Was he the one making small talk now? And why was I relieved not to have to leave just yet? "She's miserable and trying to rest," I said. "Shadow is working on convincing her to leave, but she insists that she hasn't seen anything yet and they need to wait until the sands calm so she can experience the true majesty of your world."
A fraction of his rigid demeanor softened. "What are the odds that she stays on this ship until we reach the Guardians?"
That got a smile out of me. "Len and I have a bet going. My power is on her making it to the Delfora. He thinks she'll be gone in a few moons."
"Len should know better than to bet against you," he said, his voice dropping lower as he took a step toward me. He seemed unconcerned about leaving the steering apparatus, which was explained when his sands turned visible and streamed out from him to wrap around the wheel. Of course, as he took another step forward, the damn boat lurched at almost a forty-five-degree angle—was it his sand’s first freaking day steering a boat?—but he didn’t falter, solid as a desert cliff.
He reached me in a single breath of time, crowding his big body into mine.
"What are you doing?" I murmured, tilting my head back to see his eyes and whatever emotions they held.
Reece leaned down to brush his lips across my cheekbone. "Stay away from my friends," he murmured as his power tingled into mine.
I swallowed hard as anger and arousal slammed into me. “You have got to be kidd—”
"You know the damn rules.” He cut me off. “This"—his hands swept down my shoulders, and since I’d removed my armor earlier, he had free access to cup my breasts, thumbs brushing over the nipples that were ready and standing at attention under the tunic—"is mine."
I had to swallow again because this drier air was getting to me... Yep, it was definitely the air.
My voice was husky. "It was just a bet."
His hands slid down my stomach, slowly making their way to the junction of my thighs. He pressed against my clit, sliding his fingers across the throbbing bundle of nerves. "That's the only reason you're both walking around. Unpunished."
I managed to snort out a laugh, desperate for casual disdain. "Oh, right? And how would you punish us?" This fucker had another fight on his hands if he thought he could control me, even if his current actions were turning me into a quivering ball of need.
"Len would learn the hard way not to disregard my orders," Reece said calmly, "and you would be tied to my bed until you remembered the rules of this agreement."
I opened my mouth to blast him, but my body was already on fire at the thought of being under his control like that. As much as I was strong and built for battle, there was a part of me that craved a moment to release that control. To give myself to the pleasure I knew Reece would bring to my life.
With a shake of my head, I knocked his hand away, ignoring the parts inside me screaming to let him dowhatever the hell he wanted."You can try, asshole," I managed to say without sounding like a breathless fool. "Try and see what happens."
"Flirt with my friends and see what happens," Reece shot back. "You know I don't share well, Lale. You've known me longer than almost anyone else in the worlds. We might have ignored it for a time, and others also might have forgotten, but you were mine before anyone else’s. And for now, I've reinstated the old rules."
He returned to the wheel, leaving me there frozen like the very fool I had been trying not to be.Others might have forgotten.It wasn’t just others… He was talking about the bond that, until just recently, I’d also forgotten. A bond that he’d blessed in front of their higher energies, and that meant something. Desert Lands claimings were soul-deep bonds that tied powerful mates, families, and... even friends together.
I've reinstated the old rules.
Holy shit. What were the old rules? I didn't remember the rules of these bonds, having been so young when it’d happened. No doubt they’d been written somewhere… probably at the time of the early Desertlandians. The time of the ancients.
"What are the old rules?" I asked his back.
Reece lifted his head higher, those broad shoulders blocking my view of what lay ahead. "You'll find out soon. They're written in the Delfora on the stones of my ancestors."
I waited for him to continue, but there was nothing else said.
Six moons. I would have to wait six moons to find out what that meant, and part of me wondered if my life would ever be the same.
33
We spent the next couple of moons in turbulent sands, but when we left the narrower section of the East River, everything evened out. Mera finally made her way back up to the main deck, looking relaxed and rested, despite the rough trip so far. She wore stretchy black tights, a long white shirt, and flat-heeled ankle boots. Her aura gently swirled around her, feeling stronger and more intense than ever, and I had a sense that this baby would soon be ready to enter the world.
“Hey,” I said, crossing to her side. “How are you feeling?” I'd been checking in on her periodically, but since Shadow was keeping her occupied, I’d probed through the bond first before knocking on their cabin door lest I find them both… busy.
"Feeling fantastic now,” she said with enthusiasm. She nudged me toward the side of the ship, and we stared into the darkening sky where the blue of the dark-moon had replaced the reds and golds. "This is absolutely spectacular, right?"
Vast understatement. There was no comparison to the beauty of the deserts. We were not quite in the deep sands yet, so off to the east we could see the reds of Rohami spanning out like a giant sunset. There was no sign of life since that massive land was no more than thirty percent populated, and the only sound was the whirring on the energy engines below.
When Mera’d had enough standing, we made our way to a small bench tucked in along one side of the hull, taking a seat to catch up. “How’s our baby doing?” I asked.
