“You think I’m going to make you do it, anyway, don’t you?” Stunned that he could think her so cruel, she was on the verge of releasing him and stopping this entire charade.
“Wouldn’t you?” He lowered his gaze to the carpet before her feet.
“Why would I deliberately try to hurt you?” She couldn’t even believe she was asking. Hurting Kerrick or forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do wasn’t at all what she’d been after. She’d only be curious. Tavarus might enjoy such perversities, but she certainly didn’t.
“To pay me back for what Tavarus did to you through me.” He fell back until he sat on his heels, his entire body curved in as if to ward off blows.
Soundlessly, her mouth hung open; then she deliberately pressed her lips together. After a few deep breaths, she commanded, “Look at me.”
Warily, he met her gaze without lifting his head.
“I would never do anything to hurt you. Just as I know you wouldn’t ever hurt me, not deliberately. Tavarus compelled you.” Once she moved near, she dropped to her knees. “You had no choice. I could no more blame you for that than I could blame myself.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
She wasn’t sure if he meant now or in the future. All the playful joy she’d felt at commanding him evaporated. Silently, she leaned forward, reaching her hands around to his back to free him from his belt. Both his arms were already free. He’d simply clasped his hands together. Somehow, the discovery hurt her deeply. Shaking her head, she rose.
“Ariss, wait.” He climbed to his knees as if to come after her.
Spinning around and facing him, she said, “Don’t bother. I can’t believe that you didn’t trust me enough to let me—” She didn’t finish the thought. What was the point? He didn’t trust her. That was enough.
“I’m sorry, but when you started talking about another man, I panicked.”
When she gazed down, she discovered her parted dress still provocatively displayed her breasts. Ashamed, she tucked them back and straightened her skirt. Never again would she attempt such a situation. Apparently, in their relationship, the trust only went one way: from her to him. A relationship without mutual trust wasn’t any kind of a relationship at all.
Turning her back on him, she took two steps toward her bed, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her. Without looking at him, she pushed his hand away.
“Ariss, please.” He didn’t touch her physically, but the plaintive tone of his voice did.
Keeping her gaze on the decorative folds of her bed, she took a deep breath before speaking. “I can’t do this anymore, Ker-rick. I can’t play these games with you.” Blowing her breath out sharply to waylay her gathering tears, she added, “It’s all just a competition between us to see who can be the most in charge or who can be the most naughty.” Lifting her arms, she removed the clever set of pins and twists that held her hair up, then tossed them on her bedside table. “Go play with Bithia. I have a feeling she would deeply enjoy such mischief.” After fluffing out her hair, she pulled the blankets down. “I’ll send word to her tomorrow that she may borrow you if you wish. I’ll include a directive that you abhor other men.”
Kerrick remained silent.
Without looking at him, she grabbed the nightshift her servant had left at the foot of her bed. Keeping her back to Ker-rick, she undressed, slipped the simple astle dress over her head, and then crawled between the sheets. She should have washed her teeth and her face first, but she didn’t think one night would cause any damage.
Kerrick hadn’t made a sound.
Finally, she braved a look at him. He stood very still near the foot of her bed, his attention on the floor. His shoulders slumped and his hair hung over his eyes, obscuring his gaze. To her shock, his cock was still hard, pressing against the front of his plain brown trousers. How, after everything that had happened, could he still be aroused? The tears she thought suppressed returned when she realized the truth. “If you want to go to her now—”
“I don’t want Bithia.” He cut her off but kept his voice very low, controlled, but clearly full of fury. “I want you.”
A shiver of fear ran down her spine. She couldn’t see his eyes, so she didn’t know if Tavarus had come. Her gaze darted to the door of the basin; he might not be able to bash his way in there. Slowly, Ariss slid across the slippery fabric of her bed, making her way toward the promise of safety. On the edge, ready to fling the covers back and run, Kerrick lifted his head, his green-eyed gaze pinning her.
He took a step toward her and winced when she flinched back. “That’s how it will always be.” Flicking his hair out of his face, he said, “You’re always going to think it’s him. You say that you want me, but you’re terrified of him. And I have no control over when he’s in me.”
Ariss swallowed hard, not sure how to react. He wasn’t yelling or screaming, just standing and vibrating a terrifying fury. Worse, he was right. As soon as she had bound him, she relaxed, because she thought that if Tavarus came, he would not be able to harm her.
Even now, as he stood there, hurt by her fear, she was too afraid to go to him, because at any moment, the god could possess him, turning him into a lustful monster. She thought she trusted him, and she did trust Kerrick implicitly. What she couldn’t trust was when the god would fill him with his greedy desire. Tavarus had destroyed something precious and rare. She hated him all the more.
Uncomfortable with the discovery, Ariss whispered, “What are we to do?” Without even thinking, she glanced down at his crotch. She couldn’t believe he was still aroused.
Kerrick caught the direction of her gaze, looked down, then back at her. “For the love of—it’s not me, it’s that damn drink Bithia gave me.” Defensively, he adjusted his penis. “I stopped being aroused a long time ago.”
Taken aback by the realization, Ariss asked, “Bithia gave you an aphrodisiac?”
He nodded miserably.
Jealousy surged. Bithia might be the empress, but she was going to have to learn to keep her gluttonous fingers off Ker-rick. Still, Ariss could understand why any woman would want him. Kerrick was magnificent. Golden hair, his compelling eyes, and the fact that he was practically a wall of muscle, combined with his humor and a sharp intellect made him a most intriguing man. Not to mention his other more prominent assets. Ariss did her best not to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself.
Kerrick’s head swiveled toward her, shock lifting his brows almost to his hairline. “You think that’s funny?”
“I’ve been thinking she excited you, that all the things she was talking about aroused you, and that … well …” Unable to continue, she trailed off, shaking her head.
Chuckling softly, Kerrick sat down on the edge of her bed. “It seems we have been at cross-purposes most of this evening.”
They sat in companionable silence for a long time. Kerrick reached his hand toward her. Tentatively, Ariss reached her hand out to him. They met in the middle, clasping each other’s hand gently.
“I’m sorry,” Ariss whispered.
“Me too,” Kerrick said, turning her hand over and rubbing his fingers between hers.
“What are we going to do?” She’d already asked, but she asked again, knowing there really wasn’t an answer. Not a simple answer, anyway.
“I don’t know.” Kerrick flopped back on the bed, his golden hair falling back from his face, exposing the intensity of his green eyes. Even in the low light, they glowed. “All I know is we can’t continue like this.” Turning his head to fasten his gaze on her, he added, “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you, but of him.”
“I know. That’s what I mean. That fear in your eyes causes my stomach to clench in revulsion.” He shivered. “I’ve never had a woman fear me. It’s not at all arousing.” Lowering his brows ominously, he lifted his head to glare down at his erection. “My current state notwithstanding.”
“My father says fear is
the only way to make people do as you wish.” She had no idea why she chose to share that information with Kerrick. Her father was long gone from her life now. She doubted he would ever wish to see her again. “He used intimidation on his workers, his family, everyone.”
“And as soon as he wasn’t looking …”
“They all turned on him.” Ariss darted her gaze to the closet, even though she’d ordered the silver dress returned to Ambo. “My father worked out a deal with Ambo to make me the Harvester. I was supposed to select Ambo as my bond-mate.”
Kerrick grimaced, but he exhibited no surprise. At her look of confusion, he confided, “Chur told me when I was in the gannett. He offered me a choice: I could leave and suffer no repercussions, or I could stay and protect you from Ambo.”
“And you chose to stay?” It seemed she was forever on the verge of tears lately, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop them now. He’d had a chance to leave, to go back to the wild, exciting life he’d left behind, and he’d chosen to stay. To be with her. Touched so deeply by his selfless act, Ariss moved across the bed, lowered her lips to his, and kissed him.
With her hand still entwined in his, he lifted his free hand to her head, teasing his fingers through her hair, holding her head softly as he kissed her back.
Long, deep, from sweet to passionate, they stayed on her bed kissing until her tears abated. In those moments, she had no fear that Tavarus would come. She was utterly alone, and completely safe, with Kerrick.
Letting go her hand, Kerrick rolled her over so they lay side by side. Cupping her chin, he kissed her again, and again, parting her lips with the press of his tongue while he wiped her tears away with his fingertips. He kissed her in every way a man could kiss a woman. Accepting, penetrating, giving and taking in such a way she knew they’d reached a new and remarkable moment in their relationship. He wasn’t trying to command her. She wasn’t trying to command him. They simply shared with each other. Each strove more for the pleasure of the other rather than their own. For the first time, she felt they were a team seeking mutual bliss.
“Tell me these are tears of joy.” His eyes penetrated into hers with gentle ease.
Unable to speak, she nodded, then whispered, “I can’t believe you stayed for me.”
“Oh, Ariss,” he rubbed his nose against hers. “How could I leave?”
Something in her broke free, spilling more tears that he wiped away.
“I was so angry at you.” He spoke softly without vehemence.
Her eyes went wide.
“When I had to kneel as your slave and give you tribute in the temple.” He shook his head. “In that moment, I hated you. I couldn’t believe I didn’t run as far and as fast as I could when I had the chance.” He sighed. “Before you I always ran. Whenever anything became too difficult, I left. But I realized I couldn’t leave you. Not just because of Ambo, but because”—he dropped his gaze momentarily, then lifted his eyes to hers—“because I wanted you.”
Ariss thought there was more to his reason, but she didn’t ask. Kerrick stood on the verge of revealing his heart. Pushing him would only make him withdraw.
“I wanted you, too.” Her voice broke. “I still do.”
A smile lifted up the edges of his mouth, infusing a beautiful light to his face. Never had he looked so handsome to her. “No more games.”
She shook her head. “No more playing.”
He shook his head. “Just you and I.”
Each moving forward, they met in the middle, pressing lips to lips, hand to hand, heart to heart. When his erection pressed into her belly, she felt only pleasure.
Kerrick teased his hand along her back, pulling her tightly against him, carefully easing the straps of her shift away from her shoulders. Once bared, he lowered his head, kissing from the edge of her shoulder to the sensitive spot on her neck.
Ariss purred back with a sigh, loving how he knew just where to touch and how to arouse her the most.
Nuzzling the area right below her ear, he trailed his fingers up, drawing the fabric of her dress up. Cool air caressed her thighs; then his hand dipped back to tease along her back, causing small bumps to wash along her flesh. Delicately, he teased his fingers along the split of her bottom, exerting just enough pressure to make her shiver in response.
Even though the fabrics they wore were not that heavy, Ariss felt they were entirely overdressed. As she tugged at the drawstring of his simple trousers, she realized he’d knotted the string. Her pulling only tightened the knot. Without a word, he lowered his hand to help her unfasten them, but he, too, met with resistance. After fumbling with them for several moments, she couldn’t take any more. Growling, she sat up, rolled him to his back, and then used her teeth to separate the knot.
Realizing suddenly that she knelt over him, gnawing her way into his pants, she glanced up. Kerrick watched with one brow drawn up in mild amusement. Together, they laughed. She continued to wrestle with the knot. Once she released the damn thing, she tossed back her hair triumphantly.
“In the future, I’ll refrain from knotting the string.”
“Yes.” Ariss gazed down at the two flaps. All she had to do was push them aside and he’d be bare to her. “Or we could find trousers without such a troublesome fastener.”
“I don’t know,” Kerrick said, stroking her hair. “I kinda like the way you bit your way into my pants.” Leaning up, he kissed her shoulder and whispered, “All greedy and frantic and desperate-like.”
A blush burned her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. Everything he said was true. “It’s been so long since I’ve been with you. With just you.” Running her finger along the exposed flesh of his hips, she added, “And you looked so stunning tonight.”
“Stunning?” He laughed.
“Stunningly handsome,” she amended. “Your hair glowed under the crystals, and I’ve never seen your eyes so bright.” Twirling her fingertip in a swirl of curly hair, she added, “I know brown is the color of slaves, but this particular shade makes you look like a god. No wonder Bithia wanted you. And I honestly don’t think she was the only woman tonight who did.” From the corner of her eye, Ariss had seen how the elite women, and some of the men, looked at Kerrick.
“I know.” His face crinkled up. “Freeaal! That sounded arrogant! What I meant was that I noticed them noticing. And I noticed you noticing.” Toying with the edge of her shift, he tugged the silken fabric up. “If we don’t remove this quickly, I might just have to gnaw my way into it.”
Grinning, Ariss pulled the shift up and tossed it off the bed. Kerrick’s gaze roamed over her body, pleasure lighting his face. Not content to just look, his hands followed along the same path. Everywhere he touched tingled. When she reached out to clasp his neck, her hands touched smooth, hot metal and she withdrew.
“Ignore it,” Kerrick said, wriggling his way out of his pants.
It wasn’t difficult to ignore the slave collar once he had his pants off. His cock stood proudly at attention in a dusting of golden hair. Ariss caressed the heavy shaft, working her fingers across the ridge, and right to that sweet spot below the head that always made him groan. When he did, she smiled, cupping him more firmly as they settled side by side.
17
Kerrick lifted her leg over his hip, drawing Ariss close. When his cock nestled against the downy soft of her pubic hair, he thought he would die from the pleasure of it. He could have blamed his heightened senses on the aphrodisiac that Bithia gave him to drink, but he didn’t think that had anything to do with his reaction. Finally, Ariss was in his arms again. He’d come so close to telling her the truth, but he’d felt the collar around his neck and didn’t dare.
How could he tell her that he stayed because he loved her? His anger in the temple was because at that moment, humiliated and naked, he’d still loved her. In spite of everything, he knew that he would always love her. After hundreds of women, only Ariss embraced him for who and what he really was. She wasn’t enamored of the myt
hical man who surfed waves of fire, or the man who slid down an entire mountain on one flimsy piece of carved wood. She knew none of that. Even if she did, he didn’t think his outrageous stunts would impress her. Ariss wanted him. She wanted the man who couldn’t handle weapons until she showed him how. She wanted the man who knew a thousand bedroom tricks but needed none of them with her. For the first time, he was with her. Not playing any kind of bedroom game, but honestly with her as she was with him.
At first, the intimacy alarmed him, because he felt she could look through his eyes and see right into his soul. Then he realized she wouldn’t use the truth she found there against him. Ariss had no desire to cause him any harm or to lord herself over him. That fear, that a woman would be his master, was what had always compelled him to hold the real truth, the very core of himself, back. Revealing himself completely to another was something he swore he would never do; yet, here he was, giving himself entirely to Ariss.
What pleased him most of all was that she did the same. She held nothing back as she lay on her side, facing him, embracing him with her body and soul. One look into her eyes told him the truth; she loved him, too. He even understood why she refrained from speaking those words. Just like him, she was afraid of Tavarus.
Kerrick pushed the image of the ruthless god away. He didn’t want him defiling this perfect moment. Ariss was in his arms. Warm, wet, and willing, she was with him. He wouldn’t let anything come between them now.
Ariss still had her hand wrapped around his shaft. Slowly, she guided him between her thighs. Once she held him firmly with her legs, she let go, lifting her hand to his hip, rocking him back and forth along the slickness of her sex.
[The Onic Empire 03] - Sinful Harvest Page 22