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“She was saved, yet again, by the interference of Fate,” he hissed. He sniffed the air. “There is a lingering presence. Faint, clinging to Richelle’s scent.” He sniffed again, inhaling deeply. ”I cannot place it, but it is not…unfamiliar.”

I will not be defeated.

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“I will not be defeated,” he declared and then whirled to face Preacher.

“I will not tolerate any more interference. I will not accept any disobedience or failure.”

Luka pointed at Preacher, who grabbed his head. It felt as if his skull were being crushed in a vise. His eyes bugged out from the pressure, and then it stopped and Luka released him. He fell to his knees as the lightheadedness began to pass. Luka stepped before him.

“Do not fail me again, Preacher.”

Preacher coughed and nodded his head.

“You and your Believers will remain here. When Richelle returns, you will capture her and bring her to me. No one is to harm her. Do you understand? Anyone who dares touch her will have to face me. And you know how I punish disobedience.”

Preacher shivered. Yes, he knew all too well the punishment for disobedience. No torture ever devised by man was equal to the pure evil that Luka embodied. It was only Preacher’s devout servitude that allowed him to avoid Luka’s
displeasure
.

He would not fail.

“Have your men scattered through the fairgrounds by twos. They are to remain inconspicuous. They are to
kill
anyone who is with her. Do you understand me, Preacher?”

“I understand.”

“I will be waiting at the castle.” With a flourish, he turned to leave, but one of the Believers dared to speak.

“What makes you so sure she will return?”

Luka stopped in his tracks. He did not turn or acknowledge the question.

But an eerie wind rose uncommon to a warm spring evening, bringing a chill similar to a northern gale.

The other Believers backed away from the one who had spoken. At their reaction, he tried to turn and run but found he was frozen in his tracks, unable to move. He struggled, using his hands to try and lift his feet with no success.

He began to whimper as his body shivered, the cold wind surrounding him and the debris on the ground swirling around him like a tornado. The air grew colder, and he shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself and rubbing his hands against his arms to generate some heat.

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In a matter of moments, he stopped moving. His body was as icy blue as Luka’s eyes. He was frozen solid. But as Preacher stood and looked closer at the man, he could see his eyes still moving, darting back and forth, from man to man. Stark fear screamed from the bloodshot orbs, although he was forever silent, entombed in a block of ice. And then, with an audible pop, the block of ice disappeared.

“Master?” Preacher wanted to know what was to become of his follower but did not have the chance as Luka turned and gave a charming, beguiling, nonetheless completely evil smile.“I said I would not tolerate any more interference. And I will not tolerate disobedience. So I sent him where he can think about his transgression. For all eternity.”

Preacher involuntarily shivered.

Luka commanded with a wave toward Big Huey, “Have two of your

men take that carcass to the edge of the forest. Let the wolves finish with the flesh.”

Turning again to face the night, he stretched out his arms as if embracing the moon.

“My bloodlust is sated, and now I go to sate
my lust,”
he spoke to Preacher’s mind. “
Do as I command
. A
nd if you or your followers fail me
again, there is no place I will not find you and render my punishment.”

With a great leap, he flew into the night air. His body transformed into nothing more than a shadow, a formless cloud streaking across the night sky.

Preacher stepped over and looked down at Big Huey—his eyes were wide and wild in death.
May the God who deserted me so long ago have
mercy
on those who stand
between Luka and his Richelle,
Preacher prayed disheartedly.
Lest they be damned to darkest depths of Hell.

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Valya groaned at the feel of Richelle’s breasts as he lay atop her, her aroused nipples poking against the fabric of her dress as if begging for his arduous attention. Like beacons, they drew his gaze and his mouth watered at the thought of suckling them, licking and teasing until Richelle felt the spikes of her first climax.

Knowing that he would be the only man to ever touch her this way, to see her writhe in sexual torment and then her expression of sensual bliss as she came apart in his arms primed his body harder than it had ever been.

He wouldn’t feign innocence. He had walked the earth for several centuries. He had known women, many women. But none had ever aroused him to the point where his body was stretched to the point of pain. And he had desired none like he craved Richelle now.

It was more than desire, a physical act of sex and finding succor in the warm embrace of a willing, passionate woman. He wanted to bury himself in Richelle’s body, until he felt her in every pore, every muscle, every drop of his blood. And from this day forward, his body would never be able to find succor, to find complete release with any other woman than his Richelle.

Leaning down, his mouth melded with hers, kissing her with reverence and sweet homage, making her body ache for more, which he delivered as his hands began a slow exploration of her body.

Richelle never knew a woman could feel so much pleasure. His hands skimmed over her thigh, his fingertips dipping into the curve of her waist.

Stroking and nipping the fullness of her lips his mouth never left hers pleading for entrance. Not wanting to miss a moment of the firestorm building within her, she withheld her reactions with the art of a much skilled lover, wanting to see what he would do to entice her. She was driven by

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urges she didn’t understand, guiding her as she skirted the roles of both ingénue and seductress.

She shifted her hips, her back arched, pressing her breasts and erect nipples against his chest, causing her to moan as sharp shards of pleasure tingled the tips of her nipples at the abrasion.

Valya was humbled by the soft surrender of the precious gift of her flesh into his waiting arms.
“Open your mouth, mio
dusa. Open for me
.”

She resisted for a moment more until she felt the tickling of his tongue trying to slip between her lips. She relented with a sigh as his tongue forged forward. He mated his tongue with hers in a seductive tango, a dance of heat and passion between two lovers.

With maddening slowness, he raised the hem of her dress, his fingertips tracing circles along the ticklish creases behind her knees, trailing along the delicate skin of her inner thigh until he reached the juncture of her thighs.

His path impeded by her panties, he removed the barrier to the prize he sought. With a sharp tug he tore her panties in two and tossed them aside.

He gently fluffed the curls before he dipped between her folds, seeking the source of ultimate pleasure and knowing he had found it when he felt her slight start coupled with a gasp.

“You liked that.”
Oh, yes. She definitely likes that.

Especially when he nibbled his way along her chin until he could lick and suck on her earlobe as he played with her…
“Oh, yes, Valya. Right
there. Oh, Goddess.”
He body sang with delight as he touched her.

His fingers parted her folds, rubbing her and tweaking her clit to keep her senses on edge.

And Valya hummed along with her, the taste, the smell, the sight of her flooding his senses as he continued his loving ministrations. His pleasure would be her pleasure. And he wanted to pleasure her, to hear her scream his name as she came.

He continued to kiss her cheek, her forehead, and each eyelid. He paid homage to every part of her before his mouth pressed against hers. Sealed together he captured each small gasp of breath as his own, savoring every bit of her delight.

She was enraptured with the corporeal sensations he created as he slowly dispensed of her clothing. He unbuttoned her dress. Parting it, he revealed the upper swell of her breasts barely clad in the delicate lace

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brassiere. Trailing his kisses down the column of her throat, he licked the seam where her skin met lace, causing her to shudder.

She murmured “oohs” and “aahs” as he continued to taste her, enticed by her delicate flavor. Wanting more, he broke the clasp of the front closure to expose her breasts. Her nipples became taut, wantonly begging for his attention. Bowing his head he began licking around her areoles in turn as the rhythm of his fingers strumming her core matched the rise and fall of her breasts.

Her body tingled with pinpricks, delighting in every touch, every sensation. Her eyelids fluttered as he continued to lick and nibble at her lips, chuckling as she shifted uncontrollably beneath him. She didn’t know if she was trying to get away or get closer.
No…closer
. She wanted to get closer.

She needed something. She didn’t know what, only that she needed something more.

And she got it when Valya surrounded her areole and sucked, his tongue flicking over her nipple as it bathed in the warmth of his mouth.

“Mio dusa, you are soft and dewy like a pink rosebud. So perfect for
me.”

Her body bowed, lifting them both off the bed. He chuckled again as he released his succulent treat with an audible pop.

“Did you like that?”

“You know I did,” she answered shyly.

* * * *

Valya’s body pulsed at her femininely polite response. She had no idea how sexy and desirable she was, from her titian hair and sea-green eyes reminiscent of ancient sea nymphs to her supple body with its lush and rounded curves that beguiled a man so. He thought of nothing else but sinking into her and luxuriating in the silk and satin texture of her skin.

His appreciative ogling warmed her as her porcelain skin took on the shade of champagne blush and Valya’s thoughts turned to enjoying her body like a fine wine, enjoying the flavor and the dizzying feelings of lightheadedness. He licked his lips, knowing he would be the only one to ever sip her sweet nectar, both the sweet flavor of her blood as well as the heady musk of her core. He could not contain his feelings of adoration.

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* * * *

His chocolate eyes watching her entranced Richelle. They sparkled like starlight in the night sky. His gaze was intent, full of longing and lingering loneliness and so much tender desire she could weep.

She remembered the first night in the cave, when his intense stare made her cringe in nervousness and apprehension. But now, all she felt was desirable and the insatiable need for him, body and mind. She wanted to remove the buried emotions of solitude and seclusion Valya was only now beginning to share with her. She wanted to share everything with him, no longer afraid of life or love.

Richelle watched as he sat back on his knees and lifted his shirt over his head. She stared in rapt fascination at his muscular build and broad shoulders, his pectorals rippling as he threw his shirt to the side. She gazed longingly at his tanned, smooth skin accentuated by his flat male nipples.

She imagined licking those nipples as he had licked hers, laving and sucking them until he was mindless with need.

He groaned at her implicit fantasies, their mind-link getting stronger as they explored and learned about each other physically. His body throbbing with a yearning that skirted the edge of pain, it craved release. It demanded Richelle. She was in no better shape. She had waited all her life to find someone who made her feel whole. Now they were together, and she wanted that union to be complete, absolute.

With her body surging, stretched taut and waiting to explode, she reached for Valya with a quiet whimper. His response was a low growl as he fell upon her, his mouth covering hers and absorbing every sound as she moaned beneath him. Without the barrier of their clothing, his chest deliciously abraded her nipples to where she couldn’t stay still, couldn’t remain silent.

As she squirmed beneath him, Valya slipped his hand under the arch of her back, meticulously inching her dress down, sliding it over her legs, both of them fidgeting to remove clothing without breaking their kiss. He tossed it alongside his shirt and then leisurely dragged his hands back up to the juncture of her legs to palm her damp panties.

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With the same painstakingly slow pace, he divested her of those panties, taking his time as his fingertips drifted along her thigh, her calf, until the silk and lace was dangling from his hand. He rubbed the damp panties between his thumb and forefinger, growling at her response and at how wet the smooth fabric had become from her creamy essence. He tossed them aside so he could touch the core where her honey flowed.

He touched her folds gently, feeling the slickness of her plumping vagina as he slid his finger in easily. Her tight muscles gripped at his thick digit as it pushed in and out, in and out, careful not to go too deep. At least, not yet.

“Gods, you feel so good.”
He moaned while he continued to slowly stroke and stretch her, preparing her for his cock.

“I do?”

“
Gods, yes! And it will be better when I’m inside you.”
To emphasize his statement, he thrust his hips, his erection pressing through the leather against her thigh. The fluttering she felt in her womb had escalated to a deep longing blossoming from the tips of her nipples to the pussy he was finger-fucking.

“
I want you inside me. Please, I need you inside me.”

“
Soon, my love. And then for as long as you need.”

“No. Please. I need you now.”