“It’s a nice house,” she said in a smooth, emotionless voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He growled. “No lies, sweetheart, remember?”
She blinked, bit the corner of her lip and looked away a moment before meeting his gaze again.
“I didn’t expect to meet any of your former lovers so quickly.”
He stilled, unsure how to proceed. He hadn’t tried to keep anything in his history from her but they hadn’t discussed that part of their pasts.
“It was a long time ago,” he said cautiously. “We were friends. There was nothing more to it than that.”
“But it would nice to catch up?” she asked much too sweetly.
He had the impression of being swallowed up by a sandstorm. Its fury would wrap around him and spit out nothing but bones if he wasn’t careful.
“She will be Zola’s mother-in-law. Even if that wasn’t the case, she’s the high priestess. She will be a part of Zola’s life either way.”
He couldn’t read her expression and she kept her thoughts hidden. His frustration grew. “You are my der’lan. Nothing, no one, can ever compare to you.”
“How many others will I be expected to welcome into my life?”
He heard it now, the jealousy, but it took him off guard. He knew she’d had lovers and hadn’t questioned that. Though, thank the gods he’d never meet one of them face to face. And then he understood. He took her glass and set it aside, then gently cupped her face.
“There is only you, my der’lan. My heart and soul are yours. I have never loved another,” he whispered, staring into her eyes, watching as her widened.
He hadn’t dared speak of love before. Had used his takeover of the clan to draw her closer. Hoped she would come to see it for herself. He was a pragmatic and calculating warrior. He should have seen, should have known, she needed a different kind of assurance from him despite her protests to the contrary. He pulled her to feet, determined to show her exactly what she was to him, but the door chimes rang before he could get her into the bedroom.
“One of the guards downstairs can handle it,” he said, seeing that vulnerable look in her eyes again.
It was gone in an instant and she shook her head. “No. You’re right. She’s part of Zola’s life. And the clan would suffer if I don’t get over it.”
He glared at her. “This has nothing to do with the clan. This is about my der’lan’s comfort.”
Surprise burst through his mind and then she smiled. “Everything affects the clan, darlin’. I promise I’ll be nice to your ex-girlfriend.”
“She’s not--it wasn’t like that. It isn’t like that on Delroi.”
She shrugged and walked ahead of him through the door. He caught up with her at the top of the stairs, could see Lady Rona waiting in the foyer and watching them with a curious gaze. Grabbing Anna Leigh’s hand, he pulled her close before she could descend. He wanted to skip this meeting. Wanted to take his mate back to their bed and sink to the hilt inside her.
“Later,” she promised softly.
“No one has ever had the ability to make me lose control or forget my responsibilities.”
“And I do?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He felt his smile deep in his chest. “I’m not.”
She laughed, as he’d hoped she would, pressing her lips against his in a kiss that was in no way satisfying, before pulling free of his arms and going down the steps. He was so stunned by her sudden change of mood he just watched. She stopped halfway down and turned back to him with an arched eyebrow.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Her tart tone hit him right in the groin. He gave her a slow sexy smile he hadn’t known he was capable of a few weeks ago.
“You promised me later,” he whispered into her mind, adding an image of her restrained spread eagled to their bed and at the mercy of whatever pleasure he chose to give her.
“I’ll retaliate,” she warned softly.
“You can try.”
She gave him a considering look, then shook her head. “I wouldn’t like that. I’ll get my revenge in some other way.”
It took him a second to realize she was teasing him. He let her feel his triumph at getting her to deal with him on a deeper level than she had yet and was rewarded with a startled, almost panicked look. She covered it and hurried down to the foyer quickly. He was right behind her, put his hand on her lower back and stepped close as he met Rona’s curious gaze.
“Lord Bana,” she said in the clear, confidant tone he remembered.
He refused to recall anything else. Anna Leigh appeared serene at his side but he could feel her tension.
“High Priestess,” he greeted her. “Allow me to introduce my der’lan, Anna Leigh. This is Lady Rona Idis of the Keep and the high priestess of the goddess cult.”
Rona’s lips twitched. “So formal, my lord.” She turned a questioning look on Anna Leigh. “Is that necessary? It may not be official yet, but we are family.”
*
Anna Leigh felt the nervousness in her chest unclench. No, that wasn’t true. It was fear. Fear that Xan might want someone else. That someone else might have a prior claim and resent her for the bond he’d formed between them. She felt none of that from either Xan or Rona, only a fondness and mutual respect between old friends.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, no,” she said, hoping this woman who knew her daughter could give her insight into the woman Zola was here. “Would you like a glass of gazzi?”
“Yes, thank you.” She held up the bag. “I should give this to my son first though.”
Xan directed her and she disappeared from view for a couple of minutes. When she returned, they followed her mate into a light airy solarium that looked out over the sea. Two small sofas face each other with a table between them. Xan poured while she and Rona sat and looked each other over. She felt his unease. He was in unfamiliar waters and didn’t have any idea what he was supposed to do. She let him suffer a minute before taking pity and sending him a wave of reassurance. He joined them, setting the glasses on the table. He didn’t sit until both women had had a sip. She wondered if that was some kind of point of protocol she was unaware of.
“Once two warriors have shared a drink they’ve indicated they are not enemies.”
“Neither of us are warriors.”
She felt a huff of amusement in her mind. “Yes you are.”
“So you’re Zola’s mother,” Rona said, putting her guard up.
“I am.”
Rona just looked at her. “I see where her stubborn streak comes from.”
Unable to deny that, she shrugged. “It’s a family trait.”
“Comes in handy dealing with Delroi warriors,” Rona said dryly.
Anna Leigh laughed. She hadn’t had to pit her will against Xan’s yet but she had a feeling that day was coming. “Giving Jarek hell is she?”
For some reason that made her feel much better about her daughter’s choice. Rona grinned. “I’m sure they’ll work it out soon,” she said.
“So she works for you?”
She should have spent more time with Siana and Eva on ship. Found out exactly how this goddess cult worked. Rona gave her a considering look.
“Her focus is on Tel right now. Once that is dealt with we’ll discuss what she wants to do.”
“What are the options?”
Rona’s gaze hardened, moved to Xan, and Anna Leigh knew whatever she said it wouldn’t be the whole truth. With a noncommittal shrug, her expression cleared to polite blandness.
“Since she’s Jarek’s der’lan and will stay in the Keep, I imagine she’ll assist with the novice’s training.”
She stood. “I really should be getting back to the temple. There’s a great deal still left to finish before the celebration begins.”
Anna Leigh and Xan walked her to the door, then returned to their suite.
; “So what does a priestess do? And why was she so cagey about discussing it?”
“That’s something southern warriors spend a great deal of time speculating over,” he said in a dry tone. “They often are hired as companions for females, but they’re really bodyguards.”
He sighed. “That’s what I should have done for Xiri.”
She met his gaze, saw the lingering regret. “You could do that now.”
“No, Goran has taken care of it.”
She’d wondered why Xiri hadn’t accompanied them to the Keep. Was a little surprised after her abduction that Xan trusted her to Goran’s care, though the couple planned to join them in a few days. He gave her a wicked smile that made her toes curl and her belly flip-flop.
“Oh, I’m not worried. Newly mated warriors rarely let their der’lan’s out of sight.”
She got the feeling he wasn’t talking about his cousin and her mate. The gleam in his eyes made her alternately melt and freeze. Lascivious. So damned hungry. He took a step closer and she backed up. Kept backing up as he stalked until she realized he’d herded her right where he wanted her. The bedroom. She didn’t dodge when he reached for her. Didn’t protest when he slowly stripped her, then himself, and stretched out on the bed next to her.
“I made you a promise,” he said.
His voice was soft, his eyes filled with a lazy heat that made her hold her breath as the images of that promise filled her mind again. Her silence was all the consent he needed and before she knew it she was cuffed to the four corners of the bed. He stood and looked down at her.
“So beautiful, love, spread out and waiting for me,” he whispered.
He settled between her legs. His cock was hard, hot, but he didn’t thrust into her. He brushed kisses over her cheeks before moving to her throat, which remained unmarked. They’d been so busy they hadn’t had time to schedule with a tattoo artist. He sucked sensitive skin between his teeth.
“My mark will go here. My sweet, powerful, beautiful der’lan.”
She felt his control fracture a moment before he shored it up. He licked and nipped his way down her body, stopping to torture her nipples with teasing gentle licks.
“Xan. I need more.”
“Mmm. And I need everything. Give me everything, sweetheart, and I’ll give you what you need.”
The last of her resistance to the bond. The small piece of herself she held back, that she’d thought was too broken, too wasted to ever give again. Her heart. He slid down her body and bit her inner thigh.
“You’re thinking too much,” he said aloud.
His gaze clashed against hers, demanding and domineering. Loving and promising, if only she had the strength to believe she deserved it. This time his teeth grazed her clit. Unwilling to do anything that would make him stop, she froze.
“Anna Leigh,” he murmured into her mind as his tongue stroked through her folds. “Give yourself to me. You’ll never regret it.”
His teeth worried her clit, his tongue flicked tauntingly. The demand in his mind became something else, morphed into something gentler. Coaxing. Cajoling.
“Enticing,” he teased. “Charming.”
“Bewitching,” she complained, though she laughed.
Her resistance dissolved into dust. The bond between them got impossibly stronger. She felt him in every part of her. Heart, soul, body. She accepted his right to be there, hers to be as closely tied to him, and his control snapped. He sucked her clit hard, just like she liked it, and thrust two fingers into her pussy.
“Come, der’lan. I can’t wait to get inside you,” he growled.
Ecstasy rushed through her. Pleasure so extreme, so deep she couldn’t begin to describe it. Wanted to drown in it. She was distantly aware of the cuffs being removed, of Xan rolling her to her stomach then pulling her to her knees. He thrust into her and the orgasm started all over again. He rode her through it. When she started to come down, he strummed her clit and it started all over again. It was too much. Too much sensation, too much bliss.
“Xan,” she begged, but for what she had no idea.
His thrusts quickened, his breathing grew ragged. “I’ve got you, love.”
He stiffened, rolled his hips twice more against her G-spot, and she felt the first warm jet of come as he pinched her clit and tugged. For half a second she felt nothing at all. Then her world exploded, breaking her into so many tiny pieces she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to repair them. She collapsed to the bed, Xan’s heavy weight covering her, and closed her eyes.
Shifting to his side, he tucked her close against him. He brushed the hair off her face, pressed his lips against hers and hummed in satisfaction when she tried to snuggle closer. He pillowed her head with one arm, but used his free hand to gently stroke up her side. Once, twice, before she sensed his next intention. She grabbed his wrist before he could cup her breast.
“Don’t even think about.”
“But it feels so good,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck.
“Any better and I won’t be able to think for the rest of the day.”
“Just the day?”
She bit back a laugh, barely, but sobered quickly. He noticed her change in mood right away, of course.
“You’re worried about Tel going after Zola.”
“Yes. I think they’ll try during the opening of the celebration.”
He made no complaint about the conversational shift. Didn’t ignore her fear for Zola or try to dismiss it.
“We’ll protect her,” he promised.
Her resistance melted a bit more and she hoped like hell that was a promise they could keep.
Chapter Seven
A couple of days later the celebration started, though Anna Leigh still had no idea where she stood. She and Xan were inside the Keep with a special dispensation to be armed. She figured Zola had something to do with that, but she wasn’t sure if it was a matter of family loyalty or if she’d decided Anna Leigh was more dangerous left to her own devices. The why didn’t really matter.
“The threat isn’t here,” Zola warned all the telepaths searching for the Tel agents. “They’ll strike against the civilians, outside the Keep walls.”
Anna Leigh let fear rush through her for just a moment, and then locked it away. She sensed Zola moving through the crowd toward the exit. Her daughter would use herself as bait and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it except try to get there first. Thankfully, Xan knew the Keep well. He grabbed her hand and tugged in the opposite direction.
“We’ll get out quicker this way.”
“I thought access was restricted to the Keep’s clan?”
His slashing grin was predatory. “I’ll get us out, love. Don’t worry.”
She hoped he wouldn’t have to compel a warrior to open the way for them. She didn’t want anything to jeopardize the relationship between the Keep and the Bana clan. Zola would need the safety of both in the coming battle. Xan squeezed her hand.
“It won’t come to that.”
The crowd began to thin and they entered a different section of the Keep. There were warriors and almost as many women milling around in the large space. Xan veered to one side, singling out one particular group. They fell quiet when she and Xan joined them, then one stepped forward with a smile.
“Lord Bana. It is good to see you returned well to Delroi.”
“Thank you, Cassius. This is my der’lan, Anna Leigh,” he introduced her. “We need to get into the city as quickly as possible.”
Cassius’s gaze sharpened. “Trouble?”
Before he could answer Cassius’s comm beeped. As he read the message, he went from alert to badass.
“Kaje?” Xan asked and she realized why the young warrior looked familiar. He was one of Kaje Stian’s brothers.
“Parker went into the city with Zola. This way.”
He led them through a series of short corridors and halls, finally stopping in front of two large doors. He nodded at the warriors keeping guard
.
“They’re with me,” he said, pointing to her and Xan.
One door opened enough for them to pass through. She looked around the small courtyard for the exit but only saw more doors. Xan knew where he was though, led her straight across and through a door that opened on a busy street. It was loud, both aurally and psychically, and it took her a moment to get her bearings. Once she did she led the way, though Xan kept her hand tight in his.
The longer it took to wind her way through the crowd, the more urgent she became. Somewhere in the distance she heard an explosion. Zola was well shielded, but Anna Leigh felt a burst of pain that quickly faded. She ran. And finally she was there. Blood dripped down her daughter’s arm. Anna Leigh reached out, saw that it was a minor wound and dropped her hand. She hadn’t been invited to touch and their relationship was tenuous at best.
“You should go back to Jarek. Get this taken care of.”
“There’s one left out here and he wants me. We heard an explosion.”
“The fireworks storage,” Xan said, glancing at his comm. “Word is being put out it was an accident. No one was hurt.”
Anna Leigh watched the relief flare in her daughter’s eyes, but as it faded determination filled them. She smiled.
“I’ll go back to the Keep. The survivors probably won’t try again tonight.”
Anna Leigh wasn’t sure if she should be dismayed or amused at how easily the lie slid off Zola’s tongue.
“Yes,” she agreed. “We’ll continue the search just in case.”
Zola nodded and walked away. Her friend Parker watched then turned a suspicious gaze on Anna Leigh. She knew she deserved it but it still rankled.
“Do you think they’ve given up?”
“No,” she said curtly. “And neither has Zola.”
Parker shook her head, exasperation easy to read on her face. “Using herself as bait,” she muttered.
Anna Leigh agreed. “She’s far enough ahead we should follow now.”
She looked at Cassius. “Can you get ahead of her?”
He looked around then nodded. “With Parker’s help, I think so.”
They all started forward. After a couple of cross streets, Parker and her brother-in-law peeled off. Disbelief and horror burst through her mind. Zola.
Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) Page 6
