The Queen's Consorts (7 page)

It wasn’t until she felt the wood against her back that she realized she was the one who’d pulled Taryen down until his large, muscular body was draped over hers. Nothing existed but the pulse of longing as their tongues brushed, their bodies pressing together in a cry for more.

Sari broke the kiss only to tug at the robes she was wearing. “Get them off.” She pulled at them frantically, trying to work the material up between their straining bodies. “Help, Taryen. Get them off. Let me feel you.”

Taryen pulled them off her, tossing the robes near the fireplace. The flames reflected his dark eyes as they ran over her bare body. “You’re lovely, Lady Sari.” He seemed awed by the revelation. “You make me ache. I want to taste your essence. Would you let me?”

“Gods, yes,” Sari groaned, not really knowing what she was agreeing to but not caring. “Taste it. I want you to.”

Taryen groaned, his eyes closing as if he was surrendering to a dark indulgence. He fell over Sari, burying his face in the curve of her neck, which was most certainly not what she had expected when he’d said he wanted to
taste
her. His breath was warm against her hypersensitive skin as he whispered, “Thank you, Lady Sari.”

Then he sucked hard on the patch of skin over Sari’s pulse point, and she cried out. Her hands slammed against the floor at the tidal wave of ecstasy that pushed through her bloodstream.

“Gods, what’re you doing?” she gasped, trying to find clarity through the cloud of blinding pleasure. The fight only brought Taryen into sharper focus, stunning Sari when she realized she was actually feeling him,
all of him
. Somehow he had managed to blend their souls, and the sensation was infectious. It made her crave a deeper connection. She reached between their straining bodies, pushing at his pants. “Take them off. Let’s be bare together.”

Whether it was Sari’s will imposing itself on
his,
or his own desire, she didn’t know, but Taryen didn’t seem to mind. Still sucking on her neck and magically entwining their essence together, Taryen managed to kick his pants off. Without being told, he cupped her breast, palming it before his thumb swept over the nipple.

Sari tangled her fingers in the silky hair at the base of his neck, holding his mouth to her, desperate to keep the connection. He made her feel vibrant and alive. Colors burst behind her closed eyelids. She felt his joy, his love of life despite the cruelty he faced. She could actually taste his passion and love for Calder, and for that moment, it felt real to her too.

His thumb was still sweeping over her nipple, sending jolts of pleasure to her pussy. She rocked against him, feeling the hot slide of his cock against her bare thigh, and she shifted her hips, wanting relief from the throbbing between her legs.

“Do you know how to touch a woman?” Sari asked hopefully. “Do you know how to free me, Tary?”

Taryen released the hold he had on her neck to pull up and look at her. His eyes were
wild,
making it obvious he was as lost to the bliss as she was.

He licked his lips as if savoring her on them and groaned, “I would love to free you.”

“Do it.” She tightened her fingers in his hair and jerked him down. She turned her head, feeling bereft with the connection broken. “Suck here.” She arched her neck, offering it to him as she forced his face into the curve of her throat. Then she thrust her hips up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and rubbed her wet pussy against his stomach muscles. “And touch me here. Free me, Tary. I’ve never had a real climax. I want you to be the one to give it to me.”

She’d faked hundreds, maybe thousands of releases, but none of them had been real, and Taryen didn’t ask why a former pleasure maiden had never experienced sexual climax. He seemed as focused on bringing them back together as Sari was. With no words or questions, his lips pressed against her jugular, and he sucked hard once more. A fresh surge of pleasure washed over her, and Sari’s entire body jerked from the impact.

“Gods, that feels good.” She squeezed her eyes shut tighter against the bliss. “You feel good. You taste good.”

And she could taste him. He invaded every sense she had. Sari rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, savoring the blending of their senses. When his hand slipped between their straining bodies to rub at the tight bundle of nerves between her legs, they both gasped at the sensation. He felt her too, her pleasure really was his pleasure, and he used it to his advantage. She didn’t have to tell him what felt good, he simply knew. The combination of intensive training and the connection the two of them were sharing made Taryen’s touch pure ecstasy.

The way he rubbed her, making the rise of pleasure almost blinding, had Sari arching into his hand shamelessly. No wonder people were willing to do such unsavory things to feel the delight of another’s touch. She clung to him, finally understanding some of the debauchery her life had inflicted as she tightened her hold on his hair. She clutched at his back with her other hand, her nails breaking the skin as great sobs of bliss burst out of her.

Taryen thrust against her, his cock sliding against her thigh, and Sari began shifting beneath him, desperate to move lower, craving a complete connection with him. She wanted to know Taryen body and soul. It didn’t feel forbidden. It felt like heaven, and she craved it more than she had ever wanted anything in her entire life. She opened her mouth, intent on demanding he fuck her.

“Your will is his will.” A voice cut through the sexual fog that had swirled up around them. “You ask and he’ll be forced to comply. That’s a death sentence. Even sisters are forbidden to have a consort enter them. He’s for the queen only.”

Gods, Sari didn’t care. It felt like it was worth dying for. Life had never been anything but cruel to her, but this, it was like tasting the divine. She ignored the voice, everything in her still straining for him. She released her hold on his back to reach between them and stroke his hard cock. He was bigger than most males she had touched, and more responsive too. He arched into her hand, his groan a low rumble against her throat. Sari gasped out loud, because she could feel his pleasure as easily as he felt hers. Joining with him would be an endless cycle of ecstasy if they fed off each other’s pleasure like this.

“They’ll hurt him,” the voice interrupted once more, a raw desperation that tried to break through the spell. “If you take that from him, they’ll hurt him, Lady Sari. They’ll hurt him badly.”

Sari fought the pleasure to open her eyes. She found Calder leaning against the door, his arms folded over his chest, which heaved as he watched the two of them. Even from a distance she could see the fire in his light eyes. The pulse of hunger throbbed off him as their eyes met. Taryen temporarily freed her from the spell as he also lifted his head, looking to Calder.

“Don’t stop on my account. Take from him,” Calder
coaxed,
his voice gravelly with lust. “Let him free you, Lady Sari. Only his cock is forbidden, but his mouth and hands are yours to enjoy.”

“You like to watch?” Sari asked, finding herself captivated by Calder standing over them.

“Apparently.”
Calder sounded surprised by the revelation.

For some reason, it affected both of them. Sari and Taryen groaned together because they were still oddly connected. Sari used her hold on Taryen’s hair to bring his lips back to her neck.

“Let me feel him,” Sari pleaded, stroking his hair once, not knowing if it was somehow wrong to invade his soul that deeply. “Let me feel him through you, Tary. Let me feel a lifetime with him.”

Taryen gave her what she asked for, sucking on her neck, this time sending a surge of love and passion through her body as she felt the magic Calder and Taryen shared. A lifetime of love, discovered passions that were the only escape from their dark reality, the pleasure that was so potent it could erase any pain. It all rushed at her, and she bowed to the force of it. When Taryen touched her once more, his thumb rubbing against her clit, it pushed her over a precipice she hadn’t realized she was climbing.

She screamed, her body convulsing from the pleasure, and her connection with Taryen jerked him into the oblivion with her. She savored the way he shuddered in her arms. It was strange how close she felt to him, and she wanted to stay in this place forever.
So safe, so comfortable, yet so amazingly compelling and exotic.
It was easy to surrender to passion and leave
herself
exposed after a lifetime avoiding real intimacy.

She knew it was her training with the Order that had her reaching between their bodies, finding the stickiness of his cum smeared over the inside of her thighs and splashed onto her stomach. She brought her fingers to her mouth, closing her eyes to savor his flavor, wondering why he tasted so good when the essence of a man had never appealed to her before now.

Calder made a choked sound of shock.
“Gods.”

Fingers still in her mouth, she opened her eyes to find Calder staring at her with a mixture of lust and disbelief. She felt her cheeks heat and turned away from him. She stroked Taryen’s hair to hide her embarrassment. Obviously uncaring of Sari’s guilty indulgence, he placed kisses over her throat and across her collarbone, gently easing the spiritual connection tying them together.

“It’s a bad habit from the Order. We were supposed to clean—” She shook her head before finishing the admission. “You probably think it’s uncivilized.”

“Actually,” Calder
started,
his voice still gruff with longing. “I think that’s one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen. I’ve never known a female to do that. Did you enjoy his taste?”

She turned back to Calder. With a husky whisper of indulgence she admitted, “Yes.”

Calder’s gaze burned both of them before he cupped a hand to his mouth and turned away to press his forehead against the door. His breathing was still labored, and a low groan burst out of him as he scrubbed both hands over his face and through his hair.

“This is a huge problem,” he mumbled against the wood of the door. “There’s something different about you, and it’s going to get us in trouble.”

Taryen was quiet in her arms, his body tense as if sensing the hidden thoughts Calder was having.

“I should go,” Sari said softly, deciding to voice all their thoughts out loud. “Neither of you are meant for me.”

Calder turned around, looking at her in anguish. “You know we don’t want that.”

“I know,” she assured him, giving him a smile as her heart surged with a surprising amount of affection for Calder considering the short amount of time they had known each other. “But I should go. I’ll find little Aria and leave the Sacred City.”

“You can’t just leave on your own.” Taryen lifted his head to stare down at her in horror. “You’re Rayian. The gods meant for you to be protected and coveted.”

“I don’t think the gods intend for anyone to be coveted,” Sari argued. “It’s Rayians, not the gods, who believe it’s their right to be drowned in luxury.”

“There are other palaces besides the Sacred City,” Calder offered, sounding stricken. “It’s your right as a sister to choose where you’d like to live. You can have apartments in any of the palaces.”

“What if I wanted to help in the missions?” Sari mused, thinking of Taryen and wondering about the purehearted Rayians. “Would I be allowed?”

“No, you’d never qualify,” Calder said sadly. “There are tests.”

“I heard.” Sari stroked Taryen’s hair once more.

“Please don’t tell anyone about his healing,” Calder pleaded, his face stricken as he stared over at them. “He’s not supposed to reveal that gift.”

“It was an accident.” Taryen sounded guilty, his body suddenly tense at being caught. “She was sad and I just—”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Sari said quickly, knowing they were talking about Taryen’s strange ability to erase sadness and somehow blend his soul with another’s. “The secret is safe. I promise.”

“They don’t know,” Calder went on, shaking his head. “Usually they don’t mate with pure hearts. I think they’re afraid it’s catching. Taryen’s a unique case. They’re drawn to him because of his connection to the queen. If they discovered he can do that, make someone feel like that, they’d never leave him alone.”

“Can all pure hearts do it?” Sari asked curiously. “Heal like that? Erase
pain,
feed a soul pure joy just from a touch or a kiss?”

“He can turn it on and off,” Calder explained, looking uncomfortable. “He doesn’t heal the sisters he serves. He keeps the gift hidden out of loyalty to me. And yes, I believe they can all do it, but they usually mate with each other. There’s another pure heart in the Sacred City. She seeks out Taryen when she needs the connection. She hasn’t searched for lifemates to bond with. She’s alone.”

“I know how she feels,” Sari whispered, feeling unbelievably bereft at the thought of walking away from these two men she only just met.

“Don’t go yet.” Taryen stroked her hair away from her face as he studied her. “Stay with your people for a while. Learn of the different palaces. Plan where you’d most like to set up housing.”

“Tary—”

“She’s been alone her whole life.” Taryen lifted his head to glare at Calder. “She deserves some security and time to make the correct life decision.”

Calder was silent for a long moment before he finally sighed. “You are, of course, wise as usual. She deserves security.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Sari said passionately. “Traveling is second nature to me.”

“No,” Calder said firmly. “Tary is right. You need time to adjust to your new life. It should be here. We’ll simply find our strength and deal with our attractions. All three of us are both strong and wise; we’ll find a way to cope with this unexpected situation.”

Sari didn’t feel like she could process everything. It was all so outlandish to her and happening extremely fast. She finally stretched beneath Taryen and said, “I need to find little Aria, and I’d like to ask Captain Macro if he saw my grandmother’s pendant.”

“Tary, wash up.”
Calder pushed away from the door and walked over to them. “Bring me a basin and a cloth.”