by Ivy Barrett
The demon released Ebon with a growl, obviously displeased by the command.
“Get to work before he falls asleep.” He gave her a little push. “Ratauni has a tendency to wear people out.”
Ebon looked rather dazed, but his cock arched nearly to his navel. He raised his arms as she moved astride his hips. “Are you all right?” His voice was hoarse, his concern endearing.
“I’m fine.” She brought his cock to her entrance and sank onto his hardened length. Blissful fullness pushed into her, easing the ache and making her entire body shiver.
Drey Fon rummaged through the shelves on the far side of the hut. Petra had no idea what he was looking for. Ratauni reclined against the wall, her legs spread wide as she thrust her fingers in and out of her pussy.
Ebon matched his movements to Ratauni’s, elongating each stroke. Was he aware of the compulsion or was he simply responding to the frenzy? Petra felt the thick slide of his cock as she watched Ratauni’s fingers. Reality began to blur.
This was dangerous. If she surrendered completely to Drey Fon and his pet, there was no telling how long they’d control her or what they’d make her do. Petra concentrated on Ebon. He was safe. He was predictable. He was part of her world.
Kneeling behind her, Drey Fon pushed her forward, rocking her against Ebon’s chest. Ebon grabbed her hips and kept right on bucking, unable to stop for even a moment. Fear tingled through her desire. Would Drey Fon take his time or thrust in brutally? Her flesh still stung from the reed. He obviously enjoyed inflicting pain.
“Hold still until I get in,” Drey Fon snapped.
“Then hurry. Do you have lube?” Ebon sounded muddled. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
Drey Fon laughed. “As if you could stop me.” He separated the halves of her ass and smeared something cool around and into her other opening.
Petra tried to relax, to accept whatever came next. Tensing would only make things worse. She shifted her hips, pushing up against Drey Fon as he drove inward. Her inner muscles stretched, tightening around Ebon as she accommodated both men. Ebon gritted his teeth, his features contorted as he fought for control.
“That feels…so fucking good!” He gasped out the words between ragged breaths.
“Match my thrusts,” Drey Fon commanded. “Let’s stuff her so full, she can’t help but scream.”
Their cocks slammed into her, forcing her pleasure higher than it had ever gone before. Lights burst before her eyes and spasms exploded all through her abdomen. She came hard, and then came again, demonic energy compounding her arousal.
A sharp cry escaped Ratauni, drawing Petra’s attention. The demon huddled against the wall, shaking visibly. Their gazes locked and Ratauni’s thoughts surged. Help me. The plea echoed through Petra’s mind, anguished and desolate.
* * * * *
Serena lifted the charred grill from the ceremonial bowl and filled the dish with fragrant oil. Allowing the familiar scent to soothe her, she threaded a strip of tightly rolled cloth through the center slot in the grill and knotted the end. She rested the grill across the bowl and waited for the fibers to absorb the oil.
Lighting a meditation flame was one of the first skills an acolyte mastered. She gathered energy in her chest and channeled it out through her middle finger. The wick ignited with a subtle pop and Serena rested her hands on her thighs.
She knelt on the floor beside the bed, conflicted and weary. Staring at the tiny flame, she centered her being and cleared her mind.
Shouldn’t you be in bed? Miranda’s familiar voice made Serena smile. In fact, I figured you’d have company in that bed by now. Where’s Matt?
Serena and Miranda had always shared a close telepathic link. The distance separating them made communication challenging. Still, they interacted far more often than anyone realized.
Matt is outside and I’ve never been so confused in my life.
I can use my professional skills or you can just tell me what’s going on.
How long have you known Matt? Serena closed her eyes, finding it easier to maintain the mental link.
Seven, no, eight months. Why?
What species is he?
Ah. Did he tell you, or did you sense he’s not quite human?
He’s not quite…alive!
That’s rubbish and you know it. He is every bit as alive as you or I. You didn’t answer my question. Why isn’t he with you?
He kept having dreams where his robot self strangled his human self.
I knew he had nightmares, but he never let me beyond his mental shields.
A long pause followed. Serena inhaled the scented oil and allowed Matt’s image to fill her mind. His eyes gleamed with tenderness and laughter, while his lips parted in a sexy smile.
What do you know for a fact?
Serena sighed. It was a long-standing game, a simple way of untangling complex problems. She suspected Miranda had incorporated it into her practice on Halley Prime.
I know he was honest when lying would have been easier.
What else?
I know he would protect me with his life. I know he’s had only my best interest at heart since he arrived. I know he’s kind and gentle when I need him to be, yet there is incredible strength in him too.
Go on.
I know he affects me more deeply than anyone I’ve ever met.
It seems as if you know a lot already. How does he affect you?
That’s not one of the magic questions. Serena smiled. You can only ask what I know, what I feel and what I want.
All right, what do you feel about Matt?
I’m in love with him.
Then why the hell are we having this conversation? Miranda’s temper flared along the telepathic link. You belong together. I knew that the first moment I saw him. I only kept him in therapy for months because I wanted to know what he was hiding before I let him near my baby sister.
And the fact he’s a biomech didn’t give you pause?
Not after I found out how dying changed him and what he plans to do with his second chance. Ask him about the Renaissance Foundation. If you let Perrlain prejudice screw this up… Don’t make me come get you.
Serena sent her sister a mental hug. What would I do without you?
A better question is what would Orillia do without you?
What does that mean?
Miranda chuckled. Don’t panic. That was in no way a dire prediction. Just tell Orillia her slacker days are almost over. She’ll know what I mean.
The link faded and Serena blew out the meditation flame. She wasn’t sure what that last bit had been about, but she’d deliver the message.
Crossing the cottage, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Matt pivoted to face her, his expression tense. “Would you please come back inside?”
Curiosity creased his brow then he nodded and entered the cottage. “What smells so good?”
“I was going to meditate, see if I could sort through this jumble in my mind.”
“You were ‘going to’?”
“No sooner had I ignited the flame than Miranda reached out to me.”
“You and Miranda can speak telepathically?”
She nodded. “She’s much more accomplished than I am, but our bond has always been strong.”
“What did she have to say?”
“That I’m a fool if I let prejudice ruin my future. She left Temple-Tuttle because of the Order’s inflexibility.”
A slow, sexy smile bowed his lips. “I knew there was a reason I liked her.” He paused and his smile faded. “I don’t give a damn what the rest of this tribe thinks about me. What do you think about me?”
The question was so similar to one of the “magic” questions, she couldn’t help but smile. “I think I’d like to hear about the Renaissance Foundation.”
“Miranda has a big mouth.” He paused for a playful scowl.
“Does it have something to do with what the word implies—rebirth, renewal, putting lives back together
?”
“Yes. I’ve been using a good portion of my Toymaker money helping to better the lives of those who can’t afford my technology.”
“You’re giving sex toys to—”
“No! Nothing like that. I’m sponsoring people who need artificial limbs and replacement organs.”
She laughed, feeling foolish yet thrilled that her misconception had obviously horrified him. “Matthias was part of the pleasure industry and Matthias is dead?”
“Exactly. I’m not foolish enough to think my past won’t haunt me. I have a lot of ghosts in my closet. But I’m determined to move my life in a different direction, and I want you by my side.”
Chapter Ten
Time stood still for Matt as he gazed into Serena’s eyes. She had never looked more beautiful and he had never wanted her more. But he waited, waited for her to make the next move, waited for her to accept the biomech as well as the man.
“I want that too.” Her voice was hushed and uncertainty shadowed her eyes. “But my gift belongs to the people. There hasn’t been a soul seer for many years.”
“I’m not asking you to give up your life so I can live mine. We can find a compromise. I have to be able to communicate with other worlds, but we can stay on Temple-Tuttle. I’ll set up an office in Sanctuary and we can travel to the valley as often as you’re needed. It might do the others some good to broaden their horizons just a little.”
Tears pooled behind her lashes and her lips trembled. “They won’t let me keep you. I know they won’t.”
He brushed away her tears as they fell then cupped her chin. “If you want me, sweetheart, no power in the universe will keep us apart.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Needing no other encouragement, he swept her into his arms and headed across the small room. His mouth sealed over hers, the kiss intense yet tender. They had the rest of their lives to explore the ferocity of their passion, tonight was a whispered prayer, a vow. They would worship each other with their hands and consummate their future with their bodies.
He stroked her lips with his tongue then explored the interior of her mouth. She followed his retreat, her tongue every bit as bold as his.
He set her down beside the bed and parted her robe. She shrugged out of the garment and reached for the ties of his soratti.
“You are so beautiful,” she whispered before he could speak the words out loud.
“That’s my line.”
She stroked his chest and squeezed his shoulders, her gaze following her hands. “You intoxicate me.”
Thrilled by her eagerness, he let her play. She rubbed against him then moved back so she could see the effect her body had on his anatomy. He hardened immediately, his balls tight and aching.
She sat on the bed and pulled him toward her, mischief shimmering in her crystal blue eyes. “I’m not going to stop this time.”
“Such a threat.” He chuckled.
“I want you to stand there and shake and moan and trust me with your pleasure.”
He clasped his hands behind his back. “I’m entirely at your mercy.”
She slipped one hand between his legs and cupped his balls. Her gaze was intent upon his face. Closing her fingers around his shaft, she stroked him from base to tip until his cock head flushed and prickled with sensation.
“Lick me,” he whispered.
“Like this?” She swirled her warm, wet tongue around his engorged tip.
“God yes.” Lifting him, she traced the pronounced vein on the underside of his shaft then closed her lips around his crown. “More. Suck harder.”
Her gaze promised mayhem as she sucked him into her mouth. The snug circle of her lips slid up and down his shaft while her fist pumped. He let go of his wrists and clenched his fists, needing to touch her yet wanting her to explore her newfound power. Control had been wrested from her at her ascension. Matt swore that she would never feel helpless again.
She scooted off the bed and knelt before him, tilting her head to a better angle. He was able to thrust deeper now. Still, he let her determine the speed. Her fingernails dug into his hips and her mouth demanded his surrender.
Tension gathered in his groin and curled up his cock. Just a few more strokes and he’d be there.
“Are you—sure?”
She sank lower and tilted her head back farther, taking him into her throat. Her gag reflex tightened then he slipped even deeper. The heat and tension combined in blistering pleasure. He caught her face between his hands and released in rhythmic spurts.
Swallowing and licking, she prolonged the spasms until he could hardly stand.
“Are you trying to kill me?” He groaned and carefully eased out of her mouth.
Serena licked her lips, fascinated by the taste of his passion. Firmine wine and something she couldn’t quite define. “Killing you would be rather counterproductive, don’t you think? Were you drinking tersatta juice?”
“There was a bowl of bright red berries near the door.”
“Orillia must have left them for me.” She tried to hide her naughty smile, but he caught her chin and gazed into her eyes.
“Explain.”
“The berries are made into a mildly intoxicating juice, but they are also used… If you rub the berry pulp over specific areas of the body, it can be very stimulating.”
Without explanation he left the cottage and returned with the berries. The message was clear. He’d let her have her way with him, now it was her turn to submit.
“On the bed.”
It wasn’t exactly a command but close enough to send heat cascading through her. His aggression aroused her just as much as his tenderness. She loved all the facets of his personality, the distracted smiles, the rumbling laughter, the fierce possessiveness.
She spread out on her back and raised her arms over her head. If he’d wanted to bind her, she would have had no objection. Perhaps later, when he had accepted that she was not as fragile as she looked, they could explore these darker urges.
He took several berries and crushed them against his palm then painted her lips with the juice.
“If you warm it with your breath, my lips will tingle,” she explained. After licking off the first coat, he tested her words with the second. He exhaled and her lips heated. “Kiss me.”
“No.”
She groaned. If she’d posed it as a question or just waited for him to taste her lips, they’d be kissing. Instead, he licked a path down her neck and coated her nipples with the tersatta pulp. The buds gathered and tingled long before his mouth encouraged the response. He left one wet and burning while he sucked the other and then switched. Back and forth, sensation and suction, combined to make her wild.
“Open for me. I want to taste the heart of you.”
Drawing her knees up, she let her legs rotate out until she was offered brazenly. His berry-coated fingers caressed her folds, the pulp accenting his slightest touch.
“Wait,” she gasped. “It stings.”
“Here?” He dragged his tongue from her anus to her clit, easing the burn and encouraging the tingle. Reversing direction, he discovered every crease and delicate fold.
Tangling her fingers in his hair, she tried to guide his mouth where she needed it most. He ignored her whimpers and the beseeching rise of her hips and reached for more berries. Crushing them between his fingers, he pushed them into her core. She only felt a slight heat for a moment then her inner muscles constricted forcefully.
She cried out and he lifted her to his mouth, sucking and licking, soothing and arousing, devouring her with his hunger for her passion. An abrupt orgasm tore through her, arching her back. He lapped at the juices streaming from her pussy. Her head spun and she trembled, limp and weightless in his hands.
“Fuck, you taste good.” He thrust his tongue deep several times, before he went on. “Did I use too much?”
“I thought so at first, but that was pretty amazing.”
With comforting strokes, he
licked his way to her clit. He passed his tongue over and around her, reawakening the sensitive nub. His lips gently tugged while he pushed two fingers into her passage.
“I already came. Why are you still teasing me?”
“I like teasing you.” He sucked a bit firmer. “And you like being teased.” As if to prove his point, his hand moved farther down, coating a path to her back passage.
She knew men and women used this other passage as they used a pussy, but Matt was massive. “You’re not going to…” His finger slipped inside her and tingles spiraled up through her body. “Oh my.”
“Trust me with your pleasure.”
How could she argue with her own words?
He gently sucked on her clit while he slid his finger in and out. After the initial shock, the sensations were pleasant. He continued slow and steady for a long while then raised his head and looked into her eyes.
“Let go.”
It felt odd. It felt alien. Why was he… His fingers rolled her clit, the pressure significantly harder than his lips. He thrust in fast and pulled out slow, twisting his wrist so his finger dragged different areas inside her.
“Trust me.” It was an order this time, his gaze demanding her surrender.
His fingers squeezed hard and the spike of pain launched her orgasm, sparks of tingling pleasure showering down upon her. She cried out, shuddering as sensations buffeted her body. He drew his finger out, extending the last ripple.
Cupping her ass with both hands, he found her pussy with his cock and pushed inside. She wasn’t sure if the orgasm continued or if a whole new climax burst, but her inner muscles tightened around him and her sharp cry made him smile.
“Do you need a minute?”
“No! Now. Hard. Please.” She added the last word in a breathless murmur as his gaze narrowed on her face. He pulled back and thrust his entire length into her trembling body. She raised her legs high against his sides, offering him everything.
Strong, deep drives robbed her of breath and filled her with wonder. He was perfect. They were perfect.
He moved faster, extending his arms as his hips drove more forcefully. Her breasts jostled and she tossed her head from side to side. With flawless timing, he leaned down and captured her scream of pleasure with his open mouth.