Now it is time for Aiya and Aiyan to travel to their spouses homes and meet their people. But that is more the backdrop of this story, as this book concentrates more on the ever growing relationship between Raven and Tanis. The Priest from House Gaeland and his warrior from House Orion. Raven is wise but slightly naive. He never gave much thought to a family or a husband, not that it's forbidden, he just never thought he'd share his heart with anyone but God. But the inked upped, muscled upped man from Greece that Raven describes as all attitude, muscles and ink... well he rooted his way in there under the radar.
While the relationship between Raven and Tanis doesn't seem to be moving any faster than the twins, in actuality it is. Aiya and Aiyan have known about their matches for years, they know them even if only on paper. These two young men are learning about each other as they go. And once they get to Greece, Raven learns that the description of his fiance from before they met, "A man in every port", well there wasn't ever a truer statement. Tanis had always been promiscuous, and now it may come back to bite him in the ass, so to speak.
More secrets will be revealed and a new threat will emerge. But the root of everything that keeps these people and these relationships strong, their love and faith in one another, is the constant that will keep them all alive.
~ 1 ~
Unyielding
Aiyan walked through the garden, violin
case in hand, heading toward the bench that sat in the center. Sitting, he
removed his violin and stroked the strings. He hadn’t played in days and needed
to feel the instrument in his hands as he poured his pain into the music. It
was the only outlet he could think of at the moment that wouldn’t cause someone
else bodily harm.
His life had changed drastically over the
past several months. He met and married his match who, thankfully, turned out
to be his soul mate. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved Kaden
like no other almost from the minute he laid eyes on him. He realized just how
much and how much he stood to lose when Kaden was kidnapped by his uncle. An
uncle he didn’t even know he had until after they’d rescued Kaden and brought
him back home where he belonged.
He heaved in a deep breath and brought the
instrument up to rest on his shoulder, running the bow across the strings a few
times to adjust the tone. Then he closed his eyes and let it all go, let all of
the pain and anger flow out of his body and into the music. He thought of Kaden
inside the palace, in their room packing for their impending trip to House
Devi. He thought back to the first time they’d made love after the incident.
How loving, tender and gentle he was with his husband; who was still broken and
bruised from his captivity.
For a moment he felt the anger seeping back
into him as his thoughts strayed to Gorilla man, his uncle, and the violin
screamed out a note in agony. He released a breath and regained his composure,
moving his thoughts back to Kaden and how they’d leaned on each other in those
days and weeks when they first returned to the palace. The melody leveled out
as Aiyan stopped trying to control the emotions and just let them flow freely,
the insanely beautiful whine of music filled the night air.
***
Kaden closed the last suit case and lifted it
off the bed, carrying it over and sitting it by the door with the others. He
stood upright when he thought he heard a shrill cry coming from outside their
bedroom window. Their bedroom was just off one side of the garden when you
looked out the window, which made sense as the garden was Aiyan’s favorite
place to be. Kaden walked over and threw the window open, closing his eyes and
smiling when he realized what it was he’d heard.
Kaden quickly made his way out of the
palace and out into the garden, hell, he would have just jumped out the window
to make the trip quicker if he thought he could do it without hurting himself.
Kaden rounded the corner and stopped, soaking in the sight of his husband,
completely oblivious and completely sexy.
Aiyan’s eyes were closed and the tip of his
tongue just barely escaped his mouth, as his head jerked to the side
occasionally with certain notes of the song. Kaden could see how relaxed he was
surrounded by the things he loved most. The garden that captured so much color
and beauty, and his violin that shared not only the color and beauty inside of
Aiyan, but the talent he held as well.
Every emotion Aiyan was feeling played
across his face as he felt them, Kaden just stood still and watched. The
emotions blended flawlessly with the notes; anger brought on a loud shrill note
and a scrunched up face; happiness brought on a flowing, sharp squeal and a
slight smile; and then sadness was the lightest note of all as a tear trickled
down Aiyan’s cheek.
Aiyan’s eyes opened when he heard a low
crack as Kaden moved toward him, stepping on a twig. “Oh, sorry, I was just
letting off some steam.” Aiyan said, moving to put away his violin.
Kaden moved quickly over to him, “No,
please... don’t stop. It was beautiful my prince, please play more for me.”
Kaden slid onto the far corner of the bench, smiling slightly as Aiyan smiled
back at him.
“You like to beg, don’t you?” Aiyan said
playfully, that crooked grin taking over his face. It was true, Kaden had said
those exact words to him the night they met, here in the garden, the first time
Aiyan kissed him. “No, please...
don’t stop.” Aiyan put his
instrument away and then just sat there, silent, staring at the ground. Kaden
could not only see, but feel the war of emotions raging inside him. The bond
they had seemed to have been there since that first meeting, when they saw the
same vision of them kissing on the bed. And it only grew stronger when they
were separated. Truth be told, their bond had saved Kaden’s life when Gorilla
man had thrown him down that well.
Kaden reached up and pushed Aiyan’s hair
back behind his ear, stroking the lobe with his fingers softly as he did. “My
prince, tell me what troubles you.” Aiyan didn’t speak, didn’t look up at him, he
didn’t even flinch. Kaden scooted a little closer and ran his hand down Aiyan’s
arm, joining their fingers together. Still, Aiyan didn’t so much as squeeze his
hand back, not even acknowledging Kaden’s attempt to placate him. Kaden brought
himself around in front of Aiyan, wedging himself on his knees on the ground
between Aiyan’s legs, staring up at him, refusing to be ignored.
They stared into each other’s eyes for
several long, intense moments. Kaden toyed with the right words to say, and
decided words weren’t what was needed right now. He leaned up and kissed his
husband. He just held his lips to Aiyan’s briefly, not attempting to deepen the
kiss. When he pulled back Aiyan’s eyes remained closed and he took a few shallow
breaths.
“Don’t shut me out Aiyan, not now, we’ve
been through too much for you to give me the silent treatment.” That crooked
grin was trying to make an appearance Kaden thought, as the corner of Aiyan’s
mouth twitched slightly. “There is nothing you can’t tell me. I know you want
to deal with these emotions and this anger you feel on your own, but that is
the problem Aiyan. Have you thought that the reason you can’t get past this is
because you are trying to do it alone? You aren’t alone Aiyan, I am here, right
here in front of you, begging you to…….” Kaden didn’t get the rest of his
sentence out before he was grabbed and hauled up into Aiyan’s lap. Aiyan’s lips
came down on his hard and fierce as Aiyan attempted to tongue fuck him right
there on the bench.
Aiyans fingers dug into Kaden’s shoulders
and he poured everything he was feeling into the kiss. Kaden moaned into his
mouth and melted into his touch as the kiss ignited a fire inside him. The
combination of his own hunger coupled with Aiyan’s left his head spinning.
Aiyan pulled back, gasping for breath, when he opened his eyes Kaden saw that
they’d turned gold around the rims and he smiled. Aiyan leaned forward until
their foreheads were touching, still breathing heavy.
“Okay Kaden, okay. Let’s go back to our
room and talk.” He panted out between breaths.
“Just talk?” Kaden whispered. Aiyan barked
out a laugh and smacked his ass, which caused Kaden to yelp.
They barely made it into their room before
Kaden quickly divested them of their clothing. He pushed Aiyan back against the
door and climbed up him, devouring his mouth. Aiyan spun them around as he
lifted Kaden up off the floor, and slammed him up against the unyielding wooden
door. Kaden wrapped both legs around Aiyan’s waist and thrust his hips up.
Aiyan threw his head back and gasped when Kadens thick, hard cock rubbed up
against his own. Aiyan kissed him again, his lips as unyielding and hard as the
door Kaden was pressed up against. Then he proceeded to fuck Kaden into
oblivion, right there up against the bedroom door.
Kaden woke in their bed with the soft touch
of Aiyan’s fingers, trailing down his back and over his ass, then tracing back
up the path they’d just taken. “Are you awake?” Aiyan whispered.
“I am now.” Kaden just chuckled.
Aiyan didn’t speak again for a while. He
just ran his hands along Kaden’s skin, setting it on fire. Finally, he let out
a ragged sigh, “I’ve never felt the kind of anger I feel toward him Kaden, and
it scares me. I swear sometimes I feel like the hatred will consume me. I want
to kill him, I want him to suffer. What does that say about me Kaden, for
Christ sake, he’s my uncle?!” Even if the touch of Aiyan’s fingers on his skin
hadn’t gone from gentle to rough, Kaden could feel Aiyan’s anger inside him
through the bond they shared.
Kaden rolled over onto his back and Aiyan
laid his head on his chest, he ran his fingers through Aiyan’s hair comforting
and calming him all at the same time. “It says that you are my husband, my
partner and you will do anything to make sure I’m safe. I would do the same for
you. Do you feel better, now that you told me this?” Aiyan nodded but didn’t
speak. “Then that is enough for now. I love you Aiyan and we will deal with
this together. Everything, always together.” Aiyan smiled and Kaden could feel
the curve of his husbands lips on his skin, which made him smile in turn,
remembering.
Those three words took Aiyan back to the
past, to the night they decided to get their named tattoos. When Aiyan first
broached the subject just days before their Mehndi ceremony, Kaden had balked
at the idea. But then when Aiyan and Raven showed Kaden drawings of what Aiyan
was suggesting they do, Kaden couldn’t deny the sentiment in the gesture.
“I want to get our names tattooed on our arms, here.” Aiyan spoke softly to Kaden
as he withdrew his fingers from where they’d been wrapped in Kaden’s and rolled up his sleeve, showing the spot on his upper arm.
Kaden scowled at him, “Don’t you think that is a little grandious, my prince? And
what would they say? Aiyan and Kaden, respectively. Or M’anam and My Prince?”
Aiyan turned that wickedly sexy crooked grin on his partner before he answered.
“I think our given names, and in a calligraphy style of writing with maybe a
celtic border?” Aiyan presented his answer as a question, it would seem he had
put a lot of thought into this venture. Kaden still wasn’t convinced, until the
next day after lunch, when Raven found him and Aiyan in the library and showed
them the drawings he’d made in a likeness of what Aiyan wanted the tattoo’s to
show.
“Wow, that’s really simplistic. I was expecting something more… just, more.” Kaden was pleasantly surprised with the simple, uniqueness of the designs. He had no ink anywhere on his body, having never found anything he wanted to permanently place on his skin. But this, this was a representation of his commitment to Aiyan, a way to show everyone he belonged to this man. So when Raven told them he could do the tattoos right then, Kaden didn’t allow himself time to reconsider, he just nodded in agreement and followed Aiyan and Raven.
It was a given that Aiyan’s tattoo would be placed on his left upper arm as he
already had a large eagle, and a dragonfly on his right upper arm. Kaden
thought his should go on his left arm as well, not only to mirror where his
future husbands ink would go, but it was also the hand where their wedding rings
would be.
Kaden followed as Raven led them to the area of the palace where the guards slept. “The Guardai and The Order are housed in this wing of the palace. And while Raven’s room is in the main area of the palace with the family, he still keeps a room here as well. He has artwork, instruments, some swords he’s collected and his tattoo equipment here.” Aiyan told Kaden as they walked through the never ending hallways within House Gaeland.
“Oh,
and the collection of bibles.” Aiyan stopped mid stride and turned to face
Kaden. “There are bibles dating back to before Anthony’s time, Raven has, what
a dozen or so?” Aiyan turned to Raven who just nodded his response, before
turning back to Kaden. “I’ve read several of them. It’s so interesting to see
the different translations, how they are all different, and yet… the same.”
Raven
entered the room they’d stopped at and Aiyan and Kaden followed him in. The
walls were covered almost floor to ceiling with art and drawings, some of which
Kaden was certain Raven had created himself. There was a small bookshelf that
indeed held a dozen or so bibles, a rack that held several swords and in the
corner sat the oddly made chair that could be molded and shaped to hold a
person’s body in the correct position for whatever ink they would be getting at
the time. Raven motioned for Aiyan to sit as he opened the case with the tools,
“You first Aiyan, so Kaden can see what I’m doing and how, since this is his
first tattoo.”
Kaden
watched as Raven took the wax paper he had drawn the design on and held it over Aiyan’s arm. His gaze continued to roam over Aiyan’s bare chest, those hard
muscles and defined abs, up to his adams apple and then landed on that crooked
grin. When their eyes met, Aiyan’s dominate brown eyes sparkled, full of love
for only Kaden.
“All done!” Raven stated, turning and grabbing a towel from the table next to him.
He ran the towel over the design and then applied some type of ointment from a
jar. He noticed Kaden watching his every move, a question in his glare. “It’s
just a precaution, some healing herbs mixed with the oils from the allive
plant. Can you believe they used to apply tattoos with needles, driving the ink
into the skin, and there was so much blood. The risk of infection then was much
higher than now, the laser pretty much cordarizes the skin as I draw the image,
so no risk of infection. But, better safe than sorry, right.”
Aiyan smiled up at him and twisted his body, holding his arm out for Kaden to see. There on his lovers arm was his name, Kaden, in a fancy script with a border
across the top and bottom of the words that was somewhere between the design of barbed wire and a trinity knot.
“Your turn.” Raven waved his hand motioning Aiyan out of the chair and all but pushed Kaden into it. Kaden closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the chair. He felt the tight grip of Raven’s fingers, digging into his arm to hold
it still, the heat from the laser as it traced each letter into his skin.
A.I.Y.A.N and then the faint trace of the border, but it was never
uncomfortable or painful. He opened his eyes when he felt the brush of the
towel on his skin.
Aiyan pulled him up and into his body and they were chest to chest, Kaden had to hold in a gasp when their naked nipples brushed together. Aiyan leaned down and kissed him, running his fingers over his name that was now permanently inked on Kadens arm, keeping time with his tongue that brushed over Kaden’s bottom lip. Aiyan pulled back but kept his hand on Kaden’s arm, gently tracing the letters of his name, “Everything, always together.” He whispered.
Aiyan raised his head and smiled down at him, moving his body up and over Kaden’s. His smile widened when Kaden groaned and thrust his hips up, rubbing their groins together. They were both already impossibly hard, again. “Ready for round two? Want me to fuck you into the mattress this time?” Aiyan said, leaning down and running his tongue along Kaden’s collar bone. Kaden just laughed and rolled them on the bed where he was on top of Aiyan.
“Oh no my prince, I’m going to fuck you into the mattress.”
~ 2 ~
Angry
Cillian sat at the table pushing the food on his plate around in circles, more interested in reinforcing his men than eating. The encampment he’d found shelter in wasn’t much more than a stones throw away from the palace, but in hind sight, he thought this would be the last place his family would look for
him anyway.
He sat and listened to one of the elders telling some of the other’s of how proud he was of the man one of their own had become. This Sawyer, son of Adam and Anna who were proud Outkasts. Apparently Sawyer’s mother died during child birth, and then his father died in a fire here on the grounds just over a dozen years ago. Sawyer was basically adopted by the Ambassador’s of House Devi, the house of that bastard Indian filth that his nephew had wed.
Apparently his niece who was wed to the feisty little bitch from the greek house was, in fact, in love with Sawyer. He tucked that little morsel of information into the back of his mind for a later date. Soon, Cillian would have to weed out how many followers he had here, and if it was even worth staying or moving on to the next group of Outkasts.
Cillian held his knife in a tight grip, jaw clenched, drawing on every ounce of reserve he had to stop from climbing over the table and cutting the old man’s tongue out of his mouth. If for no other reason than to see him bleed. A gruff voice to his right drew Cillian out of his murderous thoughts.
“If you ask me, the whole lot of them should be burned at the stake. I mean, who are they to tell us who we should love. That I can’t have the same liberties, freedoms and opportunities they have because I’m a man that likes women.”
Cillian stole a glance at the stranger beside him. He was a big man, with arms the size of tree trunks, long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail with a weathered grin plastered on his rugged featured face. Next to him sat a smaller but toned younger man with redder hair than Cillian had ever seen in his life. “And who’s that, your girlfriend?” Cillian nodded in the red heads direction, drawing a snarl and a glare from the smaller man.
The big man threw his head back and bellowed, a full laugh that was so loud and boisterous, it shook the table. “No, Augie here is my best mate, a damn fine lad, even if he does prefer the company of a man to that of a large breasted female.”
“You know who I am?” Cillian questioned.
“Ah, yes, the bastard child of Kiernan and Gabriel. The former Ambassador’s to House Gaeland, and the current Ambassador’s to House Gilley. Dumped off here with the outkasts just hours after your birth when you failed your mapping test. Does that about sum it up?” the big man stated in a gleeful tone.
“Well, it seems you have me at a disadvantage. You are?”
“Hell’s Bell’s, how rude of me, names Robert!” the big man thrust his hand toward Cillian, who grudgingly shook, then reached over and shook the red head’s hand as well.
“So what can I do for you fine gentlemen today?” the clipped tone Cillian spoke in assuredly shown his patience was wearing thin.
“Word travels fast among those that are loyal to your cause Cillian. We should talk, but not here, somewhere more private. A group of us have a place a mile or so north of here where we prefer to spend our time, we just come here to the main camp for food, supplies and occasional company. Meet us at the stables in an hour and you can follow us there, meet the rest of our group, and… get to know us a little better.” Robert stole a glance at Augie and Cillian couldn’t help but be curious at what they were offering. He also had a niggling feeling of recognition in the back of his mind every time he met Augie’s green gaze.
Cillian simply nodded once in reply, to which Robert nodded in agreement before he and Augie stood and left the tent. What harm could come from hearing them out, Cillain thought. His mind ever wary of trusting anyone played out the various scenarios. Perhaps they were allies to his cause, but perhaps they weren’t and they meant to capture him for his brother. Just the thought of Cirian and his charmed life made Cillian’s blood boil.
No, Cillian brushed the thought aside, there was something in the red headed mans stare, an anger that swayed Cillian. His gut told him the men were sincere and that he could at least trust their intent. Appetite renewed, he quickly downed his food before leaving the tent virtually unseen, to go and meet his new friends at the stable.
Did that wet your whistle? Anticipating the full story? Well just you wait! As it is right now I'm at 26 chapters (52000 words aprox) and there is still a bit more to add. So, again, I'm hopeful I can still bring this to you on August 31st, but I will definitely keep you all up to date on the official release date.
Thank you all for stopping by today and continuing to support my efforts with this series. And a huge thank you to all the bloggers that are posting this today, I couldn't do it without all of you! Be sure to stop by the event today on
facebook, I've lined up some pretty amazing authors and bloggers to help me celebrate and they are giving away some goodies throughout the day as well. And above all, remember, Love is Love!
Rafflecopter Giveaway
(Giveaway includes something special from Raven)
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