by Claudy Conn
There was no one else in the world. There was no other time. There was only sensation that went beyond her wildest expectations. His lips moved again to her neck, to her ears, and he whispered her name. “I have been sick with wanting you. I have been crazed with jealousy watching you with the prince, who I know can offer you things beyond what I can give you. Maxie, you have no idea how much I want you … want to taste all of you from head to toe.” His mouth was on hers again. She yielded to his lips, to his tongue, to the touch of his hands as they explored her body. She clung to him. She wanted this to last. She wanted his breathtaking kissing, this erotic pulse that beat through her body and made spasms of excitement shoot through her senses.
“Maxie … I want to show you how I feel …” He was whispering in that delicious, Old World English accent as his lips traveled down her neck. “What I feel when I touch your skin of silk. I can’t think for wanting you.”
As he spoke he managed to maneuver her, situate her beneath him on the sofa. His hand was moving to her hard, yearning nipples. “I love your full breasts, your firm nipples, and the way they talk to me. They want to be touched … like this … and this.”
A moan escaped him as he fondled there, and she moved and arched to his touch. His tongue circled with deliberate purpose in her mouth and taught her a time-old ritual with a style she was sure no other man could match. She was lost to its rhythm and felt it was a sign of what was to come.
These feelings, these sensations, this passion were all new to her, but she was learning fast. He was moving her hips beneath his iron body. She was frantic for more, and she heard him growl on a primal note, “Easy, my beauty … I mean to give it to you, but I want this … this here and now to go on and on … oh damn it, girl, I love the way you move …”
Her heart was pumping a new beat. Her blood belted out a song. There was nothing else but his touch. The room was gone. The thought that there was the possibility of Bess or Tally or even Uncle Kennet walking in on them did not have the opportunity to be heard. This was what she had been missing. This was what she needed. He was everything that mattered. She knew she had never felt this way before, and that it was this man burning her body that elicited the feeling!
Her blood tingled, her heart raced, and she squeezed her legs together as yearning shot through her stomach and tickled her insides. She was on fire for him. She wanted him. She wanted her clothes off, and she wanted him to touch her, feel her, and take her. She wanted him to shove the hard cock she felt against her lower belly inside her. She wanted him deep inside her …
All at once he was up and scooping her into his arms cradle-like. Her blue Lanvin high heels fell to the floor as he carried her out of the library. She didn’t ask him where he was taking her—she knew. His mouth on hers as he carried her up the stairs precluded speech.
They were at the closed door of his bedroom suite. He lifted his lips from Maxie’s and concentrated a moment on getting it open. She was amazed at his skill. With scarcely any effort he had the door opened, and they were inside. He kicked it shut at his back, and then he was kissing her nose, her eyes, and her lips once more. Gently he lowered her onto his bed and immediately slipped out of his black T. Maxie watched and, without realizing it, licked her lower lip and then bit it. Her gaze said hurry.
Julian moved to stand over her, and he lifted her sweater up and off. He made a sound that thrilled her, and then he was scooping her breasts out of her lacy bra. “You make my mouth water with your big, beautiful tits, and your hard, rosy nipples!” He played there while she was in an agony of desire, wanting more and more. Black lacy bra was flung away. His face was at her breasts, and his tongue was flicking her nipples and driving her wild. She couldn’t voice what she wanted, but she knew that she wanted—and then he was giving it to her as his mouth started suckling on her nipples and his hand worked the apex between her thighs. She wanted her jeans off and gone.
She held his black hair in her hands and said his name as she squirmed with almost unbearable and exquisite pleasure. He brought his lips up to her neck and nibbled as he made his way back to her mouth, whispering, “Delicious girl … you taste so good.”
He worked her breasts with his hands, and she never wanted him to stop. His hand at her thighs was replaced with his knee. He pumped her there, and she told him roundly, “Jeans … off … now … off … oh yes …”
His mouth was back on hers, nibbling at her lips as he undid her zipper. He then began making a trail down, between her breasts, down to her belly where he started to tug at her jeans. She lifted up, and he pulled them down, got them to her feet, placed a kiss there on each, and flung the jeans. Off came his black slacks, his shoes, and then as she watched and waited, off came the black boxer shorts.
“Oh Julian … that … that …”
He moved towards her with his huge cock doing a dance. She stared. Even as he took hold of her black lacy thongs and pulled them away, she stared at his very large, very hard dick and wondered how it would ever fit. He was on her then, spreading her thighs so he could put his tongue in a brand new place. His finger joined his tongue, and she began to arch and pump into him. Another finger joined the party, and Maxie exploded! She groaned and shuddered with the aftershocks, and he whispered in a sweetly sensual voice that made her buck against him, “Good girl … let’s do that again, shall we?” He licked her nipple and whispered, “And again and again and again.”
He was on her then, placing his hard cock in her hands. She scrambled for it, got into position for it and stroked it with the motion that made her hot and ferocious. She had to have it. She bent to kiss it, lick it. He groaned, and she liked the sound of his pleasure. He was sliding the tip of his cock into her mouth, and before she knew what she was doing she was sucking at it, taking some of his hugeness into her mouth and lapping at it with her tongue. She felt a wanton woman, and she liked the feeling. She was enthralled by this man and wanted him—all of him. He took it away from her and she objected, but he was already laying her back on the bed and putting it into position between her thighs. She bucked at him, and he chuckled. “Easy, love.”
She jerked against it, wanting it. She sounded even to her own ears a savage as she growled at him, “Now … put it in … now …”
He moved on top of her, and his shaft was against her tuft of hair. She began the motion to invite him further. She rotated her hips to match his sensual rhythm. It was driving her wild with desire. She wanted all of him inside her. And she showed him with her body just what she wanted him to do. “Julian … please … now … push that thing inside. Take me now—please … now.”
He was licking at her nipples, teasing her, then moving lower to her belly, and then he was at her thighs. His tongue lapped at the honey just inside those quivering lips until she arched her back and almost screamed. She had never felt this way. She pumped against his nibbling, and once again she felt it as the sensation peaked and she exploded so thoroughly that she thought she was lost in the aura of pleasure. Her body jerked and shuddered and made her rock.
Here was the man she had been waiting for all her life. He completed her and made her whole, and oh she wanted him, had wanted him, and knew she always would. He met every expectation and more. And she could see he was poised to give her more.
He lifted her butt and positioned himself, rubbing himself on the inside of her opening. “Is this what you want, woman? Is this what your body has been calling for?”
“Now … put it in … Julian … now …” She was nearly crying, she wanted him so badly.
“You’re so tight, love … let me work it for a minute … oh beauty … oh you beauty …”
He pushed more of himself inside her. “Can you take this, love … here …” He moved it in circles just inside, and the sensation made her bump against him. Yes, she could take it, and she told him so. She had this blind, urgent need to be entwined with him, to have him inside and be one with him.
He drove himself into her then, sto
pping just as he broke the cherry he had not known was there, and he gasped, “Oh love, oh my Maxie girl … did I hurt you … damn me for a fool … I didn’t know … I would have been easier with you …”
A short giggle escaped her. “You are being easy with me. Julian—shove that thing inside me now!”
He laughed joyfully, and then he did. He gave it to her completely and passionately. He pushed and pulled and rotated himself inside her and used his huge rod, working it against her pleasure points, places she didn’t know she had, while his mouth covered hers and his hands worked her body. She had never wanted a man before, and now she never wanted any other! She knew then what she had probably known from the start. She was in love with Julian Talbot.
Later, after she climaxed again and this time with him, he had her in his arms, and his voice was full of emotion. “Maxie love, Maxie my heart, Maxie, Maxie. Am I saying it enough for you now?”
She kissed his lips. “Do you think of just me when you say it?”
He looked at her long and hard, and the words were wrenched from him. “I curse myself for the shallow man I am. But, yes, woman I see only you, I think of only you, I want only you in the now, in the here, and I love you … only you.” He shook his head, and she could see his mind was in turmoil. “What does that make me?”
She took his face in her hands. “Julian … you have it wrong. That you even feel remorse for being here … going on, makes you better than you can even imagine. What you are is alive. What you are is human. What you stood …”—and she couldn’t help a small, joyful laugh—“wasn’t a chance!”
“Didn’t I?” He tipped her chin up. “No … I suppose I didn’t, not once you came into my life.”
“No, you didn’t. Bres calls me Lia for the Lia Fal, the stone of Destiny, but I wasn’t his destiny because I was meant for you. I might have my ancestor Maxine’s spirit somewhere inside me, but my spirit has the reins, and the two of us are unanimous. We love you …”
He laughed out loud and then took her in his arms, pressing her against him like he was never going to let go. “Then hear this, Maxie girl, I am claiming you as mine, and make no mistake, you will not be going off with your Faery to the Isle of Tir or anywhere else from here on out. I hope you understand that.”
“Oh but Tir is so pretty …” she teased.
He tipped her chin and peered into her eyes. “No other man will ever take you anywhere. I give myself to you, little Maxine Reigate. Do you give yourself to me?”
“Well, I think I already have …” Her eyes were full with what she felt. He wanted to hear the words, so she gave them to him, “Yes, my lord dreamy … I most certainly do give myself to you.”
She thought that sealed the deal and started nibbling at his luscious bottom lip. It sent tingles through her. He felt her tremble, and a low, carnal sound in his throat escaped. “Ah, Maxie … I can’t get enough of you … will never get enough …”
He was kissing her mouth, parting her lips, and then pulling back to look at her, “But, Max … you must be sore … should I allow you to rest a bit?”
She laughed. “No rest for the weary or the horny …” Then she laughed at her audaciousness. It was how she felt with him, audacious.
“I have learned modern slang, you know, and I am fully aware what horny means. What I want to know is how have you remained a virgin so long in this wild world of yours? Not that I am complaining, but it is an astounding thing considering the level of your horniness.”
She laughed, and it was a joyous sound. “I saw your portrait in my father’s study. I had this thing for you and would imagine you being real. I think I have always been waiting for you.” Her eyes were full with contentment. “So there must be something to this ‘destiny-fate’ thing, Julian, don’t you think?”
There was something on his mind. He paused, uncertain whether or not this was the moment to bring it up. She watched and waited. He couldn’t help himself. Finally he said, “You are very friendly with the prince, and anyone can see he wants you.”
She laughed. “Come on, did you ever take a good look at him? Of course I am friendly with the prince. He is a great looking guy and a nice guy … er … Fae. Besides … that was just fun. It never went deeper than just fun even for him, though he wants to believe otherwise.”
“Well, I don’t want you to have just fun with anyone anymore, especially the prince.”
“Well, that sounds dark,” she teased. “No more fun. How sad.” Her eyes twinkled. “What about you having fun with your pretty attorney, Mary?” She cocked a look at him.
He sighed. “Indeed, things on the surface aren’t always what they appear to be. I sent her off, you know … no dinner.” Then he groaned as her hand found and held his cock.
She was stroking his rock-hard rod against her belly. He reached for her breast and whispered, “I love your body and the way you use it, Maxie. You drive me mad with wanting.” He reached for her butt. “I love your very fine, firm ass as well.” He bent his head to lick her nipples and said hoarsely, “I could suck on these beautiful nipples all day …”
This started a slow burn in her blood. It was the end of conversation for a long, long time.
~ Twenty-two ~
BRESLYN DIDN’T HAVE time to enter another dimension and spy, so he called for the family orb—the Dagda Orb. He didn’t like using it. Using the orb was addictive. Fae loved illusion, and the orb could take one places that were seductive on an unconscious level. One could lose oneself in its seductive recesses. However, he knew the trick of it. Quick in and out. He had no time to do anything else. He had to get to the Council Meeting.
He was excited because he thought Julian’s plan just might have merit. His hand moved over the orb. Ah, DuLaine—she looked exhausted. She did not enjoy her plane ride. She was complaining to Shamon, questioning him.
“Tell me again why Julian lives … and you did not know?”
“I cannot know what the Fae are at, my beloved. All I know is that it was some whim or other.”
“A whim?” She didn’t believe this. “Why? You must have some notion?”
“I believe the queen interceded on his behalf because he is a Druid priest.” The less he said, the better, he thought as he toured the room. He could see that this she accepted.
“Tell me about MacTalbot Castle. Who resides there with Julian?”
“I am not certain of that yet. I will look into it.”
“I will make him love me, and when I am done, he will be devoted beyond thought.”
“Not as devoted as I have been!” Shamon’s tone was anguished. “From the moment you saved my life … from the moment you took my dying body out of that filthy gutter, I have been devoted to you with my whole being, with my every waking moment, with my heart.” He was fierce, he was heartsick, and his anger was unleashed.
This only served to amuse the DuLaine. She laughed and stroked his face. “Jealous, my Shamon? You needn’t be. There is no one that can take your place.” She eyed him thoughtfully. “I mean to keep you and my Julian forever mine, and now I know how.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I was in my prison, I managed to get a look at the Book of Berwick. I used my magic, and no one knew until it was too late. I learned the secret spell and the method needed to produce the gland. I mean to give both you and Julian, the gland …”
Shamon moved away, giving her his back. She laughed and moved to the bed to lie down.
Breslyn was running out of time, but he could see she was probing MacTalbot Castle. She suddenly released a sharp cry. “Shamon … there is a woman at MacTalbot … she looks like that Reigate chit! How … Shamon …?”
Shamon’s color drained. He couldn’t respond to her. How had this happened? The wards were supposed to keep her probing out.
“I saw her—just before the wards shut me out … I saw her face … only her face …”
“Wards, beloved? That will make it difficult to get to him.” He tried to
change the subject.
She stopped and regarded him quietly. “No, it won’t. I mean to make him come to me.”
Breslyn’s brows drew together. He felt a pang of pity for Shamon, but was he still Lamia’s man? Perhaps they should not depend on him for help. She offered him immortality. Would he want it at such a price?
The prince was out of time. He had to get to the palace. The royal palace had been built to entertain many events. Fae gathered there to meet and socialize. Elegance characterized the huge rooms where Fae artists displayed their latest works. Other chambers offered Fae poets a work environment where they could keep quiet company with one another while they created. In other chambers, musicians gathered to form impromptu bands and jam, and their music drew passing Fae. Still other rooms held astronomers and Fae that enjoyed working together to better understand the ever-changing universe.
The prince bypassed all those quarters and shifted instead to a large indoor solarium at the end of a long corridor: the Council Chamber, where only Council members were permitted without an invitation.
Breslyn stood at the double doors of this chamber and waited. The emergency meeting of the Council was taking more time than he expected.
A fury of thought had lodged in his ever-active brain. He believed—was sure—that he knew the identity of the mutinous Fae. There was only one capable of visiting with the Daoine Sluagh, and it could only be the ancient warrior, Gaiscioch!
The prince was a high-ranking Council Member and could have entered the Chamber, but he had no wish to do so. He was astonished that he had not seen it sooner. It was all so clear. Every incident pointed towards Gaiscioch. He had been present for the Treaty with Man. He had been ‘close’ to the queen just before she met and fell in love with her human, Conall. Gaiscioch always took opposing sides with him on all-important issues during Council meetings. In fact, the prince had once called him out on this fact and asked him why it was. Gaiscioch had replied that he was merely playing ‘devil’s advocate.’
