Dragon Betrayed (Immortal Dragons Book 0) (10 page)

“What do you think, Belah?” he asked again. Her name breathed against the back of her neck made her shiver. He rarely used her name, preferring to address her with any number of terms of endearment. She loved all of them, but the way he said her name made blood rush to her head swiftly enough that she grew lightheaded.

“That sounds… nice,” she whispered, too aroused to speak any louder.

Nikhil moved back around her and dropped to his knees, hands cupping her bottom to pull her to his mouth like a ripe piece of melon. He tongued her cleft with abandon, occasionally drifting his mouth to her outer lips and nipping hard to add delicious spikes of pain to her pleasure. Belah was powerless against the onslaught and let her head fall back as he commanded her climax to rise from deep within. He coaxed her more and more urgently with his tongue until she wanted nothing more than to give in to him and let the pent-up magic rush through her like a torrent. Her cry echoed above them, his slow lapping between her thighs continuing for a moment until the quivering of her thighs subsided.

Nikhil stood and wiped her juices from his lips and chin, smiling at her. He stepped between her thighs as though preparing to spear her with his cock.

“Wait,” she said. “I want you to do what you were going to do. There is a way. It is a secret you mustn’t share with anyone. But I want it, so I will tell you. I want it so much.”

Nikhil paused with his hands resting on her knees, his gaze already feverish with his need to fuck her again and his aura pulsing wildly. Yet he pulled back with a slow nod.

Very deliberately, he walked to where the box rested on the table and picked it up. From within, he pulled a small, thin, slightly curved object that glinted silvery in the light of her chamber.

“Tell me what to do.”

“Hold it in front of my mouth,” she said.

When he came close and held it up, she could see it was a hooked needle similar to the ones Meri used to stitch up wounds. Her stomach flipped with excitement over this new experience. Both her nipples and her cunt tingled in anticipation of what was about to happen.

Nikhil’s eyebrows rose expectantly and Belah took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, summoning the magic to her lungs and conjuring the fire she so rarely used. With lips opened into a tight “O,” she expelled her breath. Bright blue flame licked out in a liquid stream, curling around the needle and Nikhil’s fingers where he held it. He bared his teeth and hissed from pain, but held on tight until the needle glowed with heat.

“Sorry,” Belah said, drawing the fire back into her and immediately blowing a cooling blue breath onto his scorched fingertips.

“If this works, then there is no need for apologies, my love,” he said as he bent to kiss her.

With his free hand he cupped one breast, kneading it roughly and pinching her nipple hard enough to drive her wild with need again. Just as he was about to press the needle to her flesh, she cried out.

“Wait. Make sure you’re ready with the ring before you start. I heal quickly, remember?”

“Don’t worry, I am ready.” He swirled his tongue around his mouth and produced one of the pieces of jewelry held tightly between his teeth.

Pulling her nipple taut, he leaned close, pressed the sharp point of the needle to the pink flesh, and pushed. Belah watched, too hypnotized by the sight of the metal sliding through her skin to look away. When the harsh fire of agony flowed through her body, she cried out, throwing her head back and arching toward the source of the pain. It was every bit as acute and delicious as the pleasure of an orgasm, and it left her gasping for air.

Before she could recover from the first wave of intense fire, another one hit when he pierced her second nipple, and she bucked against her bindings.

With the flood of pain pulsing from both breasts through the ends of her limbs, her eyes flew open and met Nikhil’s gaze. The wild creature she’d bound in this very spot their first night together looked back at her, crazed with hunger and his aura pulsing just as savagely as the pain that shot through her breasts. He wasn’t finished yet.

Dropping to his knees again, he paused with a groan before her open pussy, already flooded again with her desire. Closing his eyes, he turned his head and sank his teeth into her inner thigh so hard he would have taken a bite out of her, if his teeth were capable of penetrating her skin. Gathering command of himself again, he turned back to her glistening folds and squeezed the hood of her clit tightly between thumb and forefinger. With careful precision, he shoved the needle through. More prepared for the hot flash of pain this time, Belah mustered the presence of mind to watch while he deftly followed the needle with the loop of gold and bent to squeeze the tiny ring closed with his teeth.

He let his mouth linger against her flesh for just a moment longer, his tongue testing the tiny ornament with maddening flicks. When Belah was ready to beg for more, he sat back on his heels, panting and staring up at her.

“
’Iilahatan
, you are so beautiful. A creature worthy of worship. You did not even bleed.” He rose slowly and stepped back from her, surveying his handiwork. One large hand drifted down to grip his hard cock, and he stood stroking himself while staring at her, eyes flitting between the sparkling jeweled scarabs on the tips of her breasts and the third one resting coolly over her clit.

Belah squirmed against her bindings, the ache of fresh need overwhelming her more than the pain of the piercings.

“Please, Nikhil,” she begged, watching him continue pleasuring himself and aching for just a glimmer of the power that swelled in him.

His lips spread in a wicked smile and he slowed his strokes. “You are so wet for the things I do, such a hungry little beast. Knowing I command your pleasure, that it is mine to give or take, makes me hard for you. I like to see you squirm, to know how much hotter that sweet, tight quim of yours will be once I let you have my cock. Let me hear you beg some more, little beast.”

He stepped close again, but paused just at arm’s length and continued stroking himself with one hand. With his other, he reached out and tugged at one of the rings that now dangled from her nipples, and a pleasant buzz of pain burned into her again.

“Think of all the fun we can have with these. And with this.” He lowered his hand between her thighs and flicked lightly at the scarab resting there. His touch made it vibrate straight through her clit, and the intensity of the competing sensations caused her to cry out once more.

“Please! Before I heal, fuck me. Fuck me while I can still feel everything!”

Nikhil’s smile faded into a look of raw desire and he released himself. With both hands, he gripped her hips while he aimed his cock between her thighs. Her hot, sodden flesh parted when his thick tip pressed into her. As he slid deeper, the underside of her new bauble rubbed harder against her clit, pulling at its piercing just enough to remind her how fresh the pain was. Nothing but pleasure remained once he’d sunk to the hilt inside her.

“More,” she whispered. “Please, I need more.”

He bent his head to her breast as he pulled out, capturing one gold ring and the nipple it pierced, biting down on the damaged flesh until she yelped. Then he slammed back into her, swift and hard, his pelvis pressing and grinding until she gasped and begged again for
more, more, more
.

Soon, Belah lost herself in the pulsing cadence of sensations—the rising pleasure accompanied by staccato beats of pain until she had no sense of anything else. He seemed to know exactly how to drive her higher and higher, closer to the brink of madness. She was nearly lost when he slowed. He still fucked her, but with tortuous deliberation, staring down at her intently.

“No, please don’t stop. I need more,” she whimpered.

“Show me some of what you are. I want to see the beast in you, my love, to watch the creature I have broken come apart while I fuck her. Just a piece of the truth. Those glorious horns you couldn’t help but release that first night. Or your wings. Show me, and I will let you fly.”

“Yes,” she said, and immediately gave up bits of the tenuous control she had over her shape. Her magic could hold her form indefinitely with little effort, but during sex with Nikhil, she often had the urge to let go of her true shape after he’d pleased her so well that night with just his fingers. Her horns came first, protruding slowly from her temples and coiling back over her head like thick, twisting vines. Then her wings erupted from her shoulder blades, stretching and flexing in the evening breeze.

Nikhil fucked her again in earnest, his eyes sparkling with excitement as she continued to let elements of her true shape emerge from beneath her skin. She maintained her human shape just enough to avoid interfering with her bindings, but let the texture of her skin become the blue scales and let her long tongue flick out to tease at the line of his jaw.

He groaned as he slammed into her over and over, his hips pounding out a rhythm that sank deep into her bones with each press against the jewelry attached to her clit.

“Yes,
‘Iilahatan
, you are my little beast. Mine. And I will fuck you until you scream my name, begging me for more, begging me to hurt you again. Someday,
‘Iilahatan
, I will make you bleed for me.”

The very suggestion of shedding blood just for his pleasure sent Belah over the edge. Her voice rose up to the heavens, resonating enough to make the entire river valley grow silent in its wake.

Chapter Ten

“I
have neglected my pets for far too long,” Belah said. “You distract me from my duties. I’ve become a poor mistress to them.” She ignored Nikhil’s scowl from the bed behind her as she dressed before her mirror.

It had been months since her last visit to her harem. Ever since Nikhil had joined her, she’d needed only him to satisfy her need for magical sustenance. A recent visit from a very concerned Meri had spurred her into action. Her pets were restless, bored, and more prone to bickering and acting out with the rest of her staff lately. They needed a regular outlet for their pent-up energy and could only entertain each other for so long.

She shouldn’t go in there feeling like it was a chore, though. Dropping one sandal to the floor, she sighed and looked up at Nikhil apologetically. Regarding him for a moment, she tilted her head.

“What is it, love?” he asked. “Tell me you changed your mind and decided to come back to bed with me.” He patted the edge of the bed beside one naked, tan thigh.

“No. I can’t avoid my duties, but maybe you can help.”

His scowl deepened. “I have no use for your pets. They’re too soft.”

“I mean help
me
get in the mood to go to them, and be here afterward when I return.” She frowned, realizing that she’d been away from her harem long enough that today she should avoid withholding her Nirvana from them. It meant she’d need to be even more in the mood than if she were just orchestrating their pleasure for her sustenance. But the idea of simple, mindless fucking didn’t have the same allure as it used to.

She turned back to the mirror, irritated. Nikhil’s large, naked form slipped up behind her, his hands sliding down her bare arms until his fingers clasped around her wrists. He tugged her arms behind her back, forcing her to arch her breasts toward the mirror. With one hand holding her wrists together, he used the other to unfasten the clasp of the robe over her sternum and pushed it open. The pair of scarabs at her breasts caught the sunlight and gleamed with deep blue light. Belah smiled, thrilled anew at the image and the memory it incited of that glorious night when he’d given them to her.

“What will your pets think when they see you like this, pierced with rings befitting a slave? A slave to a rich master, of course, but a slave nonetheless.” His hand spanned her chest, thumb and forefinger teasing simultaneously at both sparkling scarabs.

“I… I admit I hadn’t considered that,” she said. It truly would be an awkward explanation if any of her pets asked why she was pierced as she was. They likely wouldn’t ask outright, but she would sense their confusion and uncertainty, and it could very well add to their unrest.

Nikhil’s dark eyes studied her in the mirror as his fingers continued to tease her breasts before sliding in a ticklish trail down her stomach and dipping between her thighs to find the third scarab. Belah inhaled sharply at the sudden burst of pleasure that shot through her when he slipped his finger deeper between her moist folds.

“How well can you disguise your identity?” he asked.

Belah gazed back at him, perplexed. “I can change my human appearance at will, but there are limits. I can’t fake my gender, but everything else is superficial.”

He moved away for a moment, and when he returned, he slipped a band of tooled leather around her neck. Belah recognized the pretty little collar he’d presented her with a few weeks earlier as an introduction to a new, private game of his.

Like all his games, she’d loved this one. Loved being ordered to kneel at his side while he ate his meals, letting him feed her small morsels from the palm of his hand. Loved when he’d bared his hard cock to her and ordered her to suck it, then left her naked and kneeling with her cheek to the floor and her bare ass in the air, waiting interminably for him to do as he wished with her.

All it took was the buckle sliding closed for her knees to bend and she was kneeling on the floor in front of him, still facing the mirror.

“Show me,” he said. “Make yourself look like a slave.”

His tone wasn’t even commanding, but she didn’t need to be ordered to carry out his request when she wore the collar.

With the power of a thought, Belah shifted her appearance, watching her reflection as she transformed. Her upswept black braids disappeared, leaving behind a bare, shorn scalp. Her skin darkened from the honey-bronze she preferred to a more sun-darkened shade, befitting one of the women who worked the barley fields. The fine trimmed nails at the ends of her fingers grew ragged, and she turned her eyes from their deep, vivid blue to a dark, earthy brown. The shape of her face grew more angular and just slightly gaunt and her body slimmed, her breasts becoming smaller, tipped with dark brown nipples.

She craned her neck and peered up at Nikhil behind her, eager for his approval. He cupped her cheek and smiled. “Good little beast. I think we can fulfill your obligations to your pets and entertain ourselves in the process.”

“What are you going to do? I can’t just wander down there looking like this. The guards would have me executed. Or they would try to, anyway.”

Nikhil retrieved a length of rope and attached it to a ring at the back of her collar. “You won’t be going alone. The empress has a new slave for her harem who needs to be broken in today. She’s entrusted me to deliver this lovely Nubian beauty to the harem chamber and let her pets initiate her to their mistress’s preferences. Of course, I will be there to oversee—and maybe even participate—so I can give the empress an accurate report of the slave’s performance.” He tugged gently at her collar. “Rise, little beast. It’s time.”

Belah stood and waited while Nikhil dressed himself in the outfit he regularly wore to court. She admired how very
official
he appeared, right down to the stern, businesslike expression on his face. The nobility in his bearing struck her for the first time and she wondered if the shift in mindset to that of a slave was affecting her on a deeper level. He had let his short-cropped hair grow over the months, so that now it draped in dark, silken waves over his shoulders. His garments were no different than she was used to, but looked even brighter in contrast to the drab skirt he wrapped around her hips after divesting her of her finer gown. He left her bare-breasted as a slave would be, and smudged charcoal over her scarabs to dull the shine. With the same blackened fingers, he lightly touched her cheek, rubbing more dark color in places until she truly appeared as though she’d been pulled out of the fields and brought to the palace.

He led her down a circuitous path through the palace, away from her chambers and down hallways that were rarely traveled and smelled musty with disuse. Exiting a small doorway, she found herself in the kitchen garden, only a stone’s throw from the pregnant bank of the Nile, churning from the winter rains.

Finally, they made their way through the bustling courtyard where the servants worked, and Belah forced herself to bow her head and slouch to avoid raising any suspicion. She felt strange in this new shape, unused to the cool air flowing over her bare scalp.

Surreptitiously, she absorbed the mood around her. No one seemed the least bit interested in her, but she was pleased to witness how deferential all the servants were to Nikhil’s presence. The respect they showed him was tinged with fearful awe, and she heard low murmurs of stories of his exploits on the battlefield as he led her past. Here and there, she also caught bits and pieces of rumors that he was favored by the empress and that she was so fond of him they wondered if he would become her consort soon. The idea gave her a rush of pleasure and pride at how much they seemed to revere him already. Perhaps it was time to move forward with her plan to have him marked.

They entered the palace again through the servant’s entrance, and from there they bypassed her throne room and walked silently down the hallway toward her harem.

Belah kept her gaze cast to the floor while Nikhil explained his purpose to the guards outside her harem’s doors. She remained as still and obedient as any slave, in spite of the growing heat between her thighs at what was to come.

“She looks too skinny for one of the empress’s pets,” one guard said.

“That’s easily remedied,” Nikhil said. “She has good bones and a nice, firm backside.” He emphasized his point by grabbing one cheek through her skirt and squeezing hard enough that Belah yelped in surprise and glared up at him. Putting on a show for the guards wasn’t part of what she’d envisioned for the day. Her guards were expressly forbidden from laying a hand on her pets.

Glancing between the two guards, she sensed their avid interest, but they kept themselves tightly restrained. When they opened the doors to the harem, she could feel their eyes on her as sharply as their envy of Nikhil for being permitted entry into a place they considered sacred.

The doors thumped shut behind them, and Belah’s senses awakened as they always did whenever she entered this room. The aromas evoked a sense of hunger—part spicy incense and part raw sex. Usually the energy in the room rose to a crescendo at her very presence. Today, the mood was more subdued, the residents listless and uninspired compared to past visits. They seemed uninterested in her, which left her aching with guilt over how long she’d been away. She suddenly wished she could shed her false persona and rouse them with her usual greeting.

Good morning, sweet pets. Tell me your dreams so that I may make them come true.

Slowly, her pets’ attention redirected to the entrance where she stood just behind Nikhil, partly blocked from their view. His own aura pulsed with curious interest as he scanned the room, but it wasn’t until he glanced back at her with a sly smile that his aura swelled with fresh arousal reflected by the bulge beneath his clothing.

Turning back to the room, Nikhil took a breath and said, “Your mistress has sent me with a gift today. This lovely little slave was bestowed on her by a southern king, and she wishes for you, her pets, to welcome the girl and introduce her to all the ways in which to provide for the mistress’s pleasure.”

The first member of her harem to venture forward was Zeb, their de-facto leader, followed closely by Nyla, whose hand was gripped lightly in his.

Belah kept her eyes downcast while Zeb inspected her. Her skin thrummed with excitement at simply being regarded so intently and so openly by the most prominent and virile male in her collection. Still, in spite of Zeb’s stature, he was softer around the edges than Nikhil. All the members of her harem were soft, gentle, yet thorough lovers. How would they behave under Nikhil’s command?

“You have your mistress’s permission to break her in completely,” Nikhil said. “Anything you think the empress would like the girl to experience. We both know quite well what she likes, after all.” Nikhil’s voice pitched low at the end, as though he was sharing a secret with Zeb.

From under her lowered lashes, she saw Zeb smile. “Well, then… the first thing we need to do is see how much endurance she has. When the mistress is hungry, she requires us to last quite a long time.” He glanced back at Nyla. “My love, why don’t you pretend to be our mistress for today? She always preferred you among the females.”

Nyla nodded and came forward, squared her shoulders and tossed back her hair, then reached up and touched Belah gently beneath her chin. “Hmm, you are a pretty little slave, but we don’t wear collars once we’re admitted to the harem.”

Belah barely heard what she said. When Nyla came close, all she was aware of was the full, rounded bulge of Nyla’s pregnant belly and let out a sharp, involuntary gasp. Had she been away so long that she missed her two favorite pets breeding? Tears pricked at her eyes and she blinked rapidly to avoid letting them loose.

“Oh, honey, no,” Nyla said, caressing her cheek and completely misinterpreting Belah’s distress. “It isn’t anything to be afraid of. The mistress is very good to us, you will see. But first, I think we need to bathe you, get some of this dirt off before we show you how things are done here. Let’s get this collar off and I can show you around.”

Nyla’s fertile fragrance was intoxicating to Belah, and she let the young woman unbuckle her collar and let it fall to the floor. “What’s your name?” Nyla whispered.

“B-Bekha,” she said, almost wincing at her near-mistake.

“I’m Nyla. And that is Zeb. We will take good care of you until you’re comfortable with us.”

Belah smiled shyly and let Nyla lead her into the room. She was already halfway down the steps into the large room, being led toward the doors out into their private courtyard where the bathing pool lay, when she thought to look back to Nikhil. He was whispering something to Zeb, who nodded and glanced in her direction with a wide grin. The flesh between her thighs tightened and warmed with arousal. Nikhil was always full of surprises and she couldn’t wait to find out what he had in store for her today.

She didn’t often participate when her pets were initiating a new member to their numbers. Zeb was in charge of the initiation and she preferred to give the new additions time to acclimate to their surroundings and their harem-mates without her scrutiny. She believed it would be easier for them to become comfortable with their peers if she weren’t hanging around watching. Zeb was always honest with her about his opinions afterward. The day after she’d brought Nyla to them, she’d seen right through his admiration for the young woman and had hoped the pair would find love together.

“Come,” Nyla said, eyeing her with a smile. “You can take off your clothes now. I promise not to bite.” She shed her own loose-fitting robe and stepped down the stairs into the clear water of the pool, beckoning to Belah to follow.

Belah paused and smiled shyly before letting her skirt fall to the ground. Nyla’s appraising look made her blush. She’d never been under such scrutiny by one of her pets before. They were always deferential and ready to do her bidding, but she decided she liked seeing this more direct, critical side of Nyla. She would make a good mother.

In fact, Belah decided that if the day went well and she had the right opportunity, she would love to secretly bless Nyla’s unborn child. This would be the perfect opportunity for such a thing. It might be her last chance to do it, too, if Nyla and Zeb decided to leave the harem before the child was born.