by Ophelia Bell
“The Blessing,” she said to herself, making her way past the last of the tents and into the litter that would carry her home. He was Blessed, thanks to her. Blessed by her own brother and fated to mate a dragon. Perhaps she would be that dragon. If only that could be true—if she mated him, he would lose that spark like every one of her past mates had, if they even managed to survive the first few weeks after being marked.
Nikhil… Belah took a deep breath. All her senses focused on the memories of him. His dirty, bloody scent, the bruising grip of his hand on her arm, the desperate sound of his voice.
The adoration in his eyes and that sound he’d made when he apologized.
“Wait!” she called.
Her litter lurched to a stop and she hopped out.
“He’s coming now,” she said, charging back to Nikhil’s tent. She didn’t trust anyone but her own personal guard to carry him, and she needed him to be at the temple tonight. Even if she didn’t dare destroy his will by mating him, she would have him in every other way she could.
Chapter Two
It might have been a bad idea to turn her study into Nikhil’s sick room, but she did it. Belah had a bed brought in and set by the window where the clear air could come in. It was the closest she could get him to her own room without raising suspicion. He was her honored commander, living out his last days in luxury rather than on a muddy battlefield, as far as everyone else was concerned. Not that anyone would have questioned her decision either way, but her façade could still be broken, even as powerful as she really was. She’d rather rule by love than terror.
She occupied herself irritating the cooks with a new schedule, trying to ignore the huge man that was being deposited in her personal space.
She made it back up to his new bedroom when he arrived. He let out a soft groan as her guard lay him upon his new bed, and she came to attention at the signal of pain.
A second later she was at his side, aching to alleviate his pain, but now that he was awake she couldn’t use her power without giving away her secrets.
Instead, she simply sat and swabbed his fevered brow with a damp cloth.
“You are my goddess,” he whispered before drifting off again.
The second he was unconscious, she bent low to his mouth and exhaled a slow breath, making sure the magic went where it was most needed. Then she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, seeking any impression of his deeper feelings, yet finding only a sense of exhaustion and relief when his pain finally abated.
He would feel no pain tonight.
When she returned to her own room, she found herself too restless to settle down. Normally her late-night itch could be alleviated by a visit to her harem where she had her pick of virile male flesh or supple female curves. But her well was full and she rarely took her full pleasure from those in her service. Their pleasure was what sustained her. She preferred to take her own pleasure alone, when she needed the release. Giving up too much of her magic to another would form a bond deeper than she was willing to have with a human she had no desire to fully mate. So what was she thinking, bringing Nikhil here? She wanted his commanding touch too much not to share her magic with him in the way she only could by allowing him to share her bed. A bond would be inevitable, but at what cost if she didn’t dare mate him?
The question made her wings itch, so in the dark, she stepped out onto her balcony and surrendered her body to the wind. Under the caress of the breeze blowing through the delta, her skin shimmered and transformed into sapphire scales. Heavy horns erupted from her forehead and her body grew large and elongated with a tail sweeping back through her open doorway. Then she launched herself into the moonlit night.
Belah soared for hours, trying to shake the feeling that Fate had grabbed her by the tail and was once again twisting her life into knots. She hadn’t craved a mate in more than a century, and never one quite so much as this man. The past six mates she’d chosen out of necessity to breed, not out of true desire or even love. They hadn’t even known the truth of her nature and had been too weak to endure the magic, all of them dying either instantly or within days of her mark.
They had been pets as much as the members of her harem were her pets. Treasured possessions that she considered not much more than status symbols to compare with her siblings. She and her immortal brethren each had their own particular preferences where their collections were concerned. Belah was known for her menagerie of docile, accommodating males, but enjoyed females who were more direct. The combination was what pleased her the most, since most often she was an observer while her pets played with each other.
Her brother, Aodh, had a penchant for virgins. Ked preferred to take in the lost and damaged, and Belah wasn’t even certain he sated himself with them as often as the others did with their own harems. Gavra, by contrast, habitually exhausted his pets and borrowed from his siblings. Both her sisters had wildly disparate preferences—Numa’s collection were the most fertile and nurturing, and Aurum’s the most wild and carefree.
They all treasured and spoiled their pets, as did most dragons. Belah cared for hers like any of the belongings she’d accumulated over her long life, and she grieved when one of her pets grew too old and died. Immortality was a gift she could have given to all of them, but the cost would be too great. It would mean divulging her true nature, and she and her siblings had an unspoken rule to never reveal what they were to their subjects, much less their most prized possessions. Only their mates could know what they were.
The rising dawn came too quickly for her to completely shed the itch brought on by the presence of the wounded soldier she’d taken in. Still, she had no choice but to return. Flying all night had depleted her energy reserves, and she would have to take advantage of her harem before day’s end or risk inadvertently shifting in public.
With a graceful sweep of her wings, Belah shifted just as her talons touched down on the edge of her balcony. Inside her chamber, she admitted her servants and allowed them to prepare her bath, bathe her, then clothe her.
She made her way down the long hallway to the lower-level chamber where her pets spent their days. On her way past her study door, she hesitated, her curiosity drawing her gaze to the elaborately carved and polished wood barrier between her and the man who lay beyond.
How had he slept the night before? Was he in pain now? Perhaps she should see him before he woke and infuse his body with another breath to ensure he remained comfortable. Her mind reached out, found him conscious and comfortable, albeit sore and still groggy. Meri was already attending to him.
She had her own needs to see to now, and Nikhil was in no condition to help her with them. She swiftly walked on, fleeing the image of how his beautiful body would perform were he inclined to fulfill her daily requirement for energy. Would he be as insistent and passionate as that single grip of her wrist had suggested? She reached down and wrapped her hand around the same place he had, the memory of his fingertips digging in as vividly as if the bruises hadn’t already healed and the physical reminder still marked her.
Once in her harem chamber, Belah relaxed a little. The room was dim, the early morning light barely peeking through the closed curtains that covered the windows. She closed the door gently to avoid waking those of her pets who still slept. She rarely visited so early in the day, so she waited, closing her eyes to reach out to the variety of sleeping minds and find the ones who were closest to waking.
One entire side of the chamber was filled with luxurious beds, curtained with gauze, and strewn with comfortable furniture, richly appointed and covered in cushions. Incense meant to aid sleep burned in the corners, but would be replaced by a more enlivening scent by her servants in anticipation of her morning visit. One entire wall was comprised of carved wooden panels that let bits of the daylight stream through the gaps in the designs. During the day, those panels would open onto the temple’s vast courtyard where there was
a pool and a garden for her pets to spend their days in.
She never wondered about their level of contentment because their emotions were transparent. Occasionally if she neglected to visit for too long, she could sense a level of competition among them, and perhaps slight resentment from the ones who she considered her favorites. Each one desired her as much as she desired them, and she made sure they continued to. If one of her pets ever wavered in their adoration, she simply released them from their obligation to her. They had each other when she wasn’t there, however, and were encouraged to indulge themselves in her absence. It wasn’t uncommon for two to fall in love and wish to carry on their married life outside the temple, though even the committed couples sometimes chose to remain her pets.
Even now there was a bright spot of energy pulsing from one of the many curtained beds. Lush moans carried to her ears from within. Belah made her way to the bed on quiet feet. Through a gap in the canopy, the ebony curls of one of her newest pets, Nyla, moved over the taut flesh of a man’s torso as she kissed her way down his stomach.
Belah tried to see who was the lucky recipient of the young woman’s attention, but his head was obscured by the round swell of Nyla’s backside. Only his broad shoulders and large, tanned hands were visible, stroking up and down the backs of Nyla’s thighs.
Belah watched, unnoticed, while Nyla took the man’s thick erection into her mouth. Her eyes closed as though savoring him, her lips sliding down and encompassing his length. At his urging, she repositioned her hips to straddle his shoulders and let out a soft moan when he gripped her ass, drawing her closer to his mouth.
Over the curve of Nyla’s ass, a pair of dark brows raised, and brown eyes blinked at Belah in amusement.
Belah smiled at Zeb and simply motioned for him to continue pleasuring his new partner. She had always liked Zeb’s easy manner and had been drawn to him more frequently for sustenance than many of the other males in her harem.
Nyla sucked and stroked Zeb’s cock enthusiastically, moaning louder and louder from his attention between her thighs. Their auras bloomed brightly around them, and Belah enjoyed the crackling energy that tickled her skin from being in close proximity. The undercurrent of something more sweetly potent made her smile broaden.
They were in love.
Still, they were her pets, and their purpose was to serve her. She almost regretted interrupting their fun when she rested a hand on Nyla’s shoulder and squeezed to get her attention.
Nyla slid her mouth off Zeb’s glistening cock with a soft pop and stared at Belah in a daze. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips wet; her pink tongue darted out and swept across her lower lip. After a second, comprehension struck, her eyes widening.
“Stop, my sweet,” Nyla said, looking over her shoulder and reaching back to still her lover’s steady licks. She turned back to Belah, a fresh glimmer of excitement in her eyes. “Mistress? May we serve you this morning?”
Belah moved to sit on the bed near Nyla’s head. She cupped the young woman’s chin and bent close, taking her mouth in a slow, languid kiss that Nyla returned eagerly. Belah hummed in appreciation of Zeb’s salty flavor clinging to his lover’s tongue. They had both been so close to climax, their auras still pulsed vividly around them, but that would have to wait until the magic had doubled.
Belah’s pets were nothing if not eager to please. The delay in satisfaction might have been torture to some, but every member of her harem had been well-trained to hold back until their mistress was ready. Belah made sure never to disappoint them.
She reached toward the bedside table and opened a wooden box that rested there, one of many beside every other bed throughout her harem’s quarters. From within, she lifted an earthenware bottle and uncorked it, releasing a spicy aroma into the air. Both her pets breathed in deeply, and Nyla shifted as if to move off her lover’s torso.
“Don’t move yet,” Belah said. “Just sit up for me.” This was one of the many little rituals she enjoyed with her pets, and one she hadn’t done with Nyla yet. She tilted the bottle over Nyla’s chest and a stream of oil drizzled out, gleaming gold in the morning light. It landed on the upper swell of one breast and ran down over Nyla’s dark nipple. The young woman closed her eyes and smiled, her nipple hardening.
Before the liquid could drip off the tip, Bella cupped her hand beneath the heavy globe of flesh, catching the excess in her palm and swirling it around Nyla’s nipple. She set the bottle back down and focused her attention on smoothing the oil over Nyla’s breasts and shoulders while Zeb watched, his torso twisted sideways to get a better view of the proceedings. Between them his cock still stood erect and glistening.
When the front side of Nyla’s torso shone with the oil and her breasts heaved from desire, Belah gave both her nipples one last squeeze and stopped. She poured another bit of oil into her palm and reached between Zeb’s legs, beginning with his smooth, supple balls and working her palm up the length of his shaft and back down.
Zeb let out a rough groan, his head falling back against the cushions. When his aura pulsed dangerously close to climax, she stopped.
“Down again, but don’t touch him yet,” she said to Nyla in a whisper. The young woman obediently lowered her torso so that her cheek rested on Zeb’s hip, but she remained a breath away from the base of his shaft with her hands resting on his thighs. “Good girl,” Belah said.
She stood and tipped the bottle of oil again, trailing a line down the woman’s spine until it trickled between the round, firm cheeks of her ass. Nyla’s bare cunt already flowed with her own juices, but her flesh quivered when the cooler oil reached it. She let out a small whimper when Belah cupped her ripe folds and swept back upward. She teased slowly through her cleft, moving higher and pausing to add another small dollop of oil between Nyla’s cheeks. With her fingertips, she gently worked the oil in a narrowing spiral around the tight rosette of her ass.
Belah’s own heartbeat had sped up in her chest and she was grateful for this delicious distraction from her thoughts of the night—of the man who now rested mere footsteps from her own bedchamber. A heavy, throbbing sensation began deep between her thighs, and she forced herself to focus again on Nyla.
Reaching back to the box, she retrieved a blunt, smooth piece of marble that had been polished to a silken shine. It was shaped like an elongated egg, with a flared base like a tiny pedestal.
As she anointed the dildo with more of the oil, Belah grew aware of the arousal of another nearby and glanced up. Through Zeb and Nyla’s curtains, one of her other pets watched raptly.
The large, dark-skinned Idrin smiled sheepishly at her, but his awareness made the endeavor even more interesting.
She bent her lips to Nyla’s ear. “We have an audience. Do you mind if he assists me?”
Nyla looked up at her curiously for a second, then turned her head in Idrin’s direction.
“No,” she whispered back, her response accompanied by a new flush.
Belah beckoned to the other man, who rose and strode toward them, his eyes downcast but still taking in Nyla’s naked, oiled body. He paused a few feet from the bed, glanced between Belah and Zeb, and waited with his head down.
Belah met Zeb’s eyes with a raised brow and was pleased to see the man nod his shaved head with a smile. They were nothing if not accommodating to her games, never once expressing an objection. Of course, she made a point to make sure they were satisfied every time she visited.
She had pleasured both these men in the past—sometimes at once—and knew they worked well together. They could easily bring her to the crest of her climax, but knew she rarely wished to be pushed beyond. When they reached that point, she merely had to give the command and they would release into her, both their seed and their energy flooding her in delicious waves. The inundation was as complete and almost as fulfilling as an orgasm, but she preferred to wait until she was alone to finish the job. These
men weren’t meant to be her mates, and she didn’t want to risk the complication of becoming too closely bonded with either of them. Every time she climaxed, a measure of her energy would flood into them, so she had to be careful in order to preserve what freedom they still had in spite of their status. Every so often she would allow it, simply because sharing her energy on occasion helped maintain a level of health and happiness among them.
Nyla seemed nervous, gazing up at Idrin’s large, sleek frame and the intense look in his eyes.
Belah stroked her hand down the woman’s back and whispered in her ear. “He’s gentle, I promise.” Looking up at Idrin, she simply handed him the bottle of oil. He flashed a perfect, white grin and took over, pouring a small puddle into the hollow of Nyla’s back and massaging it in, slowly working his way over her shoulders and sliding both hands around her torso to cup her breasts.
Nyla arched like a cat, allowing him access to her breasts. He teased and massaged languidly for a moment. Belah could easily sense Nyla’s hunger by the way she stared at Zeb’s cock, licking her lips but intent on not disobeying her mistress. With a sigh, Nyla turned away, only to spy Idrin’s dark column right at eye level and within reach.
“May I?” she whimpered, her fingertips digging harder into Zeb’s legs.
“Please do,” Belah said, meeting Idrin’s lust-filled gaze. His eyelids closed and his lips parted as Nyla lifted up just enough to take his thick tip into her mouth and swirl her tongue around the ridge.
Zeb’s gaze had shifted, and he now watched enraptured as his lover hungrily sucked the other man’s shaft deep into her throat. He turned his head to watch Belah slide her oiled palm back down over Nyla’s round ass, which tightened slightly when she grazed her fingertips deliberately over her puckered opening. He licked his lips and took the proffered dildo. His eyes shone with lust when he pressed the rounded tip of it against her ass.
