Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 (22 page)

What if he couldn’t work this out? What if Lukan and Arez died? Regina knew Nikoli was so honorable he’d never forgive himself. He wouldn’t be the same man.

It might break him.

What then? Would he become ill? Although he’d said there was no disease on E2 and he was immune to those here because of Sazaar’s bite, that didn’t mean it was impossible for him to get hurt. Damn, why hadn’t she thought of that before?

What if he cut an artery, fell or was in a car accident? It wasn’t as though he could go to a doctor or a hospital.

How would a physician treat him? What if a medical procedure on this side had the same effect on Nikoli that chocolate did on E2? What if—

Oh my God—stop.

Regina wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed as hard as she could to keep from losing it. He didn’t need her breaking down when he had so much else pressing in on him. Besides, there was always Meelo and Damir to fall back on now. As geneticists, they had to know the physiology of their people perfectly. If anything ever happened to Nikoli, they’d help him. They’d invent a freaking technique or medicine to make him well again, unless they wanted to deal with her rage.

Quietly, she went to him so as not to disturb. His upper lip fluttered with his quiet exhale of air, causing a curious mixture of lust and tenderness to well within Regina.

Thank God for vampires, portals and all that other nutty stuff. If not for that, she would never have met him.

I’m not losing you. Count on it.

She wrote him a note at the top of her research, telling him what it was, then placed the papers near his outstretched hand. He continued to sleep.

Resisting the urge to touch him, to whisper her love, she went downstairs to check the street again.

Chapter Twelve

Sheltered within Lukan’s arms, Arez drifted between wakefulness and sleep as he told her all that he knew about Regina’s dimension. A place where planes flew like the birds here, somehow carrying people in their bellies, taking them unharmed to faraway destinations. A realm where children played outside in areas called yards, amusing themselves with toys designed to keep them happy.

It was when he’d been speaking of them that he started to tell her of his childhood, long before he’d come to the Palace.

“When I was five,” he said now, “I wandered into Meelo and Damir’s lab in this series of rooms we shared. They didn’t call it a home, not like people do on Regina’s side. And it wasn’t. I never had the feeling of really belonging there or being free to express myself like the children I’ve watched in Regina’s neighborhood. It was simply a place where we all lived together. One afternoon, they were in another part of it, working on something, and didn’t notice that I was looking at pictures of myself on their monitors. I’d seen my face in mirrors before, so I knew those were images of me.”

Arez wanted to ask him what a mirror was, but given her fatigue, it was too much of an effort, so she simply listened.

“I was thrilled they had those pictures,” he said. “It proved to me something they wouldn’t. That they cared. Why else would they keep my likeness where they stored important data? I had so many questions when they came inside. Ones I’d been afraid to ask before. Why did they have names when they referred to me by a genetic code? Would I have a name when I became a man? Was that the event that would warrant it and their love? And where were the symbols on their arms like the ones on mine?”

Absently, he stroked the inside of Arez’s wrist, not seeming to realize he touched the marks on her as he continued.

“I could read fairly well by that time and caught several words before they turned off the monitors, reprimanding me for coming inside and looking at things that belonged to them. Although they spoke quietly, I could tell how displeased they were.”

He inhaled deeply, his chest pushing into her back. On a noisy sigh, he released the air he’d taken.

“I didn’t care that they were upset. I wanted to know why the words ‘experiment’, ‘creation’ and ‘prototype’ were beneath my pictures. I had a faint idea of what those words meant, though not what they had to do with me specifically. Were they labels that proved I was special? Was that why I was living with them? If so, why didn’t they ever look at me for very long? Why didn’t they touch me unless they absolutely had to? Even then, I worried something was wrong with me. That I’d somehow disappointed them even though I wasn’t certain how.”

Hearing his sorrow and confusion, Arez squeezed his arm, wanting him to stop talking about such an awful time. She didn’t know Meelo or Damir, yet she hated them for bringing him such pain and doubt.

“What is it?” he asked, his lips close to her ear. “Did you see something outside?”

It was still raining, the air growing cooler with the continuing moisture. Not used to the chill, she shivered.

“You’re cold,” he said.

Instead of warming her with his body as Arez wanted, he helped her into her tee and jeans. She would have protested but didn’t want Lukan to think that anything he did displeased her.

“Better?” he asked as he finished tying her shoelaces.

Arez lied with a nod, waiting until he dressed before she held out her arms, offering him all the love he’d missed.

With no hesitation, he hugged her so hard she squeaked.

“Sorry,” he said, then returned them to their earlier position, her back to his front so they both faced the mouth of the cave. No doubt to keep watch for predators.

Not wanting to think about that, she said, “Tell me more about the stores on Regina’s side and how the rulers there do everything they can to make certain you’re not unhappy.”

Laughter rumbled in his broad chest. “You like to hear how I order people around?”

Arez enjoyed hearing him laugh. It was the most wonderful sound she’d ever heard. “I do.” She turned her face to the side. “Is that wrong?”

“No.” He caressed her gently this time, then rocked back and forth, the movement lulling, the same as his tone. “One time when I was in the store’s checkout line—that’s where you pay for what you want—this man started to put my items into a paper bag. Immediately, I gave him a frown, telling him to stop.”

Arez murmured, “Why? What had he done wrong?”

“He hadn’t asked me what he was supposed to…‘paper or plastic’. The choice of container was mine, and he’d made the decision for me.”

She frowned to show her outrage. Snuggling closer, she asked, “What did you do to him, Lukan? What else did you say? Tell me.”

His hand went to her breast, claiming it with a right she adored.

He whispered, “I ordered him to take every item out of the paper bag and put them into a plastic one, because I like those better. He apologized for the mistake and followed my order without hesitation.”

“As he should,” she said. “What else?”

He told her about other incidents, clearly proud at how commanding he’d been, how brave.

She wanted to let him know how much she approved of what he’d done, but exhaustion again pressed in, precluding it. As he continued to speak, her thoughts drifted, picturing him in one of those stores.

In her mind, Arez saw that it was larger than the Palace and lit with so many candles its intense light matched his description of the portal. Even so, the powerful illumination didn’t bother him. Nothing did. With the same courage he’d shown when striking the guards in her room and the hall, he took her hand, leading Arez through the store.

No one stopped or questioned them. The store’s rulers stood on each side, watching quietly. A glance from Lukan—or worse, his frown—caused a few of them to take a step back and cower as the slaves always did in the Palace.

Here, Lukan reigned.

He brought her to a circular area in the center of the store, a kind of stage where a large bed stood. Unlike the one in her room, a sweet-smelling blanket, not silk, hung over its mattress.

Cool air drifted past. Arez’s nipples constricted. For the first time, she realized she was nude. So was Lukan.

He turned to the rulers who’d followed them and now surrounded the stage. “Arez belongs to me,” he called out. “She’s mine to do with as I will. Exactly as I want. For as long as I desire.”

With his hand on the back of her neck, he brought her to him, capturing her mouth, plunging his tongue inside. His kiss was rough and demanding, the sounds he made lewd, proving his ownership of her.

Murmurs of approval rippled through the spectators.

Arez submitted even further, draping her arms over Lukan’s shoulders, her response telling him she’d offer no resistance. She wanted him to conquer her. To take her in full view of the others, showing them what they would never have.

He carried her to the bed, placing her on the center of the mattress. To her delight, his eyes were again blue-green, his hair blond. She reached out to touch it.

He grabbed her wrist. “On your hands and knees, Arez. You know what I want.”

She did. To have her in the most subservient of positions, ass lifted, legs spread wide. Her cunt and anus offered to him, affirming his mastery.

And hers.

His command had been harsh as befitted a ruler, but his expression yearned. She recognized his endless need of her. The power she had over him. Because of it, she wasn’t about to make him wait for what they both desired.

Unconcerned as to what the others thought, Arez positioned herself, making her body as exposed and vulnerable as she could.

It wasn’t enough.

“You,” Lukan said to one of the rulers. “Bring me that.”

What?

The man scurried forward, placing a set of shackles on the bed, its chains and bands clinking against each other. Rather than using the irons to bind her wrists and ankles, Lukan wrapped the metal bands around her thighs, then secured the smaller ones to her biceps. The links between her arms and legs were taut, keeping her thighs open. Even if she’d wanted to move, Arez knew she couldn’t until Lukan freed her, allowing it.

He did not.

Leaving the bed, he circled it slowly all while observing her, his strides assured, nearly insolent.

One of the store’s rulers coughed. Another cleared his throat.

Arez’s excitement built to such a point she had to fight for air.

Lukan stopped at the foot of the bed, where he had the best view of her naked ass, cunt and anus. Moisture seeped from her pussy, inviting him to mount her. She sensed the opening to her sex was wide and welcoming, her clit erect with arousal.

“Arch your back,” Lukan ordered. “Display yourself.”

Did she have a choice? Did she want one?

Slavishly, she lifted her buttocks as much as possible while pushing her legs farther apart. The edges of the metal pressed into her skin, reminding Arez of her confinement. Another wave of chilled air swept past her, touching the dampness between her legs. She pictured her vaginal lips congested with blood, thick and parted for Lukan’s cock.

He made her wait for it.

The mattress shook beneath his weight as he climbed onto the bed, settling himself in front of her, rather than behind as she’d expected. On his knees, Lukan pushed his hips forward, presenting Arez with his erect shaft.

She smelled its musk. In the bright candlelight, she saw its animal power. Thick and fleshy, its tip was reddish, the skin shiny from being stretched so tight. A bead of clear fluid shone within its tiny slit, an appetizing taste of what would soon come.

“Suck me,” he demanded.

Confined as she was, Arez had to use her tongue and lips to guide him inside her mouth. Twice, she failed. Lukan said nothing, nor did he offer to assist her. It was as though he wanted Arez to work for a taste of him…to prove her devotion.

She did, taking in his full length, reveling in the feel of his rigid cock sliding down her throat, the rasp of his wiry pubic hair against her face.

As she moaned in delight, one of the rulers hurried to the bed, his shoes slapping the hard floor. He ran his fingers down the furrow between her cheeks, pausing on her anus, clearly wanting to use it.

Lukan growled, the sound startling and dominant, warning all that she belonged to him alone.

Snatching back his hand, the ruler stepped away from her, retreating into the audience, apologizing for his boldness.

In silence, the men watched Arez tending to Lukan—a duty for which she’d been born. She slid his shaft in and out of her mouth, tonguing the back of his crown while suckling gently, enjoying his girth.

“More,” he gasped, gripping her skull, making certain she obeyed his command.

She licked the tiny slit, tasting the salty fluid. Pursing her lips around the head, she lapped it slowly, relishing its heat and silkiness.

The mattress shifted with Lukan’s weight as he pushed himself deeper, wanting the full length of his cock in her mouth again. No longer did he allow Arez to control the act. He used her as the vessel she was, an instrument for his pleasure. For minutes, he pumped steadily, indifferent to everything but his climax. On a low groan, he shuddered, his come spurting over her tongue.

Dutifully, Arez swallowed the savory cream, taking what he’d offered, cleansing all traces of his orgasm from him.