Alien General's Chosen (Brion Brides 4)(31)

Through the red rage, it occurred to him that Leiya had seen a similar picture of him before aboard the Unbroken. But now, he really was covered in blood and truly looked every bit the picture of the monster he’d been portrayed as all along.

He turned to her, standing in the middle of a pile of corpses. They had been an insult, but now they were dead.

Every fiber of his being wanted to go to Leiya, but he forced himself to wait one more moment, so he could call for his men to send a healer for Roven. The big warrior was now unconscious, but he could make out faint breathing.

Then, he finally allowed himself a sigh. He forced the fury and the rage back down deep inside him where they belonged. To be released only when he allowed it, only when he needed it.

The next moment, Leiya dashed from her hiding straight into his arms. He let his ax drop to the ground, something which he’d never done before, but it couldn’t be helped. Even two hands were not enough to catch Leiya in his embrace, pulling her tightly against him. The feel of her tiny hands clawing at his jacket in desperation to be closer had to be the best thing he’d ever felt.

It had been maddening, hearing of Leiya’s escape. He’d barely made it back to the Unbroken when the call came from Eleya. The ever-cursed Senator Primen had caused enough chaos to escape with his elite guards before Eleya got to him, and her next move had been informing him. Smart move on Primen’s part, Faren thought. Eleya would have made short work of him. The senator would have been no match for a former general.

But that hadn’t greatly concerned him. Hearing that Leiya was on the run, down on Briolina, and that he was up there, too far away to help, had been the one single moment in his life when Faren had felt helpless. It was a horrible, mind-numbing emotion that he was determined never to experience again.

The chip in Roven’s spear had been easy to track. On his way back down to Briolina, Faren had watched it run. The little light blinking in the streets of the capital, keeping a steady pace, and following the standard eluding techniques. Knowing that Roven was better than those chasing him had been the only reason he hadn’t lost his mind.

The scent of Leiya’s hair washed all memories away, dragging him back into the moment. She was in his arms, perfect, and safe, and shivering, and safe, and clinging to him, and safe. Even the indescribable feeling of her warming up to him – gratitude, fear for her life, his mind provided alternatives – couldn’t wash away the sense of relief in him.

Roven had managed to hold out until his arrival. He hadn’t been late. It was unbearable to think of what would have happened if he’d been late.

Leiya was still shivering in his arms. She looked up, tears welling in her beautiful eyes, but her hands refused to let go of him.

“So,” she managed, her voice broken by sobs. “I was right after all. Warriors are terrible to behold when they fight.”

Faren didn’t need to look behind him to guess at what she was referring to. He’d tried to spare her from seeing him in action, even if it was against an inferior enemy, but he couldn’t make her shut her eyes.

“Those weren’t warriors,” was all he could think to say.

Then Leiya said, “I wasn’t talking about them,” and pulled herself up to kiss him.

Her lips were incredibly soft against his, her breath stopping short when he leaned into the kiss. He could feel her tremble in his arms, but it wasn’t out of fear like it once had been. Or possibly it was, but it was a good kind of fear. She was shorter than him, so Faren decided to remove the height issue altogether and lifted her into his arms – she’d given enough signs that for once, she didn’t mind being there.

The whine in her throat sent a shiver down Faren’s spine. It lit his body on fire in a way no woman ever had before. He liked it. Her hands were around his neck, pulling his hair, rubbing her lithe body against his as much as she could. Faren was thankful for the training in a proper military academy that had instilled iron control in him over his own actions, because she was truly testing him. All he wanted was to rip the dress off of Leiya and hold her up against the first wall he could find. To feel her legs spread around him and push himself into that welcoming, wet heat…

He couldn’t do it yet, but there would be time, soon. He would make sure of that. Faren didn’t mind settling for a mere kiss, because it was as if Leiya was trying to melt them together. His hands mirrored hers, pulling her lips even harder against his, buried into her soft, long hair.

Whimpers escaped Leiya’s throat, and a warrior’s keen senses picked up everything she wasn’t saying out loud. Her body was singing in his arms, begging for more of his touch. The heat emanating from her body was enough to nearly drive all sense from his mind, but reluctantly Faren had to break their only second true kiss.#p#分页标题#e#

“I take it you might reconsider me as your gerion,” he said.

Leiya laughed so hard at that he began to wonder if he’d been mistaken, but finally she shook her head, wiping her eyes clean.

“Reconsider,” she repeated. “You have to be kidding me. I should ask you that. If you would still accept me as your gesha.”

Ah, so that was what had been funny. Faren almost laughed at the question himself.

“You are mine,” he said instead.

Suddenly there was a deep, dark fire in Leiya’s eyes. For a moment he thought it was her pride protesting against belonging to someone, but it was not. It was the bond made manifest, calling to him. It was the hunger for him and the desire. It was burning her up inside just like it did him.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Her beautiful voice was husky and breathless.

“Yes, I am yours.”

Faren growled deep in his throat. All images of carrying Leiya away to their rooms on the Unbroken and claiming her like she was pleading had to be pushed aside for the moment.

His men arrived, the healers rushed over to Roven, and from the way they started acting fast, Faren assumed there was hope for the big warrior. They didn’t bother checking the pile of fallen bodies. They knew their general didn’t leave anyone breathing in his wake.

They’d all been trained to predict his commands before he had the need to give them. Seeing his mind was still on battle, they stood at the ready.

“You should go to the Unbroken,” he told Leiya. “You’ll be safe there. I will deal with Primen in whatever hole he thinks will hide him from me.”

Her eyes went wide.

“No,” she protested. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“It wouldn’t be safe for you,” Faren said. “There are better fighters with him than these were.”

“I don’t want to leave your side,” Leiya remained stubborn. “And I want to see him…”

She hesitated. Faren let her make up her mind in peace.

“I want to see him get what he deserves. For everything. For the lies he told me,” she said at last. “It’s what will happen, right?”

Faster than he’d planned with Leiya watching, but nonetheless.

“Yes,” Faren said and felt his lips curl into a pleased smirk.

“He finally gave me a reason.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN

Leiya



One proof of the existence of gods at least, Leiya thought.

She wasn’t the greatest believer or the greatest fan of gods on her best days. But after being abandoned and forgotten by the gods for a while now, Leiya was glad to feel their presence in one thing at least.

It’s a blessing, she was certain, that gorgeous men really don’t know how magnificent they are.

Once she’d kissed Faren, the look on the general’s face had been as close to smug as it could possibly be for someone like the Monster of Briolina. Not smug in a bad way, but more like utterly pleased with himself and the situation he found himself in. Leiya was very grateful for that small mercy, because her mind was flooded with emotions.

She hadn’t thought she’d ever like violence, but it was undeniable she liked Faren. Maybe – hopefully – it was just him. Leiya wasn’t about to abandon every principle she’d ever had for her binding. But damn, she’d thought her knees would go out from under her when she’d seen Faren standing at the end of that street.

Everyone else had been frozen in terror, but she’d been petrified by the awe pounding in her blood. That was her gerion, the perfect warrior standing in the dark light, his gray eyes flashing like lightning. She’d really have to send an apology to Iloya, as in that moment Leiya had completely understood. If Faren had opened his mouth then and told her to come, she would have just from the sight of him standing there.

She was in the shuttle with Faren now, on their way to wherever Senator Primen was hiding. He may have been clever enough to escape Senator Eleya before she had the whole picture, but he hadn’t been able to elude her for long. Eleya had detailed knowledge of Briolina from her days as a general and a pictographic memory like all generals. And all the connections she needed from her time spent as a reluctant senator. Finding Primen had been short work for her.

Leiya had witnessed the conversation between her and Faren. An unwelcome tinge of jealousy arose in her seeing how effortlessly they communicated, but all through the talk, Faren’s eyes kept flickering back to her. The High Senator was gorgeous and powerful, but she wasn’t his gesha. Leiya was.#p#分页标题#e#