Tangles and Temptation (22 page)

She watched his face, bottom lip clamped beneath the flash of white teeth, as his hands parted her wet folds. Moisture rushed forth to greet his probing fingers, inviting him in. He leaned down and captured her lips with his own just as two fingers stabbed her beneath. Her cry vibrated against his tongue and coursed down his throat and through his body. His erection jerked eagerly against her middle at each measured plunge of his fingers. His tongue plunged deep, lapping hungrily, greedily. His teeth nipped hard at her bottom lip, sharp and savage, as his tongue soothed and caressed.

Kyra thrust his fingers into his dark, glossy hair. Her hands groped and explored the hard ridges of his tight, muscled back and shoulders. She clung to him, strained against him. Her hips pumped in tune with the rhythm he set with his fingers. She swayed dizzily against him, with him, in a dance as old as time.

Finally he wrenched her hard, lifting her off the ground. He laid her down upon the bedding on the floor, prepared with soft petals and smooth pelted rugs.

Kyra widened her legs and cradled him snugly. Eris grunted as he pushed against her. She felt her heat and moisture seep through the material encasing his throbbing shaft. His growl rumbled through her as he feasted on her soft, sensitive ear lobe. “I would pierce a hole right through my clothes, so great is my need to get into your welcoming, wet pussy.”

Kyra replied, husky and breathless, “And deny me the pleasure of watching you disrobe?”

Eris pushed away and sat upright. “Feast your eyes quickly as the show shall be greatly hurried.” He stripped away the obstructive fabrics harshly, rending the material in his haste.

Kyra watched with undisguised admiration and blatant appreciation the expanse of his chest being revealed. He was broad and hard, tightly packed with clenching, straining muscles. His belly rippled as he unwound the fabric surrounding his manhood. His arousal was plainly visible. A high, fierce tent thrust out between his legs. Kyra moaned in satisfaction as it was finally revealed for her viewing. She cupped her hand urgently over her pulsing pussy as she eyed his erection lustily. Veins protruded along his thick length. His cock jerked proudly, batting its reddened tip against his navel.

Eris raised a single eyebrow. “The woman of a harem must also voice her acceptance of her suitor’s lance.”

Kyra narrowed her eyes and licked her lips greedily. “The length and width moistens my pussy with its appearance. However, I can only evaluate after testing the stamina and vigor of your cock.”

Eris kneeled between her spread legs and grunted. “Then I shall accept your cries and screams as your assessment, for you shall have voice for nothing else.” He plunged into her without warning, sheathing rock-hard cock right to the hilt. Kyra’s keening scream urged him to move. He leaned down and whispered brashly, “That is a fine first scream. What other sweet cries shall you delight my ears and body with?”

Kyra hissed in frustration as he refused to budge, “Continue to remain motionless and you shall never find out.”

Eris held his weight above her on outstretched arms and looked down at the point where their bodies met. He drew out slowly and plunged hard. Kyra’s cry rang out. His erection throbbed as he exited, and her muscles squeezed and sucked in response. Eris gritted his teeth and withdrew again. This time she met his thrust with a violent one of her own. Their bodies slapped urgently together.

Kyra lifted her hips desperately, urging him to move faster. Eris’s body was clenched tight with restraint. “
Epivr`adynsi
, slow down, Kyra.”

She could not hold back. Her hips lifted higher and higher, forcing him to move. Eris grabbed her hips frantically. “Kyra, please cease.”

But Kyra was beyond the point of return. She slid her sheath desperately over his stiff length. The walls of her passage slid wetly but gripped hungrily. Her nails dug mercilessly into his sides as she stretched and writhed beneath him.

Eris grabbed at her fast-moving hips harshly. His voice left him in a savage roar. “I can hold back no longer.” His hips thrust forward.

Kyra groaned as he rammed into her. She arched her back and strained against him, lustily welcome all of him in. His thrusts became erratic, slamming into her violently, impaling her, devouring her. Kyra gasped in pleasure as moisture gushed forth. He pounded hard and fast, each stroke meshing and grinding. He strained and pumped into her, mindless and brutal, pushing her toward the release she craved. Kyra arched back and froze. Her body twisted and shuddered as vibrations from deep within her pulsed and throbbed. Her body opened and accepted. She surrendered.

At the last second Kyra opened her eyes. Eris shouted as his snake raised its head high on his chest. The head drew back as the first spurts of liquid shot, erupting hot and violent from his tip. He pumped hard, smacking against her softness, turbulent and greedy. His body jerked rhythmically, shooting hot juices deep within her.

She lurched in fear mingled with unexplained arousal. His beast had been reared. It sought release. The pupils of his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Fangs pierced painfully against his bottom lip, seeking an exit, seeking freedom to ravage. She stared, helpless, powerless, as the beast was unleashed. It took control. Eris’s roar echoed on and on, savage and raw. He lowered his head. His eyes pleaded for her understanding, her mercy. His fangs sank in.

Kyra lost all coherent thought. As blissful unconsciousness tugged at the shattered fragment of her ravaged mind, she recalled only one thing. The terror of his beast greatly outweighed her excitement. She dreaded the serpent’s strike. She feared it.

* * * *

The land lay dark, shrouded with shadows and heavy shades. He spotted her easily. His sight was keen. He approached her silently. Not a sliver of sound betrayed his presence beneath the crashing of the crops in the wind, but her head came up immediately. Kyra peered into the surrounding darkness. She stumbled to her feet. Her voice was strong. “Who is there? Show yourself.” Yet the slight tremble of her bottom lip showed her fear. The delicate shudder that coursed through her body betrayed her terror. He saw it clearly. He was close enough to see her features clearly, to inhale the fear upon her skin, to hear the pounding of her heart. He watched her silently.

Kyra stumbled back. She sensed his presence. Her eyes narrowed and peered carefully. Her movements, though slight and slow, sent vibrations of awareness through his body. He lay low, relishing the gentle vibrations upon the ground. Her feet stepped lightly, unerringly toward him. He could hear her breathing, short and harsh. He heard her gulp, dry and hard. He felt the tightness as she clenched her fists against their quivering. He felt her tremors nonetheless. Her hair shone like a golden halo, bright and shiny against the black backdrop of the pitch-dark night. Her eyes sparkled like precious jewels, wide with alertness, darting back and forth in fear. Her skin was ashen, tainted with a sickly gray pallor. He heard the strumming of her heart clearly. It raced much too fast. The blood circulated much too swiftly to add much-needed color and life to her flesh. He saw, sensed everything. Everything betrayed her.

He waited until she was almost upon him. He rose from the cold, damp earth, slow and silent. His body stretched gloriously. Bright green shimmered on his surface, striking yellow softened his underbelly. His head rose up high, far higher than her tiny height. His eyes, though narrow slits, missed nothing. His tongue flicked out, testing the air with quick, darting strokes. The mouth yawned open, exposing the mighty fangs. He could taste her in the air, sweet and fresh. Her taste melted upon his tongue, infusing deliciously, greedily into every fiber of his being. He knew her well, her smell, and her taste. She was his.

Kyra reached out her hand in blinding darkness. She took each step as though she feared falling off the very edge of the world into an endless abyss from which she would never escape. Each foot began to drag cautiously along the ground, seeking solidness before stepping. Her hands stayed protectively before her, shielding her face and body. She paused, sensing a presence directly before her. Her hands trembled as she reached out and touched him. She froze. He watched as her eyes widened.

He was large. He was fierce. He rose majestically, displaying his magnificent body, hard and slick, for her viewing pleasure. His fangs protruded in a wanton display of vulgar power and brute strength. He watched, silent, as her eyes traveled up his distinctive yellow belly, caressing each scaly fiber upon him with searching eyes. He preened as she looked straight up and into his face. She must see him in his full, splendid form. He stiffened as the color drained from her face, her eyes widened in acute horror, her mouth open in silent terror. He hissed. No admiration lurked in the depths of her eyes. Her violent trembling was not due to awe at his majesty.
She is afraid of me.
He lowered his gaze. His body was complete snake, scaly and cold but mighty and glorious. But that was not what Kyra saw. He lowered his mighty head in defeat. His body coiled in despair, shame. His mate feared him. She rejected.

He sensed a subtle but distinct shift behind him. His attention never strayed from the delicate beauty far below on the ground. The attack on him came fast. Huge, venomous fangs ripped across his thick body from behind, tearing away the protection of his scales and slashing deep into his flesh. Blood, cold but bright red, sprayed through the screaming wind. Cold-blooded he may be, but he bled red like any other. His heart ached like any other. His eyes never left hers as he fell to the side and crashed to the ground. He blinked just once, capturing the sight of her to keep with him for all eternity. He stared sightless, cursing his lack of protective eyelids against the massacre about to unfold. His eyes stared, helpless, as the enemy moved. Bright-red eyes flashed dangerously in the shadows, the only warning before it struck. Kyra’s scream echoed through his head. Her shrill cry mingled with his own fading voice. “
She fears me, and now she is lost forever.
”

Cold water splashed across his naked chest and face. Kyra’s screams continued to echo through his head. “
Help me.
He is not breathing.” A sharp slap heated the hard flesh across his cheek. Eris came up sputtering and roaring in rage. He seized a large hand as it made to move away from his stinging face. His eyes opened.

“Thyone. I shall kill you for this.”

Kyra grabbed at him quickly. “Eris let go of him. He only sought to help you at my bidding.” She scratched futilely as his hand clenched tighter around the man’s throat. His victim’s face reddened, and his eyes bulged. Kyra screamed again, “Eris, stop. You will kill him.” She forced herself between the men. She was unable to break the physical contact, but she stared into Eris’s eyes, breaking the eye contact. Her voice was soft, pleading. “Eris, please cease.” Eris pushed the man away. Thyone coughed and sputtered as he scrambled desperately out of arm’s reach.

Kyra laid a calming hand on his chest. His heart beat frantically beneath her fingertips.

* * * *

She sighed in relief. Earlier she had awoken to a strangled, muffled sound beside her. She had studied Eris’s face in the dim morning light and found him still. Believing nothing was amiss, she had snuggled closer to him. That was when she had noticed the true stillness. There had been no heartbeat beneath her cheek. Kyra had sprung up. The next distressing thing she had noticed was his snake. The marking was still, stretched in abandon across his chest. That in itself had not been disturbing. In fact, she would have disregarded it completely had it not being lying belly-up. As she had leaned closer, she had seen the head was angled to the side, the jaw gaped open, and the forked tongue lagged out, lax, lifeless. She had raced out of the tent, unconcerned of her unclad body, screaming for aid and rushing for a pail of water.

She sighed heavily once again. The panic she had felt was total, complete. She had no idea how she would have faced another day had something happened to Eris. She waved Thyone away as she curled up against him. Her body shivered as she latched desperately onto him. Her voice left her in a broken whisper. “I thought you dead. I awoke, and you had ceased to breathe.”

Eris gathered her closely. His hand soothed her rumpled hair. He inhaled deeply before replying, “It was naught but a bad dream.” He continued to comfort her. He stroked her back slowly and soothingly as her trembles abated. He whispered reassurances against her hair until her breathing became steady once again. He whispered in a low, brittle voice, “You are afraid of me.”

Kyra’s head came up with a jerk. Her head rocked urgently side to side. A denial was about to spill forth from her lips. Eris silenced her with a gentle finger. “You fear me. I can protect you from anything, Kyra, except myself.”

* * * *

Kyra sighed heavily. She peered at her companion in the cart but remained quiet. It was patently apparent Aurora was not accustomed to silence and lack of entertainment. She could not stop her mind from wandering back to Eris’s uncomfortable statement this morning. Having the words tumble from his lips in a pained tone was not her greatest concern. What bothered her was admitting he was absolutely right. She was terrified of his beast. She was not brave like the image of the woman carved on the wall of the holy temple. How could the serpent have possibly chosen her?

“I take it things did not go quite as predicted with regards to my tutorage?”

Kyra remained silent. Aurora eyed her in speculation. “Mayhap I should have offered a more personal sort of tutorage. You are welcome to witness the bonding between me and Thyone this night if it will help you.” Aurora smiled deviously and added, “Or mayhap I should come and aid in your mating with your Eris instead.”

Kyra’s reaction came fast and hot. “I need no tutorage from you.” From the way Aurora had already drawn away slightly, Kyra knew she had just fallen into a trap, her violent reaction had been predicted, and the provoking words had been intentional.