Page 33 of Defying the Relic Hunter

I sniffed my underarms. “Nope. I still stink.”

“Give us another ten minutes Shrek.” Ethan’s mouth closed over mine.

Chapter Eleven

“The honeymoon is over. Come to the war room,”Zarek stern voice instructed.

“Yes, my lord.”Ethan gave my nipples one final lick.

“Zarek thinks having sex in a decontamination chamber is a honeymoon?”

“Making love,” Ethan corrected. “Thereisa difference.”

I stared up at him in utter surprise. Few men would acknowledge that. “Are you real or a figment of my vivid imagination?”

“I meant every word of it, sweetheart.” A big hand cupped my right breast. “And I’m very real. As soon as we find Montezuma’s treasure, I’ll take you to Hawaii for a proper honeymoon.” He handed me an emerald green tunic with matching leggings, fresh underwear and black ankle boots.

“Deal. I’ve always wanted to go to Maui.” I quickly got dressed. Everything fit me perfectly. I watched Ethan detach the metal belt from his waist and replace it with another one. He tapped his bracelet and poof! He was back in battle armor.

I finger combed my hair. “I could use some battle armor.”

“I ordered you a suit. It should be ready within a couple of days,” Ethan said.

I threw my arms around him. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Being my mate does have it perks. I can’t wait to introduce you to the family. They’re gonna love you.”

A delighted smile curved my mouth. “You really think so?”

“They’ll find you as adorable as I do.”

Adorable? Me? Not so much.

Ethan pulled me close and teleported.

We appeared in Zarek’s war room. One wall was covered with instruments of death. Swords, knives, laser pistols, rifles, war hammers and what looked like a variety of thermite grenades. The opposite wall held a huge view screen and an assortment of scanners.

Zarek and Voss were sitting at the long platinum conference table. Built into the right arm of each chair was a high-tech control panel.

Voss ran a scanner over the sacred stone. “Nothing unusual about the stone or the amulet.”

“You have to be able to talk to the dead to learn their secrets.” Linking with Ethan, I picked up the stone and allowed him to see the image of a neon sign casting a red glow over ancient dust covered stucco warriors. An elderly man with yellowing parchment skin and wearing a molting black wig stroked one and laughed gleefully. The Best Whore House in Vegas was embroidered on his blue silk robe.

Ethan shook his head in disbelief. “A brothel?”

“I go where the visions tell me to go.”

Voss’s index finger tapped impatiently against the table. “What else did you see?”

“That’s it for now.” My gaze locked on my bracelet. “Do I get it back now?”

“You do.” Zarek pointed to box on the table. “Detja is arranging a proper bonding ceremony for you on Tanith.”

“Ah. Ok. Thanks.” I’d never been off planet and wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

Zarek handed the box to Ethan. “You will wear Ethan’s ownership band starting now.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Ownership band?”

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