Damn. That’s good.
Wulf rubbed his right cheek from the base of Alitus’ shaft up along the length of it. The movement took his breath away. It was so gentle, so giving, so full of adoration…
“Mmm.” Wulf nuzzled down his length and buried his nose against his base. His hot breath made the hair on Alitus’ thighs stand up straight. “You smell so good. Like peaches.”
“Pheromones,” Alitus got out.
“No wonder people get addicted to you.” He inhaled. “Damn I could spend the night doing this with you and never get tired of it.” His brown-eyed gaze lifted with tenderness. “I want to take away your fear, Alitus. Let me do that for you.”
He nodded once.
Wulf rested his arms on the seat on either side of Alitus’ thighs and bent over the rigid cock. He licked the entire underside before moving to the tip. Circling with his tongue, he lapped up the pearly liquid at the opening. That wonderful tongue flattened to stroke the entire head with firm, unrelenting strokes.
Destoiya worshiped his cock, but she had never made it feel like this. Not this gentle.So this is what making love feels like. It was never like this with the Conqueror.Damn, damn, damn, that’s hot.
Wulf widened his mouth only enough to let the crown inside before pulling back and then forward once more. Alitus trembled beneath his touch. Head thrown back against the seat, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Again and again Wulf stroked and licked him before finally taking the cock all the way into his mouth.
Like fucking wet fire.Alitus opened his eyes, amazed at the sight before him. Big brown eyes gazed back at him around a mouth full of cock. Tender, sweet, Wulf ran his tongue back and forth across the base, bobbing his head to cover the entire shaft.
“Oh, shit.” Alitus clenched his ass and stroked up into that hot, wet mouth. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.”
Wulf reached back and gripped his ass, pulling him closer as he rose and fell over Alitus’ shaft.
Destoiya always cursed during sex; now he understood why. He’d never had sex like this. Never had sex so hot he burned with it. This went beyond anything he’d experienced in bed with Destoiya or Erryq. He pushed his legs wider apart and set one hand in Wulf’s dark hair.
Nuzzling, licking, sucking, Wulf pleasured him without cessation, taking him to the very peak within moments.
Alitus thrashed as he came, out of control, bucking and screaming Wulf’s name.
* * * *
TarthCity, Di Lusso District
NizamrakBuilding, Penthouse “The Loft”
Erryq sat behind Rheyn and Saint-Cyr, curled up in an oversized chair as the three of them watched Wulf pleasure Alitus. “Well,” she said, once Alitus came, “I don’t think he’s scared of boys any more. I’ll let Pietas know he passed the test.”
Saint-Cyr thrust himself out of the chair and stalked toward the bar, where he picked up a large drinking glass and a bottle of whiskey. As if weighing them, he lifted the glass tumbler in one hand and then the bottle in the other. Setting the glass down, he tilted the bottle straight up and drank.
Rheyn pulled her legs up into the chair, wrapped her arms around them, hid her face and cried.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luc Saint-Cyr’s hoversine
Sumertsag 51, after midnight
Alitus lay back against the seat, panting, his heart thumping so hard he could see his shirt move on his chest. “Oh, damn.”
Wulf wiped his mouth as he looked up. “You ok?”
He nodded, too winded to speak. He sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, damn. I had no idea.”
“You mean that manlove could be so good?” He winked. “Think what you’ve been missing.” Wulf moved to the seat beside him.
“Hell, yeah.” He rolled his head toward Wulf. “Does Saint-Cyr make you service other guys all the time?”
“No way. He hates it, but he lets me do whatever I want. He likes to watch, though.”
Alitus tucked himself away. “You like that?”
“Yeah.” Wulf rubbed his chin. “It’s a great power rush, having him inside my head, watching me do some guy.”
“You mean, he watches from somewhere else?”
Wulf stared at his mouth. “You have a beautiful mouth, you know that?”
He shook his head, laughed. “And you’re full of shit.”
“No way, man. It’s truth.” Wulf kept staring at him as if Alitus was candy and Wulf was a hungry boy. “I really wanna kiss you.”
Alitus took in Wulf’s warm brown eyes and full lips. “So what are you waiting for?”
Wulf grinned as he angled himself for another kiss. Alitus opened his mouth, accepting Wulf’s demanding tongue. He tasted like peaches, apricots, and a little salt.
“Mmm.” Alitus stretched, arching his back to put himself deeper into Wulf’s arms. When the kiss ended, he brushed Wulf’s hair back from his eyes. “So, is that what I taste like?”
“You taste good, man. I love it.” Wulf leaned in for more.
Alitus lay back, allowing the kiss to go on, enjoying the way Wulf handled him, so different from Destoiya. It felt as though they’d always been lovers. As if Wulf knew exactly where to touch, where to stroke and lick.
When Wulf broke off the kiss, Alitus remained in his embrace, their heads together.
Wulf drew his hand along Alitus’ jaw. “Can you hear me?” he whispered. “Shh. Blink once if you can.”
Alitus blinked.
Wulf pressed a kiss against his mouth. “This car is bugged. They can hear and see everything we do.”
Alitus made a small sound of distress. “Then they…”
“Shh.” Wulf nodded once, kissed him again.
People had referred to Alitus as the Conqueror’s puppet. He’d never felt like one until now. Would he spend the rest of his life like this? Holding Wulf close to him, he fought the sting of tears so close to falling. For no reason would he let Destoiya see any shred of regret. When he could control his voice, he whispered, “Thank you for telling me.”
“I feel guilty as hell for not saying something sooner.”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger against Wulf’s lips. “Don’t. You were only doing your duty.”
Wulf ran a hand back through his hair. “I’m sorry, Alitus, I…”
“No. No apology. I mean it.” He pressed his fingers more firmly against Wulf’s lips. The man’s pale-brown eyes were half hidden by his dark lashes. “Look at me, Wulf.” When he did, Alitus kissed him. “Don’t be sorry. You did what you had to do, the same way I would have.”
Alitus reached into an inside pocket and withdrew a business chip, which he pressed into Wulf’s hand between them on the seat. He prayed no one noticed. “A friend of mine is giving an art show in a few weeks. Her Majesty is sponsoring it. I’ll be there. I’d—like us to be friends.” He shared a long silence with Wulf, each of them gazing deep into the other’s eyes. “I’ll need someone to show me what a Chosen should and shouldn’t do.”
Wulf tucked it into a pocket. “I’ll be there.”
Alitus sat up straighter, adjusting his clothes.
Wulf returned to his own seat and called the driver. “You can take us to the palace now.” They rode the rest of the way in silence, their eyes sharing what their voices could never speak.
* * * *
C-1, Saint-Cyr’s private vessel
Sumertsag 66
The massive secrecy required to move the Conqueror off planet without alerting the news media sucked up nearly all of his time. Alitus completed the preparations without incident and still found time to train Rudolf Brakovsky in the basics of his duties. Rudy would cover for him two hours every day and fill in at several public functions that merely required Alitus’ presence.
Today, the Jade would have the whole day off and Alitus would see Wulf again. That thought brought a swift smile he made no attempt to hide.
Since the law now required Betters travel separately from normals, Alitus and the three other Betters
on the Conqueror’s staff came aboard Saint-Cyr’s ship together.
Pheromones of one Better didn’t affect another, but they could kill normals.Do they not see what a dangerous thing putting Betters together could be? He kept his thoughts to himself; the other Betters on board said little to him.Just as well. They thought these were secret peace talks. Instead, it was the ceremony that would bind Alitus and his descendants to Destoiya for all time.
The irony of such a vow brought tears to his eyes. Three years before his parents had been killed, the law demanded all Betters must be sterilized. Alitus would never sire a child.
Her Majesty would be wearing her formal military uniform and sash, with full epaulettes and gold braid. Wulf had recommended his favorite tailor and since it was such short notice, Alitus accepted.
Icia Teoh had decked him out in black and silver like Destoiya. The pants left nothing to the imagination, skin tight and cut to reveal all his assets. A stark-white shirt topped it, wrapped with a simple, black leather belt. On top he wore a sleeveless black tunic that covered only his upper back and chest, the sides floor length. Silver trimmed the stiff, upright collar and all the edges. Since he did not have to wear a veil for the actual ceremony, he cropped the front of his hair short but decided to let the rest grow out. If Her Majesty wanted it long, it was vanity for him to cut it.
When he met with her prior to the ceremony to go over last minute details, she pulled him into her arms and held him close, rocking side to side as they kissed.
“I’ve missed you, Alitus.” Destoiya tunneled her fingers into his hair and held him as she slanted her mouth across his once more.
The heat of her kiss made his shaft thicken and lift. He pressed his body against hers. When they broke apart, both panted.
“Oh, Alitus.” Destoiya placed small kisses across his lips and chin. “I’ve been wanting to hold you.” She moved him back against the wall and braced a hand on either side of his head, her breasts firm against his chest.
He melted into her kiss, giving and accepting passion from this astonishing woman.
Destoiya pulled back and focused on his lips, trailing her fingers along his mouth. “In a few minutes, my love, you’ll be mine forever. Please…” She lifted her eyes to his. “Back out now if you have any reservations. It’s not too late.”
“With practically every Sempervian in the galaxy out there waiting?” He shook his head, smiling at her. “I have never had any reservations about serving you. Or loving you. You are my life, Your Majesty.”
She took both his hands in hers and smiled back at him. “I’ve adored you from the moment we met. It wasn’t under the best of conditions, I admit.” Her cheeks darkened. “But I think I fell in love with you right then. You were so young, yet so brave.”
“I was terrified.” He closed his eyes a moment, shuddering. “I owe you my life. They meant to harm me. Probably kill me.”
“Which is why I killed them.” Destoiya stroked her fingers down his cheek. “Alitus, there is so much I want to teach you about my people. So much I want you to learn.”
“Can you tell me about Peril?”
“After the ceremony, that will be one of the first things you learn.”
“I want to know now.” The insistence in his voice surprised even him, but he refused to show it. “Please,” he added.
“With your intel, I’m surprised you don’t already know.”
“I know it’s important to Sempervians, but not what it is or why.”
“How do I begin…?” Destoiya seated herself on a couch and pulled Alitus down next to her. “When we were exiled from Sempervia, the people there—they call themselves the Reborn—put us in a spacecraft they’d stripped of navigational gear and set us adrift. The world we knew was closed to us. Pietas set off to find us a new home.
“For decades, we traveled together, all one hundred of us. We visited new worlds, discovered new people. We thought ourselves invincible. Until humans trapped and burned two of us at the stake. We woke up to a new reality. One in which we could actually die.”
“That must have been horrifying.” Alitus reached out and laid his hand over one of hers.
“It changed everything. Pietas took terrible revenge.” She shivered as if cold, but held up a hand to stop Alitus from assisting her. “Let me get this out. I’ve never told anyone about this. Not even one of myChosen .”
“Go on, then. I’m listening.”
She drew a deep breath. “He destroyed the entire planet. Poisoned every living thing. Man, animal, plant.” She covered her mouth. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she brushed it away with impatient hands. “He wouldn’t listen to reason. There was no stopping him. We’d feared him ourselves for so long, appeased him, placated him … We knew from that moment forward that we served a madman.”
Alitus had felt the death grip of the man’s hands. He understood some measure of their fear. “Where is that world, Rheyn?”
She flicked a glance at him. “It’s Detiza.”
A dead world in our own empire… Scientists had puzzled over it for four centuries.
“We Sempervians age like humans, Alitus. Up to a point. It’s different for each of us. When I reach seventy, I start aging much faster than normal. Within a week, my body shuts down and I die. Generally, it takes about twelve hours for me to revive. Once that happens, I’m like a girl of twenty again.”
“You…” he paused, “You were Destoiya the Great, weren’t you?”
“Yes.” She smiled.
“And Destine Pietan.”
“Right again.” Destoiya took his hands in hers. “No one must ever know.”
“All your secrets are safe with me, my Conqueror.” He bent and kissed her hands. “Luc Saint-Cyr was Cyr de Typhin wasn’t he? One of the founders of the Tarthian Empire.”
She met his eyes. “Yes, love. He was.”
He squeezed her hands, rubbed his thumbs across the backs of them. “Will you give me to the other Sempervians? Like you gave me to Wulf?”
Destoiya cupped a hand around his cheek. “Oh, love, I’m so sorry I had to put you through that. I wish…” She broke eye contact, lowered her hand. “I will not give you to anyone. Now that you’re myChosen , no one may touch you. We Sempervians may battle one another, but we never touch one of theChosen .”
“Majesty.” Alitus pressed his brow against hers. “I am yours to command. I only wished to know.”
Her silvery gaze swept up to meet his. She leaned in and kissed him. When it ended, she started to rise, but Alitus held her back.
“You haven’t told me about Peril.”
“Oh, hadn’t I?” From her voice, he could tell she was lying; she’d hoped to get away without telling him. “Very well.” She settled herself again. “When you can die twice a century, it can take only a few lifetimes to grow bored with mundane life. Like everything else that has ever gotten me into trouble in my life, I listened to my brother. Pietas envisioned a game, a real-time role-playing game in which each of us lived out forty years—no more—as a character. Each of us had specific goals and abilities and we were assigned partners to play it with. Opposing teams would try to block us. Allied teams could help and neutral teams could help or hinder as they saw fit.
“The idea was to infiltrate normal society and change it from within. We’ve become adept at altering minor things to cause larger changes. The Better laws, for example. They seem like minor details affecting only the few. In truth, they’re designed to push society—more correctly, Tarthian society—to the breaking point.”
Alitus propped a foot on the edge of the couch. “So that’s why you wouldn’t veto the law.”
“Yes.” She toyed with one of her medals, adjusting the way it hung. “Among other things.”
“Does Peril help pass the time? Is that why you play it?”
“It helps a bit.” She trailed one finger down his arm. “But we all cheated so much that it quickly became apparent Pietas needed a way to reinforce the
need for rules.” A smile quirked the edge of her mouth. “A few left us and went to other parts of the galaxy. But those of us who stayed learned to play harder in order to avoid Penance.”
“What is that?”
Destoiya looked him straight in the eye. “Anyone who loses a game of Peril must spend one year in Penance.” She touched a finger to his mouth to prevent questions. “It means one solid year of death at the hands of Pietas. Every single day. In any way he wants to kill you.”
The thought of this woman at that man’s mercy made his blood cold. “How do you bear it?”
Allen, Kayelle - T4 Alitus (2007) Page 16
