Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (13 page)

His eyes lit on Kiera. The woman stared at his body with heavy lidded eyes, shamelessly focusing on his most masculine areas. She licked her lips and he could have sworn her fangs were lengthening. It was a most unladylike reaction. The salacious look on her face indicated she was in a certain mood and it was similar to his own. He wanted to lay her on the wet grass, push up her skirts, and sink into her warmth.

He stalked toward her, grabbed her by her elbow, and hauled her to Snotti’s side. “Is this what I’ll have to make use of? She’s not my usual type. She’s rather…tall. And round,” he said while placing his hands on either side of Kiera’s hips and stepping behind her. He rocked her against him so she could feel his hardness against her fleshy bottom. Kiera made a strangled sound and it pleased him to rile her. “Must be the bad blood in her. My usual ladies are shaped in the current fashion. Stick-thin. I’m not sure I can figure out what to do with this one.”

Kiera leapt out of his grasp and shot him a look that could kill, should she have the ability to slay him with her eyes. She didn’t react to his insults in her usual fashion, which must have cost her. Kiera tried to put distance between them, but he crept up behind her once more. He slid his hand from her hip to her rear, cupping her delectable bottom through her gown. She flinched and shot him a glare, yet she said nothing. She tried unsuccessfully to sidle out of his hold.

“I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.” He slid an arm around her waist and pressed her body against his, hoping to spark a reaction. Normally she would have caused a scene by now. She was too restrained, probably trying to earn her right to join the mating tests. That wasn’t going to happen for her. Exotic pussy was banned, and as far as he was concerned, that included mongrels like Kiera. “I’ll try her out, but if she doesn’t do the job for me, I’ll need one of the real ladies. They are more to my usual tastes.” He heard Kiera’s indrawn breath. He meant to frighten the ladies and convince them to leave. She would hate him for insulting her, but she would recover. She was an easy, safe target. Directing his crudeness toward one of the highborn ladies would draw too much censure from Snotti.

As predicted, Snotti was appalled and disgusted by his antics. “No, you cannot have Kiera. Not without Diermont’s permission.”

Lasair, his cousin, turned a bright shade of pink. “Oh, Modez, do let the poor girl go.” When he shook his head in response, she turned to Snotti and said, “Remind our lords that they are gentlemen.”

“You will watch where your hands wander, my lord. A lady must be treated with courtesy and respect.” Snotti looked down her long nose at Kiera and said, “I see you haven’t lost all sense since you chose to accost my lowliest servant. You have made your point, Lord Halloran.” She sighed in her typical dramatic fashion and fingered the twin serpents engraved upon the golden torc around her throat. “I will discuss your needs with the prince and I’m certain a solution can be found that will be acceptable to all involved.”

“I don’t think you understand. I’m not playing games. I want to tear this cloth from her body with my teeth and fangs. I’ll shred it and leave her naked. Then I’ll puncture her here,” he said while fingering her neck. He pressed his hand between her thighs. “And here.” He bared his fangs and growled deep in his throat. “I’ll leave her covered with bite marks and stains, so well used that she’ll be too exhausted to move from the ground. She’ll remain on the grass, a perfect offering, and when I find her lying there, I’ll take her again. And again. Eventually she’ll crawl back to the villa and most likely hide from me. But I will track her by scent. I will punish her for running and she will learn to keep her legs spread.” He had been play-acting but the images he had painted in his mind were starting to turn him on. “That is what we do to the bed servants that service us on our campaigns.” He was grossly exaggerating, of course, but it sounded good to him right now. He wrapped an arm around Kiera’s throat, like he was doing a choke-hold. His other hand remained locked at the apex of her thighs. She was damp there. It had to be the heat of the summer. If it was something else, he was in big trouble because he couldn’t resist an aroused female. “That is what I’d do to your lowliest servant. A higher grade of female would provoke a much stronger response in me, I’m afraid.”

Snotti appeared flustered. “I’m not sure I comprehended the situation fully,” she said to Lasair. “I thought our warriors had more control over their behavior, but now I wonder whether it is time-limited. I must consult with Diermont about this.”

He released her neck and slid that arm around her waist. Between her thighs the material of her gown was so wet that it clung to every part of her sex and provided no protection of her modesty. Her woman’s mound wasn’t smooth and he suspected it was furred, although he couldn’t be certain. He could feel her outer lips and her clitoris through the wet fabric of her gown. When he pressed her there, another surge of moisture drenched the cloth and dampened his hand. It sure as hell wasn’t sweat. The aroma of aroused woman assaulted his senses and drove him wild. Her response was like a human, not a hybrid. The mongrel was more human-like than he had expected, and within her thighs she possessed the perfect lure to trap and ultimately control a man. She was dangerous to him, but he found himself reluctant to let her go.

“There’s too much violence in this place called Rome,” he said to Snotti. “We lose blood. We thirst for more and it heightens our other needs. You shouldn’t be around us when we’re in this sorry state. None of you should.”

“I cannot leave.” Snotti’s eyes were full of zeal. “APS is my priority right now. My ladies are dedicated to my cause and are willing to make sacrifices if necessary to aid it.”

That damn APS was getting in his way. Again. They needed to change the game plan because Seamus’ strategy wasn’t working. “A few human females would meet the needs of our warriors and there would be no need for sacrifices.” Snotti was chafed and he knew that woman would do anything to maintain the human-hybrid ban on sexual relations. They had all underestimated Snotti and thought it would be easy to convince her to leave. It looked like ridding themselves of those irritating ladies would be impossible.

“I hope you don’t mind being sacrificed,” he said for Kiera’s ears only. “You know you’re the expendable one.”

“It won’t come to that,” she said in a low tone. “And besides, I am beneath your consideration and glad for it.”

She wasn’t safe from him, not at all. He wasn’t sure he could continue to resist her. “I have a weakness for wet pussy.” If they were alone, he’d have succumbed to that weakness already.

“You have a dirty mouth, Lord Halloran,” she gasped. “Please remove your hands from my person.”

He wasn’t sure how she could speak so primly and politely with his hand between her legs. The lady was trying too hard to win her way back into Snotti’s good graces. He wasn’t going to make it easy for her. He brought her hips to his and pressed his rock hard cock against the softness of her bottom, making her gasp. “I removed my hands. Sord of.”

He chuckled as she tried to escape his arms. Snotti and the other ladies ignored Kiera and treated her like a peasant, making it clear he had full license to accost her. As long as he didn’t penetrate her, that was okay.

“Lord Halloran, please.” Her eyes pleaded with Snotti to intervene, but the princess watched with an impassive expression and made no move to rescue her.

“You’re not safe at all. Consider this a warning of what will come if you remain here. You were summoned to Rome to be used and plenty are willing to use you.” If she didn’t wish to be a whore, she could leave. But he knew she wouldn’t. He knew her type. Lowborn, beautiful, and ambitious. Such females easily fell prey to the lavish lifestyle at court and became accustomed to living in luxury and wealth. They took, took, took and wanted more—eventually aiming for a king instead of a mere lord.

She said in a low, petulant tone, “I am here to serve the princess.”

“Yeah, and we’ll see how long that lasts. You should cut your losses and leave now. But you won’t do the sensible thing.” He gave Kiera’s rear another squeeze before he departed. “For such a tiny thing, you have a nice ass. I like something to hold onto when I’m pumping into a woman.” He liked the way she fit in his arms too much. She was ultra feminine, with a smaller frame than the other females whose shoulders were as broad as his own. Small, but curvy. He bit down onto her earlobe, causing her to yelp. He tasted a drop of her blood and it was sweet. Much sweeter than expected.

Chapter 9

Modez had treated her like a whore and his condescending attitude toward her could not be overlooked. Kiera couldn’t believe he had touched her, and on the ass, no less. She didn’t want to think about the other place he had touched and the embarrassing wetness it had caused. He had called her out on it, too. A gentleman wouldn’t have made mention of it. She wasn’t sure why her body had responded to him that way. He
had
looked stunning and his wet clothes had clung to him like a second skin, making him appear almost naked. Of course she had stared. What woman would not? But she didn’t
like
him. She knew he didn’t care for her, so his behavior on the lawn confused her. My, she had come close to ruin out there. He had done so to rile Snotti, but the princess apparently didn’t care so long as her highborn ladies weren’t groped. He had used her as a pawn in some battle with Snotti that she couldn’t quite understand. He had bitten her and drawn blood—she really couldn’t understand his motivation for doing that. Whatever his reasons, she would avenge herself this night. He would be the one to be used.

Darkness had fallen many hours ago and there were virtually no sounds of activity. Nearly everyone was in bed except for a few people on guard duty. Gaining access to his room would not be easy since he had blocked portal access by enacting shields. That meant she would have to walk to his door, somehow evade the guards stationed in the hallway, and attempt to get inside by using the master key she had found in the previous owner’s office. She had to remain undetected and the easiest way to do that would be to render herself invisible.

The ability to appear invisible was a hybrid skill that few possessed. It wasn’t the most practical skill to possess, as the invisibility did not affect her clothing. That meant she would have to go naked. It wasn’t something she generally did because it made her feel vulnerable. She couldn’t be seen, but she could be felt.

Kiera undressed and concentrated on making herself unseen. A glance down at her body was reassuring. If she couldn’t see herself, then neither could anyone else. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing no matter how much she told herself that she wasn’t truly exposed.
I’m going to stroll down the males’ living quarters completely naked. This is crazy.

She would be fine as long as she wasn’t caught. Walking outside her room, she noticed others weren’t about. It made her feel safer and she worried less about the guards. What worried her more was Modez. Earlier, she had managed to slip something in his drink. The slow acting herb would make him much easier to manage, but she had no way of knowing for sure if he had ingested the entire contents of the drink. If he had his full strength and awareness, things would not go well for her. If caught, she could claim she had visited his room for some other reason. Like seduction. That would be incredibly embarrassing for her, and not only that, he probably wouldn’t believe her.

This would work
. Kiera had done this sort of thing many times and it always went the way she expected. She had been watching Modez enough to know he always finished his nightcap. He would be drugged out of his mind by now, but hopefully he remained conscious. She didn’t want him to sleep through what she planned to do to him.

Now standing inside his room, she made out his shape in the darkness. Her vision was not as good as most hybrids, but she could see enough to identify the man in the bed. The bed sheet rested below his waist and she suspected he wore no clothing while he slept. She approached quietly and studied him for signs of wakefulness. One eyelid cracked partially open the second she touched his shoulder. Hazy with sleep, he pushed her hand away and rubbed the place she had touched, but otherwise showed no further reaction.

Kiera traced his throat with her finger. His eyes slid open, but of course he couldn’t see her. She gripped his jaw and pressed the side of his face firmly against his pillow, exposing his throat. She watched the vein pulse there while she contemplated the perfect spot for biting. He tried to push her away from him, but his movements were weak and ineffective.

“You drugged me,” Modez said in a labored voice. “I’ll fucking kill you for this.”

Kiera felt the familiar thrill bubble up inside her as she crawled on the bed beside him. There was nothing like the thrill of the hunt and Modez was her prey. She felt like she had the big bull by the horns as she struggled to overpower him.

“What do you want?” Modez asked. “You know you cannot get away with this. If I am harmed every warrior here will hunt you down.”

Kiera planned to get away with plenty. She let her fingers trail from his throat to the muscled walls of his chest then down to his flat stomach. When she reached the edge of the sheet, she pulled it away to expose the rest of his body. He had treated her with zero respect so she would accord none to him. He was the whore tonight, the one who would be touched and bitten without consent. His pulse began to beat erratically. She let her gaze drift over him. He was flawless perfection, which didn’t surprise her since he was a celebrated warrior of the royal line. His male part was not hard like it had been when it had pressed up against her when they had been outdoors. She found herself wondering what it would look like when engaged. Her gaze passed over that area to view his powerful, muscled legs. She grudgingly admitted that Modez was as appealing as the scrumptiously sexy Torin Sullivan. Worse, there was some indefinable quality that Modez had that made her crave to possess him. She wanted his blood but she also wanted to run her hands all over his body.