And she knew without a doubt he’d be just as single-minded when seeing to her pleasure. His powerful body had always drawn her lustful gaze. He’d never been shy about letting her see his reaction to hers. Shifting from wolfskin to human form after darting through the forest when she’d tried to outrun her heats, he’d always followed, basking unashamed in moonlight.
His low, fierce growls as he’d narrowed his gaze when she’d sauntered naked among the males had been more than a warning for them to keep their distance. His turgid cock spoke volumes.
Once, she’d pushed him beyond his iron control.
“You shouldn’t tease them, Princess,” he’d said after chasing the others off.
Resting against the trunk of a pine tree, she’d raised her arms above her head, pretending to stretch, enjoying the way the crisp air spiked her nipples. “Why? I have you to protect me.”
His gaze swung toward hers. “You shouldn’t tease me.”
“Why are you so serious, Raven? They know I’ll never let them have me. It’s only a game we play, circling each other.”
“For you perhaps. But the stakes are high. One might get ambitious.”
She’d eyed him, sweeping his body, noting the tension in his shoulders and fisted hands. Then he’d faced her, and again, her breath caught at the strength of his arousal. He was right. She shouldn’t tease him. It had to be painful to restrain himself. After cutting out the other competing males, his nature demanded he cover her.
“You’ve never even asked me. Not once,” she said softly.
Guntram’s square jaw tightened. “I serve your pleasure, Princess.”
Even now, the memory of the heat in his glance seared. Guntram was faithful to her beyond his self-interest. He would come for her.
However, she couldn’t afford to wait. She needed to find her own escape. Needed to find someone to bribe.
And maybe Marduk was the least scary thing inside the fortress, and she’d have Jabba the Hut to try to seduce. Gabriella grimaced.
There was too much she didn’t know about this place, and she was hesitant to discover it on her own. His warning about finding “true hell” wouldn’t let go of her imagination, and she envisioned herself standing on glowing embers while demons stripped away her flesh.
It looked like the only way out of this room for now would be with her captor. The sooner she convinced him she’d accepted her fate, the better. Only she hoped like hell he’d provide her with something more substantial to wear should he take her somewhere.
The harem-girl getup Xalia had provided marked her as a sexual playmate. The thin linen skirt went only mid-thigh and was tied around her hips with gold braiding. More gold braid framed two peek-a-boo mesh cups, which constituted the bra. Two bows were the only things holding her clothing in place. Worse, she hadn’t been given any footwear. If she made a run for it, she’d have no choice but to do so in wolfskin.
The sound of a door closing drew her back into the room. Marduk stalked inside, his stiff posture radiating displeasure.
Her heart skipped a beat at his appearance. She wished he wasn’t so handsome and virile. He wore the same black clothing she’d always seen him in, but now she knew what it covered. Just the memory of watching his back and powerful buttocks stretching and undulating above hers was enough to make her wet.
His black expression gave her pause.
“Something’s happened?” she asked, not sure whether it was a good idea to draw his attention to her when he was in this mood or not. But the sooner she figured him out the better.
His gaze met hers, his scowl deepened. “You’re to appear in the great hall tomorrow night.”
She suppressed a shiver. Part of her was elated that at last she’d escape this room, but another part knew his tension had a reason. “That’s a bad thing?”
“Irkalla’s curious about you.”
“Again, I’m not seeing the problem. I’ll meet her and it’ll be over.”
“She wants to parade you in front of her sister. Inanna has been trying to ingratiate herself with the court.”
“And you think Inanna might try to make problems for me.”
His nod was curt.
“Can she take me from you?”
“Not without a battle. Not overtly, but they can play games with you.” His gaze softened. “I promised you that I’d see you came to no harm in my care.”
Gabriella did her best to suppress the thrill his comment gave her. Protectiveness in a lover, even when she didn’t intend to keep him, was a turn-on. “I’ll be careful not to incite her,” she said carefully.
He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
Gabriella shrugged. “Then help me. Tell me what I face.”
“Irkalla rules the Dark One with seductive arts, which she wields like weapons. Her appetite is voracious. If she wants to draw you into the games, offer your service to the wrong mate …”
She remembered the varied forms of the demons in the hall, and her stomach churned. “They can have me?”
“I serve Irkalla. I enjoy favor because I please her.”
“You mean you have sex with her?”
“Most demons bow down to me,” he said, without acknowledging her question. “I have been given dominion over them. But those within the inner circle are immune to my special powers. I curry favor with the queen to keep my enemies in check.”
“So you’re as much enslaved as I am.”
“By choice. It makes living here less complicated.”
“All right, I’m still not understanding how being paraded into that circle will be dangerous for me. What sorts of things might I be asked to do?”
“Irkalla has a knack for finding one’s greatest pleasure and greatest fear. Let’s hope she takes a shine to you.” He glanced around. “You sent Xalia away?”
Gabriella knew the subject of her appearance in court had been dropped. Her gaze slid away from his. “I preferred to wait for your return … alone.”
Marduk held out his hand. This time she didn’t hesitate, striding forward to slip her hand inside his. His gaze slid down her body. “You look lovely.”
She couldn’t believe it when she started to preen. Dressed like a whore, and yet she felt no shame—only a fierce pleasure at the approval glittering in his eyes. Fuck, I need to get out of here.
Scratching sounded at the door.
“Food has arrived.”
As soon as he spoke, her stomach growled. His lips twitched, and she lifted her shoulders.
It had been hours since she’d arrived, and she was starved. She let him lead her to one of the legless sofas as low tables were carried inside and set before them. A trail of servants, all appearing human—so, presumably the dead—filed in with small covered dishes. No cutlery or plates were set out, but the silver covers were whisked away and linen napkins draped over their laps before the servants left.
She was relieved to recognize most of the meats by their scent. Flat bread, vegetables, and flowers soaked in honey rounded out the meal. A silver chalice of wine and a beaker of water were set before them. Not understanding the etiquette, she waited for him to begin eating then followed his lead as he ate with his fingers, plucking slivers of meat from the trays. He ate casually, his gaze barely straying from hers as she began to feast.
His expression relaxed, and he smiled at her gasps of pleasure when she tried to the honeyed flowers. “Roses are your favorite.”
“I’ve drunk rosehip tea, but never eaten the blossoms. They’re yummy.”
“You enjoy your food.”
“Of course. Don’t tell me they have anorexics in hell.”
He shrugged. “I think an appetite for food follows an appetite for life.”
“You get a lot of chances to observe that here?” she said around a mouthful of food. “Life, I mean.”
“The dead who are favored enough to escape damnation make the motions. They eat, make love, but there’s no real joy in it.”
; “But you have those like Irkalla and her bitch sister. They’re Born vampires and very much alive.”
“It’s possibly why I allowed myself to be attracted to Irkalla.”
“And you’re a demon, right? As the Master of the Demons,” she said, “you’re alive.”
“Not in the same way. We don’t have that inner fire, that same vitality. We operate on hunger rather than love.”
Gabriella drew her brows into a frown. “I don’t operate on love.”
“Love for life, for adventure then. You brim with fire.”
She canted her head. “Do you think that by touching me, capturing me, that you can capture some of that fire?”
His glance slid away. “When I walked in your realm, I loved a woman. A human. Her hair was the color of fire. Her passion for life was fierce. I abandoned her long ago, but I remember how it felt to hold her and make love with her.”
“So I’m a substitute for the woman you left behind?”
“You’re nothing like her.”
“In a good way or bad way?” she said, letting a smile curve her lips.
He lifted one dark brow. “Are you fishing for a compliment?”
Gabriella wrinkled her nose at him, enjoying the conversation. “Maybe I’m just trying to figure out if I’m doomed to disappoint.”
“Are you worried you will not please me?”
She hadn’t been. Not until he said it. But Marduk wasn’t quite the monster she’d expected. Not that she thought for a minute that he wouldn’t lash out in a heartbeat if she defied him, but she sensed he was simply lonely. Suddenly, not measuring up, disappointing him, meant something to her. And not just because it would harm her campaign to cozen him into trusting her.
“I think,” she said slowly, “that I’ve come to understand that I need you. So the last thing I want is to fail to meet your expectations.”
Marduk wiped his fingertips on his napkin and raised a hand to her face. His palm cupped her cheek while his gaze bored into hers. Again, she hoped like hell he couldn’t read minds, because she thought her will might be crumbling.
“Already, you please me greatly.” His thumb slid beneath her chin, then over it. The slight pressure from it teased her mouth open.
He bent toward her and pressed his lips to hers, and Gabriella melted against the plush cushions of the couch, her meal forgotten. Pleasure exploded, trembling on her mouth where he brushed her lips in drugging laps, his moustache and beard gently abrading her skin, setting fire to her body. Her nipples beaded against the soft mesh; her pussy dampened the linen skirt beneath her.
He leaned over her, pressing her backward until she lay deep in the cushions. She parted her legs, opening to him as he came down on her, one foot on the floor, a knee nudging between her legs, pushing up the skirt and rubbing against her sex.
His breaths deepened, seeping into her mouth. His tongue, tasting of honey and roses, plunged into her mouth, lapping along hers, curling to rim her teeth, then licking her lips and tugging them. When he pulled back, she rose to follow, not because he hurt her, but because she wanted more.
His hands smoothed around her bare waist and pulled at the bow behind her. Her bra loosened, sliding sideways, and he dove for a breast, nuzzling aside the fabric and rubbing his chin, his lips, and then his tongue over the sensitive peak.
Her belly undulated, her hips lifting to rub harder against his knee, but it wasn’t enough. She pulled his dark hair, forcing his head back. “Please, Bel, Lord … please …”
His low, rumbling growl set her pussy pulsing. He stripped away the bra. “Hold out your hands.”
Gabriella lifted them, pressing her wrists together, and he bound them with the bra and stretched her arms above her head. She writhed on the sofa, still pressing her pussy against his knee. It wouldn’t take much more for her to come.
He tugged the braid at her hips, unwrapping her skirt as though opening a present, pushing apart the fabric to bare her sex.
She’d left a wet spot on his dark trousers. They both stared at it, and his eyes narrowed and his chest rose faster. He untied the top of his pants, exposing his long, thick cock, and she put a foot on the floor and raised her hips, inviting him to slide his cock inside her.
His eyes closed, his hand gripped his cock and rubbed up and down his shaft, and then he wound his other hand in the braid at her wrist and pulled her up.
She followed, letting him turn her to face away. He draped her over the back of the sofa on the soft plush cushions. She widened her legs, bending low, standing on bent legs on the sofa cushions while he rose and stood behind her. In this awkward position, she couldn’t look back, couldn’t see what he was doing, but she felt his hands cup her buttocks, felt his mouth drop kisses on one globe and then the other, felt his fingers cupping her sex from behind and swirling inside.
Her legs quivered, and she tried to draw a deeper breath, but the edge of the sofa bit into her diaphragm and she could only gasp, growing lightheaded as he continued to finger her, thrusting into her and drawing down more moisture.
Then he leaned against her, his cock prodding her entrance. He had to be standing behind her. She could imagine how he looked hovering over her quivering frame, and she was helpless to prevent anything he might do.
Fingers traced the crease between her buttocks. His cock circled on her cunt, just the blunt, rounded head pressing inside. Her pussy contracted—a sexy kiss that left his crown slick with her juices. Air hissed between his teeth.
He parted her buttocks, thumbs digging between, and she knew where he was looking. God, would he just fuck her? She tried to thrust backward and force his cock deeper, but he pulled away. She moaned at the loss.
Now her whole body trembled and jerked with slight spasms, tension winding tightly inside her. His cock glided around her opening, then stroked downward, nudging her clit. A thumb circled on her forbidden entrance, rimming the sensitive mouth.
“What do you want, love?” he whispered.
“For you to take me,” she moaned.
“Is there anything you would deny me?”
“Nothing. Just please come inside me.”
His hands stilled. His body withdrew. “Xalia, come.”
Gabriella’s belly knotted. “No, no, no … I sent her away …”
“She’s never far away.”
Bells tinkled, drawing closer. The cushions between Gabriella’s spread legs sank. Soft hair brushed against the apex of her thighs, and then a warm, moist mouth pressed against Gabriella’s open sex.
Gabriella lifted up, sending a frantic glance backward. Xalia sat on the couch, facing the Master, her hands wrapped around his cock but her head disappearing between Gabriella’s legs. Her mouth suckled Gabriella’s sex and stroked the cock thrusting between her hands.
Gabriella met the challenge glittering in the Master’s eyes and clamped her jaw shut, facing forward again. She wouldn’t freak out, wouldn’t complain. She’d told him she’d do anything. And the things she felt—spread open for him to enjoy, being pleasured by his little slave’s mouth—were almost too pleasurable to bear.
Xalia’s breaths bathed her wet sex in small, excited gasps. Her lips pulled at Gabriella’s labia, her tongue stroked into her entrance, then scraped downward, glancing over her distended clit.
Gabriella groaned, and her legs trembled again. When her demon lover’s hands clamped on her buttocks and his cock came at her again, pressing past Xalia’s tongue, Gabriella was past caring that two inhuman creatures were taking her. The rasping tongue lashing at her clit and his thick, hot cock felt divine.
His strokes sank slowly inside her, tunneling deep, past tissues still hot and swollen from their earlier rounds of lovemaking. It didn’t matter, it didn’t hurt, she was so wet, so hot, she was quickly unraveling.
His hands went to her waist and another set parted her buttocks, and then long, slender fingers wrapped around the globes and slid between. When Xalia’s slight, soft fingertips entered her ass,
curling, stroking deep, Gabriella couldn’t have protested if she’d wanted to. She was close, edging toward an orgasm so explosive her legs turned to rubber. But Marduk held her upright, slamming her toward him, rocking her against Xalia’s mouth, the motions dragging on the fingers stroking inside her.
More fingers pressed inside, stretching her, and she knew he was watching the long, pale green stems torturing her ass, because his strokes were becoming sharper, stronger, charged with his growing excitement.
Her breasts chafed on the soft sofa, her nipples ripening, the tips elongating. Her skin was getting hotter, her cunt clasping, creamy arousal churning inside her, making the sounds of his strokes wetter, nastier—the way she liked it.
When Xalia’s lips closed around her clit and suckled it hard, Gabriella’s back arched and a thin, keening wail broke as a wave of wet, hot heat poured over her body. The Master’s strokes slowed as she came back down, draped over the sofa back, limp and sated.
Xalia moaned against her sex, but let go of her clit, pausing to lick it with long brushes of her slippery tongue as the last shivering convulsions waned.
Then the two beneath and behind her left. Bells trilled toward the pool then returned. A soft cloth cleansed her intimately, and then large hard hands lifted her up.
Held against her demon’s chest, she raised her bound hands over his neck, and snuggled her face into the corner of his shoulder as he strode toward the bed.
Xalia pulled back the covers. The Master laid her in the center, and then aimed a glance at Xalia, who grinned with delight. Gabriella didn’t have the energy to grow alarmed, simply accepted the tug on her tethers that once again stretched her arms upward. Another length of braiding, ripped from her linen skirt, was tied between her hands and looped around an iron spoke in the ornate headboard.
She couldn’t gather the energy to complain. If they wanted to play, they’d have to do it while she napped.
It wasn’t until something was latched around each ankle that she pried open an eyelid to peek. Thick leather bands encircled her—bands with hooks on the outside. When ropes were tied over opposite sides of the canopy above and then tied off in the hooks, she came fully awake.
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