Fire Pearl (Beyond Ontariese 5) (16 page)

She could no longer deny that she had
abilities. She’d had visions and teleported from one star system to
another. Was it really possible that she could learn to do those
things at will?

Watch me, love. I’ll show you how it’s
done
.

He drew hard upon her nipple and she “saw” a
sparkling current flow into his mouth. He guided the current deeper
into his body and spun it into a concentrated ball.

Now you try it. Picture the fire pearl.
See the energy generated by your pleasure
.

His mouth and hands moved over her body and
the visualization grew sharper. She pictured a sphere low in her
belly blazing like a furnace. Each time a wave of pleasure rippled
through her body, the fire pearl burned brighter. She focused on
the pearl, pulling tendrils of energy out and coiling them into a
tight ball, much as Drakkin had done.

Put it somewhere safe, somewhere only you
can reach
.

He wasn’t referring to a physical location.
None of this was physical. She compressed the energy into a
smaller, more concentrated ball then stashed it behind her
heart.

Each time you come energy will burst right
along with the pleasure. It must become second nature for you to
channel the energy into your hiding place. The more energy you
store, the more powerful your abilities will become
.

These lessons were imperative to her
survival, but she longed to just let go and enjoy her lover’s
touch.

He eased her thighs apart and moved over her,
kneeling on the bed between her legs. His gaze descended slowly,
obviously enjoying the view. She arched her back and opened herself
even farther, offering her body for the pleasure of her mate.

A thrill zinged through her at the thought.
This was the first time they’d made love as mates. She hadn’t
expected it to be this liberating. There was security in their
bond, freedom in the realization that they would be together
forever
.

“You take my breath away.” As if to prove his
claim, his tone was soft and thready.

He trailed his fingertips from the undersides
of her breasts, across her quivering belly to her mound. Rather
than immediately seeking their target, his fingers teased her inner
thighs and knees.

She clutched the bedding with both hands as
anticipation wound within her. Her hips rocked restlessly, trying
to draw his attention to her sex. She felt empty and needful. Why
wouldn’t he touch her?

With a wicked grin, he lifted on of her
ankles to his shoulder and kissed his way down her leg. He paused
to explore the underside of her knee then took forever on her inner
thigh.

“If you don’t touch me soon, I’m going to
kill you.” The words slipped out with her ragged exhalation,
sounding far too desperate for her liking.

“I am touching you.” He stroked from knee to
hip on the outside of her leg as his gaze sank into hers. “If you
want something, all you have to do is ask, nicely.” He grinned.

“Touch me,
please
.”

“Where do you want to be touched?”

She gritted her teeth. Why did men always
want to hear it described in the crudest possible terms. “Just
slide your hand down my thigh and keep going. I’ll tell you when to
stop.”

He chuckled, but placed his hand on her inner
thigh. Mocking her with his incredibly slow pace, he slid his hand
downward. His hand skimmed over her skin, his thumb teasing
slightly ahead of his fingers. Her inner muscles clenched as a
fresh wave of anticipation made her nerve endings vibrate.

Tracing the silken crease where her leg met
her pelvis, he tormented her with the nearness of his touch.

“You’re killing me,” she cried, shifting her
hips in a vain effort to bring his fingers in contact with her
sex.

Rather than touch her with his hands, he
caught the underside of her knees and pushed her legs up then out.
He lowered his head between her thighs and guided her heels to his
back before letting go of her legs.

His tongue traced her slit and the smoldering
embers ignited in a flare of heat. She moaned, stilling as all her
senses came into sharper focus. The scent of her arousal filled her
nose and Drakkin’s taste lingered in her mouth. She’d drank a full
glass of wine so why was the taste still so strong?

The pearl intensifies all things carnal.
You are a sexual being
.

How could she argue with that conclusion?
She’d never felt so uninhibited in her life. He licked her again
and pleasure spiraled along the inner walls of her passage. Her
womb contracted and her clit tingled, anxious for the tender touch
of his lips.

She cupped her breasts, shocked by the heat
of her nipples. He hadn’t been exaggerating. Her skin was on
fire.

He explored her folds with his tongue,
occasionally stopping to gently suck. It felt wonderful, but again
he was avoiding all her most sensitive places. Her core tightened
like a fist and her clit pulsed, echoing her heartbeat, which was
pounding like never before.

She knew rushing him was pointless. Each of
his actions was obviously meant to drive her crazy.

Long moments later, he carefully parted her
folds with his thumbs and paused to look his fill. His breath felt
cool against her heated flesh as he feathered kisses from her
opening to her clit.

Her thighs tensed and her belly quivered as
she waited. And waited. His lips finally touched her clit, but the
kiss was far too light and fleeting.

“Drakkin!” She let out an exasperated cry and
bucked, rubbing her folds against his mouth.

His triumphant laugh echoed in his throat as
his mouth closed around her clit. He sucked firmly then let go over
and over. The pressure drew urgent heat toward the surface then
each rebound drove a spike of sensation deep into her abdomen.

She came in violent spasms, the sensations so
intense she nearly forgot to harvest the energy. And he kept right
on going, sucking and licking, then stabbing deep into her passage
with his tongue. He held her hips firmly as she came again and
again. Her ankles crossed behind his neck as he devoured the liquid
proof of her pleasure.

He was the savage now, demanding her
responses and driving her higher with each climax. Her entire body
hummed with energy, the prickling in her skin nearly painful. She
felt saturated, euphoric, yet hollow and unfulfilled.

“In me,” she panted out the words as she
floated down from another orgasm. “Please, Drakkin, I need you
inside me.”

He raised his head and looked at her, red
rings glowing brightly. His inner savage was fully present and yet
he was not in control. She quickly unhooked her ankles as he moved
upward. Her legs were still over his shoulders as he found her
entrance with his cock.

“Mine.” He growled the word then thrust into
her.

Even soaking wet and soft after multiple
orgasms, she stretched tight around him. Wonderfully intense, the
fullness tore a cry from her throat.
Mine.
The word echoed
through her mind, but his possessiveness no longer frightened her.
She belonged to him and he belonged to her. Unlike a slave collar,
their bond worked both ways.

She opened herself further by drawing up her
knees and shifting her legs off his back. He drew back his hips,
sliding nearly out before he drove back in. The slide was amplified
by his unusual thickness. Apparently his sensual torture had
aroused him just as much as it had aroused her.

His mouth found hers, sealing and claiming.
She slipped her hands into his hair, but he pushed them back to the
bed and pinned them there by entwining their fingers. His tongue
took on the rhythm of his cock and she understood what he needed.
Surrender.

She opened her mind and body, submitting
without reserve. He filled her with strong, deep thrusts, each
stroke accompanied by a blistering surge of energy. She reveled in
his aggression, channeling the continual flow of energy into her
secret reservoir.

Reality faded to black and she floated within
the darkness. Drakkin surged into her, through her and around her,
but the sensations were no longer physical. She
was
the fire
pearl, pulsing with raw energy, drawing from him and giving to him
with each pulse of their joining.

It could have lasted an instant or an hour
but suddenly the physical realm returned. He drove hard. His cock
pressed tight against her cervix as he cried out into her open
mouth. He shuddered and ground his pelvis against hers, the
pressure on her clit triggering her orgasm. Sensations detonated
deep inside her, tightening her inner muscles around his twitching
shaft. He groaned as her powerful ripples prolonged his
pleasure.

She wrapped her arms and legs around him as
they floated in tingling lassitude. He was too weak to climb off
her, but he took most of his weight on his forearms and knees.

“I felt when your consciousness left, but I
could not follow,” he whispered into her hair. “Where did you
go?”

“I think it was like when your inner savage
takes over. For just a moment I became the fire pearl. I could feel
you and yet I could feel nothing. It was very confusing.”

He finally recovered enough to raise his
torso and look at her. “Try to take me with you next time. I would
like to understand more about your inner savage.”

She smiled, feeling sleepy and content. “I
think you’ve robbed yourself of your next pleasure,” she chuckled.
“I’m not sure when, or if, I’ll be able to move again.”

Summoning more concentration than she’d
needed since she was a trainee, Noll tried again to penetrate the
energy barrier. This was denser and more sophisticated than the
shield surrounding the entire palace complex. This dampened her
Mystic sight as well as preventing her from progressing any farther
down this corridor. Aria was in one of those rooms. Noll could
still sense her unique energy signature, but she couldn’t find a
way through the barrier.

She’d wandered through half of the palace,
playing little girl lost whenever she came across someone who
questioned her presence in a restricted area. She’d found nothing
of interest until she came across this barrier. Only two things
required security this tight, important people and valuable
possessions. She sure as hell had no interest in a Bilarrian
treasure trove!

Taking a deep breath, she drew energy toward
the surface and prepared to push.

Rough hands grasped her from behind. Once
covered her mouth half a second before she screamed and the other
grasped her waist, dragging her back from the barrier.

“If you pushed any deeper, you would have
triggered an alarm, summoning Prince Indric’s private guards.”

She didn’t recognize the voice, but he spoke
Rodyte, so she did her best to relax. Apparently backup had finally
arrived.

“I’m going to remove my hand and you’re going
to remain silent until we are out of the palace. If you understand,
nod.”

Suppressing the urge to bite his hand, she
forced herself to nod.

He spun her around then slipped his arm
around her waist and escorted her toward the nearest exit. He was
tall and brawny, as most Rodyte soldiers were. And this man was
clearly used to command. His glossy black hair had been drawn back
into a severe queue and his eyes were so dark the blue rings were
barely visible. Though his jacket lacked any insignias or rank
identification, his fitted outfit looked more like a military
uniform than evening finery.

“Who are y—” He squeezed her so hard her ribs
creaked, reminding her of her vow to remain silent.

He marched her out a utility door and across
a parklike side yard. He released her waist and grasped her wrist
as he increased his pace, forcing her to jog. Afraid she’d twist
her ankle or worse, she morphed her high-heeled sandals into simple
flats. Were they being perused? Was that why he was in such a
hurry? Her target was back there, behind that blasted barrier.

“Where are you taking me? I’m on an urgent
mission.”

He laughed. “Not anymore.”

Shit
. With two words he filled her
with dread and snuffed out what little remained of her hope.
Quentin either knew of her failure or he’d run out of patience
waiting for her report.

The manicured yard gave way to sand as they
entered the surrounding desert. They had to be beyond the perimeter
shields, yet she had no idea how they’d passed through. Had he
disabled a section or were the shields only designed to keep people
from entering? She didn’t know enough about Bilarrian technology to
keep her mind from rambling.

They reached a relatively flat valley between
two sizable dunes and he uttered a harsh-sounding word. A sleek,
two-person shuttle uncloaked and the tiny hatch opened.

Should she teleport away and…and what?
Endanger the life of her precious daughter? Regret and frustration
surged through her, threatening what was left of her composure.
Everything she did was for Tanzen. Without her daughter, the rest
was pointless.

Noll had originally offered her skills to the
Rodytes out of a lust for wealth and power. And resentment of her
arrogant cousin, Lilt. Lilt led the House of Joon with oblivious
arrogance. He paid lip service to High Queen Charlotte while he did
what he pleased behind her back. Noll didn’t care about Lilt’s
duplicity. Anyone as trusting as Charlotte deserved to be deceived.
But Lilt ignored Noll, considered her irrelevant simply because she
was female.

So Noll sought out Quentin and their first
few exchanges had been extremely profitable. It was only as
Quentin’s demands became more dangerous that Noll tried to end
their alliance. Quentin, however, valued her contributions too much
to allow her to walk away. He dispatched a team of his best hunters
to shadow her daughter. If Noll displeased Quentin for any reason,
he could—and likely would—order his hunters to do more than
watch.