Dark Lord (21 page)

“
Drest
, take me to your bed.”

He didn’t think he had ever been so aroused in his life.
The female seemed perfectly willing to satisfy his fantasies, including the one involving the plundering and enslavement of a captive human.
He didn’t understand her willingness and he knew it was possibly some ploy or strategy of hers to get something she wanted.
He couldn’t begin to guess what she hoped to gain by surrendering her body to him.
Whatever her goal, she would not obtain it.
He knew that she was up to something and could not be trusted.
Against his better judgment, he decided to accept her offering.
He knew it was probably a bad idea, but he
was past thinking.
He looked at
Belenos
.
“She is mine.”

He transported them, but not to his lodge.
He took her to a room that they used for the interrogation of prisoners.
He sat her on the table and took her mouth in a kiss.
Whatever she was, she was most definitely aroused.
He wondered if human females were just naturally lustful creatures.
He was surprised when she reached underneath his trousers, and she seemed to grow excited when she found the evidence of his maleness.
He decided to help her out a bit, so he freed himself from his clothing.
She scooted forward on the table and started to rub against him.
He positioned her better with his hands and entered her in one forceful thrust.
Instantly, he realized why some of his people were addicted to human females and chose to keep them, usually secreted away some place where others could not take them and entrance them for their own use.
Her small passage felt
exquisite and was a reminder that humans possessed slightly different anatomy.
He thrust inside her wet welcoming depths as her legs tightened around him.
Her capacity to be stimulated without the effects of a mating bond was unique to humans, as
Asstrumnian
females were not capable of natural sexual sensations.
He continued to move in her, liking the sound of the little cries she was making.
He halted suddenly when he noticed they were no longer alone in the room.
He glared at the intruder.
“Get out.”

“I came to see if you needed any help, but I can see the interrogation is going well.”
Bran leered at them and laughed.

“Get the fuck out of here, Bran.”
Drest
glared at him until he popped out of the room.

The unwanted interruption startled the female and he sensed her agitation and nervousness.
Her attention diverted from their lovemaking, she began to scan the
room.
“Where exactly are we?
This isn’t your lodge.”

“No, it’s not.”
He didn’t wish to tell her anything more, as she was starting to become alarmed.
While resuming movement, he looked into her eyes and attempted to mentally impel her to relax.
He wanted to distract her to prevent her from thinking about her surroundings.
“You feel too good to me right now.
I want to be in no other place but inside you.”
After a few masterful strokes, he heard her moans of pleasure and he felt her convulse around him.
He stilled and collapsed against her.

She rested her hands in his hair.
“You didn’t answer my question.
Why are we not in your lodge?”

He looked at her in confusion, not able to understand her persistence in the matter.
“Why do you want to go there so badly?”

Sounds of panic were evident in her voice.
“Why would I not?
Where are we?”

He sighed.
“It’s an interrogation room for prisoners of war.”

“Why would you bring me to an interrogation room,
Drest
?”

He looked at her directly.
“It’s where we bring prisoners of war.
You are a prisoner.”

She exploded with a rush of anger.
“You promised to protect me!
You acted like you cared about me.
You said you were fond of me.”

He looked at her in confusion.
“I don’t know you.
I promised you nothing.”

“You lying bastard!”
She hit him with her fist.
“If you didn’t want me, then why have sex with me?”

He backed away from her and knew she was past the point of calming.
He didn’t understand her anger, but he sensed it was legitimate.
She seemed to really believe they had a previous relationship, which was perplexing.
He had thought that she was
deliberately choosing to surrender to a stranger for some unknown reason, possibly for protection or for some nefarious purpose.
“I should not have done that.
I wanted you and I thought you were willing.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she appeared emotionally defeated.
“How can you say you don’t know me?
You took me from Avenal and gave me your mark.
Do you really not remember that?”

“You’re mistaken.
I never met you.
I never saw you at Avenal.
I certainly didn’t take you or any other from Avenal and I have never bitten any female or given anyone a mark.”

“Find
Brennus
.
Your friend would know me.”

He looked at her with suspicion, as he did not know how she could possibly know he had a friend named
Brennus
.
He wondered if she was a spy or a telepath.
Brennus
was too far away to provide any
clarification of the situation.
“
Brennus
isn’t available.”

“Oh, that’s just fucking perfect,” she muttered.
“You could at least try to verify that I’m telling you the truth.
Just have him pop in like the others.”

Unfortunately,
Brennus
was not accessible at the moment.
“That’s not possible.”

She looked at him with hurt in her eyes and she spoke with a flat, lifeless tone.
“Then take me back to Avenal.”

“That’s not an option.”
He knew that the
K
ing would not agree to let her go, not when she had knowledge of them.
How much she knew, he couldn’t tell, but she seemed to know way too much about him.
Who knew what else she may know?

“What do you mean, it’s not an option?
I came here for you, and you don’t want me, so I’ll just go back where I’m wanted.”

If she was a spy, he couldn’t figure out what she would gain by living with him as his lover.
He was a bard; he was close to the
K
ing, but there were others who were closer.
Being the
K
ing’s lover would be a more advantageous position for her if she hoped to gain political knowledge.
“What do you want from me?”

“You obviously can’t give me what I want, so just take me back to Avenal.”

He shook his head at her and pulled up his trousers.
He felt guilty, even though he knew that he wasn’t responsible for her feelings of disappointment.
He didn’t know her and he had never promised her anything.
She looked so dejected and pitiful that it made him feel absolutely terrible.
He wondered if her feelings were genuine, and if so, why did she believe they had a relationship?
It was possible some other person had implanted false memories inside her brain or had used some other form of mental manipulation to get her to believe
she was his woman, but he didn’t know what the other person would gain from this.
If she was a spy, she could be very dangerous.
It was also possible that Nefertiti had sent her for some nefarious reason, knowing that the girl’s beauty could cause them to act without any caution or reason.
He transported back to the main hall, leaving Eden alone in the interrogation room.

“Did you learn anything?”
Belenos
asked.

“Not very much,”
Drest
said.

“He learned much about the insides of her vagina,” Bran sneered.
“I’d say it wasn’t a total loss.”

Drest
didn’t like the way he was talking about Eden.
“Fuck off, Bran.”

“Tell us what you did learn,”
Belenos
said.

Drest
paced the room, not knowing why he felt uncomfortable discussing their new prisoner.
“She claims to know me.
She
seems to have some knowledge of me.”
He cringed when Bran started to chuckle.
“She talked about
Brennus
and she kept trying to get me to take her to my lodge.”

Belenos
pondered this information.
“What do you think she’s up to?
Do you think she’s planning any kind of action against
Asstrumnia
?”

“She seems to genuinely believe we have a relationship,”
Drest
replied.
“I don’t think she’s planning anything, but I cannot say for sure that she isn’t a spy.
She could be playing us all for fools; it may be possible that some other person or
group of people are
manipulating her for some unknown purpose.”

“What do you suggest we do?”
Belenos
asked.

Drest
thought about it for a minute.
“I’d like to keep her under close observation.
I’ll take responsibility for her
and keep her in a secure location.
We could have some of the druids assess her as well.”

“I’m sure your bed will be a very secure location for her,” Bran giggled.

Drest
glared at Bran until he stopped giggling.
“I’m not taking her for ravishment.
I’ll determine what she knows and what she is planning.”