Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2

by Tina Donahua

  One made a grunting noise, gesturing as he did so.

  Lukan recalled what Damir had said about the subhumans not having language.

  It didn’t stop the thing’s companions from understanding his intent. The largest male in the group hauled the slain animal across his thick shoulders, holding five of its legs in each of his meaty fists.

  In a single line, they shuffled past the cave’s mouth.

  Arez dug her nails into Lukan’s arm. He kept his hand on her mouth, a warning for her not to make a sound or move until the subhumans were gone. If they’d lost their fear of humans as Meelo had claimed, there was no way he could fight them all, not even with the stun gun. They’d eventually overpower and kill him, then take Arez, either for food or to mate.

  A wave of nausea rolled through Lukan with the thought of her coming to such an end, frightened and defenseless because of him. He’d rescued her from the Palace’s danger to bring her to this?

  He wanted to scream his frustration but was scarcely able to manage a full breath. What was happening with Nikoli? Was he close to perfecting the device and already looking for them? Would he open a portal so they could leave?

  Or would he fail and have no choice other than to leave them here to die?

  Stop it. Lukan wouldn’t allow himself to consider such a thing. He watched the last of the subhumans move into view, the thing’s chest still pumping from the heated attack. In a few seconds, he and the others would be gone. If nothing else came close, Lukan could give Arez the food he’d brought, watching her eat every last bite, enjoying—

  Without warning, the last subhuman paused at the entrance, his presence interrupting Lukan’s thoughts.

  The thing turned to face the inside of the cave, squinting his opaque eyes as though trying to see better.

  Arez strained against Lukan’s hold, fighting to be free so she could no doubt run. He kept her to him, wondering how much the subhuman could see, how little it feared.

  As if to answer him, the thing lifted his large head and sniffed, much like an animal trying to detect its prey’s scent.

  Lukan pulled his arm from Arez’s waist and reached for his stun gun, prepared to use it if the creature came inside and managed to get to them.

  Not moving closer, not moving away, the thing sniffed again. One of the insects hovered nearby, illuminating his face. A look of curiosity, fully human, flashed across his coarse features, as though he’d smelled or sensed something he had feasted on before…a defenseless slave.

  With surprising speed, the creature entered the cave.

  Beneath Lukan’s palm, Arez gasped.

  The thing howled as the first row of bones impaled his feet. His arms flailed grotesquely, but the movement didn’t stop his fall. The next row of bones pierced his knees and then his arms as he toppled forward. More bones penetrated his cheek and right eye.

  He screeched and wailed, but the others didn’t return to offer assistance.

  Seconds before, Arez had stopped twisting beneath Lukan’s hand, no doubt too stunned to move. The subhuman thrashed repeatedly, trying to extricate himself. It took numerous attempts, but at last he crawled backwards out of the cave, blood pouring from his ragged wounds as he disappeared into the surrounding vegetation.

  Arez cringed.

  Lukan wrapped both arms around her, holding her protectively. It didn’t help. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

  He kissed her cheek and murmured, “We’re safe.”

  She shook her head. “They’ll return. One of them will come inside again. He’ll—”

  “Shhh.” Lukan rubbed her narrow shoulder and arm. “They have their kill for the night. They’ll eat it and sleep.”

  “What about the other creatures?” She pressed her face into his neck. Her harsh breathing warmed his skin. “What if they try to come inside?”

  “I’ll drive more bones into the ground. They won’t get past them anymore than the subhuman did.” He kissed her ear. “We’re safe.”

  “For now, but how long will we be here, Lukan? Eventually, the guards will know we’ve escaped. They may realize it already. Will they look for us here?”

  “No.”

  She dug her nails into his arms. “Don’t lie to me.”

  He had no choice. He wasn’t about to tell her what they faced if they had to spend too many days here, waiting for Nikoli to find them. “We were both marked for death. They won’t risk their safety to look for us.”

  “What about Vakar? He won’t give up, will he?”

  No. From what Meelo and Damir had told him, Vakar was sadistic to the point of madness. No one took from him. No one escaped his rule. He’d send his people out to look for them as soon as he knew of their disappearance. Lukan could only hope the guards would keep the truth from Vakar for as long as possible. If he knew they’d allowed two slaves to escape, they’d forfeit their own lives.

  Surely, they’d claim nothing at all had occurred until torture made them confess to everything.

  How long would it be before that happened? A few more hours? Until daybreak, when the scant light allowed the other guards a better opportunity to see within the jungle and avoid the nightly predators, including the werewolves that were both animal and human?

  “He won’t,” Arez said, breaking the silence.

  “Nikoli will find us before anyone else can,” Lukan insisted, hoping he was correct, prepared to fight if he wasn’t. “He’ll bring us to Regina’s realm where we’ll be safe. It’s even better than the plane I told you about in the place of bathing, the one where Meelo created us. On Regina’s plane, everything’s bright and colorful. There’s an abundance of light to see everything clearly, but it won’t hurt your eyes if you wear a special device her people have. They call them sunglasses.”

  He tightened his embrace, rocking them as he did so, desperate to reassure her. “The outside air is unbelievably sweet, perfumed with plants and flowers in brilliant colors. Most of the vegetation is green. The flowers are red, yellow, blue, pink, even white. An endless variety of shades. There aren’t any subhumans or frightening creatures there. Birds are no bigger than the palm of your hand. The worst sound they make is a constant chirping. They fly away if you approach. The humans aren’t afraid of animals. They own ones called dogs and cats.”

  Arez continued to watch the mouth of the cave. With each passing minute in which nothing approached, she continued to calm down. Now, she spoke with curiosity, “They use these dogs and cats for food?”

  “No.” He stroked her arms. “They keep them as pets, loving them as they would another human. They provide their animals with whatever they need to eat.”

  She shook her head. “Where do they get the food?”

  “In a kitchen. Meat, bread, fruit and hundreds of other things are always there. An endless supply.”

  Her body relaxed even more. This time when she pushed against his embrace, wanting to be free, Lukan didn’t stop her. She turned so she could face him and leaned forward, her eyes glittering with interest. “What’s a kitchen?”

  “It’s a room within a house.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

  Lukan smiled at her questions, similar to the ones he’d asked Meelo and Damir when they’d brought him to Regina’s plane. “A house is a building where no more than a few people live at a time. Some of these places have only one occupant even though the structure is ten times the size of a slave’s room within the Palace. Within the building’s walls, there’s privacy. No one watches you. No one tells you what to do. You’re never shackled to a bed, never bathed by others or taken by them. Your body is yours to do with as you please. You can awake whenever you want. You can sleep the moment you grow tired, whether it’s during the day or at night.”

  Her expression grew absorbed as if she were trying to imagine such a thing.

  Wanting to share all that he knew, Lukan continued, “Within the kitchen there’s an instrument called an oven. Hot food comes out of it. F
rom a refrigerator, the food is cold. You can have it either way. It’s your choice. But there’s even more food in these things calls cabinets and pantries. There, it’s stored in containers. All you have to do is open them and start eating.”

  Arez clutched her hands to her chest. “The food is always there? No matter how much you eat, there’s always more appearing to take its place?”

  Lukan warned himself not to laugh at her assumption. It was what he’d thought during his first days after Meelo and Damir rescued him. “There are places called stores on Regina’s realm. You go inside and choose whatever food you want to bring to your kitchen. Before you leave these stores for your house, you give the rulers there these pieces of paper called money.

  “Everyone smiles and tells you to have a good day. It’s a form of farewell that you answer by saying ‘You bet. You too’.”

  Arez mouthed the English words, then asked, “You’ve seen these stores?”

  He boasted. “I’ve been inside two of them countless times. I even told one of the rulers at the first one that the fruit wasn’t of the fine quality I’d seen before.”

  Her lips parted in shock. She grabbed his arms. “Did he beat you for complaining? Did he alert the guards and the other rulers about what you said?”

  “No. He told me how sorry he was and went into another part of the store to find what I wanted. There, rulers serve you and there are no guards.”

  She stared. “How is that possible?”

  “Everyone on that plane is free, Arez. Even more so than on E2 where you and I were born.”

  She bounced in place. “What kind of fruit did he get you?”

  “It’s called a banana. The outside of it is yellow, but once you peel the covering off, the inside is white. It has a soft texture and tastes as sweet as the fruit in the Palace, but it’s three times as large.”

  “What does it feel like to have it in your belly?” she asked, resting her palms on his chest. “Tell me what your first bite was like.”

  “No.”

  Arez stared, then brought back her hands. “No?”

  Lukan leaned forward to kiss her. She turned away. He whispered in her ear, “I don’t have to tell you. You can experience it for yourself.”

  She muttered, “When we reach Regina’s plane?”

  “No. Now.” He pulled his backpack closer, threw back the top flap and dug his hand inside. With a great deal of flourish and a mischievous grin, he pulled out the fruit, presenting it to her.

  “Go on, take it,” he said when she did not.

  Repeatedly, Arez turned the banana in her hands, exploring its contours, then brought it to her nose.

  After she’d sniffed it a few times, Lukan said, “The sweetness is inside the outer cover. There’s no reason to be disappointed.”

  “I’m not.” She held the ends of the fruit between her hands. “I’m surprised. I’ve never seen anything so big.”

  His shoulders shook with laughter.

  “What?” she asked.

  He placed his hand on his fly, the bulge beneath the denim. Around her, he was always hard.

  The comparison of the banana to his cock wasn’t lost on Arez. In the brownish gloom, he saw her cheeks color.

  She waved the fruit in front of him and asked, “Are you certain this will taste as good to me as you always do?”

  “It won’t,” he said, forcing himself to sound grave. “But it will begin to fill your belly. Here.” Taking the fruit, he broke the stem and peeled it for her.

  With her attention on him, Arez swirled her tongue over the top of the banana much as she had his crown in times past.

  She was killing him with temptation. Lukan spoke through his teeth. “Eat.”

  Dutifully, Arez eased the banana into her mouth, then out, then in once more, reminding him of how she’d worked his male organ.

  He was near to bursting when the fruit’s flavor made Arez forget her teasing. On her first bite, she moaned. During her second and third, she closed her eyes and chewed slowly, pausing only to lick her lips.

  Her delight pleased Lukan beyond words. He smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. More than anything, he wanted to pull her into his arms and simply hold her as she ate. However, he had other tasks to do.

  “Lukan.” Arez reached for him as he stood. “Where are you going?”

  “To drive more bones into the ground. You want to be safe, don’t you?”

  “Of course.” She turned to the cave’s entrance, watchful once more. “I’ll help.”

  “No.” With his hand on her shoulder, he pushed her back down to the blanket. “Eat your banana.”

  Only a fourth of it remained. She offered it to him. “You take the rest.”

  “I had all I wanted before I came to the Palace. Now do as I say.”

  She arched one brow at his sharp tone. “I will…though just this once.”

  “Is that what you think?”

  “It’s what I know.” She gave him a luminous smile. “We’re equals now, aren’t we, Lukan? Or are you foolish enough to think you’re my new master?”

  With her, he’d always be enslaved. Backing away, he wagged his finger. “You’ll pay for your defiance.”

  She popped the last of the banana into her mouth, chewed lazily, swallowed, then ran the tip of her tongue across her upper lip.

  A whip couldn’t have brought Lukan to his knees faster. Fighting his lust, he went to the bones.

  Behind him, Arez made noises that told Lukan she was rummaging through his backpack, no doubt searching for more bananas. Her sudden silence, then the way she sniffed said she’d found food she’d never seen before—apples, pears, Rice Krispies Treats and packages of what he liked most on Regina’s plane.

  Given the way the package crinkled, she was mystified as to how to open it.

  “Eat the fruit,” he said over his shoulder. “When I’m finished here, I’ll open the rest of the food for you.”

  She continued to tug on either end of a bag of Cheetos. “I need to learn how to do it for myself.”

  “Why?”

  “So I can serve you…when I want.”

  Sounded good to him. “If you don’t stop pulling on that bag, you’re going to tear it, and then everything will fly out.”

  That stopped her. She made a face at the package and flung it away. “The things inside it are still alive?”

  “No.” He fought another laugh. “Just choose one end and carefully pull the middle of it in opposite directions to separate the packaging.” He gestured to show her what he meant.

  Squaring her shoulders, Arez mimicked his movements. Her face lit up as the seal separated, but she didn’t try the snack.

  “Go on,” Lukan murmured, knowing how a lifetime of slavery affected a person. How difficult it was to do anything without a command.

  Tentatively, she removed one of the Cheetos and licked it.

  “You’ll enjoy it more,” he advised, “if you just take a handful and shove it in your mouth.”

  She did as he instructed, halting at what he knew were the crunching sounds from her chewing.

  “Go on,” he said once more. “No one can hear you. No one will keep food from you ever again.”

  In the murky light, her eyes glistened with tears. She chewed and swallowed what was in her mouth, then filled it again and again.

  Working quickly, Lukan drove new bones into the area where the subhuman had fallen. He added two more rows to the others before he wiped his hands on his jeans and returned to Arez.

  Orange cheese coated her lips.

  “What?” she asked at his broad grin.

  Lukan sank to his knees. “You’re in need of some cleaning.” He ran his tongue across the seam of her mouth, enjoying the salty flavor of the Cheetos and the silkiness of her lips.

  They parted for him immediately, her tongue coaxing his inside.

  Unlike her approach to the food, her kiss wasn’t at all tentative. Her passion told Lukan how much she craved his touch and
love. How he completed her as she did him. No meal, comfort or freedom could match what he found in her arms.

  With her, he was grateful to be alive and prepared to fight to the death.

  He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He refused to think of it now. Deepening the kiss, he crushed her to him, knowing he was holding her too tightly but unable to stop.

  Arez didn’t only yield. She returned his desire in kind, suckling his tongue, demanding he fill her mouth as much as possible. As he complied, her hands moved from his shoulders to his back, to his neck and finally to his hair. Driving her fingers through it, she held him to her, insisting that he give his all.

  Their kiss went beyond hungry to necessary, as though they both knew what could happen in the coming minutes, hours or days. Surely, Nikoli wouldn’t keep them waiting that long. Hopefully, Vakar and his men wouldn’t find them.

  On that thought, Lukan finished their kiss, lifting his chin to the cave’s roof, gulping as much of the musty air as he could, trying to calm himself.

  Arez rested her forehead on his shoulder, her own rising and falling with her rough breaths. She swallowed, then asked, “Why did you stop?”

  Not willing to tell her about his concern, Lukan grabbed the jar of peanut butter. “I want you to try this.” He wanted her to be full. At the moment, it was all he could provide.

  With her mouth on his tee, she blew hard, her warm breath seeping past the garment to his skin.

  The pleasant sensation registered in his quickened pulse and stiffened cock.

  She murmured, “Do people on Regina’s plane wear these garments all the time?”

  It took Lukan a moment to compose himself before he could speak. “When they leave their houses they do.”

  “Inside their houses, they remove them? They’re as naked as you and I were in the Palace?”

  He nodded.

  She worked her hands beneath the bottom of his tee, pulling it up, resting her palms on his belly. Her hands were hot, her voice unbearably soft. “Show me how.”

  The jar of peanut butter fell from Lukan’s hand. He cleared his throat. “How to what?”