The Power of Fate (The Triad Series Book 5) (8 page)

Whatever it was, he needed to get out of this jail and onto the streets before Mya disappeared again.

The door opened and an unknown man came in. He wore the uniform of the Pavlovan Special Forces and had the coldest blue eyes Orin had ever seen.

“Lieutenant Mazra? I do apologize for keeping you waiting here for so long. I was only just apprised of your intervention in the events that went down today and had to fly in from base.”

Orin stood up. The man’s accent was offworld, and he’d definitely met him before. “You work with my Female, correct?”

“Yes. I’m Lieutenant Roberts.”

“The guy who was also on the mission to the Etruscan moon, right?”

“Would you care to sit down again? There are some things you really need to know.”

Chapter 6

Mya groaned as she washed her hair. As predicted, one day after the attack on the restaurant she was sore as hell. An outstanding night of sex with Rekk hadn’t helped, but she didn’t regret that. He was hers. She was sure of that. Rinsing out the suds, she considered what to do next.

The security guys who had been assigned to them at the beginning of the trip had either been withdrawn or terminated. After the deliberate bombing of the restaurant, she suspected the latter, which left her with a dilemma. Should she and Rekk proceed as planned, or alter their course? If one of the security team had given away their route, they were screwed. She was beginning to see why Major Esca was determined to start a new elite security corps.

Instinct told her to change things up, and she wasn’t going to argue with that. She’d kept her shields high, sharing only with Rekk, and was reluctant to seek any help. If someone wanted to contact her again, she would only settle for dealing with a real person, preferably a face she recognized.

She dried off and put the restaurant T-shirt back on over her black pants. Rekk was still sleeping, the long line of his naked body a lure that drew her to the side of the bed. She wanted to lick her way down his spine and…

“Be my guest.”

He rolled onto his back and smiled up at her, one hand wrapped around his impressive morning erection.

“I have to go and do a few errands. I think it’s better if we’re not seen together for a while.” She sat next to him and stroked his golden hair. “Will you be okay?”

“If you leave me a weapon with which to defend myself, I will contrive.” He took her hand, the pale green of her skin stark against his more golden tones. “What do you need to do?”

“Get us some new clothes for one. We both look and smell like we’ve been in an explosion.”

He chuckled, the sound so rich it made her nipples harden. His gaze dropped to her T-shirt and he cupped her breast. “Are you quite certain that you have to go right now?”

She removed his hand. “Yes. I’ll be a quick as I can.”

Rekk contemplated the locked door and whether it was worth getting up before Mya returned. He was strangely reluctant to wash her scent from his skin and hoped to lure her back into bed anyway. He fingered the weapon she had given him and ran through the list of instructions to make it work. Apparently, now she had tuned it to his
frequencies,
it would only fire for him and for her. He should perhaps have mentioned that he had never used such a weapon before… The idea that you could kill so many times and so quickly didn’t sit well with him. Where was the honor in that?

A sound outside made him sit up. Before he had a chance to do much more, the door opened and a dark-haired man came through, his weapon pointed right as Rekk’s head. He looked like he knew exactly how to kill a man.

“What have you done with my mate?”

Rekk put his weapon on the pillow. There was no point in pretending he would fire it now, and the male in front of him was far too intriguing to kill. “I will not harm you.”

“As if you could. I’ll give you ten seconds to give me some answers, and then I’ll start shooting bits off—starting with your cock, seeing as I can smell my woman all over you.”

Rekk put one hand over himself. “I am rather partial to my cock, and Mya seems to like it as well.”

“Which makes no sense, seeing as she’s mine.”

“A Pavlovan citizen can mate with whomever he or she pleases until a permanent Triad is formed. Has that changed?” Rekk raised an eyebrow. “Has she erred?”

The male didn’t even react as he shut the door behind him. “Your opinion isn’t required. Where’s Mya?”

“She will be back momentarily.” Rekk gestured at the chair beside the desk. “Perhaps you should take a seat and await her return?”

“Perhaps I should shoot you in the head and walk away.”

“And leave Mya to find me dead? That would not reflect well on either of us.”

“Particularly you.” The male sat down and glared at Rekk. He had hard eyes and a lean face with slanting cheekbones. “Why are you being so calm and reasonable?”

“You would prefer it if I panicked and attempted to shoot
you
?” Rekk shrugged. “I have to assume you are telling the truth, and that I have nothing to fear from you.”

“Then you’re wrong.”

“If you had been sent by the Etruscans to end my existence, I would be dead by now. You came for Mya’s sake.” He paused, his eye on the weapon that was still leveled at his head. “You must be Orin.”

“She
told
you about me?”

“She said she was mated to a male called Orin. That is all.” Rekk swung his legs over the side of the bed, and his guest tensed. “I am not going to do anything more threatening than take a shower. If that is permitted.”

“You can stay right there until Mya gets back. If she doesn’t get back, we’ll be talking again. Otherwise shut the heeze up.”

“As you wish.”

Gods…

Orin tried not to gawk as the most beautiful man he had ever seen outside a porn vidscreen sank back onto the bed and clasped his hands in his lap. His skin was golden, as was his hair; his muscle definition was that of a pro athlete, and Orin reckoned he was way taller than average.

No wonder Mya had fucked him.

He shifted restlessly on the hard seat. And it wasn’t just that the male was stunning, his mind was… Orin snapped his shields closed, but even then the man’s telepathic power seeped through like warm syrup, making him want to lick him, lick that skin, walk over to that bed and just touch all that sleek, golden nakedness.

His captive sighed and relaxed, his posture that of a man used to waiting, which made Orin want to shoot him just because… Yeah, he was being totally professional about this demi-god who was fucking his mate.

The door latch clicked. Orin spun around, his weapon leveled at the door as Mya came in, her hands full of bags. She immediately dropped them on the floor.

“
Orin?”

“Don’t go for your weapon or I’ll shoot him. Shut the door.”

She kicked the door shut with her heel and turned to the man on the bed.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No. I could not find it within myself to use the weapon you left me. He accepted my surrender very graciously.”

The guy spoke like someone out of a history book. Orin didn’t get it at all, and Lieutenant Roberts’s explanation about the situation hadn’t provided useful information. All Roberts had said was that he would find Mya at this particular hotel and then he should await further instructions. He had only the most basic information about the golden god his mate was apparently fucking.

The male Orin’s Female was currently rushing over to the bed to check on.

“Mya, what the heeze are you doing?” Orin snapped.

She had the nerve to turn around and glare at him. “Put your weapon away right now, Orin. This is ridiculous! You’re supposed to be at the Temple.”

“Rather than busting up your fuckfest?”

She went still and the male on the bed tensed. “It’s not like that.”

“It never is, is it? I’m a cop, Mya. I’ve heard every excuse in the universe.”

She raised her chin. “I am not making excuses. You have blundered into a situation you do not understand. I am not allowed to share the details with you, so maybe you should just get out.”

He returned her glare with one of his own. “How do you think I found you?”

“We are mated. I doubt it was hard.”

“Well you’d be wrong about that because your boyfriend here has been shielding you both so carefully, I had no idea where you were until that explosion went off in the square.”

“You were there?” She took a step toward him. “Did you see who did it?”

“I was more concerned about searching for you than worrying about finding the perps. I’m supposed to be on vacation, remember?”

She sighed, her shoulders relaxing. “Orin, I’m sorry you are angry. I understand why, but if you had just stuck to our plan…”

“And met you at the Temple once you’d dumped lover boy and pretended to be all invested in finding our Third again?” He holstered his weapon. “Heeze, maybe I was a fool to hope you’d forgiven me and were ready to move on to the next part of our life together. I really screwed up, didn’t I?”

The man on the bed rose to his feet and stood beside Mya, one hand on her shoulder. Gods, he was tall, towering over his mate. “Perhaps I could take my shower now and leave you both to settle your affairs? I promise I won’t leave and I will respect your privacy as a mated couple.”

Mya patted his hand. “Please don’t. I still have a duty to keep you safe.”

His smile was so intimate it made Orin’s teeth hurt. He nodded. “Go ahead. I appreciate your tact.”

The male’s golden gaze fastened on Orin and he almost forgot how to breathe. “But do not hurt her. If you do, I will snap your neck with my bare hands.”

With a nod, he went into the tiny bathroom and shut the door. Within seconds, the shower came on.

Mya sank down on the unmade bed and briefly closed her eyes.

“I know you won’t believe me, Orin, but—”

“You’re on a mission. I know. Lieutenant Roberts gave me your location.”

“
Roberts
? Whatever for?”

“Because your primary security team got blown to pieces. I’m your back up.”

She digested that, her head down, her gaze on the scuffed carpet. “Okay. What are we supposed to do next?”

“You’re not going to shout at me?” Orin asked slowly.

“Why would I?”

“Because I’m interrupting…this.” He gestured at the bed.

Her cheeks darkened as if he’d embarrassed her. “
This
was not supposed to happen. You know how I feel about getting close to anyone.”

He tried to make a joke of it even as his heart stuttered. “So apart from the fact that he looks like a God and has more telepathic power in his little finger than I have in my entire person, what do you see in him?”

“I think he’s our Third.”

“But you’ve always hated the idea of having a Third.”

“True
.”

“You’re kidding. He’s…” Orin blew out a breath. “He’s way too powerful and there’s something weird going on around him—it’s like he’s not from this time. And the way the Senate is intent on protecting him? He’s not
normal,
Mya.”

“I
know.
I can’t explain it. But I also know he’s ours.”

“Maybe he’s just yours, Mya.”

She blinked at him. “You don’t feel anything?”

“How could I not? He’s like some kind of addictive drug.
Everyone
is going to be affected by him.”

“That’s what I thought at first, but—”

Orin moved to crouch in front of her. “Mya, I lied about not knowing much. Roberts told me what happened to you on the Etruscan moon. He said you’d been forced into a mating state.” He took a breath. “This might all be because of that,
right
? You are aware of that?” He reached out to take her hand. “I’m not judging you or anything. I get it. But you have to admit this is so out of character for you—maybe there is some residual—”

She snatched her hand away. “No.” She stood, rocking him back on his heels. “He’s more to me—to
us
than that. I’m sorry, Orin, I know I’m not making much sense. Part of me wishes that I’m just imagining things. I don’t understand it myself yet, but at some level I just
know
he’s meant to be part of our future.”

“Then try to understand where I’m coming from, okay?” He contemplated her for a long moment. “Everything I know about you tells me otherwise. We’ve been together for ten years, and I’ve never seen you so emotional or so fixated on something.”

And at some level that hurt, but he refused to get into that now. He had to keep calm—had to get through to her.

“I’m fine, Orin.” She took a quick breath. “I’m going to get Rekk to the Temple and I’m going to prove I’m right.”

He rose slowly to his feet and faced her. “And if you’re wrong?”

“Then you can call me a liar and ask for our union to be dissolved.”

“
What?”
He realized he was shouting. “What the frak has gotten into you?”

She didn’t back down. “That’s how certain I am, Orin. I don’t want to lose you—I love you, but I have to see this thing with Rekk through to the end. I’m probably wrong, but one thing almost losing my life on that Etruscan moon taught me was that at some point I’m going to at least have to try to be brave.” She turned away. “Now I’m going to check on Rekk, and, if you’re staying, we can get something to eat.”

“I’m staying.” He returned to his seat by the desk and sat down with a thump. “I promised that Roberts guy I’d see you safely to the Oracle.”

She gave him a cool nod and knocked on the bathroom door, which immediately opened for her. If Rekk was their mate, and that was about as likely as Orin being voted into the Senate, the God-like one could have picked up their entire conversation telepathically. If he had been polite and respected their shields, he might have been listening at the door the whole time. Rekk didn’t emerge. Orin didn’t even want to think about what might be going down in there. His dick had other ideas, and he smoothed an impatient hand over the inconvenient bulge in his pants.

Nothing was what it seemed. His Female wasn’t herself, he was stuck babysitting the most powerful telepath he had ever met, and his whole life had just turned upside down.