

  A rich, dark blue, down-filled silk comforter covered his bed, and it molded against her body like a flimsy cloud as Devyn placed her upon it. She closed her eyes to savor the feel of both the soft mattress and Devyn's strong arms.

  Before Alix could speak, he kissed her deeply. She welcomed his taste, his scent. No other man had such a rich, heady smell of leather and musk, of raw male sexuality. It whetted her appetite for him more than a prime steak set before a starving beggar. No other man would ever satiate her.

  A wave of embarrassment engulfed her, but she shook it off. She had dreamed of this for so long, and she knew this would be her only opportunity to hold him, to love him. Tonight she would surrender herself to the world of make-believe and love him just as she had done a hundred times in her head. Only this time, it would be real. Devyn would be real.

  Alix pulled him closer, running her hands over him, groping at the buttons that separated her hands from the hardness of his chest, the feel of his skin. She wanted to touch every inch of him, to hold him until dawn.

  Gasping, Alix remembered the light. "Could you darken the room?" she asked, her voice breaking with her nervousness.

  Devyn pulled back, his eyes glowing warmly. "Bashful?"

  She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. In the dark, he'd never see her mark, and she wouldn't have to worry about him being disappointed with her missing feminine curves.

  She watched him manually adjust the light.

  "All the way down," she said when he started to leave it partially on.

  He frowned. "I won't be able to see you."

  Her heart hammered and she wished she could see him unclothed. But she would settle for just being able to feel him. "I know, but I prefer it that way."

  He flipped the switch. Alix listened to him cross the room, then curse as he stumbled and something slammed against the floor.

  "Damn stupid chair," he growled; then the bed dipped beneath his weight.

  Smiling, Alix rolled over and grabbed him about the waist, pulling him closer. Tonight he belonged to her and her fantasies.

  He lay on his back and she untucked his shirt, then gently began unbuttoning it from the hem up, kissing each inch of his warm flesh as she went. She inhaled the clean scent of his skin as she worked her way up the hardness of his belly, the solid planes of his chest, and over the tendons of his neck. Never had she tasted anything more delectable, more sweet.

  Pausing over his hardened nipples, she licked the soft ridges, inhaling the scent of his flesh. He quivered beneath her and she laughed, unable to believe her boldness, but unwilling to stop. She rose above him, dragging her breasts over his chest. Heat consumed her.

  Devyn moaned, the sound vibrating his throat under her lips. Her body throbbing, she straddled his hips, delighting in the power she had over him, the foreign feel of him beneath her. Finally, she was glad Zarina had chosen a dress with a long slit.

  Devyn slid his hands over her buttocks, her back, and up to her hair, where he pulled out the pins and let it fall over the two of them. Shaking her head to loosen the curls, she leaned into his hands. He caressed her scalp, sending a billion tiny electric shocks through her.

  She licked his neck, delighting in the chill bumps that spread across his chest under her hands. Her lips brushed something warm and hard. Pulling back, she lifted her hands and searched the darkness until she held the small medallion she'd seen him wearing in the gym. Unable to see it, she traced the etchings with her fingertips and noted the raised, encircled cross.

  Devyn's hands closed around hers and even though she couldn't see his face, she sensed his smile. "It belonged to my father," Devyn whispered, taking one of her hands to his cheek, where he brushed the back of her knuckles against the prickly stubble. "It's the symbol of St. Tirus, the Gelfarion patron saint of thieves."

  "Of thieves?" she asked, remembering what he'd said about his expulsion from the HAWC.

  Devyn's soft laughter echoed around her while he nibbled her fingers and sent deep waves of pleasure straight to her stomach. "My father has always been a very religious man. As a child he used to pray to St. Tirus for protection and one day an old priest gave him the medallion with a blessing. My father swears wearing it will keep me from harm."

  "Do you believe it?" she asked, wondering if he shared his father's faith.

  His teeth stopped their nibbling and his grip tightened. She wished she could see his face. But her only clue to his mood came as a gentle kiss in the palm of her hand. "I believe he believes it, so I shall always honor his faith by wearing it."

  Pain burned inside her chest. Here was the type of man she'd always dreamed of, always wanted. A man who stood by those he loved, who would protect and love her. Why must she let him go?

  Alix blinked back her tears. Tonight she would stay. No more denials. For once she would have what she wanted, conscience and fate be damned.

  Devyn reached for her zipper, his warm hands touching her back as he slid the dress slowly off. Biting her lip, Alix arched against his hands, allowing him his way as he caressed her breasts. Wherever he led her tonight, she intended to follow.

  Devyn returned to her lips, claiming them fully. He stroked his hands over her body and she shivered from the demanding waves of pleasure pulsing inside her.

  Hesitantly, timidly, she reached down to unbutton his pants, her knuckles grazing against the soft curls between his legs. Dare she continue?

  You've only got one night. The words echoed in her head. She peeled back the soft, silk pants. He sucked his breath in as she touched him. Caressing his hardness, she delighted in his moans.

  Suddenly, he reached down and captured her hand. "If you don't stop that, you're going to be terribly disappointed."

  Alix laughed at his breathless tone. She found it hard to believe that she could excite him so completely. Who would have imagined that someone as beautiful as Devyn could ever want someone like her?

  Reaching up, she traced the roughened edge of his jaw. His whiskers prickled the palm of her hand, sending chills up her arms.

  "You are incredible," she whispered.

  He responded with a kiss. She opened her lips to taste him. She ran her hands through his thick hair, reveling in the strands that slid between her fingers.

  He left her for a moment and removed his pants.

  She gasped at the warmth of his naked body against hers. A wave of fear gripped her, but she pushed it away. There was nothing to be afraid of. Devyn wouldn't hurt her.

  "Your skin is so soft," he mumbled, tracing the length of her waist. "Like the fur of a newborn verrago."

  Alix smiled. Running her hands over his broad shoulders, she pulled him to her.

  "Love me," she said with all the yearning inside her. She needed this proof that he cared for her, that at least for the moment he did love her.

  Devyn separated her legs with his body and slowly started kissing a path from her belly to her neck. Alix arched against him, her body on fire from each touch of his tongue against her skin.

  He kissed her breasts, running his tongue over them until she thought she'd die from the pleasure. And when he nibbled the sensitive flesh behind her ear, her body ignited.

  Suddenly, he slid into her and pain stole all traces of her pleasure. Alix gasped.

  He tensed. "What the—"

  She stopped his words by placing the tip of her finger against his lips. "Love me, Devyn."

  He took her hand from his lips and held it against the pounding beat of his heart. Tracing the tense lines of his muscles, she sensed a sadness inside him.

  "Am I hurting you?" he asked.

  Alix closed her eyes at the note of concern in his voice, and a small tear ran from the corner of her eye. "No,
" she lied, knowing the worst, most enduring pain she felt wasn't from his body inside hers, but from her own soul.

  Slowly, he began to move against her hips. Alix ran her hands down his back, reveling in the muscles that rippled beneath her palms.

  She'd had no idea that he would know this was her first time. Maybe she should have told him, but now it didn't seem to matter. Besides, Devyn was the one man she would always love. The only man she would ever love, and she wanted to experience the most intimate of actions with him alone.

  Devyn buried his head in her neck and inhaled the fresh scent of her hair. Never in his life had anyone offered him what Alix had given him this night, and he felt like the lowest of life-forms for having taken it. If only he'd known. But now it was too late.

  She nibbled on his ear, sending waves of pounding pleasure through him, and he surrendered himself to the feel of her body wrapped around him. He'd waited so long for someone like Alix. Someone honest he could believe in. Someone who would never lie, deceive, or use him.

  Her hands felt so good against his skin, like warm velvet sliding over him. He wished he could freeze this moment in time, relive it over and over again.

  Gone was the emptiness inside him, the guilt and pain. Peace enveloped him like a warm cocoon and he knew Alix was the source. If he let her leave, he'd return to the misery that had become his life these last few years. But how could he keep her? She wanted to go, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

  Alix stroked the taut muscles of Devyn's neck. Her pain had melted into a new pleasure that demanded more of him. Arching her hips, she brought him deeper inside. Never had she dreamed of such pleasure. Her body burned and throbbed, demanding more and more. Suddenly, her body tensed, pulling at him; then all her nerves exploded into waves of pulsing, blissful release. She moaned with delight.

  In the next instant, Devyn's body shook and his grip on her tightened. Alix smiled as contentment assailed her. She'd give anything to stay forever in his arms like this, with his breath caressing her cheek, sending chills down her neck.

  Devyn withdrew from her, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her soft hair. Her head lay upon his chest and he could feel the beat of her heart against his stomach, her breasts against his ribs. Never before had he known such contentment. But how much longer did they have? Was she even now thinking of a way to tell him good-bye?

  "Devyn?" she asked quietly.

  Pain coiled in his stomach. He didn't want to hear her next words. "I know," he whispered, his throat closing.

  Before Alix could say anything more, a whistle rent the darkness. "Yo, Dev, get to the ramp now!"

  Despite the anxiousness of Sway's voice, Devyn couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved. Maybe this new crisis could keep Alix here awhile longer.

  Leaving the bed, he felt around the floor until he found his pants, but before he could pull them on, Alix's voice stopped him. "No regrets, right, Captain?"

  Devyn ached to touch her. He almost turned around and reached for her. But he mustn't. To touch her now would destroy his control and if that happened, he'd do whatever it took to keep her on board his ship.

  "No regrets," he said, the lie catching for an instant in his throat. There was one regret he had, one that would forever gnaw at his soul— letting her go.

  Throwing his clothes on, he left the room, refusing to look back.

  Concentrate on Sway, he told himself. Forget Alix. Yeah, but how the hell was he going to manage that feat? Devyn sighed disgustedly.

  "Stop dragging your feet!" Sway snapped, pulling him forward. "This is really serious."

  He frowned as he stepped out onto the ramp and faced a group of stern-faced Keepers. Scanning each one independently, his gaze locked on Irn standing at the rear of them, a smug smile splitting his ugly, greasy face.

  Rage darkened Devyn's vision. What the hell had that skagen done now?

  "Captain Devyn Kilaro-Maur Kell?" the lead Keeper asked.

  He hated when people used his full name. It reminded him of his mother scolding him. Devyn clenched his teeth, trying to control his wrath until he learned more about the situation. "Yes?"

  The Keeper handed him a wad of papers. "By order of the Grand Governor, I am impounding your ship. You and your first mate have been harboring a runaway slave and treating her as a freewoman. According to the HAWC Universal Law Code, I declare both you and your said mate slaves."

  Chapter Nine

  "Do what?" Devyn asked, his anger snapping to the foreground. "What the hell do you mean—"

  "There's been a mistake!" Alix said, cutting his words short.

  Wearing her old, faded brown pantsuit, she stepped forward, her hair still tousled as she tried to comb it with her fingers. "I haven't run away from anyone. I belong to Captain Kell."

  Devyn's mouth opened in stunned surprise, but he quickly caught himself and shut it. Could the Keeper's accusations be true? Had Alix been lying to him all this time? Putting his life, Sway's life, in danger? Bitter fury twitched his jaw.

  Don't jump to conclusions, he warned himself. For now, he'd best act as if he knew what was going on and figure the rest out later.

  The Keeper eyed him and Alix. "Do you have ownership papers?" he asked Devyn.

  Steeling himself for the lie, Devyn nodded. "I filed them on Pikara with Emperor Calixei."

  "Do you have a copy?"

  Devyn looked at Alix, his sight narrowing. "No, but if you call the emperor and give him my name, he'll verify it."

  Alix bit her bottom lip, her heart hammering against her ribs. Dear Lord, if the Keepers didn't buy this bluff, she, Devyn, and Sway would be headed for the nearest auction block.

  This was all her fault! Why hadn't she left? Her lungs closed and she struggled for air, her panic making her legs shake. An image of Devyn's naked body being poked and prodded by potential slave buyers flashed before her eyes and she hated herself for jeopardizing him.

  Glancing at Devyn and Sway and their unconcerned stances, she calmed a tiny degree. Maybe Devyn did know what he was doing. At least he had the brains to play along with her lie, but she'd never dreamed he'd go so far as to mention an emperor as a reference.

  "He's lying," Irn said, elbowing his way past several Keepers to stand before her. His hate-filled gaze scorched her. "I own that jarlia."

  Alix stepped back, her heart regaining its frantic beat.

  The look on Devyn's face would have stopped any sane man from persisting. Alix quickly learned the extent of Irn's madness when he stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her toward him.

  "Let her go!" Devyn snarled, catching hold of Irn's forearm. His eyes turned black as death. "Or do you have ownership papers?"

  Hatred crackled between them, reminding her of a current of electricity dancing between two conductors. Almost tangible, its intensity reached out to all of them, and the Keepers stared in indecision.

  Anger and vengeance smoldered in Irn's eyes, but he held his tongue. His grip tightened on her arm, numbing her hand, making her fingers burn and throb. Alix trembled. She wanted to slap or fight him, but a slave was forbidden ever to strike a free person, no matter the provocation. As long as the Keepers watched, she was powerless to resist.

  Curling his lip, Irn released her and jerked his arm away from Devyn's grip. "This isn't over, Kell."

  Devyn raked him with a look that sent chills of fear all over Alix. "Don't try to intimidate me, borixum. It takes a hell of a lot more than the threat of a rat like you to fray my edges."

  Irn spat on the ground next to Devyn's shiny boots. "Watch for me."

  "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on my back, since it's what cowards prefer to attack."

  Alix watched Irn's hands clench and unclench and she was pretty sure he imagined Devyn's neck under their pressure.

  Certain only the Keepers' presence kept Irn from attacking, she still marveled at his control. She'd never seen him deny his primitive urgings before, at least not until a weapon dissuaded
him. During the time Irn had spent on her father's freighter, he'd attacked their gunner at least once a week, usually over nothing more than the boy breathing out of turn.

  Devyn and Irn continued to stare at one another in a typical game of male intimidation. Had the lead Keeper not stepped forward and pulled Irn away, they would have probably continued the game indefinitely.

  The Keeper's gaze swept over her dishabille and Devyn's hastily donned shirt. By the condescending sneer on his face, she figured he had deduced what they had been up to before the disturbance. "Well, it looks like she does belong to you," he said slowly, giving Irn a warning glare. "We're sorry about the misunderstanding, Captain."