Master of Desire (7 page)

31

Lacey Alexander

Around her, carts stood at the ready—and dear Ares, she’d never seen so many horses in one place! All the wagons were drawn  by the rare and expensive animals. The conveyances were painted in bright hues, strung with more of the colored streamers and flowers that befitted a royal bride. One  young girl lifted a  wreath of daisies onto  Teesia’s head—matching perfectly the flowing  silk dress of pale yellow made by Bella especially for this day, for the Giving Ceremony and the departure to her new existence.

Overcome, she dared smile up at Ralen,  her hand still wrapped tightly in  his .

He did not return it. Her heart sank.

Thankful when he led her to a particularly  grand cart the color of ripe red apples, she stared up at him. “So this is how we are  to  be?  We  are  to  have  an  unhappy  unionbecause you doubt my virtue?”

“We are to have an unhappy marriage because I have discovered my wife-to-be is a liar with no regard to duty or loyalty.  How can I put any trust in such a woman?”

“Look into my eyes,” she said earnestly,  “and you’ll see that my desire for you is real and my claims true.”

“I looked into your eyes in that dark hallway, vixen, and what I saw there was uncontained lust.”

“For
 
you
.”

“I could have been any man.”

She shook her head. “From the moment I saw you, I wanted you in a way I wanted

no one else.”

“You should  save your pretty lies, vixen.” His eyes narrowed into  thin slits. “In fact,

you should save
 
all
 
your strength, in every way.”

She swallowed, feeling threatened by his  forbidding tone. “What do you mean?”

“You’re going to
 
need
 
strength after we wed.”

“For?”

“I have plans for you, my  little wanton. Wanton you may be, but before I’m  through with your punishment, you shall understand  that you will be a wanton only for your husband.”

“You
 
are
 
the only man I wish to  be with, Ralen!” Why couldn’t the insufferable

brute get that through his head?

“No, my vixen bride, you don’t understand.”

That was true—she didn’t understand
 
any
 
of this. “What are you talking about?”

“When I am through with your training,” he  said slowly, his dark eyes gleaming with menace beneath the morning sun, “you  will know of no  other lust than for me.  You will be able to conceive of pleasing no one else. You will do whatever I wish, whenever I wish it. You will no longer be capable of having sexual thoughts  or desires that are not brought about solely by me. I  will be your master, Teesia, and you will be my slave. My sex slave.”

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Master of Desire

Teesia felt faint. At once, her stomach  roiled with revulsion and fear even as her nerve endings stood on end, prickling with a left-over hint of anticipation.

“Now, into the cart with you,” he said,  motioning toward the red conveyance that sported a leather awning for shade.

She could barely speak around  the lump that had grown in her throat. “Will you be riding with me?”

He gave his head a short shake as a wry chuckle left him. “I think not,  vixen. I don’t desire your company, I’m afraid.”

* * * * *

The ride in the horse-drawn cart was lonely, even with various members of Ralen’sparty occasionally happening past to greet  her, some giving her  more flowers, others bringing snacks of cheeses and sweet breads  for sustenance on the journey.

One handsome young man who introduced  himself as Laene explained to her thatthey would arrive in Charelton by midday tomorrow.

“So soon?” she exclaimed. She could have sworn Charelton lay farther away.

“Horses make the travel much faster, Lady  Teesia.” He motioned slightly to the mount he rode alongside her wagon.

She felt silly, for it was so obvious. But she’d never traveled in a  caravan with somany horses that the speed of movement  was increased. “Of course,” she said, rather flattered by the way he’d addressed her, and wondering if Ralen would appreciate the designation as much.

Laene smiled, his pale blue eyes striking  beneath a swatch of messy blond hair. “So you shall be Ralen’s bride by tomorrow eve.”

“Oh,” she  said on a heavy breath, trying  to appear happy rather than horrified. Shestill couldn’t believe how catastrophically her betrothal had turned  out. What yesterday had seemed dreamlike had now become a hideous nightmare of the unknown. She’d counted on having a  much longer journey to absorb all that had happened, and tosomehow try to prepare herself for the sexual punishment her husband-to-be plannedto deal out. She had no  idea how one could even
 
turn
 
sex into punishment. According to Bella, sex was always a wondrous, joyful  thing shared between willing participantswho wished to experience pleasure together. Could sex ever be a
 
bad
 
thing?

Then she shivered with the thought that Ralen had certainly succeeded in making it

sound
 
rather ominous.

“Breeze chilling you?” Laene asked from his mount.  In her terror, she’d nearly forgotten his presence.  “The roof can be removed if you’d prefer the sun.”

She glanced up to the awning and forced  a pleasant shake of  her head at the

handsome Laene. “No, no, I prefer the shade.  Thank you, though.”

33

Lacey Alexander

That night, when the caravan stopped to camp, Teesia had no idea  what to expect.

She soon got her answer, however, when a young woman with silky chestnut-colored tresses approached and announced she was to  accompany Teesia to her tent.  Teesia followed and found a sizable space with a bed erected, as well as a dressing table complete with a small viewing glass. Under  other circumstances, she’d have thought it very luxurious traveling accommodations.

“My name is Shaena,” the woman said, offering a friendly smile within theshadows of the tent, “and I am to be your maid.”

Teesia worked to return a smile. It wasn’t  Shaena’s fault her employer was an ogre.  “I’m happy to meet you, Shaena.”

“I cannot tell you how honored  I was when Ralen appointed  me to this position.  I shall work hard to please you in every way.”

“I’m sure you shall.” Teesia liked the  young woman’s earnest  brown eyes and ready grin. The leather frock that wrapped Shaena’s thin frame revealed soft cleavagedarkened by the sun,  and her arms and legs were tanned, as well, but  there was something very natural about the girl that made  Teesia  think the look attractive on her, even if not fully in fashion—well, at least  not in Myrtell. It suddenly occurred to herhow little she knew of the world beyond  her homeland—the world she was set to become a part of.

“Shall I undress you now?” Shaena asked.

Teesia nodded. She loved her yellow silk frock, but the day it had been made for had not turned out as she’d expected  and she was well-ready to shed it.

Approaching, Shaena untied the gold cord that circled Teesia’s waist, then drew the yellow silk off over  her head. The maid’s eyes  gravitated toward Teesia’s breasts and it briefly reminded her of all she’d learned from Bella yesterday—perhaps because Shaena’s gaze held the same sense of sensuality as her friend’s. “Do you wish a bath this evening? We did not bring a  bathing tub on the journey, but I would be happy togive you a cool sponge bath if you like.”

“That sounds refreshing, yes.”

Teesia sat naked in the chair at the dressing  table waiting for Shaena to return with  a sponge, the softening night air of the coast  wafting through the tent to make her skin prickle and nipples pucker. When the tent flap opened, for a brief second she thought— even hoped—it might be Ralen, coming to  mend things with her. She had the instant  thought that maybe seeing her like this, bare  from head to toe, might excite him and even somehow endear  her to him, making him forget all this silly sex slave business.

But, of course, it was only her new maid  bearing a ewer of water  and a sea sponge.  She came to stand behind Teesia so that their eyes met in the viewing glass as Shaena  began to run the cool brownish  sponge over Teesia’s skin.

“How is it that Ralen has so many horses?” she found herself asking. She’d been  wondering about it since meeting the caravan  early this morning, but until now, graver  topics had kept her mind fully occupied.

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Master of Desire

Shaena smoothed the  sponge down the length of Teesia’s arm.  “Ralen believes horses are the future of travel, not to mention warfare. He is breeding them with great success on his estate.”

Despite herself, Teesia  was fascinated.  She’d always loved horses, but even her father—the ruler of all Caralon—only owned  a stable of ten or so of the  expensiveanimals. The idea of living in a place so rich with them appealed immensely. Perhaps they would provide her with  some much-needed cheer.

“Forgive me if this is out of line,” Shaena  said, “but you look sad. Especially for a woman who’s marrying a strong, wealthy  man like Ralen.” When Teesia didn’t answer—unable to come up with any simple  way to explain, Shaena went on. “Ralen’sfortress is very fine, filled with every luxury. And we are all pleased that he’s taking a bride, so you shall be very welcomed.”

Teesia tried for a smile in the jagged viewing glass as Shaena’s sponge circled one round breast, sending a slight shiver through her. “Yes, I already feel welcome,” she said, knowing that, despite her words, she still sounded distressed. Her new maid would probably think her quite odd.

“Then why so sad?” Shaena’s expression spilled true concern. She tilted her head behind Teesia, and added in a softened tone, “Is it because you have heard rumors about Ralen? About his…well, I shouldn’t say this, but about his tastes in  fucking? Don’t fear them, Teesia, for he will be gentle with you.”

Teesia blinked and drew in her breath  sharply. “How can you say that? I mean,

how can you know what he plans?”

Shaena abandoned the sponge and drew up a nearby stool to sit next to her.  Reaching out, she took  Teesia’s hands. “Ralen and I are the same age—twenty-nine. I  grew up on his estate —my parents served his parents,  and now
 
I
 
serve
 
him
. We played together as  children and I know him well,  better than  most mere servants. He has spoken to me about your impending marriage  and I know he wishes to please you, in  bed and out. He can be very fierce, yes—but  there are other sides to him, as well.”

“You don’t understand,” Teesia said, shaking her head. “Any wish Ralen had to  please me died this morning.”

Shaena’s back straightened. “Oh?”

Embarrassed, but seeing no reason not to  tell Shaena the tale, she relayed the story of her first meeting with her  bridegroom, getting so caught up in  the pleasant memory that she  spared no details about how wild  Ralen’s touch had  made her feel, how shehad come for him in front of the enormous viewing glass in her brother-in-law’s fortress to the north. “Now he says he intends to  punish me,” she concluded, “to make sure  I know I belong to him. He wishes to make me his sexual slave.”

Shaena’s brows knitted with concern, and even as she used her thumbs to caress the sensitive skin atop Teesia’s hands, she seemed unable to find words of comfort.

“Then it’s as bad as I suspect,” Teesia concluded.

35

Lacey Alexander

Shaena sighed. “As I said, Ralen can be very  ferocious, and I fear you’ve roused that part of him. You have to understand, he’s not had an easy life.”

Ralen? She hardly believed
 
that
. “But he’s rich. As rich  as my father, from what I can tell. I would suppose his life has been much like mine, but better—since he is a man, with all the advantages that entails.” Although her mother had taught Teesia and her sisters to respect themselves, and though her  father treated Jalal as his peer, women in  Caralon were often considered possessions  to their husbands—which was, perhaps, why many simply chose not to marry. Although  seen as equals in sexual play, women were not always shown the same respect in other aspects of life.

“Sometimes money does not mean happiness, Teesia.”

“What was so horrible for Ralen?” The question came out sounding like an accusation, but she didn’t care—what could have  been  so  awful  to  make  him  treat  herso terribly?

“He once loved a girl. Another maid, a friend of mine named Banya. But when heannounced his intent to marry her, his father, Granick, paid her a great sum not to, thinking  her far below his son.  She left Charelton without even saying goodbye. Ralen had expected as much from his father—it was
 
Banya
’s betrayal that wounded him sodeeply. Since then…well, I’m afraid it doesn’t take much to destroy his faith in someone, especially a woman.”

Teesia supposed that explained his overreaction to their previous encounter, but it hardly helped her situation. “I understand  his hurt, but I still don’t understand hisability to be  so cruel to  me.”