“Husband,” she said softly, startling him as she intended. “Your wife is hungry.”
“Then come with me, wife, so that I can feed you,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes that dispelled the coldness. “Then we can get to the good part of the wedding night.”
Karma blushed as a thrill of excitement raced through her. She slipped her arm through his and raised a brow as they began walking toward the large bonfire in the gathering area at the center of the village where the wedding feast was to be held.
“Are you trying to imply that there is something more exciting to come than the food the Sirelina have prepared for us?” she asked with a hint of doubt in her tone.
“Of course there is,” Zakiel replied smugly. “You have not yet tasted Timon’s desserts, and I believe he has outdone himself for us today.”
“In that case, let’s hurry,” Karma said, laughing.
When they had eaten and spent the right amount of time with their guests, Zakiel rose and held his hand out to his bride, helping her to her feet.
“We thank you all for joining us on this most special day,” he said. “However, the hour grows late, and we have an early day tomorrow. Please feel free to enjoy yourselves for as long as you like.”
There was a loud cheer at that announcement, and Zakiel took that opportunity to leave with Karma at his side. They walked to the guest cottage at the edge of the village that the Sirelina had prepared especially for them, and Karma began to feel real nerves for the first time that day. As they reached the doorstep, Timon opened the door for them and they entered together. Zakiel walked her across the main sitting area and into a short hall, to a door that he opened for her.
“When you are ready, there is a door that connects this room to the one next to it. I will be waiting for you there.”
Karma nodded, her mouth suddenly too dry to speak.
Zakiel pressed his lips to her forehead, wanting to reassure her, but not while there were other ears to hear. It would have to wait until they were alone.
Karma’s smile was a little shaky, but it was the best she could summon at the moment. She stepped into the chamber and sighed when the door closed behind her.
“Hello Lashi,” she said. Lashi bowed, then hurried toward her, guiding her gently to a stool set before a dressing table.
“What did you think of the wedding?” Karma asked as Lashi began unpinning her veil. Lashi had worked harder than anyone for today’s ceremony, and she wanted her to be pleased with it.
“I have seen many elaborate and ornate weddings, Lady Techu,” she said, “but your simple ceremony was the most beautiful and heartfelt I have ever had the honor to attend.” Her hands stilled for a moment.
“Your pardon, Lady Techu, but should I address you as Princess Karma now instead?” she asked.
“No,” Karma said with a smile. “Lady Techu is important to the journey we are on, so for now, we must keep her.”
“Very well,” Lashi replied as she finished removing the veil and set it aside. She helped Karma out of her clothes and into a pale silver nightgown that matched the lights in Karma’s eyes and flowed over her curves. Karma loved the silky feel of it, though when she looked down she realized it was nearly transparent. Oh well, she thought, it was her wedding night, after all. She reached up to remove the earrings Kapia had loaned her and handed them to Lashi, who returned them to their box.
“I have always admired those wedding bracelets, Lady Techu,” Lashi said. “Never have I seen any more beautiful.”
“You’ve seen these before?” Karma asked in surprise.
“Oh yes,” Lashi said as she began brushing her hair. “They belonged to Queen Joann, Prince Zakiel’s mother. You remind me of her in many ways, and if it is not too forward to say, I believe she would have adored you, and been most happy for her son this day.”
“Thank you, Lashi,” Karma said, touched by Lashi’s words. “Lashi, I wish to thank you, personally, for all you have done for me today. Were my own Mother here, she could not have done more, or done it with more heart. I am thankful for all you do, every day, but for today I am especially grateful.”
“Thank you, Lady Techu,” Lashi said softly. “You touch my heart.”
Karma reached back and patted Lashi’s hand. “Well, I suppose it’s time.”
“Do not be afraid,” Lashi whispered softly. “All will be well.”
Karma nodded and smiled her thanks, then rose to her feet. Lashi bowed and left her alone to gather her courage for the next step she had to take. She knew that both Lashi and Timon would go to their tents for the night, leaving her and Zakiel alone. It helped to know that they had complete privacy, and that the shell walls of the cottage were thicker than the silk walls of the tent. She took another deep breath and reached for the Ti-Ank. She squeezed it in the center to shorten the staff, swallowed hard, then opened the door to the next chamber.
***
Zakiel stood facing the fireplace, the soft glow of the fire glinting off of the gold trim of his kilt. He hadn’t heard her enter the room, so she stood there for a moment, watching him. He’d removed everything but his kilt and his egora and she wondered at that. Then she smiled as she realized that he’d left the kilt on for her sake.
She reached back and pushed the door shut behind her to get his attention. His head came up and he froze as he stared at her for so long she began to feel uncomfortable. She crossed to a table and set the Ti-Ank down, then joined him at the fireplace, feeling his eyes on her the entire time.
“You take my breath away,” he said, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest.
“I get to go to bed every night for the rest of my life listening to the beat of your heart,” she said with a sigh. “I am looking forward to that.”
“As am I,” he said, placing one finger beneath her chin and tilting her head back. “Are you nervous, valia?”
“Yes, I am,” she admitted, seeing no reason to lie about it. “But I’m not afraid. Are you nervous?”
“Yes, I confess that I am,” he said, surprising himself.
“Why?” she asked. Zakiel kissed her lightly, then reached for two glasses of wine he’d prepared for them and put on the mantel. He handed her one, then sipped from his own.
“I am afraid of hurting you,” he said.
She tilted her head, running a question that had been nagging at her through her mind. She sipped her wine, then set the glass down and stepped back into his arms.
“Kiss me, Husband,” she said, looking up at him with the silver stars shining in her eyes.
“Of course, Wife,” he said, smiling down at her. “Whatever you want.”
The kiss started out gentle, his tongue caressing her lips so slowly, focusing intently on the center of her bottom lip for a moment, then her upper lip before returning to the bottom lip again. Karma focused on this moment, this sensation, the feel of Zakiel’s tongue against her lips, the scent of him, the taste of him. When he slipped his tongue between her lips and into her mouth, she sighed with pleasure and opened her mouth to him.
His hands slid from her shoulders down her arms, dragging the straps of her nearly transparent nightshift down. She straightened her arms, letting it fall to the floor in a puddle of pale silk. He stepped back and looked down, seeing her completely naked for the first time.
Zakiel gasped, stunned by her beauty. Her breasts were perfect globes tipped with hard, rosy nipples. Her tiny waist flared out to sweet hips and long, perfectly sculpted legs, topped by her beautifully bare, incredible soft pussy. He bent down, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the large bed that dominated the room. He laid her down, then stepped back and released the catch on his kilt, letting it fall to the floor.
He stood still for a moment, letting Karma drink her fill of the sight of him. It was only fair, since he’d done it to her, though he didn’t understand it. She was beautiful. He was not. He was man, and men were not beautiful. She was p
robably just curious, he decided. He hoped she satisfied her curiosity quickly, and wouldn’t want to stare at him like this very often.
When he saw the tip of her pink tongue peek out and lick her lips, his body jerked, and his cock grew impossibly harder. He instantly changed his mind. Obviously she enjoyed looking at him, and anything that gave her joy, he would do. She looked up at him, a smile on her face that he couldn’t help but return.
He walked around the bed and climbed in, then slid over beside her. He wanted to touch and taste every single inch of her, but he barely knew where to begin. He leaned down and began trailing soft, gentle kisses down her neck, around her throat, to the other side of her neck, making her shiver. She reached up and slid her fingers into his dark curls, jumping a little when his hand cupped her breast. He ran his thumb over her nipple, then pinched it lightly between his fingers. The feeling that raced through her was so intense her pussy spasmed, a sensation so new to her that she squeezed her legs together tightly, uncertain what it meant.
Zakiel’s tongue slipped into her mouth in a deep, hot kiss that had her moaning softly into his mouth. Zakiel deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth over and over again in an age old rhythm that their bodies began to mimic, their hips arching against each other.
Zakiel raised his head and smiled down at her. “You are so beautiful,” he said. He bent his head and sucked one hard nipple into his mouth, lashing it gently with his tongue. Karma arched her back, pressing her breast toward him in a silent plea for more. He set his teeth carefully at the base of her nipple and sucked harder, his cock jerking almost painfully against her hip when she moaned with pleasure.
He slid one hand down her side, over her hip and to the seam between her legs. Coaxing gently, her pressed his hand between her thighs, urging her to open them for him. She did, and he slid his hand down the silky soft skin of her inner thigh to her hot, damp pussy. He stroked her lightly, groaning at how hot and wet she already was for him. He parted her nether lips carefully, then slipped two fingers into her tight sheath and began stroking them in and out of her, going deeper and deeper as he stretched her gently. Her pussy tightened, releasing a rush of fluid around his fingers. She gasped softly, her entire body starting to tremble from the intensity of her arousal.
Zakiel spread his fingers to stretch her more, then pressed them deeply into her pulsing sheath, stopping at her hymen. He ran his thumb over her clit and sucked her nipple into his mouth hard while carefully increasing the pressure of his teeth.
Karma screamed as her entire body exploded in orgasm. She arched up off the bed as every muscle, nerve and fiber shook and trembled helplessly beneath wave after wave of pleasure. Just as her body started to relax Zakiel raised himself up over her, spread her legs wider and placed the large, hot, head of his cock at her entrance.
Karma looked up, her eyes meeting Zakiel’s. The expression of love and desire on his face made her belly tighten and her pussy pulse against him. He stared into her eyes as he arched his hips, pressing his cock slowly into her. Karma’s breath caught in her throat at the overwhelming intimacy of what they were doing.
She was fully aware of the mechanics of what they were doing, of course. But she wondered why she had never stopped to think about how deeply emotional, personal and intensely intimate it would be. This was much more than a physical act between two bodies. It was a connection of two beings, two hearts, and in their case, quite literally, two souls. She knew instantly that no matter what happened, the only man she would ever share this act with was Zakiel. He was the man she was meant for, as she was meant for him. To engage in this act with another would be a lie because she could never fully engage all of her being with anyone else as she was now, with Zakiel.
Zakiel was struggling to hold himself back. This was Karma’s first time, and he couldn’t allow himself to hurt her. When she spread her legs wider and wrapped them around his waist, then arched her hips to take him deeper, he gritted his teeth and held on. But when her pussy clenched tightly around him, bathing him in her heat, his control failed and he helplessly slammed his cock into her hot, moist depths, tearing through her hymen as he buried himself to the hilt. Karma screamed her pleasure as she instantly climaxed, her hot sheath clenching around him, the sensation of her muscles milking him so exquisite that he had no choice but to join her in ecstasy. He pulled out then thrust back in, hard and fast, roaring his pleasure and satisfaction as his seed spilled into her womb. He held himself deep inside of her until he had given her every drop and her orgasm released her. He withdrew slowly and bent down to kiss her deeply, then rolled to his side, pulling her with him so that her head rested on his chest.
They lay together, enjoying the closeness of their naked bodies against each other as their breathing slowed and their heart rates returned to normal. The question Karma had almost asked before they began entered her mind again, and she turned it over, trying to decide if she should ask. She reminded herself that one should never ask a question if they weren’t prepared for the answer.
“That went well,” Zakiel said. She heard the humor in his voice and raised her head so she could look into his eyes.
“Yes, I would have to agree with that assessment,” she said, her brows drawn down in as serious an expression as she could make. “Of course, as I have nothing to compare it with, I suppose we should do it a few more times before I give you my final opinion.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Zakiel said, laughing softly. Karma smiled, then lowered her head again and sighed softly.
“Tell me,” Zakiel said after a few moments.
“Tell you what?” she asked.
Zakiel rolled to the side, putting her on her back with himself leaning over her. He gazed into her eyes but after a moment she looked away.
“Tell me,” he said. “Please, Karma. I need to know.”
Karma looked up and saw the worry in his warm blue eyes. She knew he wouldn’t let it go, so she gathered her courage and nodded.
“Before, when you said you were nervous, I was going to ask you a question but decided not to. But now....” She paused, dropped her eyes, then met his gaze again. “What we just did was so much more than physical,” she said earnestly. “It was so much more intensely personal than I ever dreamed or expected. It was just so...deep. Oh, I’m not saying this right.”
“I know exactly what you mean, valia,” he said. “And yes, it was that way for me as well. Once I was inside of you, when we were joined together, I knew that I could never engage in that act with anyone else. If something happens tomorrow to take you from me, I would wait until Beyond to see you again, but never will I share what we just shared with another.”
“Really?” Karma asked, unable to hide the hope in her voice.
“Yes, my love, really,” he said. “Now, please, tell me.”
“I just wondered if you’ve had sex with anyone before,” she said softly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. What difference did it make anyway? It was now that mattered. Tomorrow that mattered. Not whatever might have happened before.
She felt the pressure of Zakiel’s finger beneath her chin and reluctantly looked up. The smile on his face made her racing heart skip a beat.
“No, my beloved valia,” he said. “As you waited for me, so too did I wait for you. When I gave you your first kiss, so too did you give me mine.”
“I know that it’s not usual for men to wait,” Karma said softly. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you?”
“I do not mind you asking me anything you want to know,” he said, stroking her throat lightly with his fingers. “My parents shared a love that was special and rare. When I was a young man, my father told me that they both saved themselves, each waiting for that one special person. In so doing, their physical relationship was much stronger and more intense than what his friends seemed to have.
“After my mother died, my father was so sad, so alone. I asked him once if
it was worth it, to love someone so much that when they were gone, he could never love another. He said that it was. I didn’t understand it. But even though I questioned it, I still I wanted what they had, so I followed his advice and waited. I have never regretted it, and now I do understand what he meant. We are very blessed, Karma, to have found each other. ”
Karma raised her head to kiss him, not realizing that there were tears on her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Zakiel leaned down and kissed her tears away. “Thank you,” he whispered softly before nibbling the tiny dent in her lip. He would never tire of that dent. He knew that now. Just as he knew he would never tire of her husky laugh, or the way her touch made him shudder.
Karma’s arms wrapped themselves around his neck and pulled him closer, and he deepened their kiss. There was no telling what tomorrow might bring. But he wouldn’t think about that now. Now was for loving his wife.
Chapter 27
Kapia watched with tears in her eyes as Bredon saluted her, head to heart, his green eyes suspiciously bright. She knew how difficult it was for him to remain behind, knowing that she was going into danger, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Worrow had been clear that only she, Karma and Zakiel would be allowed to approach the Cradle of the Orb. Bredon must stay behind with the others.
“Do not worry, my friend,” Zakiel said to Bredon in a low voice. “I will allow no harm to come to her.”
“Allow none to yourself, or your bride, either, Cousin,” Bredon said gruffly. Zakiel nodded, then joined Karma and Kapia where they stood at the edge of the water. The sea was calm and flat, the skies bright, winds calm. A small wooden boat floated a couple of feet out, Worrow standing knee deep in the water beside it. Zakiel lifted Karma, then Kapia from the sand into the boat so that their feet would not get wet. As soon as Karma was in the boat, Nikura leapt in and sat down in the space between the two benches.
“I am not sure if you will be allowed to travel with them, Nikura,” Worrow said.
Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira Page 38
