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  Daryk Craving

  Denise A. Agnew

  Daryk World, Book Three

  Her fever for him has always burned high… Daryk One Aknada Tyrus helped destroy Admiral Aramus’ slave trading ship, but now she must resurrect her shattered life and discover if love can repair three years of deceit.

  Aknada is a warrior, her unique ability to fight men on equal footing a talent few women can boast. Three years ago she lost faith in herself after surviving a horrible attack. Now she cannot abide a man’s touch, even the tenderness of Marc Gampia, the man she’s craved forever. She returns to Marc’s compound to restore her inner peace and hopefully turn her fears away.

  His craving for her has never died… Marc hides his own mangled heart. When he learns Aknada is alive, the fire in him burns hotter and more fiercely than it did before. He will do anything to have her as his wife.

  Desire forces her to reach for him, to discover his body one touch at a time. One stroke and there is no going back.

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

  www.ellorascave.com

  Daryk Craving

  ISBN 9781419932670

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Daryk Craving Copyright © 2011 Denise A. Agnew

  Edited by Mary Moran

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication February 2011

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Daryk Craving

  Denise A. Agnew

  Dedication

  To my husband Terry…always.

  To all the people who’ve ever felt different and alone. This one is for you.

  Chapter One

  Planet Croan

  Supercontinent Dragonia

  The Tarrian Jungle Near the Ithaycan Desert

  Marc Gampia’s Compound

  Marc Gambia was in bloody agony.

  But not from any physical pain.

  As he stood at the entrance of his compound, he studied the woman walking through the market below. At least six feet tall, she walked as if nothing could faze her. She wore a short-sleeved long tunic belted at the waist. It couldn’t hide her full breasts or the wickedly sharp sword she also wore in a scabbard on her belt.

  Aknada Tyrus looked less than a warrior but more than the average woman. Many men had shunned her in the past for her abilities as one of the few female Daryk Ones. His admiration only grew. But he’d witnessed her strength and courage. Right now he didn’t think of her muscles, her height or her ability to fight several men at once.

  No, he had other visions in his head.

  His gaze fixated on her and his body responded with lightning speed. He clenched his fists as his cock grew hard. Thank the god Draconus for his long tunic. It managed to hide his erection, for the most part.

  Thunder rumbled—a warning of what would come.

  Above him, storm clouds gathered. Huge dark-as-sin clouds threatened to unleash hells on the Tarrian jungle. Rain had pounded them for days—they hadn’t seen monsoons like these in some time. People worried as streams and rivers rain high and threatened floods and devastation. Situated on a high point in the jungle near the Ithycan desert, Marc’s fortress compound seemed invincible. It would shelter his people, hundreds of them, if it came to it. He just hoped this unrelenting storm system would calm.

  People had already started to gather their goods, to hurry to their own shelters or cross over the drawbridge into the fortress grounds. Thunder rumbled nearby, and he returned his attention to the woman.

  Long, flowing white pants hid beautiful leg muscles, and black boots protected her feet. Black hair, thick and curly, flowed in a wild tumble just below her shoulders. If she would turn and look at him, he’d remember how pretty her blue eyes would be, how they’d sparkle with amusement, anger and love.

  Not love for him. Love for her brother Rayder Tyrus and Rayder’s wife Xandra Shorenus Tyrus. For the new friends she’d accumulated since moving into Marc’s compound along with Rayder and Xandra.

  Aknada even loved Marc’s dragon Arcos. Arcos lay in his own building outside the compound, keeping watch over the area, and Aknada frequently visited the tame dragon in the evenings.

  Yes, Aknada loved a lot of things and people. Just not the man who ached deep in his gut and—if he would admit it—his cock. His gaze followed her as she stopped at a kiosk where a woman sold fine shawls and other garments. Marc swallowed hard as his imagination leapt forward. Repressed sexual need gnawed at his reserve. He wanted to stomp down the hill and take her in his arms, kiss her until she moaned in passion. Drag her off to his private chamber, strip her naked and feast on her until she begged him to sink his cock deep into her sweetness.

  He almost groaned.

  Perhaps if he approached her, told her how he felt—

  Not bloody likely. He knew it would not make a difference.

  A week had passed since Rayder, Xandra, Aknada and Marc had participated in a raid on Admiral Aramus’ ship the Beast and freed dozens of Magonian women from slavery. Rayder and Xandra had moved to the compound on Marc’s insistence. Rayder had thought it wise because Xandra was now with child and they wanted somewhere relatively safe from the strife still running rampant in the country.

  Not much chance of that. Eryk Gauth, a Daryk One who hailed from the harsh glacier region of Imekland had called for Rayder’s assistance. Eryk needed to rescue the woman he loved from Bardannia Castle, which had been attacked by neighboring Leadios Castle. Rayder had left with a contingent of fifty men and other Daryk Ones, including Dane Charger, the ruler of Grimnald Castle.

  Leaving a disgruntled Marc behind.

  He rubbed his side and winced. He wasn’t entirely healed yet. Unlike a Daryk One, he was a mere man who wouldn’t recover fully in only one or two days from a sword wound. Marc sometimes envied what Daryk Ones could do. After all, they protected the Dragonian population against dragons, rogues and slavers determined to bring the country into war with the other supercontinent of Magonia.

  Magonia believed in a pious, godly life. A desolate, hot mining continent, Magonia was harsh on its women and believed they should be kept under a man’s command. They prayed to one god—Magon. To them, the only true god. Dragonians prayed to Draconus, but there were other deities, other ways of worshipping. Marc didn’t give a shite about gods—he didn’t pray to a one. Life was here and now, and when it needed fixing, he’d do what it took to solve the problem. Looking to a god for help never figured in his thoughts. Like all good Dragonians, he knew how to curse and took Draconus’ name in vain all the time. It didn’t mean a damn thing.

  Right now he couldn’t think of one god who would hold a candle to th
e woman Marc gazed at longingly. She was a blood phenomena. A female Daryk One. Strong. Capable of killing dragons. Protecting most men. Yet Marc had longed for her for years. Grieved for her for the three years he believed her murdered by Admiral Aramus.

  He admired Aknada with everything inside him and craved her like a drug.

  She, on the other hand, seemed to hate him.

  Despite the fact Marc knew Aknada had some feelings for him, Aknada’s scars ran so deep no man could reach her.

  Marc rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He’d be damned to the seven levels of the hells if he didn’t find some way to forget wanting her. But if he could never have her, he’d have to find a way to forget this gnawing craving.

  * * * * *

  Aknada winced as lightning flashed over the compound. She glanced apprehensively at the clouds gathering over the large stone structure situated on a hill not far from where it gave way to the beautiful cream, black and white Ithaycan desert. People already crossed over the drawbridge into the castlelike structure, leaving the market below with quick steps, eager to escape the approaching storm.

  As she looked at the imposing compound that had become her new home, she noted a figure staring at her from the drawbridge. No matter what she did, he always lurked around the corners and appeared when she least expected. She couldn’t ignore Marc Gampia, though she’d been trying to all week.

  But how could she disregard the striking figure he made commanding everything around him?

  His tall, broad-shouldered frame showed his strength. He wasn’t a Daryk One, but he stood taller than her. A wild rush coiled low in her stomach as she dared peruse him. She felt feathery light, sweetly uncoiled at the sight of him—a sensation she’d never experienced in the presence of another man.

  Anger raced through her. Then longing. Then incredible craving to know him in a deeper sense. It didn’t matter that she’d known him since she was a child. She had to experience more, find the essence of what made Marc who he was. It seemed imperative and painfully urgent. She didn’t know why, but it was always this way with him. It terrified her. She’d seen how her brother looked at his wife, as if she moved the planet and the heavens, and how Xandra gazed at Rayder with a worshipful love. Undoubtedly Rayder had found his mate. Aknada didn’t know if she could experience what her brother had with Xandra.

  Marc’s gaze cut to Aknada, and when he saw her gazing intently at him, his mouth curved and he waved. Involuntarily she waved back then scowled that she’d given him that much attention. Damn his hide. But she couldn’t tear her gaze away just yet. Since Aramus’ ship had been destroyed and sunk in the bay, Marc had changed his appearance in subtle ways.

  He’d cut his waist-length hair until it lay just below his shoulders. Instead of hanging straight it now waved in a glorious silvery blond tangle. Few men would have looked masculine with such hair, but harsh features, his dark brown brows, the slash of his mouth…well, no woman could fail to appreciate his attributes if she had a single living thought in her mind. Marc wasn’t pretty—though Rayder had often teased Marc that he dressed like a dragon in heat. Colorful. Marc was a ruler, a slaver if she took his occupation most literally. He wore red tunics over buff or black trousers. Today he wore an unusually tame dark brown tunic with tan trousers stuffed into boots that came to his knees. He didn’t wear armor, but a huge dagger was stuffed into a sheath at his waist. He wore knives far more often than swords, though he’d been talented enough with a sword when they’d raided Aramus’ filthy slave ship. She wanted to reach out and feel the texture of that thick hair, wrap the strands around her fingers. Wanted to— What?

  Thunder rolled again and rain splattered the ground in huge drops.

  She was reminded of another rainy day when Aramus’ men had dragged her kicking and screaming from the Beast’s slave hold. Her stomach jumped in revulsion at the thought of those conditions. She’d endured the same for weeks before she’d been sold to Pian, a man who saved others from a life of slavery.

  “You all right, Aknada?” Tamina, the pretty woman selling shawls in the booth next to her was quickly gathering her wares.

  “Of course.”

  Tamina smiled. “I saw you looking at the master.”

  Aknada snorted softly. “Master? I cannot believe you all call him that. Why do you insist on acting as his slave?”

  The young blonde shrugged and her long braid swung back and forth. She couldn’t be more than sixteen. “Well, that is what we are, isn’t it? He bought us, therefore we are his to do what he wishes with us.”

  “Has he made any unwelcome gestures toward you?”

  The girl looked flabbergasted. “Oh no, Aknada. Nothing untoward. He’s treated me like a sister ever since he bought me from my previous master.” The girl swallowed hard. “He’s…the man I was with before, he bought me from another man and so on. I’ve been bought and sold six times.”

  Aknada’s mouth fell open. “How awful. Did the men demand favors from you?”

  The younger woman shrugged. “Two had relations with me.”

  Aknada winced, repulsion rolling through her body. “Raped you?”

  Tamina’s eyes held no pain, and that surprised Aknada. She knew only too well the type of pain the girl had endured.

  The blonde shrugged again. “The other men wanted servicing. I just sucked their cocks.”

  Aknada shuddered. Even thinking about servicing a man in any way made her blood run cold. Then she thought of the master, the man on the hill. She glanced toward the drawbridge. Marc still stood there, watching.

  “Has the master ever asked you to service him?” Aknada wanted to know, watching the younger woman’s eyes grew wider as she glanced from Aknada to Marc.

  “No. Never. As I said, he treats me like a sister. I’m very grateful. He said I could go if I pleased, but now that I’ve been here three months, I cannot imagine leaving. I’m safe here.”

  Aknada tried to reconcile the picture of Marc as a benevolent master. He wasn’t a taskmaster. She’d never known him to be. But he also wasn’t a gentle beast. She’d seen him punish men harshly for roguish behavior, especially when it came to women. A man would never harm a woman on Marc’s watch.

  Thunder rolled in the heavens, and Aknada snapped out of her thoughts and assisted the young woman in closing her kiosk and gathering the valuable shawls. Most of the other vendors had already run toward their shelters nearby or to the compound’s inner courtyard where they’d find shelter. Marc remained on the bridge, hands on his belt.

  Tamina ran ahead of Aknada, and just before the young woman made it halfway up the wide bridge, the girl slipped. She teetered, lost her balance and plunged to the left.

  Time slowed for Aknada. She dropped her garments and reached out. Tamina slammed into the wood railing, it cracked, and with a cry, the girl hurled off the bridge.

  “No!” Aknada’s hand missed Tamina by inches.

  Aknada heard a shout and before she could think, she saw Marc diving over the edge and plunging into the murky waters.

  “Marc,” Aknada whispered. “Damn him.”

  Didn’t he realize he was hurt? It hadn’t been that long since a blade had lashed across his vulnerable flesh. Remembered fear gripped her throat as she flashed back to Aramus’ ship and the struggle Marc and Aknada had experienced to free the slaves. She remembered seeing the blade cut across Marc’s ribs. The moat waters weren’t clean. By the god, his wound would putrefy.

  Aknada rushed to the edge of the drawbridge. Rain lashed at her clothing and soaked her hair. Lightning flashed across the sky in a blue-white streak of anger.

  Tamina’s head bobbed above the surface and a moment later so did Marc’s. Marc held Tamina up, his arm anchored so that he could swim toward shore. He was using his left arm—at least he’d taken that precaution.

  Aknada ran back down the drawbridge and to the right, hitting the shoreline with its tangle of vines. She struggled through them just as Marc drew Tamina onto the bank. Both
sputtered and coughed. Tamina lay on her back and gasped for air. Aknada slid down on a muddy patch to reach them then came to a stop next to Tamina.

  “Tamina.” Aknada caught her breath. “Are you all right?”

  Tamina smiled. “Very fine, thanks to the master.”

  Marc coughed violently and grabbed his injured side. “Bugger all, that hurt.”

  Anger prickled inside Aknada. “You… You—” She turned the full force of her glare on him. “You could have been killed.”

  “Jumping into the moat?” He shook his head. “It isn’t the first time. That damn railing keeps breaking. I’ll cut off the balls of that cretin who promised to use good wood this last time.”

  The dark thunderhead growled and rain began pelting them with force.

  They struggled up the muddy bank and through the vines to the clearing. Gate guards had come down to the broken drawbridge railing. Marc ordered the men to have someone repair the damage immediately after the storm subsided.

  Marc clasped both women by the arms and hurried them along. “Come.”

  “My shawls,” Tamina said. “I must have them.”

  They grabbed up the shawls and made their way toward the inside of the castle.

  In the courtyard, the rain still came down, and many people still rushed to shelter in the great hall or in other gathering rooms Marc made available to the masses when storms hit. They stopped just inside the main entrance with the huge stone arch hovering over them.

  Tamina beamed at Marc. “Thank you, Master.”

  “My great pleasure.” He returned the young girl’s smile. “Are you sure you don’t need to see the healer?”

  “Not at all, sir. I am quite sure I would have been fine even you hadn’t jumped in. I am a good swimmer.”

  He nodded. “Be that as it may, I didn’t know that. I’ve run into quite a few women who can’t swim a damn.” He glanced at Aknada, and it reminded her of an embarrassing situation several years ago. Damn him.