Engulf [New World Book 5] (11 page)

Abri caught her breath. Blue light crashed around them. Abri could see it as Raiden’s shield closed around her. For a moment, a painful searing burning sensation had washed over her—then it was gone. Raiden curled around them as the blast hit the exact spot the child had been. They took the full extent of it. Raiden’s armor held against the full extent of the blast. A hole and charred remains of the ground were all Abri could see when the fire light dissipated.

All hell broke loose in the sky. Abri struggled to look up. Only her eyes were able to move up and side to side—she was fused to Raiden. Three black warships closed in on the Tonan vessel. The gray vessel was hit from every angle. The assault was ceaseless. Blast after blast obliterated sections of the ship nonstop. The Tonans lost their fire power. There was a mass explosion and the air filled with falling gray-armored beasts.

Abri was thunderstruck. The gray beasts picked themselves up as though they had only stumbled down a single step—not fallen hundreds of feet and crashed to the ground. Many landed cat style, with their tales adding to their stability. Their bodies were in attack motion. It was phenomenal. Could Raiden do that? Abri knew he could.

“Maddy?” Abri heard Cobra yell.

Cace was soon standing next to Raiden as was Cobra. Raiden was struggling to gain his feet. It took him a moment then he seemed to recover.

“I have her,” Raiden said.

The way Cobra attacked a Tonan, it was clear to see the rage he had. If not for Raiden’s heightened awareness of his surroundings, the child would be dead. It was the first time in a year Abri thought her hearing loss was a good thing.

Abri’s other senses had grown over the year to compensate. The way Raiden was moving in battle made her aware she had passed her gift on to him. The Tonan who was attacking was getting nowhere with Raiden. No matter what direction the enemy came at Raiden, he was ready. Fury added to his anger. These monsters could have killed his mate, his warrior mate’s mate—or Cobra’s child. Abri didn’t envy the Tonans his wrath.

For a second, Abri became confused. More Tonans appeared, only these Tonans were fighting the renegade Tonans. The Tonans were calling them traitors. Raiden had warned her there were Tonans on this planet. But these Tonans had no tails. Abri tried to turn when she heard a scream then wished she couldn’t see. Doss was there, and a Tonan lay dead on the ground. The Tonan’s strange armor squealed as though in pain and rusted. It blew away on a small gust of wind.

Three of the Tonans were killed. The battle was over. The enemy was surrounded by at least a hundred men in both black and gray armor. Abri heard Maddy whimper. Both she and Maddy were pressed tight to Raiden. Abri wasn’t able to look at the child but knew she must be terrified. That was until she remembered Raiden’s armor would control her fear. Abri wondered at that. She was feeling a bit scared. Perhaps Raiden’s armor had been working too hard to keep them all safe.

“Father?”

“Soon little one,” Raiden soothed. “Cobra, I’ll take Maddy to her mother.”

“Give her over to me,” Cobra commanded. Abri saw his armor absorb. The look he wore on his face was a cross between panic and relief. Yes, he very much loved the child.

“No,” Raiden said and shocked Abri. He was adamant. “The fire singed my mate.”

Abri blinked in surprise. She had felt a searing pain but was fine now. She tried to explain that to Raiden. His armor must have healed her.

“Did your armor not heal her? The blast was bad, a direct hit, and I know shielding the three of you would have stretched your armor to its limits—then battling,” Cobra sounded worried. “Maddy?”

“The child is fine, Cobra. So is Abri. The suns have already regenerated my armor, but the fire was enough to singe Abri’s clothes off,” Raiden explained.

Singed my clothes?
“You mean I’m naked in here,” Abri demanded.

She didn’t feel cold. Abri looked around as best as she could. She was naked and surrounded by over a hundred men. Many had dropped their armor and there was a sea of interested faces. It was like one of those awful nude dreams you have of showing up at work buck naked.
Oh—My—God.

“Then I suppose it would be best to hand my daughter over to her mother.” Abri went beet red. She could hear the humor in Cobra’s words. The man was lucky he couldn’t scent her emotions in here. “Is Maddy all right?”

“The flame never touched her,” Raiden said.

Abri knew all male Castians were overprotective of female children. Any warrior could shield a female child. It was not only to keep the females safe, it was the way nature urged a female to seek a mate when she hit her twenty-first birthday. A warrior could no longer shield a female after that age unless he was mated to her, related to her, or her mate’s warrior mate.

“We will talk later,” Cobra said. Raiden turned around. “Raiden?” Raiden stopped and faced Cobra. “Thank you for my child’s life.”

Abri felt Raiden nod curtly. From his straight posture, Abri could tell Raiden was feeling very full of himself. Abri was feeling pretty damned smug herself.

* * * *

“What are they doing?”

Sam and Abri were sitting at a low table in her and Raiden’s home. They had been talking for a while catching up. It was still hard for Abri to believe she was mated. After Raiden had dropped Abri off at their apartment he had taken Maddy home. Skeptical at first, Abri had done what Raiden told her—she ran her hand across the console and watched as short pants appeared. The material was soft and like nothing she had ever worn before. Abri tried three times to make a t-shirt longer but the panel refused. Anything dealing with a warrior’s safety came foremost. It had her wondering again about this baby shield Raiden had mentioned. How strong could a teeny baby shield be anyway?

“Cobra is testing Raiden’s skills,” Abri explained.

When Raiden had returned he mentioned this would happen to Abri. Anything a warrior of Cobra’s could do was delved into. His brother Doss and his wicked claw were examined for weeks after he came to Bagron. If Raiden could sense a cloaked vessel, it would mean a great deal. Abri wondered what other senses had been magnified in Raiden.

Touch was a big part of Abri’s world. When they mated on the ship it might have been the reason Abri wasn’t opposed to having sex with him so soon. Raiden’s touch was electric. She felt him inside her when he simply traced his finger down her cheek.

“Did you sleep with Cace?” Abri asked.

Sam went red. “He makes me feel so dainty. He tells me I’m small. I haven’t been called small by anyone since I was twelve. He says he loves me. You know the funny thing is I think he really means it.”

“I’m not judging. The man is hotter than sin. So is Raiden. I was just wondering if touch was something else heightened in Raiden. I know my taste has improved—or not improved, depends on how you look at it. He was sad and I tasted the feeling. Yes, odd, I know. But true.”

“I haven’t noticed any new tastes,” Sam said. “I do notice I’m more aware of him than any man I’ve ever known.”

“I think it will be very easy to fall in love with Raiden.” The idea was startling and disturbing.

“What’s not to love? He looks like a god with a heavenly cock.”

Abri raised an eyebrow. “You looked at his cock?”

“The pants the men wear here show every contour. Or haven’t you noticed?”

Abri had noticed it. Especially when she was surrounded by huge hunky men who were aroused after doing battle and were on a winning high. It seemed Castian warriors were well-endowed. After witnessing them fighting, it was no wonder Raiden had such awesome stamina. She shivered with the thought. He could screw her for hours.

“Have you seen any of the others?” Abri asked.

“Yes. As you know Tasha is fine and can’t believe her good fortune at being surrounded by handsome men who all want her—no matter how much she talks. The others have apartments on the ground floor. Cace said the men are interested, but the must cycle is over. Our friends have time to pick and choose a mate—if they want one. Something tells me they’ll want one.

“There’s a main room where a bunch of women go to meet and talk. Very few warriors go in. A few of the women are pregnant. One of the warriors got too close to a woman and, Abri, it was the funniest thing I ever saw. A guy went spinning ass over tea kettle and the other warriors laughed their backsides off. The woman never touched him. He just got too close and went flying. I can’t wait for the next must cycle. I want a baby shield that knocks a warrior that huge onto his ass. It was remarkable.”

Abri wished she had seen it. She wondered if Raiden could be encouraged to let her go down and see this women’s place. It would be nice to see her friends and talk to them—and hear what they had to say.

The door to the apartment slid open and Raiden and Cace came in smiling. Abri was happy about that. She knew how much Cobra’s approval meant to Raiden. They must have worked things through. Abri rose and went to him. Sam was soon settled against Cace.

“There is another planet Cobra wants to search,” Raiden said. “He wants us to go with him. My ability to sense a cloaked ship could be very useful.”

“You’re leaving?” Abri asked.

“We are leaving,” he corrected. “I won’t leave you here without a shield. The last attack just shows us how desperate the renegades are. Loy and Doss are coming too but their mates are pregnant and have their own shields. There is no other male relative I can hand you over to.”

“What about me?” Sam asked.

Cace turned Sam in his arms. “My brother, Davian, will be watching you. He is a relative and can shield you. He has asked for you to stay. He’s taken a shine to Brea who is a bit skittish with all the attention she receives and he feels if she visits you at his home she will get used to him.” Cace looked a little sneaky. “Human women don’t realize it, but each time a warrior touches her more of his secretions urge her body into knowing him better. If Davian were to accidently brush up to Brea each time she visits, well…. Besides, you’ll be safe with Davian; you know how fond he is of you.”

Sam looked disappointed and Cace ran his fingers down her arm. Sam narrowed her gaze onto him. “I know what you’re doing, smart ass.”

“Of course you do—we’re mated. I can’t make you do anything, but if swaying you by secretion seduction and touch helps, I’ll try. My brother is in love. Human females also don’t understand anything about a Castian’s imprinting—he’s imprinted with her. She’s driving his emotions crazy. I’ll be back soon.”

“Fine,” Sam said on a pout. “I’ll match make in your absence, but you better bring me back something.”

Cace grinned at Abri then scooped Sam up and his armor closed over her. They left. Abri gazed up at Raiden. He was smiling at her.

“You look like the cat that ate the canary,” she said.

“Blah—what a gross analogy.”

“It’s just an expression. Does Cobra really think there are more women who crash landed on other planets?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“But I have no time to pack…”

“The problems on the warship have been fixed—too bad, you look sexy in just a blanket.”

Raiden offered her a sly grin. There was nothing to pack. Anything Abri needed would be provided on board the vessel. The replicators took care of their needs. Abri had a frightening thought.

“Can a Tonan vessel blow up a Castian vessel too?”

“It’s happened on rare occasions. This time, two vessels are being deployed. And no matter where I am you will be.”

“Like glue huh?”

“I will never let anything harm you, Abri. I can scent your apprehension, but Cobra is a good person.”

She glanced up at him saucily. “Then take me to your leader.”

Chapter 8

Abri stared out the massive window in their room. She had been traveling on the Castian bird of prey for just over a week. Raiden had very few demands made of him and it was rare for her to be left alone. During their time together, Abri had gotten to know him well. Raiden had a great deal of character, a good heart and he was very patient.

Abri still wasn’t certain if she loved him but felt it was too early. She knew Raiden loved her. His sense of scent and highly-developed emotion towards her was obvious each time he made love to her. There was no denying the connection. Abri just wasn’t certain how deeply it ran within her.

Abri was still gazing at the stars when the door behind her slid open. She knew it was Raiden without looking. She knew his step, his gait, the sway of his arms. She could not only hear it from her left ear but she sensed it. Each day, Raiden’s sense of awareness grew and because they were connected hers increased as well.

The idea had been confusing to Abri, but Raiden explained his armor was compensating for half of his and her hearing loss. She asked him if his armor was so intent on compensating why did it not just give him his hearing back. Raiden assumed if he got total hearing back she would lose hers again. The armor wouldn’t allow that—it protected her as well. Abri had sighed at the complexity of the Castian race.

When Raiden’s lips found the nape of her neck, Abri shivered. There had never been another man who could stir her libido into overdrive with a simple touch. She could see his reflection in the window. One long lock of his blond hair curled in a way that made Abri smile. Raiden, of course, hated the curl. Try as he might, the lock was relentless and would not be pulled, washed or brushed out of place. Abri was happy about that—it added to his charm.

“I missed you,” Raiden said. She knew he had. A certain taste would come to her mouth when he was away, and in the pit of her belly came the annoying feeling of being homesick when he was thinking of her.

All of the new sensations were hard at first to differentiate between, but Abri was slowly learning to define each taste. She knew when Raiden was concentrating the hardest; the taste on her tongue was overwhelming. It was as though she had bit into a fruit of knowledge. Knowledge of Raiden.