Dark Warlord (Refuge Book 5)

by Cynthia Sax

  “Does he die quickly or slowly?” Batu asked the clone female the leader had attacked, giving her control over her assailant’s fate.

  She looked at him, at her attacker, and then at the other male. Batu’s gerel hadn’t asked for input. She was killing her target slowly, inflicting the maximum amount of pain on him. The second-in-command clawed frantically at the chain, his eyes bulging, spittle forming on his lips.

  The clone female’s bottom lip quivered. “He dies quickly,” she whispered.

  “Nooo.” The leader ran, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

  He couldn’t escape his destiny. Batu chased the male, swiped his claws over his prey’s neck, cutting through skin, flesh, bone, decapitating him. The head hit the pathway first, the eyes wide and lifeless. The body fell next, a crimson pool forming around it.

  Batu’s gerel yanked on the chain and her target toppled. His arms and legs thrashed, then grew still.

  She removed the chain and hopped to her booted feet. “What do we do with him?” She indicated the third male.

  “We let him go.” Batu wiped his bloody claws on the frightened male’s chest covering. “If he’s wise, he’ll tell everyone the clone females are under our protection.” He met the kid’s gaze. “Because we will hold him responsible for their welfare. If they’re attacked again, we will hunt him down and we will kill him. Slowly.”

  The kid gulped and nodded. Batu suspected the male would be more careful of his companions in the future.

  “Go,” he told the kid.

  The kid fled as though they were pursuing him, not looking back.

  Genine crouched by the clone females, murmuring words of comfort, reassuring them they were safe. Batu stood guard, monitoring their surroundings, ensuring no threats drew near the beings he cared for.

  Especially the being he was destined to love.

  He gazed at his gerel with pride. She was a good female, careful with her traumatized friends, severe with their enemies, passionate with him.

  He was a fortunate warrior.

  Moments passed. Genine helped the clone females stand. “They wish to return to their settlement.”

  Their settlement was also his gerel’s home, his new base. “Then we’ll return to our settlement.”

  “We’ll return?” Genine lifted her eyebrows.

  “The females are under our protection.” Batu retracted his claws and clasped one of her hands. Her fingers were small in his big palm but her skin as rough as his was, the secure grip of a warrior. “We’ll accompany them.”

  She beamed at him, the beauty of his gerel hitting him like a punch in the gut. “We’ll safeguard them.”

  Batu’s hold on her hand tightened. “We will.”

  And he’d also protect Genine, his light, his heart, his future.

  Chapter Five

  Genine was operating on pure adrenaline. Every step during the trek from the larger settlement to the community she called home was a struggle. She didn’t show it because that would worry Di-971 and Ema-974 and they had their own trauma to deal with.

  Pride also didn’t allow her to reveal her exhaustion. Batu valued her strength. She wanted to preserve his admiration, prove she was worthy of being his mate.

  They reached Di-971’s domicile. Ema-974 would stay with the still-shaking female over the rest period. Neither of them wanted to be alone.

  Genine didn’t want to be alone either. She said her farewells to them while Batu stood silent by her side. The females entered the domicile.

  Genine blinked up at Batu, trying to focus her eyes. “I… we… could…” Shit. Her brain was blank.

  “Where is your domicile, gerel?” He gazed at her, his lips lifted into the slightest of smiles.

  She pointed at the small structure she’d been assigned. It was positioned a short hike from the other domiciles but that distance seemed unbearably long at the moment.

  “My little human,” Batu murmured and scooped her into his arms. Genine wasn’t a small female. She was tall and broad and covered in muscle, yet he carried her as though she were the lightest dagger. “You’ve had a long planet rotation.”

  “I’m not weak,” she muttered, too weary to fight his coddling.

  “No one would ever view you as weak.” Batu pressed his lips against her forehead. “Even warriors require sleep.”

  “I can stay awake.” As she said those words, her eyes closed.

  “You can stay awake but you don’t have to.” His voice lowered, his rumbling comforting. “I have you. I’ll protect you.”

  She was no longer alone. He’d care for her.

  Genine sighed contentedly as she allowed herself to slip into the darkness.

  * * *

  Genine woke naked, the sun’s rays streaming into her sleeping chamber’s solitary portal, a heavy weight around her waist, heated muscle against her back. She jerked, stretched for the gun she always set on the nearby horizontal support, well within reach.

  “You’re safe.” Rough fingers encircled her wrists, a grip as unbreakable as the restraints she wore.

  Her Warlord, her new master, was the male holding her. She turned to face him. “Am I safe?” Her voice was husky.

  “No one will physically harm you.” His dark eyes gleamed. “But you’re in grave danger of being ravished.” He was as needy as she was, his hard cock pressing against her stomach.

  “I could fight you.” She brushed her lips against his.

  “You could.” He chased her kiss, stroking her back with sure hands, building her passion. “Or you could explore me as I’m exploring you.”

  “I’ll learn your body.” She ran her palms down his chest, traveling the flat planes of his pecs, navigating the dips and swells of his delineated abs. “Discover your weaknesses.”

  She traced his hip bones, her fingertips teasingly close to his cock.

  “You are my greatest weakness.” He groaned, lifting against her hand. “And my greatest strength.”

  “How am I your greatest strength?” She laughed. “You’re an enhanced Chamele Warlord.” She had fought him, had seen him kill Di-971’s attacker. Her male had no equal inside or outside the fighting ring. “You’re a finely-honed weapon.”

  And he was hers. She sucked on his chin, glorying in that fact.

  He covered her breasts with his big hands, lifting her curves, squeezing them. “Before I met you, I was a weapon with no purpose, a Warlord with no one to protect, to live for.”

  Genine understood, having felt the same uselessness after the war ended. “Now you have a settlement of clone females to safeguard.”

  “And I have you to live for.” Batu bent his head, flicked her right nipple with his tongue; she jerked, pleasure skittering over her skin. “My gerel.”

  He inhaled her sensitive flesh, his mouth hot, his nanohumanics bubbling over her. She threaded her fingers through his long black hair and held him to her, her senses bombarded by bliss.

  Batu adored her right breast and then her left, leaving her humming, winded by her desire for him. Her breath caught as he traveled downward, dragging his mouth over her stomach, parting her legs with his hands.

  “Batu.” She pulled on his hair. “You don’t have to do this. I’m ready for you.” She was more than prepared for his cock, her pussy dripping with need.

  “I want to do this. You smell delicious.” He nuzzled against her and she wiggled, unable to stay still. “I have to taste you.” He laved her folds with the flat of his tongue and she cried out, arching her back. “Be still, gerel.”

  Batu followed that impossible-to-obey command with action, strapping his arm over her stomach, pinning her to the sleeping support. He ate her out with a mind-blowing gusto, sucking, licking, pulling on her. All of her fizzed, coming alive under his care. There wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t aroused.

  He had defeated her in the fighting ring, had won her as his prize. She should be servicing him, yet he adored her with his lips, mouth, tongue, rumbling his appr
oval.

  She had a Warlord between her thighs. Genine dug her fingernails into Batu’s scalp. He hissed and plundered her pussy more aggressively, pushing deep into her with his tongue, running that rough surface over her inner walls.

  “Can’t.” She couldn’t escape him, her body trapped by his muscle, and she wouldn’t survive. Not long. Not with him filling her with his flesh, with his nanohumanics.

  “You can hold on,” Batu insisted, those words muffled by her flesh and felt inside her, his lips, tongue moving against her.

  “Until when?” How long would he make her wait for release?

  “You won’t come until I’m inside you.” His dark eyes gleamed, his lips glistening with her juices.

  “I can’t wait.” She spread her legs wider, trying to tempt him. “I need you inside me now.”

  “You’re strong. You can wait.” He continued to tease her with his tongue.

  “But—”

  “What did I say?” Batu slapped her left breast. Her spine straightened, the pain sharp, sexy, so very stimulating. His palm print decorated her skin, a pink brand of ownership.

  “I can wait.” She would, to please him, show him she was strong.

  A part of her hated him for the challenge. A part of her loved him for it. She had missed being pushed, missed having an authority figure—her father, her brothers, her commanding officers—ask more from her than she believed she could give.

  Batu, her Warlord, would test her in all areas of her lifespan. And he would reward her with pleasure, such exquisite pleasure.

  Genine twisted his hair around her clenched fists. She would be worthy of him.

  He waged an all-out assault on her resolve, circling her clit round and round with his tongue, mouthing over her, stripping her bare underneath him. She contested the power in his arms, fighting the loving bindings of her sexual adversary, but was unable to free herself.

  Wanting swelled within her. She panted, twisted, pleaded for mercy as he played with the responsive bundle of nerves, prodding her close to the edge yet never over.

  Her cheeks grew wet, bathed in frustrated tears. Passion coiled around her.

  “Batu.” She couldn’t hold on. She’d fail him and that would crush her.

  He lifted his head, met her gaze and his eyes softened. “We’ve waited long enough.”

  She grasped his shoulders, relief sweeping up her form. “Yes.”

  “Be still.” Her Warlord moved over her, rubbing his body along hers, positioning his cock at her entrance. “My desire for you is too great.” He brushed his lips over hers and she tasted herself on his flesh. “I’ve been wanting you since I woke.”

  “I’ve been wanting you since I woke also.” She needed him desperately.

  His lips hitched upward. “I woke at sunrise.”

  “Then don’t delay any longer. Take me.” Genine had little sympathy for his longer wait. She hadn’t tortured him with touches, with intimate kisses.

  Though perhaps she had teased him in her sleep. She had been told she moved even while at rest and she had woken with his arms around her. He could have been holding her still, trying to stop her from grinding against him.

  “When I come, I’m taking you with me.” Batu gazed down at her.

  “Not if I come first.” And she was close, so very close.

  Why wasn’t he moving? The male was impossibly still.

  “Batu.” She growled, her patience at an end.

  “My warrior female.” Batu thrust deep, filling her as only he could, impaling her on the sharp blade of release.

  Pleasure cut through her and she screamed, squeezing his shaft with her inner walls. He jerked, joining her with a roar, the influx of nanohumanics escalating her pleasure. Genine clung to her Warlord, bucking, writhing, her body convulsing with bliss.

  He pushed farther into her as the ridge at the base of his cock expanded. Their forms meshed, fusing together, the connection between them strengthening, the truth undeniable. He was her male, the being she was meant to spend her lifespan with. Another planet rotation or fifty solar cycles wouldn’t change that.

  The chamber spun. Light swirled into a stream. Their breathing was loud in the quiet space. He was above her, his face stretched tight with ecstasy, his profile stark and primitive.

  “Batu.” She pressed her lips between his pecs, sucking on his skin.

  “My gerel.” He rolled, taking her with him. Their bodies remained bonded. She sprawled over him, resting her head on his heaving chest.

  He petted her back, her ass, moving his hands up and down, up and down, the motion, his touch, soothing her. She sighed, at peace, enveloped in the warm haze of fulfillment.

  The intensity of their physical link eased. The emotional flow between them remained.

  Genine wished they could stay like that for all of time but Batu must have tasks he had to complete and the clone community was no longer home. They had returned to escort her friends to their domiciles and that was it.

  She wouldn’t test his compassion, couldn’t push for more.

  “We should return to the other settlement.” Genine slipped off her Warlord, immediately missing that connection with him. She clasped her garments. They had been neatly folded, placed on a nearby chair.

  “We should address the crowd outside our structure.” Batu stood also, magnificent in his nudity, all muscle and golden skin.

  It took her a moment to grasp his words. “We should address the… what?” Genine rushed to the portal, saw numerous identical faces. It appeared as though every clone in the community was waiting for them to appear. She pulled her garments on, dressing as quickly as possible. “Are they evicting us?”

  Would she be cast out of the community, humiliated in front of the beings she considered friends?

  Batu tilted his head to the right and then to the left, as though debating with himself what to answer. “The clone elders have crafted a plan to convince us to stay. I am being offered total control over the settlement and its residents.”

  “You’ll be their Warlord.” Genine stared at him, dismay mixing with her yearning to stay. The clones had broken with their previous community, generations ago, because they wanted autonomy.

  They were only giving that up because they were scared. They didn’t believe they could survive without protection.

  That was likely the truth but it didn’t make the situation any more palatable.

  “I would be their Warlord.” Batu nodded, adjusting his ass coverings. “And you would be their lady. Do you want that?”

  “No.” She was honest with him. “I’m a warrior, not a lady. I want to safeguard them. I don’t want to control them.”

  “Come here.” He held out his right hand.

  She linked her fingers with his, the roughness of his palm easing her tension. The decision about the future was no longer solely hers. She’d stated her concerns. Batu could have the final verdict.

  Together, they walked to the door, opened it.

  The elders gazed at them, their purple eyes dull with resignation, their hair the purest white. The females didn’t want to relinquish their leadership, would resent them for forcing that. That was clear to Genine.

  Di-940, the most powerful elder, the unofficial leader of the clone community, stepped forward. “Fighter Batu—”

  “Batu. Call me Batu.” He interrupted the female. “I seek your forgiveness for my unauthorized presence in your settlement. The moon was high in the sky when we arrived and we didn’t obtain your consent. We should have done that.”

  The elders looked at each other, surprised, pleased with his apology. Genine squeezed Batu’s hand, touched by his words, by his careful handling of the females’ pride.

  “You have our forgiveness, Batu.” Di-940 spoke for all of them.

  “Thank you.” Batu’s head dipped. “My gerel holds the role of protector of your settlement.” He glanced at her, his eyes gleaming. “With your permission, I would like to share her role, remain
ing in your settlement, adhering to your rules.”

  The crowd buzzed with excitement.

  “We have never had a male as part of our community.” Di-940 squinted at him.

  “I will respect your ways.” Batu paused. “I am a Chamele. A Chamele’s bond with his gerel makes physical contact with other females… undesirable.”

  “That is… reassuring.” The elder nodded. “We will consult on this matter.” She turned to the other females.

  Genine gaped at Batu. “You’d do that? You’d share my role?” He’d submit to another being’s rule, serve the clone community?

  “For you, I’d do anything.” Her Warlord lowered his voice. “You care for these beings and I care for you. We will protect them together.”

  “I love you.” It was too soon to say those words. They had known each other for one planet rotation. But she felt them in her heart, and being a warrior, never knowing if she would have another moment to share her feelings, she didn’t hold back.

  His eyes glittered, stars in the blackness of space. “Genine—” His voice broke.

  “That’s okay.” She squared her shoulders, pushing back her pain. “You don’t have to say it back to me. I—”

  He swept her into his arms, claimed her lips. She gasped, surprised by the embrace. He pushed into her, declaring her mouth his, staking his claim, owning her. Their tongues battled, swirling, striking.

  Then he pulled back, retreating as quickly as he advanced. She clung to him, dizzy, overwhelmed with emotion.

  “I love you too, gerel.” His voice was deeper than any Carinae E cavern. “You have made me the happiest male in the universe.”

  Di-940 cleared her throat.

  Genine’s cheeks heated. She’d forgotten they weren’t alone. The clones, shunning sexual reproduction, didn’t approve of physical displays of affection.

  “You have our permission to share Genine’s role.” The older clone female’s tone was solemn, her expression satisfied. “Your belongings and Genine’s weapons were delivered at sunrise.” She gestured behind her.

  Other females brought multiple containers forward. Ema-1005 and Ema-1006 jostled each other as they carried one of the containers. Smiles lit the girls’ faces.