Fantasy Knights 2: Endless Love Read online

  A black leather bondage swing hung several feet above the lush, almost ankle-deep carpet. Once seated, the submissive would find her legs held open, leaving her pussy and her ass in prime position to be ravished, her arms strapped above her head. Once the blindfold was applied, she’d have no way of knowing whose cock entered her body.

  She swung around as the door slid closed behind her. The lights dimmed. A sudden soft breeze whiffed along her nude flesh with all the sensuous allure of an appreciative lover.

  The puff of air brushed against her breasts like a soft, sweet, sensual caress. Her nipples pebbled. She tingled as the breeze danced over her belly to pulse and emit intermittent tiny blasts on her clit.

  Erin gasped, parted her legs, and closed her eyes. Liquid heat spread out from her clit and pussy to encompass her entire body. The air around her seemed to hum with sweet, unspoken words that spurred memories of long nights of love and adoration spent in a secluded enclave not far from the Blue Desert.

  Her knees buckled. Instead of feeling the carpet against her body, she felt the supple restraints of the bondage seat fastening around her body. Her thighs were held open, exposing her wet core. Resisting the urge to open her eyes, she inhaled slowly. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I was wrong. Forgive me. Show me you forgive me.”

  Although she received no audible response, she felt certain he would forgive her. He loved her. He’d always loved her. She’d been a fool to ever forget or doubt it. He would forgive her. He would express his forgiveness by making love to her.

  How would he take her? Would he do it in spirit form? She shivered in anticipation as gentle hands applied the blindfold. She relished the sweet delight of an almost out-of-body experience while he aroused and satisfied her without any corporeal physical contact from him. Or would he materialize? Her stomach muscles clenched at the thought of the tantalizing prospect of the warm, flesh-to-flesh contact as he stood between her thighs and slowly pushed his slick, rigid cock into her pussy.

  Cool lips slid over the soles of her feet before nibbling at her toes.

  She licked her lips and smiled. “Yes…yes…” she whispered. “Touch me…love me.”

  Big, warm hands slid along her inner thighs, leaving heat in their wake.

  “Yes…yes,” she encouraged in a soft voice.

  She caught her breath as she felt his cock touching her slit. She was moments away from receiving what she wanted most. The second she felt him sliding inside her body, she’d know he had forgiven her for hurting him.

  He slid the big head of his shaft up and down the length of her slit.

  She bit her lip, her heart racing, her pussy filling with moisture. “Give it to me…please…now. I need you inside me now.”

  He rubbed the head of his length against her clit.

  “Oh…my God,” she moaned, her thighs trembling.

  He bent.

  Moments later, she felt a cool mouth moving along her outer lips. That delight was quickly followed by the skillful insertion of his tongue into her pussy.

  “Oh…yes…yes!” She arched her back.

  He rose, settling between her thighs again. Then he eased his hips forward. The warm head of his cock nudged her slit.

  She trembled and attempted to spread her thighs wider. “Yes…”

  The helmeted head slid between her wet outer lips and several inches into her pussy.

  After an initial thrill of pleasure, she stiffened and then shook her head. This wasn’t Aleksander’s cock. “Wait.”

  He continued to push slowly into her.

  “No!” She compressed her vaginal muscles in an effort to expel the thick length tunneling into her.

  “Shh,” he whispered, speaking for the first time. He cupped his hands over her breasts while he thrust his hips forward. He settled his lips against hers, sweeping his tongue into her mouth.

  An involuntary shudder shook her body. She drew her head back until she could no longer feel his lips on hers. “Please stop,” she pleaded.

  Ignoring her pleas, he slid his hands around her body to cup her bare ass cheeks.

  “Crystal!” She shouted the word.

  A shock shook her when he ignored the control word and continued pushing inside her.

  Furious that he would attempt to continue without her permission, she balled her hands into fists. Taking a deep breath, she channeled all her anger into her internal muscles. Then, as Aleksander had taught her long ago, she compressed her vaginal muscles in a series of rapid movements.

  He gasped in pain and quickly withdrew from her.

  “Crystal cease!” The bondage equipment responded to her command. Her bonds loosened. She tore the blindfold off and climbed out of the seat.

  A naked Malikinder, his eyes blazing, stood staring at her. “How dare you cause me physical pain? You know how fragile these bodies are!”

  She stared at him. She sensed very little of the spirit she had fallen in love with so long ago. His behavior had removed all her remaining doubt about her feelings for him and Aleksander. She no longer loved him. “How dare you attempt to use force with me?” she demanded.

  He narrowed his gaze. “I made it clear to you that once you surrendered your heart and allegiance, they would be mine forever. You belong to me. I don’t require—”

  She raised her chin. “Tanginika was once a daughter of a king. No one forced her to do anything! Not even you.”

  “She loved me for all eternity!”

  “Yes, she did, but I’m not her! I’m Erin, and no one uses force with me. I’ve made my choice. Please respect it.”

  His nostrils flared. “What lies has Stormreaper told to turn you against me?”

  “He’s never said anything bad about you, which is more than can be said about you,” she pointed out.

  “I lost my physical body because of my devotion to you. I’m not going to lose you to him or anyone else.”

  Recalling the events of that night in the West African jungle, she sighed, some of her anger dissipating. “I remember that awful night, and it still hurts, but it’s time to move on. I want to move on with Aleksander.”

  “Even after he’s been with Aja for no other reason than that he wanted to hurt you?”

  She moistened her lips and took a slow, deep breath before she responded. Aleksander’s deliberate attempt to hurt her had been successful, but she wouldn’t reveal her anguish to Malikinder. “Even after that.”

  “He only slept with her to humiliate and hurt you. How can you overlook that? Where is the pride the daughter of a king should possess and demand?”

  “That’s between me and Aleksander.”

  He stepped close and stared down into her eyes. “I won’t allow you to go to him.” He gripped her arm.

  She jerked away from him. “I’ve made my choice.” She walked toward the door.

  He stepped in her path. “You belong to me. I’m not going to let him have you.”

  Erin met his gaze, noted the determination, and realized she was in trouble. Aleksander! Is this what you want? Is this why you brought me here? So he could impose his will on me? Is this what you want for me?

  She felt a sudden breeze in the room.

  Malikinder stiffened. Moments later, Aleksander stood next to her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Like Malikinder, he was naked, but unaroused. The rush of joy that suffused her was quickly followed by confusion. How could they both be there at the same time?

  Aleksander urged her aside and faced Malikinder. “She’s made her choice. Accept it with the graciousness I know you’re still capable of.”

  Malikinder shook his head. “I’ve endured too much agony to allow you or anyone else to take her from me. Don’t make the mistake of challenging me, Stormreaper. You know I’ve always been stronger than you.”

  The clear threat in his tone sent a shiver of fear through Erin. She turned to look at Malikinder. Physically, the two seemed evenly matched—both well over six feet, broad shouldered
with exquisite muscular frames. The clear difference between them was in the toxic level of vitriol emanating from Malikinder.

  Erin turned her attention back to Aleksander.

  He kept his gaze trained on Malikinder. He spoke in a low, controlled voice. “For the sake of our past close oneness, I beg you not to make me prove that’s no longer true, Malikinder.”

  Malikinder’s right fist shot out with lightning speed.

  Erin gasped, her heart racing with fear.

  Aleksander tilted his head to the side and danced back several feet. He kept his gaze on Malikinder. “Leave us alone, Erin.”

  “No!” She turned to face Malikinder, placing a hand on his chest. “I’ve made my choice. If he’ll forgive me and will still have me, I’ve chosen Aleksander.”

  He shook his head, a look of despair in his eyes. “Tanginika…you can’t do this to me. You’re mine.”

  “I carry her memories, but I’m not Tanginika. I’m Erin. You and she had your time together. Now I…” She glanced over her shoulder at Aleksander. “My feelings for him overwhelm me. I’ll always have fond memories of the time you and Tanginika spent loving each other, but that time is past. Tanginika loved and adored you. I…love and adore Aleksander.”

  Malikinder gripped her arms. “You’re still Tanginika.”

  She shook her head. “No. A small part of her lives inside of me still, and that part will always have warm feelings for you. But Erin loves Aleksander.” She touched his cheek. “I know how much you loved her and how much she loved you. For the sake of that love, please let me go. Let me keep and share her wonderful memories of you. When I think of you in years to come, that’s what I want to recall. I don’t want to remember today. Please let me go, Malikinder.”

  “Without you—”

  She pressed a finger against his lips, tears welling in her eyes. “I carry her memories, hopes, and fears, but I’m not her. I’m Erin, and I have different needs and desires. Take comfort in the fact that she will always want and love you. I love Aleksander. Please, let me go.”

  He sucked in a breath. “I can’t…I can’t.”

  She placed her hands on his shoulders. “You have to.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her close to him.

  The fact that his erect cock pressing against her body elicited no emotional response in her was a sure indicator that her heart now firmly belonged to Aleksander.

  She returned his embrace, closing her eyes. “I will always remember you and have fond memories of you, Malikinder. My being with Aleksander won’t change that.”

  He shuddered against her, tightening his arms.

  She pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “I won’t forget you.”

  “Promise.”

  “I do, Malikinder. I promise.”

  He released her and cupped his palms against her cheeks. “How can I let you go and say good-bye?”

  She experienced a brief but powerful sense of sadness and loss. “The part of her that lives on in me will always love you and cherish the memories of the times and the love you shared.”

  “And I’m supposed to be satisfied to spend an endless existence without you?”

  “If you love and honor her memory, let me go. I’m not her. She would never be able to choose anyone else but you. I’m not her. I want to be with Aleksander. Please let me go to him without making me feel as if I’m deserting you.”

  He shuddered and then bent his head.

  Oh, God, please make sure Aleksander doesn’t hold a last kiss against me. She hesitated, closed her eyes, and then lifted her face.

  Malikinder’s lips moved over hers with a featherlight warmth before he released her.

  Erin kept her eyes closed for several moments until she realized she could no longer feel either of them. She opened her eyes, glancing around the room. Neither Aleksander nor Malikinder remained in the room.

  Great. Just how the hell was she supposed to get back home? And where the hell was Aleksander? “Aleksander? Where are you?”

  He didn’t respond.

  Damn him.

  She crossed the room to the door, which slid open. She stepped over the threshold and found herself back in the Blue Desert. The familiar sands spread before her in a seemingly endless expanse. The Tent of Refuge was her only option until Aleksander came back for her. She swung back around and found herself facing another expanse of sand.

  The Tent of Refuge had vanished.

  She compressed her lips. Damn Aleksander. When she saw him again, he’d have a lot to answer for. She looked up. It would be dark soon. “Do you plan to leave me alone and naked here, Aleksander?”

  He didn’t respond. She couldn’t feel him. She sucked in an angry breath. Vague memories of being told to walk toward the horizon away from the setting sun if she were ever lost in the desert filled her mind. She started walking across the desert. With each step of her feet sinking into the soft sands, her indignation grew.

  She judged she’d been walking for about fifteen minutes when she heard a horse whinny. Her heartbeat quickened. A beautiful mare with a dark brown coat cantered across the sands toward her. Memories of riding side by side with Aleksander across the Blue Desert under the stars teased her memories.

  A smile spread across Erin’s face. She waited until the mare came to a stop beside her. She stroked the horse’s side. “Cala! It can’t be you…not after all this time.”

  The horse whinnied against her cheek.

  Common sense told her that this beautiful mare couldn’t be the one she, or rather Tanginika, had ridden so long ago. Yet the warmth emanating from the animal felt familiar and right.

  She put her foot in the stirrup and pulled herself up on the horse. She picked up the reins and then leaned forward to rub her cheeks against the mare’s neck. “Are you Cala?”

  “I am Baka. Cala was a foreparent. I carry her many fond memories of her friendship with you, Tanginika.”

  “Although I carry her memories, I’m not Tanginika.” She frowned. Was that really true? She was no longer sure.

  “You feel like her. As Cala befriended her, I befriend you. As Cala pledged her allegiance to her, I pledge mine to you.”

  The sentient mounts gave their allegiance for life. Erin’s eyes welled with tears of gratitude. “I haven’t done anything to deserve your loyalty.”

  “You carry Tanginika’s memories. I carry Cala’s. She remembered Tanginika fondly until she joined our One.”

  “I know Tanginika would have loved to know that.”

  “What shall I call you?”

  “Erin.”

  “I suppose Storm has joined his One?” she asked of Aleksander’s mount.

  “He has, but he had many mountlings with Cala. Reaper has pledged his allegiance to Stormreaper.”

  Erin felt a sense of shyness from Baka. “And?”

  “And he and I…we have formed our own One.”

  Erin smiled. “Is Reaper as majestic as Storm?”

  “I think he is, but Reaper has a great regard for his foreparent and says it’s not so. Where shall I take you, Erin?”

  She thought of the home in the hidden enclave she and Aleksander had shared. Or had Tanginika shared the home with Aleksander? “Take me home. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes. There is a glade in back where Cala loved to graze. Relax. I will take you safely home.”

  Hopeful that Aleksander awaited her there and certain she was safe with Baka, Erin rubbed her cheek against Baka’s neck and closed her eyes. The motion of Baka’s steady trot lulled her to sleep.

  “We have arrived, Erin.”

  Erin opened her eyes and sat up. In the moonlight, she saw the large cabin where she and Aleksander had spent their all-too-brief time together. Soft lighting spilled out into the warm night from within. Although there was no welcoming aroma of cabali filling the air, she experienced a sense of hope.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to Baka, then pressed a kiss against the mount’s n
eck and dismounted.

  “I will be near, Erin. If you want me, call and I will come.”

  “Thank you.” She turned and rushed into the cabin. She stepped over the threshold and found herself back in Aja’s bedroom, fully dressed. A quick glance around showed she was alone. “Oh…no…not now, Alek. Aleksander.”

  Without waiting for a response she suspected wouldn’t come, she hurried from the bedroom down the hall.

  Aja still slept on the sofa.

  Erin sighed. Thank God. She let herself out of the apartment, closing the door behind herself. She ran down the corridor to the elevators and pushed the Up button. She waited impatiently until the elevator arrived. She stepped on and pushed the twelfth-floor button.

  Stepping out of the elevator on the top floor, she took a slow, deep breath before she walked down the corridor to Aleksander’s apartment. The door opened as she raised her hand to knock. She moistened her lips before she stepped inside.

  The door closed after her. She stared around the living room. There was no sign of Aleksander, but she could feel him. Her heartbeat quickened. “Aleksander? I know you’re here. I can feel you. We need to talk.”

  “What makes you think you have anything to say I want to hear?”

  The fact that he’d bothered to answer her. But she’d clearly need to stroke his ego. She suppressed a smile. Who knew living spirits could be as insecure as human males?

  “I don’t know, but I’m hoping…I’m begging you to appear and talk to me, Aleksander.”

  “Even after what happened with Aja?”

  She compressed her lips. “Yes. I know why you felt the need to sleep with her, and…and I can deal with that.”

  “And if I can’t deal with your behavior with Malikinder?”

  Damn him. He wasn’t going to be satisfied until he’d made her eat crow. “You know my reactions were driven in large part by Tanginika’s feelings and memories of loving and being loved by him. It’s not fair to hold me responsible for actions I didn’t have complete control over.”