Passions of New Pompeii Read online

  She squirmed, clutching the sheet to her chest. “I’m not afraid. I just don’t like being blindfolded.”

  “You will like this. I promise.” He held out the tieback with both hands, obviously unwilling to relent.

  With an exasperated sigh, she tucked her hair behind her ears and closed her eyes. The tieback was sheer, like the curtains. The pressure kept her eyelids closed while allowing light to filter through. The effect was less disconcerting than she had expected. She began to relax and absorb what her body was telling her.

  “Did your husband blindfold you, or is your discomfort not related to a sexual situation?”

  She licked her lips then smiled. “I’ve never actually been blindfolded. There are a lot of things people describe as pleasurable that I can’t imagine finding arousing.”

  He touched her shoulders, thumbs skimming across her collar bones. “Such as?”

  A nervous laugh escaped her. “As if I’d list them now.” His touch danced across her chest, caressing her breasts where they swelled into view above the bath sheet. Soft and light, his fingertips barely made contact with her skin. She waited for him to unwind the makeshift garment or tease her nipples through the thin material. Instead, he moved away. She heard the faint scrape of wood against wood. Was he rummaging through the nightstand? “What are you doing?”

  “Exploring the amenities.”

  Each VIP domicile was supposed to be supplied with a wide variety of “authentic” sexual enhancements. From leather restraints to ivory dildos, each item was meticulously reproduced to simulate the era. Elaina shivered as she imagined what Theos was selecting for her. Would he tie her to the bed or restrain her between the bedposts? Why did she presume he would bind her?

  “Take off the sheet and kneel in the middle of the bed.”

  She unwound the sheet and let it whisper down her body. Her skin tingled and her nipples tightened, begging for his touch or his lips. He’d been on her left when he opened the nightstand, but she wasn’t sure where he was now. For such a large man, he was incredibly light on his feet.

  As if to prove her point, he touched her right shoulder and she started, turning her head toward him with a soft gasp. “Is there a reason you are still standing?”

  “This is strange. It’s hard to establish my bearings.”

  He guided her hand to the mattress. “Climb on.”

  Amused by his impatience, she crawled to the middle of the bed and arranged herself on her knees, legs pressed together. She was relatively sure she was facing the foot of the bed, but it really was disconcerting not to be able to see.

  “Spread your legs. I want to be able to see your pussy at all times.”

  His voice sounded gruff and commanding, a combination her body was beginning to recognize as a prelude to pleasure. She eased her knees apart, her thighs tense and resistant. Modesty and restraint had been drummed into her at every turn. A proper lady was cool and composed, never spontaneous or brazen. And expectations had only escalated when she’d caught the eye of a prince. The mattress dipped and swayed as Theos joined her on the bed. Vito was dead. She could be as scandalous as she wanted and no one would care.

  “What are you thinking about?” He drew a line from the base of her throat to her navel.

  “I was a well-behaved daughter then a proper wife, and it brought me disappointment and betrayal. I want to be outrageous. I want to sample all those pleasures good girls don’t dare.”

  He cupped her breasts, his thumbs stroking over her nipples. “I think I can help you with that. Turn around.” She wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but that was part of the fun. Remaining on her knees, she turned to face the railed headboard. At least she thought that’s how she was positioned. He pressed against her back and guided her hands to the bottom rail of the headboard, which forced her to rest on her forearms. “Do not let go of the rail or I will punish you. And you will not enjoy the punishment.” The dark edge in his tone warned her that he meant every word.

  His hands took their time on their way back up her body. He squeezed her arms and rubbed her shoulders then dipped down and caressed her breasts. “So soft and warm. I will never tire of how these feel in my hands.” He rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefingers, working the tender buds into tight little peaks. “And so responsive.”

  She shifted beneath him, rubbing her back against his chest. Her clit was starting to echo the persistent pull on her nipples. She wanted his mouth on her breasts, licking and sucking while his fingers moved on to her sensitive nub.

  “Are you growing wet?”

  “Yes, oh yes.”

  One of his hands trailed across her belly then pushed between her thighs. He squeezed her mound first, rubbing her clit against her pelvic bone. Heat spiraled up through her core and she groaned in the back of her throat. Could she come just grinding against his palm?

  He wouldn’t let her find out. His hand pulled back and he traced her slit with the tip of one finger. “Very wet indeed.” Using an agonizingly light touch, he circled her clit then abandoned her entirely.

  She trembled, clenching the rail with all her might. Her orgasms were stronger when she let the pleasure build, but she was still learning to control her body’s responses. And Theos was so damn sexy just about anything he did turned her on.

  Something cool and liquid hit the small of her back. She gasped and shivered. The substance rolled down her spine and then he spread it across her back with long, even strokes. A faint spicy scent reached her nose and the smooth glide of his palm told her he’d found massage oil.

  “Your skin is amazing on its own, but this oil makes it gleam like polished ivory.” He worked it into her shoulders and down her arms, and the scent grew stronger. “And your ass.” After a short pause, likely to pour more oil into his palm, he applied a liberal coating to her ass cheeks. “I have been dreaming of all the outrageous things I could do to this delectable ass.”

  His long fingers eased into the crease between the two halves, skimming over her anus and delving into her pussy. She tossed her head restlessly, suspecting his sensual play had just begun. She’d opened the door to anal pleasure when she’d used her finger on him. It only seemed fair that he return the favor.

  He slid his oily fingers in and out of her core a few times then returned to her ass cheeks. “There is a set of six ivory phalluses in that drawer. This first one is hardly larger than my finger, but the last one is larger than any cock I’ve ever seen.” As she feared, something cool and smooth touched her anus, circling slowly as he went on. “If I fuck you with the first three, you should be able to take my cock without pain.”

  “You want to fuck my ass?” Just saying it out loud sent lust spiraling through her body. Proper ladies never thought of such things, much less allowed them to happen.

  “Only if you find pleasure in the rebellion. I will never hurt you.” His hand stroked up and down her spine while the ivory dildo pressed against her anus, waiting for her decision.

  “Do it. I want to give you something no one else has had.”

  His hand slipped beneath her and pressed over her heart. “You already have.”

  There was no boastfulness in his words, just a calm statement of fact. She loved him and he knew it. The knowledge rocked her to the core, thrilling and terrifying her. She had sworn she would be careful, that she would never allow herself to be dependent on a man for happiness.

  “I don’t love you,” she whispered.

  He chuckled, not bothering to refute her denial. Eased by the oil, the dildo slid into her back passage, but it quickly encountered a tight barrier. He maneuvered the phallus gently, tapped against the barrier with several shallow thrusts, and her body responded as if by magic. The barrier relaxed and the dildo slid deeper, the fullness undeniably erotic.

  Leaving the toy lodged deep inside her, he caressed her from shoulders to knees. His hands were warm and gentle, caring—loving. “You might not believe in the gods,” he whispered in her ear
as his fingers settled over her clit, “but some guiding force brought you to me.”

  She didn’t fight the concept or his touch. It was like swimming against the tide. She relaxed into the current and let the sensations sweep her along. The dildo slid in and out, the outstroke even more wonderful than the inward thrust. His fingers glided over and around her clit, building the tension inside her, lifting her, supporting her as she flew ever higher.

  “Come for me. Let me feel you pulse against my fingers.” The dark growl in his voice rasped across her sense and detonated her release. She shook, her muscles working the slender dildo as pleasure erupted in shocking bursts.

  He pulled the dildo out, turning a pleasant aftershock into another spasm. Her helpless groan ended in a whimper. “You’re going to do that two more times before you actually fuck me?”

  Something hot and hard brushed against her side. “At least you get to come.”

  “Fuck me now. I don’t care if it hurts.”

  “Well, I do.”

  She smiled in what she hoped was his direction. “It hurt when Vito took my other virginity. Isn’t it right that I offer you the same sacrifice? I want you inside me, Theos, not some cold piece of ivory.”

  Theos was lost as soon as she spoke his name. If he used lots of oil and went really slowly, he could minimize the discomfort. “Are you sure? We can save this for another night and—”

  “No. I need this. I need you.”

  He understood her rebellion. This was symbolic. She was rejecting her old life and forging a new path under her own terms. His hands shook as he took the oil and coated his cock from tip to stem. Then he drizzled a stream of oil into her crack and smoothed it around and into her tiny opening. The little star was a bit more accommodating after the ivory phallus, but she was still incredibly tight.

  Using two well-oiled fingers, he stretched and relaxed her inner muscles. She held perfectly still to begin with then slowly matched his gliding motion with the rise and fall of her hips. Her sleek, white body aroused him to the marrow of his bones. He had never dreamed that another person could be so engrossing. He was fascinated by her scent and her texture and her taste.

  He slowly pulled his fingers out and guided his cock into position. Possessive desire demanded that he thrust home and claim what was his, but his passionate heart restrained his primitive urges and tempered his lust with tenderness.

  Her clit twitched beneath his fingers as he steadied her with his other hand. He brushed back and forth, bringing her right to the edge of orgasm before starting his entry. She tossed her head and he pushed inward. Her rippled anus opened around him, swallowing the head of his cock. Her hot flesh gripped him so hard he closed his eyes against the pleasure.

  “Push back against me,” he urged. “Take as much of me as you find pleasurable.” To his astonishment, she rocked back, driving him steadily deeper until the majority of his shaft disappeared inside her. He circled her clit, determined to make her come, knowing she must be in pain.

  “It’s wonderful!” She panted. “The sting is gone and all I feel is you.”

  He wasn’t sure he believed her, so he kept his fingers circling her clit. “I want you to come again before I move. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes.”

  Her cream soaked his fingers and dripped into his palm. He couldn’t wait to lap it off her folds and silken thighs. “You are so wet.” He grasped her clit and carefully pulled on the swollen nub. She bucked against him, taking him so deep his groin pressed against her ass cheeks. Her inner muscles clinched as her body shook with wave after wave of pleasure. He waited for her to relax beneath him and then he drew nearly out of her rear passage.

  She gasped as he thrust back in, but his cock slid smoothly, his way eased by the oil and her extreme excitement. He grasped her hips and found a moderate rhythm. Her ass grasped him firmly yet the pleasure felt distant, somehow incomplete. He needed to see her face, gaze into her eyes as he drove into her body.

  “Let go of the rail and take off your blindfold. I need to see your face.”

  “You said you’d punish me if I let go.”

  “I am telling you to let go. That is different than just letting go.”

  “All right.” She let loose of the rail and slipped the blindfold off her face, but she couldn’t look into his eyes without straining her neck.

  “Damn it.” He reluctantly pulled out and flipped her onto her back. She stared up at him with wide, cautious eyes. “I need to see you.” He placed her feet on his shoulders and bent her knees, raising her hips until he could reach her back entrance. “Relax and this will not hurt.”

  She raised her arms over her head and stared into his eyes, her expression open and welcoming. He trembled as he pushed back into her tight heat. It was so much more intimate face-to-face. The pressure was exquisite, but the warmth of her gaze sank right into his heart.

  When his entire length filled her again, he shifted one of her legs to his waist and pressed his hand against the side of her face. “I do not know where this journey is taking us, but I know we are meant to travel together.”

  Her lips trembled so he paused to kiss her before he resumed his steady strokes. She kept her arms over her head, fingers tangled in the sheet. Her eyes were luminous pools of tenderness. He savored each gasp and groan, memorizing every nuance of her pleasure.

  He wanted to make it last for the rest of the night, to move in her until exhaustion swept him into unconsciousness. But she felt too damn good. Her breasts jostled with each firm stroke and her soft cries fueled his arousal.

  She arched beneath him suddenly, her passage squeezing him with tight, rhythmic spasms. His grand intentions were abolished in an instant. Fire rolled up from his balls and barreled down his cock. His seed spewed forth in scalding jets as he clutched her to him, shuddering again and again.

  Then he carefully withdrew from her body and spread her legs wide. She didn’t protest or question his actions as he lowered himself between her thighs. He inhaled her scent and licked her cream just as he’d imagined. He sucked on her folds and thrust his tongue deep into her core, wanting to drown in her scent. It was primal and savage, and suppressing the urge might well have destroyed his sanity.

  “Do I get to return the favor?” she asked after a very long time.

  He gently sucked on her clit before he looked into her eyes. “Have we not been outrageous enough for one night?”

  She licked her lips and shook her head. “I suspect with us outrageous will be the name of the game.”

  He couldn’t argue with her conclusion. “After we shower, my body is yours.”

  Her laugh was warm and wicked. “If we make it out of the shower.”

  Chapter Eight

  Elaina paused to wipe the sweat out of her eyes for the third time. How did anyone survive in this heat? Theos seemed impervious to the cloud of humidity that had hovered over the city all day. But then he had never experienced air-conditioning, had no idea that people didn’t have to live like this.

  “The concept of traipsing all over New Pompeii was a lot more fun than actually doing it,” she muttered. “This whole thing is starting to feel futile. Either no one knows anything or no one is willing to talk to me.” They had been at it since dawn with zero results.

  “Why does this surprise you? If the House of Morpheus is doing the things you fear, your brother is doubtlessly involved. Why would these people confide in the sister of their oppressor?” He strode along at her side, golden skin glowing in the afternoon sun.

  She stopped and glared at him, fists planted on her hips. “This is an opinion that would have been helpful about four hours ago.”

  “You did not ask for my opinion. You told me what you intended for the day and we set off.”

  “I always want to know what you think about things. The question is implied.”

  He smiled, obviously unaffected by her temper. “Now that I understand your expectations I will freely offer advice. I think y
ou should get out of the sun before you pass out.”

  Without argument, she followed him to a shady corner of the market and collapsed onto a stone bench. Even through her tired eyes the scene had a provincial charm. Vendors called out to the passersby from behind their stalls with a mixture of humor and bravado that required no translation. She wondered how many of the people were inhabitants and how many were guests. The noninterference clause made it difficult to tell one from the other.

  “Naloni is investigating this on the Fedoran side of the barrier, but we’re counting on someone knowing something here.” She sighed.

  “We might need a less direct route.”

  “Naloni is going to follow the money, figure out who can afford the fees.”

  “That is a sound strategy,” Theos agreed. “We need to adopt something similar.”

  “What do you suggest?” She punctuated the question with a tight smile, wishing they had had this conversation with breakfast.

  “If people are being hurt, even murdered, someone has to miss them. There must be family or friends who have reported their disappearance.”

  “Unless they are careful to use people no one will miss.”

  He thought about this for a moment then shook his head. “Even brothels have madams. Everyone is known to someone.”

  “Well, let’s talk to some of the madams. Find out if any of their girls have gone missing in the last few weeks.”

  Their second strategy proved far more useful than random interviews of the general population. By nightfall they had compiled a list of sixteen names, all young, attractive females who were “new to the life”.

  They were walking back to Elaina’s house when a young woman dressed in temple robes called out to Theos. At her side was a girl, sobbing and clinging to the priestess’ side.

  “Are you Elaina Xyell?” the priestess asked in Fedoran.

  Elaina shot Theos a startled glance before she responded. “I am, but how do you know my name and how are you able to speak our language?”