Helion (8 page)

“You’re pushing a hard pace tonight, Commander,” teased
Mithrain, easily matching his lightstep to Helion’s. “Is there some particular
reason we’re returning to base camp with such haste?”

Helion eyed Mithrain impassively but did not reply. Over the
last three days they’d killed thousands of Scourge, successful missions on all
counts. But the entire time he’d been occupied with thoughts of the girl. He
wondered if she was resting as ordered, if she was eating enough, if she had
everything she needed for herself and the baby. He also wondered how she’d feel
under his hands, how she’d taste on his tongue, how she’d grip him when he
thrust inside her. His thoughts were so obsessively sexual that the things he
wanted to do to her would probably terrify her if she knew.

There was nothing to stop him from taking her. She’d been so
terrified of him at first it seemed unlikely she’d be interested. But that had
changed very quickly. He’d smelled her wet heat when he’d first disrobed in the
tent and knew she desired him. Keepers were larger than human males, in all
aspects, but joining their bodies could be done. No doubt his passion would
overwhelm her, at least at first. But he sensed fire in Gwen, the capacity to
meet his passion with an equal amount of her own, and he wanted to be consumed.

Although eager to return and gauge Gwen’s current level of
resistance to a liaison, that wasn’t why Helion was in such a rush. Verdun had
checked in with him daily through their mind link to report on how Gwen and the
child were doing. The reports had so far been good but the update a couple
hours ago had been…hesitant. Verdun indicated Gwen seemed nervous and on edge.
She’d also slept more during the day and eaten more than usual. Helion wanted
to believe nothing was amiss, that Gwen wouldn’t be foolish enough to attempt
an escape, but he had a bad feeling. If she did do something so foolish, he
would make good on his promise to punish her. There was no place on this
backwater planet she’d be able to hide.

And just as they lightstepped within a few miles of the
camp, he got a message from Verdun.

“
She’s gone.
”

That was all. And Helion’s rage shattered the quiet of the
night with a roar. He lightstepped even faster toward camp, putting on a burst
of speed to arrive and move on to capture his prey.

“
Nefarion, my tent, now!
” he commanded his shadow
Keeper through the mind link. The bastard took his time arriving at Helion’s
tent and had the nerve to be hale, uninjured and unimpaired. Had he been any of
those things, Helion might have been tempted to restrain the urge to kill the
bastard. But he was fine, and about to die.

“Verdun has informed me of the woman’s escape, Nefarion. The
woman I set you to watch has slipped away from camp. Explain yourself.”

“I followed the girl as you instructed, Commander. She hasn’t
gotten far in any case. When she heard your…call, she immediately went to
ground in an abandoned shop just a couple of miles from here.”

The Keeper stood tall, unafraid of Helion’s simmering
temper. He was a prince in his own right, of the Shadow Keepers of Balruin. He’d
pledged his sword under Helion’s command but clearly wasn’t intimidated by him.
Everything about this Shadow Keeper annoyed Helion, from the top of his
obsidian hair to the tips of his black boots. And right now he wouldn’t mind
blacking both of Nefarion’s eyes.

“When you saw she was sneaking out of the camp, why didn’t
you stop her?” Helion asked through gritted teeth. He still couldn’t believe
she’d actually done it. Disobeyed him, left the camp where she’d been safe and
well taken care of. What sort of woman left such a cozy situation to return to
being cold and hungry and constantly under threat of torture and death? Why
would she do such a thing?

“You told me to follow the woman and report any suspicious
behavior. And that I have done. You did not order me to interfere.”

Truthfully it seemed disobeying Helion brought endless pleasure
for Nefarion. It had to, because the shadow bastard defied him as often as
possible, in all manner of ways. Helion fought the urge to run Nefarion through
with his sword. A prince of the Shadow Keepers he might be but he was in need
of a lesson about who was in charge here. He could not deny, though, that his
orders had been followed to the letter, if not the intent. Knowing Nefarion’s
love for making Helion’s life difficult, he should have been more specific. But
in truth he’d really believed the threat of punishment would keep Gwen from
attempting to leave. She had a lot more gumption than he’d given her credit
for. That pleased him but it wouldn’t save her from punishment.

“Very well. You will lead me to her hiding place then. I
will retrieve her and the child myself,” he replied coldly, striding toward the
forest. He passed a subdued Verdun and called back to him, “Wait for me in my
tent, Verdun. You’ll be taking care of the girl child tonight.”

“My lord Commander, stop!”

Helion jerked to a halt at Mithrain’s call. He was impatient
to get that disobedient female back to the camp and didn’t appreciate the delay
but he called up a thread of patience.

“What is it, Mithrain?”

“My Lord, you need to make haste to retrieve the woman,”
Mithrain replied, looking uneasy. His gray eyes stared off in the distance and
Helion felt a tingle of foreboding skate down his spine.

“Scourge approach, my Lord, from the north. A great company
of Scourge, at least two thousand. They appear to be marching straight toward
our camp.”

Helion stilled. No Scourge could see where Keepers set up
their base camps. The shielding talent and technology of Bevirian Keepers made
all the Keeper military camps invisible to any but other Keepers. The only way
two battalions of Scourge could be marching to their exact location was if
someone had told them exactly where to go. A traitor.

Helion’s thoughts immediately jumped to Gwen and her escape.
For a moment he let suspicion have free rein. Had she been in on this attack?
Given away the location of the camp? The Scourge knew how much Keepers revered
females. Could she have been a plant? Rage threatened to consume him, but
rationality eventually won. The truth was this woman hadn’t wanted to come to
their camp. And Scourge in general didn’t have the self-control to manipulate
such an elaborate scheme, especially since helpless women were irresistible
lures to their bloodlust and desire to possess. Which meant the woman had once
again put herself in harm’s way. Foolish female.

“How long until the Scourge reach camp, Mithrain?” he asked
sharply.

“An hour, sir…maybe less.”

“Very well. Mithrain, Nefarion, you’re with me. Tohran, link
to Commander Melithan and tell him we need him to reinforce us. Get everyone
prepared for battle. We will return shortly.”

With that he lightstepped north, in the direction Nefarion
had indicated Gwen had taken. Lady help her when he caught up with her.

* * * * *

So, the Commander had figured out the Scourge were coming
sooner than he’d wanted. His original plan to distract Mithrain, the camp’s
only sensor, so the two battalions of Scourge could catch Helion and his men
unprepared was now useless. Thanks to that human woman and her disobedience,
Helion not only knew about the threat but had called for reinforcements. Helion
had plenty of time to get more help and arm his troops for the battle. The
woman would pay for that. The Scourge on their way would no doubt be
slaughtered now and his employer would be very displeased. He needed to deliver
Helion’s head on a platter or instead of getting his credits it could be his
own head on the block.

Ah well, he’d just have to look for another opportunity, as
soon as he could. Two Scourge battalions were a small price to pay to keep his
cover intact. He dared not try to warn them Helion was on to them. It was much
better to just sacrifice these pawns and consider his next move. He’d make sure
to deal with the woman before he attempted another attack on Helion and his
men, and that meddlesome Mithrain as well. Neither of them would get the
opportunity to interfere with his plans again.

The suspense was driving Gwen insane. It’d been maybe ten
minutes since she’d heard Helion’s roar but it felt like hours. She was cramped
and sweating under the desk, waiting for the moment the Commander would storm
in and inflict the promised punishment. Best-case scenario he would decide they
weren’t worth his trouble and not pursue them. And she refused outright to
acknowledge she’d be a little disappointed if he did go for that option. But
the larger, smarter part of her brain feared the worst-case scenario, that
Helion would come and force her to endure something horribly painful or
embarrassing.

A few more minutes passed and still nothing. Gwen couldn’t
hear anything except her own too-rapid breathing. Soon it became too much to
continue crouching, the nearby window tempting her to take a peek, to see with
her own eyes if anyone was outside. But just as she was about to sneak out and
take a look, she heard a sound. It was so faint she could almost believe she’d
imagined it. But it was a sound she remembered all too well, the slight whoosh
of air that heralded the arrival of a lightstepping Keeper. And with that sound
came the quick death of her hopes to escape this night.

“Don’t make me drag you out of there, Gwen. Get up and face
me.
Now.
”

The words dripped with ice and Gwen’s heart pitched into her
throat. Helion had come personally to fetch her and he sounded beyond pissed.
She was so dead. It was tempting to stay where she was but her father used to
say her punishments would be more severe if she made him come get her. Gwen had
no doubt Helion would apply that same principle right now, with his rage clear
in his voice. So she reluctantly pushed out the duffel and followed it, holding
Evie close as she climbed awkwardly to her feet.

The small office seemed far too tiny to contain Helion. In
his rage he looked even taller and broader and icier than usual. He was also
flanked by two of his men. Mithrain she recognized but the other was the
mysterious shadow creature whose name she did not know. Not that it mattered—she
probably wouldn’t live long enough to figure out what made that one tick.

“Nefarion, take her belongings back to camp. Mithrain, you
will deliver the child to Verdun’s hands and his only. Unwrap the little one
and hand her over, Gwen.”

It was madness to defy Helion when he was like this but Gwen
couldn’t stop the instinctive protest that rose to her lips.

“No, I won’t let you take my child from me. She’s all I have
in the world. You have no right to separate us!” She clutched her little girl
harder and struggled not to cry. He just couldn’t take her daughter away—that
was the worst sort of cruelty.

A muscle twitched in Helion’s jaw but he stood implacable.
If he was swayed at all by her tears, he didn’t show it.

“If you cared at all for that child in your arms, you never
would have left the safety of the camp. Give her to Mithrain now, woman, or I’ll
come get her myself.”

The tears did fall now. She had no doubt Helion would do
exactly as he threatened and rip Evelyn from her clinging arms without a shred
of remorse.

“Will I see her again?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper
of sound, the pain of the coming separation driving fear and anxiety into her heart.
She saw Helion’s face harden even further with the question. His eyes, already
glowing with ire, burned so bright she felt singed.

“You will see her when your punishment has been delivered
and not a moment sooner. Hand her to Mithrain now. I won’t tell you again.”

That last command was delivered softly but the threat in the
words increased. His eyes were daring Gwen to defy him again in front of his
men. And she didn’t have the courage to do so. She believed him when he said
Evie would be returned. But if he planned to beat her, she’d be in no shape to
care for her. Verdun had been kind to Evie. Gwen could only hope he’d be good
enough to stand in while she recovered from her punishment.

Reluctantly she unwrapped her sweet girl and handed her gently
to Mithrain, whose expression revealed a sympathy she couldn’t look at closely
or she’d just fall apart. He cradled Evie gently, bowed to Helion and left the
room. The other Keeper didn’t spare her a glance at all as he grabbed their
things and left, leaving Gwen in the room with the last person in the world she
wanted to be alone with. Gwen watched Helion warily, scared of how still he
stood, how tight his jaw clenched with his rage.

“You, human, provoke more emotions in me than I’ve
experienced in centuries. You holed yourself up with your little daughter in this
room? A room with one door and no other means of escape?
Again.
Perhaps
you’d like to explain why you did this foolish thing? It won’t spare you the
punishment you’ve earned but there’s a chance it might temper me if your
reasons are good.”

“We don’t belong in that camp, Commander. Even if you do
clear the city of Scourge, it still won’t be safe for us. There’s no structure
anymore, no law enforcement, no civilization. Humans are as dangerous to me and
Evie as the beasts are. I can’t get used to having your protection and these
luxuries when in the end we’ll be on our own again, trying to scrape for
survival. It’s better for me to take my daughter and find some place to survive
this nightmare on our own.”

Gwen lifted her chin as she said this, trying to assert her
independence to Helion, to convince him she was right. Too bad the effect was
ruined by her clenched hands and shaking legs. They kind of spoiled her
attempts to be forceful. It also didn’t help that she doubted her own
conviction in the matter.

“Let me see if I understand you. You took your daughter away
from the safety of the camp because someday in the future you believe I’ll
throw you both out in the cold to deal alone with the perils your world now
faces? Did I not promise to find you a safe place before I released you from my
care?”

His voice was soft again but Gwen wasn’t fooled. She’d
called his honor into question and Helion was a prideful man.

“Yes, but you also said you would—” She stopped there, lacking
the courage to continue.

“I said I would what?” he asked forcefully, his eyes
narrowed.

“You said you would…would…
take
me when you came back
from your mission, that my time would be up then. Even though I told you no!”
She blurted this out quickly, her face on fire.

At first nothing happened but then Helion’s eyes widened
incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Then they snapped
together until only gleaming slits remained and his entire body began to
vibrate with barely restrained temper.

“Are you telling me you really left the camp because you
believed I intended to take you by force when I returned?”

At this point Gwen knew she should have kept her mouth shut
about his sexual threat and just left it at her first excuse. The anger and
outrage on Helion’s face was a terrifying sight. But she’d seen his gaze
tracking her body and knew any minute his clear interest would spark her own.
And she remembered quite well how he said he’d react if he scented her getting
wet. His rage was already her cross to bear. She didn’t want to add his lust.

But the anger pouring off him now was a clear sign she’d
made a mistake. Trying to deflect his lust by accusing him of dishonorable
intentions was not her brightest moment. Whereas at first he’d just seemed
enraged at her defiance, now outrage was screaming from the top of his head to
the tips of his boots. But in for a penny in for a pound, right?

“You said if you smelled desire on me, it would provoke you
to take me. Just being aroused doesn’t mean I’m consenting! How would you even
know if you were the one causing the arousal? There are hundreds of Keepers in
camp I could get turned-on by. So yes, I left to avoid being molested by you!”

Anger and fear pushed those words out of her mouth. They
weren’t even remotely true. Helion had been the only Keeper she’d noticed
sexually at all since she’d met them. But her attraction to him was not a
welcome one. And even though she’d told him so, he remained determined to
change her mind, a mind that was already overwhelmed by temptation every time
she saw him.

Helion became eerily still after that last comment. Just
when she thought he was going to fracture into a thousand icy pieces, he
finally broke the deafening silence.

“Bend over the desk.”

Gwen stared at him, shocked. That wasn’t what she’d expected
him to say. She watched him warily now and made no attempt to obey. Whatever
his reason for the command, it couldn’t be good. She stared at him, her eyes
asking the question.

“I will deliver your punishment now. What I have in mind is
simply this: I will warm your bottom with my hand. It will be painful, and no
doubt humiliating, but will not cause you any real harm. However…”

The relief she’d begun to feel when he’d told her her
punishment died a swift death at that “however”. A spanking she could handle. It
wouldn’t kill her and she’d be reunited with her daughter quickly. But the
scary look in his eyes told her she wouldn’t be getting off that lightly now.

“If you respond to this punishment with even one tiny hint
of arousal, I’m going to release my shaft and fuck you mercilessly right where
you stand. Do you comprehend me?
If
you’re as immune to me as you say,
if
one of my men aroused you instead of me, you should have no trouble. But if you
get wet for me, I will touch you. And I will have you begging me to take you.”

Shock thrummed through Gwen. She’d never considered pain to
be arousing but his hand would be touching her backside. And while she’d never
been into sexual pain, Helion drew her like a magnet. What if her body
responded to him even through the pain of her punishment? She’d get no quarter
from Helion. His savage green eyes told her she’d pushed him too far for mercy
now. Her only hope of escaping a seduction was to make sure she didn’t get even
one drop wet when he touched her. Running seemed like a better idea but he was
blocking the only door. And she couldn’t outrun him anyway, even if she was
willing to save herself and leave Evie behind, and she wasn’t.

“Bend over the desk, female. Now.”

His voice was hard and his eyes burned like a laser. Gwen
took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. She pushed her hips into
the low desk and bent over at the waist, leaving her forearms and elbows flush
with the cheap fake wood. She kept her eyes on the chipped surface in front of
them but all her other senses were focused on the Keeper who came farther into
the room to stand behind her. Gwen could smell the woodsy scent again and feel
the heat radiating off his body standing so close.

The first smack, when it came, was a shock. There was no
warning. One moment Gwen was focusing on slowing her frantic breathing, the
next a searing pain sliced across her ass, startling a sharp cry from her lips.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be difficult to not get aroused. Helion definitely wasn’t
trying to cheat by pulling his punches. There was no gentleness in Helion at
the moment. Her tormentor was entirely silent, allowing her to focus on feeling
the draft of air preceding the blow, the feel of his large, hot hand making
contact with her defenseless ass, before that hand slid off to ready itself for
the next spank. He smacked her ass four more times in quick succession, each
one leaving a burning pain in its wake and a curious spurt of heat flowing from
the point of contact all the way through her nerve endings.

Before long she finally became a little numb to the worst of
the burning sensation. Unfortunately, that numbness allowed her to think past
the pain a little, to dwell on how large Helion’s hands were, how erotic it was
to be bent over in front of this model of male beauty while he punished her.
God he was so hot it really should be illegal. And she’d seen nearly all of him
just a few days ago…

After a minute Gwen realized Helion wasn’t spanking her
anymore. For a moment she wondered if that was all. She’d been worried for days
about his punishment, when all it had been was a bearable spanking. But then
she shifted and felt it. The wet trickle between her thighs was unmistakable.
She’d gotten wet just thinking about him, with no sexual touching whatsoever.
Her body was primed for him. Oh god, she thought, trying frantically to push
away from the desk.

Helion grabbed the back of her neck with one large hand and
forced her head back down to the desktop. She felt his other hand shoving her
leggings down her ass and past her thighs and after another moment she felt a
hard, hot presence between her legs. Helion had released his cock and was rubbing
it between her legs so she could feel just how huge he was, how ready he was to
take her. Gwen wanted to beg him to stop but she also knew he wouldn’t and she
couldn’t deny she did want him. He felt so huge against her, though. She couldn’t
stop a whimper from escaping her throat as she felt him fit his cock against
her small opening. He didn’t press forward, but let her feel the heavy promise in
his slight touch.

“Do you accept me, Gwen? I can feel how wet you are. I can
feel how much you want my cock inside you. But I want more than your body
telling me. I want
you
.”

Gwen shivered then, the cold air on her pussy competing with
the heat of Helion poised to thrust inside her. Every nerve ending in her body
felt overstimulated, quivering in anticipation of Helion possessing her body.
She had to have him, if only just one time. Being smart could wait until
morning, couldn’t it?

“Yes, Helion, I want you!” she gasped out. He wanted her to
beg, she remembered that clearly. But the most she could say was simply,
“Please.”

He forced the broad head of his cock inside slowly but
inexorably. She got no time to adjust to the invasion. Once he’d forged the head
inside he stopped just long enough to wrap his free hand around her hip to palm
her sex before using his long middle finger to rub her clit. Then he powered
into her in one long, ruthless thrust, on and on until he bottomed out inside
her. Gwen cried out again at his ruthless length forcing her walls to accept
him until he butted against her cervix. He held his cock there for a moment,
letting her feel his mastery over her body, before pulling her closer, grinding
his hips into her sore ass.