Garden of Serenity (11 page)

“What do the cameras see?”

“I’ve never done this before, but I suspect they see our bodies in motion. Connected like this, we can hear each other’s thoughts. Feel free to speak your mind, Jahara.”

“Brenimyn, I think I owe you an apology. This whole thing is so confusing and obviously I did something that offended you.”

“No, Jahara. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. It’s just that …” He paused, searching her face. “There’s so much more here than you realize. I’ve been looking for you for so long and now you’re here with me in the flesh. I should have been more patient. You’ve only just arrived. I shouldn’t have expected you to know me. I’m sorry.” His hands cupped her cheeks, his thumbs tracing her cheekbones. “Suffice it to say, we have a future together.”

“Our future will be no longer than it takes for me to birth two children. There can be nothing between us but the physical, Brenimyn. I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed if you want more.”

“Please, just open your mind and let go of all you’ve come to believe before you met me. I’m asking you to trust in me and what I’m saying. Just be with me. Let me have all of you, not just your body but your mind and spirit as well. Open your heart to the possibility of loving me. I know what I ask.”

Understanding finally crystallized. He wanted to be more than her breeding partner. He wanted to be her lover. It had never occurred to her that men might desire the same type of relationships as women.

“Brenimyn, I told you, my heart is already taken. I’ve promised myself to a woman named Merenith.” Jahara wasn’t sure if it’s what Merenith wanted, but she wanted nothing more than to find the one love who would complete her and fill the emptiness. If she believed hard enough, perhaps Merenith would be that person. “All I know is that physically being with you is pleasurable. It also fulfills my obligation to procreate. Right here, right now, there’s nothing more I can give you but my body.”

“Then for now that will have to be enough.”

He leaned forward, his hands fisting in her hair, his mouth possessing hers, making her want. Brenimyn laid her back on the pillows, trailing kisses about her face. She gasped, trying to replenish the air rapidly spilling from her lungs.

His tongue flicked along the shell of her ear and he whispered, “Jahara, I have never wanted to be with a woman the way I ache to be with you.”

Though he didn’t say it, she knew there were unspoken words of love hanging in the air between them. She hadn’t promised him her heart, so she felt no regret when she pulled his shirt from his trousers. Her body craved the joining, demanded her to move faster. Buttons gave way as she ripped open the fabric, allowing her access to his satiny skin. She nipped at his shoulder and kissed along his neck. He tasted of salt and musk and it filled her mouth and heated her blood. His name tumbled out of her mouth on breathy whispers.

“Slow, Jahara. We have all the time in the world.” Brenimyn held her trembling hand over his heart. “Feel what I have for you.” He captured her mouth with his. With incredible tenderness, his silky tongue tasted her mouth. His fingers slowly undid the buttons at the front of her dress.

“You are so beautiful.” Brenimyn ran his broad hand down the length of her body, parting the garment until she lay totally exposed beside him. “Your skin is like satin, your hair like silken threads.” She trembled when his fingers traced a lazy circle around her navel, shooting jolts of current to her fingers and toes.

Dipping his head, he brought his lips to her breast. The shadowed stubble of his beard rasped pleasantly across her skin, adding another dimension to the sensations rippling through her. She arched her back, gasping at the unexpected sensation the heat of his mouth created. His palm dragged from her belly to the other breast, trailing goose flesh in its wake.

He kissed his way down her torso, stopping only long enough to remove his shirt. She buried her fingers in his hair, her body quivering with each nip of his teeth on her sensitive belly. The breeze brushed over her damp skin, cooling her heated flesh. Squirming with pleasure, she tried to slow her own breathing. But the more he licked and kneaded, the harder she panted, until she heard nothing but the pounding of her heart and her own moans of blissful contentment.

Brenimyn stared at her body for a long time. His appreciative gaze on her was as intoxicating as his touch.

“Jahara, never have I seen such a body. Your beauty takes my breath away. You’re so much more than I could have dreamed.” He maneuvered himself between her legs and ran both hands slowly up her thighs and belly, sending unexpected shockwaves of pleasure straight down her core. She closed her eyes, reveling in the heat of his hands on her skin.

He nipped and teased, seducing her until her body was thrumming with need. He brought her to the peak and drove her until spent and weak, she begged him to stop—not sure she really wanted it to end.

She ran limp fingers down his torso, enjoying the way it made him gasp. Brenimyn captured her hand in his, kissing her palm before holding it tenderly against his face. Jahara didn’t remember ever feeling so at ease with her own nakedness and the thrills she’d just experienced from his skilled caresses.

They lay like that until the sound of blood rushing in her ears gave way to the chirping of the birds singing in the trees nearby. Inhaling the sweet smell of the hay grass, she filled her lungs with contentment. Her heart finally slowed, no longer working to jump out of her chest. Jahara could have stayed like that forever.

She stirred only when Brenimyn stood to remove his pants. She rolled on her side, slipping her arms out of the dress. He was truly a handsome man, his muscles sculpting a physique she had seen only on the statues at art museums. Her gaze traveled the width of his broad shoulders, over the satin skin of his chest, following the deep grooves of his chiseled abdomen to his sex, heavy with desire.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her legs around his hips, loving the solid feel of him against her body.

Breathless, Jahara spoke into his neck. “Brenimyn, I want you deep inside me, now.”

“Look at me, Jahara, don’t close your eyes. Feel my body join with yours.”

He lifted her, lowering her slowly until he was fully sheathed in her body. Once again she was aware only of him and the incredible pleasure of their mating. Nothing had ever made her feel so complete. Through heavy lids, Jahara watched the curve of his mouth bring out his dimples. She would never forget this moment or the man to whom she had willingly given herself.

“Jahara.” Arching his hips, Brenimyn buried himself to the hilt. “It feels incredible being with you this way.” The dreamy look in his eyes told her this time together meant more to him than the physical release it would bring. She was unwilling to acknowledge that perhaps it meant something more to her as well.

Giving in to the bliss, she leaned back and rubbed herself against the heat of his stomach. His hands and mouth roamed her body, adding another dimension of sensation to their joining. Slowly she rolled her hips, feeling him fill her completely. Jahara had never known such satisfaction with a woman. Another pang of remorse speared through her. What was happening between her and Brenimyn had been preordained by law. Jahara needed to let go of her guilt.

Brenimyn stopped moving. “Jahara, are you all right?” He ran a hand over her face, no doubt trying to smooth the lines pinching her features. “Does it hurt? We can try another position.”

It occurred to her then, how quickly he’d come to understand and know her. But she couldn’t admit that she was ashamed for finding more satisfaction in copulating with a man than being with a woman. “No, this is nice. You’re truly skilled.” Her voice was a sultry whisper of breath. She brought her mouth down on his, swallowing her uncertainty.

He pulled back, running his knuckles down her cheek. “Jahara, this is right. It’s the way it’s meant to be. A man and woman joined intimately. Just sit here in my arms, with my body deep within you and feel me.” Embracing her, Brenimyn’s arms covered her back and she relaxed against him. Nothing that felt this amazing could be wrong.

She laid her head on his shoulder, kissing the curve of his neck, tasting the heat of his efforts to please her. She savored the feeling of him, hard and rigid, filling her body in this exquisite way. Her heart tripped over itself as it beat with his in synchronized harmony with the world around them. Even the breeze breathed in rhythm with them.

Reaching behind her, he unfastened the binding at the base of her braid. Unhurried, he unraveled the twist of hair, running his fingers through the strands, working his way up her back. The wisps danced on a puff of air and tickled her back, making her quiver with the sensation. Focusing on the strength of his hands, the warmth of his breath on her shoulder, the wet heat of his kisses on her skin and the places his body touched so deep inside her, she gave herself completely to him.

“I love being with you like this, Brenimyn.” Perhaps there was more than the physical connection happening here. Copulating was different from loving a woman. In this place, at this time, it was right to experience a sense of love for Brenimyn.

Brenimyn’s fingers continued to work in her hair. When at last he had it completely unbound, he pulled the tendrils around to her chest. Trailing his fingers from scalp to breast, he combed out the last of the tangles.

“Your hair is striking. I’ve never known hair the color of onyx could feel like glossy strands of silk on my skin. You shouldn’t bind something so beautiful. It should be free to float on the breeze or caress your lover.” Burying his face in the hair at her neck, he inhaled deeply.

Embarrassment heated her face. “Thank you.”

He leaned back, capturing her eyes in the heat of his. “You really don’t understand how truly remarkable you are, do you, Jahara Khateri?”

“I’m just a simple woman. I’ve been gifted with healing like so many others, but there’s nothing extraordinary about me.”

“No, you’re so much more. There’s so much more you’re meant to become. But don’t fret. I’ll be with you, loving you every step of our journey.”

Brenimyn had finally admitted their joining was more than a physical pleasure for him. She’d sensed the undercurrent of deep emotion, but saying it aloud made her a little uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, my sweet Jahara. It will all be revealed. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. For now, let me just show you how much you mean to me.” He arched back and forward again, thrusting deep inside her.

She bent her legs under her, coming up high on her knees. The motions of copulation seemed natural and fluid. Her body knew what she needed before it tripped into her consciousness.

“Brenimyn, I’ve never felt so complete.”

“Nor I, Jahara.”

Clouds of desire stormed in his eyes, fueling her own need. He grabbed her hips, thrusting harder, pushing himself impossibly deeper. She gave control of her body over to him, riding the waves of bliss crashing over her. Love and lust rolled into one as she lost herself in power of their mating, nearly drowning in the intensity of the pleasure multiplying with each thrust.

“Jahara, open your eyes and look at me.” Brenimyn gasped out the words. “Feel what we are together and see in my eyes how much you mean to me.”

She forced herself to obey him. Their gazes locked. The pale blue of his irises had been nearly swallowed by his pupils. A smile trembled over his lips. The muscles of his shoulders grew taut under her hands as he worked to hold his own release. Seeing the pleasure on his face, knowing her body had brought him to this point, pushed her over the edge. Jahara bucked against Brenimyn, shocks of ecstasy blazing along her nerves. She screamed with the sheer joy of her release, her nails digging into his skin.

Her name ripped from his throat as he followed her into the sweet ecstasy that rocked through them both, shattering her into tiny fragments of bliss. As their tempo slowed, he dragged his hands up her back, gathering the fractured pieces and holding them tight. They gasped little quivering breaths as the last of the euphoria shimmied through them.

When he fell back on the bed, Brenimyn took her with him, careful to keep them joined. She stretched her legs the length of his body, enjoying the heat of his skin on every inch of her. Laying her face on his chest, she inhaled deeply, enjoying his unique scent mixed with the essence of their mating. She held it in her lungs, not wanting the emptiness to replace the intoxicating bliss. Jahara waited, but once again, it never came.

“I love you, Jahara.” Brenimyn whispered the words so quietly, she was sure she wasn’t meant to hear them. Overtaken by exhaustion, she closed her heavy lids, shutting out the world just as the sun set in the meadow.

She wasn’t sure how long she slept. When she opened her eyes again, night had descended upon them. The moon sparkled in ways she’d never seen, casting their shadows in a wild dance around her. Confused, Jahara lifted her head and realized they were back in her bedroom. The glow came not from the moon but the flickering of candle flames. She wasn’t sure how much of their mating had been real and how much had simply been a figment of her imagination.

She wondered if their mating had been nothing but a figment of her imagination and was immediately filled with disappointment at the thought. But the pleasant ache of her body and the red marks Brenimyn’s stubble had left on her breasts confirmed that everything she’d felt in their dream world had actually come to fruition. She started to roll away from him.

“Where’re you going?” His arm came around to stop her.

“I just want to clean up. Sleep.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Pushing the sheets aside, he pulled her back on top of him.
I was
just resting long enough to repeat that performance. You think you can satisfy my desire for you in one go-round? There’s so much lost time to make up for.
His dimples flicked around the amused curve of his mouth, but his lips never moved.

Stacking her fists on his chest, she set her chin on them, enjoying their banter. “And what makes you think I would be interested, breeder? Hmmm?”