by Morgan Hawke
He turned me to face one of the wall mirrors. “You don’t like it?”
To my complete shock, my hair was stark white and held back from my brow by a tiny tricorn hat set with curling iridescent feathers. Hundreds of tiny crystal brilliants winked among the snowy curls that spilled down my back to an impossibly small waist. However, I couldn’t feel the restriction of a corset at all.
It was also very, very low-cut, showing off more cleavage than I thought was possible without falling out. Seriously, it was on par with one of Gabriella’s necklines, yet even though I could still feel the constriction of my breast bindings around my chest, they were nowhere to be seen. I frowned. “An illusion?”
Master Corwin smiled. “It doesn’t have to be. You are so much more than a—” His lips curled disdainfully. “Valet.” He tugged to pull me close, then lifted my hand to his shoulder and set his other hand on my waist. With a tug and a gentle push, he drew me into a slow twirl that became the steps of the dance occurring below.
My skirts belled out with my movements. I could even hear the whisper of silk, yet I could feel only the skirts of my coat moving around me and the riding boots on my feet. Still, something about his illusion bothered me. “Why...white?”
Corwin smiled. “It suits you.”
I’ll have you know that I did not step on Corwin’s feet. I had been thoroughly trained in the art of dance. My prince had needed a partner during his lessons. Guess who was volunteered for that position?
Anyway...
Despite the fact that it was only an illusion, it was fun. For a brief bittersweet moment, I wondered what it would have been like to actually be in that gown and on the receiving end of a gentleman’s favor.
However, like all good things, someone had to ruin it for me.
Gabriella’s unmistakable voice came from behind me. “Mind if I cut in?” She caught my elbow and tugged hard enough to not only pull me from Corwin’s grasp, but also knock me into a twirl that took me several steps away.
Instantaneously, she took my place, grasping his hand while pressing her massive bosom against his chest. “My, my, my, what an incredible man you are! I simply could not resist having a taste for myself.” She shoved.
Corwin was whirled away and out onto the balcony, his eyes wide...and pinned to her cleavage.
I stood there in shock, the illusion dissolving around me, wondering if I should go to Corwin’s rescue, or Gabriella’s. Did she even know that she had just cut in on, and practically manhandled, Death’s Coachman?
From behind, a hand covered my mouth and pulled me back against a hard chest.
I stiffened. What the hell...?
The harsh whisper of my prince’s voice lashed against my ear. “Can’t leave you alone for a second!”
I was hauled backwards into a curtained alcove by one of the mirrors. I hadn’t even known it was there. The candlelit space was small, barely large enough for the small, round table draped in white damask and the two elegant wooden chairs with red velvet seat cushions. The prince practically ripped the gold drapery closed, hiding the doorway, and us.
Bathed in shadows cast by the candles in the wall sconces, my prince turned me around, grabbed me by my upper arms to slam me back against the wall. He glared at me ferociously from only inches away. “Are you trying to get yourself kidnapped?”
I blinked. “Kidnapped...?” I shoved against my prince’s chest to make some breathing space. “By who? Master Corwin...?”
My prince was unmovable. “Yes, Master Corwin, you imbecile. It’s traditional, in fact.” His lips curled in a scowl. “I knew I should have kept you down on the ballroom floor where I could keep an eye on you.” His fingers tightened on my upper arms.
I winced. I was definitely going to have bruises by morning. “What’s traditional? Kidnapping people?”
Alberic’s eyes narrowed to green slits. “Death’s Coachmen always kidnap their women to bear their children, you little idiot. All he needs to do is kiss you, and he owns your soul.”
What...? I blinked up at him. “So you tossed Gabriella his way instead?” Good lord, what was he thinking?
He rolled his eyes. “Gabriella is a sorceress. Even as inept as she is, she’s still his equal.” His gaze focused on me. “You are not.”
Not his equal... Shock hit me like a punch in the gut. Gabriella was a sorceress, Corwin was Death’s Coachman, Alberic was a prince, and I...? I was the lowly human among them, a servant who had clearly overstepped their bounds. I had reached too high for my station. I looked away to hide the suspicious burning in my eyes. “I see.”
Alberic’s whisper was soft, but edged. “No, I don’t think you do.” He grabbed me by the shoulder and shoved, turning me around to face the wall.
I put up my hands barely in time to save my face from smacking into the marble. I pushed away from the wall. “Prince? What...?”
His harsh whisper rasped against my ear. “Keep quiet, unless you want an audience for this.” His hands tugged at the bow of the sash at my back. He yanked it free, tossing it onto one of the chairs behind us. His arms slid around me to undo my coat buttons inhumanly fast, then my waistcoat buttons.
Icy cold alarm washed through me. “What are you doing?”
My coat and waistcoat were jerked from my shoulders and tossed the way of my sash. “What I should have done before we left the kingdom.”
I did not like the sound of that one bit. “No!” With the flat of my hands, I shoved against the wall hard, pushing him back a step, then twisted out of his hold to grab for my coat.
“Oh, no, you don’t...!” He grabbed my arm and shoved my back against the wall.
“I’m not doing this!” I pulled back a fist to punch him. It was a crime to hit my prince, but I was too desperate to care.
I’m quite proud to say that his eyes actually widened, though he still caught my fist before it could make contact with his face. However, he did wince. “That would have actually hurt.”
“It was supposed to!” I swung with the other fist.
He grabbed my other fist then slammed both against the wall to either side of my head. “Damn it, Julian, this is for your own good!”
The back of my hands impacting the wall should have hurt, a lot in fact, the wall was marble, but I was too damned pissed off to feel a thing. “Says you...!” I lashed out with my boot-heel, aiming for his instep. I wasn’t about to hit his knee. I didn’t want to cripple him for life, just make him back off.
Growling, he stepped in to jam his hip against mine, pinning me against the wall with his body. “Stubborn wench!” He shoved his knee between my legs, then up intimately high against me.
I gasped, reeling under an all too sudden rush of carnal excitement that weakened my knees.
He took that moment to yank both of my wrists up over my head and trapped them with one hand against the wall. “Brat!” His whisper was just a tad breathless against my ear. With his free hand, he tugged on my neck cloth, loosening the bow then pulled it from my neck. “Why do I put up with your insubordination?”
The breath from his words scalded my bared throat, shocking me from my stupor. Just how far did he intend to undress me? I twisted in his hold and whispered back, “Let me go and you won’t have to, ever again!”
“Never!” One-handed, the neck cloth dangling from his fingers, he tugged at the buckles of my knife harness. “What’s mine...stays mine.” The harness dropped to my feet with a thud and a clatter. He kicked it. The harness with all my precious knives slid under one of the chairs.
Once again, I was turned to face the wall, only this time my prince yanked my hands down to the small of my back and began to wind my neck cloth around my wrists.
The bastard was tying my hands!
He was fast too, and thorough. In less than a breath, my wrists were very securely bound, though not so tight as to make my hands go numb. However, the knot my fingers encountered was small and very tight. Damned silk! It was going to take a knife to free my wrists. “Prin
ce, is this really necessary?”
He hauled me back around to face him. “Yes, it is.” He jerked my shirt free of my pants. “Master Corwin’s only interest in you is your virginity.” He lifted the hem and tucked a fold of it into my collar, exposing the cloth wrapping that bound my breasts. “Once that’s gone...”
“What?” My mouth fell open in shock “You can’t! I still have more than a week to go!”
“I can.” Alberic smiled and held up a small shiny paper envelope. “I have a condom.”
I knew exactly what that was. I fetched his supply from Theo regularly. Most nobles used something similar, but my prince’s weren’t made of sheep-gut.
Apparently, my prince was dead serious. My blood ran cold.
~ Twelve ~
Alberic tucked the condom into his wide coat cuff and pulled out one of his slender and insanely sharp throwing knives. “Hold still, I don’t want to cut you.” His smile widened. “Accidentally.” He gripped the front of my breast bindings and set the knife’s point, edge outward, against the top.
Icy terror froze me for an entire heartbeat, but not because of the knife. He really meant to do...that with me? Here? Now? “Prince, we’re in a foreign country’s palace...!”
“Which is why you need to keep quiet!” He slashed down and outward.
My breasts practically burst free and the cotton strapping that had bound them dropped to land on my boots. I couldn’t quite hold back a small yelp of surprise. The blood returned in a rush of itching. My nipples rose to swift, aching erection. I hissed and flinched.
His gaze entirely focused on my chest, my prince tucked the knife back into his sleeve and smiled. “Oh look, your nipples are happy to see me!”
I scowled at him. “They’re...like that because the binding cuts off the blood-flow and now it’s returning, you pervert.”
Alberic peeled the black leather gloves from his hands with quick efficiency and cupped my breasts. “I prefer to think otherwise.” His fingers closed on my sensitive nipples, pinching them lightly.
The feeling was almost too intense to be enjoyable, yet somehow it still made my knees go weak. I couldn’t quite hold back my moan.
Alberic’s brows lifted. “Liked that, did you? Let’s see how you like this...” Mouth open, he leaned down to engulf my right nipple. His hot, wet tongue swirled around the sensitive nub, then he sucked, hard. At the same time, his fingers tugged on my other nipple.
Erotic fire speared straight down to blaze in the nub at the apex of my core as though his mouth was there, instead of on my nipple. Something deep in my belly clenched hungrily. I gasped in a deep breath to conceal the moan that wanted to escape, but a small, shameful whimper slipped from my throat anyway.
His mouth switched to my other nipple to torture it with teeth and tongue, accompanied by loud sucking noises. At the same time, his other hand palmed my other saliva-wet breast.
I wanted to struggle. Really, I did, but my body had other ideas. It wanted more of the heavenly sensations my prince was propagating. My back arched to press my breasts harder against his sinful mouth and enticing fingers.
Alberic moaned in open enjoyment, but his sharp green gaze was on mine. His fingers released my nipple to reach down to the front of my pants, where he began undoing the nine buttons of the front flap.
My gaze wandered over to the curtain, the only thing between us and that whole ballroom full of people. Ice-cold paranoia woke me somewhat from my sensual daze. “Prince, this is insane!”
He looked up at me with narrowed green eyes. His teeth clamped down on my nipple, delivering an erotic shock that stabbed straight down.
I gasped and writhed against the wall, but fear kept me from sinking back under the beckoning erotic haze. “If someone catches us like this, I’ll be exposed! A woman crossdressing as a man is a crime in some countries!”
He lifted his head and paused in unbuttoning my pants. “Easily solved.” A quick jerk tugged the hem of my shirt back down around my hips. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face the wall, the palm of his hand pressing between my shoulder-blades.
My swollen and wet nipples were pressed tight against the cold marble wall. The chill made them ache. My silk shirt was far too thin for any kind of insulation. An echoing throb pulsed low and deep in my core. I sucked in a breath and trembled. “What are you doing?”
“Now they can’t see your breasts. Not that I want anyone to see them anyway.” He opened the last button on my pants and yanked them down around my knees, taking the silky, frilly under-shorts with them. “This way, if anyone finds us, they’ll just assume I’m ass-fucking my valet.”
I stiffened. “And that’s supposed to be better?”
“They don’t burn catamites at the stake here.” He cupped my ass with both hands and sank his fingers into the cheeks. He groaned in open appreciation. “On second thought, ass-fucking my valet doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Your ass was made for cock.”
An illicit little thrill raced through me and I shuddered. “That’s not making me feel any better!”
Alberic leaned close to set his chin on my shoulder. “No? How about this...?” He reached around my right hip, and cupped my mound.
I gasped, and my flesh shuddered.
He purred against my ear. “Hmm... Maybe I should have had you shave there too.” His fingers slid lightly down the plump lips guarding my core, then under to slide among the sensitive folds. “Oh, nice and wet.”
Reeling under a strange combination of shock, mortification, and excitement, another small whimper escaped.
“Nothing to say?” His longest finger slid into me, and his thumb caressed the nub at the apex.
I felt both a lightning strike and a hard clench inside. I gasped, and my hips bucked back all by themselves. I had no idea if I was trying to shake him off, or encourage him to go deeper.
“Is that impatience?” Two of his fingers slid deep and wriggled, making obscenely loud, wet sounds. He pressed against something inside that triggered a deep ache.
I flinched. “Ow...”
“That’s your maidenhead.” He eased the pressure, but continued with his explorations. “Hmm... What to do about that?”
“How about leaving it alone?” Fear had a nasty habit of making me more than a little sarcastic.
He snorted. “Despite my reputation, I prefer delivering pain with something other than my dick.” His fingers pulled out to swirl around the sensitive pearl.
The kick of raw lust forced a choked gasp from my throat. My body arched away from the wall, shoving my butt right up against his crotch, yet hope rose in my heart. “You’re going to let me stay...?”
“No.” His tone was cold, hard, and final. His other hand left my butt, slid up under my shirt to cup my breast. “I’ll just have to get you too excited to notice.” He pinched the nipple between his fingers, while tapping his other fingers against my pearl.
Even as my body shuddered uncontrollably under his dancing fingertips, I scoured my brain for something, anything to stop my prince from his course. Up against a wall in a ballroom alcove was not how I’d planned to lose my virginity! Inspiration struck like lightning. “Prince, I have to be a virgin to catch that unicorn, remember?”
Alberic stilled then delivered a low, deep, and sinister chuckle. He leaned in close to whisper against my ear. “Julian, we don’t need to catch one, Gabriella is making one. Did you forget?”
I had forgotten. Disappointment crushed me. I pressed my brow to the marble wall and seriously considered knocking my head against it a few times. “Shit.”
“Julian...” He gently pinched the plump lips of my mons together and rubbed the sensitive pearl between them. “When your prince is trying to seduce you...” The fingers of his other hand twisted my sensitive nipple. “Pay attention!”
A spike of erotic fire flashed straight from my nipple to my clit, causing something low and deep inside my belly to clench hard. I gasped, and my entire body shuddered. “I could
n’t ignore you if I tried!” Moisture seeped down my thighs.
“Oh, for that, you definitely deserve a reward.” His longest finger pressed against the swollen little pearl while the fingers to either side slid between my lips and pushed inside.
I shivered hard. “What are you doing?”
He chuckled against my ear. “Rewarding you, of course.” His hand moved forward and back, the one long finger rubbing my pearl while the other two rubbed within. His other palm tightened on my breast, squeezing my nipple between his fingers.
The multiple sensations combined into a hungry coiling deep in my belly. Sticky wetness slithered down his fingers, and my thighs. I clamped my teeth together to keep quiet, but small whimpers and moans escaped from my throat. Even worse, my hips began to move in counterpoint all by themselves.
His fingers sped up, pressing, rubbing, tugging... His voice rumbled low and deep against my ear, “That’s it. Dance for me, Julian. Dance on my fingers.”
His deep hoarse whispers went straight to my core. My head went light. The things I had done in my own bed late at night, the pleasure I’d brought to myself with my own fingers was nothing compared to this. This was frightening and humiliating, but most of all, it was obscenely delicious.
I couldn’t think beyond the fact that I was going to cum; that my prince, the only man who had ever occupied my dreams, was going to make me cum...and I wanted it. I wanted it with every fiber of my being. I began to rock back onto his hand with enthusiasm, pushing into his strokes, and openly writhed for more.
“That’s it. Good girl.” His hot breath caressed the side of my neck. “Cum for me, Julian. Cum in my hand. Cum now.”
My entire body clenched tight and my breath stilled. Perhaps it was his voice, or his skillful flick on my pearl, but most likely, it was his order. Since early childhood, I had obeyed his commands no matter how stupid or even life-threatening. It was practically a reflex. Whatever it was, the tightness in my belly released, exploding in a pulse of carnal ecstasy that made me see stars. I threw my head back and gave out a loud choking cry.