by Aubrey Ross
Jetrel smiled. “It sounds like you’ve thought about him more than you realize.”
“What happens now?”
Lilith watched her mate’s gaze cloud and knew his news would not please their daughter. His expressions were often subtle, but she’d learned to interpret every nuance in their years together.
“He wishes to begin wooing you,” Jetrel said.
“When?”
“Immediately.”
Verrine gasped. “Tonight? I am not to have any time to prepare myself for his wooing? I must go to him tonight?”
Let me talk to her. Lilith carefully sent the thought directly to Jetrel’s mind.
He nodded and left the room.
She had to do something to ease the panic in Verrine, to alleviate her helplessness. Lilith had endured years of abuse at the hands of a brutal mate. Her daughter would never suffer the same fate. “I will be brutally honest with you,” Lilith began.
“It’s about time.”
“You have no choice but to accept Balam as mate. You will be required to submit to his desires until the season of wooing has ended. If you find the match unbearable at that point, you are free to set him aside.”
Verrine laughed. “Set aside the Prime Leader of the Realm of Darkness. You must think I’m a fool. He would never allow such a thing. If I told him I intended—”
“You would not forewarn him. You would make a proclamation to the Council of Seven before Balam had any idea what you were about. He would be bound by the Demonic Charter to let you go.”
“Are you suggesting this is what I should do?”
Lilith sat beside her daughter and gently stroked her hand. Fierce protectiveness surged through Lilith, followed immediately by a rush of tenderness. Even after nineteen years the intensity of her maternal instincts surprised her. She must arm Verrine for the battle awaiting her.
“I’m explaining that you are not completely trapped. If Balam cannot stir your passion, you have options. If he is cruel to you, do not hesitate. I waited far too long to set Sammael aside.”
Verrine said nothing. Her troubled expression tore at Lilith’s heart. She had raised her daughter to be strong and independent, but ultimately Verrine must face this conflict alone.
“There is one more thing to consider.” She waited for Verrine to meet her gaze. “If you set Balam aside, it gives Arioch the right to woo you before anyone else can touch you.”
* * *
Balam paced his throne room, fury and possessive passion twisting through him with ferocious intensity. He’d been a hair’s breadth away from killing his brother. His brother, for hell’s sake! No female should have such power over him.
Knowing it was no longer possible for him to end Arioch’s existence was no consolation. He’d been mad with jealousy, blind with rage, completely out of control.
It would not happen again.
He would surrender control to no one.
Verrine must understand that she belonged to him and him alone. He would show her in no uncertain terms what it meant to be Balam’s mate. She would not leave his bed until she surrendered to his claiming. Blood pounded through his cock, echoing the thunder in his ears. Another surge of dominance consumed him. She would be his!
A resounding knock announced her arrival. He wanted a moment to observe her, assess her. Striding to the corner beside the door, he transformed into his Serpent Clan shape and wound into a tight coil.
One of his guards pushed the door open and Verrine entered. A diaphanous garment of pale blue floated around her body, a teasing cloud that concealed nothing. Her regal bearing fascinated him, so like Lilith, proud and sure. Strands of bright blue mixed with her long black hair, flowing to her hips in a shiny curtain. High, round breasts tapered to a narrow waist, then flared dramatically to rounded hips and a delectable ass.
Balam hissed and uncoiled, resuming his demon form.
She meandered toward the dais, studying his elaborate throne. He could bend her over the seat and fuck her brutally from behind.
No! This must be a gentle wooing. She must offer herself willingly.
“It is customary to disrobe when you are in my presence,” he told her.
Her head tilted, but she didn’t turn around. “I didn’t realize you were present, Sire. Shall I disrobe now?”
Her tone was tight, her posture stiff. This was not a good beginning.
“Verrine.” He spoke her name softly, caressing each syllable as he wished to caress her. But the memory of her supple body arched in ecstasy as Arioch partook of her pleasure shot fiery darts into his gut.
“Yes, Sire?” She still faced his throne.
He gently cupped her shoulders. She started violently. Had fear or dread caused her reaction? “Why will you not look at me?”
She turned, dislodging his hands, and raised her gaze to his face. Wide blue eyes stared back at him unflinchingly. She appeared…resigned. He didn’t want her resigned to her fate. He wanted her wild and willing, eager for his touch.
As she had been with Arioch!
He shoved the thought aside. Jealousy would not serve him now. He must woo her, win her…seduce her.
“What can I do to put you at ease?” He looked at her mouth, craving his first taste of her passion.
“Why would you want me at ease? I am yours to do with as you will.”
A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “You aren’t afraid of me.” The realization astonished him then annoyed him. “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
“If you had wanted me afraid, you would have claimed me long ago. Why wait until I’m mature for this interaction?”
He brushed his knuckles against her cheek, his lips parting in a predatory smile. “You’re right. I didn’t want a frightened child. I wanted a proud female worthy to be my queen. Are you she? Are you brave enough to be my mate? Are you strong enough to match my passion?”
Her lips trembled and her gaze began to glow. Had he been too bold? Hell help him if she wept. He hated female tears.
“Our wooing is to be a test of endurance?” Laughter revealed itself in her tone. “You don’t cast yourself in a very flattering light.”
His eyes narrowed and he curved his fingers around her chin. “You mock me?”
“No, Sire. I’m but trying to understand what you expect from me.”
“I’ll make it simple for you. I cannot get the image of your face out of my mind. I keep seeing your expression as you surrendered to the pleasure my brother unleashed within your body.”
“I didn’t know.” She continued to meet his gaze, pride replacing her amusement. “If I had been aware of the pact, I would never have allowed… It should not have happened.”
“But you enjoyed his touch, his kiss?”
She said nothing.
Growling angrily, he yanked her against his chest. “I want to touch you and kiss you and taste you. I want to fuck you until you are so full of me you can think of no one else.”
“You cannot claim me—”
“Unless you want me to. If you want my cock inside you, if you ask to be filled, it is permitted.”
Dragging in a shaky breath, she turned her face away. “I’m not ready to be claimed. I will not ask it of you.”
“We shall see.”
He swept her into his arms and strode across the room. Kicking open an adjoining door, he carried her into his bedchamber. Verrine’s heart lodged in her throat. Panic gripped her for a long, painful moment, but gradually anger and determination bled through the other emotion. She was in control! Let him do his damnedest. He couldn’t claim her unless she asked for his cock.
Setting her down beside the bed, he framed her face with his hands and pressed his mouth to hers. She expected a brutal, demanding kiss. Instead his lips slid against hers and his tongue teased.
“I may not be good with words, but I know how to use my mouth.”
He deepened the kiss, urging her lips to part and caressing her tongue with his. A d
eep flush spread over her skin, raising her temperature and speeding her pulse. Still, she could not allow herself to be overpowered by the sensations. He wrapped her in his arms, molding her body against his, pressing his erect cock into her belly. He felt huge, impossibly long and…
“I want to see you,” she whispered against his mouth. “Disrobe for me.”
A tremor shook him and Verrine smiled. Feminine power expanded, making heat pool in her core. He was expecting a struggle, a battle of wills. So she would become the aggressor.
“If I take off my robe, you will not leave this room until I am satisfied.”
She grinned, emboldened by the need so obvious in his expression and the tension in his body. “There are many ways to find satisfaction.”
His dark eyes gleamed dangerously. “How many of them did you explore with my brother?”
She sighed. “I thought I was here to learn from you.”
He chuckled. “Clever girl. Divert my attention, distract me from my anger.”
Understanding her strategy wouldn’t protect him from the results. She smiled again and swayed toward him. “May I help you undress?”
Opening a seam down the front of his robe, he dropped the garment to his feet, standing before her naked and challenging. Sleekly muscled and hairless, his body waited for her exploring touch. She ran her index finger from the indentation at the base of his throat, down across his chest, over his rippling abdomen. He was wonderfully made, all chiseled muscles and smooth skin.
She stroked his chest with one hand while her other caressed his lean hips. She ran her fingers from side to side, intentionally avoiding his rampant erection. His shaft arched toward her as the tip darkened to grayish green. She teased his abdomen on either side, making him tremble and moan.
“Let me claim you, Verrine,” he growled. “Let me fill you.”
Slowly she wrapped her fingers around his massive cock and stroked from base to tip. He sucked in a ragged breath then held it as she began to explore. She passed her thumb over the plush head and watched a drop of moisture seep from the tiny slit. Fascinated, she sank to the edge of his bed and leaned closer. She blew her moist breath across him and heard his pent-up breath hiss out.
“I will not let you toy with me and leave me wanting.”
She looked up at his tense features and smiled. “You will not be left wanting.” Circling the head of his cock with her tongue, she memorized his texture and taste. She had often wondered about this. It was nearly impossible to grow up in the Realm of Darkness and not see oral tribute being exchanged. She cupped his heavy balls with one hand while she took his shaft into her mouth.
“I want to pleasure you.” Despite his complaint, he rocked his hips, driving his cock deeper.
His shaft was rock hard, yet the softness of his skin surprised and pleased her. She’d expected this to be pleasant. It would not be so popular if it were not enjoyable. But her body warmed and melted in response. Why was her body reacting when he was receiving the attention?
He slid in and out, his shaft jerking against her tongue. She moved her hands to his lean hips then boldly cupped his tight ass with both hands. The shape and size of his posterior seemed designed for squeezing, so she squeezed.
Growling deep in his throat, he thrust in earnest, bumping the back of her mouth with each lunge. She sucked and swirled, exhilarated by his growing frenzy. His taste grew stronger as did his smell, musky and intoxicating. He pumped faster.
“No! Damn it. This is not what I want from you.”
He jerked out of her mouth and turned away. His ass flexed and bunched, his hands clenched, then released and clenched again. “Did you suck his cock?” He sounded utterly miserable.
“Why do you keep asking about him?” Every time he mentioned his brother it reestablished the image within her mind. She was trying to forget, trying to keep her mind in the moment, open her emotions to Balam’s wooing. “The more you know the angrier it will make you. I don’t want you to be angry with me.”
Turning back around, he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her up off the bed. “Did Arioch defile you?” His chest heaved and his teeth flashed white in the subdued light. “Is that why you won’t let me claim you?”
Frustrated by his persistence, she took a deep breath, then explained in a stiff rush, “He showed me how to touch myself and then he gave me pleasure with his mouth. That is all we did! Now I will say no more about it, so don’t ask again.”
“Show me. Show me what he taught you. Get on the bed and pleasure yourself.”
“No!”
He pulled his lips back from his teeth and snarled. “You dare defy me!” He spun her around and pushed her facedown across the bed. Then he flipped up her dress and kicked her legs apart. “You belong to me! It’s time you start accepting the fact.”
“I belong to myself and raping me isn’t going to change the fact!” Despite her brave words, she braced for the inevitable pain. Shame curled around resignation and her heart began to shrivel. She’d always dreamed of finding the sort of devotion her parents enjoyed, always hoped that she would be as lucky.
Then her mother’s words echoed through her mind. If she found Balam intolerable, she could set him aside. If you set Balam aside, it gives Arioch the right to woo you before anyone else can touch you. All she had to do was survive this night. She wasn’t convinced Arioch was the answer, but she would not spend the rest of her life being ground beneath the heel of anyone!
“I have no intention of raping you.” He whispered the silken threat into her ear as his fingers slipped between her thighs.
She swallowed hard, relieved yet wary. What game was he playing now?
“You’re so wet.” His fingers brushed over her sodden folds. “Did having my cock in your mouth excite you or are you secretly hoping I’ll fuck you?”
“You can’t fuck me unless I ask you to, and that will never happen now.”
He laughed and lightly pinched her clit. “Never is a very long time.”
His fingers played over her pussy, traced her slit and rimmed her anus. She squirmed and gasped, each new sensation more tantalizing than the last. This was unexpected and confusing. Why was he bothering to tease when they both knew his claim was valid? All she was doing was postponing the inevitable outcome.
His touch hesitated over her shielded opening and his breath hissed out. “So you’re not defiled.” He finally sounded relieved, so why didn’t he let her up?
“I told you what happened,” she gritted the words out with her teeth clenched.
“If I cannot claim you tonight, perhaps we’ll explore other options.”
She tensed. Surely he didn’t mean…
His finger slowly pushed into her ass and they groaned in unison. Lust, dark and tempting curled through her abdomen, making her core clench and her back passage ripple.
“You are so tight,” he whispered. “My finger stretches you. We will definitely have to work on this.” He withdrew his finger and turned her over, pushing her legs up and back.
Verrine looked at him, framed by her thighs, his expression a mix of possessiveness and fascination. He touched her pussy with such care and gentleness now she was powerless to resist.
“Did you like it when…”
His words trailed away. She’d sworn not to respond and he already knew the answer. Parting her flesh with his thumbs, he ducked his head between her thighs and traced her slit with his tongue. Again and again he licked her, pausing at the top of each stroke to circle her clit.
Her legs shook and she helplessly rocked her hips. His thumbs gently teased her folds as his tongue settled directly over her swollen nub. His hands shifted in a series of tantalizing caresses. He held her open with one hand now as the other eased lower and teased her anus.
What was his fixation with her ass?
It was a foolish question really. He was desperate to be inside her and her other passage was forbidden. At least for now.
He gathered cream fro
m her pussy folds then carefully slipped one of his fingers past the tight collar of muscle. It felt strange, but it also gave her some idea of what it would feel like when he finally took her. It was tantalizing, yet far more stimulating than she’d anticipated.
Sliding in and out, he caressed and aroused her. She rocked her hips, rubbing against his mouth and driving herself onto his finger.
Her restlessness made him bolder. He carefully worked her until she took a second finger alongside the first. Then he stretched and twisted as he slid in and out, creating the most amazing, spiraling sensations.
She gasped and wiggled, unsure what she needed, but more than ready to find out. The fullness was exquisite, exhilarating, a teasing promise of what was to come. She bore down on his fingers as he thrust into her ass and moaned helplessly as he drew them out. He took her right to the brink—and then stopped.
“No!” She cried out as he pulled his fingers all the way out of her aching body.
“Now we’re both miserable.” He stared down at her, features tense, eyes glowing. “But we don’t have to stay this way. It’s up to you. Do we try and go to sleep or do we finish what we’ve started?”
Damn him! Her entire body felt achy and oversensitive. She wanted, needed…she couldn’t even quantify her need, but she had little doubt that he could fulfill it. What difference did it make if he claimed her now or next year? He would claim her eventually.
“Finish,” she whispered.
He laughed then leaned over her, his face mere inches from hers. “That doesn’t sound very enthusiastic. And I think you need to be more specific. What exactly do you want me to do?”
“Make me come,” she answered succinctly.
“How shall I make you come?”
“With your mouth first and then with your cock deep inside me.” She met his glistening gaze and surrendered the last of her resentment. “Fuck me, Sire. I want you to.”
“Nicely said.”
Rather than join her on the bed he rose and turned, as if to leave. Panic surged and she cried out, “Where are you going?” She sat but refused to run after him.
