Game of Temptation

by Anda J. Santoso

  By the gods, he did not only want to possess her body and fuck her senseless, he wanted to possess her mind and soul! No. Fucking would not do it with her, unlike the others. He wanted more. So much more. That much he thought when he finished himself at the far edge of the lake, her scent on her clothes adding to his need to quickly reach the edge before she could find him.

  He wanted to open up his senses. To see and smell her more acutely as she matched him stride for stride, but he fought the temptation. To do that would be to push himself dangerously close to raping her. He should hold himself back. She was not yet willing and her current resistance was real, not yet a façade. If he forced to satiate his desires on her, she would resist at the last moment leaving him to decide whether to deny himself or rape her.

  No. It was not yet the time.

  He stopped as he entered his room. The thoughts that ruled his mind were so human. They were wild abandon and recklessness that defied an elf's distinct sense of control. It was a piece of insight into the human mind, but he did not yet know how to make use of it.

  He watched her as she scanned the room. The dress was not enough to hide her curvaceous form, though the peaks on her chest were not easy to find through the crimps that the seamstress formed into the dress. Her bare thighs were elegant and looked like a combination of softness and firmness at the right places. Soon, he would find out if he was right about them.

  "Well?" she asked, thankfully shaking him from dangerous thoughts, "Where do I sleep?"

  "On the bed," he responded nonchalantly.

  "And where do you sleep?"

  "On the bed."

  Her eyes went wide – cutely so, he might add – and her mouth worked before she could say, "That is very improper! And the bed can barely hold two!"

  "Improper for humans. Not for elves." It was not exactly a lie. Males and females sleep together during wars, campaigns and hunts. And only then. But he was not about to say that. "Or are you afraid that you're going to rape me?"

  He could not help but let those words out of his mouth. It was he who was on the verge of doing it and he transferred the accusation to her. It was the only thing he could think of that would stall her opposition: a challenge.

  And it worked.

  "Which side are you sleeping on?"

  "I give you the liberty to choose as my guest."

  She bit her lip and crawled – accentuating her ample bottom – to the edge of the bed at the side of the wall, edging at the farthest corner and facing the wall. He grinned. It clearly was a bad choice. If he lost control and took her, it would be impossible for her to get away, but he knew in the depths of the mind, devoid of logic, walls were always supposed to be a safe place.

  "Good night then, Princess Alethi."

  "Good night, Prince Arun."

  Arun smiled, amused at the stiffness her voice took despite almost yawning her words. He laid himself beside her and tried to sleep, but found it difficult to put his mind at rest. He had almost completely shut off his senses, but he could still smell her faintly. He turned to her and watched as the light of the moon touched her skin, highlighting the contours of her face, her arms, her thighs.

  Before he knew it, he reached out and traced each graceful line. He watched her face, but there was no sign that she was awake. Still, her body felt his touches as almost-invisible hairs stood yearning for his touch. He dared press his lips on her shoulder gently and he stopped as she stirred, but did not wake. He dared further and swept her dark tresses from her neck and kissed her there, taking in her scent. She shuddered, but her face remained passive.

  Finally, he grit his teeth and tore away. He wasn't supposed to be doing what he did. He wanted to seduce her and tear down the defenses in her mind as only sex could. He would make her beg for his touches and her release and he would bargain them for information. He would torture her sweetly until she yielded. He knew that if he went on like this, he would be the one begging for his desire to be quenched. Already, his desire was tightening his breeches.

  But he could not stop himself. He nipped at her ear causing her to breathe more quickly through her parted lips. Her face was still impassive as she slept through his ministrations, but he could smell it again. Her sensual arousal. It was yet faint, but it was enough to push him nearer the edge. His eyes remain transfixed on her full lips tearing at him. It was impossible to taste them without moving her, with her face so close to the wall. He was already pushing the limits of what he could do to her without waking her and he did not want her to wake. Not yet. He wanted to savor each moment of her yielding vulnerability. He wanted to let the sweet ache in his groin grow.

  The thought hung. Was this what it meant to be united with a human? To match their insatiable urges to the point where control only became a distant memory? He wondered if this was what his great grandmother went through when she decided to marry a human and let her grief over her loss take her with him.

  What he was feeling now was estranged from the myriad of feelings he had ever had in his lifetime. It transcended lust into something unknown. Lust, he was well-acquainted with. He had had countless elves warm his bed and fathered children he did not know. Lust was a duty that he could turn away with a shrug. But with her, lust was a desire that consumed him. It held him by the neck and he was loath to let go. He knew it wouldn't do if he gave in.

  What he needed was a spell to keep him from going too far. He would make her give in before he did. And then he would send her away. It wouldn't do for him to be panting after a human when the relationship between their races was still strained. What would that do to the reputation and respect he had built over the years? Political animals would eat him alive!

  Spells were many for this predicament and deadening his senses to her was not one of his options. Somehow, he knew he could not bring himself to do that. He wanted it – wanted the sensation she brought to him. It was uncharacteristic of him, but that was his problem. He brooded on which spell to make until he finally settled on sending ice cold shards of pain down his groin when he reached a certain degree of desire. It was a brutal method, but it would be a painful and effective reminder of what he had to do and what he ought not to do.

  And since he already had spells on his side…

  Arun chanted and touched her forehead. He didn't know how strongly the spell would affect her, but if hid it right, it will not be long before she would welcome his advances and then, he'd break the spell he cast on himself.

  Strangely, he anticipated it. He had never looked forward to uniting with the female kind before, but he yearned to do so with the sleeping princess before him.

  He caressed her shoulders and slid them down her thighs and back up under her skirt. A sudden flash of pain through his groin stopped him and he quickly withdrew his hand, hissing a string of curses. At least he knew that spell was effective. He looked at her to check if she had woken. She had not, but instead of facing the wall, she was now lying on her back her skirt riding up a hair's breadth away from what he had been coveting.

  "Gods have mercy on me!" He whispered to himself. He loomed over her and planted a small kiss on her lips. They were soft, hot and was perfect for his own. The light touch of his lips on hers gripped his heart and pulled him up to heights unknown. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, protect her and give her his whole being. In that small and light contact, he could feel all of her. He wanted to feel more of it and go deeper, but kept his mouth shut.

  He finally tore away and shut her eyes vowing never to do it again. It was dangerous. He had heard such feelings described by the elders and it was one of the most potent killer of their race: infatuation. At least he thought it was only that.

  By the gods, he would protect her from Liushan. He would protect her until he got what he wanted. And then…what? In truth, he did not want to let her go. But he would have to. Keeping her was dangerous, and her father would not live forever. He would let her go. And what of him? He would forget her, that's what.

&nb
sp; The thought infuriatingly made him ache. He tried to focus. All he was losing was a toy. An informant. A human. That was all, nothing more.

  He laid himself back down and tried to sleep and the last thing on his mind was the thought of losing her and it gave him nightmares.

  Chapter Six

  Alethi's knees buckled as she pressed her fist between her teeth to stifle her cry. The point between her thighs throbbed like wildfire and felt as if they were being fondled, caressed and played with. Every sensation that she felt down below coursed throughout her body, making even her fingertips sensitive. Her breathing came in rasps and she moaned despite the control she tried to wield. She bit het knuckles, not feeling any pain as all the feeling concentrated on only the pleasure between her legs. Gods, gods, please…oh, gods…too much…too much…

  As mysteriously as it happened, the pleasurable sensations vanished, leaving her quivering on the floor. The hand she had been biting was bruised anew and the other had been holding onto one of the crystalline figurines that decorated Arun's room.

  She concentrated on steadying her breathing. Steadying herself. She knew her dress was stained with her wetness and Arun would notice. Again. The first time it happened three days ago, he had stared at the wet spot and then at her face with his lips curled in a grin and his eyes set like a predator. He asked her what happened and she lied saying that she spilled water and accidentally sat on it. But she knew he knew better, though he did not say anything. Even she could smell herself and it was certainly very distinct from the smell of just water. Besides, she knew she was red from head to toe with the question.

  It was happening often – the tingling sensation and the arousal that came with it – but it was not often strong. Most of the time, she could control herself and hide it. She could only thank the gods that the intense tremors did not happen when Arun was around. She did not know what excuse she could claim for that.

  She tried to stand but found that she was still too weak for that. Instead, she ruminated on all of it. Arun had backed off from touching her intimately as he did on her first night at the lake. When he did touch her, it was careful, tender and often at the places where her spine would tingle in response. And only very briefly.

  Perhaps his sudden tenderness was the reason why she was having dreams of him night after night. His touches were always sensual and caressing, but never intrusive or forceful like the night at the lake. Her dream Arun was different from the real one that seemed to dominate everything. Not that she preferred one over the other. In her dreams, his hands and lips nuzzled her neck, her arms, her stomach and her thighs, never going further. Her favorite had been the first night she had dreamt it when he kissed her lips so tenderly, she was surprised her brain could come up with a tender elf after his forcefulness at the lake. Always her sleep was peaceful, and always, she looked forward to the dream and the glorious feeling she would have waking up.

  She even started to worry for him when one night, he screamed cursing. His hands were grabbing fistfuls of the bed sheet and he was breathing as if he were in pain. He dismissed it as a nightmare when she asked him what woke him but she didn't believe him. His face was laced with pain, but he would not tell her anything. That was the night she dreamed him kissing her just above her hidden treasure. Part of her cursed him for disrupting that dream. Especially since it did not continue when she went back to sleep.

  And then, there was another thing that troubled her in all this. He had never once questioned her about the state of her country. He had been so adamant at finding out what he wanted to know when he caught her, she expected him to start asking the same day. But not once had he asked. At least, not yet.

  Her thoughts shifted elsewhere anticipating any word from her father. It would only be two more days before a messenger would arrive, if not her father himself. She didn't care if Niraya would accompany him, she promised herself she would tell him the truth and she would accept whatever her father's judgment would be. But she would protect Orrin if the king sentenced him to death for such treason. He was after all, her real father.

  In her mind, it was all set, but she knew when the time came, it was not going to be easy and a few hearts, if not all, will be breaking that day. But her father needed to know the truth. And his acceptance or rejection of her would tell her how much her father truly loved her and her mother. It was all done for his sake, after all.

  "Alethi?"

  She spun around so quickly, she felt her neck crack and pain shot all around her neck to her head. She clutched them and bent forward in pain, whimpering. There was no one to blame but him. He should not be surprising her every chance he got!

  The pain dissipated, replaced by warmth. Warmth of a hand engulfing her own…and of lips pressed just below her ear above her hand. Arun's breath, as he chanted words she could not understand, roused her as her body tingled once again. His unique smell assaulted her and it was all she could do not to fling herself at him.

  His lips grazed up toward her ear lobe and whispered, "Be careful next time," before he let go of her.

  Her hazel eyes met his bright green ones. She recalled her dreams and quickly looked away. Again, his touch was brief but it inspired something in her. Something that made her want to curl up in his arms and stay there.

  "Thank you," she said, not knowing what else to say.

  Suddenly, he was in her line of vision once more, bending himself to meet her eyes. "I know I have been keeping you here like a prisoner for so long. Perhaps, you would honor me with your company around Rehanathi?"

  "The honor is mine," she started, but remembered the problem she had with her clothes. "Perhaps you would allow me to change before we leave?"

  Arun's face held that infuriating grin and predatory eyes once more, chuckling low. He knew and he was enjoying her squirm.

  "Of course," he acquiesced in amused tones. "I shall wait for you outside." He took the figurine from her hands and put it back where it belonged.

  Alethi let out a breath she did not know she had been holding when he exited the room. Her legs were still shaky but she could hold herself up better. She has had many suitors, daring dukes, mischievous marquesses, earls, counts, viscounts and even barons, but from none of them had she felt anything like she felt with Prince Arun. With them, she dreaded every touch, even the simple respect of touching their lips to her fingers. But with Arun, she wanted him to touch more than her hands. By the gods! She was beginning to understand why some women have been sleeping with rakes behind their husbands' backs. The arranged marriage brought them no joy and she shuddered to think what her life would be like marrying someone whose touches she dreaded.

  But Arun was an elf, and she, a human. Without even a trace of elfin blood in her. It would be foolish to think that he had any interest in her. She knew he was only acting on his nature to mate for the year. It surprised her when she found out about it. That elves only mated once every twenty-one years and that marriage did not exist. Every elf was family and the child born from the mating of two elves in their mating year was brought up by all.

  It was a strange custom, but it did make sense if one lives for too long. For all she knew, he was fucking another elf every time he went away. The thought twisted her heart and she recognized it to be jealousy. "Stupid, Alethi. Stupid!" She slapped her forehead. Of course it shouldn't matter. She had no claims on him. She had no right to be jealous.

  Arun's smile greeted her as she stepped out, his hands outstretched and she took it. She could not deny the sensations that crawled through her hands to the rest of her body as her skin made contact with his. In a gentlemanly manner, he hooked her arms around his and she nearly groaned. She was still sensitive down there and with him so close, there seemed to be no rest for the yearning and the dull throb she was feeling.

  "Rehanathi is beautiful," she said, trying to distract herself. "Every tree seems more alive here than in Dosalam and every creature more cooperative with each other…more docile."

 
"It's the Imreal," he said. "It breathes more life to everything. One of the main vessels is in the Ollan – the place where…we first met. I am sure you have felt things more strongly there."

  She nodded. "Everything felt more real there."

  He nodded. "It is one of the powers of the Imreal. We share its gifts of life. Some say we are its seed. But we do not really know. Its lore has been lost to us. Even our understanding of it is so little now."

  "Perhaps, things are meant to be that way."

  "Perhaps. We—" he stopped and a few moments have passed before another elf stepped into the clearing.

  "My lord, one of the scouts has arrived. I believe she has something important to say," Nuat said.

  Arun sighed. "Princes, forgive me. I have need to attend to this. I will be back."

  Alethi nodded. "I understand, Prince Arun. I shall wait."

  He gently took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. She stamped down on a shudder as they held each others' eyes. And then he tore away and followed Nuat.

  She watched him as he disappeared in the thick foliage and settled herself on leaning on one of the two huge trees in the area. It was not nearly as beautiful as the flora and fauna near the Imreal, but it was still leagues better than the tended gardens in her castle home. The leaves were more green and the flowers, brighter. Even the sun that shone through was not searing-hot.

  Her eyes closed taking all of it in. She inhaled the myriad of smells that she would only describe as soothing. She was about to speak to herself when her throat constricted and her eyes shot open. Her first reaction was to scream, but the constriction was there and her open mouth only breathed out air. In front of her was the elf, Liushan. His eyes murderous.

  "You are all the same wretched fools, are you not?"

  Alethi slowly calmed herself. Whatever Liushan wanted, she was sure it was her fear. He fed on it to fuel whatever hatred he hid behind those eyes.