Read Online Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) by Corinne Balfour - Free Book Online

them. She tried to pull away from the male who held her, but he tightened his arms around her. She was aware of the fact that he was naked; she could feel the heat of his body behind her, where she was pressed against him. She could feel the brush of his bare skin against her own, especially when she struggled, causing their limbs to become entangled. Struggli ng and squirming in his arms only made her tired. He was much too strong. She knew that she needed to conserve her strength, so she decided to cease movement for a while and rest. She glanced at the male who held her, wondering how on Earth she had managed to mistake him for a human. She thought of herself as being an intelligent female, so it was hard to understand how she had failed to see the signs. She should have known he had no eye disease. When his gaze fell on her, she saw his eyes darken to a deep violet red. For some perverse reason, it excited her and she liked it. Even knowing that he was a hybrid, she couldn’t rid herself of her inappropriate attraction to him.
    ***
    Drest tightened his grasp on her. Currently, he felt as predatory as his notorious Asstrumnian ancestors, the ones who were reputed to have captured and enslaved humans. He liked the feel of her in his arms and he involuntarily pressed her hips against him.
    Brennus looked directly into Drest’s eyes and spoke in a serious manner. “Drest, if you want her, you should mark her now. If you do not, she will be made to serve many masters.”
    Drest inwardly cursed. This was a responsibility he did not want. He honestly did not know what to do with the woman. He had taken her on impulse, knowing that he could not risk her telling tales of a recent encounter with the Asstrum. When he had first grabbed her, he had felt her body go completely limp. He realized that she was frightened, and now that he had actually abducted her, she would be terrified. He couldn’t leave her to the King ’s fine, which was basically the King ’s entire family. He wasn’t sure she would survive living that kind of lifestyle. He wanted to take revenge on Nefertiti, but he wasn’t willing to harm the innocent to do it. He also wasn’t sure that Nefertiti would lose any sleep over harm done to her half-sister, as that woman only cared about herself. “I cannot mark an unwilling female.”
    She turned in his arms so that she could more easily converse with him. “If you do not do this, then I will be made a slave to the entire King ’s family? Does that male speak the truth?”
    He nodded. “ That is my friend, Brennus Donovan, one of the King ’s sons. The King has a large family, and our people have few females, leaving many without a mate. Our people do not generally keep slaves, but when captives are taken, they are often enslaved. You wouldn’t be free and you wouldn’t be in a position to deny them. However, t hey w ould not take you if you were marked . Our laws generally forbid those who are marked to remain slaves .”
    “Then you will have to mark me, just like he suggested . He called you Drest, so I take it that is your real name.”
    “ I am Drest Kavanaugh , Master Seanacha, a bard for the Tuatha Broin . We still follow many of the Celtic ways, but we have become more modern over the years. We are part Celtic, but we are also part extra-terrestrial. Some of our ways are different from humans.” He looked deeply into her eyes, hoping to convey the seriousness of the situation. Once he marked her as his, she would be bound to him physically. He would be bound to her as well and would experience great suffering if they were parted. It was like an addiction, which was why he practiced abstinence. “ You do not understand what this marking entails. You should know more before you give consent. I would bite you, but it would not hurt. A tattoo would form there and would remain for some time, essentially branding you. That would keep the other males away. A bond would form between us, but it would