“All right, we’re done here,” Trinity said, all diplomatic and perfect. Calm. Even that made me crazy.
I turned my head and glared. “How are we done? They’re going to kill Mom! We don’t have a plan in place to get in to Cell Level C. We need to go now. We need to organize and get Mom out of there.”
“We will work on that. You need to go solve your Ardo
r problem,” she countered.
“I’m fine. Nix made sure of that.” I put my hands on my hips. “And not all problems can be solved by a man.”
“No, but yours can be,” she countered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nix smirk. He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed that his body was a tool for my problem. That his cock was just what this specific job required. Me? I was too agitated to be embarrassed. “No. I’ve done nothing but have wild monkey sex for two days. That should be enough. Don’t try to hide me away for another two days while you plan without me. I’m in. All the way.”
With those words I glared at Captain Turaya.
He had the gall to look at Nix.
“Hey!” I stared the older man down until he had the good grace to bow his chin, just a touch. I was a princess. He was queen’s guard. He worked for me and my sisters, not the caveman who wanted to lock me up, keep me barefoot and pregnant for the rest of my life. I ran my hands through my hair. Jesus. Trinity was right. I was coming out of my skin, and I’d only been out of bed for an hour or so.
Nix was a drug. An addiction. Tugging at my dark strands, I spoke slowly and clearly so Leo’s father and everyone in the room would understand exactly how serious I was. “I make my own decisions, not Nix.”
“He is your mate,” the older man countered. “Should you not consider his wishes? Allow him to protect you, as a good mate should?”
It was possible that the top of my head blew off then. Maybe it spun around in circles like one of those horror films because Thor stood and grabbed Faith about the waist, tugged her back out of my reach.
Leo rose to his feet and put his hand on Trinity’s shoulder.
“I think your Ardor’s made you insane,” Trinity said, cocking her head to the side. “I mean that seriously. You like to fight, but not with words. Listen to yourself, Des, you’re losing it. Either that, or you’ve got a hormone rage from hell.”
I bit my lip to keep from giving her any more fuel to light her argument fire.
“She’s not full Aleran, it’s possible her Ardor is… different,” Thor commented.
“It wasn’t like this for me,” Faith added, so I glared at her. Of course her Aleran Ardor had been perfect. Nice and tidy and easily resolved with just some wild fucking and then it was over. She shrugged and had the nerve to grin at me. “I was over it in less than two days. But you like to do everything hardcore. You always did have to beat me at everything.”
I couldn’t help the way my eyes narrowed. “All I’ve done for days is have sex. This is insane. No one should have to go through this.”
Faith made the L shape on her forehead, an indication she thought I was a total loser. “Deal with it. I win. And you need to get naked and roll with it.”
“Great, just great. Now I’m the crazy one.”
“Destiny,” Trinity began. “You’re arguing because you’re having too much sex. Too. Much. Sex. There is something wrong with you.”
Nix slowly stood, but didn’t come over to me. Perhaps he was smarter than I thought, because I had no idea what I would do if he touched me right now, in front of everyone. I felt weak. Vulnerable. Exposed. Hurt. Even though that last one didn’t make sense.
Was Nix really with me because he liked me? Me, the smart-mouthed, aggressive, protective fighter? Or was he only with me because I’d die if he didn’t stick his cock in me over and over again? I was a princess. He was a queen’s guard, sworn to serve my family. Did he actually like me? Or was he just doing his job? Was he serving me in a very special way?
I mean, fucking for days on end, in every possible position, wouldn’t be a hardship for any man I knew back on Earth. Hell, in my experience, that’s all they required. Wet pussy and a free pass to do whatever the hell they wanted to my body.
Nix didn’t touch me, but he did break the tense silence in the room. “We don’t know what is going to happen. We do know that whatever happens, it will be tomorrow. Therefore, mate, we have time to finish your Ardor once and for all. There is no reason for you to suffer.”
“You want to have sex, now?” My body was screaming at me, Yes, please! But my mouth was all sassy and angry.
“I will always want to touch you, mate. But Thor is correct, the Ardor is breaking the boundaries of desire and moving into other emotions. You need your mind clear for tomorrow. Yes?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, but dropped them because they only rubbed my already sensitive nipples. So I nodded instead.
“Then let’s finish it. Then we’ll prepare for whatever battle we have to fight tomorrow.”