Page 29 of Storms of His Wrath

Her pulse quickened, recognition flooding through her veins, warm and comforting. He’d been watching for her, waiting for her return. A flutter of appreciation warmed her chest that she tried to suppress but couldn’t quite manage.

He came closer and his sheer size struck her again. The thick protective clothing couldn’t disguise the coiled power in his frame, the way muscle moved beneath leather and fabric with each stride. He was a force of nature charging across the desert, and she was his singular focus, just like when he’d chased her with determination back in her forest.

“Naya.” Her name tore from his throat as he reached her, rough and low, saturated with relief and desperate need. Without hesitation, he swept her up into his arms, crushing her against his chest as though he could press her into his bones.

Every rational thought fled as she melted into his embrace. The scent of him—his deep, earthy Alpha richness that haunted her—enveloped her completely, making her inner Omega purr with satisfaction. Even through his thick protective clothing, she reveled in his solid heat, the way his chest expanded with each breath, the corded strength of the arms that held her as though she weighed nothing at all.

For that moment, she pushed away the uncertainty and disappointment from their last encounter. She ignored the complex web of history and betrayal that tangled between them. Right now, there was only this, being held by her Alpha, feeling the rightness of it settle into her bones.

He turned and strode back toward the camp, his steps careful now that he had her secure in his arms. He held her with absolute ownership. One large hand fisted in the fabric at herback while his other arm cradled her body, fingers digging in with enough pressure to leave marks.

The moment they crossed into the sand drift’s boundary, the oppressive sand that had been hitting against her protective bubble vanished. The sand beneath Akoro’s boots shifted from unreliable and dangerous to stable and firm. She caught a glimpse of Oppo emerging from a smaller tent, his face brightening with relief when he saw her, but Akoro didn’t pause. He stormed directly for the largest tent at the camp’s center, shouldering aside the heavy fabric entrance and ducking inside.

The interior was simple yet clearly suited to his status—rich carpets layered over the sand, cushions in deep jewel tones, a low table bearing maps and documents, weapons secured along one wall. Oil lamps cast warm, flickering light that danced across the tent’s cream-colored walls, creating an intimate space despite its generous size.

Without a word, Akoro dropped onto the largest collection of cushions and settled her into his lap, arranging her exactly as he wanted; her legs draped across his thighs, her side pressed against his chest, trapped between his arms. They fit together perfectly, her softness yielding to his hardness, her curves molding to the planes of his body.

And then it was quiet. Neither of them spoke. Words were unnecessary against this bone-deep need to be in his arms. His large hands moved over her, hungry to feel her. One splayed across her hip in a harsh grip, the other trailing up her arm with a claiming touch. She could feel his heartbeat thundering against his ribs, could sense the storm building beneath his deceptively calm exterior.

His dark eyes began scanning her, checking for new injuries or signs of mistreatment. When his gaze found the scar across her cheek again, his entire body went rigid. One finger traced theraised line with deceptive gentleness, and a growl rumbled from deep in his chest, low and wholly possessive.

Naya looked up at him, desire twisting in her despite the simmering of darkness behind his demeanor. His hair hung loose and thick, dark waves framing features that seemed carved from stone. The heavy beard couldn’t disguise the sensuality of his mouth, and those fierce, piercing eyes that promised both possession and destruction burned with an intensity that made her breathless.

He was devastating in the way storms were devastating, beautiful and terrible and impossible to escape. A warrior-king whose very presence commanded submission, whose barely leashed violence made the air around him thrum with dark energy. Even dressed for desert travel, he radiated the kind of raw power that could either protect or destroy. He’d always had that power, even when he chased her in her forest.

The attraction between them was magnetic, pure and primal and absolutely mutual. She could see it in the way his pupils dilated as he stared at her, in the subtle flare of his nostrils as he breathed in her scent, in the territorialway his body surrounded hers.

Finally he spoke, his voice coarse and rumbly. “You came to me forlur ennen.”

She smiled despite herself and watched his eyes darkened with want. His scent deepened, becoming richer and heady with arousal and possessiveness that made her inner Omega keen with need.

“Has anyone touched you?” The question was grounded out with all the brutality she expected from him.

“No.” Her voice was soft and languid, like her limbs. “No one has and no one will.”

“Good.” His scent wrapped around her, saturated with desire so heady it made her pulse quicken. “I don’t want anyone to even look at you.”

She almost laughed at savage possessiveness in his tone, though his dark expression told her he was completely serious. “You’re not a four-year-old who doesn’t want anyone to play with his toy, Akoro, she said gently.

“Do not reduce our connection to that, Nayara.” Irritation flared in his tone. “You don’t know how much I am holding back from spreading you right here.”

Naya inhaled sharply, her jaw slackening. Heat flared in her lower stomach, and her nipples began to tighten. She did know. She could scent it on him; his arousal, his fierce need. It was almost overwhelming, especially because she wanted him too, even after everything she’d learned.

His eyes were molten. “My tongue should be lapping at your cunt. You should be arching and moaning and writhing with pleasure,tmot zia. Instead I have to worry if you’re safe in this hidden place, if anyone is looking at you or touching you.”

“I’ve told you, Akoro. I am safe. No one is looking at me the way you look at me. No one is touching me.”

“I am your Alpha,” he rumbled. “I want toknowfor sure, and I don’t. So if anyone touches what’s mine, I will fucking destroy them. You’ve been warned, princess.”

The warning hung between them, both knowing that he would stay true to his word, but Naya was relaxed, comfortable in his arms, satisfaction spreading through her chest at the savage protection. Her inner Omega sensed this was right. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? This was where she belonged.

His scent was deepening around her, rich with arousal and something enticingly primitive. His pupils dilated as he watched her, and she noticed the exact moment he registered the shift inher breathing, the way her body had begun to respond despite her rational mind’s protests.

His hand slid higher on her thigh, fingers pressing into the tender flesh just below the juncture of her legs.

But even as the anticipation of his touch tugged at her, she recognized that she still needed answers. Unanswered questions pressed at the edges of her consciousness like shadows threatening to break through sunlight. She should pull away, demand explanations before allowing herself to sink deeper into this dangerous seduction.

“We need to talk, Akoro,” she said on a breath. “There are things I need to know?—”

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