Warlord's Mercy - Cynthia Sax Page 0,9
her safety by helping him. No one did that out of the goodness of their heart.
Silence stretched.
She tilted her head to the right and then to the left. “I shouldn’t ask for anything.” The quietness of her reply hinted she was talking to herself again. “He’s merely being polite, and he’s injured. He should focus on healing and--”
“I’m not merely being polite.” He wasn’t polite and he wasn’t nice. “Tell me.”
Her breath hitched. His female’s reaction to the dominance in his tone aroused him.
“You don’t owe me anything.” She insulted him by offering that lie. If she successfully sheltered him while he recovered, he would owe her his life. “But if you want to do something to thank me, you could share some warrior wisdom with me. I have a gun, and I don’t know how to use it.”
“I’ll show you how to use it.” Tolui would teach her how to shoot a being. He’d kill that Daisun being.
Then he would leave her.
Chapter Three
Lea glanced over her right shoulder. Rock vultures circled high in the sky. There were four of those vicious creatures now. “They’re gaining on us, warrior.”
“Warlord.” The male hunched over her radiated heat and sounded semi-delirious.
“They’re gaining on us, Warlord.” She amended her statement. “It’s Daisun and his female-hating fiends. I’m certain about that.”
She had considered stashing Tolui somewhere and leading the others away from him. They wanted her, not an injured stranger.
But there were a variety of dangers on Chamele 4. The sun was one of them. It beat down on her shoulders and back. The rock vultures above them were another threat.
The male was defenseless against all of them.
He could barely walk, leaned more and more on her as they progressed. The weight of him strained her form. He was extremely large, was all heavy muscle. She struggled to support him.
“It’s just a little bit farther.” She tried to encourage him to move faster.
The physical connection with the male felt…right. His scent teased her nostrils. Every slide of skin over skin excited her.
“If we survive this, I’m fucking you.” She whispered her intentions, suspecting he was too far gone to decipher her words.
And if he had understood her, she doubted he’d object. The massive bulge in his plain, boring ass coverings was pronounced.
“We have to escape our pursuers first.”
Males whooped behind them. Daisun’s brutes must have reached the escape pod. They would investigate the contents, search around the area.
That should delay them for a few moments.
She spotted the entrance to the tunnels. “Thank the stars. We’ve finally arrived.”
The crevice was larger than it had been when she’d first found it. Solar cycles of her slipping in and out of the gap had shaved some of the rock off the sides.
“You should fit.” She tilted her head to the side, studying it. “But it will be tight.”
“Trap.” The male’s gaze met hers. His dark eyes were glazed.
“It’s my home, not a trap.” Lea half-dragged him closer to the entrance. “Get in there before they find us.” She shoved him sideways into the opening.
He grunted. Half of his big form disappeared.
“All the way in.” She pushed on him.
He didn’t move. The male was wedged into the space.
She dropped the packs. “Help me out here.” Using all of her might, she smacked against him.
Rock crumbled. A chunk of it fell to the ground. He burst free.
The effort must have reopened his wounds. The stone around the entrance was painted bright crimson. That would reveal the location of her home to anyone close to the site.
She looked behind her. The trail they’d left would do the same.
“Fuck. I have to take care of that.” She grabbed the packs and followed him into the tunnels. “I have to leave you for a few moments. Are you okay?”
He wasn’t okay. The Warlord was propped against the tunnel wall. Blood streamed over his chest and legs. His scarred face was frighteningly pale, and his mouth was pressed into a grim white line.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Warlord.” Her stomach fluttered, that possibility unsettling her. She might only have known him for mere moments, but there was a connection between them, and she didn’t want to lose him, didn’t want to fail to save another being. “Guard these.” She set the packs beside his booted feet, giving the male a task she doubted he could complete. “I’ll be back soon.”
She hoped that was true.
“Track. You.” He might be on the verge of death, but he could still glower at her.
That turned her