Page 30 of On a Barbarian World

As they ascended the stairs, she stared at the glowing light wands attached to the wall. In the hall, she’d seen a giant chandelier carved into a beautiful twisting shape and made from the same material. “Do you mine this glowing rock?”

“Yes. But it isn’t the rock that causes the glow. It is an organism, similar to the nanami, that lives in that particular rock that creates the light.”

“Bioluminescence,” she said. “Fascinating.” Markaria really was a fascinating mix of low and high tech. Heaven help the galaxy when the barbarians conquered space travel. “You’re taking me to my room for the night?”

“Yes.” He pulled her down a long corridor.

“And tomorrow, we can make a plan to see if Drog has my emergency beacon?”

A scowl appeared on Kavon’s face. “Yes. And how we can find Durendal.”

“Looks like we’ll be working closely together, barbarian.”

He stopped in front of large wooden doors decorated with beaten metal the color of copper. “I have a name.”

Yes, he did. She fidgeted. She hadn’t been using it on purpose, not wanting to get any closer to this fascinating, infuriating man. “Kavon.”

He nodded. “Better.” He pushed open the door.

She stepped inside and then came to an abrupt halt. “This is your room.”

“Yes.” He strode inside.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I want my own room.”

“No.” He undid the straps on his sword harness, then reached back and pulled his sword and scabbard free. He set them carefully on a sturdy wooden table that was clearly for storing his weapons. Next, he unfastened the large metal clip on his leather harness and shrugged it off. He started walking toward the bathroom, pausing to yank his boots off. When his hands went to his trousers, she found her voice.

“What are you doing?” She stared at his broad back, and that glorious expanse of skin. In the light of the wands, she could see the beautiful metallic gleam of it.

He didn’t look back at her. “I’m planning to bathe.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

Aurina dragged in a breath. Trying to get the man to listen was like trying to bend rock—an exercise in frustration. She stomped across to the bathroom door.

She stopped and her heart jumped into her throat. Holy stars, he was naked.

His back was still to her as he thrust his hand into the huge sunken tub that someone had already filled with steaming water. His ass… She swallowed. It was perfection.

All of him was toned with some serious muscle. He radiated a strength that was more than just those impossibly powerful muscles. As he stepped into the tub, she watched those muscles flex and her throat went dry.

He sat back in the water, the lines on his face relaxing.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Kavon.”

Now he looked at her with steady amber eyes. “Yes, you will. But I never ordered you to do more than sleep.” His gaze dropped, tracing down her body. “If you’d like to do more, I’m open to it.”

Heat curled through her, slow and stealthy. “You could open the door and summon any one of those women downstairs who were devouring you with their eyes.”

His direct gaze held hers. “Yes, I could. When I have the time, I often do. I like a woman’s body.” He shifted, water lapping at the edge of the tub, and spread his arms along the edge. “I like that a woman is soft where I am hard. I like the sweet smells and tastes of her skin. I like to hear a woman whimper under my hands.”

God. Aurina locked her legs to keep them from turning to jelly. “You’re a warrior. You’re not supposed to be so good with words. You’re supposed to grunt and growl.”

He raised a brow. “I sometimes grunt and occasionally growl, but I’m perfectly capable of using words to describe what I want. You are the one using the word barbarian to try and keep me at bay.” His voice lowered, something raw and hot appearing in his eyes. “I want to touch your fascinating body, and I want to hear you whimper for me.”

Something in her quivered. She’d always had a good sex life. It was hard to find a partner in deep space, so she only got to play on station visits. Otherwise, she had her trusty vibrator for company on the Ariel. Or, rather, she’d had it. It was now either in pieces, in Kavon’s collection, or sitting in Drog’s estate.

But sex had always been on her timeline. She picked young, pliable men who were happy to do as she asked, or lie back and let her do as she pleased.

She was pretty sure the hard warlord in front of her was not going to be anything like that.