by Mary Wine
To submit or escape, Zeva wasn’t sure. Ravid smoothed his large hand over her belly as he knelt on the floor next to the bed. Her eyes grew large as she watched him lower his dark eyes to the spread folds of her sex.
“You are so wet, ruthima.” Her body glistened with her need and it drove him insane. Ravid slid his hand over her bare mons and into the soft folds of her sex. Her hips jerked and he laid a hand over one hip to hold her still. He needed to taste her. Drive her into pleasure so deeply that she would never leave his bed.
Spreading her lips with his thumb and finger he caught the little bud at the top of her folds with his mouth. She cried out as he did it and it fired his desire even more.
Zeva shook. Her body pulsed and shivered and control was nonexistent. Ravid’s mouth was a flame that flickered over her tender sex and pulled on the very center of her need. He licked the little bundle of nerves and sucked it into his mouth as she writhed against the hold he pressed onto her hips.
“Let the pleasure take you, shihori.” Keenan cupped a breast and rolled the nipple between his fingers as she gasped. Everything was shattering under Ravid’s mouth as the tip of his tongue flicked over her bud. He licked down the center of her sex to the opening of her passage and she cried as her body twisted up towards his mouth.
His tongue traveled back to the top of her sex and she cried at the loss. Her passage ached to be filled as he caught her bud once again and sucked on the little pleasure point. His hand suddenly appeared at her passage and one thick finger slowly entered her body in a smooth thrust.
Pleasure split her in two as she cried out. Ravid sucked her through the pulse of delight as he worked his finger in and out of her passage. A second finger joined his first one as he moved them both deeply into her body. When she collapsed back to the surface of the bed his face rose and his dark eyes probed hers. Male pride stared at her as he worked his fingers a few more times within her. “I have dreamed of doing that to you for too long, Zeva. I might spank your bottom for making me suffer so long.”
“A good idea.” Keenan pinched her nipple before slipping an arm under her waist and lifting her from the bed, his arms held her tightly to his chest and he rolled back onto the bed. He kept rolling until he pressed her back onto the bedding as he came down on top of her. His chest hair teased her nipples as her thighs parted to cradle his hips. The head of his cock stretched the opening of her body as he captured her head between his hands.
His body shook as he watched her eyes. Tension drew his face taut as he struggled to press his cock forward slowly. Her body burned but need tore at her harder than the discomfort. Her hips thrust upwards taking more of his cock as he cussed softly at her.
Keenan froze and Zeva burned for him to fill her. She reached for his head and lifted her hips higher. “Take me, Keenan. I need you inside me.”
His breath hissed between clenched teeth as his eyes flickered with pure need. It was a primitive look that Zeva stared into because it was exactly what she craved. At that moment she didn’t need society’s rules and ceremonies. She wanted to mate.
Zeva curled her fingers around his biceps and purred at the thick muscle. She tilted her hips up as their thoughts mingled. “I am not fragile, Keenan.”
Pride flashed through him and control dissipated. Zeva didn’t lower her eyelashes, she stared into his eyes as her demand hung over him. Her passage was so wet his cock demanded to lodge its length in her body, need drove him to the edge of rational thought as her hips moved and he slid deeper into her.
Yet her words were correct. Offering Zeva comfort had never delivered her to his bed. She was a female who prized strength even so much so that the only males to possess her would be the ones who ran her to ground.
“Spread yourself wider, shihori.”
Her fingernails bit into his skin as she complied. There was a hint of defiance flashing through her eyes and it made her even more desirable. There was a part of her that would never be completely conquered and it fired his need to pump his seed inside her.
She didn’t cry out. Zeva clenched her teeth as Keenan’s body surged into hers. Pain surrounded his cock as it split open her sheath and stretched it to accommodate him.
Keenan’s fingers brushed the sides of her face as he dropped a soft kiss on her cheek. “Shhh…shihori.”
Zeva tossed her head and sucked in a deep breath. The pain burned away as she savored the feeling of being filled for the first time. The walls of her passage gripped his cock as her hips twitched with the need to move. She wanted more than just his cock inside her, she wanted to feel it thrust and move until her body received what it had been craving so much.
Zeva knew how mating was done, yet she never would have believed that it could feel so complete. She pulled her hand from one biceps and balled it into a fist. She hit Keenan’s wide chest as he continued to torment her with nothing but that hard erection lodged deep inside her. “Must I ask Ravid to show me what is done next?”
“It would be my delight, ruthima.” Ravid’s voice was dark. Zeva turned her head to look at him and stared at the raw desire blazing back at her. His fingers were fisted into the bedding as he watched Keenan begin to move between her thighs.
Zeva hadn’t thought it possible for her desire to burn any hotter, but feeling Keenan moving inside her as she eyed Ravid’s thick cock made her shudder. She reached for Ravid’s erection as Keenan increased his pace and her hips lifted for him. Her fingers curled around his length as her body tumbled into a pleasure so acute she cried.
Keenan growled above her as he bucked and thrust his cock deeper into her. A hot spurt of seed hit her as his cock jerked and twitched inside her. Every muscle drew taut as the climax traveled through her and then it left her sagging to the surface of the bed with Ravid’s hard cock still in her grip.
Keenan’s eyes opened just inches above her own before he caught her mouth with his. He kissed her slowly as he slipped his tongue down the length of hers and back up again. “Aye, you have wasted far too many nights, Zeva. I confess I could curse the sun for rising tomorrow.”
Keenan pulled his cock from her body and pushed his chest up. Cool night air rushed across her skin and she noticed that tiny beads of sweat covered her. Keenan lifted her from the bed before she’d even thought to close her spread thighs. He scooped her up in a tender hold as he took her across the chamber. The bed shimmered as Ravid stood up and the soiled bedding dissipated as new sheets appeared.
“I can walk, Keenan.”
The warrior grinned at her as he stepped down into the bathing pool. “I enjoy knowing exactly where you are, Zeva.” His eyes sparkled with enjoyment as he dipped her into the water like a child.
Zeva giggled as she rolled over and sank into the pool. Her body became weightless for a moment as she used her arms to push her head above the surface of the water. She pushed her hair back as water streamed down her back. Ravid stepped down into the water, his dark eyes still blazing with need.
She didn’t just see it, she felt it. Emotions flowed between their minds as her body leapt with renewed desire. Setting her feet on the bottom of the pool, Zeva stood up to discover that this pool was much deeper than her own. The water came to her breast while it only covered Keenan’s waist.
Keenan laid his arms on the sides of the pool as he watched her. Between them, Zeva once again felt surrounded but this time it was a perfect feeling of security. She wanted to be pressed between their bodies. Lying under Keenan had been pleasurable but being held in the center could be so much more.
Raising her arms out she reached for Ravid. The warrior snapped the instant her arms left the water in his direction. He captured her and pulled her against his body with arms that bound her to his length tightly. His mouth caught her just as firmly and the kiss was as hard as his cock.
Ravid thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth as his hands cupped her bottom. Her thighs opened to clasp his waist as he lifted her above his cock. The large head probed her body as
he continued to kiss her. Zeva wrapped her hands around his neck as he thrust up into her body.
Her passage ached but pleasure still twisted her womb as he filled her. She tore her mouth from his as she gasped and struggled to pull more air into her lungs. Keenan’s large body pressed into her back as Ravid began to thrust up into her with a hard pace that made her moan.
“When we are both inside you, you will scream with pleasure.” Ravid’s eyes almost glowed as he thrust hard into her with his words. Keenan smoothed a hand over her lower back and down to the spread checks of her bottom.
One finger teased her back opening as Ravid stopped deep inside her sheath. Keenan pressed his finger forward and Zeva moaned deeper. He pressed the digit up into her bottom before Ravid began to move again. Pleasure spiked into her as Keenan kept time with his brother and Zeva couldn’t hold back the pleasure that wanted to break. She was finally full, so full her body wanted to climax over and over…as long as her mates kept moving into her. Keenan added a second finger and she came.
Climax broke, making her cry. Her hands twisted on Ravid’s neck as his muscles corded and his seed shot up into her womb. Her passage clasped his cock and tried to milk every last drop of his climax.
Zeva lifted her eyes to see Ravid’s nostrils flare. He growled low and deep and the sound made her confidence swell. Satisfaction filled his dark eyes and her mouth lifted into a grin in response. She had fed his need. Only her. Held between them she was the one female who could sate their desire, and in that moment it was the only thing she needed.
Ravid propped his head on an elbow hours later and stared at Zeva. She was restless in their bed. She shifted between their bodies because she was uncertain still. It wasn’t a conscious decision she made, but it rubbed his pride.
“She will settle in time.” Keenan’s head appeared as he propped his head on an elbow as well. He stroked Zeva’s hips with a slow hand and she shifted in her sleep rolling towards Ravid. Keenan sighed as he stroked her again.
Ravid felt her breath hit his chest and grinned. There were a thousand little things that he had never noticed about a female before. Taking his release with a widow had never taught him to enjoy the little moments like this when Zeva’s scent made it possible to let his duties dissipate.
Right then there was only the three of them. Moonshine bathed Zeva’s bare skin and he trailed his fingers over her, almost afraid she would disappear the second he touched her.
But she didn’t and his fingers found her warm and smooth—the ideal of perfection simply because she was his mate. Even her stubborn independence was perfect. She would not be Zeva without it.
“Aye she will, brother.”
She had to. He could not face this chamber without her. Keenan’s eyes simmered in the dark over Zeva’s body.
They could not face it without her!
Chapter Six
Ravid’s eyes snapped open. Something was wrong—different. The chamber was dark but silent. Dawn would arrive soon because the night was no longer black.
Zeva was missing.
A quick scan of the bed confirmed that only Keenan was still in it. Ravid rolled over the edge and onto his feet as he scanned the edges of the chamber for her. Amazement hit him as he absorbed the fact that she had managed to leave without waking him or Keenan.
It impressed him almost as much as it enraged him.
Memories of their night filled his head as his cock rose stiff and strong into the cool air. Hunger pounded through his blood as he reached for his uniform. Her scent clung to the bedding and even to his skin.
A smile lifted his lips as he lifted his boots from the floor. Zeva wanted to run? Well, she would have to accept the consequences of fleeing.
A hunter couldn’t run prey to ground—unless it was running.
Keenan waited exactly one second after Ravid flung the doorway curtain aside before he rolled out of bed. Unlike his companion, his solution to Zeva’s flight was more direct. His mate couldn’t leave their bed if she had no place to go to.
A frown darkened his face as he moved through the curtain and down the steps.
* * * * *
Tension couldn’t hold on to her when she ran. Zeva pushed her body into motion, it demanded all of her concentration to keep her pace steady. An unbalanced foot meant disaster at this speed, and Zeva smiled as she lifted her knees higher to make her strides longer.
There was just the battle of will and flesh. Simple really, the body wanted to fold under the strain but she knew she would grow stronger if she held out against the nagging discomfort. Strength was built from dedication.
She cut across the female lands but kept the main house in sight. Jett had always scolded her for her running habit but she needed the illusion that she was alone.
Zeva didn’t stop until the horizon turned pink. She dropped into a walk as her heart slowed down. Sweat soaked her hair and most of her clothing and she savored the proof that she had demanded the best from her body and gotten it.
A little laugh rumbled from her throat as she swung her arms in wide circles to keep the muscles from cooling too quickly. The privacy practically made her giddy like a little girl. Solitude wasn’t what she craved, just the idea that she could be alone if she wanted to be. She had wanted to run and the freedom to grant her wish gave her peace.
The approaching day wasn’t going to wait any longer though, and Zeva moved towards the boundary between the women’s area and the warrior’s one on the Judgment grounds. Her jacket was draped over a tree branch because she couldn’t run in the long garment. As long as she was among females, a smaller top that supported her breasts called a vertil made running much easier.
Her coat wasn’t where she’d left it. Instead it was flung over Ravid’s wide shoulder as the warrior stood exactly one foot-length from the border. His face was drawn tight with anger and Zeva bit her lip as she tried to decide just why she shouldn’t laugh at his temper.
She had gone running—big deal. The storm brewing in his dark eyes was a little extreme. But maybe the right word for it was possessiveness.
That idea banished her amusement. Tension flew up her neck muscles at the speed of light as Keenan appeared beside his partner with a deep frown on his face as well.
“Jett should have warned me that you are as foolish as a nearly weaned babe.”
Zeva walked over the border with firm control lashed over her temper. She lifted one of her arms out for her coat. “And I would have enjoyed knowing that you are mean-tempered at sunrise before I spent the night with you. Thank goodness I arose before you.”
Ravid growled, but she was getting used to the sound. It just fit him and Zeva dropped her arm to her side as she recognized that he was not going to give her anything she wanted, even her coat. “Very well, Ravid, I am not ashamed of my body and will be quite content to walk back across warrior land in my vertil.”
Zeva turned away and did just that. Keenan scooped her off her feet before she passed the silent warrior. A little woof was the only sound she made as his arm clamped around her midsection and pulled her off the ground. Zeva ground her teeth together because Keenan swung her up and onto his shoulder. Her temper ignited as he slapped her bottom.
Zeva took her turn to growl before she erupted upwards. Keenan tried to clasp her in his arms but she twisted and fell to the ground with a hard smack. She slapped away the hands that tried to help her up, as she forced her feet under her. Her hip shrieked with pain where she’d impacted and her leg muscles wobbled, threatening to collapse instead of hold her up. “You will not haul me about like a prize! I refuse!”
“You enjoy the slide of that word on your lips far too much, Zeva.” Keenan’s voice was too low. Zeva knew the sign of his temper now and she glared at him as she shook her leg. His frown darkened as he watched the telltale sign of pain. Guilt also shone from his eyes as he looked at the leg she was favoring. “You should trust me, Zeva. I would not have dropped you if you stayed still.”
&n
bsp; “I will not be treated like a child, Keenan.”
“Then stop acting like one.” Ravid was moving slowly around her. Caging her between Keenan and himself. He was also placing himself in front of the border to the female section. Zeva looked from one to the other and groaned as her body tingled with awareness. She fought for control over her temper as she tried to find some shred of logic to their anger. The moments spent cuddled between their two bodies lingered in her thoughts as she looked at the harsh disapproval being aimed at her now. Her desire to quarrel was strangling as her body clamored for another night in their bed.
“I run every morning. Why are you two so angered by that? You know my body is fit.” Zeva cast a harassed look at Ravid. “And stop maneuvering me between you. I walked over that border willingly enough. It’s insulting that you feel the need to restrain me like some deviant.”
Ravid felt his face flush and stopped in his tracks. He was working on instinct, cornering Zeva out of pure desire to secure her in his bed. Yet she held a good point. It was far past time they learned to communicate. Zeva took a deep breath before she lifted her arm again. “Are you willing to give me my jacket back?”
Her effort wasn’t lost on either warrior. Keenan felt a wave of shame hit him because his control should never have allowed his temper to take over. It was an unacceptable lapse that made him struggle against the wave of lust her vertil inspired. Yet there was good reason he had become angry at her disappearance.
“Zeva, you must not leave our chamber without us until we bind.” Her frown returned as she shrugged into her coat. “It is not safe for you to return to Sinlar female grounds. You need to remain on Judgment grounds.”
“Aye. The warrior grounds.” Ravid forced his body to move closer to Keenan’s. Zeva watched the tight line of his lips as he moved in spite of his wishes. It was such a small thing but the gesture was truly appreciated because it felt like trust.