Dark Throne, The (18 page)

That he shared this compulsion to be close was quite
soothing
.

As long as she wasn't alone with this
depth of feeling for a practical stranger, she could
cope.

They'd left the market behind and not even Heather's desire
to see more of Mearth made the bland landscape before her
interesting
. Seeing one
triangular hill made the rest rather boring and the Mearthen
version of grass scratched at her ankles. She'd worn high-tops, but
the grass managed to get in and score her flesh.

Rather than ask a question that made her feel about five
years old - the unforgettable, are we there yet?- she instead
asked, "Fade
? When you go to
battle, will I be able to come with you?"

Ever since they'd departed the market with its weird
produce and enchanted foods, he'd been quiet
. His eyes focused on the horizon, switching between
that to view the land and the sky. God knows what he'd been
searching for, but it was almost as though he had an internal
compass. She could sense that he knew exactly where they were
heading.

"I would prefer that you remain within a stronghold, but I
doubt that will be possible
.
I've heard of mate bonds, know of the way in which they function,
but there is no rhythm or rhyme to them either. I would like to say
that within time, distance between us will not cause us unease. But
I doubt it. It felt as though half my soul had disappeared this
afternoon. And there were but a few hundred feet separating us.” He
shook his head. "On the battlefield, I would not be able to
concentrate not knowing where you were or what you were doing. I
dislike the idea of you being in the general's tent, for it places
you in danger, but no more danger than what it would do to our
souls to be so separated.”

"I'm not weak, Fade
.
Genuinely. I've taught self-defense. I can care for
myself.”

"I do not doubt that, sweetling
. But elfen warriors are far stronger than those on
Earth. They have extra senses and magick. Plus, battle armor. How
are you supposed to maim a man with your foot if they are encased
in metal?" When she grimaced, he nodded. "But there is little use
in worrying about it. We shall simply have to stay
close.”

Neither of them stated that that would be a
hardship
. Because it wouldn't.
The little time they'd spent together as a mated couple already
spoke for itself. Heather had always been independent. Had always
liked her own space and time for herself. But with Fade, it was
different and she knew he shared the sentiment. It was like being
with herself, but
better
. She was with
someone who completed her in ways she hadn't known she
lacked.

The idea of being with an ex, twenty four hours a day,
would have sent her crazy
.

With Fade, it was as natural as
breathing
.

"Do you have to fight
?
I thought Kings ordered their men about from the safety of their
palace?"

Fade grinned
. "Many
do, sweetling. But not Warrior Kings. The clue is quite definitely
in the title.”

Rolling her eyes, she grunted
. "Okay, you have to endanger your ass, but make sure it
always come back safe and sound.” She sucked in a breath, not ready
to admit the depth of her emotion. Because even the idea of him
being nicked by a knife sent terror washing through her.

He must have sensed her distress, because he came to a halt
and pressed his lips to hers
.
His tongue forced its way into the orifice and their tongues slid
against the other, seeking affirmation. Seeking that
connection.

Both sighed, when everything settled into
place
. When fear and distress
disappeared and was replaced with contentedness and
togetherness.

"Fear not, my dearling
. I will always come back to you.”

"Good
,” she whispered,
her voice laden with the pleasure he'd given to her in one
kiss.

That alone had her primed for some
action
. She could tell from
the sweat beading at his temples, that he shared her need but he
shook his head and banked down the fires.

His control was tougher than hers, because she'd already
broken
. He could have lain her
down on the soil with the itchy grass scratching her every inch and
fucked her in the middle of nowhere, for all she cared. She
was
that
hot,
that
quickly.

A shudder snaked its way down her
spine and she whispered, "Can't we just fly to wherever we need to
go?"

Again, he came to an abrupt halt
.

"You would be willing?" he asked, stunned surprised lacing
his words
.

She frowned
. "I
wouldn't have asked if I weren't. I don't get why we haven't been
flying from the very start.” She glared down at her ankles. "This
grass itches.”

He was staring at her in a way that suggested one of two
things
. She'd grown two heads
or. . . . for a moment, her mind was stuck on that thought. What
was the opposite of growing two heads?
Lost
two
heads?

Her thoughts were scattered, when he whispered, "You truly
aren't repulsed
. You weren't
lying.”

Eyes widening in umbrage, Heather kicked his shin and
yelped as pain shot through her toes
. Hopping on one leg, she grabbed her foot and glared up at
him. "No. I wasn't lying, thank you very much. Whatever I say, I
tend to mean. That's how honesty works, isn't it?"

"My life has not been filled with honesty,
Heather
. You are more
refreshing than a fountain of the purest water to a man dying of
thirst.” He suddenly knelt to the ground and reached for her hand.
Pressing his lips to her fingers, he looked up at her and
whispered, "I am honored to be your mate.”

A
little bewildered at the extreme reaction, Heather cupped his jaw
with her free hand and in a voice as soft as his, murmured, "I am
honored to be your mate too, Fade
. Truly.”

His eyes closed and for a moment, his mouth worked but no
words escaped
. He nodded and
slowly rose to a standing position. As he moved, his wings arched
and flexed until they were fully spread and nearly twice his
width.

Or perhaps that was an optical illusion
. Just like the span of a human's arms was that
same person's height, she felt sure the wing thing worked the same
way.

All she knew, was that as soon as those feathers were out,
her need burned within her again
. Seeing them, scenting their essence. . . . it was like
wafting cocaine in front of a coke head. She wanted
more.

For a moment, Heather's head was filled with images of her
riding his cock as they flew to wherever they were heading, but she
said nothing as he held out his hands for her
. She reached for them and did as bade, when he
said, "Jump up and clasp my waist with your thighs.”

He proceeded to wrap his arms around her back like
protective webbing as soon as her thighs gripped him and his wings
began to waft back and forth
.
She groaned as his essence permeated her nostrils again but buried
her face in this throat to hide her need. It was hardly a helpful
position, for his scent was strong there too.

Urging herself to be silent
and
to stop being so
damned horny, she felt the jolt as soon as they'd taken off and
were flying. She could also tell they were hovering.

"Why aren't we moving?" she asked
.

"So you can accustom yourself to the
movement
.”

She didn't reply, simply buried her face in his throat
again and let him do what he had to do
. When they took off for real, she merely tightened her
grip on him. Not one part of her feared that he'd let her go or
that he'd place her in any danger. She was safe within his arms.
Safer than she'd ever been. He'd kill himself before he placed her
in any danger, she knew that implicitly. Trust had already
blossomed between them and was like a Summer's garden, already
brimming with flowers.

Flying, the movement of sailing through the air, wasn't
jerky as she'd expected
. But
smooth. In a way, that made more sense, for what were his wings but
huge versions of a bird's? Bird flight wasn't jerky or awkward.
They used the wind to soar higher and to drift lower. Fade did the
same.

There was a chill in the air that told her they were
high
. She could have looked
down, could have peeked over his shoulder, but Heather knew it
would prod her motion sickness into kicking into gear.

Something she hadn't told him
.

Before any journey, Heather took motion sickness
tablets
. Be it the subway or
the car - she always felt ill, when she was within a vehicle that
moved too fast for her insides to cope. It was why she walked
everywhere. After her move to Pennsylvania, she'd bought a car and
learned how to drive. When she was in control of the vehicle, the
sickness wasn't so bad. But it was still there. Lying in wait to
pounce.

So far, she'd not experienced any symptoms and wondered if
it was because she was too horny to feel sick, or if it was because
Fade's movements were soft and gentle
. The brush of Mearth's sun against her head and back
weren't too uncomfortable as the wind gushed against her and cooled
her down.

In fact, as she processed it, Heather realized her body was
enjoying the sensation
.

However, she still felt no desire to
look over his shoulder.

A
stiff breeze whistled by her ear and even had she wanted to, it
would have put paid to any conversation between the pair of
them
. Which was a shame. She
wished she'd brought her earphones and MP3 player to while away the
time, because they flew for hours. By the time her legs felt
cramped, they were in the throes of a
full-blown
cramp.
She'd gone way past pins and needles and numbness. In fact, as soon
as he put her down, she knew she'd just collapse into a puddle of
goo.

When the blood eventually returned to her extremities, and
pain returned with it, Fade would owe her about five
orgasms
.

That number increased as the journey seemed to be without
surcease
.

Gradually, however, she felt the change of motion and
realized they were descending
.
He was riding the headwinds and his wings were no longer moving but
were held taut. The soaring motion was a peculiar one. It made her
stomach flip about but it provided such a sensation of freedom,
that her body couldn't reject it and make her sick.

When they eventually landed, Heather heard Fade's panting
breaths and immediately, felt guilty
.

She'd been inwardly complaining about a numb ass and Fade
had been doing all the work
.

She did what any woman in love with a fool of a man did,
she berated him
. "What the
hell did you think you were doing? Have you ever flown that long
before? You're exhausted.”

Heather leaned back to glare at him and glared all the more
at the slight smile on his weary face
. He looked worse than he'd sounded, which was almost
impossible. In the darkening light, she could see little but that
twitch of his lips and the look of exhaustion written into every
line of his face.

Now the wind had stopped battering them, she could feel the
shivers running through him and felt like hitting him all the
more
. If she could have done,
she'd have jumped down but her legs wouldn't let her.

"Help me down, Fade
.
I'm making it worse for you, but my legs are stuck in this
position.” That he didn't argue told her how tired he was and
together, they managed to separate themselves. Immediately, as
she'd predicted, she fell to the ground. What she hadn't predicted,
was that he did too. Albeit, in a controlled way.

They lay on the ground, each groaning at
t
heir own aches, but Heather
swiftly noticed that this was a different grass. It didn't itch or
prickle, but was smooth. Almost like moss. Far more comfortable, in
Heather's opinion and it led to the belief that they'd crossed from
one land into another. For the length of time they'd taken, they
could have crossed into another world.

She would complain, but at the same time, if he hadn't have
flown, they'd have had to walk such a distance
. Christ, she far preferred this option to
that.

"Where are we
? And
where was the market?" Why she hadn't asked before, Heather didn't
know. As soon as they'd set foot on Mearth, she'd been like a kid
in a candy store. Mouth agape, wandering around like a
fool.