Obsessed (74 page)

Evvan roared again as he turned away from the Faeries and took Natalie to the grassy shore. She gasped as he roughly turned her around and set her on her hands and knees. With no thought beyond taking his woman, Evvan knelt behind Natalie, grasped her ass cheeks and widened her thighs, then drove his cock inside her quim.

Natalie shrieked and climaxed immediately. But he did not stop. Nay, he thrust in and out of her hot core, which pulsed and squeezed the length of his cock with every throb of her orgasm. Evvan only fucked her harder, and shouted, “You are my woman. Do you understand?”

She whimpered, her body rocking in time with his thrusts. “God. Oh, my god.”

“Answer me,” he demanded, insisting she acknowledge that he possessed her, body and soul. “You are mine.”

“Yes.” Natalie’s admission came out in a choked gasp through her continuous orgasm. “Yours, Evvan. Oh, god…I’m yours.”

Evvan bellowed and slammed his hips against her ass as he watched his cock slide in and out of her. His climax roared through him, pumping his fluid into her womb. He clasped her hips and stilled their movements, his cock still pulsing inside her.

Aye, he possessed this woman and would never allow her to leave him.

* * * * *

When Nat arrived in the garden alcove with Evvan, butterflies stirred in her belly as they paused to take in their surroundings. Like every other place she’d seen in Astral, the room was breathtaking. The walls here were crystal clear, too, so that the fabulous gardens, sparkling fountains, and glittering pools could be viewed while dining. There was even a waterfall tumbling down a series of ancient rocks in a far corner of one of the gardens.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Natalie said as she looked up and smiled at Evvan.

He squeezed her hand, his dark gaze as predatory and intent as ever. “All the beauty I see is here beside me, l’tiani.”

Warmth flushed through Nat and her nipples beaded beneath the sheer blouse she now wore. She was clad in a transparent top and a skirt, the only clothing the Queen said she had to give Nat since no one usually wore clothes of any kind in Astral. The way the sheer material sparkled across Nat’s breasts, drawing attention to her nipples, her star tattoo, and the golden ring in her navel, she might as well have been wearing nothing. But she still felt a little better, perhaps more secure, with something on.

Anistana had returned Evvan’s pants and boots that had been cleansed, along with his weapons, and Natalie was pleased that no one could ogle his amazing cock. He looked rather rakish with that dagger strapped to his hip and the sword hilt glinting above its sheath on his other side. He’d left his bow in the bedroom they’d woken up in. Natalie had asked about L’th’amir earlier, and had been told the horse was being cared for. He was in the Faerie stables on the northern side of the realm, close enough for Evvan to call if the stallion was needed.

Laughter and chatter punctuated the alcove as Evvan drew her toward one end of the room, and since all she saw were females, Nat figured Evvan must be the only male present. Lustful Faerie gazes followed them and Natalie struggled with her jealousy again…until she realized that the Faeries looked at her with just as much desire as they did Evvan.

Oh, dear. This place is certainly quite interesting.

Considering all of the males had fled, leaving the females alone, it was no wonder woman pleasured woman. Although the Faerie twins had expressed that it was simply the way of their people.

Her people now?

Natalie’s gaze slowly traveled over the Faeries. Her twin sister was probably around here somewhere. How odd it felt, thinking about her twin. She’d been raised as an only child, a human child. Yet she’d learned this morning that not only was she not human, but she was Faerie, and she had three sisters. For a gal who hadn’t believed in fairytales—or make that Faerie-tales—this was all just plain freaky.

“Come,” Evvan murmured as they stepped through the maze of Faeries scattered throughout the room like brilliant blooms. The naked women lounged on colorful cushions of pinks, purples, blues and silver. Wings glimmered and sparkled and overhead the mishnui tree’s leaves sounded like hundreds of perfectly tuned wind chimes.

When they reached the far side of the alcove, Evvan stopped before Anistana and an incredibly handsome man. Natalie felt a small measure of relief to know that Evvan wasn’t the only male in the place after all. She figured the man was probably in his late thirties. He had a strong jaw, high cheekbones and amazingly vivid blue eyes with silver flecks in them. His long white hair reached his massive shoulders, and the widow’s peak at his forehead was striking on him—he looked almost like a tow-headed vampire. And good lord—he was just as naked as the women in the room, and even though he didn’t appear to be aroused, he sported one hell of a long cock.

Evvan inclined his head to each of them. “Queen Anistana,” he said to the Faerie, and “Overseer To’en,” to the man. Evvan draped a possessive arm around Nat’s shoulders as he addressed To’en. “This is my heartmate, Natalie.”

The way Evvan said
my heartmate
made Nat’s knees weak.

“Welcome to my wife’s realm,” To’en said, his long white hair spilling over his shoulders as he gave her a deep nod.

“
Our
realm, husband.” Anistana threw him a haughty expression that brooked no argument.

To’en smiled, amusement glittering in his vivid blue eyes. “Forgive me. We have been married not more than a week and joined our two realms. I fear I have yet to become accustomed to being Astral’s King.” He glanced at Anistana. “As you are Vianale’s new Queen.”

He slid one hand to Anistana’s belly, and his smile would have lit a room, like Evvan’s glow could brighten a dark cave. “And in months we shall be parents to our twin daughters.”

Natalie’s star birthmark—or starmark—tingled, drawing her attention from the naked royalty and the light banter they were engaging in. Slowly she turned and saw a Faerie flutter into the room, a somewhat absentminded expression upon her pretty face.

An instant connection—something intangible—gripped Natalie and drew her toward the Faerie with the wine-red hair and forest green eyes. Though their hair and eye color were identical, their features were different, even their coloring.

Behind her Nat vaguely heard Anistana’s sigh. “Always late, that one. If any Faerie in this realm could be more different than I, ’tis most certainly Améa.”

Améa.
Anistana had said Natalie’s twin’s name was Améa.

The Faerie’s wings stopped for a moment as her gaze riveted on Nat—like she felt the connection, too. A brilliant smile flashed across her lovely features. She pumped her wings and literally flew across the chamber and straight into Nat’s arms.

“A sister!” The Faerie giggled as she hugged Nat. She smelled of orchids, a fresh outdoorsy scent. “I still cannot believe ’tis true.”

“Améa?” Nat pulled back and with stunned amazement she studied her twin. “Unbelievable…this is all just so dang weird.”

After the newly acquainted twins greeted one another, Evvan, Natalie, and Améa sat cross-legged on cushions not far from the Queen and King. Unlike the other Faeries, Améa hardly spared Evvan a glance. She seemed far more interested in learning more about her twin and chattering about anything and everything.

The two were definitely alike in the chatter department.

While they got to know one another, sparkling crystal plates appeared in their laps, each filled with amazing delicacies like nothing Nat had ever seen before. The smells were rich and the tastes divine—a dish that was like baked butternut squash, but with a nuttier flavor; a vegetable similar to corn on the cob, only turquoise and with distinctly square kernels; and a seedcake that tasted like cornbread, honey, and a hint of lemon.

At the end of the meal a dessert was served made from chocolatyl—which had a sinfully delicious flavor like chocolate liqueur and brownies—and it was positively orgasmic. A honeyed wine accompanied their food, sweet and smooth, and felt pleasantly warm as it rolled over Natalie’s tongue.

To’en and Anistana took their leave not long after finishing their dinner. The Overseer had just received word that he was urgently needed in Vianale, and Anistana decided to accompany him when Evvan promised to stand guard over Astral ’til her return later that evening.

Throughout the dinner, Evvan sat quietly at Nat’s side, watching her with those dark brooding eyes as the two sisters chatted. Nat and Améa discussed their lives and how odd it was to learn—quite out of the blue—that each was Faerie royalty, and a twin.

Améa was bright and bubbly, with a sparkling personality that drew Nat in at once, although there was a fire in Améa that told Nat the Faerie was no doormat. Améa was extremely intelligent, and had a gift for speaking the language of all Dair’s animal creatures.

“At least the ones I have encountered,” Améa said with a grin. Then she glanced at Evvan before leaning in and whispering in Nat’s ear, “Except the male animal. I fear I shall never understand them.”

Giving her twin a conspiratorial smile, Natalie said, “Another similarity between us.”

Améa cocked her head as though listening to something, and she frowned. “A perna calls. Its foot is caught in bluewood moss. I must go help the poor creature.”

Before Nat had a chance to ask what in the heck a perna was, the Faerie darted off with a flap of her wings and headed out through the open doors and into the colorful garden. Through the clear crystal walls, Natalie watched as the Faerie sped above that strange blue mist, over the exotic flowers, straight past a silver-leaved mishnui to a distinctly blue tree.

Natalie’s starmark tingled on the back of her ear, and she rubbed at it. Weird. It had never done that before Halloween night when she’d approached that virtual reality machine. And it had prickled, or tingled several times since she’d been in this strange world.

With a sigh, Nat dismissed it and turned her gaze to Evvan. Damn but she was ready for him again. He was watching her with those smoldering dark eyes that immediately made her want to jump him. Their time at the bath had been incredible, and she grew wet remembering how he had taken her. He’d loved watching the Faerie’s pleasure her, yet at the same time she knew it had tortured him, too. She rather liked how it had made him want to dominate her, to show her that she was his.

Evvan’s cock hardened as he took in Natalie’s prominent nipples raising the light fabric of her short tunic. The jensai-red curls of her mound showed through the sheer material of her garb. “Let us find a place where we can be alone, before I must leave you upon Anistana’s return,” he murmured.

“Leave?” Natalie’s spine straightened, a flare of red coloring her cheeks. “Where in the hell do you think you’re going without me?”

“The Fae killer.” His jaw hardened as his thoughts turned to the murdering bastard. “I have brought you to Astral where you shall be safe. I must seek the Sorcerer and rid Fae of this threat forever.”

“Bullshit.” Natalie scrambled to her feet, a furious glint in her emerald eyes as she glared down at him. “I’m not staying put like some prissy little girl. I have magic, I can help!”

Evvan stood and towered over his l’tiani, clenching his hands at his sides in frustration. How could the maid be so daft? A warning prickled in his consciousness, just as he said, “You will remain—”

A Faerie’s scream cut through his words.

Natalie’s gaze shot in the direction her twin had gone. “Améa!”

“Stay,” Evvan commanded Natalie even as he yanked his sword from its sheath. In a flash of steel and fury, he bolted toward the garden. Behind him he heard the shouts and terrified cries of the other Faeries.

Before him, through the crystal walls, he located a dark-cloaked man with glowing orange eyes. With his arm around Améa’s neck, the bastard was dragging the Faerie backward, toward the black entrance of a skypath.

Voral.

Impossible! But there it was, before Evvan’s very eyes. The thrice-damned Fae killer had managed to open a skypath directly within Astral.

The Sorcerer moved slowly, as though injured. Or perhaps it was merely a trick.

Rage flamed in Evvan’s gut as he shot through the doorway into the garden, wielding his sword. “You will not have her,” he bellowed as the killer vanished with Améa, into the darkness of the skypath.

Evvan roared as he neared the opening, knowing he had but seconds before the Faerie Améa, princess of the realm, sister to his heartmate, and precious life within her own right, would be forever lost.

Natalie chased Evvan out the door, running as fast as she could, but he’d had a good head start on her. The starmark on her lobe tingled greater than it ever had before. Her heart pounded, blood rushing through her skull as she saw a man taking Améa.

“No!” she screamed.

Faster. Faster! She had to help them!

The man bore Améa through some kind of void, and disappeared into the black opening. Evvan shouted “You will not have her!” as he charged through the same blackness, and then he vanished, too.

Adrenaline flushed through her system, giving her legs amazing speed. Anger at the kidnapper, and fear for her lover and her newfound sister, propelled Nat through the garden and into the dark hole.

Into nothingness.

Instantly her stomach cramped and it felt as though her brain was in a blender—the same dizzying sensations she’d experienced in the virtual cave—only this time total darkness surrounded her.

“Damn, damn, damn!” she cried out as she stumbled, unable to see anything, unable to hear. The darkness closed in on her, and she had to focus her senses as she moved. Heart pounding so hard it was surely going to explode out of her chest, she rushed forward.

A faint light glimmered and pierced the darkness up ahead. Was that Evvan’s glow? Nat forced herself to ignore the urge to puke and hurried toward the dim light, and then she saw that she was nearing an exit. It was nighttime wherever this path ended, yet there were lights—were those streetlights?