by Bianca D'Arc
He was hers. As she was his.
Hugh deposited her gently on the bed, then leaned over and kissed her, his hands working on the fastenings of her dress while hers went to his shirt. She wanted nothing between them. Not fabric. Not space. Nothing.
She got her wish as the cool air of the room flowed over her skin, followed swiftly by Hugh’s warm hands. He knew just how to touch her to make her squirm in delight and it didn’t take long for her to feel the driving need that only he inspired.
Hugh broke their kiss and stepped back, away from the bed, looking down at her while he stripped out of the rest of his clothing. She hadn’t been nearly as efficient as him with undressing her partner. He still wore his pants and he had to bend down to remove his boots first before he could tantalize her with the removal of his well-worn, black, leather leggings.
He went slow when she was feeling desperate enough to tackle him where he stood. Sh k he, lee knew he felt the same tension. It was easy to read by the massive bulge behind his buttoned fly. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Yet he moved slowly, drawing out the moment, holding her gaze as his fingers went to the top button.
He smiled as her gaze dropped. She could see the satisfaction in his eyes the moment before her attention was snagged by the motion of his fingers as they undid the buttons on his fly, one by one.
Oh yes, it was clear how much he wanted her. She loved looking at the evidence before her eyes as Hugh stripped the black leather down his legs, muscles rippling as he moved. He was such a fine specimen of a man. She’d never seen better. She’d never dreamed she’d have such a man as her lover. Her life partner. Her husband.
How did she get so lucky? Lera still didn’t know. All she could think of at the moment when he stepped fully out of his clothing and advanced toward her was that he was hers and she wanted him. Badly.
“Come here, Hugh,” she whispered, hoping to urge him closer, but he was moving slow, giving her time to watch…to anticipate. “Stop teasing.”
“Teasing? Who? Me?” He pretended innocence, but finally, he placed one knee on the bed and moved next to her.
She finally had him alone and she wanted to play. Lera got to her knees on the big bed and moved closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. With gentle pressure, she pushed him down until he was lying flat on his back across her bed. Right where she wanted him.
“I think it’s my turn,” she whispered as she moved over him, kneeling on either side of his hips.
She leaned down to place hot kisses on his neck, moving down over his chest. She paused briefly at his flat nipples until he shivered.
“What are you doing to me, woman?” Hugh asked.
“I’m playing. Learning your body the way you’ve learned mine. For example,” she trailed her hands down his torso, scraping his skin lightly with the tips of her fingers, “I’ve been wondering if you’re ticklish.”
“I’m afraid not. We big, tough warriors have all ticklishness beaten out of us from birth.”
She laughed out loud when her fingers reached a particular spot near his waist and he practically curled into a ball, laughing hard. He was ticklish and she found that adorable. Not that she’d ever let him hear her use that word. Hugh had a really good sense of humor, which she loved, but she liked keeping just a few of her thoughts to herself, hugging the secret observations to her heart.
She wanted to play with him, but she also wanted him inside her in an increasingly desperate way. She was torn between delaying and taking what she wanted. She’d dreamed about riding him since almost the first moment she’d seen him.
Up to this point, he’d been mostly in control of their love play. This time, she wanted to take charge and she was gratified to know he was willing to let her. Some men, she knew, wouldn’t be so easy to give up control of the situation to their partner.
“So you are ticklish.” She trailed her lips down his torso, leaning in to nuzzle his erection. “Hmm. I wonder what else you’re not telling me.” She licked him, taking him deep a few times before his hands scooped under her shoulders to lift her mouth off him.
“Keep that up and you’ll never find out.” He winked and she had to laugh at his actions. He was apparently much closer to the edge than she̵ kthal never7;d thought.
Maybe it was time to give them both what they wanted. She stalked up his body on hands and knees, trailing her lips along the sensitive places her fingers had just explored. He wasn’t squirming with laughter now. No, this time, if he squirmed, it was with ever expanding desire.
Lera was doing more than a little squirming of her own as his warm hands swept slowly down her body, cupping the cheeks of her ass and squeezing gently. Oh yeah, there was no doubt in her mind that she liked the way he touched her.
His hands dipped lower and she knew he could feel the wetness he inspired. She was more than ready to take him. She’d been ready since he’d swept her off her feet in the most romantic gesture she’d ever experienced.
So the question was, why wait? She needed him. And she would have him. Just the way she wanted him.
Lera leaned up, reaching between them to align their bodies. She couldn’t resist giving him a little squeeze as she took him in her hand and placed his cock at the mouth of her pussy.
She held his gaze as she sank slowly downward, enjoying every incredible inch of the slide, feeling him touch her insides in delicious ways. Oh, yeah. He felt amazing inside her.
She paused to savor the moment, enjoying the leap of fire in his eyes, the way his fingers tensed on her skin. His hands had moved to her hips, as if guiding her, but she was in charge of this joining. She reveled in her power.
“How do you like that?” she asked, feeling strong and full of joy that this special man would give her so much of himself in so many ways.
“If I liked it any more, the top of my head would blow off.”
She laughed and enjoyed the feel of him inside her, making her whole. His head dropped back on the pillows, his eyes shutting in bliss.
“You have no idea how that feels. Laugh some more.”
She couldn’t help herself. Laughing with this man was easier than with anyone she’d ever known. He brought the fun back into her life. He made rainbows appear on a cloudy day. He was her everything. Her sun, her moon, her stars.
She began to move, rocking at first, testing the waters. More confident with each passing moment, she increased her pace, allowing his hands on her hips to guide her into a rhythm he seemed to enjoy.
Her breathing became more labored as excitement rose fast and hard inside her body. She reached out for him, at first cupping his strong hands with hers, then angling downward to rest her palms over his chest, near his shoulders.
The new angle made the feelings even more intense. Her breathing hitched as her pace increased. She had to move. She had to reach…something. That inevitable end of the road of passion. The glory that awaited them both.
Hugh’s grip on her hips tightened and his muscles flexed as he helped her move on him. She needed the help, her body straining as it neared the awesome peak. Her thigh muscles were barely answering her demands, but still she strained onward, wanting what was just barely out of reach.
She pushed, he pulled, faster and faster until there was no her or him. There was only them. Together. Riding a burst of fire toward the sky, an explosion of sparks that tingled against every one of her senses.
Hugh shouted her name as he came with her and the sound of his ragged voice and rough breathing only heightened her pleasure. They were so in tune. She collapsed over him after the soul-shattering climax and he wrapped one arm around her back, dragging th k, dtene coverlet over them both with the other.
“Now that was worth waiting for,” he murmured near her ear, nibbling on her earlobe in a lazy caress.
She was too wrung out to reply, but she felt exactly the same way as she drifted off on a wave of bliss, held fast in his loving arms.
Hugh woke her an hour or so later wh
en he repositioned them to his liking. This time, he used his considerable wiles to learn each and every sensitive spot on her skin, taking extra time with the ones that made her squeal in delight. By the time he’d finished his minute examination, she was fully awake and more than ready for anything he had in mind.
“Want to try something a little different?”
“I’m game,” she replied instantly. With Hugh, every time was a new and exciting adventure and he’d never steered her wrong.
Hugh surprised her by rising from the bed. He held out his hand and she took it trustingly as he helped her off the wide expanse of the giant bed.
There was a cushioned chest at the foot of her bed and he led her around to it. She went along with him, bemused by his movements but willing to give anything a try where he was concerned.
He paused in front of the wood-framed chest and took her into his arms for a deep, hot, wet kiss that made her knees go weak and her senses swim. Releasing her, he spun her around so that her back was to his front and pushed gently on her shoulders until she was leaning down against the cushioned top of the chest.
She realized immediately that her ass was up in the air, presented to him. Lera looked back over her shoulder and had to smile at the rapt look on his handsome face. He was staring at her ass and as she watched, his hands reached out, cupping her soft cheeks, squeezing and separating, exploring and making her squirm in anticipation.
“I’ve been thinking about this since I first saw that piece of furniture, but it needs one more thing to make it perfect.” His gaze swept the room and then he reached out to his right with one long leg, snagging the small footstool she sometimes used to reach the top shelf of the bookcase along that wall. It was a sturdy little device, wide enough to stand on with both feet spread apart and upholstered to match the rest of her furniture.
He positioned it for her and helped her step up onto it. She watched the smile that lit his face as he stepped up behind her.
“Perfect,” he approved. “The height is just right.”
She didn’t have to ask for what because his next move stole her breath. Without preamble, he stuck his cock right up into her well-lubed pussy, all in one go.
“Oh!” She couldn’t keep the little gasp of surprise from escaping.
Hugh immediately stilled, hilt deep within her.
“Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He sounded concerned and she craned her neck around to look at him again.
“No, I’m fine. Sorry. You just took me by surprise.”
She saw the devilish smile return to his face as he pulsed once within her, holding her gaze.
“Good. Then I suggest you hold on for the ride. I have plans for your pretty little ass.”
Could he mean…? No, she decided. They’d never discussed it and he had to know she wasn’t experienced in that sort of thing.
Although…she had thought about it. She’d wondered what it would feel like to take a kke rienced man that way. She wouldn’t trust any other man, but she might just let Hugh try it if he wanted to.
He slid in and out, the position giving him control of the depth and speed of penetration and she was content to let him have his way. The feeling was indescribably good. She lowered herself fully onto the cushioned top of the chest and the fabric rubbed against her sensitive breasts with each long stroke.
She was starting to push back against him on each thrust when Hugh put one of his hands between them. His fingers rubbed against her clit and paused a moment where they joined, gathering moisture. He then moved back, pressing one slippery finger against the puckered opening of her anus.
Lera gasped as he slipped inside, past the tight ring of muscle. It didn’t really hurt, but it felt really odd. And kind of exciting.
“All right, sweetheart?” he asked, beginning a slow in and out motion with his finger as he sped up his thrusts into her pussy.
She moaned her agreement.
A masculine chuckle greeted her incoherent response.
“I take it that means you like what I’m doing to you?”
“Yes.” Lera tried to speak clearly this time, but the word stretched out, as did her pleasure.
Emboldened, Hugh pushed deeper and faster on both fronts. Lera began to sweat and strain against the building tension. The added sensations that were so strange, yet so exciting, pushed her right over the edge into oblivion as Hugh pounded into her in short digs.
Time froze as they came together, each groaning in utter completion. She shuddered and her knees buckled as wave after wave of pleasure broke over her spent body. Hugh caught her, his arms around her waist. Her shoulders and chest rested against the upholstered top of the chest. She was completely drained when the ecstasy finally released her from its addictive grip.
Boneless, she lolled in Hugh’s arms when he lifted her and placed her gently on the bed. He disappeared into the bathing room for a moment, then returned and joined her, slipping the covers over them both and spooning his big body around hers as they both drifted to sleep.
Hugh woke in the middle of the night to an urgent knock on the door.
“Hugh? You awake?” His brother Collin’s voice came to him in his mind.
“What’s wrong?” The knock was designed to wake them. There had to be something amiss for his brother to disturb their sleep. He left the bed quickly and donned his pants, heading for the door.
“The gryphons have escaped. Helped by traitors in the palace guard. Someone paid the night watch handsomely to open the cells and remove the collars. The traitorous guards are dead, struck down by loyal guardsmen, but the gryphons were already free and able to fight their way out of the dungeon. They flew away before anything flying knew what was going on.”
Hugh cursed inwardly, his anger rising swiftly. Then a thought occurred to him.
“Are the children secure? Is Miss safe?”
“The emissary is watching over her and the other children. She’ll stay with them. And she said to tell you she has magical means of defending them. Nothing will get through her guard.”
“Thank the Lady for that.”
Hugh was at the door, shrugging into his shirt as he opened it. Lera was still asleep a ktil.
He closed the door softly behind him and faced the beehive. Everyone was awake and buzzing back and forth, gathering information to have ready to pass on to him. Hugh had a strange thought for a fleeting moment. This is what his older brother, Roland, must go through whenever there was an attack on Draconia. Hugh had never envied Roland his position of power. It was Roland who needed all the facts before he could make a wise decision.
Usually, Hugh was one of many who supplied those facts to his older brother. This time, Hugh was the one in search of information in order to decide their course of action. The decision wasn’t his alone, of course, but he wanted to know everything before he burdened Lera. If what he suspected was true, their partnership would be a joint effort, but one that left military matters more in his bailiwick and political situations in hers.
It made sense. He was the warrior. She was the stateswoman. They each had their talents and it would be sensible to utilize each other’s best abilities.
“Tell me what happened,” Hugh asked as soon as the door was completely shut. He spoke in low, urgent tones, hoping they could make good progress on this thorny problem before he woke Lera.
What followed was a report from each of the people present—the two knights and their mate, the twins, Brother Hubert and the dragons. Hugh took it all in, learning the sequence of events that had led to the gryphons’ escape. His thoughts were grim as he listened to the treachery that had taken place that night under their very noses.
The night watch had been caught in the act of releasing the gryphons. Unfortunately, the magical collars that kept the beasts under control had already been removed by the time the loyal guards had discovered their fellows doing the deed. A battle ensued where the loyal guards had just barely managed to win, but in the proce
ss the gryphons had been able to fight their way free.
In the present situation, it seemed obvious that whoever paid the night watch to turn traitor was deeply involved in the larger intrigue. If they knew who had done that, they would have a solid clue that might lead them to Sendra, the bad gryphons, and whoever else was plotting against Lera.
“Who paid off the guards?” Hugh asked after the last report was made.
“A nobleman named Portu,” Brother Hubert supplied. Hugh had at first been surprised to see the old priest here, then remembered he’d been supposed to arrive earlier in the evening but hadn’t shown up. “I was able to find out that much before the last of the night watch died of his wounds. He wanted to confess his sins. I do not doubt his word. Portu came himself to bribe the guards and deliver payment. Each of the traitors had a hefty purse on his person when he died.”
“Portu was found trying to flee the city. He is under arrest but is not talking,” Trey supplied. Both twins looked angry.
“We wanted to follow the gryphons, but we’d already lost the trail,” Collin added.
Ah, so that was why they were mad. The twins were good trackers, but even they couldn’t track a pair of dark-feathered gryphons at night, with no moon.
“All right. It’s time to wake Lera,” Hugh declared. “This is her land. She will know more about her noblemen and knob220;Atheir holdings than we do. She must also be made aware of the situation, much as it pains me to bring her more grief.”
“It’s all right.” Lera’s voice came to him from the opening doorway to the bedroom. “I’ve been eavesdropping.” She blushed as she stepped into the room.
He’d left her naked and she’d taken time to dress in a gown of soft blue. She was beautiful as she glided to his side, taking a seat at the table around which they were all gathered. Only a slight frown marred her lovely face and Hugh knew he would do all in his power to remove that expression from her for all time. If he had his say, she’d never worry again, foolish as that sounded. He knew he couldn’t protect her from everything in life, but he certainly wanted to try.