A King's Revenge: Warlords Series Book 2 (5 page)

Chapter 10

Tarik couldn’t believe
his good fortune. His hearts thudded in double time and he barely refrained
from reaching across the table and stroking the slim fingers she worried on the
edge of the nicked wood. She reminded him so much of his wife that it was hard
to look her in the face.

Pert lips curved in
the corner in a constant grin. She claimed to be bad company but he’d been more
relaxed in her presence than anyone elses for months. If he thought the dead
could rise Tarik would have sworn on the holy Goddess that ‘Lea’ was his
Maliya. Granted the red gold waves he adored were missing but the spiky short
cut suited this woman’s face. Up close there were minor differences he could
now detect sitting across from her.

Her cheeks were sharp
not full, a slim neck smoothed down to rounded shoulders simply dressed in a
one piece navy jumper that was common wear in the space station. There was a
patch or logo of some sort on the upper right sleeve but he couldn’t read it
and didn’t want to scare her off by staring.

Other differences
stood out to him. Lea had a slender figure from what he could see. Maliya had
been lushly curved and proud of her body. Tarik had often excused himself from
meetings to make love to her or sneak off to the gardens he’d commissioned in
her honor to steal a kiss. Always she had a ready smile for him. A loving
caress.

Tarik sighed. He
wanted to remove the dark visor this woman wore. One defining characteristic,
one physical aspect would have shut down his foolish wishes. Maliya’s unique
eyes were easily identifiable and she too wore eye covering to minimize their
impact. No other in his lifetime possessed orbs of glowing white with no color
in the pupil or iris to separate from the sclera.

Maliya would laugh and
shush him whenever someone’s comment drew attention to them. Her eyes were part
of her. A genetic anomaly presented every few generations according to her.
Tarik never had the pleasure of meeting Maliya’s parents. Both died before they’d
met but she’d told him during one of their late night talks as they rested in
bed together

“Are we drinking or
waiting?”

Her tinkling laugh
shook away his thoughts of the past. Tarik reached for his drink noticing she
already held hers. “To peace among the stars.” After all he was here to meet
with the Alliance and other leaders to keep their part of the galaxy in order.

“To peace,” she
agreed, enchanting him again with her bright outlook.

Tarik blew out the
flame on the sword and tossed back the drink. Surprise almost had him choking
when she mirrored his actions and slammed her glass on the table with a heavy
sigh. The little witch. She didn’t look the least disturbed by the burning
drink. Noticing his stare, she arched a brow and he gave in to the rich humor
of the moment.

“Well met, Lea.” He
signaled the waiter for another having the oddest feeling that he was about to
be bested at his own game. Then again, the kiss was prize enough despite the
outcome.

The smoking drinks
arrived in seconds. This time she didn’t wait for him. She emptied the glass
and gave him a challenging smile. “You better catch up.”

His groin tightened
and Tarik caught up.

By the fourth drink,
Tarik knew he was done. Lea matched him drink for drink and they were both
smiling at one another refusing to give in. She raised her hand to get the
waiter when he hesitated. There was drunk and there was out cold. He wanted her
awake for what he had in mind.

Tarik lightly clasped
her wrist stopping her mid-motion. “I forfeit. You are by far the superior in
this game of mine.”

Her nose crinkled and
Tarik adored the expression.

“Should we kiss?”

She didn’t slur her
words or anything as obvious but an appealing accent was creeping into her
words. A familiar accent that had him hardening beneath his pants. The slight
drawl of her words reminded him of Maliya when she was aroused. He’d battled an
erection from the moment Lea lowered the zipper on the front of her jumper to
cool off. The action revealed hints of plump cleavage which he imagined filling
his hands. Her cheeks pinkened each time their gazes clashed.

“Not here. We should
go somewhere private to kiss.” Without worry that they’d be seen or
interrupted. Tarik climbed to his feet slowly. The world didn’t spin and the
floor held steady. He relaxed. It had been years since he drank so recklessly
in public. His enchanting witch got to her feet with only a small wobble. She
had to be a witch using her powers of magic to ensorcel him.

“My rooms are on the
next level.”

Tarik controlled his
breathing but his manhood jumped. “Excellent.”

He followed her to the
lift keeping a safe distance between them. Not wanting to frighten her, he
leaned against the wall opposite her as the lift rose. The numbers ticked on
the digital display and dinged when they reached her floor. Tarik waved her
through the door and had the pleasure of observing her round bottom twitch
while she walked.

Like plump melons her
rear moved beneath the clinging lines of her jumper. So thoroughly engrossed
with the erotic vision, Tarik walked right into her back when she stopped.

She glanced over her
shoulders and the corners of her mouth tipped up. “Too many flaming swords?
Does that make me the official winner?”

Tarik huffed and
entered the room behind her. The door slid closed behind them. Her room was
simple and far smaller than the space he’d been assigned. Sometimes Tarik
forgot the benefits of being King. He accepted his place and the benefits that
came as the royal head of the Desani people.

Lea’s room barely had
space for both of them to stand. As it was, their shoulders brushed as she
kicked a pair of boots to the side. He spotted a crumpled shirt on the floor
amidst the tangled sheet that half hung from the unmade bed.

She followed his gaze
and muttered. “Sorry.”

Her embarrassment at
the state of her room was cute. Tarik nodded, his eyes greedily searching for
any hints of her personal life. There was no sign of the man she’d been with
earlier. Was he her…lover?

“Your friend doesn’t
stay with you?” He held his breath awaiting her answer, hands clenched at his
side.

Her brows lowered
beneath the frames. “Kord? He’s my partner and more than likely sleeping since
we have leave tomorrow.”

His hearts stuttered
at her words. She was leaving. Soon. He needed to be here another day, two at
the most.

She fiddled with the
zipper of the jumper and Tarik took a step closer. His hand closed over hers
and eased the zipper all the way down to her waist. Inch by inch of her skin
was bared to his sight. Beautiful soft skin he ached to touch.

Want and desire
clashed. Tarik couldn’t resist any more. One taste. That’s all he needed to
still this awful craving.

“If I’m the loser than
claim your prize.”

***

Lea placed her hands
on the broad shoulders leaning toward her. At the bar, she’d been eager to
touch him. Tarik’s masculine physique called to her and she prepared to answer.
His proud carriage matched the way he held his head high. The humor they shared
downstairs relaxed her. Of course downing four flaming swords hadn’t been her smartest
decision ever.

She blinked her eyes
behind the visor and pressed closer. The moment her bare chest came in contact
with his shirt, she shivered.

“Cold?” His words
whispered over her temple.

Lea could only manage
to shake her head. Tarik’s hand cupped her chin tilting her face up. His
stroking fingers glanced over her visor and tugged. She jerked back, her hands
flying to her face. “No. I…I keep them on. It’s necessary.”

Kord warned her to
keep her eyes hidden at all times. They were too odd to be ignored and he
feared she was in danger but never defined what type of danger whenever she
pushed.

He frowned down at her
and Lea feared she’d ruined the moment. “Alright. We can leave them.”

Her breath eased. He
lowered his head and his mouth slid along hers like the softest of silks.
Relaxing further her hands clenched onto his shirt holding him tight to her.
The slick glide of his tongue parted her lips. Her mouth softened beneath his.

Tarik turned his head
to the side, the angle letting him increase the pressure of his lips against
hers. Lea strained wanting to be closer. Her inner walls throbbed, the muscles
flexing. She moaned when he sucked her bottom lip and pulled away.

His hands slid from
her face down her shoulders, glided over her torso to settle at her waist. With
a firm grip, he jerked her lower half forward pressing his hard arousal between
the cusps of her thighs. Lea gasped. “Tarik.”

“Yes.” His mouth
returned to hers with brutal force.

Desire slammed into
her and Lea twisted on her toes to return the passion. The kiss seared her
insides. His groan sent her senses soaring. Their tongues stroked and sucked,
each touch pushing her higher and higher. Her lower region pulsed and her damp
panties would soon be soaked.

Their feet shuffled on
the floor and Lea realized they were heading toward her bed. She briefly
thought of stopping him but his roaming hands slid to her butt and squeezed. Logic
disappeared on a moan. She allowed him to lower her to the mattress as her
hands trailed through his hair luxuriating in the strands that fell about his
face.

He was just as busy
and tugged the top half of her jumper to her waist. His mouth trailed down her
neck with brief nips then continued achingly slow until he reached her breasts.
One hand glided over the planes of her flat belly to her chest, pausing to brush
a stiff nipple. Lea squeezed her eyes tight as she arched up into the tender
touch. Soft lips nuzzled her full globe before wetness engulfed the bud.

The moist caress sent
another shaft of heat through her loins. Lea’s legs tangled with his, pulling
him until every inch of their bodies touched. When he followed the licks of his
tongue with a strong suction, Lea almost leaped from the bed. Without pause, his
other hand pressed down on her shoulder to hold her down while he continued the
sweet torture.

Her core spasmed. She
was beyond wet. “Tarik. Tarik.” Lea tossed her head back and forth on the
pillow. The thick wedge of his manhood pulsed along her thigh. Widening her
legs she encouraged him to take her by thrusting against his firm length.

“Sweet,” he murmured,
releasing her nipple. “You’re so sweet.”

Then to her relief Tarik
continued downward taking her clothing with him in his grasp. Lea lifted her
hips, helping. The balled cloth ended on the floor and he shoved his pants to
his thighs. With a sharp pull, she managed to rip his shirt and left the flaps
fluttering on his sides, half off his shoulders.

Tarik paused to look
up. His gaze dropped to the torn material then back to her. Lea bit her lip.
Maybe she’d gone too far but her body continued to rock and pulse. His growl
preceded his dive below as he buried his face between her legs.

Lea screamed, head
thrown back as his mouth sucked hard on the swollen bud between her folds then alternated
with quick licks and occasional nips.

Her hips undulated as
the pleasure coiled within. Fast. Faster than she expected. Twisting the sheets
in her hands, Lea did everything to stall the inevitable.

Chapter 11

Tarik cursed as her
body crested, barely holding on to his control. He continued to stroke his
finger in her plump folds slowing only when her choked cries fell off. He shifted
his weight and aligned the head of his erection with her soaked opening. Her
trembling legs wrapped around his waist. Fluttering hands stroked his damp hair
from his forehead.

Tarik looked up only
to meet the reflection of his image in the dark visor she wore. He wished he
could rip them from her face. See the passion shining from her eyes as he
brought her to release again and again but feared such an action would destroy
the fragile trust growing between them.

He nudged against her,
sliding the tip within her. Fluid leaked making his next foray a smoother
stroke. Her release had softened her passage for his entrance but she was
tight. Tight enough he needed to pause giving her time to relax.

“Don’t stop.”

Tarik rocked until he
was seated deep. Her muscles continued to clamp and release on his heated flesh.
Each ripple pushed him toward the edge.

Goddess.

Tarik fought the urge
to climax.

Lea stroked his hair,
her hands constantly busy.

Tremors shook his
shoulders. “You’re beautiful.” Alive. So alive.

Vibrant pink seared
her cheeks and spread down her shoulders. He leaned away to see how far the
color went. Nipples of the palest pink tipped her lush breasts. The color
reminded him of a flower his father had imported for his mother. Morning Dawn.
Her nipples were the color of morning dawn when pink edged along the sky and
chased away the shades of violet and blue before fading away.

Lea dug her heels into
his back, her smile full of mischief. “You’re beautiful, too.”

Tarik released the
breath lodged in his chest. His hips surged forward, rewarding him with her cry
as her neck arched thrusting her full breasts up. He increased his pace wanting
to go deeper. Harder.

Lea’s hands gripped
his hair, her hold tightening on his scalp. Tarik rocked faster. He was so full
he could burst.

Months, years had gone
by without a woman in his bed. No one since Maliya had stirred his desire.
Until now. The memory of how good it felt to sink into a woman’s depth plagued
him even as the reality of her wet walls hugged his driving length. Release
loomed.

“I want to come within
you. I’m protected.” He was careful. Stayed up to date on his immunizations
including his monthly birth control shot.

Her lips parted. “I
want that, too. Come in me, Tarik. Fill me up.”

“Goddess,” Tarik
groaned, dropping his head to the pillow beside her head. He gripped the sheets
at the side of her shoulders and reared back with a long stroke that tore his
control away. Sucked into a vortex out of his grasp, Tarik gave himself up to
the maelstrom. Hips driving forward, he plunged in and out of her core until
his every breath came on a choked cry. Lightning arced up his spine and his
release blasted forth until he collapsed.

Tarik wrapped an arm
around Lea’s waist pulling her close. She entwined her legs with his and placed
her hands on his chest. He ran his hands up and down her back loving the feel
of the warm soft woman beneath his fingers.

***

She slept peacefully.
No moving, no tossing. Just an elbow tucked beneath her neck, knees slightly
bent and an occasional snuffle. Tarik smiled and leaned over to pull the covers
up to her shoulders. The action gave him a clear view of her face and the visor
that managed to stay on through their vigorous activities in the small bed.

Temptation tugged at
his conscious. He wanted to remove the dark glasses and nudge her awake. Tarik
needed to see her eyes. Yet part of him didn’t. Sex with Lea had been unimaginable.
Fantastic and so good he craved a second turn. With his wife their sex had been
the same. Both of them enjoying one another to the point no other could replace
them.

Now he lay in bed with
a woman who gave him the same level of pleasure as the woman he’d loved.
Different but no less pleasurable.

But seeing her eyes
could change all of that because despite all the similarities, he had to admit
the odds of this being Maliya were slim to none. If by some miracle she was his
wife why hadn’t she recognized him? Come back to him?

Which left Tarik with
the unavoidable truth. His wife was gone and his actions tonight proved that he
had at last completed the final cycle in the grieving process by accepting what
he’d always known. Maliya, his Queen was never coming back.

Tears burned his
eyelids but Tarik forced them back. Swallowing thickly, he eased from the bed
and dressed quietly. He owed her a wealth of thanks for the evening they’d
shared. When he had his boots on and no other excuse to linger, Tarik leaned
over the bed and brushed his thumb over the pulse that beat steady and even.
She shifted knocking the cover loose and bared the curve of her shoulder again.

His length thickened.
The room smelled of sex and the musk of two people who’d played hot and heavy
between the sheets. Tarik considered sliding back into the bed with her but
time had gotten away from him. Mati would be frantic if he didn’t return soon.

Straightening, Tarik
pulled himself away and made sure the door auto-locked behind him as he left. In
the hall, he hesitated, one hand braced on the door frame the other clenched at
his side. A muscle in his jaw ticked. Leaving her seemed like a big mistake but
he needed to shower and had more Alliance meetings to attend in the morning.

Tomorrow. He’d talk
with her tomorrow. Maybe find out when her ship was heading out and extend an
invitation to Desani.

This wasn’t the end.

***

Tarik tried to focus
on the meeting. He listened to Senior Commander Green’s voice drone on.
Breakfast and beverages came and went as the group of delegates hammered out
the remaining issues on the table.

Juda faced Tarik and
interrupted the squabble between General Ara and the man sitting next to him.
“King Tarik perhaps you’d like to share with us the details regarding your new
relationship with Kaban.”

Tarik leaned back in
his seat ignoring how her comment brought attention to the both of them. “The
Overlord and I reached an agreement.”

The ridges down the
middle of her tanned forehead twitched and her full lips curved upward. Marogs
loved to cause mischief and Tarik braced himself for Juda’s next words.

“Then the barbarians
choose to no longer war against Desani?”

“Kabanians aren’t
barbarians. They’re dedicated warriors with a strong code of honor. Vaan Galip
is not a man I’d want to cross.”

Moro stretched two
hands on the table and placed the other two behind his head. “King Tarik has
the right of it. Galip is not a man to trifle with. That berserker rage they go
through when fighting can wipe through an army of hundreds.”

General Ara snorted
and shifted his bulk. “A blaster will match swords any day.”

Moro moved one arm to
raise a finger at General Ara in a universal signal to flip off. “Overlord
Galip and his top Warlords are blessed with some insect armor that withstands
everything. I guess you could shoot them all in the head but they believe dying
in battle is glorified so not sure that would stop them.”

“Enough of that.” Juda
interrupted, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “I speak of the treaty. Is
it solid between Desani and Kaban?”

Tarik nodded. “It’s
solid and his mate has pledged that the other Raasa compounds will be in
agreement.”

General Ara slammed a
melon sized fist on the table. “You have the Raasa in an alliance as well? I
know a scientist on Tregite who’d pay good credits to harvest the venom from
them.”

Stiffening, Tarik sat
up straight in his seat and made sure Ara could read the deadly intent in his
gaze. “The Kaban Overlord can call forth thousands of warriors to his defense
even after Thenl decimated their numbers. You can play with the Raasa if you
want but if Vaan Galip ever hears such talk, he will slaughter you and any men
you send to Taka.” To make sure the General understood him, Tarik fingered the
sword on his hip. “And the Desani will help him.”

Jovan reached out and
placed a hand on Tarik’s forearm. “Easy, son.”

Tarik ignored the
warning and continued to stare at General Ara until the Tregite sniffed and
turned away. “It was just a statement.”

Moro laughed. “A
stupid statement from a stupid Tregite.”

Genera Ara roared and
jumped to his feet.

Senior Commander Green
stepped in front of Moro who snickered and backed away. “Enough. Let’s get back
to the trade talks. All in favor of mining the goald rocks from Marog to use on
Talaro for an energy source raise your hand.”

Twelve hands went up.

“Jamison do you agree
to pay the sum defined in article 11 to the Marog for the goald?”

Senate Leader Jamison
nodded. “We’ll use Talaron vessels only though. Our ships are designed with the
proper storage containers needed in order to keep the goald from decomposing
before it reaches our home.”

Green turned to Juda.
“Is this fine with you?”

Juda’s red head tipped
to the side causing the large goald hoops in her ears to clink. “We are in
agreement.”

“Good,” Green’s
shoulders eased. “I suggest a small break. We resume after the mid-day meal.”

General Ara stormed
from the room knocking a table to the floor on his way out. Moro, the fool,
continued to laugh.

Tarik checked his comm
unit for the time. He hurried through the door barely noting Hensel and Mati
following behind. His plan had been to see Lea before she departed the space
station. The offer to visit Desani would be open ended.

For once the long
corridor leading to the first available transport shaft remained empty. He was
far from in the mood to fight curious onlookers. When they stepped in, the
empty car almost had him sighing in relief. Mati and Hensel came in behind him.

“Where to?” Hensel’s
fingers hovered over the buttons.

“Departure bay.”

He received a raised
brow but Hensel selected the appropriate floor.

The entire ride down,
Tarik tapped his finger on the back wall of the transport shaft. He prayed he
wouldn’t be too late.

“Sire, why the
urgency?” Mati’s brows knit in puzzlement.

“I need to see someone
prior to returning to the talks.”

Mati shared a pleased
look with Hensel. “Very well, Sire.”

The doors slid open.

Organized chaos
assaulted Tarik’s ears. Launch sequences relayed overhead. Seeing ships leave
one after another increased Tarik’s panic. He had no idea where to look first.

Then he spotted her
red hair. His hearts jumped.