by S. K Munt
‘No, don’t stop Kohén!’ the girl’s eyes flew open and I almost gasped when I saw them flash the brightest shade of lilac in the dim light because only Nephilim’s could change their eye colour like that, but her pupils dilated then, flooding her eyes with sapphire again, and when she clawed at the sheets a second time I realised her eyes hadn’t changed colour at all- they were simply reflecting the purple bedspread and the canopy above us. I’d been so lost in her that I hadn’t even noticed what colours the room had been decorated in until now, and when she writhed beneath me, begging me to stop torturing her, I forgot again.
‘You liked that?’ I whispered, thrilled beyond measure when she whimpered and nodded, writhing a little more. I shoved myself back inside her, hitting her limit on purpose and shuddering as I was rewarded with ecstasy that resonated through my shaft like fireworks. ‘You want more of it?’
‘Yes!’
I withdrew and pumped into her again, striking hard and deep and clamping my hand over her mouth when she opened it to scream. ‘Yeah?’ I rocked into her again and let my power course through me and into the very centre of her. She keened and nodded, wide-eyed and flushed. ‘How much can you handle?’ my ass flexed as I gave her another dose of my gentle electric charge, and then another, then another, and now she was the one whose eyes were rolling into the back of her head and I was most certainly the one doing the conquering because by relinquishing my power, I’d managed to regain control of some of my more human reflexes and now, I was fairly certain that I’d be able to fuck her into the next century without climaxing, and that that might feel even better than emptying myself into her would. ‘Good…’ I said softly, sliding my hand from my mouth and down to her sex so that I could resume kissing and fondling her again. ‘Because I’ve got a hell of a lot more power where that came from.’
Erika’s sex began to pulse around my shaft again, and because I didn’t want to wear her out before I’d had her every way that a man could have a woman, I curtailed my energy once more and started fucking her more rhythmically, grunting every time her heat made me sweat inside her and exploring her mouth so thoroughly with my tongue that my jaw began to ache and my lips began to feel raw and bruised. I supposed it was always overwhelming for men to know that a woman was completely and utterly submitting to them, and by that logic I would have enjoyed what we were doing and how she was folding with anyone... but she was so beautiful and wild and unattainable that her submission to me made me feel more than overcome, and more like a God.
I could see how I’d lost control in my past life; could understand how I’d gotten addicted to this sort of complete possession of another being, but what I couldn’t for the life of me understand, was how I’d been able to touch Larkin Whittaker without her consent. The most erotic thing about being with Erika was how desperately she wanted me- how tall and powerful and needed I felt in her arms, so what was sex without it? How was it more than servicing oneself with a hand? It was her consent that started to unravel me again- the way she panted and reached for me and caressed my skin and whispered my name like a plea that inspired me to fuck her harder and deeper and more absolutely. It was that joy when she threw back her head and shouted while her sex spasmed around me that made me feel like a man, and it was only when she strained up to kiss me and whisper that she remembered why she’d fallen in love with me in the first place that my decision was made. I gave up trying to pleasure her, and allowed myself to believe that maybe I deserved to know pleasure and happiness as well.
Maybe my kingdom didn’t think I was a man of worth, but this angel did, and now that I’d found her- I was never going to leave her side.
‘God… Erika… my love…’ I shivered and hummed as my cock jerked and then spilled into her, and I heard my companion hiss in victory as she crossed her ankles under my rump and held me tightly in place, forcing me to remain completely imbedded inside her as spurt after spurt of my hot seed flooded her barren body. I jerked and cursed and saw the light for what seemed like forever, and though I tried to keep my mouth on hers, I felt my very essence fading as my seed pooled inside her, taking my strength with it. My trembling limbs gave out and I collapsed on her, gasping and wondering how I’d gone an hour without this sort of pleasure let alone a day, and though it felt like I could lose consciousness right there and then, Erika began stroking my back then, re-wrapping her legs higher around my hips and holding me tightly.
‘Was it all you thought it would be?’ she asked softly, and I groaned and shook my head, resting my head against her pillowy breasts and exhaling cathartically. She was breathing so heavily that my head was rising and falling with the rapid contractions of her lungs.
‘It was more, my love.’ I reached up and stroked her brand, wondering how many healers it would take to remove it from her skin now that it had had so long to set. ‘What about you? Did I perform well enough to inspire you to let me inside you again?’
She closed her eyes and chuckled. ‘Greedy, aren’t we? So like a prince...’
‘No, you’re just that enchanting,’ I touched my fingers to her lips, ‘so like a princess, one that ought to be worshipped like a queen.’
‘Hmm…’ Erika closed her eyes and sighed long and softly. ‘I think I just was.’
Grinning, I pushed up so that I was supporting my weight again and loomed over her, feeling drunker than I had before. ‘I mean it though…’ I rocked into her gently, and our silken juices felt like warm milk that was swishing around my softened shaft. ‘I’ve climaxed and it was heavenly, but I am nowhere near to feeling sated. I’m unclear on the code of conduct here so please, enlighten me: when is it all right for me to instigate that again? Do you need a cooling off period?’ I strained into her a little more, seeing her eyes flutter. ‘Are we supposed to shower? I don’t suppose this…’ I slid in and out of her a little, luxuriating in the consequences of our passion, ‘feels anywhere near as satisfying for you as it does for me, does it?’
‘Actually it feels warm and comforting- at least until you make a sudden movement and then it’s going to get messy, I’m afraid.’ she opened her eyes and smiled. ‘Why do you think I’m holding you inside me?’
‘Ah. Well… it appears that we’ve reached another impasse…’ I leaned down and let the tip of my nose drift across her breasts, and my cock thickened inside her. ‘I don’t want to move and risk making a mess, but if I stay where I am, I’m going to start making love to you again soon and that’s going to make an even bigger mess.’
‘That is a conundrum…’ Erika bit her lip, squeezed her legs around me like a vice and then lifted her ass off the mattress, supporting her weight on her elbows so that she could start to slide up and down the length of me again. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she worked me. ‘Whatever are we going to do?’
I sat back into a crouch but grasped her hips and back and flipped her upright, caressing her beautiful back and moving in for a kiss. But I’d jerked her too hard and she cried out, catching her wig but not before it had already toppled off her head. The front sections of her hair had been pinned up in little circular curls that kept them flat against her head, but the rest of her hair had apparently just been tucked up in a flat bun, and my heart shimmered when I realised that I’d been right in my instincts- she was a blonde, and twice as stunning out of her wig as she had been within it.
‘Oh!’ Erika’s eyes widened in alarm as her hand went to her hair and for the briefest moment, she looked absolutely terrified of me. But I reached up, pulled on the large pin that I could see at the crown of her head and gasped as glorious golden locks, in every hue of blonde from ice, to champagne to sunshine tumbled down around her shoulders and then swished against my other hand, which was cupping her rump. Like everything else in this palace they carried the scent of orange blossom, but there was jasmine in there as well and most importantly, that sacred perfume that was all her. The front of her hair had gotten a bit messy and sweaty but I used my fingers to flick a few of the curls fr
ee that were almost falling out anyway, leaving a few pinned curls in place, which she wore like a crown.
‘Sweet Jesus….’ I wrapped some of her hair around my wrist and then dragged it over her shoulder, inhaling it so deeply that by the time I’d filled my lungs, my cock was harder than it had ever been before and she was wriggling on it, gasping as she tried to adjust. And as though I weren't already fully ensconced in a spectacular fantasy, fireworks began to explode then outside the french doors over the palace grounds, and although I knew they weren’t for me, it felt almost like they’d been set off for us. I opened my eyes, saw the shimmering stars exploding outside, then slid my gaze to hers, and I knew that my eyes were glowing more than they ever had before because everything was tinted blue, and hers were wide with disbelief. ‘You’re an angel.’
And then I thrust up into her, and I didn’t stop until long after the music did.
*
I had Erika every way that I could conceive of taking her until I couldn’t tell which way was up or even what part of her suite we were in anymore. At one point the sheets grew so wet and sticky that she ended up insisting that we remake the bed, but the sight of her bent over like that made me drop all gentlemanly pretences, and as a result, she ended up on all fours on the rug by the fire, climaxing so violently around me that I was sure her hot little centre was going to cut off all circulation to my shaft. But she got her own back when we went to shower because after she had lathered up, rinsed off and then sucked off my spoiled member, I ended up collapsing on the tiled floor on my knees, begging for mercy. As though she were granting it, she’d mounted me and had finished me off by wildly rocking her hips while hot water had cascaded down around us.
Every second of that night eclipsed the last as being the best moment of my life, but the most satisfying bout of lovemaking was the last, when I spooned her and took her from behind again, gently and slowly because both of us were too exhausted to move much at all. I don’t think I orgasmed that time because the sheets were warm and dry around us when I woke up, but such a technicality had ceased to matter by then. Getting off with her wasn’t what the ultimate goal anymore- spending my life with her was.
It was grey when I came to, feeling dry in the mouth and wobbly in my limbs, but all was quiet and peaceful around us and I knew that even though it wasn’t yet sunrise, the party was over and my new life had begun. Erika’s back was still to me, bare and sensuous, so I lazily began to write my name on her flesh, smiling when her skin erupted in gooseflesh, and her back arched in pleasure.
‘Hmmm…’ she reached behind me, her fingers seeking something to tickle in return, but I chuckled and pressed myself into her rump, barring her access. Yes I was hard again and eager to finish what we’d started before, but I couldn’t stay in bed now, not without feeling like a heel.
‘Stay asleep…’ I whispered to her, kissing her earlobe. ‘You deserve it, and I think I should leave anyway. I don’t know if anyone heard us up here tonight but if they didn’t, there’s a chance that you could still keep your chaste and untouchable reputation intact.’
Erika rolled over in my arms, knitting her brows. ‘You can’t honestly believe that no one heard us?’
‘Well, no… but they don’t have to know who it was making all that noise, right? Not if I’m not seen leaving via your door. This is the guest wing after all and I know we weren’t the only ones making use of such an anonymous facility in the spirit of the masquerade and Cairo was so drunk when we saw him last that he probably thought there were three of you running about after.’
Erika shrugged and yawned, covering her mouth in a ladylike way. ‘So you’re leaving me for the sake of my reputation, and not your own?’
‘Hey if I could walk out with you on my arm I would do so and with great pride, my lady, but I’m not the one that’s got a jealous would-be lover nursing a hangover and a wounded pride.’ I sat up, pushing her hair out of her eyes. ‘Besides, I need to go check on my injured soldiers, especially Theodore. There’s a chance that he woke up in the middle of the night and he’s very protective of me- he’ll be worried sick if he talks to anyone else and finds out not only did I piss off the gigantic birthday boy, but that I’m nowhere to be found.’ Erika nodded, smiling tightly, and I could see the worry over Cairo’s mental health in her eyes, and I hated the fact that she was assuming that I was leaving her to deal with him alone. ‘Besides,’ I leaned down and kissed her shoulder. ‘I have some travel arrangements to make as soon as possible if I am to leave today.’
Erika’s eyebrows lifted. ‘What do you mean, leave today?’ she lifted herself up on one elbow and clutched my shoulder. ‘Kohén, I know you’re eager to brag that you were sent off to die but discovered a paradise, but you’ll be too exhausted to start making your way back to Arcadia today, and your soldiers will either be too hungover, or completely incapable of it!’
‘I know. That’s why I’m going alone.’ I rolled out of bed and grinned when I saw her eyes bugging. ‘Don’t worry, my darling, I’ll be safe. I’m not exhausted, I’m invigorated! And there isn’t a bear or a wolf in this world that will be able to take me down now- not now that my will to live has been so re-enforced.’ I bent to swipe my pants up off the floor. ‘And don’t worry, I’m not going home to boast about this kingdom- I’m going home to report that the mission was a failure, that the north even harder to navigate than we’ve always assumed… and that by the time me and my division reached this place- all that was left of the human colony that had been here was their remains; human remains that had not even been buried, but left to rot in the ruins and picked over by scavengers.’
Erika gasped and sat up, and I looked down at my zipper, knowing that the swaying of her breasts was going to make a liar of me because I wasn’t going to make it to my shoes if I looked at her again, let alone Arcadia. ‘You’re not going to tell them about this kingdom?’
‘Our kingdom- if your King will permit me to take in myself and my soldiers as his subjects.’ I heard the bed creak and looked up to see her sitting all the way up but smartly holding her sheet tightly to her breasts. ‘And if you meant it when you whispered that you loved me last night.’
Erika cringed. ‘Part of me will always love you Kohén, but even though I caved into my desire for you last night, my circumstances have not changed-’
‘They will.’ I reached for my shirt and began to turn it the right way out. ‘I’ll go back, report that there was nothing here to be found and that I only survived but by the grace of God and my Nephilim strength. I’ll hang my head in shame and be accordingly mocked by Karol for my many failures, and he’ll insist that I take the break that I am entitled to. I’ll write a letter explaining my grief and apologising, but slamming the Companion system for ruining God’s men. I’ll confess everything that the public does not know- mostly about how Karol was overcome by her too, how Yael tried to bargain for her, how Martya Rice mysteriously vanished after demanding her freedom, and how in her last moment, my mother branded me as a whore and said that she’d do the same to Karol and Elijah too.’
Erika frowned. ‘You’re not saying that Karol was in love with her too-‘
‘No, I don’t even know if he’s capable of love, but he wanted her, all right, and if my name has been thus tarnished by what I was willing to do in order to love her for eternity, his will be tarred and feathered when they find out what deals he made for the sake of having her under him for just five minutes.’
Erika looked down. ‘Oh…’ she peeked up at me from under her lashes. ‘Is there a woman in his life that he might lose by this revelation?’
‘Not anymore, not unless Amelia-Rose Choir has run out of Prince’s to hump and has flung herself at the king’s sceptre again...’ I swallowed hard, body humming in thrilled anticipation. ‘And no one will have him once I’m through with him, not even Amelia-Rose, and though my name will never be cleared, it will be used for good! I’ll state that my dying wish is to see the caste obliterated and the br
ands to be healed from the shoulders of the women who should get their freedom back…’ Erika’s jaw dropped and I winked at her. ‘Then I’ll post it to the newspapers, and take my own life, shaming my family that little bit more so that when the people learn what has happened and make their demands, Karol will have no choice but to either free the women in your caste- or be overthrown.’ Erika was cupping her cheeks and gaping at me as tears spilled out of my eyes, and I rushed forward, pressed my lips to hers, delighting in how red and bruised they were before adding: ‘Then I’ll return to you, and spend the rest of my life not only shielding you from harm, but this place from anyone that would disturb it.’
Erika leaned back and shook her head, eyes wide, fiddling with the amber ring on her finger. ‘It won’t work, Kohén! Planes will still fly this way-’
‘Then I guess you’ll need a few convenient bolts of lightning striking about at odd times, won’t you?’ I asked, wiping away her tears. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve spent all night thinking this through. I meant it when I said that my life has brought me to you, and I won’t be swept off course again, not while I’m so convinced that this is what God wants. My soldiers are as enamoured with this place as I am, and though I am about to go ask their permission, I know it will be granted. And don’t you open your mouth to say there is no future for me here with you because you can’t give me children… I don’t want children, Erika, especially not from my bloodline- I want you, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you at my side.’ I kissed her and she winced slightly, and sensing that her lips were hurting too much to tolerate my passion so soon, I got back off the bed and began to stuff my sleeves back into my shirt, watching her take off the ring and place it on the nightstand before she began running her fingers through her knotted hair. My heart quickened at that- had the ring been a gift from Cairo? A link that she was severing? ‘And unless you’ve been lying through your teeth for the last twelve hours, I think you want me too, so what’s it going to be?’