by Viola Grace
The gathered grouping went wild while cheers and laughter roared through the room.
Rajon lifted her in his arms and carried her off the dance floor; apparently, their little display was over.
She chuckled and pressed a hand to his chest, spreading her fingers on the breastplate until she could find the placement of his heart. It was thudding under his ribs in a peculiar beat that she thought she could get used to. The metal rang with every throb of his pulse.
Libby heard a rushing sound behind them, and to her surprise, a crowd of guards surrounded them, lifted them both and carried them to the duke’s quarters.
They carried them both into the duke’s bedroom, and to Libby’s shock, they locked them in. Rajon still held her in his arms as they stood in the centre of the room.
“What just happened?”
Rajon set her on her feet and chuckled. “Miexhar tradition. I have spent the last week clearing my calendar so that we may have the traditional three days together.”
Liberty blinked. “Three days?”
He turned her to face him. “It is tradition.”
He leaned in and kissed her, taking her hands and placing them on the shoulders of his breastplate.
She curled her fingers when he ran his tongue along her lips, and the breastplate opened with a click. The back clattered to the floor, and she pulled the front down and tossed it aside, moving toward him until her breasts pressed to his chest.
Under the breastplate, he wore a silk liner in the same brilliant sunset colouration that she was wearing.
He held her head with his palms and concentrated on teasing and arousing her, using his lips and tongue alone.
She ran her hands over his chest and down to the heavy belt around his waist. Her fingers worked, and the gem-studded span sprang loose, allowing her to skim her fingers along the wide waistband of his pleated skirt, seeking the closure.
The jewelled cuffs on her wrists snagged against the heavy silk, and she paused, unsure of what to do next. She sighed and tugged free, smiling against his mouth when the closure of the skirt sprang free.
He pulled away from her. “You are getting ahead of me.”
“I am a woman, I can multitask.” She grinned and moved to shift her newly sensitised skin against the barrier of clothing. The urge to rub against him was intense, and she was not one to ignore instinct.
Rajon gently gripped her arms and pulled her hands down until he was able to pin them behind her back. “What happened to following my lead?”
She grinned. “This isn’t the dance floor.”
He swayed with her and backed her toward the bed, one hand holding her wrists and the other working at the closure of her gown.
He paused with the closure halfway down her side. “Are you upset that I didn’t propose?”
She looked at him and laughed. “I thought that is what the portrait display was all about, as well as the death reading.”
“You know then?”
“I saw you joining your wife in death. I saw her arms around yours and her reflection in your eyes. I recognize me when I see me, Rajon. It is also the same image I saw when I first looked up my own death.”
He blinked. “You sought to know your own death date?”
She chuckled. “Wouldn’t you?”
Rajon stared into her eyes for a moment and then crushed her against him, his mouth pressed to hers as he peeled her out of her gown with the ease of practice.
She was wearing her new jewels and nothing else when he eased her back onto the bed. He stood and shucked his own clothing off in short order, his rigid abs led down to his erection, but there was something odd about it that she couldn’t put her finger on, though she did try.
He pinned her hands over her head and ran a hand along her body, nestling it between her thighs. His wide fingers encouraged her to part her knees, and he slipped his leg between them, holding them open while his fingers stroked her sex.
She moaned, shivered and twisted when he slid a wide, thick finger into her. He worked it in and out, drawing more slick heat from her.
While his finger was working inside her, he leaned down and took the tip of one breast between his lips, suckling hard.
Libby grunted when he switched to the other side, and she clenched her hands into fists when she felt her body surprisingly responding to the sudden pressure. Moisture flowed against his hand between her thighs and he pressed another blunt finger into her.
She groaned and arched against his mouth when his fingers slowly twisted as they moved, widening her. He switched to her left breast and continued to suck, nip and lick her breasts one at a time until the combination of his mouth and fingers had her gasping for air and her heart galloping wildly.
When he withdrew his hand and moved over her, she trembled. The cock he was fitting to her was harder than it should have been. She didn’t have much time to ponder that detail, he thrust into her and she gasped. Her gasp turned to a scream when he continued into her far further than she had imagined he could and something stuck inside her.
She bucked, trying to dislodge him, and he merely dropped onto her, whispering for her to hush, telling her that it would ease in a moment.
He stroked her hair and kissed her tears away.
Her sobs finally ceased when the internal agony faded into something far more pleasurable.
“What was that, Rajon?”
He kissed her cheeks and lips softly. “Do you want a Miexhar anatomy lesson or shall I work at making you forget the pain?”
She lifted her hips cautiously and smiled in relief at the pleasure that took the place of the previous discomfort. “The second one first, and the first one later.”
He smiled and pressed another kiss to her lips. “I do love your talent for organisation.”
She closed her eyes as he pulled out and thrust slowly into her again. There was no trace of the pain that had occurred on his first slide into her.
They slowly began to move together, the gems in his hair gleamed and the necklace scraped the top of her breasts and gave her wrists a comforting weight.
He rocked into her with a steady pace until they were both sweating and breathing rapidly. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips, and he sat up, pulling her hips into his with intense ferocity.
She fought to free her hands, but he seemed to understand her urgency, and he paused in his thrusts to stroke her clit with wildness. She groaned and gasped when he slid an arm behind her to pull her upward, onto his lap. She looped her arms behind his neck and rose and fell on him with his hand helping her keep the pace.
His fingers moved between them, and the stroking on her clit brought her to the edge of release in seconds, sending her over with a harsh gasp.
Her body clasped his, holding him as tight as it was able when she was full to bursting. He thrust into her, hard and fast until his cock flexed inside her and she was swept off in another fierce wave of pleasure that started deep inside her and roared through every cell of her body.
She heard him murmur soft words as she bucked and twitched around him. With gentle care, he placed her on the bed and he curled around her, his chest to her back and the blankets unnecessary. He was warm enough for her.
The pleasure came and went in waves, starting and ending in the zone where the pain had radiated earlier. Libby smiled in exhaustion as she considered the trade of pain and pleasure. She would have to consider it in the future.
Chapter Eight
Her new husband served breakfast to her in bed. “You need to eat something. We will be in here for days.”
“Shoklek brought it in?” She gave him a knowing look as she scooted up to a sitting position in the bed.
“With a dozen of the household guards standing by to make sure that neither one of us makes an escape.”
“Why are they so obsessed with the three days of privacy?”
Rajon wrinkled his nose and sat down as he dropped the tray on her legs. “This gets back to
Miexhar physiology. Once we were more closely related to the Admar, but we joined with the local Miexhar, and they had an adaptation for mating that soon worked its way through the next generation.”
“What is it?”
“We have a mating spine. It remains dormant and can be kept at bay until we meet our mate. A few herbal supplements and it is right and alert for the wedding night.”
“What does it do?”
“Apparently, the Miexhar women were originally difficult to pleasure, so they had this adaptation designed to link two folk together as one and use the pleasure offered as a bridge. Inside you now is a slender and responsive spike that will deliver an orgasm or enhance an existing one until you are completely sated. The trick is that this spike can only be activated by your mate, as it is his tissue inside you.”
“So, I felt a spike…”
“It was a small dart from the shaft of my cock. If you would care to look?”
She was nibbling at her fruit but she nodded. “Sure.”
He went up on his knees and showed her the shaft of his cock and a segment that looked like it was built to contain something. It was semi-rigid even now.
She reached out and ran her fingertip along the skin. It hardened rapidly at her touch, the same rigidity that she remembered from the night before.
Libby inhaled and the heady scent that had filled the room before was now accounted for. She knew her own musk, but this was far different.
“There is a bone inside so that there is always the ability to penetrate a mate. The attachment left within you locks me to you and you to me. Our pleasure is shared the moment one of us feels it.”
She stopped stroking his cock with her fingertip and sat back. “Is that the change to being Miexhar that I had to make?”
“It is.”
She was about to give him a scathing lecture on keeping her informed, but her muscles clenched and she had a vision. She watched the images and whispered to him as she saw the events occur.
“A small town, green chapel, people in the park in family groups. A green vehicle will go out of control and kill three folk in the park. I can’t give you more information than that.” She sat back with a thud and watched as he went to the com and passed the information to Shoklek.
He turned to her. “Good enough”
“You knew where it is?”
“Your use of the term green chapel pinpointed it as Nuklasi. They are having a rest day today in honour of my wedding.”
She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. “So it is my fault.”
“No. Who is the guaranteed death?”
“The pilot of the craft. He had a heart attack and died before the destruction began.”
“How many dead, how many in danger?”
“The pilot is the death and there are thirty-nine people in danger.” She bit her lip.
He was across the room in an instant, speaking to Shoklek on a com hidden behind books in the bookcase.
He rapidly relayed the information and then disconnected the call. Rajon sighed and returned to her side. He crawled back into bed and smiled at her. “Now, where were we?”
She dipped her finger in the cream and sucked it clean. “I don’t remember.”
His eyes darkened, and he pulled her finger from between her lips, pressing his mouth to hers and stealing the treat off her tongue.
She gasped, and he slid the tray to one side, using his lips on her jaw, neck and collarbone.
“I am guessing that breakfast has been delayed.” She threaded her fingers through his hair.
He looked up at her and his red eyes gleamed. “You eat what you like, I have chosen my meal.”
She squeaked when he began to consume her inch by inch.
He reached out and grasped one of the berries, dragged it through the cream and tucked it into her mouth. “Keep your strength up. You will need it.”
Libby blinked and stared down at the top of his head when he turned his attention to her breasts. She shivered and slowly bit down as the flavours burst on her tongue. She still didn’t have a full explanation of what had been done to her, but right now — when his tongue was doing laps around her nipple — she was content to shelve the questions.
It was distracting, trying to eat breakfast while his mouth slowly moved lower, his hands caressed her ribs and hips as he moved between her thighs. She shivered and relaxed as he lifted her knees, planting her feet flat to make room for his shoulders.
Rajon caressed the tiny opening with his fingertips and said with wonder, “It is amazing that I fit.”
She leaned up on her elbows and stared at him. “I had my own doubts last night.”
He looked up, grinned and used his palm to press her flat to the bed. “You are distracting me from my morning snack.”
She was stuck staring at the ceiling while he exhaled on her skin, warming her before he applied his tongue. She arched and hissed while he worked his tongue into her sex and began a slow, stroking lap that made her gasp.
Each inward thrust parted her, and his withdrawal ended with a slow, upward stroke that dragged across her clit with the wide path of his tongue.
She stared at the canopy of the bed and the mural of starlight painted in the centre while he teased and stroked her. Her breath came faster; light moans increased in frequency and intensity as his tongue slithered around and around.
Libby arched and shrieked, reaching for his shoulders and piercing his skin with her nails.
Inside her, another pulse began, hotter and stronger than her own orgasm. She dimly heard a laugh as she shook and twisted on the bedding.
It felt like hours but was obviously only a few minutes. When her head cleared, Rajon was still lying between her thighs, but he was grinning with delight.
“That was fun.” He chuckled and moved up her body until his cock was nudging between her thighs, but he seemed to have no inclination to begin thrusting into her.
“It is an interesting way to describe it. So, what exactly is going on again?”
He eased back and grinned again. “You want the Miexhar mating details right now?”
“Just a few things. Is that dart in me right now?”
He nodded. “It is. Your body was altered to accept it. That was what your time in the tank was about. Your reproductive assembly had to be elongated and a change to your genetics provided the nerve bundle to nest the spine in.”
Libby thought about it, and then, slapped his face without warning. “If you ever do anything like that to me again, I will take the nest of your spine and mount it on the wall.”
He turned his head back to face her. “No one strikes the duke.”
She gave him a grim look. “I just did. You took my humanity so that you could get your groove on. I am a Terran, first and foremost, and now, I am your duchess by your own hand. Damn it, where is my tiara?”
She struggled to sit up, and he pinned her down again.
His lips were twisted in a wry smile. “I know that you are upset and that you will no doubt take it out on my hide in many different ways. Your alteration was necessary as you knew it would be. It was in your contract.”
She blinked back tears. “Fine, but I still want my tiara.”
He rolled and cuddled her against him. To her surprise, he reached under the pillow above his head and produced the tiara. “I thought you might want it handy.”
She was startled into laughing. “You had that ready?”
He winked. “It is either that or I have a bunch of them stashed around the bedroom just in case. You decide.”
The idea made her laugh, and she held her breath while he put the tiara back on her head.
“Thank you.”
“I might not always do what you ask, but I will always try.” Rajon said it solemnly.
She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him, noting the prickle of hair on his chin. She blinked. “You shave?”
He chuckled. “I do. There is a whole morning ritual that goes i
nto making me the stunning creature that sits in the audience chamber.”
“I was wondering how you got those gems in your hair.”
He smiled. “You can help me remove them. They are hell to sleep on.”
It seemed that grooming was their next task. Naked in her jewels, she sat up and he moved to the edge of the bed, shifting the tray of food to one side.
For an hour, she picked gems out of his hair while he undid the myriad braids on her head. She tugged his hair straight with her fingers, and he sighed when she got up to his scalp. She smiled when he ran his fingers through her hair.
“That feels nice.”
“I agree. Now, shall we take a long, hot soak so you can acclimate to your new status and field test that tiara?” He winked and lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bathing room and the enormous tub.
He sat her on a marble bench and ran his hand along the edge of the floor-set bathing pool. Small panels slid back and water poured into the pool from all sides.
“You will have to show me how you do that.”
Rajon chuckled. “Let’s save something for the second day.”
As the water churned around her calves, he pulled her onto his lap and settled her against him.
She snorted. “Is my relative size an issue? It seems you enjoy man handling me.”
He hugged her. “I do enjoy it. Your personality is such that I will take any advantage I can get.”
Liberty sighed. “So, when do I get to remove the jewels? I get the feeling I am going to be stronger just by wearing them.”
He grinned. “You could have removed them last night; I just like seeing you in the marks of our union and nothing else.”
She wanted to punch him, but instead, she took the cuffs and scraped them down his torso. She didn’t even feel the necklace anymore, but she watched him shudder as the gems scraped his skin.
“You are into pain?”
He leaned forward and displayed the marks in his shoulders. “I enjoy it if the motivation is worth it.”
She blushed and settled against him, reaching between them to grasp his cock and stroke it slowly.
