I turn back through the bushes and throw our supplies in the truck. I spin around in a cloud of dust and carefully drive alongside her footprints. She carries no means of communication and no supplies. She doesn’t know how to care for herself in this desert. It’s complete madness!
After a few minutes of driving, my navigation lights pick out movement on the rise ahead. Simone. In front of her are two Talraknd men. They look like nomads. I’m almost relieved she ran into men and not animals. Men are easier to track, and they’d want her alive. Animals would just kill her.
Then, one of them grabs her arm.
I growl, speeding up. How dare he touch her. How dare he even look at her. She is not for them. She is mine.
I pick up speed as one of the guys steps closer to her and grabs her arm. She turns the tables, using his momentum against him as she punches him in the face. He falls back and she follows up with a kick to his kneecap.
I can't believe what I'm saying. She's a warrior. If there was only one man, she would have taken him. But this is not a fair fight. There's two.
The second guy grabs her, twisting her arm so he can to get it up behind her back. She lets him pull her toward him and savagely jerks her head back, smashing his face with her skull. He cries out and his grip falters. In retaliation, he gets an arm around her throat.
She wraps her hands around his arm and tries to throw him. He tugs her back against his body, and they stagger around as he looks for an advantage. The other guy slowly gets up, nursing his injured knee.
Simone is amazing. There is no word for what I'm feeling right now — a mix of adoration and horror. Her strength is undeniable, but she shouldn't have to use it. Not like this. These men can never be forgiven.
I kill the navigation lights. The fight’s too intense, and the light from their own lanterns is too bright, so no one’s noticed me yet. I park at the edge of a sand dune, concealing the vehicle. Then, I leap out to aid the female warrior.
There will be no mercy.
They touched what’s mine.
5
Simone
I let myself become a dead weight as the guy pulls me against him with his arm around my throat. He moves back, dragging me. We both stumble in the sand and I try to swing my weight from side to side so we both fall.
The other guy is on his knees, on the way to getting up. I know I hit his kneecap hard enough to make it impossible for him to walk properly, but I’m sure he still has plenty of strength in his arms.
I’m planning my next move when a deep voice cuts through the shuffling sounds of sand. “Do you dare call yourselves men when you must fight together to restrain one human female?”
Irriuth. Relief blooms in my chest. I hear him approaching fast and I know I don’t have to worry. He’ll get me out of this mess. I don’t care if he’s angry. I know I was stupid, and I deserve whatever lecture he wants to give me. I’m not going to run away from him again.
“Fuck off! We found her first!” the man holding me yells.
Irriuth smiles slowly. His eyes glint in the light with lethal promise. “What was that you just said?”
I feel the man holding me begin to tremble, and I don’t blame him. Irriuth looks like he’s been possessed by uncontrollable bloodlust.
“Look at his seal, he’s part of the royal guard,” the other one whimpers. “Let’s just go.”
Irriuth steps forward. Lanterns capture the sharp angles of his face. “I am not just part of the guard. I am Irriuth.”
The man lets me go and flings himself onto the sand. “We had no idea!” he cries.
“Please, have mercy!” the other one wails. “We didn’t know she belonged to you!”
Irriuth leans down and captures the man’s hair in his fist. “She. Is. Mine.”
“Yes, yes!” he cries, eyes squished shut and snot dripping from his nose, merging with his mud-stained tears.
“You dared to touch her,” he whispers, voice dark and slow. “I should kill you for that.”
The man tries to kick himself away, but Irriuth’s grasp tightens. Both men shriek in terror as Irriuth grabs the man’s groin with his free hands and squeezes. A deafening pop echoes throughout the desert, followed by the man’s horrific squeal of excruciating pain.
Irriuth drops him, and he curls into a fetal position, wailing.
“Now for you,” he says, advancing.
The man wails like death himself is approaching him. He trips over his own feet in his attempt to get away.
“Do you dare try to escape your judgement?”
The man cries out as Irriuth grabs him by his hair, lifting him into the air, bringing them face-to-face.
“You’re lucky you didn’t have a chance to touch her,” Irriuth says. “You’re lucky you’re only half a man already.” With that, he throws the other scavenger towards his friend. “Get him out of here. I never want to see either of you again.”
“Y-yes my L-lord—”
“Did I give you permission to speak?” Irriuth bellows.
The man nods, then grabs his sobbing friend, limping and he drags him across the sand and leaving their own packs. They hurry away on to a dirt track behind the nearby scrub. There isn’t much light, but I can see them scurrying into the plains.
I turn to Irriuth. “Thank you.”
He gives me a slight smile. “It’s not every day you see two Talrakian beaten up by a human female.”
I smile back at him despite myself. It feels…nice.
“I’m sorry for making you cry,” he says.
“I wasn’t crying,” I told him.
“I’m sorry all the same.” His tone is hard as he looks me up and down. “I know I upset you, but it’s dangerous out here. You can’t run off again.”
“I’m done running,” I tell him. “Let’s just get to the city.” So I can get on the first ship home. At this point, I’ve had enough vacation for a lifetime.
He steps towards me, eyes fixed on my face. Tension bleeds out all around him and I see a muscle on his face flicker with it. “Good. Don’t ever run from me again.”
I’m wide-eyed with shock. This is definitely a different man from the one I’ve seen so far. “I just said I won’t.”
Instead of answering, he takes another step towards me.
Then, another.
Soon, he’s pulling me so close that I feel the powerful beat of his heart through his chest. His body is hot. Massive. And yet, comforting. I know he will not use his strength to hurt me, even as his powerful fingers dig into my arms.
He growls again, an unspoken demand.
My head slips back as he leans over me. When his hot lips touch mine, a shudder runs through me and he grips me even tighter against the hardness of his body. I can’t help myself. I open my mouth and he thrusts his tongue inside, finding mine.
I’ve been kissed before, but not like this. Kisses are supposed to be sweet promises.
He’s conquering me.
He possesses my every breath. Claims everything he touches. Demands more.
Deep inside my pussy, in a place I’ve never noticed, something burns hot and bright. I squirm against him, moaning through the kiss as the throbbing inside gets stronger.