Talia and Isaac

by Lorraine Margaret

“Quite right, Talia, they cannot. Go ahead then, have your say if you must.”

  She should have heeded the warning of his taut body and glittering eyes, not listened to the invitation in his ominously soft words. But this would be her only opportunity to speak and she had to take it, whatever the consequences might be. She couldn’t live a lie. There was one thing she needed to know, one question she needed answering. She took a deep and shaky breath. For good or for ill, these next few moments would change her life…

  “Your Majesty, I need to know about the rooms of torture. I need to know the truth about this place I am living in.”

  She was haunted by the spectre of the cage, a constant taunting reminder of Isaac’s debauched past. She needed to know if it was an inherent part of him, learn the extent of his depravity, once and for all. She needed to know if Isaac was capable of loving her the way she deserved to be loved, be faithful to her for the rest of their time on earth. Nothing less would do.

  But it seemed she had made the worst mistake of her life…

  She watched in mesmerised horror as the tension in Isaac’s body increased, the king transformed into the ultimate predator preparing to pounce. And she was his helpless prey… His powerful shoulders and arms rippled with violent energy, his veins standing out against his skin. He wanted to destroy her. She had ruined their fragile bond with a few bold words. Yet even at this terrible moment, she knew that bond was meaningless without equality and honesty of expression. Without those precious things they could never find true love. And she had never felt further from that blessed state than now.

  Isaac took one ominous step towards her, and she took one tiny tremulous step back. She had gone too far. She stared into his eyes, unwilling to break contact for a second. It was only this connection that was keeping her safe, reminding Isaac she was a woman and not an object to destroy. As she stared, the spectacular something burst unguarded into his eyes – terrified, vulnerable – and furious…

  Isaac turned and stalked to the far corner of the room, fists clenched, shoulders shaking. He slammed his foot against the wall, kicking out – ferocious, feral – pounding the white stone again and again and again. His intellect and reason were lost to his rage, consumed by violence and frustration. The tension in his muscles demanded release and release of only one kind would do. The wall or her, he had made his choice, and so she was standing here unscathed, watching the man she loved explode. He swung to face her and the pain in his eyes made her catch her breath. It sucked the life out of her trembling body for she felt his suffering more intensely than her own. This tender empathy was true love, and it was devastating. She staggered back against the wall, fearing for her physical safety.

  She was not afraid of Isaac.

  She was afraid of herself.

  She was losing control of her body, aching to fly to the spirit realms and escape this mortal world that only brought suffering and pain. The earth crumbled around her, the illusions of human life revealed as the demons they were. She did not belong in this palace of demons, she would fly to the spirit realms and never return. Her angel hawk was circling overhead, calling her, his cries loud and insistent. She gasped in reply, fighting for breath as her lungs constricted, urging her to flee the mortal world. The burning fury in Isaac’s eyes had been eclipsed by his pain, and the tightness in her chest was unbearable. She shared Isaac’s suffering as a soulmate should do for one man could not bear so much agony alone. She would endure it with him, ease his burden. Her head swam as her body slowly slithered down the wall…

  “No! Breathe! Breathe, Talia, breathe! I order you to breathe!”

  She panted hard, desperately trying to obey but failing. The pain in her chest transformed into agonising cramps and her lungs refused all life-giving air. Was this really the end? Was she destined to die in the blue room staring into Isaac’s despairing, pain-consumed eyes? She clasped her chest as the pain stabbed mercilessly, but her angel rescued her, slamming her against the wall, his body brutal and unforgiving against hers. The force of his violence stole the final fragments of air from her lungs and her vision darkened as she began her last journey to the spirit realms…

  “No! Breathe, Talia, breathe now!”

  Isaac’s heart beat powerfully against her chest, ordering her heart to work, for his could no longer beat without it. The wet stain of tears was on her cheeks again and her dying heart contracted in horror. Isaac’s suffering was unbearable, she must not inflict more pain on him.

  “Breathe, my love, breathe, breathe.”

  My love. She struggled against his hold, desperate to wrench herself away so he could not see the taunt of her tears.

  “Breathe, Wanwisa, breathe.”

  His voice had never been more commanding and there was no warmth in it at all. He hated her, only wanted to keep the breath going in and out of her body so he could punish and torture it.

  “Breathe, Talia. Fucking do it. Look into my eyes and breathe with me. Now!”

  She did as he ordered. She wanted to look into the most beautiful eyes on God’s earth for they were the only reason for her life in this mortal world. Only Isaac’s eyes could bring her back from the spirit realms, only they could save her. She stared into their sky blue beauty, hard, dominant and unyielding…

  … and full of love.

  Isaac’s eyes were full of love.

  She was imagining it, hallucinating due to lack of oxygen. She was already in the spirit realms, having a vision of what she wanted life to be. This was not reality. Isaac’s eyes were hard and dominant and unyielding. Love could not exist alongside those things.

  But it did.

  She gulped in a huge lungful of air. Her head spun and filled with rainbow-coloured sparkling stars. As her eyes locked with Isaac’s, the blue room spun around her like distant planets orbiting the earth. She obeyed his command and breathed in time with him, matching his agitated, panicked rhythm…

  Panicked rhythm…

  Eyes full of love…

  “Isaac!”

  “Slower, Wanwisa, slower now.” He shook his head, his eyes glazed, disbelieving. “Slowly, breathe slowly, Talia, breathe with me. Let’s do this together.”

  Together. It was an invitation she could not resist for she loved him more than ever, would do anything he wanted her to do. Their synchronised breathing became steady and relaxed as they stared into each other’s eyes. Their shared breath united and they merged into one body as they would until the end of time. Isaac’s eyes became warmer each passing second, the spectacular something burning with tenderness and love.

  For her.

  What Isaac felt was more than affection, more than desire… more than mortal love.

  It was true love. Love blessed by the spirit realms.

  Like any woman alive she yearned to hear those three tiny words spoken passionately by her adoring lover. She craved a tender declaration of devotion, an affirmation of the emotional bond they shared.

  But she knew the truth and that would be enough – for now…

  Isaac was a man in love. There was no doubt. He could love her the way she deserved to be loved, as Talia, Lokian visionary, not his slave.

  “You deserve to be punished, Talia.”

  “Then do it,” she bit back defiantly, her breath catching again. She wasn’t shocked by his words or the sudden glint of steel in his eyes. His threats meant nothing now, they were a lie. This was only the foolish game of the man who loved her.

  “Breathe.” He stroked her cheek with ominously gentle fingertips. “I will never hurt you, Talia, I can’t bear to see you cry, but you must be punished. You are insubordinate and disrespectful and have pushed me too far.”

  Fast as lightning, he turned her so her breasts were pressed flat against the wall, her cheek squashed against the rough stone.

  “You need to be reminded of your place, Talia. You are my slave and nothing more. I will teach you to obey without question and show respect for your master.”

  He held
her against the wall with one strong hand and undid his belt with the other. Her heart thudded with desire and excitement and not a shred of fear.

  “Do you think you deserve this, Talia? To be fucked from behind against this wall? To be used for my pleasure and gain none for yourself?”

  His voice was soft and husky, consumed with lust. Did he want her to answer? What twisted game was he playing? She didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t care, for a ridiculous sense of peace had settled deep inside her soul, embedding there for all time. She was where she was meant to be. Isaac loved her. With that sure knowledge in her heart nothing could ever hurt her.

  “Whatever Your Majesty desires will surely be my fate so why ask what I think?”

  “You know why, Talia. Please do not insult me by feigning stupidity, you are the cleverest person I have ever met.”

  His velvet-soft voice throbbed with menace, resonating against her ear and vibrating inside her mind. Her heart swelled with joy. Isaac loved her, and she was the cleverest person he had ever met. Her angel masquerading as a demon had taken her to the spirit realms once more.

  “Your Majesty, I will gratefully accept my punishment if it pleases you. I wish only to satisfy your desires.”

  Isaac groaned, a long drawn-out sound of pleasure and despair. Despair? Was she imagining that? Her Lokian intuition was burning brightly, her mind the clear, enlightened mind of a woman who knows she is truly loved. But Isaac did not give her time to examine her thoughts; he moved fast, holding her in place as he unbuttoned his trousers.

  “So, you are ready for your punishment, Talia? Is that correct?”

  His rock-hard erection throbbed against her behind, signalling its impatience. Isaac was ready for this and she knew what he was asking. Was she yielding willingly, ready, aroused and wet? Despite everything that had happened, she was.

  “I am always ready for my love.”

  She bit her lip, but Isaac did not react, tearing the flimsy gown from her body as if he had not heard the one small word that exposed her soul. Your Majesty? My love? How similar they must sound to him in his agitated state, all his pain and anger transformed into desire and lust. Isaac was focused on only one thing, his need to fuck, and she was at peace with his lust for it was the lust of a man in love.

  He grasped her hips, positioning her so his manhood nudged her dripping sex.

  “Put your hands on the wall, above your head.”

  She wondered how she would walk away from this room with her clothes in tatters and prayed everyone had been ordered to vacate this part of the palace again. And then, she thought no more as Isaac took her with one brutal thrust and her punishment began. Her arousal made it painless, her intimate juices easing the way, but his swollen manhood filled her completely and her muscles clamped down, resisting its intrusion. Her body didn’t believe this union was possible, it was terrified of Isaac’s massively engorged girth. But she wasn’t. Isaac stilled, waiting while she consciously relaxed the muscles of her sex, his teeth nipping gently at her ear. His unspoken empathy made her entire body soften, become pliant and receptive to his touch. She trusted him as never before. As her sex accepted him, Isaac let out a long, relieved breath, his mouth resting in her hair.

  “You deserve a far greater punishment than I will give you, Talia. I am too kind a master, I am too much…”

  He stopped abruptly and thrust hard and deep into her trembling body. Her knees shook and almost gave way. This was her punishment. Anger was lurking beneath his desire, but she relished the passion it had created. Isaac loved her… I am too much… I am too much in love with you. They were the words Isaac did not feel able to say. But he loved her too much to control the intensity of his emotions, whether sweet and tender or passionate and inflamed…

  She moved him, she touched him deeply. Isaac was too much in love with her, too much…

  Her legs shook as Isaac thrust inside her, again and again, her tumultuous emotions matching the turmoil of her ravished body. She was unravelling, body and spirit, disintegrating and reforming into a new woman. She was still the Lokian visionary, with her integrity intact, but she held a new and precious place in her soul.

  A place Isaac would inhabit until the end of time – and beyond…

  “Brace yourself against the wall, Talia, and move with me.”

  Move with me. She pushed all reason from her mind and surrendered, her body dancing with his, responding to his rhythmic thrusting and becoming one with it, one with him. The wall was rough against the soft skin of her breasts, but the friction of Isaac’s fierce thrusts together with the abrasive stone stimulated her throbbing, love-struck clitoris, pleasure easily overriding pain. She cried out as her sex contracted, gripping Isaac’s manhood as if it would never let it go.

  “Master.”

  “Good little visionary.” He bit her neck hard, and she yelped in surprise. “I will allow you your pleasure, it will enslave you to me.”

  His words should have hurt her but they were a statement of fact. She was Isaac’s slave… a slave to his love.

  As he was a slave to hers…

  “Isaac!”

  “Talia!”

  He pushed her hard against the wall as they climaxed together, the harmony of their bodies relieving the tension created by the conflict of their spirits. It was sweet unity with the man she loved and all the more precious because it was a fleeting fragile peace that could evaporate at any moment. A violent shudder moved through her body, the intensity of pleasure and emotion overwhelming. Isaac’s physical strength was the only thing keeping her upright. Her back and legs were screaming for rest, trembling and aching from exertion. Her cheek was smarting from the contact with the rough stone, her sex quivering with shock after Isaac’s brutal pounding. And she had never felt more fulfilled in her life.

  Isaac loved her.

  He just couldn’t say it yet…

  An all-consuming need to hold him overtook her. She whimpered pitifully as he withdrew from her body, scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He could read her mind. She whimpered again, happily this time, but as soon as he laid her down, he buttoned his trousers and strode towards the door without a backward glance.

  “Where are you going, Master?”

  She despised the need in her voice. To be so reliant on the approval and affection of her captor was humiliating. She was baring her soul, losing all dignity for love.

  “You need some time alone, Talia, to consider the error of your behaviour.”

  “No!”

  Isaac was losing nothing, baring nothing at all. He had tucked his manhood away into his trousers and tucked the spectacular something into the farthest recesses of his mind. His voice was as cold and controlling as ever. He felt none of the vulnerability she felt, shared none of her sadness at the rift between them. He wanted to leave her after they had been as intimately connected as it was possible for two people to be. Her anger returned and it scared her. The emotional desolation behind her one small word scared her. She lived in a different world to Isaac, the intimacy of their physical bodies meaningless if there was no real understanding between their souls…

  “Yes.”

  His voice was icy, unaffected by her distress. She knew what this was.

  “This is my punishment isn’t it? Not the fucking, you knew I wanted that. This is it, you are going to walk out, abandon me after our intimacy. You know this will hurt me, you are exploiting your knowledge of my nature in order to inflict maximum pain. You cruel, heartless bastard! You can’t leave me!”

  The moment she had been dreading had arrived and her words poured out of her without restraint. She felt no fear of consequences or punishment, just hurt and anger and soul-deep disappointment, but Isaac’s jaw was as firm and set as his mind. He would not waver, he would destroy their bond without a second thought… or would he? Wariness crept into his eyes as he stared at her as if she were an unpredictable wild animal that might bite.

  “I can d
o whatever I like, Talia, you do not control my actions or emotions. My leaving this room will not affect you adversely in any way, it will simply give you time to think about your insubordinate behaviour and how to rectify it in future.”

  “Not affect me adversely in any way?!”

  Her voice was cold, bitter, her anger imbuing it with a strength she was not feeling. But she still had her pride and would use it in a most perverse way. She stood and tore off the remaining rags of her dress to stand naked before him. Powerful and proud, she lifted her chin and stared straight into his stunned eyes. His shocked expression reinforced her power and she wielded it ruthlessly. He deserved this.

  “This is me, naked in every way, bared, body and soul, trusting you with all that I am. You lied to me, Isaac. You promised to take care of my needs but you neglect the most important ones of all. My emotional needs! You have learnt enough about me to understand what will hurt me and you use your knowledge as a weapon. You want to destroy the strength and integrity of my mind and spirit by seducing me with your body and then casting me aside. I won’t let you do that, Isaac. I will not be compliant a moment longer!”

  Her body was shaking, reeling, but she stood firm. Her soul would not waver. Her tears were falling again, but she would not back down. Isaac loved her and she loved him, but she would not tolerate emotional abuse. She regretted the pain lurking at the back of his eyes but he deserved it for he had caused her pain. He was the one who needed to consider his behaviour, not her.

  “That is entirely up to you, Talia. If you want to cause a breakdown of all we have achieved together that is your choice.”

  She stared into his dispassionate eyes, challenging the pain, daring it to expose itself in his words, daring him to relinquish control and tell the truth for once.

  Nothing.

  He turned towards the door. He had decided this conversation was over but she would not allow him to make that choice for both of them.

  “If you leave now, Isaac, you destroy everything we have achieved together, You destroy it, not me.” She spat the words at him, no longer bothering to feign respect. Achieved! Such a cold, clinical word to describe their feelings for each other, as if this was just a game and nothing else. A game. That’s what this was. She must never forget that for a moment – this was just a game. And she had the ultimate power for Isaac didn’t know she had worked it out… worked him out. “If you leave now, Isaac, there will be no reason to ever come back here again. You will destroy everything between us, cause irrevocable damage that can never be repaired. The blue room will be lost to us forevermore. It is your choice.”