She could smell him, see the pupils of his eyes widening as he looked at her. She let her hand slide slowly down his chest toward his waist, and felt the stiffening of his body beneath her touch. She leaned forward on her tiptoes, and offered her lips to him in a kiss. He didn’t need to be asked twice.
He took her mouth harshly, his lips ravaging hers and pulling out a response that was nearly uncontrollable. Her arms wrapped around him. He picked her up, grinding their hips together even as they stood in the center of the room. She felt his fingers working the fabric of her dress up, sensing the exact moment he realized she wasn’t wearing any undergarments. His mouth grew harder. His fingers clutched the rounded mounds of her buttocks, and she wiggled against him enthusiastically.
He pulled his mouth away from her and gasped.
“Lift me up just a bit more,” she whispered. He hardly seemed to understand her, so she took matters into her own hands, boosting herself up his body. “Now, open your pants,” she muttered. “I need you inside me.
She clung to him as his hand reached past her. Anxious seconds were wasted, and then she felt his length springing free below her.
Instantly, she lowered herself down over him and they both moaned. His hands were once more firmly grasping her cheeks, supporting her as they stood in the middle of the room, fully connected. She marveled at his strength. Even that short period when she’d fully supported her own weight had been enough to strain her arms. He hardly seemed to notice that he held her. His hips rocked against hers, and she wiggled in response. An answering shot of sensation shimmied through her, and she rocked again.
Intriguing what a difference their new position made. Parts of her body that had never been fully touched before were being touched. Each twitch of the hips brought new sensation…
She would have liked to stay still for a while, fully exploring this new position, but he seemed unable to control himself. Beads of sweat started to build up on his face, and his hips pressed against hers until she started moving faster. Up and down she rode, seating herself on his fully length with each movement. Every stroke brought her just a little closer to where she wanted to be. There was a tightness in her legs, a need for something that was becoming impossible to ignore. She tilted her pelvis inward, wanting to get closer, knowing it would be hers if she only waited a bit longer.
Each thrust seemed to bring him closer, too. She could feel it in his cock, so hard it had to be close to bursting. But she could also feel it in the rest of his body. He breathed harshly, and every part of him was rock hard from the strain. His motions became jerkier, and then he was moving across the room to back her against the wall.
“Can’t get enough leverage,” he muttered in her ear, thrusting into her with a new strength. His cock pinned her, grinding her into the wall with an urgency that was impossible to ignore. He thrust harder, and each time he hit home, his pelvis ground against her clit with an intensity that made her want to scream. She was so close, it seemed like each thrust would set her over the edge. There was a wire inside her body pulling tight, winding so hard that her heart pounded to keep up. If that wire didn’t break she would die, smothered by the pressure from within. He thrust into her again and again, and then she screamed as he gave one final thrust, slamming into her with such force that she knew she’d be bruised in a few hours.
She screamed, clutching him to her body as she convulsed in orgasm. Her body gripped him so tight he couldn’t move, and then she felt the hard, hot spurts of his seed within her. He moaned, leaning into her with his full weight, pinning her against the wall so hard he could hardly breathe.
They gasped for breath, and then a sound entered her consciousness.
A horrible, nasty, intrusive sound.
A lone, slow clap of the hands.
She closed her eyes as Jerred stiffened, then slowly lowered her so her feet could touch the floor. He shielded her with his body as she fumbled with the dress, doing his best to preserve her modesty.
When she was done, he fixed his own clothing. He stepped back from her, and she opened her eyes to find Josiah watching them with sick amusement. Behind him were two of his armed men, their faces carefully impassive.
“Nicely done, Jerred,” he said softly. “I see you like the dress.”
She caught her breath, wanting to tear into him, but Jerred grasped her arm in firm caution.
“Josiah, why is it that I’m not surprised you didn’t knock?” Jerred asked with an acid smile. “I assume that you’re ready for us to come to dinner?”
“Yes,” Josiah replied idly. “Follow me, I have a special treat for you. Wine from the Emperor’s own private reserve… I came across three bottles of it recently.”
Giselle’s breath caught. Did all pirates and smugglers have a direct line to the Emperor’s cellars, or had Josiah stolen the wine from their ship? She glanced up at him, trying to determine if his face gave any hint. She might as well have been staring at a stone—his expression betrayed nothing.
They followed Josiah through more corridors and several galleries. She was struck again by the size of the place, and the openness. She wanted to know more about this place, but something told her asking was a bad idea. Maybe when Jerred was all done with his meeting and they were safely away, he’d give her more information.
They crossed through a large, heavily guarded doorway into the most lavish set of rooms she’d ever seen. Women garbed in clothes every bit as fine as her borrowed dress bowed low to them as they walked through the rooms, until they finally reached a dining room. There were low, long tables on the floor, flanked by comfortable couches designed for lounging.
“We eat in the Imperial style tonight,” Josiah said, a strange smile on his face. She felt Jerred stiffen beside her.
Josiah walked slowly to one of the couches and lowered himself gracefully. There was a menace in his movements, as if he were a predator who had just found a particularly tasty piece of prey.
“Jerred and I have dined together like this many times,” he added. “Although rarely in such charming company.”
He gestured for her to lay next to him. She would have preferred to sit on one of the couches across from him, but Jerred shook his head in a barely perceptible manner.
Great.
She walked over to where Josiah had indicated and sat on the edge of the couch, wondering just what was the proper way to lie down and eat. She’d seen people eating like this on vids about the Imperial nobility, but never tried it herself. Seemed awfully decadent.
Still, she managed to get herself seated.
Jerred took the couch across from them with a grace that surprised her. She wondered again about the stock of Imperial wine on his ship. Surely he didn’t actually move in Imperial circles? There were hundreds of billions of people on the settled worlds. Only four or five thousand had that kind of rank. What were the odds?
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy dinner,” Josiah said softly, and he rang a small bell conveniently placed on the table. Instantly, a number of scandalously clad women came in carrying platters of sumptuous food.
It was all she could to keep her mouth from hanging open. This really was like a vid.
Soft music began to play as the women brought them food, a haunting melody that seemed somehow very sad to her. She took a sip of her wine. Even though she was prepared for its effect, the strangely erotic tingles it sent through her were startling in their intensity.
Once again, it seemed to go straight down her throat and between her legs. She shifted, feeling liquid pool there. Jerred caught her gaze from across the table and a wave of longing swept over her. Her muscles actually clenched, she wanted him inside her so badly. A memory of him slamming her up against the wall earlier made her clench her legs. The memory was so enveloping that it took her a moment to realize their host was speaking to her.