Olena unconsciously rubbed her arm. It didn’t hurt anymore but she could feel the thin scar through the cotton shirt. Maybe if she had been left to suffer through the healing, her resolve against her handsome, barbaric husband would have been stronger. Time drifted under the melody. The song did not seem to end, but morphed from one tune into another, pulling emotions from her. The liquor relaxed her body and she simply stared at his strumming fingers. Memories cascaded through her thoughts, strange flashes of her life.
Cordele stretched and yawned. Olena knew they were going to leave soon. Almost in a panic, she wanted to stop them, but she couldn’t think of a single excuse to make them stay.
“Firebird,” Agro began. “Thank you for inviting us, but I think I should get my lovely wife home to bed.”
Cordele yawned again, nodding in agreement. “It was a divine evening.”
Yusef’s song finished and he stood. He kicked out the fire pit. Olena grew more nervous. She had seen the look in her husband’s eyes all night. He was going to want to finish what they started in the kitchen. She couldn’t let that happen.
Yusef said his polite goodbyes as the couple took their leave, arm in arm. Olena dutifully invited them back sometime. They waved, saying they would love it. Cordele’s head leaned against Agro’s shoulder and he swept her into his arms and carried her down the path with ease. She heard the woman’s soft laugh as Cordele was hugged to her husband’s chest.
Olena watched them leave.
“Well, I’m a little tired myself,” she lied when they were alone, forcing a yawn, though she was hardly sleepy. “I think I’m going to go get some sleep.”
Yusef smiled as she walked into the house. When she glanced back, she saw him finish smothering the fire and, grabbing the gittern, he moved to follow her inside. She quickened her pace, looking over her shoulder. Latching the door behind him, he set the instrument on the couch and left it as he moved to follow her.
The oddly seducing call of his music stayed in her head, pursuing her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, though it wasn’t necessary. She saw the intent clearly in his gaze. When his eyes flashed gold to hint at his shifter abilities, her heart leapt to dangerous speeds. His beastly side excited her. Desire warmed her blood. He let his eyes shift again, swirling with liquid gold, as if knowing what it did to her.
“I’m going to pick up where we left off.” Slowly, he took his tunic from his shoulders and tossed it aside as he stalked her.
“I’m too tired.” Even as she said it, she knew this was a man who wouldn’t be dissuaded with words. Her heart raced. “Maybe we should wait until another time.”
His nostrils flared slightly as he inhaled. “Your body says otherwise.”
Olena shivered. Now that wasn’t fair. “I drank too much.”
“And yet you do not appear to be impaired.”
She backed up as he came for her, realizing too late that he had forced her into the bedroom. She glanced around in panic, moving away from the bed.
“You’re nothing but a race of sexually charged men,” she said in dismay, trying to stop him with words but ready to fight off his pounce. Her legs shook. “Invest in a pleasure droid or something, would you?”
That brought a dangerous smirk to his face. “You didn’t seem to mind my attentions at the festival or this afternoon in the kitchen. In fact, I think you actually begged me to —”
“I was drugged at the festival,” she defended weakly. She swayed, tipsy from drinking. “I didn’t —”
“I thought you said you knew what we were doing and could fight the drug.” His tone indicated he thought this was a game and his expression said he had no problem playing the hunter. She tried to deny him, but her body ached for his with each and every tingling nerve. Her pussy called to him, begging even when her lips would not.
“I was faking it,” she lied. Yusef laughed. Olena’s hand went automatically to her hair searching for the firefly pin. He laughed harder.
“You didn’t think I would let you have that back after what you did, did you?” He shook his head, his hair splaying over his shoulders.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need it. You couldn’t make me feel anything for you if you tried.” The words were a last resort and she hoped he would back down. She really should have known better. His eyes lit in delight. It was too late to take the words back. The challenge had been issued and he accepted it enthusiastically.
Olena jerked back as he sprang forward with a supernatural speed to lift her into his embrace. Her feet dangled off the floor. Her arms pressed into her sides. She struggled to become free but he was too strong. He let her feel the physical power he had over her, let the press of his erection mold confidently into her soft thigh. Her nipples hardened against his chest.
Don’t let him kiss you. Don’t let him kiss you, her mind chanted. Her lashes dipped over her eyes. Don’t let him ki—oh.
Blast.
Yusef’s lips took hers in rough possession, stealing her breath. Her battle was lost the moment she tasted him. She returned his kiss in full force, without hesitation, groaning her aching need into his mouth. She found a hold in his hair, dipping her fingers into the softness of his locks. He smelled like wood smoke, tasted like mint and felt every inch of hard man.
Oh how easily her defenses crumbled to him. As Olena melted into his arms, he set her down on the floor. Her mind might hate her for it, but her body was all his and he clearly had every intention of staking full claim. She ran her hands to explore his chest, tweaked her fingers over his nipples.
“I need you now.” He growled a low, barbaric, animalistic sound of domination and appreciation. Before she comprehended what was happening, Yusef had worked her clothes from her body, throwing her shirt and pooling her pants around her ankles. He moved his fingers to her moist center, spreading her open so he could test her. She was more than ready for him and the discovery made his actions aggressive in response.
Her hips bucked against him and her eyes grew wide in shock at the sensations he stirred with just his hand. Emboldened as her fingers roamed over his neck for support, he freed her mouth so he could incinerate her breasts with kisses. Her head fell back and she arched into his expertly sucking lips. He held her to him, licking the sensitive tips, making her quiver beneath the stroking of his hand.
Olena let her hands roam every inch of his body, his back and strong arms, his chest, neck and stomach. Hitting the barrier of his pants, she searched eagerly for the ties to free him and worked the material from his hips.
Yusef growled and did not slow his assault. As her hand grabbed hold of his arousal, he slipped a finger inside her. She cried out weakly, squeezing him painfully tight in surprise. He tried to pull back, as if wanting to study her face. She let go of him only to grip his head to her chest, as she rode his finger.
“Yusef.” Olena panted hard. She needed him to slow so she could focus.
He took his fingers from her and lifted her by her ass, firmly squeezing the cheeks as he lifted her up. Her eyes opened as she landed on the top of the dresser.
Across the room she saw his strong ass and legs in the mirror. The length of his black hair fell over his commanding shoulders as his face buried in her chest. She stared at his reflection, liking the way his muscles flexed when he moved. His hips artfully slipped between her thighs, forcing her legs to spread.
“Ah,” she moaned, a soft feminine cry of approval and submission. Her head tilted back, spilling her hair over her shoulders. She grabbed his arms. He grabbed her hips, forcing her forward as he prepared to enter her.
“Tell me your name,” Yusef demanded hoarsely, stopping his kisses to listen for her answer. “I must have it.”
“Olena,” she said, unable to stop the whisper of honesty and too far gone with desire to care. His body was poised on the brink of conquering her. His ready cock aimed for possession.
“Tell me you want me,” he commanded, edging to the opening of her
sex. “Admit that you want me.”
Olena stiffened. A thin shred of sanity enveloped her at the request. Her body fought the clarity of her mind, but he was demanding an answer. It was an answer she couldn’t give.
His erection pressed intimately to her opening. She became scared, never having let things get this far before. She could feel his hard tip digging slowly into her pussy. It was too fast. What was she doing? She needed time to think, to reason. This was insanity. He was going to hurt her with his size. Horror stories, told to her by her pirate father, came to mind in a rush.
Just then, her hand fell on the dresser. She felt the bump of his carving knife. Her mind latched onto the most familiar response—fighting. She gripped the handle of the small blade. Her chest heaving, she lifted it to his manhood. She had to buy herself some time, time to think and reason these strange feelings out.
“No,” she ground out. “I don’t want you.”
Yusef stiffened. Her chest heaved for air and her breasts rose and fell before his astonished eyes. The blade hand quivered. She accidentally nicked him on the side of his shaft. He pulled back defensively, getting his most sensitive area away from her attack. He looked down and she followed his gaze to his arousal. Blood trickled where she had cut him. In an instant, rage overtook the passion in his expression.
Olena stared at him wide-eyed from the dresser top. Her eyes burned with tears she couldn’t shed. She was unable to move. Her body still stung with desire from his touch.
Shifting, Yusef went straight for her. His body hardened with the protective armor of his dragon flesh. His brow pulled forward over his eyes and his gaze glinted with the dangerous golden fire of his outrage.
She wielded the blade in automatic defense. It scraped against the thick breastplate of his shifted skin, but did little harm. Wrenching the blade from her hand, he tossed it aside. Then, taking her up, he threw her onto the bed.
Olena landed, knocking her head on the carved headboard. She blinked, blindly trying to scurry off the other side, away from him. He pounced on top of her. She screamed, wildly thrashing against his strong hold. It was no use, she couldn’t free herself. Tears filled her eyes, shaming her as they ran fearfully over her cheeks.
Yusef growled at her. His talons ripped the pillowcase near her head, spreading feathers over her sweating body. They stuck to her flesh. Grabbing the strips, he tied her hands to the bed.
Olena trembled but refused to scream. He was too powerful to fight.
“Please, Yusef,” she whispered, desperate and scared and trying very hard not to show it. “Please don’t do this.”
He shifted back at her whimpering words, but his human form was no less threatening than his Draig one had been. His hard expression bore into her. “I wouldn’t take you now if you begged me to, wife.”
Olena gasped at the hatred that she read in his eyes. She felt his cooling blood smear along her thigh. She weakly worked her hands to loosen her restraints. It was no use, they were too tight.
“What will you do?” Olena asked. To her amazement, he stayed true to his word and got off her. She watched him, stunned.
“I’ll do what the law requires me to do,” Yusef said, ignoring the cut on his bloody member. “You are in chastisement, Olena, if that is even your real name.”
Whatever this chastisement was, it didn’t sound pleasant at all. At least not the way he spat it at her.
“What will you do?” Her tone wavered when he continued to stare at her naked form. At that moment, her body didn’t seem to be bringing him pleasure.
“Law requires that I punish you. If I don’t, the royalty you love so much will have to decide a fitting punishment for you in my stead.” Turning, Yusef grabbed his pants and jerked them on with angry, stiff movements. “They might have been more lenient on you, until they heard the reports about your opinions of them.”
“What is this chastisement?” she asked.
“You will have to obey everything I say.”
“And if I don’t?”
His jaw hardened at the question. “You die.”
“You mean I’m a slave,” she said in growing alarm, as he walked out the door.
Olena’s eyes rolled in her head as she was left alone. Her feet dug into the mattress to push up. Her limbs shook violently as she worked her mouth to gnaw at her wrists. It was high time she got off this forsaken planet.
Chapter 14
You mean I’m a slave.
Yusef heard her whimper and glanced back as the door shut between them. The words, so unlike her voice, brought him up short. In that moment he almost relented completely. He saw the scared eyes of a woman staring out at him from her emerald gaze—vulnerable and afraid.
Attacking a husband was bad enough, but attacking a prince? Yusef knew it was not likely his family would choose death for her because she didn’t know who he was, but she didn’t need to know that. Let her fear for her life for now. The king and queen would more than likely concede to anything he planned.
Unable to face her, with the turbulent mix of outrage and denied passion churning through him, he closed his eyes and hurried out of the house. He had no intention of taking an unwilling or treacherous woman into his bed. He needed time to cool down and to think logically before he did something he regretted. And, more embarrassingly, he had to tend to his wound.
He stormed along the path to the village, barefoot and bare-chested. It was dark and the village was quiet, so none witnessed his ascent to the palace. He left Olena tied to the bed, not knowing what else he could do with her.
The wound to his pride was much larger than the wound to his cock, but he thought it best to tend to the latter. He grimaced darkly. It wasn’t exactly the area he wanted an infection setting in.
What the hell was wrong with his wife? She had wanted him. He was so sure of it. Her reaction to him had been real. Or had it? Her wetness against his hand had been real. The heat in her and the scent of her body’s longing had been real enough, too. Women couldn’t fake things like that. Was he so blinded by his own passion for her that he’d missed something?
Slipping through the raised gate, he ignored the guard who stood to salute him. He strode down the passageway, stopping at the medical wing. Grabbing a laser off the shelf, he ignored the sleeping woman at the front desk. Quietly going to the back room, he lowered his pants and sealed his wound up. It stung horribly, but he didn’t pay it any mind, as he left the laser where he’d found it, and went in search of his father.
He didn’t have to look for long. The king was in his royal office, looking over a stack of papers. Glancing up, he was clearly surprised to see his son at the palace.
“Yusef, it’s good…” the king began, but the greeting died when he saw his son’s dark look and half-naked state.
“I came to inform you that my wife, whose name may or may not be Olena, is sentenced to chastisement,” Yusef said, using the more comfortable feel of their native tongue.
“Chastisement?” the king gasped, answering in kind. He stood from his desk and came around it to study his son. “She attacked you? She tried to harm you?”
Yusef nodded wearily.
The king frowned in worry as his eyes turned sad. “Have the gods cursed you with…with a touched bride, my son?”
Yusef laughed, the sound bitter. “No, she is very much sane, father.”
“Well, that’s something at least,” the king said in gruff relief. “What happened?”
Yusef growled and took a seat. Resting his wrist lightly over his knee, he waited for his father to sit back down behind his desk. “She turned my carving blade against me.”
“And I assume she drew blood if she is in chastisement. Could it have been an accident? Maybe she did not know you were there.”
Yusef grimaced. “She took it to my erection while we… It was no mistake.”
The king cleared his throat, undoubtedly knowing how difficult such an admission was for his son. It would be for any man.
“It was no game.”
“Was she scared?”
“I didn’t smell fear on her,” Yusef said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Although, that hadn’t been the particular scent he was looking for at the time. “I did smell desire for me—potently. But she turned. I don’t know what caused it. I doubt it was fear. That little firebird is afraid of nothing.”
“By royal decree, it is decided,” the king said as a mere formality. “I agree to leave her in chastisement as long as you see fit.”
Yusef nodded. “It will be until she admits she wants me as I want her.”
“A good plan,” the king said, pressing his fingers to his lips. He suddenly smiled. “The sexual tension might be what she needs to bring her around.”
Yusef’s body lurched despite himself. Such a punishment would undoubtedly be worse for him than for her.
“I’ll inform your brothers,” Llyr said, “but this will go nowhere else. I see no reason to tell your cousins or the council elders.”
Yusef nodded in appreciation, knowing law stated that all the royal males of age had to know of such things. He was sure he was in for a few good-natured jibes at the hands of his brothers, but he didn’t care at the moment.
“I plan on having a celebration in about a week to coronate the princesses. There have been rumors our brides have not been seen within the palace. Your cousins have their own gamut of bad luck in marriage. Your brothers are faced with difficulties. People are beginning to wonder and doubt. I’ve heard reports from the elders that they want to stop all Galaxy Brides trade. As imperfect as the system is, we need women to come to this planet. Our only other options are to travel offworld and kidnap them, or pray to the gods to crash ships every year filled with unmated women. It’s not like the days of our ancestors where we could attack, take, and hide. Offworld forced procurement means risking exposure of who we are as dragon-shifters. Then we’ll have the Federation trying to recruit our men. With the threat of battle escalating with the Var onworld, we can’t spare the men that the Federation will try to conscript into service.”
Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition Page 63