Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Rehz glanced over at Anna as she finished her dinner.
Sure, she was talking, but only to everyone else and .
. . fuck, shutting him out so hard that it was like slamming into a wall.
At least they were out of the medical center and had more privacy.
After discussing it with Kai and Aled, they’d decided to accept the president’s offer and take up temporary residence at his house in Zangreb Province.
The place was amazing, high on a tabletop mountain with fantastic views and—more importantly—a security setup that even Kai couldn’t find fault with.
Their position made the house easy to defend and almost impregnable.
It also meant they had some freedom to roam outside and not be locked in one room together.
Rehz had asked Aled and Kai to take the bedroom next to his and Anna’s—although he hadn’t yet slept in her bed.
He couldn’t bear it when she turned away from him and curled in on herself.
He spent most nights roaming the hallways or sitting in the den, trying to get information out of the security chief on Palk’s whereabouts.
Bron had come with them and was directing the small security team, all of whom seemed efficient. There was apparently still no sign of Palk. Bron definitely had a thing for Kai, which made Aled a mite touchy.
Rehz’s faint smile faded as Anna started making her excuses to leave. Abruptly, he stood up and walked with her to the door.
“I need to talk to you. Will you come in the study?”
She reluctantly followed him into the next room and waited as he closed the door and leaned against it, effectively blocking her exit.
“What can I do for you, Rehz?”
“Anna, just talk to me, okay? I know you’re upset, but I don’t know why, and I don’t understand what to do about it. I’ve tried to give you some space, but things seem to be getting worse rather than better.”
She looked away from him, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.
“I’m fine, Rehz.”
“You are not fucking fine.” He hesitated. “What have I done?”
“Why do you assume you did something? Maybe this is about me and how I feel.”
He rubbed a hand over his scalp. “I suck at feelings. You know that.”
“Which is maybe why this has nothing to do with you.” She finally looked him in the eye. “Maybe I don’t have anything to say because I know you won’t understand.”
“Just give me a fucking clue here. Just a chance to try and understand.” He might as well dive in anyway. Being subtle and respecting her boundaries wasn’t working at all. “Is this still about what happened with the Ungrich ?”
“Still ?” This time she glared at him. Hell, he’d take it—it was better than being ignored. “It was less than two weeks ago, Rehz. That’s not much time to—” She stopped talking.
“To what?”
“Nothing.” She swallowed hard and tried to smile.
“Anna . . . Gods, please fucking tell me.”
“I can’t.” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I just can’t be strong about this.”
“Is this about the baby?”
Her face went blank. “I can’t discuss that with you.”
“Why, because you think it’s Aled’s kid?”
She stopped and poked him hard in the chest. “That is the most stupid thing you have ever said to me. Maybe this is about me , about how I feel, and not about any of you males at all.”
There was that feelings word again. But this was Anna Lee—his Anna, who never let anything fucking beat her.
“Don’t look at me like that, Rehz.”
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t know who I am anymore.”
She tried to push past him and he grabbed hold of her elbow. “Anna—”
She pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me!”
Shock shuddered through him, and he stepped back before she turned and ran.
He walked over to the window and contemplated the tranquil lake. She didn’t want him to touch her now? Fuck that. If Aled and Anna had created a child together and the Ungrich had stolen it, what the hell was he supposed to do?
He was still healing from his last encounter with the monsters and wasn’t sure if he could take another total immersion in their space.
But could he leave any child of Anna’s with the Ungrich , knowing that they’d want to use it to further their own horrific agenda?
Maybe that was the real reason Anna wouldn’t talk to him.
She wanted him to go back in there, but wouldn’t ask him to do that for her.
He stared out of the window as the rain turned to snow.
If it was his child, would he go? It could be his.
“Fuck it.”
The child might be half-Ungrich , but it wasn’t as though she’d volunteered to help create it. How the hell could Anna Lee regret that ? Maybe she was right and he wouldn’t understand at all.
He marched toward the door, only to find it opening. Aled came in, followed by Kai.
“Get out of my way,” Rehz growled.
Aled didn’t move an inch. “You made Anna cry. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Rehz tried to shove him aside and was blocked by Kai.
“Leave her alone, Rehz.”
“Neither of you has any right to tell me what to do with my female.”
Kai shrugged. “We do when you’re behaving like a complete dick.”
He flicked Kai a threatening glance. “I said keep out of it.”
“I could send Aled to comfort her if you like.”
With a snarl, he leaped for Kai, smashing his friend through a small table and down to the floor. He wrapped one hand around Kai’s throat.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Kai smiled at him. “Yeah, Aled would love to help. He’s got a thing about women that I don’t really have, and he’s pissed with me about Bron, so he might just want to teach me a lesson.”
Rehz tightened his grip. “If Aled goes anywhere near her, I’ll kill him.”
“Why, because you’re too much of a coward to deal with her yourself? And Aled isn’t so easy to kill now. That last visit with the Ungrich changed him. I’m surprised at you, Rehz Akran. I always thought you were the bravest male I’d ever met.”
“I am trying to give Anna space so that she can fucking work out what she wants me to do. I am trying to be fucking sympathetic and understanding.” He spoke through his teeth, emphasizing each word with a ferocious shake of Kai’s neck.
“Then you’re not doing your job.” Kai coughed out the words. “She needs to know that you care, Rehz.”
“Fuck you.” He dropped Kai’s throat and let his head bang onto the floor.
“Ouch.”
Rehz slammed his way outside, into the courtyard, taking deep breaths of the frigid night air.
Fuck them all. Kai was wrong. And worse, if Anna did want to be comforted, she’d chosen the wrong guy. He was too hard, too harsh, too everything to even pretend to be capable of giving her sympathy in the way Aled would give it to her. Maybe she knew that.
Hell, of course she did. She knew what he was like.
He’d fucking trained her.
Kai took a couple of exploratory breaths and gently opened and closed his mouth. Everything in his throat and jaw appeared to be working. Aled had already gone to check on Anna and was then going to bed.
“Are you okay?”
He looked up into the concerned face of Bron.
“I’m good.” He winced as his teeth grazed his bloodied mouth. “Rehz and I had a difference of opinion.”
“I can see that.” Bron leaned closer and rubbed at the blood on Kai’s lower lip. “Let me help you get cleaned up.”
“Maybe you could assist me back to my room. Aled will be wondering where I’ve got to.”
“Yeah?”
He licked his lips, running his tongue over Bron’s thumb. “Yeah. Are you off duty?”
“I’m never really off, but I have a few hours to spare.” Bron’s gaze swept over him, lingering on the now prominent bulge of his dick. “Being hurt turns you on?”
“Gods, yes.” Kai sat up carefully and Bron helped him to his feet. “Let’s go.”
He deliberately leaned on the security chief as they navigated the stairs, rubbing his now hard shaft against the other man’s thigh, squeezing down on his muscular arms. Bron took it all and didn’t back off, which made him want to smile.
When they came through the door, Aled looked up from his position by the fire, his expression changing from warm to icy. Kai hadn’t lied about the changes to Aled within Ungrich space. He was a different, harder man. Kai grinned at him.
“Bron helped me up the stairs.” He leaned back against Bron, noticing the stiffness rubbing against his ass. “I was trying to help Rehz express his feelings.”
“Typical.” Aled snorted. “Well, you’d better thank the man.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Kai sank to his knees and rubbed his cheek against Bron’s thigh. “Can I suck you off?”
Bron cleared his throat. “That’s not necessary. I was quite happy to help.”
“I can see that you’re happy.” He nuzzled the security chief’s huge erection with his nose. “I want my nice, bloodied, sore mouth around your big dick while you come down my throat. Is that okay?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking for my permission to do that rather than Bron’s?” Aled walked over to them, his blue gaze still cold. “Maybe I don’t want to watch you enjoy yourself.”
“You love watching me suck cock. And you don’t fucking own me.”
“Yeah, I do.” Aled just waited him out, his expression unyielding.
He sighed. “Aled . . . please give me permission to suck Bron off.”
Aled turned to Bron. “Please fuck his mouth.”
“If you’re sure you’re okay with it,” Bron said slowly his glance shifting between the two men.
“I’m good.” Aled glanced down at Kai. “I want you naked first, Kai, so we can both see everything.”
Kai stripped off, taking his time as the two men watched him. Aled went over to their bed and rummaged in the drawer, returning with his collar and leash. He shivered as Aled encircled his throat with the leather and buckled it tight.
“That’s better. We can control you now.” He used the long leash and snapped it against Kai’s naked thigh. “Now kneel down, take out Bron’s cock, and suck it until I tell you to stop.”
“And what if I don’t want to stop?” Kai asked sweetly.