“You are the most sacred of Priestesses,” Vyler said, his hand gently stroking her long hair. “And the most beautiful.”
No more time to run away. Helpless, Keylar watched herself, as if from afar, being pulled close to Vyler, his mouth looking for hers. His lips pressed against hers, while his tongue gently pushed its way inside. She fought back at first, her tongue engaging in silent battle with his, both striving for control. But of course, she knew exactly who would win.
Vyler’s hands traveled on her body, removing all the annoying clothing blocking the way. She sighed, a part of her wanting him to stop, another pushing him forward.
“I love you, Keylar,” he whispered in her ear when he was finally able to pull away from her sweet mouth.
“I don’t believe you,” she shot back.
“Ah, darling, love is not a one way street,” his hand ran down her bare back, cupping a round buttock almost possessively. “And to share is the first rule of real pleasure.”
Keylar had no time to answer.
He kissed her again, this time harder, his tongue ravaging her soft mouth, demanding her complete submission. He pushed her down on her knees, holding her head tight and guiding it to the bulge pressing against his cotton pants. He undid the lace and Keylar’s mouth closed on him, her tongue wrapping around his long length.
She felt the soft skin, the throbbing edge and his need for release. But it was not like she thought.
After a few minutes, he stopped her. “I don’t want this, honey,” he said huskily. “I want you.” Again, he pushed her gently until she lay on the floor. The moon’s glow hit her body and, for a moment, Vyler contemplated the slim beauty, the long dark hair that provocatively concealed the interesting parts, the incredible green eyes now full of desire. He dropped on his knees, unable to keep his hands off her breast. The nipple rose hungrily, begging for a deeper touch. “Your body still wants me, regardless of what happened.”
“My body shouldn’t command me,” she said angrily.
“I think your body knows more than your mind ever will.” He bent down, his mouth traveling slowly on the silky skin. She smelled faintly of lemon and tasted slightly sour. Reaching her breast, his thumb stroked the nipple. Fascinated, he watched the reactions.
When his mouth replaced his fingers, she sighed deeply, her back arching for closer contact. He continued to lavish attention on the nipple, his tongue rubbing against it, sometimes gently biting the edge, then sucking the erected peak. She moaned, muscles tense under his expert touch, desire shooting through the veins. She was rapidly losing all sense of reality, completely drowned in the magical web only Vyler spun with such expertise. His hand traveled on her flat stomach, his mouth not far behind, then dipped down. The first touch was heavenly and Keylar almost screamed her pleasure.
“Not yet, my love,” he said huskily, taking his hand off.
“Please, Vyler,” she begged. “Take me.”
He shook his head, still wanting to taste more before giving her sweet release. His mouth resumed its travel, finding its way down the valley, passing close to the hard bud that throbbed with desire, but ignoring it at first. Then, changing his mind, he returned to it and a fleeting flicker of the tongue was enough to feel her body shiver violently. He returned on the throbbing hardness, his mouth now closing on it firmly, fingers testing the silky wet entrance that beckoned him.
She screamed, pleasure running up and down her body, her tense muscles relaxing all together.
He quickly raised his head and traveled to her mouth. Vyler wanted Keylar to taste her own salty flavor, while pushing his way into her softness. She had no time to react. He slipped inside almost immediately, leading in the rhythmical dance.
Keylar soon adjusted to the movement, responding to every thrust, while he made her taste herself. Keylar’s breath caught in his mouth just like her scream as she peaked again, then again until he could not take it anymore and spilled his seed into her.
For several moments after, neither could move. Sex had always been the best feature of their relation, ever since coming together almost ten years before. At that time, Keylar was being carefully trained by her mother, the official Moon Priestess. This rank was the highest in Atlantis’s hierarchy because the moon was the most important deity, its power believed to outshine even the sun’s.
In fact, the Atlantis people were convinced a moon ray had created their city. At the time, so the story went, the moon was not the Earth’s satellite, but simply a star traveling on its own. One of its rays casually hit the valley and created the magnificent city. The Moon was so impressed by its creation that it chose to remain close to Earth so that she could admire Atlantis every night. And the Goddess helped its beloved city. The vast land around it was prosperous. Harvests were plentiful, poverty was unknown and everyone had more than enough to eat. Their society was a shining pillar of civilization, highly cultured and refined. And all thanks to the Moon.
For that reason, the Moon Priestess was at the top of Atlantis’s social structure. She was considered a bridge between the material Earth and the Divine realm above. The ritual ceremonies she conducted helped the people feel better about themselves and their civilization in general. She led them in prayers, in sacrifices and in blessings. People also believed she talked to the Moon itself, receiving instructions and guidelines. In the end, her position far outweighed the Sun Priest, the shiny star not as important in Atlantis life.
Vyler had fallen in love with Keylar a long time before he became Sun Priest. He used to watch the young girl from the hills near the temple, admiring her slender body and the serious expression with which she followed her mother’s instructions. She was not a beauty in any classical definition, maybe too thin, her face too chiseled. Yet her body called for sex with its every movement.
He watched her for hours, fascinated by the sensual swaying of the hips, the elegant gestures of the hands, lost in erotic daydreams. It took him some time to muster enough courage to actually go to the Moon Temple and introduce himself. Keylar was very young at the time, but customs dictated that the Moon Priestess explore life’s most sacred mysteries since early on. Sex only added to her magical powers, especially the one to intercede with the deity itself. The more sexual experiences, so the belief went, the more the Priestess could convince the Moon to protect and bless Atlantis.
Vyler had no trouble to claim her for his own. Not in an exclusive sense, of course. The Moon Priestess could not belong to any one man. Instead, she would give herself to whomever caught her fancy, freely disposing of her body however she pleased. Still, she had fallen in love with him, perhaps because he had been the first or because he was just so beautiful. Vyler’s dark beauty made many heads turn, not just the women’s, though he seldom noticed.
Having no obligations as a Sun Priest, he strayed little from Keylar’s side, probably because she was all he had ever loved. So they had started living together, at first not on regular basis, then it became a habit. They loved each other’s company, enjoying the freedom that came with their positions and with their own inner inclinations.
This arrangement had worked just fine, until recently. Things are changing too fast, Keylar thought dejectedly, since the other one came into our lives. The world was going to fall apart, yet here came someone, out of nowhere, who wanted to divert precious energies from her efforts to save the people and the city. It seemed unfair.
“Honey,” he rolled off her, stretching at her side. “It’s not him, it’s what he says,” he argued reasonably.
“But you love him,” she turned to him, her green eyes questioning. “Don’t you?”
He sighed deeply, images rushing in unwanted. Yes, Jaydon had shown him a new way of loving, one he had not wanted to explore before. Actually, Vyler had never been attracted to men. Women were more to his taste, silky and curvy, soft creatures to conquer. So with men he had no experiences, always keeping a safe distance, at least until Jaydon. He was different from any man he knew and no
t just in a physical sense.
Reasoning later, Vyler could never tell what exactly happened or why Jaydon unleashed such a reaction on him. Yet, when he saw him standing on one of Atlantis’s hills, bathed in sunlight, something hit Vyler’s stomach and drained his lungs of air. He had walked up that hill not really looking around, not wanting to see anything else, his gaze fixed on the beautiful creature in front of him. Then Jaydon had looked his way and things had never been the same since.
Sex on Atlantis was vital. People knew just how important it was and not merely for reproduction. That is why no one questioned sexual choices. Everyone was free to enjoy sex with whomever. Whether they shared the same gender or had opposite ones, it really made no difference to the establishment. Yet Vyler had always steered clear of those men who sent him longing glances. His beauty attracted many of them, but he believed he had no inclination, particularly no desire, to experience a man.
But when Jaydon had stood on that hill, all doubts fell away almost magically. Well, not exactly, but the attraction was so strong, Vyler almost had no choice. After knowing Jaydon, he spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning, his body wanting something new, his mind set against it. So the battle raged violently. Keylar had tried to compensate, but she soon understood it was impossible. As Vyler’s friendship with Jaydon grew, so did his desire until one day the beautiful creature had kissed him.
The moment was burned in Vyler’s memory. Standing just inside the Sun Temple, Jaydon had turned, his gray eyes boring deep into Vyler’s, and pulled him closer. Vyler had just spent another sleepless night, wondering what it would feel to hold Jaydon, touch him…even kiss him. Yet the kiss caught him by surprise. Jaydon’s soft lips closed on his, his tongue tracing the contours of Vyler’s mouth, gently at first. Then Vyler opened his mouth and time stopped.
Later, he had trouble remembering the exact sequence of events, the sensual experience washing over him and blocking out rationality. Surely Jaydon had managed to undress him, dropping to his knees to savor the dark man intimately, his mouth surprisingly adept to give him pleasure. Vyler’s desire had grown to unbearable heights until Jaydon had asked him to make love to him. By then, Vyler was beyond any rational thought, all gender distinctions blurred in his mind. He wanted Jaydon, regardless of his sex. Pushing his way inside, Vyler had no time to think of the difference with a woman, hot desire coursing through his veins.
And that had been only the beginning. Many passionate nights followed, apparently unknown to Keylar. In fact, until that night at the Moon Temple, he had not told her about the change in Jaydon’s relationship. Yet somehow she had known all along and things between them had gone progressively worse. Love was not an issue for Vyler. He still loved Keylar more than life itself and probably would never be able to leave her, yet he discovered he could love Jaydon too. One love did not necessarily preclude the other.
Jaydon accepted this arrangement. He knew the extent of Vyler’s love for Keylar and just how important she was to him. He never asked Vyler to make a choice, nor placed him in a difficult position. Apparently for Jaydon, exclusive love was not an issue.
Keylar was not so open-minded. She felt jealous and betrayed, more so because Jaydon was a man. The negative feelings had started immediately. Since the beginning, she saw the danger for Vyler and tried to take him away from the stranger.
Actually, no one knew where Jaydon came from. He certainly had no relation to Atlantis or its people. Yet Vyler had not cared one bit.
“Tell me if you love him,” Keylar repeated, clearly reading his thoughts.
“I do,” he admitted at last. “But this love doesn’t take anything away from us.”
She fell silent. She knew this would happen if they shared physical love.
“Don’t be cross, honey,” he pleaded when the silence became unbearable.
“But he’s a man!” she protested.
“So, you’re a woman. The world is made up of both genders, but mostly of people. I love Jaydon as a person, not because he’s a man.”
“But—”
“Hush, Keylar,” he bent down and kissed her softly. “Love and sex really have no gender. It’s all pleasurable.”
“Is that why lately all you think about is him?”
Vyler stretched, his mind turning the question over. Then he rolled on a side and looked deeply into Keylar’s green eyes. “Actually,” his hand began a slow journey on her body, “I think more about what he told me—”
“Again, Vyler?” she pushed his hand away. “Please, don’t start with that again. I don’t want to know.”
“But, honey, you’re the Moon Priestess. You have to know.”
“He’s just making up things, that’s all. There’s no truth in his allegations.”
“You should at least listen to him.”
“Why? It’s all a lie anyway. Besides, we’re almost ready to leave.”
“What if he was right and there was no need to leave?”
Plans were far ahead, yet Vyler was not convinced the gods had told them right. In fact, unknown to anyone, the Sun Priest was skeptical of gods. To be honest, he did not believe in them as most people did. Of course, there had to be something on the other side of life’s threshold, but maybe it was not the gods so imaginatively evoked by everyone. He doubted the sun as a divinity. Though accepting its physical reality, Vyler had trouble placing a soul in it. Now Keylar was convinced the gods were telling Atlantis people to leave their beautiful city because an immediate danger would destroy it all.
The recurrent nightmares told the whole story, but Vyler did not believe her. Still, he had gone along with the plans because she was the Moon Priestess. He loved Atlantis as well, could not bear to leave it, yet it was what Keylar demanded of him and of everyone else. Now, Jaydon had taken his doubts and given them new life. As a result, Vyler had thought it over carefully, reaching the conclusion that perhaps Keylar was wrong. Of course, he could not tell the Moon Priestess she was mistaken. Instead, he could use Jaydon’s disturbing knowledge to stop the insane plan.
“The Moon does not lie,” Keylar reminded.
Her voice sounded so final that no further arguments seemed possible. Without another word. Vyler got up, dressed in silence, and left.
* * * *
“My lady, wake up” the gentle voice called her to consciousness.
Keylar stretched luxuriously, slowly opening her eyes. The sun’s rays filtered in, lighting up the room. She had not slept well, thoughts of Vyler keeping her awake. She wondered once more just how far his doubts had gotten to her. Keylar needed his support to get the people moving before it was too late, but he seemed all the more distant lately. Jaydon was the problem, of course, yet she still could not fathom Vyler’s betrayal. Impossible as it seemed, he actually chose to believe a complete stranger over her. She was his true love, or so he had claimed for years, but now this love seemed inconsequential, pitted against Jaydon’s lies.
“My lady, are you feeling well?”
“I’m tired, Portia,” she admitted.
“My pet,” the woman came to the bed. “Let me help you,” she held her close.
Keylar gave herself up to Portia’s tender care.
“What’s wrong, pet?” the woman asked at last.
“All this planning,” she sighed. “People just don’t want to understand...it’s frustrating.”
“People are scared, darling. The picture you paint is horrible—”
“The Moon paints it for me, Portia. I just obey her orders.”
“Yes I know, pet. Still, no one wants to leave their home, if they can help it. Besides, this Jaydon guy has been telling things—”
“He’s lying, Portia,” Keylar said angrily.
“Are you sure, pet?” Portia pulled back, sitting on the bed and watching her closely. “Or maybe you don’t want to listen to him because he’s Vyler’s lover?”
Keylar’s head dropped. The words hurt more than she cared to admit, the truth tearin
g her heart.
“You know, pet,” Portia resumed gently, “your mother would have at least listened to him.”
Portia had been Keylar’s family servant before she was even born. In fact, the woman had raised the little girl more than her mother who was too busy with the duties as Moon Priestess.
“Maybe you’re right,” Keylar admitted softly. “So far I didn’t want to listen because—”
“It’s not important why, my pet.” Portia stroked her hair.
Keylar nodded. They both knew why, so there was really no reason to say anything more. After a moment, Keylar got up, dressed and left in search of Jaydon. Outside the Moon Temple, the Priestess stopped a moment before crossing the distance to the building on the opposite hill where Jaydon would probably be.
The day was magnificent. Warm temperature and dazzling sunlight framed the valley and its high surrounding crown. Light reflected from the stone buildings, creating colored effects full of life. She walked slowly down the hill, enjoying the feel of warm sunlight on her skin and soft grass under her feet. The green expanse opened up in front of her, gently declining to the busy city underneath. On the streets, people were running their usual errands, merchants calling for customers, chariots bringing provisions to the city, children running about in playful moods. Yet, beneath the surface, traces of sadness darkened the joyful atmosphere. People knew they had to leave soon, Keylar had insisted on it, and now finally things were moving along. But not fast enough for her taste.
Many greeted her as she passed by and Keylar returned their blessing. Up ahead, the Sun Temple rose magnificently, bathed in bright sunlight, yellow and sparkling all over. She climbed the hill, one step at a time.
“Keylar,” Vyler caught her off guard. “Honey…” seeing her there was odd. Because of her high rank, the Priestess never went there, leaving it to the Sun Priest to travel the distance.
“I have been thinking about what you said last night,” Keylar said. “And I would like to talk to Jaydon…if it’s possible.” Vyler smiled, an arresting smile that made her heart stop. She loved him so much it physically hurt to be near him. His black eyes returned her love, flooding her with an ocean of feelings in which she felt herself drowning.
Atlantis Allure Page 30
