The Barbarian's Captive (30 page)

The room erupted, as he knew it would.

“Kerr.”

He looked down to where Eva knelt, her hand clutched in his tunic. He bent to hear her over the din. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to cause more strife. I’ll accept the decision of the elders.”

“You do not know this, never having been in this chamber before, but there is always strife. Another burden the Princep bears.” He gave her a sly grin. “Now hush, my troublesome mate, and let me see to your protection.”

He signaled to Trask. “Remove the elders, general. If they protest, call the sheriff and have these two”—the pair of scowling elders visibly paled as Kerr pointed at them—”charged with obstruction.”

“With pleasure,” he replied, striding to the disgruntled men. With his arm extended to the door, Trask added his own personal invitation. “Leave now, councilmen, or I will see that you do so myself.”

They and the others filed out of the room. Passing the flail to Kerr, the bailiff left as well, closing the doors behind him.

In the nearly silent room, Kerr once again extended his hand to her. She took it trustingly, knowing the punishment she would soon bear. He had a surprise for her though as he led her to the wall beside the door, where hooks for cloaks and hats were imbedded in the wood.

She eyed them skeptically, plainly unsure how he meant to proceed.

“Look at me.”

Immediately, she turned to face him.

“Udo was right in one respect. The people will expect discipline for your role in this debacle. Do you accept that it is my right as your mate to punish you?”

“Yes, Kerr. I screwed up.”

“You did at that, Eva. Though I’ve made it easier on both of us by clearing the room, this will be a true punishment, and I’ll expect that you obey my every command.”

“I will. I promise.”

He untied the belted robe at her waist and slipped it from her shoulders. He slid his hand up the silken skin of her arm, caressing her cheek, his thumb stroking her lips.

“Before you turn and face the wall, I want you to give me a kiss to seal that vow.” She lifted her face to his, her soft mouth pressing against his own. Tentatively, her tongue came out and touched his lips. That small taste spurred his hunger for more and he took her into his arms, his mouth opening over hers, searching the warm recesses with his tongue until she clung to him. His desire for her exploded, but alas, he could delay no longer.

“Reach above your head and grab a hook with each hand. I also want you to spread your legs and prepare to be well-punished.”

She didn’t hesitate, clasping the wood toggles with shaking hands as she moved her feet apart.

“You should have come and asked me about Zalina,” he said by her ear as he leaned into her back, pressing her breasts to the wall and nudging her legs a bit wider. “Never withhold your fears from me again, Eva.”

“I won’t, and to prove it, I must say… I’m a little afraid right now.”

“But you trust me to care for you?”

“I do.”

“Good, let’s get this done and back to our suite where I can continue my recovery — while embedded deeply in your body.”

As a tremor raced through her, he stepped back and shook out the leather flail. With the flick of his wrist, he sent the multi-tailed, medium weight lash snapping across her creamy flesh. She took it well, the only reaction a slightly indrawn breath.

That’s my brave mate.

The tightness in his face relaxed as his lips lifted into a slight smile of approval. He didn’t revel in it yet, with punishment still due. Upping the velocity of each stroke, he applied the flogger to her bottom, focused on bringing a rosy red tint to her flesh. Next, he moved it upward, laying the tails smartly across her smooth back, watching as she arched her supple body, gasping or moaning with each blow.

After a dozen, he dropped his arm and with a back-handed motion, flicked it across both thighs. Her head fell back and a low groan echoed through the room. Kerr stopped immediately because, decidedly masculine, the sound hadn’t come from his mate.

He moved forward, his entire length pressing against her body as he ran a hand gently over her abraded skin, offering calm reassurance as without turning, he snapped at his audience.

“If the prima can control herself and endure this with grace, I expect much more out of each one of you. In particular, silence. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Princep,” was the softly murmured reply. He wasn’t sure who said it and he didn’t care. Another such outburst and he would remove them all.

His attention returned to Eva as he whispered in her ear. “Forget them,
anisa meo
. Think only of me and the pride you’ve instilled in me with your courage. So beautiful, my sprite, and incredibly beloved.”

She turned her head, her half lidded eyes gleaming with passion. “I’m on fire,” was her whispered confession, “but not from the lash.”

Running his chin along the curve of her shoulder, he licked up the side of her neck until he reached her ear. His teeth claimed the lobe and tugged firmly, closing his eyes at the husky whimper that emitted softly from her throat.

“Patience, my mate. I’ll see to that fire after we finish here. Because we must to get beyond this.”

“I understand, Kerr. Finish it. I’m ready.”

“So beautiful,” he repeated, before he moved back and shook out the tangled laces.

For the final count of ten, he concentrated repeatedly on the sweet lower curve of her glorious behind. His already hard cock turning as rigid as steel while he watched her lean ever so slightly into each stroke. Chemistry and testing aside, this alone proved she was perfectly matched to him.

Except for the soft rush of her accelerated breath, by the time his arm came to a halt, the room was once again silent. The final tally had reached forty and her backside glowed a dusky shade of red, yet without a single bruise or cut.

As he stepped back, he swayed from the exertion, shaking his head in the negative when Trask took a step forward to help. Holding out the wooden handle, he passed the flogger to his general as the other witnesses quietly filed out.

“I’ll need some time.”

“You won’t be disturbed. I’ll see to it,” Trask murmured, as he closed the doors.

Kerr knew he would beat anyone off with his bare fists rather than allowing them to enter the chamber. He moved behind her, the heat of her skin penetrating his clothes.

“I need you, mate,” he groaned into her hair, inhaling. When he moved it aside to kiss her neck, he froze, seeing it for the first time.

“You bear… my mark. When?”

“I’m not exactly sure, although I think it happened the day I left you. At the transporter, at the eleventh hour, I changed my mind. I wanted to stay. That was the moment I became wholly yours. It burned and almost doubled me over. I’ll never forget it.”

“A similar thing happened to me in the mines. A pain in my side and a burning that almost brought me to my knees.”

She looked back at him, eyes wide. “That’s where Zalina shot me! Well, stunned me.”

He placed his fingers on her side, on the exact spot where he had felt the pain. Her flesh still bore the bruises there. “She will pay for this, Eva.”

“Can’t you exile her? Or even better, mate her for life to someone with bad breath? She is spiteful, though she did it out of love for you. That I can understand — but it still hurt like hell.”

“I’ll think on a fitting punishment, sprite.”

His fingers rose to his marking, so beautiful and dark against her fair skin. He licked over the familiar symbol, hearing her moan as his tongue traced the pattern. “Is it sensitive?”

“Only to your touch. Just now.”

He turned her to face him, meeting her passion-filled eyes. “I was right all along. You were meant for me. Across this huge, limitless universe, you were sent to that planet for me to find that day.”

“Yes, you were right — but where I’m from, it’s rude to say I told you so.”

He grinned, swooping down to claim her lips in a heated kiss as his hands slid to her breasts, rolling the tips into peaks, before gliding down over her hips and pulling her in closer.

“Take me here, Kerr. My body is alive with sensation from the lash, and your touch. Your kisses set me on fire. Don’t punish me more by making me wait. I said I was sorry.”

“You sound like you have the separation fever.”

“I
do
. It’s been an eternity since you’ve had me.”

“By my count it’s been two cycles. My kisses should hold you over until we get upstairs.”

“No, I need more. Now, please.”

“Such a demanding mate.” He hooked one of her legs around his hip, undoing his pants and surging up inside her. “Will this do?”

“
Yessss.
”

Her groan of pleasure only made him want her more, and he drove into her again, wrapping her free leg around his other hip, spreading her wide, pressing even deeper inside her. “More?”

“Please!”

He took every bit of his strength and poured it into each potent thrust.

“That’s it, Max Kerr!” she cried. “I’m going to come!”

Keeping the pace, he looked down at her, seeing her eyes fixated over his shoulder. “What are you staring at?”

“Your chair.”

“My chair? Eva, are you delirious?”

“No,” she murmured, smiling dreamily. “I’m fantasizing about you.” Her breath brushed hotly over his neck as she spoke of the image in her mind. “Seated in your throne of power, as your strife-ridden council bickers over some silly rule, whenever your gaze falls upon this spot, beneath the coat rack, you’ll remember this moment. How you heated my skin with your leather”—her tongue slipped out and trailed along the edges of his marking—”then took me hard and fast against the wall, making me scream your name as I flew apart in your arms.” She sucked on his skin, wet, hot, incredible. “I dare say from now on your meetings will be… brief.”

She was right. The room, that wall, would forever be her own.

He’d never win another point of order again.

Incited by her seductive words and husky tone, he slammed into her, his cock claiming her body as his mouth took her lips, driving into her relentlessly until she did as she prophesied, crying out his name, a great shudder shaking her body as she found her release. “
Anisa meo
,” he growled into her hair as he filled her with his seed.

He bent his head and licked up the side of her neck, turnabout being fair play in sensual torture, knowing that his marking on her skin had become a new erogenous zone for her. It worked, her grip tightening on his hair, her arms and legs flexing around him, her inner muscles grasping him hotly as she came once more, one last delighted cry of ecstasy against his ear.

Chapter 19

K
err spent the rest of the day in bed, leaving it the following morning despite both his mate’s and his healer’s strident objections.

“I’ve rested enough; I have important matters to see to.”

“You can hardly call what you did in that bed
rest
, Kerr. You wouldn’t let me up — or leave me alone.”

He grinned at her, his amused eyes flicking to Jarlan, as if to remind her that the healer was there.

“After living on this planet for weeks and doing the things required of me, for you and by your physic, I have no modesty left.” She whirled and faced the other man. “Four times he took me and that doesn’t include the, um, oral exchanges. Does that sound like rest?”

“No, but it does sound like a man with a great deal of stamina. You’re cleared to return to regular activity.”

“What?” she protested. “Jarlan, you can’t be serious. He almost
died
two days ago.”

“Eva,” Kerr murmured, pulling her close. “I’m fine. Perhaps you should stay and rest though. You’re a little…” He paused, searching for a safe word that wouldn’t upset her further.

Jarlan smiled. “Hysterical?”

“Fine!” she threw up her hands and stalked away from both of them. “But if you have a relapse, don’t come asking me to fix you again.”

“Mate.” He followed to where she stood, fuming at the windows, her back to them. Jarlan took that as his cue to leave and did so discreetly.

After the door closed, he curled his hands around her shoulders, using his chin to move her hair to the side, exposing her mark — his mark — and kissed her there, feeling her tremble beneath his hands as he did.

“You’d let me suffer over a silly disagreement?” With flicks of his tongue, he traced the elaborate curling and twisting lines of his crest, barely suppressing a groan at her delicious taste.

“I don’t think you lying near death is silly, Kerr.”

As he latched onto the side of her neck, his arms wound around her, feeling the tension in her body melt away. “Forgive me for teasing.”

Turning in his arms, she lifted her mouth as he lowered his, devouring each other with lips and tongue, both hands driving into the other’s long hair, something neither could resist.

When they were both breathless, he broke the kiss, unable to linger and take things further, no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn’t miss his upcoming meeting. He didn’t want to be away from her just yet though, not even briefly. Perhaps it was due to some residual effects of the sickness, but he decided to bring her along. She had a vested interest in the meeting’s outcome, after all.

“How would you like to come with me? You can watch me for this relapse you’re so worried about.”

“To one of your meetings?” Surprise combined with eager excitement shone in her eyes.

“Yes. In fact, I’d value your input on what will be discussed.”

Her smile was radiant. “I’d love to come.”

* * *

H
is hand wrapped around her smaller one as he led her through the busy first floor. It was a familiar path, though the last time she’d traversed the crowded public space had been under much more unpleasant circumstances. When they entered the Council room, her eyes went immediately to the left of the door — and the coat hooks. She could barely contain her grin at the pleasant memories filling her mind.