Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple II (24 page)

She had been his prisoner for three days now, and her body was covered with bruises from their fierce lovemaking that first night. They had begun to turn yellow, discoloring her skin, reminding him of his brutality. He had been determined to break her in those first few hours. Now, he feared his resolve was weakening rather than hers.

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Dragon’s Law: Mace

He turned onto his side and grumbled at the sight of her body lying next to him, stark naked. She was a beautiful woman. Her long, dark hair reminded him of the night sky, and her skin was as soft and fine as the whitest sands of his home. She knew no fear as she clung to him last night in wild abandon while he drove himself into her dark, wet warmth. Mace almost wished he knew how to love, wished he had experience in seduction without force. There was something about Eleanora that made him wish for things he had never wished before. Every impulse inside him told him that what he was feeling for her was nothing more than a result of having spilled her virgin blood.

The curse was powerful, and he was at its mercy now more than ever before.

She mumbled in her sleep and snuggled against him, placing her head on his shoulder. Sleeping as soundly as a child, she scared the hell out of him. What was he supposed to do with her? He’d never known a woman who didn’t cower from his size and strength. His brother, damn him, had trained her well, if she were his spy. The dragon inside him insisted that the woman was not to be trusted, but the man looked down at her sleeping frame and could not help but wonder where she came from and why she looked up at him with such trust when he had done nothing to warrant it.

His hand went to her breasts before he could stop it. She had amazing breasts, small but firm with rosy tips that begged for his touch. He caressed the nipple until it stood hard, waiting for his mouth. She moaned but didn’t stir as he touched her. He shifted and placed her head onto the pillow. Her dark hair spilled out against the white sheets.

She would look amazing against the red satin sheets in his bed at home.

He slid his hand down her thigh, parting her legs, searching her wetness. She was always wet! The thick patch of dark curls called to his mouth, beckoning him to touch her there, kiss her there, bring her to release with his tongue, his teeth, his hands. Her clit was already hard, awaiting his touch.

She moaned again and stirred enough to part her thighs completely, making room for him. It was all the encouragement he needed. She had taken him while he slept, now he would return the favor by taking her in her sleep.

His cock throbbed as he positioned it at her opening. The tip was instantly coated with her honey. In one swift motion, he filled her to the hilt, stopping only when his balls lay flush against her ass. He listened as she sucked in her breath. Her eyes shot open as he began to move in and out of her hole.

She raised her hands to caress his chest, but he refused to allow her touch.

Capturing both tiny hands into one of his, he held her arms over her head, pressing her into the bed as he drove into her over and over. He refused to touch her clit even as she ground it into him. He refused to touch her nipples even as they begged for his mouth.

For three days, she had come for him, coating his cock with her juice. Squeezing him until he thought she would tear his cock from his body. No more. He wouldn’t allow her to come, to find her release. From now on, there would be no pleasure in their mating. None for her anyway. He would come in her mouth, on her flat stomach, but would not give her the satisfaction of enjoying her own release. It would be a test. If she still desired him, it would be proof that something more was at work, something 143

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stronger than the bonds a spy had to her employer. No woman would stand for it unless she truly craved his touch.

He didn’t speak, didn’t look at her as he continued to move inside her. She bucked against him, meeting his every stroke with her raised ass. An ass that he vowed to fill as soon as he tired of her pussy. Another test of loyalty. Would she allow him to take her?

His heart pounded in his ears and his thinking became unclear. Sensations to which he was not accustomed continued to pulse through his body, making him aware of the weakness he had been reduced to by this woman.

“Roll over,” he demanded, freeing her hands. She obliged.

Her waist may be tiny, but her ass was fleshy and full. She raised it in the air, giving him a full view of her cream as it coated her outer lips.

“Have you ever been taken in the ass?” The thought made his dick throb. Her pussy was tight enough, he wondered how her ass would feel.

“No.” She arched her back as he moved toward her, positioning his dick at her opening.

“You mean my brother didn’t fuck your pretty little hole?” A test. The words pounded in his head even as he said the words, unsure of how else to treat the woman who had seemingly taken control of his body in a way so that he could no longer act save for taking her.

“I don’t know your brother.”

She had told him this several times, but the dragon inside didn’t believe her. He knew she had Damon’s scent on her while she rode his cock that first night. Mace bit his tongue, hoping again to subdue the dragon whose growl lay just on the edge of his consciousness.

“You don’t know my brother,” he mocked. “Yet he sent you here to be my slave, my whore.” He slapped her ass and watched as the flesh jiggled under his touch.

“Perhaps I should beat you until you tell me all I wish to know.” He slapped her again, this time with more intensity. Her pussy spilled out more of her sweet cream and her back arched to meet the contact of his hand against her flesh.

“Mmmm. You like that?” he cooed against her ear before gently grazing his hand against her again. Once more, she moaned and arched into him.

“You wish to break me,” her voice was a low purr, humming all the way into him.

“You will never control me.”

He would control her. All of her. Mace wanted to drive himself into her and not think about how amazing she would feel squeezing around him, tight as a fist, but he resisted. There had to be a way to control the desire he felt for her, desire that seemed to be both blessing and curse. If he could allow the dragon inside to take her, he would frighten her, he was sure. But something about her steady eyes told him this one did not cower from dragons, and she contained enough magick to free herself from the bonds that had held her to the rock.

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Dragon’s Law: Mace

It was nothing more than the joining of two bodies when he took her, sliding into her wet warmth, resisting the urge to ride her ass as he had threatened. The sounds of her pleasure were enough to drive him mad, especially since her soft body was casting a spell on him he neither liked nor understood. He growled his release much sooner than he’d wanted, yet he was satisfied by the small fact that she hadn’t come. That was part of his newly formed plan. He would keep her on the edge until she told him her secrets.

Gave him the key to defeating his brother.

Or told him the secret to how she had managed to get under his skin in such a short time, forcing him to question everything he’d ever known before.

Eleanora had learned several things in the past three days. The most important was her strength. She didn’t fear Mace even though he wanted her to. She could tell by the fierce look in his eyes every time they met hers, but there was something soft and gentle in his touch, even when he sought to control her. He could have hurt her, killed her if he wanted. Instead, he loved her with wild abandon, using his strength to bring her to the edges of ecstasy.

She watched him sleep. Something inside her quivered and ached just looking at the square-set jaw. She feared what she knew to be true. The dragon didn’t frighten her, but the man and the feelings growing deep inside her did. Mace did not know what a light sleeper she was. He was unaware that she had felt his hand on her face, filled with gentleness, night after night, whispering words into her ear, which made no sense. He pulled her into his embrace, resting her head on his chest, vowing to protect her from some force he thought wanted nothing more than her destruction.

She snuggled into his embrace and sought sleep. The answers would come in the morning.

“Wake up.” Fingers grazed across her cheek, tickling her. She opened her eyes to see Mace standing over her, wearing clothing she had never seen.

“I’m awake,” she smiled, wondering why his tone was so soft this morning.

“We must return to my home. My father will wonder about me. And I’m sure you’re more than ready to see my brother.”

“I told you I don’t know your brother,” she reminded him. “Where did you find those clothes?”

“They are mine. A dragon must always be prepared. I have a lair in the mountains.”

Was that a slight smile at the corners of his lips as he spoke? When had Mace smiled? She had seen him do it once, when he thought she was asleep. He had been staring into oblivion, his hand stroking her hair, and then he had looked down at her and graced her supposed sleeping face with a smile unlike any she had ever seen before. It was then that she knew he was a man filled with conflict, filled with things she couldn’t begin to understand. And now, he had shared a tiny secret with her about his lair. Perhaps the man was winning his battle with the dragon after all, but maybe 145

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not. There was still the question of what would take place when they returned to his father’s house.

“What will you do with me?” Her heart raced as she asked, not out of concern for her safety, but out of concern for her sanity. Would he have her killed? Would she be able to watch as he returned to his wife, abandoning her? The aching in her chest grew as she wondered how she would return to normalcy now that she was just beginning to uncover the mystery to the man.

“What dragons always do with humans,” he grumbled.

“And what would that be?”

He stood and ran his hands through his hair, a sign she knew to show his frustration. “You know I cannot leave you until the next dark moon. You know that I am your prisoner.” The tone of his voice indicated defeat, though he did not seem to be a man who knew such an emotion.

“My prisoner?” Since when? Ever since her first night with him, she felt he held her in chains.

“Yes.” He fell to his knees in front of the bed, startling her with the motion. “You know the code. You know that when a dragon and human mate it is for one moon period. Why do you deny this? Why do you insist that you do not know my brother?”

His fingers dug into her knees. She looked down at the pale flesh there. If she had learned nothing else about him, she knew Mace hated losing control. Apparently more than he hated his brother. If he really believed she were his brother’s spy, he wouldn’t adhere to any code. Then she realized if he were her prisoner for one moon period, when they parted ways, he may harm her.

“Will you kill me at the end of the moon time?”

“No. We do not kill humans. You know this already.”

“Then you…?”

“You will be free to live as you please. As long as you never return to your village.”

He stood and turned his back on her, another sign of his frustration.

“My sisters!” She flew to her feet, hands on her hips. “My sisters are still alive?”

“I know not.”

“My sisters, Isadore and Lucina. Surely you know them.” Her heart pounded at the thought.

He nodded slowly. “I know them.”

“Did you…?”

“No. They were not mine. They live in the palace now with two of my father’s men.

They are well cared for. Better than they would have been had they stayed in your village to starve.”

“They’re alive,” she said to no one in particular, her heart soaring with the knowledge. Alive. She would go to them, ask them for help.

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Dragon’s Law: Mace

“You act as if you do not know this.” When Mace turned to look at her this time, she saw something in his face akin to belief. Maybe she was finally getting through to him.

“Where is this land of yours?” she asked after they had eaten and prepared for their journey.

“Not far.”

“And how will we get there?”

“You really don’t wish to know.”

“Yes, I do.”

Mace eyed his mate. The dragon inside him raged, wanting to scream at her, frighten her to no end for the deception that had gotten him this far. Yet every time he tried, she faced him down as if she were the bravest of warriors instead of a wisp of a woman. She claimed no knowledge of his people and appeared truly fascinated by every new piece of information he provided. And Mace was quickly losing sight of the tests he had vowed to use in order to keep her under his control.

The change would be the evidence. He would change before her eyes and see if she feared him or not. He hoped to the gods she did for if she didn’t, he would not be able to continue his façade. Something was happening deep inside him that he couldn’t yet define. Didn’t wish to define. All he knew was that he craved her soft skin, her gentle kisses, her passionate displays, almost as much as he craved breathing.

“I should leave Liesel a message, telling her we used her cabin,” she said from somewhere behind him. He stopped in his tracks and turned.

“Liesel?”

“Yes, she is my mentor. She’s away gathering herbs for the moon time. When she returns, I don’t want her to think someone had broken in.”

“The healer?”
Please let it not be the one
. He steadied his breathing, awaiting her reply.

“Yes, the healer. I am her charge.”

The entire world came crashing around him, Eleanora’s words echoing in his head.

Then Liesel’s words came back to him.
You shall meet her when you least expect, dear Mace.

She will be the one to change your destiny.
“You are Liesel’s charge?”

“Yes.”

Mace, child, you are not so bad as you would like everyone to think. There is a woman who
shall tame you, slay the dragon, eh? I am training her for you now. She will be of great service to
you even though she has a ways to go in the arts.