by Terri Pray
With her eyes closed, Celeste surrendered to the sensations that swept through her body. Each thrust took her higher, threatened to rob her of her senses. Her clit throbbed, her breasts heavy, tight against the corset, her nipples slipping free of the boned contraption.
Tearlach slapped one hand down against her upturned ass. That last blow pushed her over the edge. She screamed around Shaun's cock, her body turning to liquid desire between the two men...
CHAPTER EIGHT
They'd tossed a blanket over her when she'd passed out on the floor, but other than that had done nothing to help her recover from her service to both men. Celeste blinked softly, trying to focus her thoughts. She didn't even know how long she'd been asleep. Nor did she risk asking them.
Her inner thighs were still slick. She hadn't even been wiped off, and she needed to clean up if she was going to feel even remotely human. But they didn't care about such things. Or, at least, Tearlach didn't. Celeste didn't move, not at first. Better to give herself a few minutes to recover before he realized she was awake again. With her eyes still closed she rested, and listened to the two men talking.
“You wanted to talk to me, once the fun was over?”
“Yes.”
“Well now seems a good a time as any.”
“So what will you do now?” Shaun seemed to be on the far side of the room. “Blood will be looking for you. He won't give up.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Was he right? Would Davien never give up?
“Hm, is that what you wanted to discuss? Fair enough, well I don't know. The Island is out of the question under current circumstances.” His voice almost thoughtful. “I can have a playroom set up at my house here in town, but sooner of later he's going to track me down there.”
“You weren't so worried about that an hour or so ago, where you?”
“Ah, I've had time to think things through. Maybe I just needed to fuck her and get that out of my system for a few hours. Besides, I know you. You'd not try and take the wench from me and I was right there, so still in control of the situation.” Tearlach laughed, the sound rolling through the room. “Shit, I don't know what I'm going to do with the wench. She's a handful, though she's behaved well enough with me. Maybe she needed to be in the right hands. She robs me of my senses at times, until I barely know what to do with her. It's been that way since I realized she was in Blood's hands.”
“And she's a handful?”
“Yes— no. I don't know. Sometimes I think she might be. But she's been well behaved for the most part since I laid claim to her.”
“Or maybe she just doesn't want her ass beat again. I saw the welts on her. Not many, but enough to show me you struck her with some force.”
“No, there's more to it than that. She was trying to be obedient before the cane incident. Yet she ran from Blood. I've not seen a hint of that spirit since I took possession of her.” His tone became softer, thoughtful. “I've just no idea what's going on behind those eyes of hers. She's a mystery to me. I have to find out just what sort of woman she truly is.”
“So take the time to learn about her, or be satisfied with what you have in her. She's a beautiful, willing wench. There are few who would kick her out of bed,” Shaun replied, his voice touched with mirth. “I'd take her off your hands, if I could give up the sea. Or could trust my crew well enough to bring her on board the ship. Still, I'd have no problem sharing her with the boys. You ever think that you might have to do that in order to get away from London? Share her out a few times?”
“It's beginning to look that way,” Tearlach growled, the humor stripped from his voice instantly. “I don't like it. She might not react as well to me if she's in the hands of others too often. She might become difficult to control, or learn things that are inappropriate to a woman under my control.”
“You really think it could work like that?”
“Aye.”
“Then you're not confident about your abilities as her Master, are you?” Shaun muttered. “Would have thought better of you. You're a strong man, if you're able to control her now why wouldn't you be able to later just because you sent her off to fuck another man?”
Silence claimed the room. And Celeste tried not to make a sound, her shoulders tensing as she lay there on the floor. Shaun had done something dangerous, he'd questioned Tearlach and his abilities. She waited for the fight to start, half expecting all hell to break loose, but it didn't. She frowned, the slight crease across her brow enough to potentially alert them to the fact she was awake, but for now they didn't seem to notice.
“Are you saying that... ”
“That you're acting insecure, as if you're not certain of your mastery of her. Yes, of course I am. It's what you'd say to someone else in this position. Or you'd take the wench from him and laugh all the way,” Shaun continued, the sound of a chair being pushed back across the wooden floor, alerting her to the fact someone was moving.
“How dare you!” Another chair was pushed back, slamming against the wall. Something broke, a chair, or another small wooden item? She didn't dare move to find out what had happened. Not fully. “I've brought men and women to their knees.”
“So why are you so afraid that the woman will be uncontrollable if you let others use her? If you're truly in control of yourself, certain of what you can and cannot do, then there would be no issue here.”
Tearlach growled. “I've killed men for less than your words, so watch your tongue before I am forced to remove it.”
“But you won't, not this time. Either because you know I'm right, or you fear the retribution of my men. They are within easy hearing distance. You shoot me and they'll come running.” Shaun's voice dripped with an easy confidence. “So I'm thinking you should sit down and listen to me, lad. And I suggest you do so before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.”
“I should strangle you and be done with you, Shaun. If I hadn't known you all these years then... ”
“Ah yes, the threats, I wondered when you would get to that part of it. You're good at those. I've grown something of a thick skin to them through the years. You're all mouth at times, Tearlach. When you're going to do something you do it, you don't stand there and bluster. Though you've grown softer over this past year. Someone leeching your brains out of your cock? Not this wench, you've not had her long enough, so it has to be the red head you've been fucking. The other one from Ireland.”
“Blue.”
“That would be the one. Now sit your arse down and have a drink.” Shaun walked across the room, coming close to where Celeste lay. She didn't move, she didn't dare, but heard him pick up something from the table and walk back across the room. The floorboards creaking under the weight of his steps, then wooden legs scraped softly on the floor.
“Just what makes you think I'm being controlled in any way by Blue?”
“Because you wouldn't be the first. She's a conniving bitch if ever I've known one and it's obvious you're wrapped about her little finger. I've heard some interesting tales about just what sort of pleasures she indulges in. Things no sane man would ever do. But it's more than that, she reaches into their souls and makes them doubt themselves.”
Her sister. Even here, as a slave in London, she couldn't escape the terrible plans her sister put into place. The way she used men, and women both, warping them, controlling them. She was a dangerous creature, and wouldn't change.
But if Tearlach was truly caught in Blue's web of diseased passion, then so much the better. It confirmed her belief that he was a weak man, one easily led and controlled, she just had to find the opening.
And there would be one.
If Blue had found it, she could as well.
“She's mine. Blue belongs to me and I'll bring her to heel.”
“If she's yours why is she fucking half of London?”
“What?” Tearlach growled. “You're lying. She's mine. She knows better than to cheat on me.”
“Sure she does— look Tearlach. You're bei
ng played. Completely. That woman is spreading her legs for whoever throws her a pretty piece of jewelry, or takes her fancy. She's no more yours than I am.” Shaun continued on, his voice oddly calm for one who was conversing with a raging fire. “Blue is a whore, she dresses up nicely, can mingle in the lower end of the ton balls, but at the end of the day she will always be a whore and out to get what she wants from men. She uses them. She claims to enjoy being controlled but it is she that does the controlling. And does so with any man who shows even a hint of weakness.”
“I am not weak!”
“Ah, but you are, Tearlach. In a way that leaves you vulnerable to such women as Blue. Calm yourself and I'll explain. This is something you can push past and learn to control, but in turn it means learning to control yourself.”
“Bastard!”
“This is what I mean, but if you don't want to learn then feel free to leave now. It won't be long before Blood finds you and that temper of yours will get the better of you. No skin off my nose if you end up dead.”
“I'm not going to... ”
“Yes, you are. If you keep this up. Blood will kill you. Or one of Blue's other men will. Or even me if you keep trying to piss me off like this. We're friends and you still treat me like shit at times. So calm down and take a bloody breath now and then.” Shaun snapped, his voice little more than a growl, frustration clear behind every word.
“I don't have to listen to this.”
She tensed, hearing the heavy footsteps across the floor, coming closer to her.
“No, you don't, but if you're not prepared to listen to me then you can leave and never return. I won't be your whipping boy, Tearlach. You've used me for that on more than one occasion and it ends. Now.” There was a strength in Shaun's voice that she hadn't heard earlier. One that suggested that he wouldn't back down. Not when it came to this.
“What in hell's name are you accusing me of, man?”
“Temper, and your lack of ability to control it of late. You didn't used to be like this. Not before this Blue woman got her claws into you. And she's dug them in deep, hasn't she?” Shaun took a breath before he continued. “I thought better of you. There was a time you were a strong man able to face anything this world had to through at you. At least I thought you were. Unless you were putting up a good front which is highly possible. Is that it, did you have me fooled all these years, Tearlach?”
The muscles across her shoulders tensed completely. Fear dried her mouth. Shaun was pushing matters too far. Why? It made no sense? Was he trying to provoke a fight, or truly try and help a friend? She couldn't work it out as she didn't know either man well enough to figure it out.
“Why you son of a bitch. I'll kill you for this.”
“If you were going to you'd have already done it.”
The chairs scraped, heavy footsteps rang out in the room and she turned, blinking, staring at the men. Tearlach had launched himself at Shaun, his hands grasping Shaun's upper arms, forcing him back against the wall. His eyes were black with fury.
“Get your bloody hands off me, man. The crew will hear and you'll be hanged for sure.” Shaun kicking out sharply, forcing a cry of pain from Tearlach as the blow landed on his shin. She sat there, wide-eyed, watching the two men tussle back and forth.
“I'm not some kid in the streets to be lectured at, Shaun. Should never have let you touch my wench. Now you think it gives you the right to tell me what sort of man I am!” Tearlach hobbled back, growling, his gaze locked on Shaun. “I'll rip your damn head off for this, and to hell with your men.”
“You're not the man I thought you were, Tearlach.”
“And I thought you a friend, not a bastard trying to order me around as if you were my better.” Tearlach took a step closer, his hand moving to the butt of his flintlock, his fingers tightening about the wooden base.
“Then I suggest you get out, before I call in my men. If you're not willing to see reason then you're no longer welcome here.”
“Fine, I'll leave and take my woman with me.” Tearlach turned his attention toward Celeste. “Get dressed. Now. We're leaving.”
“And what makes you think I'll let you take the woman with you?”
Celeste tensed even as she stood up and searched for her dress and stockings. It didn't take long before she had them both in hand, but her heart pounded against her rib cage.
“Because I will shoot you if you try to keep her. And to hell with your men.” Tearlach pulled out his flintlock. “Is that clear? I'm not about to lose her to you, or anyone else.”
She laced the dress on quickly, pulling her stockings on, having carefully wiped between her thighs with the edge of her blanket.
“And do you really think you can kill me before I call for help? Even at this distance the odds of you performing a quick kill are low. Have you even checked your powder, Tearlach? No. Not since you arrived here. You're getting sloppy. That's Blue's influence for you. Best you think about what that woman's done to you before you end up on the receiving end of a musket ball.”
CHAPTER NINE
“How dare he? Who does he think he is, trying to talk to me like that?” Tearlach all but snarled his gaze still dark as he leaned back against the back of the carriage, slamming the door closed behind him. “He's nothing to me. He has no power over me, and what would he know about a woman like Blue?”
Celeste didn't dare answer. She'd already seen just how angry he was. She wasn't about to become the target of his anger. Cold sweat coated her flesh, her palms itched as she tried to keep herself calm, her gaze lowered as she sat opposite him.
“I've owned more women then he ever will.” He twisted in the seat, his hands clenching tight into fists. “And Blue would eat him alive. He'd never be able to get anywhere near her. He's jealous. That's what it is. He's jealous that I can command the affections of such a woman. And own one like you.”
She tried to keep her fear out of her gaze. He would only use that against her. Her stomach knotted, an ocean of discomfort had been tossed into a maelstrom deep within. She had to keep calm, focused, aware of any opportunity to break free of him. He'd make a mistake soon enough, and she'd be able to use that. She'd had to hurry to dress when he'd been arguing with Shaun, and there had been something in the way the other man had looked at her than had told her just how tempted he had been to snatch her from Tearlach.
The carriage hadn't moved yet, and she was fully dressed. If he didn't give the order to leave then maybe she'd have a chance to dash for shelter on the ship. She sucked in her bottom lip, trying to sort through her thoughts. Tearlach still had the flintlock. But he wouldn't fire it here, it would attract too much attention. Yet— yet she couldn't believe he would just let her run.
The ship was due to leave on the morning tide. If she managed to get everything together she could slip free of the house and make her way down to the docks again. But only if he spent the time with her sister. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath as she lifted her gaze to his, trembling more than a little. “Master. Maybe you're right. He is jealous of you and what you have with Blue. Perhaps you should prove a point and spend some time with her?”
Tiny lines around the corners of his eyes tightened as he stared back at her. “And why would my slave wish to see me off with another woman?”
“Because it would make you happy, Master. And what pleases you pleases me also, Master. Isn't that part of being your slave?” She prayed he would believe her. That she had touched on something he desperately wanted from her in the first place. Her submission, her obedience and something more, her heart.
“Perhaps I'd believe that if you'd been with me longer, Celeste. But you're new to me. I don't even know you. So why should I believe that a slave who ran from the one who had owned her for some time, would then focus her loyalty on one who grabbed her from the street only a few days ago. No, I'm not quite buying it, slut.”
She tried not to bristle, keeping her voice soft and very gentle. “Master. I'm sorry I can'
t convince you that I'm trying to please you. I only thought that you would enjoy spending time with Blue. She seems to please you. But I will do as you wish, just command me Master and I will obey.”
He closed his eyes, the carriage still unmoving as it sat there in the docks. His chest moved slowly his hands unclenching, the tension easing from his body. When he spoke again his voice was softer. “Then again, maybe I am wrong. Tell me, slave. Why did you run from Blood?”
This was where she had to be the most careful. If she didn't say exactly the right thing the entire situation would crumble down around her ears and she couldn't risk that. Not with what was at stake.
“I left, Master, because he couldn't master me. I knew, I've known since I first met you in Ireland, that I was meant to be with you.” She lowered her gaze, almost shyly now. “That kiss stole my breath and my heart. Throughout my time with Lord Blood it was that memory that kept me sane and when you appeared in London I knew I had to take the chance and run from him.”
“So you planned on being grabbed by me, did you?” Amusement flashed across his face.
“No, Master. Of course not. My first thought was to break free of him and then find you. I was told you'd be at the party, but when I didn't see you I panicked. I searched for you at the party and almost lost hope. So I waited until his guard was down and he left me alone in the room, after he'd taken his sport, and then dressed, running from the party. I wasn't sure how long it would be before I located you, but it was something I had to do, Master. I couldn't stay with Lord Blood any longer. I knew that, if I waited much longer, I would never find the time to break free of him.”
He didn't speak for a moment, his eyes opened once more, his gaze fixed on her face. When he did his tone was soft, thoughtful, and sent a soft shiver through her body. “If I had not thought of you every day since Ireland then I would inclined to disbelieve you, but the fact you took such a public risk, and knew of my plans to originally attend the party, tell me you're telling the truth.”
