Page 10 of Bear Protector
Too late.
He crossed his legs to hide his growing erection, wishing that last thought about her virginity had not entered his mind. All he wanted to do now was lift her up on this table, relieve her of all those clothes, and be deep inside of her, taking her hard until she screamed. He was sure that he could make that tight body of hers do things she had never tried before.
“Your eyes are glowing again, Commander Oslo,” she whispered.
Clearing his throat, he fought for control. This was more difficult with her than any other woman he had been with. But then again, Kiera was stunning. Also, Xander had only slept with the human females who would sneak into the shifter camps looking to satisfy their curiosity, to realize their sexual fantasies about being with a shifter male, or to fulfill their carnal cravings.
Under Minassus’ rule, shifters were discouraged from getting married or mating.
But that had never stopped Xander or his men before.
As he continued to stare at Kiera, he remembered another reason. He had never been with a witch. A few of his men had hooked up with familiars living in the fortress. Come to think about it, he was sure he had seen Kiera’s familiar in the camps before.
With that realization, an inkling of a notion entered his mind. Getting to his feet, he offered a hand to help her up. “I believe I have run out of time.”
She placed her fingers on his and stood as well. “We did not achieve much today, did we?”
Without breaking eye contact, Xander lifted her hand and slowly bowed his head, pressing his lips to the tender skin between her knuckles and wrist. He lingered just long enough to see her cheeks flush again, then he returned Kiera’s arm to her side.
“It may not seem that way. True, we argued, and we both almost stormed out of here, but I have faith that it is a very good start. If your schedule is open, we can get together again tomorrow.” He observed her as she appeared to consider it, then added, “I will not be able to meet here, however. I need to inspect part of the region’s outer walls tomorrow.”
“Do you mind if I ask what that work entails?”
“We perform visual inspections. Tomorrow will be the second time since the summer ended. If I have any concerns, I will meet several stonemasons and carpenters for an update on any repairs that still need to be done. I also get in contact with the Nauru so they can cast new boundary containment spells where needed.”
“You have a lot of responsibilities, Commander, and I have great respect for the fact that you take them all seriously in spite of your belief you and your men are oppressed.”
“We are, and I do. As I mentioned before, we have not been asking for freedom so we can shirk our responsibilities. All we want is for each man to be given the choice to step up…or not. My mother still lives in a nearby village, as do many of my soldiers’ families. It is no different from the way you must also put every effort into honing your craft to protect your family as well.”
Kiera looked away. She turned ghostly pale. “I …I have no family. I lost my parents during the Big Storm. My mother passed first, when the destroyers attacked. My father…he was one of the Chancellor’s personal guards. He was also killed that winter.”
Dammit, he did not mean to be so insensitive as to assume she still had kin. “I am very sorry for your loss. How old were you?”
“Eleven.”
“I apologize for assuming…I must be going.”
“It is fine. I appreciate your compassion, Commander Oslo.”
“You can call me Xander,” he said, still not moving from his spot.
“I will try.”
“We can continue our conversation tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Well, good day…Xander.”
He waited for her to leave through the front entrance. As far as Xander was concerned, this first meeting could not have gone any better than it did.
* * *
It was roughly a two-mile ride back to the camp. Usually, the first storm of the season would take place around this time, just before noon. Today, most of the villagers were outside doing last-minute fortifications to their homes, barns, and other buildings. He sensed the glances that the ordinary humans threw his way. Condescending sideways glimpses, the sort someone might give to a flea-ridden stray dog crossing their path.
Humans who did not suffer the loss of a shifter or witch in the family had a tendency to be the most scornful. The way they looked down on him and his men would be laughable if it were not so disheartening. Even with the threat of the destroyers returning within weeks, this group had no respect for the lifesaving contributions he and his troops had made to the region. To them, they were serving a purpose, no different from trained guard dogs.
Their lives were so different now, compared to all the years of his childhood. Back then, every person was equal, including the small percentage of them who bore the features that seemed to predispose them to have the 236-k gene. Villagers would say they all had the same ancestry. That assertion made sense, given that the region was more of an island after the first destroyers appeared on Azmark hundreds of years ago. Xander’s mother would tell him he had his father’s physical frame, height, black hair, and bright blue eyes. He had no pictures of the man, and no memories either. His father had passed away when he was very young.
According to what he had learned in school, sixteen powerful witches had come together to stop humanity’s complete annihilation. Human weapons and technologies were of no use, and in fact, did more to submerge the land under water than kill off the monsters. The sixteen witches were somewhat successful in casting spells to ward off the destroyers, but not before the majority of the population perished. This group of witches turned out to be the heroes of their day, and the surviving citizens all sought their leadership. That was the time that the world’s districts were born. Each one was comprised of several tiny land masses, called regions, with each witch becoming a Chancellor of their respective area.
