The Roman soldiers voiced their protests as Cabrian fed from her and this served to excite the hybrids. Cassia knew he wasn’t going to kill her by taking too much blood. But there was still the matter of punishment and that had her trembling.
Prince Diermont approached to address the captured Roman soldiers. “How many of you have daughters and wives at home?” The soldiers responded with cries of outrage and this made the prince smile with wicked glee before continuing his rant. “We will take your females and use them for our purposes. The only way to stop this from happening is to comply with my demands.” His gaze veered toward Cassia and Cabrian and he gestured with his hands. “It must be quite disturbing to watch one of our kind use one of your females. That one cannot be helped, but you can prevent your loved ones from sharing her fate.”
Cassia listened as Diermont made demands that would be impossible to meet. He wanted information about Lucine, among other things, but the soldiers didn’t know anything useful.
Diermont became angry when the soldiers proved to be less than helpful. “Witness the battle that was waged here,” he said while waving his hand in the air. “At this villa, we have prevailed against the Romans twice. We killed your warriors and the few women who were spared were given the blue rot treatment. We will annihilate you all.”
Cabrian lifted his head from Cassia’s thighs. Blood dripped from his fangs onto his jaw. He wasn’t normally a messy drinker and Cassia assumed the extra show of blood was a scare tactic. It worked on the Roman soldiers and their fear was written all over their faces. The hybrids sensed it, and most likely scented their fear, which made them grow frenzied in their excitement.
Cabrian stood and took Cassia in his arms. The blood loss had made her lightheaded and dizzy. She continued to feel pulses of pleasure throughout her body, similar to an orgasm in intensity, but she knew it was the effect of the feeding. His hand cupped her sex and he began to stroke her with a leisurely motion. Cassia sighed and relaxed against him while the Romans shouted at the hybrids.
“Those lands at the border are rightfully ours,” one of the Roman soldiers said. “We will take back what belongs to us.”
The Romans and Asstrumnians had been fighting over land for longer than she could remember. Cassia wished the Romans would stop trying to expand into hybrid territories. Romans were ill prepared to face hybrid retaliation and vengeance.
“If you persist in penetrating our borders we will penetrate your females,” Cabrian said while thrusting his finger inside Cassia’s slickened channel. “And we will ruin them.”
Cassia saw Shane smirk at her and she knew he enjoyed seeing her humiliated. Some of these hybrids had been her captives once, but now the tables were turned and she knew she would pay a steep price.
“Do you still wish to rescue this Roman female now that you see she has blue rot?” Diermont laughed. “I see the fear in your eyes at the mere mention of the rot. It poisons the human sheath, and in doing so, it makes it much easier for us to impregnate them with our seed. If you persist in fighting this war, you will lose and your people will suffer.”
Claudius’ face was red with rage. “You will be crushed under the might of Rome. We will wipe you all from the face of the Earth.”
“Not you. You’re a dead man.” Diermont stroked his jaw and said, “However, it may be wise to leave a couple of you alive to communicate our message to the Roman people. Continue to wage war against us and your people will become extinct in a few decades. I will see to it myself.”
Shane McDonald brought his blade down against one of the captives, slicing off an ear. Blood spurted from the wound as the human let out an agonized scream. “As long as Romans like Lucine conduct their experiments on my kind and exploit our…bodily resources, we will not leave Rome. Turn over Lucine or else we will destroy you and make slaves of you like we did Lucine’s daughters.”
“You will decide which two to spare,” Diermont said to Cabrian. “Separate them from the others and have them taken to the dungeon. I will release them when we depart the villa. There is much to do before we can leave, however.”
Cassia felt relieved when the other hybrids left the room. The look in Cabrian’s eyes chilled her to the bone. He would not forgive her for attempting to escape. He pushed her forward, forcing her to move away from the Romans in the queue. She remembered what Shane had said about punishment. Would Cabrian beat her? She shuddered, wondering whether he could treat her so cruelly when they had once touched each other with tenderness. “Please, Lord Ross, let me tell you how sorry I am.” If he beat her, she might not survive it. She wasn’t a strong female like her stepsister Lavinia. “I swear I’ll do everything you ask from now on. Anything, I swear. I’ll not disobey. Please don’t punish me.”
His grip on her arm tightened. “You were not to leave the room, Cassia. You knew that.” A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes were troubled. “You tried to leave me.”
Guilt assailed her. “I am sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. You tried to escape, and I can only assume you meant to warn the Romans of our presence at the villa.”
“I would not have betrayed you.” It hurt to see the doubt in his eyes, to know she had lost his trust. But how could they ever share trust between them when they were enemies?
With his unrelenting grasp, he guided her away from the Roman captives, to the other side of the room. “I can only assume the Romans don’t know of our presence here. Otherwise, they would have sent their armies here.”
“You cannot allow me to escape, I know.” She never thought she’d make it out of the villa. “I didn’t know what to do when Claudius appeared. He wanted me to go with him. I wanted to stay with you, but Diermont terrifies the piss out of me. Can you blame me for running?”
“You didn’t trust me to keep you safe.” Cabrian’s eyes looked both wounded and angry. “You had no intention of staying with me. You were just using me.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Cassia wanted to make him understand, but she feared she was making it worse. “You say you’ll make me your mate, but you’re treating me as your slave. What am I supposed to think?”
“You’re my slave, Cassia, because that is all you can be for now. Had you been patient, you would have been offered more.” He glanced away from her, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of her any longer. “I thought we were…friends of a sort.”
“I do care for you.” Her feelings for Cabrian were intense, ranging from lust to something deeper. They had bonded when they had been thrown together in his barn stall.
His eyes flashed with anger. “It’s hard to believe that when you were fleeing with your good friend Claudius.”
“Please try to understand. This villa is a place of death. I close my eyes and I can hear their screams. I can smell the blood and hear it dripping on the floor. I open my eyes and I see your companions killing more people I know. Again. I just had to get out.”
“This is war. Death is unavoidable.”
She wasn’t sure she could deal with it. Life had been so much simpler when she worked for Lucine. Now she was enslaved by vampires. Any sane woman would not be coping well with the situation. “Give me time to adjust to it all.”
“I’ll make this easy for you. You’re my slave. Attempt to escape again and you will be punished severely.” His lips thinned into a straight line. “You must learn to obey me.”
Obedience. Slavery. Those weren’t the words of a lover. She guessed the romance was over. “I promise to be a good slave.” Her eyes passed over the discarded weapons on the floor as well as various implements that hung on the walls. Any of those items could be used to hurt her.
“You must obey.” Emotion flickered in his eyes. Was it guilt? Cassia wondered if this situation was hard for him as well. He leaned into her body to speak softly into her ear. “If you defy me, the prince will order me to punish you. If I refuse, he will think I harbor special feelings toward you and he’ll see you as a threat.”
>
So he did care about her feelings. At least a little. She scanned the room and breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed the absence of the despicable vampire leader. “He terrifies me.”
“I said I would protect you, but don’t make it hard on me.” His arm slid around her waist, drawing her close so they could share private words. “Diermont orders deaths like others order a mug of ale.”
“I understand. I promise to obey you.” She wasn’t a fool. Cabrian’s involvement was the only reason she was alive and not dead like the others. “I’ll not give the prince reason to kill me. I swear.”
He appeared relieved by her capitulation. “You will obey me now?”
“Yes,” she said in a low whisper.
His eyes lit with interest as they surveyed her unclothed body. “And you will be a good slave?”
“Yes, I will do whatever you wish.” Cassia intended to try, anyway.
“Prove it. Demonstrate your willingness to be my slave.” Cabrian led her to the back of the room. “Perform for me, slave,” he said as he bit down on her shoulder.
Cassia’s hands were still bound behind her back with the sheet. She wanted to touch him and run her hands all over his body. His nip of fang into skin shot a jolt of pleasure into her system. He affected her much like a drug and she wanted more of him. He was her addiction. “What will you have me do?”
Cabrian untied the sheet from her wrists and it dropped to the floor. “You need a reminder of who owns you.” He loosened his trousers and pulled them down, freeing his engorged cock. “You promised to obey.”
He wanted sex. That surprised her since it was off-limits. Her eyes fell on his heavy male piece and she longed to feel it inside her, stretching her. But they were not alone. “You wish to do this here?” The Roman captives were only a foot away. Thankfully they faced the opposite direction, but to do it in a public place…it wasn’t something she had ever contemplated.
“Yes, I want them to understand what happens to the females we take captive.” He ran a hand down her body, capturing a full, round breast. “Let this be a lesson to the Romans. They will cease their senseless raids into our territories once they comprehend the consequences of their injudicious greed.”
“They saw my stained thighs. They know well what you do to captives.”
“To see is not the same as actual experience.” He pointed to a low table. “On your hands and knees,” he said with a gruff tone.
Cassia crawled onto the hard wood surface and looked back at her captor. “You have the power to free two of those soldiers. Spare my friend Claudius.”
“You ask much, but I will consider it if you perform to my expectations.”
“You’re an ass,” Cassia said under her breath. “If you care about my feelings at all, you’ll grant me that much. Claudius has been a good friend to the family and I’ve known him since I was a toddler.”
“Then perform well, slave.” He ran a hand over her generous bottom. “His life is in your hands.”
Cassia looked at the soldiers. She could see the back of Claudius’ head. It was sandy brown with streaks of premature gray. He had a family who would miss him terribly if he didn’t come home to them. A wife and twelve kids. Cabrian’s hand slid past the tight curls of her sex to part her lower lips. A blast of heat struck her core as his fingers found her small nub.
“You’re already wet. Soaking wet.” He breathed heavily, his voice full of rampant lust. “Such a good slave. It won’t be difficult at all to get inside you.”
Cassia moaned without meaning to make a sound. She couldn’t help it. She ached to feel the slide of his shaft inside her eager channel one more time. The prince had banned human-hybrid intercourse with only limited exceptions. She wondered if this counted or if he was breaking hybrid law. She felt his heavy cock brush against her bottom before he positioned it at her sex. He entered her from behind, ever so slowly, and she could feel his cock stretching her small passage. His hybrid shaft was shaped differently than human ones. It rammed deep inside her and caused instant stimulation. Tiny tremors wracked her body and brought her close to cresting. She felt his mouth at the fleshy part of her shoulder seconds before his fangs punctured her there, drawing blood. The pleasure was intense and pushed her over the edge. She was coming and it was one of the most powerful orgasms of her experience. She cried out, but stopped herself from screaming over and over like a banshee. Oh, she felt like such a whore.
Eventually her quaking stopped. He stopped sucking on her to whisper in her ear. “Tell them what I’m doing to you, slave.”
She felt a tug on her mind and knew he was compelling her with his hybrid abilities. “The hybrid is inside me, using me as one does to females captured in times of war.”
He grabbed her by her hips to ram himself to the depths of her. “Be more specific, slave.”
Cassia moaned as he thrust inside her. “The lord is…fucking me…on the table…behind you.” She didn’t know why he forced her to state the obvious. They couldn’t see her, but the table was shaking back and forth and generating a profuse amount of noise. The sounds of their bodies slapping together left no doubt to what was taking place. Cabrian’s hand massaged her nub, and despite her resistance, managed to bring on a second orgasm. Oh, I’m such a harlot. Clearly she was not in need of rescue—she enjoyed her captivity way too much. She cried out, the sound of her pleasure drowning out the other sounds in the room.
“Humans are so easy to fuck. They’re always wet, warm, and welcoming.” His deep, sensuous tone ramped up Cassia’s desire. His vigorous thrusts increased in pace and his hands upon her were like a vise. “They love hybrid cock,” he said with a groan. “Don’t they, slave?”
“Yes, we love it.” Cassia would say just about anything right now. The pleasure wracked her body and overwhelmed her. She felt his cock swell inside her and she knew he was releasing his seed. It fell in torrents from her sex as he pulled out of her, staining everything it touched a brownish hue.
Cabrian spread the fluid on her thighs and all over her breasts. When he pulled her to her feet, she looked in dismay at her tattooed breasts and stomach. The designs would fade from her skin in time, but no amount of soap and water would remove them. She knew from experience. She guessed he was marking his territory.
He forced her to walk to the front of the room so he could display her tattooed body to the soldiers. Cassia couldn’t look them in the eyes, knowing they had heard her screams when she had convulsed in ecstasy in the arms of the enemy.
“The lady has begged for your life,” Cabrian said to Claudius, “so I will spare you. And I will spare one more. The rest of you will face the prince’s wrath.”
The hybrids began returning to the room. Two of them grabbed Claudius and a second Roman soldier and disappeared. Cassia assumed they were heading to the dungeon. Cassia felt eyes on her and knew they stared at her newly stained skin. The warriors glanced at Cabrian and gave him knowing looks. A few of them appeared worried as they peered at their fearsome leader.
The prince narrowed his eyes at Cabrian. “You were to punish your slave, not fuck her.”
“That was the punishment.” He crossed his arms over his chest and met his superior’s eyes with a boldness that few dared. “It was done in the presence of her people so she would understand she is a slave. In human society, only slaves are subjected to that kind of humiliation.”
“A convenient excuse, Lord Ross. We all know you did it to fuck her.” He looked at Cassia as if she was a gnat that needed to be squashed before it laid eggs and polluted the villa with an army of maggots. “You’ll become addicted to human sheaths if you persist in using her.”
“I’ve only had her twice, not nearly enough to risk an addiction. I know what I’m doing, Your Royal Highness.”
“I hope that is the case.”
“War games, you understand.” He pointed to the Centurion in the middle of the room. The Roman shot daggers at him, obviously incensed by what he had don
e to Cassia. “The noble Claudius will carry our message to the Roman people. Let them know how easily we can kill their males, how easily we can seduce their females.”
Seamus slung his sword over his back and approached Diermont. “Humans have served our kind for generations upon generations. They used to offer us the choicest females to be our pets. They were our happy slaves.”
“You wish a pet, Seamus?” Diermont appeared perplexed. “Some of these humans are curious creatures, but you’d quickly grow bored by them. Dogs make better pets.” He shook his head with a fierce motion and grimaced. “Do not expect a return to the old ways. Our males cannot withstand the temptation of the human animal. They fornicate with them and lose interest in hybrid females. It prevents mating bonds from being established. It caused a decline in our birth rates, which was one of the reasons we do not recommend the keeping of human pets.”
Cabrian placed his arm around Cassia’s waist. “My pet is fertile.”
“Not at the moment, Lord Ross,” Diermont said. “So keep your cock out of her from now on. She is covered in both blue and brown stains. Everyone can see that she is yours. There is no reason to touch her again, not until she’s in her fertile time.”
Cassia stared at the floor, wishing she could disappear like the hybrids could into thin air. She didn’t feel comfortable being naked in front of a room of people. She had been denied clothes ever since the hybrids had taken the villa. Slaves were naked. She had grown accustomed to seeing nakedness in slaves. Lucine had at times used her slaves, both male and female, to entertain her company. Most of the wealthy households did the same. She hadn’t really known what it meant until now. She was an object, a possession that was less than human.
“Have the druids interrogate the captives before the executions commence,” Diermont said to a long-haired hybrid armed with a myriad of weapons.
Cassia met the eyes of the terrified soldiers and it hurt to know they only had moments to live. Many of them were young and hadn’t grown into their manhood yet. The fangs of the hybrids extended and their eyes darkened to the color of the blood they would soon spill.
Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) Page 2