Dark Lord in Chains 36 (Patreon)

Honestly, looking at the beautiful, honest expression on Aria’s face, declaring her growing affection with a directness that surprised me considering her shyness, coming to an answer was easy. 

Suspiciously easy. 

However, rather than giving an answer immediately, I chose to push her conviction a bit. “Are you sure you want to act on that feeling?” I asked even as I let my hands to her waist, tightening harder than what she might find erotic. Still, she didn’t try to pull back. “Because I’m a possessive man, to a level you can’t imagine. If you give yourself to me, I will let nothing else get between us, even if I return back to dark lands.” 

“What? Really?” she gasped, but the revulsion I expected her to feel at the threat of being kidnapped to the land of evil didn’t appear. 

“Sweetheart, after everything I have done, do you think the threat of the Empire would even make me blink if I wanted to steal you,” I said casually, enjoying the way she melted against my body as I did so. “No, if you’re mine, then you’re mine. Nothing other than your own decision could separate us.” 

I watched as her expression flickered indecisively before steeling into a determination I had never seen in her face, her softness peeling back to reveal an iron will. It was new and brittle, her eyes trembling despite that, but it was a new beginning for her. I could see that for once in her life, she had come to a radical decision of her own rather than others guide her. “I understand,” she said, but her words didn’t answer my question. 

She decided to that in a more direct manner. 

A smile appeared on her face, one that managed to quicken my heartbeat despite its smallness. I wasn’t able to enjoy that smile for a long smile because she leaned forward, initiating the most heated kiss I had ever received from her by a huge margin. I could feel her growing affection in the way her lips danced over mine.  

When she pulled back, she was gasping in exhaustion. I decided to give my answer in an uncharacteristic manner as well. I took her hands in mine and kissed her palms gently, while she shivered next to me. Her smile widened, brighter than the midday sun, enough to warm even my cynical heart. 

“Are you satisfied with your answer,” I said. 

She nodded. She caught my eyes, the reeling of her emotions impossible to hide. She had not said a word as she enjoyed the sensation, but I decided to change things up a bit. I suddenly lifted her in a gentle bridal hold, and she let out a shocked cry that managed to harden me completely once again. 

“Where are we going?” she murmured, uncaring between and carried her to her bathroom, enjoying the tender closeness. 

“I think we deserve a nice, tender bath after everything that happened, don’t you think?” I asked. She buried herself into my chest, which was sufficient as an answer. 

The bathroom was another example of decadence, a huge elegant marble pool that was enough to allow several people to enjoy a long soak, with walls decorated with tasteful gold embroiders. And, conveniently, the bathroom was equipped with a number of magical items that made things much easier. It took only seconds to create a steaming bath which we could enjoy together. 

I sank into the water, enjoying the warmth. Aria, on the other hand, seemed to have other priorities than enjoying a nice soak, and lunged forward the moment we sank into the bath, kissing me. It was desperate, impatient, and overwhelmed, as if she just realized the momentousness of what she had agreed. It was like fire, burning my lips. 

While the warm soak was nice, it was impossible to match the heat of Aria’s kiss. So, I let myself get tangled with her glistening body as she rocked her hips against mine underwater, providing a completely different sensation against my erection. 

We savored the moment in each other's arms as the warmth invaded our bodies, not that we needed the assistance. Our situation was the furthest thing from cold in the first place. 

When she pulled back, I decided to enjoy her recently-cleaned skin. My mouth traced its way down her neck, to her shoulder, gently brushing the earlier hickeys our tangle —which I might even call lovemaking— had left as a vivid reminder. 

With a deep, happy smile, Aria threw her head back, giving me an excellent sight into her cleavage, partly buried under the water, obscured by the bubbles. The tops danced with her every move, tempting my mouth. I was never one to resist such temptation. My head dropped until my face was buried in the slippery expanse of her cleavage. 

This time, she didn’t stay passive as I kissed my way down the expanse of her bosom, using my teeth to leave more marks on her huge, gorgeous tits, declaring our growing relationship in my own twisted way. 

As my tongue found her deliciously erect nipples, she managed to align her hips against my shaft, pushing herself down until her entrance swallowed it completely. She threw back her head with a moan and impatiently squeezed her legs, making it a much more delicious moment. 

A grunt of approval escaped my mouth, but I didn’t take my mouth from her breasts even as she jumped up and down across my length. Things were getting heated… 

Then, we hit a snag, in the form of a door suddenly opening, likely the main entrance of her section. From the way Aria’s face contorted in shock, I already knew who was responsible for opening the door, but I still asked. “Is there a chance that it might be a maid, or a friend?” She shook her head desperately. “Any chance that it’s someone else than the queen?” I followed, and she shook her head again. 

“No, she’s the only one that can open my door without my express permission,” she said. 

She tried to stand up, but I grabbed her and prevented her from standing up. I didn’t panic, because ultimately, I was confident enough on my hold on Sapphire to push the situation further. Worst came to worst, I could reveal few more hands earlier than I planned. “Calm down,” I said even as cast a simple fire spell, filling the room with enough steam to block sight, enough to rob Sapphire from the ability to assess Aria’s face. 

“Try to talk to her normally,” I said as I let the water swallow me, only my nose visible, and even that requires a careful search among the piles of bubbles on the water. Surprisingly, my direct order went a long way to sap her nervousness. My arms tightened around Aria’s waist, preventing her from pulling out as Sapphire burst in. 

However, it wasn’t just the excitement of the situation I was forcing Aria to talk to the Queen. From the way things were developing, it was inevitable for Aria to challenge Sapphire in one way or another, and the sooner we started, the sooner I could trust her where that mattered. 

Of course, if I had to admit, taking the crown princess while the queen was unaware of it was a delicious moment that I might have tried regardless, but the reasoning made it easier. 

“Good morning, mother,” she stammered —after all, there was a limit to the benefits of my assistance. It was impossible for her to develop an iron will against the authority figure in an instant. But even without any practice, she was doing better than I was hoping for. She hadn’t fainted yet, at least, which was much more than she could have achieved under such circumstances when our little game had started. 

“I see you’re being lazy again,” Sapphire answered sharply, once again displaying her thorny personality. No wonder Aria’s sense of self was so shaky that it took a dark lord to fix it. 

“Sorry, mother,” Aria said. Without me, she would have jumped off, but my presence prevented her from doing so. “I didn’t have anything to do early morning, so I decided to lie in a bit.” 

“I see, and why are you not with that useless mage, helping with the interrogation,” Sapphire continued, showing that her acrimony wasn’t just targeted to her daughter, but against everyone. 

Such a warm personality, I thought in amusement even as I pushed deeper into Aria’s entrance, enjoying the way she tightened around. It was clear that enjoyment was a part of the flood of emotions she was feeling, despite the daringness of the situation. 

“You should be more careful around her, she’s always trying to pull something else to get some advantage,” Sapphire continued as Aria shuffled in place as if she was trying to sit more comfortably, but actually pushed my shaft even deeper. The way she trembled in excitement multiplied my enjoyment significantly. 

“Emma is not like that,” Aria countered reflexively, which was a completely inaccurate sentence, considering she was willing to risk everything including freeing me from my bonds and use dangerous magic that she had no idea about how to use, not to mention her underground deal with the councilwoman I had watched. 

Sapphire clearly had a better understanding of Emma’s opportunistic personality, while Aria’s own optimistic view prevented her from seeing the truth. Though, considering the circumstances, I was the last person to complain about her trusting nature, considering that I owed her the ease I acquired my freedom. 

“Nonsense, she’s already able to convince him to share some secrets, and I don’t want her to be the one to win this,” Sapphire said, but her voice lacked the drive I expected her to have. Apparently, her mysterious ‘informer’ had managed to completely convince her about the quality of his information. 

The backlash of tantric magic was so beautiful. 

Sapphire took a step closer, giving me the opportunity to get a hidden glimpse of her with the slight assistance from my magic to keep me concealed. She was wearing a thick dressing gown which she loosened under the heat of the room. Under that, she wore a thin silk negligee that couldn’t be made any thinner. Combined with the steam in the room, it turned almost invisible, to a point that the steam was providing several times more coverage. 

“I don’t know, mother. It’s not like I have the skills to interrogate him,” Aria said, which was a complete lie at this point. I was more than happy to tell a lot of stuff, but she didn’t even bother to ask. From the way she trembled as I impaled her repeatedly, it was clear where her priorities lay. 

“Silly girl,” Sapphire said with a sigh. “You have already healed her, and after such extended isolation, he should be having some positive feelings toward you. Go and use that closeness, maybe even drop a few fake cries, and tell that your status depends on it. In the end, he’s nothing but a man, and a man could never reject the opportunity to impress a beautiful innocent girl.” Sapphire sighed. “And don’t forget to wear something more revealing than your usual drab stuff,” Sapphire added. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised that Sapphire thought it was a good idea to direct her daughter to flirt with the dark lord, not when she was still willing to trade her body for critical information. 

At least, on this topic, she wasn’t being hypocritical. 

That left me one question, how should I progress to the next step…