“Where to start?” she chirped bitterly. “No one gets a say in their education or running the village. We’re told which jobs we do, and it’s usually hunting, building, or patrolling. So that means the artists, the weavers, and the ones who love music must practice in secret. They fear for their lives. Also, most of us do not enjoy eating people. That’s just gross, but we’re forced to do everything Mother says. Honestly, it’s oppressive. We’re warriors, strong-willed and strong-minded. We have been bred to think for ourselves, yet we’re treated like children. So, yeah, when you ask if I agree with this way of life? I can confidently say that I don’t. If I were given the chance to be leader, that’s what I would do. Lead. Not rule.”
Brutus nodded. She truly was perfect. Selfless, strong, intelligent, and very, very beautiful. The most beautiful thing of all was the fact she was oblivious to just how sexy she was.
“Well, since we are not going to have the chance to live out our destinies, I would like to say that I think you would have been an incredible leader. And mother to our two strong girls. And wife.” He grinned. “I would have enjoyed deflowering you, getting you pregnant, and fucking you repeatedly throughout our very long lives.”
Her cheeks flushed, and he could see her breathing accelerate with the rise of her chest. “So tell me, what would you have done our first time?”
Oh, she wanted to go there, did she?
He was game.
After all, they had minutes left to live. Why not spend them thinking of enjoyable things?
“Well.” He cleared his throat and straightened his back against the post, trying to get comfortable for this little round of sexting. Without the phones, of course. “I would definitely start out by taking you to my home in Sedona. It is a very cozy adobe atop a hill, looking out across red cliffs and miles of beautiful desert. And since there is an incredible sunset each night, where the sky bursts into hot pinks and blazing reds, I would set out a very nice bottle of wine and a blanket on my patio. We would watch the sunset and enjoy the majestic beauty of nature—”
“That sounds super romantic, but I don’t know when my mother is coming to remove my head, so could you skip to the sex part, please?”
He grinned. “Okay, then, I would take you inside, remove your clothing. I would tell you that I was going to lick and kiss you from head to toe, but by the time I got done sucking one of your nipples and found your entrance wet and ready, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from pinning your hands over your head and taking you hard. Like a savage beast.”
Fina bit her lower lip, her pupils dilating. “How hard?”
“You’d scream my name and claw at my back.”
“Because you’re big,” she muttered, her voice dreamy.
Mmm… Now she was catching on. “Yes. You’ve felt my hard cock in your hands. You know how big.” Just thinking about how good her hand had felt on his shaft was making his cock thicken at this very moment. One little brush of a leaf and the General would be saluting all over the dirt in front of him.
“I have,” she admitted. “And I’ve imagined how good it would feel inside me.”
“It would feel very good,” he purred in a deep, low voice. “I would push myself deep and show your wet pussy no mercy. And when I was done with you, I’d flip you over and fuck you again. I’d leave your skin bathed in sweat, every muscle limp with contentment. You’d be so spent, I’d have to carry you to the tub for a long soak, so I could ravage you again an hour later.”
“Mmmm…” She closed her eyes, a sensual grin dancing on her lips. “I am so wet right now.”
“I am so hard right now.” He closed his eyes, too, soaking in the sexual heat wafting in the air between them. “If I were untied, nothing would stop me from taking you to your hut and—”
“I would never allow my bloodline to be defiled on sacred land by a male,” said a sharp female voice.
Brutus opened his eyes and saw a woman standing there in a rainbow caftan. She had dark eyes and a blonde streak on her right temple. Unlike her daughter, the queen was heinous looking with scars all over her face. Probably was attacked by her own mirror for being such a shrew.
“Queen Caca.” Brutus felt his tire deflate instantly. “Lovely to see you again.” He dipped his head. “As always, your hospitality is phenomenal. Might I suggest opening a bed-and-breakfast for those who enjoy an oppressive vibe?”
“Shut up, you fool,” the queen growled.
“Why don’t you shut up, Mother,” Fina snarled.
“How dare you speak to me in that manner.” The queen pointed a bony finger at Fina.
Damn, woman, clean your fingernails once in a while. They were caked with grime.
“I’ll speak to you any way I like,” Fina threw back. “I’m going to die, and I might as well get some things off my chest.” Fina looked directly at Brutus. “Right? I mean, I already have my husband, the most incredible sex of my life, and two wonderful girls. The only thing missing is for you to take a flying fuck off a cliff so that our people are free of your archaic bull crap.”
Brutus couldn’t help beaming at his fantasy wife. Their little game of make-believe was suddenly more real to him than anything. It was a feeling in his heart. Passion, love, a home. In an instant, Fina was all that and more, simply because he’d allowed himself to imagine this different life. A good life. With her.
Colel had been right; all he had to do was let go, and the bond would break. In an instant, his heart had been filled with something infinitely more powerful: A woman he chose on his own.
A woman who wants me, freely, as much as I want her. It dawned on him that this relationship had not been thrust upon him by the Universe, which went perfectly with his independent, noble spirit. Like a bolt of electricity to the spine, that shot up into his brain, he could see it all so clearly now. The perfect woman had to be his choice. And had it not been for being mated to Colel first, he might have met Fina and always wondered if there was another woman out there, about to be sprung on him by the Universe.
Now I have no doubts.
And she’s sitting right beside me.
About to die.
He couldn’t sit idly by and do nothing. He wanted them to have their chance, to make these fantasies in their heads become real. Yes, it was a sudden turn of events, but he’d been around long enough to know when something was a lie and when it was not.
The queen snapped her fingers at one of the women standing in the group behind her, holding the holy battle-ax. “Time for talk is over.”
The woman hesitated, gripping the weapon firmly in her hand, a scowl on her face.
What had Fina said to him the other day? About how he had been so wrapped up in his mission that he’d failed to assess the situation.
His eyes darted over the faces in the crowd. The woman gripping the battle-ax wasn’t the only one glaring at the queen. The scent of defiance was in the air, and he suspected all they needed was a spark to ignite it.
“You know,” he spoke up, “I have worked for the gods for centuries, including with Cimil. I have been a lowly soldier. I have been a leader. I have been a trusted member of their very dysfunctional family. And if there is one thing I have learned, it’s that leaders, the ones worth remembering and idolizing, are not swinging the biggest swords. They are the ones who offer their swords. They serve selflessly. They believe there is no higher purpose than to use their gifts to help others. They love their people and only want to see them thrive and reach their full potential. In my experience, fear, force, and hate are the tools of the weak-minded. They are used by those not worthy of following.” Brutus raised his chin high, thinking of his men, who would follow him to the ends of the earth and whom he’d give his life for. Bonds like that were not forged in the muddy depths of power trips and insecurity. They were the product of genuine respect, for one’s self and for others. Dare he say love, too. In a very platonic, brotherly way. “A good leader is given power by their people. They don’t take it with force or use fear to keep it.”