“Of course.” It wasn’t like Diermont could introduce the princess to his dungeon. That would be scandalous. “How is your mate enjoying Rome?”
“She’s busy with her special projects, you know how she is. And she is nagging me nonstop about her lack of lady servants now that she has dismissed Kiera. She was the one who cut the girl, not me. And she blames me for the loss.”
“Will you reinstate Kiera?”
“Now why would I do that? I’ve waited years for Snotti to lose her patience with the chit so I could draft her into my service. I have plans for the wench.”
“Which are?”
“To serve in the same manner as Elsa. We will both enjoy her, if you wish it. But the girl isn’t ready to serve cock. She’ll bolt.”
“She’s not courtesan material.”
“She will do whatever she must to remain in the palace. She would not wish to end up like her mother, a serf warming the bed of a common farmer. And her mother is tied to Halloran owned land, which means her ass is mine. As is Kiera. I can make the woman a whore or a lady. The choice is mine because she is my property.”
It was just as he had suspected. “So that was the reason Kiera was brought to Rome.”
“I will introduce her to her true duties soon enough, but right now I want her to keep an eye on Lord Ross and his slave. Is she performing her duties to your satisfaction?”
“I assume she is doing all I’ve asked. She reports the two are not fornicating with each other.”
“You are relying on assumptions, Modez? I don’t trust the chit. I require proof.”
“What kind of proof?”
“Visual evidence. You are checking the human’s thighs and cunt, are you not?”
He had relied on Kiera’s reports. He had no wish to rile the overlord by ogling his slave. When he let his eye rove too often, Cassia’s abundantly endowed figure captivated him and made his cock harden in his trousers. He preferred to avoid the unwanted sensations altogether by not thinking of her. Not looking at her too much. The overlord had already staked his claim. If only he could wipe Kiera from his mind as easily. Thoughts of her intruded during the day. Her naked breasts and tiny waist that flared to form gently curving hips filled his dreams and left him hard and aching. “The slave is naked. We would have noticed the stains had she had them.”
“I must insist that you inspect her carefully each morning. Ensure there are no seed stains on her skin.” Diermont sighed and said, “And remind Cabrian that he is not to rub or empty his cock upon the woman. He is not to use the Roman as his milkmaid. He will use his own hand as the others do when donating to the seed bank.”
“It seems like a perfect job for his little pet. She is an experienced milker.” Cabrian had to be getting some hand action. It was unrealistic to expect otherwise.
“Lord Ross told me she was no milkmaid. She ran the daily operations of the business. The Roman lady deserves death for her actions, but I suppose I will have to content myself to the knowledge that she will be forced to breed for us.”
Patrick grinned. “I want to watch the breeding of the human. You could charge admission and make some coin from it.”
Diermont rubbed his chin. “It’s not a time for breeding.” He placed the pipe on the table. “I require visual proof that my orders are being followed.”
“So I will examine Cabrian’s pet very closely and hope the male doesn’t kill me over it. What else would you like me to do for you?”
“Stop being a smart-ass.” Diermont grimaced. “I don’t trust Kiera. Lord Ross is an eligible male, one she would love to capture for herself. Ensure that chit isn’t spreading her thighs for him. I don’t want him trying to establish a mating bond with her. Not when I haven’t had her for myself.”
The thought of Diermont with Kiera left him cold. And angry. He knew Kiera hadn’t been intimate with Cabrian because he had scented her, although from a distance, and she had never carried a strange male scent. The only way he could give her a more thorough examination would be to search for staining. “Shall I check her thighs and cunt as well?”
Diermont grinned. “Yes, I believe that will be necessary. Examine both females and report your findings to me daily. That is an order.”
Chapter 17
Kiera didn’t mention Eros or the Agrippas to Cassia any longer. She decided to wait until she had some means to convince her. Maybe she wouldn’t need anyone’s help. She could disguise herself as a Roman and walk right to her grandmother’s door. It could work, but the idea was too risky to implement without giving it some more thought.
The next few days passed in a blur. Kiera spent her time babysitting the Roman captive, providing companionship to the woman when Lord Ross wasn’t around. She didn’t want to admit that she didn’t mind the chore. Cassia didn’t treat her with disdain like Snotti’s ladies. It was also a relief to take meals with Cassia in her room rather than endure kneeling before the dinner table waiting for her chance to be seated. She hadn’t had to see Diermont lately, which was also a plus. Every morning, she met with Modez to give her report. It never varied. No, she hadn’t seen any evidence of improper conduct between Lord Ross and the Roman. No, there had been no sexual activity at all and Diermont would be pleased to know that Lord Ross had not been compromised. It was ridiculous.
The nights were getting harder. Every night for the past few nights she had felt Lord Ross’ body brush against hers. It wasn’t intentional. The lord had no sexual interest in her and she had no designs on him. Still, she wasn’t blind and she couldn’t help but notice he was attractive and extremely virile. It made her uncomfortable to sleep next to him in bed. She tried to ignore the soft moaning sounds of the couple as they touched each other. She knew it was her job to stop them from messing around, but she never interfered. She was sure that whatever they were doing didn’t constitute sexual intercourse, so that would have to be enough. She didn’t really want to enrage Lord Ross by telling him he couldn’t touch his captive.
So she ignored them as best she could, but it was getting harder and harder to do that. She could hardly sleep because Lord Ross’ body emitted so much heat that she became drenched in sweat every night. Her nightgown nearly suffocated her but she didn’t dare remove it. Her breasts felt unusually sensitive and she was afraid that the wetness between her thighs wasn’t sweat. She felt a tremendous heat there and the ache was growing stronger every night. She knew there was only one thing that would make the ache go away, but it was the one thing she couldn’t have.
Last night she had fisted her pillow with her hand so tight that it hurt, the urge to fill it with a male’s hard length was nearly irresistible. She had to stop herself from reaching out to Lord Ross. She knew she didn’t really want him that way. It was only that he was near. She was getting to the point where just about any hard cock would do. She had never felt need this strongly. It was the same type of craving she felt when she had gone too long without blood. It was a sickness and she needed to get rid of it.
It felt like she was going into heat. It was a possibility she had to consider since it would explain these strange cravings inside her. But it should be an impossibility. It wasn’t time. All blood hybrid females cycled at the same time and they were years from the next heat. Of course, if any female was to be abnormal in this it would be her. She was so tired of being different. Why couldn’t she be like all the other unmated blood hybrid females? No desire for blood, no desire for sex.
Kiera knew that if she was going into heat, she would have to hide her condition from the others. They weren’t tolerant of defects and abnormalities since they were believed to reflect problems in a bloodline. Hiding the condition wouldn’t be easy. The heat cycle tended to make a female constantly aroused and receptive to male attention. Any and all male attention. It was the only time an unmated female hybrid desired sex. Kiera had been having lustful dreams at night. Sometimes they were of Cabrian. Sometimes they featured Seamus and Torin, with her sandwiched in between.
Then there were those dreams of Modez demanding his rights.
It had to be the heat. She had to control herself. If she made advances toward any of the males, they would know of her delicate condition. There were some herbs that were said to control the symptoms, like wormwort. She wasn’t sure it grew around here, but it may be enough to stop her from progressing into full blown heat. She made up her mind to search the woods at the first opportunity.
The heat wasn’t the only problem affecting her. She was starting to feel the symptoms of her fatigue illness again now that the effects of Modez’s blood had worn off. She was so weak that standing and walking were strenuous tasks that left her feeling exhausted. She knew she looked pale and sickly. She had seen her image in a mirror and the truth stared right back at her. She needed blood and she needed it to be of the finest quality.
Last night, her fangs had lengthened and begun to ache. She had rolled flat against Lord Ross’ back while she slept. She woke with the salty taste of his skin in her mouth and she was shocked to find her fangs rubbing against his neck. She had torn herself away from him then, feeling grateful she had not penetrated his skin and taken blood. Thankfully, he had been in a deep sleep and hadn’t known the danger she had posed. If he had caught her, he would have been within his rights to strike her dead. He wasn’t the type of male she wished to test in that fashion.
Kiera needed blood. If she satisfied that craving, she would be able to control her other urges. And she would not feel weak and sickly. If she continued to decline, she wouldn’t have the strength to feed, bathe, or dress herself. She would be as helpless as an infant and she couldn’t afford to leave herself that vulnerable. She wanted to drink from Modez again but doing so would be injudicious. She risked getting caught if she chose the same target, especially one who would be guarding himself against her. She should go after someone who lacked brains, like Patrick. Only she didn’t want to get close to Patrick. She didn’t want to know the taste of his skin and his blood would probably taste like swamp water. There were other lords present who would have decent tasting blood, but it wouldn’t be nearly good enough, not after she had drunk from Modez. She was feeling terribly weak and she needed a dose of something powerful to make her feel like herself again. She couldn’t delay much longer.
Kiera spent the morning searching the woods for the herb that would hopefully prevent her from going into full blown heat. Her first heat threatened to come at the most inconvenient time, but luckily for her, she had discovered that the wormwort grew in abundance along the Roman hillside. She stashed the majority of the herbs in her closet beneath her gowns. The rest she mixed into a tonic that she drank in a few short gulps. It could solve one of her problems, but it wouldn’t stop her thirst.
She needed blood. Modez’s blood. She spent the rest of the day planning how to get it. She had the master key that opened most of the doors and she could gain access to Modez’s room. But it would be difficult to drug him a second time. He wouldn’t just lie there while she sucked him. She would have to restrain him physically but ordinary bindings like rope wouldn’t hold him. He could move objects with his mind. No telling what other abilities he possessed.
Kiera remembered seeing some collars that Lucine Maximus had used to restrain her hybrid slaves. The collars had not been destroyed because the druids wanted to study how they worked. Some of the collars were stored in Lucine’s old office. Kiera disrobed and made herself invisible. A few minutes later, she held one of the collars in her hands. She hid the collar and the key that worked its lock beneath her clothing in the closet. She waited for Lord Ross and his slave to fall into a deep sleep so she could slip away.
A few hours later, she held the collar in her hands and prepared for her excursion. I shouldn’t be doing something this stupid. Even if she managed to get the collar into Modez’s room without anyone noticing a strangely floating object gliding down the hall, she would still have to fix it around the hybrid’s neck before he woke. The collar would prevent him from using hybrid-specific abilities but he would retain his natural strength. Even with the collar, he could still overpower and kill her. She would have to drain him quickly so he would be too weak to resist.
I shouldn’t do this. I’m going to get myself killed. Kiera ignored her mind’s voice that was frantically warning her to stop. She needed the blood too badly and the risk was justifiable. A few minutes later and she found herself standing inside Modez’s room with the collar in her hands. He slept so peacefully that she hated to disturb him. But she would do nearly anything for another taste of his blood. She salivated at the thought of tasting his salty skin and sinking her fangs into his firm flesh.
Without another moment’s deliberation, she fastened the collar around his neck and the loud click of the latch broke the silence. Modez’s eyes slid open and spurred Kiera to action. She slammed her body against his and bared his throat before he could stop her. Her fangs descended, tearing into his vulnerable flesh to suck his precious substance from his vein. The blood filled her mouth and coated her throat, making her feel an instant rush. The euphoria that came from feasting on royal blood was unlike anything she had ever experienced. The taste was exquisite—the very best she had ever had, and she couldn’t get enough of it. She was vaguely aware of the male struggling beneath her, of hands yanking her hair. She sunk her fangs deeper into him, so deep that his efforts to dislodge her would cause him tremendous pain as well as damage to his throat. She heard him growl and felt his hands running along her shoulders down to her torso. A hand lodged itself around her breast and she felt him grope her with abandon. She was aware of her nipple hardening against his hand and the sensation wasn’t unpleasant. It brought a rush of heat to her core and she started to burn. The effect of her encroaching heat cycle, no doubt. If she wasn’t careful, she’d lose herself to it. She moaned as he continued to massage her there. Instead of stopping him, she pushed her breast more fully into his hand. She was hungry for more than just blood. It would be so easy to take what she wanted from Modez. All of it. All of him. He wouldn’t know she’d used him.
“That’s it, drink me. You’re a hungry thing and I’ve got what you need.” His breathing was ragged and his voice was full of lust as he said, “Let me fill you up, where you need it most.”
Kiera felt his hands at her hips, centering her over his body so that she could feel the hard length of him at her entrance. The head of his shaft nudged her, parted her wet folds. She wanted to allow him inside, but she hadn’t forgotten what had happened last time. He had left traces of seed on her hand and it had left a web of stains. She had worn gloves for a week because of him, but luckily she had remained undiscovered. She couldn’t risk actual intercourse. That would be ruinous for her. She whimpered in frustration, knowing she couldn’t indulge herself. Knowing he could douse the flames that ate at her.
“Drink me while you can, female.” His voice was low, seductive. His hands roamed freely over her body and Kiera made no move to stop him. She released his throat and slid down so she could feel him where she wanted. She latched onto his chest and sipped him with slow suctioning movements of her mouth on his flesh. His hands on her felt exhilarating and she rubbed herself against his hard member, trying to alleviate the ache that centered between her legs. “I’m going to fuck the hell out of you while you’re feasting,” Modez said. “Then I’m going to chain you to my bed and drink you. I’ll keep you chained so I can snack on you whenever I like. You’ll be my blood whore much longer than I was yours.”
The fucking sounded good to her at the moment, but the chaining and drinking—not so much. Kiera reminded herself who she assaulted with her fangs. Modez was capable of doing all he threatened to her and more. She had taken much of his blood and he should have been losing steam. It concerned her that his grip was so strong. The hands at her ass were forceful and unyielding, pushing her against the area that she was now trying to avoid. His engorged shaft threatened to skewer her. Earlier, she had felt comfortably safe rubbi
ng herself against it, but now she felt the tip pushing inside her channel. She wasn’t entirely certain how he had managed so much so quickly, although she had to admit she had been completely focused on drinking from him and was oblivious to everything else. She opened her mouth to say the words that would stop him, but then realized he would recognize her instantly. No, she preferred to let him breach her than give her identity away. She struggled in his arms but stopped when she realized doing so was making things worse. She felt more than the tip of him now. She hadn’t finished drinking from him, but she knew she needed to make her escape. She retracted her fangs from his flesh and licked the droplets of blood from her mouth, relishing the final taste of decadence. A metal clanging sound drew her attention and she saw with shock that he held shackles in his hand.
“You’ll not escape this time. I’m going to bind you to this bed, and when your invisibility wears off, I will know who has assaulted me. Twice. And you will pay for it.” His voice still contained traces of lust, but there was anger as well. He promised retribution.
Kiera understood instantly the trouble she was in. She couldn’t afford to be caught. She struggled as if her life was in jeopardy, because it was. But he was clearly in no mind to let her go. His hands were like steel around her hips, locking her into place. When she tried to move, his shaft pushed inside her a half-inch. His eyes ignited in flames and he made a growling sound in the back of his throat. The sound of the shackles clanging against the furniture as he lost his grip spurred her to motion. He caught the chain attached to one of the shackles with his hand and pulled it back into position, ready to use it to imprison her. She had to do something to distract him so he would drop those shackles. Only one thing came to mind. She surged down his cock and engulfed him completely, then started moving back and forth at a pace that made his eyes burn brighter. She had never done it in this position and it felt better than expected. A little too good, in fact.
Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) Page 20
