Chapter 23
“You have visitors,” Rylin announced as he entered the bedroom where Inez sat with Dara and the crawling babies.
Upon hearing their father’s voice, all five squealed and scrambled on hands and knees toward him. Inez rose to her feet, grinning as Rylin squatted to make it easy for them to reach him. Chubby fingers patted his face and thighs.
“I still can’t believe how fast they mature compared to newborns on my home world Earth.”
Inez started to question the statement when Rylin’s words sunk in. “A visitor?”
Dara winked. “Your Green King has finally pulled his head from his ass?”
“It’s not him.”
Dara deflated with Rylin’s answer. She shouldn’t have expected Varyk, but that left her curious. He had one more day before she invaded Green territory and went to him. “Who?”
Rylin came to his feet, a child in each arm and the other three grasping at his ankles. “The King’s sister.”
“Milana is here?” Inez was already heading for the door, refusing to acknowledge how her heart leaped at the thought of Varyk. Why would his sister be here?
“They are in the visitor’s hall off the throne room. I didn’t want others to know of their presence. Mikal is guarding to keep anyone from straying in there.”
Inez hurried through the vast halls and down the stairs to the main level. She ran through the visitors’ section and burst through the door, drawing to a halt. Santos tensed at her abrupt arrival but Milana smiled and strode toward Inez, arms extended. “Thank you for seeing me.”
She wore green leathers and a silky top in a lighter shade of green. Her reddish-brown hair tangled about her flushed face and Inez wondered if they’d flown here or ported.
“Of course, I would see you.” Milana wrapped her arms about Inez in an unexpected embrace. Inez hugged her back, pleased for a reason she couldn’t explain at the warm greeting. She leaned back, still holding Milana. “What has brought you here?”
Milana grew solemn. “Varyk.”
Mikal eased out and closed the door. Santos came closer. “Hello, Inez.”
“Santos, welcome.” Inez stepped back and glance from one to the other. Her pulse thudded then skipped a beat. This was no ordinary visit. “Has something happened to Varyk?”
“We lost Uvem,” Milana said, grief lining the corners of her mouth.
Uvem. The former king had been in a stasis of some sort and clearly meant a lot to Varyk from the one time he’d taken her to the enshrined room. “Give me permission to be in Green territory and I will go to him.”
She couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in.
“I knew you had feelings for him. Santos claimed I was seeing what I wanted, but he doesn’t know Varyk like I do.” Milana pressed a hand to her chest. “I sense his deep feelings for you.”
Inez wasn’t prepared to discuss her feelings or otherwise with Varyk’s sister. Their last night together, he’d vanished after saying goodbye and left her heart in jagged pieces. She’d decided to give him time. Having his essence rise had caught her off guard as much as him and perhaps her reaction had been extreme. But in hindsight, Inez realized what she should have seen long before that moment. She loved the stubborn Dracol. She loved the King of the Green and planned to show that he loved her as well.
Neither of them had considered what it meant when his essence rose. The goddess made no mistakes. The visible sign of love was there for a reason, but Varyk was foolish for trying to resist what was there in front of his face.
“Santos is willing to fly you. I know you and I haven’t gotten to know each other well but thank you.”
Inez informed her cousin of her plans and while doubtful, he didn’t tell her not to go. She decided to leave her weapons home and met Milana and her mate on the front lawn. One last check and she was ready. Santos had already shifted. He was a beautiful Green. Large but not as thick or broad as Varyk. Shades of emerald glittered off his scales as he knelt on his front forelegs. Milana ran a loving caress over his snout. They both turned at her approach.
“Santos will carry you because neither of us possess the skill to port another.” Milana’s cheek held a red flush as she spoke.
Inez hid her grin and nodded. Riding another Dracol could be an intimate experience and as his lira Milana would be particularly bothered by another female with him.
Santos straightened to all four and opened his large clawed hand as it rested palm side up on the ground. Inez stepped into his grip and controlled her flinch as his bony webbed fingers closed around her. She was used to traveling this way, but after Varyk everything seemed different now. More personal.
“I’ll see you shortly.” Milana ported and was gone. Santos rumbled and leaped into the air. Wind whipped about Inez’s face as she held to a front claw and finger locked about her middle. The travel by flight was far shorter than by land and they reached Varyk’s home far sooner than Inez expected.
Santos had just set her down when the loud roar split the air. A screech of rage followed and Santos shifted quickly, almost tripping in his haste to get back from Inez. She turned to face the threat, body tense and ready, only to see Varyk marching toward her, his green hair flowing behind him.
Features drawn tight, his gold eyes blazed with a feverish light. A long sleeve shirt of olive green hugged his chest, the thin material flattened against his body from the speed at which he moved as he shortened the distance between them. Arousal stirred despite the clear aggression he displayed. Milana patted her back as she ran to intercept her angry brother.
Inez propped her hands on her hips and watched it all. Varyk didn’t even stop as his sister blocked his path. He merely lifted her by the elbows and placed her to the side. Santos growled, but avoided his King and went directly to his lira. Both at least had the sense to stay back at that point.
Excitement thrummed beneath the surface of her skin, but Inez remained standing and waited. Varyk stopped when the tips of his boots bumped hers.
His nostrils fluttered as he closed his eyes and inhaled. When he opened them, Inez took a reflexive step back. Rumbling growls rolled up from his chest and his jaw hardened, a muscle ticking in the side. “Another male carried you.”
Inez tread carefully in the face of his jealousy. She shed her encroaching fear and sidled next to Varyk. She brushed a hand down his side and when he didn’t pull away, she aligned their bodies and looped her arms about his waist. Her head rested against his chest, the solid thump of his heart in her ear. “Only to come to you.”
Silence beat for a second, then two. Varyk lowered his head atop hers and clenched his hands on her hips. “I need you.”
The husky murmur set off an inferno within Inez. “I’m sorry about Uvem.”
He jerked. “Not here.”
Inez lifted her head and realized he’d transported them to his bedroom. “You know, I could get used to being able to get around like that.”
Varyk smirked and gripped the bottom of his shirt. He lifted the cloth slowly, revealing his flat middle one ab at a time. The shirt cleared his chest then whirled over his head only to be tossed aside. “You have no idea how bad I want you right now. Need to be deep inside as you lock your legs around my waist and let me hear your pleasure.”
Inez wanted the same thing and toed off her short boots. “Shouldn’t we talk first?”
There was so much they needed to discuss.
“Fuck now, talk later,” he returned then hooked his thumbs in the waist of his black pants and slid them down his legs. He stepped out of the crumpled clothes and prowled toward Inez. She bumped the bottom of his bed and fell backward. Varyk followed her down not allowing a sliver of space between them.
The torment in his gaze pierced the haze of desire. “Are you alright, Varyk?”
“I shouldn’t have left. I was a fool to run.”
Neither of them had been prepared for that night to turn in such a way. “I think we both were caught off guard.”
Varyk trailed a finger down her cheek, tapped her bottom lip until her mouth parted. He slid the single digit inside and Inez sucked hard. His eyes glittered, darkening like melted pools of gold. “If it happens again I won’t be caught off guard.”
It was a promise. One that had a visceral effect on Inez. She released his finger and kissed the tip. She didn’t pretend not to understand what they were discussing. Liras. They were meant to be mates.
***
Having Inez here was exactly what Varyk needed. Every time his mind latched on to the loss of Uvem grief drove Varyk to rage. His temper ranged from short and abrupt to cutting and without warning. Time and again he’d been force to shift and fly far and hard. The energy of flight left him drained and with a modicum of calm. Here with Inez, he sensed his first taste of control in a long while.
Delicate fingers brushed along his jaw and tapped his chin. He glanced down into Inez’s patient visage. Her gaze contained nothing but understanding and a weight slid from his shoulders.
“With me?”
There was no one he wanted to be with more. “Yes.”
“Good.” Leaning up, she put her mouth to his and kissed him in the manner of long time lovers. Deep, wet and full of tongue.
Varyk groaned and drove his hands into the tangles of black hair spread about his pillow. Her knees clasped his outer thighs and his cock stroked the damp heat of her mound. Varyk made another sound low in his throat and she hefted her hips higher, locking her ankles at the base of his spine. The tips of her toes grazed his mantle.
The sensitive scales tingled from the light touch and sent blood surging to his cock. If possible, he grew longer and harder. His inner Dracol stirred. Power lashed within, straining at the edges of his conscious. Adjusting his lower half, Varyk leaned up and used one hand to grip his aching length. The tip leaked and he rubbed the moisture over his shaft with his thumb.
Sweet mixed with musk as their scents combined and filled the chamber. It became the tipping point, saturating his senses. Varyk balanced on one hand and teased Inez’s entrance with short pumps, allowing the head and fringe to be squeezed then pulling out. He did this several more times until sweat broke out on his forehead and Inez’s whimpers and pleas became constant.
“I never expected to find my lira from another sect.” Varyk paused, stilling over her glistening body. He needed to say this. “I never expected to have a lira.”
He swallowed and wondered how to make her understand the thin thread of terror which hovered in the back of his mind. The fear and expectation of losing someone he loved again.
Inez proved she saw beyond the surface. She smiled and turned her head slightly to nip the skin of his forearm. “Do you have a lira?”
Surprise pulled a huff of laughter from him. Varyk nuzzled the side of her face, enjoying the way she clawed at his chest in retaliation for laughing. He licked the shell of her ear and whispered, “I’m not asking, I’m telling. You will be my lira, Inez.”
“Look at me. If you’re going to demand something, King Varyk, then face me.”
King Varyk. It was the first time she’d called him by his title since the pit. Hearing it pulled another snarl loose from his chest and he thrust forward, sheathing his cock from tip to base in her clenching channel. He propped himself up, hands by her head and stared down into her flushed face.
“I accept,” she said simply.
No more words were spoken as Varyk immersed himself in the sensations. Inez stayed with him every kiss, stroke and thrust. Feminine gasps of passion intertwined with masculine groans of pleasure. He kept his eyes open, wanting to catch each nuance of ecstasy on Inez’s face. The moment she teetered on the cliff of release, he knew. Just as he knew when she gave in completely and rode the wave.
Varyk increased his thrusts, enhancing her climax. Color pinkened her cheeks, her breath stuttering on every exhale until at last she collapsed on the bed and shuddered. Her lids flickered. Gold eyes dazed and overloaded met his own.
“My turn,” he growled and proceeded to drive her back up, sliding his cock deep and hard.
This time they both came together in an explosion of groans and moans. Not wanting to place all his weight on her, Varyk attempted to roll to the side. Inez attached herself like a coil and muttered, “No.”
Harsh pants broke free at the clear sign she didn’t want him to move. “Only going next to you.”
She eased her hold and Varyk nestled her back to his chest and slid one thigh between her legs, an arm hooked about her waist. As he drifted off to sleep, he knew he’d have to thank his sister later. Only she would have been so bold to take such a step.
And Varyk would thank her forever.