by Marie Harte
“Truly, Skye?” Xav asked. She couldn’t read the emotion in his voice. Awe or disbelief? Pride or disgust? “You defeated Maht and the others?”
She glanced at Maht but didn’t see the scorn she’d thought she might. Most men didn’t like being beaten by a female. He appeared fine with it.
“Skye?” Xav said again, more impatient.
“So what if I did? I came here to protect my friend. Instead, I find her getting freaky with a giant. Then two more of you guys showed up, and they weren’t all that nice. I did what I had to do.” She grew more concerned with the sober faces looking back at her.
Xav stood. “Put out the fire. Break camp. We’re returning home. Talzec needs to know of this Nasuhl interference.” He kept looking at her. “By now they will have returned to their village and reported.”
The others made haste obeying while Skye tried to figure out what the hell was going on. “Hey, Xav, wait.” He stopped in the middle of his conversation with Maht, the odd dialect of course one she couldn’t understand. “What’s up? Why are we hurrying now? Is it some big deal that I dealt with the Nasuhl instead of Maht?”
He just stared at her, his entire bearing that of a conquering warrior. “Yes, it is.”
Instead of explaining, he turned back to Maht and their conversation, ignoring her.
“Asshole.” She glared at him, annoyed to be relegated to standing with Lisa like helpless cargo. Whatever. She’d use her gifts to protect her friend—her pregnant friend. To Lisa, she said, “So you’re pregnant, huh?”
“Yes.” Lisa signed and rubbed her belly. “It’s totally weird, but I can feel a little tickle in my stomach.”
“Sure that’s not the flehik we just ate?”
Lisa laughed, much lighter about the whole mess than Skye would have thought. “No. I’m… I don’t know. I’m happy about the baby and Maht. Still not sure about living with barbarians away from everything I know.” She let out a breath. “But I feel a sense of excitement and almost acceptance. Weird, right?”
All that talk of bonding and energy melding had Skye thinking. “Maybe not as weird as it sounds. This phelthar stuff sounds like a psychic joining. Your psychic skills lay in charming the pants off of people. So at Welcome, you were personnel management, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So you managed yourself into a husband, is what I’m thinking. They mate or marry, whatever you want to call it, on a deeper level than finding a justice of the peace. His psyche seems to have bonded with yours.”
Lisa took Skye’s hand and squeezed it. “The Green Moon dance is in another five days.”
“You know?”
“Yes. So I have a little more time before it’s all or none. Life here with Maht and the baby, or life back at home. I know I’m done with the resort. They won’t take me back, not with a barbarian baby. That’s a clear violation of their fraternization policy.”
“You think?” Skye snorted.
Lisa grinned, then a tear trickled from her eye.
“Damn. I’m sorry. I was just teasing.” Lisa had seemed so okay with her pregnancy.
“No. I’m just emotional. Happy one minute, scared out of my mind the next. I mean, a baby?”
“Life is seriously throwing you some curves.” Skye shrugged. “But no biggie. We can handle it.”
“I’m so glad to have you as a friend.” Lisa gave her a hug then pulled back, and more tears followed. “Oh my God. I just realized. With you here helping me, your chances for advancement at Welcome are ruined, aren’t they?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Skye, I’m so sorry. I—”
“Come.” Maht drew them apart and shot Skye an angry look, one she returned.
“No, little warrior.” Beside him, Lore shook his head. “Save your energy for when we get to the village.” In a lower voice that didn’t reassure her one bit, he added, “You’re going to need it.”
***
Daveen, leader of the Nasuhl Clan, listened with curiosity to the tale his returning warriors told. They gathered in his chambers, deep in the cool caves protected from any enemy by a series of interlocking passages only Daveen, his cousin Morlo, and a few others knew. But Daveen wanted this information kept close. No common area for this discussion. Female offworlders? Sexual offerings from the Maker or a plot by the West to spy on them? And what of this female battling warriors and winning?
“So this female, an offworlder, bested you both? And the Vyctore male as well?”
Fleen shifted on his feet. “She didn’t best me, exactly.”
“She threw you,” Haen added with a sneer. “So you ordered me to deal with her while you took the easier of the two. Yet still you lost to him.”
Fleen drew back his hand to cuff Haen when Daveen stopped him. “Hold. The females. Describe them again. And give me details about the fighter.”
She intrigued him, this woman with light-colored hair and brown eyes. Her body had been made for war, apparently, because no weak female could defeat warriors he himself had trained. Fleen and Haen were no ordinary Nasuhl. They were part of his interior guard.
Still, defeat had to be met with some form of discipline. He nodded to Morlo, not only his cousin, but his beta as well. “Fifteen lashes each. But make Haen’s pretty for the females.” Nasul women did so like their men scarred.
Morlo nodded, and like the beasts Nasuhl had trained them to be, Haen and Fleen accompanied a dominant master with their proverbial tails between their legs. Daveen ruled all with an iron fist, but Morlo had all his trust and bestowed authority. The last in Daveen’s bloodline, and the only person in this life he knew would not turn on him.
As usual, at thoughts of betrayal, he thought of Nalla, his dear sister. Once again, he knew deep, never-ending pain.
Daveen had been raiding for years, taking only the most prime female flesh from other villages and training them to handle a warrior’s needs. He had a rougher touch than most females wanted to handle. Only Nalla had seen him for what he was. Only she’d been able to handle him in the special way he needed. And then she’d gone, supposedly rescued by that dishonorable scum, Talzec.
A fury of hatred and need for justice burned in Daveen’s breast. Soon he would take Talzec down, destroy the man and everything he held dear. To know Talzec had claimed Nalla for his own sickened him. The only thing that made him feel better was the fact they clearly hadn’t bonded, because Nalla had passed and Talzec remained. The weak piece of shit hadn’t even had the decency to take his own life. Nalla meant that little to him.
Enraged, as he normally was, Daveen stormed back to his bedchamber and sent for two of his concubines. He dragged out his favorite whips, needing to play. The females arrived and immediately huddled in fear, knowing that particular look in his eye. Their trainer, an older whore with an able mind if battered body, stood by, watching.
“Present yourselves,” she said in an icy tone.
While he readied to release the tension and anger that never went away, he thought about the offworlder female and her soft, sexy friend. Imagining them giving back the fight he desperately needed, he stripped down and began to flick his whips, warming up. Then he worked the females through their paces, climaxing multiple times while keeping his second seed from ejaculation. His second seed—that which he’d only ever held for Nalla, a woman worthy of his lineage. Just as he’d considered her ready to receive him, to continue his line with child, Talzec had stolen her. And now he was left without an heir. Truth to tell, Daveen feared ever finding a worthy female to bear him young.
Someone who could fight like a man, or at least fuck like one. Though it went against all the Nasuhl believed in, men fucking men made a twisted kind of sense. Daveen could only imagine a male being able to withstand the force he used when expelling his second seed. Still, fucking a male was something no self-respecting barbarian would ever do.
Yet another reason to despise the Vyctore clan. Those hell demons had taken to accepting, even welc
oming, male-to-male pairings, spurring many other clans to do the same. That godless reject Talzec had a habit of ruining everything he touched.
Someday, Talzec. I’ll have your head, and I’ll mount it over my bed so that while I’m fucking my way to pleasure, you’ll be watching and knowing you lost everything. To me.
Chapter Six
Skye didn’t know what she’d expected, but the words barbarian and village brought to mind crude structures and even cruder people. What she encountered as they entered the Vyctore clan village stunned her. Deep in the heart of the tropics, surrounded on three sides by dense, well-guarded terrain and on the other by a large lake, the place felt warm, friendly.
Several thatched huts, some open, some closed off, were scattered throughout the large clearing away from the thick tree line surrounding the village. As she watched, a few children raced around chattering and playing a game of what looked like tag.
To the far end near a natural spring, several females stood over tables. Their clothing covered their essential parts—thank God. Skye was no prude, but she hadn’t looked forward to watching naked breasts bob and shake during her stay. Considering how little the male barbarians wore, the females seemed overdressed. Thin, short, sleeveless dresses in dark browns and greens and patterned with bright colors, like the flowers around them, covered them from shoulder to high on the thigh. One or two women bent over the table and showed a thong-like undergarment. Then a few others moved and displayed the fact they wore nothing underneath.
The men working around them or walking by didn’t ogle anyone but seemed to treat those they encountered with respect.
Interesting.
The females were definitely smaller than the men. The barbarian males on average stood seven feet tall. The females were more Earth-like, all dark haired and golden eyed, but about Lisa’s height. Even here, Skye stood out among the females. Honestly, that kind of annoyed her. How could it be that female barbarians seemed more feminine than she did?
All the males, even those working with stones and produce—some type of bartering system?—looked like warriors. They had large muscles, a wariness to them suggesting a familiarity with combat, and screamed danger. Around the perimeter, she noticed a guard force carrying weapons of all kinds. Battle axes, hammers, spears, and a few long bows.
Fascinating. Her interest caught and held on the challenging energy coming from the guards, especially.
A glance to her left showed a small gaggle of women surrounding Maht had Lisa. Lisa smiled, sheltered by Maht’s towering frame. He looked on proudly while Lisa and the women talked and laughed. Lisa had no trouble making friends, which would certainly help her here.
“Come, Skye. Don’t be afraid.” Xav tugged her after him, and she realized she’d stopped in her tracks to take everything in.
“Scared? I don’t think so.” She could almost feel Lore and Zhen grinning behind her. “And you two can piss off.”
Zhen chuckled. “The female is overwhelmed by our camp, Lore. I think it might be best if we introduce her to the others.”
“Not until Talzec is informed,” Xav stated.
Xav seemed different here. Bigger, more serious, more threatening. Skye couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was as if Xav fed off the energy around them in a fundamentally commanding way.
A loud buzzing within her surged in another direction, and she turned, like a magnet attracted to its opposite. A fighter with some prowess. She could almost taste the lure of wild battle. She took one step, then another as Xav drew her forward, his hand curled around hers. To her astonishment, that powerful energy licking at hers seemed to join Xav’s, making her almost-lover both familiar and a stranger at the same time.
“Lore, bring Maht and Lisa,” Xav ordered.
The barbarians ahead of them moved aside to reveal the source of that well of energy. Skye got her first look at who she knew to be Talzec. He felt like a ball of lightning, so much power and strength in the air crackling around him. She knew no one else felt it like she did, because had they been so sensitive, they’d be doing their best not to cringe.
Xav’s hand on hers tightened, but he didn’t look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze on Talzec, his…alpha? From what she’d learned on their journey, the planet had three tribes of barbarians. In each tribe, there were thousands of clans. Under the Cloud Tribe, the Vyctore and Nasuhl clans thrived as enemies, apparently. Daveen, the leader of the Nasuhl, had killed his own sister and had a bad habit of torturing his opponents and raping their women. Not a great resume.
The Vyctore were known as the fiercest and best warriors in the tribe. At least, according to the proud Vyctore warriors who’d accompanied her here. As she watched those around the camp and took in their leader, she could well believe their boasts.
Talzec was by far the largest man around. He had more muscle than Xav, whom she’d considered freakin’ huge. Tall, dark, and oh-my-God handsome, the man had long black hair that covered his shoulders and reached mid-chest. Those flesh-colored tattoos on him, that all the barbarians had, grew darker and swirled in a pattern as Xav and she drew closer.
Around them, everyone stopped dead.
What the hell?
“What is this?” Talzec boomed, his voice as authoritative and deep as she might have imagined.
“This is why we were delayed,” Xav said, a note of amusement in his voice.
That relieved her. If Xav wasn’t too put off by his ferocious leader, the guy couldn’t be all bad.
Wait. This? Did he mean her and Lisa? This?
Talzec looked over Xav’s shoulder. “Zhen, Lore.” He nodded, then his gaze narrowed, and she felt an arrow of power surge past her. “Maht. You bring an unexpected treasure.”
“Alpha.” Maht bowed his head. “This is my mate, Lisa.”
“Your mate, hmm? Interesting that you did not ask for permission before breaking the treaty.”
“Not that any would have been given,” Xav muttered.
Talzec glared at him, and Xav shut up. The leader’s gaze passed over Skye, then came back again. His tattoos swirled faster, and she saw a glimmer of blue flash in the center of his eyes.
Xav tensed.
She had no idea what the hell was going on, but the stress all around them grew. No one spoke—worry one. Everyone backed away from her small group—huge worry number two.
“Maht?” Lisa whispered.
“Shh. It’s all right, sweetling.”
“No, it’s not,” Talzec growled, his gaze still on Skye. “Why are there two offworlders in my camp right now?”
Lisa stepped back behind Maht.
Xav moved to position himself firmly between Skye and Talzec, which had Talzec looking even grimmer.
Suddenly, Skye’s sense of self-preservation vanished as anger at the unfairness and weirdness of the situation took hold. She darted around Xav before he could stop her and walked right up to Talzec, stopping only a foot away.
Jesus, she could feel that intense heat bleeding from his body into hers as his energy sought her secrets. She tried to hold him out while looking for cracks in his psychic shield. She needed to know how he’d react to danger if she had any chance of surviving.
She poked him in the belly and felt absolutely no give in his muscle. Suppressing a totally inappropriate shiver of need, she stood firm. “Look, buddy. It’s been a shitty week, and you’re not helping.” She ignored the gasps of those around her and continued. “Your barbarian stole my friend, sexed her up, impregnated her, and now claims her as his mate. You can’t just steal people. She’s an offworlder. She has rights.”
Talzec didn’t blink as he watched her, and those fascinating golden orbs of his kept flashing to blue and back again. Darts of red swirled, then vanished, while his tattoos moved faster. Totally not human, Skye. Remember that.
“And what of you, little human?” he asked in a beastly growl.
“I’m here to help her. She’s my best friend.” She put her hands on her hips, tr
ying to look bigger and failing miserably under his larger-than-life presence.
“She defeated two Nasuhl warriors. And Maht,” Xav said, startling her to hear him so close behind her. She hadn’t felt him at all, so focused on Talzec.
Talzec frowned, which made him look even sexier—meaner. “An offworld female defeated a Vyctore warrior?” He scoffed, his disdain evident.
She saw red. Without thinking, she tapped into his energy and forced him to step closer with a telekinetic tug. Then she hooked a foot around his ankle and yanked.
A normal man would have fallen on his ass. Talzec stumbled and immediately caught his balance.
“I told you,” Xav said and laughed at the giant tower of rage now looming over her.
Talzec leaned down and opened his mouth to say something. Then he sniffed and froze. His head whipped to Xav, who nodded. Straightening to his full height, he ordered Xav to take her to his quarters.
“To my hut?” Xav sounded surprised. “Not the guest quarters?”
“Do what I told you to.” The quiet threat in Talzec’s tone said more than a shout could have. Whispers around them turned into loud discussions of shock and awe that an offworlder had dared confront their leader. “Maht, you and Lisa come with me.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
Xav hustled her with him, so that she almost had to run to keep up. They entered a hut on the far side of encampment, right next to a larger structure that held a banner over it signifying the leader’s home. That much she knew from her studies of the barbarians.
Great. She’d now be sequestered right next to a giant with a chip on his shoulder about offworlders.
Inside the hut, she saw open windows facing the forest. A large pallet on the ground made up of furs and skins took up most of the room, with a wooden cabinet to one side and a table and chairs on the other. Large by her standards, but small when occupied by a barbarian. The place was simple but clean, and it smelled sweet, probably from the yellow blossoms dangling on the vines right outside the windows.
