Eluria's Enforcer (The Argadian Heart Trilogy Book 1)

by Adrianna Dane

  He was unable to clarify and isolate one emotion in order to control it. They wavered, shimmering one through another, woven together, tangled in a way he’d never be able to unravel. The lust and desire was worst, the most primal of needs embedded within him.

  “Let me ease you.” Her voice held a note of pleading he didn’t understand nor want.

  “I would not have tortured you, Female. Your death would have been quick.” Another agonizing wave of pain sliced through him, and he convulsed in response, fighting its control.

  His body raged with a fire that sought to be quenched, and there was nothing he could do. Cool air washed over him as the blanket was removed from his sweat-soaked body.

  “I’m trying to help you, not kill you, Enforcer. You’ll hate me for this later, but right now it’s what you need. To help you find your way through the maze of emotions overwhelming you.”

  A soft hand encircled his khout and a new emotion emerged to overtake the others. A moist tongue circled the tip and her mouth enclosed him in a warm, satiny, heat. Wanting to fight the craving his body demanded, but unable to do so, he groaned with the pleasurable texture of her mouth.

  “Mylonna! Deeper, take me deeper.”

  Devon thrust his hips upwards, trying to force her to his command, fighting for release. Haydon! The pleasure that consumed him. It was too much.

  She laid a hand to his hip, staying his movement, as she continued to drive him to a place he’d never been, to the fringes of Lydion. Pleasure flooded through him, the sensations of her mouth, her tongue, swirling, sucking, drove him upwards. The need to bury his khout in her channel uppermost in his thoughts. Her fragrant scent of rozanna petals drifted around him.

  He’d never desired a female. The raw feeling now encompassing him to see if her skin tasted as sweet, if her lips were as soft as they felt on his hard shaft, had him dizzy with painful wanting. Not just any female, but this one who was driving him mad with her mouth.

  He tightened, and then release erupted inside him like exploding zyflamite, sending him into a swirl of colors and fulfillment he’d never experienced before, a shattering. Pleasure rocked him hard, as he tried to bury himself farther into her mouth, and she continued to stroke him with her tongue, swallowing his seed as he released a groan of satisfaction.

  Tension left Devon’s body as he dropped back onto the blankets beneath him, his body drenched in sweat. He closed his eyes, thankful that for the moment pain was manageable and the lust had abated.

  He slitted his eyelids as he felt a warm, wet cloth stroke his chest. He watched her from beneath lowered lids, confusion now overriding his thoughts. “Why?” he rasped.

  She stopped what she was doing and glanced at him. Devon could determine nothing from her expression, none of her thoughts filtered through. The protective lenses she wore over her eyes hid her emotions; her soul and mind were closed off from detection.

  “You have a fever. I’m simply trying to make you more comfortable while you heal.”

  “Why didn’t you kill me when you had a chance?” He couldn’t understand why she’d let him live and he needed to reason her purpose. “What do you hope to gain by keeping me alive?” He’d accessed her file, knew she’d terminated others who tracked her. Why not him?

  She glanced away and continued bathing his sweat-drenched body. “I have my reasons,” was her cryptic response. “You must rest now. The emotion may surge again and you’ll need your strength.”

  Devon narrowed his gaze, studying her. “What do you know about what’s going on inside me?” He remembered the prick at his hip. “What have you done to me, Female?”

  She replaced the blanket over him and leaned back, looking at him. “You know my name. It’s Eluria. Stop calling me Female. I find it distasteful.”

  He returned her stare, seeking her motives. “You think I seek to please you, Female? I care not what you find distasteful.”

  Her lips firmed into a thin line. “You are at my mercy, Enforcer. I suggest you have a care with your tongue.”

  “You think I fear death? Unlikely.” He fell back and stared at the ceiling. “Do as you will.” When his mind was clearer, he would find a way to be free. Right now his thoughts were too jumbled to make sense, and his eyes couldn’t seem to maintain focus.

  He heard her deep intake of breath. “You’re a fool, Enforcer. Eventually, you’ll see that. But I can wait.”

  From the corner of his vision, Devon saw her rise and turn away. He turned his head to follow her movements as she walked through an entryway; liked the sway of her hips, appreciated the roundness of her bottom so well displayed in the dark blue skinsuit she wore. Wanted to know what lay beneath it. A primal rumble again started to rise deep in his chest. He now recognized the need building in his body.

  He turned away from her, feeling the lust again attempt to overtake him, trying to control it. If he didn’t look at her, maybe the feeling would subside. Long, painful moments later, he discovered it wasn’t going to be that easy. He didn’t need to be looking at her to desire her. He could scent her presence and it fueled his passion.

  The molten heat raged through him, like his body was on fire. He fought for control, refusing to give in as the pain surged. Again, sweat broke out on his body as he strove to restrain the feelings erupting and swirling inside him. Unbidden visions of the female in naked beauty entered his mind.

  No! The scream echoed inside his head. She’d done something to him. But he would fight it and he would succeed. Failure had never been an option for him and it would not be so now. If he was to die, he would do it as an Enforcer, not cringing in fear.

  Was that what she hoped to gain? To bring out a cowardice in him? How did she know about the problems he’d been experiencing with the Nanus block? The only one he’d spoken with was his immediate commander. No one else was aware of the breach.

  For what seemed like hours, he lay there fighting against the emotions. She always hovered, asking him how he felt. Was he in pain? Did he want something to eat? To drink? Devon refused to answer her. When he’d fought against the restraints, his body tightening against the fierce waves of pain and desire, she came to him again, and provided him with the release his body craved.

  He’d fought her, not wanting to succumb to the ripples of pleasure devouring him as her skilled mouth worked its magic on his hard, pulsing shaft. The female drew from him all manner of lustful thought and primal feelings he’d never experienced before. Devon tried to convince himself it was because she was an experienced twilighter, knew how to provide pleasure. But some part of him seemed to recognize her touch, her scent. And it was this part of himself he didn’t understand.

  The Killing Frenzy was no longer uppermost in his mind as it should be now. What he needed above all else was to claim her in the most elemental way, to fuck her until they both lay unconscious at the borders of Lydion. He groaned again as her skilled lips brought him release and he collapsed, allowing the cradle of unconsciousness to enclose him in its arms.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Eluria studied Devon as he lay in stasis. Watching the emotion rage through him tore her apart. There was little she could do, except try to ease the sexual frenzy somewhat. She wanted to take the pain into her own body, rather than see him suffer so. But she understood it was a stage he must pass through to be healed.

  When his memories returned, would he hate her for what she’d done? Absently, she fingered the pendant of the fragile silver necklace she wore. It had served as a talisman to her over the years, offering a symbol of strength to carry her forward.

  Even with Devon’s memory returned, there were things he wouldn’t be aware of. Painful in her own memory, knowledge would eventually need to be offered to him, to complete his understanding. Would he welcome their return?

  She knelt next to him and set down the bowl she carried. She wore the weight of her duties heavy on her shoulders and right now she felt their full impact. She looked up and was startled to find his inten
se gaze fixed on her.

  “Eluria the Pure.” He said it without emotion, a statement, not a question.

  She nodded and then looked away. “Yes. Does this come from memory or the files you accessed?”

  “I knew you.”

  “You knew Eluria the Pure.” She reached for the bowl. “You need nourishment. Will you accept this from my hand?”

  “Release me. I’ll feed myself.”

  “Not yet.”

  “Where are we?”

  “We are on Serdion. In a place we will remain undetected.”

  “I had you in my sights.” She studied the myriad of expressions cross his face as he tried to remember. A frown appeared as he concentrated, trying to piece moments back together.

  “Yes, you were about to terminate me when we were attacked.” She tried to remain unemotional at the memory of her final words to Guardian.

  “We were attacked? Why do you say we?”

  “Use your brain, Enforcer. Why would they put you on my tail and then send in a second force? I know for a fact you always work alone. That doesn’t make sense. Their target wasn’t just me—it was both of us. What have you done, Enforcer, that they want you dead as well?”

  His navy blue scrutiny pierced her. The fact his eyes were blue and not black, she took as an encouraging sign. He was changing. She’d marked the requisite amount of time and then injected him with the Nanus-Z neutralizer and now it would simply be a question of waiting.

  “Why didn’t you kill me instead of bringing me here?”

  “Unlike Enforcers, it is not our way to kill needlessly.” She didn’t want to tell him the real reason. She was certain Devon wasn’t ready for the truth.

  His gaze narrowed. “Nor do we kill without reason. You’re a rebel. You’ve killed before. What is your reason for not terminating me? You’ve injected me with something, I felt the needle. What was it?”

  She shouldn’t be surprised. He’d always been sharp, even in the Before. She looked away and then back. “What was your life like, Enforcer? What memories did you have? What did you feel?”

  “You know the answer. What more do you want?”

  “I’ve injected you with an antidote to the Nanus process.”

  “There is no such drug. It is impossible to reverse the process. The Tribunal would know if one existed.”

  Eluria pinned him with a hard look. “Oh, they know. Why do you think they sent you after me? Want me terminated? Do you really think the Tribunal would share such crucial information with you? They make you and they use you for their own greedy purposes. After your usefulness is over, they discard you in their own way without thought. They’re not going to offer you a way to be free of their enforced slavery. Do you remember anything from Before?”

  The look in his eyes changed to one of heavy lust. “What I remember is the feel of your warm mouth on my khout. You are skilled, Twilighter, I will give you that. You seek to seduce me, have come to me in stasis. To what end? The Tribunal cannot be defeated.”

  Rising up, Eluria turned away, afraid of what he’d see in her eyes. She could never reveal to Devon how much she yearned for him. Her body heated at the thought of joining with him in the truest sense. Not simply a fucking, but the spiritual and passionate sealing of souls in true union and balance. She also knew because of her path, she would never again be considered a proper complement in Union to any male. Never before had that knowledge tasted so bitter.

  Controlling her emotions, she turned back to him. “The Tribunal will be defeated. We now have the weapon. You are the first to test the antidote. Tell me, Enforcer, what do you feel? Or maybe the better question is, do you feel?”

  Devon tried to rip free of the restraints. She could smell the impotent rage consuming him. She’d tasted his lust, knew his desire. Yes, the antidote was working. But how quickly would it be before the Turning was complete?

  He turned a hate-filled gaze on her. “Yes, I feel emotion. Desire that I should not have. If I am unable to serve as an Enforcer, you might as well terminate me now.”

  “Be thankful you are no longer able to serve a brutal ruler,” she bit back, then turned away from him. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. “No, Enforcer,” she continued quietly, “it isn’t our way to kill.” How much should she tell him?

  She moved closer and knelt at his side. She could smell his desire building. She also sensed he was learning to control his need. She leaned closer. “I knew you Before, Devon Andromeda,” she whispered. “I would save you now.”

  He pulled back and pinned her beneath a hard cobalt stare. “Save me? From what? I had purpose. You would take that from me. You seek to hobble me with emotion and desire I do not need. Memories that serve no purpose other than to impede my duty.”

  Eluria sighed and then picked up the bowl. “Your duty? Duty to rulers who kill on a whim for power and greed? Who destroy your past to make you the perfect killing machine? This conversation serves no purpose. You must eat.”

  “I will take no food from your hand, Twilighter. Release me or terminate me. Now.”

  Eluria rose. “Be obstinate, Enforcer. Eventually you’ll eat, even from my tainted hand.” Devon closed his eyes and his jaw tightened as he twisted away from her. He reminded her of a small male unable to have his way. She sighed and turned away.

  “Why did you approach me in stasis? What did you hope to gain?” His words halted her.

  She whirled back to him. “I don’t have that power. I never entered your stasis. Explain what you saw.”

  “You. Beckoning me. Calling to me.” He studied her for long moments. “Different than you are now. Yet the same.”

  He’d had memories of her after becoming an Enforcer? Was that possible? She’d never heard of that anomaly before. Was the Nanus process deteriorating in some way? Or was it Devon who was the exception?

  “I never came to you in stasis. As unbelievable as it may be, it appears you retained a memory from Before. Or one resurfaced. How long have you been having the visions?”

  “Over the last several years your form has appeared to me. I felt no emotion attached to it, only the vision. I didn’t know who it was until I accessed your file.” His gaze arrowed past her, as though focused elsewhere.

  “Your hair and form were the same, but you were Maigin.” His eyes refocused on her, seemed to assess the lines of her body. She felt uncomfortable beneath the fierce look. “Your face was softer, your eyes held purity.”

  A knife pierced her heart and she turned away. His vision was of her as she had been before he was taken. Maigin. A pure young woman eagerly sought by many young Argadian males for Union. Once loved by Devon. Before he’d been taken. Before she’d discovered the betrayal by her father. Before she’d made the choice to become a twilight companion.

  “It appears it was the shadow of a memory of me which haunted you in stasis.” Her voice was husky with suppressed emotion. She would not let the bittersweet memories of Before hurt her. She’d convinced herself to move beyond them long ago. It was impossible to go back, and destructive to yearn for what might have been and would never be.

  “What happened, Eluria the Pure? Your father is a powerful Tribunal member. Why would you throw away your position and purity to become a twilight companion? You had no need, you already had power and wealth.” His eyes darkened, dilated. “Your signature radiance glows scarlet with sexual fire. Was it fucking you craved? Did you thirst for more Argadian khout than your father’s position could buy through Union?”

  She pulled inward, attempting to dim her radiance, knowing it glowed for him and no other. It’s the way it always had been By Symion, his words cut deep. Pain washed through her. He would never know what it cost her to become a companion. The enhancements she needed to ingest faithfully just to be able to perform without illness. He would never see the deep scars seared in her soul.

  * * *

  Devon saw her flinch at his words. He’d hurt her. Remorse filled him. It tasted odd. H
e’d never felt the emotion before and he was uncomfortable with its weight. He’d seen the pain before, knew its definition, but it had never touched him. Not like this.

  “I find I hunger. I will eat the food you’ve prepared,” he said gruffly.

  Slowly Eluria made her way back to his side and knelt. He found it pleasant to watch her. Her movements were graceful, like a moondancer, sensual and fluid. Though his memory was still vague, he knew she spoke true. She was part of his Before.

  As she fed him, he studied the memory, weighed the emotions he felt. Ones rusted with disuse. He recalled her presence and it felt pleasant, warm. The feelings of happiness, affection, love mingled inside threading through the shrouded memories. They washed through him like a tidal wave against the land. He sought to control their intensity, separate and harness his response to their demands.

  Devon wanted to know more about her, wanted more of his memory. Something inside him ached to touch her. His shaft rose hard, tenting the blanket covering him. Desire seared him, yet he found he was now able to control the emotion, to fetter their strength and command.

  She glanced at the tented blanket obviously knowing its cause, a tinge of pink spread across her cheeks. She looked away, appearing enthralled by the bowl in her lap.

  “You need not fear. I am in control of the emotions now.”

  She glanced up at him. The smoky lenses covering her eyes, hiding the path to her soul and heart, frustrated his efforts to read her emotions and find her true purpose. He wanted to know her and her eyes could tell him much about her true thoughts. She’d also cloaked her radiance, effectively sealing herself from any further discovery.

  “I don’t fear you. Nor do I fear your needs if pain exists or you are in discomfort.” Her voice was even-toned, low, emotionless.