Page 39 of Queen Takes Checkmate
“That depends,” I said slowly, drinking in the long, lean lines of her body. “On whether you want to fuck or not.”
14
Shara
Amused, I watched as she hopped off the bed like it’d suddenly caught on fire. Bending down, she tugged impatiently at the laces of heavy motorcycle boots so she could kick them off and shimmy out of skin-tight pants and thong. Her long red hair hung down around her, swaying with her movements. Almost as mesmerizing as staring into a fire. So gorgeous against her luminous black skin.
Under the leather jacket, she wore a simple crimson tank that hugged her curves. She stripped it off and turned to face me, pausing so I could drink my fill. She’d shaved most of her pussy, leaving just a delicate, trimmed triangle to point the way. Not that I needed any help. Gray scars that looked like old burns covered her midsection, with a few on her arms and thighs. Maybe from her phoenix? Though I didn’t think a goddess-given gift would hurt her like that. Some of them were perfectly round, though of varying sizes. It had to have been a hell of a burn to leave that kind of scar, but maybe her last queen hadn’t been strong enough to heal her.
“I’ve never had a queen. Not really. They always died before they could give me their blood and complete the bond. These scars are so old, I don’t think even you could heal them.”
Old scars. That made me wonder so much about her past. Her childhood.
She averted her face but didn’t duck her head. In fact, she stood straighter. Prouder. Though inside her, I felt a brittleness, like a sword that had seen so many battles, that it was close to the point of shattering.
“Growing up Helios is a nightmare that never ends,” she whispered hoarsely.
Keeping my touch narrowed to Daire, I asked,:What do you know about Helios?:
:Nothing,:he replied.:It’s not an Aima House.:
“Who was your mother?” I asked out loud.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t allowed to know. I have no idea of my heritage, other than the fires that have burned in me my whole life.”
I leaned out enough to snag her hand and pulled her gently to me. She came to my arms readily enough, her piercing eyes locked on my face. “I was made to destroy you. Maybe not you in particular, but queens like you.”
I stroked my fingers down her back, learning the texture of her skin. She was so lean and hard. Not like Rik’s stone, but like metal. Forged steel, tempered by her phoenix. Her skin felt hot against mine, another testament to her gift. Even in my arms, she didn’t relax. Her muscles quivered faintly beneath her skin, ready to leap up into battle at a moment’s notice.
She tipped her head to the side, baring the punctures that still dribbled blood down her throat. I definitely wanted more, but I wanted to know her better first. I wanted to understand.
I could feel the rough texture of scars more heavily on her back. I couldn’t imagine how bad each mark would have had to be to still be scarred over. I didn’t want to hurt her more by pushing her to reveal a painful past, but I needed to know as much as possible. I felt as though there was a secret key inside her that would give me every single thing I needed to defeat the sun god. Her father.
“He’s not my father,” she retorted, her eyes flashing. “He sired me. That’s it. Helios is what he calls his breeding grounds. It’s where he takes young Aima queens stolen from their nests. They’re raised by…”
She shuddered, her breathing ragged. I kept up the steady, slow circles on her back, letting my touch soothe her.
“Demons, called sunfires. He likes to take the queens as early as possible. Before they can come into their power and protect themselves. Then he and his vizier break them. If they die, the demons feast. If they don’t… he tries to sire a child on them. If that fails, then he gives them to the sunfires as prizes.”
She buried her face against my throat and I hugged her closer. My stomach quivered with dread. No wonder he’d tried to take Xochitl. The thought of what she would have suffered on the other side of that portal…
I reached for Mayte’s bond.:Keep Xochitl inside your nest at all times until I succeed in killing Ra. It’s urgent.:
I felt her in bed sandwiched between her alpha, Eztli, and her god who’d sired her daughter, Tepeyollotl. By the pleasure simmering in her bond, I’d caught them at a most inopportune time.
:Oops, sorry.:
She let out a husky laugh in my head, her sweet flower scent winding through me.:Next time, maybe you and Rik can join us. I’ve kept Xochitl inside the nest since you left, although there has been a development with her. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I didn’t want to distract you from Keisha.:
:A bad development?:
:Not at all, though it has been… interesting.:She paused a moment, and then she laughed again.:So you did call a female Blood.:
She really had been there?:You remember my dream?:
:Another queen used to come to me in dreams over twenty years ago. She had a way of making me forget. I never knew her name, but…:She sighed softly.:I think she was your mother.:
I closed my eyes, swallowing down my emotions. Longing for the mother I’d never known. Sadness and grief that Mayte had known her, but then the spell had wiped her memory. And yeah, a bit of heartrending awe that Esetta had set so many plans into motion long before I was ever born.
