“You are trembling,” Vardra said softly when they were inside, and she gave Thais a reassuring hug. “And you are blessed, for the Creator has left his mark upon your brow.” Vardra took Thais by the hand and tugged her along. “Trust to your heart, Thais, for you’ve nothing to fear here. Look within and know the love that has brought you to this moment.”
“It is not fear of the unknown, Vardra,” she said softly, feeling the wetness of tears upon her cheeks. “It is fear of disappointing. What if Aramis regrets his decision to – “
But Vardra would not let her finish. Instead, she bent to place her face against Thais’ as she shushed her gently.
“Trust to your heart, Thais.” She said again, and this time Thais did. She closed her eyes and in a dizzying rush of images she saw Aramis there, caught glimpses of a lifetime together, and the happiness she saw reflected in his gaze eased her worries immediately.
“Come, the hour grows late, Thais. And do not worry. Remember that I will be here with you throughout. I’ll not leave your side until ask me to, even should you wish me to be with you on your wedding night.” Thais felt a flush stain her cheeks at the thought, and yet there was something about it that brought her both a sense of comfort and arousal, which both shocked and intrigued her. Thais had never felt such stirrings before – women did not lay with women where she had come from – but since being here, she had begun to understand that there was a quiet beauty to the feel of a women’s skin, and longed to know more of the headiness of it.
Not trusting her voice as fresh tears of happiness glistened once more, Thais only smiled and nodded, reaching up to place a warm kiss on Vardra’s cheek.
“Then let us not waste time,” Thais said with more bravado than she felt.
Vardra took her hand and led her down a large, open hallway whose stone floor was covered by a series of plush, red rugs. She felt the wind as it danced and teased around her, could feel the power of Aramis as it flowed and pulsed throughout her center. Her skin prickled and her spirit began to feel light, comforted by his brief touch that had been carried to her on the breeze. Enjoying the increasingly familiar tickle of desire she felt at the thought of him, she relaxed and followed eagerly along as the hallway narrowed, turning so often that she had lost all sense of direction. It was a great shock to her when Vardra at last stepped aside and she saw that they had entered a large chamber that opened up to the night, their only light the moon above that glowed so bright the stars all around were swallowed up by blackness.
It was not an oppressive room by any means, the floors again covered with all manner of rugs, this time in shades of blue and green. At each corner of the room stood a massive marble column, and white silk curtains fluttered and danced in the breeze of massive windows that lined three of the four walls. On each of the curtains was all manner of symbols and drawings, mysterious, sensual and alive, and the smell of lemon and lilac was much stronger here, so much so that for a moment she thought she might be overcome by the tangy sweetness of it.
In the center of the room was a narrow table covered with white leather cushions. The light of the moon overhead seemed as bright as day in this one spot, and it was here that Dominic now waited, kneeling, and her breath caught at the beauty of him.
Unable to speak, she felt herself being led along by Vardra, who helped her up onto the thick leather padding of the table, which was surprisingly warm and soft. She bent and gave Thais a slow, intimate kiss, then eased her down to lie on her stomach. In the night voices continued to come together in chants and song, a soft rustling of sound that delighted her spirit. As they joined their hearts with hers, Dominic began the intricate process of tattooing, whispering quiet words of magic as he worked with practiced strokes to trace the delicate pattern along the small of her back. She barely noticed as the pin pricked and bit at her skin, finding comfort in the heat that soon began to radiate from within as the magic of the night took hold. His hands were firm and familiar as he worked, and she could feel their own bond deepen through the very personal ceremony the three of them now shared.
“It is done,” Dominic said after a time, and she felt his hands ease her into a sitting position. She felt dizzy for a moment but it quickly passed, and she was grateful to feel Dominic holding her safely from behind as Vardra’s face came at last into focus.
“Come, Thais,” she said gently, her words echoing oddly, and Thais felt herself standing and being led along once more, this time with Dominic by her side as well. They took her down a massive set of polished stone steps that led into a sparkling pool of water below. The liquid was clear and cool as her feet found its edges first and she smiled, but as Dominic and Vardra carried her deeper into the water the surface began to churn restlessly. She watched, more fascinated than frightened, then cried out in shocked pain as the water rose up around her and blanketed the freshly tattooed skin, a searing heat biting into her flesh with such intensity that she began to thrash and kick.
On either side of her Dominic and Vardra held her tight, Dominic whispering a quiet prayer while Vardra sang, their calm exterior a maddening contrast to Thais’ struggles as the water licked and bit at her still raw skin. She began to believe they had gone completely mad themselves when she at last understood what was happening, even before an odd calm began to soothe her once more. A cauterizing, of sorts, she realized, finding a moment of rationale’ somewhere within the fog that seemed to shroud her thoughts, a ritualistic scarring that somehow sealed the magic of the high priest’s blessings.
And then she felt a towel being wrapped around her, warm and soft, heavenly comfort as she was lifted and then cradled within strong arms and carried back up the massive column of steps once more. Dominic again, she thought with a smile – comforter, she would call him; bringer of peace.
In the night the island continued to sing, and she could not help but join her voice with its own to give thanks to the Creator of all things for the joy he had brought to her life.
~ VIII ~
The breeze blew gently in from the sea, teasing within the long strands of her hair. She was soft and warm, with lush curves and a soothing spirit, and she laughed lightly as she came back to him from the shore. He found himself smiling as he watched her, and it felt good, her presence a much needed balm to his weary soul. The time that they had spent together, learning of one another, had opened up a different side of him. His soul had found moments of peace, while his body began to finally know the ache of craving something new and fresh.
The bonding ceremony that morning had been brief and private, with only himself, Thais, Dominic and Vardra allowed inside Aramis’ private temple. The four had joined hands and then souls, and Thais had found the ritual bonding words falling from her lips as easily as if she’d known them all her life. She felt the delicate stirrings of emotion as a weave began to form between them all – Dominic and his high priest, Thais and her Pra’atah – and then a rush of heat as the four became one for a brief moment in time.
“It is done,” Aramis had then said quietly before pulling Thais to him and taking her mouth with his own, drinking deep in a never ending need to quench his thirst for the taste of her.
The celebrations that followed, however, had been exhausting. A day of food and dance, and while she had been nervous and worried about their first night together and initially glad for a day full of people and excitement, she was actually relieved when Aramis had finally stood and gathered her into his arms among cheers and praise. With a warm heart he had blessed them all, then had disappeared quickly and easily into the sunset beyond with his new bride.
It had been dark when they finally came to the familiar, isolated part of the island he called home, an odd journey for her that lost all sense of time – had it been forever or only a moment since they had left, her mind questioned. But this thought was quickly pushed aside as she felt his arms strong about her, and she watched as they very heavens themselves raced past in a blur or dazzling light against velvet blackness. And
when they had planted their feet on solid ground once more, she had rushed laughing to the water’s edge while he had watched, amused. He knew the last two days had been hard on her, and so had let her stroll for a time along the shore if for no other reason than to allow her time to come down from the noise and excitement of the day.
“It is a lovely night, don’t you think?” she asked, her face flushed as she smiled up at him.
“Very,” he answered thickly.
Her pulse quickened at the hunger she saw reflected in his eyes.
“Thais,” he whispered as his hand caressed her face. It then skimmed down along the smooth column of her neck, his eyes watching the pulse as it beat frantically, calling to him with alarming insistence. His fingers trailed down the length of her arm and he gathered her small hand in his, then smiled in an attempt to ease the fluttering of her heart.
He turned and she followed him without question to climb the steps leading back up to the familiar portico. He could feel her eyes on him, could hear the sound of her blood as it coursed hot through her veins with anticipation. When they finally came to the top, he stood aside and heard her laugh softly, childlike as she took in the transformation of the large opened space just outside the main hall. He grinned, enjoying the satisfaction her pleasure gave him. He had gone to great lengths to set the proper mood and was pleased with her reaction.
“It’s wonderful!” she breathed, coming to stand beside him and hold tightly to his arm. “It’s as if you knew better than I what would please me!”
The once masculine portico had been transformed into a lovers’ paradise beneath the night sky. A fire danced lazily inside the bricked fire well, the flames hypnotic as they cast lazy shadows against the curtains of a large canopied bed which now sat beneath the overhang of fruit trees. Several furs had been place on the polished marble floor at various angles to face the fire, sinfully thick and covered with pillows of all shapes and sizes. She moved away from him and walked slowly around the edge of the stone hearth, stepping carefully over the pillows and smiling as her feet found the soft surface of rugs, her hips swaying enticingly as she moved.
Just beyond this grouping around the fire was a large table piled high with a variety of platters – meats, cheeses, fruits and fresh breads. 2 bottles of wine were chilling on ice and she smiled back at him again, telling him without words that she was pleased.
She paused, turning around, her look suddenly drowsy and sensual before her eyes widened with shock at the erotic images that began to play out within her mind – HIS images – and he felt the change in her as she responded. He watch with fascination as the tension slowly left her small frame to be replaced with a quiet sexuality; full lips curved into a woman’s knowing smile and he saw her acceptance of him deep within her eyes, felt the call of her soul to his as she began to move back towards him.
“Ma’ Etat, Mi’ allude,” she said softly as she walked, her hands moving up to unhook the clasp of her wedding dress from around her neck. It was little more than a whisper of sound as the thin silk garment slid easily to the floor. ‘My Keeper, My love,’ she had said. His body tensed with pleasure at her words. He needed all of her, not just her body, and she understood this unspoken need with quiet acceptance.
“I do not fear your desire,” she said softly. With a slow smile she stepped naked from the cloud of fabric at her feet. Her skin glowed beneath the moonlight, her breasts swaying gently in invitation. Her waist was narrow, her bottom round and full over graceful, delicate legs, and she already appeared for all the world as a goddess against the backdrop of the moon.
She was directly in front of him now, looking up at him with that familiar, defiant flash in her eyes as she smiled, but he knew the truth. She was terrified, not only of his desire, but of hers.
“You lie.”
He reached up to wrap his hand loosely around her neck, allowing his thumb to trace along the curve of her jaw as he slowly tilted her head back to look up at him.
“You do well to fear me, Mi ‘allude, for I am not sure that even I can control my need of you this night.”
Her eyes widen and she started to speak, but before she could answer his mouth was upon hers, hungry and wild as he forced his tongue into the moist sweetness of her mouth, caressing and tasting, and he moaned as she began to suck and tease in return. Without breaking contact, he gathered her into his arms and carried her to the bed, loving the feel of her skin against his as she slid her arms around his neck and invited him to deepen the kiss. He filled her mouth with his tongue, plunging and swirling as his hands moved over her skin, making love to her mouth as he cupped the firmness of her ass and held her close.
With an uncommon gentleness he laid her on the bed and stood back to look down at her.
“You are beautiful,” he said as his eyes drank in the sight of her laid out before him, naked and exposed as she studied him back through half closed eyes. Her lips were red and swollen from his kiss, her cheeks flushed and nipples hard, and the dark triangle of curls between her legs glistened, wet with her desire. With a thought he was free of his robe and she gasped, seeing for the first time what before she had only felt through layers of clothes, and her sudden fear beat at him like a living thing.
“Trust me, Thais,” he said, leaning over her to place a gentle kiss against her neck. He nudged her legs further apart, then raised up and pulled her hips to the edge of the bed before dropping to his knees and lightly kissing along the inside of her thighs. With expert fingers he gently parted the full lips of her innocence, enjoying for the first time the rosy flush of her warmed skin before he ran his tongue slowly along the opening, bottom to top, licking and probing, sucking and tasting. She moaned quietly and opened herself to him completely, an encouragement he did not need but was glad to have.
His hands began to squeeze and massage the outside of her pulsing heat as his mouth went to work, his tongue diving deep to tease the most sensitive spot inside of her. With practiced strokes he pressed deep before going back to suck and stroke the sheathed nub of her clit, causing her hips to rise up off the mattress as she moaned with pleasure.
“It is too much,” she said breathlessly, alive for the first time with physical pleasure and frightened by the power with which it threatened to overtake her. But he pushed her fears aside and continued on, lapping and sucking, claiming her with his mouth and driving her forward until she cried out with her first orgasm and began to pulse around him, covering his face with a silky sheen of moisture. As his tongue continued to make love to her and his lips suckled her sensitive tip, he felt her small fists begin to beat against his shoulders, her hands tangling deep within his hair as she pleaded for him to both stop and continue. It seemed a lifetime that he held her beautiful heat to his face, delighting in the way she tasted, the way she throbbed around his lips and tongue. By the time he was able to pull away, her body was covered in a thin layer of perspiration, her breasts rising and falling as she breathed and gasped with receding pleasure.
“It is never too much,” he said at last when he had found his voice once more, his words muffled against the softness of her skin.
Swollen and heavy with need, he began to ease back up the length of her, stopping to cup her breasts and suck, his lips and teeth tugging and pulling at each nipple as his hands squeezed the soft mounds of flesh. From there he continued on, his teeth grazing along her neck and over her chin to claim her mouth with his once again. The blood-lust was beginning to take over and the world around him began to swirl within a haze of red.
“My soul for yours,” he said, and she gave a small cry of shock at the sudden change as he gathered her to him, his eyes suddenly dark and predatory. He kissed her one last time, loving the way her tongue danced with his, before turning her over onto her hands and knees. He pushed up against her from behind and she began to tremble with a mixture of fear and need.
“I claim you as mine, Thais Mousa. Your life is my life, your happiness my happiness, your body, your so
ul, mine alone to protect and nurture,” he said thickly before grabbing the base of his shaft and guiding slowly inside. She tensed beneath him and he bent over her to press his mouth against her ear.
“Relax, and allow your body to know mine,” he whispered.
Before she could respond he eased quickly back and with one claiming thrust drove the length of himself into her completely, feeling the small barrier of her maidenhood give way as he buried himself deep in creamy warmth. She cried out beneath him and tried to move away, but he held her tight, and her pain washed over and through him. He threw back his head and shouted out a strangled curse, hating that he had caused her this pain, but powerless to stop as he began to move inside of her. She cried softly beneath him, tears running down her cheeks as he stretched her, and it tore at his soul as surely as his thickened member tore at her innocence.
But his soul was not in charge, the primal beast of a God was, and the pleasure of her wrapped tightly around him was beyond anything he had ever known. He held her hips tight against him as he began a series of slow strokes, her pain giving him a momentary, perverse form of pleasure, for it told him with absolute certainty that none other had known her so intimately. He withdrew slightly and then buried himself deep again, filling her, claiming her, and it was not long before her tears subsided to be replaced by a series of low, soft moans.
He encouraged her with teasing words that were erotic and alive, growing more bold as the pain of losing her virginity subsided, and the pleasure of becoming a woman began to reach out to her. Still on her hands and knees, she began to push against him, meeting his thrusts, and he gave over to the animal within completely, molding himself around her, mounting her with uncontrolled lust and thrusting into her over and over again. His body covered her slight frame, beast and beauty intertwined, and he delighted in the feel of her breasts as they swayed beneath her in time to his thrusts, slapping lightly against his arm where he held her in place.
The Awakening Page 5
