The party. That was its purpose. The realisation crashed down on her, stealing her breath. They would invite all the eligible submissives in the hope of finding the one who would be theirs. That submissive wouldn't find themselves sleeping in a separate bedroom. They would be safe between their dominant mates.
“I don't intend to stay long enough for friends to be necessary but thank you for the invite.”
“It wasn't an invite, kitten, it was an order.”
Matilda rolled up the parchment and placed it next to another roll that she had already signed. She unrolled a third one and began to read.
“I don't like big parties.”
“We’ll make it a small one,” Antonio said, not even looking up from his computer. “I said that she would prefer a small gathering.”
“Well, who do you suggest we uninvite?” Matilda asked. “People will be offended.”
“Okay, we will continue with the big party and have a smaller gathering in the suite next to the ballroom,” Antonio suggested.
“Perfect.” Matilda smiled at her mate and then turned to Vitoria. “One of the merchants is going to stop by this afternoon with clothes. We don't have time to have anything made for you.”
Of course, she couldn't turn up to a royal party in her usual clothes. She would already be the only Solviso in attendance. She didn't want to stand out even more.
“Okay,” she agreed.
Matilda and Antonio both went back to their work. She tried to concentrate on the passage she was reading but her mind kept drifting. The memory of walking through the office the day before, so excited to show them that she could walk, kept resurfacing no matter how hard she tried not to dwell on it. She remembered how she had thought they would be pleased, but had found them annoyed by her presence, dismissive of her. She wasn’t a potential mate. Just someone they were obligated to help.
She felt the tears sting at her eyelids again. She had been holding them back all day. She didn't say anything as she stood and walked as fast as she could from the room.
*
Vitoria closed the bedroom door behind her and sat down at the window seat. She didn’t know how long she stared out over the town. She could see the little houses that surrounded the palace, watched Demalyn in common and animal form milling around. It would be nice to have a friend out there. Someone to talk to, to show her around. Someone she wasn't falling in love with. Was that what was happening? Was she falling in love?
She swiped away a tear. It seemed like all she did lately was cry. What was wrong with crying, anyway? She had a lot to cry about. She’d left everyone and everything that was familiar, almost encountered marauders, broken her ankle, thought she was going to be killed by Demalyn, and sold her home. Having her heart broken should be the least of her problems.
There was a knock on her door and then Matilda’s voice.
“We're coming in.”
She rubbed desperately at her eyes. They would see that she had been crying, they would want to know why. Or they wouldn’t and that would be worse. She didn't turn around when she heard the door open.
“You were told to sit at your desk and read,” Matilda said.
It obviously didn't bother them that much, it had taken them long enough to come up to get her.
“If you needed a break,” Matilda continued. “You should have asked permission.”
Vitoria didn't respond. What was there to say? They were angry because she hadn't followed their orders exactly, because they had some kind of control issue. And she was heartbroken because that was all this was, an exercise in control, a power trip. She was the silly Solviso who had wandered onto their land and they were the powerful monarchs who had taken pity on her. Pity.
“Look at me when I'm talking to you,” Matilda said.
She wasn't going to let them see her cry. She had already lost so much dignity. Perhaps if they had been able to respect her they might have considered her as a potential mate. But that was a silly thought. She was a poor Solviso. She was never a potential mate.
She shook her head. She could hear them moving towards her and then she felt Matilda sit down behind her, so close that her chest was against Vitoria’s back. Antonio sat the other side of her, her face was towards him and she turned so that he couldn't see her either. He placed a hand on her chin and turned her to look at him.
“What's wrong, precious one? Why are you crying?”
She didn't say anything, wasn't sure that she could speak even if she wanted to. Matilda’s arms wound around her waist and Vitoria let out a sob.
“Are you scared, kitten? He can't get you in here. We won't let him. You're under our protection.”
Vitoria instinctively leaned back against Matilda.
“But you must learn to obey us,” Antonio said. “We can't keep you safe if you're disobedient.”
“I only came to my room,” she protested.
“If you won't obey us when all we ask is that you sit at a desk and read, how do we know that you will when it matters?”
She shrugged. “I…” She paused. Should she tell them? If she did it was over, she would be gone, never to see them again. Better that than watch them court their mate. “I have a solution to the problem. I was on my way to meet a Dengara when I was stranded here. I'm going to enter into a contract with her.”
Matilda’s arms tightened around her. “What kind of contract?” Her voice was icy.
“I will provide her with blood, in return for food, shelter and an allowance.”
Matilda growled, sounding more like her animal form than the common form she was currently taking. A moment later Matilda’s arms were gone. Vitoria turned to watch her stalk from the room. She looked at Antonio. His eyes flickered, cats’ eyes stared back at her. She felt a thrill go through her, not fear exactly.
“Stay here,” he ordered, his voice lower than usual. “Do not leave this room until I return for you. That is an order and there will be serious consequences if you disobey.”
She nodded, stunned by the animalistic display of both monarchs. What was going on? The Demalyn and Dengara didn't have any particular animosity between them, not like with the Demalyn and Mazatch, so why the reaction?
She could hear their low voices in the other room. She walked to the closed door and pressed her ear against it.
“Calm down,” Antonio was saying. “You're going to scare her.”
“Let's take her now,” Matilda’s voice was a growl.
Where were they going to take her? To Mira?
“Not like this,” Antonio said. “You'll terrify her. You'll scare her away.”
“She was going to enter a contract with a Dengara,” Matilda said. “She was going to legally bind herself to someone else.”
Vitoria heard someone moving towards the door and she jumped back, expecting Matilda to pounce into the room at any moment. The door slammed open and Antonio stood in the doorway. Amber cat’s eyes stared out of the face of his common form. He stalked towards her, a graceful predator taking down his prey. His sarong had tented out in front of him and he pulled it off, throwing it aside. He stopped where he was, breathing heavily. Matilda came up behind him and wrapped her arms around her mate’s waist, hands splayed over his toned stomach. “Stop,” she whispered. “Don't let it control you.”
Vitoria let out a hiss of appreciation. Her body felt alive with anticipation and desire. The cocoon around her heart felt warm, she felt safe. This was how it was meant to be. “Antonio?”
“You belong to us,” he growled.
She walked towards them, ran her hands over his chest and leaned up to kiss him. “Yes,” she agreed. “I belong to both of you.”
As Vitoria pulled back from him, Antonio’s arms wound around her waist and pulled her against his hard body. She gazed up at him, body trembling, breath quickening. His mouth came down on hers, demanding, and his erection pressed against her stomach. Something simmered below the surface that she couldn’t place. It was fire and passi
on and pain. She didn’t know how but she could feel his pain in the cocoon around her heart. Beneath his domineering exterior he was suffering, and she had to soothe him.
When he broke the kiss she instinctively sunk to her knees before him. That was the way to ease his hurt. His erection stood up against his stomach. She reached out tentatively with one hand and stroked him, her confidence evaporating as the cocoon around her heart hummed in an unfamiliar but not unpleasant way.
She heard Matilda moving and then a second later she was gently pulling Vitoria’s hair back from her face. Vitoria looked up at her. The Queen smiled. Her eyes had darkened, her gaze was more intense than before. She tugged gently on the ponytail she had gathered in her hands, the small shot of pain a comforting reminder of who was in control.
“Choose a safe word,” Matilda said. “Something you wouldn’t usually say during sex.”
“Baker,” she responded quickly this time, having given it a lot of thought since the last time she’d been asked to choose a word.
“Baker,” Matilda repeated. “If you say baker we will stop whatever we’re doing. You can use it any time.”
She nodded her head, the motion pulling at her hair and sending a delicious jolt of pain to her scalp.
“Lick the tip of his cock,” Matilda ordered.
Vitoria did as she was told, relieved that someone else had taken control. She closed her eyes and flicked her tongue over the head of his cock. He tasted salty and clean.
“Take him into your mouth.”
Vitoria sucked the head of his cock into her mouth and followed Matilda’s orders.
“Swirl your tongue around as you suck him in. Suck your cheeks in.”
Sucking her cheeks in and swirling her tongue around his shaft, she moved her head down until his cock hit the back of her throat and then came back up again. Matilda guided her head up and down, controlling the rhythm.
Antonio let out a moan. “That feels so good.”
As his cock hit the back of her throat again, Matilda held her head in place. “Take a little more, kitten. Relax your throat.”
Vitoria tried even as tears pooled in her eyes as his cock choked her. It did something for her, the feeling of his cock demanding more than she could give. She came up for air, getting no resistance from Matilda. She gasped in the oxygen and wiped at the tears. Matilda put her hand under Vitoria’s chin and lifted it so that she was looking into her eyes.
“Too much?” Matilda asked.
Vitoria shook her head. “I want more. I want to take all of him.”
Matilda smiled at her.
“You just need to relax your throat. You can take him.”
Vitoria wasn’t so sure. He was huge. She took him into her mouth but he felt impossibly big, stretching her mouth wider than she thought possible. When he hit the back of her throat she gagged and came back up. Antonio’s moans spurred her on, his hands tangled in hair. She relaxed her throat as she sucked, each time taking him a little further, never quite taking all of him.
She continued, up and down, her mouth filled with the salty taste of his precum, until he said:
“I’m coming. Swallow everything.”
He erupted in her mouth and she did as he had ordered. He pulled away and she reached up and wiped away the ejaculate that had escaped from her mouth. Her hair spilled down her back as Matilda released it.
Vitoria looked up at Antonio. His eyes were back to normal and he smiled at her.
“Good, you did good.” His voice was raspy. “Matilda now.”
She turned towards Matilda. Matilda was draped elegantly over the bench at the foot of the bed. Her sarong had been discarded, her legs spread, pussy on display. She crooked her finger at Vitoria and she crawled towards her mistress.
“Lick me,” Matilda ordered.
Vitoria didn’t hesitate. She dipped her tongue into Matilda’s honey pot, licking up the wetness that had gathered there. She ran her tongue up and over Matilda’s clit. Her own pussy hummed with arousal. She knew that she was wet, ready for Antonio’s shaft or Matilda’s fingers, but she had to please her master and mistress first. She belonged to them. Their pleasure was her responsibility. She slid a finger into Matilda and her pussy gripped it tightly. She moved it in and out, her tongue running over her clitoris.
Antonio’s big hands slipped over her hips and pushed her trousers down.
“Lift your leg.” She obeyed his order, continuing to work her finger in and out of Matilda and run her tongue back and forth over her clit. Antonio pulled one leg of her trousers off and then tapped her other leg. She lifted it and he removed her trousers completely. He ran his hands over her bare bottom, squeezing and caressing. She pushed back against him, needing his hands somewhere else, wanting his fingers inside her. She slid another finger into Matilda who writhed on the bench, pushing her own pussy towards Vitoria. Matilda tangled her fingers in Vitoria’s hair, the slight bite of pain sending another jolt of arousal to Vitoria’s pussy. She licked furiously at Matilda’s clit. She had to concentrate on pleasuring Matilda, not on what Antonio was doing to her.
He parted her arse cheeks and ran a finger over her arsehole. She tensed, her tongue and fingers stilled.
Antonio ran a soothing hand under her blouse and over the bare skin of her back. “Relax,” he told her. “No penetration.”
Matilda tugged hard on her hair. “Lick me,” she ordered. “Don’t stop until I’ve come.”
She focused her attention again on Matilda’s pussy. Antonio pressed his finger against her arsehole and she found herself pushing back against him. He chuckled, leaned over her and kissed the side of her neck.
“We’re going to have everything you have to give,” he told her. “We’re going to fuck your pussy, that tight little arsehole of yours. We will make you ours in every way we can, take you in ways you didn’t know were possible.”
His words and Matilda’s desperate moans aroused her more than she knew was possible. Antonio’s free hand moved around to her pussy and he ran a finger over her clit and down her dripping slit. She shuddered.
“She’s so wet.”
Antonio directed his words at Matilda.
“Not yet,” Matilda said. “Don’t let her come yet.”
Her words were gasps, and when Vitoria looked up at her, never once breaking the rhythm of her fingers thrusting and her tongue caressing, Matilda’s eyes were closed and her cheeks were flushed. A moment later, her hands tightened in Vitoria’s hair, and her pussy clenched around her fingers. She called out Vitoria’s name as her body shuddered with her orgasm. After the last shudder had stilled, Antonio gently eased Vitoria back, lifting her arms and removing her top.
“On the bed,” Antonio ordered. He helped her to her feet and guided her to the bed. She climbed onto it, her master and mistress following. They lead her so that she was sinking back against the mountain of pillows. She closed her eyes and felt Antonio’s big hands gently pushing her legs apart. He ran his hands up and over her knees, over her thighs, until he reached the place that was desperate for his touch. She felt his fingers parting her folds and then the most exquisite sensation against her clit. She bolted upright as a jolt of arousal speared through her body, and looked down to see Antonio’s head between her thighs. Matilda placed a gentle kiss against the side of her mouth, then turned Vitoria’s head into her kiss. She could feel Antonio’s tongue caressing her clitoris and she felt like she would explode at any minute. Matilda’s kiss was gentle, and she pushed Vitoria back against the pillows. Antonio slid a finger into her, working it in and out as his tongue caressed her. Matilda pulled back from their kiss and trailed kisses down her neck and towards her breasts. She took one nipple into her mouth and laved it with her tongue. Antonio added a second finger and she felt almost unbearably tight. How would she ever take his cock?
“I’m…” she gasped out the words. “I’m so close. I’m going to…” She needed their permission, she remembered through the haze of arousal. “Please,
let me.”
Matilda moved away from her breast and took her lips with her own. When she pulled away she said:
“Come for us, kitten.”
It was all she needed. The orgasm rolled through her body leaving her trembling. As her body shuddered with the aftershocks of her climax, Antonio crawled up the bed, dragging one of her blankets with him. He settled on one side of her, Matilda on the other. He pulled the blanket over them and Matilda took it and pulled it over herself. Vitoria’s eyes drifted shut. Matilda put an arm around Vitoria and gently rolled her so that she was leaning against Matilda’s breasts, Antonio spooned on the other side of her.
“Nap time now, precious one,” he said.
As she drifted to sleep, she felt like everything was right with the world. The cocoon around her heart felt warm, and she was safe between her master and mistress.
Chapter Eight
Demalyn from all over the monarchdom had arrived for the party. The palace’s bedrooms were full of important people and the inns around the city had sold out. People gathered in the ballroom, some seated at tables around the edge of the room, others milling about. The band had not yet begun to play, and Vitoria hoped that she was safely out of the way before the dancing started. She didn’t know the steps and there hadn’t been time to learn.
Vitoria felt beautiful in her golden dress, the soft silk brushed lightly against her legs when she walked, and made a splendid swooshing sound whenever she turned. Her usually straight hair was pinned up with loose curls falling around her face. Matilda and Antonio had bought her a necklace for the occasion, gold woven with platinum and diamonds sparkling within. She had never owned anything like it.
She wondered what her father would think if he could see her now. He would no doubt call her frivolous and silly for being so excited about a necklace, but there would be a sparkle in his eyes when he said it. Just like on her tenth birthday, when he’d surprised her with the butterfly broach she’d admired every morning in the window of the shop on her way to school. When she’d thrown her arms around him and told him how much she loved it and how much she’d loved him, he’d called her silly and said the broach was frivolous, but he’d smiled and his cheeks had flushed. She swallowed the lump that always formed in her throat when she thought of her father.
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