by Tawny Taylor
“Our bride. Mmmmm,” Cayne said, pulling out of her still-twitching tissues. He gently removed the toy from her anus next. “You please me. Very much.”
“Me too.” Ronan pulled his member from her mouth then stooped to gently unfasten the cuffs from her wrists while Cayne released her ankles.
Giddy and giggly, she sank into their arms, letting them carry her out of the room. They took her to a bedroom, lowered her to the bed, and joined her. Cayne laid on one side, Ronan on the other.
The meat in a man-sandwich, Kaitlin smiled and let her heavy eyelids fall over her eyes. A million thoughts -- all of them pleasant -- swirled around in her head.
Sex with Ronan and Cayne was nothing like the sex she’d had in the past -- outside of the basic mechanics, that was. How could it be so different? Had these guys done something special, besides tie her up? And what the heck had that wonderful sensation been? Could that have been an orgasm?
She hated to admit it, but she thought that might have been her very first. If so, she wasn’t the frigid, unresponsive girl she’d convinced herself she was. Quite the opposite. She hadn’t even cooled off yet, and she was already wondering when they’d do that again. And the biggest kicker was, she had a feeling she was more complete and healthy this way than when she’d been trying to control her body’s baser needs.
A short time later, she got tired of just laying there, steeped in her own thoughts. She wanted to talk, to learn more about the two men who’d just performed magic on her body. To try to understand what was happening.
“Will you tell me more about you? And how I got here? I want to know. I need to know.”
Ronan rolled onto his side, propped his head on his fist. “Cayne and I are Nephilim, immortal beings who had once inhabited another plane, what humans call heaven. When we came to Earth to take human wives, our Lord punished us. No longer were we the powerful creatures we once had been. And no longer could we reside on the plane with Him. We had no choice but to remain on Earth with the humans. Many of us were persecuted and destroyed by a people who couldn’t understand us and came to fear us. We sought refuge here, in Alyria, along with many other races of people who were misunderstood and hunted by mortals. Vampires. Shapeshifters.”
It was hard to imagine whole populations of people having to retreat from humanity to avoid persecution. But then, some very obvious examples of human groups having been persecuted came to mind and it wasn’t so hard to believe anymore. Immortal or not, nobody wanted to live among people who hated them, hunted them like animals, or blamed them for the failings of their entire culture.
Cayne rested a hand on her stomach, his fingers splayed. “Of course, being a race that didn’t reproduce our own kind, nor having both male and female genders, we needed human brides. Mortals are the only race, outside of animals, that are able to reproduce. Mortals are the only race with females. But they aren’t the only race that feels physical desire.”
His hand inched higher, traveling closer to her breast. “We had to find a way to bring women here in a controlled way. The elders devised a system where we tell the story of our bride-to-be to a human writer we call the Chosen. In your world, the Chosen appears as an author, writing fictional books. The books are published, and eventually a woman whose heart finds a connection with the story reads it. If a droplet of her blood falls upon the pages and a plea for her Masters is uttered, we are able to cross through the portal between our dimensions and we seize our bride.”
Recognition shot through her body. “Then it was the book I read. I remember now. And I remember cutting myself. But what if it was an accident? What if a woman cuts herself and says the words but doesn’t mean them?”
Ronan laced his fingers between hers. “It’s part of the magic. There’s nothing left to chance. If you hadn’t fallen in love with us as you’d read that book, you wouldn’t have summoned us. The magic never makes a mistake.”
She believed them. After what had just happened in the dungeon…
Still sorting everything out in her head, she closed her eyes and relished the simple pleasure of being flanked by two glorious, powerful men.
“Rest now,” Cayne said, his weight shifting as he sat up. “We must go to work, but a servant will bring in a meal for you soon.” His mouth brushed over hers, a kiss that was sweet and yet hinted at naughty promises at the same time.
“Yes, we must leave you now, but we will be back later.” Ronan’s kiss was longer, more possessive. He slipped a tube of lubricant and a couple of sex toys into her hands. “We need you to practice taking this in your bottom. It’s part of the training. It’s important, Kaitlin.”
She accepted the toys and the minute they left, she masturbated to the memory of her first time with her new Masters, inserting the smaller toy into her anus mere seconds before she experienced the second orgasm of her life.
She drifted off still savoring their spicy-sweet flavor on her lips.
* * *
“Why wasn’t this problem brought to my attention sooner?” Cy Parnell, the temporary head of Alyria’s security department stormed into the room looking like he was going to tear someone a new one.
Calder, the guy who’d taken Ronan’s report yesterday, didn’t react, not even a blink.
Ronan did, and it pissed him off.
“You weren’t working when the report came in,” Calder reasoned coolly.
“You could have… forget it.” Parnell eyed Ronan. “Where exactly were you when the attack occurred?”
“About two miles outside the city.”
The head of security circled the desk and sat. “We’ve been watching the Others for years, tracking their movements. They’re getting more aggressive.”
“Our house --”
“Isn’t safe,” Parnell interrupted. Ronan had never liked Parnell much. He was as short tempered and prickly as he was. And had a reputation for being a bastard. “I’m sending teams out to all the residents living outside Alyria’s borders, notifying them of the danger. It’s not practical to order everyone to relocate within the city, but if you have a place in the city I’d stay there until we get this situation under wraps. It’s going to take some time.”
“That’s fine for us,” Ronan said with a nod. “But the Council needs to take some action. We’ve got to quit ignoring the Others. The bastards aren’t going away.”
Parnell leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “My job is to keep them out there, where they can’t steal our brides. That’s all. Whatever the Council wants to do, that’s up to you. Me? I’d like to shove them all through the portal, dump them in the human world. But that wouldn’t solve anything either because they’d tell the humans about us and all hell would break loose.”
“Yeah. That’s not an option.” Ronan knew what Parnell was getting at -- that the Council had let the Others in and now expected the security department to control them. He’d admit, giving the Others sanctuary hadn’t been one of the Council’s better decisions.
The Others were a race of immortal beings that had escaped from a dimension on the verge of destruction. When they’d first come to Alyria, they’d been peaceful and cooperative, seeming to fit into the city’s varied population. But the peace had been short lived. Problems arose -- violence and crime increased to the point where no one was safe. Eventually the Council decided to relocate the Others out of the city in isolated communities. Of course, the Others hadn’t appreciated their efforts to protect the citizens of Alyria while still trying to provide homes for a population of assholes who were hell bent on destroying everything.
The bottom line -- the issue of the Others was a thorn in the Council’s side, had been for a very long time, and probably would continue to be for even longer. There was no easy answer.
“How many were there?”
“Three,” Ronan answered, regretting the fact that he’d been forced to report the attack to the security department at all. He would’ve rather kept the problem within the Cou
ncil. But that wasn’t practical. The Council’s purpose was to legislate new laws, but it was up to the security department to protect Alyria’s citizens.
“Okay. Thanks for coming back in.” With a nod, Parnell excused Ronan, which again pissed him off. As a high ranking member of the Council, Ronan was the asshole’s superior. But Parnell had never held much respect for politics -- which was why he’d never be anything but the temporary head of security.
Tight and ready to punch something -- what the hell had that so-called meeting been about, anyway? -- Ronan headed up to his office. What a fucking waste of time. He was greeted by an anxious assistant, dozens of messages, and a full schedule for the day.
Being a member of the Council was both a blessing and a curse. He was in a position to do a lot of good but with the power came a lot of stress, conflicting priorities and the occasional no-win situation, like a certain friend who’d asked him to help him escape into the human world.
If anyone discovered he’d helped Kieran, he’d be spending the rest of his days in prison. Of course, he’d helped Kieran. The guy had risked as much for him once. Kieran didn’t deserve to be locked up for the rest of his life any more than he did. But not a minute had gone by since he’d watched Kieran walk away that he hadn’t worried someone would find out.
Someone like Cy Parnell. Or his superior, Xander Kendrick.
* * *
The Twelfth Night Brides: A Guidebook
They’d actually printed a guidebook for new brides. She didn’t know how to feel about that. A how-to? On becoming a wife to two men. It was a little on the strange side, but then again, this whole thing was strange.
Kaitlin opened the thin booklet.
As a Bride, I remember clearly the terror and confusion you are feeling right now. To be ripped away from everything you’ve ever known is petrifying. I won’t disagree with you. Nor will I try to deny you the right to grieve the loss of the life you once had. But I’m here to tell you that the new life you’ve just begun will be more than you ever dreamed. This book isn’t so much an instruction manual as it is a story of love and hope and renewal…
Kaitlin flipped through the first couple of chapters until she found the one titled Sex with Your Knight.
Now that was a chapter worth reading.
Learning to submit to your new Masters will be both a challenging and thrilling adventure. Many brides come into the marriage with little or no experience with bondage…
Shocking!
Engrossed, and a little uncomfortable, Kaitlin read on and on, completely losing track of time. The text covered the basics of bondage before moving into more specifics about the training of a new slave, which culminated in a ritual called the claiming. During the claiming, both a bride’s Masters would enter her at the same time -- one in the vagina and one in the anus.
Just the thought of that sent nervous shivers up her spine.
Not only was there the whole issue of how she’d ever be able to have sex with two men at once without drowning in guilt. As it was, doing what she had was getting to her. The only way she’d been able to live with her actions was to remind herself that she had no choice. She had been kidnapped, was being held against her will.
On top of that, there was the problem with the actual mechanics of The Deed. How could she possibly accommodate either Ronan or Cayne in her bottom? Sure, she’d played a little with a toy after they left. But that little sex toy was nothing like Ronan and Cayne’s cocks. They were both so huge!
Thankfully, the next section gave her step-by-step directions on how to train herself to take a man’s penis in her anus. After lunch, she headed for the bathtub, with her lube and the larger toy in hand. She filled the tub to the very top with hot water, added a splash of bath oil she found in a cupboard and slipped into the warm luxury.
Ahhhhh. Now this was a tub! It was huge, large enough to comfortably fit at least four adults. High sides. Like a big hot tub.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to just relax like this. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember a lot of stuff about her life before she’d been hauled away to this strange world of bondage and slave brides. She was the kind of girl who could normally recall minute details about events years after they’d happened. Now she was struggling to remember where she worked.
Something was wrong!
The book. Maybe it would explain her memory loss.
Her heart pounding, she hopped out of the tub and slip-slid her way across the slick tile floor. She halted at the door, blocked by one fierce-looking male wearing a wicked grin. Her heart just about flew up her throat. “Ohmygod, you scared me!”
Ronan’s smile faded but only for a split second. When his gaze jumped to the toy and lube on the counter then back to her face, it beamed brighter than ever. The man’s smile could stop traffic on the Autobahn. “Have you been practicing?”
“Yes, but I think we need to talk about that,” she stammered, inching backward. He was so amazingly good looking and incredibly huge he still intimidated her. Would she ever grow accustomed to a male this gorgeous looking at her with such raw desire in his eyes?
And would she ever be able to shake that little shadow of shame that seemed to come back every time she reacted to him sexually?
The bathtub smacked into the back of her legs and she windmilled her arms to keep her balance. Ohmygod, she was such a klutz. Losing the battle, she fell with a splash into the fragrant water.
Humiliated. And aroused. Now that was one weird combination.
As long as she’d been dating what’s-his-name, her ex-fiancé (she’d forgotten his name too?), he’d never looked at her like that -- like he might pounce on her like a jungle cat and tear her to pieces. At least, she didn’t remember him ever looking at her like that. Her memories were most definitely slipping away. In a way, she was kind of grateful for that. The less she recalled, the more unreal that life became to her.
Maybe that was their intention. Maybe they were giving her some kind of drug to erase her memories so she’d have an easier time adjusting to being their wife.
“What do we need to talk about?” Ronan prowled closer, until he was standing next to the tub. He twisted, settling his rear end on the edge and scooped some water into his cupped hand, pouring it over her shoulder.
What a sweet gesture.
She tucked her bent knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around her shins. “It’s about the… the claiming. I read the book.”
“Very good.” He swept her hair to the side and drizzled more water over her upper back. Little tickly shivers pricked her skin, making her warm and cold at the same time.
“It’s just that I’m pretty inexperienced when it comes to certain things, and I can’t see how it’s possible to prepare myself for that in such a short time.”
Oh God, could she just die now? Talk about embarrassing. Having to actually say this out loud, to a man who was still very much a stranger. She’d never shared that kind of intimacy with anyone.
Her cheeks were absolutely flaming. She’d bet steam would come off them if a droplet of water struck them. Too mortified to look at Ronan, she dropped her face to her knees, cramming her nose between them so she could breathe.
A soft current of air whisked over her shoulders, sending yet another shiver down her spine. The soft rustle of cloth made her (almost) steal a peek, to find out what Ronan was doing. She didn’t peek. But that didn’t matter. She learned what he had been doing a few stuttering heartbeats later, when a loud plunk and splash signaled a new arrival in the bathtub.
Still curled up in a ball, she lifted her head, finding he was behind her.
He moved forward, sending ripples of water caressing her back. Ripples of awareness spread through her insides too. She tightened all over. Where would he touch her?
Her neck.
A warm, large hand landed heavily at her nape. Fingers kneaded away the tension pulling at the base of her skull. His fingers were st
rong but he applied just the right amount of pressure.
Now, this was decadent. A tub big enough to sleep in. A man who made her insides happy. And a neck rub.
“We will do everything we can to help you prepare and won’t attempt the claiming until you’re ready. Have you read the rest of the book yet?”
“No.”
“Hmmm.”
That was a worrisome hmmmm. “What, hmmm?”
“We can’t wait very long to complete the claiming.”
“Why?”
“The biggest problem is our atmosphere and what it does to your body. During the ritual, there is a chemical reaction within the bride’s body that allows her to live in Alyria without suffering any ill effects from the substances in our air that are foreign to her. Every minute you remain here, unclaimed, the toxins collect in your body.”
“Will I get sick?”
“Eventually.”
“How long, ‘eventually’?”
“I’d say you have one more day before you’ll start to feel the effects.”
Oh God! Another chill raced through her body, pricking and stinging like little needles piercing her insides. “That’s it? One day? That’s all the time I get?”
“Yes. If we wait any longer, you could die.”
The world must’ve hurled out of orbit because suddenly everything was spinning. She snapped her eyes shut.
One day, that was all the time she had to somehow to get over this guilt thing that was making her feel like a jumbled up, strung out trainwreck of a person. And to train herself to take something huge in her bottom. And to somehow accept the fact that she’d never be able to return home again.
Impossible. On all counts.
Then again, if it meant staying alive…
Twisting, she turned to face him. “I’m scared, Ronan. There are some things you don’t know about me.”