Escaping Fate (Veredian Chronicles Book 1)

by Regine Abel

  “Amalia…”

  She bent forward to scatter kisses and nips along my neck and on my chest. I grabbed her bum to press her more firmly against my aching groin then started moving in counterpoint to her own rocking motions. Goddess… She felt so good that I almost whimpered again when she lifted herself off me. Getting on all fours, she kissed her way backwards down my chest, to my abs. My breath caught in my throat. Her fluttering kisses turned to playful licks. She systematically avoided my throbbing shaft. I was about to cry out in tortured agony. Her delicate hands wrapped around my heavy, aching balls, tearing a strangled gasp out of me instead. Her fondling hand was soon replaced by the wet warmth of her tongue.

  So many nights I had fantasized of this moment. The true feel of her lips on my skin far exceeded my wildest imaginings. I felt a tightening in my groin. Gritting my teeth, I dug my hands into the bedding to hold back the burning urge to climax. Then the hot sheath of her mouth closed around my length. I cried out, half sitting up at the overwhelming pleasure.

  “Amalia…” I croaked as she pressed one hand to my chest, pushing me back down.

  This was too much. I wouldn’t last. She sucked me in slow, sensuous motions. Then picked up the pace, stroking me with her hand as well.

  “Amalia! Amalia, please… I can’t… I can’t…” I begged her, trying to pull away from her but she latched on to me greedily. And then there it was, a blinding bolt of ecstasy that fried my brain cells. It sent blistering shards of lightning throughout my body. I shouted my release and collapsed undone on the bed. I had occasionally managed to make myself come but never imagined it could be like this.

  Gharah’s teeth!

  As the blissful fog dissipated, fear and shame crept their way into my mind. I opened my eyes to look at her, dreading to find disappointment at my failure to tend to her first. Instead, she hovered over my groin with a smug smile stretching her voluptuous lips.

  “You’re breathtaking when you come,” she said, pleased with herself. “I intend to enjoy that spectacle over and over again.” She smiled as if laughing at an internal joke I was missing the punchline to.

  I watched her crawl back up and once again positioned her feminine parts over my shaft. “Ready for round two?” she asked with an innocent look that was anything but.

  I wasn’t. Not by a long shot. My head was still spinning from the most insane orgasm I’d ever had. But I needed to tend to her needs now. What if I couldn’t get it up again? What if…?

  Without waiting for an answer, she placed my hands on her breasts and began gyrating over me. I circled my palms over them, then gave them a gentle squeeze. I rubbed my thumbs over her nipples until they pebbled under my touch. Sitting up, I bent her backwards, our sexes still touching, so that I could taste her perky breasts. She threw her head back with a moan.

  I wouldn’t have thought it possible, yet here I was, fully hard again. The ache to bury myself inside her warm depth as she continued to rub herself over me, was staggering. But the need to satisfy her, as I should have already done, was even greater.

  “My turn,” I grunted against her chest, before abruptly flipping us.

  She squealed in surprise at the unexpected move before giggling with delight. She tried to wrap her legs around my waist but I wouldn’t let her. I may not have much experience – okay, none whatsoever – but I still knew the mechanics of pleasuring a female. What I lacked in skill, I would more than make up for in enthusiasm.

  I gave her a passionate kiss, tasting myself on her, and wondered what she would taste like. I intended to find out. Kissing my way down her neck, to her chest, I made a short stop at each breast before continuing my journey downward. She squirmed and giggled when I covered her flat stomach with fluttering pecks.

  Hmmm… Ticklish. Duly noted.

  Resuming my exploration south of her navel, I caressed the side of her hips. She violently shuddered under my touch and let out a drawn out moan.

  What in Gharah’s name?

  My intention had merely been to caress my way down so I could grab the back of her knees to spread her open for me. But something I’d done had given her a serious jolt of pleasure – I needed to know what. I repeated the caress and she hissed with bliss, her back arching off the bed. Befuddled, I looked at the side of her hips and noticed the larger spots of her markings had darkened. She was looking at me with foggy eyes, her mouth slack. Keeping my gaze locked on her face, I grazed a finger against the darkened markings and she shuddered again with a gasp, her eyes closing in ecstasy.

  Ooooh yes! This was going to be fun!

  I carefully placed my hands behind her knees, avoiding her markings. After spreading her open, I hungrily feasted on her core like a starving male.

  “Lhor!” she cried out.

  She trembled and rewarded me with a sensuous moan. It turned into a strangled cry when I ran my thumbs over the dark markings. She was glistening with arousal, the heady scent of her musk getting to my head like the greatest of aphrodisiacs. I pushed a finger inside her while my tongue continued to tease her nub. Amalia began gyrating under my touch as I added a second finger, moving them in and out of her. Her sheath was warm, silky, gently squeezing my fingers. The thought of how that would feel around my shaft sent a bolt of lust to my groin. I increased the tempo.

  At one point, she gasped and stopped her gyrating motion. Thinking something might be wrong, I slowed my movements.

  “Don’t stop!” she shouted, her voice heavy with need. “Continue like that. Just like that! Yes… Yes… Lhor. There… Right there! Oh Goddess…”

  She screamed so loudly when her climax took her, I feared she might hurt herself. I couldn’t help but stare up at her smugly as she rode the spasms of her orgasm.

  Not bad for a virgin!

  I stayed there, drinking in her beauty, my own throbbing cock all but forgotten.

  “Drink, Lhor,” she whispered, still half-dazed.

  I blinked. Drink? Oh yeah! I forgot about that. How in Gharah’s name could I forget about that? This was a reflex I’d have to develop from now on. Crawling up, I laid down over her, my legs between hers.

  She tilted her head to the side. “Drink, love.”

  Lowering my face to her neck, I gave her artery a slow lick before sinking my teeth in. I imagined drinking to be many things, but not the blissful ecstasy that ran through every inch of my body as her hormone flooded me. I almost climaxed from it and struggled to keep control.

  Don’t drain her!

  The thought snapped me out of the pleasurable trance and I carefully pulled my fangs from her, licking the puncture wounds shut. Looking up at her, she gazed at me with such love and tenderness, my throat choked up. She wrapped her arms around my back.

  “I want to feel you inside me.”

  There it was. The moment I’d dreamt of since the first time I’d laid eyes on her. When a Xelixian male entered puberty, it was his father’s duty to give him a formal sexual education. Among the teachings were that a male may never take a female without her explicit consent given verbally. No assumptions allowed. When Khel’s father gave me those teachings in my father’s stead, I didn’t think I would get to speak them with any hope of a positive response.

  “Amalia… my mate… my love… do you accept me?” I said, my voice thick with emotion.

  “Yes, Lhor. I accept you. Now and always.”

  I placed the tip of my shaft at her opening and slowly pushed into her. As her warmth closed around me, I thought I’d die with pleasure. She closed her eyes, whispering my name. I held still, savoring the sensation until her nails on my back urged me on. I began to rock in and out of her with a choked sigh of rapture. Goddess! The feel of her! I could stay like this forever. She was so tight, so soft. The way her sheath squeezed and caressed my shaft. Her hands on me! To be touched… At last, to be touched with such urgency, such heat, such unbridled desire… The way she responded to my touch, arched into me, clung to me like she could never have enough of me...
/>
  “Harder…” she begged breathily.

  Picking up the pace, I obliged. With each stroke, I pushed deeper, harder, while fondling one of her breasts. She lifted her chest, pushing it into my hand as if seeking greater contact. I pinched her nipple, hard, before soothing the pain with my thumb.

  “Yes…” she moaned throatily.

  So… my mate likes it a little rough.

  Lifting her right leg over my shoulder, I pounded into her. Her moans got louder, hungrier as she chanted my name. I lowered her leg and flipped us. She sat up, impaled herself on my shaft and began to rock over me.

  I grabbed her bottom with both hands, my fingers digging almost painfully into her plump flesh, holding her still. She gasped as I rocked in and out of her from beneath with unbridled passion. She tossed her head back, crying out with pleasure. I kept shifting the angle of my assault until I found her sweet spot. Her strangled cry told me when I found it.

  “Yes… Yes…” she sobbed, her face tense as the pleasure built up.

  After a few more powerful strokes hitting her sensitive spot, she yelled out her climax. Her inner walls clamped down around me, forcing my own orgasm out of me. I bellowed her name. Holding her tightly, I spilled my seed deep within her. She collapsed on top of me, her heart pounding against mine. I released my bruising hold and slowly ran my fingers up and down her back. There was no feeling like the warm grip of her folds around me. As our hearts and breathing slowed, she lifted her head to look at me. She placed a gentle kiss on my lips before offering me her neck.

  Drink!

  I had to remember to drink. Combing my fingers through her hair, I held the back of her head and bit her neck. She moaned and whispered my name when the euphoria from the Thylin venom I injected into her took effect. I retracted my fangs, sealing the wounds and held her against me, reveling in the intimacy.

  As I laid there with Amalia’s warm, silken weight sprawled over me, I took stock of this most improbable reality – I had a mate.

  “We should shower and get dressed,” Amalia whispered lazily after a few minutes. “Khel will be here soon.”

  Khel…

  I froze, a cold sliver of fear running down my spine. He gave his blessing. Amalia wouldn’t lie about that. But I couldn’t help the worry. We had such an ugly fight last night. Never, in my twenty-eight years, had I fought like that with Khel.

  “It’s alright, Lhor. Come on.” She lifted herself up and pulled me along. “Everything will be fine.”

  I took my sweet time washing her, still disbelieving I had the right to touch her. She seized every opportunity to tease me when she reciprocated. When she rubbed the sudsy washcloth over my cock in slow stroking motion, I lost it. She squealed in surprise when I ripped the cloth out of her hand. I pushed her against the shower wall and lifted her. Amalia wrapped her legs around my waist and I buried myself into her. I took her fast and hard, each stroke sending blistering coils of pleasure down my spine. She raked my back with her nails, urging me on with her sexy moans. She came hard, her inner walls squeezing my length almost painfully.

  My legs shook from the strength of my orgasm as I let her down. We exchange a passionate kiss before I sank my fangs into her one last time. I’d barely released her and sealed the puncture when a wave of sadness, fear, and shame hit me.

  Khel…

  I stiffened, my head turning to the door as if he stood outside.

  “What is it, Lhor?” Amalia asked, noticing my mood change.

  “Khel has arrived,” I said more sternly than intended. “Let’s finish up quickly. He has clearance and will enter the penthouse soon.”

  We hurried through the rest of our shower, dried up and got dressed. Amalia’s calm demeanor kept me from going into total panic mode. That, and I wasn’t feeling any anger from Khel; just incredible sadness, fear, and guilt.

  Amalia led me downstairs by the hand into the living area. Khel stood, almost at the exact same place I had stood when Amalia arrived. But he was watching us, his expression unreadable.

  “Khel!” Amalia exclaimed when she saw him.

  She let go of my hand and raced toward him. His expression softened and he smiled tenderly at her as she flung herself into his arms. He caught her in a fierce embrace. She lifted her face to his and he crushed her lips in a ravenous kiss. Breaking it off, he leaned his forehead against her and they stared at each other.

  “My Khel. My mate.” Her thumbs rubbed the ridge of his ears.

  I felt his shiver of pleasure. The waves of fear coming off him receded the moment she ran toward him. They were now replaced by a sense of relief, gratitude, and adoration.

  He still feared he might lose her to me.

  Pulling away from him, she gave him one last kiss. “I’m going to make some tea while you talk.”

  She gave me an encouraging smile then cast one last loving look at Khel. She caressed his cheek before sauntering out of the room. My throat was dry with worry. When my gaze met Khel’s, the vulnerability on his face threw me. Khel, my Gem, my anchor, looked… broken. He hesitantly approached me, stopping a few feet away.

  “Hello, Lhor.”

  “Khel.”

  He stood before me, his eyes lowered. “There’s nothing I can say to atone for the ugliness of my actions last night. I was scared, angry and hurting so I wanted everyone else to hurt. I threw at you everything most likely to draw blood.” Khel looked up, though his head remained bowed. “But I didn’t mean a single word of the horrible things I said. Someday, somehow, I pray you can find it in your heart to forgive me. You’re my Gem. I cannot bear losing you.”

  I had felt glimpses of his warring emotions last night but dismissed them as my projections. There were no words to describe the relief and joy I felt at this moment.

  I smiled gently. “I’ll always forgive you, Khel. You’re my Gem.”

  The intense emotion that crossed his noble features rocked me to my core. Closing the distance between us, he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug that I returned in kind. His emotions flooded through me, and for a brief moment, it felt as if we truly were one. I was whole again.

  He eventually released me, taking a step back. He studied my face. “Are you well?”

  “Yes.” He was referring to my Taint. “Better than I should be.”

  My insecurities reared their ugly heads. Khel had always sacrificed for me, which made me feel like a parasite. He’d always denied that I was, which is why it had cut so deep when he’d accused me of it. And now, I was feeling better because his mate let me drink from her. He had seen my Taint, felt pity and told Amalia about the mating law. This was just another sacrifice by him on my behalf. Amalia had seemed so sincere in our intimacy. Could it have been a simple act of compassion?

  Khel frowned. “Stop it,” he snapped. “Stop doing that. You’re always doubting yourself, thinking yourself unworthy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but right now you’re wondering why Amalia came to you and why I gave my blessing. Am I right?”

  I gawped at him, surprised by the accuracy of his assumption.

  Khel rolled his eyes. “You’re projecting your emotions so loudly right now, they might as well be mine.”

  I slammed my walls down.

  Khel put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. “Don’t close yourself off to me. Not now. Not anymore. I should have known you could feel my emotions. Somehow, I always suspected but never acknowledged it. You calmed me so often, so that much I knew. Why did you keep this a secret all those years?”

  Averting my eyes, I said, “I didn’t want to be a greater burden than I already was.”

  “Had I known you felt my pain, I would have stopped brawling.”

  I pulled away from him and started pacing. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. How much more was I going to take from you? How many times did you have to bathe me and feed me because I was too damn helpless to do it myself? You almost got expelled the first year of military academy because you were too busy looking after me. A
nd I know you passed on two off world command roles you wanted because I needed you nearby. You—”

  “Enough,” Khel cut me off with a stern hand motion. “Did it ever cross your mind that none of those things were ever a burden to me? That I reveled in your dependence on me? What you called being a parasite, I called a gift from the Goddess. You of all people should understand what it meant to me as a young Tainted boy to have someone need me the way you did. You looked at me like I was the greatest hero of all times. My mere presence kept you alive and took away your pain. You made me feel like a god.”

  I stood still, speechless. No, I’d never thought of it that way.

  Khel closed the distance between us again and put both his hands on my shoulders.

  “Lhor, did it ever cross your mind that I’m the male I am today because of you? I would have turned into a violent, cold-hearted bully. You were my moral compass. Solving issues by cracking skulls was always a good enough option for me. But not for you. I couldn’t bear for you to be disappointed in me so I sought alternate solutions. You made me want to be a better person. You’re not just my Gem Lhor, you’re my conscience. So don’t you ever call yourself a parasite again, is that clear?”

  I nodded slowly, my throat too tight for any intelligible words to come out. Khel didn’t speak of his feelings – not like this. He was a man of action, not words. For him to bare his soul in this fashion told me he’d been affected as profoundly by our fight as I had been.

  “It’s not pity or fear of losing you that made me give my blessing to Amalia. If I hadn’t been so scared and selfish, I would’ve realized this was right sooner. We’re the two halves of the same male. Of course, we should have the same mate.”

  “Then you’re really okay with this? Me being Amalia’s Second Mate?”

  He heaved a sigh. “You can feel my emotions, Lhor. You know that I am okay with this. I’m possessive and insecure when it comes to her so we’ll need time to adjust. But diplomacy and handling awkward situations should be child’s play for the Principal Councilor of the Xelhan District.