Mastering Marissa Page 9

  Eyes down, barely daring to breathe, trying to withdraw and become invisible, she felt Kytar’s shrug. “Some things are worth claiming.”

  “Her eyes are too bold.”

  “She’s in training.”

  Talcor moved back a step as if startled by Kytar’s words. Then he moved in and knelt in front of Marissa, running his hands over and around her breasts.

  When he pinched both nipples hard, she flinched and barely stopped her moan of pain. He reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her eyes up. Harsh lines framed his mouth. His eyes were a cold blue.

  Marissa shivered at the ice she saw in his eyes. Maybe her father had been right. Maybe Kytar had treated her kindly. She knew she never wanted to be in Talcor’s hands.

  Talcor stood and said, “Davo’s daughter.”

  “Yes.”

  “She flinches and her responses are far too inhibited.”

  “She’ll learn.”

  She could feel Talcor’s eyes roaming her body, like a cold hand and her nipples tightened. “A delicate problem.”

  “But a fascinating challenge.”

  “Worth the risk?”

  “I think so.”

  Talcor nodded. “You know where my allegiances rest. If you need help, you have my willing aid.”

  “I appreciate your support.”

  Marissa didn’t understand the undercurrent of meaning in the short exchange. Was Kytar going to let Talcor have her? The thought terrified her far beyond any fear she felt of Kytar.

  Talcor walked off.

  Kytar stood still for a long moment before pulling on her leash. “Stand,” he commanded.

  She started to walk, but Kytar stopped her. “I didn’t tell you to walk.”

  Startled by the harshness in his voice, Marissa looked up into black icy eyes. “We’ll go home now,” he stated.

  His tone sent a chill of unease down her spine. What had she missed? The exchange with Talcor seemed to have hardened Kytar’s resolve. She couldn’t feel any sympathy or understanding or comfort from Kytar. It was as if he’d been infused with Talcor’s cruelty. Marissa shivered as Kytar led her home, walking too fast for her to keep to his side.

  In the entryway, Kytar turned toward her. “Kneel,” he commanded and his tone was too harsh to ignore. She looked up at him as she sank to her knees, but he didn’t meet her gaze. Instead, he removed her leash and stood, staring down at her for a long time. His mouth flattened in a grim line, he nodded as if he’d reached a decision.

  Kytar bent and grabbed her hand. Pulling her to her feet, he led her into the room with the fire. She shuddered, remembering the last time she’d been in this room. Sitting down, he pulled her into his lap and wound his hand through her hair. He used her hair to tug her head back, leaving her neck arched and her collar prominent.

  “Whether you like it or not, that’s my collar you wear and you wear it voluntarily,” he stated. His flat voice sent a thrill of fear through Marissa, even as he bent and used his tongue to trace a line down her neck, sending shivers down her back. Fear warred with arousal and she was unprepared for Kytar’s next question.

  “What did you think of Talcor?”

  Her eyes flew up to meet his. “He frightened me,” she responded before thinking.

  “You’ve been frightened since you got here so that is not exactly surprising.”

  “But…”

  He waited for her to continue.

  “He seems crueler than you.”

  “He has a point though. Your eyes are too bold.”

  Marissa lowered her eyes and stared at the carpet. Kytar seemed strange. What had changed? Was it some dominance thing Talcor had triggered? Marissa held her breath waiting for Kytar’s response. She simply didn’t understand enough of this world and its customs. Why was he angry? Was he angry with her? What would he do? She didn’t have long to wait to find out.

  Kytar bent his head and grazed her lips with his. He gently nibbled on her lower lip before moving to deepen the kiss. His tongue demanded entrance. She moaned as she opened for him and her arms crept around his neck, tangling in the hair at his neck. Thought stopped as she fell into the grip of her deepening arousal.

  She squirmed, feeling Kytar’s cock under her buttocks. She wanted him to feel the same helplessness she did. She wanted him buried deep inside. She needed him and moaned again as his hand played with her nipples, gently pinching and tormenting her, while his tongue possessed her mouth.

  She groaned when he broke the kiss. “Don’t stop,” she demanded her voice husky with need. She tried to pull his head down again, but he grabbed her wrists.

  Easily holding her still, he said, “No.”

  “What do you mean no?” yelled Marissa, fear forgotten as her body throbbed with need.

  “Stop! You’ll do as I say,” Kytar said, his eyes gleaming black as he stared down at her. “Unless you wish to call off the challenge?”

  “Damn you! Damn you! I will have my freedom.”

  “Then I will teach you grace and submission to my will. You can’t fight me. You can’t make demands. I won’t allow your willfulness to continue. It’s a danger to us both.” Kytar stared down at her. Impossibly, his eyes had deepened even more to icy onyx with no hint of brown. His mouth flattened into a grim line.

  She stilled. Had she pushed him too far? Should she call off the ritual? Her heart pounded as fear threaded through her arousal. She moved to get off his lap, but his grip tightened, preventing her escape.

  “Your father told me he sent you some vids. What did you like best about them?”

  She started at his question, face flaming. She remembered her responses to the vids. Here she was naked in his lap and she’d just begged him to take her, why should the vids embarrass her?

  “Tell me, little one. Tell me what you felt,” he said in a low and insistent voice.

  She shuddered as memories of her responses came back.

  He chuckled and a touch of brown bled back into his eyes. “Did you imagine yourself helpless before a man’s will? Did you like the way the man focused on his woman’s need? Did you hold off on your orgasm or did you find you couldn’t wait the way those women did?”

  She closed her eyes as his words beat into her. How could he know?

  “I know what you felt because you witnessed bindings, not just sex. You demand sex and expect me to comply. Do you really think you’d enjoy commanding me?”

  Marissa’s breath hitched as she realized that she’d be disappointed if he simply gave in to her.

  “Ah, little one, now you’re beginning to understand.”

  She shivered as she looked up at him, knowing she couldn’t deny the truth of his words. “What—”

  He placed a finger on her lips, stopping her questions. “Your consent is granted under the laws of the challenge. During training I will do things I would normally never consider doing to a companion.”

  Marissa felt his implacable will deep in her bones. Damn, she didn’t know how much more stimulation she could accept before she broke. She wanted to beg him again just to take her. She’d given him control by challenging him, the very thing she swore never to do. The next two weeks loomed endlessly before her. Her stomach sank, could she fight him that long? Then she remembered her stepfather. She had to fight Kytar. She couldn’t just give in to him. It was only two weeks. She’d survive.

  He picked her up in a tight grip that bordered on painful.

  “It is time you learn that I am in charge,” he said. Striding toward a door at the far end of the room, he opened it, walked in and set her on her feet.

  It took her startled mind a moment to understand what she saw. The room looked like a set from the vids her father sent. There were no windows and the silence in the room told her the walls were soundproofed. Whips, floggers and crops decorated one wall. Another wall held rings at varying heights and chains flowed from the ceiling. A third wall was hidden behind wooden cabinets. Marissa could only image what they contained.r />
  A table with leather restraints and strange attachments stood directly in front of her. She couldn’t figure out the attachments, but she knew she wouldn’t like their use. She wasn’t going to let him use those things on her!

  She backed up but ran into Kytar. He grabbed her around her waist. Pinning her arms to her sides, he easily held her with one arm. She tried to kick him, but he ignored her bare feet, tightening his grip until she felt her ribs might crack, he used his other hand to grab her hair. “Stop fighting,” he commanded.

  Marissa stopped, not because of his command, but because she couldn’t do anything else. His hand in her hair kept her head back and up. His arm around her body held her so tight that breathing was a challenge and she feared she’d faint.

  Kytar leaned down and licked the line of her neck before nibbling on her ear. His voice, low and seductive, seemed to echo through her body, leaving heat in its wake.

  He chuckled. “You cannot fight me, little one,” he whispered, rubbing his chin along her neck.

  She’d just started to sink into his seduction when he quickly shifted her around and lifted her onto the table. Before she’d realized what was happening, he’d pulled her arms up. His torso easily held her down while he fastened her wrists over her head.

  “No,” she moaned, feeling metal bracelets once more. She flashed on her cell and terror overwhelmed her. “Please, don’t…”

  Kytar ignored her as he pulled a leather band tight across her waist then bands across her thighs and ankles. Finishing his task, he straightened and watched her squirm, trying to free herself.

  After a few moments, she stopped and glared at him. “Let me go.”

  “I offered you an honorable companionship and you threw it back in my face. As my companion, I wouldn’t restrain you like this, not without your consent.”

  “Great! I don’t consent to this.”

  “As long as you are in training for the challenge, you have given your consent for anything I choose to do. Anything.”

  Marissa caught her breath at his harsh words.

  “Think very carefully before you pursue this challenge. I will not let you go. I will train you. Given your continued resistance, I guarantee you won’t like my methods because pain will teach you obedience faster than anything else will. Do you really believe you can withstand two weeks under my control? I will have your willing compliance during the ritual. You will not gain your freedom.” He took a deep breath, then another before saying, “When I come back, I’ll offer you one last chance to withdraw your challenge. Think carefully because if you refuse this time, training will start immediately. And what I’ve just done is nothing compared to what I will do. There will be no other offers of escape so consider carefully before you pursue this challenge.” Turning, he darkened the room and left.

  Marissa pulled against her bindings but the leather was firm and unyielding. She couldn’t free herself and the unrelenting blackness of the room seemed to press on her chest, making breathing difficult. Sobbing in rage, she finally stilled her body even as her mind raced. How could she get out of this?

  She wanted her freedom but the thought of spending two weeks under Kytar’s control terrified her. She wouldn’t be able to hold out. Part of her didn’t want to hold out. His forceful control of her body touched a need she’d never known existed. She’d never felt so alive, every molecule of her body blazing with heat for him. But if she withdrew the challenge, she’d never be free—he’d forever dominate her. She faced two weeks of hell or a lifetime of subservience. Put that way, her choice was clear.

  She blinked when Kytar returned and flicked on the lights. Startled, she could feel the effort he made to control himself as he stood over her. She wasn’t the only one affected by her challenge, she realized. Could she use his emotions against him?

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Let me go, Kytar. You know you don’t want to hurt me.”

  Kytar grimaced as if in pain. He stroked her face, sending calming waves deep into her mind. “I cannot let you go. Custom and magic forged our link. Releasing you means turning my back on my heritage, turning my back on our love. I cannot do that. I will not do that,” whispered Kytar. “Marissa, I love you. I want nothing more than to consummate our binding and to cherish you. For the last time, will you abandon your challenge?”

  Marissa stared at him in shock. He loved her? She thought all he wanted to do was possess her. But did he love her for herself or as an object that he owned?

  “Can’t you trust me? I’ve never hurt a companion without her willing consent. I don’t believe you really understand that your challenge is consent for me to do anything I want, anything at all to gain your willing compliance.”

  Marissa hesitated. Did the fact he loved her, no matter the reason for that love, change anything? He still wanted to dominate her and control her. It was still two weeks versus a lifetime. She slowly shook her head. “I want my freedom.”

  Kytar jerked as if she’d hit him. “Very well,” he said so softly she almost missed it.

  He stepped back and examined her supine body.

  Marissa fought down the urge to squirm as his hands skimmed over her body. And she gasped when he circled her nipples.

  Talcor had left them bruised and the ache of that blended with the ache of need Kytar generated. Her nipples stood out from her chest as if begging for a touch but Kytar ignored them and continued stroking her. After a few moments, the heat pooling in her stomach, combined with the ache of her pussy, caused her mind to shut down.

  Kytar looked deep into her eyes and smiled. “Should I leave you like this? Hot and needy?”

  “No,” she groaned, “please…” Her eyes widened as she realized what she’d said.

  Kytar laughed. “Perhaps I’ll invite Talcor to satisfy your need?”

  “No!” she screamed, horrified by the possibility of his touch. “No. You promised me you’d keep me safe from other men. He hurt me.”

  “He was merely testing your response to a small pain. You didn’t do very well.” Kytar continued his light massage, fanning her desire. She almost missed his soft words. “There are only two weeks for training. Pain will teach you obedience faster than any other method. It will turn off your mind and that is what the ritual requires. You must be under my complete control.”

  Kytar stepped back with a sigh and went to a cabinet in the corner. He opened the door and stood there for a moment, examining the contents. Marissa couldn’t see what the cabinet held, but she had the feeling she wouldn’t like anything that came out of it.

  He reached out and picked something. It was something small, because he held it in his hand and Marissa couldn’t see anything. He nodded and pocketed it. He walked back to the table. Using a hand, he brushed her erect nipples, so lightly she moaned. They needed to be touched harder than that.

  “Your nipples seem to be begging for something,” he said. His voice soft and carefully controlled. “What are they begging for, little one?”

  “Touch me, please, touch me.”

  One finger circled her areola. She tried to move into his touch, but he easily kept his finger off her nipple.

  “Please,” she begged again. She couldn’t seem to stop the word. She needed him.

  He ignored her pleading. He used two fingers to caress the base of her nipple, never touching the tip, forcing it to even greater heights.

  How could he arouse her so easily? Angry with him for ignoring her needs, she tried to fight off the effects of his actions. He used both hands to caress both her breasts. She wanted to scream but only a moan escaped.

  She barely noticed when he reached into his pocket. He bent his head, flicked his tongue over her nipple. Her back arched off the table and she screamed, “More, please, more.”

  “Gladly,” he replied and before she could wonder at his comment, he pulled her nipple out and something cold brushed her breast. Then fiery arrows of pain raced through her nipple, up into her shoulder, ending in a violent pull d
eep inside her cunt. She arched off the table, trying to move away from the pain, but it followed her every movement and she looked down to see vicious teeth clamped on her nipple.

  “No…” she moaned.

  Ignoring her protest, he fastened the second clamp and she screamed as her nerve endings flared—both sides in an agony that slowly dulled to a pulling need. Her nipples sent raging heat directly to her pussy. Her body twisted as she tried to escape the grip of the clamps.

  Kytar just watched her struggles as she learned to breathe again. She’d barely started breathing through the pain and need when he captured both breasts and massaged them. “No man has taught you the bite of the clamps?”

  And as more blood flowed to her nipples, she swam in a world of aching demanding want, unable to answer him.

  He bent his head and licked each nipple, going from one to the other, mixing signals in her head. Did she feel pain or pleasure? She couldn’t quite tell.

  He continued torturing her nipples, flicking his tongue over one then the other, winding her tighter. Every time she nearly came, he withdrew until she arched her pelvis, writhing and screaming, “Please, please, please, I can’t stand any more.”

  “You’ll take what I give,” he said as he proved she could take more.

  Her clit expanded as her juices dripped down. She sobbed when he slipped two fingers into her cunt. Tightening her muscles, trying to hold the contact as he slowly moved his fingers in and out. She was so close, when would he send her over the peak?

  His hand left her cleft and moved to her breasts. He placed a hand on her forehead. Marissa felt him in her mind, at the edge of her awareness, monitoring her responses for a moment before he created a barrier. His other hand ripped off one clamp then the other, all the while denying her release.

  Tormented, she screamed in frustration.

  Kytar smiled down at her as she slowly came down from the most intense arousal she’d ever felt. Her body throbbed with unmet need.

  “Take me,” she demanded.

  “Still demanding? That won’t do at all,” he said as he started the process again.