Damned and Desired (15 page)

“You want Dante. You’re in love with him,” Sakari said with a shudder.

He made a strangled groan. “Don’t go there.”

“Okay.”

“Now, get into your room.” He placed a hand on her back and urged her toward her room.

“What is Dante up to?” she asked.

“Go into your room and find out. A warning, Sakari. I was told you could not leave your room without another collection or there would be consequences.”

She stomped her foot. “Damn you and your training and tests and punishments. I just gave an offering and nearly lost my immortality. I need rest.”

“There is no rest for us. The rulers of Anartia want to be free of their exile. And they’re willing to sacrifice humans and Drones to succeed. Dante is certain that he’ll be able to locate Sha Warriors soon for Tarik’s first project. Now return to your room and remember, the demoness will be expecting more from her Drones who wish to return with her to Prygos.”

“Fine!” She stomped off to her room, jerking open the door. Zorian pushed her inside, slammed the door, bolting it from the outside. Her chamber, tiny as it was, still was a place of refuge, a sanctuary that no one invaded. Opposite the door, the room had a narrow window that over looked the sea of Anartia. If she tried really hard, she could almost imagine she was home in the servant quarters of the palace where her parents had lived. There too, they’d a view of the sea. It was so long ago that now the memories had dulled to faded images.

The room was dim except for gray light coming in from the window. The bed in the corner of the room was empty and neatly made up as she had left it. A side table and chair rested on a far wall. The room looked empty. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught movement and turned to see a figure in the alcove to her right, hidden in shadows by an upright cabinet.

The figure of a man had his arms stretched over his head. When her eyes became accustomed to the dark, she noticed he was restrained, hands tied above his head and hooked to a brass loop in the ceiling. His legs were parted and manacled to bolts in the floor.

“Dante?” Picking up a lamp, she raised it to his face. “Brad!”

Brad raised his head. “Where are we?”

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Damned and Desired

“How did you? Never mind.”
Dante or Valdon, or both did this.
Both of them had seen her reaction to this mortal and brought him here. Was she that obvious in her extraordinary interest in this particular male?

He was completely naked. The flickering light of the lamp highlighted the curves and valleys of his straining muscles. His cock hung semi-erect and twitched as she approached. She tugged at the chains, trying to release them, then stopped. Even if she could get him free, then what? And what would be the consequences if she didn’t pass this test? Would they kill Brad? Everything in her being screamed. She did not want anything to happen to this mortal.

“Can you get me free?” His voice sounded desperate. And her heart broke because he sounded so unlike himself and she couldn’t free him. Not without angering the demoness. Why couldn’t she read his thoughts? It was odd seeing him helpless and vulnerable. She would’ve expected him to be fighting mad, calculating an escape, something. She looked around for his fur but it wasn’t in the room. Dante must’ve brought him here without it.

“I’m afraid I can’t free you,” she said. She knew what she had to do. This was her test. Seduce Brad and obtain his chi again without harming him. Dante and Valdon had selected the mortal who she most could not resist.

“What?” Now he did look angry.

She would pass the test damn it and then they would release him. Hands fisted, she swore, she’d do anything to protect him.

Placing her hands on his chest, she sent an image of herself hanging onto the chain above him and straddling his hips, digging her heels into his ass to press his cock into her cunt.

Brad’s eyes rolled skyward and he closed them. Groaning he said, “What are you doing?”

The heat of a blush radiated through her as her body responded to her own images of fucking. Everything about this man turned her on. “I want you, Brad,” she said as her hands circled his shackled wrists.

“God, whatever you want,” he said swaying from side to side.

Stay in control.
It was always about the training. Part of her resented Zorian for setting this up. Valdon or Dante were responsible for bringing Brad here. The other part of her craved Brad and more than in a physical way. There was an ache deep inside her that swelled whenever she was near him. And she really didn’t know him that well. If she protested, he could be in danger.

An oath escaped her lips, she wanted this mortal, wanted him bad in ways she didn’t understand. All the rules made for Drones said not to get involved with your quarry and this was why. There were too many confusing and conflicting thoughts to deal with.

“My body’s on fire.” Stepping back, she stroked her breasts through her thin tunic.

More than anything she wanted to have an orgasm with Brad. Experience that pleasure.

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“Hmmm. Yes,” he answered, watching her.

“Brad, don’t worry. I’ll find a way out for you.”

“I’m not worried,” he said with a dazed smile.

“Good. Remember the nebula stone pendant you gave me at the hospital? That will help.”

“What necklace and what hospital?”

“Where you work. And the necklace you gave back to me when I came into the—”

She stopped abruptly, staring at him.

A worried look flashed across his face. “Oh, yes. Right,” he corrected.

Taking a step back, Sakari studied him, then noticed the mischievous smirk.

“Bastard!” She slapped him. “Valdon, you conned me.”

He laughed. “No, a training exercise.”

Sakari stood in front of the naked image of Brad as a yellow glow surrounded him.

Brad’s face changed. Then the features of his body.

Replacing Brad’s face was a new face, clearly featuring Valdon.

He frowned. “You’d better hope you’re ready to go it alone.”

“Valdon, damn you.”

His fake manacles released him. “You’re good. Or you really have a thing for that mortal like I suspected. Be careful, Drone. Now return to your duties. Maybe you should avoid that mortal if you can’t—”

“There is nothing between us.” But she couldn’t look him in the eyes.

“Good because we won’t be here long if Tarik’s machines work properly. We’ll be enjoying luxury on Prygos.”

“Is that what the demoness told you?” Sakari asked.

Valdon stiffened in a defensive pose. “I realize I’ll be a servant to the rulers of Anartia but it’ll be different. It’ll be better than anything I ever had on Earth.”

“What was your life like? Where were you from?” As a slave for a thousand years she saw so many Drones come and go, she couldn’t keep track of them all. Gwyllain had her favorites for a time and then they seemed to vanish, replaced by new ones.

“My life on Earth was a long time ago and I’d rather not relive it. It’s time for you to return to Earth. Tarik will expect a new offering soon.”

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Damned and Desired

Brad walked into the Red Rock Bar and Grill, gripping his motorcycle helmet. It was evening and he hadn’t stopped thinking about Sakari during his shift at work.

What was it about this one female that had him so worked up? He’d never had problems with women before, had a few long-term relationships that ended amicably, nothing serious since his accident but he’d been busy.

Ever since he met Sakari in the desert, he’d been compelled to know her more.

Although the times they’ve spent together were mostly in a fog, he thought they’d made a connection.

Jan seemed to think that Sakari had a past, something she was hiding. If that was true, Brad intended to find out what it was.

A mixture of trepidation and anticipation filled him as he crossed the room toward the bar. Sakari opened beer bottles and arranged them on a tray, then glanced over at him.

He found a stool at the far end so he could face the front entrance. He hated sitting in any public place with his back to the door. Sakari looked up at him but didn’t smile.

Her cobalt blue eyes shone with worry.

With two beer bottles in hand, she knocked over a third bottle, spilling it on the counter. “Oh no,” she cried out as she righted the bottle and searched around for a rag.

Brad grabbed a handful of napkins and dabbed at the spilled beer. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she said a little flustered. “What can I get you?” She finished cleaning the spill, taking the wet napkins from him.

“I’ll take a beer.”

She gave him a half-smile. “We have fifty varieties. What do you like?”

He grinned mischievously.
You.
Well she set herself up. He decided to behave himself. For now. “Recommendations?” She smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Light, dark, ale, lager?”

He held her gaze and let several minutes pass. She locked eyes with him and didn’t look away. It took all his willpower not to glance down at her breasts. He’d noticed them before—beautiful, full and stretching her black tee shirt nice and tight so that the nipples showed. The low cut of the top showed off her curves.
Don’t look
. Not only had she stayed locked in her gaze with him, she’d moved closer.

Damn, he liked it. His cock stirred and he imagined her mouth going down him. He grew hard.

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Kathy Kulig

Then other flashes came to his mind of her standing before him while he knelt in front of her, her mound inches from his mouth. She was shaved smooth, glistening wet with her juices.

He could smell her arousal. Her hands grasped his head and pulled him forward.

Eagerly, he claimed her pussy. His mouth and tongue working her flesh, pressing on her clit. Moaning, she swayed her hips from side-to-side, matching his rhythm.

He tasted her sweet juices on his tongue. In his mind, his fingers parted her folds and a rush of moisture coated them as he plunged into her cunt with fingers, then his cock.

She cried out but only in his head. Across the bar, Sakari stared at him. Her eyes lowered as if she was indulging in his daydream or imagining the same but she also had a glint of evil intent in her eyes.

She was being cocky and it was turning him on. He really needed to get laid. T
oo
long without, no wonder I’m having fucking daydreams.

In his mind’s eye, he heard and saw her whimpering in pleasure as he drew her near an orgasm. His own need was on a runaway train. If the woman so much as reached over the bar right now and grabbed his cock, he’d come in his jeans.

What the hell was this? His horny imagination, or was she doing something to him?

“Hey, Sakari? You going to flirt all night with the hunky guy or bring us our beer?”

the woman asked from across the room. Brad broke eye contact first, damn it and looked across the room to check who had interrupted them.

The waitress with a mop of wavy blonde hair and a Texas accent was hovering around Dante, then going back to a small group of people off to one corner of the room.

She had on the same black tee shirt and tan skirt that Sakari had.

“You work here too,” Sakari shot back to the waitress.

“Yes but it’s a slow night and I’m entertaining the customers. Bring your friend over and I’ll read his aura too. If I can’t, Ambros will.”

The guy who was with Sakari the other night, Dante, was standing beside a table alone. He had been with her in the desert and here he was again studying him.
Who the
fuck is this guy?

Brad usually waited to get to know someone before he made a decision on whether he liked them or not. He made an exception with this dude. Going on gut instincts, he hated him. The guy was trouble.

Sakari opened another bottle of beer, replacing the spilled one. “I think you’ll like this. It’s dark and a local brew.” She climbed out from around the bar and picked up the tray.

He took a swig of beer and watched her walk away. Halfway across the room, she stopped and looked over her shoulder and said, “Come join us.” But she gave him a look that said, “Come to bed now”. Those blue eyes sent a jolt straight to his groin.

Yeah, he had it bad for her.

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Damned and Desired

Obediently, he got up and crossed the room and stood beside Dante. Sakari introduced Brad to Haley, the cute blonde and Ambros. The fifty-something Ambros wore a Sedona Dirt Shirt, dyed reddish-brown from the red dirt of Arizona. The saying on the shirt said, “Life’s Short, Play Dirty”. As Haley moved to a blank wall, pressing her back to it, the man explained his theory of auras.

“The aura is the electromagnetic field surrounding all living things and nonliving things,” Ambros said in a soothing mystical tone. “These particles of energy are suspended around the human body in an oval shaped like an egg, about two to three feet out on all sides, above the head and below the feet.”

Haley moved her arms, drawing an imaginary circle around herself, as if she was about to perform a knife throwing act in a circus.

“I’ve been trained to see auras by focusing my attention. Haley has begun to see them too,” Ambros continued.

Considering his own gift, Brad was open-minded although he knew there were people out there who claimed to have psychic talents who didn’t. He hoped this guy was genuine and wasn’t cheating Haley somehow.

“In Haley’s aura I see a lot of pink. Indicating she’s a loving and sensitive person.”

Haley smiled sweetly. Brad wondered if Ambros had his eye on her. He hoped not considering the twenty-five or more years’ difference in age.

“She has royal blue that shows she is capable of learning clairvoyance. She’s highly spiritual.” He frowned, then smiled. “I rarely see the amount of violet that Haley has. It could mean she’s very intuitive, a visionary, or a daydreamer.”

Those in the group chuckled.

“Oh and gold specks,” he added.

“Really?” Haley beamed.

Ambros nodded.

“What do gold specks mean?” Sakari asked.