Elise moaned as he flicked her nipple with his warm tongue. He squeezed the other nipple roughly, but not too rough.
When she thought she couldn’t stand another second, Ki switched, treating the other breast to his mouth and working her wet, swollen nipple with his fingers.
“I want you inside my pussy,” Elise demanded, spreading her legs.
Ki’s heated gaze bored into her, and she felt the urgency of his need. She gloried in it.
He settled himself on his knees, holding her thighs apart. His magnificent cock stood straight out, tantalizingly close to where Elise wanted him to be.
With one finger, he traced the triangle around her sex, moving toward her slit with maddening slowness.
Elise groaned and pushed her hips off the bed—and his finger found her pulsing clit. Like a laser. Like a magnet. The exact spot. In just a few strokes, she came with a sharp cry. And then Ki’s fingers plunged deep inside her, pussy and ass.
Like before, but all Ki.
The fullness, the ecstasy—no relaxing drug, and no pain.
Elise gasped and bucked, lost in pleasure. Lost in the feel of his hands in her most intimate areas. Absorbed by his joy at her warmth and wetness.
Slowly at first, then harder and faster, he pushed into her. She rocked and bounced against his hand, savoring the dual sensation until she came again, squeezing her legs against his arms.
“I love you with all my heart,” he said in a low, rasping voice. His teeth were clenched as he slid his fingers from her drenched, throbbing slit, and Elise knew how much he needed relief.
Once more, she spread her legs as wide as she could. “Don’t make me wait any more. And don’t hold back. I’m well. I swear.”
Ki growled and hoisted himself over her. In one hard stroke, he buried himself deep. Elise moaned and rose to meet him as he drove into her again, and again.
“Fuck me,” she begged. “All of your cock. Harder!”
The noises roiling from Ki’s throat sounded wild. Almost bestial. He slammed into Elise so hard her body rocked back against the pillows. The whole bed seemed to move.
Their bodies pressed together in sweat-sheened perfection.
Another forceful plunge, and Ki came with a guttural shout. Elise felt his warm fluids filling her to the brim, and then incredibly he, kept going. Pressing still harder and higher. Elise felt herself climbing the ladder again, and in seconds, her body shook with orgasm as Ki once more spilled himself in her slit.
Before she could react, he pulled out, and Elise was shocked to realize he was already growing hard again.
“Can you continue?” Ki whispered. His expression was dazed. Enraptured. “I do not wish to take your strength.”
“I’m fine.” Elise heard the tremor in her voice. “Take what you want, however you want it.”
Moaning, Ki pulled her forward, spread her legs as wide as possible, then helped her put her legs on his shoulders.
Her heart hammered.
What was he doing?
“Relax,” murmured, pressing his cock against her ass. “Let me in.”
Elise groaned from the mere thought. She reached up and rubbed her clit, keeping herself primed. “I want you.”
There was a flash of pain—and then his cock filled her ass. So big, so total. Elise felt impaled, but not painfully so. Perfectly so.
“So tight,” he gasped, knowing from her thoughts that he wasn’t hurting her.
Elise let out a throaty groan, relishing the full, erotic sensation.
Ki rocked against her, taking it slow and easy, then building. And building.
“Yes.” Elise felt herself close to another orgasm. This man was unbelievable. Everything he did drove her to new heights.
“Come,” Ki commanded, pounding into her ass. He drew his thumb across her clit, and that was all it took.
She shrieked as her muscles tightened around him. He joined her then, at last emptying himself completely as she twisted and jammed herself against his sack and thighs.
For a moment, they didn’t move.
They couldn’t move.
Elise felt the pressure of his cock still inside her, and the weight of his hand pressing against her mons, easing her down toward slumber.
And then Ki slipped himself free.
“You are splendid, and I love you with my very soul.” He bent and kissed her, and she tasted the salt of his sweet exhaustion.
“Sha.” She touched his face. “Beloved. Forever my beloved.”
* * * * *
Ki Tul’Mar did not leave his private chambers for three stellar days. His shanna pleasured him over and over, satiating the terrible need that had consumed him while she lay ill.
Her heart and generosity knew no bounds.
And he had never been so afraid of losing anything or anyone in his life.
Each time he looked at Elise, each time he felt the softness of her flesh beneath his hands—he thanked the universe for her presence, and her recovery.
Now, a stellar week after her waking, she had resumed her lessons with Akad, the occasional inclusion of Fari in their marital pleasures, and the seeking of new experiences. In fact, she had been exploring Arda with a fervor.
“The mountains are so tall and green,” she had told him over dinner last evening. “The grass looks like a pelt on the slopes.”
And, “Ki, the water here is so beautiful and sweet! It tastes fresh and cool, no matter where I drink it.”
And, “I had no idea Camford was as big as a city. It’s incredible!”
Her ecstasy at the herds of supple Chimera flowing over the grounds knew no bounds as well. “They look like giraffe-horses! And so many colors—they keep changing. Look! There’s a purple one.”
This particular morning, after Kon’pa and a leisurely coupling, Elise had dressed in loose breeches and a white tunic. Leaving Ki to breakfast in the great hall alone, she headed out early for a riding lesson with Krysta. After that, Krysta intended to teach Elise the basics of flying a speeder.
“She will be a natural pilot, brother. I know it.” Krysta’s excitement at finding another female with an adventuresome spirit had been apparent.
Most women on Arda could ride and pilot, at least at a rudimentary level, but many preferred to leave those duties to men. Ardani females were robust hikers, mountain climbers, and runners, and they preferred the taming of game birds, water sports, and carving for pastimes. There was no prohibition against women training as warriors and joining the Fleet, but few chose to do it.
Krysta, of course, was an exception. She was captain of the Home Guard, and she spearheaded a group of lightly-armed speeders that would be Arda’s first line of defense against direct invasion.
Knowing Ki’s luck, Elise would wish to join this vanguard, and worry him into an early grave.
“Beautiful morning, brother.” Fari entered from the great hall’s main door. He strode past the many planetary banners adorning the walls, pulled out a chair beside Ki, and helped himself to all of the five serving dishes of eggs, chaka-meat, hashed tubers, steaming bread, and fresh gravy.
“Did you see Elise and Krysta out in the yard?” Ki took a swig of golden sweetberry juice.
“Yes. Early, on my morning run, they nearly trampled me. That Chimera of Krysta’s—no discipline. And now she is teaching your wife all of her bad training habits.”
Ki grinned. “Krysta does spoil the animals.”
“Just now, when I crossed the outer bailey, Krysta’s speeder swooped low and nearly shaved the top of my head. If I am not mistaken, your lovely shanna had the controls.”
“She learns quickly.” Ki sat back, feeling full and pleased. “You need your own soul’s mate soon, brother. There is nothing better.”
Fari shook his head. “Thank you, no. I prefer enjoying yours now and again. Better for the mind. At least I can think of things other than her wet quim. Unlike you.”
At this, Ki’s cock hardened. He laughed, but then the warning i
n his brother’s tone penetrated his Elise-besotted brain. “You bring news of Gith’s suit?”
“Of many things. But firstly, the OrTan’s claim.” Fari’s expression tightened. “The Galactic Council refused to dismiss it out of hand. They will hear the case.”
Ki’s gut clenched. Unpleasant news. The Council must be predisposed to favor Lord Gith’s assertions, or they would have quashed the case to avoid angering Arda.
Fari’s grim frown confirmed those suspicions. “I think it essential that we present Elise to the people before the suit moves forward, Ki. Let them see her beauty and light, and know the depth of your love for her. It will only solidify popular support.”
“Wise words.” Ki leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “Akad believes she will be ready to handle pure pa in two stellar weeks. Three at the latest.”
“That gives us little time.” Fari grimaced. But he knew, as Ki did, that handling pa was a necessary part of the Presentation.
Elise would be required to stand before her subjects and allow their limited touch to her thoughts. The people would weigh her goodness, sincerity, and worth. They would verify the truth of Ki’s love for his chosen bride.
Then, to demonstrate her solidarity with Arda, Elise would coat her hands in pa and make her mark on the Wall of Life, outside the gates of Camford.
After that, Akad, as Arda’s high priest, would formally ask Elise for her pledge to Ki. She would have to agree that no matter what the circumstances, she would never abandon her mate.
If she affirmed the pledge, the Law of Keeping would be satisfied.
If she refused to make the pledge, Ki would lose his status as Sailmaster—and his life. Ki’s honor and virulence would be forever soiled, and his time would come to an unpleasant end. A beheading on the ancient and little-used Tuscan Platform, deep in the Camford Forest.
And he would deserve it.
A ruler who could not win his own soul’s mate was, in the eyes of Ardani history, no man, and no fit ruler at all.
“You still have not told her, have you?” Fari’s question sounded gentle. A concern, not a condemnation.
“No.” Ki’s firm tone surprised even him. “And she will not be told.”
“It—it should not be an issue. She will affirm, brother. Her heart, her very being, belongs to you and you alone. It is obvious in her every gaze, her every touch.”
“I believe it so, yes.” Ki managed a smile. “But it will be an anxious moment, to have my existence ride upon a single spoken word.”
“You have won your mate, brother. Take comfort, and be joyful.” Fari finished his meal and sat back. “And now, we have much to consider. Our defenses need work before open warfare with the OrTans.”
“Indeed.” Ki motioned for one of the many servants, all employed by Camford at their own choice and well-paid for their labor.
As two buxom women hurried forward to clear the table, Arda’s ruler stood with his brother and strode from the great hall, heading south and down, deep within the castle’s bowels. To Camford’s most secure area.
To the war room.
Chapter 9
Elise guided Krysta’s shining speeder over Camford Lake, admiring its emerald waves. Her soft white tunic wrapped her body like a comforting hug, and her loose breeches hung gently against her legs. The speeder’s burnished floor felt cool but comfortable on her bare feet.
She felt free. Completely unfettered. And she loved flying. Every morning, after dancing the Kon’pa with her husband (typically followed by slow, toe-tingling sex), Ki, Fari, and Krysta went for their usual runs. Elise used that time to take the speeder out for a spin, exploring some new Ardani nook or cranny. She still had so much to see. To memorize.
To savor.
She had been on Arda for nine stellar days, and she couldn’t have imagined how fascinating and sensual her new home would be. Everything seemed impossibly bright, clean, and fresh. Arda was as colorful as a painter’s palette. New sounds, new smells, and new sensations surprised her every hour. Even the air felt smooth and soothing on her skin. Sometimes she went naked just to savor it, though she still didn’t feel comfortable enough to do that outside of Camford.
Of course, Camford was essentially a walled city created for the Tul’Mar family by masons and craftsmen of unsurpassed skill. Camford’s weathered stone structure had stood strong for thousands of years. Eight thousand and five years, to be precise. The rooms smelled of light honeysuckle, which Ki called mora-flower, and rose-like blossoms splashed the outer stones with greens, reds, yellows, and different shades of pink. Camford had chambers for chambers, and towers holding towers.
Smiling servants kept the great palace polished and fresh around the clock. There were libraries and pools. Great halls, small halls, round rooms, square rooms, tapestries, murals, sculptures—and surely all the magic mirrors from childhood fairytales hung in some yet-unexplored marble passageway.
Camford had hunting grounds and riding grounds, fields of grain, and fields teeming with incredibly-colored Chimera. Elise had decided Chimeras must be part unicorn, because every time she came close to one, she heard music in her heart.
And Arda itself. God, but Arda had to be something from a dream. Endless blue skies, an orange-yellow sun with a tiny, whiter sun joining it like a child holding a mother’s hand—and the mountains. Some thickly wooded, some capped with snow, and others gently rolling and shrouded in mist like the Great Smokies on her former planet.
Earth wasn’t remotely interesting to Elise anymore, except for her cousin Georgia. And for that painful problem, Elise had formed a plan.
She piloted the speeder over the forest that surrounded Ki’s castle. Their castle. And she smiled.
Trees similar to pines, but thicker with branches and sporting blue cones instead of brown, spread beneath her like sea. And she had seen the Western Sea, only that morning. As well as two herds of hideously ugly and hairy white buffalo-looking things the computer identified as fergilla. Many insults now made better sense to Elise.
The speeder, which was roughly the size of an Earth commuter plane with long, hooked wings, could travel anywhere on Arda in under twenty Earth minutes. It moved too fast to comprehend, yet Elise felt like she was cruising air highways in a Cadillac.
The speeder’s control panel was so easy to operate—simpler than the switchboard Elise had manned in her mind-numbing government job. Even better, the ship had an endless-fusion power source, seemingly straightforward maintenance, and ample storage for food in the back hold. Elise had stocked it again this morning, careful to keep the provisions hidden in cabinets and under blankets. With luck, Krysta wouldn’t notice. And luck didn’t have much to do with it, because Elise was nearly ready to go.
She was ready, in fact. As of this flight, all she needed was the right moment. When her instinct told her to go.
By Elise’s best calculations, and according to the expanse of star charts stored in the speeder’s guidance system, she could travel to Earth and back in less than ten stellar days. Twelve tops. She could rescue Georgia from pain, suffering, and a life of endless boredom and loneliness, and be back with her sha before that Presentation ceremony he kept talking about.
The speeder was armed with small guns and lasers. Not enough to blow up a skull ship, of course, but enough to get her out of a tight spot and let the ship’s incredible engines do the rest. Elise had practiced firing them out over the sea, and done fairly well with her targets. The computer made things easy.
Through innocent questioning in her sessions with Akad, Elise also had determined that space travel posed no special risks during her 140-day pregnancy. Not until the last ten stellar days, anyway, and she was only twenty-five days along. Her stomach had barely begun to swell. Georgia would be on Arda with her by the time the baby was born.
Elise’s arrival was still a matter of mystery to the kingdom, since she hadn’t been Presented yet. Ki’s crew was notoriously tight-lipped about Astoria’s travels, an
d ruthlessly loyal to Ki and Fari. No one would have to know how Georgia got to Arda—except Ki, Fari, and Krysta. And Elise didn’t think they would turn her in for breaking the law about interfering with primitive cultures. After all, until a few months ago, Elise was a primitive.
Best of all, once Georgia was with her, Elise would be an unburdened primitive. She would be completely happy, and maybe able to bond fully with Ki, share his thoughts and emotions completely. Like a true Ardani mate.
And that was something Elise wanted almost as much as Georgia’s rescue—and Lord Gith’s eradication from the universe.
Like a seasoned pro, Elise set the speeder on its landing pad, just inside Camford’s bailey. Several technicians in black tunics rushed out to help her down, but Krysta beat them to the ladder.
“Hail, sister!” she called, reaching for Elise’s hand.
“Good morning.” Elise grinned as Krysta helped her over the large first step, kissed her, then hugged her tightly. “I didn’t scratch it, I promise.”
“Far better than I did in my first month of flying. Come. Breakfast is waiting.”
Running like a child at play, Elise followed Krysta into the massive side doors of Camford’s great hall. In the dining room, Ki stood and greeted her with a deep, warming kiss. Fari kissed her as well, and servants heaped her plate with pastries, fruit, and deliciously rich cheeses. Elise never had less than three types of juice to choose from, and so far, everything had tasted like food from heaven. Sweet, light, and completely filling. She loved the feel of the new textures on her tongue, and delighted in the familiar, yet strange smells from the plates and kitchens.
Conversation was always cheerful, light, and loving, and this morning was no different. After breakfast, Krysta headed off to see to the Chimera herds for a bit. Ki and Fari announced that they needed to take care of some trading route matters, but Ki promised to join is shanna in the early afternoon.
“Go to the libraries,” he suggested. “Try the one in the East tower. I think it will please you. Read, as you so love to do, and I will meet you there as soon as I can.”
Ki kissed Elise again before he left, making sure she could feel the hard-on in his brown leather breeches.
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