Checkmate by Katherine Kingston

and completed her. As always it seemed her mind
and soul recognized him at some level so deep only sex could reach it, and then
only for too brief a time.
    He pounded into her hard and fast, deeply, almost savagely.
No buildup, just the abrupt intrusion planting sparks in her. They matched
rhythm with practiced ease. Sex was always so easy and so right with him. It
never had been that way with any other man, no matter how long she’d known him.
A star swelled inside her, growing and threatening to explode as its forces
pulsed hotter and harder.
    Devonne sobbed and moaned and strained to take him even
deeper, ever faster. It took just a few more desperate, violent plunges until
the blazing ball of heat inside her went supernova, exploding with a force that
shook her body to its core. She screamed in joy and triumph. A couple more
pushes and Raje came as well, with a roar that echoed through her head.
    He collapsed against her. Wrapping her arms around him, she
held him close. For the moment his lying and betrayal were forgotten.
Tenderness for him filled her.
    After a bit, though, the noise of the crowd filtered into
her awareness. Some cheers came from them, but there were many impatient calls
for more.
    Raje rolled off her. Using a corner of the fabric that
covered the platform, he cleaned her, then himself.
    “Got another round in you?” he asked.
    “With you? Yes.” Ouch. The words gave away far too much about
her feelings.
    “Slow and gentle this time.”
    He did slow and gentle just magnificently. Using fingers and
tongue, he embarked on a languid exploration of every fold and crevice of her
body. The heat roused more slowly this time, but he knew just how to touch,
lick and pinch to fire up the pressure again. Gentle strokes on cheek, nipples
and abdomen alternated with harder tugs and squeezes.
    She let him work on her for a while, then she pushed him
onto his back and levered herself up on an elbow. “My turn,” she said, brushing
her fingers along his chest and down to his stomach.
    The presence of the crowd weighed on her more in this
position, while pleasuring him. She forced herself to focus her awareness on
Raje, but even that had its own discomfort in her mixed emotions toward him.
She had to bury the hurt for the time. Touching him brought back so many
memories that tears threatened.
    She leaned over to kiss him, moving her lips on his mouth,
sucking and nipping. He opened for her and let her explore. His taste reminded
her of glorious dinners, exploring new worlds and adventures in space piracy.
Heady and intoxicating. So much so, she had to pull back and let her lips
wander over his cheeks and the rest of his face, across to his ear and down his
throat.
    A stop at his chest let her explore that territory, tasting
the skin beneath the light mat of dark hair and licking at his nipples. He
groaned loudly when she closed her mouth over one, swiped it with her tongue
and sucked at it. A surge of elation shot through her. She could rob this
strong man of his formidable control. The power of that knowledge went to her
head like a drug. He continued the moans and pants as she moved lower, kissing
down his abdomen. When she got to his cock and swiped her tongue along its
erect length, he roared his pleasure. He tasted of salt and essential
masculinity.
    It shocked her when he reached for her and pulled her up to
their faces were together again. “Sixty-nine? They’ll appreciate it. If you’re
willing?”
    She considered it for a second or two. “Not happy but
willing. Sides?”
    “Sides are good.”
    He twisted and rolled, while she shifted. They ended up on
their sides, with their heads at opposite ends of the bed and their knees at
each other’s eye level. He leaned forward, lifted her upper leg onto his
shoulder and rested his head on her thigh. All she had to do was duck her head
and lean in to get her hands on his balls and her mouth around his cock.
    Knowing she’d take longer to come, she went