Desert of the Damned (20 page)

The man’s hands worked her neck, arms and back, then moved down to her ass.

After squeezing and massaging her ass cheeks, he continued to her thighs but first he slicked up his hands with more oil. Dante felt his cock twitch. He knew he mustn’t speak until Gwyllain spoke first.

The linebacker with long blond hair slid his hand between her crease and Gwyllain giggled and wiggled her hips. He looked up and grinned at Dante, then continued his work on her thighs and calves. “Oh, you have wonderful hands, Valdon,” she breathed.

“A Drone has come to give his offering, mistress,” Valdon said as he grinned at Dante.

“I’ll come back.” Dante groaned to himself and turned around. He’d take a walk around outside and then return. By that time, she should be finished with Valdon.

“Where the hell are you going?” she snapped.

“You look…busy. I thought I’d give you some privacy,” Dante said, trying not to show his impatience.

She raised her hand and the sound of metal chains rattling came up behind him. A cold steel collar locked around Dante’s neck. Another slave dragged him and chained him to the wall beside Gwyllain’s lounger.

Gwyllain rolled onto her back, exposing her full breasts and smoothly shaved pussy. Her clit ring glinted in the light from the flaming sconces. Pouring more oil into his hands, Valdon rubbed them vigorously together while he grinned up at Dante as if saying, “Glad her wrath is on you and not me.”

Valdon leaned over her head and massaged the glistening oil into her breasts and abdomen. Despite his predicament, Dante’s cock twitched at the erotic sight. Gwyllain was beautiful even though she was a bitch.

“Something on your mind?” Dante asked with a slight tone of annoyance. He had an idea but thought he would wait for her words. A vibration shook the marble floor, sending a ripple across the pool water. Outside, thunder and fierce winds clashed in a violent storm. Gwyllain seemed oblivious to it.

She sighed and languidly stretched her arms up over her head, looking awfully calm considering her kingdom appeared to be crumbling at her feet. “Your sexual adventures are not the most adequate means to collect the vital chi I need to maintain Anartia,” she said with a cutting tone.

Dante knew better than to argue. Killing mortals was not his favorite choice and drawing off the life force without killing wasn’t an easy skill. Sexual encounters were more desirable as long as he didn’t transfer his chi energy to his partner by having intercourse. His throat tightened. Now he knew why Gwyllain was pissed. Not because he was late but because of the level of intimacy with Amy. But his last interaction with 108

Desert of the Damned

Amy was not physical and he drained her chi on a subconscious level. The loss of his energy to her was still possible.

“You fucked up, Dante, and you’re running out of time.” She pointed an accusing finger at him. Her lips tightened, pressing all the flow of blood out of them so they looked pale. Valdon stepped away from the lounger at the fury in her voice, possibly realizing all the massaging in the world wouldn’t relax Gwyllain at the moment.

“I can make my quota in time. I did last time.” Tugging at the chains, he tested the strength of the bolts. He wasn’t going anywhere. “If I can make my offering to you and get back to Earth.”

“Your offering is tainted.” She waved her hand toward a slave girl seated on a marble bench by the pool. As she approached Gwyllain, Dante could see she looked to be in her twenties. Her exotic dark eyes glanced shyly at Dante then were averted.

When she stood beside Gwyllain, her head bowed, straight blue-black hair fell forward, nearly covering her face. She was small in frame but the thin blue sarong that covered her showed every outline of her round breasts and curved buttocks. “Take his offering,”

Gwyllain demanded. “Dante needs to start fresh. I will not accept tainted chi.”

“But I acquired this woman’s chi through dream travel, through her subconscious, not physically. It was her dream that I barely entered her. And it was only for a second.

Such a waste of the life force.”

The woman untied the golden braid holding her sarong together, opened the silky robe and let it slide to the floor. She then kicked off her golden sandals and sauntered over to Dante.

“It is a waste, isn’t it?” Gwyllain glowered at him. “If you don’t make your quota of offering in time, you can take Valdon’s position. He’s been my personal slave for about one hundred years now. I’m sure he’d like a chance to return to Earth for some recreation.”

Valdon gave Dante a competitive glare. His eyes glinted with mischief.

Great, the bouncer-sized slave wanted Dante’s job.

“Don’t be concerned about running out of time,” Gwyllain said with a soothing motherly tone as she stroked Valdon’s cock beneath his loincloth. “Tarik is performing some experiments which require more energy. That’s why Anartia is experiencing some unseasonable weather. I needed to call up a few more Drones before their time to assist, as I did you.”

Dante nodded. The woman unzipped his pants and had them tugged down his hips. Fuck, he was getting hard. “That explains why you called me back early. I thought I wasn’t due until 2055. Every hundred years you had said.”

“Or as you are needed,” Gwyllain corrected.

“Do you really have to do that, darling?” Dante asked the woman.

She smiled and nodded. “Believe me, it’s my pleasure.”

109

Kathy Kulig

He sighed in frustration. “Great,” he said sarcastically. “Are you going to tell me your name?” he asked the woman sucking his cock fiercely. He had to admit, she was damn good.

She raised her head for a moment and said, “Sakari.” Her small hand wrapped around his penis with an iron grip. She slowly pumped the length of him.

He took in a breath and tried to steady his words. “And when will Tarik complete his project?” he asked Gwyllain, trying not to succumb to Sakari’s expert touch. Was this a test? He knew he’d lost some chi with his dream travel with Amy but he still had a reasonable offering to give Gwyllain. As good as the slave girl was working his cock, he didn’t want to give in to it. He had to save his climax for Gwyllain.

Gwyllain regarded Sakari’s attentions and smiled, then waved toward her slave Valdon to continue his massage of her. He rubbed his hands with oil and began on her arms and then slid to her breasts.

“Tarik’s work will be completed when Anartia is free from exile.” The demoness’s tone rose to a shriek. Anartia exists only as long as we remain here to be conduits of the energy to keep Anartia in existence. If either of us leaves Anartia, then this world and all connected to it will perish.”

Bound in exile, Gwyllain and Tarik had been trapped in this world and had to maintain its existence with Gwyllain as the matriarch by using her collected chi energy.

Her ruler husband had purposely designed her exiled universe to remain intact, depending on her numerous sexual adventures as the source of its continued existence.

A jilted husband’s revenge.

Dante bit his lower lip to stifle a groan as Sakari deep throated his cock again.

“Aren’t you wasting the precious chi by allowing Sakari to have her way with me? As much as I’m enjoying her company.”

Gwyllain smiled mischievously and didn’t answer. She glanced up at Valdon.

“Lower, please.”

Valdon moved around to her side, facing Dante as if he wanted to make sure Dante could see what he was doing to his mistress. With his huge hands, glistening with spicy scented oil, Valdon used both hands to work her mons until they were slick with oil and her juices. Gwyllain moaned and rolled her hips.

That didn’t help Dante to resist Sakari’s attentions.

Gwyllain sucked in a deep slow breath. “Over the last thousand years, I’ve acquired enough Drones such as you, Dante, to build the energy levels so Tarik could begin his experiments. We can’t invite all our Drones to Anartia at once because of the energy required to maintain our small world and support a hundred servants. It’s a delicate balance. And as Tarik continues with his experiments, more energy will be necessary.”

She moaned and Valdon slipped his finger inside her cunt. “Mmmm. Yes, Valdon.”

Glancing back at Dante with eyelids half lowered, mouth parted. “And then there are those who grow tired of immortality and don’t return or can’t return…” She raised her 110

Desert of the Damned

brows and glared at him. “We have to replenish the Throng—I need Drones and slaves to replace them.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Although he expected she was warning him.

“Don’t. Waste. My. Time,” she snapped. “You can be replaced. Or become my slave.”

Replaced. Would she kill him? Slave? He would rather she kill him.

Dante closed his eyes, trying to fight the onslaught of sexual desire gripping him.

Watching Valdon pleasure Gwyllain was beyond any mortal or immortal man’s control.

Sakari had his pants completely off and tossed aside. He hadn’t noticed she had disappeared into another room for a moment until she returned with a pillow which she placed on the floor at his feet.

Sakari knelt down, grasped his engorged cock in her fist and deep throated him right to the hilt. “Good God, woman.”

Gwyllain arched her back and groaned as Valdon pumped his finger or fingers inside her cunt. Dante didn’t want to watch because it was launching him closer to the edge of his own orgasm by watching her writhing on that lounger.

“Ah, Gwyllain, I can see that you’re busy and I understand your concern. But I do have a decent amount of offering to give you that is about to spill in this beautiful woman’s mouth. This woman who I’m involved with has an enormous amount of chi. I can find other means to collect it. If you need energy that badly—”

“We are looking at other ways to supply Anartia as well. You’ll have to work harder since your cycle is coming to a close. Once the full moon begins to wane. Kill this woman. Kill the three that you need for my offering. If you don’t, I will have Sakari drain all your life force and you’ll vanish into the dust of the desert, right where I found you.”

The threat registered but the consequences of not performing his duties were lost for the moment as Sakari continued to suck him off with brilliant expertise.

She grasped his testicles in one palm as she rapidly stroked up and down his cock.

The sensation of his pending climax coiled low in his gut. He groaned, trying to fight it, trying to pull away from her but not wanting to at the same time. Desire coiled and built deep in his groin. Too late to stop it. Clenching his jaw, he yanked on the chains as the spasms coursed through his body and the orgasm jolted him into a trembling release. He groaned louder, unable to restrain himself and heard Valdon laugh.

Dante rocked his hips, pumping his cock into her mouth and she sucked him. His seed spurted into her mouth. She took it all. Fuck.

111

Kathy Kulig

Chapter Thirteen

Determined to face Dante head-on, she marched down the hall Friday morning, preparing to barge into his office and ask what was going on but she slid to a halt when her hand gripped around the locked doorknob. Hadn’t he gotten in yet? It was after nine.

Her arms dropped to her sides.

“Dante called to say he’s running late,” Phil said from behind her. “Something I can help you with?”

Startled, she spun around, took a breath and sputtered her response. “No, no. I wanted to let him know Micro will have a preliminary report this afternoon on that project for the park service, but nothing final until next week from the samples we collected yesterday.”

Phil nodded. “Good. I’d like to see the final when you get it. My wife and I love that park. Hate to see those animals harmed, such a valuable resource.”

“It is a beautiful park,” Amy agreed, trying to think of a graceful excuse back to her department. She didn’t want to run into Dante with Phil standing here. Maybe she could’ve brought Sienna to work instead of dropping her off at Betty’s. Phil was such an animal lover. “I’m sure they’ll discover the cause and the danger to the animals will pass.”

“Let’s hope they do,” Phil said as he continued on down the hall to his office.

Had someone cranked up the air-conditioning? She felt like she was standing in a walk-in refrigerator. The image of the coyote walking through her walls sent a shiver through her. She had seen Dante in her house, change into the coyote and walk through her glass door. That was no dream because Sienna had woken her up. She had to talk Bill about the coyote.

When she got back to the lab, Truly was examining culture plates and casting odd looks in Amy’s direction. “You ready to get some coffee?” Truly asked. “I need a break.”

“Sure. Everything all right?” Amy asked as she washed her hands. “How’s your mom?”

Truly removed her nitrile gloves and washed her hands too. “My mom’s fine. We had a nice visit. Let’s get coffee but first I have something for you.”

Amy cocked her head, wondering. “What do you have? Not another kitten I hope.”

“No, remember on your answering machine I did something special for you?”

Truly smiled.

“Yeah,” Amy said cautiously. There was something ominous in her tone.

112

Desert of the Damned

Grinning widely, Truly slid a large paper bag from beside her chair and placed it on Amy’s desk. “Surprise! Happy belated birthday.”

“Oh, Truly. Wow thanks. That’s so nice. How did you know?”

Her smile faded. “Dante told me.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure why Dante would tell Truly about her birthday when he didn’t mention it until the end of the day, when she was out with Jake. “Well, let me see what it is.” She opened the bag and lifted out a cactus plant.

“It’s a Christmas cactus.”

The emerald green branches hung over the ceramic terracotta bowl. “It’s gorgeous.

Thank you.” She hugged Truly. “I love plants. And I bet I won’t kill a cactus.”

“Around Christmastime it’ll blossom with bright red flowers.”