A King's Revenge: Warlords Series Book 2 (12 page)

“Were we happy?”

She dropped the question
in the middle of his ramble. He gripped the silver disc in his hand and let his
breath out on a one two count. When he calmed his hearts’ thundering pace,
Tarik straightened. “What did you say?”

Lea wrapped her arms
around her middle clasping her elbows. “Someone at the ball mentioned something
and it made me wonder.”

“Who?” He didn’t care
how sharp the demand came out.

She debated whether to
answer. Her eyes filled with doubts and questions. Tarik crossed to her side
but resisted the need to touch her. “Who Lea?”

“Does it matter?”

It took every bit of
his concentration not to blow up. He cursed. Then again for good measure. “It
matters, Lea, because it worried you.”

He opened his palm to
reveal the vid he’d retrieved from his desk. A light tap from his thumb started
the recording. The three dimensional image played out on his hand.

Chapter 21

Lea’s breath caught. A
slightly younger Tarik with a mischievous grin lay stretched out on the ground
chin propped on his hand.

“Do you really need to record this, Maliya?”

Laughter and then the
holo image of her. She joined him by lying next to his tall frame. Her head
rested on his chest and Tarik’s free hand brushed through her long red hair.

“Yes. No one would ever believe that the mighty King of Desani actually
relaxes once in a while.”

His warm chuckle
followed her claim as he rolled to his back taking Maliya with him until she
lay on his chest. Hands roamed over the back of her thighs. Large palms molded
to her buttocks.

Lea gasped at the
blatant possessive gesture but couldn’t take her gaze away. The Maliya in the
vid folded her arms on his chest and stared into her husband’s face.
“I love you, Rik.”

Rik
. He hadn’t lied about that. She used to call him Rik. Lea found
it hard to watch herself with him and felt as if she watched a stranger.

“I love you, my heart.”

My heart. Lea glanced
up only to be caught in the web of his light colored eyes. She bit her lip and
returned her attention to the drama on the disk.

“What if I never give you an heir?”

She toyed with his
shirt in idle play but the video Tarik obviously knew his wife too well. He
placed his hands under her chin and tipped her face up.
“I did not marry you for the children you could bear. I married you
because my hearts beat with love for you. They always will.”

The holo winked out.

“Did they have
marriage problems?” Tarik asked into the silence.

Lea didn’t know what
to say.

“Yes,” he filled in.
“We did. But we were happy. Very happy and that’s not something you could hide
from a partner long term if one person wasn’t.”

She cleared her
throat. “Thank you. For showing me.” It had to be painful each time something
like this came up. He was the one in the relationship with all the memories and
all the pain that came along with it. Lea was a bystander observing through a
looking glass.

Tarik replaced the
disc in his desk and walked back toward her. “You can ask me anything, Lea.
I’ll never get upset. This is hard on both of us.”

Lea relaxed.

“I’ll go with you back
to your rooms.” He cupped her elbow. “And you can tell me who gave you these
doubts.”

She didn’t want to
cause any issues with his cousin. “It’s not important.”

Tarik opened the door
and waved her through. “It was important enough for you to come down in your
robes to ask the question.”

He was right on that
point. Lea waited while he spoke with the guards, hers and his.

Kord waved him off
with a short, “I can find my own way.”

Mati hovered nearby,
his gaze searching. “Is all well, my Queen?”

He’d been nothing but
gracious to Lea. She squeezed his hand warmly. “Fine. Thank you for your help
earlier.”

“Of course.” The look
he cast Tarik was one of indulgence. “Until tomorrow, Sire.”

“Tomorrow.”

Alone they made their
way through the vast corridors of the castle. Completely lost, Lea let him
guide her only pausing when they reached a row of royal portraits. She easily
recognized Tarik and the one of herself but ignored them for now. There were at
least twenty more nameless men and women along the walls.

“Wouldn’t it be easy
to have plates added at the bottom with each former King and Queen’s name
displayed?”

Tarik waited by her
side while she studied a painting of his grandfather King Rajli Sabarn. A man
who’d gone through three wives, two princesses and one commoner. It was the
commoner who became Tarik’s grandmother and secured old Rajli’s love. Like him.

“This is a routine
test for the heir.”

She ran her finger
over the heavy frame but arched a brow in his direction. “Test?”

“Hmmm.” Tarik came closer
to stare at the handsome man with bright gold hair to his shoulders and gray
eyes. “That’s my grandfather, King Rajli. I’m named after him. My tutor, Olan
would walk me through this hall once a week and have me name each monarch and
their history as Sovereign of Desani. I used to dread coming through here.”

“How ingenious.” Lea
strolled toward another portrait. This one featured a stern faced woman with a
head of gray hair.

“Queen Almyia.
Outlived her husband and the first Queen to ever rule alone. Very savvy and the
reason the Sabarn name is wealthy without the Desani title. She had two sons
and a daughter but only one lived long enough to rule after her death.”

Lea continued down the
hall. Some were quite dour looking. She reached the one and only couple
portrait. The man had short dark hair and familiar lavender eyes, his wife had
blonde hair and blue eyes. Both smiled.

Tarik’s fingers traced
those smiles. “My parents. King Adan and Queen Arika.”

He made no attempt to
hide his love for them. His voice had softened and a smile played about his
lips.

“Good parents?”

“The best. They died
in a hapfe accident. Racing one another across the hills. Her mount couldn’t
stop and went over a cliff. He followed.”

“I’m sorry.” She faced
him fully.

“Everyone says that.”
He motioned her toward the painting but continued to speak. “My father wouldn’t
have wanted to live without her. The guards witnessed it all and said he never
hesitated once he realized what happened.”

They stopped in front
of the final frames mounted side by side at the end. Tarik in an awful crown
that several of his ancestors wore in their portraits and a gold robe. She
spent a few moments going over her own portrait. Beautiful red hair in a smooth
coil over one shoulder, a blue dress with cap sleeves and a bright smile on her
lips. No wonder everyone she met commented on her hair tonight. It fell almost
to her waist.

“And this dashing
couple is King Tarik and his beautiful bride Queen Maliya.”

She laughed.

“I never tire of that
sound.” He watched her with heat blazing from his eyes.

“What?”

“Your laugh. It’s
exactly the same.”

Lea didn’t know what
to say to that. She cleared her throat. “What do you have to share about them?”

She’d surprised him.
His hand reached up to caress her ear while he thought about it.

“Tarik is considered
the peaceful King.”

Her eyes widened. She
hadn’t heard that. His hand trailed down her neck, fingers lightly touching her
skin. Lea stayed in place enjoying the goose bumps left behind. She had to lick
her lips before she could ask, “And his Queen. How is she known?”

“Generous,” he
murmured and leaned toward her. “She is considered the generous Queen for her
charity efforts.”

Then Tarik kissed her.
Not as he had in his office but like he had in the bar with uncontrollable
passion and desire. Lea linked her arms around his neck and moaned. His lips
relentlessly pursued hers. Sucking, licking and nibbling at her mouth with a
strength that revealed his hunger.

Tarik’s roaming hand
bumped the hilt of her knife. He broke off the kiss with a frown, hand moving
up then down. A quick push and her robe parted to reveal the sheath strapped to
her thigh. Both brows rose. “This is different.”

Different for the old
Maliya but not the new Lea? She wasn’t sure. “After my accident, Kord
encouraged me to keep a weapon on me at all times.”

“I approve,” came his
husky rejoinder as his head lowered to resume the kiss.
 

He let the robe fall
closed as he curved his hands around her back. They drifted lower to caress the
cleft of her butt with a firm squeeze. The thin silk of her clothing provided
little barrier. She felt the touch down to her toes. Muscles quivering, Lea
leaned into his hold.

Tarik groaned and both
hands hefted her higher. The insistent throb of his erection pressed into her
hip. Hard as steel, the firm length reminded her of their night together. The
desire to be with him unfurled inside.

Knife forgotten, Lea
whispered. “Tarik, take me.”

He cursed, hands
stroking, touching, until he eased her back to her feet. “Not in the hall. Let’s
go.”

Warm fingers grasped
hers and tugged while he led them through the twists and turns she never would
have managed on her own. They reached a room bearing the gold crest of Sabarn.
Hensel guarded the entrance.

Without bothering to
speak to his man, Tarik dragged her inside and slammed the door behind them. He
spun her into the wall, his body against hers an instant later.

The thrill of what
they were about to do lent a frantic beat to her pulse. Lea laughed, hands grappling
with his sleeveless robe then the tunic. Tarik helped remove his clothes and
made short work of her robe and gown.

When he touched her
knife, he said, “I almost hate to remove this. For some reason I find it
arousing.” With flicks of his finger, he undid the sheath and let it drop to
the floor.

Once she stood naked
before him Tarik paused. Eyes simmered as he whispered, “I want you. Right now.
Right here.”

Exactly what she
wanted.

***

Tarik slid his hand
between her parted thighs. Evidence of her desire soaked his fingers. He
stroked slow and easy using her wetness to ease the way. Lea gasped, head
thumping the wall behind her. He glanced up to see her face flushed, eyes
closed and lips clenched tight.

“You’re beautiful.”

She half chuckled and
moaned as his fingers kept pace with her thrusting hips. “What you’re doing is
beautiful.”

Tarik growled and
launched to his feet. No way he’d take her against the wall their first night
back home. He scooped her up in his arms and walked through their bedroom
suite. When they reached his bedroom, he lowered her to the silk covered
mattress knocking the numerous pillows to the floor.

Tarik lowered his
frame atop hers, hearts pounding. He wanted to take his time. Savor every touch
and kiss but knew it to be a futile desire. He adjusted his position and the
full weight of his arousal pressed along her center. Lea arched beneath him,
her hands curved over his shoulders.

Tarik’s muscles turned
rigid under her questing fingers. The touch sent erotic licks of pain to his
loins.

His head fell back
when one hand drifted lower. Past his waist. His hips. He choked when she
reached her goal and stroked him in one easy motion. His throat flexed. With
tremendous effort he pulled back and eased his way down her torso planting soft
kisses.

When he reached the
glistening down of her folds, he glanced up and caught his breath. Stretched
out atop his covers, slim torso moving and arms above her head, Lea made his
head spin.

“Don’t stop,” she
moaned reminding him of his purpose.

Tarik glided his fingers
through her wet folds, probing, caressing. Her legs clamped around his
shoulders. With utmost focus, he lowered his head and tasted her sweetness.

“Tarik!” She gripped
his hair and pulled his face into the heart of her.

Tarik licked and
fluttered his tongue on one side then the other. He added another finger to her
tight depths as her muscles clenched tight.

“I need you. All of
you.”

He was seconds from
spilling. Tarik increased his efforts until she moaned and jerked wildly. Waiting
wasn’t an option. He lunged up and plunged into her entrance with a groan. Her
softness enveloped him. Hot and tight she hugged his length. When he pressed
his lips to hers she opened. Their tongues tangled.

Tarik sucked deeply as
she arched up against him loving the skin to skin contact. “Only you,” he
whispered. “Only you can make me feel this way.”

He grunted in time
with the brutal pace he set and her loud moans joined him. The room filled with
the sounds of their passion, a symphony Tarik couldn’t resist. He cradled her
head in the palm of his hands, eyes staring deep into hers.

“Take all of me, Lea.”

She cried out, neck
tipped back on the pillow. His thrusts intensified as did his breathing. Tarik
thought he’d die if she didn’t come in the next minute. As if hearing his
mental plea, Lea wrapped her arms around his neck, thighs squeezing his hips
and came on a scream.

Echoes of her passion
took form in intermittent ripples that gripped his length. Tarik pumped wildly,
heat rushed through his core as his release rushed through him. Remembered
ecstasy.

He buried his face in
her neck panting. “Are you okay?”

Her lips moved. A
smile. “I’m better now.”

***

Tarik’s mouth trailed
a kiss at the corner her lips before he shifted and leaned over her. “Now you will
tell me who filled your head with foolish talk.”

Lea tried to use the
covers to hide her nudity but Tarik deliberately pressed his weight on the
sheets. Frowning she rolled to her stomach and folded her arms to rest her
head. In this way she didn’t have her breasts bared.

“Lea,” Tarik drawled
as his fingers danced up the curve of her spine.

She shivered and
angled away but one powerful thigh trapped her in place. Lea huffed. “Braic.”

“Braic!” He jerked
back. “My cousin?”

“Yes,” she faced him
to see his expression clearly.

Disgust turned his
lips down. “We were never close but I thought him an ally and friend of a
sort.”

“He implied I could
always come to him if our marriage faltered. As in a love interest.”

At her disclosure,
Tarik roared with laughter falling away from her. Lea leaned up on her elbows
and let him have his moment of hilarity. When he settled he placed a loud
smacking kiss on her mouth.