Rituals of Passion (10 page)

Oh Ares—she was dying inside with wanting  to  look at him, but she didn’t wish to give him, or her father, the satisfaction. Even  so, the longer she sat there, and the closer  Dane drew, she simply couldn’t  resist subtly  lifting her gaze.

What she saw left her utterly stunned.  He was broad-shouldered, fierce-looking, and clearly capable of all the brutalities she feared, yet at the same time a shockingsexuality radiated from him. His hair was a darker brown than  Donnell’s, his faceroughly hewn and handsome, his stubble-covered jaw strong and commanding. Hewore dark brown pants of soft leather, though his muscled chest was bare but for two crisscrossing strips of brown hide. Sinewy  muscles filled out his  arms as well, down to his wrists, which were circled by thick leather bands. It was all she could do not totremble.

It  was only  then  that  she realized he wasn’t even looking  at her. At all. A fresh  burst

of outrage filled her, but she forced herself to keep still and quiet.

“Welcome,  Dane of Rawley,” her father said when the ferocious-looking man  finally stood before him.

“Enrick,” he replied, his voice deep, self-assured.

“My wife, Jalal,” her father said, motioning to his right.

Dane gave her a short nod—and
 
still
 
he had not deigned to even glance at Maven.

“I have promised you my eldest daughter,”  her father said, and she recognized this as the beginning of the short ceremony which Lavonia  had given her the details of last  night.

Dane simply nodded, another short, casual gesture—as  if she were nothing.

49

Lacey Alexander

“Do you vow you can provide her with a comfortable life?”

Lavonia had explained that these questions were a matter of tradition and  formality.

Dane pointed to the thick strips  of leather crossing his chest. Only then did she  notice the little studs of silver that lined  them. “This is but a small measure of the

wealth I possess. And you have been to my home, Enrick, and seen that  it is fine and well-protected. Let these things answer your question.”

Her father nodded, looking impressed. She supposed that was because, according  to Lavonia, most men gave a simple answer of yes.

“And do you vow you can fulfill her physical  needs and get her with child, so that  my line is guaranteed to continue?”

To Maven’s surprise, Dane reached down and began to unlace the top of his  pants. Surely he was not going to —oh, dear Ares, his cock shot forth, fully erect  and…
enormous
! She’d thought Donnell big last night, but Dane was—Ares above— sizably larger! Impossibly so. The sight nearly stole her breath, and her eyes remained  so glued to the immense shaft that she hadn’t a clue how her parents were reacting to  this unexpected sight.

“Let
 
this
 
answer
 
that
 
question, Enrick,” he said. “She  will be well pleased, and she  will bear children.”

Finally, Maven managed to shift her glance  higher, to her mother and father. Both looked highly impressed, even  more than they had after his
 
last
 
answer.

“Very well, then,” her father  said.  “I send  her with you having  no  doubts on either count.”

Dane gave another slight nod, then worked  to recapture his cock within the leather confinement of his pants. Maven couldn’t help  noticing that it was clearly difficult for him to contain the monstrous rod, and her mind whirled with what this meant for
 
her
.  Lavonia had promised big was good, pleasurable, but how in Ares’ name would she be able to take it inside her? Her stomach skittered nervously at the intimidating vision inher head, until finally she realized she  was missing the rest of the ceremony.

“Maven, stand and take Dane’s hands,” her father was saying.

She pushed to her feet, feeling bereft and abandoned. She glanced once, quickly, toward her mother and father, but then turned her eyes on Dane. Even now that she was on her feet, he stood a full head taller  than her, and the breadth of his chest and shoulders made her feel like  a tiny child in comparison.

When she didn’t move quickly enough to  take his large hands,  he captured her much smaller ones in a warm, possessive grip.

“I hereby give to you my daughter, Maven of Myrtell, Maven of the House of  Enrick. She  now belongs to you, Dane of Rawley.”

* * * * *

50

Rituals of Passion

The next three days and nights  were surreal for Maven. During the day, she wastoted over the hills flowering with summer  blooms and through the lush, green valleysheaded northward, carried on a grand throne  by twelve men. At night, she was sent into a large tent with lavish amenities—the largest viewing glass she’d  ever seen, aswell as ancient brass candlesticks, clearly  from the Before Times and certainly very expensive. Yet through all of this, no one  spoke to her unless entirely necessary. Eventhe maid who’d been assigned to help her  dress each morning exchanged as  few words with her as  possible.

Lavonia had warned her it would be this  way until after the wedding, explaining that until she was Dane’s wife, she was an outsider, and that in order to make her feel more reliant on Dane—more like the possession to him that she was—his staff would likely be instructed not to befriend her just yet. It seemed insane that she should be carried about as if she were a high-ranking  person of respect, yet at the same timetreated with near-disdain by all she came into contact with.

As for her husband-to-be, she’d seen little of him. He’d drawn her wordlessly by the hand from the great hall right after the Giving Ceremony, through a  crowd of spectators who’d gathered to see her off, and into the huge caravan that had accompanied him here—likely in a show of  power, she later decided. He’d led her to the fine chair she’d occupied for three days  now, then disappeared until they’d stoppedfor lunch that day.

She’d been shown to a table set just for the two of them and waited as he approached  on a particularly fine-looking stallion—just  one  of the astonishing number of horses she’d noticed in the caravan. They  painted Dane as a very wealthy man, even more than she’d known, given the scarcity and value of such animals. Until now, she’d never known anyone  to own them  other than her father.

When he’d sat down across from  her, she’d been keenly aware of their knees touching underneath. “I trust the  ride has been  pleasant enough,” he’d said casually, as if they’d known each other for years.

She’d nodded, trying to appear disinterested in him. “Fine.” Then she’d fiddled with the food she’d been given for lunch, inspecting the bread before she ate it, just tomake sure there were no maggots.

“Lunch isn’t to your liking?” he asked, sounding only slightly annoyed.

“It’s fine,” she said again, but made sure  to grimace slightly when  she bit into thebread.

“Look, my little bride,” he’d said, his voice  going deeper  than she’d heard it before,  “your father warned me you’d likely not be fond of this union,  but being surly won’t make it go away.”

She’d raised her eyes to his for the first time—and Ares, they were the darkest  brown she’d ever seen, and so engulfing, almost hypnotic. The very sight of him, his  strong and undeniably handsome face  so close to hers, made her pull back slightly, then

51

Lacey Alexander

force out words she determined he should hear. “I’ve heard the stories about you, and if you think I shall simply bend to  your will, you are sadly mistaken.”

It completely unnerved her when he responded by letting his full mouth quirk into a small smile. “Come now, do I seem so very terrible?”

Something about the  sparkle in his eyes  when he spoke made her stomach churn and her pussy tense.  She steeled herself, trying  to fight it off, trying to be the strong woman she knew she could be. “You cannot make me like you, so you need not eventry.”

His smile faded and her blood ran cold. “I’ll promise you this. You may not
 
like
 
me,  Maven, but you will
 
crave
 
me.”

Heat infused her face as her chest tightened. “I think not,” she said staunchly.

At that, he’d only laughed—a deep, hearty  laugh, as if she’d just said something hysterically funny—then got up and walked  away.

Since then, she’d seen him only in passing,  and he’d not even joined her for meals.  Not that she cared—eating alone was much  more pleasant. But her skin crawledwhenever she began to wonder just how  much she had angered him—and what hemight intend to do about it once they were wed.

Now, she towered on her throne once more  and from  the shouts of those in the caravan, the fortress that had just come into view was their destination, Dane’s home.

Dear Ares, help me survive this.

They were here. And now it would begin.

Not only had the last three days been surreal, they had been a reprieve. But now the reprieve was over and nothing could save  her. Nothing except maybe her strength.

* * * * *

Dane rode high on the  back of his favorite mount when his fortress came into view.  Cheers went up from the caravan, and he, too, was glad to be back.

His virgin bride-to-be, however, reacted not  at all. He rode slightly  behind her andhis eyes had been drawn to her for the past few hours.  Likely just  because of  the dress she wore, though—the leather had been dyed a lovely hue the color of artichoke. As Enrick had warned, the girl was beautiful  but headstrong, and beautiful women were in ample supply, so given her resistant will,  his only interest in her now was that of conquering  her.

Had the girl been cordial, or even merely  accepting of their impending marriage, it would have been enough to appease him for  now. It would have kept his hopes for an amiable union in place. As it was, he found her insubordination irritating, and he  meant to bring about a change in her attitude. He’d meant what he’d said—before this was over, she’d  crave him. In fact, he’d decided, she would crave him sooner rather than later. She would crave him on her wedding night—he’d see to that.

52

Rituals of Passion

Once her impertinence gave way to passion, perhaps they could have that happy marriage he’d hoped for. But now that he’d met her and gotten a taste of her dismissive tone and her determination not to attempt any  sort of agreeable connection, he honestlydidn’t expect the sort of change in her that  would give them a peaceful matrimony. At best, he thought now, they might end up getting on well in bed, but  likely no place else.  And if her  impertinence lasted, if she continued to resist him in even
 
that
 
way…well, she’d soon be brought to heel, one  way or another.

Now that she’d challenged him, now that she’d
 
insulted
 
the man who was to be her husband, he burned to  make her beg, burned to make her want him. And as he rode along behind her, watching her virginal blonde  braid swish back and forth in time with the steps of  the men who carried her, he vowed  he would see it happen, no matter what lengths he must go to.

53

Lacey Alexander

Chapter Seven

After returning to the fortress, Dane  checked in with the guards who were responsible for keeping things in order while he was away. After determining all waswell, he retired to his chambers for a brief rest.

As  he  lay  on  the  fur-covered  bed,  eyes  shut,  body  tired,  he  became  aware  that  hiscock still throbbed with desire. He’d gotten  the  reaction he’d hoped for when he’drevealed the shaft during the Giving Ceremony—he’d intended for Enrick and his wife, not to mention his betrothed, to understand exactly the kind of power he wielded, both in battle and in the marriage bed. He’d wanted Enrick to understand that giving his daughter meant truly giving her up, handing her over  to Dane in every way. And he’d wanted Maven to know she was his as well,  and to realize she had no choice but to submit to this marriage.

He thought Enrick had gotten his intended  message far better than his soon-to-be wife had, but she would get it soon enough.

Beneath her impudent expression, her breasts were round and likely creamy—her nipples had jutted through the silk dresses  he’d seen her wear, and even the leather ones too. The two promising mounds struck  him as larger and more mature than one could usually expect to find on a girl who’d just reached bride’s age. Her waist was slender, her hips pleasantly curved, her legs long and as silky as her best apparel.

It dawned on him that her pussy was likely just as  silken and bare too.  He’dordered from a trader a supply of  the ointment rich women used for hair  removal, but he suspected she’d had the hair removed  for the first time in preparation for thewedding. Without warning, he  found himself fantasizing about touching her there,sinking his fingers into  her slick, warm  cunt and making her sigh with pleasure.

He did want her—he wouldn’t deny that. But he didn’t like her, and still assumedthat even after he conquered her sexually, sensual pleasures would remain the  only thing amiable between them.

Ares, but his cock remained hungry and unruly, and thinking of his virgin brideonly increased his appetite.