Freedom (Delroi Prophecy) (18 page)

He wanted to shake her. Damn, stubborn woman.

“This idea of freedom you have is an illusion,” he snapped. “None of us are free. I’m sure as hell not.”

“
You’re crazy. Of course you are. You’re the clan chief.”

“
Yes. I am. And their safety? Their protection? Their
freedom
? Is my life. It’s my duty and I do it gladly. But can you fault me for wanting something of my own? Someone who doesn’t see the clan chief? Just me.”

“
Roarr, I don’t…” She trailed off while stepping forward, her hand held out a second before it dropped.

“
You lost your father, baby. Your whole world. That’s what you’ve become to me. Can you honestly say you don’t know how I feel? Or that you don’t feel the same?”

She didn’t respond and he felt her pulling away. He couldn’t allow that.

“Kareena,” he said gently, sliding his hand beneath hers. “Choose me,
der’lan
. Choose us.”

“
Stop giving me orders,” she snapped. “I need to think.”

She jerked away from his touch and stood, putting several feet between them. She made no move to leave so he buried his frustration. She wasn’t shutting down, wasn’t running away.
And he was starting to wonder about the wisdom of his clan’s traditions. She wasn’t running away. Was that a choice for him? Should he give her the option? The instinct to bind her to him was intense, but tradition was just as hard to resist. He had to give her the option. He ground his back teeth. The words of the binding prayer hard to repress. The knowledge he should warn her was heavy in his heart. She gave him a sharp look.

“
What?” she asked.

“
You should leave before I do something irreversible.”

He wanted her to accept him unconditionally. To accept they could work through their problems, through her reservations. He wanted her in his bed. At his mercy. In his life. Wanted to show her that he knew what she needed. Knew how to take care of her and protect her.

“And if that isn’t what I want?” she whispered.

She’d read his thoughts. He’d made no effort to keep them secret. He felt her yearning, and still,
still
she was protesting. Fighting. His head roared with a combination of fury, astonishment, and hurt. She tried to step around him as if sensing the danger she was in, sensual not mortal, but he stopped her. Gripping her nape gently, he leaned down to steal a kiss, changed his mind at the last minute and bit her full lower lip. She yelped, but he felt her arousal surge, lush and rich. He tilted his head to nip her throat this time and the words of the binding prayer flowed out of him.

The force of the bond coming together made him shake. When he lifted his head to meet her gaze, he staggered back. Her eyes were filled with dread and horror. He finally understood her protests. He had never believed she didn’t want him. Never imagined she would really reject him. He did the only thing he could in the face of that condemnation. He spun around and left the room. But he didn’t go far. He couldn’t.

Kareena paced, certain she was going to crawl out of her skin at any minute. She couldn’t believe he’d done this and then just stormed out. What the hell was that about? She wanted to scream. The need, the arousal had grown too fierce to bear. She briefly contemplated returning to her rooms and using her vibrator, but she discarded the idea. It wouldn’t help. She wanted him to fuck her. Hard and fast and dirty. She didn’t want tenderness. She didn’t need gentle. She needed…to be claimed. To be possessed utterly and completely. Taking a shaky breath at the sudden and unwelcome realization, she went to the balcony doors and threw them open.

She walked outside to grip the rail overlooking the ocean. Far below her water crashed into jagged rocks, but a little bit away she saw a small secluded beach. What looked like the ricketiest stairs ever clung to the cliff side to reach it. She leaned out searching for the top of the steps, wanting more than anything to go down and sink her toes into the sand. Let the surf wash her fears away. She closed her eyes and imagined it. Started to relax. She didn’t want chaotic, complicated emotions screwing up her life. So why didn’t she leave? She didn’t have to stay in his apartment. She could find her way out.

“Careful,” he said behind her. “It’s a long way down.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the excitement that gripped her at just the sound of his voice. And here she’d thought she’d regained control. But with the desire came an anger so deep it astounded her and she spun around.

“What are you doing here?”

He arched his eyebrows and made a show of looking around.
“I live here.”

Oh, right. She tried to move around him but he blocked her. That anger, so deep, so fierce, rode her hard, and she gathered her telepathic power. She could kill a man when properly motivated. He held his hands up, spread wide. A classic gesture of surrender, but she didn’t buy it for a minute.

“Let me pass.”

He didn’t answer, just shook his head.

“There is one way to break this bond, Roarr,” she reminded him, even while a part of her cringed at the idea.

“
Kill me then. I’d rather be dead than suffer a lifetime without you. Put us both out of our misery.”

The man was certifiable. She imaged a psychic trigger, but she couldn’t pull it. She slowly let her power dissipate. His expression was breaking her heart.

“You did this and then just walked away. What the fuck was that about?” Maybe it was her heart breaking. She couldn’t tell anymore which emotions were his or hers.

“
I had to. I want to give you everything you ever dreamed of, baby. But you have to want it too. You have to fight for us too.”

“
You want me to submit,” she said bitterly.

“
I do.”

“
Well, at least you’re honest.”

“
But until you are, we won’t resolve anything,” he said.

She scoffed.
“I’ve been honest from the beginning.”

“
Have you really?”

“
Yes!”

“
Then why are your nipples hard? Why is your pussy wet? Why are you terrified I’m going to walk out and not come back?”

“
I want you in my bed, you know that. That shouldn’t be a shock,” she scoffed.

His answering grin was pure sin. She tried to resist melting in response. It was probably a lost cause. She was such a goner. She’d half come to a decision that she knew he’d have to seduce her into. Getting there might be a lot of fun. He stalked closer, shaking his head.

“You might want me fucking you. Until the pleasure is so great it threatens to shatter your mind,” he said softly, leaning down to her neck and nipping. “But you also want me as part of your life, too. You want to wake up with me. You want to hear about my day and what I’m worrying about. Admit it, Kareena. Be part of my life,” he crooned.

Kareena was reeling. She’d been so focused on freedom, on not depending on anyone, for so long.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she said honestly, but she knew she couldn’t go anywhere. Her father’s ghost would haunt her till the end of her days if she gave up on life. Roarr heaved a put upon sigh.

“
You’re staying with me to satisfy your father’s shade?”

“
Or my prurient interest.” She smiled, moving her arms to circle his neck.

Somehow he managed to keep a straight face when she sensed he wanted to tease her too.
“Is that right?”

“
Hmm,” she murmured, leaning up to nip his chin. “Kiss me, dammit.”

“
Nope. Tell me first.”

She scowled.
“What? Haven’t we done enough talking? It’s time for you to deliver on all those promises.”

He didn’t give into her sultry demand. Instead he gave her a brief kiss. A tease.
“I feel your emotions, baby. Remember? Say it.”

And her feelings swelled. Joy. Acceptance and anticipation. One more she didn’t want to name, but knew he’d do anything to hear.

“If I give you what you want,” she said, her voice husky. “What do I get?”

She was teasing, but he was serious when he answered.
“Me. Your mate, devoted and true.” He bit her again. “Forever.”

She flushed, her fingers digging his scalp as she searched his mind.
“You really mean that,” she said, awed.

“
Yes.”

She took a deep breath and he held his.
“Take me to bed,
der’lan
. Now.” She trailed kisses up his neck, bit his earlobe. “And maybe, I’ll try to put this emotion into words, but I don’t think they exist.”

He gave her a look that made her tremble. Alpha and dominant and so commanding she started to second guess herself. Too late now, right? He pulled her into his room and stripped her before she could think. Had her tied down and spread eagle before she could protest. Then his mouth was on her and any thought was gone. Who could think when there was so much pleasure?

He kept her coming with his mouth on her pussy, before his fingers started rimming her ass. She wasn’t experienced with anal sex, but she was so wound up she wanted it. Nothing felt like it would be enough. It was that damned prayer he’d said. She blamed it. Though she was pretty sure the chemistry would have been there anyway. She shifted against him. She just wanted relief.

“
Goddess,” she muttered, and shifted her ass closer. “Please, Roarr, put us both out of our misery.”

He stared her in the eyes as he lined his cock up to her ass and started to work it in. She sucked in a deep breath. It hurt so good. She used the tiny bit of telekinetic power she had to free herself. She wanted to hold on, urge him on, but he grabbed her wrists before she could grab his shoulders. He stretched them over her head, easily pinning her. He was taking her over.

“Don’t move, baby,” he ordered.

She should protest, but the truth was she liked this side of him. The forceful and commanding lover. He made her feel weak and strong at the side time. How was that possible? As if he thought she was thinking too much, his rhythm and thrusts changed. Demanding. Challenging. Forcing any thoughts from her mind. The pleasure built until it was blinding, a sweet pain she wanted to never end. And she came apart because she no longer seemed to have any defenses against him or his mastery of her body.

She didn’t know how much time passed. She slept a little, drifted, but her mind wouldn’t settle. It was done. They were bound whether she liked it or not, and it was time to decide how to handle that. She had to consider things. Figure out why he was different and what she could do about it. If she could accept it. Thankfully, he slept deeply and didn’t protest as she freed herself from his embrace. She needed space to think. A place that wasn’t filled with his presence. So she dressed, then find her way out of the family wing and back to her rooms.

She entered the opulent bathroom, filled the tub, and climbed in. She loved taking a bath. It was something she hadn’t been able to do for a lot of her childhood or adulthood. And right now she really needed the calm and solitude. But sinking into the warm water wasn’t soothing or peaceful. Roarr filled her mind. Her thoughts. He was bigger than life. Even if she could walk away from him, she wouldn’t want to. That was an amazing realization.

It was time to let the past go, to become someone new and to claim the life she’d never dared dream of. She wanted to take Rona up on her offer to join the temple and start training again. Was she healed enough to take that step? She pushed all thoughts out of her mind and focused her talent on her body. She couldn’t heal with her mind, but she had a unique ability to see inside her body. She looked limb by limb before checking her torso and abdomen. And froze.

She hadn’t used her abilities to check her injuries before now because she’d been afraid of finding permanent damage. She’d definitely found something that changed everything. Holy fuck. She was pregnant. The life was tiny and fragile. She resisted the urge to panic. Women had babies all the time right? Even women as unsuited and inexperienced as her. She might not be the best mother in the world, but she’d be better than some. Once she got over the shock, that was.

She climbed out of the bath and wrapped up in a big fluffy towel. The sky was beginning to lighten. She made a cup of tea and carried it out to the balcony. It wasn’t long before she felt Roarr moving towards her. The bond was strong and he sent a surge of irritation through it that made her smile. He hadn’t been happy to wake alone and assumed she was trying to run away from him.

She returned to her bedroom, dressed, and started to pack. She’d be moving into his suite today, knew he’d insist once he heard the news since she couldn’t keep it from him. She scowled
when she heard the front door open and the force of his personality sweep in. He was definitely in a bad mood. She could change that easily just by telling him he’d won, but there was no way she’d let their future start that way. She’d be an equal partner in this relationship or make him suffer. A moment later he stalked into the bedroom, took in what she was doing and shut the door behind him, glaring at her.