“And I can’t wait to claim this,” Ronen said. He caressed my ass.
Goddess.
“Squirt more ramentha. I’d like to feel her dark passage.”
More liquid of the juice dripped on my anus. My heart hammered hard. A finger traced my puckered hole. I stiffened as the finger sought entrance inside my nether orifice. I tightened involuntarily, my body trying to refuse the intrusion.
“Ah. Too tight.” Ronen made an impatient noise. “Please, Elyra, relax. Does it hurt?”
“Nay, it can’t be hurting her,” Callarn said. “Look, her cunt is dripping. Just go slower.”
Ronen followed his advice. He pushed his finger into my depths in agonizingly slow motion. Each time he wriggled around my smooth back passage, pleasure ebbed like a never-ending wave.
“Vasyel said the area between the woman’s ass and cunt is most sensitive,” Callarn observed.
“Lick it. See if she likes it.”
I screamed when a tongue swirled in that area. I never thought it could feel so good.
“Oh. She likes it.” Callarn’s voice was full of triumph. “Look, she drips again. I have to dry her.”
My breath lodged in my throat as Callarn withdrew his finger from my cunt and licked my swollen sex. My anal passage clenched Ronen’s finger as Callarn devoured my juices.
“Tight,” Ronen said. “I can’t wait until my shaft is inside her.”
Callarn hummed. “She is simply delicious. I can eat her all night long. Do you know I found her womanly secret as well?”
“Show me.” Ronen sounded excited.
“Callarn!” I protested.
“See? I haven’t touched her yet and she’s already screaming.” He slipped a finger into my cunt and stroked me with expertise.
I clawed my fingers on Ronen’s thigh and squeezed my eyes shut. The overdose of pleasure made me float in oblivion. When the tide ebbed away, I found myself lying on Ronen’s lap shivering like a heap of leaves.
“Well, sweet, will you accept our claim?” Ronen asked.
I slowly scrambled up from his lap and pushed the stray hair from my face. My heart told me to say yes, but my mind told me otherwise. I’d grown to love them and the people in Aesterneum, but I couldn’t risk their safety.
The Jakael hunters Erodan had hired to get me were ruthless. They had already killed the family of a farmer who sheltered me for the night. I didn’t want more innocent blood on my hands. I just couldn’t have that on my conscience.
I gathered my clothes and looked at my claimers with regret. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
I could feel their burning stares on my back as I left.
Chapter Five
Ashanie caught me daydreaming while I shelled peas in the cookery the next day. “So,” she asked me with curiosity. “Did you accept their claim yet?”
I sighed. “No. I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
I told Ashanie of my predicament. She listened attentively.
“I think you worry too much. Have a little faith in your claimers. They are warriors, not mere farmers. They know how to defend themselves and you.”
“I don’t want to take a chance.”
“Don’t you fancy Ronen and Callarn?”
I faltered. “I do.”
Ashanie clasped her hand on mine. “You just need more time to decide. Once you are settled in here, you can see how safe Aesterneum is. I’m going to harvest ramentha. Why don’t you help me with it? A little trip to the grove will clear your mind.”
“Harvesting ramentha?’
“Aye. In Deln’yir vale, our sacred ground.”
My curiosity piqued. I would love to see the Khimerian sacred ground. Did they bury their dead there too? “I’ll go with you.”
“Splendid. Let’s make haste while the day is still high.”
We carried big baskets and walked to the village border. A centaur who guarded the gate gave us a pass. He stood before the enchanted hedge and murmured a spell.
“Tanae Dreknaar Sli’l Vanelie.”
The hedge suddenly shifted, revealing a tunnel for us to pass through. As soon we walked through it, the hedge behind me enclosed.
“The bushes are alive,” I uttered in amazement.
“Aye. They’re enchanted.”
“What happens when people try to sneak in?”
“The bushes eat them.”
I shivered.
We walked further north until we arrived in a small valley. It was surrounded with merai hedges. The path to its entrance was steep. The gate was barricaded with a heavy oaken door.
“We’re here?” I asked.
“Deln’yir vale, where we grow our ramentha.” Ashanie murmured a spell that caused the gate to open by itself.