by Garnet Hart
There should be servants to assist her by now. Even at the temple of Nadia, the priestesses attended to her every need. She wondered where Lior’s servants were.
She walked out of the room and searched for Lior but the whole house was empty. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. It was huge and spacious, yet she could not see a woman’s touch in all its boring corners. There were no decorations and no flowers. All that it contained were furniture made of carved wood and glided metal. Even the huge crystal chandeliers dangling from the high, coffered ceiling were not enough to lighten the dismal atmosphere of the house. While cloths covered most of the furniture and though the house was not totally filthy, dust had gathered everywhere.
She went out of the house and was amazed of the scene that greeted her. Last night, it was too dark and she was too depressed to care where Lior was taking her. Today, she felt different.
There was a lake out front. The water was clean and blue like a glittering giant sapphire.
Looking around, she realized that Lior’s house was standing like a proud king on top of a hill covered with lush greeneries. The land was vast and very fertile. At a distance, there were more houses, beautiful newly-painted houses, unlike Lior’s manor that seemed neglected by its owner.
She heard a cow mooing. She followed the sound and found herself at the backyard. She passed by a huge, tall building. That must be the barn.
She peeked inside and was astounded to see bottles of red wine stacked high against the walls. It was a cellar.
So this was Lior’s business. Wine-making.
But why here in the cold Isle of Skye where there were practically nothing but grass? And where were the fruits he used to make wine? Weren’t there supposed to be vineyards of grapes?
Her eyebrows wrinkled to a deep frown when she saw about half a dozen four legged creatures pass by her. From the sound they made, they were similar to cows, but their appearance was strange. Compared to the cows she knew, these ones had long wavy coats like sheep and long horns like deer.
She massaged her forehead to relieve its sudden ache. She had seen products of crossbreeding being experimented on cattle before, but she had never expected that they would reach a point like this.
More cows mooed and she spotted a line of same animals coming out from another huge building. She looked farther away and saw more barns and more animals eating grass. They were everywhere, as far as her eyes could see.
So Lior was very wealthy, probably even wealthier than her father. His house was not a castle like Dunvegan, but his land was so vast and his cattle roamed the land like sand on the beach.
But where were the people? Such a huge property but no people, just cows.
She went to the nearest barn. The structure itself was as long as a field. Surely, she would find some helpers there. She peeked inside the huge door.
She walked in, checking through the piles of hays, peeping inside the stables. There were horses in here. Huge beasts. Thoroughbreds.
In one of the stalls, she saw him. The bastard.
He was tending to a little calf with a nursing bottle. He was wearing what they called jeans, and nothing on top.
With his back on her, she could stare at him freely. The way the muscles on his back and arms flexed as he moved mesmerized her.
It looked like he’d been working for a while now. Beads of sweat dotted his smooth skin, yet it made him look even more delectable. She pressed her legs together to stop the traitorous tingling of nerves there. She hated this man, but everytime she was near him, she could not stop the yearning, as if he owned her body, that she’d always lose control whenever he’d touch her.
But she made a promise to herself. She must never give in to this man ever again.
“You’re awake?” he asked without turning to see her, as if he knew she’d been standing there for a while now.
She was ashamed of her thoughts. “I need a bath. Is there anyone who can help me?”
He sighed and pulled the bottle out of the calf’s mouth and set it aside before facing her. Instead of responding, his eyes moved from her head down to her chest. “You should no’ walk out of your room like that. I can see your tits from here.”
She knew he was referring to her thin dress but she did not understand the last bit he’d said. “What does that mean?”
“Tits, your nipples,” he replied and picked up another bottle full of milk.
Mortified, she crossed her arms over her chest to cover her breasts.
“I can see between your legs, as well.”
Annoyed, she dropped her hands, no longer concerned of what he saw. “I don’t have anything else to wear, pervert!”
He sighed and continued feeding the cows. “I’ll ask the girls later to lend you some clothes. As of your bath, there’s a shower in the bathroom. You can use that.”
She frowned. “Shower?”
He probably meant that little thing that Tanya used to spray water on her hair, but she did not see anything like that in the bathroom, and even if she did, she did not know how to use it.
“If you dunna know what that is, you’ll have to wait until I’m done here before I can help you. I have no servants here. We are a pack, and we all work.”
“You’re very rich and you still work?”
“We just have to. Unlike humans, we have too much energy in store.”
“Humans can tend cows all day as well. So what’s the difference?”
With a raised eyebrow, he took a quick glance at her. “You’re still no’ convinced I’m a Lycan, are you?”
She snorted. “That’s a myth I used to read in books.”
“And what do the books say about Lycans?”
“That they prey on humans at night, rape women and eat their flesh raw.”
He glanced at her again, amused. “Is that so?”
“And they are scary and ugly.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Then there goes your proof.”
She pursed her lips in ire. He was not really ugly, of course. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen even if she hated him. That was why she did not believe that he was a Lycan. Everything about him was the opposite of the descriptions in her books.
“To feed your curiosity, Elf,” he said as he held the calf’s head to keep the feeding bottle fixed on its mouth, “Lycans are not savages, not in the way humans believe. We are even more domesticated than humans. But we can be savages, all right,” he said meaningfully.
“Do you study in universities?”
“We are too smart to have any need for universities.”
“Hah! Such conceit.”
“It’s no’ conceit, just the truth. Lycans live for hundreds or even thousands of years. Obviously, we know a lot more than the oldest professors of universities.”
She raised one mocking brow. “Oh, so you are saying now that you are immortal? Just like those Vampires?”
“Yes.”
She burst out in a laugh. “Alright then, let me see you shift into a wolf, and then I might believe you.”
“You dunna know what you’re asking.”
“Don’t I? Or is it because you cannot really shift?”
He turned to face her again, his eyes narrowing as if he was considering her challenge. But to her dismay, he ignored her and returned his attention to the calf.
“And what about your being a god?” she asked again. “Are Lycans gods as well?”
He sighed. “Go find something else to do.”
“I told you, I want a bath. How long should I wait for you?”
“Maybe two hours.”
“I can’t wait that long.”
“Then go bathe in the well just outside this barn. There are buckets there for your convenience.”
She put her hands on her hips. “You seem to be very rich but I can’t believe you have no maids to do your chores for you! I need a maid to assist me!”
“Perhaps you have forgotte
n that you are no’ a chief’s daughter anymore. If you want to stay here, help yourself because no one will help you. There are no servants in this place. We all tend to ourselves.”
“That explains your ugly house!” she told him and walked out in a huff. She hated him so much she wanted to still his throat and feed his corpse to his cows.
She was cursing as she was walking farther from the barn when she spotted a river along the way. She stopped and looked around. It looked like no one would come around here, and the riverbank had some boulders where she could hide.
She shed her dress off and submerged herself in the water. It was cold, yet for a half Elf, it was rejuvenating and refreshing. She loved to bath in rivers. For her, nothing else felt better than to feel the cold water surround her. The only thing that felt better than bathing was Lior’s caresses…
“What the hell am I thinking?” she scolded herself. “He’s worse than a scum, a deceiver, a big prick with feet!”
She swam to get the heat out of her body and mind. Last night, she almost succumbed to him again. The lust she saw in his eyes as he stared at her body aroused her to an extent that some dark soul inside her willed her hands to touch him. She had struggled to fight the temptation, and barely won over the dictates of her physical need.
She ducked underwater for as long as she could hold her breath. When she finally floated on the surface and opened her eyes, she saw him standing near the edge of the river, watching her.
Talk about the devil!
“Why are you here? Go away!”
“You should no’ go too far from the house. You know how precious you are. If the Demons will find you alone, you’d be in deep trouble.”
“If there’s a demon around here, I’m looking at him. You’re just afraid I’d escape.”
“You canna escape,” he said emphatically.
It made her bristle. “So when are you taking me to this godforsaken place called Alfheim?”
“It’s not godforsaken. It’s the land of your mother’s people. It’s a beautiful place.”
“She rolled her eyes.”
“How is it that you believe you’re a half-Elf and yet it is hard for you to believe I’m a Lycan?”
She did not answer. That made her think.
“There are Demons. There is Asgard and other worlds aside from your world. There are Lycans and Vampires and Dragons and Giants and Elves and Dwarves. And you are a huge part of our world. You are a Songstress.”
“Enough! You’re making my head hurt.”
“Do you no’ want to meet the relatives of your mother?”
She did not answer. The truth was, part of her wanted to. But she was afraid of what Lior and Nadia had been trying to inculcate in her mind. They were robbing her out of her sanity.
“Get out of the water now. Let’s go,” he ordered.
“No. I love it here.”
“I’m no’ going to say it again.”
“Make me.”
His eyes flared at her challenge. “Alright, we’ll see about that.”
She gasped when he started unbuttoning his jeans. “What are you doing?”
“Joining you.”Holding her gaze, he slowly pushed his pants down his hips, luring her to fix her eyes to what he was baring.
Oh, she should turn away, but she couldn’t.
She caught her breath as his already hard flesh sprang out. It looked bigger than how she remembered it.
She swallowed as he kicked his pants off his feet and stood proudly in all his naked glory.
He looked magnificent! A big, wild beast with defined muscles and the smoothest skin bronzed by the sun.
Oh goodness! She was tempted to think he was really one of those otherworldly beings. Where else could she find a man as handsome and as well-endowed as this one? Everything about him was as perfect as the wild horses that roamed the highlands.
“I can see you miss looking at me, Elf.”
She swallowed. “I did not! You flatter yourself!”
He grinned like the devil. “Now, will you come up here, or I’ll be the one to go down there?”
She turned her back on him. “Leave me alone,” she said. He could try to seduce her, but she’d make sure he would fail.
She felt him step into the water and approach her from behind. She should flee now, but her body was not listening to the dictate of her mind. Instead, it longed for him to come closer and touch her. To her dismay, he stopped coming to her and silence followed.
He stopped coming to her and silence followed. When she turned to look, she saw him swimming around her.
Her gaze followed him until he rose right in front of her. “That was a good ploy to make me join you here,” he teased.
She turned away to hide her flushed face, but her lower back brushed against something under the water.
It was smooth, hot, and hard and…
She screamed and scampered away from him. “You are so filled with filth—”
Her right foot hit a rock before she could finish. She toppled face down in the water.
Big arms caught her around the waist and held her up. She came up spluttering and coughing out water. She tried to push him away but was caught by the intensity of his stare. A shiver ran down her spine.
“You were saying?” he drawled.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. They were wet, yet he was so warm against her cold skin. He caressed her back in a seductive, circular movement of his fingers, sparkling a current that travelled down to her center.
“It’s alright, Elf,” he whispered as though to calm her agitation. “Let me see your feet.”
That was the only time she felt the throbbing in her toes.
He picked her up and waded to the edge of the river. Over a small smooth surfaced rock, he lowered her to sit while he knelt at the end of her toes.
She watched his hand massage her toes with pure tenderness. The pain started to fade immediately.
Awed, she looked into his eyes.
A smile stretched his lips. “We Lycans have the ability to heal, especially with our saliva.”
Her jaw dropped.
“But I dunna need to lick your toes,” he continued. “My hands are enough to take away the pain.”
She looked down her toes and noticed that the swollen redness had completely faded. It felt like she was not injured at all. Maybe he knew some old ways to heal injuries.
He let go of her toes. She thought he’d stand up, but to her surprise, his body was coming over her, forcing her to lie back down. In the next couple of seconds, her back was on the pebbles while his huge frame hovered over her, blocking her view of the sun.
This happened before, but she was completely innocent of his motive then and had fallen completely under his spell. She must not let it happen again.
Slowly, his hand came over her heaving breast, and just like before, she was helpless to refuse him.
Her mind screamed, trying to deny her body.
“You canna refuse me, Elf,” he whispered as he rolled her nipple with two fingers.
“Stop this at once,” she demanded, but her protest died when he lowered his head and his hot, wet tongue licked her neck up to her ears.
She stiffened, still trying to fight the sensation.
“You are an Elf,” he continued, his warm breath blowing deliciously through her ears. “Elves are made to please the desires of the gods.”
His words hit her hard that she wished to grab a stone and smash it over his head, but she could not move. His palms molded over her soft breasts. She could not believe she moaned in response and even reached out to touch his knuckles, urging him to knead harder.
“I’ve tried to avoid you, Elf, but your nips keep on tempting me. I need them in my mouth.”
In response to his words, her juices suddenly seeped out of her entrance. At the way he smiled, she could tell he knew what just transpired.
He took her nipple deep inside his warm mouth. She hugged his head tight and
whimpered as he sucked and latched his tongue on her crown.
His free hand crawled between her legs and immediately found the center of her pleasure.
“Ooohhhh!” Against her will, she spread her legs farther apart, giving him easier access.
“Mmmm,” he moaned against her nipple, the vibration sending more waves of pleasure to her core. When his thumb pressed over her nub, her whole body shivered.
She could feel moisture seeping out of her and her very center was swelling and tingling… wanting more… needing more.
He knew what she needed. He sucked on her nipple harder like a voracious babe finally given his first taste of milk, and as his thumb pressed and circled her little bud, the rest of his fingers sought her opening.
Her body stiffened as he slowly slid one long finger inside her. This sensation was making her mad, but it was the most pleasurable experience she’d ever had.
“Do you like that?” he asked as he left her breast and moved to the other one.
She did not speak and bit down on her lip when he latched his tongue on her nipple, teasing her, arousing her even more.
“Damn you, Lior,” she whimpered. “Stop torturing me. Move your finger inside me.”
He smiled and bit on her nipple. “All you had to do was ask,” he replied and crooked his finger, hitting something inside that had her crying out in frenzy. He knew that secret spot well enough, and he was stroking it now, making her wilder than ever.
“Please!” she finally begged.
He lifted his head. “What do you want, Elf?”
She knew what she wanted, but she was too ashamed to say it. “I don’t know.”
A second finger dipped inside her. She moaned and arched her body upward, wanting him deeper. “Ahh, Elf. You are so tight. It’s like you’ve never been touched before.”
“Only you have ever touched me.”
“And only I will ever do.” He moved his fingers in and out of her while his thumb massaged her nubbin.
Her orgasm threatened to explode anytime, but he deliberately slowed down the pressure of his fingers to delay her peak. She was going mad, dangling on the edge.
“Lior, please!”
“Do you want my cock in here instead?”
“Yes,” she breathed out weakly. Just the thought of having his huge hard cock penetrate her made her head spin with more need. Her body felt starved for him she was now inclined to believe she had been deprived of his touch for two hundred years, indeed!
