Somewhere through the haze of his seduction, she felt his free hand slide up her leg to the juncture of her thighs to tease her kitty.
“Oh. My. God,” she mouthed. She’d forgotten about his other hand. While working her breasts into a frenzy, he smoothed his fingers over her curls. Seeking to heighten the intensity, she groaned and arched, pressing her pelvis into his hand, yearning for his touch there, begging for what surely would be expert attentions.
His fingers dipped between her folds, sweeping across and up and down. After a moment he paused and acquainted himself with her sweet spot, nudging at it as if testing how much she could take. Her gasp must have informed him. He circled her spot a few times and then zeroed in.
Gads, the man knew what he was doing. All three of her favorite zones were quivering in unison under his ardent touch, sinking her into a hot, bubbling tub of sensation. His skilled stimulation increased in tempo, and she peaked into the hardest, longest orgasm of her life. Reaching down and taking hold of his hand, she pressed it to her, sustaining her pleasure.
Had Elydian not felt her pulsating beneath his fingers, he would have thought she was faking her climax. Climaxes.
Falk! In all of his experience, he had no idea a body was capable of such ecstasy. Then again, her soft curves may have assisted in bringing about the prolonged occurrence. When he buried himself deep into her lush flesh, would it result in multiples for him as well? Unwilling to wait any longer, he released her body and positioned his straining cock at her feminine entrance.
“Wait, wait.” Her nearly breathless words were rushed, but sounded like contented sighs.
“Wait?” Elydian could barely comprehend her suggestion—he was far too hard and eager to feel her drenched flesh surrounding his.
“I-I don’t go all the way anymore.”
Regardless of his staff being in utter command of most of his senses, zealously seeking release, he froze and spoke very slowly so that she wouldn’t misunderstand him. “I am going to take my climax inside your body. Right now.”
“No! Stop!”
In the dimness of the room, Elydian observed a flash of fear in her eyes. He gritted his teeth. He was certainly no rapist. Refusing to proceed until he knew her reason—and fully intent upon breaking down her argument, he took a guess. “Are you afraid of conceiving?”
“Well, y-yes.”
“I can use the Bliss Plant if you wish.” He tilted his head toward the corner of the room where the succulent that housed an organic sheath within its thick leaves sat.
“Um… And—”
“And?”
“W-well, the one time I went all the way I—”
He watched her throat as she swallowed convulsively.
“Yes?” He urged her to continue through clenched teeth.
“I-I found that I couldn’t separate my heart from such a personal connection.”
Her eyes shined with unshed tears, but he continued with his questioning. “What does that mean?”
A sob escaped from between her lips. “I fell for him! There. Are you satisfied?”
“Not remotely satisfied.” He growled and took her by the arms, pulling her to a seated position. Elydian knelt before her, placing his cock into her hands. He reached over and snapped off a Bliss Plant branch. From the broken end the slick juice seeped, and Elydian squeezed so that her hands and his cock were sufficiently lubricated. “You will see me to my end, and then we shall discuss your problem further.”
She thanked him with a barely audible whisper, but before he could react, her slippery hands closed around his cock, draining every other thought from his mind.
Skilled palms slid to his hilt and back again. Feathery fingers dabbled with his sack and then sketched the circumference of his head. If he didn’t come soon, he feared his staff would remain stiff until the next season change to punish him for the delay.
Her loose grasp pushed and pulled at him. His temperature soared in combination with the heat of her friction. Glancing down, he watched her breasts bob with her efforts. He surged between her hands, and he reached for the fleshy globes, reveling in the way they practically floated within his palms.
At once she rose onto her knees, giving him better access to her body. Elydian’s orgasm erupted from deep inside. He arched his back and pushed himself against her, his cock pressing between her slippery breasts. And then it happened. He came again.
Breathless and too euphoric to even crack a smile, Elydian lowered his chin to the top of her head. His little Zsa-ninah pressed her soft body against his, still panting from their combined efforts.
Her beauty had staggered him from the first. Different physically and emotionally from the other women he’d lain with, she seemed sure of herself—of what she wanted, of what she didn’t want. Could she be his Zsa-ninah in the truest sense? And he wasn’t contemplating making her so just because she’d drawn two concurrent, explosive orgasms from him. Coupling like that never lasted—either her stamina or his would wear out in the end.
Wouldn’t it?
Coming to his senses, he untangled himself from her and helped her to recline against the pillows. Reaching for a bathing towel he dipped it into a nearby washing bowl. He then cleansed the mixture of plant secretions and semen from his new lover’s torso, taking great care around her lovely breasts. He watched the tips pebble as he dragged the wet cloth across them.
“So beautiful,” he murmured aloud.
She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
Elydian tossed the soiled fabric aside and returned her grin.
“So. What is your name?”
Jade groaned and rolled onto her stomach. Did he just cheapen the experience or did she just feel cheap? And what was with the sudden talkativeness? I’ve heard of a day late and two bits short…
“Well?”
She sighed. Pushing herself to a seated position and covering her nude body with one of the velvet throw pillows, she replied to his belated inquiry. “Jade. My name is Jade.”
“Jade,” he repeated. “I am Omari Elydian Amun.”
“Er, Yeah. That’s what that creep, Lothar-Canute, said.” She tilted her head in thought and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I think I’ll just call you Eli. That’s much easier than—” She lifted her hand and motioned as if a long word floated before her in the air. “—Blady, blady—bla.”
“You may call me Omari.”
“Oh, is that your first name?”
“No, it is my title. It means. commander. The one in charge. The authority.”
Oh, he wishes! “Of course.” Tempted to roll her eyes heavenward, she continued, “I don’t think I’ll call you ‘Commander’. Thanks anyway. Eli will do.”
“It matters not what you call me,” he purred and pulled the pillow from her chest. “So long as you do.”
That made Jade grin. “You’re kind of a softy for being such a great beast of a fella.”
She felt more than heard the deep rumble of his chuckle. “You utter some strange words, Zsa-ninah.”
I ain’t the only one. “I said you are soft,” she murmured against his lips as he reclined them both back against the pillows once again. “It means—”
“I know what it means. However, you will find I am far from soft.” Eli pressed the head of his freshly stiffened shaft against her thigh.
She groaned low in her throat. “And how.” She reached for him, but he shifted his hips away from her searching hand.
“There is the matter of your problem we need to discuss.”
Gads, talk about takin’ the edge off. “I don’t think I wish to discuss—”
“This man with whom you fell in love with? Why is he not with you now?”
Jade shrugged. “He obviously didn’t return my affections.”
Eli’s gaze dipped to her chest for a moment. “Was he blind or stupid?”
She took a breath to defend the captain of the rowing team at U of C who’d taken her virginity during her very first
petting party when she caught on to Eli’s insinuation. “You sure have a funny way of flattering a gal.”
“How long ago did your encounter with him take place?”
“Four years.” She shrugged. “A lifetime ago.”
“You no longer love him?”
“Not on your life.”
His look suggested he didn’t understand.
“That means, no. I don’t love him.”
“Is he the reason you became a Lambish? Did you think no one else would join with you?”
Lambish. Lambish. What the heck is that? “I’m sorry. What is a Lambish?”
A strange look crossed Eli’s features in the dim light of the room. It must have been morning by now, but Jade wasn’t concerned. She just wanted to know what the hell “Lambish” meant.
Chapter Four
Calling a woman a whore was not the greatest way to establish a relationship. Elydian searched for an answer while his cock settled back down. An alteration of focus just might help evade his thoughtlessness. “This man who hurt you. What was his name?”
His feisty desert blossom pinned him with a look that could melt sand. “His name is not important, but the definition I seek is. Now what does Lambish mean?”
Elydian sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “You are not going to let this go, are you?”
She sat up as well and pulled another nearby pillow to her body. “I’m waiting.”
Which would be worse: ordering her to change the subject or telling her I thought she was a camp whore? “Look, I—”
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” She stated the question, hugging the pillow to her chest, her eyes narrowing at him.
He felt like the lowest form of life. “You have to understand. Lone females just don’t appear in a camp without being sent to fulfill a purpose.”
With a sharp intake of breath, she stood, still clutching the pillow. “You…you think I’m like that…that Have-Laya woman?”
Falk. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. “Havliah. And no, I don’t. Not anymore.”
“But you did! You thought I was here to pleasure you for payment!”
Now she was getting personal. “No, for protection.”
“For… Oh, I see. I provide you with frosting for your cupcake, and you protect me from the big bad world along with the other cookies in your jar!”
Elydian watched wearily as she gathered her discarded clothing, slipped her wrist jewelry on, and marched over to the entrance.
“Do not open that curtain.” The warning issued, she completely ignored him.
“I am not the type of gal who’d be content joining some twisted harem! See ya.”
He reached for her, but she hurried up to the entrance of the greeting room. “Do not—”
She grasped the thick fabric and flung it aside. “Oh!” She staggered backwards down the incline and landed upon the pillows. A blast of hot air stole some of the coolness from the room.
Stepping forward he sealed off the entrance again.
“Applesauce! Is the world on fire? I think I just got pasted in the puss by Manhattan in July.”
“I told you not to lift the curtain.”
She looked up at him as if he had two grown another heads. “Yes, but you didn’t tell me about the oven on the other side.”
“It is why we sleep during the day here.”
“I don’t remember it ever being that hot. I think the weather’s gone bazoolie,” she murmured. “So I’m stuck here for at least, what, another ten hours?” He watched her shuffle through her garments, attempting to redress herself.
Elydian felt her frustration from where he stood. His assumption wasn’t his fault. The alluring garment she’d arrived in had assisted in the indication of what he perceived to be her profession—unless the latest style of dress beyond the borders of his camp had become so brash. Her delicious assets had been put on display through the almost sheer material.
And falk, if she wasn’t about to don the same condemning clothes.
In two strides, he crossed to her. “Is that all you have to wear?”
Looking up she glared at him. “Yes,” she hissed. “I didn’t bring a valise of clothes with me if that’s what you mean.”
He swallowed. Her lack of fear shot straight to the head of his cock, but the things she said absolutely perplexed him. He scraped at his scalp again. “Can I get you something else to wear, at least temporarily?”
Her gaze softened some, and Elydian wished she’d always look at him thus—with a fire in her eyes that assessed his very soul.
“Thanks. That would be very gentlemanly of you.”
Even though she sounded stung, he was more than pleased with her acceptance of his offering. He reached into a fabric-lined basket that held his very best clothes and pulled out the softest shirt in his possession. Running his palms over the fabric, he turned and held it out to her. “Will this do?”
Nodding, she took the garment from him and slipped into it. “Thank you,” she murmured and turned to face him. “I-I’m sorry I opened the curtain.”
His shirt looked utterly fetching on her. The bottom brushed just below her knees and at the top the collar gapped open to reveal the curve of one of her lush breasts. When she moved her hair out of her eyes with a sweep of her hand, the sweet, flesh-toned edge of her nipple peaked out, but only for a brief moment. He felt the shock all the way down his spine. “So you believe me now, that I am innocent of thinking you a Lambish?”
“Yes, I do. But that baby-grand, Lothar-Canute, on the other hand—”
Eli’s eyes turned hard. “Stay away from Lothar-Canute. He’s a lazy excuse for a male whose only goal in life is to play.”
Eli didn’t have to tell her twice. “‘Play’ as in play hide and seek with his serpent?”
He almost smiled. “I understand he has a very small reptile for a pet.”
Jade giggled. “So, you have a sense of humor after all.” Oh, yeah., Poolie, you’ve got his number.
He grinned and shook his head. Jade’s tummy fluttered girlishly at the sight.
“Come, let’s not argue. I’m tired.” He held out his hand to her.
The fact that she was stuck here with him was only half the reason she was compelled to stay. Would that she could chronicle the sight before her. A god beckoned her to sojourn with him. What pleasures awaited her at his mercy? She placed her fingers in the center of his warm palm, and he lowered them once again to the pillows.
In a matter of moments, he had captured her body in a perfect spoon. Oh, how she loved spooning. She snuggled as close as she could to his solid body. “Mmmm. Ten hours may not be enough,” she murmured.
“Neither would ten days.”
Jade would have laughed had she detected a sliver of humor in his voice. “Be that as it may, I must return to the dig.”
The arm around her waist stiffened just a bit. “What dig is that?”
“Why, Dr. Harper’s dig, of course.”
“I have not sanctioned a dig. It isn’t near the oasis of Anuk-dye, is it?”
Oh, brother. This is where I came in. “I don’t think so.”
He lifted his head, and she twisted to lock gazes with him. “How can you not know if the is dig is near the oasis or not? If it is, the entire digging party, including you, is subject to eradication from the region.”
Sick and tired of over-bearing, territorial males, she turned her face away from his and settled her cheek upon the pillow. The quicker she got out from under the spell of Commander Eli, the better. “I would be more than glad to leave this place and have the dig break up. In fact, the second the sun sets, I’m outta here.”
Eli went quiet for some time. Good. Maybe he, too, looked forward to her leaving. The very idea plucked at her already bruised ego more than she would have imagined, but she shoved the thought aside.
With her plan resolved in her mind, Jade fell asleep, her thoughts drifting to a totally different place. However, the peace s
he’d found didn’t last. His irritated words pulled her from her misty dream.
“I will take you to this dig of which you speak. However, if you leave my care on your own, you may as well serve yourself to Lothar-Canute on a platter.”
“What? Why?”
“Because believe it or not, Lothar-Canute is second in charge in the camp of Omari Amun, after myself, of course.”
“Ew.” She shuddered at the thought of Lothar’s hands on her person. “How did that happen?”
She felt him shrug. “He is related to an important political power in Anuk-dye, the city the oasis supports. He was appointed the post as opposed to serving the people and earning the rank.”
“Ick. I despise unproductive nepotism. So what does Lothar do?”
“You mean, what is he supposed to do? He is supposed to go once every month to supervise the guards of the oasis—make sure they have what they need, that they are doing their jobs and bring in more recruits.”
“And he doesn’t go?”
“No. As I said, he is a lazy excuse for a male. He is very adept at providing justification as to why he cannot make the journey.”
“Let me guess. You go in his place, right?”
He sighed. “If I didn’t go in his stead, he’d complain to his relative, and I would lose the rank I fought so hard for. You see before you the youngest Omari in history.”
“Another thing I loathe, politics. Well, you’ve impressed me. I’m sure your rank is well-deserved.”
Eli’s arm tightened around her waist. She rolled over in his arms, and he grinned down at her.
“The best things are worth fighting for,” he murmured, gazing into her eyes.
Ah, more flattery from Mister Coax-me. “You’ll find me an easy victory, bub— especially when you look at me with those peepers of yours.”
He bent his face to her neck and kissed every exposed inch, but she craved more of his touch that sent her to the moon and back. Jade squirmed beneath him and shimmied out of the shirt he’d lent her. As he did the first time, he paid expert homage to her breasts, murmuring unintelligible words of praise against her skin—the whispers and vibrations causing delicious goose bumps to skitter across her body. His cheeks and chin sported a light shadow of hair, and he used the texture to titillate her nipples. The pain-pleasure drew breathy moans from deep within her.
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