flash of ecstasy refused to strike. It hovered inside her, twisting and churning, building ever greater with every stroke of Osopa’s now-rapid thrusts. But she couldn’t come.
Her womanhood ached from the need to let loose that wonderful, awful strain. She began moving, meeting Osopa’s plunges, driving him deeper within herself. His breath caught, and a growl trickled from his throat. He rutted harder, hurting her in that beautiful way that felt so similar to pleasure.
She still couldn’t come. She needed something to set orgasm free. Desperate, she cast about in her mind for what it could be. What had happened before that sent her into that decadent spiral?
“May I come?”
Osopa refused to answer immediately. He punished her instead, fucking her with a strength that was almost bruising in its intensity. Just when Tina was ready to scream from the agony of denied climax, he grunted the words that had been spoken every time she’d orgasmed.
“Come, my Matara.”
She tipped over. Blessed release rumbled through her, freeing bliss from the prison of her body yet again. Osopa’s groans joined hers, filling her with completion. Every member of her clan had shared in gratification.
They cuddled her afterward, drowsing in the gentle glow of having shared something wondrous. Sated at last, Tina curled in the warmth between Tukui and Yorso, with Osopa’s hand reaching across their Imdiko to cup her shoulder.
It was delightful to doze in their midst, safe in the knowledge she’d never be sent away. She held at bay the many questions she had, the exciting notions of what other pleasures she could discover. Such as perhaps being spanked like a naughty girl. Or kissing their sexes as they’d kissed hers. If they let her use her mouth, she could have all three at once?
Tina was sore from the intense play, or she might have given into the enthusiasm that begged her to try everything as soon as possible. She could afford to wait, she counseled herself. After all, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter Eight
Yorso was the first to recover enough to speak. “You said you were being sent from the convent. What were you going to do?”
“What could I do? I would have returned to my father’s home and hoped he would let me stay. Except for cleaning and cooking, I don’t know how to do much of anything.” She burrowed her face against his chest, enjoying how he smelled like her. How he smelled of the exciting things they’d done.
Osopa rubbed her arm. “It’s good you won’t be living in such an abusive environment.”
“I wouldn’t say it was abusive. I wasn’t beaten.”
“Neglect can be more hurtful than blows.”
She heard the anger simmering beneath his quiet tone. She was touched that he felt protective of her. However, she didn’t want tension straining the agreeable atmosphere intimacy had created. She changed the subject. “I have a younger brother and sister. I haven’t met them. I might have been a nanny to them if I’d gone home.”
She couldn’t help the regret that crept over her. She’d only seen pictures of Zac and Callie, the last of which had been sent over a year before. They were adorable pudgy-cheeked youngsters, with their mother’s dark hair and their father’s hazel eyes.
“You’ll have children of your own to love, whenever you wish it,” Yorso reassured her.
She liked the sound of that, especially in light of the revelation that the clan was hers for keeps. What had seemed a terrifying future was now bright with promise. So many things were possible now.
Could this be real?
“Children would be wonderful,” she agreed.
“Please, not too soon.” Osopa, gazing at her from over Yorso’s shoulder, had his impassive face on again.
It gave her a moment’s concern. He didn’t want children?
Tukui distracted her by snuggling, his expression happy enough to calm the instant of anxiety. “No, not at once. Not when we have to dote on you for a while.”
That sounded wonderful to Tina.
* * * *
The next morning came too early, dragging Tukui from his beautiful—and delightfully amorous—Matara. He headed towards the bridge, his mind whirling.
He should have been out of his mind with joy, and he was, for the most part. As happy as Tina’s eager turnaround made him, certain things weren’t sitting well with him. Such as her asking permission to come. What had that been about? Was it another symptom of her needing to please? Maybe it was only a game for her, the same as bondage. He should have asked right away, but he’d hated to spoil the