by Kiersten Fay
His cock grew hard at the thought and he couldn’t help but gently palm her backside. He cursed himself when she began to stir. Then she smiled up at him as though she were pleased, making him harder still.
“Good morning,” she drowsily mumbled and kissed his chest.
When he softly groaned, a wicked glint grew in her eyes and she did it again.
He could come from that look alone.
“Morning,” he replied in a husky voice, shifting his hold to the crest between her legs. She let out a slight gasp, but then smiled wider.
A demanding grumble came from his stomach.
Nadua rose up concerned. “How long has it been since you’ve had something eat?”
His lips curled into an evil grin. “Far too long.” He flipped her to her back. She let out a delighted squeak and he placed himself between her legs. Her cheeks flushed when she caught his joke.
He started with her breast, licking and teasing till she moaned, circling one peak with his tongue while gripping the other. With his free hand, he felt between her legs, gratified to find her growing damp for him.
Unable to resist any longer, he slipped down her body, kissing and nipping as he went. The first taste of her exploded on his tongue and he knew then, he was a slave for her. Anything she asked he would do, if he could just keep her as his.
He delved between her folds, making her writhe. The sounds she made urged him on. She began chanting in Cyrellian, demanding him not to stop. Her tone became more frantic. Back arching, she grabbed a handful of his hair and cried out. He continued to lick her sex until her body went limp.
Needing to be inside her, he crawled up her body, but she pushed him away with her palms on his chest.
His heart dropped to his stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“Will you forget again?”
“I can’t be sure.”
Without another word, she crawled out from under him. He dropped his head and let her go. But before he could chastise himself for ruining the moment, she pushed him to his back so their positions were reversed.
“What are you doing?” He watched her intently as her hands trailed down his stomach.
“Do you remember that night in the cave? The one where Rex nearly caught us?”
He nodded.
Her fingers began playing along his shaft. “Why do you think that is? That you remember, I mean.”
Her hand wrapped around his length and she began slow strokes to the tip and back.
She wanted him to think while she was doing that?
“I’m not sure,” he grated.
“Well, what was different then?”
“Damn it, woman. I don’t know.” His unsatisfied lust was making him irritable.
Her hand stilled. “I’m only trying to help,” she snapped. “Get surly one more time and I’ll stop completely. So what was different?”
He growled and pumped his hip. She began her slow, maddening movements again. The teasing wench wasn’t going to go further until he answered.
Racking his brain, he said, “I wasn’t inside you and I knew I wouldn’t hurt you. Also, I was watching you as you came so I could memorize every second.”
“What about when you...uh...when it had been your turn?”
“Still I watched you, your eyes had me mesmerized.” His voice was strained. Her movements distracting. “The color of the finest gem, as they are now. Woman, you’re driving me crazy.”
“You didn’t hurt me in the pool.” She tilted her head. “But you did look away.”
“But I thought I hurt you. I remember you went stiff and told me to stop. Everything’s a blur after that.”
Her grip tightened in reward, but she frowned. “I see. Well, you didn’t hurt me. You are quite large though, and I needed to get used to your size is all.” She paused, thinking. “Are you usually in control when you...um...with other women.”
A thrill burst through Marik when her jaw clenched in a show of jealousy.
“Usually.” He paused. “Always, yes.”
Holding his gaze, she lowered her lips to his shaft, hovering just inches away. His breath caught.
“Then you’re only allowed to watch. Understand?”
He nodded tightly, his shaft stiffening to the point of pain. She darted out her tongue to touch the tip and then looked at him.
He balled his hands into fists. “You can’t be teasing me, luv. I’m about to lose it.”
Then she laid out her rules. “If you touch me, I’ll stop. If you look away, I’ll stop.”
As if anything could keep his eyes off her.
He nodded again, growing impatient, and struggling to keep his control.
Her plump lips came over him and he groaned in relief. The fierce pleasure almost made his lids close but he forced them open, fearing she would be true to her word.
The amusement in her eyes said she approved of his obedience. Her full lips began sliding up and down. She pulled out slowly and then sucking him back in as her tongue did wicked things to the underside of his cock.
In a teasing tone, he said, “My mate is talented.” He worried he said the wrong thing when she paused and looked at him.
“I’m not a...what did you call me last night?”
He felt the blood drain from his face. Had he really called his mate a whore?
“I didn’t mean it. You must know that.”
She lifted a shoulder in a coy half shrug, giving him her profile: a picture of virginal modesty as she lovingly stroked his shaft, keeping his mind muffled by lust while trying to make him think clearly.
Sitting up, he tried to read her. Had his words hurt more than he thought? “I was just angry, and wanted to make you angry too. It was the only way I could keep myself from taking you then and there.”
As soon as he saw the mischievous sparkle in her eyes, he realized she was teasing him.
“But then again you are showing me what an expert you are at handling a man’s—”
With a gaping laugh, she pushed him flat to the bed and fell on top of him. “You’re a jerk.” She smacked his chest. “Now I have to punish you.”
Marik chuckled. “And how does a tiny thing like you expect to punish a big demon like me?”
“Well, now you really aren’t allowed to touch me.” She sat up, straddling him.
His gaze fell to her pert breasts and he could feel her slick against his cock. His hips involuntarily bucked, seeking her entrance.
“Eyes up,” she commanded.
With a huff, he obeyed.
“Arms out.”
Her delicate brow rose when he hesitated. He stretched his arms out beside him.
Then she began her slow torture. Her hands caressed his torso as her hips slowly rode him, coating him in her wetness. But she didn’t allow him in, not fully. Every now and again, she eased down on him, keeping him mad with need while showing him a hint of the pleasure she was withholding. When he moved his hips, trying to get farther inside, she scolded him and then started the torture all over again.
A thread of willpower alone kept his arms from gripping her and forcing her down his length.
“Nadua,” he warned, when she pulled away from him once again.
“Eyes on mine,” she ordered.
Her lids were at half-mast and her breaths were growing erratic, as though she were barely holding onto her own control.
Finally, she filled herself with all of him. His gaze was locked with hers and they both moaned as she began rocking. He grasped the edges of the bed to keep them in place. The need to touch her was almost overwhelming.
She broke eye contact when she threw her head back, arching as she began pumping her hips with fervor. Her wild red mane fell behind her, fanning his legs. A sheen of sweat glistened on her skin.
Her breasts were presented for the taking, demanding his attention. Thinking himself clever, he rose up and took one in his mouth.
She pulled away and he gave a menacing growl. He was almost overcome by his instinct to
have her under him while driving into her soft flesh.
Hips still grinding, she panted, “Look at me.”
He did. They were face-to-face. The clear violet-blue of her eyes were beautiful and filled with lust. They more than captivated him.
“Good boy. Focus on me.”
“I need to touch you.”
“I know.” As if to appease him in some small way, her forehead came against his and she placed her hands on his shoulders for support, grinding harder.
“Then kiss me.”
Desperately, she did, as if she couldn’t wait another second to have his lips on hers. He took her mouth how he wanted to take the rest of her: hard and unyielding. He thrust his hips just as she came down on him, making her cry out.
Against his lips, she ordered, “Do that again.”
With pleasure.
Together they ground their hips and moved in unison, increasing each other’s bliss. Just when he was about to spill his seed, Nadua pulled away from the kiss and held his gaze. “Touch me.”
The dam of his control broke. Instantly, she was below him, his hips thrusting into her core, one hand gripping her ass. Now he was holding her gaze as she moaned for him.
His release came hard, on the heel of her orgasmic scream. A few last pumps of his hips and they were both spent. He pulled her on top of him as he fell, exhausted, to the bed. Little sounds of contentment fluttered out of her as she molded her body around his.
Then her head flew up to look at him, her eyes searching.
Knowing what she wanted, he smiled. “There’s no way in hell I could forget that.”
Her lips curled and she lowered again to rest on his chest.
Chapter 26
Marik lay blissfully with Nadua curled around him. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Hmm?” Nadua was lazily tracing her finger over his chest.
They’d been lying for hours, content in each other’s arms. Marik had never felt so sated in his life.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your gift?”
Nadua hesitated. “Well, at first I wasn’t sure that what I was seeing was part of my gift. I had never seen anyone’s past before, only useless bits of their futures. Actually, I feared I was losing my gift altogether until you came along. I hadn’t had a vision in years.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I can only imagine that it has something to do with our physical closeness. Before you, Ava was the last person I had real contact with. She would cry for me to carry her around when she was very little. I always made sure I was covered, but one time she reached for my face, and her finger grazed my cheek. I didn’t realize the connection then, but I had a vision of her that same night. It was one of the last.”
His fingers trailed up and down her spine. “What did you see?”
“I saw her grown, sitting on her father’s throne, her people bowing. She looked beautiful and determined. A few months later her father died, and left me in charge. I wanted to make sure Ava had that future. I never told her about it though. Just because I see it, doesn’t mean it will happen. Everything is changeable.”
Outside the door, a few loud steps hurried past, followed by muffled voices that quickly died away.
Marik hated to ask the next question, but his curiosity was too much. “What about Cyrus?”
“What about him?”
“Did you see his future after you...touched?”
“Oh. Yeah, I did.” Her brow furrowed. “I remember it was too fuzzy to make out. I thought it must have been of something in his distant future, but when he died I forgot all about it.”
More voices came from outside. Marik recognized a note of distress.
Nadua sat up to listen. “Something’s happening.”
Another rush of footsteps marched past the door.
They were out of bed and already half-dressed when someone pounded on the door. Through it came Rex’s voice. “There’s a battle outside! The other tribe is attacking!”
In a flurry, Nadua was out the door, her gown still loose.
“Nadua! Wait!” Marik called, frantically searching for his other boot.
Rex poked his head in. “Do we fight?”
* * *
Bursting into her room, Nadua rushed to switch her gown for the new furs. She stuffed her feet into the tall boots, pulling them up to her thigh and yanking the straps close. Then she threw on the snug cloak before bolting into the hall.
Cyrus was downstairs, dressed for war and directing his soldiers one way, and women and children the other.
Nadua approached him. “Cyrus, what’s happening?”
“The rebels are here. They’ve never attacked like this before.”
“Have they made it inside?”
“No, we’ve pushed them back on the hill. But they have a Kaiylemi with them.”
Nadua cursed. “I need a sword, a bow, and a dagger.”
Cyrus pointed to an already half-emptied shallow storage room. “Check in there.”
Marik was behind her as she picked though the weapons. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not going out there.”
“Of course I am,” she said, checking the balance of a sword that looked to be just her size.
“My job is to keep you safe, not let you run out into battle to get yourself killed.”
“Despite what you think, I’m not helpless.”
Marik sighed. “I know you’re not helpless, but you don’t need to fight. These aren’t your people.”
She strapped a quiver on her back and pulled out a decent looking bow. “After so long, the Cyrellians are more my people than the Faieara. Ava is family, and Cyrus is my dearest friend. Those rebels would hurt them both if they could.” Rummaging through the rows of blades, she mumbled under her breath, “Dagger, dagger.”
Marik held something out in front of her. She plucked the holster from him and pulled the knife out to study it. Sharp. Good hold. The sheath included straps to wrap around her thigh.
“Perfect.” She gazed up at him in apprehension.
“Stay near me and only use the bow if possible.” Marik snatched two heavy broadswords.
“Fine, let’s go.”
The great hall was nearly empty now. Rex was waiting for them by the exit. “Cyrus went on ahead.”
Marching down the hall, Marik handed him a sword and muttered, “Don’t let anyone near her.”
* * *
Marik’s nerves were like sandpaper against stone. His instincts were screaming to drag Nadua in the opposite direction. But the people she considered important were in danger and he didn’t want her leaving here with the kind of guilt that plagued him.
As they traveled toward the exit, guards allowed them to pass, shutting and re-barring heavy gates behind them. They traveled through three such barriers before reaching the mouth of the cave. He hadn’t noticed the cave was so fortified before.
Beyond the exit was a roaring frenzy of bodies and steel.
Rex grunted. “They all look the same to me. How can we tell them apart?”
Marik squinted through the melee, searching for a familiar face, but he hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time getting to know any of them.
“It’s easy.” Nadua elbowed her way past them. “Whoever comes after me is our enemy.” Then she loaded her bow and let her arrow fly. One less rebel.
Magnificent.
* * *
Between the hundreds of azure bodies and endless white hills wove strips of red, increasing by the second. Battle cries mixed in the air alongside screams of agony.
Eye on her next target, Nadua sent another arrow into the fray. Then three more, all perfect shots.
Next to her, Marik cheered, “That’s my girl.”
A corner of her mouth turned up.
Five men were climbing the hill toward them. Two wielded axes, and the other three gripped the hilts of their swords. The scowls on their faces were aimed at her, but they continued to give threat
ening glances at the demons beside her. The intelligence in their eyes showed they realized they would need to get past the demons before they could touch her.
Marik unsheathed his sword and rushed to meet them, calling back at Rex, “Stay with her in case they get by me.”
Rex had his steel ready.
Marik launched himself at the closest foe, slicing a red stripe across his chest. The next was on his heels, swinging his ax overhead. With unmitigated power, he knocked the weapon out of the way and the tip of his blade slipped through the thick flesh of the Cyrellian’s throat.
Nadua would have loved to watch him rip the group of rebels apart, but a second group came at them from the side. Rex engaged the two in front, their blades clanging with heavy grunts.
Another slipped past, wildly swinging his sword. Nadua ducked and dodged, giving herself time to drop the bow and unsheathe her sword. Their metal clashed. The Cyrellian rebel had power in his swing, but she could tell he wasn’t the greatest swordsman. She easily danced away from his every attempt.
Down the slope, sounds of battle grew thunderous. More rebels poured out from behind the trees. She was sure her group was outnumbered.
Finding her opening in the man’s poor fighting style, Nadua dodged again and then sliced cleanly through his neck. His head flopped to the side and he fell to the snow.
Rex was down to one foe. The others lay motionless on the ground. As the Cyrellian whirled his blade forward, Rex’s arm whipped out to stop it in midair, then drove his broadsword up through the man’s stomach. Bloody metal punched through his back. A gurgling sound left the man before he dropped. Rex kicked the lifeless body away before returning to Nadua.
She turned toward Marik who was marching to rejoin them, five bodies piled at his back. Nadua gave him a relieved smile that faded as the ground began to rumble.
For a fraction of a second, all fighting stopped in silent wonder. With a terrible screeching sound, thick shafts of ice sprouted from beneath the field. Nadua stepped forward, scanning for the Kaiylemi.
Without warning, the ground at her feet shifted, throwing her off balance. Falling to her hands and knees, she tried to right herself, as a solid circle of land began to lift her in the air. Nadua snatched her bow before it fell off the newly created edge.