Wild Desire Ch. 04

"How did this happen?"

Daniella looked down. Her throat hurt so much now that Feldspar's tea was wearing off. She wasn't sure she could speak for long enough to explain what had happened. And if that wasn't enough, she already felt stripped bare in front of him. She didn't want to feel even more vulnerable by admitting how powerless she had been.

"Little one, regardless of how this happened, you should not attempt to hide it from me. I have already told you that I take good care of that which is mine."

Daniella shook her head. She gave him a baleful look, hoping he would see that she wasn't disobeying him out of spite. The lord's brows knit together as he studied his usually spirited subject's face. He brushed her hair back from her face and went utterly still. There on the left side of her neck were four dark purple, finger-sized bruises. His other hand leapt up and brushed her hair back from the other side of her neck, revealing the deep bruise there.

Daniella raised her eyes to his, afraid of what she might see there. His green eyes were hard and his jaw was tight with rage. She trembled under the intensity of that look. Suddenly the platform under them surged up at his unseen command, hurtling them toward the upper reaches of the tree. Daniella closed her eyes against her vertigo as the festivities below disappeared.

When the platform stopped they were alone. The lord took her in his arms and strode across the platform and through a door. He set Daniella on her feet in front of a ladder and gestured up. She assessed the twenty-odd rungs she would need to climb one-handed. The ladder led to a trapdoor, which she wasn't sure she'd be able to open with her sore wrist.

"Don't worry little one, I will be right behind you. I will not let you fall."

She rolled her eyes at him, though inside she was grateful for the reassurance. She climbed slowly, cradling her wrist against her body. It was harder than she had expected to balance each time she had to let go to reach for the next rung. The lord kept one hand on her at all times, and she told herself that if she did start to fall he was probably strong enough to catch her. At the top of the ladder she started to reach for the latch with her injured hand.

"Stay there, little one. I'm coming up." He climbed deftly up, his body pressed against hers. Daniella stared straight ahead at the wall in front of her, pretending she couldn't feel every inch of him pressed up against her. The lord reached up and pushed the trapdoor open. He climbed past her and hoisted himself through the trapdoor. She squinted up into the bright light of the room and started to follow him up.

"Easy there," he said as he reached down and pulled her up. Daniella looked curiously around the room. It appeared to be the foyer to a home, with a row of familiar coats hanging neatly, including the one the lord had wrapped around her so many weeks ago on the night he had saved her from the water wraiths.

"Your home?" she croaked, choosing her words economically. He winced at her broken voice.

"Yes, this is my home. Come, little one." He crossed the room and she trailed after through rooms decorated with a dizzying array of orchids and exotic vines and plush oriental rugs. He led her to his kitchen and sat her at the small dining table in the adjoining breakfast nook. Like Feldspar, he seemed to have his own special blend of healing tonic that included at least a dozen herbs and mysterious substances that he pulled from cabinets and drawers.

She stared dubiously at the cup he put in her hands. It was a murky green-brown color, like stagnant pond water. The lord waited with his arms crossed in patient expectation. Daniella sniffed the cup and wrinkled her nose. She threw the cup back and swallowed half the contents in one draught. She let out a surprised huff. It tasted like peaches and raspberries.

The lord chuckled at the look on her face. "You doubted my cooking skills?"

Daniella gave him a withering look and finished the rest of her drink. She cleared her throat experimentally. It felt almost normal. She gingerly reached up and touched the bruises. They were tender, but not unbearably so. She flexed her left wrist and winced. It was sore, but useable.

"Now. You will tell me who did this to you."

Daniella sighed. She didn't know what the consequences of telling him would be, but she didn't think she had much choice.

"Garn — I mean — pink hair. I think I made a mistake and she saw me. I didn't mean to do something wrong, I just — I didn't know..."

He held up a hand to stop her. "She had no right. I do not care what you did. That she dared lay a finger on you — " his green eyes blazed with rage. "You are mine, and she had no right."

Daniella snorted. "Yours? Really? Am I?" Her voice dripped with frustration. She started to stand. Walking home alone and risking another lone encounter with one of the faeries who hated her was better than sitting here and enduring more of his hot and cold torture.

"You literally told me a few hours ago that you didn't want to get involved with me," she spat. He throat burned, but the fire in her blood burned hotter. "Do you even know what's it's been like for me? You used me for whatever kinky fun you felt like having, and then pretended nothing happened. You do know I can see it in your eyes that you want me, don't you? So I'm supposed to just let you act like we're nothing, knowing the whole time that you want me. I'm supposed to sit here on hold for you so that when you feel like claiming me in whatever fucking way, I'll be waiting. God, I feel like such a fool around you, lord."

He stared at her, mouth opening and closing as he weighed his words. Daniella held her hand up to stop him.

"I'm going home before I say anything else I'll regret. You've already told me you don't want me, so let's just stick with that. I'm not yours, you're not mine. And let me just be clear: I will never be yours unless you figure out whether you want me long-term. Oh, and since I'll have to walk home alone, maybe you can put the word out to your people to try not to murder me tonight."

The lord put his hand on her arm, stopping her. Wordlessly, he stood and drew her to himself. Daniella stared up into his clear, green eyes. She had never seen him so vulnerable and hungry. He reached up and stroked her cheek.

"Fuck — don't go," he muttered, and leaned down as if drawn by magnetism. He kissed her, hard and demanding. He slid his hand to the base of her skull, taking a fistful of hair and pulling her closer to him. Daniella arched into his body, moaning into their kiss. His tongue dueled with hers, leaving her breathless.

Joy surged through Daniella. She nibbled on the lord's lower lip, eliciting a muffled groan from him. She smiled against his mouth. She slid her hands up through his hair, brushing against the tips of his pointed ears. The lord stiffened and arched into her touch. She pulled away from their kiss and ran a finger along the curve of his ear and he groaned. His breath came in short pants and his eyes were dilated with desire. Daniella smiled wickedly and repeated the motion, this time on both ears. The lord let out a long moan and his eyes fluttered shut.

He cupped her ass and she jumped up into his arms. Their lips collided hungrily, their tongues slid around each other. The lord spun around and slammed her up against the wall, leaving one hand free to roam under her dress. Daniella moaned into his lips and rolled her hips. She ground herself against his cock, enjoying the delicious sensation.

"Mine. You are mine, little one," he growled against her lips. She ran her fingers through his hair and over his ears again. He shook against her, barely holding himself together. "If you do that again, I will not be able to control myself."

"Maybe I don't want you to control yourself," she whispered. She tore her lips away from his and nibbled down the side of his neck.

The lord slammed her against the wall again, knocking the breath out of her. Daniella pulled him closer with her legs wrapped around his waist. His hand snaked up under her dress to her breast. He pinched and pulled her nipple, pulling a panting moan from her. He held her against the wall with his hips and assaulted her other breast, pulling both nipples cruelly. Daniella grunted at the mix of pleasure and pain, and her hips rolled against him in automatic response.

"Trust me, little one, you want me controlled," he hissed.

Daniella met his gaze. She arched her eyebrow defiantly and reached up to run her hands through his black curls. His eyes grew darker at her challenge. Daniella leaned toward him, pulling his head down to the side of her neck. She nibbled and licked slowly up the side of his neck. She paused, reveling in her power over the lord. His entire body was trembling and taut. He had stopped breathing. She leaned in close, her breath tickling his ear.

"I. Want. More," she whispered.

The lord shuddered. In the blink of an eye he slammed Daniella down onto the floor, a predatory gleam in his eye. He disengaged her hands from his hair and placed them deliberately above her head.

"Stay," he commanded, his voice laced with a warning tone that thrilled Daniella to her core.

Very slowly, he lifted his tunic up, revealing smooth, brown skin rippling with muscles. Daniella wiggled her hips at him impatiently, earning herself an immediate smack on the hip.

"Stay." He arched an eyebrow at her. She sensed that was the last gentle reminder she'd get. The more wicked side of her considered what delights might be in store for her if she misbehaved on purpose. She might have to ask Feldspar to brew her more of his day-after-I-get-fucked-into-oblivion tea.

He reached behind her and unbuttoned each jeweled button with deliberate languor. When he had finished, he slid the garment down, undressing her in one smooth movement. He examined the bodice of the dress briefly, noting the way she had made an improvised second layer to the sheer fabric using one of her barely-there chemises.

"Have I ever told you that I simply adore the way you dress? To think I hardly ever get to see these..." His eyes feasted on her breasts, taking in her gentle curves and pink-tipped areolae. He caressed her stomach, raising goosebumps in the wake of his fingers. Daniella struggled to stay still for him. He traced her nipples teasingly before pulling them both hard. Daniella panted and moaned at the intense sensation.

The lord slid a hand down to her pussy. He smiled as he felt how wet she was. He knelt and slid his tight pants down. Daniella strained to get a good look at him without lifting her head up. He stood and kicked his pants all the way off. Daniella drank in the sight of him. His legs were gorgeously tanned and muscled from days spent outdoors. He stood over her, stroking his hard cock languidly as he stared at her naked body laid out for him. He had the most gorgeous cock she had ever seen. It was smooth and long, and there was a tantalizing pearl of pre-cum on the tip, practically begging for her to lick it up.

She knew from their last encounter that speaking would be met with punishment, so she begged him with her eyes. She needed him inside her. Based on the wild desire in his eyes, she didn't think he'd make her wait for long. He knelt again and flipped her roughly onto her stomach. Daniella sucked in a breath in surprise and pain as she landed on her injured wrist. The lord didn't give her time to adjust. He lifted her hips and slowly pushed into her, filling her more with each long, smooth stroke.

Daniella moaned as he entered her. She pushed back against him. He was going so slow she thought she might lose her mind. Her entire world had shrunk down to the just the places his cock touched her, the aching emptiness when he pulled out at that glacial pace he had set.

Her breasts rubbed against the floor with each thrust, making her nipples ache. Her sore wrist was caught at an odd angle, and she didn't dare move to get more comfortable.

"Please, my lord," she panted. "Please, please, please." She had already lost all conscious thought. The idea that she should speak when spoken to had flown out the window the moment the lord had started pushing into her.

The lord landed a vicious slap on her ass as a reminder. Daniella moaned and lifted her hips involuntarily. She didn't understand the things he did to her, but she knew she needed more.

The lord used one hand on her hip to keep her still as he finally slammed all the way home. Daniella cried out as the full length of him filled her. He smoothly pulled back out, and slammed in again, over and over in a punishing rhythm.

The lord reached a hand down and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her body forcefully back onto his cock as he thrust into her. Daniella could feel herself hurtling toward her peak.

"Do you need to come?" he ground out between thrusts.

Daniella moaned and thrust back in response.

"Beg."

Cruel. He was so cruel. Daniella sucked in a breath and gathered her words. "Please, lord. Please."

"No." She could hear the dark pleasure in his voice. He kept his brutal rhythm up, spanking her for emphasis. Daniella cried out, desperate for release. She wanted to obey him so badly, but she could feel herself fraying at the edges.

He reached one hand around to her clit and rested it there. Daniella gritted her teeth, pouring all her willpower into keeping herself together for him. He slowed his thrusts. His cock caressed every sensitive place inside her as he pulled out, and pushed her clit forcefully into his waiting hand every time he thrust back in. Daniella's eyes rolled back at the relentless mix of sensations.

"Please, lord. I can't. I can't, I can't, I can't," she panted in time with his torturous thrusts.

He sucked in a breath. "No," he ground out, this time strained. He pulled her hair for emphasis.

Daniella surrendered completely, accepting that her orgasm belonged to him. He gradually increased his pace until every thrust seemed to knock the pieces of her further apart. Daniella teetered right on the edge of supernova, clinging desperately to each part of herself.

He thrust into her with wild abandon. His hand was a blur against her clit and every thrust raked across her g-spot. She felt his cock stiffen and he rammed into her one last time.

"Now," he commanded as he came. Daniella flew apart, hot and fast as an exploding star. She heard herself scream from a long way off, riding wave after wave of release.

The lord pulled out of her and collapsed next to her on the floor. He stared at the ceiling, dazed. Daniella lowered her hips to the floor, slowing becoming aware of the ache in her knees and wrist. She rolled over to face him. She studied his beautiful face, the kiss-swollen lips, the sheen of sweat on his brow, the tumble of wild, black hair. She searched his eyes, hoping she wasn't going to seem something that would make her regret what they'd just done.

He slid his eyes to hers. "You are an absolute terror, little one." He returned to staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I have brain scrambles," she said in agreement.

The lord snorted in amusement. He reached blindly for her and pulled her into the crook of his arm. Daniella clung to him as her body was thrown into a confusion of falling in all directions. The vertigo only lasted for a fraction of a second, and then they stopped moving. Daniella found herself cradled in his arms in a delightfully plush bed.

"Tomorrow, little one, we will discuss what being mine entails," the lord said in a voice midnight dark. "But tonight — I have other priorities."

The lord turned and kissed her hard. Daniella kissed him back every bit as fiercely, her body singing with triumph. He captured her good wrist and held it securely above her head. Daniella opened her eyes and stared into his dark green, hungry gaze. Slowly she raised her injured left wrist. His eyes flicked to it and then back to her face. She placed it into his grip, shivering as his fist closed around both wrists.

"Good girl," the lord crooned. He covered her body with his, hard again and ready to keep her up all night.