But I had to play along to get what I needed—her heart.
“Understood,” I murmured, tracing the tip of my dagger down her corseted top. Her breathing remained steady as she floated in some faraway place, her imagination overtaking her reality. Alas, I couldn’t allow her to stay there. I needed her focus and compliance to achieve my goal. “I want to teach you something, Valora,” I said, my weapon nearing her belly button. “An important lesson on participation.”
She gasped as I sliced through her bodice in one swift flick of my wrist. The fabric parted over her torso, revealing creamy skin and a pair of tits that left our audience growling in approval. Rather than admire my prize, I held her gaze and watched as her pupils engulfed the circumference of her pale irises.
Finally she showed signs of some emotion.
Fear.
Shock.
Confusion.
“Better,” I praised, sliding the weapon lower, to her skirts, while ignoring the low murmurs and growls littering the air. Valora commanded me now. Her expression. Her body. The heat wafting up from her exposed skin. “Focus on me. On my touch. On the way I make you feel.”
Silky fabrics slipped across my skin as I found a part in her dress that introduced me to her bare thigh. My opposite hand caught her hip to keep her upright, secretly lending her my strength under the guise of control.
No panties.
Just a freshly shaved mound and a feminine heat that wasn’t nearly wet enough. “Spread your legs,” I encouraged her softly, my hand already pushing them apart as I spoke.
She swallowed.
Her breath hitched.
And another gasp parted her full lips.
“Is it cold?” I asked, the hilt of my blade gliding effortlessly through her slick folds. To those watching, they wouldn’t know how I touched her, would likely think the worst, and that was entirely the point. “Answer me, Valora.” I needed her cooperation for this to work. If Necros thought for a second that I might go easy on her, he’d take me off this degrading task and I’d have to approach this plan from an entirely different angle.
“It’s—”
I pressed the handle upward into her dampening sex, eliciting a yelp from her throat. It was well timed and earned a few chuckles from the audience, but her blown-out pupils captivated my focus.
“Still waiting for a reply,” I taunted. “Is it cold?”
“N-no,” she stammered, her upper b
ody swaying as my thumb brushed her clit.
“Grab my shoulders,” I commanded, not wanting to risk her falling when I had such a lethal object between her thighs. The blade might be pointed downward, but it was sharp and wouldn’t take much to damage her tender skin.
Valora didn’t hesitate, her nails gripping me for support. I pressed the little bundle of nerves again, eliciting a visible shiver across her exposed skin.
“You’re doing so well,” I told her, applying more pressure and guiding the handle just a little deeper into her.
She bit her lip, sweat beading her brow. “I don’t… What are you…? Why?”
“I’m teaching you how to respond, little one. How to participate and enjoy your purpose.” I pressed down on her sensitive nub and set a pace with the weapon, carefully fucking her with the hilt. It took skill on my part, just enough to keep me grounded and in control while Valora lost touch with reality and succumbed to my will.
Sound drowned out around us, my entire existence focused on her reddening cheeks and heavy-lidded gaze. I hadn’t expected her to fall beneath the spell of my seduction so easily. But the woman was a natural, her supple form curling into mine, her arousal thickening the air.
“It feels…” The words were hardly audible, a breath against my lips. “I…”
“Give in to it,” I urged her, my mouth tracing hers without kissing, my thumb drawing sensuous circles against her, the handle of my knife penetrating her in the most sinful of ways. “Succumb, Valora.”
She blinked, her gaze heavy, her tongue snaking out to dampen her plump lower lip.
The bastard king had clearly never introduced Valora to pleasure or ecstasy. That was how I’d so easily managed to enrapture her in this haze of violence. It should have left her cold and unattainable, but she responded beautifully to my blade. I almost wanted to thank Necros for making this so simple.