Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One (21 page)

Hadaen gave her that devilish smile
and winked. "You're beautiful. So..." He eased between her spread
legs. "...damn beautiful."

"I want you inside me, Hadaen," she
said, softly.

"You'll get whatever you want, baby,"
he murmured against her ear. "But before the day ends I want you to
scream for me."

And he sunk inside her, so deep, so
fierce...so utterly intense. Amelia let out a small cry as his
thick shaft stretched her muscles, slid against her sensitive walls
in the age-old rhythm. She moved with him, thrust for
thrust...grind for grind as the pleasure swirled inside and around
her, making her tense with carnal gratification. Her first orgasm
ripped through her, leaving her greedy for more and nowhere near
spent.

Hadaen lifted her hips high, slamming
hard inside her, watching as her mouth fell wide open and her
fingers gripped tightly in the sheets. It took almost everything
inside him not to come just yet. Lowering himself to her, he took
her lips in a heart-melting kiss before flipping her over so she
straddled him.

Amelia almost jumped right off him at
the sensation of the new position. Her throat tightening, she
suddenly felt the sweet torture of being impaled by his long cock.
She sat still, afraid to move as even the slightest of shifts sent
a tremor coursing from her pussy all the way up to her
throat.

It was a delightful
feeling.

"Ride me, baby," Hadaen told her
hoarsely.

Amelia rest her palms against his
chest and leaned forward, gaining a loud groan from him. Had she
done something wrong? She surely sucked at this!

"What did I do?"

"That was just fine," Hadaen laughed.
"But damn, you're so tight, I'll come any minute." He then rest his
hands on her hips and gently moved her up and down his shaft. "Just
like that..."

Amelia mimicked the movement, enjoying
the ripple of delight that moved through her. She quickly got used
to the rhythm and her pace quickened, riding him hard and
fast.

She sucked in a breath. "Oh
shit..."

"Look at me." Hadaen thrust upwards
and inside her as she moved wildly against him. "Look at me,
Amelia."

And she did; their gazes locked and
both their breaths coming in loud puffs.

Her hips bucked against his but she
never stopped riding. In a quick minute, Amelia threw her head back
and let out a shriek that ended in her slick tight walls gripping
his cock like a vise...

and sucking every drop of release from
his body.

Five minutes later, they lay curled up
in each other's arms and staring up at the thick canopy of the
tent. Silence stretched throughout with an exception of their still
normalizing breathing.

Amelia felt sleepy. She wasn't tired
but the way Hadaen's fingers played lightly over her bare shoulder
and his other hand ran gently through her hair, she was left
feeling with a comfort she had never known. Besides, how could she
ever sleep when his hands were on her like that? Everything about
him made her desire him. The intense look in his eyes which never
walked far from his true feelings, the way his lips curled slightly
in the sexiest smile she could ever see on a man... the way in
which he was ever so confident as if he could never be
wrong.

At least he'd never been wrong about
one thing: she wanted him with everything that she knew. And she
was in love with the arrogant man.

"I know about you and Sienna," she
blurted out before she even realized that she had been thinking
it.

Hadaen stiffened and ran a
hand over his face. "Really, Amelia? You're going to mention that
woman...
Now
?"

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry... It
kind of just slipped out. Sorry."

Pulling her over on top of him so that
her legs were on either sides of him and her chin rested on his
chest, Hadaen gave her an amused look.

"Obviously, it's been on your
mind."

Amelia frowned. "Hardly. I j-just
thought you should know that I know."

A grin split his face as he traced her
blush from one cheek down her neck. "You might be able to block
your thoughts from me, Amelia. But I'm a great reader of emotion as
well."

"You don't have to explain
anything."

"Oh but I do." Hadaen sat up, pulling
her with him as he slid her legs around his waist. "There had been
many women before Sienna."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "And that
should make me feel so much better, right?"

"Come on," he chuckled. "Give me a
chance here." What she wanted was to give him a firm slap across
the head. Clearly, he was feeling too happy at the moment. "Look,
Sienna and I had a sexual relationship and that was all there was
to it. She is no different from the other women I had been with
before. She knew her place and what she could get from the
affair."

Amelia knew what she could get
too...

"So you only go through women purely
for the sex?"

Hadaen sighed. "I did."

"Did?"

"Amelia, don't make me feel like such
an asshole, okay? I can be a heartless bastard, I know. But I care
about you."

Care.
Well, it wasn't some terrible distance from love.

Amelia wrapped her arms around his
neck and kissed him, squeezing her eyes shut to stop her tears from
falling.

She loved him. For The First's sake,
she loved Hadaen Maruj!

But the weight of the secret she was
currently carrying threatened to rip her heart apart.

She didn't know which one would kill
her more quickly;

the dread the secret was bearing on
her soul.......

or the torture it promised to
bring.

Chapter Fifteen

T
he starry sky held no promises. No hope. No hint of their
redemption that was to come.

And it certainly held no answers
either. At least not the answers he was searching for.

Something was wrong...terribly wrong.
He could sense it.

The cold bitter wind chilled his skin
and he rubbed his palms together, blowing out a long shuddering
breath.

Hadaen figured that if they could
defeat Deorci once and for all, he'd be in a position to grant
Amelia all she wanted. All she deserved. He'd give her his support,
show her a world of passion. She would have everything. Be in need
of nothing.

He'd make her happy.

And that is why he would make it his
duty to see that Deorci would not--could not--lay a finger on her.
He'd shield her with his life. And the anticipated day was upon
them. In at least forty-eight hours, havoc would be brought and
spread across the land. Chaos would be unleashed with the horrid
stench of war and death. People would die. And all at the expense
of ridding the Marujan kingdom of the painful claws that Deorci
clutched it with.

Hadaen would fight to the end if that
was what it took; to deliver his people from hiding. To avenge his
father and the men and women the dark beast had
slaughtered.

"The Elders say the stars hold the
secrets of the universe, my lord."

Hadaen looked up at the sky and then
sideways at the blonde-haired woman next to him. She was beautiful.
And a great fighter, he had come to notice. If his brother didn't
wrap a metal chain around her wrist and attach it to himself, then
he'd be a damn fool. He looked at her hard and long as she regarded
the sky, her green eyes glittering beneath the
moonlight.

"You're romanticizing..." he let out
dryly.

Esyth looked at him, surprised for a
moment and then smiled. "I'm guilty. But humans surely can't be the
only ones to enjoy the delight it brings."

Hadaen nodded and returned his gaze to
the sky. "Gideon cares for you."

"I suppose he does. But he shouldn't
waste his time flattering himself in like with me. I could never
make him happy."

Hadaen shrugged. "I wouldn't be sure
about that... Give him hefty meals a day and put up with his
antics, you'll be just fine."

She laughed; a sound that was rather
lively on such a pensive night. "My lord, your brother is
confused."

"I don't think he's the one who's
confused," Hadaen murmured. "Gideon has never been the type to
pursue women." He chuckled this time and cocked a brow at her.
"Hell, it runs in our blood. It's always the women who pursue
us."

"But Amelia hadn't pursued
you."

A jolt ran through Hadaen and he
stiffened momentarily at her words. He would have liked to think
that Amelia had pursued him--not that he'd ever thought about it
before--but she hadn't.

He frowned slightly. She
hadn't.

"No." The word came out clipped and
flat.

"I apologize, my lord," Esyth returned
quickly, her eyes wide. "I didn't mean..."

"It's fine." Hadaen quickly shrugged
off the tension between them. "You're right. It's quite the
opposite."

Esyth swallowed loudly and gazed out
into the thick woodlands. The night was fairly still. At least
where they stood. Branches swayed gently in the wind, leaves
fluttering lightly. The bright mass in the center of the sky
shining down and around them.

"It seems like such an ordinary night,
doesn't it?"

"Isn't it?"

Esyth took the time to study to him.
His Lordship. The ruler of the Marujan kingdom. Her charge's
intended. Hadaen Maruj.

He wore a hard mask, no hint of
emotion. No sign of feeling. The only thing that gave away the fact
that he was a living being at that moment was that she could see
him breathing. She could see the cool mist oozing around his mouth
when he spoke. And when he released silent puffs of air through his
nostrils.

That was the only thing that separated
the two brothers. Hadaen Maruj was stern and hard on the
outside--not that she knew anything about what he was on the
inside--and Gideon was warm and charming; he was amusing and fun.
She wondered if His Lordship was anywhere close to that. But even
if he was, she quickly decided that it would absolutely be none of
her business.

"I spoke to the Elders. They believe
that we can overcome Deorci’s advances."

"I know we can."

Esyth nodded and turned towards him,
his body erect and still. "Amelia will get hurt."

That caught his attention. Hadaen spun
around instantly, his face like stone. "What do you
mean?"

She was silent for a long
moment.

"We all will be."

Hadaen searched her thoughts for a
minute until he looked away again. "We all are no strangers to
hurt, to pain. And we all have something to fight for. And that
will be our fuel, Esyth. But as long as I am still breathing,
nothing will happen to Amelia."

A bell resounded through the night,
causing Hadaen to look up curiously.

"The gathering will begin in a hour.
The bell serves as a reminder."

Now he was really confused. "What
gathering?"

"The Elders have gatherings
occasionally around a fire at the center of the village. I'm
assuming this one will be critical."

Hadaen nodded briefly and returned his
gaze to the stars.

He was still hoping for those
answers.

I
n. Out.

In.... Out....

She inhaled slowly, releasing the
breath at the same rate as she felt her mana coursing through her
body. Amelia could feel the immense power that was locked within
her, just waiting to be unlocked and put to full use. Placing her
palms on the knees of her legs that were crossed before her, she
allowed her eyes to flutter close as she followed the simple
instructions.

"In... and out. Now roll all that
energy in one tight ball and center it deep inside."

Amelia listened and did accordingly,
feeling the warmth running through her veins and settling in her
abdomen. It felt good, she acknowledged it as that. A smile spread
across her face as she opened her eyes to meet Sienna's intent
gaze.

"I did it."

The woman smiled and then downed the
rest of the wine she had been drinking.

"You'll do just fine." Sienna hunched
back on her heels and then sat on the floor, stretching her legs
out before her. She then burped loudly, clapping a palm over her
mouth. Giggling, she met Amelia's gaze. "Wine always brought out
the worst in me."

"We all have our...faults." Amelia
stared at the woman, reaching for the bowl of nuts next to her. She
popped a few in her mouth and crunched hard.

"It's obvious you're trying to say
something else."

"
Trying
?"

"Trying." Sienna returned the
look.

It was a few seconds before Amelia
feigned a sigh of relief and wiped an invisible trail of sweat from
her brow.