Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Making an effort to get herself together, Kaitlyn straightened her spine.
“Er, yes, Your Majesty, I can take it,” she managed, thought she could feel a blush burning her cheeks. She forced her eyes away from her Protector’s huge cock, meeting the Empress’s curious gaze. “But only because Braze, and all his kind—Beast Kindred, that is—make a special kind of chemical in their saliva and their pre-cum.” She gestured weakly at the glistening tip. “It…it helps me stretch. To, er, accommodate him. It makes everything more pliable, and incredibly sensitive, but without pain,” she added, thinking it was a nice touch, though she wasn’t sure if it was true or not.
“Well, well. How fascinating.” The Empress nodded slowly, her eyes gleaming with intellectual and sensual delight. “A built-in mechanism for ensuring mutual pleasure and inseparable union. We have aphrodisiacs and bonding pheromones in our Love Vine also.” She gave a regal wave of her hand. “You may cover him again. I’ve seen enough.”
With trembling fingers, Kaitlyn dragged the maroon cloth back over Braze’s thick erection, her touch lingering for a heartbeat on the scorching heat of his flesh. As she did, Braze shifted slightly, a low, almost inaudible growl coming from deep in his chest.
The sound went straight through Kaitlyn, making her shift and press her thighs together.
The Empress settled back into her nest of cushions, stroking the head of her concubine, who had remained diligently at his task throughout the entire exchange.
“I would like the two of you to stay with me, here in the palace, for a few days,” she announced, her voice taking on a more formal tone. “A trade agreement of this nature, involving something as sacred as our Love Vine, cannot be based on a single audience. I must see if your attitudes and your actions truly align with our own.” A faint frown touched her lips. “I’m afraid, in the past, we’ve had envoys from other peoples come asking to make trade agreements with us, but we found they were only pretending to share our values. They performed affection in public but treated their companions with coldness in private. I dislike this sort of lying and deception.”
A cold trickle of anxiety cut through the haze of Kaitlyn’s arousal. Pretending. The word echoed in the vast room. She felt Braze go very still beside her.
“Of course you do, Your Majesty,” she said quickly, injecting as much sincerity as she could muster into her voice. “The foundation of any agreement should be trust. We’re happy to stay with you—thank you for honoring us with the invitation.”
She chanced a glance down at Braze, who had knelt again after the inspection of his equipment was over. His head was still bowed, his expression unreadable, but the line of his broad shoulders was tense.
“Very good.” The Empress’s smile returned, though it didn’t quite reach her assessing eyes. “Now, there is a banquet tonight in honor of the new moon. And your husband,” she said, looking pointedly at Braze’s simple, two-panel attire, “Must be dressed correctly for it.”
“Er, is he not dressed to the correct standards?” Kaitlyn asked uncertainly. She had thought, after seeing the other males, that the revealing silk panels her Protector wore were the standard.
“For everyday Court life, perhaps. But not for a formal banquet,” the Empress informed them, a hint of amusement in her voice. “There are hierarchies, my dear. Symbols of ownership and devotion to be displayed. I will send you to my Mistress of the Wardrobe—she will provide you with everything you require. And I will see you both tonight.” She made a graceful, shooing gesture with one hand. “You are dismissed. Enjoy the amenities of the palace.”
The audience was clearly over. A herald in stiff golden livery stepped forward, bowing. Kaitlyn nudged Braze gently with her thigh, and he rose to his feet in one fluid, powerful motion to tower over her once more. As they turned to follow the herald back down the long purple carpet, Kaitlyn heard the Empress sigh, a sound of pure contentment.
“Oh, Stanlow, yes… right there, darling…”
The wet, rhythmic lapping resumed—louder now, and more urgent. Then came a soft, shuddering gasp from the Empress, followed by a series of breathy, escalating moans that echoed softly in the opulent chamber. “Yesss… ah! Ah! Just like that, don’t stop, don’t you dare stop… Oooh!”
The unmistakable sounds of the Empress reaching her climax followed them out—a blatant and sensuous soundtrack for their exit. The massive golden doors swung shut behind them, muffling but not erasing the final, satisfied cry.
In the sudden, cool quiet of the antechamber, Kaitlyn felt dizzy. The scent of the big Beast Kindred…the image of his body…the Empress’s probing questions, and his growling, graphic replies—all swirled in her head.
But she didn’t have time to process the experience—the herald was already gliding away, expecting them to follow.