She smiled as she thought about Thom’s inept fumbling, so different from the self-assured manner in which Allik pleasured her body.
Allik nodded, seemingly placated. “And you expect refinement from a brutish warrior like me?”
“From a brutish warrior, no. From a man who can draw like that,” she pointed to the picture lying discarded on the floor, “I think it’s possible.”
“Very well, then.”
Victoria gaped as Allik swept her up into his arms. He carried her through to the bedroom and laid her down gently. With great care, he got down onto the bed and propped himself up on his elbow next to her.
Brushing the hair off her face, he stared at her for a moment. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Victoria could not believe how hesitant he seemed about the prospect of making love to her. He was usually so assertive when he took control of her body.
Nodding slowly, she reached out and caressed his face, tracing the lines of his scars with the tips of her fingers.
“Oh, yes,” she said with a seductive smile. “I’m sure.”
* * *
Allik didn’t think he would ever get enough of the little mewling noises Victoria made as he circled her breast with his thumb. He was barely touching her but the pink nipple hardened into a stiff peak. It was a new experience for him, taking things slowly, but he found it more pleasurable than he’d imagined he would. He enjoyed taking his time to get to know her body in a more intimate way, his hands mapping out each inch of her slender frame.
He loved how soft her skin was beneath his rough hands. She was beautiful, there was no better word to describe her. As she laid there, her dark hair fanned out across the pillow, she looked at him with such longing in those emerald eyes that he almost lost control. He had to breathe deeply to keep himself in check. Victoria had asked him to make love to her, to demonstrate the depth of his feelings in the most sensual way possible. He had to take his time and show her the reverence she deserved.
“You are mine.” He said the words, not possessively, but because he was in awe of the fact.
Victoria nodded slowly and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “And you are mine,” she returned quietly.
Eyes glistening with pleasure as he realized the truth of that statement, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. They were so soft beneath his, so sweet. With a gentle insistence, he urged her to open to him. As she welcomed his tongue into her mouth, he felt a warmth inside him that he had never felt before. There was a closeness in this simple act of kissing that he could never have imagined. With each sensual stroke of his tongue, she hummed with pleasure.
Allik moved back and studied her face. There truly was no revulsion there. She didn’t seem in the least bit bothered by the puckered scarring at the corner of his mouth. In fact, the dreamy expression she wore was one of a woman glowing with desire.
“I love you, Victoria,” he declared, the time seeming right.
He skimmed a hand up the inside of her leg and gently parted her thighs. His fingers stroked her pussy with the lightest touch until she began to grow wet. Then he positioned himself so he was kneeling between her legs. His mouth found the soft flesh above her collarbone and he kissed her softly. He moved slowly down her body, paying homage to each part of her. Taking first one nipple and then the other into his mouth, his hands and lips worshipped her perfect breasts. She whimpered, the sound making his cock twitch.
With infinite patience, he worked his way down her body, feathering kisses across the flat stomach he hoped one day he would see swollen with his child. Sitting back to admire her, he carefully parted her outer lips. Her soft flesh was glistening with moisture.
“Has anyone ever tasted your sweet little pussy?” he asked.
“No.” Victoria’s voice was breathy with anticipation.
“Good,” he growled in satisfaction at her response, as he lowered his head.
He ran his tongue along her feminine slit, lapping up the juices that had collected there. Victoria’s hips bucked off the bed but he pushed her back down and held her still. As he circled the bud of her clitoris with the tip of his tongue, she groaned loudly and tried once more to lift her hips. He pressed her back down, allowing her no escape. Her breathing grew more rapid as his tongue slipped inside her cunt and he began to slowly fuck her with it.
“Allik, please,” she begged him. “I need you.”
Understanding exactly what she required of him, Allik positioned himself over her. He slid his cock inside her, just an inch or so. Victoria gave a desperate moan and clutched his shoulders as he edged forward with great care. When he was fully seated inside her, he gave her a moment to adjust and then he began to move, rocking back and forward in an easy rhythm.
Victoria whimpered with need and wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in deeper. She moved with him as he slid in and out of her. He felt her fingers tracing the outline of the scars on his chest and stiffened.
“Shh,” Victoria soothed. “It’s okay.”
Her serene smile relaxed him. She tilted her hips, coaxing him into moving once more. As his desire increased, he couldn’t help but begin to thrust a little harder. He tried to hold back but, as he felt her pussy clamp down on him, it was impossible. He pulled out of her and then slammed back inside her. Victoria arched her back and cried out as her climax took hold of her. A moment later, Allik felt his cock swell. An agonized groan escaped him as his balls tightened and he came inside her, flooding her feminine channel with his seed.
Rolling over onto his back, he pulled her close. Smoothing back her hair, he kissed the top of her head. “That wasn’t gentle,” he chastised himself. “I’m sorry.”
Victoria propped herself up on her elbow and smiled down at him, her skin luminescent. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Allik. That was amazing.”
Allik offered no response as she snuggled in close to him, resting her head on his chest. He listened to the sound of her breathing as she relaxed into him. Gradually it became slower, heavier, as she fell asleep. Basking in the perfection of the moment, Allik closed his eyes and let the comfortable darkness pull him in.
Chapter Eighteen
Allik could not remember the last time he’d slept as well as he did with Victoria lying in his arms. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the persistent buzzing sound that filtered through his dreams, he would not have woken this soon. Easing himself off the bed so he wouldn’t disturb Victoria, he pulled on his pants and went to answer the door. A sense of dread filled him. It had to be some sort of emergency. There was no reason for anyone to be calling him at this early hour otherwise.
When he opened the door, he found two members of the military police force standing in the hallway in their distinctive grey uniforms. He didn’t know either of the men but the respectful nods they gave him suggested that they were aware of who he was, of his reputation as a warrior.
“I am Dalen and this is Connar.” The older of the two men spoke.
Allik acknowledged them with a nod. “What is it?”
“We need you to accompany us to the courts of justice, sir,” Dalen said. “Commander Rossingham requests your immediate presence.”
“Requests?” Allik queried. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was barely morning, too early to be receiving a polite summons from his commanding officer on any routine matter. Whatever Andrew wanted, it was serious.
“Requires,” the other man said.
Yes, that was more like it. Allik nodded. “What is this about?”
The two military police officers shared an indecipherable look. Neither seemed to want to answer him and that was not a good sign.
“Well?” he barked. He had no patience for this pussyfooting around. It was unlike his people to lack directness. The reluctance of these two highly trained warriors to tell him exactly what was going on only increased his sense of foreboding.
“Charges have been made by Earth’s High Council, sir.” This time, it was the youn
ger man who spoke.
“Against me?” Allik needed to be clear. He had, after all, found Victoria crouching over a man she’d just assaulted when he first took her.
“Yes, sir,” Connar replied. “I am sorry, but we do not know the details.”
Allik scrubbed a hand over his face. There was no option but to go with the guards. To refuse would imply guilt and he knew he had done nothing wrong. Honor dictated he should defend himself against whatever charges had been laid. He suspected it was something to do with him taking Victoria. She was prized in her society and they probably wanted her back. Well, that was never going to happen. As he thought about her, he glanced back over his shoulder. He didn’t want to leave her to wake alone and discover that he was gone.
“Very well.”
He saw the relief pass across the guards’ faces. Clearly, they hadn’t wanted to use force to bring him in, although he had no doubt they would if necessary.
“But first I must tell my mate that I am leaving.”
Dalen nodded and Allik bristled at the implication that he was being granted permission. He turned and walked back to the bedroom. Victoria looked so peaceful, her lithe body curled around a pillow. It seemed cruel to disturb her. He pulled a shirt on over his head and put on his boots, watching her closely the whole time. She murmured something in her sleep and he was sure it was his name.
Once he had dressed, he went to the bed and leaned over her. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently. “Victoria,” he said softly.
A smile formed on her lips as her eyes slowly opened. She stretched out her arms and gave a contented sigh. She wouldn’t thank him for the comparison but she looked just like a kitten, all soft and warm.
“What are you doing up? Come back to bed.”
“I can’t, sweetheart.” Allik sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “I have to go out.”
Victoria struggled into a sitting position and fixed a curious look on him. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“Commander Rossingham needs to see me.”
“At this hour?” She looked around the room. “It is still early?”
“It is, but the matter is urgent.”
“Okay,” Victoria said, a note of worry in her voice.
“I need you to be a good girl and stay here.”
A frown formed on Victoria’s face and Allik realized he was doing a poor job of convincing her that nothing was amiss. It was not himself he was concerned for, but her if something should go wrong and he found that hard to conceal.
“Why? What’s happening?” she asked.
“I don’t know yet, but it might be a while before I can speak to you.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed, her brow creasing into a little frown that he would find adorable at any other time. “Allik, you’re scaring me.”
“I know, sweetheart and I don’t mean to.” He ran his thumb along the soft skin of her wrist as he gripped her hand tightly. “I’m sure all will be well, but I need to know you’ll be alright, so just promise me you’ll be good.”
“Okay,” Victoria said unconvincingly. “I promise.”
The sound of a throat being cleared made Victoria reach for a sheet to cover herself. Allik turned to see Dalen standing in the doorway.
“I am sorry, sir, but they’re waiting for you.”
Allik bowed his head and sighed. He really didn’t want to leave Victoria but he knew there was no choice. If he delayed any longer, the guards would be pushed into formally arresting him. Victoria didn’t need to see something like that. He kissed her cheek and got up from the bed.
“Stay put and behave yourself,” he warned her sternly. “And never forget I love you.”
Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and walked to the door. Before he left the room, he turned one last time and looked at her. The glint in her eye spoke of impending mischief. He didn’t know what she would do, but she was going to defy him. It was written all over her face.
* * *
Never forget I love you. If Victoria hadn’t been worried before, that would definitely have made her afraid for Allik. The second he left the room, she leapt out of bed and ran to the door. To hell with being good. She peered out and saw that there were two men with Allik. They looked like officials of some sort. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew that Allik was in real trouble. Despite his attempts to reassure her, he’d looked like a man destined for the gallows and she couldn’t just lie around pretending nothing was wrong.
The moment they left, she grabbed a sheet to wrap around herself. She walked out into the main living area and looked around, trying to decide what to do. The apartment was eerily quiet. It occurred to her that there was a time when she might have wanted to use the situation to her advantage and make a run for it. For as long as she could remember, she’d dreamed of claiming her independence. She could do that right now. She could walk out of here and be far away before anyone realized she was gone. The problem was there was nowhere she wanted to be, other than by Allik’s side. She had to find out what was happening, how she could help him.
She went to the communications device on the wall by the front door. It looked complicated, with lots of different buttons. She had seen Allik using it but had never really paid attention to what he was doing. Blowing out a frustrated breath, she pushed the largest button and a female voice spoke to her in a language she didn’t understand.
“Uhm, sorry?” Victoria said, unable to make out a word of what the woman was saying. Since she had first set foot on the military transport ship, everyone had spoken to her in her own native tongue. It hadn’t occurred to her that she was going to have to learn to speak Taar-Breckian.
“Name?” The voice returned in English.
Victoria frowned. Did the woman mean her name, or for her to say who she wanted to contact?
“I’m Victoria Walton,” she said.
There was a moment’s silence and then a response came back. “Okay, Victoria Walton, you have permission to proceed.”
Victoria wondered if that meant her name had been recognized on some system. The thought of being acknowledged as a person in her own right was ridiculously exciting.
“I’d like to speak to Commander Andrew Rossingham,” she said, deciding that she might as well try to reach the head man himself.
A brief silence followed and then the woman responded with, “Not authorized.”
Victoria cursed under her breath but she wasn’t really surprised. Rossingham was an important man and she didn’t actually know him. He was hardly likely to let just anyone contact him.
“Caroline Rossingham, then,” she said. Surely, she would be able to get through to one of her closest friends. Again, the woman came back to tell her that she was not authorized. So much for friendship.
Victoria considered her options. She was a human being so surely she would be able to contact Earth’s ambassador. He owed her a favor, after all, for looking after his baby niece on the transport ship.
“William Barron,” she said in a clear voice.
There was a longer silence this time and she held her breath until the response came back. “Unavailable.”
“Fuck!” She was unable to prevent herself from cursing loudly.
“Terminating service.” The woman sounded offended and the call disconnected.
Victoria shook her head despairingly. Clearly, she was not going to get information this way. She needed someone with higher authority to make enquiries on her behalf. Her heart sank as she realized there was only one option. Taryn. She was going to have to go and see him and that meant facing Lucy after she’d been so horrible to her. She hated having to grovel, as she suspected Taryn would force her to, but there was nothing else for it. Allik needed her help and, besides that, she really did want to mend her friendship with Lucy. Like it or not, it was time to eat some humble pie.
* * *
Allik paced around the cramped cell in the Royal Citadel and tried to get his head aro
und the crimes that had been laid at his feet. Individually, the charges were extremely serious, but the three combined could result in his imprisonment for life, or worse if he was sent to Earth to face justice. The High Council, it seemed, had accused him of murder, kidnap, and theft. For good measure they had thrown in a charge of unlawful trespass. Victoria’s stepbrother had, it seemed, been the one to instigate proceedings against him.
The charges were ridiculous. He had killed no one in cold blood, far less a human. When he took Victoria from the Town Hall, the security guard they said he’d murdered had been very much alive. Not that he’d even been the one to strike the man. Victoria had done that before he got there. Allik had not committed theft either but he suspected now that Victoria had been stealing something from her stepbrother’s offices when she was interrupted by the guard. He had never questioned her about that day so he couldn’t be sure what it was, if anything, that she’d taken.
Technically, he was guilty of trespass. He had known at the time that he shouldn’t set foot in the Town Hall without an explicit invitation from someone with authority. As for the kidnapping, well, yes, he had taken Victoria against her will but she’d not suffered any ill effects as a result. In fact, he felt sure he had liberated her from a far worse fate than becoming his mate.
Of course, when he took Victoria, he’d been acting on orders from a superior officer. Not that he could admit that publicly. The High Council would not be pleased to learn of the mission to rescue the women they sought to persecute for forming an illegal society. Tensions between his homeland and Earth were running high as it was. He knew that his commander did not want to escalate things until he was ready to act, so he would have to maintain his silence.
Allik looked up as the door of the cell was unlocked. The two men who had come to his home stepped into the room. The younger man was carrying some heavy-duty chains with him.
“The hearing will commence in a few minutes, sir.” Dalen could barely look him in the eye. “A video link is being set up with Earth’s High Council and they will expect…”
Chosen for the Warrior Page 19
