But that presented a problem.
She had promised Judge Thoughtgood that she wouldn’t leave J’are alone—not even to go into another room. So how was she going to take a shower and ask him to be in the bathroom with her while she did, without him getting the wrong idea?
He already has the wrong idea, Imani, chided a little voice in her head. Mainly because you told him you were Claiming him and then jerked him off in the bath!
Imani winced again at the shameful memory. No matter how many times she swore she wouldn’t think of it ever again, the mental image of herself slowly stroking J’are’s long, thick shaft wouldn’t leave her mind.
She pushed it forcefully out of her head and turned to face him.
“J’are,” she said carefully. “Remember how I promised the judge in court that I wouldn’t ever leave you alone?”
He nodded eagerly.
“We stay together because you Claimed me.”
“Yes, exactly.” Imani nodded. “But just because I Claimed you, doesn’t mean…” She stopped, shaking her head. “I mean I need to take a shower now and I need you to be in the same room with me while I do. But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea? Do you understand?”
J’are was looking at her blankly and she had the idea she was being too subtle with him. Nerving herself up, she blurted out,
“I’m not going to have sex with you tonight. Not going to, er, mate with you. All right?”
She had expected the big Nightwalker to frown or growl or show some other sign of disappointment or anger. But J’are only shrugged again.
“Claiming time not finished,” he said. “Bathing now. But holding, scenting, tasting, and bonding later. Right?”
“Uh…” Imani wasn’t sure what to say about that. “Bathing tonight,” she agreed cautiously. “I mean, I bathed you and now I’m going to bathe myself—all right?”
This time J’are did frown.
“Bathing tonight,” he rumbled, in that deep, hoarse voice of his. “Imani bathed J’are, now J’are bathes Imani.”
“No, no!” Imani held up her hands and shook her head. “No, that’s not going to work. We can’t…I mean, I can’t let you…”
Suddenly he was right there, looming over her. Looking down into her eyes, he cupped Imani’s cheek with surprising tenderness.
“J’are bathes Imani,” he murmured, letting his fingertips trail lightly down the sensitive skin of her throat. “Don’t worry,” he added. “J’are is gentle. No tasting or bonding tonight. That is…later.”
Imani licked her lips, which were suddenly dry. God, he was so close she could feel the heat of his big body radiating against her own. And now that the sticky black paint stuff had been washed off, she could smell him too—a spicy, dark, wild musk that made her want to get closer to him—much closer.
Damn, if they could bottle that stuff back home, some perfume company could make a million dollars on it, she thought, looking up at him.
But she couldn’t let his scent or his closeness work on her. No matter how sexy he was, J’are was still her client. And she couldn’t let him go any further than they had already gone—which was way too far—Imani told herself.
“I’m sorry, J’are,” she said firmly, holding his pale green eyes with her own. “But no, you cannot bathe me tonight.”
A little growl of frustration left his lips.
“Scenting tonight then?” he asked. “Holding?”
“Uh, sure, I guess.” Imani wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to, but surely it couldn’t be as bad as letting him take a shower with her and wash her—right?
She hoped not, anyway.
“All right.” J’are took a step back, looking mollified. “Bathing later.”
“Look, I never said—oh, never mind.” Imani threw up her hands. “Just come with me to the bathroom so I can get this shower over with and go to bed. I’m dead tired.”
She just hoped she could get in and wash herself off without feeling too awkward about the strange situation. When she’d taken this job, she had never expected that part of it would be bathing her client or letting him watch her bathe in turn. But she couldn’t help remembering her first impression that when dealing with the Kindred, strange things happened.
And now they’re happening to you, Imani, that little voice in her head whispered. Better get used to it—this case isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot!
Fifteen
Why wouldn’t his female let him bathe her?
J’are watched, confused, as she disrobed in front of him—though she had her back modestly turned as she did—and stepped into the steaming water of the rain room.
She had bathed him everywhere, which was as it should be, and caused him to spill his seed, which was right when a female Claimed her male. But now she didn’t intend to let him return the favor. At least, not tonight.
Why was she prolonging the Claiming period, J’are wondered? As well as he could, anyway. Since it was after dark, the feral part of him was dominant, making cognizant thinking difficult.
Speaking of the feral part of him, it wanted to ignore what she had said and get into the rain room with her to bathe her anyway. She was so small and delicate—yet so lusciously curvy. He wanted to run his hands all over her naked body and give her pleasure, just as she had given it to him.
No! J’are worked hard to rein in his feral impulses. Above all, a male must respect a female’s wishes, he reminded the wild, animal part of himself. He could not hurt or force her—that would be wrong and it would ruin the Claiming. Besides, she had promised that they would be doing holding and scenting tonight and that was something.
They were going somewhat out of order, his rational mind thought, as well as it could. The Claiming period for a Nightwalker Kindred was normally Holding, Scenting, Bathing, Tasting, and Bonding. Imani had started in the middle, which was a bit disconcerting for his animal side.
But it doesn’t matter what order we go in, he told himself. As long as we get to bonding in the end.
And then Imani stepped out of the rain room, wearing only a towel wrapped around her luscious body and all rational thought deserted him as the feral side took over almost completely.
He could smell her sweet scent, even under the soap she had used to clean herself, and it was intoxicating. J’are couldn’t wait to smell her more deeply—to know her through his sense of smell and touch as he knew her through his sense of sight.
Rising from the place on the floor where he had been crouching in a patient squat as she showered, he looked down at her.
“Now,” he said to her, “Scenting.”
Sixteen
“Uh, what?” Imani looked up at the big Nightwalker uncertainly. He’d been waiting and watching her patiently as she took a shower in the luxurious shower stall—his pale green eyes on her body had made her feel nervous. Now she was even more nervous since he seemed to think it was time to do something she had promised him.
Well, you did promise him, remember? asked that maddening little voice in her head. You told him the two of you could do “holding” and “scenting” whatever that means. Guess you’re about to find out.
Well, not yet, she wasn’t, Imani thought.
“I’m sorry, but I, uh, have to brush my teeth first,” she said, fumbling for an excuse on why they couldn’t do “scenting” yet. “It’s part of my bedtime routine and I can’t skip it. You should brush your teeth too,” she added, frowning. “Good oral hygiene is important.”
“Brush…teeth?” J’are looked confused.
“Look, I’ll show you.” Imani reached for her toiletry kit—which she had brought with her into the bathroom—and pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste. As J’are watched in bemusement, she began to brush her teeth.
At last he seemed to get the idea.
“Clean teeth!” he exclaimed.
Imani nodded and rinsed her mouth.
“Exactly. Now let me see if I packed an extra toothbrush…”
As Imani watched, the big Kindred plucked one of the silver pens from the panel and pressed a tiny button on its side. At once a beam of pale red light shot out—but it was only about an inch long. J’are aimed the light at his teeth and began to make motions like he was using a water pik.
It was Imani’s turn to be fascinated. Was this how they cleaned their teeth here? Experimentally, she took one of the silver pens and turned it on. Carefully, she tested the short red beam of light against her finger and found that it felt a little like a water pik too. There was a gentle pressure and a rushing feeling which was actually quite pleasant.
When she tried it on her teeth, she was surprised at how well it worked. It not only cleaned the enamel, it also whitened it as well, so she looked like she’d had a whitening treatment at the dentist. Perhaps the strangest thing, though, was that the short beam of pale red light actually had a flavor. It tasted slightly spicy and sweet—a little like cinnamon, Imani thought.
When she was done using the light pik, as she had decided to call it, she thought her mouth had never felt so fresh and her teeth had never looked so white. It was nice to find there was something to like on this world, when she had begun to think she hated the entire planet.
“That was really refreshing,” she told J’are as they put their piks back in the silver compartment. “But now I need to get dressed for bed.”
“Bed,” he agreed, his eyes glowing. “Holding and scenting.”
“Um, about that…” Imani wasn’t sure what to say. She wished she hadn’t recklessly promised him they could do “holding and scenting” when she didn’t know exactly what they entailed. But he had agreed there would be no tasting or bonding, so how bad could it be? She hadn’t been aboard the Mother Ship long, but she knew what those two meant and they were very sexual—she would just have to hope that holding and scenting were less so.
Deciding that she might as well get to bed, Imani turned her back on the big Kindred to shimmy into the silky white nightgown Kat had packed her.
Not for the first time, she wished she had insisted on packing a few of her own clothes as well. Her usual sleepwear consisted of an oversized t-shirt and cotton granny panties that went nearly up to her belly button.
The nightgown and panties that Kat had given her, couldn’t have been more different. They were both made of some silky, diaphanous material which showed her chocolate brown skin easily—especially the dark points of her nipples, which pressed against the thin fabric in a way that was much too enticing. At least if the way J’are was eying her was any indication.
The panties were short and sweet—not nearly as tiny as the formal panties she had to wear when she went out in society—but a far cry from her comfy granny panties, Imani thought with regret. They barely covered the top of her mound—which she’d had to shave in order to look good in the Yonnite formal wear—and were whisper thin, just like the gown.
She got into the nightclothes, well aware that J’are was watching her every move, and then turned around to face him.
“Well,” she said as brightly as she could. “Let’s go to bed now—okay?”
But the big Kindred shook his head.
“Scenting now.” His voice was a low, lustful growl that sent shivers down Imani’s spine.
“Uh, now?” She looked at him uncertainly. “I thought—”
But before she could finish her sentence, he was leaning down and pressing his face to the sensitive side of her neck.
Imani gave a little squeak of surprise as he inhaled deeply, his scratchy cheek rubbing against her throat and then the nape of her neck. This had always been a sensitive area for her and she tried not to gasp as she felt his hot breath on her there.
So this was what “scenting” was. Imani tried to calm her suddenly thundering heart.
It’s okay, she told herself. He just wants to smell you—that’s all. No doubt it’s an animal thing—a Nightwalker thing.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t just her neck the big Kindred wanted to smell. And he wasn’t just smelling, Imani realized as he dropped to his knees and pressed his face between her breasts. Though he was inhaling deeply, as if he was trying to memorize her personal scent, he was also rubbing his cheeks and mouth against her skin—through her nightgown, of course—as though he was trying to mark her with his scent as well.
Imani gasped when he rubbed against her nipples. The thin fabric of the gown felt almost like it wasn’t there at all when his scratchy cheeks pressed against her sensitive peaks.
“Oh, J’are!” she exclaimed and put her hands to his head, feeling the silky-rough brush of his buzz-cut hair against her palms as she tried to warn him to be careful.
J’are seemed to realize he was rubbing a very sensitive area because he turned his head and used his mouth instead, pressing his lips to her tight points and making Imani gasp all over again.
He looked up at her as he did it, holding her eyes with his. Slowly, he opened his mouth to envelope one ripe peak in his hot mouth. He sucked gently and Imani felt the hot brush of his tongue through the thin fabric of her nightgown.
“Oh! No, J’are.” She shook her head quickly. “No, we…we can’t do that,” she protested.
The big Kindred gave a final suck and then allowed her nipple to slip from his mouth slowly.
“Only scenting and holding,” he said, as though reminding himself. “No tasting. Not yet.”
“Not…not yet,” Imani repeated breathlessly, though she knew she ought to be saying not ever. She stroked her fingers over his short, silky hair. “Not yet, baby,” she murmured.
J’are nodded.
“Later,” he repeated in a soft rumble, before ducking his head to rub his bristly cheek against her belly.
“J’are…” Imani heard herself protesting, her voice high and uncertain. And then he was pressing his cheek even lower, and she could feel him rubbing against her mound.
The soft scratch of his stubble against her recently shaved pussy sent a quiver through Imani’s insides.
“Now, J’are…” she said again, warningly as he rubbed his cheek against her and then turned to use his mouth. He pressed his lips to her slit in what looked like a reverent kiss, though she had an idea he was scent-marking her again somehow—like a cat marking its territory.
“J’are…” This time her voice was almost a moan as she felt her outer pussy lips part under his gentle assault and his hot breath against the throbbing button of her clit. Even through the double layers of her nightgown and panties, it seemed to burn her—to set her on fire. J’are didn’t attempt to lick or suck her again, but he didn’t stop pressing his mouth to her open pussy either, rubbing against her and breathing her in at the same time.
At last he pulled back and spoke.
“Sweet,” he growled softly, looking up at her. “So sweet.”
“Th-thank you,” Imani stuttered, not sure what else to say. “But scenting is over now—all right?”
Reluctantly, he nodded. Rising smoothly to his feet, he loomed over her again.
“More scenting later,” he announced and swung her into his arms.
“Oh!” Imani gasped as he carried her from the vast marble bathroom into the even larger bed chamber. He deposited her in the middle of the huge, puffy mattress and climbed in after her. Then, before Imani could protest, he was on top of her and rubbing against her.
“What…what are you doing?” she managed to pant as she felt the hard ridge of his shaft rubbing against her mound. Despite the layers of clothing between them, she could clearly feel the heat of his big body branding her most sensitive areas.
J’are looked down at her.
/> Scent marking,” he growled softly. “Part of scenting.”
“But I never…I mean, I didn’t know, uh, know this was…was part of it. Of scenting, I mean,” Imani started to protest. “Besides, we said more scenting later.”
“Later is now. My scent on yours,” J’are insisted in a low growl. Leaning down, he pressed his mouth and nose to the side of her neck again, inhaling deeply as he continued to work his hips and rut against her, rubbing the thick ridge of his cock deeply into the folds of her pussy.
“Oh!” Imani felt like her whole body was on fire! Somehow her legs had opened and she was spread wide for him, though she knew she shouldn’t be. But it felt like her body was on overload. She was being bombarded with sensations, from his hot breath against her sensitive throat to his big body working against hers as he pressed his shaft rhythmically against her open pussy.
This was what we called “dry humping” back in high school, she thought deliriously. She had been a good girl back then, not wanting to get into any kind of pregnancy trouble but she had done her fair share of this kind of activity in the backseat of her boyfriend’s car. Nobody had ever done it quite like J’are was doing it, however. He was grinding against her, rubbing the silky little panties right into her pussy and driving her absolutely crazy with the way he was nuzzling her neck.
If he doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to come! Imani realized, feeling dazed with pleasure. He’s not even really touching me—well, not skin-to-skin anyway—but I swear I’m going to come!
Inside her head, she knew this was wrong and the little voice of her conscience was screaming that there was no way she could do this with a client. But her body wasn’t paying any attention to what she should or shouldn’t do. Her clit was throbbing and aching and God, J’are smelled so good as he rubbed his big, hard, muscular body against hers…
Suddenly she was up and over the edge of orgasm, though she tried desperately to hold it back. Waves of pleasure flooded through her and Imani threw her head back in a moan of pure release.
Unleashed by the Defender: A Kindred Tales Novel Page 8
