Handsome Bastard (6 page)

“Have you eaten yet tonight?” he asked. When Leotine shook her head, he continued, “I will leave you to go to the kitchen, then. It’s time for my nightly exercise. I will see you afterward for my bath and later we will eat supper together.”

Leotine’s interest sparked at the mention of his nightly exercise. Mostly likely it included swordplay and other forms of fighting. Seeing his skill level and learning his techniques could prove useful. The better she knew her enemy, the better her chances of destroying him completely.

“May I watch you?” she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “Surely you can think of better ways to spend your time than watching me exercise?”

“What better way than to look upon male beauty at its most savage?” she said in a soft voice and stared at him with wide eyes.

With a deep chuckle, he wrapped an arm snugly around her waist and bent so that he practically spoke against her lips. “Later tonight, all my savage male beauty shall be yours alone to do with as you please. Until then I require privacy.”

Before she could reply, he covered her mouth in another intoxicating kiss that left her slightly breathless. When he finally stepped away, her entire body still tingled from his touch. Hard nipples pressed against her tunic and the pleasurable ache between her legs made her long for him to appease it. She could scarcely wait for his thick cock to fill her, for his slender fingers to tease her breasts and stroke the taut pink nub between her legs until she burst with passion.

This time his smile was genuine. His broad chest expanded as he drew a long breath and released it slowly, his melting gaze fixed on hers.

“Soon, beautiful Leotine,” he said. “You must learn patience.”

If only he knew the extent of her patience, that she was willing to live as his slave for the gods knew how long before fulfilling the duty she had been sent to carry out.

Without another word, he left her alone in the garden.

For several moments Leotine walked around, admiring the plants, trees and flowers. She would have to make a point to visit the garden by day sometime. Though lovely in the moonlight, she didn’t doubt it would be splendid beneath the brilliance of the sun. She loved gardens. Long ago, during her intense training as a hunter, her only moments of true escape were spent in Julius Titus’ garden. Alone amidst the flowers and statues, she could pretend she was not a hunter, but an average woman. One who could do honest work, enjoy simple pleasures, just
live
without fear of the evil she knew existed.
Live
without her sole motive being the destruction of other creatures. Yes, blood-drinkers had to die, but sometimes she wondered if all that killing, even of those who deserved it, hadn’t ruined her as well.

A normal woman could bed a man like Cyprian and enjoy it completely. She wouldn’t have to bear the guilt of knowing she would eventually kill a man who had given her such pleasure.

But he is not a man.
He is a monster. Evil. Destructive. His handsome looks and veneer of kindness only exist to sway you from what you know to be true.

Leotine knelt by a statue of a rabbit and rested her hand upon its cool head. She closed her eyes and thought about her vows and her duty. She thrust aside her doubts about the manipulative, blood-drinking bastard Cyprian Augustus.

We have served for as long as they have existed and will continue to serve until they are extinct.

Until he is dead. Dead by her hand. His intoxicating green eyes forever closed.

Chapter Three

Several hours later, Cyprian placed his sword aside and wiped his forearm across his perspiring brow. Nearby, Sextus took two towels from a basket beside a large clay pot. He used one to blot his face and handed the other to Cyprian.

They had been practicing swordplay and wrestling, just as they did almost every night. Keeping sharp both in mind and body meant life or death to blood-drinkers, particularly Cyprian. It seemed the hunters would never rest until they destroyed him. They didn’t like losing and he had thwarted their efforts for ages.

There had been sneaky attacks as well as blatant ones. Now they had sent the beautiful Leotine to seduce him into giving up his immortality. When were they going to learn that he was better at the game than they were? Actually, he should thank them for sending Leotine. He had been bored of late and she was the perfect remedy.

Refreshed by the exercise, Cyprian looked forward to more pleasant exertions with the curvy huntress.

“You’re still keeping the woman here and giving her the run of the villa?” Sextus asked.

Scrubbing the towel over his sweat-beaded arms and chest, Cyprian replied, “Nothing has changed.”

Nothing
had
changed, except his heightened interest Leotine. Earlier that evening, when she’d asked to watch him exercise, he knew her main interest hadn’t been in admiring his
male beauty at its most savage
, as she’d put it. She wished to observe her enemy to learn as much as possible about Cyprian. What better way than to watch him fight? If properly trained, even a mere human might defeat a blood-drinker. Cyprian didn’t doubt Leotine had been taught as much about blood-drinkers as any human could learn.

He smiled slightly. Yes, this beauty challenged him in a way he found most stimulating, both in body and mind.

“Is there anything you want before I leave, beside more good advice regarding this new slave of yours?” Sextus asked.

“I do not want more advice. However, please ask Ursula to come here.”

“Good. It makes sense to have her pleasure you instead of—”

Cyprian glanced at Sextus sharply. “I have great tolerance for you, my friend, but I’m reaching the end of it.”

With a sigh, Sextus raised his eyes to the heavens. “I’m going. Exercise has made me hungry. I need something sweet and red, preferably from a curvaceous source willing to indulge cock and fang.”

“Then go see to your needs rather than talk about them,” Cyprian growled.

Sextus quickly donned his tunic and sandals then left the room, sword in hand.

Moments later, Ursula stepped in. Her gaze swept Cyprian’s nude body and he didn’t miss the flicker of desire in her eyes. Over the years he had bedded her on occasion. Her enthusiasm never failed to please him, even when her skill did not.

However, since Leotine’s arrival, no other woman caught his interest. He had no desire to sate his lust on anyone but the sultry hunter.

“You wish to see me, Master?”

“How has Leotine spent her time tonight?”

“She had a meal in the kitchen then asked if she could be of help around the villa. She was very interested in making herself useful, so I allowed her to assist some of the female slaves in their duties.”

Cyprian nodded. “I see. You may go now and send Leotine to me.”

Ursula left to carry out Cyprian’s order.

Just knowing that Leotine was on her way, that her lush body would soon be his again, made his cock swell. Cursing his own eagerness, he finally regained his self-control.

Leotine entered quietly. Her arousing feminine scent wafted on the air. Her thick chestnut hair was piled atop her head and she gazed at him with a particularly innocent expression in her large blue eyes. Cyprian resisted the urge to smile and his belly tightened with desire.

He discarded the towel and stood, legs braced apart and arms folded across his chest. “Undress.”

The tip of her tongue moistened her lips and she removed first her sandals then her tunic. The heady aroma of her increasing desire combined with her lustful expression aroused him nearly as much as the generous curves now exposed to his hungry gaze. He could scarcely wait to bury his cock inside her hot, wet sheath. Standing naked across the room, she reminded him of a breathing statue, though far more beautiful than any in his garden.

“Come closer,” he ordered.

Leotine approached, and when she stood within arm’s length, he unfastened her thick chestnut hair from atop her head. He ran his fingers through the soft tendrils, relishing the sensation. Everything about this woman, from her delicate scent to the strength in her eyes aroused him. Unlike most blood-drinkers faced with a hunter out to kill him, he had no desire to break her. It would be so much more gratifying to win her over. Turn her against her own kind and make her his.

“I gave you the freedom to spend your hours away from me as you pleased, yet I hear you have chosen to work,” he said.

“You have been more generous with me than any master could be but I want to earn my keep.”

“You most certainly will.” He held her gaze while at the same time wrapping her hair around his hand until his fist pressed gently against the back of her head. Her large eyes stared into his. By the gods, they were beautiful, as blue as peacock feathers and intense enough to swallow his heart, if he let it happen. He’d survived so long because he’d learned to acknowledge human emotion but not allow it to control him. There were two kinds of blood-drinkers most dangerous to themselves—those who tried to deny that part of them would always be human and those who rebelled against what they considered the “curse” of blood drinking. To live as a blood-drinker, one must accept his connection to both races. Though he allowed himself to give and take pleasure with Leotine, he knew better than to surrender his heart to any woman, especially a hunter. He could be kind, yet must remain loyal only to himself, lest he be destroyed.

“I intend for you to serve me well, Leotine, but you will have no complaint with me as your master. No more abandonment on the muddy streets. No more bruises.” He brushed gentle kisses across her cheek and eyelids. Her lashes fluttered, tickling his lips.

When he released her, she continued staring at him as if entranced. Her creamy breasts, the nipples like ripe berries, rose and fell with each excited breath. The urge to suckle the taut buds and knead the smooth flesh surrounding them almost overtook him.

Instead he turned and took another towel from the basket. He spread it on the floor and sat atop it then beckoned her with a crook of his finger.

Without hesitation, Leotine set to work with the oil and strigil, cleaning him from neck to foot. When she’d finished, Cyprian washed quickly in the bath. Usually he enjoyed taking his time while bathing, but not tonight. He wanted to be alone in his chamber with Leotine, to feel her writhing beneath him, her heart throbbing in a rhythm coveted by blood-drinkers.

When he stepped out of the water, Leotine waited with a towel in hand, her blue eyes filled with desire. He stood while she ran the towel over his shoulders and back. As she dried his chest, his sensitive hearing detected her quickening heartbeat. Regardless of her orders to kill him, this woman lusted after him. Cyprian raised his hands above his head and she scrubbed the towel over his armpits. She continued drying him, gently toweling his cock and balls then briskly rubbing the towel over his buttocks and down his legs. No sooner had she blotted his ankles than he jerked the towel from her hand and guided her to her feet.

He wrapped the towel around her middle and swept her into his arms.

“Enough waiting,” he said, unable to keep the roughness from his voice. By the gods, he ached for her so badly his cock was ready to burst. Still he reminded himself that she had not completely healed. It was wise to handle her with gentleness, at least for a few more days. Then he would see how receptive she was to harder play.

Unaffected by his nudity, Cyprian walked through the house to his bedroom where he kicked the door closed before placing Leotine on the bed.

He unwrapped the towel from her body as if opening a much anticipated gift. He stroked her soft flesh, lingering over her breasts. Unable to resist any longer, he bent and took a plump nipple between his lips. He sucked and rolled his tongue over it.

Leotine gasped and panted with pleasure. She clutched Cyprian’s head closer and arched her back. The pounding of her heart nearly made him chuckle with satisfaction. She moaned her disapproval when he released her nipple but she needn’t have worried. All he’d wanted was to move to her other breast. He teased that nipple with equal enthusiasm. While he licked and sucked, he eased a hand between her legs and dipped his fingers into her damp pussy.

“Oh please,” she cried as he slid the tip of a wet finger over her engorged nub.