Her Enemy's Embrace Ch. 01

They were coming.

Aurora knew from the chaos raging outside the temple walls that their people had fallen. She had gathered the priestesses in training into the outer rooms. Their morning had been spent in the bowels of the temple burying their secret texts and using their mental abilities jointly to totally conceal the area. She was powerful as the head priestess, yes, but thirty priestesses' strong focused on one goal could truly accomplish amazing things. They had made the area all but literally shift into an area of time and space that the invaders couldn't get to. They were safe. A secret that no one outside of their race knew is that every Calpari had telepathic abilities. Only those that had the skills of the priestess' could broadcast strongly, but all could receive and clearly interpret. After the texts were concealed, all the priestesses returned to the main area of the temple and lined up in two rows in order of rank. Aurora sat at the front of the rows and they all assumed a pose of prayer on the ground. This is exactly how the invaders would discover them. Yes, they were all terrified, but the priestess' focusing their energy with Aurora shielding and guiding it, was broadcasting a message to all their people to surrender to the enemy. They knew they had been beaten. They all knew it. So it was time for Aurora to begin working on an alternate plan. However for this plan to work it was going to take time and patience on the part of her people to trust her to get help. They would have to be conquered by the Tehani if they hoped to truly defeat them in the long run.

The sound of shouts and boots got louder as she warned all as to what was about to happen. She'd already spoke words of protection over each of her charges and knew that they would each be chosen by one of the powerful men of the society to be kept as a "pet". She wasn't overly worried about them being abused because the Tehani harbored a slight fear of the priestess' because of their abilities. She herself knew the emperor was who she'd go to.

The thirty young women, ranging in age from eighteen to twenty-three, began to shift and murmur.

"Quiet my sweets, you know what we must do," was said in a soothing voice that settled them a bit. They resumed their positions of bowed heads with hands in prayer position on either side of the deep blue velvet rug that ran from the doors of the temple to the raised platform in the back.

"One, two, three...NOW!"

The thick, double doors of the temple splinter and cracked and men suddenly rushed in filling the temple. Aurora was silently commanding the women to maintain their positions as she handled this next part. Her charges were well trained and knew she would never do anything to hurt them. They shook and quivered in their position as they could feel the press of men starting to surround them.

Aurora's senses never failed her, so even with her eyes closed, she counted a unit of fifty men who'd just invaded her safe place. She slowly opened her eyes and rose to her feet. She couldn't be easily seen because where she sat was in a shadowed area at the head of the carpet. The men were in head-to-toe black military-style gear. They had guns pointed at the shadows because they were leary of the thirty women silently praying on the ground and thought it was a trap. She slowly moved forward.

Ian stopped upon entering the temple and doing a quick sweep of the place. He was grim-faced and more than a little pissed off that he had just led a unit of men into a temple full of young women dressed in linen and sheer silks. These young creatures were visibly quaking in their positions of prayer. His orders had been to take the temple, but he hadn't known this was what he was going to find. He would have handled it differently. Ian was a lot of things but intimidating and bullying women weren't it. "What the fuck? Barrels down men, now." Ian said to his men. The sounds of barrels of guns being lowered could instantly be heard.

"Who's in charge here?" Ian's authoritative baritone voice boomed in the open hall.

"That would be me."

Ian instantly tensed. The silkiest most feminine voice was heard from behind him and washed over him like an ocean wave lapping at the shore. He could hear his men moving behind him and the looks of awe and lust of the men's faces who were standing near him. They were all looking at whoever had said those words.

He turned around and was stunned for a moment. One of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen was making her way toward him. Without being asked, his men moved out of her way to clear a path. Lovely mocha skin, long wavy raven hair, eyes the most exotic shade he'd ever seen were giving him a curious once over. As she approached he saw that she wore a belted long silk tunic that was meant to be demurely feminine but on her, it was enticingly arousing. The little woman was beautiful and had curves in all the right places. He gathered his thoughts before she stopped a foot in front of him.

"I'm Aurora Stellis, the Head Priestess of the Calpari."

"I'm Ian Falcone, your people have been officially captured by the Tehani. Do you surrender?" His voice was hard and features were hard and set.

"We accept our defeat." came her demure reply with eyes lowered.

Ian had to mentally snatch himself out of where his thoughts had gone. All that soft skin, delicate curves, beautiful smokey violet eyes, and lush mouth had him remembering exactly how long he'd been without a woman. Ever since they'd begun this damn campaign to capture the Calpari, the emperor had had him on assignment in various parts of the planet for the past 47 days, 16 hours, 52 minutes, but who was counting.

"Alright, we are going to need you and all the other priestesses to line up. There are vehicles waiting outside to transport you to the emperor's lodgings until he decides what to do with you all."

Aurora listened with her head lowered, with what looked like an act of submission, but in fact, just allowed her to concentrate on communicating to the others on what was going to happen next. She'd prepared them for this fate but she also knew that the men of the Tehani, as did all men of power, lusted after them. The priestesses were feared but also prized. After she'd finished sending a final message of encouragement to her charges as well as her captured people, she slowly looked back up into her conqueror's eyes. Ian was a frighteningly large man, but his raw masculinity appealed to everyone of Aurora's chaste senses. She knew that being around this man wouldn't bode well for her ability to stay focused on the plan to free her people.

"Yes, we understand." Aurora took a step past Ian. She began in a low, calm voice, "Priestesses'. We've been captured and we must go now. Line up and be at peace."

Ian stood silently behind the petite woman as she spoke. She spoke calm and clear even though he could read the nervousness in her body. She was staying strong for the women who she led. He respected that. None were crying or sniveling, even though they wanted to. They followed Aurora's example and did as instructed. He gave a slight nod from the shadows to cue his men to move out of the way of the priestesses' as they formed a perfect line in the middle of the floor. He took another quick look at Aurora to see if her back was as nice as her front and he almost wished he hadn't. She had a pert butt that fit her frame perfectly. His imagination immediately took flight of all the things he'd like to do to the little woman, but his years of training won out and he snapped himself back in line.

Aurora turned toward Ian, who had moved behind her and said "Lead the way," once again in that low, sultry calm tone.

He simply nodded, took her by the wrist and led her to the front of the line of women.