The Power of Fate (The Triad Series Book 5) (7 page)

His smile was sweet. “Silken robes, skin…”

She pictured him like that, imagined pushing the robe off his shoulders and kissing each piece of flesh it revealed.

His fingers clenched on the clothes she had given him.

“Sorry,” she blurted out. “I’m trying, I really am.”

He nodded and turned away from her. “I will be as quick as I can.”

Within minutes, they were walking out onto the busy street. Paloma was a well-known stop on the way to the Temple complex at Quoxor and was filled with hotels and restaurants to cater to the passing trade.

Mya glanced up at Rekk, who was looking rather fierce and attracting way too much attention.

“Can you raise your shields?” she asked quietly.

“I am trying, but all these telepaths are distracting me.”

She took his hand. “How about I help?”

“If you wish. I will try not to embarrass you.”

“It’s not a problem. I just don’t want the Etruscans to find you again.” She focused inward and sent her energy toward him. Her mind blended smoothly with his, surrounding her with his special blend of heat and light. It seemed such a shame to have to mute his talents, but in their present situation it was essential.

“What do you like to eat?” Mya asked. “They have food from every region of the planet here. Where did you grow up?”

“I’m not sure. I remember it was hot—hence the lack of clothing.” His smile was disarming.

“I was born quite near the Temple myself,” Mya offered. “My father was one of the Oracle’s bodyguards.”

“A very honorable position. You did not choose to join him there?”

“I… moved away when I was five. My mother formed a new Triad.”

“Your father died young, then?”

“Yes, in the Oracle’s service. That’s why I was eventually able to get away— I mean, join the military.”

He kept hold of her hand as they crossed the busy street. “It is still an unusual choice for a Hakron, yes?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Especially a female. I had to work about ten times as hard to convince my instructors that I had the necessary grit to succeed. They thought I would be too placid.”

“Then they did not know you very well. You have the heart of a true fighter.”

“Thank you. I’m about to be the first Hakron female to reach the rank of Major in the Pavlovan Special Forces.”

“Impressive.” He paused and inhaled. “Something smells good over there.”

She looked at the restaurant in front of them. “Quoxor food, which is fine by me. Let’s go in.”

He hesitated. “I have no… funds.”

“That’s okay. I have credits from the military for this journey. As long as we don’t have a ten-course banquet, I think we’ll be fine.”

Orin couldn’t settle. On an impulse, he’d started his journey to Quoxor earlier than needed, taking advantage of accumulated leave and the obligatory days for any Pavlovan seeking a mate at the Temple. He’d decided to take his time, enjoy the journey, and maybe get some peace and perspective at the sacred site before Mya joined him.

Except he wasn’t feeling peaceful. He was about halfway to Quoxor and Mya’s telepathic signal kept flaring up in his head. She wasn’t her usual self, and she wasn’t attempting to contact him. She was just
there
—a constant nagging in his brain, pulsing with unknown energy that kept breaking through her regular shields and making itself at home in Orin’s head.

The foreign energy attached to hers both fascinated and repelled him. It was definitely male. Orin tried to think of scenarios for what was happening with his mate, but could come up with nothing that made any sense. Had she been more severely injured on the mission than he’d been told? Was some shrink in her head trying to fix stuff?

He was worried and the constant headache wasn’t helping. He’d dumped his bag at a cheap hotel and gone out looking for a bar and something to eat. Maybe he could drown some of his worries that way. Orin paused as two men pushed past him, his trained cop senses immediately activated by their body language and the dense solidity of their shields.

Whatever the men were up to wasn’t good. Glad to have something to do other than wallow in a bar, he decided to follow them. As he walked, he checked in with the local law-enforcement channels, but all was quiet except for the usual background chatter.

They were now entering the town square, which was where most of the restaurants and cafes were situated to catch the pilgrims and tourists. Even as he quickened his pace, a large black vehicle turned the corner, blocking the square’s furthest exit, and another came in just behind him, blocking the rear.

The men were now running toward a small eatery on the left side of the square. A surge of adrenalin spiked in Orin’s mind as one of the two threw something that shattered the window of the restaurant, spreading smoke and confusion. He blinked against the sudden flare and flung up his hand.

“
Mya?”

Someone started screaming and tourists ran from the smoke. Orin ripped off his jacket and went forward automatically, transmitting what was happening to the local police corps. They might not be there yet—but he was.

“Get down!”

Mya grabbed hold of Rekk and shoved him as hard as she could to the floor as something smashed through the glass and went off with a roar and a blinding flash.

Rekk rolled with her, covering her body with his own.

“Keep down and head toward the rear entrance. It’s just to our left. Expect someone to be waiting for us outside
.”

Mya found her weapon, and, using a secure telepathic channel to the other security guards, relayed their position and her plan. There was no answer, which wasn’t encouraging.

She went ahead of Rekk, crawling on hands and knees through the choking smoke. At the last moment, she ignored the back entrance and veered left through the tiny kitchen. The small staff had already bolted and something was scorching on the stove. She reached up to turn off the burner as she passed. There was no need to destroy the place completely.

A flare of aggression shot through her senses, and she paused to consider their options. It was highly likely someone was watching the kitchen exit as well. She tapped Rekk’s arm and motioned toward the trap door set in the floor. He nodded and opened it easily, revealing a line of stone steps and some basic lighting.

She went past him, scanning for Etruscan signals as she went down the steps into the cellar. The space contained several refrigeration units and shelving for produce. There was also, thank the Gods, an exit.

The thud of the door closing over their heads deadened the alarms sounding from above as Rekk came down the steps to join her.

“Are you okay?” She touched his shoulder, where a bruise was already darkening the flesh under the ripped sleeve of his T-shirt.

“I am well.” He touched her forehead with one finger. “You, however, are bleeding.”

She tried to shrug it off. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“But we should tend to the wound.”

“There’s a medical kit on the shelf over there. It’s the box with the yellow cross on it.” She slowly exhaled. “But we don’t have time. We need to get out of here.”

“With you all bloodied? Surely that will draw the wrong kind of attention onto us? The immediate threat has passed; can you not feel it?” He retrieved the medical supplies. “When you are cleaned up, we can borrow a couple of the restaurant T-shirts and exit when we are ready.”

His calm manner was both reassuring and surprising. She cupped his chin, where a fine fuzz of beard was forming, and rubbed the pad of her thumb against the bristles.

“Okay.”

His breath hitched and he lowered his mouth to hers in a brief kiss. “Yes. Now let me attend to your face, and we can be on our way.”

Orin surveyed the destroyed front of the restaurant. The sirens were still shrieking, and there was glass everywhere that glinted in the lights of the approaching emergency vehicles. He tried to control his breathing. If Mya
had
been in there, she had either died or gotten away because he was getting no sense of her now.

Gods, she couldn’t be dead. He’d know—wouldn’t he?

A shadow fell over him and he turned around only to have a weapon jammed against his throat.

“You are under arrest.”

“I’m a frakking cop. I called this in.”

The male officer didn’t bother to reply as he restrained Orin’s wrists behind him. He knew better than to struggle, as the plastic would only tighten up.

“Come on, sir.”

With one last searing glance at the destroyed restaurant, Orin allowed himself to be taken away. Once he sorted things out with the local police force, he’d gain access to all the information they had on the attack and what was really going on. At least, he hoped he would. And if Mya was involved? He’d find that out as well.

Mya pulled the restaurant T-shirt over her head. “Right, I’m ready to go.”

Rekk had changed as well and added some kind of cap to cover his golden hair, which was an excellent idea.

“Which exit do you wish to use? The one here or shall we chance our luck upstairs?”

Mya considered their options. “Let’s go with this one. From what I can tell, it links up with other shops in the square, so we could come out further along the row and look even less suspicious.”

“Then let’s go.”

When they finally gained the upper level of the square, Mya couldn’t resist a quick glance over her shoulder. The whole front of the restaurant where they’d been sitting was gone, and the entire square was filled with emergency vehicles and flashing lights.

Rekk grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

To her surprise, they were back at their hotel before she had time to breathe. He pulled her inside, locked the door, and then stood there crushing her, his whole body shuddering against hers.

“Gods…”

She looped her arms around his neck and just held on as his mouth descended on hers in a rough, demanding kiss. She shoved a hand up the back of his T-shirt and climbed him until her core was rubbing against the stiff rod of his cock. With a stifled sound, he pushed his shorts down, freeing himself before dealing with her clothes, baring the important parts so that he could lift her down over him in one swift motion, making them both groan.

Mya kept her eyes open as they fucked. She knew everything would be hurting later, but this wasn’t about then, it was about celebrating survival in the most basic way possible. He hitched her even higher and drove deeper, making her cry out his name and climax, squeezing his thick length as he pounded into her.

For the first time in her life she wanted to forget being cautious and just live in the moment. This gorgeous man belonged with her and Orin—she knew it in her soul.

He came hard, impaling her against the door with the force of his final thrust, and she let it wash over her in rippling waves that consumed her. And that wasn’t all. She returned every sensation to him until their thoughts were wrapped up so tight, there was no longer any distance between them.

With a ragged sound, he walked her over to the bed and fell backward onto it. The moment he hit the thin covers, she started undressing him completely, and he reciprocated, ripping her shorts in his haste to get her as naked as he was. She straddled him, her breasts bouncing. He leaned forward to lick and play with her curves until he set his teeth gently on her nipple and she moaned.

“
Gods… Rekk, I want you... I want everything
.”

“
Then take me. I am yours.”

She wrapped one hand around his already rejuvenated cock and slowly lowered herself onto his hard, throbbing flesh, sharing every sensation with her hands, her mind, and her spirit. He sucked in a breath as she settled over him, one hand coming to rest on the curve of her hip.

“You are…different.”

She stared down into his golden eyes. “You think?”

“I
know.”
He hesitated, his breath hitching as she used her internal muscles to squeeze the length of his cock. “You are not holding anything back.”

She dropped a kiss on his nose, and he growled.

“I am claiming you in the true Hakron manner as my Male.”

He went still. “I do not understand. I thought you were ashamed of our forced mating, ashamed of me.”

“Gods, no! I thought you were mine from the moment I met you, but there’s all this other stuff going on and you’re…” She paused. “You’re way out of my league.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s an Earth saying. It means you are superior to me in every way.”

“You jest. I am nothing.”

She framed his face with her hands, aware of his heat and strength still throbbing inside her. “You are one of the bravest men I have ever met.”

His gaze became distant. “I failed to escape the Etruscans. They used me for years. I have no worth as a warrior. I am
nothing.”

“You survived. You
won
.”

“And in doing so, I put you in danger.”

She grinned at him. “I’m a soldier. Danger is my middle name.”

He didn’t seem to understand that, so she focused on convincing him another way by slowly rocking her hips and riding him into a blaze of desire that would consume them both.

Suddenly he rolled and loomed over her. She was no lightweight, but she always forgot how big he was until he was on top of her.

“Be careful, Mya. If you claim me I will be yours forever.”

She stroked his chest. “I’m good with that, but when we get to the Temple, we’ll speak to the Oracle and to my other Male and make certain, okay?”

“Your other Male?”

“Yeah. Orin."

With a soft curse he pounded into her and they came together, minds aligned, bodies in perfect harmony she wished could go on forever.

“What the frak?” Orin muttered as he woke up suddenly in the uncomfortable interview room chair, his cock hard, his breathing ragged. They’d left him there to check out his credentials, which was krallshit, seeing as they could do that in a nanosecond. He reckoned he’d pissed off someone higher up by being at the right place at the right time when the local cops were taking a nap.

Thank the Gods there was no one there to witness his hard-on. Mya was close, and she was fucking another male with such intensity that he could almost taste it. What the heeze was going on? Had she gone nuts, or had she just decided she was done with him and found her own lover?