Seduced by the Beast by Jaide Fox

distasteful—not because he didn’t desire to bury himself
inside her, but because she forbade him to touch her—a request he would honor
were circumstances different.  Danger was afoot, however, even here in this
protected alcove.  The vampires’ presence was proof enough of that, even had he
been blind to the gathering of leopards to the scent of prey.  He liked not the
thought of forcing her to his will, but if she did not give in, worse would
befall her ... and that was a possibility he would not allow happen.
                Like it or not,
as long as she dwelled in the land of Shadowmere, she was bound by its laws.
     
    * * * *
     
                The elder bowed
deeply at the door to her room before leaving her.  Swan opened the door and
allowed it to swing open slowly, half expecting to be jumped where she stood. 
No attack came, and she chuckled at her overactive imagination before entering.
                Swan took one
step into the room and stopped dead in her tracks.  A bed swallowed the space,
obscenely huge and dripping blood red satin, from its coverings to the canopy
draped in flowing crimson.  Never had she seen a room so blatantly designed for
pleasure.  Anyone else entering would leap to the same conclusion.
                Hesitant, she
walked fully inside, close enough to touch the decadent satin.  She took a
corner in her hand, smoothing her fingers over the shining material, reveling
in the silken feel, so rich and rare in quality and color.  The deep red came
from a fragile flower that was notoriously difficult to find and harvest.  Even
in her own realm such luxury could only be afforded by the wealthiest among
them.  That this house expended so much on a guest was a mark of extreme generosity
and riches.
                Thinking on it
recalled painful memories.  She missed her home--and her sister.  Swan wondered
how Nila was adjusting to rule, and how she faired with Morvere at her side. 
He would not harm her--she was too valuable as heir apparent--but Swan prayed
Nila would not be bound to him in marriage before she could return.  Marriage
was his best chance for gaining rulership.  If Nila didn’t give in willingly,
Swan had no doubt Morvere would ensorcel her will with some enchantment.  Her
disappearance would buy Nila some time, but not much.
                “You must be Lady
Swan,” a soft feminine voice spoke behind her.
                Swan guiltily
dropped her handhold and turned to see a woman standing in the door bearing a
tray of meat, cheese, and fruit.  Her raven hair hung well past her hips,
longer than Swan’s own waist-length locks.  It was tamed with braids that swept
back from her temples.  Her skin was the color of chocolate, as exotic as the
slant of her eyes.
                How wonderful to
see a woman of her own color and mode.  It was a rarity of these days and
times.  Their ancestors had been hunted into near extinction in the old days
before man had turned on the beastmen with their unnatural hatred of all that
was different.
                Once there was a
time when she’d been saddened by the fate of her people.  And though she no
longer dwelt upon what could have been, she’d learned to embrace her difference
as something special and extraordinary.  Indeed, her hand in marriage had been
a prize many were willing to die for.
                The woman moved
into the room and set the tray down on a squat table beside the bed, then
turned back to her.
                Her gown, flowing
loose around her legs, emphasized her breasts and couldn’t quite conceal the rounded
swell of her belly.  She was most definitely with child.
                “I am,” Swan
said, nodding as she finally answered the woman.
                The woman smiled,
friendly and graceful.  Swan felt immediately at ease.  “I am Lady Ashanti,
Blasien’s