Read Flames of Arousal for Free Online Page B

but in a highly-secure underground chamber, deep inside the forest.
    “We should be down in the Lair, or up in our ships, fighting for and with our people. Not hiding out here, like defectors.”
    “You’re not hiding,” another male voice replied. “And you’re not defectors.”
    Erik and Braden turned toward the entry into the central hub of their new location.
    “What would you call it, Laszlo?” Erik barked. “We might as well not be Warriors.”
    Laszlo collapsed into his control chair.
    “Do you need Leila?” Braden asked.
    Laszlo raised his hand. “No. I’m fine. She needs to concentrate on Alexa. Her delivery time is approaching.”
    Soon he would be a father. Braden couldn’t be more excited…and concerned for his mate and children. Leila promised to let him know when the time came. After Alexa had disappeared, and he couldn’t track her, he’d feared the worst. Then Laszlo had snatched him up, through his transport-connector, just as he’d done with Alexa, and reunited them here. Laszlo had taken them from the Lair to save their lives. To save the future of Xylon. So he’d said. Braden still didn’t totally understand. Laszlo gave out his secrets slowly. Only his great respect for the leader, and for his power, kept Braden from rebelling and trying to find a way to the surface and back to the Lair.
    “What is Xylon’s status?” Laszlo asked.
    “Holding,” Braden answered. “Marid ships are in the area, but haven’t attacked yet.
    Communication, personal transport, and some weapons are offline. Technical problems as you predicted, but remaining major systems are still functioning. At the moment anyway. I’ll continue to monitor.”
    “Which weapons are offline?”
    “Ground-to-space lasers only, from what I can tell.”
    “That’s temporary. They’ll kick back on as soon as Marid moves their ships closer.”
    “How do you know?” Erik asked.
    Laszlo simply cocked an eyebrow in his direction. When Erik grumbled something under his breath, Laszlo switched his gaze back to the control board screen. “Kam?”
    “On the Sand Moon,” Braden replied. “Pitch Pantera is with him.”
    “Pantera?” Laszlo asked, his eyes narrowing. “Why?”
    “I don’t know. Something must have gone wrong in the Lair when he left.”
    “Hell,” Erik interjected. “Tell me something that’s gone right. Kam probably recruited Pitch to go along. Thinking he left Josella on the Sand Moon didn’t sit well with Pitch, so he probably was quite willing to follow through with Kam on this to correct what he viewed as his failure.”
    Braden felt bad for Pitch. None of them knew at the time that Laszlo had snatched up the young woman through a transport-connector she’d handled during her recovery mission. The team simply thought she’d escaped, and they’d been unable to find her.
    “Doubtful,” Laszlo said. “It wasn’t part of the plan. Kam wouldn’t deviate, unless he had no choice.” Laszlo’s face took on a contemplative look. “Well, Pitch’s presence shouldn’t affect anything adversely, as long as Kam doesn’t tell him too much. Has Kam met with Frost yet?”
    “Unknown,” Braden answered. Frost . The nickname suited her. The fact that she’d managed to fool him, ensnare him into her sexual web all those years ago, sent such rage through him that he felt ready to explode. If Laszlo was right, if the Lair ended up destroyed, if more Warriors died, the fault would lie on his head for trusting that bitch and not securing his access code the way he’d been trained to do.
    Her patience had been phenomenal. She’d waited until Xylon was at its weakest to use the knowledge she’d gained against them. Or maybe Daegal was the one who’d waited, after acquiring what he needed. Either way, the outcome was the same. Xylon’s survival or destruction hinged on what happened in the next few days, all in response to a takeover plan put into motion years ago.
    “Halah’s location on the