The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella (11 page)

Jany stiffened as if struck by lightning. “My lady,” she gasped, shocked find the baroness in the bed. It was flattering and thrilling that the woman had decided to forfeit her pledge of celibacy, but this was a great way to up in exile or worse. “Is this wise?” Jany said hoarsely, ignoring her fuming lust with could not care less for sense or safety. “Your promise – ”

“Shush,” the baroness snapped. “You have had your turn. This time, you are
ours.
”

Her mouth open in shock, Jany watched the maid shake off her ropes as if they never had been tied. When her hands were free, she smiled at Jany and then shuffled down along the mattress until her lips were immediately underneath Jany, who still was standing on her knees.

Jany stared down along her body at the stunning woman between her legs. She could feel the maid’s breath on the inside of her thighs. Jany was reeling from sheer surprise; the roles had been reversed with astounding haste. It seemed impossible that minutes ago, the maid had been at the mercy of Jany’s every whim, and now Jany was helpless, held in a vice-like grip by the baroness.

Then the maid slowly pulled Jany down to her mouth, and Jany’s mind went blank. Had not the baroness held her up, she would have slumped from the bliss.

She tried to stay afloat on the mounting pleasure and understand what had happened. How had the maid’s ropes come undone? There were no knots or frayed ends that she had seen. That meant that the woman been untied all the time. Possible explanations tried to get her attention, but they were all burnt to cinders by a furious, escalating desire. She was in freefall, plummeting towards an unknown.

Overpowered by the sensation, Jany rocked back and forth over the maid’s mouth while the baroness pressed her breasts against Jany’s back. The baroness’s skin was cold, while the blaze made the room feel like a baker’s oven, and the contrast added to the avalanche of pleasure. The maid’s kisses shot spikes of joy through her. This was a new level of bliss, far beyond anything she ever had experienced. She tried to speak but her breathing was too strained.

And the maid was merciless. Just as Jany had refused to let her come, the maid seemed intent on driving Jany insane, and there was nothing Jany could do. Jany wanted to clutch the bed and grind herself against the maid; she
needed
to come, or she would collapse. Her muscles ached as if they were burning. Any moment now, her heart would give in to the stress and stop.

There was no use. Freeing her arms was impossible. The baroness’s hold was like the woman herself: determined and immovable. The baroness was not relaxed; Jany could hear the woman’s breathing close to her ear, and she could tell that the baroness was excited.
Very
excited
.

Knowing that she had that effect on the baroness pushed Jany closer to the climax. Fantasising about this would have been enough to keep her sleepless. Smiling between her gasps, Jany leaned her head back against the baroness’s shoulder and let herself float away, sinking down until she was fully immersed in the moment. There was no turning back. This event had been predestined since she left her room.

“Do you like this?” the baroness asked, her lips touching Jany’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Jany managed, scarcely able form a coherent word.

“You want more.” The baroness made the suggestion sound like a command. “Tell me how you want us.”

“More,” Jany whispered, almost all of her attention on the maid’s lips between her legs. “Give me more. I want more. I want
you
.”

The baroness laughed, her chuckle a feline’s lazy purr. “Greedy girls,” she whispered, “get what they deserve. They get
everything.
”

Without warning, the maid put her hands around Jany’s hips, pulled her farther down and kissed her intensely. The slow jolts turned into a great flare, and Jany’s eyes flew wide open. At the same time, as if unspoken agreement, the baroness released one of Jany’s arms and took hold of Jany’s hair. When she had a firm hold, she pulled Jany’s head back, and bit down on Jany’s shoulder.

A violent orgasm filled Jany, exploding from the depths of her longing and shook her like a doll on strings. The sounds of her rushing blood, the rolling thunder and the cascading rain blended into a deafening clamour as the wave broke through her body. She had never known that pain and ecstasy could be so hard to tell apart. Moving beyond her control, she arched her back so hard it hurt, and opened her mouth to scream.

She never got the chance.

Moving so fast Jany had no time to react, the baroness covered Jany’s mouth and stopped Jany’s shout short. She let go of Jany’s shoulder, but no sooner had the hurt from the baroness’s bite eased off before it came again, this from Jany’s neck.

Alarmed, Jany realized that the baroness had bitten her again, harder this time, and she screamed a muffled whimper into the baroness’s hand. But even though pain bloomed from the wound, the hurt did not make Jany pause. Instead, the baroness’s bite merged with the wave and drove the peak higher, making it well up inside her and eclipse everything. On the horizon was not just a looming orgasm; the baroness and the maid had brought Jany to a terrible height, and behind the closing wall of rapture was another crest, this one much larger and darker. Moments before she came, she happened to glance down

– and there, on the white sheets, a small drop of blood was spreading like a miniature rose.

Then, finally, she understood.

While the maid and the baroness ravaged her as they pleased, all the pieces fell into place in Jany’s shattered mind. There had never been a disease. No ropes had ever held the maid down. This castle was not haunted by a hidden vampire.

It had been the baroness all along.

The woman had drawn Jany into her web, lured Jany to her lair, and was now revealing her true self. A highborn woman with immense influence and connections, and a nightmarish creature of even greater power. The two were combined in one unholy being, and it was right behind Jany.

And it was Jany’s own fault. She had been played for a fool. No, she had
been
a fool, rushing headfirst into a trap while blinded by lust. Once the baroness had killed her, the whole town would be in peril. They had to be warned. She had break free, escape this chamber and let the duke know. She had to
fight
. But her climax allowed for nothing of that. The vampire’s bite had ushered Jany over a cliff, and she was plummeting helplessly into an abyss of uncontrolled pleasure.

When release finally came, it hit Jany like a blow, blackening her vision and wrenching her body until she ached in every fibre of her being. It was the glorious, lethal ecstasy of forbidden night-time stories, a storm of savage pain and feral bliss. All air left her lungs in a violent scream; the baroness had at last removed her hand. Specks of darkness filled her view. She was fainting, perhaps dying, and she did not care.

Jany did not know if it lasted seconds or hours, but after she had stopped shaking, the maid moved up so that Jany once again was straddling her hips. The baroness let go off Jany’s arms, but Jany’s limbs were too numb to hold her upright, so she fell forward into the maid’s embrace.

The maid caught Jany and held her close, soothing her hair and whispering in her ear. Jany was too delirious to understand a word, but managed to look up into the maid’s eyes. It might be the last thing she saw. The woman’s expression surprised her: she looked at once compassionate, smug, and eager.

“I enjoyed that,” the baroness said contentedly behind Jany. “Much more than I anticipated, and I had high expectations. I always do. You, my dear Jany, will be an extraordinary addition to my court.” She slowly ran her hands over Jany’s buttocks as she spoke. The maid gently pushed Jany over so that she lay on her side, and Jany looked up at the vampire.

Sitting naked at the end of the bed, the baroness was a goddess of Nordic beauty and devilish charm, radiating authority and self-possession. Her fair hair was spilling down her back and her blue eyes were alight with an eerie fire that rivalled that that across the room. Visible against the baroness’s lower lip were the tips of pointed fangs. They did nothing to lessen the woman’s outlandish beauty. If anything, the sight only made Jany breathe faster in marvel rather than fear.

Not even the thin trail of blood that ran down one side of the baroness’s chin made the vampire look appalling. She was the most magnetic creature Jany had ever met. The baroness’s smile was faint but predatory, and to Jany’s complete surprise and growing horror, her body responded with a warmth that spread through her abdomen and farther down, stirring her again. Only her weakness stopped her from reaching out to the baroness.

Jany wanted to cry and laugh at the same time; she was doomed, having perhaps only minutes to live, and she was craving her murderer. Moving sluggishly, she touched her fingers to her neck. Trying to stop the blood flow was pointless; she was so exhausted she could barely more her arms. Still, she would try. She would not meet death without a struggle. Her fingers found the wounds on her neck, and she winced, imagining her ruined flesh, her –

Gaping in surprise, she prodded the place where the baroness had bitten her. There were no large wounds or shredded flesh. Her skin was intact. She looked at her fingers. Almost no blood. That was impossible; the bed was still stained with red from when she had been bitten. No injury healed this fast.

The vampire saw Jany’s confusion and made an annoyed grimace. “Oh dear,” she said. “Did you think I would let you die? A woman as irresistible as you?” She shook her head. “I could barely contain myself until now. Had I not risked causing a scene, I would have taken you in the stairwell where we first met.” Reaching down, she ran a sharp nail along Jany’s thigh. “No, my dear. No sweet oblivion yet. You have a much greater destiny to fulfil.”

As soon as the baroness touched her, Jany moaned from both fright and pleasure. She wanted to flee, but at the same time, she wanted the vampire to take her. Her gaze fell at the vampire’s neck.

“But you,” Jany said, her voice trembling. “You have no – there are no – ”

 “I have no scars on my neck?” The vampire’s laugh was almost inaudible over the rain. “You silly, adorable being. If my brethren were to walk around with hideous marks on our throats, how could we possible ever be safe?”

The baroness laugh slowed to a wide smile. “Only those under our spell, our lovers and our pets, are marked. And those scars heal fast, too. Come next week and there will be no trace on your body.” She tilted her head. “Not from my kisses, that is. We’ll find out what desires that hide in that clever, rational mind of yours. Some of them might leave other marks on your body.”

“Please,” Jany begged weakly. “Don’t torture me. I’d rather die.”

The vampire made a disgusted face. “What kind of lady do you take me for?” she demanded. She reached out, placed a finger under Jany’s chin, and forced Jany to meet her eyes. “You are mine now,” the baroness said, “and I will do with you as I please, but there will be no suffering. As long as you do as you are obedient.”

“Why?” Jany asked. “Why this charade, this game?”

The vampire smiled widely. “Because I can,” she said. “I enjoy games. As long as I come out on top.”

Shivering, Jany closed her eyes and drew a shuddering breath. She had gambled with her sin and lost. Her world had spiralled out of control and catapulted her into this surreal situation, and she was here to stay, forever. The thought of leaving the baroness’s side filled her with agony.

“You have a strong will,” the baroness noted as she studied Jany’s face. “And a fiery soul as well. But an intelligent woman like you will see reason. Forget the world in which you have lived, and remember only one thing: From now on, I am your law.”

Transfixed by the baroness’s eyes, the naked truth filled Jany’s soul: She was in love with a vampire. A being of utter evil. Creatures from which other nightmares ran away. The baroness was darkness incarnate, and Jany was already prepared to kill to protect her. For a chance to share the vampire’s bed, she would do much more.

But not all was lost. Deep inside Jany, a voice reminded her of the life she had led until this day.

Remember all those women for whom you have lusted,
the whisper said.
Long autumns and endless springs, surrounded by men and women revelling in each other’s company behind curtains and in alleys. Nights when everyone shared their bodies with others, screaming with joy under the stars. Everyone but you.