Ceremony of Seduction (17 page)

“Stone…” she warned.

Her words caught in her throat as his thumb dipped lower to tease her slick slit and trace a path all the way down to the soft underside of her aching clit. All the while, his finger continued his erotic invasion of her ass.

Slowly, she became used to his width and relaxed to accommodate him. After another rush of warm oil, two fingers slowly stretched her opening until they could slide in together. The sudden invasion speared even more power through her, which sparked against her skin in tiny sizzling pops. Stone’s fingers delved deeper and he increased his rhythm to match the seeking movement of her hips.

The only sounds in the room were the slippery slap of flesh sliding against heated flesh and her ragged breaths as her orgasm built until it was just out of reach. She closed her eyes and pictured Stone’s engorged cock slowly pushing inside her tight ass, impossibly stretching her. His beautiful golden muscles flexing as he thrust fully inside, burying himself to the hilt.

Stone’s answering groan made her smile.
Maybe I’m not the only one going crazy from this…

He suddenly pushed his fingers deep, startling her and breaking her concentration on the vision, which dissolved like mist before a strong breeze. Then he slapped an open hand against her ass, the stinging sensation only adding to her tightening arousal. The hurricane of power howled in reaction, building to easily double what it had been in the garden. She prayed she could hold on before it broke her into a million pieces.

Stone’s weight moved off her legs and he pushed her thighs apart until his other hand found her slit and followed its path to her swollen clit. When his fingertip caressed the swollen nub, she nearly came undone, bucking off the bed, but Stone only continued his slow even pace on both fronts.

“Concentrate on the power flowing through you, my love. Channel it where it’s needed.”

His breath feathered over the sensitive skin of her hip and she shuddered. She was about to explode and he wanted her to concentrate?
Is he fucking insane?

“You can do this, Alyssandra. You’re already coming into your powers. The way you handled the energy in the garden, visions that you can share, the way you shared energy with your mother, the power that explodes outward when you orgasm. This is your birthright, claim it. Direct the power. Concentrate.”

She shook her head back and forth against the pillow in denial.

Stone smacked her ass again with an open hand, just hard enough to gain her attention. “Focus, Princess. Look inside yourself—your body will know where sustenance is needed. Channel your power there first. You must always nourish yourself first, before you nourish others—even the planet or those you love.”

Frustration flowed through her and she shoved it aside. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, forming a picture of herself within her mind. Several areas of her body appeared shadowed.

She envisioned the channeled power flowing to those areas, replenishing, repairing, nourishing. Intense tingling in the areas of her body she’d seen as shadowed shocked her and she gasped.

“That’s it, Alyssandra. You’re doing it. Finish nourishing yourself and then gather your power and we’ll go to the next step.” Stone’s voice seemed very distant, but his voice was gentle and comforting.

When her entire body buzzed with health and vigor, her awareness returned and she realized Stone still thrust in and out of her in a steady rhythm, his long blunt fingers delving deep inside. She had the sudden urge to flip Stone over onto his back and ride him until they were both satisfied and too tired to move. She pulled against her invisible bonds in frustration, but they refused to budge.

He laughed. “I see your visions are back. Good. Have you gathered your power?”

She closed her eyes and was surprised to find it curled inside her, like a sleeping predator just waiting for her direction. She nodded against the pillow to let Stone know she’d heard.

“Now, the same way you healed yourself, concentrate on everything around you—people, plants, trees,
balda,
and the entire planet as a whole. You won’t be able to heal everything until you’re queen, but there’s no need to waste your leftover power. Flow it to where it’s most needed. Don’t forget to leave some for yourself.”

A picture of Tador formed as if she were looking down at a globe she could reach out and hold in her hands. Large portions of the planet were shadowed, some deep inside the planet, even though the surface still looked bright and healthy. She frowned as she surveyed the damage. There was so much sickness to heal she wondered if she’d even be able to repair it all once she was queen. If only the Klatch Council could see this.

As if from a great distance, she felt Stone’s hands still pleasuring her body, supplying her with a steady flow of energy. Returning her attention to the planet, she chose the most inhabited places and watched in wonder as they slowly healed before her eyes. Trees that had been limp and discolored brightened and now shown with health and vigor. Grasses plumped with life and multicolored flowers lifted their faces to the sun.

When she neared the end of her energy reserves, she forced herself to stop before depleting herself and kept enough in reserve to make it through the rest of the day. As much as she hated to admit it, Stone was right. She had to ensure she kept herself nourished and healthy or there would be no hope for the planet and her people.

She sighed as she opened her eyes and realized she was staring at the ceiling. Stone shifted and his handsome face filled her vision. Dark shadows marred the skin under his eyes and strain was clearly etched in the hard lines of his chiseled face even as he smiled down at her. “I’m not quite done with you yet, Princess.”

Guilt pricked at her. She’d funneled energy to herself and the planet around her, but she hadn’t given a thought for the man who had saved her from her old life and brought her here. The man she loved…

She gasped as she realized the truth of her words. They’d shared a deep connection even beyond the physical ever since he’d invaded her dreams. But this caring, wonderful man before her had somewhere along the last few days, stolen her heart as well.

Alyssa opened her mouth to say the words and found that she couldn’t force them past her lips. She closed her mouth and grinned as an idea formed. She might not be able to express her emotions yet, but she could definitely show him how much she cared until she worked up the courage to say the words.

She shifted and realized her hands were still bound over her head even though she lay on her back. Stone settled himself between her thighs and blew a hot breath over her swollen nether lips. Alyssa gasped at the sensation before closing her eyes and concentrating on gathering the energy as he’d taught her. She expanded her awareness and carefully formed a vision inside her head.

Extending a tendril of power, she carefully directed it toward Stone. If she could fine-tune her new skills, she could touch and tease him all she wanted. When Stone swiped his tongue over her aching slit, she directed her tendril of energy to close around the tip of his cock as she longed to do with her mouth.

He groaned against her clit, even as he continued to lave her. She let her thighs fall open to give him better access and returned her attention to directing her energy. It obediently teased the swollen head of his cock and swiped at the pearly white drop of pre come that glistened at its tip. Then the energy flowed over him, as if she took him into her mouth, all the way to the back of her throat.

She almost laughed aloud as she realized that while a large man like Stone may not have ever had anyone able to fully take him inside their mouths, her obedient tendril of power had no such limitations. She directed her energy to split and even as she continued her soft torture against the thick length of him, she directed the other wisp of power to caress and tease his balls and the soft stretch of skin that ran between his balls and his ass.

Stone’s cock hardened impossibly further inside her stream of energy and she reveled in the burst of pure feminine power that flowed through her. Something that had everything to do with being a woman who could please the man she loved and nothing to do with her royal status and duties. This power was far more elemental and primitive.

Alyssa continued to stroke and tease him even as he pleasured her. She allowed Stone to set the pace and just enjoyed where he took her. When he intensified the rhythm between them, or increased pressure, so did she. The vortex of arousal between them continued to tighten until their harsh pants and moans filled the air around them, twining with the musky scent of sex, vanilla and lavender.

“Alyssandra, you must stop. I won’t drain your power by bringing you to orgasm. You collapsed earlier today and I won’t risk your health.” He dropped his forehead to rest against her stomach as if gathering the frayed reigns of his control.

“You have to learn to trust me, Stone.”

He raised his head and opened his mouth to retort when she directed her tendrils of energy to increase their efforts, cutting off his protest. His gaze met hers moments before Stone stiffened against her as his control shattered and his orgasm rocked him.

He sucked her clit hard in reaction to his own surprise orgasm, pushing Alyssa over the edge. A shimmery kaleidoscope of colors flashed behind her eyes as a maelstrom of energy burst outward from her body. The mirror over her dresser shattered and every inch of exposed
balda
sizzled and popped with bright pink sparks that rained down over them, tingling as they hit exposed skin.

Alyssa surveyed the damage with lidded eyes. Once she was sure there was no immediate threat, she used her tendril of power to snap her magical bindings and she lay her hands lightly against Stone’s dark head, which had fallen limp against her mons. She let silence fall between them and enjoyed the sound of Stone’s breathing and the occasional leftover sizzle or pop from the overcharged
balda
.

A few moments later when Stone’s breathing returned to normal he glared up at her with amusement twinkling in his gaze. “That’s cheating, Princess, and I think I liked it.”

A
fter several more bouts of sustenance, Stone had called for two bathing tubs to be brought to Alyssandra’s room. Even with as much sexual energy as they’d shared in the past few hours, his cock hardened again as he saw her slip into the warm water, a sigh escaping her ripe lips, her head thrown back in near ecstasy. He stepped into his own tub hoping his raging erection would take the hint if he ignored it. The information Ryan had found in the king’s archive had haunted him and he’d decided to take Queen Annalecia’s advice and stop treating the princess with kid gloves.

As he relaxed in the warm water, he sighed as overused muscles unknotted. He glanced over at Alyssandra, only to see her in the same position as when she’d first slipped into the bath. “You’re not going to fall asleep over there and drown, are you, beloved?”

She smiled and managed an amused sound. “No. But it feels good to just soak here for a bit and enjoy the sensation.”

Stone had never been big on bathing tubs, at least if they didn’t involve the co-ed baths. There used to be several different assortments of women who were more than happy to help him complete his daily sustenance, but since he’d found Alyssandra, he’d bathed alone—usually stroking his cock while fantasizing about what he would do to his new bride as soon as the ascension was complete. When he’d walked in on Alyssandra and Sasha after the
ponga
incident earlier, he realized that he may yet hold a certain fondness for the bathing pools. But there would definitely be a more select set of participants than he’d had in the past. His feisty princess would most likely keep him occupied for quite a while before either of them decided they needed to invite anyone else. His cock hardened again and stubbornly poked its swollen head out of the water.

He firmly set his bathing pool fantasies about the princess aside and decided he could no longer put off telling her what he’d found. “Alyssandra.”

“Mmmm?”

“I found something in the king’s archives today that I wanted to talk to you about.”

She turned her head to look at him, but made no other move, keeping her body submerged from the neck down in the warm water.

Stone took a deep breath as he wrestled with his instinct to protect her and keep her safe.

“Are you going to keep me in suspense?” She smiled, a slow languid movement of her full ripe lips that sent a fresh surge of arousal straight to his already aching balls.

He cleared his throat and wished that the water in the tub would cool before his cock exploded from excess pressure. It had to be her increased pheromones, but the logical explanation did nothing for his uncomfortable aroused state. “Well, actually, Grayson found it. There was mention of a legend.”

Curiosity sparked in her lavender eyes and she pushed up in the tub so she could face him. “A legend?” Her voice filled with excitement, like a child who had been promised candy.

“Yes, it speaks of a princess who, even before the ascension, wields more power than the reigning queen.” He studied her, waiting for her reaction.

Her face a mask, she countered with a question. “And why do I get the feeling you think this legend is referring to me?”

He pushed up in the tub, facing her, wincing when the cool air of the chamber hit his wet skin. “No princess about to ascend the throne has shown as much power as you already do. We won’t know for sure until the presentation ceremony, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you prove that you already wield more power than your mother.”

“What’s the rest of this legend, Stone? I get the distinct impression that this legend isn’t a good thing, so get to the point.”

“Damn, Alyssandra. I’m not handling this very well. I’m fighting against my natural instincts to even tell you. But the queen…”

“The queen what?” She raised her eyebrow and pierced him with a hard stare.

Stone sighed and realized he’d maneuvered himself into dangerous waters. “Let’s just say that your mother gave me quite a lecture on keeping things from you for your own protection.”

“You mean like why my vision about the ascension ceremony upset you?”

He closed his eyes. This woman was entirely too smart for her own good. “Yes, exactly like that.” He held up a hand to stop her next question. “I have a day or so left on our deal and I still need that time. But this legend is something different. It speaks of a princess who will come when Tador is in danger and she will wield so much power that it tends to be unstable and even dangerous. Then it alludes to something called the triangle, which is needed to allow full healing to come to Tador and to keep the new queen from destroying herself.”

The sudden splashing as she bolted upright in her tub surprised him. “The triangle! I almost forgot. When I was in the queen’s archives, I was reading something about a triangle right before you came to tell me my mother had collapsed.” Her brow creased and she chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “It was in a journal written by the first queen who had started journaling, and she mentioned that she was reinstating the triangle to fully heal Tador. There was also something about a Seer and a Healer and their coming-of-age, although it didn’t mention a ceremony, so I’m not sure if they are royal or not.” Her brow furrowed as she turned toward him. “Then, when I turned the page, all the ink was faded and illegible, but the rest of the journal was still clear and readable—almost as if that part was purposely obscured.”

Stone’s mood darkened and a sudden urgency beat inside his chest. “I think we need to call Sasha, Grayson, and Ryan and spend some more time in both of the archives. We have a lot of reading to do before the ascension.”

After breakfast and bathing, Alyssa returned to the queen’s archives and began to search in earnest for more information on the triangle Queen Angelina had spoken of in her journal. She enlisted Sasha’s help as well as Grayson and Ryan’s, while Stone had gone alone to the king’s archives.

She’d had to promise the men lots of wine and refreshments, but they’d finally agreed to help her. She wasn’t sure if they were more interested in finding options for saving Tador or just making the council look foolish, and as long as they helped her, she didn’t care. They didn’t have much time before the presentation ball tonight, but they wanted to use every spare minute they could.

“My lady, here are the rest of Queen Angelina’s journals.” Sasha stacked them on the table next to her and then sat down in the opposite chair to begin reading her own stack.

Grayson snorted in disgust and tossed another journal into a growing pile on the floor in front of him. “Fuck! Whoever wanted to erase the information about the triangle did a damn good job of it. Every time we start to find more information, the following pages are illegible.”

Ryan examined the latest addition to the pile and scowled. “It’s some sort of blocking spell. I don’t know of any Klatch today that have that type of specialized talent, do any of you?”

Sasha and Grayson shook their heads and Alyssa pursed her lips, remembering something her mother had told her. “I don’t know what my talent is yet, maybe I can do something.”

Ryan tossed her the journal. “Can’t hurt to give it a try. If you’re the all powerful princess in the legend, then most likely you can wield your energy to do several things that most normal Klatch can’t.”

She flipped the pages until she found the faded entry. She concentrated, reaching out with her tendril of energy. It brushed over the page and sizzled as it met with the ancient ink, but nothing happened. “I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

“Don’t give up yet, Princess.” Sasha picked up another journal and opened it to the first page. “We’ll keep reading while you try to break the spell.”

Break the spell…
Alyssa had tried to make the ink reappear, but maybe she should try breaking the spell instead. After all, she didn’t know what form her special talent would take, and she had nothing to lose by trying. Closing her eyes, she reached out once more with her tendril of power. In her mind’s eye, she saw the journal and a faint glow emanated around the edges of the binding. Her power feathered against the glow, testing it. It tingled against her energy, but rebounded as soon as she pulled back.

Taking a deep breath, she sent a surge of power shooting toward the journal. A large popping sound echoed around the chamber as the glow disappeared and the journal burst into flames in her hands. She dropped it to the floor a second before a cold flood of liquid hit her in the chest and she opened her eyes to see Sasha holding an empty glass and looking down at her.

“Princess, are you all right? Did you burn your hands?”

Alyssa studied her hands, glad to see no burns or wounds, and then turned her attention back toward the charred journal on the floor in front of her. “Crap. I think I broke the spell, but I also destroyed the journal. So much for convincing myself that I’ve got my power under control and I’m not the one in the legend.”

Grayson picked up the ruined journal and set it aside. “Well, the good news is that you found your special power—you can break spells. Sounds like a very useful skill for a future queen. The bad news is, you have to learn a little finesse or we’ll barbeque all the journals before we find what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks for the tip. Any idea how I can accomplish that?” She sifted through a pile looking for a journal with the least amount of smudged writing and waved it in the air in front of her waiting for his answer.

“Picture exactly what you did last time and then try it again, more carefully.” He shrugged and snatched a cookie off the table.

“You guys are just a font of information, you know that?”

The men laughed and everyone gathered around to watch her next attempt.

“Great, no pressure.” She closed her eyes and once again reached out with her tendril of power, just enough to illuminate the glow around the journal. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on breaking the spell. Her power feathered across the edges of the glow and it sizzled lightly against her touch. She kept the energy steady and gentle. After several seconds, the glow slowly faded until it was gone. Quickly, she retracted her energy before it could ignite the pages and then slitted one eye open to see if it had worked.

The previously smudged words were now crisp and clear against the page as if they’d just been written. She read them aloud….
powerful humans with special gifts must fulfill the other two points and undergo an ascension with a full-blooded Prince of Klatch.

Ryan whistled long and low. “When you uncover a controversial mystery, you really go all the way. The Klatch Council will have a fit.”

Dread flowed through her. Stone had told her that offspring between humans and Klatch were Cunts. No full-blooded royal Klatch would dilute the bloodline with a human. Talk about an uphill battle.

“Don’t give up yet, love.” Stone stood leaning against the doorframe watching her. “You don’t know all the details until you’ve unlocked the mysteries in the rest of the spelled journals. The passages wouldn’t have been hidden if there wasn’t something to hide. It must not be as clear cut as it appears.”

She had a sudden urge to push him down against one of the overstuffed chairs and lick every part of his body. A vivid vision of Stone with his hands bound behind him, his golden naked body helpless beneath her while she slicked his body with the lavender and vanilla scented oil and fulfilled her every whim flashed through her mind sending a sudden shudder through her. From the way Stone suddenly straightened, his breathing coming in short pants, she’d inadvertently shared her vision again.

She schooled her face to hide her smug smile. “Stone, I’m glad you’re here. Did you find anything else useful in the king’s archives?”

“Nothing for an entire morning’s efforts except for one entry pointing me to the queen’s archives for more information on the triangle.” He sat down on the ottoman in front of her and took a small sip from her glass of wine. “Too bad we didn’t find that book yesterday. I could’ve been here all morning.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Stone’s, swiping a tongue across his lips and biting back a moan as she tasted the wine he’d just sampled. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to lean back a hairsbreadth, away from the temptation of Stone’s body. “You’re just in time to help.” Stone shuddered as her breath feathered against his lips. “Why don’t you three make some sense of these entries while I break the spells.”

Stone brushed his lips over hers before putting enough distance between them that Alyssa could breath again without inhaling his scent. “Your wish is my command, Princess.”

Four hours later, she slumped back against the chair, her head throbbing and her body screaming for sustenance. “So what have you guys pieced together while I’ve been breaking spells?” Her voice sounded raspy and dry, and she gratefully accepted a glass of wine from Sasha. The fruity liquid soothed the back of her throat and she swallowed it greedily, holding out her glass for a refill.

Stone finished writing down the last newly revealed paragraph and leaned back in the chair to rub at the bridge of his nose. “From what I can tell, Tador has been in dire straights before. Several times throughout our history, the triangle was employed to help bring it back from the brink of destruction. The three sides of the triangle are made up of the queen, a Seer and a Healer. The Seer and the Healer are humans, but not normal humans. They have special powers, which qualify them for their roles and most likely have some strong Klatch blood somewhere in their history.”

“The council would paint any attempt at mating a human with a full-blooded Klatch Prince as some sort of blasphemy.” Grayson’s jaw hardened as he looked around the circle.

Stone lowered the paper and nodded. “However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t what’s required to restore the planet and to keep Alyssandra’s power from destroying her. Listen to the rest.” He raised the paper and continued to read. “The queen must assume the throne first and then the Seer and last, the Healer. The Seer and Healer must undergo a coming-of-age ceremony similar to the queen’s, mated with a full-blooded Klatch Prince, but neither of them need to be virginal to assume their position. Once all three points of the triangle have ascended, then there is a ceremony with all six people—the queen, the Seer, the Healer and their respective mates. The fully functional triangle restores the planet and protects it until it can store up enough power to subsist purely on the queen’s energy once more. Once it has enough, the offspring of the Seer and the Healer are no longer born with the requisite powers to hold their point of the triangle and we revert to a one point system of symbiosis with the planet.”