Mercenaries (19 page)

Zaria whirled around, startled by his silken challenge. He smiled at her darkly.

Looking into those green eyes, she found herself aching for the distraction she knew he was more than capable of providing. Her heart began to pound. “Searle, you're dismissed.”

The guard looked startled. “But . . .”

“Go find Gemma and punish her for something,” Sebastian said without looking around. “I'm sure between the two of you, you can come up with an excuse.”

Searle drew himself up to his full height—which, she realized, was still several centimeters shorter than Sebastian. “You forget yourself, Thrall! I could have you—”

“Dismissed,” Zaria snapped, suddenly impatient with the posturing.

Searle threw her a glower, but even he didn't quite dare refuse when she used that tone. Grumbling, the guard walked out. Sebastian followed him and bolted the door.

Zaria's mouth went dry.

“You people really don't take Thralls seriously, do you?” Sebastian said, turning to study her with narrow, calculating eyes. He began stalking her, moving across the room like some big, feral cat pursuing something it could eat in one snap.

Automatically she eased back, nervously aware of his sheer size. “What do you mean?”

“I mean if I were your bodyguard, I wouldn't have left you alone with a man like me.”

She managed a casual shrug. “You're only a Thrall,” she said, though the erotic menace in his eyes was anything but submissive.

“Actually”—before she could duck away, a big hand clamped over her shoulder, spun her around, and jerked her back against his hard-muscled body—“tonight I'm not. Tonight I'm a warrior who's tricked you all into believing I'm nothing more than a Thrall. Just so I could capture my prize—a pretty Domina, left all alone.”

“Wha—?” Her surprised cry cut off as his big palm clamped over her mouth.

“None of that,” he whispered roughly. “I don't care to have my pleasure interrupted.”

It couldn't be,
Zaria thought wildly as he picked her off her feet and bore her backward toward the bed. No Dom would ever stoop to disguising himself as a Thrall.

And yet, he'd never really acted like a submissive, had he?

As he pushed her lightly down onto the mattress, Sebastian grabbed the whip she'd hung on the wall, more for decoration than anything else. Before she could even muster the will to fight, he straddled her hips and tied her wrists behind her back with the light leather lash. Zaria squirmed, shocked and titillated as he lowered his head to whisper in her ear, “There, now. Just the way I like my Thrallines.” He straightened off her.

“I'm not a . . .” But before she manage more of her instinctive protest, he'd ripped a strip of fabric from a sheet, whipped the cloth around her head, and tied it into a gag.

“Now, we really need to get rid of all this armor,” he said, and flipped her onto her back as if she weighed no more than a child's doll.

Zaria stared up at him in shock as he went to work on the front lacings of her leathers, his big hands surprisingly deft. She really should be fighting him. And yet . . .

He lifted his head and gave her a smile hot with humor and male hunger. “I'm not going to hurt you, Zaria.” His silken purr was so completely devoid of any real malice, she felt the knot of fear in her chest instantly loosen. “Though I just may fuck you until you scream for more.”

She didn't quite manage to suppress her helpless moan.

Big fingers peeled the leather cups away from her breasts to fondle the soft mounds possessively. “Oh, yeah,” he said, as he squeezed her nipples. “God, I've been dying to get my hands on these.” That grin flashed again. “Along with my lips, my tongue, my teeth, and my dick.” He rolled the little peaks, watching her face closely as she squirmed. Ten Gods, it felt good. “Mmmm. These are delicious. Ever been tit fucked?”

She blinked at him.

Sebastian laughed. “I'll take that as a no.” Lowering his head, he gave one nipple a sampling lick that sent pleasure shivering through her body. “Ooooh, yeah,” he said. “That tastes as good as I expected.” He watched the peak draw tight and pink with her growing hunger. “I do believe I want more. And I'm going to get it.”

Closing his clever mouth over her, he suckled hungrily. Zaria gasped behind her gag as her cunt throbbed with every erotic pull of his lips. Simultaneously his tongue flicked her nipple, pressing it up against his teeth, then raking with gentle bites.

She felt dizzy, overwhelmed, as if she'd fallen into one of her own dark fantasies. She had no idea whether he really was a Dom, or simply a Thrall who yearned to dominate as much as she longed to submit.

And she realized she didn't care, because she was more aroused than she'd ever been in her life. He was giving her exactly what she'd always wanted. Exactly what she'd always dreamed of.

Need surged through her, hot and reckless. She knew she might never again get a chance to experience what it was like to yield to a man. And she meant to enjoy ever second of it.

Besides, she was thoroughly sick of obeying the rules and ignoring her own needs. Ten Hells, her mother was willing to plunge the dominality into war, simply out of pride. Her sister didn't hesitate to maim men to serve her own lust. Why shouldn't Zaria let herself enjoy an experience straight out of her hottest dreams? Why did she always have to be the one who denied her needs?

“You want it, don't you?” Sebastian asked darkly, his heated gaze locked on her face as he lifted his head from her wet, hard nipple. “You want to be taken. Fucked.”

God, yes,
she thought helplessly.
Take me. Give me what I need.

His hands drifted down her bare torso, straight to her cleft. One long, strong finger slid between her lips and found her opening to slip inside. She whimpered behind her gag at the sensation.

“Mmmmm,” Sebastian purred. “Just the way I like my captives. Nice and slick and ready for cock.” A second finger joined the first, and she writhed. “Unfortunately for you, sweetheart, I'm not prepared to give it to you yet. You need a lesson in what happens to pretty little girls who try to dominate men much, much too big for them.” His smile was deliberately sinister. “And I'll bet you've got all kinds of toys that would be just perfect for the job.”

THE way Zaria's eyes widened over her gag made Sebastian's dick twitch in anticipation. He rose from the bed and looked down at her, letting her get a good look at the erection behind the ridiculous loincloth she'd given him. Baring his teeth at her, he reached down and ripped it off, freeing his cock to stand straight and straining with eagerness.

If anything, her eyes widened even more. He rocked back on his heels, grinning, to enjoy the view.

The way he'd tied her with her hands behind her back thrust those round, gorgeous breasts upward and emphasized the white curve of her hips against the dark coverlet.

He tilted his head, letting his blond hair slide over his shoulder. Reaching down, he stroked his cock with one hand and caressed his balls with the other. “Oh, yeah,” he told her. “I'm going to enjoy making you pay.”

His sensors picked up her answering leap of heat at the threat, and he concealed a grin. Subs always loved it when he played sadistic villain.

Leaving her bound and ready, Sebastian sauntered toward the big wooden box that stood at the foot of the bed. He'd noticed a stylized whip carved into the lid earlier, and he had a good idea what it contained.

Flipping it open, he discovered he was right. There was an array of dildos—including one in a harness arrangement he was instantly glad she'd never tried to use on him—cock rings, various cuffs, jars of what appeared to be lubricants, and several wicked-looking paddles.

Finally he found what he'd been looking for—a small box containing a selection of clamps. Grinning in anticipation, he tried several of them out on his pinkie until he found two that had just the right bite; enough to sting without inflicting actual pain. He added a promising buttplug and a jar of lubricant and closed the lid.

By the time he turned around, Sebastian found Zaria watching him like a bird hypnotized by a snake.

Oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.

And when he was finished, he'd put his plans into action.

S
EBASTIAN gave her his best menacing male smile and sauntered over to slide a knee onto the bed. Tossing down the dildo and the jar of lube, he leaned over and opened one of the clamps right in front of her eyes. Slowly he let it squeeze closed. “You know where I'm going to put this, don't you?”

She blinked, and her eyes dilated with helpless arousal.

“Don't you?” he barked.

Zaria jumped and nodded.

“You ever wear one of these?”

She shook her head, her nostrils flaring as she breathed in hard over her gag.

He gave her an artistic snarl. “And yet, I'll bet you just love putting them on your poor Thralls.” Actually, he'd wager she didn't. But he captured one full, pretty breast, thumbed its blushing nipple, and glared into her eyes anyway. “Were you planning to use one on me?”

Her gaze flickered. To his astonishment, she lifted her chin and gave her head a short, defiant nod.

Sebastian barely managed to contain his shout of laughter. The little minx! He knew good and damned well she'd intended no such thing, but she wanted to play the role of deserving victim. He managed another growl despite his amusement. “Yeah, I'll just bet you were. Well, the clamp's on the other nip now, isn't it? Or,” he added, hovering the little device over her eager peak, “it's about to be.”

He let the tiny jaws close slowly, listening to her gasp of surprised arousal at its gentle bite. Sebastian smirked. “Bet that stings.” Not much, though.

Slowly he pulled the clamp upward until it lost its hold, then attached it again and twisted his wrist. Zaria whimpered deliciously, and her eyes drifted closed. “Mmmm. I've been dreaming about tormenting your big, pretty tits all day. I knew it was going to be hot.” Picking up the other clamp, he rumbled, “Let's do both of 'em.”

ZARIA moaned as the second clamp closed over her nipple with a hot, erotic bite. Slowly, tauntingly, Sebastian began to flick and play with the two little toys, sometimes twisting first one and then the other, sometimes pulling them both off so he could suckle her, only to reattach them a moment later. She found herself writhing at the blend of pleasure and pain, rolling her hips in short pleading thrusts, desperate for him to mount her, pound into her with that big, curving cock. She could smell her own arousal.

Suddenly he levered off her and moved down her body. She lifted her head, dazed, only to see him settle between her legs, the width of his shoulders forcing her thighs apart. “Now,” Sebastian rumbled, “let's make sure you're good and wet.”

Zaria caught her breath as he spread her folds with two fingers and bent his head. His first sampling lick brought her arching off the bed. “Ummm,” he rumbled. “Creamy.” Another lick. She whimpered. “If I didn't know better, I'd say getting your tits tortured made you hot.”

If it hadn't, it would have as he went to work, licking and suckling her lips and clit as he used the clamps to tease her hard peaks. The ferocious pleasure-pain soon had her twisting on the edge of a pulsing orgasm.

Until he lifted his head and met her eyes with a savage glare. “You'd better not come, you little witch.”

With that, he started dancing his agile tongue over her clit until her entire nervous system thrummed. She yowled, the sound muffled.