To Collar and Keep Read Online Free Page B

and tranquillity that surrounded them.
    He needed this, this down time. Since they’d arrived at the gates at the bottom of the mountain, it had been one thing after another. From Arturo refusing to chat with him about Bella’s dowry, to entering the hotel and watching Ben getting swamped by requests to meet with him from numerous Satyr clans. They were all trying to incur favour and even a few feral Satyrs were sniffing about to gain an audience. Neither Ben nor Harley had had much of a chance for anything.
    And opportunities to meet with his intended Beloved were nil. He did see Minerva and Ben’s brilliant child and joined them for a light repast, catching up on the gossip of the day. His cousin’s Beloved had seen and spoken with his intended, and while Minerva assured him he would not be disappointed, he was still bothered that she had continued to elude him.
    Karina was ensconced in the anteroom of his tower suite, making herself ready for the opening celebrations the next day. She had made sure his luggage had arrived unmolested, and even put his clothes away and his small trunk. She knew what treasures were locked in there, but also knew the possibility of her ever delving into its depths was slim to none.
    No, the treasures residing in the locked parcel were waiting for their new mistress.
    Karina understood her place and what would be her future, and she took to it like a duck to water. He knew she would listen to him, to get some rest and be refreshed for her debut tomorrow. She was a good girl and would be a good concubine, but who would receive her? Well, that was the question, wasn’t it?
    His father had mentioned that the regent’s son from Clan Bourchest was in the market for a pet, and Boris wanted to curry favour. Apparently Rummer International had interests in some mineral in the region the Bourchest called home in Romania . So even Karina would be used for the glory of Clan Rummer. Which was fine, everything in this world had a purpose.
    His thoughts flittered back to the object of his obsession for the past four years—Princess Arabella.
    Minerva said she was comely, and much to his tastes, but not much else. He had been fantasising about her for so long, he was afraid she wouldn’t live up to his expectations, and that was dangerous territory. Of course, he was being paranoid, waiting this long for your promised concubine was like waiting for water when you’re thirsty. It got harder the closer it got to the ceremony time.
    He sighed and tried to put his concubine to the back of him mind, with little effort.
    The deck he was standing on was cloaked in darkness, and he could see the silhouettes of Adirondack chairs, rocking chairs and a few loungers. It felt wrong that he was on it alone… No, more like he wasn’t actually alone.
    When he heard the creak of the side board coming from the stairway leading to the grounds, he realised that his musings were not his and his alone.
    “Ben, is that you? You seriously have to stop sneaking up on people. It doesn’t become a prince or clan head,” he said quietly to the darkness beyond him. The voice that answered him back made his knees weak.
    “Ben?” a silken voice purred. “No, sorry, Prince, no such person here. No matter how befitting it is or isn’t. There’s just me.”
    Harley stared into the inky blackness and perceived a feminine shape. His cock jumped in his pants, straight and at attention. What was a woman with a voice like that doing running around on her own? “Indeed. Well that’s not a bad thing at all. You seem to know who I am, might I enquire as to who you are?”
    “No, you may not,” she answered matter-of-factly. “It wouldn’t bode well if you did. Besides, don’t you have another woman to be enquiring after?”
    “All Satyrs have another woman to be enquiring after. Not that it should be a concern to you,” he said and smiled. “Unless you were sent here as a present?”
    “Ah, of course, forgive me if I