Temperance (34 page)

It seemed as though Kai had an innate ability to bring her to the very edge of her sanity. One look, one touch, and it was as though there were a fire coursing through her veins, and from the words he’d said earlier it was obvious he felt the same.

She could feel his hard cock rubbing against her aching core, and every time he moved over her, she thought he would rear back and slide that thick length inside her. But no. It seemed as if Kai was content on discovering this first time around, while she wanted to get to the,
thrusting inside me part.

She moved the hand she still had on his head to his other ass cheek and squeezed, pulling him as close as she could possibly get him.

When his hair fell forward surrounding them both, Naeve found words she’d never once uttered, swirling through her mind. Words she figured were now there due to the way he was tormenting her with his cock, and driving her crazy with desire.

 
So when she opened her mouth and demanded, “Fuck me.” She couldn’t
believe
they’d actually come from her.

Kai stilled above her, and she saw a dark almost savage smile touch his lips.

“Fuck you?” he asked. “Is that what you want, little rabbit?”

She could feel her pulse beating triple time in her chest, neck, and down between her aching thighs, as she rubbed herself against him.

“Yes,” she moaned, and then locked eyes with him feeling a new, darker part of herself take over.
 

She dug her nails into his skin, and repeated much more confidently, “Fuck me.”

Kai reached down between them, and when he ran his fingers between her wet lips, she bucked up against them as if they were a livewire.

She knew she was soaked, she could feel the way her body was weeping for him as he circled her clit and then slid his fingers down to push inside. She clamped her teeth into her lip to hold back a scream, and all the while Kai’s stormy eyes held hers.

His mouth was hovering over her own and when he pulled his fingers free of her body, Naeve leaned up and kissed him, pushing her tongue deep inside his mouth to tangle with his own. Leaving one hand on his ass she brought the other in between them and finally wrapped her fingers around his thick, cock.

He wrenched his mouth free, groaning as she squeezed and ran her fist up his length. She reveled the sound coming from him, and when he looked down at her she thought he was the most magnificent man she’d ever seen.
 

He looked furious but Naeve knew better, she held the proof in her hand.
 

As he snarled at her, baring his teeth, she felt powerful, enjoying her sensual torment of him and little more than she knew she should.
 

“Ready to stop teasing me now?” she taunted.

He reached between them and grabbed her hand, then took her other and pinned them both to the mattress by her head.

She felt a thrill race through her in finally pushing him over the edge, and when he lowered his mouth to hers and crushed their lips together in a brutal kiss, she bit back a scream as the head of his cock
finally
pushed against her wet opening.

* * *

Kai stared down at the temptress under him and held her hands in place. The little minx had just about driven him out of his mind, and he’d been trying so hard to take this slow, as to not scare her.

Clearly, Naeve was not scared.

She now had his waist wrapped with her legs, and was arching her hips to get his cockhead to slide inside of her. Her eyes were locked on his, and the combined heat of their bodies was close to molten.

He could taste the salty sweat on her skin as he nipped at her lips, and when the tip of his cock began to slowly sink inside of her, he felt as though his shaft would melt from the liquid heat.

Like a silky, wet, fist, her body swallowed him and squeezed him tightly, causing any thought of slow to disappear from his mind. Her eyes slid closed and he felt her nails dig into his hands as he fully entered her, and with no thought but release now in mind, he began to move.

“Oh God,” she moaned as he slid out of her, and when he pushed back inside she cried out and clutched her thighs tighter around his hips.
 

“Damn,” he cursed, and began thrusting as she desperately writhed under him, almost as though she were trying to get him deeper inside.

She let go of his ass and reached up to tangle her hands in his hair, and Kai closed his eyes when she tightened her fists in it and pulled.

His shaft slid in and out of her with ease, over and over. Every time he sunk inside, she’d arch up and rub her mound against him, letting out a sensual sound that just about undid him.
 

He could tell that whatever it was she was doing to herself felt damn good, because her cunt clenched around his cock tight as he dragged it from her. He continued thrusting, until her body bowed off the bed and she pressed her head back into it, shutting her eyes.
 

That was when a shiver raced down his spine and made his balls tighten, right before she screamed his name and her entire body tensed around him.
 

Her hands twisted in his hair, and her heels pressed into his ass, and that was when it hit him and he exploded inside of her, groaning out her name.

If anyone had slept on the same floor as he, their mutual shouts of ecstasy surly would’ve awoken them.

Luckily for them…they did not.

Bastian didn’t know how long he’d been sequestered in his ‘chambers,’ but his ass was now numb and the aches in his head and limbs had intensified.

Not to mention the empty ache in my stomach.

He glared over at the trays of food that had continually been brought, left, and untouched
.
It would come as no surprise to his father that he was refusing meals. He’d always been accused of possessing a stubborn streak, even as a child. It had once been a way to see the great Commander, Li’Am—now, it was a way to
never
see him.

If I am dead,
Bastian thought, and then he froze as the door to his bleak chambers opened. Instantly, he shut the door on his dismal musings.

He squinted as the light from the hall shone through the opening, but it soon faded to reveal none other than the head guard himself. Ry’Ker stood in the archway and, with the light behind him, looked like Bastian imagined death might—a fearsome but dark relief.
 

Maybe I’m already dead?

“Gods. You still haven’t eaten?”

Si’Bastian dismissed his comment as he stood watching the irritated guard storm in the room, but this time, he was not alone. Trailing close behind, looking at him as though he were an oddity, was a man he’d never met before.

He was a few inches shorter than the guard, which Bastian realized put him at roughly his own height. He also noted that the man was dressed as one of the common folk.

“Who’s this?” Bastian asked, as Ry’Ker poked the cold food on the tray.

Instead of answering him, the guard picked up a stale piece of bread and turned his way. “Is there a reason you are intent on starving yourself?”

Bastian glanced over at the silent man, who’d stopped just inside the door, then flicked his eyes back to Ry’Ker. “Perhaps I am attempting to relieve myself of your witty repartee.”

Ry’Ker threw the bread on the table and marched over to where Bastian had made himself stand. When he was as close as he dared come, Bastian noted the way Ry’Ker’s eyes focused in on him intently, and he knew that whatever was about to come out of his mouth would not be anything good.

“I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to locate it and move past it. In case you misheard me the last time I was here, you are stuck with me, sensualeer. And trust me when I tell you that no one is unhappier about that situation than myself.”

Bastian didn’t need to get inside Ry’Ker’s mind to know he was frustrated because every emotion he was feeling was stamped all over his face. His nostrils flared in agitation, and the creases lining his forehead indicated just how exasperating the guard really found him.

“Who is he?” he asked for the second time, deciding that butting heads with this man was almost as low on his list of things to do as pleasing his father.

Ry’Ker glanced at the third person in the room. “This is Ai’Den. He’s a healer.”

The chain attached to the cuffs around his wrists rattled as Bastian stepped back and used the wall to hold him up.

“Get him out of here.”

Ry’Ker pinned him with a flinty stare. “No.”

Returning the guard’s look without flinching, Bastian told him quite adamantly, “I don’t want a healer. I will die before I let Li’Am feel better about what he’s done.”

“Listen to me,” Ry’Ker advised, moving so he was now standing directly in front of him. This close, Bastian could swear he saw flecks of silver around the iris of the guard’s hard, grey eyes. The color was a distinct reminder of exactly who he was, and his usual Imperial armor. “Li’Am agreed to release you. Don’t you want that? But he will only do it if
you
agree to this.”

“Release me?” Bastian asked in disbelief. “Try again, Guard. That just doesn’t fit Li’Am’s psyche.”

Ry’Ker’s jaw bunched, and Bastian knew he was clenching his teeth.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” he pushed.

“He has agreed to a partial release.”

A mocking laugh left Bastian, and he pushed himself off the wall, stepping toward the man who was trying so hard to make what he was offering sound appealing.

“And how do
you
feel about that?”
 

He caught a quick flash of apprehension enter Ry’Ker’s eyes, but it quickly dissipated as he squared his shoulders.

“I don’t feel anything about you either way. Eat or don’t eat. Wallow in self-pity or regain some dignity. Those are
your
choices, sensualeer. I’m not the one chained to a wall.”

Ry’Ker’s words provoked his ire most effectively, and Bastian knew that, if he were in possession of his—

 
“Wishing you could crawl inside my mind right now, aren’t you?”

When he remained stubbornly silent, the infuriating arse continued.

“Wouldn’t you enjoy the opportunity to make me suffer for this?”

That finally got a response from him. “I couldn’t get inside your head before I was drugged. Why would you assume that thought would entice me now?”

With a cruel sneer of his lips, Ry’Ker answered, “Because you’re arrogant. And the thought of hurting me is the only thing that has made you stop thinking for one second about how powerless you feel.”
 

Bastian didn’t deign to answer, instead letting his eyes move past Ry’Ker to focus on the healer. Ai’Den, he’d called him.

“What does my father wish him to do?”

“He is to check you over.”

Bastian brought his eyes back to the guard. “With magic?”

“You are opposed to having magic used on you?”

Bastian raised his arms and pointed out, “As you so astutely reminded me, I am not currently at my full capabilities. If someone plans to use powers on me, I’d like to know in advance exactly what is to occur.”

Ry’Ker gave a kind of grunt in response before responding, “And are you so forthright with your intentions before you poke around in someone’s head?”

“You seem overly concerned with that particular trait of mine. Perhaps you are more worried about your ability to block me than you’d have me believe.”

“I told you. To me, it matters neither here nor there what happens to you. But I will be very clear about one thing. I don’t want you in my mind, and I made sure that Li’Am taught me how to shut down to your kind.”

Bastian had to give Ry’Ker credit. He’d certainly accomplished one thing since walking inside the room.
 

He’d given him a reason to live—if just to take pleasure in watching him die.

* * *

Ry’Ker could sense the roiling anger in the man before him, and he was satisfied with the fact that he’d put it there. He was frustrated by everything that had happened since returning to L’Mere, and after having dealt with three angry women he’d had to walk away from, he was itching for a fight.

 
He’d disliked the role of ‘keeper’ back when the sensualeer had merely been Si’Bastian, the Commander’s son. But with the knowledge of all that Si’Bastian was, Ry’Ker’s aggravation had reached a whole other level.

“Ai’Den,” he bit out, turning to face him where he stood by the door.
 

The usually chatty healer had remained silent since entering the room, and Ry’Ker knew that it had everything to do with the person chained to the wall.

“Yes, Ry’Ker?”

“Come here.”

As he issued the order, he heard a sound emerge from Si’Bastian.

“Do you have something you wish to say?”

Like a belligerent child, Si’Bastian clamped his mouth shut as he watched him with those dark eyes of his.

Ai’Den came to a standstill beside him as he looked over at the young man.

“Can you explain what you will be doing to Si’Bastian? It seems he is sensitive to others wielding magic when he is helpless against it. The irony is almost laughable, is it not?”