Meredith admired the expanse of smooth muscle covered in pale blue skin inches away from her mouth. Unable to resist, she leaned forward and caressed the pectoral with her lips, eliciting a deep groan from him, his body quivering against hers. His muscles were taut as a strung bow, his entire focus bent on her. She stroked everywhere she could reach, enjoying the growls and groans that rumbled up from his chest. Winding one hand around a horn, she felt powerful as he trembled beneath her touch.
He turned the tables on her, however. His mouth clamped around her neck, his teeth skimming the sensitive flesh and his lips sucking and kissing along the surface until she was arching up into him. He took her over so completely, overwhelming her every sense that she was unprepared when he dropped her the short distance onto the mattress. His large frame slid over hers, dominant in his posture and possession lighting his eyes.
His hands skimmed up her side and arms, slowly removing her shirt. She let out a hiss of pleasure, her body submitting to his caress. She needed what he could give her. Desire rushed through her as he brought her arms together until her wrists met. She felt something warm against her skin and looked up to see several serpents slide off him to cover her arms and wrists. His hands left her arms as they glided over her collarbone and down her chest, but her arms were trapped under the binding of the coils that held them still.
She considered panicking for all but a second, until his hot mouth covered one breast and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He teased and caressed her with his lips, fingers, and tongue until the warm weight binding her arms seemed like an erotic extension of his sensual torture. The serpents seemed to react in time with his movements as an extension of himself, winding closer, tightening and relaxing against her skin. More than one trailed down her hip and around her thigh as it wound itself harmless around her ankles.
All the while, the rough surface of his horns grazed her skin as he carefully kept them from hitting her as he conquered her body. She arched, wanting to grab ahold of his horns and steer him to where she wished him to go, nibbling and licking a fiery path downward. His hands worked off her leggings, freeing first one leg and then the other. The touch of his mouth and hands was so intense, and she was so helpless against it that she whimpered. Charu chuckled and stroked a sensitive spot with the flat of his tongue.
“Fuck...” she hissed. “Quit torturing me and get to it already.”
“So demanding,” he growled against her belly. His lips trailed off to the side as his flattened palm swatted her ass, the light crack of contact stinging. He nipped at her hip when she squealed.
“Your pleasure is mine,” he growled. “I will not be rushed in providing our pleasure.”
His fingers ran between her thighs, caressing the arousal-dampened flesh hidden there. Her musky scent filled the air as his fingers slid through her juices, flicking and tugging on the nub of her clit on each pass until her belly clenched and her hips jerked away as an orgasm ricocheted through her.
She was still panting when he brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked on them, a rumble of pleasure rising from him at the taste of her on his tongue. The gesture made her lust flare with renewed heat. His fangs flashed as he grinned at her and then he dipped his head.
The contact of his mouth, sucking and licking her most intimate place. She cried out when his thick tongue slid inside of her, stroking the recesses of her channel. Her body tightened with the rush of another orgasm but just as it neared, he pulled away. Her eyes popped open in dismay to find him hovering over her, a pleased smile on his face.
He pushed away from the bed, pulled off his heavy boots, and took off his pants, freeing his thick erection. It was like nothing she’d ever seen outside of the imagination of sex toy manufacturers. Veiny, the top bulged in an arch sloping to a broad, rounded head. Tiny flexible bristles trailed along the center of its curve, trailing down, becoming longer and more numerous as they neared the swollen tip.
She watched as he ran one large hand down its length and the bristles seemed to secrete a glistening substance that he worked up and down his cock. She shivered as she imagined how that textured surface would feel inside of her. Meredith spread her legs wider, eagerly tilting her hips up.
Not needing any further encouragement, he covered her body with his own, his hips surging forward without error. She cried out when the broad head passed into her, her body stretching as it worked to accommodate him. He pushed slowly into her without stopping until he was buried deep within her.
His breath fanned her cheek as he stilled, his cock twitching deep within her. She turned her head enough to meet his eyes and discovered him watching her closely as he allowed her to adjust to his intrusion. A flood of moisture seeped around his cock, dripping out of her as she spasmed around him, the slight ache turning to pleasure.
A look of satisfaction crossed his face and he pulled out, before driving home again, every bump sliding against the secret sensitive spot inside of her, driving her pleasure up higher so that she shivered with every pass.
Her legs twined around his hips, the serpents on her ankles anchoring them together as she tilted her pelvis to meet every thrust. Their bodies clashed together as they rode their passion higher and higher. His grunts became louder in response to her impassioned cries, his hips pumping as he rutted into her.
His low snarl echoed through her, sweeping her with the tingle of her approaching climax, and she felt him swell impossibly large inside of her. His movements became quicker and more brutal, and she strove to meet every one of them. She gasped and choked as her cry of culmination burst from her lungs, her channel squeezing him in its relentless need. Charu’s roar followed, and she felt the warm splash of his cum spurt inside of her.
Together they panted, and his arms shook as he lowered his chest to brush against hers, his lips capturing hers in the sweetest kiss, tasting of their passion. His serpents slipped from her arms to return to him and she took advantage of the opportunity to wind her arms around him and hold him close to her.
The heavy glowing chain that suddenly flung over him caught them both off guard. Charu snarled as it tightened, cutting into the muscle of his chest and arms, pulling him off of her. Meredith shot up on the bed with a shout, her hand reaching out for him as he struggled to free himself, his hands alternately struggling with the chains and reaching for her desperately.
A low chuckle drew her attention and Meredith gasped at the sight of the elderly man standing in the corner with his remaining sons who’d escaped with him from Ashton. George Kessler’s smile widened as he saw the recognition in her eyes.
“What the fuck?” she whispered.
“So nice to see you again, Meredith,” he said gleefully. “I daresay you are going to wish that your union with Jason had not been so untimely terminated.” His cold eyes slid over to Charu.
“You see, our benefactor has plans for you both. Our wellbeing as a species really does depend on it. You understand, I’m sure.” He offered her an insipid look as he snapped his fingers. The men who bound Charu in the strange chains pulled him away, the shorter end of one chain strung through the lantern. None of them were taking any chances.
What a shame. She would have liked to see one of them get fried by touching it.
Then she was hoisted up into the air and carried between two men out of the room, her curses falling on deaf ears as they filled the house.
Chapter 20
Charu strained against the chains wrapped around his body as the humans pulled him toward a cart with an enormous steel cage built into the back. Meredith had been pushed inside and was pacing around the cage anxiously. Light pooled over her skin, ineffectual against their captors. They’d at least thrown her clothes in with her, though they’d removed her knife. He had many reasons to kill them, but as of yet he wouldn’t make them suffer for making her endure nudity in front of them. They even provided a pile of blankets to keep her warm.
The humans as a whole seemed completely unaware of the pow
er she contained; only the lone wulkwos with them saw the flickering light rising from her through the barrier of her clothing. He smirked and struck the bars of the cage nearest to her, making her jump back, startled. An angry retort fell from her lips, making her tormentor smile.
Charu snarled a threat at the wulkwos, and the males present laughed. Meredith raised her eyes to meet his, rage lighting the depths of her dark gaze, yet beneath it he could see the tremor of fear. Anger uncoiled from within him at his inability to spare her from this torment. He pulled against the chains, but his great strength was caged within him and ineffectual against those restraining him. The men tugged him back and the cursed chains bit into him, sending him to his knees in the dirt.
The elderly human stepped forward, a fragrant cigar clenched between his teeth. At one time, Charu would have enjoyed the smoke of the burning tobacco, but now the pit of his being churned with bitterness that a human was given the means to capture him. He bared his teeth threateningly at the approaching male, but he let out a raspy chuckle.
The human studied him as he puffed on his cigar. He gestured with it toward the chains.
“Impressive, is it not? Our benefactor gave us these and guaranteed that they would hold you. I confess—I had my doubts. It sounded a bit too good to be true, but it seems he was correct.”
“Release me.”
Charu’s voice hissed through his teeth, conveying every ounce of menace that rose up from within him.
The human laughed and shook his head.
“I don’t think so, my friend. You are an unwelcome threat to the benefactor; therefore, you are a threat to me. You think these chains are bad? That cell there was made especially for you. I’m afraid you are going to have to share it with Meredith for a few days until we get to our destination, but you will find it is most efficient.”
“Kessler, you idiot!” Meredith shouted from the cage. “The ravagers are just using you. You’re nothing but fresh meat to them.”
Kessler turned and grinned, and Charu wanted nothing more than to wrap the end of the chain around the male’s thick neck and choke the life out of him for the way he was looking at his mate. Kessler’s eyes slid over to him and he smirked.
“I’m aware that some may have the opinion, but you are not looking at the big picture. How does the saying go... better to be on the side of the devil than in his way. The ravagers are in control now, and with this alliance my family will be kings among men, as long as we serve, and humanity will continue.”
“The breeding programs, how do those fit into your plans?”
The elder laughed and licked his lips.
“Our population must be sustainable. Breed some morsels for their appetites and we will be allowed to repopulate and left to our own devices.”
“That’s inhuman,” Meredith whispered, her eyes rounding with horror.
“I consider it an unfortunate necessity. I really must thank you, though. We would have had a difficult time getting close enough to chain him if he hadn’t been distracted when we came upon you in the cabin. The acila alerted us to your presence,” he said with a nod of recognition toward Xavier, “and luck did the rest.”
He circled Charu before stopping beside the cart, his hands clapping together cheerfully.
“Well, let’s get you into the cage, shall we?” His eyes glancing toward the men holding the chains. “Get him in there, boys.”
Charu stiffened as he felt the humans move closer to him. He couldn’t even use his serpents to attempt to see them. They had dematerialized the moment the chains twisted around him. Anger beat through him at his incapacitation, but he could not bring himself to regret the bliss he’d found in Meredith’s arms.
His muscles bunched as one of his captors came foolishly closer. Everything tensed like a cobra coiling for the strike. Unfortunately, one of the male’s cohorts snagged his arm and pulled him back, out of Charu’s reach. A pity.
“Pay attention. You came close to losing a limb or your life there.”
“Thanks, man,” the other mumbled.
The chains tightened and they slid around him, visible in his peripheries as he was slowly dragged toward the entrance of the cage. The wulkwos slipped his hand through the bars and grabbed a thick handful of Meredith’s hair, hauling her flat against the bars so she couldn’t move. Charu saw her wince, but she didn’t cry out as she was held so she couldn’t attempt to flee while he was loaded.
The moment he stepped into the cage, the chains were passed through the bars, drawing him up tight against one side of the cage. There was just enough slack to permit him the limited options of sitting or standing, but nothing more. He cocked his head up, watching the spell from the chains spread through the bars of the cage. The rattle of the door slamming shut jerked his attention back toward his captors, his nostrils flaring.
The wulkwos released his grip on Meredith and she stumbled forward as the male circled around to the front of the cage. He leered at them from the other side of the bars. Charu snarled and opened his arms for his mate. She slipped into them, burying herself against his side as far as she could get away from the male’s stare. The wulkwos let out a high giggle, fastened a lock on the door and stepped away from the pen.
Charu felt Meredith shudder in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “This is my fault.”
He looked down at her and frowned.
“Do not speak this untruth.”
Her eyebrows drew down into a scowl.
“I insisted on following you. I distracted you so you could be captured. If not for me, you’d be closer to ending all of this.”
A low laugh rumbled out of him and he gazed down at her fondly.
“Your presence has given me the only pleasure I’ve known. Having you with me is worth everything.” He bent his head down, caressing her lips with his. “Tasting you is worthy of the price.”
She leaned into his embrace, her arms circling around his hips. Her voice was muffled against his chest when she spoke again.
“What’s going to happen to us?”
“We will wait and see.”
The cart rocked mercilessly as it moved over the broken road. Charu tried to cushion his mate as much as his limited means allowed. Every few hours, the cart stopped, and the cage was opened so they could pull her out of his arms to relieve herself, not caring how he snarled at them.
He did not care for the lascivious way they looked at her.
Fortunately for them, no one attempted anything. Kessler watched over everything with a hawk-like interest and warned them not to disturb a female that the lauchume had set his claim upon. That statement alone was enough to earn the wulkwos king his hatred. It hadn’t been personal before, but now he’d made it personal by setting claim on the female that was his and his alone.
Once she was handed back into the cage, he pulled Meredith away from them, his glance promising each and every one of them death as he drew her against him and turned as much as he could to hunch protectively around her.
For days, they traveled. The landscape around them changed, but little else. Meredith was provided water and rations of food and Charu was kept chained without any relief outside of the comfort of holding his female in his arms. Even that was bound to be short-lived once they arrived at their destination.
As the cart creaked and shuddered at the end of the train of their guards, Meredith’s cool hands slipped over his belly from beneath her blanket. The blankets did little to keep her warm enough outside and not one of them had bothered to fetch her hat and gloves.
He caught her questing fingers in his and brought them up to his lips, hoping that his breath would better warm them. He pressed a kiss against them, and she sighed with pleasure, her body slipping against his in a sensual glide.
“Meredith?”
Her dark eyes implored him from her face, pale and yet reddened from the cold.
“Love me.”
His heart clenched painfully. He was a being
of Aites, he shouldn’t love. Possessive and territorial were normal... but love was not. Yet... he did. She lived within the very core of his being what might be called his heart, though he had no organic equivalent. He didn’t know when exactly she had slipped in and lodged herself in there, but there was no denying her presence.
“I do.”
Icy tears dotted her eyelashes as she blinked up at him.
“Show me.”
A ragged sigh left him. Though his being roared to join with hers, he’d refused to allow himself any lapses in his guard.
“Meredith...”
“Please. I don’t want what could be my last days to be nothing but terror and anger. I want to know love and any bit of joy I can grab, even for the briefest moments.”
Charu groaned. The aiser help him, he wanted that too. He was eternal but he didn’t want to waste a moment of this time he had with Meredith. Cursing himself a fool for wasting the days he already had, he hauled her up into his arms. His body tightened at the husky sound of her laughter.
She eagerly plastered herself against him, her lips brushing his skin everywhere she could touch, as his hands burrowed beneath the cover of her blankets, seeking out her flesh. He wouldn’t bare her to the cold or expose her to the males who could come upon them any moment. The idea of any of them spying upon her filled him with rage.
Sliding her leggings down to her calves, he turned her in his grip so she faced away from him, his arm bundling her back snug against his chest. His other hand slid between them, freeing his cock. It had been swollen with need the entire time they’d been curled up together in the cage, seeping its lubrication. He was slick and ready as he lined himself up with her cunt, sliding the head against the damp folds waiting eagerly for him.
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