Jerad inhaled sharply, and leaned forward to lave the little juice path from her chin. Sera’s head fell back and she moaned. He suckled around the edge of her jaw, tasting both her sweetness and that of the fruit, following the trail from her neck and collarbone to the mound of her breast and the crevice in between. Her nipples peaked with his delicious laving as he gently took one between his lips, flicked it with his tongue, drew it into his mouth and released it. Not once did he touch her with his hands. Sera’s breathing deepened. She wanted, no, needed more. When his teeth grazed her other nipple, Sera thought she would jump out of her skin.
Jerad released a low, seductive chuckle and backed away from her. He returned to sit on the chaise and leaned back, folding his arms across his broad chest. He casually rested a booted foot to his opposite thigh.
He should have fled the room.
He was perilously close to rupturing.
Sera was still trembling from his touch. She blew out a nervous breath, suddenly feeling vulnerable and exposed. He was playing her like a fiddle.
"I thought you were supposed to be a virgin!" she snapped.
Jerad leaned forward placing his chin atop clasped hands. His elbows rested on his slightly parted knees. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes.
"I will have you know Starbird, though I have not physically indulged in my own pleasure with another, I am far from innocent. I have spent many long term cycles and cold, lonesome lunas considering what I would like to do to my woman."
Sera’s body shuddered as she contemplated his unsatiated imagination gone wild. She gulped.
Sera was in deep, deep trouble.
"Okay then doc, let’s play."
"Do you challenge me again?" He crooked a slanted, cocky smile that caused Sera to chuckle.
She bit her lip. This was serious business. "Take off your clothes and let’s find out."
He laughed, and moved toward her, stopping a hand’s width from touching her.
Oh Nai!
Even without fever he did radiate a blazing heat all his own.
Jerad leaned in, pressing his clothed body against her nakedness. He placed one hand over her bound hands and the other on the back of her thigh. He nuzzled his face into her hair.
"Your scent drives me to madness."
If Sera had thought that being clothed next to a naked man was sensual, this was positively volatile. She was on fire.
Jerad stepped back from her, and removed his shirt, yanking it over his head. He reached and threaded his hands through her silky hair, pulling the rest of her weave apart and draping the strands around her shoulders. The flower buds holding the weave came loose and bounced to the floor.
He bent toward her and touched his mouth to hers, plying her lips until they molded to his and he was able to slip in his tongue. He explored and plunged, withdrew and plunged again, groaning with pleasure at the mere kiss. Sera returned the same, savoring the taste of him, the feel of his soft tongue as she caressed the inside of his mouth. He drew both of her lips between his and then nipped at the bottom one before tearing away from her.
She sighed and then tensed with uneasiness as Jerad sat on the floor in front her. He wedged his knees between her legs, forcing them apart, admiring the view as he did so. Sera flushed. His warm breath wisped against her intimately. A shiver ran up her spine.
"Jerad don’t...untie me."
"I have no plans to untie you just yet." He twisted her words.
"No, that’s not what I..."
She gasped, unable to finish her words. His fingers came up to her curls and he parted her folds. He brushed his thumb against her. Sera arched and threw her head back, quivering at his touch. He examined her, experimented, kneaded her buttocks and inner thighs. He trailed his fingers along her inner flesh and fondled the small swelling there. It stiffened and throbbed. He rotated it between his finger and thumb, and while he manipulated her, he brought his other hand to her sheath and stroked a finger inside, then two. He smiled at the building moisture and the scent of musky female arousal. Jerad shifted against his own urgent need, but did not relent. He continued his finger thrusting and massages, until he fully understood her need. A rush came over Sera, followed by an intensified shutter as Jerad leaned forward and his moist tongue tasted and suckled her.
Sera screamed and she reached her first peak.
Oh my freakin’ stars! Where did the man learn to do that!
It was a rhetorical question.
Sera was tight, very tight, and he was pleased to discover that she indeed was not a well used woman. Jerad thrummed restlessly. He could wait no longer. He stood and turned to retrieve his dagger from the table. He faced her, and began unlacing his trousers, further aroused by the sight of her passion-glazed eyes and flushed skin.
"I think wife, you have been duly punished."
Between heavy breaths Sera lowered her head looking at him from under her lashes. Her voice trembled in a whisper. "No husband, I think not nearly enough."
Jerad growled deep in his throat, a prowler’s cry before the pounce. He slid his trousers down his firmly muscled legs only to realize he had not removed his boots. He briefly looked at his trapped pants then up again at Sera.
Oops.
Sera suppressed a smile.
Jerad shrugged and waddled toward her, manpart leading the way--like a moisture seeking divining rod.
She laughed at his ungraceful charm. With one slash Jerad cut the shears binding her. Sera brought her hands around his shoulders and leaned against him. Jerad dropped the dagger, slid his hands around to her back to caress her bottom. He pressed her closer, possessed with a torrid, innate longing to plunge inside her.
He backed her onto the bed, kicking off his boots and trousers, before coming down on top of her.
Every muscle in his body began to ripple as Sera’s body lay beneath his. He seized her lips for a deep, shattering kiss and smoothed his hands along her sides until he had both of her breasts cupped. He brought his face between them, kissed the inside of one soft mound, then the other. Sera splayed her fingers through his hair and nuzzled her cheek against the top of his head. He moved up again to take her mouth. Jerad eased a thigh between her legs. Sera’s breath quickened as his member grew thicker and he stroked it against her.
Jerad groaned.
It was sweet agony.
He grasped her buttocks and pressed harder. He needed to ravage her--now.
Jerad moved over her, inflamed by the beauty beneath him--his woman.
He poised the tip of his erection at her cleft.
"Sera."
There it was again. He exhaled her name with a feathery breath, a sensual moan of aching desire, like the utterance of a mating call. She could refuse him nothing when he said her name like that.
"Take me, Jerad."
There were no simpler words than that.
Jerad closed his eyes, wanting to relish in the sensation. He entered her and began a slow lingering slide inward. Sera released a soft cry at his fullness, drifted, savored, tipped her pelvis upward and begged for more.
He stopped.
Stopped?
Why did he stop?
Maybe she really did have teeth down there.
Jerad clenched his teeth, taking a mighty hold of his restraint, his mind in a stagger over what was just revealed to him. He expected that Sera had known a lover or two.
Not this.
Pure of mind, the Oneroi had authored, but pure of body, as well?
This was unforeseen. He would have accepted her regardless, but in the depth of this new knowledge, his feelings for her heightened.
His first--her first. His--only his.
Before, now, always.
Forever mine.
"What’s wrong?" She stared up him. He looked awestruck. "What did I do?"
He kissed her worried brow and chuckled softly against her forehead. "It is not in what you have done Sera, but in what you have not done."
"I don’t und
erstand."
"Sera, suzugos,"--beloved, he crooned in a bated whisper. "If I had gone any further I would have hurt you."
He rewarded her confused look with an adoring smile. "You are untouched."
Her countenance was one of total astonishment. "I..."
A virgin?
Who Knew?
She didn’t.
"W-What?"
Sera searched deep within the crevices of her mind, but came up empty. Not one face was perched upon her libido.
Save Jerad.
It made sense to her now, the barrier in her head, the resistance she could not explain, her subliminal conscious protecting her body from unguarded desire.
"But, I’m too old to be…"
He withdrew from her and Sera mewed a protest at the loss of him. He pulled her from the bed and stood her in front of the clothespress mirror.
"What do you see, Sera?"
Sera meekly lowered her eyes unable to look at her naked form. Jerad’s arm came up around her to cup her chin. He turned her face to the mirror.
"Do not be ashamed wife. Look at yourself. Look at us."
Slowly, Sera lifted her lashes to meet their reflections.
"What do you see? What do you feel?"
"Um, two naked people?" She blushed.
…and hot male flesh prodding my backside.
"I see my wife, a beautiful and intelligent young woman. I see myself with my woman, two souls brought together by fate and good fortune."
"You don’t see the Starbird of the Edict?"
"Whatever the future holds, Sera, so be it. What I see, what I want only to see, is you."
Jerad turned Sera to face him. He drew her close and kissed her.
"Come woman let us make this a proper marriage," he murmured against her lips.
Jerad scooped her into his arms and gently lowered her onto the bed, stretching out beside her. He showered her lips, her breasts, her belly with tender kisses. He returned to cover her mouth with his own as he eased his body over hers, nudging his hips between her thighs. This time he kept his eyes open, wanting to watch the face of this woman, taking her lover--taking him for the very first time.
He did not want to cause her pain, but knew it could not be avoided. He slid inside of her and edged deeper, locking his gaze with hers. He felt the resistance, pushed and broke through.
Sera gasped as he filled her and tears sprang to her eyes. At first there was pressure, then immense, shearing pain--a thorn tearing flesh--and then...bliss.
They were one.
A seamless bond.
Jerad went still, basking in her liquid heat, allowing her to relax and accommodate him. To Sera, the sensation was mind bending and overwhelming--his searing flesh against hers, her body pressed beneath him, and feeling the length of him embedded deep inside. Jerad held her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. He felt her relax and he began to move, slow and lingering strokes at first, then quick short thrusts, then long, penetrating strokes. Sera rocked gently, moved faster, ground against him. She met him stroke for stroke, opening and accepting him as he pressed harder, pushed deeper. She moaned at the delirious waves seeping through her flesh as she climbed higher and higher, bursting through a riptide of ecstasy so intense she thought she might blow apart.
She cried out.
Jerad thickened and pulsated in response to her heightened pleasure.
"Sera."
The sound of his voice caught in her ears like an entrancing melody.
"By the Origins, Sera!" Jerad rasped out between ragged panting as she clenched around him. He slammed harder…once…twice…three times. A guttural sound escaped his throat and he sent the essence of his manhood spilling into her chamber.
Satiated, he collapsed on top of her as she went boneless beneath him. Neither of them moved for quite some time.
"You are the finest woman, Sera." He pulled her into his arms.
She did not respond. Totally exhausted, she had fallen asleep.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jerad was tossing kupas at Sera and she was catching them with her mouth. They were enjoying a time of leisure and privacy in a secluded nook within the forest. The hidden garden was located just outside of the Corridor’s walls and a short walk from its main path. The solitude was a welcomed reprieve. Ever since word spread that the Ptino asteri walked amongst the citizens, Jerad and Sera had found little peace. Hordes of people, unable to suppress their awe, persistently followed the couple about, gawking or begging for blessings. The Guardians of the Key were summoned to safeguard them, but Jerad and Sera had grown weary of their constant presence as well. On this rise they managed to elude the elite sentries along with the scrutiny of the citizens, and secret themselves away.
"I use to do this with popcorn," Sera parted her lips to capture another piece of the small ocher colored fruit. The kupas were sweet and juicy, and grew on vines in bunches. They reminded her of the grapes she ate back home, except the skin protection was much more fragile. It split easily, and the juice inside was a viscous fluid instead of a squashy solid.
Home.
Sera crinkled her toes into the soft, grassy rug beneath her bare feet.
This was her home now.
Parts of her memory had been returning over the last two rise cycles, snippets of the life she led before. Nothing significant. Just short little recollections brought on by her present experiences. It did not matter. Sera was happy and content. Not once did she ask to go back to the Mountains of Eksaf ‘anise. She did not want to leave. If a rescue party were to ever locate her, Sera would tell them as much. She would stay on Protogio.
Jerad sat cross-legged about ten feet away from her, thoroughly enjoying the relaxing moment. Rise after rise the Edict had loomed heavily in his mind. He knew by its prediction that Sera would be taken from him. When, where and how, were the only questions. But for now, if only briefly, he was able to put that away. His mind and his heart were at ease. He would cherish Sera for the time they had left.
"What is popcorn?" Jerad tossed another kupa her way. Sera caught the fruit and clamped down on it. The skin snapped and the thick liquid flowed onto her tongue.
"It’s dried corn." Sera swallowed the fruit, trying to determine a way to explain. She had yet to see anything that resembled corn on Protogio. "It’s a little kernel from a vegetable cob that pops open into a fluffy tasty treat when you heat it."
"Might be good," Jerad dashed off another kupa in her direction. Sera snatched it out of the air, tossed it skyward and caught it with her teeth.
"You are talented wife."
"Yep, real talented." She snorted.
"This could be a useful skill, Sera."
"Oh yah, right! About as useful as a campfire in a tree house!"
Jerad tilted his head, considering her words. When her humor finally touched his wit, he whooped with laughter, and pitched a kupa toward her taking direct aim at her shoulder.
"Hey!" Sera protested and snatched it with a backhanded catch.
He flashed a sly smile as he launched another, this time taking aim at her forehead. Her hand shot up and she repelled it. Jerad’s eyes widened with amusement at her swift reaction. He started flinging kupas, one after another, in rapid succession.
With the eye of an eagle and unfailing reflexes, Sera either deflected them or caught them with her hand. Of those Sera did catch, she hurled back at Jerad. The delicate skins burst on impact, leaving splotches of kupa juice dripping through his hair and down his torso.
Realizing his disadvantage, Jerad finally halted his attack. An amorous gleam appeared in his eyes. "Ah, but nai, my wife does have many useful talents, and she will show one to me now by licking this off!"
Sera laughed, jumped to her feet and started to run.
Jerad’s long stride and quick step brought him to her instantly. He lunged at her and tumbled her to the ground. Sera squealed and twisted around to face him. He stole an affectionate kiss, before tickling her mercilessly.
Sera screeched and chuckled as she struggled to get free, but then Jerad covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shh." He pressed the finger of his other hand to his lips and gazed beyond her.
"What?" She mumbled from beneath his palm.
"Stay down,"
"Why?" Sera lifted his hand from her mouth.
"Shh! Look. A kinkashou, Sera. She is about to give birth."
Jerad pointed and Sera turned to her belly. Her attention was steered to a small fury creature, sitting upright on its hind legs and staring at them. Its little snout sniffed the air.
The two foot long creature had thick, calico fur of browns and greens. Its face and claws were shaped like a ferret’s but much larger. The long tail, resembling a monkey’s tail, extended back and helped the creature balance on its haunches. Sera noted the six mammary glands, pinkish and swollen, protruding from a rounded, very parturient belly.
The animal went down on all fours, toddled amazingly close to Sera and sat up again. It wriggled its nose and eyed her with tawny, oval orbs. Sera sat back on her haunches and stared back.
"You have command of creatures, Sera," Jerad whispered in her ear. "I think she will allow you to touch her."
Sera hesitantly reached a hand toward the creature. It did not move. She put a palm to the kinkashou’s belly and marveled at the feel of the pups rolling around inside.
"How adorable!" Sera exclaimed.
The expectant mother whimpered, gave one last sniff to the air and scampered into the bushes.
"Come we will see it." Jerad motioned to Sera and they crept noiselessly on hands and knees toward the creature‘s hideaway.
Sera pulled the branches aside. They watched cheek to cheek as the miraculous event unfolded. The kinkashou, now on her side, continued to whimper and pant with laboring breaths. It paid no heed to her observers, as the moment of bringing forth life engaged her. One by one five pups, eyes sealed shut, emerged. With tiny puling cries, they searched and prodded for the sustenance that only their mother could provide. The new mother lapped them clean, guiding each one of them to a teat. Their hungry complaints settled to suckling sounds.
The Third Corridor Page 23