Apparently, the Zulenii were full of sensual delights.“Actually, all of that sounds rather nice,” I said.“But I don’t need it.All I need is you.The two of us.Alone for once.I want you, Taio.I don’t want to wait for silken sheets.”
“I have wanted you since the moment I saw you.Even when you were cursing me, I was imagining doing this.”He kissed my lips until I was breathless.“And this.”He cupped my breast, teasing the nipple until it was erect and pulsing with need.“And this.”His other hand slid between my legs to caress the place where I was too hot and all but squirming with need.
“Yes,” I said, pushing against his hand.“Do all of that and more.”
“Lie back,” he said.“Let me look at you.”
I’d never been modest before, but suddenly I felt shy.I wanted to be beautiful and desirable for Taio.I took a breath and laid back, my head on the almost flat pillow on the bed.Taio moved to the side so I could stretch my legs out.I wasn’t certain what to do with my arms, so I laid them at my side and tried not to clench my hands.Taio’s gaze started at my eyes and traveled slowly downward.Heat followed wherever his gaze touched, like a line of fire licking at my skin and making it prickle with need.His gaze paused on my breasts, and he darted his tongue out to lick his lips.My nipples grew taut with need and my breasts felt heavy and sensitive.I’d never felt this way purely from a man’s gaze on me.
Taio drew his gaze down to my belly and hips then to the juncture of my thighs.I pressed them together, trying to stem the craving to be touched.I thought he might touch me.His hand reached out, but he pulled it back and allowed his gaze to wander down my legs.“You’re perfect,” he said.
I began to sigh with relief.
“Except...”
My gaze shot to his.Oh, gods.Was I too tall?My legs too long?My hips too wide?
“Your hair is bound in that plait.Let me take it down.”He reached for my braid and unwound the strip of cloth holding it in place.Then he loosed the braid and spread my damp hair over the pillow.The sensation was oddly familiar.
“It was you,” I whispered.“You took my hair down every night.”
He gave a sheepish smile.“It’s so soft and beautiful.I could not resist.”His blanket had slid off his shoulders, and now my gaze dipped from his light eyes to his straight nose to his square jaw.He raised his brows and moved back slightly so I might see him better.I studied his markings and the way they enhanced the shape of his chest and arms.His shoulders were broad and his arms and chest muscled.Most of the men I knew had muscles from training, as did I.But they looked different on a man of his height and breadth.This was no compact man of my people.This was a large beast of a man who had the mark of a beast to prove it.His waist tapered into slim hips and well-shaped thighs.
Between his thighs was his erect male member.I’d always thought this part of a man looked rather funny.Finnrey and I used to giggle when we caught sight of one of our little half-brothers running naked in the palace after a bath.
But there was nothing amusing about Taio’s member.It was thick and hard and made my mouth go dry.
“Should we wait for the silken sheets and the wine?”he asked.
My gaze flicked up to his face.“Some wine might help, but I don’t want to wait.”I might be slightly apprehensive now, but I still wanted this man.I don’t know a woman who could have refused a naked man who looked like he did.
“I think I know something to relax you better than wine.”
I opened my mouth to refuse whatever herbal remedy he had, but he bent over me and kissed me.Oh, yes.This was definitely better than wine or herbs.He had such skilled lips.They could be so soft and giving, then rough and demanding.His chest grazed mine, making me arch to increase our friction.He was warm, and the sensation of his skin against mine left me breathless.I wrapped my arms about him, my hands trailing down his back, savoring the way his muscles bunched in reaction to my touch.When his mouth dipped to my neck, kissing it gently and teasing the delicate place where my pulse hammered, I scraped my hands up and down his biceps.I traced the markings on his arms, my fingers digging in when he teased my earlobe with his teeth.
I caught my moan and pressed my lips together.I could no longer remember why I must be quiet, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I held on to that thought, even as every other thought fled with the stroke of Taio’s tongue and the glide of his hands on my body.His touch was light but sure, teasing but drugging, provoking and satisfying.He palmed my breasts then pressed a knee between my legs to part them.I opened myself willingly, letting him settle against me, his hard member pressing deliciously against my sex.I braced myself for the invasion, knowing from other women that it often hurt the first time.Taio made no move to take me.He kissed down my neck then lifted one of my breasts to his lips.He looked up at me as he took my nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly until I gasped from pleasure.I closed my eyes, feeling his tongue and teeth lave and nip as the pleasure shot straight to my core.I lifted my hips, pressing against the hardness of his erection.
He moaned against my breast, the sound a low rumble vibrating against my tender flesh.
“Taio, please,” I whispered.“Touch me.”
“Yes,” he said.But he didn’t put his hand between my legs.Instead, his mouth lightly scored my skin as he moved down my abdomen to lick my belly and circle my navel.I squirmed at the ticklish feeling and pushed at his shoulders.He was like a mountain, though.I couldn’t move him.
And then his mouth roved lower, and I didn’t want to move him.
He slid down my body, kissing beneath my navel and then lower and lower.His shoulders parted my thighs, opening them wide.He lifted his head to look at me, and though I should have felt embarrassed, I was panting with desire and his gaze on that intimate part of me only made me more aroused.He made a sound of approval then turned his head to kiss my inner thigh.I bit my lip to keep from crying out.My legs began to tremble with need as he nibbled his way up my thigh to kiss my outer lips.His hands were on me, stroking me then parting my flesh so his tongue might sweep across me.
I put my hand against my mouth and bit the pad of skin just below my thumb.Taio explored me with his tongue, tapping and flicking and swirling until he found the place that gave me the most pleasure.My hips bucked, and he chuckled, his breath warm on that small bud that seemed to pulse with yearning.He kissed me there then slid his tongue down, darting it inside me.I bit my hand hard and almost climaxed.But he withdrew too quickly, teasing me and making me writhe until his tongue found that nub again.
He worked it delicately, his touch so light it drove me almost to tears.Just when I thought I might have to beg him for more, he dipped a finger inside me.My inner muscles clenched around him as he swirled his tongue over my clitoris.My legs, spread wide, trembled and then clenched when he inserted another finger.His tongue moved faster now, flicking me and causing the pleasure to crest.Another finger and he stretched me almost to pain.I was so full and yet not full enough.His fingers slid in and out as his tongue laved me, bringing my body to the peak.He curled his fingers, pressing them against some spot inside me that made me gasp while his tongue brought me to orgasm.
The world seemed to explode with bright light.My body floated off the bed as pleasure like nothing I’d ever known crashed over me.I closed my legs on him, my sex clenching hard against his fingers, even as his tongue continued to pleasure me.My back arched, and the feeling seemed to go on and on.I peaked as he withdrew his fingers and his mouth and just as I was floating down, I felt him enter me.
My eyes opened, and I saw he was watching me, his own blue-green eyes so dark, reminding me of the sea on a stormy day.He held himself in check, only a small part of his cock inside me.“Mara, I want to be inside you.”
“Yes,” I whispered, not even sure I had been able to say the word.
“Are you sure?”
