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

by Jaymie Holland

  It was the woman who had been in the mirror right before Alexi had seen Annie and Awai. It dawned on her then where she’d seen the woman before. In the painting in Darronn’s office. His sister.

  The slender woman held a long black whip in one hand, her other hand propped on her leather-clad hip. Her wheat-blond hair stirred in the wind and her full breasts almost spilled from the V neckline of her tight black leather catsuit with the V that dropped to a tattoo of a large cat’s paw print around her belly button.

  Alexi didn’t have time for this crap. She needed to get to her sister. “Who the hell are you?” she asked, her glare meeting the woman’s ice-blue gaze.

  “Do not let her into your mind, Alexi,” Kalina said again with force in her words.

  “I am Mikaela, Queen of Malachad.” Irritation glittered in the woman’s eyes, but it was replaced by a look of smug confidence. “I am Darronn’s sister. Did he not tell you?” Mikaela gave a wicked laugh. “I have come to assist you in returning to your home. I called to you in your dreams, where I showed you the looking glass in the meadow.”

  Darronn’s sister? Alexi’s jaw dropped. What the hell? And how does this Mikaela know about my dreams? She somehow gave them to me?

  Alexi’s gaze rested on the whip in the woman’s hand and thoughts of Mikaela knowing about—or creating—the dreams of Alice, caused a chill to skitter down Alexi’s spine.

  A tickling sensation crawled at the back of her head, like a spider walking up her brain stem. Kalina’s stern warning again flashed through Alexi’s head.

  “I don’t give a damn who you are.” Alexi’s temper flared and she leaned forward in her saddle. “You’re in my way.”

  Mikaela looked at her for a long moment. “You are far stronger than your sister.” In a movement that seemed unconscious, the woman began lightly slapping the handle of the whip against her palm as she studied Alexi. “Alice is fat and weak.”

  Fury burned through Alexi. “Listen, bitch,” she shot back with a scowl. “Don’t you ever talk about my sister that way.”

  The woman snapped her whip so fast that Alexi didn’t even see it coming. The leather strap wrapped around her waist and Mikaela yanked so hard that Alexi flew from her saddle. Pain shot through her as she landed flat on her back in front of the line of ferocious and hungry-looking tigers.

  Alexi scrambled to her feet, so furious she could barely see. In the same motion with which she’d pulled Alexi from the saddle, Mikaela had unraveled her whip and now stood poised to strike again.

  “I would kill you now if I did not have better use for you than as a carcass.” Mikaela came so close that Alexi could see silver flecks in the woman’s blue eyes. “How it will torture my brother to know that his woman is being fucked by my bakirs.”

  Mikaela raised her whip, but this time Alexi was faster. She slammed her fist as hard as she could into the woman’s eye and drove her other fist into Mikaela’s belly.

  The bitch screamed and toppled backward. Yet somehow she managed to snake her whip around Alexi’s throat.

  Fire burned Alexi’s neck and her throat closed off as she was forced down onto her hands and knees. She clawed at the whip, her vision dimming as the leather strangled her.

  Everything around her blurred as she fought for breath. Kalina’s scream and the sudden thunder of countless roars seemed miles away.

  And then she saw tigers closing in on her.

  When Mikaela’s weretigers rose up from the grass, Darronn’s gut clenched and rage seared his soul. His first instinct was to charge forward to protect his woman. But common sense and his warrior’s instincts prevailed. He could not even engage in thought-words with his brothers for fear that any one of the weretigers or Mikaela would hear him.

  From where he was hiding in the forest, Darronn neared the ring of tigers, hoping that he could pass for one of Mikaela’s bakirs. If any of them recognized his scent, they would attack at once, and Alexi would be in even greater danger.

  His heart pounded and fear for his mate grew as he slipped into the ring of tigers and heard Alexi’s words of fury to Mikaela. His anger magnified as his mate’s cry tore across the plains and as he saw her yanked from Tok’s back and heard the thump of her body as she landed on the ground.

  To the dark hells, Darronn thought as he bunched his muscles, prepared to spring forward and rush to his mate.

  But one of Mikaela’s tiger’s whirled on Darronn, striking out with sharp claws and teeth and a roar that alerted the other weretigers.

  Darronn ignored the pain as claws raked his cheek and shredded flesh and fur. He drove his muzzle into the tiger’s neck in a furious motion and ripped open its throat. Blood gushed and sprayed across Darronn’s fur.

  Another tiger attacked Darronn, and around him rose the sounds of roars and fighting. He and his brothers were fierce warriors, but they were far outnumbered. Sheer rage and the desire to save his mate propelled him forward despite the odds.

  A wolf’s howl tore through the melee and then the answering howl of countless werewolves. Lord Kir. The werewolf lord and his pack had come to join in the battle against Mikaela.

  Claws shredded Darronn’s flesh but he destroyed one weretiger after another until he reached the innermost ring. Even as he continued to fight, he saw Mikaela with her whip wrapped around Alexi’s neck. His mate was on her belly, her features a ghastly shade of purple, her eyes large and glossy as her gaze met his.

  From their saddles Kalina and Kira dispatched tiger after tiger with their swords. The tigers had blocked the Spades women and Tok from reaching Mikaela and helping Alexi. Tok and the other two jul steeds lashed out with hooves, but even their fine coats were bloody.

  Three weretigers pounced on Darronn at once and with a mighty roar he fought them off. His fury was so great at seeing his mate nearly strangled that his strength was that of a dozen weretigers. In quick, efficient movements he eliminated his opponents and charged toward Mikaela, the sister he had once loved.

  The betraying bitch.

  Mikaela shifted into a white tigress and bolted into the maelstrom of fighting weretigers and werewolves. Darronn started to charge after her but went to his mate instead. He shifted into a man, withdrawing his sword and fighting off tigers even as he reached Alexi. Ty and Karn arrived in the inner circle and battled any beast that came near as Darronn slit the leather binding his woman’s throat.

  In a rush he rose, prepared to fight more of Mikaela’s bakirs when he saw that the fighting had all but ended. Werewolves chased the remaining weretigers into the forest and the tall grasses of the plains. Bodies of both tigers and wolves were strewn across the plains and blood soaked the clearing’s pale ground.

  Darronn knelt beside his mate. Alexi’s body was limp, her face now pale instead of the horrid color it had been.

  With more fear than he remembered feeling in his long life, Darronn checked the pulse at her throat. Relief unlike anything he had ever known filled him in a heated rush.

  “Wake, my love.” Darronn gathered Alexi into his arms and held her tight to his chest. He kissed her forehead. “You must come back to me.”

  Alexi moaned and her eyelids fluttered. “Darronn?” Her words sounded scratchy as if her throat was raw.

  Anger from Mikaela’s attack burned his skin, but his emotions changed.

  Intense joy filled him at the sound of his name upon Alexi’s tongue. “Whatever you desire in this or any world, it is yours.” He brushed his lips over hers and murmured, “I love you, Alexi. My heart and soul belong to you.”

  He pulled away to meet her gaze. “Bastard,” she said, her voice hoarse from the near strangulation. The corner of her mouth quirked and she added, “You’d better remember that promise. I intend to make you keep it.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  EVEN THOUGH ALEXI HAD BEEN ANXIOUS TO HURRY to Hearts to see her sister, she realized it was necessary for all six of them, not to mention the werewolves, to doctor their many wounds and recover from the fi
ght.

  Her knuckles were swollen from decking Mikaela, and of course it hadn’t helped that she’d punched Darronn the day prior. Alexi’s throat ached and it was still difficult to talk, but she was far more concerned about her companions and especially Darronn, who had fared far worse than the others.

  His clothing was soaked with blood, and claw marks had slashed his handsome face from his temple, across one cheek to his lips. His jaw sported a purple bruise, too, but Alexi had a feeling that was from the blow she’d landed to his jaw the day before. Darronn made light of his own injuries, and every time he saw her throat, which was apparently bruising rapidly, he scowled and muttered a Tarok version of an obscenity under his breath.

  While helping the werewolves with their wounded, they had learned that Lord Kir’s seer had envisioned the attack by Mikaela and her minions. Darronn thanked the werewolf lord and had promised to return the favor one day.

  After Darronn, Karn, and Ty helped build a funeral pyre and burn the carcasses of the werewolves’ dead, the pack left, vanishing into the forest as silently as spirits in the mist.

  Darronn and Alexi then tended each other’s wounds with the Tarok version of a first-aid kit that Kalina had brought in her pack. Darronn had taken it, along with a saddlebag, and they sat near a creek.

  He was so tender with her and wore an expression that told her he had been terrified for her.

  “If Mikaela had killed you…” He shook his head as his throat worked. The emotion in his voice nearly brought her to tears. “I thank the skies above you are safe, my firecat.”

  She kissed him. “I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

  He brought her into his arms and held her for a long, long time.

  When they broke apart, they finished treating each other’s wounds. He then took her deeper into the forest and to the Tarok River, away from his brothers, Kira, and Kalina.

  The acrid stench of fire and burning flesh faded the farther they went, to be replaced by the rich and welcome scents of the forest. Over one shoulder he carried the saddlebag filled with the first aid kit, along with food, water, and ale. He’d held her hand as they walked, his grip firm and strong. They didn’t speak on their way to the river, but the silence between them was charged with both questions and need.

  When they reached a secluded location along the river, Darronn dropped the saddlebag and brought Alexi close to him. He cupped her cheeks with his hands, his eyes studying her as if memorizing all her features. His wood-brown hair fell around his shoulders in a sexy tangled mass, and the gold earring glinted at his ear.

  She placed her palms against his muscled chest and clenched his bloodstained tunic in her fists. It still made her heart twist to see the scratches across his face and all his other wounds. He could have died saving her.

  “Why did you tell me your sister died?” Alexi asked quietly.

  Darronn sighed as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “The sister I knew and loved is dead to me. Once Mikaela betrayed my brothers and me, she ceased to exist in my mind. In her place is a ruthless, heartless woman.” He paused for a moment then continued, “Because of her treachery I had closed off my heart from loving anyone except my brothers, and then my nephew and niece. Until I met you.”

  Alexi studied Darronn’s handsome wounded face. “Why didn’t you tell me Alice was alive?”

  “Long ago I should have told you of your sister, but I was…” He paused as if searching for the right words. His jaw set like he’d made up his mind to be completely honest with her. “I was afraid you would leave me before I had the opportunity to win your heart. Once you told me of your love I intended to explain all to you, but it became more difficult each day. I was afraid you would leave me.”

  Alexi swallowed the urge to forgive him right away. “You know how important trust is to me.”

  “I was wrong.” Darronn’s deep voice caused a familiar tingle in her. He brushed his callused thumb across her cheek and she shivered at the sensual touch. “Will you forgive me?”

  “On two conditions,” she replied, keeping her tone stern.

  Darronn’s features remained grave as he nodded and moved one hand to her neck, gently stroking the bruised flesh so lightly she felt nothing but pleasure at the touch. “Anything you name, my love,” he murmured, “it is yours.”

  She clenched her hands tighter in his shirt, ignoring the throb in her knuckles, and gave him a firm, unwavering look. “First, you swear to never withhold anything from me again.”

  “With all my heart, I pledge that I will always be honest with you,” he said, like a Boy Scout swearing a solemn oath, while Alexi barely kept her own expression sober.

  “And second,” she said, leaning closer to his hard-muscled body, “you must promise to love me as long as we both live.”

  “My love is forever yours.” His mouth curved into a sensual smile and his expressive eyes flashed with both a fierce kind of joy as well as desire. He paused, almost like he was afraid of what her answer would be to his next question. “I wish for you to become my queen and rule at my side. Will you join with me?”

  “I’d be the Queen of Spades.” Alexi grinned at the image of herself decked out like one of the queens on a playing card. “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, Darronn. But I can’t imagine being anywhere but with you. Yes, I’ll marry—join with you.”

  Darronn’s smile broadened as he moved his hands to her hips. “I love you.”

  “About time.” Alexi released his shirt and moved her hands up to his neck, beneath his dark wood-brown hair, and pulled him down to meet her. “What are you waiting for? Make love to me already.”

  Darronn was still smiling when his lips met hers. His mouth was firm and demanding, but loving and caring all at once, and her head spun with a wild kind of desire. She ached for more and a part of her wanted it wild like it was when he released the tigri pheromones.

  Yet this was incredible, seeing and feeling Darronn’s gentle side. He was a big fluffy teddy-cat beneath the ferocious exterior.

  With a slowness that about drove Alexi out of her mind, Darronn removed her clothing and tossed it aside. When she was naked from head to toe he studied her and gave a primal, low growl that caused her to ache.

  The grass along the riverbank was soft beneath her bare feet. A breeze swept through trees and against her naked skin, caressing her ass, breasts, and folds, making her nipples harder than ever. It made her even hotter to be naked when he was fully clothed.

  “Have I told you how much you mean to me?” Darronn cupped both of her breasts in his large palms and rubbed her nipples with his thumbs. “When you left me, I feared that I had lost what means more to me than anything else in this world.” His serious gaze met hers. “Your trust and your love.”

  Before she could answer he lowered his head and flicked his tongue against one of her nipples. Alexi gasped and closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of his mouth on her. When he moved to her other nipple, she clenched her hands in his hair and tipped her head back. With the wind blowing against one wet nipple, and his warm mouth fastened to her other, she thought she’d go crazy with need for him.

  “Lick me. Please, Master,” Alexi said, and his answering groan told her how much he enjoyed her allowing him to control their lovemaking.

  “When I choose to reward you, I will,” he murmured in a teasing tone. “Perhaps you need punishment for leaving your Master.”

  She moaned as he moved his lips to the sensitive place between her breasts. His stubbled cheeks abraded the soft skin as he flicked his tongue along a line down her flat belly to her hairless mound. “I want your thighs spread wider,” he said in that commanding tone she loved when they were alone in bed.

  “Yes, Master.” Alexi needed to come so badly that her knees were weak. Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she moved her legs farther apart, granting him full access to her wet folds.

  Darronn continued his sensual punishment, rubbing his stubble-roughened cheeks and his no
se over her mound and between her thighs. “Your taste, your scent,” he murmured as he spread her folds with his fingers, “I can never get enough.” He licked her in one long swipe of his rough tongue.

  Alexi gasped and tightened her hold on his shoulders. Her legs trembled, she was so close to coming. But he was a master tease, driving his tongue into her core one moment then flicking her clit with his rough tongue the next.

  Darronn slid two fingers inside her and began to thrust while he sucked her clit. Heat swept over Alexi and she cried out as her orgasm flamed through her. All of the emotion she’d experienced in the last two days added fuel to the intensity of her climax until it all burned away and what was left was simply her love for her man.

  She was still riding her orgasm when Darronn got to his feet and caught her by the shoulders and gave her a fierce kiss. She tasted herself on his tongue and lips, caught her scent mingling with his elemental male musk. He released her and started to pull off his tunic, but Alexi stopped him by putting her hand on his.

  “Take me now,” she said, “I don’t want to wait for you to take your clothes off.”

  He growled and picked her up, then laid her in a soft patch of grass. The ever-present roar of the river joined with the blood rushing in her ears as he unfastened his leather pants, released his powerful erection, and lowered himself between her thighs. He readied himself before he hooked his arms beneath her knees and spread her farther open.

  He was so gorgeous despite his wounds, so fierce looking as he stared down at her. Sweat trickled down his injured cheek and he tensed his jaw. “I claim you, Alexi.”

  “No,” she said. “I claim you. You’re mine, Darronn.”

  With a shout of triumph, Darronn thrust inside her. Alexi’s already sensitive folds spasmed and she arched up to meet him, taking him deep. His leather-clad hips chafed her inner thighs and brushed her folds, making the moment all the more exciting. She loved the way his black clothing looked against her pale skin as she watched him moving in and out of her.