Carnal Sacrifice (26 page)

As far as Laela knew, her father was in his private chamber, meeting with his  advisors and the leaders of his army in discussions about how to assist Dane in the task  he would soon be assigned of protecting the mountain passes as well as the northern  border. And her mother had headed off to Myrtell with the head seamstress to see  Teesia’s old friend, Bella, about designing a dress for Laela to be wed in.

All of which meant it seemed a safe time for the bride-to-be to drag her man off to  her bedchamber.

Curling her hand around his wrist, she drew him inside and shut the door, then pressed him back against it with her body, making sure he felt each and every one of her curves. She ached for him like never before, and when he let out a short growl and lifted his hands to her breasts through the dress she wore, she moaned and knew her nipples had just perked to life beneath his hot touch.

Without delay, she smoothed her palm over his crotch, purring with pleasure when she felt the rock-hard column that had grown for her there. “Mmm, I want this, my master.”

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“And I’m going to give it to you, my little slave. Hard.” With that, he thrust his cock  slightly against her hand and it seemed to reverberate all through her, right down into  her cunt.

But just then, he flinched, his eyes shifting to something behind her. “What in Ares

name…?”

She turned to see what had interrupted them and found him staring at Midnight, who lay in a tidy oval shape on the bed. “I told you about Midnight, remember? And he was here the other night when you came, too—but I guess you didn’t see him then because it was dark. I do hope you like cats.”

Garon’s handsome face looked slightly bewildered for a moment, before his mouth twisted into a soft smile. “I still don’t quite understand why someone would keep a cat indoors like he’s a person, but…if it’s a cat you want, princess, then it’s a cat you shall have.”

“Good. Because Midnight is my best friend.”

He shifted her back into his arms and playfully lowered his chin. “Better than me?”

She grinned. “You shall both have to share my affections.”

Her lover raised his eyebrows in wicked teasing. “I might share you with him when  it comes to friendship, but that’s where I draw the line. From now on, you’re all mine,  princess.” With that, he moved toward the bed and shooed the cat from the fur  covering. “Go away, Midnight. We need some privacy.”

With a possessive look twinkling in his blue eyes, Garon pushed her softly to the  bed, slid his knee between her legs, pressing his thigh against her lush pussy as his hard  cock melded with her hip, then thrust aside the peach-colored silk at her breasts to free  the mounds he longed to suckle.

Taking one ripe peak into his mouth, he listened to her moan, let the heated sound  sink into his soul, let himself revel in the fresh knowledge that she was truly his now,  forever, and that there was no longer anything to fear, nothing to stand in their way. “I  love you, princess.”

“I love you, too…master,” she said with a naughty smile that drove his hand up  beneath her dress, his fingers pressing immediately into the soft flesh of her cunt and  inside.

“Oh…” she groaned at the gentle impact, and she was so wet and welcoming on his  fingers that he couldn’t go slow—he had to have more, now.

A moment later, he was parting her legs, thrusting his hot cock deep inside her  warm, slick pussy, feeling her wrap around him, feeling that bond with her that would  now never have to be broken.

“Fuck me, master,” she whispered heatedly in his ear as he drove into her wetness,

deep, deeper. “Yes, fuck me. Be my master. Make me obey.”

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Her words drove him onward, giving him immeasurable power, adding force to every stroke until he was pummeling her with them, making her cry out, reminding them both how much they’d come to love playing master and slave together.

It was without warning that Laela gripped his shoulders hard and pushed, turning him onto his back so that she could ride him. Her dress fell at her waist, her beautiful breasts bouncing as she rubbed herself against him, taking him so deep, hugging his cock tight—and when she came, her hot, lovely cries echoing off the stone walls to permeate his soul, he spilled himself inside her, coming just as hard, just as brutally, until they collapsed together in a tousled heap on the bed.

“You know,” he said a long, satiated moment later, flashing an amused look, “when  I first demanded you be my slave, it was supposed to scare you, princess.”

She curled into his chest, her still-beaded nipples brushing lightly against his skin.  “In the beginning, agreeing to be your sex slave
 
did
 
seem like a frightening sacrifice.  But…turned out that it was no sacrifice at all.”

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Epilogue

The hem of Laela’s green dress blew around her legs in the sea breeze as she walked hand in hand with Garon over the sand to where her family stood with the priest waiting to join them in marriage.

She smiled at her eldest sister Maven, holding her baby daughter Kateene, who sported blonde hair just like her mother. Dane stood looking like his majestic warrior self, one hand poised lovingly at his wife’s back.

Next came Teesia, her dark hair shining in the sun, her warm expression letting  Laela feel how happy her sister was for her. Her equally dark, sensual husband, Ralen, stood in his usual black leather at her side, and to round out the group, Teesia held a basket wherein rested an obedient Midnight, who offered up a gentle meow as Laela approached.

To their right, Laela found Baelor, smiling on the joyous occasion, and her parents, both of whom she’d never seen look more pleased or content.

Now that a little time had passed, she’d almost forgiven her father—he’d spent the last two weeks telling her over and again how wrong he’d been, how his own power had blinded him, and she knew her happiness was truly important to him now. She’d also finally relayed to him the horrid behavior of his men upon capturing her, and he’d assured her he would punish them appropriately. Releasing Garon’s hand, Laela went to her parents, giving them each a small hug and a kiss on the cheek.

When she turned back, she found Garon talking with the other men. “So,” Dane said to him, “will you be joining us in defending Caralon for future generations?”

But her husband-to-be only laughed in the easy way she loved. “Enrick has kindly offered me a position, but I do well enough running the tavern. I built it on my own and  I shall keep running it.”

“Then it’s down to us,” Ralen said, a slight, challenging smile curving his lips as he glanced to Dane. “One of us will eventually rule Caralon.”

“And the other?” Garon asked.

At this, both men looked to their wives, who now stood a few steps away cautiously introducing Kateene to Midnight.

Dane let out a content sigh. “Once upon a time, ruling Caralon was all that mattered to me. But now…well, either way, I am a happy man with a fuller life than I could have imagined.”

“I, too, hope to rule this domain someday,” Ralen said. “But if it doesn’t come to pass, it simply means more time spent with Teesia, and only a foolish man would dare complain about such a bounty.”

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“Are we ready to begin?” the priest asked, and then began the traditional wedding  ceremony, not the one of royal marriages as her other two sisters had experienced, but  the vows spoken by those who
 
chose
 
to be joined.

“What gift have you for your bride?” the priest, a merry, plump older fellow asked  Garon.

Garon’s eyes sparkled as he presented Laela with a rolled sheet of parchment. She untied the ribbon that held it, opening it to find a charcoal sketch of a lovely stone home—certainly not the fortress in which she’d been raised, yet grander than most in  Myrtell. She lifted her gaze to his.

“I plan to build you this home, Laela, on a stretch of land that lies halfway between your father’s fort and the tavern, so that I can be close to my business while you will be close to your family. We can both have what we enjoy most—other than each other,” he added with a wink. “And each room shall possess a viewing glass, for I know you have missed them.”

As the gathering chuckled lightly at that, Laela smiled up at him, touched by the wonderful gesture of a splendid new home. “And there will be room for Midnight, of course?”

He laughed. “Of course. We wouldn’t want the stable cat to sleep outside. Speaking of which, I also have this for you.” Reaching into a pocket at the front of his pants, he extracted a bracelet, stretching it out for her to see—it featured a cat’s face to match the pendant at her throat.

She gasped at the sight. “Oh Garon!”

“I had it commissioned from a jeweler in the village on the day you agreed to become my wife.”

Carefully, he tied it about her wrist, and her body hummed with wanting him.

“And your gift for your groom?” the priest asked Laela.

Turning to her mother, she took the sack she’d asked Jalal to carry to the ceremony for her and she pulled out an ancient book from her father’s library—one of her very favorites, which Enrick had agreed to part with at her request.

Upon seeing it, Garon exchanged a knowing look with her, and she knew he was pleased. He ran his hands over the aged cover of fraying threads, which in very faded words read
 
Fairy Tales
 
.

“These stories,” she said to him, “all end just the way that our
 
new
 
story is beginning.”

Returning her soft smile, Garon opened the book to the last page, running his fingers over the words printed on the fragile yellowed paper, and read the last sentence out loud.

“‘As the king watched, the handsome young man kissed the beautiful princess,

taking her as his bride. And they all lived happily ever after.’”

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About the Author

Lacey Alexander is the pseudonym of an award-winning author. Over forty of her short stories and articles have seen publication. Lacey lives in Kentucky with her husband of fifteen years and she loves being a full-time writer. When not creating romance and romantica, she enjoys crafts, American history, and travel, and she particularly likes incorporating her favorite destinations into her work. She is an active member of Romance Writers of America and Novelists, Inc.

Lacey welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave

Publishing at 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH  44310-3502.

Also by Lacey Alexander

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Brides of Caralon 1: Rituals of Passion

Brides of Caralon 2: Master of Desire

Hot In the City: French Quarter

Hot In the City: Key West

Hot In the City: Sin City

Hot For Santa!

Seductress of Caralon

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

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