A growl escaped Sabar’s lips. “How long has she been like that?”
“Since two hours before first sunrise.” The words were whispered with a hint of fear.
Rage, hot and fierce, flowed through him. She’d been like that for hours. Hours upon hours of pain had been inflicted upon his little mate. A hoarse growl rolled up his chest. He took the step that separated him from the other male and grabbed the front of his shirt. “You will be beaten for this, Tannard. If you live, you will be a lucky man. I will see your flesh cut from your bones with a whip and see you staked out in the sun for the damage you’ve done to her.”
A soft whimper brought his anger to a quick end. It left his body as the blood drained from his face. He could deal with the servant later. At that moment, Rella needed him more than his sense of revenge needed to be quenched. “You will lock yourself in your room until I come to collect you. And, Tannard. You better be there when I come looking for you. If you try to run to my parents, you will be very, very sorry.”
Three quick strides brought Sabar back to his room. As soon as his gaze fell on Rella again, his anger melted, leaving him with nothing but pity and concern. His heart clenched at the agony he could see written on her face. She hadn’t moved and hadn’t looked at him, even though he was fairly certain he’d been yelling in the hallway.
Gods, please let her be okay.
“Rella?”
She didn’t even flinch at her name. His concern turned to panic. He knew she was conscious because she was still on her knees, but then why wasn’t she responding to him? With infinite care he touched her arm, prepared to pick her up and take her to the bathing room to wash off the oil. Her reaction was so violent he jerked his hand back immediately.
An animalistic cry of pain erupted from her lips the moment his skin touched hers. She jerked away from his hand, trembling. Her eyes opened and he cringed at the pained haze he saw in her wide gaze. Her body wracked with tremors enough that her teeth clattered together. She started mumbling something, but he had to lean in until his ear was almost touching her lips before he could understand what she was saying.
“I’m sorry, I’ll stay on my knees, please don’t whip me. I promise I’ll be perfectly still. Please, I can’t take a whipping now. Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to move. I won’t again.”
Her voice trailed off but her lips still moved, mouthing much of the same. His anger rose again and only her predicament kept him from going after Tannard and killing him. With a quick breath, he decided that a shower would be the fastest way to remove the oil from her skin, but that would mean he either soaked the clothing he had on, or he would end up covered in the oil as well. Destroying a set of clothes was far better than the effects he would suffer.
A quick run into the bathing room to start the shower gave him a moment to settle his nerves. He needed to be completely centered and ready to deal with her panic. He removed his boots quickly and grabbed a set of gloves.
It would take him ten long strides from her kneeling position into the shower. Ten torturous, difficult, gut-wrenching steps from where she currently huddled to where he could start to fix this. One last breath was all he gave himself before he reached down and grasped her arms in a firm grip. He wasn’t prepared for the scream of agony that she unleashed when he touched her, but this time he didn’t back away. Instead he used his strength to pick her up and carry her in front of him like she was a dangerous package, keeping her feet off the floor but not pressing her to his body.
After the initial scream she dissolved into whimpers. Each step he took pulled another sound from her. She babbled incoherently while he rushed into the bathing room. He walked them straight into the shower and endured another soul-shattering scream when the water hit her skin.
“It will be better soon. I’m so sorry, Rella. Gods, I’m so sorry. Shh, little girl. Just let the water and soap wash off the oil.” He continued a litany of soothing nonsense as he propped her up against his body under the water.
He washed her as fast as he could, rubbing the soap over her sensitive skin. He held her with one arm as he worked the lather over her body with the other hand. Tremors shook her so hard in his grasp that he feared he would drop her. After washing her back, he turned her in his arms, focusing on her arms and chest. She moaned loudly when he washed one breast and then the other. He tried to keep his body from reacting to the sound, but his cock hardened anyway.
“Can’t come, Bana said so. Can’t let myself come.” Her mumbles had taken on a chant of sorts that he finally focused on. Her words brought a fresh bout of anger. Her sister told her she wasn’t allowed to come? She’d endured an entire day of Linax oil and hadn’t orgasmed? How was she still conscious?
Focus on her and deal with them later.
“Rella, focus for a moment. You need to come. That will release some of the hold the oil has on your body.”
“I can’t. Bana told me I couldn’t. I don’t want to make Sabar more angry with me. Have to fight it, but it hurts.” The sob that whispered across her lips made his heart ache. She obviously was hallucinating or wasn’t fully aware of the present.
How to get her to relax enough to let him help her? He continued to wash her skin, happy to see the cleaned portions of her body were starting to lose the reddened, irritated look. He turned her again in his arms so her chest rested against his. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. With tender hands he pushed her until her back hit the shower wall. He waited to make sure she would stand on her own and then bent to wash her legs. Once he was sure most of the oil had rinsed away, he reached out and, as gently as possible, released the latch on her belt. He cursed under his breath when he removed the beads from her swollen pussy. The angry red of engorged tissues made him want to hit something. Her tender lips should never have something so horrible done to them. Only gentle caresses and soft licks should be dealt to that most wonderful of feminine places.
“Oh, gods. Sabar, I hurt.”
Her words pulled his gaze to hers. Her eyes were still pinched with pain, but they were clearer than he’d seen them since he walked in the house.
“Rella, I’m so sorry this happened. I know you hurt, little girl. Let me finish washing the oil off, and then I’ll help you clear the effects from your body. Just lean on the wall for now.”
* * * *
She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the cool wall. For the first time in an eternity she could feel something other than raging pain and need. The water sluicing down her body almost felt soothing. A deep breath felt wonderful, and the moist air in the shower clung to her lips, giving her some much-needed moisture. Her body was stiff. Her joints ached like she’d been ill. Her skin still felt tingly and painful, but the worst seemed to be over.
He was washing her. Sabar, her warrior mate, the man she had run from and disgraced was on his knees washing her. His gentle ministrations brought tears to her eyes. Why was he being so nice to her? Perhaps her punishment was over. Maybe he had wanted her to suffer throughout the day and she’d passed, made it through. No matter the reason for his behavior, she was thankful. She didn’t even know what time it was, but she was sure another moment covered in that oil would have killed her.
As the pain ebbed, washed away with the residue of soap on her skin, her need started to build. Where her body had burned with the reaction to the chemicals, this building of heat was painful in a different way. Her skin erupted in goose bumps when his hand skated down her leg while he wiped down her calf. She gasped again, but this time in awareness. Her body had been tortured for hours as her arousal had turned to pain, her need turned to debilitating throbbing.
For the first time since she’d come out of her pained haze she realized she was naked, standing in his shower, and his face was inches from her pussy. A squeak escaped her lips before she could swallow it down. She hadn’t wanted to bring his attention back to her face, but he looked up quickly. Her cheeks flooded with color.
“I can finish washing myself, if you’d like.”
“No. You will stand there and let me do this for you. Your legs are shaking so badly I’m afraid you’re going to collapse already. You don’t need to be bending over and trying to scrub your legs.”
“I’m sorry, Sabar.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Now, stand there like a good girl and don’t worry about anything. We can talk after I get you clean and in my bed.”
The words “my bed” did strange things to her. She sucked in a breath between her teeth, clamping down on her lower lip to give her body something to concentrate on. Her brain was still reeling from the fast change from pain to arousal. Moments before, she’d been cringing from his touch and the light feel of water on her skin. Now she heated with the need to have his hands on her, in her. Her mind couldn’t reconcile the change, but her body didn’t need to understand to react.
She reached out a shaking hand to rest it on his shoulder. Surprise raised his head and eyebrows. She didn’t know how to verbalize the new burn she felt in her belly, and lower in her pussy. She looked at her hand and moved it slowly over his wet shirt, willing her unspoken plea to be heard. She gasped when his rough palms came to rest on her legs by her knees. His thumbs moved in small circles, drawing a raspy moan from her lips.
“Are you sure, Rella? I’m sure your skin is still sensitive from the oil. Are you sure you are ready for me?”
No, she wasn’t sure, but she ached for his touch and something so much more than just touching. She needed to feel his weight on her, pressing her into the mattress, feel his hands pinning her in place while he gave and took pleasure. She swallowed, and nodded.
“Not good enough, little girl. You need to answer me with your voice. I’m too angry at how you were treated and too crazy at seeing you in so much pain. I can’t take advantage of you tonight.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I need something so badly that I’m going to go insane if you aren’t touching me,” she whispered, closing her eyes so she could avoid his stare. “I ache for you.”
“First you will let me finish washing you. Then, I will make the ache stop, I promise.” His voice had dropped to a deep growl that sent shivers skating down her spine. His words pooled like little droplets of heat in her belly, each one adding to the fire.
Before, his hands had been gentle and caring. He’d touched her as a healer would, with compassion. Now, his movements and touches were sensual, stroking her in a way that made her warm and achy. Even though he still washed her legs, she felt each touch in the throbbing of her breasts, the tightening of her nipples and the ache in her pussy.
“You have such dainty feet. Lift for me.”
She gulped in as much air as she could and let her head fall back against the wall while lifting her foot for him. Where the coolness had felt lovely a few moments before, she felt the contrast between the chilly tiles and the hot hands moving over her skin like she was focusing her nerves, dialing in on Sabar’s fingers. There had never been anything that had felt so deliciously tempting as the feel of his palms moving over her wet skin. Another shiver raced through her body. She just hoped she could survive the rest of the shower without combusting on the spot.
Rella’s sighs and shivers were like a glass of water to someone parched. Sabar drank each one in, letting them fill the void his anger had created in his soul. The fact that she was alive, well, and coming down from the torture imposed on her was wonderful. For her to want his touch and to still respond so openly was nothing less than a miracle.
He watched the small goose bumps rise and fall as he moved his hands over her legs, rinsing the last of the oil from her skin. When she’d reached out and touched him on the shoulder, his entire body went on notice. His cock was throbbing, constricted by his soaked pants. This was his mate and he was going to consummate their union soon. His dick twitched in agreement.
When he was certain that he’d cleansed her skin and removed all the residue, he stood and turned the water off. His clothes felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, dragging down his limbs. He shed his shirt quickly, leaving it in a soggy pile in the corner of the shower. The moment he unbuttoned his pants, he heard a quiet inhalation. He glanced up and found Rella, wide-eyed and open mouthed. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. Standing still, he let her eyes roam over him. Her gaze felt like a caress, touching every inch of his chest and stomach. He could tell the moment her eyes took in the unbuttoned flap because her eyes widened more and a blush crept across her cheeks. Her eyes darted up to his for an instant and then back down to his waist.
“Do you want to see what I look like naked?”
She nodded without looking back up at his face. He chuckled as he finished unbuttoning the last clasp and hooked his thumbs in the waistband. This wouldn’t be an elegant strip-tease. The fabric clung to his skin like it’d been glued there, resisting every movement. He tried to push his pants down with a single sexy flourish, to uncover his cock and show her all of him in his warrior glory. What she got to watch was Sabar hopping around, cursing, straining to inch the material down in small jerky increments.
A moan echoed in the bathing room and he glanced up to find her, hands over her mouth, grinning at his antics. She was so beautiful standing there in nothing but her cuffs, features softened. His heart took a lurching beat before doubling in speed.
“You think this is funny? Watching your mate hobble around and laughing at him, hmm?”
She glanced up and fully smiled. It took his breath away. “Would you like me to help you?”
“Gods, yes. Come here, female, and help me peel these off.”
He watched her pause for a moment and then she walked to him, smiling sheepishly up into his face. She slid to her knees and grasped the material next to his knees and applied pressure. She tugged and he pushed until they’d worked the fabric over his hips. He grabbed them just before they dropped to the floor as a thought struck him.