Baron of Hearts (Master of Monsters Book 2)

by Hadley, Stephen L.

  “So,” Leo said. “You didn’t like the bed?”

  The drakonid glared at him. Straining higher on trembling legs, she rattled the manacles that held her to the bed.

  “Releassse,” she hissed.

  “I don’t think so,” Leo said. He strode forward as close as he dared, running a finger along the shredded hole that the drakonid had carved in the mattress. “Not yet, anyway. Not until I’m certain you won’t harm us.”

  “Releassse me and I will not harm,” she said, without hesitation. Her voice, when not hissing out her words, had a peculiar, almost entrancing quality to it.

  “Maybe,” Leo said. “Or maybe you’re lying.”

  “My k-k-kind do not lie. Releassse me and sssee.”

  “No.” Leo leaned forward, staring her down. “As I said, I’m not going to release you yet. I bought you for a purpose. When I’m confident you’ll serve that purpose, then I will release you.”

  “My k-k-kind are not ssslavesss.”

  “Good,” Leo said, straightening. “I don’t want slaves. I buy them, yes, but I don’t expect those I buy to remain as such. You are investments. I reward those who work hard and loyally. Lovers, coin, even freedom. Anything can be yours, if you earn it.”

  The drakonid’s eyes narrowed as she considered Leo’s words. Then her gaze flickered to Karran’s face, to the narrow, almost decorative collar she wore around her neck, and then down to the kobold who clung to Leo’s leg.

  “My k-k-kind are not ssslavesss,” she repeated.

  “As I said,” Leo said, fighting to keep the growl from his voice. “I don’t want slaves, I—”

  “No,” she interrupted. “You want petsss.”

  “I don’t.”

  From the drakonid’s unchanging expression, it was obvious she did not believe him. She continued to glare at him, her crimson eyes narrowed and hostile.

  Sighing, Leo turned to go. Then he paused, one hand still on the bed, as an idea came to him. It was half-formed only, but the longer he considered the matter, the more concrete its form became.

  “Karran,” he said, beginning to grin. “Come here, would you?”

  She did so promptly, her eyes never once leaving the drakonid. Or at least, not until Leo reached up, cupped her cheek, and pulled her close for a sweet, gentle kiss. She was hesitant at first, caught off guard by the suddenness, but her reservations soon gave way to excitement as she returned his affection in abundance. Eventually, Leo was forced to pull away, laughing.

  “All right, that’s enough,” he said, still chuckling. “Take Honey out of here, please. Tell her not to play in this room. And bring me a chair?”

  From the way her brow furrowed, Karran was obviously not keen on the idea. Regardless, she nodded and obeyed.

  Once they were alone, Leo turned back to the drakonid. As he’d hoped, much of her hostility was replaced by confusion and no small amount of suspicion.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  The drakonid studied him for a moment, then grimaced and shifted in her chains.

  “The ambrosssian—”

  “Karran.”

  “K-k-karran. Ssshe isss… your lover?”

  “One of several.”

  “Ambrosssiansss?”

  “Lovers.”

  “Ah. I sssee.” The drakonid’s expression hardened once more. “Not petsss then. You want more bedssslavesss.”

  Baring her fangs, she struggled upright once more and slowly unfurled her wings from around her body. The skin beneath them, though much the same icy blue as her face and arms, was several shades lighter from her breasts to her thighs. Staring at that range alone, Leo could almost forget about the black wings and deadly claws. Her sex alone remained proof of her inhuman nature, the flesh gradually darkening to navy around her narrow, inky slit.

  “C-c-come then. You ssseek-k-k what I offer.”

  Leo snorted and returned his gaze to her face. “Hardly. I have plenty of lovers. More than I need, really.”

  “Then… what?” she asked. Though her eyes remained flinty, a note of genuine curiosity had entered the drakonid’s voice for the first time. Shifting to a less exposed position, she furled her wings back around herself. “Why did you buy me?”

  At last, they had come to it. Leo folded his arms and smiled, ever so slightly.

  “What’s your name?” he asked again. “Tell me that and I’ll tell you why I bought you.”

  For a long time, the female merely stared at him. Still, she did not speak. She was just about to, however, when the door opened again to reveal Karran, chair in hand.

  “Thank you,” Leo said, as Karran handed it over. He looked back to the drakonid, but her mouth was shut tight once more. Swallowing a sigh, he nodded and added, “I’ll be right out.”

  It took a moment for Karran to recognize the dismissal as such and when she did, she obeyed with even greater reluctance than before. Leo waited to move until the door was shut once more, knowing that Karran would have objected to it.

  Making his way toward the head of the bed, he carefully lifted the chair over the edge and down into the hole the drakonid had burrowed. It took him several minutes of careful negotiation to maneuver it under her. But once he had, the female promptly lowered herself onto it with a sigh he would have thought exaggerated if not for the continued trembling of her exhausted legs.

  “You’re welcome,” he said, when no other response was forthcoming.

  The drakonid’s horned head swiveled as she glared at him. For a time, she almost seemed to be gnashing her teeth.

  “Thank-k-k you,” she said, in a quiet voice.

  Leo nodded and headed for the door. He hadn’t expected to get anything more out of the drakonid but no sooner had his hand touched the knob than she spoke up again.

  “Sssann,” she said. “My name isss Sssann.”

  Leo turned and nodded appreciatively.

  “Thank you, Sann,” he said. “I’ll return soon so we can discuss your role here.”

  Chapter Four

  Leo was grinning broadly as he closed Sann’s door behind him, wholly satisfied with how the interaction had gone. Within another few visits, he fully expected to bring the drakonid on board. And then, once he allowed a few rumors of his acquisition to spread, no one would dare enter his estate for nefarious purposes.

  It wasn’t until he tried to lock the door that he realized his hand was shaking. Frowning, he stared at it and waited for the tremble to stop. To his annoyance, it did not and he was forced to use both hands to stabilize the key sufficiently.

  Fortunately, there was no one present to witness his moment of witness. Honey had run off somewhere, probably the kitchens, and although Karran certainly noticed, her muteness meant that Leo had nothing to fear. Not that he distrusted anyone in his household, but sometimes it was simply easier to keep such things private.

  And while he had a chance to enjoy such things…

  Leo looked at Karran and found her staring back. Though her face was virtually expressionless, there was an unmistakable gleam lurking in her golden eyes. And, the longer he waited, the more it came to the forefront.

  “Do you feel like being of use?” he asked.

  She did not reply, of course, but her stoic mask gave way to a small, excited smirk. Beneath the skirt of her armor, her tail began to lash from side to side.

  He took her arm gently, steering her down the hall as if intent on nothing more than an innocent stroll. With each door they passed, the motion of Karran’s tail increased, until it was practically smacking Leo’s leg every other step. He grinned, deliberately slowing his pace until at last, he stopped in front of a small, storage cupboard barely large enough for one of them.

  “Here,” he said. Opening the door, he bowed playfully and waved her inside.

  Karran stepped into the cramped room and started to turn. Before she could, however, Leo entered as well. His body nearly crushed her against the wall as he shut the door behind him. Grasping the
ambrosian’s hips, he pressed himself hard against her. Karran’s tail, unable to move, simply rested heavily against his thigh as he clumsily worked the buttons on his trousers.

  Half-pinned, Karran began to fumble with the straps of her armor. Before she’d managed even a single latch, however, Leo grabbed her wrist and guided it insistently against the back wall of the closet.

  “Don’t bother,” he said, practically growling the word directly into her ear thanks to the closet’s shallow dimensions. “You can leave it on.”

  Karran nodded, peering over her shoulder at him. Her eyes glowed faintly in the near-total darkness of the room, but even from that alone, Leo could see the eagerness written plainly on her face. He trailed his hands slowly up her thighs, working his fingers in small circles as they neared the hem of her leather skirts. The material was stiff and designed to be snug—it would have made poor armor elsewise—but that only made the process more tantalizing. Fortunately, because it had been purchased and fitted with Karran’s tail in mind, there was room enough for him to glide his palms up to the base of her firm, well-muscled backside.

  “Lean forward,” he ordered.

  Karran obeyed instantly, arching her back to better enable his access. Ordinarily, Leo would have savored her obedience, but the stiffness of her clothing forced him to press his hips forward to keep it from sliding back into place. Gripping her hips tightly beneath her armor, he began to grind himself against her. In seconds, his erection had firmed and he could feel the damp heat of Karran’s folds inviting him closer still.

  One of the many advantages of a tailed ambrosian lover, though, was the fact that he had even more avenues of foreplay available to him. He had learned very early on that Karran’s tail was every bit as sensitive as the bits shared with every other woman. All it took was a gentle rolling motion of his hips and within moments, her tail and thighs were quivering with anticipation against his cock. And then, because he was not in the business of selfishness—sexually, at least—Leo grasped the hilt of Karran’s tail with both hands.

  It was as though he’d thrust into her without warning. Karran stiffened violently and if she’d had a voice, Leo could tell she would have cried out. As it was, she gasped breathlessly and pushed her hips forcefully against him. One of the hands she held pressed against the closet wall slipped as well, scraping against the wood with a sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

  “Ah, what the hell,” Leo murmured. “You’ve earned it.”

  Squeezing the ambrosian’s tail, he roughly yanked it to the side. The second the obstacle was removed, his member slid along the curve of Karran’s thigh, lining him up without difficulty. Now, as always, the furnace-heat of her pussy nearly gave him pause. The first brush of her slickened lips stung. But, as he gritted his teeth and pushed forward, the almost-pain of the initial contact promptly gave way to the almost-pain of blissful penetration.

  Karran gasped again, her drench, silky insides clenching down around Leo’s cock. She tightened further, crying out with a gurgling wheeze as he abandoned her tail to pin her roughly against the wall of the closet. His hips began to move, plunging and thrusting deep inside her with a ferocity worthy of the ambrosian herself.

  There was something delightfully feral about Karran that simultaneously wearied and excited Leo in a way that none of his other lovers could manage. It was the feeling that came from overpowering something as wild and strong as she, of making a powerful, deadly creature submit to him in such a vulnerable way. Brigit and even Delia could occasionally be wild in bed, of course, but their wildness felt like an exception or nuance in light of the intimacy. With Karran, that predatory nature was central to the experience.

  Growling, Leo wrapped an arm around Karran from behind. His hand struggled with her armor for a moment before managing to snake through a gap in the many belted segments beneath her arm. A second later, he found her breast and squeezed, enjoying the feel of her nipple stiff against his palm. With the other hand, he reached up to seize hold of one of Karran’s horns. Drawing her head back, he forced her even more bodily against the closet wall.

  Karran was panting now, her hips squirming as she writhed beneath his merciless thrusts. With another lover, Leo might have hesitated. But with Karran, there was no need. She made her needy approval known in the only manner left to her.

  Leo groaned as Karran tightened around his cock, slowing his thrusts until he could savor every inch of her plundered cunt. She trembled with each new bit of friction, her lips clinging to his girth and yielding only reluctantly. There was nothing reluctant about her tail, however. It curled around Leo’s back, flexing to pull him deeper into her body’s embrace.

  It was only the sudden, crushing pressure of Karran’s fifth limb that informed him of her climax. Her insides clenched demandingly around him and her breath escaped in a ragged gasp, but Leo was so focused on the pleasure building behind and below his navel that he might not have noticed otherwise. He thrust furiously in response, his sex-addled mind thanking whatever powers might be for the ability to satisfy both himself and his partner with the same motion.

  Grunting, Leo threw back his head as his climax found him. His legs shook with exertion as the orgasm burned through him, shuddering down the length of his cock and turning his rapid heartbeat to a dull roaring in his ears. He continued to hold Karran tightly as he emptied himself, half-pinning her to the closet wall and half-relying on her to keep from collapsing.

  Only when his climax had faded sufficiently for him to begin breathing again did Leo loosen his grip on her horn. She sighed in response and he wondered momentarily if he’d done the wrong thing. But then she turned slightly, tail still holding him securely inside her, and grinned widely.

  “Thank you, Karran,” he exhaled, stumbling slightly over the simple words. “I needed that.”

  Swaying slightly to stretch and crack her back, Karran tapped her breastplate with two claws. It was a simple sign and one that Leo had learned very early on—one of the few he’d managed without difficulty, in fact.

  Me too.

  Groaning softly, Leo eased himself out of her. He leaned weakly against the closet door and bent awkwardly to hike up his trousers without burying his face in the ambrosian’s ass. Eventually, he managed to snag the edge of them between two fingers.

  No sooner had he grabbed them than the closet door swung open and he fell back. Leo grunted as he landed hard on his back, trousers still below his knees.

  Brigit stared down at him in disbelief and horror. Behind her, stunned into silence, stood a gaggle of four young women in the simple garb of household apprentices. They too regarded Leo with expressions that ranged from astonishment to disgust.

  Quickly, though still far too slowly for his liking, Leo yanked his trousers up into place. He did not rise, however, but continued lying there as Brigit hastily ushered the new servants away with abundant apologies aimed in both directions. Even when Karran emerged from the closet, her armor adjusted back into place, Leo did not move. Instead, he simply stared up at her.

  “Well, fuck ,” he said, at last.

  ***

  Leo was not prone to embarrassment, but the fresh memory of his new servants’ horror at his unwitting exposure made him want to hide deep in the tunnel beneath his estate for a few decades. His clothes were too nice for such a thing, however, so he instead returned to his rooms and settled for pressing his brow painfully hard against the nearest wall.

  Seven hells, what had he been thinking?

  His sulking did not last long. After only a few minutes, someone rapped on the chamber door and he reluctantly opened it. Brigit stood beyond, wearing a remorseful smile and carrying a small bottle of wine.

  “I thought you could use this,” she said, handing him the bottle. “Sorry, Master. I wasn’t expecting you to… be in there.”

  Leo waved aside her apology with a flippant wave, then took a deep gulp directly from the bottle.

  “So,” he sai
d, nodding her inside. “How many quit?”

  “None,” Brigit said. She shut the door and leaned against it. “They’re bonded, after all. But I doubt any of them would have anyway. They were quite amused, once the shock wore off.”

  “I’ll bet.” Again, Leo drank deeply.

  “That’s not why I brought the wine,” Brigit said. “Petre is here to see you. I told him you were indisposed and he asked me to check again. He doesn’t seem inclined to leave.”

  Sighing, Leo massaged the bridge of his nose and briefly considered the wine. He’d already drained a third of the bottle and he would have gladly finished the job if it meant shirking his duties a bit longer. But, in the end, he merely nodded and handed the wine back to Brigit.

  “Tell him I’ll see him shortly. Make sure he’s comfortable.”

  Curtseying, Brigit departed without another word. Leo watched her go, closed his eyes, and sighed again.

  “Let’s get this over with,” he said to no one in particular.

  After changing clothes and delaying as long as politeness would allow, Leo braced himself and abandoned the relative sanctuary of his rooms. He found Petre waiting for him in the first-floor library, idly inspecting the half-empty shelves and punctuating his perusal with sips from his usual flask. He glanced over as Leo entered, but did not otherwise react.

  “Petre,” Leo said. He grinned, as earnestly as he could manage under the circumstances. “How are you? Is that steward giving you any more trouble?”

  Leo’s words seemed to break whatever spell the youth had been under. Capping his flask, he returned it to his breast pocket and managed a weak smile.

  “It’s good to see you, Leo. I’m sorry it’s been so long. Our paths kept narrowly missing.”

  Leo shrugged. “Think nothing of it. I’m likely to blame.”

  Rather than continue the small talk as courtesy dictated, Petre instead collapsed into one of the posh, leather chairs at the room’s center. He did not look at Leo, either, but instead studied his own folded hands with a blank expression.