applepie

[I]Sorry, it was too long to post in a single entry as it is about 13 pages typed[/I]



Arabella was shocked at the nervousness thrumming through her body as Allarick led her into one of the other chambers in his room. His hands were covering her eyes, but she was able to feel his strong presence pressed against the length of her back. Strangely, it was calming rather than contributing to the tension.

Allarick’s breath blew softly across her ear as he leaned forward to whisper, “Are you ready tamore?”

“Yes,” she replied, and inhaled deeply to try and calm her anxiety. With her deeply drawn breath, a sweet smelling odor pervaded her senses. She couldn’t really place what it smelled like, but it was divine. All that she wore was a long robe that was much softer than any fiber she had ever felt, and it only seemed to heighten her sensitivity to her surroundings. A shocked gasp escaped as Arabella’s eyes were uncovered. The room was filled with what must have been hundreds of clear vessels full of burning oil. A small table with two cushions for seating had been moved into the room, and a soft steam was rising from the gloriously large bathing pool.

“You are pleased with my efforts this eve Bella,” it came as more of a statement than a question, but Arabella nodded her assent regardless. She was turning in his arms to ask how he had accomplished so much in so little time, but instead she found herself being propelled towards the table and the array of food awaiting them.

Deciding to just wait and see what Allarick had in store for the evening, Arabella sat quietly and watched as drinks were poured and one was pressed into her hand. The beverage tasted like sweet honey made into wine. Nothing in her world could have compared to the taste, and she sipped it savoring the slightly viscous texture. She smiled slightly as Allarick gulped down the majority of his first cup and poured himself another. It seemed that she was not the only one who was nervous.

In an effort to break the tension, Allarick pulled Arabella into his lap and cuddled her close. In response to his gentle affection, she buried herself close and breathed deep of his masculine musk. Until then, she had never found the smell of anyone to be so tantalizing, but as she inhaled her pulse began to thrum just a little more strongly with the first stirring of desire. Pulling back a little she reached for the plate of food laid before them. Choosing a cake like morsel she popped it into her mouth loving the sweet, yet slightly salty, flavor. Some inner demon prompted her to tease Allarick, just a little. She wasn’t the type to taunt someone, but she just could not resist paying him back for her earlier joke about mating.

She reached for one of the juicy pieces of fruit on the plate and popped one into her mouth. Then she proceeded to lick the sticky residue left behind from her fingers. From beneath her eyelashes she was able to watch as his pupils dilated with desire and a sharp hiss came from his clenched jaw. Before she even had a moment to savor that small victory, Allarick’s mouth was upon hers and all thought fled beneath the onslaught.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Allarick felt as if he were on fire. One more moment of torture, that’s what it was to hold his tamore and not touch her, and he would have been mad. She yielded so sweetly, that he could feel his body clamoring for more of what she so easily gave. Rather than allowing himself to lose all control, however, he stood with Arabella in his arms and began to more towards the pool. While he was walking he managed to strip off each of heir robes so that he fluidly moved them into the water.

A sigh escaped Arabella as they lowered into the water and her eyes closed blissfully. He was able to understand her pleasure appreciating the soothing warmth of the water himself. It was a perfect night for spending time within the spring water. A slightly chill breeze moved around them heightening their senses further at the contrast of hot and cold. It seemed as if the gods conspired to have the evening perfect for his mating. It wasn’t often any more that someone found their tamore so maybe the gods were showing their favor. Either way, he was grateful for it.

The warmth of the water was working to sooth both of their nerves, and Allarick decided that it was past time he start to devote his attention to seducing his mate. He could smell Arabella’s sweet musk in the air telling him of her desire, but he wanted more. He wanted, no needed, to know that his tamore needed him as badly as he did her. With his aim in mind, Allarick set about doing just that.

Moving to the side of the pool, he reached for the variety of bathing supplies that Nechemya had brought for their use. He swiftly picked out the three different cleansers, and he began to inhale the intoxicating fragrance of each. The first smelled like exotic sitha flowers found at only the highest elevations. They were a tiny bloom of the palest yellow, and to reap the benefits of their sweet fragrance they needed to be harvested in the middle of the night when they were blooming. The sitha was one of only four varieties of flowers that bloomed beneath the night sky rather than the suns. The second cleanser was extracted from a fibrous fruit known for its sweet earthy scent. The fruit also had the benefit of being full of a milky liquid which is what had been processed into cleanser. The remainder of the fruit had likely been served as a puree at one of the many feasts within the palace. The final one was made from the cascading gyilla flowers that grew along the planets largest waterfall. The water that flowed there was full of salts and rich with minerals. These were deposited amidst the flowers by the billows of mist rising from the waterfall.

While it was not the rarest, the gyilla flower cleanser was the one that Allarick selected for Arabella. It was a complex scent that was sweet and spicy, earthy while still reminding one of the salt filled mists that made it so coveted for its cleansing and moisturizing properties. Looking at his tamore, he was unable to think of a scent that would suit her better. The delicate floral bouquet of the sitha did not suit his lady, but neither did the masculine tone of the other.

Satisfied with his choice, he urged Arabella beneath the water and began to moisten her inky curls. Once wet, he drew her against him and began to lather the entire length with the gyilla cleanser. He massaged it into her hair and scalp finding himself rewarded with a soft moan. He had to bite back his own as she ducked beneath the water to rinse, however. It was bliss to feel her hair moving softly through his fingers and wrapping its way around his body as if to pull him closer.

Arabella turned on him with a siren’s smile, “My turn,” was all she said as she moved to wash him. Allarick watched as she repeated his earlier actions of smelling the bottles of cleanser. He was not able to see which she had selected, but he was not surprised at the earthy smell that reached him as she lathered his hair. To his surprise, she didn’t stop with just washing his hair, but her hands started to smooth over his body spreading cleaner in their wake as she familiarized herself with his body. He groaned as her deft hands moved across his chest and slowly down the taut skin of his stomach.

“Enough,” he rasped out, grabbing her hands and bringing them to his lips. He was glad to see that her lovely eyes, which had been shadowed with doubt, were now glazed with the same passion burning within him. He leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth showing her without words the passion that she incited within him. Then he ducked beneath the water to quickly clear his body of the soap.

Taking Arabella’s hand he led her from the pool and wrapped her within one of the cloths brought for drying themselves. He also took the time to wrap one about his waist before approaching her with a wide comb for her hair. Gently, Allarick began to run the comb through the long strands. He was amazed that her hair fell nearly to her waist when left unbound, and it was with satisfaction that he realized no other would see her in such a way. She looked like a goddess brought to life. Her pale skin glowed in the evening light while her hair fell in long, glistening, black locks around her. He could have stayed there all night just looking at her and pulling both the comb and his fingers through her hair, but instead he moved her to lie upon the bed.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The feel of Allarick’s hands massaging her back was heavenly, and it too all of her concentration to keep from saying out loud the things that he was making her feel. Arabella’s body had turned to jelly, but her insides were quivering with anticipation. She was finally going to experience lovemaking.

It seemed odd to think that she was past her mid twenties, and she had never lain with a man. The sad truth was that none had ever managed to incite the raging fever within her that Allarick could with a smoldering glance. He had set her senses ablaze, and she was rapt with anticipating of their coming mating. Fear had abandoned her, and she was left only with a profound feeling that this was her destiny. All the trials and tribulations in her life, all of the triumphs in her career had brought her to this one culminating point in her life. She had never been one to believe in God or the powers of fate, but she was certain that they had conspired to bring her to this amazing man.

Arabella writhed against the sheets as Allarick’s hands meandered up her sides smoothing her skin with warmed oil that smelled like the cleanser he had used in her hair. Before she could focus too much on the placement of those devilish hands, he slipped them beneath her to cup her breasts. Too inflamed to lay passive any longer, she reared up and flipped to her back so that she could look Allarick in the eyes as he drove her wild with need.

“Can I help you with something tamore,” he asked with mischief alight in his eyes. Arabella didn’t miss the glazed look of desire, and she wordlessly pulled him down for a kiss.

At the touch of their lips, Allarick let out a growl and moved his body within the cradle of her thighs. Gently he pushed at her entrance, and Arabella felt as if she would go mad if he did not fully claim her soon.

“Please Allarick,” she begged him for an end to this torture, her nails dug deep furrows in his back as she tried to reign in her passion.

“Patience Bella, we have all night so there is no need to rush,” belying his words, he granted her demand and pushed just a little deeper, “you are too tight to go quickly. I’ve no wish to cause you any pain.”

Arabella did not miss the toll that his restraint was taking on him. Allarick’s back was covered in a sheen of moisture, his breathing came in ragged pants, and his muscles felt as if they were carved of granite from the tension coursing through his body. Rather than spend more time trying to convince him to quit tormenting the both of them, Arabella arched towards him while trying to distract him with another intoxicating kiss. She was not prepared, however, for the searing pain as he seated himself to the hilt. Unable to prevent it a sharp gasp of pain escaped her as her entire body stiffened in reaction.

The pain quickly gave way to pleasure as the two of them rushed head long towards release. As they neared the edge an oddly musical tune seemed to hum between their bodies. Arabella looked towards Allarick in her confusion, and she was surprised to see the depth of love radiating from his eyes.

“Allarick, what is…”

“Just listen to and feel it,” he silenced her with another kiss, and the tide of rapture broke across them. The melodic tones reached a crescendo, and there was a feeling like butterfly wings caressing her arm.

As their bodies settled and their breath returned to normal, Arabella could not help but peek at the new tattoo decorating her arm. It was beautiful in its intricacy. It looked like a full score of vines woven into a delicate lace pattern. Here and there along its length were stunning gold and crimson blooms that reminded her of the jasmine flowers found on earth.

“They are gyilla blooms,” Allarick told her with amazement radiating from him. He smiled as he showed her his identical armband, “it is done Bella, and you are now fully claimed as my mate.”