Dark Deceit Read Online Free Page B

scurried off, the white gown she wore trailing after her into
the bathroom. Frigg walked around her room, touching all the things she found
precious to her; her perfume bottles, her cosmetics, her priceless pieces of
art. She had been called shallow before, but she saw it as appreciating the
finer things in life. Besides, it was Odin’s money that had paid for them all.
And that was half the fun.
    The scent of lavender filled the room suddenly, the steam from the
hot water spilling out into the bath drifting lazily through the air. Fulla
reappeared, her cheeks pink from the heat.
    ‘Do you wish me to help you undress?’
    ‘Of course,’ Frigg replied, moving toward the three-sided dressing
mirror in the corner of the room. Fulla trailed after her, her eyes on the
ground. Frigg stared at the other woman through the mirror’s reflection.
    ‘You are quiet tonight,’ she murmured.
    Fulla cleared her throat delicately. ‘Yes, my queen.’ Her nimble
fingers started in on the silk buttons on the back of Frigg’s sumptuous red
gown.
    ‘Why?’
    Fulla looked up, her guileless blue eyes wide. They were the exact color
of cornflowers at the height of spring, and Frigg hated her for it. ‘It matters
not,’ she mumbled, continuing down the trail of buttons.
    Frigg frowned a little, shrugged and looked back at her glorious reflection.
Although the fabric loosened from her body, she could not breathe easily yet.
Her corset was still firmly in place.
    With her hand on Fulla’s shoulder, Frigg stepped out of the dress.
Beneath the yards of scarlet taffeta were matching silk panties.
    Her handmaiden returned, standing at her back to unlace the
blood-red corset. Inch by inch, Frigg could breathe once more. Fulla removed
the shell of silk and whalebone over her head and swept it away into Frigg’s
closet to join the countless others she had.
    Walking into the bathroom, Frigg’s nipples puckered as her feet hit
the cold tiles, the cool hardness rippling through her body. The bath was
nearly ready. Stepping out of her panties, she slid one foot into the water to
test the temperature before stepping in fully. When she was submerged, Fulla
stepped into the room.
    ‘Will you be needing anything else, my queen?’
    Frigg waved the girl away, asking her to shut the door behind her. Silence
engulfed the room, swamping Frigg. She closed her eyes with a deep sigh, relaxing
into the enamel tub. Water lapped at her chest, tickling her skin.
    Darrion’s eternal hatred of Odin had worked in her favor as she knew
it would. Of course there were other things to set in motion, and they would be
as soon as her little birds came back with the information she sought.
    Her whole body flushed at the memory of last seeing Darrion.
Although she knew he despised the Aesir, she had to have him. She had to know
what it was like to lay with a Mare. And he hadn’t disappointed her.
    His love making was more about dominance than tenderness. He had
tied her up, stripped her down, made her come. He was the most magnificent
lover she had ever had the pleasure of fucking. She shivered, her body
remembering the number of orgasms he’d managed to get from her.
    Frigg stayed in the tub until the water cooled. Calling Fulla back
in, she got out and had her handmaiden rub fragrant oil into her skin before
sliding into a silk robe the exact shade as her eyes.
    ‘Raven has returned,’ Fulla said in a low voice, not meeting Frigg’s
eyes.
    ‘He has? Where is he?’
    ‘In your bedchamber, my queen, as you requested when he returned.’
    ‘Good,’ Frigg purred, brushing past the young woman and stepping
into her mood-lit bedroom. Raven was sitting on the chaise lounge at the foot
of her bed; his arm slung casually along the back of one of the most expensive
pieces of furniture in her collection. His hair was longer in the front than at
the back, covering most of his violet eyes. His skin was bone-white, his
musculature that of an athlete.
    ‘Raven,’ Frigg said,