Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) (5 page)

“Again?
Already?”

He fought the urge to laugh.
“You’re my der’lan. Get used to it.”

*

Get used to it? There was nothing
normal or natural about the way she responded to his touch. She barely knew the
man and yet, she craved him. A mental bond shouldn’t engineer this kind of physical
reaction. She should fight it but her mind was too hazy with desire. Besides,
she was stuck with him for the time being. Might as well enjoy him. He broke
the kiss and bent to the curve of her throat, bit then sucked hard.

“Focus
on me, sweetheart. No point worrying about things that are out of your
control.”

He didn’t give her time to worry. Lifting
her, he angled his hips and buried himself in her pussy in one long smooth
stroke. She clung to his shoulders, legs wrapped tight around his waist, and
stared up into his eyes. They were bright. Intense. His lips curved into a
little smile, and then he moved. His withdrawal was slow, teasing. His return
stroke just as unhurried. Again and again, each retreat and glide measured. It
felt so good though it was a kind of torture, building her pleasure higher and
higher but not offering any relief. She dug her heels into his back.

“Xan,” she panted. “More.”

He kissed her, thrust deep.
“You can’t get much more of me.”

She was torn between laughing and
screaming. Was that a joke?

“Harder,
then. Faster.”

She could feel her orgasm just out of
reach, but he didn’t give in to her demands until she squeezed his cock with
her inner muscles. Growling, he broke the kiss, gripped her hips, and pounded
into her. It was exactly what she needed. He fucked her. She dug her nails into
his skin and let herself go. It was fast and rough and exquisite. She was so
damned close. When he tensed, his semen jetting into her, she came in a burst
of sensation that left her light headed.

He tugged her legs loose, caught her
when her feet hit the floor and she swayed. Moments later he’d soaped up a
cloth and started cleaning her. Normally, she’d have slapped his hands away.
His actions seemed too…controlling. The act of a man insistent on being in
charge of every single thing or person in his life. The act of a dom very
clearly immersed in the lifestyle, and while she played every now and then, she
never gave up that much control. At the moment though, she was just too blissed
out to care. And his touch, an odd mix of tender and firm, felt so damned good.

A few minutes later she was dried and
getting dressed as Xan did the same. They didn’t speak. It wasn’t the most comfortable
silence, which made it all the more embarrassing when her stomach rumbled. He
turned to her with a sexy half smile.

“Come on, my
der’lan
. I need to feed you.”

They returned to the lounge. It was a
lot more crowded. The attendant at the bar nodded when Xan signaled him. She
guessed their order had been put on hold when they’d left so abruptly. He took
her hand and made his way through the crowd to a large table in the back corner
looking out into space. Two warriors stood with their plates, nodded, and left.

“I
didn’t intend to steal someone’s seat. Or was that because it’s you?”

“A
warrior would never sit and make his Chief’s woman stand.”

His response didn’t surprise her. She stood
by a vacant chair and looked around the table, immediately recognizing one of
the two remaining warriors, Kaal. Both were accompanied by a woman. Everyone
stayed on their feet while introductions were made. The second warrior was
Castor. His mate Eva was Delroi. Tall and willowy, with a sweet innocent smile,
Anna Leigh was tempted to categorize her as a civilian and harmless like most
of the alien women she’d met. Something in the woman’s eyes told her that would
be a mistake, however. She had no doubts about the other woman, Siana, who was
Kaal’s mate. Her smile was as hard as her gaze. She noticed both women had ink
on their forearms. A sun and above it a crescent moon bisected with a sword.

“What
are their tattoos?”
she asked Xan privately.

“It
means they’re priestesses in the goddess cult.”

“Do
I even want to ask what that is?”

Laughter filled her mind.
“You’d like them. They’re the only women on Delroi
who train to fight.”

He’d piqued her interest--this was his
second mention of a goddess--and she looked curiously at the two women in front
of her. “So is the goddess cult a cult or religion?”

“It’s more like a way of life,” Siana
answered with a fierce smile. “I get the feeling you’d fit right in.”

Xan tensed next to her. He obviously
hadn’t considered she’d be interested in such a thing.

“Don’t
worry. I have enough on my plate.”

She had no idea why she reassured him,
but couldn’t seem to help herself.

“I have other obligations,” she told
Siana, who cocked a curious eyebrow before turning her gaze onto Xan.

“Will the clan being attending the
Rebirth Celebration? Eva and I have to be there, but I should let Lady Rona
know if we’re there as Bana der’lans or just priestesses.”

“What’s
the celebration?”

“The
main temple, which is at the Keep, has a rededication celebration every year.”

His tone suggested it was a big deal
but before she could ask more questions, someone set glasses of
gazzi
down for them. Once the server was
gone, Xan looked at his men. “Unless your
der’lans
object, Bana mates. I don’t know yet if Anna Leigh and I will attend. Kaal will
represent the clan if not.”

Kaal bowed his head. “Of course, my
lord.”

“He’s
your second?”

“Yes.
There are others on Delroi who will not be happy about being passed over, but I
won’t have someone at my side and near my der’lan whose trust I cannot be positive
of.”

“I
can take care of myself but I see your point.”

“Did you get what I asked for?” Xan
asked.

Kaal nodded, pulled out one of their
sleek comm units, and handed it to him. Xan flicked his finger over the screen
and it expanded to full tablet size. Then he opened a file and gave it to her.

“Files on everyone in the clan,” he
said. She looked down to see they were in English, thank god, and in three
groups labeled red, orange, and green. She remembered him telling Kaal on the
shuttle to get her a tablet and load the files, but she hadn’t expected this.

“You want me to look at the orange
group.”

Those would be the ones he wasn’t sure
of but were probably rebels. She liked that he didn’t dismiss her and automatically
condemn them. Knew he’d be going through the same files as she did, but she
would do it with fresh, unbiased eyes. He nodded. If the others thought it odd
he was asking a woman to assist they didn’t let it show. She got the feeling
these women were definitely not the norm on their planet.

“All of them, but orange and red are
most immediate,” he said. “Barak had several telepaths when they were
questioning people. They’re certain of everyone in the green group.”

Anna Leigh nodded her understanding.
Wondered if Zola had been involved with that. Still it was a lot of faith to
put in a woman he’d just met. One he knew was a spy and assassin.

“Why
trust me with this?”

“You
have valuable experience. I’d be foolish to ignore that.”

His answer made perfect sense. If she
read the situation right, by claiming her as he had, he was offering her a
level protection that no one else could. She owed him for that. Still his
pragmatic answer bothered her and it shouldn’t. They hardly knew each. She
shouldn’t feel insulted or hurt, and buried the emotions deep. She didn’t have
a right to them.

“You
wouldn’t believe me if I told you it’s because I trust you and want your
input,”
he spoke mentally, obviously picking up on her
distress.
“You will.”

He was right so she didn’t respond,
the arriving food the perfect excuse to focus on something else. Conversation
flowed around her as she ate. It was a stew she was unfamiliar with, spicy and
filling, accompanied by thick crusty bread. Simple, but savory and reminding of
her home, the years her children had been small and such meals were easy to
prep ahead of time and cook all day. Nostalgia struck her, followed quickly by
a surge of regret. She’d made so many mistakes. Would it be possible to correct
them? Xan squeezed the back of her neck and bent close.

“We’ll make it work,” he whispered.

She hoped like hell he was right.

Delroi

Bana Stronghold

Chapter Five

It took almost a week to reach Delroi.
She’d familiarized herself with all the files she could access and had a list
of people she wanted to talk to when they arrived. She was getting to know
Delroi warrior culture, but realized there were big gaps in her knowledge. Anna
Leigh was good with all that. Mostly it felt like a business partnership.
Except for the sex. Sometimes it was hot and rough and fast. Sometimes sweet
and tender and slow. She never knew what to expect and had no idea what to do
about the man who made her feel things she hadn’t in years. There was a wall
between them, of her own making she admitted. He’d allowed her some space on
their voyage, but she got the feeling her time was running out.

It was approaching evening when the
shuttle swung in a wide arc, coming to land in a bowl shaped valley. The late
afternoon glare cast a red-gold glare that made her eyes hurt. She’d already
been up close to twenty hours and she was beginning to feel it. On Earth she’d
blame jetlag. What was this? Spacelag? Worked as well as anything else.

The shuttle descended rapidly and she
focused on the present. They faced a huge stone edifice. The Bana stronghold.
The name fit. It looked like a medieval fortress, unwelcoming and unforgiving.
No one would ever call it pretty but there was something about it that drew her.
Perhaps the very starkness of it. There was no pretense, no camouflage. It was
meant to repel attackers and be intimidating, not inviting.

Xan set his palm on the small of her
back and they walked down the ramp, walking towards the building. Two huge men
stepped forward to meet them. She recognized Barak Trace from the video
conference. The man at his side looked so much like him that he could only be
his brother Falkor. They both radiated confidence and authority.

She was stunned when Xan dropped to one
knee in front of Barak and began speaking in his language. Connected as they
were, she knew it was a fealty oath. When he finished he rose and led her off to
the side. One by one the twenty-five warriors that had accompanied them
repeated the oath. Barak stood silent through it all. Finally, it was finished
and Falkor, grinning, stepped forward to clasp Xan’s hand.

“Welcome home.”

“It’s good to be back even though the
circumstances are unfortunate.”

“The rest of your warriors?”

Xan nodded his chin towards the sky. “Coming.
I have more than enough warriors to secure the prisoners.”

“Good. No offense but my
der’lan
isn’t impressed with your
childhood home.”

Xan didn’t say anything but she felt
his amusement.

“Your communications have been
cryptic.”

Barak stepped forward, his smile grim.
“We’re keeping information as restricted as possible. I’ve finally managed to
get two spies in the rebel camp and I don’t want them compromised. Most of the
rebels were from your clan and the Petra clan.”

Xan wasn’t surprised. “Mikail and
Loren Petra were always…” He paused and glanced down at her. “I think the
Earthling expression is thick as thieves.”

“Yes,” she said. “You have the Petra
clan in custody too?”

For a moment she didn’t think he’d
answer but he nodded. “Most of them. We also recovered the second cloaking
device.”

The report concerning the theft of two
experimental cloaking devices and the kidnapping of the scientists who’d
developed it had been forwarded to them once they’d entered Delroi space. The
first unit had been destroyed in the attack on Zola and Parker, and Xiri Bana,
Mikail’s sister, was one of the scientists who’d been part of the project. She
felt Xan’s concern for his cousin, but he asked another question before asking
about her.

“Your spies are safe?” Xan asked.

“To the best of my knowledge. One of
them was with Loren Petra and he’s gone to ground.” He didn’t sound concerned.
Was pure male confidence when he continued. “We’ll have them soon.”

It made her wonder what he wasn’t
telling them.

“There’s
no telling,”
Xan told her privately.
“Before he returned to the south to take
over the clans, he was the Overchief’s spy master. I wouldn’t be surprised if
he still is.”

“My lord,” Siana, who’d approached
with Kaal, asked. “Isn’t there a goddess sanctum in the stronghold?”