Imprisoned

  “Then after I’d gotten her all warmed up, I would move down to her nipples,” Lathe murmured. “Some females like it when you just lap and tease around the nipples with your tongue. Others like it when you suck them hard—deep in your mouth. You have to experiment—see what makes her moan. What makes her wet.”

  “Wet?” Ari asked nervously. She couldn’t help feeling guilty—she herself was wetter than she’d ever been before, with her juices coating her inner thighs. Listening to him talk in the dark about how to make love to a woman while she touched herself was sending her closer and closer to the edge.

  Have to be careful, she thought. What if he figures out what I’m doing?

  But somehow she couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Yes, wet,” Lathe growled. “I love a female whose soft little pussy gets extra wet for me. We Blood Kindred even have a name for a female like that—we call her a numalla.”

  “Numalla?” Ari repeated breathlessly.

  “Mm-hmm. It means, ‘liquid pussy’,” Lathe told her. “There’s nothing better than getting between a female’s thighs and finding her all wet and slippery.”

  Just like I am now. Ari’s fingers moved faster in her pussy and her hips jerked slightly—it was so hard to hold still as her pleasure was building. But somehow she knew she had to try.

  “I love lapping up all the sweet honey on the outside of her pussy…cleaning her with my tongue and marking her with my scent,” Lathe went on in a soft, growling voice. “Then spreading her soft little pussy lips wide and licking her inner folds…putting my tongue deep inside her and tasting her honey straight from the source.”

  “Oh!” Ari gasped and her hips jerked again. Goddess she was so close…

  “Are you touching yourself?” Lathe murmured in her ear.

  Ari’s hand froze between her thighs and her entire body seemed to throb—hot and guilty.

  “I…I…” She bit her lip, not knowing what to say. Would he be disgusted by her? Kick her out of the bunk to freeze? Get angry because he thought she was another male who was pleasuring himself so close to him?

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Lathe murmured, clearly guessing at her consternation. “It’s all right, little one—you can stroke yourself as I talk to you. Just be certain to catch your seed in your hand when you come so you don’t make a mess on the blanket.”

  “Oh…I…” Ari wasn’t sure what to do. Her heart was pounding so loudly she was certain the big Kindred could hear it. Goddess, it was so embarrassing to be caught like this!

  “You don’t have to be embarrassed,” he murmured. Could he read her mind? “It’s all right to feel aroused…to bring yourself pleasure. I’m not upset with you, Ari.”

  “I want…want to hear more about how you, uh, pleasure a woman,” Ari managed at last, trying to get off the subject of the way she was touching herself. “You said you like to…to taste her?”

  “As a Kindred, I have a biological need to taste my lover—to lap and suck her pussy and give her pleasure,” Lathe told her, his voice rough with desire. “There’s nothing better than being on your knees, your face buried between your female’s thighs while you tease her sweet clit with your tongue and lap up her juices.”

  “Oh…” Slowly, Ari’s fingers began moving again, tracing the throbbing button of her own clit as the big Kindred spoke. “And…and after that?” she asked softly.

  “After I’ve brought her to pleasure and made her come with my mouth several times, only then is it time to fill her with my shaft,” Lathe murmured.

  “And how…what position would you take?” Ari whispered.

  “That depends, little one. On if we’re making love…or having bonding sex.”

  “B-bonding sex?” Ari asked. It seemed like he had said something about that before but she didn’t understand what he meant.

  “Bonding sex is the way a Kindred male bonds a female to him for life,” Lathe explained. “It’s deeper than regular sex—a step beyond making love.”

  “And how do you do this, uh, bonding sex?” Ari asked breathlessly. “Say if…if I was a female. How would you bond me to you?” She knew it was dangerous to ask but she couldn’t help it—the words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  “Hmm…I would need to be on top of you,” Lathe growled. “Face-to-face and inside you—deep inside you, little one.”

  “You…you would?” Ari managed to say. Her fingers flew, stroking her throbbing clit. “Why…why would we have to be face-to-face?” she breathed.

  “Because I’d need to look into your eyes as I thrust my cock deep inside you,” Lathe growled.

  He was bending over her, looking into her eyes now. Ari’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break out of her body and race away.

  “More,” she managed to whisper. “Then what?”

  “I’d take my time with you,” Lathe promised, his eyes and fangs gleaming in the dim light of the single glow. “I’d spread you wide with my cock and fill you over and over until I knew you were right on the edge, little one.”

  “And then?” Ari panted. Goddess she was close…so close…

  “And then I’d sink my fangs into your neck, biting you and filling you with my essence at the same time I filled your pussy with my cum,” Lathe growled. “And that’s how I’d bond you to me. If you were female,” he added.

  It was on the tip of Ari’s tongue to say, “I am female,” but something held her back. Her secret wasn’t just her sex—it was her life. She was beginning to feel very close to the big Kindred but she’d still known him less than forty-eight hours. If he reacted badly to her deception or if the wrong person found out she was female…well, that would be the end for her here in BleakHall.

  Instead what came out of her mouth was, “Bite me again!”

  Earlier, she’d thought that she couldn’t ask this of the big Kindred because she had no excuse to ask him to bite her. She still didn’t have an excuse but Lathe didn’t seem to mind.

  His big hand stroked up to caress her throat and he turned her head gently to one side, baring her neck for him. He leaned close, his hot breath stirring her hair.

  “Come for me, little one,” he growled softly in Ari’s ear. “Come while I sink my fangs deep in your flesh.”

  Ari felt the four sharp points against her vulnerable skin and then pleasure flooded her again and she was coming…coming so hard all she could do was gasp and moan as the big Kindred shot his essence inside her, invading her and owning her in the most intimate way she’d ever known…

  “Ah!” she gasped as the pleasure seized her and shook her like a rag doll. “Oh, Lathe…oh Goddess, yes…yes!”

  It was the most intense orgasm Ari had ever had and it seemed to go on and on. But at last Lathe withdrew his fangs from her neck and the pleasure ebbed a little, leaving her panting for breath.

  Slowly, she became aware of herself again. Her pussy was still throbbing and she was so wet and sticky between her thighs she felt as though she’d spilled a bottle of warm lotion over herself. What a mess!

  “Goddess,” she whispered. “I…I need to go clean up.”

  “No—don’t leave the bed. You’ll freeze,” Lathe objected.

  “But…” she bit her lip. “You said about…not making a…a mess on the blanket…”

  “Here—give me your hand. The one you used to touch yourself.”

  He held out his own large hand and Ari felt she had no choice. Slowly, she pulled her hand from beneath the thin blanket. Goddess it was embarrassing how wet and sticky her fingers were!

  “See?” she said. “I really need to go wash up. I—”

  But before she could finish, Lathe had taken her hand in his and brought her fingers to his mouth.

  “Gods, little one…your scent is so sweet,” he groaned softly.

  Then, with long, slow, deliberate strokes of his hot, wet tongue, he cleaned Ari’s fingers and hand, lapping away all of her juices as though he enjoyed th
e flavor.

  Watching him, Ari felt her heart pound even harder. What was he thinking? Did he know she was a female now? Or did he still think she was a male? If so, could he really be so willing to lap away another male’s seed?

  “Lathe,” she whispered when he was finished. “I…I don’t understand.”

  He was silent for a long time before he spoke.

  “I don’t either, little one,” he said at last. Then he sat up and climbed over her, leaving Ari alone in the bunk as he shut himself into the bathroom.

  Twenty

  What’s wrong with me? Why did I act like that? How could I do that with anther male?

  Lathe stared at himself in the scratched metal mirror, as though looking to see if the encounter had somehow changed him. He looked the same though—same eyes and nose and hair.

  The same fangs except now you apparently like sinking them into other males, whispered a voice in the back of his head.

  But damn it, Ari didn’t feel male! The boy was warm and soft in his arms—his flesh as yielding as a female’s. And the flavor of his seed which Lathe had surprised himself by licking off the boy’s hand…

  It tastes like honey—a female’s honey, he thought.

  Ari’s cries of passion were likewise feminine—soft and high instead of low and rough like Lathe’s own tended to be.

  And speaking of passion, he had yet to spend his. Looking down at his sleep trousers, Lathe saw that his shaft was still rock hard, despite his confusion about the boy.

  I need to come—need a release to clear my head, he thought. But when he took himself in hand, the images in his head were all of Ari—the sound of the boy’s cries and moans…the way he bucked his hips…his sweet feminine scent and the delicious flavor of his seed…

  Lathe stopped in mid stroke.

  I tasted anther male’s seed, he thought. It should have disgusted me but I licked it off his fingers as eagerly as I would have licked the honey from a female’s. What’s wrong with me?

  Was BleakHall getting to him…making him do things he wouldn’t normally desire to do? Turning him into an entirely different person—a male who loved other males?

  Lathe tried to imagine himself sucking another male’s shaft and couldn’t do it. Even when he put Ari’s face on the figure in his imagination, the idea did nothing for him. In fact, just thinking about it made his own shaft start to wilt in his hand.

  This is wrong—what I’m doing with Ari is wrong, he thought grimly. Not because he thought two males together was wrong—the idea didn’t do anything for him but he didn’t abhor it either. But it was wrong to start a relationship with the boy in which Lathe couldn’t reciprocate fully.

  I won’t be able to give him what he needs…what he wants, he thought. Giving up on pleasuring himself, he tucked his shaft back into his sleep trousers and then splashed some water on his face. Goddess, he couldn’t believe he was thinking about this. When he’d been considering all the dangers that might be involved in infiltrating BleakHall prison, falling in love had never made the list.

  Wait a minute—falling in love? What are you talking about? You barely know the boy!

  Right—he barely knew him and yet he’d bitten Ari and injected the boy with his essence twice. For a Blood Kindred, that was an extremely sexual and possessive act. Not to mention he’d held Ari and spoken words of sensuality and desire…had encouraged the boy to come as he spoke to him and had cleaned him up afterwards with his tongue…

  This isn’t me—what am I doing? Lathe asked himself again. What’s wrong with me? Goddess, I’m so fucking confused…

  Just then he heard a muffled thud and a cry of fright from the cell outside.

  Confusion was swept away and he felt an instant surge of possessive protectiveness rush over him.

  Bursting out of the fresher, he came out into the cell.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, looking for whatever danger had threatened the boy.

  “Th-there…” Ari pointed with a trembling finger to the clear door-wall of the cell.

  Prowling hungrily outside was a lasher—a huge one—with lantern-yellow eyes and fangs twice as long as Lathe’s.

  Lathe frowned. Was this the same lasher that had frightened Ari last night? The beast must smell the boy’s scent, but he’d never seen a lasher that interested in an inmate before. Usually they were just content to prowl around the prison complex without bothering anyone unless a cell door was opened. Then the hapless prisoner who was trying to escape was usually run down and torn to pieces. But Lathe had never seen a lasher single out any one person and stalk them like this.

  “Go! Get away from here!” he rushed at the cell door, waving his arms and shouting to scare the beast away.

  The lasher growled and hissed, spitting angrily. But when it caught a whiff of Lathe’s scent, it retreated immediately.

  “It’s all right, little one,” he went to Ari who was huddled under the blanket, breathing in short, terrified pants. “It’s gone.”

  “Is it?” Ari peered over the edge of the blanket. His eyes were huge and fearful in the dim lighting. “It…it threw itself against the door, Lathe! As though it was trying to come in after me!”

  “Really?” Lathe frowned. “I’ve never heard of a lasher acting so aggressively before.” He shook his head. “It must really like your scent.”

  Just like I do, he thought and then pushed the confusing idea away. He would have to deal with his own inner turmoil later. Right now he needed to comfort the boy.

  “It was growling and pawing at the plasti-glass.” Ari’s voice was still tight with fear. “I thought…I was sure it was going to get in.”

  “I told you, little one—the lashers can’t get into the cells.” Lathe slid into bed beside the boy. He started to climb over to the wall side of the bunk but Ari stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  “Would you…could you stay on the outside this time? I’d feel so much safer if you did. The lasher’s afraid of you—I don’t think it would bother me if you were on the outside.”

  Lathe raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I thought you were claustrophobic.”

  “I am…I was. But I don’t feel…” Ari took a deep breath. “I don’t feel so anxious—so scared around you anymore. That…makes it easier. Unless…” His voice wavered a bit. “Unless you left so suddenly because you’re mad at me?”

  Lathe sighed. He had made an extremely abrupt departure, and right after Ari had finished coming too. No wonder the boy thought he might be upset.

  “Of course I’m not angry at you,” he said, stroking the boy’s cheek tenderly. “It’s just…I’ve never done…anything like what we did with another male before. I didn’t know I could want to…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “Oh,” Ari said in a small voice. “I…I’m really sorry, Lathe. I didn’t mean to…to cause you any trouble.”

  “The trouble is all of my own making and all in my own head,” Lathe assured him. “Now come on, let’s get some sleep.”

  He started to roll on his side but Ari tapped his shoulder.

  “Lathe,” he asked timidly. “Would you…could you put your arm around me for a minute? Just until I get warm again? It was so cold in the bunk without you.”

  Lathe felt a surge of affection wash over him.

  “Of course I’ll hold you, Ari,” he murmured.

  He tucked the boy neatly into his arm and waited while Ari sighed and nestled against him, fitting his small frame to Lathe’s much larger, more muscular one.

  “Better, little one?” Lathe asked with a grin of amusement as the boy got comfortable. Ari reminded him more than ever of a kitten when he snuggled against Lathe’s side this way.

  “So much better,” Ari murmured and yawned. “Mmm, you’re so warm.”

  “You will be too, soon,” Lathe promised him. But he had no intention of letting the boy go, even after Ari had warmed up. Confusing and wrong it might be, but he wanted to sleep with the
boy in his arms all night. And that was exactly what he intended to do.

  Twenty-One

  The wake-up alarm blaring and harsh lights flashing woke Ari with a start.

  Lathe was already sitting on the side of the bunk, a towel wrapped around his muscular hips.

  “Morning, sleepy head. Come on and get up—I think it will be safe to get a shower this morning.”

  He threw another towel at Ari—a thin one made of some gray, rough material—and stood.

  “Well—come on.”

  Carefully, Ari reached up to her prison ID and adjusted the power flow of her look/touch projector to maximum. The already limited life-span of her power supply would be strained but if she was going to be naked in a room full of naked men, she needed all the realism her solid-holo projector could give her.

  But what happens in a week or so when the power runs out? whispered a little voice in her head. What are you going to do then? Especially since you’ve apparently decided to live.

  Yes, she had decided to live, Ari thought as she turned modestly and slipped off Lathe’s sleep top to wrap the thin gray towel around her and knot it under her arm. And no, she hadn’t decided what she would do when her power supply ran out. Maybe she could risk telling Lathe about her secret? After all, the big Kindred didn’t hate females the way all the other men in BleakHall did. So maybe…

  “Are you ready to go? We have to make the bunk first,” Lathe said, breaking her train of thought.

  “Oh yes—let me do it.”

  “There’s a certain way it needs to be done. I’ll show you.” Lathe showed her the correct folding and tucking technique and then straightened up and frowned. “Is there a reason you’re wearing your towel so high?”

  “Huh?” Ari looked down at herself. Since she was naked, she had automatically placed the towel so it would cover from her breasts down to her upper thighs. But now she realized that she was wearing the towel like a female would—not like Lathe, who had his own towel knotted around his hips.