WarriorsandLovers (11 page)

I made her scream, you bastard.

Elijah’s head twisted around until he met Nieko’s gaze. “I’m
not finished yet,” he said. Out loud. He’d read him. He’d felt the anger and
resentment screaming through Nieko.

“No. Not finished.” Eora’s frantic whisper snapped the
tension between the two men. Elijah shrugged and turned back to Eora. He rose
from his knees and helped Eora slide back up the bed. He pulled the pillows
out, stuffed them under her hips, leaned over her and raised his buttocks, then
slid home.

Eora moaned out one word. “Yes!”

And kept saying it over and over again as Elijah’s hips rose
and fell, a wild, powerful surge that rocked the bed against the wall. Nieko
felt every thrust, every pull of the growing tension. He watched the rhythmic
contraction and expansion of Eora’s thighs as Elijah’s hard, rounded buttocks
flexed and thrust between them. Saw the wild swinging to and fro of Elijah’s
balls as he pounded into her.

Eora loved it. She gasped and whimpered and encouraged. Her
fingers tensed and her nails, short and utilitarian as they were, raked across
the sweat-damp muscles of Elijah’s back, leaving long, red streaks.

The sounds emerging from Eora’s mouth grew incoherent—a
series of primal grunts rose in pitch and intensity until they merged into one
long, shattering scream. Elijah’s balls tightened, drawing in close to his body,
and he thrust hard, his spine rigid, his muscles tensed. His ass rammed hard
against her as he shook and shuddered.

Nieko closed his eyes. His head dropped as the breath left
his lungs in a rush. It wasn’t all that rushed out of him. He stared in horror
at the semen staining his pants. His face burning, he looked up.

The pair on the bed lay slumped, Eora on her back, Elijah
still half on her, his upper body alongside hers, face buried in the pillow.

Nieko scrambled to his feet and bolted for the bathroom. He
cast a quick look over his shoulder. Neither one on the bed showed any
indication they’d noticed him going. He shut the door and leaned against it,
legs shaking, trying to breathe through the pain and rage.

Nausea roiled in his stomach, mixed with something else he
didn’t want to identify.

Once his stomach was under control and he was reasonably
sure he wouldn’t be sick, he went to the sink to clean up.

What the hell had he done? Elijah lifted his head to look at
the woman lying beneath him. Sure, she looked like any other woman, but she
wasn’t human and he knew it. She was a member of a race he’d been sent to wipe
out. She had abilities he found abhorrent—even those, or maybe especially those
he possessed himself.

He pulled out of her and rolled to this side, his back to
her. He ignored the twinge of self-disgust. It was too late now. When she’d
made her interest obvious, his prick had sat up and taken over, shutting down
any objections his brain might have made. He wanted her—nothing else mattered.
Except that was a lie. He hadn’t forgotten Nieko, sitting with his back against
the wall, his gaze fixed on them. He’d taken a perverse pleasure in knowing
Nieko was watching them. It didn’t take much telepathic ability to know Nieko
was hung up on the exquisite Eora.

And he knew Nieko had watched everything. Even when he’d
been lost balls-deep in the pleasure of Eora’s body, part of his awareness had
been with Nieko. He’d been aware of the man’s arousal, felt the straining cock
spasm with release when Nieko came.

Elijah hated his telepathic powers but it was only one of
the secrets he kept. Elijah had another secret, one even Brian Hopewood hadn’t
been able to detect. A secret he’d kept hidden from everyone. He’d learned early
and well his mother’s reaction to things that disgusted her. She’d made her
feelings about that particular aberration clear.

Elijah felt a chill go down his spine at the thought of her
ever discovering another thing to hate about her son. Because the truth was,
he’d wanted Nieko to watch. Not to torment him with the sight of Eora’s body in
a state of arousal, although he knew he could. He wanted more. Elijah wanted
Nieko aroused. He could feel Nieko’s excitement and it made him hotter and
harder. Because even though he’d fought against it all his life, even though he
hid every sign of it, Elijah was as sexually interested in men as he was in
women. Nieko, enemy or not, was the most attractive man he’d ever seen.

A brief shudder rippled over his skin. All he’d ever wanted
was to be the same as everyone else, to be accepted—normal. Instead he had
spent his entire life hiding his real self. The fight was too hard, too long.
He was tired of it. Maybe he’d forget about getting back to the portal point.
Maybe he’d detonate the gas and stay. End it all. Die with the people he
destroyed. Never have to face the consequences.

Eora stirred beside him and gasped, her hand feeling around
the wet patch between them. “We didn’t use protection.”

Elijah was glad he was facing away so she couldn’t see his
reaction. No form of protection would make any difference. They would all be
dead anyway. But he couldn’t tell her. Instead he muttered, “I didn’t have
anything.”

“I did,” Eora sighed. “We always do. I could have dragged a
sheath out of my pocket before.” She sighed again. “I can’t believe I got so
carried away I didn’t remember. Nieko didn’t remind me either.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around.
“Where is Nieko?”

Elijah rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “He
left.”

“Something’s wrong with him,” Eora mused. “He’s the only man
I’ve ever met who’s not interested in sex. I bet he disappeared as soon as we
started.”

Elijah could have told her the truth, that Nieko wanted sex
as much as anyone ever did, but he didn’t want to. Didn’t want to explain how
he knew or raise her curiosity. Instead he dragged the conversation back to the
issue of protection.

“I don’t have any diseases I’m aware of,” he said. “I get
checked regularly for my job.” He folded his lips flat, not comfortable
broaching the next subject. “Since we’re not the same species, you couldn’t get
pregnant. I remember that from biology at school.”

“But we
are
the same species,” she protested. “Humans
and Dvalinn originally developed from the same stock.”

Shock drained the blood from his face. He felt it go with a
chilly rush. “That can’t be true.”

“It is,” she said. She peered closely at him. “You look
pale. Is your head bothering you?”

“I’m fine. I…” He ran his hands through his hair. “How can
we be the same species and not know it?”

“Nieko says humans don’t know much at all. Apparently he’s
right.”

“We know plenty. I bet we know more about science and
technology than your people will ever learn.”

“Well, you didn’t know we existed until you found yourself
here,” she retorted. “So you don’t know as much as you think. We are definitely
the same species—a slightly different sub-branch.” She smiled at him. “The
point is, even though I could get pregnant, you don’t have to worry too much.
It isn’t the right time. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

She might be fine but Elijah wasn’t sure he would be. Humans
and Dvalinn were the same species! They were
not
monsters. Either
Hopewood had lied to him or Eora was lying now—and Eora had no reason to lie.

Maybe the blow to the head had made him slow, but now he
realized what should have been obvious from the moment he opened his eyes and
looked at Eora—and Nieko. The Dvalinn were not alien. They looked like humans,
they sounded like humans, they acted like humans. He and Eora sure as shit fit
together like two humans.

If they were both of the same race, from a slightly
divergent twig on the evolutionary tree, what did that mean for his mission? Or
Hopewood’s truthfulness?

Behind his eyes, a dull ache throbbed. He rubbed at his
forehead, trying to dissipate the pain.

“Your head
does
hurt,” Eora said, concern in her
eyes.

“I’m okay,” he said. “Better than okay.” He forced a smile.
“I wouldn’t want you to think I was unhappy with what we did here. I just have
a bit of a headache.”

“You probably will for the next few days,” she said. “You
hit the wall hard.”

“Maybe I should try to get some sleep,” he murmured. The
lure of oblivion tempted him. Talking to the Dvalinn, thinking about who and
what they were, exhausted him.

The effort he’d used to propel himself through the
Stonehenge portal combined with the fall made him feel as if he’d been pummeled
by hammers. Sex with Eora, as wild as it had been, had drained away the last of
his energy. “I’ll take a nap.” He rolled over but she grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait.” Her hand tightened. She leaned over him, studying
him closely. “If you have a concussion…”

“Eora,” he cut her off. “I came so hard when I was inside
you, if I’d had concussion I would have passed out then and there.”

“In that case, I’ll let you get your strength back.” She
grinned, a wicked, satisfied smile that lit up her face. “You’re going to need
it.”

He
would
need his strength. But not for anything Eora
had in mind. Before the storm subsided and they had to leave, he had to make
some hard decisions. In the short period he’d been underground, too many things
had changed, too many of his beliefs had been challenged. The people he’d
thought were monsters were far from it. As long as he kept his mental shields
in place, he could let his body relax for a while. Nieko might not trust him,
but if Elijah made no attempt to attack, the Dvalinn would not hurt him.

Tired of trying to work out where the truth lay, Elijah gave
himself up to sleep. The problems he faced would still be there when he woke.

Nieko stayed in the bathroom for as long as he could. He
heard the rumble of voices, Eora’s and the human’s, but he blocked them out.
Whatever they were saying to each other, he didn’t want to know.

Even after the sounds died away, he waited in silence. He
couldn’t stay in the tiny room forever—sooner or later one or the other two
would need to come in. Besides, the bathroom wasn’t designed for comfort. When
he was sure enough time had passed, he eased the door open and stepped back into
the living space.

As he’d hoped, the light was muted, dimmed for sleep.
Walking as silently as he could, he returned to his spot against the wall. It
wouldn’t be the first time he’d slept on the floor and it wouldn’t be the last.
Compared to what he’d gone through in the last twenty-four hours, the
discomfort was minimal. He didn’t even need a blanket. He still felt the heat
from the scene he’d witnessed earlier.

In the morning he’d have to face them. By then he’d be
strong enough to regather his disguise, pretend it didn’t matter, pretend he
was as emotionally uninvolved as any other Dvalinn.

“Nieko?” Eora’s soft voice cut into the silence. He pushed
his back up against the rock and said nothing.

“Nieko, I know you’re there. I know you’re awake.”

He remained motionless.

“Oh, come on, Nieko. I saw you walk out of the bathroom not
two minutes ago. Come here so I can talk to you without waking Elijah.”

And as he always did, he gave in to her demands. She was who
she was. He had no right to blame her for enjoyment of sex. Feel desire?
Indulge it and move on. It was the Dvalinn way. The problem here was his.

He stood and approached the bed, sliding down once more
against the wall, the need for some protection at his back unexplainable but
strong.

“What’s the matter with you, Nieko?” Eora asked. “You
haven’t been yourself since we started out on this journey.” She stopped and
shook her head. “No, that’s not right, you haven’t been yourself for ages.
Something’s been bothering you for a long time.”

“I’m fine,” he said, wishing she’d drop it but fearing she
wouldn’t.

“No, you’re not,” she murmured “If you were yourself, the
way you used to be, you’d tell me what’s wrong,”

“Nothing is wrong, okay?” he snapped. “Maybe I’ve grown up.
Life is not one big adventure anymore, Eora. The risks you’re taking could
endanger our people.”

“I’m not arguing about this with you.” She held out a hand.
“There’s no need to sleep on the floor. The bed is huge. Come on.”

“Someone should keep watch,” he said stubbornly.

“Keep watch for what? No one is going to come in here in the
middle of a storm. None of us is going anywhere.” She shrugged. “If you’re
determined to distrust Elijah, you’ll need to be awake enough to escort him to
the council. Come to bed.”

Ah, shit. He had to learn to say no to her, but not now.
What was the point? The human slumbered on. The bastard was probably exhausted
from all the ramming and pounding he’d done. Wearily, his legs feeling heavy,
he clambered onto the bed on the opposite side to the human. Eora settled in
between them. Her subtle perfume washed over him and her firm body brushed
against his side. This torture he was used to. A hundred times a day Eora
touched him, leaned on him, filled his senses.

Steeling himself against the familiar pain, he closed his
eyes and willed sleep to take him.

He woke hours later to feel warm skin and the weight of
another body draped across his chest. If he kept his eyes closed he could
pretend he was still asleep and enjoy these few moments of closeness to Eora.
He breathed in, ready to savor the familiar scent.

His eyes slammed open. He sat bolt upright, tipping Elijah
onto the floor.

“Get off me, you perverted human,” he yelled.

“I wasn’t on you, you moron,” Elijah yelled back.

“Like hell you weren’t. You were all over me.”

“What’s going on?” Eora’s sleepy voice broke in.

“He was…he was…lying on me,” Nieko sputtered.

“I was not!” Elijah yelled. “Fuck! My shoulder hurts.”

“Because you fell on the floor when I pushed you off me,”
Nieko retorted. “I couldn’t have done that if you hadn’t been on me in the
first place.”