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 Chel had somehow gotten through to Lacey.
Gwarnon took a deep breath, readying himself for the battle ahead. He would finally have Lacey alone, all to himself, and could focus his attention to her seduction. With this in mind, he transformed the arena into a sand pit filled with slippery, shifting gray sand that was as slick as ice. While he may not be intuitive with words and emotions as Chel, Gwarnon was in complete control of his body and knew many, many ways to pleasure a female.
Glancing around the arena, he had to admit he was impressed with the quality of the training arena. Simulated to appear exactly like the real thing, the large space would adjust to their every move, providing them with the feeling of doing actual combat in the mountains, or underwater, or on a desert plain. Today, he had to figure out how to use the terrain to his tactical advantage in the battle to get Lacey to accept them as bondmates.
The door to the arena opened with a chime and Lacey stepped through, her pale blue and green eyes locked onto him. The pearlescent sensory suit clung to her body like a second skin, and his cock jerked at the thought of sliding his hands down that slick surface, feeling her heat beneath the fabric. It would be like stroking her body covered in nothing but a transparent layer of oiled silk.
Her savage beauty struck him deep in his chest, making his breath come out in a soft pant. His gaze devoured her, and he wondered how he was blessed to have such a woman as his wife. Well, almost wife. Her gaze narrowed, and her sharp jaw came up in its familiar defiant lift as Gwarnon let out an internal sigh. She looked ready to fight, and even though he knew it irritated her, he couldn’t help the need to withdraw and shut down.
The cold filling him receded quickly when she abruptly said, “Gwarnon, I’m sorry for being such a bitch. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you, and I’m sorry for those mean things I said. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It was petty and cruel, two things I don’t ever wanna be. Will you please accept my apology?”
Before he could warn her, Lacey held out her hand and took her usual determined stride forward, then promptly lost her balance. It took everything he had not to burst into laughter when those lovely eyes went wide, and her pink lips curved into a big O of surprise right before her feet flew up into the air. Her shock was so strong, he felt it through their bond, and his heart rejoiced that the connection was there, if faint.
Sliding across the sand as if it were ice, Gwarnon knelt next to her as she slowly sat up, her fingers drifting through the sand. “What the hell is this stuff?”
“This?” He picked up a handful then let the grains trickle down. “It is a special type of sand that is almost perfectly round. As you have experienced, the sand makes it incredibly difficult to walk. Instead, you must learn how to glide over it instead of stepping on it.”
Brushing the sand out of her hair, she didn’t object when Gwarnon helped her up. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I am not. Thank you for your apology, although it was unnecessary.”
She almost fell again as she tried to find her balance and ended up leaning heavily against him for support. “No, I was outta line, and I treated you like shit instead of like someone trying to save my life. We’re a team.”
His heart gave a little stutter at her tentative, genuine smile. “Yes, we are.”
“Ugh,” she made a sour face as she attempted to brush the virtual sand from her fingers. “This shit is hard to get off. Why is it sticking to me? If it’s perfectly round, shouldn’t it be rolling right off me? Never mind, stupid crystal implant, I didn’t really want to know.”
Bemused at her muttered rant, he came closer, inhaling her unique scent as he said, “Here, let me help.”
While Gwarnon could have easily instructed the simulation to make the sand hold less static and fall to the ground, he used the excuse of cleaning her off to touch her. Yes, it was sneaky, but extreme times called for extreme measures. Until she was comfortable with the feeling of his hands on her, he could not progress to the next step in her seduction. Giving into an urge he’d had from the moment he saw her, he brushed his fingers through the spiraling blonde curls that had escaped her braid near her temple.
He had to swallow back a moan at the sensation of her soft strands beneath his touch. The pale gold color was entrancing, and sliding his fingers through it sent waves of pleasure through both his body and soul. Despite Lacey’s best efforts, a bond was forming between them. He could feel her hesitant, almost guilty pleasure as he slowly brushed his hand down the strong, feminine muscles of her back to the lean curve of her waist.
The heat from her skin hidden beneath the thin material seemed to soak into his soul as he slowly ran his hand down the curve of her lower back, right to the top of her pert buttocks. Her rear end—or ass, as she liked to call it—was a heart-shaped wonder. He’d never seen such a perfect ass in all his travels, and he could not wait for the day when he could properly worship it.
His fingers trailed down to the top of the curve, his whole palm covering her right buttock as he slowly caressed her.
“Gwarnon,” she said in a soft voice with a slight tremble, “What are you doing?”
“Just cleaning you off,” he murmured, trailing his fingers closer to the sweet crack of her bottom.
She arched back slightly into his touch. “Really? Cause it feels like you’re copping a feel, and you guys promised when we started training that you wouldn’t do that.”
“No,” he smiled at her narrowed gaze, filled with both heat and suspicion, “Chel, the good man that he is, promised not to grope you. I did no such thing.”
Cursing at him, but hiding a smile, she tried to smack his hands away and almost ended up falling again. He nearly choked on his repressed laughter as she latched onto him like a Clothian leech. Her scowl, when she looked up at him, was somehow both intimidating and adorable. Secure, but vulnerable in a way that tugged at his heart. There were times when he’d catch a glimpse of an infinite sadness in her gaze that made him wish she would share her burdens with him so he could fix them for her.
“I swear, if you grab my ass like that again, I’ll grab your balls on the way down the next time I fall. And don’t think I don’t notice that enormous hardon you’ve got going on. I know I’m impossible to resist, but control yourself.”
The self-deprecating way she said that dug at Gwarnon, and he ignored her grunt of protest as he placed his hand on the back of her neck and made her look at him. “You are beautiful, my alyah. I know you hate it when I say it, and I do not understand why, but I will tell you every day of our lives together until you believe me. Until you say thank you and mean it because you know I am sincere when I say you are beautiful.”
“You just have to say that because you think I’m your bride,” she whispered. Her long, pale lashes flickered while she studied his face, and he willed her to feel the truth.
“Does this feel like a lie?” He pushed his pelvis against her, his achingly hard erection straining against her firm body. “I will want you with the same ferocity no matter how many times I pleasure you. Though you may argue, we are fated mates, my alyah. We were made for each other. Can you not feel it, the heat, the need to have me buried deep inside you?”