She let him teach her how to please him, stroking in time with his hand’s urging. Slow and firm, she worked his dick, tugging him toward a climax. Each rigid loop of muscle slid beneath his skin as she held him. He moaned in a desperate way, his voice catching in his throat several times. Sima watched his face, his eyes closed and a look of bliss crossing his features. His full lips parted, his breathing steady pants. He clutched her hand tight. She obliged. His release came, spurting between them in a burst of hot cum. He quivered, held his breath and moaned. She cradled his erection, amazed at how firm it remained and unwilling to let go just yet.
"I think I like begging." He chuckled, still out of breath. "Make me beg every day."
"Every day?"
"At least, every other day." His mouth claimed hers, torturing her with torrid, hot kisses.
Sima relaxed and let him have his way, hoping this nightmare of being trapped in these forgotten rooms might end soon enough. There had to be a way out of Leuj’s palace, some forgotten passage that would lead them both to Alga. She hoped for it, and in the quiet that spread between them when Razi laid back and fell asleep, she felt the pang of faith creeping within her chest. More than anything she believed this man was sent to her and she to him.
Chapter Twenty Three –
Light of Two Suns
Razi stood up slowly, fastened his pants and swept a hand through his unruly hair. Need a trim when we get out of here, he thought. Turning to look at Sima, he felt the sides of his mouth curling in a fond smile. She looked so peaceful all curled up across the metal grating of the floor. Her brown hair shrouded one cheek, her skin the color of creamy butter, the natural kind imported from Lothen. Kneeling, he grasped the edge of her med blanket and draped it over her body, careful not to wake her.
The wine cellar remained quiet. He guessed it must be morning. Though no light or window offered any clue to the time in their underground prison, his internal clock never failed. He strolled along the length of the long aisle, his gaze searching the walls for any sign of another servant’s door.
Along the rear wall, he found three sinks. Trying the first, he let the water run. Rust had settled in the unused pipes, tainting it a dark shade in the blue lights. He let it flow until it cleared, then washed his face, rinsed his hands and bent to drink. By the time he was done, the water started to heat up, proof that an ancient water heater still struggled to work.
An old wooden table lay on its side in the corner across from the sink wall. He strode toward it, wondering why anyone would bother to set in such a way. "Unless, they were hiding something." Razi gripped two legs, gave a swift pull, and eased the heavy piece of furniture to rest in its intended place. Sure enough, another door lay hidden behind it. "Not a servant’s door though."
He twisted his lower lip, thinking over the options. Razi didn’t want to go back the way they came. Shrugging, he reached up, turned the old-fashioned handle and pried the door open. Blue lights glittered from the ceiling inside, reflecting on the thousands of bottles lining the shelves. "Another cellar," he muttered. This one carried more opulence; gilded tables clothed in dust awaited tasters at every row’s end. Glasses hung upside down from ornate metal yaipurs built especially for this place.
It felt like a tomb, a place not meant for the living’s eyes. Razi looked back over his shoulder, wondering if he should wake Sima. "She’s so tired." He decided to let her rest a bit more, then lead her in here after he’d explored it. The cellar rows ran along a wide chamber. At its end, he slid remi-blinds open and found a sitting room complete with overstuffed, dust-lined couches and green lacquered bookshelves. One book lay open on the oval-shaped table in the center of the chamber.
Curious, Razi stood over the tome, unwilling to touch it, but anxious to read what secrets it kept. A thin film covered its pages, but he read the Tagian script with ease. It was an old book indeed, written in a time when Kyleenian rulers forged treaties with the militant Tagians. "And that’s when it all began," he said. "Tagians gave Kyleena a way to control the smaller federations, and eventually, it spread across the galaxy. Grandfather Irnia must have been down here refreshing himself with a history lesson when his son came to kill him." He reached down, closed the book, and shook his head.
A crackling sound echoed in the cellar, making him jump. He glanced around for its source and found the old speakers, black circles in the metallic ceiling above him, half hidden by the blare of the outdated blue globe lights. The further they’d ventured beneath the palace, the more history revealed itself, from tracks of light to the thin, gas-filled tubes and now to the ancient bulbous domes fired by solar stores piped in from the building’s surface. The surface.
"That’s it." He ran back to the nearest row and grabbed one of the chairs, ignoring the unclear message. It wasn’t Leuj this time, so he tuned it out. Returning to the sitting room, Razi set the chair atop the oval table. He climbed on top, stood on the chair and grasped the bars in the ceiling. Metal groaned. He pulled hard, then resorted to hanging from the insert until it gave way. Razi toppled down against the table.
Pain lanced his shoulder and he squinted at the bright, orange light filtering through the square he’d freed. The double suns of Em-7 blazed high above, their energy providing rays, a beacon of hope.
He scrambled to get up, righted the chair and grasped the bars. This shaft wasn’t too small for his broad shoulders. He shimmied up its length, his feet finding purchase in the bars that separated each segment. As he passed open shafts, he noticed the mirrors within were set to guide the suns’ rays to other buried rooms through honeycomb passages. "This is old." It surprised Razi that it all still worked. Now, the Irnian leader mined Hemec fuel when the solution to energy was as simple as capturing the sun’s rays. Razi shook his head. "Ah, but that’s free. Where’s the shen pull in solar?"
Looking up, he guessed it would be an hour’s climb at least to the top. He leaned to one side, wishing he could rest. His shoulder throbbed in time with his heart. The pain beat at him though he doubted he’d broken anything. He looked down. Far below, he could just make out the overturned book on the table in the wine cellar sitting room. I should go back for her. She might get upset if she wakes up and I’m not there.
Relenting to his need to protect Sima, he started back down. The descent went faster than the ascent, his boots catching in the rungs with practiced ease. Razi hurried, thinking he could help her climb up first, then follow after in case she grew tired or fell.
About twenty shafts from the open square, he stopped. Someone was down there. Garbled masculine voices echoed up to him. Sima screamed. Razi’s blood ran cold. He wanted to let go, to drop the rest of the way and take them by surprise. We can’t have come all this way just to get caught!
"Let me go!" she shrieked. "You’re twisting my arm! I demand you contact my father. Let me go!"
Razi glanced up at the sky in the glass-covered window so high above. That led to freedom. He looked down, his lips pursing. Sima’s cries of rebellion drifted away. He knew guards had her; he knew Leuj would find her. Sighing, he ducked into a side shaft and crawled behind a mirror to wait.
Chapter Twenty Four – Desires
Leuj rubbed his face before he touched the keypad, punching out the password to the room where Sister Lensi waited. The guards had strict orders to offer her no information. The metal door slid on its runners revealing the Habiri nun. She sat on the edge of the settee, her red hair loose and her face flushed with color. In her lap, she wrung a dark veil with both hands. Her uniform looked disheveled and she’d kicked off her neat, black shoes at some point, for they lay haphazardly on the floor near her hosiery enlaced feet.
"My Oemir," she said, standing. "What’s the meaning of this? Guards took me from my room this morning and hardly allowed me time to dress myself. Is something the matter?"
The thought of her dressing made him misstep. The door sealed behind him and he grasped the edge of a table to keep from falling. His imagination flash
ed a sordid glimpse of Lensi nude on that azure settee, her ample, pale breasts begging for him to taste them. He grasped his temple, groaning his frustration and stopped, trying to gather his anger. "Your ward took my lover. He stole her."
"My ward?" She crossed the room in determined strides. "Razi is not my ward, My Oemir. He’s just an employee of the church, a seasonal worker that I knew from…well, from a long time ago when I started at my parish."
"He took her!" he raged. Leuj felt his fingers curling into angry fists. He hadn’t any intention of hitting Lensi and, in fact, his stomach turned at the thought, but she needed to understand he meant business.
"I have no control of what other people do!" She kept her approach steady, and that realization made him uneasy.
She’s not afraid of me. He tensed when she reached him.
Her thick finger traced his angry mouth, her green eyes shining with apparent fury. "Is this your way to get me alone with you?" She moved closer, pressing him to back away, but he refused to move.
Those large breasts prodded his chest. Her freckles tempted him to lean into her, to taste each spotted mark. Leuj held his breath.
"Why aren’t you talking? What’s the matter with you?" Both her hands came against his cheeks, her thumbs teasing the sides of his mouth. "You’re never at a loss for words. Why do you look so confused?"
"Confused?" He didn’t feel that, did he? Leuj closed his eyes. What is it about this woman? This is more than a stupid game, a taunt. I want her, but… Lips pressed into his, too tentative, too inexperienced to be anyone other than a nun’s. His body stiffened; his cock started to wake in the loose sheath of his habere pants. She’d aroused him before with her presence, but never had Lensi moved so close without his taunts. He relented, letting her suck at his mouth. The innocent way she kissed made him hold still, agonizing over when this moment might end. I don’t want it to end.
Apparently, neither did Sister Lensi. Her hands strayed to his shirt, fumbling with the buttons in timorous motions. When she relieved him of the garment, sliding it down over his arms, he found the courage to touch her. He’d never lacked courage before.
Reaching for those ripe breasts, he cried out when she took a step back. His fingers met empty air. Embarrassed by his advance, he let his hands drop to his sides.
"I’m sorry," Lensi gasped. "I’ve always wanted to kiss you, to just come right up to you and do that."
"You have?" He found the incredulity in his voice comical. This wasn’t what he’d planned at all. He raked his fingers through his hair, stepped around her and hurried to the settee. He sat in a huff, gathering the small blanket over his lap to hide the bulge in his pants. "Why…I mean, why would you want to kiss me? You said I’m vile."
Fabric rustled behind him. He looked through the partially open window at the gardens. The roses painted the scene with reds and golds around the statue of Nimmet. Rain drizzled in the air, a fine gray mist in the early orange glow of morning. He heard Lensi approaching, her bare feet sounding in the thick carpet.
Her firm touch came across his shoulders, fingers pressing away the tension across his tight muscles. He held still, as still as he could manage with so many emotions raging within his mind. It hurt to think, to try to reason anything out. He glared at Nimmet, thinking the Unangi goddess was mocking him with this new development. Yet, when he did turn and look into Lensi’s eyes, he hoped the goddess was truly mocking him, disproving his simple curse to her when he’d come to inspect the relic’s placement in his garden. "Why? Tell me why. I don’t understand."
Lensi sucked in her bottom lip. She walked around the settee to face him. "We can’t help who we love," she whispered as if it were a great secret. "It happens, and sometimes it’s not right at all."
Shame burned its way across his face. He’d never felt truly afraid of what he was until now. Sure, he had thoughts, realizations, moments of striking clarity in which he knew, without a doubt, that he was a monster. "Please help me," he said, unsure of exactly what he meant by those words. "I trust you, Lensi. I need you. Please." Tears gathered in his eyes and he swiped them away with both hands, annoyed by their presence.
"No. You have to help yourself." She reached for his right hand, tugging it away from his wet cheek. "My Oemir, please, I don’t like seeing you like this." She placed his hand over her left breast, pressing his fingers to seek.
Leuj closed his eyes, one finger circling her nipple through the layers of fabric. He heard her breathing in delicate gasps. She guided his fingers lower until they rested above that tender mound between her legs.
"I’ve never…"
He looked up, wondering if this time she meant she wanted more than the teasing in the gardens. He’d brought her close to climax a time or two, but it was always a rushed state, a secret they shared and spoke of with guarded words, and often the instances were cut short by servants or by Lensi rushing off in a state of panic.
"Are you sure?" he asked, sincere in his hesitation. He wanted her; his body tingled with the thought of making love to this woman, a virgin who swore to save herself for some unseen god. Just the thought of pleasuring her ripe body, squeezing those full hips as he thrust his cock inside her tight, wet pussy made him shudder with desire.
"I’ve wanted you for a long time. Do it now before I change my mind." She untied the binding of her dress, forcing it away. He felt like a voyeur as he watched her tease the fabric from her body. It fell in a heap at her feet. The beige under-dress she wore revealed every curve, every valley. She pulled that away and he gaped at her naked skin. Freckles speckled her shoulders, her erect nipples looked like pink buds and, as he glanced lower, his eyes widened. Auburn curls shrouded her pussy, tempting him to taste, to bow and devour the sweetness within.
"I can’t," he said. "I can’t do this to you. You’re a nun." He crossed his arms over his chest and forced himself to look up into her eyes.
Her whole body slumped as she sighed. Disappointment made her pout. Lensi even rolled her eyes. "What do you mean, you can’t?" She placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him backward. The plush cushions cradled his back as she straddled him. "Don’t you want me?"
"Yes," he replied, thankful the blanket further separated their bodies, keeping his raging erection at bay. She reached down without looking, her gaze holding him still. Warm fingers wrestled with his pants. "Lensi…"
She shushed him. Finally, the tie came undone. His haberes caught over the bulge as she worked the garment down. When she giggled over it, he smiled, relieved that the tension he felt was only one-sided. His cock came free, standing at attention for her. For a long while, Lensi stared at it. He couldn’t tell if she was disgusted or amazed. With a cautious touch, she discovered the shape of him, the round bulge of his head, the line of its opening.
"Have you ever seen one before?" He found he had to hold his breath as she explored, each stroke of her fingers firmer than before.
"I’ve seen them," she said, a giggle at the edge of her voice, "but never touched. You know the rules as well as I do."
He grimaced, hoping she wouldn’t mention her oath, that this tender moment between them wouldn’t end. "Can I touch you?" he murmured, his fingers already reaching for the auburn curls.
"Yes." Lensi scooted forward, guiding his dick to her entry. She flushed when his fingers delved into the warmth of her lower lips. Her clit stood ready, erect and full for him. He caressed its fleshy hood, watching her face. She bit her lower lip, her eyes narrowing in bliss. The first moan startled him, but not as much as the heat, the tightness of her channel as she eased him inside.
The tones sounded at the door, breaking his reverie. Lensi tensed, her face flushing crimson.
"My Oemir?" a guard called through the com. Leuj wanted to kill whoever interrupted him. He continued to stroke Lensi’s clit, hoping to ease her fear of getting caught. "Leave me alone!" he called. "I’m busy!"
"Yes, my Oemir. When you’re available, my men have found your lover." The t
ones beeped out.
Chapter Twenty Five – Captured
She pulled the med blanket tighter around her shoulders. Two guards stood at the chamber’s entry leering at her. Sima glared back, defiant as ever, and unwilling to let anyone see her cry. At any moment, she expected Leuj to appear with that frightening, possessive look on his glum face. How long can I resist him? She shuffled her bare feet, trying to get warm. At least the blanket smelled like Razi. She decided she wouldn’t let them have it. Her heart thrummed hard in her chest at the thought of him. Why did he leave me? Why?
"Your father isn’t coming for you," one of the guards said.
Sima turned the full of her attention to his face. His blue eyes and thick, blond hair evidenced Kyleenian heritage. "What are you babbling about?" she asked.
"You’re dead. Shiemir Alonweir buried you."
"What nonsense is this?" She turned to face the other as if he might offer an explanation.
He did not. Instead, he grinned wide. He looked like a clone of the first man, and Sima realized, he probably was. Guards and soldiers from Kyleena were often cloned to keep desirable qualities in their body types.
"The Oemir had a woman killed in your place. He set it up to look like the Unangi rebels did it, and left her body on the outskirts near where they found you. You’re dead."
Sima shuffled backward on the metal bench. This is strange news, she thought. It didn’t make any sense. Why dupe my father into believing I’m dead? It only proved how insane Leuj really was. She huddled against the wall, drawing her legs up to her chest beneath the blanket. Her mind turned over this revelation. If I’m dead, my father has nothing to bargain with. Leuj has probably already attacked Taraf. There’s no way out of this now.
She held the edge of the blanket to her nose, breathing deep. Razi had disappeared, yet the sweetened scent of dragon lilies lingered on the fabric. Sima watched the hall beyond the guards, hoping for some glimpse of her savior. That he’d left her there alone in that cellar didn’t make sense. Maybe they have him too, she worried. What if he’s trapped in some cell near me, wondering where I am? Shaking her head, she closed her eyes, resigned to waiting, for there was nothing else she could do.
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