Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (7 page)

He covered his eyes with his arm.
“A little.”

How terrible.
She hoped he was not going blind.
Her heart ached for him and she pulled him into her arms.
His head fell against her chest and she rested her chin on the top of his head.
A blind male
would have difficulty securing a mate.
“It must be
awful
for you.”
She tensed as she felt him kiss
the skin revealed by her low neckline, and she belatedly realized her
mistake
.
She should not have tried to give him comfort.
He was a virile male and she was an improperly dressed female.
She pulled away from him.
“We forget ourselves.”
She moved a few more inches away from him and stretched out on the bottom of the boat.
She watched him in silence, and to her,
it seemed that everyone was acting awkward around everyone else.

CHAPTER FOUR

Drest knew that he should have left Avenal by now
.
He had lingered too long, against his better judgment.
He knew that the fair Lady Eden was one of the reasons he had delayed his return, and he knew that it was pointless to remain in Avenal for that reason.
Despite what Eden had told him, he wondered if the ladies ever took lovers.
He had been shocked to see Audrelia and Vane locked in a passionate embrace
.
He supposed that it was a desperate attempt on Vane’s part to wipe the events of last night from his mind.
Submersing himself in mindless pleasure would probably only provide a few minutes of relief,
but he couldn’t really blame the male for trying.
He had heard about Vane’s rough night with the
countess
.
She had bound him to the bed, beat him with whips and chains, inflicted him with verbal abuse, and passed flatulent gas in his face while she forced him to guess what she had eaten for dinner.
According to Vane, the assault to his nostrils had been nearly as bad as the assault to his dignity.
He couldn’t blame Vane for trying to get something on the side, since being forced to be with Nefertiti would be nightmarishly ghastly.
He had noted how quickly Jules broke up the happy couple.
The way in which he guarded Audrelia’s chastity made him wonder whether the male had feelings for her.
He
wonder
ed
just
how often the lords and ladies got together.
He had thought they did not interact at all with each other aside from the brief time spent at the mansion.

There was still much he did not know about their culture.
He had been surprised to see the ladies in the water, as Asstrumnian females considered the act of swimming to be vulgar.
Their
females kept their bodies covered at all times, which was different
from
the Flourdans, who often wore very little.
When
Eden
had gotten out of the water and had climbed onto the boat,
he
had been
momentarily left speechless by the sight of her.
The wet tunic had turned completely transparent and
had clung
to her body, revealing pretty much
everything.
She
had
seemed unaware of her state of undress
.
She had tried to ask him questions,
but her words
failed to
penetrat
e
his brain.
He had
sat down beside her and stared at her body, wondering whether she would be receptive to his touch.
Her eyes
had been
closed
;
judging by how relaxed she appeared while lying there, she was probably unaware of his interest in her.
When she had questioned him about his eyes, he
had
felt a flash of panic.
He could not afford to reveal his hybrid nature to her.
His identity had to remain hidden to ensure the Flourdans remained ignorant of
any hybrid
interest in their affairs.
He was surprised that she had accepted his explanation of an eye condition, but he would still have to
be careful not to arouse her suspicions further.
He would have to curtail his interest in the lady.
It wasn’t like he could pursue
her
.
His world was completely different from her world; it was also likely that tensions between their two nations would escalate to the point of war.
It would be stupid to get involved with a Flourdan.
He would leave tonight and return to Asstrumnia.
He would likely need to wait until the others were sleeping, as he had not had any alone time
.
He couldn’t transport himself to his homeland in full sight of the Flourdans.

***

Nefertiti had instructed that all of the lords line up on the stage for her
again.
He wondered why she persisted in this same routine, night after night.
Did it not get stale looking at a line of naked cocks?
Most of the males could easily pass as twins, with nearly all of them sharing the same physical traits.
Flourda was not known for its genetic diversity.
He felt uncomfortable when Nefertiti cast her greedy gaze toward him.
Her eyes shone with desire, but her interest in him left him feeling queasy.
He wondered how he could excuse himself without being noticed.
If he could gain some privacy, he could transport himself to Ravenwood sooner rather than later.

Nefertiti
stopped in front of him and gawked at his naked body.
“You will entertain me tonight in my
private suite.
”

Despite the fact that he had not had a woman in a very long time, he was not anywhere close to being desperate enough to stick his cock inside that hideous creature.
“I’m afraid I cannot pleasure anyone tonight.
Perhaps another night?”

“Lord Woodcock, I will accept no other cock but
yours this night!”
Nefertiti laughed, believing her play on words the most brilliant statement ever uttered.
“I will not allow you to deny me.
I spent much time carefully arranging the most perfect night to surpass all nights.
The shackles are waiting to bind you hand and foot to the bed and my new Roman toys are weeping to be used on your naked flesh.
My eunuch guards will happily convince you to comply.”

He was met by a dozen eunuchs, who ordered him to walk with them.
They did not even allow him to clothe himself.
He was led upstairs to the
countess
’s suite.
Inside, there was a parlor that she used for bed sport, and beyond the parlor,
lay
her private bedchambers.
He was taken to the parlor, which was dominated by a large bed.
There were chains, ropes, shackles, and whips in various places in the room.
There were also strange
metal
items of unknown function displayed on a narrow table
.
It looked like a torture room, not a room for pleasure.
Somehow, it suited the
countess
, because she was a deranged psychopath.
The eunuchs ordered him to
lie
on the bed in a spread eagled fashion so they could attach him to
the shackles at the corners of the bed.
He resisted, and they grabbed him and dragged him forcibly to the bed.
He punched some of the eunuchs, knocking them to the ground.
Two other eunuchs grabbed his arms and restrained him
.
H
e kicked another one in the area that should have contained balls,
had he had them
.
The
disfigured male grunted and punched him in the stomach.
Other arms grabbed his legs and he was thrown on the bed
.
While he struggled, they attached him to the shackles.
He watched in horror as they placed a collar around his neck.
The collar was attached to chains and
they secured the other end of it somewhere behind his head
.

“You should not have done that,” one of the eunuchs said.
“You are
being given an honor, and you repay this kindness by assaulting the
countess
’s servants?
You have much to learn.”

Drest stared at them with defiance, but remained silent.
He debated whether he should try to transport himself anyway, but he would have difficulty doing so with his movement restricted.
He had to visualize a portal and then actually walk through it to transport.
He was literally screwed and he knew it.
They would pay for the indignity they caused; he would make sure of it.
Minutes later, the
countess
arrived and questioned why some of the eunuchs were clutching various parts of their anatomies and groaning in pain.

“Lord Woodcock refused to cooperate,” the eunuch said.
“He acts like a frightened virgin.
So pathetic.
He is beneath you.”

Nefertiti licked her lips and stared at the male bound to her bed with covetous eyes.
“I do so long to have that delicious feast of man flesh underneath me.”
She grabbed a leather whip from a peg on the wall
and sauntered close to the bed.
“If he was frightened before, he will learn the meaning of true terror after I am done with him.”
She stared at the male on the bed with contempt.
“See this whip?
I will use it on you if you do not perform to my satisfaction.
I will tame you as I tame my horses, with the whip.
Let me tell you that it works well, as the horses know how
to give a good ride.
You will learn as well, whether you wish it or not.
”

“I do not desire you.”

She frowned at him and struck him with the whip.
“
Does the horse choose its rider?
Certainly not.
It is the rider who selects the horse.
And horses that
cannot be trained are not kept in the stables.”
She trailed her long fingernails down his chest, over his flat stomach, and down to his genitals.
“I do so love to have a male bound to my bed, to be left to my mercy.”
She cackled
loudly
and struck the whip
forcefully
against his thigh, leaving a red mark.
“Sadly, this stallion is asleep.
You cannot be ridden in your current state, for I cannot mount you.
Ready yourself for
me or I will have to discipline you with this whip.”

He glared at her with murderous eyes as she
removed her gown.
The sight of her nude did nothing to arouse him
.
His every thought involved killing her, preferably using a slow method that would leave her in tremendous pain.
He was not violent by nature; he was quite the opposite.
He was not a warrior; he was a controlled and intelligent type of person, as well as an artist and a musician.
Right now, he felt like going to war with the bitch.

“
I do not like my males soft!”
She looked pointedly at his nether regions and hissed in frustration.
“How can I make you gallop if you
cannot even
trot!
”
She hefted the whip and struck him forcefully on his legs.
“I order you
to display proper appreciation of
my
charms,
you mule.”

His flame filled eyes reflected his outrage.
“Release me now.
I have no interest in being your stallion.”

She responded by striking him with the whip.
A
fter several minutes of
voicing ineffective threats,
she breathed a heavy sigh.
“Eunuch, ready him for me,” she said.

Drest yelled a string of obscenities as one of the eunuchs grabbed his sex and started to massage
it.
He desperately tried to break free of the bonds, but found he could not move.
He threatened to
murder the eunuch if he did not stop molesting him, and he must have gotten his point across, because the eunuch stepped away from him and started to cower.

The
countess
looked at him with
disgust
etched on her
red splotched
face.
“This display of violence from you will not be tolerated, Lord Woodcock.
I will
leave
you in this room by yourself
for some time
so that you can
meditate and calm
your
self
.
We will begin again when I return.”