Vela didn’t care what any of the men did, so long as they backed off and left her man alone.
She watched Luken shift his gaze to Jean-Pierre, who had remained behind her. Vela spidered, maneuvering sideways so that she could see his approach from the rear, her arms and legs still in a protective arc over Samuel.
Jean-Pierre hobbled in her direction.
Oh, that’s right; she’d kneed him hard.
Exactly what he deserved for keeping her away from Samuel.
Luken hissed softly. “She got you in the jewels, brother? Ouch.” She felt something on her cheek and glanced down. Samuel looked at her with a light in his extraordinary gray eyes as he stroked her face with the backs of his fingers. “You’re so beautiful. What’s your name?” Her need to protect her man, traded places with her desire for him. She’d brought him to safety, still within the workout center, yet not. No one could touch them here. She could keep this warrior with her forever in this place if she had to.
“Vela,” she said. “My name is Vela.” As she eased down onto his chest, and found his lips with her own, as he once more drove his tongue deep inside, she thought forever seemed like too short a time.
He tasted of smoke and chocolate and man. She felt dizzy and aroused, ready to take things to the next level, when a woman called to her by name, “Vela.” Whoever the woman was, she needed her to go away.
She kept kissing her warrior.
“Vela, can you hear me?” The woman’s voice sounded familiar, but she was too busy right now to respond. Samuel had his tongue in her mouth and it felt so good. She hadn’t been kissed in years, not in years, and she wanted more, a lot more. She wanted everything. Now.
“Vela,” the woman called again, more stridently this time. “Can you stop what you’re doing for just a quick sec and talk to me?” She had her hands knotted in Samuel’s hair and she didn’t want to talk.
His hands kneaded her ass and she could feel all his male goodness pressed against her.
“Vela, listen to me. You’re caught in t h e breh-hedden, try to process that.
You’ve never even met the man you’re kissing right now, have you?” How the hell did the woman know she was kissing Samuel? Even Thorne hadn’t been able to see her.
As though having read her mind, the woman added, “I can see you kissing Warrior Samuel. Can you look up at me? I think you’ll be able to see me, too. I’m in the darkening with you. I have this power, as well. Your darkening ability.” Darkening power?
She felt the urge to protect her man rise up again. She pulled away from Samuel and lifted up once more to half- spider him with one leg arched between his and one arm curved over him, her fingers touching the soft workout mats just past his shoulder.
She hissed softly, at the intruder, which proved to be a beautiful woman, with red hair, surrounded in a soft glow.
Of course she knew her, who didn’t? She was Warrior Marcus’s breh.
But why was the powerful Havily Morgan spying on her, invading her secret space? How had she gotten here?
Havily stood within the black-edged boundaries of the protective place Vela had created, a glowing presence. “You need to go away, Havily. I don’t want to hurt you, but you can’t be here. I will die before I let harm come to Samuel.” Samuel’s hand was once more on her face, then on her breast, fondling. Her long hair covered his arm and hand. “Come back to me,” he whispered urgently. “I need you.” She looked down at him. “Havily is here.”
“Make her go away. I need you.” Vela shifted to glare at Havily. “You need to leave.”
“I will, if you’ll just talk to me for a minute. Otherwise, I’ll have to stay. I’m under orders.” Vela’s arms trembled holding her pose, but she wasn’t about to let anyone get Samuel. He still lay prone, one hand kneading her breast.
She caught his hand and held it still as her mind cleared a little. Havily had spoken of the darkening. So had Thorne.
Was this place the darkening? She needed to understand.
She met Havily’s gaze. “You can have one minute, then you’ll have to go.”
“Good,” Havily said. “I have just a few questions. Can you tell me how long you’ve known Warrior Samuel?” Vela looked down at him and smiled.
“Forever.” She heard Havily chuckle. “I know that feeling well. But when did you first meet him?” At that, Vela frowned and looked back at Havily.
“I…can’t quite remember.”
“Have you ever met him? I mean, been introduced?” She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“So when did you first see him then?” Vela leaned back just a little and her thoughts began to come together. “I was sitting on the risers when he walked by.”
“Then what happened? May I ask?” She nodded. “I caught this wonderful scent, almost like chocolate, but very male.”
“I don’t usually tell people this, but my breh, Warrior Marcus, smells like a field of wild grasses combined with fennel.” Vela smiled. Havily understood.
Havily knew.
Then she remembered Madame Endelle saying something about the breh- hedden.”
“This is the breh-hedden,” Vela said, a rush of understanding ripping through her. “Oh, my God.”
“Very much so.” Havily held her palms up. “I went through something similar with Marcus during those early days. Luken dragged Marcus off of me and Antony held me back. It was…horrible.
But later, I was completely mortified. I’m saying this so that you’ll know you’re not alone in what you’re probably feeling right now, or what you will soon experience.” Vela shifted her spidery arm and leg so that now she knelt beside Samuel. Her heart started pounding and her cheeks felt fiery hot. “Oh, my God. No.” She shifted away from Samuel, who sat up and stared at her not with lust, but with a puzzled expression. The dimming of her possessive, sexual feelings seemed to be having an effect on him.
Havily’s presence had done what otherwise would have been impossible.
She’d essentially stopped them from having sex, in the darkening, right in the middle of the Apache Junction Two Militia Warrior Headquarters workout center.
She scooted back on her knees.
“Warrior Samuel, oh, my God. I don’t know what happened.” Havily was right about one thing; Vela didn’t know him at all.
And she was mortified beyond words.