Free Desire After Dark: Lords of Pleasure by Jo Carlisle Page A

cook needs help in the kitchen.”
    “Yes, mistress!”
    The little faery jumped up, bobbed her head, then hurried from the room, wings fluttering. Luc crossed his arms over his chest and studied Kass, bemused. “Evidently, I’m not allowed to become too cozy with my food.”
    “
Play
with your food, by all means. Coziness is reserved for your mistress.”
    With that, Kass swept from the room. Luc stared at the spot where she’d been for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. “I’ll be gods-damned.”
    The strong, controlling, take-charge female was jealous! Kass might be an ancient Valkyrie, a warrior nearly unparalleled on the battlefield or in the bedroom, but one simple fact remained.
    For all that strength, Kass was still a
woman
.
    And on top of that, she was a woman who, for some reason,was possessive of the vampire she’d brought back from the brink of death. He had to wonder why she cared so much.
    Suddenly more cheerful than he had a right to be, he turned and padded to the shower, whistling a merry tune.
    Kass stalked the corridor, fuming. Well, she’d set herself up perfectly, hadn’t she?
    It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She wasn’t supposed to want to strangle precious Lyric, who’d done only as she’d been bid.
    And she did it rather well, her inner voice sneered.
    The vampire had been beyond pleased with his offerings and had wasted not one second getting the faery flat on her back, slender legs wrapped around his waist, his cock buried in her sheath. It had been…
    Decadent. Exciting. The sight had made Kass’s blood sing and her pussy wet.
    But that desire had morphed into a hairy green monster when Luc had uttered the simple invitation for Lyric to join him in the shower. Why?
    The answer was instantaneous:
Because Luc is my mate. Mine! And while it’s fine for him to take pleasure in the natural drive of a vampire to feed and fuck, albeit with my permission, I won’t tolerate further intimacy between him and his Chosen.
    That self-realization was shattering. She was bound as securely to Luc as if they’d been tethered together by enchanted rope. What was more, she was certain he didn’t yet feel the same pull as she did. Weren’t vampires supposed to know their mates upon meeting them? How frustrating!
    Yet his ignorance of the true situation gave her time to think.Her existence that had become so ho-hum in recent years was suddenly anything but, and she had no idea how to deal with complications that couldn’t be dispatched with her sword.
    Caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t realize she was looking for Taryn until she found him in the courtyard. He was practicing his fighting skills with a guard named Darius, using the sword she’d given him as a gift for his last birthday, a fact that pleased her. Not only would his skills be necessary in their often-brutal world, once he’d perfected them, but he loved that sword because it was a present from Kass. He enjoyed feeling useful as well, which gave him a break from his other duties.
    Right now, however, his duty to his mistress would take precedence.
    “Darius!” she called, striding forward. “Give me your sword!”
    “Yes, Commander!”
    That was the title with which their guards and other soldiers were expected to address Kass and her sisters, rather than “mistress” like the household staff and pleasure slaves. Their soldiers were considered more their equals, but they were still deferential to the Valkyries, as their station dictated.
    Confident, Darius tossed his sword, and Kass easily caught it by the hilt. She nodded to him, and he stepped back, content to watch her and Taryn spar.
    She circled her slave, who was giving her a feral grin, the light of battle in his eyes. The familiar thrill zipped through her blood, the need to test her skill against a worthy opponent. In four years, Taryn had come far.
    Raising his weapon, he made the first strike, a move that surprised her in its skill and speed.