Chapter 1: Master Raven

Two guards shove me into a large room covered in gray tiles. A shower head pokes out of the ceiling, and a metal drain chills my feet. I’m stripped naked and forced to stand beneath a downpour of freezing water. I squeal when it touches my skin and try to hop to safety, but the guards are as quick as they are strong. They chain my wrists to opposite sides of the wall, pinning me in place so that they can lather my skin without struggle. Their hands are coarse and unwelcoming. The men molest my breasts and tickle my privates, ensuring that every inch of my body is spotless. My cheeks flush, but I’m not embarrassed. I’ve been naked for so long that I almost don’t mind. Though I can’t say I loved it when they’d pinch my nipples hard enough to make me scream. They like the sounds of my pain. I give them more, just to satiate their hunger.

Following the shower comes a harsh towel-down, then I’m put in the same dress as before and carted off to a new room. There isn’t a moment to stop and sit. Not until a door closes behind me. I pull myself out of my mental haze long enough to realize I’ve been locked in a bedroom. The lights are dim, and the air smells of brandy and cinnamon. A large bed sits before me, dressed in silk sheets and plush pillows. Porthole windows sit on either side of the bed’s stocky frame. It’s pitch black outside. I inch toward the window for a better look at the galaxy of stars, but a door beside me opens and freezes in my steps.

Raven stands in the doorway, emerging from a cloud of warm soap-scented steam. He’s shirtless and barefoot, only wearing a belted pair of black slacks. Raven isn’t just muscular; he’s bulk in every sense of the word. He’s a warrior ripped straight out of ancient Rome. I’m reminded of marble sculptures I had seen in books from a previous life. His smoked hickory skin is bathed in a blanket of thick black hair that almost completely hides glimpses of scars across his torso and arms. A trail of thick, dark curls falls from his belly button and disappears beneath his belt.

“Do you like what you see, little one?” Raven asks with a light chuckle.

I nod, too star-struck to answer aloud.

“You may speak, you know,” he says. He shakes out his towel-dried curls. Light droplets of water drip down his pecs.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper.

Raven chuckles again. “How adorable.”

He approaches me slowly, taking in my every inch with his lips lightly parted. I don’t move away. It isn’t long before he’s close enough to share his body heat with me. I’m swallowed up in his shadow.

“People usually ask more questions,” he says.

I shrug. “I don’t know what to ask.”

I hold my breath as he drops to plant his lips on my cheek. His beard tickles, and I laugh. Raven places his hand on the small of my back and pulls me in closer. I’m standing on the tips of my toes, frozen still as his tongue traces my cheekbones and chin. He sucks the skin hard until I can feel his teeth grinding my veins. I whimper, and he growls.

Soon, he decides my chin isn’t enough. He suddenly plunges his long, slick tongue down my throat without warning. I yelp. Raven moves his hand to the back of my head to keep me from pulling away. He’s entranced by my every flavor, ravenously sucking away my breath for more. He grunts like an animal, squeezing my helpless body, yet his tongue feels as soft as rose petals against my teeth. He invites me to explore his mouth; he tastes of cinnamon and cloves, reminding me of autumn leaves and late nights by a fireplace. Fragments of memories flicker across the backs of my eyelids. I shudder, but don’t pull away. I need more. There are secrets buried deep in the flavors of his body, I think. I need to taste them all.

Raven breaks my focus with a heavy groan. The noise rattles my bones until I fall limp. Raven takes me by the throat and slams my back against the window behind me. I squeal with strange ecstasy as the air in my lungs slowly slips out of reach. Raven’s face lights up with pure, sadistic joy, and he bites down on my blue-tinged lip. He drinks in the sound of my fruitless gasps for breath. Terror grips me as my vision blurs. I flail, helplessly staring at him until I can feel darkness encroaching on the backs of my eyelids. Raven chuckles and lets me go. My lungs gulp up the fresh air, and my nerves surge with an electricity that I can’t explain. I surrender to the feeling and fall to my knees at Raven’s feet.

“More,” I beg.

Raven moans. He cracks a grin.

“There will be plenty more of that, should you survive the night,” Raven says. “From today forth, I will be your master. You will address me as such. Your job is to please me, understand?”

I nod.

“Good.”

He rests his hand on my head, pushing me into his cock. I brush my lips against the fabric of his pants, feeling his muscles twitch beneath my touch. I watch his lips part with surprise as I smother his manhood in light pecks. It isn’t hard to find his most sensitive areas.

“Just like that,” he whispers, patting my head.

I let my teeth close around a section of his flesh, then pull them off slowly until only fabric remains in my mouth. Raven’s eyes flutter back in response. He swallows to keep from moaning too loudly.

“Keep going.”

My lips close around what feels like his cock’s heavy, juicy head. I suck the saliva from his pants and watch his body squirm with hunger. Raven curses under his breath and pops his buckle open. My heart thumps against my chest, and I allow myself to go limp as he hoists me into the air. I wrap my legs around him. He reaches beneath my skirt and grips me by my butt, pulling my holes wide open. Tendrils of wet excitement drizzle out of me and stain his pants. Raven laughs and licks off beads of sweat from my neck.