Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (20 page)

“I didn’t realize you knew so much.”

“I know a few things.
What do you think about the book?”

“I just thought it had some nice sexy pictures.
I like looking at them.”

She looked at him curiously.
Many of the images were of hybrids
having intercourse with captured humans, and it was unlikely that the unions were completely consensual.
An academic interest in the material was one thing, but she feared his interest was purely for pleasure.
She wondered again why he was being so friendly to her.
She felt some discomfort when he sat closer to her on the sofa.
When she looked up, she saw that
Drest
had
transported into the room.

Seeing the two on the sofa,
Drest
narrowed his eyes.
“Am I interrupting something in here?”

“I was just showing her a book.
She found it highly interesting,” Belenos said.

Drest strolled to the sofa and picked up the book.
He turned some of the pages and sighed in disgust.
“You showed these
pictures
to her?
It is offensive
.”

Belenos stood from the sofa and crossed his arms.
“She didn’t find it offensive at all.
She liked the pictures.”

Drest looked at her with an incredulous expression.
“You liked the pictures of hybrids raping their captives?”

She thought she was mature enough to handle seeing pictures in a history book, regardless of the content.
“I didn’t find it offensive, considering the type of text.”

Drest passed the book back to Belenos.
“I think you’ve overstayed.
The prisoner has been entertained enough for the day.”

Belenos was gone in a blink.
She thought that Drest was overreacting
.
“You didn’t have to make him leave.”

“You’re getting much too cozy with Belenos.
Do you think to manipulate him, try to get him to release you?
He will not help you.
You’d be better off dealing with me.”

She wondered if he was actually jealous of Belenos.
“I never see you.”

“You’re feeling neglected?
Too bad.
You are a prisoner; you’re not supposed to be having fun.”

“I get bored sitting here by myself all day.”

He sat down on the sofa beside her.
“Would you rather be kept busy, perhaps by doing some of those things depicted in those paintings?
You seemed pretty fascinated by that book.”

She was aware of his nearness and she could feel the heat of his skin.
“Is that an offer?”

He looked at her sharply.
“Careful.
I’m not made of stone.”
He breathed deeply.
“I’ll find some ways to keep you busy, but you do not need to encourage Belenos
.
You cannot hope to control any hybrid when he is enflamed with lust.
You’ll be the loser in that battle; you will get nothing from the interaction.
I have given you a reprieve.
That is why you have been
left alone.
But never forget that it is a temporary one.
Once it is over, you’ll not have a moment of peace
.”

“You refer to this mysterious time in the future whe
n
I’ll be given to someone else?”

“Yes, and it is not so very far away.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Drest brought Eden some reading materials, paper, and other items to keep her busy
.
He also made his library available for her use.
She
had decided to try to move on with her life, which meant trying to find some way of returning to Avenal.
For now, she would settle for a bath, as she was feeling grimy and dirty
.
Drest’s lodge possessed its own bathhouse, but it was located outside the lodge.
The pool of heated water was not in its own enclosed building, but was instead
located in a nearby garden area.
She wasn’t allowed to exit the lodge at all; she had tried a few times, and the guards sent her back indoors.
She waited for Drest to come home so that she could ask to use the bath.
He returned late in the night.
She caught his eye while she was waiting on the sofa and he indicated that he was retiring straight to bed.
She followed him a few minutes later and knocked on his bedchamber door.
When he opened the door, she could see that he was in the middle of undressing for bed, as his chest was bare and his trousers were unbuttoned.

“What do you want?”

She let her eyes linger on his bare skin.
“I need to use the bath, but your guards will not let me go outside.”

“Now?
It’s late.”

Her eyes drifted past him to the bed and she gazed longingly at the
rumpled silk sheets and
intricately embroidered
blankets.
“You’re never here during the day, so I guess it’ll have to be now.”

He buttoned his trousers.
“Alright.
I’ll take you there.”

She followed him to the garden, glad to finally breathe some fresh air.
The bath was lit by bright lanterns set upon poles and she could see the steam rising from the heated water.
She
was not used to
bath
ing
in the open, but she supposed it would be nice to
relax
in the steamy bath under the night sky.
He opened a large linen cabinet and took out a few towels and laid them on a chair.
She thanked him and waited for him to leave, but was
caught off guard when he started to disrobe.
“What are you doing?”

He removed his trousers.
“Bathing.”

She was confused.
She thought she had made it clear that she was the one that would be bathing.
“I asked for the bath because I wanted to bathe.”

“Yeah, that’s why I brought you here.”

Surely that didn’t mean what it sounded like it meant.
He hadn’t expressed an iota of interest in her for days.
“Do you mean for us to bathe together?”

“I can’t let you use the bath by yourself.
It’s not safe out here for you.”
Completely divested of
clothing, h
e entered the pool of water.
“Is that a problem?”

She still wasn’t certain of his intentions, which left her feeling confused.
The pool was about ten feet in length, so she could still get in there without sitting too close to Drest.
He had pretty much made it clear that he wasn’t attracted to her, based on the distance he had been keeping from her this past week.
“
No, i
t’s not a problem for me.”
She undressed quickly and submerged herself at the opposite end of the pool.
She felt self-conscious being naked around him, despite the fact that he had seen her nude many times in the past.
She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that he wasn’t near, but she found that she couldn’t quite relax.
She opened her eyes a few minutes later to find that he was staring at her.
The dark water obscured her view of him, so she could not see what was concealed beneath the water line.
She knew it also meant he couldn’t see much of her, either, as she was lying down in the water.
Eventually, she realized she had forgotten to retrieve soap and shampoo.
She looked around, trying to determine whether the bath products that were placed next to Drest were the only ones available.
She did not see any other items, which meant that she would either have to search for it herself or she would have to ask for his soap.
Since he was watching her, she did not feel comfortable getting out of the bath to perform a search, especially
since she was naked.
Borrowing his soap would be easier.
She scooted closer to him and asked him to pass the items.
He pushed the bath products closer to her, but they were not within reach.
“If you don’t mind handing that to me,” she said.
He pushed the items an inch further.
“I still cannot reach.”
She waited while he made no effort to pass her the items.
Finally, with a flust
ered sigh, she leapt forward and grabbed the soap and shampoo.
Sitting upright in the pool, the water only covered her from the waist down, leaving much of her bare.
She was sitting inches away from Drest and she noticed that he continued to stare at her.
She thought about turning away from him, but she didn’t want him to realize that she
was feeling awkward about it.
She squeezed some shampoo into her hand and rubbed it into her scalp.
She didn’t understand how he thought that bathing together wouldn’t be a problem.
It was a problem for her, knowing that they were both naked in a pool.
It made her think impure thoughts
.
She wondered if he had any natural urges, and if so, how he managed them.
He seemed to have too much restraint.
She paused when she
noted that his staring was growing more intense.
“Do you have to watch me so closely?”

He moved closer to her.
“Yes.”

“Just why is it necessary to watch me every second?”

“Someone could try to take you.”

They seemed pretty isolated to her.
“From here?”

He moved behind her and started to rub some more shampoo into her hair.
“Yes.”

She was astonished to feel his hands in her hair, as she had not expected him to touch her at all.
She wondered whether the Asstrumnians routinely groomed each other; perhaps
what he was doing didn’t actually
mean anything.
She tensed as she felt him move closer to her body.
She was now sitting between his legs.
She remembered too clearly what it was like to be with him intimately.
“Why would anyone wish to take me from here?”

He
placed his hand on her inner thigh and traced his fingers up the silken length.
After a brief hesitation,
he
abruptly
gripped
the feminine flesh between her thighs
.
“For this.”

The
sudden
feel of his rough fingers pressing into her
warmth
made her weak and achy.
She instantly felt overwhelmed with need, wanting to be wholly and completely filled.
Her breathing quickened and she couldn’t stop a moan from escaping.
As he continued to shampoo her hair, she felt the magnificently hard ridge of him press into her
lower
back.

“
Sometimes, I regret making that promise not to use you for pleasure.”
He shifted behind her so that he was not pressing against her so tightly.
“
I
need to rinse out the shampoo.”
He leaned her against him and placed his arm around her
; h
e
then
reclined her backwards so he could tend to her hair.
When he was done, he pulled her upright and grabbed the soap.
He squeezed it into his hands and began rubbing it against her skin, paying particular attention to
the mounds of flesh beneath his hands.
As he reached
the
soft
penetrable
area
between her legs
, he
rubbed her aching flesh slowly.

She was uncertain of his intentions, but the fondling was giving her ideas.
“How long will I remain a prisoner?
I think you’ve already gotten all the information you can get out of me.”

He
continued to
gently
stroke h
er feminine flesh.
“You’re better off staying
my
prisoner
.
You wouldn’t want me to turn you over to the
King
.”

His touch was tantalizing.
She knew that she should push him away, but she did not want him to stop.
“How long can I stay with you?”

“I’m not sure.
They’
ve already
been asking for you
.
It’s not easy to deny the
King
when he wants something.”