Wicked Empress: The Onic Empire, Book 4 (27 page)

“I guess Helton was right.” Casting his gaze over his shoulder to Drahka, Sterlave said, “Last time, they didn’t say anything. Well, nothing Kasmiri and I could understand.” Clapping a hand to Rown’s shoulder, he added, “Thank you for coming.”

Bowing graciously, Rown took the point position as they followed the small troop down the hall.

Drahka wanted to prompt Rown to ask for what they wanted, but he realized they had to show graciousness to their hospitality first. Helton had been very clear on that point.

With a precise flick of his hand, the leader caused a doorway to appear. When they entered the room, Drahka’s eyebrows climbed. Before him was an exact replica of the empress suite. Right down to the fur rugs on the floor and the glass ceiling above. However, instead of sky, he saw only light. He knew it wasn’t sunlight as the tone was wrong. Simulated to mimic the twin suns of Diola, it came close but not quite. Still, he found the entire thing odd. Why would these people wish to imitate that room? Sterlave seemed unconcerned, which counseled Drahka to show no reaction.

At the table where he and Bithia shared their meals, someone had laid out an enormous feast. Lifting his head, Rown said, “They offer refreshments.”

Once the three of them settled at the table, the skinny pale people left.

“Last time they watched me and Kasmiri eat.”

Slipping a piece of sugar-drenched
nicla
into his mouth, Rown said, “You were injured. They wanted to make sure they had healed you fully.” Chewing, Rown turned his gaze around the room. His chewing slowed as he considered.

“What?” Sterlave stuffed a hunk of seared meat into his mouth as he too looked about.

Dismissing the question with a shake of his head, Rown wiped his hands upon a wetted napkin. He rose with startling elegance, then moved about the suite. Running his hands over the furniture, Rown seemed to be inspecting the place for authenticity. He moved a padded chair to a specific spot on the floor, considered the position, then moved off to inspect the bed.

Eating without tasting, Drahka couldn’t stop thinking of Viltori and Bithia. He did not want to waste any time lingering here, but if this show of courteousness would grant them a cure, he had no choice but to do his best.

Leaning close, Sterlave asked, “Does the food taste funny?”

“The food does not make me wish to laugh.” Drahka plucked his sweaty shirt from his chest.

A great chuckle came from deep inside Sterlave’s chest. “I meant does the food taste odd to you.”

“No, it’s fine, but why is this room like Bithia’s?”

Shrugging, Sterlave grabbed an enormous roll, ripped it in half and ravenously ate one portion then the next.

“When do we ask them for help?” Drahka pushed away from the table. He had done his best to eat, but he could choke nothing else down past the lump in his throat.

“They know.” Rown turned with a cryptic smile that was reminiscent of the one Helton had flashed. “But first we must give them our gift.”

Pushing back from the table, Sterlave scratched his belly contentedly. “I thought we didn’t have to bring one.”

“We have all that we need right in this room.” A chill of foreboding went up Drahka’s spine when Rown looked right at him with unabashed hunger in his eyes. He held his gaze as he returned to the table and poured three equal glasses of sparkling liquid. Plucking one cup up for himself, he nudged the other two at Sterlave and Drahka. Warily they picked them up. “Drink,” Rown encouraged, quaffing his share quickly.

With a quick glance to Sterlave, who gave a bored shrug and a smirk of dismissal, Drahka drank. Flavor exploded across his tongue as the warmth of the drink went straight to his belly, then spread out along his limbs. Suddenly, the high heat seemed to have gotten much worse. Plastered against his sweaty chest, his shirt stuck uncomfortably against his skin, matting down his hair, making him feel as if he walked through water.

Without a word, Rown stepped forward and popped the buttons apart, one by one. Mesmerized, Drahka stood, clutching the table for support while Rown’s skilled hands quickly peeled his shirt away, pulling it from his shoulders, down his arms and off his back. Cool air hit him like a blessing. Freed, Drahka sighed while Rown draped the sodden mess over the back of a chair.

“What are you doing, Rown?” Sterlave stood. He too wavered a bit so he grasped the table edge.

How could the drink affect the two of them so much more than Rown? He was half Drahka’s weight. As he took a step to widen his stance, and thus give himself better balance, his foot gooshed into the rug below. Looking down, he saw a splot of liquid. Rather than drinking, Rown had held the liquid in his mouth, then spit it out when their attention was diverted.

“You wicked little man,” Drahka said, wagging his finger at an unconcerned Rown.

Moving toward Sterlave, Rown took his hand and guided him, unresisting, to the chair he had so carefully placed. Sterlave fell into the seat with an ungainly plop. Leaning over him, loosening his shirt, Rown softly said, “Our gift to them is a simple one. They wish to watch.” Pushing the shirt off his shoulders, Rown slid the fabric down his arms.

“Watch what?” Sterlave looked around the room in confusion, then suddenly his mind cleared. “Oh, no. No, no. I’m not doing that for a bunch of voyeuristic
barsitas.
”

Sterlave struggled to stand, but Rown pushed him back into the chair effortlessly. “You don’t have to do anything. Do as they do. Watch.” With that, he skillfully pushed Sterlave’s arms to the backrest of the chair, and tied him with the sleeves of his shirt. Growling, Sterlave struggled, until Rown leaned in, placing his face right before his master’s face. “Please,” he whispered. “Let me do this to help Viltori. This is the least I can do after running like a coward.”

Drahka almost interrupted that had he not run, both of them would be dead, but he held his tongue.

Sterlave considered Rown, their noses almost touching, then he darted his gaze to Drahka. “You want him.” His tone was cold with accusation. Resentment filled his gaze.

A bashful smile tilted up the corners of Rown’s lips. “Yes, so this is truly no sacrifice. And it is in my blood to provide pleasure. It’s been so long since—” Rown cut himself off with a frustrated sigh. Spoken so softly Drahka almost couldn’t hear him from across the room, Rown wept, “You don’t want me yourself, but you won’t let me be with others. You owe me this.”

Hurt twisted Sterlave’s face. Battling between his own possessive nature and letting go to please his friend, begrudgingly, Sterlave nodded. He closed his eyes as if he could not believe what he’d done.

Permission heaped upon his head like a crown, Rown moved toward Drahka. He would have turned away, but there was nowhere to go. And the drink, or the air, or even what he’d felt before leaving Viltori compelled him to submit. How could a massive man such as he allow such a tiny man to command him?

Rown sank to his knees before him, causing his prick to press fully hard against his sweaty pants. Slipping off one boot then the other, Rown stood, unfastened his trousers and then peeled them slowly away. Each soggy bit of fabric that shifted away from his skin brought cool air to his overheated body.

Swearing in a language Drahka didn’t understand, Sterlave watched as Rown undressed him. Sterlave’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “I’ve never seen a cock that big.”

Cupping him almost reverently, Rown whispered, “Neither have I.” Looking up at Drahka’s face, he added, “And uncut too.” Taking his hand, Rown lead Drahka to the bed, settling him on the edge. “I wanted to be on my knees while you stood, but you are far too tall.” Pushing his unresisting legs apart, Rown knelt between his feet. “But this will do.”

Placing his hands on his knees helped Drahka keep his balance and not topple forward. This also put him in a perfect position to watch Rown. Just as Drahka had imagined, Rown didn’t suck his cock. He worshiped the entire length. Taking his prick into trembling hands, Rown caressed the shaft, then placed hot, open-mouthed kisses all the way from his balls to the head.

“Viltori could not stop talking of you.” Rown slipped his tongue around the crown. “Every morning he would tell me of something you did.” He rolled his tongue again. “Something you said.” When he took the tip into the hot wetness of his mouth, Drahka resisted the urge to thrust his hips.

Darting a glance to Sterlave, Drahka discovered his face was a mixture of lust and torment. Slipping his gaze down revealed a fully erect cock straining against the sweaty fabric of his black pants. Sweat outlined his groin, making his erection seem far larger than it actually was.

Rown released Drahka’s prick from his mouth and reverently whispered, “He made you seem a god, so highly did he praise you.”

Sterlave struggled against his bonds, determined to get free. Idly, Drahka wondered what he would do when he did. Not that he cared. Right now, he was happy to sit in stupor with the most expert cocksucker lavishing his skills upon his aching member. Rown continued to suck and praise him, his words growing more poetic as he took his cock ever deeper. As determined as he was, Rown could take him only so far. In a show of frustration, Rown leapt to his feet, retrieved a bottle from the outside of the bathing unit and returned between Drahka’s legs.

Pouring a palmful of golden oil into one hand, he smoothed his other hand against the first before gripping his fists around Drahka’s cock. Stunned by the slick, tight grip, Drahka fell back on the bed, moaning in great, chest-heaving cries. Now he could rock his hips without fear of hurting the young man. Rown encouraged him again with great words of praise that lifted him closer to release. When Drahka turned his head, he caught sight of Sterlave just as he escaped from his makeshift restraints.

Snarling, Sterlave stomped over to them, yanked Rown to his feet, twirled him to face him, then gathered his robe-clad body against his. For a long moment, he held him, breathing hard, his face twitching with emotions Sterlave tried desperately to suppress. Whatever he fought won, because Sterlave closed his eyes and lowered his lips, kissing Rown fully on the mouth. Rown’s arms went around his neck, pulling him tighter as their kiss turned from sweet to passionate.

With a deep breath, Sterlave pulled his head back, but kept his forehead pressed to Rown’s forehead. “You know I love you.”

“I know,” Rown whispered, clinging to Sterlave.

“But you needed to hear me to say it.”

“I did.”

“It’s complicated because of your station.”

“I know.”

As he lay on the bed, his cock three strokes from climax, Drahka realized Rown had used him as bait. Rown wanted more from Sterlave, more than Sterlave wished to give, so he forced him into a situation where he had to reveal the true nature of his heart. As he watched them, he could not summon any anger, not when his path with Viltori had been just as troubled. Only one thing concerned him as he lay idle: what of Kasmiri? Would she welcome a servant to their bed? Or would she reject them both?

“Between you and Kasmiri, I never had a chance.” Sterlave reached for Rown’s sash. When he fumbled with the knot, Rown gently pushed his hands away and untied the silken fabric. Tossing the sash to the bed, he pulled the brown robe up and off, flinging the garment aside. From the back, Rown’s body was slender but strong, with two high, well-molded buttocks. Dark body hair dusted his legs and, as he turned, there was a smattering around his surprisingly large cock.

Rown cast his gaze upon Drahka, parting his lips as if to speak, but Drahka shook his head. He didn’t need an explanation or an apology. He thought they would now move away from him, but Rown returned to his knees, between Drahka’s legs, using Drahka’s thighs as leverage to hold him up as Sterlave knelt behind him. Now it was Sterlave who palmed a great deal of oil, then smeared it liberally over his cock. Drahka lifted up by bunching some of the bedclothes behind his head so he could watch.

Rown’s eyes sparkled with joy as he again took Drahka’s cock into his hands. Behind him, Sterlave oiled his shaft, each stroke of his hand tightening and expanding his flesh until the head was dark with need.

“Are you sure?” Sterlave teased his slick fingers between Rown’s cheeks, just as Drahka had done to Viltori, to ready him for what would come.

“Yes.” Rown closed his eyes and lifted his face, one hand bracing him against Drahka’s hip as the other hand hovered over Drahka’s cock.

Tension filled the air and Drahka realized Rown’s intent right as Sterlave pushed forward. As he did, Rown’s tight fist slid down Drahka’s cock, as if he too were sliding his shaft up the tight heat of his bottom. All three of them uttered a simultaneous moan. Each time Rown breathed, his hot breath rushed across Drahka’s cock and balls, adding another layer of pleasure to the wicked feel of his fist.

When Drahka peered down between barely slitted lids, he saw Sterlave with his head bowed, his eyes closed, his hands dark against Rown’s pale hips as his fingertips dug into his flesh. Drahka wasn’t sure if he held him steady or tried desperately to hold himself in check. Either way, Sterlave drew in great breaths of air each time before he moved forward in such small increments Drahka was almost mad with need. For, as slowly as Sterlave went, that is how slowly Rown slid his hands along Drahka’s prick.

Anticipation grew, causing each man to gasp in an effort to maintain the slow, steady pace Sterlave had set. Looking down the length of his body, Drahka’s gaze fell on Rown. His face glowed with peaceful satisfaction, a longing finally fulfilled, making Drahka wonder how long he’d lusted for and loved his gentle master. And Sterlave, when he finally opened his eyes, met Drahka’s with a stunned kind of relief, as if he’d been waiting for a moment that would leave him with no choice but to declare the truth.

“I want to touch you,” Sterlave hissed, slipping another incremental bit inside Rown.

“Do. I’ll tell you if I am too close.”

Baffled, Drahka looked to ask, but Rown filled in the answer before he could.

“I am
ungati
. I cannot climax but during a ritual devoted to my god.”