“Never, darling. Hold tight to me.” For once, he took her gently, flexing his hips and stroking slowly upward.
Her head fell back, a sigh escaping her soft, pouting lips. “Have I told you how well you do this?”
Marduk felt a grin stretch his lips, feeling suddenly light and carefree. “I’m glad I please you in this at least.”
“You please and amaze me. You would any woman.”
He heard the underlying exception. She would never love him. Perhaps he could gift her with her heart’s desire. Nestling closer between her legs, he bent and kissed her, sliding into her mouth to mate with her slick, sweet tongue while he circled his cock, grinding deeply. Within moments, her snug passage began the sensual caresses that rippled along his shaft.
So simple, this sexual act. So uncomplicated. So lacking the sizzling violence of their previous couplings. Like lovers of long acquaintance.
Breaking the kiss, he slid his lips along her chin and nuzzled her ear, her neck, his hands clasping her buttocks to bring her closer still, until they barely moved.
Her body writhed internally on his cock, massaging his length with succulent clasping. Sweet heat filled his belly, tightened his balls, and then he drew back and slammed forward, a slow deliberate pounding that caused her to moan and undulate as the rapture swept over them both.
When they rested against each other, breathing deeply, their chests pressing together and apart, he leaned back. “I must go.”
“Hurry back.”
She worried for her warrior. For the gift of the other’s life, she would welcome him.
Still connected, he gathered her up and strode back into his chamber, kneeling on the bed and following her down. “Rest. I will send clothing. Tonight, there will be no tribute demanded. All attention will be on the wolf.”
Pulling free, he refastened his clothing and strode from the room, silently commanding Xalia to watch the door but not enter. Excitement simmered inside him, making his steps lighter as he hurried to the palace.
When he entered Irkalla’s chambers, he slowed his steps. Ninshubur stood in the center of the room, his frail body quivering. “I know nothing, mistress, of another sorcerer inside this city.”
“Would you lie to me, old man?” she said, standing close while her gaze watched him twitch.
“Never. Your generosity kept me from the hall.”
“If I discover that you have …”
Sensing she was almost through with him, Marduk strode closer. “What has happened?”
“The warrior wears a crystal, a shield. Someone powerful is here.”
Marduk recalled seeing the false Dagon in the dungeon and silently agreed. “The wolf won’t tell you where to find his accomplice?”
“He’s stubborn. Bristles his back like a dog when I make my demands.” Her sly glance locked with his. “But I think I know how I can make him tell me everything I need to know.”
He tensed, knowing whatever she had in mind involved Gabriella.
“You are bringing her tonight?”
He didn’t bother trying to pretend he didn’t know to whom she referred. “If that is your wish,” he said, inclining his head.
“We will see if his pride is as strong as his need to protect her.”
Marduk narrowed his eyes. “I would not have her harmed.”
“Of course not. I would not overstep,” she said, too easily. “I know you would have enjoyment from her for a long time to come. So I will demand nothing … fatal.”
Marduk held his tongue, although anger crept up his neck in hot waves she wouldn’t fail to note. “Let me talk to him.”
“Do you think he will tell you, when he refused my command?”
“I don’t know, but what harm can come of it? And I can lay suspicion in his mind about what will occur tonight.”
Her fierce expression relaxed. A slow smile tipped her lips. “Make him uneasy. Make him sweat.”
Marduk bowed. “As you wish.” Then he left her, striding through her quarters to her private apartment at the rear and the small cell where she kept those unlucky enough to serve her baser needs.
She hadn’t sipped from him yet. This he knew because she expected him to appear at the feast later. Any of the lovers she’d conscripted in the past had suffered long bouts of weakness, having lost blood and vigor to her voracious demands.
The cell was quiet as he approached. The warrior lay naked on the mattress, an arm beneath his head. His dark eyes glittered angrily when Marduk drew abreast of the cell.
“We’re alone, warrior,” Marduk said quietly, studying his rival.
“Where is she?” he bit out.
Marduk kept his expression carefully neutral. “In my care. Well … and sated.”
Guntram jackknifed from the bed, slammed his feet on the floor, and stalked toward the bars. “She’s mine. My mate. My Wife.”
Marduk hadn’t known, but should have guessed what had transpired inside the dungeon. Females, when mated with a Wolfen male, were bound. “She failed to mention that fact when I fucked her last.”
A growl erupted and Guntram reached through the bars. But Marduk stepped back, unhurried, gauging the rage in the other man and wondering just how far his need to protect and own the passions of his mate would lead him. “She will be at the feast tonight, but you won’t be allowed near her unless Irkalla allows it.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I would bargain with you.”
“What can I offer? I’m caged like a beast. No wealth to offer. You own everything I want.”
Marduk stepped closer, unafraid that he was entering the other man’s reach. “I have been trapped here for nearly three thousand years,” he said softly. “Forced from my own wife’s arms, but I can’t leave unless another takes my place.”
“Your place?”
“I am the Master of the Demons, a title and responsibility bequeathed me by Solomon himself upon his death. As he ascended into the heavens, I was cast into hell.”
Guntram’s brows lowered as comprehension dawned. “You would have me become the Master? Why would anyone follow me? I’m not a demon and have no special powers beyond my skills as a warrior.”
“You seem a just man. Strong. Resolute. Incorruptible. The power resides in my seal,” he said, curling his fist and raising it to show him the ring. “With it, I command the lesser demons, those outside Irkalla’s immediate circle. I am second in rank in Kur-gal. Whatever you want, whomever you want, can be yours.”
“And Gabriella?” Guntram asked, his voice straining.
“Her disposition is entirely your choice. You may keep her by your side or let me take her with me when I go.”
The warrior didn’t immediately reject the latter offer. Interesting.
Guntram took a step back, his fearsome scowl fading. “Must I decide now?”
“Tell me your decision later. I’ll find a way to meet with you again. In the meantime, my mistress expects me to come back with a certain piece of information.”
“What makes you think I will tell you when I refused her?”
“She said precisely the same thing.” Marduk shrugged. “I had to ask in order to be able to answer her honestly that you refused again when I return.” He turned on his heels, and then glanced back. “She is sweet—your Gabriella. Prickly on the outside, but soft at the center.”
“You have not raped her?” Guntram said hoarsely.
“She’s given herself to me, sweetly, from the start.”
Guntram’s proud shoulders slumped. “Thank you.”
Marduk stared, disconcerted by the selfless nature of the man in front of him. Guntram preferred knowing his wife had sought her pleasure with another man rather than knowing she had suffered. “Last night … it was the first time you were together?”
Guntram nodded, his expression growing guarded again. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t think she knew she loved you.” Why he felt the need to share that, he co
uldn’t have said. Perhaps he wasn’t as corrupted as he’d come to believe. He felt empathy for the man. Understood his lack of anger, because he hoped Zara had been treated well by whoever lay with her.
Marduk gave Guntram a nod. “Tonight, do your best to please the mistress. Stay alive another day.”
“I won’t sleep with her.”
“Even if Gabriella would want it?”
“I’m not like you.”
“Or her, it would seem.”
“I’m pledged to her.”
“So you’d prefer to die to prove you love her?”
“It’s our way,” Guntram gritted out.
“Again, apparently not hers.”
“I don’t care what she must do. What she wants to do. But I would have her know I honor her.”
“Don’t be an ass. Prove your love by surviving. Prove it by being there to ensure her future.”
“I won’t be made a spectacle of.”
“There is that possibility—whether you’re forced to pleasure your mistress or feed her. Irkalla doesn’t care about you, only about her pleasure. If you give her disrespect in front of an audience, she will crucify you. Remember that Gabriella will be watching, and she will carry that memory all of her life.”
The wolf’s fingers tightened around the bars, but he nodded, resignation in his burning glance.
Satisfied he’d made his point, Marduk left. He had ruffled feathers to smooth, and Gabriella to prime for the evening’s events. But at the end, he felt a shining hope that at last he’d be free.
CHAPTER
18
Once more, Gabriella entered the Queen of the Dead’s hall, dressed only in her short skirt and baubles, and shoring up her courage to play her part in tonight’s performance. Marduk, dressed in his familiar black costume, had remained silent since they’d left his quarters.
He hadn’t told her how he would manage it, but before they’d set out, he’d promised to get her close to Guntram so that she could add her pleas for him to cooperate until they could find a way to free him.
She’d leave out the part about not accompanying him back to the other realm. She’d agreed to exchange her freedom for his life, although Marduk hadn’t asked her to repeat that vow when he’d returned. He assured her that Guntram was well and at least considering behaving.
The hall was filled with the curious, all benches crammed to overflowing and more creatures standing in the back. They knew another living wolf had trespassed and hoped to witness the carnage of his murder.
Again, Gabriella knelt on a bench beside Marduk on the dais. From her lower vantage, she had an excellent view of Irkalla, who sat with a cat-like smile curving her lips, her dark eyes glittering with ill-concealed excitement. Beside her, Nergal, the one most feared due to his dominion, sat rocking back and forth, a vapid, listless expression on his face. Gabriella wondered if Irkalla had drained him to ensure he left early.
The seats beside her, reserved for Dumuzi and Inanna, were still vacant, and Gabriella hoped with all her heart that neither showed up, because they would take an especially perverse interest in seeing how Guntram fared in Irkalla’s custody.
Her hopes were quickly dashed when Dumuzi strode through the doors, his powerful body held erect, his gaze on the dais, and his hand wrapped around the end of Inanna’s tether.
Marduk plucked meat from some sort of fowl and held it in front of her. “You must eat,” he said aloud. His gaze reminded her to hide her fear.
She opened her mouth, washing her expression free of tension. Tonight, she’d be a happy sex slave, waiting on her master’s every whim. The meat was tender and well spiced, but tasted like cardboard against her dry tongue. She swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn’t choke, but gave Marduk a nod to let him know she was all right.
The Master of the Demons had proven he did have the capacity for compassion. Something she hadn’t expected. Something she could hold on to as their relationship stretched into an endless shared future. Her life wouldn’t be so bad here. Perhaps, in time, she’d even come to love him.
Dumuzi slid into the seat beside her and raked her with his gaze. It was all she could do not to snarl.
“Forgive our tardiness, mistress,” Dumuzi said, leaning forward to meet Irkalla’s irritated glance. “My wife required … instruction.”
A glance Inanna’s way confirmed the tale. Color blossomed on her latte cheeks. Her lips were crimped into a tight, narrow line.
Irkalla laughed. “You are forgiven. We both know how headstrong my sister can be. How willfull.”
Gabriella wondered at the venom that could keep a millennia-old grudge alive. She shivered and pressed closer to Marduk’s thigh.
“Your slave has learned some affection for you, Bel,” Irkalla drawled.
Marduk petted Gabriella’s hair, tugging secretly to remind her not to bare her teeth. “I am kind when served well.”
“An interesting concept. One I don’t embrace, though. All here live to serve my needs … our needs,” she amended, patting her husband’s hand, who seemed unaware of his wife’s words and action. “I offer no softness unless I’m pleased beyond simple gratification.”
“You offer softness to me,” Marduk murmured. “Should I be flattered?”
She gave him a flirtatious sweep of her thick dark lashes. “You need no flattery, sir.”
Dumuzi moved restlessly beside Gabriella. “What of this new wolf? You didn’t bleed him dry yet, did you? Does that mean you are going to offer him as the main entrée at tonight’s feast?”
“He will be brought to us shortly, but only for all to assess my new pet’s attributes and admire him. I have wicked plans for the beast.”
Gabriella’s belly tightened upon hearing the sultry note entering Irkalla’s voice. She wondered if Guntram knew he would be expected to service her tonight, and whether he had enough interest in his own survival to please the bitch. He certainly had the skills and stamina. She still burned from the memory of his taking.
Dumuzi leaned across Gabriella, deliberately pressing his thigh against her. “Will you offer him up for entertainment or savor him privately with perhaps a few close courtiers?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
“Do you desire a private audience?” Irkalla asked slyly.
“I desire less noise. Less distraction for my conquests.”
Irkalla’s chest rose and fell quicker, her interest evident in her deepening color. Did Guntram or Dumuzi inspire her lust, or was it the thought of having all three males at her disposal that left her breathless?
Then Gabriella caught Marduk’s frown as he eyed Dumuzi. It was subtle, and quickly replaced by a bored expression.
“Husband, you tire,” Irkalla said, turning to Nergal and placing her hand against his cheek. “Would you like to be escorted to your bed?”
Nergal’s head turned toward Irkalla, and his beautiful round eyes rested on his wife. “I am tired, but you will know this. You please me, wife,” he said, his words slurring slightly. “Have your fun. But don’t forget that I wait.”
Irkalla blinked and smiled radiantly as Nergal pushed away from the table and stood.
Gabriella shook her head, wondering about their relationship and how so powerful a demon could be led by his balls and be glad of it.
When he’d left the room, Irkalla’s head turned to sweep their table with a glance. “Shall we bring out our guest?” With just a wave of her hand, the doors at the rear of the hall opened. All heads swiveled to watch.
Gabriella forced her body to remain still, her breaths even, as Guntram strode into the hall.
He was nude but for a short linen slave’s kilt. His body gleamed with sweat, or was it oil? All the musculature of his chest, abdomen and thighs stood in relief as torchlight gleamed on the rigid curves. With his short hair, stiff posture and proud, furious expression, he looked like a Roman warrior of old.
Her breath caught, her chest tightening around her aching heart. His gaze met hers, and then quickly fl
itted to the queen’s. Of course he couldn’t betray too much interest. Irkalla would use his feelings for her against him. Against her.
Still, the fleeting glance had struck her. Tonight might be the last time she saw him. Touched him. And he’d never know for certain that she carried his child. Not unless he noted that her heat, which had burned so hotly the previous night, had retreated, its purpose fulfilled.
The room grew silent as he strode deeper, unescorted into the hall, the slap of his bare feet on the cool tile the only sound as he approached the dais.
Unable to resist, Gabriella lifted her nose to scent the air, welcoming his unique smell.
His nostrils flared and she knew he shared her elation, her primal impulse to bathe in his rich, masculine aroma.
When he stood in front of the dais, she held her breath, caught by how beautiful he was. His body radiated power and pride.
Irkalla lifted her chin, waiting. Marduk cleared his throat.
Guntram’s lips tightened, but he knelt on one knee and lowered his head.
He remained silent so long, Gabriella worried he’d refuse to offer obeisance. She leaned forward, hoping to give him a signal, but Marduk laid his hand on her shoulder.
Guntram glanced toward that hand, then lifted his gaze to Marduk’s before turning to Irkalla. “Mistress, I’m here at your command.”
“What do you offer?”
“As I am naked, I have only myself to render tribute.”
Irkalla leaned back, her skin flushing and her eyes glittering. “Will you obey me in all matters?”
“I am yours to command.”
“Nicely done,” Marduk said softly, bending toward Irkalla. “His pride speaks well of his respect for your authority.”
“It does. He pleases me in many ways. I think I would learn the measure of his skills. A private audience then?” she said, tipping her chin toward Marduk.
The room erupted in muttered complaints.
Marduk’s mouth eased into a sensual smile. “Will I have to worry about your affection?”
“Never, for you know I am voracious.” She turned to the guard at the end of the platform. “Take him below.”
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