Helion by Olivia March

”
    Nathal’s voice played through their mind link, calm and
confident as always. His voice betrayed no curiosity about why Helion had asked
for these extra scans. Of course he also hadn’t told Helion what he wanted to
know.
    “ Cut line, Healer Nathal, ” Helion replied through the
link. “ Can her body take my cock or not? ”
    There was a brief pause, as if Nathal didn’t want to answer.
But finally he replied, “ Yes, Commander. Her sex is built smaller than
Keeper females’ but expands to accommodate males. It would be a tight fit but
it’s possible. The lady is on her way back to your tent now. ”
    Helion smiled wolfishly, thanking Nathal for the
information. There was only one barrier now to what he wanted and that was the
lady herself. Rather, the way the lady seemed determined to deny them what they
both wanted. This was a hunt he had to conduct very carefully. He didn’t want
to spook his prey. He’d start out slowly and seduce her by inches. There was
plenty of time. And the reward for his patience would be sweet indeed.
    When Gwen reentered the tent with her daughter, Helion was
lounging back in a chair at the table, decently garbed in another of his robes.
He didn’t want to scare the girl with an explosion of lust, so he sat with a
chilled glass of wine in one hand while resting the other on the arm of the
chair. There was nothing at all threatening about his body language but he saw
Gwen go on high alert anyway. Smart girl.
    Helion’s expression was kept carefully impassive, though the
onslaught of lust in his veins made that extremely difficult. Now he knew he
could safely lie with Gwen, he wanted to pounce on her like a beast of prey,
tempting and stroking and sucking until she was powerless to resist him. His
eyes, unlike his expression, he couldn’t control. And when Gwen looked into
them, she definitely knew what he was thinking. That, for all his outward
civility, the predator inside him had her in its sights.
    “Come, have a seat, Lady Gwen. Dinner will be served
shortly.”
    He stood with those words and held out the chair next to him
at the table, compelling her to come instead of flee. His prey moved forward
with caution, moving to seat herself rather slowly. She sat down where he
indicated, even though he could tell she’d have preferred to sit on the opposite
side of the table. Being this close to him, he was sure she could feel his body
heat and smell his skin, freshly scrubbed from the bath. And she liked that, if
her dilating pupils were any indication.
    “And how is my lady Evelyn today?” he asked, resuming his
seat.
    Before she could answer, he shocked the hell out of her by
reaching out and deftly removing Evelyn from her arms. Her lips opened to
protest that high-handed move, but he handled her so gently Gwen reluctantly allowed
him to have his way. Evelyn seemed to revel in his attention as well, if her
windmilling hands and legs were any indication. Helion hadn’t held a child in
centuries and he’d forgotten how soft and delicate they were.
    “She’s wonderful. She’s warm, clean, well-fed and slept
great in that beautiful cradle. I really can’t thank you enough for what you
and your men have done for us.” Gwen meant every word of that statement, her
sincerity there in the open for Helion to see.
    “I don’t want to be thanked for doing what any honorable Keeper
would do, little mother,” he replied, his eyes briefly lifting from observing
Evie to meet hers in reprimand.
    “Then what do you want? Why did you bring us here and why
are you being so kind? I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth but all
things considered these are all very extravagant gifts. And I know having us
here can only inconvenience you. So what is it you do want, Commander?”
    Helion looked up from the baby at this interrogation,
staring at Gwen silently. He wasn’t angry but her questions did require some thought.
His hands continued to gently stroke Evie’s soft cap of