by Michelle Fox
At the King’s Pleasure
Michelle Fox
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition.
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Blurb
Virgin princess Liana had planned to live a life of spiritual purity and devotion, but when an ancient prophecy throws her into the bed of a barbarian king, his demanding touch takes her to the heights of pleasure...and pain.
A short erotic fantasy romance of 8000 words. Expect a strong, stern king who shows no mercy and a princess who rises to the challenge.
This Book Was Banned &Amazon’s Dirty Secret
This book was originally published under the title Princess at His Pleasure. Amazon removed the book from search to prevent readers from finding it. It was republished under the title At the King’s Pleasure and promptly removed from search again--ostensibly due to graphic content. (It’s hard to take Amazon’s concerns over content seriously when books like Fifty Shades of Grey and Tampa--which depicts graphic, non consensual sex between adults and minors--are promoted across their site.) In October of 2013, Amazon banned At the King’s Pleasure for the use of the word ‘virgin’ in the blurb. You can read more about the great book banning of 2013 on Indie Reader.
Once the word ‘virgin’ was removed from the blurb, the book was reinstated, although it continues to not be listed in Amazon.com’s search engine. What does that mean? Even if you search for the exact title and author name, the book will not come up. Before it was delisted, it was a bestseller. Now readers can’t even find the book to buy it.
What many readers don’t know about Amazon is they routinely ‘hide’ content from consumers with no disclosure. Since the tactic disproportionately affects independent authors, this leaves traditionally published work to frequent Amazon search engine results and pushes consumers into higher price points. Essentially, the free will and pocketbooks of readers are manipulated by Amazon with no disclosure.
It’s not the indie books you can see in book listings, it’s all the ones Amazon won’t let you read.
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Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction intended for adults age 18 and over. Minors should stop here and close the book. All events depicted are fictional. Characters are consenting adults. Any resemblance to places and persons, living or dead, is unintentional coincidence.
While the author has tried to accurately portray the BDSM lifestyle, please note this story is a fantastical imagining of BDSM. Reality may differ. Don’t try this at home unless you know what you are doing.
Every effort has been made to provide a quality reading experience, but editors and technology are fallible. Please report typos or formatting issues to [email protected].
At the King’s Pleasure
“You will please him or die trying.” Queen Freiana looked down at me with a cold expression. My sister had always been practical, but becoming queen had brought out a hardness I had never seen before. The drought had dried up what good temper she had, leaving her on the edge of cruelty. She would cut me right now with it, if she could.
“Why don’t you marry him, your grace?” I asked even though I knew my fate had been determined. Behind me, the chambermaid released the last stay of my bodice and caught my dress as it dropped to the floor. I stepped out of my silk skirts and stood in the center of my bed chamber waiting for her to remove my shift.
“Because I can’t rule Siana from the deserts of Dalik.” She frowned. “The barbarian king was clear, he has no interest in Siana. Breaking the drought is as much as he wants to unite our kingdoms.”
I snorted. “I don’t believe that. A king who doesn’t want more land? Is a liar.” The barbarian had come riding forth from the desert full of promises and prophecies. He swore the rain would come if I would but lie with him. Of course, he had waited to appear until drought fever took my parents and our enemies had gathered, thinking to strike while we were weak. One way or another it would rain. The question remained, would it be water or blood?
She pursed her lips and gave a small shake of her head, the light catching the diamonds on her crown. Just a month before, the same crown had graced my mother’s head. Now she would never wear it again.“He is no more happy in his choice of betrothed than you are, sister.”
I bristled at the idea that some uncouth nomad would think I was less than a good match. I had gold, I could read, and I had the manners to navigate a noble life with ease. The Daliki had tents of goat hide in a desert they claimed only because no one else wanted it. If anything, I was too good for him. “What are you saying, sister?”
She waved a hand, cutting off further conversation. “You can discuss it with him.” She paused, giving me an arch look. “After you fulfill your duties, of course.” She stared me down until I nodded. Although reluctant, my silent promise of obedience satisfied her and she said, “Excellent. Now, take off your shift and let’s see this dress the barbarian king has gifted you.”
I bit my lip to keep myself quiet as all sorts of smart remarks clamored to be given voice. The chambermaid raised the shift over my head and the cool spring air hit my skin. I shivered, naked save for my stockings and shoes.
Another chambermaid came forward with the gauze fabric King Kafele called a gown. He had instructed me to be naked underneath even though the dress was as see-through as glass on a foggy day. As the translucent material floated over my head to cloud around my body, hot tears gathered in my eyes.
“It’s rather...scandalous.” My sister walked around me, her footsteps measured as she considered the gown. “Although I’m given to understand that nudity is welcomed amongst them.”
I shuddered and closed my eyes, shutting out my present and the future unfolding before me. I had been raised for the modesty of the temple cloister, focused my life on the divine Mother Goddess. Today, my body would be displayed like a market ware, paraded in front of a King who didn’t even have a palace, but instead preferred to live in a tent out in the desert. The servants said he even ate with his hands, like a peasant.
Regret, grief and fear flooded me. I sniffed trying to contain my emotions.
In the space of a moon turn, our parents had died, Freiana ascended the throne and arranged my marriage to the Daliki king not only to bring the rain, but also in return for his military support. We had few friends and a great number of enemies. Half of them wanted to marry my sister in order to gain control of the world’s most valuable trade routes, while the rest plotted assassination attempts with three foiled just the past week. Meanwhile, everyone assembled their armies, just in case it came down to war. The price of peace was throwing me to the barbarians and praying that old prophecies could still come true.
Freiana gave me a sharp look. “The Daliki abhor weakness, sister. Keep your tears to yourself lest they think to strengthen you with a beating.”
I blanched. Surely she jested?
She nodded to the guard at the entrance and he snapped to attention, pulling the door open. “You’ll soon learn queens have no time for such silliness.” Freiana swept from the room in a rustle of gray silk, toss
ing one final admonishment over her shoulder, “Fail to please him and all of Siana suffers.”
I watched her go, frozen in place as the chambermaids fussed over the drape of the flimsy gown. As if that would fix its transparency. The fabric offered no protection from the cold and my nipples hardened underneath. Shame rose to burn in my cheeks at the thought of everyone seeing me so wantonly displayed. Today I would be a Sianan whore among the Daliki wolves.
I would give my body and soul to a savage and together, we would do the most intimate kind of rain dance.
***
Before the Daliki King came to claim me as his bride, a welcome distraction arrived in the form of a visit from the High Priestess. I threw a robe over my see-through dress, not wanting to be immodest in front of the Goddess.
At the sight of her familiar blue gown and her softly wrinkled face, I sank to my knees before, touching my forehead to her hand. “Mother.”
“Child.” She patted my cheek with a gnarled hand. “Please, let’s sit.”
I settled into the chair next to her, feeling calmed by her presence alone. “Would you like tea, Mother?”
“Please.”
I nodded to the chambermaid who scurried off to put a pot of water on the fire. I prepared the tea, selecting a fragrant rose blend my mother had taught me to make. She had always said the mix of rose with citrus from the garden was the only way she could hold onto the summer months during the long Sianan winters. My mother had been from the South where winter was weak and she battled the cold like an enemy all her life.
“I miss the temple,” I said, offering the Mother a sweet. I always kept a tin of them around.
She waved away the candy. “The Mother Goddess is always with you.”
“I don’t feel her outside the temple.” I selected a confection of honey and berry for myself.
“Sometimes her hand in our affairs is a cold one, child, but you must trust her to set the path.” Mother’s smile was sympathetic. “Faith is easy in the temple cloisters. The real test is holding on to it in the real world.”
I nodded my agreement as the chambermaid brought the now warm water and filled our cups. Taking a sip, I savored the way the sweet mingled with the tea’s aftertaste.
Mother cleared her throat. “I brought a gift for you, child.”
“A gift?” I looked at her puzzled. Why would the Mother give me anything?
“Yes,” she said, chuckling at my astonishment.“You are still her child, princess. The Mother Goddess has asked me to help you as I can.” She put a hand into the pocket of her robe and pulled forth a necklace. Made of tarnished silver, it held a light blue stone in its center about the size of my thumb knuckle.
I took it, surprised at its weight. It was heavy for all that it looked delicate and finely wrought. “It’s beautiful.”
“And more. It’s tongue stone.”
My eyes went wide. Tongue stone was rare enough that few people had ever seen one. Scholars said it was a legend, but there, in my hands, was proof of its existence. “For me?”
“Who else? You marry a King whose tongue you do not speak. You unite with a people you do not know. This will aid you in your duty to bring us both rain and peace.”
I put on the necklace, its cold weight settling over me like death. “Do you think it’s true?”
“What? That the tongue stone will work? Yes. It’s no myth.”
I shook my head. “That the barbarian king is right?”
She paused for a moment and then gave a decisive nod. “Yes, child. If you mate with this man, the rains will come. This is the prophecy.”
“How can this be?”
“When the Goddess left us to rule this earth, we were given the means to ensure our survival. Should the waters of Siana go dry, the heat of the Daliki will renew the wells. They were given magic.”
“And we weren’t?”
“It was the Goddesses’ hope that by having us all depend on each other, it would keep the peace. That we would seek friendship, not war.”
I snorted. “She underestimated us then.” The Orlyx to the north had abundant water and had watched our lands crack from heat without offering us a drop. My father had said it was because of an old blood feud with our family, one we’d forgotten but the Orlyx clearly hadn’t. Their army was now poised at the border, fully capable of destroying Siana. We were so weak from thirst it would be easy--there wasn’t enough water anymore to sustain our own army, a fact that kept both my sister and I awake at night.
The Mother shrugged. “Judge in the balance, child. We don’t look so bad then. There’s always more love than war.”
“The King does not love me.”
She patted my hand. “Do not worry about him. You have your own magic, you know.”
“I do?”
She gave a decisive nod.“He will not hate you for long, I promise. You have Goddess given charms and your part in the magic is assured.”
***
After the high priestess left, I spent my remaining time in prayer to the Goddess. Soon the barbarian king would come for me, having demanded my presence among his people before our wedding. Kneeling did not seem sufficient and I prostrated myself on the floor, tears slipping from my cheeks to the rug underneath. I cried for my parents and from fear of the unknown. Despite the High Priestess’ reassurance, I did not know if I could bear what was to come, yet I knew I must. Please let me be strong enough to bring the rain.
When the sun’s light had yielded to darkness, the castle guards came for me. They escorted me to the King’s quarters where two Daliki women presented me with another gauze dress, this one in a blush rose color. They removed the gown I wore, but, to my surprise, did not move to put on the new one. Instead, they bowed and made to leave. When I went to put the dress on myself, they rushed forward and pushed my hands away with primal grunts. The tongue stone around my neck gleamed as they spoke.
I was to stay naked.
“Naked for what?” I asked, irritated. Unlike me, they wore goat hide trousers and skimpy halter tops of roughly woven fabric. Why did I have to bare myself for all to see?
They shrugged and looked at me, puzzled. I repeated myself, but they only shook their heads.
“Nod if you can understand me,” I said.
Both ladies shrugged again, clearly not understanding what I said. Apparently the magic of the tongue stone only worked in one direction. Filing past me, they left and I was alone.
The King’s quarters were a mirror of my sister’s and designed for royal guests. A drawing room served as the center of the suite, which contained several bedrooms of varying sizes. I was in the largest bedroom, the one for the highest ranking member of a visiting party. The other rooms were for servants and lesser nobles accompanying their liege.
Eschewing the bed, I perched on a chair and waited, tapping my foot when impatience got the best of me.
After a time, the door opened and I reflexively put a hand over my breasts with the other going to cover the nexus between my legs. King Kafele entered the room, smirking when he saw my attempt at modesty. In one hand he carried an ink pot and a length of gold chain in the other.
Observing basic courtesy, I stood and gave an awkward bow as I greeted him. “My King.”
He cocked his head and smiled in approval. “Princess Liana.”
Striding across the room, his powerful legs flexing, he came to stand in front of me, his crotch at eye-level. I gulped at the thought that soon I would be expected to spread my legs for what was between his.
He followed my gaze and seemed to intuit my thoughts because he laughed. With gentle strength, he pulled me back on my feet and directed me to the center of the room. Swatting my hands away, he forced me to expose myself to his scrutiny.
My breathing quickened as he examined me. When he reached to touch my shoulder, I jumped with a gasp. He found that funny and chuckled. Holding my gaze, he ran a finger across my collarbone and around the necklace. Arching an eyebrow he said, “Tongu
e stone?”
I nodded.
Dark eyes locked with mine, he cupped my breast, thumb grazing a nipple. “What we do, princess, requires very few words.”
I shuddered at the electric sensation he elicited. My eyes widened when he switched breasts, this time caressing my nipple and then tugging it sharply. I gasped, the pressure on my breast pulling at pleasure deep inside me.
No one had touched me like this before. There had been a prince from Atsline who had attempted to corner me in the hall once, but my guards stopped him. He hadn’t had a chance to do more than press his damp lips against mine, hands groping my body, squeezing me as if shopping for ripe fruit. Much to my relief, Father had escorted him out of the castle personally.
I’d never wanted romance, never thought I’d be standing naked in front of any man, let alone a barbarian king. Which meant the prince was the sum total of my experience with men.
With a grunt that sounded satisfied to my ears, the Koti guided me back to lay back on the bed. I tried to resist, not wanting to make my marriage bed before the wedding, but he gave a slow shake of his head and simply shoved me where he wanted me to go.
Straddling my hips, he pulled a length of rope from his pocket and fastened my hands to the headboard. I pulled on my bonds and looked at him, unable to keep fear from shining in my eyes. He patted me on the thigh and gave me a not unkind smile as he moved down to spread my legs.
I fought him, kicking my legs and twisting my hips in an attempt to evade him, but he was too fast and too strong. Before I knew it, he had fastened an ankle to each bed post. He sat back on his heels for a moment and just looked at me.
“Release me,” I said, my voice terse. “I am your bride, not a whore to be taken as you wish, Sir.”
The king put a hand over my mouth and shushed me. He reached over with his free hand and grabbed the inkpot off the side table. With one last shush, he released me and stirred the ink with what turned out to be a paint brush.
Biting his lip in concentration, he swirled ink across my stomach. The cool liquid raised goose bumps and he gave an appreciative nod as my nipples tightened into stiff nubs. His own hardness rose to press against my pubic mound. He felt large and I became alarmed at the thought of him inside me.
