Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) (15 page)

Boy, if that didn’t sound weird.
Twilight Zone
weird.

A lesson. He wanted to teach her a lesson. Did she even want to be taught anything?

“You are beautiful, Alice,”
he’d said before he left. He’d told her she was lovely and perfect and so many other wonderful things more times than she remembered ever hearing in her life. Oh, she’d been told she had a pretty face and that she’d be lovely if she shed a few pounds—okay, a lot—but she never remembered anyone saying that she was beautiful just the way she was.

If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t bad looking at all. Her eyes were her best feature—large and almond shaped and a unique shade of aqua. She might not be slender, but she had a nice curvy shape, and she rather liked the fact that she had such large breasts. Her hair might be fine and not as wavy as Alexi’s thick auburn locks, but Alice was a true blonde and at the office she had worked with women who paid to make their hair that shade.

But beautiful… Alice had never allowed herself to think that way. It would be prideful or conceited to think of herself as beautiful, wouldn’t it?

The moonlight coming into the room seemed brighter yet. Alice fancied dancing in those rays, nude, and not caring who saw her—maybe with Jarronn and his brothers all watching—perhaps reveling in the fact that the men enjoyed her body and found the sight of her nakedness arousing.

A wild sensation skittered through her body. What if she was beautiful, at least according to any standards on any planet in the galaxy other than her own? After all, wasn’t Rubenesque in before Twiggy and supermodels came along?

Say it,
a voice whispered in her mind. Was it her own conscience?
Say it out loud.

“I am—” Her words locked in her throat. She couldn’t.

Yes, you can.

Alice swallowed and thought of herself the way Jarronn saw her. The appreciation in his gaze as he caressed her with the scarf, when he’d trailed the flogger over her skin, and when he’d bathed her in the pool. His words, his touch, the look in his eyes—it was incredible, unlike anything she’d ever known before.

Say it,
the voice repeated.

“I am beautiful,” Alice whispered. A tingling started at her nape and for a moment she just sat there. In a much louder voice, with more purpose behind it, she said, “I am beautiful!”

Saying that one statement aloud was—it was
powerful. Freeing.

She said it again, and yet again as she pictured herself as she truly was, not through the eyes of people on fat-hating Earth. It might have been minutes that it took to realize the truth, or it could have been hours. What freed her might have been what she saw in Jarronn’s eyes. It might have been what she’d known all along. Hell, it could have been the elixir that made it all so crystal clear.

Whatever the case, it rang deep in her heart. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The weight of years of verbal and emotional abuse she’d suffered by the mouths of her peers and men she’d been with, and the self-abuse she’d piled on herself.

She was beautiful, damn it. And she deserved to be happy.

A warm feeling embraced her and she smiled. It didn’t matter anymore that she was manacled and chained. What was important was that for the first time in her life Alice O’Brien could conceive of loving herself as much as she’d always wanted to be loved by everyone else.

*

It was early morning when Jarronn awoke at the foot of the turret door where he was curled up in his tiger form. Even as he had slept, his mind remained conscious of Alice. He had felt her struggle as she worked through her lesson. And his heart had known great joy when he sensed her acceptance and the freeing of her mind, heart, and soul that came with it.

The elixir had aided in her progress, yes, but the knowledge had to have been within her already to allow her to reach completion in hours rather than days.

Jarronn stretched and unsheathed his claws and gave a low rumble before rising and shifting into his man form. After he unlocked the door, he pushed it open and saw his fair Alice sprawled on the cushion on her belly, her blonde tresses completely covering her face. Her hands were manacled just above her hips.

He eased up behind Alice and kissed first one ass cheek, then the next. She moaned and arched her hips, and he smiled as he scented her immediate arousal. His body responded by hardening to marble, and it was only his tight control that kept him from entering her at once.

“Jarronn?” Alice murmured from beneath all that blonde hair. She shifted her head but couldn’t move the hair from her eyes with her wrists bound. “I mean, Milord.”

“Good morning, Alice.” With a twist of his fingers, her manacles vanished and he released her chain from the center ring.

Alice gave what could be a sigh or a moan as he helped her to a sitting position. Yes, something about her most definitely was different this morning, but she kept her head bowed and her hair still hung over her face.

Using both his hands, he lifted the curtain of hair and pushed it away from her face. “You may look at me, Alice.”

She raised her gaze to meet his and a tentative smile crossed her face. Her expression was lighter, less weighted, and satisfaction curled in his belly.

“Do you have something to say to me?” He trailed his fingers over her cheek, lightly caressing her soft skin. “You have permission to speak.”

Alice sat up straighter and eyed him squarely. “I am beautiful, Milord.”

Jarronn didn’t allow his pleasure at her words to show in his expression. Instead he gave a slow nod. “Yes, Alice, you are very beautiful. It pleases me that you see yourself as you should.”

Pink tinted her cheeks and she gave him a shy smile that slammed into his heart and soul like an anvil. If he didn’t know better, he’d think this maiden had already won his heart. He produced a vial of an exotic-scented
tili
oil and proceeded to rub it onto her wrists and arms. It would make any soreness or ache disappear at once. After sending the vial back to his chamber with his magic, Jarronn summoned a tiny bit of nourishing cake.

“This small amount will give you strength after being bound all night, but will do little for your hunger,” he said as he held his palm out with the piece of white cake on it. “It is
eetmi
cake.”

Alice giggled and then clapped her hand over her mouth and looked at him with her eyes wide. He raised an eyebrow and she dropped her hand to her lap and said, “I’m sorry, Milord. It just reminded me about this story about… Never mind.”

A few more small giggles escaped her as she ate the cake, but Jarronn simply watched her devour the treat.

When she had swallowed the last morsel, he helped her to her feet, then led her from the turret, through the castle, and toward the rainbow garden for their breakfast. In keeping with her training, he had her follow behind him, her head bowed and her hands behind her back.

The morning sunshine felt wonderful upon Alice’s skin as she followed Jarronn out of the castle and down the cool marble steps. It was amazing how much energy that one tiny piece of
eetmi
cake had given her. She bit her lip to stifle another giggle at the thought of that cake and how like Alice in Wonderland she truly was. Although this Wonderland wasn’t fit for children to read.

And it was absolutely breathtaking. She wondered at how the clouds were both green and blue and how clean and fresh everything smelled.

She also wondered at why she was in such a good mood after spending a night manacled and chained. Maybe there was some kind of drug in that elixir and the cake that caused her outlook to be somewhat perky.

Her hair slid across her bare shoulders and she almost stopped in her tracks as she realized there were other people outside the castle and in the garden that she and Jarronn were now walking through. Embarrassment flushed over her, but when she realized that most of them were naked, too, she decided what the hell.

Go with the flow, Alice.

Smells of roasted meat, baked breads, broiled vegetables, and sweet pastries met her nose as they reached a low table, just right for two people, but with no chairs. It was nestled in the gardens, surrounded by flowers and other greenery. The spot was secluded, private enough to make her feel more relaxed than she had been with all those naked people walking around.

When he stopped and turned toward her, Jarronn’s stomach rumbled loud enough for her to hear, although it sounded more like a roar. The corner of Alice’s mouth quirked and she glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. He returned her smile and instructed her to kneel beside the table.

“Position,” Jarronn reminded her with a firm expression.

Alice was quick to put her hands behind her back and lower her eyes.

Almost dizzy with hunger, she eyed the display of unusual-looking dishes that right now smelled better than anything she’d ever smelled before. Why was Jarronn forcing her to kneel before the table? She thought about rebelling, just out of habit.

Yet after last night, it was like she wasn’t fighting this world anymore. Instead she was more accepting of it, as she was of herself. The more she came to recognize her new reality, the more she accepted herself.

Jarronn knelt beside her and from beneath her lashes she could see his obvious desire. Seeing the length and girth of him made her mouth water, a hunger of a different kind, and she wanted to go down on him again. Or better yet, have him inside her.

He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, so she asked, “May I eat now, Milord?”

“You may look at me,” he said as he reached across the table and selected a morsel.

She kept her hands behind her back, and her mouth watered even more as he brought what looked like a heart-shaped cracker to her mouth. “Open,” he commanded, and when she obeyed he slid the food into her mouth, his fingertips brushing over her lips, causing her to shiver.

Alice closed her eyes and moaned as the cracker thing melted on her tongue. It was similar to unleavened bread, topped with a creamy herbed paste, and it was incredible.

A hot, wet tongue swiped her nipple and she gasped as her eyes popped back open to see his dark head lowered and his tongue moving to her other breast. “Milord,” she murmured, and arched up toward him, but he pulled away.

“Remember, my lovely Alice.” The heart tattoo on his biceps rippled as he reached for another food item on the table, this one looking like a nickel-sized meatball. “You are here for my pleasure, not yours.”

A shiver trailed her spine.
Wow.
That one simple statement gave her such a charge. He desired her for his pleasure. Somehow that made being with him even more exciting. This king could have anyone in his kingdom, the gorgeous Kalina even, yet he chose to be with Alice.

It reminded her again of their exchange of power—her submission for his pleasure.

Heady stuff.

“Open,” he repeated, and slipped the little ball of food through her lips.

Immediately a burst of wild flavors erupted, nutty, spicy, and exotic. At the same moment Jarronn tweaked both her nipples hard enough that she would have cried out if her mouth weren’t full.

The meal continued with Jarronn alternating by taking a bite of food for himself, then feeding Alice as he erotically tortured her. She almost screamed when he made her eat a piece of red fruit that tasted like a mixture of pineapple, coconut, and honey while he slipped one finger between her thighs. The collar, chain, and nipple rings, were constant reminders that she was his to command and control.

And she liked it. Liked it a lot.

With the way he was making her feel, so hot and wet and needy, she wanted him to have his way with her and
now.

When they had finished dinner and it was time for dessert, Jarronn ordered her to get to her feet and thrust her breasts forward while widening her thighs. “Eat this sweetcake,” he said as he stood and slipped a heart-shaped piece of the golden substance into her mouth. While she chewed the dessert, he lowered down on his haunches like a tiger and drew his tongue along her soft folds. A thrill shot through her belly like a bolt of lightning. She almost came at once.

The sweetcake was heavy and chewy, locking her jaws together, and she couldn’t speak to tell him she was close to climaxing. His light stubble rubbed against her folds, stimulating her even further, and his eyes were on hers as he licked her again. Surely he could see what he was doing to her?

Her jaws still locked, Alice caught his gaze, asking him with her eyes if she could climax, but he shook his head,
no.

She endured more strokes of his tongue and tried to fight off the orgasm, but it was far too powerful. A small shriek escaped her as the sweetcake dissolved and her jaws unlocked. The orgasm tore through her, the sensations like jagged, intense bolts of lightning, this time throughout her entire body and prickling her skin. Lights flashed in her mind and she trembled all over. How she managed to stay standing, she wasn’t sure.

While her hips rocked against his mouth, Jarronn pressed his face harder against her folds, lapping at her with his rough tongue and growling as he devoured her. It was as if he wasn’t thinking at all of food. He was hungry for
her
and only she would satisfy him
.

Fear curled in her belly, mixed with the intensity of her orgasm. She had come without his permission. Would he lock her in the tower again?

Alice braced her hands on his shoulders to keep herself from collapsing on him. “Jarronn—I mean Milord.” She could barely speak, so intense were the sensations. “I can’t take anymore. I’m—I’m going to come again.”

Jarronn eased to his feet with feline grace. Alice moved her hands off his shoulders as he rose and positioned them behind her back. She straightened the best she could while feeling like she was going to melt into a puddle of goo.

He reached for her, grasped a handful of her hair, and dragged her roughly to him. All that kept her from falling forward was his hold on her. The pain of her hair being pulled was actually an enjoyable pain, one that made her ache for him to be even rougher with her. To take even more control of her.