The Queen's Consorts (5 page)

“Bad, bad, Calder.”
Taryen laughed once more. “You’ll be punished for being crude like a commoner.”

“I can be cruder.” Calder leaned into Taryen and whispered in his ear, “I can tell you how much I crave fucking you. When I’m high on the herb and caring for those greedy wenches, all I think of is you, of taking you hard, claiming you, biting you, and marking you.”

“That’s bad.” Taryen’s eyes were dazed as he looked up at him, the lust heavy in his voice. “You shouldn’t say such things, even in secret with the queen’s language.”

“The last time they made me jerk off for the assembly as punishment for my lack of humility,” Calder went on, his smile devious as if he hadn’t just admitted to shocking abuse at the hands of the queen’s sisters, “I thought of you the whole time. I enjoyed every moment of it, and when I was done and they made me lick it up, all I could think was how good my desire for you tasted.”

“Cal,” Taryen choked, his dark eyes still alight with desire. “If they heard you say even a portion of that, you would spend months chained up and bleeding for your crimes against our queen’s sisters. The healing waters would become a distant memory for you.”

“It’d be worth it.”

Calder leaned down, capturing Taryen’s lips, and then reached between their bodies, grasping his cock to angle himself between Taryen’s spread thighs. He pushed into him slowly, his movements controlled as if he were savoring the moment. More impatient than Calder, Taryen’s body bowed to the thrust of Calder’s cock inside him, forcing them to break the kiss.

Calder let out a low groan in response, burying his face in the curve of Taryen’s neck. “I would do anything for
you,
endure any pain, any humiliation. I would suffer for an eternity to protect you from the life our gods gave you.”

“The gods gave me you.” Taryen breathed softly, stroking Calder’s hair as he spread his thighs wider, taking him deeper. “Pain and humiliation are a small price to pay for that gift. I’m thankful every day for the life the gods bestowed on me.”

“Gods, you believe that,” Calder growled, pulling out and thrusting hard as if wanting to punish Taryen for loving him. “You have no freedom. It’s worse than prison. There’s no hope of escape. Your free will is gone forever, Tary.”

“But I have you,” Taryen reminded him softly. “Now stop talking and fuck me.”

Calder gasped, making it obvious he wasn’t used to hearing that word from him. Their movements became fluid, the two of them coming together as one entity when Calder started fucking him in earnest. Feeling horribly guilty for the indulgence, Sari watched greedily, seeing the slide of Calder’s slick cock going in and out of Taryen’s ass. Their sounds of pleasure caused an ache almost too painful to be denied to well up inside her.

Sari savored the image, trying to commit every nuance to memory, seeing the way Taryen’s fingers tightened in Calder’s hair, clinging to him as he took every hard thrust of his cock with a look of profound pleasure etched on his beautiful face.

“You want to finish?” Calder
panted,
his head falling forward heavily until he whispered against his lifemate’s flushed skin. “You want the freedom of release?”

“Please,” Taryen rasped in response, one hand running down the muscular line of Calder’s back to grip his firm ass, forcing him harder and faster into him. “I want you too badly. I can’t hold on.”

“Then don’t,” Calder groaned lovingly. “You deserve freedom, Tary. I wish I could keep you here forever.”

Calder sucked hard on the sensitive curve of Taryen’s shoulder, marking him. His fists curled against the hardwood floor. He thrust harder, claiming Taryen, as if seeking some way to destroy the last of his resistance against surrendering to the joy of release.

Taryen cried out, his palms flattening against the wood as he arched into the thrust of Calder’s cock, which was still harsh and unrelenting. His eyes squeezed shut, pleasure making his face radiant when his body started trembling with the unmistakable signs of release. Still moaning, his body shaking noticeably, he slipped one hand between their slick, straining bodies, milking his cock as he rode out the bliss.

Only when Taryen fell lax beneath him did Calder start searching for his own freedom. It wasn’t hard for him to find. After a few erratic strokes his body tensed and he cried out. Taryen moaned in response to Calder’s climax. His face was a mask of sated pleasure as he stroked his open palms up the curves of Calder’s waist to the broad muscles of his back, caressing his lifemate as Calder fucked him to the pulse of his release. When the moment passed, Calder collapsed over him, both of them panting and sweaty.

Calder placed breathless, reverent kisses up the line of Taryen’s throat, stopping to whisper in his ear. “I love you.”

A serene smile tugged at his lip. “Love you too.”

Calder pulled back to run a finger over the love bite he’d left on the curve of Taryen’s neck. “We need to get you in the waters before the mark is discovered.”

“I wish I could wear it,” Taryen said, still smiling contently.

“You can’t,” Calder snapped at him. “Not unless you want to see me punished for causing it.”

“I’m designed by the gods to be coveted and desired by all who lay eyes on me, a divine being of pleasure gifted to her Royal Majesty Queen Darisa for serving our people.” Taryen’s dark eyes opened to stare up at him with false innocence. A broad smile tugged at his full lips. “It wasn’t your fault; I drove you to it.”

“And
I’m
the one being punished for lack of humility.” Calder snorted as he pushed at Taryen’s shoulder. “Come on, waters now or we’ll face tomorrow with no sleep.”

Taryen groaned in complaint, obviously content where he was, but he rolled over nonetheless. He crawled from beneath Calder, staying on his hands and knees as he made a move for the robes lying folded in the corner.

“You move like a balder slug after sex.” Calder crawled over to him and yanked his robes out of his grasp. He tugged them over Taryen’s head, not even bothering to make sure he got his arms through the sleeves. He threw his shoulder into Taryen’s stomach, picking him up from a sitting position, showing off an amazing amount of strength considering Taryen was nearly as big as him. When Calder stood with Taryen tossed over his shoulder like a bag of meal, he wheezed, “Gods, but you weigh more every day.”

“I’m only twenty. I’m still growing, you know?” Taryen said, laughing and not fighting his hold.

“My back won’t be able to take it.”

Calder staggered dramatically, another display of his enormous strength considering Taryen’s large size and dense, muscular build. They likely weighed the same. Calder was a few inches shorter than Taryen, but also thicker. His biceps were so large Sari didn’t think she’d be able to get both hands to wrap around them, and Taryen’s were nearly as large. She could hardly imagine how many hours of battle training it would require to gain bodies like theirs.

Unaware of her admiration of them, Taryen laughed harder, covering his face with his hands, and Calder grunted in response. “Shh, we still have a sister in our bed.”

“That pain syrup will keep her out forever. Lady Versa was unconscious for three days before it wore off. And Lady Versa is inclined to indulgence. She’s much larger than our poor Lady Sari.”

Sari feigned sleep when Calder turned, Taryen still over his shoulder, now struggling with his sleeves as if he was used to spending time in such an odd hold. Forcing her breathing to be steady and shallow like that of one deeply drugged and sleeping, Sari felt Calder’s eyes on her as he mumbled, “She really is oddly beautiful. I almost find myself wanting to please her. To hear what she sounds like. To know how she tastes.”

“I thought you preferred only males. You say females repulse you.”

“I may have to stand corrected,” Calder said over the sound of an ass being smacked. “And you know you’re not to repeat my distaste for females.”

“I’m using the queen’s language.” Taryen snorted, sounding incredulous. “And you’re one to talk. My ears are still ringing from your naughtiness.”

“Mmm, true.” Calder turned back around without another word on the matter.

Sari opened her eyes to watch Calder walk out of the room completely naked, wearing only his lifemate over his shoulder for modesty.

Calder worried the gold balls on his tongue, pushing his front teeth against them as he sat on the floor staring at the bed, studying the lovely female who slept in it. Part of him knew she was dangerous, not just to him and Taryen, but to herself as well.

If it got out that he and Taryen actually favored one sister above the others, they’d all be in trouble.
Odd considering he hadn’t even touched her and had no idea if she was cruel or kind to serve.

What if she was the queen?

He would be lying to himself not to acknowledge that thought rolling around in the back of his mind. Why else would he feel so completely drawn to her, but the idea was giving him a strange sort of mental whiplash. Though rationally he knew the queen was his age, the idea was peculiar now that he could possibly face it. He was used to serving those much older than him. More than even that, it was the realization that he
liked
this woman. The idea of serving her wasn’t at all unappealing, when he usually abhorred being forced to attend to the sisters.

He admired her long, curly brown hair, tangled wild and loose around her, the streaks of white at her temples that marked her as a Rayian standing out starkly in the dark strands. He remembered her eyes, a startling shade of bright green that made one want to stare into them for hours.

She was young, curvy, and beautiful, but even that shouldn’t compel him unless she was the one he was meant to serve and defend. Most Rayian females were striking. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Perhaps he was drawn to her simply because she was from outside their society. It made her an oddity, an anomaly that had him wanting to know more. Hadn’t
Darin
always said his weakness was curiosity? It had gotten him into the worst trouble when he was young, and it was likely to do so again.

Sari blinked, coming to full consciousness startlingly fast when she spotted him sitting on the floor next to where she slept.

She sat up in bed and then grabbed the sheet when it slipped to her waist, exposing her breasts. She covered herself as she eyed him. “What’re you doing?”

“I’m staring at you wondering why I’m attracted to you.” Calder winced at the honest response, knowing it was her will inflicting on him and forcing obedience to answer truthfully. Usually he could curb his words to protect himself and Taryen, but with this one it seemed her hold on him was tighter than the others. That more than anything should have him avoiding her attentions. “I apologize, that was—” He hesitated, searching for the right words before he looked up, staring into her beautiful green eyes, finding them flecked with gold. It was a royal color, one he’d often associated with pain and suffering. Now it made him ache in a different way.
“Very blunt.
I forgot your displeasure with males. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable around you,” Sari whispered in a soft voice that was a bit dazed, as though the drugs hadn’t fully worn off. Still he couldn’t turn away or discourage her. Her gaze held him captive as she released the sheet, letting it fall back to her waist. “I’m attracted to you too—strangely so.”

Calder’s
breath
caught, hunger for her washing over him, making his cock swell inside his pants. Desperate to be closer, he got to his knees and leaned against the bed, staring at Sari in a way he shouldn’t with a sister, letting his gaze boldly run over her bare breasts, eyeing her tight nipples, both pierced with Tourillan gold. He pushed his top teeth against the balls in his tongue, feeling nearly overwhelmed as he ached for her in a way he hadn’t with anyone save Taryen.

Until Sari he hadn’t been able to get hard for a female without herbal help.

“I could do very nice things for you.” Calder lifted his gaze back to hers. “Would you let me?”

Sari’s eyes became molten, the light of desire glowing in them as she leaned toward him, licking her bottom lip in invitation. Calder swore he could taste her already. His entire being was so in tune to her he could detect her scent beneath the herbs still burning in his room, could feel the hum of lust vibrating off her as he threaded his fingers through her long hair. He tugged her forward in a way he had never done with a female, taking instead of serving and doing it without thought of consequence.

The sound of her whimper reverberated through him as he kissed her, his tongue pushing past her lips to explore her mouth. Usually he hated the softness of female kisses, the sweet smell of their desire, but with Sari he was suddenly addicted to it. His hands tightened in her hair, clinging to her like a lifeline as he crawled onto the bed and then fell over her on the mattress.

Sari moaned, her back arching off the bed as his bare chest pressed against her breasts. Her short nails dug into his shoulders as their kiss became more frantic. He claimed her mouth with his tongue like it was his to own as he rocked against her.

He thought to push off the loose-fitting silk pants he wore and be as naked as she was. With Sari he wouldn’t need oil. He could just take her in one hard thrust and drown himself in her slick heat. Calder slid one hand between their straining bodies, wanting to feel how wet she was for him and prepare her for his cock, which was throbbing to take her. Sari moved with him, frantic and sighing into his mouth as she spread her legs, cradling his hips, her feet hooking together at the small of his back.

“I brought breakfas—”

It was amazing Calder didn’t black out from how quickly he jumped up. “I didn’t do it.”

“I, um—” Taryen blinked, looking shocked before he turned his back on them and then set the golden tray in his hands on the table by the door. “I didn’t know you were entertaining. I’ll come back.”

“He wasn’t entertaining.” Sari sounded as disoriented as Calder felt. “We didn’t do…much.”

Calder rubbed a hand over his mouth, still tasting her and feeling drunk with it. His body was raging, and he felt like he had taken a lethal dose of the herb usually forced on him to keep him aroused and desperate for release. “Tary, stay—please.”

Taryen must have heard the desperation in his voice, because he turned back around, his eyes lowered. “I won’t say anything.”

“We didn’t do anything damning.” Calder gave Taryen a look as he switched to the queen’s language. “But your timing was impeccable.”

“You were going to take her?” Taryen barked, speaking the same tongue. “That’s a death offense for her. To say nothing of what they would do to you. Hers would certainly be the lighter sentence.”

“I just—” Calder ran both hands through his hair and turned back around to look at Sari. Her eyes were wide and stunned, reflecting fear and something much more dangerous as she stared up at him from her spot on the bed, the sheet clutched to her chest once more. He saw the hunger still pulsing through his veins mirrored in her gaze. “She does something to me.”

“I’m right here,” Sari said blandly, her shock giving way to irritation. “It’s not polite to speak about others when you’re standing directly in front of them.”

“That is very true,” he agreed as he switched back to ordinary Aurorian, still desperately trying to gather his wits. “I apologize, my lady.”

She didn’t understand him when he spoke the Queen’s language.

The one he was created to serve would, and he tried desperately to remind himself of that rather than make excuses to do something that would get them both in more trouble than they could handle. The queen of their people would have never spent so much time in servitude. She was too powerful to be bound and owned. The entire planet responded to her.

The lost queen wasn’t the kind but damaged Sari—no matter how badly Calder wanted it to be true.

“Perhaps you both need food,” Taryen offered, using his natural gift for soothing stressful situations by grabbing the tray of food he had brought with him. He walked over to the bed. “May I sit?”

Sari nodded, clutching the sheet to her tightly as she scooted over and made room for Taryen next to her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking downward as she bit her lip. “I’m feeling confused.”

“The pain syrup we gave you is very strong. I’m amazed you’re awake. Eating is a necessity,” Taryen said evenly, his voice coaxing as he held out the tray to her. “I would offer you finer fare, but I thought I was feeding Calder only.”

“Finer fare.”
Sari stared at the tray in disbelief. “You have fresh fruit. I haven’t see that since—”

“Since?”
Taryen pressed, obviously trying to distract her.

“Since I ran away from the Order of the Seven Swords.”
She picked up a large, yellow flower the attendants had put on the edge of the tray to decorate it. “Little Aria.”

“Excuse me?”

Sari looked to Taryen, her eyes wild and frantic. “I forgot little Aria. Do you know what they did to her?”

Taryen shook his head. “I know of no one by that name.”

Sari looked to Calder pleadingly. “There was a young girl who was supposed to come with me into the Sacred City. Have you heard of her fate?”

“I’m sorry, Lady Sari,” Calder said, hating to disappoint her. “I know of no young girl. Macro brought us only you.”

“I need to go.” Sari jumped out of bed, completely heedless of the fact that she was naked. Her obsession with being covered appeared short-lived. “I need clothes.”

“We have none.” Calder turned his back on her because seeing her fully naked in front of him had his vision going spotted with desire. “We’ll have to send for some.”

“Anything will do.” Sari’s voice drifted over to the corner where Calder’s clean robes lay folded and untouched since he didn’t have any reason to leave his rooms for entertaining until later in the day. “Can I borrow this?”

“You want to wear robes?” Taryen asked, the shock sounding in his voice.

“Why not?
They’re warm.”

“They’ll cover—” Taryen started, still sounding mystified. “All of you.”

“The female habit of walking around nearly bare is not a good one,” Sari snapped, and Calder turned to see her pulling his robes over her naked body. “Not to mention chilly.”

“The female body is divine,” Calder said, for the first time meaning those words as he grimaced at seeing Sari’s beautiful body covered by plain brown robes. “Covering all of it is a crime against our gods. You
cannot
go out in that.”

“Watch me.” Sari made quick work of tucking her long, curly hair into the back of the robes and then actually pulled the hood up, covering her head. “Tell me how to find Macro.”

Calder gaped, feeling at a loss. He looked to Taryen, who was also staring at Sari with wide eyes. Calder turned back to her, fighting for a way to keep a clear head when dealing with this very unusual and compelling woman. “Listen to me, Lady Sari. You cannot walk the grounds of the Sacred City with your hair covered and wearing male robes. Our fellow brothers and sisters will not tolerate that.”

“Why do I care what your fellow brothers and sisters think? I disliked the Rayians before I came here for being elitist leaders who live in luxury while the rest of Auroria starves. After meeting you two”—Sari tilted her head, looking disgusted—“let us say my opinions have not improved.”

“Have we displeased you?” Taryen asked in concern.

“No.” Sari’s features softened as she looked to Taryen. “I like you very much. What I dislike is how they treat you. Can you please point me in the direction of Macro?”

Calder rubbed a hand over his forehead, taking a few cooling breaths to clear away the lust that didn’t want to subside, even when Sari was covered head to toe in male robes and being difficult.

“Tary, have the attendants bring Lady Sari appropriate clothing and then inquire about her young friend.” Calder took another deep breath and turned away from Sari once more to keep himself from falling under her spell. “If you hear nothing, come back and I will take her to find Macro in the guard center. I have no appointments until this afternoon. I have time to help her.”

“Is that wise? Being alone together for so long?” Taryen asked him in concern. “If you take my appointment with Lady Gaer, I can take Lady Sari to Macro.”

“Lady Gaer enjoys me,” Calder said, thankful Taryen was scheduled to be with a sister who actually preferred both of them. He and Taryen’s looks and personalities were vastly different; most females had a strong preference for one or the other. “I like that plan very much. Your afternoon will be free, and I can deal with Lady Gaer.”

“What do you do with her?”

Calder turned to Sari, his eyes wide when he heard the distress in her voice. “I’m sorry?” he asked, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.

“With Lady Gaer, what do you do to entertain her?”

“I’ve lost my good sense.” Calder must have been discussing these things in front of Sari without using the queen’s language. He hadn’t even noticed the mistake when he was usually unfailingly diligent. Not using discretion had terrible repercussions for both of them. His infatuation with Sari wasn’t only putting himself in
danger,
it was making Taryen vulnerable as well. “I have to go now. Taryen will stay with you. I’ll find your clothes and inquire on your young friend. I need air.”

“I thought we were speaking the queen’s language.” Taryen sounded stricken as he switched to the language in question. “I think I’ve lost my good sense as well.”

Calder walked into the bathroom, fished his robes from the day before out of the hamper, and pulled them
on,
knowing Sari wasn’t likely to take off his clean ones. When he walked back into the bedroom, he found Taryen staring at Sari with curiosity and something much more dangerous swirling in his dark eyes. Knowing Taryen was finding himself sexually susceptible to her made Calder hesitant to leave the two of them.

“Lady Sari,” Calder said after a long moment, coming up with an idea. “How far have you traveled in your journeys?”

“From here?” Sari asked, frowning.
“Very far.
I’ve just recently traveled to the Sacred City, and I only made the journey because I heard there was work to be found as servants to the rich who profit off the Rayians.”