“I think we can dispense with your outfit now, pet,” he said, releasing the ties and letting the silk flutter free. Both nipples were tight little buds, and he rolled them gently between his fingers until her back arched.
“And I don’t believe you need this, either, although I did like that little tail.” He ran a finger over the scrap of cloth between her legs, delighted to find the silk damp with her excitement, outlining each tender little crevice. She purred as he circled her clit, the silk clinging to the swollen nub. It took a moment for him to wonder why the fabric was so revealing. He slid them down to find that the small patch of gold curls was gone, leaving her pink and bare. The rush of excited lust was immediately followed by outrage.
“Who did this?”
“Do you like it?” she asked anxiously. “Kolga did it.”
“He touched you?” he roared.
“No, no. Of course not.” She blushed. “But the bottom part of the outfit was so small. He gave me a cream to use. He said it would grow back if you didn’t like it.”
He traced a mesmerized finger over the vulnerable flesh. Oh, he liked it, liked seeing her so exposed to him.
“Mm, that feels good.” Her eyes had gone heavy with pleasure but she raised herself up on her elbows so she could watch him touching her. He stroked two fingers between her lips, spreading them apart so he could appreciate every perfect detail.
“Th-there’s one more part to the costume,” she whispered, her breath catching as he slowly circled her clit.
“Another part?” he murmured distractedly.
“Another tail.”
That brought his head up with a jerk. “What?”
“It’s in the box over there. Kolga told me not to look at it.”
“But you did, didn’t you, kitten?”
She tried for her innocent look, but blushed. “I didn’t understand why there was another one.” Her blush deepened. “I didn’t understand at first, how it would work, but it’s supposed to go in my bottom, isn’t it?”
“Yes, kitten.” Just the thought had his cock leaking drops of precum. “Would you like that?”
“I don’t know.” She tilted her head considering. “Would I?”
“You like it when I play with your little bottom hole, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She hesitated, then gave one of her decided little nods. “I want to do it.”
He’d ripped off the existing costume before she finished the sentence. The small blue box on the nightstand contained another soft strip of fur, this one attached to a small golden plug, the widest part barely the width of his finger. A small bottle of clear liquid was nestled next to it and there was a note from Kolga tucked under the tail. Happy Birthday. You can thank me later.
The man’s impudence knew no limits, but as he looked at his kitten, waiting so expectantly, he couldn’t summon any anger.
“On your hands and knees, kitten.”
She obeyed immediately, watching him curiously, until he climbed up behind her.
“We’re going to take this very slowly,” he said, reminding himself as much as her. “Let me know if you don’t like something.”
“I’ll like it,” she said firmly, and he smiled, her trust tugging at him as it always did.
He began with her neck, pressing soft, sucking little kisses to the tender flesh. As he kissed down her spine, he brought the tail beneath her, running the soft fur back and forth over her nipples until she was squirming. When he reached her bottom, he spent more time kissing and sucking the soft flesh, leaving little red marks on the creamy flesh before spreading her cheeks apart to reveal her delicate pink pucker.
One hand slipped beneath her, delighted to find her dripping and ready as he stroked her clit in teasing little circles.
“Oh, please.”
“Patience, pet.” He abandoned the needy nub and returned to her bottom hole, circling the sensitive flesh and teasing the tiny entrance until she was pressing back against him. Quickly applying the lube to the plug, he replaced his finger with the cool metal. The tiny ring of muscle resisted at first and he slid his cock between her legs until his oris clasped her clit, sucking gently.
She gasped, and as she exhaled, he slid the plug past the resistance, pausing to let her adjust while his oris maintained the pressure against her clit. Almost immediately, her body softened, and she pushed back against his hand while he slowly slid the entire plug inside. Her body closed down around it and she squirmed. The tail bounced against her ass and he was harder than he’d ever been in his life.
“That feels so strange.”
“Good strange?” he managed to ask, his voice strained.
“Oh, yes. Is there more?”
“Definitely.” Putting his fingers on her clit, he slid his cock back until he found her entrance. She was still small, still tight, and he always had to work his way inside. Tonight, with the added pressure of the plug, the grip of her sweet cunt was almost painfully tight. A fine sweat covered his body as he slowly, patiently, pressed deeper. With each inch he gained, soft little gasps of excitement came from Ella. By the time he was buried to the root, he was panting. He paused, trying for some semblance of control, even as she jerked her hips impatiently.
“Patience, pet. I want to look at you.” The sweet little curves of her body, the furry little tail, at once so innocent and so erotic, the jeweled collar marking his possession; the sight had him breathless with lust and anticipation, but it wasn’t until she turned her head, until blue eyes sparkled up at him with that same combination of innocence and lust that he could no longer restrain himself.
He pulled back, her tight sheath clinging to him just as much on the way out, as if desperate not to lose contact with his cock. He was just as desperate, thrusting back in immediately, faster now as she accepted his size. He could feel the hard ridge of the plug rubbing against him each time he plunged inside, the soft fur of the tail brushing against him as he withdrew. He was losing control, thrusting harder, his fingers playing frantically across her clit as he felt the streaks of fire down his spine.
“Come for me, kitten,” he demanded, knowing he couldn't last much longer, and he felt the sweet, impossibly tight convulsion around his cock as he thrust one last time, buried as deeply as he could go, and felt his body exploding in long liquid waves of heat as his heart hammered and lights danced across his vision. He dropped down over her back, his hand reaching instinctively for hers. She clasped it and turned her head to smile at him.
“I love you so much, Karthajin.”
“I love you, my Ella.”
When his breathing finally slowed, he eased reluctantly from her body, then removed the tail as she shivered. While he went to get a cleansing cloth, she curled into the pillow and by the time he returned, she was asleep. Her cheek was nestled against her palm, her face smooth and untroubled. He washed her quickly, then laid down next to her and drew her close. She truly did not seem bothered by the evening’s events, by the stares and whispers of the court. He didn’t believe that she was too innocent not to understand them. How could she be so unconcerned when his own mother would have been so devastated? Perhaps it was because she had not yet had a personal confrontation with the outright malice that ran rampant through his court. He prayed that she would avoid it as long as possible.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two days later, Karthajin found that his prayers had gone unanswered. Since he had openly revealed his relationship with Ella, she came and went freely from his office. He had left her there reviewing vids of members of the various Royal Houses while he stepped away for a brief conversation with Gernagan about the status on Hothrest. The cloaked ship was in orbit and studying the coordinates that the prisoner had revealed. When he returned, Tikaren was pacing anxiously in front of the doors to his office.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I believe I may have made a mistake.”
“Yes?”
“Your next appointment was with Lord Balek, but Lady Majarri appeared
instead. She said he had sent her, so I let her in. But then I remembered there had been rumors that she was… attracted to you.” The skin over Tikaren’s cheekbones was almost navy with embarrassment. Karthajin’s limited liaisons had been handled by his personal staff, not his secretary.
“She’s in there now? With my Ella?”
It was not perhaps what he would have wished, but Majarri was an intelligent, charming woman. No doubt she would conduct herself suitably. Curious to see how Ella would react, he silently opened the door a fraction in time to hear Majarri hiss.
“You little whore. He was mine first.”
His vision went red with anger and he pushed the door wide, already expecting to find Ella in tears. Instead, she was standing in front of the much taller Kaisarian woman looking completely unperturbed. Her lack of concern made him hesitate in his instinctive rush to defend her.
“Perhaps that’s why you have a slightly… aged look about you,” Ella said, and she said it so sweetly and innocently that it took Majarri a moment to react.
“Are you calling me old?”
“Oh, no. I would never be so rude. I was brought up to respect my elders.”
“Why you little bitch,” Majarri hissed again, and took a step forward. He decided it was time to intervene and stepped into the room.
At the sound of his entrance, Majarri whirled around, smoothing her furious expression into the seductive one he knew so well. Beautifully dressed as always, her heavily embroidered gown slit high up the sides in the latest fashion, she still couldn’t hold a candle to Ella in her simple blue silk.
“Your Imperial Majesty. I was just acquainting myself with your… ward. How nice of you to adopt the child.”
He ignored her and strode over to Ella, checking to make sure she was as calm as she appeared. Her eyes were sparkling, and he was quite certain the little imp was enjoying herself. He dropped a slow, thorough kiss on her lips, ignoring Majarri’s outraged gasp.
“I would hardly call our relationship parental,” he said calmly as he turned back toward the angry woman, keeping a possessive hand on Ella’s hip. “Although I can understand why you might think that since you’re almost old enough to be her mother.”
Majarri’s face paled, and he would almost have felt sorry for her if he hadn’t heard her insulting his kitten. Without waiting for her response, he continued.
“I understand you’re here for Lord Balek?”
Her hands clenched but she did an admirable job of recovering her composure. “Yes. He wishes to hold an event in your honor at his summer estate. He asked me to come in his place since I know you so well.”
There was a definite hint of venom in her last words and the triumphant little glance she cast at Ella.
“Old friends are like that, aren’t they?” Ella responded, with the slightest emphasis on old. “But sometimes those friendships fade when newer and more… satisfying relationships come along.”
He bit back a laugh. “My kitten is quite right, as always.” His voice turned cold. “Please tell Lord Balek that I decline his kind invitation. I trust that if he has any future proposals, he will present them to my secretary personally. I don’t believe you will need to return.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Majarri was intelligent enough to accept her defeat. She bowed and exited without another word. Dismissing her from his thoughts, he turned to check on Ella again.
“What did she say to you, pet?”
“Hmm, let’s see.” She tapped her finger on her chin, looking impish. “That she was surprised I was still here. That no doubt others were waiting for my favors, however limited they might be.”
Anger rushed through him again. He’d let Majarri leave much too easily. But Ella kept going, shocking him out of his fury.
“So I told her that you didn’t seem to think my favors were too limited when I was sucking your cock.” She grinned up at him. “Was that too much? That’s when she called me a whore.”
“I’m so sorry that you had to put up with that. I never knew she could be so vicious.”
“Well, I don’t suppose she ever was to you.”
“Why aren’t you more upset? My moth—”
“My love, listen to me,” she interrupted. “Your mother was in a terrible situation and I know how much that hurt you. But it wasn’t because of the court, not really. It was because your father didn’t love her. I know you love me, so the rest doesn’t matter.”
The truth in her words almost knocked him over. He pulled Ella close in silent acknowledgement, but even as he did, he wondered if there wasn’t another reason. His mother had been a gentle person, brought up in seclusion in a convent run by the Sisters of Rakokh, and completely unprepared to face the realities of court life. But his Ella had faced so much already—ripped away from her family at such a young age, brought up by owners who, however kind, had tried their best to keep her a child—and she had not only found a way to be happy, she had educated herself. He suspected that there was a core of steel inside his kitten which gave her a strength his mother had simply never had. His Ella would face whatever life threw at her with that same determined, sunny spirit.
“I want you to be my First Consort,” he said slowly as the conviction swept over him that the position would never destroy her as it had his mother.
Her eyes lit with delight before her face fell.
“You can’t do that. I’m a slave. I’m human.”
“You’re not a slave if I say you’re not. You’re free.”
“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes at him. “My freedom doesn’t matter. We both know I’m not going anywhere. But even if you freed me, I’d still be a former slave and you can’t make me Kaisarian by simply declaring it so.”
“There is nothing in the laws which specifically forbids it.”
“Except that fact that in two thousand years, it has never happened.”
“Times change, kitten, and so must we.”
She shook her head and gave him a tremulous smile. “Please don’t. I love that you want me, but we both know it won’t happen. It’s cruel to make me think otherwise.”
He started to protest, but she was right. It was cruel to bring it up now, not when he wasn’t sure how long it would take or what would be necessary to make it happen. But no matter what he had to do, who he had to convince, what customs he had to change, she was going to spend her life at his side.
“All right, my Ella. We won’t discuss it now.” Instead, he pulled her closer and relished the simple comfort of holding the woman he loved in his arms.
Despite her determination to forget that Karthajin had even suggested it, Ella spent most of the day falling into delightful little daydreams of becoming First Consort, of staying at Karthajin’s side forever. Although she suspected that he thought her naive, the Court really didn’t bother her. She had been well aware of the combination of disdain and lust with which she'd been regarded, of the cruel little comments and barbed insults, but they had no real impact on her. There was only one opinion she cared about.
The poisonous civility was far from the worst that could have happened. Less than five hundred years ago, the Kaisarian Court had been a much more dangerous place. It was quite likely that she would have been actually poisoned. And Karthajin would have been at risk as well. The heir to the throne often died “accidentally” if he was not outright challenged. In the Year of Reckoning, three heirs had died within six months. All of which made her rather curious about Karthajin’s successor.
“Karthajin, who’s next in line to the throne?” she asked later that night. He’d just made slow passionate love to her and her body was limp with satisfaction, but for once she hadn’t slipped into a state of sleepy contentment. Her mind was still considering the problem of the weapon.
“Prince Orokoth. Why?”
“I was just wondering if there is something more at stake than just the ability to destroy a planet. Especially since there was a Kaisarian involved. And your fathe
r died so suddenly.”
“I can’t believe this has anything to do with me personally, or with my family. And Orokoth is probably the best successor I could have—he would be a competent emperor but he’s completely uninterested in the job.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very. But if it will make you happy, I’ll ask him to join us for lunch tomorrow so you can meet him yourself.”
“Good.” she smiled up at him. He smiled back, then the little dancing flames appeared in his eyes.
“However, if you're still worrying about politics, apparently I need to distract you.” He bent his head and kissed the spot on her neck that always made her shiver. She could feel the answering throb in his horns, and she circled them with her fingers, tugging on them the way he liked. He groaned appreciatively, then began to kiss his way down her body until he very satisfactorily distracted her.
True to his word, Karthajin had Prince Orokoth join them for lunch, which gave her the opportunity to show off a little. During the banquet, Ella had noticed the intimidating array of eating implements in front of each guest. It hadn’t mattered then because Karthajin had been feeding her, but she found herself wishing that she knew the correct protocol. With the help of a book on palace etiquette and a few lessons from Saban, she now took her own seat at the table feeling quietly confident. Karthajin nodded approvingly and she beamed back at him, loving the proud look on his face.
“Ella, this is Prince Orokoth. He is the heir to the throne.”
“A duty I trust I will never have to fulfill, Chosen One.” Orokoth bowed deeply. He was a tall man, at least twice Karthajin’s age, and had an air of quiet dignity that was rather appealing. Unlike most of Karthajin’s visitors, he was simply dressed in plain black robes, with only a small crystal around his neck.
“You have a Tear of Napisten,” Ella said, surprised to see him wearing it. The rare crystals were highly valued and considered a sign of the God’s favor.
“You recognize it?”
Ella and the Emperor (Alien Abduction #5) Page 13
