Moon Mark (12 page)

He grunted softly and took a step forward, his height towering over mine. “What is going on between us is very simple, Madeline. We are mates. You knew that when you ran away. That is why you ran away.”

I shook my head and peered down at the ground. I stared at both of our boots. His were shiny, and mine were scuffed.

I stated in a timid tone, “I mean I want to face the fact we’re mates. I want to learn more about you.” I flicked a finger between the two of us but didn’t look up. “This didn’t happen without reason. Our genes know we are a good pair. I wish to find out if that is true or not.”

“I’m not one of your experiments, Madeline.”

“I know that.” My head snapped up. I held his gaze, even though my cheeks were burning.

His cold eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “So you came back for me.”

I nodded. “Yes.”

He ground his teeth together. “If you so much as look at another man—”

“I understand.”

He shook his head and stepped forward, aligning our bodies against each other. His tone was chilling and brutal. “No, you don’t. A mate is forever. I will kill anyone who comes between us.”

The visual of the guard killing himself looped in my mind. I shuddered.

“Now you know,” he whispered. When Corza stuck her head out of the opening of the hov-craft, he tipped his head in its direction. “We need to go. You’ll be staying at my castle with me.”

I licked my lips, and murmured, “I do want my own room.”

His nostrils flared. “I don’t think so.”

“I am
scared
,” I admitted on the quietest whisper. “Please, give me that much.”

He ground his molars together for a second, and then jerked his head in a nod. “Fine.”

“Appreciated.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him again. “Accepted.”

Entering the hov-craft, Xri greeted me instantly. He captured my cheeks with his palms and rubbed his thumbs across my skin softly. I stood in shock as he smiled down on me. “It’s good to have you back, Madeline. Geo’s been a real horror since you left.”

Corza snorted and winked at her mate. “He took down the last of the provinces.”

“Exactly,” Xri stated and released me. He pulled Corza into his arms and wiggled her. “He has too much pent up energy. He’s needed his mate.”

“Enough,” Geo growled and scowled. “We need to leave.”

Corza winked at her mate again, and then pulled out of his arms. “To the castle?”

The rebellion leader nodded. “To the castle.”

My attention honed on him. “You’ve won the war?”

“Almost.” His nostrils flared. “The Imperial family escaped. I still need to find them.” He pointed a finger out of the opening of the hov-craft. “And there are obviously still some factions that need to be handled.”

I blinked. “I managed to land on a site that had remaining Dynasty members.”

The rebellion leader snorted. “The only landing site such as this.”

Xri chuckled quietly at my expression. “That’s just plain bad luck.”

I stared at my com-device and paced my room on silent feet. My movements were smooth and flawless. I used my right thumb to turn on my com-device and watched the screen come alive. I jumped in place three times before I dialed.

I listened to it ring and bit at my nails. This was embarrassing.

Me—pining for what a Kireg could give me.

He answered on the second ring. “Yes?”

The man didn’t even answer with a ‘hello.’ It didn’t surprise me.

I yanked my fingers out of my mouth and pushed away my nerves. “Geo, this is Madeline.”

There was a small beat of silence before he responded, his tone quieting. “I know. What do you need?” Straight to the point.

“Can I meet with you in private? There’s a matter I need to speak to you about.” My eyes closed, my sigh barely audible. My toes dug into the plush carpet with each passing second he took to respond. I gulped on a dry throat, and eventually, my brows pulled together when the line stayed quiet. I jerked the com-device away from my ear and checked the screen, but it was still lit. “Did I lose you?”

“No.” His tone turned even quieter, almost a growl, when I heard voices in the background. I was pretty sure he was attempting to be discreet. “The conference room, my office, or my bedroom?”

My attention caught on the wall, not seeing a damn thing. “Um…” It was his turn to wait, my mind hazing over with the implications of his question. I had blinked several times before I inhaled harshly.

I mumbled on a hasty breath, “Your bedroom.” It made sense, even though we’d had sex against a wall before. I didn’t want anyone seeing us together for this, and I was betting he didn’t either.

Another pause. “Do you know where it is?”

“Yes.” I exhaled a heavy breath. He knew what I wanted, and he wasn’t arguing.

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

My chest heaved as my anxiety lowered. “Thank you.” But my head cocked as I listened to the voices in the background. By the hostile tones, it was an argument. “Is there something going on I should worry about?”

A lazy answer. “No.”

I wasn’t sure I believed him…but I let it pass. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

The line clicked, going dead. No ‘good-bye’ either.

I placed my cell on the table. A gradual grin lifted my lips. I was going to have an
orgasm
again. Mmm.

I walked through the castle at a sedate, forced stride, rambling through the hallways, as if I were evaluating the artwork on the walls. I kept my eyes from anyone passing by, not in the mood for their curious glances. Only when I heard no one nearby did I slink into the shadows. The path to his bedroom wasn’t clear, annoying me greatly. It took longer than expected to steal past any late night travelers without notice.

When I finally stepped up to the wooden door, I lifted my hand and knocked sharply. Three taps. Enough for him to hear inside, but quiet enough that the two individuals a hallway over—and walking this way—couldn’t.

“Enter,” Geo called.

I stepped inside just as the two rounded the corner. I quickly shut the door and turned to face the room, my eyes taking their time to adjust to the low lighting. With my back to the doors, the cold doorknob digging into my lower back, I evaluated the room.

It wasn’t as pretentious as I thought it might be.

There was a fireplace in use on my left. Though the logs burned bright, it was the only lighting in play, each lick of a flame casting shadows deeper into the room. In front of the fireplace was a brown couch cavernous enough that it was the size of a small bed. A white, longhaired rug lay between the couch and the fireplace. A sizeable dark wooden desk, also facing the fireplace, sat behind the couch to my right, with plenty of room to walk between the two.

I turned my head to the far right, and my eyes stopped on the monumental-sized bed in an adjacent room, the wooden doors open to it. I snapped my attention back to the main room and cast a quick look at the stunning artwork of landscapes hanging on the walls, each adorned by creatively carved, wooden frames. The entire suite was a masculine portrait of simplicity and elegance. Even the heavy navy drapes covering the windows on the far side of the room were tasteful, but a hard line against intruding eyes.

“You’re late. I thought you might have changed your mind.” I stopped ignoring the rebellion leader where he sat on the leather couch. He was barely dressed, only wearing a pair of black training shorts. It was the most casual I had ever seen him, completely at ease in his domain. His muscled torso was on full display as he lowered his left arm and stopped peering at his halo-watch.

Purple eyes, frosted with danger, turned in my direction. “Did you have trouble getting here?”

My lips pinched, but I made my feet move forward. “A little. I didn’t want anyone to see me enter.”

His gaze traveled over my features slowly, chilling me to the core, until he nodded his head in agreement. “I had wondered how you would make it here unseen.”

I sighed my annoyance. “It wasn’t easy. The halls are filled at this time of night.”

His head cocked in silent question, his white hair gliding against his bare left shoulder.
Why are you here?
He wanted to know for certain. He wasn’t going to voice his assumption.

I didn’t blame him.

I lifted my arms and ran my fingers through my white hair, my nerves coming back to the fore. I wet my lips with my tongue, his perceptive eyes not missing any action. I cleared my throat and dropped my arms and stopped a foot away from him. I didn’t step between him and the fire so I could still see his features in the clear light. When I spoke, it was distressingly timid.

“I-I would like another orgasm. The feel of it has been haunting me. I wish to experience it again.”

His head nodded, with the confirmation, no guessing needed. With no expression on his features, he stated in a calm fashion, “And even though you ran away from me, even when you knew you were mine, you expect me to have sex with you freely?” He arched his right white brow. “You demand to have a separate room,
and
you still have yet to apologize for your previous actions.”

I held perfectly still, my jaw gradually going slack. He didn’t blink, his cold eyes straight on mine. The bastard wasn’t joking, not that I thought he ever did. His words had been blunt, always to the point. My mouth bobbed. “I apologize?” It wasn’t the most intelligent response, but it was what he wanted.

He pointed a long finger at me. “That was pathetic.” He tapped that finger on his left temple. “Try not to forget I can read your mind. Lying and trying to pacify me is of no use.”

My eyes narrowed. I hated he had that power over me. “I said I apologize. And I do mean it. But if you want me to beg, it will never happen.” My voice rose inside the room with my irritation. “You said you would kill any other man I look at with interest so that only leaves you.”

“While that is so flattering I’m surprised I’m not blushing, I am no fool. Do not treat me as such. I know you’re fighting your attraction to me.” He shrugged his left shoulder, getting more comfortable. He pushed with his palms and placed his back flush with the back of the couch, his right leg bent up with his left leg straight. He was so casual as he gave his reasoning. “And I can’t help who I am. Or what I am.” His own eyes narrowed at the thought, disgust clearly lacing his tone. “Just as you cannot help who and what you are. And I can read your mind, so your anger toward me is juvenile at best. Once you come to terms with your surroundings and the Kireg, this will go much smoother for us.”

I scowled.

And how long will it be before you come to terms that I’m half Human, a hybrid?

He arched his eyebrow again. “It will take time, Madeline. But I keep my hostility at bay.”

Whereas, I did not.

My mouth snapped shut, cutting off the harsh retort I was about to utter.

I eyed his casual pose, letting my regard run over him from head to toe. And I evaluated the pulse at his throat. The constant
bum-bum
was a little too fast for anyone who was truly comfortable. I watched as he fisted his right hand, his knuckles turning white. And I snapped my gaze up when a glimmer from the firelight caught my eye. It was one bead of sweat on his right temple. My attention traveled back to his purple eyes. I squinted and saw they were pinched at the very corners.

No, he didn’t want this any more than I did—our connection.

I licked my lips. “Do you want me to go?” I could be blunt, too.

His voice was a quiet drawl, his fist unclenching. “No, I don’t.”

I took a step toward him, my regard completely on his unique eyes. “Sex?”

He lowered his right leg to straighten it. “We are meant to be.”

My eyes narrowed when he didn’t answer directly. He was toying with me…but I didn’t completely hate it. “Yes, then?”

“Hmm.” His voice was changing, deeper. More gruff. Turning to all masculine need. “Remove your clothing. Then I’ll make up my mind.”

I blinked. “What are you doing?”

One side of his lips curved up at the edge. “I believe I’m flirting with you.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “Like how your sister and her mate do?”