Song of Desire Read online

  “Portals? What portals?”

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “They’re all over the galaxy.”

  “What are you talking about, Thorn?”

  “Travel portals…do you call them something different here?”

  “Travel portals? We use space ships and personal capsules for travel. I’ve heard on your home planet that the women travel by means of crystals. Is that what you mean?”

  “No. Surely you know of the portals.”

  “Oh. You mean spaceports. There’s only one on Bluhari.”

  “No, I don’t mean spaceports. I mean portals that allow you to travel anywhere in the known galaxies.”

  “We don’t have any of those. “

  “Perhaps you call them gateways.”

  “We don’t have any of those either. Galaxy travel requires a deep space cruiser.”

  “No, it doesn’t and I know you have portals because I’ve felt them.”

  She frowned. “Felt them? Don’t you mean seen them?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “They’re not visible to the naked, untrained eye.”

  She shook her head. “Then how would one know they were there?”

  “One feels the energy they generate.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He stared at her and sighed. “It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is the return of my memory. I need to meditate and begin the healing process.”

  “What healing process?”

  “I don’t know!” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean to snap. My memories are starting to return. I need to be alone to tap into my inner soul song.”

  “Your soul song? Are you Willoni?”

  “Willoni are generally women and serve a Goddess. My sovereign is not female.”

  “Then what are you? Who are you? Who do you serve?”

  “I need to be alone to discover the answers to those and other questions.”

  She shook her head. “First you tell me the secret of your past is locked within my kiss then you tell me you need to be alone. Please don’t shut me out, Thorn.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips. “It was your kiss that unlocked the gateway to my memories. But the journey to reclaim my identity must be made alone.”

  “But I want to share everything with you.”

  He wanted that as well, but he was beginning to fear that would not be possible. He stroked her cheek and rose. “I will return after I have begun the healing process.”

  She stared up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. “Okay.”

  He stepped out of the water, picked up a towel, and walked back into her bedchamber. He dried off and pulled on his pants. Back in the chambers he had been given in Aquee’s palace, he sank into a chair, closed his eyes. Rocking from side to side, he hummed a soft, tuneless melody that helped summon the healing powers of his soul song, which help shape who and what he was.

  Soon, he was lost in memories of an ancient desert world where a vengeful Willoni Goddess, angered that a rival had won the affection and devotion of an eternal, but fallible God she coveted had cast a powerful, invasive spell over him and all those who pledged allegiance to him.

  Feeling drained, Thorn opened his eyes. The sun had set and only a pale light lit the interior of his bedchamber.

  “Thorn?”

  He turned his head. Sierra, dressed in a dark one–piece suit sat on his bed, watching him. “Thorn, you’ve been rocking and humming for hours. I tried to rouse you, but I couldn’t. I was afraid. Are you all right?”

  He rose and stretched, feeling some of the tension in his shoulders dissipating. He smiled and crossed the room to sit on the side of the bed next to her. “I’m sorry you were worried. My memory has been tampered with and I needed a deep cleansing to initiate the healing process that will begin the full restoration of my memory.”

  “Who are the two people you fled Telmira with?”

  “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

  “From time to time when I touched you, you’d start speaking…telling me what was happening to you. You told me about your flight to the Cave of Journeying on Telmira.”

  A ray of hope raced through him. “Did I…tell you what happened after we jumped into the Mists of Aeolia?”

  “Is that what they’re called?”

  “It’s what we called them in the Blue Desert.”

  “Which Blue Desert?”

  “The only true Blue Desert which is on Denhari.”

  “Denhari?” She frowned. “That’s a mythical place. We used to hear stories about it when I was a child.”

  “Denhari was not…” He closed his eyes. “It’s no more of a myth than is Heoptin, the God Eternal.”

  “Heoptin? If he ever existed, surely he’s dead now.”

  He stared at her. “He’s an Eternal God. He can’t die.”

  “Then where is he?”

  He shook his head. “There’s still a lot I can’t remember, but right now I have to find the two I fled Telmira with.”

  “They’re important to you?”

  “Yes…especially the male…”

  “Why especially him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “And the female? Is she important to you too?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Is she why you refused to kiss anyone?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  She placed the hand she held on her breasts. “I hope she’s not important to you.”

  He caressed her breasts, pressing his lips against her neck. “If she were…I can no longer remember.”

  She sighed. “I hope you never forget me, Thorn.”

  His hand tightened on her breast, hurting her. “I don’t think that’s possible.” He rose, lifted her to her feet, and undressed her. He took off his trousers and fondled his cock. Sitting on the bed with her, he slid his hand down her body. She lifted her top leg and sighed with satisfaction when two of his fingers pressed between her wet folds to stroke her pussy.

  She smiled and pressed her bottom back against his hard thighs. “What else can you recall?”

  His stroking fingers stilled. “The male…”

  “What about him?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know anything, except that I need you now.”

  “I need you as well.” Turning her body, she sprawled between his legs and took his cock into her mouth.

  He groaned and closed his eyes as she cupped her hand over his balls and gave him a slow, sensuous suck that had him shooting jet after jet of cum into her mouth, all of which she swallowed.

  Giving his cock a final lick, she rose to kneel on her hands and knees. She glanced at him over one shoulder. “Get the lube and take me. I’m yours.”

  Hands shaking, he reached for the tube lying on the table near his bed. Moments later, he kneeled behind her, parted her lovely cheeks, and eased his hips forward, slowly driving his cock into her warm, tight anal tunnel.

  She moaned and turned her head.

  He leaned over her back and they exchanged brief kisses as he gently fucked her ass until she cried out and came. Her anal contractions around his cock triggered his release, and using his weight to push her down onto her stomach, he stretched his body on top of hers, kissed her lips, and came, filling her ass with his seed.

  Later, after they had returned to her chambers and lay in a tangle of arms and legs exchanging languid kisses, a block of memory rushed at him with the force of a tidal wave. He stiffened and drew his lips away from hers.

  She stroked a hand down his back. “What’s the matter?”

  “I remember who they are.”

  “Who?”

  “I think he’s…my brother…my younger brother.” He bolted into a sitting position. “Joshli!”

  She sat up and turned to face him. “What is it?”

  “I have to find him!” He slid out of bed and strolled across the chamber to the door.

  She ran after him
. “Thorn! Wait! Where are you going?”

  He stopped at the door and turned to look down at her. “I’m leaving. I have to find my brother. He’s young and wherever he is, he needs me.”

  She clutched his hand. “Have you forgotten you’re not…you can’t just leave?”

  Dark, dangerous highlights shot through his green eyes. “What makes you think that?”

  “What makes me think…you…you’re…” She moistened her lips. “You’re a…you belong to Mila. Aquee won’t allow you to leave.”

  His lips tightened. “I am Rutledge Thorn Knightrose of the Crystal Falls.”

  Chapter Eight

  Sierra blinked at him, her heart racing with fear. There was a faraway look in his eyes. Had he already mentally left her? “Thorn?” She touched his arm. “Aquee won’t allow you to leave.”

  “I don’t require her permission.”

  “What?”

  “Now that I know who I am, no one less powerful than an Heoptin High Priest or Supreme Healer can hold me against my will.”

  Standing there, staring up into his eyes, she sensed a power and majesty in him that far surpassed that which Aquee wield with such authority. “You’re from Telmira.”

  “I was born on Denhari, under the Crystal Falls.” He frowned. “A very long time ago.”

  She caught her breath. That explained why he was able to ignite this consuming passion in her where all others except Hawk had failed. “Then it’s true what is said about men of the Crystal Falls?”

  “There are many things said about those born under The Falls.”

  She blushed. “I’ve heard that you are fierce and insatiable lovers and can enslave a woman with but a single kiss…is that why you would never allow yourself to be kissed?”

  He touched her cheek. “Perhaps, Sierra. But I must go now.”

  “Will you come back?”

  He closed his eyes briefly, rocking slightly from side to side. When he looked down at her again, the regret she saw in his gaze gave her an answer before he spoke. “I can’t always foresee things that relate to me personally.”

  “Then you’ll be back?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know if that’ll be possible.”

  She gasped, feeling as if a dagger had been plunged through her heart. The thought of never seeing him again…never experiencing again the fire he ignited in her blood…never knowing the insatiable pleasure his huge cock plunging into her pussy brought didn’t bear thinking about.

  She had thought nothing could compare to her passion for her music. Nothing had until her need and hunger for this tall, handsome male relegated her music to a secondary place in her life. Her thoughts turned briefly toward Hawk. How could the Goddess be so unmerciful to deny her the comfort and joy of having either of the two males she longed for by her side?

  “If you can’t come back, I’ll come with you.”

  A warm smile lit up his dark green gaze. He touched her face with a gentle caress. “I don’t know where I’m going.”

  “I don’t care where you’re going. I’ll go with you.”

  “What of Hawk?”

  She sucked in a breath. “We can take him with us.”

  He arched a brow. “And what of your obligations to your people?”

  “I will abdicate my position as next in line to Sorenia.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Is this something she would welcome?”

  “No,” she admitted in a shamed voice.

  “Younger siblings are to be protected and cherished. They are not to be used to further our own selfish longings. If they were, I would remain here to wrest your heart from Hawk and leave Joshli to whatever fate has befallen him.”

  “I didn’t say Hawk has my heart!”

  He caressed her breasts. “But he does.”

  She bit her lip. “I…do love him,” she admitted. “But…I…love you too.”

  “That is a sweet admission I’ll cherish forever, Sierra.”

  “But?”

  He sighed. “I have to find my brother and you have to attend to your duties here. However sweet and desirable we might have found it, we were never meant to be together for more than a brief period in time, Sierra. That time has now past.”

  “Why? Why does it have to be past?”

  “Because I’m an Heoptin Healer. The Healer’s Oath includes a vow of celibacy that can only be waved during the month long Immaculate Feast of Bliss and Conception. “

  “You can only mate during one month a year?”

  He nodded.

  “How can you…manage that?”

  “I’m a healer,” he said. “I find joy and contentment is helping others.”

  “What are you thinking?” She asked when he paused.

  “That after these sweet days with you, living to heal others will be difficult at best.”

  “Then stay with me.”

  He shook his head. “It will be difficult, but once I find Joshli and spend time cleansing myself of the impurities caused by time as a rutter, I will regain the moral strength of purpose every successful healer needs.

  “You can’t just leave me, Thorn.”

  “I’m leaving you with a man who loves and adores you.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “I can’t take Hawk with me.”

  “You’ll be able to take him with you.”

  “I want you both,” she whispered.

  He sighed. “That’s not possible. Like you, I have other obligations I can’t ignore. Though we’ll never meet again, I’ll carry your memory with me wherever I go. And when things are difficult and I need to summon my soul song for strength, I’ll think of you with the fondest of memories and…affection.”

  Her heart ached. “Please don’t go without me. If you do, you’ll condemn me to a life of misery, devoid of passion and happiness and filled with a hunger for what I shared with you. Surely you can’t want that for me.”

  He placed both of his forefingers over her temples. “You’ll have Hawk and you will forget me, Sierra.”

  “Never!”

  He stared down into her eyes, his gaze intense and authoritative. “You will sleep now, Sierra. When you awake, I will be but a distant memory that fades more with each new dawn.”

  “No! I don’t want to forget you!”

  “You must—for both our sakes. Now, sleep, my love.”

  “No! Thorn!” She balled her hands into fists and hit them against his chest. “Don’t do this to me! Please! I don’t want to forget you!”

  “You must, my love. For your own well–being. If I didn’t have other obligations, I would be tempted to remain with you, but I do have other obligations and I must find Joshli.” He stroked her cheeks. “Now go to sleep, my love. Sleep and forget me.”

  Sierra’s eyelids drifted downward and she leaned against him, longing for bed.

  Thorn lifted the sleeping Sierra into his arms and carried her back across the chamber. He laid her gently on the bed and stood staring down at her. Although his memory had not fully returned, he knew he was about to leave the only woman he had ever loved with a passion so consuming, it nearly overrode his duty to seek out his brother and others of their clan whose memories he might restore with his healing powers.

  He stroked her breasts and then her cheek. “I will never forget you, my lovely Sierra. Whenever I go, I will carry your memory close to my heart. Immerse yourself in your music once again and find comfort and affection with Hawk. His presence and love will help you endure your new life with Drakon. Forget me…forget me. May Heoptin himself watch over you, and bless you and Hawk with many offspring.”

  With a heaviness in his chest that made breathing difficult, he quickly dressed and then quietly left the chamber. He moved down the long corridor to the assembly hall where he knew he would find Aquee and Caronae. Now aware of who he was and to whom he owed allegiance, he bowed his head, but did not kneel as he stood in front of Aquee.

  “Your Highness, my memory has returned and I’ll be leaving Bluha
ri immediately.”

  The tall, beautiful woman with the ebony skin and dark eyes arched a brow. Looking at her, he could see where Sierra’s beauty originated. “Have you taken leave of your senses, rutter? Return to Sierra’s chambers and continue to rut into her until she has at least developed a tolerance for mating. Then we will discuss buying your freedom.”

  He lifted his head and met her gaze. “I am Rutledge Thorn Knightrose.”

  “You say that as if your name should possess some special significance, rutter.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “I am not a rutter! I’m an Heoptin Healer, born under the Crystal Falls on Denhari.”

  She smiled. “Denhari is as mythical as the ancient talk of an underwater city. What did they call it…Atlantis? Return to Sierra’s chambers and I will forget this lapse.”

  “I’m leaving.”

  Her smile vanished and her gaze narrowed. She lifted her right hand, beckoning to the guards behind them.

  He sighed. A demonstration of the power vested in one born under the Crystal Falls would be necessary to convince her. He turned to find two of the four guards in the room advancing toward him.

  He briefly met each guard’s gaze. “Stay where you are.”

  Both guards kept moving.

  He took a deep breath, infusing an edge of authority into his voice. “Stand still.”

  The two guards came to an abrupt halt. Their faces tensed as they struggled to regain their mobility.

  Thorn turned to look at Aquee. “Will you allow me to leave now?”

  “You will return to Sierra’s chambers or by the Goddess, I’ll have you thrown in the confinement until you’ve overcome your delusions of grandeur!”

  She was difficult to convince, but he tried again. “Now that my memory has returned, no one short of a High Priest or a Supreme Healer of the eternal God Heoptin can hold me against my will. I’m free now. And I will be leaving—now.”

  “You enjoy only as much freedom as I allow. Clearly I erred in not restricting you to Sierra’s chambers.”

  He swung around, caught each of the immobilized guards gaze, and reinforced his command. “Stay as you are until I’m gone.” Then he moved toward the exit.