Julian tried. With all of his might he tried to use logic to tell himself that she did not mean what she was saying; that she was simply lashing out to hurt him as she felt he had hurt her, but it was no use. Logic couldn’t prevail and he had been holding back too many thick, seething emotions for too damn long. Everything rushed out of him in a reactive energy wave that nothing could stop and none could brace against. All of his fury, jealousy, and even his passion for her blew out of him like a geyser. He threw back his head, clenched his body tight, and released a primal, roaring scream up into the air.
The entire village bucked and rolled with the impact of it, the lurching walkway sending her toppling into him and grabbing hold of him. He could feel her wrestling with her fear of falling from the wobbling walkway and being face-to-face with so much obvious rage that she had purposely caused. There were two very solid thumps on the planking behind and in front of Julian, and he knew immediately that it was Kine and Shade.
“My God, you’re all insane,” Asia gasped, obviously realizing the two men had jumped down from a higher level to get to them.
“Julian,” Kine said carefully. “You have to calm down.” He frowned at Asia. “What the hell did you say to him?” he demanded.
“Oh, screw you,” she snapped back. “I’m sick of being made to feel like I’m the designated asshole around here. You can all go to hell.”
Julian felt her shove away from him. In his state of emotional nausea it felt like simply more rejection, another threat of abandonment. He fought the irrationality of it, but this was powerful stuff he wasn’t used to reining in.
“God, she’s gonna get us all killed,” Shade hissed from behind him.
“Stay where you are,” Kine commanded her.
Too late.
The buck and roll was the most violent yet, but worse was the echoing cries of angry men from level after level of the village.
“Asia,” Kine said cautiously, trying to use a kind voice when he clearly wanted to force her to do his will. “I know you can’t appreciate the delicate balance emotional energy plays in this society as a whole, but at the very least understand that the connection between you and Julian unleashes uncontrollable emotions. Julian is handling them well because he spent so much time managing the influence of human emotion, but he is obviously not able to maintain it if you persist in taunting him!”
“Everyone will feel and act on his rage and fury; that is how powerful it is, Asia. It’s infecting the whole colony and he can’t control it! Please do something,” Shade begged her. “Apologize or take back whatever it was you said…. Just do something to help!”
Julian was half crouched in a tight knot of animalistic rage. In his mind, all he saw was Asia giving herself joyfully to one man after another after another. Possessive need choked him and he emitted a low, dangerous growl.
Asia went very still. If there was one thing a woman like her had a true sense of, it was when danger was close at hand. Still, she faced the thing she had created with straight shoulders and a fearless aplomb. Even through the haze of his emotional breakdown, Julian could smell the way she quickly shed all of her fear and saw the anger in her aura dissipate. It was a beginning. Her body language and intent were no longer screaming hurtful images at him of how she would take other men by the dozens rather than ever come to him. His imagination hardly needed the help, however, as her threat rang sickly through his wild mind. Julian struggled to regain control, groaning as the rush of negativity battered out of him in awful waves.
The sudden touch of her hand against his chest was like an anchor in a squalling tempest. It drew all of his focus, that simple sensation of touch. Then a second hand followed, sliding gently against his throat before grasping the back of his neck. She leaned close to him and he could feel the intense wash of her glorious body heat, and the divine scent that was purely Asia. He groaned again, this time with the utter pleasure the simplistic stimulation of his senses gave him. His mind was slowly clearing and calming. He could see her reaching for him, pulling him down to her beautiful mouth.
Julian suddenly stopped her, one hand locking around the wrist that drew him to her and the other grasping her by the chin.
“Not,” he rasped roughly, “unless you mean it. I’ll not be charity to you or take affection as mere damage control.”
She paused a moment, obviously to think about it. Cool blue eyes regarded him for a long moment. “Will you take it as an apology for being purposely cruel to you? Because I was, and it was beneath me.”
“Aye,” he breathed as he lowered his head, “I’ll take an apology.”
And an opportunity. The chance to burn onto her memory the way it could be between them if only she would welcome it instead of fighting it so hard. Ignoring the presence of his friends, he grabbed hold of her like a drowning creature would cling to driftwood, molding her to his body in hard, fierce need. She bent to match him, her flexible body easy and soft in his grasp as he devoured her in a passionate kiss. Her mouth opened under his and he rumbled out a sound of appreciation for the opportunity to dive deep within and drink of her erotic and splendid taste. He did not set a goal to kiss her until he was sated, because he knew he would never reach that point of satisfaction by the path of mere kisses. He couldn’t pause to explain to her how he, like so many of these males, had waited all of his life for her. He had never believed it would happen, and had never stopped cradling a tiny flame of hope that it would. Now he knew God was testing him for every time he had doubted and scoffed against this gift. He was going to make Julian earn what he had dared to treat so dismissively.
“Release it,” he heard Kine mutter under his breath.
It was a reminder that damage had been done to them all, and now he must pay the price of repair. They both must. Julian uncapped the place inside himself where his passion raged and eagerly devoured every tiny tidbit of pleasure she deigned to give to him. Had he a better choice, he would have kept the baldness and starkness of his need and relief in reserve. It was a deep exposure of his most private feelings. But Kine was right. After releasing so much violence into the village’s supply of energy, he needed to counterbalance it with strong, stunning joy. Since he knew Asia was not likely to allow him to rip it from her abundant surplus, he had to take it from himself.
He turned his full attention to the taste and feel of the beautiful creature in his arms. What he wouldn’t give just then to be alone with her in a room with secure footing and, mercifully, a bed. It wasn’t that he wanted to take anything from her, but that he wanted to give. She wasn’t just a convenient body to slake his drought of thirst. She wasn’t just a pool of resource others needed to drink from in order to survive. She was kindra. A queen. A soul mate. A true Companion. To him she would be where he would rest his body and soul from now…until the very last of his breaths.
Now all he had to do was convince her he was worthy of being the same to her.
She drew back for breath, but he quickly caught her and kissed her with firm, meaningful intent. When he lifted his head she was flushed and soft all across her face, her cool eyes suddenly looking very hot.
“What was that for?” she asked in a rush of air.
“An apology,” he said. “For what you’ve lost. I’m sorry you are so angry about what you left behind, but I swear to you I will show you something so much better. There are dangers and terrible things just like on any world, but it can be joyous and beautiful, too. Rewarding. You will see.”
“Maybe,” she said carefully.
“Will you at least allow me the chance to convince you?”
“Maybe,” she said again, but this time there was a mischievous smile twitching at her lips.
Julian released her carefully, making sure she had her feet settled right. He turned to his friends. “Patrol every level for the next hour to make certain there are no lingering effects.” He looked up at his home again. “And send two guards to my home.”
Julian reached down to take
Asia’s hand in his and led the way up to his house.
Chapter 8
Asia had so much information and sensation running through her mind and body that she was barely paying attention as she followed him through the threshold of the steel door to his house. A foolish mistake, given that a known enemy lurked within. However, Julian’s dramatic outcry and curse snapped her to full alert. He released her hand and rushed into the kitchen area, the beaded divider clacking and swinging violently as he burst through it.
There, lying in a crumpled heap in a pool of her own blood, was the young Ariel. She had a knife embedded in her back, near her right shoulder and collarbone. She had been rather pale to start with, but now she was ghostly white and barely drawing breath as Julian reached down and turned her over gently into his arms.
“Ari? Ariel?” he called to her softly as he stroked a bloodstained finger over her neck and throat in an attempt to rouse her.
Asia felt an unbelievable rush of irritation as she watched Julian touch the other woman so very tenderly and with an obvious affection. Who the hell was this woman to him, anyway? Why was he being so kind to the same treacherous bitch who had tried to kill her with her devious invitation to walk out the door? What happened to all of his gushing words about how he couldn’t tolerate any harm done to her?
Well, he was looking pretty damn tolerant just then.
“Honey? Wake up.”
The endearment compounded everything Asia was feeling and she felt choked with hostile emotion. It confused her as it rushed over her. She had seen wounded criminals before and had always afforded them human compassion and aid whether she wanted to or not. Why was she so against doing the same for this girl who had clearly been a victim of a brutal assault? She was lying there all but dead and all Asia could think of was that the way Julian was touching her made her want to crush the twit with a string of offensive linebackers. Asia gripped the edge of a countertop at her back until her fingers ached and her knuckles were white as she struggled to fight back the hectic, irrational emotions. What in hell is happening to me? What has Julian done to me?
Besides kiss the bejeezus out of her? Asia simply had no way of answering the question. She was still trying to grasp the concept that she was trapped in this world with this man whether she liked it or not.
She certainly wasn’t prepared to like it, never mind start to crave it.
Ariel opened her eyes. Soft and brown, they seemed suddenly vulnerable and innocent, and Asia instantly felt bad for being so harsh in her thoughts just before. After all, it had probably not even occurred to someone who’d been raised in a single environment all of her life that someone would be unable to navigate something as simple as the walkways and ledges beyond the door.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Julian said gently as he cradled the weak girl close. “Can’t turn my back on you for a second,” he teased as he waited for her to fully focus on him. “What happened? Who did this, honey?”
Asia frowned. There certainly was a lot of “honey” and “sweetheart” flying around the room. Clearly Julian had a few more details he needed to explain to her, and Ariel’s significance in his household had damn well better be one of them.
Then Ariel blinked and weakly raised a hand.
“She did,” she croaked, pointing to Asia.
Asia saw Julian’s entire body stiffen and his head whipped around so he could narrow an accusatory green glare on her. She was so shocked by the accusation that all she could manage was a sharp, disbelieving laugh for a minute. Then she realized Julian was actually willing to give the ridiculous story credence.
“That is a hell of a nasty fucking lie! Don’t tell me you believe I would stab some girl in the back for no good reason!”
“To escape,” Ariel rasped. “I tried to stop her.”
“Okay, now you have to know she’s lying her ass off,” Asia shot out sharply, her hands dropping hard on her hips. “I wouldn’t need a damn knife to lay her out and you know it.”
Julian hesitated, turning his head indecisively between the two women.
“Asia, she can’t exactly stab herself in the back. Why would she even want to?” he asked.
Well, heck. He had a point. It was pretty damning to look at. Except she knew she hadn’t done it.
“Let’s just get her some help. You can accuse me all you want, but let’s keep it to assault and not murder. She doesn’t look good at all,” she grumbled in grudging awareness for the duplicitous twit’s life. Go ahead, save her, heal her, get her on her feet so I can slap the shit out of her on even ground. “Ground” being a relative term, of course.
Julian’s expression was grim as he nodded with agreement. He set Ariel down on her side, wincing when the girl groaned with pain and weakness. Then he hurried back to the door so he could step out and call loudly for help. Left alone with her accuser, Asia frowned down at the girl.
“What’s your game?” she demanded.
Ariel didn’t respond, but Asia most certainly did not miss the woman’s smug little smile. That was when she knew Ariel had somehow set this up so she could get rid of Asia’s presence in Julian’s life. She remembered the outburst the girl had sputtered earlier, and she realized that she was a direct threat to Ariel’s relationship with Julian. Was Ariel his wife? Was she being cast off because of this kindra business?
As soon as she thought it, she realized it couldn’t be. She couldn’t say she knew Julian well at all, but instinct told her that a man who fought so hard to honor the needs of his people would never make a false promise or break a sworn vow. Whatever she was, whatever her relationship to Julian, this deceptive girl was willing to do whatever it took to eliminate Asia as a threat—even risking her own life in the process. It was the act of a completely unhinged mind and it made her heart stutter to think Julian kept such a creature close by. If he was as critically important to his people as she had begun to comprehend, someone this unstable put thousands of lives in jeopardy. That knife could just as easily have ended up in Asia’s back…or worse, Julian’s.
Asia slowly crouched down over the twisted young woman and very carefully engaged her ear.
“I come from a world of violence and deception the likes of which you will never understand any more than I comprehend this world in its entirety, and you should be grateful for that, you fool. But you will grasp one thing very clearly, Ariel. I am a woman who hunts men who murder and rape and decimate people’s lives just for the joy of how it makes them feel. I have hunted women who have slaughtered their own young, driven knives into the hearts and testicles of the men they swore they loved. I have hunted children who sell drugs to babies and who burn down houses because it gets them off to see the destruction and the aftermath of people’s ruined lives. If you think for one tiny little second that you and your sneaky little tricks and lies are going to get the best of me, you are in for a world of shock, honey.”
She stood up over her and looked down on Ariel’s wide stare of surprise and saw the small inkling of fear that was finally reflected within it.
“Stay away from me and stay away from Julian, Ariel. As I understand it, there are hundreds of men out there who are desperate for a woman. Take my advice. Get well and choose one. Choose all of them. Choose anyone but Julian. Got it?”
“I think she’s got it,” Julian said, his voice dark and heavy behind her.
Asia turned slightly on her heel and shrugged a shoulder at his brooding expression of disapproval. “I hope so. Anyone who is willing to rig up a way to stab themselves in the back just to turn you against me is only one step shy of taking the knife to my throat next, and only two steps from yours. It’s called: ‘If I can’t have him, then no one can.’ It’s really quite a predictable psychology.”
Julian’s frown deepened as he looked down at Ariel. He said nothing in reply because others began to spill into his house to retrieve the dying girl. Julian left Asia alone for a while as he set out to see Ariel was comfortable and well cared for in the infirm
ary.
Left to her own devices, Asia took the time to slowly explore his home. Her inspection earlier had been distracted and cursory. This time she took the time to appreciate the details. Overall it was a casual and rustic environment, not what her culture would expect of a king’s main residence. But then again, he was also a Gatherer, and clearly he spent a great deal of time on the Earth plane. An absent ruler. How did such an arrangement work? From what she had divined, he was gone for months, perhaps even years at a time. How did a man run a colony if he wasn’t there?
Then again, Richard the Lionheart ruled all of England while gallivanting into Crusade after Crusade. But he had left someone in charge in his stead. Who had Julian chosen for such an important task?
It was so surreal. The man she had been stalking was nothing she had thought him to be. He was a king, for heaven’s sake! She had thought him a low-life piece of murdering scum. How could she have been so wrong? Surely there had been signs that he wasn’t a killer?
Asia nodded, acquiescing the point. There had been plenty of signs; she just had not wanted to see them. She had made an assumption and a mold and had forced Julian into it. Granted, the fact that he had made so many women disappear had helped…but she had seen the clean class of his lifestyle and the authoritative confidence of his demeanor and seen an organized predator and an arrogant psychopath instead of the thoughtful man he truly seemed to be. It was almost creepy, how many of the qualities that made a king could also be attributed to the psychopathic mind. To be fair to herself, it wasn’t often you found royalty bouncing at a long chain of clubs.
Asia returned to the scene of the “crime” and stepped carefully over the blood on the floor to enter the kitchen. She slowly inspected the place for a clue as to how Ariel had managed to stab herself in such an awkward and difficult spot.
“Anything?”