“How did it go?” Marcus asked, his hand touching her elbow.
“Oh, the usual,” Havily whispered. “But you should have seen Parisa. When Endelle punched at her from across the room with her powers, Parisa returned the favor and Endelle landed on her ass. I was shocked…”
The door opened. Oh. Shit. Preternatural hearing. She should have at least waited until she was back at the villa before she started gossiping about Endelle.
“Havily, tell me something,” Her Supremeness began.
She turned to face her employer. “Yes, Madame Endelle?” Could her voice get any higher?
“I’ve been thinking about this recent battle in Parisa’s courtyard, playing it over in my head. How the hell did Medichi know to show up exactly when he was needed? Thorne said he didn’t send him there. Do you know anything about that?”
Havily released a sigh of relief. She’d expected to get reamed because of what she’d been saying to Marcus. Instead, it was just about the courtyard incident. “That’s easy. I called him.” She tapped her forehead. “I have a link with Warrior Medichi. We set it up after I had the vision of Luken getting wounded. They were both concerned for my safety, and as it turned out they were right. That’s how Medichi … arrived … at the town house…” It struck Havily that Endelle would already have known all about this. And why was Endelle grinning?
When Endelle just lifted a brow then shut the door in her face, it took Havily a few seconds to realize exactly what Her Supremeness had meant by the whole thing and just how seriously Havily had erred.
She felt a rumbling beside her that quickly turned into a growl at her neck. Marcus’s hand found her nape and held her firmly. “Break that link now,” he cried.
She withheld a heavy sigh. If Endelle weren’t so damn powerful she’d plot how to get back at her, but the woman would probably know her plans before she could even form them.
Fine.
Now, what to do about the jealous beast beside her.
Down the hall, Alison and Parisa stood close together conversing. Alison gestured with flutters of her hands and Parisa smiled. In a few minutes, Havily had another meeting with the various committee heads to finalize both the Ambassadors Reception and the Festival.
“Break it now,” Marcus growled, adding resonance, which forced her to turn and face him.
“It’s no big deal,” she tried to reassure him. “And if memory serves, that link saved your ass.”
Those were so the wrong words to say to a Warrior of the Blood, on so many levels. That she would suggest Marcus wasn’t fully capable of defending himself or her or Parisa was unforgivable. So was challenging him about the right of another man to have possession of her mind, even in this small, superficial way. She might as well have trumpeted a call to arms.
The release of a torpedo of fennel caused her to gasp. She took a step back and weaved on her feet. She saw stars, she really did. Holy shit.
She glanced at Parisa and Alison. She met Alison’s gaze and sent, Would you see to Parisa? I seem to have a situation.
Alison glanced her direction, lifted her brow when her gaze shifted to Marcus, then guided Parisa into the executive dining room. She closed the door with a quick snap.
Before Marcus gave vent to the rage so evident in the way his light brown eyes were almost glowing, Havily jerked her head in the direction of her office. She moved with preternatural speed, pulled the door open and went inside. She knew he’d followed with the same blast of speed because his thighs were up against her, shoving at her, each step of the way.
Oh, boy was she in for it now.
Before she could open her mouth to either protest or explain, he had her pinned against the wall. Though the front part of her office had glass windows, the south wall was solid and separated her from the entire administrative pool. Only if someone happened to walk by could they be seen. The plate-glass window on the east wall was open to nothing but miles of desert.
His body was pressed the full length of hers, and the release of all this aggression had tainted his fennel scent with such a heavy dose of pheromones that her knees no longer existed. “Break it,” he whispered deep into her ear.
His breath, his fennel, the erotic feeling of being pinned by this warrior, caused Havily to breathe in light little gasps. Dammit, she was panting. How quickly the man could sex her up. Not only that, she couldn’t form a single rational thought. Instead, she wondered if she ought to just fold off her slacks and her thong and let him take care of business. That he was a hard length grinding between her legs wasn’t a surprise.
What was it she had meant to say to him?
“No one takes your blood,” he said, measuring each word, his breath still driving into her ear, “and no one gets inside your head.” He drew his hips back slightly, and his hand went low as he caught her between her thighs. He cupped her … hard … and it felt so good. “And no one gets in here.” All of this, he sent, your mind, your body, your blood … these belong to me. Do … you … understand?
Havily opened her mouth to speak, knowing she should argue, maybe set some boundaries, but his lips were on hers and his tongue took possession of her mouth in hard thrusts. After a moment, his c**k once more formed a powerful ridge against her. He drew back but just enough to meet her gaze. “Break the connection.” He ground his teeth. “Now. I need this.”
“I can’t,” she responded breathless. “I would, but I don’t know how. I think Medichi has to do it. Besides, I’m still not certain if it’s a good idea.”
He growled and pressed his hips against hers. “Not an option,” he said. “Let’s go back to the villa. I’ll wake him up and we’ll get this thing taken care of.”
“Marcus,” she whispered, turning her head. “I have a meeting. It’s important, especially after the warning Leto gave you about the Ambassadors Festival. Besides, Medichi should sleep. You of all people know how important that is.”
He was breathing against her neck and licked her throat.
She groaned, her eyes rolling back in her head. She would love to just throw away all her responsibilities, even her sense of what was right in this situation, but there was a little more at stake than the breh-hedden’s absurd call on them both.
She wedged her hands against his chest and pushed. Reluctantly, he gave way and stepped back, if not very far.
“Come to the meeting with me,” she said. “And as soon as I can I’ll sever the link, but I must conduct this meeting now.”