by JD Monroe
“Entirely mine,” he said proudly. He let his hand drift up to tease at the curve of her breast. Her tiny gasp sent a thrill through him. “Perhaps we can relive the memory.”
The crowd was thinning out, with the celebrants pairing off to steal their own quiet moments. Lingering near the stone wall, a pair of women embraced, laughing between gentle kisses. Festival nights were for celebrating all of the Skymother’s gifts, including physical pleasures of many sorts. He took inspiration and kissed the back of Sohaila’s neck.
“I had thought to keep you here for a few hours, but I don’t think I can resist that much longer,” he replied, nipping lightly at her ear. “You’ll come back to my quarters.”
“I will?”
“You will,” he replied. “I think I might give your healing hands a challenge. Then I plan to lay you out and feast on you properly.”
With a purring sound, she leaned back into him. “Kaldir?”
“Yes?”
“Why are we still sitting here?”
“Sister,” one of the palace guards greeted as she followed Kaldir down the hall of the officers’ quarters. Her cheeks flushed as he bowed to her. She was a grown woman and well within her rights to do whatever she liked with Kaldir, but she felt like everyone could read her mind.
“Blessings on you,” she muttered as she passed. Kaldir’s room was on the second floor of the barracks, which was practically a palace compared to the tiny guard dormitory where they’d once lived while serving in the Iron Blade.
He nudged open the wooden door, gesturing for her to enter. The room was sparsely furnished, though Kaldir wouldn’t have known what to do with fancy decorations and silk drapes. Several glass bottles stood on a table near the window, along with a basket of fruit.
The door had barely closed before he was on her, strong arms encircling her. His lips blazed against her neck, then her shoulder. Then he worked his way down, rubbing her shoulders with strong, callused hands. Slowly, his hands moved over her back, down to her hips, and then he was kneeling behind her, kneading into her calves.
As he made his way up again, her heart thrummed with fear. She was going to be naked, completely vulnerable. And exposing her face in the cozy, torch-lit darkness of the festival was one thing, but there was no hiding from him here, where he could stare into her eyes and see every ugly twist of flesh up close.
Hating the fear that poisoned her pleasure, she darted for the table and inspected one of the bottles. “What’s this?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. The dark green mixture looked like something from an apothecary’s cupboard.
“I had thought to loosen you up,” he said, approaching again to rub her shoulders. She uncapped the bottle and sniffed it. A pleasant herbal scent drifted out. “Lie down. Let me take care of you.”
She tilted her head. “Or I could take care of you.”
“You’ve been taking care of me and everyone else for days,” he said.
She lightly poked his chest, lifting her eyebrows. “Kaldir, we have been surrounded by people for days. You have no idea how I can take care of you.” She pointed to the bed. “Sit.”
He tried to grab her waist when she passed by, but she nimbly dodged him, kneeling behind him on the bed. Running her hands over his broad chest, she pulled the loose tunic over his head and untangled it from his arms. She let out a happy sigh. It was one thing to glimpse him from afar, watching the light play off his chiseled form, but quite another to be up close, to see the fine white lines of long-forgotten battles and the subtle curve of muscle.
She ran her nails down his muscular back. Just as she expected, he arched like a cat, leaning back into her touch. A faint chuckle vibrated under her fingers. “You remembered.”
“Of course I did,” she said. Though they had both enjoyed the feverish nights of passion that left them both exhausted, there were other nights when he sprawled out like a lazy cat while she scratched his back until he fell asleep. It had made her feel impossibly powerful to put the indomitable Kaldir into a trance with nothing more than her hands, which he swore were magic long before she was called by the Marashti.
She paused long enough to dump a handful of the sweet-smelling oil into her palms. It tingled against her skin as she massaged his shoulders. He groaned with pleasure. “You’re so good at that,” he said. “But I wanted to take care of you tonight.”
“We have time,” she said.
He looked over his shoulder, and she instinctively tilted her face so he could only see her unscarred cheek. “Sohaila, are you stalling? If you’re not ready for this, you can say so. I’m happy just to be near you.”
Her heart thrummed. “I’m not stalling,” she said. She stroked his cheek. “Would I have come back to your room if I didn’t want to be with you?”
“I suppose not,” he said.
She kneaded the tight muscles in his neck. He groaned, letting his head loll forward. “I’ve always been good with my hands, but I’ve learned a lot since I last saw you.”
“Oh?” he murmured.
With a wicked smile, she sent her healing energy into his shoulders, radiating out and over his warm skin. He jumped in surprise. “What’s wrong?”
“It feels like you’re—oh,” he murmured. Opening herself to the healing trance, she sent phantom fingers along his throat, over his chest, then down to his powerful thighs. She let one finger tease across his groin, barely making contact before moving up to trace his flat stomach. “Sohaila, that is…”
“Nice?” He groaned in response. In her mind, she could picture his body like a map, sending her energy through his nerves to touch him as easily as she would touch with her finger. “This is a technique the Marashti call the Way of a Thousand Hands,” she murmured into his ear. “Now, I have a theory. Will you let me test it?”
“If you keep doing that, you can do anything you want to me.”
“Careful what you agree to,” she whispered. “Part of checking any patient is to look for hidden injuries. All over.” She let her power tickle under him, then grasp him firmly. He leaned back into her, his fingers fisting into the bed covers. “All very professional, of course. A little poke and prod to make sure all is well, and then I move on and pretend I haven’t noticed any reaction.” She leaned in to speak in his ear. “But I’m very curious what I could do if I didn’t move on so quickly.”
His eyes were closed, mouth hanging open. His loose linen pants did nothing to hide his arousal, which sent a smile to her face. “I think you’re doing just fine,” he mumbled.
“Now, let’s see,” she said, still massaging his shoulders. Envisioning her power as glowing, grasping hands, she sent a pair to knead at his calves, two sliding over his thighs, and two to work his length in a gentle rhythm. “How’s that?’
“Like you’re everywhere,” he murmured.
“Too much?”
“No,” he said, breathing hard.
The Marashti trained to maintain a mental barrier while they healed, or the pain of their patients would become overwhelming. But it wasn’t pain that had Kaldir’s heart pounding.
With a deep breath, she lowered the barrier and let his al-hatari flow back through her. She gasped in surprise as a blaze of heat ignited at the base of her spine, spreading down into her legs.
That was unexpected and utterly delightful.
His heart raced, his breathing accelerating as she stroked and caressed with phantom fingers and hands of light. She actually felt his climax rising like a growing flame. It wasn’t nearly as intense as being on the verge of her own, but it was wonderful, a sort of heated pressure that blossomed in her belly.
Forgoing the massage, she wrapped her arms around him and let the pleasure of his orgasm wash over her nerves in a haze of white. Heat surged through her as his hips jutted forward. He groaned aloud, gripping her arm tight. She laughed in delight as she pressed her lips into his shoulder.
She would certainly not be sharing that discovery with Mother Akshas, though she would be eager to
conduct further experiments.
His chest heaved as he leaned back into her. “Sohaila?”
“Yes?”
“You have utterly ruined me,” he said.
She chuckled. “Why?”
“I will never be able to please you in that way.”
“Oh, I think you’ll do just fine,” she said. “I take it you enjoyed yourself.”
He shifted, pulling her into his lap. Face to face, dread twisted in her belly. She bowed her head, hating the fear and shame that overshadowed this moment like a stormcloud blocking the sun. He let out a quiet sigh. “Sohaila, I will do whatever makes you feel safe. If you need me to close my eyes again, I will, but…you don’t have to hide from me.”
“I know,” she murmured. Her chest tightened as she remembered her conversation with Marlena. Maybe he didn’t see what she saw. Closing her eyes, she lifted her chin, then looked at him straight on.
His hand was blazing hot as he lightly grasped her jaw. His eyes glistened. “Thank you,” he said, claiming her lips in a gentle kiss. She barely dared to move. Slowly, he turned her face. “Is it all right for me to look?”
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
His lips were feather-light as he kissed her cheekbone. It was a strange sensation, to feel that crackling warmth on the scar tissue and unmarked skin at the same time. It was all she could do to let him so close without pushing him away from the ugliness. Before she could speak up, he paused, his voice husky and soft. “Is this difficult for you?”
“Yes,” she said. She hated the sting of tears in her eyes. One traitorous sniffle escaped her before she clamped down tight on her emotions.
He pulled back, eyes wide with concern. “If you need more time…”
“No,” she murmured, swiping at one eye. His brow furrowed, and he gently brushed his thumb over her cheek, grazing the scar that pulled at the outer corner of her eye. “I feel so grotesque now.”
“I hate that someone made you feel like you have to hide.” He gently traced the scar over her lip. “But I don’t hate this. I only care about this because it causes you pain.”
“You don’t think I’m ugly?”
“The scars are ugly,” he said. “You are not. You, my comet, are beautiful. You are smart,” he murmured, punctuating each statement with a gentle kiss to her cheek. “You are incredibly talented. Devoted. A woman of such strong faith. I have thanked the Skymother again and again for bringing you back into my path.” He stroked the scars gently, leaving her skin tingling with warmth. “I won’t tell you to ignore this, but I don’t see ugliness. Do you know what I see?”
“What’s that?”
“I see the only woman I have ever loved. I see my beautiful comet, streaking across the night sky and daring the sun to burn brighter in her wake. A gift I cannot ever be worthy of, but one that I will treasure for as long as I draw breath,” he said. “That is what I see.” He slowly turned her face back so she had to look in his eyes. “Do I lie?”
“No,” she murmured. “You don’t.”
“That’s right,” he said. He stroked her cheek, tracing it down to the solitary mark that hooked over her throat. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“May I see the rest of you now?”
“Of course.”
As he busied himself untying the wide sash around her waist, he claimed her mouth in a kiss, deep and hungry. As he peeled her dress away, he was slow and gentle, like they were exploring each other for the first time. His warm touch burned through the fear, drawing her closer.
In a graceful movement, he scooped her up and laid her on his bed, pulling away to stare down at her. “I am the luckiest man in all the worlds,” he murmured.
“Stop it,” she said, fighting the instinct to hide.
“What did I just say? I don’t…”
“You don’t lie,” she said with a chuckle. “I suppose you are the luckiest man in all the worlds.”
He nodded to her, as if she’d agreed that the sky was blue. After shedding his loose pants, he bent over her, marking her chest with a winding trail of blazing kisses. “Now, tell me what you want. I am all yours.”
“Come here.”
“I will be happy to oblige,” he said with a playful smile, pouncing onto the bed. She laughed, nudging his shoulder with her foot. He grabbed her ankle, kissing his way up her leg until his lips brushed over her sex. “Shall I?”
She shuddered as he teased at her with his tongue. “As tempting as that is, I want you now,” she said. Sharing his pleasure had left her warm and ready for him, an unexpected benefit of her power. “I’m ready now.”
His lips pulled into a crooked smile as he knelt between her legs, caressing her thighs. “How should we…”
“Nothing fancy,” she said. “I just want to be with you.”
He pressed himself tight to her to kiss her throat, then took a languorous kiss from her lips. Still gazing intently down at her, he guided himself into her. She gasped in surprise. It had been so long, and she hadn’t realized the sheer physical complexity of her transformation until now. Sacrificing her dragon had left her form diminished, barely bigger than a human. She’d once stood at Kaldir’s shoulder, and now he towered above her. With a little wince, she gripped his shoulders, shifting her hips to get comfortable.
His brow furrowed in concern. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she murmured. He smiled, lowering his head to kiss her scarred cheek again. She grasped his shoulders, sending the tendrils of her power into him again. His back arched as they traced over his spine, down to the curve of his ass.
He groaned. “I will not last long if you do that.”
She smiled wickedly. “Oh, I might be able to make you,” she said. She kissed his brow. “I’m fine. Just go slow.”
Molten heat shot up her spine as he slid deeper, and she could almost remember flying, with fire bursting in her chest. And then, like two pieces fitting together, they were one, bodies melting together.
Even with his gentleness, the sensation of him moving in her was almost overwhelming. With her power connected to him, she felt the blistering need pumping through his veins, the heat of pleasure like a blazing fire low in his belly. She unleashed her power, like pouring warm water over him. There was nothing broken to mend, so she simply focused on making him feel good, relaxing his muscles and finding those delicate nerves that ignited under her touch.
She gasped, back arching taut as he struck a deep, unfamiliar spot in her. He suddenly jolted. “Are you all right?”
“What?” she breathed. “I’m fine.”
His jaw dropped. “Your eyes are glowing.”
“Then you’re doing a good job,” she said with a laugh. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but she felt the primal urges in him, and the gentle restraint that held him back. Pushing her hips up to meet his rhythm, she gripped his shoulders tighter. As he plunged deep into her, she felt the echoes of her own power like phantom fingers running down her back.
A hint of pain stitched through her as he thrust harder, but it faded into the whirlwind of sensations. As pleasure flooded Kaldir’s nerves, driving him over the edge, it slammed into her through the connection like lightning. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and then her own climax clawed through her, familiar but more intense than she’d ever felt.
His body slumped against hers, head buried in the soft pillow as he breathed heavily. She could barely move, but managed to wrap her arms around him. His hair was damp with sweat against her cheek. They lay there in happy silence for a while, breathless and content.
“What did you do to me?” he murmured.
“I don’t really know,” she said. “Did it feel good?”
“That’s understating it. It was incredible.” He raised his head, tracing his fingers over her cheekbone. “Your eyes are still glowing. Did you use your power on me again?”
“Yes,” she said. She wiggled her hips under him. “I felt what
you were feeling. Sort of.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“I think so,” she said. She traced the back of his neck, sending another tiny jolt into him.
He shivered, then grabbed her wrist. “I might die if you keep doing that. I don’t think my body can take it.” He slowly withdrew from her, then quickly nestled her into him, completely embracing her with his huge, warm body. His lips pressed into her neck. “How are you?”
“Happy,” she said. She felt him smile against her skin.
“Do the Marashti really take lovers?”
“You are so convinced I’m breaking the rules,” she said. She pinched his arm lightly. “It’s more common than you think, especially for the Marashti who leave the Shrine. I’m no longer part of the Circle, which means I am breaking no rules for you, Kaldir Dawnblaze.”
“Good,” he said. “What other devilish things have you learned?”
“I would be happy to show you in a few minutes, when I can breathe again.” His arms tightened around her. “Did you really take no lovers since me?”
“Only a few festival night flings, just as I said before,” he said. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” she said. “It surprises me, though. I would have expected some lucky Ironflight lady to claim you long ago.”
“Oh, plenty tried,” Kaldir said. “The prince tells me I could have my pick of any woman in Ironhold. And many of them are quite lovely and intelligent. But they were not you.” He gently untangled her from his arms, pushing her to lie on her belly. She sighed with pleasure as he rubbed her back, his callused hands pleasantly rough and warm on her electrified skin. “Sohaila, may I ask you a serious question? Or should I wait until after we’ve done that a few more times?”
She laughed. “You can ask, provided we still get to do that a few more times.”
“What future is there for us?” Her stomach twisted. “If we survive the Chosen, then what?”
“Kaldir, don’t say ‘if’.”
“I am only being realistic.”
“Well, don’t. You will be fine. You have Azeria, and Marlena and Velati, and all the others. And you have me.”