Kept by Seduction

by Jaymie Holland

  “That’s it. You’re crazy.” Awai jerked her hand from Ty’s and backed away from him as if his derangement was contagious. “You’re freaking nuts.” It wasn’t a question—she was positive he was crazy. Well, almost. Sort of?

  Ty gave her that boyish grin that made her stomach quiver. “My parents divided the entire Kingdom of Tarok into four smaller kingdoms before they died.” He gestured to the lands as though encompassing everything around him. “My mother loved to play card games, and she chose to name the kingdoms after each of the suits in a deck of playing cards. The entire lands of Tarok combined were named after another game she enjoyed.”

  She shook her head. “This is so unreal.”

  He smiled and took her hand, and gently pulled her down the hill toward his palace. Its soft-toned walls glowed in the late spring sunlight.

  She allowed him to lead her, but as they walked she asked, “Are my nieces here? I want to see them now.”

  “They are each in their respective kingdoms.” He glanced at her and saw the frustration and disappointment in her expression. “I will send word that you have arrived.”

  Ty kept his tone even, hoping she would accept what he had to say next. “Your family members have been expecting you, but it will take them time to prepare for the trip. The kings and queens will need to handle matters in their kingdoms and it will take time to journey here. I am quite certain they will want to bring their children.”

  Awai came to an abrupt stop, jerking against Ty’s hand, bringing him to a halt, too. Her head swam with what he had just said. Shit, how could he just pop that one on her as if it was no big deal?

  “Children?” Her voice squeaked as she spoke and she could only stare at him with incredulity.

  “Between the three queens and kings, they have many cubs,” he said.

  She blinked. “Cubs?”

  Ty was still talking. “Alice and Jarronn have three sets of twins, Alexi and Darronn have triplet boys and a new daughter, and Annie also has an infant female cub.”

  Awai released Ty’s hand and dropped to the ground beneath a flowery moss-covered tree. She let the whip fall to her side. Grass prickled her butt as she buried her face in her hands. Her elbows braced on her knees, she tried to absorb the fact that the girls were now all mothers.

  Mothers.

  Unless Ty was lying through his teeth.

  She raised her head to find that he was now sitting next to her, studying her with a calm expression on his handsome features.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” She pushed her hair out of her face as a burst of anger rushed through her at her next thought. “My nieces are some kind of baby factories for your world?”

  Ty frowned. “Annie, Alexi, and Alice each love their mates. They chose to join with my brothers and they each chose to bear children.”

  Awai shook her head, a loose tendril of hair falling back across her face. “Maybe Annie and Alice, but Alexi is too much like me, too career-driven to want to have kids.”

  Ty’s frown deepened. “You do not wish to have offspring?”

  “Are you kidding?” Awai raised her hands. “Look at me. I’m in my early thirties, I’m set in my ways, not to mention kids would cramp my style and interfere with my career.”

  The corner of Ty’s mouth quirked. “You are but a youngling compared to the people of my world. I am well over two hundred of your Earth years.”

  It was all too much. Awai flung herself on her back in the grass, her arms above her. Her head was really spinning now. She stared up at the tree and at the aqua-colored clouds peeking through the lacy leaves.

  “I can’t take this,” she muttered and closed her eyes, shutting out the craziness of it all.

  She stiffened as she felt Ty’s lips brush over hers. She felt overwhelmed and disoriented, as if the ground was tilting.

  He ran his tongue along her lower lip before he slid it into her mouth and kissed her. At the same time, he used his fingers to caress her from hip to thigh.

  The ground was almost as hard as a floor beneath her as she squeezed her eyes tighter.

  Images of being flat on her back on a hardwood floor filled her mind. Of John Steele standing over her after he’d knocked her down.

  Tears burned at the back of Awai’s eyes as she rolled away from Ty and scrambled to her feet. Pain from the memory lanced through her head, but she would not shed one more goddamn tear over that man.

  I promised myself. I promised.

  Her heels sank into the soft earth and grass as she moved away from Ty. She walked until she was at the highest rise of a hill, overlooking a sweep of white cherry blossoms. She looked down at the rolling terrain to the drop beneath her, and a lake beyond that. She hugged her arms tightly to her chest as if that would protect her from the memories of that bastard who had brutalized her until she had finally escaped him.

  Ty eased to his feet as he watched Awai walk away. A thousand heart-wounds weighted her soul, so tangible he could feel them in the very air around him.

  Damnation. His instincts and senses told him she had much to overcome, yet he had barreled ahead like a harline bull in rutting fervor.

  She stood at the top of the hill with her back to him, rigid with defiance and pain. She was so beautiful, so proud. Ty’s soul ached for her, and he wanted to do whatever he could to make her smile. To heal the wounds and make her happy.

  With the silence and grace of his species, Ty moved up to the rise until he was so close he could feel her body heat, could sense her sadness and anger, smell her perfume of orchids and musk. When he grasped her shoulders with his large hands, she tensed, then relaxed as he pulled her against his chest. He slipped his hands down her arms and around her waist, and settled his chin on top of her head.

  “I am sorry, I should not have pushed you so soon.” He breathed in the scent of her hair, felt her shuddering sigh at his words. “Of all that you see before you, I am the ruler, my sweet. As king I never have had to ask for submission. It is simply a part of our lives, something my people enjoy.”

  “I understand.” Awai’s voice was quiet as she spoke. “I don’t like to admit to fear of any kind, but please understand this is a part of me—to fear submitting to a man.” She gave a soul-deep sigh. “Long ago my ex-husband physically abused me and almost killed me. I swore I’d never let any man dominate me again.”

  Ty stiffened at her words, rage overcoming him like a thunderstorm. How dare any man abuse a woman? Especially this woman. “I will kill the bastard if he still lives,” he growled, his words nearly a roar. “Once a path opens, you will lead me to him and I will see that he never harms another woman again.”

  Awai couldn’t believe the vehemence in Ty’s statement. She turned in his embrace, placed her palms flat against his bare chest, and tilted her head up to look at him. “John isn’t worth it. I decided long ago I wouldn’t waste any time or energy on that man again.”

  “But look what he has done to you.” Ty pressed her closer to him, his hands now at her lower back. “You fear what you desire most. He still rules your future because of his cruelty in your past. To move forward you must meet head-on your greatest fears.”

  She smiled, the corners of her mouth trembling. “I think you are right, and perhaps having these fears gives power to my ex.” She gave another soul-shuddering sigh and shook her head. “But I need time…time to let it all go.”

  Ty narrowed his brows as he gave another feral growl. “Once you are healed, once you have all that you desire, I will take care of the bastard.”

  Awai shivered at the intensity of Ty’s growl. “How do you do that growling thing? You don’t sound like a man. You sound like a lion or a tiger.”

  He stepped back, his hands slipping away from her waist, the warmth of his chest gone, leaving her cold. “Better now than later,” he said, his expression gentle.

  Awai’s head buzzed and she felt as if she’d slipped right into an episode of an old werewolf movie as she stared at Ty—or wh
at had been Ty. He was shifting, his mouth elongating into a muzzle, white and black hair covering his skin, a tail growing from his ass, and his arms turning into legs as he lowered to the ground and crouched on all fours. Whiskers sprouted from his face, and he gave a low roar.

  She brought her hand to her chest. “You’re a tiger.”

  “Weretiger,” he corrected in her mind.

  Awai stumbled back. “You talked—in my head.” Never mind that she was now speaking with a freaking tiger.

  “When we are tigers, we have the ability to thought-speak.” He eased toward her, like a predator stalking its prey, and she took another step back. Ty stopped. “Do not move, Awai,” he said, his tone urgent.

  Before Awai could ask what he meant, one of her high heels slipped. She was too shocked to scream as her whole body dropped to the ground. In the next second she started to slide down the hillside.

  In one bound Ty reached Awai. He snatched her by her blouse with his tiger teeth, and caught her before she fell any farther down the hill.

  As if she were a child, he pulled her forward so she was lying on the grass. For a moment Awai just stayed there, her heart pounding, blood rushing through her veins and throbbing in her head. She was so lucky he’d caught her. The drop down the hillside could have been deadly.

  The tiger lowered himself to the ground beside her and licked her cheek with his rough tongue. “I am sorry. Had I but thought—the hill—sometimes I am impulsive. It is a fault I work daily to overcome.”

  “You saved me.” Awai eased up so she was sitting on grass and leaves beside Ty the tiger, her heart still pounding. “Okay, so a weretiger can come in handy now and again.”

  He rested on his side, and in the soft hair on his belly was the pattern of a black club. She reached out and stroked it, and his chest rumbled. It was a low sound that sent a thrill through her, making her body tingle and her clit throb. She glanced at his big ears and saw that he even wore the same gold earring when he was a tiger as he did when he was a man.

  She slid her fingers up his belly, then away from him. She clenched her hands in her lap as she said, “The dominance thing you keep talking about—and this.” She gestured to him. “A weretiger? You think I would submit to and fuck a weretiger?”

  His rumbling chuckle filled her thoughts and reverberated through her like a mini-orgasm.

  Then he was transforming again. This time from tiger to man with the white and black hair vanishing or in some cases returning to clothing as he shifted to a sitting position. His long blond hair again flowed over his shoulders, his rogue’s smile teasing her as he sat close to her with one arm propped on his knee.

  “I am as much a man as I am a weretiger,” he murmured as he caught a tendril of her dark hair between his thumb and forefinger. “You will most definitely be fucking this man.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AFTER TY HELPED AWAI brush dirt, grass, and leaves from her clothing, he returned to where she had dropped her whip and scooped it up. He kept hold of it as he escorted her to the palace.

  Unlike the Awai who took the world by storm, she felt out of her element, unsure of what to do or how to act. When they entered the walls and passed the king’s servants within the sweeping hallways, she and Ty were met by respectful bows and curious glances.

  Like Ty, the men mostly wore leather breeches, some with lace-up leather shirts and others bare-chested. The women were dressed in form-fitting robes, and it was obvious by their prominent nipples that they didn’t wear bras. Heck, Awai didn’t see any panty lines, so they probably didn’t wear underwear, either.

  The bedroom he led her to was expansive and airy, and absolutely perfect. A circular bed was the centerpiece of the room, and all the furnishings were rounded and curved. A curved bookcase hugged one rounded wall. The wood was glossy and brown, like oak, only a much richer color.

  The room’s covers and furnishings mimicked the shades of the hillside. Cherry blossom white, rich greens, and deep reds. It was as if the room itself was made of spring.

  Ty tossed her whip onto the bed and Awai moved to one of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that led to a balcony. The windows reminded her of her condo in San Francisco, only here there were no skyscrapers in view. The sun peeked through blue-green clouds, the rolling hills were covered in blossoms, and the bustling village sprawled across the valley below.

  She felt Ty’s presence before he spoke. “This is my kingdom, and it will be yours as well.”

  Despite the arrogance in his statement, Awai looked over her shoulder. “My queendom, you mean? After all, I am a Domme.”

  He gave a low chuckle that came out as a rumble. He kissed the curve of her neck, causing her to sigh. “I will teach you that submitting to me will fulfill your deepest needs and heal your heart and soul. Trust me. Let me tame you.”

  “That will never happen.” She gave an unladylike snort. “You can’t tame me.”

  Ty turned her toward him while he pulled at the neck of her blouse and revealed her shoulder. She caught her breath as he licked a path from her neck all the way down the soft skin. His tongue was even rough, like a tiger’s, in human form.

  He raised his head, a feral look in his blue gaze. “You will be mine, Awai. You will always be allowed to make your own choice, and you will choose to be my queen.”

  “You sure are a cocky SOB.” She tilted her head. “If I made the choice to submit to you—which would be a cold day in hell—it would be for sex and nothing more. You might as well give up on the queen thing.”

  He smiled. “We shall see.”

  A beautiful woman came through the open doorway bearing a platter filled with food.

  The smells that permeated the air were wonderful. Like baked chicken and homemade biscuits. Not her usual healthy fare—at least not the biscuit part, if that’s what they were. Who knew in this strange world?

  “Thank you, sorceress,” Ty said to the woman who set the tray on a table in the corner of the room.

  “My pleasure, Majesty.” The woman gave a low bow. She was stunning with black hair and amber eyes, a voluptuous figure, and a form-fitting black robe.

  “The Sorceress Kalina will attend to your needs and your bath.” Ty caught Awai’s hand and brushed his lips across the back of it in a touch so light it caused her to shiver. “I will return tomorrow.”

  She watched him leave as he strode out of the room and closed the door behind him. The room felt empty without his bigger-than-life presence. He was a powerful man and it showed in his every movement and in his manner when he spoke to her.

  “The palace is amazing.” Awai looked from the door to Kalina. “It’s all gorgeous, inside an out. You must love it here.”

  “It is my favorite of all four of the kings’ homes.” Kalina gave a conspiratorial grin. “Please do not share that with them.”

  Awai smiled back. “It’s our secret.”

  “You may want to eat while the food is still warm.” Kalina took bowls, plates, and a large mug off the tray and placed them on the table. She set the tray aside on a credenza. “The cooks are quite good here.”

  Awai put her hand to her rumbling belly. She hadn’t noticed with all that had happened, but she was hungry. She had eaten a late supper, not knowing what would happen once “they” came for her. Ty’s arrival in her condo seemed like ages ago.

  “It smells so good.” Awai went to the table, which was near a cold fireplace. She rubbed her arms with both palms, apprehension chilling her skin. Yet the weather was balmy, no need for a fire.

  “It is quite pleasing to the palate,” Kalina said.

  Awai seated herself as she brought her feelings back under control. “A little unusual looking, but I have a feeling I’m going to like it.” She picked up a fork. “I’ve always loved trying different cuisines.”

  Kalina sat at the table with Awai. “I enjoyed the fare before you arrived in the palace. Tonight’s meal is certainly fit for royalty.”

  Awai had to agree. She
didn’t know for sure what was in everything, but she enjoyed a creamy soup that tasted like lobster bisque, a salad of unusual vegetables of colors she’d never seen before, and medallions of meat that was something like chicken, along with a biscuit-like roll. It had unusual spices in it, but it was fantastic.

  She hoped she’d be able to work out here. She had to keep up with exercise to maintain her figure—it was something she couldn’t take for granted.

  While she ate, Awai chatted with Kalina. The woman was beyond gorgeous and the sparkly red on her lids, and the dark eyeliner added to her beauty.

  “How long have you been here?” Awai took a bite of her biscuit as she waited for Kalina to respond.

  “From the time King Karn married Queen Annie.” Kalina smiled. “I have served each king as he brought his mate into this world, starting with Alice. After one couple bonded, I moved on to the next king and then the next until it was time for me to come to Clubs.”

  Awai knew she had to have a look of incredulity. She swallowed the bite she’d taken. “I can’t believe my nieces are queens.” She shook her head. “Here I am, learning my nieces are royalty and Ty wants me to be his queen. It’s crazy. How is it that the four of us were picked?”

  The sorceress tipped her head to the side, appearing thoughtful. “The cards chose you.”

  “Cards chose us?” Awai blinked. “Are you kidding?”

  Kalina nodded. “It is my belief you are all destined to be here because you are the perfect mates for the kings, and so you would have loved ones near.”

  “Nothing makes sense.” Awai speared a medallion and brought it to her mouth. “But then nothing else about this situation or world does.”

  Kalina shifted in her seat and adjusted her robe. The opening dipped low in the front, exposing a hint of cleavage. “Your nieces are quite happy in our world and take great delight in their mates and their children.”

  “Children.” Awai couldn’t help but shake her head again. “Annie was a virgin when she vanished, so clearly that’s not the case anymore.” She smiled when she thought of her niece finally getting laid. “I think Alexi staying here and being a mom surprises me the most, because she’s been so career driven. She’s always been a lot like me, and I never plan to have children.”