The Twilight Lord (7 page)

And there was the ambassador from Hetar to consider. Jonah had returned to Hetar with Lara away. There was no one who would tell him where she was, for Hetar had no idea that Lara and the Shadow Princes had removed the clan families from the Outlands and brought them to safety in Terah. If he were here now he would be sniffing about for gossip and information as he always was.

The Dominus almost felt sorry for Jonah. He was an intelligent man but he was every bit as evil as his master, Gaius Prospero. And Magnus Hauk knew he was in Terah for the sole purpose of finding a weakness in Terah that he might exploit to his own benefit or Hetar’s. Now and again he returned to The City to report to his master on the nothing he had been able to learn. And Lara had laughed, knowing how frustrating that must be to Gaius Prospero. It was better he was gone now, the Dominus thought.

The day went quickly and was coming to a close when Magnus Hauk woke his stepson. They ate a hearty meal and then, as Dasras had agreed he was up to returning to the New Outlands, they departed the castle. They reached New Camdene while it was yet night there and Liam, who had been awaiting them, came from his hall to meet them.

Kneeling before the Dominus he begged his forgiveness for Lara’s disappearance.

“It is not the fault of the Fiacre that my wife is gone,” Magnus Hauk said loudly, for all of New Camdene’s population were gathered around them despite the early hour. “This is dark and wicked magic. You could not have prevented what happened. I have spoken with Prince Kaliq and he will join us shortly. In the meantime, keep to your preparations for the Gathering. I will travel there with you.”

Liam arose and kissed the Dominus’s hands. “Thank you, my lord. Your words of reassurance are soothing to us. Now come into my hall and refresh yourself after your long ride. The new day will soon begin.”

“See to Dasras,” the Dominus murmured to his stepson, ruffling his hair.

In the hall, Magnus Hauk greeted Noss and admired Mildri. He sat with them before their fire, and told them that before the trek for the Gathering began he would be sending the children back to his castle. “Lara has a spell about it to protect it and its inhabitants. My sister will be there to see the children’s lives continue on uninterrupted. I am waiting for Kaliq, for he can transport them quickly. I may need Dasras.”

“You said dark magic,” Noss half whispered.

“Naught else could have taken Lara. Kaliq will explain it all to you when he arrives. Until then we must carry on as usual.”

“Papa! Papa!” Zagiri came running and climbed into his lap. “Mama is gone.”

The Dominus kissed his little daughter and then, reaching out, drew Anoush, who had been standing nearby, into the curve of his arm. “And how are my two girls?” he asked them. “Zagiri, you are as brown as a little nut! And Anoush, oh my, how lovely you are growing. Come and give me a kiss, too.”

Anoush bent and kissed his cheek. “I am so afraid, stepfather,” she said, shivers racking her slender little body.

Magnus Hauk drew his stepdaughter into his lap with her sister. “I am, too, Anoush,” he told the girl. “But we will find your mother, I promise you. We will find her, and we will bring her home to us.”

Anoush lay her head on his shoulder. “May I call you Papa, too?” she asked him shyly and softly.

The Dominus of Terah could feel a prickle behind his eyelids and he blinked hard. “It would please me so much if you did,” he said as he placed a kiss on her brow. “But only if you want to, Anoush.”

“I have never had a father,” Anoush told him. “Vartan sired me but he was gone before I might remember him. I have always wanted a father.”

“Then you shall have one in me, my daughter,” the Dominus told her. “And I know your mother would be happy with your decision.”

“I do not do it for my mother,” Anoush replied. “I do it for me.”

Magnus Hauk chuckled. “Has the Great Creator given me two headstrong daughters to raise?” he demanded to know in pained tones.

“I am much better at minding than Zagiri,” Anoush said primly.

“I am relieved to learn it,” the Dominus said.

“Will you find our mother, Papa?” Anoush asked him again.

“I will find her, I promise you, my daughters. And I have never broken a promise,” Magnus Hauk told them. “I will find Lara. And I will bring her safely home.”

S
HE AWOKE
, her green eyes scanning her surroundings. She lay in a huge bed of furs in a dim chamber. There was a great hearth opposite which burned high.

She was naked, and as she turned her head, her gaze met the dark silvery one of a naked man next to her.
Where was she?
She wondered. And then a sudden terrible fear gripped her, almost paralyzing her.
Who was she? She did not know who she was!
she struggled desperately to think—to remember—but for the life of her she couldn’t. A small cry of panic escaped her and she sat up, clutching the furs to her breasts.

The man sat up, too. “Ah, my precious Lara,” he said to her in a deep, musical and very soothing voice. “What is it? Have the pains returned?” He caught her hand in his and kissed it lingeringly.

“I…I…I don’t know who I am or where I am,” she half sobbed.

“You are Lara, my mate. I am Kol, the Twilight Lord. You have been very ill for many weeks, my precious. You are only just now beginning to recover.”

“But why can I remember nothing of it?” she asked him.

“The physician said that your memory could be temporarily lost, for you burned with a deadly fever for many days. He has assured me that it will return. Slowly, my precious, but it will return.” Kol wrapped his arms about her, holding her close.

The warmth of his body pressed against hers was comforting. Lara let her head fall against his shoulder. “You will not leave me?” she asked him.

“Nay, my precious, I will not leave you,” he promised her. “I have not in all these weeks. I have remained by your side, and governed from this room. Alfrigg has not been pleased with me at all, I fear,” Kol told her.

“Alfrigg?”

“My chancellor, sweeting. But he has of course prayed to Krell for your recovery. Everyone in the Dark Land has, Lara. You are my mate, and it has been foretold that you will be the mother of the next Twilight Lord.”

“Who is Krell?” she asked him.

“Why, our deity, my precious. Krell, Lord of Darkness,” he explained. Then he pressed her back upon her pillows and pulled down the furs covering her bosom. His eyes admired her breasts and leaning down, he kissed each nipple.

Lara shivered slightly.

“Ah,” Kol chuckled. “I think you may have a small memory of pleasures,” he teased and was rewarded by her blush. “I am relieved, for the mating lust has been upon me for several days now and I long to sink my rod into your sweetness.” Bending again, he now began to lick at her nipples, finally taking one into his mouth and sucking on it with strong tugs of his lips. Her little cries of obvious appreciation encouraged him onward. His rod began to throb and swell.

Lara felt a corresponding tingle in her nether regions, and made a small murmuring sound of satisfaction. “Oh yes, my lord! Oh yes, that is nice.” She wasn’t quite so frightened now. This was something she seemed to understand.
Pleasures. Yes, she knew pleasures. She liked pleasures.
Her fingers threaded themselves through his ebony hair, then slid down to caress the nape of his neck.

Kol fought back the mating lust that demanded he impale her immediately with his burgeoning rod. Instead, he began to explore the beautiful body he had desired for over a year now. The flesh of her breasts was firm despite her three children. Her belly was a soft delicate mound that he covered first with kisses and then tasted with his tongue. Her thighs fell open to him with the barest encouragement. He stroked the inside of the tender flesh.

She pulled her nether lips apart for him and he played with the tiny lust orb that swelled with his attentions. He rose and kissed her mouth, his tongue twining itself about hers as he pushed a single long finger into her. She moaned against his lips for more and he complied, adding a second finger and finally a third. She was tight and hot and her juices ran down his hand. Withdrawing his fingers he looked down into her glittering eyes and then sucked upon his wet digits.

Her tongue ran quickly about her lips and she smiled up at him. “I remember pleasures, my lord,” she admitted softly.

“Good,” he replied, his own eyes blazing. Then he mounted her and pressed his rod forward until he was totally sheathed within her body. He rested there a moment, letting her feel the throbbing as his rod increased its girth. He let her enjoy his as she had enjoyed other rods. But there were certain features of his rod only possessed by a Twilight Lord; he would later introduce to her to them. Not tonight. Tonight would be about tenderness and sweet lust.

Lara wrapped her legs about Kol so he might delve deeper into her body. Had she ever enjoyed a rod so thick? She didn’t think so but her mind was still very hazy. And when he began to move upon her, his rod flashing back and forth within her, Lara lost herself in the fiery pleasures he engendered within her body. She let herself soar and reveled as the stars exploded behind her closed eyes. And then when she could climb no higher and his rod burst forth its juices, Lara screamed with her satisfaction, a sound overpowered by his leonine roar of exultation. She lost consciousness briefly. When she came to herself again her sex was being tenderly bathed by tiny winged elfin-like creatures, as was his.

“Have they been here all along?” she asked Kol.

He nodded. “They are Lustlings. It is their duty to refresh us in the afterwards,” he explained. “You have never minded before, my precious.”

“I do not recall them, my lord,” Lara answered him.

“You enjoyed pleasures? You always did previously,” he told her.

She smiled at him. “I think I am hungry for food and then I would take pleasures with you again, my lord, if you would take them with me. I feel safe then, and knowledgeable, which I do not otherwise as my memory is impaired.”

“Your memories will eventually return, my precious,” he promised her. Then drawing the furs back over her, he clapped his hands and servants began entering the room with bowls and platters of food. “I will feed you but a little, Lara,” he advised her. “You have not had solid food in many weeks. Open your mouth now for me,” and when she did he gave her two raw oysters before swallowing down a goodly dozen himself. He fed her a bit of poultry, allowed her a bite or two of buttered bread. He dangled asparagus over her open mouth; he groaned as she sucked the stalks. Finally he offered her several plump strawberries he first dipped in cream and then rolled in sugar. As he fed her he told her what each item was. Holding a goblet of something sweet to her lips for her to drink he said that it was frine, a mixture of fruit juice and wine. What he did not tell her was that aphrodisiacs had been mixed into the frine to increase her own natural desires. He suspected she didn’t need it but still he gave it to her.

“Tell me a little about myself,” Lara said. “Where did I come from and how was I chosen to be your mate, my lord Kol?”

“You come from a faraway land called Hetar,” he explained to her. “When I visited it last year I went to a bride fair to see the maidens offered and you were among them. Because you were so beautiful your father was asking a very high price even though you are of peasant stock. It was prophesied that the mother of the next Twilight Lord would be a golden girl from a faraway land. The moment I saw you I knew you were she. So I paid your father’s price and brought you home. We were very happy, and then you were bitten by a rather nasty spider and fell into a swoon and have been ill ever since.”

“What is a spider?” Lara asked him.

“An insect, a lower species among the Dark Kingdom,” he said. He could tell she was trying to piece it all together. Spider. Insect. Low species. He would have to consider restoring some of her memory sooner than later, he suddenly realized. “But not to worry, my precious. I have banned all spiders from the castle.”

“Castle?”

“Here. Where we are now,” he replied. Yes, some of her memory had to be returned so her references to everyday things would again be intact. He would speak to the Munin in the morning—after he had sated himself with pleasures.

The remnants of their meal were now removed and they began to kiss again, tasting each other with eager lips. His hands wandered over her body, learning it, and her little hands followed suit slipping down his long back to fondle his tight buttocks. She bent her golden head and licked at his nipples. Her little fingers marched across the dark hair covering his chest as she bent lower to kiss his navel.

“You are very furred on your chest and legs,” she murmured.

“You are not,” he replied.

She giggled, her hands now reaching out to play with his rod and his male orbs. She was gentle but provocative, her fingers teasing, stroking. She bent her head and then her tongue licked about the head of his rod several times. He was afire with his new need for her. He wanted to give her all of him, but would she be ready this first time they were together?

“Careful, my precious,” he warned her. “If you suck upon my rod you will arouse its twin. We had not done that before your illness.”

“You have two rods?” she asked him, surprised.

“The larger one, the dominant it is called, has a lesser member. When I am at my most lustful it appears. And it must be used along with the dominant when I seed you. The dominant will then also sprout hard sharp little nodules that will but increase your pleasure and guarantee a child for us. The nodules only appear when it is time for me to impregnate you. But my precious, you must regain your strength first.”

“Have I ever been pierced by two rods belonging to the same man?” she said slowly. Her brow furrowed in thought. “Was I a virgin when you made me your mate?” she asked him.

“It was not necessary that you be,” he said.

Somewhere in the haziness of her lost memories Lara thought she recalled being probed by several male members at the same time, but where and with whom was not something she could remember. Surely she had never known a man who had two rods within one sheath. Her fingers absently stroked him and he thickened beneath her sensuous touch. “I want to see them both, my lord,” she whispered provocatively in his ear. Then she licked the curl of flesh. “Show me!”

“Suckle my rod, Lara, and your mouth will help to bring the lesser forth with the dominant,” he instructed her. Then he drew in a sharp, almost painful breath as her lips surrounded his flesh and she began to draw upon him. His eyes closed with the bliss she was beginning to engender in his sex. Never in his wildest imaginings had he suspected that Lara would be as adventurous and magnificent a lover as she was proving. It was her faerie blood, of course, but if she treated her mortal lovers with such skill it was no wonder they had all adored her.

Lara could scarcely contain her excitement as she tugged on the swelling flesh, and when he cried for her to stop she ceased immediately, sat back on her haunches and marveled at his size. Then—before her amazed eyes—the lesser rod began to come forward, sliding from beneath the dominant. It was much longer, and slender, with a pointed tip like an arrowhead. Reaching out to touch, she discovered it was as hard as the dominant rod. Her tongue licked quickly around her lips. “I want it inside of me,” she heard herself say. “I want them both!”

“You are yet fragile,” he pretended to protest. He, too, wanted both of his rods within her heated body.

“Nay! I must have them!” she cried out and meant the words.

“It will require you be put in a difficult position, but we can use the restraints if you will permit it, my precious,” Kol said softly.

“Yes!” Her cheeks were flushed and he could see the pulse in her throat beating wildly with anticipation. The lesser rod was iridescent in color with a silver sheen and its arrowhead glowed. She could hardly wait to have her first taste of it.

The Twilight Lord clapped his hands once and two thin silver chains dropped from the ceiling. At the end of each chain was a silver manacle lined in silk and lamb’s wool. He fastened the manacles about her delicate ankles and once she was secure her legs were drawn up, back toward her shoulders, and pulled wide revealing both her orifices. Kol clapped his hands a second time and two more restraints appeared. These he fastened to her outspread arms. Lara was now completely subdued and helpless before her lover. He kissed her mouth, smiling down at her as he did so. “Now, my precious, I will obey your directive and you will know what it is like to have two rods within your delicious body.”

She could barely breathe as he moved forward, and then she felt the lesser rod, much longer than the dominant, pierce her rose hole. She squeaked with surprise for the head of it was sharp but then it seemed to fold itself as it pushed into her rear channel. And when he had pushed it in as far as it would go he let her sense its power. “Oh, Krell!” she gasped and he was amused to hear her call upon his deity.

Now he thrust with the dominant rod, entering her woman’s channel in a single smooth motion. Establishing a slow and sensuous rhythm that grew quicker as he pistoned her, he watched Lara’s face as her lust, now fully engaged, rose to a peak. She struggled against the arm restraints. Laughing, he leaned forward and began to suck upon one of her nipples.

She began to moan as wave after wave of passion overtook her. It was utterly amazing. His dominant rod drove in and out of her. The lesser rod lay buried within her rear channel throbbing hotly. Then suddenly both rods were moving in unison and they touched one tiny spot within her body. Lara screamed as her lust threatened to overwhelm her. “No more! No more!” she begged him.

“You wanted this, my precious, and now until both rods have been fully satisfied you must give of yourself to me,” he growled fiercely, his lust for her enormous.

She tightened her inner muscles about both rods and he groaned. “Witch!” Then before he had thought he would be ready his juices mushroomed forth in a fierce burst leaving them both in an exhausted and weakened state. And the Lustlings fluttered forth to undo the chains binding Lara before bathing the sex of their master and his mate.

He lay half atop her and Lara wrapped her arms about him. “I remember virtually nothing before today, my lord Kol, but I do know that you are a magnificent lover. I am fortunate that you chose me as your mate.” Then she fell asleep again.