Consort (Beyond Ontariese 6) (20 page)

“
I prefer to work within
the system, but I won’t pretend to be upset. The bastard shot at
two innocent children. There is no justification for such
evil.”

“
So what happens to Ametto
now? Why didn’t he just come to you with what he knew?”

“
Ametto is not blameless.
He has been providing one of my enemies with information for
several months now.”

She shook her head, clearly upset by
the news. “Why would he do that? Ametto has always been so kind and
attentive, especially with Betaul. It’s really hard to believe he’s
a traitor.”

“
There are extenuating
circumstances. His daughter is being used as leverage against him.
He has been working very hard to protect you and Betaul without
endangering his daughter, but he’s running out of time. His
employer is becoming more demanding.”

“
His employer?” Her hands
stopped rubbing and her gaze narrowed, eyes more silver than blue.
“Am I not allowed to know which of your enemies is threatening me
and Betaul?”

“
At the moment, I don’t
know,” he assured her. “Ametto asked that I use him to set a trap
for his employer without telling him the specifics and without his
telling me who she is. He’s afraid she’ll sense a direct
betrayal.”

“
You need to find his
daughter then all the precautions are unnecessary.”

He smiled, desperately needing to
touch her again. “Now that we know who shot at Betaul, my best
trackers are searching for his daughter.”

“
I’m glad.” She lowered her
gaze as she licked her lips, then looked into his eyes as she said,
“I didn’t give you the benefit of a doubt. That was wrong.” She
stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest. “Let me make it
up to you.”

He pictured her spread-eagle on his
bed, wrists and ankles bound, utterly at his mercy. His body
responded to the image with such force it made him groan and clench
his fists. “I need a night to cool down. I’m feeling particularly
savage right now.”

She moved even closer and wrapped her
arms around his neck. Then she pushed to the balls of her feet and
whispered, “I’m not afraid of you.”

“
You should be.” Dark
desire spiraled through his chest and lodged in his groin. He
needed her now, naked, beneath him, wild with passion. “If you
could see inside my mind, you would be.” He took her wrists and
disentangled her arms from around his neck. “I mean it, Cinarra. I
don’t think I can be gentle with you tonight.”

She allowed him to unhook her arms,
but rather than leaving, she slipped past him and into the
room.

Damn it. Why was she provoking him? He
couldn’t make it any clearer. Unless… Did she want him as badly as
he wanted her? Had fear and helplessness awakened the dark side of
her passion?

“
If you stay, it’s on my
terms,” he warned her. “You demonstrate your trust with every move
you make, every word you utter.”

“
That’s no more than fair.”
She kicked off her shoes and reached back for the fastenings of her
dress. “Would you mind helping me, Sire?”

“
Indric,” he corrected. “To
you I will always be Indric.”

“
All right, Indric.” She
presented him with her back. “Would you please help me out of this
dress, Indric? I can’t quite reach the fastenings.”

He’d given her every opportunity to
retreat, warned her of his dark mood. If she wanted to play with
the beast inside him, he was more than willing to let it out. He
slammed the door with his mind and activated the lock.

“
Are you sure this is what
you want?”

She looked over her
shoulder, a soft smile on her lips, and said, “I want
all
of you.”

Cinarra shivered as the rings in
Indric’s eyes blazed like polished metal. She’d always sensed the
power, the raw energy he kept so carefully contained. He was a
Bilarrian male, a king, and she understood what that meant. To find
the ultimate pleasure, he had to be in control. Which meant she had
to surrender—submit. Surrender sounded soft and romantic, while
submit had an erotic edge she never thought she’d find exciting. So
why was she trembling with need and anticipation?

His fingers brushed against her neck
then rubbed her shoulders, but he hadn’t spoken since she told him
she wanted all of him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and
pulled her back into the heat of his body. He pushed his fingers
into her hair and made a loose fist, drawing her head back and
sharply to the side. Then his mouth covered hers and their breaths
mingled in a stream of moist heat. His lips urged hers wider as his
tongue traced the opening.

She touched his tongue with hers, but
he retreated as suddenly as he’d advanced. His mouth lifted and he
eased back, his fingers flying down the row of fasteners, releasing
each with skillful speed. The bodice loosened and then slipped,
baring her breasts as it caught on her hips. He paused to cup her
breasts. His thumbs teased her sensitive nipples while his fingers
shaped the soft swells.

Unsure what he wanted from her, she
remained still and enjoyed his touch. One of his hands moved up,
caressing her chest and sliding up and down her neck. She rested
her head on his chest, savoring the heat and hunger that followed
in the wake of his touch.

His silence built the tension, adding
to the mystery of what was to come. Would he bind her, command her,
expect something she wasn’t ready to surrender. She closed her eyes
and banished the uncertainty. This was Indric, her noble champion.
He would never harm her or pressure her. She was safe in his
arms.

This is about trust,
showing him that you trust him with your life and your
pleasure.

He pushed the dress past her hips and
it pooled around her ankles. She wore only lace-trimmed panties and
thigh-high stockings. Moving out from behind her, he took her by
the hand and led her toward the center of the room where his bed
sat upon a small dais. Draped in diaphanous hangings of gold and
black, it was truly a bed fit for a king.

A smile tugged at her lips, but she
pressed them together, not wanting to reveal her
thoughts.

“
Why are you smiling?” He
paused beside the bed, obviously expecting an answer.

“
When you came to my house,
it was easy for me to forget who you were. You’ve always been so
approachable, so
real
. And even when you came to my room, it didn’t feel like this.
I’m about to climb into bed with San Adrin’s king. It’s a little
overwhelming.”

“
I am the same person I was
when I visited your house. I will always be Indric to
you.”

The gentle reminder didn’t
ease the tension building in her stomach. But it wasn’t unpleasant,
just different. “King
Indric
of San Adrin,” she whispered. “It is the same and
yet so different. I see you clearly now.”

He looked as if he would argue and
then he nodded. “You’re right. We can no longer pretend I’m not
shaped by my responsibilities and my authority. Do you still want
to be my lover, knowing I am king?”

She lowered her chin and looked at him
through her lashes. “Will it please you to know I want you
more?”

Curving his fingers around the back of
her neck, he kissed her, a long, slow melding of lips and tongues.
She followed his lead as he moved the kiss from her mouth to his
and back. “Everything about you pleases me.” He nibbled his way
along her jawline then sucked her earlobe into his mouth. She
wiggled and gasped as the pressure sent sensations cascading
through her body.

His hands never stopped moving. He
squeezed her breasts and stroked her sides, then one hand sneaked
behind her and squeezed her ass through the silky material of her
panties. He growled impatiently and spun her around.

“
Keep your knees locked and
take off your panties.”

She was facing away from
him so she didn’t suppress her smile.
Why
don’t you just say bend over and show me your ass.

“
If you like. Bend over and
show me your ass
.
”
His tone was low and playful, but the words came as a
shock.

She gasped and looked back at him. His
expression didn’t change. “Was I broadcasting?”

“
I pulled your thought
across an existing link and into my mind. The link was already
there. I sensed a transmission and thought you’d tried but failed
to push it into my mind. I told you I would never enter your mind
without permission. I haven’t and I won’t.”

Which only proved how
effortlessly he could manipulate thoughts. Still, it was a gray
area. He hadn’t technically broken his word. She turned her head
back around and switched to mind-speak.
Communication seems to be the only exception to the panic
attack rule. I can send and receive thoughts without totally losing
it.

It’s probably because
you’ve had no other choice, since most of your family is on another
planet.

Good point.
She knew she was stalling, but she couldn’t make
herself bend over and wiggle her ass at him. It was so
undignified.

I’m
waiting
.

Tonight was for him, an elaborate
demonstration of her trust. She ignored her modest impulses and
grasped the sides of her panties, easing them downward.

And keep your legs apart,
so your ass isn’t all I see.

The rumbling command made her core
clench and her nipples tingle. Arousal was quickly eroding her
awkwardness. He’d already seen her naked, so why was she making
this so difficult? She pulled the panties to mid-thigh then bent
from the waist as she dragged them down to her ankles. She held the
position for a second, making sure he had time to look his fill.
Then she straightened and kicked the undergarment aside, waiting
for his next order.

Now your stockings. Remove
them both and then hand them to me.

Her insides tightened again with a
nearly painful combination of excitement and uncertainty. She
didn’t ask why he wanted her stockings. He probably meant to bind
her with them. Claiming to submit and actually surrendering control
were two very different things.

She was so distracted by his directive
that she forgot to make a show of it. She rolled the stockings down
and pulled them off then straightened the material and turned
around. With the stockings draped over one hand, she faced him. Her
heart fluttered wildly in her chest. He was still fully dressed and
looking every inch a king.

“
Come here.” He held out
his hand when she couldn’t seem to move. “You said this was what
you wanted.”

“
It’s what you want, and I
want you.” She wanted to suck the words back into her mouth the
second after they passed her lips.

“
It’s what I
need
. The question is,
can you be content in the submissive role?”

Her body was already giving her plenty
of indications that this was also what she needed, but she didn’t
want to commit to the concept until she was sure. “I say we find
out.”

He kicked his sandals aside and pulled
his tunic off over his head. The muscles in his torso rippled and
her fingers itched to explore. Somehow she didn’t think indulging
her desire to touch him was on the agenda tonight.

As if to confirm her unspoken
suspicion, he said, “Give me your hands.”

It was the first step on their new
path. She’d undressed for him before. This was different, darker,
more erotic. She held out her hands, hoping he couldn’t see how
they trembled. He tied one end of a stocking around her wrist then
bound her opposite wrist with the other stocking.

“
Now put them behind your
back.”

She looked at him, amazed that this
gorgeous, powerful man had chosen her. She put her hands behind her
back and he circled to stand behind her.

His fingers brushed from her shoulders
to her wrists, drawing her attention to the gentle pressure of the
stocking as he bound her wrists together. It wasn’t painful, just
intrusive and more stimulating than she cared to admit. He took her
by the shoulders and turned her to face him again. His discarded
tunic was on the floor between them and his pants soon joined the
pile.

“
On your knees.” No other
explanation was needed. The heat of his gaze made it obvious what
he wanted.

She carefully bent one knee and then
the other, glad for the padding of his cloths between her knees and
the cold, hard floor. He was fully erect and angled toward her, but
he stayed just out of reach. Instead, he brushed the hair back from
her face and traced her bottom lip with one of his
thumbs.

“
I’ve dreamed about this
for so long, pictured you bound and kneeling before me.”

The thought of him alone and aching
for her stoked the fire inside her. But he hadn’t just wanted her,
he’d wanted her bound and subjugated. She waited for uncertainty’s
twinge to hamper her desire, but it never came. In this
environment, Indric was free to be himself, which brought her
closer to him than she’d ever been before. This felt natural, real,
right.