Norlanian Brides Volume One Page 23

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said huskily, cupping the back of her head and drawing her to him for another kiss. His knuckles teased the underside of her breast and she shivered. He cupped her breast and let his thumb glide around her nipple, which hardened as he caressed it. Her fingers seemed to be trembling as she touched his shoulders and began to explore him.

  He loved how she moaned when he applied light pressure to her nipple. He stood slowly and pushed her gently back until she rested on the bed. He leaned over, nibbling on her lower lip and then kissing across her cheek to her ear.

  He let his fingers trail down her stomach to her navel and made lazy patterns on her warm skin. He ran his finger inside the waistband of her trousers, undoing the fastener and sliding his hand inside. He wanted to do a million things to her. Make her climax again and again and shout his name until the entire universe knew that they were true soulmates.

  “Are you wet for me, quello?”

  Her hands tightened on his biceps. He bit gently on her earlobe and laved the spot with his tongue.

  “War,” she said, moaning as he slid his hand fractionally lower.

  “I think you are. Wet and hot, and so damn sweet.”

  Her nails sank into his skin and he grinned as he kissed her throat and licked her thundering pulse.

  “Just for you.” Her words were soft but heartfelt. He lifted his head from her neck and gazed down at her as he moved his hand lower, sliding under the silky shorts. Her skin was hot and the evidence of her arousal coated his fingers as he glided them up and down her pussy lips. He teased her clit with a few quick flicks and her whole body trembled.

  Possessive feelings poured through him. He’d known that claiming her would change him, but he’d never expected to feel so much so quickly. Sinking two fingers into her heat, he snarled at the way her pussy gripped his fingers. “Mine,” he said, the word coming out of his mouth on a growl.

  Her hand covered his, the material of her clothes between them, but she pushed his hand deeper into her and canted her hips until the entire length of his fingers were inside her.

  “War, please,” she blinked pleasure-hazed eyes at him, chewing her lip.

  She whimpered when he pulled his hand from her body, but it was only for a few heartbeats while he stripped them both of the remainder of their clothing. He heard seams tear and he felt like his control was going to snap entirely if he didn’t get inside her, but first he had to know the sweet taste of her.

  Shoving her legs apart roughly, he moved between her thighs and kissed her pussy, snaking his tongue around her clit. The first taste of her – so sweet, like ripe melean – was enough to drive him wild. He wanted to know what she sounded like when she fell apart. Spreading her with one hand to expose her clit more fully, he licked the length of her pussy slowly, savoring her sweet arousal. He circled the entrance to her body with his tongue, delving inside, while he rubbed a finger over the tightening bud. She moaned softly, her thighs tensing against his shoulders, and he wiggled his finger faster over her clit as he tongued her core. He increased the pace of his finger on her clit and she moaned loudly.

  Wanting to send her over the edge, he pushed a finger inside her pussy and closed his lips over her clit, sucking gently on the sensitive flesh. She screamed his name as her pussy gripped his finger tightly. He’d never heard anything more amazing than his name on her lips. Kissing her clit as she panted for breath, he brought his finger to his lips and gazed up the length of her body. She met his eyes and smiled.

  He licked the sweetness from his finger and then placed kisses along her body as he moved slowly up. He stopped to tease her nipples, finding the firm buds tightening under his tongue as he lapped and sucked at them. Her legs wrapped around his waist as her hands slid into his hair and fisted in the strands, dragging him up to her mouth. He went willingly, meeting her mouth with a feverish kiss as his cock pressed slowly into her. She stretched around him and he held back from thrusting wildly into her so he didn’t hurt her. Her heat enveloped him, and as their hips met, they both groaned. He’d never known anything as perfect as her.

  Curving his arms under her body, he held her close and began to move, pulling away and plunging in slowly, kissing her with the same slow tempo as their lovemaking. She was so wet and so hot that he knew he wouldn’t last. He wanted her to come again, to join him as they both plunged over the edge into pleasure, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of his hold on her. As if reading his mind, she slid one hand between them and touched her clit. He could feel her knuckles against his skin, and almost came on the spot.

  Biting her lower lip gently, he swiped his tongue along the edge of her lip and then kissed across her jaw to her ear. “You’re perfect, Sloan. I could die here and be the happiest male in the universe.”

  She sank her teeth into his neck with a soft growl as her fingers began to move faster. “Don’t you dare die, I’m not done with you yet.”

  He chuckled and began to move, matching the speed of her fingers on her clit.

  “No? How long will you be?”

  “About seventy years or so,” she whispered, kissing the place she’d marked him.

  “Oh, is that all?” He lifted from her and glanced between them, watching his cock disappear into her pussy as her fingers stroked her clit. He looked into her eyes, watching them darken as passion stole over her. Her pussy began to grip his cock and he fucked her harder, faster. She panted and groaned and he ground his teeth together, willing himself not to come until she’d reached her own pinnacle.

  She threw her head back and shouted his name and he was done, his cock emptying inside her as he buried himself to the root and clutched her close, chanting her name. He couldn’t think of anything more perfect to say in that amazing moment than what was in his heart.

  Nuzzling her throat, he said, “I love you, sweet soulmate.”

  Her hands trembled as she placed them on his back, holding onto him. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 7

  Sloan woke up slowly to the sound of a soft hiss. It reminded her of the sound of an injection needle, and she frowned as she woke, wondering why she was dreaming about injections. She was pleasantly exhausted from making love to Warrick, and turned to snuggle against him when hands grabbed her roughly and lifted her from the bed.

  Her eyes popped open and she screamed. A large male with darkly tanned skin loomed over her. He smiled and she saw fangs glinting in his mouth. She thrashed in his arms and screamed again, but he wasn’t fazed by her struggles. Gathering a blanket around her, he placed her gently over his shoulder, and as the world spun around her with the motion, she saw several other large males in the room, one of them near Warrick.

  “Warrick!” she screamed, trying to kick the face of the male who held her.

  Warrick didn’t move, and for a brief, terrifying moment, she thought he might be dead. But then the male near him straightened from his crouch and pushed an injector needle into his pocket.

  “What did you do to him?” she shrieked, beating on the back of the male. “Put me down!”

  “You can thank us when you’re safe, female,” he said, turning and carrying her from the room.

  Sloan screamed for Warrick as the male carried her out of the wooing chamber followed by the others. The male stopped and pulled her from his shoulder, handing her to another male. “For stars’ sake, let me go! Warrick needs me!”

  “Stop struggling female, you’re safe now,” the second male said, holding her cradled against his broad chest.

  “Safe? What are you talking about?”

  Something crowed loudly and she froze, turning her head in the direction of the sound. Standing on the narrow path outside the wooing chamber were four huge creatures. They had thick black fur, large wings, and golden beaks. When one threw back its head and crowed, shaking its body with the motion, she saw a saddle on its back. Realization swept over her and she said, “No! You can’t be serious! What are you doing?”

&nbs
p; “I don’t remember being told that the other females protested so much,” a third male said as he hauled himself up on one of the enormous birds.

  The first one climbed into his saddle and held out his hands. “She’s in shock.”

  No matter how she protested and struggled, the male holding her handed her easily to the first male, who settled her in front of him on the saddle. His grip on her was like iron, and in moments they were in the air, the bird’s wings flapping swiftly as it lifted straight into the air.

  In the faint light of the rising sun, she watched as the mountain disappeared below the clouds. The bird wheeled in the sky, and in spite of Sloan’s determination to get free and get back to Warrick, she knew struggling while airborne was foolish. Vowing to escape and find her way back to Warrick, she closed her eyes and held tightly to the thick fur of the bird’s neck.

  * * *

  It took an hour for the drug that Warrick had been injected with to begin clearing from his system. He’d woken to something pinching his neck and warmth spreading swiftly through his body, followed by paralysis. He didn’t know what he’d been injected with, but it completely incapacitated him. He’d been unable to move even a finger or open his eyes. Hearing Sloan’s panicked screams had filled him with rage and worry. Someone had broken into the wooing chamber without triggering the security system, drugged him, and stolen Sloan. No one aside from Sayjan knew where Warrick had taken Sloan, and the males who were in the room – four, judging from the different voices he’d heard – smelled strange to him, almost wild. They had spoken with a slight accent that he wasn’t familiar with. He had no idea what it meant or who they were, but it didn’t matter. He would find Sloan and get her back.

  As he slowly regained his abilities, he cursed the males who had taken his mate. He shouldn’t be worrying about her safety this morning; he should have been feeding her a morning meal he’d cooked and then spending the rest of the day in bed.

  Although his legs were still a little numb, he managed to stand and grab his clothes from the floor. He dressed hurriedly and raced through the chamber. The front door had been left open. He took a brief moment to inspect the security panel, which had been melted with some kind of clear liquid. He found footprints in the dirt outside the chamber. The large ones that must have been from the males, and then strange claw marks. Seeing something dark on the ground, he knelt and lifted a tuft of black fur. His first thought was of the carion beasts used in farming, which had coats of thick, dark fur. But they had hoofed feet, not claws.

  He straightened, his gaze following the path down the mountain. There were no marks at all on the path. He turned and stared at the mountain. The only way off the mountain without using the path was to climb or fly. He didn’t know of any birds large enough to carry a person, but the evidence told him that the males had taken to the air with Sloan.

  The sun covered the mountain in golden light, and Warrick wished he could share the beautiful sight with his sweet mate. Instead, he turned and hurried into the wooing chamber, where he removed two shelves from a wall cabinet and pressed on the edge until it swung open. Sayjan had told Warrick about the secret weapons stash in the chamber, and Warrick had thought it was interesting that males used to stock the wooing chambers with weapons. He’d never expected to need them.

  Although old fashioned, the weapons were all he had at the moment and he would make the best use of them. He filled a bag with a variety of weapons, and then raced into the bedroom to change into durable trousers and a top. He strapped a knife on his thigh, holstered a gun on his hip, and kept a tight lid on his emotions. Panicking about Sloan wouldn’t help her. He needed to focus on his new mission – to save his mate.

  Hauling the bag of weapons and supplies over his shoulder, he rushed from the chamber and climbed into the hover-machen. It roared to life and he backed it out of the chamber, then took a moment to look at the map of the area, finding the fastest path over the mountain. He didn’t know what he’d find on the other side, but he would never stop until he’d found Sloan and she was safe in his arms.

  * * *

  The birds began to descend, circling lazily. Sloan’s eyes watered from the rushing, frigid wind. She was grateful she was covered with a blanket, but she was supremely uncomfortable with the knowledge that she was naked underneath it. The male holding her was warm, but she refused to take any kind of comfort from him.

  The light from the sun showed her the beautiful mountainside under them as they descended. The other side of the Issizlik Mountains was lush with trees, and a vibrant valley stretched out beneath them. The bird pumped its wings and dove, causing Sloan to shriek in fear.

  “You’ve nothing to worry for, female,” the male said into her ear.

  She wanted to call him several choice names and kick him somewhere soft and painful, but instead she kept her mouth shut. The birds formed a straight line, heading for the trees below. The trees weren’t like any she’d seen before. The large, thick leaves were striped with pink and green. The birds ducked under the tree canopy and Sloan forced herself not to shrink back against the male in fear or close her eyes. They moved through the trees easily. What had looked like a solid grove of trees stretching for miles was surprisingly roomy underneath the leaves. The leaves were large enough to give the illusion that there were many trees when in fact there weren’t.

  Sloan peered over the side of the bird and saw a walking trail on the ground below that the birds followed. She lifted her head when the birds turned sharply to the left and all four of the birds crowed loudly before landing in a fenced area.

  The male jumped off the bird and grabbed the reins with one hand, offering her his other. She stared down at him, wondering if she could make the bird fly away.

  As if reading her mind, the male said, “The birds are trained to only accept instructions from their riders, so you can sit there all day, but Faus isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Faus?” she asked, releasing her tight grip on the bird’s thick fur.

  The male nodded. “This is my zareb. I raised him from a fledgling.”

  “I’ve never heard of a zareb. I didn’t know birds could get this large.”

  “Only on this side of the mountain, and we breed them to be big. Now, are you going to get down?”

  “I’ll help her, Villi. Papa wants to see you,” a woman said.

  “Sure, Mama,” he said, bending and kissing the woman on the cheek before striding away. Sloan knew she was staring at the woman. She looked Norlanian, with dark brown hair and eyes. She was tall and curvy. Her hair was in a thick braid, and she wore a skirt and top made of what looked like animal hide.

  “I hope my son didn’t frighten you too much. My name is Yelda, what’s yours?”

  “Sloan.”

  “Oh, that’s pretty,” she said, offering Sloan her hand. She took it and the woman helped her slide off the bird. Sloan’s legs were tingly from the long flight and she leaned against Yelda for a few moments until she could stand on her own.

  “Please tell your son to take me back.” Sloan clutched the blanket around herself.

  Yelda raised a brow. “The patrols found you in a wooing chamber, Sloan. We thought the males had stopped using them, but then we got an alert that one was active again. If the males from the other side of the mountain are abducting females again, our males will stop them.”

  Sloan blinked in surprise. “What do you mean they stopped abducting females? They never stopped.”

  Yelda frowned. “Yes, they did. The wooing chambers haven’t been used for years.”

  “When our females were found to be sterile, the government stopped using our females for soul-walks and began abducting females from other worlds.”

  Yelda staggered back, her hand covering her chest. “We didn’t know.”

  Sloan put her fists on her hips. “Who are you, anyway? And where am I? You appear to be Norlanian, but you’re living on the forbidden side of the mountain.”

  “There’s much
to share, Sloan. Come and I’ll get you something to wear.”

  Too curious to say no or try to escape, Sloan followed Yelda out of the fenced area and down a wide walking trail toward a tent city. The tents were made of dark animal hide and very large. There were dozens of them, some covered with colorful pictures and writing Sloan didn’t recognize, while others were plain. Outside each tent was a ring of stones laden with wood for fires. Cook pots sat over many of the fires and were being tended by Norlanian females wearing the same rustic clothing as Yelda. Young children – males and females – played among the tents with large creatures that looked like hupi but had feathers around their necks and paws.

  Sloan stopped walking and stared at a little girl. She had long, brown hair braided with flowers.

  “What is this place?” Sloan asked, tears filling her eyes.

  Yelda wrapped her hand around Sloan’s upper arm and pulled her gently along. “I’ll tell you everything inside my home.”

  Sloan followed Yelda toward the largest tent. It was tall and wide, and when Sloan ducked inside the hide-covered entrance, she straightened with a gasp. The interior was as lovely as any home Sloan had ever been in. The furniture was handmade, from the large couch to the white fur rug to the wooden bed against one wall, partially hidden behind a beautiful tapestry.

  Yelda motioned to the couch and Sloan sat dutifully, too stunned to say anything. Yelda went to a wooden countertop and used a lever to fill a pitcher with water, which she brought, along with two wooden cups, to a low table in front of the couch. She busied herself in a cabinet and brought a small wooden plate filled with dried meat, small dough balls, and wedges of what looked like yellow cheese. She moved swiftly to the sleeping area and returned with a top, skirt, and sandals. Sloan hurriedly dressed in the soft clothing, feeling more comfortable now that she was dressed.