Wicked Harvest

by Anitra Lynn McLeod

  She gave them a sharp snap and hoped he would not notice the switch until it was too late. For tonight, he would be at her mercy.

  Chur returned early from training and his eyes glowed with excitement. As she helped him remove his gear, she discovered he was humming just under his breath, not any song in particular, just a happy buzzing of anticipation. She took her time with him in the shower. He kept sighing impatiently. She shaved his face and longed to shave his genitals, but that wasn’t part of the ritual and he would balk—he despised the itching. As she moved around him, she felt her own shaved sex smoothly sliding against the rough fabric of her robe. Enovese didn’t care about the discomfort that would come later. She’d gladly suffer anything to have ultimate pleasure tonight.

  Chur ate quickly, then shot to his feet. He stood beside the chair so suddenly it was as if he materialized there. With a husky growl, he told her to leave the cleanup for later. Her hood hid her smile; he had never been quite this eager. Truly, his eyes blazed with lust, his breath seemed barely contained by his chest, and his cock pressed fully erect against his loincloth.

  “Hurry, my paratanist. I am in no mood to wait.”

  “Yes, Harvester.” If anything, she slowed her pace.

  He frowned until she knelt beside him; then he gazed down at her with a most wicked smile. Deliberately, she leaned a bit too close as she removed his loincloth. When she let out a sigh that caressed his genitals, Chur took in a sharp hiss of breath and his penis twitched. Once she’d unwrapped the fabric he practically leapt into the chair. He allowed her to secure the bonds. Now she had him exactly where she wanted him.

  Enovese began the ritual the normal way by smoothing oil all along his cock and balls. However, once he was at the verge and fully expected to climax, she stopped and stood.

  “What are you doing?” Chur regarded her with fury. When she moved to stand before him, his eyes narrowed. “Answer me.”

  She shook her head.

  He yanked at the bonds, and when they didn’t give at all, he looked down, then at her. Now his eyes widened with panic. He flexed his arms, causing every muscle to bunch below the dusting of his black body hair. Even his thighs strained, as if to catapult him from the chair. Despite his frantic twisting and straining, he finally realized he could not get free.

  “What have you done?” Panting and snarling, Chur bellowed, “You will release me immediately.”

  In her paratanist drone, Enovese said, “When one has willingly entered the trap, one should cease all demands.”

  “You will regret this.”

  “Perhaps I will.” Enovese carefully pried apart the clasps of her robe; then with her most seductive voice said, “But I assure you that you will not.” She pushed her hood back, parted the fabric, and shrugged the robe off her shoulders.

  Chur blinked as his gaze roamed over her. He had not seen her face for so long it was as if he saw her for the first time. His lips parted and he mumbled something about forgetting how beautiful she was. He licked his lips when he noticed her shaved sex. Realizing that further resistance was pointless, he relaxed into the chair, but his eyes held a thousand punishments. If he thought such glowering frightened her, he was wrong. Paying for her waywardness in the future was just an added benefit to what she would get now. For he knew as surely as she did that at some point she would have to release him from the chair.

  “Tell me, Harvester, do you like what you see?” Enovese turned so he could fully inspect her. Her pampered hair fell to her midcalf and heightened her awareness of her own body. The strands stroked down along her flesh like a thousand soft kisses.

  “I would like to see you on your knees sucking my cock.”

  His aggressive tone and vulgar words only sent another thrill of energy through her. Enovese knelt between his legs with her head hung submissively low. Lifting only her gaze, she met his, and whispered, “As you wish, Harvester.”

  A look of surprise and confusion darted across his expressive face.

  Slowly, Enovese stroked her hands up his legs, enjoying the rough feel of his hair against her soft palms. At his knees, she pressed lightly, pushing them farther apart, sliding her hands up his inner thighs until she reached his cock. Worshipfully, she lifted her head and kissed the tip, sliding the pearl of moisture across her lips.

  Chur’s lids lowered, turning his gaze smoky as he peered down at her. His nose flared as he took a deep breath, and his lips were tight as he exhaled.

  Pulling back, Enovese rubbed her face against the hair on his inner thigh, reveling in the crisp texture, then nuzzled her face to his balls, lifting them with her nose, breathing deeply of the clean smell of his arousal. Extending her tongue, Enovese licked a trail all the way up the length of his shaft. When she reached the most sensitive spot where the shaft met the head, she curled her tongue back and flicked the smooth backside against that spot.

  When she looked up, Chur had scrunched his eyes closed and gritted his jaw. His breath pushed out between his teeth. Spreading her lips wide, she took the tip of him into the hot hollow of her mouth. His eyes popped open. His hips thrust forward, pushing more of him into her welcoming mouth. Carefully judging his breathing, she drew him to the edge of climax and stopped.

  Chur howled. “Finish. Gods, Enovese, finish!”

  She stood and pursed her lips. “Poor Harvester. To be so close to the edge and yet held back.” She cupped her breasts, twisted her nipples, and then lowered them close to his mouth. “I beg you, my master, please suck my aching nipples.”

  A frustrated chuckle escaped him, but he leaned forward and took a turgid coral peak between his lips. He was not gentle. She didn’t want him to be. He sucked hard and then nipped at the pebbled flesh with his teeth. Enovese cupped his head, encouraging him. Rotating her chest, she had him take one nipple, then the other. Each nip and slurp tingled more awareness to her clit. Such a tiny thing swelled to such proportion it became the sole focus of her attention. She wished she could somehow angle her sex up to his face, for if she could, she would beg him to perform the same chewing there. Having him at her mercy excited her, for she knew her capture was fleeting. Soon he would be free and he would make her pay.

  Satisfied with his acquiescence, she moved back. Stroking her finger over the wetness on her nipples, she then trailed her hand down, parted her legs, and slid her finger between her pouting lips. Once her finger was slippery wet, she lifted her finger to her mouth and tasted herself. Her desire was salty, reminding her of the way Chur had tasted. She repeatedly teased and tasted.

  Mesmerized, Chur watched her tawdry performance, then snarled, “Don’t you dare climax.”

  “No, Harvester. Not without you.” Enovese lifted her slick finger to his mouth. “Do you think I’m ready?”

  He took a deep breath, then sucked hard at her finger. “You are more than ready, as am I.”

  She slung her leg over his lap and straddled the chair. Placing her hands on his broad shoulders, Enovese lowered herself to his thighs without taking him inside. Once settled, she used her hands to cup him against her sex, then held his cock steady as she rocked him against her cunt.

  “This is not how the ritual should go.”

  “Do you wish me to stop, Harvester?”

  “No!” he said a bit too forcefully. “Please, Enovese, do you wish me to beg? I cannot take any more.”

  His voice was desperate, tormented, and so plaintive she knew she’d pushed him far enough. For a brief moment, she regretted her actions. She did not want to hurt Chur, she’d only wanted to bring him pleasure. She wanted him to realize he was a lover not just a mechanical Harvester who mated on command. She hoped by teasing him to the point of no return, he would realize there was nothing wrong with his base desires. She wanted him to explore every sweet or wild fantasy that lurked in his mind.

  Lifting up, she angled his cock to the entrance of her cunt and without any teasing, slid down, taking him into her all at once. His gasp matched hers. His mouth took pos
session of hers, his tongue penetrating between pants.

  Knowing that he could not stop now, Enovese released the straps. As if he read her mind, Chur lifted her and strode across the room to the far wall, the one purposely devoid of decoration. Of course, today, the purpose was entirely different than to give him a blank canvas to focus his mind. He pressed her against the wall, better angled her hips, and then thrust into her so hard she almost couldn’t breathe. The length of her hair cushioned her against the wall and allowed her to slide up and down easily. His rough body hair stroked along her skin like a thousand biting kisses. His crisp pubic hair against her tender shaved sex and her clit teased with every bouncing thrust. Her tormented clit swelled and became so sensitive she almost couldn’t stand any more stimulation. Then the feeling changed, it pushed deeper into her body. She felt surrounded by him, pinned, captured, with no escape possible. But why would she want to escape? In his massive arms, she felt safe. Here, nothing could reach her, not the questions of her origins or the punishment of the tanists. In this moment, she was nothing but a lone body and soul clinging to another lone body and soul.

  Lost in a haze of desire, Chur growled and nipped at her mouth, his hands gripped so tightly into her buttocks he would leave bruises. She didn’t care. When she angled her head to the side, he lowered his mouth to her neck and bit her, pulling and sucking at the skin, marking her. All she could do was cling to his shoulders and murmur her pleasure.

  When she was on the verge of orgasm, Chur slowed his thrusts. “Look at me. Look right into my eyes.”

  Enovese clung to his shoulders with one hand and cupped his face with the other. She fixed her gaze to his and felt penetrated in a different way by the intensity of his summer-sky eyes. He varied the depth and timing of his thrusts while observing her face. Something in her eyes must have beckoned to him, for he knew her climax was imminent.

  “Come for me, Enovese. I want to feel you spend on my cock. I want to watch you.”

  Long denied, the orgasm that tried to find outlet in her flesh now tingled from her extremities drawing to the center of her. Energy built and gathered as it rolled toward her clit. Suddenly that tiny bit of flesh took the influx of power and expanded out, covering her whole body. Her orgasm astounded her and contracted her cunt around Chur so tightly he could no longer thrust at all.

  He growled and took several deep breaths through his nose and released them through his mouth. He fought for control and won, but only barely, and not for long.

  Clinging to him, she opened her mouth to speak but could only gasp. Chur grit his teeth and brutally thrust into her, causing another orgasm to spasm her whole body in waves. Hot, sticky juice coated his entire groin, giving his pubic hair a new texture against her too-sensitive clit. She slid helpless and breathless while he thrust ever harder and deeper. His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her head back, but he could not stop.

  “Tell me whom you belong to.”

  “You, only you.”

  He pulled her from the wall, bounced her one last time on his thrusting cock, and then bellowed as he climaxed. The force of his orgasm weakened his arms and legs, and together they slumped to the floor until she lay atop him. Curled to his chest, she lay perfectly still while his cock continued to twitch within her. A hot gush slowly seeped from her and flowed onto him. For a long time, they lay entwined, recovering from the intensity of the frantic mating. All too soon, she felt him pull away from her, not physically, but emotionally. She could not describe this knowing, she simply felt it. Dread caused her to shiver, for she knew what was coming. The time for the pointed questions was at hand. She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run to, and she could not outrun the truth.

  Chur cupped her face and softly asked, “Tell me the truth, Enovese. Did you do this in the hopes of getting pregnant?”

  She shook her head and tenderly stroked his facial scar. Tears tumbled from her eyes and splashed against his chest. “You could have sex with me for the rest of your life and still not—” She took a deep breath to bolster herself, then confessed, “I am sterile.”

  13

  Chur didn’t know what to say. Her confession rendered him speechless. Her distress was clear, yet he did not know how to comfort her, or even if he should. Her lie of omission struck a fierce chord within his very soul. Above almost everything he expected from a bondmate, children would have to be one of the most important. When he thought of finding his bondmate, one of the primary desires was to have many children with her. Discovering that Enovese was incapable…

  He’d never told anyone about his dreams beyond the role of Harvester, not even his paratanist, for such thoughts seemed less than manly. How could he explain that he sometimes dreamed of holding his own child in his battle-scarred hands? That he wished to watch his child at his bondmate’s breast, curl himself around them, and doze peacefully. His world of fighting and battle would be unknown to his children; they would know peace, joy, and the freedom to vie for any position they wished.

  All the intense pleasure from his union with Enovese dispersed abruptly. Coldly, he demanded, “How do you know that you are sterile?”

  Enovese winced at the harshness of his tone. “Once the magistrate chooses a paratanist, they are sterilized.”

  Her answer appalled him. Without thinking, he muttered, “I don’t understand why. You’re sworn to celibacy, so what would be the point?”

  She gasped at his indifferent tone and lifted herself away from him. Her face was hard with resentment. Raw hurt burned in the depth of her eyes. With a confused shake of her head, more tears tumbled from her, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. She pushed hard against his chest to get away from him, but he wrapped his arms around her, forcing her to stay atop his body. He did not want her to move away. His cock was still semihard within her and he was not going to withdraw until he was ready.

  She struggled briefly, then spoke through gritted teeth, “I know not why the magistrate would sterilize one sworn to celibacy. Now let go of me, Harvester.” She squirmed hard enough that his cock fell out of her with a soft plop.

  He groaned and released her.

  With as much dignity as she could manage, Enovese stood. Her harvest-colored hair was a mess of tangles. Pressing against the wall had tousled the entire length, but she lifted her head and tossed her hair back confidently. Her inner thighs were wet from their lust, and he could see the beginning of fingertip bruises blooming on her hips. He frowned while considering the marks for he hadn’t wanted to hurt her. When he looked into her eyes, Enovese tilted her nose up, but tears destroyed her defiant show of pride.

  “Stop glaring at my hips. There is no outward evidence of proof. You’ll have to take my word that they mutilated me.”

  He opened his mouth to explain, then abruptly shut it. He’d been glaring at the bruises, ashamed of his brutality, not searching for confirmation of her sterility. Furious at the idea she’d been trying to get pregnant, the fact that she could not offered him no relief. He hated to admit the truth, even to himself, but there was a part of him that wanted to impregnate her. Such a situation would change everything. Her carrying his child would not change his conflicts. In truth, that situation would only add to them, but he found an intense satisfaction at the mere thought. To understand now, that despite his best efforts, he could never impregnate her infuriated him on a primitive level. Although he wanted to choose his bondmate, he had come to think that Enovese might very well be the one. She alone, without accoutrements, had captured his attention. Now, with this, he knew she could never be his bondmate. The time had come to make sure that she knew the truth as well.

  Casting her his best heartless gaze, he tucked his hands behind his head and coldly informed her, “As a Harvester I can have as many children as I wish.” Position, intelligence, or possessing a valuable inherited trait dictated the number of offspring a person could have. By virtue of his physical strength and stamina, a Harvester was encouraged to have many
children. “Why would I want to bond with a woman who could never give me children?”

  Shock widened her beautiful eyes; then they narrowed as she gritted her teeth. After a deep breath, all emotion left her. In her best paratanist drone, she said, “You need not tell me what I already know.” Enovese yanked her robe off the floor and shook as she pulled it on. She didn’t pull the hood over her head, she simply used it to cover the mark on her neck, as if she were ashamed she’d let him put it there.

  As he lay on the floor watching her, he understood why she’d been so adamant he claim her bondmate in the Harvest room. By the time he found out the truth, it would be too late to change anything. Anger surged at her trickery, but then compassion for her position tempered his rage. Poor Enovese, trapped in a role not of her choosing and then mutilated so she could never leave her duty. For a brief moment, he considered that she might be lying in order to waylay him into not worrying about impregnating her, but her distress clarified she was telling him a truth she’d rather not confess. He wanted to say he was sorry, to offer her some consolation, but he decided not to. By distancing himself, perhaps Enovese would conclude on her own that he was not her bondmate and thus rescind her claim.

  When Enovese took a few steps toward her room, Chur said, “I did not dismiss you.”

  She faced him but kept her attention on the far wall. Her eyes were glassy and her face was blank. He gazed upon a shell. The real Enovese had departed and left this look-alike behind. His harshness had beaten her spirit away.

  “Tell me why you did this tonight.”

  She shook her head, then flatly said, “What’s the point? Now that you know the truth there is nothing I can do.”

  “I asked you to explain.”

  She uttered a bitter, broken laugh. “I wanted you to see that sex doesn’t weaken the body or the spirit. I wanted to teach this to you for telling you is pointless.”