Consort (Beyond Ontariese 6) (24 page)

Reinforcing her determination to make
her desires known, she slowly opened her eyes. “I won’t be your
mistress. I want to share your life in every way, or I want to end
this now.”

He slid one hand to the nape of her
neck as he lowered the other to her waist. “It was always your
choice. The council will be less inclined to meddle if you’re only
my mistress. There are very specific codes of conduct and
traditional expectations of a consort. Are you sure you want to
subject yourself to all that?”

“
I’m sure.” She’d expected
more of a fight.

“
There is another
complication.”

“
I’m listening.”

“
The link required to
solidify a life bond must be anchored in your mind. It’s not
something I can pass to you. If you want to be my consort, you’ll
have to let me in.”

She tensed, a bit of her anger
returning. “Is that an ultimatum?”

He lowered his hands and took a step
back. “I would never manipulate you like that. Yes, I long to share
our emotions freely, but I was simply stating fact. I am required
to form a life bond before any woman can become my consort. There
are no exceptions.”

“
Why is it
required?”

“
Conception is impossible
without the bond.”

“
And producing an heir is
the primary expectation of a consort?”

“
Yes. Which is why I
thought you’d be happier as my mistress. It doesn’t mean I’ll love
you any less, it just frees you from all that pressure.”

She moved toward him and placed her
hands on his chest. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot over the
past few days.”

“
You’ve been thinking about
what?” He placed his hands on her hips, almost embracing
her.

“
Giving you a child. It
might be the only advantage to my little secret. It is possible for
an Ontarian and a Bilarrian to produce a child, but it would be
much easier with a Rodyte and a Bilarrian. True?”

“
True.”

“
And all three of your
consorts were from San Adrin. Correct?”

A muscle in his cheek jumped as he
pressed his teeth together. “Two were. My first was from a
different region. What are you getting at?”

“
San Adrin honors Air. None
of you are strong healers.”

“
Talya and I worked with a
healer, several in fact. She wanted a child as much if not more
than I did.”

“
No healer has the same
level of control over my body as I have. Think about what I did to
Krysta and Belle. I’m not saying it’s a sure thing, but it’s
definitely worth trying.”

He stared past her for a long time,
his hands lightly squeezing her hips. “Hope can be a very cruel
emotion. Believe me, I know. You were still in your own body when
you separated the twins. How much control do you have
now?”

“
There’s only one way to
find out.”

His gaze returned to hers, but his
expression was impossible to read. “Which brings us back to my
original question. Will you be able to accept me into your
mind?”

“
Let’s find
out.”

He needed no other encouragement. His
arms slipped around her, gathering her against his chest. She slid
her hands up and encircled his neck as he lowered his head to kiss
her. She parted her lips and touched him with the tip of her
tongue, reveling in the familiar flavor of his mouth.

Without separating their mouths, he
picked her up and flashed into the bedroom. His impatience made her
smile, but she wasn’t willing to lose the sweet intimacy of their
kiss. Their lips slid and caressed, their tongues greedily
stroking. She tangled her fingers in his hair and kept his mouth
right where she wanted it. At least where she wanted it for now,
she clarified with a wicked chuckle.

I missed
you
. His thought slipped smoothly into her
mind and she shivered. He would have so much more access once he
anchored the link. Could she really make herself that
vulnerable?

This was Indric. What more could he
possibly do to prove that he was worthy of her trust?

I missed you
too
. She sent a warm current of affection
along with the thought.

He released her legs, so she could
kneel on the bed. Her face was closer to the level of his than it
was when they were both standing. She angled her head and slid her
tongue into his mouth. His throaty growl encouraged her aggression
and sent a fresh wave of desire cascading through her
body.

With an urgent tug, he rid her of the
towel, but his vest still separated them. She responded with an
impatient murmur and pulled his vest down along his arms. He threw
the garment aside as she rubbed her breasts against his
chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and
hugged her tight enough to prevent her sensual undulations. “Stop
that or I’ll tie you down again.”

She wiggled even harder, a challenging
smile her only reply.

“
Oh, it’s going to be like
that, is it?” He released her long enough to shed his pants then
crawled onto the bed and swept her beneath him. “Did you enjoy
being at my mercy?” He kneed her legs apart and settled between her
thighs.

“
No more than you enjoyed
having me helpless.”

He entwined their fingers and pinned
her hands to the bed on either side of her head. “I want to lick
you until you scream, but I want your mouth on me nearly as
much.”

“
I’m pretty sure we can do
both if you just let me up.”

“
I have a better idea.”
Hunger blazed in his eyes, making his rings shimmer. He pulled her
downward then reversed his position and crawled back on top of her.
His knees straddled her head and his body arched over hers, his
face directly above her sex. “Open for me.”

Covering her, yet barely touching her,
he obviously needed to be in control. And yet he still craved her
willing surrender. She parted her legs and bent her knees, giving
him plenty of room to play. His cock dipped toward her mouth. All
she had to do was part her lips. She met him with the warm swirl of
her tongue then closed her lips around his shaft as he pushed
deeper.

He tucked her knees under his arms and
adjusted the angle of her hips to give him better access to her
slit. His lips pressed against her first then he traced her with
his tongue, moaning as he sank deeper into her creamy folds. She
slid up and down his shaft while he caressed his way toward the
core of her body.

Her inner muscles clenched
and she felt the first spasms of an orgasm begin.
Not yet.
She wasn’t sure
if the protest had come from him or her, but she fought back the
impending climax and concentrated on the tantalizing stroke of his
tongue.

He rocked steadily into her mouth but
kept his hips high so she didn’t feel trapped beneath him. His
fingers held her open so his tongue could venture deep into her
slick passage. He matched the rhythm of his tongue to the smooth
rocking of his hips, filling her mouth and her core
together.

Soon the tension returned with a
vengeance. This was wicked and incredibly arousing. She arched,
taking his tongue deeper as she sucked firmly on his surging cock.
Suddenly, he pulled out of her mouth and shifted his body, so she
could no longer reach him. His lips closed around her clit and he
thrust into her core with several long fingers.

The unexpected fullness shattered her
control. She cried out as scalding blasts of pleasure pulsed though
her abdomen and fanned out across her chest. Her core rippled
around his fingers and each careful pull of his lips launched
another burst of sensation.

Indric released her clit and licked
his way around the fingers still buried deep inside her hot core.
She tasted so good, he didn’t want to stop, but the persistent
pressure in his groin demanded his attention.

Crawling to her side, he stacked
several pillows against the headboard than sat with his back to the
pillows. He pulled her up onto her knees and turned her to face
him. Clearly understanding his intention, she crawled onto his lap,
her legs straddling his.

She steadied herself against his
shoulders and lifted her hips so he could position himself between
her thighs. Her folds closed around him and he moved his hands to
her hips, guiding her down slowly until their bodies were fully
joined.

Now it was time to join their
minds.

He took her face between his hands and
waited until she looked at him. “I will never hurt you and never
take advantage of our connection. Your thoughts are your own and
always will be. If I sense a shield of any kind, I will not
enter.”

She brushed his hair back from his
face and smiled. “I’m not afraid of you. I have no more secrets for
you to uncover. I’ve just fought against mental probing for so
long, I’m not sure how to relax and let you do this.”

He brushed his lips over
hers. “Maybe I can help with that. Kiss me.” Her lips parted
beneath his, but he had something else in mind.
No. You kiss me. Learn my taste and texture with your
tongue
.

Her tongue brushed over his lower lip
then pushed deeper into his mouth. He angled his head, fitting
their mouths tighter together. She curled her tongue around his and
began to explore with her hands as well as her mouth.

Taking full advantage of her
distraction, he quickly located the weakest section of her mental
shields and applied a slight pressure. Energy immediately flooded
the area, reinforcing the weakness. She was right. She’d resisted
mental invasions for so long it had become an unconscious
reaction.

He slipped his hand in between their
bodies and stroked her breasts, rubbing her nipple with his thumb
before descending along her trim middle. She eased back, making
room for his hand as it drifted lower. He found her clit with his
middle finger and began a firm circular motion.

Her kiss intensified, her tongue
surging into his mouth with renewed vigor. He clasped her ass with
one hand and rubbed her clit with the other. Her inner muscles
tightened and released, and she wiggled, increasing the pressure
against his finger.

She trembled, her fingers digging into
his shoulders. She was about to come. It had to be now. He thrust
through her shields with a quick stab and anchored the link within
her mind. Emotions flooded his being, pleasure and urgency, passion
and fear. But threading through it all he sensed her love for him,
the aching loneliness she felt whenever they were apart and the
hope she carried for their tomorrows.

“
Oh Cinarra, my love.” He
sighed into her mouth. “You are so incredibly beautiful.” The
praise pleased her this time because she understood that he wasn’t
referring to her body, but the inner radiance of her soul. “I want
this perfectly clear before we continue. I love you and always
will. Cinarra Mazodie, will you be my consort, my life mate, and if
we are very lucky someday, the mother of my children?”

“
I would like nothing
better and I will not rest until I’ve made that dream come
true.”

Their mouths meshed and clung as
emotions surged across the newly formed link. She gasped and
shivered then took control of the kiss. He shifted both hands to
her hips and helped her find a rhythm that pleasured them both. She
moved against him and around him, her body squeezing him tight with
each purposeful rotation. Her pebble-hard nipples rubbed against
his chest and he splayed his fingers across the curves of her ass
cheeks.

She kissed him and kissed him until
they were both too breathless to kiss. Then she clung to his chest
and buried her face against his throat as she took him deep again
and again.

Her pleasure surged unhampered into
his mind, fiery and consuming. He shared his feelings just as
freely, but it required no effort now, no conscious push.
Everything just flowed as it was meant to flow.

She moved faster and he arched into
each of her downward thrusts. Energy sizzled across their link,
igniting his senses from the inside out. He grabbed her hips and
held her steady as he thrust fast and hard. She arched her back,
one hand moving behind her to provide even better
resistance.

His balls tightened and fire lanced
down his inner thighs. She was just as close, he could feel her
inner muscles squeezing, demanding his release with each rippling
pull. Another swirl of energy inundated his pleasure receptors and
he cried out sharply, driving his entire length into her as he
pulled her down.

His seed exploded deep inside her and
a staggering surge of energy rolled back into his groin. “What
did—you do?” He shuddered violently halfway through the
question.

Panting harshly, she raised her head
and grinned. “It didn’t work that time, but it was close. If I
prepare myself before we try again, I know…I am hopeful that we can
do it.”

Hope. The emotion he loved to hate.
“We have all the time in the world to make this happen. It doesn’t
have to be tonight. In fact, it would be better if we wait until
after we’re officially joined. Then there can be no doubt about the
child’s legitimacy.” He still wasn’t convinced she could do it, but
he was more than happy to let her try.