A Lotus for the Regent (16 page)

Kamen dove back
in, fingering and licking her pussy like a glutton, and Ajalira responded by
fucking his face, bucking her hips against his mouth. Kamen had to widen his
kneeling position to keep from being thrown backward. He braced himself against
her by wrapping his arms around her thighs. He used his left arm to hold her
still while his right forefinger and thumb spread the top of her pussy apart,
giving Kamen's tongue free entry to her clit. Ajalira went wild.

Kamen stopped
and slapped her ass. “I said not yet. If you keep this up, I'm going to punish
you with my cock. Did you see how big it is?”

Ajalira's mouth
turned into an O-shape, and then she bit her bottom lip. Kamen jammed his
tongue into her vagina and drank her juices, though she had not had an orgasm
yet. He pulled back long enough to lick his thumb, which he placed against her
button and massaged it, and then returned to his oral drilling. Ajalira raised
her ass and pulled Kamen in deeper by pressing her heels into his back, but he
could not breathe, so though he desired nothing more than to give her pleasure
like she had never known, he had to come up for air. He extricated himself from
Ajalira's legs and stood up, though he kept a hold of her, not letting her feet
touch the floor. He reached over, yanked at the edge of the bed sheet, and
wiped his face.

“
Are you ready?” Kamen asked, bracing himself against Ajalira so that
his stiff cock lay against her ass.

“
Make me come,” Ajalira said.

She was on the
edge already. Kamen held her by her buttocks and pulled back just enough for
his cock to rest against her wet pussy. And then he slid all the way in. Her
vagina was tight, not ready for a cock of Sunjaa size. Ajalira's eyes rolled
back in her head, and she came. Kamen held her ass as she shuddered and
squeezed him.

Once her orgasm
passed, Kamen fell into a gentle fucking rhythm, taking his cock almost all the
way out, only to slide it home again. He wanted to feel every inch of her,
inside and out, and though his cum surged toward the tip of his penis, he
managed to hold back the initial burst by going at a steady pace. Ajalira moved
like the ocean against him, sliding and gliding all around him. He was a sleek,
fast ship in her waters, and she opened to him as he parted her. They moved
together flawlessly, with a sexual grace surpassing anything or anyone Kamen
had ever known.

Ajalira could
not touch Kamen, so it was up to him to do everything, which was the way he
liked it. He learned forward without breaking stride and nibbled at her
nipples. They were soft and sweet, and her skin smelled like ginger. Ajalira
moaned and increased her pace. She wanted to come again. Kamen obliged her by
sucking on her nipple long and hard, drawing as much sensitivity into it as
possible before biting down on it. When he did, Ajalira cried out and came.

Kamen moved up
to her face, and though with eyes closed she opened her mouth for a deep kiss,
he only gave her a peck. Ajalira's eyes opened in surprise. Kamen stood
straight up and slammed his cock into her as hard as he could. He held her ass
tightly to keep her from slipping away and to prevent too much strain on her
wrists. He wanted her bound, but he did not want her injured. Though not nearly
as strong as Darien, Kamen was strong enough to hold this Ausir woman up long
enough to fuck her thoroughly. He fucked her at such a pace that his blood
burned and his heart pounded in his throat and ears. Sweat covered his chest
and arms, and he felt his grip slipping on Ajalira's wet ass. So he paused to
wipe his hands on the bedspread. He then perused her face and hair, his hand
following his gaze. He touched her hair, played with her damp tresses, and ran
his fingers along her horns.

“
Lovely,” Kamen said. He caressed her face, too, and as his fingers
strayed toward her mouth, Ajalira parted her lips. Kamen slipped his middle
finger inside, and she sucked on it. Kamen's cock swelled inside her pussy, and
she must have felt it, for she bucked against him again.

Kamen stood up,
but this time he did not wildly fuck her. He kept to his earlier, easier
rhythm, but as his hands clutched her buttocks, it was easy for him to press
his middle finger against her anal rosebud. Ajalira's eyes widened, but her
surprise quickly melted into pleasure. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips
as Kamen explored more of her ass. And then he popped the first knuckle inside
her ass. Ajalira arched her back, driving Kamen's cock deeper inside. She had
amazing stamina, able to twist her torso in such a way as to fuck Kamen with
more ferocity than he thought possible for someone in her position. It was like
she was on the verge of forever falling off a galloping horse, and yet somehow
she stayed on. She would be exhausted after this. Kamen just went with it,
slipping his finger in a little more as he slammed into her pussy again and
again. Her vagina squeezed against his cock as she came, and this time Kamen
felt her cum drip down his hands. Kamen did not stop, for he felt himself on
the edge of exploding, too, so as Ajalira gloried in her orgasm, Kamen thrust
two more times, leaned up, and kissed her lips. As his tongue penetrated her,
he felt the pressure in his cock give. He emptied his seed into her in thick,
hot spurts, and he did not break their kiss until every last drop of his semen
swam inside her.

As the passion
faded, fatigue threatened to claim Kamen. He had never fucked a woman in this
manner before, and now he knew why: he had almost no strength left in him. Mere
exertion aside, he had just dumped a load of cum inside her. But he could not
leave her tied up, of course. He untied her and took her into his arms. He took
slow steps on unsure legs to the bathroom, where he ordered her bath drawn.
Until it was ready, she sat curled up on his lap, her arms around his neck, her
face resting on his chest. And once the bath was ready, he rose and placed her
in it, washing away all her sweat and the day's grime.

Chapter Nine

Ajalira
luxuriated in the water, and the touch of Kamen's hands on her shoulders sent
shivers through her. Her muscles ached delightfully, and she was, for the first
time in six years, perfectly happy.

“
My love.” She leaned against his hands, and then those hands were
gone. She opened her eyes just in time to see him sliding into the water with
her. He pulled her against him, leaning her against his broad chest.

“
Say that again, Lira.”

“
Lira?” Ajalira turned to look up at him.

“
Ajalira is long,” said Kamen, chuckling. “But if you prefer, I will
call you so.”

“
Lira is fine.” She leaned back against him again. “But what did you
want me to say?”

“
I wanted to hear you call me 'love'.” Kamen brushed the top of her
head with his lips.

“
Do you know what 'Lira' means, my love?” Ajalira snuggled against
Kamen. “Or did you merely like the sound?”

“
I thought of calling you 'Aja'.” Kamen traced over her horns with
one wet hand. “But 'Lira' seemed to suit you better somehow. Still, I don't
know the meaning of either word.”

“
We Ausir are not particularly poetical people.” Ajalira shook her head.
“I was born while my parents were aboard ship, just as the sun rose. So they
named me Aja-Lira, that is 'Water-Morning'.”

Kamen's earlier
chuckle blossomed into a full-blown laugh. “Well, at least 'Morning' is
better.” His laughter became a smile, a smile half-sad, and Ajalira's heart
ached. “You are the morning of my life, Lira.”

“
A sad dawn then it is.” Ajalira turned all the way around to face
Kamen and ran her forefinger over his black brows. “I am Tamari, and we seal
every oath with blood. I … could not so seal my oath to you, except with a
blade.”

“
Hush.” Kamen leaned his brow to hers. “I told you no more of that,
or you will make me think my love is not enough for you.”

“
Not enough?” Ajalira threw her arms around Kamen's neck. “Kamen, you
are more than I could have dreamed, even before I went to the Dimadan.”

“
Then no more of this.” Kamen kissed her lips.

“
Then tell me why your eyes are always sad, beloved.”

Kamen grasped
her by the waist, turned her backward once more, and leaned her against his
chest again. “It is an old habit, an old wound—one healed by you, my fair one.”
When he smiled then, there was no sorrow in him that Ajalira could hear in his
voice, none at all.

“
You loved once before.” Ajalira was glad that he could not see her
face. Jealousy, she knew, blazed in her eyes. “And you see your old love
often.”

“
Sometimes,” said Kamen.

“
And you cannot have your love.” Ajalira closed her eyes.

“
No.” Kamen crushed her against him. “I
have
my love.”

“
I cannot compare to her.”

“
Her?” Kamen chuckled. “No, it was a
he
whom I loved.”

“
He?” For an instant Ajalira's shock was too great for further
speech. She knew that some Sunjaa men fucked other men, but she did not know
whether this were better or worse for her regarding Kamen's love. “Then how comes
it you do love me, for I am a woman?”

“
I like both,” said Kamen. “It so happened that the first time I
loved, I loved a man. He did not—could not—love me.”

“
He was a fool!” Ajalira could not comprehend that. “Not to love you?
That is impossible. He must be blind, deaf, and moronic!” Though a part of
Ajalira rejoiced that this mysterious man had refused Kamen's love, part of her
was furious that anyone should have hurt him so.

“
My sweet lady.” Kamen buried his face in her hair. “He is a good
man, but he likes only women.”

“
Will you be satisfied with me, then?” asked Ajalira. If he could,
then she would be glad that his first love had not been a woman, for then there
would be no comparison between her and him. “You will not want him again?”

“
You are all I want, Lira.”

Ajalira relaxed
into Kamen's arms. There was truth in his voice, and he had never lied to her.
He never would.

“
Time to get out.” Kamen rose and pulled her up with him. “The water
is getting cold.” He swept them both out of the tub and back onto the enormous
bed where she had slept these past seven nights.

“
Did I shock you?” he asked, lying down beside her. The dampness of
their skin was cool in the warm night air. “Does it bother you that I loved a
man?”

“
Not exactly. It is not that you loved a
man
.” Ajalira curled
up next to him, enjoying the warmth of his body. “But, Kamen, I admit that I am
jealous of—who was it?”

“
Darien.”

“
Saerileth's master?” That explained how Saerileth would know so much
of Kamen.

“
Yes.” Kamen shook his head, and his damp dreadlocks tangled with her
own loose hair. “She saved my life twice, despite that.”

“
Of course she did.” Ajalira's jealousy shifted. She knew now that
Kamen had not loved Saerileth, but she suspected that Saerileth had loved—
still
loved—Kamen.

Kamen ran his
fingers over Ajalira's bare back. “I don't want you to worry, Lira. Darien is
and always will be dear to me. We fought side by side. He was my captain. But
you saw the way he was when he witnessed our joining. He does not have any
feeling for me that isn't brotherly, and I can at last say the same.”

The gentle touch
of Kamen's hands on her back made Ajalira feel like a purring cat. “I did not
know that I would be tired after coupling.”

Kamen seemed to
understand her need to speak no more of Darien, and he switched from his
fingertips to his open hand, rubbing it across her rapidly-drying back. “Not
tired? What did you expect of me, my love?”

“
I have never...” Ajalira's voice trailed off, and she buried her
face in the pillow.

“
I like to play rough,” said Kamen. “It can be a bit overwhelming.”

“
No.” Ajalira rolled over to face him. “I loved everything about the
way you took me. It was that I have never—never climaxed before.”

“
Abrexa's cunt!” Kamen sat all the way up, leaning over her with
wide, shining eyes. “You what?”

Ajalira's cheeks
burned. “Not once.”

Kamen leaned
down and kissed her mouth, parting her lips with his tongue. When he finally
pulled away, his eyes were dancing. “Lira, my love, you are all, all mine.”

Ajalira locked
her hands around Kamen's neck and pulled him down to kiss her again. “Only
yours, Kamen.”

****

Kamen stirred,
and Ajalira smiled. Ausir rarely required as much sleep as humans, and she
loved the way he slept, sprawled over two-thirds of the bed, lying mostly on
his belly, and yet with one hand always touching her.