Alien Warrior's Mate (Brion Brides 1)(13)

That wasn't the only distraction.

The realization hit so hard that for a moment, Darien seemed to step out of time in pure shock. If he hadn't been preparing, hoping for it, all he might have gotten out of his fated was to see her die before his eyes. It was common for Brion men to be lost in the recognizing moment, which was why they never wanted it to happen in battle.

Darien moved, still feeling his whole body vibrate in the ecstatic sensation of having found the one who was his now. His and his alone. It should not have come as a surprise that the moment descended upon him right when the timing was the worst possible one, but that was how life had been going for Darien lately. Never a dull moment. Not with Deliya in his sights, at least.

The Exolar saw him coming, but they had no time to stop him before he tore right through their ranks, spraying them all in blood in his fury. He couldn’t tell how many he cut down, how many screamed in anguish around him as he mowed through them like they were little more than sticks and he a battle axe honed and sharpened to perfection.

There was still one standing over Deliya, holding a blaster against her head, but for some reason it didn't concern Darien much. His blood seemed to be on fire and a grin dragged the corners of his mouth upwards.

"You better step away," he growled at the Exolar. "No man comes between me and my gesha."





CHAPTER TWELVE

Deliya



Deliya didn't know who was more shocked, her or the enemy.

She'd been careless, seeing him coming from the corner of her eye. For some reason, she always seemed acutely aware of his presence and found him in any crowd without difficulty, even when she didn’t want to. When she fell, Deliya had been prepared to overcome his enemy and then give Darien a piece of her mind for being so godsdamn distracting. Not his fault and she wasn't really complaining, but still.

Then he'd spoken and her world was shattered apart.

In the back of her mind, Deliya was aware of the gun still pointed at her, but she'd completely dropped her guard. It barely seemed to matter. Not to mention, as much as she could tell, the Exolar actually started to move away.

Both of their reactions were due to that one word that had been haunting her for far longer than she would care to admit - gesha.

Only the gods themselves knew why it had to happen now. Why after months of desperately wanting it, fate chose to mark this very moment as the time that they could truly become on another’s. Perhaps it was because both of them had come to grip with the fickle reality of never knowing what was in store, or better yet, because they’d both devoted themselves to waiting and conquering the unpredictable nature of fate.

Whatever it was, it was here now. And the look in Darien’s eyes left Deliya with no doubt of his truthfulness.

Finally, was the only thing that really popped into her head.

Deliya’a life was suddenly and inexplicably made whole. And the Exolar certainly knew of the word and of the Brion ways. Darien was right. After the recognizing moment, the Brion men were terrible to behold, unstoppable. With the gesha suddenly being the center of their world, they didn't stop for anything, or anyone. To challenge one was to commit to the worst kind of death.

Even she was a bit afraid, but only of whether they'd even make it back to the Triumphant before he claimed her.

In the same moment, Darien looked like he always had and still made her feel like she was seeing him for the first time. A fire raged behind his eyes, the grin on his lips promising death to the enemy and something much more pleasant for her. Perhaps dying of a kind, too, drowning themselves in the throes of their passion.

The Exolar was backing away, looking around and finding himself to be alone. Everyone else had died in Darien's lighting quick attack, so fast even Deliya had had a hard time seeing him or keeping count of the carnage in his wake. The recognizing moment was supposed to be dizzying, shaking the man apart from everything he'd been before. But after that, they were more whole than ever and they had a purpose they'd never abandon.

From under his dark curls, Darien watched the Exolar back away with a horrible, merciless grin. Already, the enemy was beginning to see there was no way out of there for him. In that moment, reality finally came back to Deliya too. That would not be the day she died, not now.

She grabbed her spear, preparing to skewer the enemy, only to find him aiming wildly at her, his finger on the trigger. The next moment, Deliya felt the air itself being split sharply as Darien's spear hit the Exolar straight in the chest. He stumbled back several steps before his body caught up to the fact that he was dead. Then he collapsed like so much useless flesh and bone.#p#分页标题#e#

And Deliya found herself being pulled up, straight into Darien's amazingly strong arms. As he wrapped her into his embrace, it felt like he'd never truly done it before. There was something new, something beyond lust and desire in his gray eyes. Deliya found herself lost in them and lost in the maddening, thundering relief she felt, shaking through her like some kind of earthquake that only she could feel.

Darien was hers, she knew that now. The Brion bind was unbreakable, ever-lasting. If she was his, they would never, ever have to let go of each other. And she wasn’t planning on doing that, not even if commanded by the general himself.

He kissed her wildly, biting at her lips. She felt the desperation in his body acutely because it was mirrored in hers. Darien's hands were buried into her hair, pulling her deeper, stronger into the kiss that might have hurt if they didn't relinquish the mad lust of it. He tasted sweeter than ever, all the better for being hers, finally.

His hands groped her all over, mapping her body, claiming it with his touch while his tongue demanded the same from her mouth. Deliya pressed herself against him, willing to give as she got, because everything she was and ever could be did belong to him now. Every inch of her body and every breath she took.

She was shaking when they finally had to part for air, twin smiles playing on their lips. Panting slightly, fingers absently tracing each other's bodies, they stared at each other with dizzying relief. Longing, loving.

"You were late," Deliya said. "If you sit into a shuttle like this, I doubt you'll ever outlive it. We better find you some enemies."

"Yes," Darien agreed, smirking.

"If I know him at all, the commander already hinted I'll be dropping with the first pod for the next few months."

Deliya laughed, agreeing. That sounded like their general.

"And afterward," she said, "I might be persuaded to let you into my room."

Darien's eyes flashed with desire, looking at her with a knowing grin. Deliya didn't mind it. She was baiting him, after all, teasing out the wild beast in him, wanting all of it for herself and herself alone.

"Might be," he repeated.

"We'll see about that, Deliya-the-star, my gesha. I don't think there's much anything you won't let me do from now on. In our room."

His words sent pleasant shivers down Deliya's spine, promising everything she'd ever wanted from him, in the very near future.

"You won't send me away so easily this time," Darien said, kissing her again before starting to walk back to where the battle was still raging, considering it absently at best as he seemed to only have eyes for her.

"No," Deliya agreed, smiling, "I will never send you away again."