Shad tried to hold back a growl of lust as he stood at Harper’s side and waited for the attendant to check them into the Cleansing Baths. When he’d told her to wear her most royal looking outfit, he hadn’t meant anything like this.
She was draped in her multicolored royal cloak of thorns, of course, which befitted royalty. But underneath it she was wearing a long green gown that seemed to be made entirely of fringes. At least, if the way her tight nipples and the V of her soft sex he could see flashing when she walked was any indication.
It made him nearly crazy to think that other people would see her like this—lush…beautiful…exposed, but Harper didn’t seem to be bothered at all. Indeed, she carried herself like a queen with her head held high and her shoulders thrown back as though wearing such revealing clothing was her right. She had rolled her thick, curly hair into a golden-brown twist at the back of her head which showed the slender column of her throat and made her look even more elegant and unobtainable.
The arrogant toss of her head and her confident posture only made Shad want her more. Made him want to take her here and now in front of the huge double doors leading into the Cleansing Baths and never mind what anyone who came to serve them might think…
No! What are you thinking? Get hold of yourself!
Shad shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the lustful thoughts. He remembered how he’d taken Harper’s hand and pressed it to his aching cock…how he longed to fill her with his shaft and his seed and claim her completely…
This isn’t me. I’ve never acted like this on any of the paths we took together on the loop, he told himself. He’d never allowed himself to make love to Harper—had scarcely dared to allow himself to fantasize about it. As a Shadow Twin he was almost certainly unable to form a bond with a female. But there was always that tiny chance in a thousand that they could bond—and that was what kept him from claiming her.
Forming a bond with her would be a disaster—it would tear the two of them apart if they managed to reach the end of the loop and were permanently separated. It was a foolish risk Shad was not prepared to take. Yet now here he was, almost ready to throw her down on the ground and take her in public! What was wrong with him?
Shad frowned. Was it something to do with the looper nearing the end of its power? Was he experiencing some kind of personality distortion the same way Harper had been getting those Chromatic Bursts which showed her bits of other paths they had traveled together? Or was it just that he’d denied his feelings of longing and repressed his desire for her for so long that he was finally losing his self-control?
Shad had no answer—he only knew he had to get hold of himself and quickly. They both needed to be on their guard now that they were about to see She Who Alters. They were close—closer than he’d ever been—to achieving their goal and reaching the end of the loop.
But when you reach the end, you’ll never see Harper again, whispered a little voice in the back of his head.
Shad pushed it away. The point was, he couldn’t let his lust get in the way of finishing this mission. He would do well to remember that and keep himself under tight control no matter what happened with Harper in the Cleansing Baths.
* * * * *
The big Kindred was strung as tight as a wire as he stood beside her before the grand double doors which led to the baths. He didn’t say anything but Harper could feel him looking at her—more like devouring her with his eyes, actually—and every muscle in his massive body seemed tense.
She wondered uneasily if she should have worn a different outfit. She’d wanted to draw his attention—even to taunt him a little—but this wordless scrutiny was making her nervous.
However, she refused to show it. She kept her chin high and tried not to notice that her nipples were poking out from between the long, emerald green fringes of her dress. God, what had possessed her to wear this thing anyway? It was one thing to dress seductively but something else entirely to flash everyone you saw. In fact—
“Oh my! Forgive me for making you wait, my Empress! I didn’t realize you and your attendant were already here.”
The voice belonged to a girl with large yellow, unblinking eyes and short, fluffy black hair. She had come out from the high double doors at the front of the Baths. To Harper she looked a little like a surprised owl.
“That’s all right,” Harper couldn’t hide her relief that it was another woman, rather than a man, seeing her in the skimpy dress she’d picked out. “Let’s just get started, shall we?” she suggested.
“Oh, of course!” The Bath attendant opened one of the vast double doors and bowed Harper and Shad into the interior of the Cleansing Baths. “Please enter.”
It’s like the inside of a cave, Harper thought, looking up at the high, vaulted stone ceiling lit dimly by golden globes which seemed to hover in midair. There were no windows, just a vast echoing space decorated by…well, what were those things?
They seemed to be statues made of some greenish-blue marbled stone but they were moving—albeit very, very slowly. But statues didn’t move—at least none Harper had ever seen. Were they alive? They seemed to be performing the same motions over and over again. She looked at them wide-eyed as they followed the owlish bath attendant down the wide hallway to a narrow silver reception desk.
There was one statue of a man and a woman kissing. Slowly their faces came together and just as slowly they parted and then they kissed again.
Weird, Harper thought. Like a live action gif.
The statue across from them was stranger—it appeared to be a person who was half man and half some kind of sea creature with many long tentacles. The tentacles waved languidly in the air and the man’s mouth opened and closed, opened and closed as though he was shouting something over the waves of an invisible ocean. Entangled in his tentacles was a woman and he appeared to be penetrating her with several of them.
Ugh! Harper shuttered and looked away. She didn’t need to see that.
But there were other moving statues too—some extremely erotic. Harper watched from the corner of her eye as a statue woman on her knees took the shaft of the male statue standing over her deep into her mouth and then released it only to suck it again the next moment.
Further down, a female statue lay arching her back on a stone bench while a male statue knelt before her, his face buried between her legs. He appeared to be lapping her stone pussy with his stone tongue as she arched and writhed in slow motion, a look of ecstasy fixed forever on her statue face.
“Oh, do you enjoy our tableaus?” The Bath attendant had clearly seen her watching the strange moving statues.
“Um, your art is very…interesting,” Harper said. “What exactly does it represent?” Then she felt stupid for asking. They’re having sex, Harper—what do you think it represents?
But the owlish bathing attendant seemed to take her question seriously.
“They’re meant to show the gratifying of physical desires before presentation to the Goddess. It doesn’t do to appear before her with unsatisfied appetites. Speaking of which, we must be certain you are replete in every way before you see her, my Empress. Let us start with your physical appetite.”
They had reached the elegantly curved silver counter at the end of the large, echoing room now. The bathing attendant went behind it and brought out a flat, intricately carved dark wooden box inlaid with silver and mother of pearl. The shifting colors reminded Harper of Shad’s strangely beautiful eyes.
“Here, my Empress,” the attendant said, opening the box and displaying what appeared to be a lot of coin-sized, flat disks in many different colors. Like the mother of pearl design on the box, their colorful round surfaces shimmered with rainbows.
“Ooo—what are they?” Harper asked, forgetting she was supposed to be rich and haughty and impressed by nothing. “They’re gorgeous.”
“Flavor disks, my Empress,” the bathing attendant said smoothly. “They will satisfy any physical hunger you may have so that you may go before She Who Alters without unnecessary need.”
“My Lady tastes nothing that I do not taste first,” Shad said, stepping forward with a frown. “I must be certain she is not hurt or poisoned.”
“Oh…” The owlish attendant blinked for the first time since she’d met them, apparently in surprise. “All right. We usually reserve them only for the supplicants who come to seek the Goddess but I was told by the social secretary to She Who Alters that you are to be accommodated in every way. So please, be my guest.”
She held out the box to Shad who looked at it carefully before selecting a dark blue, shimmering pearlescent disk.
“Just place it on your tongue and allow it to melt,” the attendant instructed. “When the full range of flavors is complete, you should feel satiety of your physical hunger.”
Shad placed the flat blue disk on his tongue and closed his mouth, frowning.
Harper watched him eagerly and saw his eyebrows rise and his eyes widen in surprise but he didn’t say a word, which was extremely aggravating. Why did he have to be so close-moutheded about something which was obviously an interesting new experience?
“Well?” Harper asked impatiently. “What does it taste like?”
The attendant answered for him.
“It is all tastes and no taste, Empress,” she said helpfully. She looked at Shad. “Are you satisfied now that our flavor disks are pure?”
The big Kindred nodded and looked at Harper.
“It’s all right—you can take one.”
“But what are they like?” Harper demanded. “What do they taste like?”
“I can’t really describe it and even if I could, I’m pretty sure what I tasted will be different from what you’re going to taste,” he replied enigmatically.
“In this he is correct, Empress,” the attendant said formally. She motioned with the box again. “Would you like to select one now?”
“I’ll take…this one.” Harper took a shiny pink disk, mostly because she thought it looked sweet, like candy, and placed it on her tongue. Then she closed her eyes and waited for the flavors to begin.
At first there was nothing—not even the flavor of her own mouth. It was as though she’d forgotten how to taste which was strange and disturbing. Harper liked tasting things—it was one reason she was plus-sized instead of being a skinny-minny.
But then something began to happen. The smooth disk on her tongue began to grow bumpy. Then it took on a fleshy texture and the taste of rare roast beef filled her mouth. Not just any roast beef though—the kind she’d eaten as a child when her family went out to dinner at the Piccadilly Diner on Sundays after church. It was rich and meaty and salty and perfectly seasoned—wonderful.
“Mmm!” she exclaimed. “This is good.”
But she had barely finished speaking when the disk on her tongue changed textures—becoming spiky—and then the flavor changed too. Suddenly her mouth was flooded with the taste of hot sauce—the kind she liked best in the world that they put on the wings at Not Your Mama’s Wing Shop in Ybor City.
“Oh!” Harper exclaimed but then the texture changed again—becoming smooth and somehow creamy in her mouth and she tasted her grandmother’s homemade banana pudding.
Sudden tears pricked her eyes—she hadn’t tasted this in years, not since her Grams had died of breast cancer when Harper was fifteen. She’d tried to make it herself several times but somehow it just never came out right. The flavor and texture of the disk, however, were perfect.
The disk changed again, becoming brittle and crispy, so she felt like she could break it with just a little pressure if she bit into it and Harper tasted her favorite salt and vinegar potato chips…then it was soft and succulent and her mother’s blueberry pancakes with blueberry jam filled her mouth.
The flavors and textures of the disk kept changing until Harper thought she must have tasted every one of her favorite foods in some way or another. And though she hadn’t swallowed anything, she suddenly felt full.
Not too full, like you felt after a Christmas dinner with all the fixings, though. Just perfectly satisfied, like she would never need to eat again.
And at that point, the disk on her tongue melted away to nothingness, leaving a light, minty aftertaste in her mouth like a faint reminder of where it had been.
“Oh…” Harper’s eyelids fluttered open. She’d closed them somewhere around the time her Grams’ banana pudding had made its appearance, the better to savor everything. Now she looked with new appreciation at the bathing attendant. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “That was lovely—absolutely lovely.”
“You are very welcome, Empress.” The bathing attendant bowed her head in acknowledgement. “And now, perhaps you’d like to see our selection of sexual attendants?”
“Oh, um…” Harper began as Shad took a step forward to protest. But neither of them got to finish what they were going to say.
“Of course she wants to see the attendants. I do too, for that matter,” a strident female voice exclaimed.
Harper turned to see an exotic-looking woman striding towards them. She was definitely plus-sized—even more so than Harper—and she had pale gray skin with a silvery, metallic tint to it. Even stranger, she was wearing a silver dress that appeared to be made out of large, overlapping scales.
It was difficult to see where the gown ended and her skin began but there was no doubt about her hair—it was a bright, brassy copper-gold which stuck up from her head in a long fringe—like a Mohawk haircut allowed to grow out until it was too floppy to quite stand up on its own. Her ears had multiple piercings with precious jewels from her ear lobes all the around the curving cup of the ear itself.
To Harper, this woman looked like a force to be reckoned with.
“Greetings!” she said, striding up to Harper with a bold grin. “You must be new to the Baths—I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before and believe me I’m here all the time.”
“Oh, Lady Marlbussen,” the bathing attendant exclaimed nervously. “I’m so sorry no one told you but this lady is the Empress Kyreella of Gobesh Prime of the Chavesh-Hie System and she’s here for a private bathing session before she sees the Goddess.”
“Private, huh?” Lady Marlbussen laughed as though that was a good joke. “Well I’m afraid nothing’s private with me around, hon,” she said, winking at Harper. “Like I said, I’m here all the time—mostly because I’m richer than the Goddess herself. They can’t keep you out when you’ve got money, right?” She winked broadly and laughed again.
In any other situation, Harper might have found the loud, confident woman irritating. But somehow the twinkle in Lady Marlbussen’s silver eyes and the joking tone of her rather husky voice made her smile instead of feeling aggravated.
“I…guess not,” she said hesitantly, unsure how to take the other woman’s joking comment.
“It also helps that I actually built these baths,” she continued. “Just another reason they let me have the run of the place and can’t kick me out.”
“You did?” Harper asked, surprised.
“Oh yeah, hon!” Lady Marlbussen nodded vigorously. “See, people—supplicants they call them—kept coming up here to see the Goddess and getting the wrong things fixed! Because she fixes the most pressing wrong thing in your life that she feels, you know?”
“Does she?” Harper said.
“Of course! So if you go up there with your tummy rumbling or if you’re horny out of your mind, well—that’s what she fixes. Not whatever other existential crisis is going on in your life.” She shrugged her plump, silver-toned shoulders. “She’s very practical like that. She Who Alters just fixes the most immediate thing that needs fixing.”
“Oh—well now the flavor disks and everything else makes sense,” Harper exclaimed.
“Do you like the disks?” Lady Marlbussen asked, grinning. “I have them specially made for the Baths. They cost twenty thousand credits apiece but of course you don’t care about money—or else you’ve got a lot of it to burn.” She laughed her forthright bray of a laugh. “There’s no other way that dried up old stick of a social secretary would let you in the front door—let alone grant you a private session. Right?”
“Exactly, Lady Marlbussen,” the bathing attendant said, attempting to jump into the conversation again. “And since the Empress is having a private session, maybe you could just come back at a later time or—”
“I don’t mind,” Harper said, smiling at the plump silver-skinned Lady Marlbussen. “She can stay.” She tilted her head at the other woman questioningly. “Maybe you can show me how things work here?”
“Sure, hon—I’d love to!” The other woman grinned. “Now, the first thing you’ve got to do is to get yourself just the right sexual attendant. A male who can make you sa-tis-fied.” She snapped her fingers at the bathing attendant. “Go on—get them all lined up in the Choosing Room, sweetie.”
“Yes, Lady Marlbussen!”
And before Harper could protest, the attendant had already scampered off down the dark hallway behind the silver counter.
“She’ll whip them into shape for us,” Lady Marlbussen said confidingly to Harper. “Then you can have pick of the litter. I’ll choose last.”
“That’s very kind of you but I actually already have a, uh, sexual attendant.” Harper nodded at Shad who looked like he was coming to a slow simmer of irritation.
“Do you now?” For the first time, Lady Marlbussen turned to look Shad over with a critical eye. “Hmm…not bad at all for one of the lower orders,” she murmured.
“What? Lower orders? What does that mean?” Harper asked uncertainly.
“Don’t you have orders of males on your planet?” Lady Marlbussen asked. “We do here. The higher orders are generally smaller but much more intelligent. If you want to have a child fathered, that’s the kind you’d choose. The lower orders are bigger but unfortunately on the dim side. Still, there’s something to be said for size…” She eyed Shad and ran the tip of her tongue over her silver lips.
“Size isn’t linked to intelligence where I come from,” Harper said. “And Shad here is actually my bodyguard and my, uh, sexual attendant.”
“Is he?” Lady Marlbussen seemed surprised. “Making him do double duty, eh? Well, just because you already have one sexual attendant doesn’t mean you can’t have two. In fact, I think I’ll take two myself. Follow me.”
She walked around the silver counter as though she owned the place—maybe she did—and beckoned Harper to follow her. Feeling helpless, Harper did so. After all, she’d asked the other woman to show her how things worked at the Cleansing Baths so she could hardly decline her invitation to follow.
Lady Marlbussen led her and Shad along a dark, echoing corridor until they came to a rounded doorway. She rapped twice and shouted, “They’d better be ready!” before opening the door and striding confidently inside.
Harper followed and what she saw made her catch her breath.
There were about fifteen males lined up in order of size standing in a row in the long, tiled room. The shortest, at the far end, only came up to her elbow but he had a sharp, intelligent look on his face. The largest, all the way at the other end of the row, was a foot taller than Shad. He had a vacant expression on his blunted features and his movements were slow when he turned his head to stare at Harper.
All of the males were stark naked—it was the largest collection of male equipment Harper had seen since her friend, Emile, convinced her to watch gay porn with him. (It had not been her cup of tea.)
And speaking of naked, that was exactly how Harper felt in her fringe dress.
Oh my God—so much for nobody but other women and Shad seeing me in this dress! she thought, feeling a blush of shame creep into her cheeks. Quickly, she wrapped the cloak of thorns more tightly around herself but it wasn’t quite large enough to close in the front so she still felt exposed.
“Now then…” Lady Marlbussen was already striding up and down the row of prospective candidates like a general inspecting her troops. “Which of you is it to be? I think I might be in the mood for two today but which two?”
She stopped in front of one of the smaller males and looked him up and down.
“Well, you’re not much for height but you’re quite impressive in the cock department,” she remarked and to Harper’s horror, she reached between his legs and took his shaft in her hand. “Tell me—are you a grower or a shower?” she demanded as she massaged him briskly. “Never mind—I’ll find out myself.”
The male looked like he was trying not to groan and soon enough he had quite a large erection.
Lady Marlbussen nodded approvingly. “All right. You’ll do.”
She motioned the sexual attendant to get out of line and he stepped to one side as she continued her bizarre comparison shopping.
Harper hardly knew which way to look. On one hand, it was mortifying and she’d never been in a room with so many naked men before in her life—nor had she wanted to!
On the other hand, it was kind of fascinating too. And in a strange way, empowering. Lady Marlbussen was clearly the one in charge here and the men did exactly what she told them, no questions asked. She ran her hands over their biceps and chests, pinched to test the firmness of their asses, and stroked and fondled their shafts and balls until they were biting their lips to keep from groaning as she brought them to attention.
Harper hoped they were willing participants here and nobody had forced them into this. They all seemed happy enough, though, and she saw looks of eager anticipation on the faces of the males Lady Marlbussen fondled, as though they were hoping she would pick them.
Finally she settled on another male—one of the lower orders this time who was almost as big as Shad—and sent him out of line too. Then she turned to the bathing attendant who had been standing quietly to one side the entire time.
“All right—I’ve got my two. I’m ready for the pleasure room.”
“I, uh, guess I am too,” Harper said uncertainly but the bathing attendant shook her head.
“Forgive me, Empress, but your sexual attendant must pass inspection before he can attend you in the pleasure room.”
“What?” Harper exclaimed and Shad growled, low in his throat,
“What in the Seven Hells?”
“Oh, that’s right!” Lady Marlbussen snapped her fingers. “Sorry, hon, but those are the rules. But you can inspect him yourself if you want, just like I did with my own two males. The bathing attendant just has to watch and be certain he’s fit to serve you.”
“Can’t you just, uh, take my word for it?” Harper asked desperately. She really didn’t want Shad to have to strip down in front of everybody. She’d seen him naked before—briefly, when he came to get her on the beach—but this was in a room full of strangers!
“No, I’m sorry Empress, but the rules are firm on this matter,” the bathing attendant said primly.
“Oh, but—” Harper started to protest.
But to her surprise, Shad was already stripping off his clothes. When she looked at him uncertainly, he shrugged, his broad shoulders.
“Not worth fighting about,” he growled. “Might as well get it over with.”
“I, uh, guess so.” Harper watched, dry-mouthed, as he stripped out of the black leather vest and tight leather trousers and the heavy boots he wore. God, he was mouthwatering naked—she couldn’t take her eyes off the play of muscles as he moved. He was like a Greek statue come to life.
Thinking of that made her remember the living statues out in the entry hall, especially the male with his face buried between the female’s legs.
A hot blush crept into her cheeks and she tried to push the image out of her mind. She wasn’t interested in that kind of attention—she didn’t like it when guys tried going down. They either acted like they were doing her a favor and gave her two or three quick licks before coming back up for the “main attraction” or they had no idea what they were doing and couldn’t find her clit with both hands and a flashlight.
There was nothing worse than having a guy fumbling around down there, thinking he was some kind of hero because he was willing to go downtown while he was missing the point—literally as well as figuratively.
Harper had decided long ago that she just wasn’t going to go there—or let anyone else go there either. It was too much hassle for too little reward.
Then she remembered Shad saying he had tasted her before—many times—on the different paths the time loop had taken them on. He’d said he always had to convince her but after she let him try it, she loved it…
“I’ve tasted your sweet pussy so many times…” His soft, seductive words rumbled in her memory and she squeezed her thighs together tightly, wishing again that she’d worn a less revealing dress. If only she’d—
But her train of thought came to an abrupt halt when Shad straightened up before her, completely naked.
“Mm-mm. Very nice!” Lady Marlbussen said approvingly.
“Yes, he really is,” Harper murmured. The big Kindred’s skin looked like pale, chiseled marble, each muscle on his massive body cut and perfectly defined. Her fingers itched to trace the hard planes of his chest, ivory column of his throat, the corded sinews of his thighs. And between those thighs…
God he’s huge—even bigger than I remembered!
He put every other man in the room to shame—even the one that was a head taller than him.
Harper became aware that she was reaching out a hand to touch him as he stood at attention before her. Biting her lip, she drew back, restraining herself though she wanted desperately to feel the rough satin of his skin, the heat of his hard body…desperately wanted to see the contrast of her own creamy brown tones against the pale perfection of his flesh.
“No, go on—you can touch him,” Lady Marlbussen encouraged her. “In fact, you’re supposed to inspect him to be certain he’s adequate to fulfill your needs.”
“Really?” Harper said, looking at the other woman.
“Yes, Empress.” It was the bathing attendant who answered. “Your choice for sexual attendant must be examined thoroughly. Either by yourself or by me or by another qualified person.”
“I’ll inspect him for you if you want.” Lady Marlbussen sounded positively hungry. “I don’t mind a bit.”
“No!” Harper said quickly, moving to stand closer to Shad and protect him from the predatory gaze of the other woman. “I…I’ll do it.”
“Hurry up and get on with it, then.” Lady Marlbussen sounded impatient. “I want to get to the pleasure room.”
Harper didn’t see that she had any choice. Either she was going to run her hands all over Shad’s big muscular body…or one of the other two women were. And though they weren’t exactly on the best of terms right now, she was pretty certain he’d rather have her touching him than some stranger.
Hesitantly at first, she put up a hand to touch one broad shoulder. This was familiar territory—she’d clung to his shoulder as he sucked the nectar from her breasts and stroked her pussy with his fingers.
Oh God—why had she thought that? Now she couldn’t get the erotic memory out of her head!
Aware that the bathing attendant and Lady Marlbussen were watching her, she ran her hand lower, stroking the hard planes of his chest and even daring to circle the flat copper disks of his nipples with the tips of her fingers.
Shad stiffened at that and she thought she heard a low groan, far back in his throat. Did he like that then? Having his nipples played with?
Experimentally, she pinched one tender little nub between thumb and finger. Shad stiffened more but didn’t flinch away. Indeed, when she looked between his legs she saw that her actions were having a definite effect.
Suddenly Harper lost her uncertainty. A sense of empowerment filled her instead. In their previous encounters, the big Kindred had always had the upper hand. He was always telling her what to do and what not to do and he was always in command of any given situation. But here and now…
Now I’m in command—in control, Harper thought suddenly. I can do whatever I want and he can’t stop me.
The thought was immensely appealing. Harper felt a naughty smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Hadn’t she been thinking that she wanted to get revenge on the big Kindred for the way he’d been acting this whole last week? Well now was her chance—the perfect opportunity to torture him the way he’d been torturing her had presented itself—had fallen right into her lap!
Leaning forward, she ran the tip of her tongue around the nipple she’d been tugging and then gave it a nice, slow lick.
Shad made a low, hoarse sound of surprise and she looked up to see that his white eyes were wide with uncertainty.
“That’s right, baby,” she murmured, giving him a slow, seductive smile. “I’m in charge now. You just have to stand there and take it.”
To emphasize her point, she took the tiny, flat nub between her teeth and nipped him sharply before moving to the other side of his chest to do the same to his left nipple.
“Empress…” he growled warningly but he didn’t move—couldn’t move—and Harper knew it. He just had to stand there and let her “inspect” him and by God, she intended to do a very thorough job.
She straightened up and ran her hand down his rippling abs, admiring the way his flat belly quivered under her touch. There was a small trail of dark hair that ran down the center of his hard abdomen to his cock. Harper followed it, teasing lightly along it with her nails, watching as his thickness rose in answer to her touch.
“Empress…” Shad’s voice was low and hoarse, for her ears only. “What are you doing?”
“Just making sure you’re fit to serve me.” Harper gave him a smile that was half teasing/half cruel. She wanted him to suffer a little for the way he’d been treating her—for all the times he’d put her off and refused to talk to her…for the way he’d made her care for him and then turned his back after her heart was lost.
She took the pulsing shaft in her hand and heard the big Kindred stifle a groan. God, he was huge. She wondered for the first time exactly how Shad was supposed to gratify her sexual needs. Hopefully no one would be watching to see if he made love to her because she knew he was dead set against going that far.
And even if he wanted to I don’t know if we could, she thought wonderingly, looking down at his massive erection. I don’t know if I could fit all this inside me!
Shad groaned again as she stroked him up and down. Her fingers wouldn’t meet around his girth but she greatly enjoyed his warmth and the silky, petal-soft skin of his shaft.
A bead of shiny clear precum had gathered at the slit on the broad head of his cock, Harper saw. She slipped her thumb over it, collecting the slippery stuff and using it as she worked her hand up and down his length. She loved the feeling of power it gave her to hold Shad so intimately in her hand—to know that he was at her mercy and he had to stand there and take whatever she dished out.
“Empress,” he growled for a third time.
In answer, Harper let her other hand drift down to cup his heavy balls. She rolled them gently in her fingers, liking the feeling of his vulnerability cupped right in the palm of her hand.
She looked up to see that Shad’s eyes were closed, as though he was trying to control the emotions she was raising in him.
“No, Shad,” she murmured, just as he had. “No, open your eyes. I want you to look at me while I do this…while I touch you.”
“I can’t,” he growled but his eyes opened anyway, their strange opalescent depths blazing into hers. “If I do—if I watch you touching me—I’ll come. I want you too fucking badly. Having your hands on me like this is…”
“Torture?” Harper asked sweetly. “Maybe like the same torture you put me through when you went back to being distant and aloof after the sex-milk incident?”
“That was no ‘incident’,” he snarled softly. “I drank of you, Harper. Drained your sweet breasts and made you come on my fingers with your ripe nipples tight between my lips.”
His words made her catch her breath and Harper felt her nipples tingle and her pussy pulse with lust. Only the fact that she was still wearing the rainbow cloak of thorns and knowing it would bite the big Kindred if she got any closer kept her from pressing her body against his to feel his skin caressing her own. If only…
“Excuse me, Empress, but if you’re done jerking off your bodyguard there, maybe we could move on to the pleasure room?”
The bored voice of Lady Marlbussen brought Harper back to reality.
“Oh!” she exclaimed and pulled her hand away from Shad’s long, throbbing shaft. For a time there, it had seemed like they were the only two people in the room. She’d forgotten about the bathing attendant and Lady Marlbussen and even the other sexual attendant males who were still standing in a row.
For a moment, Harper was chagrinned. How could she have done such a private thing in such a public place? But then the feeling of empowerment came back. Lady Marlbussen had done similar things to the other male attendants as she looked them over and made her choice. Even now she was only impatient to get to the pleasure room.
And who knows what might happen there? Harper thought as she reluctantly stepped away from the big Kindred.
She had a feeling she was about to find out.