The Lord of the Clans (12 page)

“I know my shaman doesn’t like the idea of me marrying Kelton, but I’ve chosen to disregard his opinion. My promised has always been kind to me as well as respectful of my trade. I intend to honour him, love him, and bear his children with pride. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

His silence magnified the dark night weighing down on their shoulders. The blaze cast a twining radiance over his muscular chest. Caught in the midst of its reflection, he looked like a golden titan. She blinked at the sight of such virile beauty but didn’t lose her resolve.

“I’m not a deceitful person, or a betrayer. I mated with you because I couldn’t control myself. I’ve never been attracted to any man like I am to you and the feeling is so powerful that it frightens the nether out of me.”

At last, he turned his head toward her. Brilliant, intense, and infused with silver streaks, his gaze lanced her heart.

Chapter Sixteen

“I didn’t ask for the story of your life.”

“Yet I’m giving it to you.”

She took a step toward the fire, toward him. An abrupt wave of heat prickled her skin and stirred her courage. Chin up, respiration steady, she let her soul speak, say the real words she wished him to hear.

“I desire you so much that I believe I might lose my reason. My body yearns for yours, and I crumble every single time you touch me. I’ve tried to be stronger but the memory of you inside me burns me. No man has ever made me feel the way you did. Whether you believe me or not, I just want you to know I will cherish that unforgettable moment for the rest of my life.”

Unable to keep on looking him in the face, she turned tail to walk to the tent. Her insides knotted as though the unbearable silence between them lasted for hours. She wanted nothing more than to run into his arms, to be cuddled, to be loved. She lifted the flap of the tent instead.

“Ariana.”

“Yes?”

Coiled around the thick fabric, her fingers quivered. She blew out constricted air. She bit the inside of her cheek, and stared at the tent while his steady voice seemed to caress the back of her head.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through, but I was under the impression that our night together proved to be a disappointment to you.”

She turned round as though her body moved without her consent. Brow gathered, nerves holding by the last thread, she breathed more freely when she discovered the genuine look he offered her.

“Why in ether’s spirits would you think that?”

“Because I know when I please a woman.”

She shook her head, unable to conceive why he assumed he hadn’t satisfied her. The feel of him still hot and so real in her mind made her speechless.
Even when he left the fire to come up to her.
Even when his gaze devoured her face as he traced the contour of her bottom lip with his thumb.

“You gave me unbelievable pleasure that night, but
I
...”

His voice dwindled to less than a murmur and she didn’t catch the end. Whatever he couldn’t tell her, she’d keep him on track.
Because he towered over her like a giant protecting a treasure.
Because his thumb on her lip ignited delicious sparks in her belly.

“So did you.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Well, he wasn’t in her head. He had no way to realise he'd just given her the orgasm. Then her thoughts went up in smoke when he wrapped his strong arms around her. As if she weighed no more than a cloud drifting in the skies, he carried her to the blanket and laid her down with care.

“But I will now.”

Her heart stuttered like a broken piece of machinery. Her long-winded speech retreated to the back of her mind. Had she really lectured the Lord of the Clans about her being faithful to her promised? If so, she couldn’t remember a single word, and Kelton’s features withered away.

Utterly conscious of Cameron's burning gaze above her, she shuddered. The urge to touch the long scar across his cheek forced her to clench her buttocks, yet she didn’t dare lift a finger up to his face, twisted with lust. Overwhelmed by an irresistible bout of shyness, she remained still under his massive shadow.

All she perceived was him. Animal fascination pinned her to the blanket. Raw magnetism bound her to the powerful man who could precipitate her into daunting, virgin abysses, and would.

He brushed a lock of hair off her brow. So gentle, the caress robbed her of breath. So soft, the simple gesture dissolved her into a quivering body. His eyes shone silver gray. He passed a light finger along the bridge of her nose, across her parted lips, down to the line of her jaw.

“Do you desire me, flower?”

For the life of her, she couldn’t respond to his demand. Nothing made sense but the heat flaring up her loins, the wayward pounding of her heart,
the
hungry calling between her thighs.

He brought her arms up to remove her shirt. Her skin prickled, petted by both the night breeze and the hot fire. He bent over her and she saw the dark sky glittering with a myriad of brilliant stars.

When he kissed her nipple, a shooting star blinded her. She moaned instantly, arms stiffening along her sides, butt digging into the rich soil under the blanket. She looked at the moon, the silver celestial body witnessing her downward spiral into unrestrained sexual cravings.

Her nipples hardened. They turned to stone as he trapped her erect bud between his lips and squeezed. She clenched her hands, the soft pressure wrenching a long sigh out of her. The tips of his hair brushed her cleavage, fair streaks mirroring the glow of the moon.

Then she felt his tongue lapping her taut flesh, and the infinite sky seemed to drop down on her. Her wet pussy grazed against her pants as if it wanted out of the constricting fabric. Out in the open, and within reach of the man’s ministrations.
Eager to swallow the nearby cock.

Streams of pleasure descended on her when he sucked her nipple into his mouth before flicking it back and forth. She let out a harsh moan, instantly crushed under the relentlessness of his strokes.

Her cry of enjoyment spurring him on, he swirled his tongue around the pink flesh that had become her centre. He licked it. He suckled it long and hard until she spread her legs. He caught the movement, and released her briefly to speak in a husky voice.

“If you don’t want me, I’ll stop.”

The shining stars twinkled above her. Fuelling her inner torment, the fire seemed to crackle and blaze for her. He kissed the small hollow between her breasts, glided his mouth along the upward curve of her expecting mound. All coherent thoughts took off as she gasped for air.

“Touch me, Cameron. Please.”

He seized her shoulder with firm fingers, locked it in the palm of his hand. She wanted his mouth on her, needed his lips to fondle her aching nipple. When he did, she shut her eyes. She closed her mind to the world. Riveted to the swamping sensation he elicited, she surrendered.

He dandled her bud until her whole body tensed with anticipation, and a single consideration ricocheted in her brain: his manhood. She longed to shiver at the sight of it, at the feel of it breaching her wet slit. Unable to wait any longer, she fastened her hands around his sides.

“I want you now.”

He stiffened at her words. She winced when he released her nipple. Her eyelids flew open and she saw he was already up, removing his pants. His yearning face spoke of unbridled passion while he stared at her. She held back a gasp as his erection sprang up in the moonlight.

The impressions lingering in her mind from the first time at the tavern didn’t quite match reality. His rigid member looked bigger, consistent with this giant of a man, maybe too big for her. How had she ever been able to take it inside her?

She couldn’t help but gawk at his disclosed hard-on as he knelt beside her to pull off her pants. When he covered her body with his and looked into her eyes, she felt compelled to tell him.

“I don’t think I can. You’re too big.”

The corners of his lips tipped upward, yet she wasn’t sure if her sudden alarm called forth amusement or pride.

“Don’t worry, flower. Let me take care of that.”

Still, her stomach cramped as soon as she felt his tip brush against her opening. Focusing on the chiselled lines of his face above hers, she plunged her gaze into his.
Relying on him.
Trusting him.

She hissed when he slowly pressed his cock between her folds. Buttocks clenched with apprehension, she also understood why he had found her too narrow before, and told her as much. She tensed, but he kissed her brow and lowered his mouth toward her ear.

“I won’t hurt you.”

As though his promise held an eternity of patience, she breathed more evenly to loosen her quivering limbs. He pushed himself in a little and her pussy expanded, hungry for the thick shaft requesting entrance, avid to suck up the hard flesh coming at it. Coming and demanding.

Instincts taking over, she trembled and watched the blatant desire enhancing his gorgeous features. Yet she had to close her eyes again when an overwhelming sensation gripped her guts as he slid his cock all the way in. The pleasure she’d experienced in his arms the first time rushed back intact.
Ardent.
Even stronger.
His body deliciously weighing on her, she sighed as he cupped her face.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes. Dear Creators, oh, yes.”

He moved inside her. Not much, but enough to spur her to wrap her legs around his waist. Ankles locked, she relished the feel of him buried inside her, the weight of his chest on her breasts. Then he withdrew without hurry, and the beat of her pulse fluttered against her temples.

Night shadows enveloped them while the fire continued to cast auburn shapes over their bare bodies. He entered her for the second time and she forgot everything that wasn’t him. Her belly vibrated, shooting wave after wave of heat between her thighs. Utterly stuffed with his large erection, she laced her legs tighter around his waist and opened herself up to his careful thrusts.

He reacted to her instinctive bidding by moving into her a little quicker. His acceleration brought forth whimpers she had no control over. Although she heard her moans, they appeared to come from a distance because her life now consisted solely of the flaming dick weaving its way into her.
And leaving her.
And penetrating her again.

She gripped the blanket with both hands. She tugged at the woven cloth,
then
pulled hard on the edges. The fabric resisted her frantic motions, but her heart skipped about. Her ribcage seemed too small to contain its wild jumps. She clenched her fingers, and a ripping sound ensued.

Yet she clung to the blanket, submerged by the flowing delight she drew from the repeated strikes of his cock. Unintelligible talk flew out of her mouth.
Gibberish without meaning, small cries kicking to be let out.

She gulped air when he lifted his muscular chest off her to plant his elbows into the earth. Forearms resting on each side of her head, he dropped his face in the crook of her neck and uttered a harsh groan.

“Damn, I don’t believe this! Not again.”

Dragged from the depths of her pleasure, she gently tilted her head to brush her nose against his cheek.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

She felt him shudder. Suddenly aware of the massive body against her, she sensed his restraint, perceived a gradual decrease in his movements, but her pussy wouldn’t let go of the hard cock buried inside.

“This has never happened to me before. You’re so tight, Ariana, that my thirst for you bests me.”

Clueless as to what he was talking about, she nonetheless heard the ache in his voice. Was he hurt?

She loosened her hold on him when he pulled out his pulsating, rigid erection. Her legs tumbled down on the torn blanket. Fearful to breathe, she glanced at him. His gaze shone bright, although his contorted features showed his predicament.

“Lie still, flower. I’m going to make this right.”

Chapter Seventeen

He shifted his body. All of a sudden she felt weightless, light enough to soar toward the moon. He kissed her cleavage,
then
traced a fiery line down to her belly. Blood racing in her veins, she tried to quell the tremors coursing through her as she realised he was about to touch her down there.

She hadn’t let anybody do that to her because only married people were allowed to perform this act. She should halt him now, before they committed a sin, but he nuzzled her bush and all her nerve endings vibrated.

Sin or not, the time to dwell on her choices was long past, along with the notion of resisting the passion they seemed to bring into being. Back glued to the blanket, she stretched her legs for him.

He must have settled in front of her opening, but she didn’t hear it. He must have taken hold of her splayed thighs, but she didn’t feel it. She had expected the firm touch of his fingers, but they never touched her. Yet she shook from the unknown emotion taking her breath away.

Like an upside down waterfall spindling her insides, flooding them. She couldn’t tell if he kissed her pussy, glided his mouth along her folds, or maybe licked her. Her mind didn’t belong to her anymore but to the inflammation swelling between her thighs. Life began and ended there.

He licked and suckled her flesh. The paralysing pleasure rooted her to the ground, shoulder bones grinding leaves, back exuding sweat, buttocks compelled to rise to the mouth consuming her.

Back at the tavern, she had thought that the delightful sensations he ignited in her summed up the act of mating. Maybe they did, but she wasn’t so sure now. Because his lips on her brought forth a new upsurge of pleasure, a cascading deluge wanting to engulf her in its maw.

An abrupt pressure made her gasp. And whimper. And wail. His fingers tightened around her thighs as he inserted his tongue into her pussy to lap her up from inside. She kicked, but he maintained his strong hold on her and sucked. She dug her heels into the soil. He darted in and out of her.

Every flick of his tongue wrenched little cries out of her. He lingered on a particularly sensitive spot, and the stars overhead swam before her eyes. As if suffering from a never ending fever, her belly crumbled under an imperious sensation rising from her loins.

She panted hard. The striking, unfamiliar force grew inside her like a flesh-eating tide, and she feared for her sanity. Would it kill her, or devour her until she choked from suffocating pleasure? Then he touched the same place again, and the words tumbled out of her mouth.

“What’s happening to me?”

Stupefied by the unstoppable power ravaging her body, she didn’t even notice he had ceased fondling her. Not until his bulky shadow made the moon disappear, and he sank his head into her neck.

“It’s all right, flower. Wrap your legs around me and enjoy.”

She felt his erection against her quivering flesh, his yearning tip eager to penetrate the tight sheath.

Her legs seemed made of lead, but she gritted her teeth, and hooked her stiff thighs around his back. She groaned as the brusque movement shoved his huge cock deep inside her. His rough grunt spurred the pull twisting her guts. His throaty voice set it ablaze.

“Hang on to me.”

She finally relinquished her grip on the blanket to seize his shoulders. He had found his way back into her and all she wanted was to keep him there forever.
To become delirious from the excitement of his engorged shaft cramming her, pounding her.
To die under his forceful, rhythmical thrusts.

Body shivering, he drove his cock into her hole again, and she clenched her fingers. His speed increased, his stabs intensified. The harsh noise of his panting faded when she felt herself lifted up toward the ether.

Nails digging into his shoulders, she released a long wail as a sweltering heat latched onto her. The moon blurred, the stars turned hazy, the skies dropped. His rocky shoves propelled her to the limits of her awareness, and when he imbedded himself into her, an explosion shattered her.

Knuckling under the staggering blast, she shouted and writhed. Her body shuddered, limbs trembling so hard that she raked his skin to check the violent rapture she couldn’t contain. It poured out of her in long, intense surges, blinding her to everything that wasn’t the cock inside her.

The big member now quivering and discharging.
She knew because his coarse grunts penetrated her bliss, and his heavy body bore down on hers as if he had been slain. She clung to his shoulders, to his sweaty belly wracked with spasms. She hung on to him even when the profound tide abated.

He had been right. He wanted to bring her to this exact place since their first mating, but she’d turned a deaf ear to his odd attitude. Realising that he viewed her lack of pleasure as his failure, she finally grasped the reason behind his grumpy mood these past days.
A misplaced sense of male pride.
Now she knew. Now she had felt the orgasm.
The real one.

She ran her fingers through his hair, barely able to breathe from the passion he’d given her. In the aftermath of their incredible mating, an unusual emotion infiltrated her ecstasy. A deep longing for something that frightened her. She wished to shackle him in her arms. To cradle without end her stricken giant, motionless and still implanted inside her.

He raised his head. He looked at her and the brilliance of his silver gaze stabbed her. She didn’t have the means to keep such a mighty man. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t belong to his world. Fate had thrown them together but soon their paths would split.

She’d go back to Kelton after healing her aunt. He’d scour the Four Kingdoms to protect his people, whether the war started again or not. Although they shared an intimate, unbelievable moment, she couldn’t claim him as hers. Whatever she did, he would always be the Lord of the Clans.

She bit back her emotion as he left the warmth of her embrace to sit up. Already feeling like she’d lost him, she picked up the shirt he had taken off her body a while ago, and covered her bare breasts. She needed to tell him how she felt before he walked away from her.

“You made me very happy.”

He gave her the largest smile she’d ever seen. The lines of his face softened and he appeared almost carefree.

“So did you, little witch.”

He didn’t shock her with baffling news this time because his tone sounded affectionate. Unfortunately, he wasn’t done.

“To tell you the truth, I can’t believe that someone who blushes with every gust of wind would show so much passion.”

She dropped her head to hide the rush of heat rising up her cheeks. Although he said it as a compliment, his appreciation meant a lot more to her than she was willing to confess. She got up to find her pants, rattled by the intensity of his voice. She didn’t dare glance at him while she put them on, but the sensation of his eyes on her tickled her flesh until he spoke.

“Are we playing coy again? I thought we were past this stage, given that you’re irresistibly attracted to me.”

Why did he have to twist her meaning? Did he always feel the compulsion to turn her words around and throw them back in her face? She had just lived the best moment of her life as she quivered and wailed under the hard strokes of his cock. Yet it appeared that she was the only one to deem their coupling as sacred, and his offhand comment slashed her heart.

“Do you think telling you has been easy for me? Can’t you imagine that I’ve been wrestling with this, and all you can say is... is...”

He flinched when he heard her high-pitched voice and ragged breaths. While she stared at him through blurry eyes, he sprang up to his feet, pulled on his pants, and came to take her into his arms.

“Hey, flower, don’t get all worked up over trifles. I appreciate your honesty. Really, I do. I’m just having a little fun.”

“I don’t like your fun.”

His chest pressed against her breasts before he exhaled a long sigh. One finger under her chin, he tilted her head up. Their eyes met. Her distress died down as soon as she saw something in his gaze she wasn’t prepared for—an understanding and wisdom well beyond his years.

“You need to toughen up, Ariana, or people will hurt you all your life. Whether they mean to or not, they’ll trample on your feelings because you’ll open the door and let them. I know it isn’t easy to accept, but it can be done. Take it from someone who’s respected as much as hated.”

A shiver ran down her spine as he lowered his face, his tantalizing mouth inches from her parted lips.

She craved his kiss and wondered what his tongue would feel like against hers.
Discovering and caressing and hers.
How come he hadn’t kissed her yet? Did he save it for his real mates?

More than that, she yearned for him to share the deeper emotion ruling her blood, the scary sentiment blossoming in her since he'd given her the orgasm. But he briefly brushed his lips over her brow before letting go of her and pointing toward the ground.

“Look at that, you ripped my blanket. By the Mighty Gods, I must have been damn good.”

Her gaze flew from the torn fabric to his face. A sly grin creeping up his scarred cheek, he gently slapped her buttock.

“Don’t you dare
blush!
”

Snared in the crossfire of his teaching and taunting, she figured this was his style to show her the world, the darker boundary of a universe where people didn’t always play nice and fair.

Instead of maintaining her in her innocent ways, her shaman might have been more advised to show her the other side. He hadn’t and the Lord of the Clans now took over his duties. She’d learn, with time and patience. Lured into his pattern, she found her voice.

“Witches don’t blush.”

“I’m glad to see you’re finally coming to your senses.”

She wavered. Her jibe fell right into his convictions, so she couldn’t tell if he took it as such. Loath to let him believe a lie, she decided to clear the air about this magic crap once and for all.

“I’m not. I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

Eyebrow cocked, he nonetheless nodded with solemnity. Then he took her shoulders to hold her at arm’s length.

“So you still don’t believe you have magic?”

She shook her head. He seemed to ponder her silent answer for an instant before gliding a finger along her cheek. In spite of the softness of his touch, she sensed a hardening in his stance. She remained still, vaguely alarmed, until he stepped aside to move closer to the fire.

“You want proof, huh? Then I’ll give you proof.”

He knelt on the ground to grab the cooking knife. Fingers firm around the hilt, blade pointing toward
him,
he rammed it into his shoulder.