Flame of Cytherea: Cytherean Chronicles book 1 Read online

  She giggled after making it all the way through the city and outside the gate. Apparently she had no reason to be body shy, she was sure a guard would have recognized her, but their eyes had stayed on the sway of her hips, her backside, her long legs, and her generous bust. She started into a jog, wanting to get as far from the city as she could before she transformed and started flying down to the southern villages.

  Her father had asked Nora to stay, to start a new unit, that she was the only one who could train the next group. She had declined, strongly, insisting her obligation was met with her report and she needed to go back south and start killing those… her mind shied away from the rough language Nora had used this morning.

  She was hoping to catch up to Nora and help, surely the woman wouldn’t turn her down. She admitted she was helpless with a dagger, but that wasn’t how she was planning to fight anyway. Deciding the couple of miles she had run so far was far enough, plus her leg muscles were starting to burn, she wasn’t used to running so much.

  Her body was in shape, she had just been confined to the castle and her work out opportunities was limited. She stopped and took a moment to rest. She smiled trying to feel confident through the slight tremor of fear. She would finally have the chance to prove to herself she wasn’t just a worthless ornament. She was free of her jail, for now at least.

  She ran forward and jumped, changing to light and back to her other form so fast it was just a quick flash. She flapped her bright burning wings once and shot off to the South.

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  Arnath sighed in disgust but tried to calm down. He knew he wouldn’t be this angry if they had the original two or three weeks as he expected. Life wasn’t simple, and he knew problems would come up, but with just a week to work things out, any delay was angering him beyond reason.

  He had sent out fifty men for each village while he moved the bulk of his army further into the North. He was also burning fields behind him every step of the way, just to make sure the enemy couldn’t miss him and accidentally pass them by. After all, they would assume the Egerians would stop at the villages like they always did, they wouldn’t look for an invading army. Much less the five thousand troops he had with him.

  He had even had extremely good luck early this afternoon, his scouts had found a highly defensible hillock, and he had verified it was a good place to take a stand. Even now his soldiers were fortifying it. The enemy would have no choice but to engage despite him being entrenched. They couldn’t afford to leave an enemy behind them to bother with freeing the villages.

  They also wouldn’t want to give him free reign to advance to any northern villages or cities. In short, they were screwed if they didn’t attack, and would lose almost three to one soldiers when they did by his estimation.

  He calmed down a bit, realizing the important part went well. They would be ready in a week for the coming enemy troops. The fact that one simple village out of the ten he sent troops to hadn’t sent an update was almost unimportant. Still, he needed to see to it.

  He growled at a captain who seemed to be somewhat intelligent, “Send a squad of scouts to this… town of Nerin. Then lead thirty troops an hour later to act on what the scouts find out. If there is no problem, bring back the captain so I can execute his stupid ass for not sending a status report, if there is a problem, deal with it.”

  The captain said smartly, “Yes sir!” before bowing and leaving the tent.

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  Cytherea giggled. That was quite a uniform she had given the young innocent woman. Still, it had worked well to disguise her. She was pleased that all the players were coming together. She frowned at that thought, this wasn’t a game.

  She sighed looking down at the last, in chains and heading for the mines. This one would not be so easy to provide an escape for.

  A simple uniform didn’t impinge on anyone’s free will; it only had given Nicole the opportunity to follow her own free will. She doubted her father would see her providing the keys to her shackles as a similar act. She just had to hope that either the girl would escape, or that Justin and the other three women would be enough…

  Sadly, the girl didn’t even really need help, she just needed to find her courage.

  Chapter 6

  Justin was starting to struggle to keep up when the second sun finally fell to the horizon. It was with relief that he slowed and stopped when the wind stopped pushing him.

  Nora said, “Let’s go into that copse of trees and set up camp so we are out of the view of the road, we should be way past any enemy army, but I am not sure if they might have any scouts this far out.”

  He shrugged and followed. He felt a little unsure of where they stood, but when he put out his hand Kat smiled back at him and took it. His heartbeat picked up a little at her touch and he was hoping this meant she was willing to be… taken, as she had put it last night. They set up a rough camp, not having any tents about fifty feet into the trees.

  He watched as Nora expertly set up traps that were obviously meant to give off enough noise to alert them. He squeezed Kat’s hand and whispered what he’d been dying to ask all day.

  “Can we go off a bit and…”

  She grinned and said, “Thought you’d never ask.”

  But when they started to walk off Nora cleared her throat. When he glanced over he saw a knowing look on her face and she said, “You two stay here, I’ll watch the road from the edge of the wood to give you some privacy.”

  Kat said thanks, but Nora just grunted under her breath.

  When she was gone he reluctantly asked her, “I wasn’t sure how you felt, could you explain a little more about relationships, so I don’t do anything too stupid.”

  She snickered and nodded, “I also have a confession, so let’s sit down and get comfortable.”

  He sat down against a log and gently pulled her in his lap, giving her a soft kiss.

  She blushed and said, “Guess I better explain it all, your world is so different from mine. Don’t worry, it’s not that complicated. You already know step one, but it’s usually the man that initiates it. There is no insult in asking for sex, and there is no insult if the woman says no either.

  “If you do start a relationship, both, the man and the woman, can ask for sex at any time, within reason of course.”

  She coughed uncomfortably and said, “If things are going well and things aren’t broken off, the next step is to… spend the night.”

  She blushed a scarlet, “I’m sorry about last night, that wasn’t what that was, and I don’t know why I couldn’t bring myself to leave your bed. I wasn’t trying to trick you or anything.”

  He caressed her hair and back slowly and said, “It’s okay, I understand I think. Last night was… different for me too, and I can’t explain it. Everything was… more. I didn’t want you to leave either.”

  She looked grateful for his acceptance then continued, “The last step of course, if everything goes well after the second part. Sometimes people still break after step two, living together reveals problems sometimes. But anyway, step three after a reasonable amount of time, is of course, a child.”

  His eyes widened and he searched for the word marriage and it just wasn’t there. He tried to find an equivalent in this new language and finally said, “So, a child would make us life mates? Or something like that?”

  She nodded, “Exactly.”

  He said, “On my world they have a ceremony, I guess having a kid is even more of a statement though.”

  She asked, “Ceremony?”

  “Yes, where you invite your family and friends, and exchange vows of… life mate. Like,” he searched for the word for monogamy, and couldn’t find it.

  He asked, “I am searching for a word for a concept. When you join with a life mate, it is just you and them right? No sex with anyone else.”

  She gasped and her eyes widened, “No, many life mates are possible. What we have, and what we will or will not have in the future is just between us
. Love is not so narrow as to preclude others. And if we ever become life mates in the future, how would you or I having another change what we have together?”

  She looked frightened for a minute and whispered, “How narrow minded must your world be? By the goddess that’s a horrible concept. To limit love so is heresy.”

  His mind was having trouble catching up, but what he was hearing is he could have others and so could she. That… seemed wrong. Didn’t it?

  He asked cautiously, “Heresy?”

  She bit her lip and asked, “Don’t you remember what you felt when you used your power.”

  He nodded, feeling uncomfortable talking about it at all.

  She finally said reverently, “What you felt, is what she is. Limiting that, limiting… love in any way would be an insult, a heresy. Do you understand now?”

  He nodded thoughtfully. It was still a foreign concept to have more than one girlfriend, or wife. It would take getting used to. But on the other hand, after experiencing a connection with the goddess, to deny a love simply because you already had one seemed, almost ridiculous.

  These concepts fought in his mind for a moment, but he knew it would not resolve itself tonight, but he had faith it would happen. After all, he had felt the goddess’s love too. Speaking of love… and lust.

  He looked into her eyes, and when he could find no objection there he pulled her closer and kissed her. He teased her lips with soft kisses and light brushes of his tongue while holding her head still by her hair... He felt her push him back a moment and her leg swung around so she was straddling him. He smiled as she moved back into him and kissed him passionately. He gasped into her mouth as she ground herself against his tightened member through their clothes.

  This time he pushed her back and pulled her shirt over her head, freeing her perky C cups. The cool night air hardened her nipples and he leaned over slightly and sucked one into his mouth, teasing it with a darting tongue and lightly scraping teeth.

  He heard her gasp sharply and he pinched the other one with his thumb and forefinger. He felt her hands at his pants as she loosed his hardness and he stiffened further as she stroked him with her smooth fingers and palm. When he moved his hands down she slapped them away playfully and stood, taking a few steps back.

  She said sultrily as she shimmied her pants down sexily, “If you want me come get me.”

  He just stared for a minute at her perfect form and wondered again how he had gotten such a beautiful and amazing woman. Her brown hair was swaying in the slight breeze, her eyes had a mischievous twinkle and her amazing smile made him weak. Her C cups were perfect and the curve of her waist was mouthwatering. She teasingly spun for him and he knew he was in trouble.

  He got up and tried to grab her, but she twisted out of his grasp, luckily this time she didn’t elbow him in the face, just giggled as she danced away. He smiled and moved in again, this time focused, or at least, as much as he could with a beautiful naked woman trying to out wrestle him.

  He wondered why she was doing this for a minute because it was driving him crazy as their naked bodies brushed and bumped as he tried to subdue her. Then of course it was obvious, she was trying to drive him crazy. He managed to put her in that same joint lock and put her down on her knees, face in the dirt.

  He dropped behind her, grabbed her hair and pulled back. He checked her with the tip of his manhood, and she was more than ready, she was soaked. He impaled her quickly from behind and slapped her ass hard.

  The feeling was heaven, his pleasure was unbelievably sensitive, and her welcoming warm wet center was tight and smoother than silk. If anything it was a little better than last night, but he didn’t think about why that would be, he couldn’t think at all with the intensity of it. He started to saw in and out quickly, pulling back on her hair with one hand while randomly slapping one of her ass cheeks.

  She gasped and said breathlessly, “Oh goddess, take me hard, make me yours…”

  He slowed a tiny bit so he could thrust harder and deeper, she started to buck her body back into him and rock her hips slightly when their skin slapped together. It felt so good, almost too good, yet, somehow he was lasting. He looked down at the curve of her neck as her hair was raised away from it, held in his fist. The way her tight ass shook every time he slammed into her, the perfect curves of her.

  The mewling sounds of pleasure coming from her spurred him on and he found it within himself to go faster and suddenly felt her tighten around him.

  “OH fuck, Justin I’m…”

  He felt her flood as it ran over his cock, her honey soaked his balls and the inside of his legs. He picked back up speed as her core let up a bit, though she was still trembling in pleasure as he started pounding into her again. He thought about everything that had happened since he met her, all that he had shared with this beautiful woman. He realized it was so much more than her physical beauty that attracted him to her.

  He felt his emotions well up and then something unexpected happened. He burst into white flame and the flames coated and surrounded them both… He heard her sharp gasp of pleasure and understood, the pleasure he was feeling had been multiplied as well, at least twice as much past the already enhanced pleasure. His mind barely noted the fact he now knew the enhanced pleasure was from his power… somehow.

  He loved the doggie style position, but he wanted to see her eyes, see into her eyes, as they experienced this together, so he backed away and flipped her over. But when he tried to mount her she wrapped her legs around him and threw him to the side. Next thing he knew she was lowering herself down, impaling herself on him with a challenging look he found incredibly sexy. Did she think he would argue?

  Everything was so intense, yet, they seemed to have been gifted with an equal amount of control, it was obvious to him he’d have lost control in thirty seconds if it wasn’t so.

  He licked her nipple when she leaned forward, dangling her breasts over his face. They started to bounce in his face as she slid up and down his pole vigorously. He reached up and started kneading them as she rode him hard, up and down, their skin slapping together as she simply impaled herself each time by dropping her body down.

  He locked his eyes with hers and he lost himself in them, and in the pleasure, until he reached his peak. He cried out in bliss and she gasped sharply as his member expanded within her.

  She leaned down farther and in a mewling, begging, but somehow demanding whisper said, “Yes, fill me, that’s mine, give it.”

  As he started pumping his seed into her womb he felt her lock up in pleasure above him, gasping out his name as her hot velvety core milked the rest of his offering. As he stared up into her eyes, he wondered if she could feel it to, if she could feel the presence of the goddess, or if she just felt the enhanced pleasure. He wouldn’t ask though, and he knew she wouldn’t talk of it either, if she did.

  She kissed him teasingly and nipped at his lip, then slowly rose off his slowly softening member. She lay down next to him with a brilliant smile on her face and snuggled into his side.

  The flames slowly died around them and he smiled back questioningly, for her smile was not one of satisfaction, or at least not completely, but it was also almost smug.

  She answered his questioning glance with a question, “The flame of course, you know what that means?”

  He thought about it for a moment, and remembered the feelings he had when the flames had ignited around them. He considered it, and all he had learned and realized the truth. Compassion was the trigger for him earlier, but only because compassion was a form or expression of love. Maybe not romantic love, but love nonetheless.

  Love was the trigger, of course, it had to be he realized. Then, it all caught up with him and he blushed scarlet realizing what that meant. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to set up house and have a kid, after all it had only been forty eight hours, but there was part of him that already felt love for the woman lying in his arms, and his power had made that painfully obvious.

&nb
sp; She kissed him again and said, “Don’t be embarrassed, just this morning I abandoned my inn, temporarily perhaps, but I did it all the same, just because I couldn’t bear the thought of letting you out of my sight. Maybe you aren’t the only one. We should get some sleep.”

  She rolled away from him and at first he was confused, then he understood, she had decided to follow the rules tonight. His arms felt empty. It had only been two days, there was no way they were ready to move in with each other. There was no way, it was like an engagement here, or a tryout for being mates. It would be absolutely insane for him to ask, as bad as his power blurting out he loved her.

  He looked over and meant to say goodnight, but what he whispered was, “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

  He cringed as her back stiffened and cursed himself for being stupid and not listening to what he himself had thought. But despite knowing her such a short time, he already knew, there was no point in denying the love he felt now. It may not last, but they could try, see how it went… right? He just wished he had sounded more confident when he asked. He waited, his mind on pins and needles, for the answer.

  Chapter 7

  Katrina’s back stiffened in surprise, and she felt her eyes moisten. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his arms. After her confusion all day, it had been their earlier talk, as he held her so gently while she explained the three levels of commitment. First showing interest, then staying together, then to mating. Then he had asked her that question and it had horrified her.

  But as she explained that denying love, any love, would be heresy it had struck her in an unexpected way. She had fallen for him, she had been lying to herself all day. She herself had been denying love. She was ready to live with him to give it a chance and see if it led to kids, or failure.

  She was terrified though, even with the flames showing her he loved her. She wondered if it was just temporary, just based on the fact she was all he knew of this world really. She had taken him in and given him work, because she could tell he was a good man, explained things to him. She blushed, then she had seduced him…