Hidden Talent: StarLords, Book 1 Read online

  “What have you done?” she whispered, jarred to her soul.

  He bent and kissed her forehead, removing his hand with a final caress. “I did only what was needed. You cannot hide here forever. Others will find you, and they may not have your best interests at heart.”

  “And you expect me to believe that you do?” Her gaze spoke of her distrust.

  Micah laughed. “Not yet, sweetheart. Not yet. But in time, you’ll learn that I will always speak truth to you.”

  “You’re leaving tomorrow,” she reminded him.

  He nodded. “And you’re coming with me.”

  “Why should I?”

  He stroked her hair and cuddled her against him as she sighed. “The horse trade has helped me amass a fortune with which I fund just a small part of the Resistance on non-Council worlds. I sit on the Mage Council of Geneth Mar. We’re trying to put an end to forced recruitment of Talents on all worlds. Indeed, it’s already against the law on Council worlds to interfere with the natural development of individual will.” He stroked her hair gently. “I get the idea that you were not brought up on a Council world.”

  She was crying lightly again as he held her. “I was born on Mithrak.”

  Suddenly her cries about Wizards clicked into place for him. “I’ve heard of the Wizards of Mithrak. Believe me when I say you will never have to fear them or anyone like them again. At least not after you’ve completed your training.”

  “Training?”

  “Yes, sweetheart.” He placed a kiss on her temple. “I will take you as my apprentice.” He kissed lower on her cheek, closer to her aching lips, drawing out the sensation as he strung his words out. “And I will take you as my mistress.” He finally kissed her mouth as he had earlier that day, but deeper and sweeter than anything she had ever known.

  His words registered through the fog of desire that was building so quickly she could barely breathe, but somehow she didn’t want to argue at that moment. He’d awakened something within her that wanted to know the full extent of the pleasure he could bring.

  She didn’t resist as he laid her back against the furs, his hands roaming downward to caress her breasts and lower as he kissed her thoroughly. Her eyes closed on a sigh of sheer pleasure and he smiled inwardly, marveling at how responsive she was to his merest touch. It was rare among Talents that one should mesh so closely with another on short acquaintance, yet her energies fit like puzzle pieces into his own now that they were fully revealed. He wondered if their bodies could mirror the near perfect fit of their Talents as he kept her off balance with lingering kisses and long sweeps of his hands.

  He undressed her slowly, savoring the first discovery of her lithe young body. She was muscled and sleek in a way the gently bred young ladies of his world seldom were. She was honed by her years spent mastering beasts much larger than her own small frame and living a relatively harsh life among the nomadic Hill Tribes. This was not the kind of posh life she should have had, but he didn’t mind the sleek, hard muscles under her silky skin. He would have spared her the hardships if he could, but he was nearly salivating over her taut body and the thoughts of the way she would ride him, like one of her great beasts.

  He’d spent a fair amount of time that afternoon watching her ass slide up and down in the saddle as they rode around, ostensibly looking at the herd. In reality he had been looking at her, fantasizing about her mounting him the way she mounted her large steed. He would give her the ride of her life and quite possibly, she would do the same for him.

  It was time to find out the truth of those thoughts.

  With a growl of need against the soft skin of her neck, he removed her top, flinging it across the small tent. Her hands dug into his hair, dragging his open mouth closer to her breasts.

  And what breasts they were, he thought with some satisfaction. Firm and soft at the same time, they were larger than he’d imagined, full and round and pointy with desire. He cupped them in his hands, pinching her nipples and squeezing as he drew them closer to his waiting lips. She was whimpering, lost in sensation as he battered her with physical pleasure while at the same time one part of his mind stood back to watch the way her Talent responded to him and his physical assault.

  The first joining of two Talents could be a dangerous thing. If they were incompatible the results could be explosive, so great care was taken. Most often the first joining was done under the guidance and supervision of a higher level Mage. Micah had witnessed many such joinings since he’d achieved Mage status.

  But he had no other Mage here to oversee this joining, and he knew it had to be accomplished as soon as possible—both for his own sanity and as a way to convince this naïve young woman that her future lay with him and the Council rather than hiding in fear. He also had to admit, to himself at least, that this little horse tamer turned him on like no woman had in too many years to count. Her very walk made his mouth water and the little whimpers of pleasure she was favoring him with nearly drove him mad with desire.

  Oh, it was no hardship to take this woman to his bed, no hardship at all. And she promised to bring him more pleasure than he’d felt in years, along with a powerful Talent that could be useful to the Council.

  There was her safety to consider too, he thought as he sucked one of her tight nipples into his mouth. He gathered her breasts together so he could lick both at the same time, and she nearly rocketed off the bed. He soothed her with his hands and mouth, reaching up to swirl his hot tongue into the whorls of her ear, then swallowing the moan that came from her mouth, driving his tongue in hard and fast. He stroked her mouth with his tongue the way he would soon use his dick to stroke inside her pussy.

  No, this beautiful treasure, this young Talent was too vulnerable here on a world where none of the natives had an inkling of power. She was in danger from any of the enemies of the Council who might stumble upon her, much as he had. She was lucky he’d found her first and given time, he would make her understand the truth of that statement.

  He moved his hands lower, tackling the ties that held her britches in place, wanting inside her as soon as possible. From the way her power was rising along with her arousal, it was what she wanted too. He marveled again for a moment at the way their Talents meshed, growing stronger together in a way he’d never quite witnessed before. It was primal. It was almost feral. They fed off each other only to grow stronger. That was unique in his experience, but he wasn’t questioning it. Not when he had her where he’d wanted her since almost the moment they’d met.

  No, at this moment, he wanted to be inside her. He wanted to bathe in that glow and rush of power until it burned him and her both, driving their pleasure to a level he had never experienced.

  He had her naked beneath him in moments. He knew he was rushing, unable to truly appreciate her fine form with the fierce drive of passion pushing him onward. He stripped himself with urgent need and took his place between her thighs. Her eyes were closed, but he wanted his new lover to see him and know he was the one bringing her such intimacy, such pleasure as he joined their bodies—much as their Talents were already joining.

  “Jeri.” He nipped her jaw. “Open your eyes, baby. Look at me.”

  He pulled back to see her lids lift slowly, a dazed sort of caution in her eyes. “What’s happening to me?”

  He smiled down at her. “The same thing that’s happening to me. You have awakened the beast within and it will claim you. Now.”

  He rubbed his straining cock against her soft folds, and she shivered.

  “I-I’ve never been with a man.” She nearly shouted as a sudden fear seemed to overtake her. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  Micah stopped, letting his cock tease her opening but moving no further. He cursed inwardly and realized he should have guessed that his little refugee would be a virgin. She was far too innocent and had lived on the run, if his guess was correct.

  He had to be more patient with her. Micah stroked her hair and soothed her with soft sounds. He could smell h
er arousal and the return of her shivers meant that she was responding to him not in fear but in continued arousal.

  “I won’t hurt you, sweetheart. I’m glad you told me it’s your first time, but it must be done. You’ll understand it all soon. For now, relax as best you can and let me in. I’ll show you pleasure the likes of which you have never known. But, you have to let me in.”

  He pushed forward gently, settling just the tip of himself inside, then pulled out a bit, dragging her lubricating warmth with him, making her rife for further exploration. He repeated the process with just the very tip of his cock until she was more comfortable and his dick was wet from her arousal. He tested, then pushed a bit farther inside, nearly dying with pleasure as her tight, virgin channel bathed him and gripped him, clenching as she learned the feel of him and her body’s abilities to respond. He groaned as she tightened her muscles.

  “Good goddess,” he whispered, coming over her to place a sliding kiss along her throat and up to her mouth. “Don’t clench me so hard, baby. It’s torture.”

  Her eyes grew worried. “You don’t like it?”

  He let out one harsh laugh and kissed her lips with a smack. “Like it? I love it. But it’s too soon for you, sweet. This first time, just relax, but tell me if anything starts to hurt, all right?”

  In truth, she wouldn’t have to tell him for his own psi energies were so easily aligned with hers at this point, he could feel just about everything she did. She would have the same power over him, of course, once she learned a bit about how to read the psi waves and how to direct her thoughts. He shuddered with ecstasy at the idea of bedding her then, meshing fully mind-to-mind as well as body-to-body. It could be the ultimate high, if she would grant him that sort of access once she learned more about how to direct her Talent.

  He would do everything in his power to keep her open and wanting him as he taught her about her Talent. Never in his life had he known such bliss inside a woman and he wasn’t even fully seated yet. He would not give this up, and he would not let her deny them both this pleasure. He had to have her. Had to keep her. And he would do anything to make her his own. Forever.

  Where that last thought came from, he didn’t know, but it scared him a bit to be thinking in such permanent terms about a woman he’d just met. Still, he couldn’t deny, it felt right to think of her at his side, in his bed, riding his cock, for all time.

  He just had to get past this potentially dangerous first joining. He pushed forward a bit more, tensing himself when he felt her tense under him. She relaxed her grip on him a moment later, slowly acclimating to his entry. There was no real barrier. This girl had probably been riding horses all her life. Perhaps she was one of the lucky women whose barriers weren’t too hard to breach. Or maybe she was so turned-on, she barely registered the pain as he pushed through, making her bleed just a bit, but bringing her pleasure that overshadowed the pain.

  She was so open to him he knew without a doubt that this was the first time she had ever taken a man into her body. He felt a vicious sort of triumph at the thought that he was the first to take her. The first to show her the pleasure her body was capable of. The first to fuck her and teach her.

  He knew it was a primitive thought, but he couldn’t help himself. Among Talents, pleasure was shared and multiplied by their psi links. It wasn’t uncommon to take multiple partners as a Talent grew, to master their energies, but this powerful little horse tamer was nowhere near in control of her power, nowhere near ready to try to mesh her Talents with others and he was glad of it. He would teach her and keep her tight pussy for himself while she learned. When she was ready, it would be he that watched over her joinings. The thought almost made him snarl, but if she wished to have another cock inside her, by the goddess, he would be there too, watching over her and joining the orgasmic frenzy.

  He stroked her hair with a tenderness he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. “I’m inside you, sweetheart. I’m part of you, and you are one with me.” He rocked gently back and forth, moving inside her a tiny bit. “Feel me,” he whispered as he stroked in and out, increasing the depth of his penetration, mimicking the action with his hot tongue in her mouth. She tasted of wonder and innocence and he drank her in on many levels. The physical rush was awesome in itself, but the rush of her power was even more phenomenal.

  He realized obscurely that such vast flows of psi Talent coursing together could be dangerous, but he also felt the rightness of the joining. He felt her power flowing through him as his flowed through her in that timeless moment just before he pumped them both to completion, the psi current feeding the physical sensations of skin on skin, skin in skin and wet, hot need.

  He didn’t last long, but it didn’t matter. She was with him and he knew it was best not to linger overlong during her first real experience with physical intimacy. He was bigger than an average man, and he didn’t want her to be too sore when she came back to herself after the pleasure faded.

  “Now, sweetheart. Come for me now,” he called to her, and she responded with a screaming climax that made him smile even as he felt the first jets of his own pulsing orgasm.

  He pumped inside her, filling her and claiming her. He didn’t give a thought to tomorrow as he felt his psi Talent well up and join with hers in the most remarkable way. He knew in that moment that he wanted it again and again, as often as he could get it. She was an addiction—instantly forming and lasting lifelong. The twisting, twining energies bathed his senses, surrounding them both and making them stronger. He realized the overwhelming power posed no threat to them, but elevated them both.

  He’d heard the legends of course, but he’d never seen a joining that seemed as full and complete as the one he’d shared with his little horse tamer. As he came down from the ultimate high of ecstasy, he kissed her cheeks and stroked her hair. He felt the tears that leaked out of her eyes and he kissed them away, soothing her with soft sounds as the aftershocks continued around them, the light of their power bathing them both in comfort, strength and joy.

  Slowly, so slowly, ecstasy receded, leaving them as man and woman, joined in the most elemental way, the eddies of their power retreating, but still floating in their awareness. His drew back to look at her face, watching the wariness return to her beautiful eyes.

  “You are mine now, Jeri,” he said with some satisfaction, though he didn’t like the fear that crept into her gaze. “I vow to you here and now that I will never hurt you either psychically or emotionally. I may smack your ass from time to time, but only if you deserve it. And I promise you’ll like it.” His expression spoke of lecherous delights that she could only imagine at this point, but he was gratified to see a spark of arousal enter her gaze.

  He pulled out slowly, applying gentle pressure as her body sought to hold him within. She cried out and he stopped, looking at her.

  “You have to let me go for now, sweetheart. I’ll join with you again as soon as we can. You’re undoubtedly going to be tender since this was new for you. Let me heal your aches so that when we get to my ship, we can join again without soreness.” He swooped to lick her lips, then placed a lingering kiss on them. “What do you say to that, my Jeri?”

  She made a humming sound, trying to focus on relaxing her muscles as he withdrew from her body. Already she was missing his hot strength within her, but she was comforted by the cushion of his warm, welcoming psi energy that surrounded her and seemed to permeate her being. She was aware of her Talent as she’d never been.

  She hadn’t allowed herself to drop her shields since the Wizards had killed her family all those years ago. It had been so long since she’d examined her power, it was strange to see how it had changed and grown over the years. And she saw the definite changes her joining with this outworlder had wrought. It was beautiful really, the swirling patterns meshing together in her soul that showed her how his power had meshed with hers as they climbed to the stars together. Even now, a bit of him remained joined with her as she remained with him.

&
nbsp; She would ask him about that later. She was so new to the idea of learning about and harnessing her Talent that she was beginning to relish the idea of mastering her own power and being able to call it at will. It would be a welcome change from always running and hiding and shielding so tight that her head and heart ached with the need to break free for just a minute.

  She’d learned from bitter experience that a single moment of freedom could spell her doom, as well as the others she held dear. But this outworlder had told her that it could be different. She had joined with him and suddenly she knew things about him that he hadn’t told her. She knew things about his world and the truth of his words about the Council and the things he could teach her.

  Suddenly, she wanted to learn from him. She realized that he had joined with her to convince her of just such a thing. She was saddened by the idea that he would use sex as a simple matter of expedience, but his ploy had worked better than even he realized and she drew some satisfaction from the knowledge that he had been totally unprepared for the way they were together.

  She smiled a little as she allowed him to move her under the furs of her bedroll, spreading them wide enough to accommodate them both. She watched idly as he rifled through the little pile of stuff he had transported from his ship and came up with a soft box she recognized as a standard shipboard first aid kit.

  He rolled the furs back to make a soft cushion that would fit them both, then put a thin thermal blanket from his ship off to the side within easy reach as he settled between her thighs and spread her wide.

  “You bled here a bit, love. I’m sorry.”

  She was embarrassed by the words and heated by the small kiss he placed on her belly, as if in apology as he wiped her with a soothing cloth from the medical kit.