Destiny Read online

  I could hear insects crawling in the walls. Conversations all over the fortress; that was why I knew every bit of gossip that had been circling about. My own heartbeat had sounded like a conga drum inside my head until I’d learned how to ignore it and somehow, that had helped me figure out how to pay attention to what I was hearing when I wanted to, and feel somewhat normal the rest of the time.

  Trinity hadn’t mentioned super-hearing as being part of her Ardor, but she’d been pretty distracted with Leo, as in naked and having screaming orgasms. Stupid Ardor, screwing with me. It was as if I had no control over my own body any longer. And I wasn’t getting off. Damn it.

  I was so horny I was close to coming by just rubbing my thighs together. And I heard everything that went on in the place. Everything. Including a few rather sexy encounters that had me squirming and wishing taking care of things myself would actually work. But no. Every orgasm I gave myself just made it worse. I’d quit after two and curled into a ball for a few hours, waiting for the need wrecking me to back off.

  It didn’t. But I’d been coping. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would last before I went insane with lust.

  Which was why I’d decided to take this last, desperate chance and break into the elder’s office. If I didn’t find anything, I’d have to go to the palace and find one of those consort men to take the edge off. Right now, I just needed and I was nearly to the point that I didn’t much care whose cock I was riding as long as it was hot, hard, and lasted all damn night. Oh yeah. Hot and hard.

  I was panting when two large, very masculine hands appeared on the window ledge. Nice hands. Long, thick fingers. Inside me. Rubbing me. Fucking me.

  Shit. I had to get myself together.

  Focusing on my breath, I slowed things down and waited. My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so I watched the intruder slide through the window like a cat.

  God, for such a large man, he could move. He was strong, that was obvious by the way he handled his entire body weight with just his arms and swung silently to the floor. He landed crouched low, one knee bent as if he were kneeling before a queen. But he wasn’t kneeling, his chin was up, his breathing silent—even with my incredible hearing.

  He was holding his breath. Listening.

  For what?

  “Destiny? I know you are in here.” His voice was deep. Sensual. The low timbre slid over my skin and I shivered, literally shivered, the tone going straight to my clit and zinging through my body as if he had his mouth on me.

  What. The. Fuck?

  I didn’t move. I didn’t dare. And I didn’t breathe, either. Holding the air in my lungs as if my life depended on it. I knew that voice. Somehow, I knew it. But from where?

  He rose, but didn’t step in any direction, still as a statue. He whispered, but his voice was full volume to my sensitive hearing. “Destiny. I know you are here. Your sisters sent me. In the conversation you shared, you said you were in danger. Let me help you. I am getting you out of here.”

  My sisters? Oh, hell no. This had to be the voice of the man on that comm call with Trin and Faith. The one who’d point blank asked me if I was in danger. And I’d given two taps to reply yes.

  I should have lied, but something about that damn voice had made me want to tell him the truth. More than that, it had made me want to claw my way through the comm channel and rub my naked all over his naked. Not that he was naked right now. Oh, it would have been great if he were, but no.

  That thought was the last straw. I was losing my mind. Romeo didn’t climb through the window naked.

  “Be quiet or you’ll get us both killed,” I hissed.

  Instantly, his head turned and I watched as he zeroed in on my exact location. Before I could move, or even think, he was close. Too close. Inches. I could feel his body heat. Smell the musky, male scent of him. My nipples hardened and I swear I had a little mini-orgasm. I stifled a whimper.

  “Destiny, come with me. I will take you back to the palace where you will be safe.”

  “Not happening,” I countered. “But you should leave. You’re going to get me killed. You move like a giant; big and heavy and slow.” Lies. Lies. Lies. But I needed him to go. Right now. Before I did something really, really stupid. Like breathe in again. Smell him. Climb him like a tree. God help me if he touched me. I was holding onto my control by a thread. And he was hot. Navy SEAL, superhero, movie star hot. I could see his face. Strong jaw. Full lips. Eyes focused on me with such intensity I couldn’t look away. Everything about him, from the way he moved, to the way he gazed at me said he was a predator. A hunter. A protector. He was a soldier.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. If ever I lusted, it was after a stud in a uniform.

  “You are in danger here,” he repeated.

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  He frowned. “My name is not Sherlock and he will not keep you safe as I will. You need to come with me. Let me handle this. I will find your mother. I give you my word.” His words melted into my skin, warming me like he’d just dipped me in melted caramel. Jesus, he was dangerous. Stupid, eff-ing Ardor.

  I was turning into a lunatic.

  When I remained silent, his heartbeat sped up. So did his breathing; I could hear both changes easily. A shudder moved through him and I watched, in awe, as he closed his eyes. Clenched his jaw, as if he were in pain. He was in my space. Too close.

  “Who are you?” I shouldn’t have asked. I knew it. But I wanted to know. Maybe after I got this job done, and this Ardor business handled, I’d ask Trinity about him. Look him up. Look him up. Ha. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to slam him up against the wall and take him for a ride. Right fucking now.

  2

  Vennix Blyndar, Cleric Fortress, Mountains Near the Capital City of Mytikas

  * * *

  “I am Vennix Blyndar, Captain of the Interstellar Fleet, Captain of the Queen’s Guard, and sworn to serve you, Princess. You may call me Nix.”

  “Jesus. Are you trying to kill me?”

  She was panting, as if she were in pain. I needed more light to see her, to look into her eyes. To try to figure out what she was thinking.

  “No. I am here to serve you. To protect you. Let me take you home.”

  “Go away.” She moaned as if I’d injured her. Her scent filled my head and her small body put off enough heat to pull at me like a magnet.

  No. Terrible fucking idea. More light would destroy me. I was hanging onto my control by a thread when all I wanted to do was lean forward, just a few inches, trap her between my body and the wall. Lift her up. Taste…

  Holy fuck. This was insane.

  Trinity and Faith were both royal. Both beautiful. But I’d felt nothing more than protective instincts. I’d been protecting people my entire life. Fighting the Hive. Killing our enemies. Hunting traitors.

  This time? I’d known the queen’s daughter, or Princess Destiny, was in the room as soon as my feet touched the floor. I couldn’t see her, hell, I could barely see my own hand. But I’d sensed her. I could actually smell her.

  Not flowers. Not… something feminine. Just unique and it had made my cock twitch. It had never done that before. Ever. And yet, in the middle of a rescue mission, it had swelled with blood and had been what pointed me right to her.

  She’d spoken and my cock had swelled, pressed painfully against my pants. But when I was able to see her face, a slight pale bit of moonlight highlighting her features, I actually spurted pre-cum. A ripple of pleasure had coursed through me unlike anything I’d ever known.

  In the past minute, I’d been Awakened. I’d imagined it happening to me many times over the years. In my daydreams, I would see my mate across a room, go to her and then whisk her off to some private spot to claim her for the first time, to sink deep into her waiting, wet pussy.

  But not like this. Oh, I’d crossed a room all right and found her. I wanted to toss her over my shoulder and carry her off to my quarters where I could pin her beneath me until my cock was soothed.
>
  But not inside the fortress. Not in some high-ranking cleric’s office. Not with the fucking princess of Alera.

  The goddess was having a laugh at my expense right now. Surely, Thor and Leo would too when they learned the truth.

  “I’m not leaving without you, Princess. I can’t.”

  “Why? Just climb out the window and go back. Tell my sisters I’m fine. Because I am. Just… go.” She looked away when she spoke, her gaze falling to my lips. I could see that much. Was it possible she wanted me as badly as I needed her?

  “No.”

  “Why not? I am a princess, and I am ordering you to leave.”

  “I will never leave you, Destiny. Not now. Not ever. I am your mate.”

  “Bullshit. I don’t believe this.” I heard a little huff of a laugh in response and that pissed me off. Everything about this female made me angry. And riled. How dare she put herself in danger hunting some cleric who might have her mother? How dare she climb in a fucking window in the middle of the night? How dare she do one fucking thing that put her life at risk?

  My mate needed guidance, a stern hand that didn’t hesitate to turn her ass red for impetuousness. For rash decisions. Oh, I’d spank Princess Destiny if she needed it. But that would be after I fucked her into submission. No, I’d get her on her hands and knees and spank her upturned ass, then grip her hips as I fucked her pussy so deep she wouldn’t know where she ended and I began. I’d come seeing my handprints marking her pale skin. And then my seed would mark her, coat her so thoroughly she’d know she was mine.

  “I. Am. Your. Mate,” I bit out through clenched teeth. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, and I saw her eyes flare. They were dark, that was all I could tell. She had high cheekbones, a pert nose and full lips.

  More pre-cum seeped out at the thought of those lips stretched wide around my cock. Oh, I might be a virgin and her pussy would be the one I’d sink into for the first time, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know what to do with her, what I wanted to do to her.

  “No.”

  That one-word reply made me fucking hot, and angry.

  “No?” I countered.

  She shook her head, her long, dark hair swinging. There was that scent again. I fisted my hands, tried not to grab her.

  “I’m here to find my mother.”

  “I know, but someone could come in at any time.”

  She shook her head again, the temptress. “They won’t. This is the administration building and the elder’s office is locked because she attends evening meditation and chanting at six. They keep her office locked until dawn. I’ve been keeping track of her schedule for two weeks.”

  That was true. I’d learned that from an informant. I’d spotted Destiny outside, at the start of her climb. But I’d been too late to stop her ascent up the side of the building and through the window. I’d watched from below, ready to catch her if she fell, my heart in my throat every moment. And that had been before I knew what she was to me.

  Mine.

  Indeed, it was the best of luck. Instead of this confrontation happening below, on the lawn, we were safer here. If the lights remained off, our presence would be undetected as long as we were gone before dawn.

  “You believe this room holds the answers you seek?”

  I saw her shoulder rise in a small shrug. “I’m not sure, but the gossip is that a high-level prisoner is being held. I want to know who arranged it, and where, exactly, they are holding her.”

  “It could be anyone.”

  The look she gave me made my blood turn to molten lava. Challenge. “It’s got to be her and you know it.”

  Thank the goddess she hadn’t stormed into the dungeons and demanded to see the queen. Based on what I’d heard from her sisters, and the fight I’d seen in the apartment the day she had arrived on Alera, she was ballsy enough to do it. She’d been magnificent that day. Deadly. Efficient. A skilled fighter.

  Good thing I hadn’t scented her that night, had only caught a quick glimpse of a male and female fighting, the female winning. Had no idea she would awaken my dormant cock, that my body would belong to her for all time. I didn’t want her doing anything with those strong legs right now but wrapping them around my back and holding on for the ride.

  “You will stop your searching and return with me to the palace. I will investigate with others who are properly trained to do so.” Yes, she would be safe and protected while others saw to the dangerous work.

  “I’ve been here almost two weeks, you asshat. I might not be properly trained”—she raised her hands and made weird curling motions with her fingers—“but I’ve been doing just fine. This place is huge and they aren’t the most talkative bunch. Besides, you think I’m going to trust someone else to find my mother? No fucking way, caveman. Trust me, I can take care of myself.”

  “No. I will take care of you.” I put my hand to my chest, over my heart, which now belonged to her.

  “What are you, a Neanderthal, thinking women are only good for one thing?” Her question had bite to it. Astonishment and anger, too.

  I was not used to someone talking back. If it were a subordinate, they’d be on kitchen duty for a month. With her, I was at an impasse. Technically, as a member of the queen’s guard, I had to obey her commands. But as her mate? As a male who needed to strip her naked and fill her with my aching cock, I had to tread very carefully. She was a hunter, a fighter, like me. I’d seen it in the way her body moved as she climbed the vines to this room. I’d witnessed her ferocity that very first night when she’d battled my men to protect her sisters. She was magnificent. Beautiful. And deadly. I had to proceed with caution, but she would be mine. “As princess, you may say what you wish, and I will bow to your commands. But you are my mate, and you will bend to my will.”

  It sounded as if she actually growled. I could barely see her hands come up, and she pushed me, hard, in the chest. I only moved back a step, but I was stunned. I’d never been manhandled by a woman before, and it… it made me so fucking hot.

  “Your will?” she hissed. “Get the hell out of my way.”

  “No.” I moved in closer, so close her heaving chest brushed mine when she inhaled. And it was then I felt her need, her body so desperate for mine that even now she drained my energy, my strength, across the distance, the slightest touch shooting through me like a rocket. The sensation was heady, providing for this female. Giving her what she needed. She would take my energy and feed her Ardor with me. Only me. No one else would touch her. “You need me right now, Princess, and we both know it.”

  “I don’t need you.” She shuddered and her eyes closed as I felt a surge of my strength move to pour into her.

  Oh fuck. She was desperate. Dying of Aleran Ardor and she hadn’t said a thing. I’d never heard of a female being this close to death, her body this starved for bonding energy, out of pure stubborn will. But if anyone would push her body too hard, fight the Ardor no matter the cost, it was this stubborn mate of mine. But I could not allow her to do this to herself. Not when I was here to provide.

  I lifted my hand slowly and touched her face. Wrapped my big hand around her small cheek, fragile neck, moaned as our connection clicked into place, the magic of the Ardor mixing her life force and mine. She held completely still, frozen in shock perhaps. Or lust. Heat poured from my hand to her, the pleasure so intense my knees nearly buckled. “You need me right now, Destiny. Let me take care of you. Let me strip you naked and fuck you raw. Let me touch you.”

  “Why? Why you?” she whispered.

  “Because you’re mine and I’m yours. I know you feel it, too. You’re my mate, Destiny. Mine.” The darkness closed in around us like a blanket, like we were the only two people in the universe. Like we were alone. Totally. Completely. Alone.

  “Mate, my ass. I don’t even know you,” she countered, continuing to fight what her body needed, what I could give her. Always a fighter, it seemed. “You followed me like
a stalker and climbed in here to attack me. I’ve asked you to leave. I ordered you to leave. You are stubborn and annoying and it’s obvious that you only see me as useful for one thing.”

  “Oh, what is that, Princess?” I spoke slowly, each word whispered against the skin of her neck, my lips hovering at the edge of her perception, teasing her. Teasing both of us. I should have kept my distance. This wasn’t the best place to take her for the first time, but I couldn’t let her leave. Not like this. She was too close to the edge. Pushing herself too hard. Every instinct I had insisted I take care of her. Feed her body with mine. She needed me, and no one had ever needed me before. Not like this.

  “Sex. Just sex. That’s all you want.”

  That was it. Her sass, her scent, everything, pushed me over the edge. She was making me insane. Why didn’t my cock rise for a biddable, mild female? Why did it have to want her?

  And it wanted her now. Right. Fucking. Now.

  I reached out, gripped her about the waist and lifted her off her feet. Hands gripping her round ass, I leaned in so our foreheads touched. Our faces close. Breath mingling. I watched as her mouth opened in surprise, her lids lowered and her gaze fell to my mouth.

  3

  Nix

  * * *

  I kissed her then. As if I could stop it. There was no fucking way I couldn’t kiss her.

  She tasted like sunshine and fire, so bright and hot my blood all but boiled. My cock was so big my pants were sure to rip. My balls ached, filled with cum that wanted out. That needed to be deep inside Destiny.

  Her hands went to my shirt, tugged at it and pulled it from my pants, her fingers then settling on my belt.

  “Yes,” she murmured against my lips. Her breathing was ragged, which completely matched mine.