HeroUnleased (12 page)

Three more feet was all the man traveled before Bale had him
by the arm and dragged him back to his mates.

Tossing the crying man to the ground, Bale spat at his feet.
“I do not like you. You are like the foulest of gutter beasts and have no worth
on this or any other planet. It is my honor to rid the universe of the likes of
you.”

Bullets flew yet none found their target as Bale swirled and
dodged with his sword flying in graceful arcs. Blood splattered across his face
and coated his hands while the terrified shouts of the damned rang in his ears
like a beautiful symphony.

Now this was his element. Death was the lover he was most
attuned with. Nothing else mattered. Nothing.

“Halt! In the name of Queen Moira Eleanna Rosenorn, I
command you to stop and put down the weapons.”

Bale wiped at the blood dripping in his eyes and peered into
the shadows. “Show yourself, you coward.”

A black-hooded figure shimmered under the lone lamp
illuminating the street. To the untrained eye, a
Llanos
guard appeared
interchangeable from the next. The uniform was designed to prevent the enemy
from knowing who exactly they were engaging. But like a mother able to tell her
newborn twins apart, Bale knew who approached by the tilt of his head, the high
grip on the pommel of his sword and how he led with his right foot.

“Kristos, the failure. How kind of you to respond to my
message so quickly, although I was hoping your brother would attend as well.”

“Let’s go meet him now. Drop the sword and come quietly.”

“I will never go quietly. Come and get me.”

One second Kristos was across the street and in the next he
was in front of Bale, connecting a right hook to his jaw that sent him flying
into a nearby street lamp.

Super powers gained by entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Confirmed. Higher ability to withstand pain. Negative.

Bale rolled to the right, narrowly missing the edge of
Kristos’ blade. Sparks struck where the metal met the pavement. With the gun
out of reach, he sprang to his feet and withdrew a dagger from his waist. The
Llanos
had the advantage of the local’s weaponry yet he did not use it. Idiot.

Blade clanged against blade in a musical cacophony that
resembled wind chimes caught in a storm. Kristos attacked with the grace of his
training, but the years of inaction showed as Bale caught him with a strike
against his ribs he was slow to recover from.

“Lie down and die with what little dignity you have left,
Kristos.”

“I’m not nearly done,” he shouted and turned to run, racing
right up the side of a building to tuck into a back flip and land behind Bale.

“Dude, did you see that?”

More shouts and exclamations followed, bringing Bale’s
attention to outside the battle arena. Drawn by the sound of combat, the humans
had come out of their apartments and nearby taverns to stand on the sidewalks
and shimmy up drain pipes to watch the embattled warriors. Unsure of what they
were witnessing or who to root for, the crowd watched with an abundance of
emotions that ranged from terror at the use of their deadly skill to being
awestruck at their speed and talent. With his emotional barrier already weak,
each additional response created a tumultuous cloud that covered Bale and
rained down in broken glasslike shards that ripped his control to shreds.

Kristos landed a kick to the head, followed by a punch to
the kidneys that had Bale coughing up blood. Between the physical and mental
bombardment, he was losing focus. He was failing.

The wail of sirens brought both men up short and made Bale
shield his eyes as vehicles came screaming around the corner to surround him
with bright lights flashing. Doors popped open as more humans dressed in
military-style uniforms drew their blasters and pointed them at the two men.

“Drop your weapons,” one of the newcomers shouted.

Ah, so that is where Kristos learned that ridiculous
command.

“Death first,” he bellowed and turned. If Kristos could
climb walls, so could he.

He ran full steam toward the side of a brick building and
scaled the side in seconds. Once on the roof he turned to look down at the
gathering masses and pointed to Kristos who remained illuminated in the
vehicle’s headlights.

“We are not finished, Kristos. My family demands the blood
of you and your kin. Take heed, citizens. This man’s blood is mine and any who
attempt to stop me will die with him. I will have my revenge!”

To retreat made his stomach churn and the bile rise in his
throat, but better to regroup and fight another day. By right or by might, he
would not fail. His family would be avenged. If that meant destroying the
entire planet to achieve that, so be it.

Chapter Eight

“How is she?” Lucian asked his cousin the moment he appeared
in his car’s headlights.

Dhavin widened his stance and folded his arms over his
chest. “Amaryllis is being Amaryllis. She’s wearing a brave face, but I know
inside she’s weeping. She’s too proud to let rejection from her mate keep her
down.”

“I didn’t reject her. Is that what she thinks?” Lucian
barked then snapped his mouth shut. He wiped his hand over his face. The only
person he had to convince of his sincerity was Amaryllis, any other arguing was
wasted energy. “Where is she? Or is the only reason you brought me one hundred
fifty miles from Cedar to berate me?”

He narrowed his eyes and swept a considering gaze over
Lucian. “I wanted to see your face, feel you, if you tried to deny your bond.”

“I’m not denying it. Just trying to understand it myself.”

“And what do you propose to do about it?”

Lucian met his cousin’s stare. “I’m claiming my woman, if
she’ll have me.”

Dhavin nodded. “A half mile down the road. Cottage 57.
Belongs to a girlfriend of hers who’s out of the country, so you won’t be
disturbed. I’ll keep an eye out for our friend.”

“Thank you, cousin.”

“Make her happy.”

Lucian held out his hand, palm up, fingers curled. Dhavin
wrapped his fingers around Lucian’s, creating the circle shape. They slid their
palms down and grasped each other around the forearm and bent at the waist in a
warrior’s bow.

The gesture was a sign of respect, a far different emotion
than the sheer terror and unadulterated fury Lucian had felt when he discovered
his mate and his cousin had disappeared from right under his nose. Anger and
wounded pride had quickly given way to panic and fear, which had increased the
longer he spent searching the countryside for the pair. The only thing that
barely tempered his anxiety was the knowledge that Dhavin would lay down his
life for the princess. And hell yes, was Lucian ever jealous of the connection
they shared.

An Amaryllis-sized hole had exploded in his chest when he
realized she’d rather face a deadly assassin than her bonded mate. The hole
festered with a silent burn, reminding him of what he stood to lose.

Once he regained her forgiveness and earned her love, then
he would take great pleasure in reminding her that as her mate, it was his
honor to be everything for her.

Lucian got into his car and took off down the street,
counting the house numbers as he passed. As he approached 57 he felt the urge
to smile for the first time in days. Leave it to Amaryllis to find a round
house in a community of square cottages to reside in. He parked the car in the
driveway and strode up the front porch, using the key Dhavin slipped him to
unlock the door that was far too flimsy for his preference.

“What did you bring back? I’m starving.” Amaryllis strolled
in from the bath and stopped short when she saw him. Her eyes narrowed and her
hands fell to her hips. “Go away.”

Lucian stifled a sigh. Ya, she wasn’t going to make this
easy. “I’m sorry I hurt you this morning. I would have never done anything to
disrespect the Sacred Vows you spoke.”

She gasped with outrage before schooling her expression into
a cool mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And even if I did, I
would never speak the Sacred Vows and most certainly not to you!”

He gestured to his face. “I may look it, but I’m not blind.
We’re bonded.”

“Keep dreaming, soldier. I show no signs of any bond. Leave
now.”

He frowned as he inspected the damp strands of her hair held
off the back of her neck in a loose knot. Not a single black strand was visible
in the upswept hairstyle.

That made no sense. They were bonded just as sure as he was
standing before her. The humiliation she suffered earlier was like a sticky web
that clung as if freshly spun, entwining around him as if it were his own. Only
as her bonded mate would he be able to feel the indecision tearing her in two
so succinctly. Part of her wanted to run into his arms while the other wanted
to drive her nails into his eyes.

Hopefully he’d be able to convince her his arms were a
better choice. “That royal wave isn’t going to make me leave.”

She backed to the other side of the room as he stalked her.
“I command you to leave now.”

“Not until you hear me,” he yelled when she dodged left
around his outstretched hand. Catching the back of her shirt, he tackled her
around the waist and fell to his knees so he didn’t threaten her with his size.

“Let go of me.”

“I love you.”

That stopped her as effectively as a two-by-four to the
head. Her eyes grew as large as dinner plates as she trembled in his arms. “You
lie.”

“No, Amaryllis. Feel me. Feel the truth in my words.”

“Why? What do you hope to gain by speaking such lies?” The
tears gathering in her eyes crushed him.

“Please. Two minutes. That’s all I ask is two minutes.”

He pressed his forehead against her sternum and took a moment
to choose his words with care. So far he’d done nothing but put his foot in his
mouth every time they had a conversation. Pretty speeches were not his forte,
and now was not the time to be fancy. All he could give her was what was in his
heart and pray it was enough.

“Amaryllis, you are a gift and everything a man could ever
want. You are light. You are life. You are love. I lost it all once and the
thought of losing you, it rips, it—” He stopped to swallow hard. “You were
right to call me a coward. I was afraid to go after what I wanted, so I pushed
you away. But life without you isn’t a life at all. Please, give me another
chance, Amaryllis.” He stood and cupped her cheeks in his palms, his thumbs
brushed at the tears clinging to her lashes. “I’m ready to be the man you
need.”

“You don’t know what I need.”

A chuckle welled in his throat. “I know exactly what you
need.”

Dhavin had told him. She herself told him many times. He had
heard but he hadn’t listened until he recognized that same need within himself.
Amaryllis longed to belong. If she gave him her trust, she would never again
doubt whom she belonged to.

The tremble shaking her shoulders turned into a full-out
shudder as he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. Her eyes remained
open, fixed on him in a combination of wonder and confusion. Never before had
he experienced such softness, such an intoxicating blend of vulnerability and
confidence that made him hunger to experience more.

The bitter taste of her fear rode the edge of hope as he continued
to drop butterfly kisses on her lips. He swept his tongue along the seam and
pressed his advantage when she gasped with surprise. The night before he had
been driven by the need to gorge himself on her taste. Tonight he intended to
savor the sweetness of his princess.

He scooped her up in his arms and took the stairs to the
loft bedroom two at a time. Amaryllis had a personality so large, he forgot
just how small she was until he held her cradled to his chest.

“My
akita
,” he breathed. His little one. “You are so
precious to me.”

“Lucian, this is insane. You hate me.” She hiccupped softly.

“No. No, love, I’ve never hated you. Do you drive me crazy?
Absolutely, but never have I hated you. Let me show you how much you mean to
me.” He set her on her feet then let out a low whistle as he took stock of his
surroundings.

The bedroom was created for pleasures of the flesh, complete
with a padded table, an array of whips and a complicated-looking swing. Thank
the Gods Amaryllis’ friend was female. As it was his mind was racing with
fantasies he didn’t want to think about her engaging in with anyone but him.

One thing was clear, his Amaryllis was an adventurous girl.
If he pushed, she’d shove back with a rebel yell. Tonight he was going to give
her exactly what she needed.

Using his super speed, he stripped the shirt and bra from
her body, but slowed to release the clip from her hair and smooth the soft
strands over her breasts.

Above their heads hung a metal bar trimmed with fur-lined
cuffs. He kissed her palm then lifted her arm to strap her wrist in place and
encouraged her fingers to wrap around the bar. Once her other wrist was
secured, he quickly searched the nearby dresser and closet and gathered items
that inspired his imagination.

Amaryllis watched him with wide eyes and a simmering arousal
that reached out and stroked down his spine like a satin glove. He took his
sweet time to undress, relishing the touch of her gaze as he slowly exposed his
body. He ached to grip his throbbing cock to ease a bit of the pressure
tightening his balls, but this time was for his mate.

“Lucian,” she gasped. “Your back.”

He looked over his shoulder to see his reflection in the
mirrored closet door. Although he had healed considerably, the skin still held
the welts from the whip and burned an angry red.

“I deserved it for hurting you. That and much more.” He
pressed a kiss to the frown marring her brow. “Don’t think on it. I want your
entire focus to be on the pleasure you bring me.”

The pulse fluttering frantically on either side of her neck
fascinated him and tickled his lips as he kissed a wet path down to her
shoulder. The brush of her breasts against his chest as her breathing increased
was a divine barometer of her rising desire. He slid her jeans and panties down
her smooth legs then reached for two blocks he found in the closet and prompted
her to stand upon them. On his way back up to a stand, he ran his palms over as
much of her supple skin as he could reach. As he took the weight of her breasts
in his hands, he restrained the urge to weep with joy and thanked the Gods for
creating such perfection.

Amaryllis’ curves had been a topic of discussion many times
amongst the men of the guard. Never in his wildest imagination did he ever
believe he would be the one to have the right to explore the difference in
texture between the satin of her nipple and the silk of her breast. “When I
took the guard out on overnight missions, I would hear them whisper about you.
Spinning tales of what they’d do to you if you were their woman. Their stories
do not compare.”

“And what of you, Lucian?” She sucked in a breath when he
twisted both nipples. “Did you join in or did the general put his foot down on
such blasphemous talk?”

“Of course my men were reprimanded, however…” A smile
flirted on his lips before he sucked the puckered nub into his mouth.

To his men he might have appeared disgusted with their
vulgarity, yet in his mind he was just as bad, if not worse than they had been.
On more than one occasion he had taken himself in hand, imagining he was
sliding into her well-oiled cleavage until he came in her waiting mouth.
Usually a grueling twenty-mile run followed as punishment for his improper
thoughts.

Not anymore. He trailed biting kisses down her belly as he
knelt between her spread legs. Now he was free to feast on his bonded mate
while reveling in the pulsing heat of her desire.

“Beautiful.” He blew a stream of air onto her bare folds.
The sight of her hunger was even more arousing than the hum buzzing from her
powers.

She was soaking wet against his fingers as he parted her
labia and settled his mouth against the drenched portal. He nibbled at the nub
of her clit and speared two fingers deep into her sheath, which eagerly suckled
at his invasion. She was sweet and spicy, a flavor that inflamed him as much as
it offered comfort that her taste now belonged solely to him.

Her thighs trembled and stuttered moans turned into frantic
pants the harder he sucked on her clit. He curled his fingers and rubbed the
soft spot in front of the neck of her womb.

“Lucian,” she screamed.

A current of electricity shot from her pussy down his spine
and along the length of his cock while her body jerked against his tongue. The
ceiling creaked as she loosened the bolts of the bar with her orgasm, raining
plaster down on their heads.

Lucian gripped the base of his cock and twisted, attempting
to stave off the orgasm boiling in his balls. Pre-cum mixed with her cream on
his fingers, increasing the need to release where he sat. Only his warrior
training and determination to be balls-deep in his mate when he came kept him
in check.

He used the edge of his tongue to gently bring her down from
the heavens while keeping her primed for more pleasure.

When she caught her breath, he stood and pressed his lips to
the spot under her ear. “Can you come for me again,
akita
?”

She licked her lips, swollen from where she bit them in an
attempt to hold back her screams. Leaning forward, she licked her cream from
his chin and shuddered. “Lucian. I hurt. Please. I need.”

“Do you want to come again?” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes.”

“Do you need to be fucked?”

“Yes,” she cried.

“By who?”

She looked up at him with those luminous lavender eyes,
drowsy and feverish. “You, Lucian. Only you.”

“That’s right.”

He left her to retrieve the vibrator he left on top of the
dresser. The purple toy was long and curved like a wavy cane. She flinched as
he trailed the cold plastic down her torso and slipped the tip between the
swollen folds of her pussy and into her cunt. In and out he stoked the phallus
into her channel then nestled the crook against her clit and flipped on the
switch.

Bumps erupted over her fair skin and the points of her
nipples tightened along with his balls. He went back to the dresser and picked
up a bottle of lubrication, squirting a generous amount on his hand to slather
over his dripping cock. He kept his movements short, resisting the need to fuck
his own hand.

She was so beautiful, stretched out, her breasts jiggling as
she shook with need. The purple vibrator highlighting her glistening pussy lips
was both tawdry and sensual at the same time. He stepped up behind her to watch
her reflection as he pressed the tips of his fingers to the puckered hole of
her ass and pushed deep. She took the invasion with ease, her head tipping back
as she moaned and pressed into his hand.