They approached the restaurant. He motioned to the doorman to open the door for them as they entered. He took a deep breath. The scents here were always glorious. Nearly as glorious as the woman next to him. So much for distracting myself.
“They have the mud river. It’s where they gather most, if not all, of the clay for the bricks they use for buildings. The clay stains the water and everything in it a dark brown. Whenever I bathed, I made sure to rinse my hair with the water. It didn’t turn it brown as I had hoped, but my hair was no longer this ugly silvery white.”
Kyl stared at her hair for a moment and shook his head. “It’s not ugly. It’s glorious.”
“It’s a pain in my ass.”
It was all Kyl could do to keep himself from thrusting his fingers through her thick, blonde hair and take her lips in a passionate kiss to show her how beautiful he thought it, and her.
“It’s wonderful to see you this evening, defender,” the host said as they entered. He turned his gaze to Marti, his eyes widening as a smile split his face. “May I seat you outside where you can watch the sunset? It is beautiful, but not nearly so much as your companion.”
“Please do, Tempen. I’m starved and wish to eat as soon as possible.”
Tempen smiled and turned to lead them through the building. “Of course! If you would follow me, please?”
Chapter Twelve
Marti let Kyl take her hand as they walked through the intimate interior of the restaurant. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a few women staring daggers at her as they walked past a big group of people. When she did a double take, they were gone.
What was wrong with the women on this world? Didn’t they realize that Kyl was merely helping the sister of a fellow defender?
She let the two men lead her through another door that led out onto a huge veranda that boasted a gorgeous view of a large body of water. Whether it was a lake or an ocean was beyond her. She only knew the view was one of the most beautiful she’d ever seen. She stopped, unable to function for a moment as she stared at the rainbow of colors reflected on the smooth surface.
Waves gently lapped against the shore. The soothing sound relaxed and calmed her as nothing else had these last few years.
Gently, Kyl steered her toward a chair, holding the back of the seat as she lowered herself into it. Before she knew it, food appeared in front of her as though they knew what she wanted. How could they when she did not?
Gingerly, she took a bite, unsure if she would like the strange-looking food. Her eyes went wide at the unusual flavor. “This is delicious!”
“Did you expect something less?” Kyl asked with a grin. “We aren’t barbarians. We do know how to prepare food so as not to disgust our visitors.”
Marti felt her face heat. “I—I didn’t mean it like that.” She glanced around, fearing that someone else could have misconstrued her words as he had done.
“I know you didn’t.” He chuckled. “I was teasing you.”
Tears burned her eyes. “It’s just that it’s been such a long time since someone has done that. I’m not sure I can tell the difference between teasing and accusation.”
His expression turned somber. “Forgive me. I didn’t think.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She took another bite, mindful of the others who shared the veranda. The last thing she wanted to do was make a spectacle of herself and embarrass her companion.
“I thought you were hungry.” He frowned as he watched her pick at her meal.
“I am.”
“Then why are you pushing your food around your plate instead of eating it?” He reached over and covered her hand, effectively stopping her from doing just that.
“I—I don’t know.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Perhaps I’m just afraid of making a spectacle of myself like I did earlier today.”
“To hell with them and what they think. If you’re hungry, eat. Not one of them has any idea what it’s like to live in captivity, wondering when or if they are going to get another meal.” He flicked his gaze to her plate, then back up to meet her gaze. “We can have them pack it up and take it back to my home, if you like. That way, you’ll only have to worry about me and you know what I think about the subject.” He gave her a lopsided grin that squeezed her heart.
What was it about the man that made her want to crawl into his lap and cry on his shoulder? Shouldn’t she feel this way about her brother instead of some stranger she’d just met?
“I think I would like that.”
Kyl turned and gestured to Tempen who had been hovering close. “Please pack up our dinner and an assortment of desserts for us to take back to my home. The lady is not feeling well.”
Tempen flicked a concerned gaze her way that almost made her feel bad for leaving so quickly. “I hope you feel better soon, miss,” he said with a bow before turning to Kyl. “As you wish, sir. I shall send one of the boys over with a few boxes.”
The man turned away and hurried through the door, no doubt to see to the defender’s wishes.
Marti stared down at her dinner and wondered at Kyl’s manner with servants. He didn’t act as self-important as she had originally thought. He seemed to genuinely care for those who served him. Perhaps it had been his urgency she sensed earlier when he had carried her into the building from the courtyard.
Instead of a man who took advantage of those who served him, he seemed to equally care for them. Wasn’t that how a defender should be?
She thought about how her brother had once been, and how Artu was now, and marveled at the difference. Perhaps finding one’s mate changed a defender. What if she was his soul mate? If so, was that why Kyl now treated those who waited upon him with such deference?
Whatever the reason, she found she couldn’t fault him for it. If anything, she admired him for it. Marti wasn’t sure why, but every time she looked at him, her heart melted just a little bit more. Was she falling in love with him? Was she ready to make love with him and find out? She stared at him for a minute, wondering if she could sleep with the man who sat there looking so lonely in a room full of people, and then smiled when the answer came to her.
“Are you ready?” Kyl asked as he stood.
“Yes,” Marti said with a nod as she stood up. “I do believe I am.”
* * * *
“Ready for what?” Urd stared down into the scrying cauldron. “Is she ready to accept Kylar as her mate or is she merely ready to go back to his home where she can go to the room he’s given her and close the door in his face?”
“What does it matter, Urd?” Verdandi said. “You know as well as I do that if we could see her future, as Skuld can do, we would only see a few of an infinite number of possibilities. We can only hope that she makes the right choice this time.” Verdandi moved to sit on the low stone bench against the wall.
“Hope, hope. Why must we always hope they make the right choice? Why can we not tell them how things should be? They should listen to us. We are the daughters of a god!”
“You know as well as I do that that does not make us infallible. If it did, our parents would never have had us. We were mistakes.” Verdandi shrugged. “Useful mistakes, yes, but mistakes just the same.”
“Pfft!” Urd waved her arm. “They would never admit that we are mistakes.”
Verdandi crossed her arms and shot her sister a look. “They do not have to.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kyl led Marteeka down the wide boardwalk along the shore. The cool evening breeze blew in off the water, feathering her hair out behind her. The silky strands caught the silvery rays of the moon, glowing as though lit from within. A fruity scent wafted off her and his groin tightened.
He took a deep breath, wondering just what it was about her that drew him. Was it because she was the woman the Fates deemed his perfect match or was he just lonely?
As she turned her face into the breeze, Kyl took the opportunity to lean closer. Just one more whiff of her sweet scent w
ould have to last through the night. They were almost back to his home and he had no doubt that Marti would want to go to her room and rest. She’d had an ordeal, after all, and no one could blame her if she wanted some time alone to reflect on what she would now do with her freedom.
“How long have you defended this world?”
The question startled him. He frowned when he had to think about it. It had been so long, he’d almost forgotten the date, though he would never forget the day his father died.
“It was almost six millennia ago.” He stared out over the water for a moment before he continued. “My father had decided to go on a rescue with me. I asked him to stay home because it was particularly dangerous.” He sighed and shook his head. “I think that perhaps that was why he wanted to go.” Kyl shrugged at Marti’s questioning look. “He’d begun to age. I don’t think he wanted to be a burden on me. Or,” he chuckled mirthlessly, “he just wanted to go out a defender and not an old man who could no longer hold his water.”
“What happened?” She stopped and looked up at him. Her blue eyes reflected the moonlight as they shone at him filled with compassion.
“A skyscraper took damage from a large explosion. Still full of innocents, we did our best to empty it. I held it as stable as I could while he rescued the people. As a last job for a retiring defender, it was perfect. It was just too bad he thought he saw another victim inside.” He shook his head. “We later determined that what he’d seen was a life-sized portrait, not a person. He alone died when another quake hit and demolished the building along with many other structures in the town.”
He wasn’t sure his father really had seen another person inside. Just the day before, the old man had complained of his aches and pains. He’d made it perfectly clear that he would rather die than live out his life in a home for the aged.
“I’m sorry.”
She stared up at him with those huge, blue eyes so filled with compassion that for the first time, Kyl’s heart ached for his father, and what could have been. If only he had found his true mate.
His stomach clenched as he stared down into those expressive eyes. He cupped her cheek, his thumb moving to caress her lower lip.
“Kiss me, Kylar.”
His cock grew hard at the thought. Kyl leaned closer and searched her gaze. Did she just say what he thought she said? “I want to kiss you, Marteeka.” Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “I’m just not sure I’ll be able to stop if I do.” He moved to stare out over the vast waters of the Maluna Sea. “You have no idea how tempting it is. I’ve been alone a long time. I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
“Then don’t think about it. Just do it.”
“Did you not hear what I just said?” He spun around to face her. “I might not be able to stop once I start.” He held her at arm’s distance, fearing that if he drew her closer he would be lost. Perhaps they both would be lost.
“So?” She shrugged. “Who says I’ll ask you to stop?” She licked her lips and smiled up at him. “Come on, defender. Take a chance.”
Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands and stared down into her eyes. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
Leaning down, Kyl gently pressed his lips against hers. Lightning shot through him at the contact. Yanking her closer, he held her tight, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other her ass.
She fit against him perfectly, his cock resting tightly against her lower stomach. How had he ever existed without her in his life? This closeness, this unity, was something he wasn’t sure he could live without, now that he’d had this small taste.
The warmth of her mouth, the taste of her lips, stunned him. Her very presence held him in place as surely as if he’d been bound. He knew now that he was bound to this one, perfect woman.
He groaned deep in his throat when she opened for him. His tongue sank into the warm recesses of her mouth, skimmed smoothly over her teeth and tangled with hers. Warmth engulfed him as she reached up, thrust her fingers in his hair and held him close.
It seemed ridiculous that, as old as he was, a mere kiss could drive him to these heights, yet it did. She did. Her feet dangled off the ground as he straightened and moved to press her against the stone wall of the building behind her.
She moaned when he broke their kiss, trailing his lips over her jaw and down to just behind and under her ear to suckle a sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. He gloried in the fact that, unlike his father, he had found his soul mate. She must be his.
He groaned again when she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing his hard cock into the warm cradle of her hips. He could feel the heat radiating from her core and wanted nothing more than to sink his cock into her moist heat.
This wasn’t wrong. The Fates had known what they were doing when they brought them together. Unlike the rest of the universe, they knew what was happening throughout the space-time continuum. They knew the past, the present and the future. Who was he to question anything they told him—especially when it felt so damned right?
In his haste to feel every inch of her body pressed against his, Kyl slammed her against the wall, none too gently. They both grunted at the impact. Thankfully, though, Marti showed no other outward sign of pain.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, his breathing heavy. Pushing her legs down, he held her upright while he visually inspected her for injury. “I think I got carried away.”
“I think we both got carried away,” she said wryly, giving him a half smile. “Maybe we should get going. We should be inside before we try that again.” She shook her head with a chuckle. “While I’m not totally against another kiss, I definitely don’t want an audience.”
Neither did Kyl. When he took her into his arms again, he had no intention of letting her out of them for a very, very long time and he was pretty sure nakedness would be involved.
While the people of this world would never arrest him or his woman for indecency, it would prove rather embarrassing for them both if someone caught them in a compromising position.
“Me either.” He grinned. “Do you mind if we hurry back to my place?”
“Mind?” She grinned. “I insist.”
Kyl winked, picked her up, and flew back to his home. Literally.
Chapter Fourteen
Marti laughed as he flew her through the city. How she missed the ability to fly with the wind in her hair. Perhaps it won’t be so bad to rely on Kyl, or someone, to take me where I want to go. At least I’m free to choose here.
Thankfully.
She thought about the man who held her so gently in his arms. She brushed her fingers against her lips as she remembered their kiss and heat pooled in her womb. She wanted him. She knew that. If for no other reason, she wanted him to help erase her memories of her last night on Katkari.
Lost in thought, she barely noticed when he landed gently on a second story balcony. She looked down at the water, the waves glittering in the moonlight, and somehow knew she had made the right decision. If anyone could make her forget the clumsy touch of the palace guard it was Kyl.
“Don’t think about that place.”
“How—”
“Shh…” Leaning down, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Your expression was so worried, so intense. You couldn’t have been thinking of anywhere but there.” He drew her close, resting his chin on the top of her head and she welcomed his warm embrace. “You’re here now. You’re safe and no one will ever make you a slave again.”
How Marti wanted to believe him. It surprised her to realize that she did. However, how did one guarantee the safety of another if they didn’t know the circumstances of their incarceration? How could he know when she didn’t? “How can you be so certain?” She hated that her voice sounded so weak and unsure.
“Because I know that we are too many and they will fall. They must fall. The righteous shall always prevail.”
“That sounds a bit fanatical.” She frowned. Did he have the same attitude as th
ose who had held her captive for so long?
“No. It is truth. I do not base my opinion on some mythological ideal, but on truth. What they have done to you and to the others is wrong. Like I said, they will fall and we shall prevail.”
“They have a mighty army and a weapon we don’t understand. What if they can take your abilities the way they took mine and we are all left powerless?”
“Our weapons are mighty and they are endless.” He smiled down at her. “There is nothing so mighty as what is right and there is nothing so endless as a defender’s will to do what is right for those he or she has chosen to protect.”
Leaning down, he easily lifted her into his arms. “I’m not fanatical or crazy.” Smiling, he pressed another kiss against the tip of her nose as he carried her inside. “I merely know that it is wrong to enslave people. It is wrong to force them to one’s will. There is no excuse to explain such actions away—not even if they claimed religion as their excuse. I know of no god who would condone the enslavement or the subjugation of others regardless of their sex or beliefs. If there is such a god, he or she does not deserve my faith.”
Marti almost gasped when her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room. A huge bed sat against one wall. A large pool of steaming water sat in the corner, just begging her to strip off her clothes and sink below its glassy surface. The doorway he’d just entered was more than just a door. It was a long, glass wall facing the ocean. The moon shone through the glass, the glimmering water of the ocean below beckoning her just as surely as the large pool in the corner.
“It’s a beautiful room.”
“My father designed it,” Kyl said with a shrug. “I always thought it a bit ostentatious.”
“No.” Marti shook her head, her eyes wide, as she took in the gleaming wood tables and large, overstuffed chairs situated near the fireplace on the far wall. “It’s perfect.”
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