The Queen's Consorts (14 page)

To others it was likely just a performance. Sari saw it for the statement it was. Taryen was the only one Calder really served. His lifemate was whom he lived for, and he enjoyed demonstrating it for his tormentors.

Calder’s shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths; his massive back made up of hard, cut muscles glimmered with the mixture of oil and sweat under the candlelight. He licked the line of Taryen’s cock once more through the leather, before he looked up and said loud enough for them to hear, “Please.”

Taryen’s breathing was uneven as he looked down at Calder, the candlelight dancing in his dark eyes before he nodded silently as if afraid to speak and show a weakness that damaged his role in this performance.

When Calder pulled at the laces to the leather pants, Taryen’s eyes closed, his chest heaving as Calder slowly revealed his cock to a very eager audience. It sounded as if the entire room leaned forward when Calder pulled that long, hard cock out of the leather pants, stroking it once,
his
side profile showing a genuine adoration for the thick piece of flesh in his hand.

Taryen’s fingers tightened in Calder’s hair, making it obvious what he expected, and Calder didn’t disappoint. He took Taryen’s cock in his mouth, opening wide to the unforgiving thrust of hips and deep throating it in a way that would have caused a service slave at the Order to be favored above all others.

Calder fell on his haunches as Taryen continued to fuck his mouth. He let his palms fall from Taryen’s thighs. Then he wrapped his hand around the wrist of the other behind his back, leaving himself completely defenseless to the thrust of a cock in his mouth. He couldn’t push away; all he could do was receive what his master wanted him to.

It was a typical service move, one Sari had done herself many times, and it had always seemed like a cold, impersonal form of sexual submission until she saw Calder do it for Taryen. His surrender was beautiful and wholly erotic in a way that had Sari literally soaked with desire. She shifted again, the ache between her legs becoming painful while Taryen continued to fuck Calder’s mouth, using his hold on his hair to guide the slide of his cock past full lips opened wide, likely to the point of pain, because Taryen really was thick. His chest heaved as Calder’s had, becoming shiny with the same mixture of oil and sweat. His eyes were closed against the crowd, and it was obvious he was enjoying dominating Calder in a way Sari would have never anticipated.

When he finally pulled free, fisting his own cock when it slipped out of Calder’s mouth, Sari expected him to jerk off until he came on Calder’s face, which would have been more than typical for a performance like this, but instead Taryen said, “Hands and knees.”

The entire room gasped once more, making it obvious this was not a typical ending to their performances. There was a mass movement as everyone moved forward like one entity, all straining for a closer look. Calder turned around, falling to his hands and knees, facing the audience. He stretched out his long, muscular form, reminding Sari of an animal stalking prey instead of a slave about to be fucked in front of a crowd of spectators. His light eyes sparkled like icy fire in the candlelight as his gaze found Sari’s. She took a shuddering breath when he smiled at her, not even being shy about it, making it obvious they had amended their performance for her.

Sari thought she heard Laysa’s growl of anger, could feel the other woman’s eyes on her, but Sari could give a fuck. She met Calder’s spellbinding gaze dead on. Then she brought one finger to her mouth pointedly, sucking on it, tasting the sticky, fruit-laden wine. She didn’t know how, she didn’t know when, but she was going to suck Calder off if it killed her, preferably while Taryen was fucking him. Calder’s gaze became molten, his groan audible enough for them to hear at the table, making it obvious he’d gotten Sari’s hidden message.

Then his head fell forward, his breathing still sharp and irregular when Taryen fell to his knees behind him. Taryen’s eyes were also on Sari, watching her while she continued to suck on a fruit-flavored finger because she couldn’t seem to help herself. Then he looked back to Calder stretched out in front him, open and waiting for his ultimate domination.

Taryen ran a hand over his own chest, sweeping it down the full length of hard, oily muscles before he appeared to grip his cock behind Calder, stroking it.

“Is that all the oil he’s going to use?” one of the men at the other table gasped, and there seemed to be a general rumbling of shock when Taryen leaned into Calder without any further preparation.

They obviously didn’t know the behind the scenes workings for sexual performances like Sari did. Calder had likely oiled and prepared himself ahead of time because fumbling with oil for a stage performance was never sexy. Indeed, he didn’t appear to be tense or nervous as Taryen fisted his hair once more, tugging his head back, forcing him to be exposed to the audience while being owned and fucked.

Calder bit his lip, playing the perfect role of someone being used and violated. His face showed the unadulterated combination of pleasure and pain when Taryen started fucking him, moving slow as if to stretch out the torment, though the reality was he was likely giving him extra time to adjust. Sari knew the exact moment when the head of Taryen’s cock breached the tight ring of muscle and buried itself in Calder’s ass because he was more than vocal about it.

“Gods
be
blessed,” Calder rasped as his breathing became hard and uneven. “Damn it, Tary, push past the burn. Take me hard.
If you’re going to own me, act like it!”

They were speaking in the queen’s language again, so others didn’t hear the lapse in roles, where Calder demanded and Taryen gave what was requested by taking Calder hard. Sari knew he touched that magic spot inside Calder with his savage thrust, because Calder’s entire body shuddered as if he’d been hit with a bolter charge and he cried out, “Fuck!”

Then Taryen was fucking him hard and fast, owning him in front of this audience of people, forcing both Calder’s pleasure and pain to be on display as he continued to hold his head back. Sari loved the moment when the tension fell out of Calder and he just let himself be fucked, his body pliant and welcoming of the cock thrusting in and out of his ass. The pleasure overtook the pain as his handsome features became etched with ecstasy. Calder’s breathing was still harsh, and he licked his lips between pants of half-spoken phrases of love and adoration for his tormenter in the queen’s language.

To others, Calder likely looked wholly defeated, groaning out loud and rambling in a foreign language none but his master could understand. To Sari he was magnificent caught up in the pleasure his lifemate was giving him, letting his body and soul be owned by a man he loved above all others.

“Do you want to touch yourself?” Taryen asked in typical Aurorian, his voice loud for the audience. “Do you want me to let you free yourself?”

“Gods, yes,” Calder panted, his eyes squeezed shut tightly as if forcing himself to forget everything but Taryen. “Please.”

“No,” Taryen said, his
smile making him look
like a dark angel in the candlelight. “You’ll find your freedom from what I’m giving you and nothing more.”

Sari tilted her head, finding Taryen’s proper words odd when mixed with such a carnal display. There should be cussing and dirtiness, but it was strangely appealing too, as was Calder’s near sob of defeat. He shuddered in surrender, giving up on finding release by his own hand.

Taryen’s thrusts became erratic, his breathing harsh as the pleasure showed on his enigmatically beautiful face. He switched to the queen’s language and begged, “Free both of us, Cal, or I’ll fail you.”

“Let go of my hair. Let me see her,” Calder rasped, also using their secret language. “Do it and I’ll fall; I promise.”

Taryen did as told, releasing Calder’s hair, allowing his head to fall forward and grabbing his shoulder instead, using it as leverage as he continued to pound into him. After a few hard strokes Calder lifted his head, his light eyes heavy-lidded as his gaze found Sari’s. She stared back at him, willing every emotion their performance wrought out of her to show on her face.

It felt as if the very air around them crackled with the strange connection the three of them shared. Sari only broke her gaze with Calder long enough to glance up at Taryen, who was watching her also, squinting through the pleasure as he moved faster, refusing to give Calder any kind of reprieve.

Everything in Sari was suddenly focused on seeing Calder let go. She wanted it for all of them, and she was shocked when Calder’s entire body abruptly jerked with ecstasy, as if catching her thought across the room. His head hung low as he cried out his release. Calder continued to tremble, making it obvious the climax was still pulsing through him when Taryen tensed over him, his thrusts becoming erratic. Taryen bit his lip hard, clearly trying to hold on to his control and keep the bliss of his release silent.

The room was deathly still when the wave passed. Sari was afraid to breathe and break the spell as Calder’s arms buckled. He folded them against the black wood of the stage, burying his face against his forearms as he tried to get his breath back. Taryen stroked one hand over the line of his broad back, obviously petting him and soothing him in the aftermath. Both men were sweaty and breathless and in obvious need of recovery time.

Sari knew this was the point when the curtain was supposed to fall. The fantasy was complete. The aftermath was pointless and far less sensual. The untangling of sated bodies and the cleanup was best done away from prying eyes. Even pleasure slaves needed some time to recover and recoup. The Order of the Seven Swords wasn’t exactly known for their kindness to their slaves, but after a show like that the performers would have earned several hours of reprieve.

Yet there they stayed, connected and exposed, with Taryen softly petting Calder. Sari was confused until she found the strength to look away from the beautiful men on the stage, seeing Laysa holding her hand up to the attendants who would have lowered the curtain.

Laysa’s green gaze, eerily similar to Sari’s, was narrowed at the stage as she watched Calder fight to gain his composure. When he finally lifted his head, looking as confused as everyone else over why they were still on display, Laysa stood, drawing Calder’s attention to her.

“I think you enjoyed that a little too much,” she said loud enough for most of the room to hear. Her voice was a twisted combination of cruelty and lust, falsely light as she said simply, “We can’t have you forgetting your place. No rest this evening. Come to me after you’ve cleaned up.”

Calder’s eyes narrowed at Laysa for one long moment. “Of course,” he
said,
the sarcasm heavy in his voice. “Your pleasure is my pleasure, my lady. I
live
to serve.”

Taryen used his hold on Calder’s hair to pull him to his knees before Calder could say something that got him into even more trouble. They knelt on the stage
together,
Calder’s back flush against Taryen’s chest, when their lips met. The kiss was ravenous, as if Taryen was dying to taste and Calder was dying to share.

Gods be blessed, if these two ever ran away, they could make a fortune as free performance artists if they could somehow manage to keep themselves from getting shackled into sexual slavery. With that much raw sexuality, they could earn enough gold to humble even the Rayians.

They were still kissing when the curtain fell, and Sari felt robbed of the sight. She stared at the black material for several long moments, missing the beat of the drums when they stopped because they had blended with her own throbbing heartbeat. More so she missed the men behind the curtain, aching for them with every ounce of her being. She felt like she’d die if she didn’t find some sort of relief from the sexual spell they’d cast.

“Cocky bastard,” Laysa growled under her breath, falling to her chair heavily. “I can’t wait to take it out of him.”

The table was silent after her outburst, a strange shock over Laysa’s uncouth words mingling with the adrenaline crash of the performance ending and the lights coming on. It was an extremely uncomfortable moment, and Sari looked around the table, seeing others fighting the same battle of desire with civility. Everyone’s gaze seemed darker, more predatory. None of them wanted to be sitting at this table witnessing Laysa’s temper tantrum. They wanted to be fucking. Sex bled from the pores of every person at the head table.

Sari turned to sweet Kayla, whose back remained to the stage, but she was practically fucking Macro and Haven with dark, seductive looks across the table. The two soldiers had obviously forgotten how to be subtle because they were blatantly eyeing Kayla, desire swirling in both their darkened gazes. Sari wouldn’t be surprised if they leaped up and dragged the pretty redhead into a corner to ravish her. If the three of them hadn’t watched the performance, there had to be something more to the sexual spell than just Calder and Taryen.

Sari looked down to her bowl of fruit, feeling the burn of desire still staining her cheeks. Then she turned around in her chair, studying the other tables. There was a quiet murmur as the other Rayians got up from their seats, bidding good evening and making their way to the doors at the back of the room. There were a few flushed cheeks, but nothing like the rabid hunger for sex that was pulsing off everyone at the head table.

She suspected there might have been something more to that decadent fruit than just wine. Sari was tempted to voice her suspicions out loud, but she didn’t trust herself to speak. Her body was throbbing, leaving her literally mindless for release. Frustration welled up in her, making her furious at Laysa for spiking her food when she knew Sari had no companions to slake her lust on. More so, Sari was mad at herself for breaking her own rules and eating the suspicious dessert.

Sari was still sitting there fuming at herself when Kayla’s mother suddenly lunged at her companion Caer, kissing him full on the lips in front of everyone at the table, including her daughter.