She wanted to laugh. “Some women never find their Bond-mates, and take lovers instead. And there are widows, whose Bonds are broken, who do not demand marriage in return for coupling. But most men want to marry and Bond. Marriages on Ariel are very loving.”
“Sounds like paradise.”
She felt tears rise in her eyes. “It is to me.”
“Probably would have no place for Shareem, then. I live to pleasure women, but they always marry someone else.”
Nella thought he had a note of bitterness in his voice, but she could not be sure. “I am certain women would vie to marry you, or to take you as a lover. You would have hundreds of proposals the moment you made planetfall.”
Rio lifted his brows in disbelief, then started to laugh. “I have you naked and chained before me, and you are going on about marriage customs. I don’t think this has ever happened to me before.”
“It’s a first,” Rees murmured. His kissed Talan’s hair, his hands moving beneath her robes.
“Great,” Rio said, “Now you’ve got Rees making fun of me. I’ll have to do something about that.”
Nella swallowed, her trepidation returning. “Punishment?”
“Yes,” Rees said in a dark voice. He bit Talan’s cheek. “Punish her.”
Rio glanced at him. “My friend Rees is a barbarian. He enjoys punishment. Giving it and watching it.”
The other Shareem’s eyes were fully blue, his skin flushed. Nella sensed his mounting lust even six feet away from him. Rees had no off-switch, Rio had said, and there was no telling what he’d do.
And yet, Nella knew that Rees had no longing for her. He wanted the woman in his arms, Talan, wanted her stripped and bound and begging for him. And the way Talan was rubbing herself against Rees’ body, she wanted it too.
Rio snapped his whip again, and Nella jerked her attention back to him. “Do you want me to punish you, Nella?”
“Not really.”
“And yet, you don’t trust me, you don’t believe me.” He lightly traced her cheek. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I do not know.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I do not know,” she said, her voice growing desperate.
He stepped close to her, the vibrant scent of leather and musk filling her. “You do know, Nella. Look deep inside you. You know what you want, and you must tell me.”
The damp hollow of his throat was at her eye level. She tilted her head to look up into his strong, very masculine face. “I truly—”
She broke off as he seized her chin in his hand, his fingers biting. “The truth is exactly what I want from you. You have desires. You tell me what is inside of you, or I will have no mercy.”
She tried to look inside herself, like he told her, but her mind was too panicked. All that had happened, and then coming upon Rio—it was too much for her.
“What do you mean, no mercy?” she asked nervously.
He kept hold of her face, his grip firm so she could not look away. “I want to give you what you want. You have to tell me, so I can give it to you. If you do not, we will do what I want. I am a level three Shareem, Nella. What I want can be—complicated.”
By complicated she knew he meant dangerous and exciting and exhilarating and frightening. But he was giving her a chance to bypass the greatest part of the danger, to choose what she wanted.
She drew a sharp breath, closed her eyes, and tried to focus. What did she want?
To be home, to be safe, to be with the people she loved. To have her life back.
Dimly she felt Rio’s fingers soften on her face. She wanted to tell him what it meant to her that he’d saved her, that he’d brought her to this underground place with these alien people who were kind to her. She’d said thank you and I’m grateful, but the words seemed inadequate and thin.
She wanted to tell him what it meant that he’d given up what he wanted most of all—his freedom—to help her.
“I want…” she began.
“Yes?” he asked, his voice very quiet. “What do you want, Nella?”
“I want you.”
He went silent, and she opened her eyes. He was watching her intently, his gaze unreadable.
“You want me to what?” he asked.
He did not understand. She wanted him, all of him, his touch and his whip and his Shareem-blue eyes.
But he was used to women begging for sexual favors. He wanted her to tell him what to do, and he would not believe her if she said she wanted nothing.
Because she would, in fact, be lying. She wanted him to touch her all over, to make love to her, to make her come like he had last night. She wanted the sting of leather on her backside, followed by his hand to soothe the sting.
A saying she’d learned when very young came back to her—if you want to receive something, give something first.
Nella carefully sank to her knees. The last inch or so was more of a fall, and her knees hit the floor, but Dr. Laas’ programmed carpeting absorbed the shock and cushioned her.
Rio watched her, eyes intense. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes.”
The bulge in his leather pants hung in front of her. Sweet gods, he must be huge. She leaned forward and kissed it, tasting warm leather.
The leggings were off before she figured out how he’d ripped himself out of them. He wore a loincloth beneath, a piece of cloth held with a thin strip of leather slung low on his hips, baring almost all of himself. If she’d seen him like this in the alley, she’d have fainted from lack of oxygen.
Rio untied one side of the loincloth and drew it off.
Oh, gods.
He was bigger than she could have imagined. His cock stood at full erection, a standard foot long and as thick as her fist. The tip stretched toward her, the small slit in it beckoning her tongue. Coarse black hair adorned the cock’s base and curled around his scrotum.
“Teach me,” she whispered.
The cock moved slightly at her words, his heartbeat echoing there.
“Lick it,” he said, sounding strangely gentle. “Get it wet.”
She drew her tongue over the head and around the flange, not sure what to do. Her tongue found a soft place beneath the tip, and she worked it at little, rubbing back and forth.
His fingers bit down on her shoulders. “Like that.”
She no longer thought about Rees and Talan watching. She only thought of the taste of Rio, dark and spicy and exciting, and the feel of him under her tongue.
Soft like the richest velvet, he was, and yet strong and hard. She sank back on her heels, lowering her head to lick the underside of the cock, wetting it all the way to the base.
“Gods,” he murmured.
She licked down to the curls at his scrotum, then circled her tongue over each of his very tight balls.
“Enough,” he said. He backed a little, sliding away from her tongue. “Take me in your mouth.”
She reached out with her tongue again and touched underneath his flange, knowing he’d jump at the sensation. Satisfied, she drew his cock between her lips and moved her whole mouth over it.
She had no idea what to do next, so she simply got used to the feeling of it in her mouth and her lips stretching around him. She imagined that her teeth would hurt him, so she softened her lips, trying to keep from scraping him.
“Suck,” he said.
She did, a long gulp, and almost choked.
“Gently,” he said, sounding amused. He put his hand on her hair. “Use your tongue.”
She gentled the movement, and began to suckle.
He did not need to tell her she was doing it right. She could tell by the way he stood, legs rigid, one hand loosening her hair, the other clenched around his whip.
“Harder.”
She concentrated on keeping the same movement, but pulling a little harder. He rewarded her with a groan.
She had thought it would only be exciting when he touched her. But touching him with he
r lips and tongue was one of the most exciting things she’d ever done. She wanted to rub her face on his cock, kiss him all the way down to his balls, lick there and even farther back, toward his ass. She had no idea if he’d like that, but she wanted to try it.
She felt the leather of his whip slide around her back. He did not strike her, he eased it around her shoulders and held her with it.
She loved it. He rocked slightly on his heels, driving the long cock into her mouth, fucking her with it.
Nella took it out of her mouth and did what she pictured, kissing her way down the bottom of the cock to his scrotum. He parted his legs, and she nuzzled his balls, smiling at the way his hair tickled her skin.
She slid her tongue behind his balls to the hot indent there and played, growing bolder by the minute.
“Fuck,” he said.
She wanted to lick his ass. She wanted, for some reason, to dip her tongue between his cheeks and taste his anal star. She wasn’t quite certain how to do this and keep her balance and continue to pleasure him, but it was what she wanted. When he asked her again, she would know what to tell him.
Just to experiment, she flicked her tongue upward and eased it between his buttocks.
“Oh gods,” he said, far above her. “I’m going to come.”
He pulled her out from between his legs and positioned her in front of his cock. She knew what he wanted before he said it. She opened her mouth and took him inside.
Chapter Eight
A Little Help from Friends
This is what paradise is like, Rio thought as Nella sucked him eagerly into her mouth again.
Her tongue stroked and licked and drove him insane. The pheromones pouring from her were making him crazy, too. His blood was flaming, his body temperature way up.
Rees and Talan weren’t helping. Rees was naked now. He’d plunked himself on an armless chair that was perfect for sex—all the furniture in Dr. Laas’ house was designed for sex—and dragged Talan on top of him.
Her skirts were above her hips, and Rees rocked her on him, fucking her, totally oblivious to Rio and Nella. Rees’ Shareem pheromones added to the wild mix of Rio’s own, and Nella’s and Talan’s. Too much damn sex in this room, and they’d barely started.
When Nella’s tongue flicked between his buttocks, Rio had thought he’d die. Sweet innocent, going on instinct alone—and liking it, he could tell by the smile on her face.
The manacles kept her wrists pinned behind her. Her thrust-forward breasts moved in time with her sucking.
Now he was over the top. He groaned hard as the seed poured out of him and into her mouth.
She jumped, startled at the new taste, but, wonderful lady, she kept her mouth around him and didn’t back away.
His hips jerked, and he pulled her closer with the strap of leather. His level three senses wanted to turn her over and swat her bottom, to hear the strap on her flesh and hear her sounds of pleasure.
Something in the back of his mind told him he could not go all-out level three on her, not for a while. She was innocent and uncertain, and this fairly tame pleasuring was all she’d ever done in her life.
He spilled the last of his seed into her mouth. She closed her eyes, swallowed him, then smiled.
He dragged her to her feet and held her close. The chain clinked behind her. He tumbled her hair under his hands and kissed her face.
“Mine,” he said. “You’re all mine, Nella.”
She nodded once as he feathered kisses across her cheeks. “It’s what I wanted,” she whispered. “What I truly wanted.”
She sounded proud that she’d figured it out.
Gently he released the chain that bound her hands together, but he did not remove the cuffs. He lifted her into his arms, and without bothering to dress or let her dress, he carried her out of the room. The rest of this was going to be done in private.
One thing to be said for Baine was that he couldn’t care less whether the people in his elevator were clothed or unclothed, so Rio was spared the computer’s snide comments.
Baine did know about sex, though. As Rio carried Nella out of the lift, Baine muttered, “Computer interface is so much easier.”
“What did he say?” Nella asked as Rio set her gently on her bed.
“Bad machine-language joke. Ignore him.”
Nella looked up at him, her eyes heavy from the Shareem chemicals she’d absorbed. She was open enough and receptive enough in body and mind for him to go ahead and fuck her, but Rio held himself back.
His friends would laugh at him, especially Bradon, another level three who did whatever he pleased and charmed his ladies into submission. Rio loved sex, but Bradon loved nothing but sex.
Rio held back, because right at this moment, Nella trusted him. He’d commanded her trust, and he’d showered her with pheromones to make it easier for her to trust, but however it had happened, it had.
If he took advantage of her now, the lesson would be wasted, and she’d never trust him again. She was not a woman of Bor Narga, with an underlying knowledge that she was in charge, no matter what. Nella was from Ariel, a planet he didn’t know—and who knew how the women of that planet thought?
Rio knew one thing—if the ladies of Ariel were as gorgeous as Nella, he wanted to go there.
“Open your legs, darling,” he said.
Obediently, and with a smile, Nella did.
A beautiful pussy, covered with red hair and damp with cream, lay ready for him.
Rio leaned over her, breathing in the heady scent of a woman wanting him. He raised her arms above her head.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“You pleasured me,” he said. “Now, I’m going to pleasure you.”
“Oh.” She sounded happy. She was far gone under his Shareem spell, and would probably do anything—absolutely anything—he told her to.
Damn, it sucks to be a gentleman.
He started at her neck. He licked his way over the hollow of her throat, then down between her breasts. Her body heat was way up, her skin nearly burning his tongue.
He tasted her breasts, playing with the softness of them. He traced one areole with the tip of his tongue, tasting warm, salty, dark flavor.
He flicked his tongue down her abdomen to her navel, poking it and making her laugh.
Then down to the slight swell beneath her navel. He teased himself, and her, by licking just above where the hair began to grow in a swirl. Her skin was soft there, a place seldom touched.
She smelled good, the juices of her pussy warming her thighs and sending her woman-scent over him. He teased the tiny hairs until she lifted her hips, her body wanting him inside.
He pressed a long kiss just above her mons, where her quim curved between her legs. She arched to him, letting out a frustrated squeak.
He laughed against her skin, knowing his hot breath would frustrate her more. “Be patient, love.”
He picked up his whip from where he’d tossed it on the bed, and lightly wriggled it over her pussy even as he kissed it.
“Rio,” she moaned.
“Glad you haven’t forgotten my name, sweetheart.”
“Why would I?”
He chuckled. She was too precious.
At long last, he let her have what she wanted. He bent to her pussy and licked from her clit all the way down across her hot, wet opening, to the beginning of her ass.
She groaned and jumped, just like he knew she would. He chuckled again.
He licked her all over, letting his tongue play with her clit, dip into her cunt and taste her cream, and flicker on her ass. She wriggled and squealed, far gone in pleasure.
Going with his instincts, Rio climbed up on the bed and positioned himself on hands and knees in the sixty-nine position. He lowered his cock to brush her lips at the same time he bent his head and licked her pussy.
He felt her take him into her mouth. The fact that she took him upside down spread new excitement through him. Her tongue laved him f
rom base to tip, driving his temperature higher and his heartbeat to lightning speed.
He licked her and tasted her and suckled her clit. He put his tongue to the walls of her cunt, pressing a little, encouraging the cream to flow.
She squealed and giggled at the same time she toyed with his cock, then all of a sudden, she sucked it hard into her mouth.
Rio stifled a groan, loving the taste of her flowing into him. He matched her pleasuring—every suck she gave him, he gave her, so it was like she pleasured herself.
She brought down her hands and rested them against his buttocks, squeezing and pressing them, the metal cuffs cool on his burning skin.
He would teach her soon how to slip her lubed finger into his ass while they sucked each other. But for now this pleasuring was just fine with him.
He thrust his tongue inside her, licking all around her opening from the inside, and suddenly, she came. Her cream poured over him and into his mouth, and she lost hold of his cock as she screamed.
He kept on suckling, drinking her, loving her taste. And then her mouth found his cock again, and she sucked so hard, he thought he’d pass out.
Love, he groaned inside, and then he came.
* * * * *
Nella lay back, spent. Rio climbed down from her and brought them both towels from the bathroom. He wiped his face and then hers, smiling all the while, his eyes so blue they held a light of their own.
“That was sweet, baby,” he said.
She felt drained, and at the same time, completely loose and pliant. She’d never felt anything like his mouth on her quim, and she’d never tasted anything like the wild, hot spice of his come. She liked it, and she wouldn’t mind having more.
He approached the bed, dabbed the remaining cream from her legs, and the last traces of himself from her lips.
“That’s what you wanted?” he asked.
“Yes.”
She wanted more, actually. She wanted him to lie on her and hold her and touch her. She wanted him to make love to her fully, wanted the huge, hard cock inside her, all the way.
She would ask him. She would tell him what she really wanted.
Before she could speak, he unlocked the manacles from around her wrists and took them away.
Rio Page 8
