Warrior's Pain (Cadi Warriors Book 4)

by Stephanie West

  He needed to let it go. Riley was shaken by the incident. He doubted she’d ever experienced battle, and she’d been subjected to more trauma than most people could withstand. It killed him that he couldn’t make this right, by removing the threat.

  Cyprian swiftly moved past the clean-up, toward the suite. He calmed as he walked with her safely nestled in his arms.

  “You found her,” Vintor said, as he jogged up to them.

  “I’m heading to our room. Tytus hailed me. We’re good for a while,” Cyprian relayed.

  “Mave contacted me as well. He asked about Adeoda.”

  “And?” Cyprian asked.

  “We were separated in the mess. I’m going to go join the crew as they check out some competition.”

  “That’s good.” Cyprian nodded at the excuse Vintor had given Mave. “Let him know I found Riley. We won’t be joining you.”

  “Understood.”

  Cyprian made it back to the suite and set Riley down in the bedroom.

  “Are you certain you aren’t injured, Little Manx?”

  “I’m freaked out, but fine.”

  Cyprian ran his hands along Riley’s delicate shoulders as he looked her over. She was a tough female - too tough. He worried Riley might be hurt, and was unwilling to acknowledge it. He sniffed, and didn’t scent her blood. The pungent scent of her distress had also subsided to a manageable level.

  Thank Kali.

  That was when Cyprian caught the scent of someone else, radiating off Riley. With all the other smells in the large corridor, he hadn’t noticed it before. Smelling another male’s scent on her skin instantly pushed Cyprian over the edge.

  I know this scent. A rumble rolled through Cyprian’s chest.

  “You said the male tucked you into his coat, so you didn’t see who it was,” Cyprian stated, his eyes narrowing on Riley.

  “The man hid me in his coat, then let me loose.” Riley again avoided admitting she knew who the male was, but her fear spiked.

  Cyprian not only wanted to remove the scent of another male that clung to her, but he hated that Riley lied about knowing who abducted her. What twisted the knife, was who she was protecting. Did she prefer that bony male? Why did Aculus steal Riley, only to release her? Something was going on.

  “You aren’t telling me everything, Little Manx.” Cyprian moved in close, pressing his lips against her ear. “You know how I know?” Cyprian continued without letting Riley answer. “I can scent your nervousness, and I can smell the male,” he snarled, his anger mounting. “Why do you insist on telling me these half-truths?”

  “Perhaps it’s this whole master slave bit, that puts me off,” Riley snapped. “But congratulations Colombo, you figured out Aculus rescued me from the gallery. I insisted he let me go, and he did. Not everyone wants to own me.”

  “Don’t deify that male. He competed for you the same as I did. You know what that means,” Cyprian snarled. “I don’t believe he just let you go. What are you leaving out?”

  “I didn’t say anything because of this. I knew you were going to freak out. Oh, and if we’re discussing secrets, let’s discuss your friend, who you trust so much. Did you know Vintor murdered Adeoda in a washroom?”

  How did she find out about that? Cyprian’s eyes pinned Riley’s.

  “I see that doesn’t surprise you. You’re not the only one who can scent bullshit,” Riley replied with her obnoxious smile.

  “You will keep that information between us. Do you understand me?” Cyprian snarled. It was imperative she didn’t utter a word of this.

  “I’d tell you yes, but I doubt you’ll believe me.”

  Cyprian gripped Riley’s shoulders as he stared her in the eyes. He was having trouble gauging if she understood the seriousness of this situation. He’d never had this much trouble questioning someone. Riley scrambled his senses.

  Riley was smart and dangerous. She was leaving out something about her encounter with Aculus. She was somehow keeping the location of the human colony secret. And now she knew Vintor’s involvement with Adeoda’s death. There was too much at stake here. Cyprian had to have answers and her unwavering cooperation.

  “This incident with Aculus isn’t the only thing you’ve been keeping from me. Did you know you talk in your sleep?” he countered. Riley’s eyes widened slightly and Cyprian knew he’d hit a nerve. “You will give me your vow to stay quiet about what you’ve seen. You will tell me everything you’ve been keeping from me, and you will do it earnestly, so I have no doubt about the veracity.”

  “Or what? You’ll tie me up and fuck my brains out. Have at it, Casanova.”

  Riley tugged open her cloak, and dropped it to the floor. She stood wearing only the purple garment that cupped her breasts. Her hands defiantly gripping her full hips.

  Cyprian moved swiftly. He had Riley perched over his lap in an instant, with her bare rear in the air.

  “For starters, I’ll reprimand you for telling half-truths,” Cyprian growled as his palm descended on Riley’s bottom. “Maybe it’ll put you in the mood to talk.”

  Riley jerked as he smacked her ass, but she didn’t make a sound. The full globes of her bottom jiggled and turned red from the strike. The sight of it reminded Cyprian of the way her skin flushed when she was overcome with passion. His palm fell again, on the opposite cheek.

  “This isn’t my first spanking, but I’m guessing it’s yours. You already have a giant hard on. How long do you think you’re going to last?” Riley taunted.

  Cyprian’s hand paused. Any normal female would’ve been upset, but Riley wasn’t bothered by his reprimand at all. He should’ve known it wouldn’t drive the truth from her lips.

  Cyprian hated to admit Riley was right. He was aroused. The way she goaded him, only riled him further. It made Cyprian desperate to bend her to his will.

  Suddenly Cyprian realized the implications of Riley’s biting comment, and a feral growl erupted from his throat.

  This isn’t my first spanking!

  The image of Riley bent over another’s knee, incited a possessiveness he couldn’t reign in. It melded with the stabbing jealousy over how she protected Aculus.

  Riley

  “Don’t ever speak to me about other males,” Cyprian snarled.

  Cyprian’s stiff cock ground into her stomach, as she dangled over his lap. Her ass was smarting after just a couple swats, yet still she needled the man. Cyprian was angry and aroused. It was a daunting combination. Her flippant comment only served to stoke the fire. Riley couldn’t seem to help herself. They were like gasoline and a match, whenever they got together. Goosebumps erupted on Riley’s skin as a nervous thrill moved up her spine.

  The general hooked her around the waist, and unceremoniously dropped her on the bed. He looked every bit the menacing demon, a snarl twisting his lips. Riley steeled herself against his savagery.

  “So now you don’t want to know everything?” Riley asked with mock innocence.

  She should have left well enough alone, but he pissed her off. Riley couldn’t believe Cyprian resorted to spanking her, like a petulant child.

  If he thinks this is going to make me spill my secrets, he’s delusional. Some things were more important than the way her ass burned.

  “This is not a game,” Cyprian rumbled at her defiance. “You think it’s amusing to tease. Like when you goaded the males this morning with that lewd suggestion. But, you don’t know what is going on, or the kind of people you are tempting. The second I leave you alone, they’d take you up on the offer,” he growled through clenched teeth. “How do you expect me to keep you from harm, when you pull these stunts, and refuse to tell me the truth?” With every word Cyprian’s anger ratcheted higher.

  Okay, maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

  Riley stared wide-eyed at Cyprian. She knew she’d gone too far, by the set of his jaw. He stood frighteningly still, considering her with a narrowed gaze. Not for the first time, Riley seriously considered bolting.

&nb
sp; Cyprian must have noticed her eyes drift toward the door, because suddenly he struck, wrapping his long fingers around Riley’s ankle. He pulled her down to the foot of the bed, and flipped her onto her stomach. Riley drew in a sharp breath when he pulled her hips up, so her bare ass was prone.

  “I’m calling your bluff,” his hot breath ghosted over her behind and exposed labia.

  Riley drew in another ragged breath, when Cyprian’s tongue laved her folds. She got wetter as he pressed his tongue into her vagina. Cyprian’s tongue worked up the length of her sensitive cleft to tease the tight ring of her ass. Her eyes flew wide in surprise.

  “What are you doing?” Riley gasped as she bucked forward.

  Cyprian didn’t respond. He gripped her hips in his giant palms, his thumbs splaying her cheeks, as he did the most salacious things with his tongue. It was disturbing and wrong in so many ways. And yet Riley burned hotter, as Cyprian worked his dark magic.

  His fingers delved into her weeping pussy and began stroking, while his tongue breached her. Cyprian was voracious in the way he consumed her. Riley bit her lip to repress a moan, as the taboo act sent a spike of unbidden pleasure lancing through her.

  “Unbelievable,” Cyprian husked as pulled back. “You are so wet, its spilling down your thighs,” he commented as he pulled his fingers from her vagina and gently traced her slick folds.

  Cyprian collected the moisture spilling from her pussy, and spread it around her puckered rosette. Riley groaned when he worked his index finger into her ass. Her breath came out faster when a second, thick finger joined the first. Riley reached down and started rubbing her clit frantically.

  “No,” Cyprian growled as he shoved her hand away. “You will find relief when I permit it. And that won’t happen till you tell me what I want to know.”

  Riley frowned in frustration. Her disappointment turned to shock and reticence, when Cyprian swiftly shifted, to curl over her back. Before she could object, the head of his cock began pressing insistently at her anus.

  Oh, Jesus, Riley panicked.

  Riley’s hands flew back and gripped Cyprian’s hips. Her nails dug in as she attempted to slow his steady assault on her protesting ass, but he refused to relent. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on the pillow, as the stretching burn built.

  Cyprian shoved Riley’s hips into the mattress, his massive body pinning her beneath him. There was nowhere to go as he forced the engorged head of his cock against her straining ring of muscles. Riley choked when Cyprian’s thick crown popped past her sphincter. Her hands clamored to reach her clit.

  “No,” he rumbled into her ear.

  Again, the wicked man denied her the much needed relief. He grabbed her wrists in one hand, extended them above her head, and held them there. Riley had to release the bite she had on the pillow to catch her breath. Her heart beat staccato as Cyprian incrementally impaled her ass with his overly large tool.

  He’s splitting me in two.

  “What are you keeping from me?” he demanded.

  Riley shook her head in denial. Her hair stuck to the sweat beading on her skin. She couldn’t tell Cyprian what he wanted to know.

  Cyprian’s slow possession was agonizing and darkly erotic at the same time. Each knot on his erection struck a nerve, as he worked deeper into her body. The way Cyprian’s iron hard body pressed against her, added to the sensual torment. His huffing breath mixed with low snarls, as he strained at her back.

  Riley’s pussy spasmed, sending a responding tremor through her anus. Cyprian bucked as she clamped down on him. Riley cried out when his cock burrowed deeper, pushing her limits. She could feel him everywhere.

  “Object all you want, but you are mine. Your pleasure, your pain, and everything in between are mine, Little Manx.” His voice was so deep as he growled in her ear, that it didn’t even sound like him.

  Riley shook her head in denial. He might own her body, but it would take more to own the rest. At least that’s what she told herself. Riley couldn’t trust the part of herself that reached out to Cyprian. She’d been hurt one too many times by people she cared for, and those scars ran deep.

  “Tell me who your male is, Riley.”

  Cyprian’s hand wedged beneath her, to find her swollen clit. He lightly tugged on the piercing. It was too much. Riley gasped, as her clit throbbed in response. Cyprian used the distraction to shove deeper into her ass, making Riley keen.

  “Tell me,” he snarled.

  His mouth ran over her neck, teasing her with his sharp canines, as he licked her heated skin. Riley needed to feel his bite. It would drive her over the edge, while easing her at the same time. Except Cyprian refused her the mercy. He also cruelly toyed with her clit, applying just enough pressure to hint at the pleasure to be had, if she just capitulated.

  “You… you own me,” Riley panted, hoping for mercy.

  “No,” Cyprian husked. “That’s not what I said. Tell me who’s your male.”

  “You are. You’re my male,” she relented with a groan.

  Hearing her declaration, Cyprian buried the remaining length of his cock into her strained ass, forcing a guttural cry past her lips. His fangs sunk into the crook of her neck, while he rolled her clit at the same time. Riley bucked as the euphoria and agony of it all collided.

  Riley wasn’t a virgin to this type of pleasure, but Cyprian wasn’t some inadequate bungling lover. She couldn’t believe he fit his full length and girth into her restricted channel.

  Cyprian’s hips rocked, pressed against the cheeks of her behind. Each time his ridges abraded her sensitized flesh, a burst of pleasure sent her reeling. Cyprian rolled her clit faster, as he pulled out, then slid back into her ass.

  Riley heard her own cries of ecstasy, but felt a million miles away. Cyprian’s mouth worked at her neck, and she felt more of his euphoric drug inundate her bloodstream.

  A violent spasm moved through Riley, when the head of Cyprian’s cock struck the bundle of nerves deep inside. The piercing ecstasy made her stomach muscles clench and her toes curl. Cyprian groaned into her shoulder as he began thrusting faster into her ass. He worked his fingers into her vagina while his thumb circled her clit.

  “Cyprian,” Riley screamed as she writhed beneath him.

  Cyprian was unhinged as he pushed her past the limits of sanity. Calling out his name only encouraged the savage beast. He snarled and strained against her ass, spraying her insides with his seed. Riley’s back bowed when the chemical euphoria in his release mixed with her own ecstasy. Her mouth parted, but nothing came out, as the climax seared through her. The transcendent moment cleansed her mind of every worry, if only for a little while.

  Chapter 10. It’s a Date

  Cyprian de Praefectus

  Cyprian’s lips ran over Riley’s shoulder as he got his labored breathing under control. He could feel Riley’s racing heartbeat, as he pressed against her back.

  “Cyprian,” Riley heaved, attempting to draw a deep breath.

  Son of a metcor, you’re crushing her.

  Cyprian quickly propped up on his elbows. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten himself. Riley was too petite to collapse onto.

  Riley gasped when Cyprian’s shaft shifted in her rear. The way she still gripped him was arousing and overstimulating all at once. Riley’s exhalation became distressed when he tried to pull free of her body.

  Cyprian instantly froze. A sense of loathing filled him as he looked down at her. Riley’s head was turned, her sweaty hair plastered to her forehead and cheek. Her dark eyes were closed. Moisture trailed from the corner of her eyes, down onto the pillow. Cyprian’s gut twisted with guilt.

  This is far worse than what you accused Tytus of. At least June was willing.

  Cyprian had accused his friend of tying up June, and brutalizing her. At the time, Cyprian was adamant the he’d never lose control with a female. He was reared to treat the fairer sex with a gentle touch and tender words. But the things he did to Riley crossed the line of wha
t was honorable.

  Riley was so incredibly strong willed, that he forgot how physically delicate she truly was. Never once did she give in, and tell him what she was hiding.

  But she conceded that you are her male, when she wouldn’t give up anything else.

  Riley’s admission had sent him over the edge. Mixed with the way she felt writhing beneath him, and the primal possessive part of him had taken over. He lost control, driven by the need to possess Riley in every way imaginable.

  This situation is rapidly getting out of hand. What were you thinking? You shouldn’t have attempted to force the truth from her. How do you expect to earn Riley’s trust? Bastard!

  Riley relaxed further, and Cyprian was finally able to ease from her body. Riley sighed.

  “Do you hurt?” he asked, concern gnawing at him.

  His hands hovered near her shoulder, but he didn’t caress her pale skin. Cyprian doubted Riley wanted him touching her, after what he’d done.

  “I’ll be fine,” Riley said as she rolled to face him. “Why are you looking at me like that? Oh,” Riley said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  “I know I hurt you. Why won’t you just tell me the truth?”

  Riley sighed again, and adopted a wane smile.

  “I’ve been hurt a lot, Cyprian. What you did doesn’t even come close.”

  “I wanted to force you to give in to me, but what I did is not acceptable,” Cyprian growled, a scowl marring his face.

  “Are you telling me you’re not usually a domineering beast in bed?” Riley wagged her brows playfully.

  He couldn’t understand how she could be joking after what happened.

  “I have never treated a female the way I treated you.”

  Cyprian’s thumb ran over her damp cheek.

  “I think I’ll take that as a compliment,” Riley replied with another smile.

  Cyprian’s frown broadened. Every time they came together there were fireworks. Cyprian had never been so engaged or aroused by any female. It was unbelievably euphoric when their bodies were joined, but in the aftermath, he worried what he was unleashing.