Wonderland 2: King of Spades Read online

  Alexi had to absorb what Kalina was saying for a moment. “Alice is, ah, married to the King of Hearts, who’s also the High King?”

  “They are bonded, yes.” Kalina stood and walked to where Alexi sat upon the boulder and settled beside her. “The Queen is very much in love with Jarronn, and he in turn loves her with all his heart.”

  “Wow.” Alexi shook her head, trying to come to grips with this strange new reality. “For crissake, I don’t even know what to think right now.”

  Cupping Alexi’s cheek with one hand, Kalina forced Alexi to look into her fiery amber eyes. “Queen Alice has missed you as much as you have missed her, I am certain. But she is also happier than she has ever been in her young life. I hope that pleases you.”

  Alexi leaned into Kalina’s comforting touch, needing the human contact for a moment. She missed her sister, missed her cousin and aunt, and damn it, she missed Darronn, too.

  “Alice’s happiness is really all that matters,” Alexi whispered, and struggled to keep her voice from cracking. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “I know.” Kalina smiled. “You will be pleased with her cubs, as well. They are most beautiful and quite lively.”

  Withdrawing from the sorceress’s touch, Alexi blew a puff of air that caused her hair to fly out of her eyes. “I’m an aunt…to twin cubs?”

  Kalina laughed and settled her hands in her lap. “Weretiger cubs, yes.”

  “So do they just look like little tigers or something?”

  “When they were born, they were tiny helpless humans, just like you were as an infant.” Kalina tossed her long black hair over her shoulder with a flick of her hand. “But when they reached nine Tarok months of age, they began to shift into tigers. A handful they are for their mother and father, I’m sure you can imagine.”

  Alexi tried to picture chasing after two little tigers herself. “Uh, no.” She rolled her eyes. “That image just does not compute.”

  Kalina laughed again, and Alexi stifled a yawn and murmured, “Damn, but I’m tired.”

  Only rather than going to bed, Kira and Kalina both began to help each other strip out of their clothing—and they were fondling one another as they undressed. Alexi’s jaw dropped at the sensual play between the two women. She’d known, and had witness from her balcony, that in Spades it didn’t matter if you were woman or man, everyone enjoyed one another’s pleasures. She also knew that plenty of ménages happened as part of the norm.

  That had never been Alexi’s style—maybe she was just too possessive, but she was a one-man kinda gal and she didn’t like the idea of sharing. Just the thought of Darronn being with another woman—

  Alexi squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away the thought and the ache in her heart. It didn’t matter anymore what Darronn did or with who, because she was through with him.

  Kalina moaned and Alexi opened one eye to see Kira suckling Kalina’s nipple. The sorceress’s head was tipped back and she grasped Kira’s hips tightly to hers. The two women were completely naked now, except for their leather collars and nipple charms, their bodies illuminated by the light of the fire.

  Alexi swallowed and opened her other eye. Damn, but she never thought it would be arousing to watch two beautiful naked women together, but she had to admit it was.

  “Please join us, Milady,” Kalina said, shattering Alexi’s trance.

  “Um, thanks, but no.” Alexi glanced around the dark forest as if looking for an escape route, before returning her gaze to the sorceress. “Someone needs to watch camp. Keep an eye out on things.”

  A mischievous smile lifted the corner of Kalina’s sensual mouth as she brought her hands to Kira’s full breasts and teased the spades at her nipples. “Do not worry. Camp is being watched, and we are safe.”

  It took a moment for Kalina’s meaning to sink in and then Alexi went still. “Darronn and those other kings, they followed us didn’t they?”

  “Please do not be upset.” Kalina gasped as Kira knelt and laved the sorceress’s shaved pussy with one long swipe of her tongue. “He only wishes to protect you from harm.”

  Alexi buried her face in her hands. For one she couldn’t take the sight of the women enjoying a little sex when she was getting none, and for another, she couldn’t believe she’d been stupid enough to believe that Darronn would just let her go.

  That thought was frustrating, comforting, and even exhilarating all at once. He shouldn’t have followed her! Yet maybe he realized how badly he’d screwed up, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it. But he respected her enough to not shove it down her throat.

  Or maybe he realized she wasn’t what he wanted and he was going to let her go, but was just making sure she was safe.

  Alexi pushed that last thought right out of her head. She was too confident in herself to allow that kind of thinking to tear at her. She’d made up her mind about Darronn before—he either returned her love, or he didn’t and she’d move on. The trust thing…that had blindsided her, though. She wasn’t sure she could get past that.

  Kalina cried out, her voice echoing through the forest. Alexi raised her head to see the sorceress’s hips rocking against Kira’s face.

  “Would you mind, Milady,” Kalina’s skin was flushed and her voice breathless as she gestured toward the forest, “if Kira and I join Ty and Karn?”

  “Sure, go have a good fuck.” Alexi waved them off. “Have an orgasm for me while you’re at it.”

  When the women vanished into the trees, Alexi slid off her boulder and onto the bedroll at her feet. She wrapped her arms around her bent legs and rested her chin on her knees.

  Alexi could sense Darronn watching her, hungering for her. Her body ached for him, but she wasn’t about to give in to lust. Not after what he’d done, and not at the expense of her heart.

  Chapter Twelve

  Darronn wasn’t sure whether to reward Kalina for informing Alexi that he had followed them, or to throttle her. However, the mischievous look on the sorceress’s face told him she was looking forward to sensual punishment at Karn’s hands, and the King of Diamonds would no doubt enjoy seeing to Kalina’s punishment and pleasure.

  Fair enough. Leave her to Karn, for I have no desire to touch any but my own mate.

  While the sounds of sex from his brothers and the women near drove him mad with lust for his woman, Darronn watched Alexi. Staying well hidden, he remained a tiger and studied her from the dark forest. He had expected anger from her when she learned he had followed her, but again she surprised him.

  She seems…relieved.

  And perhaps intrigued?

  A feeling of hope rose within his soul. Mayhap she would forgive him, and would take him back. He could not force her, but his heart would not allow him to let her go.

  For a long while Alexi stared into the fire’s dancing flames, her arms wrapped around her bent legs and her chin resting on her knees, and Darronn could not take his gaze from her. Patience had never been his virtue, nor had tolerating uncertainty. After Mikaela’s betrayal he hadn’t thought himself capable of giving any woman leeway, much less access to his heart.

  This woman, though…

  He felt a purr build in his veins.

  This woman was worth any risk, and any wait.

  The crackle and hiss of burning wood joined the night song of crickets, the roar of the Tarok River, and wind stirring the trees. Over the ridge came a mountain wolf’s call, and Darronn recognized Kir’s howl. Annoyance clouded his thoughts. Why was the werewolf lord so far out of his own territory?

  Alexi noticed the sound as well. She shivered and seemed mildly distressed. Darronn sensed more than saw her glance in his direction.

  Yes, my love. No matter the state of affairs between us, I will protect you with my very life.

  While he watched Alexi, Darronn hoped she would choose to call to him, to give some indication that she wanted him as badly as he needed her. She was so small and beautiful, yet she had the will of the strongest of beings and a temper t
o match.

  But instead of asking him to join her, Alexi gave a long sigh then crawled between the folds of her bedroll, covering herself from head to toe.

  Darronn settled his head on his paws, never taking his gaze from her form. He wished to go to her, to hold her tight in his embrace. But he would wait until she was ready. He would wait as long as needed to win her back.

  * * * * *

  When Alexi woke, gray dawn had crept through the forest. Blue-green mist clung to trees, a chill had stolen through her covering, and her nose was cold. A light scampering came from overhead and she wondered if perhaps it was a squirrel, or some unusual Tarok forest creature. One of the jul whickered nearby and another answered him with a soft whinny.

  The fire was burning still and Alexi wondered if the men had continued to add fuel to it during the night. Had Darronn perhaps tended the blaze, and had he even watched her as she slept?

  It had taken her a while to fall asleep, knowing that he was so close. How could she want him still? Yet her body ached for his touch and for those wicked green eyes that devoured her every time he looked at her. She missed his muscled form against her back, his cock pressed to her hip and rarin’ to go. A part of her even wished that he had stolen into camp during the night and curled around her in his tiger form.

  Another part of her wanted to kick him in the nuts again.

  Damn him! Why did he have to screw everything up?

  Both Kira and Kalina stirred as Alexi’s thoughts centered on Darronn, and soon the two women were up and about, fully clothed and ready for the day. Apparently after their sexathon they had dressed in their leather outfits again. Alexi crawled out of her bedroll and helped them prepare breakfast and pack their belongings. She expected the men to appear for food, but then they’d probably hunted for fresh meat during the night.

  When she crept behind a bush to pee, she grumbled loud enough that she knew Darronn could hear, “You’d better not be watching me, you overgrown moth-eaten fur coat.”

  She thought she heard a soft growl, but she didn’t look in the direction it came from and hurried about her business. When she went back to camp, she refused to look anywhere but straight ahead. She didn’t want to see Darronn in the trees or underbrush as man or tiger, and she didn’t want to meet that striking green gaze of his.

  The women set out when it was still early enough the sun was just peering over the horizon. Both Kalina and Kira seemed quieter, focused, and quite relaxed.

  Nothing like having a wild night of orgasms.

  Alexi, though, was on edge. Her nipples and pussy ached for Darronn, and it was pissing her off. Last night she should have masturbated beneath her blanket to take the edge off her need. Hell, she should have done it in front of him, just to let him see what he was missing and what he wasn’t going to get.

  The women guided their horse-like beasts through the remainder of the Tarok Forest, nearing the river, its ever-present roar growing louder. Even though she was still saddle sore from yesterday, and her knuckles still throbbed, she felt rested and exhilarated, ready to see her sister. That happiness kept at bay the pain of Darronn’s betrayal of her trust in him.

  Alice is only a day away, her heart sang. God, what an incredible relief to know that after over a year since her sister’s disappearance, she was alive!

  Sharp wind blew at their backs as they reached the end of the forest and stopped in a clearing just shy of the plains. Yellowed grass rippled like golden waves for miles ahead of them. A melody like the sound of a violin swelled across the plains and joined the river’s harmony.

  Kira and Kalina’s mounts paused to either side of Alexi. “The Singing Plains,” Kalina said with a smile to Alexi. “On a windy day such as this, its music is most beautiful.”

  The wind shifted, blowing full in Alexi’s face, and she caught a scent she couldn’t identify. Tok whinnied loud and shrill, like a warning. Metal glinted in the morning sunlight as the women of Spades withdrew their swords in lightning fast motions.

  “Damnation,” Kalina said, her voice filled with concern. “Do not let her into your mind, Milady.”

  “What—” Alexi started, then sucked in her breath as she saw them.

  Dozens of white tigers rose up from where they’d been hiding in the tall grass. In seconds the beasts had surrounded the women and the jul, cutting them off from Darronn and his brothers. The ring of tigers was at least three deep, and by their fierce expressions and rumbling growls, Alexi knew that she and her companions were in deep shit.

  Adrenalin pumped through Alexi and she gripped Tok’s reins so tight her knuckles ached. The furious pounding of her heart multiplied when a pure white tiger with no stripes pushed its way through the ring of tigers and came into the clearing and stopped before Tok. Before Alexi could process what was happening, the tiger shifted, rising up on its hind legs as its features morphed from white fur to skin, from tiger to woman.

  The slender woman held a long black whip in one hand, her other hand propped on her leather-clad hip. Her wheat-blonde hair stirred in the wind and her full breasts almost spilled from the V neckline of her tight black leather pantsuit. The neckline was so wide the woman’s dark areolas partially showed, and the V dropped to a tattoo of a large cat’s paw print around her belly button.

  Alexi didn’t have time for this crap. She needed to get to her sister. “Who the hell are you?” she asked, her glare meeting the woman’s ice-blue gaze.

  “I am Mikaela, Queen of Malachad.” Irritation glittered in the woman’s eyes, but it was replaced by a look of smug confidence. “I have come to assist you in returning to your home. I called to you in your dreams…where I showed you the looking glass in the meadow.”

  Alexi’s jaw dropped. What the hell? How did this Mikaela know about her dreams? Her gaze rested on the whip in the woman’s hands and the dream of Alice and her warning caused a chill to skitter down Alexi’s spine.

  A tickling sensation crawled at the back of her head, like a spider walking up her brain stem. Kalina’s warning flashed through Alexi’s memory, Do not let her into your mind, Milady.

  “I don’t give a damn who you are.” Alexi’s temper flared and she leaned forward in her saddle. “You’re in my way.”

  Mikaela looked at her for a long moment. “You are far stronger than your sister.” In a movement that seemed unconscious, the woman began lightly slapping the handle of the whip against her palm as she studied Alexi. “Alice is fat and weak.”

  Fury burned through Alexi. “Listen, bitch,” she shot back with a scowl. “Don’t you ever talk about my sister that way.”

  The woman snapped her whip so fast that Alexi didn’t even see it coming. The leather strap wrapped around her waist and Mikaela yanked so hard that Alexi flew from her saddle. Pain shot through her as she landed flat on her back in front of the line of ferocious and hungry looking tigers.

  Alexi scrambled to her feet, so furious she could barely see. In the same motion she’d pulled Alexi from the saddle, Mikaela had unraveled her whip and now stood poised to strike again.

  “I would kill you now if I did not have better use for you than a carcass,” Mikaela said as she came so close that Alexi could see silver flecks in the woman’s blue eyes. “How it will torture my brother to know that his woman is being fucked by my bakirs.”

  Mikaela raised her whip, but this time Alexi was faster. She slammed her fist as hard as she could into the woman’s eye and drove her other fist into Mikaela’s belly.

  The bitch screamed and toppled backward. Yet somehow she managed to snake her whip around Alexi’s throat.

  Fire burned Alexi’s neck and her throat closed off as she was forced down onto her hands and knees. She clawed at the whip, her vision dimming as the leather strangled her.

  Everything around her blurred as she fought for breath. Kalina’s scream and the sudden thunder of countless roars seemed miles away.

  And then she saw tigers closing in on her.

  When Mikaela’s w
eretigers rose up from the grass, Darronn’s gut clenched and rage seared his soul. His first instinct was to charge forward to protect his woman. But common sense and his warrior’s instincts prevailed. He could not even engage in thought-words with his brothers for fear that any one of the weretigers or Mikaela would hear him.

  From where he was hiding in the forest, Darronn neared the ring of tigers, hoping that he would be considered one of Mikaela’s bakirs. If any of them recognized his scent, they would attack at once, and Alexi would be in even greater danger.

  His heart pounded and fear for his mate grew as he slipped into the ring of tigers and heard Alexi’s words of fury to Mikaela. His anger magnified as his mate’s cry tore across the plains and as he saw her fall from Tok’s back and heard the thump of her body as she landed on the ground.

  To the dark hells, Darronn thought as he bunched his muscles, prepared to spring forward and rush to his mate.

  But one of Mikaela’s tiger’s whirled on Darronn, striking out with sharp claws and teeth and a roar that alerted the other weretigers.

  Darronn ignored the pain as claws raked his cheek and shredded flesh and fur. He drove his muzzle into the tiger’s neck in a furious motion and ripped open its throat. Another tiger attacked Darronn, and around him rose the sounds of roars and fighting. He and his brothers were fierce warriors, but they were far outnumbered. Sheer rage and the desire to save his mate propelled him forward despite the odds.

  A wolf’s howl tore through the melee and then the answering howl of countless werewolves. Lord Kir! The werewolf lord and his pack had come to join in the battle against Mikaela.

  Claws shredded Darronn’s flesh but he destroyed one weretiger after another until he reached the innermost ring. Even as he continued to fight, he saw Mikaela with her whip wrapped around Alexi’s neck. His mate was on her belly, her features a ghastly shade of purple, her aqua eyes large and glossy as her gaze met his.