swam around him, trying to come up behind, but Viltori was too quick. He spun, catching Rown about the waist and pulling him under the water. Struggling with a half-hearted effort, Rown rubbed his nude body against Viltori’s form, causing him to harden with an almost automatic response.
“You know better,” Viltori said, pushing Rown away. Not that he wouldn’t mind losing himself in those enigmatic eyes, but violating an ungati was a line he was not prepared to cross. Besides, Rown’s heart belonged to his master, Sterlave, a man who Viltori found most kind.
“You wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway,” Rown teased, swimming away as fast as he could. “Acolytes are notoriously uneducated in the art of pleasure.”
Viltori laughed, making a rude gesture with his thumb and fist. As an ungati , Rown’s entire life had been devoted to the study of pleasure, and yet he was forbidden to climax. Only alone and under strict protocol could Rown find release. Viltori often wondered how his master and mistress coped with such a restriction, but he’d never had the courage to ask.
Still, their flirting was harmless and helped each forget what they simply could not have. Rown’s master cared for him, but Sterlave did not love him, not the way he loved his bondmate Kasmiri. And Viltori could not find love as an acolyte. He was supposed to be satisfied with the love of the gods. He wasn’t. Viltori realized far too late that he’d escaped one problem only to embrace another.
“Tell me, Rown, what news have you heard?” Viltori swam near, settling himself on one of the lower steps of the sweeping underwater staircase.
“I hear that the empress’ consort didn’t fulfill his part of the bonding rites.” Rown scrubbed a foamless soap through his black hair and over his face.
Viltori’s heart plunged to his belly. He’d spent an entire cycle going over and over the exacting nature of the empress bonding ritual. What had he done wrong? Before he could ask, Rown plunged below the surface. Rown rinsed vigorously, then emerged, splashing water everywhere.
“What happened?” Viltori asked.
“I am not privy to the details.” Rown made a face that suggested not letting him know everything was a foolish mistake on everyone’s part. “But he didn’t climax in full view.”
Viltori thought back as to what a punishment that might entail but drew a blank. He had no idea. “What did he do?”
Grinning, Rown said, “He plunged into her from behind, as he should, then pulled out, spun her around, picked her up and slammed her down onto his cock!”
Viltori could actually see Drahka doing that. He found the visual unbearably arousing, especially when he pictured the surprised and yet pleased look on Bithia’s face. For he believed she craved an aggressive male who behaved just like that. Bithia was not a woman wooed by poetry and lukewarm kisses. She was a woman who hungered for brute strength and the most wicked of words.
“Once he had her against his chest, he swept her from the room.” Rown sighed, as if he would enjoy finding someone who would take him away in such a dramatic fashion. “Her bondmate sounds like a passionate man.”
“He is.” Viltori had never met a man more serious about sex. Every time they discussed what he needed to do with Bithia, Drahka grew hard and restless. Unable to sit still, Viltori had taken to teaching him while they walked about the gardens in great, ground eating strides. Of course, what made matters worse was that Viltori became aroused as well. So much so that Drahka had noticed his cock tenting the fabric of his immaculate white robe. Their eyes met and Viltori swore he saw an echoing hunger right before Drahka had sent his hand flying at Viltori’s face. Capturing his fist, Viltori had pushed Drahka to the ground. Stunned, he’d looked up, and the moment had been broken. After that, Viltori used a small pointing stick rather than his hand. Still, there had been a
Pattie Mallette, with A. J. Gregory