Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (12 page)

“You are not hungry,
mica
tisha
?” he asked, his mouth so close
to her ear that her hair moved with his breath, at his softly
spoken foreign words. Ones that sounded like an endearment. The
heat of his body almost burned as his arm pressed against her side
and another sharp searing pain encircled her bicep, quickly gone by
the time she reached to rub her skin.

“N-no,” she stammered, almost breathless at his
nearness and the pain that had scored her flesh. “I’m
finished.”

Rykhan’s arm slid over the top of the booth as
his other hand moved to cover hers holding the fork. “Then perhaps
you should not play with your food.”

Dropping her utensil, Leah raised her eyes only
to realize he was closer, much closer than she’d originally
thought. ‘Close enough to kiss,’ her mind supplied again. She
looked at his full mouth still shiny with the residual grease from
his cheeseburger. Without thinking or hesitation, she took the
napkin off of her lap and ran it over his lips lightly. His low
groan, the way he closed his eyes made her thighs clench hard
together as her heart began to race. His reaction brought her
yearning into sharp relief and she felt a shudder run through her,
culminating in her core as her own sigh escaped.

She knew beyond a shadow of doubt what pulsated
within her was due to their combined desire.

What was wrong with her?

That wasn’t her, wasn’t how she normally acted
around a man. Not making moves without thinking them through or
becoming aroused by simple looks and low growls. No, usually it
took a lot of foreplay to get her in the mood, a fact that Tony had
thrown at her repeatedly in order to point out her deficiency when
it came to sex. “I gotta start patting ass at the crack of dawn
just to get a little at bedtime,” he’d complained on more than one
occasion.

So what was it about Rykhan that caused her
body to moisten and swell with sexual heat?

Was she delusional in thinking she could
experience what he felt too? Was his arousal somehow feeding
hers?

The waiter made an appearance and began to
clear the plates. Leah idly noticed hers was the only one with any
remaining food on it. How could she eat anything when her body
seemed to be hungering for something else entirely?

“Can I get you folks some dessert?” The young
man asked, handing the dishware off to a waiting busboy. Leah
ordered a coffee while the others chose to indulge their sweet
tooth.

As the waiter moved away, Pam started giggling.
“Swear to god, I’d get as big as a house with you two tempters
around!” Both men smiled at her announcement. “Okay, so let’s get
this thing restarted then. Not that geography was my best subject,
but where exactly are you guys from again? And this time, no
talking over each other!”

“Didn’t you say earlier you were from some
place called Galaxia?” Leah turned her face back towards Rykhan’s
only to discover he’d moved even closer. She’d never noticed when
his thigh had pressed up against hers or when his arm moved to the
top of the booth to drape across her shoulders. Even though her
body burned for him, her head and heart were telling her his moves
were too much, too soon and she wiggled closer to Pam as she lifted
his hand off her shoulder.

However, as soon as she did so, the
honeyed-layer of calm left.

“Yes, I am from Galaxia and Wyst is from
Nutrol,” he answered quietly, allowing Leah her bit of personal
space by shifting back. “I’m sorry. Was I too close?”

“Are those new countries in Russia or
somewhere? Because I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.” Pam
turned to Wyst who nodded and smiled, while Leah’s mind raced to
come up with a noncommittal answer to Rykhan’s question that had
been sincerely asked.

“Something along those lines,” the other large
man agreed. “What else would you like to know, small one? Your eyes
are full of questions which we will answer to the best of our
ability.”

“Hey! Who you calling small? I’ll have you know
I’m pixie-perfection!” Pam’s giggle took some of the sting out of
her words. “How old are you guys anyway?”

“I claim twenty-six
yons
and Rykhan,
twenty-seven.” Wyst leaned forward to accept his dessert plate
piled high with a piece of triple-chocolate cake dotted with
raspberries.

“Yawns? Is your life so boring you slept
through most of it?” Pam laughed, as she took in the strawberry
sundae the waiter had placed in front of her. It looked as if there
was more than a pint of ice cream mounded and then covered in
strawberries and syrup so pungent Leah could smell it from where
she sat.

“Year. My brother meant to say year.” Rykhan
frowned slightly and a wave of impatience rolled off him. He stared
hard at Wyst for a moment before picking up his fork to dig into
what appeared to be a full quarter of chocolate cream pie, covered
in whipped cream and festooned with dark chocolate shavings. “How
old are you?”

“Dude! Typically, guys don’t ask
women their ages,” Pam snapped as she picked up her spoon but
another giggle belied the irritation her tone indicated. “American
women think it’s bad taste to be questioned about it.”

“Is that what you think, little one?” Wyst
spoke around his mouthful of cake as Leah tried to hide her smile
behind her coffee cup. Responding to Pam’s sharp frown at the word
‘little’, Wyst immediately corrected himself. “I mean,
pixie.”

“Naw, I don’t give a rip. Both of us are
twenty-three and in our prime, aren’t we honey?” Leah nodded and
took another sip to prevent herself from laughing at the dual
expressions on the men’s faces. Ones that spoke of bewilderment and
embarrassment if she was interpreting their frowns and red cheeks
correctly.

Feeling the need to join in and get her own
questions answered, Leah set her cup down and turned to Rykhan.
“How long will you be in the States?”

“Only six
merts
...I mean, months.” His eyes
bored into hers as he scooped another large bite of the decadent
pie into his mouth and her eyes again dropped to his lips as they
caressed the fork. Her heartbeat began a heavy, deep rhythm and
took up residence in all the secret places of her body at the view,
even as her stomach dropped at the thought of him
leaving.

Six months was not a lot of time.

“You said you weren’t really brothers but
brothers-in-arms, right?” Pam looked between the two men. “Is that
the military or something?”

“Or something,” Wyst murmured, his fork
scraping to capture the last few crumbs on his dessert plate. “We
are part of the Picari Protectorate.”

Rykhan stiffened beside her, his own fork
pausing midway between his plate and mouth. Leah wondered at the
sharp blast of annoyance that rolled over her as he glared at the
other man.

“And this protector thingy doesn’t care about
you guys having long hair? I mean our armed forces have to keep
their hair short, as in seriously short.” Leah’s couldn’t deny Pam
had a point.

“My hair is not long,” Rykhan began, his eyes
again moving to Wyst who stroked his own middle-of-the-back, dark
blonde locks he’d pulled into a half-and-half.

“Our commander’s hair is down to his waist,”
Wyst added. “In our military, long hair denotes a warrior’s
strength and length of service.”

“So why are you in the States?” Pam pressed as
she sat back in her seat as she pushed her bowl towards the center
of the table. “Are you two on some kind of secret mission or
something?”

Rykhan’s body tensed and Leah clearly felt his
alarm emanating, one he seemed unable to control. But she couldn’t
understand his reaction when Pam’s question was offered so
innocently. Or how she could so easily tell what he was
feeling!

Wyst finally answered after a few beats of
silence. “We and our other brothers are on quest.”

“Other brothers?” Leah’s voice sounded muted
and she knew her quiet tone was because she was still trying to
process the fact Rykhan would be leaving in six months. “There are
more of you?”

“Our group is comprised of seven warriors,
including Bronsyn, our commander,” Rykhan explained as he stared
deeply into Leah’s eyes. “Each of us was hand-picked out of a
roster of thousands by the Picari council for this first
search.”

“Search? Does that mean you are looking for
someone or something?” Pam’s eyes were round and Leah could almost
see the smoke coming from her friend’s ears. “Is that why you used
the word ‘quest’?”

Wyst shared a long look with Rykhan. The
interruption of their waiter had everyone’s gaze skittering away
from one another. “Can I get you anything else this evening or are
you ready for the check?”

“The check would be fine,” Rykhan rumbled,
wiping his hands then his mouth with his napkin that he discarded
onto the then cleared table. He turned to Leah and leaned closer.
“I would consider it an honor to see you again and perhaps share
another meal. May I contact you?”

The formal language perplexed Leah, because it
seemed stilted and was in direct contradiction to the longing she
felt emanating from him. “I would like that, Rykhan,” she replied
softly.

He again closed his eyes and Leah realized the
sensations coming off him had changed to something that was along
the lines of…well, awe. “I like hearing my name on your lips, in
your voice,” he breathed. Leah knew deep within herself he was
speaking the absolute truth, as he knew it.

Wyst shoved some cash into the billfold that
held their check as Pam demanded to leave a tip, but their
movements and conversation were simply background noise to the
unspoken conversation she and Rykhan shared as he opened his eyes
and they stared at one another.

“We will walk you to your transport,” Wyst
announced, shattering the moment. The disappointment Leah felt when
Rykhan shifted to the end of the banquette and stood was completely
out of portion with all that had gone on, but she couldn’t help it.
She slid across the seat and saw Rykhan’s large hand held out,
waiting for her. Leah didn’t hold back her smile as she slipped her
fingers into his much larger palm.

That was until she felt her disappointment
mirrored on another wave of emotion. It was empathy in its purest
form.

“You can call me on my cellphone,” she offered
as she stood on trembling knees again noticing that he towered over
her even in the heels that teetered as she tried to find her
balance. “I usually get home around 4:30.”

Never dropping her hand, Rykhan pulled his
phone out of his inner suit coat pocket and used his thumb to enter
her number. After slipping it away he looked down at her, his gaze
moving over her features in a tender visual caress. “Then I shall
phone you at 4:31.”

Leah’s heartbeat took up a faster cadence at
the promise in his eyes and flowed all along her nerve
endings.

Chapter Nine

Leah pushed the key into the lock of her door,
turned and gave a small smile to the man standing patiently behind
her. Rykhan always walked her all the way to her door at the end of
one of their dates. Therefore, there was no reason for her hands to
tremble or stomach to dip as she opened her door and entered her
apartment. However, she knew her reaction was one of anticipation,
at the now threadbare hope the man would finally, finally take the
next step and kiss her.

She was of the opinion that if he didn’t take
the initiative and just damn well do it then she could pretty much
figure he only wanted them to be friends. Friends whot went out to
dinner or to the movies occasionally. Even though on each and every
one of their five previous dates, they’d had a lot of fun together.
More fun than expected, in Leah’s opinion. While their chemistry
had taken them from stilted strangers to friends-who-hugged, Leah
wanted more.

Needed more from the gorgeous man.

Not to mention, there was her uncanny ability
to experience every one of his emotions as he felt them.

She stepped into the tiny foyer of her
apartment and turned to face him. “I had a great time, Rykhan.
Thank you.”

“As did I,” he rumbled, his light almost
Caribbean blue-colored eyes twinkling as his face shone with his
killer smile. “It is always wonderful being with you.”

Her eyebrows shot up sharply at his words. He
always told her how much fun he’d had in their previous times
together but it was the first time he’d ever used the word
‘wonderful’. To hear him say it, especially in the same sentence
while referring to her, made her knees weak.

Her connection to him, the sticky honey of his
emotions she felt inside, more than supported the honesty she could
sense as he described his feelings.

“T-thanks,” she managed to stammer out. The
truth of it was, up until that moment, Leah was sure she was a lot
more into Rykhan than vice-versa. No matter what she picked up
along the weird connection they shared.

Because nobody was truly able to feel another
person’s emotions, right?