Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) (9 page)

She lowered her hand from the window and wrapped her arms around her legs again and rested her chin on her knees.

Did they have things like computers and other technology in Tarok? What about cell phones? Somehow, she didn’t think so, but since she hadn’t been allowed to leave the room, she didn’t know for sure. This place seemed more like a throwback to another time and place in her world’s own history. The Medieval period perhaps? No, this was far too beautiful from what she’d seen, and she guessed more
civilized
than those times in earth’s history
.
At least she hoped, but truth was, she didn’t know.

And they had magic here. Real, honest-to-goodness
magic.

A creak told her the door was opening and Alice glanced up from her knees to see if it was Jarronn in case she needed to hurry to her feet and assume the position. She’d been punished many times for disobedience, and she wasn’t in the mood for any of his punishments today.

To be honest, they were never bad. They were erotic. Sometimes a little painful, but he never marked her, never caused her severe pain. Yet she didn’t want to deal with it right now.

She might not be in the mood for any reprimands, however, he’d told her he still owed her punishments from her first day in this world, among others. Sooner or later he’d deal those out.

Kalina walked through the doorway and shut the door behind her. Alice wasn’t sure if she was glad or disappointed that it wasn’t Jarronn.

“I want out of this prison.” Alice continued to sit on the sill as Kalina reached her.

“This is not a prison.” Kalina shook her head. “Our prisons are not as comfortable, of that you can be certain.”

“What difference does it make?” Alice glared toward the door through which Jarronn had come to visit her daily. “I’m not allowed to leave. I have to do what my
warden
demands of me.”

Even as she spoke, she thought of Jarronn’s visits. At first she had rebelled over and over again, but after a while she remembered what the mystery woman had said.
“You must bide your time and I will save you from this terrible fate.”
Before she’d disappeared, Mikaela had added,
“Play along with whatever they ask of you.”

It had gone against everything Alice had within her to obey Jarronn. She had to bite the inside of her cheek every time she assumed the position, eyes lowered, hands behind her back, stance wide, and breasts thrust out.

His pleasure at her obedience had both grated on her and gave her a strange feeling of elation that she had pleased him.

What was wrong with her?

She had expected him to force himself on her or seduce her. But every time he came, he taught her more rules of his kingdom. He never explained anything about the land of Tarok and it was driving her crazy.

“What do you want?” Alice asked Kalina.

Kalina shrugged her delicate shoulders. “The king instructed me to come to you.”

“Humph.” Alice looked away from Kalina and hugged her knees tighter as she thought of Jarronn.

Usually, after his lessons, he had Kalina tie her down. Then he would erotically tease Alice with scarves, feathery blue tree leaves, or any number of other things that sexually tortured her.

It was driving her crazy how much she wanted him every time she saw him. Heck, every time he came to mind she thought about him taking her in the bed. Or on the rug in front of the fireplace. The table would be okay, too. No doubt making her want him so badly had been the idea.

The door creaked again. It had to be Jarronn since Kalina was in the room with her and no one else ever came to see her.

Alice scrambled off the windowsill and looked at the door. As soon as she saw it most definitely was Jarronn, she automatically assumed the stance.

Kalina stood beside her, already standing in the position of respect.

Alice kept her eyes downcast as she heard the door thump closed and felt the power of Jarronn’s presence in the room. Her heart pounded a little faster as he approached her, the sound of his boot steps breaking the room’s silence. When he stood in front of her, she was staring at his leather-clad body from the waist down and the black of his boots. She could swear she felt his heat caressing her body.

“Alice. Kalina. You may look at me.” His deep voice sent a shiver through Alice.

Kalina and Alice raised their heads. Alice tried to keep her expression placid as she met his ice-green eyes. They were the most gorgeous eyes she’d ever seen. As icy as they looked, she always wondered why they didn’t make her freeze.

“Come.” He studied Alice then inclined his head toward the small table with the comfortable chairs. He turned his gaze on Kalina. “You know what I require.”

Alice followed him to the table at a respectable distance. He pulled out a chair for her and gestured for her to sit while he took the chair opposite her.

Kalina reached them and laid a well-worn deck of cards on the table, facedown. She must have retrieved the deck with magic, because she hadn’t been holding it when she’d entered the room.

“Thank you, Kalina.” Jarronn gave her a nod. “You may take your leave.”

“Yes, Milord.” Kalina bowed and turned.

Alice’s attention was focused on the deck, and she was barely aware of Kalina slipping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

The back of the top card had a design that looked like a painting of a sparkling white castle surrounded by dollops of red, orange, yellow, and purple flowers in an exquisite garden.

“That’s a beautiful picture on the card.” Alice clapped her hand over her mouth and lowered her head as she moved her hand away. “I am sorry, Milord, for not asking permission to talk.”

“You may speak freely Alice.” Jarronn’s voice held warmth. “For now we will converse as equals.”

Surprised, Alice raised her head and met his eyes. “Thank you.”

“My mother painted the design.” Jarronn picked up a card and studied the back of it. Alice saw the next card had the same design. “She was an incredible artist.”

“Her painting is as good as any famous artist’s work that I’ve ever seen.” Alice tilted her head to the side. “My cousin, Annie, is a fabulous artist, too.” Alice studied the card. “Is that from a painting of a real castle?”

Jarronn looked amused. “Yes. The castle in which you are residing.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “It’s beautiful.” She frowned. “It would be nice to actually get to see it.”

“You shall.” He said the words simply.

An unexpected giddiness took over Alice, bubbling up inside her. “Today?”

“Soon.” He picked up the rest of the cards and began shuffling them. He did it as smoothly as any dealer she’d seen in Las Vegas.

She sighed. To him, soon could mean tomorrow or a week from now. “What was your mother’s name?”

“Queen Elinara.” He set the stack of cards in front of him and spread them in the shape of a half-moon. All of the cards had a copy of the castle painting on the back of them. “My father was King Cynrik.” He nodded toward the deck. “Pick a card.”

Alice reached for the deck and slid out a card. When she turned it over, she caught her breath. The card had a K at both the upper left and lower right, with a heart at each of the opposite corners. A painting of Jarronn was at the center.

She cut her gaze from the card to Jarronn. “It’s you.”

He nodded. “My mother designed this deck centuries ago to represent the future of the Kingdom of Tarok.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “Centuries ago?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Long before my brothers and I were born.”

Alice was having a difficult time absorbing that revelation. Heck, all of this was hard to swallow. “How did she know what you would look like?”

“She had the sight, but only when she painted,” Jarronn said. “Kalina has a similar gift. However, she is a sorceress and my mother was not.”

“Kalina told me there are four kingdoms and that you are High King.” Alice clamped her mouth shut as she realized Kalina might have told her something Jarronn hadn’t wanted her to know yet.

He nodded. “That is true.”

When it was obvious he was not angry that Kalina had shared that information Alice relaxed. “Please tell me about the four kingdoms.”

Jarronn knew this would take some explaining, but telling Alice about his kingdom had been his plan when he came to her this evening.

“On their deathbeds, our parents divided the Kingdom of Tarok into four kingdoms and renamed them. We had been prepared at a young age to take on these roles when the time came.”

Alice looked at Jarronn’s face on the King of Hearts card as he continued. “As eldest, it fell to me to be High King over all four kingdoms.”

Jarronn wasn’t ready to divulge anything about his sister or how Mikaela had been overlooked. Originally a portion of the Kingdom of Hearts was to have gone to their sister. He wasn’t prepared to share with Alice how Mikaela had sought her revenge in the time since their parents’ deaths.

“So why are the four divided kingdoms named after suits of cards?” she asked.

Jarronn couldn’t help a smile as it brought back memories of his childhood. “Our parents took a card game developed by our ancestors from thousands of years ago in our history. Mother and father changed the game and the cards. After we were born, they played the game they had developed with my brothers and me from the time we were young. The cards are divided into four different suits known as hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. Each suit was chosen to represent a virtue.”

Alice looked confused. “But those kinds of cards are in our world, too.”

“Yes, your people were taught by ours many years ago.” Jarronn smiled with amusement. “The game, as it was known before my parents changed it, was shared with your world in your 10th century Asia. When my parents changed the cards, the difference was again shared with your world. I believe that was in 15th century France.”

Alice frowned, her brows furrowing. “We’re in the 21st century now, so that doesn’t make sense.”

Jarronn shifted in his chair. “Time passes differently in Tarok.”

“You said each suit represented a virtue.” Alice tapped Jarronn’s card. “What does the heart represent?”

“Love and fairness.” Jarronn almost smiled when he saw the disbelief in Alice’s gaze. Clearly she believed being kept in her room didn’t show those qualities. He continued. “It also represents power, complete trust, and absolute obedience.”

She frowned. “So you’re using your power over me and expecting trust and obedience.”

“Believe it or not, my sweet Alice,” he said. “I have done so with fairness.”
And soon love as well
, he thought, but he knew she was not prepared to hear the word
love
.

She clamped her mouth shut like she was holding back from arguing with him. Good, her training was moving along as smoothly as he had hoped.

He gestured to the cards. “Draw.”

She obeyed, and the next card she pulled out was the spades king card.

“He was there the first day I came here.” Her throat worked. “One of your brothers. By the tattoo on his wrist, I’d guess he’s the King of Spades?”

“Darronn.” Jarronn nodded. “Spades represents passion and compassion, although one would not guess he is as compassionate as he truly is. His suit also represents work ethic, as well as mental and physical discipline.”

Alice nodded. Of course the one time she had seen his brothers it would have been difficult to see these traits.

“Take another card.”

Alice drew a card and shock tore through Jarronn when he saw his sister’s face. An S was at each corner for Sorceress and at the opposite corners was a crystal orb. Mikaela was beautiful and there was a serenity on her features that no longer existed.

“Who is that?” Alice was frowning as she asked Jarronn. She looked as if she recognized Mikaela, but that was impossible. He took the card from the table, flipped it over, and set it aside.

He shook his head. “That is simply the sorceress card. It means nothing. Draw.”

Alice continued to look puzzled, but did as he told her. This time she drew the King of Diamonds. “I remember that he had a diamond tattoo.”

“Our middle brother, Karn.” Jarronn tapped one finger on the sorceress card, then stopped when he realized what he was doing. “Diamonds represents garnering both material and mental riches with the purpose of helping others.”

She nodded, looking thoughtful. “One more card?”

“Yes.” He watched her as she drew the King of Clubs card. “That is Ty, our youngest brother.”

“And his suit?” She leaned forward, her arms folded on the table.

“Clubs encompasses humor, joy, and pleasure in good things.” Jarronn thought about his mischievous brother. “It also stands for duty and honor.”

He set down the card and looked at her. She clearly had a question for him, but looked as though she wasn’t sure she should ask.

“Go ahead.” He gave a nod. “What is your question?”

She hesitated. “How do you do magic? How many kinds are there?”

Jarronn smiled. “Many people in the Land of Tarok can perform magic, but not all are able to. Those who do have the gift often have different magics than others.”

He tapped the back of a card and realized he was touching the one he had set aside that bore Mikaela’s image. He removed his hand. “The sorceress Kalina can see glimpses of the future as well as the past. That is a rare gift.” His sister had that power, and it was strong indeed.

“My brothers and I are not able to perform divination.” He shrugged. “But we have other powers. We can transport objects by mental command and have some mind-control.” Again, Mikaela’s talent for mind-control went far beyond her brothers’ abilities, but the brothers had learned to protect themselves from her from a young age.

“You said you have the power of mind-control.” Alice frowned. “Do you control me?”

He shook his head. “No. And I never will.”

She seemed to be thinking about what he had told her. “I believe you. But how do you
do
the magic?”

He shrugged. “We were simply born with talents that develop as we grow from youth to adulthood. Like musicians, painters, and wordsmiths develop their gifts. Who knows where these talents come from?”