His Forbidden Diamond

by Susan Stephens

  When she did, he was a revelation. Tyr was so packed full of energy, her fingertips tingled. He was so toned and fit, his slightest movement allowed her to feel the shift of muscle beneath her hands. Drawing in a shaking breath, she dipped her head to brush her lips across his chest, where his distinctive clean man scent filled her senses.

  Her feelings for Tyr were so strong, she was desperate to please him, but was concerned she might do something he wouldn’t like. Should she trace his scars, or ignore them? She kissed them, regretting each terrible and unimaginable incident that had carved them into his bronzed skin. Tyr and she were different in so many ways and she only wished she could put the guilt instilled in her by centuries of tradition aside. Intimacy between a man and a woman was often discussed in a community divided by gender, but never in front of an unmarried girl, so the little Jazz had learned, she knew from eavesdropping and reading, and from various media sources, but nothing could have prepared her for a titan like Tyr Skavanga in the flesh.

  Instinct told her that what Tyr needed even more than sex right now was tenderness. It was time to forget her hang-ups and think about him. Tyr was still a prisoner in his mind without an outlet for his feelings. Maybe she could help him with that. Reaching her arms around him, she rested her head against his powerful chest and hugged him tight. Tyr instantly grew tense, and for a few moments she thought she’d done the wrong thing, but then tremors racked him and like a dam breaking he clung to her and she clung to him as if her life depended on it. There was only one thing missing, and that was to tell Tyr it would be all right now, but a trite response was no good to him. Only time would heal his wounds.

  ‘You don’t have to tell me anything right now,’ she whispered with her mouth against his chest. ‘I just want you to know I’m always here for you.’

  ‘Just so long as you keep on hugging me.’

  She thrilled to hear Tyr’s voice so warm and wry. ‘It’s a deal.’

  Removing the robe she’d thrown over her shoulders, he tossed it aside. ‘Relax, Jazz. Move down in the bed so you’re more comfortable. You can even steal the covers, if you like.’

  ‘It can get bitterly cold in the desert at night,’ she agreed.

  She laughed softly when they both glanced at the braziers surrounding them at the same time. These had been lit as soon as the sun went down to keep the pavilion pleasantly warm.

  ‘I know you’ve led a sheltered life,’ Tyr murmured as he toyed with a lock of her hair.

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘Why don’t we find out?’

  The look in Tyr’s eyes was everything she’d hoped for. And they were husband and wife, Jazz reminded herself, so nothing was forbidden. It wasn’t so bad feeling small and vulnerable when you felt so safe. Safe and with every nerve ending on super-high alert. Her thigh only had to touch Tyr’s to start trembling, while her shoulder quivered when it brushed his arm.

  Where to look?

  If she looked straight at Tyr, that was like an invitation, while staring straight ahead seemed absurdly prim. So she looked down as she made a big performance of arranging the covers over her.

  ‘You won’t need those,’ Tyr assured her, pushing them back.

  ‘But you said—’

  ‘I know what I said. I just don’t want you getting overheated.’

  Her eyes widened as Tyr released her hands from their death grip on the fabric. ‘You’re in my bed so I can keep you warm. Remember telling me that?’

  Was that really her suggestion? ‘I’m not very good at this, Tyr. I mean...’

  ‘I know what you mean, Jazz,’ Tyr assured her softly. ‘You’ve already told me you’re a virgin.’

  ‘Well, I can hardly pretend to have run rampage through all the eligible youths in Kareshi.’

  Tyr’s hard mouth curved in a smile as he stared down at her. ‘There isn’t much I don’t know about you, Jazz Kareshi, or that I can’t read in your eyes, and I don’t want you to be frightened of me, ever.’

  ‘I’m not frightened of you.’ She gasped as Tyr’s hands encircled her waist as he drew her down beside him.

  ‘Really?’ Tyr’s mouth tugged up in a wicked smile as he soothed her with an embrace that was both light and warm. His touch was so light, she could have broken away at any time, but did she want to?

  ‘Calm down,’ he whispered when her breathing quickened. ‘I don’t bite.’ That wicked smile again. ‘At least, not yet.’

  She laughed. Tyr made everything so easy for her. Smiling against his lips, she closed her eyes. Breathing the same air, she kissed him. Every part of her was firing at once, while Tyr’s kisses were gentle and teasing as he held her back. She was still basking in delicious sensation when he drew her nightgown over her head.

  ‘What—?’

  ‘You’re overdressed,’ he reprimanded her.

  Drawing the coverlet up to her chin, she lay trembling and acutely sensitive. How could she become so responsive suddenly? Just the lightest pass of Tyr’s fingers on her naked skin was enough to make her tremble with desire for him.

  ‘What are you staring at?’ she asked suspiciously when he pulled the covers back.

  ‘You. I’m staring at you, Jazz.’

  As the familiar smile carved a crease in his cheek, she turned her face away from him and closed her eyes. No one had seen her naked since she was a child in the nursery. What did Tyr think of her? How would she compare to all the other women he must have known? She didn’t dare open her eyes to find out.

  ‘Look at me, Jazz. Open your eyes and look at me,’ Tyr commanded.

  Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her so gently, her heart welled with love for him.

  ‘That’s better,’ he said when she searched his eyes. ‘You can trust me, and you can make me stop any time you want to.’

  She smiled nervously. Tyr was so much bigger than she was. How was she supposed to do that?

  ‘You ask me to stop whenever you want,’ he said, reading her mind with his usual ease. ‘Anything you don’t like, you tell me, and I’ll stop right away.’

  Was it likely there would be anything she didn’t like?

  No. But she had been ultra-protected all her life, and had set such strict rules for herself that she couldn’t help but be nervous. She’d heard people talking about things happening naturally, and had concluded that was their way of getting out of having to explain to a nervous virgin that there would be pain—or, at the very least, discomfort, together with huge embarrassment. But Tyr was distracting her with irresistible kisses, and each time he caressed her she wanted more. The fact that he was in no hurry reassured her, and when he caressed her back with long, leisurely strokes, she wanted the sensation to last for ever. Perhaps that would be enough for him.

  She had to stop this and trust him. She had always trusted Tyr, and while he had her suspended in an erotic net like this, she was in no mood to distract him.

  She’d had no idea she was so sensitive, or so receptive to pleasure. Or that Tyr could make her shiver with excitement and anticipation, just by rasping his sharp black stubble very lightly against her neck. And when his hands found her breasts—

  ‘Relax, Jazz,’ he whispered when she dragged in a shocked and shuddering breath.

  At first she was too surprised to register anything apart from the shock. They might be husband and wife, but Tyr had touched a most private part of her. What shocked her most was that it was a part that badly wanted to be touched. When he drew her nipple into his mouth and gently tugged, sensation streamed through her. The thought that no man but Tyr had ever looked upon her naked body aroused her even more. Tyr’s kisses were deepening with every passing moment, and he was touching her everywhere that wanted to be touched until, far from needing lessons from him, she called upon her own, inbuilt intuition to show her how to re
spond. Though she did lose courage a little bit when his hand moved firmly over her belly.

  ‘We’re husband and wife, remember?’ Tyr’s eyes blazed into hers. ‘Unless you’d like me to stop?’

  ‘I don’t want you to stop.’ Though once she’d made this statement, her eyes begged him to be gentle with her.

  Tyr answered this by kissing her again, his tongue plundering her mouth in a way that mimicked the act she was so afraid of.

  ‘You’re tensing up again,’ he said. ‘Why? You know I’d never hurt you, Jazz.’

  His eyes were warm and concerned now as they stared into hers, and she hated lying to him. The ache inside her was unsustainable, but her fear of Tyr plundering her body was greater still.

  ‘Jazz,’ Tyr soothed as he smiled against her mouth.

  He teased her with kisses, and then his hands began to stroke and soothe, and before she knew what was happening, the hunger for him had overtaken everything else. She held her breath when his hand travelled lower, his fingers grazing the place where she so badly needed him. The urgency to have her hunger answered was stronger than any fear she had ever known, and, arching her back in the hunt for more contact from his hand, she gave a soft moan of thanks when he found her.

  And lost control instantly. Her world exploded in a burst of light, the pleasure so extreme, she was lost in a sea of violent, buffeting waves, while she bucked frantically and shamelessly, working her body against Tyr’s strong hand to prolong the incredible feeling for as long as she could.

  She gasped as the storm subsided and, still recovering, could barely manage to gasp out a single word.

  ‘You’re very responsive, Princess,’ Tyr murmured against her mouth.

  ‘Are you surprised?’ She smiled into his eyes and saw an answering warmth. ‘So, I’m inexperienced,’ she challenged with a shrug. ‘I just hope you’re not laughing at me, Tyr Skavanga.’

  ‘I’m happy for you, Jazz,’ he whispered. ‘You’ve waited too long for that.’

  ‘It feels like for ever,’ she agreed. But waiting for Tyr to come home had been the longest wait of all.

  ‘More?’ he suggested.

  She was about to say no, and couldn’t believe it when the hunger stirred inside her again. ‘Much more,’ she confirmed, stretching out her body like a contented cat, against the immense, powerful length of Tyr Skavanga.

  ‘Why don’t you just lie back and let me do all the work?’ he suggested.

  ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

  ‘Oh, I think you did,’ he countered with amusement.

  So why was he teasing her? She writhed and sighed with the pleasure of anticipation as a hint. Tyr took the hint. Enclosing her wrists in one giant fist, he brought her arms over her head, pinning her to the bed, and, feasting on her breasts, sucking, licking, working magic, he drew a cry of pleasure from her lips. What made it even more amazing to Jazz was the way one sensation could travel through every part of her until it gathered in pulsing desire between her legs.

  Maybe she could lose control with nothing more than this?

  But would that be enough for Tyr?

  The answer came when she lost control and he didn’t. Instead, he laughed softly as she struggled to replace the air in her lungs.

  ‘What are you laughing at, Tyr?’

  ‘You,’ he said as if that were obvious. ‘This is promising to be a long night.’

  ‘Are you pleased?’

  ‘Yes, of course I’m pleased.’ Shifting position, he stared down at her.

  She narrowed her eyes. ‘And why are you smiling at me, Tyr Skavanga?’

  ‘Because my wife amuses me.’

  Jazz faked a frown. ‘I think you’d better explain that remark.’

  ‘Let’s just say, you’re a natural in the bedroom, and you’ve been hiding this talent for how long?’

  ‘As I tried to explain, a princess of Kareshi doesn’t exactly have the opportunity to express that side of herself as freely or as often as she might like.’

  ‘Oh, so you would have expressed yourself before now, if it had been permitted?’

  ‘Stop fishing, Viking. I’m a good girl. Always have been.’

  ‘Then I’m glad you changed for me.’

  ‘I’m wicked now,’ she agreed happily. ‘So I hope when you talk about a long night, you mean a long night of pleasure for me?’

  Tyr’s brow furrowed, but his mouth was still curved in a smile. ‘I’m counting on it, Princess.’

  Jazz was still floating high on the rippling aftermath of pleasure, and that was exactly what she needed to hear. But had she really thought there was nothing left that Tyr could do to shock her?

  One more thing she was wrong about, Jazz realised as Tyr placed his big, work-calloused hands beneath her buttocks and lifted her. He positioned her to suit him with her legs spread wide across his powerful shoulders.

  She felt exposed. She felt vulnerable.

  She was exposed. She was vulnerable. And had to remind herself yet again that this was Tyr Skavanga and she trusted him. They were husband and wife, and nothing was forbidden to them.

  Tyr used pleasure like a spell to make her forget any embarrassment she might have suffered, and to the point where she actively encouraged him when he placed a cushion beneath her hips. Kneeling in front of her, he lifted her even more as he dipped his head and worked another spell, with his mouth and with his tongue, and with his fingers as she pressed urgently against his mouth.

  But shouldn’t she be doing something?

  ‘Shouldn’t I...?’

  ‘Reciprocate?’ Tyr supplied, flashing his wicked smile.

  Now she wished she hadn’t said anything, though she guessed a pause suited him, as it only made her more frustrated than ever.

  ‘There’s no rush, Jazz,’ Tyr remarked, confirming this. ‘We’ve got all night, remember? All night to please you, Princess, so stop worrying. Instinct is all you need.’

  But did she have the right sort of instinct?

  The pleasure was so intense, she turned her head away, feeling embarrassed at the overwhelming power of her response. She wanted to cry out, and moan and sigh. It was taking everything she’d got just to remain silent.

  ‘Let yourself go,’ Tyr advised, his tone husky and amused. ‘You’ll enjoy it so much more if you do. Why deny yourself pleasure, Jazz?’

  ‘I can’t take without giving something back, that’s why. And you can stop smiling,’ she warned, longing to touch Tyr, to explore him and test his responses. But Tyr was too skilled for that, and made sure she lost control again before she had chance to put her plan into action.

  ‘You’re just too good at this,’ she panted out.

  ‘Are you complaining?’ he murmured against her mouth.

  ‘I just want to know when it’s my turn.’

  ‘That was your turn.’

  ‘Oh, you’re impossible,’ she complained, finding she lacked even the strength to play-punch him.

  ‘Agreed.’ He dragged her close.

  ‘Is this meant to soothe me down?’ she demanded when Tyr finally lifted his head. ‘Because if it is, you’ve failed miserably.’

  ‘That’s great news,’ Tyr murmured.

  Every part of them was touching as he kissed her, but she couldn’t wait any longer and took the initiative, transferring her kisses from his mouth to his ear, and then his neck. And when she heard his sharp intake of breath, she moved over him and pressed him down onto the cushions. ‘You’re mine, Tyr Skavanga.’

  ‘Your sex slave?’ Tyr suggested. His smile broadened. ‘Excellent. Feel free to use me any way you like.’

  ‘I do like.’ And she would. Tyr was magnificent. His body was beautiful. Built on an epic scale to a flawless design. Flawless, except for the scars
that she traced with her fingertips—

  ‘Don’t,’ Tyr warned softly as she examined the map of memories. ‘Don’t spoil the mood, Jazz.’

  That map might take a lifetime to unravel, she accepted. Tyr repaid her restraint with a slanting smile that made heat rush through her. Now she could think of only one thing, and that was Tyr. She wanted to bring him pleasure, and, kissing her way down his heroic frame, she only stopped when she reached the waistband of his shorts. Drawing a deep, steadying breath, she hooked her thumbs beneath the elastic at the waistband and drew them down.

  Daunted?

  To say she was daunted by the size of him would be massively understating the case. She was shocked rigid. Along with all the other expressions of amazement she could name. She had expected Tyr to be built to scale, but...

  It just wouldn’t be possible.

  She hadn’t reckoned with the demands of a body that had been denied for too long, or her own fierce desire to bring Tyr pleasure. Closing her eyes, she gathered her courage, and, wrapping her hands around him, she felt his warmth and power and virility. It took both her hands to encompass him, as well as several seconds to get over the shock of what she was doing. Steadying herself, she concentrated on fathoming out Tyr’s pleasure points and how best to please him. And when he groaned in grateful response, she dipped her head and kissed the smooth, velvety tip. But even that wasn’t enough for her, so, settling to the task, she took him in her mouth and laved him with her tongue. She worked him with her hands at the same time, while Tyr showed his appreciation with groans of pleasure. This was so much better than she had imagined, and it seemed she knew exactly what to do.

  ‘Stop.’

  She stopped immediately. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

  Tyr gripped her shoulders as he let go of a shuddering breath. ‘You did everything right, but you have to stop before I lose control completely.’

  I did that?

  Jazz sat back on her heels while Tyr stared up at her. His steel-grey eyes were half closed, and his lips had curved in a brooding smile as he reached up to embrace her. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes as his hands moved slowly down her arms. This felt so good, so right. Could the fates be kind for once, and give them a second chance?