Death Waltz Page 9
He didn’t respond. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to. It was because her beauty stunned him into silence. In all of his five hundred years, he had never seen anything so spectacular. He finally realized the crowd had silenced and were “Ooohing,” and “Aaahing,” over the sight they were witnessing. It didn’t end there. It was as if Liasare harnessed the power of the elements. The wind whipped around them as lightening crashed over their heads. Static charges tingled their skin and energy unfolded between them.
What’s happening?
Don’t fight it, my love. Embrace it.
Liasare watched their colors flashing as they surrounded them. She felt like she was in the center of a vortex as everything blew around them. For his part, Jurek used all his strength to remain steady during this surge of unmatched power. When he knew he couldn’t last much longer, he spoke to her again.
Liasare, I’m going to release my power now. I want to warn you it’s going to give you a jolt, so be prepared. You know what will happen after that, right?
Yeah. I’m ready.
They looked into each other’s eyes. Her lips were parted and Jurek knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
Liasare, I’m sorry, love, but I may lose myself in you.
What are you saying?
Only that you’ll feel my intensity. I’m ... I’ve held myself back for as long as I can.
He unleashed his energy and blue-green light flowed from him and surrounded her. She cried out as it hit her and then she felt his current flow through her. In seconds, the most intense orgasm ripped into her, blinding her with its power. If Jurek’s energy field hadn’t been surrounding her, she would’ve crumpled to the floor.
Jurek was in much the same predicament. His body shook with the force of his own climax. But it also disturbed him. In all his years, he had never heard of anything so all consuming such as this.
When they regained control of themselves, Jurek spoke to Liasare.
You still with me love?
He felt, rather than heard her chuckle.
If you can call it that. What the hell is going on between us?
Something unprecedented, I believe. The crowd is beginning to roar. We have one last thing to do.
Oh, God. What’s that?
Jurek laughed. It’s nothing bad. All we need to do is face them together. Here, take my hand now.
Our powers. They’re still flowing.
It’s okay. Let’s do this so we can get the hell out of here.
He held onto her hand and they both faced the crowd. At first an eerie silence greeted them. But then everyone began applauding until it turned into a thundering boom. Jurek held Liasare’s hand in the air for a few seconds and then flashed them back to the sanctuary.
When they arrived, instead of ripping her clothes off, like Liasare thought he would do, Jurek simply stood and gazed at her. He was silent for so long, Liasare thought something was wrong.
“Is everything okay?”
He cocked his head in that odd way of his and began, “I’ve lived for five hundred years and before tonight, I thought I’d seen everything imaginable. But I was wrong. I was so wrong.”
Liasare watched him as he struggled for words. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and she was shocked to see her mate in such an emotional state.
“You’re my game changer, love. You’ve brought life to me when I felt dead inside. But there’s more to it than that.” He dropped to his knee and bowed his head. “I bow to you here and now, for you not only own me, body, mind and soul, but your power is unmatched by any, including mine. You are truly Queen of the Praestani. I swear to protect you with my life.”
Liasare dropped to her knees so she could look into his eyes. “What are you saying?”
“You are the prophecy. You are the one who will save us from Abaddon. You are so powerful, Liasare. It came to me during the ceremony. You know how you said I destroyed our room here after we exchanged vows?”
She nodded.
“Love, that wasn’t me. It was you. I didn’t want to say anything at the time because I knew it would frighten you.”
“And you don’t think it frightens me now?”
He held her face in his palms. “Of course I do. But don’t shy away from it. It’s not there to harm you. Praestani power will only protect its owner.”
“How is this possible?”
“It’s the prophecy, Liasare. This would’ve happened with or without my intervention. But I think when I infused you with my power, everything changed. Do you remember the first time we saw each other on Earth? My powers were completely muted, yet you still felt my presence. That should never have happened. Even then you recognized me. I’ve puzzled over this for a long time. But now it all makes sense. You are the Light. You were born of the Light. Your powers would have manifested themselves eventually, but I sort of sped things along for you.”
Liasare let his words sink into her mind. Everything he said made sense but how could this be?
“Jurek, I don’t understand. I was born a human.”
“Doesn’t matter. You were chosen before birth. It has nothing to do with your species. You never were human, by all accounts. You’re now true Praestani. Born of power and light. You are the way.”
She began shaking her head. “Don’t say that. You’re talking as if I’m some kind of god.”
“No, not a god. Just a very powerful being who will use her power in a beneficial manner. You were chosen because your heart is in the right place, love. You were chosen because you won’t abuse that power. You are magnificent, love. I’ve no doubt the Triumvirate will want an audience with you now.”
Liasare felt a shiver shimmy up her spine. “What does it all mean?” she asked.
“Something no one has ever seen. You are the answer to our species’ dilemma, I think.” He then took his fingertip and began tracing her markings. “So beautiful. As much as I enjoy seeing you dressed as such, I want you naked right now.”
Neither of them wasted time in undressing each other, taking care not to cause any damage to their clothing.
“Tell me what you want, Liasare.”
“No. That’s not how this is going to work, Alaric. We’re going to do this my way.” She watched as he raised a brow in surprise. “You heard me. Go lay down, because I have this strong urge to lick and suck you. And I’m definitely not taking no for an answer.” Her eyes lowered to his hardened cock and his head dropped down to see what she was staring at. Then he grinned.
“This is all yours, wife, to do with as you please.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that.” She walked him, backwards, to their bed until the back of his legs hit the edge of it. Then she palmed his chest until he sat down with a thump. Dropping to her knees, she spread his legs and placed her hands on his thighs. Right before she took him into her mouth, she said, “Get ready for the ride of your life.”
Jurek wanted to laugh, but didn’t have time because when her warm, wet mouth began to work on his hardened cock, every other coherent thought he had, disintegrated. All he could think of was Liasare’s tongue and lips as they moved up and down his shaft. His hands dug into the bedding and he nearly shredded the damn stuff. He tried so hard to keep his hips planted on the bed, but there was no way to stop them from thrusting into the warm cave of her mouth. Christ, he hoped he wasn’t hurting her, as he pumped himself deep into her throat. Try as he might, there was no stopping him from holding back his climax. He did his best to jerk himself free of her, but she would have none of that. Her hands seized his hips and held onto them so tightly he couldn’t break free. A shout tore out of his mouth as he drained himself in her. When she starting moaning and making those purring sounds, indicating that she liked what he was doing to her, it made him start to harden again. He forced it back though, because his next orgasm would be inside of her, where he could feel her clench her muscles along the length of him.
Without so much as a thought, he lifted her
up on his lap and replaced his cock with his tongue in her mouth. He proceeded to kiss the hell out of her. Then he lay back and pulled her on top of him so he could taste her sweetness. His tongue tunneled deep inside of her and then circled her clit. He repeated this relentless teasing until she writhed on his mouth, begging for release.
“Not quite yet,” he told her.
He quickly flipped her off of him and positioned himself between her thighs. He began kissing the inside of one thigh before moving to the other. Then he moved back to her sex, where he continued to tease her with his tongue.
“Alaric. Oh, God!”
His tongue flicked over her clit and then sucked on it until her orgasm crashed over her in waves. Before it was even over, Jurek had one of her legs over his shoulder and he drove into her in an excruciatingly slow manner. Liasare tried to pull him into her faster, but he grasped her wrists in one of his hands and pulled them over her head, stretching her body out.
“No, we do this my way.”
She tried to wrench free of him, but he held steadfast. He stopped and said, “I meant what I said. Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” she panted.
“Then be still. We do this my way, Liasare.”
He then resumed sliding in and out of her in an achingly drawn out fashion until she wanted to scream. And he knew it. Each time he pulled out of her, he would circle her clit with his cock and then slowly slide it back inside of her.
“Look at me, Liasare. I want to see your eyes when I make you come for me.”
“My powers. I can’t restrain them any longer.” Her voice was rough as she spoke.
“Never restrain them from me. They won’t hurt me. Free them.”
And she did. Energy shot through them both, igniting their bodies and setting them afire. Jurek heard one word in his mind and he knew he couldn’t refuse her.
Harder.
And so he did. He moved within her harder and faster and she came with an explosive ferocity. When he felt her inner muscles massaging him, he followed her down that path.
As they lay together in the aftermath, Jurek pulled her on top of him and kissed her long and deep. His lips moved from her mouth to her neck and he began to lick and suck her markings.
“Mmm. I love that.”
“I wish you could understand how beautiful you are. Your markings are ... indescribable.”
Liasare pulled away from him and asked, “Alaric, would you love me this much if I were still scarred?”
His eyes narrowed and she, as usual, was mesmerized by their silver swirling depths. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Because I was so horrible looking.”
Jurek growled. “Bullshit. That’s you thinking like a small-minded human. You were never horrible looking. I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you sitting at the bar, drinking. I stared at you and wanted to run my hand through your chestnut hair and taste those damn lips of yours. I couldn’t stop thinking of you. So I followed you.”
“But you didn’t see me. Only my face.”
“Didn’t matter. When I did see you, my only concern was how much pain it must have caused you. And for how many years. My heart ached with the idea of it. That’s why I offered to take them away. Not because I wanted you to be any different. You were already beautiful to me. I know I acted like the biggest ass, but when I asked you to the soiree and you said no, I couldn’t understand why. Then when you shared with me the reason, it was so shocking to me. Not the appearance of your skin, but of the pain you endured. So put your insecurities out of your mind, love. You’re mine in every way, with or without your scars. And you couldn’t possibly be any more beautiful to me.”
She beamed. “You seem to know exactly what to say to me.”
“Me? I’m the biggest fucker around. You’ve told me that on more than one occasion.”
“I know. And you are. But I love you for it.”
Jurek laughed as hard as he ever had. “Want to know something?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve laughed more with you in these last months than I have in my entire life.”
“I hope that continues for a long time. Tell me it will always be this way for us. The way you make me feel.”
“Liasare, I’m not planning for anything to change. I can only speak for myself when I tell you that every time with you is better than the last. You, my love, are mine forever. I can only hope to live up to your expectations because you have far surpassed mine.”
“Never in all my life did I think I’d find someone that would make me this happy.” Then her thighs caged his hips and her mouth found his. Their tongues tasted each other’s, but she pulled away finally. “When do we need to join our party?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Oh shit!” She flew off of Jurek and scrambled to her feet. He watched her and laughed.
“Don’t just lay there. We need to get going. And my hair. Is it a mess?”
“Yeah. A bad fucking mess.”
“Oh no. WhatamIgonnado?”
“Sweetheart. Calm down.” He got out of the bed and said, “Let’s get dressed and I’ll see if I can help. If not, we’ll summon Naroo.”
“Will she hear?”
Jurek raised his brow.
“Okay, okay,” Liasare huffed.
When Jurek tried to rearrange Liasare’s hair, he ended up with a giant fiasco on his hands. “How in the world do you women do this everyday?”
“I don’t. I can’t do this. That’s why Naroo had to. I’m worthless when it comes to hair.”
“Naroo!” Jurek’s voice boomed. Moments later, she appeared.
“Liasare needs help with her hair.”
“I can see that, my lord.”
“No smart comments, either.”
They all smirked while Naroo went to work rearranging Liasare’s hair.
“I promise this will be the last time you have to do this today, Naroo,” Liasare said.
“Don’t be making false promises, love.” Liasare looked at Jurek and he winked at her. “I’m just saying. When it comes to you, I can’t promise what will happen between us.”
Naroo laughed. “All finished, my lady.”
“How do you do that?” Liasare asked.
“Oh, it’s very simple. I can show you sometime.”
“We need to go,” Jurek said. And they all flashed back to where the public reception was taking place.
Chapter Eleven
“Have you seen them yet?” January asked.
“No,” Rykerian laughed. “I have a feeling it may be a while before they make it to the private reception. The mating ritual is supposed to be pretty intense.”
“I’m only happy Vesturions don’t do anything like that. I don’t think I would be brave enough.”
Rykerian pulled January close to him and murmured, “Nor would I want anyone to see you as such.”
“Just the thought.” Then she stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss.
“When do you think they’ll get here?” Tommy asked.
January and Rykerian laughed. “We were just discussing that,” January answered. “How are you feeling, by the way?”
“Better and better every day. I’m enjoying working on Lare-Stell and staying in your quarters too,” he smiled. “Jurek gave you quite the set up there.”
January felt Rykerian stiffen. Turning to him she said, “Are you ever going to stop that? He’s mated to my sister for crying out loud.”
“I don’t know. As much as I hate to admit it, I think there’ll always be something between us.”
“No, Rykerian, it’s all on you. He’s way beyond that. Trust me. You’re still jealous. But I’ll admit, it is kind of sexy.”
“Okay you two, one mating today is enough for me. I don’t need to be around you two if you’re going to cozy up to each other like that.” Tommy smirked at them.
“I think Jurek and Liasare are worse then we are,” Rykerian commented.
“How often do they make it to Lare-Stell?” January asked.
“Not that often, but when they do show up, the whole atmosphere changes when they’re there.”
“How so?” Rykerian wanted to know.
“It’s their chemistry. I don’t know. It’s palpable. They’re like two halves of a whole. Very weird.”
January had a strange look on her face and Rykerian asked, “What is it?”
She shook her head. “I’m just thinking back to when I woke up for the first time on Lare-Stell. And how Jurek and I seemed to be connected somehow. It was the strangest thing. Neither of us could figure it out. I remember how frightened I was for you, Rykerian. I was so worried he’d kill you. I knew he wouldn’t harm me. I felt it within me. It was all so odd. We were two misfits, or so we thought, that became friends. But neither of us knew the real meaning behind it all. It wasn’t until they came to Vesturon and we both figured it out. Liasare was the tie.”
“Life’s funny sometimes. Look how it brought you to me. If you hadn’t contracted that awful disease, I never would’ve found you,” Rykerian said.
January started laughing and Rykerian joined in. Tommy looked at them and they both answered at the same time, “Jurek.”
Then January explained how Jurek was the one who stole the smallpox virus from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, where January was doing an internship. She saw him and he immediately recognized that she wasn’t human. They communicated telepathically but then he left. She escaped, but came down with the illness and that’s how Rykerian found her.
“Tommy, you and Liasare were so young then. Rykerian and I came back for you later and that’s when we brought you to Vesturon.”
“I remember,” Tommy said. “I thought you were the coolest thing ever, Rykerian.”
“I still am.” He winked. Then he suggested they all get something to eat. They headed to one of the banquet tables along with Xarrid, Saylan, and Jaylen.