QueensQuest

Suz
deMello

Janus is a planet that
lacks both tilt and spin. Its Shadowlands is the pewter band of dusk dividing
the violently hot Lightside of the planet from its Darkside, which is imprisoned
by eternal night. Birth rates on the planet are low and indiscriminate mating and
ménage sex are encouraged.

Audryn, Queen of
Shadow, has reached that time in her life when she must choose a king to rule
with her or fail to bear an heir, casting not only her realm but all of Janus
into chaos. Despite her duty, she is reluctant to share power, even a bit
distrustful. Janus’ nobles vie for Audryn’s hand. Although she enjoys trysting
with all her suitors, none seize her heart.

Then Storne, the
warrior Prince of Darkness, arrives to claim her as his bride, and she finds
she cannot resist his masterful ways.

Inside Scoop
: This book contains lots of hot ménage action including an F/F/M
scene.

A Romantica®
science fiction erotic romance
from
Ellora’s Cave

Everyone is trying to make babies except me.

Due to the bizarre configuration of our slowly moving
planet, Janus, with one face always turned to the burning sun and the other
eternally confronting the chill of space, birthrates are low and indiscriminate
mating encouraged. Except for me, Audryn, unwed ruler of the Shadowlands, our
pewter band of dusk dividing the violently hot Lightside from Darkside,
imprisoned by eternal night.

But I was not always celibate. Before the deaths in a
boating accident of my family, the king, queen and crown princess of the
Shadowlands, I was the less-important but happy younger sister rather than the
current occupant of the throne. My family was by my side when, at my thirteenth
starturn—an age that our Terran Progenitors would have called twenty years—my
virginity was taken with much pomp in a public display, as is the custom for
royalty.

I remember the ceremony well.

My first lover was my step-cousin Frayn. I chose him because
he was experienced but not so much older that I would feel intimidated. And we
had long been accustomed to each other—we’d grown up together, played together
throughout our childhoods. We grew apart because he was older than I and
therefore allowed sexual congress before I was.

When the day dawned, a servant shaved my labia to expose my
clitoris. Then I was massaged by two hearty men from the guard to arouse me,
ready me. This was considered a great honor and I hand-picked my favorites from
among the finest and strongest of our warriors. Murmuring endearments, they joined
me naked on my canopied bed and caressed me for hours while I sprawled,
mindless with pleasure.

With the scents of the rose and lavender oils they used
perfuming the air, they did not miss an inch of my flesh, even gently probing
and opening my quim and my bottom so my body would easily accept Frayn’s
member, which I knew was quite large. One plucked my nipples to hard red points
while the other caressed my clitoris with the tingling essences of mint and
cinnamon to heighten my arousal until I moaned with completion.

Frayn entered when I was in my bath, rinsing off the oils.
He pulled off his boots and stripped, dropping his codpiece, gold-embroidered
tunic and snug leggings onto the white marble floor before joining me. We
washed and touched, looking into each other’s eyes in anticipation. Our
servants brought us sweet pastries to keep up our energy, and wine so I would
remain relaxed. Despite the drink, I said, “I am a little nervous.”

“Do not fear me, Audryn.” Frayn slid a finger inside my
slit. “You’re ready. I promise you there will be no pain, only pleasure.”

I moaned and gasped as he probed, but managed to say, “But
everyone will be watching.”

“That is the point of Exhibition Day.” He gave me a smile
that gleamed wolfishly from behind his red moustache and beard, and his green
eyes glinted as he continued to explore me. “Some find that watchers heighten
the pleasure.”

Heat swept my body. I flung my head back and my breath became
short as he prodded the barrier of my virginity. He withdrew and stood, water
streaming off his body. He was slender but not thin, with a fine thick cock
rising out of a cloud of reddish hair. “If I remain, your maidenhead will not
last until the ceremony. Until noon, Princess Audryn.”

With a sigh, I watched him dry his body, dress and leave.

“He is a healthy young man,” my handmaiden Maia remarked,
adjusting her white tunic, which flapped loose over black slacks. All our
servants wore similar garb, with the royal sigil embroidered in silver over the
heart. Tall, with a regal bearing, Maia today wore her mink-brown hair in a
simple chignon at her nape.

“He is honored by my selection but I think he prefers my
sister.” I reached for the towel Maia held.

“He prefers the Golden Throne.”

“Beryla is not close to him.”

“The crown princess must hold herself apart.” Taking another
towel, Maia dried the hard-to-reach spot on my back.

“I am very sorry for her.”

“She will be the most powerful person on Janus.”

“Of what use is power? With it comes responsibility, duty
and constraint. She did not have the ceremony I will enjoy today,” I said. “She
must wait until the future king is chosen, and who knows when that will be?”

“Soon, since she grows older and approaches her seventeenth
starturn. She must select a mate and bear children, for the stability of the
Shadowlands.”

Maia took a fine chemise, ironed and ready for the noon
ceremony, and draped it over my head, tugging it over my body. Of thin pink
gauze, it hid none of my curves.

My mother and sister entered, both elaborately dressed as the
ceremonial day demanded in beautiful gowns with the high, stiff ruffs my mother
preferred framing their faces over square necklines. Both wore colors that
complemented them—my mother in rose, a shade that flattered her fair hair and
milky skin, and Beryla in leaf-green. A brunette, she looked especially pretty
in green.

“Are you ready, darling?” My mother hugged me, then kissed
me on both cheeks as was our custom.

Tearful, I hugged back. “Today I become fully a woman. I am
so excited!”

“And I am envious,” Beryla said. “Mother—”

“Yes, we know you must find a future monarch soon. We have
sent emissaries to both the Darkness and the Light,” our mother said. “They
will select from among their highest-born, and after they arrive you will
choose the prince who will provide the best seed and will marry into the house
which will be most politically advantageous.”

“Sounds like great fun,” muttered Beryla.

“You won’t be forced to take a man you don’t want,” the queen
said.

“You know how Father is when he gets an idea into his head.”
Beryla compressed her lips.

“I will take care of your father,” our mother said with
affection. “Now let’s not allow your worry to overshadow Audryn’s Exhibition
Day!”

“It won’t.” I pushed my long dark-blonde hair behind my ears
and Maia began to braid the mass before securing it with a ribbon.

“Let’s go. It is time.” My mother took one hand and Beryla
the other. Maia followed.

As we left my rooms, we were joined by the same guardsmen
who had pleasured me earlier that morning, now attired in the black-and-red
royal uniforms, swords sheathed at their sides. I smiled at them and they
smiled back. Renewed desire flooded my body as I remembered what they had done
with me, to me. I realized that after the ceremony I could have them also,
whenever I wished.

My flesh tingled. I felt wet between my legs and I could
hardly put one foot in front of the other from the trembling in my limbs.

I was
very
ready.

We walked through the palace to the front, where a marble
terrace some yards wide formed a platform below which lawns extended to the
castle walls and portcullis. Today the gates were open and the public had
gathered to watch. Two of Janus’ three moons adorned the somber sky and a
festival atmosphere prevailed, with temporary booths distributing food and wine
dotting the perimeter walls. I could smell roasting meats mingling with the
scents of the freshly cut lawns and the perfumes worn by the scantily clad
populace.

Despite the thin light and slight warmth provided by the
moons, many women wore flimsy garments like mine. The males sported large
decorative codpieces poking from the front slits of their tunics. I guessed
that our coupling would have a stimulating effect. Good. We always needed more
births.

Plus the people attended because the continued sexuality and
fertility of the royal family was of great concern to Shadowlanders as well as
the rest of Janus. We control the narrow strip of Shadow between Darkside and
Light, the most livable part of our planet. We control the flowing streams of
water, the canals and rivers along which travel all commerce. We grow most of
the crops, produce most of the wealth. The rulers of the Shadowlands control
Janus, and heirs mean stability.

A high platform bed rested in the center of the terrace.
Behind it, against the palace wall, stood a massive gilded chair, large enough
to hold three.

The Golden Throne, the literal seat of power on Janus.

My mother and sister took their places on the throne to
watch. The king, my father, entered. With a proud smile, he took my shoulders
in his big hands and kissed me once on each cheek. I will always remember how
handsome he looked that day. Dark-haired but with green eyes like mine, he was
stockily built and clad in robes of ermine and green velvet.

Tears in his eyes, he squeezed my shoulders and murmured
brokenly, “My little girl…” I hugged him, my heart full of love and gratitude.

“Blessings on you, my darling dear.” He turned to the front
of the terrace and raised my hand, shouting, “Blessings on Princess Audryn!”

The crowd responded, “Blessings! Blessings!” This was the
traditional call for a fertile union, as well as an acknowledgment of my status
as a royal.

My father wiped his damp eyes with a handkerchief and joined
my mother on the Golden Throne.

Alone, I walked to the bed. I could feel the cool breeze
flutter my chemise, which brushed against my breasts. My nipples firmed.

Frayn waited, already naked, already hard. He stroked his
cock and a cheer rose from the watching men along with giggles from the
females. He turned his head and winked at the crowd. I laughed.

Now at the bed, I took his hand. We smiled at each other and
kissed.

A murmur rose from the crowd, a murmur that rose to moans as
I took his face in my hands to kiss him more deeply. He reached for the front
of my chemise and ripped it away, tearing it from my body. The crowd roared, as
if they knew that real action was close. But Frayn had other ideas.

He eased me back onto the bed so I lay with my hips at its
edge. He kneeled before me and, reaching up, parted my legs so my blonde muff
and pink quim were fully presented to the onlookers. Mutters of admiration
filled the air and, to my surprise, I wasn’t frightened, anxious or shy. My
pussy seemed to blossom open from the sounds of acceptance I heard from my people.

Lifting myself onto my elbows, I looked over the crowd,
fixing my attention on the first row. Most were watching me, but all seemed to
have very busy hands. Either they stroked themselves, or more often, caressed a
partner. The fancy embroidered codpieces were open and feminine hands grasped a
multitude of rods. Some ladies were already on their knees, while other women
had exposed their breasts, tempting the males to taste their nipples.

Frayn leaned forward and fastened his mouth to my quim.
Lightning shot through me and I wantonly pushed my pelvis forward, seeking
completion. Already swollen from the attentions of the guards, my clit twitched
between his lips as he sucked and licked. I drew a long, deep breath and
allowed the pure joy of this day to flow through my being as Frayn’s talented
tongue, the lovely scratch of his beard, took me higher.

He stood, his face shining with my pussy juices, and bent
over me. “The important aspect of this ceremony is that the people see me enter
you, see me take you thoroughly, again and again, and see the blood of your
virginity spilled over my cock. How do you want to do it?”

I blinked, called out of my erotic cloud to do my duty. I
managed a grin, though I was annoyed. I was already aware of the event’s
significance. “We should do it…visibly, I suppose.”

He caressed my pussy and fingered my slit. I took his tool
in my hand. His cock had swelled, thick and red with desire, and I wanted him
inside me. “Lie down,” I said, pulling on him to enforce obedience.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

“Oh, hush up,” I said. “You’re as royal as I am.”

“Not quite.”

“Jealous?” Pushing him down, I straddled him and teased him
with my body, bending my knees to dip low, letting my quim caress his cock head.
My breasts brushed his chest.

He gasped, his previous arrogance gone. “Audryn, please. I’m
about to burst.”

Smiling, I lowered myself onto his cock. As it entered me I
heard a thousand breaths drawn, and as I took him fully into my body, those
breaths whooshed out of a thousand throats. As he’d claimed, there was no pain,
just a slight stretching and tingling. I seated myself firmly until I could
feel his pubic hair mingling with mine and ground my pussy against him.
Pleasure began to claim me, but before I lost control I lifted my body off his
and, taking the shreds of my chemise, wiped the blood from his cock and my
quim. I tossed it to Maia, who showed it to the crowd. The people shouted their
approval.

I climbed atop Frayn again, took him again. Again the little
sting, which I welcomed as the price of my womanhood. I began to ride, giving
Frayn the thorough fuck he’d promised me. Ahhh… He was big inside me and it was
good, better than anything… I threw back my head, arched my back and thrust my
breasts skyward. The cool air teased my nipples before Frayn grasped them and
pinched the tips. I rocked, rubbing my clit against his pubic bone, driving us
both into a frenzy. His rod reached back all the way to my womb and the feeling
of being parted, being opened, was glorious.

I ran my fingertips up and down my sides, then clasped
Frayn’s hands as they cupped my breasts, increasing the pressure, increasing my
pleasure. I ground against him harder and rapture tore through me as I came. I
sensed rather than heard or saw my people with me… I felt as though I were floating
high above them as they shared my delight… A thousand cocks spurted into a
thousand willing quims while sperm rushed into a thousand wombs.

Gripping me around the waist, Frayn flipped me onto my back
and pressed his weight upon me, pinning me to the bed, and began to bang me
hard and long. Still peaking, I flung my legs out wide so he could get in
deeper, and he grunted as he thrust. “Put your legs around my waist. It is
better so.”