by Jane Henry
“Why do you do this?” I ask him. “Why do you not choose the simpler methods of Freanoss?”
He is quiet for a minute as he eyes me. “Simpler is not always best, Carina.” But he offers nothing else as we walk through the hall.
He points out various paintings and sculptures as we move onward. Some are odd to me, yet some stir something within me that I am wholly unfamiliar with. I feel both sad and happy, a strange mixture of emotions I cannot quite decipher. I wish to stay longer, but he wishes for us to continue. Beyond the kitchen there is a pantry and larder, and as we move past the large hall and smaller rooms, we come upon a comfortable-looking room with elegant furnishings. The walls are flanked with old-fashioned books. I eye them, marveling. I have never seen so many books in my life. Simpler, digital methods of reading are encouraged on Freanoss. I hope I am given some time to peruse this room, but as I find myself wishing, I banish the thought. I cannot allow myself to be enamored with the ways of Avalere. It is far more important that I remain detached and aloof, so I can find what I need to, but even as I begin to think of leaving Avalere and returning to Freanoss with the information I need, my heart twists. Do I really want to leave Avalere?
We move on, and he shows me a room that he refers to as his cabinet, a place where his men will convene later. We have now made a nearly complete circle, arriving back at where we began. I see the door to his chambers, and as we draw near, I see a few more small rooms. There is a golden door to one room near the entrance to his chambers. “That is your room,” he says. “Traditionally, you would retire in that room. It is my wish that you do not,” he says. “You may use that room to ready yourself for gatherings, but you will reside in my chambers.”
My heartbeat begins to quicken as we near his chambers. We have spent some time exploring the inside of his home, and the sky just outside the oval-shaped window in the long hallway shows that the sun is beginning to set. “You will rest a bit, as I await news from Idan. And after I have spoken with Idan,” he pauses, drawing closer to me, as he places his hand upon my neck and his mouth close to my ear, “you and I will get to know each other a bit more.”
I have somehow forgotten how to breathe. I may be ignorant of the ways of his land, but my intuition tells me that what he has planned for me may be something unlike what I have experienced before. He wishes for me to be in his chambers, and he has freed his obligations for the evening. I intuitively know that the time is drawing near where he will wish to couple. Although I feared his type of intimacy before, and I cannot say I do not fear it still, the very thought of his hands on me has my breasts swelling, heat simmering in my belly. I am at a loss for words. I simply nod, and follow him to his chambers.
Chapter Ten
Aldric
I see that my little one’s eyes grow big as I mention the plans I have for her. I am deliberately cryptic in my word choice. She is afraid. Though I wish for her to fear me inasmuch as it will make her more likely to obey me, I realize that I simply wish for her to fear punishment. I do not wish for her to actually fear me. There are men who enjoy taking what is theirs at their leisure, and in my youth, there were times when I did take what was due me without much thought for the woman beneath me. It is different with my little one. She is my mate, my chosen one, and though I will demand her utmost obedience, I wish for her devotion. There is no pleasure in the immediate capture. No. First, there must be chase.
“Come, Carina,” I tell her.
She follows me, though her eyes are still flitting about the palace. I imagine there is much for her to observe, and she may have questions yet.
“Fetch me the bell,” I instruct.
She obeys, lifting the bell gingerly, as if afraid that if she moves too quickly it will break. I smile, nodding to her, and she hands it to me. I give it a sharp ring. Her eyes widen, her breath catching as the sound echoes and Lystava appears as if by magic.
“Please take Carina to be bathed,” I instruct. “It is my wish she present herself to me in one hour, robed and prepared. Do you understand my instructions?” Lystava knows all that my duties require, and will take care of my little one with attention to every detail.
Her diminutive frame bows, her head inclined. “Certainly, my lord,” she says, opening her hand so that Carina can follow her. It is only because the room where she will bathe is connected to my chambers that I have allowed her leave to depart from me after what she’s done earlier today. I nod, and Carina and Lystava cross my room, Lystava showing Carina how to access the connected room through a door in my chambers. They leave, the door shutting behind them. Next, I summon Arman, my most trusted servant. He arrives in short time, as the Hisrach has begun to convene in counsel. His dark hair is drawn back with a tie, his short beard trimmed. His stern eyes are ready to hear and obey. He inclines his head, and I accept him with a nod.
“Arman, I wish to speak to the Wise One,” I say. Arman’s eyes grow wide. Though he knows better than to defy me, I can see him hesitating at my command.
“The Wise One, my lord? You do know he has not left his home in several decades?”
I frown. “Of course I know,” I say. “But if it is my wish as king to have him brought to me, then I expect he will be brought to me.” I speak impatiently, as it is my strong desire to have the man brought to me now. I have questions that only he can answer.
Arman frowns. “Certainly, my lord, and if you do truly wish that he be brought here, then I will make the necessary arrangements. But I—”
“I do wish it so!” I snap. My temper is rising. I want to know what it is that troubles my little one. I have many questions about her that she herself cannot answer, since she can only frame what she knows according to what she has experienced. I also wish to know why it is I feel the enigmatic pull to her, my mate, though she is a woman of Freanoss.
“My lord,” Arman begins, lifting a placating hand to me. “I am merely saying—”
But he is interrupted by a small knock on the door from within my chambers. Lystava is ready with my Carina.
“Come in,” I say, and the door opens. Lystava first emerges, followed shortly by my Carina. Silence descends upon us, and I do not realize at first that I am holding my breath. Is this my little one, or an angel from the heavens? Her skin has been washed fresh, gleaming ivory in the low light of my room. Her hair is still damp, the midnight curls pinned in ringlets about her heart-shaped face. Her dusk-colored eyes look to me almost pleadingly. These are not the defiant, angry eyes of the woman I have taken over my knee. These are the eyes of my lady prepared to please me, and she is seeking my approval. The curves of her luscious form shimmer beneath a simple tunic of silver, her bare feet noiseless as she approaches me.
When she is within arm’s reach, her head bows, her eyes cast down, and her knee dips in reverence. Lystava has instructed her to approach me properly. I warm at the sight, my sudden desire for her so strong I wish to banish my servants from my chambers, lay her upon my bed, and take her. I swallow, a futile attempt to quench my thirst for her.
“My lord,” Arman says. “If I bring the Wise One to you, it may be a threat to his health.”
“I need to speak to him,” I insist, my eyes on Carina, reaching my hand out to cup her cheek, running my thumb along her cheekbone. Her eyes flicker over mine and she bites her lip.
“Perhaps you will go to him,” Arman insists, but his words are nearly drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears.
I nod to him. I am heady with her fragrance, an intoxicating yet subtle smell, sweet yet seductive, the scent curling its lacy tendrils around me. I will tell him anything now to get him to go away. “I will go to him,” I murmur to Arman, though my eyes are fixed solely on my little one. My hand reaches to her slim waist, drawing her closer to me. “Tomorrow. Go to the counsel and see that no one disturbs us for the remainder of the evening. I will see Idan at the first light of dawn. Give him those instructions.”
I am dimly aware of both Arman and Lystava taking t
heir leave. The room is darkened.
“Are we alone?” I ask her softly. She nods her head. She is still afraid, but there is far more at play now than fear.
“Though your lovely garment protected your modesty for the moment,” I murmur, “it is my wish for you now to be bare to me.”
Her immediate obedience thrills me, as her hands reach for the hem of the garment, lifting it over her head. I hear a low growl in the quiet room and it takes a minute before I realize that it is my own instinctive response.
I have had many women. I could, even now, have legions of women to do with as I pleased.
But there is only one I desire.
When she is bare, I reach my hand to the small of her back, drawing her close to me. I dip my mouth to her navel, planting a delicate kiss at the sweet skin at her waist. I feel her anticipation begin to rise, her breaths becoming shallow, her body slightly trembling at my touch. I draw her on my lap so that she is facing me, her legs wrapped around my waist, her arms encircling my neck. I take her mouth as my hand travels to her neck, her lips parting, welcoming my kiss. The gentle kiss slowly intensifies as my hunger for her grows, my lips bruising hers, my tongue plundering her mouth. When the moan deep within her resonates through my own body, the length of my hardness below her bottom presses. I want her. All of her.
I rise, taking her to the bed, and gently place her down, her arms still upon me.
“Release me, Carina,” I order.
She blinks and hesitates. I smack her thigh, not harshly but firmly enough that she understands she must obey. With a little mew, she complies.
I bend down, my mouth close to her ear. “Little one,” I say in a low growl. “Your warning time is complete. You are now going to be trained to obey me so thoroughly you will fear the mere thought of disobeying. There will be no more warnings, Carina, no more allowances for your failure to obey immediately. When I instruct you, you will do as I say.”
This will not be easy for her. She will be punished, and often, while I train her. But she will be rewarded when she obeys.
I take her wrists and lift them so that her arms are stretched out. I place them firmly on the bed, pressing them down with just enough force to covey my command. For now, I will aid her obedience with verbal instructions. Eventually, she will be expected to understand and obey without my having to tell her what to do.
“Do not move your wrists,” I say. “You will maintain whatever position I require of you unless I give you leave.” I look into her wide blue eyes, full of anticipation, fear, and arousal. “If you disobey, I will punish you.”
She swallows.
Hovering over her, I lower my mouth to her forehead first in a gentle kiss, slowly bringing my mouth down to her ear. I flick out my tongue. She squirms, but stays in position while I drag my tongue in a circle around her inner ear. Lowering my mouth, I take her lobe between my teeth and nip. Her hands fly out, grasping my head. Within seconds, I have her bent over the bed as I punish her, two sharp swats to her backside for her disobedience.
She gasps. “I am sorry, my lord!” she says. Good. Her words halt my hand, raised to strike a third time. I toss her back down on the bed, taking her wrists far less gently this time as I pin then down.
“Move your hands again and I shall cuff them,” I say.
“Yes, my lord,” she murmurs, her hips writhing. I return to her ear, kissing and nipping and torturing her with my tongue. I move to her jaw, planting fluttering kisses along the edge and down her neck. When I come to the tender skin there, just above her collarbone, I flick out my tongue and lick before sinking my teeth in the soft flesh. She gasps, her hips jerking, but her hands stay in position. She will be rewarded for her obedience.
“Good girl,” I growl, “such a very good girl.” I move my mouth down her chest, my mouth alternatively licking and biting and kissing. I long to consume her, to take her in, all of her, and as I hover above her, my own instinctive desire begins to flow. I can feel it now, the energy between us, the warmth and light of her longing to entwine with me, but circling still, cautious. Though I am the one in power over her, she is the one who will open the gateway to more. I can and will demand her obedience. She well knows she faces my discipline and displeasure if she fails to obey. But there is more than power and control at play. I desire far more for us.
It takes all my strength to hold myself above her as I continue to make my way lower still, to her sweet, bare mound. She is shaking her head but her hands stay where I put them.
“What are you doing?” she whispers.
“Shhhh.”
My tongue flicks out to the tender skin of her thigh, so delicious and enchanting.
“Open.”
She has two choices: disobey and incur discipline, or obey and I will take her to ecstasy. I give her seconds to comply, and just as I’m prepared to flip her over and administer my discipline for her disobedience, she obeys. Her knees bend, lifting, her legs spreading wider. She is welcoming me. With a wicked grin, I move to between her legs, allowing my thick whiskers to graze her thighs. She likes this, moaning as she writhes beneath me.
“You may move your hands as you wish,” I whisper, just as my tongue flicks between her legs, starting low, drawing up slowly, her folds the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. I growl in approval as her hands fly to my hair, gripping, anchoring herself onto me. I move my hands beneath her bottom. Cradling her entire backside in my two hands, I lift her mouth to me as an offering, an unblemished gift. Circling her sensitive nub with my tongue, I hear her moan, her fingers holding onto me as I tease her again, and again, squeezing her punished bottom, pulling her to me.
She writhes, holding onto me, and I can tell by the way she feels that her arousal is reaching peak. I release her, lifting my head up, enjoying her groan at the loss of my mouth on her sex.
“Please, my lord,” she begs, panting.
“Not yet.”
Near frenzied with desire, she pounds the bed with her fists and growls at me. “Yes, now,” she says. I shake my head, both hands reaching for her breasts, I grasp her nipples and pinch, harder than I would to pleasure her. This is punishment.
She howls in pain, swatting at my hands to move them away, but I only grip harder, shocking her as I dip my mouth to her waist and bite. Her screams echo in the chamber as I lift my mouth, the teeth marks stark against her pale white skin. Her nipples still in my hands, I twist again. “Care to contradict me again, Carina?”
Her voice is thick with emotion, her eyes damp as she shakes her head from side to side. “No, my lord,” she moans. I release her breasts.
“Good girl,” I praise, even though her obedience was wrung from her with pain. I move back lower, to her mound, and begin the assault with my tongue, bringing her just to the cusp of climax before I once again release her. This time, she does not beg for more. Her eyes are shut tight. I can see her pulse under the thin white skin of her neck, throbbing. Her arousal is so heady I am drunk with it, the scent and flavor of her permeating my senses. She is delicious, the finest of delicacies.
“Spread your knees,” I order. “Wider.”
She obeys as I remove my own clothing, her eyes taking in the wide breadth of my chest. I am a warrior, my body strong and muscled, honed to perfection with years of training, darkened by the sun. When my clothes are fully removed, her eyes go to my cock, hard and ready for her, and she looks both excited and nervous. I lower my body over hers, holding my weight on my forearms as my mouth finds hers. I kiss her, slowly, savoring the taste of her, the way her breath mingles with mine. My hips move gently, as I hold her close. I take my cock and swipe it along her slit. She gasps as I flick the head of my cock over her sensitive parts, faster, more insistent, bringing her back to the cusp of climax before I remove my touch. Her eyes close and a small sob escapes.
“What is it, my little one?” I ask softly. “Why so sad?”
“You know, my lord,” she replies. “You know that I obey your command and that
you will not bring me what I want unless you desire so.”
I kiss her cheek and whisper in her ear.
“You learn well, little one. Now tell me. Tell your lord what it is you desire.”
“Pleasure,” she breathes.
I take my cock again and slowly drag through her slit, and now I feel it, her welcoming me as her legs part.
“My lord,” she whispers, her hands now freed from my commands coming around to encircle my neck. We are on the cusp, the very edge. She is no longer circling me in fear but now welcoming. “Come inside me.” She swallows before she takes a deep breath. “Please, my lord,” she whispers. “I trust you.”
My chest expands with pride as my mouth meets hers in a brief kiss. “I cherish your trust.”
I nudge my cock between her thighs, to her pussy. “Relax, little one,” I croon. “You will take me fully now. It will hurt, but I will make it feel better.”
She tenses. I will talk her through this. “Trust me, Carina,” I say. “It will hurt more if you tense. There, now,” as I feel the tension loosen, “there, sweetness.” Slowly, I enter her, her warm, tight pussy hugging my cock. I groan from the immense pleasure I feel, her virginity a gift as well, one that I will cherish. I lift my hips and thrust gently but firmly. She gasps. She is wet enough it will help, but it does hurt her until I slowly build a steady rhythm and build her pleasure. Her head falls to the side and she moans, her hips rising to mine, begging me for more as I keep up the steady tempo of pleasure. She is ready for me. I feel her desire mounting, but I can wait for her. I must wait for her. In this, our first act of coupling, her soul welcoming mine for the very first time, we will reach ecstasy together.