The Family Jewel,   by Raina James

Jerran and his clan brothers watched through the intricately worked lattice as the woman entered the bathing chamber. Her back to them, she crossed the room to the sunken pool of steaming water with a gently swinging stride. She wore a simple white robe, secured at her slender waist with a braided cord of blue silk. The white seemed brilliant against the golden honey of her skin. Thick black hair spilled in loose waves from a topknot on the crown of her head, revealing the curve of a delicate jaw and slender neck. She unfastened the robe and turned to place it on a bench that held a number of plush folded towels. Jerran swallowed as he saw her face for the first time. He didn't know what his clan brothers--Loran, Mikah and Kai, who was also his half-brother by blood--felt, but possessiveness and pride seized him. She was a beauty.

In truth, her attractiveness hadn't really been in doubt. Kalari women were renowned for their beauty, after all. But this woman, Shantay, would be the Jewel of Black Moon Clan. That made her beauty unmatched in his eyes.

Jerran clenched his hands at his sides in an effort to quell his rising excitement, glad of the relative privacy offered by the small, dimly lit viewing chamber. His cock was hard as polished starstone in his trousers.

Shantay, her body dainty except for the round fullness of her breasts and feminine curve of her hips, tucked a few loose tendrils of hair into the jewelled band that secured it. Unhurried, she walked to the pool and started down the steps. Ankles, calves, knees, thighs--the water enveloped that golden skin until her hips were submerged. She began to scoop handfuls of hot water over her arms and shoulders, smoothing the glistening drops of liquid over breasts tipped with copper-pink crests.

Twisting slightly, she shifted a tray of bath stuffs along the edge of the pool. She scooped a handful of soft soap from one jar and began to lather her upper body with exquisite slowness. Streamers of white foamy bubbles slid over her shoulders and down her arms. Another handful of soap added to the tantalizing trail that wound its way over and between her breasts. Slender fingers plucked at hardening nipples that peaked rosily through the bubbles. Not once did she turn away from the lattice that concealed the four men.

A suspicion began to form in his mind.

When the elders offered Jerran and his clan brothers a chance to see their Jewel before the joining ceremony, he had accepted for them all with alacrity. It hadn't occurred to him they'd be granted such an intimate preview, though. At first, the thought of spying on an unsuspecting young woman in such a private moment had been a bit off-putting, if exciting. He didn't want to dishonor their Jewel, even if she never learned of this hidden visitation.

However, something in Shantay's sensual bath made him think she wasn't as unaware as he'd feared.

She was displaying herself for them.

As if in confirmation of his conclusion, Shantay rinsed the suds away with more handfuls of water, her motions languid, seductive. Taking a couple of steps out of the pool, she balanced one small foot on the top step and began to lather the exposed leg from hip to heel. When she ran soap-covered fingers through the dark curls between her thighs, Kai exhaled on a soft curse. Jerran shot the younger man a silencing look. If they were all to pretend that Shantay bathed alone, so be it.

Their Jewel took her time with the rest of her bath, then towelled off with equal care before donning her discarded robe and leaving the bathing chamber. For long moments, no one said anything.

Kai finally broke the silence. "Brother, when you asked me to leave my mother's house to start a clan with you, I never doubted you would make Black Moon a great family. But this Jewel, my brother." He grinned and clapped Jerran on the shoulder. "I have a feeling she will be your greatest accomplishment."

Loran, usually the quickest with a smile, turned away from his thoughtful contemplation of the now-empty bathing chamber. "You know, Kai, I think you're right. There's something about Shantay that tells me she is the piece we didn't know we were missing. Mikah?"

Jerran watched this quietest of his three clan brothers closely. Loran's lover and Black Moon's master trader, Mikah had said the right things when informed the Elders had granted them a Jewel. Yet, despite his quick mind and glib tongue when it came to making the most advantageous bargain for the clan, Mikah was a self-contained man wary of change. It would take a far less perceptive leader than Jerran to realize he had reservations about the biggest change of their lives. Jerran knew those reservations wouldn't stop Mikah from accepting Shantay for the boon she was to their clan. His estimation was proven when Mikah dipped his head in a single nod and said simply, "She is truly a Jewel of Kalari womanhood."

"True," Jerran said. "But that is't the most important thing about her."

"No?" Kai asked.

"No." He walked to the hidden room's door and pulled it open. "The most important thing is that tonight, Shantay will belong completely to Black Moon. She will be all ours."

"Jerran, my mate. Show me what you like."

He hesitated only a moment before reaching for her. One broad, long-fingered hand cupped her jaw. The other tangled in her loose hair, wrapping it around and around his fist until he couldn't catch it any tighter. His thumb grazed her lips. "Very well, my Jewel. Open for me, then." The tip of his cock nudged her mouth, seeking entrance. "Put that teasing little tongue to work. That's it. Ah, yes, my Jewel. That's the way. Taste my desire for you, Shantay."

He used the fist in her hair to guide her into the rhythm he wanted, helping her work her mouth over his cock as he thrust forward with tight jabs of his hips. Following his murmured instructions, she laved her tongue around the head, prodded the dripping slit, and swallowed as much of his length as she could, until he almost hit the back of her throat.

Her fingers kept busy, too, sliding into the open flap of his trousers to cup and play with the hard spheres in their delicate sac. Moving her hands to his hips, then around to his ass, she hummed with pleasure as she felt the push and pull in his flanks with every flex that shallowly drove his cock between her lips.

Jerran groaned. "Don't do that, Shantay, or I'll spurt down your lovely throat instead of what I've been waiting to do again since the ceremony." He let her suck his cock a bit longer before tugging her hair and pulling her away from him. "Enough. On the bed, Shantay."

Licking her lips, savoring the taste of him, she stood and freed the polished metal clasps at her shoulders that were all that secured her gown. The sheer fabric whispered down her body, revealing the betrothal chain secured around her waist, the teardrop gem nestled just above her mound. Jerran's eyes fastened on the gem, and he touched it, pressed it into the black curls at the top of her thighs. Trailing his fingers lower, he parted her slit with one finger and brushed her desire-slickened clit once, twice. "Bed, Shantay. Now."

His eyes were hot on her back as she turned on one bare foot and walked up the two steps to the bed's edge. Her knee sank into the mattress and thick coverlet. Instead of pulling the coverlet aside, she crawled to the bed's center. Bending down, she stretched her hands above her head and thrust her ass in the air in an obeisance he couldn't miss the invitation of. Jerran didn't say a word. She heard the matching thuds as he tossed off his boots, the hiss and rustle as he removed his clothes. Then the mattress sank beneath his weight. His wet, strong tongue unexpectedly probed through her nether curls to find the pearl he'd teased and sucked it into his mouth, making her gasp. He ravished her with his mouth until her hips thrust helplessly back, pushing shamelessly against his face as the desire built inside her belly until she could barely breathe.

"Jerran," she cried, gripping the coverlet with desperate fingers. Belatedly, she recalled that she was supposed to be the one making him lose control. Gulping for air, she forced her breaths to steady and stilled her hips. "Jerran," she said in a much steadier voice. "Mate, please don't make me wait any longer. Take me."

His answer was a dark chuckle, but he stopped teasing her clit and eased away. Shantay started to edge her knees wider apart, but he stopped her. "No. Like this," he said, guiding them closer, until they almost touched. His hair-dusted thighs bracketed hers, knees pressing into the mattress on either side. The head of his cock was a blunt pressure against her slit, pressing, pushing, throbbing. She thought it might not go in, she felt so tight. "Easy," Jerran said, steadying her with a hand at her waist. And then he slid smooth and sure into her slick passage. Shantay moaned with delight.

Jerran leaned over her back, wrapped an arm around her waist and set up a steady thrusting that would have moved her forcefully across the bed if not for his own thighs trapping and holding her to his satisfaction. Again, Shantay found herself lost in his lovemaking, crying out her pleasure with abandon. "I love to hear your passion, my Jewel," Jerran praised, alternately sucking and biting her neck in a way that made her want to wiggle even closer to him.

She didn't know what made her open her eyes. But when she did, she saw they'd drawn an audience. Loran, one leg dangling comfortably over a thickly padded arm, lounged in a wide chair against the wall that separated Kai's room from Mikah and Loran's. Mikah leaned against the wall at his side, one hand toying with the curls at the nape of Loran's neck. Kai was a dark shadow where he sat on the edge of his bed in his own chamber, his eyes a faint glitter as they watched his half-brother and their Jewel.

"They only wish to see your beauty, my Jewel," Jerran whispered, the pace of his thrusts seeming to speed with each word. Skilled fingers worked between her thighs to pinch and tease her clit as he pounded into her, his breathing becoming increasingly ragged. "Come for me, Shantay. Come for them."

The tight knot in Shantay's belly suddenly unravelled, flinging threads of joy through her body. She screamed as the sensation ricocheted inside her, making her toes and fingertips tingle, her womb clench and the walls of her passage close around Jerran's cock as if she'd never let him go. It jumped and she felt the gush of his release as he shouted in triumphant possession, clutching her even closer.

Autumn from "Dark Diva Reviews" gives this title 5 Delightful Divas:

Shannon from "The Romance Studio" gives this title 4.5 Hearts:

Jasmine from "Whipped Cream" gives this title 5 Cherries:

GJM from "Rites of Romance Reviews" gives this title 5 Lyres:

Valerie from "Love, Romances and More" gives this title 4 Hearts: