Double Your Pleasure Bundle (25 page)

The sharp sound of Ness’s voice brought him back. Chris blinked, and his eyes focused on Hugh, bent close to him, their faces inches apart. “Hugh?” His voice was a rusty rasp.

He seemed relieved. “I thought we had lost you for a moment. You need to drink now.”

“What?”

“Drink,” said Hugh with exaggerated pronunciation.

A weak laugh escaped him. “I heard you. I don’t know what you want me to drink.”

“Me,” said Ness. She smoothed his hair with her hand before turning his head so that his mouth was against her thigh. “Drink some of my blood, love.”

Weakness made him feel sluggish and weighed down, but his senses were still sharper than they had ever been before. He could hear Ness’s blood thundering in her veins, making it easy for him to home in on the one closest to his mouth. He traced it with his tongue, feeling her shiver in response. As he did so, his new fangs descended, cutting into his lower lip until he opened his mouth. Her skin was warm and sweet, and his teeth penetrated her flesh easily. He heard her groan, and it didn’t have the same note of pleasure as he’d heard before. Knowing he was hurting her made him stop.

“Keep going,” she said, sounding as though she spoke through gritted teeth.

“Don’t stop yet, Chris. You’re hurting her a little, but you need her blood. When you learn more, you’ll know how to give her pleasure instead of pain.”

With their encouragement, he drank from Ness, swallowing her blood as quickly as he could. The taste had changed, no longer having the sharp, coppery taste that Hugh’s blood had. It was sweeter than ambrosia, richer than the best wine, and he understood how vampires could stand to consume it for an eternity. It took every ounce of self-control to pull away when Hugh told him to stop.

The weakness had fled, and he rolled over, sitting up in one smooth motion.

“How do you feel?” asked Ness as she discreetly pressed her hand to the wound he’d made in her thigh.

“Amazing…alive…” He trailed off, unable to articulate just how the transformation had changed him.

“Do you have regrets?” asked Hugh.

Chris paused. “Just one.”

His lover’s face crumpled. “What is it?”

He smiled, taking Hugh’s hand. “I regret that I can never give you a gift as amazing as you’ve given me. Thanks to you, I have found the loves of my life, and that life will last forever. I can’t ever do something as wonderful for you.”

Hugh laughed, drawing Chris into his embrace, while Ness curled against him. “Don’t be silly. You’ve given me your heart, Chris. What better gift is there than that?”

Chris silently agreed as he laid his head on Hugh’s shoulder. He’d received so much to be thankful for this Christmas. With his two lovers curled against him, he watched the twinkling lights on the tree, feeling a warm glow that had nothing to do with the decorations or impending holiday, and everything to do with Hugh and Ness. He couldn’t imagine being happier than he was at that moment, and to know that happiness would last forever was overwhelming. He found himself unable to speak, to verbalize all that he was feeling, but it was unnecessary. They already knew.

********

If you enjoyed “Master’s Gift,” you might also like “Hunter’s Prey,”a m/f/m vampire ménage set in the same universe.
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About the author:

Kit lives in Idaho with her husband and two sons. She enjoys writing several genres and subgenres, but almost everything she writes has a strong romantic element. A fan of post-apocalyptic, zombie, and dystopian books, she prefers to read or view such stories from the comfort of her living room and never, ever in person.

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WON BY THE THREE SATYRS

Bliss Devlin

Chapter One - Arrival

"You're too late, girl. The Spring Festival is over," sneered the temple guard.

He was a young man, fair-haired and wearing a short tunic of temple white decorated with a pattern of stylized poppy blossoms. He leaned against one of the spiral-fluted columns of the elaborate temple gate, holding his spear at a careless angle.

The guard looked Melis over with insulting thoroughness, taking in her humble gown and patched mantle, the worn leather straps of her sandals, and the dust of long travel griming her skin.

"Many of the attendees have already departed, and the booths are coming down," added a second guard, in a somewhat kinder tone. He was older, his dark hair silvered at the temples, and he stood like a military man in contrast to his companion's casual slouch.

Behind them, the temple's elaborate gateway loomed, located just a few paces from the side of the road. It was a large arch, made of marble, supported by paired sets of delicate, spiral-fluted columns.

Melis's spirits, already now, dropped further. The Temple of Lilith was her last hope. If they turned her away now, she had nowhere else to go.

"But I—" she had to stop and clear her throat. "I'm not here to attend the festival. I want to offer myself as a tribute. To Lilith."

She looked past them, to where the Temple of Lilith gleamed like a pale beacon halfway up the side of the mountain. It was built of pure white stone and its clean lines imparted a curiously chaste quality to that notorious precinct of sensuality.

It had taken all of Melis's meager savings had just to get this far, each small coin painstakingly earned and put aside over the years. She had spent ten days walking from her home, only narrowly escaping robbery and rape several times. And it was all for the chance to be selected as one of the temple's
philtatoi
, the Beloved Companions who served the Children of Lilith's needs and desires.

She had heard that the
philtatoi
were protected and pampered by their supernatural masters. Rumor had it that some were even granted eternal youth and immortality.

Becoming a
philtata
would allow Melis to escape from the hopeless mess her life had become. She fervently hoped for the chance to start over.

But now, wilting under the critical gazes of the two temple guards, she had the sinking feeling that she had wasted every step of her long journey.

And just why would the Children of Lilith be interested in you, girl?
asked the voice in her head, the one that sounded a lot like her mother.
You're young and reasonably pretty, but you're a nobody from a small fishing village, with tanned skin and work-hardened hands. And you're not even a virgin. Not anymore.

Stupid Stathis!
Melis thought for the thousandth time, her eyes stinging.
And stupid, stupid me, for believing that he loved me!

"I'm sorry, but it's too late for that as well. There won't be time for the high priest to inspect you—" the older guard began, sounding sympathetic but firm.

"It's not too late and you know it," said a rough male voice from behind Melis. "Or were you two trying to extort a bribe from this poor girl?"

Both guards came to rigid attention, and bowed, looking past Melis's shoulder. She caught a glimpse of a sky-blue robe from the corner of her eye.

"But my lord!" protested the older guard. "The
rules
—"

"Fuck the rules," growled the newcomer.

The guards gulped and looked nervously at each other.

Melis felt a firm pat on her shoulder. The rough voice spoke again. "Go on, my lady. I hope to see you at the auction."

She turned gratefully, and saw a tall, robed male figure standing behind her.

He was dressed in a hooded, pale blue robe that concealed his body. As was customary for Children of Lilith, he was veiled, his face covered by an opaque panel of fabric with pierce-work that allowed him to see out and fresh air to enter.

The Child of Lilith motioned her through the gateway with an impatient wave of his hand. "Go, go. The upper gates close at sunset. After that, it really
will
be too late."

"Thank you, my lord!" She bowed deeply, and turned to follow his order.

The two guards scowled at her as she walked quickly past them, and passed under the arch of the gate.

Ahead of her, a smooth path paved in marble wound upwards, with occasional patches of stairs leading up particularly steep sections. It looked like a long walk.

Melis cast an anxious glance over her shoulder to see if the Child of Lilith was following her, but he had vanished from sight.

Then she saw the position of the sun. She would have to hurry.

* * *

To her relief, the sun still hung above the horizon when Melis finally reached the upper gates to the temple.

The muscles of her thighs and calves burned with the effort of the steep climb. She panted raggedly as she approached the structure, which looked very much like the gate at the base of the mountain, with spiral-fluted columns and a brightly-painted frieze of satyrs and nymphs framing the archway.

The gatekeeper here was a matronly-looking woman. She saw Melis approaching, and gave her a kind smile.

"Welcome to the Temple of Lilith, child," she said. "Would you like refresh yourself before you enter the precinct?"

The woman motioned to a tiny spring next to the gates, where a trickle of clear water ran from the rocks of the mountainside and splashed into a marble basin.

"Thank you, my lady," Melis answered, gratefully. All the way up the steep path, she had been tormented by the fear that she would be refused entrance once she arrived at the upper gate.

Feeling vast relief, Melis knelt and washed the perspiration and road-dust from her face and hands. Then she took the silver cup that stood on the rim of the basin, and filled it from the running water.

It tasted delicious, cold and sweet and refreshing.

When she had quenched her thirst, and felt marginally less grimy, she approached the gates once more.

"What is your business here, child?" asked the gatekeeper, her voice still kind.

"M-my name is Melis. I'm from Kitros, and I would like to become a tribute. A
philtata
, if you please, my lady," Melis said, her heart pounding and voice breathy with nerves. She wondered if she should mention her encounter with the blue-robed Child of Lilith.

The woman peered closely at her. Her eyes unfocused for a moment, and she looked distant, dreamy.

Was this the moment when she would turn Melis away on account of her obvious poverty and commoner status?

"Yes, yes, I think you will do," murmured the woman, half to herself. "Such a brilliant aura!" Then the kind, intelligent gaze returned. "Melis of Kitros, I bid you welcome to Lilith's sanctuary. Let me summon the high priest and the Children of Lilith. They will wish to examine you."

"I don't want to be a bother to anyone," Melis protested, appalled that anyone so important as a high priest, much less the Children of Lilith, should be
summoned
to see her. "I'm not important. I can wait until they're not busy."

The gatekeeper shook her head wryly. "Believe me, they will wish to see you as soon as possible. Chin up, girl, and be brave. You will have to pass several difficult tests before you can win your heart's desire."

The gatekeeper gestured, and the great bronze gates swung open without the slightest creak.

Chapter Two - Assessment

Beyond the gates lay a large courtyard, paved with smooth white marble and surrounded by a colonnade and buildings with red-tiled roofs. The courtyard was half in shadow as the sun sank in the sky, and a cool breeze ruffled Melis's hair as she stepped forward into the wide open space.

People passed briskly through the courtyard, some of them clad in temple white, while a few were clothed from head-to-toe in long robes, their faces veiled.

Children of Lilith
. Since childhood, Melis had heard many stories of these mysterious supernatural beings. They took ordinary mortals as lovers, they rarely unveiled in public, and they could work great feats of magic.

None of them had ever paid a visit to her humble fishing village.

Directly in front of her, she saw the sanctuary of the goddess. It looked very similar to other temples Melis had seen: a large, rectangular, free-standing building, raised on a stepped platform and surrounded by red-painted columns on all sides. Gilded ornaments in the shape of huge poppies gleamed along the roofline.

As Melis took her first, cautious steps past the gate into the courtyard, she heard the loud, mournful blast of a ram's horn trumpet sound behind her.

Everyone in the courtyard came to a halt...and stared at Melis.

The ram's horn blew again, with deafening volume. More people poured into the courtyard, mostly mortals with a scattering of Children of Lilith. They studied her curiously, and one or two pointed in her direction as they said something to their neighbors.

Melis froze, her face burning as she found herself the center of attention.

What am I supposed to do now?
she thought, frantically.
Keep walking? Stand here? Run away?

A tall Child of Lilith dressed in long white robes glided towards her, gold embroidery glittering as he moved, his face concealed by a long veil.

"Welcome, my lady," he said, in the deep, resonant voice of a trained orator. "I am Theodoros, the High Priest of Lilith in this sanctuary."

No one had ever called her
my lady
before! Mostly, they just called her
girl
, or
you there
and barked orders at her.

"My lord priest," Melis replied, standing as straight as she could, horribly aware of her shabby, travel-stained garments.

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.

"You wish to apply for a place among the
philtatoi
here?" he said, finally, his tone gentle rather than mocking, as she had feared.

"Ah, yes. Yes, my lord." She stumbled over her words. "If it's not too late. The guard said..." She faltered to a stop.

"It's not too late," he reassured her, in a soothing tone. "In fact, there are a number of Children of Lilith here who are hoping for a true
philtata
or
philtatos
, and not enough qualified candidates to serve them."

Melis's spirits rose at his words. He seemed very kind despite the Children of Lilith's awe-inspiring reputation.

He gestured. "Step forward, then, and let us examine you."

The crowd in the courtyard flowed and shifted, until everyone was standing in orderly ranks around a dais placed ten paces before the temple steps. Eight or ten Children of Lilith stood on one side of the dais, and a small crowd of the temple's mortal acolytes and festival guests gathered opposite, leaving a wide space between them.

Melis walked slowly forward to the dais, urged forward by the High Priest's beckoning hand. The glossy white marble pavement felt treacherously slippery under the worn soles of her sandals.

She followed him up onto the dais, feeling self-conscious at finding herself raised above the onlookers like an orator upon a stage.

"Melis, do you swear a sacred oath to speak only the truth in response to my questions?" asked Theodoros.

"Yes, my lord," she replied. "I swear by Poseidon, guardian of my village."

"Are you of marriageable age, Melis?"

"Yes, my lord."

"And are you married?"

"No, my lord."

"Are you a fugitive from the law?"

"What?" Melis was startled. "No, my lord!"

A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd at her vehement denial.

"Do you suffer from any illnesses or physical deformities?"

She shook her head.

"Undress, Melis," Theodoros commanded.

She stared at him in shock. Had she heard him correctly?

"The Children of Lilith wish to see whether you are worthy of their embrace," he said. "Undress."

Melis stiffened, unable to conceal her reaction to his command. The idea of stripping here in the middle of the courtyard, before a crowd of strangers, sent a wave of shocking heat through her belly.

"I—I can't," she said faintly, trying to deny her excitement.

"If you won't do it, then we must deny your petition and send you away," Theodoros said, coolly.

"Can't they look at me somewhere else? Inside?" she asked, without much hope. "With some privacy?"

Theodoros shook his head. "False modesty is an impediment to a
philtata
." He extended a white-gloved hand. "Your cloak," he ordered.

Melis unpinned the long length of her woolen mantle and unwound it from around her head and shoulders. Feeling curiously naked despite her modest gown, she carefully folded the thick fabric and handed it to him.

A handsome youth with curly dark hair and large gray eyes pushed his way through the crowd, and leapt up on the dais. He halted at the high priest's side. "My apologies for my lateness, Lord Theodoros," he said, panting a little.

"I thought I had broken your distressing habit of tardiness, Agapaios?" asked Theodoros, gently.

Vivid color stained the youth's face. "I—I might need a reminder," he admitted, his gaze dropping to his feet.

"Later," said Theodoros, his trained voice filled with rich promise.

He handed Agapaios the mantle.

"Now your gown," Theodoros said to Melis.

Melis looked at the spectators gathered around the base of the dais, and felt their avid glances. She swallowed, her throat dry and her heart pounding madly.

Contrary to her fears, none of the onlookers made crude comments, but their gazes scorched her sensitive skin.

Melis swallowed hard, and reached for her woven girdle. She untied it with shaking fingers, and felt cool air against the bare skin of her waist as her gown fell out of its carefully-fastened folds.

"Good girl," Theodoros encouraged her. "Agapaios, your assistance, please."

Melis found herself unable to meet the handsome youth's gaze as he reached for one of the simple bronze brooches that fastened the shoulders of her gown. She felt a gentle tug over one shoulder, then another on her other shoulder.

The gown slid away into Agapaios's waiting hands, leaving her clad only in her underskirt and breast-band.

The youth carelessly folded the long piece of linen and slung it over his arm, before reaching for her breast-band.

She flinched away, and put her hands protectively over the wide band of thick cloth.

Agapaios reached out, and slid his fingers across the back of her hands in a light caress. They were pleasantly dry and warm.

"Come on, let go," he said, in a coaxing tone. "The sooner you take this off, the sooner you can put it on again."

Melis reminded herself that this was her one chance to be chosen as a
philtata
. She couldn't chicken out now. She forced herself to lower her hands.

Agapaios smiled at her with sly humor. His fingertips caressed the tops of her breasts as he slid his hands around the upper edge of the tightly-fastened breast-band, seeking the place where the knotted fastening had been tucked.

In a trice, he had nimbly undone it. The loosened band slid slowly over her breasts, baring them. The cool breeze moved across them like a lover's breath, stiffening her nipples.

Agapaios knelt, and she felt his hands brush her waist as he deftly untied the drawstring of her underskirt, and pulled down over her hips. It fell around her ankles with a soundless puff.

She stepped out of the crumpled circle of linen, and stood straight and tall, clad only in her sandals in the golden light of the sinking sun.

Agapaios swept up the fallen underskirt and moved back, out of the way.

Her heart pounded in her ears, and a strange hot feeling blossomed between her legs as Theodoros walked slowly around her, inspecting her.

Someone whistled.

"Beautiful," said Theodoros, coming to a stop behind her.

He ran his gloved hands slowly from her shoulder down her arms, before cupping and lifting her breasts.

Melis jumped at the unexpected touch. Only Stathis had ever—

She gasped as the high priest moved his thumbs slowly back and forth over her nipples. They stiffened almost immediately under his touch, each caress sending sharp jolts of pleasure straight to the secret place between her thighs.

"Do you like that?" he asked.

She nodded wordlessly, secretly disappointed when he removed his hands.

"Very good," he said, and she felt warmed by the approval in his tone. "Now, move your legs a little further apart."

Melis obeyed, wondering what he would do next.

"Good girl," he said, and stooped to put his hands on her inner thighs, urging them apart. "Wider...yes, like that." He straightened and placed a hand on her belly. "Now bend forward, as far as you can."

Supported by his hand, Melis followed his instructions, feeling horribly exposed. She had been raised to be a respectable, modest Hellene maiden who wore concealing garments and a mantle over her hair when outside her home.

Now, here she was, standing nude before a crowd of men and women, her most private parts displayed to their ogling eyes...and Theodoros was stroking his free hand down her rounded buttocks.

She felt his hand dip between her legs, and jumped at the brush of his fingertips against her secret folds. It felt shockingly pleasurable, especially when he circled her aching entrance and pushed a leather-gloved finger inside her.

"So wet already and I've barely touched you.
Very
promising," murmured Theodoros.

Relief joined the dizzying swirl of arousal and embarrassment. Whatever he was expecting from her, at least he sounded pleased by her reaction.

He withdrew his finger with tantalizing slowness, and slid it forward.

Melis whimpered and shuddered as he brushed something that sent a shock of violent pleasure through her. Her knees went weak and she would have fallen if he hadn't been supporting her.

"Have you ever brought yourself to climax?" Theodoros asked, his fingertip lightly, deliberately brushing that place again.

She panted and shook her head. She had no idea what
climax
might be, but if it had something to do with the wickedly delicious sensation he was creating, then...no.
Regrettably
no.

"You're doing very well," Theodoros murmured. "I'm very pleased. Now you may stand up straight again."

Her face burning and the secret place between her legs pulsing slow and hot now, Melis obeyed.

"Now raise your arms—yes, like that—and turn slowly around so that everyone can see you," said Theodoros.

Once, when accompanying her mother on a shopping trip to a nearby city, Melis had seen slave girls being auctioned in the marketplace. She had hurried by, her face averted, pitying them.

Melis had never dreamed that
she
would be put on display like that.

Or that being publicly stripped and touched in intimate places would arouse her so strongly.

It must be a special kind of magic wielded by the Children of Lilith. What kind of spell had the high priest cast, to make her enjoy this?

"No spell," Theodoros murmured, as if reading her thoughts. "Just your own true nature, freed at last."

She kept her chin up and her gaze level as she completed her turn, feeling the gazes of the onlookers brushing her skin with an almost palpable sensation.

A low murmur of approval rose from the small group of veiled Children of Lilith.

Oh, gods.
Melis swallowed hard, not sure whether to be happy or terrified by the realization that they liked what they saw. She might yet get her wish to become a
philtata
, after all...but the events of the past few minutes had shown her that she had no idea what that really meant.

"She has a
philtata
's aura and an affinity for our touch," announced Theodoros, and there was a ripple of applause from the onlookers. "Melis of Kitros, we accept you as a
philtata
-candidate."