“I doubt it. The prophecy didn’t say who would be picked, only that a pure blood would become king. And your father didn’t tell you because he’s not allowed to influence the mating decision. It is something you need to come to on your own, for your own reasons.”
“You want to know my reason, Vara?” Ari gave a self-depreciating laugh. “I wanted sex.”
Vara chuckled. “That’s a good enough reason for me.”
“Not just sex, but companionship. I told my father it was because I was duty bound to carry on the family name by having children, but the truth is I want to be held at night. I’m tired of being alone. I want a husband I can fall asleep with at night and wake up next to in the morning.”
“And Rurik can’t be that person? Ari, have you looked at him? He’s gorgeous, he’s built like a walking god and he can fly. Can you imagine being in the arms of a soldier?” Vara giggled, kneeling by Ari’s legs so as not to sit on the coronation gown. Taking Ari’s hands, she said, “What more could you ask for in your bed?”
“He’s not the holding kind,” Ari said. “People who… Men like him… He’s a soldier.”
“Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to have sex with a man who could fly? Hovering above the ground as they take you?”
“You should take a lover,” Ari said.
“I haven’t met any men who appreciate me and I won’t settle.” Vara shrugged.
“I should have poured the Chalice out on the floor,” Ari moaned, wanting nothing more than to hide.
“You should get dressed and face Rurik like an adult. You have grown up, chances are, he has too.”
Chapter Four
Ari stared wide-eyed, stunned to silence as Rurik’s bold fingers pressed between her thighs. Even through the thick red material of her coronation gown she could feel him rubbing along her slit, stirring her passions even as she fought to keep them at bay. The dress was a beautiful tunic gown with a dark red overskirt above a light cream underskirt. It fitted tight to her waist, held together by thick corded ribbons that crossed under her breasts, holding them up. Her breasts were covered with a soft cream material that matched her underskirt. Suddenly, she wished she had a little more protection against the onslaught of Rurik’s hands.
Oh yea, she thought sarcastically as she witnessed the childish taunting in his eyes, he’s really matured.
“If you don’t mind,” she said under her breath, wiggling to be free. It didn’t work. Her movements only caused his hand to rub all the harder. “I have a crown to accept.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t try and have the mating dissolved,” he said, not letting her go. He had somehow snuck into her bedchambers. Her guess was he flew through a window in the shape of a falcon before making himself known. How long had he been there? Watching her dress? Hearing her conversation with Vara?
Nervously, she laughed. “I am a princess. I hold true to my word, Commander. I chose to drink from the Chalice and in doing so I have accepted the fate that is laid out for me.”
“Huh, I thought it was because there was no defense. What, with the prophecy.”
Her lips tightened in irritation.
Rurik laughed. His voice lowered and his wings spread to the side as he leaned over to press his face close to hers. “Or was it because you liked it when I touched you?”
“I don’t…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. His fingers felt too deliciously wicked against her pussy and he was nibbling at her ear. “Mm.”
“What was that, princess?” He kissed her neck. His wings came forward, their dark feathers looming to block out light.
“I…” she tried again, only to rock her hips against his hand. She felt safe next to his large body. All thoughts of duty and coronation left her as he continued his assault on her neck. He still wore the same clothes as before and she ran her hands over the front of his tunic shirt, pulling at the laces.
“You felt me when I came inside you, didn’t you?” His soft whisper was hot against her ear. “You feel my claim even now.”
“Why are you doing this, Rurik? We both know you have no wish to be mated to me. Why aren’t you trying to get out of it?” Ari bit her lip to keep from crying out. His fingers curled upward, making for an even deeper caress along her clit.
“Why else? For the power. Maybe now you will quit trying to have me and my men killed.”
“What?” she gasped. He pulled back, his hand still intimately wicked along her sex, working her toward release through her clothing. His dark eyes pierced her with their intensity. “I nev-er, oh.”
“What was that, princess?” he demanded, keeping her trapped to his will.
“I said I never tried to have you killed.” She couldn’t think. Ari desperately wished he’d lift her skirts and take her as he had on the bed. His touch made it hard to concentrate, and yet she got the strange feeling that this was punishment as much as it was pleasure.
“I have scars on my body that beg to differ,” he growled. “As do the bodies of my men.”
Ari got a wicked flash of naked warriors in her mind, their hard, muscled bodies scarred. And in the forefront was Rurik, with his wings spread wide from his naked back.
“I didn’t…” She tried to reason with him, but it was too hard to concentrate. Ari grabbed onto his shoulders, moaning softly as she rocked into his hand, completely accepting his touch.
“You did,” he growled. “And I plan on making sure you grovel for my forgiveness by bathing and kissing each and every one of my scars. Then, you’re going to kneel before me and ask me nicely to forgive you as you wrap your sweet lips around my shaft.”
“I am to be queen. I don’t kneel and I don’t beg, not to anyone, not even a king.”
“You’ll do it, Ari, and you’ll be thankful that I don’t make you grovel in public. Too many times has death touched us, too many times by your will.”
Her climax was close. “Nae. I won’t…grovel.”
Suddenly, Rurik pulled back, denying her his touch. She gasped as the pleasure stopped and she was suspended in the torturous moment before release. Her hands shook and she thought of continuing on her own, but pride kept her hands away. Rurik was staring at her as she let her gaze roam over his body. His erection was hard, but he didn’t act as if it affected him as he stood, arms crossed in displeasure.
“You’ll grovel, princess, trust me on that point.” He smiled, a deliciously wicked look as he licked his lips. “You’d better hurry. The hall is waiting to crown their new queen.”
With that, he walked away, leaving her aroused and confused. What was that all about? Why did he stop? When she was alone, Ari suppressed a groan and reached between her thighs to replace where his hand had been. She rocked her hips, trying to end her own torment. Her body jerked, but it wasn’t the same, it wasn’t the intense orgasm promised with Rurik’s touch and it left her angry and disappointed.
* * * *
Walking away was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but Rurik knew he had to leave her to think. He’d heard her talking with her cousin, Vara, about the past. To know she laughed at his note out of nervousness and not spite did something to him. But the note was only one thing in a trail of many childhood injuries they’d inflicted on each other.
His cock ached for release and he knew that if he’d wanted, he could’ve pressed his mate against the wall and taken his pleasure in her sweet, wet sex. Holy stars, her breasts looked good, pressed up by the tight corset of her bodice. This dress did nothing to hide the large, full shape of the mounds. It was all he could do not to turn around and rip the cream linen open so that they might spill out for his pleasure, while still being held high by the tight bodice.
But he couldn’t. The way he saw it, there was only one way to find happiness with the lot the Chalice had drawn for them. He had to show her that he was a commander. That he could respect her, just as he could be trusted to lead her. All their lives, she’d acted better than him, been told she was better than him. Over the years,
it was her decisions that controlled his life. Well, it was time for the tables to turn. He would teach her to grovel so that she could walk beside him as an equal. Rurik would show her how much she wanted him, would make her admit to those desires. He’d long ago admitted to his.
* * * *
The crowd tapped their feet in applause for the longest of time, happily receiving Rurik as their king and as her chosen mate. She’d expected more of an uprising, but it appeared the people were really ready to forget and forgive the unfortunate incidences that took the pure bloods from rule. Could it be the prophecy was right? Were they more than just ramblings of old men? She would make a point of studying what the prophecies said a little more closely after she took her official rule.
Falconian ceremonies were simple and her father had only to take his crown and place it on her head for it to be over. There were no words, as the symbolic passing of the crown was enough to convey what was happening, just as her drinking from the goblet had been enough to seal her fate to Rurik.
Ari was all too aware of her new mate next to her, his taller height towering above her. She waited as Rurik was given a smaller crown. Suddenly, his wings spread wide and the hall went crazy with excitement, pounding their feet and cheering for their new king.
Show off, she thought. Her body was still tense from her almost climaxing and she resented Rurik for starting something he didn’t finish. After the ceremony, music was played and couples took to dancing as well as drinking. Ari was amazed to see her father amongst the other nobles, acting more carefree than she’d ever seen him. She didn’t dance, but instead sat on her throne watching.
“Do you wish to join them?” Rurik asked from her side. His voice was deceptively soft and she stiffened to hear the niceness of his tone.
Blinking, she looked at him. “Nae. It isn’t done.”
“According to…?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the truth was, she didn’t know. It really wasn’t written in law that she couldn’t dance or do any number of things, it was just traditionally how it was done.
“I propose, my queen…” Rurik began. The title still jarred her slightly, though she’d been prepared to accept it.
“Yes?” she breathed, unable to form a solid word.
“I propose that it’s time to let a little more blood into the rule,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Ari wrinkled her brow in confusion, studying him.
“When my kind was banished, it was thought that women, who had more control over their passionate blood, should rule for a time. They have and your family has done a good job of it. But the throne lacks passion. Perhaps it’s time to let some of the fun back into ruling Falconia. Our people were never meant to be passionless, Ari. Our ancestors ran from passion because of what it brought. Perhaps it’s time to reclaim some of it.”
“So you’re saying…?” she asked, thoroughly intrigued by what he suggested.
“I’m saying, let us join our people and dance. There is no shame in a queen enjoying her life. Come, let us flush that perfect complexion of yours and make you break a sweat.”
“I, ah, sweat,” she protested, even as she allowed him to touch her hand. “I exercise.”
“Dance with me,” he insisted. “Let us start this reign with blood in its veins.”
Ari was too stunned by the prospect to protest as he pulled her to her feet. The hall suddenly lost some of its buzz as he led her along the stairwell that wound down the platform to the floor. She was well aware of the eyes on her.
“Rurik,” she pulled at her hand, trying to stop him, “a queen doesn’t…”
“A queen hasn’t in a long time,” he corrected. “Do you really want to live your ancestors’ lives? Or would you rather live the life of Queen Ari and her hot-blooded king?”
There was something intimate and accepting to the way he linked their names together and she would’ve agreed to almost anything at the moment. He led her down to the hall. The musicians had stopped, looking unsure.
“Play something lively,” Rurik yelled, as if commanding all those around him. “The new queen wishes to dance with her people.”
Ari’s stomach tensed and she expected a riot of outrage. Instead, no one seemed to care that it wasn’t done. They cheered, several reaching out to pat her on the back in welcome. Rurik grinned, pulling her close as a lively beat started over the hall. She felt the definition of his tight muscles against her body, pressing to her breasts, which suddenly felt heavy and achy against him.
Soon she was swept into a whirl of turns and spins. Rurik led her skipping along the floor in one direction, only to spin her around and lead her in the other with his chest to her back. She’d seen the dance performed several times, but had never done it herself—well not any place where she could be seen and never with a partner.
Rurik was a wonderful dancer, lifting and leading her around the floor so that it looked as if she’d been dancing for years. Ari laughed, feeling carefree, reveling in the hard pumping blood in her veins. Rurik was right. This was exactly the kind of thing her rule needed. Suddenly, the burden of being in charge lifted and she felt as carefree as a peasant.
“It’s crowded,” Ari said after several songs had passed in lively dancing. He kept her close, going so far as to lift her feet off the floor to keep time with the music. “And hot.”
Rurik danced her past a table and grabbed an unused goblet set up at the end. Slowly, he handed it to her. Ari swallowed the stout liquor, gulping it down. It wasn’t the same kind she was served as royalty. There was a heady flavor to it. Rurik took the goblet when she finished and set it down, before grabbing another and offering it to her. Ari drank that one as well. She hadn’t eaten too much and the instant effects of the strong drink in her blood were easy to feel.
“Fifth,” Rurik yelled. “Into dance formation.”
Ari tensed in surprise at the barking order, her eyes round as she tried to pull away from Rurik. He held her tight, grinning widely.
“Hold on, my queen,” he said, before leaping up into the air over the crowd. Ari gasped, clutching onto his shirt. As he spun her, she realized he’d merely moved her out of the crowd to give them more room to dance.
“But my skirt,” she protested, wondering if people would see her naked body beneath if they looked up.
“We’ll be spinning too fast,” he assured her. Several of his men had gone up into the air at his yelled command and she saw the stunned expression of the other women as they were flown around the room in the dance.
Below them the crowd cheered, blurring with the sound of the music. Ari’s head spun from the liquor and she laid it on his shoulder as he twirled her around. Closing her eyes, she held on, feeling the subtle shift of his wings as they moved. It was arousing, yet frightful, to be under his complete control. Ari couldn’t fly and if he were to let go, she’d fall.
“I’m curious,” Rurik said.
She didn’t lift her head. Unbidden, the deliciously erotic movements of his body against hers began stirring her passions once more. Wicked thoughts entered her mind, so arousingly wicked that she didn’t want to stop and think. Vara had mentioned the idea of having sex while in flight and she could see how exotic and wonderful such an idea could be.
If they were alone, she would’ve forgotten who he was and would’ve demanded he have sex with her right where they were. Good thing the crowd was there to keep her at bay. His earlier words entered her head, words about wanting her to humble herself before him. Where did that man go? That impossible, controlling man? The Rurik who held her didn’t remind her of him. Nae, this Rurik was almost sweet, gentle, fun. This wasn’t the man who demanded she grovel, or the boy who teased her mercilessly as a child.
Her breathing deepened. Would it be so bad to explore the scars on his body? He might think he was punishing her, but it would give her ample time to explore his naked form. She did want to see him naked. Her fingers kneaded against his shoulders and she wished sh
e could remove the shirt off his muscular chest. Every inch of him was solid and firm, just as a warrior commander should be. The breeze around them stirred with the wings of Rurik and his men, but the commander’s wings moved with such light grace that she felt as if she were floating on air.
When he shifted, his body would become compact as his shape molded into the form of a true falcon. She’d seen the men shift in the past, for they often entered the palace and left it in such a way. It allowed them to fly faster and more efficiently over long distances. But she’d never seen a naked pure blood before. When they shifted, the fibers from their clothing were absorbed into the body so they’d have clothes when they un-shifted.
Ari held him tighter, very aware of how her breasts rubbed against him. Her nipples ached for his attention and moisture gathered within her thighs, readying her body for his claim. The feelings felt too wonderful to fight, though she knew she should grasp onto whatever dignity she could.
“I’m curious,” he repeated. Ari had no idea how much time had passed since he’d last spoke.
“Yea?” she answered.
“What are your powers, my queen?” he asked. “Word was spread that you got them, but none have seen what they are besides a select few.”
Ari laughed, but didn’t answer him. “Don’t you worry. They are great.”
“Show me,” he said.
“Nae,” she answered, not wanting to take her mind off the feel of him pressed against her. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. “I just want to dance.”
“Then tell me what they are,” he said.
“I can control water.” It was an oversimplification of all she could do, but she didn’t want to get into all the little nuances of her gift. She could snake it through a room, or make it dance, or create a wall that never fell. She could call upon the ocean to give her its jewels if she wanted—though she never would because it would take jobs away from some of the sailors.
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 4