The Priestess and the Thief: Kindred Tales 30 Read online

  But she couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness that her quest—and her time with Roke—was almost over.

  Thirty-Seven

  “Well, you handled that situation well,” Roke remarked as they got settled in a lounge in the cavernous Supper room. “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if you might not be a Royal Entrancer as well as a Zorel Entrancer.”

  “Hush!” Elli murmured. “I just told him what he wanted to hear—that’s all. It doesn’t take any special skill—after living with a father and four brothers all my life, I know how to deal with males, that’s all.”

  “He’s not just any male—he’s a fatuous idiot,” Roke growled, glaring up at the Crown Prince, who was getting settled on the golden dais in the center of the Supper room with the noblewoman he had chosen as his “Bride of the Night.”

  “Roke!” Elli hissed uneasily. “Keep it down, will you?”

  But the big warrior was clearly incensed.

  “I can’t believe he has the nerve to ask you to lead Demon in the parade tomorrow and pretend he’s conferring some great honor on you when he’s actually just scared shitless to ride without you near!” he muttered.

  “Hush!” Elli begged him. “Please, Roke!”

  “We ought to leave tonight,” he went on. “Let him see if he can handle Demon on his own without your help. He’ll probably end up as crispy as that groom we saw fried our second day here!”

  “I can’t leave until I get that Lattice,” Elli hissed back at him. “And until I’m sure that Demon is safe from the Crown Prince.”

  Roke snorted and raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Don’t you have that backwards? Isn’t it His Majesty who’s in danger from Demon?”

  “When he’s riding Demon, yes of course,” Elli said impatiently. “But you know how petulant he can be! If he has a less than stellar performance in the Grand Parade tomorrow, he’ll have Demon put to death and I couldn’t bear that!” She looked at Roke seriously. “So you see, I have to stay and see this through. Not just for the Healing Lattice—although that’s why I came in the first place. But to make sure that Demon is safely put out to stud. It would just kill me if something happened to him now!”

  Roke looked at her speculatively.

  “You really care for Demon, don’t you?”

  “I’m his person,” Elli said simply. “I can’t abandon him—I need to know he’s safe and taken care of before we go.”

  “Of course you do.” Roke sighed and nodded. He cupped her cheek. “My loyal little priestess. Once you give your heart, you can’t take it back, can you?”

  The look he was giving her was so searching and serious that Elli felt her heart start to pound and she had to drop her eyes.

  “I…I guess not,” she whispered. “But, Roke, I—”

  “And now, tonight, I have a special treat for you all.” The Crown Prince’s voice rang out, interrupting her.

  Elli looked up quickly to the raised dais and its golden lounge. Roke looked up as well, frowning.

  “As you all know, I have declared a Grand Parade for tomorrow, in honor of the anniversary of our Court coming to Pok,” the Crown Prince continued.

  “Here, here!”

  “The Grand Parade!”

  “Jolly good!” the nobles called from their lounges.

  “Yes, yes, of course!” The Prince nodded. “I myself will be heading the Grand Parade, riding upon my formidable mount, Demon. And I have conferred the honor of leading him through the streets of the city upon none other than our Royal Zorel Entrancer—Lady Ellilah!”

  He pointed at Elli, who found herself in the uncomfortable position of being the center of attention. She bowed and nodded, trying to smile though she disliked the feeling of everyone looking at her.

  “Thank you, Your Highness,” she said, bowing again at the Crown Prince. “I shall treasure the honor forever.”

  “Indeed you should, my dear.” The Crown Prince nodded at her. “And so,” he went on, speaking to the entire room again. “In honor of Lady Ellilah, we shall have some special zorel Mirroring tonight—that of a buck and his amorous advances to a doe.”

  There were murmurs of surprise from the nobles. The Crown Prince didn’t usually name a theme for his erotic exploits—he simply did what he wanted with whichever noble he had chosen for his pleasure and expected everyone else to follow along. Elli wondered uneasily what tonight’s special Mirroring would involve.

  But the next moment her mind was set at ease because the Prince’s first words were, “Now, as males, we bucks must frolic with our lady-does!” And he began to chase his chosen noblewoman playfully around the golden lounge.

  Elli met Roke’s eyes and the big warrior shrugged as if to say, “Where’s the harm?” He reached for her and she danced out of the way, giggling as she dodged his long fingers.

  Roke grinned and reached for her again, whereupon Elli dodged to the other side of their lounge and pretended to hide. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Duke and Duchess chasing each other around and around and laughing. In fact, everyone in the Supper room seemed to be having a wonderful time Mirroring the Prince tonight.

  This is fun! she thought, ducking away from Roke again. It’s too bad the Prince doesn’t make a game of the nightly Mirroring more often!

  But just as she was thinking that, the Crown Prince raised his voice again.

  “But when the time for play is over, we much catch our does and bend them to our will!”

  Looking up, Elli saw that the Prince had “captured” the noblewoman who was with him. He had caught her from behind and his arms were tight around her waist as he nibbled her ear. It reminded Elli of the way Roke had been holding her from behind earlier, when she was brushing her hair in the mirror. As she felt the big warrior slip his arms around her waist again, a shiver of desire went down her spine.

  “Well, there may be something to this ‘buck and doe’ game after all,” he growled in her ear.

  “Maybe…maybe so,” Elli murmured back breathlessly.

  “Of course, we must tease our does to make them receptive to our advances,” the Crown Prince went on. He cupped his partner’s breasts so that everyone could see. But instead of cupping them through her lace dress, he raised the flimsy fabric and began stroking her bare breasts—which was something Elli had never seen him do before. Usually he only touched his partners over their clothing, never beneath it. What was going on?

  Before she could find out the answer, Roke’s big, warm hands were slipping up under her own dress and cupping her bare breasts.

  “Oh, Roke!” she half moaned, turning her head to look at the big warrior.

  “Is this all right, sweetheart?” he murmured, tugging lightly on her nipples and making her gasp.

  “I…I guess so,” Elli whispered. “We…we have to Mirror correctly, right?”

  “Of course,” he murmured and stroked her nipples some more, twisting the stiff peaks gently and sending sparks of pleasure straight to her pussy, which was already getting hot and wet.

  “Mmm, such lovely plump breasts,” the Crown Prince said. But when Elli looked up, she saw that he was looking at her—not his chosen partner for the evening. The Tenebrian monarch gave her an unreadable look and then directed his attention to the room in general and spoke again.

  “Such play must, of course, excite a lovely young doe and make her ready for her buck,” he announced. “But the buck must be certain to check that she is ready for his advances.”

  As he spoke, one of his hands slipped down to cup his partner’s mound. She moaned and pressed into his hand, as though begging for more.

  Elli found a moan on her own lips as well, as Roke’s big, warm hand slid down her body to cup her pussy. Again, he was touching her bare sex, since that was what the Crown Prince was doing, though he usually never touched below the garments his partner wore.

  “Spread your doe wide, bucks—stroke her soft, quivering inner folds to be certain she is ready for you,”
the Crown Prince said.

  Elli bit her lip to stop a little cry of pleasure as Roke followed directions and parted her outer pussy lips to slip his long fingers into her heated depths.

  “Mmm, such a soft, wet little pussy,” the big warrior growled in her ear as he slid one fingertip around and around her secret spot. “I love how wet you get my Numalla!”

  “Oh, Roke!” Elli gasped as one long finger slid deep inside her honey well, as though to test her wetness. They had only gone this far in private before and it felt naughty to be on her knees with the big warrior behind her, raising her dress to fondle her breasts as he caressed and fingered her pussy. But it was incredibly erotic too, especially since everyone else in the room was doing the same thing and apparently enjoying themselves immensely.

  But the Crown Prince’s next instructions, knocked the wind right out of her sails.

  “And now,” he said, pushing his partner to her hands and knees on the golden chaise lounge and raising her dress high to bare her naked behind. “It is time for the buck to mount his doe.”

  Thirty-Eight

  Roke frowned as he watched what was happening on the golden lounge. This was something he had worried about from the first moment he realized what was expected of them while they were “Mirroring” at the Tenebrian Court. For though he had touched and tasted every inch of his little priestess’s body, they had never crossed this particular line before—nor did Roke think they should.

  For one thing, it was breaking Ellilah’s vows more egregiously than anything else they had done. Despite all their erotic activities, the little priestess was still a virgin—which she wouldn’t be if he slid his shaft deep inside her tight little pussy. And for another thing…

  You’re afraid your control will snap and you’ll bond her to you, whispered a little voice in his head. Admit it, Roke—you’re damn tempted to toss caution to the wind and tie her to you for life. Well, look how that worked out for your Sire!

  Roke pushed the voice away. Of course he could control himself—that wasn’t the problem. What worried him was taking Ellilah’s virginity without her consent.

  “Ellilah?” he murmured in her ear, making her name a question.

  She turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide and uncertain.

  “Roke?” she returned. “I…I’m not sure what…if…”

  “The buck must mount his doe!” the Crown Prince was saying again. Up on the golden lounge he had his partner on her hands and knees with her legs spread wide to bare her pussy. With a flourish, he unfastened his own trousers to allow his stubby member to spring forth.

  “Goddess, he’s really going to do it,” Elliliah whispered unsteadily. “He…he’s really going to mount her like a zorel buck mounts a zorel doe!”

  “It looks like it,” Roke said grimly. “The question is, what do you want to do, little priestess? I don’t want to hurt you or take your virginity if you don’t wish me to.”

  “Oh, but Roke—what choice do we have?” she whispered back.

  “We could fake it,” Roke offered, frowning. “There’s always a choice, sweetheart.”

  “I don’t think we could,” Ellilah protested. “Haven’t you noticed how sharply the Prince is watching us tonight?” She nodded at the raised dais where, sure enough, the Crown Prince’s bulging, froggy eyes were directed to Roke and her even as he was pushing his shaft into his partner’s pussy.

  “He does seem to be keeping an eye on us,” Roke growled. “But I don’t think—”

  “I think you should do it.” Elliliah looked up at him with big eyes. “I think…think you should…should put your shaft inside me, Roke.”

  She wants this, he realized, as he caught a whiff of her desire. The idea of me filling her turns her on.

  The thought made his shaft surge—as always, his little priestess was hot-blooded. But did she truly understand the implications?

  “Ellilah,” he murmured, cupping her chin and looking down into her eyes. “Do you understand that if I put my shaft deep in your tight little cunt you won’t be a virgin anymore? Even if I just hold still inside you and only pretend to fuck you, your virginity will be gone forever.”

  “Better my virginity than my head,” she whispered back. “The Crown Prince is staring at us, Roke and you know how volatile his temper is!”

  Roke had to admit she was right. They weren’t Mirroring like everyone else in the Court—it was a direct insult and if the Crown Prince called them out on it, he might decide they deserved to be punished or executed for their crime.

  It was no longer a choice, but he still vowed not to go too far—not to take any more than he should.

  “All right,” he said grimly. “On your hands and knees, little priestess and spread your soft little pussy for me.”

  “Yes, Roke,” she whispered obediently and was about to obey but he stopped her with a hand on her cheek.

  “Wait,” he said, searching her eyes. “I’ll enter you, Ellilah, and fill you with my shaft but I won’t fuck you or bond you to me. And I most certainly won’t shoot my seed inside you—do you understand?”

  For a moment, he thought he saw a look of hurt pass across her lovely face. But then she lowered her eyes and nodded.

  “Yes, Roke,” she murmured. “I understand. We’re going to pretend.”

  “Having my shaft to the hilt inside you is a great deal more than just pretending,” he growled. “But yes, you get the idea. Now hurry—on your hands and knees and spread for me before the Crown Prince says something about us not Mirroring properly.”

  Submissively, Ellilah did as he said. Getting to her hands and knees, she raised her dress and spread her legs, baring the soft, pink, inviting folds of her bare pussy.

  “Gods!” Roke groaned as he took his throbbing cock out of his trousers. This was going too far and he knew it—but what else could he do?

  Carefully, he fitted the flaring crown of his shaft to the open mouth of her little pink pussy and began to push slowly inside her.

  “Oh…Oh, Roke!” Ellilah moaned as he breached her entrance and then stopped just a moment to give her a chance to feel him opening her.

  “Does it hurt, sweetheart?” he asked anxiously. Kindred females didn’t have maidenheads to worry about like the females of many other species, but an untried passage could still be tight and give pain on entry if the one doing the entering wasn’t careful.

  But she shook her head and looked over her shoulder.

  “No, I…I was just surprised, that’s all. It’s so much bigger than your…your fingers or tongue.” Her lovely face was pink with pleasure and embarrassment. “You can go deeper now,” she murmured.

  “All right. But slowly, sweetheart.”

  Roke stroked her back caressingly. He might be taking her virginity, but he was determined not to hurt her. Slowly…carefully…he slid more of his thick shaft into her tight, sucking pussy.

  Gods, she felt so hot inside! It was like a warm, slippery, velvet glove was clasping him—it was all he could do not to ram deeper into her at once. But he had sworn not to hurt her and it was a promise he intended to keep.

  “How does it feel, sweetheart?” he asked again, when he was halfway into her. He had never been more glad that she was a Numalla. The copious amounts of pussy honey she made were easing the way and making it much easier than he had feared to slide his shaft into her tightly-stretched pussy mouth.

  “It…it feels good.” Ellilah’s cheeks went even pinker with shame as she admitted her pleasure. “Please, Roke—put it all the way inside me,” she begged softly.

  Roke felt his shaft surge. Suddenly he needed to be all the way in her—needed to feel the head of his cock kissing the mouth of her womb.

  “As my Lady wishes,” he growled and slid the rest of his shaft hilt-deep into her trembling pussy.

  Thirty-Nine

  “Oh!” Elli gasped as she felt him bottom out inside her. Back before she’d become a priestess, she had always wondered if her first
time would hurt. Of course, she didn’t know much about sex, but she had imagined that it would go just like this, mainly because the only mating she’d ever seen done was between the zorels who always mounted from behind.

  But having Roke buried deep inside her didn’t hurt—oh, there was a bit of stretching pain but it was a good feeling—the feeling of being completely filled by the man she loved.

  Wait—what did you just think? whispered a worried little voice in her head. You can’t love him, Elli—you mustn’t let yourself fall in love!

  But it would seem that it was too late. As the big warrior filled her pussy, Elli felt her heart overflowing as well. She wished she could beg him to take her all the way—to bond her to him forever. She wished the moment might never end.

  “Are you all right, little priestess?” Roke growled from behind her. His deep voice was somewhat strained and Elli wondered if it was hard for him to just enter her and not thrust in and out as she saw the other couples doing. Which gave her an idea.

  “I…I’m fine, Roke,” she said, twitching her hips a little to get him better seated inside her. “But, well…I’m worried.”

  “Worried about what, little priestess?” he murmured.

  “Worried that…that we’re not Mirroring correctly,” Elli told him. “Everyone else is…is moving. All the males are…are thrusting in and out of their females. All except us.”

  “That ‘thrusting in and out’ is fucking,” Roke growled. “And fucking leads to me coming deep in your pussy which could lead to bonding and possibly my baby growing in your belly. All of which adds up to the end of your career as a priestess, wouldn’t you agree, sweetheart?”

  Elli had to admit he was right. She knew that some women became priestesses after having had a relationship with a male. Even though they weren’t virgins anymore, they could take a vow of chastity and promise not to have any future relationships with a male, but none of them had children. That was because, with very few exceptions, a female couldn’t get pregnant by a Kindred warrior unless he bonded her to him.