The Queen's Flight (Emerging Queens)

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Oh.” She exhaled and her hips lifted.

  “We’re going to go slow.” His breathing was controlled, his eyes never leaving hers. “I want to enjoy every inch of you right now.” He pinched her nipples with a sweet roll of his fingers. “I’m concentrating on these.” Lying next to her on the bed, he clamped his mouth down on one, while his other hand continued to stroke the other.

  Viola’s body pulsed with desire. She cradled his head closer. Each suck sent a tug of bliss down to her core. Smoothing her hand over the curve of his skull, the soft skin glided over her fingers.

  “More,” she demanded as he took the other tip in his mouth, lavishing attention on it with an eager tongue. He sucked harder, until she was writhing to get closer to him. Still cupping and squeezing her breasts, Sergei kissed down her stomach, rubbing his cheek over every inch of her until she was quivering when his hands parted her thighs.

  Kneeling between her legs, he pushed them wider and ripped her panties off with a quick pull.

  “Sergei,” she shrieked as he rubbed two knuckles between her legs. When he touched her sensitive bud with a flick of his finger, she was reduced to whimpers of need.

  “I like how wet you are,” Sergei said. “I’m going to wrap your thighs around my ears and taste you until you come.”

  “Please,” she begged and he spread her legs wider. She felt exposed and erotic as he explored her. Sergei dipped inside of her, teasing her with one finger. Then two. Hips arching up to him, she swore deliriously as his fingers mercilessly fucked her. Clamping her thighs on his arm, she rode them. Viola lost the power of speech when he went back to her clit and rubbed her fast. Pleasure jolted through her. Whipping her head back and forth, the orgasm crested and left her hungry for more.

  Before she could recover, his tongue replaced his fingers. Viola nearly came off the bed as the sweet rush sparked through her. Her legs shook as he buried his face deeper, taking his time with long strokes of his tongue.

  “Sergei.” She sighed, her hands gripping the bed sheets. Each dart of tongue sent shuddering thrills up her spine. Her hips met his face and she ground herself against him.

  “So wet.” His grumble of pleasure vibrated against her sensitive core. He held her in place, but she writhed as he continued to explore her intimately. Guttural sounds of need shook out of her as he circled her clit and stretched his tongue to probe inside her.

  Her whole body tensed and trembled as he brought her over the edge, playing over her soft folds and back to wring excited shouts from her. Sergei reached up and pinched her nipples as he nibbled on her hard bud.

  “Oh,” she said, floating on the ceiling in an endorphin rush that left her stunned and lightheaded. Yes. Please. This. Now and forever.

  “Exquisite.” Sergei kissed her stomach.

  “My turn,” she said, stretching like a cat. He tracked her movement as she crawled over to him and rolled him over on his back. He capitulated, laughing at her antics.

  “What are you…” Sergei’s sentence was lost when her mouth engulfed his cock to the hilt.

  Viola sucked hard up to the top where her tongue circled the tip of him. His hand tangled in her hair, and he guided her head up and down. The noises he made weren’t human. He was shaking underneath her. Viola experienced a rush of triumph as Sergei seemed lost in the moment. She let him push her head deeper. His eyes unfocused as she grazed her teeth across his length, then tugged her head free.

  Sergei let her go and growled at her. She growled back, feeling a connection shudder through them both.

  Gripping him, she put the tip back in her mouth and stroked him. Her tongue darted over him, tasting his salty heat. Each of his muscles locked and she moved her hand and took him deep down her throat as he exploded.

  His roar echoed in the loud room as she swallowed, purring in satisfaction. She kissed her way up his fine chiseled abs, rubbing her breasts up his chest. He stared up at the ceiling, gulping air.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, only half teasing.

  “I’m going to buy you a yarn store.”

  Viola laughed and kissed him. “You already owe me an alpaca farm and a new cell phone. Don’t think I forgot about that.”

  He held her against him, stroking her hair. She felt his thickness harden against her stomach. His hand moved down to the curve of her ass.

  “Straddle me,” he said, pulling the back of her thighs.

  Viola lazily sat up.

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “I like this view. Bounce on me. I want to see these.” He molded his hands around her breasts.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, gliding her slit against his length. She rocked, feeling the hard flesh burn against her swollen folds. Coating him with her wetness, she gripped him and placed him at her entrance, raising herself up until just the tip was inside her, smiling seductively at him. “Are you ready for this?”

  He bucked and slammed deep inside her.

  Her head went back as pleasure zinged through her as she rose up and then sank down on him again. Viola’s mouth opened in a silent scream.

  “That’s it,” he said, holding her thighs tight.

  “Take me. Make me yours,” she said.

  His hands were on her hips now, forcing her up and down faster.

  Viola moaned with each slap of their bodies. She held on to his shoulders for balance as wave after wave of thrills buzzed into her. He squeezed her ass until she was sure she’d have his handprints on them for a while.

  She wasn’t complaining.

  “Come for me,” he crooned and eased his fingers between them to touch her intimately. When he grazed her clit, she shouted his name.

  “Do that again.” He grinned and took her there once more with the sweet rasp of his touch on her slick heat as his thick cock filled her.

  She collapsed on him, quivering. He held her firm so he wouldn’t slip out and carefully rolled so she was on her back. Rocking into her, his mouth plundered hers as he fucked her flat against the mattress. Viola screamed into his mouth at the sweet penetration and tightened herself around him.

  He cupped her ass as she wound her arms around his neck. Their lips pressed deep and slid over each other, his tongue as demanding as his cock. He growled against her mouth and the tension built in his arms and back. Arching into him, she squeezed him as hard as she could, and felt him tremble as he released. Bright lights flashed behind her eyelids. Her mouth swallowed his harsh groan as his body jerked once more before going still.

  “Nidhogg, that was quick.” He panted. “I had such plans.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she breathed.

  Sergei lifted some of his weight off her by bracing himself up on his elbows. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Viola pressed kisses on his jaw until his mouth claimed hers. Her head was still spinning.

  “One more time, I think,” he said, resting her feet on his shoulders, and his fingers danced across her abdomen. And then, as if he couldn’t stay away from them, his hands covered her breasts, and he leaned in so he could slide in and out as he played with them.

  “Sergei,” she whimpered, lifting herself up against him.

  “So wet and slick. I could fuck you all night.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Do it.” He filled her, stretched her to the point of pleasure pain and then teased her with a finger or a kiss. He went fast, then slow. Then, he changed his rhythm until she was hoarse from shouting.

  “We have dinner plans, and then we’re leaving. You’re coming with me to my lair. Merrick is going to take a hike because there is no way in hell I’m sharing you. If anything comes for you, I’ll kill it. Understand?” His voice was low, his eyes glassy.

  She nodded. “Y-yes.” Viola would promise him anything at this moment.

  “Are you all right with that plan?” His chest pressed her legs down when he went deep into her.

  “Yes.” She panted, relaxing as he inched impossibly deeper.

  He licked up her ankle
to the arch of her foot. “I’m so happy you’re seeing things my way.”

  And then he moved with swift, sure strokes that caused white lighting to blind her. The friction was too wonderful to bear in silence. She cried out his name as his breathing became ragged and harsh, and he roared her name back.

  Chapter Sixteen

  He knew they were a little late for dinner, but not late enough to warrant the pounding on the door. Sergei could still taste his Queen on his lips, and he was sore in all the right places.

  “Shit,” Viola said and scrabbled around for her dress. He watched her ass and smiled to himself.

  One of these days, she’d remember to use her dragon magic to clothe herself. But he found he liked seeing her jiggle and shimmy into the dress. The smile wiped away from his face when the hammering on the door started again.

  Sergei waited until she was covered before flinging the door open. A scrawny human male nearly fell on his face. Sergei recognized him as Cassandra’s pet human.

  “What do you want?” Sergei snarled.

  “She’s dead,” the man babbled. His eyes were panicked and his face grey with worry.

  “Sebastian…Dad,” Viola said.

  Dad? Sergei straightened a bit and regarded the human with more interest. He could see a slight resemblance now that he was looking for it. “Who’s dead?”

  “Marisol. A Queen has been murdered, and they think he did it.” Sebastian glared up at Sergei.

  Sergei wasn’t used to such insolence from a human. Being in Cassandra’s stronghold made him more aggravated by the lack of respect than he normally would be. “This is your father?” Sergei confirmed with Viola. There was no sense slamming the door in the man’s face if it would upset her.

  “So he tells me. And since I technically don’t have a mother anymore, don’t sting him.” Viola ran a hand over her messed up hair. “Wait. Did you say there’s a dead Queen?”

  Her eyes grew unfocused. It was creepy as hell. The hair on his arms raised.

  “Marisol?” Viola’s lips trembled. “She was the one who resembled Trinity in The Matrix. She didn’t deserve to be killed. She should have been protected. I barely knew her, but…that’s awful.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I thought we were safe here?”

  The Queens should have been. Even a brand new one. Some stud should have protected her, unless it was Cassandra who killed her. “Let’s see what this shit’s all about,” he said, holding his arm out for Viola.

  Her father tried to follow behind them.

  “After you,” Sergei gritted out. No one, human or not, was going to have his unprotected back in this castle.

  Sergei took hold of Viola’s arm and sought to gallantly escort her, but he wound up dragging her into the ballroom when his impatience got the better of him.

  When they walked into the crowded ballroom, he cursed in Draconic. Sebastian nodded.

  One of the Queens from the stage was lying lifeless on the floor. Her face was blue and mottled as if she’d been poisoned. Her throat was also ripped out. Seemed like overkill to him. Justice was standing over her kneeling guards and lopped off their heads in quick succession.

  Viola screamed, yanking away from him, but he held her firm.

  “Stay close to me,” he told her.

  Cassandra glared down at them from the stage. “So the murderer returns to the scene of the crime. Guards, take him.”

  “Wait,” Viola said, trying in vain to shake loose of him. “When did this happen?”

  “Less than an hour ago. The blood is still warm on the marble.”

  Sergei took in the crime scene. There was blood and it smelled fresh.

  “It couldn’t have been Sergei. He was with me,” Viola said.

  It also smelled like a set-up. Sergei watched Cassandra to see what her next move would be.

  “Impossible,” Cassandra said. “My guards tell me that you were allowing a stud to service you.”

  “Well, so much for privacy,” Viola said. Her face was flaming. Sergei hid a grin. A Queen was dead; he should feel more than annoyance. Once he thought of Marisol as a human, which she had been a few short weeks ago, the anger came easily. Viola was right—she should have been protected, and she hadn’t deserved this fate.

  “Yes, that’s true. I was with Sergei.” Viola covered her face with her hand. Was she embarrassed? Ashamed of him? Unease coiled through his gut.

  “And now you will cover up for his murder with your lies. I think you will need to be punished as well,” Cassandra beckoned her guards forward.

  It was going to be a tough fight, and a lot more were going to be dead by the time this was over. If he was going to get executed for killing a Queen, he was going to make it count. He turned toward Cassandra and watched her eyes widen when she read his body language.

  “I’m not lying,” Viola cried.

  But then there was his Queen. Sergei figured he could dispatch the guards on his way to Cassandra, but Justice would have an opening to take Viola.

  Sergei looked for Merrick. Merrick’s fists were clenched, and he was glaring at Sergei. He was too far away to do anything more than slow Justice down.

  Cassandra’s expression was triumphant when she realized Sergei’s decision.

  “My Queen,” one of the guards said as they came closer. “I can smell him on her.”

  “And she on him,” the other said.

  This time Viola was able to free herself because Sergei was concentrating on which guard to sting first.

  “Come here,” Cassandra said. “If you want to save your Protector’s life.”

  “Consort,” Sergei snarled.

  Cassandra reacted as if he’d slapped her. Viola strode toward the stage, and he saw the exact moment when Cassandra smelled Sergei on her.

  “Get back,” he said to Viola.

  She stopped in her tracks and regarded Cassandra, who was seething, likely furious that he’d slept with Viola. She’d considered him her property. Never good enough to be a part of her court, but good enough for dirty work and the occasional toss in the sack. Neither of which he did willingly.

  “I would have showered,” Viola said, “but we were in a rush to get here.”

  Cassandra balled up her fists.

  “Is this the protection you offer under your roof?” Viola hurled the accusation at her.

  Sergei’s mouth dropped before he caught himself. He swore it was only Cassandra’s shock at being confronted like this after centuries that saved Viola as she continued on her verbal attack. He plowed past the two guards, determined to haul Viola off the stage but her next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “Why are you doing your impersonation of the Queen of Hearts?”

  Viola couldn’t possible realize the danger she was in—the only thing saving her from Cassandra’s wrath was it had been millennia since Queens fought each other. Cassandra was probably trying to figure out how to issue the duel to a human-turned-Queen who had no idea of the protocols. If Cassandra lashed out at Viola, he needed to have his hands free. He maneuvered to get his tail in striking distance.

  The guards who had approached him stopped in their tracks to gape. He should kill them now before they recovered.

  “What are you talking about?” Cassandra snarled.

  “Off with their heads!” Viola mocked in a bad imitation of Cassandra’s Irish accent.

  “Failure to protect your Queen is death.” Cassandra spoke as if Viola was brain-damaged.

  “If I die, so does Merrick, and Sergei?” Viola pointed to each of them.

  “As it should be.”

  “Boy, no wonder they’re killing Queens with rules like that.”

  The room went still. The dragon studs milling around the room all turned as one to watch what happened next.

  “Blasphemy,” Cassandra breathed.

  Viola shook her finger in Cassandra’s face. If she wasn’t careful, the older Queen was going to lose it. He’d seen Cassandra bite before. “Thing
s are going to change. Everyone in this room knows it. There’s no need to keep with the old ways. They’re not working anymore.”

  “What do you know about old ways? You’re an infant. It will take centuries before you are ready to understand our culture.” Cassandra turned her back on Viola, haughtily dismissing her.

  She didn’t know Viola very well. Viola clamped her hand on Cassandra’s shoulder and forcibly turned her back. The collected gasp would have almost comical if this was going to be a normal cat fight. Sergei counted the studs. They were outnumbered ten to one. He stepped toward the stage, going with his current plan—if he was going to die, he was taking out Cassandra. Once she was down, there was a chance the other Queens could get control over the chaos. It was unlikely, but it was better than a straight up fight.

  “I understand there’s going to be a learning curve. But if you think we’re going to bow and simper to you, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  “How dare you?” Cassandra was sputtering with rage.

  When Justice shifted his sword out of his sheath Viola whirled on him and pointed to the dead Queen. “You want to know who killed Marisol?”

  “Your lover killed her. She was stung by a Wyvern,” Justice snarled, changing his trajectory to intercept Sergei. Crap.

  “Is your name Justice or Jump to Conclusion?” Viola accused.

  “My Queen, do I have to take this impertinence from this sub-Queen?”

  “Sub-Queen?” Viola hopped down off the stage, even as Sergei closed on Justice. Justice would be dead before he completed his swing, and then all hell would break loose. He was glad Viola had moved out of Cassandra’s reach. “Is that what we are?”

  Sergei’s tail barb would hit Justice right under his ear as soon as he was in range. Crouching down, he made it look like he was going to fight him bare handed. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  “My Queen,” a page called from the doorway. “Diplomats from the American Embassy are flying in.”