She worked her jaw to ease some of the ache. Before she could say a word, he had mounted and she was secured before him.
"Who are you?"
He looked down at her, the molten glitter of his strange eyes pinning her like a bird caught in the sites of a hunter.
"I serve at my lord Duarte's command."
She gasped. "You're from the Northern Shore? But I thought you weren't due for another week."
She saw the shadow of a hard smile split the hard lines of his face. "My lord has heard of your headstrong ways. It was his intention to offer you protection in case something like this happened. It appears he was correct in his assumption."
"I didn't plan this," she said mutinously.
"Nevertheless, it happened."
"Where are you taking me?"
"To safety. To where the underlord would not dare trespass."
"But my father--"
"You may send him a message when we have passed into the borders of my lord's kingdom."
And then she burst into tears, sobbing like she never had before. She was embarrassed, but she couldn't stop. She gripped the material draping his breast plate and buried her face against the unyielding metal. His arms gripped her tighter.
It was the last straw. Not to be able to bid her father nor her brother one last good-bye was the last terrible bitterness to this nightmarish act.
He let her cry, holding her within a protective embrace as they galloped through the night. When finally it was over, she had no strength left, and all she could do was hold on.
"It is best this way," he finally said quietly. "Kadin will have no time to regroup and prepare for another attack. He will not get you. I have sent one of my men to your father with the news of your rescue. He will see to the closure of the new underworld gate."
She sniffed loudly. "But I didn't get to say good-bye. And they'll worry."
"They would worry more if you were still in the hands of Kadin." He reached up to press her head against his chest. "Rest now. Our journey is long. I would allow a respite, but we can't take the chance. You will need your strength, Eli-ah."
"Eli-ah? My name is Elita."
"Yes, I know. Now rest."
Chapter 5
* * *
Five days later she awoke in a place strange to her. The air was different here than in the desert kingdom. A moistness to the atmosphere. Profuse greenery, winding vines, flowering plants in colors of yellow, purple, and vivid blue, twined and decorated every corner of the spacious, airy room.
The bed she lay in was circular and the mattress soft, conforming to every curve of her body. The sheets were pale blue satin, the coverlet royal blue velvet. She ran a hand across the luxurious material.
The warrior who had saved her from Kadin's minion had turned her over to another protector when morning broke after that vicious night with the hoard. She was provided with fresh clothing--a pair of cast-off pants and a loose shirt--and a horse of her own. She did not see her savior again during the four-day, fast-paced journey to the Northern Shore boundaries, and she wondered what happened to him. She wanted to know more about this new home. She had been so exhausted when she arrived the night before, she had allowed the women to lead her blindly to this bed and had toppled off to sleep immediately.
Elita now realized she was naked beneath the sensuous bedding and wondered what happened to her clothing. She didn't remember removing the garments the night before, but then she didn't remember much of anything and had blindly followed where she was led.
That might account for her ready acceptance upon entering this strange house. She'd been too tired to ask questions and so relieved to finally reach their destination. But today was a different matter entirely. Today she had more questions than she could possibly count. And a firmly awake curiosity to have them answered.
A warm breeze feathered the gauzy white curtains surrounding the room. It was almost as though she was resting in the open air without walls. She rose from the bed, wrapped a sheet around her, walked toward one of the walls, and found to her surprise there were none--it was open air, the roof supported by white columns. She brushed back the delicate material that felt like ethereal clouds, reached out, and was shocked by the lack of substance.
She peeked outside and her gaze widened when she saw there was a terrace of blinding white stone tiles. As she looked closer at the tiles, she realized that at intervals over the surface there were scenes depicted of men and women in intimate displays, much like those displayed on Sirene. As before, her face warmed as she realized the content of the images beneath her feet. And then she felt an ache as she wondered if she would ever see the sword gift again, or her brother. She tried not to focus on her loss.
Quickly, she looked up and her breath was taken away as her searching gaze encountered a pool of majestic proportions which looked like it was tiled in turquoise and black, giving the water a surreal vibrant blue color. At the far end was a fountain of intertwined bodies that spurted glistening plumes of water. The terrace was enclosed with a high privacy wall of mortared tiny white stone. Inset every two feet or so were niches containing statues that spouted water soaring high into the air at regular intervals.
Elita slowly stepped out of the bedroom and moved to the black mountain lava steps leading up to the pool. She didn't think she'd ever seen so much water, not even in the desert oasis. It was always rationed so carefully.
She padded across the landing to the closest wall and realized the white mosaic was tiled in intricate scenes in pink from the ocean. Dolphins rising high about the surf, starfish scattered into the sky, other water species she did not recognize. It was all so foreign to her.
She heard a splash behind her and whirled around, almost tripping over the hem of the sheet. Her gaze widened when she saw the warrior who rescued her standing there, water sluicing down his body. His very huge, naked body.
He cocked his head as he studied her, apparently unembarrassed by his nudity. She clutched the sheet tighter.
"Are you trying to imitate a fish?"
She snapped her jaw closed and jutted her chin. "Don't you think you should put some clothes on?"
His eyes glittered and again she realized the strange color. Strange, yet she couldn't quite decide exactly what color they were. She was too far away. And the one time she had been close enough, she'd had other things on her mind and his face had been shadowed to some extent by his silver helmet and visor, and the night.
"Does my nakedness embarrass you, Elita?" He turned, offering a full frontal view of his body, and she tried to avert her eyes from perusing a mature male's bare physique for the first time in her life. It was a moment when she wished she were more skilled, more worldly.
"Where am I exactly?" She tried to skirt the question.
"You are within the borders of the Northern Shore under the protection of Lord Guardian Raoul Duarte. Kadin can no longer pose a threat to you here. Your father has been advised of your safe arrival."
Her father. A pang of regret swept through her. "I didn't get to say good-bye."
"There was no time. We slowed the hoard down, but we had to keep to the hard pace in order to outdistance and get out of the desert."
"You didn't kill them?"
"No, only salt water can do that. We were too far away. There is only one gate within our borders for the underworld to pass through. In the desert, there are many. They apparently found an unguarded passage, one your father missed. But he now understands and will, I expect, send out a contingent to ferret out the vulnerability. But at least Kadin did not succeed in his plan."
"You mean to kidnap me."
"Yes. You are safe here. We are surrounded by a moat of salt water which they cannot penetrate."
"Is that the only way to kill them?"
"Didn't you realize that's why this treaty with your father is so important to him? My Lord Duarte holds the key to keeping Kadin in line."
Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed once again and out o
f her element.
"What am I doing here and where is my esteemed match?"
He slowly walked toward her and her attention was diverted to the rigid length of cock that bobbed between his legs. Her gaze widened and she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. She'd never seen anything like it before.
"You are not familiar with a male's body, are you?"
She ripped her eyes away from the steely length of deep blue flesh that seemed to be dotted with white specks all over its surface, to look up at him.
"I-I--" She licked her lips. "No. I've never seen an adult male's naked body before."
"And mine is very different from males of your society, isn't it? And not just in color."
"Well, yes, I guess so. But I can't be certain, now can I?" she answered peevishly. She didn't like being in this position, so far out of her element.
She was shocked when he fisted his penis and the bulging, slitted head was pointed directly at her.
"Touch it," he suggested.
She reared back and found herself plastered against the wall. "No, I couldn't."
"Are you afraid, Elita Watende? I had heard you were not so timid."
She stiffened her spine and glared at him. Afraid indeed. She wasn't afraid of anything. Certainly not any part of a male's body.
Tentatively she reached forward and touched the wet slit with her fingertip.
"Stroke it. Feel its texture. Learn it."
Once started, she couldn't stop. It was so different from her own flesh. It was hot and hard, yet the skin was silky smooth. She ran her fingers along the length and was surprised that the white spots were actually small, bumpy nubs along the surface. She couldn't seem to stop touching him. With one hand she clutched the sheet and with the other she learned this most intimate part of a man's anatomy.
She jumped when she felt his hand peel her fingers from around the sheet and it dropped to the ground at her feet. She gasped when he touched her breast lightly, his fingers teasing the hardened bud of her nipple. Unfamiliar pleasure swept through her body, tightening her abdomen, and flooding her pussy with her juices. His penis grew larger and hotter as she continued to touch him, the nubs more pronounced.
"Your first lesson in the teachings of Amak."
She released the hard, silky shaft and gazed up at him, odd feelings coursing through her. "What?" Her body felt flushed and needy somehow.
"You are here to learn the ways of intercourse. How to achieve pleasure for your lord and yourself."
Like being struck with a bucket of cold water, she returned to reality. The coming ceremony of intercourse, of course. "Who are you?"
His strange eyes seemed to pierce through her. "You may call me Teacher."
Something inside her breast somersaulted. He was to be her teacher in matters of intimacy? From what she had seen, he was a warrior. How could he also be a teacher of Amak?
And where was her future matchmate?
Chapter 6
* * *
"Good morning, Teacher," Elita said as she walked out onto the tiled terrace surrounding the pool. The gauzy caftan she wore did little to hide her nakedness, but after a week in this place, the exposure no longer made her uncomfortable.
Teacher had a habit of swimming in the pool each morning as daylight broke. Upon arising Elita knew she would find him here. As of yet, since that first day when he had told her to touch him, he'd not come that close to her again. She wondered what his role was and why she was actually here. And when she would meet her intended.
She dropped cross-legged to the ground and watched him as he whipped back and forth the length of the pool, in long, clean strokes. Most of the time he circuited underwater, never surfacing. There were long stretches that convinced her that he could breathe beneath the water, and she found the idea intriguing.
One of the servants brought out a tray of succulent fruit and a glass of juice made from several of the vegetables that were native to this region. The drink revived Elita and she looked forward to it each morning.
She was becoming used to the climate of the Northern Shore, but there were moments when she longed for the dry, desert heat. And she missed her father. And Zane. She missed her lessons, the feel of a sword in her hand, and the freedom she had in the desert.
But she also remembered the underworld minions and knew her freedom had come to an end. She had been too close to inciting a world battle, she shuddered to think about it.
Her attention was averted as Teacher rose out of the water. Again, she admired his physique and the deep blue of his skin.
Somehow she'd expected a more devout, spiritual sort of man to be her teacher in the arts of Amak. But this man was a warrior, honed as one, a leashed strength in everything about him. She watched him as he walked over to a chair and picked up a white caftan and slung it over his large, wet body. The material clung to him, outlining every lean contour of his body as he came toward her. He dropped down beside her and picked up the other glass and downed the contents quickly. Then he picked up a round, red appelard and bit into it.
"You should try the water. It is very invigorating. Why is it you never swim?"
She looked up at the sky, watching the huge sun as it slowly rose. "There's not a lot of use for swimming in the desert."
He placed a hand beneath her jaw and forced her to look at him. His gaze penetrated her. "You don't know how to swim, do you?"
She hesitated for a moment, not wanting him to know the truth. Then she tugged away from his hold. "As I said, there's no real use for it in the desert."
Smoothly, he rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. "Well, I think it's time to remedy that situation. Come with me." He pulled off his caftan and dove into the water. Then he turned to look up at her. "Well, come on. Are you afraid?"
Damn, he knew what buttons to push with her. She tore off the caftan and walked to the edge, looking down into the water. It didn't look too deep right here. She dipped a toe in, feeling the cool water suck at her digit. And then she found two strong hands gripping her thighs and she was airborne and plunging into the cool depths. She gasped at the sudden impact, sucked in a breath just before she sank beneath the surface, paddling frantically, trying to reach the surface, to be able to breathe.
The hands that had pulled her in, fastened onto her waist and hauled her up against him and then her head was breaking the surface and she gulped for air.
"Was that necessary?" she asked.
He grinned at her as he pulled her along in the water, moving swiftly. "Don't tighten up, just trust me. I won't let you drown. The water is a part of who we are and you must learn to trust it as well. Don't fight the elements or they will win. They are much stronger than you or I will ever be. Make yourself one with your new environment."
She tried to consciously relax in his arms as he moved through the water, seemingly tirelessly as they lapped the pool time and time again.
"One day Duarte will take you into the ocean and carry you farther than you have ever been before, and you will see and experience the beauty and breadth of the sea and all its inhabitants."
As he talked, Elita felt herself begin to relax, to trust him, to listen to his deep voice. She opened her eyes when he stopped swimming and tread water.
"Lean back and stretch your legs out. Don't fight it. The water only wants to caress your skin, to carry you, to woo you in its embrace. Right now it is a bed that will not let you drop, that will comfort you and protect you from harm. Can you believe what I tell you?"
Teacher's hands supported her as she did as he said. Her gaze was on the deep blue sky, the billowy, white clouds moving across the jewel blue vista. And she felt like she was weightless, floating without a body, and it felt wonderful.
She felt the cool breeze sift across her wet nipples, felt them tighten into hard nubs. The presence of Teacher's hands left her and she floated, her mind drifted in a haze of peaceful surrender. She knew he was beside her as she allowed the water to maneuver her.
&n
bsp; "Relax," he said in that soothing voice. He touched her legs, stroked along her thighs and then separated her legs and stepped between them.
Suddenly, she felt very vulnerable and exposed as he moved between her outstretched thighs, pressing himself to her intimate core.
"There are four types of love written down in the ancient texts. We have begun the lessons of the first."
He rubbed his body against her cunt, his fingers kneading at her sensitive inner thighs. Her breaths grew faster and it was no longer strictly the water she felt, but the heat of something curling and building inside her.
"What is the first teaching?" she managed to ask, her gaze still fastened on the sky, arms outstretched. She felt weightless as she watched the clouds moving above her, yet the feel of him against her pussy was intense, magnified somehow.
"Pleasure acquired through constant practice and habit. You are no longer embarrassed by revealing your body to me." She realized it was true. It had become almost habit seeing him naked, wearing the diaphanous caftans.
"No, I guess I'm not." His fingers traced the sensitive crease of her legs and she felt him feather through the curls of her mound.
"Your body is beautiful, each bit of it will please my lord. Consciousness of your nakedness caused you to tighten and the fluidity of your lovely body and your soul became stilted. That ease of motion has returned and when you move it is like watching the morning dove take flight."
Something was happening to her. A warmth like liquid sunlight was passing through her, warming her, and she found herself relaxing into the embrace of the water and of the man touching her.
As they moved through the water, she felt the heat of the sun on her exposed, sensitive breasts and the thick fingers of the man as he peeled back the outer folds of her labia lips, exposing her more fully. And the water constantly lapping at her body.
Azurene: Divine Seduction Page 3
