Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Kian stopped filling his bucket when he heard a hard thud, and what he swore was the groan of a female several yards away. Dropping his tools, he tore off in the sound's direction and wondered what the ever-loving hell the god was up to now? That was when he spotted a female figure lying on the ground and he took off at a run.
“Fucking prick,” he mumbled under his breath and within seconds, he reached her. Kneeling, he touched the female and immediately felt that her body was knitting broken bones back together. She was immortal, thank the gods. When he gently rolled her over and saw that face, he stumbled back. “The female––”
“Yes. The same one you saw in the human realm before you came here.” The prick god stood over them and Kian wanted to slam his fist down the bastard’s throat.
“Why is she here?”
“Because she fucked with a valkyrie.”
His jaw ticked as he didn’t believe a word this asshole said. “And this has nothing to do with our earlier conversation?”
Khedeus lifted a muscled shoulder. “Well, since you were feeling lonely, I sought a female who was in need of punishment. Had you not brought it up, I might have let her minor infraction go.” His dark gaze zeroed in on Kian. “She means something to you though.”
“I do not even know who she is, other than yes, I did see her on my very short stint in the mortal realm.” Great. Now he was the reason someone else was on this seventh level of hell. Not wishing to cause further harm, he broached a more neutral subject. “What is she? I am not familiar with her species.”
“She is what they call a guardian. Protector of humans.” He rolled his eyes. “Though why those lowly beings deserve any protection from their own stupidity is questionable. A jackass god who thinks he is mightier than the rest of us created her kind. She is your responsibility now.”
“Mine? What the fuck for?”
“Because I deem it so.” He growled. “I thought you would be pleased to have a female to sink your cock into. She drinks blood, so I’m sure she won’t be opposed to you taking from her. Do with her whatever you want, just be sure she serves her punishment.”
“Which is?”
Khedeus scratched his chin and Kian didn’t like what he saw in the god’s eyes. “She is a female below even your station.” He grinned. “I will give you a boon. Kill her and freedom is yours.”
“What?” he shouted.
“Yes, that seems rather harsh, but I will give you a choice. Claim her as your concubine and have her do your bidding and I will cut your sentence in half. Kill her and I will free you.”
“Why would I kill her for a simple fight with a valkyrie? That is a rather harsh punishment.”
“As I said, kill her and go free or fuck her for all I care.” His gaze hardened. “But make your choice quickly or I will decide her fate, and it won’t be to the liking of either of you.” Then he vanished.
“What a prick.” Kian scooped the female into his arms and tried not to notice how good her softness felt against him. He remembered her. Had been smitten by her beauty when he’d entered the mortal realm and had planned to speak with her before the bastard of all gods jerked him into this reality. With her now in his arms, he flashed back to his tent. Once inside, he found things had changed slightly. His single cot had turned into a double bed. How convenient. Placing her on their new bed, he realized her clothing was far too hot and constricting for a place that felt like two Hells. Left with either leaving her to swelter, which might delay her healing or stripping her, he opted for the latter. Summoning his power, he tried to change her clothes and got a big fat nothing for his trouble. With a snarl, he began pulling off her tall leather boots. Seemed the jackass Khedeus was going to make him strip this female the old-fashioned way.
Tossing her boots aside, he went to work on the tight-fitting, pink cotton shirt. Once he had it pulled off, he tried not to stare at her naked breasts, but it was asking an awful lot of himself. They were soft, creamy mounds of perfection and already his cock stirred to life.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
He tried to undo her jeans with his eyes closed, but that was only a disaster, so he sucked it up and peeled the garment from her perfect legs all while snarling at himself. Thankfully, she had on underwear, but the thin pink material did little to hide the dark shadow between her thighs. He found his gaze fixed on her and his fangs making an unexpected appearance as he wondered what it might be like to sink them into her thigh.
“Get your shit together,” he whispered to himself and quickly forced his single-minded points back into place while he conjured her a lightweight linen sheath dress adorned with gold threading and beadwork. Breathing a sigh that he could at least clothe her and would not be forced to have her nakedness close by, he rubbed his chin then smiled. Around her neck he wrapped a gold and turquoise collar and on her right arm he placed a matching band. He finished by lining her eyes with kohl before he added sandals for her walking comfort. Whoever this guardian was, she bore the beauty of the goddesses and, as such, would be clothed like one rather than a slave.
“Why are you staring at me, and where am I?” Her beautiful brown eyes were open and focused on him, causing him to take a step back. His cheeks flamed with embarrassment, but he kept his head high.
“You are in a place called the Skeletal Moon. It is Khedeus’s prison.”
She sat up and looked down at herself. “My clothes are not the same and who the hell is Khedeus?” Her gaze narrowed. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
“I’ll tell you all I know, which unfortunately isn’t much.”
Gwen stared at a sweat-slicked naked chest and watched small droplets trickle across thick, hard muscles. She licked her lips as she forced her gaze upward to his dark mass of curls that she wanted to tangle her fingers in and wondered if he knew who she was.
“So… I’m waiting.”
“My name is Kian, and yours?”
“Gwen.”
“Well, anyway, Khedeus is the god of judgment or so he tells me, and I’m here simply because I was born.”
She blinked as if that was going to help her understand what he had just said. “Did you say because you were born?”
“That’s what he tells me and nothing more other than I am to serve my punishment by building him a temple.”
“You do realize that sounds ludicrous?”
“Of course, I do.” His gaze narrowed, causing a crease in his forehead. Rather than move the subject to why she was here, she decided to probe more into who he was. She had a sneaking suspicion this Khedeus knew exactly who Kian was. Why else would he take Kian prisoner?
“Who are your parents? Maybe that has something to do with why you’re here?”
He tipped his head back and laughed and gods did she love the creases around his mouth. A sensual mouth that looked very kissable. From the looks of her mate, she had been blessed.
“My mother is the goddess of destruction and my father… Well, hard to say since mother won’t speak his name. Something about him being a cheating bastard.”
“Hmm, interesting.” Maybe he didn’t know who he was? “Okay, back to that later. So, tell me why I am here.”
“Khedeus dropped you here. Something about a fight with a valkyrie.” He fidgeted, and she had to guess that there was more to the reason she was here, but it made him nervous to speak of it.
“Aaaand?”
“You are to be my concubine.”
So there it was. “What?”
“I’m certain you heard me correctly.”
A red haze dropped over her vision. While she was physically attracted to him, and everything in her gut screamed he was hers, she was in no mood to begin their relationship this way. “Better think on that one again.”
He paced the small tent, running his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t want this for you, but I was instructed that you were to either become my concubine, in which case Khedeus would cut my term in half.” He stopped and stared at her with panic in his eyes that caused her heart to race.
“Or?”
“I can kill you and go free.”
She licked her lips and tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. Would he kill her? “Anything else I should know?”
“If I don’t choose, Khedeus will take you himself and his punishment will be unimaginable.”
“Would he really do such a thing?” she whispered, afraid this god might hear her.
“Yes, and from what I’ve witnessed thus far, he will carry out his threat without thought.”
“So, I’m just supposed to spread my legs for you? Or perhaps you’d rather I lay on the ground and offer you my neck so you can take my head off?” She allowed the bite in her words to filter through.
His lip curled. “I don’t relish spending another minute in this hell.”
Somehow, she kept the pain that had just ripped through her from surfacing. “That is your choice, then? My death?” Evidently, he felt no mating pull.
He looked away from her. “I would never kill an innocent. Especially not to better my own comfort.”
She let out a breath. “Then I guess it’s concubine.”
“I am sorry. I promise to take care of you.”
Her body heated at the thought. Finally, looking down at her attire, she was surprised by what she saw. “This is not the clothing I was wearing before I was taken.”
“No.” He finally faced her, and his eyes were full of desire. “The dress should be cooler for you.”
She touched the neckband. “He did this?”
“I chose the jewelry and the dress.”
Hmm, interesting. He dressed her like a goddess. “We need to get out of here.”
He snorted. “There is no leaving. Don’t you think I have tried? My powers are limited.” He walked outside, and she followed, noting there were two suns and they were setting. A table was set up by a river bend and it was laden with food. He walked to it and waved his hand. “You should eat.” Then pulled out a chair and waited for her to sit.
The growl in her stomach said it had been some time since she ate so she took him up on his offer. “I will grow weak if this is all I’m given.”
He took the seat across from her and poured two glasses of wine. “I will give you my blood.”
Her heart nearly stopped. The thought of drinking from him sent a heat wave straight to her sex. What was the mating protocol for a guardian and a god? Or, in his case, a demigod, because he was either lying about his parents or was unaware. She prodded further.
“Will your mother not look for you?”
He looked up from his glass. “Eventually, but she is out, causing havoc at the moment. Might be years before she goes back home. The only one who knows I left for the mortal realm is Diara.”
She sipped from her glass and had to admit the fruity notes were delicious. “Is that your sister?”
He stared straight at her. “No. The goddess who wishes to become my wife.”
She nearly spit out her wine and in stopping herself, went into a coughing fit. Once she finally regained control, she spoke. “Your wife?”
“Yes. The goddess of deception.”
A goddess. He was to marry a fucking goddess and here she was nothing more than a guardian relegated to be his concubine. Grasping at straws… “I saw you in the mortal world. What did you come there for?”
“I… Was simply curious.”
That was a lie. He was hiding something. She felt it in her bones. Was it possible he knew who his real father was? She picked up a berry while deciding how far to push this. Could she be wrong about the two of them being fated? “Do you love this Diara?”
“What does love matter? We are a suitable match.”
So it was an arranged marriage. “Then she is not your fated?”
His forehead furrowed. “Fated? No. I have no fated.” Yet the gaze he settled on her was enough to make any female want to climb into his lap. There was desire in his eyes, and it was aimed at her.
“What if you did have a fated? Would you still marry the goddess?”
He let out a half-hearted laugh. “If I had a fated, there would be no doubt that my mother was behind it. No, thank you. It’s enough I might agree to marry Diara.”
To say her heart fractured would be an understatement. “You would want to marry this goddess rather than claim your rightful mate?” The shock in her voice was evident, as she had been unable to hide it.
“If I had a fated mate, it would be my mother’s doing and, as I said, not going there. I don’t want either. I would much rather have a female of my own choosing, but I’m uncertain I can trust even that.” His gaze turned into swirling lightning, proving he was of Argathos’s blood. “While I find myself attracted to you, I despise the fact that once again, another is controlling my life and has taken my right to choose. Make no mistake, I take you to my bed to save you from Khedeus’s fate. There is nothing more to it and when we are free from here, we will go our separate ways.”
She should be hurt and angry at his words, but his life was obviously complicated. The problem was, who knew what kind of bond the two of them sleeping together would bring. Also, there would come a time real soon where she would have to drink his blood or weaken. She might have wished for all of this, but not under these circumstances.
He looked at the darkening sky. “We should get some rest. Morning comes quickly, and I am expected to work from dawn to dusk.” He stood and held out his hand. She accepted and rose from her chair.
“Can I help you?”
“If that is your wish.”
She only offered a nod, her heart racing at the thought of what was to come. He looked like he wanted to devour her, and she wondered if he felt a mating pull toward her. Perhaps it was best not to tell him who she really was. In the morning, she would, however, tell him who he was and see where the chips fell.