Free SurrendersMischief by Alvania Scarborough Page B

momentum a little at a
time, a cheer arose until it filled the cavernous room. At first it was a few
voices then a few dozen, finally several hundred feminine screams filled the
air.
    Riana lifted her mouth and opened her eyes. She stared down
at Darias, into a gaze the color of tarnished gold. Male musk rose from his hot
and sweaty body. A fierce rush of arousal hardened her nipples and pooled
between her legs. “You lose,” she whispered next to his ear. She lifted a lock
of damp hair from across his eyes with her mouth. The black hair felt like
spidersilk on her lips, stirring the lust already simmering in her blood.
    “No,” he rejected, his voice a harsh whisper. Denial sparked
his golden eyes, making them burn.
    She reached down and took his lower lip between her teeth.
She tugged sharply, and was rewarded with his sharply indrawn breath. “Admit
it. You lost. According to the terms of our wager, the winner owns the loser,
body and soul. Say it,” she ordered.
    She could see Darias’ inner struggle, could feel his need to
deny reality. She also saw the moment when honor won.
    “I’m yours.”
    “Louder. I want every one of your warriors to hear you.”
    Dull color stained the hard cheeks. “I belong to you.”
    “Body and soul,” she prompted.
    “Body and soul, I belong to you.” His roar drowned out the
sound of the women cheering. Silence once more descended.
    “Again.”
    “I belong to you, body and soul.”
    Riana dipped her head and kissed Darias for all to see. It
was a mark of pure possession. Her tongue darted inside his mouth and danced
over the ridges in the roof of his mouth.
    Shivers raced over the exposed flesh of his chest, and a
deep shudder racked his muscles. His hips flexed involuntarily.
    Riana pulled back, and he groaned.
    She stood up, and held one hand down to Darias.
    He stared at it for a moment then back up at her before
finally placing his hand in hers. His huge paw swallowed hers as she helped him
stand.
    He stumbled for a second before finding his balance. Within
minutes, the full effect of the nerve pinch would wear off.
    She owed the good lieutenant a bottle of his favorite wine.
She smiled. Perhaps she’d get Sharri to deliver it for her.
    “Do you uphold your end of the wager or are you without
honor?” she goaded when he remained mute.
    The cords in his throat pulsed violently at the taunt. He
turned to the crowd.
    “I give you the Supreme Chief of Nexar.” Muted rumbles
threatened to get out of control. Darias raised his hand.
    Riana was impressed with the quick obedience of his
warriors, especially considering the circumstances.
    “I gave my word. Nexar is no longer ruled by men. We will
obey our women and give them the same respect we have commanded.” He held his
hand out to Gaith, a silent order to hand over the Badge of Rank.
    Only Riana saw the fine tremor in his fingers as he slipped
the pendant—a dragon in flight, gaping jaws open in a roar—over her head.
    Darias slowly knelt before her, his head bowed.
    Riana stared at the lowered head. She’d done it. She was
free. The women of Nexar were free, chattel no more. “Kneel to your mistresses,
men,” she ordered, her command ringing from one end of the Great Hall to the
other. One by one, resistance and resentment eloquent in the posture, the
warriors of Nexar went down on bended knee in front of the women.
    “From this day forward, wife, not husband, will rule the
home and the land. If currently a leman, she may chose a husband from any
single man she pleases. A man is not allowed to serve two mistresses, but a
woman may have a husband and as many slaves as she wishes. The current laws and
punishments will hold sway, only modified to reflect the change of status.”
Riana looked up, acknowledging for the first time the vidscreens that connected
the rest of the country-state to the Great Hall. “No man is too lowborn nor too
highborn to be exempt from this decree.
    “Now clear this Hall. Go home and