“All right,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
Liosh gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed her forehead. Then he rose with her still in his arms and carried her into the bedroom to hold her close all night.
Twenty-Two
The ride home from The Todd was stiff with sexual tension. But at least it wasn’t angry sexual tension, anymore, Jodi thought to herself. She and Vorn understood each other now—understood that they had unconsciously been driving each other crazy and that the feeling between them wasn’t either one of their faults.
Feeling…right, sneered a sarcastic little voice in the back of her head. Don’t you mean desire? Or maybe lust would be a better word. And don’t forget, you’re engaged.
Jodi could hardly forget it. The diamond on her left hand wouldn’t let her. And yet, the animal magnetism of the big Kindred sitting in the car beside her was undeniable…inescapable. Just smelling Vorn’s Mating Scent in the enclosed area was making her nipples hard and her pussy wet.
From the way Vorn’s nostrils were flaring and the hot looks he was throwing her way, he was feeling the effects of their mutual cycle of arousal as much as she was.
“You know, baby,” he growled, when they were about halfway back to her apartment. “I don’t wanna be pushy, but I think it might be a good idea if you used those toys on yourself the minute we get in the door tonight. Your scent is so sweet and hot it’s kind of making me crazy right now.”
“Don’t forget, your scent does the same thing to me,” Jodi pointed out, a bit breathlessly. “And I fully intend to break in some of the toys we got. Only…” She hesitated for a moment.
“Only what?” Vorn growled, shooting her a glance.
“Only, I just thought that maybe…maybe I would put on a little fashion show first,” Jodi heard herself saying.
God was she really saying this? And did she really want to go through with it?
The tingling in her pussy was answer enough. Jodi loved to dress up and pretend she had an audience watching her. If she actually did have someone looking while she paraded around in her sexy new clothes…God! Just the thought alone was almost enough to make her come!
“A fashion show, huh?” Vorn’s deep voice was definitely interested. “What kind of fashion show do you mean?”
“The kind where I put on some of the naughty little outfits you just bought me and you get to see how they fit,” she said lightly. “Of course, it would be a strictly look-but-don’t-touch event,” she added quickly. Because after all, if the big Kindred didn’t touch her, it couldn’t be considered cheating—could it?
Jodi was pretty sure it couldn’t.
“Of course.” Vorn agreed. His golden eyes had gone half-lidded and his Mating Scent had intensified until it was all Jodi could do not to crawl across the seat and straddle him while he drove the damn car. “I’d be pleased to watch your fashion show, little girl,” he told her. “You think it’ll help you get off? Having somebody watch you be sexy?”
Blushing, Jodi nodded.
“It always helps me to imagine I have an audience,” she admitted. “I guess I’m just an exhibitionist at heart.”
He shook his head.
“So damn much like the Krining. I knew there was a reason I was drawn to you.”
“What’s the Krining?” Jodi asked, frowning. “Is it some kind of Kindred thing?”
“It is but it’s only in my home tribe back on Rageron,” Vorn said. “It’s a kind of ritual a male and his chosen bride go through before they can be formally Joined.”
“Oh?” Jodi was immediately intrigued. “And is this a, uh, sexual ritual?”
“You got it in one.” Vorn nodded. “It’s kind of a public Claiming—a way for the male to let every other male in the tribe know that the female he has chosen—and who has chosen him—is off-limits.”
“Oh?” Jodi asked again, shifting in her seat. “And…what exactly does he do?”
“First the whole tribe gathers—well, all the unmated males and females, anyway,” Vorn told her. “This show is strictly for them, so they’re the only ones who have to see it. So anyway, they all gather in the center of the Claiming Grove—which is a special spot in the center of a group of trees designated for that purpose. They all form a ring around the pair and then the Krining begins.”
“What exactly do they do?” Jodi asked, shifting towards him.
“Well…” Vorn frowned. “I don’t want you to be shocked. Some people say it’s a savage custom—that it makes public what ought to be private. But my tribe carries on the tradition anyway.”
“Tell me!” Jodi reached out to put a hand on his arm and the tingle between them was almost electrical when they touched.
Vorn looked down at her small hand and then up into her eyes. The heat in his golden gaze was unmistakable.
Jodi quickly withdrew her hand.
“Tell me,” she said again, trying to ignore the way her pussy felt so much wetter than before she’d touched him. “Tell me about the Krining.”
“Okay, well…” Vorn cleared his throat. “First the male takes a vine and binds it around his chosen bride’s wrists. He ties the vine to a tree branch above. And then he ties her ankles wide apart as well—so she’s open and helpless in front of everyone.”
Jodi felt her breath catch in her throat. To be helpless in front of so many people—to be in the hands of your Master and know he could do to you what he wanted…
The mental image turned her on so much she could barely breathe. But there was something that bothered her.
“But this is consensual, right?” she asked. “I mean, it’s not something the male forces the female to do?”
“Hell no, sweetheart—don’t you know by now that Kindred aren’t willing to do anything a female doesn’t want?” Vorn asked. “No, believe me—the females are as into it as the males. More even.” He shot her a glance. “You give
