by Anya Bast
Falk nodded shakily. “My apologies, Master Rue.”
Rue removed his blade from the bastard’s throat. “Accepted. We will be on our way now.”
“Of course, Sword Master d’Ange,” said the commander, reining his horse away from Rue’s. “Happy journey to the Supreme Priestdom.”
Rue sheathed his sword and urged his mount past the soldiers. “Long live Sudhra!” he called as he continued down the road.
“Long live Sudhra!” came the answering cry of the soldiers behind him.
As soon as they were out of sight of the soldiers, Lilane slid from the back of his horse, baring her perfectly curved ass prettily as she did it, and turned to face him. “You bastard,” she cried.
Rue sighed and dismounted, letting the horses graze in the grasses near them. “Lilane—”
“No, Sword Master, I don’t want to hear it. You just humiliated me in front of those men!”
He smiled, but it only seemed to enrage her further. Her fists clenched at her sides. “Lilane, you were writhing and mewling in pleasure under my hands. You hardly seemed humiliated.”
“Oh!” she stepped forward and brought her palm toward his face. He could’ve stopped her, but he chose to take the slap instead. The flat of her hand stung his cheek. “Don’t you understand? That’s the problem. My body is no longer my own. It’s yours to command now. I become excited by the mere brush of your finger against me.”
He touched his cheek gingerly and winced. She had a hell of slap in that slim arm, same as her punch. “You stalked and tried to kill me, Lilane. To pay for that transgression, you’ve submitted to me.” He stared at her for two full heartbeats before finishing to accentuate his next point. “And you enjoy that submission, that much is clear. I’m sorry if your desires scare you.”
She looked down and away. “They do scare me.”
“I know. It’s all right. You’ll get over it.”
She looked back at him and the sight of her eyes glistening with tears twisted his heart. “They called you Sword Master,” she said by way of query—maybe to change the subject that seemed uncomfortable to her.
“Aye. I was Sword Master to the Supreme Priest for a time.” He’d had another title before that one, but he didn’t want her to know it yet. She’d find out soon enough, anyway.
She smiled faintly. “No wonder I couldn’t best you blade-to-blade.”
“You’re good at swordplay, Lilane, and I don’t mean good for a woman. You’re good, period.”
“I had a lot of practice.”
“What I said back there to the soldiers, about selling information to the Supreme. That was a ruse.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Then you trust me?”
“Do I have a choice at this point?”
“Good.” Rue looked around the clearing. He could see no one in the area. He could not hear or smell anyone, either. Deeming it safe. He took off his shirt and laid it across the horse’s back.
“What are you doing?”
He shushed Lilane, closed his eyes and concentrated on the scars that ran along both his shoulder blades. His wings ripped through sinew and flesh and unfurled. He winced. It hurt every single time he did it, though he was accustomed to the pain.
He opened his eyes to her wide, surprised ones. Her mouth was a pink ‘O’. “Let’s fly a bit. I want to scout ahead so we don’t run into any more soldiers for a while.”
“Falcon w…wings,” she stammered.
“Yes.” They were huge, stretching out to either side of him.
“Can I…uh…can I touch them?”
He nodded and watched as she circled his back, running her fingers through his feathers and exploring the place in his shoulder blades were they jutted from his body.
“Dear Goddess,” she breathed. “They’re incredible.”
She came around to his front and he snagged her by her waist, pulling her close. “Gorgeous,” she sighed, as she stared into his eyes. She tipped her head forward tentatively, brushing her lips against his.
Rue shuddered with pleasure. She kissed him now because she chose to, without any prompting on his part. She teased his lips again with hers and he wound a hand around her nape and pressed his mouth to hers. She opened her lips for him and he slipped his tongue inside, allowing it to dance against hers. She melted against him, sighing.
He pulled away and turned her so her back was pressed to his chest, then wrapped both arms firmly around her and shot up into the air with strong flaps of his wings.
Lilane made several exclamations of surprise and then laughed. The leaves at the top of a nearby tree brushed her feet. “This is wonderful!” she cried.
“I promise I won’t drop you,” he whispered in her ear, laying a quick kiss on it.
She laughed again, a little nervously. “Good.”
Rue swooped and soared through the air as much as he dared in broad daylight. He admitted to himself he might have been showing off a little for Lilane, but to hear her laugh lightened his heart.
He set her down near the horses. While in the air, he hadn’t spotted anyone and had deemed the rest of the journey safe.
Rue lifted Lilane back onto his horse and furled his wings. “Once we reach the Supreme Priestdom, I want you to stay close to me, and remember, always play the submissive slave. And never meet a man’s gaze directly. We’ll get in and get out as quickly as I’m able and I’ll have you back in Nordan as soon as possible.”
“Are we close?” she asked. Fear put a quaver in her voice.
He nodded. “We’ll be there before nightfall. I saw the Priestdom from the air.
Her brow furrowed. “I saw nothing—”
“I’m Aviat, remember? I can see great distances and I have night vision.” He mounted behind her.
“What will happen once we’re there?”
Rue reined the horse onto the road and kicked him into a trot. He wondered the same thing himself. Would he be welcomed after the debacle with Sania? God’s Blood, he’d hoped to never have to face these people again.
“I don’t know, Lilane. I don’t know.”
Chapter Five
As the fortress rose in the distance, Lilane pressed herself back into Rue’s chest.
“Easy, Lilane,” he soothed. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Just remember what I said about staying close to me.”
The horse’s hooves clattered on the drawbridge and a soldier stepped out from the guardhouse, crossing his staff in front of Rue’s mount.
“I am Rue d’Ange, here to request an audience with the Supreme.”
The guard squinted then smiled. “Master d’Ange,” he greeted with pleasure in his voice. He removed his staff. “Of course you are granted entrance.”
Rue guided his horse past the man and into the outer bailey. “Well, that was easy enough,” he said under his breath.
He dismounted and handed the reins of his horse over to a stable hand. Then he lifted her from the back of the horse and gathered the packs. Lilane glanced around at the Sudhraians milling around the outer bailey and fought the panic rising in her throat. She was surrounded by her enemies and feeling more than a little vulnerable.
“Rue?” A male voice bellowed from behind them. Lilane turned to watch a tall, well-muscled man with short dark hair and brown eyes walk to them. A smile lit up his handsome face. “Rue d’Ange! I thought to never see the likes of you around this Priestdom again.
Rue turned, a smile spreading across his mouth. “Jad! So nice to see a friendly face.”
They slapped each other on the back in the way of men and Jad turned his attention to her. “Rue, are you training again? I thought you left that when Sania asked you to. I never would think to see you with a new slave student.” I guess it’s in your blood, though, eh?”
Training? Slave student? In his blood? Lilane’s confused gaze flipped between Rue and Jad as she fought for understanding. It sounded as if….
“There is no reason to keep m
yself from training new sex slaves now that Sania is gone,” answered Rue.
Lilane felt all the blood drain from her face. He wasn’t a slaver; he was a trainer. A Goddess-bedamned Sudhraian slave trainer.
Rue indicated her with a shrug of his shoulder. “And this one is special, Jad. She’s the first I’ve taken in many years.”
Jad’s light blue eyes narrowed on her. “She’s pale.”
Rue regarded her, his brow furrowing. “Not normally.”
Jad frowned. “And she’s bold. Look how she meets my eyes.”
Good Goddess! Lilane quickly looked down. Why couldn’t she ever remember that part?
Rue went silent for several long moments before speaking. “Actually, I’m beginning to think she simply likes the punishment,” he said wryly.
She shot him a look of scorn from the corner of her eye.
Jad laughed. “You were always so soft on them. They never wanted to leave your training, Rue. I suppose you’re still like that. Spare the rod and spoil the slave, eh?”
“You’re the same way, Jad, and don’t pretend differently,” answered Rue, laughing.
Jad sobered. “Well, they should have pleasure when they can get it, because it’s an evil world out there.” A trace of sorrow tinged his words.
“She’s the only one I’m taking on, Jad. Don’t think to give me any others while I’m here. She’s the only one,” he repeated.
“All right, Rue. Whatever you say. She’ll have to be examined by me, of course.”
“Fine. I expect to follow proper protocol, though I would like to participate. Let us settle into our chambers and I’ll bring her to the room. Say, twenty minutes?”
“Sounds fine. Why are you here, anyway? I thought after Sania—”
“We can talk later, Jad.”
“Fine.” Jad snapped his fingers and a boy ran over. “Show former Sword Master Rue and his woman to guest chambers, please.”
“Right away,” answered the boy.
The boy led them to opulently furnished rooms. A large four-poster bed dominated the center of the chamber. Thick blue damask curtains fell around it. A table and chairs stood on one side of the room and a large bathing tub on the other. Set into the wall opposite the bed was a large fireplace.
The boy turned and left them. Questions churned in Lilane’s mind as she watched Rue bolt the door behind him. He turned on his heel and walked toward her.
“Slave trainer?” she yelled.
He held his hands up. “Before you say another word, let me explain.”
She crossed her hands over her chest. It galled her to no end that she was letting the very sort of man she’d fought against her entire life—that she hated with all she was—bring her such sexual pleasures as Rue had. “Go ahead.”
“I told you before I was raised in this culture—Aviat first, Sudhraian second.”
“And Sudhraian traitor third?” she poked in a sweet voice.
He winced as if she’d slapped him. “Aye,” he whispered. “If being a traitor will help my people, then yes. No one ever said I was a hero. And could you keep your voice down?”
“Do continue,” she whispered back furiously.
“I was drawn into slave training early, before I’d weighed out the magnitude of it. I ceased later on, and began instructing men in swordplay and other kinds of combat, because I realized how wrong slave training was, and also” –-he pushed a hand through his hair— “also because a woman I loved, Sania, asked me to stop.”
“So that makes it all right?”
He shook his head. “No, of course not. But what’s done is done. The past can’t be changed. If it’s of any merit, I ensured the women I trained enjoyed it. I’ve never forced a woman into any act she didn’t desire.”
Lilane’s lips curled. “I can well imagine. Sounds familiar, in fact. You seduced them.”
“You probably met Sienne, Lord Marken’s monogamous mate?”
She nodded.
“She was a Sudhraian sex slave kept by a cruel man named Cyrus. Cyrus was a typical slaver and occasional trainer. He didn’t care if the woman enjoyed his treatment. Sienne never even had an orgasm before she arrived in Nordan last winter. Jad and I are both atypical. The slaves he trains and I trained knew kindness and pleasure.”
“Until you sent them out there.” She threw an arm wide toward the window.
His face grew gray, near haggard looking. Lilane saw then how that truth had weighed on him. “You’re right. That’s exactly true. I think of that every day.”
“Did you lie to me? Are you training me like a slave because you intend to leave me here?” she asked in a small voice.
He closed the distance between them and caught her up in his arms. “No, you’re coming back with me. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
He sighed heavily. “I’ll set you free once we get back to Nordan. Your debt to me I’ll consider paid and we can part ways.”
She nodded again, trying push down the curious knot of conflicted emotion that rose within her at his words.
Rue undid her plait and ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes, remembering how he’d twisted the strands into the elaborate braid that morning. He’d done it with careful patience and deep care—almost as though he loved her. He rubbed his fingers over her scalp, massaging until she wanted to purr.
“You deserve a far better man than me, Lilane,” he said. “You need to find an honorable man like your Dal.” His voice hardened. “But until then, until we get back to Nordan, you’re mine, mine in every way. Do you agree to my terms?”
She shivered at the dark promise of his words and part of her thrilled at the possession in his voice. “I agree,” she murmured.
His fingers threaded through the hair at the nape of her neck and he tipped her head back, taking her mouth in a hard, satisfying, near bruising kiss. He set his forehead to hers. “Now you go to Jad’s hands. He knows how to touch a woman—”
“He’s going to touch me?”
“Intimately. As the Master Trainer of this Priestdom, it is his right.”
She stiffened.
“If you let yourself go, you’ll enjoy it, Lilane.” He stepped away from her and walked to the door. “Come with me now. If we are to convince this Priestdom I am the old Rue d’Ange, we must follow the procedure for bringing a new slave within walls. It will be painless, Lilane. It should be very pleasurable, actually. You, as Nordanese, should not have your mind closed to the possibilities.”
She hesitated and then walked toward him. He led her out of the room and to another. It was decorated much like their chamber, though the bed in the center of the room was larger than normal.
She glanced back at Rue who stood behind her.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and braced her back against his chest. “It’s all right, love,” he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He slipped his hands down her upper arms, over her stomach and down to the edge of her shift. He pulled it up and over her head, leaving her completely bare to Jad’s gaze.
Jad stood in the center of the room. Intense light shone in his blue eyes as he assessed her from head to toe. Very little kept her from turning and running the other direction, although she couldn’t help but notice the tightness of her sex. A part of her was very excited by the notion of two men at once, which was the direction this appeared to be headed.
Rue’s strong heat warmed her. He cupped her breasts in his hands and flicked his thumbs over her nipples. She could feel his erection pressing into the small of her back. He slipped his hands back down over her stomach and grazed his fingertips over her clean-shaven mound. Moisture flooded her sex.
Jad made a low sound in his throat and walked toward her. “She’s magnificent, Rue. Absolutely beautiful.” He cupped her chin in his hand and tipped her face to his. She kept her eyes carefully averted this time. “You can look me.”
She raised her gaze to his.
“Wha
t’s your name, Puss?” he asked.
“Lilane.”
He slipped his hands down to cup her breasts and she sucked in a breath. “Does my touch scare you, Lilane?”
She shook her head. “N—no” she stammered.
Jad smiled. “I think you’re lying.” He raised a dark brow. “I will have to show you there is nothing to fear.”
Rue rubbed her back, as though trying to calm and relax her. He dipped down and cupped her buttocks as Jad feathered her collarbones with his fingertips, and then tipped her chin up, forcing her gaze to meet his. “Don’t worry, Lilane. We will not hurt you. He laid a large hand over her breast, covering it over completely. “On the contrary. That is not what we’re here to do.”
“What is the purpose of this?” she asked in a small voice.
“It’s my right as Master Trainer of this Priestdom to sample every slave that enters,” answered Jad. He rubbed her nipple until it hardened. “It is a very old tradition and the gravest of insults to keep a new slave from the Master Trainer. Rue has told me he wants to participate and so he will take part in this also.”
Rue pushed her hair to the side and laid a kiss to her neck. Lilane shivered.
Then, suddenly, she was in the air, cradled in Rue’s arms. He walked over and laid her on the bed. The silk quilt shifted, soft against her skin, as she turned to watch Jad and Rue disrobe.
Jad had a fine body, sculpted and well built, but it was only Rue she had eyes for. She wiggled on the bed in anticipation as she watched him walk toward her. How enamored she’d become of him in such a short time.
Rue slid onto the bed beside her, slipped a hand to the nape of her nape and rubbed with strong fingers. She sighed as the tension left her body in a whoosh.
His mouth came down on her hers and she closed her eyes, allowing him to part her lips and stroke his tongue into her mouth. He pulled her against him and her breasts brushed the rough hair of his chest. Her body felt heavy with desire. It practically hummed through her.
A hand stroked her inner thigh and moved up toward her sex. She started, knowing it was Jad that touched her.
Rue pulled away and searched her eyes. “Relax,” he murmured. “I know you’re aroused. Just allow yourself to be.”
