Prince's Fire (5 page)

Over and over again, she savored the warmth of his mouth trailing down her body. By the time he spread her legs, she thought she would erupt into flames. Instead, he brought his mouth down onto her wet slit. She moaned as Val lightly rubbed her clit and cried out when a burst of cold shot straight through the bundle of nerves.

She writhed underneath him, her powers beginning to build. Gitana silently hoped the brothers were right as her orgasm overtook her. Her powers surged out of her body, flooding the surrounding area with heat, which was quickly met with bursts of cold racing through her body. She opened her eyes and moaned as Val thrust into her.

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She was shocked that her powers were met head on by his as he began thrusting harder and deeper. She gasped, and she swore his cock grew even larger.

“It’s okay, v’amarita. This warrior is responding to your body. Do not fear it. Feel how I take you and make you mine.” She saw the grimace on his face and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Don’t hold back, Val. I can see you fighting your need. Show me what a warrior can do.” Gitana playfully nipped his neck and heard his growl.

He drove into her with a fierceness she could never have imagined, and she cried out when her body was flooded with liquid ice. She moaned and pulled heat back into her skin, knowing immediately that he could feel it too.

“I intend to fuck you for hours. Do not think you will get from under this warrior anytime soon, Gitana. I can’t wait to get you to our home. I’m going to take you to Paradise and show you exactly what pleasures can be had.”

Her body convulsed around his cock, another powerful orgasm coursing into her. Her powers surged again, and his cock grew wider, filling her deeper than before.

She lost track of time as Val took her to the heights of a passion she never knew existed.

She heard Val’s soft laughter in her ear. “You just had to one up me in the powers department, didn’t you?” She didn’t understand what he was talking about. She had never imagined sex could last this long, but she certainly wasn’t complaining.

She wrapped her arms and legs around him. “I know you intend to leave as soon as you can, but please just give me a moment in your arms, warrior.”

“There was never any thought of me leaving here. You have me at your mercy, I’m afraid.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

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“Yeah. Why don’t you open your eyes and take a look around?” She opened her eyes and gasped. Somehow they were about four feet off the ground, but she hadn’t even noticed.

For the first time in her life, she wasn’t ashamed about her inability to control her powers.

She felt safe showing her weakness, and that was a sobering thought.

Gitana brought them down slowly. Val’s soft smile made her wonder what he thought.

“You are cute when you blush, v’amarita.”

She snuggled up against his muscular frame. “I’m still in shock.”

“Me too. I am not used to something so powerful.”

A sense of relief filled her. He understood what it felt like to lose control of his powers during intimacy, or at least she hoped that’s what he meant. “Do you do that with…I mean, when you are with other…” The thought of him with another woman annoyed her. She didn’t really have the right to be jealous since they had met only that morning, but it was true.

“When I take you to my home, we will go to Paradise, and I will show you exactly how I have fucked the other women from my past.”

She shivered in anticipation, wondering if it would live up to her wildest fantasies.

Forcing herself from her lustful thoughts, she ran her hand across his. “What happened to Shana?”

“Your adopted sister showed up in Paradise.”

Oh, God. “She did?”

Val nodded. “Yes, and we had just dealt with a serious attack from our enemy so we were concerned that she could have been part of the ploy. I sent Lucian, a powerful warrior and our cousin, to deal with her.”

Gitana rose up, leveling a look at Val. “He didn’t harm her, did he?”

“Oh no, Shana was quite a surprise to him. They have mated. There is much to the story, but I’m sure you will hear it all from her.”

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If Shana had found happiness with Lucian, she would probably remain there. She quelled the sadness that crept into her soul. Shana was her rock, her best friend, her only family. Never seeing her again would tear her heart to shreds. It still made her mind spin to realize Paradise was real, but it had to be. She’d seen too many of the things Nana had taught today. “Is she going to come back to say good-bye?”

The soft caress of his hand as it slid down her neck and traced the swell of her breasts made her pulse react. “I came to take you back with me. You can see her for yourself and ensure that she is safe. You even have my permission to kick Lucian’s ass if you’d like to.”

She laughed. “I thought he was your cousin.”

Val grinned. “He is, but I really do enjoy seeing a good fight and not being in it.”

“Is she happy?” Gitana couldn’t stand the idea of her being away from her, but if what Val said was true and Shana was happy, that mattered most. It was time for one of them to find the love of their life.

“Yes, I think so. I know I have never seen Lucian so content, and she is the reason for it. She brings out the gentle side of him. That is amusing to see from a warrior so strong.”

Shana would be a handful, for sure. “Do you have any other brothers, or is seven enough for you?”

“I’m sure fate intended for me to have many more. The union my parents shared was one of the heart, but our enemy killed my father. Other than the eight of us, my mother had only one more child, a daughter named Fiona.”

Gitana grinned, imagining one little girl in a sea of boys growing up. “Younger or older?”

“She is the baby of the family and protected by us all,” he said. She could sense he held something back, as if he wanted to share it but chose not to at the last minute.

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The events of the day began replaying in her mind, and she remembered Taro. Who was he? Dare she ask Val? No, it would be best not the broach the subject. Nothing that he’d said made sense. How could helping Val cause worlds to be destroyed?

“What happened today, Gitana? When I faded out?”

She silently cursed herself for the lie she intended to tell. The man holding her had saved her life, and she still did not understand why. Yet she could not tell him what he deserved to know. She hoped that if she did see Paradise and her sister, she could ask who Taro was. Maybe it was possible to make sense of what had happened somehow. “Nothing other than your brothers showing up and you being healed.”

“What of the attackers?”

She buried her face in his chest. “They fled shortly before your brothers arrived.”

For some reason, she thought he did not believe her but he said nothing. He smiled down at her. “Let us rest, Gitana. Then we will go to Mysk. To Paradise.”

* * * * *

Yet here he was, plodding through the darkness and heading toward a campfire a few paces away from the cave he and his mate had made love in. Relief filled him. He had found her. She was critical not only to him as a man, but as a leader of his people. She was their queen. Now that she had been found, there would be new hope for them all. But he could not take pleasure in the joy he experienced in her arms until he found out what had happened earlier.

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He had called upon the final judgment because he knew he was dying. He could feel the power slipping from him and had seen visions of his unlived life flash before his eyes.

Scenes of what was meant to happen yet would never occur because of his foolishness. Then he had awoken. Alive.

Cal paused and drew his attention by touching his arm. “Something troubles you.”

Val nodded. He always spoke with Van or Cal about his thoughts but didn’t think it wise to do so about this. At least not yet.

There was no backing down from a final judgment. Even if you were not dying and called upon it, the gods would act. But he had lived. “I am merely confused about earlier today.”

“What happened?”

“I wish I knew, brother.” He looked around and saw his other brothers huddled around the large fire, their gazes staring into the flames. “What did you all see when you arrived?”

“Gitana holding you and protecting the two of you in a shield.”

Val recalled her lie about the attackers fleeing. Even in his confusion, the stench of their destroyed bodies had filled his nostrils. How could she have destroyed them so easily by herself? As experienced as he and his brothers were, four of those creatures would have posed a challenge.

“She hides something that terrifies her,” Cal added as they approached the fire.

“Yes, I know. I just wish she’d trust me enough to share it with me.” Val sat beside his twin, seeing the look of disapproval on his face. “What do you have to say?”

“I doubt she is worth the effort, brother. Do not expect much.”

He hated the bitterness and negativity Van possessed since returning from his capture.

He missed the compassionate nature he once exhibited and wanted to destroy every D’kalhik for taking that away. The vile creatures had plagued their people for generations and would stop at nothing to prevent he and his brothers from ascending their thrones as the kings of 36 Cara Carnes

Mysk. “Do not speak like that. We should rejoice because the first of our mates has been found.”

“And already we are all huddled here suspecting something amiss because we have no idea what occurred before we arrived through that portal. She will not have my trust or my respect.”

“We should not jump to conclusions,” Dar said. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for it all.”

“Perhaps there is nothing for her to tell us,” Val commented. He knew better though, because he himself hid something from them.

“Fucking bullshit, man. This is all crap, and we know it,” Jax said, kicking another log into the fire and causing Dax to hiss at the added heat.

“What now, Val?” Dar asked.

The area grew quiet, their gazes on him. “We take her home where she belongs, what else? I intend to take her to Paradise.”

Cal and Jax laughed. “Why there?”

“The magic of Paradise could work to my benefit to find out what Gitana hides from me about the events that unfolded. We all know you cannot tell lies there.” It was cruel to use it against her, but he had to know the truth. He had to understand why he was still alive.

“Are you sure that is wise?” Dar asked.

“No, but I see no other options. We already know there is an enemy among us, so I cannot afford to be distracted by this as well.” Val stood. Somehow he would understand what had occurred here but until then, he fully intended to enjoy Gitana.

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Val was grateful they avoided the crush of women that always greeted them upon their entry into Paradise. They all fought and begged for the right to fuck a prince, even though most of them feared the very person they wanted. It disgusted him.

The secret entry from the Warrior’s Brewery had been the perfect solution. Females were not allowed in the corridor. The gatekeeper stood at the end of the long hallway. The walls around them sensed their presence and changed colors to royal blue. They displayed the colors of royalty and allowed their thoughts to remain a mystery. Any other person, aside from the gatekeeper, that entered was scanned, their inner most turmoil or concerns splayed across the flat surfaces like a road map. That would have really pissed him.

The man moved to bow, but Val intended to have none of the formalness. “Do not. You are like a father to us all. It displeases us to see you kneel.”

The man’s lips formed a smile. “It is always an honor to serve you, Prince Val.” His gaze roamed over Gitana nestled in Val’s arms. “Who is this?”

Val doubted seriously the man did not already know. He sensed everything. As

guardian over Paradise, he had obtained the ability to perceive people’s hidden needs, 38 Cara Carnes

desires, fears, and thoughts. “My chosen one, Gitana. We will be taking residence here in Paradise until I have claimed her.”

Val continued through the corridors until he found the room he was looking for. The gatekeeper gasped. His brothers reacted as well when he stopped before the door at the farthest end of the corridor. “My prince, why do you choose the meekest chamber for a future queen? This is the beggar’s quarters and hasn’t been used in decades.”

Val looked at his brothers. Only they could understand that he needed to know his union with Gitana was true. Years of seeing women willing to do anything because they coveted the power he possessed had left him jaded. “Then the time has come for its use.

Leave us now, and keep those women out of this section of Paradise.”

Val opened the chamber door and stepped in. It was dismal. The floor was made of soil and dried upsen leaves. The small room contained a mat made of soft yena fur on the ground in the corner, and a fire area sat in the corner on the adjacent wall. It had been years since he had seen cooking methods such as these, and even then it had been on Safruz, the most uncivilized world of the eight that they controlled. His people had not used these methods for thousands of years.

Cal laughed, their steps dragging loudly across the pathetic excuse for flooring, as they stepped into the small room. “Brother, could you not recreate a slightly larger area? This will be very hard to maneuver in later for the ceremony.”

“Do not speak of that if you wish to remain unharmed. I will not explain my decision to use this room any further.” Gitana looked fragile, and he hoped the yena bedding was comfortable enough. How could someone that beautiful and small be such a fiery minx?