Page 22 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

"Ah, now I really wish I had heeded his first summons," Kendryx complained halfheartedly.

"You mean you were not delayed by some very important matters of your domain?" I teased, having been privy to his letter to Gryck excusing his delay in rushing to Gryck's side at his summons for the first battle between us and Fionbyr. The one that cost Helmut his army and won me a princess.

"Had I known the rewards, I would have surely ridden faster," Kendryx muttered.

I had pity on my old friend, knowing full well that he had tried his best to reach us in time. Nobody liked a battle better than him, besides Brogan maybe. "Gryck knows your stronghold is the furthest holding to the west, and he is more than happy that you made it here."

"I don't understand why he didn't call on Brogan."

"He thought two warlords and one khazar could take one wayward warlord," I explained. Nobody had anticipated how dirty Fionbyr was willing to play. No warlord in recent memory has caused as much trouble as he had.

Kar, we had our differences and fights, battles even, and there had been challenges and retributions, but this was turning into an open, bloody war, and what Fionbyr did to Helmut's troops was by far the worst, bloodiest crime in recent history. It had been an outright slaughter that could only be avenged with Fionbyr's head on a spike.

The dinner broke not much later and all of us retired to our chambers, aware that we had many days of hard riding ahead of us.

I hated bringing it up, but I at least had to offer Damaris the opportunity to stay here. "We will have to ride hard for the next days, and the gods only know when we will encounter Fionbyr on the battlefield, which isn't a place for a lady."

She stepped into my embrace. "It's a good thing then that I'm not a lady, but a princess. Princesses meet challenges head on, and there is no way I will leave your side right now."

I chuckled, loving her feisty nature, and yet I felt compelled to press my offer. "You would be much more comfortable here."

"I would," she nodded against my chest, not shy about working the first buttons of my shirt free. "And yet, what does it say about me that I would rather sleep in a tent with you than in an opulent bed by myself?"

I loved the way she wasn't shy around me or anything else for that matter. She had been a virgin but acted as if we had been making love for years. She was giving herself to me fully without reservations or guile, and I felt myself falling for her faster and harder than I had ever imagined possible.

"That you already crave my irresistible company?" I teased.

More seriously, she leaned back against my arm holding her, arching her back to look up into my face. "I don't want to waste any time getting to know you. I understand danger is lying ahead of us, which is precisely why I want to be with you."

She had unarmed me, and she knew it, because I felt the same way. I couldn't bear the thought of not being with her. We were mated though and hopefully would spend a long life together, and I vowed that as soon as things turned more dangerous, I would send her to Wyrkymburg with an escort to keep her safe. No matter her protests.

In the meantime, I would take every opportunity to explore her mind and body, which were equally stimulating to me.

Servants brought up buckets of hot water to fill the large copper bathtub set in front of the fireplace, interrupting our moment.

"You go first," I offered, looking forward to admiring her silky skin in the low glow of the fireplace.

"That tub looks big enough for the two of us," she invited.

Her words raised a firestorm inside me. I had done many things in my life with kallinies but taking a bath with one wasn't one of them.

With only a hint of insecurity, she opened the lacing on her dress after the servants left. I averted my eyes while following her example to make her feel more comfortable.

I slowly slid into the tub across from her, holding her tiny feet in my hands and rubbing them. "This is nice."

"Hmmhmm," she agreed, closing her eyes and caressing my calves while enjoying the foot rub and warm water, which was probably as soothing to her after the long ride as it was for me.

"Your body will get used to the long hours in the saddle," I said.

"That's what I keep telling myself," she replied with a lazy smile, keeping her eyes closed and her head leaned against the tub's high wall.

Her hands on my calves felt good, soothing, relaxing, and arousing at the same time.

For a while we lay there, just listening to the crackling of the fire, enjoying each other's company. A sudden vision of us many years from now doing the same rushed before my eyes and I sighed contently. Kar, I loved that idea.

A contented sigh from her made me open my eyes and take in her smooth milky-white skin. Then my gaze traveled down to the taut nipples and soft flesh of her breasts with the water lapping lazily around them. Suddenly, the urge to claim them overpowered me. I adjusted my position, pulled her up on top of me so that her breasts were right in my face.

Her small protest soon turned into soft moans as I massaged one breast with one hand while sucking on the nipple of the other. My free hand supported her small waist, and I marveled at the supple flesh there too.

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