"Run," he said softly.

She blinked, certain she had misheard him. "What?" Was he turning her away?

"Run. To my room. Now."

There was no humor in his tone, no sense that he was through with her. Instead, he projected a fierce l.u.s.t that went beyond anything he'd ever shown her before. The breath in her throat snagged. She backed away from him, her heart skipping a beat. His expression was intense, savage. Utterly wild.

"Run," he repeated. "Now."

Clutching the orange, she sprang forward, racing around him, careful not to touch him. Her arms pumped at her sides as she pounded up the stairs. Footsteps echoed behind her. She remembered the path to the room and whipped around corners. Warriors roamed the halls, collecting their bed partners. Some hadn't made it to a room and were having s.e.x right there in the hall.

Panting, she barreled past them. Thankfully no one tried to stop her. Valerian's intensity was frightening. And arousing. And startling. And wonderful.

When she reached the outer bathing area, she picked up speed. What was he going to do to her when he caught her? She shot past the white curtain separating the two sections of the room, and it whooshed behind her. A split second later, it whooshed again.

Valerian. Close, so close. She gulped, was just about to spin around and demand he explain why he'd not picked her up and carried her here, why he'd not let her wrap her legs around his waist and feel every step he took between her legs, when he slammed into her from behind. Together they soared through the air. She screamed, dropped her fruit. Just before she hit the bed, Valerian turned them, absorbing the impact with his own body.

One of his arms flipped her over and banded around her waist. The other pulled at her shirt, stripping her.

"Why... why?" she panted, unable to get any other word out.

"Couldn't wait." Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were suddenly bared. He held her above him and laved one of her nipples into his mouth. Pure heat. She sucked in a gasp of air. Somewhere along the way, he'd lost his chest armor. Her hands kneaded him, mindful of his injuries. His nipples were hard and abraded her palms erotically; his nipple ring was cool to the touch yet burned her with its masculinity.

She straddled his waist, anchoring her weight on her knees. This was exactly where she belonged, she mused. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders. Adrenaline from the chase rushed through her blood, blending with desire, making it all the more potent. All the more consuming. Her skin felt alive with pulses of electricity.

He untied the belt holding her pants in place and flung it aside, causing the pants to gape open. He paused a moment, staring at her with purpose.

"I'm going to kiss you here," he muttered roughly. His fingertip grazed a path along the center of her panties. "Then I'm going to pleasure your body the way I've wanted from the moment I saw you."

"Yes." She loved his raw language, was excited by it. "Pleasure. Do it."

"Nothing will stop me."

"Nothing." She arched her hips slightly forward, sliding over the hard length of his erection. Sensations of utter bliss tore through her, and she moaned.

"You'll love everything I do." His hand clenched on her waist. His eyes closed, and he bit his lower lip. "You'll beg for more."

She slid over him again. They both groaned. "Love it," she promised. "Beg."

He rolled her over, jerking at her pants while he did so. His feet kicked the material the rest of the way down. Her panties quickly followed, yet he didn't have the patience to work them off her so he ripped the seams and discarded the tattered remains.

Completely naked, she reached between them and worked at his pants. Her motions were clipped, eager, desperate, but she made no progress. "I can't get them off," she growled. "Help me get them off."

Within seconds he had them peeled away and she was in heaven. Hmm. Skin to skin.

"Soft," he praised. He traced a path along her collarbone, then nipped at her neck, grazing her overly sensitive flesh with his teeth.

She could feel his p.e.n.i.s on her belly, as hot as a steel band. She arched against it, needing it inside her. "Now," she said.

His shaft jerked against her. His teeth bit more sharply. "Kiss," he said hoa.r.s.ely. He licked down her body, exploring her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again, lingering at her stomach, flicking her belly b.u.t.ton.

"Grip the top of the bed," he demanded.

She'd been reaching down, intent on threading her fingers through his hair. "But-" "Do it. Grip the bed."

She obeyed. The moment her fingers curled around the ivory base, his tongue glided over her c.l.i.toris. Her hips shot up, and she gasped his name.

With one of his hands, he opened her fully. With the other he glided a finger into her, probing, stretching. His tongue never stopped working her. The combination of sensations was shattering. Another coast of his tongue. A pump of his fingers. Then he sucked at her, increasing the tempo. She cried. She sobbed. Oh, the bliss. Her legs locked around him. Her hands clutched the headboard so tightly her knuckles could have snapped.

Her eyelids squeezed shut. In her mind she saw him between her legs, his tawny hair falling onto her thighs. His muscled back clenched tight as he reined in his own need.

"Valerian! I can't take any more."

"By the end of the night, you'll have taken everything I have to give."

"Push me... give me... let me come."

She writhed. On the verge. So close, yet not close enough. He slid another finger into her, and it was a tight fit. Stretching her. Filling her. So. Good. Quickly his tongue flicked over her c.l.i.toris, showing no mercy. Not that she wanted any. This was everything she'd dreamed, everything she'd ever needed without knowing she did.

"I'm going to sink my c.o.c.k into you, Shaye. You're going to spread your legs and welcome me, every stretching inch."

"Yes." Oh, G.o.d, yes. The thought of his p.e.n.i.s inside her pushed her over the sweet edge. She spasmed around his fingers, clenching them tight. A scream, a sob. Flashing white lights blinked behind her eyes.

He suddenly loomed above her, her legs cradled in the crook of his arms, opening her fully. Exposing her completely. He was poised on the brink of penetration. "Once I'm inside you, you will be mine. Say it."

"Yours. I'll be yours." There was no denying it. She was his. Now, this moment, she was his. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his neck, tangling in his hair. His chest was pressed against hers and she could feel the fine-grained sand that still clung to him from the fight, adding friction, another depth of pleasure. "Kiss," she beseeched.

His head swooped down, and he claimed her mouth. The moment their tongues touched, he slammed inside her. No waiting.

No gradually letting her become accustomed. He was simply in her to the hilt. As if he couldn 't go another minute without being there.

She cried out in his mouth; he swallowed the sound. She was so aroused, so slick with desire, so prepared for him, there was only a slight sting, then complete pleasure. He stretched her erotically, filled her inexorably.

On and on the kiss continued. She tasted herself on his lips. Tasted him, the heat of him, the pa.s.sion. In and out his tongue probed in sync with his strong body. In and out. Moving quickly, hurtling them both to the stars.

"Can't... slow... down," he panted.

"Glad."

His t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es slapped at her. The tip of him hit all the way to her womb, the exact spot she needed him. She was already close, ready to explode for the second time. Tension coiled in her stomach, in her blood.

"Shaye!" he roared. He pumped into her, hard, delicious. "Mine."

Mine, she silently repeated. The climax gripped her, more intense than the first, making her shudder against him. Her knees clenched at him, and to the heavens she soared. High, so high.

He joined her there. He spasmed against her, inside her. Gave a final, pounding thrust. His eyes squeezed tight. Bliss consumed his features.

"Mine," he growled. "Mine."

VALERIAN HAD NEVER FELT more powerful. Strength radiated from him, filled him, pulsed and sizzled. He always felt invigorated after s.e.x, but this... Never like this. And with Shaye it had not been s.e.x, he thought. It had been lovemaking. A union. Total and complete. Especially that last time when they'd licked her favorite fruit off each other.

Mine, he thought again.

The word would not leave him. He'd never felt so possessive of another person. Actually, he'd never felt so possessive of anything, including his cherished sword. Including the palace. She 'd tasted like no other woman. Erupted like no other woman.

Pleased him like no other woman. He was the nymph, yet it was she who wrapped him in her sensual spell. It was she who enslaved him.

She snuggled into his side, her curves nestled against him. He could feel the soft exhalations of her breath. He would die without this woman. Simply perish. Cease to exist. He wanted to give her the world, offer her everything her heart desired.

Never more than now had he been so determined to keep the palace. He would not have his woman homeless, staying in whatever shack he could find for them. Yes, he would keep this place from the dragons.

He would keep Shaye. For eternity.

When he'd returned to the dungeon and she had not been inside the cell, his heart had stopped beating. Panic, dread, fury had consumed him. He'd nearly hacked Dylan and Terran to pieces. Then, when he'd seen Shaye as relaxed and at ease as if she had not a care-while standing next to the portal, for the love of the G.o.ds-he'd panicked again.

How close he'd come to losing her.

Then she'd begun issuing orders with bravery and wisdom, acting every bit the queen she was meant to be, and he'd been struck anew with love for her.

Somehow, some way, he'd gain her oath to stay forever. He would never let her go.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

AFTER HE'D SATED HIMSELF on the women and listened to their tales, Poseidon had whisked himself to the nearest river, a crystal stream of tranquility. Lilies floated on the surface. He now blended himself into the water, flowing with it, absorbing its coolness.

The nymphs had indeed broken the law. He needed to punish them quickly, before others thought to do the same. And he knew just what to do...

When he reached a fork in the river, he stopped. The water itself stilled, no waves, no liquid movement. Only the silent wind above, the patter of nearby animals. Then... the bank on his left suddenly flooded with dragon warriors, their wings flapping as they landed. Still, the water did not ripple.

Poseidon watched them. A long while pa.s.sed before their dragon forms faded to human. Smooth, though scarred, skin instead of scales. Silky hair. Teeth instead of fangs. No tail. Of course, they were now naked, wearing only dragon medallions and holding their swords. They began drinking from the stream, their angry chatter echoing between the trees. His gaze found Darius. The leader of the dragons was speaking with several of his men, issuing orders, his expression fierce.

He hadn't liked abandoning the palace, Poseidon knew. His instincts had been to stay and fight the nymphs-Valerian in particular. But Darius, if he recalled correctly, was a warrior who weighed the odds, studied the situation and calculated the percentages. He'd been outnumbered severely and he hadn't wanted his men injured when a sneak attack could work in their favor, evening the odds.

He was a smart man and exactly what Poseidon needed.

Come to me, he commanded Darius, his voice carrying on the wind.

Darius paused and stiffened. His eyes searched the surrounding wooded area, glazed over the river, saw nothing and returned to his men. His shoulders remained stiff, his posture erect and his hands clenched tightly on the hilt of his sword.

Come, Poseidon said again.

Darius's attention whipped to the river for the second time. His eyes narrowed. Poseidon knew the water provided only a reflection of his G.o.d-image, a glint in the fading light. Still, Darius obeyed this time, striding to the river 's edge. The men he'd been speaking with watched in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" a hulking blond giant asked.

"Rest a while, Brand," the dragon king responded without looking back. When he stood alone, he said, "You called, water G.o.d?"

The complete irreverence in his tone annoyed the G.o.d. "You know me, then."

"I know of you."

Poseidon's jaw clenched, causing a ripple in the water. "Then you know the consequences of speaking to me thus. You know the suffering I can cause."

Darius gave a clipped nod.

Not the bow of homage Poseidon preferred, but it would do. "I have learned some things since my return, Darius, things that do not please me. Because of this, I have several tasks to ask of you."

A muscle ticked beneath his eyes. "Then I am at your command, of course."

"Good. I wish you to return to the palace."

There was a pause. "That is not my plan."

"No, you wish to gather more men. That will take time, and I want my will obeyed now. This moment."

Darius stood firm. "That will place dragon lives in unnecessary danger, and I can't allow that."

"There will be no danger to you and yours if you sneak inside."

"I do plan to sneak inside. But there is danger if I do not have enough men to take the palace once we are within."

Poseidon grinned slowly. "Not if you are able to destroy half of the nymph and vampire forces before you even reach the palace hallways." Darius's brows arched, and interest sparked in his blue eyes. "Tell me how that is possible."

"There is a doorway, a secret entrance below the portal."

"Where exactly?" He sounded faraway, as if he was already breaching it in his mind.

"Do not worry. I will show you once you get there. You will sneak inside and return the human women to the surface, their memories wiped clean."

"Done."

"Once they are returned, you will destroy the nymphs. They'll be weak without their women and easy for you to take. Every one of them must die for daring to enter the surface world. They are not guardians, which means they have disobeyed the law."

A muscle clenched in Darius's jaw. "Surely you do not mean all of them."

"All."