The Priestess and the Thief

by Evangeline Anderson

  “In…in my own touch?” This idea seemed to upset Ellilah all over again. She shook her head and pushed herself out of Roke’s lap, though he would have been happy to hold her all night. “No, I…I don’t believe that.”

  Roke sighed and rubbed his eyes. Clearly he wasn’t going to convince her of her own innocence all at once.

  “It’s late. Maybe we ought to get sleep and worry about this tomorrow,” he suggested.

  “All right.” Ellilah swiped at her eyes again. “Um, I think the seamstress left me some night clothes.”

  “I have some sleep trousers myself,” Roke said. “Do you want to change out here or take the fresher?”

  “I’ll take the fresher,” she said at once and went to get the pile of clothing the Tenebrian seamstress had left in their room. She turned towards the small room at the far end of the bedchamber—then turned back again. “Roke,” she said, looking up at him with wide, wet eyes.

  “Yes, sweetheart?” Roke asked gently. His heart fisted in his chest as he saw the uncertainty on her lovely face.

  “Thank you for…for comforting me,” Ellilah said. She nibbled her lush lower lip, which made him think of kissing her all over again.

  “Any time,” he murmured. “Now go get changed for bed. It’s been a fucking long day and tomorrow is going to be even longer, I’m sure.”

  “You’re probably right.” She turned again and went for the fresher. Roke watched her, his heart still fisted at her pain. Gods, how he wished he could ease the ache of guilt she seemed to feel so strongly and help her understand that what she’d been taught was all wrong!

  But he didn’t know if that was possible.

  Twenty-Three

  Stop tossing and turning! What’s wrong with you—are you claustrophobic?”

  Roke’s deep voice was sleepy and irritated. Clearly he was trying to sleep and Elli’s movements were keeping him from it.

  I should be sleeping too. I’ll need to be well rested before I go in the training ring with Demon tomorrow, Elli lectured herself. But the problem was, she couldn’t sleep—not the way she felt right now.

  Because despite the guilt and the way she’d broken down and cried earlier, her body still throbbed and ached and called for attention—attention Elli knew she shouldn’t give it.

  “It is a little bit claustrophobic in here,” she murmured, trying to give an excuse for her restlessness. Which was partially true—the strange little alcove their mattress was shoved into, was pretty cramped for two—especially when one of the two was as large as Roke. He had offered to sleep on the floor but Elli had declined, she hadn’t wanted to feel all alone in the big bed in the vast, spooky bedchamber.

  Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to have him in bed with you, whispered a reproving little voice in her head.

  “You can have the outside if you want,” Roke offered, motioning to the outer opening in the wall where the alcove was located. “Please—be my guest.”

  “All right.” Elli crawled over him, very conscious of the way that her breasts brushed against his broad chest as she made the transition. She was wearing the night dress the seamstress had left for her—a long white gown made of some silky material which clung to her curves—and she was completely bare beneath it.

  Roke must have noticed her breasts brushing against his chest because he shifted restlessly himself.

  “Gods, sweetheart, try not to get so close,” he growled hoarsely. “You’re going to make me need to jerk off in order to get back to sleep.”

  “Jerk off?” Elli asked rather breathlessly as she finally finished crawling over his big body and got settled on the other side of him.

  “Forgot how innocent you are.” Roke sighed. “’Jerk off’ is another way of saying I’ll need to give myself some relief if you keep rubbing your beautiful body against me like that.”

  “Give yourself relief? How?” Elli asked, frowning. “Do you mean…sexually?” she asked, feeling her heart begin to pound.

  “Of course I mean sexually!” he growled. “How else would I be able to relieve the tension I feel when you’re close to me?”

  “But it’s wrong to…to touch yourself that way,” Elli pointed out. “Wrong to give yourself pleasure.”

  “Oh, so now it’s not only wrong to let someone else touch you, it’s also wrong to touch yourself?” Roke sounded exasperated. “I suppose those are more words of wisdom from your stepmother.”

  “Well…yes,” Elli admitted. “That was why she sent me away to be a priestess.” Then she bit her lip—why had she admitted her most embarrassing secret to him? She hoped he was too sleepy to understand her.

  But she hoped in vain. Roke was clearly wide awake now.

  “So that’s what she blackmailed you with?” he demanded, turning over on his side and propping himself up on one elbow to peer down at her. “She caught you touching yourself?”

  “I…yes,” Elli admitted. Inside she was squirming with shame. “I know I shouldn’t have, but it was so hot that night I left the windows open. Even with them open, though, I was still hot, so I took my night dress off. And the wind felt so good blowing against my body and well… somehow I found myself touching…touching my secret spot.” She bit her lip, ashamed all over again when she remembered it.

  “Your ‘secret spot?’” Roke was frowning in the dimness.

  “Yes. There’s a…a spot between my legs,” Elli tried to explain. “It feels really good when I touch it, only I’m not supposed to—not supposed to touch it, I mean,” she added quickly. “Because it’s wrong and bad.”

  “That ‘secret spot’ is your Goddess pearl, sweetheart,” he murmured and Elli was relieved to see no condemnation on his strong features. “And there’s nothing wrong with touching it to make yourself feel good.”

  “Of course there is!” Elli was shocked. “Everyone knows that!”

  “Your wicked stepmother and all those narrow-minded priestesses might have told you it was wrong, but let me ask you this,” Roke said. “If the Goddess didn’t mean for you to have any pleasure from that ‘secret spot’ as you call it, then why would she create it in the first place? Why not just make you completely smooth between your legs with no way to get any pleasure at all if pleasure is such a sin? Can you answer that?”

  Elli opened her mouth…and found she couldn’t answer his question—or refute his logic.

  “I…I never thought of it like that,” she admitted in a low voice.

  “Of course not—you just swallowed everything you’ve been taught without asking,” Roke said. “Well, maybe it’s time you started asking, little priestess.”

  “You really don’t think it’s wrong to…to touch yourself?” Elli asked hesitantly.

  “I know it’s not.” His deep voice was warm and firm. “You can do it now, if you want to, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, I never…never said I wanted to do it now,” Elli protested, feeling her cheeks get hot.

  “No, but you do,” Roke growled. “Don’t deny it, Ellilah. I can smell how hot you are and the way you were rubbing against me just now—”

  “I was just trying to climb over you to get to the other side of the bed!” Elli protested.

  “Sure you were, little priestess,” he rumbled. “And you didn’t take a bit of pleasure in the way your tight little nipples rubbed against my bare chest, did you? It didn’t make your soft little pussy wet one bit, to be so close.”

  “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elli whispered, biting her lip.

  “Of course you do. You can’t tell me that your pussy doesn’t get wet when you touch your ‘secret spot’,” Roke growled. “I bet it’s fucking wet right now—go on, tell me I’m wrong.”

  “I…I don’t know,” Elli said again, squeezing her thighs together tightly. Her secret spot was aching and throbbing and she wished the big warrior would stop saying such dirty things to her. But another part of her never wanted him to stop.

  “You don’t know if you’re
wet or not?” His voice had dropped to a low growl. “Then why don’t you find out, little priestess?”

  “Find out?” Elli’s voice sounded breathless in her own ears.

  “Sure. Pull up your nightdress, spread your legs, and stroke your soft little pussy,” Roke told her. “If it’s all hot and wet—like I bet it is—that means you need a sexual release—an orgasm.”

  “Why would I need that?” Elli asked. She was already doing as he said, pulling up the thin nightdress to reveal her naked pussy and spreading her thighs, though she knew she shouldn’t.

  “To make you feel good for one thing,” Roke told her. “But also to help you sleep,” he added, clearly sensing that Elli needed a practical reason to overcome the guilt of touching herself in such a forbidden area. “You’re going to be having a big day tomorrow—you need your sleep tonight.”

  His words echoed her own thoughts and gave Elli the excuse she needed.

  “I…I guess you’re right,” she whispered, looking up at him. “So I should just…just touch myself and see if I’m wet?”

  “Part your soft little pussy lips and dip your fingers into your honey well,” Roke growled softly, his eyes finding hers in the dimness as he spoke. “Then stroke very softly over your inner folds. If the petals of your inner pussy are all wet and slippery, that means you need to touch yourself and give yourself a release.”

  “I…I shouldn’t.” But Elli was already doing it. With trembling fingers, she parted her outer pussy lips and slipped her middle finger into her heated depths. “Ohhh,” she moaned as her seeking finger explored her inner folds.

  “You’re wet, aren’t you?” Roke’s deep voice was a hoarse growl.

  “So wet,” Elli admitted. “I…I can’t seem to help it.”

  “You don’t have to help it, sweetheart,” he urged her. “Just go with it—touch yourself. Stroke around and around your Goddess pearl until you feel the pleasure peaking.”

  “I…I’m not sure if I know what you mean,” Elli moaned, as she followed his advice. Goddess, it felt so good to finally touch this long-neglected part of herself again! And having Roke right beside her in the dim alcove, encouraging her and growling soft, dirty things in her ear, made her whole body tingle with pleasure.

  “Stroke the outside of your pussy, but don’t forget your honey well,” he said softly. “Slip your fingers deep inside and explore yourself, sweetheart. Let your body know what it feels like to be filled.”

  “It feels good!” Elli moaned, doing as he said. “Oh, Roke—it feels really, really good.”

  “Of course it does, sweetheart.” He leaned over to press a brief but passionate kiss to her lips. “It feels good because the Goddess built our bodies to experience pleasure. It’s all right—keep touching yourself—let the pleasure build.”

  Elli didn’t know if she ought to do as he said, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself now. Her fingers were wet with her juices and they slipped so naturally in and out of her well and then slid all around her aching, throbbing secret spot as the pleasure built and built inside her…

  Something was missing though—something she knew could make her pleasure even better…

  “Roke,” she begged breathlessly, looking up at him. “Roke please could you…would you touch me the way you were at Supper tonight?”

  “Touch your breasts, you mean?” His eyes glowed faintly with lust in the dimness and his big hand hovered just above her chest.

  “Yes.” Elli pressed her breasts up eagerly—shamelessly—moaning as the tight peaks of her nipples brushed against his palm.

  “Of course I can, sweetheart—if you really want me to,” he murmured.

  “I do,” Elli admitted. “I really do.”

  “I will, then,” he promised. “But only over your nightdress so you don’t feel guilty later.”

  Guilt was the last thing on Elli’s mind at the moment. As Roke began to stroke and tug her nipples, she continued sliding her fingertips around and around her secret spot. She felt like there was a wire deep inside her belly—a wire that was getting wound tighter and tighter and in a minute it was going to snap.

  Elli wasn’t sure if the wire snapping would be a good thing or a bad thing but she did know she couldn’t stop now. She felt compelled to keep going as the pleasure climbed higher and higher, building to some unbearable height.

  “Roke,” she gasped as she writhed under his touch. “Oh Roke, I feel…feel so close to…to something.”

  “Coming. You’re close to coming, sweetheart,” he rumbled reassuringly. “It’s all right—just go with it. Just let yourself come and have that release we talked about.”

  “I…I don’t know—Ahhh!” Elli gasped. For the wire inside had finally snapped and she felt as though every muscle in her body was clenching with unbearable pleasure at once. “Oh! Oh, Roke!” she cried, bucking against her own fingers below and his above, which were still teasing her nipples. “Oh Goddess, it feels so good!”

  “Of course it does. It’s supposed to.” Leaning down, he captured her mouth in a long, hot kiss.

  Elli kissed him back passionately. She had never felt such pleasure before—and never felt so close to another person. It was as though she had been locked out of a beautiful land for years and then Roke had come along with the key and opened the door to let her into it.

  “Ohhhh…” She sighed. The pleasure was ebbing now, though little tingles and sparks still ran through her. She was finding that her secret spot was more sensitive than ever—almost too sensitive to touch.

  Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from between her legs. To her surprise, Roke caught her by the wrist.

  “May I taste your juices, little priestess?” he growled softly, nodding down at her fingers which were still wet with her honey.

  “Oh, I…I guess so,” Elli said blankly. She wasn’t sure why he would want to do such a thing but if he really wished to…

  Roke sucked her small fingers into his hot mouth, lapping carefully as though he wanted to get every last drop. At last, when her fingers were completely clean, he let them slip from between his lips.

  “Fucking delicious,” he growled and then leaned down to kiss Elli again, feeding her the taste of her own honey on his tongue.

  To Elli’s surprise, it was delicious. Moaning, she kissed him back eagerly and would have done more if Roke hadn’t pulled back.

  “Enough, sweetheart.” His voice was hoarse with lust. “Scoot over and let me out for a minute, will you? I need to visit the fresher.”

  “You do?” Rather reluctantly, Elli moved over to let him out of the sleeping alcove. She had thought by the way he was kissing her that he might teach her even more about enjoying her own body.

  But the big warrior seemed to be in something of a hurry.

  “I’ll be back in a moment,” he murmured, giving her another swift kiss.

  Then he was gone, leaving Elli to lie back on the mattress as the pleasure ebbed gently away, leaving a sleepy heaviness and a surprising peacefulness in its wake.

  Twenty-Four

  Gods, how he wanted her!

  The minute Roke made it to the fresher and closed the door, he ripped down his sleep trousers and fisted his aching shaft. Then, with the sounds of Ellilah’s soft cries of pleasure echoing in his ears and the taste of her honey on his lips, he stroked himself until he came.

  The orgasm was a rough one—it was ripped out of him as jet after hard jet of seed shot from the tip of his cock. Roke braced himself with one hand against the stone wall as it shook him to the core.

  Gods, if only the curvy little priestess wasn’t so damn alluring in her innocent pleasure! But she was, damn it! So much so that he’d been forced to get away from her quickly, before he did something they would both regret.

  She’s a priestess, he reminded himself. She supposed to be off limits! But it was damn hard to remember that when Ellilah was moaning and writhing beside him with her nightdress pulled up as she explored her soft little pussy a
nd made herself come for the very first time…

  Wish I’d been the one to make her come, Roke found himself thinking. Wish I could have buried my face between her soft thighs and lapped her hot little cunt until she came all over my tongue…

  But he knew how guilty Ellilah felt about giving herself pleasure—doubtless she would feel even worse about letting someone else give it to her. In fact, she might be curled up in the sleeping alcove sobbing with guilt and shame right this minute!

  The thought made Roke hurry to clean himself up and pull up his trousers. He came out of the fresher and went back to bed, expecting to see the little priestess crying again.

  But to his surprise and relief, she wasn’t. Instead, she was sleeping peacefully, one arm thrown over her head and her nightdress still above her waist. It was as though her first-ever orgasm had worn her out so thoroughly, she had fallen asleep before she could even pull her gown down.

  The picture she presented was so innocently erotic that Roke felt his shaft come to life all over again. Gently, he pulled down her nightdress and shifted her over to the inside of the sleeping alcove. Then he climbed in beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

  Ellilah sighed in her sleep and cuddled against him, her cheek coming to rest on his chest in a gesture of utter trust that twisted Roke’s heart. He cradled her to him gently like she was a precious treasure that might break and stroked a strand of her long blonde hair out of her face.

  “Sleep well, little priestess,” he murmured, looking down at her. “Sleep well and I’ll guard your dreams.”

  Then, ignoring the little voice in his head that was warning him he was getting much too close to Ellilah for comfort—especially if he intended to uphold the Havoc tradition of never bonding with a female—he closed his own eyes and drifted off, holding her close in his arms.

  Twenty-Five

  First Meal turned out to be another communal meal but this time it involved everyone in the Court. The large Dining area was different from the Supper room, however—there were no plants and no stream running through it. It was just a vast, echoing room filled with long tables where the Tenebrian nobles sat in little carefully chosen social groups or cliques. Elli wondered uneasily where she and Roke ought to sit, since they weren’t a member of any of the groups.