Wonderland: King of Diamonds Page 6

  Gradually her breathing calmed and she rolled onto her side to look at the fireplace. This time she didn’t know whether to scream in terror or shriek in happiness.

  There was a very large black and white striped tiger stretched out on the hearth. Even without her glasses she had no problem seeing that he was watching her with intense midnight eyes.

  And curled up in a tight ball on the tiger’s back was her calico cat.

  Abra was sleeping on top of a tiger.

  Annie couldn’t look away from the tiger’s gripping black gaze. A gaze that seemed familiar. On the beast’s upper right shoulder, one of its black stripes had a diamond shape in the midst of it, one similar to Karn’s tattoo. It occurred to her then that she’d seen a tiger in her painting, before the man had appeared.

  That must be it. This tiger is Karn’s pet.

  She hoped.

  Abra blinked green eyes and stretched her body out along the tiger’s back and yawned. She was so tiny compared to the tiger she’d been sleeping on. Annie had the urge to grab a camera, take a picture, then paint the pair of them.

  Abra rolled onto her belly and began kneading the tiger’s fur with her claws sheathed. A purr rose up within Abra, so loud Annie could hear it across the room.

  Annie’s heart beat a little faster as she hoped that Abra didn’t let those claws out. Her cat would make a tasty breakfast for an irate tiger.

  Abra gave another big yawn then bounded off the tiger. She strolled toward the bed and jumped up, landing on Annie’s legs. But there was no doubt Abra was ticked about being left behind. Tail twitching, the cat lifted her nose in the air and pretended she didn’t see Annie.

  Annie couldn’t help but grin. She sat up in bed and scooped Abra into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you, Abracadabra, you little monster.” Annie closed her eyes and rubbed her face in Abra’s soft fur and smiled when the cat began to purr, obviously forgiving all transgressions.

  Well, even if Annie was confused as hell, at least she had her cat.

  Something large and hair-covered pushed against Annie’s arm. She froze and opened one eye to find herself face to face with the white tiger.

  Chapter Five

  Ice water chilled Annie’s veins as her gaze locked with the tiger’s black eyes. Her heart pounded and she squeezed Abra so tight to her chest that the cat stopped purring and gave a strangled, “Mee-owwwrl.”

  Both Annie’s eyes were wide. Still holding Abra tight, she scooted away from the tiger.

  But the huge creature started to change. And not only did its features morph, but it rose up on its hind legs…and shifted into a man. White hair and black stripes to skin and long black hair and black clothing…to Karn.

  Karn was a werewolf! Or make that weretiger.

  He continued to stare at her with those midnight eyes, but Annie went from flat out scared to good and riled. She released her hold on Abra and the cat stalked away, jumped down and disappeared under the bed, obviously sulking at the rough treatment she’d endured.

  But Annie crawled off the bed, stood just inches from Karn and poked her finger at his chest. “You scared the living daylights out of me!” She propped her hands on her hips and glared at the beast of a man.

  Karn thought that his kitten was so adorable in her fury that he almost smiled. Annie’s brown sugar eyes sparked with fire and she held her chin high. The way she had jabbed at his chest and shouted reminded him of Abra the previous night…how the cat had unsheathed her claws and how her fur stood on end.

  So Karn did the only thing he could.

  “Don’t do that again, you half-excuse for a redneck kitty cat—” Annie was saying when he roughly caught her hair at her nape. Her words abruptly stopped as he held her in a tight grip, not hurting her, but keeping her from moving. She audibly caught her breath just before he pounced and captured her lips with his.

  For a moment, she remained stiff, uncertain. Then, like a saber-toothed cat frozen for years in the ice of the Arctic and now finding the sun, she melted into his embrace.

  Karn gently bit Annie’s lower lip and she moaned. The sensual sound made his cock rigid with lust. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and savored her sweet taste as he enjoyed the smell of her feminine musk and the vanilla scent of the bathing gel.

  Her arousal came quickly and easily in response to his touch, building Karn’s own desires beyond his expectation.

  Using his free hand to cup her ass, he pressed her tight along his length. She was warm and pliable in his arms, fitting so well in his embrace. And her kiss, the way she tentatively met his tongue with hers made him want her even more. How she nipped at his lip as he had done to her nearly drove him to throw her on the bed and fuck her fast and hard.

  It took all his restraint, but he managed to pull away.

  Annie’s eyes were closed, but then she blinked, looking dazed and flushed. Her lips were swollen from his kiss, her chest rising and falling as though she had just climbed a flight of stairs.

  And that chest…his gaze lingered on her large, beautiful breasts, so easily seen through the sparkling gold fabric of her nightdress. Without even realizing what he was doing, he slid his hand from her hair to her breast and lightly pinched her taut nub. “Perfect,” he murmured as he brought his other hand from her ass up the curve of her waist and cupped her other breast. “My lovely kitten.”

  Annie sucked in her breath at the feel of Karn rolling both her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. A mesmerized expression crossed his face, as if he’d never seen a pair of breasts before.

  When he lowered his head and licked one of her nipples through the fine material of her nightdress, Annie thought she was going to pass out from the exquisite sensation. Instinctively she slipped her hands in his dark hair, holding on to him for fear her knees would give out on her. Her pussy grew wetter and she was afraid her juices would be rolling down her thighs if he didn’t stop this erotic torture.

  Maybe he would take her now, quenching the incredible desire she had for him.

  “Like the sweetest berries,” Karn murmured as he turned his attention to her other nipple. He gently sucked on it then nipped it lightly between his teeth. Annie gasped and trembled as he eased one hand down, over her hip and to the juncture of her thighs, caressing her mound through her clothing.

  She cried out when he slipped his fingers into her wet slit, delving into her creamy folds. It was amazing and so sensual to feel a man’s hand between her thighs—definitely better than doing it herself.

  He paused for a moment as he murmured, “Tell me if you near climax.”

  “Karn,” she whispered as he continued fingering her and sucking on her nipple. “I’m—I’m so close.”

  He stopped.

  As in came to a screeching halt.

  Leaving her so on edge and so close she figured she’d come just from one more little suck on her nipple.

  But he didn’t even touch her. Instead he raised his head and withdrew his fingers from her pussy. While she stared up at him, both dazed and confused, he brought his index finger to her mouth, and said, “Taste your desire for me, kitten.”

  Annie’s jaw dropped out of sheer surprise and embarrassment, and he slipped his finger through her lips.

  His midnight gaze held hers as he commanded, “Suck.”

  Her cheeks heated as she obeyed. It was like tasting the forbidden fruit, and that rebellious part of her that had been trying to get out for years now found freedom in the act. Her taste was sweet, rich, and different. Different from the taste of his come, and different from anything she’d tasted before.

  But what was so sensual was the way he was looking at her as she sucked his finger as if watching her going down on his cock.

  “There are rules you need to know, Annie.” He withdrew his finger from her mouth and moved it to her nipple as he spoke, taking her away from the brink of orgasm. “We will begin your training this day, and you will learn how to serve my needs.”

  Huh
? Was about all Annie could think with him fondling her nipples and her pussy on fire. She flicked her tongue along her lower lip. “I don’t understand. I’m here to find my cousins, not—”

  “Silence.” The way he said the word brought Annie sharply to attention.

  “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?” She moved her hands to her hips and glared at him. “I’m not a—a servant, or someone you can just order around.”

  His black eyes burned so hot, like cinders. “Another outburst and you will be punished. This is your only warning.”

  Annie started to go off on a rant, but snapped her lips shut. The way he’d said she’d be punished… Would he really? The only thing she truly knew is that she wasn’t sure what he was capable of doing.

  “My rules are simple,” Karn began as he caught a lock of her hair and twisted it around his fist. “You will obey me without question, and you will refer to me as Sire. You may not achieve climax without my permission, and your goal will always be to please me.”

  With every one of his statements, his rules, Annie’s eyes got wider and wider. He was nuts. Crazy even! “You’re kidding, right?” She tried to take a step back but he had a tight grip on her hair and one of her nipples. “I don’t even know you, and you’re treating me like some kind of—of slave.”

  Karn tugged on the handful of hair he’d wrapped around his fist. “You have earned your first punishment.”

  He dragged her toward him and kissed her so hard her world spun. When he withdrew from the kiss she felt dizzy and so darn horny she could just about scream.

  Wow. Okay. Where were we?

  Oh, yeah. The slave thing.

  But Karn was moving away from her as she was attempting to gather her thoughts. The trunk lid opened magically, and he withdrew a ruby red scrap of material and held it up. The thing was so darn sheer she saw completely through it.

  “Wear this,” he said as he handed the piece of nothing to her. “Beya will be up soon to serve you breakfast. Afterwards she will escort you to the gardens.”

  Annie was tempted to throw the silky cloth at him, but the look in his eyes and the hard set to his jaw made her think better of it. Instead she just glared at his backside as he turned away and let himself out of the room.

  “You—you, ass!” she hissed under her breath and hurled the mini-dress at the door.

  From beneath the bed came Abra’s answering “Meow,” and Annie took that as an emphatic agreement.

  Annie was positive death by embarrassment was possible as Beya led her through the mansion on their way to the gardens after a nourishing breakfast. The little red dress was sheer enough that it exposed her pink nipples and the curls of her mound. It clung to her full curves as if intent on showing every bit of her body as she passed servants and too many other folks to count. She wished she hadn’t put her glasses on, because then she wouldn’t so clearly see their interested glances as she walked by with Beya.

  Most of the people she passed were fully clothed, but some as scantily as she was, which made her feel a little better. All of the barely clad women had collars, though, one thing Annie could be thankful she didn’t have.

  She’d left Abra in her chambers, afraid the cat might get lost in this mausoleum of a mansion. Thankfully, at Annie’s request, Beya had come up with a kitty litter box of sorts, along with three crystal dishes for Abra’s food, milk, and water.

  “Here you be, Mistress,” Beya said as she brought Annie to a pair of double doors at the back of the mansion. The doors were rich mahogany with stained-glass panes in the same intricate design as the diamond on the back of Karn’s right shoulder.

  Through the red and gold panes, Annie’s view was slightly distorted, but she saw what appeared to be extensive gardens. The beauty contrasted sharply with what she’d seen of the mansion in her painting, and in the storm last night when Karn brought her to this world.

  “Sire Karn be in the gardens,” Beya said as she opened the doors. She gave a nod in the direction of a wall of bright red flowers. “Over yon, Mistress. Behind the starflower blooms.”

  “Thank you, Beya.” Annie took a deep breath and walked away from the tiny woman and out onto a flagstone patio, and then the lush grass. It was wet beneath her feet and her nipples tightened from the slight chill in the air. The rain had stopped late last night. The sky was a broody gray, but she didn’t think it would rain now.

  Sweet perfume from countless flowers met her nose, like the perfumes of roses and orchids, yet different. Smells of salt and brine, and the familiar crash of waves against shore filled her senses, reminding her of home.

  Massive trees similar to weeping willows surrounded the area like dark sentinels blocking the view of anything outside the gardens. Within its boundaries brilliant flowers in purples, reds, blues, and pinks populated curved paths. Hedges and trees had been shorn into intricate patterns that appealed to her artistic nature. Her fingers itched to hold a paintbrush and to put to canvas the beauty of this place.

  She strolled through the wet grass toward the red flower wall, in the direction Beya had indicated. Her heart pounded and she rubbed her sweaty palms on the thin material of the tiny dress. The material seemed to magnify her arousal, rubbing against her taut nipples and gently brushing the curls at her mons.

  What Karn had in mind for her, she didn’t know. Just the thought of being in his presence made her so hot and horny she couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have sex with him.

  To fuck him. Her cheeks heated at the forbidden word. That’s what Alexi always called it. Fucking. And that’s what Karn called it, too.

  When she reached the wall of red flowers, Annie paused for a moment, trying to gain some semblance of composure. In, out. In, out, she told herself as she tried to remember how to breathe. It wasn’t like she was going to meet some monster, like in her dream last night.

  No. Not a monster. A weretiger King with the body of a god and a penchant for ordering women around.

  She took a deep breath, rounded the wall, and came to an abrupt stop.

  Karn stood beside several pieces of ebony marble furniture with thin veins of gold throughout the smooth polished surfaces. Chairs, a long rectangular table, a bench, and smaller tables were arranged in a private garden area.

  The arrogant King was leaning against the flower wall, his arms folded and his expression stern. But what caught her complete attention was the fact that he was naked.

  Mouthwatering, breath-stealing, drop-dead gorgeous hunk of man…naked.

  And he sported a cock so firm and erect that she almost whimpered with lust at the sight of it.

  “You made me wait far too long,” Karn said as he studied her.

  “Sorry,” Annie said automatically, then bit her tongue, wishing she could take it back. She didn’t owe him any apologies.

  Karn pushed away from the wall and strode toward her. The scars on his chest were more apparent in the sunlight, and like last night made him seem even darker and more dangerous.

  It was then that she noticed the red scarf in one of his hands. She couldn’t take her eyes off it until he was standing in front of her…and then she was staring at his cock. Such a long, thick, and luscious cock it was, too.

  “Look at me, kitten,” he demanded.

  It was like her body was so attuned to his commands that she reacted at once, tearing her gaze from his erection and focusing on his face. She didn’t need her glasses to see up close, and right now she wished she didn’t have them on. They made her look frumpy and like a college professor.

  Oh, yeah. I am a college professor.

  Annie swallowed, tempted to look away from his dark eyes.

  Karn folded his arms across his chest. “Remove your clothing.”

  This time her whole face felt like she’d opened an oven and stuck her head inside. She took a step back, but Karn caught her arm and held her.

  Before she had the chance to decide if she was going to do as he asked, or if she wou
ld disobey, Karn moved his hands to the neckline of her dress. With one quick tear, he ripped the fragile material. It tore like flower petals in his hands, and the next thing she knew the fabric was sliding off her body and she was completely naked.

  Annie gasped and tried to cover her breasts with her hands, but Karn caught her wrists.

  He let out a sound like a tiger’s growl and her heart dropped to her toes. “You will not hide yourself from me when I wish to see you.”

  Her brain decided to take a vacation and she didn’t know what to say. Yes, no, maybe-so?

  “When you respond you must say, ‘Yes, Sire.’” Karn brought up the scarf and slid it over her shoulder and down to her breast. “Is that clear?”

  Things were getting a little out of hand, and a little scary. The look in his eyes both excited her and frightened her all at once. It was the fear that made her whisper, “Yes, Sire.”

  The corner of his mouth curved, a carnal smile that made her clit throb. “Very good, kitten. Now put your hands behind your back and turn away from me.”

  Strangely enough, it felt almost natural following his instructions. Not to mention that being naked outside in the middle of a garden felt naughty. Exciting, even. After she put her hands behind her back, Karn guided her by gently pushing her around so that her back was to him.

  Next thing she knew he was binding her wrists together with the silk scarf. Her throat went dry and her pulse raced. What was he going to do?

  “Kneel,” he commanded even as he placed his hands on her shoulders and applied light pressure, forcing her to comply.

  The grass was wet beneath her knees and her long hair slid across her breasts and along the top of her buttocks. Cool air brushed her nipples and mound, causing goose bumps to prickle her skin. With her hands tied behind her back, her breasts thrust forward. Annie didn’t know whether to be embarrassed, angry, or excited. She felt a little of everything, and the feelings confused her.

  “What are you going to do to me?” she asked as he came around to stand before her.

  This time a short red leather strap was in his hand and large diamond-shaped crystals glittered along its surface.