Kalindra (GateKeepers)

by Bennett, Sondrae

  Until she started crying. The sound of her sob when he’d turned the corner had stopped him dead in his tracks. He’d thought she was angry, in a snit about something stupid. Maybe PMSing–did Harpies get PMS? But the desolation in that sob had just about stopped his heart.

  Temper, he could walk away from. Had started to, in fact. But her sorrow. The pain he heard behind the sobs. That was another matter altogether. The sound of her tears tore him up inside. Gutted him.

  And then when he’d gone back and seen her defeated body posture, the tears streaming down her face, he’d felt a need to fix whatever bothered her. Yet, at the same time, he felt completely and utterly helpless. He had no idea what the fight was really about or what was bothering her. Not twenty minutes ago they were both on their way to ecstasy. What had changed in so short a time?

  So he’d done the only thing he could think of. He held her, offering her what little comfort he had while she sobbed into his shoulder. Soothing her with words when he could no longer take her tears. Then, when she finally told him the problem, to find out all the heartbreak because she thought he wanted to leave…

  He didn’t want to leave. The very idea made his chest tight with anxiety. Which was odd. He should want to go. Should jump at the opportunity she’d just given him. This wasn’t his home. Would never be his home. No matter how much it might feel like it at the moment.

  Eventually, he would leave, wouldn’t he? He had things to go back to, people he cared about and who cared about him in turn. But at the moment, he couldn’t think of anything he needed to do, or anyone who would truly miss him.

  His people? Well, he only kind of liked them. They occupied a place in his life because they were there, and he was there. Not one of them would give him a second thought if he disappeared. And how sad was that? Didn’t he have one person he truly cared about who hadn’t died years ago?

  Kalindra cuddled deeper into his embrace, her body seeking his even in sleep. Kali was a different story. He liked her. Not because she was there and he was there, but because she was witty, and clever, and confident. Yes, she gave him shit for not being as good a fighter as her, or for not cooking–not that she let him anywhere near her stove–but it never bothered him. Truthfully, he kind of liked it when she gave him shit.

  Yup, something was definitely wrong with him.

  He smiled into her hair. Right now, there was nowhere he’d rather be. No one he’d rather be with.

  As much as he hated her pain, the outburst had lightened his spirits. At least now, he knew his feelings for Kali were returned. That everything wasn’t one-sided. And it wasn’t just outstanding sex, either. Although there was plenty of that. Something deeper connected them.

  She stirred in his arms, blinking her eyes until awareness entered them.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you,” he murmured.

  Then she met his gaze, embarrassment staining her cheeks. “No, I’m sorry. I’m not usually such a mess.”

  Tenderness welled inside him as he rubbed his thumb over her still-wet cheek. At first, he didn’t recognize the emotion tightening his chest. He’d certainly never felt it for a woman before. But Kali was something else. The strongest woman he knew, physically and emotionally.

  This outburst had proven she was still fragile in her own way. And it gave him an overwhelming sense of pride to realize her emotion for him was one of her weaknesses.

  But it also worried him. Weaknesses in her job were dangerous. He’d hold onto this moment, to remember that even a fighter like Kali had chinks in her armor. He needed to be careful, to guard that fragile part of her. Because he never wanted to see her upset again. His heart couldn’t take it.

  Leaning down, he brushed his lips against her, pulling back when she tried to deepen the kiss. Over the past two weeks, they’d had sex all over the castle and grounds. He’d taken her against walls, on tables, and in showers. Hell, even on the floor more than a few times. Furious, needy sex where their craving for each other drove them. But the tenderness inside him craved something else.

  This time, he’d take things slow. Build her passion up until she forgot her embarrassment, and her worries. Until all she could think about was him. He wasn’t ready to tell her how much he cared about her. He hadn’t even figured that out for himself. But maybe he could show her she mattered to him. Was more than convenient, or something to do to pass the time.

  Calling upon all the tenderness inside him, Cameron stroked a hand over her body. This was about her, showing her she mattered to him. He rained gentle kisses over her face, soft as a butterfly.

  Her hands pulled at him, but he refused to speed up. She wouldn’t goad him away from his goal. She arched into his hands when they cupped her breasts, his thumbs sweeping over the distended tips.

  “You’re beautiful, Kali,” he whispered against her lips.

  She moaned, lifting her head for a kiss, so he obliged. Breaking contact only when she became frenzied. He trailed his lips down her neck, moving his hands over the expanse of her stomach. Kali wasn’t just beautiful. With her creamy skin, perky breasts tipped with dusky rose nipples, she was a miracle.

  The perfect match to his personality, his humor, and his sexuality. His perfect match. He’d never bought into the notion of fate. His destiny was his own. But as his lips wrapped around one perfect nipple, he wondered if he’d been wrong.

  He remembered her words from their first night. She’d called herself replaceable. Could he have been sent here to protect this one woman? To show her she mattered as more than just one of the chosen?

  With his hands and lips he explored every inch of her. Reverence filled him as he caressed hips, down her thighs. He kissed down the outside of her left leg, ignoring the right. He paused at her ankle, sucking a trail around the curve, moving to the other only when he’d licked every inch. Then he slowly kissed his way up the inside of her other leg.

  Kalindra moaned and opened her legs wider, allowing him to slide between them.

  He paused at the soft expanse of her thigh, slowing his upward ascent. The spicy scent of her sex enticed him. He knew exactly how it would taste on his tongue, how her legs would quiver as he licked inside her, and how she would scream and thrust against his mouth when he closed his mouth over her clit and sucked.

  She moaned as he hovered inches above her. Her sex glistened, wet with desire. He licked his lips, anticipation driving both of them wild. Tonight he’d show her what a goddess she was.

  Unable to resist, he hooked his arms under her knees and opened her wider for him. She whimpered at the movement, but he had her truly trapped.

  * * * *

  Kali screamed as a wave of pleasure crashed into her, but Cameron’s mouth continued to assault her sensitive flesh.

  Dear gods, the man knew how to use his mouth. His tongue slid inside her, and heat filled her once again. She fisted her hands in the sheets, needing something to hold onto. Something to keep her sane.

  The scent of sex permeated the air. She arched up, another wave of pleasure building. Still he teased, playing her body like an instrument. She needed him inside her. More than she’d ever needed anything before. But there was no before. No after. Only now, and the things he made her feel.

  She felt herself rising to the peak of another orgasm. Her body tightened, anticipating the brink. Then he pulled away, and she almost cried at the loss as the pleasure receded. So close.

  But his lips were trailing back up her body, setting her nerves on fire everywhere he kissed. By the time he settled over her, pressing himself inside her, she was a live wire, ready to make them both go up in flames.

  His hands slid over hers, untangling her grip on the sheet and threading his fingers through hers. She gripped them as he settled into a gentle pace.

  Every thrust pushed her higher. Every withdrawal made her cry out at the loss until he filled her again.

  Then she was soaring, flying through the air and into a cloud of ecstasy. Vaguely, she felt him follo
w her, heard him shouting as he pumped his seed inside her.

  He collapsed next to her and Kali turned into him. Arms surrounded her, pulling her against his chest. She smiled against his shoulder. Life was good today.

  Chapter 9

  “Who could I get to wash my back?” Cameron said when he heard someone enter the bathroom. Silence. He paused with his soapy hands tangled in his hair. “Kali?” Still nothing.

  Starting to worry, he shoved his head under the spray and quickly washed the suds out of his hair. No one else could get in the castle, right? But if it was Kali, why wouldn’t she respond?

  He whipped back the shower curtain, ready to take on whatever stood on the other side, no matter how naked and soapy he was. The fight went out of him when he saw her, but he stiffened when he saw what held her attention.

  Stupid. He should have hidden it under a towel like he normally did. He hadn’t been thinking.

  “This is it, isn’t it.” She hadn’t phrased it as a question. As if she already knew the answer. Strange. Most people overlooked the simple necklace. He’d always suspected there was some charm that caused people to look away.

  “How did you know?” he asked. The awe on her face as she stared at the shard worried him. When she met his gaze, he wasn’t any more reassured. Some strange emotion he couldn’t name was in her eyes.

  “I can feel it. In my gut. The same way I can sense the gate.” Her gaze moved back to the pendant as if she couldn’t pull herself away for long. Cameron stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist.

  What would he do if she decided to take it? He cared for her. No denying that at this point. But the shard was still his responsibility. A duty he’d begun to not only care about, but to take pride in. Could he choose between them? Moreover, could he even take Kalindra in a fight if it came to that? They’d been training pretty hard, but…she was his teacher. Yoda to his Luke. She could take him down before he could move.

  Which was crazy to begin with. He didn’t want to fight Kali, damn it. But he didn’t want to give up the shard, either. Indecision tore at him.

  “What is it?” she asked, her gaze still rapt on the necklace she held.

  “A shard. A piece of the gate.”

  That got her attention. “Impossible.”

  Bitterness infused his laughter. His present situation proved just how possible.

  “I’m not lying.”

  “Cameron, the gate isn’t a physical object. It’s more like an energy field. It can’t have a piece broken off.”

  He shook his head before she’d even finished talking. He only knew what he’d been told. “I don’t know how it came to be. But that’s what it is.”

  She still seemed skeptical.

  “Look, you just said it feels the same as the gate.”

  Her gaze returned to the shard. Maybe he should have lied, but he wasn’t sure it mattered. She obviously knew the shard as soon as she’d sensed it. Lying would have only created a wedge between them.

  After what seemed like an hour but was probably only minutes, Kali handed him the necklace.

  Without breaking eye contact, he took it and tied it around his neck. “Thank you.” Not just for handing him the necklace, but for not forcing him to fight her. For understanding that it was his to care for.

  She nodded and turned away. “Get dressed. We have to train.” Then she was gone.

  Cameron turned and shut off the water. He had a feeling today’s lesson would be a hard one. Oddly, he looked forward to it.

  * * * *

  Kali flipped the page of the cookbook. Dinner would be ready in another forty minutes, and now she needed to figure out a side dish. She’d found a duck wandering around outside earlier. What went well with duck?

  She glanced up to find Cameron leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

  “What are you up to?” he asked her.

  She held up the cookbook. Explanation enough.

  “Should have known.” He chuckled.

  Something about his tone had her pausing. Even his posture was charged with some strange energy.

  “Bored?” she guessed.

  “With you? Never.”

  Warmth filled her at the speed of his answer. Good thing, because she wasn’t anywhere near done with him. All she had to do was look at him and she’d get this silly, happy feeling. She shook her head at the thought. She hadn’t meant to ask if he was bored with her, but his response still brightened her day.

  “I didn’t mean with me. I meant in general.”

  “Not really.”

  But he didn’t move from the doorway. Just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Okay…

  “What are you up to, then?”

  “Looking at you.” His gaze never wavered from her.

  “Uh huh. You sure you’re not bored?” Watching her reading didn’t seem all that interesting. The man had to be ready to crawl the walls if that was how he passed his time.

  “Why would I be bored?”

  “Well, all we do is fight, eat, sleep, and fuck.”

  They’d fallen into a daily routine. Sex first thing, then they hit the training room and fought each other with various weapons, then more sex, usually in the shower, then dinner, sex or more training, bed.

  “And?”

  “Well, uh…hmm.”

  “Is there something more to life?”

  Kali laughed at his response. “Okay. Not bored, then.”

  “Are you?” he asked, crossing toward her. She loved the way the man moved with such lazy sensuality.

  “Am I what?”

  “Bored, honey.”

  “Oh.” She shook herself out of her daze. “Not at all.”

  Before Cameron had come along, her life had been eat, sleep, and fight. He added more than just another possible thing to do around here. He added companionship. Someone to talk to. After a couple hundred years alone, she couldn’t imagine getting bored with his company.

  “So what’s for dinner?”

  “Ready for the eating portion of your day, huh?” she asked with a laugh. Men. So predictable. If they weren’t looking for sex, they were looking for food.

  “Well, I suppose we could move onto another portion of the day.” He pulled her out of the chair and against him, but she pushed out of his arms.

  “Oh no, Casanova. Cool down. Dinner will be ready in half an hour.”

  “Half an hour! What am I supposed to do until then?”

  She smiled at the whine in his voice. Such a baby! “You just told me you weren’t bored.”

  “I’m not. But I’m hungry.”

  Oh, honestly. Kalindra grabbed a box of crackers and stuck it in front of him. “But don’t fill up. I am making a fabulous dinner tonight, and you better appreciate it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Kali spun around, knife in hand. “Do I look like a ma’am to you? Ma’am implies old maid. I am not a ma’am.”

  A wicked gleam lightened his eyes. And that smile? Trouble with a capital T. “Aren’t you like three hundred years old?”

  She pointed the knife at him. “Your point?”

  He smiled, and popped another cracker into his mouth. His intent shone clear on his face. “No point. Just clarifying.”

  “Clarifying what, exactly?” He opened his mouth, but Kali cut him off. “And let me clarify that any possibility of a sex portion of the day happening later on, might very well depend on your answer.”

  His mouth closed, but the humor remained in the lines of his face and the light in his eyes.

  “Clarifying how young and exuberant you look, of course. You don’t look a day over two hundred and ninety-nine.”

  Kali struggled against a smile. With a small nod of acknowledgement, she turned back to the counter and let her smile bloom. Such a way with words.

  “Can I ask you something that’s been bothering me?” she asked, pulling out ingredients for a salad.

  “Ask away.”


  “Why did you bring the shard into Outremer in the first place? When you first came here, you thought all creatures from Outremer monsters.” That was the part that didn’t make sense. Why use the shard at all?

  “My grandfather took me the first time. Each Keeper of the shard is brought into Outremer once and taught about your world. They have to know what they’re guarding,” he said after a moment. “After that...” She turned in time to see his shrug. “I brought others into Outremer. To show them around. Your very own nightmare tour guide. I always told myself I was exploiting the shard to make money, but I think there was more to it. Outremer fascinated me. I always wanted to see the world, but then this whole other world opened up to me. All I wanted to do was explore it.”

  His words hit her in the chest. He wanted to explore the world. Of course he would. It fit his personality perfectly. But that was the one thing Kali could never do. The gate had her chained to this one place. Sure, she could travel a bit. But as soon as someone crossed through the portal, she’d be right back where she started. Trapped with no end save death.

  She’d just have to savor every second she had with him. Her memories of their time together would have to last her a lifetime. Because sooner or later, he would leave.

  “So, how’re we looking for a little sexy time later?” The hopefulness in his voice made her smile. It looked pretty good, but she wouldn’t make things too easy for him.

  “We’ll just have to see,” she teased.

  His arms slipped around her, grabbing the counter on either side until she was hemmed in. His front pressed against her back, and it took all of Kali’s strength not to lean into his warmth.

  His breath caressed her ear as he whispered. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you make a decision.”

  Using every ounce of willpower she had left, she elbowed him out of the way and crossed to the oven to check on her duck. There’d be plenty of time to play later. Besides, waiting only made their encounters that much more intense. Not that there was anything wrong with their encounters when they didn’t spend time apart. The man was a beast in bed.