Chapter Nine
Rykaur paced the hall, listening for the slightest sound that Mary had finished her bath.
She’d been in there for half an hour, and Rykaur had grown beyond impatient. How long did it take the human females to bathe?
“I am coming in,” he called, hesitantly stepping through the opening.
Rykaur froze.
Mary sat on the bench along the side of the pool with her head laid back and her chest exposed to his view.
Rykaur’s gaze zeroed in on her rounded breasts, and his shaft grew erect with a quickness that floored him.
He could only stand there, mesmerized by the water lapping at her rosy nipples. The pink, hardened tips created a hunger he was powerless to resist.
She sighed then, mumbling something in her sleep.
Rykaur suddenly found himself hovering over her, unsure of how he’d gotten there. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but tasting her, touching her.
He lowered to his knees behind her, his hands resting on the pool’s edge on either side of her face.
His head dipped without conscious thought, and he nuzzled her before softly closing his mouth over hers.
She softly moaned, her breath tickling his nose.
With the barest of pressure, Rykaur coasted his mouth lower and gently sucked on her bottom lip.
A feeling like nothing he’d ever experienced scattered through his insides with the first taste of her on his tongue.
It took him a second to realize she’d awakened, and another to grasp that she was kissing him back.
He lowered to his elbows and used his hands to cup the sides of her face. Never in his deepest dreams would Rykaur have imagined anything as delicious as Mary. She tasted of sunlight and honey. Two of his favorite things.
“Wait,” Mary whispered, breaking off the kiss. “I can’t.”
Rykaur pulled back enough to see into her eyes. But no deception resided there, only regret. “You copulate with me this morning in my tent, drug me, and take what does not belong to you. Now you no longer want me? If it is payment that you want—”
“Rykaur?” Gryke called from the hall. “Come. We have company.”
Rykaur was on his feet in an instant. “Give me a moment. I will be right out.”
Rushing across the room, Rykaur snatched up Mary’s clothes, tossing her the pair of soft white cotton panties lying on top. “Get dressed at once. I will…”
His voice trailed off as a small vial of clear liquid spilled from the pocket of her skirt to bounce off his booted foot.
“Wait,” Mary breathed, clambering from the pool. She quickly pulled on her underwear and reached for a towel.
Rykaur picked up the vial and brought it to his nose, but the contents were odorless. “What is in this vial, Mary?”
Tears swam in her beautiful gray eyes. “Please, Rykaur. You must listen to me.”
He took a step back, keeping his gaze away from her tempting breasts. “It is poison, is it not?”
“I’m sorry, Rykaur. I had no choice. Please just hear me out.”
Disbelief took Rykaur’s breath, only to be replaced with fury. “Gryke!”
Gryke instantly came around the corner, his eyes growing round as he noticed a nearly naked Mary standing next to the pool, her arms crossed over her breasts. “What is she doing here?”
“I brought her here,” Rykaur growled, “not knowing that she meant us harm.”
Mary took a hesitant step forward, all the while attempting to cover her breasts. “I can expl—”
“Silence!” Rykaur roared. Turning toward Gryke, he held up the vial he’d found in Mary’s skirt pocket. “She intended to poison us.”
“Jefferies,” Gryke snarled, swinging his gaze back to Mary. “She was sent by Jefferies.”
Snatching up a towel, Gryke threw it at Mary before seizing her upper arm.
Mary barely had time to cover herself before Gryke practically dragged her from the room.
Rykaur followed them into the hallway. “I will take this to the lab for Abbie to examine and then meet you at the great hall. Who has come here uninvited, and how many?”
“The Arkadians.” Gryke gave Mary a slight shove toward the belly of Aukrabah. “And their number is six.”
Nodding to Gryke, Rykaur shifted his furious gaze to Mary and then jogged off toward the great hall to retrieve an ATV. How could I have been so blind? All the signs were there, had I bothered to look. I brought a prostitute, a thief, and a land walker to Aukrabah.
The ATV’s came into view a few minutes later, and Rykaur climbed onto the one closest to him. He started it up and turned in the direction of the lab.
It took less than five minutes to reach the lab on the human’s machine, and for that, Rykaur was grateful. If he’d had to walk, it would have taken him closer to fifteen.
“What’s going on?” Abbie stood in the doorway, appearing pale and confused. “Hauke connected with me about thirty minutes ago to tell me that visitors had arrived and were in the great hall. When I questioned him about it, he said he’d fill me in as soon as he could.”
Rykaur dismounted and strode past Abbie into the lab.
She quickly followed. “Well?”
“The visitors are from Arkadia. But they are the least of our worries at the moment.”
Growing paler by the second, Abbie crossed her arms over her chest in a protective stance. “Tell me.”
He held up the vial he’d found in Mary’s skirt pocket. “I need you to test this. But handle it with care. I am fairly certain its contents are deadly.”
“Deadly?” Abbie breathed, snagging a pair of gloves from her pocket and pulling them on.
She reached for it. “Where did you get this?”
Rykaur explained everything. From how he’d first met Mary, to how he’d come to have the vial in his possession. “Gryke has taken Mary to the dungeon. I will deal with her after I discover the reason for the Arkadians’ visit.”
“I don’t understand why you would bring a thief into Aukrabah, Rykaur. Especially after she’d drugged you and robbed you as well.”
A fresh round of shame filled Rykaur. After Kaura’s betrayal all those years ago, he’d sworn never to trust another female. Yet, something about the human prostitute had made him want to trust her. “I do not know what came over me. I only knew that I could not leave her there in pain after what I had done to her. I have never struck a female before.”
“Are you sure that you’re the cause of her injuries? You were drugged, Rykaur. Her pimp could have beaten her. She may have blamed you out of fear.”
Rykaur shook his head. “She does not have a pimp.”
“How do you know that?”
“She told me when she returned the jewels to me.”
“And you believed her?” Abbie asked incredulously.
Too embarrassed to admit his naiveté, Rykaur moved to leave. He stopped at the doorway and peered at Abbie over his shoulder. “I will send a few extra warriors down here to watch over you until Hauke returns.”
“I have three in here now,” Abbie argued. “Do you really think it’s necessary to pull more away from their duties? We have the entrances covered at both ends.”
Rykaur stared back at Hauke’s mate without blinking. “I do not believe that Mary brought that vial down of her own volition. Someone else is behind it. And until I know for sure who that is, I will not trust your safety to only three warriors.”
“Fair enough.” Abbie sent him a soft smile. “Thank you, Rykaur. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out what this is.”
He simply nodded, mounted the ATV, and turned in the direction of the great hall.