Page 40 of Joy Guardian
He looked like he did back in the queen’s sarai, dressed in a beige skirt. Only all his gold strips and bangles were gone, even the collar was no longer there. His hair was unbound too, falling to his shoulders in thick, soft curls.
Instead of a cup, I opened my mouth and leaned toward him.
“I’m so thirsty,” I said. “I can’t wait for you to fill the cup. Just pour it in like this.”
And he did.
Cool, clean water ran from the curved spout of the carafe straight into my mouth. I drank greedily, and the more I drank, the more I wanted.
The water ran down my chin, then splashed my chest. I tossed my braids back.
“You spilled it,” Kurai scolded me softly.
Reaching for me, he cupped my breast. With his thumb, he brushed off a drop of water that was clinging to my nipple.
Desire surged through me. It felt so good to feel alive again. I moaned, cupping the back of his neck and bringing him closer.
The food disappeared somewhere. The trays and the dishes were gone. Kurai lowered me into the cushions on the rug.
“I’m thirsty too,” he said, “but this is the only water left now.”
He licked his wet thumb, then lowered his head to lick my left breast. Rivulets of water ran over me as if someone was still pouringit down my body. And Kurai lapped at it, dragging his tongue over my skin, then swirling it around my nipple.
“My sweet, precious Ciana,” he murmured. “I can’t get enough of you. I’ll never get enough of you.”
Desire flooded my body. Heat pooled between my thighs. I moaned, arching my back.
“It feels so good, Kurai. Can you feel it? Do you feel it too?” I opened my legs, hiking up my skirt, needing more. “Touch me, please. Touch me everywhere.”
“Sweetheart?” His voice sounded different this time, with a subtle rasp. A warm hand cupped the side of my face. “Are you awake?”
I opened my eyes to find him leaning over me. My legs were bent, my skirt hiked up, my core throbbing.
We were still in the caves, still trying to get out. But now, I was also horny beyond belief.
“I’ve never felt such pure, undiluted desire,” Kurai murmured, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Your need is intoxicating, my sweet girl. Please, let me taste it all the way to its completion.”
It was invigorating to feel like this again. I wanted him. I’d wanted him for a long time now.
“Kiss me, the way lovers kiss,” he begged, stroking the side of my face with the tips of his fingers.
“You’ve never been with a woman before?” I asked.
“No. But I want to now. I want you.”
“Is it because I want you?”
“Yes.”
He’d never been kissed until I kissed him. He’d never been touched until I touched him. He’d never felt aroused until his tendrils allowed him to feel my arousal.
None of the emotions he was feeling right now were his. They were mine.
Was that enough?
If he retracted his tendrils, he’d feel nothing.
And it didn’t feel right.
