Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (39 page)

“It’s the heat,” he said with a sigh. “I cannot even converse with you when you’re like this.” He rested his head on her shoulder. “You’re consumed by need.”

“Yes. I need you.” Her hand worked him with a frantic pace. “I want to bite you again. Let me. I’ll do anything you want.”

Modez lifted her onto a nearby table. She scooted forward, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her hands struggled with the opening of his trousers and attempted to free his cock. “You took too much blood when you drank, nearly enough to kill a male. You should learn more control.”

Kiera tugged at his trousers. “Get these off.”

His hands gripped her wrists and held them immobile. “This isn’t a private area.” He turned his head to scan the corridor. “We’ll need to take this elsewhere.”

Modez’s voice was low and husky. It affected Kiera, making her desperate to feel his cock inside her. Making her eager to play the part of blood whore and sexual servant. She knew it was the heat and she didn’t care.

They were interrupted by the sounds of a male clearing his throat. “You are wanted for a meeting,” Torin said. “So your…discussion with the girl will have to wait.”

Kiera pulled away from Modez and pulled her tunic into place. Thankfully her overly long tunic concealed her stained skin. Torin’s arrival killed her libido and brought her to her senses. She had often imagined the confrontation she would have with Modez once he found the missing key, but somehow she had never imagined seduction being involved. She was acting like an enthralled pleasure slave and being in heat wasn’t enough to excuse her behavior. It was mortifying that another lord had witnessed her shameful behavior.

“We were only talking,” Modez said when Torin continued to look at him with suspicion.

“I’m glad. It looked like you were about to fuck Diermont’s ward without his permission, so I’m relieved to know you were only talking.” Torin’s voice was filled with sarcasm. “The next time you wish to
talk
to the chit, you will do it in the prince’s presence. I’m sure he does not mind you taking an interest in the girl, but Diermont made it clear that she is to be supervised in all things. By him.”

Modez practically snarled at Torin. “Diermont asked that I supervise Kiera’s tasks. I am thus required to provide instruction, which was what I was doing.”

“I doubt the prince asked you to provide private instruction. He enjoys watching lessons of an amorous nature.” Torin’s eyes lit on Kiera. “And I know how much he is anticipating hers.”

Kiera didn’t need any reminders. The thought of performing for the prince made her feel sick inside.

“She needs no lessons.” Modez frowned when Torin raised an eyebrow. “She has tasks that take precedence over sport in the dungeon. We are at war. We don’t have time for any of that mess.”

“Is that why you’ve failed to make an appearance in the dungeon?”

“I’ve been busy. With work.”

“There’s always time for play.” Torin grinned. “Diermont’s been spending more time in the dungeon lately. I’ve been invited there in your stead. But I suppose now that Gwyneth is back you’ll have no interest in the sport.”

“I’m not getting back with Gwyneth. I explained it to her already and asked her to leave.”

Torin looked at Kiera speculatively. “You sniffing after another female? I’m not sure Gwyneth will stand for that.”

“She has no say in what I do.” He avoided looking in Kiera’s direction. “I’m not in the market for another mate. I enjoy sport as much as any male, but the play in the dungeon grew tedious long ago. You’ll tire of it soon enough.”

Kiera followed the two males at a distance. She was starting to lose control. If she wasn’t careful, she’d give herself away and every hybrid at the villa would learn she was in heat. She’d rather keep that knowledge to herself. One could not predict what Diermont would do with such knowledge.

* * *

Modez was irritated with himself for getting caught in such a compromising position with Kiera. It was the last thing he needed. He joined the other hybrids in the library and listened as they debated the identity of the traitor.

“Seamus McLeod admitted to being opposed to the killing of humans. He wanted to take slaves,” one of the hybrids said. “And now he’s missing. Is it just a coincidence or something more?”

Modez fisted his hands to stop them from choking the stupid hybrid. Seamus was his friend and wasn’t capable of treachery. “You accuse one of our noble lords with no justification. Seamus would never betray us.”

“I agree,” Diermont said. “It has to be someone else. Adonis is addicted to human sheaths and isn’t right in the head any longer. Perhaps it is him.”

Adonis’ response was volcanic. “I have every reason to hate the Romans. I would never betray my people.”

“You took human lovers,” Shane McDonald said to Adonis. “Were you not involved with Lucine’s own daughter?”

“You know as much as anyone how I hated that bitch!” Adonis tried to charge toward Shane but was held in place by several of the hybrids. “Maybe it was you, McDonald. You’re quick to lay the blame elsewhere. You spent time in that barn. Maybe you developed some relationships of your own with the Romans.”

“Fuck you, Adonis,” Shane shouted. “I’d never side with the Romans and never again would I be their slave.”

Diermont held his hand up in the air to gain control of the room. “I don’t believe it was any of you. Let us not throw accusations at each other. I want facts. Who has reason to betray us to the Romans?”

“Lord Ross’ slave would do it,” one of the hybrids said. “She’s part of the Maximus family and has already tried to escape once with that Roman.”

“She hasn’t been outside the villa,” Cabrian said with anger in his eyes and outrage in his voice. “She has had no opportunity to betray us. I’ve had her under constant guard.”

Modez knew he needed to redirect the topic before Cabrian killed the hybrids who spoke against his slave. “What do we know about the druid that was lost?”

“Visant Brannon came highly recommended by Sulian. He is one of his protégés,” Diermont said. “But I don’t know much of his background.”

“And Bloodfanger. Can he be trusted?” Cabrian asked.

“He has no reason to betray us to the Romans. He holds a hatred toward them that is as fierce as my own.” Diermont turned to one of the other druids present. “Investigate the druid named Visant. See what you can dig up about his past.”

“We must rescue our brothers,” Torin said. “We’ll come at them from a different direction and we won’t give them the chance to corner us again.”

“I agree.” Diermont issued orders and the hybrids broke into two groups.

Modez followed Torin through the portal and wound up near the Plavus estate. This time, they wouldn’t take the tunnels. The estate was devoid of activity, which wasn’t surprising. They had suspected the Romans would run.

He approached with warriors at his side. It wasn’t the same without Seamus and he felt the loss like a knife in the chest. The Roman villa stood majestically against the hot sun, the white stucco gleaming like the inside of a seashell. There was no sign of human inhabitation. He knew without a doubt that the place had been abandoned. That came as no surprise. What he found troubling were the lack of prints in the sandy roads. When they had searched the surrounding grounds, they saw no footprints. No wheel tracks. The chariots were parked in the back and the stables were full of horses. They had not taken off by foot, beast, or conveyance. “We’re too late. How did they move that fast?”

“They must have had help. A portal was opened inside the main house,” one of the druids said while pointing to the villa. “I can detect traces of it.”

“Can you determine where they went?” Torin asked.

The druid frowned. “I doubt it. I’m not a good tracker, not like Visant.”

The hybrids searched the villa and the surrounding buildings, but the humans had gone and along with them the captured hybrids. Modez worried for Seamus. They looted the villa, bringing back various treasures, but it didn’t make up for the hybrids they had lost. Modez felt defeated by the time they returned to New Babylon. Diermont announced that he would send for Sulian since he was a renowned tracker. The few druids that remained with them were not proficient enough to find the missing.

“I am sorry. The Romans covered their tracks well,” said one of the druids who had been with Diermont’s warriors. “We tracked them to some locations in Bacchus then we lost the trail.”

“Someone knew what he was doing by opening up a series of portals,” Diermont said. “Visant could have done this.”

“I’ve been working with the druid for several years,” one of the druids said. “Visant wouldn’t have betrayed us.”

“Well someone did and I want that hybrid brought to justice.”

The meeting ended and they were dismissed. The next few days passed in a blur. They buried their dead and grieved for the missing. Modez spent much of his time with the druid trackers, but all of their efforts to find the missing hybrids met with utter failure.

Chapter 25

Modez followed the rest of the warriors into the dining hall where Snotti announced they would take their meals. It was time for things to get back to normal, or at least that was the general idea. He took his seat and stared at the empty one beside him where Seamus normally sat. It depressed him knowing that his friend may never be found. He also knew how badly the Romans treated their captives. Shane and Cabrian had described how they were kept in deplorable conditions in a barn. They were kept naked in chains and were hardly fed. They stole their seed to make drugs from it and forced some of the captives to participate in experiments to test new weapons. The poison arrows and the hybrid slave collars were some of the technologies created in the labs operated by the Maximus family.

“Cheer up, handsome.” Gwyneth sat in Seamus’ seat and tried to touch his hand.

Modez flinched and moved away from her. “I don’t want you near me.”

“I am your mate. My place is at your side.”

“You have no place here. You should leave.”

Modez ignored Gwyneth and tried to focus on eating, but he had little interest in food. The more Gwyneth pleaded with him for forgiveness, the blacker his mood became. He finally gave up on eating, leaving before he had been dismissed by the princess. He couldn’t stand one more minute of his former mate’s presence and he couldn’t take her sitting in Seamus’ seat. He paced the villa, feeling restless. He wanted to kill some Romans but none were around.

“Come now, let us retire with a few drinks now that the ladies have gone.” Diermont motioned for Modez to return to the dining hall.

Modez blew out a breath. “Is Gwyneth gone as well?”

“Yes, although I think you should spend some time with her. Get to know her again. She is very sorry for how she treated you and she wants to make amends.”

“I’m not taking her back.” Modez returned to the dining hall and saw that the dinner trays had been removed. Thankfully, Gwyneth and the other noblewomen were gone. The only females who remained were Kiera and Druscilla.

“They will be serving our drinks and such,” Diermont said. “What you need is a woman to lift your spirits. If you will not accept Gwyneth, perhaps you should consider taking Druscilla as your leman.”

“I don’t want Druscilla.” Modez desired only Kiera and he had managed to arrange matters to his satisfaction. The female was under his control. She was conveniently enslaved to her base desires, and once he allowed her to feed from him again, she wouldn’t wish to leave his keeping. The biting, blood sharing, frequent copulation, and breeding attempts—those were normally elements of mated pairings. It didn’t bother him that he was using her like one would a mate. He knew that as long as he didn’t bite her with his mating fangs, no mating bond could form. She may become addicted to him, but without that bond, he wouldn’t become addicted to her. That suited him fine.

Diermont removed his outer cloak and passed it to a servant. “I’ve been overseeing Druscilla’s training ever since her mating test with Adonis ended. Torin has been using her and I plan to take her soon, but I would rather share the wench with you.”

“Druscilla doesn’t mind being used as a whore?”

“She’s willing to do anything to remain in Snotti’s service. She is afraid she will be dismissed like Kiera. She fears being banished from the palace. She knows she has no real lineage to speak of and is dependent upon my goodwill.”

“Thank you for the offer but I must decline.” He needed to see to Kiera. Soon she would need to go into seclusion to protect her from the other males who would be able to scent that she was in heat. The last time he had checked her, the scent had been subtle and barely noticeable.

“I’ve missed your presence in the dungeon.”

Modez hadn’t missed it. He was tired of fucking females in front of the prince and handing them off to Diermont. He didn’t enjoy watching Diermont use the women and what he did to them was often disgusting. “I haven’t been in the mood.”

“I’m worried about you.” Diermont took a seat at the head of the table and motioned for his relative to sit beside him. “We used to have such fun together and now all you do is mope.”

“I haven’t been feeling it lately.”

“It’s because of what that bloodsucking wench did to you, isn’t it? She took your manhood from you.”

“It’s not that.” Modez shook his head. “She took my blood and nothing else. I recovered.”

“She took your cock as well, didn’t she?”

Modez felt himself harden within his trousers as he thought about what she had done to him. “I didn’t mind that part of it.”

Diermont’s eyes flashed red. “Some unknown warrior woman forced herself on you and you say you didn’t mind it? That is fucked up, man.”

He shifted upon the hard wood chair. “I could have stopped her at any time, but I chose not to because her body was pleasing and she did really nice things with her hands.”

“Did you forget so soon that you nearly died? She made you weaker than a human.”

He hadn’t forgotten. Kiera would compensate him for every stolen drop.