Page 2 of Crown of Draga

There’d only been one night when she’d nearly done it, a night she was feeling particularly lonely and sad about Alpha.

Adelina looked up at the swaying palms and felt guilty for putting her friend and courtesan in such an uncomfortable position. “If Nash could propose and request my hand formally, I would choose him,” she told Nadyah quietly, throwing an arm over her eyes to hide the tears rimming them. “I will wait for as long as I possibly can before getting married. I will drag it out at every opportunity until I have no other choice, just to give Nash the time to regain his kingdom and convince Raena to rescind her order.”

If Nash could somehow make their union a requirement for furthering their alliance, perhaps Raena would concede.

“But as I have no real choice in who I marry, the proposition needs to be considered. Raena asked for my opinion once the requests come in and if Varan is among them…” she trailed off and then forced out the next words, no matter how much they felt like a betrayal. “Varan is the only other male I have feelings of any kind for, and if I could end up with a friend for the rest of my long life and not Lord Marcel, or the Neprijat King I will be more than grateful.”

Adelina had no control over her future, none at all. If she could sway Raena to a choice she could live with…it would be Mala’s miracle.

Nadyah’s sharp intake of breath said enough. “I’m sorry, Adelina. Sometimes I forget the restrictions you face.”

She peered at the courtesan and saw the same heartbreak she was far too familiar with herself. “If you love him,” Adelina said. “Get him scanned. Ask him if he would wait for you to finish out your contracts. Do not make the same mistake I did with Alpha. Had I mentioned a promotion?” Adelina shrugged a shoulder. “Who knows, perhaps we would already be engaged.”

“What about your own genetics?” Nadyah asked. “Have you gotten the results yet?”

Adelina rolled onto her back and exposed her bare breasts to Kala. The sun would turn her skin a darker shade of gold and Adelina always liked how the lack of clothing lines looked in her more daring gowns. “I have to go back to have samples taken.” She had been putting it off, terrified to know the truth.

“You haven’t even had samples taken yet?” Nadyah practically screeched.

Adelina turned her head and glared at the courtesan. “I’m not sure those in the House of Kismet heard you, perhaps you should say it louder.”

Her courtesan actually blushed. “I’m sorry, Adelina. Varan has me all out of sorts.” Nadyah crawled over and lay down next to her, taking her own shirt off to sunbathe as well. Those on Draga loved the sun almost as much as the galinasdid.

Adelina couldn’t help but look at her courtesan’s large, perky breasts. Nadyah’s skin was a rare crème. It was pale enough to worry her. “Should you be so exposed?” Adelina asked. “Won’t the sun burn you?”

Nadyah turned to her side and propped her head up with a hand, smiling wickedly. “Why, am I making you uncomfortable?”

Adelina closed her eyes. “No.” It definitely wasn’t making her uncomfortable, but it did make her want to touch those tight little nipples and maybe see what they would taste like. She most definitely understood a male’s obsession with breasts.

“You need to have those samples taken today, Adelina. I saw you with Nash in the hospital, remember? I understand the attraction, believe me I do.” Nadyah’s husky voice made Adelina look once more.

The courtesan’s eyes were half-lidded with desire as she looked at Adelina, eyes trailing over her bare breasts, her belly, and lower. “Once you know the truth you can have Nash’s DNA scanned, though I am not sure if the slight differences in our races will affect the results.”

Nadyah trailed a finger down Adelina’s side and over her waist.

Thank the goddess for private courtyards. Adelina felt feverish at her touch. There was so much she wanted to do with Nadyah, but hadn’t gotten up the nerve. “Does the mate bond apply to those of the same sex?” she asked, barely breathing.

Nadyah nodded, holding her gaze as those damned fingers trailed up and over Adelina’s hardened nipples. “I will need to be scanned as well.”

“How does that work?” she asked, lips parted as she watched Nadyah’s nails caress the undersides of her sensitive breasts. “You said the seed of the male triggers the bond, but what if the courtesan is male? What if the two are of the same sex?”

“DNA is DNA,” Nadyah explained. “We usually keep this to the House library, the secrets guarded so we cannot be taken advantage of and mated before we want to be.” Nadyah rolled on top of Adelina and kissed her bare stomach. “If you were to kiss me here and swallowed my essence,” she said, shifting so she could nuzzle the small nub under the suddenly too thin fabric of Adelina’s pants. “Then your body would recognize me as your mate and you would be bonded to mw.”

Adelina gasped as Nadyah continued to rub her clit through the fabric. She couldn’t help arching her back when the lightning sensation struck her. Goddess, it felt so good. Instantly she was wet and aching. The last six months had been utter torture. Only that brief night with Alpha had she felt sated.

Every moment with Nadyah, every touch and look had teased her since their first session in the House of Kismet. Nash was no better. Her sexual desire was so strong she nearly threw caution to the wind. It was painful to hold back, to never find the satisfaction that she craved as badly as she did water or air.

Her hips bucked as Nadyah looked up, using her thumb to stroke Adelina’s clit instead. She tried to keep her thoughts straight. This was important for her to know. “If that is true then why does a kiss on the lips not trigger the bond?” she asked, breathing hard through each word as Nadyah took her time.

The courtesan stroked at an even pace, with enough pressure that the pleasure built hard and fast, but Adelina knew she wouldn’t find a release this way. This was meant to tease and torture. “The deepest part of you Adelina – as in a sexual organ. With my tongue in your vagina I would be in the deepest part of you.”

The words were so raw and explicit the pleasure spiked and it took every shred of control not to move, to allow her courtesan to continue without begging for more. Adelina’s nails pierced her palms and the scent of blood hit the air.

Instantly Nadyah stopped, removing her thumb and grabbing Adelina’s wrist. She eyed the blood dripping down her hand with a displeased look. “This is not control, Adelina. This is a weakness and a crutch no matter how quickly it can heal.” Nadyah got to her feet and slipped her top back on. “Keep practicing your breathing and I will schedule another training session with the knives. We will only continue the camerraleto after we’ve seen the results.”

Adelina’s mouth fell open in shock. Nadyah was just going to seduce her and then leave her unfinished when she was so close? “That’s it then?” she demanded. “You’re angry with me so that was my punishment?” Fury radiated through her. Nadyah had manipulated her and she hated that more than anything.

“I wasn’t punishing you, Princess. You need to learn control and hurting yourself is not an actual solution. I do not want to be a part of that. We will keep practicing the breathing, and then we will slowly integrate the different sexual techniques when it is confirmed I am not your mate.” Nadyah sounded bitter and turned to leave, the Goddess only knew to where.

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