Page 15 of Warlord's Mate
Stepping through the doorway, she took a quick look around camp before heading to the make-shift bathroom she’d used the day before. The curtain was drawn over the front of it and she could hear noises she hoped to never hear again coming from behind it.
She made a face and turned back, rounding the warlord’s hut before heading up the path to the pond. She found a bush not far off the path to take care of her business and since no one was up yet; she headed for the water.
A thick fog hung over the pond. The sun was cresting the mountain; the sky painted in shades of blue and purple. The huge planet Prison Moon One orbited could be seen all day and night and was a constant reminder that she wasn’t on earth anymore, as did the two suns and moons, and as brutal as life seemed on this tiny slice of the universe, it was oddly beautiful.
She waded into the water up to her knees, hissing at the cold temperature, then bent to scoop some into her hands and washed her face. When she was as awake as she could get without coffee, she headed back to the path but stopped when an opening in the rock caught her attention.
When she’d seen it the day before, she’d thought it was a cave and wondered, what was in there.
Probably something that will eat you.
A glance down the path showed no one heading that way. She bit her lip and looked at that dark opening again.
One of her biggest faults was she didn’t know when to keep her nose out of places it didn’t belong and that cave was calling her name. But if she wandered off and someone saw her, would they think she was trying to run away? She peeked down the path again. “Just go quickly, take a look, and run back.”
Mind made up, she hurried across the sandy shore of the pond and smiled as she got close enough to see that yes, that dark opening was indeed a cave and—she could hear the sound of running water.
Stepping inside the entrance, Marcy paused, her eyes wide with wonder. The walls of the cave were made of small crystals. A tunnel led further into the cave, the narrow passage cut into the rock curving to the left where light shimmered off the walls. She took three more steps inside, the sound of water growing louder as it echoed through the tunnel. The light on the walls grew brighter as she took two more steps in, the color changing from red to purple and blue, back to white then red.
Her reckless curiosity had her walking further in and when she rounded the corner, her breath caught.
The narrow path had opened into a wide cavern. A few large rocks were scattered here and there and the running water she’d heard was a waterfall raining down from a hole in the ceiling of the cave to splash in a shallow pool at the bottom. The shimmering light was the sun, the reflection through the water casting a rainbow against the walls which looked similar to the cave entrance, only here, the crystals were enormous car-sized, jagged peaks jutting from the wall. It looked like she was standing inside a giant geode and it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Marcy looked back at the waterfall and smiled, then sucked in a harsh breath and froze when she followed the path of it back to the pool.
The warlord stood beneath it now, the sight of his naked backside enough to make her throat go dry.
He turned his head, and she ducked behind one of the large rocks near the water’s edge, her heart hammering inside her chest. She counted to ten in her head and peeked around the edge of the rock.
Jorrick had his back to her again. He was bathing underneath the waterfall. She watched him for long minutes, her lip caught between her teeth when he stepped under the water and disappeared. He emerged a moment later and headed her way in calf deep water. She bit her lip harder to keep from making a sound.
The man looked like he’d been carved from stone. A fine dusting of hair covered his chest and belly and she’d never seen a six pack so tight. The muscles moving beneath his flesh were mesmerizing and she let her gaze lower, her eyes widening when she saw the size of his dick. “Holy … shit,” she whispered under her breath.
“Are you here for a specific reason or just to watch me bathe?”
The sound of his voice made her heart skip a beat and Marcy shrank back behind the rock again, flattening her spine against it. Had he seen her or had she spoken too loudly?
Her face heated with embarrassment. Either way, he knew she was there. She looked back at the tunnel, wondering if she could get out without him actually seeing her. Dark shadows hung along the walls. It was possible. Maybe.
Marcy sucked in a breath and crawled along the tunnel wall until she rounded the corner, then stood and ran.
Jorrick grabbed the drying cloth and wiped water from his face before looking back at the tunnel entrance. He inhaled deeply. Her scent still lingered in the air but she was gone and he couldn’t help but wonder why she’d been there.
His thoughts had been on her since the moment he opened his eyes. Waking up to find the shirt she’d been wearing had ridden up her back and his cock was pressed against her lovely ass had made him ache in ways he hadn’t felt since before Zasra—the traitorousnedril—betrayed him and left. He’d wanted to part her thighs and slide his cock against those red curls between her legs, to feel the heat of her against his flesh as he slid inside her.
For the first time in more lunar cycles than he could remember, he’d wanted a female underneath him, to feel the touch of another against his skin. To kiss someone without restraint. For one lust-filled moment, he’d wanted her.
He’d crawled out of bed with his cock so hard it hurt, and had headed straight for the waterfall to cool off. The cold splash of water had done nothing. He’d ended up taking himself in hand with visions of her filling his minds eyes. Of her splayed across his bed, all those glorious red curls fanning out around her face as she held her arms up to him, beckoning him forward as she spread her long legs in invitation. He came so hard his knees had gone weak and had she stepped into the cave moments earlier, she would have been witness to the entire thing.
He didn’t know why the sight of her made him think such things. He hadn’t been moved by the presence of a female for two whole turns of the seasons but the scent that lingered on that one's skin drove him to distraction. Thanks to his heightened senses, he could smell her all the way across camp and his constant awareness of her burned like acid in his veins.
He’d never let another female get to him the way Zasra had. She was the reason he didn’t participate in The Chase anymore. If the females dropped there were all like her, then he wanted no part in it. She’d been his prize, and he’d treated her like a queen. And she’d betrayed him more so than the lyingdrehanthat put him on this wretched planet. Zasra was a constant reminder of how easily females could manipulate and he’d never trust another or let one bring him so low, especially not one who didn’t know when to hold her tongue.
Use her like Allok used Zasra. Get your revenge by planting her inside Allok’s camp and destroy it from within.
The idea had merit.
He’ll put her in his bed.