Lacey's Warriors (Bondmates #6) - Ann Mayburn Page 0,20

his subconscious, and he was silent as he received it, then he smiled. “Lady Roxy has awoken from her transformation. I must get and attend her.”

The smile Lacey gave him back was genuine, and he marveled at how it transformed her face from its usual severe beauty to something softer. “Go, take care of her. I’m going to apologize to Gwarnon.”

“Thank you.” He pulled her into a hug, his whole body warming as she allowed him the intimacy.

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest, and for one blissful moment, Lacey shared his happiness.

Chapter 4

Gwarnon

Pacing the empty practice arena, Gwarnon was ready to put his head through the wall.

Over and over again.

Lacey Taylor was the most frustrating, stubborn, intelligent, honorable, and driven females he’d ever met. And she was also the most confusing. One minute, she’d be responding to their flirting, the scent of her desire filling the air around her in a delicious cloud of lust. For an instant, he’d feel her soul, feel the brush of her powerful but gentle spirit, then the next moment she’d once again have an impenetrable wall up between her spirit and his.

It was frustrating beyond belief because they could not figure out what was stopping her from responding to their attentions. If he had some idea of her background, of who she was and where she’d been, they would be able to better plan a winning courtship. But they didn’t dare research Lacey or mention her by name to anyone, not wanting to draw any attention to her. The longer she stayed anonymous, the better her chances for survival. Already Nosa and Cormac had received word that rumors had reached the High Congress that human women would be competing in the Baladium.

Only a few more days until it would be too late to transform Lacey and give her the best chances possible of surviving the Baladium.

Thankfully, Roxy had just completed her transformation into a Matriarch, and Chel was checking on her right now.

Envy nipped at Gwarnon as he wished with all his might that Lacey would allow them to begin her transformation. They had done everything they could possibly think of to win her heart. And now they were at a loss as to how to get Lacey to see that being their Matriarch would be the best decision she could ever make. The only thing he could do was pray to a Creator that he wasn’t sure was listening.

At least he had some new information to work with. Nosa, Rastar, and Lord Rell had given him a brief tutorial on the sexual differences between the women of Earth and most Kadothian compatible females found in the Bel’Tan Galaxy. From what they had shared, human women’s sex was shaped differently from what Kadothian men expected. Nothing extreme, but the pleasure bud was located on the outside, instead of inside, the vaginal sheath. It made for easy manipulation, and Cormac swore it was the secret to pleasuring an Earth woman. He said they responded especially well to oral pleasure, and that they had the most delicious tasting arousal in all of the Universe.

His cock started to fill and he forced himself to think of something other than lapping between Lacey’s spread thighs like a man dying of thirst. He wanted to feel her wetness, to rub his face in it and cover himself with her scent, to bring her to release over and over again. Lord of Life knew, she needed it.

Lacey was so filled with anger, fear, and sadness that all she wanted to do was hurt anyone in her path. He understood the need to lash out in pain, but that didn’t take the sting out of being on the receiving end of her sharp tongue. Her verbal barrage had been enough to drive him behind his walls, which seemed to infuriate her. Instead of growing closer, the more time they spent together, the further they were forcing each other apart.

He was beginning to lose hope that they would ever be able to convince her they were not her enemy.

A mental note from Chel informed him that Lacey was returning to the arena to speak with Gwarnon. He wondered what his blood brother had talked with their bride about, but Chel was busy tending to Roxy and Gwarnon knew better than to disturb him while he worked. A feeling of hope and impatience came from Chel’s side of the bond, and Gwarnon could only pray that