Finding the Jewel Read online

  Chloe didn’t interrupt except to ask questions now and then. She seemed quietly appalled when he described his childhood and squeezed his hand tightly when he had difficulty getting some words out. But she never turned away in disgust or horror and she never tried to finish his sentences, which Tark was grateful for.

  So often people got impatient if he tried to say anything that took time to get out—they lost interest or wanted to skip to the end. Chloe wasn’t like that—she listened to the good and the bad and never tried to avoid the ugly details.

  “Thank you,” she said, when he was finished at last, laying the whole ugly mess before her. “I know that must have been hard to share. Thank you for trusting me with it.”

  “Th-thank you for lis—lis…for hearing me,” he answered, nodding.

  “I don’t care what you’ve been told in the past,” Chloe said, looking up at him earnestly. “When I look at you, I see a strong, brave, handsome warrior. You’re an amazing guy, Tark.”

  Tark shook his head. “N-not brave,” he denied.

  “What? Of course you’re brave!” Chloe exclaimed, frowning. “You saved me from the Commercians and from that awful Slimerian! You let yourself get hurt protecting me.” She took his left hand in her smaller, softer ones and examined it. “Oh, there are barely even scars here—where did all the wounds go?”

  “Kindred heal f-fast,” Tark said shortly. “But…I’m n-not brave because I h-h-haven’t told you y-yet that we c-can go.”

  “Go?” Chloe frowned. “Why would we go?”

  Tark frowned back at her. “B-because of wh-whu-what Monk T-t-taroni is d-demanding we d-do.”

  “Oh, right. That.” Her cheeks—and her suit, which he could see because her towel had slipped open—went pink again. Tark was almost certain now that the color of their robes was tied to their emotions. It must be another special property of the resonite to show the feelings of the one who wore it. Now if he could just decipher which colors corresponded to which emotions…

  “Yes. Th-that,” he said shortly. “I kn-know we haven’t kn-known each other long. So I’m s-sure you don’t w-want to let me taste you.”

  Chloe’s cheeks and the three tiny triangles covering her breasts and sex got even pinker.

  “I…um…it would be kind of awkward but I don’t want you to have to give up your dream of finding the jewel and curing your stutter either.” She looked up at him from under her eyelids. “How…how do you feel about it?”

  Tark raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

  “Y-you’re asking if I w-want to taste you?”

  She nodded, biting her lip. “I mean, I had a boyfriend who was kind of into that once—or he said he was—but I think he just wanted me to, you know, reciprocate. Because he never really, um, did much. And no one else—”

  “Chloe…” Tark lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. “I want to,” he said slowly and clearly. “So much.”

  “You…you do?” she asked uncertainly.

  “Even if there w-were n-no jewel,” Tark promised her. “I w-would still w-want to taste your sweet pussy.”

  Chloe’s face went nearly red at that and her robe-bathing suit blushed with her.

  “Oh,” she whispered in a small voice. “I…thank you.”

  Tark could still see the doubt clouding her lovely blue eyes and he wished with all his heart he could show her how he felt. Suddenly he had an idea.

  He slipped back down into the water to equalize their heights a little. Chloe watched, wide-eyed, when he came to stand in front of her as she sat on the edge.

  “I w-want to kiss you,” Tark told her, looking her in the eyes.

  “Oh, um…okay.” Her breathing was coming short and her cheeks were pinker than ever as she nodded.

  He kissed her mouth, softly at first—letting her know he would be gentle. This was nothing like the hungry, insatiable kisses they had shared the day before in the monk’s chambers. Tark knew instinctively that he needed to take this slowly. Chloe might put up a brave front but inside she was as insecure and uncertain as he was himself. Plus, she was so much smaller than him and he knew his size could be intimidating. He didn’t want her to fear him.

  “Oh,” Chloe sighed when he finally broke the kiss. Her towel had fallen even further open and Tark could see that her suit was turning a darker pink—almost a rosy red. His own suit was turning the same color.

  Red must mean passion…lust…desire.

  He was glad he had the visual cue to go by. Knowing that Chloe wanted this as much as he did was incredibly arousing and it also let him know she was willing and not just giving in to him out of pity or fear.

  Tark looked in her eyes again.

  “I w-want to kiss you more. I w-want to kiss you everywhere,” he told her.

  Chloe nibbled her lush lower lip.

  “You do?”

  Slowly, Tark nodded. He brushed her flushed cheek gently with his knuckles, feeling the heat and softness of her skin. Gods, how he wanted to taste her—to spread her thighs and lap her honey right from the source! But again, he didn’t want to hurt or scare her. She was so tiny…so delicate and so very precious. He had to be careful with her.

  At last, Chloe nodded.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “All right…go ahead.”

  Tark had the idea that she expected him to dive right in, so to speak, the moment he got permission, but he knew that wasn’t the way to proceed.

  Along with their ability to learn almost any language quickly and fly or pilot almost any craft or vehicle, Kindred had a third unusual skill which wasn’t much talked about. All Kindred males had the innate ability to please a woman sexually—to understand exactly what a female needed in order to arouse her and make her come. It was a talent given by the Goddess, who doubtless knew her children would need it as they traveled across the universe, looking for mates.

  Tark had this Kindred talent too—his speech might be halting and uncertain but he knew what Chloe needed and right now she needed him to take things slowly.

  So instead of grabbing her breasts or reaching between her thighs, he pushed her long, pink hair to one side and kissed the side of her neck.

  “Oh…” It was almost a moan and Chloe’s suit turned an even darker shade of red.

  Tark kissed her some more, lapping gently at the soft, vulnerable skin just under her ear and sucking briefly on her earlobe.

  Chloe moaned again and seemed to melt under his touch. Her towel had fallen all the way open now, revealing her full breasts and lush sex, barely covered by the three red triangles, but she didn’t seem to care. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was rapid as she tilted her head to one side, giving him free access to her throat.

  If he had been a Blood Kindred, Tark would have wanted to bite her. As it was, he was tempted to at least put his mark on her. He bit down gently and sucked hard, right at the tender junction where her neck and shoulder met—marking her, claiming her the only way he could right now.

  Chloe moaned and reached for him, digging her sharp little fingernails into his shoulders, urging him on.

  Tark felt his cock growing heavy and hard between his thighs and his mating fist throbbed. He wished he could claim her here and now and make the luscious little Elite his forever but he knew he couldn’t do that…not yet, anyway.

  Finally, when he was sure she was ready, he made his way down from her throat to her breasts. He nuzzled between them, letting his neatly trimmed beard scratch her tender flesh, making her moan again.

  Chloe looked down at him as he pressed his face between her soft mounds—Goddess, he loved how it felt to bury his face between her breasts!

  “Tark, I…I thought you were going to kiss me?” she said, her soft voice coming out high and breathy.

  “I am,” he murmured. Looking up to hold her eyes with his, he took one of her nipples between his lips and placed a soft, sucking kiss on the tender tip.

  Of course her robe-suit melted conveniently away, leaving