5. Alandra

I could only stare up at Aerolus, in awe of what I'd just experienced. Never in my life had I ever felt so consumed by another. The meaningless, pleasurable trysts with the oversexed males in Aelle had left me physically satisfied for a brief time, but never mind-numbingly limp.

And to think I'd succumbed so easily, put up so little resistance to the man I'd been guarding for so long, made me feel all of three inches tall. I was Aellei, a creature of magic. I was superior and mentally stronger than the mage I'd protected.

The mage who even now had a finger inside me, having overridden all thought to deny him.

He slowly withdrew his hand from between my legs and righted himself, and I blushed at the sudden desire that flared for more of him. Good night, but if he was that good with his fingers, I could only imagine how his thick cock would feel inside me.

I bit my lip and tried to force the sensual images from my mind. But the more I tried to ignore them, the harder the images struck. Until I surprised myself by feeling the one thing I'd never thought to feel about this mage.

Regret. I deeply regretted the fact I'd been intimate with Aerolus Storm, when for months I'd relished the idea of finally sating myself with him.

One orgasm from a Storm Lord and I was turning into a splay-legged nymph. Though I'd always disdained Shadren's native fae, I now understood their addiction to the base experience of uninhibited sex.

I'd once been selective and sparing in my lovers. Now I couldn't help wanting to glut myself with Aerolus Storm until I could no longer function.

I noticed him staring at me with curiosity and a haze of hunger that satisfied my ego. At least I wasn't the only one lost to base needs. Shadows, but Aerolus surprised me by being addictive, and not a little scary.

None of my fantasies had come close to the potent reality of his allure.

The illusion of light in the chamber flickered, bringing with it the reality of where we were and why we'd met here. Worried that he could make me forget myself, for even a brief time, I knew I needed to regroup. Quickly. Before I decided to become his permanent mattress.

I am in charge. I am in control. I am Aellei.

I quickly straightened my clothing and cleared my throat."Aerolus Storm," I said in a regal voice, pretending like I hadn't just had his fingers inside me, or that I'd had to wipe his seed from my hand. "I am Alandra le Aelle, the woman who not only saved your life several nights ago, but who's kept a close watch on you from the moment you stepped into this plane."

He didn't so much as blink, but a subtle tightening in his body told me I'd surprised him. He studied me, as if debating what to say. Hoping he'd take his cue from me, I was more than glad when he focused on the true reason behind his visit and not what we'd just shared.

"Why do the Aellei concern themselves with the Storm Lords?"

Good question. Now how much to tell him? "Actually…" I paused and stepped back, needing to think about how to answer him.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help feeling the wetness between my thighs. I must have shown my discomfort because his silvery gaze gleamed as it darted down my body and lingered between my legs.

I coughed to hide my weird nervousness. I was an Aellei. Why was I letting a Light Bringer unnerve me? "What the Aellei do is not your concern." Not yet. "For now, know we're weighing our decisions. Your fight with Sin Garu is growing, spreading like a disease throughout worlds."

He nodded. "Obviously it has, or we wouldn't have fought a Djinn and a Nocumat." He crossed his arms and widened his stance, as if bracing for battle. "If I'm not mistaken, the Nocumat is Shadren, correct?"

"Yes, he is." With just that one question, he subtly reminded me just how far apart our worlds really were. What he considered a monster, I considered a friend. Well, maybe not Oxcen, but his sister certainly.

"You controlled it — him — easily."

"Actually, the threat of his mother controlled him." I couldn't help a satisfied smirk. The little creep. Maybe next time, Oxcen would think before helping a Dark Lord.

"I fail to see the humor in the situation." Aerolus stood rigid. "Oxcen nearly killed my brother."

I waved away his anger. "A childish prank. Oxcen was only being himself. You want to blame someone for the River Prince's near miss, blame the Dark Lord."

"Sin Garu." He stared down at me from that impressive height, his brows drawn in thought. "The Aellei fought alongside the Dark Lords in Tanselm."

"A thousand years ago."

"Together, nonetheless. Dark Lords and Shadren, and now Djinn and wraith as well."

"Now hold on a minute." I glared at him. "My people may have fought with the Dark Lords in the past, but a lot has changed since then. I don't dispute that the Dark Lords grew tainted under too much raw magic."

"And the Aellei and Djinn?" The hard, judging look in his eyes had passed, replaced with a tangible curiosity and interest in our shared history.

This Aerolus I knew very well, the scholar and sorcerer in training.

"In our past, many cultures clashed. Many worlds collided. What you Light Bringers failed to understand was that because of so much upheaval, the Dark Tribes split."

"I know that, Alandra." My name on his lips made my blood tingle. "The Aellei vanished, rarely heard from anymore. But your brethren, the Shadren, turned against all things Light, as did the Djinn and the wraiths."

"Technically, you're not talking about wraiths but about ice wraiths. And no, the Shadren didn't turn against all things Light."

Oh hell. I was done feeling uncomfortable in my soiled clothing. I moved to a small cabinet in the corner of my sanctuary and removed a clean dress.

Without regard to Aerolus, I slipped easily out of my soiled clothes, murmured a spell to clean myself, and slid into my new white dress with a sigh. "That's much better." I turned to face him.

The odd look on his face stopped me. Surely he wasn't going to act funny about a little nudity, not after what we'd just shared.

I frowned. "What?"

He cleared his throat. "Nothing."

"Where was I?" I strolled to my most comfortable chair, an overstuffed ball of nor seed covered in a soft, brown hide I'd found in Seattle. With a nod to the small ring of stones on the floor, I watched a green blaze appear, soothing as well as warming my tired mind and body.

With a small wave of my hand, I commanded a similar chair to appear near me. Aerolus lowered himself into it with thanks. The guy was never less than a gentleman, which made his earlier behavior intriguing. He'd been so sexual, so commanding, that —

Stop that train of thought. Right now.

"You were talking about how I was wrong about the Shadren, and I suppose, the ice wraiths and Djinn?" he encouraged, as if talking to a child.

"Don't patronize me, Aerolus." I sighed, wanting to snuggle into my seat. I felt so relaxed, so at peace here under the warmth of Aellein fire with him by my side. All the restless nights of the past few months, the lack of sleep, the large energy expenditures transporting between worlds, despite the Mir charm, they all seemed to come crashing down on me as I struggled to focus on the here and now.

Aerolus stared at me, his face inscrutable. Then he smiled, an honest, open expression of emotion that would have jolted my heart had I not reminded myself to remain detached.

Distance, I must remain polite but distant. No more sex, and definitely no more shows of vulnerability in front of the Storm Lord.

"What?" I asked when he continued to grin.

"Nothing. Just that purieseems even more fitting now. That chair fairly swallows you whole."

I grimaced, once again feeling as if he'd somehow gotten the upper hand in a game I thought I was winning. "I'm going to forget you said that. Now, do you want to know the truth about your supposed enemies or not?"

I yawned, awaiting his answer as I stared sleepily into the fire. When had I last slept? A few weeks ago? At least not since my interference with Oxcen and Sin Garu.

Aerolus rumbled something, and I had to blink several times to put him in focus. Then I felt myself being lifted.

"No, no, purie, lie still."

Despite my plan to remain aloof, I couldn't help curling into the warmth beneath me, the steady pounding of his heart more soothing than anything I'd experienced since being forced from my world.

"Shh." A callused hand grazed my cheek. "Sleep, Alandra. I'll be here when you wake."

Hearing the truth in his words, I tangled my fist in the magic of his being and held tight, at peace as I hadn't been for a very long time.