by Kat Brewer
“Yes, love, now goodnight.” He rose and went to the others, speaking softly.
They all rose, and with a bow towards Cassie, they quietly left the gathering as the eyes of nearly every woman followed their handsome forms.
As Cassie sat waiting for Kara, she idly watched the debauchery unfolding around her. In the shadowy corners of the room, figures could be seen moving rhythmically in various positions. She also spotted Darien and Nall talking together whilst watching two female slaves making love at their feet.
Men… It figures.
Cassie continued to sit musing silently until Kara interrupted her reverie by flopping down next to her.
“Tell me you are ready to get out of here!” Kara exclaimed.
“Oh, yes! Most definitely.”
Cassie spoke to one the Queen’s Guard, giving orders as she prepared to leave.
Cassie and Kara stood and eased out through a side door. Lifting their skirts, they ran down the steps and through the streets towards the village square, following the sounds of revelry. Unbeknownst to them, Darien and Nall both saw them leave and decided to follow.
During the conversation the men shared earlier, they had discovered they both shared a strong love for the mountainous country that was home to both of their Kingdoms. This common ground led them to the discovery of many other shared interests and preferences. They began to shed some of their animosity, and when the slaves at their feet began their play, the men shared a look, ceased talking, and watched in fascinated surprise.
They were about to walk away when they saw Cassie and Kara leave. Between them, they decided that following the lovely women was an excellent idea. So, as stealthily as possible, they followed them into the village.
The hairs on the back of Cassie’s neck prickled as they moved along, but she shrugged it off and hurried on towards the village square.
As they came into the crowds of people lining the streets, they saw their warriors and headed towards them.
“Whoa-ho-ho!” the warriors shouted when they caught sight of their leaders in their regal attire.
Cassie and Kara laughed and curtsied prettily as they joined them, hugging and slapping the women on the back. One of the warriors poured a golden liquid into small, shot-like glasses and handed one to Cassie and one to Kara.
Kara threw hers back quickly, grimaced, and then laughed. So, Cassie lifted the glass to her nose and sniffed. She looked up at the women and quirked her brow.
It smelled like tequila.
“It is made from a desert plant that grows in the Canyons of Tay and is very potent and very good!” one of the warriors stated.
Cassie downed it and grinned, holding out her glass for another shot. Her warriors cheered and refilled her glass, and she wasted no time in throwing it back.
Cassie and Kara had done three shots each and were really starting to feel it when they decided to join in the dancing that was taking place in the middle of the square.
People spun, kicked, and cavorted to the wild gypsy music. The women looked at each other and nodded. Grabbing up the hems of their gowns, they tucked them up into their gilded belts. Much to the delight of their troops, they ran into the dance and careened about freely.
They were soon joined by scores of their warriors, who were also laughing and dancing. They enjoyed the freedom of each other’s company and the uncharacteristic and total abandon of their superior officers.
Soon, many of the Serlenn and Destian soldiers had joined in the dancing, enjoying the camaraderie of the beautiful Erlan warriors.
Nearly an hour later, Cassie broke free from the throng and was headed for more liquor when she ran straight into the arms of Darien. Breathlessly, she looked at his grinning face and noted that Nall stood with him, also grinning at her.
“I am shocked by such behavior from the Commander of the Erlan Army!” Darien taunted with a grin.
Cassie laughed in his face, refusing to be offended or to take his bait.
The man was maddening, but she refused to let him get to her.
“Come and have a drink with me. Maybe it will loosen those sticks that seem to be wedged up your asses,” Cassie shot back.
Their stunned looks quickly dissolved into laughter, and they followed her to where the liquor sat on a high table and watched as she poured them all a shot.
After throwing back the shot, Darien leaned down and whispered in her ear, “My Lady, you may loosen anything on me that you desire.”
Chills ran deliciously up and down her spine, and a surge of heat hit her groin as she poured him another shot and then leaned over him to pour another for Nall as well. Darien’s lips brushed across her cheek, and he grinned wickedly at her.
Cassie ignored the heat that flared through her at the contact.
Nall came up behind her and put his arms around her while holding up his glass for another shot. She poured it and then extricated herself from him while throwing back another shot herself. Kara rejoined her and took another drink, raising her eyebrows at Cassie.
“You are way behind, girlfriend,” Cassie said.
“Give me a moment, and I will be drunker by far!” The women around cheered and laughed. Each one of them was drunk and happy.
“I am not drunth . . .” Cassie said indignantly and then laughed “Oh shit! I am drunk!”
The men of both countries stood around them, laughed, and swallowed more of the liquor. All present were on his or her way to becoming drunk.
Cassie grabbed Darien and Nall and dragged them into the dancing crowd. When they arrived, the music slowed to a seductive pace.
Disappointed, as she had been looking forward to the wild careening that she had enjoyed earlier, Cassie soon shrugged it off and put herself between them, slowly grinding with the music.
Lust flared through both of the men as they watched her.
She pulled them in closer. Darien was at her back, and Nall was in front of her. Finally, Cassie melded their bodies together, and they writhed as one. Their hands caressed her arms and sides. Her head spun, and she leaned her head back against Darien’s broad shoulder as she raised her arms and swayed, feeling free and sexy.
Nall took the opportunity to lower his head to her throat, running his mouth up and down the vulnerable flesh, and Cassie growled low. She was soon purring when Darien’s lips found the curve of her neck.
She was on fire, but she knew she was too drunk to commit to this, so her eyes sought and found Kara on the edge of the dance, watching them with a huge grin on her face. She motioned to her, and her friend quickly cut through the writhing bodies to her.
Cassie grabbed Nall’s hips, using them to turn and propel him into Kara’s waiting arms where Kara looked up into his eyes seductively. The farther he was from her, the less likely she would do something stupid with the arresting Serlenn Prince.
Darien spun her around and pulled her into his arms, making Cassie’s head swim, and to her great embarrassment, she hiccupped loudly.
“Isn’t Kara gorgeous?” she asked of him. “Seriously, look at her. She’s sexy as hell!”
“Do your tastes run to women, then?” Darien asked in a husky, smoldering voice as his lips caressed her ear. Cassie blinked up at him in shock.
“Not like that, no. She is like a sister to me. I am just ashamed to say it never occurred to me to see her as the beautiful woman she is.”
She hiccupped again, and Darien smiled as he buried his face in her wild curls and breathed in her scent, that was a heady mix of rose and jasmine. Cassie rubbed her hips against his when he pulled her snug against him, and she felt his burgeoning arousal.
The sober Cassie and the drunken Cassie both warred within her. He was very sexy and it was getting to her.
Her hands slid down his hips and moved around to grab his tight, round ass. She growled, and a chuckle rumbled through his chest.
“Lady Cassandra, it would be my sublime pleasure to take you to my bed and fuck you senseless all night long, but I
refuse to do so while you are drunk. When you have sobered, and you want me still, I will be more than happy to oblige and give you a night you will never forget. Or even a week, if you so desire.”
His eyes burned into hers and her groin throbbed at the images his words evoked. She grinned.
“I don’t remember asking you, My Lord. Did I miss something?” Cassie asked with mock innocence before she gave his ass one last squeeze and broke free.
She laughed as she made for a group of warriors. When she turned back, she saw him sauntering after her with a sexy smile on his handsome face.
He was followed by Kara and Nall. Kara was removing Nall’s wandering hands from various parts of her body and laughing.
Cassie half-staggered to her women and was handed another shot that she downed quickly. A belch broke free from her lips, and her women brayed with laughter as they continued toasting her. She laughed right along with them and pushed her hair out of her face as Kara and Nall joined them.
Nall’s eyes still burned with desire for her, and she had hoped he would take Kara up on the offer that lay in her gray eyes. To her dismay, however, he came over and whispered in her ear, “The Destian King could not please you, My Lady?” His breath raised chills on her neck.
“My Lord Nall, I am so drunk that no man could please me right now.” Her women howled with laughter, saluting her once again with raised glasses.
Cassie returned their salute with another shot, and she tossed it back quickly, nearly falling over as she did so. Nall’s strong, warm arms caught her and pulled her to him as his lips scorched across hers.
The women cheered loudly as Cassie’s tongue warred with his for a moment before she pushed him away.
She was quickly spun into Darien’s arms, and his mouth promptly crashed down on hers. When he lifted his head, the surrounding Erlan women again howled with laughter.
“I wanted you to have a fair comparison to judge us by, My Lady.” That damned wicked grin was still on his face.
Suddenly, Cassie became something she had never been before, a mean drunk, and she squared off, facing them both.
“Let me tell you both something,” she said, speaking slowly, enunciating each word as Kara moved to her side. “I will not be the pawn in whatever game you two assholes are playing. If you want to get at each other, then do it directly, and act like men rather than the spoiled little children you act like now.” Their mouths dropped open as they stared at her in shock.
“I will not be a trophy fuck, and I don’t play games. I think it’s only fair to tell you that, when I'm drunk, I am not difficult to get, I am impossible to get. You have both wasted your time!” She spun, tripped, and was caught by Kara as she tried unsuccessfully, to make a graceful exit.
Her warriors roared with laughter, enjoying the spectacle of their very drunk Commander giving these foreign men the rough side of her tongue.
The men looked at each other for a moment and, in mutual accord, followed after the women to make their apologies.
Halfway back to the Palace, Cassie’s good nature and their concerted groveling got the best of her, and she accepted their apologies, much to Kara’s amusement.
Once at the Palace steps, Cassie refused to let Kara go home. Instead, she insisted Kara stay with her. Cassie was still very drunk, and she wanted to be with her friend. Kara conceded with little effort, and they wished the King and Prince a good night as they headed for Cassie’s suite.
Stumbling through the doorway, Cassie tried to be quiet and failed miserably. This made them both laugh uproariously, and as if on cue, the door to her slaves’ room opened, and they all poured out at once.
They were astonished to find their Mistress collapsed on the floor in a heap, entangled with the Lady Kara, and in a fit of giggles.
Cassie tried to rise, but she fell back down twice before her slaves ran to help her to stand. They helped Kara up as well before carrying the women to the sofas. Her slaves had never seen their Mistress drunk and they had no idea what to do.
Cassie started singing “Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer,” that sent her and Kara into gales of laughter yet again.
The slaves exchanged glances, and Mika quietly instructed them to take the Ladies into the bathing room. As the tub filled, they removed their gowns and placed them on a stool.
“Well, Kara, here we are, a couple of drunk, naked bitches surrounded by some of the finest men you will ever see!”
“Yes, and it’s too bath I am too drunth to tuck them,” Kara slurred.
“I hear you, sister,” Cassie said with a laugh.
She proceeded to smile idiotically as if everything Kara said was fascinating and supremely intelligent.
The men choked back laughter and removed their clothes, leading the women into the bath. They quickly washed and dried them before sliding them into nightshifts and carrying them towards Cassie’s bed.
“Mistresses, will you try to eat something?” Both women shook their heads no.
When they laid them down on the bed, Cassie told them to stay with them, and they all snuggled up together. Kara’s head rested on Arn’s chest. Cassie curled up with her Mika, and when Garen wrapped around her from behind, she finally lost consciousness.
Chapter Fifteen
Cassandra groaned as sunlight pierced her eyelids and a throbbing pain threatened to rip her head open.
She forced her eyes to open and looked around.
Kara lay on the other side of the bed looking like she was dead. Only the steady rise and fall of her chest kept Cassie from shaking her.
Standing slowly, pain lanced through her head and stomach, sending her running out of her bedroom to find her men tidying up.
“Help!” she cried, and six pairs of eyes swung towards her.
Noting the greenish cast to her skin, Mika ran for a basin as the others came to support her. He arrived with the basin just in time to catch the contents of her stomach as Cassie dropped to her knees, clutching the bowl and retching over and over again.
Garen went for a wet cloth, ands Mika sought out another basin as the others helped her to sit on one of the sofas. Mika exchanged the full basin for the new one as Garen wiped her face clean.
“Oh, my God, I think I’m dying,” she cried, clutching her head.
Aidan rose and announced that he was going to find the Queen’s physician for something for her headache. Cassie’s stomach lurched again, and she bent over the basin. “I don’t remember having eaten this much,” she groaned into the porcelain.
Finally, the heaves stopped, and her head screamed with a new intensity.
“Oh, God, I swear that if you help me now, I will never drink too much again!” she sobbed into the fresh wet cloth that Garen was softly rubbing against her face.
“Mistress,” Garen asked quietly, “do you think you can hold down some water?” Cassie nodded and then winced. Moving her head was a bad idea right then.
She sat with her elbows on her knees, head cradled in her hands, as he offered her a cup of cold water. Aidan soon returned holding two small brown vials.
“Mistress, the physician said to drink this with a glass of water and to lie back with your eyes closed. The pain and nausea should then ease quickly.” He uncapped the bottle and gave it to her.
Cassie drank it and the water quickly.
“Ugh! Nasty,” she groaned as she lay back against the cushions.
She heard an answering groan from her bed and sent Arn and Kai to care for Kara. She shut her ears to the sounds of vomiting, knowing her stomach was so tender that she would rejoin her if she thought about it too much.
Before long, the medicine worked its magic, and Cassie dozed. When she opened her eyes again, her head no longer ached, and she was voraciously hungry.
“Aidan, my love, please get me something to eat.” They had all been sitting on the floor near the sofa waiting for her to wake up.
At her words, Aidan leapt to his feet and went to the kitchen, followed by Taylyn.
Moments later, he and Taylyn came out with two trays containing hot cereal and milk. He called to Arn, who appeared through Cassie’s bedroom doorway.
“Is the Lady Kara well enough to eat?” he asked.
“I am coming,” Kara called out. She emerged from the bed chamber looking very pale. “Gods above, Cassie, we must have lost our minds!” Kara ran her hands through her hair.
“Tell me about it. I think I threw up stuff that you ate,” Cassie replied.
“Doubtful. I threw up way too much to have missed anything,” Kara groaned.
They looked at each other and smiled weakly.
Cassie’s slaves began feeding them, and the women sat back and let themselves be pampered. They both looked better and felt perkier after eating.
Kara stood, stretched, and announced that she was going home, and Cassie’s slaves found her clothing then helped her dress. Cassie rose, and the women embraced and promised to meet on the training field in the morning.
“Mika, I want a very hot bath, please.” He rose immediately and went to the bathing room to make her bath.
She followed him, and as she slipped into the hot water, she allowed him to bathe her, dry her, and then tuck her back into bed, where she stayed for the rest of the day.
The following day, Cassie arose refreshed and ready to train.
Her slaves had been so tender and loving the previous night, lavishing her with shoulder and foot rubs and filling her with food and water. They had very nearly turned a wretched hangover into a positive experience.
Cassie quickly donned leather pants and a vest, pulled on her boots, lacing them up her leg as she went, and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
Entering the other room, she found the door to the gym open and breakfast on the table. She ate quickly and then strode over to the gym to watch them workout for a moment. She never got tired of looking at them. All of that smooth, well-muscled flesh was hers for the taking.
She sighed and called out her farewell as she turned on her heel.
Cassie was bounding down the steps of the Palace when a voice called her name. She turned and found herself looking into the sinfully sexy smile of King Darien.
