An Ning clung tightly to Nian Zhen as he pounded into her again and again, her nails digging half-moons into his back as the force of his thrusts rendered her almost unable to move. Nian Zhen was dominating her lower body with his own, her widespread thighs hanging loosely on the crook of his arms as his hips slammed repeatedly against her crotch, his ma.s.sive c.o.c.k ramming in and out of her dripping slit. The sound of f.u.c.king intensified as their joining became even more heated and lascivious.

"Nian Zhen...," An Ning breathed through parched lips. "Harder....ahhhh," An Ning moaned, her arms tightening around his back as her hips tried to meet his wild thrusts but failing. He was too wild, too hungry for her. He rode her like a young buck with his first woman, unbridled and unrestrained. All An Ning could do was hold on to him tight and enjoy the ride.

"Ning Ning, feel what you do to me," Nian Zhen groaned huskily, slapping his pelvis against hers in a violent rhythm. "I look at you and I get so hard my b.a.l.l.s hurt," he ended on a gasp as his teeth bit on the pink crests on her bouncing b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his hardened c.o.c.k continuing its non-stop indefatigable stabbing at her luscious c.u.n.t. "I want to bury myself inside you and never get out," the lewd words were whispered enticingly in her ear. "So tight. So sweet. Ning Ning, I'll never let you go," Nian Zhen rasped hoa.r.s.ely, his mouth crus.h.i.+ng her mouth under his in a hot and searing kiss.

One powerful thrust brought An Ning to the brink and she free falled, her body shaking with the force of her o.r.g.a.s.m, her scream loud and unrestrained. Nian Zhen followed soon after, grunting and groaning his satisfaction as he emptied his c.o.c.k inside his woman, his body shuddering and spasming with uncontrollable delight.

They fell on the bed exhausted, Nian Zhen's arms hugging and pulling An Ning closer, his head buried on her soft neck.

"I love you, Ning Ning," he whispered as she cuddled closer to his naked body and slept.

It was close to noon when Nian Zhen woke up. The dappled shadows fell on An Ning's naked body, highlighting the light bruises his pa.s.sionate loving had left on her white and delicate skin. Nian Zhen lightly kissed her lips then stood up, walking to the windows to look out the vast view seen from the tower.

The two of them had moved to the tower several weeks back. The feelings between them were too new, too all-consuming and oftentimes they needed their privacy so badly just to be together, to touch, to kiss and love each other. Nian Zhen remembered the younger them a long time ago. There wasn't this urgency, this almost combustible need between them. Why would there be when he thought of An Ning only as a friend and sister?

It took Valerie and later Han for him to realize how unmistakably stupid he was. That very first time he took An Ning, he remembered his knees almost buckling under him. He was almost close to fainting. An Ning had screamed and fought him but he had been crazed, almost possessed, out of his mind with l.u.s.t. Yes...l.u.s.t. For a woman he had defined growing up as a friend and not a lover.

Nian Zhen turned, as if compelled, and stared at the sleeping woman on his bed, her long hair streaming like a black banner on the pillows. She was here at last, beside him. He could touch her, make love to her and not just look at her with sorrow and regret as a ghost. Nian Zhen could feel his body stirring as An Ning turned on her back, exposing her luscious b.r.e.a.s.t.s to his heated gaze, his mouth watering as he stared at the long clean lines of her naked body, at the long legs with the soft tuft of hair between. He wanted to go to her and love her again, love her all night if possible, but he restrained himself.

Instead, he went to take a shower then dressed himself and fixed them something to eat. The tower had become their refuge, their private sanctuary. It was actually Ning Ning who first gave him the idea to turn the tower into a domicile for both them. She loved the view, she liked spending time there looking at the stars and the moon. So, he hired several dozen carpenters to transform the tower into their high-ceilinged bedroom, with the level beneath it serving as both living, dining room and shower area.

The twins loved it, too. And Gu Sheng, of course. They would look out the windows and using the spygla.s.s would wonder at the panoramic views of Chengdi just like that queen and her two-timing husband used to do centuries ago. When they were not admiring the view or swimming or fis.h.i.+ng in the pond, Pollux would read her books or try a new recipe and cook while Castor would play games on his phone or train with his dad. The palace had ample supply of renewable electricity from the time tunnel so everything ran smoothly like clockwork as if they were still living in modern times.

But oftentimes something would nag at An Ning. She would often find herself troubled by the fact that Nian Zhen and her lived separately from the kids. Not actually physically separate since the tower was just a few jumps away but the fact that they didn't live with the kids under one roof made her feel like she was abandoning them. Like she was choosing their dad over them and it was making her feel uncomfortable.

When she told her mother, Ceres burst into naughty laughter, which ended up embarra.s.sing An Ning even more. Ceres pointed out that she and Nian Zhen were practically on their honeymoon stage. Since their marriage ended and they immediately separated, moments like what they have now were almost impossible. And since they were both with other partners at that time, it would have been even rarer to spend time together anymore. But they were enjoying their second spring so a little physical overindulgence was understandable, even expected.

"It's like your Dad and I, darling," Ceres pointed out. "Your Dad is practically reluctant to let me out of his sight since we got married. Sometimes he would invent stuff just so we would spend days in bed together making love. And as old as we are, let me tell you a secret, your Dad and I, we're hoping for another child. An Ma is a good father. Look at how he protected you against Yu Yan, never divorcing her even when he fell out of love because he didn't want to leave you with her. I want to see him like that with another baby. An Ning, I love your father very much and feeling as I do about him, I can understand Nian Zhen's feelings for you. Just celebrate what you have, darling, and don't worry about the kids. That's what we're here for, to look after them."

An Ning hugged her mother and almost wept at the generosity of this woman who gave her life. When Hippolyta shocked and practically stunned everyone with her announcement, An Ning's thoughts had been with her mother. Ceres was Hippolyta's daughter. She was next in line for this highest promotion and not An Ning.

An Ning had sought her mother afterwards and was again stunned by what she said.

"I'm not really cut out for this sort of thing, darling," Ceres had said with genuine relief. "I'm not like you or Mom. I am very uncomfortable fighting with people, even killing them. Maybe that's the reason why I couldn't beat Yu Yan. I didn't have the heart for it. Actually, I don't have the makings of a good Amazon warrior either. But it's different with you. You immediately took to it like duck to water. I love my mother but I don't want to follow in her footsteps. I want to cleave my own way and find things I want to do that has nothing to do with this Amazon stuff."

"But, Mom, what about Saravia? What will happen to it?"

"I think your grandmother will be very happy to go back and look after it for a bit. They miss the place, darling. The entire history of your grandparents' courts.h.i.+p and marriage took place in that dream-like city. To them, it is their home. So, I would suggest you invite grandmama to come visit since you and Nian Zhen are busy honeymooning and getting your little family in order here on the other side."

"You mean, they've been waiting for me to ask them that?" An Ning asked, thunderstruck.

"Why do you think Dad was asking about the cave house the other day? He's very excited to see it again and excited to go back and live there with your grandmother."

"I'm sorry I was too slow to realize...I mean, I thought they wanted to go back to Ceresia."

"No, Ceresia is meant for the twins," Ceres said, again shocking An Ning. "I knew that as soon as Mom invited the kids for a visit. You have to learn to read the lines when my parents speak, darling. They're very old fas.h.i.+oned, you know. They're too shy to tell you what they want hoping you'll get it without asking them."

"That's kind of contradictory since they're very aggressive people," An Ning shook her head, baffled.

"I know, right. They're shy because they didn't want to impose on you. You've done a good job rebuilding Saravia, darling. Mom was so touched when she saw what you did to the place that she practically sang your name in praises. And Nyra and the rest...well, they sang your praises, too, so it became quite a sight to see and hear," Ceres said, chuckling at the memory.

"But what about you and Dad? What are you going to do, Mom?"

"Stay here for a bit, if you'll let us. Enjoy my little darlings' company and yes, take it easy and try to get pregnant again. You won't be jealous, will you, darling? It's not like your Dad and I don't love you anymore...it's just that...," Ceres said, at a loss for words.

"Mom, I would love to have a sister or brother. I don't want to be an only child anymore," An Ning a.s.sured her, then she burst out laughing. "Wouldn't it be funny if you have a baby and the twins are older and they call the baby aunt or uncle? Cas will freak out!"

They had a little laugh over Cas freaking out calling a small baby uncle or aunt so that the transition of her t.i.tle from simple An Ning to queen of the Amazons were quickly glossed over and forgotten.

When Nian Zhen went upstairs to their room, An Ning was awake and standing on a tiny terrace that gave her a better and un.o.bstructed view of the entire plains of Chengdi. She turned when she heard his footsteps.

"We have company," she said without preamble, giving him the spygla.s.s.

Nian Zhen took the spygla.s.s and looked through it. It was definitely a pirate s.h.i.+p. The d.a.m.ned s.h.i.+p wasn't even hiding its ident.i.ty, which was brazenly announced on the skull and crossbones black pirate flag hoisted on top of the s.h.i.+p's mast.

"I don't see Indian anywhere," Nian Zhen began then stopped when he caught movement atop the crow's nest. A man was watching him through the spygla.s.s even as he was watching the s.h.i.+p through his.

Nian Zhen swiveled his head and looked at An Ning. She was practically naked, wearing nothing but a light, frothy robe that exposed her upper thighs, her arms and her white luscious b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders and back and hips like a black waterfall. She looked so d.a.m.ned delicious that he alternated between wanting to bone her on the spot and screaming at her to get back inside and wear a hijab.

"Where in the world did you get that...that..is that even a robe?" he asked, his mind becoming fuzzy with the stirrings of l.u.s.t.

"Is that important right now?" An Ning asked, startled. "I mean, that's a pirate s.h.i.+p, right?"

"Yup," Nian Zhen said, still staring at her like she was an apparition.

"So?"

"So what?"

"I mean, a pirate's s.h.i.+p is here and you're not even worried about it?"

"I am. Worried about it, I mean."

"So?" An Ning asked again.

"I'm deliberating whether to f.u.c.k you or scream at you to wear a hijab," Nian Zhen said.

"Eh?"

"Ning Ning, go inside and wait for me. There's a peeping tom who's making himself a stiff b.o.n.e.r watching you from the crow's nest. I will deal with this idiot once you get back inside and hide."

An Ning looked at him, at the s.h.i.+p then went back inside without another word.

Nian Zhen put the spygla.s.s again to his eye. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d was still there, watching him. Suddenly, the spygla.s.s was removed and the man's face was exposed. Middle to late twenties. Long hair in a ponytail. Tall and medium build. A smirk on the handsome face. And a pirate's ring on his left finger. The name Fancy was marked on the s.h.i.+p's forward end. Fancy. Even the name of the boat sounded as flamboyant as the rakish looks of its captain.

The Fancy was still some distance away from sh.o.r.e. He had no choice but to go meet it since its sudden appearance obviously had something to do with the four men he sent out to reconnoiter the pirates' movements. And Indian and the rest of his team were clearly not onboard the Fancy. Otherwise, its captain would already have them walking the gangplank, simply for amus.e.m.e.nt and nothing else.

When Nian Zhen went back inside, An Ning was wearing only a towel and nothing else. She had clearly just showered, the smell of lavender wafting towards his nose making his head spin. She looked at him when he entered the room.

"They have Indian and the rest of the men. What are you going to do?"

"Ride out and meet them. I don't have any choice."

"I'm going with you. Hand me that thing, will you?"

"This?" Nian Zhen asked, looking at the s.h.i.+rt and pants ensemble on the hanger.

"Yes. I need to change."

Nian Zhen walked over to hand her the hanger but before her hand could touch it, Nian Zhen snaked an arm around her waist and roughly pulled her to him for a searing kiss. Since An Ning's mouth fell open in surprise, it was easy for him to explore the inside of her mouth with his tongue even as his hands started squeezing and pinching her hips and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The towel fell to the floor and Nian Zhen's hungry mouth unerringly found a sweet nipple to suckle and suck.

"Nian Zhen, we have to go," An Ning's reedy whisper was tortured. She tried to turn her body away from his grasp but Nian Zhen was faster. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled An Ning on his lap while his hands and lips again started creating magic on her flesh.

"We can do this later," she protested weakly, biting her lips as his roving hand and busy fingers twirled and played and delved inside her aching s.e.x.

"Now," he said hoa.r.s.ely then stopped all of her protests by kissing her mouth and inserting his engorged p.e.n.i.s in her waiting v.a.g.i.n.a.

The loving was fierce and l.u.s.ty and mind-blowing as usual. Nian Zhen was insatiable and afterwards tried to seduce An Ning into doing another bout with him but An Ning was firm and determined this time.

It took them another hour to get ready and by the time Hank and Kari and some of the guards rode in the truck with them, the afternoon was settling down into a quiet and balmy one.

When they reached the sh.o.r.e, a small raft was already paddling towards them, the pirate's s.h.i.+p swaying with the wave some distance away.