Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (27 page)

She looked at him with wide eyes and he noticed that she was blushing.
“I didn’t mean for you to see those.”

“You admit to drawing these horrid things?”

“I know I’m no artist, but I wouldn’t call them horrid.”

He picked up one of the sketches and waved it in the air.
“Explain why you would draw these.”

“I’m not sure why.
I just drew them.
I didn’t have much else to do while I was your prisoner and I was bored.”

“Your drawings are very detailed.
One may even wonder whether you were actually there, in the room with me.
How else
would you be able to provide so much detail?”

“I was there.”

“So you claimed, but I never believed you until now.
You were there, in the room when Nefertiti
ordered the eunuch to molest me so that I could service her?”

She looked at him in horror.
“No.
Did she do that?”

“Yes.
You knew that I was tied to the bed, but you did not know what happened there?”

“I saw you when you were bound to the bed.
I was there when you escaped; I saw you burn through metal.
You took me that night.”

Now he remembered how she had always claimed to have been his captive, a captive taken from Avenal, bitten, and installed in his bed.
He didn’t remember doing any of those things to her.
It was disturbing that she had memories of him.
Some were no doubt real, but how many?
Had
she enjoyed seeing him
being degraded and demeaned?
Had she wished to relive the moment so often that she couldn’t resist drawing the remembered images?
“Why did you feel the need to draw this?
Did you plan on using these images to provoke me?”

“I don’t know why I drew them.
I told you that I was bored.
It is just a picture, so why are you making such a big deal about this?”

“I do not like what the picture represents, but I think you do like it.
That’s why it bothers me.
Tell me that you do not like looking at these images.
Tell me that they disgust you.”

“I’d be lying if I said that.
They do not disgust me at all.
If you have a problem with that, then too bad.
I’m not going to be your concern any longer.
Yes, I enjoy the thought of males bound to a bed for pleasure.
I was raised Flourdan.
What did you expect?”

“You didn’t learn anything these past two days.
How are you going to be a slave if you persist in such beliefs?”

“Whatever made you think I’d make a good slave?
You taught me nothing.
I just went along with it for the ride.
It was good while it lasted.”

He sensed her anger.
She was uncontrollable.
He didn’t know how anyone would manage her.
She’d act
as if she was still in Flourda, free to do as she pleased.
She’d commit some sort of transgression that would cause her to be killed, and she didn’t seem to care about the consequences.
She didn’t seem to care if she placed herself in danger.
She cared about her own pleasure; she was like her sister in that regard.
That was the reason she played the willing slave for him during the past two days.
She had enjoyed it entirely too much, and he had somehow failed to realize that she was using him for gratification purposes.
She was right; he had taught her nothing.
She would move on to someone like Taran, who would accept her as a slave and would later find himself to be under her control.
She may even be able to manipulate
the randy fool into sending her back to Avenal.
“Yes, you did give a good ride.
That part, you did well.
”

“Well, I am so glad I met with your approval.
Will I be allowed to choose my next master?
I would not wish to have anyone who would leave me unsatisfied.
You do remember the lust of the Flourdans.
It is unparalleled.
I will need someone with sufficient stamina to keep me content.
He must be physically appealing as well, especially if I am to entertain him often.”

She was angry about the enslavement.
He had always known she wouldn’t handle it well.
Despite her demand that her next master be skilled in the bedchamber, he believed
that she didn’t want him to give her up.
“You will be bound for disappointment then
, unless you were to choose me
.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself.
Are we done here?”

“Yes, you can be dismissed.”

He watched her leave the room.
He still couldn’t figure her out.
He didn’t know what he wanted from her, aside from the obvious.
He didn’t know if she could be trusted.
He sensed she was loyal, but her loyalty wouldn’t be to the hybrids.
It couldn’t be, not when she was Flourdan.
Therefore, he couldn’t afford to trust her, even when his instinct was to trust her.

It was not long before it was time to meet with the druids about Eden’s situation.
He transported Eden to the druid fortress.
They were met by Ninian, Taran, and Ciaran.
Drest didn’t miss the covetous look on Taran’s face.
The thought of Eden being given to Taran made him feel physically sick.
He didn’t have anything against the druid, but he was at best a womanizer.
He would lay with other females, which would distress Eden.
She was a possessive creature.
The thought that she could actually crave Taran’s touch disturbed him.
The thought of her caring enough about the male to throw a tantrum over him also bothered him.
He knew that he couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t let her be given to someone
else.
It was be
st for Eden
, as she wouldn’t adjust well to a change.
She
had
accommodat
ed
well to life at his lodge and she didn’t seem to mind sleeping in his bed.
It probably had something to do with that delusion of hers that she belonged to h
im
, that she was meant to be his lover.
Keeping her would come with a slight risk, especially if it turned out she had been programmed or brainwashed to be used by his enemies in some way.
He didn’t think the risk was worth worrying about.
They were led to the main hall
and Eden was directed to sit on a sofa
.

“We will discuss your situation, Eden.
There are several good possibilities on the table,” Ninian said.

“Not my freedom?
Could that be on the table as well?”

“That is not possible.
The matter will be decided today.
You will wait here while the matter is discussed.”

Drest followed Ninian and the others into a large meeting area.
They all took seats at the conference table.

Ninian took out a folder and began reviewing the documents held within.
“There are four offers
.
We must decide on the best situation for our captive.
Taran has made an offer, but he has no lodge of his own and cannot properly guard her.
Klepsis has made an offer.”

“
I
want
to keep her,” Drest said.

“As a slave?”
Ninian asked.

“Yes.
I have the stronger claim,” Drest said.
“I am owed compensation for what was done to me by the house of Avenal.
I would see this Avenal make recompense.”

“If you accept her as compensation, you will have to forgo any plans to avenge yourself against the Countess Nefertiti Avenal directly.
You will be unable to directly participate in any
raids
o
n Avenal,” Ninian said.

“Understood.”
He was patient; he would eventually get some form of revenge against the
countess
.

“She shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of her sister,” Taran said.
“Let me take her.”

Ninian
looked searchingly at Drest
.
“
I am aware of what Nefertiti did to you.
That was horrendous.
We have learned since that the ruler of Avenal has engaged in rapes of males.
She has killed some of them while engaging in the act of coitus.
She has bound them, beat them, and strangled them.
She has laughed in their faces while they fought for their last breath.
Our informants tell us that she has trained her ladies to follow in her footsteps.
They capture males, keep them in harems, and violate them
for sport.
The
countess
hosts special lewd events to demonstrate her dominance over her men.
We have heard that she has forced males to participate in naked games and competitions for sport.
During one of the druid’s
visions, he saw images and heard whispers of twister games and circuses, all with naked male limbs intertwined in unnatural ways.
He saw those naked males placed in cages and chained, where their private areas were accosted by drunken Roman women.”

“During one of our rituals, we had a premonition regarding the house of Avenal.
I saw blood, death, and betrayal.
I saw suffering that had no end, a body that could not die, and a heart so wicked that
it pumped black blood,” Ciaran said.

“How is Eden connected to this?” Drest asked.

“We don’t know.
The only thing we do know is that the house of
Avenal is the house of death.
Their blood runs black and evil hangs like a black cloud over them.
I cannot say that all Avenals are evil incarnate, but I would not underestimate any Avenal
.
I also do not know if the evil associated with Avenal will affect the hybrids in any significant way, but I do not believe I would have had the premonition if it was a matter that only concerned Flourda
.”

“
Eden is
not evil.
I know that much.
She is not her sister,” Drest said.

Ninian turned to Drest.
“It is safer to leave Eden in your custody.
She freely gave herself to
you
the day she was brought to Ravenwood, and she seems to have adjusted well
enough to life
with you
.
She will be given to
you
as compensation for the atrocities
you
endured at Avenal
, but there are conditions attached
.
I’ll have a contract drawn.”

“My thanks.”

Ninian sent a servant to retrieve Eden and she was instructed to take a seat.
“
Your fate has been decided
.”

“I demand that you release me.
I am innocent of any spying or any transgressions against your nation.
My sister is surely looking for me and will do whatever it takes to get me home.
The longer you keep me here, the riskier it gets for you.
You risk the wrath of the Flourdans as well as the Romans.
I am promised to a Roman,
Markus Agrippa.
They will demand my return,” Eden said.

“We know about your sister.
We have determined that any Avenal is a threat that needs to be dealt with severely.
You are to be held as recompense for the crimes of your sister.
You will be given to Drest as compensation for the damages wrought to him,” Ninian said.

“That is bullshit.
If I’m going to pay for someone’s crimes, then let me enjoy the doing of them.
Tell me, exactly what did she do?
I will ensure that I am guilty of the acts, since I’ll be paying for them.”

“You will do no such thing or you will be killed,” Ninian said.
“You will do your utmost to be
biddable
,
because at this moment, there are some who campaign for your execution.
You carry bad blood.”

“You are serious.
You judge me guilty because I am an Avenal, yet I am supposed to overlook
the fact
that you are a
ll
hybrid
s
.
”

“Eden, let us go now.”
Drest held out his hand to her.
She accepted with a firm grip.