Darkness, page 2
Slowly he began to rock in and out of her mouth, sliding past her full lips, fucking her mouth and into her throat. She whimpered, feeling him pick up the pace, claiming her mouth a little more each time. Celeste wanted to regain the control she'd had in the beginning, but now— now she had no choice but to submit to his demands.
He growled, both hands now in her hair, tight, controlling, dominating as she knelt at his feet. She swallowed with each thrust, fighting against the need to gag, taking him as deep as she could, knowing there was no other choice. He needed her, needed this, but she couldn't help but wish there was something more in this moment for her than being used as a slut, a slave, a piece of meat for his arousal.
Tears slipped down her cheeks and still she tried to please him. She reached up, cupping one hand about his balls, massaging them lightly. She glanced up through her lashes, peering through the long, white blonde strands of hair that fluttered across her face. He didn't even look at her, she was his property to do with as he wished.
“More!” he growled.
She swallowed hard, looking up at him, trying to focus past the feelings of submission that now threatened to claim her being. Her thighs parted further, until she felt the ache in her legs. Her joints complained and she tried to use that as a way to not be lost in the waves of confusion and desire that even now rose from the pit of her being.
His hips rolled, thrusting into her mouth, his balls slapping against her chin, each thrust claiming her throat until she could no longer ignore that her breathing was being restricted by the head of his cock. She wanted to pull back from him, but the grip in her hair prevented her from moving.
She whimpered, and closed her eyes, submitting fully to his demands.
“Take me, all of me, now my slut... ” he groaned above her, his fingers tight in her hair, thrusting into her mouth, bruising her lips until his cock thickened fully and filled her mouth, blocking her throat, his taste growing with each passing moment. She had to please him...
“God!” he growled, throwing his head back fully. His grip so tight in her hair that she felt sure he was about to rip strands out. His cock swollen, heavy, thick in her mouth and then she felt it. Heated ropes of cum spilled into her mouth, filling her throat until she swallowed, knowing she was not permitted to spill his seed.
She shook on her knees, desperate for air until he finally pulled back from her mouth. Her stomach rolled as she knelt there, her core rippling in the need for something he had so far denied her. She peered up at him as he thrust the chair back and stood up, kicking off his clothing. Would he want more from her?
“Bed, slut. Finish stripping up and curl up on the mat.”
* * * *
Celeste shifted on the thin matt at the end of his bed, replaying the conversation over and over again. It didn't make sense. Could Davien be lying to her? The Raven had a well-known reputation in Ireland and that couldn't have come to life through lies and cowardice. No, he had to be lying to her, but for what reason?
Did he think that she would fight the man when he came to rescue her?
Had he lied to her before?
She couldn't recall a time that he had. If anything he had been brutally honest, so why would he this time? What would he gain by it? Nothing that she could make out. Now she lay, chained by a cold piece of black iron on her ankle, sleeping, nude on a matt under a single blanket whilst he rested on a thick, well tended bed.
Bastard.
He just wanted her unable to rest, lost within her own thoughts and tired, confused come the following morning.
No, that made no sense either. He wasn't the sort of man to play those sort of head games on her. He came out and said exactly what was on his mind. Yes he liked to use mind fucks but not like this.
Celeste groaned and rolled onto her other side. This was ridiculous. She had to push this out of her mind and try to sleep. He'd want her awake, focused and able to serve him in the morning. She closed her eyes and counted each breath she took, letting it back out slowly.
The welts across her ass didn't exactly help the situation either. He'd permitted her to wash them down, after she'd crawled into the room and stripped off her stockings, carefully. She'd almost earned two more stripes, but the stockings had remained undamaged by her crawl into the bedroom. Luck alone had saved her from further pain and for that she was grateful. In return for her care he'd allowed her to wash down the welts with cool water. That had helped, a little, but the heat from the three red welts remained as a constant reminder through the night of what he was capable of doing to her.
Was he going to leave her aroused through the night?
Stupid question, of course he was. If he'd planned on doing something else then he would have put her to use. The three bites of the belt had, or so it seems, been for no other reason than it pleased him to take the belt to her body.
“I told you to sleep, beast. Not toss around on the mat. Do I need to put you in the cage?”
She paled fully at his words, shivering. “No, master. I'm sorry.”
“Close your eyes, be silent and still.”
She closed her eyes instantly, going still on the mat. At least she was in a position where she wouldn't be uncomfortable. Sleep, however, would be another matter. Between her uncertainty and the pain across her ass she wasn't sure if she could actually fall asleep or not.
The fire crackled in the hearth. Small sounds filtered into the room from the house below them. If she listened really hard she could hear the Butler arguing with the Cook over what the main meal the following morning would be. The stairs creaked with the sound of a maid moving quickly up them, carrying something heavy perhaps? A soft yelp followed the sound of a hand connecting with a clothed body, then dashed footsteps back down the stairs...
As she listened her mind slipped into a state of rest then tumbled, without warning, into sleep.
* * * *
Something hard nudged against her thigh. “Up slut. No need to sleep the day away is there.”
Celeste leaned up on her hands, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she tried to remember what had happened. Her core rippled, the night had not been a peaceful one, and have left her facing dreams of Davien's touch. Now she swallowed hard, trying to force her body back under control. She had no desire to let James see just how aroused she was after such an uncomfortable night.
“Get up and get your ass to the bathing chamber. One of the maids will oversee your preparations today. Move. I have no desire to be held up by your laziness.” His voice was cold and hard. And it took a moment before she realized it wasn't Davien but James. The butler come lead servant in the house. “Up, did you hear me bitch, I said get up. Or do you want me to part your thighs and use you there?”
As if Davien would have given him permission to use her. No, she wasn't going to buy into that one, but at the same time she began to move.
“Quickly, slut!”
Was hitting him an option?
Sure it was, if she wanted to end up in a full-blown fight and then get in trouble with Davien for damaging his property. With a low growl she pushed to her feet and shook her hair forward over her shoulders. “Where's my Master?”
“Busy. Not that a slave like you needs to know where he is, or what he is doing.” James nodded toward the door. “The maid is waiting for you. If you're going to be ready in time for him then you can't be lazing around here all morning.”
“And what am I be prepared for?” She walked toward the door, but glanced back over her shoulder at James. This was a man that she truly didn't trust not to try and grab a handful of ass if he thought he could get away with it. And if Davien was gone for the day then who was around to stop him?
Perhaps Davien would be waiting for her when she bathed? Would he take her in the water? She'd heard of stranger things happening, though the bath would have to be large. Or else the water would splash everywhere. Still the very thought of his cock sliding into her cunt as she wriggled in the water left her squirming in need.
“The master has plans for you today.”
“I'm trying to find out just what those plans are, that way I can better prepare myself to serve him.” It wasn't quite the truth but it would work for now. “He mentioned something about a dinner, or a ball, but I wouldn't imagine that I have to get ready for that straight away.”
“Yes, there are plans for tonight, but this is for something else, an afternoon appointment.”
Fine, so she had to get ready in the morning for something taking place several hours from now? All right, what was she missing on this?
Travel time?
London wasn't a small place and it took time to travel even through the good parts of the city in order to meet someone. So if he was going to take her to someone else's home then it would take time to get there. And then what? Straight from one meeting to the function, dinner, or whatever it was, that he had planned to attend tonight?
Was he trying to wear her to a frazzle?
Well it wasn't going to happen.
James followed her through the door and out into the corridor. Odd, just where was she being taken? She'd thought that the room would be close to Davien's bedroom but James was leading her down the corridor and around the corner, some distance away from the Master Bedroom. When the man led her to a back stair case panic set in. “I thought Master wished me to bathe?”
“He did, but a beast like you doesn't use the master bathroom. There is a tub set up in the kitchen for you. The maid will scrub you down there. Should make you crawl down the stairs, but don't have time to waste on that. So hurry now. Don't piss me off girl.”
Celeste felt her throat tighten. Scrubbed down? Like an animal. Davien had to be out of the house, that's the only thing that made sense. If she'd done something to deserve being treated like this he'd have told her, but going from sleeping in a cage to a mat at the end of his bed didn't fit in with him sending her to the kitchen with James. This had to be something the butler had put together.
It didn't help that a part of her was actually aroused by the idea of being publicly cleaned down. Damn Davien. Her body was becoming too used to his perverted ways. She could also remember the games of the cook at Davien's house in the country. The kitchen staff there had been eager to use and explore her body, and a part of her wanted to go through that again. Her nipples tightened, tingling at the thought of what she had been through before. Her stomach rippling, thighs drawing tight as she walked. No, she wouldn't give into those sensations, or the cravings they brought to life.
She followed him down the wooden staircase that wound its way through the back of the house, wrapping her arms about her body. As they stepped into the kitchen her stomach knotted fully. The room was busy. The cook sat by the large fire, though she was younger than the one she had met at the manor house, thinner too. A younger helper stood at the large table, kneading dough, a footman sat by the back door, sipping on a steaming mug of something or other and the large tin bath had been set right in front of the fireplace.
“In you get, girlie.” The Cook gestured to the tub and a woman around Celeste's age walked over to the side of the tin bath. “Kim here will make sure you're all scrubbed up nice and clean for his lordship. Don't mind ol’ sour face over there. He's getting too big for his britches— one of these days the Master will remind him just what he's supposed to be doing.”
James growled and pulled up a chair at the side of the large table. “She's just a new slut, you know the Master, he goes through enough of them over the years. Give or take a month and he'll be onto the next one.”
“Don't think so, he didn't give the wench to the Raven now did he?” The Cook shook her head, a sly smile touching her eyes. “Makes me think that she's worth more to him than a simple fuck toy. Look at her hair, James. That says she's rare.”
“Rare my arse. He'll get tired of her, then we'll be looking for a place to dump her. Maybe the whorehouse he used to visit will have some use for her. That's if she's worth passing on after he's done with her.”
Celeste bit her bottom lip and kept silent as she climbed into the tub and eased to her knees in the warm water. At least here the bath would be warm and for the most part she could shut out James from existence. At least the footman hadn't said a word, that was one blessing.
The maid, or whatever she was, reached for the soap and began to wash her off. Celeste closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the fire crackling in the hearth. This wasn't an ideal situation but the smell of the bread dough and the pies cooking in the oven, helped to ease some of her tension. Water poured over her head, and she spluttered. She hadn't been expecting that, not without warning. Celeste blinked the water out of her eyes and looked out around the room again.
“She's pretty, but she thinks she's better than us,” James muttered.
“No, she thinks she's better than you. That lass has done nothing to us in general. She's our people. So she won't spread her legs for you, she's not been told to by the Master. Why should she be your little play thing? She belongs to the Master.”
“Because his lordship owes me a little consideration.”
“Doesn't mean he owes you his wench now does it? She's trained for him, still in training. Don't you think that maybe he doesn't want you messing up his hard work?” The Cook chuckled, and leaned over, poking the fire with one long black iron poker. “He's spent a lot of time getting this lass ready, and he's still got plans for ‘er. I've seen that in the way he's takin’ care to put her in front of the right people. Look at ‘er. She's not one of those nervous types now. There's a quiet strength about her now.”
The right people?
What did the woman mean?
She tried to relax as the maid scrubbed out her hair, building up the lather in her long, white blonde strands. Whatever Davien had in mind she'd be able to cope with it. She'd changed in her short time under his control. Only a month ago she'd have been horrified by the idea of bathing, naked, in front of five or more strangers, whilst one spoke about her as if she wasn't even there.
The Cook wasn't like James, she watched, noticed but didn't assume that she was a piece of meat waiting to be picked up, or pushed around by the first person who stumbled across her. She'd learned to hide so much about how she felt. They couldn't hurt her, not now, not by simple things like this.
Shame meant something bigger, thanks to Davien.
Water was poured back over her hair, washing the soap from it. When the maid tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear, Celeste then rocked to her feet, standing nude and wet in the middle of the tub whilst the other woman rinsed her down.
“Woman like that needs to be kept in her place, he's going to let her get too big for us down here. She should be sent downstairs, serve with us for a bit, then she'll remember what she truly is.” James muttered into the mug of ale that the kitchen wench had pushed under his nose. “Would be best for all if I dragged her out of the tub and pinned her over your table. Might do her some good.”
“Like being fucked by you is going to help her remember anything except that some men are rotten lays. And like I want you having sex in my kitchen? Might make the food smell funny.” The Cook laughed openly, shaking her head. “I remember the last toy you fucked around with, didn't she fall asleep in the middle of... ”
“Lies! Nothing but lies!”
“Not what she said, and his Lordship found it funny when I told him the following morning.” The woman pushed to her feet, smiling as she turned her attention to the tub and Celeste. “Now lass, looks like Kim there did a good job. Can't understand why stiff neck here wanted you bathed down here, but he's an odd one, thinks he's in charge down here. Not yet learned that in a kitchen the cook is queen.”
“I understand, ma'am,” Celeste spoke quietly. She glanced at James, and tried to hide the smile that threatened to claim her face as she saw the look of sheer fury across the man's face. He wasn't happy with being denied, no more than he had been when they had gone head to head the first day they had met. Sooner or later there would be a problem, James would press the point and then all hell would break loose.
The Cook tossed over a large sheet towel. “Wrap that around y'self lass. Then take on back upstairs. There should be some clean clothes laid out there by now. The Master will be back soon, he'll want you ready by the time he comes back now. So off you go.”
“Yes, ma'am.” She wrapped the sheet about her body as she climbed out of the tub, more than a little grateful for the cover the sheet towel provided her. James, his very presence made her skin crawl. She flashed a warm smile at Kim, and hurried back toward the stairs.
“Where d'ya think you're going, James lad? Leave the poor lass alone.”
“But I... ”
“No buts, the master has work for you to do, so get to it instead of harassing the girl.”
The rest of the conversation was lost to Celeste as she climbed the back stairs, more than a little grateful that the Cook had worked to keep her apart from James. Sooner or later that distance would close and she would have to deal with the man. Maybe one night when Davien was away seeing to something else?
She flinched, hearing a step on the stairs behind her.
No, the Cook wouldn't let James come after her this quickly, but that didn't stop her from darting up the steps. She hurried back along the hallway and into Davien's room, closing the door before she felt any slender hope of safety. She didn't dare lock the door behind her, not with Davien due back. She wasn't sure when he would arrive and didn't want to face him or his anger at being locked out of his own room.
Or away from the woman he saw as his property.
Celeste tucked the towel in a little more tightly about her body and looked around the room. A soft white dress had been laid over the back of the chair, one with a high waist, much like one's she had seen before. Stockings, and garters, and low-heeled shoes were in easy reach. No corset this time though. Just a simple shift that would be laced in place under the dress.
