Destiny… Power… Passion…
Yes, Samuel thought, gazing into the blood-red depths of the Daestrian Glass as it drank in and refracted the flickering light of the low-banked orange coals smoldering in the fireplace. My destiny … my power…
Stormy gray eyes, silken ruby hair, the scent of warm cinnamon and dragon's blood resins, the sensual heat of her soft, curvaceous body as she writhed against him, moaning.
Nicolette.
My passion.
My Nicolette.
Yes, Samuel, yours, a soft, deep, ancient voice whispered in his brain, your passion, your destiny. Your power. Infinite power. Isn't that what you've always wanted?
Samuel grunted softly, shifting in the chair he'd been sitting in since Gareth took his leave three hours ago. His eyes were dry and aching, as though he'd forgotten to blink for a while.
Yes.
Then take what belongs to you. She is the key to your destiny, Samuel, to the power that is rightfully yours. Daestrian power.
How long had he been in thrall this time?
"Gerik," he rasped, surprised to find how dry his voice was.
"Yes, sir?"
His House Commander's voice came from the door to the suite. He was leaning in the small alcove, smoking a cigar. Samuel focused on him through lowered eyelids.
Kazi was regarding him calmly, his dark brown eyes alert.
"Status?"
"Prisoner is still asleep on the sofa, sir," Gerik said with a slight quirking of his lips, "I took the liberty of thoroughly searching her for hidden weapons and removed her boots." He snickered softly. "As for Adelar, he's presently sleeping off his latest interrogation session in the dungeon. I think he may be close to breaking. The Janassi Interrogation Master the Duke was kind enough to provide me with has managed to extract quite a bit of information from him about the operations of the county and various other items of minor interest. He does still believe the Glass is locked up though. And, as requested, he has not been informed of Nicolette's arrival."
"Good," Samuel grunted, rising slowly, dropping the ancient scrying mirror into a pocket. He turned and looked at Nika, slumped on the settee where she'd been left, her clothes badly rumpled now and it was obvious Gerik had taken his time
'searching' her. She sighed in her sleep, shifting slightly as he watched her.
He growled softly in his throat.
She's always been yours, Samuel. No one else can touch her.
He knelt next to her, his fingers smoothing over the strands of ruby hair, laid out like threads of silk, against the worn brocade of the settee.
She is mine.
He frowned slightly.
What about Gaston?
At first, the news that she'd held up and played with Gaston was immensely amusing. If anyone deserved to get fucked in all senses of the word by a bitch like Nicolette, it was his brother. And she certainly deserved someone like Gaston, who was a fiendish bastard in his own right. He'd imagined it had been a rather vicious coupling. Violent, nasty and swiftly over.
His fingers trailed over her cheek and she sighed. Shivers went through his body.
Nika's reaction had been anything but casual and that made him angry. She had spoken as though she cared about the asshole. That was completely unacceptable.
His fingers brushed over the fine silver chain around her neck. Disappearing into the enticing valley of her soft cleavage was a pendant. Samuel dipped his fingers between her breasts and brought it out. Nika moaned softly, licking her lips slowly in her sleep, her hand brushing sleepily at his as his fingers lingered between the full, warm softness.
Why didn't she like to wear ladies attire, he wondered absently, caressing her.
"Mmm … oh Gaston…" she breathed, "please…"
Ice shot through Samuel's veins, followed by a sharp arc of electricity. His fingers tightened around the delicate chain and he tore it from her neck.
Damn you, Gaston!
She cried out in her sleep and Samuel felt the Daestrian Glass burning against his thigh, heavy in the pocket of his brocade tunic. A small sharp prick of heat was searing his fingers and he opened his hand to look at the small pink gemstone in the pale white metal setting. Silver and pink … topaz? Tourmaline? Not sapphire.
He frowned intensely, staring at the rose pink stone, glittering in his hand.
Singularly refractive. Then it couldn't be topaz, nor any aluminum silicate. Nor was it rose quartz or any quartz derivative. He wasn't sure how he knew this. It seemed as though it was something a Crystal Master ought to know. Not morganite or any beryl. And he, Samuel, knew it wasn't jade, because it wasn't an opaque.
Jade was his stone.
Gaston's hands on her body. His name on her lips. His mouth on her, kissing her, sucking her … fire was racing through his veins as the unwanted images came to his mind. His mouth on her breasts, his hands between her legs… Fucking her…
Making her scream…
Grinding his teeth, his eyes narrowed to dark amethyst slits, Samuel ran his free hand over her half-exposed breast, squeezing, feeling the soft rise of her nipple and the small hard nub at its tip. He rubbed her, feeling it harden beneath his fingers, and he growled deep in his throat.
It's rhodolite garnet.
"Gaston…" she whispered, squirming a little.
Garnet!
Samuel growled deep in his throat. "Garnet…" he hissed, "why you little slut…"
He looked down at the tiny, rich pink stone glimmering in his hand.
Gaston had always been very proud of the fact that he was the only Garnet Key in several generations. And about the fact that only VonTesmars spawned Garnet Keys. Their most celebrated ancestor, Varek, had been The Garnet Key and The First Master when Thrax had been hunted down and destroyed. He would have succeeded Thrax as Keeper if he hadn't died in the final battle.
Precisely.
Samuel snarled.
Slut. Wicked little slut. She deserves to be punished for her audacity. How dare she defy me like this? With him? When she knows she belongs to me and only me!
He threw the pendant across the room into the fireplace, making Gerik snort and look into the room. "Sir?"
Samuel ignored him. His fingers tightened around Nika's full breast, squeezing until she gasped in pain and her eyes fluttered open. He watched with a dark satisfaction as she blinked, whimpering at the pain he was causing such a soft, sensitive part of her body, and tried to focus on him. Her lips fell open and he saw a flash of fear color her storm-dark eyes.
"Samuel?"
"Slut," he snarled, and backhanded her.
She gasped, her head snapping to the side as his hand made contact with her cheek, his other hand, still wrapped around her breast, twisting and tearing her shirt from her body. She gave a startled scream of fright and instinctively curled her body away from him, into the back of the sofa.
He grabbed her by the roots of her hair and yanked her back towards him, hot fury pounding through his veins like fire. "Slut," he repeated, "you thought perhaps my dear brother might take you away? Hide you?"
Nika's eyes widened in dazed confusion, fear, wariness. "No. What? Samuel?"
He grabbed her and pulled her up, pushing her back into the sofa. Her shirt hung in shreds, and only the suede vest she'd chosen to wear over it, covered her breasts from the intense gaze of Gerik, who was still standing in the alcove smoking, only now he was watching the developments on the sofa with a slight, nastily amused smile on his thin, wide lips.
"You ought to know that would never happen, my dear," Samuel hissed, leaning in close, his eyes fixed solidly on hers, "he could never keep you from me. If I wanted you, Nicolette Adelar, no man, woman or beast on this earth or any other would keep me from taking you."
Nika began to tremble. She stared at him, wanting to speak, but finding her voice had deserted her. He was acting crazy, and more than anything else that had ever happened between the two of them, this was the most frightening, because she knew Samuel was anything but. She shook her head, trying to pull away, but his grip was getting tighter and more painful by the second.
"Afraid?" he breathed, a satanic smile curving his full lips, "good. About fucking time, you little whore."
Nika shook her head again. "Samuel…" she managed, "I don't understand."
He snorted. Her energy was radiating from her like heat waves. He tapped into it easily and sucked it off of her, into himself, into the Glass, which flared and became even hotter in his pocket. He groaned at the radiance that, far from burning him, was seeping into his body, filling him with strength, power, knowledge, memories.
"You will," he hissed, pushing himself onto her and bearing her down into the cushions of the sofa, "finally I will have you, Nicolette… Nika…"
She groaned, squirming under him. "No, Samuel," she breathed, "please, not like this."
He chuckled darkly. "I've waited for four years, Nicolette," he said as he forced her legs open with his body, pinning her shoulders to the cushions with his hands.
She pushed at his chest, his body heavily crushing hers into the sofa. "No, Samuel," she whispered again, "don't … this isn't how it should be…"
He hovered over her, eyes narrowed and a dark, churning purple, his lips thinned in a cruel, rapacious smile. "This is exactly how it should be, my dear," he purred, intensely pleased with the fear she wasn't even taking the trouble of trying to hide now. He fed off it and the Daestrian Glass, like the Keystones of the Masters, channeled, refined and fed it back into him as pure energy. He chuckled and she swallowed hard.
He didn't even need to gesture.
Nika felt the cold air hit her skin and she gasped, squirming.
Her clothing had vanished and she was naked.
Samuel sat back, the same feral smile on his face. Nika tried to move her arms the moment his hands left her, but found with a sharp stab of terror, that they were pinned to the cushions beneath her.
"Very nice," Samuel said softly, his gaze raking her naked body.
She flushed hotly and closed her eyes. She didn't want him looking at her.
Or did she?
She groaned again, flushing even more. Yes… especially Samuel… I want to hear him say he likes the way I look naked. I want him to fuck me- No! She moaned, her breathing coming harder now, feeling the heat beneath her skin, agitated by the chill air in the room, bringing her nipples to peaks, eliciting an evil chuckle from the man who had her in his control, completely, for the first time in her entire life.
She realized with a sting of humiliation that right now, she would do anything Samuel asked her. Anything.
Samuel trailed heated fingers over her breasts, pinching and twisting her nipples until she cried out, squirming, pulling against the invisible magical bonds that held her. He slid his hands down, over her full hips, her round thighs, to the rosy flesh between her legs. Nika stiffened and moaned, her skin flushing scarlet as he dipped his fingers into the velvety softness and felt, with a deep, infinitely wicked chuckle, the slick, hot wetness that dampened that satiny skin.
"Naughty girl," Samuel purred, a nasty note of triumph in his tone, "you like what I'm doing to you."
Nika shuddered. "No…"
He laughed. "Liar. Silly girl. Do you think you can lie about this?" He slid his fingers between the folds of slightly swollen, slippery flesh and bumped against the hardening nub of her clit. She hissed and jerked, biting her lip. He laughed again.
"Naughty little slave."
Fiery chills shot through her. Not slave. Nika groaned. "No, please, Samuel…"
she said softly, "don't do this…" Yes, especially slave.
Samuel just chuckled and slipped his fingers sensuously along the darkening, swelling softness of her pussy, until she was gasping and wriggling under him. He laughed again, the sound cold and vicious, even though his touch was anything but.
He rubbed her clit, enjoying the sounds she made when he rolled it between his slick fingers. "You love this, my sweet," he said, sliding two fingers of his other hand into her tight, throbbing body.
Nika shook her head, squirming. "No! Stop, please!" Yes…
She twitched as he played with her swollen and hard clit and he chuckled as fresh, hot juices began to flow over his probing fingers. The strong, sensual female scent began to fill the room as her gasps and moans were now becoming accompanied by a soft, wet slurping sound.
Some part of her was still fighting, but his relentless fingers were making it harder and harder to want to protest. He squeezed and rubbed and caressed her clit until it seemed like it was the core of the dizzying heat that was spiraling up through her already hot and oversensitive body. She groaned loudly, her hips twitching up towards him, her body straining against the bonds that held it.
The Glass seemed to be throbbing as well and he found himself becoming more and more aware of its presence as her energy became more and more sexually charged, agitated, close to the edge.
Samuel drank it all in. He watched the liquid dribbling from her take on a pearlescent, more opaque color, its musky scent filling his senses, intoxicating him.
"Ah yes, Nicolette," he said softly, "that's it … come for me."
Nika groaned, squirming. Fight! Dammit, don't let him make you come! You'll lose yourself if you submit to his control! Her breath began coming in pants as the rolling waves of intense pleasure began to batter against her. "No…" she moaned,
"Oh Samuel, please…"
He chuckled. "Hmm, 'please' what, my pet?" He sped up his thrusting, her body shuddering under the impact. He had four fingers in her now and continued to play with the soft petals of her pussy and the hard nub of her clit as she squirmed and writhed beneath him.
Even though there was clearly a part of her trying to fight, she was losing the battle. He watched her, smiling. Well, that's what would make it even more powerful when she finally did surrender.
"No … ooh…"
He slid back enough to lean down, his breath hot on her shivering flesh.
She drew a shaking, shuddering breath as she felt him. "No!"
Samuel chuckled softly. "Come for me, Nika…" he purred, and rasped his tongue over her distended clitoris.
Nika sucked in a gasp and cried out, her body exploding in a crescendo of pleasure that rolled through her in dizzying, mind-numbing waves. Samuel sat back and laughed as she dissolved in orgasm, hot, musky juice flowing out of her in little bursts with each spasm. He lifted his fingers to his lips and licked them thoughtfully as he watched her, leaning against the backrest of the settee. The Glass gathered her energy and sent it to him in delicious, invigorating bursts of exquisite pleasure. He licked his lips languidly and chuckled to himself.
"Ancestors," Gerik said in a rather thick voice from the doorway, "that is incredible."
Samuel smirked at him. "It is, isn't it?"
Nika groaned, shivering. She forced her eyes open with an effort and focused first on Samuel, who was watching her with an extremely smug expression, then on Gerik, who was leering.
Nika blinked at him. Her entire body tensed, the chill increasing now that she was no longer riding the high of a heated orgasm. Her face went hot and she flushed. Biting her lip, she looked away from him, now acutely aware of his eyes on her quivering, vulnerable, naked body. If there'd been anyone on the face of the earth she never wanted to see her naked, it was Kazi Gerik.
She felt Samuel's hands on her again, rubbing her shoulders, her breasts, her stomach and she felt him kissing her neck, nuzzling her, sending little bolts of fire through her everywhere his lips touched. She moaned, feeling herself react to him, her back arching, her hips pushing up against him, feeling the hard, solid length of his arousal beneath the expensive sable brocade.
What was worse, Gerik had watched Samuel strip her and play with her. He'd watched Samuel's fingers stroke and caress her, toy with her clit and invade her body. He'd smelled her arousal, the scent of her body, watched her lose herself in one of the most powerful orgasms she'd had, and now, he'd probably watch Samuel fuck her.
She groaned as Samuel's lips found hers. She was kissing him back without thought, so preoccupied she was with Gerik's presence.
Samuel chuckled. Nika's response to his lips on hers had been immediate and powerful. She was growling in her throat, returning his passion with her own.
Nika's body was trembling, a flush of something shooting through her. Samuel was kissing her and his hands were all over her. She didn't realize he'd released her, even though her arms were wrapped around him, her fingers buried in his hair, her knees bent, tight to his body as he crushed her beneath him. She moaned into his mouth, wanting more of him, feeling his hardness pressing painfully against her wet, swollen softness and she thrust her hips against his.
'Ah, you want me to fuck you now, don't you, my pet?'
'Yes, Samuel.'
She felt a wave of sharp, hot tingles rush through her. Gerik was watching.
Samuel wanted to fuck her and she wanted him to fuck her and she didn't care anymore what anyone else would think. Her base, savage wants, her rebellious body, her undeniable need was controlling her now and she didn't care. Not about anything. Just this incredible pleasure racing through her. The nasty, wicked, evil pleasure the idea of fucking the worst villain she knew of in front of his lecherous, creepy lieutenant who would probably, her heated brain figured, want to fuck her next. It drove her into a frenzy of erotic excitement that made her breath come in sharp gasps as her body stiffened and bursts of electricity exploded deep within her.
Samuel held her tight to him as this second orgasm swept her body. This time, the energy of it shot straight through the Glass and nearly staggered him with its power. He groaned softly, falling against the sofa back, the energy filling him, singing through his blood and driving him nearly to the edge himself. Her head fell against his shoulder and the shimmering sable fabric quickly became wet with her tears.
Ancestors, if this could be harnessed somehow…
And that soft, ancient voice chuckled. Oh … there are ways … many ways…
She's so pure, untapped, and strong … you could feed for centuries off her alone…
Nika squirmed in his arms. "Samuel…" she breathed thickly, "please…"
He chuckled, "what? Tell me what you want…"
She moaned softly, seductively. "Fuck me, Samuel…"
He pushed her back. She looked at him in confusion a moment before he completed the shove that sent her to the floor. She hit it hard and groaned.
A low, insidious chuckle came from the darkened alcove by the door and Nika's head shot around. Samuel saw the flush that brightened the apples of her cheeks and he smiled nastily.
"Ah, don't like the idea that Gerik's here?"
Nika swallowed hard and looked away, a rebellious look on her face.
Samuel watched her, testing her aura, seeing what was really going on behind her eyes. She bit her lip hard.
Ah… Amusement made him snicker. The idea of him watching is exciting her more than she's willing to admit.
"I don't understand," she was saying, her voice rough, and even though she was trying to make it sound even, irritated, it shook and it was clear she was confused and upset, "I thought that's what you wanted."
Samuel's eyebrow went up and he leaned back on the sofa, regarding her arrogantly. "It is what I want, pet. But we're doing this my way. And you've had quite enough pleasure for the moment."
Nika wrapped her arms around herself, drawing her knees to her chest. The fire was banked low and it was getting really chilly in the room. "It's-"
"-cold," Samuel finished. "Yes, I know." The fire leapt up in the grate and the room suddenly became extremely warm.
Nika's eyes widened. "You shouldn't be able to do that."
Samuel gave her a condescending smile laced with steel. "That's none of your concern, slave."
She pressed her teeth together, feeling them grind, a hot wave of humiliation tinged with arousal that made her flush and turn her gaze to the floor. You like the idea of being dominated, Nika… She winced, a chill that had nothing to do with the room temperature prickling her skin.
"You're very selfish, Nicolette. And naughty. And you deserve to be punished."
Gerik snickered softly.
Nika stiffened, swallowing hard. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
He's going to hurt me. Ancestors, why did he stop it? Only moments ago, I would have fucked him and Gerik and enjoyed it.
"I'm sure you think I'm ruining the mood for you. And of course, you would think that, since, in your world-view, everything revolves around you." Samuel's voice had hardened and he wasn't smiling anymore. "It's always been you, Nicolette. You don't think about anyone else. I doubt you thought much about Gaston while you were fucking him. Did you?"
Nika looked up at him. "What?"
Samuel's eyes narrowed. "Did you think about Gaston, at all, while you were fucking him, woman?" he said coldly, "or were you just thinking about yourself?
Yes, I know you're a little slut, Nicolette Adelar, but do you ever consider anyone else? I suppose it helps because you can come so easily." He snorted as though this were nothing impressive. "There are ways to prevent that, you know. I think we shall use that as a punishment in the future."
Nika frowned slightly. "I did. Gaston said-"
"It was a rhetorical question, Nika!" Samuel snapped, "I don't really care what he did or said. I loathe the idea that any other man has had his cock in you without my express permission – especially my brother!"
She stared at him. "You don't own-" she began, automatically, but a terrifyingly furious glare from Samuel made her stop short.
"That's where you're wrong," he said slowly, darkly, maliciously, his low, thickly accented voice enunciating each word carefully, making damn sure she understood him quite clearly. "You belong to me, Nicolette. You always have."
Nika shivered and slid back, away from him.
A flicker of intense violet, and Nika knew before she felt him, that Gerik was standing directly behind her. This was intensely immediate. Quite different from the heated fantasies her brain was feeding her when she was lost in the depths of erotic desire. Long fingers twisted in her hair, the scent and creaking of the leather gloves on his hands making her stiffen.
Samuel's eyes locked on her and she tried to curl back up, but Kazi's hold on her head wouldn't allow it. He pulled her head back, forcing her to sit up straight or lose a large chunk of hair. Her shoulders fell back, thrusting her breasts out and she flushed hotly, feeling the intensity of both their gazes on her.
"You're jealous!" she threw at him, knowing she'd pay for it and past caring.
Samuel snorted.
"Yes, I am," he snarled. "Insanely jealous."
She gasped softly, shocked. "Oh, Samuel…"
"Shut up," he snapped, "from now on, you don't speak."
He regarded her in cold silence for a long moment.
She was kneeling on one of the lovely old woven carpets that was probably a family heirloom, indeed, he thought he could still make out the fading colors of Daestrian, burgundy and forest green. The floor was a dark, rich rose colored wood and it contrasted against the soft ivory color of her pale olive skin and the fiery red of her wine-colored hair. Gerik's hold on her hair made her tilt her head up slightly, forcing her into a position he knew she'd never willingly take up for him. She'd even unknowingly placed her hands properly on her thighs, which were parted enough to reveal the tender, dark pink flesh between them. He let his lips turn up just a little, wetting them a bit with his tongue. He looked extremely lupine and the effect was not lost on her.
"I like you on your knees, my dear," he growled, leaning forward a bit.
Nika's reaction was immediate and intense. She flushed a deep crimson, swallowing hard, squirming a little bit in Gerik's grip.
"I think it's where she belongs, milord," Gerik said, thoughtfully, watching her.
"Exactly," Samuel said, standing slowly. "On her knees, naked, submissive.
The only thing that is missing is a collar."
Kazi Gerik chuckled softly. He slid his hand down her head, twisting his fingers in the hair at the base of her neck, so she could look up at Samuel as he approached her.
She shivered, shaking her head slightly. "No, Samuel," she whispered through dry lips.
His smile vanished and his eyes narrowed. "Exactly what part," he hissed, glaring down at her, "of 'shut up' did you not understand, slave?"
She wet her lips absently. "But I'm not!" she protested, breathlessly.
Gerik twisted his hand in her hair, yanking her head back as Samuel viciously backhanded her with a snarl. She gasped sharply, tears springing to her eyes, her cheek burning. She drew a shaking breath as Samuel grabbed her by her chin, forcing her head up so that he could look into her eyes.
"You are what I say you are, Nicolette," Samuel hissed, "and I say you are mine.
You can protest all you want…" He shoved a hand harshly between her thighs.
She winced as his fingers thrust into the hot, dewy flesh of her pussy and invaded her body. She moaned softly, a soft, wet sound coming from her. She squeezed her eyes closed. He rubbed her until shivers of heat were snaking upward from deep inside her and she couldn't help another long, low moan that made Gerik snicker and Samuel pull his hand from her with what sounded like a disdainful snort. "Your body believes it, my dear," he hissed, "even if you do not."
He pushed his slick fingers between her lips. "Suck them, slave," he ordered. "I want to see you lick your juices off me."
Nika shuddered, her tongue immediately brushing over his thick, long fingers.
She tasted softly musky, feminine and intoxicating. She didn't think she'd ever been so insanely reactive before. She opened her eyes, suckling his fingers lightly, and met a violet the color of the deepest depths of the sea, glittering like the amethyst her father had been so in love with when he'd been alive. She felt her heart flutter and her body tensed, prickles of icy heat racing over her skin and through her. She shouldn't be allowing this completely undignified, humiliating situation to excite her. It was wrong and she knew it. But she couldn't stop her own reactions and her body wouldn't allow her to lie. She moaned softly, sucking and licking his fingers clean, acutely aware of Samuel's intense gaze on her and the slightly agitated breathing of Kazi, behind her.
With a snarl, Samuel snapped his hand away. "At least you can do something right," he said disdainfully, standing.
Nika wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and tried to steady her breathing.
"You need to be properly trained," he muttered, dropping back onto the sofa with a disgruntled sigh. He looked at Kazi. "Bring her to me."
Kazi nodded and with a short tug on her hair, brought Nika to her feet. She wove slightly, unsteady on her feet from being forced hold a stiff kneeling position, and Gerik was more than happy to assist her, his slender, long-fingered hands moving greedily over her hips and butt and even up her body to brush over her full, soft breasts. She winced away from him, swatting at his groping hands and stumbled forward, towards Samuel. Her eyes flashed anger and fear and her cheeks went pink as Gerik simply stepped up behind her, grabbing her from behind, snaking a hand around her waist, across her hips and one around her chest, up under her breasts, his fingers finding and cupping her in a way that made her blush as her rebellious body betrayed her dislike and her nipples hardened at his touch, her skin burning and her body trembling inside.
Samuel simply watched them, calmly, coldly amused.
"Stop him!" Nika finally gasped, terrified at what her body was telling her, as Gerik's fingers finally slid between her thighs, snickering softly at what he found there.
"Why?" Samuel drawled, a nasty smirk curving his lips. "I find it entertaining."
"You said you didn't want anyone else touching me!" she said, squirming as Kazi pulled her up, tight against his lean frame.
"Without my permission," Samuel said smugly.
Nika groaned. This was worse than when Samuel tried to force her to lick his boots. She couldn't allow Gerik to do this to her. No matter what she might have thought before, when Samuel was driving her insane with pleasure, she couldn't let this happen. "Please, Samuel!" she groaned as Kazi's hand closed tightly around her breast, kneading it and scraping his thumbnail across the nipple. Her head fell back against his shoulder with a gasp. His other hand slid wetly between her slick, soft, throbbing flesh, teasing her clit and dipping into her, first slowly as he chuckled and nuzzled her earlobe, then faster as she moaned and squirmed against him. She felt his body, sinewy and strong behind her, his arousal pressing hard against her naked buttocks and his whispery, reedy voice breathing in her ear.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on you, Adelar. My men seem to think you're a good little fuck."
Nika groaned and turned her head away. She was trembling, having trouble keeping on her feet by now. "Stop…" she breathed, "Ancestors … please…"
Samuel laughed at her. It was dark, rich and infinitely evil. "What, Nicolette? I could swear you were begging me, even though you clearly seem to be enjoying his attentions. Our women all insist that Commander Gerik is extremely talented when it comes to sex."
"Yes, Samuel," she panted, "please. Make him stop. I can't take it."
Gerik laughed and shoved her away from him, into the floor at Samuel's feet.
"You're right sir," Kazi said, licking his fingers with a smile, "she does need training, badly. And perhaps some mental work. She's so confused she can't see straight. You sure you can't wait at least a few hours? I'd be quite happy to take her down to the dungeons and get her started on some proper slave training. It's been a pain in the ass being unable to teach her correct discipline these past four years."
Nika looked sharply at Gerik. She flushed as he deliberately licked his long, long fingers slowly, looking right at her with the most demonic expression she'd ever seen on him. She shuddered and turned away, her cheeks burning and eyes hot with mortified tears. Her body was vibrating with unsatisfied need and she drew a shuddering breath that she fought hard to keep from sounding like a sob.
"Yes, I'd not want to wait much longer," Samuel was saying, "but after that she will be your responsibility. I believe our Duke Gareth is interested in buying her services for a time, but I'd not want her to go to him as intractable as she is right now." She glared up at Samuel, annoyed as hell to be spoken of like an infant or an untrained puppy, but was chilled by the expression on his darkly handsome face. He reached out and wrapped his fingers tightly in her rich, ruby curls. She hissed in pain, but was compelled to allow it. "We'd be rude to inflict such an uncontrollable, wanton whore on the man who's made it possible for us to sweep Adelar finally from the face of the earth." He yanked her hair and she gasped.
Kazi gave them a thin, arrogant smile. "Excellent, sir."
Samuel turned to Nika. "You will learn, Nicolette. And you will learn well.
Resign yourself to the fact that you will serve Master Gerik and obey him in all things, once I have finished with you." She winced and turned her head away. He snarled softly and grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look at him. "You're a VonTesmar slave now. Adelar does not exist. You and Nolan are the last of the blood."
"No!"
Samuel slapped her and she glared at him. "It might interest you to know, my dear, that your so-called 'beloved', the Director, has recognized VonTesmar as the victor in this Clan war. Adelar blood is mine."
Nika shook her head. "No…" she whispered, "no … let Nolan go, Samuel."
Samuel looked at her a moment. She was on her knees again, this time because he had her hair and face and she had little choice but to rise up where he pulled her.
She smelled strongly and enticingly of sweet feminine musk and the thick warmth of cinnamon, touched with a hint of leather. Her dark gray eyes were misty and her lashes were wet. Her soft lips were an angry red from her constant worrying at them with her teeth, her cheeks were pink and the lush curves of her delicately trembling body were damp with sweat. Her nipples were hard and tight, reddened from the abuse they'd been taking over the last hour and the sensations that were relentlessly tearing through her no matter how hard she tried to suppress and deny them.
"Let Nolan go?" he said a bit incredulously.
"Yes, Samuel," she breathed, chewing her slightly swollen lip again, "please."
He snorted. "And what? You've got nothing to bargain with."
She shifted uncomfortably. "I know," she breathed, "please. If for no other reason than the fact that you've defeated him. Let him go and I swear, I'll never fight you again. You can do whatever you want with me, I won't argue."
Samuel raised an eyebrow and Gerik gave a snort of disbelief, standing once again in his alcove, with a new cigar, blowing rings of smoke.
Nika closed her eyes.
"I can have that regardless of whether I release your cousin or not."
She went very still and Samuel caught the slight slump of her shoulders before she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She swallowed hard. "Please, Samuel,"
she breathed, "please."
He smiled. It felt very good to hear her begging like this. She'd never done it before, even when he'd had her, bound and helpless, while he whipped her. While he took out the incredible frustration of not being able to have her this way, naked, hot and wet and completely at his mercy, for the four long years he'd had to suffer without the Glass.
It pulsed, searingly hot by now, throbbing with a beat that his own heart had long synched with, its ancient, dark power suffusing him.
Enough of this game, Samuel … take her now !
She shivered in front of him. "Please, Samuel," she whispered, reaching out to put her shaking hand on his thigh. The heat of her fingers burned his skin and he hissed, his body reacting to that simple touch with a power that nearly drove all sensible thought out of his head. He leaned towards her, pulling her towards him and she gasped sharply at the pain. Her eyes widened at the look in his eyes and she wet her lips in an innocent, yet nearly insanity-inducing gesture. "Please!"
Electricity shot through him at that and he yanked her up, throwing her on the sofa with a snarl. "Perhaps," he growled, "if you satisfy me, I'll consider it."
Nika stared at him, fear and desire fighting for control of her body. "Samuel…"
He grabbed her right leg, pulled it up and slid heavily between them, lifting her hips from the cushions of the sofa and spreading her wide. She gasped again at the harsh tightness of his fingers around her calf, the weight of his body against her leg as he held it tight against him and bore down. She moaned, his solid, hard length pressing painfully against her swollen softness and she winced as her hips jerked against his instinctively.
She may be untrained, she may have been Gaston's whore, but she's mine now…
And it's been long enough…
He reached down, unlacing the fastenings to his pants, not even bothering to strip down the rest of the way. He was in too great a hurry and she really didn't deserve it right now, he thought. She gasped as he released his cock, directing it at her vulnerable, damp rosy pussy and rubbed it in the fresh, slick wetness that was trickling out of her, sending her into a paroxysm of gasps and shudders. "Oh…"
she moaned, "oh … more please! Samuel … please!"
He chuckled, looking down at her. "Slut."
"Yes," Nika breathed, squirming, "yes, I am, but please, just a little more… I'm so close now … it hurts…"
He snorted. "You don't deserve to come again, you little whore," he said, prodding the quivering entrance to her body with the thick, hard head of his cock.
She stiffened. "I'm not interested in your pleasure right now, pet. You're going to give me what I want and you can take care of your own needs later."
Nika looked at him, her eyes focusing on his clothing and sliding down to the thick, hot, velvety member Samuel was teasing her with. She licked her lips absently as she looked at him. He was a dark, almost burgundy color, smooth and hard and glistening with a mixture of his moisture and her own juices. Samuel chuckled as he watched her reaction to him. He was thick, very thick and a good, solid length, which made him even more firm. She shivered, swallowing hard.
"Samuel," she breathed, her body flush with heat and trembling as he prodded her again, "oh please, fuck me."
He snorted softly. "Please?"
"Yes," Nika groaned, "please … now! Hard and fast and now! Please!"
He slid into her and she stiffened. He groaned softly and long as he felt her body adjust around his girth, clinging wetly to him. He pushed harder and her muscles twitched, a soft, low rippling of the soft, hot body around him making him look up, into her face. She whimpered softly, her lips falling open in a gasp.
Tears threatened the corners of her eyes.
He bucked his hips back, pulling nearly out of her and she groaned, squirming.
Her hips trembled and his fingers tightened around the leg he held against his left shoulder. Then he slammed into her and began to pound, hard and fast, grunting.
She groaned loudly, squirming, trying to thrust back against him. He growled as he went faster, her body shuddering under the impact, her breasts shaking, her gasps becoming harsher and more guttural.
He felt a strange, invasive heat growing deep within him as he sped up his thrusts, the power of his own driving need building, the sensation of her slick, wet, hot, tight body making it nearly impossible to think clearly. A dark, ancient and incredibly powerful presence filled his brain, taking command of his body, driving him to move harder, faster. She was screaming now, he realized dimly, and his leg muscles were hurting with the power of his hammering thrusts. She writhed under him, his fingers digging into the flesh of her calf. Her smooth, muscular sheath was spasming against his cock, squeezing him with each sharp spasm. He growled deep in his throat, his gaze fixing and locking on her wild, storm-tossed eyes, holding them as he felt her body stiffen in yet another orgasm.
She cried, gasping, tears streaming down her face, her body shuddering under his assault.
"Yes, Samuel!" she breathed roughly "oh, yes! Yes!"
He frowned vaguely. Something didn't sound right. His name wasn't Samuel…
'Alastria, you little slut… I'll burn him out of your memory … you'll never look at him again … he will die for this insult to me… You're mine, never forget that!'
She squirmed under him, eyes streaming, fear radiating from them as he fucked her, her gown in shreds, her arms tied to the frame of her own bed with strips tornfrom her skirt. 'Yes Master,' she moaned, 'I'm sorry … it was my fault, not his…
please, my beloved … don't hurt him…'
He snarled and backhanded her. 'Quiet!'
Her soft whimpering sent sharp spirals of malicious pleasure through him.
Nika gasped, her arms over her head. She was panting, her voice having gone hoarse from screaming, her body still quivering weakly as the orgasms continued to batter her, rolling through her spasming body with abandon.
Samuel grunted, his body stiffening. Memories of a past that wasn't his flowed through the moments of conscious thought that weren't suffused with the intense, powerful pleasure her tight, hot body was giving him, the sound of her cries, her sensual writhing, the response of her body to his being an intoxicant that was making him almost drunk on the intense power and purity of her energy. He ruthlessly sucked her up and channeled her through the Daestrian Glass that fed it back to him along with bursts of memory, power, strength and a vast intelligence that staggered his mind.
The pleasure sent him over the edge and he hilted himself deep in her soft body and exploded, sending bursts of his steaming essence into her and he roared with the intensity of it as a tortured scream was ripped from deep within her.
Samuel slumped forward, nearly splitting her in half as he came down atop her.
Her leg fell to the side to drape limply over the backrest of the sofa and she moaned weakly.
"Samuel?" she managed.
He groaned, then snarled like an injured dragon. She stiffened.
He raised his head. Dark amethyst eyes glowed now, dark and foreboding, touched with a kind of eerie violet sheen that she hadn't seen before. She swallowed hard.
"S-Samuel?" her voice shook.
"He will die," he snarled, then pushed up and tore out and away from her with a vicious growl. His clothing ordered itself as he rose and she only stared at him, laying weak and drained on the settee. Something dark and powerful radiated from him. Something terrible.
He strode across the room towards the door.
Gerik snapped to attention, eyeing his superior warily. "Sir."
"I shall retire to my suite," he said imperiously, "I do not wish to be disturbed."
Kazi nodded. "As you say, Your Grace."
The door opened for Samuel and he swept through without any further word or even a glance back to Nika, who stared after him in stunned shock.