Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (17 page)

“Answers?” Pam hadn’t added on the last portion
in her earlier responses!

Her friend smiled up at her before taking the
lead on the steps. Just as she cleared the last one the front door
opened and a large smile spread across, Wyst’s face. “Welcome!”
Rykhan stood just behind and to the right of the other large
man.

“Hi Wyst. Ryk,” Pam greeted.

“Won’t you come in?” Both men move back before
Rykhan stepped forward again to reach for her hand.

Rykhan led them into the house and down a long
hallway to the right of a massive staircase. Each room they passed
seemed, at least to Leah, to be beautiful decorated and
unbelievably tidy, appearing more like a show-home than a place
where real people lived. There were no photos or any personal items
on display, nothing that give a clue as to the people who actually
resided there.

Eventually, Rykhan led them outside to one of
the most amazing backyards Leah had ever seen. Not only did it have
a pool and a hot tub, but also were dotted with several patios on
different levels, each with its own seating arrangement as well as
a separate outdoor kitchen/bar-be-que area. It also had several
outlying buildings which Rykhan explained were the garage, a
workshop, and a separate one-bedroom house. It was almost too much
to take in all at once and Leah didn’t pay much attention to where
Rykhan led them. He stopped before a large table already set with
glasses and a pitcher of iced tea as well as another of
lemonade.

“Won’t you sit down?” He pulled out a chair and
stared at her directly.

Recognizing a cue when she got one, Leah eased
herself down into the thick cushion before Rykhan took the seat
directly next to her. “Thank you,” she murmured with a grin somehow
knowing he was putting a lot of effort in trying to make her feel
as welcome as possible. “This is looks wonderful.”

After every one had a glass of something to
drink and Rykhan had relaxed back into his chair, Leah decided to
offer the opening salvo. “You wanted to talk?”

“Yes, I did,” he said quietly, shifting in his
chair as his thumb drew circles on the condensation of his glass.
“I want to see what you have on your arm.”

The sip of the iced tea Leah had taken seemed
to stick in her throat and she had to swallow hard to ensure she
didn’t choke or sputter. Her eyes immediately shot to Pam in
accusation. “You told them?”

“I had to, honey! They were both so worried
about you and were making such a ruckus, demanding the receptionist
tell them what was going on.” Pam’s eyes pleaded for Leah’s
understanding. “They were almost as wigged out as you were because
no one would tell them anything!”

Leah felt Rykhan’s large hand cover
hers and, as he did so, the metal on her bicep began to throb and
heat even as calmness stole over her. “Do not blame the sister of
your heart,
mica
tisha
. She did not betray a
confidence but tried to…how did you put it, Pam? Settle our asses
down?” Leah’s eyes sought his and realized the earnestness in both
his voice and words. “Will you not show me what was so upsetting
that you had to seek medical attention for it?”

She extracted her hand from underneath his,
noticing the change in both the temperature of the bronze links and
the loss of tranquility within her at the move. Without even
thinking about it, she raised her free hand to cover the place
where the band laid embedded in her skin although she didn’t
reply.

“Are you scared? Did the sight of
your
wahrom
cause
you fear when you first noticed its appearance?” His voice, so very
deep and yet so warm was a balm that coated her insides.
Nevertheless, she still maintained a grip on her arm, covering the
bronze links as she tried to hide it from him.

“I don’t know what that word means,” she said
through numb lips. “That wah-room thing.” She tried to pronounce it
as he had which was along the lines of ‘war room’ in a New Jersey
accent but didn’t think she was very successful.

“I’m unsure of the direct translation but, in
essence, it means ‘the mark of the warrior’,” he responded softly,
his beautiful eyes gentle and accepting as he gazed at
her.

He took a deep, deep breath before continuing.
“I have one.”

Leah continued to stare him, not responding but
knew her shock at his admission was somehow evident.

“Would you like to see it, my Leah?”

Her lips were still stiff but she moved them
enough to murmur, “yes, please.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, a different top than
he’d been wearing at the urgent care. Earlier he’d had on a black
t-shirt, but the one he wore now was a light blue button down. Her
eyes followed his fingers, skimming over the golden skin of his
firmly muscled chest as it was exposed inch by stunning inch. His
chiseled abs, sharply defined, came into view as he opened his
shirt further until there were no more buttons to release. The same
chest and abs she’d felt against her the night before.

At the view of the real thing, Leah decided she
hadn’t given Rykhan enough credit since he looked better than the
pictures of men on the websites that described themselves as ‘porn
for women’.

When he pushed the shirt off his shoulders, her
eyes came back to his. Determination glittered in the steady gaze
that was nearly a physical touch. As the fabric slid down his arms,
she dropped her gaze to his right bicep.

And gasped.

There it was. An just about exact duplicate of
the metal she’d woken up with this morning was prominently
displayed. On his arm, in almost the exact same spot on his body,
albeit on the other arm. Even the etchings within the links were
identical to hers!

Her heart raced and she found it hard to
breathe but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from what she
saw.

“Is yours like this,
Tersa
blay
?” he whispered as he searched
her face. “Is your
wahrom
like mine, my Leah?”

No one at the table moved and Leah
would’ve bet even the very wind had stopped as she looked upon the
band of bronze that encircled his huge bicep. She couldn’t help her
action as she twisted in her chair, sliding herself until her left
side aligned to his right. Raising her eyes to his, Leah slowly
drew the sleeve of her t-shirt up until it rested on her shoulder,
exposing her band, her bronze
wahrom
that gleamed in the sunlight
reflecting off the nearby pool.

“Oh,
Tsiran
,” Rykhan breathed in a way
that was close to a groan of a sexual pleasure. His eyes flitted to
a spot over her shoulder before he gave a deep sigh and lowered his
lids.

“Have you tried touching them together yet?”
The question came from behind her but was not a voice she
recognized. She twisted even further to see who had interrupted
such a private moment. One so personal she’d even forgotten the
presence of Pam and Wyst. It was hard to tell who spoke since so
many men now surrounded their table. Rykhan placed a hand on her
forearm and Leah begin to settle enough to pick out individuals in
the group, as well as to answer.

“No, we haven’t,” Leah replied calmly. “Should
we?”

A man who seemed older that the others chuckled
before he stepped to the forefront of the group. “The legends
caution against doing so in front of witnesses. As I understand it,
the move could prove…embarrassing on a number of
levels.”

A grin curved Leah’s lips. “Good to know.” Her
eyes shot to Rykhan before turning back to the older man. Was he
wearing a crown? “And you are?”

“My name is Bronsyn Llent,” was the proud reply
accompanied by a chin lift.

Pam leaned over Leah’s shoulder as she
whispered, “ask him if he’s royalty!”

Turning away from the man but towards Pam, she
quietly told the woman to ask him herself.

“But he’s only talking to you, Leah!” Pam’s
voice sounded strained.

“Mr. Llent, meet Pamela Swain.” Leah made sure
her voice was as clear and strong as Llent’s was when he’d broken
into her moment with the man who shared her metal. “She would like
to ask you a question.”

“Bitch,” The snappy whisper was for Leah’s ears
only.

“Coward,” Leah whispered back just as
quickly.

Pam sat back but swallowed loud enough that
Leah could hear it even from over her shoulder. “Uhm hey there, Mr.
Llent. I was just, ah, you know. Like, wondering if that thing on
your head meant you are, you know, a part of the royal family or
something.”

A look of confusion cross the other man’s
features. He glanced to both Rykhan and Wyst first, as if seeking
the answer but when no one spoke, he turned and studied the group
of men standing behind him. As he twisted, Leah took notice of his
long dark hair. Hair that brushed his waist and with the view, Leah
knew exactly who the man was and understood exactly how to answer
Pam’s question.

On her first meeting with Rykhan, he’d confided
that he was in the States with his ‘warrior brothers’, a phrase she
hadn’t initially understood.

“Does that mean you’re in the military?” she’d
asked realizing she was just echoing what Pam had asked when they’d
all shared dinner. At the man’s head nod, she’d pressed further
somehow sensing in the affirmative he had not been the whole truth.
“The U.S. military requires their troops to keep their hair short,
but yours is long.”

“I am not in the U.S. military,” had been
Rykhan’s only vague response. “My commander’s hair is down to his
belt.”

At the sight of the long hair on the older man,
Leah knew that Rykhan had not been lying in the least.

“My friend asked if you were a king,” Leah
spoke unable to keep the delight out of her voice. “But after how
Rykhan described you, I know you’re the leader of this group,
right?”

The man nodded although his brows drew
together. “Why would she consider me a monarch?”

“Because of your circlet.” Pointing to her
forehead and moving her finger from side to side, Leah indicated
what she had, at first, considered his crown.

Rykhan’s caress on Leah’s knee drew her eyes
back to him and she smiled as he gave her a nod of approval. The
look combined with the tranquility his touch always brought, made
her go boneless in her seat.

“Yes, Pamela Swain. I am the mission
leader and what you see on my head is my
ihrom
, which signifies my command on
this quest.” Bronsyn’s words were very formal, but his tone
wasn’t.

Pam blurted out, “it still looks like a
cool-as-shit crown, though. Does it come off?”

The other men behind Bronsyn wore varying
expressions of amazement, which attested to the level of respect
awarded him as their leader. However, Bronsyn only smiled Pam. “No.
I cannot remove it.”

There were a couple of beats of silence before
Pam spoke again. “Bummer, dude.”

Leah twisted around and blew out an exasperated
breath before her gaze went to Wyst. But he seemed to find
something in the pool too interesting to participate in the
conversation. Either that or he was deliberately ignoring one and
all.

“Must be a real bitch to deal with when you
wash your hair,” Pam continued on a teasing note and a wide
smile.

Bronsyn’s laughter rang out across the huge
expansive of the backyard before he finally found voice enough to
answer. “You have no idea.”

Chapter Twelve

Leah slowly drew into herself even
as Pam began to laugh and joke with the other men. From the way his
mate’s eyes made their way back to each of their
wahroms
Rykhan felt the
need to speak with her in detail about it. The thought of having
such a conversation in full view of both his commander and brothers
made him uncomfortable.

“Can I give you a tour of the house?” It would
be the easiest way to pull her away from the crowd and get her
alone in order to answer the many questions lingering in her
eyes.

“That’d be lovely,” she murmured, placing her
palm into the hand he extended. As they moved away, the other males
immediately snagged the empty chairs to sit next to Pam and engage
the effervescent female in conversation. Whereas her friend did not
have a filter and verbalized whatever crossed her mind, Leah spoke
quieter from a thoughtful place inside.

Which, in any other circumstance,
might have been momentarily entertaining. That was if Rykhan had
not known Leah was the person
Tsiran
had chosen as his one true and
legitimate mate.

He walked through the bottom portion of the
huge house, pointing out the different rooms downstairs and
reciting the names of each, much as the realtor had done before
Bronsyn had signed the lease. Leah seemed appreciative, uttering
little murmurs of approval at the furnishings, the decorations that
adorned each room.

Although she hung back a little when it came
time to move upstairs.