Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) (7 page)

When he stood before her, he kept his features expressionless and merely studied her without blinking. He held Alice’s gaze until her cheeks flushed a warm shade of rose. Her fists tightened.

Her jaw was tight, relaxing only long enough to speak sharply. “Let me go home.”

“The rules of Tarok and the Kingdom of Hearts are simple.” He spoke with authority as he ignored her demand. “The first is that you will always treat me with absolute respect, whether in the tone of your voice or with your body’s mannerisms. In my kingdom this means my subjects lower their eyes unless I have given them permission to do otherwise. All must keep their hands clasped behind their backs and their stance wide.”

“You are not my king.” She narrowed her eyes. “I am not your subject.”

Her glare almost amused him, but it was too important that she give freely of her utmost respect, obey him in every way, trust him completely, and follow his every command. The future of his people depended upon it.

“Do not fight me, Alice.” He knew his tone sounded as deadly as he had intended it to and she flinched. “You will not win at that game.”

“It’s not a game.” She spat the words. “I am not your subject and I want to go home.”

A rumble rose in his chest and he nearly roared. “Do
not
test me.”

Fear flashed in her eyes and her throat worked as she swallowed. Good. If fear was necessary for her training, then he would use it until it was no longer required.

He barely controlled his temper. “Lower your gaze.”

Tears of obvious fury glistened in her eyes. She only hesitated a moment before she looked at the floor. His keen hearing caught the words, “Screw you.”

In time he would change her behavior to one suitable for a queen. “Hands behind your back, stance wide.”

She clenched her fists tighter, her knuckles white. But she clearly recognized the authority in his tone and obeyed. She put her hands behind her back, and widened her stance slightly.

He didn’t press her to move her feet farther apart. Not this time. Instead, he turned and left her to wait beside Kalina. He looked over his shoulder and spoke the words of authority from a king to his subject. “Do not move from your position and do not speak, Alice. I will return.”

Alice barely held in a scream. She wanted to chase after the bastard as he left the room and hit him with her fists. Hard. Not that it would do any good against all that powerful muscle.

She tried to control her breathing, slowly drawing it in through her nose and letting it out through her mouth like Alexi had taught her years ago to help rein in her emotions when she was upset.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. She needed a clear head to figure out all of this, and to somehow break free of her captor.

Alice glanced at the woman who stood next to her. Kalina didn’t move, her body appearing relaxed, but her posture straight as she obeyed Jarronn, the supposed king.

Was Alice in some foreign land in another country, where they still had kings and had to obey their every whim? Was this a king’s whim?

Or was she in another world altogether?

God, that was so crazy. She felt like she was in one of the fantasy role-playing video games that her now ex-boyfriend had played frequently. Everything that was happening was all too unbelievable to be reality.

If it were a game, she could gain experience and power, or whatever it was called, and earn weapons as she moved from level to level. She didn’t understand very well how those kinds of RPG games worked, but she’d seen Jon play enough of them that she’d caught on a little.

She swallowed again. Of course she wasn’t in a role-playing game. Then what was it? It didn’t feel like a dream. It was all too real.

Maybe it was all a virtual reality game, and she was somewhere with electrodes on her head as she went through the game.

She nearly groaned. She was grasping at straws and anything else she could get her hands on.

Asking Kalina was the only way she was going to get answers. Without turning her head, Alice asked. “What in the hell is going on? Where am I?”

“Shhh.” Kalina gave a slight shake of her head. “The king did not give you permission to speak.”

Alice nearly snapped the words but held back her temper. “But he didn’t tell
you
not to speak.”

Kalina spoke gently but firmly. “I cannot answer questions you are not allowed to ask as you cannot speak.”

Alice’s eyes stung as she clamped her jaws tight. This was ridiculous. What was she doing?

She raised her head and moved her hands from behind her back. Her hands ached from being permanently clenched into fists and she flexed them.

Somewhere in the room there had to be something she could wear. She was tired of being naked, not to mention embarrassed because of her generous curves as she stood next to a slender woman who was all of a size 6, at least 10 or more sizes less than Alice.

This was bullshit. Alice crossed her arms over her breasts and moved forward to search the room for clothes.

“Alice…” Kalina said in a tone filled with warning and concern.

Alice came to an abrupt stop. Her heart thundered. Lying on the floor by the door was a white tiger, just like the one she’d seen after watching the erotic scene in the meadow. Right before she’d passed out.

“Oh, my God.” Her entire body trembled as the tiger got to its feet and let out a deep rumble.

“Resume the position, Alice.” Kalina said Alice’s name with a hiss of urgency. “Just do it.”

Alice didn’t know what to do but what Kalina told her to. Alice backed up next to Kalina. Barely able to control her breathing, she stepped back into the position next to Kalina and lowered her head. Her hair fell over her eyes and she saw the tiger halt in its approach. It stared at her for a long moment before returning to its spot near the door and lying on the floor again.

Fear and anger caused tears to ache behind Alice’s eyes. She was so close to crying and she didn’t want to cry. All she wanted was for this nightmare to end.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, staring at the floor, before she sensed Jarronn’s approach. She raised her gaze just enough to see his muscular torso in front of her.

Where had he come from? She hadn’t heard the door open. Was the tiger still there?

Jarronn said nothing for a long moment and it pissed her off how she trembled as she waited for him to acknowledge her.

Jarronn studied the entrancing woman in front of him. He had left her standing long enough to show her his control over her. After studying her a long moment, he said. “You may look at me now, Alice.”

She hesitated, and then raised her gaze to his. She was so beautiful he wanted to touch her face and caress away the concern in her features.

Her training,
Jarronn reminded himself. “You have now learned the first rule. The second rule is that you may not reach climax or bring yourself to orgasm unless I allow it. That includes times when you are alone.”

She narrowed her eyes, showing her displeasure. She straightened her posture and closed her stance.

“The third,” he continued, ignoring her obvious dislike of his commands and her disobedience, “is that you shall not speak unless I have granted you permission. You may ask, but I will not always allow it.”

Alice’s lower lip trembled and she glared at him, but she remained silent. That silence was a good sign indeed.

“The fourth rule is that you will follow my orders without question.” He watched the flare in her eyes and he almost purred. “And the fifth rule, when in my presence and when within the castle walls, you will wear only these.”

He held out his palm and watched as Alice glanced at his hand. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Her gaze shot back to his, but he gave her a look that meant he would brook no argument from her.

Alice’s chest burned with heat as she stared at the heart nipple rings and the collar with its long, fine-linked silver chain that matched Kalina’s. She cut her gaze to that arrogant sonofabitch who watched her with one eyebrow raised as if he was waiting for her to argue.

She trembled and it grated on her pride as she asked, “Permission to speak, Milord?”

He gave a single nod. “Granted.”

“I am not a dog,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Milord.”

The bastard smiled. “Thank the spirits you are not.” He gestured toward a pair of silver bracelets lying on the table. The bracelets reflected the warm glow of candlelight yet appeared cold and unforgiving. They were actually manacles like the ones Kalina had worn when the men had taken her.

“If you do not wish to add those to your wardrobe,” Jarronn said in a tone as deadly as the sharp edge of a knife, “you will clasp your hands behind your back again and widen your stance. Now.”

Alice glared at him, her lower lip trembling and angry tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She wanted to tell him to shove the collar and its chain up his finely muscled ass, and those stupid nipple rings, too. Hell, she wanted to jam them all up there herself. The silver leash glittered as it dangled over his palm, reminding her of who had the power at this moment, and it held her back as if she were a dog barking at the end of her chain.

A muscle twitched in Jarronn’s jaw, and Alice knew this was a battle she wasn’t going to win—at least not yet. Raising her chin, she moved her hands behind her back and clasped them together so tightly her fingers ached. In a last bit of rebellion, she flipped him the bird. He couldn’t see, but it made her feel a little better.

Jarronn gave a nod of approval. “Always thrust out your chest when you are looking at me, so I might better view your beautiful treasures.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She had to get out of this loony bin soon, even if he was sexy enough to make her damn near orgasm with just a look.

He glanced toward the manacles and Alice arched her back.

“Lovely,” he murmured as he raised his hand and caressed one of her large breasts.

A moan threatened to spill from her lips, and she had to struggle to keep it back. His touch was so firm and his fingers callused. Everything about the way he touched her was completely sensual. He retrieved one of the red crystal hearts and Alice caught her breath as he dipped his head and laved her nipple with his rough tongue.

Jarronn rose up and gently pushed the ring over her hardened nipple, and Alice almost let loose a groan from the exquisiteness of his touch. He pushed a slide up until the ring felt snug but comfortable, and damn if it didn’t turn her on even more. Thank God it wasn’t a clamp. She could live with the rubber-like ring around her nipple that the heart dangled from.

He repeated the same motions with her other side, caressing her breast and licking her nipple, and then slipping the second ring on.

The lust spiraling through Alice almost wiped out all thoughts of anything else. But not quite.
I’ve been kidnapped—but God, it’s like somebody kidnapped me and threw me into my wildest fantasy. He’s an ass, but I want him. Why? What the hell’s wrong with me?

Kalina remained silent beside them, but Alice thought she caught the woman watching them from beneath her eyelids. Kalina obeyed with such easy grace and actually seemed pleased to do as Jarronn instructed her to. She liked being under his control.

Alice did not. Not one damned bit.

Something knocked at the back of her brain. All those times she’d fantasized about being tied up and controlled by a Dom. They had just been fantasies, right?

Jarronn reached toward her with the red collar and she flinched without meaning to.

He frowned. “My dominance and control is something you crave, Alice. I sense it within you and you will accept it soon enough.”

She wanted to tell him that he and his dominance could take a hike. However, the thought of being forced to stand in the position again, for who knew how long, had her biting her tongue. Not to mention that white tiger that had been guarding the door.

She glanced in the tiger’s direction from beneath her eyelashes, and to her surprise saw that the beast wasn’t there. Well, what if Jarronn brought the tiger back to keep Alice in her place again? Maybe the tiger wouldn’t back off the next time.

When his hands slid the leather around her neck her gaze met his and she saw fierce desire raging in his eyes. Fiery heat roared through her as his bare chest brushed her erect nipples, causing the heart dangles to swing against her breasts. His leather pants rubbed up against her, and the hard length of him branded her.

Alice was certain her heart had even stopped beating. For that one moment she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Nothing seemed to matter now but the feel of his strong hands fastening the collar around her throat. His masculine scent of wind and sandalwood flowed over her, and the heat emanating from him burned into her as his body pressed against hers.

As he finished with the collar, the fine silver chain slid down between her shoulder blades. Jarronn brushed his lips over her forehead and stepped back. “You are mine, Alice. Welcome to the Kingdom of Hearts.”

Alice could only stare at him as he reached toward the bed and picked up his crimson silk scarf and her pale blue satin ribbon. He closed his hand over the strips of cloth, the blue and red ends hanging out to either side of his fist like waterfalls of fire and ice—and then the scarf and ribbon simply vanished.

No sleight of hand, no stuffing them up his sleeve or in his pant pocket. They just flat out disappeared.

Jarronn shifted his gaze to Kalina. “Do not let her leave the room, and see to her needs.”

Kalina gave a single nod. “Yes, Milord.”

He turned to Alice, his eyes hard and dark. “You will not venture from this room until you have learned your place.” And with that the bastard turned and strode toward the doorway.

Alice watched Jarronn leave, his leather pants snug around his tight ass. His black hair brushed his shoulders, his broad and naked back flexing with power as he headed out of the room. The sound of his boot steps grew fainter until Alice heard nothing but Kalina’s gentle breathing and the chirrup of insects outside the window. The room seemed somehow empty without Jarronn’s presence, and even with the other woman there Alice felt suddenly alone.