Dark Empress: The Onic Empire, Book 5

by Anitra Lynn McLeod

  Farjika’s relived sigh convinced him she was trying to protect him. He couldn’t have been more astounded. Here she was, a royal and less than half his size, and she was determined to keep him safe. Concerned, Gabriyel reached out before she could close the door. He grasped her hand and leaned near, as if to kiss the back of her hand. He didn’t think a barsita would know the tradition was not one of theirs. Moreover, he didn’t think either man within knew how to speak Diolan.

  Farjika startled at his tremendous breach in protocol. He wasn’t allowed to touch her except in the process of defending her. Her enormous eyes broke his heart and hardened his resolve.

  “Be safe, my lady.” He lifted his gaze to hers as he whispered, “I will return for you.”

  Horrified, she leaned close enough for him to smell her perfume. He drew a deep breath until he discovered the clear aroma of sex. The smell of her musk mixed with another’s sparked his obsession. His semi-hard cock throbbed to life. He wanted to leap upon her and replace that boy’s scent with his own.

  “No, Gabriyel. I will call for you within the cycle.”

  “A cycle?” He calculated quickly and realized she expected him to leave her here for twenty of their days and nights. Such was an eternity. Gabriyel hadn’t been away from her for any extended period in over two seasons.

  “Tell me what is wrong, my lady. I can protect you.”

  She shook her head and whispered, “I swear to you that I’m safe, but I must stay. If you come back, you will ruin everything. Please do as I ask.” She extricated herself from his grip but not before she squeezed his hand. With one last look at him, where she plastered an utterly unbelievable reassuring smile on her face, she closed the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lorren snuggled up against the sleeping Farjika, once again stunned by the turn of events. When she’d run off the stage, he was convinced he would never see her again. He berated himself a fool for not telling her that Errion was watching. Not giving her a choice was wrong, but he’d been so eager to show Errion that he wasn’t a coward. Dominating Farjika had been so pleasurable he still couldn’t believe he hadn’t erupted when he’d torn her dress from her amazing body. Such an aggressive move surged the animal within, making the beast pull the corner chains taut, but still, he kept his monster in check. He wanted to control her but not go too far. A leisurely introduction into dominance was the best way. Lorren thought he’d struck a perfect balance; he’d found a way to exorcise his demons and relearn the pleasures of light domination. There was a huge difference between being a master of pain and a man with a strong hand. No matter what Errion thought, Lorren was far happier with the path he’d chosen. The very idea of inflicting pain on Farjika sickened his soul.

  Lorren had lost his nerve altogether when she was on her knees. He’d just barely placed his cock to her mouth when the beast began demanding he thrust deep into her throat. The beast wanted to hear her choke on his length. Lorren refused. Farjika had never sucked a man’s prick before; she wouldn’t know that many men liked to hear that sound, even if it were as manufactured as the recording within his pleasure units. Many men, himself included, liked to imagine they were so big the woman could barely take them within. Just as when they fucked, some men loved to hear that whimpering cry of simulated pain, as if his prick were too big to fit into her. By nature, men were vain creatures who needed constant ego stimulation. This he understood as a man, but she wouldn’t know, and he wasn’t sure how to tell her.

  All those thoughts ran through his mind as Lorren loomed above her on the stage. Relenting, because it was her first time and he couldn’t bear to push her further than she could stand to go, he’d fallen to his knees and embraced her. He’d laid back and let her set the pace for their initial encounter. He was pleased when she’d impaled herself upon him, letting him slide within her slick heat without pain. Snugly, her body embraced him, but he’d not hurt her. He was her first and yet not. Such a curious world she came from.

  Truly, even on that cold stage with the wooden floor digging splinters into his backside, his first time with her was magical. He’d never felt so enmeshed with a woman, as if their encounter were a first for him as well as her; the first time he’d bared a part of his soul along with his body. Farjika was beautiful and exotic, but there was something more, something deeper that he couldn’t explain. She was right for him. Lorren couldn’t clarify his knowing any more than he could explain Errion’s deplorable behavior.

  Errion.

  Lorren shook his head. At the time, he’d been so furious he thought when he caught up to him he would probably kill him barehanded. Errion could have quietly left the theater and Farjika would have been none the wiser. Frankly, Lorren himself had forgotten all about him. As they’d made love, everything had fallen away but her body against his. Perhaps that’s what had prompted Errion’s mocking applause.

  Errion lived for attention.

  Good or bad didn’t matter so much as long as he got some. However, Lorren couldn’t be that angry with him, not now, not after what Errion had done. It was Errion, after all, who found Farjika and calmed her, giving her a robe to replace her ruined dress, convincing her to stay. He’d even persuaded her to send her guards away, as their security was top notch. Between the cameras and the robotic servants who doubled as bodyguards, the manor was the safest place on all of Avalith. It made Lorren feel better that her guards did not have to stay awake all night while he slept with Farjika in his arms. Those men deserved a warm bed rather than a freezing night stationed around his manor, especially when they were unnecessary.

  Lorren thought that Errion did all of this with some ulterior motive, but he’d left her to him as he’d gone off to his own bed. Shaking his head, convinced he would never understand his best friend, Lorren let out a big sigh, jostling his bedmate.

  Farjika rolled over, taking a large portion of the bedclothes with her. Obviously, she was used to sleeping alone, as was he. If he had his way, neither of them would ever sleep alone again. As crazy as it sounded, he wanted her to stay with him. Not just for now, not just for a time, but forever. After a lifetime of fleeting affairs, Lorren wanted a commitment. Already his mind was filled with how he would propose and which ring he would fall to bended knee to offer. Easily he pictured her in a beautiful wedding dress with an enormous train dragging behind her as she maneuvered toward him down the aisle of Odgent Church. With these thoughts in his mind, Lorren snuggled up to her back. His body naturally fit right along the length of hers.

  Perfection.

  Lorren closed his eyes and let sleep claim his thoroughly satisfied body and the fleeting dreams he swore to make real.

  Morning came as it always did, but today, Lorren didn’t leap out of bed with his usual determination to face the challenges of work. No, today he snuggled the woman in his arms, his nose taking in the scent of her sleep-warm body. They hadn’t showered before bed last night, which pleased him because he loved the scent of his musk mingled with hers. Exotic spices, her unique otherworldly perfume, mixed with the scent of whatever cleaner the staff used on his sheets combined into a most compelling scent. Lorren’s mouth watered, and he knew only one way to satisfy his craving.

  Rolling her from her side to her back, Lorren kissed his way from her chin to the area between her breasts. She moaned but didn’t wake. Playfully he continued his journey down to her belly button, slipping his tongue within before sliding his lips down the hairless thrust of her mound. No stubble greeted the sensitive skin of his lips, and he realized she didn’t shave. Farjika had had her hair completely removed. Smooth as the skin on her cheek, her hairless sex was bare and spread open, ready to satisfy his hunger.

  Carefully, he maneuvered between her legs without waking her. Farjika stretched her arms above her head, her hands pressing against the solid dark wood at the head of his bed. She extended her legs as far as she could, pointing her toes as she deepened her stretch, but when she went to clasp her legs together, she met with resi
stance. Puzzled, she looked down to find him on his knees between her legs.

  “Good morning.”

  His heart almost leapt out of his chest when her eyes went wide with panic. After a timeless moment, she relaxed and smiled at him, releasing the tense breath she held.

  “Good morning,” she returned, striving for a casual air that she didn’t quite hit.

  Questioningly, he met her gaze. “I could come back up, if you’d prefer.” The last thing he wanted to do was something that she wasn’t comfortable with.

  Briefly, she considered his position. A slow spreading smile transformed her face. “No, I think you’re fine where you are.” Again, she stretched out, pointing her toes, extending her hands as if to touch the edges of the bed.

  Encouraged, Lorren yanked his pillow down and slipped it below her bottom. Lifting her up just a bit allowed him a much better position to satisfy his hunger. Lowering his lips to her sex, he placed the softest kiss to her clit, which hid below folds of flesh.

  “So sweet, so shy.”

  She murmured as he slipped his tongue between her folds. When he hit her center, her core, the opening of her snug little sex, she groaned and parted her legs wider. Thrusting his tongue inside, he tasted the combined essence of her and him, reveling in the lusty flavor. Holding her wide with his hands on her inner thighs, he moved up to her clit, forcing the skin away, exposing the most nerve-rich spot on her body. Tormenting her with fast and slow licks hardened his cock. She squirmed beneath him, her breathy moans encouraging him to continue his swirling strokes, but he added a slow, simple plunge of one finger. Her walls clamped around him, squeezing as tightly as she could. All it took was one thought of his cock there and he almost spurted against the sheets.

  Farjika twined her fingers in his hair, holding his head to her as she writhed in ecstasy. She muttered something under her breath, something in her native tongue. Whatever it was sounded wicked as hell. Lorren almost asked for a translation but he was enjoying the lyrical sound of her dark and dirty words. Her voice rose in volume as she neared the crest. Forcefully he held her hips down as he brought her up, higher than she thought she could go, and then pushed her over the edge, marveling at how her entire sex quivered when she climaxed.

  Without hesitation, he rose over her, lifted her legs, and plunged into her still spasming cunt. She released a satisfied gasp as he filled her. Rocking his body against hers, he lowered his head and kissed her, tasting her mouth, letting her taste her arousal on his lips. Farjika shimmied her hips, encouraging his release, but he wouldn’t rush.

  “Slowly, my love, slowly.”

  She stiffened below him, and he stopped moving. Lifting up on his elbows, he peered down at her.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She looked away. Her body went from rigid to relaxed so quickly it was as if she melted.

  “Are you afraid of me?” What had he done? Had she stayed because she didn’t dare fight him?

  “Just don’t say that again.” Tormented eyes met his. “Don’t call me that.”

  “My love?”

  She winced and struggled to get away from him.

  “I’m sorry, I won’t say it again.” He kissed her neck, her cheek, her ear, softly murmuring apologies. He had no idea why such an endearment would bother her so intently, but he swore to remove the phrase from his vocabulary. Perhaps those words had a different meaning on Diola or they translated badly. “Never again, Farjika. I swear it.”

  Eyes closed she nodded. Burying her face into the hollow between his neck and shoulder, she wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him. Unable to continue with her in such a state, Lorren rolled to the side, hugging her against him until she relaxed for real this time and not as a show of submission.

  “Are you okay?”

  Rather than answer, she kissed him and gently rocked her hips. Slowly his erection returned, but his passion was tempered by a need to show her that he cared for her.

  “It’s not just about sex, Farjika.”

  She met his gaze. “I know.”

  Then why did he feel there was something she wasn’t telling him? As he scrutinized her for a revelation, she seemed to sense his inquiry and tried to put his concerns to rest.

  “It’s just that you are so different this morning.” The words rushed out, tumbling around each other in her frantic need to spill them.

  “Oh, Farjika.” Lorren kissed her quick, twice. “I’m not always going to be exactly like I was last night.” He hesitated. “Is that what you want?”

  “No!” As if she realized she sounded panicked, she took a deep breath. “I like that you can be both very demanding and very sweet. I suppose I just didn’t know what to expect.” Her gaze darted down, then back to his. “I don’t know very much about such matters.”

  Her honesty touched his heart. No wonder she was confused. He’d gone from full-out domination to letting her command him to tender lovemaking this morning. Nuzzling her nose with his, he whispered, “Sex is supposed to be about what makes you feel good. That can change rapidly from one day to the next.” A wave of guilt washed over him for not talking more and doing less. He had to stop thinking of her as an experienced woman when she clearly wasn’t. “We should have talked more first, and for that, I apologize.” Damn him, he’d never even bothered to simply ask her what she fantasized about.

  Cupping his face, she considered him for a very long time. “I thought that most men had one thing above all others that excited them and that was all they wanted.”

  An immediate denial sprang to mind, but he owed her the courtesy of considering what she’d said. “I think men, and women, might have one thing that they enjoy, something perhaps like what we did last night, but even with that, the mood changed from control to surrender and back again.” He smiled gently. “Tell me what you liked most about last night.”

  She closed her eyes as if she mentally reviewed everything they’d done. Something struck her strongly, because her core clamped around him so firmly he couldn’t help but grasp her hips and steady himself.

  “Heaven help me, what were you thinking?” Whatever it was, if she thought of it three more times in quick succession, he’d probably climax.

  Lorren swore something like guilt crossed her features before she whispered, “The way you fingered me on that stage while describing an audience of a hundred aroused men.” Again, she shivered, her cunt clutching his cock.

  Unable to resist, he withdrew, and his ego soared at her worried expression. “Trust me.” He rolled her over, facing away from him. Coming up behind her, he slid his cock back within her silky heat. Reaching his arm around her waist, he slid his finger down her mound, then parted her folds. “You like this?”

  She nodded.

  “Speak, Farjika. I want to hear your voice.”

  “Yes, I like this. I like the feel of you inside me while you touch me.”

  He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. “Sit astride my hips.”

  Carefully, keeping him buried within, she sat up, her legs parted around his hips. From this angle, with her facing away, her tangled hair flowed down her back like ink, her waist looked so tiny and her bottom plushed beautifully against his lighter skin. He wanted to grab her waist, lift her up just a bit and then thrust into her as hard as he could. But he didn’t. This was about what she wanted.

  “Can you see them, Farjika? A hundred men watching you atop me.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “Just one man is watching.”

  “Only one?”

  “Only one. He’s wearing a dark green robe that highlights his eyes.”

  Lorren startled. She’d been so upset last night that Errion had spied on them, but now she was dragging him into her fantasy? Curious. But not shocking, he supposed. Sometimes people didn’t realized how much something excited them until afterwards, when they’d had time to think upon it and replay the event, making it perfect in their recollection. It reminded him
of Errion’s fury in the carriage, trying so desperately to rid Farjika from his mind and then dragging her into their encounter anyway.

  “Is he saying anything?” Lorren asked, sliding his finger side to side across her sex rather than up and down.

  “No, he’s just watching.”

  “Cup your breasts, offer them to him.”

  Sliding her hands up her thighs, past her hips, her waist, she finally lifted her breasts as she arched her back, which pressed her down on him, pushing his cock deeper within.

  “Are your nipples hard?” Again, Lorren wished he could be two places at once; he wanted to be the man below her and the man watching her.

  “They are very hard. So hard they ache.”

  “Twist them.”

  When she did, she exhaled a tormented little moan that caused him to thrust up into her.

  “Do you want him to suck your nipples?”

  “Yes. But he only wants to watch. He says he likes to watch. He wants to watch you make me climax.”

  Pleased, Lorren smiled. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to make me come so hard I scream.” Farjika rolled her hips in a circle, swiveling his cock within her cunt as she tightened her walls around him.

  Heaven help him, he would do his best. “Is his robe open?”

  “It is now.”

  “Is his cock hard?”

  “Yes. I can see moisture at the tip as he strokes his fist slowly up and down.”

  Lorren could actually see Errion doing just that. Of course, the Errion in his mind had that dirty little smirk on his face.

  Building up slowly, Lorren rocked his hips as she circled, creating a delicious friction that he enhanced by sliding his finger up and down her straining clit.