by J. C. Owens
“Yes,” the emperor hissed, eyes half lidded in pleasure as he watched Jaden. His hungry gaze was fixed on his slave’s uncertain expression. “Take it in your mouth, Jaden. Show me what you can do.”
Jaden swallowed with difficulty, wondering why he was not more repulsed by the command. Carefully not looking at his master, he bent his head to lick delicately at the tip, where already a small pearl of liquid glistened. It did not taste as bitter as Galen’s seed had; it was sweeter, more male in a way Jaden could not describe. After his first tentative lick, he sought more and found himself wanting to taste it again, so he suckled gently on the broad head while still stroking the massive base.
The emperor’s hips flexed, and a faint hum of approval sounded in his throat as his avid gaze continued to watch his slave’s actions. The tip of Jaden’s tongue found a new small smear of seed and eagerly followed it to the source, dipping into the slit, seeking more.
Jaden’s master gasped as his tongue delved deeper, gradually forcing the tiny hole to widen. The emperor’s hand plunged into Jaden’s hair, urging him lower. Jaden complied, abandoning the tempting flavor to gradually engulf his master’s hot shaft in his mouth. He felt the pulsing of the veins on his tongue, like a heart beating. It tasted musky, intensely male, with something that was unique to this man. Jaden drew a deep breath through his nose, hardly aware he was doing so but somehow wanting, needing, to take in the scent.
He closed his eyes, savoring the taste and smell. As he leaned closer, he found he was no longer reluctant but instead curious. Indeed, he felt his own shaft harden without touch, something he could not remember it doing since his capture. Jaden whimpered at his own body’s response and pressed his tongue along the large vein on the underside of the emperor’s shaft. The organ pulsed and jumped under the stimulation. The emperor’s hand stroked his hair—stroked. Not pulling, not forcing, but stroking! Jaden bent closer in reward and swallowed his master down as far as he was able, gently twisting and pumping the rest with his hand.
His master arched as Jaden began to suck, his tongue simultaneously stroking and pressing. Jaden felt himself harden further just from listening to the breathless moans of the man he was pleasuring. The sound was sweet to his ears, and the small aborted jerks of the powerful hips beneath his face showed that what he was doing was very much appreciated. Instead of feeling debased and humiliated, for the first time Jaden felt a little bit powerful, a little bit like he had control. This man that the rest of the world feared was reacting to him—Jaden. Jaden was the one in his bed. Jaden was the one giving him pleasure, making him react.
It was heady for a man who for so long had no control whatsoever, no encouragement or praise. Jaden knew this could not last, but for this moment, it was good. Very good.
Remembering what Galen had done to him and what had felt good in the past, he began to bob his head; then on the upstroke, he paused just below the head and teased the tenderness there with the roughness of his tongue. The emperor moaned and writhed, his fingers flexing in Jaden’s hair but never giving true pain.
Jaden gently cradled the emperor’s heavy balls in his other hand, rolling them in their sac, feeling the heat and weight of them. He watched, fascinated, as ripples moved across the wrinkled flesh in response to his touch. They felt ripe and full of seed. Jaden shivered at the thought that soon, very soon, that seed would be inside him, either in his mouth or his ass. For once the thought did not seem so terrible.
He sucked harder, letting his tongue encircle the broad plum-shaped head, feeling its spongy texture and marveling at its size. Jaden found it very hard to believe that this monster had been inside his own body and had actually fit. As he felt it now, touching it intimately, such a thing seemed utterly impossible.
The emperor let out a low groan deep in his throat and pulled Jaden away. His dark eyes glittered with lust as he pulled his new slave up and kissed him, seeming to enjoy tasting his own seed. With a growl, he turned Jaden beneath him. Jaden responded without thought, and the kiss deepened. Their tongues dueled and fought with each other in pleasurable combat; then the emperor knelt up, easily picking up Jaden’s hips and arranging them on his lap.
Jaden held his breath, watching as the emperor applied more oil to his twitching shaft, making it glisten in the light as it pulsed, preparing. The emperor’s powerful hands placed Jaden’s legs over his. Then he aimed his shaft, placing it against Jaden’s tender hole.
The entrance to Jaden’s body slowly gave way to the pressure; the tiny hole stretched to accommodate the invasion, allowing the head gradually disappear into Jaden’s heated channel. The emperor threw his head back for a moment, eyes closed in evident bliss. Then he looked back down at his slave with glittering eyes. Jaden tried to meet that look, his lower lip held between his teeth as he tried to bear the sudden stretching.
The thick shaft continued to play at Jaden’s entrance for long moments, carefully spreading the oil. Then it began a slow, inexorable slide into Jaden’s body, never stopping. Jaden writhed and clutched helplessly at the sheets, his eyes wide as he focused on the invasion within him. He panted and tried to control the spasming as his body fought back and tried to expel the massive intruder. There was no hope of that; the emperor grasped Jaden’s hips firmly, pulling him down, impaling him even more deeply than before, if that were possible.
When at last the emperor’s large, hot balls nestled firmly against Jaden’s own, only then did the advance halt. Jaden’s vision gradually cleared enough that he could meet his master’s eyes, and what he saw made his own shaft twitch despite the pain. Possession. Fierce, total possession. Never had anyone looked at Jaden like that, like they owned him far more than in body only. Like they saw clear through to his soul and would claim even that.
Fear thrummed through Jaden’s mind; this was no man to be satisfied with just a body. He would demand much more—much, much more. His possession would be so complete that Jaden would lose the last vestiges of his self, his soul. Terror made Jaden shiver with denial, yet at the same time he felt a quiver of something else entirely. Something that responded to that intense dominant presence with a need that went to the very depths of his mind.
This man would make him give all, but what would the emperor give in return? Anything at all? Or would he leave Jaden a broken shell of a man? Such care as the emperor had shown so far did not seem the acts of a madman. Who was this man, really? It was increasingly difficult to reconcile the man Jaden was dealing with, with the man spoken of with such hatred, the man who had conquered his country.
Jaden looked deeper to try to see into those eyes, but they were bottomless and gave nothing away. The emperor’s hard hands pulled him tightly against his balls as he thrust hard and deep. Jaden arched and let out a keening wail as he was pierced to the core, his body mercilessly stretched. Each thrust was slower in the withdrawal yet hard and fast in the impalement. A twisting motion of the emperor’s hips made the invader pound against that spot in Jaden’s body, the one that made him cry out more loudly, the one that made him see spots. The pleasure was so intense that it seemed like pain, or was it the other way round?
His legs hung helplessly over the emperor’s arms, and he could feel the flex of those arms as they easily pulled him hard onto each thrust. The sheets dragged over his spine with each movement; his body jerked back and forth as he was pierced over and over. He could not seem to free his eyes from his master’s stare. It was like he was controlled in some fashion, and he could not stop watching the expressions that flashed across the emperor’s normally cold visage.
When a deep growl sounded from the emperor’s throat, he leaned over Jaden, closed his teeth painfully upon Jaden’s neck, and suckled hard—marking him. Jaden could not stop himself; he came, harder even than the night before, his body helplessly pulsing around the shaft still pounding into him. His hot cream splashed onto his belly and chest, and he cried out as he felt the emperor hum with pleasure and rub his body over Jaden’s so that the cum bathed them both in
heat.
The emperor’s teeth clenched harder. It stung, but Jaden did not fight. His body was limp and sated, his mind dazed at what had just occurred. His master finally released his brutal grip and licked at the wound. A sound of approval rumbled in his throat as he observed the vivid mark decorating Jaden’s neck. Then he leaned back and pumped harder into Jaden’s limp body. Short, sharp puffs of breath escaped his lips, and his fingers flexed upon Jaden’s hips. His movements suddenly became erratic, his body shaking. Then he gave a sharp cry of triumph, pinning Jaden’s body close as his seed spurted deep. Heat pooled in the depths of Jaden’s body.
Jaden could only watch, too worn out to move, as the emperor slowly came down from his orgasm. The man’s fingers stroked lazily, possessively over Jaden’s form; then he leaned back a little and moved his hips slowly. Jaden could imagine what the emperor saw as he watched his gradually softening shaft move in and out of Jaden’s reddened entrance.
Jaden moaned, feebly trying to move away from the sensations; they were too much in his current state. The emperor smiled more gently than Jaden would have imagined was possible, then gradually pulled farther out. He played a little at Jaden’s entrance, perhaps enjoying the sensations on the head of his shaft, before withdrawing totally.
Jaden hissed as his channel was finally freed; he felt it slowly contract as it tried to recover from its overstretching. To his dim amazement, a kiss landed on his forehead, and the emperor pulled him close against his dark-skinned body and pillowed Jaden’s head against his hard chest. Jaden heard the emperor’s heart rate gradually slow, and although he couldn’t really rationalize why, he felt soothed by the sound and drifted slowly into sleep.
Chapter Four
Jaden woke with a groan. As he tried to roll over, pain exploded in his backside. He went limp as he opened his eyes. It took long moments for his brain to clear enough that he could make sense of his surroundings. Through the windows he could see what seemed to be the half light of early dawn, meaning he had slept for a good, long time in his exhaustion.
He stretched a little, wincing, then sat up, trying to roll onto his hip rather than his butt. He rose to his feet and noticed that the chain had been reattached to his ankle cuff. But that was not of prime importance at the moment. Another need was prominent. With a groan, he rose from the bed to attend to his needs, shuffling as quickly as his sore body would allow toward the room’s ornate bathroom.
Jaden did his business with a great sigh of relief. Washing his hands and his face seemed to revive him somewhat, and he went back to the bedroom with clearer thoughts. The glass doors to the balcony had been closed against the chill of the night, and although Jaden longed to open them, he knew better. He would have to find out whether such a thing was permitted first.
He saw no sign of the emperor, though it was obviously very early in the morning. There had been no residual heat left in the bed either. He had been gone for a while.
Thoughts of the day before made Jaden flush. He could scarcely believe that it had been him acting so needy…so wanton. It had been so intense, so… He shook his head, feeling a certain panic rise at his own thoughts. He had to get his head on straight, had to remember who the emperor was and what he had done. He had to stay sharp if he was going to escape and set about finding Yamina.
He wandered the room, attempting to stretch out his sore muscles and trying to find things that might help him understand the enigma that was his new master. One whole wall of the bedroom was lined with a massive dark wood bookcase filled with books. Jaden traced the ornate carvings that trimmed the bookcase’s edges with one finger, awed at the talent of the unknown carver. When he turned his attention to the books, he found them mostly on politics and history. Some were about the topic of Tranaden itself, many on other countries that bordered it. It seemed the emperor liked to keep himself up on his enemies’ histories and cultures. No foolish insulated tyrant here. No wonder Tranaden was the bane of the western world. An intelligent leader was half the battle.
On several of the Tranaden historical books, the same name seemed to be prominent. Jaden tilted his head to read it more clearly. When he recognized the crest stamped beside it and read the date, he realized with a little jolt that the emperor himself had written them.
A man of many talents… Jaden could not help but be impressed and he read the name again, half whispering it.
“Dersai Ansel Melisande the Fourth.” He put out a long finger and traced over the words, a little frown forming between his eyebrows. Knowing the emperor’s name made the man seem more real, less a legend.
“You read?”
Jaden gasped in horror. He wheeled immediately around, dropped to his knees on the hard floor, and bent forward to touch his head to the cold stone. His heart pounded with dread, and he tensed, waiting for the punishment he knew he deserved for touching an object without permission.
He heard boots on the floor coming closer, and he closed his eyes, wondering frantically how he had not heard his master’s approach. He was growing lax. When the boots stopped before him, Jaden braced himself, only to freeze when fingers ruffled his hair and the boots moved on.
“No need for such dramatics, Jaden. I will tell you if you are not allowed to touch certain things. Get up now.”
Jaden raised his head, looking at his master with a combination of shock and residual fear. The emperor sighed a little. He looked tired, Jaden thought inconsequentially, as though he had already done much this morning.
At another impatient flick of one of the emperor’s long-fingered hands, Jaden rose uncertainly, waiting for the trick this generosity must be. He approached his master with tense body and wary eyes, but the emperor merely gestured to the pillow at his feet. Jaden knelt, still waiting for a blow, but it never came. Instead the emperor tugged gently on Jaden’s hair, arranging him so that he leaned on his master’s leg.
Jaden heard a faint huff of breath above him and felt the emperor relax back into the chair as he gently petted his slave’s head as though it calmed him. Jaden gradually calmed as well, feeling a certain wonder. Maybe his new master was just trying to trick him into obedience, but for the moment, his kindness or tolerance— whichever it was—seemed to be continuing. Jaden would take it as it came. This touch was tolerable, even pleasant, and it was so very different from what Jaden had suffered through in the past. For this moment, he decided to accept things as they came, because miraculously, his circumstances—for this span of time at least— seemed to have improved markedly.
“I will send you for training starting today, Jaden. You will be taught the tasks of a personal servant, and your place will be here with me.” The emperor used his fingers to tilt Jaden’s chin up until he had to look into those dark eyes. “I expect you to do well in your learning. Is that clear?”
Jaden swallowed hard, then nodded. The emperor smiled, but the exhaustion in his eyes and manner did not wane. He laid his head back again, still stroking Jaden’s hair.
“Here you will not think of me as emperor. You will think of me as Dersai or Master. I will not have my title here in my private rooms. I do not want it following me here.” His tone was harsh with conviction.
Though he was confused, Jaden nodded. Shouldn’t his master be proud of the title? Shouldn’t he be using it every moment to confirm what he was? Everyone Jaden knew of would have been hammering the title of emperor down on everyone’s heads, using it to throw their weight around. This man was a complete enigma. He acted nothing like the dreaded Tranaden leader Jaden had encountered in the past. He certainly had the presence, but his actions did not match his reputation at all.
Jaden sighed, feeling the heat of his master’s leg along his ribs. This man was confusing to say the least. Jaden only hoped he could find a way to be obedient enough to keep this current leniency in place. In that moment he realized he would do almost anything to have the way this man treated him continue. He stiffened at the thought. Why was it becoming more difficult to remember his go
al?
He grimaced to himself. He did not feel like the wolf the emperor—his master—had named him. He was tired and tamed, and so far this man had given him nothing more to fight against. He was not a gentle man, true, but he had so far treated Jaden better than any other had before him. There was nothing to fuel Jaden’s anger and hatred.
The emperor’s wolf seemed more like a pet dog.
He grimaced. He was a fool if he thought there was true kindness in such a man as the emperor. Sooner or later, the true colors of the man would show. Jaden needed to keep that in the forefront of his thoughts and never let down his guard.
It was a slave’s only hope for survival.
* * *
The training over the next few weeks taught him everything he would need to do to keep his master happy. Everything from massage, to bathing, to dressing him in formal uniforms. Those parts were easy enough, though Jaden had to endure the jealousy of the servants who were his teachers. Luckily Jaden’s size and strength seemed to intimidate them a little, plus they already seemed wary of him; Ignis had probably been talking. So the trouble was limited to snide comments and mocking laughter. That he could survive. They were no worse than those in Mailyn’s harem.
But more importantly, the time he spent in training gave him opportunity to study the people, the palace itself, its inner workings and layout. He noted each detail and stored it away in his memory. If he ever had the opportunity to escape, such information would be vital.
As to his master’s harem, Jaden had not to his knowledge met any of them. The servants he had dealt with all seemed to be of the ordinary ilk; none claimed to be of the harem, and if they were, certainly that little tidbit would have been flung at him as the weeks passed.
For the first week, Jaden’s master had bedded him at least twice a day, but for the last two weeks, he had been gone somewhere with his elite guard, and Jaden had slept alone.
