3013_ALLEGIANCE

by Laurie Roma

  Eden tapped a fingertip to her lips as if she were trying to decide whether or not to answer. “My abilities did help resolve the complication. We lost Brydan when he was dragged underground by a group of the creatures. Thorn and Brydan created most of the sand creatures using their own blood, so it was throwing off our scans. Somehow, I was able to track them through the mountains, and recognized that the sand creatures were actually trying to protect him from the others.”

  Roman’s brows winged up. “So, they were good, creepy sand creatures?”

  “Unless they were saving Brydan to consume him last.”

  “That’s...a terrifying thought.”

  “They were dangerous creations made out of error with ties to their makers.” Amari’s eyes narrowed. “Since you handled the sand creatures, what is the reason you and the Volis Teseras contacted me again? Is something else amiss?”

  “We were going to update you and wanted to see how everything was going so far. Are you playing well with the others? Why are you waiting to convert your mate?”

  “Eden! We have only known each other for a matter of hours.”

  “What? It is not like I cannot see for myself,” Eden said, pointing to her own eyes. “Come to the dark side, Roman. Do not fear the fangs!”

  Since she had wiggled her eyebrows at him while making her outrageous statement, he could only laugh in response. She held up her hands in surrender when her sister growled viciously.

  “You are certainly in a mood,” Eden accused.

  “And you are a pain in the ass! Behave yourself!”

  Eden grinned at Amari’s terse response. “When have I ever? Fine. I will leave that subject alone. At least the trip was not wasted, and you found your mate. I am very happy for you both and wish you many orgasms.”

  Giving up, Amari just sighed and leaned her head back against the chair.

  Roman couldn’t help grinning. “Since we will be using all of our free time doing exactly that, I hope it’s not too soon to ask for a favor. If you could keep everyone from contacting us while we’re here, we’d really appreciate it. We aren’t going to be answering any communications after this, but we’ll respond if the fate of the universe is at risk. When we’re not at the meeting, we’ll want privacy.” He shared an intimate look with Amari. “A whole lot of privacy.”

  “Of course. I would be pleased to do that for you, brother. And since I will not be speaking with the slayer of fun next rising, happy early—”

  Before Eden could finish speaking, Amari ended the call, and the screen disappeared.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Ah, the blissful quiet returns,” Amari announced as she sent the flame sculpture back to the bedroom. “There will be a party when we visit Tartarus. There is a party for everything.”

  “Don’t sound so glum. I enjoy a good party,” Roman said, grinning at her. “I’m guessing you are the slayer of fun?”

  “It is a new name she has recently bestowed upon me.”

  Ignoring the food still on the table, he turned in his chair and moved it away from the table, then reached down and grabbed one of her legs. Holding her bare foot against his abdomen, he began to massage her calf, running his hand up and down her smooth skin.

  “I think you’re fun.”

  She leaned back in the chair, enjoying his touch. “Do you? It was genius tasking my sister with keeping the others away. She will treat it like an honored duty coming from you instead of a bothersome directive from me.”

  “I like her, but she really needs to lay off of the caffeine.”

  “Eden does not consume caffeine. She is just high on life, and if you think she is bad, just wait until you meet my younger brothers. The twins are mischief makers, and always seem to find trouble.” When he groaned, she laughed. “We have a small reprieve. They are very far away right now, so it will be a long while before they can come visit.”

  “Good. I have some time to prepare.”

  “My mother and fathers will want to meet you, posthaste.”

  He was silent for a long beat. “Did you tell them about me?”

  “Not yet.” She closed her eyes, distracted by his thumbs digging into the arch of her foot. “By the gods, that feels good. I will not need to. Eden is probably contacting them right now.”

  Freezing in place, he sighed heavily. “They’re going to want to kill me, too.”

  Meeting his gaze, she spoke solemnly. “Never that. They will be pleased for us. Dragon Warriors do not find their mates easily. Discovering you, meeting you here has been a gift from the gods. They will recognize that, and they will know what you mean to me. It is the way of mated pairings.”

  “Like us,” he said softly, trailing his hands back up to her calf until he teased the soft skin behind her knee with his fingertips.

  “Like us,” Amari agreed.

  Only, they weren’t mated yet, not fully. That reality hung in the air, but neither seemed willing to state it out loud.

  Focusing on the lust building between them, Amari rubbed her foot over his hard thigh. She moved higher, over and over again until she drew closer to his rapidly swelling shaft the thin pants did nothing to hide. She loved watching the heat flare in his pale green eyes, making them glitter dangerously like twin flames. “Do you know what I want now that we are assured privacy without interruption?”

  “Tell me,” he demanded, his voice deepening with desire. “What do you want?”

  Flirting was foreign to her, but she wanted to give it a try. She wanted to try everything with him. She pulled her leg away from him slowly and rose out of her chair. His gaze dipped lower as she gradually lifted the hem of her dress, and she felt wicked pleasure tantalizing him with the view of her bare thighs.

  She stopped and fisted the material at her sides before giving him a glimpse of her pussy. Watching as his jaw clenched, she was pleased she hadn’t used magic to undress them this time, and finally understood there was satisfaction to be found in the deliberation of a slow seduction. She didn’t think he noticed when she expanded the chair a little bit. There hadn’t been much room for both of them, and she wanted them both comfortable for what she had planned.

  Leisurely, she slid onto his lap, straddling him, and she hummed in appreciation as her damp core pressed against the rigid length of his cloth-covered cock. Letting go of her dress, she rocked her hips a little as if trying to shift her position. In response, he sucked in a harsh breath, and his hands clamped down on her hips, pulling her closer.

  She felt his rough palms skim up over her back before moving lower again to caress her hips and ass. Her own breath caught as his hips flexed up, rubbing his thick shaft against her swollen clit. The friction caused a rush of liquid heat to spill from her sex, slickening her pussy and her inner muscles clenched, aching to be filled by him.

  Reaching up, she braced her hands on his wide shoulders and leaned in closer, until her lips were a breath away from his. Using the tip of her tongue, she playfully traced along his full bottom lip.

  “I think it is time for dessert, and I have a powerful craving for you, Roman.”

  An animalistic growl rumbled in his chest as his mouth crushed down on hers in a brutal kiss. He fisted her long hair in one hand while his other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her prisoner against him. Parting her lips to allow him access, her tongue dueled with his in an erotic battle, and she melted against him, pressing her aching breasts against his hard chest.

  His kiss stole her senses and made her body hum with energy.

  By the gods, she wanted to devour him.

  His passion matched hers, hot and wild like a turbulent storm, and she had never tasted anything so exciting, electrifying. Being with him gave her the sensation of freedom she had only found soaring high above the clouds, but the security she discovered in his embrace told her that she no longer needed to be alone in flight.

  She poured all of her desire into the kiss. Tongues entwined as their mouths slanted over one another. She wa
s careful not to draw blood as her sharp fangs scraped lightly over his tongue. As a reward for her restraint, the evocative abrasion made him tremble as he remembered how much pleasure her bite had given him.

  “Not yet, but soon...”

  He didn’t realize the words echoed in his mind, but she silently agreed. She felt a thrill of anticipation that only seemed to heighten the pleasure she was presently feeling. He tightened his hold on her, and she gladly increased the pressure as she rubbed against him. When she pulled back, they were both panting for air. He’d resisted letting go at first, but he released his hold on her enough for a few inches of distance between them.

  “I wanted to take my time exploring you, but I do not know if I can wait that long,” she whispered breathlessly.

  “You want to explore now?” he asked incredulously as if his language converter had suddenly stopped working and he didn’t understand what she was saying. “Sugar, you need to do your magic thing and get rid of our clothes. Burn them, feed them to Hydra, I don’t care. We just need them gone. If I don’t get inside you again soon, I think I might fucking explode.”

  “Is that not the goal?”

  “You want to tease me.”

  He sounded angry, but she could sense the hunger and frustration rolling off of him in waves. It was intriguing to witness him devolve into a primitive beast whose sole focus was on fucking her until they both couldn’t move, but she realized she would have to take a closer examination of that side of him later.

  Much later.

  “I want to explore,” she explained quietly. “To learn every mark, every sensitive spot. I want to know you by touch and taste.”

  “Fine,” he ground out through clenched teeth, then he reached out to grip the armrests only to do a doubletake when they weren’t where he expected them to be. He let out a bark of laughter as he looked at her modifications. “You made me a freaking throne? Sweetheart, I’m flattered, but that seems a little too ambitious for me.”

  Busted, she thought, returning his smile with one of her own. “I thought we both deserved a comfortable seat. Besides, it is more a bench than a throne. I can make you a seat worthy of a ruler if you wish. You can name yourself emperor of this vessel if it makes you feel important.”

  “Emperor? Stars, that kind of talk is going to give me a big head.”

  “Nay, but this might.”

  Giving them what they both wanted, Amari removed their clothing and shifted back a few inches to place a hand on his taut stomach. His cock throbbed with life, growing even thicker until his massive erection slapped up against his sculpted abdomen. He was beautiful, as if the gods themselves had formed every chiseled inch of him in their image.

  She grabbed hold of him and immediately felt the strong beat of his pulse against her palm. His shaft was too thick to completely wrap her fingers around, but the dichotomy of the soft skin covering the hard length of his shaft fascinated her. Lifting herself, she began to position the head of his cock at the entrance of her pussy, but he stopped her.

  “No! Son of a—”

  His muscles flexed, and his large hands clamped down onto her thighs, preventing her from mounting him. He took hold of her hips, then slid his hands down to grip her ass as he stood. She blinked in surprise when he lifted her with him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Roman’s body was on fire, and he growled as her wet pussy caressed the head of his cock when he took the few steps back to the table. He sat her down on the table gently and forced himself to remove his hands from her gorgeous body. They immediately clenched into fists, his muscle flexing as he fought the urge to pounce on her. Everything on the fucking vessel really was trying to kill him...especially his curious little mate.

  Damn, she looked like a fucking fantasy.

  And she was all his.

  She was a vision with her long dark hair cascading down to her waist and the tattoos on her arms and torso shimmering in the light. Her nipples were tight peaks, and he wanted to cup her perfect breasts in his hands as he sucked those hard buds. Her legs were parted in invitation, and he groaned when he saw how wet she was. His mouth watered for a taste, but that would be hypocritical.

  Holy nova, he needed to get a hold of himself. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, trying to regain some control instead of acting like a sex-starved animal with a raging hard-on. He felt like an ass for snapping at her, and now, he needed a way to atone for that error. Words would be good, but he didn’t know what to say. He held himself still for her inspection, but she just continued looking at him with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

  “Go ahead...explore,” he rasped.

  Her eyes widened. “You said you wanted—”

  “I know. I can be an ass sometimes.” Especially when all of the blood in his brain had drained down to his cock. He couldn’t seem to find his balance with Amari. As soon as he touched her, he lost his ability to think.

  Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers. She reached up as if to touch his face, but her hands dropped back to her lap. It made him feel even worse to see her hesitation. Where were all his moves? He could be charming, damn it. How the hell could he deny her the pleasure of foreplay when she had never experienced any before?

  “You are not an ass. I have time to explore you later,” she assured. “You know I already want you.”

  “And I want you.” Desperately, endlessly. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sorry I yelled. You can touch me whenever, however you want.”

  “I would never trespass—”

  “My body belongs to you. Please don’t ever feel as if you’ve done something wrong or hold back when you want something. I’m never going to complain about you wanting to touch me.” He looked down at her with a small smile. “Okay, I might complain, but in a good way.”

  “I do not understand that statement.”

  He let out a weak laugh and tried to explain it a different way. “Sugar, it’s hard to think of anything except being inside you, but I was rushing things. I want you to tell me what you want, what you need, and I will always try to give it to you.”

  Amari heard the sincerity in his voice and saw the tenderness in his gaze. She immediately relaxed as he did, and she was pleased when his frustration with her disappeared as if it had never been.

  The mating pull was playing havoc on his thoughts and emotions. She could feel it through their bond, and instead of weakening over the last few hours, that bond was only growing stronger. She should tell him, and she would later, but not now. When he made the decision to complete their mating, she did not want his mind ruled by lust.

  She never wanted to regret what they were to one another.

  He stood between her parted legs, close enough she could feel the heat of his body without actually touching his skin. When he took her hand and wrapped it around his erection, he groaned softly. With his guidance, she moved her hand up and down, slowly stroking his thick cock from the base to the tip.

  “Do you feel that? How much I want you?”

  “Your skin is so soft,” she whispered, “So soft, and yet, so hard.”

  Her movements were unrestricted when he lowered his own hand, giving her the freedom to touch him however she wanted. She continued to stroke, alternating between watching his expression and what her own hand was doing. His shaft was fully engorged, dark veins pulsing with life beneath the skin. The large mushroomed head of his cock had turned crimson, making the pearly beads of liquid seeping from the tip stand out even more.

  “I always wondered what it would feel like to have this inside of me. I was curious, of course, but the idea of being penetrated seemed...unpleasant. I was not sure I would enjoy being invaded, even by you.”

  “And now?”

  “It is far beyond what I had expected. The feeling of having you deep inside of me is extraordinary. Intimate. The greatest pleasure imaginable. It is more than a merging of your body and mine. I felt your pulse, your heartbeat insi
de of me, and my own matched it, following the same rhythm until it was as if we were one.”

  “We were,” he agreed with a low groan. “It’s a powerful feeling.”

  “Aye, it is.”

  “Holy...!” he breathed out, and his hips jerked when she used her other hand to cup his balls. “No, don’t stop.”

  She loved the weight of him against her palm, and she used her fingers to roll his heavy sack to increase his pleasure. When she sensed he was dangerously close to release, she moved her hand away, stroking the muscles in his thigh up to his hipbone where she followed the deeply indented V lines his lower abdominal muscles made.

  By the gods, she found those lines extremely arousing.

  Every muscle she touched flexed under her exploring fingertips, and she reveled in the power she had over her male. She changed her grip, turning her hand as she stroked his cock, following the scattered suggestions and directives in his mind. Pausing, she caressed the sensitive area beneath the head of his cock, then swirled her fingertip over the beads of precum leaking from the tip.

  Rubbing the liquid between her index finger and thumb, she analyzed the texture. “It is amazing that you are capable of creating life with this.”

  Reaching out, he placed his hand on her lower abdomen. “So are you. Do you want children?”

  She nodded slowly. “When we are both ready.”

  There was a momentary flicker of something dark in his eyes, then they widened with bafflement. “Can you choose when you conceive?”

  “Probably, however, I have never tried it before.”

  That made him smile. “Right.” He moved his hand to her thigh, stroking her smooth skin. “We’ll have to test that theory...when we’re ready.”

  Without warning, Amari leaned down and brushed her lips against the head of his cock. She swirled her tongue over the tiny slit and a pulse of liquid shot into her mouth. She hummed in appreciation at the flavor of his essence.

  “Fuck!”