Bound to the Prince (12 page)

“I am Elathan, son of Bres. And I choose you,
Igraine, to become my slave of pleasure.”

Igraine just stared at him in speechless
disbelief. She couldn't believe what just had happened. Elathan
could have commanded her to be his slave so easily. His
supernatural strength, his magic made it so easy for him to
overwhelm her, to force her to comply. Still, he had asked her to
stay with him, to give herself to him out of her own free will.

Elathan’s eyes narrowed while he watched her,
obviously waiting for an answer. When she stayed silent, he
continued: “If you surrender yourself to me, human, I will give you
pleasure unlike any you have experienced before. I will care for
you. You will also be under my protection, for I will always know
where you are and if you are in danger, having tasted your blood
joined with mine. My blood will give you a lifespan longer than any
other human has, though you will not become immortal. The bond we’d
share could never been broken, as long as we both shall live.

“But there are also dangers, sacrifices to be
made. I already stated that our mating could drain so much strength
from you that it could kill you. And you can never resist your
master’s call, if I command you to come to me. If I am wounded, you
will feel the pain as it was your own. Also know that if I should
die unexpectedly, it is very possible that you will die, too,
especially if the bond between us has grown very strong.”

The prince tilted his head to the side while
he regarded the naked, bound woman on his bed. “Say, how you
choose, human. Will you give yourself to me freely, willingly? Or
will you decline? If so, I will set you free to return to the world
from which you came. Now tell me, Igraine.” He spoke out her name
like a lover's endearment. It felt like a caress on her skin.

Igraine couldn’t believe that he had just
promised to let her go if she didn’t agree to become his slave. If
she had any common sense at all, she should take the chance and
run. But when she looked up she saw his pale face, his dark,
dangerous beauty, the pain and loneliness in his black-rimmed eyes.
Then, to her utter astonishment, she suddenly heard herself
whisper: “Yes, Elathan. I give myself to you, out of free
will.”

The prince moved so fast that he looked like
a silver white flash, blurring her vision. In an instant, he
appeared at the side of the bed. His deadly spear moved with
incomprehensible speed, only a hair’s breadth away from her body.
It cut through the surface of the skin below her throat, just deep
enough to draw blood.

Igraine gasped, though she felt no pain at
all. She just lay there and watched him straddle her body without
bearing his weight on her. The prince let his spear fall to the
stony floor and raised a small dagger that had been hidden under
his belt. Golden candlelight fell on his face while he slowly drew
the blade over his hard chest, just below the hollow at the base of
his neck. Blood welled out of the wound. It was deep red like her
own.

Elathan dropped the dagger before he let
himself down on his elbows, not touching her but so close she could
feel the heat emanating from his body. He looked down at her with
an expression of raw desire in his eyes.

“Sweet Igraine.” His voice was hoarse, full
of passion. “Now I’ll make you mine.”

Slowly, he lowered his body onto hers and
started rubbing his chest against her breasts. His long mass of
hair spread out all over her, while he fully covered her from neck
to hip. His heated skin slippery from blood, he glided from side to
side first, then slowly up and down, uniting human and elven blood.
He spread her legs with his muscular thighs and pressed his hard,
aching arousal against her silken haven. She was well prepared for
his entrance, he could feel it through the thin fabric of his
trousers. Inwardly he cursed the fact that he couldn’t simply enter
her, mark her as his own forever. Not yet, a voice in his head
whispered, calming his overwhelming desire. It could kill her. But
soon, she would be his.

Groaning, he covered the back of her head
with his hand and brought her up to his wide chest, coaxing her to
taste him.

Without hesitation, Igraine touched his skin
with her lips. She instinctively knew what to do. Kissing him
softly at the base of his neck, she moved deeper, licking away
their joined blood that bound them together forever. She could feel
him inside her mind from the moment she tasted the first sweet drop
on her tongue. His immortal power streamed through her body, making
her strong. Her blood rushed through her veins, her skin tingled.
Every cell in her body seemed to renew itself while she was reborn
as his mate.

Elathan
, her soul cried out. It felt
as if his magic took possession of her whole being, searching for
the wounds that had been inflicted on her soul and still bled,
torturing her from inside. He was healing her, gently taking away
her pain and surrounding her with his comforting strength. Greedily
now, she licked him up and down, washing him clean with her
tongue.

Elathan couldn’t take it anymore. He pressed
her back onto the sheets and started to ravish her with his
skillful tongue, tasting her blood. She belonged to him now, as
long as she lived. There was nothing either of them could do to
change this, not anymore. The moment he tasted her life's elixir,
he started to feel her, all of her – her sweet pure soul, driven
only by the yearning to give and receive love. Her heart bore deep,
bleeding wounds. His human, she had scars, too - not visible like
his, but just as many. When his lips found her breast, his tongue
started to play with the rosy nipple. Then, without warning, he
sucked her hard into his mouth. Igraine moaned and wriggled under
him, struggling against her silken shackles . He continued his
naughty little game with her other breast, very softly biting this
time. His moonshine hair was all over her body and caressing her
skin every time he moved.

When he lifted his head and claimed her lips,
Igraine met him with unveiled passion and kissed him back, teasing
him with her tongue. He slightly bit her lower lip, just to punish
her a little bit for her forwardness. She answered with a low moan,
a sound so sensual that it aroused him even more. He could hardly
restrain himself from taking her body now.

Suddenly he needed to taste her, wanted to
explore the secret place that was his to take. He went deeper and
grabbed her hips with his strong hands, lifting her to meet his
intimate kiss.

Igraine gasped when she felt his hot breath
between her thighs. He paused for a moment to inhale her delicious,
womanly scent before he kissed her soft mound. His tongue parted
her nether lips, diving between them to find her tiny pearl.
Igraine cried out and struggled against her silken bonds, longing
to be free to touch him. She wanted to caress his body, entangle
her fingers in his beautiful hair, scratch her nails over his back
as a revenge for the lustful torture he gave her. Again, she
discovered that his elven tongue was just a little rougher than a
human’s, which increased her pleasure immensely.

Slowly, very slowly Elathan encircled the
little swollen center of her desire with his tongue, alternately
licking and suckling until he heard her scream out his name.
Elathan.
It sounded like a sighed plea to take her. Although
he had forbidden her to call him by his name, he loved the way it
sounded on her lips. He lifted his head, which made her wriggle her
hips and moan with frustration. Yet his strong hands pinned her
down to the bed, mercilessly.

“You’re mine now, human,” he growled, his
voice rich with passion. “Mine. Say it. Say my name.”

Igraine barely heard him. Her whole being
seemed to be reduced to the aching place where she wanted to feel
his tongue again. Panting, she tried to push her hips up to meet
his mouth. But the prince showed no mercy until she surrendered to
his command.

“I’m yours,” she said breathlessly.

“Beg me. Say my name.”

She gave up, unable to wait any longer.
“Elathan,” she whispered. “Please don’t stop. I want you.”

With a quick movement of his hand, he freed
her from the silken bonds that held her imprisoned. Igraine had her
hands on him in an instant. Moaning, she clung to him, digging her
nails into his shoulders. Elathan grabbed her adorable backside,
pushed her up to his mouth and conquered her completely - licking,
teasing, exploring the entrance of her hot wetness longing for him.
He bit her velvety lips very softly, tugging at them with his
teeth, thoroughly pleased when she cried out his name again. His
tongue delved deep, parting her wet folds and licking its way from
the base to the top until he reached the tiny nub of flesh
again.

A human’s lustful cries echoed off the walls
of the prince’s bedchamber. “Come for me, Igraine”, he commanded
harshly. Shuddering, she yielded to his wish. Only then he
increased the pressure of his tongue and licked her rapidly,
pushing her over the edge.

Igraine felt waves of exquisite sensation
roll over her while she came again and again, trembling violently.
She moaned his name as if it was the last anchor she could hold
onto until the tide carried her away, never to return. When the
storm finally receded, she found herself drifting down into the
dark, warm waters of unconsciousness, only marginally aware that
she was encircled in a prince’s strong arms the whole time.

Elathan's heart was filled with peace as he
contentedly watched the sleeping woman in his bed. She belonged to
him now. He had wrapped his whole body around her, just to keep her
warm and safe. Smiling, he mused over why fate had brought her into
his life so unexpectedly. It had been most satisfying for him to
watch her passionate reactions, to hear her scream his name. Oh
yes, she proved most pleasing, his little slave. He could not wait
to lose himself in her, mark her as his own forever.

But first, just to make sure that she was
strong enough to take him into her body, she had to pass a final
test.

Elathan would arrange a most enjoyable hunt
for tomorrow. It was the last part of the initiation ritual for a
slave of pleasure. He looked forward to the moment when he'd catch
his precious little prey. Then, finally, he would take what was now
rightfully his.

Chapter 8: The Magic
Door

Elathan had left early while Igraine was
still sleeping. She woke up alone in his bed, feeling empty and
cold without him. Shivering, she wrapped the black satin sheet
tighter around herself. Her clothes were still drying on the stone
by the lake, so she had nothing to wear.

Standing up, she looked down at her body. She
still couldn't believe how much she had changed in the short time
since Elathan had brought her to these caves. Although not
perfectly slim – she mused that her curvy figure would stay with
her forever, no matter what she did - her belly was much flatter
now, and the daily training with pole, sword and sometimes a
longbow had given her strong, lean muscles. Actually, she had never
felt better in her whole life.

Back in her own world, her only joy left had
been raiding the fridge in the middle of sleepless nights, followed
by an inevitable rush of guilt. But it wasn't food she really
craved; her heart wanted something else. Nothing had helped to fill
her emptiness inside. Now her life had changed so much. She would
really have to discuss the nature of their relationship with
Elathan, unsure if she wanted to spend the rest of her life as a
mere slave. But being with him excited her, made her feel so alive.
And she wasn't alone anymore. Even if she didn't know what the elf
felt for her, or what the future would bring, there was one thing
she was sure of. Last night, the prince had taken her under his
protection, sworn to stay with her. He was nothing like Stephen.
She was sure that his honor meant everything to him, and that he'd
never leave her.

Elathan. Since she had tasted his elven blood
mixed with her own, he seemed to have conquered her completely. She
could feel him under her skin, sensed his presence in her soul.
Right now, she didn’t know if he was near or far away. But she
sensed that he wasn't angry or brooding today, but pleased, almost
cheerful. She asked herself what was the cause for this unexpected
mood. Perhaps he had thought of a new way to humiliate his human
prisoner?

Slave
, her mind whispered.
I am not
his prisoner anymore. I have surrendered myself. Now I belong to
him.
The thought was not degrading, but sent pleasant little
shivers down her spine. Heavens, what he had done to her last
night! She was not able to describe the exquisite, overwhelming
feelings he had awakened in her. His body covering hers, rubbing
his own heart’s blood into her skin, sealing their bond for all
time. The taste of his blood, so unexpectedly sweet. And his
skillful tongue on her, parting her moist folds … She wanted to
feel it again, everywhere on her body. And she wanted him to love
her.

The prince had left a message on the bedside
table, written in black ink on a piece of parchment. His
handwriting looked slightly antique, powerful and elegant.

Lady Igraine,

There will be no training for you today. You
will wait here in my chambers and prepare yourself for the hunt
until I come for you. By the lake, you will find appropriate
clothing and, as is the custom of the Fae, a gift to my slave of
pleasure. I would be honored if you accepted it.

I suggest that you get some rest before
night falls. You will need all your strength.

Elathan

"Prepare myself?" Igraine murmured, confused.
And what on earth did he mean when he spoke of a hunt? What kind of
prey did he want to chase down? She doubted that many animals lived
in these caves, apart from insects and small reptiles, maybe. After
a while she gave up wondering about the letter. She couldn't even
guess at the mysterious plan the elf had come up with this time.
There was no other choice for her than to just wait and see.