by Marie Harte
She gasped, feeling stretched and completely unnerved by the heady sensations coursing through her blood. She'd never had anal sex, had never wanted to. But the incredible pleasure pulsing within her made her greedy for more. How could he feel so damned good?
His finger pushed past the slim resistance in her ass, and suddenly she felt him everywhere. Before she could hold onto the feeling, however, he pulled out, leaving her body both empty and bereft.
"You see, Mallory, I have yet to show you my true self,” he growled, his passion goading her own. A broader instrument replaced the finger in her anus, and she clenched as he began prodding with his penis. The entry was smooth however, and she knew he'd used her own orgasm to soothe the way.
Thick, burning and then filling, a rhythmic pounding that made her half crazed. And then he stunned her by adding what felt like another shaft into her vagina.
"My true self burns for you, kina.” He chuckled, the movement thrusting his ‘true self’ further toward her womb.
"How...?"
"Shh, feel me inside you, my cocks seeking entry into your grace. Oh, kina, you don't know how much I've wanted this.” His gritty voice and thickening erections told her plenty. But what confused her was the intense pleasure she felt, no sense of pain at his intrusion, but warm, welcoming bliss.
She could literally feel her temperature skyrocket as first one, and then his other cock erupted within her. And the jet of cum filling her startled her into a climax so incredible she briefly blacked out from the sheer pleasure.
As she groggily rolled her head, startled to realize she now lay on her back, it was to see Core's penis dripping wet with water, yet still hard as it waved over her mouth. “Swallow me, kina, and let me fill the rest of you."
Confused that she could still want him so much after what they'd just shared, she was nevertheless helpless to resist. Mal opened wide and took him, feeling a brush of what felt like another phallus under her chin, though she had seen nothing there. The erotic undulations as he thrust into her mouth had her body heating again, and the powerful rush scared her as much as it excited her. None of this was remotely normal, and the intensity of her orgasms and the powerful sense of connection to Core had her reeling, as if slightly drunk on his taste.
"That's it, kina. Accept me. Let me give you such pleasure as you've never known,” he panted, his ‘true self’ sliding under her chin as he thrust deeper and deeper. Her gag reflex had mysteriously vanished, and she took the whole of him in her mouth, astounded that tasting him could be so arousing.
When a jet of precum hit the roof of her mouth, she dragged her hands from their grip around the pool's ledge to his iron thighs. So tight, so rough, she thought, stroking his flesh as she invited him to come down her throat. Wrapping her hand around his ass, she pulled him closer and stroked her fingers between his cheeks.
At her touch, he shouted and began to climax, gripping her hair when she shoved two fingers in his ass, making him shoot load after load that she greedily swallowed.
"Kina,” he breathed, still coming. “Oh, Mallory. My Mallory,” he repeated over and over, still thrusting. When he stopped moving, his ghostly phallus disappeared, as did his finally flagging erection. He gently withdrew and leaned over her, kissing her fully on the mouth. “You do not know how good we smell, how much I continue to need you."
"I don't,” she tried to catch her breath, “I can't understand how you can be so...."
"Hard for so long?” he added with a heart-stopping grin. “With you kina, anything seems possible. Believe me, this is a first for me, as well. I have some skill with sex, yes. But never to this extent.” He stared at her mouth and ran his finger over the small drop of cum beside her lips. He rubbed it over her lips and into her mouth, and that quickly, his gaze turned from somewhat normal to snakelike. “I don't understand how I can still want you after that.” He closed his eyes and leaned into the curve of her neck, breathing deeply. “But I do."
When he opened his eyes, she saw the hunger, and not understanding why or how, she returned the feeling.
He saw her need in her eyes, and with a feral grin, moved down her body, spreading her thighs wide.
"It seems these pools truly are invigorating.” A long swipe of his tongue along her clit had her moaning and gripping his hair. “That's it, Mallory. Remind me that I'm not done worshipping yet. You're not finished with me, are you kina?"
She should have been wrung out, finished, completely exhausted and sore, but her body cried for more of him, more of Core.
"Not yet, big guy, not by a long shot,” she moaned, captivated by the tongue that snaked out and made good on his promises.
* * * *
Core groaned and rolled to his side, his body feeling pleasantly used. He rested near the warm bathing pool, and stared through slitted eyes at Mallory as she trickled water over her naked body. The bright light glittering over her told him morning had arrived. But never had he spent so pleasant a time gathering his wits.
Last night had been a dream made real. The black-haired messenger from Ratlaharan had shown him perfection, the true union of soul, mind, and body, a state most Talians fought their entire lives to embrace just once. Core had embraced that state each and every time he shared intimacies with Mallory.
Now more than ever he pledged his undying service to Ratlaharan. Hell, he'd promise his soul to Zernishte and eternal damnation if it would secure Mallory's favor. Never had a female gotten to him on all levels. She had a smart mouth, the strength of mind to do what was right, and the fortitude to see her morality justified. She had decimated an entire Phrellian spacecraft, and had killed his enemy without mercy. Damn, he felt himself growing hard again.
And her body. He wondered if she knew what they had shared last night. If she had any inkling that both times she'd swallowed his seed, she allowed for a chance of pregnancy.
By the moons, he couldn't imagine the joy should she become full-bellied with his young. And with this woman he sensed his luck would bring him no less than twins. Mallory had that something about her, that magic and penchant for right that ascribed to the warrior and leader within him. And with her, he knew his sons or daughters would breed ‘true'.
Never before had a female Talian been born with a true self. But Mallory's children would have The Snake, that he knew with a certainty.
Water sluiced over her arms as she scooped it in her palms. And as the sun caressed her golden skin, he knew the time had come to ask the questions he'd feared answered.
"Mallory."
She started with a shriek and turned with a frown. “You scared the piss out of me."
He eyed the pool with distrust. “I sincerely hope you don't mean that literally."
She blushed. “No, I didn't pee in the pool. Geesh.” She dunked herself beneath the water, rising like a nereid through sparkling fingers of water. “I still can't believe what we did last night.” She smoothed her hands through her hair, the color a shiny black that made him think of the last perfect eclipse during the harvest. “For a guy who's not supposed to come, you sure did, everywhere."
"Yes, everywhere,” he said eyeing her mouth, and as she turned, her ass. He wanted a bite of that succulent flesh, and by the wry look in her eyes as she turned, she knew it, as well.
"Okay, I admit, you wore me out. I've never met a man with your libido."
As good an opening as any, he thought. Though an image of Mallory with another man at all made him want to destroy something. “So how many men have you ‘met'? And from where? Tell me again how you came to be here, Mallory. And tell me of your world."
She rolled her eyes at his obvious jealousy, but described her world, a place filled with magic and the crime and prejudices that settled in any ‘advanced’ society.
Pausing in her washing, she seemed a vision, the very ideal of femininity personified. “So you see, every time you call me a ‘gift’ I feel weird. In my world, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole.” Totem pole? “I'm not wealt
hy. I mean, my parents are, they're witches, after all. And had I married the man they chose, I'd be rolling in wealth. Not a care in the world.” She sounded somewhat bitter, and he zeroed in on the details.
"This upsets you, that you have little wealth?” He swallowed. “That you have no ... mate?"
"Yes and no. I never wanted to be rich, just comfortable. And yes, I'd like to find a man who'll love and cherish me and all that other happy crap. But to marry for money? To tie myself to a cretin like Aaron Floyd Crowe III? Puhlease. I'd rather die chasing rats."
"What?"
"Well, like I said, since I can't afford a familiar, I act as my own. Witches can call more magic in a form not their own, but the greatest power comes from the grounding of beast and earth. Creates a hell of a zing, especially if you use transport spells a lot. And since I'm currently in the business of trapping the unscrupulous spell-set, transport spells are a must."
He thought about her world, about what she did. Did she live and fight in his world, she'd be considered a near-goddess. A woman who could fight, who wielded the power of spells and such? Hell, she'd nearly defeated an entire Phrellian ship.
"I am confused, Mallory. You consider yourself not worthy...."
"No, no. They—the people who raised me and those like them—consider me unworthy. I think I'm a queen,” she said arrogantly, a sparkle in her greenish-brown eyes. She grinned. “My friends like me just fine. And apparently Rattler, your Ratla-uh, that figure you call a god, must like me. Of course, I could be wrong. He might just really dislike you."
He laughed as her self-deprecation. “I think Ratlaharan wished to help the Talians, and sent us his best. Though I still have trouble believing he sent you here."
"He might not have. Only a select few ever enter The Lounge. The only reason Rattler sent me up there was that I'd had a hard day, and I'd saved his ass—uh, royal butt,” she corrected at his stern look, “when he came up short-handed."
Core shook his head. “You live amidst such wonders to walk among gods. And we are barely getting by day to day."
"I used to think that way,” she mused, staring at him with thoughtfulness, and no inclination her body was causing a definite reaction in his. “But I'm starting to realize I would never have been able to help you if I'd come from a normal family. Witches and warlocks may be rich, but they can't fight worth a damn. It's all about posturing and appearances. To tell you the truth, I'm glad I'm on the ‘outs'.” She smiled, her eyes sparkling as she glanced over him. “Because being on the ‘ins’ with you is well-worth everything."
Core stood, wanting her again, and had to pause at the sheer ferocity of need rolling through him. He shook his head and began to pace, trying to enforce some discipline over his unruly body. “Never before has a female made me so hungry,” he muttered, distracted and unable to keep from studying her natural sensuality.
Cupping her hands with water, she let the liquid slide over her breasts, beading at her nipples. “I feel a little stupid for asking, but you're really okay, right? I mean, before we came here, you looked pretty torn up."
"I'm fine. Yuka trees and their leaves possess healing properties that can bring back anyone or anything, even from the brink of death. It's well our enemy is unaware of this fact. Otherwise they'd surely destroy the forest."
"Right. Damned vamps.” She sighed and left the water, glancing around. Grabbing her shirt, she proceeded to dry herself with it, then began dressing. “So tell me why the Talians and the Phrellians started fighting in the first place."
He broke off his own sigh, knowing he should have had his fill of her last night. Throwing on his kilt and sword harness, he sat on a boulder to explain. “It's fairly simple. The Talians have lived in this world, and in Horum Veirus in particular, for thousands of years. We knew little of the Phrellians, save for the records of their existence from years past. Only recently have they begun to invade, to fulfill their mission to destroy us all."
"But why? Do you know?"
"Because they can. And because they want what we refuse to give them. The land we would share. We would have, at one time, lived in peace with the fanged nefrat. But in killing our women and children, they have brought about a war they will never win.” His heart raced, the sudden desire to shed his enemy's blood strong, overpowering.
"Um, Core? Your eyes are doing that snakelike thing again. Which reminds me, I want to know exactly what that snake tattoo is all about, not to mention your ‘true self’ needs a lot of explanation.” She crossed her arms over her chest, blushing a becoming rose.
He shook off his bloodlust as desire once again settled. “You did not like my ‘true self'?” he asked innocently.
She pursed her lips, and her cheeks flamed brighter.
He laughed. “All Talians pass a stage in maturity when their spirit grafts itself into their body. It manifests itself in our warriors as a snake drawn into our skin. In the females and the males not warriors, normally a symbol, a direction in which Ratlaharan would have us live, appears."
"What? Like a Yuka tree for a healer, an anvil for a blacksmith?"
He didn't understand what an ‘anvil’ was, but he nodded at her mention of a healer. “Not those symbols exactly, but something similar. We are all somewhat different."
"Yeah. I noticed a few of the other warriors, but none of them had tattoos as large as yours, or as detailed."
"I'm a bit different than the others.” He flushed at the look she sent him, one of pure lust. “If you keep looking at me like that, I'll have you bent over this rock faster than you can take your next breath.” She quickly looked away, but not before he saw her naughty grin. He exhaled heavily and continued. “Most Talians receive their true self later in life, in our adolescence. I was born with this mark.” He rubbed the back of his neck gently, and felt his true self purr with contentment. “My true self, The Snake, becomes flesh when I've need. To protect that which is most precious, to defend the nest, I fight with my spirit."
"That's incredible.” She stared at him with admiration, and not the fear or suspicion other females normally gave him. Even the females who lusted after his sex usually stared at him with nervous awe. Mallory, however, gave him approval, and more importantly, acceptance.
"Where I come from, we have shapeshifters. But the shifter is either human or animal, never a blending of both.” She bit her lip. “I noticed your teeth get really sharp when you're aggravated. Do you do that on purpose or is it an adrenaline thing?"
"Adrenaline?” She explained and he shook his head. “No, it's not hormonal. I control the bite. My eyes, however, are more an ‘adrenaline thing'. When I'm angered or excited,” he murmured suggestively, “you can tell."
"Mmm-hmm. And about that ‘true self’ when we were making love?"
"That, Mallory, is a part of me that appears when I'm very excited.” His gravelly voice hid that one crucial truth, that his ghostly phallus appeared only in the presence of a potential mate, when his spirit needed to bond as much as his physical self. Recalling the experience had him ready to repeat the performance.
She stared at him for several moments, feeling what he felt. The hide of his kilt bothered his erection, and he wanted nothing more than to throw the material aside and plunge back into Mallory. Unfortunately, too much time since the attack had passed. They needed to return to the nest, to assess damages and to find out what the future held.
"I'm sorry, kina. Would that we had more time."
"I know.” She sighed, then her eyes brightened. “But there's always later."
He grinned, liking the way she thought. “Definitely later."
Chapter Six
Mallory continually studied her surroundings, amazed at the varied landscape through which they trekked. From the dense Yuka forest to the white hot sands of Horum Atmas, the god's kiss. Through a less arid portion of Atmas into the nest's ‘underground', a lush, tropical paradise. It had taken three day's journey on foot, and all the while she contemplated her new ci
rcumstances, wondering if she was missed at home.
Home ... her apartment ... her rent. Today was Tuesday. Monday, payment due day, had come and gone. Had Morty rented out her apartment, given away her meager worldly possessions? Had he rifled through her things, touching her most personal belongings?
Oddly enough, she couldn't find it within her to drum up any anger. Through some twist of fate, she'd been thrown from the only world she knew into a life or death journey with a male who couldn't possibly be real. For the past three days and nights, they'd dodged Phrellian patrols, venomous predators that had an appetite for anything on two legs, swarms of srexia—noxious gnats that reminded her of zombie toxin, and masses of quicksand and carnivorous plants.
In an environment this deadly, she had come to respect the Talians even more, especially since they regarded their world's eccentricities with tolerance—or at least, Core said they did. Glancing at the taut buttocks of the warrior in front of her, she couldn't help admitting how much she was coming to care for him. Though she'd seen him literally tear out the jugular of a Phrellian, he treated her with the utmost courtesy and respect, when he wasn't screwing her brains out at night. Never had she been so in tune with another, both mentally and physically.
She eyed his muscular thighs, marveling at the latent power in the Talian. The more she was around him, the more she felt his magic. Though he didn't use any and didn't seem to realize he possessed it, she knew he had gifts. Hell, he could have been a warlock with the right training. The few times they'd been forced to kill to survive on this trek, she'd siphoned power from him to quietly and efficiently eliminate any threats. Instead of looking down on her actions, he thanked her with true appreciation.