by Moira Sutton
Zoa didn’t even realize she was staring as well until the captain pulled her to his side. She looked back to the stage with a start, alarmed at how tight and hot her skin had become, how ragged her breathing. The soldiers’ jeering had become a single, great roar as Sonya peeled off the last of her dress and stood in her full, naked glory before Dannith, whose blush now covered most of his body and whose pants were now straining against his rock-hard erection.
Sonya smiled a wide, knowing smile and walked over, hips swaying, red hair tumbling from the nest of loose braids that kept it up as she bent over the young soldier and slowly undid his pants. Danny gasped when she slid them off him and tried to stand, but she pushed him back down, his erect penis jerking as he landed in the chair.
Sonya straddled him in one graceful movement. She hovered over him, the edges of her slit brushing the throbbing head of his cock. Zoa took a deep breath. The sexual tension in the room was raging through her like a rapid. The soldiers on the floor were going crazy and the women waiting up on the gallery were matching them, shouting promises at the men below.
Lust trembled in the air, teetering on the edge of action. The enormous power of it hovered under Zoa’s skin, feeding into her own powers, making her wet with throbbing desire. She could work great magic with power like this, but she did not use it. She simply let it flow through her, doubling and redoubling as her moon-powered lust fed back and forth with the natural sex of the crowd below, each feeding on the other until even she wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began.
Unable to wait any longer, the women ran down the gallery steps to join the soldiers on the padded benches where they watched the show on stage. As Dannith forgot his embarrassment and began to reach for the beautiful woman who danced just out of range, the men and women on the floor were taking things into their own hands. Soldiers pulled women into their laps, kissing them and grabbing them wherever they could. The women kissed right back, thrusting their hips into the men’s laps. One girl lay sprawled out across several soldiers, gasping in pleasure as one worshiped her breasts while another kissed her and a third was hiking up her skirt, his fingers sliding up her thighs.
Everywhere couples and trios were forming, yet still, all eyes were on the stage as Sonya teased the lucky boy whose bravery had won him the night’s first taste. She trailed kisses down his blushing face and guided his hands to her breasts, which she pressed against his chest. Meanwhile, her dripping pussy slid back and forth across the head of his cock, hovering just out of reach as Dannith moaned and writhed beneath her until even Zoa could barely take the teasing.
Then, with a final wicked smile at Dannith and a wink at the crowd, Sonya slid herself down his throbbing cock. The room went wild as Dannith cried out, grabbing her hips as he began to pound into her. From his very first thrust, Sonya was lashing on top of him, moaning in pleasure. Down on the floor, the soldiers cheered one last time before turning their attention to the women in their own laps.
Zoa let out a low breath and turned away from the crowd to smile at the men in her bedroom.
“The night begins,” she said in a low, promising voice. “Now that your soldier has had the first taste, I think you two deserve a break from defending our borders.”
She turned to the captain and, with a quick mental tug, focused the lust flowing through the room until she was its center. It was a small trick, and one she scarcely needed. The captain’s eyes were already dilated with lust. He looked ready to agree to anything she asked.
“Madame Rosa promised you a night you wouldn’t forget,” she said, reaching out to trail her fingers down the captain’s shirtfront. “But you brought quite the host with you and I’m afraid we’re a little short on girls. However, judging from what I’ve heard of your second…” She let her hand wander to Jeric, threading her fingers into the laces of his leather vest. “He deserves the best we have to offer. So what do you say, Captain, Lieutenant? Would you be up for sharing me tonight?”
She felt Jeric swallow beneath her grip and the captain began to grin.
“I certainly don’t mind sharing,” he said, moving a little closer to stroke the white skin of her collarbone. “Jeric and I have shared the worst, why not the best?” He looked over at his second. “What do you say? Care to share this fine and obliging lady with me?”
Zoa looked at Jeric, focusing her lust on him. The power in the room was thick as honey now. Zoa could feel it all around her, begging to be used, but she left it untouched. If it was to be a true, powerful Awakening, he had to come to her on his own.
Jeric stared at her, his dark eyes burning, and Zoa pulled him in closer, pressing herself against him until their faces were inches apart. His erection pressed into her stomach and she felt his chest vibrate against her breasts as he moaned. She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as the captain came in behind her, his strong fingers gripping her hips as his long hardness pressed into her ass and his hot mouth found her neck.
Zoa moaned at the sensation, but her eyes were on Jeric. She raised herself on tiptoe, sliding her body against both the erections currently pressed against her, until her lips were pressed against his cheek.
“Jeric,” she whispered, her lips moving against him. “I can give you what you want.” She tilted her head, locking her gaze with his. “I can give you release.”
Jeric’s eyes widened and he pushed her away. She stumbled back into the captain’s arms, breathless and confused. She held out her hand again, but Jeric moved out of reach.
“I’m sorry,” he said, dragging his hands through his short hair. “I really don’t think I’m up for this.”
“Jeric,” the captain said, reaching out for his friend. “It’s all right.”
“No,” Jeric said, sharper now. He was looking down, avoiding both their eyes. “You go ahead, enjoy yourselves. I’m going to go get a drink.”
Zoa started to say something, but the captain’s hand tightened on her shoulder.
“Have it your way,” he said, smiling. “But you’re welcome back whenever you like. We’ll be here all night.”
“I know,” Jeric said, his voice shaking as he turned for the curtained door. “Have fun.”
Zoa sighed as he left. That had gone terribly wrong. Maybe she’d been too forward? But as soon as the worry crossed her mind, something inside her rejected it. A confidence not her own told her firmly that all was well, the hook was in deep. He would return. Zoa smiled at the feeling and offered a silent prayer of thanks to her goddess.
The captain, meanwhile, stepped away, flopping down on her silk-strewn bed with a sigh. “Do you have something to drink?”
“Of course.” Zoa took a heavy glass bottle and two bone cups from the cabinet by the door. She poured them each a finger of clear liquor and sat down beside him. The captain took the cup she offered with muttered thanks and took a long draught.
“Did I offend him, do you think?”
“I don’t think so,” Zoa said, taking a sip from her own drink. “This is his first night here, right? It’s probably overwhelming. He’ll be back.”
The captain looked at her. “How do you know?”
Zoa gave him a long smile. “My dear Captain, if war is your profession, love is mine. You gain good instincts when you make your living in the pleasure houses.”
The captain laughed at that and drained his cup. “I know better than to question a professional,” he said when he was finished. “So,” he looked at her almost sheepishly. “What now?”
Zoa’s smile widened. “Now,” she said, setting her cup on the wooden ledge beside her bed. “We give him a reason to come back.”
The captain started to chuckle, but his laughter died as Zoa climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. He stared up at her with wide eyes, and then, in a lightning-fast motion, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hungrily. She returned the kiss with gusto, grinding down as his hands slid over the thin silk of her dress to grip her ass and pull her tighter
against his erection.
But even as the need of his kisses threatened to overwhelm her senses, a part of Zoa was all too aware of the man standing on the opposite side of her curtained door, his need and frustration a thorn in her mind. Even as the captain’s hands moved from her backside to her shoulders, sliding the straps of her dress down to free her breasts, her pussy ached for the man with dark hair and burning eyes, the man she knew wanted her just as badly, but whose pride and fear kept him away.
Well, Zoa thought as she undid the captain’s pants, she’d give him a show.
She freed the captain’s cock and gripped his hard shaft with her hands, grinning as he moaned into her chest. But as her hands began to stroke him, her mind was working, gathering the lust around her and adding her own to the mix, building the energy in the room until it was an undeniable need.
Outside her door, she heard a familiar groan over the groans from below, and the sound of footsteps retreating quickly. Zoa grinned. Jeric could run from her, but he couldn’t run from his own need. He’d be back and she’d be ready. With that thought, she leaned down and took the captain’s length into her mouth, sucking his cock slowly between her lips as he shuddered underneath her and swore breathless oaths.
* * * * *
On the other side of the thin curtain that separated Zoa’s room from the rest of Rosa’s, Jeric stood in the hall with his entire body throbbing. Behind him, through the cloth, he heard his captain suck in a breath. His own caught before he could stop it and Jeric decided then and there that he needed to get away.
Shaking himself like a dog, he stomped down the tiny hallway, keeping his eyes straight ahead and doing his best to ignore what was going on in the other curtained off rooms on either side of him. With a soldier’s discipline, Jeric kept his breathing steady, shutting his ears to the sounds of sex that thickened the air. Go down and get a drink, he told himself as he reached the stairs. He wouldn’t look at the stage, wouldn’t look at the girls, he certainly wouldn’t let himself think about Zoa half naked, her shiny, black hair sliding over her large, pale breasts. Zoa, laid out before him, drawing him down to her soft bed with a knowing smile while his captain held her ready for him.
No. A drink. A cold drink. And then he’d go sit outside in the snow with the horses until the desperate hardness between his legs calmed down. Anything else was just fooling himself.
With that thought firm in his mind, Jeric stomped down the rickety stairs. But any hope he had of slipping out quietly vanished when he reached the bottom. He stopped and stared. Rosa’s great hall was a large place, even with the stage taking up most of the middle, and tonight every inch of it was filled with sex.
On stage, the redheaded beauty was now bent over the chair, moaning in pleasure as Danny drove into her from behind. Sweat was pouring down the recruit’s back, and he seemed to have completely forgotten that he was on a stage. But few of the soldiers were still watching him. The padded benches that lined the floor were now a sexual playground. Everywhere Jeric looked, couples, trios and groups were bucking against each other. Two of his own soldiers, a pair of brothers, were on either side of lovely girl with short brunette hair, pounding into her in unison as she moaned between them. She clutched their shoulders twisting in pleasure as their cocks slammed into her, one before, one behind.
“Amazing sight, isn’t it?” said a familiar voice.
Jeric started and looked to see his patrol leader, a sly man named Kenric, leaning against the wall, eating from an overflowing plate of lamb, bread and roasted carrots.
“Truth be told, Lieutenant,” he said, swallowing a large mouthful. “This is the only reason I stay in Captain Izar’s Legion. A night like this makes the cold days and endless barbarians all worth it.”
Despite himself, Jeric laughed. “And here I thought it was your steadfast loyalty to the emperor’s northern border.”
“Hang the border,” Kenric said, grinning as a lovely barmaid in a very low-cut dress walked by carrying an armful of foaming tankards. “It’s the northern girls who have my undying love.”
“So why aren’t you joining in?” Jeric said.
“Oh, I am,” Kenric assured him. “But this is my fourth year at Rosa’s. I don’t get carried away like those young idiots.” He nodded at a pair of recruits as they fawned over a blonde wearing nothing more than a thin golden chain around her neck. “The night’s barely started and they’re acting like it’s a race. Veterans like me know you’ve got to build up your stamina first.” He saluted Jeric with his last slice of lamb before shoving it in his mouth.
“So why are you down here, Lieutenant?” he said as he chewed. “If the captain had taken me up there with that beauty, I wouldn’t be down until the sun came up, food or no food.”
Jeric panicked. There was no way he could explain his real reason for leaving. “I needed a drink,” he said lamely. “I was going out to the wine barrels.”
“Don’t go out in the cold,” Kenric scoffed. “We’re the guests of honor. Just ask one of the serving girls and she’ll get whatever you want. Maybe a little extra, if you’re nice about it.” He winked rakishly and set down his empty plate on the side table. “Well, I’m off to enjoy my hard-earned night of debauchery. Don’t leave the lovely lady alone with the captain too long or she might not have eyes for anyone else.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Jeric said.
Kenric laughed and hurried into the crowd, grabbing one of the barmaids as he went and whispering something in her ear. The woman shrieked with laughter and handed her tankards off to the thankful soldiers around her. Then, arms free, she wrapped them around Kenric’s neck and let him guide her toward a dark corner.
Jeric watched them go with a sinking feeling. How stupid, thinking he could just sneak out. Every man in the room knew he was supposed to be upstairs enjoying the best Rosa’s had to offer with the captain. How would he explain turning down such an honor? He certainly couldn’t tell them the truth. Jeric liked to think his soldiers followed him because he was brave and sensible, but he knew that if it ever got out that he’d never come, couldn’t come, then that knowledge, that unmanliness, would undermine every order he gave from this night on.
He leaned back against the wall, cursing under his breath. It was a bad spot. Everywhere he looked, bodies moved together, panting and laughing. The smell of sex was so thick he could taste it in the air and every breath reminded him of what was waiting upstairs. He closed his eyes.
“Sir?” A soft voice whispered.
Jeric snapped his head in the direction of the voice.
A girl stood beside him, dressed in the low-cut woolen sheath all the barmaids wore and carrying a jug of wine and a tray of wooden cups. She looked up at him through long, dark lashes. “Sara said you were looking for a drink?”
Jeric looked at her, confused, and then he saw Kenric and his barmaid waving at him and laughing. “Yes,” he sighed. “A drink would be nice.”
The girl smiled and began filling one of the cups. “You’re the captain’s second, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Jeric said again, taking the offered cup. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh,” the girl said, a becoming blush spreading over her cheeks. “I’m surprised to see you down here, is all. I thought Miss Zoa was entertaining you tonight.”
Jeric shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, well, she’s with the captain right now.”
The girl looked up at him, her large, dark eyes wide with shock. “It would be a disgrace if a commander was alone tonight,” she said, putting her tray down on the table. “After all, you’re our guest of honor.”
She slid up to him as she said this, her hands trailing across his chest. Jeric stepped back only to find he was against the wall. The girl was on top of him now, gazing up at him with dark, lusty eyes. She stood on tiptoe and her voice was breathy in his ear.
“I’ve always wanted to be fucked by an officer, sir. Sonya’s room upstairs is empty. I can keep you company tonight.”
“Thank you,” he pushed her back. “Thank you for the offer, but really, I have to be getting back.”
She looked at him, her face a mix of hurt and confusion, and Jeric immediately felt awful. He looked around frantically and then spotted his salvation. A man was walking into the hall. It was Fait, his cavalry commander, who, from his late arrival and the way he was stomping the frozen mud off his boots, had just come from overseeing the stabling of the unit’s horses.
“Fait!” he cried, waving the man over.
Fait gave him a surprised look, but hurried to his side, grinning wickedly as he picked his way through the orgy happening all around them.
“This is Fait,” Jeric said, pulling the man to his side. “My cavalry leader and one of our highest-ranking officers.”
Fait smiled at the girl and she blushed deeply. Jeric sighed with relief. This couldn’t have worked out better. Fait was known everywhere as a ladies’ favorite for his slender good looks and golden hair. He was also a horrendous flirt, something that Jeric normally disapproved of, but tonight he was extremely grateful.
“I must get back,” Jeric said, stepping away from them. “Keep her company for me, Fait.”
“My pleasure, Lieutenant!” Fair said, catching a lock of the girl’s dark hair and bringing it to his lips. The girl giggled and Jeric made his escape, slipping back up the stairs.
Of course, he realized as he reached the narrow hall at the top once again, he hadn’t escaped at all. He was right back where he’d started. Jeric stopped at the top of the stairs, unwilling to move down the hall, closer to the curtain that hid his real desire. He could almost imagine Zoa’s arching shadow through the thin cloth and the mere thought of it made his body hum.