Lawked Flame (24 page)

“Self defense?” She poked her head out the
shower door and winked at him.

Exhaling, he snorted. The minx knew what she
was doing to his composure and deliberately teased his simmering
flame. Straightening, he removed his hand. If she wanted to play,
he would teach her a lesson about fire. And not the blue kind. “If
you wish.”

Leaning back against the wall, he stared at
her. Slowly, he ran his tongue across his lower lip and dropped his
lids to half mast. He gave his head a small shake, knowing she
loved to play in his hair. Her eyes widened and dropped to his
mouth. With slow deliberation, he cupped his cock again and shook
it a couple of times. Pleased when she swallowed hard, her teasing
glint replaced by one that matched the fire burning within him. His
Kee wanted her Lawke.

The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils
and punched his gut. She took a step out from behind the glass
door, her toned limbs drawing his gaze. Instinctively, he moved
toward his Kee, his lover, his woman. Never breaking eye contact,
he took her into his arms, bent forward and brushed his lips
against hers.

She moaned at the contact, her eyes hot as
they stared into his, asking for more. Mouth slanted across hers,
he kissed her deeply, giving her what she asked for while feeding
his own craving to taste her again. The force of her shudder spiked
his need. He tightened his hold, pulling her close, knowing he
would never be close enough. Not until they were unlocked and
became one, even then he was uncertain that would suffice.

Her leg rose and twisted around his calf.
The ache in his crotch deepened as her foot rubbed up and down the
back and inside of his leg. Groaning, he lifted her against his
jean-covered erection, cupping her soft, round ass as she wrapped
her naked limbs around his waist. Squeezing the delectable globes,
he rubbed her warm core against his hardness, kissing away her tiny
moans from the delicious friction.

Each time he tasted the moist cavern of her
mouth, he hungered for more. Never would he tire of feasting off
her. Every since he had awoken two days ago from the failed
unlocking, his desire to be inside her had been at a fevered pitch.
No matter how often he emptied himself in her, it was never enough.
It passed simple need and lust. It was as though the aborted
unlocking released something primitive in him, demanding he be as
close as possible to his Kee. And blessed the Good Mother, Alayna
was just as lusty, giving as much as she received.

They separated, chests heaving as they
pulled in air. Her forehead dropped beneath his neck. A second
later, his head snapped to the side and the muscles in his arms
bunched. Tilting sideways, he listened hard. The sound resonated
again, two unknown heart beats. Someone approached the house. His
team had cleared them, obviously not sensing a threat. However,
where his Kee was concerned, no one got close to her without him
completing a deep skin check.

“What?” Lifting her head, she touched his
cheek, trying to regain eye contact. “What’s wrong?”

He released her legs, allowing her to slide
down his front. She wiggled over his erection and then frowned when
he stopped her movement by holding her around the waist.

Taking his hand, she pulled it hard. “You’re
scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Someone is at the door and your mom just
opened it.”

He left her and reappeared in the front
room, not too far from where her mother and two people stood. A
tall white male and a much shorter Hispanic female stood in the
foyer talking, or rather listening, to Tina, Alayna’s mom Although
they could not see him, Khayden knew they sensed his presence and
that was not good. His Kee was going to be upset. Rage surged
through him as he completed the deep scan. Tamping down his fury,
he needed to get the situation under control without the red haze
of anger.

“
The two you allowed entry are not who
they seem, I will try to get them outside so we can dispose of them
properly
.
Be vigilant
.” He sent the message to his team
on the outside along with the sting of his displeasure at them for
endangering his woman.

A few days ago, he'd had no knowledge of
Alayna. Now, the mere thought of life without his Kee threw him
into a tailspin filled with darkness. Watching the two strangers,
he frowned. Somehow, the Geleet seemed to have radar locked onto
his woman. First, the two Geleets had followed her to the
restaurant. Then they'd somehow learned she was at her brother’s
house. Then there was the attack against Lorenzo as he carried her
possessions back to the Harven. And now, this blatant assault.

Wary, he sent a probe down his link to the
team outside and found no dark spots of deceit. Just in case, he
blocked all transmissions from them to anyone other than himself.
There had to be a mole. Someone close to him or his Kee was talking
to the Geleets.

The realization that one of his inner circle
would betray him pierced him deeply. For a few seconds, his
thinking clouded. He would ferret out the culprit soon and destroy
him slowly. Since everyone knew she was his Kee and each
individual’s strengthening proved that; he could not shut down all
information regarding her. But for right now, he would mute the
level of information anyone received, especially of her emerging
powers.

Khayden watched the threesome at the door,
knowing things would get ugly real soon. He needed to become
visible and that would create another problem. Alayna was not
prepared for him to meet her mother just yet. Unfortunately, the
situation had changed. The safety of his Kee and her blood relation
trumped everything else.

No telling what his Kee would do if anything
happened to her parent. It was critical he prevent Alayna from
charging into danger. The thought of his Kee and son in peril sent
a blast of fire through him. The temperature in the room shot up in
response to his extreme displeasure. Sniffing, the male’s head
swung around as his eyes searched the room.

Tina waved the visitors forward and spoke
with real warmth in her voice. “Alayna’s in the shower, she should
be out soon. She’ll be happy to see you, Rodney.” She turned to the
woman fidgeting next to the too quiet male whose eyes darted around
the room. “Jan, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How are your
parents?”

Rodney? Khayden took another look at
Alayna’s former business partner and his mate.

“She has laryngitis and can’t talk,” Rodney
said, drawing Tina’s eyes back to him as he stepped closer to
her.

Khayden silently cursed, sensing what would
happen within the next few seconds.

Tina reached toward the smaller woman,
sympathy oozing from her voice. “I’m sorry, can I get you anything?
Some hot tea?”

Khayden wished he could tell her to stop
talking and run like hell. Her friends were probably dead or worse,
in a hive, food for Geleet hatchlings. He had a team searching for
their nest, but so far they had been unsuccessful.

Instead, Khayden sped across the floor to
remove Alayna’s mother from the coming confrontation. But the male
was too close. He grabbed her outstretched hand, yanking Tina
against his front; his other hand squeezed her neck, cutting off
her painful protest. The color bled from her face as she struggled
to break free in her captor’s unyielding grip.

Frustrated, Khayden circled the pair,
looking for an opening. The male’s eyes searched the room as he
sniffed hard trying to pinpoint Khayden’s location. The Hispanic
female, the one called Jan, remained uncharacteristically still.
The next second, two Geleets stood behind the woman.

Khayden swore. They were using the female as
a carrier, no telling how many Geleets she held inside her frame.
With a burst of speed, Khayden grabbed the female and the two
Geleets she had just released and threw them through the window
with a loud crash, counting on his men to take care of them. The
sound of running feet had him turning.

“What the hell?” Alayna ran toward her
mother. Khayden blurred in her direction and intercepted her before
she got too close to the male who looked like Rodney. Angrily, she
pushed at Khayden’s arm and yelled at the caricature of her
associate. “Rodney, what the hell are you doing?”

Without easing his vise-like grip around her
waist, Khayden spoke directly into her ear. “Breathe, breathe
deeply and you will know he is not your friend.” The tall male’s
brow rose at Khayden’s comment although he remained silent. He
shifted a now limp Tina from one arm to his other arm, as he shed
his human flesh.

Eyes widening, Alayna leaned back into his
chest and screamed as the male’s skin peeled like a banana, with
unseen hands, making a disgusting sucking sound. Muted sunlight
bounced off green scales lacquered with a thin film of a slimy
substance. The face morphed into lizard-like features; no ears, an
elongated skull and throat, long pointed nose. Slits of rolled,
tough skin functioned as lips, housing a long, thick orange tongue
that flicked out with each hiss he sent at them.

The lizard creature stepped forward as
though he had just dropped his clothes on the floor. Padded feet
with large clawed toes kicked the discarded skin across the floor,
as though it was offensive.

It hissed repeatedly while maintaining its
distance. The creature’s slimy orange tongue flicked forward and
teased Tina’s cheek before licking her slightly parted lips.

Stiffening in Khayden’s arms, Alayna
screamed. “No!” She pushed and jumped in his arms, trying to break
free so she could get to her mother. “Stop him, that’s my mama.
Stop!”

She jerked harder while pointing at the
odious creature. Her tears wet his arm as the lizard continued
petting the unconscious woman with dusky-brown clawed
fingertips.

Torn, Khayden was uncertain what to do.
Acute distress flowed from the depths of his Kee, demanding he fix
the situation. Right now, the older woman was still alive, but if
he attacked she would die. The creature understood his life was
forfeit, and would kill the woman immediately. Unfortunately, his
Kee refused to see that. He called for backup. “
If you sense an
opening that will not harm my Kee’s mother, kill it.
” He sensed
the surprise and then the flood of respect and understanding his
team had for the situation. They would do everything possible to
keep the woman safe. Now, he needed to deal with his irrational
Kee.

“Kill him, Khayden. Kill that bastard right
now.”

Alayna’s pain lashed at him, cutting to his
core. He had to take a chance to save her mother. His men had
already disposed of the other Geleets and stood nearby waiting for
an opportunity to strike. He looked around the room for an
advantage point.

“Oh hell, no. Not that shit again.” Alayna
yelled.

Inhaling, he recognized the distinctive foul
smell of poison. The acceleration of her heartbeat hammered against
him, he tightened his hold around her waist.

The tangy scent of her anger burned his
nostrils, and then her scent changed. In an attempt to keep the
poison from her relative, Alayna blew streams of air toward the
foulness, as though it were a lit matchstick. Khayden’s eyes
widened as the streams of breath solidified then separated into two
funnels of air and began spinning. The tiny twin whirlwinds quickly
moved in the direction of the venomous vapors, surrounding the
darkened mist and sucked up the fumes before winking out.

Khayden blinked in amazement. He knew Alayna
had no idea what she had just done. She was too busy yelling,
cursing at him and trying to break free from his hold. He figured
his current actions violated her boyfriend rules and did not look
forward to the testy exchange later, but he would never allow her
anywhere near his enemies.

Standing on tiptoes, she raised one fist at
the Geleet as though she could strike him and held onto his forearm
with the other, while yelling. “Leave my mama alone, you bastard.”
The room pulsed lightly.

Khayden glanced down at Alayna. Her scent
changed again, now a strong spicy scent was layered over her
natural fragrance. Then her voice rose in pitch with an underlying
thread of power. Her eyes had hardened like tiny amber crystals.
Her teeth and jaw clenched as she swore vengeance against the
animal holding her mother. With each word, Alayna’s balled fist
rose and fell. The creature’s hold loosened on Tina. Khayden
wondered if Alayna was even aware of the blows she landed on the
Geleet.

“
Be prepared to grab the woman
.” The
Lawke nearest Alayna’s mother nodded, although his head swung
between the struggling woman across the room in Khayden’s arms and
the swaying Geleet whose glassy eyes and lolling tongue indicated
he was no longer a threat. The Geleet stumbled; his captive fell
listlessly to the floor.

If Alayna’s tantrum had not required
Khayden’s full attention, he would have better appreciated the
pummeling his Kee had given their hapless enemy. As it was, the
Geleet staggered two steps forward, released a long hiss, and fell
with a thud, sending vibrations through the floor.

Stunned, Khayden loosened his grip. Alayna
tore from his arms and ranto her mother. A keening wail rang
through the room as the rest of his men came inside to assist.
Khayden’s heart plummeted at the sound of her devastation. She
dropped to the floor beside the unmoving woman.

Every Lawke watched in silence as she
pressed fingertips against her mother’s neck, mumbling words which
sounded like a prayer. A scream of anguish, so heartbreaking it
rippled through the air, released small spirals of air throughout
the room. Khayden masked the spirals so no one else could see them,
his attention split between his Kee and his men.

Alayna’s shoulders heaved and shook with
each sob. Khayden released a sigh of relief as the whirlwinds
blinked out. Every Lawke in the room fell to their knees and bowed
their heads. Khayden fell to his knees in front of Alayna, unsure
what he could say or do to help her through her sorrow. The harsh
sounds of her weeping filled the otherwise silent room, ripping a
hole in his chest.