“But I do feel the same,” Zakiel said.
“I know you do,” Karma said with a smile. “Now I know. But for a time I didn’t, and it hurt in a way I never imagined possible.”
“I’m sorry, Karma,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers, wishing he could think of something more meaningful to say, but knowing mere words, no matter how eloquent, could not take away the hurt she’d felt.
“You did nothing wrong,” Karma said. “It was a misunderstanding.”
Zakiel raised his head and met her eyes again. One corner of his mouth turned up. “You would never allow me to kiss you if you did not believe my feelings for you.“
“Of course I wouldn’t,” she said with a smile. “Just because fire can burn you doesn’t mean you should never go near it.”
Zakiel smiled, then lowered his mouth to hers again. He ran his tongue along the seam between her lips, and felt a rush of excitement when she opened to him right away. He slid his tongue into her mouth and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body close against his as he deepened the kiss. He moaned with pleasure as her arms went around his waist and she pressed herself closer to him. He felt the soft heat of her body, the hard points of her nipples, the rapid beating of her heart as her excitement rose in tandem with his.
He stroked her tongue with his and shuddered when she returned the caress, tentatively at first, then with more confidence. Her hands slid up and down his back, sending hot shivers through him that had him arching his hips, pressing his achingly hard erection against her.
They broke their kiss, both of them gasping for air, neither of them inclined to move away from the other. Karma leaned her forehead against his chest and felt his heart pounding against her. She’d never been close enough to anyone to feel their heart beat before. She remained motionless for long moments, soaking in the strangely soothing sensation.
“I want you, valia,” Zakiel whispered hoarsely when he’d caught his breath enough to speak. “Never have I wanted as I do now.”
“What does valia mean?” Karma asked, needing a moment to consider her response.
“It means courageous one,” he replied, understanding her need for time. “You are the most courageous person, man or woman, I’ve ever known.”
Karma smiled. He could not have chosen an endearment she liked better. “I want you, too,” she whispered, her face hot with embarrassment. “But I’m not sure we should do...that.”
“No,” Zakiel said, leaning back and looking into her eyes. “Now is not the right time for that. When the time is right, we will both know it.”
Karma smiled, both relieved and disappointed.
“Will you trust me, Karma?” he asked. Karma looked into his eyes and saw only warmth and tenderness. Had she ever really thought they were icy? It was hard to imagine at the moment.
“Yes, I will trust you,” she replied. “I do trust you.”
Zakiel stepped back and reached for her hand. She gave it to him without hesitation, and he guided her into another chamber of his tent. She looked around, relieved to note that this was not his sleeping chamber. Rather than a bed, there were several large cushions on a thick rug, a low table holding an oil lamp and several rolls of parchment and a few large baskets against one wall.
“Sit,” Zakiel invited her, gesturing toward the cushions. Karma glanced down, then bit her lip uncertainly.
“Karma,” Zakiel said, then waited for her to look at him. “I would never do anything to dishonor you, or myself.”
Karma nodded and sat down on one of the large cushions, surprised when Zakiel knelt down by her feet. He untied the laces on her sandals and slipped them off of her feet. Then he moved closer to her, slipped one hand behind her neck and kissed her again, plunging his tongue into her mouth with heat and passion. Her arms went around his neck as she relaxed, accepting his silent request for control, allowing herself to simply be with him without worry or thought. Trusting him, as he’d asked her to.
When Zakiel raised his head she realized that she was now lying down on a large cushion, and he was looking down at her with such heated desire it nearly took her breath away. He lowered his head to her neck and began kissing and licking her, working his way down her neck, to her throat. She felt one large hand gently cup her breast and she froze for one heartbeat. Then she arched her back, pressing herself against him. He groaned softly, then rubbed his thumb over her nipple
Karma gasped, shocked at the intensity of the pleasure she felt from that one, simple caress. It sent a sharp ache racing from her nipple to her pussy so fast that she wondered if the two disparate parts of her body were connected somehow. Zakiel repeated the caress over and over again, and within moments she was moaning and arching her hips against him uncontrollably.
Zakiel raised his head and nearly lost control of himself at the expression of passion and desire on her face. Passion and desire for him. He lowered his head and kissed her harder and deeper than before, knowing that her lips would be swollen from his kisses and reveling in the knowledge. He wanted to put his mark on her, to let everyone know that she was his, and that he was hers.
He rubbed his thumb over her nipple again, loving the way her body reacted to his touch. Then he slid his hand down lower, caressing the bare skin of her flat stomach, then inching toward the draw-string at the waist of her skirt. He pulled the tie free then stilled when he felt her body freeze beneath him. He waited, not moving, letting her make up her mind.
When he felt her relax beneath him he knew she had decided to trust him, and again he nearly lost control. He raised his head, smiled down at her, then began kissing his way down her body from her throat to her shoulders, across her chest, pausing a moment to suck her nipples into his mouth through the thin fabric of her blouse. He kissed his way down her stomach, pausing to delve into her navel for a moment, then raised his head, hooked his fingers in her waist band and slid it down over her hips, catching her underwear as he went. He raised up on his knees and slid the skirt and underwear down her thighs, then froze.
He stared for a long moment, his mouth dry, his cock so hard he thought he might have permanent marks from the leather lacings on his pants. He swallowed, then glanced up, his eyes meeting Karma’s. He opened his mouth, then glanced back down, hardly able to believe the sight before him. He looked back up again, realizing suddenly that she was beginning to look very worried. He smiled, relieving her concerns, then slipped her skirt and underwear all the way off of her legs and tossed them aside.
Then he ran his fingers along the silky soft, smooth skin from her ankles to her knees, up her thighs and, finally, across the beautifully bare, velvety soft skin of her pussy. Never had he imagined such a beautiful sight.
“You don’t have any body hair,” he said, his voice hoarse with arousal.
“No, I don’t,” Karma said, her voice huskier than usual. “Does that bother you?”
“Bother me?” he asked in surprise. “Not at all. It’s...unbelievably wonderful. Are you always like this?” He suddenly had an image of Timon shaving him every day, and wondered if she had to do the same thing. He grimaced at the thought of razor sharp steel so close to her most sensitive flesh.
“On my world, body hair is permanently removed after puberty. I’m sorry, but it won’t ever grow back.”
“Oh, don’t be sorry, valia,” Zakiel said as he gently stroked her with his fingertips. “I’ve never seen such an exciting sight in my life.”
Karma relaxed and smiled, letting her head fall back as he continued to stroke and pet her. After a few minutes he gently parted her legs and knelt between them. She didn’t resist, though she was a little nervous. She didn’t know what he was going to do, but she’d agreed to trust him and she wasn’t going back on her word.
When she felt his mouth on the inside of her thigh, kissing his way up, she tensed up a little, but he kept on kissing and licking, going slow, letting her passion build again before going further. Her hands found their way into his hair a
nd she sighed softly at the discovery that his wayward curls felt as good against her fingers as she’d imagined.
By the time he worked his way up to her pussy she was so hot and needy that she was panting, her body writhing beneath him. Then he spread her legs wider and took a long, slow, hot lick of her pulsing pussy. She shuddered at the feel of his hot tongue on her most private and sensitive flesh. One part of her mind was shocked at what he was doing, but her body was excited, aroused, and eager for more.
Zakiel ran his tongue along Karma’s soft, smooth nether lips and shuddered at the taste of her. She moaned and he responded, licking her faster and faster, her pleasure increasing his excitement beyond anything he’d ever known. She was so hot, so wet, so swollen, and it was all for him. When her moans grew more breathless and her hands tightened in his hair, he sucked her hard, throbbing clit between his lips and lashed it with his tongue, sending her into a deep, wrenching orgasm.
He held on to her, his arms firmly around her thighs as her hips arched and thrust against him, keeping his mouth pressed tightly to her, nearly coming himself when her clit swelled and jerked against his tongue. When she began to relax he released her, lapping at her soft, sweet pussy slowly and gently until she gave one last shudder and was still. Only then did he raise his head, smiling with satisfaction and pride at the knowledge that he had given her the ultimate ecstasy.
He glanced down, a hot shiver racing though him at the sight of her hot, swollen flesh, perfectly primed for him to slip his throbbing cock into. He forced himself to be satisfied with one last loving, lick, then crawled up until he was lying beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against his side, needing to feel her body against his for a few minutes as he tried to quell his own raging need.
He was concentrating so hard that it took him a moment to realize that Karma’s soft mouth was kissing and nibbling at his neck, and her hand was fumbling with the laces on his pants. He swallowed hard, uncertain what to do. When the lacings loosened, relieving the unrelenting pressure against his cock, he knew he had to say something.
“Valia, you don’t have to do this,” he said, straining to keep his voice even and calm.
“I’ve been dying to see what you keep hidden behind these laces for weeks now,” she said as she continued to pull the lacings through their holes. “I hope you don’t plan to deny me.”
Zakiel hesitated, then reached down and finished opening the laces for her. If she wanted to explore his body, he wouldn’t stop her. Though he hoped she wouldn’t take it too far. He’d had only one taste of her, but already he knew that it was going to be far more difficult to resist making her his than he’d imagined possible.
All thoughts flew from his mind when her small, soft hand gently stroked his cock. His hips arched and he groaned softly at her touch, realizing that this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. One or two more little strokes like that and he was going to come.
She ran her fingers lightly along his length, making him quiver with need. “Show me how to do this,” she whispered shyly.
Zakiel pulled her more tightly against him with one arm, his heart filled with so much emotion that he couldn’t speak. He reached down with his other hand, found hers, and showed her how to wrap her fingers around his hard length, groaning again when he realized her hand couldn’t encompass him. He then showed her how to stroke him and removed his hand, letting her do as she wanted. He wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing or not when, after a few firm strokes of her soft hand he came, gritting his teeth against the need to roar his pleasure as his seed shot against his belly. It was good because he desperately needed the release, but bad because her touch was so indescribably wonderful that he hated for it to end so quickly.
As soon as he caught his breath he pulled her up higher so that he could kiss her deeply. After a moment he gentled the kiss, knowing that it was time to stop now, as much as he wished otherwise. He wanted her more now than he’d ever wanted anything before, and for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure he could trust himself to do the right thing if they went any further.
A few minutes later they were both dressed, and he was watching Karma tie the laces on her sandals.
“I love you, Karma,” he said, the words slipping out before he even knew he was going to say it. She looked up at him, her gray eyes startled.
“Are you sure?” she asked, an expression of doubt in her eyes that made his heart ache. He wondered if anyone had ever loved her. From what she’d told him of her life, he didn’t think so.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” he said. “I love you, and I want you to marry me. Will you?”
Karma finished tying her sandal, then stood up and approached him. She looked up into his eyes, studying him intently for a long moment. “You said earlier that you didn’t think your position as Prince was enough to hold me here.”
His heart skipped a beat in fear. He didn’t trust himself to speak, so he nodded instead.
“You were right about that,” she said, her eyes never leaving his. “The fact that you are a Prince would never hold me. But love, that’s another thing altogether.”
Zakiel felt his heart leap in his chest, but he held his excitement in check. “Karma, I have to be honest with you. I could never leave Rathira. If we married, I would want you to remain here with me.”
“Why is that a problem?” Karma asked.
“It’s a problem because you are the one who would have to make the sacrifice of giving up the life you knew before coming here,” he said.
“Perhaps I will not see it as a sacrifice,” Karma said. “Either way, that is my decision to make, if, and when, the time ever comes for me to make it.”
“Will you marry me, Karma?” he asked again. “Will you stay here, on Rathira, and be my wife?”
“Yes, Zakiel,” she said, still holding his eyes with her own. “I will stay here, on Rathira and be your wife. I love you too much to do anything else.”
Chapter 20
“We are coming up on a village,” Zakiel said as soon as Karma reined in beside him in answer to his summons. “The outriders report we have been spotted, and they are preparing for attack.”
Karma’s eyes shifted to a spot in front of them and stayed there for several moments. She nodded quickly, then turned her gaze back to Zakiel.
“Call a halt, and pass the word that everyone needs to remain quiet,” she said as she pulled the Ti-Ank from its loops and held it upright with the ankh just above her head. “Tell the Hunters not to draw their weapons or make any overt threats. They will not be attacked.”
Zakiel nodded to Bredon who’d been listening. He turned and spoke to Jenz, who immediately moved to give the orders.
“What next?” Zakiel asked.
“Now, you and I ride forward together, alone,” Karma said.
“Unarmed?” Zakiel asked.
“No,” Karma replied. “You are a warrior and must go forth with your weapons displayed. They will respect that. But they will see a drawn weapon as a sign of hostile intent.”
Zakiel studied her in silence for a long moment as he debated with himself. They were to walk calmly into a village that, by all accounts, was hostile, knowing that the inhabitants were preparing for battle, without drawing a weapon. He trusted Karma with his life. But did he trust her with his sister’s life? And the lives of his Hunters? He smiled to himself, wondering why he even wasted the time to ask the question.
He bowed to her, straightened his shoulders and readied himself to ride at her side. Karma took a deep breath and started to nudge Dippy forward, then hesitated and turned in the saddle. Kapia held the reins of Nikura’s diplo in one hand, and Bredon was already riding toward her. Satisfied she was safe, she looked around for Nikura, who was not on his diplo.
“Nikura?” she called.
“No need to shout, I’m right here,” he said as he leapt onto her diplo and sat down behind her.
She rolled her eyes, but
was inwardly glad that Nikura had resumed his usual snooty tone. Like everyone else, Nikura had been tense since Saigar’s disappearance. Knowing they would soon be out of the cin-sahib’s reach was a relief to the entire caravan.
Zakiel and Karma urged their diplos to walk forward, entering the forest that ran along the edge of the desert. They didn’t go too far before three warriors stepped out of the bushes and blocked their way. They were all males, very tall and slender, with long white hair and white slashing brows over dark blue, gleaming eyes. Their ears were set very high on the sides of their heads and came to points, much like Nikura’s. They wore brown cloth pants, leather vests and boots, and each held a long spear with a trident at the tip, though the spears were held upright at their sides.
Karma reined Dippy in, Zakiel beside her, and waited while the warriors studied them and the Ti-Ank carefully. They did not appear to look at Nikura at all, which Karma found curious. After a long few moments, they melted back into the foliage.
Karma squeezed Dippy gently with her knees and he began walking forward again. “Did you notice that they didn’t even look at Nikura?” she asked.
“Yes,” Zakiel said. “Sphin are, for the most part, creatures of myth and legend. I’ve seen this reaction before in people who are superstitious. If they cannot explain something, sometimes it’s best to simply not see it.”
“Yes, Nikura told me once that he was the only Sphin,” Karma said.
“I don’t believe that he would lie to you,” Zakiel replied, glancing quickly at Nikura, then up toward the sky.
“Actually, what he said was that he was the only Sphin in this time, in this place,” Karma corrected herself.
Zakiel arched a brow at her, but said nothing and they rode in silence.
They stopped their diplos as, once again, three warriors stepped from the bushes and blocked their way. These warriors resembled the first so much that Karma wasn’t entirely sure they weren’t the same men. After a moment though, she realized that these warriors seemed a bit older and more mature. They did not look at Nikura either, she noticed, before they melted back into the bushes.
Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira Page 29
