Beast Within Book One of the Bonded series Mima (c) 2007
Beast Within Book One of the Bonded series Mima Published 2007 ISBN 978-1-59578-369-1 Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2007, Mima. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Manufactured in the United States of America Liquid Silver Books http://LSbooks.com Email:
[email protected] Editor Deanna Pryce Cover Artist April Martinez This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Dedication To my beautiful man: * When I reach out my hand, yours is always there to take it. Life is good with you.
Beast Within She ran down to the water’s edge. Her laughter echoed across the dark lake. His Lizzeed snapped and slashed inside him. Chase. Through force of will he remained on the beach. Breathe. He dragged his eyes from her ass. Control. His other self grew more impatient each day of the enforced abstinence. What an interminable week. A week for her to grow ready, between the choosing and the matebond ceremony. The Council ruled it a necessary deference to human proprieties. He did not chafe as his Lizzeed did. He suffered it gladly so that she’d never be afraid of him. She faced so many changes, leaving her City, leaving everything she knew. But his Lizzeed didn’t care about sensitivity. It wanted Freezha’s flesh, in several ways. Tossing her long, ruffled skirt up to her rounded thighs, she waded out, squealing at the cold spring water so different from the warm humidity of the underground cavern. Panting, she ran back to him and plopped in the sand, her skirt around her hips. Breathe. Control. She ran her hands up and down her shin. He fisted his hands on his thighs. He sent out his tongue, longer and more slender than a human’s. Her warm woman’s smell hit him hard. She wasn’t actively aroused. She was tired, but calmer, more centered than she’d been earlier, after the attack. “I am glad you spoke with your friend KarRa. You are more at ease since you left her. She is good for you.” “You’re right. I hope it’s mutual. I will miss her horribly, Vyur.” “I swear to you that she will stay in your life. She’s an Owl now, and we have a freestanding invitation to their lair. Considering she saved your life, I have every intention of honoring your friendship. We will go after you have settled into Sandhome.” “Thank you! I consider her a sister. It’s important not to lose her from my life, now that I’ve gained you.” Freezha bent her delicate face down to stare more closely at her lower leg. Her white-blond braid gleamed in the magelight. “Look! It’s so perfect. I can’t believe it’s gone. I can still see the blood, the bone, the ripped skin…” He grit his teeth to keep from howling. He flashed back to the horror, the terror, of his Alpha looking down at him and saying, “Freezha has been wounded.” Healed. She is here. Control. The younglings were going to pay. Especially the Lizzeed. How had he failed so badly? He was one of the leaders set to train them to control their dangerous dual natures. Yet a youthful competition with the Wolves had spurred their territorial urges into a violent battle that had injured bystanders—women no less. That it had been unintentional was unacceptable. Boys of his own Clan had hurt women. Their most precious treasure. His woman. His salvation. His fingers reached out and stroked the peach skin of her ankle. He had to keep his mind from this morning if he had any hope of containing his Lizzeed. The other spirit inside him was already roiling in his gut from the decadent scent she’d released from under her skirt. He fought to keep his fingers from tightening further. He wouldn’t bruise her perfect skin with his fear when she’d just been healed.
“I’m here, Vyur.” Her fingertips touched his lips softly. Amazing how she sensed his need and wanted to soothe him. He forced his arms to soften, although the tension merely moved to his face. He feared the sharp angles of his face made him look too fierce as it was. Her silver lashes fanned down over her lavenderblue eyes, tilted so mysteriously on her face. They were like silver lace upon her perfectly pink cheeks. He wanted to nip the sweet round tip of her tiny nose. “Guess what?” He loved it when she said that. “You want to dye your hair blue.” She rolled her eyes. “Not that! I want to dance. I want to forget I ever had a broken leg. I want to forget the pain.” She launched herself up again. He’d grown used to such starts. She was as changeable as her Element, Air. His Water was a good, grounding match. Quick moving enough to keep up with her, yet steady. She leaped, laughing, and the sound rolled right down his spine and wrapped around his balls. “Watch me, Vyur!” “Always.” Freezha’s nipples hardened in a lovely way when he spoke. He needed to taste them like he needed heat against his slightly reptilian blood. He was used to seeing her breasts bound, when he’d known her as his trainee. Now, even under her newly demure tunics, they shifted and rolled, with endlessly fascinating tiny nubs that stood out nearly every time he spoke. He let her laughter and the tranquility of the vast subterranean lake soothe him after the tense day. The golden magelights danced on the still black waters, just strong enough to reveal the jagged cavern to his enhanced eyes. Her long blond braid, a feature in several of his recent dreams, flew behind her like a whip as she spun in a line, the heavy wet sand no deterrent to her graceful spins. The mist from the lake swirled when she did, until she seemed a part of it. A spike of awe lit his gut, darkly tinged with possession and a grinding need. Breathe. Focus. Control. It was his mantra, said a thousand times a day since his world turned upside down with a “yes.” He’d stood, the only Lizzeed in a line of six other worthy warriors, and this incredible woman had chosen him. Five nights past, two more to go. She’d chosen him, yet she was still unbound. Stone send him strength. She sashayed up the beach and swayed into a curvy little bundle opposite him. “Compromise.” Now there was fire in her voice. “A good word.” “I’m glad you like it. Vyur, we need to talk.” Her sweet lips settled into a mutinous pout. His low, soft laughter seemed to make her nipples stand out even clearer against her blouse. Perfect. They seemed to follow his voice like well trained kits. “Sometimes I think it’s all you do.” He held out his arms and she leapt into them, trusting. He squeezed her fondly. She was bright joy, a chattering, dancing moonbeam in his world of monotonous discipline. She squirmed until she sat in his lap, nearly half his size. “I want to please you.” She plucked at her long skirt. “How could you not?”
“The first thing you said to me the morning I chose you was, ‘You can’t wear that.’” Her voice lowered in a mockery of his bass, but was not unkind. “Freezha … I did not say it because I was unpleased. I was too pleased. Surely you know that.” She looked confused. “You certainly did not appear pleased.” Vyur quietly ground his teeth. “You were wearing a form fitting silk half shirt, with the neckline scooped down to your nipples. It was pale pink, the color of the blush on your skin. There were two handspans between where it stopped under your breasts, which were unbound, I might add, and where the blue ruffles started at the middle of your hips. The ruffles stopped after one handspan. They could not even be called underwear, let alone a skirt. Your feet were wrapped in lace that crossed to your knees. That outfit was meant for one thing—sssseduction.” Just remembering her curves, all that soft white flesh had his Lizzeed rousing. Hearing the lisp in his words chilled him. Control. “It is not the time, and River Mountain’s public halls are not the place, for such an outfit. It is dangerous to advertise so brazenly when you are unclaimed. You test the honor of every Trux here who yearns for a family, which is all of them. And it’s twice as dangerous to tempt my Lizzeed, who is desperate to claim you.” He felt his scalp ripple with fear. “So many men, for so few women. The ghosts of our future-children haunt us. We want them so badly. Your father was wise to overcome his human fear of us when he negotiated your adoption in exchange for a Pearl Guild guard. During all the months you waited for your spiritmage to find your mate choices, you were nowhere near the danger you’re in now. The men see the opportunity of an unmated woman slipping away like sand in their fingers. They know all they have to do is get you under them in front of their Alpha. You are a walking temptation to the many men using human honor to fight an animal need, including me. This isn’t about modesty. I want you safe.” Freezha eased out of his arms to twist her torso so she could more fully see his face, now set in mulish, pouting lines of his own. “You remember every detail of that outfit! If you had told me all that, I wouldn’t have been festering over these priestess clothes all week.” Relief rang in her voice. “You just seemed so angry about it. I didn’t mean to be cruel to others, although I admit to wanting to tempt you.” She eased herself onto her knees, facing him more squarely. “I’ll talk to you about my clothing later. It’s important to me, but not at the top of my list. Vyur, I’ve been edging around things all week, not knowing how to explain…” She looked out over the dark, still water and took a deep breath. “There’s no time now, and today it got worse. I was scared today. Not shivery-worried from looking at that stupid red book with all the pictures of guys going beasty. Though by the Earthmother, that gave me nightmares for months. This was worse. Heart-pounding, sweaty scared. Those boys moved so fast. They looked like the twisted mage-cursed of my childhood tales. I know I lost my head, but nothing you had taught me in self-defense would have worked against them. There were too many, they were too powerful…” “Freezha.” Vyur interrupted her firmly when her eyes went unfocused and he saw a sheen of moisture on her temple. Her scent had quadrupled with her pounding heart. “They are gone. I am sorry I was not there for you. Please know that it is very rare for this to happen in Vladaya. I can swear to you that those boys will never lose control and
battle in public like that again. But there is a chance other men with less control or honor could endanger you. We will work on your defenses. We will work until you are completely confident. I realize now that physical self-defense won’t work for you.” He’d despaired of her ever passing his class before KarRa had given her pointers. She was hopeless at physical violence. “We’ll focus on your magecraft. I will help you, Sweetling. You will never feel so helpless again. Until then, I’ll be with you, or I’ll arrange a trusted guard. It breaks my heart you are afraid of my people.” He slowly smoothed his thumb along her temple, wiping away the scent of her fear by marking her with his own. Her heart calmed, her eyes steadied, but they were still huge. “I’m afraid it’s not going to pass in time for the Matebond,” she whispered. A spike of need twisted in his hips, even as sorrow struck his heart. He whispered uselessly, “Freezha.” He could not spare her that. Would not, even if he could. The Matebond ceremony would set his claim upon her. No warrior of the eleven Clans would ever be able to take her away from him, and both his souls would belong to her. “Little Pearl, my Lizzeed needs you. He will only taste you this once. Your spiritmage will be there for you, as my Alpha will aid me. The Lizzeed wants your pleasure.” He couldn’t not touch her now. His rough, deadly hands gathered her delicate gentle ones so carefully. “Certainly not your death. Trust me. Trust us. Women have been claimed thus by the Truxet for centuries.” “I am not going to be unconscious with fear when you claim me. It’s not just pictures on a page anymore. Now I know what battleform claws are like! And the teeth! I can still feel saliva landing on my arm. KarRa was so brave, so perfectly vicious right back, not even armed. I was pathetic. Ran, fell, screamed…” She was panting. “Breathe, Little One. Look at my eyes. I’m here and you’re safe. Breathe.” She looked at his eyes. He hid his agitation about the fight, made his eyes as black and deep as the lake at her side. Calm, still. Her shoulders slowly relaxed, dropping back down. “Compromise. KarRa helped me see what I need to do, Vyur. Let me tell you. Let me ask.” She took her hands from his, twisting firmly from him. She stood and paced away and stared into the faint mist on the water. The deep underground air was warm while the spring water was cold. She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. “I know you have noticed my attempts to seduce you. Despite the outfits you approve of, I’ve tried to get you out of yours.” She gave a strangled laugh. “I finally did manage to land in your bed today, but healing a stupid broken leg was not what I wanted.” He growled, remembering what she looked like, laid out like liquid silver in his bed nook. “I have wanted a lover since the time I started to notice men, which was way too soon for propriety’s sake, no doubt. I have dreamt and craved and experimented on myself, as Papa kept me so sheltered.” Vyur’s blood surged and he curled his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. He bit his lip to keep silent. She wanted to talk through her fears of the Matebond. He understood how a human woman would see it. He knew it for the emotional challenge it was and would stop avoiding the conversation he had put off before. “I know Beasts, Truxet I mean, don’t put the same importance on virginity that the
Cities do. But I am of the Cities. And I am a virgin.” He winced. The Lizzeed leaped to know she was unclaimed, had never been claimed. Focus. Control. Waters, give him strength to live up to her needs. “I hear all the things you say to me about the beastspirit inside you. How it doesn’t always comprehend the damage it can do to a human body. My teacher told me of it, my spiritmage, the other unmated women have talked about it endlessly. I really like how KarRa just explained it to me, though. I wish someone had said something like it sooner. She said to think of your Beastspirit not as an other, but as another mood. Another aspect of your personality. There is content Vyur, angry Vyur, and Beast Vyur.” This was technically incorrect. The Lizzeed that shared his soul was not a “mood.” But it was impossible to separate from himself, so tightly were they twined. It was not completely an “other” either, although that is how he often thought of it when he struggled to stay in control. An argument could be made that it was another aspect of his personality, one that manifested in a physical form. Two forms actually: his humanoidbeast battleform, and his pure beastspirit form. “You showed me your Lizzeed’s pure form.” Her words echoed his thoughts. “I never imagined a Lizzeed at such dimensions. It was so—thrilling. Beautiful. The spiny crest, the tail, the shoulders almost as tall as me. Such a beautiful pattern of green and brown. I knew it was you. I knew it! I was never afraid of you in that form, even though your Beast was in control. But you’ve never shown me your battleform. During the Matebond, I have to have sex with you in that form. Oh, also in front of nineteen witnesses, of whom I know three. It’s a harsh order, Vyur. It was harsh before, but now, with my body conditioned to fear the battleforms my mind keeps tossing up at random moments, it seems impossible. “I was too proud to talk about verra wine before. I’m not anymore. I’m so scared I’m going to scream and run from you, in front of all of them. Oh winds … I would die before dishonoring you like that.” “There is no way…” “Hush.” “I will not.” He rose in a smooth fluid rush. “No one would ever see a woman’s fear during the Matebond as dishonorable. We know you see the public claiming as disrespectful. If it were in any way avoidable we would spare you, but it is within our very souls, this need to claim and proclaim.” “Hooey.” “What?” “Hooey. You say that, but you can’t tell me that women who swagger in there and bend over aren’t well thought of. So here we are. You, Mr. Trux control champion…” “What?!” “—and me, the virginal sex-starved coward.” “What?!” “Vyur. Try to keep up. I need to meet your battleform. I need to see it. Preferably with someone, ummm maybe several someones, nearby for protection. So I can be at least a little prepared. Then after you recover from that, I need to get rid of my virginity. If not tonight, then tomorrow. No more of this…” Her voice assumed its ridiculous attempt at his bass. “It’s too dangerous, my Beast won’t be soothed until the Matebond.” She turned to face him finally, hands on hips.
He shook his head, his heart clenching in fear for her while his cock slowly hardened, cramping in his leathers. She didn’t know how deeply he needed to devour her. If a Trux lost control with a potential Mate, he could seriously damage her before he realized it, without ever meaning to. “Don’t you shake your head at me. I’m not looking for roses and pearls, Vyur. I’m looking to discover the act privately so I can attempt dignity at the Matebond.” Some of the anger drained from her voice. “You can’t put me off anymore. I’m not just teasing you, and I’m not just horny.” She licked her lips, her eyes traveling down the line of his neck. “Although I am.” He tried to imagine what she saw, a tanned, muscular man, middle-aged and scarred. His body hairless but for his eyelashes, and his scalp marked with scale plates. Plain black eyes. It was by the mystery of the Elements that she’d chosen him. His Clan was the only one visibly Truxet in their human form, and many women were hesitant around them, if not outright repelled. From their first training session, she had never once displayed any hesitation at his features, although she had jumped when he scented her with his tongue the first time. These last five nights he’d struggled to hold her affection off while acknowledging it. She was incredibly tactile and he loved how she seemed to always be touching him. Blinking, she pulled her eyes back up to his. “I’m not expecting my first time to be gentle romance, because I realize you’ll be all Beasty Vyur, seeing as how I’m technically still unclaimed. I trust your Lizzeed to want me bad, and I know it’ll be wild.” Her eyes, they just killed him when they got that pleading look. Soft, gentle lavender, with the steel of royalty in their depths. Whatever she wanted. He’d do anything for her. “But I trust you, the gentle you you’ve always shown me, to be able to rein it in. You are honor and control personified; the man your Council trusts to teach the women and teens self-defense. You must be able to think of some ideas on how to control the sex so that it’s safer. Blindfold me so we won’t risk eye contact and the challenge it implies. Tie my hands so you’ll know you’re in control.” His cock surged into a spike, bringing a strangled gurgle to his throat at the discomfort. He fisted his hands tighter, feeling his nails bite into his thick calluses. Her face changed from determination to heavy eyed pleasure. “Or we could tie you down, and let me ride you.” Her tongue licked her berry pink lips, leaving them glossy in the dim light. “Maybe we could both be tied… Mmm. Interesting.” She frowned. “But if I tied you up, how would I get tied?” She shrugged. “I agree to take verra wine at the Matebond. I know it will relax me enough to douse the worst fear. But in return I want the confidence and comfort of knowing at least a little taste of what I’m in for when I walk into that room in front of all the people who are most important to you. Your family, your friends, your old teachers, your Alpha. I want to know what a cock feels like. I want to know what you are going to look like. I want to know we’ve already come together and they’re not getting my first time on top of seeing our most intimate ceremony. Compromise.” She canted her head to the side, body language for submission. He knew that she knew it exposed the line of her neck, her beating artery, the hollow of her collarbone. Virgin, his ass. She was so good at this. She was going to be so good under him.
He stared at her, breathing heavily. Images flashed through his mind. His body sailing through the air to tackle her to the soft sand. His claws shredding that ‘proper’ tunic. His mouth full of her blood. His tongue striving for her deep cream while she writhed with pleasure, pinned by his hands on her hips. She stepped toward him. A tremor ran through him as he prevented his body from following the visualization. “Don’t.” He closed his eyes, turned his head so his nose filled with the scent of water instead of her. “Vyur? Don’t be angry. I’m being honest…” The quaver in her voice stilled his pounding heart, if not his rigid cock. “Sweetling. Freezha. Just give me a moment. You’ve stirred me. Stirred my Lizzed. Hush.” Amazingly, she did. He crouched and drove his fingers deep into the sand, feeling it’s cool coarseness. He scented the air for things other than her. The distant tangle of the many who had come here recently, mostly Watercoasters. The faint echo of the huge eels they grew deep at the back of the cavern. Earth, stone. Vladaya. The magic of this place. When he had mastered himself, he was aware many moments had passed. She was crouched where she’d been standing and was idly making patterns in the sand. She looked so small, curled there on the edge of the vast black waters. Her braid gleamed bright against the darkness beyond. She was so incredibly exotic, with the pale downy hair on her wrists glittering, her skin so very white and soft. Bury himself in that softness. Drive deep. He inhaled. Curled his fists tight in the sand. “I hear your words.” He saw the shiver race over her, the gooseflesh that raised on her arms. She stood again, highlighting those nipples that were constantly taunting him. “It’s a better idea than me sneaking off to find a skinlicker boy. Do you even have boys who sell their bodies here?” Mine. He was plastered to the front of her, his hands gripping her upper arms before he became aware. She was staring at him in fascination, at least, rather than fear. He took an abrupt step back, but failed to let go of her, causing her to stumble forward in the soft sand. “Please. Don’t ever say that again.” His hands tightened. “Freezha. Not even to tease me.” Her huge eyes searched his. She nodded somberly. “All right.” He stared at her. That flawless skin he could end up scarring. The curious eyes he could end up disappointing. His mouth flooded with saliva. He wanted to taste her, every inch, every part. Control. Spirit and Body help him, this could be a disaster. He nodded somberly back. “All right. Tonight.” **** Ever since he agreed to her “compromise,” her cream had begun seeping from her core. She knew he could smell it, hear her deepened breathing. Heat swept her cheeks whenever a growl of need rumbled in the halls carved by earthmages deep into the mountain.
Walking back to the Lizzeed caves took forever. River Mountain was the seat of the Council that ruled the eleven Clans of Vladaya. Each of the Clans had their own cave space within the mighty honeycombed fortress. It was her bad luck the Lizzeed caves were down long stairs into the heat of the deep earth. He was unable to let go of her when they reached his room. It took a few moments of him staring at his hand for each finger to release. She used the opportunity to watch him. His fierce jaw had developed a tic. When he reached for the heavy embroidered drape that served as doors to most of the rooms in River Mountain, she realized he meant to leave. “Wait! What’s happening?” Without turning to face her again, he replied over his shoulder, “I need to prepare. Take a bath. Don’t get dressed. Wear that purple robe. Your eyes look stunning with it. Wait for me here. I may be an hour…or two.” Just like that he was gone. Freezha sat abruptly in one of the carved wooden chairs, staring dazedly around the room. All bedrooms in River Mountain were the same basic layout. Two to three body lengths square, with a bed, carved niches in the walls for shelves, and a table with two chairs. The first time she saw Vyur’s room she realized they shared a love of beauty. There was nothing of his public stoicism in the space she sat in. It spoke of comfort and tranquility. The Lizzeed carved a bedspace into the rear wall of their rooms, cleverly freeing up floor space. The table set was thick and sturdy, carved and stained with age. The shelves were full of odd little bits like a lovely spiral shell and interesting rocks, the jawbone of some creature, and a vase of dried grasses. He had a series of lovely carvings of desert creatures and history books similar to those she’d been raised on. Rugs, both fur and woven, were on the floor and bed. The trunks, also in spaces carved into the wall so they were out of the way, were full of his clothes and weapons. It was more exotic than home, yet reminiscent. She knew she had grown up privileged, and did not expect to maintain her lifestyle when she agreed to come to the beasts. But the comforts of Vyur’s room soothed her. She was honest enough to admit that she liked comfort. She shifted on the chair, feeling the moisture gathered on her thighs. That afternoon, before she’d visited KarRa high in the Owl caves, Vyur had moved all her things to his room. After the attack that morning, he said she was not staying in the women’s caves, guarded or not, again. She was glad, chafing at this interminable week apart from him. Her trunks were stacked high against one wall. She had to stand on the chair to get into the topmost one to find the purple robe. It exploded open with the force of the clothes she’d chosen to take with her. Such hard decisions. Finding the purple one, she drew the thin silk through her hands. She had wondered where he was going to sleep if she was in his bed. She had thought when they moved the trunks that he would find another Clan brother to stay with. Now perhaps he would be with her, although her stodgy spiritmage had warned her not to “tempt his beast.” She shivered to think that the deep comfortable niche she had dozed so innocently in a few hours ago was where she was about to be … ravished. Devoured. Drilled. She giggled. She, Freezha, would finally have something more thrilling than a candle or a
pillow between her legs. She’d checked Vyur out plenty enough to know he was generously full in the crotch. Vyur stood two heads taller than she. He was not the largest Trux she’d seen by far, but his cock didn’t seem to know that. She smothered her smile of delight in the robe. Leaping wildly from the chair up onto the table, she kicked front and back, spun and leaped again to the floor, her shrieks of excitement squeaking out. When your happiness was this big, nothing would do but to dance. She spun until the room swirled and laughed out loud. She changed into her robe, took up one of Vyur’s thick towels, then went to the Lizzeed washroom. As she swished in, a young man was leaving the waste chairs. They realized who the other was and froze. Claws like swords. Bodies whirling, flying through the air. The image was so sudden, such a surprising contrast to her happiness, it took her breath away. She blinked, rigid. The boy was her height, although already much thicker. He seemed to be as terrified as she. Vyur had made them all come through his room earlier, apologizing. Sto, the Lizzeed Clan Alpha, had informed each of them of the payment they would have to make her. But she hadn’t spoken to any of them. Not with Vyur vibrating with rage next to his Alpha. “Freezha.” The boy’s voice broke on her name. Hearing his remorse and youth released her from her paralysis. She didn’t remember his name, so she just nodded. He opened his mouth, closed it, shuffled his feet, and awkwardly nodded to her and slipped past. A man watched from the long washing tubs, his arms full of ceramic cups. He nodded to her as well. “Be at ease, lady. You are safe here. He would never attack you.” She swallowed. Her heart began to slow. She wished Vyur was there. “Thank you. I know. It’s just…” She shrugged uselessly. A woman was washing a young boy in one of the deep, sunken baths. She called out, “Are you bathing? Come join us Freezha.” Freezha nodded miserably. Dropping her towel and robe as the man left, she hopped into the tub. “I’m Sooz. This is Gret. We met at dinner the other night, but with so many new faces, I don’t expect you to remember.” Freezha was grateful for the older brunette’s kindness. “Were you with a very tall, thin man?” The fact that the Lizzeed Clan had no body hair and nearly all had dark eyes made describing them more difficult. “Yes. Marl.” She wrestled with her shouting son, rinsing his face. He was cross about it and immediately clambered out, sputtering and muttering. “You can go play in the lounge if your father is there. If he’s gone, come back please.” The boy streamed out nude, his towel flapping around his shoulders like a cape. She had grown used to the casual group nudity of washrooms. Even in the Cities water was precious enough that sexes mixed in the bath house. But she was still surprised when she saw nude Lizzeed of all ages lounging in the public rooms. She assumed it had to do with the heat of the caves. They preferred it warmer than she was used to. She was always damp in the enveloping outfits Vyur preferred when she visited. Two other men came and went as Freezha washed, averting their eyes when they saw her. She watched them
cautiously. “I’m so sorry to hear of your injury. You must know that nothing like those teens fighting has happened in the seven years I’ve been here. Is your leg healed?” “Yes. Your bodymage is very skilled.” “He has to be. Lizzeed often spar past bruises. And the desert can be unforgiving. Have you ever been to Sixth City?” “No. I’m from Second City. I look forward to Sandhome. Is it as warm as this?” Sooz laughed. “Warmer! But also drier, and there’s a soothing breeze that blows for most of the year, so it’s different.” Gret walked back in, his towel swaddled on his head like a crown. “Mama, Daddy’s gone to work. Can I go see if Trom is up?” “Absolutely not. It’s bedtime for Trom and you.” She lifted herself up, but hesitated on the side. “Would you like to finish? I can walk you back to your room?” Freezha felt grateful again. Guilty, that she wanted the company now that she was reminded of the boys nearby, but relieved. “Thank you. I know it’s safe…” “I wouldn’t let Gret walk around by himself if I didn’t completely believe he’d never be harmed.” She bit her lip. “It did make me pause to leave him playing in the garden this afternoon. Marl is so disappointed in them. But these people are my family. One of them was Marl’s nephew. They made a mistake, and we’re angry at them, but I’m not going to believe it will happen again. If I felt they were truly unstable, I’d go to Sto. But…” “Please. I don’t want… I just… I would like company to my room.” Freezha pulled herself out of the body wide, chest deep bath, and dried quickly. Sooz and Gret, wrestling his towel, walked her to Vyur’s room. She paused at the door to look at Sooz. “Thank you.” The woman put her hand on her shoulder sympathetically. “It was nice to meet you again. Good night.” Once in the room, Freezha shuddered at the horrible awkwardness. Without Vyur, she didn’t feel safe. All her life she’d been guarded, protected. She hadn’t been afraid in River Mountain, believing in the control and honor of all the men she’d met. But she had been reminded today that they were not really men. They were Truxet. With the power came danger. The only one she really trusted was Vyur. Subdued, she brushed her hair out until it was a river of white falling to her hips. Then she smoothed lotion into her skin, and tried to read a book on the history of Sixth City, the human city closest to Sandhome, where many Lizzeed were placed on duty because they took the heat the best. Trux had served humans for centuries, without being actual servants. They were the law humans turned to in a world where Trux honor and ability were much greater than that of humans. The humans stayed tight to their Cities, living in fear of the vast wilderness full of uncontrollable magic, and animals. Trux were uninterested in the human world, except for women. No females were ever born to the Truxet. She was jiggling the book on her knee when Vyur slipped into the room. Her whole body tingled in a rush to see him. She smiled, starting to rise, but he was so still, so flat, she sank back into her seat. “Vyur?” “Freezha.” His eyes scanned her. His nostrils flared. His tongue flashed out. She knew he could use it as his beastspirit did, to scent emotions, and that he had tried to keep
from the action because she had been so startled by it when they had trained together. It didn’t bother her anymore. He came over and sat in the other chair. “Now it is my turn. To talk of things I have danced around and avoided this week. In my defense most Lizzeed do not share these things until after the rest week at Sandhome has passed, when the couple have sated each other and grown comfortable in bed. But tonight your request requires some of these secrets. I will not risk your safety.” He stared at her, not coldly, but so watchful he felt distant. She stretched her hand out and he pulled back. Her lips parted at the hurt. “What I tell you now will never be shared with anyone who is not Lizzeed. Not KarRa, not your spiritmage. Say it.” “I will not tell.” She could keep a secret. She could. “You have hinted that you have heard rumors that Lizzeed share their mates. It is true.” The fine hairs lifted from the back of her neck. I don’t believe it, she thought. She flashed back to a conversation with KarRa. They were sitting on the women’s balcony overlooking the plaza. Sighing, she watched a pair of handsome warriors stride below. “Have you ever had two at once?” “What do you mean?” “In bed.” “Huh. Too expensive. And what for?” “Stretch that imagination, KarRa. Skyfather knows it would be delicious. Twice the pleasure. Four hands, two cocks!” “There’s already four hands, mine and his. Frankly, it’s the extra mouth that would be interesting.” “That’s the spirit! I’ve heard rumors about the Lizzeed, you know.” Though it strangled her, she remained silent, literally biting her tongue. “What the other Clans don’t know is that we do so only because our mates need us to. By taking the Matebond with me, you will be changed. Perhaps because we have a cold-blooded beastspirit. The only other Clan that creates a physical reaction in their mates is Snowcat, and that is not sexual. Your body will slowly adjust to the magic I release in you when I bond with you. In some women it takes a year, in most a few months. Then you will experience your first heat. During the heat, your vagina will soften. Your clitoris will engorge. Your breasts will produce milk as the eggs you release become fertile for my sperm. You understand these terms?” Freezha nodded, stunned. Milk? “At first you will be uncomfortable. The women say it is not unlike a bad menstrual cycle for about a day. You will ache, you will be restless, moody. Then the heat expands. It can last anywhere from twelve hours to three days. And in that time, if you are not in the process of being sexually soothed, you will be aggressive, in pain, and worse, at risk of dying. Women with short heat cycles can usually get by with only their mate soothing them.” His eyes narrowed. “But the heat does not know jealousy. It is a biological need. Even if you are impregnated within the first hour, it will not abate. And if you are not soothed, you could die, suffer a seizure that could damage your brain or your sight, or
lose the child you’ve just conceived. The heat is not a mindless thing. You will still be aware, and somewhat in control, as long as you are being soothed with sex. To accommodate the fact that most mates cannot perform more than twelve hours straight, mated couples make plans. With other men. Sometimes with other couples. We call these men mateshields. They can be good friends or distant warriors who have little contact with the couple. Mateshields have to be accepted by all the parties. They are only invited to bed during the heat. After the heat passes, my beastspirit will be possessive again. To see another man touching you…” He closed his eyes, swallowed. “Intolerable.” He finally came to a stop. He had not rushed, his words falling steady and calm. His gaze softened, nearly pleading. She tried to swallow but her throat was so dry from her mouth hanging open it took a few tries. She licked her lips. She had so many questions her brain couldn’t order them. “You are a mateshield?” He blinked, apparently surprised at her first question. “Yes. To two women. I’ve been asked many times, but…” He looked at the table and traced a small groove with his finger, uncharacteristically hesitant. “Freezha, I did not lie to you when I said I have no lover. The mateshields I help were not chosen for fondness or desire. I agreed only for their mates, at first. One is my cousin, Thray. He is like another brother to me. It is not uncommon for family to serve as mateshields. I have served his mate for three years. The other is my childhood friend Krisk. I have served his mate for seven years. “I have soothed these women only once a year, and yet, I found that even within the first time I served them, I was not there simply for my friends. I wanted to help them. I cared about them. I’m friends with both of them now.” “Will you no longer … soothe … them now that we are mated?” “That will depend on you.” “Have I met them? Have you already introduced me to them?” Her voice got a little sharp. Freezha imagined some woman slyly looking at her, thinking that she knew Vyur so much better than her, that she’d had him first. “No. Both of them are stationed at Sixth City right now.” He hesitated. “Thray and Krisk will be among our witnesses.” She was suddenly viciously glad that women were not chosen by Trux as witnesses to a Matebond. She chewed her lip, studying Vyur’s stoic face. He seemed to be braced for a storm. She inhaled through her nose. Stay reasonable. Don’t be a child. “Thank you for telling me. I’ve been dying of curiosity. If it’s such a common rumor, why do you insist on the secrecy?” “It’s already harder for our Clan to be chosen as mates, with our appearance. We are the only Truxet that are so outwardly beast-like with our scaled heads and tongues. If this information were openly shared, we fear the choices would dwindle even more. I wish I could have waited until you have the Matebond.” Heat swept up her face from the force of her anger. “Ah. You like to keep women from knowing that mating with you will turn us into raving skinlickers who’ll be driven to fuck anything regardless of our honor or self-respect!” Vyur’s face stayed calm. His eyes, if anything, more sympathetic. “There is no dishonor in the heat. This is a human perception. I would have preferred to wait because once we are bound you will know just how different mating with a Trux is from a human marriage. Soon you will know there is no fear of human infidelity. There is no possibility
of such a thing. I will not doubt you when I see you writhe in pleasure under another man’s body, and you will not doubt me. A mateshield is merely a tool for your safety during the heat, not a threat to our love.” She blinked sudden tears out of her eyes. “Vyur. You go right to the heart of my fears so easily, before I even know them myself. I just got used to the idea of nineteen witnesses. Now I learn I have to fuck a stranger once a year to save my life. Really, it sounds crazy.” Her hands were balled very very tightly on the table. He hesitantly held out his arms. She left her chair and threw herself into them, snuffling, squeezing him tightly. Peace washed through her when his strength wrapped around her. She noticed he had a less peaceful reaction to her presence. His length stiffened against her hip. She licked her lips. “What about children? Will you know if I conceive a child during the heat whether it is yours?” “No Lizzeed mate has ever conceived with a man not her mate. And many women fail to conceive during the heat at all. It is the reason our tribe is so small. Truxet don’t need more troubles getting pregnant, yet our Clan is burdened with this annual window. It is rare that unmated Trux have children with paid women, but with Lizzeed it is even more rare.” She had a sudden thought and froze, pushing back from his chest to look at him, horrified. “Oh no. Nonono. Do not tell me you are thinking of having a mateshield be my first.” He looked just as horrified, his mouth flattening. “Of course not!” he snapped. “A mateshield is for your heat.” “Then why did you bring all this up?” He sighed, and looked away. “You want to see my battleform. That we will do tonight. And you want to make love. That will wait until tomorrow, because I will need time after being sent into battleform to come out and perfect control again. I’m concerned… No, I’m terrified. You test my control as it has never been tested. This week has been endless.” He took an enormous breath and pulled her into him, to tuck her head beneath his chin. His hips lifted to press against her leg. She shivered. “Freezha, I am not the Trux combat champion without cause. It’s more than skill and discipline. It’s an ability of mine to be slow to rise in my Beast, and when I am there, I keep my human sense much more than most. You tease me about my control, but this will test me to my limits. I will need help to satisfy your requests. I will need a trigger to go to battleform, something besides the damaging and lengthy physical battle it usually takes. And I need assurance that should I lose control while pleasuring you, someone is there to interfere. I want Kel to guard you.” Freezha waited, curled against Vyur’s heat while he stroked her hair, the strands so fine they tangled around his fingers. She’d met Kel several times in the last few days. He was Vyur’s training partner, the only man in the Lizzeed who could truly keep up with him besides the Alpha and the Shield, the Alpha’s second. She liked Kel. He was silly, and very handsome, although she preferred her men rougher. “Kel was … is … my first request for your consideration as a mateshield. I trust him with my life. I trust him with your life. I will trust him with your pleasure.” He shuddered and put a hand on her fingers making delicate patterns where his jerkin revealed the edge
of a pec. “I’m going to ask you to flirt with him tonight. We’ll be in the training room, and we’ll be alone. I’ve asked him to push you. You can either go with it or fight him—not that he’ll hurt you in any way—but I’m sure either reaction will be enough to trigger me.” “Won’t that endanger him? You’re already better, then you’ll be in battleform while he’s dealing with me?” “He can handle it. He’s actually eager to try. It’s a challenging training scenario.” “No kidding. Vyur, I didn’t realize it would be so complicated to see your battleform…” “No, Freezha. You are right. You do need to see me. This will be good for you. You will see that a Trux in battleform has no desire to attack a woman. Your damage today was from their lack of control as they fought around you, not an attack on you.” “You won’t be angry at me? Go for me?” He tipped her chin until he looked at her. Their eyes connected for several seconds, lavender to black. “Angry? Never. But left alone, with the beastspirit tangling in my mind, we might want to mate. To try to claim you. It’s not safe.” She nodded, feeling teary again. “So much trouble I cause.” “Once I turn, you can try to talk me out of it. Maybe you can get Kel out of a spar. But if I go for him, do not try to stop it. Leave. I will not kill Kel, even if he’s got your scent all over him. I love him too much, and besides, he’s too skilled. He’d run if I lost control that badly. I’ll come to you when I can. It won’t be until tomorrow.” “Vyur… I don’t want to go to the washroom and breakfast alone here. I had a hard time tonight.” His deep voice sounded pained. “Oh Sweetling, you want a guard even within our territory?” She nodded, sick at his disappointment. He sighed. “If I’m not back, go with Kel.” “Won’t that work against you calming down?” “As long as he keeps his hands to himself, and he will, I’ll be fine. Then we’ll talk about getting you into bed, with me.” “And Kel.” She cringed to hear the bitterness in her voice. “No. He’s not going to be part of the sex. But he has to be there, Little Pearl. I won’t do it unless he’s there to bring me down if I need it.” “You think… you think you might go to battleform? Our first time?” He was quiet, and she knew he did fear it. “Let’s go do this. After you’ve seen me, you can think. About waiting until the ceremony.” **** Not ten minutes later she and Vyur were in the Lizzeed Clan training room. It was much bigger than the training room she had met Vyur in during her quest to learn selfdefense. “I was the slowest pupil you ever had, wasn’t I? If it wasn’t for KarRa giving me some tips, I’d still be torturing you.” “I rejoiced in every day I shared your laughter, could spar with your wit.”
The room was higher than a normal cave or hallway, allowing for the Trux jumping abilities. There were more magelights set around the ceiling, making it as bright as day. The floor was a padded patchwork of hides stretched taut and embedded in the floor. Various weapons rimmed the walls. This room had a proper stone door that swung on a hinge. Vyur stripped off his clothes, until he was in a loincloth that snugged his hips and passed between his legs. Freezha had seen him this way twice before. Once was when she had weaseled him into taking her to the hot springs near the lake. The other was when he had stripped to summon the Lizzeed to meet her. Her eyes poured over his perfect body. Power. Readiness. Danger. As he moved, his body seemed to be liquid one moment, rock the next. His shoulders were wide, his hips not as narrow as she knew men’s could be, since his chest was deep instead of tapered. His thighs were powerful cords of muscle, as were the ropes in his arms. He was not bulky, despite his chest. His scars were a mark of his ability to protect her, and completely turned her on. All that magnificence was going to be hers to touch. He flowed on the balls of his feet, moving to grip arms with the man who was already in a loin cloth as well. Freezha had dimly noticed Kel, but had been riveted by Vyur’s striptease. Now she sighed with pleasure at seeing two such fine male bodies aligned. Kel had muscles upon muscles, and the traditional V-shaped torso of a narrow-hipped, powerful shouldered man. He bounced more than Vyur when he walked, and his arms swung. He clearly did not have the same flexibility, although he was two inches taller, and seemed plenty flexible enough. Their smooth bodies were without a single hair besides the small fringe of their eyelashes. Their heads were as smooth and shapely as their jaws, the skull’s skin thicker, tougher. Kel’s face had finer proportions than Vyur’s, and was sculpted by a softer hand. He also had thicker lips, his mouth full and sensuous. His eyes were lighter too, a chocolate brown that reminded her of KarRa’s. So crazy that this man might watch her first time. Might join Vyur in her bed. Might fuck her, to keep some heat from frying her brain. What would it be like? How exactly would it work? After the men spoke a few words softly, Vyur moved to the far wall and began stretching. Kel strode to her with a walk so confident it could only be called a swagger. He grinned widely. She was already familiar with his easy humor, and enjoyed it. “So the word is compromise, eh?” He bent to the wrist she offered upturned, the greeting of a woman to a Trux. She jumped when he licked her with his whispery Lizzeed tongue. That was not part of the proper greeting. She knew from the few kisses she’d gotten out of Vyur that Lizzeed tongues were smoother and drier than a human’s. Kel’s flickered so fast it tickled, while his hand held her wrist. “It seemed the right word at the time. But now that I see what is involved, I believe Vyur is indulging me more than compromising.” “Compromising is a good word too. I hear we get to play at it tonight.” She laughed, but it lacked her usual joy. She tugged on her hand but he did not let go. He reeled her in with it, pulling her into a hug. She stiffened, his taller, leaner body
feeling so different from the already familiar comfort of Vyur’s. Her skin actually crawled, something she never imagined would happen when she was in the arms of a handsome, scantily clad, charming man. “Hello beautiful. You cannot know how fascinating I find all this. That a little slip like you could get Vyur to do something so incredibly stupid.” He bent to nuzzle into the hair behind her ear and inhaled greedily. “Elements! You do smell delicious. I knew you would. How a grunting brute like Vyur captured your lovely interest is beyond me. Ah well, it will be my fortune to serve as your mateshield. I knew I put up with his bumbling all these years for a reason.” She gave a nervous giggle at his light chatter. “Kel! Give me a minute! And I have not said you’ll be my mateshield. I think I get a say.” He was running his hands all over her, gently but thoroughly feeling down her arms, sweeping her back, rounding her shoulders and her derriere. He hummed. His hands came around and swept up toward her breasts. She gasped and twisted, slapping at his hands. “Oh, you’ll agree.” He spun her around so that she was facing Vyur, who had stopped his pretense of stretching and stood, quivering, riveted on them. Kel wrapped his arms around her, pressing his front close to her back. His hands pet her tummy, trying to weasel into the fold of her robe. He rolled his hips against her and she gasped to feel his hard, lifted cock nestle in her rump. She shifted. “I don’t like this. You shouldn’t be…” His quiet growl stilled her. His voice lowered when he swung his head to her other side and whispered darkly in her ear. “Do you know why I know you’ll agree? Because I already know you like a man of power. And outside Sto, that’s me.” His quick hands stole into her robe when she was distracted by his words, by the sight of Vyur’s fingers growing too long for his hands, by the continuing feeling of discomfort from having him so close. He parted the silk beneath her belt to reveal her cloud of curls, his fingers brushing them softly. She gasped, jerking at the forbidden touch. “You like your men to take charge. Vyur’s confidence makes you hot. You like it when you know you can let go, and he’s strong enough to catch you. You’ve got dreams in your eyes when you look at him, Little One, and I bet you’ve dreamed of lots and lots of naughty things.” His fingers had burrowed into her curls now, twining in the hair, petting her mound. She protested breathlessly. “He said flirting. Kel.” Across the room, Vyur was hunching forward, his chest growing deeper, his neck thickening. Freezha froze, caught between the fascination of the two men. “I’m gonna go up your ass first, Freezha.” Kel took one hand from her mound to gather her hair, twining it until he pulled her head to the side. His tongue flicked out and licked her neck, once, twice, thrice. She shuddered as Vyur’s mouth erupted. She couldn’t believe the way it just grew too big for his face, bristling with serrated teeth that pushed out of his lips. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. “All of me is gonna go up your ass because it is the roundest, finest, softest, most perfect ass I’ve ever seen. My fingers first, then…” he flattened his lower hand across her
belly, “my big, thick, hard dick.” He rubbed himself across her ass with every word. Despite herself, the image he conjured flooded through her body, bringing a flush up her neck, and sudden wetness between her tightly clamped thighs. Now it was Kel’s turn to still. His hand untangled from her hair to fall to her rump, his spread fingers encompassing one cheek, squeezing gently. His voice softer, he said, “Oh Sweetling. I’m so glad you’re not scared. That’s it, Freezha. Imagine him watching us from the edge of the bed. His cock will be limp because you’ve fucked him raw. But mine will be fresh and strong. He’ll tell me what I can touch, you’ll tell me where to lick, how hard, how fast. It will be so good. We won’t let you hurt. You’re so beautiful, and he already loves you so much. It will be so special to be inside you.” She was panting now. If that was how it was going to be, maybe this wasn’t so crazy after all. Maybe Lizzeed women were the lucky ones. Vyur’s eyes had gone misty green when her cream had hit her thighs, smelling her from ten body lengths away. His whole posture was changed now, from his feet that were clawed, to his thighs that seemed bowlegged from the extra musculature, to his long, thick arms that seemed to pull him forward. His chest was working like a bellows, and his face had become something that was entirely a weapon. “Eeenufffff.” His usual rumble was marred even more by his new mouth. He gestured sharply with his hand, the curving fingers tipped with thick, cone-shaped grey claws. Kel immediately stepped away from her, sweeping several paces away and assuming a loose ready stance. Freezha glanced at him in astonishment, but he was watching Vyur with calm concentration. Just like that, she was dismissed. She licked her lips. “I’m sorry Vyur. I don’t want to want him. It’s more the ideas he was talking about than him.” He blurred, swinging those great arms, and he was in the middle of the room. “Fffffrreeeezzzzzaaaahhh.” She took an unthinking step toward him, fascinated to see him, her Vyur, in the magic fogged eyes that were now strangely lidless in that alien face. This was the Vyur she’d take into her body day after tomorrow. Her eyes drifted to the limb hanging between his legs. “Stay back!” Kel’s sharp reprimand was all it took. Vyur turned his focus from her and in an instant had cleared the room and was swiping at Kel, who had leaped, twisting, to avoid the initial body blow. “Get out, Freezha.” She stayed frozen, watching how fast they moved, at how deadly Vyur seemed. “NOW! Go!” Kel roared at her so sharply she jumped. She scurried the few steps to the door and put her back to it. She slid out and took a final glimpse at the deadly whirling dance before its weight swung it shut. Freezha lay awake far into the night, her mind full. Vyur, in all his forms. The strange feel of Kel’s hands on her. Kel’s conjured images of a crowded, sweaty bed. And the boggling thought of how Vyur would look in battleform when he bent over her to fuck her, with a circle of faces staring down. ****
Freezha! Time for breakfast! Are you decent?” Kel’s voice rang out through the curtain. She struggled through the blankets and her hair, unbraided, to sit up. Checking her robe was crossed and tied, she croaked, “Come in!” Kel was freshly washed and sporting a very bruised face and a nearly mutilated right arm. She gasped, horrified. He grinned at her, wincing as his lip split. “I’m good. No broken bones, and nothing that really needed a bodymage.” Her mouth flapped a few times looking over his punctured, slashed, and bruised arm. His other arm had a few scratches as well. “I can’t believe that happened to you because I wanted to see Vyur’s battleform! I’m so sorry!” She struggled out of bed and bustled over to him. She gently sat him in a chair, noticing how stiffly he moved. “Kel. Let me get a poultice. Then let me add a little healing.” Everyone knew a bit of healing body magic, although she would be trained as a skymage. “What do you mean by not going to a bodymage?! Your arm! Your face!” He gently pulled his arm away from her careful hands. “Best not to touch me this morning, Freezha. I just bathed, and you need to go do so, too. These wounds are minor. Bad for a normal sparring, but for a sparring against Vyur in battleform, they’re nothing.” The note of pride in his voice at Vyur’s accomplishment was evident. “He really held himself back, and after he got a hold of my arm, I cut and ran. Besides, if I show up as handsome as always he’ll be disappointed in himself.” He paused, then added sheepishly, “Not that I won’t take a bit of poultice if you have one.” After he had applied his own poultice and walked her to the washroom, Freezha hesitated on the edge of the bath. She looked over her shoulder at Kel. He propped himself against the wall inside the wide arch into the room, arms and legs crossed. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you doubt my interest after last night?” She thought he attempted a wink, but his poor face wasn’t up to it. “I’m not gonna give up a free view of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.” Freezha blushed when there were several inquiring looks tossed their way from the morning traffic in the room. Thinking to herself, Just like the bathhouse back home. He’s nothing but a soldier that can’t touch me. Let him look. She casually dropped her robe from her shoulders, and then ruined the motion by jumping directly into the pool like a child. She summoned the wind into the water, creating a tempest of froth to hide beneath, and washed quickly. When she went to get out, she met his eyes at his quiet words. “Your hair too.” She stayed still, remembering. He added, “I touched it.” After she’d dried her hair by the mage heat, they sat to eat at one of the tables in the lounge. Freezha loved to be near people. Papa hadn’t entertained as much as she’d liked, and she loved how the families of the Clan seemed to do everything together. A nude family walked in and sat at the far end of their table. Well, everything seemed like it could be carried too far. As the two sons dug in and chattered to each
other, the husband pulled the wife closer and flicked her dusky nipple. Freezha dragged her eyes from the smiling pair. “That will be you within a week.” Kel’s voice was matter of fact. “No need to pink up like that. I’m betting you can’t wait to be that free, that confident. I remember seeing you at the Darkmoon gathering. You didn’t dress shy, or dance shy. Our people like to share their pleasure in each other.” He nodded to the family. She glanced at them to see the man throwing fruit across the table for his sons to snap out of the air. They were all laughing together. “I’m discovering I’m more shy than I thought I was.” “She’s beautiful. She doesn’t have to hide her body from her children or her Clan. Everyone appreciates and respects her. You manage in the washroom, yet think it’s different out here? I could be seeing the way your breasts rest on the table right now. I could be comparing your nipples to the shade of that fruit you’re eating. I would enjoy seeing that mole on your shoulder blade again.” Freezha’s face heated even more. “I’d enjoy seeing your chest too. Yet you’re not sharing it either. Many here aren’t. It’s not like I’m the only one dressed.” He chuckled. “Point. Next time I dine with you I’ll be sure to come topless.” “Oh don’t stop there. I wonder how your cock will compare with the shade of that bread you’re eating.” Her tinkling laugh rang out clearly, pleased at his moment of stillness. “You’ll see my cock eventually, but it will be in bed, not the lounge. Patience.” Now it was her turn to be still. They stared at each other, serious. “You can trust me, lady. Trust that you have my respect. Trust that the pleasure isn’t taken for granted, or just to scratch an itch like with a paid woman.” She swallowed. “Today… did Vyur…” “Yes.” He nodded once. “Yes.” “You’ll watch us today.” Her voice sounded as small as she felt. “Just a preview for tomorrow, Freezha. A warm-up for you. A compromise. One instead of nineteen.” Looking down, she closed her eyes. To finally get close to Vyur, to feel him up against her for more than a kiss. To taste sex… “I’ll do just about anything for Vyur. And it looks like I’m going to have to do quite a bit.” She managed a small smile. He shook his head, smiling back. They helped wash the dishes, then walked back to Vyur’s room in companionable silence. Freezha ducked past the tapestry, and then froze in shock. Kel smoothly sidestepped to avoid colliding with her when he came in afterward. He calmly said, “Morning, Vyur.” Freezha glanced at Kel. His face was emotionless, and already less swollen than earlier, but his warm eyes danced with excitement. Then she turned back to Vyur and Kel faded from her awareness. He was stretched out nude on the bed. His cock lay against his belly, thick and red beneath his stroking hand. His other hand held the pillow she’d slept on to his face. Lowering it to his side, his eyes blinked slowly at her, in time with his lazy hand. Down. Up. Down. Freezha could not believe the magnificent sight before her. His legs sprawled open, his balls a dark mystery her fingers twitched at seeing. His other hand came up to brush
his own nipple. His chest and arms flexed with his slight movements. “Freezha.” His voice was gravelly. Her nipples peaked, nearly painful against her silk robe. That rumble got her every time. “Breathe, sweetling.” Her chest suddenly stuttered. She’d forgotten to breathe. The room tipped and spun from lack of air. She steadied herself on the table. “Take off your robe.” His voice was so calm, so relaxed. She did, instantly. She stepped toward him. “Stop.” He simply lay there, fingers circling his chest, his other hand making a fleshy rasping sound, dragging up and down his length. His eyes traveled her, slowly and completely. “Freezha. If you don’t want me to make love to you, you need to leave now.” She was panting from the eternal moments he held her there, out of reach. “If you don’t make love to me after this display I’m going to … to…” She couldn’t think of a punishment bad enough. She couldn’t think. “It’s going to go quickly, but with no less love. Kel is here but not here, only if I need him to help control me.” Kel? Who was Kel? “Come to me, Freezha.” She went into his arms. He folded those strong arms around her while she melted onto the mountain of his chest. She let out a sob at the intensity of her bare breasts crushing against his smooth, warm skin. His heart beat against hers. So incredibly perfect. His cock jumped and pulsed against her thigh where it draped over his. Her head lay in the hollow of his neck and it was the most natural thing in the world to open her mouth and kiss the strong pulse of life, lick the straining muscle. They had played before, three times. She did not count the gentle, chaste kisses he’d give her upon greeting or parting. She did not count the wonderful hugs, or the way he’d hold her so gently, stroking her arm when they sat close. But during the last few days, she’d cornered him in a chair, seduced him in the hot springs, and surprised him while walking by the river. They’d kissed passionately, deep drugging, wet kisses that traveled face and neck and ear. She rose to reach for his face, wanting more of those kisses, but he gripped her firmly. “No. Stay away from my face.” She understood why. She’d been warned of a Trux’s deep instinct to bite his mate in an attempt to claim her before they were Matebonded. Before she had time to respond, he rolled her over and under him, deeper into the bed niche. His hands roamed her breasts, rubbing, plumping. She jumped when he closed his fingers on her nipples, gently milking them, and jumped again when he suddenly gave them a pinching twist that streaked sensation down her arms and belly. “Oh!” He’d already left them to stroke down her ribs, his hands molding over the flare of her hips. “Go back! Do that again.” He gave a growl and did it again. She gasped, her hands flying from his shoulders to
cover his fingers, squeezing them to keep them in place. “Again! Again!” The sensation was so intense. So unlike anything she’d ever achieved herself. He roved across her, his mouth laving and teeth skimming, nipping, while his tongue flickered with inhuman agility. He closed his mouth over the peak he squeezed taut and sucked. Hard. Gasps poured from her, culminating in a wrenching groan that surprised her with its force. Her breast swelled and hardened with the blood he pulled to the surface. His tongue looped around the nipple. Her hands clutched his head tightly, fingers convulsing on his smooth scales. She was only that breast, feeling some mysterious pressure build. Then suddenly his other hand closed over the other nipple, gave it that delicious pinch—and held it. She shrieked at the burn of one while the other was sucked so thoroughly. She cried over and over, her legs thrashing, struggling to pull him closer where they rose over his hips and closed over his thighs. Her hips were grinding into his ribs, lifting, rubbing, striving. Her wailing rose in her ears when he abruptly switched to the other breast. The warm moist softness of his mouth on her tormented nipple and the cool air on the suddenly free side was stunning. Her moan cut off when she lost the ability to breathe. She arched her back, driving her breast deep into his mouth with every bit of her strength, her legs falling open, and knees drawing out. She forced the pressure of his body against her clit. She soared, and fell through darkness. His body surged, shifted, and drove. The wonderful flight was interrupted by the force of the ripping burn when he shoved deep. Her body jackknifed forward, her limp arms grabbing his biceps in protest. His head was dropped forward, his long tongue flickering across her collarbone, but the shock of him down below drowned out the sensation. The burn was soothed instantly by a wash of healing that felt like a breeze under her skin. But it wasn’t the small pain of her virginity that kept her shocked. His body had gone inside her. It felt like he had an entire arm stuffed inside her torso. He pulled out and slammed in again so fast she couldn’t identify all the sensations, just the fullness, the heat. After endless moments, her shocked brain scrambling at the feel of his hips slamming against her, she began to breathe again, to feel the pressure build. His breath was flames against her chest where he sobbed and groaned above her. His tongue was torture—too light for what she wanted. He held himself above her with his arms locked on either side. His hips set a rhythm that left her unable to participate, lying splayed wide, passive. He slapped down, his balls hitting her ass, his tip stabbing deep. Just as she was getting ready to leap into the soft night again, everything happened at once. There was an intruding presence at her side, energy that did not mesh with them, jarring her. A male arm slid between Vyur’s mouth and her chest as he struck down, as he went rigid, as she screamed at the wonderful, pulsing pressure of his grinding hips. The arm was a bar against her breasts and thick wetness splashed onto her upper chest and ran down her belly. Vyur moaned and shuddered so hard she feared for him, her arms enclosing his shoulders. He collapsed. The thundering sound of three people gasping for breath filled the small sleeping nook along with the metallic tang of blood and a tantalizing pungent aroma she was sure was their sex. The man next to her moaned softly when Vyur shifted. He raised himself up onto his
arms again and the strange arm left her breasts. She turned her head to see Kel cradle his arm to himself, his head hanging down. He slid off the bed onto the floor. Vyur spat blood into the sheets near her shoulder. Propping himself on one arm, he took a sheet and wiped Freezha’s chest, then wiped his tongue on the sheet. He grimaced like a child taking medicine, and then bent as if nothing had happened and began to nuzzle her neck. “Vyur?” Nothing but a growling hiss came back. His mouth closed more widely on her neck, and he settled himself upon her with a delicious crushing weight. She was still panting, and now it was hard to take air in. When she felt teeth that didn’t feel human scrape against her throat her voice came out higher. “Kel?” Vicious curses filled the air from below the bed. “I told him he wouldn’t be able to stop.” Vyur was rocking on her again, moving more slowly, and she shivered at the wonderful, satisfying friction. Her lover. Her man. Inside her. Finally. So good. She lifted her hips to him and he writhed on her, his hands driving into her hair, holding her head still for his assault on her neck. Kel staggered up and left, and Freezha could not gather the energy to care. Her breasts felt huge, flattened under him. They were both striving harder against the other, his attention shifted to her ear, when another pulse of wrong energy ruffled her skin. Vyur acted like he’d been doused with ice water. He cringed and half leaped away from the presence, slamming into the back wall of the bed niche. But his cock remained deep, his hips tight to hers. He snarled, then seeing it was Sto, shuddered and moaned. Freezha reached for him with her arms and legs to keep him near. Kel spoke sharply. “Enough woman. You risk injury.” It was the hardest thing she’d ever done to lie limp and still while he dragged his thick cock out of her warmth, crawled over her and slumped onto the floor at his Alpha’s feet. She couldn’t stop the whimper of sorrow from escaping. Sto never said a word, just nodded to Kel and left. Silence reigned for a dozen shuddering breaths before Vyur said, “My thanks. You prove yourself true to me yet again.” “I’d give you a hug but you’ve wrecked both my arms. All is well. Your control was unbelievable, and she’s safe. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He glanced into the shadows, his eyes sweeping hotly down Freezha’s sprawled body. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow as well, lady. Be at ease now.” The men nodded to each other once more, and he left. Vyur collapsed onto a chair. His legs sprawled wide to accommodate his rigid, furious cock. “I cannot look at you. I nearly lost control. Tell me you are well. Talk to me Freezha.” It took her a moment to moisten her lips. Her heart still thundered, her belly ached, and her breasts throbbed. She could feel his moisture drying still on her ear and neck. Her thighs were awash with it. “It was…” How did she describe the wonder of sex with Vyur? “…perfect. I wasn’t ready to stop and I can’t wait for tomorrow.” He stilled, his head snapping up to meet her eyes. She smiled tremulously at him. “Thank you, Vyur. For last night, and this. I needed it. I feel stronger now. I’m ready to
be claimed as your mate.” He groaned and dropped his head onto the table with a painful sounding thunk. “We should have done this days ago. Then we could have done it every day! Do you think Kel will go to a bodymage? I think he should. He kept you from biting me, but Vyur, I don’t think I would have minded if you did bite me. I was just about to come and he interrupted me. And then Sto did. Oh Vyur, you’re so much better than I ever imagined. And I imagined a lot.” His shoulders were shaking. She rose up onto her forearms, concerned. “Are you well? Oh Vyur, wasn’t it as good for you?” He choked. Looking up again, she saw his face was full of bemused laughter. “My Moonbeam. Look at you lying there on my bed like a human pearl, taken so roughly and still so eager.” He shook his head. “You were… magnificent, Freezha. And we could never have done this earlier, because my blood has been set to boil, now that my body has tasted you. I won’t be able to fully control my Lizzeed until I see you claimed. Kel took a horrible strike for you, Sweetling. That was no love nip to spike your pleasure. I wanted to devour you and drink you down.” His face darkened as he straightened in the chair. His black eyes swept to her full aching breasts, the small pink nipples beaded, the red marks marring the globes. “I still want to. I can smell your virgin’s blood beneath the stink of Kel’s. I can smell my cream mixed with yours.” He inhaled deeply, his head falling back and eyes closing. He looked like he’d just scented a drug. His tongue lashed the air a full handspan from his face. “Yes. Our cream, mixed with your blood. I need it. I need you to give it to me Sweetling, or I’ll start in on you all over again.” Her eyes fell to his lap, growing wide with delight at the straight, proud cock roped with angry veins. It was thick and rigid. She hadn’t gotten to touch it. She licked her lips. She so wanted to touch it in every way. “Stop it. Brat. Come to the edge of the bed.” His voice had fallen to the rumble she so loved. Her eyes lifted to his and she jumped with surprise to see the misty green swirling over the black. The Lizzeed was rising again, already. Maybe she should stop this… “Don’t be scared. I’ve got him. He just wants to taste you. He needs to.” The words started gently coaxing, but ended with the hint of a threat. “Come here, Freezha.” She slowly sat up, aware of her heavy breasts settling onto her body. She scooted toward him, keeping her eyes on the pounding pulse in his neck. Was it thickening? Was his jaw starting to shift forward? She swung her legs over the side of the bed. It was set too high in the wall for her feet to reach the ground. “What kind of a taste were you thinking of?” she asked nervously. Sometimes, a “taste” in Vladaya could mean blood. “Open your legs.” Her breath caught. The magelight was stronger out here in the room. After only a second’s hesitation, she shifted her thighs so that they did not touch. “Don’t make me come to you. It’s not wise for me to touch you anymore. You know what I want. Open them until you’ve spread those woman’s lips as wide as they can go.” Again the whip of command in his gravelly voice. Her belly quivered while her eyes
widened. He’d always been so gentle, concerned, cautious. She’d been frustrated by it, but had come to expect it. This was a new side of Vyur. Feeling incredibly daring yet rather awkward, she arranged her legs until they were at their widest, then used her arms to shove them an inch wider. Tossing her hair over her shoulders, she reached down and teasingly combed through her lower curls until she heard him growl in warning. Her position had opened her lips, freeing an intense scent and a wash of heat, but she slowly slipped her fingers down to the edges and gently pulled them wide, canting her hips as much as she could in this upright position to expose the glistening strawberry folds to the light. Thick pearly cream clung to her curls. She raised her eyes from her most private flesh and froze. He was rigid, fisting his cock hard with one hand while the other scrabbled at the table, trying to anchor himself there with the three inch claws that had erupted from his fingers. His eyes were pure green now, and the tongue that continually lashed the air even longer than usual. She wanted that tongue inside her, moaned at the thought of it. She sent her fingers questing into the smooth wetness of her inner skin. She rimmed her newly widened, sensitive hole, delicately stroked her angry unsatisfied peak, and smoothed the cream generously from her hood to the darkness under her cheeks. He made a strangled sound. “I want it too, Sweet. But not now. I could hurt you; make you too tender for tomorrow. Just know that sometime tomorrow my face will be where your fingers are, and I’m going to drink deep.” He stopped and closed his eyes, closing his fist viciously over the tip of his cock. “Just a taste for now. I need it, Sweetling. Scoop it all up. As much as you can. Reach down inside and coat your fingers. You have to share just a little bit, or I’m going to lose it. Oh, by the Fires, I can smell it. So right. Mine. Bring it to me! Bring me our cream, Freezha.” His body was so taut she feared for him. Her fingers flew to do his bidding, digging, scooping. He moaned in agony. She surged off the bed to stagger on shaky legs, her hand lifted to his mouth. “Don’t touch my mouth. Ssstay right there.” His voice came on a gasp, lisping slightly. His tongue flashed and curled over her trembling hand. As she watched, his jaw widened, rippled, his tongue lengthened and firmed. She could see the two layers of razor teeth rise from his gums to push against his lips, just inches from her fingers. He held himself perfectly still, only his tongue flickering like silk over her dripping fingers, curling the cream back into his mouth where his throat convulsively swallowed. When her fingers were clean, she did not need him to tell her to get back. She scurried into the farthest corner of the bed, pulling the covers over her with shaking hands. He stayed transfixed, fine shivers racing over his body for many moments. Her mouth went dry to see white cream drip from beneath the fist he’d clamped over the head of his cock. Then he opened his eyes, still mage green, and staggered over to one of his trunks. His voice choked while he pawed roughly through it. “I cannot stay to ease you. You’ll have to finish without me.” He stood and tossed a long, white, silk-wrapped object onto the bed. It landed with a heavy thud. “I’ll send Kel if I can’t come back…” His voice trailed off as he fled the room. She stayed still for many more heartbeats, mourning his loss, sensitive to her aching
breasts, her soaking cunt. She couldn’t stop shaking. Intense. Oh Winds, it was so wonderfully intense, this sharing of her body with a dangerous Beast. He’d actually begun to transform, but he hadn’t attacked her. He’d be safe after the Matebond, in control. She didn’t know if she wanted safer. She loved him just this way. On the edge. She shivered at the thought of what Kel felt, those razor teeth closing deep on his arm from above, her soft breasts with hard nipples pressing from below. Finally she managed to reach for the object he’d left. She unrolled the pure white silk to find … a cock. It was a gorgeously long clay cock, glazed pure black. The shiny glaze had not one flaw in it, not one catch or rough spot when her fingers flew over the surface. It fit perfectly in her hand, heavy and cool. Her fingers could not completely close around it, but she knew it wasn’t as wide as Vyur. The heads, one on either end, were tilted, flared. The sides had snaking ridges. It was much too long, for all its realistic details. She’d be able to drive it as deep as she could take it. Her breath trickled out in a shaky rush of awed excitement. She brought it to her chest and gripped it tightly, torn between wanting to use it for the first time when Vyur could see, could even take control of it for her, and wanting it shoved deep immediately. She bit her lip. She’d never had much discipline, and he’d given it to her after all. Glancing guiltily at the doorway, she eased herself flat under the covers. Raising her knees high so that her hips lifted, she took the wonderful cock in both hands and touched it to her opened flesh. It was cool and she jumped. She drew it all around her delicate skin, even bringing it up to poke into her belly button, before giving in to the immediate urge she’d had when she first saw it. Placing the tip against her vagina, she loosened her hands and let the weight of the column rest against her opening. This was her favorite part when she played at home. The feeling of almost penetration, the moment before submission. Anticipation. Then she gave it just a nudge and the head pushed past the mouth of her secret place and was clenched to a stop. She closed her eyes at the pleasure of it. This was as deep as she’d ever been able to play alone, unwilling to lose her virginity to a toy. With a thrust of her hips and a twist of her hands she fed it deeper, feeling it push her inner skin open. It was incredible to feel her newly awakened inner muscles clench and ripple around the stiffness. Just then the door’s curtain burst open, startling her into terrified shriek. She cowered back. It was Vyur, still nude, dragging a bandaged Kel who was furiously cursing and struggling. They wrestled, twisting, slapping and snapping at each other around the room. The table knocked aside, the chairs fell softly onto the thick carpets. They crashed into a wall and one of his beautiful vases toppled from a niche. She only caught snatches of their words. “Fucking greedy…” “Please. Can’t bear it…” “Not losing more blood…” “Don’t deserve…” “Learn to accept no…” Finally, they crashed to the ground out of sight in front of the bed, where there were more curses and grunts and fleshy thuds until Vyur’s head popped up. His face was human again, only a little green tingeing the whites of his eyes. He was panting from
exertion. “Did you like it, Sweetling? Did you finish already?” His voice was little-boy hopeful. Kel struggled up to rest his arms on the edge of the bed, audibly grinding his teeth. “Fancy meeting you here, lady. Just passing by and thought I’d say ‘Hi.’” Freezha strangled the impossible laugh in her throat. “Vyur? What…” “It took me less than a minute to realize I couldn’t let you finish entirely alone. I could see you in here, on my bed, and I had to come. Kel’s here to keep me off the bed.” “And how am I supposed to do that? Like I could stop you!” “Because this time I know that if I get on the bed, you’ll get on, too. And I’m not having you touch her again. So I have to stay here to keep her safe from you. I can do it.” “That’s what you said about fucking her, and my arm reminds me, you did not succeed.” “Little Pearl. You can do it. Please, trust me. We’re just going to watch. Give me a little show. To practice for tomorrow.” Kel laughed harshly. “Oh don’t try to sound like you’re here for her sake, you crazy…” “All right.” Feezha’s voice was just a whisper. “What?!” Kel’s head whipped to her face, shocked. “Thank you. Thank you.” Vyur was desperately grateful. He inhaled and tremors raced over his body. “If only Kel’s blood wasn’t stinking up our scent,” he grumbled. “I loved the toy cock, Vyur. It’s a fantasy come true. I wanted it inside me the minute I saw it, and the only reason I hesitated was because you weren’t here. Now I’m going to be able to come so hard, warrior. I’m going to gush cream all over this big black cock, and you can lick it all off.” Both men moaned in unison, causing her to chuckle. Fire flushed her skin at the daring words she shared. Her eyes were only for Vyur, but she was very aware of Kel hovering next to him, very aware she would be sharing this dance. She shifted under the covers, aligning herself so that she was once again facing the bed’s open side, her legs splayed as wide as possible. She slowly reached down her body and drew handfuls of the blanket up away from the kneeling men. Keeping herself entirely covered, she arranged it until only her inner thighs were bared, smiling when their breath strangled in their throats to see her vagina already speared by the cock lodged inside her. Cream trickled down her dark crack and glistened on her thighs. Vyur turned on Kel with a vicious snarl, shoving him over. Now Vyur was positioned directly in line with the toy, Kel a short distance away. “Eyes only if you want to stay intact,” he growled, without looking away from her. Pulling the pillows around and behind her so that she was slightly propped up enough to watch Vyur’s face but use her hands, she reached her hands down over the blankets to grasp the smooth column. Before, she’d been so dazzled that she hadn’t remotely cared about Kel’s presence, hadn’t really even registered it. Now, her heart pounded with the thrill, the disbelief of his presence. She performed for her man, and Kel. She liked Vyur’s jealousy, was reassured by it. “It’s perfect, Vyur. I like how my cream shows so clearly against the black. It’s big, but not as big as you, just reminding me of what you can give me. Just enough to keep
me stretched for you. I can’t wait to see how deep I can get it. I was able to take all of you, Vyur. I’m so glad. Some women can’t take all of their men, you know. But you belong inside me, so of course you fit.” She was gently stroking the toy with tiny curls of her wrist, letting the skin of her opening pull forward, then push in, over the slight changes in penetration. Where her bold words came from she didn’t know, they just poured naturally from her, sounding insanely confident when she could feel her breasts shiver with each beat of her heart . She wanted to drive Vyur to the brink. She wanted him to be proud of her sexuality. “I love your eyes on me. I love knowing I belong to you. I love how you let me take the pleasure I need, from what you started. You’re so good to me.” With a tightening of her belly she rolled her hips up, sinking the cock in another inch. She stroked her hand up and down the exposed length that hung out of her, the weight pulling against her. Her fingers trailed up and down the glossy smoothness. “I’m going to guess … here. This is how much I think I can take. Let’s find out, warrior. Ready?” Vyur growled, his tongue lashing the air in quick whips. He rose up higher onto his knees, his arm reaching out as if he would come up onto the bed. Kel’s arm clamped on his shoulder. “Not unless I go too. You want me in your bed?” Vyur withdrew his arm, growling louder, his eyes swirling green. But he didn’t respond, didn’t move his eyes from her display less than an arm length away. “My woman.” Freezha sighed. “Settle back Vyur. Back down on your heels. I won’t go on until you do. This is my show for you, and you’re just going to watch now.” It took several moments for him to do so. He angrily shrugged Kel’s hand away. She made her voice a soft purr. “Thank you, Sweet. You did good. Now let’s play.” Her hand clamped around the cock two handspans down the length. With a flex of her hips and a stretch of her arm, she slowly, steadily pushed until her hand settled tightly against her folds. She panted and shivered at the gentle drive pushing open her inner flesh. Soon this feeling would be Vyur inside her, his cock, only thicker, warmer. She didn’t talk about it though. The time for teasing was over. She twisted her hand, grinding the heel against her clit and cried out. She played, thrusting, bouncing her hips, using the fingertips of her free hand on her clit while she held tight to the cock with the other. She suddenly wanted to turn over, to try to press the cock deeper with the weight of her body, spreading her cheeks to the men and displaying the penetration from behind. But she didn’t. She couldn’t move from the pleasure washing over her. The image made her so hot her hand went to the several inches still arrowing out of her body to clench the knob of the other head. With a cry, she swung the cock from side to side, jabbing it deeper, working it in a circle that echoed deep in her belly and loosened her thighs. It was pressing against something now, meeting some resistance deep inside. Her body curled up onto itself, her gaze finally left the tight planes of Vyur’s incredible face to look at how much she’d been able to take. The cock had been as long as her forearm. Now only the length of her hand was left free. With her fist white from tension around the end, she worked it faster, banging it against her deepest walls while her fingers furiously flattened her clit in tight circles. Desperate cries panted from her throat while she watched the blackness pump in her pink
flesh, between her silver curls. “Now. Take it!” His voice was a breath but she heard him. “Vyur! Yes!” Convulsing, she curled on her side, her thighs clamping on her hands. Her hips pumped on the tight pole lodged deep inside her. “Yessssss!” She wasn’t even sure which of the men hissed the word while deep moans rode over her whimpers. She dragged her eyes open, feeling dazed, to see only the top of Kel’s smooth skull as he rested his head on his forearm against the edge of the bed. Then Vyur shot to his feet, his rigid cock still leaking, rivulets of come marking his belly and thighs. She licked her lips, suddenly desperately thirsty. Would it be salty, like blood? Would it taste like her own cream? “I want it. Give it to me,” Vyur demanded. The command was hard, rumbly, and caused a shiver of orgasm to echo over her skin yet again. Obediently, she fumbled under the covers for a few seconds, drawing the long length out of her with a moan. She pulled it free of the blankets to stretch it out to him with a shaking hand. He snatched it, standing looking down at her tousled head, and one bare arm, all that was free of the blanket. “You’re going to kill me before I even get you to Sandhome. I can’t keep doing this. Promise me you won’t touch yourself again. I can’t be near you and I can’t be thinking of you masturbating so beautifully without me. Promise me, Freezha. Neither of us will have any ease until the Matebond.” His voice was actually shaky. She could only nod in limp surrender. “I’ll see you tomorrow, love. You’ll be fine. I know you’re strong enough, Freezha. Because you’re mine. You’ll see. Tomorrow.” He whirled and stumbled, tripping over a toppled chair toward the door. Holding the drape wide he snapped, “Kel.” “Yes, master. Right away, master.” Kel’s words were sarcastic but his voice was soft, exhausted. He had to use the wall to pull himself up. He’d been dressed, unlike Vyur, and his leathers were stained wetly at his crotch. He kept his eyes averted from Freezha, turning and ducking out under Vyur’s arm. Vyur stood in the doorway, his eyes bleeding back to black while Freezha stared numbly at him. Holding her gaze he closed his mouth around the head of the cock and sucked, his cheeks hollowing. Pulling it from his lips and driving it sideways across his mouth, his tongue wrapped around it in a long swipe. “That’s my last taste until tomorrow.” Lowering his arm, he gave a formal shoulder bow and head tuck as if meeting her publicly. “My thanks for what you shared this day, Freezha. I treasure it.” Then, once again, he was gone. Freezha slept. When she woke, she was energized, refreshed. Throwing the covers away, she let her hands drift over her curves. She was smooth, but different from his softest-suede skin. They were lovers now. Friends. She had joined with him, and even though it had been logistically difficult, she knew it would get better. She had laid her most private self bare for him—and his best friend—and gloried in it. Trust. She trusted him. Tomorrow she’d walk into a ring of men, step into a sunken pit, and let him love her while the magecraft of Air, her element, and Water, his element, helped protect them. The witnesses were forbidden to cross the triangle of power that would help calm the beastspirit. His Alpha and her spiritmage would guide their souls into mixing, forever. He
would not be able to stop his Lizzeed from rising up to join in the claiming. There would be no Kel to take a strike for her if the Lizzeed desired it. She would do it. Freezha smiled, lifting her breasts, feeling the weight overflow in her hands. She would think of KarRa, and stride in there as bold as brass, just like the wildling. She would drink that stinky wine and be loose and calm for Vyur. All of his guests would see a sexy, beautiful woman submit without fear, without hesitation. And when she met them afterward, she would hold her head high and tell herself she was in Vladaya now. No one would think less of her for what they’d seen. They would all know she was completely Vyur’s. Earthmother, Skyfather, help her do this. **** That evening, Freezha awoke to cramps. Scared, her mind raced to her vigor using that wonderful black cock. Had she hurt herself? Raising the magelights, she gasped to see blood on her thighs. She sat on the chair, forcing herself to take stock of her body. Sinking into her personal magescape of a tall tower high in the sky, she meditated. She was laughing, shakily, when she roused from it. Menstruation. The passing, women called it. She bit her lip thinking of the Matebond ceremony. She remembered her teacher telling her Trux mates were wildly turned on during a woman’s passing. It wasn’t considered disgusting like it was in the Cities. But the blood surely wouldn’t aid Vyur’s attempts at control. What a horrible time for her body to decide to pass! She only managed to doze the rest of the night. She chose a white and silver robe and was up and waiting when Wat lumbered in early the next morning. She was not comfortable with Wat. If Vyur was deep-chested and solid, there was no other way to describe Wat except barrel-chested and immense. He stood three heads taller than she, and his thighs were as thick as her head. He had a shock of dark brown hair that never laid flat. He always seemed so serious and proper. When he had moved through her mind during the souldance to find her best mate matches, she had been unable to keep from squirming. Still, when she’d started to cry hysterically when he had listed the grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, cousins, teachers, and friends Vyur had invited, he’d been steady and sympathetic. “Good morning, Freezha. I go now to prepare for your Matebond. Vyur sent word you have asked for verra wine. I think it a wise, mature decision.” His voice spoke of his surprise that she had made such a decision. The small leather drinking bag he laid on the table made her mouth go dry. The drug inside would take away her ability to react quickly. She would be less likely to hesitate when given direction. Her body would be pliant, heavy, and slow. Wat watched her eye the bag with fear. “I stand for you, Freezha. I will rest lightly on your mind, and if necessary, I can counteract the verra wine in an instant, giving you clarity and will.” He gently touched her shoulder. “I have arranged for a Bear to take you to the ceremony chamber. His name is Dub and he has red hair. My cousin. Is this acceptable?” Taking a breath, she nodded once. “Drink the entire bag in about an hour. Eat a light breakfast only. I smell your woman’s blood. Do not wear any fur inside or on you when you come. If you get messy,
don’t worry about it. All right?” Taking a bigger breath, she nodded more jerkily. “You are doing well, Freezha.” He squeezed her shoulder and released her. Freezha was a hugger, but she’d never had the urge to hug Wat. “Soon it will be over and you can put all this anxiety behind you. Hold to your trust and love for your man.” He lumbered out. Freezha sat at the table and stared at the wine for an hour. She ripped her mind away from scenes of the youngling fight, the viciousness she’d never imagined let alone experienced, and focused on thinking of Vyur’s calm, confident eyes. How like the lake they seemed to her. When an hour passed, she picked up the bag and drained it. It tasted like ordinary wine. A little cheap perhaps, but with the fruity power she knew. She sat at the table for another hour, surprised that she didn’t feel any different. She had thought she might be like the walking dead, or a drunkard. When a voice told her there was a Bear at the entrance waiting for her, she stood. She stripped off her rabbit skin belt, stained with blood, and folded it to wash later. Tightening the white silk robe, smoothing her loose hair, she walked down to the Bear waiting outside the Lizzeed entrance. He gave the slight bow, briefly sniffing her wrist in greeting. They turned without a word and Freezha soon began to notice that she was pushing her body, like walking in deep water. Her mind drifted and then she was nodding to the bodymage who would wait outside the room during the ceremony. She kicked off her shoes and he rolled the door open. You’re like KarRa, a warrior, striding forward with strong shoulders. “Freezha.” The bodymage’s introduction rang out like a gong in her head. Freezha stepped into the smoky, dark room. Fragrant herbs drifted deep into her lungs and she inhaled with pleasure. Here eyes went first to Vyur. He stood at the edge of the pit. He was nude. Her eyes devoured him. So beautifully male, with his rampant cock riding straight and high in the air before him. His balls were huge, the plump sacks pulling his skin. Her mouth flooded with saliva. She licked her lips. She knew she wasn’t supposed to look into his eyes, but she couldn’t help but look at his face for a moment. It was taut with strain. He was staring at her belly. The ring of men spaced around the outside of the walls seemed as distant statues to her. She tracked the circle until she found Kel. Her knees actually flexed with the force of her relief when she saw that none of them were staring at her. They watched Vyur. Three Council mages spread in a triangle around the sunken circle at the center, their eyes gazing blankly into space. Wat was one, and she could feel the resonance of the skymage. The other must be a watermage. Wat’s voice rumbled out, “Freezha, promised of Vyur. Come forward to accept your mate.” Freezha’s hands carefully pulled on the belt. Her shoulders rolled and the white silk cascaded with a whisper to her feet. She stepped out toward his energy. It called to her. When she came even with him, he held out his hand palm up and she laid hers in it. Just like a human wedding after all. He turned to face the pit in front of her, perhaps two body lengths wide and layered deep with soft furs. She used his hand to balance, and took the deep step down into it. He stepped off the edge just after she did, his stiff arm steadying her when she tottered in the slippery furs. She giggled, curling her toes in the thick softness.
“Freezha accepts Vyur,” Wat intoned. The three mage voices rose in unison to a cue she did not see, “The triangle protects.” Raising their arms straight up and slightly angled so they aligned with the men on either side, powerful, honed, green magelight shot from hand to hand. Static zinged over Freezha’s body, raising every small hair and stirring the ends brushing against her ass. Vyur’s arm relaxed slightly. No one could get in the triangle now, nor could she leave. Definitely feeling as if she were underwater now, Freezha turned her head to look at Vyur standing still at her side. He was still completely human, but his eyes were on her thighs. As she watched, his strong round tongue came out not in a flash to test the air, but in a much more human lick of desire around his lips. “You bleed.” And so the dance begins. This is the still point. She had a moment to appreciate the tableau: A nude couple clasping upraised hands in a waist-high pit, their skin washed with faint green light, encircled by Trux warriors. “Get on your knees.” Her knees buckled and she knelt, her neck falling back to keep him in view. He walked around to face her, still holding her hand. “We’re going to fffuck you. You belong to usss. You are ourssss, forever.” Hello, Lizzeed. We? So he did think of the beastspirit as an other. She simply nodded, but couldn’t prevent her eyes from falling to his wonderful, enormous cock bobbing inches from her face. She licked her lips. “Please,” she whispered. “Yes, please.” In a blink, his hand was wrapped around the back of her head, his fist clenched on the base of his cock as he lowered it to feed it into her lips. Her mouth opened wide to take him, her teeth bumping him, her tongue tangling, not knowing where to go with such a suddenly full mouth. She’d barely processed the wonderful, earthy taste of him, the pungent smell of him, before he pulled her away. She whimpered. He used both hands to pull at her loose hair, lifting handfuls of it over her shoulders and up to his cock. He took fistfuls and wrapped them around his base, his wrists, rubbing a handful over his balls, across his belly. His head fell back with a roar that should have made her jump. This was her Vyur. Nothing to fear. His body convulsed and he fell to his knees in front of her, causing her to tumble against him from the pull on her hair. She used the forward motion to simply slide right down his chest, humming from the stroke of his warm skin against her cheek. She ended up resting her forearms on his spread thighs, her mouth just continuing right down onto the flesh spearing up through her hair. Her lips wrapped around him tightly and within a few strokes she’d pushed all the hair down to the base, giving her several wonderful smooth, textured inches to move on. His hands rose to either side of her head, gripping her hair, pushing her head down firmer. His hips thrust, and she slipped one hand under his balls and the other over her hair still tangled around his base. She merely giggled when he growled above her. Within moments he was banging her head down so that her lips met her hand, her tongue doing it’s best to copy the curls and lashing strokes his had given her breasts yesterday. He folded over the top of her, his hands stroking down her spine to clutch her
ass. Tearing moans ripped from his throat while he rubbed his face against her back. “Harder. Suck! Suck me! Swallow!” She felt pricking against her ass and thought—claws—but knew no concern. Pleasure coated her mouth and throat. She squeezed and rolled the fascinating handful of his balls. She hummed in amazement, swallowing and sucking as fast as she could. Before she was ready, he ripped away from her, ignoring her cry as her hair stung, ignoring her clutching hand on his balls. Then she was on her back and his face was between her legs. Now it was her turn to roar, her hands grasping at his slick head. His tongue lashed impossibly deep inside her, then curled around her clit. His mouth sucked her hard, his teeth nipped her folds. A pricking sensation followed his hands as they shifted desperately from hips to belly to thighs. He wiggled under her thighs, tossing them over his shoulders so her legs lay down his back. The pressure of his face against her core was the most exotic thing she’d never imagined. Snarls came from the sloppy sucking and gasping sounds, but she merely laughed, glorying in the pleasure that rolled up her body like a wet summer storm. Abruptly, he moved, tall on his knees between her thighs, clutching her spread knees. He stayed frozen, looking down at her spread core, both of them panting hard. She could do nothing but smile like a cat, watching the muscles on his chest jump and twitch. She could care less that his face was smeared with blood. All this warrior passion—for her. “Turn over.” She laughed again, scrambling through the thick air to obey. “No. On your knees. Ass up. Wider.” His hand cracked down. She squeaked. He thundered again, “Wider! Now hold your nipples. Put those tiny hands on those huge titsss.” She gasped, straining to hold the difficult position. With her legs so wide and her hands folded so that her breasts were cupped in her hands, her back arched painfully to keep her stinging butt high. She loved how exposed to him she was. She was absolutely stretched to the limit, so sensitive she could feel his breath wash over her crack. She rubbed her face against the soft fur under her cheek. Liquid trickled down her thigh. She flexed her fingers into her own softness, waiting for her lover to claim her. His cock touched her core. It was so hot against her dampness. He pressed, slow, so slow, until his head popped inside her. She sobbed, turning her face into the fur. “Now fuck it. Work for it. Show me you’re strong enough to take me.” His voice sounded furious, cold. His words sent a wave of heat through her. Gathering her weight onto her elbows, she rocked back against his rigid body. She wiggled, straining, grunting with effort and pleasure as she forced him deeper. One burning inch absorbed some of her cream, allowing another burning inch to sink in with the force of her backward press. Grunt, rock, strain, burn. Her world narrowed in determination to claim him. Her man. Hers. Distantly, she knew he’d gone to battleform, his cock too thick and long to be human. It was wonderful. It was impossible. It was hers. When she didn’t have the strength, or the ability to work any more of him in, she began to mewl, gasping little sobs of frustration, grinding, writhing, in growing
desperation. With a cry, he finally folded over her, his weight driving her shoulders flat, clamping his hands on her hips. He shuddered all around her, circling his hips, dragging hers with him with every flex. She loved the thickness, the heat, the feeling that he surrounded every inch of her, the feeling of his rock hard chest against her back. Just as the tightness wound inside her, there was a punch on her neck accompanied by a sting. At nearly the same instant, mage-lightning cracked her in the chest. It stopped her breath. What happened next was foggy—a twist, a presence lurking, hiding, prying deep in her head, a coldness in her fingertips, and a heavy, burning, aching pleasure radiating from between her legs. Something about that sweet burn wasn’t right. It went out instead of in, but the pleasure was washing through her. She was ecstasy and vicious satisfaction. Three voices seemed to cry out Mine in a beautiful harmony. There was slick, tight heat. Ambrosia fire poured thickly across her tongue and down her throat. There was a wave of light followed by a crash of darkness. Peace. Joy. “Vyur is claimed by Freezha. Freezha is claimed by Vyur,” intoned three voices, jarring her. Another, darker voice rang out from beyond them, “The Lizzeed sees.” A shudder raced over both the entwined bodies when the green triangle winked out. Voices erupted from the dim light beyond the edges of the pit, calls of jubilation, congratulations, moans that sounded suspiciously like orgasms, and curses. Freezha had clouds for bones. Slowly, Vyur’s flesh separated from hers in her own mind, so that she was aware of two bodies once again. Then his body left hers, and aches erupted all over. “Oh sweetling, Freezha, oh no. No.” “Sshhh Vyur. Here’s the bodymage. Step back.” Sto’s voice coaxed, but as Alpha, he could not be disobeyed. Freezha moaned and tried to twitch away from the strange man’s energy. But the hands were warm and soothed aches as quickly as she noticed them. She reached out a hand blindly across the furs, and Vyur’s strength closed gently around her fingers. Wat loomed at the edge of the pit. “A perfect, flawless mating, Freezha. You were beautiful. Congratulations. I wish you many years and many children.” Vyur rumbled something, and soon the strange man by her side said, “She’s fine. Just the one bite and the lower scratches. You didn’t even take the flesh. No remaking necessary. She’ll be a little groggy from the mirror state. It always hits them harder when they’ve taken verra wine. Congratulations.” The mirror state. She’d been told all about it, but had forgotten. When the Alpha and her Spiritmage had blended their auras, she and Vyur had shared their orgasm from each other’s eyes. Soon they were gone, all the excited, shaky sounding voices, the strangers crowding her energy. Vyur left and returned, wrapping her in white silk. “Ruined. Blood all over it,” she mumbled. “And even more beautiful for it. It’s real now. Claimed. Mine.” “Don’t you mean “ours”?” He hitched her higher in his arms, leaping effortlessly out of the pit. “Yes. But he won’t get to share you like that again.”
“I felt him, when I was you. He was you, but somehow apart.” “Did you feel how much he loved you? Did you feel how we would die for you?” She roused herself enough to open her eyes. Her view from his shoulder was of swiftly passing corridors, an iron jaw smeared with dried blood. They didn’t pass many people, but those they did didn’t even spare them a second glance. “I know that you’re a part of me now. Both Vyurs. I’ll only truly feel that kind of joy again when I’ve got your cock grinding deep inside of me. That’s when I know you’re at peace, too. When we own each other like that, closing everything else out. Next time Vyur, can I look in your eyes when the darkness takes us? Is it safe for me to watch you now?” He didn’t make a sound, but his jaw flexed, tightened. He tucked her tighter against him, widening his stride, loping down the wide curving stairs now to the Lizzeed caves. She closed her eyes, curling her hands tightly over his shoulders. He brushed passed two people who laughed when they saw him, calling their congratulations. They didn’t seem insulted when he growled and kept going. Ducking into the privacy of his room, he slung her onto the table. Ripping the robe open he tossed her thighs over his arms and shoved his cock against her core. He drove in with one powering thrust that skidded the table across the rug until it caught on another. She shrieked at the push that burrowed her open, her hands clutching at the sides of the table. “Watch me, Freezha.” Her eyes tried to roll in her head, but she managed to focus on the tempest in his bottomless dark eyes. “Watch me as much as you want. I watched you. You were so beautiful. I’ll always remember your hair glittering against the dark furs, the smell of your blood. They watched you. All my people saw how you claimed me. They could see your beauty, the happy spirit you have. You laughed, and it was… so … so…” His words fell softly, like touches on her heart. His hands pulled her thighs higher, wider. His strokes were long, controlled, and as steady as his words. “I’m going to love you all night, Lady. I wanted you the first time I saw you, when I thought you were someone else’s dream. I couldn’t believe it when they told me I was going to be a choice of yours.” Drill in, drag out, drill in, drag out. Her arms rolled loosely on the table now. Her body lay utterly lax. Luxurious. “Then you came to me in the morning and you said yes. Now I get to hear you say it all my life. Say it again for me, Sweetling, just like you did in front of all of them.” He swung his hips from side to side and she gasped. “Yes!” “You’re going to come for me now. Squeeze me tight. Hold me inside you. Tighter. Hold it, Freezha. Reach into my eyes and take it!” His words controlled her body. She flew forward into his eyes, falling, spinning. Dimly she felt him gather her up, his hands under her ass. She slumped against his chest, dangling from his arms like a child. Then he sat in the chair, shifted until he rooted in her heat, and relaxed his arms. Her body sank onto his shaft, and she trembled. “I’m going to take you every way I can. Your body is so soft, and I’m going to wrap myself in it until I drown in you. You feel like a cloud in my arms, woman. You smell like summer.” He sat still, throbbing inside her. He stroked her hair, smoothing it to the side, revealing the angry red mark that marred her neck where it met her shoulder. His mouth
closed over it, sealing, sucking, and he gently, tenderly began to rock her in his arms. Forward and back, a more sexual nursing than she’d ever imagined. Her clit burned, rubbing against his rock-hard abdomen. His grip on the globes of her ass made her crack sensitive. When the pain of him sucking her neck wound tightened her core to the point of a moan, he suddenly tucked his hips up and shoved deep. She broke, sobbing, rolling her forehead loosely against his collarbone. Flying. So pure. He picked her up again, lifting her off him, turning her so that she lay face down on the table. “Cry if you need to, my pearl. But your tears aren’t going to stop me. It’s a beautiful kind of pain, and I need you to take it.” He lay down fully on top of her, snugging against her ass. Her breath strangled in her throat. With the way her legs dangled loosely, he couldn’t go as deep, but his tip still stroked into her. It was even more sensitive this way because his thick head kept rubbing in and out of her rim. His weight crushed her against the unforgiving table, her breasts aching. He stroked in so slowly, so slightly, his tip stretching her. “Together with Fire.” Pulling back an inch, his tongue touched the shell of her ear. “Together with Air.” His tip barely moved with the forward flex of his hips. “Together with Earth.” She sobbed when he slid back. “Together with Water.” He seemed to swell as he pushed in. “Together in Spirit.” He pressed one push deeper. “Together in Body. Forever.” She could hardly breathe. She was going to die. “More! By Earth and Sky go deeper Vyur! Harder!” “Yes. You’re finally ready. I’ve waited so long, Freezha.” He left her. She froze in shock when he pulled out and stepped away. She dragged herself up off the table to see what in the Fires he was thinking. She was picked up and tossed across the room like a doll. She landed with an “oomph” on the bed. Her hair tangled under her head and cascaded onto her shoulders in waves. “I’ve dreamed, Freezha. I’ve dreamed of you. Here in my bed, safely bonded. I’ve needed you like this, aching with readiness to take everything I have to give.” She blinked at him in the dim light of the bed niche. He lifted and swung her body so that she lay lengthwise in the bed. His face was tighter than she’d ever seen it, carved with an intensity that made him entirely fierce. He tucked several pillows under her hips, drew her heels up onto his shoulders. When he picked up the black cock from the depths of the blankets, she laughed. It was a low, throaty, purring laugh. She rolled her hips at him. “Oh Vyur. This is going to be so incredible. Go deep. You’re driving me so crazy. I need it so bad.” His lips peeled back from his teeth, perfectly human teeth that looked just as white and dangerous as his battleform ever did. He propped the cock between his thighs where he knelt between her upraised legs. She laughed again to see the two cocks lined up. He reached out a hand and drove one finger into her, hard. She hissed, twitching away. It was torment. Not big enough, not deep enough. He hissed back. She began to curse him, alternately crying and begging as he worked his way up to pumping his entire hand, fingers folded into a spear against her. Their twisting pressure was only a partial relief. “Vyur!” She’d been reduced to chanting his name. “Vyur! Vyur!”
“Watch.” Panting, she tried to focus as he lifted the black cock, and stroked his hand over it. The hand that was covered with blood and cream. Pink moisture smeared up and down the length. Then he coated his own cock. Her mouth opened, her tongue curling out in the desire to taste it. He lowered the toy between her legs. Her eyes drifted closed, her entire being straining for the wonderful relief of it…until his tip touched not her gaping cunt, but her lower, puckered rosette. “Push.” Before she knew she was obeying, the head slid inside the tight muscle. She screamed, again, and again, as his hand gave small hard twists that sent three inches inside her. Sweet, biting pleasure. “Look at me.” She opened her eyes. “Answer quickly. Do you like it?” “Yes.” Her tongue flicked out to moisten her lips. Her breasts jiggled with every gasping breath. Her strange position had sent them high on her chest. “Deeper, please, Vyur. Please. More.” “Oh I’ll give you more.” He slid it out, shifted, and then slid himself into the burning ring. She panted. “Oh goddess. Oh Earthmother. Oh please. Don’t stop this time. Not this time Sweet.” He grunted as he pressed forward, and she screamed in stunned agony as pleasure cramped her stomach. Reaching his hand down, he reversed the black cock and drove the cool end into her core, only there was no room because of the length in her ass. As his hips dragged out, he sent it deep, twisting it. Then he surged in. She shattered. No sound came out of her as every particle of her exploded. She was washed in light. Her body spasmed, violently shaking and rocking as she hung, pinned between pleasure and pain. Incredibly, he wasn’t done. He shrugged her ankles off his shoulders and her legs sprawled wide on the bed. The cock was pulled smoothly out and tossed aside. She moaned, as the pillows stacked beneath her ass arched her back, pushing her clit tight to his rock hard stomach. The pleasure rolled through her, harsher this time, if that was possible, the air seizing in her lungs with the power of it. His hands were on her breasts, fingers spread wide and digging deep, his hips pistoning so hard, so deep, so fast. She was wailing, and so was he. Every muscle in her body tried to hold him locked deep inside, her legs lifting to clutch his hips, her ass burning wonderfully, her hands on top of his, pushing his palms harder against her nipples as her head thrashed. The light wave took her, and this time, it took her all the way into the darkness. She woke in the night to him loving her ass gently, softly. He seemed smaller. His fingers rolled her nipples delicately. They were spooned on their sides, her head pillowed on his arm. “You still like it?” His voice was tentative, although his body never hesitated. “Oh yes. Although I don’t think I’ll survive loving like this every night.” He smiled slightly against her neck. His tongue tickled her jaw. “Me neither. That was the result of you teasing me all week. You deserve some punishment for the hot springs alone. You almost broke me.”
“Mmmm. If that’s what I get when I’m bad, you’re going to have a very naughty wife.” His hand moved to cup her soaking core. “You’re all right? I didn’t scare you?” She was lying on his arm, his hand near her face. She traced the hardened skin of his knuckles gently. “I don’t think anything you do with me in bed will ever scare me, Vyur. Surprise, shock, astonish, maybe. It did hurt a little. I can feel the ache now, with you in me like this, but it’s good.” Twisting, she looked back over her shoulder at his shadow. She caught the gleam of his eyes. “A dream come true, to give myself over like that. I told you how much I’ve craved sex. You’re so good, man of my heart.” He leaned forward. His lips were soft, his tongue smooth and delicate. She drifted off to sleep with him rocking her gently, a carnal lullaby. She roused in the night again and again to feel him licking her, sucking gently, stroking his cheek over her. Always, always she was full of his fingers, his cock, his tongue, or the toy. Sometimes she woke on the crest of a wave, shivering through an orgasm, and sometimes she merely drifted, rocking on a deep dark lake. Finally, she roused. Her head cleared on a yawn, and she knew she was awake for the day, that the lassitude the verra wine had left her with was gone. She lay sprawled across Vyur’s chest, her thighs spread wide over his hips. He was enormous within her, his lips suckling her earlobe, his fingers stroking the curve of breast that was exposed between their bodies. She rose up, blinking blearily. She traced his eyebrow ridges gently, the shell of his ear. “You look… softer, more relaxed. You didn’t sleep?” He shook his head, his eyes so full of love as a hand smoothed her hair behind her ear. “I had to make sure your body healed while I was in you. You’ll never have any pain again now that I’ve stretched you to me. You’re open for me now, for either entry. I hope you feel empty whenever I’m not inside you.” He smiled one of his rare, wide, sweet smiles. “Do you know you smile in your sleep when I twist your nipples? You really like it. And you sigh whenever I lick my Matebond mark.” She ducked her head shyly at his intimate words. Even as he spoke, her ass clenched, seeking something to grab. She darted a kiss into his lips, holding his head as she sank into his mouth. They kissed forever, as they’d been too heated to do last night. She was lost in their melting tongues and soft wet lips, until he lifted her slightly away. “It’s almost time to leave for home, Sweetling. Sandhome. I won’t be able to walk to the sifting room unless I finish. Will you ride me, Freezha? You rode me at the Matebond, but I can face you this time. You’ll like it better I think.” She swallowed. Pushing up off the muscles on his chest, she sat up. She groaned in ecstasy. There wasn’t a bit of pain from the night, and this was the deepest she’d ever felt him. He was as deep as the black toy, pressing against her inner barrier. Spreading her thighs even wider, she settled into a lift, drop, and grind as if she’d been doing it for years. She had, in her fantasies, but this was Vyur. Her mate. Her hands didn’t even span his pecs, but she liked toying with his nipples. He reached up and molded her breasts as she bounced, keeping the steadily increasing rhythm. She leaned down until her nipples brushed his ribs. “I love you, Vyur of the Lizzeed.”
His mouth slackened, his hands fell to the bed, his back bowed under her weight, and she rode him harder, grinding down on her clit, clenching as tight as she could inside. His lashes fluttered as his eyes rolled up. Tears trickled down his temple. She felt his heart stop under her hand as he erupted inside her. His orgasm triggered her own, her awe at his pleasure washing her until she mewed, collapsing down into his arms. He caught her to him as they shivered, gasping together. “Tell me. Freezha, why?” She knew exactly what he meant. He wanted reassurance that he was worthy of love. “You see me. You look beyond my curves, this coloring that everyone always talks about, and you see me. You listen to me and share your thoughts. You never use your strength to bully or intimidate. You honor your Clan and consider those around you. You show your respect for me a thousand ways, how could I not return it?” She licked his delicious salty collarbone. “Plus, you’re really,” lick, “really,” lick, “really-” He turned his face and intercepted her tongue, pulling it into his mouth. Many minutes later she whispered, “sexy.” He smiled, the stretch of his lips pulling wide. “Thank you.” Emotion swelled the words, but it was the wonder in his tone, nearly disbelief, that had her diving for his head and covering his face with kisses. “Believe it! Freezha loves Vyur! Say it! Say it!” Chuckling, struggling under the white waterfall of her hair and her energy, he called out, “All right!” Pinning his huge hands on either side of her head, framing her dainty face with his thumbs, he said, “Freezha loves Vyur. And she knows that Vyur loves Freezha.” She grinned down at him. Crossing her eyes she said, “Of course you do.” It was only moments later when a voice called out from the hall. “We’re leaving now, Vyur. Will you come later?” He answered gruffly, “Coming. Hold a second.” Vyur gently eased Freezha to the side and stood. He was covered in smears of dried cream and blood, especially his groin. Faint scratches marked his arms. Had she done that? He went to a pile of clothes she’d left from yesterday and rummaged. Holding up a delicate pink cloak, he motioned her forward. She rose, still surprised she didn’t ache. Her knees were shaky from their recent pleasure, and her thighs were a mess, but that was all. He swung the cape around her, buttoned the front down to her knees, and raised the hood over her snarled hair. Efficiently he pulled on trousers, boots, and shirt. “Just like this?” “Not quite.” He went to a pitcher in the wall and quickly rinsed his hands and face over a bowl, leaving a smear of pink on the towel. “Let’s go. I’m hard again just thinking of fucking you on the sand, in the ferns, in the grass. You’re a hazard, woman.” She laughed delightedly, clapping her hands. “I love being a hazard!” He shook his head and escorted her out. He embraced all four of the men waiting in the hall. He briefly introduced two of his teachers, and two unmated cousins. Licking her lips, she suddenly realized these men were sifting with them because they’d been at the ceremony. She flushed to think of what she looked and smelled like. All of the men nodded to her wrist, their faces easy, pleased, and full of happiness when they watched Vyur watching her. She breathed easier when she detected no
appraising looks. They acted like the searing experience yesterday was utterly normal. As they turned the corner to the tracing room where Vyur would sift them instantly to Sandhome, Freezha gave a little cry of happiness to see KarRa standing outside the door with her soulmate, Rylan. Running to her, she hugged the other woman tightly, knowing that she too knew what it meant to be mated now. KarRa joined with Rylan yesterday as well. Pulling back from KarRa’s strong arms, she noticed the pink scar in the crook of her neck. Both of them laughed as they touched the other’s. “Are you well?” the wildling asked. “Beyond well. Delirious! Exhausted! You?” “I’m whole now, Freezha. Thank you for all your wise words.” Vyur gently touched Freezha’s elbow. Reluctantly, she let KarRa’s hands slip from hers. Her beloved thin, scarred face blurred through Freezha’s tears. She was so relieved KarRa had finally forgiven Rylan enough to close their bond. Vyur guided her into the room. All the men reached forward and touched the stone pedestal at the center. When she laid her fingers down next to Vyur’s the world tipped and the stone rippled. Vyur’s arm was tight around her, steadying her. Just like that the walls around them were a different shade, a slightly different angle. The men murmured their goodbyes. “We’ll send food to your room.” “Enjoy your week of rest at your homecoming.” “Welcome to Sandhome, Freezha.” “I’m so glad for you, Champion. Be well, lady.” **** The desert was strange. Much of it was hard, parched land, but one morning late in that first, astonishing week Vyur took her to a curve of land full of thick-grained sand. Leaving when the sky tinged pink, he made love to her in the chilly air just before dawn. She watched the sky beyond his shoulders turn peach, an odd teal, and the softest blue. The pillows of sand under her back were surprisingly hard, yet it seeped softly from her clenched fist when her orgasm shook her. Later, when the sand was already warming, she and her long shadow danced for him. Slipping and swaying, the low sun poured over her hair, blinding white. “A moonbeam at dawn. The rarest beauty I shall ever see.” She stopped, staring at him lounging nude with his hand on a knee. His skin was the exact gold of the sand behind him. He belonged in this harsh place. “Thank you, Vyur.” Life was good. He was good. Together, they were even better. The moment was broken with an enormous yawn, that triggered one of his. They laughed together. “What is this ‘week of rest?’ I think it’s been misnamed.” Of all the ways they played, there was one thing he denied her. He refused to let her suck his cock. Every time she closed her mouth around him, he’d still her. Even tied down, he’d ordered her to stop, and when she didn’t, he’d closed his eyes and lain still until his cock softened. She’d been furious, and hurt. “How can you choose to deny us pleasure like that?! What is so wrong?” “You’re pushing my limits, Freezha. I can’t lose control. You’re half my weight, and
inexperienced. It’s one thing to make your vagina raw and heal you in the night, but your face is another matter. You can lick me, and kiss me, and touch me all you want. But I don’t want you to fuck me with your mouth. Not yet. It’s not time.” “You wanted it during the Matebond. It’s the first thing you went for, so I know you want it bad.” “And remember who was in control at that point? Not me! If you hadn’t thought to put your hand around my base, I could have really hurt you. We’ll save this play for when my control is better. Maybe during your heat, when your body is primed.” “Are they experienced enough to do it? Have they done that for you?” “When I’m with them, it isn’t about pleasing me.” “You didn’t answer me.” “I’ve known them for years. We’re not having a conversation about them now, while we’re making love.” “I want to…” “Freezha. Little Pearl. I have done everything you asked, explored every curiosity. I am asking this of you. Don’t push me. Use me in any other way you can think of for your pleasure, and let this go.” “For now.” He ground his teeth, his arms flexing against the silk loops that looked like string bracelets on him, strictly symbolic. “For now.” She’d thought to punish him by exploring the most forbidden thing she’d dreamed of. She’d sucked his balls instead of his cock, and sent her fingers stroking deep between his cheeks, rubbing his anus, slipping a slender finger in deep. He hadn’t protested a bit, moaning softly through his orgasm. She couldn’t stay mad at him, the overprotective silly. “Can I lick it now?” Her other hand still flickered over the softening length. “Yes, Sweetling, by the Waters, yes. Lick me clean.” As long as she didn’t close her mouth and suck, Earthmother forbid he get hard in her mouth. It didn’t make any sense to her, but she stopped trying to sneak the move in. The next week Vyur spent more time apart from her as he resumed training. His position as combat champion required that he spend most of his time training the Council mages, the highest level of warrior at River Mountain. It was rare that the Lizzeed youth had him all to themselves. Then again, after the disgrace of the fight she’d been caught up in, the youth may have wished Vyur away. He was determined to reteach every basic principle of honor and control from scratch. Freezha explored Sandhome with various guides, mostly Vyur’s family: paternal grandparents, great uncle, parents, two brothers, two uncles, one aunt, and six cousins. Like Vyur, they accepted her instantly, including her in all their activities. Kel came and went several times. He was always willing to play element dice and told her funny stories about Vyur’s family. Sandhome was a honeycomb of halls and columns, with wide arches supporting small patches of ceiling. Gauzy sheers were kept tied up during the day to let the breeze blow through as needed, and dropped down to create “walls” when desired. Freezha had grown used to the fact that most of what happened in a bedroom was only as private as the discretion of those walking past in the hall, as everyone could hear and smell everything if they chose to focus. Sandhome was even more open than River
Mountain. The first level was entirely open, set deep into the earth and surrounded by high clay walls above at desert level. At least half the lair was in shadow for half of every day. The heat, even in the sheltered, sunken cavern, prevented the bedrooms from being formed of individual caves. The rooms entirely interconnected. Each grouping of rooms, usually four or six, was surrounded by a walkway, but their inner “walls” were merely columns and arches hung with sheer drapes. As they loved in the night, sex sounds from other couples echoed all around. Arguments, tantrums, punishments—there were no secrets among the Clan. Freezha loved it. Naturally nosy, completely accepting, earthy and curious, she didn’t mind the sneezing babies, the whining children, the moans in the darkness. If people truly desired privacy, there were enclosed rooms on a deeper level you could go to, or destinations of rocky outcroppings nearby. Freezha just laughed at the women who blushed scarlet after seeing her when she emerged from a particularly lusty encounter with Vyur. Sometimes it was all she could do not to let her steps lag as she wanted to rudely linger near someone else’s fascinating private session. The lack of walls made it hard to find her bearings, though. The only true landmarks among the various columns were the kitchen, and the oasis. The oasis was at the heart of the lair. It was surrounded by gardens that served as park and farm. None of the Truxet were much on animal husbandry, but the Lizzeed kept a small herd of goats for their milk. Meat that wasn’t hunted wasn’t worth the effort to kill. Around the open land of the oasis were the rooms, topped with carved shade awnings. In the night, the roofs became more space to relax on, if you had something warm to wear. Skymages had to sweep Sandhome daily, and Freezha began to train to help. In no time, she knew her way around, had an internal list of people to befriend and people to avoid, and had identified three new projects. Freezha liked projects. KarRa had been her last successful one. Training the wildling woman to accept casual touch without defending or flinching had taken time, patience, and planning. Helping people improve their situations, especially situations they might not even know needed improving, made Freezha happy. The habit of lunch with his family was enjoyable. She enjoyed just sitting and listening to all the crosstalk. One day, after Vyur had stolen her last grape before striding off to the training rooms, Freezha sat enjoying the warm breeze. Auna, Vyur’s mother and Sonyou, his Aunt were sitting with her. “Freezha,” Auna said, “I hope you know we’re here for you, if you need advice.” “Thank you, Auna. My mother died when I was very young, and Papa had no close relatives. It’s nice to be adopted not just by the Lizzeed, but into this family. You’ve been very kind.” Both of the women looked at each other. Her stomach fisted tightly on her lunch, sending a sour trickle up the back of her throat. “Auna? What’s wrong?” Sonyou squeezed Auna’s hand and nodded at her encouragingly. “Well, Freezha. We’d like to talk to you about the heat. From a woman’s perspective.” Her teeth came together with a click. “Ah.” “You know by now that Vyur could never be untrue to you. Just as you know the thought of taking a lover for yourself is…”
“Yuck!” Freezha wrinkled her nose, shuddering at the thought of touching another warrior, being under a different man. The women laughed. “Just so,” Sonyou said. “You understand the absolute bond. So what will you say when Thray, my son, summons Vyur to soothe Sule during her heat?” Freezha sat with an absolutely perfect spine, looking across the tables to the murky brown and green of the oasis waters. Her throat burned with sudden tears at the thought of Vyur having sex with another woman. A picture of Vyur mounting Sule, his fingers fisted in her dark curls, popped unbidden into her mind. She almost retched. Auna laid her hand on Freezha’s fist. “It can be hurtful to think about in the abstract. But I will tell you this: after twelve years with the same mateshield, I was devastated when I lost him. He was newly mated, finally chosen, and she forbade him to come to me. I didn’t want to open myself up to that trust again. To that bond. I almost died that year, which would have killed my mate. Vyur was thirteen. To this day his mate won’t speak to me. It was awful, Freezha. I never really connected to my new mateshield. It is an awful feeling, for there to be no affection, just an aching bodily need. It doesn’t have to be like that.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t want to feel compassion for the women he served. Bitches. Sonyou spoke. “Some women believe the City teachings that multiple partners in marriage are a sacrilege to the holy couple, Earthmother and Skyfather. Does your faith trouble you, Freezha?” She thought about that. It had been fun to fantasize about having two men. It had been fun, even, to be so daring as to play in front of Kel. Her fear of being judged at the matebond had been for naught. It hadn’t been remotely like that. All these bold experiences… She was going to need a man if Vyur couldn’t come anymore and her heat continued. How was she ever going to do it? “No. It isn’t that. It’s more like a sacrilege against Vyur. Against our bond.” Both women nodded. Auna said, “Absolutely. But you will need to do it. And not feel guilty about it. Our men must let this go, because they are so driven to care for us. When the heat takes you, it can be scary.” “You need to remember that every woman here needs this. Including Sule,” Sonyou said. “Your cousin by marriage.” Freezha winced. Sonyou touched Freezha’s arm. “Freezha, look at me.” It was hard to hold the woman’s gray-blue eyes. “Sule and Thray have entered their annual heat.” Freezha’s lips parted in dismay. “Her heat usually lasts three days. She has two mateshields who work in six hour shifts. I am asking you before I tell Vyur. So you can make a decision that is true to yourself. Do I go to their next choice and ask him to service Sule this year?” Freezha stared wildly at the woman who clearly wanted her to say “No.” Auna’s face was closed. She stood jerkily. “I… I… Now? I have to decide this moment?” “You have perhaps two hours—Freezha! Come back!”
“Two hours! Your room!” she called over her shoulder. She began to run to Vyur’s training area, but stopped, panting. She turned and ran to their bedroom, but stopped again before she got there. She couldn’t think. She had to— Vyur bending to kiss another woman’s breasts, Vyur thrusting deep—No! A man walked by, looking at her with concern. Bolting, she ran down to the underground rooms, into the first empty room and rolled the stone door shut. Sliding down, she put her hands over her face. She wanted to cry. To lose herself in pity. Knocking her head roughly against the stone at her back, she ordered herself to calm down. First she slowed her breathing. Her thoughts whirled undirected and wild, as abrasive as a sandstorm. She needed to think, to attempt reason. Vyur was honorable. She trusted him. She was proud of him. She loved him. He would never admit it, but he would feel foresworn if Thray had to find a new partner for Sule. He took responsibility very seriously, and still hadn’t gotten over the shock of the younglings losing control. Vyur would want to continue as a mateshield, but he wouldn’t do it unless she gave her permission. She was nervous, but cautiously willing to admit that she was going to be able to accept Kel when she needed him. Her shoulders shivered in distaste, but she remembered the image he’d painted for her that day facing Vyur’s battleform. She’d creamed over it. Oh, my, yes. So how much of a selfish hypocrite was she? Vyur panting his dark demands, his eyes burning with pleasure—Sweet Earthmother, steady her. She felt her hands begin to shake. He’d never leave her. He wouldn’t fall in love with the other woman. The other more experienced woman who was allowed to suck him down… “Freezha! Open the door!” Oh! Oh no! She sat very still, hunching in on herself, as if he could see her and she could hide. “Fine I will.” His voice was muffled. The rock at her back began to roll. She scrambled up and threw herself at him. “Waters soothe me! I felt your fear! What happened?!” He was sweaty, shirtless. Without even understanding, she opened her mouth and sank her teeth into his pec. “YoWWW!” His hands came up and cradled her head until she released his flesh, leaving a perfect, angry imprint on his chest. “Moonbeam?” “Do you have a pet name for her?” “What?” “Do you!?!” “Tell me why you are so distressed!” “Sule is in heat.” His hands were soothing her shoulders, stroking down her braid. He paused, his face closing. “Ah. My aunt.” He ran his thumb over the half-moon wounds. “And your mother.” She stepped out of his arms, paced to the wall, and folded her arms around herself. If she looked at him she’d start to cry, or scream. He stepped in and closed the door again. The silence was crushing her. Eventually
she stopped waiting for him to speak and began to think again, feeling his patience beating on her like a heartbeat. Her mind whirled over images of them together, the sweet, sweet pleasure. An idea popped into her head. Torture or salvation? “Compromise.” She heard him shift. “A good word.” “I’m glad…” her voice broke, remembering their exchange on the edge of the peaceful dark lake. “Don’t do this, Freezha. You are my mate. I am bound to you, and never want to cause you this kind of…” “No. I’m being a jealous child.” Finally, she turned to face him again. Her breath caught. In the small room with the single magelight he was thrilling. So still, watchful. “Tell me what her pet name is.” He stared at her, infuriatingly calm. “I call her Ember.” Fury flashed through her. She blinked rapidly to hold the tears back. “Thank you. Here’s the thing. You need to accept Kel, but I don’t have to accept her. She won’t die if you don’t go to her, you won’t get sick. But it’s not fair. To distrust you over this relationship.” “Duty.” “Oh, please…” “No. Be clear on this, mate. It is an obligation, an honor, but something I would not choose to do now, if I did not already have the commitment. It is not a reward, a free play. During the year, I am comfortable with my cousin’s mate, I enjoy her as a person. I do not have ‘a relationship’ with her.” She let herself breathe for a few moments. Breathe through the pain. “If I asked…” Her voice was a breath of sound. “It would be done.” “But…” She encouraged him—no—dared him to be honest. He considered her. “It would be like turning my back on a wounded comrade to run from battle. Someone I could have helped, but for fear.” Her lips parted. The rebuke was a punch to the gut. “I want to watch.” He continued to search her eyes. She held her breath, waiting for his reaction. He nodded once, a gesture accepting her command. “I will ask.” “You… what do you think?” He stepped toward her in one smooth stride. “I think she’ll say yes. I think I am pleased with your open, giving spirit. I think… you are going to be thoroughly ravished as soon as we get home.” He held his hand out. With a slight sniffle, she took it, clinging tightly. After a flurry of messages, and a desperate session of tearful loving, Freezha walked with Vyur from the washroom to Thray’s room. The couple had sifted to Sandhome as soon as they knew. He looked very handsome in his dark green robe. She was wearing
the purple one he was fond of. Standing outside the curtain, they stared at each other, listening to the wet, fleshy sounds of sex coming from within. A woman moaned. The sound was one of need tinted with true pain, and a male voice urgently soothed. Vyur inhaled. Others may not have noticed, but she saw the tiny changes at the corner of his eyes and mouth that told her he was aroused. “Her scent is strong. She is in need.” He looked down at her. “Mate, if I go in, I finish this.” He gestured to her clasped hands, which still trembled despite a whiteknuckled grip. “Is this just fear of the unknown, or is this going to break you?” Breathing in deeply, Freezha nodded. “Go in.” Vyur pulled back the curtain and they stepped inside. Wow. She’d read books, she’d listened to the sounds in the night, she’d sometimes talked with other women about their intimate experiences. Seeing two people having sex not one body length away was shocking. Vyur touched her shoulder. It took a moment to rip her eyes from the heaving bodies. “Sit there.” He gestured to a pile of pillows against a corner pillar, shrugged out of his robe and handed it to her. He was half-hard, long and arched. Her eyes traveled his muscled form, broad, scarred, already so familiar. He turned and approached the couple. Thray was darker and more slender than Vyur. Sweat ran in rivulets down his light brown chest. He looked up when Vyur knelt by the bed. “Thank you for coming.” The words were firm, and Freezha knew they were directed at both of them. “I’m here.” Vyur was calm. “The good news is we’re pregnant.” Vyur’s whole face lit up in a wide open smile. “Congratulations!” Looking at Sule, Vyur frowned. “She’s too warm.” “That’s the bad news. I lost control when she told me, came too early. She hasn’t had any come in two hours.” The woman moaned, head rolling loosely. “It’s all right,” she whispered. “The cramps just started again. We’re fine.” She was lovely, long-limbed and athletic, with long breasts a bit smaller than Freezha’s. Her hips were smaller, her shoulders broader. Her hair was a gorgeous dark brown with garnet shadows, darkened to black around her face from sweat. She, too, was much darker than Freezha, her skin a golden tan similar to Vyur’s. Thray looked at her taut face with something between desperation and wonder. “You’re going to come for me one more time. I want you to coat me with your cream, and then I’m going to feed it to you.” She panted, arching, her hands twining in the sheets. “It needs to be thick, because I know how thirsty you are.” Her moan didn’t have any pain in it this time, a higher, striving pitch. Thray’s hand left her hips and reached out to her breast. He folded his finger into his thumb and flicked a dark brown nipple hard, as if flicking away a fly. She shrieked, “Thray!” He fell forward and sank his teeth into the side of her breast, worried it like a dog. Her whole body flushed red and she shook, mouth working silently. The man pulled out, his cock an angry red, and crawled up to her face.
“Here.” He supported her shoulders as she turned her face to him and began to lick the long lines of her own come from his groin. Thray looked over at Vyur, who was watching them. He nodded. Vyur came up on the bed and crouched between her long, slack legs. He leaned down and inhaled. His head tilted as his eyes closed, and he inhaled again. His tongue flicked out and disappeared between her legs. It stayed there, stretched in a line from his open mouth, undulating softly. A tiny whimper came from Freezha, startling her. She was still standing, crushing Vyur’s robe in her fists. She swallowed convulsively when he did, his tongue folding back into his mouth. Rising up, his hands curled around the woman’s upper thighs and lifted her whole lower body so that he could kneel under it. He tipped his long, thick cock down and pushed the tip between the woman’s dark curls. The muscles in his back flexed and half of him disappeared. Thray gripped Sule’s jaw and moved her down to the base of his cock, where the bulk of the cream had settled. Her tongue strained, lapping quickly. He reached down and covered one breast with a long fingered hand. “Get her other breast,” he ordered. “No waiting, she needs it.” Vyur leaned over her and dragged his tongue in a spiral up to the peak of her nipple. His hips began to churn, hard, slapping into her cradle. Very quickly he upped the pace, closing his mouth over her tip. His cheeks hollowed, and the woman began to writhe. She reached her arms up to encircle Thray’s hips, where he knelt near her face. Thray curled over her, as if trying to shelter her. Vyur closed his eyes, his forehead furrowed, and his cheekbones standing out as his jaw worked her breast. It wasn’t long before he turned his head, opened his eyes, and came. His stare connected with Freezha’s instantly. She felt the blood drain from her face as the room dipped from under her feet. She had stared into his eyes as he came dozens of times before. She knew exactly what his cock felt like, thickening that extra bit, his strong thighs driving their hips tight together. Only she wasn’t the one feeling it this time. Abruptly, she became aware that she was panting. Thray was crooning, bent over Sule who was softly whispering, “Yes, yes…” Then the woman sighed, “Vyur.” Freezha turned, and blindly stumbled from the room. Six hours later Vyur came in, his skin damp from the cool baths. She was grateful he had bathed. She was still gripping his robe against her chest, sitting on the edge of the bed. He sat next to her. After awhile she said, “Is it over?” “No. He’s had a break and if he needs help they’ll summon the other mateshield. He may yet need me after that. He’ll send word.” The silence ruled, voices coming softly from the room behind theirs. “Tell me you don’t love her.” “I do not love her. Away from her heat scent, I don’t even find her attractive.” “But you like her.” “She’s very fun. You’ll like her…”
“Please. Don’t.” She let out a shaky breath. “Are you mad?” “Are you?” “No. Not mad.” She didn’t know if she’d ever get the image to leave her nightmares. Vyur’s beautiful body, coming in another woman. “I am not either.” “You’re disappointed.” He stayed silent and her stomach shriveled. A sob was rising in her throat. “I love you, Freezha.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know. I love you, too.” “Will I go to her if he asks?” “Yes.” Her voice held no hesitation, no tremor. His arm came around her shoulders. “Will you come with me?” “No.” She felt him nod. “This is you. Your people, your way of life. That is going to be me, possibly with someone else’s mate. I am strong enough to let you be the man you want to be. I am not strong enough to be part of it.” Her heart was in her throat, waiting. “That is good, mate. Thank you for your open heart.” She let out a shaky breath. His other hand reached up to cover her clenched fingers. “I’m proud of you.” They sat there, long into the night. Vyur was called again early the next morning. Freezha helped him into his robe. And kissed him as if he were headed for battle. She stood by the curtain, considering her heartbeat. The bedroom was too small. The empty bed loomed. Fresh air and sunshine—she’d practice her aircraft out in the gardens until lunch. Vyur would be back by then. **** One morning, she slid off Vyur’s chest and on to the smooth thin sheets of their bed. She leaned over him, giggling as she tickled his ear with the ends of her hair. He mock growled, grabbed the hair and nibbled it ferociously. She laughed in delight at his playfulness and kissed the tip of his nose. His eyes looked at her, growing serious. “I’ve been summoned to a duty, Freezha.” Blinking sleepily as she sat near his hips, she smiled widely. “We’re going back to River Mountain? Maybe KarRa and Rylan haven’t left for the Nest yet!” “No, Little Pearl. I’m going to the Royal City. It should only be for a week or two. I want you to stay here. You’re all right without a guard now, aren’t you?” She nodded slowly, a chill seeping into her. No wonder he’d awoken her twice in the night so passionately. In the Cities, the Trux were warriors. They dealt with violence often in their life. Working as guards and judges, they were treated with respect to their faces, but disgust, fear, and anger behind their backs. Part of the attitude was their fault. Secretive, they did not share the details of the open, peaceful, supportive culture in Vladaya. To prevent complications, the women that joined them never returned to their old lives. The lack of communication led to lurid stories of dark, bestial violence. It was the rare woman who volunteered to go to Vladaya. The ridiculousness of it drove Freezha insane; such a civilized, gentle group of men who
were all desperate for children and mates, letting the women who could help them think they were monsters was beyond ludicrous. It was her secret desire to earn her way onto a subcouncil where she could do something about it. It was a travesty that over half the Truxet went unmated. Freezha was content being protected, feeling no desire to brave the world alone. She understood the dangers closed, insular City living bred. She also knew the Truxet were under threat of violence whenever they worked for humans in one of the City. Still, she wanted to join him. She tipped her chin down, opened her eyes wide and looked at him soulfully. “Women go with their men on duties often. Surely I can stay with them?” His jaw ticked as he looked away. “It’s a short term search. I’ll be staying in a boarding house with mostly unmated men. I think you’ll be happier here, and I need you to be here because we haven’t perfected your self-defense. Until I believe you are completely capable of repelling any attack, you’re not going out of this lair unguarded.” Freezha twined her fingers. “When do you need to leave?” “Tonight.” Her throat constricted, choking off a sob. “Ah Sweetling, don’t cry. We’ve parted for much of the day these last weeks. You’ll only miss me at night. This is the way of things sometimes.” She nodded, biting her lip. “I know. I’ll be brave.” Tears dripped in silver tracks over her pale skin. He held her while she steadied her breathing. When they rose, she reached for one of her many lovely robes. The clothing compromise she and Vyur had reached was that when she was at River Mountain, or Sandhome had guests, she could only be bold on half of her body. A modest top and a short skirt, or a skimpy top and a long skirt. He had come to understand that displaying her sexuality made Freezha feel confident and proud. Now that she was matebound, he could almost handle it. And at Sandhome, among Clan, he did not care if she went about in a thin robe all day. Today he said, “No.” Raising her eyebrow, she posed dramatically against a corner column. The night drapes were still down, but the morning breeze was stirring them. Only the corner weights kept them from billowing. “No? Do you want to choose a different color for today, or shall I go like this?” She gave him a naughty look and raised a breast. She licked its tip, something she’d discovered made his jaw tick. “Yes.” Surprised, she burbled a laugh. “Yes? Just yes. You want to play now?” “I don’t have time. I told my brothers I’d help them hunt this morning days ago. We’re sifting over to the Cove to try for some elk. I want you to leave off the robe at breakfast.” Freezha straightened up, processing his words. “You, who wanted me covered hand and foot three weeks ago, want me to go nude onto the patio, sit, and eat.” He nodded calmly, rising and dressing while she talked. He pulled on his boots for the first time since arriving, and his leather pants instead of the loose silk ones. “I want to watch the Clan when they see your beauty in the morning light. Uncombed, unpainted, rising from our bed, you are like a cloud princess. I want to be able to reach out, touch your sweet pink nipples, see your breasts swing freely, see the
fold of your legs as you sit. This will be the last meal I take with you. I want you bare to my eyes. I’m proud to share my mate’s beauty with the Clan.” He finished tying his usual loose leather shirt, stood and looked at her, his eyes daring her. She nibbled on her lip. “If I do this… you do it the morning you first come back.” “Done.” She rubbed her palms on her thighs, and nodded. After they tied up their night curtains, Vyur held her hand when they stepped into the walkway. It was lined with straw mats that whispered under her feet. When they came to the main arch of the patio shaded around by fruit trees, they stopped. When Freezha would have ducked down to sit off in a corner, Vyur held her in place. Silence spread across the softly murmuring room. The sounds of dishes and chairs being used stopped. Every eye roved Freezha’s body. Her cheeks heated. As daring as she felt, as confident in her body, this blatant presentation was intense. Vyur’s grandfather rose to his feet from near the middle of the space. He gave Freezha a bow with his shoulders and chin. Vyur’s uncles and father rose and did the same, and it spread from there across the room. Even some of the women stood and bowed. Looking at her mate, she straightened her shoulders to see his wide proud smile. “They honor your beauty, and this third sign of your trust in our Clan. We appreciate a woman who can shed her City ways and become us, for us.” Later, they sat and ate quietly, still holding hands. She asked, “The third sign? What were the first two?” “The second was the day you stepped out of our room and went to get food and use the washroom without asking me to come with you. You laid the dishonor of the younglings away. The first was during the middle of our third night here, when you stopped trying to muffle yourself during our love. Letting your cries of need echo through the darkness is a gift of trust to every man here.” He squeezed her hand. “Feel free to call out while I’m gone, when the black cock pleases you.” She threw a roll at his head. He caught it and threw it back. When they’d finished their meal he went to speak with his family, and she gathered their dishes. A shadow fell across the table from behind her and a presence stepped too close. Stiffening in surprise, she looked to see Kel. Relaxing, she laughed, “Oh! You surprised me coming so close like that.” He held up a tan hand and uncurled his fingers to reveal three perfect mountain berries in his palm. Freezha, wary of his continued closeness and silence, looked from them to his face. A satisfied smile spread across his face, revealing a dimple. His hand remained extended out. Looking down at the berries again, she raised her eyebrows in demand at his behavior. “It took longer than a week, for you to come nude to breakfast. You’re much lighter than the berries. More of a swamp berry, I think.” Raising his other hand, he opened it to reveal three white swamp berries, tinged with pink. “Yes, definitely swamp berries.” Gasping with indignation when she remembered his teasing back at River Mountain, she slapped his hands away from her nipples, sending the berries flying. He caught one mid-air and popped it in his mouth. “That’s a waste of delicious,
delicate berries,” he laughed openly at her. Crossing her arms, she looked pointedly at his covered crotch. “I’m still waiting for my question to be answered. Maybe this evening?” “In your dreams, Little One. I’m saving myself for my mate.” She laughed merrily, rolling her eyes. She pushed him away and returned to gathering the dishes. That afternoon, Vyur held Freezha tight in a long hug. Sending his hands to clench in her silky curls, he kissed her deeply. His lips were so firm, his tongue flickering along hers. When she was panting, he wiped her tears away, touched her matebond scar, and went into the sifting room. She watched him ripple from sight, then went to her room and cried until dark. Auna came and made her stop, bringing food. “You’ll make yourself sick, and it doesn’t change a thing,” she said practically, but not without sympathy. Freezha managed to nod, feeling sick indeed. She lay awake far into the night, listening to the couple next door make love. Her vagina ached. She physically hurt. Finally, gritty eyed, she rose and took out the toy cock. Slipping it gently inside her, she hated the cold, still weight of it. Her tears turned her hair damp until she took it out and threw it across the room. It hit a curtain and slid to the floor with a thump. In the morning she put it away. Five days later she woke with cramps. Ugh. Her passing, again. It seemed impossible that they had been mated for a moon already. Her trunks were stacked in a tower room. The stuffy small rooms that supported watch towers around the compound served as communal storage when the open rooms had space only for a trunk or two. She dug out her rabbit fur belt and pads, but her passing blood never came. She spent the whole morning biting her tongue to keep from screaming at three little boys who were learning to identify different fabrics at one end of the sewing room where she was studying. Their teacher was indulgent and they were loud and boisterous. On any other day she would have smiled, gone to play with them. She decided to help in the kitchens as an excuse to get away. When she had told one woman she was cutting the carrots wrong, another that the bread was too dry, and a third that the mangoes were overripe, they sent her away. She ate in her room, sulking. She thought of Vyur in a bustling City, seeing beautiful women in rich clothing and jewels. He might even be working for the Royal family itself, known for their unearthly beauty. Maybe the unmated men were going to paid skinlickers, and he was watching them in the taverns. She thought about it until she sat up, shook out his pants she’d been sleeping with for the smell on them, and ripped them in half. Feeling better, she went to the washrooms. She lolled in the tub all afternoon. When a family came in and made to get in with her she snapped, “Use the other one.” The man shrugged and they moved to do so, but the woman scowled at Freezha. The boy goggled at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. Really, why would they crowd her when there was a perfectly empty one right there? That night, she worked late, using one of the knives from Vyur’s trunk to cut his pants up into tiny, tiny pieces. Every time she stabbed into the cloth and watched the razor sharp blade part the woven strands, she thought about him laughing with his friends in the City, drinking a beer, guarding wealthy Guild ladies. Sometimes her cramps got so
bad she’d have to fold over in her chair and rest, panting. Still, she wasn’t bleeding. When they faded she’d sit up and focus on destroying the fabric. The next morning, Auna called out from the door. She had a bowl of fruit. Freezha ignored her. The woman didn’t go away. “I know you’re in there. Everyone says you are missing Vyur, and they’re worried about you. I’m coming in.” “This may not be much of a home, but it is mine. If you come through that door I will scream and scream. I do not want you here and I do not want to talk about your stupid hulking beast of a son so you better…stay…OUT!” Freezha was shrieking by the end of her tirade. She watched the woman go still on the other side. The shadow of her arm reaching for the drape dropped. Freezha smiled with triumph when Auna’s silhouette turned and went away. By midmorning the heat was making her uncomfortable because the drapes were down on all four sides. She was in her robe but didn’t want to take it off. Her cramps were coming in waves, never really stopping. Her head was pounding and her teeth hurt from grinding them. She’d taken to using the knife to carve deep gouges in the table. By lunch time, she couldn’t stop the sobs. They welled within her, echoing a deep, aching pain. She must have fallen asleep eventually, for she woke up with her pounding, sweaty head pillowed on her aching fist, which had clenched the knife even in her sleep. A low moan steadily rolled from her throat, and she shivered uncontrollably. Attempting to stand, she abruptly wretched liquid all over the table. The deep, painful spasms in her gut didn’t stop. “Freezha!” It was Auna again. Wonderfully icy hands rested against her forehead. The retching stopped and she moaned. “You’re ill!” She raised her voice, “Send for Tilc! Freezha’s ill.” Tilc, Vyur’s older brother, was a bodymage. He was there in moments. Auna and he managed to get Freezha laid out on the low bed. Auna worked on prying the knife out of Freezha’s locked fingers while Tilc rested his hands on Freezha’s forehead and abdomen. He gave a wonderful skin prickling wash of power that cooled her body, stilled her stomach, and numbed her aches. Freezha gave a tiny hiccupping sob. “Thank you. Oh, Elements, Tilc! Thank you.” The relief was so great that within heartbeats, she was dozing again. The quiet voices came only distantly. “Mother, she’s in heat.” “What?! Tilc, it’s too early.” “It’s unusual, but not impossible. I should have put it together. Yesterday she was so unlike herself. I haven’t even talked to Vyur about it yet. Did he mention anyone to you?” “No. Really, Tilc, when would your brother ever volunteer what he wants for himself with no prompting? Why, I hadn’t even begun to think of asking him myself.” “Both Thray and Krisk are still on duty. It would be as fast to sift for Vyur as for them. She needs help now, Mother. I mean immediately. She’s at least six hours into the heat, with no orgasm or come to soothe her.” “Well, let’s think! There’s you, of course, although the idea of brothers as mateshields has always bothered me. Oh—I know! Kel!”
“Yes. Kel. Go get him. I need to keep her sedated. Then send Father for Vyur.” There was a flurry of air, and later some soft voices that seemed to be moving around the room. She roused once to look at Tilc in confusion. “You’re not Vyur.” “No, Little One. He’s coming. Shhh. Close those flower eyes and rest.” **** Later, male voices rumbled back and forth. Someone lifted and jostled her. The bad pain of before was still gone, but was beginning to return. Tilc’s cooling hands were gone. “Tilc. He helped. Where’s Vyur? I hurt.” “I know, Sweetling. Vyur’s coming. I’m taking you up to the roof to help with your temperature because Tilc couldn’t stay. It’s Kel, Freezha. I’ll take care of you.” When he laid her out on a soft fluffy blanket, she gasped in joy at the wash of cold desert night air over her scalding skin. She greedily sipped some water. How beautiful, the stars were dancing, spinning, sliding. She hissed with pleasure when strong hands smoothed a wet cloth over her neck, arms and belly. In the faint starlight from the crescent moon, her skin seemed to glow. “Do you know what’s happening Freezha, mate of Vyur? Did Tilc tell you?” Her mind reached for understanding, but it was washed away by the feel of the cloth rasping firmly across her breasts. “What?” “You’re in heat. You went into it very early, and you didn’t tell anyone you were hurting. You were very naughty and should be punished. The cramps and sickness you feel are because your body is weakened, straining, overheated. You need a nice thick wash of come inside you, Little One. First yours, then mine. You need to hold a hard cock with your strong woman’s muscles.” The rough, damp cloth chafed her burning skin as he dragged it down her ribs. “Open your eyes,” the voice ordered with absolute confidence. She squinted at the man, struggling to focus, blinking drunkenly. His lips flattened. He looked angry. “Who am I, Freezha?” She studied the lips, the nose, and the smooth dome of his head. Her brain connected. “Kel.” “Do you trust me? Will you take me as your mateshield?” Her tired, fevered brain couldn’t follow all that. Strong hands closed over her upper arms and shook her once, hard. Her head snapped and she opened her eyes and snarled. “Freezha! Do you see this?” He was kneeling at her side, and she looked down at where he gestured. A soft, desperate moan left her lips at the wonderful, long thing arrowing toward her. She wanted it. She needed it. She knew it would help her. It would feel so good. When she reached for it weakly, he held her hands down. “No. If you want it you have to ask.” “Please may I have your pretty, pretty cock?” He strangled on a laugh. “Do you accept me as your mateshield?” Freezha blinked, confused again. She licked her lips, gazing at the fat round head. “Yes?” With a groan, he swung himself over her, pushed open her legs, and rooted between her curls. His tip probed and shifted at her opening. Freezha lay still for a moment,
shocked at the strange feel of this unfamiliar body on hers, at the intimate touch. But when he notched her, when his soft blunt tip filled the mouth of her hole, she went wild. Her arms clawed at him to pull him down, her legs climbed his ass to keep him close. Her mouth closed on the rise of his shoulder near his neck, and her teeth sank deep to keep him near her. He shoved against her, and she fought to keep him from withdrawing. He strained deeper. “Liquid heat. This is going to forge us into something new.” The next moments were a blur of need, violent and angry. She struggled to take all of him, to drive him deep and keep him there while she humped from beneath. Growling and cursing, she locked on the hard, thick shaft that sank so wonderfully deep in her core. Then she arched, and burst into flame. The ashes left a blessed clearing coolness. When the fire died out, the man rocking heavily on her lifted his head. Her mind was crystal clear. Her body froze beneath him. Every moment of the last day raced through her awareness. He ignored the change in her and thrust with an upward lift that dragged his pelvis against her clit. She gasped. Locking his eyes on hers, he did it again, and again. She went taut underneath him, quivering on the edge of flying. He stroked out and froze. Her cunt spasmed. “I am Kel. I am your mateshield. Now you. Tell me.” With just those words, and the forbidden feel of the strange body against her, she came again, wriggling with the wonderful cooling darkness that rode her in a wave. She lay beneath his surging chest, passive. His hips were so different where they slapped into hers with each thrust. She was surprised that she couldn’t feel the difference between his cock and Vyur’s. His body was so strange on hers though, his weight less. She inhaled the cool desert air, and thought, Vyur. It had been bad. The hostility that had settled on her like a cloak had taken her over. Her anger at Vyur for leaving her masked her self-awareness. The cramps, the pain… she had too much to live for. Her orgasms had brought her relief, but she could feel that it wasn’t enough. “Freezha. Please. Lady, don’t do this. You can’t. For you or for him. He won’t be angry. He won’t love you any less.” This wasn’t about fidelity. This was survival. Her hands rose up to close gently over his shoulders. Her thighs spread wide and she lifted her knees. “I am Freezha, mate of Vyur. You are Kel. You are my mateshield.” His head dropped onto her shoulder. “Mateshield. I will keep you for your mate. Just let me work. Don’t fight your body, or the pleasure.” His hips began to move with steady regularity. This man had discipline, talent. She remembered Sule’s face, red, pained. Vyur’s look of concentration. It was work keeping a Lizzeed-heated woman soothed. It was good that it was enjoyable. “I will not fight the pleasure.” She lifted her lips to brush against his ear. Her voice was the barest whisper. “I demand it. If I’m going to get fucked by one of the hottest Lizzeed alive, then Skyfather strike me if I’m going to lie limp like a sacrifice.” Thrust. He rolled his face into her neck, his tongue a slow, slithering line of faint moisture along her jaw. Thrust. He whispered, “Thank you, Starlight.” Thrust.
Gratitude poured over her, that she had this man in her arms. That her mate had his help. Her life was in his hands. “And you said you were going to take my ass first. I need you in my ass now, Kel. Please may I have your pretty, pretty cock up my ass?” He froze. Silently, he jackknifed his hips, ripping out of her. Wrestling her roughly over and hauling her hips so she came to her knees, he pulled her cheeks wide. “It’s pink, Starlight, just like your nipples. It’s like a hidden pink star.” His fingers dove, collecting the cream of her orgasms, and then his thumb slowly pushed it into her, softening the opening. “I wish you could see how my cock shines with your juice.” He shifted behind her. “Well, at least you can feel it.” He set his tip against her tiny hole. She could feel his every finger digging into her cheeks as he held her wide. He drove in one hard push that tipped her onto her stomach with the force of it. The pole streaked deep, a sudden addition to her inner landscape that set off small explosions behind her eyes. Burn, and beauty. “Aaahhhh!” His scream sent a throb to her clit. She felt him grind against the soft globes of her ass, his body rigid behind her. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Freezha sobbed under him, her hair a tangle of softness against her back where it was trapped between them. Sex was life. It was so good. Vyur trusted this man, and she trusted Vyur to let her fly. “I love it! Storms! I want it hard. Make me feel good.” He dragged his length out slowly, gasping when his head fought past her ring of muscle. “Exactly. Just what I want to hear, Freezha. Only you can’t goad me into raw passion like that. I almost came. I have to keep it together, and your ass … by the deep Earth, you are incredible.” Incredible? Oh, she could do better than that. This was going to be fun. This was going to be hands down raw. He cleaned himself with the damp cloth, then returned to where she still lay face down, her face pillowed on her arms. He bunched another blanket under her hips and slipped into her cunt with the same measured motions, but his breathing was ragged. “Kel, press deeper. See if you can touch me inside. Push! Ye-sss!” Her voice broke on the razor of pleasure. She babbled her needs, her pleasure. She spoke every thought she had about his pacing, his body, his smell. His pacing went from firm, steady thrusts, to faster drags, to uneven bouncing digs as he tried to keep from coming. It added to her feeling of utter freedom. “My ass. Again.” “No.” “You’re about to come. You want to last. You can’t come in my ass, Kel. It won’t do me any good there, and I know you won’t fail me.” He nipped her shoulder hard, cursing her as he pulled out. An eternity of satisfaction passed. He hadn’t moved in more minutes than she could track. She was folded down upon her spread knees with her heels tucked under her. His cock lay still, stuffed deep into her ass. In this position, her hole burned, stretching wide around his thick base. He lay over the arch of her back, his hands overflowing with her swollen breasts. He followed her directions on pinching and pulling her pebbled nipples. She murmured to him about clamping harder on one breast when shocking pain
twisted her gut. It was familiar this time, although a surprise. She stilled. “Kel!” “What is it?” “My stomach! It… It was just like before. When I didn’t know.” She was afraid of the pain, now. Despite the pleasure he’d drenched her in, agony had touched her too recently to be erased. “You don’t have any of my cream in you yet, Little One. I’ve been holding off, because I don’t know how long I have to last before they find Vyur.” “But can’t you do me again after you come? Vyur does.” He laughed weakly, flexing his hips a fraction closer to her ass. “Oh, Freezha. Vyur’s control is a thing of legend. I think I deserve an honor for lasting over an hour with you. I’ll be able to love you more, but not right away. I’ll be able to use my mouth on you next, and it will be all right. We’ll see how long my come soothes you, if I can keep your own cream fresh, too.” “How long does it last for your other women?” He drew himself out, slow, swinging slightly from side to side. He rinsed himself again, hissing at the rasp of the cloth on his sensitive dick. Finally, he turned her over. She sprawled loose upon the blanket. Her face was half covered by hair, but she could see the shine of his eyes track over her body. “You’re not mine, Starlight. I’m only borrowing this pleasure to serve you. But you are the most sexual woman I’ve ever known. This, this is what the word ‘glory’ is for.” She moved restlessly, wrinkling her nose when her stomach twisted. Settling between her thighs, he set his tip to her gaping hole and drifted inside on the sea of her cream. “I don’t have any other mateshields, Freezha. You’re my first.” Her hands cupped his skull, and she could feel gooseflesh ripple down his neck. He shivered. She rasped her nails down the tender skin behind his ears. He licked her neck, delicate flickers at odds with the feeling of being stuffed so full below. “Not your first ever!” “No. But I’ve never been part of a heat before. It’s a responsibility I didn’t want.” Her vagina fluttered around his cock. It swelled, thickening, inside her. “Oh Kel,” she breathed, “I just came. So sweet. So easy. I love you lying on my breasts like this.” “Fuck. Starlight, I…” His back bowed up and away from her as if someone had just dripped boiling oil down it. His handsome, fine-boned face contorted, a warrior in battle. His hips shoved in tight and ground against her, again, again, again. He fell down onto her with a moan. Freezha’s delicate fingers swept his back, her feet tucked around his thighs. She hummed softly, sweetly until he stopped choking for breath. “That was weird. I could almost feel my body soaking it up, like lotion from the inside. Why are you so quiet? This heat is really odd, you know?” He dropped his head into her neck and laughed deep belly laughs. When he finished, he breathed her scent in. He instantly went still. He settled his mouth on her collarbone and began to nip and lick. “You smell like life, you know that, woman?”
“Mmmm. Kel? If the come soothes me down there, do you think it will still work if I drink it? Because I’d really like to drink you next time. It’s the one thing that Vyur has never let me do.” “Freezha. I have no idea, and I’m not going to experiment until Vyur is here. If you swallowed me and your temperature spiked, I wouldn’t be able to recover fast enough to come for you again. Do you have another mateshield chosen?” “No. We hadn’t talked about it. I can’t really imagine fucking his brothers.” “Just let me try to pace myself then. We need to make it last.” “I can’t help how easy I am. You know if you suck just a little bit harder right there, I can feel it tug on my nipples. Do you think you could suck hard enough to leave a bruise? That really turns me on. But it hurts a little so you have to distract me with your hands…” “Freezha! I swear to the Elements that if you do not stop turning me on with your sexy mouth I’m going to gag you.” “You should want to be turned on. I can’t imagine having to fuck a person I don’t really find attractive for hours and hours. If it helps you get hard, why shouldn’t I tell you how I can’t wait for you to wrap that snaky tongue around my clit?” “That’s it.” He was suddenly hard as a club inside her wet heat. Rearing up, he pulled out, ignoring her distraught wail. Ripping a strip off the blanket, he reached for her head. She grabbed his wrists. “If you’re gonna start tying things, you might as well do my hands too. I like it best when Vyur does my wrists behind my back. It makes me arch and my breasts get really sensitive.” With a growl, they engaged in a ridiculous batting match to get the fabric into her mouth, then wrapped around her head. She had the advantage because she could tell he was trying to be careful of her hair. Ripping off another piece, he lifted her up against him and wrestled her arms behind her back. Her eyes widened, then sank to half-mast. She let herself go limp against him, rubbing the nipples he still hadn’t tasted all over his chest. Grabbing her head in his hands, he jerked her face in front of his and glared at her. “Since you like sex talk so much, listen to some of my own. I am going to carry you to the baths. I am going to wash us. I am going to put you in your bed, with a pillow for your damned wrists. I’m going to suck on your incredible tits till you come, maybe twice. Then I’m going to lie on those tits and give you a nice basic hard fuck until Vyur gets here. And you’re going to lie there without turning me on so that I can concentrate on not coming while you do. This isn’t a game, Freezha. I’m not going to let you hurt anymore, and without another mateshield to help me I have got to maintain control. How does that sound?” For her answer, she craned her head up and nuzzled his nose with hers. Sighing, Kel wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her close. “May the Elements blend and help him get here soon. Because dying of pleasure in your arms is not an option, Starlight.” **** That he’d been out hunting human scum when his mate needed him made him sick to his stomach. Two hours for his father to find him, almost another half-hour before he’d passed on the mission. When he heard that she’d hidden it, been found deep in the throes
of the pain, he’d paced away and smashed his fist into the wall, powdering an inch of stone. Then he’d done it again, remembering how she’d wanted to come with him. Then again, knowing she was already being soothed by Kel. The thought of Kel working Freezha’s delicate body had him growling almost continuously with fury. It would be this way until he smelled her, he knew. Smelled her need, her new scent that would quiet his beastspirit howling for retribution. As he was running to the sifting point, deep in the woods outside the City walls, he recalled her white face, the stunned rejection as she stumbled away from his soothing of Sule. Oh Mists, what if she refused Kel, rejected his touch? What if she fought him? Kel would not fail him. He could be just as brutal when the need called for it as Vyur. He would not let Freezha’s human fears destroy her. If he had to, he’d force her, force her to take the come she needed to dampen the heat. A sapling lashed his face as he leaped a log. Hours. She was hours into the heat. The thought of her pain… The mage-augmented sifting stone was there, and he slammed his body into it, instantly summoning the power, blurring earth and air. Too fast, he lunged from the stone, feeling pain rip through his lungs as he lunged away. Sandhome had never seemed so vast as he raced to their room, ripping his shirt off over his head. Preparing to fight, to fuck, whatever he had to do to keep her alive. A memory rose out of nowhere as he scrambled to work his weight around a corner, kicking mats everywhere. Warm sand under him, dawn air utterly still. Freezha’s hands twining gracefully, her face joyful, relaxed, her hair flaring around her body in a wash of light… He ripped the curtain back and stumbled to a stop. Sweat dripped off both of them. Her breasts were chafed red, with faint hand sized bruises and nipples that leaked milky ribbons down her sides. A mouth-sized, dark purple bruise decorated the lower swell of the left one. Her scent hit him like a punch to the solar plexus, lungs burning. Praise the Waters. “How is she?” His voice broke Kel’s concentration and he stumbled on his rhythm, pulling out to the tip. Shuddering, Kel let his hands slide up her ribs to rest on her bountiful breasts. “Thank the Elements, you’re here.” His thumbs softly stroked her leaking milk around the tips. The simple pressure sent her over the edge, her incredible lavender eyes dilating as she stared at Vyur. Her mouth went slack, and he saw the pink flush of her orgasm wash over her chest. “She’s been coming beautifully for me. I’ve only shared two doses of come. She’s due for another. Do you need me to leave?” Kel’s voice was raspy, his chest working like a bellows, but Vyur heard the reserved caution as the man assessed his reaction to the sight of them. “No, my friend. I need you to hold on just a little longer. There’s something I’ve been needing, and I’m not going to wait anymore, so you’ll have to give her the come.” Her eyes tearing, her face beaming with joy, Freezha wriggled, unable to reach for him. Her hands were under her back, arching her like an offering. He wasn’t surprised to see the gag. Flinging off the rest of his clothes, Vyur locked eyes with his mate. “You’ve never been more beautiful.” He landed on his knees by the bed, undoing the gag. “You’re alive.
Father said you were untended for at least six hours. But you trusted Kel and you’re all right.” His hands ran over her face compulsively while he sent his magic over her, checking. “Vyur! I’m so glad you’re here!” She started to cry. “Kiss me! Give me your taste.” He did, instantly, deeply. Her taste exploded through his body. He’d been starving for days and hadn’t known. She was life. “I should warn you she’s really bossy when she’s in heat.” “I am not! I’m just talkative. Vyur, Kel is really sexy. Don’t be mad! He felt so good. I was hurting, and he took care of me.” “I know, Freezha.” Vyur lifted his head and looked at Kel. “Thank you.” The relief pouring through him was so strong he couldn’t have stood if someone held a knife to his throat. “My pleasure. Of course. I was terrified they wouldn’t find you. She was killing me in the first hour. I don’t know how you don’t have a heart attack. There’s no way I’m going to make a six hour shift. I’ve got another hour, maybe, at the most. Do you want me to go for Thray?” “Yes. But not right now.” He looked down at his woman, this tiny person that had made him whole. Her heart rate was too fast, and her temperature too warm, even for the physical sex she’d been having. “You need some fresh come, don’t you Sweetling?” She nodded. “I do. I feel all dry inside, even though I can feel how wet I am on my thighs.” “There’s something we’ve been wanting, but I made us wait. And now that you’re in heat, and your body has softened and relaxed for serious fucking, you can take it. I dreamed of it every night while I was gone and hardly slept. I need you to give me this Freezha, so that I can move on and take care of you.” “Anything Vyur. You can take anything from me and I’ll love it.” “Get on your knees.” He stood back and watched her struggle to turn herself over so that she rose up on her knees with her hands behind her back. She was strong. For him, she pushed herself to new places. She was going to like this one. “Kel.” “I’m here.” “Get behind her.” Kel knelt on the bed, his shoulders dwarfing hers. He drew her hair to the side, smoothed his hands on her shoulders. Vyur stood before the two of them, nude, harder than he’d been since feeling the stare of his Alpha, when he ordered her to fuck him at the Matebond. He put his hands on himself and squeezed. Pleasure settled in his shoulders just envisioning it. “This is what I’m asking for, Freezha. You’re going to bend down here and suck my cock. You’re going to open your mouth as wide as you can and you’re going to let me fuck your mouth until I come. I want you to lick me hard, and don’t worry about your teeth. When I come, close your mouth up tight and swallow every drop. With your hands like that, you’ll have to relax your throat, because I’m going to go down it and you can’t stop me. While you’re bent over giving me that incredible mouth, I’m going to be watching Kel do you hard. When he pounds in, you’re going to get slammed onto me. It’s going to be intense for you. You won’t be able to control the pace at your face or cunt. And you’re not going to come. You’re both going to wait until I come, then I’ll let Kel.
When Kel comes, he’ll let you come.” He fell silent and she stared up at him, her eyes dazed. His tongue lashed the air when his gaze fell to a perfect drop of milk hanging from the angry red bud of one nipple. He lifted it away with his finger and rubbed it over the head of his cock. “Can you do it?” His voice was soft, forgiving. How unnerved was she already, and him asking for more? Her answer was her swooping mouth that closed over his tip, already licking and nipping in a frenzy. Kel kicked her knees wider and slipped his cockhead in. His hands settled onto the swell of her hips, he shuddered. “Now push.” Both men leaned, and both cocks sank into Freezha. She was hot. Wet, and clumsy on his sensitive skin. Incredible. When Vyur was halfway in and pressing against the roof of her mouth, he bent and fumbled in the drawer built into the bed. He cupped Freezha’s chin and pulled away from her grasping lips. He held up the black cock to her face. “Suck it.” She opened and did. His cock pulsed in jealousy. He took it away and gave it to Kel, who took it with awe. “You want me to suck too?” Vyur’s smile cracked the tension on his face. Smartass. His best friend’s face ran with sweat. It was bizarre to look at him over the delicate line of Freezha’s spine. Bizarre to see her tied hands so near Kel’s bare groin, which pressed into the creamy mounds of her ass. Kel was grinning at him, even though his face was strained. Freezha’s scent dripped off him. All he felt was gratitude that he was there, that he had convinced her and saved her. His Lizzeed was silent. “If you want to, be my guest. I just wanted it wet before you shove it up her ass.” Kel’s grin disappeared. “I won’t be able to last.” “You’ll last until I tell you to. Don’t worry, I won’t be that long either.” Freezha whimpered, swiping at his cock with her tongue. “Vyur! Elements, Vyur!” “Fuck! She’s coming!” Kel bowed over her back. “Tight… gripping…” A drop of blood splashed onto her spine from Kel’s mouth. He waited until Kel nodded, mastering the moment. He slipped his head into her mouth again. She sucked on him much stronger this time, her back teeth sharp against him. He didn’t care. “I told you to wait for me, naughty girl. Kel. Push it in nice and slow. I know what it feels like going in against your dick. You’ll like it. Freezha, your hair is the softest thing I’ve ever felt. I love to wrap it around my balls. This is perfect. Perfect. Just what I dreamed.” By the time Freezha was full of cock in every hole, the men had set up a counter swing. He pushed down her throat when Kel drew out both his cocks, and Vyur pulled back when Kel ground them both back in. She whimpered as she sucked him, her tongue lashing his base. He reached under her jaw to feel her throat work against him. Fire. Fire. Fire. He saw how she stretched her fingers, just brushing against Kel’s abs folding over her ass. Her breasts hung heavy and long, swaying into his knees when he leaned away from Kel’s push. Looking down at her flushed face, lips tight around him, he memorized this perfect moment. When he felt his balls come up and begin to boil, felt the liquid trickle, she moaned long and loud, vibrating him. He knew she was coming. He began to come, back arching with every burst. He managed “Kel” through gritted teeth. The pleasure seared his brain, his spine, his
soul. Everything. She was everything. The cue from Vyur caused the man to rip out the toy so he had room to get close. He pounded Freezha so hard, Vyur had to brace her shoulders. Kel’s body arched backward as if he’d been lashed, his hands clutching her ass tight. He could tell when Kel’s come hit her. Freezha shuddered and came again, a wonderful soft shiver flowing over her body. She shrieked around Vyur’s pulsing cock, clamping down and sucking so hard it hurt. Her eyes stared up at him. He felt the love like a touch, and then she lost focus. Her eyes rolled up and she canted to the side. Both men caught her, turning her. “Is she all right?” Kel’s voice was as scared as he’d ever heard it. “She’s fine.” He couldn’t catch his breath. “She passes out sometimes. When I’ve used her too hard.” Kel had a bowl of water in the room. Both men took cloths and wiped her down, then themselves. She whimpered faintly. “Do I go?” The man absolutely wilted. His eyes drooped. Vyur lay down on his side, pulled her back against him so he spooned her. “Lay down with us. I want to know what happened.” Kel lay facing Freezha, propped his head on one hand. His eyes roved her neck and chest. His tongue jumped out and touched her cheek. “Well, I don’t think she hid it on purpose. She just didn’t recognize it. When I got here, I won’t lie, she was bad. She’d lost consciousness and was close to shutting down, but Tilc had her.” Vyur closed his eyes. He had to claim her. He lifted her leg up onto his and slipped inside her. She sighed and relaxed. “Then I took her up to the roof. Colder than a Snowcat’s eyes up there.” “Good.” “She was too dazed to know what was happening until after she came the first time.” Vyur raised his face from where he had burrowed in her hair. He met the other man’s gaze. “Tell me she didn’t fight you.” “She was pretty freaked out for a few minutes. She didn’t fight me, just lay there. I could see she was horrified. I was, too. Vyur, they were the longest minutes of my life, thinking she was going to withdraw, that she’d refuse the pleasure.” Freezha whimpered. He directed Kel. “Give her your fingers.” Kel gently stroked her lips and she immediately opened them, a seeking flower. She closed around them when he slipped two inside and settled to suckling. He marveled at how calm he felt when the man’s face softened with affection. Kel stroked her cheek with his thumb and murmured, “Starlight.” “You talked her around?” “Yes. I don’t know, maybe. Her brain was awful busy there for awhile, and I think she made up her own mind. After that, no hesitation. She took the lead, and I let her until she pushed me too far and I had to focus, so I brought out the gag.” Vyur chuckled. “She can be quite the organizer.” They both fell silent, watching her. Whenever a woman could sleep through part of the heat, it was a blessing. Kel lay his head down, closed his eyes. Vyur nuzzled into her hair, feeling her wet clasp below, hearing the gentle sips as she suckled Kel’s fingers. It was good to be home. He dozed.
He woke to the wiggle of a round little fanny against his hips. Freezha stretched, a long, lazy arch of smooth skin. She licked at Kel’s fingers, then turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, smiling that smile that gave joy to everyone around her. His Lizzeed roared at Kel’s proximity. He felt his face harden as his lips peeled back from his teeth. He clamped down on the unreasoning fury. Her heat scent had faded, and Kel stank up her skin. “Vyur?” Freezha questioned the change. “Kel. Heads up.” He spoke through gritted teeth, when what he wanted to do was lean across her and beat his face in. In a flash, Kel was off the bed and across the room. Freezha jumped at his speed. “It’s over?” Kel’s voice was carefully neutral. “Yes. Do me a favor. Stay away from me for a few days.” Just like that he was gone. “Vyur! How dare you treat him like that?!” He pulled her up, and she stood on shaky legs, watching with an open mouth while he stripped the bed violently and bundled everything into her robe. He tossed it into the hallway. Pulling out the first robe he grabbed from the trunk, he wrapped her in it and towed her to the washroom. Everyone avoided his eyes on the way. He scrubbed her in a cold, controlled manner and she let him. Kel’s scent was an abomination. How had he let him touch her? It was over. Then he realized that he had never made love to her. Their chance at having a baby was probably over for a year. Regret and sorrow roared through him. He caught her up in his arms, holding her tight while they stood in the deep pool. Her slender arms held him, steadied him. She was alive, and well. When they were back in the room, he laid down fresh sheets, scooped her up, and laid her down precisely in the middle of the big bed. He sat cautiously on the side of the mattress. “Are you angry?” “Why on earth would I be angry?” “I failed to be there for you when you needed care. I wasn’t here to recognize your first heat.” He paused, and his voice came so low, and sorrowful. “With my selfish fantasy, I ruined a chance at making a child with you.” “Vyur, we’ve been married, mated, only a month. I know you want children. I want them too, eventually. I’m not angry that we have a year to ourselves, to learn each other. I’m still learning Vladaya. And your fantasy happened to be one of mine, also.” She shivered, hugging herself. “I was completely stuffed, front and back. Having you down my throat like that, I’m amazed I didn’t choke. I loved it. Don’t be mad at Kel. What seems wrong now wasn’t wrong last night.” “I’m not mad at Kel for soothing you. I just can’t stand his smell right now.” He rubbed his head. “You’re right. It’s too soon for you. I’ve just dreamed of holding my own child for so long.” He stroked her hair where it tumbled over the edge of the bed. “I’ll just have to hold you instead, my love. My fantasy come true. You are kindness, sex, laughter, and love. I’m the luckiest man alive.” “Oh mate of mine, you’re so sweet.” She held her arms out to him, and cradled him. He laid his head on the rise of her chest. Closing his eyes, he listened to her heart. He had met the challenge of every man facing him, taken violence and rigid self-control into himself his whole life. This woman made him feel as soft and needy as a baby, untainted and peaceful.
“I love you, Vyur. You are the man I crave, and dream of. We need to work on my self-defense, because the next time you get sent out, I have to go, too. I won’t stay home and ache like that again. It wasn’t the heat that was horrible. It was the four nights before it. The black cock is no fun without you. I can’t sleep with empty arms. You are more than my man. You’re part of me and I won’t be without you if I can help it. Besides, you’d soon be without any pants.” “Pants?” She giggled, “Never mind.” He rose up above her, black eyes to violet. He felt her heartbeat skip under his palm, then change its rhythm to match his. He leaned in and kissed her, stroking her lips with his, stroking her tongue with his, drinking her breath. “There’s a legend among my people. Women who endure their first heat so early have unusually short heats.” He sipped her lips. Teasing him, she made a pouty, sad face. “Ohhh. I’m so unlucky.” He nipped her nose. “Brat. Listen to the rest of the legend. That’s the best part. Twins.” Freezha’s eyes went wide. “WHAT?!” Chuckling, he opened her robe. “You know, I was impressed Kel made your breasts leak. I think I’m under an obligation to match that skill. I think I’ll have to suck pretty hard to pull up your milk now that the heat has faded.” He bent his head. “Oooooohhhhhh…” He twined his Lizzeed tongue around and around her berry nipple, watching her face ease in a dreamy smile. Soon their children would be drinking this milk down. Until then, he’d drink deep. The End About the Author: Mima is a dreamer in upstate NY. When people query her on what she’s reading, she answers proudly and simply, “A really sexy romance.” She firmly believes women know the difference between fantasy and reality, and need both. No matter how sweet the kids, husband, mother, cats, house(work), and job are. Mima is at
[email protected] and www.myspace.com/runemima
Meet LSB Authors At The House Of Sin Lsbooks.NET We invite you to visit Liquid Silver Books LSbooks.com for other exciting erotic romances. 2007: Terran Realm Urban fantasy world: TerranRealm.com Featured Series: The Zodiac Series: 12 books, 24 stories and authors Two hot stories for each sign, 12 signs The Coven of the Wolf by Rae Morgan Benevolent lusty witches keep evil forces at bay Fallen: by Tiffany Aaron Fallen angels in hot flight to redeem their wings The Max Series by JB Skully Meet Max, her not-absent dead husband, sexy detective Witt, his mother… And many, many more!
