by Kyle, Celia
Perhaps she was attempting to end his life. This would be an excellent method.
“No, it’s not.” She shook her head, ponytail swinging, and snatched his plate. “I knew I shouldn’t have tried to convert Preor recipes to Earth but I wanted…”
She sighed, shoulders slumping, and her disappointment overrode his angry stomach. “You did well, shaa kouva. Truly.”
Besides, Preor warriors were difficult to kill. He would survive this. Probably.
“Lana said Preors make mosene kaa seilei for their loved ones. Parents for their kids and mates for their other halves.”
Argan swallowed hard, saliva flooding his mouth again, though not because he looked forward to food. More like food looked forward to making a reappearance. But he pushed the urge down. He would not get ill while he had this discussion with Lily.
“And is that what you intended? To show that you care?” He tilted his head. “Do you see yourself as a parent, shaa kouva?”
Lily snorted, and he found the sound adorable. “There is nothing parental about my feelings for you.” She stared at what remained of breakfast and poked it with her spatula. “I wanted to give you a bit of home.” She met his stare, sad eyes staring into his own. “I wanted to make up for what I did. Instead, all I did was make you sick.” She grumped.
“What you did?”
Lily quirked a brow. “Yeah, you remember. That whole ‘claiming you and forcing you to live with me for the rest of your life’ bit.”
It was Argan’s turn to snort. He pushed to his feet, gripping the counter when his legs threatened to collapse. At least his stomach no longer attempted to kill him. She did not move as he rounded the kitchen island, remaining in place as he closed the distance between their bodies. He stepped as close as he dared, mere inches separating their bodies. He cupped her cheek, the sizzle of their touch shooting straight to his cock. Oh, how he ached for her.
“Lily joi Argan King,” he murmured, loving the sound of their joined names. “Being claimed by you was the greatest moment of my life.” He rubbed her cheek bone, marveling at the softness of her skin. “You do not realize what you have done, but I will discover a way to show my appreciation for what you have given to me.”
“I haven’t—”
“You saved my life. You accepted the Binds without question. You made mosene kaa seilei when no other in my lifetime ever cared enough to do such. In two days you have given me something I never allowed to enter my dreams.” Argan touched the bottom tip of the scar that bisected his face. “Not since…”
“What?” The single syllable ghosted over his skin.
“You gave me hope.”
Chapter Thirteen
She gave him hope?
God, Argan was so wrong that Lily had no idea how to explain it to him. She’d been selfish when she’d claimed him. Selfish in saving his life by tying it to her own. Sure, he kept on breathing, but she got a dose of eye candy for the rest of her life. Delicious, muscular eye candy.
Hell. She was going to hell on the first train in a first-class cabin… thing. A railcar? She silently huffed. Did it matter what she called it? No. Just that she was bound for a land of punishment and pain. She’d always known her impulses would get the best of her someday. In all honesty, she was surprised she hadn’t suffered any true consequences in the past. But, eventually Karma would call her bill due and Lily would have to pay. Dearly.
But, standing there, staring at a smiling Preor warrior who was thankful that she’d been a self-centered ass, her only option was to make it up to him. Easier said than done. Especially when he looked at her with those heated eyes and an expression that said he hoped to get her naked at some point in the future.
Heat tingled up her chest and slunk along her neck before finally crawling into her cheeks, making her pale skin hot and flushed.
Lily licked her lips and forced her mouth to turn up in a grin. “Hope for death maybe.” She wrinkled her nose and poked the pan of mosene kaa seilei. “I’m pretty sure I did something wrong.” Her smile turned into a grimace. “I’m better with tech than I am with… basically anything.”
“I believe humans state that it is the thought that counts.” His low rumble vibrated through her. She fought to suppress the shudder of arousal that threatened to overtake her body.
Mouth dry, she forced out a laugh. “I think not killing you is what counts.”
He shrugged. “Preor warriors are not so weak as to die from food.”
That yanked a true laugh out of Lily. The chuckles and lighthearted teasing causing her head to tip back. Not simply because of his words, but the fact that she heard them from nearly every Preor every day.
Preor warriors are not so weak…
And then… then she realized Argan wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even smiling. Instead his gaze turned solemn and finally emotionless—a blank mask that told her nothing about the warrior in front of her.
A pulse came from her Bind, a shimmer of emotion traveling through the metal cuff that tied them together. She’d tried to suppress the Binding’s responses, clue her in on Argan’s feelings, but this was one time she gladly reached for the connection. The alien she’d come to know and lo—ahem, not that—held his emotions close and buried them beneath his blade-wielding façade, but he’d never hidden from her. Or rather, Penelope. Whatever.
Their tie wide open, his feelings flooded her mind, putting her processors to work as she sorted through the data. The chips fought to interpret every ounce of information the Binds provided, finally giving her an answer that stabbed her in the chest. It broke her heart to think of him being just as tormented.
The emotions dug up her own, the ones she’d stomped into the ground so long ago. When she’d thought she was less. When she’d thought she’d fucked up so badly there was no way back and…
Lily didn’t hesitate to close the distance between them in large, quick steps. She didn’t stop until their bodies touched, no hint of space between her chest and his. And that’s when she launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and pulled him close, burying her face against his neck. Later she’d think about the way her hips fit snugly between his thighs. About how good his heat felt against her skin.
“You can’t think that way. Not ever. It’s not true, and you know it. You bled for them and if they can’t see it then—”
“Shaa kouva, I do not understand.” Argan sounded truly confused, not a man pretending because he didn’t feel like having an argument.
She tightened her hold on him, a gentle squeeze though she doubted she could ever hurt the massive alien. He slowly rested his palms on her waist, gradually wrapping them around her until she was cradled in a loose hug.
Lily forced herself to calm, to take deep breaths and find the peace that only chips and processors could give her. Once settled, she gradually drew her arms from around his neck, smiling when his hold tightened, as if he rebelled against the idea of letting her go.
She kept her lower body in place, but leaned away from him, transferring her hands to cup his cheeks. Even that part of him was warm like a spring day and she wanted to soak in all his heat. But not until the coldness in his heart was handled.
“You don’t understand?” She whispered the words.
His brow furrowed as he shook his head. “One moment we were speaking and now…” he stiffened. “Kozav has stated that interrupting his female often has her raging that he does not find her words important.” Argan gave her hips a hard squeeze. “I find them important. Please do not force me to live in the house of a dog.”
Her lips twitched, his obvious distress and fear of the doghouse easing some of her anger on his behalf. Some, but not all.
“You’re not in the doghouse.” Not really. She couldn’t exactly make him sleep on the couch because she had a problem with his thoughts. “I’m… frustrated,” though that wasn’t strong enough to describe her feelings. “That you think arguing with Vende has somehow taken
away what you’ve accomplished. That suddenly you’re not a warrior because the engineering master was an asshole and you defended me.”
The longer she spoke, the angrier she became—at Vende, at the Preor, and even at herself. If she’d gotten permission before converting the training platform, they wouldn’t be here.
Argan’s face softened, emotion creeping back into his expression. “I forgot about the Binds. You sensed my pain at no longer being a Preor warrior.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re still a Preor warrior.”
“No, once a male has acted dishonorably, he no longer has the right to refer to himself as a warrior.” He brushed Lily’s touch aside and traced the edge of her cheekbone with one finger. “Though I cannot say I regret my actions for it brought me here.”
“But everything you’ve accomplished in life can’t be taken away over one action. It’s ridiculous.”
Argan traced her lower lip. “Do humans not do the same to healers who commit errors?”
Lily huffed. “That’s different. They’re responsible for lives—”
“And a Preor warrior is not?” He quirked a brow and she cursed the human that’d taught that expression to the aliens.
“Your mistake didn’t cost a life.”
“Not today, but dishonor today can lead to dishonor tomorrow or the next. Or on the battlefield.” His eyes bored into hers, intent gaze not straying an inch. “Besides, I already told you that I am not unhappy with the results.”
Not unhappy? That didn’t mean he actually was happy.
“It’s not fair.” She let her eyes close and shook her head. “I ruined your life, Argan. How can you be so…”
Not an asshole.
He snorted, withdrawing his hand, and her eyes popped open of their own volition. “Ruined my life?” He grasped her hand and turned to his right, drawing her across the living area and not stopping until they reached the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. He gestured at the unending expanse of blue skies and water. “What do you see here, shaa kouva?”
“The beach?”
He chuckled, a small wisp of smoke escaping his nose. It was weird that she found that sexy, right? Yeah, it probably was weird. But he was hot enough—literally and figuratively—that she didn’t care.
Argan turned to face her, his large wings rustling with the movement. “And now? What am I looking at now?”
“Do I have a booger in my nose? I bet I do. I bet—”
“I see a mate I never thought to have and a future that is endless. I see possibilities. I see clear skies and wind lifting my wings.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What you do not understand is that this,” he traced the long, pale scar from top to bottom. “This stole my future. The moment the blade cut through flesh and scales, any hope for a mate disappeared. Not only on Preor, but also on Earth. No female wants a broken male as a mate. No one but you. Even if we are never anything more than friends, this is more than I ever could have dreamed of.”
“You’re not broken.” She glared at him, daring him to disagree. “Those women are idiots. I’d rather have a scarred, seasoned warrior than some pretty guy who occasionally swings a sword. Look at you!” She gestured at his over six feet of muscular hotness. “You were nearly killed and survived. I think that would make you perfect mate material. You’re a fighter. You don’t give up. Between your strength, those muscles, and sunshine wings, you’ve got that sexy wounded warrior thing going on. Don’t pretend you don’t know you’re hot.”
“Sex-ee.” He said the word slowly, drawing out the syllables, and she internally winced. God, she really needed to get a handle on her runaway mouth at some point. “You find me attractive.” A statement, not a question, but she nodded anyway. “You believe I would make a good mate.”
Now she rolled her eyes. There was no way to plead innocence now. “Yeah, yeah. Are you fishing for compliments now?”
“Preor don’t fish.” Argan stepped closer, a new bit of… something in the way he stared at her.
His expression changed, altering just enough to cause her body to react. Her heartbeat doubled, and she found it difficult to breathe. Not only that, a squirming, tingling intensity crept along her spine. It encircled her hips and then spread along her nerves, setting each one aflame. Then the sensation changed, a pulsing ball of want gathered around her core, her sex heating and aching the longer she held his gaze.
Desire. That was what she felt. His desire or her own? Theirs combined? No matter the source, her craving rose, dancing in her blood and sinking into her flesh.
“No, Preor do not fish, shaa kouva,” Argan murmured the words. “We hunt. And what we hunt, we catch.” He stepped closer, one arm wrapping around her, hand settling on her lower back. “And what we catch, we claim.”
And then he truly did claim… her mouth. Argan’s lips descended to hers, capturing her lips in a heated kiss. His heat scorched, yet soothed her at the same time. It aroused her, drawing a low whimper from her throat as he slipped into her mouth.
Thick, muscular arms wrapped around her, his muscles tensing and pulling her even closer to his body. Hard planes of muscle met her curves, and her fingers tingled with the need to touch him—to feel him. Not just his hard chest or flat abs, but all of him. For now, she’d settle for what she could reach while their kiss continued.
Argan’s warmth delved through her skin and heated her insides, sending a thrumming pulse of need echoing through her body. She skated her touch up his sides, touch playing along the peaks and valleys of his carved abs. She continued to his chest, his rock-hard pecs and tight nipples. She flicked one with her thumbnail and Argan sucked in a startled breath. At least she could surprise the warrior.
Lily reached his shoulders, muscles tense and firm beneath her palms. She twined her arms around his neck, using the new hold to pull herself even tighter against him until no space separated them at all. Nothing but cloth and katoth acting as a barrier.
Their tongues twined over and over again, mouths mimicking what their bodies craved—love making. No, they didn’t love each other. It’d be fucking. Pure, primal fucking.
And she was totally okay with that.
She tangled her fingers in the long strands at the back of his neck, silken locks drifting through her hands. She moved on, tracing the length of his neck before teasing his upper back. An upper back that led her even closer to…
To the part of him that intrigued her most—his wings.
Lily’s fingertips ghosted over the edge of one wing, the surface both dry and slick at the same time. Scaled flesh coated lean muscle and hardened bone. And nerve endings. So many, many nerve endings. According to her research in Penelope’s databases anyway.
She teased the delicate yet fiercely strong line of his wing, sliding north until she reached the first bend. Argan’s wings rustled, scales and wing skin brushing against each other as his body reacted to her touch. His kiss deepened as he overpowered her, delving into her mouth and releasing his passion. Their tongues mimicked what their bodies ached to do. The rhythmic push and pull had her shuddering.
Her nipples pebbled, aching and hard, silently begging for his fingers, his mouth. And that wasn’t the only part of her that ached. Her pussy had grown hot with wanting, clit twitching with every beat of her heart, and her core pulsed with the desperate need to be filled.
Argan’s hands roamed her body, tracing her spine and finally settling on her ass. He squeezed her mounds, kneading the roundness as he hauled her closer. They aligned from chest to knee, and his hardness fit snugly against her mound. He rocked his hips and Lily did the same, meeting the sensual roll of his body.
She still she craved more—everything.
And she knew Argan felt the same. The Binds fed her his emotions, his feral desire and soul-deep need. The physical craving for the touch of another—his mate—tempered with the emotional yearning for a bond beyond their bodies.
Just as that thought drifted throug
h her mind, Argan ended their kiss. He released her ass and lifted his hands to grasp her wrists, gently drawing her touch from his wings. He gentled their kiss, carefully pulling his lips from hers until they no longer touched. Then he took a large step back, putting space between their heated, aroused bodies. She couldn’t suppress the whimper that escaped her lips or the whine that followed when his passion-glazed eyes met her own.
Argan’s words came back to her then, sliding through her thoughts and echoing in her mind.
“…what we catch, we claim.”
And Lily felt claimed.
Chapter Fourteen
After seven nights spent with Lily in his arms and seven mornings waking without her at his side, he should be used to finding himself alone. Yet he could not suppress his frustration when he opened his eyes and realized his arms were empty once more.
Argan lifted his head and glanced toward the window, searching for the sun shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Except all was darkness beyond Preor Tower and their apartment. The sun had not even crept past the horizon yet! And Lily was already gone.
He sighed and pushed himself upright, swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress and sitting there for a moment while he stretched his muscles. He tilted left and right, his spine cracking, and then he lifted his wings as if he shrugged his shoulders. His wings were tight, tendons protesting any type of movement simply because he hadn’t used them in so long. He would have to do something about his loss of strength and inactivity. He might have lost his dragon, but he had not lost his wings. He would not lose them due to neglect.
Argan rose from the bed and extended his golden wings fully until the tips brushed the sides of the room. The dull sheen was now gone, the ability to move around and be exposed to sunlight helping return some of his health.
With one last stinging stretch, he pulled his wings back until they were tight against his spine. Donning his katoth pants once more, he then padded from the bedroom he shared with Lily.
