[The Onic Empire 03] - Sinful Harvest (13 page)

When he pulled her legs forward, gently moving her to the edge of the seat, causing her to grasp for purchase, she suddenly realized the purpose of the thick loops. But what left her baffled was why a Harvester would have such a device within his rooms. Ariss fondled the thick animal-hide, her mind racing at how she could get Kerrick to sit in this seat. All thoughts fled when he reached the tender juncture of her inner thigh. Smoothly, he slid his finger up the length of her sex, his rumble of satisfaction clear when he found her slick and ready. His tongue followed the same route, causing her to lift her bottom off the chair so that he could find a better angle with which to lave her clit.

Over and over, his tongue danced along the swollen bit of flesh, his eyes riveted to her face, gauging her reaction. Desperate in her need, Ariss wanted to rip the robe off, but her hands were busy holding her up. The contrast between his silky soft tongue and the rough, scratchy fabric sent her senses reeling.

“Wait,” Ariss breathed out, dropping back into the chair.

Kerrick’s stunned look almost made her laugh. Almost.

“I want you to sit here.” She stood up, pointing to the chair, hoping he wouldn’t notice the straps. She’d carefully tucked them back into the scalloped design of the furniture.

With a curious half smile, Kerrick settled himself in the chair, oblivious to her true intent. When Ariss knelt before him, he moaned, anticipating the obvious.

Ever so softly, she trailed her hands along his thighs until she cupped the hardness of his prick through the loincloth. “I saved your life and you think I’m going to suck your cock, too?” she asked mockingly, making sure her hot breath caressed his twitching organ. One of the most wonderful properties of
astle
was its ability to conduct temperature. She knew her breath and his body heat combined would set him to the boiling point.

“No?” he asked, his face turning wistful and curious all at once.

Flashing him a wicked smile, she said, “Hold on.” When Kerrick frowned, she added, “Grasp the back of the chair with both hands.” Obligingly, he did. With two quick jerks, she bound his wrists with the thick, animal-hide loops.

Shocked, Kerrick yanked his arms forward. When he found them bound, his face turned thunderous.

Ariss automatically retreated, crawling back on her knees so that he couldn’t reach her even with his legs. Her face must have conveyed her fear because his attitude diminished into speculation.

Softly, he murmured, “You naughty, naughty girl.”

Nodding, Ariss stood, secure in the knowledge that he was now bound to the chair. The loops were sturdy, clearly designed to stop even the massive power of the Harvester from escaping.

“You didn’t know about this chair?” Ariss asked, working the clasps of her robe apart.

“No, if I had, I would have strapped you to it.” He tested the loops again, his entire body drawing taut, displaying the incredible strength he possessed.

“All that power now contained for my pleasure.” With a flourish, she flipped the robe off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. As his gaze ate her up, she stood straighter, lifting her face, enjoying the way his pupils dilated, and his breathing grew deeper and more ragged. Two cycles ago, she never could have even imagined herself doing something like this, but her provocative display felt almost natural with Kerrick. Having him bound, to do with as she pleased, was a heady experience. One she didn’t intend to waste.

Licking his lips, Kerrick asked, “And just what will you be doing with me?”

Stepping near, Ariss slung her leg over his, settling herself on
his lap with her sex tantalizingly close to his so he could feel her heat through the thin wall of fabric that separated them. “I haven’t decided.” Oh, yes, she had, but why tell him when anticipation would simply be another aphrodisiac?

Before he could ask her another question, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply as she plastered her body against his. Where she was soft, he was hard. The contrast caused her nipples to contract. Playfully, she rubbed them against his, causing his to tighten and a low growl to rumble in his chest. Through the loincloth, she felt his cock—hot, hard, and oh-so-ready and willing. She resisted the urge to simply impale herself upon him. Instead, she decided that she would wait until he was panting and breathless with need.

Even though he was bound, he kissed her as if she were the one strapped to the chair. His mouth was aggressive, his tongue plundering, his teeth nipping her lips and coaxing plaintive moans to rumble from deep inside her chest. Kerrick tasted of wild passion and occult ecstasy. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she wriggled restlessly, her sex uncomfortably hot and tight. The longing inside became almost unbearable.

With a frustrated snarl, Kerrick commanded, “Take this damn loincloth off.” And she did so without a thought, yanking and tugging the fabric off his hips. Once she pulled the cloth free, she tossed it aside and snuggled closer to him, unconcerned with him taking control even in his bound state. What did it matter when she wanted him naked, anyway?

After a rumbled expletive, he growled, “Gods, Ariss, you are so hot, so wet.” He rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “Let me feel you.” Tilting his head up, his gaze captured hers, the depth of his green eyes pleading his case with a frankness that astounded her. “I need you. Never in my life have I hungered the way I crave you.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Please.” Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Please.”

Hypnotized, Ariss lifted up and slid herself down his length, watching as his eyes drifted almost all the way closed, and he exhaled one long, slow breath as if he’d been holding it for days. Her head went back as she took him fully within, his girth stretching her, his length pushing deeper until he pressed against the very depth of her body. Desperate to take more, she shimmied her body down in a useless effort.

Heeding her frustrated whine, Kerrick thrust up from the chair, forcing his cock just a bit deeper, just enough to make her utter a shocked gasp and clutch her thighs around his body.

Together, they moved, working their hips, rocking their bodies to a beat only they could hear. His lips found hers, kissing her with a commanding force that thrilled her and told her without a doubt who was in charge. She didn’t care. She would follow his lead secure in the knowledge that he would not abuse her loyalty. With two quick flicks of her fingers, she removed the straps, setting him free, allowing him to do with her as he pleased.

To her shock, he stood, forcing her legs straight. He pulled out of her with a quick yank. Before she could react, he spun her around so that she faced away from him. He then pulled her back against his body, plunging his cock into her with startling accuracy. Carefully, he sat back down, taking her with him, so that now she pressed her back against his chest. She had no idea why the sudden change until he lowered his hand. Initially, he made wide circles around her clit, causing it to stand at attention, begging for his touch. The more she wriggled against him, the more he teased ever so close but never quite touching.

At her whimpers, he growled, “This is what happens when you try to capture the beast.”

A shiver of sheer bliss shot through her. He would make her pay for her impulsive act. Of course, she knew that he would, which was why she’d boldly taken charge. Every cell in her
body cried out for his possession, and she knew he wouldn’t disappoint her.

Angling her hips down, he thrust into her several times with such aggression he almost pushed her off his lap. Only his hands on her hips held her against him, readying her for another wicked thrust. Gasping cries of pleasure were torn from her lips as she lowered her hands to the edge of the chair to help hold herself ready for him. He lifted them both up, snarling in frustration that he couldn’t move the way he wanted. Balancing her against him, he stood, then strode toward the bed, placing her facedown against the edge.

“Much better,” he moaned, pounding against her, causing the flesh of her bottom to shake with each hard thrust. His cock was a sleek tool, plunging, withdrawing, making her want more. In her haze of lust, she needed to feel everything he could give her. From the tenderest brush of his lips to the most brutal pounding of his hips, Ariss wanted all of him.

Each time he slammed forward, his balls slapped against her clit, striking her slick and tender flesh just hard enough to increase her pleasure and increase the pressure of an intense orgasm that longed to burst free. Her mind was awhirl with conflict; she wanted this, wanted him. She wanted all the pleasure he could wrench from her body, but she didn’t want to lie to him, to trick him, to force him to become a father if he wasn’t ready. Each time he moved against her was another chance for him to climax, and thus take the choice from her; but each time he didn’t, he pushed her anxiety higher.

Making her choice, Ariss angled up, tilting her hips so that he could go even deeper inside. Each time he did, he pushed her into the bed, pressing the breath out of her body, causing her moans to burst forth in time with his movements. It began to feel as if he breathed for her, his body working hers like a bellows, blowing against the coals until the heat increased. All she needed was one little spark to ignite the blaze.

“Tell me you want more,” he ordered, his voice a low rumble that pressed a primitive part of her brain, a part that wanted to give him what he needed just as much as he longed to do the same to her.

“More, Kerrick,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder, catching sight of the sweat pouring off his neck and sleeking down his chest. He appeared to her as a god who walked upon the mortal world. Kerrick’s body was perfection. His muscles bulged. Exertion caused him to glisten. “Give me everything you have.”

At her words, his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed, turning them into dangerous slits. Once, when she was very young, her father had taken her on an outing to see exotic animals from all over the Onic Empire. Most of them were caged, listless, all the fight beaten out of them, their eyes dull and their bodies listless. The pathetic beings had broken her tender heart and she cried, embarrassing her father to the point he strode quickly through the exhibits, berating her from out the corner of his mouth. But there was one, a sleek, four-legged creature with glistening dark fur that paced the length of his cage. So determined was his stride, the
otall
had worn a path into the wood plank floor. Kerrick’s eyes reminded her of that caged beast—alive, glossy, waiting for a chance to run free. Her words had unlocked his cage.

He grasped her ankles, lifting her up, forcing the angle of her hips to deepen so that he could work more of his length within. She felt vulnerable in her exposure but also trusted the man who held her open for his pleasure. In his drive to mate with her, he became wild, untamed, and almost manic in his thrusts. Before this moment, she might have been afraid of his animal state, but not now, not when her own beast rose within, longing for more, needing more.

In a soft litany, she encouraged him to give everything to her, to shove his cock deeper, to fill her, to take her. She begged
him until her voice grew demanding, desperate. Ariss grasped her fists into the bedclothes, tearing them in her frenzy to hang on, to keep herself wide for him. She imagined the silken fabric was his back and her nails were digging in, to force him to be more vicious in his possession. In the heat of her lust, she didn’t want tender mercy; she wanted brutal punishment. Craving his discipline, she rent the fabric in a loud, long pull.

When Kerrick heard her tear the fabric, he laughed victoriously. “That’s it, Ariss, show me how wild you really are.” Leaning near enough to almost whisper in her ear, he added, “Tell me you want me to fuck you, you nasty girl.”

That sinful word,
fuck,
was the spark that caused her entire body to burst into flames. Her cunt gripped around his cock, trying to capture him and force him to fill her, but he withdrew, holding the tip of his staff to her, teasing his finger along her clit, milking another series of orgasms from her still-spasming body.

Once the initial shivers subsided, he plunged so fast and deep into her that she gasped, clawing at the covers, pulling them down the length of the bed to bunch below her chest, which only angled her more for another ruthless plunge. In a rapid series of thrusts, she climaxed until she became a helpless quivering mound of flesh upon his bed.

She heard him catch his breath. He gripped his fingers around her ankles and a burst of short growls rumbled up from his chest. Glancing back over her shoulder, she watched him struggle to withhold his orgasm. He was determined not to tumble over the edge. He deliberately held himself back, demanding more climaxes from her before he would give her his.

Her conflict was overcome with her own dire need to feel his release within her body, and she knew, right down to her soul, that his passion to get deeper was his own primal need to fill her with his seed. Breathlessly, she obeyed, begging him to fuck her with the last bit of her strength. Later, she would
worry about the morality of her actions. For now, all that consumed her was her duty and her primal need to mate, fully, with her chosen.

His breathing grew labored and the rushing air cooled her back. His fists to her ankles slipped from their combined sweat. He snarled in frustration, letting her legs go so he could slip his hands under her hips, holding her steady for a syncopated series of thrusts that left her gasping and weak.

She knew his climax was imminent because of the way he struggled to keep his thrusts timed, but he kept increasing the beat. Ariss turned to look over her shoulder, longing to see his face become a twisted mask of pleasure denied, then the release that would allow his entire face to go slack as he rode out his pleasure.

What actually confronted her gaze caused her lips to part and a shocked scream to erupt.

T
hrough Kerrick’s red haze of lust, Ariss’ scream penetrated, constricting his heart with panic that in his violent burst of passion he’d inadvertently hurt her.

Never, ever had that been his intention.

Kerrick thought Ariss wanted his wild, animal lust. She’d begged him for more, but now shock and fear twisted her stunning face. Before he could react, four strong hands yanked him off his knees, pulling his penis out of her with a violence that hurt him and must have hurt her, too.

Twisting his head wildly side to side, Kerrick was shocked to see two of his four palace guards. Meaty hands gripped his shoulders and brought his wrists together behind his back. Just as he opened his mouth to demand an explanation for them bursting into his room, for he hadn’t pressed the panic button this time, someone clonked him on the head from behind. The last thing he saw besides a sparkly spate of bright stars was Ariss reaching out … but he didn’t know if she grasped for him or the men she considered her saviors.

Kerrick awoke kneeling with his toes painfully splayed below
his feet, the soles of which stretched to the limit of endurance and faced fully exposed behind him. Below his knees was a metal plate scattered with small seeds that dug into his flesh. His ass was high in the air since his forehead rested against the seed-scattered plate. He could breathe, but it hurt to do so, since his lungs felt lightly packed with sand from his awkward angle. Bound behind his back, someone had strapped his hands up toward his shoulders, stretching the muscles into the most uncomfortable position imaginable. He had no idea how long he’d been here, but it had to be a while given the various aches and pains that consumed his body.

Bare, bound, bruised, and at the back of his throat he tasted the bitter burnt wood of
umer.
Kerrick couldn’t move his head, but he didn’t need to look to know his cock was hard, his balls heavy from his denied orgasm. The guards interrupted him just as he’d been on the verge of filling Ariss with the most intense climax of his life. Once deprived of pleasure, his balls swelled painfully, demanding a release he couldn’t provide.

When he took a deep breath, he tasted Ariss’ scent upon his body. Even if he could get his hand wrapped around his prick, it wouldn’t do him any good; the
umer
would prevent his orgasm for hours to come. Obviously, he was being punished for what he’d done to her. Kerrick despaired that he hadn’t even been given a chance to plead his case, but worse, that he’d hurt Ariss.

The horrified look on her face filled his mind, tearing his soul to shreds. Never had he hurt a woman. Just the thought that he had hurt Ariss in any way tore his psyche apart and justified the punishing position he found himself in now. They didn’t need to discipline him, for he would rebuke himself for the rest of life. He thought he was giving her pleasure as he took a full measure of such for himself, but apparently, he’d been wrong.

So wrong.

If his head weren’t already forced to the floor, he would have hung it in shame.

“I told you he was in here.”

The masculine voice commanded Kerrick’s attention, but he was unable to turn his head to see who, exactly, was behind him. He waited for the mystery man to speak again in the hopes he could recognize his voice. Not that knowing who he was would do him any good. Or perhaps it would. Could he convince one of the recruits to set him free? Just from the scent alone, Kerrick knew he was near the training rooms. Sweat, leather, and the slightest tang of blood told him he was close to the practice floor.

“But he’s the Harvester,” another voice commented, wary.

Kerrick didn’t need to see him to guess this second man darted his gaze around, seeking not permission, but the security of knowing that he would not be punished for what he wished to do. Just his sly, sneaking tone of voice caused Ker-rick’s heart to pound. In addition, this second voice was closer, and Kerrick realized they were coming toward him. Gulping in terror, he realized he was kneel-bound, his ass up, exposed, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do. Almost against his will, Kerrick understood exactly why they’d bound him like this and left him utterly alone.

Vulnerable.

The one word conveyed the truth and the dreadful knowledge of why he was where he was. In this place, he was just as exposed as he’d made Ariss. What was it they said on Tandth? Payback was a bitch….

“How the mighty have fallen,” said the first man, cupping his hand to Kerrick’s right butt cheek. Caressing him possessively, with a clear intent to do so much more, the man teased the barest brush of his fingertip into Kerrick’s crevice, the tip of his slender digit pressing threateningly against his puckered flesh.

It was one thing to feel the soft probe of a tongue, or the
playful finger of a lover in that defenseless area, but to feel the nasty invasion of a man’s unwanted prick caused Kerrick to shiver in alarm and clench his butt cheeks together protectively. So tightly bound was he, that Kerrick couldn’t even flinch. Instead, Kerrick whisper-growled, “Get your hand off me.”

The second man laughed, and Kerrick almost recognized his voice. He was pretty sure it was Ninder, a pale recruit from Ries with his shocking white hair and disturbing pink eyes. They gave him something that protected his skin and eyes from the light, some kind of pill, because Kerrick saw him take it once and asked. He’d seemed a nice enough man, well, a kid, really. The pickings must be slim in Ries for them to select a skinny little thing like Ninder. But why would he come in here? Kerrick hadn’t ever been anything but nice to him.

“And what are you going to do if I don’t?” the first man taunted.

Raw panic consumed Kerrick. If not for the
umer,
his balls would have retreated into his body from horror. As it was, they hung limp and lifeless, utterly without feeling below his hopelessly exposed ass. These two were going to use his unprotected bottom to sate their lust. A burst of total dread caused Kerrick to fight his bonds with a violence that netted barely a quiver of movement. The device held him so tightly bound there was nothing, nothing he could do.

“I think the
gannett
has you completely bound, and utterly helpless,
phen’tabi.
” When he whisper-hissed the last word, Kerrick knew exactly who he was. Uad from Plete. The word he’d used was an insult that called Kerrick a pretty boy with big balls. In other words, Uad thought he was a man who looked good but didn’t really have anything to offer because big balls didn’t necessarily equate with potency. The other word,
gannett,
must be the device that held Kerrick so utterly immobile.

Kerrick considered issuing threats. He could swear to punish them both once he was free, but he quickly realized the
folly of such claims. They would suffer no repercussions for taking advantage of him in this device. If he hunted them down later, he would be in the wrong, for they truly had only given him the punishment he deserved. The entire purpose of placing him this way was to allow the recruits to abuse him. Such was the retribution he would suffer: a rape for a rape.

Another hand joined the first, this one cupping his left butt cheek. Together, they caressed, sending shivers of terror through Kerrick’s bound frame. He could easily picture Uad behind him, his copper hair glistening in the lights, his fathomless black eyes glittering with abusive lust. Again, Kerrick clenched his cheeks together as hard as he could, and actually succeeded in pulling them out of Uad’s hands.

“Relax, Harvester. I’m told it only hurts for a moment.”

Twin hands effortlessly pried his ass cheeks apart.

Kerrick bit back a cry of fear by clamping his bottom lip between his teeth. Cool air rushed over his sweat-covered flesh, but not enough to actually chill his burning anxiety. Nothing he could say would stop these two, not when they felt justified, not when his punishers left him so hopelessly bound and exposed. To protect himself, Kerrick wished his consciousness far away, into a safe place, but his mind refused to obey. Instead, his brain focused every bit of his attention on the exposed and vulnerable puckered flesh of his ass.

Thick, hard, and unforgiving, Kerrick felt the knob of a cock pressed greedily against his upturned bottom. In a horrible rush, he wondered if Ariss had actually wanted him to tease her in this place, or if he’d taken her acquiescence without due cause.

“Don’t,” Kerrick begged, his voice muffled against the metal plate at the bottom of his cage. Had Ariss begged him in such a plaintive tone and he’d ignored her? Gods, he’d been so determined in his lust, he honestly couldn’t remember anything but her lovely voice begging for more, not less, of his ruthless possession.

The man behind him laughed, and pressed forward.

Bile rose in Kerrick’s throat. If he vomited, he might choke on it, given his position. Moreover, he would be nose deep in his own filth, which only made him gag harder.

Kerrick braced himself for the worst but felt nothing. Confused, he thought perhaps the
umer
had dulled sensations in his ass, as well as in his genitals.

“I claim him,” a voice rumbled, setting the hairs on the nape of Kerrick’s neck to standing.

Kerrick recognized the voice immediately. His heart stopped beating, then hammered triple time in his chest. The two hands on either side of his bottom let go, but Kerrick didn’t breathe a sigh of relief. If anything, he held his breath tighter.

With a series of subservient mumbles, Ninder and Uad backed off, leaving Kerrick alone with Sterlave.

A new and terrible shame filled his aching body. For his handler to see him like this, and then to have him use him was beyond what Kerrick thought he could endure. If nothing else, Sterlave could use this moment to assert his dominance. Ker-rick had no idea what kind of man Sterlave was, but if he were anything like the men from Cheon, he would do anything to declare his authority.

“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Kerrick said, his voice muffled against the metal plate.

Sterlave uttered a noncommittal grunt.

Time stood still as Kerrick waited breathlessly for Sterlave to pick up where Uad left off. His heartbeat was loud in his ears, and his breath moved so quickly in and out of his lungs that he blew some of the seeds away from him, making them skitter across the metal with a sound that reminded him of the scratching feet of vermin upon slick tile.

Suddenly, the scent of Ariss rose off his body, enveloping his mind, twisting his guts, and he swallowed in abject misery.

“How is she?” Kerrick asked, trying to keep a desperate whine out of his voice.

Sterlave’s utter silence hit him like a blow.

Kerrick sagged, but his body didn’t move in the tight restraints. In his muddled mind, he couldn’t remember how many times she screamed before he’d noticed. So deep was he in his rutting lust that he didn’t even hear her cries. She must have been reaching out to the guards to save her, not trying to embrace him.

In one final indignity, tears pooled in his eyes and then fell straight down, splattering against the metal with silent shame. Kerrick did his best not to sob, because that would be the only way for Sterlave to know that he was crying, but his back quivered when he took a steadying breath.

Behind him, Kerrick heard the pounding of several feet that stopped short.

“Out,” Sterlave commanded, his voice filled with irritation.

Kerrick heard the steps retreating amidst mumbled conversations.

“What were you thinking?” Sterlave asked, his voice a harsh whisper.

Kerrick drew a deep breath. “I couldn’t wait for the next cycle.”

“So you snuck some
yondie
into your rooms?”

Kerrick paused, his mind racing. Sterlave thought he’d brought a paid woman to the Harvester suite? Was that what he was being punished for?

“She’s not a
yondie,
” Kerrick defended, his anger replacing his terror and easing the pressure on his pounding heart.

“I don’t care who she is; she shouldn’t have been in your rooms!” Sterlave’s voice rose in volume until anyone within the training room must have heard him. “Your
paratanist
was aghast when she caught you.”

More confusion followed the first dose. He wasn’t being punished for raping Ariss, but for having sex when he wasn’t
supposed to? Rather than speculating any further, Kerrick asked, “What, exactly, am I being punished for?”

“For being an idiot,” Sterlave said, smacking Kerrick’s bottom hard enough to set his balls swaying. “You are to mate with your female counterpart, and only her, and only during the new cycle!” Another slap landed; this one hard enough to wrench a cry from between Kerrick’s gritted teeth.

“Stop hitting me!”

“Would you rather have me mounting you?” Sterlave asked, lowering his voice to a loud whisper. “If I’m not tormenting you in one way or another, someone else will. Do you get it now?”

No, he really didn’t, but Kerrick kept his mouth shut. Let Sterlave spank him like a rebellious child. That was better than a cock up his ass any day.

“Just be thankful Chur hasn’t come yet, because when he does, he’s going to be furious with you.”

Chur Zenge, the living god, the most mighty and influential Harvester ever. Just about the last thing Kerrick wanted was Chur coming into the room to see him ingloriously bound, especially when he really didn’t know exactly what he was being punished for.

“I still don’t understand what I did wrong. I was mating with the Harvester, just like I’m supposed to.” Kerrick tried desperately to defend what he’d done in the hopes Sterlave would release him.

After a pause, Sterlave growled, “You idiot! You still don’t get it, do you?”

Clearly, he didn’t. “Spell it out for me.”

“You are to mate with her at the beginning of each cycle, not whenever you feel the urge. The whole point is for you to be at your most potent.”

“Potent?” The word rolled around in Kerrick’s mind, seeking a meaning to attach to. When the word landed, his eyes
went wide, and he gasped. Now he understood exactly what he was supposed to do with Ariss. Mate. And they wanted him to fully mate with her, not just fuck her. He was supposed to
impregnate
her. If he could have shaken his head, he would have; instead, he gritted his eyes at his own pathetic ignorance. Once again, he’d been thinking with his dick, pleased beyond the nothingness that he got to fuck the most beautiful woman on the planet. He hadn’t thought beyond that.