by Stacy Reid
Fangs pierced Ajali’s chest, creating the sweetest of rapture. The need in his veins had him tumbling Tehdra on the massive divan. Her thighs clamped around his hips, and he reveled in her strength. She would be able to handle him without restraint. There would be no worry about hurting delicate bones.
He thrust two fingers deep inside of her, groaning at the heated wetness. Her soft growl rumbled against his chest as she fed on his blood, arousing him further.
More, hissed against his mind in sensual hunger.
He grabbed a padded cushion and stuffed it under her hips. Ajali stared at the sensual picture she presented, and his cock grew impossibly hard. His blood sparkled on her lips like red rubies. That mouth. That beautiful, pouting mouth. It begged to be taken, bruised, fucked.
“Ajali,” she cried, raising her hips in entreaty.
He held her legs wide, bent and licked her pussy in one heated swipe before drawing her clitoris into his mouth and sucking hard. She screamed, shivered, and pulse liquid fire. She tasted like sin and all that was forbidden. Tehdra whimpered, and it was a sensual plea for more.
She bucked and, in a blur of speed, had him pinned and straddled. He chuckled, loving the display of strength. He gripped her midnight hair, winding it around his fist and tugging her down for a lascivious kiss.
A sharp rip shredded the air as he lost his clothes. She removed them with claws—claws that sank into his back, creating the most delicious sting. Chakra whispered over his chest, glided over him as if it were hands, leaving fire in its wake. Ajali inhaled harshly as chakra caressed his cock, stroking and teasing, mimicking her lips. He roughly ran his lips to her neck, where he bit hard, nuzzling her collarbone, and then lower capturing her nipple with his mouth.
Ajali…
The need in her voice rasped against him, urging him to fuck her.
He spun around her, placing her underneath him, and lifting her hips, thrust deep.
He groaned in ecstasy.
Her hoarse scream slid over him. The tight clasps of her muscles had Ajali gritting his teeth as the hottest of pleasure speared his cock. Sensations rolled from her mind to his, burning them, enslaving them to passion.
More, blasted in his mind filled with the overlay of her beast. It only aroused him deeper, and he tilted her hips and plunged his full length inside of her. Ajali had never felt anything so good in all his years.
He withdrew, so the only the tip of his cock nudged her entrance, and then slammed inside her again. He fucked into her over and over, strong and sure. Claws raked his chest, creating a blood trail. She lurched up running her tongue over the lines of blood her claws left. The wet heat licked over Ajali nerves. He snapped his hips harder, eliciting a raw moan from her. He felt the lash of sensual pain biting into her as well as the need for more that lit her veins.
He gripped her ass, seating her fully onto his cock and standing with her wrapped around his body like a second skin. With an almost brutal move, Ajali snapped his hips, burrowing his cock past the tightness of her flesh. Ride.
Her hips swiveled, glided up and down, undulating on his cock with exquisite torment. A claw slashed, piercing his skin and letting blood.
Drink of me, mate.
His tongue swirled, licking her essence. Her taste was hot and sublime, containing the erotic flavor of blood and a tumultuous storm. The need that bled from her was compelling, and darkness rippled through him. He spun, slamming her back against the wall. Ajali gripped her as he fucked her almost violently, the plunge and retreat of his hips synchronizing with her moans and short screams. The raw, stark pleasure of her pussy clamping and squeezing his cock drove Ajali to ride even harder, secure in the knowledge that she could match him stroke for stroke, strength for strength.
She tightened on his length, shivering, as bliss that flash liked lightning along their link burned her. She screamed and bit into his neck as waves of orgasm swept through her. She tightened on him, drawing forth the release that he wanted to prolong. Ajali groaned as fire raced up his balls, and the darkness of pleasure blasted through him as her fangs pierced his neck deeper. She drank his essence, shivering around him.
Residual ecstasy had her spasming around him. He flashed with her to the bed so that she lay on top of him. He looked into obsidian eyes heavy-lidded with contentment. He rimmed sexy poutiness of her lips her lips, the lushness of it hardening him further inside of her.
Again, mate?
Said so sensually and with relish, he smiled. His desire for her was an aching hunger he feared would never be sated.
We have only just begun… And after the longest of pauses, he whispered…
Mate.
The air reeked of sex. Its taste, its scent reached out and delighted the senses. Tehdra arched her back as Ajali’s tongue swirled between her legs, filling her with the most carnal of pleasures. He had her bound with silken restraints against his headboard. She could easily snap them, but it was the idea of them, the feel of them against her skin, erotic and sensuous. Her nipples ached. They stood at attention, begging to be licked.
Like the most luscious of berries, he’d whispered hotly to her as he sucked flesh before caressing them with the fire. The bliss had stunned Tehdra, the bite of pain one that she luxuriated in as he pleasured her with fire. He coasted its soft flame over her, heating her body and blood as he trailed his fire with his lips. He tasted every part of her. Even the brutal depiction of her beast felt the delicious lash of his tongue. She hummed in beastly gratification, drowning in the sheer carnality of it all.
“Your pussy is the sweetest I’ve ever tasted... I cannot get enough,” he murmured with a hot swipe of his tongue through her soaked slit.
His green eyes were liquid fire. Tehdra’s body jerked, and she whimpered along their link. He pulsed his element, creating a whip of flame. It hovered in the air, lashing her skin at his command, creating a hunger in her pussy that she desperately needed to be assuaged. His tongue laved each sting, eliciting a different pull deep inside the core of her with every nip and lick. “Ajali!”
He growled at her cry, the skin over his cheekbones tightening with savage lust.
The whip of fire slapped at her pussy, melding pleasure with pain. His mouth took the sting as he plunged his tongue into her core, drawing forth her orgasm in a soul-shattering rush.
Delight stormed through her body, and she tore through the silken restraints, the rasp of his chuckle vibrating against her clit. She sat on top of him and growled her frustration, but then he spun, matching her speed, grabbing her by the waist and flipping her over, so she landed on her hands and knees. He came down over her, pressing his chest against her back.
He gripped her wrists, stretching them over her head as the other hand glided from her neck, over her back, tracing the contours of her body to rest on her buttocks. Tehdra’s moans became fractured as his fingers slid between the cheeks of her ass and underneath to her pussy where he sank three fingers into her core. And she was dripping wet. His rough chuckle at her nape inflamed her, and her hips undulated against his hands, rubbing against his cock. His chakra bled from him like crimson flames, surrounding them. Tehdra’s breath labored as pleasure constricted her throat. She smiled as she drew the shadows, wrapping them in it and dousing his soft flames as unrelenting darkness enclosed them in their sensual haven.
It became a feast for the senses.
Ajali nudged her thighs open and stroked inside of her with relentless force. Tehdra bit down hard on her bottom lip, moaning, loving the feel of him pushing through her muscles, savoring the sharp burn as he stretched and filled her, craving the bite of pleasure as he consumed her. He clasped her hips and fucked her, hard and deep. Over and over he rammed into her, filling her with pained bliss. She dug her fingers into his forearms, glorying in the heavy muscle under her touch. The rawness of his thrusts had her collapsing on the bed, and she sank to her elbows, her ass still arched in the air.
He moved with savage sensuality, and she cried
out, glorying in the erotic pleasure-pain that spread through her tender core with each snap of his hips.
It was too much, too intense.
He snaked a hand below her stomach and pinched her clitoris between his fingers. Tehdra jolted, and shocks of sensations speared her senses. She orgasmed in an exquisite burst, shaking and gasping.
“Look at me,” he commanded, his voice a dark rasp of pleasure.
She turned her head, and his mouth crashed down on hers, seducing, tempting, and devouring. He took her body to places of tormenting pleasure that enslaved her mind and body to his blood and the beat of desire.
22
His king had disappeared with Tehdra. Acheron still struggled to process that his King had willingly drunk her blood. The erotic sensuality of it had punched deep inside of Acheron, startling him. With Tehdra and Ajali trapped behind the flames of chakra barrier, Acheron had incanted, seeking her will and intention. The fracture he’d sensed in her spirit, the terrible warring, had slowly melted away as she drank Ajali’s blood. Acheron did not understand the why of it, but something had happened as her broken body healed and the rage simmered into lust. Even now he could taste the sexual excess in the air. There was no doubt to all who remained what their king was doing with Tehdra at that moment. But it was the love he’d sensed inside of her that assured him of his king’s safety.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and turned to face the Darkan and the princess of Boreas. He was looking at a political mess that needed to be averted, and one he gladly left to the high chancellor. Acheron hesitated in leaving Bastien alone even though dozens of warriors silently watched them with lethal intent.
Gavyn had whisked Xian and Ruxia away, the rest of the cadre disseminated with a subtle indication to meet. He needed to confer with them, but first...
He flashed to the princess and her mate.
“Princess Saieke, welcome to Nuria. I am Acheron, Duke of the House of Thessaly.”
The Princess responded in kind, introducing the Darkan, Drac El Kyn, as her mate. Acheron could see the fine trembling in the princess’ hands, and he raised his brows as the Darkan drew her to his side, offering warmth and security.
The high chancellor interrupted smoothly, directing their unwanted guests from the pit to a private room. Servants rushed to serve drinks and delicate cakes to the princess, while they glanced furtively at the Darkan. Acheron doubted they knew what sat with them, but his unnatural coldness attracted their attention.
“Considering the circumstances, I am sure, Princess Saieke, that you will leave our kingdom with your mate...immediately with an escort,” Bastien said.
Ahhh. Bastien was in his element, and Acheron leaned back, allowing the high chancellor to play high politics with the princess.
Acheron tracked the Darkan as he glided to his feet, circling the room as his mate played word games with the high chancellor—games that Acheron had no patience for. He stirred as the Darkan spoke for the first time.
“The Darkage offers recompense for the damage Tehdra wrought. Were any lives of Nuria lost?”
“Recompense is not necessary; Tehdra is a friend of Nuria.” Acheron watched the Darkan’s movements like a hawk.
The Darkan barely hid his surprise, and the princess’ soft inhalation revealed her shock.
“Is that so?” Drac’s voice was a deadly murmur.
Bastien stiffened, distaste setting on his face. “Your Grace,” he said, turning to Acheron. “Surely you do not mean—”
Acheron surged to his feet, and waved his hand, cutting off the high chancellor. He faced the Darkan. “Twice now, Tehdra El Kyn of your clan Dragos placed her life before our king. If I do not speak for Nuria, I speak for the House of Thessaly, ruler of the eight provinces, and I am the High Duke of Belthon. I owe Tehdra.”
He ignored Bastien’s frown, for clearly, he did not approve of Acheron’s statement.
The princess step forward. "Is Gidon Al Shra, the king of the realm of shadows and darkness to be assured Tehdra is safe in Nuria, despite her loss of control?" the princess framed delicately.
Acheron allowed a smile to form on his lips. “The Darkage’s concern is noted.” He flicked a glance to Drac. “Your sister is in the safest of hands. We will declare no war for what has happened, nor will we demand recompense. We will leave you to freshen up in your chambers for your departure in a few hours. Please avail yourselves of all amenities until such time,” Acheron said and dipped his head, flashing from the room, leaving the high chancellor to deal with the subtleties of court. The princess seemed adept at the game and the Darkan content to observe her as a brutal, protective force.
Acheron moved with speed to the war room where the cadre awaited him.
“Took you long enough,” Quinn growled.
Acheron moved to the table and poured himself a healthy drink. “Your concern is surprising considering you left me alone with a Darkan.”
“We expected you to come with us. Their presence in our kingdom is for Bastien to manage. The Darkan came to ascertain Tehdra's safety. After we saw what she did I posit if he wanted you dead, Acheron, it would have already happened,” Gavyn drawled.
Acheron grunted.
“This boldness of the enemy is unprecedented,” Quinn said.
Acheron met his eyes. “We wait for Ajali.”
The silence that filled the chamber was not a comfortable one, strange given the kind of bond they shared as a cadre.
“He tasted her blood,” Cadmus mused.
Gavyn surged almost violently out of his chair, slamming shut the great tome open on the table in front of him. “I find nothing here expect legends of vampires on Earth. This sheds no light as our king is not a human, and the tales that belong to these vampire legends are not something I want to be associated with Ajali.”
“How do we know that our king is now safe? A Darkan disappeared with him into the shadows with her fangs still buried in his throat,” Julius murmured.
“He created a barrier of chakra flames keeping us out. He could have beheaded her several times, yet he did not. He wanted to be with her uninterrupted,” Gavyn snapped as he rested the tome on the massive desk in the room. "And we all sense the sex in the air.”
“Am I the only one that finds it curious that our king is now fucking after such a threat to his life and kingdom? Are we sure he is not bewitched?” Triton asked.
It had not escaped Acheron.
“I thought I was the only one feeling the sensations of sex pulsing in the air,” Cadmus said with a raw chuckle. "She is gorgeous and sensual. Seeing her sitting astride Ajali naked, with wings of midnight fanned wide, chakra bathing her skin did something for my libido. I cannot imagine what possessed our king to drink her blood,” he ended with biting sarcasm.
“He is not bewitched,” Acheron replied. “I think he loves her.”
“You jest,” Quinn said, surprise stilling his frame.
Acheron had the attention of all the king’s blades. “I do not. As she raged, I felt a connection between them that disturbed me. He endured anguish at the thought she may not recover from the battle she fought. Anguish. He consumed the elixir, cutting himself so that she would bite into him, even knowing the prophecy of Ruxia. He placed his life in her hands.”
“Fuck!” Cadmus shouted.
“Our king has hundreds of women in his harem. Some from the highest level of aristocracy vying for his attention and place on the throne. And he chooses to fall in love with a Darkan?” Solomon queried, genuine distress coating his tone.
“Yes, it seems he did,” Acheron murmured, deliberating on the implications of their king being in love with their kingdom’s most important enemy.
Ajali slid off the bed, careful not to disturb Tehdra. She slept deeply, and he was amazed after their night of excessive lovemaking that he woke so early. She lay on her stomach, and his eyes caressed her curves, studying the tattooed picture of her beast painted so starkly on most of her body. Mighty wings and scales c
overed her shoulders, and arms, her back in its entirety, most of her hips and buttocks, slashing down to her calves. He knew that slashes of the painting graced her stomach and her inner thigh. Its ink was black; the only color was the beast’s eyes—pitiless yellow with flecks of red, and they stared at him as if alive. The brutally it reeked of stunned him, its malevolence impossible to miss. What was it?
She was a Darkan. He’d suspected that she lied about being a spy from Aria. His kingdom of alliance would have approached his army general or himself with any suspicions. Gavyn had sent word to the people of sand and earth for confirmation of her spy status—a confirmation they no longer required. She was a Darkan and a very powerful one.
Tehdra was the only Darkan that he’d ate, slept, and bantered with as if she were any other citizen of Amagarie. He knew of their brutality, had witnessed it several times, but what he experienced with Tehdra he never would have imagined she was from the shadowed realm. She fucking blushed. She ate with gusto; she was unable to fight with a sword. Now he understood why. Darkans had claws and fangs, mostly rendering weapons unnecessary.
She called him ‘mate,’ and he had responded in kind, consumed by the feelings he had for her. And what were those feelings? She had only been in his kingdom for a few days. What kind of sentiments could he have that were genuine? Lust, desire, tenderness, the need to protect? His heart slammed against his chest. He felt all of those and more…for his enemy.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, and then braced his forearms against his thighs.
Every part of him rejected Tehdra as his enemy. He had been intimate with the chakra that lived inside of her, the darkness that Amagarians reviled, and he did not hate her for it. He knew what loss of control of an essence buried inside could do. He was called the Tyrant of Nuria, and his mother had been the Mad Queen of the eternal city because they’d briefly lost control of the power buried inside of them. Being connected to Tehdra’s mind, he had a clear understanding of the forsaken darkness with which Darkans struggled. Did it change his deep hatred of them? No. Yet his feelings of vengeance did not extend to Tehdra.
