CarnalPromise (27 page)

Cassius hobbled along the cobbled street, wondering how he
would fool Craddock now. With the controlling chip gone from his brain, he
hoped he’d be able to keep up some pretense.

He sighed as he was able to straighten a bit more. Walking
eased some of the soreness. At least he had an excuse now, a reason why he
hadn’t returned so quickly. Cassius would use the truth—peppered with other
facts, an excuse that Rurik engineered for him. Hunter had cornered and shot
him with the ancients’ weapon but they didn’t kill him because they wanted to
find Craddock.

Especially now that Craddock had attempted to murder Jinn.
At least, that is what Cassius would tell the ex-headmaster.

Yet, Cassius knew differently. Craddock thought Jinn was
running to him for safety. In a moment when he and Sophos were alone, Cassius
told her of that, and of the thought that Craddock wanted her in the breeder
program.

But then who wanted the royal dead?

Craddock will want to know. He will make me find out.

And probably have him destroy whoever that was.

Squinting, Cassius made another turn then headed for the
hideout, still in shock that Rurik let him go. But as much as Rurik hated his
uncle, the new Svendian headmaster understood the bigger threat. If the key
members of the secret clan that the Purists had formed was not uncovered then
many worlds would be at risk.

Cassius had to find those men. Soon.

* * * * *

Drakkar slipped soundlessly under the canvas flap of the
tent. Even in the dark, he knew Jinn lay on her bedroll asleep. Exhaustion had
taken her before he could get to her. She had expected him, yet Drakkar didn’t
want to rest until he found out who was guilty of this crime. The need to
protect his mate was stronger than his need for her alluring body—but not by
much. Now, however, the hour was too late to accomplish anything more and too
late to cart her off to the ‘pretend’ med tech.

The scant light from a sentry globe seeped through the
fabric. Drakkar inhaled a deep breath. Jinn’s scent had thickened, was more
potent now than it had been before she’d left for training, yet he could tell
the infusion she used to disguise her fertility continued to have its impact.
He had known that when he’d run to her after the attack but he’d been too
focused on protecting her for it to affect him.

Now though…

His libido rocketed. He craved her sweet body but he worried
that her wounds needed more time to fully heal. Letting his instinct to protect
her rule, he kicked off his boots then carefully lifted the edge of her bedroll
and nestled against her lithe frame, his torso touching her back, his hips
hugging the lower part of her well-formed ass.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled, savoring the scent of her. He
could have lost her today. The thought unnerved him and he gently circled her
waist and pulled her into him, finding the feel of her warm skin not only
calming his body, but comforting his soul. In the short time they had been
together, she had become an integral part of him. In fact, he couldn’t even
imagine a life without her. Drakkar wanted to laugh at that, at how real, how
good she felt and wondered how this could be, but he knew it was just the
magical and unknown corporeal way of bonding with a mate, and the sensation
soothed his angst, made him feel whole again. Something he hadn’t felt in a
long time.

He exhaled with a tender breath, causing a few of her now
dark strands to flutter then rest against his mouth. Even though he desired her
beyond all reason, his intent was only to comfort her, yet his penis seemed
determined to forge ahead on its own. Drakkar’s cock hardened against the
crevice of her supple rear. His erection pained him and yet he treasured the
sensation. Finally he was with his true mate. And that was all that mattered.

“Drakkar…”A soft moan escaped Jinn’s lips.

“Here, Beloved,” he murmured. “I’m here.” He lightly nibbled
on the curve of her ear then teethed and licked the lobe.

“Mmm.” She rolled onto her back, her mind still in the place
of dreams. “Drakkar, kiss me. Love me.”

He hovered over her, letting his lips brush hers. “I will do
whatever you ask of me.”

Even within the shadows, he sensed her eyes were still
closed. Her head rolled from one side then the next. Her fingers traced upward
against his chest. “I want love. Love me… I love you… Family…” Her hand dropped
against her breast. Her breathing deepened as her body eased again, a deeper
sleep overtaking her once more.

I love you.
Her confession speared him, heightened
his feelings, sharpened his vision of the emotions he felt for her.
She
wants me to love her.
Not only with my body—but with my heart.

With all that’s holy, he did. He had hoped—dreamed that
someday this confession would be true. But here it was. Now. The honest, real
beginning of their life together.

The awareness gave him faith. They would have a good life.
Knowing what he did now, he would never let her endanger herself. He would
protect her, even now. Somehow.

Gingerly he lay against her, caressed her lips with his.

She sighed, her body rousing again, still in that
half-conscious state.

He pebbled his kisses on the edge of her chin then dropped
to the side of her neck, suckling her, tonguing the bits of flesh he tenderly
cropped between his teeth.

“Oh,” she whispered. Her hands rose to touch him. Her palms
lay against his chest. “Drakkar?” Her eyes fluttered open. “You’re here.”

“Yes, Beloved.” He slipped his palm under her neck and
touched his forehead to hers. “I’m here. Where I should be.”

“I dreamed…” She smiled and turned her head away but only
for a moment. When she gazed at him again, her look revealed not only lust but
a deeper warmth that emanated from within. “I waited for you but I grew tired.
I was afraid you wouldn’t come at all.” A tear pooled in the corner of her eye
and rolled down her temple. “I’ve missed you.”

He kissed her again, savored the taste of her. “I’ve missed
you, too,” he whispered against her lips. “Jinn…”

She pressed her index finger against his mouth. “It’s Pixie
here,” she murmured. “Be careful. You never know who might be listening.”

He huffed under her touch. “Yes, my lady.”

“Your lady?”

Drakkar relished the sensual way she smiled at him. She
lifted her head and touched her lips to his.

“Well, you are part of the ancient royal line,” he whispered
against her soft caress.

“We don’t go by that anymore.”

“You might not,” he said, laying her head against the pillow
and lavishing her neck with light pecks. His breaths grew heavy. “But the rest
of the galaxy does. The offspring of the lost Earth settlers used to think of
your family as gods.”

“And yours,” she murmured.

“Yeah.” He nipped the skin of her shoulder.

“Oooh,” she giggled. “I do so miss this. There was never
anyone like you.”

He placed his lips against her chin. A low chuckle escaped
his mouth. “I know what you mean.” He needed her. She needed him. It was that
simple. He reached her lips and captured them with his, plunging his tongue in
her sweet mouth. Circling her body with his arms, he drew her to him. She was
his, his alone.

The heady sensation from the thought made him lose
control—almost. “Jinn, I need you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Take me, Drakkar, for you are part
of me.” Another tear tracked its way down her cheek.

He knew what she meant, understood how she felt. He slid a
hand from around her back and ran his palm up her arm to her shoulder. He
wanted to take her slow, savor every moment of this night.

And all the while, try to figure out how to keep her
safe—and why she cried when she spoke of their bonding.

She reached for him and pulled him to her, kissing him.
Emotions welled within Drakkar like never before. His cock hardened. He suckled
her lower lip and dragged his hand down her shoulder and over her breast. She
exhaled with a ragged sigh, running her fingertips along his arms and pushing
her cunt against his hard penis. “Too many clothes,” she muttered.

He agreed. He nipped her neck as he grabbed the edge of her
blouse. She lifted her chest to accommodate him. After he pulled the fabric over
her head, he tossed it aside then straightened and pulled off his shirt,
throwing it with the other. Resting on his knees, he hovered astride her and
stroked his palms up the sides of her ribs to her breasts, cupping her velvet
flesh, pressing his fingers across her mounds. When he reached the tips, he
squeezed her nipples in the firm but gentle way he knew she loved. As she
sighed with a sultry breath, he knew she approved, knew that her need for him
drove her on. Her erotic purr pushed his want to have her in overdrive.

“Too long,” she uttered, a statement he had made a few moon
cycles ago.

“I agree.” He bent over and took one of her nipples in his
mouth, nibbling it, sucking and laving it with his tongue.

Her moans lengthened. Her scent thickened. She pushed her
clit against him again, harder this time. “Drakkar, what if someone hears?”

“They won’t,” he whispered. “The others are asleep and they
are far enough away. Until I find out for sure what happened, I’ve only trusted
Sasha to be this close to you.”

“I noticed.” She sighed again with that heady voice.

He fingered her sex through her clothes.

“Oh, Drakkar.” She was ready.

He moved to her side and deftly pulled off her slacks, one
leg at a time, dragging his hands slowly down each thigh, each calf and over
each of her small bare feet. The feel of her, the scent of her, the sound of
her pleasure, tortured him in the most breathtaking ways. Nothing had ever felt
as intoxicating as this.

The scant light exposed her. She pressed her hands against
her chest, fingering her breasts and her taut nipples, eyeing him with her wet
mouth and her fuck-me eyes.

She needn’t speak her need. From her scent to her look, her
body said it all.

He tossed her slacks with the rest of the clothes and shoved
the waist of his pants to his knees.

“Oooh, I wanted to do that. Slowly. Torment you like you’ve
tormented me.” Her voice oozed with sex.

“No need.” His pants dropped farther. He eased himself
between her legs while he balanced himself over her, a palm on either side of
her shoulders. His stiff cock brushed her cunny. Her wetness coated him. He
groaned with the pleasure. “Talk about torture. Do you know how much I want
you? And more than for your body.”

“No.” Her sultry voice stirred him more. “Tell me, Drakkar.
Tell me how you need me.” She dragged her nails down his chest then grabbed his
penis and stroked it.

He couldn’t hold back any longer. Growling, he lay against
her and pumped his cock into her wet heaven.

With a moan, she arced against him. He took the bud of her
breast into his mouth and sucked as he plunged faster into her slick folds.

She cried with pleasure, grabbed his ass and held on as he
plumbed her depths. When her voice grew louder, he kissed her, delving his
tongue into her mouth as he stroked harder.

She wanted to scream as she came. He could tell by the
mewling that she couldn’t help but give but he kept her mouth covered with his,
let her revel in her ecstasy as he ground his pubic bone against her clit. In
moments she climaxed. Only then did he allow himself to come.

And he came strong, blind to everything except the feel of
this woman, his mate.

When the crest of his desire had passed, he lay on her
chest, listening to Jinn’s rapid breaths, their chests moving as one. When she
recovered, she touched his cheek with the back of her fingers. “Drakkar?”

“Yes, Beloved,” he replied, his voice choppy as he worked to
even his exhalations.

“I do care for you.”

Her husky voice dazed him. He gazed into her beautiful eyes,
saw the depth of emotion that she felt. She loved him. He knew it now but she
wouldn’t tell him until she defeated that inner demon that brutalized her.

“I know.” He gave her a weak smile and stroked the back of
his fingers against her cheek. “Jinn, I want to keep you safe. I don’t know how
to do that if you go into the wilderness alone.”

“I’ll be fine.” She brushed her lips against his hand.
“Leaving me alone, well, it may bring the perpetrator out.”

“I won’t use you as bait.” The thought of her at risk
unnerved him.

She smiled. “I’ll have Sasha with me. You sent her here.
She’s going to protect me?” She arched her brow as she asked but it was more of
a statement of reality.

“Yes,” he growled, not happy he was found out. “Still…”

She pressed her forefinger over his lips. “I know you well
enough. You will be tracking her. She’ll know where I am and then you can
appear with forces in time. Please don’t worry. I’ve been in worse situations
and have gotten out of them in good shape.”

He frowned. She didn’t know he wouldn’t be able to do that.
Not with the techno-shield over the area. He had already decided to follow with
Sasha. “I still don’t like it.”

She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t but you agreed to keep me in
the training until I failed. I haven’t failed yet and I’m holding you to that
promise.”

His gut churned knowing she would force him to agree but
Jinn was also right. Sasha would watch after her and he always knew where the
wolf was. He drew Jinn into his embrace and kissed her forehead. “You’re a
stubborn one, Beloved.”

She pressed her lips to the underside of his chin. “As are
you. Please believe me, Drakkar. This will work.”

He inhaled a deep breath and caressed the strands of her
hair with the tips of his fingers. “You laugh at danger but weep when we talk
about our bonding. Why? I want to make you happy, not sad.”

She looked away, not ready to answer his question.