Maiden and the Monster

by Michelle M. Pillow

  He hadn’t meant to get so carried away with her, wanting only to enjoy her company in the cool night air. It was just she was so beautiful, standing in the moonlight. He couldn’t stop himself and when she moaned, giving in to his devilish whims, it was all he could do not to throw her down and ravish her like a beast. So, instead he’d made her come, letting her sample the pleasure he could give her.

  He glanced at his hand, still dewy from her cream. The taste of her was in his mouth. Licking his fingers again, he smelled her on him. The duke glanced around, hiding in his shadowed corner, and slowly reached to unlace his braes. Keeping his hand close to his mouth so he could smell her scent, he shoved his hand down the front of his pants and grabbed his arousal.

  He fisted it hard—almost painfully so. Imagining his wife’s tight body on him, he closed his eyes. With one hand he stroked his hard cock, keeping her taste on his lips with the other. By all the gods, it was good.

  He jerked his fist over his shaft roughly, wishing it was her body he took with such fierce thrusts. If he had his way, he’d pound into her silky flesh, bending her around the turgid shaft until her sweet pussy was shaped to him.

  Grunting, he came hard, spilling his seed in one long hot spurt over the ground. His body weak, he slumped against the wall. He had to get control. Each time he released himself, he thought of taking Eden with rough passion. It didn’t help that she’d responded so freely to his touch, so willingly. Until he could get his beastly nature under control, he’d have to be careful not to tempt it.

  Chapter Nine

  Vladamir purposefully stalked the darkened hall of his manor, avoiding his wife. Flashes of the night sky passed him, framed by the narrow slit windows of the castle. The full moon gave just enough light to see in the inky depths of the black stone hall. After his self-pleasuring session, his body was only too eager for more.

  I have to get myself under control.

  But the more he fought to subdue his desires, the more they fought to be free. There was no avoiding it. He wanted Eden—desperately, wantonly, any sordid way he could have her. Avoiding his bedchamber, he didn’t want to face his wife, worried that if he went to her his hands wouldn’t be able to keep from touching her supple body and he couldn’t stand to see the rejection shining out of her beautiful eyes, for surely now after she had time to think about what they’d done there would be rejection. What else could there be for a monster like him?

  But, on the wall, she’d been relaxed. He hadn’t expected it from her, for she’d let him touch her without fear. Mayhap since it was dark out she could forget what he was. He could keep her turned from him so she couldn’t see his hideous scars.

  Even if she saw past his scars, how could she want him—really, truly want him—when he’d broken his word? He told her once that he would protect her from her father but he’d failed. A small snort of disapproval came from him, remembering Clifton’s treatment of her. He believed a man who had to use force to rule a woman was indeed less of a man. It was too easy to strike that which was weaker than you. The true test was in outwitting your opponent.

  Footsteps echoed over the bare passageway, interrupting his thoughts. She’d found him.

  “M’lord is not very good at keeping his word,” Eden said from behind him.

  “Eden,” Vladamir answered, trying not to show his surprise. He let a softened smile fall onto his lips and a teasing light enter his eyes. “You dare question my honor?”

  “Yea, m’lord,” Eden returned as she took a bold step forward. Her chin lifted proudly in the air. “I do.”

  “Tell, what is your complaint?” The duke let his hands fall motionless to his waist. Her eyes caught him in their grasp and he smiled, for once not worried about his scars as he looked at her. In that moment, all thoughts and worry left him. “Mayhap I have only yet to perform the task. Perchance, ‘tis you who has not given me ample time. Pray tell, what promise did I speak to you?”

  “‘Twas not in words, M’lord Kessen,” Eden simpered demurely. She looked up at him through her lashes. Then, with a dreamy line alighting on her lips, she said, “‘Twas with those eyes I believe I was promised something.”

  “Yea?” he asked, moving lithely through the darkness to meet her.

  “And with those hands.”

  “Hmm.” Instead of touching her, he paced about her in circles as she held her place. She didn’t turn to watch him, instead choosing to stare forward. Secretly, Vladamir was pleased that she’d sought him out, willing to continue what they started on the wall. “And what, pray tell, did my eyes and hands promise? For they didn’t confide such developments to me.”

  “Well, if they don’t speak, then neither shall I,” came Eden’s flippant response. With a pout, she gave a careless toss of her shoulders. “I suppose I was mistaken.”

  “And what would m’lady have me promise her?” Vladamir spoke in hushed tones as his lips whispered past her exposed ear. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was about with this game as he moved around her, pretending to be in thought. “Exquisite gowns? Jewels? Shoes carved from gold?”

  Eden wrinkled her nose. Vladamir kept his face earnestly blank.

  “Nay. Methinks a promise to tell me a secret,” she stated before pouting her bold lips, but her eyes shone with a different kind of mischief—a mischief she herself couldn’t be completely sure of.

  “What kind of secret?” Vladamir asked, intrigued by her sudden assertiveness. Usually she fluttered about him in a nervous state of excitement. Now, she powerfully held her ground against his stalking. Her bravery excited him but it also excited the beast inside him. His cock was hard, ready for more. The taste of her cream was just a tease to his senses. He wanted to devour her—every last inch.

  “A secret about you.” She licked her lips as he passed once more by her back. He stopped directly behind her. He could barely see her face. “I find that I don’t know much about you and ‘tis not as I would have it.”

  “There is naught to know.” He blew over her neck in a light caress. It took all his control not to throw her to the ground to claim her like a wild stallion. Her nearness was driving him past the point of reason.

  “I beg to differ, m’lord. There’s much I would know about you.” Eden breathed deeply. “I don’t know what you like best for your eve meal. I don’t know what season you prefer. Where you have been, where you’d like to go. What color you prefer me to wear, if you prefer me at all.”

  Vladamir chuckled at her candor. What harm could it do to indulge her a bit? He stayed behind her, breathing into her ear matter-of-factly. “Pork shoulder, salted. Fall. I have been well over the northern lands and many of the southern. I’d like to go back to my mother’s homeland. I like the color you have on just fine, though methinks a red would do nicely, and I prefer you to any other wife.”

  Eden took a heartening breath at his confidence. Although it was only simple things he disclosed, it was the most he ever told her about himself aside from the few anecdotes from his past. She deliberated before trying to discover a bit more about her elusive husband. Tilting her head to allow him access, lest he take it to mind to kiss her there, she sighed, hoping he would.

  “I’d have a more daring secret charged me.” Eden shivered as his hot breath fanned her skin. Tilting her head a bit more, she panted for air and her heart raced in anticipation. Already she felt cream building for his touch. The release of his fingers on her sex had been heavenly and she wanted it again. Her nipples budded. “Methinks those matters would be common knowledge.”

  Eden waited for him to answer. He didn’t.

  “However, in the spirit of justness, I’ll answer any one of your questions honestly if you tell me something about you, something honest, something no one else knows. It doesn’t have to be a tremendous confidence, just a little one, so that I may feel privileged in the knowledge, and so you may learn to trust me a bit with the secret you charge me.” Eden flushed. Her own words made her nervous but she knew she
had to try. She was glad he couldn’t see the apprehensive expression on her face. Behind her, she heard his weight shift.

  Vladamir was silent for a moment. He raised his hand to cup the bottom of her chin from behind. Moving his free arm about her waist, he pulled her backside tautly against his bulging erection and held her tight. Eden gasped and moaned at the hard strength she felt in him. Her eyes fluttered closed. She was helpless as she stood captive in his steadfast embrace.

  “I’ll give you your one secret, m’lady, and I’ll have the answer to my one question.” He pressed scorching wet kisses below her ear and onto her proffered neck. His parted lips skimmed lightly over the pulse beat he discovered and his hips rocked into her, sparking the now-familiar response in her body. “I desire you very much.”

  Though it wasn’t the secret Eden wished to hear, the confession made her quiver with pleasure. She let him explore her neck with his feverish lips. His teeth ravished her delicate flesh and his tongue soothed the aching fire his teeth unleashed. Eden moaned, tilting her head back to rest on his chest. The forearm around her waist pulled tight in violent passion so that she imagined he might strangle the life from her body with the force of it.

  Her hand moved to his head of its own accord. As her fingers dipped into his soft hair she couldn’t resist him. Monster, devil, beast, whatever he was, whatever he would be, she couldn’t resist. He had her completely under his spell and she didn’t want to escape from it.

  “And I desire for you to get on your knees and wrap your sweet lips around my shaft.” He paused, grabbing her jaw and forcing a finger between her lips. “I want to watch you suck on me.”

  She sucked lightly on his finger before he withdrew it. The idea of taking him into her mouth excited her, as did the prospect of seeing him completely naked.

  “Should we go back to the bedchamber, m’lord?” Eden froze at the prospect of being discovered by one of the servants. “I wouldn’t want to be seen in such a precarious position. It wouldn’t be proper.”

  “Nay.” Vladamir moved the hand on her neck to delve into the tight bodice of her gown. He grabbed the first tender breast his hand came upon and squeezed the mound in a passionate massage. He ran his fingers over her nipple and teased a cry from her lips. As he pinched the bud between two fingers, she thought she would explode. A torrent released itself between her legs, making cream ease down her thighs in anticipation.

  “But, the servants,” Eden protested halfheartedly. The duke ground his hips into her backside. The stiffened length of his shaft pressed into her, confusing her with its mystery. She bit her lips, stifling another moan. “What if they happen by?”

  “They wouldn’t dare.” Vladamir lightly nipped the tip of her ear with his teeth. He withdrew his hand from her strained bodice and in a deft movement grabbed the hindering material at the back of her neck. With a zealous tear, he ripped through her clothing. The jagged edges fell open to expose the long line of her spine. Instantly, his hands found her skin and caressed in long circles. The movement pushed the material from her shoulders to allow him better access to her chest.

  Eden inhaled with a rush and arched her chest forward at the thrill of his desire. His hands caressed her naked back in long kneading strokes that sent flames to her core. As his fingers trailed lower to her butt, she groaned, overwhelmed at the flow of turbulent emotions that blazed in the wake of his fingers.

  She leaned her head on his shoulder and reached her arms over her head to touch his hair. Vladamir gently rubbed the flesh of her sides as his roaming took him over her slender hips and to her stomach. The light scrape of his nails glided over her and she pulled his head closer to her neck, encouraging him in his savagery. She tried not to think of her lingering fears as she didn’t move to stop him.

  “Take off your gown,” Vladamir commanded harshly with a growl. “I want you naked when you suck me.”

  He didn’t wait for her to comply. With precise force, he ripped the clothing further from her slender shoulders, tearing it most of the way down to the floor. The material slid over her body to crash onto the dark stone and she stood naked before him.

  Vladamir growled and in that moment she knew she was completely his. He sought her skin with his lips, kissing and licking down her spine, stopping to nip playfully at her ass. It was too much. She tensed, too afraid to move, too scared he would stop. Her body was a frenzy of sensations—his hands, his mouth. Suddenly, he was kneeling before her, his face pressed into her naked stomach.

  The duke kissed her hip. Taking a finger, he thrust it into her wet slit, sliding in the cream he found there and stroked her clit in small circles, caressing her with his hands. She moaned, and her body awakened to him. The sound was uninhibited and throaty as it escaped her parted lips.

  She was ready, more than ready. Her back arched slightly and she trembled, dousing his hand with her desire. The action pushed her sex closer to his mouth and he licked her clit, parting her folds. He allowed her one small climax before drawing his fingers away. They glistened as he drew them to his mouth to taste her.

  “Exquisite,” he said. With a mischievous leer lining his mouth, he stood. Her eyes stayed with him.

  His gaze traveled over her lithe form and he seemed pleased that she didn’t try to hide herself from him. Her breasts strained for his touch—the large mounds aching for him. The duke cupped the firm globes until his fingers overflowed with their softness. He took in her every breath, her every shudder.

  “Don’t think, just feel,” he ordered. Leaning forward, he kissed her, rubbing her own taste over her lips. She moaned, prompting him to do the same. “I’ll try to take it slow, but I wish to have you. I’m going to have you. I have to have you.”

  Eden gasped in pleasure as he lifted her breast and tweaked the sensitive peak with his callused thumb. The taste on his lips was strange but addictive. She wanted more of it. She saw the black intensity of his gaze as he watched her reaction. His fingers moved lightly over her stomach, just above the throbbing center of her hips.

  “Now it’s your turn,” he urged, reaching for his braes. He loosened the ties, freeing his arousal to her. “Get on your knees. I want to feel your lips.”

  Eden obeyed, kneeling before him. She looked up his tight body, still covered with his tunic shirt. Reaching forward, she pulled it up. His hard shaft sprung forward, standing tall in a bed of dark hair.

  Slowly, she opened her mouth. The duke groaned, thrusting his cock forward to her lips. It brushed along the seam. The firm skin was like nothing she’d ever felt before and she couldn’t stop herself from licking it. He moaned in approval and she began licking at the entire length of his shaft, moving along the sides only to continue past the base to the soft globes hidden underneath.

  “Argh!” His whole body tensed as she did it. She again licked at his balls and again he squirmed. “Suck me. Now.”

  Eden pulled a globe into her mouth, sucking on the ball.

  “I meant my—by all the gods, don’t stop.”

  Eden touched his shaft as she rolled his ball in her mouth. Feeling adventurous, she took the second globe in as well. Vladamir’s hand wrapped around hers, showing her how to stroke him. He squeezed her tight.

  “Ah,” he growled. “My cock, now.”

  Understanding, she moved to take him between her lips. He thrust forward, burying himself deep in her throat. She nearly gagged, but the taste and smell of him made her crave more. She sucked him hard. The duke took her head in his hands and bobbed her face up and down, showing her how to do it.

  “Harder,” he urged, “suck harder.”

  Eden cupped his balls, obeying. She liked kneeling naked before him, giving him such obvious pleasure. Her thighs were wet and she parted them, letting the air cool her.

  “That’s it,” he grunted. “I’m going to give you some of my seed and I want you to drink it all down like a good little maiden. Don’t worry, I’ll hold back enough to pleasure you as well. You’re going to drink what I gi
ve you, aren’t you? You’re going to lick up every last drop and you’re going to like it, aren’t you?”

  She moaned in agreement, sucking harder, wanting to taste this seed he spoke of.

  “That’s right.” His body tensed and he grunted.

  Salty liquid filled her mouth as he came. His body shook and she followed his command, swallowing his seed. When she’d finished, Vladamir pulled his hands away from her face and swept her up into his embrace. His grip tightened possessively on her tender flesh and he leered wickedly at her before dipping his mouth to lick her exposed nipple. Eden shrieked at the sensations his plundering mouth brought forth. The heat of his forearm pressed near her naked thighs.

  Vladamir tightened his grasp on her as she spasmed and bucked in pleasure. Moving his mouth to claim hers, he pried her lips apart and delved his tongue roughly inside, probing and claiming the depths as his own.

  His embrace was insistent, and although it wasn’t tender, he didn’t hurt her either. With determination, he moved to an empty chamber. Kicking the door, he knocked the wooden obstacle open with his boot, not bothering to shut it behind them.

  The chamber was one that Eden had yet to order cleaned. It looked much like the prison he’d kept her in while she recovered from Luther’s beating. The dirty surroundings made her heart pound faster. Confusion and fear twirled in her head to mix with immense excitement and tremendous longing. Emotions that she couldn’t comprehend overwhelmed her senses until she could do nothing but let Vladamir control her. She didn’t fight his touch and didn’t run from him.

  Eden wrapped her hands around his neck. She quivered at the passion she felt in him. In a moment of modesty, she tried in vain to cover herself, pressing her chest to his, hiding her naked breasts in the hard fold of his war-hardened muscles. Vladamir growled when she rubbed against him. It was a beastly sound in the barren chamber. In the back of her mind, the lingering fear she’d tried to suppress grew, but his lips wouldn’t stop long enough to let her dwell on the sentiment.