“I’m fond of Rio,” Talan went on. “He helped me and Rees, Rees especially, when we needed it.”
“I’m fond of him too,” Maia said. “He made me laugh when we grew up together, and he helped Rylan save my life.”
“He is good at helping, then?” Nella sank to her neck in the cool, soothing water, while the other two faced her like interrogators.
“Very good at it,” Maia said. “He deserves someone to help him.”
“And you think I can?” Nella felt her panic rise. “Very well, I do care for him, but he is Shareem. That means he views me as simply another woman who wants him.” Tears stung her eyes. “I am hardly unique to him, am I?”
Maia glanced at Talan. “Perhaps we are being unfair. We want him to be happy because we know he was hurt.”
Nella nodded. “Rees told me the story of Serena. Do not worry, I would never do that to him.”
“Yes, but I’ve seen how he looks at you,” Talan said. “He will not be happy when you go back to Ariel.”
Nella bit her lip, but it was no use. The tears left her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. “Rio will not be the only one who hurts when it is over.”
She put her hand to her face and let herself cry. She wanted to go home, but the thought of leaving Rio forever, of never seeing him again, was more than she could stand.
She heard a rush of water, and then Talan and Maia were next to her. “Oh, you poor thing,” Talan said, stroking her hair. Maia enveloped Nella in her plump arms.
It felt good to let it out, all her anger at Linginian for tearing her from her home and terrorizing her, her fear that she’d never see her family again, her amazement on meeting Rio, her gratitude at Rio and his friends for helping her, the burning lust Rio had awoken and her growing love for him.
Too many emotions, far too fast. Shareem were not supposed to have strong emotion, and for the first time, Nella wondered if that would not be a more comfortable way to exist.
“Oh, I have to like this,” Rio’s voice rang from the edge of the pool.
The three women turned to see him standing in the shadows, arms folded over his leather-clad chest, staring appreciatively at them.
“Three lovely ladies in a pool,” he said, his Shareem voice low, “and all their clothes outside it.”
Talan’s eyes widened, and she sank until only her head showed. “Where are Rees and Rylan?”
“Upstairs, waiting while I look for you.” He smiled, wicked and slow. “Their loss.”
He undressed casually, taking his time. He did not stop when he was down to just his loincloth—he unfastened it and let it fall. He was already hard, his cock standing in a ninety-degree angle from his strong legs.
“Want to play, ladies?” he asked.
“Not without Rees,” Talan said quickly.
“If I stay without Rylan,” Maia said, still with an arm around Nella, “he’ll punish me. Rylan’s very jealous.”
Nella sensed the woman’s increasing pheromones as she thought about what Rylan might do. Her blue irises widened, just like Rio’s did, as she grew more aroused.
“Perhaps we should go see what Rylan and Rees are up to,” Talan suggested. She glanced meaningfully at Maia, her intention plain.
“Yes,” Maia answered, her voice a purr. “I would like to see Rylan.”
She began to swim for the edge, in a hurry to go, but probably not for the reason Talan had in mind. Maia’s thoughts seemed to have switched in sharp focus to Rylan and only Rylan, and whatever game he might want to play.
Maia pulled herself out of the pool, naked in front of Rio. She snatched up her sarong and absently pulled it around herself as she headed for the lift. Talan behaved slightly more self-consciously, and Rio grinned at her as she walked by, holding her robes over her dripping body.
When Talan disappeared into the lift tube, Rio raised his arms above his head and executed a perfect dive into the deep part of the pool.
Nella watched the surface of the water, trying to peer into the shadowy depths to see him swimming, but nothing moved. The water was still, and silent.
Suddenly, a very strong hand closed around her ankle and pulled her under. Water closed over her head, cool and soothing, then Rio lifted her in his arms.
She surfaced, spluttering. “You might have warned me.”
“Why? It wouldn’t have been as much fun.”
His hair, sleek and black, swept back from his wet face, emphasizing his high cheekbones and deep eyes. He grinned at her. “You should see Maia and Rylan when they come down here together. I swear the water starts to boil.”
“You’ve been with them,” Nella said.
“Yes. Otherwise I wouldn’t have seen the water boil.”
“I mean sexually. As a threesome.”
He lost his perpetual smile. “Yes.”
“And with Rees and Talan.”
“They’re good friends.”
“You must have been with many people.”
“I have.” Rio slid his arms around her hips, resting his large hands on her backside. “I’m with you, now.”
“But it will not always be so. I will return to Ariel, and this will be over.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “Let’s don’t talk about it. We enjoy the hell out of what we have now, worry about later, later.”
She rested her palm on his cheek, fingers touching the wet hair at his temple. “Rio, I want—”
The tears that had gone away returned now. He frowned when he saw them. “Stop. I want us to have fun, really go for it, no regrets, all right?”
He did not understand. She lifted her head. “Yes, all right.”
“You know, we could fetch Rylan and Rees and their two ladies and all go up to that big bed of theirs. You’d get a level two Shareem and a level three, and a lady Shareem, and—whatever Rees is. We can have all kinds of sex and any kind of sex, or you can just watch. I bet no other woman you know will ever have this kind of opportunity.”
“All of us?” Nella asked, astonishment stopping her tears. “Together?”
He laughed. “Sure, why not?”
She laced her hands behind his neck. “Right now, I just want you.”
He kissed her, a sweet, warm kiss that had a promise of sin behind it. His body against hers, his smell, his pheromones, spun their magic over her again. He flicked his tongue deep into her mouth, then out and across her lips.
“Good, ‘cause I just want you,” he murmured.
“You were the one who suggested—”
“I was lying. I want you alone, Nella. No sharing.”
“When does the transport leave?”
“Tomorrow. The pilot is in a hurry. We have to get there at first light.”
She pulled him close. “So soon?”
“It’s what you want. You’ll be able to get home.”
“I know. I want to go back to Ariel and my family and no desert or sandstorms or computers with names.”
He rumbled with laughter. “Yeah, Baine can be a real pain in the ass.”
“But on Ariel, there is no Talan and Rees, and no singing spheres.” She touched his face. “And no Rio.”
His eyes went dark again. “Like I said, sweetheart, we just have to make the best use of what time we’ve got.” He forced a grin. “Hey, remember when I promised you that if you subbed to me, I’d sub to you?”
“I think so.” Her mind had been fogged that evening with his Shareem chemicals and her excitement of what he was about to do.
“How about I do that now?” he offered.
Her pulse speeded. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Oh, I think you will. Come here.”
He took her hand and led her to the shallow water at the end of the pool. He reached to the bench and rummaged in his leather tunic. “I brought something for you.”
“What?”
Rio pulled out a pair of manacles, man-sized manacles with cuffs that would reach from a man’s wrist to mid-forearm. A th
ick chain dangled between them. “Here, darlin’.”
He dropped the manacles into her wet hands, then stood up, the water only reaching his thighs, his wet backside exposed. His hair lay in a long tail, dripping a trickle of water between his buttocks.
He clasped his hands behind his back, his muscular arms playing. “Put them on me.”
Nella’s heart banged and pounded in her chest. Could she do this, bind him and play with him as he’d played with her?
Really go for it, no regrets, he’d said.
Gently she encased Rio’s sinewy wrists in the manacles, clicking them closed. They were held by a simple catch, but the black chain between the manacles was fairly short, giving Rio only a little movement.
He turned around and looked at her, and she nearly slid bonelessly under the water. He stood before her, fully erect, her beautiful Shareem, waiting for her in chains.
“What do you want me to do, Nella?” he asked.
Chapter Fourteen
Bond-mate
Nella knew right then that Rio could be bound and chained, but he was still in charge. She could barely breathe from excitement, her thighs already wet with wanting, and he’d only slanted her a smile.
“There’s a whip coiled in the other pocket,” he said, his voice as dark as the shadows in the cavern. “If you want to use it.”
Nella shook her head. She’d only drop the thing in the water, and he’d laugh at her.
“Then what do you want?” he asked.
Her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t speak. She put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him toward deeper water, positioning him so that he stood a little lower in the pool than she did.
She drew him to her for a kiss, stroking his shoulder blades, letting her nails sink into his skin. He kissed her hard, his mouth strong, tongue moving firmly inside her.
Nella knew exactly what she wanted of him, but asking it was very, very hard.
She broke the kiss, her lips still against his. “Make love to me, Rio.” No, that wasn’t enough. “Fuck me.”
“In the ass?”
“No.”
He shot her an odd look. “I thought ladies in your culture only asked that of men they want to marry.”
“They do.”
He stopped, waiting a few heartbeats. “We’re not on Ariel.”
“No. But I am of Ariel, and must answer for the consequences of what I do.”
Rio went silent, the only sound in the cavern the soft trickle of water feeding the pool.
“Let me get this straight, Nella.” His voice was very quiet. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
He tried to move his hands to touch her, but the chain brought him up short. “Fuck.”
“You can say no.” She kneaded his shoulders, somehow afraid to stop touching him. “You can take me in the ass instead, and we can have as much pleasure as we can right now, like you said, before we have to part.”
“Darlin’, I’m Shareem.”
His eyes were dark, pupils wide.
“Everyone keeps reminding me of that. Including you.” She held his face and looked into his eyes. “I do not care.”
“You want to be scandalous, like Talan?”
“I do not want to be like Talan. I want you to come home with me and be with me.”
“A princess and a Shareem? No one will go for that.”
She shook her head impatiently. “You understand nothing. On Ariel, you will not be different and shunned, because we do that to no one. There are twelve sentient species on Ariel, many of whom are far from human-shaped, but they put up with us all the same. I am free to choose my husband from any species I like. Many women marry across species.”
Rio kept his voice light, but he was frowning hard. “Their children must look weird.”
“The mother and father decide which species the child will be, and reproduce in vitro. Most people have some of each.”
“But aren’t you supposed to marry a prince or a king, or something?”
“I marry whom I please.” She started to glare at him. “It is my choice alone, not my family’s, not the people’s. They trust me to make the best choice possible. That is what Linginian did not understand.”
Again Rio tried to move his hands. “A Shareem isn’t the best choice possible.”
“Yes, you are. Rio, you are kind and compassionate and you really care. You taught me how to trust you, when I didn’t want to trust anyone—when I couldn’t trust anyone. You taught me more about myself than anyone in my life has done. I’d love you for that, if for nothing else.”
“Hold it. Love?”
She nodded. “I love you, Rio.”
His chest rose with a long breath. “Fuck,” he said again.
“You can refuse,” Nella said, tears stinging her eyes. “You do not have to see me ever again, if you decide not to make love to me. I promise.”
He went silent, every trace of humor gone from his eyes. She could not read his face, it was so hard and forbidding, very unlike the smiling, wicked visage he usually wore.
“Nella,” he said after a time. His voice was harsh, his level three voice, the one that told her he would have no mercy with her. “Get out of the water.”
He was the one in chains, but she moved to obey him without question. He climbed out behind her, graceful for someone with his hands bound behind his back, and knelt on the matting that covered the ground near the bench.
He spread his thighs. The posture, coupled with his hands behind him, thrust his cock stiffly outward.
“Come here,” he said. “And let me make love to you.”
“In the ass?” she asked, her voice faint.
“Your choice, Nella,” he said. “Whatever choice you make is the one I’ll follow. You show me what it is you truly want.”
* * * * *
Rio held his breath while Nella stood by the pool, stark naked, her finger to her lips.
Was he crazy, or what? This sweet, redheaded woman, her breasts full and round, her nipples like dark berries, had just asked him the ultimate question.
Will you marry me?
He should grab her with both hands and run off with her to this Ariel place and snatch some happily ever after, which would involve fucking her every chance he got.
But he knew, deep in his heart, that he didn’t get a happily ever after. It was rare for a Shareem, Rylan and Rees notwithstanding. Rees was different, even from the Shareem, and Rylan had cheated. He’d been in love with Maia since they were both ten years old, and he hadn’t let anyone else have a chance with her.
Rio was a badass bad boy that no sane mother would let marry her daughter.
Nella might think she wanted to marry him, but what if she was just under his Shareem spell? They’d go back to Ariel, and then some wimpy prince would convince her to dump her Shareem pretty-boy and have a real marriage.
Screw him.
Or Nella might, right here, right now, decide to take back her hasty offer. She’d play with him a little and walk away, or just walk away, period. He’d have to wait down here, his hands bound, until someone came looking for him, probably Rylan, who’d laugh his ass off.
While his thoughts whirled, Nella approached him slowly. She had the lushest legs, all plump and ready for nibbling, her calves round and lickable. All wet, she was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen, hands-down.
Her red hair, dark with water, was sleek against her head, emphasizing the shape of her face and neck. Water dripped between her breasts and shimmered on her belly. The twist of lovely red hair between her legs was damp and beaded with moisture, and not all of it was water.
Rio wanted to taste her there, shove his tongue into her curls and lick up her fine cream. Maybe she’d walk over here and plant her feet on either side of his knees, spreading herself so that he could easily get to her.
She stopped right in front of him, but her legs remained closed, her pussy out of reach.
“Rio.” She touc
hed his face, fingers scraping over his unshaven jaw. “I’ve already made my choice.”
He swallowed, but he kept his gaze averted from hers, so she wouldn’t see the pleading look that was probably in them.
I’m a level three Shareem, a Dom. I make women do things they’d never dream of doing. I make them beg for things they never knew they wanted.
I spank them when they’re bad and pleasure them when they’re good. I whip them ‘til they come, then I kiss away the hurt.
What I don’t do is say, “Please, sweetheart, tell me you really do love me and aren’t just a tease.”
Sheesh, how pathetic can I get?
Nella put her hands on his shoulders and lowered herself to straddle him, her knees outside his. She grasped his cock in one hand, fingers sliding all over it like he’d taught her.
He bit back a groan. He was so hard and turned on that he could come right now, and she’d only stroked him once.
“Stop,” he said.
She misunderstood him. “I do not wish to stop. I wish to start.”
“Then start, sweetheart. Do what you gotta.”
Slowly she raised up, her breasts brushing his chest. Damn that he’d volunteered to manacle himself. He couldn’t hold her or guide her or caress her, he could only crave, which made everything that much more erotic.
Nella slid her hand to her clit, fingers between herself and him. He felt her guide the tip of his cock right to the folds of her cunt.
“Sweet darling,” he said, his Shareem hormones swamping him, pheromones pouring over her and making her smile.
She wriggled a little, opening herself wider, and finally, his tip slid inside her.
Oh, gods. She was hot and tight and so fucking wet. A little more, let me have a little more. Please!
Nella moved down on him, easing onto him a tiny bit at a time, her eyes widening with each inch.
“You are so tight,” he moaned. “Baby, I love you.”
She wriggled some more, steadying herself on his shoulders, her gaze serious and intent. Her breasts pressed into his chest, and he wanted so bad to hold her. He wanted to stroke her back, grab the nape of her neck and crush her lips to his.
Damn chain. He tugged at his bonds, but Rylan had probably had the manacles specially made to resist Shareem strength.
Rio Page 16
