Passion of the Different (21 page)

He didn't remove his hand from her neck. His brow furrowed. What if she ordered the invasion of the Elerian lands after she awoke and found him gone, his word broken and her efforts betrayed? What if she had everyone he met and talked with executed? That would kill Merd'Fen and Zon'Jal and even Nera, not to mention most of the palace staff. He could stop that from ever happening. All he had to do was squeeze until the pulse in her throat went away. Nobody would know until after he was long gone. Nera would hate him when she found out he lied to her, but she and her men would still be alive.

No.

He didn't lie to Nera when he said he didn't want to kill the queen and how he intended to give himself a head start with the drug. He looked at Darya's sharp features and he also found that he couldn't kill anyone in their sleep like this. A weakness? No. Integrity wasn't a weakness, but a measure of strength. This evil queen would never understand such a concept and his pity for her hit new highs. He hoped he wouldn't regret this lack of action and remove this evil creature from the world, but his word was his honor and he wouldn't violate it. If Darya would have to eventually die, it would be on the battlefield somewhere and by somebody else. So be it.

He blew out the final candle and let his eyes adjust to the deep darkness. The latch for the bedroom balcony opened silently and he regarded the rooftops before him. He would have to wait for another couple of hours before taking off, he knew which direction he would have to go to find the queen's retreat where they held Myra. He also knew that Nera would be keeping watch for him now she was privy to his plans. It wouldn't be long before he would be reunited with his wife and fleeing for their homeland, and this time he would make sure she was better protected. Never again will anyone take his precious woman away and hold her hostage. He would make damn sure of that.

Chapter Thirty One - Clearing The Debt

Nera's dark green eyes glittered in the torchlight as she watched Ryan approach carefully. He handed her the signed orders to release Myra into his custody but the warden knew all too well they were meaningless. "You don't have much time," she warned him seriously. "By mid morning the queen will awaken and she'll know what you've done. The signal will be lit and the men already know their orders for such a thing. I don't have the authority to tell them to ignore it even after she's left."

"Then we need to get moving," he said, barely keeping his baritone under control. He tried not to let her see his shaking hands. It's been a long time since he had seen his beautiful wife, he missed her something terrible. Not to mention she had twin babies to show him as well. "Those papers are to cover your ass, pretend you didn't know they were stolen."

"I know that," she replied evenly, then cocked her head and studied his features. "Don't misunderstand, Lord Za'Ryan. You really don't have much time, but not in that manner." She gestured to the North. "I've sent two horses without riders galloping towards the closest Elerian border the moment I spotted you coming. They are the decoy and will leave the expected tracks. You will leave in the morning with your wife and children in a wagon to the North East Elerian border. It's farther away by a day's travel, they won't be expecting you to go that route. It'll be a much safer trip. You will all be gone before any tracking party has a chance to find you."

"This means a lot to me," he softly told her. "More than you know. You're a true friend, Nera, I won't forget this."

"Good," she said, smiling quickly. "Because you will be paying me back sooner than you know, big guy."

"Any amount you want," he promised, thinking about ways to gather a small fortune for her in the near future, but those thoughts were quickly lost as he realized just how close to Myra he actually was.

"Don't concern yourself with that just yet," she wisely advised him. "Now listen up. As of right now, your wife is still under lock and key. A nanny has your two children in the next room. I'm going to give her guard a much deserved one hour break and take his place. Now pay attention, don't mess this up," she warned with a wagging finger. "Go up the stairs behind me. Down the hall and to the last door on the right. It's an empty bedroom. Soldiers patrol the hallways every half hour but are mostly in earshot of all the guarded rooms. You have only ten minutes until a patrol goes by even as I speak. Get in there and rest until morning. When the night guards go to bed then my own day crew will take a
real long time
getting ready for the next shift.
Make no sounds at all
or you'll alert the night patrol and everything goes to hell. And for goodness sake,
no candles or any light
, that room is supposed to be empty. Your wife will join you in about five minutes after you get there. You'll
only have an hour with her
before the regular guard I am relieving returns. Got it?
You don't have much time.
Mean something new to you now?"

His heart started to hammer in his chest and he wondered why she couldn't hear it. It was almost deafening to his ears, a drumbeat of epic depth. Being sexually tantalized by Darya earlier had been rough on him, the evil queen who said she had never been with a man sure knew how to turn one on when she worked at it. His whole body all but ached at the thought of his beautiful wife and he only had an hour. Damn the short time, but he was willing to take every second offered.

"I don't know what I'd do without your help," he honestly told her. "I'm at a loss for words."

"Good, the patrol won't hear you blabber then," Nera urgently told him, then made a shooing motion with both hands. "Go now,
hurry
."

He followed her directions to the letter. Hooded candles on the hallway walls gave the narrow area a golden hue, the thick fancy wooden doors were banded with metal straps. Strong enough to be considered a cell if need be, elegant enough to double as a guest room. The last one on the right was unlocked and he went inside. The brief slice of buttery yellow light from the hallway gave him the layout. There were no furnishings other than a small night stand next to a very comfortable looking large bed.

The moment he closed the door everything went pitch black. He waited a couple of minutes for his eyes to adjust. The small sliver of light that spilled in under the door gave everything a murky look, he could barely see the outline of the bed and nightstand. He sat on the edge and it didn't give in very far to his substantial weight, which spoke of a high quality mattress. He kicked off his shoes and tried his best to relax until Myra arrived.

He wasn't looking at the door when it quickly slid open then shut again, so his eyes were still adjusted to the darkness and she was in front of him in a flash. Silent and light on her feet, oh how he had missed her something fierce.

"Oh honey, I'm..." he started to whisper, but she covered his lips with her cool slender fingers, head whipped around to regard the door. He saw the slight upturn of her cute nose tip framed within the cascade of light blue hair in the dim darkness and nothing more. His heart started to pound again and he almost didn't hear the boot steps of the guard passing by.

"Shh," she hissed softly, soothed him while her hands roamed his face, upper shoulders and chest. She started to unfasten his shirt, eager to have him out of his clothes.

Ryan nodded and understood. The warning echoed in his thoughts.
Make no sounds at all
. They were just going to have to be careful, and he hoped they would be able to do just that because it had been so long since they held each other. Even now he could feel the urgency in her stance, her roaming hands magically found every button and catch and did away with them.

She must have been wearing a form fitted long sleep-shirt because she grabbed at her thighs and flipped something light and airy straight up and over her head. Uncovered and barely visible from the shadow of her sexy body, stiff nipple tips greeted him, already excited in anticipation of the moment. He couldn't hold himself back and his hunger was high for her.

He drew her close, large hands going over hips and then her shapely ass. Since he was still sitting on the bed's edge and she was still standing, he was at the perfect height for a man his size. His mouth seized each stiffened nipple and made a munching meal of them, no pausing in between and licking in absolute delight of her. He pulled her naked body even tighter against him as his mouth worked upwards and over the side of her slender throat. Oh how he loved munching the long strong muscle from her softly curved shoulder all the way up to just under that delicious pointed ear.

She gratefully leaned her head back and provided an arched neck while melting into his arms, giving him all the access he wanted. Her own breathing was fast and filled with heavy desire, body trembling as much as his hands. Her fingers kept going over his shoulders and back, leaving cool trails and light touches where she needed to feel him.

As his kisses started up her jawline, she couldn't wait for him to find her lips. She turned her head and soft sweetness landed on his mouth. Hunger and heat flared between them both, she worked her demanding kiss with a rapidity he never felt her use before. Amazing what distance and time can do to two souls who hungered for each other for way too long.

He wasn't sure if it was high eagerness or the fact they didn't have a lot of time - probably a mixture of both, but she didn't wish to spend too much on foreplay. She took a sudden half step back and crouched, her cool slender fingers finding his already stiffened shaft. She explored his size and thickness with obvious pleasure. He used every ounce of his will not to groan when her mouth sucked in his swollen tip without mercy. He was too long for her to fully take in, but she did try to slide her tongue as far as she could around his thickness as her head bobbed in his lap. Long light blue hair tickled his thighs and all of his fingers massaged her weaving scalp. He almost exploded there and then, but he successfully held back, fought the electric waves of ecstasy she conjured within him.

She didn't linger there for long or he
would
have released far too soon. She shoved his chest with a surprising amount of strength. He leaned back as prompted without hesitation, then her legs straddled him and she impaled herself as deeply as possible onto his shaft. Her shapely smooth inner thighs gripped his hips like a vice, muscles both inside and out quivering from the tight long overdue penetration.

Her gasps almost produced a vocal response, she also fought hard not to make noise. She couldn't see his features in the dark, so she leaned forward slightly and placed her hands on each side of his chiseled face. He relished her touch, loved the feel of her long cool fingers. Then she rocked him like never before. In some sort of electric belly dance, her stomach and lap pulsed his manhood as if she was listening to intense music. His own large hands found her breasts and his thumbs played her stiff nipples rapidly as strong fingers massaged the firm mounds. She flicked her hair to the left, then the right. Straight back and forward and to the sides again.

Her internal muscles clamped down hard on his lance, all of her parts squeezing in release with a rush of fluids. She opened her mouth and threw her head back, letting out a long sighing gasp and fighting her own voice to keep a scream of pleasure from escaping.

The explosion he felt was pure heaven. His throbbing shaft pulsed wave after wave from his head down to his toes and he bucked several times. He knew she felt him empty inside of her, she was looking down at him through the inky blackness and her long light blue hair tickled his chest. Oh how he loved her.

Then she started to move again, and this time her tight ass sank all the way onto his lap, his long shaft starting to soften into afterglow. But she would have none of that and wanted more. She leaned forward and started to munch
his
throat, her hands going through his long hair, finger combing the wavy strands while her fingernails lightly scratched his scalp. Her pulsing hump with him still inside and with her hardened nipples raking his chest, her passion re-sparked his system back to life. Along with the exploring intense kisses on his neck, she felt himself stiffen again to her vast pleasure.

Her tight pussy gave internal ground and kept him
all
inside while at full pulsing length. The fire in his body not only returned, but came back even hotter than before. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to do more than merely make love. With his arms tight around her and his hand cradling the back of her sweet neck, he rolled her over and put her back onto the firm mattress and then his hips proceeded to power drill between her shapely thighs like never before.

From her shoulder to jaw his mouth power kissed and nipped and lightly bit and licked, her head was completely arched back and her chin rested on top of his muscular shoulder while her calves bounced off his muscle-bunched ass. Her mouth went to his ear, licked and sucked and then opened to let him hear her hidden gasps that became accidental soft squeaks from time to time.

She did far more than lay there and take it. Her own body rolled back and forth with his own, the gorgeous flare of her hips shoving up into his downward slides, her abs contracting and muscle stroking his throbbing velvet covered steel rod as he pulled back for another hot as hell push deep into her. She was aggressive as she was loving, her nails biting his back while her inner thighs squeezed his hips without letting up.

He felt his buildup almost at the same time he could feel her breathing come in shorter and shorter gasps, growing urgent in their strength and depth. Her ankles crossed and locked behind the small of his back as her pussy took his entire human lance as prisoner, the back of her shapely legs squeezing his lap in a pulsing grind to milk him for every ounce he had to give.

Her panting was so close together it sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. His own body was rock solid and wanting to give her everything she demanded of him, and then before he knew it, she was convulsing in a powerful full body orgasm. This was a moment every man wished for his loving woman, and his body responded in kind. He felt as if he was ejecting an entire gallon of pulsing heat into the center of her being, a sense of completion with the lightning strikes of his own orgasm almost sending them both off the bed. Nature's best natural high danced with his emotions as the wonderful woman under him was winding down to mere shudders and jerks.

They laid there for a long time just holding each other. He felt her breathing even out eventually, then she very carefully rolled him onto his back, gave him a long and tender kiss. Her lips lingered on his mouth, savoring every heartbeat. Then she stood up, found her long sleep-shirt and slipped it back on. He had lost track of time, but thankfully she hadn't. His body glowing with an inner peace he hadn't known for a long time, his heart painfully twitched to see her slender form quickly and silently approach the area of the dark door to sneak back out. She paused, listening for the guard's footsteps until she was convinced that he wasn't in the area that very moment.

"I'm going to envy your wife for the rest of my life," she announced with the wrong musical accent, suffused with a mixture of deep satisfaction and spent passion.