Baffled, Ariss blinked in confusion, then rolled her eyes when she understood. “Be thankful your penis isn’t that long. If it were, some enterprising soul would have captured you and sold you as a novelty slave to the empress.”
His laughter surged a thrill of pleasure straight from her ears to her heart. In many ways, Kerrick was almost the exact opposite of her father, and most of the men in Felton. Even in a dire situation, he found humor. Kerrick laughed easily and openly, embracing himself, foibles and all. Ariss longed to find that effortless self-acceptance.
Kerrick wrapped his hand around the staff with practiced confidence, stroking his fist lightly up and down the smooth wood. Mesmerized, Ariss simply watched, her mind back on the first time they had been together in the mating room. Watching him handle himself had thoroughly aroused her. Something about the power in his arm, his focus on his own pleasure, the way his lids settled low, giving him an almost sinister appearance.
“I can do that for you again, if you’d like,” he offered, leaning close so that his warm breath wafted against her ear.
She shivered and drew the hood closer around her neck and face. “I thought you wanted to learn?”
He made a small um-hum of agreement, then twirled the staff. “Well, bless Behdera’s testicles!” Smoothly, he shifted the rod from hand to hand, his grip sure, the movement of his fingers flawless.
Ariss backed away, giving him room, which he used to swing and twirl the staff with graceful precision. He fought with a shadow opponent, twirling and thrusting his staff with movements that were almost like a dance. She marveled at the change that came over him. His smile was so wide it transformed his face. Each move he made caused his muscles to bunch and flex below his taut skin. The crystals danced light over the sprinkling of golden hair that covered his form. When he held just right, he literally glowed. She could not take her eyes off him. As she watched his hands, she felt her passage weep to feel those talented digits working so earnestly upon her tender flesh. At least now, she knew his seeming lack of interest had nothing to do with her; he was consumed with his inability to work this weapon. Of course, he was now fully focused on that and oblivious to her. With a sigh, she settled herself on an armless chair pushed back against the wall.
For a long time, Kerrick practiced, hardly aware that she watched. When he did notice her, he proudly showed her a complicated series of twirls and thrusts, and then set the staff aside. He moved in front of her, causing her to strain her neck to look up, but only for a moment, because he dropped to his knees, cupping her hand in his.
“You,” he said, kissing the palm of her hand, “are the most amazing woman.” Reverently, he lifted his intense gaze, pinning her where she sat. “You realize you have saved my life?”
She honestly didn’t think she had, but if he wished to think it, who was she to say otherwise? “There are many ways to show me gratitude. Ways that don’t involve words.” She couldn’t believe she spoke so boldly, but she wasn’t sure how else to get him to wrench off her heavy robe and finish what he started earlier.
Wantonly, he teased his tongue to the center of her palm.
Melting at the thought of his tongue making the same movements along her body, she sighed, and tugged at the clasps of her robe.
Kerrick let go of her hand and pushed the edge of her robe up, exposing the length of her legs. Once he pooled the bulk of the fabric in her lap, he teased his fingers along the sensitive flesh of her calves, the tender back of her legs, then around so that his palms rested on her knees. Leaning forward, he placed a delicate kiss between them, then gently pushed them apart, all the while staring right into her eyes.
His gaze was so intense he almost stole her breath. Ariss grasped the back of the chair to hold steady. Against her hands, she felt two loops. When she glanced down, she saw two thick animal-hide strips on each side of the chair back. As Kerrick worked his way up her inner thighs, one luscious kiss at a time, she explored the curious devices, trying to determine their use.
When he pulled her legs forward, gently moving her to the edge of the seat, causing her to grasp for purchase, she suddenly realized the purpose of the thick loops. But what left her baffled was why a Harvester would have such a device within his rooms. Ariss fondled the thick animal-hide, her mind racing at how she could get Kerrick to sit in this seat. All thoughts fled when he reached the tender juncture of her inner thigh. Smoothly, he slid his finger up the length of her sex, his rumble of satisfaction clear when he found her slick and ready. His tongue followed the same route, causing her to lift her bottom off the chair so that he could find a better angle with which to lave her clit.
Over and over, his tongue danced along the swollen bit of flesh, his eyes riveted to her face, gauging her reaction. Desperate in her need, Ariss wanted to rip the robe off, but her hands were busy holding her up. The contrast between his silky soft tongue and the rough, scratchy fabric sent her senses reeling.
“Wait,” Ariss breathed out, dropping back into the chair.
Kerrick’s stunned look almost made her laugh. Almost.
“I want you to sit here.” She stood up, pointing to the chair, hoping he wouldn’t notice the straps. She’d carefully tucked them back into the scalloped design of the furniture.
With a curious half smile, Kerrick settled himself in the chair, oblivious to her true intent. When Ariss knelt before him, he moaned, anticipating the obvious.
Ever so softly, she trailed her hands along his thighs until she cupped the hardness of his prick through the loincloth. “I saved your life and you think I’m going to suck your cock, too?” she asked mockingly, making sure her hot breath caressed his twitching organ. One of the most wonderful properties of astle was its ability to conduct temperature. She knew her breath and his body heat combined would set him to the boiling point.
“No?” he asked, his face turning wistful and curious all at once.
Flashing him a wicked smile, she said, “Hold on.” When Kerrick frowned, she added, “Grasp the back of the chair with both hands.” Obligingly, he did. With two quick jerks, she bound his wrists with the thick, animal-hide loops.
Shocked, Kerrick yanked his arms forward. When he found them bound, his face turned thunderous.
Ariss automatically retreated, crawling back on her knees so that he couldn’t reach her even with his legs. Her face must have conveyed her fear because his attitude diminished into speculation.
Softly, he murmured, “You naughty, naughty girl.”
Nodding, Ariss stood, secure in the knowledge that he was now bound to the chair. The loops were sturdy, clearly designed to stop even the massive power of the Harvester from escaping.
“You didn’t know about this chair?” Ariss asked, working the clasps of her robe apart.
“No, if I had, I would have strapped you to it.” He tested the loops again, his entire body drawing taut, displaying the incredible strength he possessed.
“All that power now contained for my pleasure.” With a flourish, she flipped the robe off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. As his gaze ate her up, she stood straighter, lifting her face, enjoying the way his pupils dilated, and his breathing grew deeper and more ragged. Two cycles ago, she never could have even imagined herself doing something like this, but her provocative display felt almost natural with Kerrick. Having him bound, to do with as she pleased, was a heady experience. One she didn’t intend to waste.
Licking his lips, Kerrick asked, “And just what will you be doing with me?”
Stepping near, Ariss slung her leg over his, settling herself on his lap with her sex tantalizingly close to his so he could feel her heat through the thin wall of fabric that separated them. “I haven’t decided.” Oh, yes, she had, but why tell him when anticipation would simply be another aphrodisiac?
Before he could ask her another question, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply as she plastered her body against his. Where she was soft, he was hard. The contrast caused her nipple
s to contract. Playfully, she rubbed them against his, causing his to tighten and a low growl to rumble in his chest. Through the loincloth, she felt his cock—hot, hard, and oh-so-ready and willing. She resisted the urge to simply impale herself upon him. Instead, she decided that she would wait until he was panting and breathless with need.
Even though he was bound, he kissed her as if she were the one strapped to the chair. His mouth was aggressive, his tongue plundering, his teeth nipping her lips and coaxing plaintive moans to rumble from deep inside her chest. Kerrick tasted of wild passion and occult ecstasy. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she wriggled restlessly, her sex uncomfortably hot and tight. The longing inside became almost unbearable.
With a frustrated snarl, Kerrick commanded, “Take this damn loincloth off.” And she did so without a thought, yanking and tugging the fabric off his hips. Once she pulled the cloth free, she tossed it aside and snuggled closer to him, unconcerned with him taking control even in his bound state. What did it matter when she wanted him naked, anyway?
After a rumbled expletive, he growled, “Gods, Ariss, you are so hot, so wet.” He rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “Let me feel you.” Tilting his head up, his gaze captured hers, the depth of his green eyes pleading his case with a frankness that astounded her. “I need you. Never in my life have I hungered the way I crave you.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Please.” Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Please.”
Hypnotized, Ariss lifted up and slid herself down his length, watching as his eyes drifted almost all the way closed, and he exhaled one long, slow breath as if he’d been holding it for days. Her head went back as she took him fully within, his girth stretching her, his length pushing deeper until he pressed against the very depth of her body. Desperate to take more, she shimmied her body down in a useless effort.
Heeding her frustrated whine, Kerrick thrust up from the chair, forcing his cock just a bit deeper, just enough to make her utter a shocked gasp and clutch her thighs around his body.
Together, they moved, working their hips, rocking their bodies to a beat only they could hear. His lips found hers, kissing her with a commanding force that thrilled her and told her without a doubt who was in charge. She didn’t care. She would follow his lead secure in the knowledge that he would not abuse her loyalty. With two quick flicks of her fingers, she removed the straps, setting him free, allowing him to do with her as he pleased.
To her shock, he stood, forcing her legs straight. He pulled out of her with a quick yank. Before she could react, he spun her around so that she faced away from him. He then pulled her back against his body, plunging his cock into her with startling accuracy. Carefully, he sat back down, taking her with him, so that now she pressed her back against his chest. She had no idea why the sudden change until he lowered his hand. Initially, he made wide circles around her clit, causing it to stand at attention, begging for his touch. The more she wriggled against him, the more he teased ever so close but never quite touching.
At her whimpers, he growled, “This is what happens when you try to capture the beast.”
A shiver of sheer bliss shot through her. He would make her pay for her impulsive act. Of course, she knew that he would, which was why she’d boldly taken charge. Every cell in her body cried out for his possession, and she knew he wouldn’t disappoint her.
Angling her hips down, he thrust into her several times with such aggression he almost pushed her off his lap. Only his hands on her hips held her against him, readying her for another wicked thrust. Gasping cries of pleasure were torn from her lips as she lowered her hands to the edge of the chair to help hold herself ready for him. He lifted them both up, snarling in frustration that he couldn’t move the way he wanted. Balancing her against him, he stood, then strode toward the bed, placing her facedown against the edge.
“Much better,” he moaned, pounding against her, causing the flesh of her bottom to shake with each hard thrust. His cock was a sleek tool, plunging, withdrawing, making her want more. In her haze of lust, she needed to feel everything he could give her. From the tenderest brush of his lips to the most brutal pounding of his hips, Ariss wanted all of him.
Each time he slammed forward, his balls slapped against her clit, striking her slick and tender flesh just hard enough to increase her pleasure and increase the pressure of an intense orgasm that longed to burst free. Her mind was awhirl with conflict; she wanted this, wanted him. She wanted all the pleasure he could wrench from her body, but she didn’t want to lie to him, to trick him, to force him to become a father if he wasn’t ready. Each time he moved against her was another chance for him to climax, and thus take the choice from her; but each time he didn’t, he pushed her anxiety higher.
Making her choice, Ariss angled up, tilting her hips so that he could go even deeper inside. Each time he did, he pushed her into the bed, pressing the breath out of her body, causing her moans to burst forth in time with his movements. It began to feel as if he breathed for her, his body working hers like a bellows, blowing against the coals until the heat increased. All she needed was one little spark to ignite the blaze.
“Tell me you want more,” he ordered, his voice a low rumble that pressed a primitive part of her brain, a part that wanted to give him what he needed just as much as he longed to do the same to her.
“More, Kerrick,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder, catching sight of the sweat pouring off his neck and sleeking down his chest. He appeared to her as a god who walked upon the mortal world. Kerrick’s body was perfection. His muscles bulged. Exertion caused him to glisten. “Give me everything you have.”
At her words, his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed, turning them into dangerous slits. Once, when she was very young, her father had taken her on an outing to see exotic animals from all over the Onic Empire. Most of them were caged, listless, all the fight beaten out of them, their eyes dull and their bodies listless. The pathetic beings had broken her tender heart and she cried, embarrassing her father to the point he strode quickly through the exhibits, berating her from out the corner of his mouth. But there was one, a sleek, four-legged creature with glistening dark fur that paced the length of his cage. So determined was his stride, the otall had worn a path into the wood plank floor. Kerrick’s eyes reminded her of that caged beast—alive, glossy, waiting for a chance to run free. Her words had unlocked his cage.
He grasped her ankles, lifting her up, forcing the angle of her hips to deepen so that he could work more of his length within. She felt vulnerable in her exposure but also trusted the man who held her open for his pleasure. In his drive to mate with her, he became wild, untamed, and almost manic in his thrusts. Before this moment, she might have been afraid of his animal state, but not now, not when her own beast rose within, longing for more, needing more.
In a soft litany, she encouraged him to give everything to her, to shove his cock deeper, to fill her, to take her. She begged him until her voice grew demanding, desperate. Ariss grasped her fists into the bedclothes, tearing them in her frenzy to hang on, to keep herself wide for him. She imagined the silken fabric was his back and her nails were digging in, to force him to be more vicious in his possession. In the heat of her lust, she didn’t want tender mercy; she wanted brutal punishment. Craving his discipline, she rent the fabric in a loud, long pull.
When Kerrick heard her tear the fabric, he laughed victoriously. “That’s it, Ariss, show me how wild you really are.” Leaning near enough to almost whisper in her ear, he added, “Tell me you want me to fuck you, you nasty girl.”
That sinful word, fuck, was the spark that caused her entire body to burst into flames. Her cunt gripped around his cock, trying to capture him and force him to fill her, but he withdrew, holding the tip of his staff to her, teasing his finger along her clit, milking another series of orgasms from her still-spasming body.
Once the initial shivers subsided, he plunged so fast and deep into her that she gasped, clawing at the
covers, pulling them down the length of the bed to bunch below her chest, which only angled her more for another ruthless plunge. In a rapid series of thrusts, she climaxed until she became a helpless quivering mound of flesh upon his bed.
She heard him catch his breath. He gripped his fingers around her ankles and a burst of short growls rumbled up from his chest. Glancing back over her shoulder, she watched him struggle to withhold his orgasm. He was determined not to tumble over the edge. He deliberately held himself back, demanding more climaxes from her before he would give her his.
Her conflict was overcome with her own dire need to feel his release within her body, and she knew, right down to her soul, that his passion to get deeper was his own primal need to fill her with his seed. Breathlessly, she obeyed, begging him to fuck her with the last bit of her strength. Later, she would worry about the morality of her actions. For now, all that consumed her was her duty and her primal need to mate, fully, with her chosen.
His breathing grew labored and the rushing air cooled her back. His fists to her ankles slipped from their combined sweat. He snarled in frustration, letting her legs go so he could slip his hands under her hips, holding her steady for a syncopated series of thrusts that left her gasping and weak.
She knew his climax was imminent because of the way he struggled to keep his thrusts timed, but he kept increasing the beat. Ariss turned to look over her shoulder, longing to see his face become a twisted mask of pleasure denied, then the release that would allow his entire face to go slack as he rode out his pleasure.
What actually confronted her gaze caused her lips to part and a shocked scream to erupt.
11
Through Kerrick’s red haze of lust, Ariss’ scream penetrated, constricting his heart with panic that in his violent burst of passion he’d inadvertently hurt her.
[The Onic Empire 03] - Sinful Harvest Page 13
