His Carnal Need (Xylon Warriors 2) (5 page)

“It’s rare, but I found a few cases on record. It’s either a re-initiation, Leila, or you don’t go on any more potentially dangerous missions,” Braden told her. “This one included. I’ll send someone else.”

“No one else qualifies.” They needed her knowledge. She had to be the one to go.

“Then I suggest you agree, for the future of all Xylons. If you refuse, I will delay the mission until another Healer becomes trained in what to look for.”

Damn.She’d hoped his words were a bluff, and he would back down, knowing the importance of obtaining the substance as soon as possible. But hardheaded men rarely changed their position. Still, she hadn’t expected this of Braden. “It will take too long to train another Healer, who also holds a Warrior rank, in the testing procedures to ensure no mistakes are made. We need the correct formula, Braden.

You’re well aware of that. You’re just trying to blackmail me into doing this.” She forced her voice to remain calm and steady. He wouldn’t deal with her if she lost her temper or broke down.

“I’d rather you didn’t look at it that way, Leila. This ceremony is necessary. I understand why you didn’t complete the third step originally. Rave, Shear, and Dare abused their power over you. I’ll make certain you’re taken care of this time around. I’ll personally choose the Alliance.”

So he hadn’t chosen yet.

“You won’t have to go through the entire rite. Just the third step. A minor sexual appetite afterwards.

Much shorter and easier than the full ceremony.”

“Unless you’ve never sucked cock,” Torque said. “And you’re opposed to it with any man.”

“I’ve sucked…” She shook her head and stemmed her words. “I’m not opposed to it. I’m opposed to the loss of control.”

“Even with men you know and otherwise trust?” Braden asked.

“I-I don’t really know. When I need relief, I always choose partners for the one time only. Since my original Initiation, that is.”

“And people talk about me,” Torque mumbled.

“Hey, I’m not some whore!” Leila picked up a laser pen and threw it at him. “Don’t you dare imply that I am.”

Torque batted the pen out of the air, then chuckled. “That was not my intention.”

“I’ve only been with a handful of men.”

Torque shrugged. “If you say so.”

Damn him. She felt like jumping across the table and throttling the man.

“Enough.” Braden looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe, with this re-initiation, we can help conquer your fear and trust issues with sex, as well as get you protected.”

Leila didn’t say anything. Men always made the solutions sound so easy. If Braden, instead of the Council chose the Alliance, she wouldn’t have to worry about abuse, she supposed. He’d see to it. He knew her past. No one would dare defy Braden.

But who would he choose? Warriors she trusted, but whom she faced and worked with daily, which might become awkward afterward, or Warriors he trusted, but she didn’t know? If so, she wouldn’t have to interact with them on a regular basis, but she might panic when they started touching her, because they’d be in control, not her, and she’d have no idea what to expect from strangers. Maybe that’s why he’d asked her the question, to get an idea of how to choose.

“Go to your quarters, Leila,” Braden told her. “Rest. And don’t worry. You have my word that nothing will go wrong this time.”

“Isn’t there another way?” Although she asked, any hope of a reprieve had already faded from her mind.

Braden approached and took her small hand between his much larger ones. “Trust me, Leila. This is for the best all the way around.”

Nodding, and sadly resigned to the situation, she stood. She held a Class 3 Warrior rank, and she would maintain her dignity by doing her duty, and doing what was best for Xylon. Regardless of her personal feelings. All she had to do was complete the ceremony, and then it would be done. She didn’t have to enjoy it.

Too bad she couldn’t take some sort of medication to get her through the ordeal. Medicine would counteract the preparation chemicals they needed to pump into her pussy, using a special dildo.

Otherwise, the healing elements wouldn’t absorb properly once transferred. Whichever way she looked at this, smooth and easy weren’t part of the equation.

Unable to meet Braden and Torque’s eyes for fear of revealing the extent of her inner turmoil about the situation, she pulled her hand from Braden’s and dematerialized out.

* * * * *

“You want her,” Erik said to Kam, while they waited for Braden to call them back inside. Just saying the words made his gut clench. Even though he voiced the concern as a statement, not a question, he still hoped for a denial from Kam. “Leila?”

“You know that’s who I’m talking about.” He tried to convince himself that Kam’s response didn’t matter. He’d fight for the woman, if necessary. Still, he preferred that the man just step aside.

A half-grin appeared on Kam’s face, and he clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Not as my breeder-mate.”

That didn’t make him feel better. “Have you fucked her?” He knew Leila’s answer, but he wanted to hear it from Kam, too. Their gazes locked and held.

“No.”

“Would you?” He swallowed hard, waiting for the answer.

Kam pulled his hand away and stepped back. “Could you blame me if I said yes? She’s a beautiful, sexy woman.”

He clenched his fist. “Maybe.”

“I could ask you the same question about Braden’s mate, my sister, but I won’t, considering I already know the answer.”

Raking his fingers through his hair, Erik sat on a tall stool near the room’s control panel. Given their society, and his own past actions, he had no right to be overly territorial, he supposed. He’d helped Braden sexually initiate Alexa and had watched the two of them have sex more than once since her Initiation. She was one hot lady, and loved getting her ass spanked—the thought alone made his dick ache. Leila had a perfect ass for spanking, but would probably deck him if he tried.

Even today, if Braden and Alexa invited him into their bedchamber, he’d have a hard time refusing. But still, Alexa didn’t consume his thoughts as Leila did. Leila touched him emotionally, challenged him intellectually, and his body craved hers physically, like no other. She belonged with him. She belonged
to
him.

“Leila is special, Erik.”

“I know that.” Kam was well aware of how he felt about her. The man didn’t need to state the obvious.

His frustration level increased. He clenched his fingers, then slowly released the fist, forcing his hand to relax, much as he remembered Kam do inside the Council Chamber. “What’s your point?”

“She needs you. Don’t give up on her.”

His interest perked up, and a sense of hope filled him. “Did she say that?”

“No, but I know.” Kam pulled the mood sensor from his belt. “I’ve registered her emotions enough times.”

His gaze flickered over the palm-sized machine. His belief in its readings ranked low for the most part.

Tracking emotions was far from an exact science, and the best that electronic device ever did, in his opinion, was come close. Kam would argue differently, he was sure. He relied on the device during missions and often swore the readings helped him out of scrapes.

“She has a lot to deal with emotionally, Erik.”

“Yes, she does.” So did he, and Kam knew it. If not for him… “What do you think is going on in there?” He nodded toward the Council Chamber.

“Nothing good. Otherwise, Braden wouldn’t have separated us.”

All the energy drained out of his body. Too many personal issues pulled at him. He needed an anchor in his life, a woman who truly cared, to help him through the days. A unique woman. He’d been alone too long. “I need Leila, Kam,” he confessed in a low, strained voice. “I need her body. I need her softness to balance me. But she won’t even give me a chance.” His voice hardened and sounded tight even to his own ears. “We should have killed Rave, Shear, and Dare when the chance presented itself. Their deaths might have brought her a measure of peace.”

Kam’s eyes filled with understanding and compassion. “We didn’t even know what had happened to her at the time.”

“We did with Rave. I was standing over her unconscious body after we saw the partial video of the way they hurt Leila while they fucked her.” Rage rushed through him, and his hand once again clenched. This time he didn’t relax the fist. He couldn’t. “It would have been easy to take Rave out of commission.”

“Erik, don’t think about it. I doubt that would have changed things, even if you had terminated Rave.

The only peace Leila will ever find lies within herself.”

* * * * *

Daegal stood face-to-face with his Top Commander. The man in the full facemask wasn’t delivering good news. “What do you mean the compound is temporary?” “The sterilization only lasts ten months. We’re now getting reports of supposedly sterilized breeders in the slave quarters being with child.”

Daegal’s gaze shifted from monitor to monitor, watching The Dome’s activities, as he let the Commander’s words sink in. He couldn’t face the man. Looking at him brought back the memory of their failure to capture, or at least sterilize, Alexa Sandor Koll, the new Xylon Leader’s bitch, and the last super breeder known to them. Her special-combination DNA could have helped provide the answers they needed to defeat the Xylon Warriors for good.

Now with this news, he realized they had made virtually no progress in the campaign to reign supreme in this system, other than entrapping a number of Warriors who had fled The Lair to join their side. After The Lair hadn’t fallen, many had tried to return. Unsuccessful, their heads now decorated the walls of his trophy room. “Increase the potency.”

“Our Healers say it’s not possible. We can’t inject the formula directly into the women. The active elements neutralize. The fluid only works when transferred through our cocks, and a stronger dose causes impotence in our males.”

Daegal hung his head at the information. Sexual transmission was required for many of their medicines.

Formulas could often be injected into one gender, but proved ineffective to the other unless passed on through bodily fluids. “Can we multiple inject using the same strength?”

“No. One time only. Additional doses don’t activate.”

As his anger took hold, he felt his blood pressure and body temperature rise. “Keep this top secret.”

Frustration clearly laced his voice, and he fought to control the tone. “I don’t want our failure known.”

“Word will get out. Secrets are hard to keep these days.”

Damn. Everyone on Xylon had to die, and he needed to defeat them quickly. His power weakened more and more with each passing day. Laszlo might be able to make him strong again. The man’s research and development abilities rivaled those of any Healer. And Laszlo had to be suffering the same weakness. He needed to destroy Laszlo’s Warriors first, then flush the man out of hiding, and force him to test and use whatever methods necessary to return them to full strength. If the only way existed through primitive methods, he’d gladly comply.

The Egesa often fought to the near-death for him, his Commanders, and Assassins. Success brought them great sexual and monetary rewards. As long as they believed he still possessed the special mental powers he used to control their minds—the minds of all lesser-developed creatures on Marid—they’d never betray him. They’d be too fearful of the consequences.

For his amusement, he’d let the creatures sexually play with Xylon’s people, both the males and the females. Then he’d instruct them to tear off the Xylons’ limbs and leave them to bleed to death in their own forests.

Finally, he’d reign supreme in this system, with all the riches and followers needed to expand his army of Assassins. “Dispose of all breeders currently in the slave quarters or owned privately. Just keep the necessary number for research purposes. Then call a meeting of all Commanders and set up new invasion plans to be implemented as soon as possible.”

“As you desire.”

Daegal clicked a button, bringing a blue and green planet into view on his screens. After defeating Xylon, he’d pursue his next target. Earth…

* * * * *

“No!” Erik slammed his fist down on the table. “She’s mine, and I don’t want anyone else touching her.” Even as he said the words, he knew the response he’d get.

“That’s unreasonable,” Braden replied. “You know the law, and the necessity of it. One man will not be able to sexually fill her needs, once her increased appetite hits after the chemical transfer. I know you don’t want any damage done to her. She’s already been through enough. If her sexual appetite remains unsated during the ceremony, the imbalance in her brain waves will cause permanent injury to her mind.

She could even die, Erik.”

Erik couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew the risks as well as Braden. Of course, he didn’t want Leila harmed, but her rite was a special situation. “It’s a partial re-initiation. Three people aren’t necessary. Two will do.” The fewer, the better. One would be best—him. But Braden would agree to two. Alexa had only had two, and she had gone through the full ceremony. Her mind hadn’t snapped, and Leila was just as strong, if not stronger. In fact, Braden himself had originally insisted that he alone initiate Alexa.
She’s the one who wanted me to stay. So, you should understand my feelings, friend.

He would never protest if he really thought a danger to Leila existed. “You know two will do, Braden.”

As the seconds ticked by, Braden stared at him in silence, until finally he nodded. “Two. Fine. If a problem arises, you can call in a third. I don’t want to argue about this. We need the Initiation finished quickly, no matter what I said to Leila earlier, so we can get on with this mission. Who do you want with you? Torque or Kam?”

“Neither,” he answered without hesitation. “I don’t want them touching her.” He’d initiated with Kam in the past, but he didn’t trust Kam like he used to. He glanced briefly at the two men, then his gaze returned to his best friend and leader. “I want you in the Alliance, Braden.” He and Braden had initiated lots of women together before Braden had mated Alexa. Partnering with him was the best solution, and the safest for his own peace of mind.