Rye (Joyadan Mates Book 1)

by Sadie Carter

  “Then don’t look,” he snapped, annoyed that he couldn’t do anything to save them. They were stuck here, waiting to either be rescued or crushed.

  “What if they don’t come for us?”

  “They’ll come.”

  “But what if they don’t? What do we do? Can’t we do something?”

  He turned to snarl at her and immediately stopped himself as he saw how lost she looked. She wasn’t deliberately riling him up. “God, I’m an asshole.”

  “Yes, you are. Not sure why you are telling your God that, though. I’m certain he already knows.” She started playing with a rip in her pants. Rye came and crouched beside her.

  He placed his hand over hers, stilling it. A zing of pleasure raced through him. This was part of the reason he felt so on edge. Not only couldn’t he protect her from an earthquake or that damn darkness, but he was also fighting a raging hard-on, made worse by their enforced closeness. And that kiss. Shit, that kiss had been like bolts of electricity coursing through his body.

  “You’ll make the hole worse.”

  She gave a small laugh. “What does it matter? These are ruined anyway.”

  “Because if you make the hole much bigger, then I might be tempted just to rip them off you entirely.”

  Her gaze widened as she stared up at him. He heard her breath catch, watched in fascination as she licked her lips. He placed his finger under her chin, tilted her face up and took her lips with his.

  He covered her mouth with his, slipping his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. His cock hardened, pressing against his pants, demanding to be freed. Rye forced himself to pull back. Now was not the time to do this.

  “Why did you kiss me? You don’t even like me.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “That is your answer? It’s complicated?”

  It was a pretty piss-poor answer.

  Rye sighed. “I don’t want to want you.”

  “I know,” she said surprising him. “I don’t want to want you, either.”

  “But you want me,” he said with a hint of arrogance.

  “Don’t let it inflate your ego. I am not the best judge of character. I also wanted Husan Mortef once.”

  “What?”

  Elika couldn’t look at Rye. Why had she told him that? She’d never told anyone how she had ended up being kidnapped by Husan. That she’d made an awful error in judgment and trusted a man who claimed to care about her. Was she making that same mistake again? Despite wishing otherwise, she cared about Rye, and she definitely wanted him.

  But could she trust him?

  Husan had taken advantage of her naïveté—she was no longer that young girl who fell for pretty words. Rye certainly didn’t have those. Husan would never have risked himself to save her, for any reason.

  Rye was loyal and protective. Husan had gutter rat morals, and his only loyalty had been to himself.

  “What do you mean you wanted Mortef?” he asked.

  Nervous, she clasped her hands together. She might as well tell him; they were probably going to be trapped here for hours. If not forever. Suddenly, his stomach grumbled, breaking the tension.

  “Damn it, I should have brought some food with me.”

  “Oh, I can help with that.” She pulled off her backpack and pulled out a bottle of water and some vit-bars, which were entire meals on their own if not all that tasty. Then she reached into the pockets of the bag and emptied them of the small bags of nuts and dried fruit she’d made up.

  “Wow,” Rye said. “Did you know something the rest of us didn’t? Why’d you have all this food?”

  Shame filled her. “Sometimes Husan would withhold food from us. For punishment, if someone tried to escape. Sometimes just because he felt like it.”

  “For how long?” Rye asked darkly.

  “I don’t know. Felt like forever sometimes.” Those were dark days she really didn’t like to think about. “So I learned to stash some food away. Guess it’s now a habit.” She threw her shoulders back, looking up at him. If he wanted to make fun of her then so be it.

  But he would learn that she wasn’t going to just sit here and take his abuse. Now that she was free, she never intended to let someone hurt her again.

  Chapter Six

  Rye watched as Elika pulled herself together, giving him the haughty look he was so used to seeing on her face. Except he had started to see another side of her. She was slowly opening up. Maybe that false bravado was used to hide her vulnerability.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  She blinked, staring at him, looking shocked. Did she think he would condemn her?

  “You know no one would ever withhold food from you now, right?”

  “Of course.” She nodded. “I know that logically. It’s just, even though I might tell myself I don’t need to do it, I can’t seem to stop.”

  Rye knew people who had been starved often hid food away. It was a normal reaction. But it would probably also help Elika if she spoke about everything that had happened to her. She’d been held by Husan a long time.

  “Have you spoken about what happened? Wouldn’t it help to get it out? Talk about your feelings, and I don’t know, don’t most women like to talk about everything?”

  She appeared bewildered. “They do?”

  He sighed. “When I was the leader of our village, one of the women was always waiting to talk to me about something. I don’t know why they chose me. Sometimes I used to hide in my cabin until they gave up and left.”

  Her lips twitched. “You were scared of a woman because she wished to talk to you?”

  He gave her a long-suffering look, pleased to see she appeared happier. “They liked to talk a lot.”

  “Poor Rye. How you suffered.”

  “I did. I certainly did.”

  “I will make certain not to talk to you too much.”

  Except she very much needed to talk and he was here.

  “There’s nothing else to do here. So you might as well talk my ear off.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “Your ear will fall off if I talk too much?”

  He smiled. Now he knew why his sister sometimes got so frustrated when talking to her mate. “No, it’s a saying. Why don’t you tell me about how you came to be kidnapped by Husan?”

  Elika really didn’t want to tell him. Especially not after that kiss they’d shared. Her lips still tingled, and her body was flooded with heat. She didn’t know what to make of her reaction to him. As he’d said, he didn’t want to want her, and she felt exactly the same way.

  She wanted to be left alone. Didn’t she? She had to admit, she liked feeling a part of something. She enjoyed working with Mila. Most of the Zerconians had been friendly to her. The Zerconian women were a little less inviting, but she understood that. They didn’t like change. They had a safe, secure world and they didn’t want it disturbed by strangers.

  She’d feel exactly the same.

  “Elika?” There was a gentle note in Rye’s voice, and he was looking at her differently. Almost as though he liked her.

  “You see the truth about me, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “That I’m not a very nice person.”

  There was a moment of silence, and when he didn’t immediately refute her statement, her stomach shriveled.

  “Why do you say that?”

  She shrugged. “Lots of reasons. Before Husan took me, I had friends. But they were only my friends because of who I was, not because they liked me. I learned that difference. I had a lot of time to reflect while I was held captive by him. He targeted me, not just because I was powerful, but because I was all alone. Because he knew that no one would come for me. I thought they would. In those first few weeks, I held on to hope that someone would come, my guardian, my friends, then that hope slowly died.”

  And she’d realized he had been right. Those people who acted like her friends were only too happy to see the back of h
er.

  “Then they weren’t real friends at all,” Rye told her, a dark note in his voice. She glanced up to see his eyes had grown hard. “If they were, they would have searched to the ends of the universe for you.”

  “If Willa had been taken, you would search for her?”

  “I would search for her forever.”

  Her heart constricted, tears threatening.

  “I was a very powerful witch. People wanted to be close to me because of that. Not because they actually liked me. I don’t blame them for not liking me. I could be very selfish. I didn’t often think of others.”

  “What about your family?”

  “When I was ten, my parents were killed by a sickness that swept our planet. I was made the ward of a very wealthy and powerful wizard. He taught me, raised me, I guess in his way he cared for me. He helped me get a good job. I thought I was very important. I guess it made me think I was special. As my powers grew, I also became more selfish and arrogant. I liked to show off how powerful I was. Then I met Husan at a party. I don’t even know why he was there. But he flattered me, he sent me flowers and poetry. He took me places, made me feel special. What a naïve fool I was. I actually thought he loved me.”

  “How old were you?” Rye asked.

  “Nineteen. A lifetime ago.”

  “You never had a chance against him.”

  “Yes, I know. I thought I was worldly. I thought no one could hurt me. And I thought he was in love with me. Instead, he kidnapped me, used me.”

  “Did he rape you?” The question was blunt.

  “No. Ernie, Husan’s assistant, tried, but I managed to do a spell on him that froze his balls. Apparently, it felt like razor blades every time he tried to, um, you know.”

  “Good for you,” he told her fiercely.

  She smiled. “I was just lucky it was at the beginning when I still had plenty of magic. Otherwise…” She shuddered.

  Rye reached over and took her hand in his. “You survived. That is the important thing.”

  “I suppose. Sometimes it felt pointless. Sometimes I wanted to end it all. That was the only way I could see of getting free of him.”

  “If you had we wouldn’t be here now.”

  “Trapped together in a cave?”

  “Exactly.” He smiled at her, and she snorted.

  “I’ve tried to be different. I’ve tried not to be selfish or arrogant. I have tried to do everything to be helpful and make people like me. Well, not everyone; I know you don’t like me much.”

  He frowned. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

  Wrong foot? What did that mean? There was a right foot to step off on? She stared down at her feet.

  “I had a bad encounter with a witch once, and it tainted me towards other witches. And I could see how differently you acted with me than with everyone else. I thought you were hiding something.”

  “I don’t seem to have as much control of my tongue when I am around you. I was worried you saw through me, that you would tell someone and they would insist I leave.”

  “What?” He moved onto his knees, facing her. “You thought I wanted to get rid of you?”

  “Didn’t you? You just admitted you don’t like or trust witches. I’m a witch. Why would you want me around?”

  “Perhaps I haven’t been very fair. I never really gave you a chance. I didn’t trust you. In case you haven’t figured it out, I can be rather protective of those I care about.”

  “Yes, I have seen that. You can be a bit controlling.”

  “Maybe. I do like my own way.”

  “And now?” She held her breath, waiting for his answer. Did he see something worthwhile in her? Something she didn’t see?

  “I may have misjudged you. Elika, you might have been all those things you said you were. But that was a long time ago. You were nineteen. No one makes great choices at nineteen. When Zuma was twenty, he decided to tattoo his latest girlfriend’s name on his ass. To this day, he still has Susan tattooed on his ass. Duke reckons he should get it crossed out and put ‘shit happens’ there instead.”

  She smiled briefly. “I just don’t want to be that selfish person I was.”

  “I don’t think you’re all that selfish. You volunteered to risk yourself to come here and help women you didn’t know. That’s not the move of a selfish person, especially after everything you’ve been through.”

  Should she tell him the truth and risk this truce they seemed to be coming to? Elika bit her lip, staring up at him.

  “I nearly didn’t. I told myself it wasn’t my problem and I shouldn’t risk myself for women I didn’t know.”

  He studied her, but she couldn’t read his expression. Was he disgusted by her? Was he going to go back to detesting her?

  “What changed your mind?”

  She shrugged. “I figured the Zerconians would be thankful. And I know what it’s like to be held against your will. I’m not sure I would have volunteered if I knew I was going to end up like this.” She gave a dry laugh.

  “Not sure I would have either.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course you would have. You enjoy the danger. I think you like to be needed. And that you do not like sitting around do nothing.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I learned to read people well. It helped keep me safe during Husan’s mood swings. Sometimes, I’ve seen you gazing off into the horizon with a look of longing on your face. I have also heard stories from Lucy and Willa of the adventures you have been on. You do not sound like a man who would be happy to settle down and live in one place.”

  “I have always had a home base. But you’re right. I’m happiest on Betsy, with my team. I live for the rush of danger. Moving to Zerconia has been a big change for me. A challenge in a lot of ways. On Joyadan, I was the leader of our village. I made the big decisions. Now, that falls to Dex.”

  And he probably felt a bit lost. He had gone from a lot of responsibility to very little. That must be hard to let go of, especially for someone who liked to be in control.

  “I have been unfair to you, Elika. I would like to get to know you better. The real you.”

  “And if you don’t like me?”

  He smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. I feel like I might like you just fine.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her gently. “I like strong, feisty women.”

  “Feisty? I am not certain I like being called feisty.”

  “No?” He took her lips once more with his, then ran his tongue across the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth, and he slipped inside to play with her tongue.

  He drew her onto his lap, then groaned as his shoulder protested. She scrambled off his lap with a frown.

  “Come back here,” he demanded.

  “Show me where you’re hurt.” She gave him a stubborn look.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Rye.”

  He sighed. “You are a pain in the ass.”

  “It is your ass that hurts? Show me.”

  “Baby, you’re not ready to see my ass.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I am sure it is just like every other ass.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. White and flabby.”

  Flabby? “Flabby? My ass is not flabby.”

  She actually gave him a small smile. “Then show me.”

  Brat. “It’s not my ass. It’s my shoulder.”

  She moved behind him, and he let her raise his top. She slowly placed her hand on his right shoulder.

  “It’s not so bad.”

  Not so bad? It felt as though it were on fire. Rye turned to scowl at her. “Not bad?”

  She shrugged. “No. I do not know why you are complaining.”

  “I wasn’t!” Damn frustrating, irritating woman. “Although a bit of sympathy wouldn’t go astray.”

  She frowned. “You wish me to give you sympathy? Even though it is not that bad?”

  He’d like to know what she considered bad. “Might have been nice. I did get
injured protecting you.”

  “It is nice to give sympathy.” She seemed to think about that. “I am sorry your back hurts. Next time I will shield you.”

  “What?” She had him twisted into knots. “You are not protecting me next time.”

  “Why not? You have protected me twice now. And you are injured. Next time, I will jump on you.”

  He ran his hand over his face, biting back his groan of frustration. “That’s not the way it works.”

  “The way what works?”

  “The way things work between men and women. Men protect women. Not vice versa.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” Okay, even he realized this answer could be a minefield. “Because it’s the right thing to do. It is the way it has always been.”

  “It is not the way I grew up. The powerful always protected the weak.”

  “Yes, that is true as well.”

  She frowned. “These rules are very confusing.”

  “They’re not rules. Well, kind of unspoken rules.”

  Elika rubbed her head. “I find it hard to keep up with everything I must now know. It is hard to know what is the right thing to say or do.”

  Sympathy filled him. She was confused as hell. In a strange place with no friends or family. He should have been more understanding. Instead, he’d only added to her problems. He pulled her close. “I’m sorry, Elika.”

  “For what?”

  “For being so suspicious of you. I shouldn’t have judged you on my previous experience with a witch.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She told me she knew where my brother was. Instead, she robbed me and left me to die.”

  Elika winced. “There is no spell to find someone. None that I know of.”

  “No. I know that now. But this was when Lochlan first disappeared while on a hunting trip. Everyone else thought he must have been killed since there was no trace of him. Nothing but a small figurine he carried everywhere with him, something our father gave him as a child.”

  “And the witch promised to find him and then betrayed you.”

  “Yes. I shouldn’t have trusted her. I wasn’t thinking properly.”

  She stared up at him, reluctant to move away even though she should. She felt so safe in his arms, as though he wouldn’t let anyone harm her. It was a heady feeling when she’d been so scared and vulnerable for so long. “You never gave up hope?”