Page 135 of A Warrior's Heart
I smiled. Eva enjoyed teaching about medicine. She was a restless soul who didn’t like being in one place for too long, so I knew she’d enjoy being able to travel.
“That will be her decision,” Lorcan answered. “I will not force her to do something she doesn’t want to. However, if she agrees, I will send a guard with her during each trip to your kingdom for her safety.”
“I agree to those terms.” King James pushed back from his chair and stood. Lorcan and I did the same. The king held out his hand. “Do we have an accord?”
Lorcan stared at his hand, unsure. And then he took it. “Yes.”
“I’ll have the documents prepared right away.” James dropped his hand back to his side. “We will need to sign the treaty in front of witnesses like last time. I’ll need to call for a meeting and it will be at least morning before everyone can be gathered. You will stay at the palace tonight as my honored guests. I will have the servants prepare rooms for you and your traveling party.”
“Should I expect someone to sneak in and try to assassinate me while I sleep?”
“Now, now,” James tsked. “None of that.”
“Can you blame me for not trusting you so easily?” Lorcan glowered at him before dropping his gaze to the bracelet on his wrist. “When you bought this for me, I thought that maybe you were sincere in your desire to be friends, that perhaps I was wrong about you. But then you declared war on us and ambushed me and my men on that beach. You captured my best friend and tortured him for two months before attacking Avalontis. I would be a fool to trust you now when you’ve done nothing to earn that trust.”
My insides turned at the reminder of being held captive.
James said nothing at first. What could he say? Lorcan was right, and he couldn’t deny it.
“If you need anything during your stay, don’t hesitate to let me know,” James finally said before walking past Lorcan and leaving the room, his guards exiting behind him.
We rejoined our men outside the door and were promptly shown to our quarters. Malik and I shared a room, and Lorcan stayed in the one beside us. Reif and the others had their own rooms down the corridor, but Shar and Nereus stayed together.
Lusca was in bad shape when he was released from the dungeon.
I went with Ervin and Shar to free him despite my unease of being back in the place I’d been imprisoned. Lusca’s light brown hair was matted with dirt and blood, and his clothing was torn. However, his honey eyes were those of a warrior. The fight hadn’t been beaten out of him.
“You look well,” Lusca told me, his voice scratchy. Ervin was on one side of him and Shar on the other.
“I wish I could say the same of you.”
“I’ve had worse,” the assassin answered before slumping against Ervin, his eyes fighting to stay open.
Lusca was taken to a bed chamber and given a hot bath, medical care, and food. Ervin ordered him to lie down and rest for the remainder of the evening. I sat by his bed for a while, not wanting to leave his side. A bond had been formed between us during our captivity.
“I feel your gaze upon me,” Lusca muttered before cracking open his eyelids. His face covering had been removed earlier, and he’d shaved the two months’ worth of beard, leaving him with a smooth, clean-shaven jaw. His skin was badly scarred, as if he’d been burned and cut. The scars were old too. He’d had them long before our capture. “I am not a damsel needing watched over. Your mate will be wanting you by his side.”
I peered over my shoulder and smiled at Malik. He had insisted on staying in there with me, though he kept to the shadows. Lusca was too out of sorts to sense him.
“Okay.” I stood from the cushioned chair and poured water into a cup. “I’m leaving water by your bed if you need it.”
He was asleep before I even reached the door.
***
Malik eased into me, his hard cock stretching me perfectly. Sex in our true forms was my favorite, though being in our human form had its perks.
I hooked my ankles around his calves and lifted my hips off the bed, meeting him thrust for thrust. The moon shone through the balcony doors, the light shining on Malik’s rippling muscles as he drove into me.
“My heart,” he murmured as he buried his face against my neck.
I slid my fingers through his dark hair and arched my back, moaning as his thick cock brushed that special place inside me. He kissed down my chest and latched on to one of my nipples, sending sparks of pleasure all throughout my body as he flicked his wet tongue against it.
My orgasm was powerful, and I cried out. Malik slammed his lips to mine and snapped his hips forward. I clawed his back, whimpering against his mouth as I rode the waves of release. He grunted and faltered in his thrusts. Warmth filled me as his cock pulsated.
Afterward, he rolled to his back and brought me to his chest, his breath rough. I nuzzled the base of his neck, loving the way he smelled after sex. His hand glided up and down my back, his fingers featherlight on my damp skin.
“You should sleep,” he said, catching me watching him. His orange eyes faintly glowed in the dark room. “Once the treaty is signed on the morrow and arrangements made, we will begin the journey to Avalontis.”
