The Pride of a Slave Ch. 04

Dimitri kissed down until he was between my breast and then he kissed each one in turn, rubbing and grabbing them. I squirmed, feeling the beginning of a burning in my nether region. I gasped when his lips locked onto one of my sensitive nipples, the burning turning to electricity, shooting directly to my center. He released my nipple and began to kiss along my body.

It took a few minutes to realize he was kissing softly along each bruise on my body. I felt warm at the junction between my legs, and I knew I had grown damp there from my arousal. I rubbed my thighs together and fisted the sheets in my hands. I arched repeatedly as his lips touched my fevered flesh, a chill escaping me each time I thought he was kissing downwards only to feel him cross my body and kiss another bruise. I became nearly dizzy with desire when I felt him kiss down my leg and kiss my knees.

My body quivered with a primal need and I wanted Dimitri to kiss me again. I reached down and touched the side of his face and pulled him slowly back to me, until my lips locked onto his. I wrapped my arms around him and devoured his mouth, him responding in kind until he was lying on top of me and had wrapped his arms around me and was pulling me even closer to him.

"Dimitri." It was a soft whisper of desire but it was enough to shatter the moment.

Dimitri let me go and jumped away from the bed putting as much distance between himself and me as he could. He hands shook with an internal effort I could visibly see in his eyes. I sat up looking at him confused and he shook his head, holding the wall, anchoring himself like he was caught in a storm.

"Sera...I'm sorry." His voice was rough with desire and it felt like fingers across my body.

I shivered and looked at him, "No, please Dimitri."

I pleaded with him, uncertain of the reason why but knowing I needed him back with me. He shook his head and looked at me with a deep anguish, "We can't Sera."

The world we lived in snapped back like an overstretched rubber band. I strangled a cry and grabbed the sheets covering myself up quickly. I hated myself suddenly, I was ashamed at how I reacted. I had wanted him so badly, I still wanted him badly, but I was a slave, he was immortal, and what's more, he was the heir.

I covered my face with the sheet and jumped off of his bed and walked quickly into his closet, closing the door behind me. I fell to my knees in privacy, lying my arms and face on the chair in there. I wept with pain, I wept with the knowledge that I still needed him, I wanted everything he had been giving me, and I wanted more, so much more.

I had always been proud of what I was, I was a slave, that had worked so hard. I had been placed among immortals that had done nothing more than be born into their luck. I had always been proud of being a slave, if only because I loved my mother and that I was proud for whom she was, and there by proud of who I was.

I reached behind my neck and felt the brand there, and for the first time my pride shattered and I dug my nails into my flesh, feeling the sting as the nails broke the skin and I wept with hatred as I pulled my nails along the back of my neck, pieces of the brand ripping away with a sting of blood following.

I wept softly but hard and long until the burning in my body stopped. I lifted myself from the floor and pulled down a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, putting them on and stepping out of the closet. Dimitri was on the bed, his head in his hands, his fists full of hair. I wanted to console him but I couldn't this time, he was right, we couldn't, and we wouldn't, ever.

I touched his shoulder and told him softly I needed to go shower and change in my room. He nodded without looking up and I walked out of his room, through the apartment, and into the hall. I ran to my room and slammed the door behind me, accepting that no matter how I cried, or screamed, or railed against it, this was one thing that would never happen.

Instead, I showered and took stock of the damage done to me by Dimitri, Ryder, and Delilah. I looked like a wreck, ignoring the red eyes and tear stains, I was covered in bruises. I sighed, and put on a pair of ripped jeans and a tight black tank top and pulled my hair back in a ponytail, the length hiding the back of my neck from sight.

I heard the knock and shouted I would be to breakfast as soon as possible. I took a deep breath, staring in the mirror, gripping the counter tightly. "I am who I am, and I wont let them make me feel bad for it."

It was my mantra and I tried saying it over and over again, it didn't help, and finally I gave up and walked to breakfast. I walked into the dining room, surprised to see how quick all the damage had been fixed or replaced. I shook my head giving credit to the servants, they worked hard.

I jumped startled as a hand landed on my shoulder and I turned into the brown eyes of my professor. I stumbled then righted myself, "Good grief, give someone a warning."

Joseph laughed, his laugh contagious and I smiled in response, "I should have warned you but I wanted to get here early, I was dying to get started, honestly. But I was told that you would be having breakfast so I decided to join you, if that's alright."

I sighed in relief, "More than okay, I'm afraid it would have just been me without you here as company."

His eyebrows furrowed, "I thought you all had breakfast together. It was in the social views section of the paper."

I snorted and shook my head, media. I nodded, "Usually yes, but this isn't a usual morning."

I turned fully to Joseph and he cried out in surprised, "Heaven! What happened to your neck!!"

I touched my neck and grimaced, "Like I said it isn't a normal morning."

I sat down and Joseph sat next to me. We ate while I told him what had happened when he had left that day. He laughed until he cried when I told him I had lost my temper and attacked Delilah, but then sobered quickly when he listened to what happened between Ryder and Dimitri.

"Why did Ryder attack Dimitri?" Joseph's tone was curious and I shrugged.

"I think it was because he threw me across the room, and to be quite frank if Ryder hadn't caught me, Dimitri would have done serious damage."

Joseph whistled in appreciation, "How did you get the two to stop?"

I shook my head, "That is between us, I'm sorry. Its very difficult to explain, and I haven't had the best results after I have talked about it."

Joseph nodded easily accepting the explanation, "I am impressed though. I imagine you have a lot of emotional energy that needs an escape."

I muttered darkly, "You have no idea."

Joseph clapped his hands together and gave thanks for the meal, which I thought was odd, but mimicked him and we both got up and walked out. I showed him the lilac room and was pleasantly surprised to find all the furniture had been removed leaving just the empty room. Joseph walked around deciding on a good angle for the light.

We spent the entire morning painting and laughing together. It felt good to be around another human, and Joseph didn't once remind me of my place, or what I was. It was nice and I needed it after the break my heart felt with Dimitri. We stopped after noon and took a walk in the garden. Joseph talked and lectured about colors in nature and shadowing, and angles. We looked at a flower longer than any normal creature should, noticing everything about it, right down to the light hairs on the stem.

We were sitting down next to each other, leaning back on our hands when he reached over and touched my neck, "That looks really bad."

I shook my head, "Not as bad as you think, I didn't even lose consciousness."

"You shouldn't have to deal with being treated like that."

I raised an eyebrow at him surprised, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are a brilliant, bright, creative, artistic, beautiful, talented girl. You shouldn't have to be the punching bag of any immortals, even the Princes."

I was flattered and laughed trying to shake off the intensity of the statement. But the look on Josephs face was deadly serious and I found myself startled into silence. We stared at each other for a long time, neither one of us moving.

"I don't have anywhere else to go." I said softly. It was the basic of excuses but I saw a glimmer of anger across his face.

"Yes you do." He leveled a gaze at me that had me dropping my jaw stunned.

He reached over and grabbed my hand softly in his, "Just think about it. You are amazing, and you shouldn't have to deal with this. What happens when he doesn't stop next time, Seraphina?" He motioned to my neck and dropped my hand, "Think about it, alright?"

He grabbed my sketch pad, and with a charcoal wrote his address in the middle, then stood up and stretched, "Well I need to get going, I have teacher business to do. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

I nodded and watched him go into the Palace and disappear completely from view. I laid back into the grass with my hands above my head. I had no idea what to think, I had a lot happen in such a short time. A shadow loomed over me and I turned and saw Ryder standing above me, shifting uneasy.

I laughed and patted the grass next to him. He collapsed with a huff and sat forward looking into the forest outside of the garden, "Di called, he said I needed to survey the damage."

I froze remembering how Dimitri surveyed the damage that morning. I felt Ryder touch my shoulder and he groaned and collapsed backwards with his arm over his eyes, "Sorry Sera."

"I know you are, you weren't yourself."

"I know you know that, but I'm still sorry."

I waved it off and wrapped my hand with his, "How was your night?"

"Oh man, it was awful. I spent all of it in a scalding hot bath, damn Dimitri. I sat freezing my ass off all night, I felt like I coulda died from the cold. Only to finally warm up and see that my entire body was a prune."

I laughed and squeezed his hand, "I'm glad you are better."

"Yeah, how did Di fare?"

I winced trying to push the memory of his lips on my skin out of my head, "He spent the night in an ice shower."

"You help him through?"

"Yeah."

"He didn't deserve it!" Ryder's body went rigid and I reached over with my other hand and pinched him hard. He snorted, "He didn't, he freaking threw you across the damn room. He knows that you are fragile, and that if we aren't careful we could really hurt you, maybe even...you know. And the asshole threw you just because you landed a few good punches in that bitches face."

I sighed, "I don't think it was entirely to save Delilah."

"What do you mean. He didn't even look at you after he threw you."

I nodded, unable to correlate the Dimitri in the dinning room and the one from his bedroom this morning, "Ryder, something weird is going on with Di, he seems really confused about things."

"Yeah, pussy will do that to a man."

I choked and swatted him, the both of us laughing. He pulled me into a hug and I squeezed him tightly, his face buried in my neck. Suddenly he went rigid and breathed in deeply. He pushed me away and looked at me and I watched his nose twitch and I realized he was smelling me.

He pressed his nose gently to my neck then slowly down before I pushed him off of me. His green eyes became dark and he grabbed me softly, "What did he do?"

I looked at him confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Dimitri, damn him, what did he do?" I stared at Ryder stunned. I didn't say anything and Ryder stood up and grabbed me roughly and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and bounded quickly out of the garden and into the forest.

"Put me down Ryder, damn it!! Put me the hell down!!"

He ignored me until we were well within the forest and then he set me softly next to a stream, the dry moss making a comfortable cushion underneath me. I looked at him confused and he stepped away and paced, taking deep breaths until he was calm again.

He sat down next to me and touched the side of my face with the hot outside of his hand, "What did Dimitri do with you Seraphina?"

I shook my head and looked away from Ryder, embarrassed. He grabbed my face and pulled it softly to him, then put one hand on each side of my face, the large hands engulfing my face. He looked conflicted and finally he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

I looked at him stunned and reached up and pulled his hands from my face, "What are you doing Ryder?"

He was silently staring at me and then he leaned forward and kissed me again. I tried to pull away but he pushed me onto my back instead and I wriggled against him, trying to get him off of me. He grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head, "Please Sera, please...just let me kiss you."

"No, you have to stop."

His lip were on mine before I could tell him to let me go, and I fought with him a little harder this time. His warm mouth plied at my lips, caressing and cajoling them until I began to respond, my lips opening of their own accord. He slipped his tongue into me and deepened the kiss.

He kept my hands pinned above me with one hand and moved his other down the length of my body, grabbing roughly onto my jeans at the hips before released them and then running his hand down my thighs and back up my front. I had meant to keep fighting him, but my body had already been aroused earlier and it responded quickly to Ryder's rough caresses.

I arched into his hand as he snaked it up the front of my shirt and across my stomach. He kept kissing me, never stopping as he lifted the bra up, letting my breast spill out of them. He grabbed them and massaged them, flicking his fingers over the hardening peaks as he did so. I moaned into his mouth and his tongue caressed mine in response.

He broke the kiss to lift up my shirt and kiss my stomach, his hot tongue running along the length of my abdomen. I moaned slightly and felt him reach down with his hand and grab my ass through my pants and squeeze it.

He finally let my hands go as he worked on the button of my pants, quickly slipping them down my hips and legs, I lifted my butt to let him, getting a soft growl in response as I did so. He looked at my baby blue cotton panties and kissed the edge of them. I gasped and rubbed my legs together, feeling the moisture of my arousal begin to dew onto my panties.

To my surprise Ryder grabbed the hem of my panties and dragged them down before running his hands up the length of my leg and up my hips and sides, until he was grabbing my breast again, twisting the nipples until I moaned.

His hands slid back down and I felt him gently pull my legs apart. I opened them and released a breath when I felt the cool air touch the hot, dripping center of me. Ryder kissed the inside of my leg starting at the knee and moving slowly down towards me. I was writhing in anticipation and pleasure as he made slow work of my leg.

When he kissed the junction where my legs turned into my center I grabbed his hair and squeezed it. He chuckled and unwrapped my hands from his hair whispering throatily, "Patience."

I nodded and watched him kiss the crease of my leg until he was finally dragging his tongue across the thick outer lip of me. I opened my legs wider and felt his hands move underneath me and hold my ass, lifting me up to his face. I felt his eyes on me as he licked the center of me in a long stroke.

I felt like my heart would explode and I gasped at the sensation. He kissed me and licked again, this time staying longer in my folds. I gasped and lifted myself a little more in his hands. I looked down and saw that his eyes were a glowing emerald. He stared at me a moment then leaned forward and settled his mouth onto me. I felt an explosion of fire from my center as he began to lick and suck in earnest. I was writhing and moaning on him, not understanding what he was doing exactly, but loving it the same. I felt an electric feeling build as he kept sucking and licking and finally unable to stop it, I screamed out in pleasure as the electricity exploded, turning into a fire that consumed my body.

I stayed in that state for a long series of moments as I felt Ryder's mouth drop lower and gently suck and lap at my juices. He moaned in pleasure as he cleaned me of my passion, seeming to savor every lick. He released me slowly and pulled away before kissing the side of my neck and breathing into my hair.

"Ryder, wh..why..."

He sighed softly and just laid on me, most of his weight on his hands rather than on me, "I couldn't stop Sera. I've wanted you for so long, I've loved you for so long, but I'm not supposed to be with you, ever."

My breathing slowly returned to normal and I sat up, pulling my bra back over my breast along with my shirt. He watched me, "You have to understand, I..I don't have Di's control. I smelled him on you, more than his hug, more than his small kiss of affection, I smelled him over too much of your body. I couldn't stop, even if I had wanted to, I couldn't."

I grabbed my panties and put them on and my pants, standing up quickly. I was confused, with Dimitri every part of me wanted whatever he would give me and he refused, torturing me with a sweet frustration I couldn't even begin to explain. And then Ryder had taken me into the forest, pinned me down and had caressed a response out of me. I hadn't wanted Ryder to do anything, and even with the explosion he gave me felt amazing, maybe even right, I was still confused.

We walked quietly back to the Palace. When it was in sight Ryder stopped me and dropped to his knees and looked up at me, "Please say something."

The pain on his face looked beautiful, and it hurt almost as much as Dimitri's refusal had. I ran my fingers through his hair and sighed, "I'm confused. I love you Ryder but, what you did, was wonderful."

His eyes brightened but I shook my head and he looked away from me, "You aren't supposed to do anything like that with me, right?"

He sighed frustrated, "Since when have I given a shit about what people tell me I SHOULD do when it comes to you and Di?"

I shook my head keeping my eyes closed, "You are going to be the next ruling Alpha Ryder, we cant do this."

"I don't care, I've never cared." He sounded pleading.

"I'm a slave Ryder." I turned on him angry, not at him, but at the whole world I was born into, "Don't you get it? The best I could be is a pleasure slave for you, and even if I could be that for you, what happens when you get married? Would you keep me around, to watch your wife have the children I could not give you? To watch your mate have the life with you I could never hope for? And when you turn of age, would you cut me open and drink me to keep yourself living longer?"

His head was bowed down, looking at the ground defeated before I could say more. I choked back a sob, "I cant be anything for you, if you force me into that Ryder. Dimitri understands that, and he pulled away."

I knelt down with him and held his hand and rested my head against his, "Please, don't take away what little we have by insisting on this. I love you so much Ryder, I would die if I lost you and Dimitri."

Ryder pulled away and stood up grabbing my shoulders and lifting me and crushing me to him, "I cant Sera, I cant go back."

He released me and turned around and walked back into the forest, disappearing after a few feet. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and walked through the garden, into the Palace, through the halls, up the stairs and into my room, never once seeing Dimitri, Victor, Mariah, or Isadorre.

Their words fell onto deaf ears, and I slammed my door in their faces, never once realizing they were even there. I went to my bed and grabbed my tablet from my bags and opening my books I began to study, losing myself in the laws and history of the world I lived in. I didn't notice the time had passed until there was a soft knock on the door.