“Come for me, Ashley. Let me see you let go.”
She did, crying his name once again. Draven teased her pussy, driving her over the edge, and slowly brought her down.
Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t think a coherent thought.
“It’s not possible for you to be bad at anything,” he said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“You’re the love of my life, and I know you’ll always be the best for me, for our child, and for our people.” He gripped the back of her neck as he kissed her hard. She tasted herself on his lips, but it didn’t repulse her.
“What about you?” she asked.
“This wasn’t for me. This was for you.” He got up off the sofa, and she let out a squeal as he picked her up. “You can take care of me later.”
Chapter Ten
10 months later
“How long do we have?” asked Draven.
“No more than twenty minutes until they’re at the gates,” said Luke.
They were on the roof, the highest vantage point of the kingdom. Luke was on his stomach with the binoculars in hand. A horde of men and a few vehicles were heading their way. Draven had never seen such a large, sophisticated group pass through before. They moved boldly, not even attempting to sneak up on them. A trickle of fear left him unsettled. He had a lot to lose.
“We’ll arm all the men. Get the women to safety,” said Draven. “There may be more of them than us, but I’ll die before I let them through the gates.”
Luke lowered the binoculars, glancing up at him. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I like to think positive before assuming they’re coming to destroy us.”
“Has anyone come through here with good intentions before?”
“Ashley?”
Draven scowled. “That was different. She was running from men like those.”
“Again, you’re assuming they’re the enemy.”
Draven started to climb down from the roof. “Let’s agree to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Get to the weapons locker.”
Luke nodded.
It had been almost a year since they’d started expanding their walls and growing more crops. They were overflowing with abundance, and he thought things couldn’t get better. Now there was a risk of losing everything. If the large group of vandals pillaged their crops and food stores, they’d be back to square one again. Forced to travel in search of supplies, never knowing if they’d survive one day to the next.
And they could lose a lot more than their crops.
Draven ran a hand through his hair as he walked through the courtyard. Luanna jogged up to him.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she said.
“Nothing to worry about.” He kept walking, trying to ignore her.
“Don’t bullshit me, Draven. You look like you’ve seen a ghost, and Luke’s been on the roof all morning. What’s coming?”
He stared down at her. “Trouble. Looks like two dozen men and vehicles.”
“Shit,” she said.
“Luke’s going to distribute weapons soon. We need to keep the others safe.”