Dark Lord

by Corinne Balfour

  “You bastard. What did you do?” She appeared uncomfortable with her nakedness and he watched as she frantically searched the room for her missing clothes.

  “You won’t find them.” He was enjoying watching her and he wasn’t sorry that she had thrown her clothes out the window. She had certainly had the privilege of watching him run around naked without his consent.

  After searching fruitlessly, she gave up and stalked toward him. “Where are they? What did you do with them?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  She gave him a hostile look. “No. I don’t remember.”

  He didn’t know why she had no memory or awareness of some events, but decent recall with others. He wasn’t going to make things too easy for her right now, as she would go on attack mode if she thought she was safe. “You know, I don’t have to tell you. You still haven’t agreed to my requests.”

  Her breathing grew more shallow and he could sense simmering sensual interest. “What do you request of me?”

  He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by thoughts of sex. “Your agreement to not discuss me with the Countess and to stop talking about hybrids.”

  “Alright, I’ll agree to not discuss you with the Countess and I will not talk to her about hybrids. Where are my clothes?”

  “You threw them out the window.” He pointed toward the window and she raced toward it, peering below at the ground. He heard her mumble some curse words. She then slammed the window shut and stormed over to him. He was not entirely shocked when she slapped him on the face, but he reacted instinctively and grabbed her arm. She struggled to free it from his grasp, and failing to budge it, she stomped on his foot. He grunted in pain and grabbed her other arm to restrain her movements. Moving forward, he backed her into the wall. When she tried to kick him, he pinned her against the wall more fully with his body. He felt his fangs enlarging along with his manhood and his eyes grew riveted to her throat. He saw the star shaped mark there and he felt the urge to lick it. From what he had learned from Helsina and information contained in the prince’s book on hybrids, the mark was a type of branding. After one was bitten, powerful and irresistible urges to mate would trap them both, ultimately leading to unstoppable episodes of carnal behavior. The urges would not lessen until the female had been impregnated. He had also read that the markings could fade in time, if one was able to resist the mating urge. He knew he had to resist it, because unheeded sexual escapades inside the mansion would lead to discovery, and for Briella, that would mean certain death. He traced the mark with his finger as he thought about all of the reasons he should let her go. He lifted his weight off her, not wanting to frighten her. She began struggling again, but instead of trying to push him away from her, she was pulling at the bottom of his tunic and trying to push it upwards. He restrained her arms again, but several swift kicks of her feet against his shin loosened his grip. She returned her hands to his tunic, tugging at it frantically. He quelled an urge to panic as he tried to gain control of himself. The overwhelming intensity of her sexual needs had caused her to lose all reasoning and sense, although he knew it wasn’t strictly desire for him. She was under the influence of that mating bond he had heard about and that was driving her behavior. It would be so easy to give into it, to seek relief between her thighs. That male hybrid had warned him not to give in to the mating bond if he did not wish to be a slave to sensation. If they both lost their heads and cemented that bond, they would have to copulate vigorously and copiously. He remembered hearing something about that fact. If they ended up mating like wild animals, heedless of the location or the danger, uncaring of being caught and punished, they would both wind up dead. Apparently if he wished to take a lover, he needed to ensure he didn’t bite the female. Since he had already bitten Briella, she couldn’t become his lover. She certainly could never be his mate, as neither of them were free to make their own selections. He wouldn’t wish to choose her for a permanent mate, not when she was tied to the house of Avenal and related to the Deranged Dominatrix. She would never choose him, a mixed breed hybrid mongrel whose own mother, a princess of the realm, barely claimed as her son. He did not fit Briella’s ideal image of a perfect blond haired Flourdan. “Still your hands, woman. Do you wish to be violated by a hybrid?”

  “Of course not, you conceited beast. I’m trying to get away from you.”

  Her denials lacked conviction. “The exit is not located underneath my tunic, Briella. You’ll only find one thing under there and it’s for coming, not leaving.” He placed his hand on the star shaped mark at her throat. “It’s the mating urge that is affecting you, but you cannot give in to it. I didn’t know what I was doing when I marked you.”

  She stopped struggling and looked at him in horror. “What did you do to me? What does it mean to be marked?”

  Dev didn’t want to tell her the whole truth; it may cause her to panic. “The mark will fade in time. It will not be a problem as long as I don’t mark you again. I need to stop touching you.” At least, he hoped that was the case.

  “You talked about a mating urge. Do you feel it with me?” After he nodded, she asked, “Is it because of the marking?”

  “Yes. I should never have marked you.”

  “Why did you?”

  “Instinct, I guess. You should keep the mark hidden. I don’t think the Countess knows what such a mark indicates, but you shouldn’t chance it. They would all assume that we are lovers and they would judge you accordingly.”

  “I would never be your lover. This branding is associated with the hybrid race, is it not? You cannot convince me that you are not one of them. You should leave Avenal.”

  Her claim that she would never agree to be his lover angered him. She may think she was too good to welcome a hybrid into her body, but he knew the truth. He could make her eat her words, but he had no intention of seducing her. “I am Flourdan and the Queen is my grandmother. I was born and raised in Flourda and I will die in Flourda. My loyalties lay with Flourda. You will need to learn to accept my differences because I am here to stay. The Queen accepts me as I am. Do you not realize that she knows my full heritage and has still accepted me into the family? They have kept the knowledge of my heritage secret, of course. They kept it secret from me until recently. If the Queen wants Nefertiti to know about me, she will tell her. Otherwise, you will be committing an offense.”

  A myriad of expressions crossed her face as she absorbed the knowledge. “I understand.”

  He realized that he was standing too close and her hands were steadily making their way upwards underneath his tunic. His breath caught as she reached his upper thighs. She did not seem aware of what she was doing and he needed to stop her while he still had the ability. He wouldn’t be able to hold out against her much longer. He reached for her hands, only to find himself pushing her against the wall again. His gaze landed on her full lips. “Will you yield to me as you’ve promised?”

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  He noticed the glassy look in her eyes and he knew that he had unwittingly put her under some type of trance–again. “Because you recognize my dominance?”

  “Yes.”

  This hybrid mind control business was a bit entertaining, but he shouldn’t overuse it. That would just be wrong. “Would you let me fuck you?”

  She didn’t flinch as she responded. “Yes.”

  “Because of my dominance?”

  Her eyes started to clear and she gazed at him with bewilderment. “What did I say?”

  “You agreed to fuck me just now. How quickly a woman can change her mind. You just announced your refusal to ever consider being my lover just moments ago, yet you were perfectly willing to let me fuck you just now.”

  “I did not agree to do that with you!”

  He leaned into her body again as she struggled. “Remember. I want you to remember what you said.”

  Her face colored in embarrassment. “I do not remember!”

  “We will repeat this until you do. C
onsider it a lesson.” He captured her in his gaze again and compelled her with his mind. “Tell me what I want of you.”

  “My surrender.”

  “And what shall you do? Answer when you come to full awareness.” He waited while her eyes returned to normal.

  She looked at him oddly before responding. “I will submit to you.”

  “Yes, that is what I want you to do. You have no choice but to submit. I will not release you until you agree to surrender something. In what way are you prepared to submit?”

  Her look was hesitant, but her voice was firm. “In whatever way you desire.”

  “You should not surrender everything.” He coaxed her mouth open and explored with his tongue while his hands roamed her naked skin. He reached for her breast and began to caress it at length. She voiced no protest, yet her eyes were clear and aware. He didn’t think she was still under hybrid influence. “Why do you still submit to me? You don’t have to play my game, you know.”

  “You will continue to assert your dominance over me until I acquiesce, so there would be no point in resisting. Am I right?”

  She was playing a dangerous game, one that he had stupidly initiated. “I could decide to let you go.”

  “Yes, but you will not release me until you’re ready. You’re not done with me.”

  He reached down below, to the area between her thighs that held her body’s entrance. He tested her with his fingers and encountered damp, slippery feminine flesh. She should not be allowing his intrusion. “What will you do afterwards? Will you run to the Countess and tell her how you were violated by her hybrid harem lord?”

  “You know I cannot tell her anything of the matter.”

  He continued to stroke her intimately with his hands while she made no move to stop him. “Then how will you protect yourself from further invasion? Are you not concerned for your safety, the safety of the Flourdans? You cannot leave yourself so vulnerable to attack.” He leaned down and captured her breast in his mouth, learning the taste of her nipple with his tongue.

  “You must leave Avenal. If you do not leave, I will have no choice but to warn the Countess of the danger you pose.”

  Her words lacked conviction. “You don’t really wish me to leave. If you wanted me gone, you wouldn’t let me touch you.”

  “It is because you are near that I have such trouble. I cannot help the way my body responds to you, but I still want you gone from Avenal. You’re a hybrid.”

  He could not allow her to reveal his hybrid heritage under any circumstances. “You will not speak to anyone about hybrids and you will not associate my name in any way with hybrids. Do you understand me? I would not wish to harm you, but my identity has to remain hidden.”

  “I will not betray your identity to anyone. There is no need to threaten me. But I must still insist that you leave Avenal.”

  “No, that is not up for discussion.” He continued to taste her skin and still she made no protest. “You have not asked me to stop. You’re running out of time.”

  “You obtained my agreement in a rather underhanded manner, but I am still obliged to abide by it. I will submit.”

  “You remain influenced by my suggestion even now? I thought the effects would be long gone.”

  “I still feel the urge to submit. It causes pain even to think of refusing you. I want the feeling to go away. You can make it go away.”

  “I will release you. All you have to do is agree to my terms. Cease any talk of hybrids and make no further attempts to evict me from this harem. That includes your useless attempts to persuade me to leave willingly.”

  “I cannot agree to that. I would rather suffer the consequences.”

  He looked at her incredulously. She would rather surrender her body to him rather than cease her meddling? It made no sense. He placed her hand firmly around his shaft so she would understand what she was provoking. She made a whimpering sound and squeezed her hand more tightly around him. He could smell her arousal and he was aware that his hybrid nature was taking over. He tried to resist the urge to take what she was offering. She began to stroke him and he felt himself succumb. She halted as she looked into his eyes and he sensed her wave of fear. He had frightened her and she was probably turned off by his hybrid appearance. He could feel his hybrid side emerging and he knew it would likely be reflected in his eyes. Her hands stilled and slid from his body. She tried to back away from him, but was stopped by the wall at her bare back. She couldn’t escape him, not while his hand was still upon her, stroking her most intimate feminine flesh. “You must agree to my terms or submit to my touch. Your choice.”

  She relaxed against the wall. “I choose to submit.”

  Her stubbornness was going to spell the death of them both, for he couldn’t see any reason why he should not proceed with the ravishment. His concerns about falling prey to the mating bond were disregarded as he contemplated how best to enjoy her. The room lacked a bed, but the floor or the table could do well enough. “You must never suggest a meeting alone with me again. You will cease all talk of hybrids or I’ll have no choice but to discipline you for it. Since you are so willing to grant your submission, I want you beneath me. You may choose the floor or the table.”

  “Beneath you? You would do such a thing to a lady? I had thought to do this in the usual manner.”

  He would do this only once with her. Any more liaisons would be beyond stupid for them to risk, so he would have to hope that he could manage the troublesome aftereffects of that mating bond. Surely it couldn’t be true that one could die without mating; it sounded like a myth made up by a bunch of horny males to get females to succumb to them. They could risk one night, if only to get this unwanted attraction out of their systems. It would have to happen now, while they were alone and safe from discovery. “I must insist on doing it my way and I care not that it violates Flourdan laws. You did promise to submit.”

  “I did, so I will do as you wish. But no one must ever know I committed such an indecent act.”

  He was surprised her agreement came so easily, especially since he had demanded that he be allowed to take her like a whore, something only done with slaves and concubines. Ladies only ever accepted a male when they were on top, in complete control of the act. There was minimal touching and the male knew not to ever do anything without the permission of the female. He had expected her to refuse him, which would have made it easier for him to put a stop to this whole thing. Her agreement caught him off guard and he hoped she wasn’t under hybrid influence without his knowledge. She appeared in control of her faculties. He pulled her against him again and took her mouth in a kiss. He told himself to go slowly and not mount her like some kind of wild beast. He didn’t wish to frighten her, but restraining himself was difficult to do because he had not had a woman in a very long time.

  As she began to relax, a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass jarred them both. She glanced at the wall opposite them and stared in horror at the broken pieces of wood. The remains of a table that had, until now, been in decent condition littered the floor. The nearby window was shattered and glass covered the floor beneath. “What just happened?”

  He did not know, but he was afraid that his hybrid nature was to blame. How else was he to explain how a table got hurled against the wall by itself and a window had shattered? He stepped away from her and took a closer look at the damage. It was bad and the sounds would bring attention. Frustration mounted as he surveyed the destruction and he was angry at himself for his lack of control, which had come at the most inopportune time. He was nearly choked by disappointment. There would be no liaison, no night of pleasure. The moment had passed along with the opportunity and it would not reoccur. They would both come to their senses by morning and would take no further chances at being alone together. “We shouldn’t linger here. That loud crash will surely draw others here to investigate.” He opened the door and peered into the hallway. “The hall is vacant of people. We should leave.” He glanced at her naked body a
nd he knew there was no way to retrieve her clothing. “You need something to wear.”