Free Valan's Bondmate by Mardi Maxwell Page A

over her, slammed his hand against the panel on the door and stormed out.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Cursing her, Valan stormed into the gymnasium with the intention of working off his rage. It should have been empty. Instead it was crowded with warriors. Some of them leaned against the walls, dripping with sweat, as they watched their companions fight. The battle practice was unusually fierce, and the room rang with their curses and grunts of pain. Seeing Cam slumped in the corner of the room, Valan squatted down next to him.
    "What are my warriors doing?"  
    "Fighting."
    "I can see that, but why so fiercely?" Observing them, he saw most sported bruises on some part of their body. Surprisingly, not one of them had a mark on his face. A dark brow lifted in inquiry.
    "It’s the plan."  
    "The plan?"
    "Doctor Veeson said the more we touch our mates the more our fever will transfer to them. Tonight, I will demand my female massage my bruised body." His wicked grin told the rest of the story.
    "The others?" Valan asked, indicating the other warriors in the room.
    "The same."
    Valan laughed. The other warriors, suspecting what he’d been told, joined in. Cocky grins replaced disgruntled frowns. Valan stood. "I bid you luck. Now, who challenges me?"
    ***
     
    Lia muttered as she absently straightened the room. Her nose twitched as she caught a whiff of Valan's scent as she smoothed the white fur over the bed. Unlike Gorm, who always smelled of blood and sweat, Valan's scent was clean and tantalizing. Frowning at her thoughts, she patted it into place and bent to pick up his discarded clothes. She hung them in the closet next to the gowns he’d chosen for her and cursed him again. So, he hated all Wrothians but her specifically!
    She chose a green gown from the rack and held it up to the light. It shimmered and changed from green to gold as the light played over it. The material was beautiful and felt soft and silky. It looked more like the white gown she'd first worn on the starship although the material felt thicker.
    She tried it on and smiled, fanning her hand over the row of gowns. All of them were designed like the one she'd first worn. She giggled when she realized she’d chosen a sleeping gown to wear to lunch. No wonder he'd been amused. He must think she was an idiot.
    With the room cleaned and nothing left to do, she wandered to the bookshelves, chose a couple of books, and paged through them. Her attention was caught by a phrase on one of the pages—the best defense is a good offense. Intrigued, she read what the author had to say on the subject and laughed when she recognized the philosophy behind his thoughts. It was the same as the lessons her mother taught her on how to deal with unreasonable warriors. Of course, the weapons were different but the end results were the same.
    She curled in his chair and plotted his downfall. Before they reached Zarronia she had to convince him to make her a child giver. Her first weapon would be his desire. Even though he claimed to hate her, she noticed he got aroused every time he came near and it would work in her favor.
    His behavior confused and enraged her but she'd been taught nothing caught a warrior’s attention faster than a sweet, willing woman. Satisfied with her plan, she propped her bare feet on the edge of his desk and read while she waited for her opponent to return.
    ***
     
    Valan grunted his approval of the room’s neatness, while absently rubbing the bruises and welts on his chest. His eyes darkened when he saw what she was wearing. Stalking around the desk, he lifted her into his arms, gave her a bone-crushing hug and rocked his hips against hers. Urgently, he nibbled on her neck, while charting a path to the bed.
    "Valan?"
    "Hmmmm?" He licked her earlobe, then blew on it, drawing a shiver from her.
    "I'm hungry."
    "Good. Me, too." He nibbled on her lobe then adjusted her hips closer to his erection.
    "Valan. Let me go. I’m hungry. I’ve waited for