Pirate's Price (7 page)

The muttered comment slapped Umar in the
face. He pulled back and stabbed into Tarun. So, his ass was
tighter, was it? Not for long. He’d find guards with massive pricks
and command them to ride Tarun until Vega could hardly feel him
around that scrawny shaft.

“Oh, darling boy,” the king simpered as he
finally started moving.

Umar thrust fast and deep, tilting Tarun’s
head back as Vega moaned. The king never lasted long and anyone who
couldn’t come with the king wasn’t allowed to come.

Two more slow rotations and Vega shuddered
with release. Umar glared at Tarun as he pumped his come down his
rival’s throat. The younger man swallowed, determined to take it
all, but a creamy rivulet escaped each corner of his mouth and Umar
smiled. Amateur!

Vega watched Tarun wipe his face, while Umar
righted his clothing. “It would appear you could use some more
practice. A royal pleasure giver never wastes even a drop of the
king’s offering. It’s a good thing I didn’t come in your
mouth.”

“I was overwhelmed by the pleasure you gave
me, sire,” Tarun said, his head bowed.

“Even so. Umar will instruct you when I have
finished with him.”

“Whatever pleases you, your Highness.”

Umar shot Tarun a triumphant smile as the
younger man retrieved his discarded robe and hurried from the room.
It was turning out to be a very interesting night.

“I saw the look in your eyes, Umar. Making
use of Tarun without my permission would have forced me to punish
you. Do you want to be punished? It’s been a long time since I
watched you writhe in pain.”

Tension gripped Umar’s gut and bile burned
the back of his throat. He enjoyed inflicting pain, not receiving
it, and Vega knew it. “You have been exceedingly generous, my love.
I saw your cock sinking into his ass and went a little crazy.”

“It pleases me that you still crave my touch
after all these cycles. Watching jealousy flash in your eyes made
me harder than I’ve been since we played with Rana.”

Vega fastened his robes as he returned to
his throne. The vast majority of their encounters took place in
Umar’s bedchamber. Umar’s absolute favorite, however, took place in
this room. He had aroused the king to quivering desperation and
Vega bent over the seat of his throne and allowed Umar to fuck his
ass for the first time. Umar had never felt more powerful than he
had that night.

“Speaking of my wayward wife…” Vega’s
impatient tone drew Umar away from the pleasant memory. “Certain
facts have come to light that I found quite interesting.”

“I’m listening.”

“Princess Rana is designated as her mother’s
heir.”

“The empress has no male relatives?”

“She doesn’t, but here’s the interesting
part. If the empress dies before Rana produces an heir, Rana’s
husband is automatically named regent.”

“If Bakula dies before Rana produces an
heir,
you
would have been named regent?”

“Exactly. And if by some cruel twist of fate
Rana should die as well, the regent becomes emperor.”

“What a ridiculous policy.” Umar crossed his
arms over his chest, wondering why these facts were relevant now.
“This encourages violence against female rulers.”

“Which might be why the policy exists.
Bakula has been Devaunt’s only empress in eight centuries. She is
not well respected.”

“Empress Bakula has ruled Devaunt for many
solar cycles. Why hasn’t she changed the policy?”

“She tried. Such fundamental changes must be
approved by her cabinet and they wouldn’t agree.”

Umar chose his words carefully, not wanting
to anger Vega. “Only the most superficial effort was made to
prevent Rana’s abduction. Once the event had begun, you seemed
indifferent to the outcome.”

“I had every intention of washing my hands
of her entirely, until these statutes were pointed out to me. I
don’t need a reluctant wife badly enough to chase her across the
galaxy. A mismanaged empire, with significant untapped potential,
on the other hand…”

He didn’t need to finish the thought. “What
do you need from me?”

“According to Peronite law, Rana and I
became husband and wife the night our sexual compatibility was
established.”

“That’s why you insisted on witnesses.”

Vega smiled, ruthless intelligence gleaming
in his dark eyes. “The covenant was sealed with the spilling of my
seed. The wedding was just a formality.”

“What’s the next step?”

“Empress Bakula will depart with the dawn
and her cruiser is rigged to explode. I’ve been assured there will
be no survivors.”

“Congratulations,
Regent
Vega. Are
steps being taken to rescue your new queen?”

“My interrogators were amazed at her
stubbornness, but Kashi finally confessed. Rana is on her way to
Spaceport Makar.”

Umar’s pulse leapt and he suppressed a
predatory grin. He’d been one of Vega’s most successful operatives
before the queen caught his eye. It had been far too many solar
cycles since he’d enjoyed a good hunt.

“I’ve never heard of it.” He kept his tone
even, concealing his interest.

“It has a certain reputation for indulging
its criminal element. Rana must be found and silenced. I’m
entrusting this task to you. I don’t care how you do it. But when
you return to Peronite, I expect you to be escorting the body of my
dead queen.”

Rana rubbed her breasts against her captor’s
chest and returned his kiss with all the abandon she could muster.
Vik? The diminutive wasn’t familiar, yet she was certain he was
from, or at least had visited, her home world. His hands moved up
and down her back, occasionally straying onto the curve of her
behind. Her hands were still bound, but slack in the silk tether,
allowing him to position her as he liked.

Her teacher, her mentor, her master -- for
the next six days. No past and no future, a departure from a life
filled with frustration and duty.

She made a soft, needful sound as he
separated their mouths. Their kiss was filled with passion and
promise. She didn’t want to lose the intoxicating connection, even
to move on to other intimacies.

A louder protest followed when he swung his
legs over the side of the bed and stood. He stared into her eyes as
he unfastened his pants and pushed them down along his sturdy
thighs. After removing the remainder of his clothing, he paused for
a moment and allowed her to absorb the masculine splendor of his
body. Tight, highly defined muscles revealed both strength and
agility. Her fingers tingled and for the first time since he
brought her here, she regretted the restraints.

Windblown and wavy, his hair did little to
soften the rugged arrangement of his features. His lower body was
several shades lighter than his upper. How had his skin tanned if
he lived primarily in space?

Her curious gaze descended to his feet
before returning to the juncture of his thighs. None of his body
hair had been removed. She should find him repulsive and crude, yet
the hair only added to his virility. His cock rose hard and high,
arching away from his belly. She wanted to stroke him with her
hands and caress him with her mouth. Licking her lips, she hoped he
would understand the invitation.

He returned to the bed, a distant smile
playing about his lips. She was unnerved by his silence, yet
energized by the hunger so apparent in his gaze. Her nipples warmed
and awareness cascaded through her body. How would he take her? Was
he as skilled as she thought?

With one knee on the bed and the other foot
on the floor, he began his assault on her senses. He started with
her upraised arms and methodically discovered which spots made her
sigh and which made her squirm. His fingers brushed and tickled,
rubbed and outlined. His touch both assessed and aroused.

He traced her features, then followed her
pulse along the arch of her neck. Her nipples were tight long
before he cupped her breasts, but he worked the tender nubs into
pebble hard peaks before continuing his downward trek. After a
tantalizing squeeze he abandoned her mound and caressed her inner
thighs. Her body ripened and melted, eager for his return.

By the time he reached her feet, she was
weightless and tingling. He moved between her legs, kneeling on the
bed. His gaze locked with hers as he positioned her body. He bent
her knees and parted her thighs, opening her completely.

“Do all the women on your home world keep
themselves bare?” He slid his hand down her smooth leg and stroked
her nude mound with his thumb.

“My answer relates to events in my past.
Doesn’t that break the rules?”

His second thumb joined the first, caressing
and parting. “Your body was prepared in anticipation of a husband
you chose not to marry?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, Sir,” he reminded her.

“Yes, Sir.” Why had he waited until he was
touching her most intimate flesh before he continued their
conversation? He eased one of his hands beneath her and traced the
crease of her ass. His finger hesitated over her anus and she
turned her face away. “Both men and women remove their body hair on
my home world. It’s considered barbaric not to do so.”

He grinned and teased her tightly puckered
opening. “We both know I’m barbaric.”

As if to demonstrate his claim, he lowered
his face between her thighs and traced her slit with his tongue.
His finger pressed against her anus without pushing inside. She
held perfectly still, afraid resistance would incite a show of
dominance.

He held her open with one hand and teased
her with the other. All the while his tongue flicked and stroked
the very heart of her. “Put your feet on my shoulders.” His lips
moved against her folds as he issued the directive. She shifted one
of her legs over his shoulder and he raised his head. “Not over,
against
. Put the soles of your feet on my shoulders and lift
your hips.”

She moved one foot into place and then the
other. Her legs spread wide and her pelvis rolled toward his mouth.
His gaze returned to her pussy, his expression intent. The hand
that had been teasing her bottom curved around her hip and held her
open from above. She blew out a premature sigh, thinking he had
lost interest in anal stimulation.

The long middle finger of his other hand
pushed into her feminine core. Thrilled by the fullness, she
squeezed him.

“Oh, you like that,” he muttered, as much to
himself as to her. He slid in and out, while he stroked her clit
with his tongue.

Distracted by the pleasurable shuttle of his
finger and the persistent flick of his tongue, she barely
registered the smooth adjustment. He pulled his finger out and
pushed his thumb in without disrupting the rhythm he’d established.
Only when his finger sneaked back and entered her other opening did
she realize what he intended.

Eased by her cream and her rising arousal,
his finger and thumb moved in tandem. His lips closed around her
clit as his thrusts grew more aggressive. She rocked against his
mouth and surrendered to the steady drive of his hand.

He sucked firmly on her clit and the
demanding pull triggered her orgasm. Pleasure surged and rippled,
then coalesced in a burst of sensation. She ground herself against
his mouth as her body pulsed around his finger and thumb. This was
savage and barbaric, utterly sexual.

She sagged against the bed, amazed and a
little leery. If this was foreplay, how much more intense would the
sensations become? He moved both hands to her ass as he feasted on
her cream. His tongue no longer teased. He lapped at her like a
hungry cat, savoring and soothing, exploring every fold and hidden
crevice of her pussy.

Her feet slid down his arms, draping her
legs over his elbows. He didn’t seem to notice as he began fucking
her with his tongue. Rana could hardly breathe. His mouth framed
her opening and his tongue slid in and out, tasting and claiming
her in a way she’d never imagined. Jaque had occasionally used his
mouth to arouse her, but this was different. Vik devoured her as if
he would starve without her.

Panting harshly, he finally raised his head.
“If I let you come again, this could go on indefinitely. You’re
addictive.”

The sincerity in his tone sent another
thrill ricocheting through her body. He honestly enjoyed giving her
pleasure even though he had yet to find release. She was humbled by
the realization. These next six days were going to be more
interesting than she ever could have dreamed.

Vihlok stared into Rana’s eyes as he
struggled to catch his breath. Her cheeks were deeply flushed and
he could only decipher a few of the emotions twisting through her
expression. Her gaze was wide and passion-bright, her lips soft and
inviting. Balancing his weight on his knees, he brushed the hair
back from her face.

He wanted to know more about her, but he had
set the rules. No past and no future, just these few days to enjoy
each other.

Pressing his lips over hers, he hesitated to
use his tongue. Her taste was still strong in his mouth and… She
curled her tongue around his, bold and undeterred. Pleased by her
response, he deepened the kiss.

She wrapped one leg around his waist and
used the other to grind herself against him. There was no mistaking
that gesture. She wanted him inside her now.

He separated their mouths and their gazes
locked again. The unique color of her eyes made it impossible to
forget how this had begun. He wanted retribution nearly as much as
he wanted her, but she was no longer a means to an end.

“Roll onto your side.” His bitterness
confused his feelings. He could think of her as his cherished
captive as long as he couldn’t see her Jabulayni eyes.

Reluctantly, she obeyed. He slipped one arm
beneath her neck and wrapped the other around her waist. For a long
time, he held her, memorizing her scent and the shape of her body.
Then he lifted her hair and stroked the back of her neck with his
tongue. He caught the sensitive flesh between his teeth and sucked.
She shivered and gasped, her sweetly rounded ass driving him
crazy.