“You will do no such thing,” Devin growled.
“I am still sovereign of this realm, Brother, and all will obey my command.” Malachi’s fangs slid out from beneath his upper lip as he shrugged out of his cloak. His body, muscles bulging beneath his skin, radiated his potential to rip limbs from sockets. “Defeat me if you can.” A sinister laugh followed, one that crawled along my skin.
One of the lackeys gripped the back of my neck and one arm, yanking me from the floor and dragging me a few feet away. The other went to the wall and pressed a button. Chains descended from the ceiling with a metal bar suspended between them. Cuffs dangled at either end of it.
“Devin!” I screamed and thrashed as much as the meaty man’s hold would allow.
My mate roared and circled Malachi, still gripping the sword.
“Did you tell Katharine what will happen if you lose?” Malachi crouched low as he stalked in an arc matching Devin’s path.
“She doesn’t need to know.”
The giant gripped one of my wrists with both hands and held it up to the cuff, while the other wrapped the metal band around and slid in a pin to secure it.
“Oh, but I want her to know, Brother.” The sovereign’s flaming orange eyes turned to me. “You want to know his fate, don’t you, Katharine?”
No, I really didn’t.
A click sounded as a shackle locked around my other wrist. I stared at Devin, at the purpose in each step, at his perfect profile, the determination in the set of his masculine jaw. What had he risked to save me? Had I been wrong to expect him to protect me against such a sociopath? Had I sentenced him to a fate worse than death?
I gathered my courage, talked my heart out of its sprint, and glared at Malachi. “Yes, I want to know.”
Devin launched at his master in a blur of skin and leather.
Laughing, Malachi blinked out and reappeared on the far side of the hole in the floor. “He’ll be encased in a silver room, naked, with only a square of marble large enough to stand on. With no food, no companionship, no access to the energy of the Circle, unable to lie down or take a step without burning his flesh. He will wither to nothing in the grips of insanity.”
A ripple of pain seized my body. I shook my head, yanking on the shackles that bit into my flesh. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I was asking of you. Just stop this. Please. I’ll submit to him, and everything will be okay.”
“No. I will save you from a lifetime of torment, and I will return peace to our lives, the way it once was.” Devin’s voice boomed into a battle cry. “All of our lives!” He turned those deep eyes to me. “You’ve given me the courage to end his era, Katharine. I fight for all of us, all who have suffered at his whims. I will accept my fate however this ends and be able to live with myself afterward. Trust me, now.”
Wetness filled my eyes. “I love you.” The truth sang through my body. Despite the hell we stood in, a smile grew on my lips. The same sense of home I’d had in his arms surrounded me with comfort.
He pressed fingertips to his mouth and extended them toward me. His smile gave me courage.
A sharp pain accompanied a loud smack across my ass. My scream came unbidden. Along with the sting came a hot rush of endorphins through my flesh.
Devin turned to face me instead of his foe, a fist clenched at his hip. Malachi moved faster than I could see, slamming into him from the side and knocking them both several yards across the polished floor before I could shout a warning. The sword clattered away from Devin’s grip.
The giant sliced away my corset with a long knife, accompanied by a terrible ripping sound.
“Wait.” I shook my head to calm myself. “I’m supposed to have a safe word. Aren’t I?”
The one behind me laughed. “This is not your local neighborhood BDSM club, my dear.”
Another strike came across my back. A rush of air escaped my concentrated effort to stall it, but no other sound. I needed to be silent so I wouldn’t distract Devin anymore.
“Impressive.” The redhead came around to face me, a narrow stick in his hand. “I shall have to try harder.”
I stared past him, face blank, though my rapid breathing gave away my reaction to the burn spiraling out from my back.
Snarling and snapping broke out as Malachi and Devin rolled and pummeled one another. The others spread out to the periphery, watching as their fates were decided by the dueling pair. By the tension cording their muscles, I imagined they would have intervened had the rules permitted it.
Malachi kicked Devin in the abdomen, launching him into the far wall with a bone-crunching thud.
With a groan, Devin rolled his neck until it cracked. When he stalked forward again, blood trickled out of his left ear.
He struck like a whip at his sovereign. A grunt came as Malachi doubled over, clutching his stomach. Devin leapt halfway to the ceiling and came down hard on his back.
Malachi blipped out and reappeared right in front of me. A wet cough shook him, sending a ruby trickle down his chin. “Take him down but do not kill him.” He swept the room with his glare. “Do as I say. All of you.”
“You must defeat me alone, sovereign.” Devin strode forward, snatching up the sword on his way. Victory shone from his bright eyes. “You know the rules.”
A devilish grin slipped along Malachi’s lips. He sighed and rolled his eyes as if Devin behaved like a silly child. “Since when do I follow the rules, Brother?”
The human guests herded toward the door as the other immortals stared at one another with questioning eyes.
“You have gone mad.” Devin’s steps slowed until he stopped several feet away. “I’m ashamed it took so long for me to see it.”
“I know you felt, and probably still feel, the power we gained from our tryst with Katharine. Imagine my strength when she takes me to new heights alone.” His focus returned to me as he licked his lips. “I’ll be invincible. Unstoppable. Unless you all want to fall under my wrath, I suggest you follow my order.”
Shit. How had I made them more powerful?
Devin shot me a fleeting glance, but I caught his alarm well enough anyway. One look at the cowering immortals told me our situation had worsened. They hesitated only a moment before two barrel-chested ones rushed forward. Another group with bared fangs pursued a moment later.
With my eyes glued to the ensuing chaos, I hadn’t noticed Malachi pulling the pins from my shackles. I fell into his arms, too startled to react before he threw me over his shoulder and darted down the stairs. The giant and redhead followed behind us.
“Devin!” I screamed and kicked my feet, but Malachi’s forearm clamped my thighs against his chest, limiting my mobility.
A roar came from the room above. Metal clanked against metal. Had others retrieved weapons?
“Strap her to the bench.” Malachi threw me onto the floor beside an unusual piece of furniture with padded sections. I knew little about the fetish world, but I thought it might be a spanking bench.
The brutish one looped an arm around my waist and laid me face down on the apparatus, my knees resting on the lowest upholstered step. The redhead bound my hands in leather restraints at the front, while tightening around my thighs let me know other straps would soon hold me in place.
Immobilized, exposed, and at Malachi’s mercy, terror broke free of my grip and rampaged through my flesh in hot flashes. Panted gasps rose and fell from my lips. “Devin! Devin!”
Growls and ripping sounds continued upstairs. What happened to me didn’t matter. Devin needed my help. The revelation allowed me to catch my breath and slow my pulse.
Think, Katharine, think!
My whole life had been laid out and handed to me without a say from me, and still I waited for someone else to decide my future, to save me. I needed to do something, or I could never live with myself. I had to stand on my own despite my fear of failing. If I didn’t fix it, we’d both be condemned to separate hells for eternity. Thoughts of a life without him, without th
e love that wafted from him like the essence of heaven, renewed my courage.
A blow landed across my ass. I contained the scream. After taking a moment to compose myself, I turned my eyes up to the giant who watched from where he leaned against the wall.
“If you let your sovereign do this, your lives will get infinitely worse.” Another smack from a wide paddle stole my breath for a moment.
Malachi’s snicker followed.
“You can help me stop this,” I continued. “Devin wants a better existence for all of you. You know I’m telling the truth.”
“Save your breath, Katharine.” Malachi punctuated his demand with a smack across my shoulders. “They are mine, and they enjoy the pleasures I allow them. Devin is a sentimental fool.”
The big one crossed his arms over his thick chest and averted his eyes.
I turned my head to the redhead on my other side. I hoped I could make him listen. “Did you get to choose your own companion?” He shifted his feet, so I pushed further. “Does your human even enjoy your touch? Haven’t you ever wanted something more? True attraction? An eager partner? Love?”
The war cries echoed louder, closer. Shouts rose above it from at least three different voices.
Smack. Pain looped up my spine.
Malachi grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled until I whimpered. His breath filled my ear. “We are immortal. Such trivialities are beneath our kind. You’re merely our pets and toys, worth no thought more than demand for your obedience. Now, shut up.”
Another whack bit into my legs. Fangs sank into my hip.
I uttered a squeal. White tinged my vision. I’d thought orgasm had taken us to whatever place we’d travelled to the last time, but apparently intense pain could bring it on, too. Both the giant and the redhead tensed and stepped forward.
“Please!” I sniffled, desperation drawing my muscles tight. “It’s happening. Do something or it’ll be too late.”
They shared a look and stared back at me. In unison, they gave me a subtle nod before vanishing. Air swirled around me from their ascent.
“Traitors!” Malachi stomped to a gray cabinet and threw open the door. From inside, he withdrew a black ball gag and a whip with several leather strands extending from the handle. “We must hurry, my dear.” He shoved the ball into my mouth and fastened it behind my head as I gagged and pushed at it with my tongue to no avail. Drool spilled down my lip. “This will silence your forked tongue.”
The whip came down across the backs of my thighs. The copper scent let me know he’d breeched my skin.
“Fear me.”
My body bucked under the wicked sting.
“Scream for me.” Another, then another. His low tenor soared to a bellow. “Submit, and we shall soar.”
Lightheaded and weightless, I neared escape from my body, drifting at the edge of normal consciousness. I gritted my teeth, centered myself, and focused my thoughts on Devin. I needed to hold on. Just a little longer.
Snap-snap went the whip across my shoulders, across my legs.
Silence settled into my ears, so profound I thought I’d gone deaf. Malachi must have noticed in the same moment I did, because he stopped his assault.
A cool breeze stole my breath away. A man screamed somewhere nearby. I tugged against my restraints so I could see what had happened but couldn’t turn enough to look over my shoulder.
Growls and snapping teeth rattled my bones. Feet shuffled. Fists pounded flesh. Furious cries ripped at my mind.
Then silence descended, more frightening than the sounds of the battle had been. Deep airy sounds remained. Heavy breathing, but from whom?
I closed my eyes and remained still, wondering who would come for me. Had Devin been knocked out? My stomach twisted violently until I bit down on the gag.
Footsteps whispered along the stone floor. A tremble overtook me, causing the chains attached to my wrists to rattle.
Something touched my hair. I flinched, air rushing out of my nose in huffs.
“Katharine.”
The voice sounded like Devin’s, but I couldn’t believe it. The ball gag loosened before it disappeared from my mouth.
He opened the link between us, flooding my mind with his warm spirit. “You’re safe now. Please, open your eyes.”
I obeyed my Dom and raised my lids to find crystal tears sliding down his face. A sob rushed out as I took in his torn body, the pale skin decorated with open gashes.
“Shh. Hush now, I’m here.” The tenderness in his tone calmed me a little. “I’m going to release your bindings but don’t move.” He pressed his thumb and first finger over his eyes. “I must heal your wounds before I can move you.”
“I don’t care about that. I can’t believe you’re here.”
That smile again. “I’m guessing I have you to thank for Gorbin and Cress coming to my aid?”
My brow furrowed. “Do you mean the bald giant and the redhead?”
He uttered a tiny laugh and nodded. “Thank you. No one will ever hurt you again unless you wish it.” Deep brown eyes bored into me. “Do you believe me?”
I nodded and managed a smile. A sense of peace swept everything else away and left a warm buzz in my body. “I do.”
The tightness around his eyes smoothed out as he stared at me.
“What happened to Malachi?”
“He’s unconscious. I must deal with him. Don’t be afraid. I’ll return in a few moments.”
I nodded, tension easing out of my every cell. In Devin’s control, the bindings gave me an extra sense of safety. He was okay. We were okay.
A female crouched in front of my face, her platinum waves enshrouding her shoulders. “Your bravery shames us all, mistress. We are forever in your debt.”
I blinked at her, no energy left for speaking.
“My blood has healing properties.” She slid a knife across her wrist in an oddly sensual movement. “You should feel no pain as I tend your wounds.”
Liquid dripped along my back, but instead of stinging, it soothed.
“Brothers and sisters.” Devin came to stand beside me.
I followed his gaze up to the crowd gathered above, who stared down at us with faces frozen in shock, eyes spread wide and mouths agape.
“The Cornet Circle will return to the cohesive family we used to be. Never again will anyone, human or immortal, be forced to attend or to participate in anything against their will.”
Sobs filtered down to me from beyond the first line of bodies, followed by someone uttering, “Bless you, Sovereign.”
“All who wish to remain may stay. Those human companions who choose to return to their lives will be supported until they’ve regained their livelihoods. I can do nothing about your bonds or immortality, but your psychic connections will be severed and you will be left alone if you desire it.”
More murmurs filled the silence, and the ones I could see shared looks as if they couldn’t believe such a miracle had happened.
Devin edged closer to me and stroked his hand over my hair, drawing a sigh from me. “My bond with Katharine runs deep because I loved her before we were joined. Hear me, my brethren. If you choose a new mate, remember that he or she is not only your lover, but your soul-bonded, eternal partner. Choose well. If any immortal shall harm a human against their will for sport or delicacy, you will be banished like your former master. Malachi has been removed from the grounds and measures taken to see that he is unable to locate our Circle, or its members, again.”
A series of cheers broke into a roar.
Unable to hold onto consciousness, I slipped under with a smile on my face.
Chapter Thirteen
I sat in the office chair at my desk, my knees drawn up to my chest. My fingers gripped the computer mouse, but I couldn’t make it go to the new email staring back at me.
A disturbance of air let me know Devin had awakened for the evening. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind. “Good evening, lover.”
I nodd
ed, strangled for air. “Why are you up so early? It’s only four p.m.”
“I feel your unease, Katharine. What has your thoughts in such a whirlwind?”
The email I’d been waiting six weeks for had come. My stomach did a loop-de-loop. “It’s from Greg at Randoll Publishing. I’m afraid to look.”
My mate scooped me out of the chair and sat with me cradled in his lap. “I shall read it for you, then.” The amusement in his tone made me squirm.
I shook my head. “No. I’m not ready.”
The click let me know he’d ignored me as usual. “Dear Ms. Cornet.” His brow quirked up. “Ms. Cornet?”
I shrugged. “Nobody would believe Katharine Merrick wrote that book. And besides, I’m not her anymore.”
“No.” His lips caressed my forehead. “You are someone much deeper.”
My cotton mouth made it hard to swallow. “What does it say?” I buried my face in the hollow beneath his jaw and cuddled close to his body.
Devin cleared his throat. “I read your story from cover to cover yesterday, and I have to say…” He shifted.
I sat up, mouth gaped open. “He has to say what?”
That earned me a laugh. “Read it.” He gave me a smack on the ass to go along with his Dom tone.
I turned my focus to the screen and read aloud. “I have to say I’m stunned. Kept is the most engaging, titillating, and heartbreaking erotic love story I’ve ever read. I’m pleased to offer you a contract. Please reply as soon as possible and we can deal with the paperwork.”
After reading it again three times, I still didn’t believe.
“Congratulations.” Devin nudged me off his lap, spun me, and pulled me down to straddle him as a smile bloomed on my lips. He thrust his hips against me, his hardening cock pressing against my delicate places. “What shall we do to celebrate?”
I shivered as my own desire broke free. “It is Friday night.”
“Mmm, that it is. I’ve added a new crop to the cabinet in the dungeon. It’ll leave welts that spell ‘mine’ all over that fine, fine ass of yours.”
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