Savage Possession (Temple of Luna #1) (4 page)

Rais threw his head back
with a howl. He gripped her thighs with bruising force and jerked
her toward him to meet his frantic thrusts. She came again, harder
this time, her entire body taut and her voice rasping in her throat
as she let the magic inside her embrace him. Even through the
pleasure, she could
feel
the way they fit together, the way the beast
inside him fed on her pleasure and submission.

A rush of power washed over
her when he came. She felt him in every cell of her being, the
dwindling rage and pain that swept through her without touching
her, and the satisfaction he found in the depths of her body and
the readiness of her acceptance. Nothing inside him frightened her,
even the things that perhaps should have. He was Rais, he was
beautiful...and he was
hers
.

He knelt between her thighs, still deep
inside her, his head bowed and eyes closed as he panted.
“Avani.”

She shivered and wondered if the aftershocks
of pleasure would continue as long as he was inside her. She knew
there were words she was supposed to say, things that would ease
his mind and assure him she was unharmed. But her breath still came
in helpless pants and her training was a distant memory. So she
made a soft noise of pleasure and hoped he’d understand.

Rais started as if surprised and watched her
face as he pulled away. “Not hurt?”

It was foolish to feel the loss of him so
sharply, especially knowing he’d need to take her at least once
more. But she hungered for the feel of his skin, for the chance to
touch him, and it undercut her reply with a yearning she couldn’t
mask. “Not hurt. Just tired.”

His movements were efficient but slow,
almost exhausted. He freed her ankles first and then her wrists,
leaving the lengths of delicate chain hanging from the bed as he
collapsed beside her, half on his side and half on his stomach.

Avani hid a wince as she shifted to her
knees, her arms protesting how strongly she’d tugged against her
shackles. The discomfort was minimal though, as inconsequential as
the soft ache between her legs. She’d been well fucked, had prodded
Rais to take her with force, though he’d been clearly reluctant to
do so.

The thought made her smile as she reached
for his linen pants, still partly tangled around his body. “Lift
your hips,” she whispered, stroking a hand over the strong line of
his back. “You’ll be more comfortable without these.”

Rais murmured a protest and reached for her.
“Too much trouble. Come here.”

She ignored him and tugged at the pants with
both hands until he lifted just enough for her to ease them down
his legs. They hit the floor a moment later, and Avani found just
enough energy to ease her open gown from her arms. She let it slip
from the bed before crawling back up to settle in his arms. “In
case you didn’t notice, the years have not made me less
stubborn.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up. “You
don’t say.”

“
Mm-hmm.” She pressed her
fingers to his chest, exploring the skin stretched taut over solid
muscle with a sleepy curiosity. “Promise me that you’ll let me
touch you before you leave. The chains are very arousing, but
you’re so beautiful.”

“
Touching me now,” he
murmured, then rolled to bring her on top of him. He snagged the
top edge of the turned-back sheet and pulled it over
them.

“
Yes, but I want you awake
to enjoy it.” Avani turned to rest her cheek against his chest and
listened to his heartbeat slow. With the first desperate need sated
he’d sleep, probably the first deep sleep he’d had in
months.

And when he woke up... One of her teachers
had claimed that a warrior’s need
sprung from the balance of nature. That the pain and death he’d
caused would haunt him until he’d given pleasure and celebrated
life with equal vigor. A priestess was trained to manage the
initial rough encounter and taught to revel in what followed, the
bliss of a focused man bent on wrenching every bit of ecstasy
imaginable from her body.

Rais hadn’t replied, so she
lifted her head for long enough to ascertain that he’d fallen
asleep. He looked just as severe in rest, the strong features too
rugged to relax into anything less intimidating. Avani stroked her
finger lightly over his cheek and smiled as affection welled up in
her. He might not know the woman she’d become, but she knew him.
She
wanted
him.

And you have him.
Avani settled against his chest and closed her
eyes, luxuriating in the masculine, strong scent of a warrior and
the feel of his magic curling deeper around her. For the next day
or two, Rais was hers. And maybe he’d like the woman as much as she
liked the warrior.

Chapter Two

His body ached like he’d undertaken a
ten-mile march in full gear. But he wasn’t on the field. He was in
the Temple, swathed in sensuous satin, and Avani lay draped over
him.

No wonder he was smiling.

Rais stretched a little, trying to relieve
an impending cramp in his shoulder. “Wake up, little one.”

“
Mmm.” She turned her head
and nuzzled his chest sleepily, sending a cascade of tousled blonde
hair spilling over his neck. “Warm.”

“
Indeed.” His cock
stiffened, and he nudged its length against her hip. “You need
something? Wine? Water?”

She slid both hands to his chest and pushed
herself upright, ending up with one knee on either side of one of
his thighs. That wildly disheveled hair fell around her face as she
smiled at him. “I may not be an experienced priestess, but I’m
fairly sure fetching food and drink is my job. Would you like
anything?”

He shook his head, entranced by her breasts.
He lifted his hands to cup their weight, heavy and firm, and
flicked his thumbs over her nipples. “Maybe in a little while.”

Her eyes fluttered shut and she made a quiet
noise of pleasure, arching into his touch. The movement rubbed her
cunt against his leg, and he could feel her slowly awakening
arousal as she rocked down against him.

She’d come hard before; he’d kept enough of
wits about him to make sure of it. But now was his chance to tease
her, to take her slowly and watch her pleasure build to a fever
pitch. “Can I have you again?”

“
Yes.” Her hand dropped and
she curled her fingers around his cock as she opened her eyes, her
smile turning teasing. “Are you going to spank me if I misbehave
again? Because it’s very tempting.”

“
You like it too much,” he
teased back. “Vixen.”

She stroked her hand up the length of his
cock, her grip still feather-light, but her expression had turned
serious. “That’s why I’m still in gold bands, isn’t it?”

He could guess, but he merely shrugged one
shoulder. “Have you asked Celine why?”

“
She says my job is to give
a warrior what he needs, not give him license to take whatever he
wants.”

He felt his eyebrows go up. “And if either
is at odds with what you need or want?”

“
You mean if he hurts me?”
She dropped her hand to his thigh. “There are protocols in place.
Spells that would trigger before he could do permanent physical
damage. I might get a little bruised, but I’d heal. There’s always
some risk in what we do, Rais, but nothing as dangerous as fighting
on the front lines.”

That all depended on the submission those
warriors demanded, and the toll it might take on Avani’s mind and
heart before it hurt her body. “Nothing as dangerous as that,” he
agreed, “but more insidious.”

She studied him with a tiny frown. “You
think I should leave.”

He tucked one arm behind his head and
sighed. He couldn’t tell her Celine planned to have her leave after
her next birthday, not before he’d given her his own proposal.
Doing so would be tantamount to emotional blackmail. “What I think
is that you should consider me.”

“
Consider you for...” Her
voice faded and he felt the prick of her fingernails as her hand
tightened on his leg. “Do you want me? Or do you pity
me?”

“
Why do you ask when only
an idiot would answer that in any way but one?”

“
Because only an idiot
would lie to a woman with her knee this close to his
cock.”

Rais easily flipped her over on her back and
sat up beside her. “Are you going to rant and scream and throw
things at me if I say it’s a little of both?”

Her cheeks flushed, probably at the reminder
that Rais had been witness to one or two of her more spectacular
bouts of temper. “No. But I’m not going to run off with you,
either.”

“
That’s the last thing I’d
ask, especially considering my remaining months of
service.”

“
So what
do
you want?” She reached
out and stroked her fingers up his side, the touch feather-light.
“You want no one else to touch me?”

He caught her hand. “Will you wait for me?”
The words seemed so innocuous, but it was a question that couldn’t
be asked--or answered--lightly. “It’s not long now, Avani.”

She didn’t reply at once. Her hand felt
delicate until she curled her fingers around his in a surprisingly
firm grasp. “I could be convinced to consider it.”

No, she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d thank
the Goddess and her lucky stars that he’d chosen to focus his
attentions on her. “Convinced how?”

“
Call me when you can.
Learn to know me as a woman. Fall in love with me. Make me fall in
love with you.”

A courtship. Rais had never thought of it,
had never had to. Kings didn’t court women; they simply chose whom
they pleased when they pleased. “I don’t have the luxury of
courting you, Avani. I’ll be on the front, in the midst of heavy
fighting, and I don’t know how much reliable communications contact
I’ll have.”

Avani closed her eyes as a hint of color
deepened in her cheeks again. “The wishful thinking of a girl who’s
always had a little bit of a crush on you, I suppose. I’ve been
spoiled. Many men would do whatever it takes to marry into my
uncle’s family.”

“
Of course they would.” He
touched the curling end of one blonde lock of hair and hesitated.
“You weren’t raised to settle for anything less. I
understand.”

“
Do you, though?” She
curled onto her side and nuzzled his fingers before brushing a kiss
to his palm. “Do you have any idea how easily you could break
me?”

His chest ached, and he sank his fingers
into her hair and held her so her gaze met his. “That’s the last
thing I want, Avani. You deserve better than that, from me and
everyone else.”

She wet her lips with a quick dart of her
tongue, her gaze never leaving his face. “I trust you. I trust you
to do everything you can to keep from hurting me. So tell me what
you want, and it’s yours.”

The readiness and sincerity of the vow
startled him. “Put it out of your mind.” He kissed her chin and
traced her lips with his tongue. “Don’t worry about it.”

Her lips parted. He felt the teasing brush
of her tongue as she made a soft noise of pleasure, her earlier
eagerness returning redoubled.

Rais lay down and pulled her on top of him
again. “Not tying you down this time,” he murmured against her
mouth.

She just laughed and bit his lower lip
before squirming down his body. Her teeth scored his collar bone
before her tongue darted out to trace over his chest. “You
shouldn’t promise that before you see how badly I intend to
misbehave.”

“
I have better ways to keep
you in line.”

“
Do you?” She inched lower,
not lifting her mouth from his skin until his cock rested in the
valley between her breasts. “I find myself intrigued.”

Rais arched an eyebrow and cupped her
breasts, squeezing them around his shaft. She moaned and rubbed
against him, and he had to bite his tongue to hold back a groan. “I
can’t tell you what they are.”

She smiled, that wickedly teasing glint in
her eyes so much more dangerous now that she was a woman. “Not
unless I earn it?” she asked, her voice warm and amused. She didn’t
wait for a response, just dropped her mouth and took the head of
his cock between her warm lips.

This time, he couldn’t stop
the groan that ripped free of him. “Can’t tell you because
you’d
try
to get
me to spank you.”

The wet heat of her tongue teased over him
as she hummed her agreement before lifting her head. “I’d beg you
for it,” she whispered, her breath skating over him. “If you’d
gotten me in the traditional way you’d know that. My profile
indicates a decided preference for games of dominance in bed.”