New Kingdom: American Court Ch. 06

"Hey," she playfully complained, "Be careful. I don't want to get my robe w...," stopping when Gabriel grabbed the belt, with a gentle tug, pulled the wrap open and quickly slid the sleeves from her shoulders.

"And I was afraid that I'd get wet," she pouted.

"And I'm still hoping that you will," he said with a wicked grin softly pressing his lips to hers.

"Does this mean that the waiting is over?" she asked when he gave her a chance to breathe.

"No, but I'm definitely celebrating," he answered playfully nipping at her neck.

"Celebrating what?"

"After all of these years, tonight is the first time you have ever come to me," he said silencing any additional questions with a demanding kiss.

As Gabriel explored her mouth, Alena wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. The length of the robe had fallen to her side, leaving her white lace panties as the only barrier between them as he wedged himself snuggly between her thighs. When he finally moved his hands from her waist, he lifted her knees up and pulled her ankles behind his back, cross locked against his hips.

Pulling his lips from hers, he tugged her hair, bending her head back to expose her neck to his mercy. "I'm sorry that you can't read my mind yet," he murmured between kisses, "you would know exactly how perfect I think you are."

Traveling up her arms, Gabriel's hands tenderly caressed her soft skin and felt her responding shivers. As his hands moved over her shoulders and down her back, he gently massaged her skin until he felt her relax in his arms. Moving his hands forward, he gently cupped her breasts amazed at the how she filled his large hands. Sliding his hands to her waist, Gabriel leaned back to gaze at her beauty.

Inhaling quickly, Alena moved her hands to her breasts in an attempt to cover herself. Gabriel focused on the lights, dimming them to their lowest illumination.

"How did you do that?" Alena asked quietly.

"Vampire tricks."

"Neat," she said with a smile. "Got any other tricks up your sleeves?"

"I'm not wearing sleeves," he sarcastically replied. Then leaning close, he whispered, "Actually, I do have one trick that you might enjoy."

"You do?" she asked. "Wha.....? Oh God, Gabe?" she asked looking between her thighs searching for the source of the invasion.

"Trust me, baby," he said while gently prying her hands away from her own flesh, he covered her sensitive body with his hands. "Let me love you like no mortal can."

With a nod of consent, Alena felt him gently stroked his thumbs across the tight little buds which hardened at his touch. But a second set of hands were stroking inside her soft thighs inching closer to her moist core. Looking between her legs again, she touched her thigh shocked to find no fingers.

"Relax," he gently commanded, "Enjoy."

Breathing deeply, Alena moaned and was shocked at the wanton sound her body was making of its own accord. As his hands continued massaging her breasts, Gabriel pressed his face to her hair to inhale her scent. The intoxicating sweet smell of her body was intensified in the humid room. In addition, the allure of her arousal added a new spice to her decadent sweetness.

Vowing to give her a taste of satisfaction, Gabriel whispered, "Trust me, Alena."

"I always have."

With her confession, the invasion between her legs intensified. The massaging fingers slipped beneath the elastic band of her panties not needing to remove the garment. The probing digits stroked the smooth skin surrounding her slit feeling the heat and swelling from the blood rushing to her core.

With a quick kiss on her lips, Gabriel swallowed her moan of pleasure as he continued his physical and mental assault of her senses. Reaching around her back, he splayed his palms across the small of her back and pulled her tighter to his groin. Aching at the contact but enjoying her obvious state of arousal, Gabriel returned to her lips to invade her mouth.

Deepening the kiss, Gabriel felt his arousal pulsing into her stomach and his tongue search her mouth. Alena felt the same with the addition of his phantom hand between her legs gently nudging her folds apart. Continuing to trust him, she felt him stroke the length of her slit until her moisture slipped from her body to coat his finger.

Gabriel was pleased to feel her pressing into his invisible access, and opening as a flower letting him feel her wetness. As he continued stroking, he purposely avoided reaching forward to her clit saving that experience to relish with his own flesh. When she finally broke the kiss, Alena placed her hands on his chest and pressed back and forth rubbing herself against this invisible touch.

"Gabe?" Alena asked.

"Hold on, baby," he whispered stroking the entire length of her slit.

"I'm glad we're not waiting anymore."

"Oh, we're still waiting. You're just getting a sneak preview."

"What?"

"Hold on," he commanded and he knelt in front of her placing her hands on top of his shoulders for support. Curling his fingers under the sides of her panties, he pulled them down her thighs and gently lifted each foot to remove the garment. Leaning back, Alena was surprised when Gabriel did not return to the stand in front of her.

Smiling at her confusion, Gabriel gently kissed under her breasts, licking a path from one to the other. Holding one in each hand, he appreciated how well she had hidden her size on her petite frame. Lowering his head, his kisses roamed over her tummy feeling the shivers race across her skin. When he dipped his tongues into her belly button, he was rewarded with her quick inhale. As she relaxed, he continued kissing each rib while kneading the small of her back. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she welcomed the added support for her weakening knees.

Raising his mouth to her breast, he heard her gasped as her sucked one tight nipple into his mouth. Gently sucking on her aroused flesh, he slipped his unoccupied hand between her knees and coaxed her legs apart. As she opened to him, Gabriel sought the wet flesh that was preparing for his entrance.

Through the fog in her mind, Alena was aware of the difference between his gentle, unseen invasion of her body and the warm currents supplied by his long fingers. Feeling the electrical buzz increasing in her body, Alena rocked against Gabriel's fingers encouraging the odd sensation growing in her core. With his supernatural speed, Gabriel pulled away from her body, stood up and carried her from the counter to the teak bath bench placed in the middle of the room. Smiling at her sounds of disapproval, he pulled her hips to the edge and pushed her shoulders back so she was lying on the bench with her legs parted giving him full access to her flesh.

Leaning over her body, he braced his arms on the bench and kissed her mouth fully. Accepting his tongue deep into her mouth, she followed his lead and chased his back into his mouth with her own. When Gabriel felt the length of his arousal searching for her silky wetness of her slit, he quickly broke their kiss and kneeled before her body. Glancing down her own nakedness and seeing Gabriel's face positioned so close to her gave Alena one last rush of shyness.

Before she could move her hands to cover her nudity, Gabriel gave her a wicked wink and latched his mouth to her clit. Reacting to the sensation, Alena grabbed the bench beneath her and raised her knees to place her feet by her hips. Accepting the access given in her new position, Gabriel allowed his fangs to graze across her clit earning a scream from Alena in response. Not wanting to push her over the edge quite yet, he pulled away from the hard little nub and allowed his tongue to taste the juices now seeping from her body. Swallowing the first drink of her liquid he confirmed that no desert made by any god or man could compare to the delicacy produced from her body. He indulged in her unique flavor until he felt her body tightened with the need to be released from all of these years of torment.

Pulling his mouth away, Gabriel watch her lift her head to look at him in confusion. Knowing that she would not be able to form the words to ask for the climax she needed, Gabriel took pity on her innocence and brought his mouth back to her clit while inserting one finger into her tight passage. Amazed at just how tight she still was during her arousal, Gabriel was glad that they would take the time to be away and make everything right. The last thing he every wanted was to scare her or hurt her.

Knowing that she had less than a few seconds before feeling her first orgasm, Gabriel switched places between his tongue and fingers. Dipping his tongue as deep as he dared, he felt her walls shiver and tighten in response. When he stroked his fingers over her clit, he felt her back arch off the bench and heard her scream his name.

Having some knowledge of what would happen during sexual climax, Alena was not scared of the changes and reactions she felt surging through her body. But when Gabe's fingers touched that super sensitive spot of her body, she thought her heart would explode out of her chest.

"Gabriel!" she screamed knowing that he would not move his mouth to answer her nor did she want him to move.

He smiled as he continued to pleasure her, feeling her body continue to open to his exploration. When her body exploded, he felt the tension, rush of her juices and the final shivers of aftershock. Tenderly stroking her legs, he moved allowing her now tender clit to slowly recover from his stimulation. As she settled down, he removed his mouth and kissed inside her thighs earning a moan of mixed protest and pleasure.

Rising back up to lean over her while balancing his weight with his arms, Gabriel tenderly kissed her lips and waited for her eyes to open. When they did, they held the light that matched the smile on her lips.

"So," she said with no trace of shyness, "When do I get to learn how to return the favor?"

"Tonight," he answered with another kiss to her lips. "But for now, we need sleep. It's already late morning and I have a busy day ahead of me. If we plan on leaving town tonight, I'll need to get an earlier start than usual."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go to bed! Get some sleep!" she said with a playful swat to his hip. "And for the record, when I asked what other tricks you could do," she said with a grin, "I was expecting you to turn on the faucet."

"I think I did," he laughed while wiping the moisture from his face.

In the early evening hours, Alena awoke to discover that Gabriel was gone but the bed was not empty. A gardenia plant was setting on Gabriel's pillow with a folded piece of paper leaning against it. Stretching across the bed, she carefully lifted the plant to inhale the exotic fragrance of the fragile white blooms. Gently placing the pot on the bedside table, she picked up the note and opened to reveal Gabriel's handwritten words.

Alena,

I'm sorry that I had to leave before you were awake, but I needed to get started early if we were going to leave tonight. I hope you slept well and will continue to rest throughout the day. The Council meets late this evening; so unfortunately, I will be late coming home. I know that a dozen long stem roses might be considered more romantic but the gardenia represents our love: beautiful and alive.

Keeping the note in the pocket of her robe, Alena started her day with a shower, grabbed a quick breakfast of cereal and moved to the living room to watch TV. As she anticipated the upcoming trip and events that would occur she tried to assess her needs for travel and then gave up when she realized that she had no clothes to pack or luggage in which to pack them. Wondering where Gabriel would take her, she fantasized about visiting Gabriel's various homes that he had described to her. Anywhere with him would be a treat, but she had always had secret dream of where they would spend their first days together.

They had never discussed marriage. Alena had always thought that Gabriel's vampire nature and her finances would not have allowed a decent wedding anyway. Even without marriage vows, they had agreed that they would be together forever. Unfortunately, their plans had been cancelled. Correct that, their plans had been postponed.

Turning the TV channel to local news, Alena muted the volume and sat down the remote. Smiling at the turn of events in her life, she reminded herself that no matter what the reasons were for the delay, Gabriel and she would finally be together tonight, or tomorrow, or by the end of this vampire day.

"I really need to find out how vampires measure their days," she murmured out loud.

"The same as everyone else," Edward King said from behind her. "The rising sun marks the beginning of the day but midnight dictates the change of dates on the calendar."

Walking around the couch to stare at Alena's startled face, Edward smiled and said, "My apologies for scaring you. I'm not used to having my presence announced in Gabriel's suite. I will remember to knock in the future."

Continuing to stare at each other, Alena finally calmed from the fright of Edward's sudden presence but was speechless at his disheveled appearance. The vampire king, who was usually the epitome of male fashion, was wearing faded jeans and a gray t-shirt stretched across his barrel chest. The shadow of growth across his jaw testified to his lack of sleep.

"Edward," Alena paused in her observation, "Have a seat." When he sat on the opposite end of the couch, she inquired, "How is Lia?"

Quickly looking at her, he blinked his eyes as though confused. "Alena," he slowly started, "When your sister was first changed, her sire had abandoned her. Gabriel and I were the first to find her, so I named her."

Alena continued to watch him, waiting for him to continue, he then finally said, "I named her Iona. It's derived from the Koine Greek word 'eon' which means forever or eternity."

"That's beautiful," Alena said. "Did the name refer to her new nature?"

"No," he confessed. "It refers to our bond. I cannot explain how much I love her." Suddenly standing, Edward hesitated as though he was deciding what to do. Finally, he walked to the bar and poured a drink. Gulping the amber liquid, he emptied and refilled the glass before returning to the couch.

"Several months ago, I was travelling and my plane was hijacked," he recollected. "For the first time in my existence, I was overtaken, bound, and held hostage. The only way that or any of the tactics of the rebellion could occur is with the assistance of one of my kind." Pausing, Edward sighed and then continued, "Actually, only a member of the Third Creation would have the strength to subdue me. I've denied that possibility until I witnessed last night's events."

"Anyway," he said with a smile, "When I first met your sister, she was injured and scared; and yet, she encouraged me to keep living. I won't share all of the details but I eventually had to tell her what I am and the danger she was in."

Leaning his head against the back of the couch, Edward closed his eyes and continued, "I explained that she had been captured and placed in my cell to complete my destruction and the result would end in her death." Raising his head, Edward looked at Alena, "Can you guess what she did?"

"I can't imagine."

"She actually came to me, sat beside me and offered herself," he answered with a smile. "The poor girl tried to reason with me that I should take from her whatever I needed and remain strong until we could be rescued."

"Wow, I don't think I could have focused on anything besides my impending death," Alena offered.

"I don't think so," Edward countered. "Her first response to my explanation was a question of what would her sister do."

After a few moments Edward continued, "After a few days, guards were sent to check on our status. Because she had received no food or water, your sister was very weak. Because I had taken very little blood from her, I was not much stronger than her. But the guards were very anger at our survival and removed her from my cell."

Dropping his head, Edward's cringed at the memories and then said, "Her last human words to me were asking for my promise to escape and then save her."

Alena gave in to the tears that she had held at bay during Edward's explanation. When she had recovered a small amount of control, she said, "She's suffered so much. She's done nothing to deserve this."

"When Gabriel finally found me." Edward continued, "We searched the compound until we found her. She had been bitten and was just completing her change. At the time, I found it odd that her sire had abandoned her but now I know that she had been left for me to find as another trap."

"Is that how you think of her?"

"No!" Edward exclaimed. "She is everything to me. I will not live without her. And now, after all of her suffering, she has been given another chance to live, sired by me, to be my mate for eternity."

"So she will survive this?" Alena asked hopefully.

"Absolutely," Edward answered, "And she and I will continue as I had planned. Together. Forever. Therefore, her name will continue to be 'Iona' as I had intended."

"I understand," Alena said accepting the explanation, "And I will happily comply."

Reaching across the couch, Edward took Alena's hand and clasped it between his two hands. As he felt her pulse quicken, he looked into her eyes and smiled. "I'm glad you are here. Our family will soon be complete."

Releasing her hand, Edward then added with a conspiratorial grin, "Gabriel will not tell me how you knew about us when I did not know about you. Are you willing to explain?'

"It was meant to be a joke," Alena said. "I was making a stupid observation. And now, I think the joke is on me."

"Explain."

"I thought I knew so much about your kind but now I hear about the Third Creation and the rebellion and I'm really clueless."

"Let's agree to exchange information," Edward offered. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

"Sound fair."

"Great," moving down the couch to sit next to Alena, he asked, "Why did you and Gabriel separate eight years ago?"

"Ah," Alena said in a reaction.

"You agreed to exchange answers."

"Ok," she answered. "Eight years ago, Gabriel had offered to take me and my brother and sister away to one of his homes. He had promised to provide a tutor for Lia and a nurse for Tony. When Lia would be old enough to leave, he would alter her memories so she couldn't tell anyone what she'd seen."

"I would have remained human until the kids were gone," Alena said wincing at her choice of words to describe Tony's death. "Anyway, the night we were supposed to leave, I received a call from the police informing me that Lia and some of her friends had been arrested for starting a fire in the school bathroom. Of course she was also expelled. Again."

Gabriel smiled at the older sister's caution of recounting his mate's wild childhood.

"Anyway," Alena continued, "When I returned to work, after bailing her out of jail, Gabriel was waiting for me. He was early, so I knew something was wrong." Pausing to choose her next words carefully, she finished with "Apparently the Council was making some changes and he would not be able to leave."

"Actually," Edward interrupted, "I had just created the Council and had implored Gabriel to stay and assist me. Ah Christ, I used the ultimate guilt trip by reminding him that he had visited the other courts longer than the American Court."

"Right," Alena added, "And he could not remain here and add a human mate with a sick a brother and juvenile delinquent sister."

"Probably not," Edward conceded. "I had formed the Council in response to the early signs of the rebellion. We used the blueprint of the American justice system in forming and enforcing laws. For a time, the system seemed to work."