by Becca Van
Darcy was different from their females. She was beautiful, with her slim body and feminine curves, but she also looked so small and fragile. He’d had a taste of her body but wanted so much more. It was hard to keep his hands to himself whenever she was near, especially when he knew she would fill his heart and soul like no other female could.
He looked away from Darcy and breathed deeply when his remaining sire called his name.
“Froz, did you get the warriors to cover your border patrol?” Plark asked.
“Yes, sire, and we also chose a personal guard for our tatra.”
“Is that her?” Plark asked.
“Yes.”
“She is so small.”
“She may be little, but she is very fierce. Our Darcy managed to put Drac on his ass.”
“Surely you jest?” Plark quirked an eyebrow at him and then looked to Darcy again. “She is very beautiful. I can’t imagine her being able to take Drac down.”
“She did. I don’t know how she accomplished such a feat, but she threw him over her body to the ground.”
“I would like to have seen that.” Plark smirked. “She looks happy.”
“I hope so, sire. Isa took her to the village to get more garments. Most women like to do such things.”
“Hey,” Darcy said as she came to stand in front of him. The smile on her face seemed to light her up from within. Froz’s breath hitched and his hard cock twitched and pulsed. He shifted on his feet, trying to ease the tightness of his pants, but it was a losing battle. The only way to take the ache from his cock and balls was to love his tatra.
“Darcy, you haven’t yet met our sire, Plark Bim. Sire, this is our tatra, Senna Darcy Archer.”
Plark took Darcy’s hand into his own, bent over, and kissed the back of it. “It is an honor to greet you, little one. I hope you will be very happy here.”
“Call me Darcy. I haven’t decided if I’m going to stay yet.”
Froz’s gut tightened with dread. He hated hearing that his tatra was still contemplating wanting to leave. Although he had told her that they had a spaceship that had been a small untruth. They had many space crafts and had traversed the galaxies looking for compatible females, but it was difficult being cooped up with only other warriors around. The longer they were contained on the craft, the more aggressive they became. It didn’t even help to take out their violent tendencies in the training room. After a full moon cycle the males were ready to climb the walls, or kill someone.
Plark cleared his throat and glanced at him. Froz shook his head, slightly hoping his sire wouldn’t say anything about Darcy’s statement.
“Then you must call me Plark. I hear you bested Drac.”
Darcy giggled and nodded her head. “Yeah, I put him on his ass. I don’t know who was more surprised, him or your warriors.”
“Will you show this to me?” Plark asked.
“Sure. Actually, it would be good if all the warriors learned some new moves. You never know when you need defensive skills. In fact, I was taught it is better to be on the defensive rather than the offensive.”
“That can be true,” Plark said. “But sometimes it is better to attack first.”
“Why do you need to attack at all?” Darcy asked.
“We need to defend our province. If we allowed the warriors free reign over us, we would have nothing left.”
“What do they try to steal?”
“Food. Gems and women.”
“Can’t you all sit down with the leaders and come to a compromise?” Darcy frowned.
Froz glanced at his sire and saw astonishment on his face. None of the leading factions had ever sat down to talk. He was horrified that she would even suggest such a thing.
“Why would we compromise?” Plark asked.
“Maybe so you can all live in peace. Don’t you want to be able to go and do what needs to be done without worrying about someone coming in and stealing from you? What about the women? Don’t you think they would all feel much safer if they knew no one was going to kidnap them? Why would they do that, anyway?”
“There are so few females on Zennox, and only a handful are of breeding age. Most of the females are older and already mated. The women who are still free are scared of the warriors and do not wish to mate.”
“No wonder if your men are as belligerent as I’ve been told. Why would they want to marry, mate, if the men scare them? If all the leaders of the provinces came together and signed a peace treaty, there wouldn’t be any need for the continuous fighting. Maybe then the women, the females, would feel less trepidatious about being mated.”
“That is certainly something to think about,” Plark said speculatively.
Froz was surprised at how smart his tatra was. He had never stopped to consider how the warrior’s aggression would be perceived by the females. If the antagonism ceased, would the un-mated females feel more secure and less consternated? It was definitely something to think about.
“Are you ready to teach our warriors some moves?” Plat asked as he came over to stand beside Froz.
Froz glared at his brethren, but then sighed with resignation. Darcy’s eyes had lit up and there was no way he could disappoint her by not allowing her to do something she obviously wanted to do.
“I am, but give me some time to change clothes. These pants don’t allow for enough movement.”
“I will come with you,” Cark said, and then grabbed all the packages the Senna Guard were holding. When his brother was loaded down, he started walking toward the domicile.
Darcy hurried to catch up with him and Isa followed. “Let me take some of that.”
Cark evaded her hands and rushed ahead. “I am fine, my little tatra. There is no weight to these parcels.”
“Men. No matter where they are, they are all so stubborn.”
Plark burst out laughing, and to Froz’s surprise he found himself laughing, too. It had been so long since he had found humor in anything, he couldn’t remember the last time he had given in to his mirth. Darcy was changing them all for the better. Not only did he care a lot for his tatra already, she was making him think about how to change their ways. And from what he imagined, if all went well and the leaders of the other provinces agreed to a meeting, and were on board with his mate’s suggestions, they might be able to live in harmony after all.
* * * *
Darcy opened and rummaged through the packages Cark had placed on the bed. She chose a pair of small warrior pants and a mint-green top. She was just about to whisk her shirt up over her head but remembered that Cark was still in the room. She glanced about and was surprised to see that Isa had left because she hadn’t heard her leave.
“Where’s Isa?”
Cark pushed away from the wall and walked toward her. “She said she had to make sure the kitchen staff was organizing last meal.”
“Oh. What does she do? Is she the housekeeper?”
Cark frowned as if thinking and then he smiled and nodded. “Are you going to change?”
“Um. Well, yeah, but a bit of privacy would be nice.” Darcy felt her cheeks heat.
“My brethren and I have already seen your beautiful, sexy body, tatra. You have nothing to hide from us.” Cark reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted it up and over her head. “I wish you wouldn’t wear your breast coverings. I like to see your nipples.”
“Uh, okay, but not right now. I have to train your men.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” Cark cupped the back of her neck, bent over, and kissed her hungrily.
Darcy moaned when he cupped and kneaded one breast and then the other. Every time one of the Bim brothers touched her, she went up in flames. It was getting harder and harder to refuse them. Although she didn’t feel so out of place anymore with everyone having been so nice to her, she was still worried about staying on a strange planet for the rest of her life. But the thought of leaving Zennox and not seeing Froz, Drac, Plat, Lowl, and Cark anymore caused an ache in her chest, a
nd not of the good kind.
Cark released her mouth and then pinched a nipple. Darcy gasped and wanted to ask him for more, but she was supposed to be hurrying.
“Can you wait for me in the other room?” she asked.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not sure we’ll get out of here if you don’t.” Darcy covered her mouth when she realized what she’d said. She hadn’t meant to say that, but now that she had she knew it was true. She couldn’t refute the way the Bim brothers made her feel physically as well as emotionally, and she thought that she just might be falling for them. It didn’t seem to matter that she had only known them for a short time. She had nothing to go back to. Both her parents were dead and she’d never met any of her grandparents. Her mom’s parents had been well to do but hadn’t approved of her father. When her mom had eloped and married her dad, they had disowned her. As far as she was concerned, people like that weren’t worth knowing.
Cark sighed, drawing her from her thoughts, and then bowed to her. “As you wish, my tatra.”
Darcy waited until he left and then hurried to change. She was used to being physically active with her dancing and self-defense lessons, and was looking forward to the exercise.
She pulled the pants on and ran her hands over the material. It was thick and tough but so soft it was like silk. She tested the versatility of it by doing a few squats and then kicked her legs high. Yep, just what she needed to do some martial arts teaching. She put the top on, shoved her feet into the soft black leather-looking boots, and headed out.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“After you, little Darcy,” Cark said as he held the door to the suite of rooms open for her and she hurried outside.
Darcy was surprised to see so many men waiting for her. She was nervous because she’d never taught karate before, but with the men looking at her expectantly, she couldn’t back out now. After taking a deep breath and looking at Froz, Drac, Plat, Lowl, and Cark and seeing them nod at her in encouragement, she began her lessons. Her confidence grew with each move she showed the warriors, but when she heard a man close to the front of the large group snicker after she showed a blocking move, she began to feel self-conscious again. She stopped the move she was doing and glared at the man. He gave her a cocky smirk and she could see skepticism in his gaze.
She moved toward him and when she was a couple of feet in front of him she stopped, tilted her head back to meet his eyes, and scowled at him. “What’s your name?”
“Gorg Sot, Senna Darcy.” The tone of his voice made her hackles and her anger rise, but she tried to keep the emotion hidden.
Condescending asshole.
She was about to challenge him, and feelings could be her downfall. She needed to be cold and analytical to take such a big man down. For a brief moment doubt assailed her, but none of these men had the training she’d had, and her confidence began to rise again.
“Come with me.” Darcy spun on her heels and moved away from the crowd. She chose a spot on the grass, hoping that if this prick got the better of her, she would have a softer landing than the hard paved area. She turned back around to face him and saw him perusing her body up and down, and then he met her eyes. The look he gave her was full of mistrust, and he was cocky. She wanted to smack that look right off of his face, but decided that putting him down on his ass would be a better lesson in humility.
Her muscles were warm and limber after going through the basics of blocks, punches, and kicks, plus she had the added advantage of being more flexible than the average human because of her dancing.
“Come at me,” Darcy commanded, cupped her hand, and moved her fingers toward herself trying to goad him.
“I cannot,” Gorg said and went to turn away.
“Why not?”
“Because you are a female. All females are to be protected. Plus, your Sen are watching. If I hurt you they could become aggressive and kill me.”
Darcy sighed. She hadn’t thought about that, but she wasn’t about to let this man make her feel unworthy.
“Froz?”
Froz walked toward her and when he was a few feet away he stopped and glared at Gorg.
“Look at me, Froz.”
“What is it you need, little Darcy?”
“First off, stop calling me little.”
Froz smiled. “But you are, my tatra.”
“No, I’m not. Where I come from I’m of average height. It’s you lot that are huge. But that’s not why I called you over. I want yours and your brothers’ promise that you won’t touch Gorg if he hurts me.”
“Darcy…”
“Now, Froz. Don’t you or the others dare interfere! This is between Gorg and I. Okay?”
“As you wish.” Froz bowed and then hurried over to his brothers. Darcy heard him telling his siblings to stay back.
“Okay, Gorg. You’re safe from any repercussions. Come at me.”
Gorg looked uncomfortable and uncertain, but he bowed and then a look of sheer determination entered his eyes. Darcy just hoped that she could get the best of this big warrior, because if she didn’t she was going to look like an utter fool.
Chapter Seven
Plat sucked in a breath and hoped he could contain the violence roiling inside of him. Although it wasn’t as bad as it normally was, he was worried sick for his mate. She was so much smaller than Gorg, but then he remembered how Darcy had flipped Drac over her body and he sighed as the fierce aggression inside him dissipated. He needed to have confidence in his tatra. He sucked in another breath and when he released it the tension eased from his muscles and his confidence in his female grew.
Seeing her beckoning Gorg to her was one of the sexiest sights he’d ever seen. His cock, which had been between half-mast and fully engorged, once more filled with blood and began to pulse and twitch in his pants.
If Darcy hadn’t been about to fight Gorg, he would have rushed over to her, picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and raced inside to the sleeping chamber.
He tensed again when Gorg let out a warrior yell and barreled toward Darcy. He nearly yelled when his little mate didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. He had visions of her being flattened onto the ground and hurt, badly, but at the last minute, she side stepped, and as Gorg’s forward momentum carried him past her, one of her legs kicked out and Gorg went tumbling to the ground.
“That was called a side kick,” Darcy said, and walked over to Gorg as he rolled from his stomach to his back. She held her hand out toward the downed warrior, to help him up.
Gorg rose to his feet and Plat cursed under his breath when he saw the muscle in the male’s arm flex and tense. But Darcy must have seen it, too, because as Gorg pulled her toward him she spun, twisting his wrist to an unnatural angle, and then one of her legs swept low. Gorg’s feet flew out from under him and he landed with a hard thud onto his ass.
“That was a sweeping kick,” Darcy explained in a calm voice, as she turned her back on Gorg and walked toward him, his brethren, and the other warriors.
“Darcy!” Drac roared in warning before Plat could, but it was too late. His gaze had been on his mate and not on Gorg. The warrior had risen to his feet and was now charging at Darcy’s back.
Fury at the cowardly attack from one of his own men toward his tatra poured through Plat. His muscles hardened and expanded as his height grew and emotions not just his own filled his mind, body, and soul.
He was about to rush to Darcy, lift her away from the attacking male, and take the pharmer on himself, but he didn’t get the chance.
Darcy glanced back over her shoulder and as Gorg reached out with a hand, she grabbed it, bent over, and threw the warrior to the ground. She took a step and planted her foot in the middle of his chest.
“That wasn’t very nice, but since I know your ego just took a beating I’ll let it go this time. Don’t ever attack from behind again, it’s not becoming of a warrior. In fact, it’s downright cowardly.”
Plat would have applaud
ed if he wasn’t so full of ire. He glanced at his brethren and saw they were also struggling with their newfound skills and empathetic emotions. The aggression churning inside of him began to wane when Gorg sat up after Darcy removed her foot from his chest. What surprised Plat was how the warrior then got onto his knees and bowed his head to their female.
“Please, Senna Darcy, I beg your forgiveness. I am sorry for coming at you from behind. And you are right, I let my ego rule my wounded pride. You are a very powerful warrior and I would be pleased if you would continue to teach me how to be a better male and warrior.”
Darcy once more held her hand out to Gorg. “Apology accepted.”
Gorg took Darcy’s hand, rose to his feet, released her hand, and bowed once more.
Plat couldn’t take anymore. He was so turned on by Darcy’s show of dominance and her forgiveness. She humbled him because he wasn’t sure he could have been so magnanimous.
Before he even knew what he was doing, Plat was rushing toward Darcy. She looked up at him with surprise but when she saw the hunger in his eyes, her gaze answered in kind. Without saying a word, he lifted her up into his arms and against his chest. His head lowered until his mouth was inches from hers. The light scent of the cleanser she used to bathe with assailed his senses and his arousal grew.
“Tell me yes, tatra. Tell me you want me and my brethren to be yours.”
Her soft hands landed on his cheeks and she stared deeply into his eyes for an interminable amount of time. He heard his brothers' move behind him but didn’t turn to look, keeping the visual connection he had with his mate. The silence was almost too much to stand, and there was a loud roaring in his ears. He barely heard her reply, and it took a couple of moments for the word she’d spoken to penetrate his lust-filled mind.
“Yes.”
