Wind Demon Triology: Book II: Evil Wind Read Online Free PDF Page A

go to sulk?” Zainabu wanted to know, taking the proffered hand in the warrior way—forearm to forearm.
    "He's a loner,” Sern spoke up. “He prefers to be by himself."
    "And he wants to try on his new boots,” Chanz said with a snort.
    Back in the lounge, Cree blocked out the feminine laughter that greeted Chanz's remark. He felt put upon and under even more pressure now that he had another female to try to keep from harm's way.

Chapter Three
    Kahmal had been searching for over an hour before she finally tried the image deck where she found Cree. When she opened the door to the suite he had programmed, she was shocked to find it resembled what she knew to be a facsimile of Helios 12. The suite was sweltering, with no wind and no moisture at all in the hot stagnant air. Cree was stripped down to a pair of cut-off britches, his bare chest glistening with sweat, the crisp hairs there sparkling, as he went through the intricate motions of some kind of martial arts regimen. He had dispensed with his new boots and she could not help but wonder why he felt the need to torture his feet in such a manner for the sand of the suite undulated with heat.
    She didn't think he'd seen her yet for he appeared to be concentrating on each complex position that made his muscles bunch and ripple. Despite the suffocating heat bearing down on her, she stood there and watched him, mesmerized by the powerful play of his brawny body.
    "Would you like to spar with me?” he asked.
    "I'd like to throw you down and have at your tight ass,” Kahmal retorted, watching that area of his body flexing beneath the tight-fitting britches.
    Cree actually laughed, but he made no comment to her sexiest remark. He continued to move fluidly with the complicated maneuvers. His biceps bulged as he held one position for a few moments before allowing his body to relax. He released a long breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then came striding toward Kahmal, bending down to swoop up a towel to blot his perspiring face.
    The Amazeen Major could not take her eyes from his potent body. The man looked as though he had been molded by the Goddess of Love, Herself. There wasn't a spare ounce of fat on him and every move he made flowed like a well-oiled machine. Her gaze locked on the stylized crimson tattoo of a scythe on his left pectoral and held. She knew the tattoo had been applied to his flesh with a laser.
    "Aye, it did,” he said for she was wondering if it had hurt to have it burned into his flesh.
    "I'm surprised you admit it,” she said, tearing her gaze from the wicked brand. She wanted to reach out and trace the tattoo with the tips of her fingers. “How old were you when it was applied?"
    He shrugged. “Ten, I believe. I don't really remember. It was part of the Initiation into the Warrior Caste so at the time it was an honor to undergo the pain."
    "Did you weep?” she asked.
    His gaze locked with hers. “What do you think?"
    "I cried when my breast was removed,” Kahmal admitted. “It hurt like hell."
    "The tattoo was not nearly as bad as the implants they placed in my brain,” Cree told her.
    "When did they surgically insert the micro-receivers?” she asked.
    "At about the same time. That played hell with my brain and caused brutal headaches that were incapacitating. The M-Rs did the same thing to my bloodcousins so our handlers didn't start inserting them in the next class of Reapers until the cadet had gone through puberty.” He ran a hand over his damp face. “That cut down on the severity of the headaches, but I'm told migraines still plagued the cadets.” He swiped the towel under his chin. “I still have the gods-be-damned things and always will."
    Kahmal shook her head. “I thought having my right teat cut off was bad, but it seems you had a much more severe launch into warrior status."
    He stared brazenly at her chest. “You'd never know you had only one breast,” he said.
    The Amazeen Major reached up to touch the area.