My heartsong, my very pulse, throbbed in my aching shaft.
Oh for the want of a mate. I fell on my elbows and rammed into her. Thrusting. Pushing. Lunging to bring the gods power in shooting stars down to her. Inside her. To ignite a life that would save her from the Thunder clan. To drain me of every worry for just a while. For her.
She matched every one of my moves with little pleasure sounds even though she clung to me with her eyes shut. It was like she couldn't breathe in that cave again, the way she gasped for air.
"Deeper, Borun."
Nothing sounded more erotic than her begging. I strained with each plunge, rocking my hips at the end of each push. Just the way I'd seen it done for all those years.
She yanked harder on my halter, throwing her head to one side, whining. "Faster, Borun."
Faster, harder, deeper… The world began to spin until I heard nothing but my mate's cries. My seed exploded inside her. Into the dark safe place of females. Into her spirit's arms. And if I proved worthy, she'd carry my youngling.
The blue light flashed.
Bless the stars. Bless Aisling.
A knock rattled at the door.
A presence pushed into his mind. "I've brought food, Borun. May I enter?" Morna asked.
"Take it to the guards' lodge. We'll eat there." I dropped my eyes to Aisling's flitting eyelids and planted a kiss on her cheek. "The food is here, little one. Let's eat with the guards. I want them to feel important."
"Alright."
We quickly dressed and headed to the guards' lodge.
"Maybe Mart can begin with my first Luvk history lesson."
Aisling didn't act upset at dining with the other guards. She seemed to grow to accept the warriors' presence.
She headed toward the bath, swinging those strange loose pants from her Earth. She shot me a glance over her shoulder. "What's taking you so long? I'm so hungry I could eat a war beast."
Although, I could devour her. Her backside was a sight in those black leather pants from back when we rode together. But there was something erotic about that belt wrapped around her narrow waist now and the way her ass swelled in those pants. Something that offered a far better feast than Morna's offerings. I couldn't hold back an instinctive growl.
"Borun?" She stopped, standing sideways, her breasts bulging at an excellent angle. "Ready again? We'll take care of your itch after we eat."
The sooner the better. I stretched my stride, caught up to her through the bath's doorway, scooped her slender form into my arms, kissed her soft hungry mouth, slid her curves down the front of my body so she'd know I meant to scratch my itch with my extremely big stick, and growled deeply in my chest.
"Stop that," she whispered. "If they all have your hearing, they know what you're up to."
"They do. And they'll hear you gasp when you're in our bed chamber."
"What?" Her eyes widened. "They can hear me that far away?"
"They're supposed to. That's their job. If you gasp in fear, they come running."
"And if I gasp in orgasm?"
He couldn't help but chuckle and reached for the doorway to the guards' chamber. "Then they know to leave us alone."
"I don't think I like them knowing what we're doing," she whispered.
I did. They needed to know who bedded Aisling. "Let's go." I pushed the door open.
Lehd wasn't in his sleeping skins. Which probably spared Aisling the embarrassment of wondering if he'd heard our conversation. Lehd waited with the others, seated around their large table wearing their masks because of Morna's presence. Two large candles with multiple burning wicks flickered where they sat equidistantly on the table. The candles were for Aisling's benefit given she couldn't see well in Luvk lighting without night vision.
Morna hustled to place dishes along the table's center. She turned to us. "Come eat, Aisling. I have a special treat for you. I'm certain you'll find it as wonderful as the foods you miss back on Earth."
And my Auntie has found another to care for. "I should feel abandoned, Morna. You haven't said a thing to me."
Morna patted my cheek. "I never forget my favorite Lord." She waved me to one of two empty chairs. "Sit, Borun. The cooks prepared your favorite fowl. Stuffed with the finest trimmings, just the way you prefer it."
Undoubtedly a gentle way to celebrate my mating. If so, there would be roasted tubers and wine. I sank into the chair beside the one Aisling confiscated. "I believe the word for this animal is bird in English. Do you eat bird?"
"Quite a few different types."
The others watched my mate with great interest and held back on serving themselves. Probably to wait for her to study the food.
"Shall I serve her dinner?" Morna asked in mindspeak.
"No. She doesn't take well to being treated like a queen, Morna." Hopefully, my aunt would just leave well enough alone.
"Would you like me to tell you what every dish is, Aisling?" Morna asked my mate.
"Oh, yes. Please." Aisling perked up attentively.
"Your aunt is sly, Borun," Mart leaned onto his elbows.
"She's raised many younglings." The point was truth. "Pay attention. You'll learn a few tricks."
Saying everything one could imagine about each ingredient worked into each recipe, Morna lifted the large tray of baked Wark-a large bird that had enough fat in its flesh to keep it tender over the fire-cut into pieces atop a bed of broken bread loaded with berries, nuts, and herbs and presented the delicacy to Aisling.
My mouth watered.
I grabbed a knife and speared a piece for my plate.
"I raised you with better manners, Borun." Morna scowled.
A lord can snatch a piece for himself. I served a plump golden piece to Aisling.
Morna produced a spoon, dished Aisling and I each a serving of stuffing, and loaded down Proy's plate where he sat next to Aisling before she sent the tray of Wark on around the table.
* * * *
One by one, each vegetable, fruit, meat, and bread filled Aisling's plate until she had to beg for a reprieve. Auntie Morna was too generous, Aisling realized. "I can't possibly eat all of this. And I was raised to clean my plate." I shot a timid smile at Borun's doting aunt. "These warriors are huge. I am quite small in comparison."
"But what if you carry a youngling?" Morna's serious mask didn't allow me the room for a reply.
Okay, I stand corrected. I scanned my dining party to find each loading his dish with enough food to feed a professional football player. At least they weren't staring at me as if I had sex to procreate. Or should have sex with them.
Something rammed into my throat.
I gulped back the annoying lump of reality.
Not because of these men's expectations. Here, I dined with my mates. Yet, they weren't animals. They behaved quite civilly, taking turns, and waiting to eat. With knives and spoons. Most likely because of Morna's presence and the masks.
Morna poured a glass of wine and placed it beside my plate. "When you have had your fill, there is dessert. And your guard can explain to you what Throsoche is."
As long as it wasn't an aphrodisiac, anyone could tell me about dessert.
Morna excused herself and the masks came off.
I suppose in the long run I'll look back and think about how I got to know these men tonight. Their kindness and breeding. They didn't stare at me. Nor did they make me feel uneasy. They seemed to tuck mindspeak away for my sake and talk of issues in their realms among one another. And Proy didn't say one thing to me other than excuse himself for bumping me with his elbow the one time. None of the males ever touched me. Ever gaped at me. Just Lehd who was obviously love sick.
The discussion turned to the feral activities that ushered me to Ishan's palace. Borun described who had attacked us, each man by name and territory for the benefit of the audience. I knew nobody except my betrothed's identity, Kruk. And I really didn't want to think about him.
"One Royal Guard cornered Aisling in the Hall of Wisdom
," Borun announced.
Why did we have to go there?
Mart turned his gaze to me. A strand of his long kinky hair had loosened itself from the tie pulling his black locks back into a queue. The strand dangled down the side of his cheek. "Can you describe the warrior?"
Who couldn't after he raced toward me? "Black and white stripes. He stood in shadow where I couldn't see much detail though. Not that I could tell anyone apart by stripe patterns as Borun says he does." Something in my subconscious nagged me to keep the details of the warrior's mask a secret. He hadn't hurt me. Just scared me a little toward the end. And I knew so little about the Luvks that they couldn't possibly expect me to differentiate between masks. Although the Thunder clan wore specific masks. I'd keep the point my education trained me to see patterns my dirty little secret.
"You don't recall the markings on his mask?" Mart hefted his silver cup to take a long drink. His cool blue gaze glowed a hazy silver in the low level lighting as he watched me over the rim.
Var and Lehd eyeballed me intensely at that moment.
"How can I tell the masks apart?" That seemed to be the pathetic earthling reply that would appease their curiosity.
Mart rose and waved a palm toward the dancing flames in the hearth. "Let me show you."
Oh well. Why not learn what I can? I rose as he gathered the masks.
He laid them out in a circle around the fire pit. "Note each has a different marking." He pointed at one. "As with my mask, the three circles between the chin and ear indicate I am a Royal Guard born of the Sunrise realm. The three circles represent the rising sun."
So, his half brother confronted me in the Hall of Wisdom. "What are the others?"
He slowly went around the circle noting all but the Thunder clan's symbol, the four lines on the chin. "And of lastly, we have the Thunder clan that I can sketch for you."
"Four lines on the chin."
His gaze pinched with awe. "You remember."
What an ironic choice of words. "When left without weapons to face a more powerful captor, one finds she is more observant if she plans to escape. My commander disarmed us before we passed through the portal. I had nothing to use for protection. So, the mask just seemed like the easiest thing to grab."
"And beat Kruk into a stupor," Borun added matter-of-factly.
"Apparently, I didn't. He recovered." Now I need to know how these masks are the masks of Royal Guard leaders. "Mart, please show me how to differentiate between the masks for rank."
He pointed at them slowly, moving sideways to cover them all, ending with his own. "Each has no mark other than the symbol of his realm. All but mine. Do you see the cheeks are depressed with those linear angles here on my mask?"
Like someone pressed a triangle into them when they were molten hot. "Yes. This notes you aren't a leader?"
He nodded, never letting on the fact bothered him.
Albeit, he still towered over me. With all those muscles, I would be easy pickings if he decided to have his way with me. Or maybe his charm was the little medieval something about his somewhat-tamed wild hair? He'd been so polite. I'd have a tough time finding a reason to squeeze out a no if he decided it was time to mate. Intelligence combined with brawn… A girl could really learn to love Luvk.
"What type of weapons do females carry where you come from?"
Mart's question broke my little foray down deep into lust's darkness.
His silver gaze probably mirrored the fact I stood beneath him contemplating how he was so damned attractive.
Damn the wine and my throbbing heart. The Ancient Greeks knew what they were doing in attributing their powerlessness under the spell of alcohol to a deity. Talk about using a scapegoat. But I could cover my ass. "Firearms, knives, and Marshals have torches. Although, torches aren't considered fair in fighting and peg a Marshal as weak. I couldn't bring myself to strap on a weapon that I could accidentally set off and burn myself into ash in a simple flash of light. But I warmed up to blades about six years ago." Maybe he'd think I was just panicking about having to use weapons. I turned back for some support from Borun.
The glowing gazes encircling the table stared at me where the men froze in some stage of feeding themselves.
Apparently, Luvk females didn't tote weapons. Who'd have to given they had these massive killing mates in their shadow? Or maybe the torch had captured their interest.
"Show us how you use knives, little one."
Borun didn't just ask me to hurl blades for their entertainment. He can forget it. "I can't see in here. This isn't a good spot for a demonstration." The whole display aspect of a little Aisling show only brought back a rush of memories of my days in graduate school, those cool desert nights spent in Egypt when Dr. Josselyn's French taste for small breasts and tight asses sent me a ticket to Hell. Well, he'd complained my breasts were just a little too large, but they'd suffice for the sake of his sacrifice to humanity for recovering and reconstructing Egyptian prehistory. The bastard and his misuse of graduate students. But my uncanny, rather desperate, ability to beat the learning curve in knife throwing left my fellow doctoral student in Josselyn's bed after each round of Russian roulette knife throwing. But I think Anna liked losing. Call it climbing the professional ladder. That ladder looked awfully rickety to me. Or mangy.
A shudder shook me.
I reclaimed my safe seat beside Borun.
All the glowing eyes still watched me.
What went through their minds?
Mart descended into his chair.
Maybe I could change the subject. "What about Luvk history?"
Everyone returned to eating.
Not one of them even acknowledged my question. "You don't care for your history? Even I who sees little to admire in the way my own culture picks everything apart negatively in other cultures, I can find some value in my history."
Mart rallied by scratching the back of his head. "Where should I begin?"
Must I utter in the beginning? Although, that's the last place I'd want to delve back home. Talk about some nuclear explosions! "Where do Luvks think their people came from?"
"Legend says we leapt from a hole in the sky, onto a cloud raining stars…" His exasperated expression melted into one of wonder as if he enjoyed telling the story with his elbows planted on the table and his extended fingers fanning the air. "Some say the night sky seeded the cloud. Others say a great explosion from a volcano on the other side shot Luvks into the cloud. Either way, the first people leapt onto the cloud that would harden into our planet."
So much for science. Mythology was the glue to a cultural fabric though. I couldn't laugh at their opinions of their origin. Myths worked one way or another to explain the inexplicable. "So was your sun always there?"
Mart's head cocked one direction. "No. The planet was born first. But without light. Which is why we see in darkness." He winked. "And then a great shaking of the land gripped Luvk and a volcano climbed toward the heavens to spit out the sun, to shoot it into the heavens."
Var shook his pure white queue negatively. "Those are tales from before the time of the great kings." His blue gaze locked on mine. "He's telling the stories of the ancients. By the time of the great kings, most people thought it was the kings who seeded the clouds and shot the sun into the sky when fighting battles. They hurled great balls of fire in laying siege to castles. One lodged itself in the heavens."
Three cheers for Var, who, by the way, gave me shivers just in speaking. He was interesting, a strange mix of pale gold, white, and thick black stripes that drew my gaze to linger. He was almost black and white but had enough color to entice the eye. And his declaration only provided what I required, details about these people's cultural evolution. The kings empowered themselves by changing the legends. "How did queens overthrow the rule of the kings?"
Lehd shifted in his creaking chair.
Obviously, the chair bitched about its load. But Lehd was the warrior who almost matched Borun with size. Or Lehd's shifting i
n his seat equated to the guards' feeling my question dealt with a touchy subject. "And?"
All the men planted their elbows on the table beside their plates, their muscles bulging as if to counter that any validity lay in the part of the story about to unfold.
Mart smiled.
A dashing grin, by the way.
"The Slakens killed the kings and placed the kings' wives in power as if they knew all along that it would destroy our kingdoms."
Nothing beautiful or mythical enchanted me about that cold tidbit of history. Apparently, it rubbed the guards wrong as well. "Okay, I see a pattern." And finding patterns was my job. "Thank you for the explanations."
A knock rattled at the door.
Var strolled his slightly bowed legs through the firelight until I couldn't see the way his muscles stretched his leather pants to the limit beneath his apparently iron ass.
I really must stop thinking about my guards' bodies. Or I'm going to be in big trouble. Especially since these men could hear my heartbeat. Just what was Borun thinking about my sudden interest in those he chose for me? I slid me gaze up the undulating muscles of his arms to the arched eyebrow hovering over his golden eye. Thank goodness he couldn't read my mind. Better to pretend I'm upset. "Who is it?" I whispered like I didn't want to speak to anyone else.
"Goro."
I forced a frown.
Borun washed the emotion off his face and turned to the squealing door.
Goro entered the distant shadows in his standard black calf-length leather jacket, black pants, boots, and vest. "Good evening, everyone."
He was always so diplomatic.
Everyone replied a greeting, except me.
Goro shot me a smile as he entered the firelight carrying a backpack. "Aisling." He nodded a smidge. "I've brought you a gift from Darla and to inform you what I will be doing this next week after my departure."
Well, I guess I needed to know. Will said knowledge make a difference in my life? At least I got a gift out of the visit. I took the heavy bag and placed it on the floor by my boots.
"Before you dismiss the backpack," Goro said, "let's discuss the beacon."
Feral Fever Page 14
