Guarding the Goddess Read online

  He hoped she could believe him and take him at his word. He had a feeling that Ellina had felt inadequate—maybe even ugly—all her life. Ty wanted badly to prove to her that it wasn’t true—that she was beautiful—gorgeous. Not to mention desirable in the extreme.

  “You…you really feel that way about me?” She looked up at him, hope and doubt warring in her eyes.

  “Little one,” he said gently. “Males may lie to you with their mouths but their bodies cannot lie. There are some things you just can’t fake.” He nodded down at his straining erection. “This is one of them.”

  “I…I guess not. Thank you, Ty,” she said softly. “That makes me feel…well, I guess it makes me feel normal for the first time.”

  “You’re more than normal, sweetheart,” he growled softly. “You’re fucking beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.”

  “All right.” She cleared her throat and dragged her eyes away from his throbbing shaft. “Um, I guess we ought to get started.”

  “Of course.” Ty nodded. “What do I have to do?”

  “Nothing.” Ellina shook her head. “Just…stand there and let me wash you.”

  Ty shrugged. “I can do that.” He held out his arms in a gesture of welcome. “I’m all yours, My Lady—do as you wish with me.”

  “Thank you.” Ellina’s cheeks colored prettily but she kept her chin high. “I will.”

  And I’m perfectly willing to let her, Ty thought, with just a touch of unease. Was this his DNA kicking in, making him want to submit sexually to a Mistress? Or was it simply that he looked forward to the feeling of a beautiful woman running her soft little hands all over his body?

  Does it really matter either way? asked a voice in his head. Damn it, Ty—a gorgeous female—the female you want—is about to stroke your bare body. Do you really need an ulterior motive for liking that? Are you really so concerned about your genetics that you’ll allow your worry to ruin the most erotic experience of your life?

  Not that it was supposed to be erotic, of course—it was a religious ritual. Still, Ty decided the voice was right. He would put his worries out of his head and just enjoy whatever Ellina decided to do to him.

  Which was apparently to wash him with a huge mound of creamy white bubbles she had just gotten from the first golden tap. She came over to him, her hands full of bubbles, but then she paused for a moment, still not quite sure of herself.

  “I…I’m supposed to wash you now,” she told Ty. “Um—all over.” Her eyes flickered up to his. “But you’re not Chorkay and I know you’re not used to this. I want to be certain I don’t offend you.”

  “It’s all right, little one,” Ty told her softly. “You’re the Potentate, remember? The Goddess in the Flesh. You can do anything you want to me—I’m completely at your service.”

  “Well…all right.” Lifting her chin, she walked up to him and began rubbing the sweet-smelling bubbles all over his skin.

  She started with his chest and arms, apparently enjoying running her small hands over his muscles. She seemed interested in the flat copper disks of his nipples and explored them for some time, which caused Ty’s shaft to surge, though he tried to ignore it. Her soft little hands felt so good on him already, he didn’t need to get even more aroused. But he couldn’t help it—when she touched him intimately, his body reacted.

  “I can’t quite reach you,” she said after a while. “Your shoulders and upper back, I mean—you’re so tall.”

  “Then let me help, my Lady. Do you want me to wash my own shoulders?”

  “Oh, no!” She looked shocked. “No, you must not touch your own skin in any way lest we call down the wrath of Thufar. No, just bend down so I can reach you—I’ll do what’s necessary.”

  “All right.” Obligingly Ty bent down so she could wash his shoulders and back as well, rubbing the foam all over and not missing a spot.

  He straightened as she knelt before him for a moment, rubbing up and down the long length of his legs, spreading the slippery foam all over. She seemed determined to get every part of him squeaky clean which was perfectly fine with him—her hands felt wonderful everywhere.

  Well…mostly everywhere.

  When she rose up again and rubbed his ass, he couldn’t help stiffening a bit.

  “I’m sorry,” Ellina murmured, her soft fingers lingering at the top of the cleft between his muscular buttocks. “Is this all right? Forgive me but I must wash you everywhere for the ritual to be complete.”

  Ty clenched his jaw, uncertain how to answer. This was sensitive territory since the Mistresses of Yonnie Six often used a metal phallus to penetrate their male slaves in this area—they called it “giving the rod.” Therefore, if he had been bought by a Mistress of Yonnie Six, he would have had to offer her his ass as well as his shaft—would have had to give her anything she wanted for her pleasure.

  Which is what you ought to do now, whispered a little voice in his head. She is the Potentate—for as long as you’re here, you must serve her and give her whatever she desires.

  But what if what she desired was to penetrate him?

  And what if he desired it too?

  I shouldn’t want this—shouldn’t be so willing to submit to such a deep intimacy, Ty thought. And yet, he couldn’t help it—the need to open for her might just be his altered DNA taking effect, but it felt right.

  Taking a deep breath, Ty decided to go with it.

  The brief, internal struggle over, he spread his legs, standing as though he was at parade rest and opening himself for her.

  “Of course it’s all right, My Lady,” he said, his voice only a little bit hoarse. “Anything you wish to do to me is all right.”

  “It’s just that I have to wash you thoroughly,” Ellina said, sounding apologetic. “I…I’ll try to make it quick.”

  “Do what you want with me,” Ty told her and felt a pulse of pure desire wash through him as the words left his mouth. Gods, this was dangerous. It shouldn’t feel so good to submit to her small hands on his body!

  But he couldn’t seem to help himself. When her small, slippery fingers traveled down his crevice and then slipped deeper inside, he opened wider, permitting her entrance to where she needed to go.

  “Is this all right?” she murmured and he felt the tip of one slender finger sliding gently around the rim of his rosebud, teasing the sensitive flesh until the breath hissed between his teeth. “I need to wash you here, too. Can you let me do that, Ty?”

  “Wherever you need to touch me is all right,” he told her, his voice sounding hoarse in his own ears. “I will…do my best to open for you.”

  “It’s only for a moment,” Ellina promised him and then he felt one slender finger breach his rosebud and enter him.

  His breath caught in his throat and he tried not to tighten up as she reached inside him. A low groan broke from his lips and he breathed deeply, his chest heaving.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Ellina pulled back, a worried look on her face. “Did…did I hurt you just now?”

  “No.” Ty shook his head. “You, er, pleasured me,” he admitted. “Deeply. I was…not prepared for it.”

  “I wasn’t either.” She bit her lip. “Are you upset with me? For…pleasuring you in such an intimate spot?”

  Ty supposed he ought to be—being opened and fingered by the female he was supposed to be guarding was certainly more than he had signed up for. But he couldn’t find it in himself to be upset.

  “No.” He shook his head. “Are you finished washing me?”

  “Almost.” She looked at his shaft, which was straining upwards. “I must wash you there, too.”

  “Do as you like with me.” Ty spread his hands. “I’m yours, my Lady.”

  “Thank you, Ty.” She smiled shyly up at him. “Thank you for understanding.”

  She filled her hands with a bit more foam from the first tap and then grasped him gently and began to stroke the bubbles slowly up and down his cock.

  Ty tried to en
dure this in silence, but he couldn’t help the groan that broke from his lips when she continued to stroke with one hand and reached below to cup his balls with the other.

  “Please be careful, my Lady,” he growled hoarsely as she weighed them in her palm. “That’s a very sensitive area you’re touching there.”

  “Of course. I would never hurt you, Ty,” she murmured as she gently spread the foam over his sac.

  She seemed to take forever, exploring his body and Ty had to grit his teeth and clench his jaw to keep from thrusting into her soft little hand as she stroked him. It was an eternity of sweet torture but just as he was wondering how much longer he could last without spending his seed at her feet, she seemed to finish.

  “It’s time to rinse you with the water of purification,” she told him and led him over to the shower-type faucet mounted high on the wall.

  Ty held still as she turned the second tap and warm water poured over him, washing away the sacred foam at once, leaving him feeling extremely clean.

  “There, now.” Ellina stepped back, admiring him from all angles as she checked to make certain she hadn’t missed any foam. “I think you’re ready for the holy oil,” she remarked. She nodded to the third tap, which had a rainbow bead of pale golden oil clinging to it.

  “Same as before?” Ty asked, arching an eyebrow. “I just stand here and let you, uh, oil me up?”

  “Exactly the same. You still cannot touch yourself,” Ellina said firmly. “You must hold completely still as I rub the oil everywhere the foam and water went.”

  “Everywhere?” Ty asked as she began to rub her soft, slippery little hands, all coated in oil this time, all over his body.

  “Everywhere,” Ellina nodded firmly. Then she looked at him a bit uncertainly. “Unless…would you rather I not rub…rub inside you?” she asked.

  Ty considered the question. She was giving him an out—allowing him to put a part of himself off limits to her.

  Only he found he didn’t want to.

  “No, my Lady,” he rumbled. “You may touch me wherever you want—do whatever is necessary to complete the ritual. Only don’t be surprised if I make some noise while you do. The pleasure is…intense when you touch me as you did before.”

  “When I touch inside you, you mean?” she murmured, her small hands, slick with oil, sliding over his body.

  “Exactly.” He nodded, his eyes half-lidded as he looked down at her. “Inside.”

  Ellina took her time with the oil, rubbing it over his shoulders and chest and abs until he wanted to stretch like a cat under her firm strokes. Gods, it just felt so good to let her touch him anywhere at all—and it felt even better when she touched him intimately.

  Which she did soon enough.

  “Now, Ty,” she murmured and she felt her small, slick hands sliding over his buttocks and then her fingers sliding deeper, into his cleft.

  Gods, shouldn’t want this as much as I do…

  But he couldn’t seem to help himself.

  Ty widened his stance and let her in once more, her slippery fingers finding his rosebud and then breaching it with no difficulty.

  “Gods, My Lady,” he groaned softly as she slipped deeper and the pad of her finger rubbed over a special spot that was deep within. “You can do as you like with me, but if you keep rubbing me there, I cannot promise not to spend for you as you oil me.”

  “Spend? Do you mean…come? Orgasm?” She sounded surprised.

  “Yes, my Lady.” Ty nodded and looked down at her. She was standing with one hand between his legs and the other braced on his hip as she touched him.

  “But…I haven’t even touched you there yet. Not this time, anyway—not with the oil.”

  Her eyes were wide as she looked at his straining shaft which was freely leaking precum.

  “You don’t have to,” Ty told her hoarsely. “If you keep rubbing that spot inside me, I’m going to come. I won’t…” He gritted his teeth for a moment, trying to hold back the pleasure as she rubbed with one curious fingertip over the spot he’d been talking about. “Won’t be able to help it,” he finished at last.

  “Well…” Ellina looked up at him, her Sacred Blue eyes serious and sensual at the same time. “Do you want to come, Ty? Do you want me to make you come?”

  “I want to do whatever you want me to do,” he told her honestly, not holding anything back. “I want to give you what you want, my Lady. If what you want is to see me spend for you, then I’m willing to spend.”

  “That wasn’t my intention at all,” Ellina whispered. “But…I do want to see you, um, spend. I…I’ve never seen a male come before,” she admitted softly.

  “Then I will come for you, my Lady—if you wish me to,” Ty told her. “Just keep rubbing that spot inside me. Just keep oiling me.”

  “All right.” She began to rub again but as she did, her other hand crept around his waist and stroked lightly over his shaft. “I have to oil you here too, you know,” she remarked, as she did so. “Do you mind if I do that while you…while I make you come?”

  Ty shivered at the double pleasure but didn’t pull away.

  “Is that what you want, my Lady,” he asked hoarsely. “Is it your pleasure to stroke my shaft as I spend?”

  “Yes. Yes, I think it is.” Ellina sounded slightly bemused, as though she couldn’t quite believe what she was doing.

  That makes two of us, Ty thought. He couldn’t believe he was doing this—couldn’t believe he was standing here, offering his ass and his shaft to a female when he’d sworn to himself he would never do any such thing. And yet again, it felt right to let Ellina explore him like this. Right to let her touch him and make him come.

  She’s just curious, he told himself. She’s a virgin and she’s never seen or touched male equipment before. Although you certainly couldn’t tell it from how skillfully she was rubbing that place inside him as she stroked firmly up and down his shaft.

  “Gods, My Lady—so close! I’m so close,” he growled, his hands clenched at his sides and his entire body tense with need.

  In response to his words, Ellina rubbed harder at the spot inside him even as her other slim, small hand fisted around the thick base of his shaft and moved slowly upwards to the broad, flaring head.

  Ty widened his stance even more. Gods, he was going to come…going to come so hard!

  Mistress! He thought, almost incoherently. Mistress, I am yours!

  His cock grew suddenly even stiffer, throbbing in her hand, and then, with a low groan, he was spilling his seed, spurt after spurt of the creamy white stuff landing at their feet as she stroked and milked him.

  “Oh my…” Ellina sounded awed as she watched him spurt. “I…I never expected so much,” she murmured as he finished at last. “And…and you’re still hard!”

  “Kindred warriors are multi-orgasmic,” Ty told her hoarsely. His legs felt weak from the intense orgasm but he remained standing. If she wanted him to come again, he would—as often as she commanded.

  But to his mingled relief and disappointment, Ellina finally withdrew.

  “That was a beautiful ceremony, Ty,” she said softly, looking up at him. “Thank you for letting me wash you so…so thoroughly.”

  “Of course, Your Highness,” Ty responded, attempting to get back to formality—at least some anyway.

  Now that he had come, his head had cleared a bit and he wondered at his utter willingness to submit. He had fallen into a kind of lustful daze, he told himself. That was why he’d given himself so freely—so openly. It didn’t have anything to do with his altered DNA.

  Did it?

  If he was being perfectly honest with himself, Ty just didn’t know.

  And he was also beginning to wonder if he cared.

  Eighteen

  Ellina felt a bit dazed as they wrapped themselves in drying sheets and made their way back to her apartments.

  Had she really just done that? Had she really just invaded and stroked her bodyguard and watched as he spent his
seed on the floor at her feet?

  Apparently she had.

  What has gotten into me? she wondered. Why did I do that?

  For she had performed the Ritual of Humility much more thoroughly than was actually required.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, she thought, stealing a glance at Ty. Maybe he’s upset, even though he’s not saying so.

  It was impossible to tell. The big warrior’s face was completely impassive, his eyes alert as they walked through the private tunnel that led back to her chambers.

  By the time they got back into her living area and the door was locked securely behind them, Ellina was no closer to figuring out why she had done what she did…or why she had enjoyed doing it.

  Or how Ty felt about it either, for that matter.

  I don’t know about him, but it made me tingle, she admitted to herself. To touch him that way—to make him come. He’s so big and strong he could break me in half with one hand. Yet he gave himself to me. I wonder why?

  And why had she enjoyed it so much? Why had it made the tips of her breasts and the spot between her legs throb and ache so? It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be her Heat Cycle starting, since there was no pain involved. No feeling of need so dire she would do anything to quench it. Instead it was…pleasurable. It made her feel warm and flushed all over—even now she was sensitive in the spots where the tingling had been.

  Ellina frowned. This was strange. It didn’t make sense for her to have any pleasure at all since, as Hennessy had so bluntly pointed out earlier, she had no pleasure parts—no third breast or second sacred mouth which were exclusively for sexual desire and fulfillment.

  “What’s wrong, my Lady? You look pensive.”

  Ty’s deep voice interrupted her puzzled thoughts and Ellina realized she’d been standing there in front of the couch, still wrapped in her drying sheet, and staring into the crackling flames in the fireplace as though mesmerized.

  “Oh, do I?” She looked up at him. “Forgive me. I was just…thinking.”