by Jenny Penn
Neither had Jaxon, but his usually gruff and rough brother was actually rolling out the bed and pulling back the covers. That was a display of consideration Jaxon was not known for, but then neither was Kragen. Yet, there they both were, tucking Jezie securely into the bed and watching as she curled up onto her side and settled down with a smile.
She was changing everything. Even as she slept there, she was redefining the very concept of pleasure for Kragen. He could have stood there for the rest of the night just watching over her if his stomach hadn’t grumbled loud enough to make him aware that he had a few other needs that needed to be settled.
Jaxon snickered at the sound, only to break into a real grin a second later as his stomach responded with its own rumble. Kragen shot his brother a look, and for a tense moment, neither man said anything. It was in that silence that Kragen stuck his fist out. Jaxon mimicked the motion, and then they shook them at each other in three synchronized beats. It was Kragen who came out cussing as he flattened his hand while his brother’s fingers scissored open.
“Son of a bitch,” Kragen spat as Jaxon chuckled.
Kragen turned to yank on his pants and then tread toward the door, leaving his brother laughing to himself. As if Jaxon would let him get away so easily.
“And I want a real sandwich this time, not a tray full of bite-sized crumbs you ordered up last time.”
Kragen’s response to that was a silent, single-fingered gesture that he waved over his shoulder before he slammed out of the room. He clipped down the steps at a near run as he rushed for the kitchens. It was late, and the place was all but empty, everybody having taken to their beds by now. Everybody but one person.
Flipping on the light as he stepped into the kitchen, he found Arianna standing before the open refrigerator door as she gazed inside. As the overhead lights flickered to life, she turned and cast a glance over her shoulder. At the sight of him, she immediately released the door and straightened up to bow her head at him.
“Good evening, Shardar.”
“At ease, Arianna.” He waved away her attempt at formality as he stalked toward her.
“Certainly, Kragen.”
Arianna smiled, staying directly in his path and relaxing into a sultry pose that allowed the robe she was still wearing to slouch open enough to give him a full view of the healthy swells of her breasts. Arianna had beautiful boobs and was built for hours of fucking, but Kragen wasn’t interested right then. Not that he blamed the woman for trying to tempt him, but her words did irritate.
“I must admit I didn’t expect you to grow bored of your new, little friend so quickly.” Arianna’s grin grew into a predatory smirk as she eyed him, no doubt noticing the heavy bulge making its presence known behind his zipper. “And I can see she left you less than satisfied.”
“She didn’t leave me any way,” Kragen corrected the woman. “I am as I wish to be.”
“I don’t believe that,” Arianna countered with a sexy purr as she stepped forward to press her long, lean length up against him. He could smell the scent of her arousal as it thickened in the air between them. “Because I know just how you like to be taken care of.”
That the woman did, but he still wasn’t interested. Kragen made that clear as he leaned down until his lips almost brushed hers in a kiss before whispering out with his annoyance.
“You’re in my way.”
Arianna blinked and pulled back, her gaze narrowing on him as her chin started to lift indignantly. “Well, excuse me then.”
She stepped back, allowing him access to the refrigerator, and Kragen could feel her fuming behind him as he wrenched open the massive metal door and pulled out the fixings for a massive sub. He ignored her as he dropped the armload of supplies on the massive kitchen counter and turned toward the cupboard. Arianna, though, wasn’t one to be so easily dismissed, and when he turned back around, it was to find her standing there naked and fingering herself.
“What do you think you are doing?” As if Kragen didn’t know, but he’d made himself clear and didn’t care to be pressed.
“What does it look like?” Arianna smiled. “If you don’t want to play with me, you can’t blame me for playing with myself…unless, of course, I’m breaking one of your precious rules.”
She was. She knew it. Kragen and Jaxon gave women their releases. They were not taken. Arianna knew it. What she didn’t know is that he couldn’t have cared less right then about her insubordination, at least as far as what she was doing to herself.
“You’re free,” Kragen stated simply. “I’m no longer interested in what you do to yourself…or others, Arianna. So stop embarrassing yourself and put your robe back on.”
That pissed her off, not that it was Kragen’s intention to rouse her ire, but he was done playing this game. He was hungry and in a rush to get back to Jezie. It didn’t even dawn on him right then that all he was doing was stoking the fires of trouble. Trouble was what he didn’t need. Not now.
Chapter 8
The next morning Jezie woke up alone in the massive bed with the sheets cool beside her. She was pretty certain the men had slept there though. She remembered having woken up to the heat and hard feel of them keeping her tucked between them. Now all she was tucked between was the two dildos that she still filled her body.
Jezie’s cheeks flamed with the memories of the previous night. What Jaxon and Kragen had done to her, what they’d made her feel, and how they’d made her respond, she’d never even guessed such wickedness could lead to such decadent pleasures. She wanted more. She craved it, and that need scared her.
Shoving out of the bed and trying to push back the memories with the sheets, Jezie couldn’t escape the previous night so easily. She still tingled and wore no clothes. One was to be endured. The other she would tackle after she cleaned herself up. Focusing only on that goal, Jezie walked unsteadily into the bathroom, embarrassingly aware of the dildos shifting inside of her with every step.
Ten minutes later she was relaxing into the bubbling, heated water that filled the massive, jetted tub with a sigh. This was good. This was living. Never really having much in the way of wealth before, she’d never considered what it would be like to be wealthy, but now she knew. It was heavenly.
The whole bathroom was heavenly. There were two sinks, two showers, one massive tub, and a toilet hidden a little closet. That wasn’t even counting the sauna tucked into the back of the room or the fact that each shower had at least twelve jets. The tub, though, was the real work of art.
Big enough to seat five or six people, or two large Jaris and maybe a woman or two, the tub was designed almost to look like a mini-pool and was set in its own glassy nook. The windows along the wall were placed high enough so nobody could get a peek in while the all-glass ceiling allowed a beautiful vista of the sky as it slowly lightened into a bright, beautiful day. Jezie could all but sense the possibilities lingering in the sunny warmth shining through.
It left her wondering what she was supposed to do with her day. Spend it lazing around the bedroom? Jezie instinctively knew the answer was yes but could wish it wasn’t. She also knew they might really punish her if she didn’t obey, and Jezie wasn’t one to test those kinds of limits.
She hadn’t even thought that she was the kind of person to come near them, but last night had proven otherwise. After everything they’d done to her, she should probably feel a little shame or, at least, a touch of embarrassment. Those emotions, though, were too dark to ruin the glow still making her tingle.
That wasn’t the only thing that made her tingle that morning. Waking up to find that neither man had bothered to remove the dildos they inserted last night had left her blushing and groaning a little as she pulled them free. She’d cleaned both of them before deciding to soak herself in a tub full of bubbles. The only thing missing was the sweet perfume of nature, of plants and dirt, of flowers and herbs along with the peaceful calls of the birds as they feasted on the insects and seeds.
She wasn�
�t even gone one day, and already Jezie missed her garden. Normally she spent all morning tending to it and allowing the soothing pulse of Earth itself to infuse her with its magic. There was no magic here, though. As Jezie closed her eyes, she allowed her senses to expand beyond her body and into the very air around her.
The warmth and comfort of the bathroom greeted her, filling her soul with a sense of contentment that had her senses blossoming. As always, her soul drifted toward the bright sunshine, escaping through the walls of the bathroom and the glass planes of the window to bask in the true heat of the sunlight…but it was cold outside.
Jezie breathed deep, refusing to retreat as she allowed her spirit to merge with the cool, dark sensation lingering in the ground. It felt like death, numb and lifeless, but she could sense something more lingering beneath the shield of emptiness, something much more volatile that churned beneath the surface of the Earth.
Bracing herself for whatever came, Jezie forced her soul to merge with the chaotic flow and was greeted instantly with pain and fear. The sensation was so sharp it had Jezie’s eyes snapping open as she gasped and quickly cut herself off from the piercing emotion. It wasn’t easy to let go of the small bit she’d taken in. The darkness whispered through her, filling her mind with doubts and fears that bit at her very soul.
It was despair. Pure, flowing deep, the emotion all but filled her as a sense of loss nearly overwhelmed her. In that moment, Jezie knew the truth of the legend surrounding the Jaris lands. They were cursed, and Jezie feared that now so was she because the emotion would not leave her. It didn’t matter how hard she tried to force it out.
* * * *
Jezie’s day did not improve. She emerged wrapped in a towel, intent on finding something to wear, only to find herself accosted by a very attractive maid named Bridget. She explained that she’d been assigned to see to Jezie’s needs, but what she really wanted right then was privacy. That she wasn’t going to get.
Though she couldn’t explain why, the other woman had her instantly on guard almost at her first sight of the cheery redhead. Cheery wasn’t even the word for it. Bridget seemed to float on sunbeams and probably farted out rainbows, which was a completely uncharitable thought and Jezie chastised herself.
It didn’t help. She still couldn’t seem to like the woman or even relax around her as the maid went through all the motions of cleaning everything up. Bridget chatted happily away, never seeming to realize that Jezie wasn’t responding. Heck, Jezie wasn’t even in the room.
Leaving Bridget to her happy monologue, Jezie slipped into the closet in search of clothes. The room was massive and decked out with custom-built organization. It was also almost completely empty, with only a few racks of clothes hanging from two of the bars. Men’s clothes. Left with only a choice of shirts to pick from, Jezie still considered herself fortunate because the shirts were long enough on her to pass for a dress. A short dress.
Then she retreated out onto the balcony to escape Bridget’s aimless babbling. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and thanks to the barren fields below and the height of the balcony, she had a perfect vista of nearly the entire Jaris compound. It was a bleak sight made up of mud browns and burnt oranges. Nothing grew out of the ground that hadn’t been built by the men’s hands. They had designed themselves quite an interesting training course.
Jezie studied it, amazed at the number of young men swarming through the fields. The Jaris were supposed to be declining, but then most of the men below were not Jaris. What she couldn’t figure out was why they were there. Of course, she had Bridget for that.
“Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you’d wandered off to.” Stepping out onto the large balcony to join Jezie by the railing, Bridget glanced over the fields with a smile. “Nice view, huh?”
“Hmm.” It really wasn’t, but Jezie didn’t want to be rude by pointing that out. What she wanted instead was to know what the men were doing. “Everybody certainly seems to be keeping busy. Who are all those boys? Locals?”
“Werewolves,” Bridget corrected. “They’re being trained to go off to war.”
“War?” That word was alarming, but even more so was the idea that Jaxon or Kragen would be going with them. “What war?”
“Who knows?” Bridget shrugged, clearly unconcerned. “They get shipped off to wherever the Masters of Cerberus needs them.”
“The Masters?” That was almost as alarming as the idea of war.
The Master had formed centuries back when the Beast had broken through into this world. It had taken a lot of lives to defeat Cerberus, and still the remains were watched over by the Masters. They were that strong. And that feared.
“Yeah, the Jaris work closely with the Masters to help keep their armies in shape.”
That was more than Jezie really wanted to know. However the Jaris made their money, that was their business. Healing was hers.
“Do you think it’s possible for me to get some dirt?” Jezie glanced over at Bridget, who was now looking at her as if she really were stupid.
“Dirt?” Bridget lifted a brow at that. “For what?”
“I would like to try and plant some seeds.” Jezie gestured toward the planters. “At home, I have a massive garden. Since I am to stay here for a while, I thought I might as well start a new one here.”
“Uh-huh.” Bridget bit her lip, and Jezie sensed the woman weighing whether or not to simply agree or argue. It didn’t surprise Jezie in the slightest when Bridget chose the latter. “You do know nothing will grow on this land. I mean, even if I go buy potting soil at the hardware store, nothing will grow on this land.”
“I am aware of the curse.” Jezie also knew that she was really here to break it. If she wanted out of this room, she needed to prove in some way that she could do that. “I still wish to have the dirt…and not potting soil. I want a sample of the land.”
Bridget blinked at her again before slowly nodding. “All right, but you’re just wasting your time.”
“And I’ll need seeds,” Jezie called after the other woman as she headed back inside, refusing to allow Bridget’s dire warning to bother her.
The Matron had sworn that only Jaxon and Kragen could heal the land, but that didn’t mean Jezie couldn’t help. Clearly they needed it.
* * * *
Kragen wasn’t interested in Jezie’s help right then. He was in need of a cattle prod. He didn’t know what it was about women, but they were all but throwing themselves at him today. Khan seemed convinced that it was because his birthday bash had been cancelled and the women were all still wound up and ready for an orgy. So were the men.
The sight of the Great Owl wasn’t helping things. Its constant presence had the men simmering with an excitement that had to be worn off. So Kragen ordered Khan to arrange for the overdue bash that night, not that he had any interest in attending. He’d already received his birthday gift and planned on playing with her again that night. With that thought in his mind, he went to check on the Dead Tree, only to find it as lifeless as ever. Soon, though, soon it would bloom. He was certain of it.
What he wasn’t certain of was what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He felt itchy and annoyed. That was no mood to work in, but it wasn’t a bad one to train in. Training also gave him an excuse to avoid the house and the women filling it right then.
They drove Jaxon down to the battlefield as well, and both brothers spent all day tearing through the more senior recruits and helping them to fine-tune their battle skills. By the time they called an end to the training session, the recruits were exhausted, the sun had sunk low in the sky, and the party was already getting started. Kragen dismissed the younger men, sending them back to the barracks to freshen up and go join the festivities. They’d earned it.
So had he.
It was time. Time to return to Jezie’s training. Having restrained that driving need all day just to assure she didn’t know how important she really was to him, Kragen felt as if he was finally being unleash
ed when the cook handed him over the tray of food he’d requested.
Jaxon met him at the bottom of the stairs, having already assured the party was well managed. Together they mounted the three flights to reach the door. Neither knew what to expect when it opened, but both were still surprised by the sight that greeted them. It was an empty room, and in a flash, Kragen’s heart seized as one horrifying thought flew through his mind after another. Had she fled? Been taken?
“Jezie!”
“I’m out here.” Popping through the curtains that led out to the balcony, Jezie came in wearing a smile that quickly fell into a look of distress. “I’m sorry, Shardars. I was just…”
Her words faded away as Kragen slapped the tray of food down on the table and stormed up to her. He knew he was frightening the little witch, but his relief was too great to be contained. For a moment there, he’d honestly thought they’d lost her. That fear was still raw and fresh as he swept Jezie up into his arms and crushed her in his embrace. Jezie barely got out a squeal before he crushed her sweet, soft mouth beneath his.
All day he’d been wondering what it would be like to kiss her and cursing himself for not having even tried to last night. Now he knew the answer. He was a dumbass. He’d wasted last night because he could simply drown in the intoxicating taste of her lips.
Like well-aged whiskey, her heady flavor filled him with a warmth and a need that Kragen knew would not be easily appeased. That is if it ever could be. He had his doubts, but they were drowned in the lust that flooded through him as Jezie’s mouth parted and allowed him into heaven.
She tasted like springtime, all light and airy and full of the possibility of hope. Kragen was lost almost instantly. With his senses reeling and his heart aching, he gave himself over to the passion that went deeper than even the roots of the Dead Tree.
* * * *
Jezie never knew men kissed the way that Kragen kissed her. His lips broke over hers, forcing them open for the invasion of his tongue. The way he used his tongue to duel and tangle with hers was wicked. Wicked and wanton, and Jezie loved every second.
