Chapter 7

"The next thing I remember is hearing voices around me but not being able to respond to them or wake up. I thought I was dead, but then I felt Gyyx near me and I knew I was alive and going to be safe."

When I was finally finished sharing my memories with Criea, I felt drained but relieved. I sat back and reached out to grab Gyyx's hand. I needed to feel him close to me.

"Burning the prison didn't stop them," my mate said, growling deep in his throat as he processed what he had just heard about my experience with the Klimnu, "They will be back, especially if they can replenish from Ynn."

I watched as the control in the room around me disintegrated. The warriors jumped to their feet and the room filled with the sound of shouts. I squeezed Gyyx's hand, telling him with the pressure that I needed to get out of the room. Criea stood and pounded his hand on the table in front of him, demanding attention and quieting the room around him.

"The Klimnu will return. They are after me and they will not rest until they achieve their goal."

"Unless we wipe them out of existence," Pyra said and I saw Eden reach up to stroke his arm calmingly.

"There is nothing we can do tonight," Criea said, "Gyyx, bring your mate home. Let her rest. She has been through even more than I could have imagined. Take care of her and we will move forward tomorrow."

Without replying, Gyyx stood and scooped me into his arms. Usually I didn't want him to carry me, but at that moment I needed the feeling of his heart against me and the sound of his breath surrounding me. I felt tiny cradled in his arms and the strength of his body made me feel safe. As he carried me home I felt my body aching for him, needing his touch to soothe and comfort me. It was his touch that brought me out of the deep, consuming sleep that I had not been able to free myself from, and his love that was helping me overcome the darkness of the days behind me. I needed that touch now.

When we got back home Gyyx carried me directly to the bedroom and laid me down on the bed. Before I could pull him down with me, however, he straightened and began to pace around the room, stalking like a caged animal.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He shot a withering glare at me and I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, nearly shouting, "After what I just found out about what those disgusting creatures did to you, you can seriously ask me what's wrong?"

"I'm alright now," I told him, reaching out for him.

He came to the side of the bed and let me run my hand down his chest. I could feel his heart pounding beneath my fingers and the orange of his eyes flashed with anger despite the desire lingering there.

"I hate to think about them touching you," he said softly, "The thought of one of them licking you…" he trailed off and I could see his body shudder.

"Fix it," I whispered, "Replace those memories."

I eased closer to him on the bed and turned his face toward mine so I could rest my lips against his. He kissed me back gently at first, then with greater intensity until I could feel my need reflected in him. I climbed onto my knees and swung one leg over his hips so that I straddled his lap facing him. Not taking my eyes away from his, I pulled my dress off over my head and dropped it to the floor behind me. His only reaction was a soft moan, so I went a step further, releasing the clasp on the back of my bra and peeling it away so that I exposed my bare breasts to him. That was enough to trigger him into action.

Gyyx flattened his hands on my back, the size of them nearly covering the entire expanse, and applied pressure until I arched back, thrusting my breasts up toward him. He dipped his head and ran his tongue around one of my nipples, causing it to harden and the ache between my thighs to increase. Moving with incredible patience, he switched to the other nipple and repeated the motion, nurturing that one to a taut peak as well. His tongue roved across my breasts and then up to my neck before he brought a kiss back to my lips and stood, cradling me against him so that he could turn me and lay me back down on the bed.

I complied with him as I always did, letting him conform my movements to his wishes as he pulled my panties from my hips and dropped them to the floor. He didn’t remove any of his clothing and the juxtaposition between him being fully clothed and me being completely naked sent a shiver through my body and directly into my core. Gyyx returned his mouth to my skin, tracing the curves and planes of my body with his tongue as if trying to cover every inch that the Klimnu may have touched or licked. I could feel the disgust of the creature's touch disappearing as my mate nurtured me.

Suddenly the torturously slow, tender movements of Gyyx's mouth stopped and he pushed my legs apart, scooping his hands beneath me to hold my pelvis up. His mouth opened and engulfed my core, sucking lightly as his tongue explored the intricacies of my folds and dipped within me. I cried out loudly, burying my fingers into his long white hair. He moved his mouth up, concentrating his attention so that just the tip of his tongue swirled around the tender, hypersensitive pearl of flesh at my peak and for a moment I thought I was going to dissolve under the intense, glorious sensations he was creating within me.

In the next moment his finger slid into my body and everything crashed around me. My body clenched around his hand, squeezing it tightly as I screamed his name and dug my nails deeply into his back.

"I love you," I gasped as I collapsed back down onto the bed.

His face lifted and he looked down at me with wide, vibrantly orange eyes.

"What?" he asked.

It was the first time I had said it and perhaps I had not chosen the most opportune moment, but it had spilled out of me with the same purely natural energy of the blistering orgasm he had just given me and there was no reason to pretend it hadn't.

"I love you," I repeated, holding his face between my hands.

"You're not just saying that because I made you come so hard I think the warriors probably heard you?"

"You've done that before," I pointed out to him.

Gyyx rose up over me and lowered down so that his body engulfed mine and captured my mouth in a deep, seeking kiss.

"I love you," he whispered when our kiss broke.

Gyyx spent the rest of the night kissing every inch of me, soothing the scars on my back and making up for every moment of pain and abuse I had ever endured. The next morning I was thoroughly fulfilled and more at peace than I had ever been in my life. I told him I was going to visit Eliana and Eden and left him lying in bed, drained and with a satiated smile on his lips.

I had only gone a few yards from the house when I heard a voice near me.

"You are mine," it hissed.

I looked around, frightened by the sound, but didn't see anyone.

"You are mine," the voice repeated and I recognized it as the slimy sound of the Klimnu that had captured me.

I spun around, trying to see him, but around me the land was quiet and empty.

"I own you. You belong to me," the Klimnu said and I suddenly felt his presence behind me.

I remembered what Gyyx had told me about the Klimnu being able to use illusion to manipulate people, so when I turned and saw Ero close behind me, I didn't hesitate. The anger that had built up inside me for two months in that prison boiled over, fueled by my love and loyalty for Gyyx. Being mated to my powerful Denynso warrior had me feeling stronger both mentally and physically than I had ever felt before. My hand lashed out before the disguised Klimnu had the chance to react. It hit him so hard he stumbled back and I swept my leg forward, taking his out from under him so that he hit the ground. Not giving him the opportunity to recover, I jumped and landed with my elbow in the middle of his throat. There was a satisfying crack and the creature gurgled beneath me, the attack causing his illusion to fade so that I looked at his disgusting face again.

"You do not own me," I told him, enunciating each word carefully to ensure he heard them, "I belong to my mate, and my mate only. You will never touch me again."

I shoved the heel of my hand into his face, crushing his nose. Before I could hit him again, I felt hands pulling me back and spun around to see the real Ero tugging me away from the bleeding and struggling Klimnu.

"Leia!" he shouted, trying to get my attention, shocked he said, "Calm the hell down. Are you okay? We’ll take it from here."

"He used an illusion to look like you. He said that I belonged to him. He was trying to take me back."

"Don't worry," he said as two more warriors ran up to us, "He won't be bothering you anymore."

Ero turned me by my shoulders and started guiding me back toward the house.

"We finally heard from the university," he said in a cheerful tone that belied the sounds of screaming behind us, "They are sending a professor for the exchange program."

"Do they know what happened?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"We handled it."

A furious Gyyx stepped out of the house and pulled me into his arms, possessively removing me from Ero's touch.

"When will she be here?" I asked, wrapping my arms around Gyyx.

"A few days."

As he said it, I could swear I saw a flicker of orange in his eyes.

(To be Continued in Part VII… )