by Terri Pray
The last of his words barely registered in her mind as she screamed...
CHAPTER VI
“Leave your nipples alone.” Davien scowled. “They will heal more quickly if you do not worry them so.”
“Yes, master. I'm sorry, they just itch now.” Not entirely true, though the needles had been removed only moments after the piercing the ache through her nipples had remained through the day. She hadn't entirely lied however and doubted he cared much about the small untruth. They did itch as well which she knew to be a good sign.
“At least he used brandy to clean the needles first. There will be less of a chance of infection that way. And with the needles removed they will heal cleanly, you won't have holes in your nipples after a few more days.”
They had bled a little but far less than she had first expected them to. Still he had been forced to bind her hands above her head over night to prevent her from rubbing at them. Not a pleasant experience.
Still before the night was out they would be at his town house and she would no longer have to worry about the man they had left behind that morning. Unless he decided to take up Davien's offer to visit him in London. That wasn't something she was looking forward to. With the way the man had been it would be too easy for him to come up with a new form of play that would leave her squirming.
That was the worst of it. Not the pain but the way she had squirmed in need through the night and as Davien had been less than pleased with the way she had forgotten a basic rule of being in animal form, she had known he would not take pity of her needs. So between the ache in her nipples and the deep seated heated drive that had rippled through her core, she had known little in the way of sleep that night.
“When we arrive you will be amongst men and women of my staff who understand my tastes. However when we go out, unless I give you the word, you will address me as Lord Davien. Is that clear?”
“Yes, master.” Lord Davien, yes she could see how that would work. He might translate that, from her at least, to hearing the word master. And addressing him by name, in any form, would feel odd, of that she had no doubt. Just as when she heard him use her name it sometimes took her a minute to realize who he was speaking about.
Strange, it had only take a handful of months to turn her into a slave, one without rights, name or even the ability to leave. Her mind had struggled against it and in some ways still did but for the most part she'd actually accepted it. Despite the problems that went with it and despite the cruelty he showed her.
Had those few brief moments here and there given her reason to lean on him?
She chased the idea away, or at least tried to.
“Something the matter?”
“No master. At least I don't think so, just something I am trying to come to terms with.” She replied, keeping her voice low in case they were somehow over heard.
“And what is it you are trying to come to terms with?”
“It's not important... ” She caught the hardening of his gaze. “It's just that— I know I'm not fighting you any more, at least not in the way I was before and it worries me.”
“That you've accepted becoming my slave?”
“Yes master.”
“It was going to happen in time.”
“Yes, master.” Not like this though, she hadn't been expecting it to include feelings of love, even devotion. Yet the trap had been laid out for her from the beginning. He'd warned her in his own way, that she'd come to enjoy the delights he had to offer her.
“Yet you're still distressed by it all. Well I would not worry so my slut. At least you haven't fallen in love with me.” He turned enough in the coach to be able to meet her gaze head on. “Have you?”
Celeste looked away quickly. How could she answer that one?
“Ah, I see. Well that too was expected. It happened sooner than I had planned but I can work with this, yes I can work with this little twist quite nicely.”
His words dragged needles of ice down her still sore back. “You expected this?”
“Yes, of course. As I once told you, you aren't the first woman I have reduced to utter slavery.”
That didn't help. “But I hate you.”
“And you now love me at the same time. I had thought I had seen the signs of this after the hunt but I wasn't certain it would develop this quickly with you.”
The sounds of the city filtered into the coach, but the knowledge that they had arrived in London did little to ease her concerns. “Master, how could you be certain that any woman you treated like this would come to feel something— something positive towards you?”
“It's the nature of humanity. At least the nature of many women. You crave love and will look for it in the most dangerous of situations. Here you have no other safe options. If you fall in love with someone else I can separate you from them. Or even kill them.”
Celeste hadn't thought about that, but she had seen during the hunt that he was very capable of killing someone else. “That still doesn't explain things. I could have just kept what I felt a secret from you.”
“Yes, and risk being severely punished when your lie was discovered. Besides, no matter what you might think you don't lie well.”
She never had, not even as a child. That particular skill had been her sisters. Blue. She hadn't thought of the woman in some time now. But now that they had arrived in London, even before then since the trip had been mentioned, that did raise one slim but interesting possibility.
What if she ran into her sister?
“Now what will you do then, master? About this?”
“You will find out in time. However you are aware that it will help prevent you from running away from me.”
She didn't like that, worse still was the fact he was right. If she ran she'd never see him again and no matter what she wanted, or how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she was in love with him. He was warped, twisted, cruel and she still loved him.
“I'm damned.”
“You have been since the day I grabbed you from the side of the road, it's merely taken this long for you to accept it.”
* * * *
“Welcome home, M'lord.” The narrow faced butler opened the door wider once he recognized who it was. “I wasn't sure if you'd be home today or tomorrow but everything is prepared for tonight for you.”
“Good, I would expect nothing less from you, James.”
“Thank you, M'lord.” The man smiled and stepped quickly out of the way. “I can have a bath drawn for you and dinner prepared so that you can eat immediately after you bathe. I presume the young woman with you is Celeste?”
Davien nodded and gestured for her to follow him inside. The house was smaller than his home in the country, that part she had been expecting. Land within the city was so much more expensive that even with his wealth it would have been unlikely he could afford something as sprawling as his manor house within the boundaries of the city.
Still, from what she had seen on the final leg of the journey the house was in an expensive and well kept part of the city. Duke Street, or that had appeared to be the name he had mentioned. After their strange conversation concerning matters of the heart she had been loathe to ask him any further questions unless absolutely necessary.
“She will also need to bathe, James. Has the mat been set up at the end of my bed?”
“Of course, though we also have a cage if required.”
“I don't believe it will be needed, the young lady has learned her place with me and I do not believe I will be in any danger from her during the night. That time has long since passed, hasn't it Celeste?”
She flushed and looked quickly away from him, her voice soft and uncertain. “Yes, master.”
“You do have a knack with the women you collect M'lord.”
“At times, yes.”
James, whatever it was about the man, be it the slimy way he spoke or the way he undressed her with his eyes, she disliked him instantly. “Perhaps I should escort the young
lady to your room?”
“Do so, and have my other belongings taken there. I will be there shortly. I presume any correspondence has been left in my office?”
“Yes, M'lord. Along with a decanter of port and clean glasses.” James turned for a moment and spoke to the two young, grey and white clad maids in the hallway. “You heard his lordship. Bath tub, hot water, plenty of towels.”
“Good.” Davien turned slightly away from James. “Follow him to the bedroom and prepare the bath when it arrives. You will bathe first if I am not upstairs within five minutes of the bath being set up. There's little point in the water going to waste. There should be, amongst the clothing upstairs, a simple silk gown and robe, you will don those and come downstairs if I have not joined you by the time you have finished dressing. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly, master.”
“Then I will speak with you once you are refreshed from the traveling.” Davien didn't even wait for a reply as he turned and walked down the well kept hallway, vanishing into a room at the far end.
“Well then, so you're his lordships new toy, pretty little whore aren't you.” James changed the moment Davien was out of earshot. “Follow me then, like his lordship wants, and no hanging back. I don't take kindly to your type giving me a hard time so make sure you don't dawdle.”
Of that she had no doubt. The hairs on the back of her neck raised as she followed him up the stairs. Even before he had changed his attitude there had been something about the man that set her on edge. Between the way he had looked at her, and the way he had all but fawned over Davien...
It wasn't like Davien to keep a man like this working for him, so there had to be something she was missing. A skill, connections he had, or a favor Davien owed him? Whatever it was she knew it would come to light sooner or later.
“What are you waiting for? Get in there slut.” The man growled at her. “I don't wait on slaves. Oh yes I know exactly what you are. So no putting on your airs and graces around me, I don't take to ones like you trying to lord it here. Not unless his lordship has someone visiting that he wants to impress.”
The muscles knotted along her shoulders but she kept silent and hurried into the room.
“Strip.” He ordered the minute the door was closed.
“Pardon?”
“You heard me slut, strip.”
“I didn't hear Lord Davien give you the right to order me around.”
He took a step closer, his fists clenched. “Don't back chat me woman. I know how the game is played and I can always tell his lordship that you tried to escape.”
“He wouldn't believe you.” Celeste didn't make a move. Her stomach knotted as James advanced on her. “He knows every mark on my body right now and fresh ones from you would not please him. He even prevented his friend from marking me too badly because of his plans. Do you really think you can convince him that I was trying to escape when I'll be telling him just what you tried to do? Better yet, if I had tried to escape there'd be scratch marks on you, but if you hit me the only marks will be on me.”
Was this the right move to make? She couldn't be sure but the fact that James stood between her and the door cut down her options.
“Cheeky cow!”
“Maybe, but it's your life and your job you're putting at risk. And for what? So you can have a quick look, maybe get a fast grope in before they bring up the water? Stupid if you ask me. You know what he's like. I'll be naked half the time, there'll be plenty of chances for you, but if you want to play this game, go ahead.”
“Stupid slut you think this is about me taking a look at your skanky ass?”
“No, I don't. It's about you trying to prove you have some power over me.” The pieces fell rapidly into place now. “But perhaps you don't seem to understand something? I know I belong to him. I know I'm his slave. He's done very well in teaching me these facts and I know I have to obey anyone he tells me to. But until he tells me to drop to my knees for you and treat you with the same level of obedience as I do his chosen friends then you're shit out of luck boyo.”
A dozen emotions flashed across the butler's face. He stood there, unmoving save for the rapid clenching and unclenching of his fists. Oh, she knew without a doubt that if he hit her it would hurt, she'd be marked and would cry out from the blow, but if it meant proving to him that she wasn't some public slave he could order around at his whim then it would be worth it.
“Fine, but mark my words girl. You and I haven't finished with this. I rule here when his lordship isn't about. That means any room he's out of I'm automatically top dog. You best come to terms with that real fast because I'm not going to let you get away with your little attitude a second time.”
She glanced towards the door, fully aware that the main reason he wasn't pushing it this time around were the maids that would be bringing the water up any minute now. “Perhaps next time you'll have better timing as well.”
“Don't fucking push me bitch.” James turned on her, one fist half raised to strike. His gaze narrowed, the light vanishing from his eyes. “I could drop you here and now.”
She didn't flinch. “As I said, I don't take orders from you unless Lord Davien tells me to. So if you're going to hit me why don't you get it over and done with instead of having to work yourself up in order to strike?”
A sound, little more than a step in the hallway, caught both their attention.
“We'll finish this another time.”
Before the door had even opened his demeanor had changed back into the attentive butler she had seen in those few moments in the entrance hall. She had to give him some credit, he was good, too damn good. It wouldn't be but a couple of days before they ended up going head to head and then what?
A fight, a struggle that might backfire on her.
She'd entered a home where Davien ruled, but the moment his back was turned then James tried to take over. And from little she had seen he managed it quite well indeed. Still, how many members of the household staff had he forced under his control?
“Set the tub down there girls, and fill it quick smart. Last thing we want is his lordship upset because the water turned out to be cool by the time his new one has settled into it.” James directed the serving maids in but kept his gaze locked firmly on Celeste. “She needs to have the time to prepare herself for our lordship's pleasure. He might well want to use her tonight.”
Knowing the weariness of traveling the past few days she doubted Davien would be in the mood to engage in any form of play for a good day or more. They were both weary and she was still healing from the whipping he had given her the day before they had begun the trip. Still, with Davien she could never be entirely sure of just what his plans might be.
The room spoke of luxury with the heavy velvet curtains around the large four poster bed. Thick carpets covered the floor and a fire crackled in the hearth. The walls had been covered with wall paper and that alone confirmed just how wealthy Davien was. The paper looked almost like a cross between real paper and velvet with the way the pattern had been laid out. Not cheap, not by a long stretch of the imagination.
The clothing the maids wore wasn't top quality material but it was far better than some she had seen in Ireland. Not that she had that much to go by as yet. He hadn't exactly allowed her to wander around since she had been captured.
“Get on with it girl, his lordship won't wait around for ever.” James scowled once the maids had left the room. “And don't think this is finished between us.”
No, of course it wasn't.
She waited until James had left the room before she began to strip off the traveling dress. After three days of wearing the same clothing day after day she now felt more than a little grimy. Celeste dropped the clothing on top of a chest and walked over to the tub. Steam curled upwards from the waiting water and unlike the bath she had been forced to endure after the beating this one would not hurt anywhere near as much.
She eased into the tub and settled down, there were towels i
n easy reach, soap rested on an end table close by tin bath and she could relax if only for a short time. All those hours, three long days in the coach and she had all but forgotten what it was like to sit down on something that wasn't moving.
Celeste closed her eyes. She didn't need to rest them for long, just enough to try and re-energize her system.
* * * *
She snapped awake. The water now cold around her body, her skin marked by goose flesh as she shivered and tried to make sense of what had happened.
Shit, how long had she been asleep?
Long enough that he might now be waiting for her in the study.
Celeste pulled herself out of the tub and reached for the towels. She didn't need him angry at her but she had to believe he would take into account just how tired she was from the trip. However, now she was awake she wasn't about to let him wait for her any longer than was absolutely needed.
It only took a few moments for her to dry off and she pulled the ivory gown over her body. Loose, flowing, yet it still clung to her breasts and hips. The light robe was almost transparent and with her hair brushed, the gown smoothed down over her body and the grime washed from her face she finally turned and headed out of the bedroom.
The thick carpet brushed at her bare feet, the silken material added its own tender caress against her flesh as she hurried down the stairs. She'd left her hair loose down her back, which was how she knew he preferred it. Only in rare circumstances was she permitted to do anything else with her hair and she imagined some of the events he planned for her to attend would then include her dressing her hair in some elaborate manner.
Pictures, landscapes for the most part, decorated the hallway. The large entrance hall narrowed some as it went past the stairs to lead down towards the study and no doubt also led to the kitchen and other rooms in the lower part of the house. If this house was anything like the rooms in the manor house there would be a decent sized cellar and a small stable at the back. Not a large spread but enough room so that the carriage and horses could be kept on hand. She doubted that he was the type of man who would rely on others to look after his property.
