The Chalice (33 page)

His eyes fixated on the flawless beauty of her nourishment glands. The coral

tips uplifted— begging for his touch.

He swallowed, m esm erized by their magnificence. His hand rose. “May I touch

your…?”

“Breasts,” she interjected. “They’re called breasts.”

She reached for his hands and clasped them  around the firm  m ounds, a slightsm ile wreathed her lips. He exhaled a slow expulsion of air, thum bs reacting oftheir own accord, circling the velvety crowns.

Her eyes closed, her head fell back, the slim  colum n of her graceful neck freely

exposed to his baser appetites. “That’s it, big guy,” she m urm ured, the low voice

husky. “Just like that.”

“Chiagan-Se females do not have breasts unless they’re breeding,” he croaked,

continuing the spellbinding circular motion. “But I find yours m ost im pressive.”

The passion-glazed eyes opened. “All hum an women have breasts and the

males think the bigger the better. Mine are only medium -sized.”

“They are perfection,” his voice cam e out in a guttural pant. “I would not wish

them  any other way.”

Her lips parted in an impish grin, the white teeth shining like Narodian pearls.

“Perfect answer. Perfection is always the correct answer.”

To his mind, she was flawless. Sleek and delicate but with a strength ofpurpose lurking beneath the exquisite exterior. So very fem inine but so full ofvibrant spirit.

“Know that if I claim  you, I won’t relinquish my right to keep you.”

“That goes both ways I hope,” she breathed, the mystery of her smile both

provocative and beguiling. “If I claim  you, you belong to me.”

She applied pressure to his hands, encouraging them  to slide down her slim

form . “Touch me,” she whispered, begging. “Everywhere.”

It was time to take the lead. Acting the callow youth set his teeth on edge! Hewas a Warrior, perhaps untried in the ways of mating, but his training had beenaccom plished by the most excellent mentors. It was time to put that training to

use.

He licked the vee at the base of her throat, noting the flutter of the heightenedpulse beneath his lips. He tasted first one breast and then the other, laving thebudding nubs and then suckling until the crests grew hard.

She moaned, sliding around to straddle his thighs, slim  hands working at thecloth draped around his waist. “I want you naked,” she muttered, almost purringas she wiggled against his throbbing shaft. “Naked and ready.”

Ready? How could he be otherwise? He was not a half-male.

“I am,” he laughed, rotating his hips against her moist heat. “More than

ready.”

He traced the tantalizing curves of his Chalice, mem orizing every line and

feature. Beautiful and exciting. Akin to the Chiagan-Se but distinctly hum an.

Did human fem ales experience pleasure by means other than what he’d been

taught? Were they aroused by the same methods as a Chiagan-Se female?

“Do you have a favorite position or do you prefer parts of your body to receive

more erotic consideration?”

His shoulder m uffled her giggle. “Not shy about asking, are you?”

He shrugged, finding her comment surprising. “Do not humans ask or are theyso self-gratifying that they do not seek to learn the preferences of their partner?”

Her head tilted back, the waves of glossy hair brushing his thighs. Sheregarded him  with frank interest. “A lot of human males don’t bother learningabout their partner’s…” she looked confused as she searched for the word, “erogenous zones.”

“I don’t know this word erogenous.”

“Of course you don’t,” she agreed, running her hands over his chest, tickling

the flat, dark orbs on his pectorals. “Erogenous means nice feeling areas.”

His thum b stroked under the m aterial covering her fem aleness. “Like this

area?”

The wide eyes blinked as she gasped. “Exactly like that!”

Mem ories flooded him . Younger, carefree days. He and Mordaq stealing fromthe stuffy confines of the classroom  and slipping into the harem  cham bers. Theconcubines laughing as they described the various ways to heighten sensuality,using their own bodies for inspiration and instruction. Unashamed and candid,they recounted stories that caused his blood to boil and his naive m ind to ceasefunctioning. All done with roguish delight for his inexperienced imaginings.

A flash of pain. A moment of anguish for his lost companions. Cherished friends

and loving confidants forever vanquished in the past.

“You’re not as innocent as I’d thought,” she moaned as his fingers continued their unhurried exploration. Moisture wet his hand. Her uninhibited response stimulated his own mounting needs— blood pounded his groin. He delved deeper, stroking and caressing, the heat of his loins throbbing, aching for release.

She jerked, sighing against his lips. “That’s…so nice,” she whispered.

He groaned aloud, surging up as she palmed his pulsing shaft, fingers rubbing

a slow circle around the broad head.

“You like?”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He cupped her face between hishands, tracing the delicate curve of her parted lips with his tongue, slipping insideto plunder the silken depths. She tasted of spice, berry sweet—female. Fiery and

mysterious.

She fell back on the reclining lounge, pulling him  down. Bracing him self on hisforearms, he ravaged her m outh, prolonging the kiss with all the deep-seatedhunger he’d locked away within his scarred and wounded soul.

He pressed full against her, vexed to realize she still wore the garb of thefemales. W ith a single tug, he ripped the offending loincloth free, im prisoning herbare form  within his heated gaze. Perfection! No, not perfection. Perfection wastoo com monplace a word to describe the vision beneath him . Though small, herlegs were long and graceful, m ade to wind around a male’s hips. His hips! His eyestraveled higher, jaws aching to savor the banquet offered at the apex of herthighs. A delicacy not to be overlooked, the ghostly voices of instructionwhispered. He sam pled a quick taste, grinning as she cried out, hands fisting inhis hair.

He nuzzled the satin texture of her stomach, licking the small indentationbefore his lips m oved upwards, stopping to admire the span of her slim  waist andribcage,   giving   careful   attention   to   the   breasts   as   she   called   them .   Asrecom mended in the concubines’ tutoring, he gave m eticulous consideration tothe passion-enhancing areas at the base of her throat, neck, jaw line andtem ples. The soft flesh of her inner elbows also warranted passing notice.

She wiggled. Soft hands touched and caressed, circling his hard shaft and

stroking. Rapturous elation boiled his blood to the point of eruption.

“You really are a big guy, aren’t you,” she laughed, sounding pleased. “Are all

Chiagan-Se males so…large?”

He ground his hips against her, teasing and tormenting. “If you m ean our maleparts, I wouldn’t know,” he growled, nipping at a dainty earlobe. “I don’t make it apractice to look.”

A random  thought gave him  pause. He knew so little of the human femalepsyche. Lifting up, he stared into her heavy-lidded eyes. “Do you look at otherfemales as sexual partners?”

She frowned. Fingers twined in his hair, strands snapping as she tugged him

back down. “No, silly. I’m  hetero.”

“Hetero?” He form ed the strange word, rolling it around in his mouth.

“Hetero,” she repeated. “It m eans I like males.”

Jealousy and possessiveness clawed at his innards, causing his chest to tighten

and his eyes to narrow. “All males?”

She m oaned, a delicious outflow of desire. “Only one,” she whim pered, rolling

her hips invitingly. “You.”

Slender thighs lifted, sleek tendons delineated. She grasped his rigid maleness,positioning it at the entrance to her sheath. “You talk too m uch,” she hissed,arching up.

He required no further encouragement. This m oment was the pinnacle of his

private aspirations—the culm ination of all his hopes and dreams.

He pressed against the moist folds, slow and easy, allowing the tight casing tostretch and accept his thick expanse. Tremors rippled along the taut walls, roilingquivers of blissful acceptance. Sensations and feelings detonated. Multi-coloredhalos bloomed beneath his closed eyelids, heart rate pounded to the beat of athousand drum s, breath spewed from  his lips in strangled pants. What thoughtshe still possessed flew in the face of overpowering need.

“Ohm igawd!” she scream ed, bucking wildly. “I need…I want. Omigawd!” she scream ed again, head thrashing. The walls of her sheath tightened, squeezing and undulating.

He bit his lip until he tasted blood, fighting to hold back. Tension swelled,

transpiring to the unbearable. He was so close.

“Aaaaaaaa!” she cried out. “I’m…burning up.”

Satin muscles clenched around his pulsing shaft, creamy heat flooded thesilken channel, the hot wetness an unspoken testament to her unleashedpassions. She was there! He could feel her orgasm !

He thrust against her, growing frenzied as he drove in to the hilt, hard, deepand demanding. Sweat slicked his skin. A crimson haze blurred his vision. Heatedfriction emitted surging electrical currents snapping through his system . Spiralingup, every atom  expanded as he soared higher and higher, hurtling over the edgeam idst mind-blowing sensation.

He roared his release, jetting seed in thunderous shockwaves.

Sobbing for breath, his heart rate slowed as the waves of red m ist ebbed anddissolved, throbbing in the aftermath of staggering passion. A feeling of peace andcontentment pervaded his essence. He was renewed—com pleted!

He brushed dam p hair from  Kara’s relaxed face. She lay as if in a faint,breathing in soft huffs. Perspiration pooled between her breasts. His mouthwatered. He sampled first one pink crest and then the other, drawing the tips intohis mouth and suckling. She tasted of salt and sex, the musky female scent of herskin both tantalizing and compelling.

Eyes closed, she grum bled. “I died. Can’t you tell?”

“You have too much to live for,” he m uttered low. “And I’ve only just begun.”

He ran his hand ran lightly down her torso, finding the soft folds and rolling

the hardening nub of her sex between his fingers.

She stretched, a slow smile widening her kiss-stung lips. “I give up,” she

murmured with a yawn. “Do with m e what you will.”

His m outh replaced the fingers.

Chapter Twenty

Tegan studied the start chart. “How far off course m ust we go?”

Long braids covered his face as Vaux leaned over, marking their position with ashining line of sten-lathe. “Three rest periods or slightly more. Depends if we runinto any difficulties along the way.”

Tegan strolled to the viewing port, mentally calculating the m easure of

success. “And you’re sure this is the last outpost before we reach the void.”

“The last outpost not under Deg’Nara rule,” Vaux corrected. “We’ve m onitored the chatter for several sleep rotations and Kormak’s logs corroborate our findings.”

The senior tech’s normally stern visage grew even more austere. His handsrested on his hips. “We need supplies. Food and water are running low and wecould use another coil for the energy core. Kelos assures m e they’re experiencingthe same problems.”

He chewed his lip, lost in thought. Evading the Deg’Nara’s defense systemsmeant steering clear of the habited planets. Historically, the outpost Protiaexisted for the sole purpose of trade and com merce. In earlier times, it providedan unrestricted dom icile for a wide range of visitors. Pirates, mercenaries, thievesand even murderers found asylum  within its uncivilized borders. The dregs of theuniverse collected there to do business—good or bad. But it was also the last

means to secure what they needed before venturing into the unknown and