Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (6 page)

“It served as a warning and I hope it will dissuade them from engaging us in future battles,” Cabrian said.

“What is done is done. There is no further need to risk damage.”

“I survived unscathed.” Cabrian gestured to his midsection and said, “No damage here.”

Diermont’s face soured. “The creature is too small to bear a litter. Such a tiny thing with no muscles to speak of,” he said while tracing one soft, feminine arm with his cold fingers. “What she does have is a good deal of fat, especially here,” he said while lifting the heavy weight of one of Cassia’s breasts. “Humans are peculiar creatures. I know she appeals to you, but do not forget that you are an overlord who is expected to follow the rules of decency. I will have no warriors of mine accused of bestiality.”

Cabrian appeared insulted. “I don’t consider sex with humans a form of bestiality.”

Diermont released her breast to fix Cabrian with an incredulous expression. “You have become too liberal in your thinking, Lord Ross. Humans have barely evolved past the ape stage, while we are much more advanced.” He wrinkled his nose and his lips formed a moue of distaste. “When she reaches her fertile period, you may petition the king to breed her then.”

It was ironic that the hybrids called the humans animals since that was what the Romans had always called the hybrids. Now she was the animal. Cassia shuddered as Diermont opened her mouth and checked her teeth. He took a handful of her golden tresses and yanked it so hard that her eyes smarted with tears. He treated her like a prized mare that was for sale. It terrified her.

“With all due respect, she is my slave and what I choose to do with her is my business.”

Diermont’s face reddened with anger. “Damn it, Cabrian. You will not contaminate yourself by laying with that human female. You gave her the blue rot and I spared her life. There is nothing more to be done with her.”

Cabrian crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes reflected determination. “Some humans can conceive outside the Mating Periods. More frequent seeding will increase the chances of conception.”

“The chances of that are remote. I will not risk human sheath addiction. You will refrain from penetrating this woman with your cock or you will answer to me. Do you understand this, Lord Ross?”

“Understood,” he said grimly.

“I will examine this specimen daily.” Diermont’s eyes narrowed at Cassia. “Her thighs and cunt had better remain free of stain or you will face punishment.”

A specimen
. Lucine had treated all hybrids as nothing more than resource materials. Now she was getting a taste of the same and it was extremely distasteful. She felt like a thing and not a person. She knew the prince examined her still—she felt his eyes on her and she stared at the floor to avoid eye contact. She hated being looked at and the thought of being subject to daily examinations mortified her.

“Fucking fur makes it hard to see anything,” Diermont grumbled. “Her fleece remains golden as the sun so it appears the staining only affects the skin and not the hair.”

Cassia knew her face was flaming. Apparently hybrid females didn’t grow hair down
there
. Her woman’s fleece was a major inconvenience to the prince since he needed to ensure the absence of sex between herself and Cabrian. It was too bad that it was off limits. She wouldn’t have minded the sex. She glanced at Cabrian but his face remained unreadable. Her breasts felt heavy, and although the climate was temperate and comfortable, without clothing she felt a bit cool. Her nipples tightened and Diermont hissed.

She looked up to see Diermont staring at her chest with fangs protruding past his lips. He said, “Humans are like rabbits, always ready to fuck.”

Cassia wanted to defend herself, but felt the wisest choice was to remain silent. Cabrian filled his hand with Cassia’s breast while his other hand slid around her waist.

Diermont’s reddened, frenzied eyes reflected his agitated state. “You may stroke your pet if it pleases you, but do not fuck her. I’d rather you fuck a sheep if your shaft proves unmanageable.”

“You’ve overstated the danger.” Cabrian cupped Cassia’s sex in his hand and said, “I could fuck this a thousand times and it wouldn’t damage my body.”

He provoked the vampire leader, seemingly on purpose. Cassia couldn’t see how that was a good idea. Diermont’s eyes glowed a deep reddish color and it reminded Cassia of blood. The prince’s fangs lengthened as his eyes followed the movement of Cabrian’s hand. She felt herself growing moist and it shamed her to feel desire mixed with her fear. She gasped when she felt a finger enter her slick depths. He thrust inside her, making her whimper. Diermont’s eyes flashed.

“You said I could stroke my pet, did you not?”

Cassia felt disconcerted and tried to jerk out of Cabrian’s hold. When it was clear he would continue touching her despite Diermont’s presence, Cassia forced herself to relax against him. Diermont gave her a look of approval when she stopped resisting. He said to her, “That’s a good pet. Obey your master in all things.”

“Oh, she is exceptional,” Cabrian groaned.

Diermont narrowed his eyes. “I am watching you, Lord Ross. You may keep your human slave, but do not think to treat her as an equal. She is a common animal and no pets will be pampered here. Do you understand, Lord Ross?”

“Don’t concern yourself with my lowly slave.”

Diermont picked up a heavy metal collar and latched it around Cassia’s throat. She couldn’t stop her hands from grabbing hold of the offensive object. It made her feel like she was suffocating and she wanted to tear it from her throat. Her eyes slid to Cabrian, but she saw no sympathy there. He had been collared once and now it was her turn, at least she guessed that was how he viewed the situation.

The prince attached a leather leash to the collar and handed the other end to Cabrian. “Keep your pet under control or I’ll lock her in a cage where she belongs.”

So she was not only collared, but leashed. Not even Lucine had thought to subject her slaves to such an indignity as this.

“She will cause you no trouble.” Cabrian tugged on the leash, hauling Cassia around like she was a cocker spaniel. “Many hybrids would find it amusing to keep a human pet. If you would allow others—”

“They tempt our males to commit the sin of bestiality, so I am afraid this villa can house only the one pet. There is amusement aplenty with the one on your leash. We have no need of a full kennel.”

Cabrian appeared crestfallen. He reached toward Diermont with his open palm. “My pet will catch a chill with no covering.”

Diermont hissed and tossed the sheet on the floor. “Pets need no clothing. Animals look foolish when they are dressed like hybrids. Keep her in her natural state so you can stroke her often. That is what one does with pets, no?”

Cassia cringed as Diermont leaned forward and pinched one of her nipples between two of his bony fingers. His smile was wolfish.

The prince continued to squeeze her nipple while his other hand tickled her stomach. “My mangy mutts like being rubbed on their chests and bellies.”

“This one likes being rubbed as well.” Cabrian cupped both of her breasts in his hands, dislodging the prince’s claw-like fingers. “Does the sight of this not offend you?”

“Not at all. I sometimes enjoy stroking the little pussy cats that hang around the palace kitchens. Their pelts are so soft and silky. Every now and then I eat the little pussies, but I never fuck them.” Diermont bared his fangs and said, “Meow.” He licked his lips and chortled before assuming a more serious expression. “It is depraved to fuck an animal for pleasure, but it may be excusable when performed as a duty. The king views it that way, in any regard. He funds a few of the breeding camps.” Diermont frowned, his look one of extreme distaste. “Some human breeders are kept there and some of our peers routinely donate their seed.”

“We all must do our part to prevent extinction.” Cabrian pulled his hands from Cassia’s breasts and bowed his head before the prince before pulling sharply on the leash. “Follow me, my pet.”

“They donate their seed, Cabrian, they do not enter into mating unions with those females,” Diermont called out. “You best remember that part.”

Cabrian paused to respond to the prince, causing Cassia to bump against him. “I have not forgotten,” he said as he gripped one of her buttocks to steer her in a different direction.

Cassia stared down at the floor to hide her growing anger. Cabrian was treating her like a piece of meat. She had thought things would be different between them. She stumbled after him while he tugged her by the leash. In the hallway she could feel the weight of the hybrids’ stares as they leered at her. She wanted to protest his callous treatment of her, but she knew that would only earn punishment. She was a fool to believe she meant anything to him. She was a slave, only alive due to her breeding potential. She was grateful her life had been spared, but that didn’t mean she would let him use her womb to breed hybrid warriors.

Cassia’s stomach dropped as she realized the magnitude of what she had done. She had let Cabrian give her the blue rot, which meant she would never be allowed to remarry now that her womb was toxic to humans. A woman who couldn’t produce young had no worth. Her options were limited and she had only herself to blame. She had given into her lust, thinking they would become lovers. But she was only his slave and that was all she would ever be to him.

Chapter 4

“The histrionics grow to new levels around here.” Modez should have moved aside and let the lady fall on her face, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “I fail to see any advantages of employing this helpless act of hers. What does she expect it to gain her?” He gripped the back of Kiera’s head and lifted her face upwards. She looked dead to the world, but he was certain it was feigned. He gave her a little shake and provoked her with his words, certain she would open those eyes. She remained unresponsive, which puzzled him. He hadn’t expected her to continue the game.

“What is wrong with her?” Seamus asked as he assisted in laying Kiera on the floor.

“I’m not certain.” Modez kneeled on the floor at her side. Her coloring was pale. The movement of her chest indicated she was breathing. He tapped her on the shoulder, and when she didn’t respond, he shook her again. So this wasn’t an act. “I think she may have passed out.”

“Are you sure nothing is restricting her breathing?” Seamus asked. “Check her clothing.”

Modez glanced about the room, realizing it would be best to acquire female assistance. “Where is Snotti?”

“She left with her ladies several minutes ago.” Seamus took the lady’s wrist and felt for a pulse. “I told you that we dined too long. You should have let the girl eat with the others. Slighting the girl will cause her undue difficulty here.”

“It is only a matter of time before she realizes she doesn’t belong here. Maybe then she will leave.” Modez began to work on the tiny buttons at her throat. He wasn’t sure if loosening her clothing would help her, but Seamus seemed to think it would. As he reached the buttons covering her upper chest, he was surprised to see she wore some kind of material beneath her gown. It appeared to be some sort of shift, but it was fixed too tightly to her body. “Is this what the ladies are wearing beneath their clothes these days?” It must have been longer than he thought since he had last had a woman if he was that unfamiliar with feminine apparel.

“I’ve seen no other woman with such undergarments, but Kiera has always had unusual tastes.”

“It could be causing the difficulty. I’ll have to remove it, or at least partially remove it.” Unfortunately, he would have to remove part of her gown as well. The oversized gown seemed to swallow her small body and it was a simple manner to shove it to her waist. He stared at the strange undergarment that appeared to be glued to her skin and he wondered at its purpose. He reached for a knife and cut the thick material down the middle till he reached her waist. The cloth parted to reveal pale skin and he couldn’t help but notice the generously rounded mounds of pale flesh rising beneath the torn shift. He resisted the urge to reveal her form more fully, to shove apart the material that was even now threatening to part on its own.

Seamus gasped. “Her breasts are the size of a navel orange. Have you ever seen a hybrid with such succulent fruit?”

“No, only in human females.” Modez shared a knowing look with Seamus. Both males knew what that signified. Modez felt the anger rise inside him, knowing that Diermont harbored the very thing he professed to despise.
A female with human traits
. And he knew Diermont lusted after Kiera. The prince was such a hypocrite.

“That creature is a mongrel. She has to be.” Seamus whistled between his teeth. “It appears the lady was trying to hide that fact by wearing that tunic to flatten her breasts and hips. I wonder if Diermont suspects the truth.”

A mongrel was the product of poor breeding, generally a hybrid whose more recent ancestors were of mixed ancestry, such as human. They were the lowest class of hybrid due to their diluted bloodlines. Modez had called Kiera a mongrel many times as an insult, but in this case it was literally true. And he suspected that Diermont was drawn to her because of her human heritage.

“There is too much of the human in her. If it wasn’t for her set of double fangs, she’d be considered human rather than hybrid.”

“I had heard rumors to that effect.” Modez had heard there was something special about her sheath, something that drove males wild to possess her. “I dismissed them because Diermont has accepted her as part of the family. He has no love of humans, as you know.”

“Diermont cannot see beyond his lust. At some point, he will give in to it and make the girl his mistress, if he has not already done so.”

“Just one more reason for the girl to leave. Diermont thinks to indulge in what he has forbidden to others.” The anger threatened to blind Modez and his head pounded. It seemed humans were off-limits to everyone but the prince.

“She’s still hybrid and I’m sure she fucks like a hybrid as well. Intercourse with her wouldn’t feel anything like it would with a human female.”