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Rhyzkahl remained silent for a moment after I finished, then turned to face me. “Mzatal is arrogant and knows little of what I want,” he said as he stroked the hair back from my face. “That he seeks Vsuhl is valuable information. Very valuable.” His hand stilled, resting against my cheek. “The chekkunden had hopes to make you his own. He did not kill you upon attaining you, and kept you whole.” Anger darkened his eyes. “And then he sought to remove my mark,” he said, nearly snarling the words. “It is an unforgivable offense.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, grimaced. “Well, he came close to killing me more than once.”
Rhyzkahl nodded. “And he sought to slay you through the implant.” His other hand curled into a fist atop the railing. “He now curses his weakness for not killing you while he had you fully in his control.” He sneered. “Foolish that he would think you could ever be his.”
I smiled tightly. “Yeah, well, I’m not his. I won’t ever be his.”
His eyes shifted to me. “No. No you will not.” He pulled me to him before lowering his head and brushing my lips with his. “You belong with me,” he said, voice compelling and resolute.
I slowly relaxed against him as he deepened the kiss. This was what I’d been needing all along—the nice, caring, and sensual Rhyzkahl instead of the badass lord. I needed a damn hug, and if a curl-your-toes kiss came along with it, well, that was fine, too. His arms encircled me, holding me close. I slid my hands around his neck and through the white-blond silk of his hair as I eagerly returned the kiss. I’d been way too stressed these past few days, and I knew exactly how I wanted to relieve it.
He slid a hand to the small of my back, pulling me hard against him and showing me his own stress that needed relieving. His other hand tangled in my hair, lightly fisting as he pulled my head back. I groaned as his mouth traveled down over my throat, teeth grazing my skin. I felt the grove activate but I didn’t care. I wanted to have sex, not watch lords.
But, Rhyzkahl, damn him, lifted his head and looked out toward the grove. I tried to pull his head back down to mine, but he exhaled and shifted away from me. “The last two, Rayst and,” he shook his head slightly, “Seretis.”
I did my best to control my pesky libido and looked out at the approaching lords. These two had a scattering of reyza and faas with them, but also at least half a dozen sy raza. Rayst had a swarthy complexion and what seemed to be a stocky build beneath nondescript robes, though he moved with a grace and ease that told me the thickness of his body likely wasn’t due to being out of shape. Wavy brown hair swept back from his face to the nape of his neck, and the smile on his face was broad and genuine as he conversed with a syraza beside him.
The other lord, Seretis, was tall and rangy, with chiseled cheekbones and dark, wavy hair that brushed his shoulders. He totally looked as if he belonged on a Spanish-language soap opera. The fact that he wore a frilly RenFaire type shirt, black breeches, and boots only added to the impression. These two exuded patient kindness and a subtle strength—unless I’d missed something. Why did Rhyzkahl shake his head when he saw them?
I did a mental head count of the lords. Process of elimination meant the first one today had been Vrizaar. At least now I had faces to put with names, except for Jesral.
“So Mzatal won’t be coming,” I said, relieved.
“He could arrive under protection of the conclave,” Rhyzkahl replied, “but he will not. You need not trouble yourself with that.” He stepped back, adjusted his clothes with a twitch of his hands, and shook his hair back into perfect place. “There is much I must attend to,” he said with a smile, eyes still carrying a hint of a smolder.
Oh, well. So much for de-stressing. I summoned a faint smile in return. He turned to go, then paused and looked back at me. “What of after Mzatal was thrown back, and he failed to remove the mark?” he asked, a frown creasing his forehead. “What happened then?”
I grimaced and ran a hand through my hair. “He wanted to find a way to block my contact with the grove, so he decided to take me to some place in the middle of nowhere so that he could have some time to work without you finding him.” I gave a low chuckle. “And that’s when I got my ass out of there and used the grove to come here.”
“Yes, relocation to a remote grove would have caused delay,” Rhyzkahl said, “though I would have found you.” He lifted the hand that had been so bloody the night I arrived. “I was in the final preparations for it when you so cleverly escaped.” I couldn’t be sure, but I thought there was an approving glint in his eye.
“Just in the nick of time, too,” I said with a chuckle. “Mzatal was getting…um, weird.”
Rhyzkahl lowered his hand and frowned. “Weird? What did he do?”
“He kissed me,” I said. “But it was weird and, I mean…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain it.
Red-gold potency abruptly shimmered around him. “Kissed you?” he hissed through clenched teeth. I took a step back in surprise at the vehemence of his reaction. “Mzatal kissed you?” His hands clenched into fists at his sides. “He had no right to touch you thus!”
“Well, yeah, he didn’t have the right.” I said. “Not without my permission.” I frowned and watched him, wary. “Look, it was just a kiss, and an odd one at that. I mean, it lasted a few seconds at most.”
The flare of potency faded, but his eyes smoldered again. “Nothing with him is without purpose.” He closed the distance between us again, eyes traveling over me. “Nothing.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” I said with a wry smile.
He moved in and gripped my head firmly in his hands, wound his fingers in my hair.
I laughed low in my throat. “I thought you had lords to attend to?”
“I am unavoidably detained.” He tightened his hands in my hair with the perfect amount of intensity to send heat rushing through me. “I have far more pressing business here.”
His mouth came down on mine, fierce and possessive, as if to remind me what a real kiss was like. His arms came around me, and he lifted and carried me inside before near-throwing me onto the bed. I let out a surprised yelp, then grinned as he took hold of my sweater and pulled it over my head. I hadn’t put on a bra earlier, and I was damn glad of it now as he lowered his head to my breasts. He continued to suck and lightly bite as he undid the fastening of my pants, then sat up, grabbed the waistband, and yanked them off me in one fluid motion.
“I do not like that Mzatal touched you,” he growled before lowering his head between my legs. I groaned and dropped my head back as he began to work some lordly magic with his tongue. Mzatal certainly hadn’t touched me there, but I was totally okay with Rhyzkahl doing whatever he felt necessary to fuck the Mzatal off me, so to speak. More than okay. In no time at all I was crying out and clenching in orgasm. Mzatal who? I don’ know any Mzatal….
Rhyzkahl was far from finished. He straightened up, eyes still lit with a possessive fire that made my loins spasm and shudder in all the right ways. “You are mine,” he snarled. “My summoner.” He pushed his pants down only enough to free his erection, which somehow turned me on even more. Yet even with my libido raging like a nuclear reactor in meltdown, I forced myself to hold up a hand. “Wait,” I gasped.
To my surprise he went still, though his eyes narrowed in question.
