“I know I am,” Kat said confidently. “Now go get ready! He should be there at any minute.”
“Okay. Kat?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” Lauren wished she could give her a hug. “Thanks so much for helping me.”
“That’s all right,” Kat said cheerfully. “You can pay me back in cupcakes. Talk to you later!”
And with that, the connection was broken as suddenly at it had been established.
“God, I don’t have much time,” Lauren muttered, hurrying to change. She had told Kat earlier that she’d made certain arrangements in case Xairn ever did come home and buying just the right outfit was one of them. She hadn’t been sure when she was shopping for it that she’d ever have the chance to wear it. Now she couldn’t wait to put it on.
She stripped and then grabbed the red see-through outfit from the top drawer of her small dresser. She pulled it on quickly and then went into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror.
When she was looking for just the right ‘welcome home’ outfit, Lauren had considered many different styles. She’d tried on a lot of black leather and white lace but neither seemed to fit the bill. Finally she’d found the gauzy red top and pants combo at an upscale costume shop in downtown Sarasota. It was meant to be a harem costume straight out of the Arabian Nights and it suited her perfectly.
The blouse had long sleeves and a low cut, scooping neckline which stopped just above her nipples. A red bikini-type top was supposed to go under the silky material but Lauren didn’t even consider wearing it. She had one chance to get Xairn back—she wasn’t about to play hard to get. Her bare breasts could be seen through the translucent red material, clearly displaying one of the changes she’d made in preparation for his homecoming. She hoped he would be pleased by what she’d done but at the very least she knew he would be surprised.
The bottom of the outfit was a pair of loose, blousy pants made of the same silky see-through crimson material and gathered into cuffs at the ankles. They had come with a tiny red thong to wear underneath but Lauren had left it in the drawer along with the bikini top that was supposed to go under the blouse. She was going to be completely bare beneath the naughty outfit. Completely bare and completely irresistible—she hoped.
Instead of a button and zipper, the pants had a long slit down the center of the crotch and a silk cord tie at the waist. When tied in a bow, the cord kept the pants closed but the unfastened slit in the crotch offered easy access to a seeking hand.
And God, Lauren certainly hoped that Xairn’s hands would be seeking! Seeking, touching, feeling and exploring every part of her body. Already she was feeling hot and bothered, her nipples hard and her pussy throbbing with need. The fruit that Kat had given her to eat was really working on her! Not to mention the fact that she loved Xairn and couldn’t wait to see him again.
Suddenly, she had a spasm of anxiety. If he won’t make love to me I’m really going to be in trouble! Then again, if he left her for good, never to return, she was going to have a lot worse problems to deal with than just a terminal case of horniness.
Taking a deep breath, Lauren went to the bowl on the kitchen counter and took out the last, triangular fruit. Kat had given her several of them, telling her that they were usually reserved for brides called by the Twin Kindred. She’s also warned about eating too many of them—something she herself had apparently done on at least one very memorable occasion. Still, Lauren had wanted to be prepared so she’d eaten all but one. Now she looked at the last fruit, clutched in the palm of her hand.
“Oh, what the hell,” she murmured and took a big bite.
The juicy, sweet fruit had barely hit her tongue before the doorbell rang. Little One started barking immediately but Lauren shushed her. “Stay,” she told the puppy in a shaking voice. Could it really be Xairn already? There was only one way to find out.
Clutching the fruit in one hand, her heart beating so hard she was sure it was shaking her entire body, Lauren went to the door.
* * * * *
Xairn sucked in a sharp breath when he saw her. Her long black hair flowed loose over her shoulders and she was wearing silky, sheer clothing which clearly showed her bare flesh beneath.
“Xairn?” she whispered, her amber eyes wide and hopeful. “I’m so glad you’re here. I…I’ve missed you so much.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he had missed her too but just then Little One jumped off the couch and came running up to him. Barking joyfully, she jumped into his arms and licked his face.
Lauren laughed. “It looks like I’m not the only one who missed you. Look at her—she knows her master is home.”
Xairn frowned, the words of love dying on his lips. “I am not fit to be anyone’s master. Not even a dog’s. I’ve changed, Lauren.”
“Yes, I can see that,” she said quietly. “You look the same way you did when I first fell in love with you.”
“Lauren—”
“It’s true. You know the color of your skin and eyes doesn’t matter to me.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. “I…heard about what happened on the ship. To your mother. I’m very sorry, Xairn.”
“I was unable to save her,” he said stiffly. “Though I did get to speak to her briefly—very briefly—before she died.”
“Oh, baby,” Lauren whispered. “I wish so much I could have been there with you—to help you through it.” Little One whined softly at her mournful tone and licked Xairn’s face again.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over now.”
“That doesn’t make the pain less,” she said. “If I could have come with you…but I know that would have played right into your father’s plans.”
“Actually, it was me he was trying to lure to the Fathership. Me he wanted.” Xairn stroked the puppy gently. “He wanted to absorb my power—I suppose it would have given him a kind of immortality.”
“Oh my God, I didn’t know that.” Lauren put a hand to her mouth. “What happened?”
Xairn shrugged. “I absorbed his power instead. Or rather, I started too. But my mother…” He had to clear his throat before continuing. “She…she begged me with her dying breath not to take his essence into myself. She said it would corrupt my soul. So I let it go instead.” He sighed. “When it did, my own power went with it. I can no longer read minds or compel anyone to do my bidding.”
Lauren looked at him hopefully. “So…you let that part of yourself go?”
“Only the power left,” Xairn said flatly. “My Scourge instincts and urges remain. And now that the small strand of human DNA which I got from you has been broken and overwhelmed by my own genetic material, I am worse than I was before.”
“I never thought you were so bad,” Lauren said softly.
“That is because you don’t know what is in my heart,” he said grimly.
“I want to, though. I want to know it all.” Scooping the wriggling puppy out of his arms, she set Little One down in the small patch of fenced in grass that served the condo as a front yard. “Stay,” she told the puppy. Then she motioned to Xairn. “Come in?”
“I shouldn’t.” He tried to look anywhere but at her beautiful body. “I…I only came to say goodbye.”
Lauren took a deep breath and he had the feeling she was fighting back tears. Then she lifted her chin. “You can’t say goodbye without talking to me one last time and I can’t keep standing out here like this.” She indicated the sheer red costume. “If the neighbors see me—”
“All right.” Reluctantly, Xairn went with her into the condo and shut the door behind them. He could hear Little One whining fretfully on the other side of the door but he knew the puppy would be safe in the tiny front yard. “Let’s talk.”
“Fine.” Lauren led the way into the kitchen and put a strange piece of fruit she’d been holding down on a plate. Then she turned to face him. “So you came just to say goodbye? You’re leaving because you don’t…don’t love me anymore?” H
er voice trembled slightly but she kept her head high and looked him in the eyes as she spoke.
Xairn sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “You know that isn’t true. I still love you as much as I ever did—more. That is why I feel compelled to leave.”
“Because you’re afraid you’ll hurt me.”
“Because I know I’ll hurt you,” he corrected. He shifted, his secondary shaft throbbing behind his tight flight pants. “Even now seeing you as you are makes me long to throw you down and fuck you.”
“Do it then.” Boldly, she stepped forward, throwing out her chest. “I’m not afraid of a little pain, Xairn.”
At her motion, a flash of silver caught his gaze. “Not afraid of…Gods!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and studied her full breasts beneath the gauzy red top intently. “What have you done to yourself?”
“I had my nipples pierced.” She pulled the top down, baring her breasts completely so that he could see better. “It’s one of the Scourge marks of possession, isn’t it?”
Xairn tightened his grip on her shoulders and swallowed hard. Somehow he couldn’t tear his eyes from the erotic sight of her full, creamy brown breasts, naked and on display, with the lovely silver hoops piercing her tight nipples. “Yes,” he said at last, having difficulty forcing the words out. “It is.”
“I had them done soon after you left. They don’t hurt anymore. See?” Reaching up, she took his right hand and brought it down to cup one of her breasts. “Go on,” she murmured breathlessly. “Touch it. Touch me.”
Xairn couldn’t help himself. Gently he cupped the full undercurve of her breast and thumbed the nipple pierced with the slender silver hoop. Lauren moaned softly and pressed her breast more fully into his hand. The soft sound went straight to his cock, making him harder than ever.
“Do you know why we—why the Scourge—pierce our females’ nipples?” he asked, his voice low and harsh.
She shook her head, her breath coming short as he continued to stroke her tight little nub. “I thought it was just something you did. Is there a…a practical application?”
He nodded. “We do it so we can run a fine gold or sliver chain through the rings. Here and here.” Xairn cupped her other breast and tugged on both of the silver hoops gently, making her moan again. “Using the chain, we tether the female to the bed on her hands and knees. By tightening the chain and tugging on her nipples, we can force her to come further down. This raises her ass high in the air and gives the male better access to her pussy.”
“God.” Lauren whispered. “I…I didn’t know.”
“Now you do.” He looked up at her face at last. “You should not have done this just for me.”
“How could I not?” Lauren asked softly. “After all you’ve done for me.” Slowly she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open to expose the brand that spelled her name. “You were marked for me,” she murmured. “You let them write my name on your heart. I thought…I hope it’s still there.”
Xairn knew she was talking about more than just the brand that marked his skin. “You know it is,” he said roughly, dropping his hands from her bare breasts. “But it changes nothing.”
“Nothing at all?” She traced her name on his chest and her touch was at once cool and inflammatory. Xairn felt like he was being burned all over again, as though her slender finger was tipped with fire.
“Stop it,” he said, shaking his head. “I still have to leave. I only hope…hope that you didn’t take it upon yourself to incur any of the other marks of possession.”
Lauren raised an eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, I did. Would you like to know which I chose to have done?”
Xairn let his eyes rove over her body, drinking in her beauty. “You’re not wearing a collar so you must have had yourself pierced below or branded with my name. I can’t tell which.”
“Then maybe you should examine me and find out.” Her voice was light and teasing but there was a deep, unspoken need running beneath the soft banter. Xairn heard it and it made his secondary shaft throb with need. But he repressed his hunger for her fiercely.
“I cannot,” he said, stepping away. “I…should not.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Can you really walk away from me that easily? Can you leave without knowing? You’ll wonder all your life if you don’t at least look just once.”
Xairn felt a force rising within him—a desire that threatened to burn his self control to ashes, to demolish the cage he’d built around his true nature and let it out like a ravening beast seeking to devour. I must not let that happen! he told himself sternly. And yet…could it really hurt just to look? Lauren was right—he would wonder all his life what other mark she had taken if he didn’t find out.
“Fine,” he heard himself saying. “Go over to the bed and lay on your back with your calves hanging over the side and your arms over your head.”
Lauren went to the bed at once and arranged herself exactly as he had demanded. It gave him a strange thrill to see how willingly she obeyed but Xairn forced himself not to think about it.
“Good,” he said. Walking over, he knelt on the floor in front of her. “Now spread your legs for me.”
“All right.” She was shivering a little—with fear or excitement, he couldn’t tell which—but again she didn’t hesitate. Spreading her legs, she opened herself to him, mutely offering to give him whatever he wanted.
“Good.” Xairn heard the harsh tone of command in his voice but he couldn’t control it. He placed his hands on her knees. “Now hold still while I look at you. No matter what I say or do, you’re not to move. Do you understand?”
Her breath hissed out from between her teeth and she trembled under his touch but she spoke only one word. “Yes.”
“Yes, Master,” Xairn corrected her sternly.
“Yes, Master,” she repeated and as she spoke the word, he felt her shiver even more violently. At the same moment, the warm, feminine scent of her arousal hit him. Could it be that this was turning her on? That submitting to him was actually making her aroused? Xairn didn’t know if he could let himself believe it. Instead of trying to decipher her thoughts, he concentrated on her body.
Gods, but she smelled so damn good. Looking at her soft pussy, barely visible behind the silky red material, he could see that her little cunt lips were swollen and wet. Clearly she was aching with desire. Just as he was.
But I can’t give in. I’ll just look at her, just see what other marking she’s taken, and then I’ll leave, he told himself sternly. Slowly he untied the silk cord at her waist and slid the gauzy red pants down her long, smooth legs. Lauren moaned softly as he bared her, but made no move to cover herself or close her legs. Her unquestioning obedience stirred something in Xairn—a primal instinct he’d tried to bury for years. Take her! demanded a voice in his head. She is your female—claim her! Bond her! Grimly, he ignored it and continued with the business at hand.
“Are you all right?” He watched her face as he stroked gently up and down her thighs.
She nodded. “Y-yes. I thought you were going to…going to examine me. To look for the other mark.”
“I am.” Xairn stopped stroking and leaned forward, parting her thighs even wider with his broad shoulders. She still made no move to resist him, even when he framed her cunt with his hands and placed his thumbs on her outer pussy lips. “I’m going to open you now, Lauren,” he told her, watching her face as he spoke. “Going to spread open your tight little pussy and see if you’re marked. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master,” she whispered. “Go ahead. I…I want you to.”
“I am not asking for your permission,” Xairn said harshly. “I’m telling you what I am going to do to you. You have no choice in the matter.”
She nodded. “I know. I…I don’t want a choice. I just want you.”
Her words touched that part inside him again—the dominant part begging to get out. Xairn pushed it aside and leaned over her spread thighs. Slowly, he opened her swolle
n cunt lips, revealing her slick, inner pussy, glossy with cunt honey. The sight made him catch his breath. Gods, she was beautiful! He had never seen anything so perfectly formed.
Forgetting that he was looking for a piercing, Xairn simply admired her. Last time he’d gone down on her, he had been rushed, almost desperate to taste her. This time he took his time, drinking in the sight of her lovely little cunt, breathing in her sweet, feminine aroma until he couldn’t stand it any more. Suddenly he had to taste her again—he couldn’t help it, the urge was too strong. He could leave, he told himself, leave and never see her again but not before he tasted her sweet, wet pussy just once more.
“I’m going to lick you now, Lauren,” he told her, his voice sounding hoarse with desire in his own ears. “Going to taste your sweet, creamy little cunt for as long as I want to and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. “Yes, Master,” she whispered. “I…I’ll try to hold still and let you.”
“You’d better,” he said sharply. “If you move so much as a muscle I’ll be forced to punish you.”
Lauren caught her full lip between her little white teeth, her eyes going wide. “Yes, Master,” she murmured at last. “Any…any punishment you wish to give me, I would be happy to receive.”
Xairn growled low in his throat. Her willing submission was doing something to him—affecting him in a way that was hard to understand. If she’d been defiant or refused to obey his orders, he might have been able to turn away from her. But the way she gave herself so completely—to either pleasure or pain, whichever he saw fit to inflict—was pushing him forward. Forcing him to act more and more on his true nature. His Scourge nature.
Unable to hold back any longer, he leaned down and flattened his tongue against her open pussy. Then, savoring her unique salty-sweet flavor, he dragged his tongue upward, lapping her cunt long and slow.
Lauren moaned and bucked up against him, her hips moving involuntarily with the pleasure he gave her. Xairn felt his cock surge hard against the fastening of his flight pants at her reaction. Lowering his head, he did it again. And again. Gods, but she tasted delicious—as salty and rich as the sea. And the way she moaned and thrust her hips in time to his lapping made him so hard he felt like he could fuck his way through a stone wall. She was disobeying his orders by moving at all, but he would deal with that later. For now he just wanted to keep going down on her, wanted to press his tongue deep in her cunt and taste her until she came all over his face.
Brides of the Kindred Volume One Page 164