Enslaved by a King [Sold! 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (14 page)

Unable to resist, Mingor disrobed and followed him down. “So we are not the only civilization that has altered from what we once were.”

“I think all people go through a rise and fall. Seems kind of standard.” Noah was talking as he kissed his way along Mingor’s chest. “Wait.” He balanced on his elbow so he could look up and into Mingor’s eyes. “Why didn’t you mess with their minds like you did the creatures at Hindur’s house?”

“You mean my advisors?”

“Yeah.” Noah kissed the tip of Mingor’s prick. “Are they immune or something?”

“They would know that I was pushing into their mental landscape.”

“So?” Noah licked down the length, making conversation difficult. Soon, Mingor wouldn’t be able to maintain any communication above sounds of pleasure.

“That technique would not be effective on Thandlings. It only works on those who do not have any protection.”

“So all Thandlings by their very genetic structure are immune to your ability?”

“Yes. Probably because they possess my same ability.”

“Do they know they have this skill?”

“No. They don’t know that they can separate the salt from the water, either.” Mingor’s hips rose up as Noah’s mouth descended. “I cannot talk anymore.”

Since his mouth was now filled with Mingor’s cock, Noah couldn’t press for any further conversation. Mingor had imagined taking Noah to his sleeping area and showering him with gentle lovemaking, but he found that Noah took command with effortless ease. His need to be in charge was tempered by his clear desire to please. As Noah kissed, stroked, and teased all the areas on Mingor’s body, he continued to look up, clearly looking for confirmation that he was pleasing his mate.

“You are bringing me so close to the edge I…” Mingor’s voice trailed off because he thought of Noah almost tumbling over the mountainside today. Without Mingor having to say a word, Noah seemed to understand what had caused him to stop speaking.

“Hey, I’m here. And I’m safe.” Noah rose up until their faces were at an even level.

“I just can’t stop thinking of what might have happened.” Mingor rolled to his side and pressed his face against Noah’s chest. “I realize this is not the proper way for the water bearer to behave.”

“Oh, now that I’m just not going to stand for.” Noah kissed Mingor’s head half a dozen times. “Or lie down for, in this case. I don’t want you putting yourself down or expecting yourself to behave in some way because of what you do. Okay?”

“Yes.” Mingor knew what he was saying in his somewhat convoluted way. Some of Mingor’s people may consider him a god, but that didn’t mean he had to put that kind of pressure on himself.

“On my planet we say
you’re only human
, and it means that we all have crazy things we do and sometimes powerful emotions make us do totally bizarre things, but we’re human after all. I guess with you it’s you’re a Thandling after all.”

“I like that.”

“Good.” Noah kissed him and squeezed him tight. “We also don’t have to do anything if you’re not in the mood.”

Rather than tell him, Mingor proceeded to show him. With a nudge here and push there, Mingor had Noah on his back, his cock slicked up, and then Mingor was slowly lowering himself upon him. On the ship, Mingor had experienced his first time being penetrated. Mingor had found the sensation sublimely pleasurable. This night, he took even more joy in joining his body with Noah’s because this time he was his fully recognized
sephir
. Why that mattered, Mingor didn’t know, but it did. Perhaps it was the notion that despite Noah’s honor-bound word that they would stay together, surviving such a difficult trial further assured they would stay together.

“You have no idea how beautiful you look.” Noah reached up and stroked his hand along Mingor’s hair. In the subdued light, it had turned gleaming purple.

“I could say the same of you.” Mingor traced his fingers over Noah’s nipples, making him exhale sharply as he arched up. Slowly, Mingor lowered himself so that while he gently rocked his hips, he and Noah were able to kiss. This languid movement went on for quite some time before Noah grasped Mingor’s hips and urged him to rock back and forth faster. Gasping, they separated their mouths and then held one another’s gazes as the intensity increased until they both obtained a shattering release. Mingor spilled on Noah’s belly as Noah spilled as deeply inside Mingor as he could get.

Afterward, they pressed close. Noah held Mingor against his chest, stroking his hands over Mingor’s hair. It was a calming gesture that eventually caused Mingor to fall asleep. He awoke in the same position sometime later because his hips were protesting the angle. To his surprise, Noah was still inside him and seemed to be getting harder.

“I have to say, this is possibly the best way I’ve ever woken up.”

Once he realized Mingor was in pain, he withdrew, helped Mingor to his belly with his legs straight, then entered him from behind. There was less intimacy in the position, but it felt wonderful. Also, the angle of penetration was different, which caused the head of Noah’s penis to rub against different areas.

Noah kept to even and slow strokes until they again reached a certain point. Mingor wasn’t sure what it was that caused the tipping over, but when it came, Noah was driven to go faster and faster until his balls were slapping against Mingor. The gentle spanking was surprisingly erotic, compelling Mingor to climax long before Noah found his satisfaction.

Mingor would have loved to fall asleep with Noah on top of him, but he wouldn’t be able to hold his weight for long. After kissing his back and neck, Noah rolled over, pulled Mingor close, and fell asleep. Mingor followed him into slumber, hoping that their future would be much like this night. He would welcome long conversations, spectacular lovemaking, and then rest. Just before he released himself to the curiosities of his unconscious, Mingor realized they would not have many nights of peace like this. Not if his plans to change the very structure of Thandling society came to pass. But for tonight, they were safe, they were warm, and they had time to be together before any more woe could possibly befall them.

As if to mock his supposition, Mingor looked skyward and saw a starship. It hovered over the landing area, and he knew before his servant entered that there was someone wanting to land. Since Mingor had been aboard the last trade starship, that after leaving him had taken away all their current supplies of salt, this one wasn’t here for commerce.

Placing his finger to his lips, silently asking for quiet, Mingor rose and then pulled on his robe. He used the hygiene facilities and then went to the communication area.

“They are Krase.” The soul operating the unit looked back at Mingor. Her face was pale, and her hand shook as she held it over the buttons.

A shiver went down Mingor’s spine. The Krase were fearsome warriors. They took what they wanted and often destroyed what they didn’t. “What do they want?” No matter how he tried to imagine it, Mingor simply couldn’t believe they were here to conquer their tiny patch of land. The Krase empire was vast. One little water-filled world wouldn’t mean anything to them no matter how widely know their salt was.

“They want your
sephir
.”

Mingor felt his mouth open, but nothing came out. It was even more baffling that they would want Noah. After a moment, he finally managed to ask, “Why?”

“They refuse to say.” Her worried eyes looked skyward. Out the upper window, they both had a view of the small shuttle craft. Mingor had no doubt that there was a much larger ship far above the planet. If they didn’t do as requested, the Krase would certainly come down and take what they wanted.

“Let me speak to them.” Mingor waited for her to establish communications with the Krase.

“I am Honor Vengeance.”

“I am Mingor Faur.”

“You are the water bearer?”

“Yes.” Mingor was surprised that the warrior knew who he was.

“You are in violation of several treaties.”

Mingor’s mind raced over what he had done since sneaking aboard the trader’s ship. Had he violated their laws by pushing them to comply with his wishes? He hardly saw why when he had not harmed them. Moreover, he had paid them for his passage. Certainly, he had pushed them, but he had not used true force. Besides, it was the height of hypocrisy for the Krase to accuse him of such a crime. The Krase took what they wanted by might, so the fact that Mingor used a less invasive method shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, it was unlikely they knew of Mingor’s ability. His ability to push other life forms wasn’t common knowledge. Mingor had only found out by mistake when he’d been looking at a trader and allowed a thought to hold firm in his mind. When the trader had done what Mingor imagined him doing, he realized what he was capable of. And then Mingor’s fear deepened. What if his advisors had told the Krase some false story about how he’d acquired Noah? Aido wouldn’t be above lying to force Mingor into having to perform the ritual of propitiation if he lost his
sephir
.

Rather than give in to the temptation to babble out a dozen questions, Mingor reverted to his usual stance. “Which treaties?” His goal was to try to make the officer reveal his full intentions rather than assume anything.

Honor Vengeance read a long list of numbers and names but ultimately, the upshot was that Mingor had acquired a slave who was not a slave. “Noah Cameron was stolen from his planet by an unscrupulous slave trader. He is to be surrendered to us at once.”

“Noah is with me of his own free will.” Mingor didn’t want to have this conversation with one of his followers in attendance, but sending her away was simply not feasible. When he looked to her, he saw something he wasn’t expecting. She looked utterly heartbroken. For so long Mingor had been fearful of his own kind turning on him when it was only his advisors who feared that. Somehow, they had infused their fear into him. But no more. “I am not surrendering my
sephir
.”

“If you don’t give him to me, I will have to take him from you.”

The threat hung between them. Mingor knew he could not fight them off. Given how tiny his world was, they had no defense system of any kind. It had never been an issue when they simply didn’t have anything of value. But now he had Noah, who was more precious to him than any person he had ever known. Noah had given himself to save others, but then he’d proudly stood the most difficult trial because he honestly wanted to be with Mingor. He had not been able to say that he loved him in return, but the laws of love on Noah’s world might be very different.

Silence stretched out around Mingor, tightening his posture. He didn’t know what to do. If he gave them Noah, then his advisors would have the right to demand his sacrificial death. If he kept Noah, the Krase would destroy their world to get him back. In one version, only Mingor died. In the other, many innocent souls would perish.

“Why do you want the water bearer’s
sephir
?” The woman’s voice was tremulous, displaying her fear, but there was also an edge to her tone. Would she fight for Noah? Had his display endeared him to the populace so deeply?

There was a long pause that made Mingor think the officer wouldn’t answer, but after a moment, he replied, “It is a sensitive matter that I will not discuss over any communication device. I must have the slave Noah Cameron returned to me, or I will take him by force.”

Mingor’s tension suddenly dissipated. He was in the same untenable position that Noah had been in. One for many. If he did not give them Noah, then the Krase would kill many to get him back. If he gave Noah to them, there would only be one death. It didn’t take long for Mingor to realize he had only one choice.

After giving the shuttle craft permission to land, Mingor ensured the communication unit was off. He knelt beside the woman operating the equipment. “What is your name?”

“I am Nirrab.” Her skin was still very light purple, indicating she was quite young.

“Nirrab. I must impart something to you. Without a
sephir
, I will be marked. Do you know what that means?”

She nodded solemnly. “Without a
sephir
, you cannot produce children. Therefore the advisors will ask for your sacrifice.”

It was a terrible tradition, but it was the only way to ensure that the water bearer continued the line. That Mingor had chosen a male did not change what was written. Since no water bearer had ever had a same-sex partner, the issue simply hadn’t come up. Mingor was hoping that would keep him in power until he was able to enact change, but that had not happened. Long before the issue of Mingor having children became pressing, he was hoping that all the Thandlings would be educated about their powers. With time so short, and no way for him to reach the masses, Mingor had to rely on the power of one.

“I will go to my sacrifice with—”

“No!” Her arms were open and wrapped around him before he could finish speaking. “All below love you! And your brave
sephir
.”

Touched, Mingor hugged her, but then forcefully set her away. “You must be brave. Can you be brave for me?”

She nodded rather dubiously.

“You will become the new water bearer.”

Her eyes went so wide so fast it would have been comical but for the seriousness of the situation. “I am not of noble salt.”