A Tale of Revenge Ch. 14

She reached for his tunic before she thought to stop herself. When her fingers pulled at the hem, she stilled. She had never seen him bare and she did not know how he would react to her insistence. He barely paused, pulling his garment over his head in one fluid movement, dropping it as though it was already forgotten. He moved back to her but she stopped him, placing her hands against his expansive chest.

She had never seen him before, here in the full light of day, his body in clear view, available to her fingertips. His skin was the same rich tan, darkened only by the barest flicker of black flames beneath the surface. It felt smooth and harder than hers, cooler despite the power beneath it. The hair there was soft to the touch, sliding beneath her roaming hands. He looked so human and yet there was an eerie sameness to his skin, as if made from some more permanent material, like a living statue.

Leonid was patient with her exploration though he longed to do the same to her. As long as she was untroubled, he would give her time. She raised her face, looking into his, a blush on her cheeks and she pulled her hands away. He grasped them and pulled her back to him. He took her chin and tilted her face up, seeing the unease in her eyes, the flicker of doubt.

"Do you trust me, Anna?" he asked in a low voice.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes meeting his blue ones. For a moment she didn't speak, searching his gaze for what she could find in his countenance.

"Yes," she whispered, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

He didn't know if he deserved that, if he could answer for all that he'd put her through. He'd underestimated the power of human emotions, of connections between people and the loss of those closest to her. He hadn't taken proper care of her during all those months, intent as he was on his own interests with her, never thinking about what was left untended to. But now was not the time for his guilt either.

He poured all of his desire into his kiss. The moan that vibrated her chest made him all the more determined. He bore her down on the bed, never releasing her mouth as his hands ran the length of her torso, seeking out her arousal.

Anna gasped and arched her back as Leonid's fingers found her damp lips. He teased and stroked her there, drawing her attention away from everything else. When his finger teased the entrance to her channel she gasped, releasing his lips as it penetrated her. His mouth traveled down her neck, trailing fiery kisses along her skin. When he closed his lips over her nipple, she grasped the back of his hair. His tongue was slowly circling her bud, sliding across her sensitive skin.

His fingers drew back and he began to kiss lower, over her belly, nibbling at the lower curve of her ribs making her squirm. He loved her body, her long limbs and torso, the way her breasts were perfect mounds topped with the sweetest pink nipples. Her smooth skin reacted to his touch, he could feel bumps rise when he stroked her softly, the heat that began when she was aroused. It was beautiful.

She missed his body as he settled between her legs; she wanted to feel his arms around her, his large body encasing her like some sort of protective shield. And then he kissed the soft curls at her mound and she forgot to feel bereft. He peppered her outer lips with small kisses, enjoying the soft sounds she made. He pinned her hips down when she started to squirm and began his intentions in earnest. Today was not about teasing, and he would give her what she desired when she wanted it.

His tongue met her pink flesh and she gasped, the sound encouraging. He lavished attention on her opening before moving upwards, seeking out her engorged pearl with the tip of his tongue. Anna felt her muscles clench as his mouth came over her sensitive nub. Just as it had been in her dreams, he held nothing back from her. She felt him penetrate her with his tongue only to return to her clit, humming to stimulate her.

Her hand sank into his hair as he pushed her legs up over his shoulders, his fingers coming to coordinate the attack on her senses. She arched her back as it continued, his relentless push towards her pleasure, no retreat, no moment for her to catch her breath. She called out as her climax came, the dizzying pleasure radiating up her body, her fingers tingled as the blood rushed from her extremities. Ecstasy lit up inside her, great waves of it rocketing under his skin. He kept her at her peak until her body relaxed; a great sense of contentment suffused her.

He came back up her body, his greater form surrounding her again. He held himself on his elbows, his fingers stroked her cheek as he kissed her sweetly. She brought her hands to his cheeks, pulling him into her, enjoying the slow dance of their tongues and the soft touch of his lips. He shifted so as not to crush her beneath him, but she lowered her hands and brought him up short.

Wrapping her legs around his narrow waist she ran her hands over his shoulders. She loved the feeling of his stomach against hers, of his large chest over her, arms caging her in. It felt so good to touch him like this. She arched her back, rubbing against him like a cat, then reversed her hips, bringing her core up to his rigid shaft, pressing against him.

He pulled back from the kiss, surprised by her movements. Anna brought her hands to the back of his neck and looked into his deep blue eyes. "Please, Leonid," she said, pressing against him more insistently.

Leonid looked back into her pitch-dark eyes, the depth of her desires laid bare to him. He had not planned to take his pleasure with her, intent as he was on her own and wary after what she had most recently suffered. But he could not deny her. When her face flickered with uncertainty, the heated look cooling, he made up his mind.

His lips met hers again solidly, his body shifting so he was above her center. He hoisted her long legs so they were perched on his hips and he ran his hand up the length of her torso, smiling into the kiss as she pressed into his touch. Her hands gripped his shoulders as he caressed her lithe form, stoking the fire again, reveling in the delicious sounds she made. He banished the rest of his clothing without a thought and she was pressing her wet slit against his bare skin.

Leonid had discovered that human emotions were felt in the skin, gut and chest, the physical manifestations of them overwhelming at times. Now, as he was more sensitized to them, he discovered that tactile pleasure was amplified as well. He moaned into the kiss as her heat slid against him, the sensation novel as it seemed to extend and crawl up his back with the exciting promise of what was to come.

Anna ground harder against him, mindless in her intention. There was an aching hole, a need to feel connected that ate at her. After months of dreaming of truly coupling, she couldn't hold back now that he was finally there with her. She wriggled until his smooth tip was pressed against her opening. She made a desperate sound in the back of her throat, his tongue still occupying her own to prevent her from speaking her plea. It quickly turned into a low groan as he pressed forward, his girth stretching her open.

Leonid released her lips, his eyes finding hers as he sank into her. She looked back, her eyes glazed in pleasure, lips reddened from his kisses. "Oh yes," she whispered almost to herself as he sheathed himself inside her. Her head tilted back, eyes closed, the rocking sensations overwhelming her till there were no deliberate thoughts left, only the touch of his lips and the stretch of him inside her. He continued, slowly working his way in, enjoying the friction that sent fissures of pleasure throughout his body. When he was fully encased he stopped, selfishly reveling in the tight grip of her channel, the soft fluttering of her intimate flesh against him.

Anna's grip on his shoulders tightened and she wriggled, trying to make him move. A small bloom of frustration at her attempts at control echoed in his chest. And once again he acted without thinking. His hands slid up her body, teasing her sensitive sides, he continued up her arms until he grasped her wrists, removing her hands from his shoulders and pressing them into the mattress above her head. All this time he watched her, relieved to see her arousal grow as he took control, the answering tightening of her legs around him and the groan she let loose a confirmation he needed.

He intertwined his fingers with hers as he began to move above her. She grasped his hands tightly, her eyes closed as her body arched towards his. Anna felt a great pressure inside herself, a crescendo that kept building and building with every thrust that filled her and every drag of his hard flesh against her own. His body moved against hers creating ripples of sensation across her entire skin. She tightened her legs around his waist, drawing herself up to him so that he would penetrate deeper inside her.

His lips came down on her neck, kissing along her collarbone even as he kept his pace. He found her lips again and she answered his touch with the passion she could feel welling up inside her. He pulled back and looked into her face, her lips open, her brow creased as her peak remained just beyond her reach. He released one of her hands, bringing his hand to her cheek, running his thumb over her skin. "Open your eyes, Anna." He knew he should leave her alone, let her enjoy this for its own sake. But he wanted her there with him. Her eyes opened at his command sending a shock of arousal down his back.

Anna found his gaze and was surprised by the depth of his feelings projected in his features. It was almost as if she could feel the emotions he had unwittingly let in when he accessed her mind. He cared for her, deeply, though it was mixed up in this tangle of guilt and the uncertainty that echoed her own vulnerability. The same sensation squeezed her lungs, as it had all those nights ago when she had been bound before him in the woods. It broke down the walls she had built around her feelings for him, crumbling them until all that was left was her own affection for him, exposed and undeniable.

The emotions poured forth and met the physical wave of pleasure as it rolled through her. The two combined, making her feel as if her skin would burst. She saw it in him as well for the first time, the unfurling of his pleasure. "Yes, Anna," he spoke the words and they seemed to go through her, straight to her core and it burst the pressure into millions of pieces that shot through her body. She screamed his name as her ecstasy peaked, her limbs locked around him. He surged powerfully inside her, sustaining that dizzying pleasure as it echoed through his own body, her name on his lips as he came.

He kissed her sweetly, hungrily still, as if he could harness what had passed between them in the gesture. She returned it, tangling her fingers in his hair, pulling him into her. He shifted his weight as he released her lips, pulling her body with him so she was curled up against his side. The two of them attempted to catch their breaths as they settled against each other.

Anna rested her head on his shoulder. She let her hand run over his chest before her and she watched as the black fire under his skin seemed drawn to her fingertips so that she drew ripples of power behind her as she moved her hand slowly. Her own magic answered, dancing beneath the skin of her fingers, darkening the skin there so that it matched his. She felt a deep peace with the languid release of her muscles, her body and mind quiet for the first time in a long while.

She flattened out her palm on his chest and raised her head so that her chin rested on the back of her hand and she could look up at Leonid. He had brought the arm that wasn't around her up behind his head and he was looking up at the ceiling, the quiet expression on his face quickly being replaced by an emotion she knew all too well, and wanted no part of for the moment. She laughed softly, drawing his attention and gaze.

"What is so funny?" he asked, his voice rumbling through her palm.

She smiled at him. "You lost your breath."

He returned the smile. "It happens rarely." He brought his hand down to her cheek again, his thumb running along her skin until it reached her lips. Her tongue darted out and she placed a small kiss on the tip of his thumb. She met his eyes again and ducked her head, amused at her own boldness.

"Are you still smiling?" he asked softly, a laugh in his words.

She put her chin back on her hand. "It is nice to see you again." She saw the guilt creep back into his face.

"I'm sorry for leaving you, Anna, and for all that has happened to you. I should not have let you come here." His face was mournful.

She found it endearing but misplaced. "And how would you have stopped me?" she asked, a smile still on her lips.

"I should have stopped you when I learned of Imonesh's plans, before you entered the capital."

She gave him a look. "And I would have hated you for it."

"I would take your hatred over your pain given the choice."

"But you gave me the choice instead." She said plainly.

"That was very foolish of me." He sighed again, stirring her annoyance.

"Don't be an oaf," she teased, surprising him. "Wasn't it you who told me I was not a little girl anymore and I had to live with my decisions? It would set a terrible example if you went around taking them away from me." She ran her fingers across his chest again. She felt calm and centered for the first time. She didn't know how long it would last, but she chose to enjoy it while she could. It was a strange reversal that she should be so sure and he should be tormented.

"I did say that didn't I?" he said with a sigh. "That was also foolish."

"And why didn't you come for me when I was captured?" She could see the pain her question caused but she pressed on regardless.

He turned his gaze back to the ceiling. "To protect you from a worse fate, and the entire sphere from possible destruction." He saw her tactic but it did little for his turmoil. Her fingers tingled with her magic as it called out to the power beneath his skin.

"It seems the fault then lies elsewhere," she said, her voice soft. He looked down at her and saw her eyes bright with unshed tears. She turned her face from him.

"No, Anna," he caught her chin and kept her looking at him.

"It was my choice, Leonid, I will learn to live with it." There was strength behind her sorrow. His own words came back to keep him from denying her claim. He would have to let her heal herself, just as he had told her when she'd woken up, but it did not stop him from wishing he could do it for her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"As am I," she replied.

He brought her to him so he could kiss her again, trying to ease the weight of the conversation with a physical balm. She did the same, bringing her hands to the back of his neck, pulling herself into his kiss, her lips soft and delicious. She pulled away, her eyes meeting his and she smiled again. He returned it, "I won't leave you again, Anna."

She settled against him and he drew his arms around her, enjoying the feeling of her head on his chest, her weight comfortable as she pressed into him. They were quiet for a long moment, the simple act of touching each other was enough for them. But Anna's mind would not quiet for long, his last declaration teased at her greatest fears, the calm that had permeated her seemed to dissipate.

"What happens now?" she whispered, scared to ask and more of the answer. He heard it in her voice and felt it in her body.

"It seems I find myself presenting you with another choice," he said. She moved to sit next to him, her body still leaning against him but now she could face him more completely. He shifted to sitting as well, resting against the great pillows at the head of the bed. "You can come with me, away from this sphere. Or you can stay here, where you may choose to reign as queen or to slip away, live your life as you would have it." Her eyes were wide as he spoke and he could see her fears behind them. "You do not have to choose now, Anna," he ran his fingers up her arms and moved her long hair over her shoulder.

She took a breath at that, relaxing but only just. "Where would we go if I chose to come with you?"

"To my home on the First Level, where the gods reside. Your body would remain here, but your energy, everything that makes you who you are, would be able to live with me there. Though that is only the beginning. We could go anywhere after that." He saw the look of confusion draw her brows together. He brought up his hand, inspired by Emera's model he created one out of light in his palm so that she could see the universe as he knew it. "Each of these revolving spheres is a realm. Each is unique, the laws of nature, of power and magic differ from one to another. There are men in some, endless space in others, but the common thread they hold is the shared energy. When something or someone dies, their energy is redistributed throughout these spheres. What was once a volcano might become a man, what was an army, a forest, and so on." She was watching him with rapt attention. He could imagine slipping in behind her eyes to watch as her brain lit up, but he held back and she looked to him to continue.

"I live here," he pointed to the flat disk at the center of the model, which all seven spheres revolved around, each in their own intersecting orbits, "It is called the First Level. All of us created by The Balance to oversee the functioning of the spheres below reside there. This," he pointed and one of the spheres lit up brighter to distinguish it, "is your home. We call it The Realm of Men. But there are other spheres, other worlds beyond your imagination, and we could visit them all."

She looked from the model back at him, "What is The Balance?"

"The Balance is the force which holds the universe together as it is. It is greater than I am, greater than The Five who are beings of another plane, one that is above even the gods of the First Level."

"I was always taught there was nothing but sky above me," she reached out towards the lit sphere as it made its way around the others. "We know so little." She suddenly felt very small looking at the universe he held in the palm of his hands. There was layer after layer of complexity to the greater scheme. "Why in all this is the throne of this country so important?" she looked at him. "How could any of this truly matter?"

Leonid smiled at her through the spinning orbs and they disappeared. "That is a much longer story." He paused but she gave him no reason to stop. "Most of us influence many spheres though all of us have favorites, and my sister was most well utilized here in this realm, with your ancestor as her ward. They were of one mind and so the empire flourished. But mortals are finite and the empress died. Emera could not maintain the royal house as it stood though she was still bound to them.

"When her connection started to chafe with the new emperor, I was bored and unfocused, my talents never having found a permanent home like Emera's had. Imonesh was newly made by The Balance and she came to me, innocent and curious, or so it seemed. I was fooled into making a game of the lives of men and stole the connection my sister had forged with the heiress, your great grandmother. But I miscalculated, I had not realized that much of my frustration with Emera came from a connection that I have with this place in particular. And when I was overcome, Imonesh took the opportunity to usurp the connection with the younger princess." Leonid paused. He knew he was overwhelming her, but she seemed so intent and focused.

"Why were you overcome?" she asked. He smiled, wishing she had not picked out that particular detail of the story, but not surprised she had managed to hone in on the purposely vague point. He decided the best answer was the complete one.