by Rachel Grace
She studied her hands on his chest, her pale against his rich bronze. The smooth skin of his chest let her palm slip lower with ease to the ridges of his muscled stomach, revealing the hard, dark nipple that had heated against her hand to her fascinated gaze.
Would his body react as hers had? Would he feel the same fire and lightning sensations when she sucked the skin between her lips? Bit them gently?
There was only one way to find out.
Chapter Nine
His hips bucked up instinctively when the sharp, perfect white pearls of her teeth closed over his left nipple. He had not believed it an erogenous zone for a man. When her tongue lashed lightly across the tougher flesh he shuddered, man enough to admit that he’d been wrong.
Could the intense reaction have something to do with his current position, chained and out of control? It was a first for him, being in a situation of this sort. He’d been in rough scrapes before, life-threatening negotiations and brawls where the odds were stacked against him. This? It was not a battleground he understood.
He knew of many women who enjoyed being in power. He couldn’t do what he did without understanding those dynamics. But, though he’d never admitted it aloud, Bodhan secretly found the men who craved that sort of role reversal lacking.
He took control. Women submitted to him. He gave them pleasure that left them weak and wound them up so tightly they had to beg or they would shatter. It was what he had been planning to do to Dare, but his need for her that first time had been too great. His feelings too tender. What had passed between them had been beyond simple pleasure or control.
Now he’d woken up chained to a wall, unable to process the changes in their situation, the information she had given him before their lips met.
The last thing he wanted to admit was that he enjoyed this. Dare’s innocent oral exploration. The painful ache in his cock as he waited for her curiosity to take her lower. By the two moons, lower.
He bit his lip hard enough to taste the copper of his blood. He would not beg her.
Not yet.
That soft, sweet mouth was on the skin above the top button of his pants, her fingers releasing him buttonhook by agonizing buttonhook.
He relived those moments he had been inside her. He’d seen her reactions when she touched him, her surprise at his size. Would she hesitate now?
No. Not his Dare. His Dare had a need she barely understood but embraced without question. Her passion shook the earth around him, and her courage drew him to her in a way that had left him reeling, stunned.
In an elemental way he chose not to study too closely, he recognized his claim. Whoever she was, whatever her purpose or accident of fate that had brought them together, did not matter. She belonged to him.
And he was her prisoner, in more ways than one.
He hissed at the near explosive reaction he had to her touch. She gripped the base of his erection, her mouth a kiss away, her breath bathing his skin in fire.
“Dare?” Please, my love. Do not make me beg.
Her voice was a caress on his sensitive flesh. “I do not mean to tease. I’m just not certain how—I couldn’t tell how Coral had—”
He banged the back of his head against the wall, wishing them somewhere else. Wishing his chains away so he could take her now. “There is no way for you to fail, princess. Not at this. Unless you torture me to my death.”
He caught the quizzical look she sent upward and groaned. “Put your mouth on me, Dare. As if you were kissing my lips, savoring the taste of my skin. Kiss me as I kissed you in the lift.”
The memory of her addictive taste only increased his desire, the agonizing hardness between his legs. Her mouth opened lightly on the head of his cock and he ground his jaw together, holding his hips still with all the willpower he possessed.
“Yes,” he growled. “Taste me. There’s no need to be that gentle. You can take more… take it all.”
His encouragement was all she needed. The silken indigo of her braided hair slid over her shoulder, allowing him to watch her mouth widen to accommodate his thickness.
She would kill him before she was done.
Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked him in deep. Her tongue swirled around his shaft. How did she know he loved that? It seemed she could read his mind, that he no sooner fantasized an action than she mimicked it with her mouth. An intensified arc of pure need traveled along his spine, and he knew he would not last long.
Not like this. He opened his mouth to tell her what he wanted. Her astride him. Her cries of delight joining his. But it was too late. His body defied him, hips lifting off the cot until the head of his cock touched the back of her throat as he found his release.
Dare moaned in surprised delight, swallowing his seed with greedy abandon. He shouted hoarsely, shocked at the intensity of his satisfaction and the depth of emotion that followed. He’d only come this hard once before.
With Dare.
He closed his eyes, lost in the pleasurable aftershocks of her ministrations. His limbs trembled enough to rattle his chains, a vague reminder of their current situation. A situation he was fast beginning to conclude was the realization of his greatest fear.
Dare lifted her head to kiss him and he caressed her lips tenderly with his own. For her, he would risk being wrong. He would give the captain what she’d asked for. Answers. Hopefully he would get some of his own in return.
A familiar voice rose in irritation on the other side of the door. “Again? Have you no shame? No idea how cruel it is to taunt a Felidae with the scent of fucking and not invite her in?”
Dare pulled her mouth away from his with a gasp, blushing deep pink from the roots of her blue hair to the top button of her jacket.
Bodhan smiled grimly. “A little late, Seraphina. Was there anything else you wanted?”
He could hear her grumbling but she didn’t open the door. “I was being polite by volunteering to come down here. The least you could do is return the favor.” Her tone changed, from petulant to clipped and alert. “Our unexpected passenger pick-up put us behind schedule. Both moons wane tonight. We have to make an emergency landing and set up camp. The captain wanted to leave you in here but I convinced her that Dare would no doubt protest.”
Bodhan felt his entire body tense. It did not occur to him to make a remark regarding the inconvenience of his abduction. Not now. “I appreciate the heads-up, Seraphina.”
Phina’s smile was evident even through the door. “She only agreed once I told her we could keep you in shackles. I’m not sure why… she still has not fallen prey to your charms.”
He studied Dare’s wide, wary gaze until he heard Phina’s footsteps fade away down the hall. “Love, I’m going to need your help cleaning up before they come in to get us.”
She looked down, blushing again and jumping off the cot to soak another cloth in the warm basin water, returning to gently wipe his stomach and his still-erect cock.
He wanted her again. It would have to wait.
“Something is wrong and you know what it is, don’t you?” Dare’s voice was whisper-soft. “Are we in danger?”
His thoughts were grim. He knew the story too well. It had been passed down through the generations as long as any living being could remember.
When the two moons waned together, when Theorrey was blanketed in shadow, no man or beast dare take to the air… save one. One beast that was not a beast and a man that was not a man. To most it was a story told to keep children inside, safe from the dangerous beasts of the wood and marsh. But Bodhan knew the threat was based in reality. Captain Amaranthe knew it as well.
“Yes.” He snared Dare’s gaze, his own unblinking as he attempted to convey the seriousness of the situation. “Stay close to me once we land, Dare. And keep sharp.”
Dawn could not come soon enough. There would be no rest tonight.
Dare sat on the surprisingly comfortable chairs Freeman had brought out for them, Bodhan beside her, short-chained iron shackles still bi
nding his wrists. She frowned. They had not offered him a shirt, and she could see several small welts had formed on the bronzed skin of his back from the bug bites they’d endured between the ship and camp. He had yet to complain about them.
She would say this—Freeman and the other two male crewmembers had made the small, elevated patch of dry land nearly as livable as the Deviant. A difficult accomplishment in the marsh.
It had to be something frightening indeed to have sent this hardened lot into such a spin. Their landing had been her first clue to their state. It was a landing. The ship was no longer hovering the way it had been at Two Moon Bay.
The lower dodge had been furled against the sides along with the sails and it was bobbing, like an ordinary vessel on a deep pool of marsh water.
They’d released the aether mixture from the cocoon and the fabric had deflated, floating down like an enormous bedsheet to blanket the deck. The captain had shut off the engine and any power routed to the living quarters along with it, which, by the look in Gebby’s eyes, was not something they did without serious cause.
They’d been guided off the ship to a spot where they could remain hidden by the tangled web of vegetation, but were still able to keep an eye on their transport.
Captain Amaranthe appeared edgy, fingering the hilt of her unusual sword as a touchstone and pacing the perimeter made by the sloping hill of their open-air camp, and the repelling device set up near the stove. Just as the immense version had kept sea creatures away from the Siren it surrounded, this smaller version seemed to be keeping the stinging, chirping bugs at bay. But the captain still acted as though she were ready for an attack of some kind.
Phina, too, seemed different. More than just her outfit had changed since Dare had seen her, though the new look was startling. She had changed from her fancy corset and daring skirt, but the Felidae’s clothing was even more provocative. A feat Dare had not believed possible.
Thigh-high boots made, Dare would guess, from the butter-colored leather of the threehorn, complete with brass buckles along the side, covered most of her legs. Her upper thighs were encased in ruby red tights that nearly matched the richness of her hair in color, and the snuggest pair of leather short-pants in existence.
Her red corset had no design, other than the buckles up the front that seemed to match her boots, with slats for small silver arrows. Weapons that reminded Dare of the dangerous bracelet Phina still wore on her wrist. The arm-length bracers and the whip coiled at her waist completed the predatory fashion statement. This was a thief’s garb? Dare could not imagine not being noticed in such an outfit, much less sneaking past security and shield guards as Gebby had insisted she did so often. Still, with her tousled hair glowing like a beacon and her bright clothing, Phina stood out.
She also looked more like a wild thing than she had before. Crouching atop her chair, spots visible along her arms, her long, entrancingly mobile tail flicking behind her and her emerald eyes watchful, she was pure Felidae. In her current state, her feelings were less complex, easier for Dare to translate. She did not like this place.
Dare knew there were several areas of Theorrey, particularly in the south, that contained marshlands similar to this one. She herself had been taken blindfolded and left in the marsh at the edge of Centre City with only a simple dagger when she was eight. As part of her shield guard training, her goal was to procure a rare white lotus for the queen… and survive until she found her way out.
She had not thought of that in years, nor of the trauma of learning firsthand about the stalking techniques of the animals that dwelt in these unpopulated regions. Years of ease and isolation with the queen may have softened her more than a Wode should admit, but Dare felt nowhere near the anxiety she was sensing from the men and women around her.
What could have caused this kind of reaction?
She asked them bluntly, and they all looked at her with suspicion. She tensed. Was this something she was supposed to know?
“Miss Dare no doubt wants a story to go with our campfire. Haven’t told it in a queen’s age, pardon the expression. May I?” Dare looked up at the balding Gebby with a grateful smile, thankful that he was attempting to spare her embarrassment.
She found herself riveted to Gebby’s animated tale of the black sky ship and the crew who brought death in their wake. Of the immortal Scarlet Lord who ruled them and stole people from their homes when the two moons waned. His features glowed in the light of the small, smoking stove that sputtered soothingly in the center of the base camp, his hands casting expressive shadows.
Idony would love this story. She would no doubt appreciate Gebby’s lavish embellishments. There was nothing that brought the queen more enjoyment than telling a story. Still, it did not ring any truer than the Wode tales told around the campfire to scare the young cadets. It certainly sounded nothing like the explanation she’d requested.
She tried to maintain her smile for Gebby’s sake, but she was dubious when the humorous man finished with a dramatic flourish. “This is why we’ve landed? Because there is another ship that sails the sky, hidden by darkness instead of dodge? And this captain, the Scarlet Lord? A child’s story could not have a more impossible villain. If no one wants to tell me the true reason we have landed, then I will not ask again, but do not patronize me.”
Phina’s laugh was short and derisive. “Impossible? You believed sailing the sky was impossible not a day ago, fair Dare. That traveling beneath the sea was impossible. Tell the truth now, you had no knowledge of a prick’s shape before you found one in you.”
Dare flinched and the captain stepped toward Phina in silent warning. “You’ll forgive Phina’s crudeness; this is not her natural habitat. Though she has a point. Your naivety about the most ordinary things would be amusing if it weren’t so disturbing. Point of fact, the more I know you, the less I understand why you are here.” She tilted her head, hair tumbling around her shoulders as she looked down on Dare. “I had expected more when I saw your mark, but we no longer have time for riddles.”
She turned her chin to her shoulder and spoke to the men behind her. “Gebby. Wen. Get your boots wet and make sure our girl won’t drift. Keep your eyes open.”
The two men shared a speaking glance before obeying in silence, disappearing from the dim lights of camp. Dare watched Gebby smacking the back of his neck when the bugs descended on him before he disappeared from view, Wen tromping along beside him.
Dare could feel expectation thicken the air. All of them: Freeman, Phina, and the captain. They had forgotten about any information Bodhan might have about the queen and focused on her. Even Bodhan wondered about her—she sensed it, though she felt him reach out to place his hands on her knee for comfort. His wrists were still shackled, yet he thought of her comfort.
Trust the captain.
She did. And she trusted him. It was time to show them the proof. Dare stood, letting Bodhan’s touch slip away as she stood at her full, if not impressive, height. She was glad she wasn’t facing him for this. “I am called Dare but that is not my true name, and I am not a half-breed or a bastard. I am Wode.”
“You don’t smell of pure-blood Wode,” Phina snorted, but her tail stilled behind her. “I’ve been with more than one shield guard, fair Dare. Male and female alike. All of them as tall as two of you put together,” she sighed lustily. “Legendary stamina, and a very distinctive scent.”
Dare pressed her lips together and nodded. “You are not the first person to notice my differences. But I was raised Wode and lived in the main barracks until I reached my eleventh year.”
Bodhan stood abruptly, angling himself so he stood between Dare and the captain. Dare bit her lip to hide her surprise. He was protecting her? Even now?
The captain’s eyes rolled. “Please. Stop. Your masculinity may overwhelm me.” She turned to Dare. “You said until you were eleven you lived in the barracks? Did no one notice the differences in you before then?”
“They noticed.” Dare’s voice
was grim. “My father was a commander, but I could not be protected from all of their scorn. I never knew my mother, was told she had been posted far to the north, so the others were free to spin any yarn they wished to explain my anomalous attributes. There were many. But I believe it was those same traits, along with the esteem my father had always been held in, that led me to my posting.”
Dare took a breath, taking comfort in the thin blade hidden in her boot. She had armed herself before they left the Deviant, and if these people were not what she sensed them to be, she would have to use it.
“I am Senedal. Demeter Senedal. The Queen’s Chalice.”
The captain paled and Freeman took a subtle step closer to her side, ready should she need him.
Phina leapt from her chair and moved toward Dare, her head cocked and eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You tell us you are a Chalice but if it’s true, you’re one who isn’t guarding your queen. I’m guilty of many crimes, most of which I don’t regret, but none of them are treason.”
Dare clenched her fists at her sides. She forced herself to say aloud the horror she had been holding inside for too long. To speak the words that, even now, made her ill. “I serve the true queen, Idony the Ever Young. Not the mockery that wears her face and sleeps in her bed in the Copper Palace.”
The captain drew her sword in response. “Traitor.”
Dare inhaled sharply, but stood her ground. “I did not want to believe it, either. My message from your Khepri confirmed my greatest fears.”
Her memories blurred her vision, the emotions and her sense of loss returning in a rush of pain. “I have spent more than half my life by Queen Idony’s side, privy to her mannerisms, her thoughts, her emotions. She has been my monarch and my friend. One day, without warning, I was locked out of her rooms. Kept away, with unfamiliar Wode brought in to protect her in my stead. After I received the missive I snuck into her rooms against her orders and learned the truth. The woman who wears the crown has flesh but no feeling. She is not the queen I know. Someone went to unthinkable lengths not only to take her but to replace her. Lengths that I believed included killing my companion guard. There is no rumor of a possible plot, Captain Amaranthe. Though Bodhan may have information that could help us that he is unaware of, you should unchain him immediately. I speak the truth. Queen Idony has been taken.”