Poisonous Parley

by Angelique Voisen

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Angelique Voisen

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-056-4

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: JS Cook

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To Anna, who suggested such a kick-ass title for this book. To readers, who love pirates, werewolves and squirming lords.

  POISONOUS PARLEY

  Romance on the Go

  Angelique Voisen

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  High noon was the least busy time for the port city of Ko. The docked ships bobbled under the afternoon sun, empty of crew. Unlike the busy early hours of the morning, no merchants or traders flooded the wooden docks with their wares. Lord Adriel Claremont breathed in the salty smell of the sea and his eyes devoured the clear sapphire skies above him.

  “Where are you now, Lady Lillian Storm? Are you toiling under the same skies, in some distant land?” Adriel murmured.

  It had been two months since his bride left him to his shame. His own noble family had quickly forgotten the debacle once the Storm family paid off whatever grief they managed to cause, but Adriel didn’t forget easily.

  Lillian was a gently bred noblewoman. In the few times he’d met her, she’d been nothing but well-mannered and polite. Adriel found no reason why she’d run away and leave everything behind. Nothing had been taken from her quarters. No one had seen her leave either, so he suspected something dodgy was afoot.

  He always had a fondness for Lillian since his youth, and even waited for the appropriate time before announcing his intentions to woo her. No matter how many times he’d turn over the events of her disappearance in his head, it wouldn’t bring his bride back. It was done and over with.

  “I was angry at you for weeks, Lil. I hope you’re happy, wherever you are and whoever you’re with.”

  Adriel let out a sigh and stood from the crates he was sitting on. He dusted his clothes and gathered his cloak and rapier. He’d brooded in the docks and nursed his wounds long enough. His personal bodyguard Lionel would no doubt give him a bristling lecture upon his return to the Claremont Manor.

  It wasn’t wise either, keeping the most expensive mercenary in the Domo Empire waiting. For a cold-hearted shapeshifter belonging to the Order of Fenris who was supposedly emptied and untouched by human emotion, Lionel could give one hell of a tongue-lashing.

  During these lectures, Adriel would just ignore the words coming out of the other man’s mouth and admire his body beneath the black leather uniform all mercenaries from the Order of Fenris wore. Of course, if Lionel knew Adriel was admiring how his leather uniform clung to all the hard muscles of his body like a second skin, he’d gut him and then eat him without a second thought. Fortunately for Adriel, Lionel seemed blind and immune to his little observations.

  Lillian Storm had always been something he’d desired from afar, like a reality that he couldn’t entirely grasp or hold in his hands. Her cool beauty stood out like a flame among the vapid ladies of the court and it helped she had good family connections, but desiring his half-human half-animal bodyguard was an entirely different matter.

  Lionel was different from all the men and women Adriel socialized with in court. Years under the sun kept his skin a brilliant shade of copper, and Adriel was always unexplainably drawn to the strong lines of his face and the thick mane of black hair that fell down his shoulders. The thing Adriel liked most about him though, were his wolfish amber eyes. The animalistic intensity in those eyes never failed to make him shudder, especially during moments the werewolf’s temper got the better of him. It was those eyes he thought of whenever he fisted his cock beneath his sheets at night. It was just too bad that while Lionel was close enough to touch, he’d always be untouchable.

  Being a member of an influential noble house, Adriel could practically have any man or woman he wanted, but the only man he wanted now that Lillian was gone, was off-limits. He didn’t even know if mercenaries could feel desire like normal folk. Besides, he wasn’t blind to the disdain and hatred Lionel displayed towards him. While he’d never show it openly to Adriel, Adriel could sense the other man’s loathing from afar.

  When Adriel demanded to know why Lionel hated him with such unexplainable passion, the other man’s reply only made him stiffen.

  “Tell me, my lord. If you dedicated all your life to serving and being part of an elite order of shapeshifting mercenaries only to play bodyguard to a spoiled lord, how would you feel?”

  “What’s a pretty lord like you doing out in the docks, eh?” A crass and thickly accented voice interrupted his thoughts.

  Adriel whirled, eyes narrowed. His hand instantly unsheathed the rapier that hung on his sword belt. The speaker was a blocky, barefooted and bare-chested man with a bandana on his head. A saber was strapped to his side. Scars and blue tattoos covered his chest and shoulders. His two other companions were similarly dressed and similarly marked.

  Pirates. Adriel felt sick in the gut.

  “That pointy little toy of yours won’t help you much, little lord.” The muscular pirate nodded to his rapier.

  “Think he’s worth much?” a second pirate, tough looking and scraggly, jeered.

  “Just look at the way he’s dressed. He’s sure to be a noble,” the third commented.

  Adriel didn’t like the way they’d raked their calculating eyes over him.

  With his heart thumping against his chest, Adriel gathered his nerves and finally said, “Do you know who you’re talking to, pirate scum?”

  The scraggly one snarled, brandishing a wicked looking dagger, but the muscular ox held him back. He’s the more dangerous one, he thought. What did Lionel always say to him?

  “It’s the quiet ones, not the reckless ones you have to look out for, little lord. When you’re surrounded by multiple enemies, it’s best you take down their leader first.”

  Adriel suspected that despite his tedious fencing lessons, he wouldn’t be able to fight his way out of this situation. It was one man against three battle-scarred pirates.

  He smartly tried another tactic. “What do you want? My family will pay whatever ransom you ask.”

  Mocking laughter boomed out of the muscular ox he assumed was the leader. “What a generous offer. We may be greedy pirates, but we aren’t stupid.”

  His beady eyes gleamed with malice.

  “There’ll always be higher bidders out there, eager to set their teeth on a rich, influential, pampered lord like yourself. No. We’ll bring you to our captain and he’ll decide what to do with you.”

  Adriel whipped his sword into motion, slicing the cheek of the scraggy pirate. The pirate hissed in pain, but Adriel desperately moved forward. If he could just make an opening, he might be able to slip past and lose them. The next time his steel flashed, it clashed with the curved saber of the large pirate.

  “Dabnis would like this one. He’s got spunk.” The muscular ox flashed his yellowed teeth at Adriel.

  His blood ran cold at those words. Dabnis was a name that struck fear among traveling merchant ships and even some of the naval officers from the Ko Royal Navy who were unfortunate enough to cross the pirate’s vessel. Dabnis plundered and took anything or anyone he wanted. He wa
s said to be both bloodthirsty and cunning, a deadly combination that placed him on the Domo Empire’s most wanted list.

  Adriel recalled the way the pirates appraised him. They didn’t look at him like a potential hostage. They’d looked at him like potential merchandise.

  No matter how hard or desperate he thrust and parried with his rapier though, he was outnumbered. Adriel let out frustrated cry as the thin blade was knocked out of his hands.

  Damn it all. First, he bore the humiliation of having a runaway bride. He wasn’t about to let himself be kidnapped by the vicious pirates of the high seas like some damsel in distress. Self-preservation made him abandon all of his well-bred manners. Adriel fought and clawed like a wild animal.

  It took all three of the pirates to bring him down. He was bruised, bloodied, and exhausted by then.

  “You’ll regret this. My Fenris Bodyguard will find me,” Adriel muttered, his vision being to fade.

  “Did you hear that? He says he has one of those vicious animal mercenaries under his employ,” someone said nervously.

  “He’s lying. If he had one, then we wouldn’t be breathing right now. We’d be carcass.”

  Adriel’s vision finally flickered to darkness. Vaguely, he felt himself being dragged and thrown over someone’s shoulder like a sack of flour. Gods, what a fool he was. What possessed him to slip under Lionel’s protection and foolishly venture out on his own? Would Lionel even reach him in time before the pirates’ ship sailed to god knew where?

  For that matter, would the werewolf even bother? Knowing his hired bodyguard, Adriel’s kidnapping would only be Lionel’s prime source of amusement. Lionel would even pay to see Adriel sold off like some exotic sex slave, or even thrown into waters swirling with man-eating sharks.

  Chapter Two

  Did Adriel think he was so clever, that he immediately assumed he could slip past my watch?

  Lionel wasn’t just pissed. He was beyond insulted and his lengthening canines and shimmering temper proved just how insulted he truly was. The wolf inside him howled, reflecting his anger. He’d skillfully and silently trailed Adriel effortlessly ever since the lord left the manor. His employer didn’t even look back once to see if anyone was tailing him. Lionel gritted his teeth.

  Didn’t he teach the pampered fool any better?

  Was this all he was reduced to, a well-trained hound sniffing and following his lord’s scent?

  Even the smell of the grime and poverty of the lower part of the city did little to conceal the scent Lionel had learned to memorize. He had no other choice either, since he had to protect this lord even at the cost of his own life.

  Adriel had a distinctively masculine mint-like scent and sometimes Lionel found himself wanting to press his nose against the man’s skin and feel the smooth texture of it. To lick at it so he could memorize the man’s taste just as he’d known his scent. These thoughts sometimes troubled him, especially when they took on a strangely erotic angle.

  Realizing his employer was about to spend hours at the docks, Lionel decided to take a short break. That particular day, the urge to teach his employer a lesson or two about safety was so strong. Strong enough Lionel wanted to dispense with words. Words were useless to a stubborn man like Adriel Claremont. Only action would move him.

  Lionel wondered how the lord would react when he suddenly found himself naked and tied down while Lionel took his time familiarizing himself with every inch of his flesh. Then he’d take him like a needy wolf bitch, relentlessly and without mercy. Inside him, his metaphysical wolf howled in consent.

  When Lionel didn’t catch Adriel’s scent or hear the sound of his familiar footsteps heading back a few hours later, he began to worry. He swiftly made his way to the docks and began to investigate. It wasn’t long before he scented the smell of freshly spilled blood and came across an ornamental rapier. The touch of the expensive cold metal and the harsh angles of the jewels set into the pommel confirmed it belonged to Adriel. Lionel had often tossed the rapier to him during their practice sessions.

  There was a struggle. That much was certain. Adriel had been taken recently too, since no one had bothered to steal the rapier. It wasn’t hard to guess who had taken him either. Lionel took it upon himself to be aware of the comings and goings in the port city and at that moment, only one pirate ship was docked there. While Dabnis and his crew usually disguised their ship as a merchant vessel, it wasn’t hard for Lionel to find it.

  Dabnis’ vessel was newly repainted. The ship’s scarred wood and the smells surrounding the ship and crew also spoke volumes. Lionel easily slipped inside the ship without anyone noticing, and went in search of his lord. Lionel wasn’t particularly fond of cramped spaces, most shapeshifters weren’t, but he maneuvered through the insides of the ship with ease anyway.

  He’d expected Adriel to be in the storage hold, but the hold was empty of Adriel’s familiar scent. Cloaking himself in unexpected corners proved most fruitful. Lionel listened in to the conversations of the loud-mouthed crew.

  “I heard they caught a fresh little lord wandering by himself in the docks.”

  “You think they’re going to ransom him, Jay?”

  “Don’t know yet. Depends on how much his family is offering. His enemies might offer more. He might even make a pretty little sex toy for one of the desert lords down south.”

  This seemed to make the pirates laugh. The erotic image of Adriel naked except for golden chains around his neck, wrist and ankles was something Lionel couldn’t easily shake off either. Chains like those would make my claiming easier. Lionel didn’t know where that stray thought came from, but it no longer bothered him as much as it used to. Focus on the retrieval, and then think about claiming him later.

  “Well, knowing the captain, he’ll probably partake of the lord’s sweet ass before anyone else. The lord’s probably getting himself rightfully rimmed in the captain’s chambers right now.”

  That was enough for Lionel. Bizarre emotions brewed inside him. No one, not even a notorious pirate king, deserved to place his hands on Adriel. After tireless months spent shadowing and protecting the brooding lord, Lionel had the right of first pick. If Adriel was about to be ravaged, only Lionel could ravage him. The lord belonged to him and his wolf, and if Lionel had to mark and rub his scent all over Adriel after this disastrous episode to warn others off, then he’d do it.

  Fury moved Lionel and his wolf. It uncoiled from his belly and coursed through the rest of his limbs. He maneuvered about the ship like a silent shadow. Adriel’s scent drew him closer and closer to his location like a sweet lure. No crewmember saw him and he made no sound, even as he slipped inside one of the windows leading to Dabnis’s private office.

  There were two voices in the midst of a heated argument. Dabnis’s rough and cocky voice contrasted sharply with Adriel’s indignant and cultured one. Knowing his lord had struggled and put up a fight pleased Lionel immensely. Who knew that a fighter was hidden underneath all his expensively tailored clothes and conceited façade? His own wolf rather liked that a beast also lurked inside the mortal man who could be its potential mate, but that still didn’t excuse the sorry fact that Adriel was a fool who got caught.

  Neither man heard him come in. Lionel crept forward, one of hands already forming into a claw. A choking sound from Adriel nearly gave his position away.

  He’s always a damn noisy and pompous fool, but he’s still my damn noisy and pompous fool.

  Lionel moved before Dabnis turned to his direction. Lionel had him by the throat. He had one arm thrown across the pirate’s chest and the edges of his partially shifted hand were pointed to the pulse on the pirate’s neck. Although the pirate was a large man, he was still a mortal one, and any shapeshifter could easily restrain him.

  “Don’t move,” Lionel snarled.

  “Fuck. You weren’t kidding when you said you had your own personal Fenris bodyguard, eh Lord Claremont?” rasped Dabnis.

  Lionel had to admire the man for trying to s
peak. When Lionel pressed his nose against the edge of his corded neck, Dabnis jerked slightly. The movement caused his claws to draw three straight faint lines of blood.

  “Stay still. I won’t hesitate to slit your throat,” Lionel warned.

  “Yes, sir wolf,” the pirate muttered.

  “Lionel, get that business done with and untie me. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m tied to a chair!” Adriel furiously hissed.

  “Shut up, or do you intend to give our position away to the crew outside?” Lionel asked.

  He could hear Adriel take in a deep breath. Lionel was certain the foolish lord couldn’t keep his mouth shut, but he miraculously did. It amused him to notice Adriel was glaring at him with all the intensity of one of those pet ornamental poodles noblewomen in court liked to parade around.

  Ignoring Adriel’s petulant look, Lionel took his time to deeply inhale and sample the scent of the most vicious pirate of the high seas in front of him. Dabnis smelled of ale, oil, sweat and the salty ocean. It was surprisingly, not an offending scent. Both he and his wolf liked it, just as they instantly took to Adriel’s minty scent.

  Dabnis’s uneven breathing grew even and his heartbeats returned to his normal pace once he realized Lionel didn’t intend to kill him anytime soon.

  “Looks like you don’t have your pet Fenris bodyguard trained, Lord Claremont,” Dabnis observed.

  “I am no one’s pet, pirate. Remember that,” Lionel said quietly, pressing his claws against the man’s neck again.

  He felt Dabnis nod soberly.

  “Of course my dangerous, handsome and wolfish leather-clad friend, no else here has claws but you.”

  Dabnis swallowed, as if he was thinking before he spoke. An uncommon trait in a pirate, Lionel mused, since most sea rats weren’t renowned for their thinking. His wolf liked this sea rat already. Dabnis was a different kind of predator from shapeshifters, but he was a predator all the same.