Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One (17 page)

"Good. Good. I can only imagine how
the girl's feeling right now. All that responsibility... But if she
defeats Deorci--"

"She will." Hadaen's eyes narrowed on
the man. "Even if we don't kill that bastard, I'm pretty we'll give
him a sound beating he won't ever want a second of."

Elder Marlak smiled. "Optimism and
determination. They are two peas in a pod, you know."

Sighing, Hadaen decided to give up on
locating his boots. For now. Taking a seat before the Elder, he
crossed his arms and simply waited.

"What personal problems?"

"You love the girl." This man must
have gone mad

"Amelia is my intended. My eternal
mate."

"And it doesn't mean you must love
her. Inserting that emotion is purely your choice and your choice
alone."

Hadaen scratched his head irritably.
"I don't love her." Elder Marlak sat still for a good ten seconds,
looking him over with a deep intensity Hadaen knew all too well.
"And I do not appreciate you reading me."

"You lust after the girl like a dog in
heat." The Elder chuckled deeply. "I daresay, my lord, you are in
your prime."

"I'm seven hundred an twenty-eight
years old. I think I'm way past my prime, Elder."

"So you say," he muttered. "You were
about to go see her just now."

"I was looking for my
boots."
And my belt...

"To go see her, of course."

"What's your point, Elder?"

"You must confess your feelings to
Amelia. You do love her."

"I do not love her." Hadaen shook his
head with every stated word.

"Yes, you do!"

Elder Marlak's pupils shook with
indignation. Hadaen could not understand where exactly this
conversation was heading. All he knew was that the old man was
wrong. He just refused to believe it.

Hadaen could not love
Amelia.

"I cannot love," he murmured. "And
that is just how it is."

"But that hardly means you do not,"
the Elder continued. "You travelled...searched seven hundred years
to find her."

"She's my intended," Hadaen pointed
out again, getting restless with all this talk of love. "It was my
duty to find her."

"Destiny was already written. Don't
you see, my lord? You could have waited for fate to bring her back
to you."

"The Marujan kingdom depends on her.
We need her. And so do you."

"And I'm sure she would have returned
in due time. Do not question the hands of time, Lord Hadaen.
Everything that must happen...will happen."

A breath rushed from Hadaen's lips. He
did not want to talk about this now. Or even worse, think about. He
did not want to decide whether or not h loved Amelia or simply
listed after her. It was all pointless to him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Elder
Marlak. This love you speak of, you should not expect it from me.
My mother had managed to show me am ounce of it just before she
died giving birth to Gideon. I was very young to appreciate it
then. Whatever I had left in me was ton away when Deorci drained my
father lifeless. What I have is a soul almost as dark as his. I
have no heart to love."

Elder Marlak froze back,
his eyes wide with shock. "You must never compare yourself to that
creature, my lord. you are born from the Beacon. He, from the
deepest trenches of
Hell
!" Then the man broke down in a
swift murmured prayer, his head bowed and hands clasped.

Hadaen glanced around one last time.
To hell with those damn boots! Elder Marlak's head came up the
moment he eyed the flap of the tent.

"I must ask you to excuse me, Elder,"
he said, jaws clenched so hard they'd break. "I must be on my
way."

"She's capable of loving you, my
lord." The man would not give up. "She has a good soul, that one.
The First knows the best from which He chooses."

"Tell me something, Elder... Does she
love me?" Hadaen stared down his nose at the man. "Does she love a
man who she knows could never return her love?"

"It is up to you to find out. And
quite frankly, even if I were to know, I wouldn't have told you, my
lord."

Hadaen almost laughed. Damn, but he
was too vexed to do so. Even sarcastically. "I will see you on the
morrow then."

"She will not live if you do not
confess your love."

"What did you say?" Hadaen was already
pushing away the flap.

"They say love is the most powerful
force on earth. That may not be true, but it can be. It is strong
enough to destroy Deorci’s very dark soul."

Hadaen kept walking.

In his mind, running.

And running fast.

Chapter Twelve

"
Before you day a word
..."

Hadaen came dashing into her ten, hair
flying in all directions and face white as if he'd seen a ghost.
Well, not exactly a ghost since she highly doubted that even a
ghost could the slightest bit scare him. But he looked as if he'd
been running for years, his breaths coming in labored
rasps.

"Before you say a word," he repeated.
Amelia couldn't utter a word even if she wanted to. She was far to
amused by his appearance to spoil the moment. "I must warn you that
nothing you say will make me leave this tent."

Laughter bubbled up in her throat and
she struggled to keep it there. "Okay."

"Good."

He moved past her and slumped down
around the table, pouring himself a mug of water at the same time.
He downed it all in one gulp.

"Are you okay? You look as if you've
seen a gho--"

"Don't even say it!" He held one
finger up at her. Hadaen eyed her as he poured himself another mug.
"What?"

"Your hair...It's just that it's
so--Oh, never mind!" And she turned away before he coil see the
huge grin on her face.

"I know you're laughing at me," he
said. Amelia heard the scraping of the chair against the artificial
floor. "But you won't be laughing when I--what the hell is
that?"

Amelia spun around. "What?"

"That!"

She followed the direction of his
finger to the tiny furry animal lying at the foot of her bed.
Amelia smiled giddily.

"Oh." She bent to pick the animal up,
almost shoving the damn thing in his face. "This...is
Blu--"

"
Blu
?"

"--my pet." She actually hugged the
ugly scrap of a thing to her bosom and he felt just a twinge of
jealousy.

Hadaen raised a brow at her. "It
stinks."

And she sniffed the thing. "Do you
hear that Blu? Lord Hadaen thinks you stink. You smell just fine to
me. Aren't you the sweetest smelling doggy? Yes, you
are!"

Hadaen almost dropped
dead.
Doggy? What the fuck?

"You can't possibly be serious. The
thing looks like a cross-breed between a rat and a weasel. It's the
ugliest damn thing I've ever seen."

"If you are going to stand there and
insult Blu then I suggest you do yourself a favour and
leave."

She really could not be serious.
Hadaen watched her place the mongrel down and then stood akimbo,
glaring--yes, glaring--at him. The woman was definitely
insane!

And he could swear he saw the ugly
beady eyes laughing smugly up at him.

"I need a drink," he muttered,
returning to the table. "Something alcoholic."

Amelia sighed and took a seat as well,
reaching for an apple which was stacked among many in a small
basket on the table. She began slicing it into quarters idly. She
needed to keep her hands busy. "You must be thinking how silly I
am..."

Hadaen frowned, watching as about a
dozen different emotions crossed her face. "What's troubling
you?"

He refused to even attempt to zone
into her kind. He only knew she had probably already put up her
defenses.

"I mean, here I am getting a...pet."
She scoffed and the pieces of apple fell to the table noisily. "I
don't even know if I'll be here tomorrow. Or the day after that. We
don't know when Deorci will--"

"Listen to me. Nothing will happen to
you. Deorci will not win this time. You will be fine."

"How can you be so sure?"

Hadaen saw the fear in her eyes. The
horror.

"Because The First would not take you
away from me. Not when I have dug and searched for seven fucking
centuries." He slammed his fist against the table. "Damn it,
Amelia! I'm no good at this. This emotional stuff."

Her mouth opened just a moment before
she closed it back shut, unsure of what to say. She then gave him
an onceover before reaching across the table and smashing her mouth
hard against his. The kiss was fierce...hot and wild. It didn't
take Hadaen a few milliseconds to yank her around to him and draw
her into his lap, his erection digging full-fore against her
ass.

He could feel her heart racing, trying
desperately to keep up with his. There was nothing ordinary about
the attraction between them. It was a monumental union of the
flesh; threatening to captivate the soul.

Amelia deepened the kiss this time,
taking all she wanted and every ounce of pleasure he offered. Her
lips jerked against him as she moved to straddle him on the chair.
The hard denim of both of their jeans rubbed hard as she rode him,
a fire igniting in her womb and shooting sparks to her
clit.

Hadaen yanked her blouse up, shoving
it over her head. Sweet heavens! She wasn't wearing a bra. Amelia's
small breasts bounced around before his face, juggling as he held
her steady in her rhythm. Seizing one nipple in his mouth, Hadaen
sucked and tugged hard.

She froze, her head flung
back.

He then licked that nipple, paying it
just enough attention before moving over to its twin. Amelia
shuddered in his arms, a small groan rumbling in her throat. Hadaen
licked her lips; tasting, savouring her sweetness...sucking on that
tongue as if it were water, the very air he needed.

"You're going to kill me," he manage
to say, ending the kiss abruptly and resting his forehead against
hers. His breath came low and ragged.

"And what use would you have to me,
dead?"

His head came up instantly as he
stared at her, desperately tried to understand the meaning behind
her words.

"You're teasing me."

She smiled. "Would I do
that?"

"You're taking my words, Amelia," he
laughed. A hearty laugh that left him feeling good on the
inside.

"What else can I have?"

Hadaen stiffened so quickly it was if
he had heard the question before she had even opened her mouth. He
stared at her long, searching her eyes for all he needed but only
finding what she was giving.

And that was...not much.

"Tell me your thoughts," he
said.

Amelia squeezed her eyes shut; gazing
at him seemed too painful all of a sudden. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't..."

"Tell me." Hadaen lifted her chin with
his finger. Her eyes weren't too hooded that he couldn't see the
dampness of tears within them.

"I'm willing to have all you can give,
Hadaen, and nothing more. I cannot...yearn for what can never be.
It's a waste of time." She smiled a sad smile. "The sex is
great."

And she attempts to move, only that
Hadaen held her tightly, his firm hands keeping her in
place.

"You can't say something like that and
then expect me to let you walk away. I don't do that
'last-word-touchdown' bullshit!"

"What do you want from me, Hadaen? We
both already know where I stand. I am your intended mate; an
eternal partner designed jut for you by The First. But you're
complacent and I-I need more."

More. The word ate through him like a
parasite. He was expecting this sooner or later. He just had
preferred it to be later rather than sooner. Amelia wanted more...
But could he give her all she needed? Could he provide the love she
craved for? Hadaen knew he'd never want another woman. Ever. He was
so drunk in his lust he had no doubt that he was bound to her and
her alone.

He just did not know if he could give
her that one thing she needed. Devotion; he would shower Amelia
with that, bathing her in the ocean of his passion for as long as
he lived. But love was an uncharted region. Uncompromising. There
was no love inside him to offer. He knew that much.

And that was that.

Hadaen looked down between them, his
gaze falling on the painful bulge in his pants; a trail of dampness
across the front of his jeans giving recognition to his pre-cum. He
had to choose his words wisely but he also had to be sincere.
Amelia Kunar, Daughter of Liberty, deserved that much and
more.