Tale of Obsession: Courting Daphne Ch. 07

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Tricked, captured, and seduced.
5.1k words
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Part 7 of the 11 part series

Updated 08/31/2017
Created 03/06/2010
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The moment I looked at the calendar again, I was completely mortified! I had been running SO late on schedule that it truly scared me! Then again, that is silver_firefly when she is intent on finishing something she wants to do... :) I apologize for my tardiness, but I revised the original chapter completely! Nothing but two whole paragraphs of it remained in this version. :P Not sure if this one is better than the other one (although I, of course, think that it is), but I hope you still enjoy it. Thank you very, very much for reading 'Courting Daphne', and as before, all comments are welcome!

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The back of his head was throbbing in pain. Leander tried to move his hand to touch the tender spot, but his movements were restrained by shackles around his wrists. Grunting, he tried to open his eyes, not sure what had happened to him.

The first thing that he noticed was the canopy. Tried as he might, he could not remember ever seeing it before. A splitting headache hit him again. He closed his eyes, but not before he saw an insignia with two snakes and two swords. As his consciousness faded, Leander realized what it was: Northcove's coat of arms.

*****

"What the hell did you do to him?"

Leander heard the woman's urgent whisper the next time he woke up. He recognized the voice immediately, so he tried to pry his eyes open even though the pain on his head was still bothering him.

"It was necessary," replied another familiar voice. Anthony's.

The general groaned, still uncertain of past events. What happened? The last thing he remembered was waking up and seeing Northcove's insignia. If only not for her voice, he would dismiss it as part of a dream. Yet, he just heard her, and he had to know --

"Stay put, Leander," she commanded when he tried to move again.

He was not listening, though. Much to his dismay, however, he could not get off the shackles that bound him to the bed. Still, he opened his eyes if only to check on her.

Her eyes were filled with worry as they appraised him. He longed to make them twinkle with laughter again, yet Leander knew that he could not. Not yet. Still, just the sight of them, green with flecks of gold, seemed to uncoil the knot of apprehension in his guts. She was all right, and that was one worry less.

She sat on the bed and hesitantly smiled at him. He tried to smile back but the pain in his head made him flinch instead. Then, reality kicked in. If he was in Northcove's palace, as he might be, then it would be because of Daphne --

And Anthony, who was awkwardly standing at the foot of the bed, watching Daphne and him. What was he doing there? Leander's head throbbed, evoking a hiss of pain from him. A groan sounded from Daphne, before Leander felt her head on his shoulder, her hands on his naked body.

He groaned. Her scent was so inviting. Hair washed in lavender, he was sure. And her body, so soft, so close to his. Her hands, so warm on his flesh. Her voice, so silky as she whispered words of apology. Only a stone would not be aroused. Gods, how could he still want her when it was she who put him in this situation?

Leander swallowed hard and closed his eyes again when he felt Daphne's lips on his shoulder. There was no denying that she could set his blood on fire; he just wished she would not do it right now, when he needed to ask her so many questions.

But Providence was not on his side lately; Daphne did nothing but torture him more. Her lips moved to his neck, his jaws, his cheeks. Another groan issued forth from her lips, this time full of longing, not of worry. Leander fought the urge to respond to her, but he knew even before he heard the sound of his groan that it was a futile battle. He wanted her too much.

Her fingers traced their way upwards to caress Leander's face. Every touch was so careful, so gentle, that Leander immediately opened his eyes even though the action caused him pain. Those touches reminded him of the first time he made love to Daphne, when, in her innocence, she was tentatively touching his body to explore.

Daphne's face was inches away from his, and with her eyes, she was following the movement of her fingers on his cheek. When she felt him looking at her, however, she looked at him. The fire reflected in her eyes made Leander wonder if she had missed him as much as he did, after all.

The kiss that she planted on his kiss was answer enough. It was full of hunger, of anticipation. Her tongue demanded passage into his mouth, passage that he readily gave as he kissed her back. Whatever she had done, she was still the woman he wanted with everything in him. He would be twice a fool -- maybe even more than that -- if it meant having her.

Leander tugged at the shackles again, more frustrated with it than ever as his cock started to come alive. He wanted to hold her, touch her, see if she was as aroused as he was at the moment.

"I refuse to be the audience of this," Anthony drawled. "He has to rest, Daphne."

Leander had quite forgotten his friend. If Anthony did not want to see, he better leave. Yet, Daphne groaned in frustration as she pulled away from him.

He would have objected had there not been a knock on the door. Both Anthony and Daphne turned as a guard entered. The man announced that the duke needed to talk to Daphne, and she left the room after hastily giving Leander a kiss on the forehead.

"You look good in shackles, I must say," Anthony taunted him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Damn you," Leander hissed, narrowing his eyes as his most recent memories before he woke up in this room slowly dawned on him. "You have a lot to explain to me."

Anthony raised his hands as if in surrender. "Not me, General. Your woman does." After saying that, he grinned again. "She likes you. A lot. If I were not here to remind you that you were not alone and that you need to rest, she would have devoured you."

"Then perhaps you should have kept your peace and let her do so as you watch," Leander said in annoyance. "Explain everything to me. Now."

His friend made for the door. "Ah. No. I will leave the explaining part to Daphne. I will tell her to talk to you when she is done talking with the duke." He was just about to open the door when he looked at Leander again. "By the way. The old duke has died while Elgeshore is at war. His eldest son, the former Earl of Chantercy, now rules over Northcove, and he plans to go to war."

When he was alone, Leander frowned. Chantercy? How could he have missed that? Daphne was supposed to have been Chantercy's wife had she not run away. Which meant that Northcove would choose to ally with Thersale rather than Elgeshore. But his son...?

Gabriel Northcove. Was he an ally or a foe? Or was he looking at this the wrong way? Shouldn't he be wondering if Daphne was working against or for her kingdom? If the duke lets Daphne roam around while Leander was tied down, it only meant that Northcove and Daphne were in the same side. But were they in the same side as him? And Anthony? Was his best friend betraying him?

His head was starting to throb painfully again. He cursed whoever it was who hit his head. What did the man use to do that, anyway?

As he closed his eyes, he let his mind wander off to his last memories before waking up shackled to the bed. It started with the letter from Anthony. The damn man gave him advice to march the Black Wolves north in order to fight the Duke of Northcove's mercenaries. Anthony even advised Leander to send a letter to General Norcross, asking for reinforcements. Even though Leander doubted the wisdom of the plan, he agreed, especially after learning that the new duke was holding Daphne hostage so that the Duke of Wildercross would be loathe to moving a finger to aid Thersalians.

He knew for a fact that their plans might be a suicide mission, but it was worth the try, since the lack of Wildercross' backing would mean defeat for the whole Thersalian ranks. Besides, Leander trusted his friend to do the right thing. For four days the army moved from their camp to the edge of Northcove's territory, all warriors ready to fight and die fighting. Yet, as soon as he was alone with Anthony whom he wanted to ask for answers, all Leander got was a devilish grin and a club to the head.

Gods, if Anthony refused to talk, then Leander could only pray that Daphne would. He knew that there was a web of betrayal hanging over him, but he wanted to know who was weaving it and how large it had become.

"Damn..." he hissed, picturing Daphne's image in his mind. "Come to me soon."

*****

Gabriel watched Daphne's reaction as the lady read the letter he handed her. Her hands were slightly shaking, and when the duke realized that, he looked away.

"He wants me home," she whispered after clearing her throat.

He nodded. Of course, Wildercross would want his daughter home. Even after the commotion she caused when she ran away from her marriage to Gabriel. It was odd that a man with such a reputation would feel so attached to his love child. And a daughter that child was, too. As far as Gabriel knew, Wildercross did not treat his other children the same way -- not even his heir.

"Your father is a strange man," he commented.

"He is," Daphne agreed immediately.

"And the war?" he asked.

"He is with us," Daphne answered.

That was all Gabriel wanted to hear. "Good." Dragging his eyes back to Daphne, he continued, "And your prisoner?"

A mischievous glint appeared in Daphne's eyes when she responded. "Fine. Very, very fine."

*****

Leander watched as Daphne walked around the room, lighting every candlestick and every oil lamp she could find. Either she was deathly afraid of the dark or she just did not care how much wax or oil she was using. Any other tiime and Leander would have laughed; under the current circumstances, however, he could not even smile.

The pain on his head was thankfully almost non-existent now. However, he was still shackled to the bed, and Daphne would not talk to him about what was happening. She refused to answer any of the questions he threw at her when she visited him earlier.

He was getting impatient. This was not how he wanted to be treated. If he only knew why he was tied down, his annoyance would not have been this great. Yet, nobody would explain anything to him.

As soon as she was done doing everything she wanted to do, Daphne sat on the bed, looking thoughtfully amused. She absentmindedly placed her hand on his abs, stroking gently. Leander swallowed, not wanting the arousal he was feeling at that simple touch. He did not need her to seduce him right at the moment; he only wanted some answers.

"I know it sounds awful, but seeing you tied down makes me want to laugh," Daphne said with a smile.

"Oh, it sounds terrific," he said through clenched teeth. "Please, laugh as much as you want. But as soon as you are done, could you please release me so that we can talk?"

Daphne's smile widened. "Why so grumpy?"

"I am not grumpy," Leander replied with a frown. "I am seething with anger."

"And why is that?" she asked, looking truly amused.

"Well, I am very sorry," he said sarcastically. "I forget that a man whose head was clubbed when he was supposed to be having a decent conversation with his best friend, has no reason to be angry. Not even if he wakes up with throbbing pain on his head. Not even if he wakes up shackled to a bed in the palace of a man who was his foe last time he checked."

"Last time I checked, Gabriel Northcove is not an enemy," Daphne said, climbing onto the bed beside him. She put her head on his bicep as she draped an arm around him. "You have got your facts wrong."

Leander grimaced as the sweet scent of lavender assailed his senses. Gods, he would need to keep Daphne away from him or he would have to suffer an erection that he could not relieve. The press of her body against him was already having an effect, and it would not do him any good if she would continue to stay close.

"Do me a favour," he hissed. "Let us talk, but not while I am restrained."

"All right."

Yet, she made no move to get out of the bed. Instead, she shifted so that she was on top of him, her head resting on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Leander asked, frowning.

Daphne looked up to him. "I am doing as you desire."

"I said we are not talking until you have released me," he said through clenched teeth.

"We are not talking," Daphne insisted, frowning at him.

"Then what do you think are we doing right now?" he growled, glaring at her as best he could.

A naughty smile curved her lips. "Foreplay?"

He was stunned. Gods, let her mean anything but that. "What?"

Daphne groaned and started kissing his neck. Leander grunted. Hell, his cock was already up.

"I missed you so much," Daphne whispered on his ear as she started running her hands over his naked chest. "You won't believe just how much..."

He groaned. "Daphne. Please. Stop this. This is madness."

Fingers wrapped around his erect cock as she looked at him, biting her lower lip. "Yet we both want it."

'No,' he thought; how could he want this at this moment? No way he would want to fuck her when half of him was dying to strangle her for her lies and deception and for the questions she would not answer.

"I do not want this," he hissed.

But Daphne did not seem to care about what he wanted. Right now, it was all about her: about what she wanted, what she needed. And she would take whatever that was, especially when she was forbidden to have it; the urge to do so runs in her blood.

Completely ignoring his words, she began kissing his face while her fingers lightly ran over the parts of his body that she could reach. Then, without warning, her lips came crushing down on his, soft and demanding all at the same time.

In spite of himself, Leander received the kiss, trying not to think of how much he had longed for it. But -- gods! She tasted as sweet as she always had. Her tongue was fervently exploring the inside of his mouth, drinking in the taste she should know by heart by now.

A groan sounded from the back of her throat when Leander's tongue met hers in a duel of passion. Whatever he said, his body knew what it wanted, and as he tried to move his arm, Leander was acutely aware that he wanted to hold her not so that he could push her away but so that he could hold her closer.

"You want this," Daphne murmured when their lips parted.

Leander opened his mouth to object to her statement -- to tell her that he undoubtedly wanted her, but not right now. Not when he was restrained so that he could not even touch her. Not when his head was full of unanswered questions. But Daphne put a finger over his lips to shush him.

"Save it for later," she said softly, her lips already moving slowly across his jaw. "I only want you right now."

"Let me go, Daphne, and I will give you what you want," he promised.

She merely smiled coyly at him and slid down his body. "I can get what I want even without releasing you."

Before he could even say a word to try and convince her, Daphne began licking at his nipple, her tongue moist and warm against his skin. Leander could only groan, swallowing his objections as her lips and tongue seductively moved over his body.

Daphne moved lower, kissing her way down to his abdomen. Her fingers frantically moved to rid him of his breeches. Once again, Leander attempted to dissuade her from pursuing her goal even though he knew fully well that one look at his cock would announce to her and to the whole world that he was partially hoping she would not let herself be deceived by his lies. The objections sounded hollow even in his ears; he only uttered them in a vain attempt to keep himself thinking straight.

Yet, who could think straight when a woman like her was making a move on him like that? As soon as his cock sprang free, he felt her fingers wrapping around the base, squeezing him gently. When he looked at her, she was watching his reaction, perhaps wondering if what she was doing all right. Leander swallowed, desperately thinking of a way to make her stop even though a bigger part of him wanted her to continue.

"Daphne, please," he murmured.

"Please what?" she asked, moving so that her face was directly above his crotch.

Frustration ate at him as he felt her lips connecting to the head of his cock. In all the years he had watched her, he never thought that she could be this --

Evil. Gods, why would she not listen? How could she be so innocent yet so damnably sexy at the same time?

When he felt her mouth wrapping around the tip of his cock, Leander resolved to stay as quiet as he could. Perhaps, if she could hear neither objection nor encouragement, she would stop being this temptress and let him keep his dignity in one piece.

It was hard to do, though, as he found out when she started sucking him while a hand was pumping the base of his cock. He closed his eyes, supposedly to try to get a grip of himself, but he only managed to increase the pleasure he was feeling by concentrating not on his sense of sight but on his sense of touch. In spite of his resolution, Leander groaned.

The sound only reinforced Daphne's desire to please him with her mouth and hand. She increased the pressure of her fingers and began twirling her tongue around his shaft. She was making mewing noises that only aroused him more. Before long, he was wondering why on earth he was trying to stop her, anyway.

As pleasure pushed him higher and higher, Leander felt his muscles tensing for his release. Just as he was about to shoot his seeds, however, Daphne suddenly stopped.

"Gods!" he hissed, acutely feeling the loss of Daphne's mouth and hand on his cock. "Daphne, please..."

He watched a slow smile form on her lips as she sat on the bed, her legs crossed under her. The damn girl actually giggled!

"I changed my mind," she said, tracing a lazy finger along his stomach, his chest. "I decided not to do anything that is against your will. You did not want me to do that, did you?"

Leander glared daggers at her. The bitch! He was not aware that he hissed his thoughts aloud, until Daphne chuckled and bent over him again.

"Am I?" she purred seductively as she nuzzled at his neck. "A bitch?"

He tried to yank his arms off his shackles again, to no avail. Frustrated, he growled, "Do not let me get my hands on you, little devil. You are going to regret it if you do."

Her chuckle, so much like a child's, both aroused and annoyed him. "So, you are threatening me now?"

Even though she was taunting him, Daphnes still -- thankfully! -- wrapped her fingers around his rock-hard erection. She took one of his balls into her mouth and gently sucked on it as her hand vigorously pumped him. Leander gritted his teeth as a wave of pure pleasure washed over him.

In no time, he felt himself stiffening again. Daphne moved her mouth to the tip of his cock, catching his seeds when he shot them out. She swallowed and moaned, sucking him until he was spent. Only then did she let go of his shaft.

"You taste good," she whispered, licking her lips as she climbed on top of him, sitting on his stomach. "But I want you in me -- "

"Oh, gods, please," he hissed, looking away from the sexy image that Daphne was. Clarity of mind was starting to come back to him, and he did not want her to drive it away again. "Whatever lustful spirit has possessed you must have been satisfied now. Release me and let us talk."

"And if I do not want that?" she asked.

Leander looked her in the eyes. "What do you want?"

A sultry smile spread across her face. "You."

He was getting suspicious. "Whatever happened to you?"

"Oh." Daphne looked amused again as she leaned forward until her face was inches from his. "Whatever happened to you? Last time I was with you, you still wanted me."

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