Twilight War (5 page)

Flame slanted
him a curious look. Rarely did she see a man admit his
shortcomings.

“You’re not
going to accept that lame excuse, are you?” Naami’s voice rang with
jealousy.

“Why? Would it
bother you if I forgave my boyfriend after you took advantage of
him? Do you think I’ve forgotten our lessons in seduction? Did you
think I missed the scent of
Marabella
?”

Naami’s
confident expression diminished instantly. She lowered her eyes.
“He does not need to know.”

“Which of the
chemists indulged you?” Flame demanded to know.

“Nobody
released top secret information so you don’t have to go charging
into the village hunting down a culprit. I snuck into the lab just
like I snooped in your phone for Raef’s number. As queen, I am
granted access to everything.”

“Your actions
will be taken up in council, but for now I have enough to deal
with.” She walked over to Raef but kept her eyes on Naami. “You
found your way here, now you can find your way back. If you didn’t
appoint a proxy and you’re gone too long, they will banish you from
your throne.”

“Fine, I’m
going,” she huffed. “Unlike you, I travel by plane. I have a
roundtrip ticket.”

“Good.” Flame
slid her arms around Raef’s neck. The fragrant and heady scent of
Marabella
lingered on his bare chest. Gazing up at him, she
pulled his head down for a kiss.

Immediately his
arms tightened around her waist as he drew her against him. He
released a heavy sigh as his tongue explored her mouth. They kissed
ardently for several minutes before Naami let out a growl of
displeasure.

“Oh for
heaven’s sake, must you show off? I get it already. He’s hopelessly
in love with you just like the others.”

Flame eased
from the kiss and turned her head toward the young queen. “Oh, are
you still here?” She smirked. “What’s wrong? Didn’t he kiss you?
Did you actually entertain thoughts of stealing him from me with
trickery? You may have coerced him into sex but you cannot use
deceit to win someone’s heart when it belongs to another.”

Naami’s face
flushed angry red. She opened her mouth a few times as if to speak
but seemed at a loss for words. “Ugh,” she growled. “Don’t forget,
Raef, to ask her.”

“Ask me
what?”

“Raef was
worried about living behind a lie but I told him he’s not the only
one.”

“What is she
talking about?” Raef arched questioning brows.

“I have no
idea.”

“Ask her about
the Satellite,” Naami snipped with a toss of her head. “Ask her
about Von Calder.” And with that, she breezed out the door,
slamming it behind her.

Flame buried
her emotions deep.
Clearly, Naami has been doing more than
snooping in the lab. She must’ve been following me. Damn her!
She closed her eyes and drew a calming breath.
I’ll deal with
her later.

“After what
just happened,” Raef began. “I don’t have the right to question
you. The inner workings of your sisterhood are very complex and at
times downright cold.”

“They can be.”
She looked up at him, relieved he didn’t press for answers that she
didn’t have. “Naami used an experimental fragrance the biochemists
have been working on.
Marabella
is supposed to be an
aphrodisiac. Apparently it works.”

“I’m sorry. I
don’t know what else to say. I blasted you earlier about trust and
look what I’ve done.”

“No need to
keep rubbing it in. You’ll just have to live with your mistake.”
She pulled away. “You’ll never know if tonight’s mating will result
in conception. She is bound by our laws to never tell anyone who
the father is. The records are sealed and only unveiled if there is
a health concern that requires DNA or blood from the sire.”

A baffled
expression traversed his face. “The kiss…was it just for show so
Naami would give up and leave?”

Flame spoke
through clenched teeth, keeping her voice low. “I will
never
give her the satisfaction of winning and I will
never
let
her get to me.”

“The fire runs
deep between the two of you, doesn’t it?”

“Let’s just say
I enjoy the life of a warrior because it keeps me on the road. I do
not like competing with a twenty-five-year-old narcissist even if
she is our queen.”

“But you
could’ve taken that title away from her.”

“It’s not my
calling.”

“What is your
calling? What is this talk of a prodigy?”

“Nothing I want
to discuss right now. You just slid down a few rungs on the trust
ladder. I thought you were beyond the temptations of ordinary
men.”

“I’m confused.
You laid a hot kiss on me then put me on ice. Is this my
punishment?”

She flung one
arm back around his neck and ran the fingers of her free hand down
his chest, tracing the soft trail of hair below his navel. “If I
wanted to punish you,” she said in an airy voice. “I’d get you so
hot and bothered that you’d literally beg at my feet for relief.”
She slipped two fingers below the waist of his jeans and felt the
hard bulge grow. “I would bring you to the brink of climax and hold
you there until you writhed in sheer agony.” Her tongue circled the
hardened nipple on his chest, making him groan. “I could make you
feel things you’ve never felt before then shut you down cold.” Her
hand curled around his hard length beneath the denim. “And
everything I did would be pure with no cultivated enhancements.”
She nipped at his ear and whispered. “I’d let you get so close that
you’d feel my heat.” She stroked him slowly, teasingly.

He released a
jagged breath and closed his eyes. “Please…don’t stop.”

“And as much as
I want you to lay me down right here, right now and make wild love
to me…” she purred while kissing the corners of his sensual mouth.
“I can’t. But that, my love, is
not
your punishment. You
will always wonder if a child,
your
child, is wandering
around out there slaying dragons or breeding more offspring.
That
is your punishment for what you’ve done tonight and I
can’t top that.” She slid her hand from his jeans then stepped
back.

A pained look
flooded his eyes. “I think you just did.” He moved toward her.
“Please, end my torment. Love me or hate me, anything but the
in-between.”

“You still reek
of her.” Flame wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“I’ll shower.
Just don’t leave, okay?”

She nodded then
walked to the sofa and plopped into it. “And for the record…that
kiss was not just for show.”

A charming
smile beset his gorgeous face before he trotted up the stairs.

Her night of
uninterrupted sleep had been shattered. She didn’t feel up to
seeking out a hotel at this hour. While Raef showered, she watched
early morning television. Naami’s surprise appearance added to her
already complicated situation. With trust issues already on the
table, she had no idea how to sort this mess. No doubt, Raef would
question her about the Satellite once his guilt began to subside,
thanks to a jealous queen. Flame knew that once this war ended that
Naami would lose her crown because of her underhanded tactics.

Seducing
another woman’s boyfriend, even if unbound, was unethical but not
unforgivable given the nature of her breed. However, snooping in
Flame’s personal belongings to secure an address and stealing from
the lab were definitely criminal acts in their underground nation.
Naami would be stripped of all privileges and sent to live in the
common grounds if not worse. Though Flame was furious with her at
the moment, she felt sad over the inevitable outcome. Treachery
within their peaceful colony rarely occurred. When it did, everyone
felt the shame.

“Do I smell
better?” Raef returned clad only in a towel about his waist, and
slid onto the couch behind her.

“Much.” She
snuggled into his embrace.

“Maybe we can
start this day over,” he murmured. “I won’t ask you about the
Satellite and you can show mercy on me for my indiscretion.”

She rolled over
to face him and smiled. His easy-going nature was hard to resist.
“Did you kiss Naami?”

“No, not once.
The whole thing feels like a strange dream. I wasn’t even sober and
that scent…odd. I couldn’t seem to resist it. Is that what your
sisterhood will give women who want what they can’t get on their
own? Not everyone is as stunning as you.”

“Ah, flattery
from a guilty heart,” she teased.

“Mm, you know
I’m sincere.”

“Yes, I do.”
She petted his still damp hair while gazing at his face. “And the
potion is still in the testing phase. At the last meeting, the lab
techs reported progress but were not ready to release it for
experimentation. They said there are still some concerns about
serious side effects.”

“And Naami knew
this?”

“Yes, but she
was obviously willing to risk her health to have you. Can’t say I
blame her. You are gorgeous and very sexy.”

“Does that mean
I am forgiven?”

“Perhaps I need
a little more persuasion.”

Raef rolled her
over and balanced his weight above her on the cushions. Their lips
met and instantly they enveloped each other in a passionate
embrace. His hard length pressed against her bare thigh. She
couldn’t deny the arousal mounting in her body over anticipating
feeling him inside. The past few days had been stressful. She
missed their intimacy. He didn’t know it but she understood more
than he realized. She blamed Naami for slipping in unannounced,
catching Raef at the worst possible time and using the odds to her
favor.

He lifted his
head far enough so that their eyes met. “I love you, Flame. I’m in
love with you, angel. We’ve never come straight out with it and I
don’t expect you to say it back, but I wanted you to know,
especially now, that I’ve always loved you since the day we
met.”

She searched
his eyes and found only truth. Tears threatened to break forth, but
she fought them back. He dispelled her awkward moment by sealing
his lips to hers. She felt a runaway tear slide down her cheek and
was glad he hadn’t seen it. She did love him but couldn’t bring
herself to say it just yet. The sting of his encounter with Naami
had not completely faded.

The truth was
that she felt the same—she’d loved him since the day they met and
even during her engagement to Hatch.

This time she
didn’t want to rush into serious commitment. Two mistakes in her
past had taught her caution when it came to relationships. She
needed to be sure he’d be around when he knew the real her. For
now, Raef would have to be happy with what she could give and not
what she failed to say.

“We know so
very little about one another,” she said when they came up for air.
“Are you sure you love me?”

He smiled
charmingly. “Yes, I’m sure. I don’t need to know anything except
that I love you. I know that you’re an only child like me and that
your parents are gone, like mine. We share the same love for nature
and appreciate beauty, loyalty, and honesty. And…you’re completely
irresistible. That is enough for me.”

“There is
something you don’t know about me.” Guilt gnawed inside over
keeping this from him. “I don’t know how to say it.”

“You can tell
me anything. Nothing you say will change how I feel about you.”

“Remember
during our visit to the village, we talked about children and I
asked if you wanted kids?”

He tilted his
head just slightly and eyed her curiously. “Yes…I remember. I told
you I didn’t want any and you said you could no longer have
them.”

“I lied.” She
paused then blurted out, “I’m sorry! But you seemed very relieved
that you’d never had kids and you made it clear you didn’t want
any.” She bit her lip anxiously. “I’m so sorry I lied to you. I
never had a tubal ligation but I
was
using birth control
during my marriage and while I was with Hatch. I’d never want to
bear
their
offspring.”

“
Was
?
Why are you telling me this now? Are you pregnant? Are we
expecting?”

“No…no, I’d
never trick you into fatherhood, hell no. I’m not like that.”

A look of
clarity flitted through his eyes. “Are you asking me to have a
child with you?”

“The thought
has crossed my mind. I am only forty-one. There is still time for
me once my next assignment is complete.”

“Is this about
Naami? Do you feel threatened by her possible conception?”

“No, I’m not
worried about her. But I was cruel earlier. I don’t really want you
to suffer, or be punished for Naami’s actions. I was fairly pissed
off.”

“I
noticed.”

“However, there
is something else you should know.”

“More?” He
raised questioning brows.

“I tried
telling you that we don’t know each other very well yet.”

Raef drew a
deep breath. “Okay, lay it on me.”

She decided to
just spill it. “Before my training was complete, I was careless and
got pregnant to a male warrior. He was from a different bloodline
so the breeding was ordained. I was very close to graduating and
the sisterhood had gone to great extremes to ensure my future. My
destiny was not to have children. I could not let them down.”

“What did you
do with the child? Did you get an abortion?”

“No, I’d never
do that. The Supreme Lioness took me into hiding until the child
was born. Then she took her away and placed her with an anonymous
surrogate until my instruction was complete. The woman was never
told whose baby it was. After the Sai masters confirmed my
successful completion of their training, they returned to their
homeland. I then left the village to pursue my calling as a
warrior.”

“
Her
?
You have a daughter?” Warmth hung on his voice.