The Hard Way (Box Set) (7 page)

I loved the way he touched me, the way my body responded to his touch. I shuddered in memory of our times in the enchanted pool, the water flowing over our bodies, the heat of his skin.

My whimpering became moans as I pictured what he would say to me if he were here right now.

No, Luster would not say anything. He would take me in his arms and he would ravish the anguish right out of my body. ‘Life is for the living,’ he told me more than once, and as I thought of him, my body came alive.

I remembered his fevered caresses, the naughty things he would whisper to me, and I began to tingle.

I ran my hand over my breast and pressed it against the beating in my chest, then gasped that the simple caress would cause so much pleasure when my heart was rent into a thousand pieces.

If I closed my eyes, surrounded by his scent as I was, I could imagine that it was his hand caressing me. A low moan escaped my throat. Lust would love to see me like this. It would make his purple eyes glimmer and his body harden in an instant.

Soon, those touches weren’t enough. There was a fire in my blood and it had to be quenched. Even the simple gown I wore was irritating to my skin. I had to have it off! I had to know the feeling of the fur, the Luster-scented fur, caressing my bare skin.

The gown was gone in a flash and I settled back, pushing my shoulders into the soft warm fur, rolling my head back and forth, luxuriating in these new hedonistic tendencies. Hissing in pleasure, I rolled over, dragging the fur over my back and cocooning myself in the essence of Lust.

My hands went from rubbing my breast to the now awakened part of me that wept for release. Slowly, I spread my thighs, letting my fingers whisper down until I felt the soft hair of my pubic mound.

Should I do this? Could I do this?

Then as my body clenched in remembered delight, I decided that I could. Slowly, I let my fingers explore, brushing lightly over my clitoris, to the blood-engorged lips of my sex. I shuddered at the feeling.

Instantly I knew what to do to please myself, knew what touch my body needed. No one but Lust had ever played my body like this, and as I thought of him, I knew which caresses would give me the most pleasure, what would remind me of his possession.

Gently, I outlined the opening to my body, shuddering as fire followed in the wake of my caresses. My lungs fought to bring air to my body. The ragged sound of my breathing, inside the muted world of the fur cocoon, was another turn-on.

As I lay on my stomach, one hand locked between my legs, the other pulling at my nipples, I felt that something was missing.

Deciding that I needed more stimulation, I ran the pad of one finger around my hooded clit, pulling back its protective cover to touch the raw essence of me.

I nearly screamed at the sensation flooding through my body. I bit my lip and began to gently circle, stimulating myself, thoughts of what Lust’s mouth did to this sensitive part of my body egging me on.

I began to grind into the fur, seeking more stimulation; something was still missing!

I pulled my hand from my breast, stretched it out under Lust’s pillow, and it struck something hard and round. Pulling it out, I discovered that it was a sheathed dagger with a large, etched cylinder for a hilt. I smiled as I realized what it reminded me of.

With a large round smooth tip and a thick base, it looked like a cock!

Inspiration struck. I again closed my eyes and wondered if I should do this thing?

Then as my body gave one powerful lurch, the decision was made for me. Trembling in fear and longing, I lowered the hilt between my thighs. I rolled the smooth round tip against my clit, and whimpered at its icy coolness, contrasted with my blazing heat.

But soon it warmed up, took in the temperature of my body as my womanhood bathed it in my hot juices. Harder I pressed it against me, whimpering as the feelings that flew through me heightened in intensity.

Finally, with one whimpering sigh, I thrust the hilt home.

“Oh God!” I cried out as this replacement cock filled me.

It was not as thick or wide as Lust, but it struck a spot deep within that set my body trembling uncontrollably.

Again and again I ran it over this spot, heedless of the noise I was making or how my body bathed the hilt in its slick moisture. All I knew was that, short of having Lust deep within me, this was the best feeling I had ever experienced.

Lying there, I thrust my new toy deeply into me, stroking that spot, mashing my clit with the bones of my wrist.

Faster and faster I had to move! This was primal. Faster than anything Lust and I shared, different, but so damn erotic that I closed my eyes and let my fantasies run wild.

There was Lust, between my thighs, his tongue locked on my clit, drinking my juices as if they would give him life. Luster, striding naked and powerful in my direction, grinning as his penis thrust outward. Luster, holding his cock steady as he beckoned to me, calling me over to him so that he could bury his hardness within my softness.

His finger in my…

I never completed the thought.

I screamed as my body exploded around the hilt, clenching at it, setting off more explosions as its hardness caressed the spot over and over during my climax. My body shuddered as my thoughts swirled, mixing fantasy with reality. My body convulsed, sending pleasure shooting through my veins. I closed my eyes and savored each orgasmic clench.

I groaned. Suddenly I was too sensitive to touch, and I withdrew the hilt to give my body a chance to rest. My breath still heaving, I brought the hilt to my lips for a quick kiss, before I let my new toy lie beside me.

My body replete and, strangely, my tension eased, I drifted off to sleep.

“They have him!”

“What?”

I sat up in the warm furs that cradled me, Lust’s dagger still in my hand, and stared at Glimmer.

“I said they have Luster! Are you happy now? They have Luster! Get up, you fucking bitch! They have our leader!”

I didn’t know if I was stunned more by Glimmer’s harsh words or the news that she brought.

Luster, my Luster, was caught!

“Where?” I stammered. I tried to unwind myself from the covers and rise to my feet. “Who has him?”

“The Titans! Who do you think? They have what they want. The resistance is dead without him.”

“How do you know?”

“The trees! The trees told me. I told Glow and he said to get you, though I don’t know why. Powerless, magicless waste of space that you are!”

I ignored her and reached for my discarded gown. I had to get to Glow and find out what was going on.

Fear seemed to freeze my heart in my throat as I haphazardly pulled the gown over my head and raced to the door. I absently noticed that Glimmer followed.

As did the eyes of all the rebels gathered there, once I exited the tent. I could feel their burning gazes, the anger and uncertainty they tossed in my direction. It made my feet move faster. By the time I made it to the tight knot of warriors, I was nearly running. I knew their anger was directed at me, and my guilt was making their mistrust harder to bear.

“Glow!” I all but screamed as I reached the gathering, which appeared to be a war council. “What is going on?”

“They found the box, Sinopee. They knew that he would come for it. They set a trap.”

“What can I do?”

My heart was pounding, but I pushed back the urge to scream and rant like a madwoman. Luster needed me, needed a plan, and I wanted to help in any way that I could.

“Why is the box so important, Sinopee?”

I realized that Luster had kept that aspect of our relationship a secret. But it was time for the secrets to end. They had to know what was going on! They were risking their resistance for him, for us, and had a right to know.

“Without it, I will die.”

“What a shame,” Glimmer snarled, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

“And without me, Luster will die. We are bound.”

Glow nodded once, then turned his attention to the gathered warriors.

“What can I do to help?” I asked, my heart, once dead, now pounding in my chest.

“You can go and wait.”

I blinked at Glow’s words. What did he mean, wait? “I want to help!” I protested. “Luster is my man, and I want to save him!”

“What can you do, Sinopee?” Glow stated this kindly, but the words still burned. “You have no magical abilities, you can’t track, you are not a hunts-woman. You have no skills that could help save Luster, and having you along will slow us down.”

“Yeah.” Glimmer snorted in my direction, tossing the fringes of her blue hair. “You would only get in the way.”

“I can think!” I cried out, desperate to help. “You need me!”

“You can think here,” Glow stated with finality.

Glimmer snickered, damn her blue hair!

“As will you, Glimmer,” Glow added.

“What?” She turned surprised eyes to Glow, too stunned to do anything but stare at him.

“You will get in the way, Glimmer. You are to stay here and… guard.”

“But I talk to the trees! The plants hear me! I can be of help.”

“Glimmer,” Glow sighed with a long-suffering look. “You are too young and full of yourself. You need to learn control. Maybe Sinopee can teach that to you while we go and get Luster. But for the hours that she has left in our world, you will be with Sinopee.”

That said, Glow motioned to his chosen men, and they began to prepare for battle.

“But I can help!” Glimmer wailed as she watched the warriors and their departing backs.

Saying nothing, I turned and made my way back to Luster’s room. I had plans of my own, and I needed a moment to organize my thoughts for my attack.

“This is all your fault!”

Glimmer’s words followed me down the hall, but I ignored her. I had more important things to think about.

“I am talking to you!”

I felt her hand around my arm and reacted without thinking.

I gripped her thumb and yanked it backwards, toward her wrist. While she gasped in unexpected pain, I drove my elbow back into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs, then using her weak grip on my arms, I slammed her into the wall.

“Don’t fuck with me, bitch,” I snarled, reaching out to grab a handful of her hair to pull her face to mine. She was still gasping, trying to get air into her oxygen depleted lungs, eyes wide with shock. “I have to go and get my man.”

Snorting in disgust, I released her hair and gave her a little shove, just to drive my point home. Then, calmly, I turned and made my way back to Luster’s room.

“What do I know?” I asked myself, pacing in silence. “What do I need?”

The Titans would be easy to find, maybe. All I had to do was let myself get caught. But once there, what to do?

I stopped pacing and sat on the bed.

“Think, Sinopee!” I berated myself.

First I had to take my problems one at a time. That way, I would not get confused and screw up too badly. One at a time and very scientific.

Identify the problems. Easy enough, I thought. The Titans, who for some unknown reason wanted to wipe these people out of existence, had just managed to catch the rebel leader.

Problem: How to rescue him without loss of life -- mine or anyone else’s.

Problem: How to get the letterbox back. Fuck finding a way to keep me here! If I could get the box back and we could have another year’s long wait, I would be content. I just didn’t want him to die.

Solutions: None immediately apparent.

Sighing, I again tried to get my mind to work, to get over the shock of not having Luster here. The only thing I could think of was to allow myself to be caught. Once captured, I would figure something out. The most important thing was to go to Lust.

Decision made, I leapt to my feet and began to search his room. He had to have footwear here somewhere. That and I needed a weapon, other than that dagger. That dagger was special. I had no magic to defend myself, so I had to depend on good old reliable steel.

As I was rummaging through his chests, I heard footsteps behind me. I had no idea how long I had been thinking and searching, but it had to have been a long time. When I tried to stand upright, my back ached and my muscles pulled.

Turning, I was stunned to see Glimmer there, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What do you want?” I asked, at my coldest.

“To go with you. To help you. I have to help the man I love, even if it means teaming up with you.”

Stealthily, we made our way to the hidden exit of the Citadel.

When earlier I had shown my shock that we could find a way to leave, since Glimmer couldn’t move trees with magic and I had none, she laughed at me.

“We all can’t move trees, Sinopee. In fact, Luster is one of the few who can. So we all need an alternative route to get in and out when our leader is not with us.”

Smart, I thought. But then I never thought that these people, these rebels, were a stupid lot. They were just ignorant about some things, like the positive use of science and analytical thinking.

Glimmer motioned for me to follow, and I brought my mind back to more important matters. Like sneaking past the guards.

They were rebels to the last one, but Glow, Luster’s second-in-command, had given the order that we stay inside. The guards would probably do everything short of killing us to make sure we stayed inside.

Glimmer led me to the exit, touching roots that we passed along the way. I knew that she was gleaning information from them. But still her earlier words bothered me. She was in love with… Luster?

No. She didn’t say Luster, but the man she loved.

I was puzzling over this when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“We have to move if we are going to make it past the guard,” Glimmer said. “Privacy break.”

I nodded in understanding and we both scurried up a narrow path that led to the roots of a large tree.

“If you had any powers, you could be of some help. But since you don’t, you had better start to climb.”

I said nothing, but sighed deeply, then began to look for handholds in the roots.