To Collar and Keep

Copyright © Stella & Audra Price, 2010
All Rights Reserved, Total-E-Ntwined Limited, T/A Total-E-Bound.

Excerpt From: To Collar and Keep

Harlequin Donahue’s desk was strewn with textbooks, legal pads and highlighters, and he sneered at it. His father, Boris Donahue, clan leader of the Rummer Satyr house, barked into the phone as he kept it away from his ear. He might be a Satyr, but his hearing was as precious to him as any normal person.

“Harlequin, you will be at the Olanis gathering early. The Grecian contingent is coming three days before and you must be present, no exceptions.”

He winced at the mention of his full name, rolled his eyes and sighed. While it wasn’t a problem for him to meet his future female, he did have other responsibilities he had to tend to. As a Rummer prince, he was charged with becoming a leading force in the scientific community, as all the rest of the clan elders before him. His area of expertise was physics, and while still young compared to most getting their doctorate, Harley was driven by the need to be the best and most powerful Satyr of the Rummer clan. That meant taking over the scientific department of Rummer International, his clan’s defence and aerospace firm, something he was more than prepared to do. Granted he got his degree. The fact that the Olanis celebrations were less than two weeks away and his finals were this week, the stress was unbelievable. Throw on top of that, meeting his intended, and he was stressed, pent up and pissed off. Who had time to fuck when they were trying to create the perfect future?

“Father, there isn’t a shot in hell of me not making the celebrations, let alone getting there late. But I do have a few things I need to close out before I get there, and I do have finals.”

“You’re a Satyr!” his father bellowed. “Do what you do best, fuck the grades outta them and get your ass there.”

“Would that it were possible, but even I have standards, and I’m not getting bound to any one of those buzzards, not to mention two of my professors are guys.” At his words Karina, his flavour of the year, sauntered in nude and came to kneel at his feet, smiling up at him.

She was beautiful, and very comely, but she wasn’t special enough to truly be a Satyr prince’s property. Lower Satyr maybe. Sure, she was tall with russet coloured hair, big hazel eyes, a perfect body and breasts, a mouth and lips made for sucking cock, not a mark on her latte coloured skin and a mind to rival half of the world’s Nobel Prize winners, but she wasn’t Beloved material for a prince such as he. No, Harley, like those before him, would have a Beloved, and wouldn’t settle for less than royalty. Which was probably why he agreed to the match with Arabella.

There was a possibility that he would bring Karina with him to the gathering, and pass her off to the congregation the first night of the celebrations. She would enjoy it, she was fully integrated as a pet, and he had cultivated her over the year just as an experiment. It wasn’t that he needed to, but the fact that he could was his driving force.

It wouldn’t be the first time a prince brought a living present for someone to master. He petted her hair and nodded, needing the distraction, and she quickly opened his pants and set to work sucking sweetly on his cock. She was good, and this was the limit on what he was allowing himself. He had no time to engage in his normal menu of carnal desires, so this would have to do. It was a damn good thing she sucked cock like a pro. He sighed and affected his bored expression, careful not to give her any form of praise, and turned his attention back to his father, who was still raving about his prior commitments.

“Harlequin, I don’t care what you have to do, get your ass to New York in five days’ time!”

“Can do, Father. Where are we meeting?”

His father sighed. “Olanis this year is not at Belvedere Castle. After the summit and the issues that came up once Esben and Minerva left, Milton decided we would use Site B, so you will escort the contingent to New Paltz, New York, to Mohonk Mountain House. Arturo and his people will be meeting you at the Waldorf Astoria on Saturday afternoon, and you will be gracious and accommodating. Everything has been set up by way of transportation, just get them from the city to the hotel upstate so you can claim your place.”

Harley was rather aware of the bullshit that had transpired months before during the convergence summit with Esben and his Beloved, Minerva. He had heard Esben rail and complain about his now father-in-law’s arrogance for quite a while.

Milton was a jerk, and Esben had been plotting against the old codger ever since he and Minerva had left the summit early. Esben really hated Milton, mostly for his assumptions and arrogance, which was amusing considering Esben’s own monster ego. No doubt word had gotten out to the European Satyrs, and they smelled dissention within the American clans, especially with the Olanis celebrations pushed to the spring months, and Harley knew his father did not want the alliance he and Arturo had been cultivating for the better part of twenty-five years compromised by Milton’s nefarious plans.

“Understood. Now if you don’t mind, I have something here that requires my attention.”

“Better be someone and not something, Harlequin,” Boris growled with frustration. He always thought Harley spent more time between the pages of a book than between the legs of a willing woman.

His father hung up, and Harley closed his eyes enjoying the soft suction from his pet servicing him. Yes, he thought. Her talents shouldn’t go to waste. She will have to come with me.

This was going to be tight. If he timed it just right, he would be able to finish his last exam and get him and Karina on the family jet before Friday. He was going to make it by the skin of his teeth, but nothing worth it was easy.