Fantasy Warrior (3 page)

“You can understand me?”

He nodded, and the corners of his lips lifted into a sly smile.

“Well, okay then. I don’t mind doing most of the talking. Um, are you thirsty?”

That time she got a head shake out of him. The man had the most incredible eyes she’d ever seen. His irises were the color of oil-rubbed bronze spattered with tiny scattered flecks of gold. Even in her drunken state she could tell he wasn’t wearing contacts. His eyes were actually that color, not fake at all. He blinked, startling her.

Dammit, I’m staring at him like a lovesick schoolgirl.

Pam glanced away, pretending to check on her friends. Unfortunately, her gaze slid sideways, taking in the sight of his broad chest and then his rippling abs. A part of her mind registered that he had a circular design tattooed on the right side of his chest. It decorated about half of one immense pectoral muscle.

Once she realized she gawked at his massively ripped torso, she forced herself to look at the table where his hand rested over her own. He wore leather gauntlets, which covered his forearms from wrist to elbow. They were a nice sexy touch to an already scorching costume.
Don’t go there.

If she didn’t stop eye-groping him, she’d burst into flames right there on her stool. As a last resort, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath. A faint musky scent surrounded her, so masculine and thigh-clenching exciting. He smelled good enough to…
Oh hell, no.
She absolutely had to get a grip on her libido.

Frantic to think of something to say, she asked the first non-sexual thought that popped into her mind. “So, are those guys your friends?” Pam tilted her head and looked toward the group of men standing across the room. In her opinion, they seemed way too curious about what Kord was doing.

He nodded and then to her surprise he chuckled. The sound was unexpected, deep and throaty, and so very sensual. Pam shifted on her stool, praying that when she eventually stood she wouldn’t leave a wet spot. She couldn’t do anything to hide her nipples. They were painfully stiff, and she wasn’t cold at all.

Why had she dressed naked tonight of all nights? The guy turned her on just by holding her hand. She stole a quick glance at him and caught him admiring her breasts.

She crossed her free arm over her chest and laughed nervously. “I’m not used to being undressed like this. It’s just a costume. I wanted to do something daring, and this is what I came up with. I think the artist did a great job. Everyone has been very complimentary, even the women.”
Oh no
.
Now I’m rambling on like some airhead.
Please, make it stop,
she pleaded with her impaired brain. “Do you like it?”
What? Did I just ask him that? I’m brain dead and my mouth isn’t sober enough to realize it.

He nodded with a great deal of eagerness it seemed.

“Okay, look. I’ve had a few drinks, and I think it’s screwing with my mind so don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t usually act this way.”

Like a total boob.
Was it getting hotter in the bar? Or was it just her hand heating up?

“Sandra.”

His deep voice had a settling effect on her frayed nerves, helping her gather her wits.

“Kord, I’d like to talk to you, but I don’t know how it’s possible.”

His expression turned thoughtful and then, without warning, he released her hand, stood and crossed over to his friends. Pam overheard some of their conversation. It was a heated discussion about something, which ended abruptly after Kord growled at them.

Pam gasped. Her barbarian had growled like an angry pit bull about to attack. In response, some of the shorter men simply shook their heads and backed away. The others curiously glanced at her. She didn’t know if she should be concerned or not, but as soon as Kord returned and sat, he smiled. That had to be a good sign, right?

He grabbed her hand again before speaking. “Yes.” He nodded. “No.” He shook his head. His smile widened, and he said, “Sandra lovely.” He nodded again. Apparently, his friends had known a few words to share with him.

Whether it was in reaction to his hand or his words, Pam’s insides turned all warm and gushy. It didn’t even matter to her that he hadn’t said her real name.

Ridiculous.

She sighed. “Thank you. Kord very handsome,” she said, unintentionally mimicking his speech pattern. Then raising her free hand high above her head, she added, “And very big and tall.”

He threw his head back and laughed heartily. It was the best sound she’d ever heard, and it put her at ease. A good thing too, since she spied a full set of long, sharp canines, top and bottom, when he laughed.
How odd.
Was he in a weird tooth-sharpening cult of some kind? If only they could communicate. He seemed to understand everything she said, but he couldn’t respond.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. For one, where did he come from? Did all his people have long, pointed teeth? Pam cast a quick wary look over at his companions. The one who resembled Kord in size caught her immediate interest, but the tight-lipped giant simply glared back in their direction, giving away no answers.

The rest of her questions were more personal, like why did her barbarian seem to insist on holding her hand? Was he feverish or was his normal body temperature scalding hot? Did his tattoo have a special meaning to him? Did she?

Stop right there. Stranger equals danger, always.
Why did her mother’s voice always interrupt at the worst possible time?

“Sandra.”

His voice banished all her questions. She realized he’d shifted position, and she froze. Kord leaned across the table, his very handsome face mere inches away. For an instant, Pam thought he might try to kiss her, but instead he pressed his tanned cheek to hers and then buried his face against her neck just beneath her ear. He took a deep breath, then exhaled, making a soft growly sound, which sent goodtime shivers racing all through her.

The only thing keeping her from melting off the stool was his firm grip on her hand and her own desire to get closer. She strained to lean over the table by a few more inches. A startling jolt of desire shot from her solar plexus and sizzled like wildfire along her nerves.

“Um,” Pam moaned and nuzzled closer, seeking something unknown.

“Kord!”

The harsh deep-throated shout startled both of them, and she drew back in fear. Kord not only jerked away, he released her hand, shoved away from the table and sprang to his feet. An angry snarl erupted from deep in his chest as he stormed toward the other giant man. They faced off, inches apart, and argued.

Although she couldn’t understand what they said, the words sounded menacing, and Kord growled while he spoke. What worried her more was how his large friend didn’t back down one bit. In fact, the other hulking barbarian snarled at Kord with just as much ferocity. Pam feared they were about to come to blows until a dozen or so of their shorter companions formed a tight circle around the two giants. They seemed to have appeared out of the crowd and tried to calm the situation.

*

“Leave, Thoren!” Kord’s savage growl grew louder as he closed the distance between him and his warrior brother. Instinct drove him to clench his hands into tight fists in preparation. He wasn’t certain about what he was preparing to do, but he was sure of one thing. He’d protect the female at all costs.

“Remember where you are, brother.” Thoren snarled. “We’re here to spy on the slavers.” His voice lowered as Kord drew within inches. “Not to pleasure females.”

“Do not interfere,” Kord threaten with a growl.

“Stay away from the human female!”

“She’s mine!”

“Impossible,” Thoren rumbled, but he took a deep breath. His eyes widened and he made a swift hand gesture before backing away by one step, indicating his willing surrender. “Your scent has changed. There’s no trace of the suppressor drug.”

That revelation and Thoren’s action cooled Kord’s fury in an instant. He relaxed his hands. As he calmed down, he noticed the Tauran males had gathered around. They urged them to settle their disagreement without a fight.

“The humans are looking our way, much too curious,” one of the higher ranking Tauran spacers implored. “The captain will have our heads if the natives discover us.”

A Tauran soldier added, “And the general will help him.”

“You two stop arguing,” a different male ordered.

Kord recognized Lt. Morshant, the Tauran spacer in charge of their mission. The lieutenant had just arrived, and judging from his rapid breathing, he had some urgent news to share. They all gathered around him.

“Two of our scouts positioned at the far end of this roadway have sighted two Krellian transports. As we expected, they emerged from the sea and landed on the beach. The Krell are moving along the street…” Morshant paused to listen to a device inserted in his ear. “There’s much screaming. It seems the human females are immune to the Krell sedation touch. The slavers are firing stun blasts into the crowd and then collecting them. They’re taking some of the males also. We need to follow them. Hurry!” Without further explanation, he turned and bolted for the doorway.

The soldiers and spacers followed close behind. Thoren made a move toward the door, but he stopped when Kord gave no indication he planned to follow.

“Brother?” The warrior waited for him.

Kord knew where he wanted to be, and it certainly wasn’t chasing after Morshant. He ignored Thoren and stomped toward his female. Still seated at the table, she looked frightened. The sight sent an icy chill straight through him, spurring him onward. His mate should never have a reason to feel fear, especially in his presence. He’d protect her at all costs. And later, after she was out of danger, he’d find out why she’d lied to him about her name.

The ear-piercing whine of a stun blast erupted from out in the street, and all the humans in the bar stopped talking. The gut-wrenching sounds of terrified screams filtered into the room from outside. A second later, the humans rushed to the door, no doubt curious to see what was happening. His female jumped up to follow them. Kord caught her before she blended in with the crowd.

“No, Sandra.” He grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. He turned her and pressed her body against his. She immediately struggled. He snarled, and ordered, “No!”

“Please let me go. I need to find my friends,” she begged. He tightened his hold as her little fists pummeled his chest.

“We must follow orders, Kord. Leave her here,” Thoren shouted above the crowd noise.

“No!” He lifted his female and tossed her over his shoulder. “I’ll take her away from the Krell landing site.”

Thoren glared back for a heartbeat, then his expression softened. He shot a quick look across the nearly vacated bar toward the door before his attention returned to Kord. He blinked once, and said, “Take her to our collection point, but stay out of sight. Wait for me…partner.” With a parting salute, he charged out of the bar, tossing aside a few straggling humans along the way.

Kord strolled to the doorway with his screeching mate and then slipped out of the bar. He bolted down the street, intent on taking her far away from the slavers and danger. Thankfully, everyone was distracted by the Krellian weapons and the local enforcement officials who tried to stop them. No one paid any attention to a lone male running off with a noisy female draped over his shoulder.

Chapter Three

The terrified screams of women and men frightened Pam the most. Not the sporadic gunfire, or the angry shouting, or even the giant of a man who had thrown her over his shoulder and then sprinted down Duval Street in the middle of the night through a crowd of terrified tourists. How he dodged them along with all the food vendors she’d never know, since she could only catch brief glimpses of the scene from her upside down position. A thick curtain of her long hair shielded her face when she tried to raise her head to look around. Otherwise, his loincloth-covered butt blocked her view. Idiotically, her alcohol-infused mind distracted her by assuring her it was a very nice one.

So what if she’d guzzled too many drinks all evening? At least she’d given up on trying to yell for help. Even in her impaired state it hadn’t taken very long to figure out it was almost impossible to breathe and scream at the same time, especially when her head dangled closer to the ground than her bottom.

To ease the jarring against her stomach, she braced her upper body by grabbing his behind with both hands and held on. The leathery material of his loincloth felt much thinner than she would’ve expected. Two hard mounds of muscle moved powerfully beneath her palms, alternately flexing as he ran. In her opinion, her very large non-talkative rescuer turned more barbarian-like with each long stride.

How had she come to this? The question repeated over and over in her addled mind. This was not the Key West fantasy festival Pam had signed up for, not by a long shot. At the present moment, she wasn’t so sure she’d made the right decision. In fact, her situation seemed to have gone further south than she’d originally intended. One outcome stood out above all others. If she survived, her parents were going to kill her.

As near as she could tell, Kord’s path took her away from the sound of danger. The uproar seemed to be heading toward the southernmost point on the island. He ran in the opposite direction, toward Mallory Square, close to the location of her condo. The gunfire faded into the distance along with most of the screaming. From her precarious vantage point, she could tell the crowd had thinned out, and as it dwindled, so did her fear. From what she could see, they were the only people left on the street. Everyone else had fled, most taking the side streets to get away from Duval.

Still braced with her hands on his butt, Pam shouted as loud as she possibly could. “Please stop. This isn’t safe. Put me down—now!”

He ignored her. In frustration, she slapped her palm hard on top one of his ass cheeks, hoping to get his attention. Instead of slowing his pace or releasing her, he answered by swatting her backside once with his free hand. She jerked in surprise, dislodging her cat-ear headband. It tumbled to the sidewalk, then bounced into the gutter.