Darias had put her on display beside him in the Great Hall on the dais like a prime riding chelan on a Gregorian auction block. She'd been force to display the lingering agony of unfulfilled desire while the warriors in the wall watched, not trying hide their satisfaction.
That ridiculous excuse for an outfit she was required to wear had served a dual purpose; to reveal her continued arousal and to prolong it. The soft silk rubbed against her distended nipples, kept them in a state of arousal, while the open girdle that rode low on her hips and trailed intimately between her legs, not only accentuated each rounded curve of her buttocks but stimulated the tab of hidden flesh.
Darias had given her no place to hide.
Worse than facing the warriors and servants, however, was facing the women. Despite her vow to remain silent, her screams and pleas had echoed from the battlements. She hadn't been able to help herself she'd been so frantic with the need for release. Each and every one of them understood intimately what she was experiencing.
Their pity was unbearable.
Riana's hands clenched at her sides and her throat ached anew with the urge to rage at Darias. He'd wanted to make it clear to warriors and women alike, the price she'd paid for not conforming to Nexarian ways.
What he hadn't counted on was setting fire to her desire for revenge. Riana now wanted more than escape, she wanted vengeance.
Ripples of excitement fanned out from the knot of men in the center of the Hall. The ripple became a wave and, amidst the cacophony of male voices, Riana heard just one word clearly, “Challenge". She turned to the nearest woman.
"What's going on? What is this about a challenge? Who is being challenged?” she whispered. Three weeks ago she wouldn't have even thought about lowering her voice, but her punishment three nights ago had managed to teach her a measure of caution if not resignation.
"A Battle of Honor is going to take place.” The woman bowed her head, using her hair as a shield.
Riana realized she was afraid to be seen talking to her. “A what?"
"A Battle of Honor. A warrior has taken exception to the Supreme Chief's order. A warrior has foolishly allowed his anger to better his judgment."
"You mean that because some warrior has spoken his mind, Darias is going to fight him?” Riana asked, incredulous.
"It is a matter of honor. A challenge has been issued and must be answered."
Riana was still busy trying to take in what she'd just learned. “So what you are telling me is Darias, the Supreme Chief,” she corrected, “would lose face if he allowed a challenge to go unanswered?"
"The Supreme Chief's word is law, but, unlike, his father, he allows the Challenge. He maintains his authority while showing he respects disagreement."
"I see.” Riana tapped her bottom lip with the tip of one slender finger. “Tell me. Are women allowed to watch a Battle?"
"Yes. It is encouraged as a Battle of Honor is meant to be observed by all."
"Come on. Let's go.” Riana slipped between two hulking warriors, intent on finding a more advantageous site from which to view the match. “This is something I wouldn't miss for all the profit in a hold.” As luck would have it, she found a spot right up front. Riana claimed it despite several disapproving looks from nearby warriors.
A circle roughly ten meters in diameter was cleared. Darias and his opponent stripped to the waist. Gaith attached a small, circular device to each man's back.
"What are those?” Riana asked, as the other woman came up beside her.
"When a man's shoulders are pinned to the floor, they signal the end of the match."
"Hush, women.” A warrior standing next to Riana barked out the order. She shot him a resentful glance from under lowered lids, but continued watching in silence.
The challenging warrior started the match with a lunging punch, which Darias easily sidestepped. Punch after punch, the challenger attacked Darias and it soon became apparent that Darias’ opponent was woefully outmatched. Darias moved with a smooth grace that was beautiful to watch. No needless energy was expended as he circled the larger man, seeking an opening. He soon found it and lashed out with a lightning quick left. The man's head snapped back. Darias closed in, and hefted the other man over his shoulder. The man landed, stunned, on his back. A high pitched electronic signal marked the count. On the eighth count, the man staggered to his feet.
Two more lefts, and then a right, and the man was out cold, the device on his back bleating out a continuous signal.
"Remove him. When he wakes, tell him he is no longer a part of my personal guard. I will not have a man abuse his power.” Darias glared at the crowd. “Gaith, tell his concubine the Council will find her a new master. Until such time, she may stay in the keep.” He stalked through the crowd until he reached the open door to his office on the left side of the hall. The sound of the door slamming behind him as he disappeared inside echoed all the way to the high ceiling.
"This was over a woman?” Try as she might, Riana couldn't keep the total disbelief out of her voice.
The warrior who had shushed her before, aimed a disdainful glance down at Riana. “This isn't over a woman. This is over disobedience. The warrior, Maric, shouldn't have questioned his leader."
Riana ignored his admonishment and let a long, slow smile curve her lips.
Now Darias would pay.
* * * *
Darias stood beside the bed, staring at Riana as she slept. How did one woman have such influence over him? Even after spending long hours contemplating that very question, it was as incomprehensible as ever.
Less than a quarter of a cycle ago, the plight of Maric's woman would have gone unnoticed by him. What a man did with his slave was his own business, so long as she was not physically harmed. But when he had heard Maric offering the services of the woman as part of a business deal, rage had flared swift and hot. Part of it stemmed from the sheer misery he saw on the woman's face, most of the blame for his actions, however, fell squarely on the shoulders of the woman sleeping so peacefully in his bed.
She'd made it impossible for him to ignore such behavior.
Life was much simpler before her ship had crashed.
He reached out and drew a strand of her hair between his fingers. Spidersilk spun by the finest artisans on the Far Islands and smuggled into Nexar by Zarcasian pirates wasn't this soft. Fanned out against the space-deep blue of his pillows, the rich color of her hair glowed like the heart of an ember in the dim light offered by the single, lit lamp.
He'd promised himself that he wouldn't come.
He found couldn't stay away.
Darias undressed slowly, keeping his gaze on Riana all the while. He could do this, take his pleasure yet remain in control. The night in the garden flashed through his mind. Then, even with the suppressant, he'd come dangerously close to losing himself in her body. Tonight would be different. Tonight he'd prove exactly where her place was and who commanded her body.
And his.
When he was naked, he pulled the sheet down to the foot of the bed. He put one knee on the bed, but hesitated to get fully on the bed.
Krel, he wanted her. So much it scared him, yet he couldn't help but touch her.
He unlaced the ties of her nightdress, carefully so as not to wake her, and opened it, his breath catching in his throat from the vision of her naked flesh. Her firm breasts were just large enough to fit into the palm of his hand. He cupped one in his right hand, her skin pale and smooth compared to his. It felt so right.
She shifted and sighed under his touch.
Darias slid his hand down, slowly opening the gown as he went.
Riana moved her legs restlessly, opening them even though still asleep.
The triangle of darker red hair and the deep shadow between her slightly parted legs, sent blood coursing through his veins. His breathing became fast and unsteady.
He lowered his head and touched his mouth to the side of her neck. Her scent filled his head. She smelled like the cr
ystal flame, a rare flower that bloomed only at night around a single, high mountain lake deep in the heart of the jungle. A scent that was both provocatively sweet and woodsy. He braced his hands on either side of her body, trailing his mouth to the hollow of her throat. Darias wasn't sure he would survive this slow, steady conquest, but he intended to try.
More than that, he had to prove it to himself.
He placed wet kisses down to between the soft mounds of her breasts. He raised his head and blew across her breasts.
Her nipples hardened immediately and she moaned.
Darias drew one nipple into his mouth, and sucked. He moved his hand between her thighs. Krel, she was wet already.
Then it came to him what he was doing. His head reared back and he gritted his teeth as he fought for control. No, he would not behave in this manner. He was Supreme Chief, not some untried youth who could not tame his hormones and hold to Nexarian law. A law created centuries ago so that men would not succumb to the debilitating lure of women.
Riana's hand came up to cup his head in sleepy protest.
He resisted her urging to lower his head again.
"Darias?” She lifted long lashes, revealing a questioning gaze darkened with passion. Darias covered her mouth with his, stilling the question.
Her tongue tangled with his. Her hand unerringly found his maleness and began caressing him.
Darias nearly shot up off the bed. He removed her hand from his member, twining his fingers with hers, and pinned her hands to the mattress.
She nibbled on his neck and her foot rubbed up the back of his leg.
He slid down her body, ignoring her murmured objection that changed to a purr when he placed his mouth on the back of her knee and painted intricate patterns with his tongue. She curled her leg up and over his shoulder, opening her to him completely. The spicy scent of her arousal was the most potent aphrodisiac he'd ever experienced.
Darias forgot about making slow love to Riana, he forgot about making the point to her that he was in control, he even forgot the most basic tenet that decreed such things were not allowed outside of Punishment. All he knew was that he had to have her.
He drew her clit into his mouth, circling it with his tongue before sucking strongly on it. He tested her readiness, slipping one finger into her moist heat.
Her sheath closed, tight and hot.
He couldn't wait any longer. Threading his fingers through hers and pressing them to the sheet on each side of her head, he surged up over her body and thrust his cock into her in the same motion.
Riana's hands tightened around his.
He pumped in and out of her sex, lost in the feel of her welcoming warmth as it clung to his flesh. He felt his balls draw up tight. Krel, no. No. Not yet. Darias gritted his teeth as the base of his spine tingled, warning him of impending release. “No,” he groaned as he lost the battle and his release poured forth.
He collapsed, spent.
Head next to hers on the pillow, he drew labored breaths into his lungs. Hot puffs of air heated his ear. He grinned, his earlier ire wiped out by the realization she was just as exhausted.
She wriggled.
Darias realized he was too heavy for her and rolled to one side, a forearm over his eyes.
A niggling awareness of having failed somehow jarred his contentment. He frowned. He'd just had the best sex of his life, what could be wrong? A yawn cracked his jaw. Tomorrow. He'd work it out tomorrow.
* * * *
Riana awoke after a restless night. For a while last night, she'd been certain there was something different about Darias. He'd seem more vulnerable.
She snorted silently. As if there was anything vulnerable about the man. All he cared about was his own pleasure. Look at the way he turned over when he was finished, making her feel for the first time she truly was his slave.
Staring at the carved ceiling, Riana went over her plan to goad Darias into accepting a challenge. It was risky, but she was counting on his belief that all women were intrinsically weak.
He stirred beside her.
Riana closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She waited until he was out of bed and almost dressed before she spoke.
"Why are the men of Nexar so afraid of women?"
His head shot up and Darias pinned her with a molten-gold gaze.
"You asked that during your Punishment. Where did you get such a ridiculous notion?” Darias finished buckling his weapons belt around his waist.
"It's obvious. Why else would you reduce women to slaves?"
"All women are not slaves,” he refuted, staring down at her from his great height. “You,” he pointed out, “are a slave. Bryta is not."
Riana lowered her lashes so he wouldn't see the barb had gotten under her skin. “Explain the difference between my position and Bryta's.” She traced a fold in the blue, almost black, spidersilk sheet. The silk retained the warmth of his body and smelled of sex, evoking memories of him. Inside her. Hot. Hard. Moving. Her stomach muscles clenched and she resisted the temptation to fan her face.
"Bryta belongs to Gaith; she is above you in rank.” Darias seemed to think that finished the conversation. He sat down and tugged on his boots.
"I belong to you. And what good is rank without the power to back it up? Bryta may not issue even the smallest command to a male, any male. All she is allowed to do is relay her master's orders."
"She is a woman. It is not her place to issue commands.” He bent and laced the left boot.
Riana got the impression he was avoiding her gaze. She almost laughed aloud at that thought. Darias was too arrogant, too certain that his way, Nexar's way, was the only way.
"I ask again, if the men of Nexar are not afraid of women, why do they keep them enslaved?"
Darias stood up, his hands on his hips. “The men of Nexar fear nothing.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Don't push your luck, Riana. I have been patient with you."
Riana looked down and subdued a quick flare of anger.
"I have no wish to Punish you. Keep fighting and you'll force me to act."
"Prove it,” she taunted, glancing up and snagging his eyes with her own direct gaze. She let the sheet slip lower, revealing her naked chest. She felt a surge of triumph as his gaze lingered on her breasts. “I challenge you to a Battle of Honor."
"I don't need to prove anything.” The warm gold of his eyes turned hard with warning before he began lacing the right boot dismissing her argument.
"Then you are afraid to accept my challenge?” Riana sat up and the sheet fell to her waist.
His head snapped up, and he straightened. “You test my indulgence!"
"You fear losing to a woman.” Her statement hung on the air.
"I accept your challenge."
Riana pushed back the covers, and stood. She skirted the bed until she was a heartbeat from Darias. “If I lose, I will acquiesce to your ways. All of them,” she emphasized. “I will not flout your commands, resist your orders, or insist women be treated the same as men. But if you lose, if you lose then you agree to issue the command that the men and women of Nexar reverse roles. Men will be subservient to women in all things. They will have exactly the same rights and privileges that women currently endure.” Riana paused, her gaze locked with Darias’ molten one. “Do you still accept my challenge, or would you rather back out?” she taunted softly.
"Be in the Great Hall in two hours.” He turned on heel, and stalked out.
* * * *
The Great Hall was packed. Riana stood next to Bryta and stared at the enormous monitors lining the upper walls of the Hall. “What are those for?” She angled her chin up at the walls.
"They connect all of Nexar with the Great Hall. Bryta stammered, wringing her hands. “The entire country-state is watching the Battle,” she whispered in awe. “Are you sure challenging the Supreme Chief is wise? When you lose, he'll be very angry. He might even make Punishment public.” Her voice so low, Riana had to lean down to hear her.
"Ha
ve faith in me,” Riana admonished her friend. “I won't lose.” Her confidence was placed on more than the mere fact that Darias underestimated her ability. She had a trick up her sleeve, one she wasn't prepared to share even with Bryta. “I have survived a public punishment before, my friend. If worse comes to worse, I'll survive this one."
Bryta was already shaking her head. Tears welled in her large, soft grey eyes. “The Garden Punishment was not public.” She swallowed, fear making her voice tremble. “Public Punishment is reserved for the greatest crime, a direct affront to a master's honor. It is a master's right to demand that Punishment be held in the Great Hall, before all of Nexar."
Riana turned slowly to face her friend. “You mean punishment in the garden isn't considered public punishment?” Her chest tightened as she waited for Bryta's answer.
Bryta shook her head. “Public Punishment is not only held in the Great Hall, but is broadcast throughout Nexar. The woman must disrobe under the eyes of all the warriors. She is then strapped onto the Punishment Stone and must endure Punishment from sunrise to sunset. If her master deems it appropriate, Punishment may continue through the night until the following sunrise. She must stay in the Great Hall, unclothed, until all signs of Punishment have faded. Only then is she allowed to dress. A master can cast off a woman after Public Punishment if the offense is severe enough.” A delicate shudder ran the length of Bryta's spine. “You do not want to be cast off."
Goddess, bearing the humiliation of punishment in the garden was hard enough. How would she survive public punishment if she failed in her challenge?
Riana lifted her chin. There was only one option. She would not fail.
Across the circle, the crowd parted and Darias strode through. He wore only his breeches and, around his throat, the fireice badge of rank that proclaimed him Supreme Chief. He paused beside Gaith and slipped the pendant off, passing it to him.
"All will be well, Bryta. Trust me.” Riana couldn't take her eyes off Darias. The man really was a magnificent beast. She smiled thinly.
Soon he would be a caged beast.
Surrender Page 4
