Claimed by Pleasure: King of Spades (Wonderland Book 2)

by Jaymie Holland

  What would it be like to turn everything over to someone else, or to at least turn some things over? To stop trying to fight the world on her own, to maybe allow someone to help her fight her battles. Or fight them for her.

  The moment Darronn woke, he sensed that his mate was in turmoil. She had admitted her love for him and had chosen to wear his signs of ownership. What could cause her to feel such distress that it vibrated through his very being?

  He rolled her onto her back and positioned himself between her thighs in a smooth motion. “What troubles your heart?”

  Her normally strong and confident expression had vanished, and in its place was the vulnerable look of a woman who needed him. Her eyes were bright as though unshed tears glistened there. “My sister. It’s been so long. I need to find her.”

  For a moment Darronn considered telling her that her sister was safe and well, but he decided now was not the time. She would want to leave at once and he first needed to meet with his brothers. Ty and Karn would be arriving from their respective kingdoms in the next day or so. Once they had determined their next course of action against Mikaela, Darronn would tell Alexi. It would be soon enough and he would then be ready to make the journey to Hearts with her.

  “Trust me.” He slid into her channel still slick with their lovemaking, ensuring she would not dwell upon such thoughts for now. “You shall see your sister again.”

  Alexi gasped as Darronn filled her, and he smiled at the power he had over her. Her scent only made him hungrier for her, and he knew he would never get enough of her.

  She clamped her thighs tight around his hips as he took both her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head, fastening her gold bracelets together with his magic. Seeing his collar at her throat and his rings at her nipples gave him a feeling of intense pride. He was certainly the most blessed of men to have such a fine woman as his possession.

  Well, not exactly his possession. His mate.

  Her eyes were wide and filled with emotion and trust that he had not witnessed in their depths before. “I love you, Darronn,” she whispered as he slowly drove in and out of her. “I never thought I would care for anyone the way I love you.”

  “I will always take care of you.” He gave her a slow and sensual smile as he focused his gaze on hers and increased the strength of his thrusts. “And you will always be able to trust me with your love.”

  “Darronn.” Alexi cried out as he pounded in and out of her. “Just know this,” she said, her voice quavering with passion, “If you break my heart, I’ll kick your ass.”

  The fire and strength in his woman pleased him to the depths of his soul and filled him with a power like none he had ever felt in his many years. “Come for me, Alexi,” he demanded, never taking his gaze from her beautiful face and never slowing his thrusts.

  Her eyes widened as though in surprise that his voice could command her orgasm so easily and so soon. She trembled and arched up her breasts as she cried out. A flush stole across her skin and her body glistened with sweat as her climax shook her.

  Darronn’s own orgasm rushed over him like a raging wildfire. Furious and fast it came, and he roared as his fluid spilled into his woman.

  When at last he was spent, he rolled onto his side and cradled Alexi close to him, his cock still snug inside her. She sighed and snuggled into him, and his feelings of power and possessiveness grew.

  The cards had indeed given him the woman who was his perfect mate.

  ~~*~~

  Just days after Alexi had proclaimed her love for him, Darronn strode from his chambers and left his mate to her own devices. His boots echoed down the wood flooring as he headed toward the sorceress Kalina’s quarters to meet with his brothers Ty and Karn, who had recently arrived with news from Jarronn.

  Alexi’s sweet scent was still on Darronn’s skin and he pictured her as he had left her, sprawled upon their bed, naked and well sated. He no longer felt concern that she would attempt to escape again. No, after their time in the cavern she seemed more content to stay in Spades, if not truly happy, and that pleased him greatly.

  While he strode to the other end of the chateau, he smiled at the memory of his time with Alexi. Soon he would tell Alexi of her sister’s fate and take his future queen to Hearts to visit High Queen Alice. He wished to ensure that Alexi was tightly bonded to him before they made the journey, and to do that he needed her full attention, her complete devotion, her absolute trust.

  All was going exactly as he had planned.

  He raked his hand through his wild mane of hair as he neared the sorceress’s chambers. The past few days had been full of unparalleled pleasure and enjoyment for Darronn and Alexi. They had spent much time discussing their lives and what they had done before he brought her to Tarok, and their bond had grown even tighter.

  Darronn had recognized long ago that she would never be content to serve only as his mate. But as his queen she would rule at his side and he was certain she would enjoy the role. His people already loved her spirit, and when they witnessed her wearing his signs of possession, they had felt as he did, that Alexi was now one of them and truly belonged in their world.

  The one thing that concerned him was that she seemed to have no desire for children. He would not force Alexi to bear his children, even if it meant his people would one day be gone with no one to carry on into the future.

  When he strode into the sorceress’s dim chambers, smells of almond, vanilla, and sandalwood washed over him. Kalina’s beautiful face was illuminated by the glowing a’bin, the table she used to foretell the destiny of all four kingdoms throughout the lands of Tarok. Upon it were magical cards she was studying, each bearing pictures that swirled with thousands of images whose mysteries only Kalina could unravel.

  Karn had one shoulder hitched against the wall as he studied the lovely sorceress while she worked. The look in his dark eyes was one that Darronn hadn’t seen since the wars with Mikaela the previous summer, and that troubled him greatly.

  Ty, the youngest of the four kings, was missing the roguish expression that he usually had, his golden head tilted to one side and his arms folded across his broad chest.

  Karn flicked his gaze from Kalina to Darronn, a slight raise of his eyebrows the only sign of greeting before he looked back to the sorceress. Ty merely gave Darronn an abrupt nod. Darronn’s gut clenched, and he had no doubt the sorceress’s news would not be good.

  When he stood before the table, he clasped his hands behind his back and waited for Kalina’s trance to end. Her dark brows puckered in concentration, her gaze darting from one card to the next. Beneath the scant leather clothing she wore, her chest rose and fell, the dark circles around her nipples peeking above and below the thin strip of leather that bound her breasts. It occurred to him that at one time the sight would have aroused him, yet now it caused him only to think of Alexi and how much he desired to return to her.

  At great length Kalina raised her fire-ice eyes and met his gaze. “The cards hold tight to their secrets, Master. However, it is clear Mikaela will strike soon. I am not positive where the true peril lies, but I fear that Queen Alice and her cubs are in great danger.”

  Karn and Ty both growled aloud at the news. Rage flamed through Darronn and he barely reined in his fury. “When?” he asked through clenched teeth.

  “Soon.” Kalina glanced to the cards and back to Darronn, then to Karn and Ty. “You must return to Hearts if the High Queen and her cubs are to survive. Of this I am certain.”

  After taking a quick bath, Alexi slipped on one of her favorite leather outfits and clasped on the leather and gold collar. When she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, she liked how it looked on her—kind of sexy. She still had a few scratches on her body from climbing down the ravenwood trellis, but they didn’t look too bad and they no longer itched.

  A smile touched her lips as she thought about the past few days and how much closer she and Darronn had grown. She couldn’t believe how happy she was with
him. She’d finally met the man who was her equal in every way. Someone she loved, trusted, and respected. The only thing that marred her happiness was that he had yet to tell her he loved her.

  Her smile turned into a small frown. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to beg for his love. And she needed to have a serious talk with him about either letting her go in search of her sister, or maybe helping her find Alice.

  The thought of Darronn stalking the streets of San Francisco caused her to grin. Talk about a fish out of water. Or rather a tiger out of his realm.

  When she was dressed and her hair combed, Alexi set out in search of Kalina. She’d heard a lot about the sorceress’s abilities, so maybe she could help. With Darronn always around, Alexi never had the chance to be alone with Kalina, but she had the feeling that today would be different.

  Alexi wasn’t used to sitting around and waiting for things to happen. She made things happen. These weeks in Spades had been strange and exciting, but it was time she got back on track. Hopefully with Darronn’s support, she would do so once she had a concrete plan of action.

  As she approached Kalina’s quarters, Alexi caught the sound of male voices along with Kalina’s and she frowned. Was the sorceress busy screwing a couple of guys? Damn. She’d have to come back.

  But when Alexi caught Darronn’s voice, her stomach clenched. No, she could trust him, she knew he wouldn’t…although they had never discussed an exclusive relationship. She’d just assumed.

  She didn’t bother to peek around the corner to see what was going on. She walked right into the room and stopped at the doorway. Darronn and two other gorgeous men were involved in a heated discussion, and she recognized them both from their portraits. Of course, Darronn, with his wood-brown hair, with his golden earring and spade tattoo, was by far the best looking as far as she was concerned.

  Karn, the King of Diamonds, was bare from the waist up. He was the dark-haired brother with a diamond tattoo on the back of his right shoulder, and he wore an intense expression, as if really concerned about something.

  Ty, the King of Clubs and the youngest brother, was the opposite in coloring with blond hair, and of course he had a club tattoo. The devilish smile he’d had in the portrait was missing, though, and it was replaced with a look of frustration.

  The sorceress’s golden eyes met Alexi’s, but the men didn’t notice her.

  Alexi’s first reaction was relief—all the men had their clothes on, and so did Kalina.

  However, when she caught what the men were saying, her skin flushed with heat, and then went cold, cold, cold.

  “We must leave for Hearts at once,” the black-haired king was saying. “Queen Alice must be protected at all costs.”

  “Her cubs as well,” the blond king added with an emphatic nod.

  Darronn’s scowl was fierce. “We will allow no harm to come to our brother’s mate and my future queen’s sibling.”

  In that one crystallized moment, suspended in space and time as if by a single thread, everything became clear to Alexi.

  Her ears buzzed and her vision narrowed to only the three men, and then to her supposed lover.

  Darronn’s assurances that she would one day see Alice again.

  His lack of concern about finding her sister.

  The son of a bitch had known all along where Alice was because she’d been kidnapped into this freaked-out world, too.

  He had known, and he had let her suffer all this time, battling her loyalties and heart—for what? To prove to himself she loved him more than she loved her sister? To show his total dominance and control over her?

  “You bastard,” Alexi said with such venom that all conversation in the room came to an abrupt halt and the men turned to look at her. She ignored everyone else as she marched up to Darronn with her fists clenched. “You’re the man who said he’d teach me a thing or two about trust and respect. You lying fucker!”

  He frowned. “Firecat—”

  “Don’t you ever call me that again.” Fury poured through her in such waves that she trembled from head to toe.

  All the days and nights of pain and uncertainty. Of missing her sister so badly her gut felt torn in two.

  He had known where she was from day one. From before day one.

  Growling like a tiger herself, Alexi reached up and grasped the fastening of her collar and yanked it off. “I accepted this from the man I thought was honest and trustworthy.” She flung it at his feet and it landed on his boots. “Obviously you’re not the man I thought you were. You love no one but yourself, and you do only what will further your needs and your desires. You think everything that comes to you is your due, don’t you? Well, let’s just make this plenty clear for you, asshole. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  With all her might she slammed her fist against his jaw, causing his head to turn only slightly from the force of her punch. The pain in her hand was intense and immediate, but she ignored it. Darronn slowly looked back at her, his expression a mask of no emotion.

  “How dare you strike a Tarok King, wench?” The blond man stepped forward and grabbed her forearm, his eyes flaring with anger.

  “Fuck off.” At the same moment she jerked her arm away from the blond, she swung her knee up and into his balls.

  The man blanched and was obviously so taken by surprise that she easily freed her wrist.

  Alexi turned her glare back on Darronn. “I’m leaving now for this place called Hearts to get my sister and to get the hell out of here.” She backed away as she spoke, and he only stared at her now, making no move to speak or to follow her. “Even if I have to fuck someone to take me there, I’ll find a way. And this time you’d better not follow me. You’d better not come near me ever again.”

  With that she turned her back on the bastard. Holding her chin high, she left to go find Alice, once and for all.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GO AFTER THE MAID and bring her back?” Karn said in a low tone as Ty, clearly incapable of speech, braced one hand against the wall and clenched his teeth.

  “Do you wish to have your bollocks crushed?” Darronn grumbled as his gaze followed Alexi from the room. “My firecat would most certainly see to it.”

  The corner of Karn’s mouth quirked as he glanced at Ty, who looked like he had yet to breathe since Alexi kneed him in his groin.

  With a slow shake of his head, Darronn said, “As my mate Alexi owes no one but me her submission. And she does not even owe me that because I failed to earn it.” He turned his eyes on Kalina, who stood quietly beside the a’bin awaiting his instructions. “Make whatever preparations are necessary and then take Kira to escort Alexi to Hearts with the jul. I will follow to ensure the safety of all, but out of sight so that my mate is unaware.”

  “Yes, Master.” Kalina bowed and slipped from the room.

  “You will just let the wench strike two of Tarok’s Kings?” Ty asked after the sorceress had gone, his voice a shade higher than normal.

  Darronn turned the force of his frustration on his brother. “I did not ask for your interference, and you received your due.” Darronn ran his hand over his stubbled jaw that still throbbed from Alexi’s blow. “As I received mine. The maid spoke only the truth, and she was right to be angry.”

  His gut clenched with pain unlike any he had experienced in his many years. When Darronn spoke again, his voice was harsh with the realization that he may have lost the only woman he had ever loved, or would again. “My hope is that it is not too late to win back her heart, as I have given her mine.”

  Alexi was so furious as she marched back to their—Darronn’s—chambers that she could barely see straight. Her knuckles throbbed from hitting his jaw, and as hard as she’d rammed her knee into blondy’s balls, it was a wonder her knee didn’t ache, too.

  Even as angry as she was, she was still stunned and hurt that he’d allowed her to continue going through hell. All this time he’d known where Alice was.

  The bastar
d! Well, she was going to grab what she needed and get the hell out of here.

  She went to the trunk and pulled out her leather pants and one of his black leather shirts that would better protect her than her smaller tops with cutouts. His intoxicating scent flowed over her as she grabbed the shirt, and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling.

  What the hell is the matter with me? She never cried, and she certainly wouldn’t waste one single tear over the likes of his Royal Assness, Darronn of Spades.

  After she stripped out of her clothing, Alexi plucked off the spade nipple rings and threw them onto the bed with such vehemence they bounced across the surface and landed onto the wood floor with soft tinkling sounds.

  She pulled on her pants and was about to yank on Darronn’s shirt when Kalina entered the room, carrying Alexi’s hiking boots, a pile of black leather, and a leather bag like a backpack.

  The sorceress wore more clothes than Alexi had seen any woman wear in Spades since she’d arrived. Kalina had dressed entirely in black with tight leather pants, a long-sleeved leather shirt and jacket, and leather boots that laced up to her knees. A golden sword hilt thrust up from a leather scabbard at her side, and the gold spades glittered from the collar still at her throat.

  “What do you want?” Alexi growled at the sorceress.

  Kalina tossed the bundle on the bed and her eyes met Alexi’s. “I have brought suitable items for travel, including a tunic that will keep you better protected from the elements. Kira is gathering enough food for the journey and will meet us at the stables.”

  “What do you mean us?” Alexi didn’t bother to thank the sorceress as she snatched the long-sleeved leather shirt and pulled it over her head. “You knew all along that Alice is in Hearts, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” Kalina said quietly. “I am very fond of the High Queen, and it has greatly pained my soul to be unable to share with you news of your sister.”

  So many thoughts rambled through Alexi’s mind from all that she’d heard since walking in on Darronn and his little meeting.