King of Prey: (A Bird Shifter Novel) (11 page)

Rayna’s blue eyes drifted shut and her head lolled back. Kabril kept hold of her. “No.”

“Kabril,” he whispered, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You are in no condition to fly with her in your arms. You could drop her. Is that what you truly want?”

The weight of the decision showed in Kabril’s eyes a second before he handed Rayna to Sachin. The trust given to him was not misplaced. Sachin inclined his head before securing Rayna and taking flight. Kabril flew close to him, no doubt monitoring Sachin’s care of his mate.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rayna’s head felt heavy and her body laden with lead. She groaned as she opened one eye to peer out into the darkened room. Light filtered in through heavy drapery. The single slit and the tiny amount of light passing through left her shielding her face. She tried to roll away but her body refused to respond to her commands.

“Be still,” a deep, familiar voice whispered near her ear.

“Kabril?” Rayna asked, twisting around and suffering the fate of such a choice almost instantly. Pain shot through her and she cringed.

Kabril put his hand to her cheek and cupped it gently. “
Ta’konima
, I beg of you to rest. The healer has given you something to help you sleep.”

“My arms are heavy and I’m mad at you,” she blurted out.

The corners of his lips twitched. “I know. It will pass, as will the pain. I can only hope your anger with me subsides as well, Rayna. If I could take your pain from you, I would. My power does not extend to that point.”

Her brow knit as his words trickled through the recesses of her mind. “Power?” She drew in a shallow breath. “Wings? They had wings, Kabril. Huge wings that came right out of their backs. They could fly.” She closed her eyes as a dull throb began in her head. “They said you were a king and that you had wings too.”

She waited for Kabril to laugh. He didn’t. Instead, he simply watched her through cautious golden eyes. Rayna’s gaze darted around the room. She’d been in Kabril’s bedroom once before, to help him pack for the trip. This was not his room. This room was grand with vaulted ceilings and lamps suspended from chains. The oversized four-poster bed they lay in was carved from dark cherry-colored wood. The Mediterranean blue, plush coverlet engulfed her and matched the silken gown she now wore. Her heated gaze flashed back to him and locked on the tawny expanse of his chest.

Suddenly, her mouth was very dry.

“W-where are we and why are we in bed
together
?”

“Excuse me, my lord,” a feminine voice said, causing Rayna to sit up faster than her aching body allowed.

She swayed and Kabril was there, steadying her with his powerful arms. “Rest, Rayna.”

Ignoring Kabril, Rayna focused on the female in the doorway. The woman held a tray of what looked to be fruits and a decanter of something. Her long blonde hair fell in waves to her slender waist. As much as Rayna didn’t want to be jealous, she was.

The woman inclined her head and offered a non-threatening smile. “My lord,” her attention went to Kabril, “Rossi ordered food be sent up. Your brother worries because you have not eaten since…” The woman averted her gaze. “Since…erm…”

“Since the queen arrived?” Kabril supplied, a teasing note in his voice.

Rayna had thought the blonde was gut wrenching enough. Hearing there was a queen to go along with the king left her feeling as if she’d been struck with a bat. “You have a queen?”
 

“I do,” he said, his lips quirking with a half smile.

She touched her stomach lightly, feeling as if she might be ill. She motioned to the blonde. “Who is that?”

Kabril blushed. “She is no one of importance.”
 

The blonde said nothing, she merely kept her head lowered.
 

Oh, she was someone all right by the way he was acting. She cast a questioning look on him. He squirmed on the bed and cleared his throat. “She, perhaps, was a member of the harem.”
 

“Was a what?” Rayna asked, her head spinning. “Did you just say harem?”
 

“I did.”
 

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” she questioned. “This is a nightmare, isn’t it?”
 

Kabril shifted more, his gaze averted.
 

Rayna’s throat tightened. “She’s not only part of a harem. She’s part of a harem you’ve been with!”

The woman gasped.

Kabril sat up straight on the bed. “My sweet Rayna, I have disbanded the harem. They are no more. You are the only woman for me. Ask her.”
 

Rayna blinked up at him. “You have got to be kidding me.”
 

“I do not jest,” he said, his chest puffing out. “I disbanded the harem upon your arrival here. They no longer service the men of the castle in the same way they once had. This pleases you, yes? Sachin said I should give each of the women within the harem a large sum of money and send them elsewhere.”
 

“I like Sachin more than you at the moment.” She looked up and shook her head. “Waking up and finding myself in my boring country house would be great right about now. Really, I’m full up on winged macho men. I’d like to go back to simple, sexy bird doctors. Ones who may be odd at times but don’t have stacked blondes showing up to feed them grapes.”

“Set the tray down and leave us,” Kabril said. “Someone will come with enough money to see to your family’s needs for many cycles. Your service is no longer required. I thank you.”

The woman did as she was instructed.

Rayna rubbed the back of her neck and let out a soft laugh. “Am I crazy? Be honest.”

“Rayna, your sanity is not in question.” He ran his fingers down the back of her arm, making a shiver ripple through her. When he reached her hand, Kabril laced his fingers through hers, the move intimate. He brought their joined hands to his lips and planted a chaste kiss on hers. “What I wish to know is if you can accept me as I am.”

“You’re not a vet, are you?” she asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear the truth from him.

“To your people, I know more of birds and animals than they could ever hope to.” Kabril lifted her hand and spread her fingers wide, kissing the tip of each one. “But, alas, I am not.”

“And you’re not just foreign, are you?” she asked.

He licked his lower lip. “Yes and no. I am not from your realm. And you are no longer within your realm either. You are now here, in mine.”
 

“Where is here?” She wanted to yell at him for lying to her, but the feel of his full lips trailing over her skin was too distracting.

“Accipitridae
.
The realm of the bird shifters.”

She paused. It was all a lot to soak in. “It was all real?”

“It was.” He made his way up her arm, slow and steady. When he reached her shoulder, Kabril nipped lightly at her skin, catching the strap of the gown she wore. He dragged it down before returning to kiss his way up her shoulder, towards her neck.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kabril knew Rayna needed her rest, but the taste of her skin was too tempting to resist. He thought she’d shriek in fear of him after he learned she knew he was not human. Once the castle doctors had informed him she would indeed recover, Kabril had set out to learn what had happened from the sources. By the time Kabril reached Humbert, Sachin had already beaten the man within inches of his life. Kabril didn’t question Sachin on the matter. If his friend felt the need to take such measures, they were clearly called for.

Lazar was slow to recover and in his fevered state revealed snippets of the conversation he’d held with Rayna. Kabril had wanted to be the one to tell Rayna all his secrets, not have her learn by way of kidnapping at the hands of his enemy. The minute Lazar regained full consciousness he would be tortured for his role in the attack on Rayna. There was little point in inflicting pain on a man who was not aware of the goings-on around him.

Pushing thoughts of torture from his head, Kabril concentrated on the bounty before him. His mate. His soon-to-be wife. Rayna stared at him with questioning eyes and he wanted to kiss the doubt from them. He’d sensed her unease with the serving wench and didn’t need to search far inside himself for the reasons behind her mood. She was jealous. It was foolish, considering he’d never given the wench a second look, much less bedded her, but the comfort from knowing Rayna cared if he did left his heart swelling and his lips sealed.

He moved his hand across Rayna and managed to ease her to the bed. Sliding over her, Kabril tried and failed to control his breathing. Her hair fanned out around her as she stared up at him with wide eyes. His senses were keen and he picked up on the beating of her heart. As much as he wanted to take her, ram his cock into her depths and claim her for his own, Kabril knew she needed to fully recover. “Sleep,” he whispered, going to plant a kiss on her forehead.

Rayna tilted her head and caught his lips with hers. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, causing Kabril’s chivalry to crumble. His cock hardened at an alarming rate and he rubbed his body against hers. The need to join with her was great. He drew air through his flaring nostrils, behaving more like a rutting bull than the king of hawks. He pressed his distended flesh to Rayna’s mound and it only took a second before he felt the proof of her arousal.

“You are wet,
ta’konima,
” he whispered between kisses.

Rayna pushed on his chest. “And you are rude. Get off me. Now.”

Her spunk only added to her allure. He nodded, making no effort to bend to her wishes. Instead, he feathered his tongue over her bottom lip and relished the shiver that moved through her.

Rayna’s foot made its way up the back of his leg before she wrapped her legs around his waist. The feel of her countering his movements was too much. Kabril gave in to the desire to go further. He’d already had a small sampling near the river and could scarcely await more.

He settled between her legs, a reminder that she wore nothing under the sleeping gown he’d had her put in. His own sleeping pants pulled taut as his cock fought for freedom, the promise of paradise close.

Rayna raked her fingernails down his back hard enough to cause his skin to welt but not hard enough to draw blood. The shifter in him could smell even small traces of blood.

She returned his kisses, searching his mouth with her tongue and no doubt finding it welcoming. Rayna arched against him, leaving his cock rubbing against her wet slit. Moisture soaked through his pants and the scent of her arousal pushed him over the edge of restraint.

Growling, Kabril ran a hand into the back of Rayna’s hair and tugged, forcing her head back so he could devour her neck—smothering it with heated kisses. He moved downwards and planted kisses on the swell of her breast. Kabril pulled the other strap of her gown, freeing her glorious globes in the process. He took a pink-tipped nipple into his mouth and sucked evenly. Rayna’s moans spurred him onward. He squeezed her breasts, cupping them with his hands while he coated them in kisses.

“So sweet. Like ripe berries.” He licked a line around her erect nipple, staring up at the rapture on her face.

Her mouth fell open and a cry broke free. “Kabril. Please.”

Working his hands down her body, Kabril continued to vary kisses and licks on her nipples. He kneaded her thighs, all the while fighting an internal battle to keep from coming as he inched the gown upwards. He dipped his head, laying kisses low on her stomach. As he neared the thin thatch of well-maintained hair on her mound, Rayna lightly ground her body against him. “Patience,
ta’konima.
”

He spread her drenched folds and eyed the prize. Her rosy clit was swollen with lust. Kabril drew it into his mouth, mindful to be gentle, and flicked his tongue back and forth. Rayna’s entire body tightened and he had to seize hold of her hips to keep her from moving up and off the bed.

She cried out, laced her fingers in his hair and held firm, riding his mouth. He lapped cream from her slit while taking one hand and stimulating her clit. He found a steady rhythm and chuckled into her pussy as she began murmuring a mix of curses, pleas and threats.

“Dammit, Kabril. Uh, more. There.” She thrust her hips upwards. “There. Oh, yes!”

Rayna came with a start and Kabril continued to work her clit, swirling his tongue and lapping her juices. Her cream was every bit as sweet as she was. Unable to resist her any longer, Kabril moved up and over her. He supported his weight with one arm as he freed his cock from its confines with his other hand.

He nudged her entrance with his cock head and locked gazes with her. “Rayna Vogel, do you accept me—all of me from now until the end of time?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The look Rayna leveled on him was scorching. Purring, she cupped his face and Kabril anxiously awaited her answer. In order for his claim to be official and for Rayna to be the queen in the eyes of his people, she had to accept all of him—his magik included.

A lone tear made its way down her smooth cheek and Kabril felt as if his heart had shattered. Assuming she was rejecting him as her mate, he went to move away. Rayna held steady to his face.

“Kabril?”

“Y-es.” He cleared the emotions lodged in this throat. “Yes?”

“Does your skin itch too, when you’re not able to shift forms for a long period of time?”

The question caught him off guard. Stunned, he nodded.

She traced a path down his neck and to his shoulders. More tears escaped their watery prison and Kabril had to look away to avoid weeping himself.

“I never meant to cause you pain.”

“Rayna?” He wiped her cheek. “What do you mean?”

Her voice shook. “You didn’t…change…because of me. Did you?”

Kabril moved slightly, causing the head of his cock to press into her hot core. Fire shot through his lower body and the fierce need to lay claim to what was his was almost debilitating. “Rayna, please. I beg of you. Do you accept me—all of me from now until the end of time?”

She stared up through lust-filled eyes. “Show me, Kabril.”

His body felt as if it were going to burst. “Speak not in riddles,
ta’konima.
Though I may be a king, I am still but a man.”