Aftermath

  His lips, though soft and full, ravaged hers with insistence. He plunged his tongue between the seam of her lips and found hers, tangling and teasing her with furious strokes that spoke of passion and need. She could not get close enough to the heat and hard planes of his body to satisfy her desire to meld completely with him. Every touch, every kiss, made her whimper with desperation. She lifted up on her toes and rocked against his erection, feeling wanton, like a wild animal, caged and desperate for release.

  But she cared not for repercussions right now. She was right where she wanted, needed to be.

  She moved her hands freely over his body, from his neck to his shoulders, sliding her arms around his back so she could press her breasts tighter against the hard planes of his chest. Was it possible to crawl deep inside someone, to feel them to their very soul? She had not expected this type of reaction to Braedon's touch, yet it felt right, as if she had found where she belonged.

  Silly girl. He does not even want to keep you. He is all about duty and not love. This is sex.

  A part of her realized the consequences of what she was doing, but she could not have stopped herself from wanting Braedon right now any more than she could prevent the moon from rising tonight. An all-consuming need had taken over and would not be denied.

  Braedon tore his lips from hers and moved to her throat, his tongue swiping along the column of her neck. Goose bumps prickled along her skin, centering on her sex and pounding away with an ache that made her whimper and tremble.

  But she was not the only one trembling. She felt the tremors in Braedon's arms, shocked to discover he was not as unaffected as she would have assumed. She pulled back and searched his face. The hot intensity of his gaze seared her.

  "I want to be inside you, faerie," he whispered, his voice hoarse and deep.

  Words of response would not come to her, so lost in her senses as she was. She could only nod her assent.

  "But not here. I do not wish to be disturbed, nor do I want anyone interrupting us. Sheath your wings." She did, immediately. Swooping her into his arms, he carried her through the gardens and courtyard, his stride deliberate and brisk. She smiled when he waved off the guards at the gate who hurried toward him.

  They halted immediately and returned to their posts.

  He was not taking her outside the castle. He stepped through the darkened forest and into D'Naathian land, taking the same route she had taken toward the pools yesterday. She held tight to him and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling safe and comfortable for the first time since she had arrived at Greenbriar.

  And wanted. This feeling of having a man want her was indescribable. She had never expected to feel desire for her betrothed, especially considering the way he normally treated her. Yet she felt an underlying current of equal need from Braedon, as if he typically did not allow anyone to get this close to him. She felt strangely privileged to be wanted by him.

  They arrived at the pools and he set her down on the bank very near where she lay last night. He stood over her, his erection visible against his dark breeches.

  "Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked.

  She nodded. "I knew you watched me yesterday."

  He arched a brow. "Did you now? And did you touch yourself as you did to entertain me?"

  "Nay. I did so to entertain myself. 'Twas merely an enhancement to my own pleasure to know you watched."

  Flames licked her sex at the look of hunger on his face.

  "You amaze me, Trista. At times you are like a spoiled child, yet at others you act like a woman. A very desirable woman."

  She ignored the spoiled child reference. The thought of keeping him off balance intrigued her. Perhaps that was a good thing. "I am who I am, Braedon, and I make no apologies for it. I simply know what I want and I am unafraid of asking for it."

  "Then ask for it."

  She knew what he meant. He wanted to hear the words from her and by all that was magic she wanted to tell him. "Make love to me."

  He reached down and pulled her to her feet, crushing his mouth against hers, driving his tongue past her parted lips and tasting her, taking her, making her mindless with desire. One hand held her against him, the other moved over her body, stroking her back, her hips, moving forward along her rib cage and settling over her breast. She gasped into his mouth as he pulled the bodice of her shift down, exposing her breasts to his questing fingers.

  An explosion of sensation shot to her core as he found one nipple and flicked it back and forth with the tip of his finger. Gently, softly--it drove her mad. The bud hardened and she pressed her breast fully against his hand, wordlessly demanding more of the sweet torture.

  But he pushed her back, his breath coming in heaving gasps. Stunned, she wondered what had changed.

  His face was contorted almost in pain, his hands balling into fists as he held them rigidly by his side.

  What was wrong?

  "Undress, my faerie. And make it quick or I will rip the clothing from your body. I cannot wait a moment longer to feel you naked against me."

  Chapter Five

  Braedon's breath caught at the look of innocent desire on Trista's face. So many emotions, unguarded, evidenced her lack of experience in dealing with men. Both curiosity and desire melded together to pinken her cheeks and darken her eyes until they glittered like the golden flecks of her skin.

  Her innocence appealed to him more than it should. A woman's virtue brought problems. Problems he had neither the time nor the desire to deal with. Not when so much was at stake with the wizards. Yet he found himself strangely compelled to taste his betrothed's innocence, to take what she so willingly offered.

  He would wager anything that Trista was filled with undiscovered passion. He could not help but want to be the one man, the only man, to tap into her desires.

  Wanting her now was wrong. Custom dictated he wait until their wedding night to take her, but he could not make himself walk away from her. Her beauty, her innocence, even her devilish demeanor all served to bewitch him until he could not control his lust for her. What did it matter if he took her now or in less than a month when they were wed? 'Twas merely ceremony he was violating by taking her now. By rights she was already his.

  Any indecision on his part fled when she began to untie the laces of her bodice, letting it fall to her waist just as he had watched last night. The moon's light intensified the golden flecks embedded within her skin and she sparkled like a bright star. Even her nipples were golden. Being this close--so much closer than he had been last eve, made his mouth water for a taste of her. But he waited until she finished undressing.

  As she stood naked before him he had a most difficult time determining which part of her he wanted to place his mouth on first. Her full lips, her luscious nipples or between her legs, where a small patch of sable and golden curls hid her feminine treasure.

  Making a mental note to go slowly with her, he stepped forward, reining in his instinct to grab her and ravage her on the spot. Instead, he reached out and traced the lines of her face from her jaw to her soft neck, then over her collarbone and between her breasts.

  She sucked in a breath, the action thrusting her breasts forward in silent invitation. They hardened to soft peaks and he was mesmerized as if she had bewitched him with a magic spell.

  Yes, that is where he wanted his mouth. He pulled her into his arms and leaned her over his arm, capturing one stiff peak between his lips. Her fingers entwined in his hair when he pulled the bud into his mouth, pressing it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. Her taste was as sweet as her scent, arousing him until his cock throbbed against his breeches. A broken cry escaped her lips when he scraped the nipple against his teeth, tugging at it until she shuddered.

  This is what he knew he would find within Trista. An all-consuming fire that threatened to douse him in its flames. And he wanted more, wanted to add more timber until she burned them both out of control.

  Because control was his life, what he
held onto every single day. Right now he wanted to let go of the demons that ruled him and let insanity take over. What better place to set the wildness within him free than here with Trista?

  She was his and he would take her however he wanted.

  He released his hold on her nipple, staring at the wet gold for a few brief seconds, then laved the other with his tongue, this time watching as it sprung up tight, hard and glistening with moisture. Flickers of golden dust filled the air around him and he searched Trista's face for the answer.

  "When I am aroused I release my pheromones. They are meant to capture you under my spell," she said, a half smile gracing her beautiful face.

  Captured indeed, and powerless to control himself. Dropping to his knees, he caressed her hips, enjoying the silken feel of her skin against his rough hands. He glanced up to find her gaze trained on him, studying his movements. Was she aware of this aspect of lovemaking? Did she know how to please a man with her mouth? His cock lurched at the image of Trista wrapping her lush lips around his shaft and sucking him until he exploded.

  He had much to teach her about lovemaking between a man and a woman. The thought surprised him, as it was only a day or so ago he was convinced he would use her only to create heirs. Now he wanted to take his time with her, linger within her arms and pleasure her until she cried her ecstasy into the night.

  Then he wanted to teach her to please him, take hours, days, months playing with her body and teaching her all the ways she could do the same to him.

  Refusing to dwell on the whys of his change of heart, he focused instead on the tempting curls between her legs.

  "Spread your legs apart, faerie," he commanded. "Let me see your beautiful cunt." Her legs trembled as she widened her stance, allowing him a view of plump pussy lips and the sweet pearl of her pleasure peeking out from its pink hood. Moisture glittered along the folds of her sex, tantalizing him with the sweet, musky scent of her arousal. The heady fragrance was irresistible. Unable to wait a moment longer, he leaned in and pressed his nose against her mound, letting the silken hair there tickle his face. So soft, her scent so unbearably arousing he feared jettisoning his come right there.

  Moving downward, he slid his tongue along her soft folds, taking his first taste of the woman who would soon be his queen.

  Trista shuddered and reached for the support of Braedon's shoulders, knowing if she did not hold onto him she would surely fall to the ground. Though she had pleasured herself since she was old enough to become aware of her burgeoning sexuality, she had never been touched by a man before, had never felt the exquisitely painful bliss of this kind of arousal.

  And now he was between her legs, tasting her essence and driving her mad with the need to explode against his hot, wet tongue. She surged forward, giving him better access to her throbbing pussy, whimpering when he smoothed his tongue over her clit. Sparks flew out from her fingertips as her faerie dust shot forth, surrounding them both in her arousing pheromones that made her quest for release even more urgent.

  "Please," she whispered, then tugged her bottom lip between her teeth to silence herself. She wanted nothing to break the spell of his moment, nothing to disturb the ecstasy that hovered just out of her reach.

  Braedon tormented her, pulling back just as she climbed close to the edge, seeming to know when she was near completion. His tongue was maddening, sliding over her heated flesh and searing her with its fire.

  There! Oh, right there! He was a master of pleasure and she a desperate subject eager to learn all he could teach her. She had no idea the intimacy of such an act could take her to the very edge of reason.

  But watching him move his tongue over her, feeling the quakes trembling within her body and knowing he caused them was nearly too much to bear. The visuals of his tongue darting across her feminine flesh only added to her need.

  She grabbed his shoulder and held on as the first sparks of orgasm flamed inside her. When his tongue entered her cunt, she screamed and flooded his face with her creamy juices, unable to hold back as her climax went on seemingly forever.

  Could an orgasm make one insane? She had never lost total control of thought or action as she came, but knowing that Braedon knelt before her, licking up every drop of her release, made her temporarily mindless and unaware of the world around her. As she slowly floated back to reality, she looked down to find him sitting on his heels, looking up at her with a grin on his face. His face was moist with her juices, making her pussy tumble with pleasure all over again.

  Her heart melted. Braedon was so amazingly beautiful when he smiled. His blue eyes sparkled and she saw a dimple on one side of his mouth. Just looking at him made her desire spring to life anew.

  "That was merely a beginning, my lady," he said, standing and reaching for her. "We have much more to do this eve."

  She knew at that moment she would give him whatever he wanted.

  "Kiss me, faerie," he said, and she released her wings, fluttering up so she was at eye level with him.

  Grasping his face between her hands, she marveled at the difference in their sizes--he so large and she so small. She let her tongue flicker out and rim the seam of his lips, tasting herself on his mouth before sliding her tongue inside the hot cavern of his mouth, teasing his tongue with her own and hoping she was not fumbling in her attempts to arouse him.

  There were so many things she had no knowledge of, including kissing. She dare not tell Braedon she had never kissed anyone before or he would laugh at her lack of experience. Though as he pulled her down so her feet touched the ground and pressed his length against hers, she felt the evidence of his arousal and it pleased her to know he wanted her.

  Perhaps she was not completely inept. Though she was very curious. She pulled her lips from his and said, "I wish to do the same to you that you did to me." His gaze dropped down, his lips curling in a half smile that made her wet again. "If you wrap those sweet lips around my cock right now, little faerie, I will explode in your mouth." He said it as a warning, as if that was not something she would like. Oh, but he was wrong. For the very thing he thought would stall her was what she craved.

  "I would very much like to taste you exploding in my mouth." Uttering a harsh oath, he dragged her against his chest. "That we shall save for another time. I cannot wait any longer to sheath myself inside your tight cunt." He followed up his statement by crushing his mouth against hers. His fingers dug into her hips as he rocked her against his erection.

  Exquisite need coiled inside her belly, flames licking her sex with every thrust of his hard shaft against her. Yet he was still clothed, that barrier between them like an insurmountable chasm. Not breaking the contact of their lips, she reached between them and began to untie the laces of his jerkin, her fingers shaking as she pulled them apart and settled her hands on his flesh.

  Warm flesh. Heated flesh. Smooth, hairless, well-muscled, his heartbeat strong and rhythmic against her palm. His skin was hot to the touch, so much like the scorching need between her legs that craved soothing relief.

  But there was much more of him to uncover. She slipped the jerkin from his shoulders and trailed her fingers over a flat abdomen that boasted of bulging muscles. Realizing she could linger for hours on the chiseled planes of his abdomen, she forced herself to move lower, opening his breeches and following the trail of silken down to the hidden treasure.

  She encircled his cock with one hand while tugging his breeches with the other. He laughed against her mouth, the sound low and husky, pushing her hands away to finish the task for her.

  With an audible sigh she stepped back to view him completely naked. Truly he was perfection, even with the battle scars across his chest and arms. She made a note to kiss every one of those scars, but that would have to wait until later. Right now the sense of urgency filled the air between them. She shivered at the loss of his body contact and stepped toward him, thrilled at the possessive way he hauled her into his arms and kissed her on a ragged breath.

  Taking
her with him, he knelt then lay on the ground, positioning them so they were side by side. She rested her head on his upper arm and was lost in the blue depths of his eyes. Her skin tingled as he smoothed his hand over her shoulder and down her arm, then along her hipbone. Snaking ever lower, his fingers tangled in the curls of her mound before finding that spot between her legs that drove her mad with pleasure.

  When he slipped his fingers between her folds and gently inserted two into her cunt, she arched off the ground and cried out, widening her eyes at the sensation of actual flesh inside her. She had used the tubara stick to pleasure herself, but nothing felt as good as the feel of a man's fingers inside her. His flesh was warm and flexible as he moved them in and out of her, slowly at first then picking up a rhythm as she rocked her pussy against his hand.

  This was nothing like giving herself pleasure. This was lying back and letting a man take her ever closer to a shattering climax. She actually whimpered when he withdrew his fingers, then nearly died as he slipped those fingers between his lips to lick away her cream.

  Her heart pounded so hard she was certain he heard it, though he made no mention of it. Nay, he seemed more than focused on her face as he licked the juices from his fingers.

  "You taste like the sweet flowering fruit of your land," he whispered, pressing his lips to hers and letting her taste her own cream on his mouth. He fit his lips firmly over hers then, rolling her over onto her back and pushing her legs apart with his knee. When he nestled between them and brushed the head of his cock against her flaming sex, she moaned, eager to feel him embedded deeply inside her.

  She didn't need to wait long for he maneuvered his cock head between her folds, leaned up on his hands until his gaze met hers.

  "You are mine now, faerie. No matter the reason, no matter what happens, you will always be mine." He drove into her with a quick thrust until he was buried inside her to the hilt.

  His thick shaft filled her, stretching her until her juices poured from her pussy and down her buttocks.

  Oh, she had never felt anything so deliriously wonderful before. This feeling of being possessed and claimed by Braedon was overwhelming. The intimacy of the joining was indescribable. The sensations he evoked just being inside her was more than she could have ever imagined.