by Jaci Burton
But the Queen of Dognelle surprised him. She was a woman of very heated passions. Never before had he met a female so willing, so arousing, so amazingly sexual he was afraid he would let loose his seed before she ever laid a hand on him. And couched within her primal sexuality was a sweet, curious innocence that compelled him in ways he didn’t understand.
And now she wanted to touch him. Without speaking, he unlaced his breeches, allowing her access to his throbbing cock. He gritted his teeth as she smiled and pulled his breeches to his knees, encircling his shaft with her hand.
Surely he had enough self-discipline not to explode within seconds, but Starr made it damned difficult. She squeezed his length and began to stroke. Her movements, though not practiced and refined like the concubines, made his breath catch. Her innocent explorations were more arousing than any touch he’d ever had from a more experienced female.
“Your cock is soft, the skin like a rose petal, and yet inside this soft skin you are as hard as my sword. Does it hurt you when I squeeze it?”
“Not at all. The harder your squeeze it, the more pleasurable it is for me.”
He focused on her in the half-light. Her top lifted above her breasts, her rosy nipples pebbled from his hands and his mouth. Lal, she tasted sweet, her skin scented from her vanilla bath. Her scent mixed with her arousal intoxicated him more than any ale ever could.
If he was not careful, he could get lost within this woman. Better to keep his motives pure, otherwise he might get caught in a trap of his own making.
Focusing on the physical sensations rather than this strange emotional connection he felt with her, he nodded and thrust his hips forward, propelling his rod into her hand. “Yes, Starr, like that. Vary your speed. Fast, then slow, hard, then gentle.”
He had to touch her, too. Lifting her skirt again, he found her swollen nub and caressed it softly, slowly, until she moaned and laid her head on his shoulder. He was as relentless in pleasuring her as she was with him.
She was a very quick learner, an adept student who soon had his balls tightening like hard stones. She looked up at him, her eyes widening as he moved his fingers more quickly over her swollen clit. The determined look on her face, coupled with her expressive eyes and tongue flickering over her lips as if she wanted to devour his cock had him rearing back and tensing.
Then she would pause, waiting for him to say something. He moved against her, propelling his shaft through her hands. She arched a brow, wanting more. When she stopped, he tormented her by slipping his finger inside her while petting her clit with his thumb. She was panting now, whimpering with her need for release.
He was so tight, so tense with the need for a climax he would have given her whatever she wanted.
“Come for me, Starr. And take me with you.”
She gazed at him through half-hooded eyes, cast a wickedly sexy smile at him, then squeezed his cock, with her other hand reaching for his balls and tugging gently until he felt the tremors.
Her climax hit first. She shuddered against his hand and cried out. With a roar he could not hold in, he let loose, torrents of come jettisoning from him in forceful spurts until he had to lean against the wall like a man weakened.
Weakened, indeed. Completely drained was more like it. He looked down at Starr, who examined her hands. White ropes of his seed covered her fingers. Tentatively she swiped at his semen and brought her finger to her lips, her gaze meeting his as she stuck out her tongue and tasted him.
She pursed her lips, then smiled. “A bit salty, and yet sweet at the same time. I like it.”
Who had just mastered whom here? He had thought to teach her about sex, about the pleasures to be shared between a man and a woman. He had planned to bend her to his will by making her crave physical pleasures, then tease her by holding back just enough until she begged for it.
He wasn’t certain, but he may have just lost the first battle.
Chapter Seven
Following a night of very little sleep, Starr found herself once again alone in Lycan’s bedchambers, chained up the same way as the previous day.
Probably the best thing to be alone, anyway. After she had willingly given herself to him last night…no, that wasn’t quite right. Begged him to touch her was more like it. She muttered an oath, disgusted at her weakness where he was concerned.
But try as she might to hate him for manipulating her, she couldn’t. Not when he had showed her what pleasures existed between a man and a woman. Her orgasm had been nothing like what she’d done for herself on many long, lonely nights. Her nipples tightened as she thought of the way he touched her pussy, the way he had drawn out her climax and made her scream with the pleasure of it.
Oh, and then to stroke him, to feel his power in the palm of her hands, to know that he trusted her enough to put his masculinity in her hands…now that was the most pleasurable act of all. The way he had hardened under her caressing fingers, the way he had come, groaning and shaking with the force of it.
She wiped her brow, already feeling the heat of the day.
“You lie to yourself, Starr. The heat you feel is within yourself and has nothing to do with the summer warmth outside.” Pacing back and forth within the small confines of the bedroom area only made her frustration swell. Had she made any progress last night at all? Surely he had to trust her a bit more after what they had shared.
Even last night must have meant something to him. After she had emptied him, he took her back to their bedchamber. Instead of chaining her up, he pulled her into his bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him. A different kind of bondage.
He had held her that way all night. Admittedly, it was not all that unpleasant to feel his chest against her back, or his arms wrapped around her. She had never slept with a man before, had never felt so small, cherished, protected. So much like a woman.
She shook off the sentimentality the images evoked. No wonder women fell in line with the ridiculous laws in this kingdom. The men did something to their brains. She’d bet that virgins were revered as much as a deity here.
And she was still a virgin. Did Lycan consider her virginity of value? Could she give up her innocence in exchange for her freedom?
She thought about it for all of a millisecond before realizing that freedom meant more to her than anything. Her virginity was nothing. She didn’t need to be a virgin to choose a mate when the time came.
If it became necessary to win Lycan’s trust, she would gladly sacrifice something that represented so little to her. But she would bet all the dracols in the galaxy that it meant something to Lycan.
Women were prized possessions in Raynar. She surmised that a woman’s virginity was equally as prized.
She smiled and waited for his return. He might treat her like a slave, like the simpering, empty-headed females who populated his lands, but she would show him soon enough who was the smarter sex.
The sound of footsteps approaching had her mentally preparing herself for Lycan’s arrival. At least she hoped it was Lycan. He had promised her he would return to do some work in his chambers so that she wouldn’t have to spend the entire day alone.
He walked through the doorway, offering a smile in her direction. Lal, he was handsome when he smiled. His white, even teeth gleamed against his sun-darkened skin. Today he wore a tan tunic and matching breeches, his clothes fitting snug against his well-worked muscles.
This time, though, he wasn’t alone. Tor, the man from the window last night, entered. Starr blushed, remembering what she witnessed last eve. Did he know that she and Lycan had watched his lovemaking with the two concubines? And if he did, would he even care?
Tor frowned before turning toward Lycan. “Why is she still here?”
Lycan didn’t look up at Tor, just spread maps out on the desk. “Because I want her here.”
“She should be with the other concubines.”
Starr could feel the pressure in her chest about to explode. Talking about her as if she w
asn’t even present. How incredibly rude. She wanted to shout out that she had seen Tor with the two women last night, and that he was a weak lover.
Of course, he hadn’t seemed at all incompetent last night, but she had no basis for comparison, either. Although what she had seen before she had lost herself in Lycan’s arms had led her to believe that neither Lenore nor Celine had been disappointed.
“I expect an attack to come from the east. The mountainside gives them better cover. Or possibly even from the forests to the west, although that’s doubtful,” Lycan said.
Lycan and Tor bent their heads over the maps. They had to be discussing the Centuri. She walked to the end of her chains and craned her neck, hoping she could catch a glimpse of the maps.
Tor looked up from the map. “Do you think we need to put the archers in the towers should an attack arise? And what about our warriors? On foot, on balon, or both?”
Starr stretched so far the chains dug into her ankles. Dammit, she couldn’t see!
“No archers. They’re likely to spring up faster than we can prepare for. I’d say we’d do better to send our warriors out on foot. I think they’ll sneak up to the gates rather than riding in and making all the noises the balon would make.”
She finally sat on the bed, unable to believe the idiocy of these men. She let out a sigh of disgust.
Lycan raised his head and looked over at her. “Something wrong?”
“Yes. You’re all going to die because you’re stupid.”
Tor whirled around. “How dare you speak in such an insolent manner!” He started toward her, but Lycan laid his hand on Tor’s shoulder and stopped him.
“Let her speak.” Lycan stepped over to her. “What makes you think we’re going to die?”
Starr folded her arms in front of her. “I told you. Because your strategy is all wrong.”
“Why?”
“Unchain me, show me the maps and I’ll tell you.”
“It’s a ploy on her part to look at our battle plans! Don’t do it!” Tor objected.
Lycan turned to Tor and shook his head. “She’s hardly in a position to tell the Centuri our plans.” He looked at her as if deciding whether she really could add any value to their conversation or not. Finally, he took the key from his breeches and unlocked the chains at her ankles. She shivered when his fingers trailed lightly over her bare feet.
“Come and look then, and tell me your thoughts.”
She would not be flattered by his trust in her. She wouldn’t. Leaning over the table, she surveyed the maps. Raynar was laid out in detail, along with the stretch of forest to the west and small hills to the east. The desert loomed south of Raynar, with Centuri and Dognelle at the far end of the desert region. The mountains loomed behind the two kingdoms.
“Here is your weakness,” she said, pointing to the forests. “An enemy has a distinct advantage here because of the easy cover of thick trees. But you won’t find an attack from the Centuri coming from the forests.”
“Why?” Lycan asked.
“First of all, they rarely fight on foot, preferring the quick speed of their balon to propel them forward. Their swords are heavy and longer than yours, which means too heavy to carry long distances, and more difficult to wield. Much easier to strike downward at an enemy while they’re seated on a balon’s back. Second, and more important, is Golan’s ego.”
Tor arched a brow. “What does a man’s ego have to do with a battle plan?”
She leveled a smirk in Tor’s direction. “With Golan, it’s everything. He truly believes he can never be defeated. Therefore, he will not come at you in a stealth-like manner. He will come straight at you, from the south.”
Tor’s eyes widened. “With no cover, on balons, where the dust of the creatures’ hooves could be seen for miles? Ridiculous.”
She shrugged. “Take my advice or leave it. But I tell you, they will attack directly from the south. You’ll see them coming. But I fear you will still be outnumbered.”
It was obvious Tor didn’t believe her.
“Look,” she said, “I have fought the Centuri more than you have. I know the way they think, the way they approach battle, even what goes on in Golan’s warped mind.”
Lycan was silent, his expression giving nothing away of his thoughts. Finally, he looked up from the map and asked, “Why would you say that we would be outnumbered if the Centuri attack?”
“Before I was captured, we learned that Golan had been in talks with the Lonai and Zhendahl kingdoms. He’s negotiating a treaty with them in an effort to convince them to join forces.”
“Now I know you have no idea what you’re talking about, “ Tor said, throwing up his hands and pacing the room. “ The Lonai and Zhendahl hate the Centuri.”
“They hate the Raynar more. And the promise of this oasis is irresistible to them. The Lonai, as you know, are located on the other side of the steep mountain range. The Zhendahl live within the hills in the mountains. Neither have access to the rains and ocean as Raynar does. Truly, Raynar has a lock on the most desirable location on this part of the planet. To take over Raynar is worth the price of throwing in with the Centuri. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages.”
She waited while Lycan studied the maps again. For some reason his opinion was important to her, but she didn’t know why and wasn’t certain she wanted to delve any deeper.
When he smiled at her and nodded, her heart began to pump harder. “You make some very valid points, Starr. You are an excellent strategist. No wonder you are the leader of your people.”
His words were like a cooling night after a hot desert day. She beamed at his praise, surprised that what he thought of her even mattered.
No, she didn’t care what he thought of her as a woman. But the fact he praised her as a warrior, as a leader, meant more to her than she wanted it to. “Thank you.”
Even Tor had gone silent, no longer challenging her every word. They spent the next several hours at the maps and discussing strategies. She pointed out their weaknesses, at least as far as she could see, since she’d never surveyed Raynar up close.
“I will take you outside the gates so that you can see what our defenses look like. Perhaps you will see more work that needs to be done.”
Tor pulled Lycan to the other side of the room. Starr had to strain to hear what they said, but she knew they were arguing. No doubt, about her.
Finally, Lycan shook his head and Tor stormed away, stopping at the doorway and pointing at Starr. “I think you’re foolish to put your trust in this female. She is Dognelle, our sworn enemy. She will use whatever she finds out about us against our kingdom. Think with your head, my friend. Not with your cock.”
After he left, Lycan starred at the doorway for a few moments, then turned to her, offering a half smile. He approached her and stopped mere inches away, so close that she could smell his clean scent. Her gaze met his.
“Why do you help us?”
She shrugged, not really sure of the answer herself, so she gave him the only one that made sense to her. “Because I hate the Centuri even more than I hate the Raynar.”
* * * * *
Lycan hoped he wasn’t making a serious mistake in trusting Starr. Everything he did with this woman went against his principles, hell, the very laws of the land that his ancestors had set up.
And yet she wasn’t Raynar, she was Dognelle. She was a warrior, and seemingly a very wise one, at least in strategy. She’d pointed out flaws in their thinking, she knew the Centuri better than they did because her people had engaged them in battle more times than the Raynar had. He’d be a fool to discount her suggestions.
Now he found himself outside the gates of Raynar with someone whose primary goal since she arrived was to escape. Of course he had her chained to him, something she wasn’t fond of at all, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew the Dognelle could ride a balon as well or better than the Raynar warriors. If she took off at a run, she was well familiar with the forests, hill and the desert. Th
ere were a million places she could disappear in an instant.
He wasn’t going to take the chance that she would get away and tell her people and possibly the Centuri of their plans. She knew too much. She could never leave Raynar now.
Dark clouds sailed overhead, the warm, heavy breeze whipping Starr’s skirt up and showcasing her slim ankles and well-shaped calves. She rode a balon like she’d been born on one, easily maneuvering the creature with subtle movements of her thighs, barely even touching the reins.
Her hair sailed behind her in the stiff wind. She tilted her head back and let the air flow over her, a smile gracing her beautiful face.
Truly he’d never seen anything more breathtaking.
“You need better cover for your archers.”
Lycan looked up at the towers where Starr pointed, shaking his head to clear the distracting thoughts of how beautiful she looked. “Suggestions?”
“Shore up your drawbridge. They’ll bring powerful battering rams with them. If you add another gate you should be fine. As far as the towers, secure the top and the front. Give your archers a place to duck down after they’ve shot their arrows. The Centuri use far-reaching arrows and can easily take out your archers if they’re not protected.”
They rode for well over an hour. Lycan had to admit that Starr had a keen insight into their weaknesses. He listened, asked questions, and commented when necessary. But once she started talking, she seemed quite at ease with telling him anything he wanted to know.
The clouds had turned from gray to black, and they were well outside the gates now, moving alongside the forested area to survey the thickness of the trees. They had come far, passing beyond what was safe, and yet Lycan had been entranced in conversation with Starr and had lost track of the time. But she had mentioned showing him the forests, and how they could easily hide invaders. That was something he needed to see.
Tor would have a fit, of course, since Lycan had refused the offer of guards to accompany them.
They left the balon tied at the edge of the forest and made their way inside on foot. Low-hanging branches and heavy roots on the ground made the going hazardous.