“Yes?” Opening her door, she did not seem surprised to see Chris, simply leaned forward slightly to peer at the dark and deserted hallway. “All alone?”
“He refused to come.” Annoyed, Chris regarded her coldly. “How did you know?”
“Not by spying.” She threw back her shoulders as though daring him to defy her. “Just listened to the gossip. Nobody could talk about anything else tonight.”
“So do I get to ask the damn question in the middle of the hallway?” He glared at her.
For she was making everything more difficult on purpose.
“Or can you at least grant me the privacy of your room?” But if she wanted to see him squirm, she still had a long way to go.
Ylianor stepped aside, then closed the door behind him.
“So everyone’s talking about us?” The room did not offer much in terms of accommodations besides the bed and a solitary chair placed on a side.
“Yes, also your mother—”
“You met my mother?” So he chose the bed, Duncan’s advice echoing in his ears.
“She wanted to meet me.” Ylianor sat next to him. “She’s a nice lady. Too bad she doesn’t know how to use her healing gift, not even on herself.”
“I know. My birth almost killed her—”
“You really hated women from the start, didn’t you?” If the tone was teasing, the words seemed dead serious.
“And haven’t stopped since.” Chris kept his voice deliberately light, but he was too painfully aware of her body near him, more aroused now than with the prince just minutes ago. “Which is why I try to get rid of them.” And at the moment she was so damn inviting he wanted to take her right there and then. So by the gods, he did!
Rising, he pulled Ylianor up on her feet, so close his lips almost brushed hers. “Of course, it’s easier when it’s the worthless life of a miserable slave.” Knife already in hand, he trailed it on her throat before slipping down her back to rip off her robe. “Particularly if that slave happens to be you.”
“If you think you still scare me, you’re dumber than I thought.” Stiffening, she straightened her shoulders and dared him to go further. “Especially now that you need me for your family’s sake.”
Damn! She was right. “Don’t flatter yourself.” Gone all clothes, the blade dipped into soft tissue, rupturing the skin and making the first smudges of blood. “I can have anyone I want.” Another vicious slide and more blood dotted her back.
“As usual, you overate yourself, Lord Templeton.” As he moved to taste her arm, she did not flinch despite the red trail he left behind. “I for one care nothing to please you—”
“Is that why you became my slave?”
“Only because he insisted on it.”
Damn, she was good at playing the game, he had to hand it to her, almost as good as he was. “What a smooth liar you are.” The incision cut deeper than he intended, and Ylianor trembled slightly without a word escaping her lips. “As if you didn’t beg me at Brickstone Crossroad long before he ever ordered you.” Twisting her arm behind her back, he drew her against his cock straining with the need to have her.
“Like now you’ll beg me to accept your proposal!” Ylianor spat cruelly, swaying her hips against the erection as to reinforce her point.
“Ha, you wish!” He thrust her back so their closeness would not overwhelm him. Fuck! His lover was right all along! To silence his urge, he carved more tender flesh, aiming this time for the other arm, then going to the back again, now completely smeared with red streaks. “As if I’d beg expendable slaves.” He could not help bringing her near again to tilt her head and run the blade on her neck.
“I know.” Instead of whimpering like a coward, Ylianor raised a blazing green gaze, staring him straight in the eyes. “You’d rather do the manly thing and erase his memory, too scared of the competition.”
“Fuck you, woman! Don’t tempt me ‘cause I might get it right next time,” he breathed in her ear, but it was his undoing. The erection he had been nursing since the beginning of the exciting game, threatened to burst. “Now get down on your knees and suck me dry before I do what I should’ve done the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“Chased me instead of him?” Her lips curved ironically as she resisted his pressure.
The gall of the woman was simply unbelievable. Mostly, it enraged him to have thought of it, too, not in any great detail, more like a nagging perception at the back of his mind. “My, my, your ego has grown in Harbor Town.” To let his fury cool, he swished the blade a few more times on her back, going as far down as her waistline, keeping away from her ass, the only valuable piece of her otherwise cheap hide, and one he had no desire to spoil. “But if you think for one second I could ever choose you over him, you’re crazier than I thought. The gods know neither you nor anyone else will ever replace him.” Then to get her to comply with his earlier command, he yanked her hair. “Now enough talking. You have work to do.”
The moment she pressed her face to his crotch, temptation to come became irresistible.