While he ran toward his mate, it occurred to Darronn that Alexi had given no more than she received. He had shared with her very little of his past, of his disappointments and failures, or even his triumphs. If he opened more to her, would she in turn open to him?
The fact that he was even considering such a thing would have been enough to give him pause if he’d had the time to spare.
Alexi’s perfume grew stronger, and Darronn slowed his pace to a steady lope. He scented no dangers around her. She was alone, and he was certain she was making her way back toward the meadow where he had taken her. Likely in hopes the looking glass would be there.
His fear for his woman turned to anger that flamed in his gut. Alexi’s defection dishonored him. If his people knew she had left him, they would begin to doubt his ability to perform his duties as King of Spades.
Her scent was soon so strong it would have driven him to his knees were he in his man form. He slowly stalked his prey, stopping in the shadows of the forest when he saw her.
Blood trickled down countless cuts upon her legs, and arms. It was obvious she had climbed down the trellis to the terraced gardens. When he returned with her to the chateau, he would ensure the immediate removal of the trellis.
Alexi went still and fear flashed across her face, and he knew she had sensed his presence.
Something was indeed after her.
Mikaela or some beast.
Heart pounding, Alexi broke the tree line and ran. She had to get to the center of the meadow—the mirror had to be there.
Chill air rushed over her stinging bared skin as she bolted. The moonlit meadow was bright enough to allow her to run without tripping, but the mist grew thicker and she was afraid that soon she would be forced to walk.
A snapping sound echoed behind her. Her heart went into overdrive and she increased her speed. Her lungs ached, her mouth tasted like copper, and blood rushed in her ears.
Something was after her.
What can I do?
She stumbled over a rock and dropped to her hands and knees. Rocks dug into her flesh and stung at the wounds from the trellis. She forced herself up again, frantically searching for the mirror in the meadow.
And then she saw it.
The mirror.
A hundred feet, maybe two hundred ahead. Her feet ached and her body burned from all the scratches, and her lungs felt like they would burst.
Something slammed into her back. Alexi screamed and pitched forward. She landed face first in the grass and dirt. Air whooshed from her lungs, and when she sucked her breath in, her mouth filled with dirt. Her head spun with fear as a mammoth creature pinned her to the ground, its paws braced against her back. Her cuts and scrapes burned and she was having problems catching her breath.
But what did that matter if she was about to be eaten?
The beast’s tremendous roar shattered the night.
Her heart both sank and filled with relief at the sudden knowledge it wasn’t some wild animal that would eat her.
It was Darronn.
She would know his roar anywhere, and if she hadn’t been so scared, she would have recognized his primal scent right away, too.
Relief followed by a quick dose of fear washed over her in warm then cold waves. She was glad it was Darronn who had her pinned and not some other beast, but from the tone of his roar, he was good and pissed at her.
But he wouldn’t hurt her. Would he?
Wait a minute. She shouldn’t be relieved it was him. She should be angry that he had screwed up her escape plan.
“It is obvious I have been far too lenient with you,” the king’s voice growled in her mind. “I intend to remedy that at once.”
Alexi spat dirt and grass from her mouth and tried to get up, but he had her pinned too tightly. “Goddammit, Darronn. What did you expect? You kidnap me and I’m supposed to just go with it? Now get off! Let me get to that mirror and go back to my family.”
“You wish me to apologize? Choosing and claiming is the way of our people.” Darronn’s claws flexed, pricking her through the leather top, but not breaking her skin. “I honor you by my choice, I offer you my kingdom, my companionship, my—” He cut off before adding, “and you dishonor me.”
“I’m no one’s captive.” Anger burned her like fire as she thought about how close she was to the mirror. “Not even yours.”
“Silence, wench,” he shouted in her mind.
“Screw you.” Alexi struggled to get out from under his tiger paws. “You overgrown, hairy, big-dicked son of a bitch!”
Darronn roared again, and the land felt as if it was shaking from the power of his roar.
His weight shifted. The paws on her bare back turned into hands. In the next moment Darronn was forcing her legs apart and kneeling between her thighs. “I can make you beg for my cock,” he said, as he kept her pinned with one hand around her neck. “I could have ensured long ago that you would have no desire to leave me.”
“Like hell.” Alexi bit back a moan as he pressed his leather-clad erection to her ass and ground her pussy against the patch of grass beneath her. Her breasts felt swollen and needy, and her clit ached like mad. “All I ever wanted from you was a good lay. It’s time to move on.”
“No more lies. No more games. You are captive to your own refusal to love.” With a fierce growl, Darronn leaned over her back and bit her shoulder, causing her to gasp out loud as he marked her again. At the same time a heavy musk surrounded Alexi, and it seemed to come from him. She stiffened as her body absorbed the musk, which filled her senses and blurred her thoughts.
All of a sudden she was wild with lust and raging warmth filled her body, chasing away the chill and even making her feet warm. Her mind became so clouded with passion and desire that she could think of nothing but screwing Darronn. She needed him so badly she couldn’t stand another moment without him inside her.
Alexi thrashed against him, arching her ass tighter against him while trying to break free of his grip. “Please, Darronn. Now.”
“How must you refer to me, wench?” he asked as he moved his hips away from hers, denying her even the pleasure of his cock against her skin.
“Master.” Alexi’s body shook so badly for him, her mind so filled with desire, that she could think of nothing but what it would take to please him. “Fuck me, Master.”
Darronn backed away. She scrambled to her knees and practically lunged at him. He grabbed her braid, forcing her to remain on her knees. His features were stern, his eyes unforgiving as he looked at her. “You will do as I say or I will not give you the pleasure of my cock inside you. It is time you understood that sometimes, someone other than Alexi might know best.”
Alexi whimpered, but waited for his instructions, knowing that she was going to go out of her mind if he didn’t take her soon. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was crazy—why was she acting this way? Wasn’t she about to do something more important?
The lust was so intense she didn’t give a damn. She had to have him.
Using his free hand, Darronn pulled her up by her braid. When she was on her feet, he yanked down her pants and pulled them off, along with her shoes, before tugging her top over her head, exposing her breasts to his gaze and the chill air of the night. He then waved his hand and his clothing vanished completely, as he’d done many times in their bedroom.
When had she started to think of it as their bedroom?
His grip on her hair remained tight as he drew her toward his hips. “Suck me, wench.”
Without hesitation, Alexi took him into her mouth and wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft. God, but she loved to go down on him. Okay, so she might have been running away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t like being with this hunk of a kidnapping bastard.
She squirmed as he held her braid tighter and took control of her movements, thrusting in and out. She always enjoyed sucking him off, but right now she wanted him in her instead. Damn, but she needed to come.
Abruptly he stopped his thrusts. “You have added yet another punishment to your list,” Darronn said as he removed his erection from her mouth. In a movement so fast her head spun, he took her hand from his cock and her other from her clit. “I have not given you permission to pleasure yourself.”
“I need to come, Master.” Alexi didn’t understand why she was so easily slipping into the subservient role she always played in their bedroom, but at this moment she was beyond thinking. “Please.”
For a moment she thought she saw a moment of tenderness and something else, but it vanished to be replaced by a hard expression. “You must be taught a lesson. Mikaela and her bakirs could have gotten to you.”
Even as she begged, he moved behind her and bound her wrists behind her back by fastening her bracelets together with his magic. More of the exciting musk scent emanated from him and her she became so wet that her thighs were slick with moisture. Her entire body quivered with desire and she knew she’d just die if he didn’t take her soon.
Alexi yelped as he grabbed her by the waist, flung her over his shoulder, and marched away from the mirror and toward the dark forest.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BLOOD RUSHED TO ALEXI’S HEAD WHEN DARRONN tossed her over his shoulder and her braid flipped into her eyes. The tie slipped off the end and fell to the forest floor.
Like Hansel and Gretel, it marks our path, she thought, and would have laughed if she didn’t need Darronn so badly.
Her body burned from her many wounds. While he carried her through the forest, branches scraped her naked ass since she no longer had on clothing. Her now bared nipples rubbed against his back as she watched the flex of his ass cheeks. She could picture his buttocks flexing and tensing as he drove into her again and again, and she moaned and thrashed against him. “I can’t take any more, Master. Please.”
“Quiet, wench.” He slapped her ass with his palm, and the sting brought tears to her eyes and warm pleasure to her folds. He kept one arm tight around her legs, but at the same time he used his free hand to spread her legs a little.
A gasp escaped her throat as he pushed something thick and rubbery between her thighs and up inside her. She was sure it was the spade vibrator that she loved so much, the one he frequently enjoyed using on her. “Do not climax without permission,” he ordered.
She cried out as the thing began to vibrate inside her. Alexi pumped her hips against his shoulder, trying to bring herself closer to what she needed so badly, even though she knew that just an orgasm wouldn’t solve the fierce demand her body had for Darronn. She needed him inside her, needed him to complete her.
Why did she desire him so much that she could think of nothing else? It was as if some kind of magic had taken control.
She knew she should struggle—fight him. But she couldn’t. Something was keeping her from it.
At that moment she didn’t care what it was. She just wanted him to take her.
The vibrations stopped and Darronn swatted her ass again. “You know the rules.” He withdrew the spade vibrator from her core, and she almost sobbed. He was trying to drive her crazy, she just knew it.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Alexi’s breathing was so heavy now she could barely speak. “Why won’t you take me?”
“As I said, you must be taught a lesson.” Darronn ducked, and from her upside down position she realized they had just entered a cave. It was dark at first, but soon a dim orange glow made it light enough for her to see as he continued to walk. Despite his bare feet, his steps sounded loud and threatening in the semidarkness.
“I won’t leave again.” Alexi couldn’t believe the words were coming out of her mouth, but she couldn’t stop them. She wanted to fight, needed to fight. This wasn’t like her. Yet she still begged him. “I need you inside me, Master.”
A deep scraping sound rumbled through the cave, followed by a rush of cool, moist air that tightened her nipples. The air smelled somehow woodsy, yet musty, too. Darronn stepped through the entrance and she saw a stone door sliding down behind them, and heard its ominous slam when it sealed itself shut.
He slid her from his shoulders and then grasped her by her upper arms and turned her to face the room, and she caught her breath.
A small waterfall, more like a fountain of rocks, spilled into a small pool in one corner of a medium-sized semi-dark cavern. She was surprised she hadn’t heard the musical sound of the water.
Amethyst and black crystals sparkled along the walls and ceiling, and reflected off the waterfall and the pool. It was like being in an amazingly cool nature-made discotheque lit with glittering purple crystals instead of a black light and a disco ball.
As she studied the cavern in openmouthed wonder, Alexi realized there were several naked men and women. Watching her and Darronn.
For a moment Alexi felt like she was in some kind of weird sci-fi movie, the way the cavern glittered and with the naked people observing them.
“I see you have brought me a gift, King Darronn,” a gorgeous man said as he broke away from the naked group. Behind him stood five beautiful women with fabulous bodies and two stunning men who were just as hot and sexy as the one crossing the cavern toward Alexi and Darronn.
Alexi could only stare at the man, who was so good-looking he could have been a Greek god. Rippling muscles, rock-hard abs, smooth and tanned skin, and long golden-blond hair. And talk about well hung.
“Lord Kir.” Darronn gave a low growl but said nothing else as the god neared them.
Without even realizing at first what she was doing, Alexi moved closer to Darronn. He stepped behind her and put his hands on her upper arms, a wide space between their bodies. It was if he was offering up to the man in front of her…or maybe protecting her?
Yet, what he’d done felt entirely distant.
The sharp ache that bit into her heart took her by surprise. Why wasn’t he keeping her closer to him? She felt strangely empty and alone without the possessiveness she’d become accustomed to from him.
She realized then that in truth, she enjoyed his possessiveness.
When the god reached them, he ignored Darronn and stared down at Alexi. “I am Lord Kir and would be pleased to serve you, Milady.” His vivid blue gaze was carnal and demanding, as if he intended to have her any way he chose. Before Alexi could react, the god took her hand, raised it to his mouth, and kissed her knuckles. His lips were warm and sensuous, and he flicked his tongue against her skin in a light swipe, like a dog might—or a wolf.
Her body reacted instantly—her nipples tightening and a tingle zinging through her. Alexi frowned and snatched her hand away. It occurred to her that she no longer felt that same intense lust she’d felt with Darronn just moments ago, and she now could think clearly again.
Her desire for Darronn—that hadn’t waned. She wanted him just as badly.
“Tell me what’s going on.” Alexi’s gaze darted over her shoulder to Darronn, who was just as naked as the blond god, but whose features had hardened into a stone mask. His eyes, though—they held a mixture of emotion she couldn’t identify. Fury? Hurt? Something deeper?
“You wish to be fucked.” Darronn’s tone was even, but she caught a tinge of anger and pain to it. “I am but a convenient cock to fill you. Perhaps you would better enjoy Kir, lord of the cave-dwelling mountain wolves?”
Alexi’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe what Darronn was saying. “You would just give me to this—this man?”
“Werewolf.” Kir leaned close enough for her to feel his body heat and smell his woodsy scent. He sniffed her hair, his erection close enough to brush her thigh. “I could take you with me to Emerald City and pleasure you in ways that would leave you begging for more.”
“No.” Alexi tu
rned her glare on Kir, placed her hands on his solidly muscled chest, and shoved. Or at least she tried. All she managed to do was get him to stop sniffing her hair. “If you don’t want to lose your balls, wolf-boy, you’d better back off.”
Kir raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth quirked as he straightened. “Do you not wish to have a cock that would please you?” He gestured toward the other two gorgeous males in the room who both stared at her with equally predatory expressions. “Mayhap two or three at once?”
“No.” Alexi held her ground and said to him in her man-eating-attorney tone, “If any one of you tries to touch me, I’ll ram your balls up your throat and you’ll be howling in soprano come full moon.”
“Then what do you want?” Kir’s eyes sparked fire. “Is this a game you play? Is it ‘force’ you are looking for?” He reached up and trailed his finger down her upper arm. “Or perhaps you desire seduction?”
Alexi knocked his hand away and practically growled at him—as if Darronn’s tigerness had rubbed off on her or something. “Let’s get this through your pretty golden head, Lord of the Lobos.” She pointed her finger at his chest and punctuated each word as she said, “The only big-cocked guy who’s going to come near me is Darronn. Got that?”
“Why?” Kir’s question was so direct, so simple, it totally caught her off guard.
“Because…” Alexi glared at the blue-eyed son of a bitch as she fought to identify the emotions raging through her.
She thought she had never run away from anything in her life, that she faced everything head-on. But suddenly it was all so clear—like finding that last piece of evidence that would ensure she would win a particularly difficult legal case.
Tonight she hadn’t just been running away from Darronn to go home and to search for her sister. She’d been running away from her feelings for him.
“Yes?” Kir’s expression was amused, and she wanted to slug him.
“Damn it.” Alexi raised both clenched fists and started beating on the wolf king’s biceps like a punching bag. “No way in hell is anyone else going to touch me, because I’m in love with Darronn.”
Claimed by Pleasure: King of Spades (Wonderland Book 2) Page 14
