Mastered By Love

by Tori Minard

  “I appreciate your concern, Dr. Holla, but he won’t hurt me. There’s no need to worry.”

  Holla sighed, shaking her head. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I know him and trust him.”

  The doctor gave her a baffled stare. “Isn’t this the man who abducted and enslaved you?”

  Dario flushed.

  “There’s more to the story than that,” Tariza countered, her face heating. They were all blushing today.

  The doctor shook her head again. “I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.” She sounded like she thought Tariza had lost her mind. “Is there anything else you require of me?”

  “No. You may go,” Tariza said in a most regal tone.

  Dario turned his head to watch Holla walk through Tariza’s door and into the hallway.

  “I never knew her name,” he said after the door had shut behind her.

  “Did she ... use you?” Tariza said hesitantly.

  He sent her a sidelong glance. “Many times.”

  “And she never told you her name?”

  “No. Never.”

  He couldn’t read the expression in her eyes. Sad? Angry? Disgusted, perhaps. She probably did feel disgust for the way he’d allowed himself to be used. God knew he did.

  Yet there was no disgust in the motion of her hand as she lifted it to his face and caressed him. Her thumb traced the line of his eyebrow, then the top of his cheekbone and down to his lips.

  “I wish I’d known sooner what they were doing to you.”

  “You wouldn’t have taken me out of the prison,” he said.

  Her brows creased. “Of course I would. How could you think I’d leave you there?”

  She rose up on her knees and leaned into him, bringing their faces close together. Suddenly he could hardly breathe through the desire that gripped him. He spread one hand against the small of her back.

  Tariza’s gaze fell to his lips. She leaned in, brushing her mouth across his. He kissed her back, keeping his response gentle, undemanding. If he let himself go, he’d have her under him, on the floor. He’d be inside her in a moment.

  Her other hand cupped the back of his neck. She moaned softly against his lips, her fingers playing in his hair. Dario’s cock rose with a hungry throb.

  Chapter 24

  Tariza quivered against Dario’s body, her pussy aching to have him again. It had been so long. So long. And she’d thought she would never be with him like this again.

  The door crashed open with such a bang Tariza jerked in Dario’s embrace. She turned her head to glare at the intruder who dared enter her chambers without permission and jerked again. Queen Merita stood just inside the doorway, her face rigid with furious disapproval.

  “What is this I hear about you abdicating?” she snapped.

  “It’s not really abdication, is it?,” Tariza said, keeping her voice mild. “I’m only the heir.”

  “Don’t play silly word games with me, Tariza. You know how much I hate it when you treat your position lightly.”

  “I’m not treating it lightly, Mother. I’m passing it on to Lenora. She’s far more suited to the position than I am. Think of it this way. You’ll no longer have to be disappointed in me.”

  “Whatever are you talking about? I’m not dis –” She broke off to stare open-mouthed at Dario. “What is he doing here?”

  “You know, that’s the same thing Holla said when she came in to treat him. And it’s the same thing I thought when I found him in the prison today. I wonder why that is?”

  Her mother’s face turned an angry red. “He belongs in prison. That’s why.”

  “Does he?”

  Merita frowned at her. “He committed a crime punishable by death. The only reason I kept him alive was to avenge your abduction.”

  “You kept it secret from me,” Tariza said coldly.

  “Because you were so distraught.”

  I was distraught because I thought he was dead.

  Tariza shifted away from Dario. He watched her, wary again, maybe expecting treachery. She wished she could reassure him, but that would give her away to the Queen and she didn’t want her mother knowing the real state of her relationship with him.

  She rose to her feet and advanced on the older woman. “Don’t you think I had the right to know what became of him?”

  “I –”

  “Don’t you think I’d want to see him meet his punishment? Why would you deny me that?”

  Merita looked strangely unsure of herself. “I wanted to spare you pain.”

  “You cheated me.”

  The queen made a helpless gesture. “I’m sorry. I did what I thought best.”

  “I want him for my personal slave.”

  Dario made a low sound in his throat. She didn’t look at him.

  “No.” Merita shook her head. “That’s highly inappropriate.”

  “It’s perfectly appropriate. Turnabout is fair play, right? He enslaved me. Now I enslave him.”

  “He’s dangerous.”

  “Really?” She put her hands on her hips. “Is that why every woman in your court has fucked him at least once in the past few weeks?”

  Merita colored again. “Tariza, really –”

  “I know all about it. I’m not sure how so many women managed to keep it a secret from me, though.”

  “You weren’t interested. You wouldn’t come out of your rooms.”

  Dario openly stared at Tariza, as if amazed at the revelation. Had he thought she was glad to have him gone?

  “Well, I’m coming out now,” Tariza said.

  “Not with him.”

  “Oh, yes. I plan to take him with me everywhere.”

  “He’s not one of our regular boys. He’s a warrior. I know you can fight, but you’re no match for someone his size if he gets out of hand.”

  Tariza smiled bitterly. “Don’t you think I know that?”

  The queen’s face went stiff with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean – that is, I know –”

  “I can handle him, Mother. I know a lot more about him than you do.”

  “Yes, I saw how you were handling him when I came in.”

  Tariza tossed her head. “He has very kissable lips. I’d suggest you try them for yourself, but I have no intention of sharing him.”

  The queen’s mouth opened and shut, yet no sound emerged from her throat. Tariza had never seen her mother at such a loss for words. Merita had never seen this side of her eldest daughter and it must be coming as a shock. There was going to be a lot more of it, of course, because Tariza was done playing the role of dutiful heir.

  She clasped Dario’s shoulder. “I claim this man as mine. He has my name carved into his arm. I need him, Mother. I need him to service me as payment for what he stole from me.”

  Merita’s nostrils flared. “I still think it’s extremely unwise. Wait a moment – he has your name on his arm?”

  “Yes. Carved by a knife blade. His arm now matches the marks on mine.”

  “I want to see this.”

  “Dario, show Her Majesty the mark.”

  His gaze met hers for an instant before he seemed to remember where he was. Looking quickly down, he unwrapped the bandaging on his left arm. Tariza lifted the arm, holding it out for her mother to see.

  The queen took a few cautious steps forward and bent down to get a better look. She kept a discreet distance, though, as if she thought Dario might bite her.

  “By the Goddess, it really is your name.” The queen’s startled gaze met Tariza’s. “Is this your doing?”

  She would have liked to say yes, but her mother would doubtless have the story from Holla, and soon. “No. He did it himself.”

  “Why?” Now Merita sounded angry. “What is it supposed to mean? Does he mock you with this absurdity?”

  “I honor her,” Dario said, a hint of his old arrogance in his voice.

  “You dare speak without permission?” Merita said, glaring ferociously at him. “Keep sile
nt or I’ll have you muzzled.”

  Dario’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t speak.

  Tariza squeezed his shoulder. “He’s still learning our ways, Mother.” Goddess, he’d said the same thing about her when she was new to Saturnios.

  “He’s not trainable. He’s been like a crazed animal ever since we captured him. Why do you think we’ve had him in such heavy shackles?”

  Because you wanted to have him raped in view of the whole court.

  “I can train him.”

  Merita laughed. “Will you listen to yourself? Even Rosaria can’t control him without the heaviest chains and a whip and pole. How do you think you’re going to do it?”

  “Rosaria isn’t me.”

  “That carving on his arm is just a way to get close to you so he can finish what he started.”

  “I disagree.”

  “If you do this,” the queen said, “he’ll destroy you. I can feel it.”

  Did Merita suspect something of the passion between them? Her suspicions could make it impossible for Tariza to get Dario out of Concordia. If the queen thought her daughter loved the former prince of Saturnios, she’d put both of them in locked cells.

  “He doesn’t have the power to destroy me,” she said, with as much contempt as she could manufacture. “He’s only powerful back in Saturnios, where everyone bows down to him and flatters his sense of self-importance. Here, he’s just another boy, although more rebellious than most.”

  Merita’s slender brows rose. “Is that so? I think you’re over-confident.”

  “What about a trial period?” Tariza said. “If I haven’t brought him to heel within a month, I’ll send him back to prison.”

  “Two weeks and not a day more,” Merita countered.

  Two weeks. Could she find a way in such a short time to get them to Margelia without being intercepted? Tariza sighed. It would have to do.

  “All right. Two weeks.”

  Merita turned her icy stare on Dario. “If you harm my daughter in any way, I’ll have you skinned alive. Is that clear?”

  Dario nodded.

  “Say it aloud.”

  “Yes, it’s clear, Your Majesty.”

  “Skinned alive, slave. I’ll have your hide tanned and hung in my great hall for everyone to see.”

  Tariza stared at her mother. Skinned? Tanned? Had the woman lost her mind?

  “I understand, Your Majesty,” Dario said grimly. “I would never harm the princess.”

  “Good. See that you remember what I’ve said today.” The queen turned on her heel and swept from the room without a farewell.

  ***

  Dario’s shoulders fell the instant the queen was gone. The truth was, he slumped with relief. She might be small in stature, but the woman had a formidable will and she hated him more than anyone else he’d ever met. If she said she would skin him alive, he believed it.

  At one time, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. Now, standing in Tariza’s room with the woman he loved beside him, he wanted to live.

  He ran his fingers through his oily hair. He could feel the grease and dirt coating the strands. He must smell terrible. How could Tariza bring herself to touch him? “God, I’m filthy.”

  “We’ll have a bath after dinner. Or would you rather do it before?”

  He looked at her warily. “Isn’t that your decision, Mistress?”

  Tariza took his hands. “We’re alone now. We don’t have to pretend.”

  “I wasn’t aware we were pretending.”

  “I had to put on a show for Rosaria and my mother.” Her eyes looked sincere, even if her words were difficult to believe. “I’m not sure if Rosaria can be trusted, and if the queen discovered how I really feel about you, she’d probably throw me into prison.

  “She’d punish you for despising me?”

  “Dario ...” Her voice faded.

  Maybe she thought he didn’t know.

  “They said you left me there to rot. You didn’t want me,” he said tonelessly. “I don’t blame you for hating me after what I did.”

  She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Stop. I didn’t leave you there. They let me think you were dead. I didn’t know you were ever in the palace at all.”

  Hope lifted a cautious head. “You didn’t know?”

  “I told my sister how much I missed you and she still said nothing.”

  Dario studied her beloved face, the amber-brown eyes he’d longed to see again, and saw not hatred but longing there. “I thought – God knows I deserve your hatred.”

  “I could never hate you.”

  “Why not?” he said bleakly. Even he despised himself. “I ruined your life.”

  “You changed my life.”

  “You told me you hated me.”

  She sighed. “I know. I was angry and afraid.”

  “What I did was unforgivable. I know that now. My only excuse is I didn’t understand at the time.” He forced himself to hold her gaze, although he wanted to crawl away with his shame and guilt and hide. But she deserved to hear this and to have him look at her while he said it, no matter how much it pained him.

  “I realized, when they ... punished me ... what it must have been like for you. I’m sorry, Tariza, so sorry. I don’t have the words to express how much I regret what I did to you. I only hope you can forgive me someday.”

  “Oh, Dario.” She spread her palm against his cheek again. “Kidnapping me was wrong. But somehow ... I don’t know ... it doesn’t seem to matter anymore. You showed me things I never would have seen if you hadn’t taken me.”

  His brows pulled together in disbelief. “Such as?”

  “I didn’t know men and women could be friends.”

  “Neither did I.” But that hardly seemed enough to balance the harm he’d done to her.

  Tariza smiled. “And I didn’t know how wonderful sex could be. Here in Concordia, we work so hard to control the men that we don’t really experience them.”

  He snorted. “You certainly experienced me.”

  “Yes, I did.” Her hand slipped around and into his dirty hair. “Until you, I’d never had sex that completely took me outside myself. I’d never really known ecstasy.”

  Dario tried to pull away. “That doesn’t make it all right.”

  “I’ve already forgiven you.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t do that. You can’t –”

  “Stop that. It’s not your place to tell me what I can and can’t forgive.”

  He flushed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Her eyes crinkled at the corners and her lips twitched. “Submissiveness sits poorly on you.”

  Dario laughed shortly. “I’m learning.”

  She looked up at him with an expression he couldn’t read. Couldn’t make sense of it. She looked almost affectionate. “I don’t want that for you.”

  He frowned with narrowed eyes. “What do you want, then?”

  She leaned in close. “I’m going to get you back to Saturnios,” she whispered in his ear.

  “What? No.” His hand tightened on hers. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I’m going too.”

  Dario jerked in shock. “No. I don’t ever want you back in Saturnios. You’d be – what the hell are you thinking, Tariza? You’d be enslaved all over again.”

  She just looked at him, her eyes shining with an intensity of emotion he dared not name. “I know. I want you to be happy.”

  “Not like that.”

  “I know what I’m doing, Dario.”

  “No.” He shook his head, the horror of seeing her once again enslaved nearly robbing him of speech. “It’s too much. You can’t – I’d rather stay here than risk you going back.”

  “Dario.” She rose up and kissed him briefly on his mouth. “I want to do this because I love you.”

  He stilled, his gaze fixed on her face, his mind struggling to make sense of her words. “You –”

  Love me?

  It couldn’t be true. It was t
oo much, so much more than he deserved.

  “I love you,” she said softly. “I would do anything for you.”

  Dario grabbed her, hauled her tight against his body, buried his face in her hair. His heart thundered in his ears. “Sweet girl. My sweet girl. I love you, too. So much. God, I love you.”

  She held onto him. Dario breathed in her scent as she stroked his back. If he had his way, he’d never let her go again.

  “We have to go back,” she said. “You’re not safe here.”

  He tilted her face up and covered her with kisses. “Darling, no. I’m not taking you back there. We’ll find another way.”

  “But your family –”

  “And yours. They’ll survive without us.” Shadow had intimated – no, stated outright – they’d be welcome on Belleren. “We’ll go to Margelia, to the Bellerenic embassy. Shadow will help us.”

  “Belleren?” she said quizzically.

  “Would you be willing to live among the Demon Kin? We have an invitation.”

  She stared at him for a moment before breaking out in a huge grin. “I would love to see their world.”

  “I hear they have a lot of horses in the back country. Maybe we can have a little ranch, raise horses.”

  Her eyes suddenly glistened. “You’d really do that for me? Leave your native world?”

  “I’d do anything for you.”

  The food came. Dario knelt at Tariza’s feet while the servant – a slave – pushed the trolley up to her table and pulled the covers off the food. The other male gave him nervous glances as he went about his duties. Did he think Dario would attack him?

  The attitudes of these people were becoming tiresome. Everyone here seemed to think he was some kind of inhuman beast, a wild and dangerous creature that could never be trusted. Before his capture, he’d taken some amusement from the Concordian attitudes toward men. They didn’t seem funny anymore.

  The slave left. Tariza smiled at him. “Come up here and sit next to me.”

  “You’re not going to feed me from your hand?”

  She frowned. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “I’d like to take food from your hand.”

  “Dario, you don’t have to continue doing penance. I’ve forgiven you.”