Royal Obsession (10 page)

She stepped forward and scanned open the door.

“How the hell did you do that?”

She heard Aila’s question just before the door slid closed.

E’Lanna, are you alone?

Yes. What’s going on?

Don’t speak. Just broadcast your signal. I’m on my way
.

“Commander, we have a problem.”

Varrik looked away from his sparring partner for just a moment, and the lad kicked him in the chest. His companions laughed and slapped him on the back. “That’s called a cheap shot. Keep practicing and you might not need them quite so often.” He tossed the staff to one of the other trainers and left the sparring field.

“What’s wrong?” He rubbed his chest as he approached Minekus, the head of security.

“Aila set off a general distress in your quarters. We responded to find her chained to your bed.”

“Where was my mate?” He pulled his shirt off and dried his face on it as they rushed from the common room.

“She released her sister. They’re loose somewhere in the maze.”

“What?” He shot the other man a disbelieving glare. “How did she open the holding cell?”

“You must have bagged a shifter, sir. According to Aila, she transformed long enough to scan open the door.”

“Gods damn her! Nothing in my research indicated she could shift. Is Aila harmed?”

“She’s got a massive lump on the side of her head, but she’ll survive.”

“Is the maze in lockdown?”

“Yes, sir. It’s just a matter of time before we find them.”

Varrik acknowledged Minekus’s confidence with a stiff nod. “Check the arrival deck. They were pretty out of it when we were there, but they’ll stick with what’s familiar. I’ll double back toward the crystal chamber.”

Minekus hurried off in the opposite direction.

A shifter. The development pleased Varrik far more than he cared to admit. Shapeshifting was among the rarest and most coveted abilities. What if she could Summon the Storm? His eyes widened, and he ran. It generally took twenty cycles of training to master long-range teleportation. What if she had been mentored in secret so her abilities weren’t widely known? His pulse thundered in his ears and his muscles strained. He had to find them, had to find
her
.

He rounded a corner and skittered to a stop. E’Lanna stood passively between two guards, while Echo fought off the third. She drove him backward with a brutal kick to his belly, then crouched, ready to strike again. He swung, his fingers tightly balled. She easily avoided the blow.

“Having fun?” he asked loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. To her credit, Echo’s gaze remained fixed on her opponent.

“This one needs to be whipped,” her adversary snarled.

She caught him in the throat with a quick, sharp jab. He collapsed at her feet. She launched herself at one of the other guards, but Varrik intercepted her flight. She brought up her knee with vicious intent. He twisted, taking the impact on his thigh.

He whipped her around, crossing her arms at the small of her back. She leaned forward, then slammed her head back into his chest. He arched and turned without releasing her arms. Her head barely missed his chin.

“Enough!” Using his weight and her awkward position to buckle her knees, he took her down to the floor. E’Lanna cried out in alarm, and Echo stiffened. “Unless you want her to watch your punishment, you’ll stop this right now.” He whispered the threat in Echo’s ear, and she immediately went still. “Return that one to the holding cell and notify Minekus that my twins have been recovered.”

“When does this one go in the lottery?” one of the guards asked.

“When I clear her and not before. Now, move!”

One of the guards escorted E’Lanna, while the other helped their felled comrade back to his feet. Varrik waited until they turned the corner before he loosened his hold on Echo. He pulled her up, keeping her arms secured at the small of her back.

“I suppose blindfolding you would be pointless. You’ve already been down this corridor.”

She said nothing.

He took her directly to his chamber and placed her near the foot of his bed. When he turned her to face him, he found tears pooled behind her lashes. Still, he couldn’t allow himself to be moved by her obvious distress.

With a mental pulse, he triggered a compartment in the ceiling and released alloy restraints. He raised her arm and snapped a cuff around her wrist. She just stared at him, silent and still. After securing her other arm, he stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back.

“List your abilities. All of them. Now.”

“I don’t sing worth shit, but I bake a mean blanterberry pie.”

Without changing his expression, he ripped the shoulder seams of her dress. The material swooshed down her slender body and pooled around her ankles. “I could whip you, as my friend suggested, but I suspect you’d like it. When I slapped your ass last night, your moans had nothing to do with pain.” The taunt penetrated her façade. Her lips trembled, and she quickly pressed them together. “I don’t blame you for trying to escape. If the situation were reversed, I would do the same.”

“If you really intend to secure a future for your son, the change must start with you.” Her conviction shocked him. She stood there naked, chained and helpless, yet dared to criticize him.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and sneered into her face. “Don’t pretend to understand our ways. You know nothing about the world below.”

“So explain it to me.” She licked her lips and stared into his eyes, undeterred by his anger or her helplessness. “What keeps you from recruiting others and moving against—”

He silenced her with his mouth, unwilling to listen to the words he’d heard so often in the back of his own mind. Sekall had died attempting to bring about change. This cause had plenty of martyrs. It needed a champion.

“Who trained you in hand-to-hand combat?” His fingers relaxed without releasing her hair. Her lips were rosy from his rough kiss, and he refused to look lower. This was an interrogation. His information was clearly incomplete. “The woman I encountered in the corridor was a soldier, not a princess.”

“Can you trust those men to leave E’Lanna alone?”

“You need to worry about me right now, not E’Lanna.”

“I can take care of myself.” Her chin rose, inadvertently increasing the tension on her hair. “E’Lanna is every inch the sheltered princess.”

“Answer my question.” Her gaze grew distant for a moment. He sensed a flash of telepathic energy. Then it was gone. “Is she okay?”

“She’s worried about me.”

“Smart girl. I’m still waiting for your answer.”

“We both received basic defense training. I found it fascinating and continued after E’Lanna lost interest.”

He suspected there was more to it than that. Echo had been fearless from the start. Only experience in highly volatile situations afforded someone that kind of composure. Arguing with her was pointless, so he moved on to the next revelation.

“Aila said you used her likeness to scan open the doors. What other Mystic abilities do you possess?”

Rebellion flared within her gaze. “I gain nothing by telling you. My body might respond to your skill, but I will resist you with my dying breath.”

He dragged his fingers out of her hair and shook his head. “It is physically impossible to escape this place. Each time you try, people will get hurt. I can’t allow your belligerence.”

“Then punish me,” she snapped. “I’m tired of this conversation.”

Did Echo want to be punished? Was that why she continued to provoke him? Varrik studied her defiant expression then allowed his gaze to descend. Her nipples had been pebble hard since he ripped the gown from her body. The faint sheen of cream had already gathered on her folds. If she was as inexperienced as he believed, she might not know what she needed to attain the heights of pleasure. Should he leave her restrained and test her responses?

He closed his eyes and let images roll though his mind. His cock ached and his senses burned as he immersed himself in fantasy. Each time he took her, each new pleasure he introduced made her wilder, more willing to surrender. He released a slow, controlled breath and opened his eyes. As much as the idea appealed to him, he pushed it aside. Better to seduce her gradually. If she accepted a fundamental joining, then he would move on to more exotic pleasures.

“As much as I’d enjoy punishing you, I’d rather come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”

She just stared at him.

“I want your willing participation and your vow that you will not attempt to escape.”

“I don’t understand.” She worried her bottom lip, confusion tempering her rebellious expression.

“You have something I want, and I have something you want. Isn’t that the basis for most negotiations?”

“What do you have that I want?”

He felt a smile tug at one corner of his mouth. “You aren’t going to ask what you have that I want?”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got that figured out.”

He nodded, his spark of playfulness exhausted. “I will release your sister in five days, if you spend those five days with me. I will expect you to
willingly
participate in any and all intimacies for the full five days.”

“What happens to me at the end of the five days?”

“That would depend.”

“On whether or not I’m pregnant?” He gave a quick nod. “If I’m not?”

“It will likely take longer than five days to make that determination, but I will only require your submission for five days.”

“That didn’t answer the question.” Her tone was sharp. Her fingers clenched into tight little fists. “If I’m not pregnant after five days, will you release both of us?”

“I will, but you must vow to stop fighting me in all things, for five days.”

“Release E’Lanna now.”

He shook his head and moved closer. “I’m not a fool. If I release her now, what motivation do you have to behave?”

“How do I know you’ll actually release her? I could do everything you ask, and you could still give her to one of your men.”

“Yes, I could. But I won’t. When I give my word, I keep it. Last night should have proved that to you.” He paused as his gaze swept over her body. “You’re utterly helpless, Echo. All I have to do is finish what I started before.”

She licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “Why…don’t you?”

“I don’t want my son to be conceived in violence. If you submit to me for five days, I will release your sister. Are we agreed?”

He held his breath as he waited for Echo’s answer. His secret hope, his grand design all hinged on this woman. Spirited, passionate, she would empower his son with centuries of noble breeding and Mystic power.

“Do I have to wear the cuffs?”

“For now.” Having her restrained excited him. Still, her willing submission would please him even more.

“What do you want me to do?”

Desire tripled his pulse for an instant before he could breathe past the tension in his chest. Had she agreed, or was she still negotiating? He deactivated the ceiling cuffs and nodded toward the bed behind her. “Lie down.”

With one last hesitation, she kicked off her slippers and crawled onto the bed. She knelt facing him with her hands folded in her lap.

Perfection. Golden-brown hair framed her delicate face, streamed across her shoulders and down her back. One wavy lock followed the contour of her breast, drawing his gaze to her nipple. Allowing his gaze to wander over her body, he pulled off his boots, his socks, and shucked his pants. He joined her in the middle of the bed, his hands balled into fists.

“I would hear your vow,” he prompted.

“To secure my sister’s freedom, I will surrender my body to you for five days.”

He chuckled, unable to help himself. She wanted to make damn sure he understood why she was doing this. “Will you stop all attempts to escape?”

“I will.”

“Will you offer your participation willingly?”

“I already said I would.”

“I need to hear you say it. I do this willingly.”

Brushing her hair off her forehead, she muttered, “I do this willingly.”

He gathered her hair and shifted the entire mass behind her back, then released the bed chains and drew the wrist cuffs in front of her.

“You required my willing participation. Why do I need to be restrained?”

“Your instincts will tell you to fight. I can’t expect you to subdue your own nature. Once you’re able to respond with the restraints, I will consider releasing you.” With obvious reluctance, she allowed him to cuff her wrists.

He swept her legs out from under her and laid her on the bed. Following her down, he slipped one arm under her neck and stretched out along her side. His mouth settled over hers, and their conversation ended. She’d instinctively raised her arms above her head, already growing accustomed to the restraints.

She allowed his kiss, accepted his tongue, but the response she’d offered the night before was gone. He splayed his fingers against her warm torso, rubbing the underside of one breast. She shifted restlessly, still he felt her reserve.