Lilith Enraptured (Divinity Warriors 1)

by Pillow Michelle M.

  She turned to the bed and froze. Sorin lay on his back, his tunic pulled aside and his pants open. One strong hand pumped the length of his very erect cock. Lilith inhaled a deep, shaky breath. Her earlier assumption had been right. The man was extremely well-endowed. His eyes met hers, completely unconcerned with the fact she reached for one of his blades, and he didn’t stop pleasuring himself.

  “Ah,” Lilith stammered. “Um?”

  “Have you come to finish me?” His lids fell heavy over his eyes, but he kept them on her as he quickened his pace.

  Lilith glanced at the wall. He thought she came to kill him? She must be a laughable opponent indeed if he didn’t bother to look concerned.

  “Good. I want you to finish me. Straddle my waist and—”

  “Hands,” Lilith managed, “going to get…for the hands.”

  Straddle him? Her heart hammered out of control.

  “Take off your gown and come here,” he ordered. “I desire you to finish me.”

  Lilith didn’t know how to respond. Did the well-proportioned, godlike man have no shame?

  “It is too close for me to stop, but I will recover quickly to finish you.” He panted hoarsely.

  No, apparently not.

  His body tightened and she could sense he was close to release. A part of her wanted to obey, to at least finish watching the erotic display before her. Her sex tingled, aching to be filled by the incredibly giant cock in front of her. The size of him would undoubtedly hurt, yet she couldn’t convince her pussy it didn’t want to take every inch of his hard, thick arousal.

  Maybe a little pain and a little rough wouldn’t be so bad.

  Images flashed in her mind, thoughts of straddling those tight, perfect hips. Or maybe she could crawl onto her hands and knees as he stood at the end of the bed, his bronzed body outlined by firelight as he thrust behind her. Then again, what would it be like to lie on her back and let him worship her with that beautiful mouth? Did strong manly men like him go down on their women?

  “Come. Put your mouth on me and taste.” He grunted heavily, his breathing harsh.

  “Hands,” Lilith answered a little too loudly before running through the open door to her bedroom. She hit the hard wood with her hands, slamming it shut.

  * * * * *

  Sorin heard the door close. A second later, he came, releasing his warm seed over his tight fist. He pumped a few more times, milking every last drop from his body.

  Just seeing her face had been enough to thrust his desire to the breaking point. The pleasure of release mingled with disappointment. She’d watched him, her wide eyes taking in every stroke of his hand with obvious interest. Yet, she didn’t act on what had to be a mutual lust.

  Grumbling, he slid out of bed and righted his clothing. If Lilith wasn’t going to do her duty, then he’d go back down and join the celebration. Despite the release, his mood soured quickly.

  She just watched and did nothing!

  Sorin stomped out of the room, taking the long row of steps two at a time. Coming quickly around a corner, he almost bumped into Sera on her way up with a large tray of food.

  “Oh!” Sera gasped in surprise, awkwardly trying to curtsey under the weight of his glare. “My lord, excuse me.”

  Sorin growled at her, low and dark, nearly knocking her over as he quickened his pace. He needed a drink. Now.

  * * * * *

  “I told you what you needed to do.” Sera frowned as she sawed through Lilith’s ropes. The serving women had tried untying them, but the men had bound the knots around her wrists too tight.

  “Can you please hurry?” Lilith answered. “My fingers are numb.”

  “Your brain is numb,” Sera insisted, sawing harder. The motion jiggled the serving woman’s cleavage and Lilith looked away. “Keeping a happy bed is a simple enough task for the sake of the kingdom. I saw the look on his face. You did not do your duty by him.”

  “Easy, don’t cut me!” Lilith jerked her arms when Sera sliced too close. She frowned on principal. “For your information, he did his own ‘duty’. And I don’t see what my sleeping with some overbearing lord has to do with the sake of the kingdom. If he wants to throw a temper tantrum, let him. It has nothing to do with me.”

  “Do you truly have no idea of by whom you have been chosen?” Sera asked, giving one last saw of the blade. The ropes fell free and Lilith moaned as she stretched her hands. Her fingers tingled sharply as blood rushed toward the tips. “Lord Sorin is one of the greatest warriors in the kingdom. It is a great honor to be his lover. None thought he’d ever claim a woman, not since his last one. It is your duty and honor to please him in all ways.”

  “Last one?” Lilith eyed the servant carefully. “What happened to the last one?”

  “She did not please… Anyway, she’s dead,” Sera dismissed, clearly not wanting to get too far into it.

  Dead?! Lilith gulped.

  “Be Lord Sorin’s vessel for release,” Sera persisted. “Do not resist, do not deny and do not expect tenderness. In return, he will give you a noble life, my lady. Women would kill for the chance to be Lord Sorin’s mate.”

  Lilith grimaced, reaching her arms over her head into a deep stretch. “I’ve heard this speech of yours before.”

  Dead?!

  “Clearly, you did not or else you would have spread your thighs and drained the ill temper from him.” Sera stood, huffing in irritation. She crossed to the tray of food she’d brought up with her and lifted it from a dressing table. “His mood affects the mood of his men, which in turn affects the moods of their women. Lord Sorin is not some lowly foot soldier. He’s a hero.”

  “I don’t care what you or the other women of this accursed dimension say.” Lilith stood, facing the woman with her fists on her hips. Her hands ached but she ignored the discomfort. Even though she felt a very real attraction to Sorin, there was no way she could sleep with him. She refused on principal alone. “I am not and will not whore myself out to your precious Lord Sorin just because he is going to pout like a big baby who doesn’t get his way.”

  “Well.” Sera’s mouth worked in anger. She set the tray down on the bed beside Lilith. The food slid around on the trencher and a small flurry of dust lifted around it. “I was going to order your bedchamber cleaned and gowns fitted, but now you can do it yourself, my lady.”

  Huffing, Sera marched out of the room, leaving Lilith alone.

  Ignoring the tray on the bed, Lilith went to the pitcher Sera had put on the dressing table and poured herself a drink. The liquor burned, but she drank it gratefully. Under her breath she continued her fight with the now-absent servant, muttering, “Well, Sera, I’ve seen your outfit and I think I’ll be better off if you didn’t order my gowns for me.”

  Chapter Four

  Despite Sera’s threat, two dozen maids arrived with buckets of hot water and fresh linens. Lilith watched in amazement as they made systematic work of the dirty room, scrubbing each stone and polishing each piece of furniture. A fire had been lit in the fireplace, casting a soft orange warmth over the interior.

  The dark wood of the furniture gleamed in unsurpassed perfection. Simple engravings ringed the legs of the dressing table and matching chair. A cushioned seat rested near one wall paired with a small, circular table. For a society formed predominantly of warrior men, the slight delicateness of the furnishings surprised her.

  Out of all the objects, she found the four-poster bed the most extravagant. The same rings wrapped the legs, matching it to the dressing table set. The dingy comforter was replaced with a richly embroidered red and gold. Lilith already knew from sitting on the mattress that it had been designed for comfort. Suddenly, the image of Sorin on his back, pleasuring himself, came to mind and she quickly looked away. Just thinking of his rock-hard body moving with warlike grace made her shiver.

  She had to get out of Staria. Fast.

  The servants nudged her out of their way, not deigning to speak to her as they whispered amongst themselves. S
he curled her toes against the damp stone beneath her feet, really missing her own clothes. Even though they ignored her, she didn’t dare leave the tower for risk of facing Sorin and more angry Battlewar citizens. Thoughts of what Sera said filled her mind, not so much the “please him or he’ll be in a bad mood” part, but the last woman he’d been with ending up dead.

  Did Sorin kill his last lover for not pleasing him? She saw the danger in his gaze, the simmering emotions just below his hot surface. Would he kill her if she didn’t sleep with him? And what if she slept with him but wasn’t any good at it? How could she tell if she was any good at it? Would she be good at it if she was nervous about being good at it?

  Lilith’s stomach tightened and she felt as if she might be sick. She needed to think of something else, anything else. Eyeing a nearby maid, she said, “Excuse me, but what is philter? The guards said they were giving it to some of the women. Is it a poison?”

  The woman waved a dismissing hand. “It’s to make you forget things.”

  “So the other women, they weren’t killed?” she insisted. The servants all stopped what they were doing to look at her in offense.

  “The otherworlders were sent home,” the maid ground out and they all went back to work with a renewed fury. Under her breath, the woman muttered, “They weren’t suitable for this world.” By the glance she gave Lilith, it became clear she didn’t think her suitable either.

  As the last of the withered cobwebs were wiped away, all but two of the women left the room. Placing their hands on the stone wall perpendicular the door, they pushed. Lilith watched in amazement as the women moved the wall. Stone scraped against stone and light streamed in from within the hidden room.

  “What is it?” Lilith couldn’t help her curiosity.

  “Your bath, my lady,” a giggly brunette named Nan answered. A row of stone steps led up to an inset tub, large enough to fit five of her comfortably. The servant stepped inside the tub and twisted a metal ring on the bottom to tighten the plug. Fresh air flowed from several narrow slits in the wall, giving a slight chill to the air.

  “Unless you prefer a metal tub like my lord,” Hannah added, her big green eyes looking more at the floor than directly at Lilith. Her bright red hair was piled high on her head.

  “This is fine,” Lilith said, a little uncomfortable with the way they spoke to her. She was used to fading into the background, not being treated like a princess about to give royal decree—albeit a despised princess being blamed for the ill fate of the entire kingdom.

  “Yea, my lady.” Hannah went to a hand pump and began to work the lever up and down, filling the bath with blue-tinted water. Nan climbed out of the tub, narrowly missing getting her shoes wet. To Lilith’s surprise, steam rose around them. The water was heated.

  Nan must have seen Lilith’s amazement because she giggled and explained, “The blue minerals in the natural underground springs keep the water warm.”

  “Interesting,” Lilith said more to herself as she reached to touch the water. Sapphire-blue droplets dripped off her fingertips. “I haven’t seen this before on the other planes.”

  “Do you need assistance, my lady?” Nan asked.

  “No,” Lilith rushed. “I can do it myself.”

  The two women bowed and shuffled out of the bedrooms. The sound of their laughter could be heard, fading into the distance.

  Lilith contemplated the water, wondering if it would stain her skin to an unnatural color. Then, deciding at this point she didn’t care, she shrugged out of her shapeless gown and stepped into the bath.

  Did Sera really mean to say dead?

  * * * * *

  Sorin’s cock still ached. The desire he’d managed to keep at bay all these years flared its randy head now that it had a target. And what a lovely target she was, too. He longed to touch her pliant flesh, flesh that would mold to his will, and her velvety soft hair and even softer lips.

  What in all the bloody battles happened? One look at a woman and suddenly a hole as wide as the castle punctured his neat and orderly world. As if his fate wasn’t bad enough, his brother, Ronen, had also claimed a woman. What sort of witchery beset them this day? Two of the most confirmed bachelors in the land were now bound.

  They’d been fools to enter into this agreement for women. When Divinity first approached them in the midst of battle, the Starians had almost slaughtered them where they stood, believing the oddly dressed creatures to be allies to the Caniba tribes. After much negotiation, investigation, a little bit of pleading by the Divinity scouts, and hours of council meetings, an alliance was formed with the alien beings.

  Divinity wished for samples of the blue mineral water, water that stayed warm no matter how long it sat away from another heat source. The blue water springs ran deep and wide. There was no shortage of the mineral and giving some away was a little enough consideration. In return, the Divinity aliens provided a resource much needed by the Starians—women. Out of the women Divinity sent, three were chosen as being of the right temperaments to stay. The new blood was just one of the reasons all the “firsts” were of high military rank or distinction.

  “Ronen, you fool,” Sorin muttered, lifting a goblet to drink deeply. He stared at the woven banners along the wall, each depicting an important Starian religious and political symbol.

  “I could well blame you, brother,” Ronen answered, brooding next to him. None in the hall dared to break their dark mood. “You fell first. I had no choice.”

  A darkening bruise marred Ronen’s cheek where his woman had struck him, and his clothes, though on, were exceedingly disheveled. At least his brother’s woman fought him. Lilith cowered like she thought he might run her through with a blade.

  Sorin growled low in the back of his throat. Curious eyes turned toward them from the hall floor, but none dared to approach. “I did not fall. These foreign women have bewitching powers. We should never have entered into an agreement with the otherworlders.”

  Ronen grumbled incoherently.

  Eager for a more comfortable subject, Sorin turned his attention to Sir Rian. The knight had stood next to them during the ceremony as a first, but had luckily chosen no woman. If he had, he’d not be drinking with his fellow knights. Waving the soldier to the head table, he gestured that the man should sit. Rian didn’t hesitate, despite the forbidding moods of the brothers, and took a seat next to Sorin. “Any word from Lord Serik’s man? Do the Caniba armies march against the forces at Spearhead?”

  “They do not march yet, but Lord Martin suspects it will be soon,” Rian answered, keeping his tone low. “Sorceress Magda’s scouts were captured in the southern marshes, but at the loss of two good men—Richard of Daggerpoint and Peeter of Fallenrock. They died well and were not taken by those cannibals. Sir Vidar goes to lead the interrogations. He has already left with his new bride.”

  “Vidar, too?” Ronen sighed before muttering again to himself. Sorin frowned, sorry for his friend’s shared misfortune.

  “Yea, Vidar, as well,” Rian agreed. “Though he looked about as pleased as the two of…” The words tapered off and Rian gave the brothers a dismissing wave of his hand.

  “And Aidan?” Sorin asked. All knew without question that the last woman, the infamous Lady Paige who’d been a gift from the fairies, would go home with her husband, Sir Aidan. “How did he fair?

  “He did not look well when he left Battlewar.” Rian leaned forward to grab an abandoned goblet and lifted it to a maid. She nodded, running to fetch him a clean one. “Nor did Lady Paige.”

  “This is a bad year for finding mates,” Ronen asserted, his frown deepening. “Perhaps we should cancel the ceremonies, especially those involving the otherworlders.”

  “The decisions are made,” Sorin broke in, knowing honor would not let them change their minds. He reached his goblet out as a maid appeared with a pitcher. He already felt the heady effects of the drink but didn’t care. Right now he wanted to feel numb. Maybe liquor could take the terrible ache in h
is loins away. “There is no reason to contemplate them.”

  “Though, it does not mean we have to choose the women they send,” Rian offered.

  Sorin focused his attention on his brother. Ronen leaned to the side to address Rian. “What other news?”

  “Not much else. Lines hold strong on both sides. Vidar hopes to discover where the Sorceress’ encampment lies. We suspect she is in the Hanging Forest, but…” Rian didn’t reveal anything they didn’t already know. One of the self-proclaimed queens of the Caniba tribes, Sorceress Magda was as elusive as she was cruel. Over the last four years, she’d been one of the more aggressive Caniba factions attacking the borders.

  “We should ride to the borderlands,” Ronen said, drawing Sorin’s wandering attentions back to the conversation. “We will be of more use there.”

  “We have not been summoned,” Sorin lowered his voice to a whisper, “and unless the king orders otherwise, we will be forced to bring the women with us.”

  “Not if they become with child,” Ronen reasoned.

  Sorin tensed, reminded of how unlikely that possibility was at the moment. The accursed woman rejected him. Him!

  How proud it would make him to have a child, whether it be a boy or girl. However, admittedly, his aim when it came to Lady Lilith wasn’t so noble as perpetuating the family line. He wanted a lover first and a wife second. “We would do better to pray for war, brother.”

  * * * * *

  Dead.

  The word wouldn’t leave her, no matter how hard Lilith tried to erase Sera’s comment. The idea that a woman, a sex slave, would be killed for not performing wasn’t totally unheard of in the histories of the parallel worlds. Staria was clearly a barbaric land, from their simple “mine” ceremony to the “lord and lady” structure of their undoubtedly feudal society. In what most places remembered as the medieval period, lords often took what they wanted with little effective protest from the masses. If Lord Sorin wanted her, she doubted any would stop him. None had tried so far and none had reason to do so.