by Cassi Carver
She stepped around Julian, straight out of the tub, leaving a drippy mess in her wake, then brushed past Gavin on her way to the basket of fluffy cream towels.
Gavin came to stand toe to toe with her. “Do you think we don’t know about your nighttime activities, Kara? Stopping one pervert is like squashing a caterpillar under your boot compared to coming up against an angry Aniliáre. Think about that same boot versus a dragon the size of this palace. As a female unprotected by a clan, that’s what you’d be dealing with. You need us.”
Kara’s mouth dropped open. “They turn into dragons?” No stinking way.
“What?” Gavin shook his head. “No. It was a metaphor.”
Suddenly, Julian was behind her, wrapping the towel around her naked breasts and tucking it in tightly. His breath hissed over her shoulder. “Get out. I will bring her to dinner when she’s dressed.”
Every muscle in Gavin’s body tensed. “Dinner is long over, Julian. And I will not leave you alone with her again. Don’t make this difficult.” As the words left Gavin’s mouth, armed men came from the shadows to flank him on either side, five to his left and five to his right, carrying ropes and tethers. Each man was as large and powerfully built as Julian, their expressions ranging from doubtful to determined.
“Please, my lord. We have no desire to use force against you,” pleaded one man.
Kara stepped back, sucking in a quick breath as Julian’s claws extended and his eyes flashed red. They glowed like embers from his dark face as he regarded Gavin. “You bastard son of Brakken. How dare you use my own men against me.”
Gavin quickly turned to Kara. “Go! Wait for me outside.”
She opened her mouth to protest when the room exploded into motion. Julian, armed with only his talons and fangs, launched himself at the group, taking the first man down with a quick bite to the neck. The man yelped and jumped back, clutching his bleeding throat in his hand as a steady stream of blood ran under his fingers.
But before Kara could even comprehend what was happening, Julian had his claws curved into the face of the next man, one hand gripping his bloody jaw and the other around his neck as though he were going to tear the man’s head from his shoulders.
“Julian!” Kara screamed. She didn’t know if she was afraid for him or of what he seemed capable of in that moment.
As his scarlet eyes flashed to her, four guards tackled him from behind, toppling him to the floor. His hands were still wrapped around the gasping man’s face and neck. A fifth guard was trying—and failing—to break his grip.
“Tie him down!” Gavin shouted above the frantic sounds of struggle. He walked to the head of the fray and bent down, grasping Julian’s clawed hands as electric blue light shot from his own fingers—zzzzzttt—crackling against Julian’s grip with the quick resonance of a bug zapper.
Julian’s body stiffened with the shock. He released the man’s neck and began thrashing under the weight of the guards. “Don’t touch her!” he bellowed, the sound echoing like a clap of thunder in the marble room. “She’s mine! Kara!”
Kara’s eyes were wide and disbelieving. She couldn’t understand how it had all gone downhill so fast. But one thing seemed clear, Julian had completely lost it. “Gavin, leave him alone. What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”
“Healo, put him under,” Gavin commanded, not even sparing Kara a glance.
A leather-clad warrior with a blond braid down his back stepped forward and knelt at Julian’s head, narrowly avoiding getting his thigh grazed by Julian’s sharp fangs. “Sorry, my lord. Let’s hope you’re in a better mood when you wake up.” With that, Healo cupped his hand around the crown of Julian’s head and his arm began to quiver with energy.
“Kara,” Julian mumbled, using the last of his strength to find her gaze and latch on. “I love you.” His eyelids bobbed slowly down and back up. “I…love…” As he went still, the air rushed from his lungs with the weight of the men on his back.
Seeing Julian passed out, slack-jawed and crushed to the green marble floor, Kara broke. With her towel barely hanging on, she rushed forward and shoved the nearest man, knocking him on his ass.
“Get off him!” Her fist connected with the jaw of the man straddling her lover, sending his head rocking back. “He can’t breathe! Gavin!”
“Kara.” Gavin’s voice was all command and authority. He snatched her wrist midflight when she released another punch. “He’s fine. I promise. Liel, have your men tie him up until he’s out of the mating rage.”
“Yes, sir,” the bearded captain replied, and it was only then Kara realized more warriors were waiting in Julian’s room. What the hell kind of trouble had they expected from one man?
Gavin met Liel’s eyes. “Ask Aiden to bind Julian’s darker powers until the next moon, when he’s had a chance to get Kara out of his system. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll fight with fangs before he decides to call the shadows and damn us all.”
Liel’s brows drew down and his smile was tentative. “I’ve known Lord Julian a long time. He wouldn’t do that to his own people.”
Gavin laughed bitterly. “He already did. After dark in San Diego, he had an ‘episode’. I was able to subdue him before it went further, but his power has to be bound.”
Liel bowed. “Yes, my lord.” He walked quickly from the room.
The men stood, preparing the ropes, but Kara’s hand was still firmly stuck in Gavin’s grasp. “He’s your friend, Gavin! Why would you do this?”
Gavin released his grip, looked down into her eyes and smiled. “Little warrior princess. You honor Julian with your defense of him, but women don’t need to fight in the Mercury clan. We will take care of you, Kara, and even protect you from ourselves when you need it.”
Kara threw her hands up, colliding against Gavin’s chest in her fury. “Julian hasn’t hurt me. You don’t know what you’re talking about!” But she had to admit both times she’d seen Julian in a “mating rage” had been frightening.
“There are things you don’t understand about our laws, about our intimacy. Julian is a lord of this clan. It’s forbidden for him to bond to one female, and I’ve seen him with you. He’s barreling down that destructive path without thought to the consequences to either of you. He’s not well, Kara.”
“No, you brought this on! One minute he was Prince Charming and the next he went crazy. You did this, Gavin!” She poked a hard finger into his chest to emphasize her point.
“Yes, I did this—for you. Calm down, princess.” He looked deep into Kara’s eyes with a soft, peaceful expression, his voice gentle. “Everything’s all right. Julian will be good as new after a short rest.”
She glanced down to see Julian bound with brown leather cords, but when it sank into her adrenaline-addled mind he was unhurt and breathing peacefully, her tension ratcheted down a notch. She blinked up at Gavin, her lungs exhaling a deep, cleansing breath, even as a bead of sweat trailed down her forehead to sting her eye.
As she stared into Gavin’s serene hazel eyes, her racing blood slowed like molasses in her veins. “Julian’s okay?”
“Yes. I’ll take you to dress now and meet our ladies. That may answer many questions you have.”
“All right.” Kara knelt to smooth Julian’s black hair from his forehead. “You’re going to be fine, Jules. Rest and get better, baby.” She smiled and kissed his closed eyelids. “It’ll all be better tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifteen
Gavin clutched Kara tightly to him as his strong wings carried them closer to the town square. She couldn’t help feeling ridiculous in the filmy apricot dress he’d given her. It cinched under her breasts and touched the ground when she stood—and with its little puff sleeves, it looked like he’d plucked it off the set of a Jane Austen movie.
The farther they traveled from the palace, the more concerned she became for Julian. She wasn’t sure why her thoughts and feelings were so scattered lately. Yes, her predictable life had been blown to bits in the last twenty-four ho
urs, but that still didn’t explain how she could want to rip Julian’s attackers apart in one instant and be calm enough to take up knitting the next.
“Kara,” Gavin said, startling her out of her thoughts. “We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, the music and the crowd gave it away.” She felt crabby and off kilter, like she was finally experiencing the sacred rite Abbey loved to tell her about—PMS.
“These women may not be what you’re used to. I imagine you may have more delicate sensibilities.”
Her, delicate? Kara snorted. “You must not know me very well.”
She doubted these women could come up with words she didn’t use on a regular basis. Sure, she hadn’t had many lovers, but Abbey’s stories made up for that twice over. She’d seen her best friend just a few hours before, but she was already missing her. It felt wrong to be on an island so far away from San Diego, so far from her responsibilities. The sooner she was home, the better.
“Stay close to me. Please.” Gavin touched down outside the square.
Kara got to her feet and shook out her dress. “Don’t be a drama king. I’ll be fine.”
He took her hand and walked her through the maze of tables. Food and drink were left all around, scattered and spilled without any of the earlier bustle of men cleaning or going about their work.
“Why are they all in the square?” She saw the press of bodies and heard the ribald shouts coming from the sea of undulating flesh. The only men not pressed into the group were the musicians, playing a strange mix of stringed instruments and native-sounding drums. “Is this some sort of after-dinner game?”
Gavin coughed and cleared his throat. “Yes, actually. You could call it exactly that.”
His fingers pressed tighter into hers as he breached the first wall of men, jostling them aside. As they turned and saw Gavin, they lowered their eyes and stepped out of his path. Kara felt raked with their heated gazes and couldn’t figure out why Gavin hadn’t chosen something that covered more flesh on her upper half.
The island air was thick in the crush of bodies. Kara smelled the mingled scents of sweat and sex and male arousal. She could feel the energy in the Demiáre around her, see the way their muscles tensed and flexed, sense their barely restrained desire.
She tipped her chin up to murmur in Gavin’s ear, “What’s going on?”
“A contest.” As he said it, they emerged at the edge of the inner ring of spectators. The men here were clearly aroused. Several of them stood completely naked, their shafts hard and ready. The sounds of the men were louder and more urgent here.
Kara’s eyes drifted to the center of the commotion, and the sight caused her to suck in a breath. A pale woman with long blond hair lay in the center of a brown wooly pelt. She had a man on either side of her, one massaging her breasts while another kissed her neck. Between her legs was a dark-skinned man with tightly curled hair, but Kara couldn’t make out his face—it was busy lapping at the woman’s core.
The woman grabbed his hair hard enough to tug his scalp, pulling him farther into the valley between her legs. “Yes,” she panted. “More. Use your mouth. Suck me.”
The man groaned as he pleasured her. He lifted his hand and slid his fingers into her channel. Suddenly, an armed guard reached down and plucked the man’s hand away from the woman.
“No hands. You agreed to the rules,” the guard said, binding the dark-skinned man’s hands behind him with a leather cord. The man lost his balance and had to prop himself sideways on his shoulder, but all the while, he feasted on the woman with a singular focus.
Kara couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She couldn’t understand it. As she looked around and noticed how many men were palming their erections and stroking them in time with the thrust of the woman’s hips, Gavin wrapped a protective arm around her and pulled her close.
Then, like an avalanche on a clear winter day, the woman began to keen and grind herself into the man. “Yes!” she shouted. “Yes!” Her hips pumped savagely several more times until finally she fell exhausted to her side and her legs parted. Her face was radiant as she regarded her audience.
The man at her feet tried to inch closer to her, but he was yanked back by the man who had bound his hands. “Wait for the verdict!” the guard said.
The woman laughed. “Not bad. I’d give it a six. Still, not good enough to make it to the final round. Who’s next?”
A volley of hands shot up and several of the naked men stepped forward. The woman barely looked them in the eye—her gaze directed more on what strained from their bodies. “Oh, you…” she pointed at one. “Kiro, isn’t it? You’re exceptional. I think I’ve had you before. You will be next.”
Gavin spoke up before Kiro could step forward. “Lace, before your next contestant, I would like to introduce you to Kara Reed.”
The men went silent, and Kara wasn’t sure if it was from the steel in Gavin’s voice or from Kara crashing the party. Either way, when Gavin pulled her forward into the empty space between Lace and the crowd, Kara wanted to die.
The woman turned her seductive eyes toward Kara. Even by firelight, they were the most gorgeous cornflower blue, almost lit from within. Lace was an exquisite work of art. She sat up slightly and sprawled her legs toward Gavin, giving Kara a prime view of her swollen, rosy flesh.
“Oh, Gavin. What poor manners you have. I don’t expect to be interrupted unless you’re hoping to be added to my harem.” She smoothed one finger through her slick folds, and with only a soft whimper from her lips, the men at her shoulders replaced her hand with their own. “Good boys.” She rewarded them with a sultry smile.
“Lace,” Gavin said. “Behave yourself.”
“Or what? You’re going to punish me with that big cock of yours?” She grasped her servant’s hand and pushed his fingers inside her. “It’s almost time for you to service me again, Gavin. Don’t think I won’t take my turn because you found another plaything.”
The woman turned her cold blue eyes to Kara. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kara Reed. Let me know if you’d like to borrow any of my men.” She smiled suddenly, as if an idea had struck her. “Oh! What about Jaxon? I don’t want him anymore and I’ll have chosen his replacement by night’s end.”
When Lace gestured to a man on the sidelines, Kara noticed him for the first time. On his knees in the dirt, clad in nothing but black, x-shaped leather straps across his chest, his eyes were the saddest, most dejected thing Kara had ever seen. His brown hair looked unwashed and fell limply across his forehead. Forgetting introductions, or her own shame, Kara asked breathlessly, “What did he do wrong to have you treat him like this?”
“Pardon me?” Lace looked sincerely confused. “Jaxon didn’t do anything. He was losing his edge.” She cast him a dismissive glance. “You will learn soon enough, Kara Reed, you must be selective. There’s so much you don’t know. You need someone like me to show you.”
Indignation boiled like venom in Kara’s veins. Was this what Gavin wanted her to see? Was this how Demiáre females lived? “Yes,” Kara replied.
Lace sat up fully, her mouth curling into a grin. “You want me to teach you pleasure?”
“No. I meant yes I want that man there.” She pointed to Jaxon before his face even had a chance to register shock. “I’ll take him.”
Gavin leaned down and growled in her ear, “Kara.”
She squeezed his hand tight, hoping he got the message to let her handle this. She wasn’t going to let the sad-looking warrior be publicly humiliated as that vile woman had a “pussy eating” contest to choose his replacement.
“Will you come with me?” she asked the man. She heard several murmurs coming from the crowd and some of the men shifted on their feet, looking unsure of what was happening.
Jaxon’s dead eyes widened, as if he was hearing the conversation for the first time and only now registering Kara’s presence. He continued kneeling, not saying a word. Then, as if pulled by puppet strings, he rose to his feet and hi
s gray wings extended. Even naked and dirty, he tilted his chin up and walked forward. As he stepped over Lace and her companions on his path to Kara, he yanked a cord from around his neck and dropped it at Lace’s feet.
Lace’s blue eyes turned murderous, but she smiled. “You’ll regret this, little princess. He’s finished.”
Kara smiled back. She’d faced down much scarier people than one naked Demiáre female. “I doubt that. He looks like a man who knows how to satisfy a woman. Regrets will be the furthest thing from my mind tonight.”
Lace sprang to her feet and the men around her scrambled out of the way. “How dare you interfere, you infant.”
Kara snorted. “How dare you, you nasty bitch. Where do you get off treating people that way?”
“Kara. That’s enough,” Gavin warned.
Lace’s blue eyes got bluer, casting a glow over her features that spread across her skin. Her pink lips edged away from her teeth to reveal two sharp, pointy fangs, and her fingers curved into crystalline claws, like shards of blue glass from the tips of her fingers. “It would be too bad if your first visit to our island were also your last.”
Kara could barely make out the words with the way Lace’s breath hissed through her teeth. She was more than a little concerned with the energy she felt in the air, not just evil intent, but with some kind of wattage to back it up. Just as she was about to square her shoulders and mutter a polite fuck you, Lace lifted her glowing hands above her head.
Oh, shit. This was gonna hurt.
Gavin thrust Kara behind him, blocking her completely with his body. “Lace! Stand down!” he commanded.
“I won’t tolerate disrespect.” Kara couldn’t see her, but she sounded serious.
“As you said yourself, she’s young. She doesn’t know any better. It won’t happen again.”
“Like hell,” Kara muttered to Gavin’s back.
He quickly turned and took Kara by the shoulders, ushering her away with his body still covering hers. They walked through the crowd without looking back, and the demoralized warrior was right on their heels.
