King of Prey: (A Bird Shifter Novel) (12 page)

The slow, sexy smile that slid over her face eased his tension a bit. “I want to see your wings, Kabril.”

My wings?

At any other time he would have attempted to reason with her, make sure she was ready to see him shift forms, but his resolve was weak. He let go, allowing feathers to emerge on his upper shoulders first and then his shoulder blades. One barely there pinch later and his wings unfurled. A blanket of brown, white and gold enveloped them as Kabril extended his wings out and around them.

Rayna squealed and touched one of his wings tentatively, as if she was afraid she would cause him pain. Her touch had the exact opposite effect. Pleasure shot straight through his body, settling in his cock each time she touched his wings. He bit his cheek, trying to focus on anything other than the fact he was close to paradise. “R-Rayna,” he ground out. “Do you accept me—all of me from now until the end of time?”

“Yes, Kabril. Yes.”

With that, he surged forward, sinking his cock into her silken depths and relishing the feel of his mate’s body encasing his own. Her pussy held him to her. She was tight. Made just for him.

The base of his spine tingled and Kabril knew additional feathers were forming on his back. He also knew his magik was rising, preparing to share itself with her, granting her the ability to live as long as him.

“Uh, Kabril,” Rayna panted as he began to slide in and out of her. She clung to him, countering his thrusts and rubbing her body against his. Her pussy clenched around his cock as Rayna tipped her head back. “I’m coming. Kabril, yes!”

Liquid warmth made their already glorious merging even better. His magik picked then to rise, circling them with static-charged energy. Rayna continued to come, paying no mind to the power around her. For Kabril, the moment was momentous. Never before had he shared his magik with another. Doing so during the act of coupling forever bound Rayna to his heart and his soul. They were as one now. Should one die, the other would follow shortly thereafter. She was now, in the eyes of his people, his wife, his mate, his queen.

He exploded, rooting himself deep within her core as his cock twitched, jetting forth seed. Kabril’s entire body shook from the force of it all. The intensity was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. His cock remained hard, even after his seed was spent.

Wrapping his arms around Rayna, Kabril captured her mouth with his as he used his extended wings to lift them from their current position. Rayna yelped and held tight to him.

Chuckling, Kabril slid his hands down and cupped her ass. “Ride me,
ta’konima.
”

She glanced down, looking uneasy.

“Worry not. My power helps in keeping us afloat. We will not fall.”

Rayna nodded, biting her lower lip and driving him mad with desire. She began to move her hips slowly at first, before working into a faster rhythm. When she varied her movements, moving up and down on him, Kabril seized hold of her and started impaling her on his cock.

Cries, moans and animalistic grunts broke free of them both. The smell of sex filled the air and Kabril’s magik still buzzed around them. The moment was perfect and worth waiting four hundred cycles for.

Rayna’s pussy milked his cock as her legs tightened around him. He knew she was coming and wanted to join her. He pumped feverishly into her, savoring the feel of his mate. His sac drew up a second before he expelled his seed, filling her with all he had to offer.

“
Ta’konima,
”
he whispered, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck and planting kisses there.

A sultry laugh bubbled up from her. “Mmm, tell me what
ta’konima
means.”

“It means ‘my love’ in my language.
Ta’konima
from a man to a woman and
to’konimo
from a woman to a man.” He kissed her again and she stiffened. “Rayna?”

“You love me?” The question, while so innocent, nearly broke him.

How could she not know what he felt for her? How could she not see what he’d done?

Because you have not told her and she knows not your ways.

“Yes, Rayna. I love you. I have loved you since you took me to see your Henry. Each day I fought the urge to lay claim to you.” He expelled a long, tired breath. “I could wait no longer.”

“Lay claim to me?”

He eased them back onto the bed and withdrew from Rayna. “What happened between us means, in the eyes of my people, you are my mate. Umm, my wife. I know it is not the same for humans. Sachin explained their customs to me, but what transpired, the sharing of my magik and our bodies, makes you queen to my people, Rayna.”

Kabril waited for her to explode in anger. When tears arrived, he wasn’t sure what to do. “Rayna, are you in pain?” Guilt consumed him. “I was selfish, taking you when you were not yet fully recovered.”

“Shhh.” She pressed her hand to his mouth. “I love you too, Kabril.”

For a moment Kabril felt as if he had been struck senseless. The sound of his heart pounding filled his ears and his breathing increased. “You love me as well? You are not vexed by my…”

“Shut up with the vexing and kiss me, King.” She pulled him to her.

Kabril laughed as he drew his wings back into his body, leaving no trace of them behind. He rolled, putting Rayna on top of him so he could stare up at her beauty. “I will cease my blathering if you commence with the games.” He waggled his brows and Rayna blushed.

“The games, huh?” She raked her nails down his chest lightly. “Mmm, I think I can come up with a few things,
to’konimo.
”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rayna woke to an empty bed. She sat up slowly, wondering where Kabril was. Her feet made contact with the cool floor and she shivered. She considered returning to under the covers but there was a gnawing at her stomach. She needed to find Kabril, though, she wasn’t sure why.

Something was wrong.

“Kabril?” she asked, loudly than one would think necessary since it echoed throughout the chamber.

No response.

“Kabril?” She found a long white nightgown of sorts and slipped it on. She pulled her hair through the back and then peeked her head into the room adjacent to the one with the bed. A bathroom the likes of which she’d never seen before was there. And it was also empty.

Sighing, she went to the heavy door and pulled it open. She looked into the hall and wondered if the castle was always so vacant. Rayna walked the length of the long corridor, tapping lightly on each door on the way before opening them.

All empty.

Very strange.

She turned the corner, as she neared the stairs and nearly collided with a young girl, dressed like something from the past. The girl held a candle in one hand. The girl gasped and attempted to lower herself nearly all the way to the floor.

“What are you doing?”
 
asked Rayna.

“My lady,” the girl said. “My apologies. I did not see you there.”
 

Rayna nearly laughed. “Up. Please.”
 

The girl did as asked but didn’t meet Rayna’s gaze.
 

“Kabril,” Rayna said. “Where is he?”
 

“My lady, you should rest. He will be back soon. When he is done.”
 

The pit in her stomach seemed to grow. “Done doing what?”
 

The girl appeared very nervous. She kept glancing at the staircase. Rayna’s heart sank. Was the man she’d given her love to with another woman?

No.

He wouldn’t.
 

Would he?

“Is he with another woman?” she asked, her voice small.

The girl squeaked. “No! He is in the lowest level of the castle—” The girl slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “I never told you. Please, my lady.”
 

Rayna touched the girl’s shoulder. “You
never
told me.”
 

The girl hurried off and Rayna started down the seemingly endless stairs. She couldn’t explain the burning need to find Kabril. It was twofold. She felt as if something horrible was about to happen and in addition to that, she simply wanted to be near him.

It was strange the way she already ached for him as if they’d been separated for some extended period, rather than just a small bit. She missed the feel of him. Missed knowing he was close to her and more than anything missed the feel of his powerful arms wrapped around her body.

Finally, she reached what she could only assume was the staircase to the lowest level. She started down it, noting it was steeper than the other stairs had been and not as well lit. Recessed portions of the wall held sconces. A candle burned in each one, doing very little to pierce the darkness. A dark runner ran the length of the hall, keeping her bare feet from padding against stone.

The moment Rayna heard voices, she quickened her pace, bounding down the steep stairs at a speed she shouldn’t have. She tried and failed to come to a stop at the bottom. Instead she slid on a slick, cold floor and crashed shoulder first into the wall.

The sound of Sachin’s voice caught her attention, making her ignore the pain shooting through her arm. His voice was faint but unmistakable and he did not sound pleased.

“My lord, mayhap he speaks the truth.”

“He lies!” Kabril shouted, his voice so deep and dangerous that it vibrated around her. The ache in her stomach grew and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that her man was about to do something she would not like in the least. “The knave spouts venom from his lips with his deceit. My queen would never rush to the aid of my enemy.”

Aid of the enemy? His queen?

The sound of something cracking grabbed her attention. She followed the noise and tripped over the edge of a heavy wooden bench. Rayna put her arms out, in hopes of catching herself and ended up grabbing hold of a wall sconce. It turned, lever-like, and the stone wall nearest her opened, revealing another damn staircase.

Sachin’s voice became clearer. “My lord, ask the queen.”

This time it sounded as if something snapped. The noise was followed by a painful cry and Rayna recognized the voice immediately—Lazar. She ran down the steep steps and when she came to the end she covered her mouth, unable to believe the sight before her.

Kabril cracked a whip and it bit at Lazar’s exposed chest. Lazar’s wrists were bound above his head as he hung, suspended from iron chains. Blood trickled down him as his chest heaved. Rayna’s gaze traveled the length of the large room. A cornucopia of torture devices lined it. With her mouth agape, she stared at Kabril horrified by what she was seeing.

His black hair clung to his sweat-soaked face. The feral look in his eyes made her take a step back as he gritted his teeth, his attention still solely on Lazar. “You dared to harm my mate. To take her from me and leave her for dead. For this, you shall suffer my wrath.” He drew the whip back again and Rayna dashed forward, putting her body between Kabril’s and Lazar’s.

Sachin was suddenly before her, shielding her with his massive body. “My lady!”

“S-Sachin?” she asked, her voice barely there. “What? Why?”
 

Sachin blinked and lowered his head, shame evident on his face.
 

Rayna trembled, her mind racing, words wanting to break free from her but they couldn’t seem to get in sync with her head. She cupped her mouth, pushing past Sachin and rushing at Lazar.
 

Lazar shook his head, the action looking as though it cost him greatly. He winced in pain. “Go.”
 

“No,” she whispered, her heart pounding, confusion still gripping her. She twisted, keeping herself between Kabril and Lazar. “Why?”

Kabril’s golden gaze burned with rage. The veins in his neck stood out noticeably. “He dared to harm you.”
 

“No. He didn’t.”
 

Kabril continued to glare.

Finding her courage, Rayna put a hand on her hip and glared right back at him. “If you’re going to shout orders at me or try to hit me with that whip, I’ll have you know that I’ll—”

Suddenly, Kabril dropped the whip and backed away, the fire draining from his eyes. “Hit you? Rayna, I would never raise my hand to you. Never.”

“But you’d beat a helpless man?” she demanded. “One who tried to keep me safe from his own people?”

Kabril grimaced and tipped his head.

Sachin took hold of her shoulder. “Explain. Tell him exactly what happened, Rayna, for his mind twists reality and truths, turning them into something more than they are.”

She exhaled and continued to shake with adrenaline, fear and a hefty mix of rage. “I’m so hurt and mad at him right now I’d rather take that whip and crack him over the head than give him the benefit of the truth. He’s too hard headed to hear it.”

“Well, there is always that option,” Sachin said. “If you decide you want to whip him, I shall hold him for you.”
 

Kabril cringed. “Rayna, my love.”
 

“Shut up,” she snapped.
 

He blinked.
 

Sachin snorted.
 

Even Lazar seemed surprised.
 

She squared her shoulders. She’d tell them exactly what happened and then she’d demand to be taken home. “Yes, Lazar is who took me from the campsite.”
 

Kabril’s hand tightened on the whip.

Rayna leveled her gaze on him. “But, when he found out Kabril was a big fat liar and had done nothing but keep me in the dark for months on who and what he really is, Lazar decided I’d been through enough.”

Now it was Kabril who refused to meet her gaze.

She bobbed her head, her anger still coursing through her veins. “And, I don’t think for a minute Lazar ever intended to hurt me. He was about to take me home when the other Falco Per-e-something or others arrived.”

Sachin bit his lower lip as if he were trying to keep from laughing. “
Falco Peregrinus
?”

“Right.” She nodded, adding, “The man you’re beating killed one of his own men to keep me from being hurt, and I think he would have done the same to Humbert if I hadn’t infected his wound with soil from Earth. Lazar had been suffering from the effects already and it was too much for him. He fell into the water and I went in after him.” Rayna blushed. “After I kicked Humbert where it counts.”