by Mary Auclair
“Is that what you were doing when I was sleeping? Ordering women?”
Jareth stared into her eyes, his liquid blue irises fogged with passion.
“Let us not talk about other females. I have everything I will ever desire, with you.”
Chapter Nine
Jareth’s mouth took possession of hers. His tongue pushed inside her mouth and she greeted it with hunger. His taste invaded her and she ran her fingers around his neck, playing them play on the naked skin on his skull. It was soft and warm and she felt him shiver under her touch. Her legs wrapped tighter around his waist as his hands ran up on her body. Tamsin pressed herself on his erection harder, rubbing her hips up and down. A wave of lust flowed from somewhere deep in her flesh and she groaned into Jareth’s mouth. Her arousal seemed to make him wild, made him growl in response.
“Do you want me, my Tamsin?” Jareth bore his dark gaze into her eyes. “Do you want me like I want you?”
“Yes,” she answered, unsurprised to find it was true. “I want you to make love to me.”
“Make love?” Incomprehension was painted on Jareth’s face.
“Sex, but not just with the body.” She brought her hand over his chest, where she felt his strong heart beat under her palm. “With your heart too.”
“The Bond.” Jareth planted his lips on hers hungrily, then withdrew. There was such a well of emotions inside his liquid blue eyes it made her chest pinch. “I was Bound to you since the first moment I laid eyes on your beautiful face. Tell me, are you Bound to me, Tamsin?”
“Bound?” Her mind raced. Was he asking her if she was in love with him? The second the thought passed through her mind, she knew the answer. She had no idea how but yes, she was definitively in love with Jareth. The revelation that he was in love with her as well made her head swell with emotions. She searched for something to say but nothing came up. Finally, there was only one thing she could think to say. “Yes, I am Bound to you.”
“I am lost,” Jareth groaned against her neck, “and I never want to be found.”
His hands slid down her thighs and he slid a warm hand over her pussy. She grabbed his face between her hands to stare hard into his eyes. Pleasure mounted as he pressed her against him, played with her clit with his expert fingers, but they held each other’s gazes, not breaking the contact. This was it, she thought, she was in love. There was no denying it. Jareth was more than anything she ever dared to dream about, from his perfect body to his commitment to protect and care for her. She believed him, there was no doubt about it. He did care for her.
Since her father’s death nobody had cared for her. The thought brought tears to her eyes and when Jareth wiped them clean with his thumb, she couldn’t prevent the flood. Tears fell down on her cheeks and as they flowed, she accepted the depth of her feelings for him.
“I love you.” Her voice was a whisper, barely audible over the sound of her racing heart.
“I’m Bound to you,” Jareth answered, a scant second before his mouth covered hers.
As he kissed her, owning every inch of her lips, she understood what he meant. This being Bound was what she called love, only it was an old-fashioned, lifelong love like in a fairy tale. She never knew she’d craved it before, but now she was famished for his love, his affection and his touch.
Silently and still carrying her, Jareth walked back toward the large bed. Her head swam under his hot kisses. Jareth climbed onto the bed on his knees and bent down. One powerful arm wrapped around her back, keeping her pinned to his chest, while the other hand slowed their descent onto the mattress. Jareth slowly laid her down, then lowered his body to hers, spreading her thighs with his knees. He never let go of her mouth, kissing her with so much hunger she was running mad with desire. She wanted him inside her now. She wanted to feel his cock plunder her pussy until she screamed in pleasure.
“Take me now,” she said, pushing away from his mouth. “I want you inside.”
“No, my Ajena.” Jareth kissed the soft place at the joining of her collarbone. “I want to take you slow and make the love to you.”
She smiled at his misuse of the language. Her hands stroked his broad chest, taking in every stone-hard muscle. He was more than a god, he was her God. Her Ajeno. The thought invoked so much possessiveness in her that she lurched forward. Her lips landed on his chest and she kissed the soft golden skin. His taste was pleasant, a masculine mix of musk and spice, as she licked his puckered nipple. Jareth groaned and his strong hands grabbed her waist.
A flash of inspiration hit her and Tamsin pushed his chest away from her. Jareth looked down at her, confused. A shadow passed in front of his eyes, easing when she gifted him a teasing smile.
“Lie on your back for me.”
Jareth slowly pulled back and obeyed her. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung halfway open, painting a confused look on his face. He was tense and his chest rose up and down quickly but he obeyed her without complaint. Tamsin ran her gaze down his glorious body. His chest looked like a golden sand dune, rippling with muscles, completely hairless. Her gaze stopped at his groin, where his pants were stretched by the pull of his erection. Following her instincts, she sent one leg over his body, straddling him.
She was atop him, straddled over his waist, her thighs stretched open over his cock while his flesh pushed for freedom through the fabric. She chose to ignore the pulsating shaft for the moment and concentrated her attention on his chest. As she licked his skin again, she noticed the subtle difference in its texture. It felt thicker than human skin and it was also slicker, without any imperfection, like fine leather. Her tongue stopped on one nipple and it hardened when she licked at it gently. Somewhere over her head, Jareth gasped.
Her tongue teased the hard nub of flesh, circling it. Jareth’s back arched and his hands gripped her hips and rubbed her pussy on the bulge of his cock. Pleasure made her pant but she didn’t let go of his nipple. Her teeth closed around it gently and she nibbled at the sensitive flesh before letting it go. She kissed her way to his other nipple and played with it until her clit throbbed too much from Jareth’s chafing to ignore anymore.
Tamsin pushed herself up, straddling him, and began to rock her hips. Jareth’s hands left her hips and closed around her bare breasts where her own nipples hardened to the point of pain when he abraded them between his fingers.
“So beautiful, so perfect.” Jareth’s husky voice made her look down at his handsome face, glittering like a golden statue in the white bed. “I have been blessed by the Gods.”
She smiled at him. Then, with one hand spread firmly on his broad chest so he knew she didn’t want him to move, she started to make her way down his body. She kissed her way down, starting at his neck, inch by inch, opening her mouth and licking his flesh in between the kisses, taking her time to savor his smooth skin. Jareth’s breath grew faster and his body became rigid under her attentions. When she reached his navel, she trailed down the hairless skin with her tongue until her mouth reached the belt of his silk pants. His cock was distending the fabric, so hard and big it took both her hands to stroke its length completely.
Gently, she pulled his pants down and settled between his muscular thighs. His cock stood straight to attention, a golden mast, deliciously hard and hot to the touch. Tamsin locked eyes with Jareth’s dark-blue gaze and began licking the length of his shaft, working a slow, tormenting path from the sac of his balls to the sensitive tip. He watched as she did so, his intense gaze fixed on her mouth where it possessed his cock, a look of utter shock and ecstasy on his face. He jerked his head back on the pillow when her tongue flickered over the slit at the end of his shaft. She licked and sucked, then took him deep in her throat as far as she could. His fingers dug in her hair, holding her mouth in place, while his hips started pumping his cock gently inside her mouth. She continued the unrelenting pressure and the taste of pre-cum registered on her taste buds. He tasted spicy and a little sweet and she suckled more greedily.
“No, this i
sn’t the Tellurian way,” Jareth protested, but he didn’t pull her mouth away. “You mustn’t waste the seed.”
“There is plenty of seed and pleasure is never a waste.”
There were no more interruptions as she wrapped her mouth around his sex again, to stroke it with her hands at the same time as she sucked and teased the tip between her teeth.
Jareth’s movements became erratic and she knew he struggled to control himself as he blatantly fucked her mouth. Tamsin felt his cock grow even harder, pulsating with his imminent release. It excited her even more, made her pussy throb with need until she could feel the hot wetness spreading between her thighs. It didn’t take long before the first spurt of semen hit her tongue and Jareth roared in pleasure. His climax was a long and desperate one, his hot release filling her mouth, and she swallowed each gush until his fingers released her hair and he fell back drained on the mattress.
After he released her head, she let his cock slip from between her swollen lips and looked up to see him limp, looking blankly at the ceiling, his jaw slack and his eyes fogged over with the remnants of pleasure. The giggle that escaped her mouth drew his head up. His lips lifted in a smirk.
“You liked?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes innocently.
“What was that? I never knew a female could do this to provide a male with such incredible pleasure.”
“You mean no one has ever gone down on you?” An incredible doubt raised itself inside her mind. “Wait a minute, were you a virgin?”
“Hardly.” Jareth chuckled and she crawled up on his body until she was almost nose to nose with him. “I have honed my skills with a number of females, of many species.”
The idea of Jareth being with a number of females of varying species didn’t please her. Jealousy filled her mouth with the taste of bile at the notion of another female enjoying his attention. He picked up on her mood instantly and his strong hands closed around her waist, to flip her body under his. She was pinned under his large chest and gasped at the sudden change in control.
“No touch compares to yours.” Jareth ran his hands down her hips and his fingers settled dangerously low. “Nothing ever compares to you.”
“You’re just smooth-talking me.” She felt a smile spreading on her face.
“No female has ever done something so wild to me before.” Jareth slid down and kissed that special spot at the junction of her collarbones. “I want to make you lose your mind, just like you made me lose mine.”
“I think I’d like that very much.”
Jareth sent a wickedly sexy smile in her direction, then proceeded to kiss his way down her stomach. He stopped to suckle one breast until the pebbled nipple cried for mercy, then harassed the second one until she pressed down on his head with both hands. He chuckled some more but didn’t hurry the slow path of his hot mouth down the supple skin of her stomach. His mouth made another stop at her navel and his tongue circled around it, impossibly slowly. She growled in frustration but he kept up his maddening torture. A fire burned within her, glowing so hot she was sure she would explode at the slightest touch.
He let his tongue trail down her lower belly until it came to right over her throbbing clit and Tamsin arched her back, anticipating the contact. Blunt fingers opened her folds, revealing her wet pussy. Tamsin cried out in pure ecstasy as he suckled greedily at her hypersensitive nub. The touch of his tongue intensified as he teased the small knot of nerve-filled flesh, alternating between sucking and licking. Wetness pooled at her entrance and her hips undulated against his touch.
“Do not move.” Jareth growled, his face still buried in her pussy. “I want to hear you begging for more.”
She pushed her head down on the mattress and fisted the sheets between her fingers in responses. This was a slow, erotic torture and the pressure built like a dam inside her. Her mind went wild as Jareth kept his attack on her clit—and her sanity. His fingers played against her folds, one teasing tiny touches at her entrance.
“Please, Jareth.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a large finger buried itself inside her and an explosion of pleasure radiated through her body. She rocked her hips forward, only to have his free hand push her back on the mattress. His mouth continued its merciless attack on her clit as he thrust another finger inside her already quivering walls. She clamped her eyes shut as pleasure rolled through her like an earthquake, pulverizing any rational thought to smithereens. Jareth’s fingers pushed deeper, fucking her faster as his mouth sucked punishingly hard on her swollen clit.
“Jareth, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
Her words melted in a blazing inferno of pleasure as an intense orgasm rode her body. Her back arched and she cried out, over and over until she collapsed on the mattress, every bit of energy inside her body spent.
Jareth climbed back on the mattress beside her, his wonderful eyes meeting hers. The overload of sensation made her dizzy and she giggled, the giggle then turning into outright uncontrollable laugher. Jareth’s velvet voice joined hers and he laughed beside her on the mattress.
“This was amazing,” she managed to gasp between two outbursts.
“You are amazing,” Jareth said.
The minutes passed and the hilarity finally died down. They stayed where they were, lying on their backs on the bed, while their breathing calmed. After a while, Jareth turned his face to her and they locked eyes.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “I will take you to the waterfalls.”
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Jareth and Tamsin sat in the two-place transport as he piloted it toward the waterfalls. She glanced at him. He was so beautiful with his golden skin shimmering under the rays of the sun. It took her breath away.
The warm wind flapped the fabric of the dress she’d chosen from the hidden wardrobe Jareth had showed her. The closet was filled to capacity with clothing suitable for Havlan’s warm, humid climate. Most of the garments were long, flowing gowns such as the one given to her for the Claiming ceremony, but she managed to find a shorter dress, with lace trims, spaghetti straps and a nipped-in waist. Jareth stared at her with wide eyes when she put it on, and told her it was a nightdress, meant to incite desire and passion. Laughing, she replied that long, formal gowns weren’t suitable for a forest expedition and after a few minutes of blinking down at her barely clad body, Jareth agreed to let her come dressed like that. It wasn’t like there would be anybody to see her anyway. Nobody would dare approach them while Jareth and Tamsin were still in Isolation.
She sat in the large seat aboard the transport and stared down as the forest moved under them. Her stomach was blissfully full from the wonderful variety of delicious foods Havlan had to offer. They ate fish, something she never even considered before, and its soft, flaky flesh filled her belly with warmth. Still, her favorite had been the tropical fruits. She was excited out of her mind by what Jareth had promised her. They would pick up some fresh fruits from the trees surrounding the waterfalls.
She, Tamsin, the desert orphan, would pick up fresh fruit from trees and see water fall down a cliff. It was more than she’d ever hoped for even in her wildest dreams.
“We’re here.” Jareth turned to face her. His mouth spread in a wide smile when he saw the expression on her face. “Let us go down.”
Jareth lowered the transport to a few feet above a large outcrop of rocks at the top of the waterfalls. He jumped out, his movements fluid and confident as he walked around the transport to her side. He looked in his element in this sprawling wilderness, as if its frenzied life infused every one of his breaths. He kept his eyes locked on her and his open face broke into a heart-stopping smile. Tamsin felt a surge of lust and love shoot through her, the intensity of the emotions shocking her. He was hers. All hers.
He extended his hand and she took it without hesitation. He lifted her easily, to put her down gently on the flat rocks, allowing her to turn away from him so she could gaze at the view of the sprawling forest. They stood at
the top of a sharp cliff and the roar of a small river sliced the air to her right. Her gaze was drawn down to the large lake forming at the base of the waterfall. It looked so pure, so large she felt it pull on her. She wondered what it would feel like to bathe in it. Jareth’s hand stopped her feet from moving toward the water. Her heart was racing but she managed to free her gaze from the lake. In front of her sprawled a large valley, its vegetation melting into a carpet of life the likes of which she had never imagined. The trees grew so dense their tops covered the river below almost completely. Far away, near the horizon, stood the castle, shining bright and white under the twin suns, and all around everything, the sparkling ocean.
“Your world is beautiful.” She wanted to say more but her voice died.
“Havlan is your world too, now.” Jareth’s hands caressed her shoulders and his breath brushed her neck. “Everything you see is as much yours as it is mine.”
His words found a resonance inside her, somewhere deep and secret where her old hopes had gone to hide a long time ago. Tamsin knew now she’d been wrong in believing Jareth viewed her as a possession, a breeding tool. She was his Ajena, but he was also her Ajeno. This meant he was hers as much as she was his. She leaned back on his muscular chest and let his warmth surround her. This was it, her home, far from Earth and the heartaches she’d endured there. They stayed there a long time, breathing as one, marveling at the beauty of Havlan’s landscape. Jareth broke the silence first.
“Look over there, my Tamsin, this is an arcania tree.” Jareth pointed to a wide-leafed tree, whose soft-looking pink branches hung heavy with small orange globes. “They are in season right now. They are the most delicious of all the Havlan fruits.”
She turned her head and her mouth watered at the memory of the arcania fruit’s taste bursting on her taste buds. Jareth’s hand pulled her toward the tree and she saw his face split in two by a sparkling smile.
