King of Diamonds (6 page)

Karn pressed his body against hers, gently pushing her harder against the smooth rocks of the waterfall. The top of the falls just reached her shoulders and water continued to rush over her breasts down to her mons and along her thighs.

As he pressed his muscular form tight to her, Karn took her braid and pulled it apart, freeing her butt-length hair and letting it fall over her breasts and back.

“Always leave your hair like this,” he murmured, but there was no mistaking that it was not a suggestion, but a command. “When I give you a direction, you must say, ‘Yes, Sire.’”

Annie swallowed. “And what if I don’t?”

Karn gave a lethal smile. “Then I must punish you.”

Her eyes widened and she caught her breath as she pictured him wielding a long leather strap and taking it to her hide. “Punish…as in whipping me?”

He rubbed his fingers through her hair, as if he enjoyed the feel of it in his fingers. “Perhaps. If that is something you would find pleasurable.”

Annie couldn’t think very clearly with this man’s body so close to her, his musky scent filling her senses and his cock pressed to her belly, and her arms bound above her head. “I don’t see how pain could be pleasurable.”

“You will,” he said in a voice filled with promise.

Before she could respond, he lowered his head and flicked his tongue over one of her nipples. Annie gasped and found herself sinking into the feeling, letting her weight hang against the bindings above. Heavens, but the feeling of being bound was exciting enough. But add the sensations of warm water rushing over her, his hot mouth on her nipples, and his lower body against hers… It was all so erotic and incredible that she simply gave herself up to it without question.

But when his calloused hand traveled down her belly and cupped her mons, the butterflies in her belly went ballistic.

Heat from arousal and from embarrassment flushed over her. “I’ve never…been with a man before.”

“I know, kitten,” Karn murmured just as he slipped one finger into her slit. “I sensed it the moment I touched you.”

Annie moaned and her knees gave out. Her wrists pulled against the restraints, but they held tight. She’d never realized how amazing it would feel to have a man touching her so intimately.

A purr rose up in him as he sucked her nipples. “So sweet, so innocent,” he said then dipped his finger into her slick core, causing her to cry out with surprise and pleasure. “And so very tight and wet.”

He thrust two fingers inside her, knuckles deep, and Annie jerked against her bonds. She watched him sucking her nipples and his fingers moving in and out. It all seemed so surreal, yet thrilling. How could she be here now, with this gorgeous man who had claimed her as if she was his property?

But she didn’t have time to think about it much longer because he was moving his lips down her belly, straight to her mons.

His tongue trailed circles in the soft hair and she heard him breathe deeply of her scent and he smiled. It embarrassed her, yet she found it exhilarating, too, that he was as turned on by her as she was turned on by him. As he bent to touch her, to smell her, she saw an unusual tattoo on his upper right shoulder. A kind of red and gold filigree diamond. She wanted to touch it, to caress his skin, to slip her fingers into his dark hair, but the bindings held her fast.

But in the next moment she forgot all about the diamond tattoo as Karn brought his hands to her slit and opened her to his gaze.

Annie’s breath caught in her chest as she watched him lave her pussy, and she cried out from the incredible feeling of his tongue licking her folds. Only in her wildest dreams had she imagined what it would feel like to have a man licking her like this. Her entire experience was certainly beyond those dreams.

Karn clenched her buttocks with one hand as he thrust two fingers into her core and pressed his face tight against her folds.

Annie’s orgasm slammed into her so hard and fast that she cried out in wonder and surprise. She’d never had such an intense climax and it seemed as if it would go on forever. Her hips bucked against his face and she pulled against her restraints. But he kept on, causing one aftershock after another.

When he finally stopped, Annie was as limp as her old Raggedy Ann doll.

Karn rose up so that he was standing before her. He clenched his fist in her hair and brought his mouth to hers in a fierce kiss, and it surprised her to taste herself on his lips and tongue. When he pulled away his eyes were smoldering and she half expected him to take her virginity right then and there.

And she wanted him to. “Are you going to, ah…” Her face burned and she couldn’t finish the question.

Apparently he understood her only too well. “No, not yet,” he said in that maddeningly low tone that gave her shivers. His grip on her hair tightened. “But do not mistake me. What you have to give is mine to take—mine and mine alone, just like you, kitten.”

Annie wanted to deny the thrill his statement gave her, but she couldn’t. For all of her education, books, and learning, she could find no words to deny this sexy, powerful man.

“Forever mine,” he rumbled with the same word-slaying certainty that kept her from refusing him.

As Annie pulled against her bonds and felt the electric brush of his rough skin against hers, she had no idea why words were so important anyway.

Chapter Four

Annie barely held back her tremors as Karn finished soaping her body with vanilla-scented gel. The rinse was even more sensual. The way he seemed to enjoy the full curves of her body made her beyond excited for him.

By the time he freed her from her bonds, her desire for him had increased tenfold and she wanted to jump the man. The series of orgasms he’d given her merely whetted her appetite.

She was long past ready to lose her virginity.

But what about pregnancy?

“Do you have condoms?” she asked while Karn toweled her off with a thin but amazingly absorbent piece of cloth. “I don’t want to get pregnant.”

His eyes met hers and he gave her an amused look. “The only time men of my species can impregnate a woman is if we release our seed when we reach simultaneous climax with our mates. Our mates must also be in heat.”

“Oh.“ Annie watched the play of his muscles and enjoyed the feel of his hands rubbing her with the cloth. “What did you mean by your species?”

He shrugged. “My people.”

By his closed expression, it was obvious that he wasn’t in the mood to explain further. But she still needed to find out more information about her cousins. “Where are Alice and Alexi?”

“Silence, kitten.” Karn scowled and flexed his muscles. “If you wish to be punished I will gladly turn you over my knee and spank your ass.”

Annie shivered. The look in his dark eyes made it clear he was serious. She swallowed back a retort and stood still as he finished drying her from her hair down to her toes. Oddly enough, the thought of being spanked by Karn excited her. Why, she couldn’t say, but she had to admit that it did.

“These are your quarters,” he said as he took her by her upper arm and brought her into the bedroom.

Annie pushed aside thoughts of scaling this mountain of a man. She sure as hell wasn’t going to beg the man for sex.

Instead she let her gaze drift over the room and simply enjoyed the beauty of the place. Countless candles flickered throughout the bedroom from where they were arranged on top of dressers, tables, and chests. The soft lighting played over rosewood furniture and delicate flower print cushions, giving the room a lovely, dreamy feel. If she had been asked to design the perfect room for her, this would be it.

There was even a bay window with a cushioned seat, and the drapes were pulled back so that she could see the storm was still in full force. Since the time she was a little girl, she’d always wanted a window seat to stare out at the stars.

Although tonight there were no stars visible from what she glimpsed through the window. Outside the storm continued to vent its wrath with keening winds, lightning flashes and booming thunder. In the bathing room Annie hadn’t heard the tempest, but now it sounded fierce, like it might blow apart the mansion.

“Your clothing is here.” Karn pointed to a rosewood trunk and the lid opened as if raised by invisible strings.

“How do you do that?” Annie asked, but snapped her mouth shut when she saw Karn’s glare. Obviously he was in no mood to chat, and she was too tired to argue or be spanked.

When Annie went to the trunk and peeked inside, she saw stacks of clothing in beautiful hues, all so unlike the dark colors she normally wore. The bright fabrics seemed out of place from what she’d seen of the gloomy mansion, except for this one beautiful room. Of course she hadn’t seen much in the short amount of time she’d been here, but gloomy had been a dang good description for what she
had
seen.

Karn reached inside the trunk and pulled out a sheer nightgown in sparkling gold. “Stand still,” he commanded. When she obeyed he slipped the filmy material over her head.

His jaw tightened as the glittering cloth slid over her breasts and dropped to the top of her thighs, just barely covering her mons, like a baby doll nightie. The material clung to her curvy figure, clearly showing her pink nipples and the dark triangle between her thighs. Even though she’d just spent the last couple of hours naked with Karn, she felt exposed. Heat rose to her cheeks and she wanted to dodge under the bedcovers.

He waved his hand, and instantly he was clothed again, as quickly as he had undressed in the bathing room.

Whoa.

She bit her lip then got her courage up and asked, “Will you be sleeping in here?”

“No.” The terse answer was all he gave her as he clasped her upper arm and led her to the bedside then pulled down the covers and helped her into the bed. Like a child being tucked in at night, she found herself following his directions. The next thing she knew she was in bed with covers up to her neck.

“My chambers are on the other side of that door.” He gave a nod toward a door on the other side of the room, between a potted tree with feathery blue leaves and a tall rosewood wardrobe.

The thought of only a door between them was both frightening and exhilarating all at once.

“If you have need of me, I will be in my study.” Karn gave a dismissive wave of his fingers and all candlelight snuffed out immediately, plunging the room into near darkness. Lightning flashed outside and in the brief illumination she saw his hand move again, and a small fire started crackling in the fireplace.

He leaned down, brushed his lips over her forehead then stepped back. “Sleep, kitten,” he murmured before turning away and striding toward the door.

Gee, what did one say to a man who had dragged you through a picture and into another world? “Uh, good night,” she finally murmured to his back, and then he was gone. The door closed behind him with a soft thump.

For a long time Annie stared up at the canopy that shrouded her bed.
What a weird day.

No, weird didn’t begin to describe it. Everything that happened was so unreal, and so surreal that she wondered if she’d wake up and find that she’d been dreaming.

Although she didn’t feel like she was dreaming. Yet how could it be true? She’d been pulled through her own painting for heaven’s sake. She’d given a god of a man a blowjob, her first ever. And better yet, he’d tied her up with magical rings and ribbons and licked her pussy until she had the most amazing series of orgasms. Heck, she would have had sex with him, if he’d wanted to. She sure wanted him.

Her pussy ached so much that wild thoughts filled her mind. What if she slipped out of the room, found him in his study and really did jump him? Or later, she could sneak through that door to his chambers and crawl into bed with him.

Annie rolled her eyes. With a sigh she turned onto her side and watched flames flicker and dance in the fireplace. The room was dark save for occasional lightning flashes and firelight. The flames cast haunting shadows that moved and waltzed about the bedroom like ghosts of the past.

What secrets did this mansion hold?

Just the thought of spirits made her shiver and she slid deeper under her covers. When she was a little girl she’d been afraid of the dark, and a little of that fear had always remained with her.

She missed Abra so much. Her cat had been her only companion for the last five years, and Annie was used to the calico curling up close to her neck when she slept.

Thank goodness Awai would be taking care of the poor kitty, so maybe Abra soon wouldn’t feel as alone as Annie suddenly did.

At the thought of Awai, Annie frowned in the darkness. She hated the fact that now Awai would be worried sick about all three of them—Annie as well as Alexi and Alice. And Awai would be alone.

But a part of Annie was excited that she would see her missing cousins soon. For some crazy reason she trusted Karn and hoped he’d been telling her the truth that the twins were doing well and were happy.

Holding that thought tight in her heart, Annie drifted asleep.

Although in his human form, Karn paced his study like the tiger he was, his boots thunking with every step. He was surely wearing a groove through the finely woven rug arranged before his hearth. The room smelled of burning
ch’tok
wood, old books, and cedar. The fire blazing in the hearth had chased the storm-chilled air from the room, but did nothing for the chill in his heart.

But mere hours in Annie’s presence had threatened to warm him.

No, damn the skies. I won’t allow it.

Yet for the first time since he had gone from youth to man, he had climaxed from one woman’s soft touch. He usually required two or three wenches at a time to assuage his needs.

Karn growled and clenched his fists, and tried to turn his thoughts away from Annie.

His study was filled with books and scrolls along with remembrances from the past, such as the magical wooden bird he treasured as a cub, a present from his father. And next to it was the worn war-ball he and his brothers had oft played with when they were young.