Free Dominion (Book 1 of The Dominion Series) by S. E. Lund Page B

him.
    "What happened to me? The last thing I remember was the battle. How did I come to this place? Who are you?" I try to sit up fully, but when I do, my head pounds. "Do you have some wine? I'm very thirsty."
    "My name is Marguerite," she says and smiles beguilingly. "Wine won't slake the thirst you have, my love."
    My love ... So that's how it is between us. I wish I could remember...
    Marguerite. Her age is hard to guess for she appears rather fragile with paler-than-pale skin. She leans against the post at the corner of the bed and the neck of her gown falls open to the waist, revealing delicious curves…
    Michel stops reading for a moment and I'm pulled out of the story.
    "What's the matter?"
    "It's very explicit. Are you certain you want me to continue?"
    I nod, embarrassed that I'm such a voyeur for their pain.
    "Very well," he says, as if he's reluctant. He reads for a moment and then clears his throat.
    "Strangely, my flesh doesn't respond to the sight of her naked breast. Yes, I admire its heavy fullness, the creamy skin, the puckered nipple but whether it's my headache or thirst – I can't tell which – I don't feel the familiar ache in my groin that I expect when a beautiful half-naked woman stands at the foot of my bed.
    "I need something strong," I say. "I feel like the dead."
    She laughs, a light sound like crystal being struck.
    "You're more right than you think."
    "How did I get here? I have no memory..."
    "I'm not surprised," she says and comes closer to me, but stops at the edge of the beam of sunlight that streams into the room and falls over me "I found you near death on the battlefield and brought you to my tent. I," she says and hesitates. "I healed you, beautiful Sir Knight. I brought you here. I saved your life."
    "Thank you, of course," I say, squinting against the light. I hold up a hand and shade my eyes. "Do you think you could close the drapes? The light is murder on my eyes."
    She goes to a small table by the hearth and rings a bell to summon the servants. When she turns back to me, she examines me like I'm a new toy or prized possession. I don't remember fucking her, but I must have. I'm naked. She's practically naked. My body feels – well, it feels as if I've bedded a dozen women and been beaten by each one of their husbands.
    In comes a servant girl, her head bowed as she stands in front of Marguerite.
    "My Lady?"
    "Close the drapes. And bring in the girl. Quickly."
    The servant bows and then closes the drapes so that the room is now dim with the exception of several candles and the light from a flickering hearth. I exhale in relief. My eyes felt somewhat better but my head still aches and my throat feels as if it's lined with sand. My belly growls with a hunger that seems to fill my veins, and my upper jaw throbs as if I've had my teeth kicked in. I run my tongue over my teeth. Two protrude, unfamiliar in their prominence, sharper than I remember.
    The servant returns and following her is a young woman dressed in a thin nightdress with its neck open. She's lovely, with long dark hair and wide green eyes. Marguerite smiles and takes her hand, pulling her over to the bedside.
    "She's a gift for you, Julien. Do you like her?" Marguerite pulls back the girl's long hair, drawing down the gown's shoulder to expose her neck and breast. "You need her to complete the ritual."
    Ritual? Does she expect me to fuck the girl? I rub my forehead and grimace in pain from the ache in my teeth. There's no way I can fuck the girl – not the way I feel.
    What's wrong with me?
    Marguerite pushes the girl onto the bed beside me, so that she half-lies half-sits on me, her hands on either side of my hips. Marguerite crawls onto the bed as well, and once more pulls back the girl's long hair, exposing the creamy smooth skin of her neck and breast.
    "Take her, Julien," Marguerite says. "You need her."
    "Take her?" I say, confused. "I'm in no condition..."
    "Of course you are. You have a need and so you take." The