Prisoner of the Island Read online

  “Mistress, please, no more, I'm begging you!”

  Celeste bit back a laugh. “I thought you weren't the type to beg, slut?”

  “Mistress, I... ”

  “No, you're either begging or your not, which is it slut?” Celeste lifted the cane, hefting it in her hand before she slashed it through the air and brought it down with a hard crack against the slave's bottom.

  “Mistress!”

  “Beg me properly, slave, I'm sure you know the words even if you've never used them before.” Celeste traced the tip of the cane along the woman's spine, she knew that she'd never hit the slave, or anyone else, along the spine with the cane. “You know what is expected of you, don't keep me waiting or I'll assume you really want me to continue using this against your sweet little ass.”

  The words spilled from the slaves lips, her body shaking as she turned, desperate to look at Celeste, her eyes filled with tears that traced down her cheeks. “Mistress, I beg you, don't use the cane on me anymore, please show me some mercy.”

  “Almost good enough, but I'm not sure I believe your sincerity slut.”

  The slave sobbed brokenly, her shoulder shaking as she stumbled and fumbled over the words, turning into a blabbering fool as she pleaded, begged, whimpered and hoped that Celeste would show her some level of mercy. Finally Celeste set the cane down and walked over to the slave and unlocked her from the pole. “Kneel and kiss my feet slave.”

  Sobbing, shaking from the pain, the slave dropped to her feet and pressed her lips against Celeste's feet.

  “Mistress, thank you, please, I am so very grateful for what you've done. Let me serve you another way, let me show you how much pleasure I can bring you.”

  It wasn't an offer she could easily refuse. “Crawl after me.” She didn't even have to look back to know that the slave was following her. She could hear the slave move, the whimpers filling her senses, encouraging her to seek different types of whimpers from the slave. And that she would do soon enough, she just had to find somewhere that would work for them both.

  It didn't take her long to find one of the alcoves.

  The heavy velvet curtains offered some level of privacy and when she pushed one back the lamps within offered enough light to be able to see clearly without straining her eyes. A bed lay with the head against the wall, the frame set up in such a way that there were plenty of restraint points, but she wouldn't need them this time. But there would be other times, nights, days, when she wanted to bind a slave to the bed and use them, not this time though. The bed was large, easily as big as the one she had in her room, the metal frame curled at either end with obvious restraint points and pillows had been scattered around the bed itself.

  “Kneel at the side of the bed.” Was this how Davien had felt, the sense of power that now rippled through her body, the control?

  “Yes, Mistress.” The slave eased to her knees quickly.

  Celeste smiled and slowly slipped out of her dress, letting it pool on the floor for a moment before she laid it over the back of a chair. Without looking at the slave she slipped up onto the bed and settled her back against a mound of pillows. “Put your mouth to good use, slut.” The slave scrambled onto the bed, her back and ass well marked with the welts Celeste had enjoyed placing there.

  “What do you want me to do, Mistress?”

  “Please me.” She all but growled the words. Did she have to draw the slave a set of damn instructions? “And stop playing stupid, you know what to do.”

  “Yes, Mistress.” Heat touched the slave's cheeks as she shifted her weight on the bed and eased between Celeste's thighs, her gentle fingers slid along Celeste's legs, pushing the shift Celeste still wore, out of the way.

  “Better.” The tension began to ease at the touch of the slave's fingers. “Much better.” She sighed at the first touch of the woman's breath across her mound. This is what she needed now. Seduction. Pleasure. Passion. Neither woman spoke now. The slave nudged at her lower lips, teasing her breath over the plump succulent lips, the touch light, enough to tease Celeste into a low moan as she lifted her hips. The slave cupped her hands beneath Celeste's buttocks, lifting them up before she pressed a feather light kiss against Celeste's clit.

  More, she needed more than this, but the kiss was a start.

  The first touch of the slave's tongue across Celeste's kiss threatened to tip her over the edge. But she wanted to be able to enjoy this, savor it. For the first time, she was doing something sexual at her choice, for her pleasure, not to buy passage or please someone else. Her first time, and she planned on enjoying it.

  The woman's hair tickled her inner thighs. The light touch sending a shiver through Celeste's body in the moment before the slave latched her lips around Celeste's clit. Her tongue teased over the trapped clit. Celeste's breath caught in the back of her throat. Yes, this is what she needed.

  Her hips rolled. Pleasure surged through her body as she pressed up against the slave's seeking tongue. Heat rolled through her being. She squirmed beneath the slave's delicate caress, her body craving more, so much more. She groaned, arching, lifting her hips and sought so much more.

  “Yes!” Celeste hissed, pressing her heels into the bed. “More!” Yes, more, she needed more. Before her body would finally find that true release she needed, craved, desired more than breath itself. The slave shifted a little and pressed the tip of one finger against the entrance of Celeste's sex.

  Celeste groaned. Her core clenched before the slave slid her finger into Celeste's body. Liquid heat coated her inner walls. Her thighs tensed. So close, so very close, she knew that, she could feel it now. The woman's finger tapped against the hidden spot deep within Celeste's core, pushing her over the edge. Her fingers grasped at the bedding. Her body arched. Her breath coming in long, sharp gasps as she ground down against the slave's face. She couldn't stop it. Not now. Nor did she want to.

  “Yes! God, yes!”

  A slave under her control. Her body pleased by the touches of the piece of property. What more could she want?

  Nothing.

  So why did she feel as if something was missing.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Sun filtered in through the closed drapes, leaving a speckled pattern across the floor. Celeste turned in the bed, her body half wrapped in the sheets and comforter. Despite the heat of the day, the evening became quite chilled and she had tumbled into the bed without tossing off any of the blankets.

  Now she slowly resurfaced from her night of ill gotten sleep. Her body ached, but pleasantly so. The memory of what the slave had done for her at least brought a smile to her face, but the same lingering knowledge that something was missing had remained and now returned to haunt her in the light of day. But it didn't make sense. Just what was she missing? She was free. In control of her life. She had her future ahead of her. So just what was is she still craved?

  She frowned as she climbed out of the bed, her bare feet touching the rugs that decorated the room she had been given. Whatever was going on she had to take control of it, and not let it ruin her chances here. She needed nothing. She had her entire life ahead of her and that was all she needed. Doubts, that's all it was, just doubts plaguing her thoughts, her dreams, her hopes.

  Celeste stripped off the chemise she had worn to bed and began to rummage through the chest she owned, searching for something simple to wear. Her visit to the court, the throne room, or whatever else Jamezen wished to call it, had confirmed her belief that she would be better off sticking to simple lines and comfort than the high fashion or barely there clothing the other women had worn. It didn't take her long to find the simple blue linen she was looking for and within moments she'd called for slaves to prepare a bath.

  Once clean and dressed, with her hair tended and her self-confidence back in place, she would be ready to face the fools of the court. And they were fools. Between Jamezen and Steven she had been given a good taste of how the men in the court expected her to act. Perhaps she would be able to talk to Sh
aun before...

  Shaun!

  She glanced at the clock. Damnit, it was already too late, the tide would have already carried the Captain and his ship back out to sea. Her only friend and ally had gone and she hadn't even been up early enough to bid him farewell. What would he think of her?

  Celeste scowled as her thoughts shifted. He could have come to her, sought her out to say goodbye, he must have known that without the movement of the ocean, without the noise of the sailors, she would not be awakened in time to say her farewells. She swallowed hard, and turned her attention elsewhere, her thoughts moving away from the man who had left her behind on the island. He had done no wrong, she'd asked him for passage here, and now, now she had to accept that.

  The bath would help shift her thoughts. She could hear the slaves setting up a bath two chambers down, or at least that's what it sounded like. Water sloshed along the stone floors, the curse of a slave as she almost slipped, if they continued like this there'd be more water on floor than anything else.

  Wonderful. That wasn't going to help the situation.

  Not unless she stuck her head out of the door and pulled them back into line. Didn't anyone around here take the time to keep the slaves under control unless they wanted to fuck them?

  She pulled on a blanket about her shoulders and opened the door.

  “Be careful with what you are doing!” She snapped, stepping out of the door.

  “Mistress!” Three sets of voices cried out as one. The women dropped to the floor, pressing their naked bodies against the stones. Shaking as they peered up at her.

  “Just get it done without spilling the water everywhere. I'd like a bath sometime today, not next year.” Celeste shook her head and walked back into her room. This wasn't putting her in a good mood. And heaven help the slaves if they didn't get her bath ready soon. She needed it and the time to think clearly. At least at Davien's she'd always had the chance to...

  Davien.

  No, she didn't need to think about that man. He was dangerous. He'd tried to destroy her. Kill her hope. Her dreams. He'd brutalized her. So why couldn't she get that man out of her mind? He didn't belong with her, not in any way. She could understand it when she had been with Tearlach. The memory of Davien had almost been a beacon of hope, but now— now he was nothing more than a plague she had to find a way to fight. She wasn't going to let him win. Not this time. Not when her chance of hope, of life, was so close she could taste it.

  “I won't let you control my life any longer.” She muttered beneath her breath and held the blanket close. “I'm free of you. I plan on staying that way. Do you hear me, Davien?”

  “Well, I'm not Davien but I can certainly hear you.” A familiar voice broke through her thoughts.

  Celeste turned, her gaze narrowed on the man. “Steven. What are you doing here? This my room, not a public free for all.”

  “I told you we'd talk again. Remember?” He leaned against the door frame, his smile cool and collected. “I thought now would be as good a time as any. And you do make a fetching figure like this. A new fashion perhaps? Or something more?”

  “I was just getting ready for a bath.” She tightened her grip on the blanket. “This isn't a good time, Steven. Perhaps later.”

  “No, I think now works just fine for me.” He took a step into her room. “You're quite vulnerable like this and I'd be a fool to pass this opportunity by, don't you think? Especially when you made it clear last night that you were not the type of woman who believed in being submissive. Yet here you are. Soft. Vulnerable. Waiting for me.”

  “I'm not waiting for you— unless you count waiting for you to get out of my room. I am not willing to discuss anything with you right now. And if you don't leave I'll simply call for help and have you removed from my room.”

  “If I let you call out for help, Celeste. I can stop you. And do you think the slaves will step in for you? No, of course they won't. You're new here. The men will be expected to test you. If one brings you to your knees then it will be welcomed. Not just by the men, but the women here. Your arrival has angered them. Left them frustrated that you dare to draw attention away from them and yet don't even care about that.”

  “Why would I care?” Her jaw tightened.

  “Because you're a woman and you're supposed to. Or so they think. But you don't follow their games. You don't bend to their rules. It's not something they understand.” Steven took another step into the room, his gaze dark, voice cool. “As for me, there's something about you that you're not telling people. You're too cold. You're hiding something.”

  Hiding something. Of course she was. But didn't everyone? “I'm telling you to leave, Steven. I'm not in the mood to talk to you and I've made that clear. Go. This is your last warning.”

  He arched an eyebrow and shook his head. “Little Celeste, you'd be a sweet slave beneath me. I can see your submissive streak. You can try and hide it all you want but I can see it, taste it on you, I know it's there. Why hide it? Why deny what you are?”

  “I'm not denying, you're inventing things. You see what you want to see, not the truth. Now get the hell out.” She glanced toward the door and called out. “Guard! Have this one removed from my room!”

  “Do you really think they will hear you, Celeste?” Steven closed the door behind him, shutting out the slaves and anyone else within hearing distance. “Drop the blanket and let me see you, fully.”

  “No.” She growled the word out.

  “Do it, or I'll just take it from you.”

  “No, I don't think so.” She took a deep breath and called out again. “Guards!”

  “They aren't coming.”

  But they were. Celeste smiled when one man pounded on the door, his voice ringing out. “Is everything all right in there, miss?”

  “There's a man in here who refuses to leave. Please escort him out.”

  “Miss?”

  “Remove Steven Nighthawk from my quarters.” She kept her voice calm, despite the nerves that threatened to eat away at the pit of her stomach. “I've told him to leave several times and he's still here.”

  “So I see, miss.” The lead guard turned his attention to Steven. “Is there a reason, sir, as to why you won't leave the young lady's room?”

  “She and I have a few things to talk through and I thought that would be better off done in her room instead of where others could hear us.”

  “Except I have nothing to say to you. And I have told you to leave. If you would escort him out of my room I'd appreciate it. I have a bath being prepared and wish to be able to enjoy it.” Celeste struggled to keep her voice calm as she looked at the guardsman.

  “The young lady appears to have made her decision, sir. I suggest you leave and arrange to talk to her at a more convenient time.” The guard took a step toward Steven who had begun to glower at the guards. “If you don't leave of your own free will I will be forced to escort you out.”

  “Fine, I'll leave.” Steven shot a dark look at Celeste, his jaw tight. “But this isn't finished, Celeste. You and I will talk and soon.”

  “Perhaps, but not in my room, or yours. Any conversations with you, Steven, will be in public.” Celeste tipped her chin and looked pointedly at the door.

  “The young lady has made her position quite clear, sir.” The guard took another step closer to Steven.

  “Yes, she has.” Steven shot one last look at Celeste, then turned and walked out of the room, followed by one of the guards.

  “Miss, I don't know what you've done to upset him, but I'd suggest getting that talk out of the way as soon as possible.” The guard spoke softly and nodded toward the door. “He's an odd one.”

  “In what way?” She needed to know what she was facing with Steven and just how much of a problem he could be.

  “He isn't going to just let this slide, and this isn't a conversation we should be having with you in this state of undress, miss.”

  Celeste flushed and tugged the blanket closer. “Yes, you're right
of course, thank you.” The guard nodded and let his gaze wander over her body openly for a moment before he left the room, closing the door behind him. She sighed when the door was closed and rubbed the back of her neck. Things had just become far more complicated than she had been prepared to deal with.

  Bath, she still needed that bath, especially now. And the guards would be listening out now, perhaps even watching Steven to prevent him from disturbing her in the bath, that was at least something she could be grateful for.

  “Mistress, the bath is ready for you.” A slave called through the door.

  “I'll be there in a minute.”

  Yes, the bath would help and then she'd be ready to face the men and women of the island fortress— wouldn't she?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Celeste sank into the warm water with a deep sigh. The tension eased from her body under the soothing caress of the silken water and at last she closed her eyes and leaned back against the edge of the tub. Here at least, she could forget about her cares and simply enjoy the warmth. On the ship there hadn't been the chance to sink into a bath, just quick washes in warm or cold water, but she'd accepted that.

  She could hear the slaves outside the room, and a fire crackled in the large hearth giving her a sense of safety and comfort. Even with the problems with Steven, she now felt that she could enjoy a simple bath without worries. The guards and the slaves would raise hell if he tried to walk in on her now.

  Herbs and vanilla flowers had been added to the bath water. The drapes drawn across the window. She sighed, reveling in the moment of sheer pleasure. How often had she wanted such a luxury when she'd been with Davien? Privacy. But why would he have granted such a thing to a piece of property?

  Simple answer, he wouldn't have done, and hadn't.

  She didn't want to think about that damn man. He wasn't a part of her life anymore. He'd never be in her life again. He wouldn't even know where she had gone, would he? She'd spoken to Shaun about this, there was a chance he could find her if he really wanted to. But would he want to expend that effort to track down one woman?