by Amy Sumida
“I can't—”
“Oh, yes, you can.” Cyprian smirked at me. “Don't try to deny it. You may not feed on auras exactly, but you can most definitely affect them. All you would need to do is connect your aura to mine.”
“Okay,” I relented. “I can do that.”
“Thank you,” he said stiffly. “The next step—the final one for us—is a kiss. Through that physical contact, we'll be able to share our power. I have a theory that your ability to manipulate auras combined with my ability to feed on lust will allow both of us to be able to feed on all emotions.”
“All right.” I ignored the fluttering in my belly at the thought of kissing him. “But how will that help us?”
“Terial will return,” Cyprian said confidently. “If for no other reason than to revel in his power over us. We will draw him in, get him to unlock one of our cells, and kill him together. We will drain him dry.”
“Take back all the energy he stole” I whispered.
“Precisely.”
“What's the third step?”
“We won't take it; we'll leave the Fusion unfinished.”
“So that we can undo it?”
Cyprian looked away.
“Can it be undone, Cyprian?”
“I'm not certain,” he admitted. “But that is why I suggest we leave it unfinished. If there is a way to undo it, I promise that I will. I give you my word. But even if there isn't, you won't be committed to me, se esaria. I have no desire to trap you. Believe me; that's the last thing I would do to someone I care for.”
The words hung in the air between us, and I was suddenly glad that he wasn't able to see my blush in the dark.
“What's the third step, Cyprian?”
“You know what it is, Amara,” his voice became its old, purring self.
“Sex.”
Cyprian smiled. “What else? It's a Faulin ritual, after all.”
“But we will only need to exchange a kiss?” I wanted to be sure.
“That's all,” he confirmed. “One kiss. Through bars, no less. I think your Bleiten will forgive you if it means your freedom.”
“Let's do it before I change my mind.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
We knelt before each other with the bars between us. Cyprian leaned his head down, and I angled my face up; our breath mingling and our lips hovering on the edge of touching. Our arms wound through the bars—thankfully slim bars—holding each other loosely. Our auras flared around us.
“Just try to relax and blend your energy with mine,” Cyprian said. “I will take from you, but just a taste. You must allow it, se esaria.”
I nodded and immediately felt his touch on my aura. Lust tried to bend my back; only Cyprian's strong hands kept me upright.
“That's it; that's all I'm taking,” he said breathlessly. “Now, try to take from me. Just touch my passion and pull it toward you.”
Cyprian gasped as I coerced the blood red of lust in his aura to come to me. I didn't think I could take energy from it, but I could definitely manipulate it into touching my aura. It resulted in me magnifying it as well, and I wondered just how similar I was to a faulin.
“There. Yes.” Cyprian jerked forward; his erection pressing against me through the bars.
I let go. Cyprian's lust snapped back into place, and he took a steadying breath.
“One step down.” He smiled gently but a bit unsteadily at me. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“May I kiss you now, se esaria?”
“Yes.”
The end of my consent was spoken against his lips. Cyprian hadn't hesitated a moment. Wet warmth bled through me and turned my legs to water the very instant our skin touched. His tongue was hot and spiced with something dark, smoky, and sharp as if he produced his own liquor. I drank it from his lips; coerced him into my mouth eagerly. His body pressed fully against mine; the hard lines of the bars between us contrasting sharply with flesh. I moaned and pulled him closer. This was beyond lust; it was sacred. I could feel his soul in that kiss. It was nearly enough to make me believe in Gods.
Colors burst in my mind; splashes of every shade and hue. Crimson, amethyst, sunshine, ivy, cerulean, maroon, snow, soot, sin-black; it went on and on. They were all there; rolling between us and tangling with our tongues. I ground myself against his erection and moaned for more. Shivering need coursed through me; making me cling to Cyprian and stroke him alternatively. I'd say I was mindless but that's the opposite of what I was. I was mindful, but only of Cyprian; sharply aware of everything about him and learning more every second. Cyprian moved savagely against me; wild, passionate, deep-throated sounds emerging from him as if torn against his will. I can't even describe the sounds I was making.
And then a blast of power shot through us both and sent us reeling to the ground.
I lay there panting, on my side on the stone floor. Cyprian mirrored me; his hand flat before him on the ground and his gaze locked on mine. I slid my palm across the floor until our fingertips touched, and we both jerked. Cyprian pulled away with a hiss.
“Don't touch me, se esaria,” Cyprian moaned. “It will shatter my control.”
“Cyprian,” I whispered with need. “I feel...”
Malik's mark flared hot on my neck and merged with the tide of lust inside me. I cried out and rubbed my hands over my body. Faintly, I heard Cyprian trying to talk me down; chattering on about war and monsters. Luring my mind away from physical love. But I was drowning in a sea of pleasure; the slick heat of lapping waves tickling against my nerve endings. The chill of stone hit my skin, and I looked down with surprise to see my naked, writhing body. When had I removed my clothes?
“Amara! Stop!” Cyprian cried. “I'm so sorry; I didn't know it would affect you like this. You must concentrate on my voice; this is only the rush of the Fusion. It will fade, se esaria. You only need to ride it out.”
“Ride it out,” I purred as my hand sank between my legs. “I can do that.”
Cyprian groaned; his gaze fixed to my sliding fingers. He murmured something in Faulin; a plea for strength.
“Cyprian,” I moaned as I moved closer to the bars. “Touch me.” I reached for him; rubbed the bulge between his legs wantonly. “Let me touch you.”
“No!” Cyprian grabbed my wrist and pushed me back. “You must control yourself, Amara!”
I cried; literally wept with my need for him.
“Se esaria,” he cried brokenly. “You will never forgive me if I touch you like this. Please; let me help you through it instead. Just listen to my voice.”
“Cyprian,” I moaned.
“You're too far gone to come back without release.” His eyes glittered with desire. “Fuck! You're destroying my control. You undo me, se esaria.” Cyprian undid his jeans and pulled out his long, hard cock. His elegant hand started stroking the pale shaft and his body shivered. “We will do this together then. Together but apart.”
“No.” I reached for him.
“Stop or I will back away,” he warned me grimly.
I cried out with frustration.
“Touch yourself, se esaria,” he purred. “Imagine it's me. Come here. Come to me.”
I crawled over to the bars eagerly.
“Face away from me; get on your hands and knees,” his voice was like melted honey butter; dripping all over me. Hot and sweet and decadent and just waiting for someone to lick it off. “Lay your face on that cool stone and lift your ass to me.”
I did it without hesitation. Heat and then pain twinged my neck, but I ignored it. My hands went between my legs and rubbed frantically. I felt Cyprian's hands on my ass; pushing my thighs apart until I was in a position to receive him. I licked my lips with anticipation; my whole body was tight with wanting.
“Feel me rubbing your sex,” Cyprian went on as his hands drew away. “Imagine your hands are mine.” I heard the wet sound of flesh on flesh and glanced back to see him stroking himself. “Don't look at me. Close your eyes
and concentrate on feeling. Good. Now, slip your finger inside yourself. Thrust it deep, se esaria. Add another. That glorious friction is my cock inside you; filling you. Do you feel me?”
“Yes!” I cried as I pumped my fingers inside myself.
“I'm drawing myself out of you slowly,” Cyprian commanded my fingers to follow his instruction. “The head of my dick is thick against your opening; I rub it in circles. I spread your passion up to your ass. I rub my thumb there while I thrust the swollen head of my cock inside your slick, pink entrance again. Your pussy pulls me in and tightens around me. It's fucking glorious,” he panted. “I've wanted this for so long, se esaria. Have you? Have you fantasized about me thrusting into you? Have you imagined my mouth on yours or on your delicious pussy? My tongue licking you eagerly until you drip with desire for me; wet enough that my hard cock slips inside you with one thrust. Do you want that, se esaria?”
I moaned instead of answering.
“You do want it, and you have fantasized about me,” he said confidently. “You've wanted me here, between your silky thighs, and I'm going to give you exactly what you want. Exactly what you need. Feel the thick, throbbing length of me surge inside you. Feel my cock pulse with my heartbeat. How you make my heart race with excitement, se esaria. It pounds like my hips that hit your ass violently. Feel it now; our full, flushed flesh coming together. Do you hear it; the slapping sound of our sex?”
The sound of him working his cock and of me thrusting into myself morphed into that of his hips hitting my ass and my body accepting him. I felt hypnotized. My mind was believing Cyprian; translating everything he said into images and then making those images real. I could feel him behind me; his hands on my ass and his shaft thrusting deeply into my sex. I knew it wasn't real, but I was still lost to the fantasy. I moaned and worked my fingers deeper.
“I flick my fingers over your nipples,” Cyprian went on mercilessly. “Those hard, rosy buds. I'll put my mouth over them one day, se esaria. I'll take my time licking and sucking them; nibbling them with my teeth. I'll gladly spend an afternoon leisurely plunging into you as I tongue those beautiful tits. Maybe I'll even close your breasts over my cock and fuck them. But for now, I simply rub them. I'm teasing your delicious nipples.”
I ground my breasts against the stone; feeling his hands on me instead.
“I pull out again,” Cyprian said sharply; his breath hitching. “I need to taste you. I bury my face between your thighs; your ass spreading around me. My tongue laps at your sex. You taste like heaven. I suck you harder. Roll your engorged little jewel between my lips. I thrust my tongue inside you. I thrust my fingers inside you. You're dripping all over me, and I love it. Then I pull back suddenly and thrust my cock inside you as far as you will take it.” Cyprian made a strained sound. “Are you close, se esaria? Will you come for me? Come with me?”
“Yes! Fuck, Cyprian, I'm... there.” I screamed out as he groaned; my hand drenched as I trembled through the rapture of my release.
“Amaranthine,” Cyprian groaned.
Something hot and wet fell across my ass; searing me. I screamed with another rush of pleasure and fell forward; flat on my belly. My body started to convulse; the ribbons of heat on my skin sinking in and creeping upward. Pure life filled my blood; my entire body. A jolt of electricity ran down from my neck and set that life-force to sparkling. My limbs thrummed against the floor as Cyprian shouted my name.
The magic of Danu opened to me then and sucked me in whole. I tumbled into that glittering chasm and my body became utterly insignificant. I faintly heard Cyprian cry out and then felt him falling with me. Somewhere nearby but just out of reach, a third energy was pulled down with us. A flash of horns and dark amethyst eyes. It drew closer and closer, as did Cyprian, until I couldn't tell any of us apart.
Light blinded me, and I knew no more.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I sighed as I blinked my eyes open. I was lying face-down on a stone floor. I was naked. I should have felt cold and embarrassed, but there was this delicious power radiating through me. Tingling sparks surged in my veins. The glaring auras of the world around me flared and then dulled into a level I could tolerate. It was all done in seconds; my body automatically finding harmony. I could feel Cyprian nearby; within touching distance. Much further away, there was Malik. He was awakening with me. I sent him a reassuring pulse, and the mark on my neck responded with love and relief. Then I turned to face Cyprian.
Cyprian laid on his side; his eyes half-open. Their startling green was softer in the morning light. His shirt was unbuttoned and his pants were open like a blossoming flower with the pale shaft of his sex laying between the petals. His gaze drifted over me as languidly as mine did him.
“Good morning, se esaria,” he murmured roughly.
My vision drew back to see the vivid pulse of his aura hovering around him like a protective mist. It sparkled with power like a Danutian asha and when I looked down at myself, I saw that my own aura was glittering like a jewel. Was Malik's like this as well? My mind reeled through the strange occurrences of the night before.
“Did we... was that supposed to happen?” I sat up and absently started pulling on my clothes.
Cyprian slid himself into his pants and sat up to face me. “No. You weren't able to control the passion as a faulin woman would have. I'm sorry, Amara; I didn't foresee that. I hope you don't think I did this to take advantage of you.”
“Cyprian, I don't blame you for what happened. You held back with amazing constraint despite my...” I blushed and looked away. “You held back. I appreciate that.”
“I knew you would never forgive me if I didn't,” he whispered. “And that, I could not abide.”
“Thank you, but I wasn't asking about the... intimacies,” I went on; steadfastly ignoring his warm words. “I meant afterward; was that part of the Fusion. The light. The...”
“Magic,” Cyprian whispered. “No; that wasn't a normal Fusion. I think it was Danu. Somehow, we attracted the attention of the realm.”
“What did it do to us?” I asked as I moved closer to him.
“I don't know, se esaria, but I feel fucking amazing.” Cyprian smiled.
“I do as well.” I smiled back. Then I scowled. “I felt Malik there too.”
Cyprian pursed his lips and nodded. “I figured that was him. Although, I have no idea how he managed to join us.”
“He marked me the other day.” I looked away from Cyprian's widened gaze. “It's a long story. The short of it is that it was an accident, but we're not upset by it. At least, he's not.”
“But you are?” Cyprian asked softly.
“I'm not sure,” I amended. “It happened quickly. It was mostly my fault. I don't know...” I trailed off.
“We're lucky it didn't interfere with the Fusion,” he said gently. “You should have told me.”
“I didn't think it mattered since we were leaving it unfinished.”
“That's probably what saved us.” He nodded. “But it may have done other unexpected things.”
“Like what?”
“I don't know.” Cyprian shrugged. “We will have to see what happens, I suppose. But first things first. We must test our new abilities and plan our attack.”
I nodded; talk of strange magic and bindings could wait until after we were free.
“What should we do first?”
“We teach each other how to use our old talents and see if that helps to spark the new,” Cyprian said simply. “I believe it should, but I also think there will be a few surprises.”
“Let's hope they're good ones,” I said grimly.
“Oh, se esaria, I have a feeling that they will be both very good and very bad indeed.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“We need to be completely honest with each other if this is going to work,” Cyprian said.
We were sitting cross-legged before each other; nearly touching the metal bars so we could get as close as possible. Cyprian had bra
ided his hair loosely down his back; looking calm and dangerously handsome. Since I'd woken that morning, my attraction to him had been growing by alarming leaps and bounds. I was trying my best to ignore it. The aching heat of anxiety in my neck helped. As much as my new connection to Cyprian affected me, my bond to Malik had also intensified, and I could feel him more acutely than before. I could interpret every sensation coming through his mark. Currently, in addition to being anxious, he was also frustrated and furious. But as much as I wanted to concentrate on Mal and try to reassure him, I needed to focus on Cyprian if I wanted to make it out of Danu alive. So, I pushed away the pulse in the back of my neck determinedly.
