Courting Kel (3 page)

“Sweet Flame,” he groaned, rolling to his back with her in
his arms. “You’ve scorched me.”

She hummed as she stroked his eyebrows. Her eyes retained a
hint of black that gradually softened to gray. Then, as he had expected, they
turned blue-green.

“You are content,” he said, surprised that he sounded proud
of himself.

Her elbows poked his chest as she tried to free herself. He
tightened his hold, administering a sharp slap to her buttocks. Her eyes black,
she glared at him.

“When you summoned Drew, is this what you intended to do
with her?”

Deliberately misunderstanding, he said, “Drew is too young
for fucking.”

“Barbarian! You know that isn’t what I meant.” Her stormy
eyes aroused him. His shaft hardened and throbbed. “Already?”

“Yes. And so are you, Flame. Your cunt heats and twitches.
Your eyes darken and your skin flushes. You want my shaft sliding in and out
until you shatter.” He shifted her legs over his hips. “Sit up.”

Surprising him, she did. Glaring. He grabbed two pillows,
shoving them under his head. “I shall plan better next time.”

“Next time?” Her voice squeaked. Her lashes drooped, nearly
hiding her eyes.

Grateful the pillows were so thick he could suckle her while
she rode him, he cupped her breasts. Her nipples pearled, twin seros ripe for
plucking.

Unable to resist, he plucked. Her breath hitched. “I have
heard Amazonian women are excellent riders. Are you?”

“The best of the best.” She settled more firmly on his
shaft. A smile twitching the corners of her mouth, she said, “Not normally with
a saddle horn stuck up me, although…”

His chuckle made her cunt clench around his shaft. “One
day—no, one moonlit night—I’ll take you bare riding.”

“We…we’ll be naked?”

“Yes. The horse too.”

He could see her mind absorb the single horse without saddle
or bridle. The image of them riding together. Her body quivered until he could
almost hear her thoughts. Would he cup her breasts, toy with her nipples as he
was now? Would they face each other or would he mount her from behind?

She rose, slowly lowered her body until the hairs around his
shaft mingled with those surrounding her cunt. She did it again and again,
posting from a gentle canter to a fast-paced trot.

Her breasts bounced, making her laugh and turning her eyes
blue-green with swirling shards of gray and black.

“Suck me, Aren.”

He sucked her nipples, plucked and thumbed her clit. She
galloped, wailing his name until they both exploded.

He held her as if he would never let her go. The thought made
her sick with fear. She had to get home. Had to! If she didn’t, who would lead
her mother’s warriors? Who would keep her homeworld safe should the invaders
mass to take Amazonia once and for all?

As if he felt her need to escape, he tightened his arms and
smoothed his hand down her tense back. She could hear his heartbeat, its pace
slow and steady, a powerful thumping against her ear. An oddly comforting sound
that made her relax. She couldn’t run tonight, even if she could escape his
arms. She would sleep now, plan tomorrow when her mind was clear and his body
no longer warmed her. When she no longer wished she could stay in his arms, in
his bed, in his life forever.

If only…

Chapter Three

Aren awoke with a human blanket draped over him and the
scent of sex in the air. Slitting his eyes, he caught a glimpse of red-gold
hair across his chest. Flame. His woman, no matter how hard she might fight to
deny it.

Odd that his certainty about her lingered. He’d known Storr
wouldn’t shackle him to an ugly bride but this… Kel was beyond his dreams—if
he’d had any—of what a wife should be. His own parents had had a rather boring
marriage. At least on the surface. Placid, without overt issues. But he could
imagine arguing with Kel. Making up. Making love over and over until they
couldn’t move.

As if she sensed his thoughts or felt his heartbeat change,
she stretched and sat up, sweeping her tangled hair off her face. When she
looked at him, her shy smile slid away and her eyes—hazel this early in the
morning—looked confused and hurt.

Fingering a thick lock trailing over her breast, he smiled.
“I never did brush your hair. Now there is barely time to bathe and dress. I’ll
send Drew to help you.” Standing, he held out his hand.

As she crawled toward him, she winced.

“A bath will ease the pain between your legs.”

Looking relieved, she took his hand. “My legs are shaking
so, I wonder if I can even stand.”

“You can. Walking, however, may hurt a little.”

“It seems mating uses muscles I didn’t know I have. I
thought I was in better shape.” Grimacing, she straightened, extending one leg
to stand.

“I’ve heard most Amazonian women train as warriors.” Picking
her up, he carried her into the separate bathing room. He had plans for their
bedding he didn’t want her to know just yet.

“You have heard many things about my people. I have heard
nothing about yours.” Releasing his hand, she ordered the tub filled and
sighed, her smile wide. “When you send me home, I would like to take a supply
of caill-scented goods with me.”

“Drew,” he called, grateful the girl appeared quickly. He
needed time to capture Kel’s heart before telling her she would never return to
Amazonia. Ondrican avoided war by keeping mostly to itself. Except to gather
brides for The Choosing. And an occasional trip to Amazonia for lessons in
sensual pleasures.

“Drew, kindly help Kel to bathe and dress. I shall return
for her in an hour.”

“Yes, Aren. M’lady.” The girl pointed to the tub as if
ordering Kel to obey. An apologetic smile quickly followed.

Kel scowled at Aren’s wide back as he strode away, a towel
tied low on his hips, hiding the ass she had yet to see. “A very fine ass,” Kel
mused aloud, recalling how his buttocks felt under her hands as he drove into
her.

Praying Drew hadn’t heard her, she glanced at the girl and
saw her blush.

Kel submerged, determined to ignore Drew’s embarrassment and
her role in causing it. Women—
girls
—on Amazonia knew nothing of men’s
asses until their seventeenth season. And Drew was even younger. Kel had not
been allowed to watch the matings until she reached eighteen and her mother was
to pick a man to deflower her. A year later, her mother still had not decided
on Kel’s seducer. Now, nearly three years later, she’d been abducted and
brought here.

Wherever here was, she knew nothing of its placement in the
galaxy. Having heard her mother curse all Ondrican invaders, Kel assumed this
planet was Ondrican and it lay fairly near to Amazonia. Somehow she would have
to verify her assumption and plan her escape accordingly.

Drew pulled her up. “We haven’t time to dally, Kel. While
you wash your body, I’ll deal with your hair.”

“Thanks to Aren, it’s a tangled mass.”

“The shamwash will untangle any snarls.”

Kel had her doubts but soon learned Drew had told the truth.
Bathed and now seated on a padded bench, Kel watched in the mirror as Drew stroked
an ivory comb through her waist-length hair like drawing a hot knife through
butter.

Kel hoped the outside temperature was warm, as otherwise she
might catch a chill. Her hair took hours to dry. But when Drew finished weaving
luminescent pebbles through her curls, Kel’s hair had dried completely. It
shone like red sunlight.

She was so enchanted with her hair, she scarcely noticed the
sheer gown Drew draped around her. Until the girl said, “There! You will be the
most beautiful bride today.”

“Bride?” Kel squeaked.

“Beautiful indeed,” Aren proclaimed, striding across the
room and encasing Kel in a hooded cloak. “I’ll explain everything en route.”

Kel shot him a glare but held her tongue. No one on Amazonia
argued in front of others. Which wasn’t to say verbal warfare was waged in
whispers. In fact, when Kel’s mother wanted some item of news spread quickly,
she would pick a fight. Lingering servants and warriors would scurry from her
closed door and all but the most far-flung villages would know Basalia’s wishes
in a few hours. Only military orders were written.

Kel suspected her mother tested her warriors in this manner,
seeing just how long it took them to disseminate the information throughout the
nearby offices and hamlets. In truth, she sometimes marveled at their
efficiency, especially when Basalia’s mood brightened. How the queen knew
remained a mystery to Kel. Knowing her mother, Basalia would take the knowledge
to her grave.

“You look especially handsome this morning,” Drew said to
Aren.

“Tak, Drew.”

Kel looked more closely at Aren. He wore a golden
breastplate that fit his chest like skin but left his arms bare. A short tabard
hung off one wide shoulder. Skintight leather encased his lower body like oil
paints clinging to canvas. Kel could hardly discern where his pants ended and
his boots began. On his right forearm he carried a golden helmet with some kind
of material tucked into his armpit.

“Well, Flame, what think you of my appearance?”

“If you arouse, m’lord, you’ll split your pants.”

Drew giggled. Aren’s eyebrows quirked upward, as did his
lips before he laughed. “I’ll see my tailor soon,” he said, merriment lingering
in his dark eyes. Sketching a half bow, he placed Kel’s hand over his left arm
and led her out.

Kel looked around. When her guards had brought her here—was
it only yesterday?—she’d been too frightened to notice her surroundings. Today,
though far from calm, she took stock. She would need her wits when she escaped.
Knowing the shortest route to the outside world would aid in that effort.

“Your home is very grand, Aren. How many rooms in all?”

He glanced down at her. “Forty bedrooms. As for the total…”
he shrugged, “I have no idea.”

Their footsteps echoed along the wide marble corridors that
seemed to stretch for miles. Or perhaps the mirrored walls gave that illusion.
They made Kel a little dizzy, reflecting endless space and two solitary figures
strolling through the halls.

“F-forty bedrooms. Why so many?”

“Curious Kel, a new name for you,” he mumbled.

“Aren, please tell me. You must know I have no idea where in
several galaxies I am. Even if I did know, I have no way of telling anyone
else.”

“True.” A considering look, a sigh that lifted his wide
shoulders. Finally he said, “Our libraries have no records that tell us the
dates, but our historians believe eons ago Ondrican’s population was nearly
equal. As many women as men, give or take a few percentage points.”

“Amazonia once had equal numbers. What happened here to
change things?”

“We inbred almost to the point of extinction. Women died
giving birth to ill-formed children. Normal babies were sterile.”

“B-but…from the few people I saw when Tage’s guards brought
me here, you are all quite healthy.” She wanted to comfort him, ease his
obvious sadness. But she also wanted him to finish the story and poked his
ribs.

“As I said, the problem arose eons ago. After—and no one
knows how long ago exactly—some geneticists recommended we scour our galaxy for
new blood. The nobility, the most inbred of all Ondrican classes, fought the
idea for so long our entire population nearly died out. But at last even they
saw the need to bring outsiders here.”

“Forty bedrooms,” Kel reminded him, as they turned left.
Another endless corridor but she could see sunlight filtering in through a
fan-shaped transom at the end.

“Storr, the present king’s great-great—I forget how many
greats—grandfather sent out invitations to several hundred princesses. Forty
accepted. Knowing princesses enjoy privacy, he had this palace built with forty
bedrooms.”

Two things struck Kel simultaneously, so confusing she
didn’t know which to ask first. “How is it you live in this palace, Aren?”
popped out first.

“That will become clear in the next few hours,” he said, his
tone forbidding further questions of that kind.

Her temper rising, Kel snapped, “It would have cost Storr
less to let his nobles house the princesses.”

“Much less. But Storr wanted only
his
bloodline pure.
For his nobles he imported men and women of lesser stature.”

Kel gasped. “You mean he kept a harem? Only he…
mated
with
the princesses?”

“That was the idea. The princesses, however, soon grew bored
with isolation. They began to wander the halls. Encountering handsome, virile
members of Storr’s staff, of his elite guard… I believe you can imagine the
rest.” He flashed a grin, waggling his bushy brows in a lascivious yet teasing
way.

Recalling what she and Aren had done most of the night,
feeling a blush steal over her entire body, she could imagine all too well.

“Is that why there are no servants here now?”

“No. The men are at the king’s palace awaiting the brides.
Cover your hair, Flame.” They had arrived at the doors leading to the outside.

Another order!
Shooting him at rebellious look—which
he ignored—she settled her hood over her hair. “You have such strange customs,
Aren. My gown is so sheer a blind man could see through it, yet you don’t want
anyone to see my hair.”

“Among your many assets, your hair marks you as unique.”

“Tak. I think.”

Grinning, he helped her into an open carriage drawn by…
“Mechanical horses?” Kel said, her voice betraying her surprise.

“Yes. We use them for transport within Storr City. No
cleanup required. In the country…” He looped his left arm around her waist.
Sliding his hand up, he cupped her breast.

Despite witnessing matings, Kel had never been touched so
brazenly where others might see. Embarrassed at Aren’s public display, she
stared straight ahead and tried to ignore her rigid nipples and the heat
spreading through her body.

“In the country we ride real horses. Sometimes,” he
whispered in her ear, “we ride naked and fuck. I’m looking forward to our
ride.”

“When?” slipped out before she thought. Blushing, she shoved
his hand away. “I have never seen a city with so many trees. On—on my
homeworld, trees abound in the countryside but not in the cities.”

“I believe it’s so no one can hide behind them or in their
branches.”

“I would like to meet the person who told you so much about
my home.” The admission slipped out before she could stem it.

“Someday maybe you will.” Looking up, he added, “You don’t
have buildings taller than a single story, either. Their outer walls are flat,
the corners rounded. In short, there is nowhere to hide.”

“Were you in constant danger of being invaded, you’d take
such measures.” Kel had no idea why, but every other year or so, come spring,
the invaders swarmed like skeetmosques. Perhaps it was a rite of some kind to
prove their manhood.
Barbarians!

“Ahh, we’ve arrived. Castle Storr. Did I tell you the
present king’s name is also Storr?”

“No. And why should I care?”

“When he meets you he’ll insist you call him by his name. Do
not. Use his title only.”

“Which is?” Kel sniped, sensing Aren would refuse to answer
any other question. She preferred the smiling man to the humorless…master.

“
Majesty
is the shortest and easiest to remember.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“I wish you were,” Aren muttered. “Or could pretend to be
for the next few hours.” He helped her down then looped her hand through his
crooked arm. “Try not to let go of me. If we get separated, head directly
toward Storr’s throne. If I’m not there yet, keep your hood up and your eyes
downcast.”

“In other words, look and act like a dolt,” she said under
her breath.

“If you can.”

With that, he headed for the steps leading to Castle Storr,
towing Kel with him.

She heard the noise before she saw the crowd of men standing
in groups before a set of massive carved doors. Reaching for her dagger to no
avail, she struggled to free herself from Aren’s iron grip. For a moment—a
moment so brief the thought barely registered—she considered plunging into the
throng of men. As if she could hide her height even in the mass of tall men
milling about. And if her hood slipped or she lost her cape altogether… Without
a weapon—by the Goddess, even with one—she had no hope of escaping. And only
the Goddess knew what the men might do to her if they caught her.

“Stay quiet,” Aren hissed, taking her away from the doors.

And, thankfully, away from the men.

“They won’t harm you, Flame, but they might embarrass you.”

“How?”

“You’ll see.” Placing his fingers over her lips, he drew her
into deep shadows. “I’d take you in a different way except… We’ll wait until
most have gone inside.”

“Then what?” Knowing she could not survive battling so many
men, she acknowledged Aren was her sole protection. She also realized how
defenseless she would be if they did get separated.

“You’ll see.”

“Aren, take me back. We can…mate in every bedroom if you
wish. Or…or…”