Page 38 of Warlord's Mate
Within minutes, all the noise in camp came to a halt. The laughter and raised voices vanished, the sparring matches stopped, and every alien she looked at was staring at her. Not only did she have the warlord’s attention, she had the attention of every single person there.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d danced so enthusiastically, or felt so empowered by doing it, because at the moment, the warlord looked positively enthralled—and Jityria looked ready to kill.
Jorrick had never seen his men go so still. Everyone was turned toward Mar-see, and there wasn’t a sound to be heard other than thenidiand the drumming beat that Wyvind was making on one of the stools.
Mar-see had changed back into her own clothes, the piece around her hips pushed so low, his gaze kept darting there, knowing what lay just inches below the top of that fabric.
Her body moved in ways that drew his attention to every rounded curve she possessed and the firelight reflecting off the bare expanse of her belly cast shadows against her skin that were as mesmerizing to watch as she herself was. Had Allok been right about her? Did Mar-see possess magic? If the expression on the faces of those around camp were any way to judge, then yes, she did. His men were bewitched, her every move watched as if there was nothing else in the entire galaxy they’d rather be looking at.
And he hated that so many were witness to how provocative she was and wished she would have saved this dance for the privacy of his hut.
He looked at those sitting and standing around the central fire pit. Desire was clear on several of their faces and as much as he hated seeing it there, he couldn’t blame them. His little red one was a seductress.
His cock throbbed as he watched her, that flame colored hair spilling down her back in long spirals. He wanted to feel the texture of it against his fingers again, to bury his face against the softness of it.
Her full breasts were all but falling out of the crisscrossing bands of material covering them and he knew, hidden behind that material, her nipples were rosy pink and he wanted nothing more than to taste them again, to feel them harden against his tongue. She was—perfection, hise’mahn neok, and suddenly, their tryst at the waterfall wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He wanted her beneath him, her limbs locked around his body.
He lifted his cup and held it out to Jityria, saying, “Refill this,” without taking his eyes off Mar-see. Her focus was solely on him until Jityria walked away, her head turning to watch her leave and when she turned back to him, she was smiling. Was Jityria the reason she’d danced for him? Because she’d been sitting beside him?
It had been so long since he’d seen female jealousy but there was no denying what he saw on her face. They were both vying for his attention. It would explain Jityria’s need to always be at his side and the looks she gave Mar-see—and the looks Mar-see returned—when they didn’t know he was looking.
A subtle warmth heated his chest at the realization these two were more or less fighting over him and had been doing so quietly. Had Zasra been here, she would have shouted it to the world what her intentions were. These two doing it silently told him that maybe he’d underestimated most females. That maybe they weren’t all like Zasra had been.
Mar-see finished her dance much to his disappointment. She walked back to the dais and sat down at his feet where she’d been, the human she sat down beside giving her a wide smile. All that red hair was gathered in her hands, twisted into a rope, and pulled over one shoulder before Mar-see looked back at him. When she smiled, his body jolted. She’d finally given him that smile he’d wanted directed at him.
The sparring matches resumed, the laughter and raised voices once again filling the camp when Jityria returned with his drink. He drank it all, watching the back of Mar-see’s head while she and the human she sat beside talked and laughed.
Everything he was going to do to his little human once he had her naked underneath his furs ran through his mind as he sat there. He ordered them to bed not long after, watching Mar-see as she stood. She gave him a sly smile, and he was more than ready to follow her and perform every depraved act his mind conjured. He waited until he knew she’d had enough time to prepare for bed, then stood, the world spinning as he did.
The last batch ofswoquixCayen mademust have been stronger than it usually was. He felt groggy and staggered as he stepped off the dais and made his way to his hut. Mar-see was already in bed when he came through the doorway and let the leather flap drop behind him. Kicking his boots off wasn’t as easy as it should have been and when he staggered and had to hold on to the table while unfastening his pants, he stopped and looked around the room. It was spinning.
Jorrick raised a hand to his head and closed his eyes, the sensation of moving worsened when he did. Why the hell was he so disoriented? He forced his eyes open and saw a pile of cloth on the floor. It took a few moments to realize it was the clothing Mar-see had been wearing. She was naked underneath those furs on his bed. His heart thumped in his chest at the realization. She never sleeps naked. Her doing so tonight could only mean one thing.
She wanted him, too.
Jorrick pushed off the table and headed for the bed. She’d have to help him get his pants off. Her undressing him held an appeal he hadn’t given much thought to in the past. Now he did. He was halfway across the room when it tilted again. He stopped, his focus on Mar-see when he realized his cock wasn’t as hard as it should have been. He reached down, cupping himself and frowned. He wanted her, had been painfully aroused half the evening just thinking about her and now—he wasn’t.
It couldn’t be theswoquixmaking him so foggy headed. Even inebriated, he’d been able to bed Zasra with no problem plus, he hadn’t drunk enough of it tonight to make him this dazed.
The room spun again, his vision blurring before going dark around the edges. His legs slowly gave out and when he sank to his knees, he realized someone had drugged him—someone who would pay for it with their life when he found them.
Marcy’s heart was in her throat waiting for the warlord to come to bed. She knew he’d follow her and anticipated him crawling into bed by removing her clothes. She’d never slept naked under the furs and it was an odd sensation but she hadn’t wanted to waste time trying to untie the knot at the back of her neck, or removing her skirt so, she’d opted for removing them all together. The warlord wasn’t making much noise, and she wondered what he was doing but couldn’t bring herself to look. His silence probably meant he was undressing.
The way he’d watched her dance left little room for doubt that he wanted her and she hoped her clothes on the floor would be enough to tell him that she was in agreement. A loud thump behind her brought her head up, and she finally looked behind her, then gasped. The warlord was face down on the floor, inches from the bed. “What the hell?”
She scooted to the edge of the mattress and turned enough to see his face. He was breathing, the little wheezing sound loud in the stillness of the room.
Marcy leaned back and propped her body up on her elbow. He had drunk a lot and if it was the same alien juice that had laid her out on her ass, then she knew why he was on the floor. He’d passed out which meant, she wasn’t having sex tonight.
She sighed and crawled out of bed, rummaging through the clean clothes she’d laid on the table against the wall for one of his shirts, slipping it on when she found it and turned back to face him.
Sleeping on the ground wouldn’t be comfortable but there was no way she could lift him. Grabbing one of the furs from the bed, she threw it over him and climbed back under those that remained and watched him sleep, her mind playing back over everything that had happened that evening. She smiled. She may not be getting screwed into a screaming mess but she couldn’t be completely unhappy. Jityria had gone to bed pissed off again and the look on her face during her dance was enough to bring her happy dreams for a solid week. Besides, there was always tomorrow. She may not be under these furs with a very naked warlord but she had no doubt come tomorrow night, she would be.
Chapter Fourteen
Marcy yawned, her jaw popping as she did. Noise around camp told her nearly everyone was up and about already. She had no idea what time it was. Light surrounded the leather door flap and was bright enough to tell her she’d slept longer than she should have. It was a wonder Jityria hadn’t been in to yank her from the bed by her hair.
Thinking of the hateful heifer brought back memories of the night before, of dancing for the warlord and climbing into bed naked in anticipation of more sexy times like she’d had in the waterfall cave. It never happened, though.