Ceremony of Seduction (29 page)

When she’d steadied her trembling nerves, she patted Stone’s hand and he dropped his arm from around her. Alyssa turned toward the remaining council members who all looked as shaken and stunned as she felt. She stepped forward, reached for the
balda
gavel with shaking hands, and banged it against the table until the crowd quieted.

Alyssa motioned her guards aside so she could face the audience of Klatch. “You accepted me as your queen, and now you have to trust me to see you safely through. Everyone is welcome to visit the queen’s archives to see the journals that explain the triangle for themselves. They explain not only how it works but also its purpose. In the meantime, Prince Grayson, the Seventh Prince of Klatch, will begin his search for the Seer, his future mate.”

Silence met her declaration, but she could tell from the mixed expressions that not everyone supported this decision and several were still reeling with shock from the betrayal and death of the Council Head and her son.

“There will be weekly council meetings to answer questions and give everyone any updates we have.”

Not sure what else to say before her legs gave out under her, she turned, carefully avoiding looking down at the smoking corpse of the Council Head, and walked toward Stone. When his arms closed around her, she leaned into the comfort of his embrace and allowed him to lead her from the room.

A
lyssa reclined inside the baths, enjoying the froth of the warm water around her body as she waited for Stone to join her. Over the last few weeks, her increasing morning sickness had driven her to take more naps, soak in the baths a few times a day, and allow her very attentive husband to dote on her.

“Allow me to dote on you, beloved. I think you enjoy it and have become spoiled.”

She laughed and looked up to see Stone standing just outside the baths, his naked body a study in fascinating textures, sculpted muscles and dusky olive skin. “You’re right, I do and I am. But, since I’m the one who has to go through labor, I think it’s only fair for you to spoil me while I’m pregnant. Although I intend to fully share the experience of labor through our empathic link.”

Stone paled and his eyes widened as his unease beat against their empathic link.

A laugh bubbled up from deep inside Alyssa’s throat to echo around the chamber. She traced her gaze over every well-muscled inch of her husband, following the arrow of dark hair that feathered down his chest and continued south, bringing her gaze to his cock, which was currently soft and nestled among an equally dark thatch of hair. She licked her lips at the thought of pulling him between her lips and teasing him with her tongue while he hardened inside her mouth. When her eyes traveled back up to his stricken expression, she laughed again. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I was only teasing—mostly, anyway.” At his weak smile, she crooked her finger at him, beckoning him to join her. “So, let’s talk more about you spoiling me…”

He laughed as he descended the four steps down into the fizzing water to stand in front of her. “I suppose you’re right, my queen. So, what spoiling do you require today?” He leaned over her and nipped at the sensitive skin just under her ear causing her to gasp as the sleeping energy awakened inside her, roaring to life like a sudden volcanic eruption. Her hair stood on end, flowing around her from the breeze caused by the river of power inside her.

He licked and nipped a line along her neck, causing her bones to soften in his arms as moisture rushed between her swollen pussy lips and her heavy breasts tingled inside the frothing water. Stone traced a path back up toward her ear and his words whispered against her skin, causing an avalanche of shivers and energy. “I think our little one is just as spoiled as her mother. Ever since your morning sickness started, you’re insatiable…in all things.” Stone nipped and licked a path around toward her lips.

Alyssa’s lips curved as Stone covered her mouth with his, dipping inside until she tasted a combination of the wine he’d had for breakfast and the spicy taste that was uniquely Stone. She nipped his bottom lip even as she reached out to trace the hard ridges of his six-pack abs. He shuddered under her fingertips and straightened, leaving her eye level with his semi-hard cock.

She grabbed his hips, pulling him closer, until she could lean forward and pull his member between her lips. As her mouth closed around him, she kept a firm suction and laved her tongue over the tip before sucking him again. He hardened inside her mouth, lengthening and thickening, as she gently cupped his balls in her hand.

Stone threaded his fingers through her hair as a long moan escaped him. “Alyssandra, what are you doing to me?”

She chuckled, knowing the vibrations would tease him further. “
If you can’t figure out what I’m doing, then I must not be doing it right.”

She rolled his balls gently between her fingers and stroked his cock in a steady rhythm with her lips and her tongue. When her lips bumped against the underside of the sensitive head, she swallowed him again until he pressed deep against the back of her throat.

Stone’s hips began a slow motion, fucking her mouth in long sure strokes until a salty drop of pre come dissolved against her tongue, exploding flavor through her mouth and energy through her body.

Alyssa pulled back, careful not to scrape Stone with her teeth as the spasm of pure power sizzled through her.

Stone sat next to her and pulled her across his body and into his lap. “Not that I don’t love coming in your throat, Alyssandra, but I want to be buried inside you when you scream my name.”

Her clit throbbed at his dark promise and she buried her fingers in his thick silky hair, pulling his mouth down to hers. Her bare breasts pressed against the muscles of his chest, and she enjoyed the smooth slide of her wet skin over his and the way his crispy hairs brushed over her engorged nipples.

Stone’s cock swelled to life against her hip, shooting a fresh surge of fire through her veins and causing her flow of energy to howl in anticipation. Alyssa wrapped her fingers around Stone’s thickness, enjoying the way his member jumped in her hand. She stroked his shaft slowly from the base all the way to the swollen head, enjoying the way the water lubricated her movements.

Stone hissed against the sensation and deepened their kiss, plundering her mouth even as she continued to tease him with her busy fingers. She met his frenzied passion with her own, letting him experience the overwhelming rush of the power surging inside her through their empathic link. He growled against lips and lifted her to straddle him, trapping his hard cock between them.

Alyssa wiggled on his lap, fighting against the pull of the water to press herself against him and grind her stomach against his cock. She wrapped her legs around his waist to anchor herself. The new position pressed her swollen pussy lips against the smooth skin of his cock and allowed her to plaster her breasts against his wet chest as she rubbed herself shamelessly against him.

The vortex of energy howled again, stealing the breath from her lungs and increasing her urgency. Her mouth still fused with Stone’s, she unwrapped her legs from around his waist and bent them under her to rest on either side of his thighs. She rose on her shins, changing the angle of their kiss and allowing the head of his cock to slip down her stomach to trace a path past her clit to lodge against her aching opening.

Stone’s large hands captured her hips and steadied her as she slowly impaled herself on his thick member. A moan ripped from Alyssa’s throat at the sensation of Stone filling her. She leaned back as her eyes closed as she began to move. An exquisite friction built between them as the warm water sloshed around them. The only sound filling Alyssa’s awareness was the rushing of the insatiable energy through her body and the steady thump of her heartbeat, which had increased to match the rhythm set by their bodies.

Stone’s lips closed over one engorged nipple and her eyes flew open at the intensity of the sensation. He nipped her sensitive peak and then soothed it with his tongue before he sucked hard, the sensation sending more moisture between her thighs to lubricate their movements.

Arousal curled tighter inside her belly as she neared her orgasm and the energy tightened inside her body almost painfully. Stone must’ve sensed her sudden urgency through their link because using his grip on her hips, he leaned her backwards, changing the angle and piercing her impossibly deep until she wasn’t sure where Stone ended and she began. She gave herself up to his strength and he guided her again and again to take him deep, his swollen head probing her core, spiraling her higher and higher until the energy screamed out for release and so did she.

“Stone!” His name ripped from her lips as his hot come shot against her inner core, acting as a match to gasoline. Alyssa exploded, and for a split second, she saw nothing but pink lightning and knew nothing but the sea of pleasure that washed over her. In the next instant, her consciousness flew over the planet, bringing healing and energy where it needed, filling in the shadows and strengthening her bond with the land. Time lost all meaning as she nourished the land as if it were her child.

When her awareness reunited with her body, she found herself slumped forward onto Stone, his cock still snugly inside her, even as it softened. The sound of sizzling and the smell of something burning assaulted her senses.

He kissed the top of her hair as he feathered caresses over her bare back. “Welcome back, my queen.” He glanced up at the still smoking walls. “I think your power is becoming a bit more volatile.” He chuckled. “How does Tador fare today?”

Alyssa sighed and stretched with contentment before leaning back to look at her husband. “Doesn’t it ever bother you to lose me like that right after an orgasm? I mean, it’s got to be a bit disconcerting to have this amazing orgasm and then be left with this limp woman for several minutes until her brain snaps back inside her body.”

Stone’s full lips curved and he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Not as long as you always come back to me, my love. Besides, if you stay away too long, I’ll just start pleasuring you all over again until you’re back.”

She watched his eyes spark with erotic amusement, while she basked in the sharing of their empathic link. She knew he’d told her the truth, after all, it was a waste of time to try to lie or even omit things when you shared thoughts and feelings with each other every second of every day. She wasn’t so sure she’d like it so much if she was the one left with the shell of a body for several minutes after each orgasm.

She brushed a kiss over his lips and then curled against him again. “It’s about the same. The planet I mean.”

Stone laughed at her roundabout return to his earlier question. “Is that good or bad?”

“Each time, I have to do more healing. It’s never just as I left it and I never seem to make any headway so it can start storing away some energy for the future. I’m not sure how my mother held on so long with such widespread deterioration.” Her thoughts turned to the triangle and she wished Grayson would contact them and give them an update soon.

Stone pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. “He will, when he has found the Seer. We don’t know how long it may take. Even then, he has to convince her to come back with him and take her place within the triangle. Not everyone will be as excited to leave their lives on earth as you were, love.”

She huffed out a laugh. “True. Maybe they’ll welcome a change as well. We need someone who is willing to become one of us.”

Silence fell between them, even as her thoughts continued to churn. “I just hope I’m doing the right thing, Stone.” She pulled back to look into his eyes. “Not only for the planet and the people, but what about our daughter?” She placed a hand over her stomach, silently reaching out to the life growing within her. “I’m making choices that will affect her and her children for generations to come.” She closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest, as responsibility suddenly weighed heavy on her shoulders.

Stone placed his finger under her chin, tipping it up so he could brush a kiss over her lips. “Even if I gave you energy and sustenance twenty-four hours a day, you can not keep the entire planet healed forever. You’ve said yourself that even though it’s much recovered since you’ve assumed the throne, the deterioration has begun again. We continue to search in both archives, but so far that’s the best solution we’ve found.”

She sighed and studied his handsome face as she reached out to trace the adorable dimple just next to his mouth. “I know. I think I just need to be reminded now and then. You’ll have to continue to be my voice of logic.”

He reached down to cup her breast and he grinned as her nipple pebbled against his hand and he hardened inside her. “I plan on reminding you how to control energy all afternoon.” His eyes darkened with desire and he pinched her nipple, causing her to moan as her eyelids drifted closed.

“It’s times like this I remember…”

He kissed her neck and whispered against her ear. “Remember what, my love?”

“It’s good to be the queen.”

Stone’s chuckle sounded inside her mind as he began to move inside her again.

Here’s a hot sneak peek at Elizabeth Amber’s

NICHOLAS: THE LORDS OF SATYR,
available now from Aphrodisia…

L
ord Nicholas Satyr lifted the dagger from the desk before him, anxious to have the task ahead complete. The blade flashed, reflecting the intensity of his strange pale gaze, before twisting to slice through the tasseled cord encircling the roll of parchment.

The missive’s arrival that morning had been both unexpected and unwelcome. Dispatches from Else World were infrequent and usually portended mischief of some kind. Trouble was already threatening the vineyards, which lay at the heart of Satyr lands. He could spare little time for any nonsense.

As the cord fell away, the coiled document unrolled with a will of its own, releasing a faint hint of magic into the room. Nick spared a quick glance for his younger brothers, Raine and Lyon, whom he’d summoned an hour ago from their adjacent estates within the Satyr compound. They would have sensed it, too.

Raine stood at the window, hands clasped at his back as he surveyed Nick’s manicured gardens. Whirls of fog obscured the tangled forest and grapevine-covered hillsides beyond. He was, as usual, meticulously outfitted in gray, his cropped hair and garb as restrained as the late winter morning he observed.

Restless energy crackled from Lyon as he prowled Nick’s salon, wending his brawny frame among elegant furnishings and curious artifacts. Occasionally he paused to examine one of his brother’s newer acquisitions in his pawlike grasp, but he didn’t linger. He was impatient to learn the document’s contents and return to the business of overseeing his property.

Nick’s fingertips tingled from the hum of ElseWorld magic caught in the parchment, but nothing in his face revealed his thoughts as he read. Over the course of three decades, he’d learned to disguise his emotions. They’d all found it necessary to hide their true natures, having grown up half Human, half Satyr in an EarthWorld intolerant of their kind.

Turning from the window, Raine glanced toward the parchment. “Is it from an Elder?”

Nick nodded, a curt inclination of his dark head. “King Feydon himself.”

Lyon halted midstride and whipped around. “What the devil does
he
want?”

The leather of Nick’s chair creaked subtly as he shifted all six and a half feet of his well-muscled form. “It seems he has managed to sire three Earth daughters.”

Raine digested this news in silence, a slight stiffening of his shoulders the only indication that he’d heard.

Lyon snorted in amusement. “That randy old goat of a Faerie Elder sent us a birth announcement? From his deathbed, no less.”

Not fully grasping the importance of the news, he blithely twirled a globe of EarthWorld upon the tip of one finger. Jeweled continents, sapphire oceans, and an emerald dragon or two sparkled in the candlelight.

“His announcement is somewhat belated,” Nick clarified. “The birthings occurred some twenty years ago. Apparently he’s had an attack of conscience at this late date. And it’s his dying wish that we remedy the situation he leaves behind.”

Raine folded his arms, suspicion coloring his eyes a stormy gray. “And how precisely are we to do that?”

“According to his instructions, we are to locate his progeny and marry them,” said Nick.

A bark of astonished laughter escaped Lyon. “What?!”

Nick tossed the parchment on the desk. “Read it yourselves if you doubt me. And have a care with my orb, Lyon.”

Lyon looked down at his broad hands and saw they were very nearly crushing one of Nick’s precious objects. His strength belonged to the outdoors and served him well in the Satyr vineyards. However, it didn’t suit Nick’s fashionable rooms, and he constantly had to be on guard lest he fatally upset something.

Grimacing, he set the globe back to rest in its cradle and headed for the letter on Nick’s desk. He snatched it up and read aloud.

“This is absurd,” Lyon muttered in disgust. He slapped the letter to Nick’s desk, causing the crystal bottles in the inkstand to rattle. The small act of violence did little to mollify him, and he turned to prowl the room again as though he were a caged animal seeking escape.

Raine took up the parchment and silently scanned its contents, assessing each phrase, searching for nuances of meaning. When he finally set it aside, his expression was grim.

He’d been wed before, three years earlier, but the marriage had ended in disaster within months. He had no plans to marry again. But he didn’t speak of that now.

“Interesting that Feydon chose to produce three
female
offspring, and in locations so obligingly convenient to us,” he remarked.

Nick slanted him a considering glance. “Almost as though he intended his daughters for us from the beginning.”

Lyon swung around. “Seven hells! Do you suppose he spawned them on purpose in some misguided attempt to saddle us with wives?”

“Now that he has slipped into the shadows between life and death, we can only guess at his motives,” said Raine.

Nick leaned back, causing his chair to protest once more. Candlelight flickered, glancing blue highlights off the jet black of his hair.

“It would be like him, however. We’re the only of our kind left in EarthWorld, and he has long made clear he felt it our duty to procreate so Satyr lands won’t fall into Human hands. Our properties need heirs, yet we have shown ourselves reluctant to sire them. He may have felt such an action justified.”

“‘Forces that would harm them,’” Lyon quoted from the parchment. “Do you think he means forces from his World or ours?”

“Or could it simply be a ruse to ensure our involvement?” asked Raine.

“If so, it’s an effective tactic,” said Nick. “Feydon knows our protective instincts would cause us to act if his children are in danger.”

“It’s an unfair obligation to thrust upon us,” said Raine.

“Damn right, O Master of Understatement,” said Lyon. “It’s blatant manipulation.”

“Manipulation or not, it makes our decision regarding a course of action or inaction a rather pressing matter,” said Raine.

“Surely we must take some action,” Lyon said, voicing reluctant concern. “These FaerieBlend females can’t be left to fend for themselves. Can they?”

He and Raine looked to Nick.

“If we’re to believe Feydon’s missive, the females he mated were unaware he bedded them,” said Nick. “That being the case, both mothers and daughters are innocent of any deceit directed our way.”

“It’s likely the daughters don’t realize they’re of ElseWorld,” said Raine.

“Though they must be feeling the quickening pulse of Faerie blood,” said Lyon.

“And misunderstanding its meaning if there’s no one to guide them,” said Nick. “’Tis a troubling notion.”

“But not at all tempting,” Raine stated baldly. “I’ve no interest in marrying again.”

Nick and Lyon exchanged glances.

“Marriage to a half-Faerie creature could succeed where one to a Human failed,” said Nick.

Raine shrugged. “Nevertheless, I’m unwilling to experiment.”

Lyon ran blunt fingertips through the tangle of his thick tawny hair. “I find myself in agreement with Raine. I’ve no interest in tying myself to a woman not of my choosing, be she Faerie or Human. Isn’t there some way to protect Feydon’s daughters short of marriage?”

“How? Shall we hound their footsteps over the years to come in order to guard them against trouble?” asked Nick. “They will have us arrested.”

“I still say marriage can be avoided. Why not simply bring them to Satyr land and let them roam about as they please?” suggested Lyon.

Nick laughed, and Raine shot him a pitying glance.

Lyon looked affronted. “What? They will be safe here under our protection.”

“Like your other pets?” asked Raine, referring to Lyon’s menagerie of exotic animals that ranged freely on Satyr lands.

“They’re females, not livestock,” said Nick. “They will never agree to so ridiculous an arrangement. We must husband them and bring them under our protection. I see no other way.”

Raine eyed his older brother. “You seem strangely committed to the idea of marriage after so little consideration.”

Nick flexed his wide shoulders, straining the seams of his waistcoat and causing the subtle design in the dark teal brocade to shimmer. It was an unusual coat selected from among the treasures of his ancestors. Something about it pleased him. But then, he relished the unusual.

“Granted, the notion of marriage was unlooked for,” he said. “But as I reflect on Feydon’s edict I realize it provides a certain…opportunity.”

Lyon gave him a look of false commiseration. “Poor Nick. Have you lacked for the attentions of a sufficient bounty of females all these years? You should have spoken sooner. Raine and I would be glad to share with you some of the legions angling for our portion of the Satyr coffers.”

Raine smiled, a fleeting lift of one corner of his mouth. “He makes a point, big brother. We’ve all had more than a few opportunities to shackle ourselves over the years.”

“We need heirs,” said Nick.

Raine and Lyon stared at him in surprise.

“My thirtieth year approaches. You trail me by only two years, Raine. And you by merely four, Lyon. Who else are we to sire sons and daughters on if not these FaerieBlends?” Nick demanded, gesturing toward the parchment. “They are by nature half breeds, a blend of EarthWorld and ElseWorld, like us.”

“But unlike us, Feydon’s daughters have Faerie blood in their veins,” Raine reminded him.

“And the Faerie are volatile,” added Lyon. “Who knows what diverse bag of tricks they may possess?” He shuddered.

“My material point is that while Human women might find certain of our ways strange or distasteful, a Fey wife would be less apt to present any objection to the manner in which we might presume to quest for heirs,” said Nick.

“But what sort of heirs will they provide?” Raine asked, shaking his head. “A half-Satyr husband mating a half-Faerie wife? What kind of children can come of it?”

“If we don’t intervene, it’s probable the FaerieBlends will marry and mate with Humans. What offspring do you imagine might come of that?” Nick asked pointedly.

Lyon rammed his hands into the pockets of his sturdy trousers and sighed. He dressed the part of a vintner, wearing rumpled trousers, a nubby cotton tunic, and greatboots. “You’re right. Neither they nor their children will know what to make of their abilities. That could prove disastrous.”

A brittle tension settled over the room.

“The Satyr have always looked after the Faerie,” Nick said decisively.

Lyon sighed. “It appears settled we must marry them. Bacchus, what if mine is stupid? Or offensive? How will I stand to bed her?”

“As I understand it, marriage and protection are our only obligations,” said Raine. “Feydon’s missive stated no requirement to mate or sire offspring.”

Nick’s eyes sharpened on him. “True.”

“You would bind your wife to a childless marriage?” asked Lyon. “Bind yourself to one?”

“The choice will be hers, the facts put to her before we marry,” said Raine. “I want no Blended children who will suffer the alienation of finding one foot in EarthWorld and one in ElseWorld while not properly fitting in either.”

“What of the wine?” asked Lyon. “Our heirs must carry on our work in the vineyards when we’re gone.”

The vine-covered hills at the center of the Satyr compound produced grapes, which were made into wine each season. Labeled
Lords of Satyr,
it was hotly sought by the wealthy and titled throughout Europe and beyond. Some whispered that Satyr wine possessed magical properties, which it in fact did.

The brothers’ trio of estates was strategically placed at triangulated points along the borders of an ancient forest, like guard towers at three corners of a fortress. At the center of each estate stood an ancient castle with extensive gardens and grounds that met and eventually mingled with the trees of the magnificent old-growth forest. The forest in turn ringed the base of the sloping hills of the vineyards, which formed the central core of their lands.

Theirs was ancient ground chosen by their ancestors for a special purpose—to serve as a sacred joining place for ElseWorld and EarthWorld. In centuries past, many Satyr had secretly dwelled here, protecting the portal that led between worlds. Now there were but three.

Raine flicked a speck of dust from his immaculate jacket, the expression in his gray eyes opaque. “Your offspring are welcome to my share. Let that settle the matter.”

“For now,” Nick relented.

Raine shrugged.

“Then it’s only left to determine which daughter we select,” said Lyon.

“Rome is most convenient for me,” said Nick. “Any objections?”

“None. I’ll take Paris,” said Raine. “Damn, I abhor traveling.”

“Traveling? To Paris? I’ll remind you I’m left with Venice,” said Lyon. “The journey there will be excruciating after the rains.”

Raine quirked an eyebrow. “It should be no hardship since you travel there to meet buyers with regularity.”

“Still, it’s a bad time to be away. Many of my animals are in foal,” said Lyon. “And the vineyards need watching.”

“We can exert enough of our combined Will to bolster the forcewall around Satyr lands for weeks,” said Raine.

“Why take unnecessary risk? It’s my opinion some of us should stay,” said Lyon.

“Agreed,” said Nick. “I will go first. Once I secure my bride, your searches can follow.”

Raine and Lyon assented, and soon thereafter, all three turned to the door.