“I recommend you take her from the villa.”
“No, we can’t do that. We don’t have anywhere to take her.” Shane glanced back at Baby and frowned. “I was thinking I could get another hybrid to host her, one who has a private chamber. Baby will serve three as easily as she serves two. She really doesn’t mind.”
Cassia thought she saw Baby smile. Really, the former servant girl had turned into the biggest whore. She’d probably service the entire villa if asked. She must not have hid her scorn, as Baby responded with a show of attitude.
“Yes, I spread my legs for these vamps the same as you do, Cassia Maximus. Don’t act like you’re better than me.” Her lips formed into a pout. “Mistress Maximus had me doing gross stuff like scrubbing floors and wiping asses. Fucking these gorgeous vampires is a lot more fun.”
“I’m sure it is. I didn’t mean to criticize you.” Cassia knew she shouldn’t judge the poor girl. She had been raised in luxury, unlike Baby, even though she hadn’t always been given the silver spoon.
Cabrian met Shane’s eyes and shook his head. “It’s way too risky to house a human underneath Diermont’s nose.”
“I was thinking that Lord Halloran wouldn’t mind helping us,” Shane said. “He has a private room and nobody messes with him. Diermont wouldn’t think to search his room.”
“Lord Halloran has his hands full right now with personal matters.”
“Like what?”
Cabrian responded with a shake of the head to make it clear he wasn’t going to disclose that information. “You should be careful who you ask for help. The person could just as easily turn you in to Diermont. Harboring a human is a punishable offense.”
Cassia listened to the rest of the conversation. She worried for Baby. The other human wasn’t a breeder and Diermont would order her killed if he discovered her existence. Baby seemed unconcerned with the danger.
Eventually Cabrian grabbed her hand and they left the chamber. “Since Modez is using our room, I guess we’ll just have to use his.”
Cassia nodded. Soon they were inside Lord Halloran’s private chamber. Cabrian unwrapped the blanket from her body, leaving her naked. “I need to tell you something first.” She knew she would get too distracted by his touch if she waited.
Cabrian pulled his trousers from his body. “Okay. Tell me quick.”
“I received a note. It said I would be rescued.” She briefly described the note, including how it had disintegrated magically. “I also gained some information from Baby. She said a hybrid dressed in a costume and mask helped Lucine escape. I didn’t think much of it until I heard there was a traitor inside the villa. I think Baby could identify him.”
That definitely got Cabrian’s attention. “You should have told me sooner.”
“I know. I thought about doing so a hundred times. But I worried that Baby would be tortured. I’ve seen how Diermont goes about his information gathering.” The most gruesome tortures had been conducted in this villa. Cassia could still hear their screams in her nightmares.
“I’m glad you shared this with me. It means a lot, more than you can imagine, that you came to me with this.” Cabrian pulled her into his arms and ran his hands down her body. “It means you’re switching your loyalties. To me. As you should, since I will be your mate.”
“Yes, I am loyal to you.” She accepted his kiss, anticipating even more what would come next. She had missed sharing intercourse with him. The feel of his cock was so much better than the feel of his hand. His shaft thumped against his stomach, hard and ready.
“I’ll be careful. I’ll pull out.”
It was really happening. They were going to violate Diermont’s human-hybrid ban on sexual relations. She put her hands on his shaft and stroked him a few times before he managed to push her hands away. He was overly cautious about the risk of staining.
Soon she was on her back and he was on top of her. Pushing inside her. The mattress was soft underneath her as he began to move inside her. She held him between her thighs and arched to meet his thrusts. The beginnings of an orgasm sent her on an upward spiral. She offered her throat to him, wanting him to finally bite her. It was frustrating, waiting for him to make her his. Her asshole of an ex-husband had committed to her more quickly than this. Cabrian took her throat, but only drank from her. He didn’t use his mating fangs. It was a disappointment but she tried not to let it show. He had his reasons for delaying. She wanted to respect them and not act like a clingy, jealous, and overly possessive psycho-bitch female. The waves of euphoria washed through her and Cabrian pulled out, spilling his seed onto the covers. Far away from Cassia. She felt deprived, knowing that Kiera was getting the full experience with Modez. But she told herself to be patient. When they mated, there would be hours upon hours of marathon sex.
Cabrian cleaned himself up with a washrag before returning to her. He removed the covers with the speed of a chariot racer and placed them on the floor of a closet. He then proceeded to inspect her body with excruciating scrutiny. “I don’t think any got on you.”
He was so afraid he would leave her with staining, despite his agreement with Modez that she would pass every examination regardless of the color of her skin. “It’s okay, Cabrian.”
He held his head in his hands. “We shouldn’t have done this. What if I had left stains? Diermont could at any time perform the examinations himself.”
She held him in her arms. “Relax. It’s okay. You worry too much.”
He sighed. “I cannot lose you, Cassia. We shouldn’t risk your life.”
“Even for great sex?”
He smiled. “You felt unimaginably good.”
“And we’ll continue to be together like this. You said yourself there were no stains. You have such excellent control.” Cassia wouldn’t have been able to stop herself from coming, but somehow he had. “It will be okay.” She knew he was worried, but it wouldn’t take much to convince him to violate that ban again. Eventually, he would give her that bite she craved, the one that would make her his mate. She had felt his mating fangs scrape her neck as he had fed from her. Those fangs wanted to penetrate her. She could tell. And when his cock was inside her, those fangs wanted to be inside her too. She took his hand and squeezed. The overly cautious male would be brought to heel. She would make it happen.
Chapter 27
Kiera woke with a heavy weight on top of her. She stretched but couldn’t move more than an inch under Modez’s big body. She pressed her nails into his skin and wiggled underneath him, trying to wake him. He stirred, and as his cock swelled inside her, she realized they were still joined. He started moving inside her. The nails cutting into his skin seemed to only encourage him, making him pump at an accelerated rate. Before she had a chance to say a word, he was ejaculating inside her. Like he had too many times to count last night. He collapsed on top of her, still not withdrawing from her well-used sheath. As enjoyable as it had been, she was ready to take a break. She wanted to take a relaxing dip in the bathhouse. Her stomach was growling and breakfast was sounding good to her right now. “Get off me, Modez.”
He opened a heavy eyelid. “Why? Do you need to take a piss or something?”
Well, now that he had made mention of it…yes. “I’m hungry and I feel all sweaty and dirty.” The smell of sex still hung in the air. This was Cabrian and Cassia’s room. Their bed. Her face heated when she imagined how the overlord would feel when he saw the mess they had made of their bed.
“You’re in heat. We fed each other all night long, baby. You took my blood and I took yours.”
She remembered ravaging him like a wild beast. She was glad she hadn’t killed him by accident. One of her cousins had woken to a corpse during her last two heats. “I want food in my belly. Some scrambled eggs and bacon would be nice.”
He lifted himself and peered at her through sharp, suddenly alert eyes. “You’re in heat. You don’t need food. Only blood.”
“The heat must be over.” She was feeling more
herself now. What a relief.
His reaction was thunderous. “The hell you say. What woman’s heat lasts a mere day?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, not sure what to say to the warrior lord. She wasn’t sure why he was taking it so badly, anyway. He acted like she was purposely depriving him of the week-long marathon of drinking and sex. “It’s over. I feel normal again. Can you not tell?”
He looked deeply into her eyes. “Your eyes aren’t glazed over anymore and the color is back to normal.” His disappointed expression turned thoughtful as he noticed the tightening of her nipples as they brushed against his chest. “Are you sure it’s over?”
She shifted underneath his body. He was still inside her. “I’m sure. Why are you mad?”
“I’m not mad.” He slid out of her and lay on his back. “I’ve just never heard of a heat lasting only a day. It’s not normal.”
“I’m not normal, Modez.” She was a mongrel with an abnormal cycle. She wasn’t supposed to be in heat at all.
He turned on his side and his eyes roamed over her naked body. “You’re a mess. Completely black and brown with stains. At least I made full use of my one day.”
Her body was dark with stains from her breasts to her ankles. She grimaced. How was she going to hide her tattooed ankles? She would have to find a tunic meant to be worn by a giant. Her sex was sore and her lower abdomen cramped. “You used me well.”
“I will use you again.” He traced her collarbone with his finger. “Remember, you are to serve as my blood whore whenever I wish it.”
“I remember.” She would have to lay with him whenever he got too demanding. She couldn’t risk him going to Diermont. “Allow me some time to recover. I’m no longer in heat and I’m feeling every bit of soreness from this night.”
His expression was smug and satisfied. “Indeed. I’ll give you a few days.” He touched his lips to hers before moving from the bed. “This will be an enjoyable arrangement for both of us. You’ll see.”
He dressed, gave her some clothing to wear, and left the room. She pulled on the oversized tunic. He obviously wanted to keep her marked body hidden from Diermont and the other warriors. She supposed she was Modez’s mistress now. At least in secret.
Kiera felt self-conscious as she made her way to the chamber that Druscilla shared with a few other females. “How are you faring?”
Druscilla wiped her red, tear filled eyes. “Fine, really. I don’t know why I’m so emotional this morning.”
Druscilla’s roommate, Slaine, rolled her eyes. “Tell her what happened in the dungeon, Dru.”
“What happened in the dungeon?” Kiera knew it must be bad to have upset Druscilla.
“It’s okay, really. I didn’t mind it.”
“What happened?” She wanted details, dammit.
Druscilla sniffed. “Well, this time the prince called another into the dungeon. Do you know the warrior named Gryphon?”
Kiera had to think awhile before she recalled him. Gryphon was one of Diermont’s most loyal warriors and often acted as his personal guardsman. He was severe in personality, much like Diermont. “What of him?”
“The prince made Gryphon whip me with a piece of barbed wire. When I was good and bloody, all the hybrids in the dungeon drank from me. They licked my skin dry of blood with their tongues. When I was clean, Diermont put a blindfold over my eyes and tied me to a stake.”
Kiera was horrified. She wanted Druscilla to stop talking. She didn’t wish to hear the rest of the story, but she sensed her friend needed to talk about it. “Go on.”
“Gryphon slathered me with jelly. The prince ordered him to leave, but I’m not sure he actually left the room. The next thing I knew, I was being poked with a cock. I’m not sure whose it was because of the blindfold.” Druscilla sniffed. “The prince made me guess which hybrid’s cock was inside me. I didn’t want to answer him. He struck my back with something hard. I don’t know what it was. It felt like a piece of wood. The prince said he would hit me with it again if I couldn’t answer his question correctly.” Druscilla gulped, tears threatening once again. “I tried to guess. I said it was Torin. I was wrong.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I didn’t know. So I guessed again. I said it was Gryphon. I was wrong again and the prince beat me. This went on awhile. I couldn’t give him the correct answer. Eventually the beatings knocked me out cold. Torin told me later that they tried to wake me by dumping buckets of ice water on me, but I never woke. He said it was a blessing. He said he tried to get the prince to stop the whole time it was happening. But he couldn’t.”
“So whose cock was inside you?” Kiera realized after she asked the question that it was insensitive of her. “I’m sorry, Dru. It doesn’t matter who it was.”
“I never knew,” Druscilla cried. “No one told me. I still don’t know. But the mother fucker was humongous. He ripped me apart, even with the jelly.”
Slaine, the roommate, looked angry. “I told Druscilla that she should go to Snotti and complain.”
“I can’t do that. You know I cannot. Snotti doesn’t know about the dungeon. If I spoke of it, the prince would have me killed.”
Kiera wondered if it was possible that Snotti was truly ignorant of the dungeon. Everyone at the villa seemed to know that particular secret, so how could that knowledge escape Snotti? “You have to end it. Let Diermont know you’ll not serve in the dungeon anymore.”
“I’ll be banished. Sent home in shame. I’ll be ruined.” Druscilla wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ll be denied entrance to every mating ball of the Season if I go home in disgrace.”
Druscilla was already ruined. She wished she could convince her friend to leave voluntarily. “Please, Dru. You cannot continue this way. It will only get worse. What happens when the prince decides to use you? It will be painful for you, I fear.”
“I can handle the pain. I’m strong.” She smiled, although it was devoid of humor. “You cannot even see any scars. My body heals quickly. It is strange being used by someone who is not Torin, but I’m sure the prince chose someone worthy. I’m no whore.”
If Kiera managed to get away, she would come back for Druscilla. She would show her that she didn’t need a life at court. She didn’t deserve to be abused and mistreated. “It’s not worth it. It’s much better to be a spinster than a court harlot. Your parents would allow you to come back home.” That was an option Kiera didn’t have. She didn’t understand why Druscilla didn’t take it.
“No, Kiera. For people like us, there is no other option. I’ll serve the prince. Others will make bids for me, so when the prince no longer wishes to see me, I will accept one of those offers. I’ll be a rich man’s mistress. He will bite me when he uses me, as that is what males do when they fuck. Eventually a bite will take and I’ll be mated.”
Oh, if only it worked that way. The truth was, it only happened like that for a small minority of courtesans. Those were the lucky ones. “Dru. You don’t have to be a courtesan to get bites.”
“Right now I do. And so do you. You’ll be denied invitations to mating balls now that you’re a serf. Your only hope is to spread your legs for your master and convince him to bite you. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” Druscilla eyed Kiera’s long saffron tunic. “Have you taken my advice? The prince is already mated, so you’ll gain little by seducing him. But Modez is available. Or was.” Druscilla stretched her body and yawned. “I forgot. He has a mate named Gwyneth.”
Yes, Gwyneth. How had Kiera forgotten about Gwyneth? Kiera was mistress to a mated male. It didn’t matter that he refused Gwyneth. They were biologically compatible and he would eventually return to her bed. He would want heirs. She needed to end things with Modez. She needed to get away from him, away from the temptation. After all, his intentions toward her were not honorable. He had taken her body multiple times but hadn’t once used his mating fangs on her. Most males lacked that kind of control. But not Modez. He obviously didn’t wish to take a mongrel for a mate. She needed to let hi
m go.
Kiera resolved to avoid Modez. But as it turned out, she needn’t have worried. She saw nothing of him for four straight days.
Chapter 28
She was in his bed again. Modez felt her long hair brush against his chest while her fingers trailed down his shoulders and the sides of his torso. Her lips pressed kisses against his throat and he anticipated her fangs would follow. “Go ahead, take it. I’ll give it to you and you’ll offer me something in return. You know what I want from you, my pet.” He didn’t mind feeding Kiera’s hunger as long as he got to have her again.
“I want you to bite me, Modez. Make me yours again.”
The voice was wrong. It was high pitched and whiny, not like Kiera’s at all. He opened one eye and saw a sight that frightened the shit out of him. His ex-mate was in his bed. He sat up and pulled the bedding to his waist to cover himself. He pushed Gwyneth away from him. She was lucky he didn’t throw her completely from the bed. “What are you doing here?”
“I want your bite so I can be your mate once more,” Gwyneth purred while flicking a long fingernail against his chest.
“I don’t want you. I’ll never give you my bite.” Hell, he hadn’t even bitten Kiera and resisting the urge had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.
“You encouraged my attentions a few moments ago,” Gwyneth said with a pout.
“I didn’t know it was you.” He had thought it was Kiera. He hadn’t seen her for days, and when he sensed an additional presence in the bed, he had foolishly thought his mongrel had missed him and planned to wake him with morning sex.
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Gwyneth scoffed. “You told me to take what I wanted. What I want is you. You must have been dreaming of me.”
Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) Page 33
