Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) (9 page)

“You’re thinking too much,” he said
aloud.

His gaze clashed against hers,
demanding and domineering. Loving and promising, if only she had the strength
to believe she deserved it. This time his teeth grazed her clit. Unwilling to
do anything that would make him stop, she froze.

“Anna
Leigh,”
he murmured into her mind as his tongue stroked
through her folds.
“Give yourself to me.
You’ll never regret it.”

His teeth worried her clit, his tongue
flicked tauntingly. The demand in his mind became something else, morphed into
something gentler. Coaxing. Cajoling.

“Enticing,”
he teased.
“Charming.”

“Bewitching,”
she
complained, though she laughed.

Her resistance dissolved into dust.
The bond between them got impossibly stronger. She felt him in every part of
her. Heart, soul, body. She accepted his right to be there, hers to be as
closely tied to him, and his control snapped. He sucked her clit hard, just
like she liked it, and thrust two fingers into her pussy.

“Come,
der’lan. I can’t wait to get inside you,”
he growled.

Ecstasy rushed through her. Pleasure
so extreme, so deep she couldn’t begin to describe it. Wanted to drown in it.
She was distantly aware of the cuffs being removed, of Xan rolling her to her
stomach then pulling her to her knees. He thrust into her and the orgasm
started all over again. He rode her through it. When she started to come down,
he strummed her clit and it started all over again. It was too much. Too much
sensation, too much bliss.

“Xan,” she begged, but for what she had
no idea.

His thrusts quickened, his breathing
grew ragged. “I’ve got you, love.”

He stiffened, rolled his hips twice
more against her G-spot, and she felt the first warm jet of come as he pinched
her clit and tugged. For half a second she felt nothing at all. Then her world
exploded, breaking her into so many tiny pieces she didn’t know if she’d ever
be able to repair them. She collapsed to the bed, Xan’s heavy weight covering
her, and closed her eyes.

Shifting to his side, he tucked her
close against him. He brushed the hair off her face, pressed his lips against
hers and hummed in satisfaction when she tried to snuggle closer. He pillowed
her head with one arm, but used his free hand to gently stroke up her side.
Once, twice, before she sensed his next intention. She grabbed his wrist before
he could cup her breast.

“Don’t even think about.”

“But it feels so good,” he whispered,
nuzzling her neck.

“Any better and I won’t be able to
think for the rest of the day.”

“Just the day?”

She bit back a laugh, barely, but
sobered quickly. He noticed her change in mood right away, of course.

“You’re worried about Tel going after
Zola.”

“Yes. I think they’ll try during the
opening of the celebration.”

He made no complaint about the
conversational shift. Didn’t ignore her fear for Zola or try to dismiss it.

“We’ll protect her,” he promised.

Her resistance melted a bit more and she
hoped like hell that was a promise they could keep.

Chapter Seven

A couple of days later the celebration
started, though Anna Leigh still had no idea where she stood. She and Xan were
inside the Keep with a special dispensation to be armed. She figured Zola had
something to do with that, but she wasn’t sure if it was a matter of family
loyalty or if she’d decided Anna Leigh was more dangerous left to her own
devices. The why didn’t really matter.

“The
threat isn’t here,”
Zola warned all the telepaths
searching for the Tel agents.
“They’ll
strike against the civilians, outside the Keep walls.”

Anna Leigh let fear rush through her
for just a moment, and then locked it away. She sensed Zola moving through the
crowd toward the exit. Her daughter would use herself as bait and there wasn’t
a damned thing she could do about it except try to get there first. Thankfully,
Xan knew the Keep well. He grabbed her hand and tugged in the opposite
direction.

“We’ll
get out quicker this way.”

“I
thought access was restricted to the Keep’s clan?”

His slashing grin was predatory.
“I’ll get us out, love. Don’t worry.”

She hoped he wouldn’t have to compel a
warrior to open the way for them. She didn’t want anything to jeopardize the
relationship between the Keep and the Bana clan. Zola would need the safety of
both in the coming battle. Xan squeezed her hand.

“It
won’t come to that.”

The crowd began to thin and they
entered a different section of the Keep. There were warriors and almost as many
women milling around in the large space. Xan veered to one side, singling out
one particular group. They fell quiet when she and Xan joined them, then one
stepped forward with a smile.

“Lord Bana. It is good to see you
returned well to Delroi.”

“Thank you, Cassius. This is my
der’lan
, Anna Leigh,” he introduced her.
“We need to get into the city as quickly as possible.”

Cassius’s gaze sharpened. “Trouble?”

Before he could answer Cassius’s comm
beeped. As he read the message, he went from alert to badass.

“Kaje?” Xan asked and she realized why
the young warrior looked familiar. He was one of Kaje Stian’s brothers.

“Parker went into the city with Zola.
This way.”

He led them through a series of short
corridors and halls, finally stopping in front of two large doors. He nodded at
the warriors keeping guard.

“They’re with me,” he said, pointing
to her and Xan.

One door opened enough for them to
pass through. She looked around the small courtyard for the exit but only saw
more doors. Xan knew where he was though, led her straight across and through a
door that opened on a busy street. It was loud, both aurally and psychically, and
it took her a moment to get her bearings. Once she did she led the way, though
Xan kept her hand tight in his.

The longer it took to wind her way
through the crowd, the more urgent she became. Somewhere in the distance she
heard an explosion. Zola was well shielded, but Anna Leigh felt a burst of pain
that quickly faded. She ran. And finally she was there. Blood dripped down her daughter’s
arm. Anna Leigh reached out, saw that it was a minor wound and dropped her
hand. She hadn’t been invited to touch and their relationship was tenuous at
best.

“You should go back to Jarek. Get this
taken care of.”

“There’s one left out here and he
wants me. We heard an explosion.”

“The fireworks storage,” Xan said,
glancing at his comm. “Word is being put out it was an accident. No one was
hurt.”

Anna Leigh watched the relief flare in
her daughter’s eyes, but as it faded determination filled them. She smiled.

“I’ll go back to the Keep. The
survivors probably won’t try again tonight.”

Anna Leigh wasn’t sure if she should
be dismayed or amused at how easily the lie slid off Zola’s tongue.

“Yes,” she agreed. “We’ll continue the
search just in case.”

Zola nodded and walked away. Her
friend Parker watched then turned a suspicious gaze on Anna Leigh. She knew she
deserved it but it still rankled.

“Do you think they’ve given up?”

“No,” she said curtly. “And neither
has Zola.”

Parker shook her head, exasperation
easy to read on her face. “Using herself as bait,” she muttered.

Anna Leigh agreed. “She’s far enough
ahead we should follow now.”

She looked at Cassius. “Can you get
ahead of her?”

He looked around then nodded. “With
Parker’s help, I think so.”

They all started forward. After a
couple of cross streets, Parker and her brother-in-law peeled off. Disbelief
and horror burst through her mind. Zola.

“Mother,
Zane is here. He’s alive.”

Then she was gone, leaving nothing but
pain behind her. Following the psychic trail, Anna Leigh ran. Seconds later she
skidded to halt in an alley, dropped to her knees and pressed her hands against
the gushing wound on her daughter’s chest. Parker joined her.

“What do we do?”

She took a deep breath, steadied
herself, and gave Parker a firm look. “We have to hold her mind to her body
until a doctor gets here.”

She refused to consider failure.
Refused to accept she might be too late. She entered Zola’s mind and searched
for her spirit, felt Parker join her. By some miracle they found her in time,
wove their shields around her so she couldn’t slip away into death. She was
aware of Jarek arriving, of Parker moving aside for him, but she remained
focused on the light of Zola’s soul. When a second healer joined them, she
moved to give him space but stayed close. Finally she saw her daughter’s chest
rise and fall. Felt her struggle against the shields. Parker withdrew first. Anna
Leigh hesitated long enough to be sure Zola would continue to fight to live.

“We need to move her now,” the other
healer said.

She hadn’t noticed the crowd join
them. Ignored it as Jarek picked Zola up and headed to one of the small open
air cars used in the city. She swayed when he took her away. Thankfully Xan was
there to catch her. He lifted her into another waiting car and they followed.
He parked outside the gates of the Keep and led her inside. She followed. Numb,
but under that numbness was abject fear. She could not lose another child. And
what if Zola was right? What if Zane had done this? No. She
wouldn’t--couldn’t--think about that right now. Several minutes later she
watched as Jarek gently put Zola in a tank and it filled with some kind of
green goo.

“What
the hell is that?”

“A
rejuvenation tank. The chemicals--the green goo as you say--will speed her
healing. She’ll be fine in a few hours.”

She’d have to see that to believe it.
But the display on the tank beeped steadily, showing a strong heartbeat.

“So we still have three Tel agents
left out there?” Roarr, the Keep’s clan chief asked.

“I don’t know. Her brother did this,”
Jarek said.

It was like being shot in the chest in
her daughter’s place. Such terrible pain and agony.

“I’m sorry,” Jarek said.

“My fault,” she said. “Tel refused to
retrieve his body. It was too dangerous they said, and that was probably true.
I should have insisted though. I was too busy protecting my own ass and trying
to keep Zola clear. But this…”

She paused but her voice still cracked
when she continued.

“They must have broken him.
Reprogrammed him. Never in a million years would Zane hurt Zola.”

The monitors beeped a low warning and
Anna Leigh looked over to see Zola’s eyes open. She sagged against Xan in
relief. There was a mix of panic and ire in her daughter’s face. She would be
alright. Jarek waved everyone out and as much as she wanted to protest, she
knew she needed to give Zola space and let her come to her when she was ready. She
didn’t expect it to be so soon, however.

A couple of hours later, Zola knocked
on the front door. She looked pale and weak. Anna Leigh resisted the urge to
demand to know why she wasn’t in bed and being taken care of. Maybe Jarek Idis
wasn’t strong enough for her daughter. She needed someone who could meet that
iron will and tame it some. Anna Leigh had tea brought in and studied Zola as
she sipped. Her face was tight with anger and hurt. But who was it directed at?
Her mother, her brother, her mate, or all three of them?

“What’s wrong, Zola?”

She stared back so long Anna Leigh
didn’t think she’d answer.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

Anna Leigh experienced a wonderful
moment of happiness for Zola. For herself. She hadn’t done so much damage to
her daughter that she was unwilling to live a real life. Then that emotion was
shattered.

“He knew and he kept it from me.”

She looked at Xan, unsure what to say
to that.

“Is
that normal?”

“How
would I know? I’m new at this too.”

“You were not exactly mother of the
year, you know. And now you have this thing with Xan. It’s solid and strong.
I’m not much of a telepath and even I can see that. What right do you have,
Mother? Seriously?”

The words fell like blows. She didn’t
even try to defend herself. And her connection to Xan? She might not be able to
break it, but she still had no idea what it was or how to deal with it.

“How am I supposed to do this? You
didn’t exactly give me an example to follow. But Zane and I decided to make a
stand and we had to get that resolve from somewhere, right?”

A bright burst of hope before it was
dashed.