Mastered By Love (12 page)

“
You’re just a slave,”
Tariza said. “Like me.”

“
I’m not like you. I’m a
decent woman. Now dig the firepit or I’m going to get Prince Dario
and he’ll make you do it.”

“
Go ahead.” Saturnios
couldn’t possibly be as unreasonable as this crazy
slave.

Instead of leaving, Lola
reached down and grabbed Tariza by the collar of her coat. A couple
of men drifted over to watch the fight as the blonde tried to drag
her to her feet. Tariza gripped the other woman’s forearms and
pried her hands off her.

“
If you don’t know how to
build a fire, Lola, maybe you should ask someone to show you.
Honestly, you don’t need a firepit in a place like
this.”

“
Of course I know how to
build a fire.”

Tariza stood. “Really? I
thought all you did was simper and spread your legs.”

“
At least I’m a real woman
and not a worthless freak like you.”

The punch seemed to come
out of nowhere. Tariza’s fist slammed into Lola’s jaw, sending the
blonde tumbling backward onto the rocky ground. Tariza looked down
at her hand. She still held the carrot, now broken, in her dirty
mitten.

Someone grabbed her by the arms and
yanked her roughly backward. She stumbled into a hard male body. A
wool-clad arm clamped painfully around her upper arms and chest,
keeping her off-balance.

“
What in hell do you think
you’re doing?” Saturnios snarled in her ear.

“
She insulted
me.”

He gave her a hard shake.
“You don’t hit the other slaves. You don’t hit anyone, for any
reason.”

“
But –”

“
Look at her.”

Lola was curled on the
gravel, crying loudly as the two men crouched next to her, speaking
to her in low, soothing tones. What a lot of fuss over one punch.
You’d think the woman had never fought before.

Maybe she
hadn’t.

“
She can’t defend herself,”
Saturnios said. “She doesn’t know how to fight.
Apologize.”

“
What? No!”

“
Apologize.” His tone cut
like a whip.

“
You didn’t hear what she
called me.”

“
I don’t care what she
called you.” He shoved her forward, forcing her down to her knees.
“Apologize.”

Lola was snuffling, her blue eyes
red-rimmed. Her jaw was starting to bruise. She looked helpless,
pathetic, an unworthy adversary.

Tariza clenched her teeth.
“I’m sorry.” She had to push the words out.

Lola stared at her for a moment. Then
she spat. The glob of spittle struck Tariza on the chin.

The men laughed. Lola
smirked. Tariza wiped Lola’s spit off with the same hand she’d used
to punch her.

Saturnios hadn’t
laughed. He hauled her to her feet and dragged her backward, away
from the clot of others. She couldn’t see where they were going.
Her feet slipped in the snow. He jerked her upright and kept
going.

The darkening
sky and gathered Saturnians disappeared abruptly
behind the red canvas of his tent. It wasn’t the big field tent but
a smaller, wedge-shaped one just big enough for a bed and a couple
of trunks. He spun her around and sat down on his camp bed,
throwing her face down across his knees.

“
What are you doing?” She
struggled to get to her feet.

Saturnios pinned her to his lap with
one heavy arm while he dragged her skirts up with his free hand.
Cold air kissed her bare skin.

“
I’m spanking
you.”

“
Don’t you dare!” She got
her elbows beneath her and tried to lever herself off him, but he
merely leaned on her and kept her in place.

“
You don’t seem to
understand your status, Tariza.” He smacked his palm hard against
her ass. She winced at the sting. “You’re a slave. If I want to
spank you, I’ll do it.”

He delivered a series of
blistering strikes on her ass, alternating cheeks to create a blur
of pain. Tariza bit down on her lip, squirming under the blows. She
would not cry out. She wouldn’t make a sound.

Even though he was hurting
her. And humiliating her. Tariza’s eyes began to water. Her skin
felt like it was on fire. No-one had spanked her since she was ten
years old. Only males were spanked as adults.

In Concordia.

Saturnios quit slapping her
and began instead to squeeze and fondle the sore globes of her ass.
“You’re no longer a princess. You’re my slave. I can spank you and
fuck you wherever and whenever I like. Understand?”

She grimaced, hating him.
“Yes.”

“
Do you?” He pinched
her.

“
Ow! Yes. I
understand.”

He had the nerve to laugh,
a low sound that made her want to bite him. “I doubt that. But you
will, because I’m not going to let you forget it.” He smacked her
again. “I’m going to remind you several times a day,
Tariza.”

Hate him. Hate him. Hate
him.

The smacks ceased. His fingers swept
lazily over her cheeks before slipping between them.

“
You’re quite wet,” he
said, smug male satisfaction in every word.

“
I am not!” She couldn’t be
after what he’d done.

“
Oh, but
you are.” His forefinger moved slickly between her folds. “Feel
that? You’re dripping for me. You
want
to be dominated.”

“
No.”

“
Yes, you do. Admit it. All
those poor slave men bore you. They’re so predictable and weak. You
want a real man, one who won’t let you boss him around.”

She forced a laugh. “I
suppose you think you’re a real man?”

Saturnios smacked her again
– once, twice on each cheek. An involuntary squeak escaped
her.

“
Speak to me with respect
or I’ll continue to punish you.”

“
I’ll never respect
you.”

Another set of smacks brought tears to
her eyes. The moisture rolled down her face. She pressed her lips
together until they were numb, to stop herself from making any
pathetic noises.

He quit spanking her to
shove her thighs apart. “This is what you’re for. You’re a slave,
not a fighter. Don’t ever let me see you hit anyone
again.”

Once again his fingers
boldly explored her cunt. Yet he touched her so gently there, never
hurting her, never tearing at the tender flesh the way she’d once
feared that he would.

Instead, he probed her wet sheath,
worked the cream in luxurious strokes all over her pussy, a barely
audible moan issuing from his throat. Tariza quivered.

“
You want me,” he said, his
voice thick.

She opened her mouth to deny it, but
the words refused to leave her. Because he was right. She ached for
him, her lashes fluttering, eyes rolling up at the exquisite
sensation of his touch on her.

Saturnios lifted her off
his knees, so the bed supported her upper body. She didn’t fight
him. What would be the point? There was no escape from this place;
not at the moment, anyway.

His clothes rustled behind her. Then
his mouth descended hot and wet on her pussy and she gasped. His
big hands spread her wide for the explorations of his lips and
tongue. He seemed to know exactly how to kiss her to inflict the
most pleasure on her.

He moaned again, his tongue
plunging deep inside her. Tariza gave an answering moan. She
couldn’t control herself with him, couldn’t stop her fingers from
clawing at the bedding or her legs from opening even wider,
wordlessly begging for more.

He removed his mouth from
her body and she nearly cried at the loss. More rustling ensued.
Large hands grasped her hips, steadying her as the thick, blunt
head of his cock probed her cunt. He was going to mount her like a
stallion mounts a mare – like a male slave mounts another male
slave.

“
No!” She tried to crawl
away across the bed. “Not from behind!”

“
Hush.” He pressed her into
the bed, keeping her still while he rubbed his cock against her
dripping folds with a soft groan.

His weight oppressed her, the hot
press of his body unbearably arousing. He was too strong for her to
fight, his maleness unchained, dominating her, and that realization
made her tremble with fear and yearning. Goddess, perhaps she did
want to be dominated.

“
Please,” she whispered. “I
can’t.”

“
Yes, you can,
slave.”

Tariza whimpered against the red wool
blanket. He shoved his way into her, just an inch, giving another
of those low-voiced moans. She gasped.

He flexed his hips, rocking against
her as he worked himself deep inside her. Delight bloomed in her,
sharp aching bursts of it as he pushed deeper and
deeper.

“
So tight,” he rasped. “So
damn tight.”

A final thrust put him as
deeply inside her as he could go. She cried out, clutching at the
blanket, helpless. She couldn’t see him, could only feel his hands
grasping her hips, his pelvis bumping rhythmically against
hers.

And his cock, impossibly
big, spearing her mercilessly, over and over. She couldn’t stop her
cries of ecstasy. This position allowed him to penetrate her so
deeply, made the pleasure so intense her cries turned to shrieks
and sobs.

Saturnios reached around, one-handed,
to search between her legs. He found her clit and Tariza exploded
in a punishing orgasm.

His thrusts picked up speed and force,
growing wilder as he groaned her name. The sound of her name on his
lips excited her so much she lifted her hips to him, thrusting back
against him as the pleasure coiled tighter and tighter, rising
toward a second climax.

Dario shouted, his voice rough and
deep as his fingers bit into her hips. Another orgasm burst
gloriously over her. He groaned, his movements slowing.

He’d decimated her, slain
her, laid her waste. She lay panting into the covers on his bed,
not knowing whether to cry or rage. He panted, too, his breath
blowing in soft, warm gusts against the back of her neck. And then
he bit her there, his teeth gently scoring her skin.

She moaned. She couldn’t
stop the sound from escaping her, just as she couldn’t stop her
body from responding with wild lust to his every touch.

“
You are mine,” he said
with soft emphasis. “You are mine and you will obey me.”

“
You won’t break me,
Saturnios.” Her voice sounded confident, but inside she wasn’t so
sure.

“
That’s
Master
to you. Say it.”

“
Saturnios.”

He bit harder, until it
hurt. “Master.”

“
Saturnios.”

This time his bite was hard enough to
draw a cry from her throat. Damn him.

She closed her eyes,
feeling that pit beneath her feet grow deeper and darker. “Master,”
she whispered.

“
I’ll do whatever I have to
do in order to make you behave,” he said. “Whatever it takes to
make you safe.”

“
Does it please you to lie
to yourself?”

“
Your disobedience could
cost you your life. And I’m not going to let you die.”

“
I’m touched.”

He was still inside her; he still
surrounded her, his warm weight pressing her into the
bed.

“
I thought we’d made better
progress.” He bumped his hips into hers. “Guess I was wrong. So
we’re going to try this another way. From now on, everything you
need or want will come from my hand. Everything. And, Tariza,
you’ll have to please me in order to receive. Every bite you take,
every garment you wear will be earned.”

“
How?” She sounded
choked.

“
I’ll put you through your
paces. You’ll perform, either for me or another man.”

“
I really do hate
you.”

He laughed softly as he
withdrew from her body. “Your first lesson is to get a cloth and
clean up both of us.” He slapped her bare ass, not in a punishing
way but almost affectionately. “Go on, now.”

She turned her head to glare at
him.

Saturnios raised a single
black eyebrow. “Ready for another spanking so soon?” The heat in
his gaze suggested he’d enjoy giving it to her.

She didn’t want another
spanking at all, ever. If he gave her one now, she’d probably break
down and cry, doubly humiliating herself.

Tariza got off the bed, her
mouth set in a straight line. “No, milord.”

“
I think we’ll stay with
Master for now.”

She heaved a sigh.
“No,
Master.
”

“
That’s better. Now get
that cloth.”

“
Yes,
Master.
” She glanced around the
crowded tent. “I don’t know where to look.”

“
Try that one.” He pointed
to a small and battered trunk with faded red leather
straps.