She woke to a sharp slap across her face, and she jerked, trying to push herself up but she had been bound and the feeling of the bindings was rope. The thought of being successfully bound by rope was disgusting and she squirmed, jerking back as Carriger tried to slap her again.
In retaliation, she kicked him hard on the shin and he danced back. The idiots hadn't bound her feet, only her arms to the backrest of the chair.
Cursing, the man waved, and she found hands pressing down on her shoulders. Tilting her head back, she saw the elf holding her down.
A touch on her foot had her reacting and one of the three, a small man with a long nose and greasy black hair, earnt a knee to the face as he knelt to restrain her legs.
They were amateurs and while she was scared, she wasn't about to go down quietly.
The tallest of the bunch, a willowy male with deep brown skin and long pointed ears stepped up and struck her with the back of his hand.
Her ears rang and her head hit the backrest of the chair. Recovering quickly, she glared up at him and rolled her jaw to ensure it wasn't broken, though she could taste blood on her lip.
"Real classy beating on a bound woman," she snapped.
He glared right back at her while the man she had decided to call Grease bound her feet to the legs of the chair.
"You're not just a bound woman though, are you?" Grease said and turned as Carriger approached.
Prepared for his retaliation, she turned her head in time with his fist as it struck her cheek and while it still hurt, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Still, it made her head ache and she swore softly and slowly.
"I'm going to kill you too, Carriger," she hissed, making him laughed.
"Not if we kill you first," he said snidely.
She jerked back at the first touch of a slender knife pressing against her throat. The elf had a knife and he seemed wonderfully eager to use it on her.
"What now?" she asked Carriger, fuming but mostly helpless at the moment.
"We are going to enjoy your company, then the boys can do whatever they like, and then we kill you," he said casually.
She narrowed her eyes at that. "Not even a ransom? You're boring," she quipped. The knife pressed harder, a drop of blood oozing down her throat.
"You think we could get a ransom for her? Then send her back in parts?" Grease said and Carriger frowned, thinking hard.
"Don't strain yourself, thinking looks like a foreign concept to you."
She had deserved the next slap he gave her, but it was the knife that made her flinch, held still so that it was her body that moved against it.
"You've got such a smart mouth, maybe we should send your tongue back to your husband in a gift box."
"I'm sure he'd be thrilled. He's wanted to have it removed ever since he met me." She shifted, trying to inch herself away from the knife but the elf seemed to be aware of her every movement and inched it closer. "Could you not?" she asked. In response, the knife pressed firmly against her throat without cutting. "No then…"
"You wouldn't believe how happy we were when we saw you in the throne room. We've been waiting for a year to get a chance to capture you and then there you were, all soft and human. It made my week," Carriger said.
She wasn't going to play his game, sighing and giving him her best 'get on with it' face.
He looked at her and smiled. She wasn't prepared for it this time and his fist drove hard into her sternum, the knife cutting deep as she doubled over, gasping in pain and lack of air.
He was grinning as she lifted her streaming eyes and closed them just in time for his fist to meet her jaw.
***
For ten solid minutes he hit her, finally needing the elf to hold her head up when she went limp and laughing his pleasure at her suffering.
She had always half expected to go out in a way similar to the one she was in then, finally captured and a soul stealing knife slid into her chest, but she had never expected to be human when it happened, her body on fire, certain he had broken something.
Finally satisfied, they had unbound her and shoved her to the ground, leaving her there while Carriger moved away to wash her blood from his knuckles.
"Who's first?" he asked and there was a soft murmur before her hands were unbound and then bound once more above her head.
Opening her barely functioning eyes, she looked up to see Carriger holding down her wrists, grinning as someone moved at her feet.
The elf kicked her feet apart and knelt between her knees, his eyes intent and face neutral. Feeling a sudden thrill of terror, she looked up to find that knife in his grip, his eyes on her chest.
"What do you think?" he asked, Carriger only laughing.
"She's the prince's whore, isn't she?" Grease asked, his attention focused on her breasts.
The elf nodded once, contemplating where to start cutting. Lifting her leg, she slammed her foot into his stomach. Grunting in pain, the elf doubled over to protect it from another attack, but he was disturbingly fast to recover. Motioning for something, she hissed as hands gripped her ankles.
Squirming violently, the elf gripped her dress and ripped it from hem to neckline, the men around her laughing as they took in her body, thankfully hidden by her underwear, though that didn't cover much.
The elf dropped down onto his one free hand above her and she growled in warning, the sound hardly as threatening as it used to be. He only smiled at her, using the knife to cut the left band of her undergarments. Straining to wriggle herself away from him, she bit her tongue to keep from whimpering as he used the blade to flick away the fabric, leaving several cuts on the soft skin of her hips.
Lifting the knife, she clenched her eyes shut as she expected the blade to be driven down into her chest, but instead she felt the blade gliding over her chest, just above her right breast.
Hissing in pain, her eyes snapped open, and she glanced down to see that he had carefully carved a large 'w' into her skin, his face intent as he moved on to the next letter that would leave her body scarred with the crude word.
He never got the chance.
There was an enormous sound of wood screaming in protest, metal being warped and then the elf no longer had a head atop his shoulders.
Blood sprayed and the two who had been holding her legs were gone.
Scrambling back, she yelped as an arm went around her and the knife was pressed against her throat.
Dragged to her feet, she struggled to pull the scraps of her dress together as Jaia seemed to materialise, covered in blood and looking like he was going to set fire to the entire world in his fury.
His eyes were a vivid crimson, taking in the knife and then Carriger before he simply vanished.
The man behind her jerked, suddenly falling and she turned slowly, Jaia holding the man's severed head by the hair.
Throwing it, the head made an unpleasant thud against the wall, and he was on her, his hands rough as he yanked her to him, leaving bruises on her arms.
He didn't speak, only stared at her bloodied face and bleeding body. His lips pulled back, and he bared his fangs at her, a thrill of terror going through her. She didn't have time to scream before his teeth found her throat and she shuddered, pain closely followed by sweet pleasure as his saliva hit her system and triggered every sexual urge she had.
His hands moved from her arms to her hips, and he lifted her, her backside hitting the table in the next second. Those fantasies flooded her again, the thought of crying out his name as she moved atop him, his hands roaming her body and her blood coating his lips. But that was a fantasy, and she knew now she was in danger. She couldn't fight a vampire, she knew that and as he drank deeply, she felt her world spinning.
Clutching her tight enough to break her fragile bones, he finally ripped his teeth free of her and smiled, lips glistening as he lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit, pressing the wound to her lips.
She resisted at first but then she got a taste and the world vanished around her.
Clutching his wrist, she sealed her lips onto the wound and drank greedily, a soft moan escaping her that had his breath sucking in.
She could feel that he desired her with him pressed so close between her legs, but he forced himself to remain still, watching as she fed from him, and energy began to flood her system.
He pulled away reluctantly and those glowing crimson orbs searched her face, hungry.
Giving in to her own need, she hooked her bound arms up over his head and pulled him harder against her, her lips meeting his and mingling their blood against each other's mouths.
He had gone still at first, reacting to her in shock as his fury began to come down, but then he leant into her, and his lips were demanding on hers.
Her moan made him shudder, his lands landing on her hips, jerking her into him and his hiss at the warmth of her made her giddy.
She wanted him and she could feel how badly he wanted her, her fingers tangling in his hair and clutching him to her as she deepened the kiss, passion and raw need spilling from her into him.
"Jaia?" Kai asked.
The vampire seemed to vanish from her arms, ducking out and turning on the intruder to protect her from the new threat.
But it was only Kai standing there, looking confused and nervous.
Jaia gave a deep warning growl, his arms up and ready to attack his brother if he made any move to come closer.
"Jaia, it's me, Kai. Calm down," Kai said slowly, and she realised that Jaia had lost control. He was guarding her as any vampire would protect his mate and solitary food source.
She hadn't been able to help herself, and then she had made things worse by kissing him. Regardless of who was at fault, she felt guilty for making it harder on him.
"Kai?" she asked weakly. Kai's eyes flicked up to her, widening at the sight of her sitting there, then to the elf who had slumped down on his front. It didn't take a genius to know what had been happening and he clenched his jaw, the realisation of Jaia's state clicking in him.
"Jaia, Etani is safe now. You can relax."
Jaia's eyes snapped to her, then around the room before going back to Kai, unsure and wary.
"Etani, I need you to calmly step down and come to me," Kai said, and the feral, animalistic sound Jaia made had her shivering.
She did as she was told though, slowly sliding down from the table. His eyes locked onto her, hungry and furious in equal measure.
He reached for her when she tried to step away and she didn't try and resist, his fingers closing painfully around her arm and drawing her to him.
He straightened and clutched her to his chest with one arm, protective and possessive.
"Jaia, I'm okay," she breathed into his ear, the feeling of her breath made him shudder through his eyes remained on Kai in the doorway. "I'm fine, love. You can relax," she was speaking softly, but she knew Kai would hear her without issue.
Jaia finally looked at her and he sniffed gently at her hair and face, testing for her lie but he found none.
Finally, the vivid redness seemed to fade, and he slowly eased his grip on her until she was able to breathe properly.
He moved to wrap both arms around her and crushed her to him in a fierce embrace, his nose nudging her jaw as he nuzzled into the hollow of her throat.
She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but her hands remained bound, a fact he didn't seem to care about.