Elder Bonds

by Lexi C. Foss

  Mmm, maybe. Regardless, Balthazar would enjoy searching for physical evidence of a rune on her later—with his tongue.

  “You’re still thinking about where I’m from,” she murmured. “I didn’t lie to you.”

  He grinned. “Actually, I was considering all the ways to explore you later. Orally.”

  She didn’t blush the way most women would. Instead, she glanced at him with approval bright in her gaze. “Perhaps I’ll be the one exploring you.”

  He squeezed her hand. “We both know there’s no ‘perhaps’ about it, sweetheart.” Her mouth would be on him again very soon, and he showed her that with his eyes.

  A squeal pierced the air as they rounded the corner, capturing Leela’s attention. Jay had just tossed two women into the pool and followed them in with a splash that soaked a few of the dancers nearby. They jumped on him in the water in a flirtatious manner while two more joined from the stairs.

  “B!” Jacque waved from his position near the bar. Several of the Guardians had followed them to Brazil, all with the purpose of protecting their respective Elders. And Jacque had provided their transportation via teleportation.

  Balthazar winked at the man and searched for Luc.

  “You wanted to show me a party?” Leela asked, her bluish-green eyes on the crowd.

  “Not exactly.” He pressed his lips to her ear. “How do you feel about maple-flavored liquor?”

  “Depends.” She turned so her mouth brushed his. “Will I be licking it off of you or someone else?”

  “What’s your preference?” he wondered, curious. She’d responded openly to him on the beach, but how far would she go?

  “Both.” No hesitation on her part.

  His blood heated at the prospect of watching her with someone else. “I think that could be arranged.”

  She licked his bottom lip and pulled away with a wicked smile. “No arrangement needed, sweetheart. Watch and learn.” She handed him her bag and sauntered across the deck toward the bar.

  Balthazar didn’t exactly have a type—he merely enjoyed sex—but Leela was undeniably stunning. Her shapely ass looked amazing in that thong bikini bottom, as did her long, athletic legs. Pair that with her ample breasts, thick, blonde hair, and beautiful face, and it was no wonder everyone in her path looked twice.

  Thoughts of delight and desire mingled in the air in her wake, as even a few of the waitstaff turned to admire her.

  “Olá, B,” a curvy brunette murmured. Her mind reminded him of her name. Yasmin. He’d met her in the lobby shortly after checking in at the reception desk and had recommended she meet him by the pool with her friends.

  All four of the Brazilian women surrounded him in a variety of colorful bikinis that more than revealed their alluring assets. And yet, he found his gaze straying back to the black swimsuit caressing pale skin by the bar. Leela was bent over, chatting up the bartender, while several onlookers admired her flawless ass. Most women in his experience would be blushing or nervous, but she owned the show without so much as batting an eye.

  Yasmin and her flirty companions spoke fluent Portuguese to him while taking turns stroking his abdomen, arms, and back, and he politely returned the conversation. None of them seemed at all concerned by the bag in his hands, or the implications tied to it. Which he took to mean that they all shared his preference to entertain more than one woman or man at a time.

  Leela turned toward him, her elbows going up on the bar behind her as she observed his interaction. No hint of jealousy sparked in her gaze, only curiosity, and what he wouldn’t have given in that moment to be able to read her mind. Because fuck if she didn’t look a little turned on by the scene before her.

  Who is this woman? Balthazar couldn’t remember the last time a person intrigued him in this manner.

  One of the brunettes infiltrated his view by pressing her palm to his cheek and lifting to plant a kiss on his mouth. Tequila infused his senses as she licked his bottom lip. He grinned down at her and responded flirtatiously in Portuguese. She was beautiful, with her long, dark hair, matching eyes, and tan skin. But his interests returned to the bar, where Leela was lifting a tray of drinks.

  The conversation around him quieted as she approached. Catty and jealous thoughts filled his mind from the Brazilian entourage, causing him to rethink his earlier assumption that they would be open to sharing. It seemed the four of them had already agreed to entertain him and they were not interested in adding a fifth.

  Balthazar always did enjoy a challenge. Let’s see how far this goes.

  “Maple shots,” Leela mused, lowering her tray of drinks to a table beside the pool. She explained the contents in fluent Portuguese—much to the shock of their companions—and surveyed each woman from head to toe.

  Balthazar introduced them all by plucking the various names from their minds and listened as each of the females evaluated the situation. Two of them were thinking about finding Luc, including Yasmin. But her thoughts shifted as Leela stepped into her personal space and tucked a strand of dark hair behind the woman’s ear.

  Who is she? Yasmin wondered. Oh, but she’s quite beautiful… Interest flared in her pupils as Leela stepped closer.

  Balthazar cocked his head to the side, intrigued. What are you planning, little minx?

  Her quiet mind both enthralled and infuriated him. He’d never experienced this before—all mental pathways were open to him. Except hers.

  “It’s my understanding that these drinks are best enjoyed between two people,” she murmured in Portuguese. “Would you be open to a little… experimentation?” Leela continued to fondle Yasmin’s hair while she spoke, trailing the strand down to her breast and up again. Yasmin’s nipples pebbled in response, her arousal touching his emotive senses.

  He couldn’t have executed that move any better himself, and that she chose to perform it on a female who clearly had no interest was all the more arousing.

  Yasmin swallowed, her ebony eyes clouding with lust. Balthazar couldn’t see Leela’s expression, but from what he gathered from Yasmin’s internal chatter, it was quite the sight.

  “No pressure.” Leela ran her finger down the woman’s side and across her flat stomach. “I just thought it might be fun.” Her perfect Brazilian dialect caused him to smile.

  This was no ordinary woman, not by a long shot. Discovering her secrets would be even more fun than proving pancakes were superior to waffles.

  “Yes,” Yasmin breathed, nodding. “Okay.”

  The two words were in accented English, but the litany of thoughts that followed were all in her native tongue. Through his connection to her mind, he learned that she’d never truly experimented with a woman before, apart from sharing men with her friends. Apparently, she never engaged in more than a kiss with her companions, and those were always meant to seduce, not to please. Yet, she admitted to herself that she found Leela attractive, something Balthazar found quite amusing. He had enjoyed seducing several males with the same limited experiences in the past.

  It was amazing what a person did when they dropped societal pretenses and just lived. Two millennia ago, no one cared about sexual preferences. They merely experienced whatever they wanted. He truly missed that era.

  Leela turned to him. “Ready for a new experience?” she asked in English this time.

  His lips twitched. “You sound quite sure that it’ll be something I’ve never seen.”

  “Oh, I’m certain.”

  This would be entertaining. “Give it your best shot, sweetheart.” Pun intended.

  Her eyes gleamed with the challenge. “You may want to sit down for this.”

  “I prefer to be intimately involved.”

  “Suit yourself.” She brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. “I’ll go easy on you since it’s your first time.”

  He chuckled as he set her bag down beside the tray. “I appreciate that.”

  Leela was actually sort of cute thinking she could possibly introduce him to something new. Litt
le did she realize the more than three thousand years of experience he carried under his belt.

  He caught her hip as she started to turn and threaded his fingers through her hair. “Hold on, sweets.” His mouth sealed over hers in a subtle reminder of who mastered whom here. Because while he could appreciate her vast erotic knowledge, his surpassed hers by many, many years.

  By the time he finished, her pupils were dilated with arousal and her cheeks were flushed a pretty shade of pink. “I knew you would blush beautifully,” he murmured against her lips. His tongue dipped inside for a final dance that she reciprocated in kind.

  “I’m so going to enjoy this,” she whispered.

  “Me too.”

  “I know.” She nipped his chin and smiled at him with her eyes. “Take notes.”

  A laugh caressed him inside. “Sure, sweetheart.”

  Yasmin had considerably cooled off during their exchange and appeared less certain of her earlier acquiescence. Yet when Leela caressed the woman’s arm, her inky gaze warmed.

  A seductive skill, perhaps?

  He leaned to the side for a better view as Yasmin lay down along the edge of the pool. Leela picked up two shot glasses and went to her knees gracefully beside the other woman.

  Balthazar drew his thumb across his lower lip as the two females conversed in whispers. The other three women seemed intent on the show as well and huddled beside him, their minds racing with curiosity.

  Yasmin shivered at whatever Leela said, and nodded.

  Intriguing little minx.

  “What am I missing?” Luc asked as he joined them at the pool’s edge.

  “I’m teaching Balthazar a lesson,” Leela replied before Balthazar had a chance.

  “Oh?” Luc cocked a brow at him. Where did you find this one? he asked without speaking out loud.

  “At the beach,” he replied.

  And she’s going to teach you a lesson about what? Luc wondered.

  Balthazar shrugged. “She seems to think she has me beat in this game.”

  “Fascinating.” Luc folded his arms and eyed the two females with great interest. “Color me intrigued.”

  Leela placed a shot glass between Yasmin’s thighs, right up against her sweet spot, which elicited a slight squirm from the female on the ground.

  I love her already, Luc said through the mental pathways.

  “Yep,” Balthazar replied. If Jayson wasn’t busy entertaining several women in the pool, he would have called his best friend over for the show. Because he had a feeling this was going to be a sight to behold. “Where’s Alik?” He searched for the telepath’s mind as he asked, and found him wandering the beach. Alone. “Never mind.”

  He’ll come along when he’s ready.

  Balthazar nodded, agreeing. Alik wouldn’t turn down an evening of pleasure, but they all knew he didn’t truly enjoy it. Not like he once did.

  Leela poured the second maple shot in a line down Yasmin’s body, starting from the base of her neck and all the way down to the woman’s bikini bottoms. The stickiness of the liquid helped it stay somewhat it place, which was the design of Luc’s creation.

  Excellent, his oldest friend thought, mentally patting himself on the back for his concoction working as expected.

  Balthazar was too intent on Leela’s ass to respond. She bent over Yasmin’s prone form and took the woman’s mouth in a kiss that raised several eyebrows around them, including his own. His cock attempted to persuade him to join, but he was a man of patience. And he desperately wanted to see how far she intended to go.

  Yasmin moaned as Leela left her mouth and began a path down the female’s neck to the liquid painting her body. That pretty pink tongue darted out to catch the first drop, eliciting a groan from Yasmin that attracted several onlookers.

  Waffles or pancakes? Luc wondered.

  “Waffles,” Balthazar murmured, his throat dryer than it should be.

  Damn, Luc replied.

  The whole point was to seduce a woman into changing her mind, which meant Leela qualified for his side of the game since Balthazar preferred pancakes. Not that he really cared anymore. He just wanted to fuck the woman until dawn at this point, and then determine her origins.

  Yasmin shuddered as Leela trailed the shot between her breasts, her skin erupting in goose bumps. The intense signs of arousal, coupled with the woman’s indecent thoughts, indicated she was maybe a minute away from coming. That was an impressive feat, considering Leela had hardly even touched her. But apparently, her tongue felt like heaven personified—according to Yasmin—something Balthazar would experience later.

  Chants of praise erupted in the mental pathways, surprising him more.

  No. She was going to come in a matter of seconds.

  Leela dipped her tongue in the woman’s belly button and ventured lower. Her chin barely brushed Yasmin’s sex on her way to the shot glass. As her plump lips enclosed the rim, Yasmin arched off the ground on an impressive scream while Leela tilted the contents back into her throat to swallow in one go. She sat on her ankles to admire her handiwork before tilting her head back to meet Balthazar’s gaze. He stared down at her with a grin he couldn’t help display.

  “Execution was a nine, but the orgasm bumped you up to a ten.” Because to bring Yasmin to the point of climax so quickly without even really touching her? Yeah, that required skill. He was definitely impressed. “But I’m not inexperienced when it comes to female-on-female action, so you haven’t introduced me to anything new yet.”

  “Come here.” She beckoned him with a finger.

  She thinks to tame you, Luc joked.

  Balthazar smirked as he knelt beside her for fun. An alluring woman in a thong bikini wanted him to join her and another woman? He was an intelligent man, not a stupid one.

  “Shock me, sweetheart,” he encouraged.

  She wrapped her palm around his neck and brought him in for a kiss. Electricity hummed through his veins and went straight to his groin, hardening his cock to a painful degree.

  Slow down, some logical part of him urged—the one tied to his ample experience.

  He ignored it. Couldn’t focus. Couldn’t even think beyond the surge of arousal thickening his blood and spiraling downward to his balls. He needed her. Right now. Beneath him.

  Fuck, he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done this to him. Her touch was addicting, and yet she only caressed his neck.

  What is happening to me?

  Leela bit his lip and grinned with her eyes as Yasmin climaxed again beside them.

  How… ?

  Balthazar pulled back to find Leela’s palm lying on the scrap of fabric between Yasmin’s thighs.

  Oh… Oh, she’s magical. Barely even flicked my…

  He blinked out of the woman’s thoughts and met Leela’s expectant gaze. “Surprised yet?” she taunted.

  Yes. And very alarmed. Because she’d clearly used some sort of mental ability to trigger Yasmin’s orgasm, as well as ensnare him in an erotic trap. He’d been seconds from losing his steadfast control and taking her on the deck without consideration of anyone around them.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, his voice lethally serious. Now that the fog of desire had lifted, he could see her clearly—still alluring and fuckable—but she was also very aware of her unique qualities.

  She’s not human. So what is she?

  Despite his commanding tone, the little minx grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She brushed her lips over his again. “Find me later and maybe I’ll tell you. Maybe I won’t.”

  3

  B

  “There.” Balthazar nodded with his chin. “At the bar.”

  Leela sat on a stool with her long legs crossed elegantly and pointed toward a broad-shouldered male who seemed far too interested in her cleavage. Balthazar wasn’t concerned. He would be the one removing that tight little black dress tonight. The three-inch stilettos, however, he’d probably leave on her.

  “Nothing,” Alik said, confirmi
ng all of their suspicions. “I’m throwing a lot of power at her, and she’s not even flinching.”

  Luc rubbed his jaw as he considered the beauty before them. She hadn’t noticed them yet because her back was to the entrance.

  “Fledgling?” Balthazar guessed. He’d already told them about the passionate kiss on the beach. They all agreed she couldn’t be an Ichorian.

  “It’s the only option,” Luc agreed as Leela laughed at whatever the dude beside her had said. “Because she’s definitely not a Seraphim either.”

  Balthazar snorted. “Right.” The Seraphim were ancient beings renowned for their stoicism. Not that he’d ever actually met one. Most considered their kind to be extinct, or perhaps in a state of eternal rest. Regardless, there was no way Leela could be one, considering her reactions to him.

  Alik folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “The sensible approach would be to torture the details out of her. However, I assume the plan is for B to seduce the information from her instead, yes?”

  “My way is more fun,” Balthazar pointed out. And after experiencing what her touch could do at the pool, he craved more. “An in-depth analysis of her abilities is considered practical, right, Luc?”

  Their leader nodded. “Definitely. In fact, I should probably join you.” He tilted his head to the side as Leela uncrossed and recrossed her long legs. “I wonder what we could accomplish together.”

  Balthazar rubbed his jaw, considering. Luc was an excellent wingman—his favorite maybe, besides Jay. But something about this challenge felt personal. She dared him with her words earlier. “Find me later and maybe I’ll tell you. Maybe I won’t.”

  Oh, she would definitely talk. Right after he finished exploring her seductive talent to the fullest extent.

  “I want her to myself,” Balthazar admitted.

  Surprise filtered through Alik’s and Luc’s minds while their expressions remained carefully neutral.

  “She intrigues me,” Balthazar added. “I’m all for sharing after I figure her out. Besides”—he clapped Luc on the shoulder—“she prefers waffles. I intend to change her mind.”