Woman Beware (7 page)

“I’m glad. I was afraid I would lose control and harm you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rolled away. Standing, he scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s get washed up, shall we?”

Lena rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m not sure I can.” She yawned. “I think I might pass out soon.”

“Then, I shall take care not to let your head slip below the surface of the water.” He pressed another kiss to her temple. “Just relax. I’ll take care of you.”

That was what Lena was afraid of. She was afraid that he would risk everything to take care of her, and she wasn’t sure she deserved it.

Artu carried Lena into the large bathing room. Setting her on the side of the tub, he drew the warm water from the multiple taps, quickly filling the tub.

Lena slid down into the water with a soft sigh. “This feels so good.” She smiled as she looked up at him. “I didn’t realize how sore I was until the water hit me.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He slid into the tub behind her and gathered her into his arms. Grabbing a bottle of soap, he poured a generous amount into his hand. He lathered her breasts, ran his hands down her tucked-in waist and down to the treasure she held between her legs.

“Don’t.” She grasped his hand. “I can wash myself.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” he asked with a chuckle. Shaking his head, he smiled. “I am doing this for purely selfish reasons, love.” He kissed the side of her neck.

How did he tell her that he loved touching her and to take this away from him would be like snatching a gift back after she’d given it to him?

He moved his hands back up to her breasts, lathering them well as he plucked her nipples.

Lena’s head fell back against his shoulders as she groaned, her hands clutching his thighs. “I don’t know if I can do this again so soon.”

“Shh.” He breathed against her ear. “The soap will soothe you. If you feel that you cannot have another go after the soap has time to relieve your sore muscles, we will sleep.” He placed an opened-mouth kiss against the side of her neck. “Know this, little one. I will never force you into something that you are not ready to experience.”

He would cut off his arms before he would do anything to knowingly bring her discomfort. She was everything he had ever wanted. She was the woman for whom he had waited lifetimes to meet, and he would take care never to bring her harm.

Artu held her in his arms for a long while. He needed to feel her against him. He needed to know that she was here, with him, at least for now.

He sighed as he wondered how he would convince his people that she truly was here for him. What would happen if he refused to give her up? No one could take her from him. He would never allow that.

After rinsing the soap from her silky skin, Artu set her next to him just long enough to bath himself. Reaching down, he pulled the plug and the water started to drain. Standing, he began to reach down to pick Lena up when she reached out and cupped his sac. He froze with a groan.

“Don’t, love. I can see that you’re tired, and I can also see by the way you’re moving that you’re still sore.”

“But I can do
this
.” She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his shaft, leaned forward and slowly licked the tip.

Every muscle clenched. Every nerve ending stood up and took notice of her actions. Not once in his life had anyone ever done anything like this for him. Sure, he’d heard of it before, but none of the women he’d ever brought home would consent to this. They all were certain he would harm them. And, if he were to be honest with himself, he hadn’t been certain he wouldn’t do everything they feared.

Artu swallowed thickly as she gently cupped his balls in one hand and held him in a tight fist with the other as she worked her mouth over his tip and glans with slow precision.

Every stroke of her tongue made his muscles clench and his stomach contract. Lena’s wet mouth worked magic on his shaft, making his muscles repeatedly clench and contract. Deeper and deeper she took him into her silken mouth. Faster and faster her head bobbed before him as he thrust his fingers through her hair, gently holding her in place.

What god had he pleased that gave him this treasure, this woman? What special thing had he done in his life to deserve her?

Artu stared down at Lena. She looked so beautiful with her lips stretched so tightly around his cock. He watched, mesmerized, as she pulled back, lightly suckling the head, before the tip of her tongue delved into the slit at the tip.

Again, Artu groaned as he closed his eyes, his head falling back on his shoulders. Involuntarily, his hips jerked as she flicked her talented tongue on the underside of the head.

His balls ached for release. Tingling shot up his spine as his sac tightened. He knew he was close. Very close.

“I’m going to come, baby.” He panted as he held her head. Artu took a deep breath knowing that he would never be the same once she was through with him. It took every ounce of willpower that he possessed to hold himself still when everything in him wanted to flex his hips as hard and fast as he could, jackhammering into her mouth as he came.

Just when he was certain that he would lose control, Artu threw his head back and let out a growl so deep, so powerful, he wasn’t positive the sound came from him. Finally, giving into temptation and heat, he grasped Lena by the hair and hammered the last few strokes into her mouth. Gods forgive him if he harmed this precious treasure, but he couldn’t stop himself. “I’m cumming, baby!” He said with another growl as he shot his load deep down her throat.

His orgasm lasted a lifetime. His cock pulsed as he shot his seed into the silken depths of her mouth. Looking down, he watched as she slowly pulled her mouth from his flesh. His flaccid shaft left her mouth slowly, and he regretted the loss of its wet warmth. Trembling slightly, Artu sat on the edge of the tub and took a deep breath. Whatever came next could never match what she had just given him, and gods help him, he thought he just might love her for that one act alone.

“I take it that you enjoyed that?” she asked with a smile just before she scooped water up to rinse her face.

“Very much so.” He answered with a smile. Did his new feelings show on his face? Did he feel this way only because she had done for him what no other woman had ever done, or was it because they were truly meant to be, the way the voices in his head would suggest?

Will you listen to yourself? You’ve actually admitted to having voices in your head. What does that say about you?
Artu closed his eyes, scrubbed his face with his hands and wondered when exactly it was that he had lost his mind.

Standing on still-rubbery legs, Artu reached down and pulled Lena to her feet. “Thank you for that, Lena.” He swallowed thickly. “I shall treasure that memory always.”

A little crease appeared between her beautiful eyes that were a wondrous color he’d never seen before, that seemed a mixture of blue and brown. “You’ll treasure the memory?” She bit her lip. “You’re acting as though you don’t plan to see me after today or something.”

How did he tell her that he expected her to leave like all the others? What if saying it made her do that very thing? He stared down at her, wondering how he could explain.

“I would love for you to stay with me. However, I have not had the best of luck with women.” He would leave it at that and let her think of that what she would.

“Artu,” she began with a smile and the shake of her head. “That’s because those other women weren’t meant to be with you.” She moved closer, wrapped her arms about his neck and drew his head down to hers. “Apparently,
I
am the woman you’ve been waiting for.

Lowering his head, Artu covered her mouth with his for another passionate kiss. “You are.” Only the gods and the Fates knew that truer words had never been spoken.

Swinging her up into his arms, he carried her into the sonic dryer and then into the bedroom, where he placed her on the bed with a gentle kiss to her lips. “It’s time we got some sleep. We’ll talk about our future in the morning.”

Lena woke to the pounding of a distant drum. The irregular beat made her frown. It was probably that deadbeat neighbor of hers, Dean, playing his weird psychedelic sixties music again.

Rolling over, she put her pillow over her head. “Turn it down, Dean. I’m not in the mood to hear it this morning.” That was an understatement, to say the least. Her hippy neighbor’s idea of music had yanked her from one hell of a wonderful dream.

Coming to terms with the fact that she wasn’t getting anymore sleep this morning, Lena threw her pillow aside with an impatient sigh, sat up and opened her eyes. “Oh, my god! It wasn’t a dream.”

When the thumping continued, Lena turned to look at Artu, wondering how in the world he could sleep through the racket coming from somewhere beyond the bedroom door. He was gone.

“Don’t even tell me you left me here by myself.” Lena grumbled as she gathered her clothes together to get dressed. “I’d better not find out that you’ve left the house and tried to stop the authorities from arresting me, dammit.”

She looked down at the soiled clothes she held. “I could sure use Artu’s sister’s clothes right about now.” Even fresh from storage, they’d be better than what she had with her. Frowning, Lena resigned herself to wearing them for another day. She’d refuse to wear these after today without washing them first. At the moment, it didn’t matter how long his sister’s things had been in storage. They would have been a welcome addition to her non-existent wardrobe. However, they were back in the room where she’d unpacked them and left them on the chair so she could wash them.

Artu had told her the clothes were clean, but he’d also said that they had been in storage for a number of years.

The drumming continued and Lena rubbed her temples. “I wish that damned banging would stop.” She looked toward the door and worried her lip. Should she go see what made that thunderous noise?

What if something had happened to Artu? She knew he said he was invincible, but he had said that was only until he met his mate. He said he would age and die just like everyone else after that. She thought about the chemistry they experienced between them last night. What if she
really
was his mate? Could someone kill him now?

Mind made up, Lena hurried from the room, almost running up the hallway that led into the main chamber of the underground structure. She couldn’t let him stand between her and whatever justice his people meted out. Not if he could get himself harmed. She couldn’t allow him to get himself hurt because of her. Lena knew she would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t do something to stop him.

Lena decided that she would face whatever music she had to. She was an illegal alien in his land. It didn’t matter how she got here or why she was here. If they couldn’t deport her and she wasn’t married to a citizen, they
should
incarcerate her. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t asked for this. The law was the law.

Her stomach churned at the thought of languishing in a prison in the ultimate foreign land. She was on another planet for crying out loud. You couldn’t get to be much more of an illegal alien than
that
.

Lena reached for the door handle, paused and took a deep breath, trying to muster up the courage to open the door. The distant banging grew louder.

“Come on, Lena,” she said as she cautiously made her way down the long hall. “It’s time to pull up your big-girl panties and face the proverbial music.”

The closer Lena got to the source of the drumming, the louder it got. The louder it got, the more her stomach churned, until she felt as though she might be sick. It didn’t take long to realize that someone on the other side attempted to break the door down. Yet it held.

Taking another deep breath for courage, Lena reached for the door and opened it just as the men on the other side were on their back-swing with a strange-looking metal bar that she could only guess was their form of a battering ram.

“Arrest the trespasser!” A tall man situated behind the rest screamed. “She does not belong here.” He sneered at her as the others grew quiet at his accusations. “Do not think to brainwash us as you have our defender with your stories of the Fates. We are not as gullible as our lonely protector.”

Lena frowned. How did he know her story unless
he
was the one Artu had trusted with their predicament? However he knew didn’t matter. She was an illegal in this land, so she didn’t argue, and she didn’t put up a fight when three men grabbed her and locked a pair of odd handcuffs around her wrists and forearms.

The man pumped his fist in the air. “Throw her in jail! Keep her away from our defender, who would believe her lies.”

Staring at him, her eyes wide, Lena’s heart pumped violently in her chest. Of all the people here, she only feared the one man who called for her incarceration. The demonic light of fanaticism practically glowed in his eyes. If she could see it, why couldn’t his own people see that the man was as crazy as a sack of beavers?

“Throw her in jail!” he screamed again. “Give her the death penalty!”

Now, wait just a minute. A death sentence was a bit extreme, wasn’t it?

“Better yet, kill her now!” The man pulled what Lena could only guess was a weapon from his jacket, pointed it at her and fired before anyone could react.

When the blast hit her in the center of her chest, Lena fell to her knees before hitting the floor on her side. Someone, she wasn’t sure who, rolled her over onto her back. Someone else shoved a jacket under her head. It was a small comfort, but there nonetheless.

Glancing up at the nearest man who stared down at her with nothing short of horror, she said, “Tell Artu that I love him and…I’m sorry.”

Lena knew now, that it was too late, that she should never have opened the door without Artu standing here with her. “I knew it.” She said irreverently, knowing that she breathed her last few breaths. “I knew I was going to die the minute I saw that damned red shirt.”