He stopped just shy of breaking her skin. He came up behind her and touched a hand to her burning back. He ran his fingers over the welts he had made.
“Such a pretty red,” he said hoarsely. “On such fair skin. The contrast is extraordinary.”
“I am not fair. I am tanned from working the farm,” she argued inanely.
“Your arms perhaps. But your back is fair. As are your buttocks and thighs. I long to stripe those red as well. But we will save that for another day.”
“Why does it please you to hurt me?” she asked tearfully.
“I do this for your benefit. I do derive pleasure from this, but this is mainly for you. Now you will know what awaits you if you purposefully defy me. But it was not so bad now, was it? Now it is over?”
“No, Sir,” she said with a sniffle.
“Does it burn you? Shall I soothe you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl. You are learning.”
He left her again and returned just as quickly. This time when his hand touched her back it was with a soothing cream on his fingertips. He spread the cream all over her back. It hurt to be touched, yet at the same time the relief he was providing gave her no small amount of pleasure. The contradiction confused her. She should be angry with him. She should be in pain and hating him for what he had done to her.
But nothing was as it should be. And she wasn’t sure if it was a bad thing or a good thing. Before today she had expected nothing from her life except to work the farm and care for her brother and sisters. Now the entire landscape of her life had changed and it was all because of this man. Instead of being depended on by others, she was dependent on him, but he had strange ideas about what it meant to take care of her. Her burning back could attest to that. Now that the flogging was over, his touch was gentle and soothing. The words he whispered in her ear were soft and reassuring. He told her how pleased he was with her. He told her how beautiful she was.
If this was punishment, the flogging might be worth it.
Chapter Five
Valerian’s touch strayed from her back, stroking across her ribs and around to her breast. He cradled the soft flesh warmly, molding her to his touch gently. Her breathing quickened as unexpected swirls of pleasure whorled through her. This was in spite of the fact her arms and wrists were aching from her suspended kneeling position… to say nothing of her back.
There must be something wrong with her. How could she feel pleasure after suffering so much abuse? But it hadn’t felt like abuse. It had felt like something else. Like a prelude to what she was feeling now. The pleasure, she realized, would not be so acute if not for the pain. She moaned softly as her nipples tightened. She buried her face into her upstretched arm, trying to hide her confusion from herself.
“Do not fret so. Let yourself feel good,” he whispered against her ear. His lips brushed the outer shell in the lightest of kisses. “There is nothing wrong with what you are feeling.”
“I should hate you,” she cried. But her cry was muffled against her arm. “For the sake of my people… for my brother and sisters, I should hate you!”
“Your family is a casualty of war. My brother’s war. I would… I would not be so eager to destroy other cultures if I were emperor. But I am not. I am my brother’s general and I must do as he commands. My world is run by his dictates. It is only here with my women I am in full control of what happens. It settles my mind, controls my cravings for more control. It keeps me from wanting things I should not want.”
“What do you want?” she asked him curiously.
She turned her head so she could see his face, but since he was flush behind her she could only see a part of it. Still, there was no mistaking the trouble in his features.
“We are not yet at a place where I can trust you with the innermost secrets of my heart,” he said quietly. “That will come with time and as you prove your loyalty to me. But I understand I must first prove my loyalty to you. I must first bring you your sisters. Only then can I hope to gain your devotion.”
“Do you need my devotion? You already have so many women who are eager to do your bidding.”
She caught the hint of a smile. “I have not found the one yet. The one who stirs my soul as well as my body. I have many friendships with my women, but no wives. No one woman has touched my heart so deeply that I wished to make her my partner in all things. Perhaps that is because I had not yet met you.”
She smiled knowingly. “Your flattery will get you nowhere. You do better when you promise me the safety and well-being of my sisters.”
“You are a little mercenary, aren’t you?” he said with admiration. “Very well. Time will tell many things. We will have to test one another out as we go. For now, I wish to test the limits of your physical self. I wish to see how you respond to pleasure, now that I have seen how you respond to pain.”
“And you expect me to accept this?”
“I do. You are strong and responsive. I can tell your passions run deep. I only ask you to let me find them for you.”
He slid his hand away from her breast and down the length of her side, curving his fingers over her hip and onto her thigh. She knew her muscles were trembling, a combination of her strained kneeling position and the anticipation of what he was going to do next. She didn’t know what to expect from him. She realized that was probably his intention. If he kept her guessing, she wouldn’t have time to be upset with him. To fight him.
But she no longer wanted to fight him. She was surprised to learn very much the opposite was true. She wanted to please him. It was the only way to secure the future of her sisters.
Or at least that was what she told herself. It was the only explanation of why the touch of a man she should despise should feel so good. She tried to rise up onto her knees, but her body wasn’t behaving for her. It was throbbing as much from the position she had been in for so long as it was from the pain of the flogging. Kneeling like this was somehow more painful than the whipping had been. It demanded more control of her. More discipline.
“Are you uncomfortable?” he asked knowingly.
“Isn’t that the point?” she returned.
“It is. But it is also about the way you look, kneeling here, displayed before me… waiting for my next command. That is what builds the fire within me more than anything.” He stood up then, towering over her, his hand in her hair as he made her look up at him. “You have the most beautiful eyes, Pet,” he said. “I long for the day when they look at me with love.”
“That day may never come,” she warned him.
“I think it will. I hope it will. I see much of myself in you, Pet. We are both of us trapped by those more powerful than we are. We are both of us doing what is necessary to survive. And I think we are both able to adapt to the world around us as we must. We are logical thinkers, you and I. And yet our hearts run deep. One day you will see my heart. Of that I have no doubt.”
“But you may never see mine,” she persisted.
“That is a chance I am willing to take. Only tell me you are open to all possibilities. If you are open then we have much to work with.”
“I don’t know what I am open to. You are a very confusing man. You twist things around until I can’t think straight!”
“I am not twisting you, merely shaping you. Mold to the curve of my hand and you will open up a world of pleasure for yourself.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she said honestly.
“I will teach you that you can.”
He reached to her hooked hands and lifted her off of the hook. She collapsed in relief, only to have him bend and scoop her up into his arms. He carried her to the bed and laid her in the center. As he left her, he removed what remained of her clothing. Feeling exposed, she reached to pull a fur from the bed over her bare body. He stopped her simply by laying a hand over hers.
“Let me look at you.”
“Haven’t you seen enough?”
“Not nearly. You have such lus
cious skin. The stripes from the whip look so incredible. And then there is the rest of you. Pale in some places, tan in others. The women removed all of your body hair, I see. It leaves you clean and inviting.”
He moved over her, his face lowering to just between her hips, his nose touching her skin. He ran his nose up the entire length of her body, drawing in slow, audible breaths. She flushed and was grateful she had been bathed so thoroughly. Who does something like this? Did all men smell women… and take as much pleasure in it as he was doing? He made a sound in the back of his throat as his nose drifted past her sex that sounded a lot like a growl. For some reason the blatant appreciation in the sound had her flushing hotly from head to toe. She aroused him. Without even trying. And he was letting her know that. He was letting her know he took pleasure in her just as she was.
When he reached the top of her, sniffing long and steady at the base of her skull, he took in the scent of her perfumed hair.
“The women chose well in their perfumes,” he said, his voice low and rough. “But it is the natural perfumes of your body that arouse me most. The musk of your sex fascinates me. I cannot wait to taste you there.”
She gasped, shocked and scandalized. “You wouldn’t ever!” she cried.
“And why not? It is a part of you, and I want to taste all parts of you. From the tip of your nose,” he said, pausing to kiss her lightly on the body part mentioned, “to the depth of your sex, and on to the tightness of your ass. I will taste and penetrate all the orifices of your body in one manner or another… whether it be just with my tongue or with my fingers and cock. And you will love every minute of it, I promise you.”
She didn’t see how exactly, but his promise of forbidden pleasures aroused her even further. That was when she realized he was already making love to her. Without her realizing it he had begun his seduction. Shocked and appalled with herself for making it so easy, she tried to roll away from him, if only to hide her face and her shame.
“Mm mm. No,” he denied her, turning her back onto her back. “Do not hide from me or your feelings. Just know there are no wrong feelings here. You are entitled to feel whatever you wish to feel. But do not hide from those feelings. Do not deny them. Instead, tell me what they are. Tell me what you are thinking and feeling.”
“How can I, when you are the source of all of these confusing emotions?” she asked desperately.
“Who else will you discuss them with? I think I can understand everything you are feeling.”
“Oh? You know what it is like to be ripped from your home, made a slave, and then be seduced by your enemy? No. You cannot understand what I am feeling!”
“I can understand because you are not the first to go through this. Several of my women came to me in a similar fashion. I can understand you because I have come to understand them. You feel your responses to me are somehow a betrayal of your people and of yourself. I assure you, that is not the case. You must be true to your own survival. Nothing else matters. You must be true to the nature of your body. The desires of your soul.” As he spoke he ran his large palm up and down the bare skin, waking up every nerve ending she had. It made her feel more conflicted; it made her feel somehow more alive.
He took her bound hands in one of his, his thumb hooking around the fabric as he drew them up above her head, pinning them there. “Keep your hands above your head. Do not touch me until I give you permission to do so. Do you understand? If you disobey you will force me to bind you in other ways.”
Other ways? Melena’s heart jumped in her chest. What did that mean? With him she could never guess. The odds were she would never guess what he was capable of. “Yes, Sir,” she said softly.
“Good girl.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. Then he kissed her fully on the mouth, his firm lips moving over her soft, compliant ones. He kissed her with growing intensity, his tongue flicking softly between her lips. The sensations he evoked were very erotic. Then he added the touch of his hands to the mix of sensations. His palms splayed across the naked skin of her belly and lower ribs.
He coaxed her into deepening their kisses and she was shocked at how easy it was to respond to him. She still felt conflicted, but the feel of him making love to her wore away at that conflict. He was so gentle. So thoughtful. His touch warmed her skin and she found herself turning toward it. His hands slid up to frame her breasts and she felt herself straining in expectation of his caress.
“There now. Suddenly so delightfully willing. You’re perfect.”
She flushed with a combination of rebelliousness and delight. She didn’t want to be so easy and willing for this, her enemy, but at the same time she didn’t want to fight the growing heat in her core. He broke away from her mouth and looked down into her eyes as his hands came up and embraced her lush breasts fully. She gasped in a soft breath as his rough fingers toyed with the stiff points of her nipples.
He threw a leg over her hips, straddling her body. She was so small compared to his muscle and bulk. He was taller than her by a foot; his shoulders were too broad to see past. The strength in his legs was overwhelming. He was overwhelming. Her heart was pounding madly as he caressed her breasts and lowered his head toward them.
He touched his lips to the rise of her breast, taking in the scent of her warm skin as if it were the ultimate aphrodisiac. The expression of pleasure on his face was fascinating to see. She was doing that. She was pleasing him. There was a certain measure of power in that.
His hands left her breasts after many minutes of stimulating her until she was dizzy with the indulgence of his touch. Then his mouth closed over her nipple and she nearly came up off the bed. Only the presence of his big body kept her in place. His tongue flicked against her sensitive nerve endings and she moaned as the sensation wormed through her.
His petting hands seemed to be everywhere, from her hair to her shoulders to her waist. Then he rose up on his knees and allowed himself the ability to glide his fingers down her smooth bare skin into the warmth and wet of her sex. The boldness of the touch made her gasp, and she almost lowered her hands to push against him in denial. But at the last minute she remembered she wasn’t supposed to touch him.
It seemed frustratingly unfair. He was playing her body like a fine instrument, and yet she was unable to touch him. She caught the frustration in her mind. Did she even want to touch him? Did she want to learn the body of this man who now dominated her life?
The answer was yes. She wanted to make him feel as weak and willing as he was making her feel. She wanted the advantage he had over her for herself. She wanted the same power over him he held over her.
But now was not the time, she realized. Her time would come later. For now she simply had to relax and let him do whatever he wanted. There would be time later to test the lengths of the power she could potentially have over him. It was a heady thought, to think she might have some kind of command over him. He was a powerful man. The woman that controlled such a man… she might well be the most powerful woman in the country… next to the woman who controlled the emperor himself that is. But the emperor was a different man than his brother.
She could not see him treating a woman half as well as Valerian was treating her. No. He would be more selfish and cruel. She was suddenly relieved she had not met her fate at the hands of his brother. Valerian had chosen her. Out of all of his choices, he had chosen her.
Valerian’s fingers traced the outer edges of her labia, stroking through the wetness he found there, sensitizing her every nerve ending. He moved off of her, settling to the side of her body so he could part her thighs and give himself full access to her sex. When his fingers plowed deeply through her outer lips her hips came up off the bed. It was such a bold touch. No one had ever touched her like that. She wasn’t even sure she should like it… at first. But she quickly realized it was something she was going to like. The sensations his touch evoked were deep and stimulating. She had never known anything like it. With her hands bound and out of reach, s
he had no choice but to focus on him and what he was doing to her.
Sensation and delight whorled through her, starting at the point where his fingers met her body. She watched his face. Watched the play of delight and contentment tripping over his features. He was a surprisingly expressive man. Easy to read. At least, he was to her right then. He was being open and giving. How could she hate a man like that? Even after all he had subjected her to, she couldn’t find the hate in her heart she had begun this journey with. She didn’t know why. It just was.
Valerian’s fingers slid along her wet sex until he found the nexus of nerves that would give her the most pleasure. She quickly learned this as he toyed with the area, giving her time to adjust to each swirl of pleasure before overwhelming her with the next. She moaned deeply, her whole body electrified by his touch. Then he slid a finger into her body and she gasped. His thumb remained on the center point of her nerves while his fingers invaded her body. The combination of touches had her head spinning and her body craving for more.
But she felt lost and unanchored. Like she was floating away. Like something was missing. “Kiss me,” she said shakily, shocked to hear herself begging for the contact.
“Are you giving me a command?” he asked, a smile twitching at the corner of his finely sculpted lips.
“No, Sir. Please kiss me, Sir.”
“That’s better. And since you asked so prettily…”
He came up over her body, his touch never leaving its task, and lowered his mouth to hers. This time his kiss was aggressive, full of all the pent up passion he was keeping under tight wraps. Again she recognized she had power over him because of that. If she could break his will, then she would be the more powerful between them. But she didn’t know how to do that. She was too green. Too raw. And her body and soul seemed to have a mind of their own. All they wanted to do was float in the wonderful sensations her body was swimming in.
Valerian was a master of touch. A master of the kiss. She wondered if there was anything he wasn’t a master at. But if she could learn how to master the master…