Dark Queen’s Army Read online

  “Are you upset about it?”

  “Yeah, I am. I don’t want to abstain. Not now, anyway. I was planning to test my powers while you were transitioning, when we couldn’t do anything anyway. It seems like such a waste to sacrifice even one day of lovemaking for that, let alone two. But if I wait only one day and then the test results are so-so, Kian will want me to do it again.”

  Smiling, she cupped his cheek. “I know how to shrink the suffering to one day only, but it’s going to be excruciating.”

  He cocked a brow. “What do you suggest? Keeping me on the brink?”

  “You guessed it. I’m going to tempt you like you’ve never been tempted before, but no touching will be allowed.”

  “You’ll have to chain me.”

  She laughed. “No, I won’t. Your mighty beast is a tame pussycat. He just wants to be loved.”

  “Ouch.” Yamanu pretended offense. “That’s not a good way to tempt me. My ego just suffered a terrible blow. I’m not even sure I can rise to the occasion.”

  “We will see about that. But first, we will have dinner, and you are going to tell me about your day, and then I’m going to tell you about mine.”

  His grin was radiant. “Other than lovemaking, this has become my favorite time of the day. Coming home to you, talking with you, sharing our lives with each other, I’ve never imagined this part of being a couple would be so satisfying.”

  Mey sighed. “You didn’t have the benefit of growing up in a home with a father and mother who loved and cherished each other. I had an excellent example of how a couple should be together.”

  “I need to meet your parents and thank them for raising you so well.”

  “Same here. Your mother did an amazing job with you. You are more than I could have ever hoped for.”

  17

  Yamanu

  Mey dimmed the lights in the living room and put on music. “Don’t peek,” she warned before ducking into the bedroom.

  What was she up to?

  Just thinking about the torturous seduction Mey had promised made Yamanu hard as a rock, and that was without knowing what she was planning.

  Could it be a striptease?

  Whatever it was must have required a lot of preparation because she’d been gone for way too long. Or perhaps time just moved slower for him while waiting for his lady’s return.

  When she finally reappeared, Yamanu sucked in a breath.

  “Dear Fates.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw to stop from gaping. “Have mercy.”

  Mey was dressed in scarves. Or rather undressed. She was holding one between her outstretched arms; another was looped around her neck, crisscrossing over her perky breasts and tied in the back. The rest were tied to a belt slung low on her hips.

  Swaying while snaking her arms, she shimmied her shoulders and twirled around on bare feet. All Yamanu wanted to do was get up and start removing those scarves one by one with his teeth.

  Was that what she’d planned?

  He started to push up when she twirled up to him and pushed him back down. “Don’t move.”

  “Those scarves are just begging for me to pull them off.”

  Mey laughed. “If you manage to catch one while your butt is still on the couch, you’re allowed. But if you lift off even an inch, it stays.”

  Damn, this was even sexier.

  Yamanu loved a challenge.

  Teasingly, Mey alternated between undulating her torso and shaking her bottom, but after a few minutes of that, she switched to freeform dancing, which seemed less fatiguing to her.

  As she twirled toward him, Mey lifted her foot, and the scarves parted, exposing her leg all the way up to her skimpy panties. She was almost within reach, but as he lunged forward and tried to grasp a scarf, she danced away.

  “Butt on the couch, Yamanu. Even if you get it off, you will have to give it back.”

  With a groan, he sat back down. “Can we talk about the rules?”

  She laughed and twirled, spreading the scarf she was holding in her hands like a sail. “That’s the only rule. You are not allowed to get up.”

  “I’ll make you a deal. Every scarf you remove, you can tie me with.”

  “No deal.”

  She kept dancing, going faster and faster, her dark hair whipping around and her scarves lifting from the centrifugal force of her twirls.

  Lost in the music and in her wild moves, Mey wasn’t as careful and got close enough for him to grab a scarf and pull it off without lifting off the couch.

  “Aha! I scored one!” He wrapped it around his head like a turban, inhaling the scent she’d left on the fabric.

  Mey laughed. “My own gorgeous sultan.” She got close again and bent to plant a kiss on his lips.

  Yamanu caught her, lifted her up, and plopped her onto his lap. “I’ve got you. You are not going anywhere.” He cupped the back of her head, holding her in place as he kissed her.

  When he let go so she could suck in a breath, Mey pouted. “You were not supposed to touch.”

  “Game change. I get to touch, but you don’t.”

  He pulled out another scarf, clasped her wrists, and tied it around them. “You are my captive.”

  The scent of her arousal flared. “I can play this game. The question is, can you?”

  He knew what she meant by that. “I’ve done it before.”

  “You were celibate back then, and you were drinking your potion. You might not be able to hold off now.”

  “Do you question my willpower?” He pushed off the couch with her in his arms.

  “I guess I shouldn’t.” She snuggled against his chest. “You are a rock.”

  He chuckled. “Now, you are just buttering me up.”

  “Is it working?”

  “Of course. I’m a vain man.”

  “You have every right to be.”

  Sitting on the bed with Mey in his arms, Yamanu untied the scarf crisscrossing her breasts, pulled it off her, and bent his head to take one puckered nipple between his lips.

  Mey let out a soft moan and arched her back, pushing more of it into his mouth.

  Chuckling around her nipple, he cupped her center. “This is mine,” he murmured and then flicked his tongue over the small turgid peak.

  She pulled her hands out of the loose binding he’d fashioned and put one on the back of his head. “Don’t stop.”

  He did, but only to switch to the other side.

  18

  Mey

  Mey had been worried about Yamanu’s ability to hold back, but she hadn’t thought it would be difficult for her as well. Dancing for him had made her feel sexy, and the rampant desire in his gaze only fueled the embers of her need.

  Agreeing to him pleasuring her was selfish and weak, but she just couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

  Besides, this had given him pleasure before.

  It was going to be so much harder this time, though. Then again, charging up his sexual energy without giving it an outlet was the entire point of what they were doing.

  He was going to suffer no matter what.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered.

  His mouth left her nipple with a wet pop. “I thought that I was doing just that.”

  Sweet Yamanu. Always ready with a smile and a joke.

  “Kiss my lips.”

  He pretended to bend down to her throbbing core, but then lifted up and claimed her mouth. His tongue warm and commanding, he somehow managed not to nick her with his protruding fangs.

  It still amazed her how good of a kisser he was, navigating without letting those sharp points detract from the experience.

  She melted against him, surrendering to the sweet invasion and curling her tongue around his.

  His hand was still cupping her center, which by now felt molten, and as he deepened the kiss, he pushed his fingers under the gusset of her panties and stroked her swollen folds.

  Her hips moved like they had a mind of their own, undulating in response to his gentle touch a
nd begging for more.

  He hugged her closer to him and slid one finger inside her wet sheath.

  The groan that escaped her lips was a plea for more.

  “What do you need, my lady Mey?” He murmured at her lips. “Tell me what to do. Another finger? My mouth? My tongue? Everything is yours to command.”

  Mey didn’t want to command, she wanted to surrender. “More fingers,” she whispered.

  He retracted his digit and came back with two, eliciting a throaty moan.

  “Like that?”

  “Yes. Keep going.”

  He added a third finger, stretching her, and then curled them inside her, lightly rubbing that sensitive spot that no other man before him had discovered inside her.

  The orgasm that exploded out of her took Mey by surprise. He hadn’t even touched her clit.

  Yamanu kept pumping his fingers in and out of her, prolonging her pleasure, until she collapsed against him, boneless.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her closed eyelids. “I love you so much that it hurts.”

  A soft chuckle escaped her throat. “Right now, I believe it.” She lifted her hand to his cheek. “My poor baby. How are you going to survive until tomorrow?”

  “The same way I survived for the past six centuries. But if you think that we’re done, you are mistaken.” He lifted her off his lap and laid her out on the bed. “You’re still wearing too many scarves, and they are just begging to be removed.”

  Ducking between her legs, he closed his fangs around one scarf and tugged, then shook his head like a beast to get rid of it.

  Mey laughed. “If you make holes in them, you’ll have to buy Callie new ones.”

  He paused, letting the next one fall out of his mouth. “These are Callie’s?”

  She waved a hand. “Forget I said anything. I’ll get her new ones. Keep going, tiger.”

  His fanged grin let her know that he liked her calling him that, and when he attacked the delicate silk fabric with renewed vigor, Mey had no doubt he was going to tear apart at least some of them.

  When all the scarves were gone, he slid her panties down, and all that remained on her body was the belt.

  He left it where it was and crouched between her spread thighs. “Now, that’s a sight to behold.” He licked his lips.

  Her core fluttered in response, her desire roaring into life as if she hadn’t been wholly sated mere moments ago.

  Evidently, Yamanu was supercharging her sex drive as much as she was supercharging his. As her mother used to say, with the meal came the appetite.

  Well, Mey’s appetite had never been more ferocious.

  Sliding his big hands under her bottom, Yamanu lifted her to his lips and planted a soft kiss on her plump lips. “So silky,” he murmured, and then treated her to a long lick. “And so tasty.”

  Unhurriedly, he explored every crease and crevice, every fold, dipping shallowly into her sheath and then retreating and going back to his explorations.

  How could he be so patient when he was no doubt hurting?

  “You are incredible,” she whispered. “I don’t know how you do it.”

  He lifted his head and smiled. “With love.”

  For long moments, his tongue teased and probed, his lips rubbed and kissed, and his hands kneaded her buttocks. He avoided her clit, though, letting her simmer but not ignite.

  “Yamanu,” she whispered. “Please.”

  He planted another soft kiss on her petals, and then flicked just the tip of his tongue over that most sensitive spot at the apex of her slit.

  Mey jerked up, the gentle touch feeling like a bolt of lightning.

  He slid two fingers inside her and at the same time sucked that sensitive little nub into his mouth.

  As Mey’s core convulsed, his hands tightened on her bottom, holding her up as she shuddered and shook, releasing noises she’d never heard herself making before.

  When the tremors subsided, he treated her to another soft kiss. “My sweet lady Mey.”

  “Yamanu,” she breathed.

  Sliding up her body, he took her mouth in a soft kiss. “I love you.” He braced on his forearms and gazed at her lovingly. “You are always beautiful, but you are absolutely extraordinary with this blissed-out expression on your face.”

  “I love you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “More than I thought was possible.”

  19

  Magnus

  “I could get used to this.” Vivian adjusted her sunglasses. “Riding in a Porsche, wearing designer clothes, I feel like a celebrity.”

  Magnus smiled and took her hand. “Do you want to drive?”

  “Oh, no. I would be terrified of damaging it.”

  “It’s a rental, and we paid for full insurance. You can have fun with it.”

  She shook her head. “Being driven around is more fun.”

  “So, I guess you don’t want me to buy you one.”

  She chuckled. “And what would I do with it? Does the clan have an auto shop that retrofits vehicles to comply with the village’s rules?”

  “I’m sure something could be arranged.”

  “Look.” Vivian pointed. “The gate is opening.”

  It was their third pass by the mansion, but this time they got lucky. A gardener’s truck was leaving.

  Magnus slowed down, letting it pull out into the road in front of him. “I’m going to follow them to their next stop.”

  Vivian pursed her lips. “You should ask them for a business card and let them remember that you are a future homeowner in the neighborhood. If we were caught on camera while passing by, the gardeners would confirm our story.”

  “I don’t think anyone is going to ask them anything, but I can do that.”

  The truck stopped several houses down the street, and Magnus had to hurry before it disappeared behind another gate.

  He stopped behind the truck and waved his arms. “Can I bother you for a moment?” He stepped out of the car.

  Vivian followed, trotting behind him on her high-heeled shoes.

  The driver of the truck jumped down. “How can I help you?”

  “I just want your business card. My wife and I are looking for a house in the neighborhood, and we will need a gardener. I saw your truck and figured I might as well start collecting phone numbers.”

  Vivian took her sunglasses off and smiled. “We noticed that you had the latest and best tools for gardening work.” She put her hand on his truck. “My father used to say that the mark of a professional is the kind of tools he has. He was a carpenter before he retired.” She offered him her hand. “I’m Viv.”

  “John.” He shook her hand.

  Good move. Letting the guy know that she hadn’t been raised rich made him more comfortable with her and his mind easier to access.

  While Vivian distracted John, Magnus reached into his mind and went for a tour.

  Nothing out of the ordinary had happened on the mansion’s grounds today. In fact, John thought that it was odd for a place this big to be so devoid of life. The only person he ever met while working there was the security guard. It wasn’t the same one every time. He knew at least four, all decent fellows who treated him well. Not like some of those affluent homeowners, who didn’t even notice that he was there, let alone acknowledge his presence with a hello.

  In those homes, John told his helper to use the leaf blower for the entire time. This was his small revenge for being treated like the dirt he worked with.

  Magnus liked the guy, and he felt bad for probing deeper and checking if any of John’s memories were erased, but there were no suspicious gaps in the last month or so, and Magnus didn’t want to go further back than that.

  His only interactions had been with the guards, and other than them, John hadn’t met any of the mansion’s inhabitants.

  He knew about the underground bunker but thought that it was a bomb shelter and had no idea how big it was.

  Magnus put his hand on Vivian’s shoulder. “We
should get going.”

  Vivian smiled at the gardener. “It was nice talking to you, John. We will give you a call once we close on a house.”

  “Good luck.” He got back in his truck and drove through the opened gate.

  “Anything?” Vivian asked when they were seated in the Porsche.

  “He sees only a security guard each time he comes to work on the grounds. So far, he’s met four different ones, and he didn’t notice anything peculiar about them. They were friendly.”

  “Do you think Kalugal and his men are hiding when John and his crew work on their yard?”

  “First of all, we are not sure it’s Kalugal. And secondly, they might all be working in the underground while John is there.”

  “Let’s go back and buzz the intercom. We can say that we are looking at properties in the area and that we want to check out their front and back yards for landscaping ideas.”

  “I can’t do that. If the guard is an immortal, he would know right away that I’m an immortal as well.”

  “Then I’ll go by myself. You can stay in the car, pretending to be on a business call.”

  “What are you hoping to achieve?”

  She shrugged. “If the guard is indeed an immortal, I can probably sense him. But he can’t sense me because I’m a female, and we don’t have any tells other than arousal, which is not going to happen because I’m mated to you.”

  “He might smell me on you.”

  Vivian reached into her purse, pulled out a container of perfume, and sprayed herself liberally with it. “Now, he can’t.”

  Magnus waved a hand in front of his face to disperse the smell. “It’s dangerous.”

  “No, it’s not. He will probably not even open the gate, but it’s worth a try. Let’s go.” She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin out.

  When Vivian got that stubborn expression, it was futile to argue with her.

  With a sigh, Magnus put the car in reverse and executed a K-turn. “He is not going to let you in.”