Caidi stiffened, eyes snapping open in surprise, pulling at her pinned arms as she felt something brush against her clit. She closed her eyes as everything within her centered on the sharp, tightening ache within her core. She rocked her hips against that unseen hand and couldn’t restrain a whimper of need and disappointment as the tormenting touch faded and disappeared.
“Wrap your legs around my hips.” Raven was near the end of his control. He needed to feel her more tightly wrapped around his cock. She had burned him with her teasing.
Caidi did as he said without pause. She was too close to climax to deny him anything now. He thrust within her, taking her lips in a possessive, claiming kiss as his body claimed hers in the primitive mating act, dominating and possessing her even as he was claimed by her. Caidi found her release at the first thrust that took him deep within her, moaning softly as bliss exploded within her.
Raven continued to thrust within her, his need to climax too strong to ignore now. The hot, wet suction of her pussy tugging at him shredded the last of his control. He pounded into her, needing more. His lips clamped on to her shoulder as his hips pumped against hers. That primitive possession thrilled the wild animal need driving him.
He thrust deep and hard within her as he came. Heated ecstasy slammed through him in a hot, searing wave. His seed spurted deep into her even as he felt Caidi’s pussy begin to tighten around his cock as climax took her again.
Caidi expected the sensations, the strong masculine energy and the intense pleasure, but was still unprepared for them when they hit her. They washed over her, triggering an echoing response in her. She cried out softly as she arched, her eyes closing as her body shook with the release caused by his link with her mind.
Caidi felt Raven release her hands as his weight came down on her, blanketing her in a protective, very possessive manner. She was breathless, but it wasn’t from the weight of his body on hers. With a contented sigh, she pulled him closer. She was still recovering from everything that he had done to her, but she had loved every moment of it.
She was sated, content and a little sleepy. Yawning, she nuzzled her nose against the side of his neck and stroked her hands over his shoulders in lazy appreciation. Raven withdrew from her and shifted to the side, lying next to her. Caidi snuggled against him even as he pulled her close to him, securing her with a leg across hers and his hand resting low on her stomach. The body language was plain. She wasn’t going anywhere even if she had wanted to try. Caidi’s eyes closed slowly. The heat of Raven’s body was as good as any blanket and she fell into a contented, deep sleep without any trouble.
Chapter Eleven
Caidi knew she was dreaming when she found herself standing in a large, almost cavernous room. The walls were a gray, slightly reflective stone. Lamps and candles had been placed along the walls on golden stands and sconces. A large, wooden chair was centered along the far wall and there was a silver fur rug in front of the chair. The room was empty except for that lone chair and the lights. Caidi had never seen a room like it.
Raven lounged in the large, high-backed chair, one leg thrown over one of the arms in a dominant pose of possession. He wore tight black leather pants and knee-high, polished black boots. His bare, broad golden chest gleamed in the flickering candle and lamp light highlighting the tattoos on his chest and arms. With an arrogant motion of his hand, he beckoned her closer.
Caidi paced forward with a small smile on her face. She had wondered if Shadatai Zarain mates shared their dreams as normal Zarain mates did. She now knew they did. The Shadatai had other, more powerful talents and abilities, so it wasn’t inconceivable that they might have been unable to share dreams.
“Did we have fun playing our games tonight, my chalie?” Raven asked with a stern frown on his face.
Caidi wasn’t intimidated. She tilted her head as she studied her chalon. “Is this going to be an inquisition?” She deliberately didn’t answer his question. Her eyes ran over him with lustful enjoyment. He really was a finely made man with that long, gleaming black hair and those broad shoulders and powerful thighs, a body made for fighting and sex.
“Yes, this is going to be an inquisition.” Raven frowned at her, trying to control the urge to smile. She was such a wild thing and he loved that about her, but she would admit to her maneuvering. “Did you have fun tonight?”
Caidi pursed her lips as if she really needed to think about that question. “It was delicious.”
“It took me a little while to figure out just what kind of game you were playing, what you really wanted. You were doing an excellent job of hiding your true desires from me for most of the time that you pushed and provoked me. You did start slipping there toward the end, before I took over everything, incited by you.”
“You did take over,” Caidi purred, a wide smile curving her lips as she remembered that wild lovemaking.
“You went a little far when you pictured me chained to the bed. I would have taken over then even if I hadn’t managed to work out what the whole situation was about. You knew that I would never let you go that far.” Raven sat back in the chair, almost as if they were having a normal conversation. “You got a little caught up in devising your little scenarios, didn’t you? You wondered if I was with you and how far you would have to push, what you would have to do to get me to react.”
“If you say so, I was enjoying myself. Thinking about you at my mercy was a little exciting. I don’t remember every little thought that passed through my head.” Caidi turned her head to hide the lie even as a blush warmed her cheeks. She had surprised herself with some of those thoughts.
“Admit it.” Raven straightened in the chair and his eyes narrowed on her. “You wanted me exactly as I was tonight. You pushed and pushed until you got the reaction you wanted.”
Caidi swallowed and looked at him, took a deep breath and told the truth. “Yes, I pushed you tonight, on purpose, but I didn’t know exactly what I would get.”
“You wanted me to assume the dominant role in our love. I want to know why,” Raven challenged as he watched her face carefully.
Caidi took a deep breath and searched for the words to explain the way she felt, why she had done it. “I wanted it from our first time together at the inn, but there wasn’t time before I discovered that you were Shadatai and I had to leave. I couldn’t think of a way to provoke you into doing it then without revealing everything and landing myself in real trouble. Tonight, I finally got my chance. In my head, I knew that we belonged together, but a deeper part of me needed to know that you considered me as much yours as you are mine.”
“And you needed it to be proven to you in the most fundamental, primitive way.” Raven’s head bobbed in an understanding nod. “Do you know it now and for all of our lives that you can never deny it? Do you know that you are my woman, bound and never again free to roam taverns hunting mates or fathers for your children?”
Caidi chuckled. She had a feeling he was never going to let her forget that. “I know that you are mine and I am yours and there is no running from that fact.”
“Next time, just ask me. Tell me that you need to know that you are mine, that you need proof. That is much simpler and easier than sorting through all of your feminine plots and schemes to discover what you really want.” Raven heaved an abused male sigh. “It is also less likely to send me into the super-primitive mode that you witnessed tonight.”
Caidi’s smile was full of remembered sensual gratification. “I kind of like that man, but if I just want reassurance I will think of something. Maybe I will just picture you in chains. I am sure that you will remember what it means.” The smile turned a little sassy. “Of course, I do know of someone who could make me some chains that might hold you. As I said before, the idea of you at my mercy does have its merits.”
“Chains are out of the question if you are thinking of me being the one held by them. They wouldn’t hold me, not nearly long enough for the torture that you have in mind. You would also find yours
elf beneath me much as you were tonight, but for a longer time. You can use rope or fabric and I will play games with you, but I will also play my own when I decide that I have had enough of your torture,” Raven threatened with a heated smile.
“Who would have guessed that you would be so autocratic about this?” Caidi sighed and shot him a reproving look.
“I must always be prepared to protect you from attack.” Raven sent her a frown that showed that he meant business. “Chains and manacles are out.”
“All right,” Caidi conceded and her sigh gave her acceptance of his dictate. “There is something that I’ve wanted to ask you, but I needed privacy to ask it. We haven’t really been alone much in the time that I have been here and when we have been alone, we have been more involved with each other. I keep forgetting to ask you.”
“Come here.” Raven held out his hand in an imperious demand. “What do you need to know?”
Caidi settled onto his lap with a contented sigh and his arms came around her, pulling her against him, tilting her chin up so that she had to look into his eyes. “Every time that we make love, at the end I come again when you do. Is that normal? Is that something that happens with all Zarain or only with Shadatai?”
Raven chuckled. “Ah, the re’kai, it is very normal for you to experience that. I would be a poor excuse for a man if you didn’t feel it. It is stronger with the Shadatai, but the sensory exchange between a man and his woman is experienced by all Zarain. No one talked to you about these things?” Raven laced his hand with hers and brushed his thumb back and forth over her soft skin.
“My mother and I didn’t talk much about sex. It wasn’t something that was just learned as it is in normal packs. She died when I was fourteen and I had to take the position of Acine, leading women who were years older than me. At first, it was simply not something I could ask them or would have thought to ask and later they were gone, either because they couldn’t accept me or they disappeared while they were on a mission.”
“Tell me what happened with the older women of your mother’s pack. It is fairly obvious that most of you have been alone since you came into womanhood,” Raven urged.
“As I said, some of them disappeared while they were traveling. When they were overdue for so long that it was obvious that something had happened, we looked for them. We went to where they were supposed to be, but we couldn’t find any trace of them. At the time, we thought that they might have been found and claimed by another Zarain. We all knew of the risk, that if a Zarain man found his mate he would take her to his home.” Caidi sighed. So many had gone.
“And the others?” Raven’s breath feathered over her ear.
“Others simply couldn’t adjust after my mother’s death to taking orders from an Acine who was little more than a pup, and they left. There were some who wanted to leave whose children refused to leave with them, but they left anyway. There were still others who died naturally in defense of the Taivain during our battles against the occasional rogue.” Caidi felt a wave of sadness wash over her at the memory of all of those who had been lost over the years. She pressed closer to Raven, needing his reassuring warmth.
“Those who didn’t want to take orders from you, they didn’t just leave peacefully, did they?” Raven was well aware of what had probably happened.
“They had a right to challenge for the position. Leadership of the pack wasn’t that stable at that time. I was grieving my mother and had a lot to learn.” Caidi shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t blame those who had challenged her in the least.
“The first one, maybe she had a right to challenge you. After you had defeated her, the rest of them should have acknowledged you as the rightful leader and offered you the benefit of their years of experience, helping to guide you through those first days. Your status as leader was firmly established after that first battle. By challenging you after that, they broke pack law and knew it. They were all members of this pack and owed loyalty to it. Not one of them was an outsider challenging for leadership,” Raven stated authoritatively with a frown on his face.
Caidi smiled at his offended attitude. “This pack was very lucky in a lot of ways. We had been trading cloth and wine at that point, but we hadn’t found the gems yet. It was scary enough knowing that there were women out there who knew not only where the Taivain was, but that we were trading successfully.”
Raven made an agreeing sound as his arms tightened around her.
“We could have had a lot more trouble over the years with more than just rogues and bandits if those women had found a mate and a pack and had been able to tell them of gems just waiting for any who would want them or could protect them. It was bad enough having to fight off the small groups of rogues. It gives me the shudders to think of what some would do to gain the wealth of those gems.”
“You were very lucky.” Raven felt a chill run down his spine at the images which readily came to mind of what he knew some would do for even a few of those gems.
He knew that the women had defended themselves against outlaws and small groups of rogue Zarain as well as groups of humans, but a concerted attack by a well-trained, well-equipped pack would have been difficult to repel, if not impossible. He held her tightly in his arms, physically reassuring himself that she had survived all of those years and that now, he was here to protect her.
Chapter Twelve
Caidi walked down the hall near the kitchen in the Taivain. Her destination was a room a little farther down the hallway. She entered the room and smiled at the four women sitting around the table, talking quietly. Raven had been gone for three weeks, but they talked of what they were doing every day through their mind-link. It was still new to Caidi and she still found it very strange to be able to talk to him, to feel his emotions when he wasn’t close to her. Raven still had to help her a little with the connection, because it was difficult to link to his thoughts with the distance between them. The strange thing was that talking with him in her mind didn’t seem quite as alien as the marks, the malkit, which had appeared on her back.
He, some of his men and the women who were most familiar with the trading procedures had gone to deliver the trade goods. She was still in charge, but he wanted to know what the process entailed. He was also going to inform the Bavaok that there wouldn’t be any further trade with them. Caidi was almost certain that she knew why he didn’t want control of the trade. The details and logistics were sometimes difficult, but working with traders could strain even the most even-tempered. They were already on their way back to the Taivain. Raven was enjoying selling something other than his sword. Through messengers, he had already arranged to take some of their wares to Askara.
Caidi was glad that Raven was returning. In spite of the frequency of their contact, she had missed him. She missed talking with him during the day, touching him as she passed him in the hall. She missed eating with him for the first meal. She hadn’t realized what those quiet, intimate moments she spent with him meant to her until he left. In the middle of the night, she missed cuddling up to his warm body in that big bed. At the first meal, she had taken to eating with some of her friends to alleviate the lonely feeling. There was nothing she could do about the nights. With him gone, the bed that had seemed perfect was big and cold and she found it hard to get to sleep.
Now, why would I expect my chalie to be waiting for me in our room with this hot meal when I return after weeks away from her? Do I take it as a hint that she didn’t miss me as I missed her or do I put it down to sheer feminine stubbornness? Raven’s voice inside her head was full of humor and heated desire. Caidi turned her head toward the door before she realized that Raven’s voice was in her mind and not in the room with her.
You’re here, really here? Caidi was almost afraid to believe that he had returned. Goddess, she had missed him. Her mood had swung from almost despondent to joyous in the blink of an eye.
I’m here and I had the presence of mind to stop by the kitchens and divert your meal to where it sh
ould be, Raven crowed with the smug arrogance that made her want to hit him at times. Come to me.
Caidi stood, gave the surprised women a bright smile. “I have to go. Raven is back and my meal is waiting for me.”
The other women merely chuckled and waved her out of the room.
Caidi tried to keep her pace to a walk and not break into a run as she hurried toward her bedroom. She was anxious to see her mate after his absence and wanted to touch him, hold him. Impatiently, she threw open the door to their room. Raven sat in a chair at the table, but he had turned the chair to face the door as he waited for her to arrive. Their food had already been delivered and sat still steaming hot on the platters. She closed the door and took a step toward him.
“Lock it, Caidi. I have told them not to disturb us until they see us, but someone might not get the message.” Raven’s voice held a wealth of sensual promise as he sprawled in the chair watching her as if she might bolt for safety.
Caidi locked the door and walked over to the laden table in a slow, hip-swaying stride that had his eyes focused hungrily on her waist. She tried to go around the table to her seat, but stopped when she noticed that there was only one plate, one cup and one set of utensils on the table.
Raven turned his chair and held out his hand to her in more of a demand than an offer. Caidi eagerly went into his arms, her own arms going smoothly around his shoulders as she slid onto his right leg. He pulled her fully onto his lap, turned her sideways, and kissed her fiercely.
“I have missed having you in my arms, sweet one.” Raven’s growl turned husky as he inhaled her scent. She knew he wanted her. Caidi felt his cock pressing against her hip and could smell the musk of his desire rising around her, fanning her passion into flame in response.
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