“Relinquish your hostage, fool.” Rogan commanded. “You are at the end of your road.”
“Never.” Edgthor roared. “One more step and she goes over the ledge.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” Rogan challenged the man.
“Watch me.” Edgthor sneered back.
“No, don’t…” Gwendolyn shrieked as Edgthor yanked her over to the edge.
The young woman went white with fear and fainted, her lithe body going limp and sliding down and over the bandit’s legs. The surprised look on the man’s face was all Rogan needed. With a flick of his muscular wrist, he embedded a throwing knife into Edgthor’s collarbone. Rogan cursed himself; he was aiming for the bandit’s throat.
Shocked by the sudden pain, Edgthor lost his balance and began to fall over the ledge himself. Rogan watched in horror as the man went over, still grasping the noblewoman’s arm and dragging her over with him. In a flash, he dived forward and grabbed one of the young blonde’s limp legs, holding her back.
“Let her go, fool.” The bandit laughed, as he dangled a hundred feet in the air, holding on to the unconscious woman’s arm for dear life as he bled from the wound. “You can’t save her… she is mine.”
Ignoring the man, Rogan heaved the woman back over the ledge, ripping her expensive gown in several places. He glared down at the bandit still clinging onto the girl. The man was determined to take her down with him. Rogan whipped out one of his broadswords, twirled it coolly in the air once before cleanly hacking the bandit’s arm off at the elbow. He didn’t look at the man plummeting to his death, and turned a deaf ear to his screams, focusing instead on the unconscious noblewomen he had just rescued.
“That was the most harrowing rescue ever,” Gregory said, as he walked through the small doorway.
“Yes, it was.” Rogan panted, prying the dismembered hand and forearm off the young woman’s upper arm and hurling it over the ledge to join its dead owner.
“And you would have it no other way.” The older man grinned. “How fares the fair lass?”
“She will survive… as will we all.” Rogan said with a grimace, flexing his sore shoulder.
~ ~ ~
Rogan pushed back the platter, leaving only well gnawed bones. The beef was very well cooked, tender and juicy at the same time, with the onions and peppers adding flavor. He refilled his mug of ale and leaned back on the chair, making the old wood creak.
“The Duke will be well pleased with your exemplary deed yet again.” Gregory smiled as he sat down across the table with a platter of roasted goose. “The girl is recovering well; the Duke’s best leeches are in attendance.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you and the others.” Rogan bit into a piece of cheese. “Have you seen Belen?”
“That fool hovers outside the door to Lady Gwendolyn’s room as we speak. I don’t need to post any other guards there; he will stay there night and day.” The balding veteran chuckled.
“That is good; the boy’s heart is in the right place, though sometimes at the expense of his head.” Rogan grinned back, downing the last of his ale.
“It’s time you were where your heart is too, Captain.” Gregory began digging into the roasted goose he had ordered. “You’ve earned a few days’ rest.”
“You are wiser than you look, old friend.” Rogan laughed as he placed a few coins to pay for his meal on the wooden table. “My heart is by the meadow yonder and she beckons to me.”
“Give my regards to fair Alicia.” Gregory nodded with his mouth full.
“As always, Gregory.” Rogan rose and patted the older man’s shoulder before leaving the table.
The tall captain strode outside into the twilight, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the cool evening air. He smiled and mounted his great black charger, his eyes scanning the west, marveling at the last few streaks of red across the darkening sky. Alicia, his lady, his love, awaited him. Her warm, beautiful face filled his mind. He hadn’t seen her in a week. He knew she would be waiting for him with as much anticipation as he. Kicking his horse into a fast gallop, he closed his eyes, enjoying the cool wind brushing against his face and blowing through his long, fiery hair.
Cresting a small hill, after a half hour’s ride, the familiar sight of the meadow he called home filled his heart with longing. He urged his horse to gallop harder down the gentle slope. She was already there. The white mare she always rode was in sight, gently munching at the lush green grass under the great oak tree. His heart soared at the sight of his lady love, seated primly on the thick roots of the tree.
The young woman in a blue flowing dress rose up as he approached. Her shiny long hair, as dark as midnight, flowed around her snow white face. Her large eyes, as blue as the oceans, gleamed bright with tears of joy as her full red lips quivered. He dismounted in full gallop, running hard at her with his arms out stretched, taking her in. Her warmth and softness was everything like he had ever felt before, yet each time it took him to another place. No more was he the hardened warrior, the ruthless slayer and avenger. In her arms, he was as serene as a lamb, as docile as a dove and he felt safe and warm, and loved.
“Alicia, my love… my heart.” He gushed, almost whispering. “You are my world, my life… my every thing.”
“Oh, Rogan…” The teary eyed woman held him tight. “I missed you so… every moment without you is a life in the void.”
“Not for long, my love.” The warrior lifted her up into his powerful arms and cradled her like a child. “Soon the Duke will bestow this land to me and we shall be wed.”
“Oh, I will revere such a blessed day.” Alicia caressed his face. “Too long has it been, these last three years, since the time I met you and gave you my heart and soul.”
“And I gave you mine in return. We are one, Alicia.” Rogan kissed her gently. “And we will be together forever. Nothing will ever keep us apart.”
“Oh Rogan, I believe you. I cannot live without you.”
“Nor can I, yet we must wait for the Duke to arrive in three days to bless our union.”
“Father will agree to this once you have this land and build a house.” Alicia looked around the lush meadow where she had spent many wonderful nights and days in the arms of the man she loved.
“Had I been a farmer, I might have asked for your hand much sooner, but my duty to the realm calls upon me.”
“I know, my love.” Alicia put a finger on his lips. “And so it will be after we are wed.Every moment that we are apart makes us cherish even more the moments we are together.”
“This is our moment, Alicia.” Rogan gently laid her down on the soft grass and lowered himself over her, feeling the warmth of her soft body against his.
“Oh, I have dreamt of this night all week.” Alicia purred, her small slender hands caressing her lover’s dense broad shoulders. “Let us cherish this night with the prospect of many more to come.”
“Yes, my love… many more, forever and ever.” Rogan mumbled, his lips gently pecking along the smoothness of her beautiful neck.
Alicia sighed, caressing his thick golden hair as he tenderly kissed her chin and neck, moving down to her upper chest. She arched her back slightly, letting him slip his large hand under her back and gently undo the laces of her dress. She reached across his massive chest and undid the clasps of his jerkin, pulling the front open to reveal his muscular upper body. Her slender fingers explored his hairy chest like she had done many times before, with each time as pleasurable as ever.
“You are everything... everything that I desire,” Rogan whispered as he pulled her blouse away, exposing her milky white breasts to the pale light of the star-studded night sky.
Her pink nipples rose up like cherries, inviting him to taste them. Her breath came in short gasps in anticipation of his warm lips on her sensitive skin. He obliged, making her stiffen and moan. Rogan cupped one of her lush breasts and tenderly sucked on the taut nipple, teasing it with his tongue and teeth. Her nails dug into his scal
p and she gasped. The familiar tingling sensation of pleasure rippled across her belly and cascaded down between her thighs.
“Oh, Rogan… oh, god…” The beautiful woman sighed deeply, drowning herself in the pleasure the man she loved was showering her with.
“Alicia, you make my life worth living.” Rogan groaned, looking up at her lovely face.
“Don’t stop, my Lover.” She gasped. “Take me; fill me with your love.”
Rogan had no intention to stop. Not then and not until the night was well into its depths. He pulled off the rest of Alicia’s dress, leaving her as naked as the land around them and threw off his own leggings and jerkin. He kissed her breasts a while longer, making her writhe and moan and then slid down her body. His wet, slippery tongue left a trail of saliva as he moved down her belly, teasing her belly button and then down to the sweetly pungent valley between her thighs.
Alicia spread her sexy white legs wide, allowing full access of her treasure to her lover. Rogan smiled at the familiar sight of her sweet wet pussy quivering before his eyes. He licked his lip and lowered his face. Alicia went stiff as his lips gently kissed the sensitive wetness of her swollen pussy. His hands slid up her thighs and he lashed his tongue over the swollen pink lips. His lover gasped and called out his name into the dark night. A thrill coursed through him and he attacked her pussy with the exuberance of a first timer. The woman writhed and moaned under his savage assault. He had waited too long for this, as had she. The night was young and all theirs.
Rogan laughed softly at the pleasant familiarity of his lady love’s orgasm on his face. The dark haired beauty whimpered and moaned as she came blissfully. Her sexy, young body trembled as wave after wave of pleasure rippled through her. A week was too long to hold back her desires and she released everything with unrestrained abandon.
“Oh, Rogan, you take me to heaven every time.” Alicia breathed with satisfaction.
“Alicia, there’s nothing lesser I want for you.”
“My love, my warlord, my hero…” Alicia whispered lovingly as her body still shivered with the last throes of her orgasm. “Come; let me have your weapon of love, my man of war.”
“I am ever ready, my lady.” Rogan grinned and leaned back on his haunches, giving her a full view of his foot long erection.
Her blue eyes lit up brighter, and though she had enjoyed his ‘weapon of love’ more times than she could remember, each time she saw it, it filled her with the excitement liken to a winner in a game of chance . She rose up slowly and reached out to touch the thick, throbbing member jutting out from between her lover’s dense muscular thighs. The sensation of the warm, rigid flesh in her hands made her belly flutter and her pussy began to throb again.
“Oh, Rogan, I so love you… all of you.” She purred, grasping at his stiff organ possessively.
“I am all yours, my love.” He grunted; the anticipation of her soft warm lips on his surging erection filling him with as much excitement as her.
He looked down at her as Alicia kissed the thick round head of his raging erection. His hands caressed her smooth dark hair and he closed his eyes, groaning softly. The warm wetness of her welcoming mouth sent tendrils of pleasure all over him as she swirled her soft tongue over the hard apple like cockhead. The lovely woman teased him with the tip of her tongue, making his muscular buttocks clench as she touched the sensitive underside of his cockhead crown.
“Oh, Alicia, I longed so much for this.” He moaned, caressing her soft skin, encouraging her to take more of him into her mouth.
Alicia didn’t need any of the encouragement. She teased the sensitive head for a few more moments before moving down the length of the entire shaft. Her body shook with excitement. She had done this many times before, taking all of his foot long in and it really thrilled her every time. He was almost all the way in when she felt like gagging, yet she quelled it down and enjoyed the intense throb of his organ deep down her throat. Her hands roamed all over his dense thighs and tight buttocks.
Rogan groaned at the sensation of her buzzing throat on his cockhead every time she almost gagged. He could feel the first stirrings of his orgasm roiling in his gonads. He grasped her head with both hands and began to move his foot long member slowly back and forth in his lover’s hungry mouth. Alicia welcomed his initiative and matched his rhythm by bobbing her head up and down. She was drooling readily all over him, and her saliva dribbled down his thick cock shaft and all over his tight scrotum.
“My love, I must release my…” He grunted.
Alicia nodded her head vigorously. She had waited desperately for this and there was no holding back now. She wanted to taste him again, desperately. She moved back until only the sensitive head of his cock was in her mouth and stroked the enormous shaft with both hands. Her excitement fueled her and her hands were a blur. Within moments she had him throw back his head with a grunt and released himself in her welcoming mouth. Alicia relished every drop of what seemed a never ending stream of his seed; a week long harvest that sated her lust for a while.
As she labored away the last few droplets, Rogan slumped down on the grass and lay on his back, staring in satisfaction at the bright stars overhead. He drew Alicia up toward him and held her close, her chin resting on his heaving chest.
“I am well pleased, dear heart,” he said.
“As am I, my love.” Alicia murmured and licked her lips.
“These have been the best years of my life,” Rogan said, lazily caressing her silken hair. “Before I came here to Kirk Falls, I was a nomad, a vagabond, with no hearth or home.”
“Soon you will have both and a loving wife.” Alicia snuggled closer to him.
“Yes, it is time I found a place to call my own.” He smiled. “I will retire from my service to the Duke after a few years and then we can have a family of our own.”
“That would be worth dreaming of,” the lovely woman said wistfully, “though I can never envision you as the farming type.”
“For you, sweet Alicia,” He kissed her forehead. “I can do anything. I will learn to farm the land from Grimond.”
“Yes, I suppose father may like that too,” Alicia said dreamily. “But, not too soon - in a few years.”
“You take more pride in me being a warrior?” He chuckled.
“Oh no, my love, but it is your duty to the Duke you must uphold,” she said, caressing his face. “Being a farmer requires more courage than waging war in a battlefield. A farmer’s life is a constant struggle, day after day, in hopes to yield the perfect crop.”
“Aye, it is a hard life,” Rogan agreed. “Yet I am ready for it with you by my side.”
“And right now I desire to have you inside instead of by my side.” Alicia purred and reached down for his naked cock, her soft warm hands sending shivers down his spine.
“Alicia, my love, forever I am yours.” Rogan whispered and kissed her as she brought his cock back to life with her practiced fingers.
His renewed hardness searched for her soft wet opening as she guided it inside her. With a soft moan, she took more than half of him in, her face glowing with satisfaction as she felt the familiar pleasure of him filling her to the limit. Rogan closed his eyes as the warm embrace of her passion enveloped over him, filling his heart, mind and soul with rapturous desire once more.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER TWO
“Yet again you amaze me, Rogan.” Edenton, Duke of Kirk Falls, lifted his heavy arms in welcome as the tall captain of his men-at-arms walked into the well lit courtroom. “What will fair Kirk Falls do without you?”
“You honor me greatly, my Duke.” Rogan bowed low with a flourish, cutting a dashing figure in his lime green tunic, dark brown leggings and russet jerkin. “Yet my men deserve equal applause, for they risked their lives as much as I.”
“Indeed, that they have done and will be aptly rewarded.” The Duke smiled broadly, adjusting his jewel encrusted tunic. “But without your leadership and skill to guide them, my poor niece w
ould have been lost to me forever.”
The Duke was a tall man, almost as tall as Rogan and twice again his girth. Dressed in the finery his station demanded, the man cut an imposing figure. His large face was round and pleasant, his blue eyes bright and cheerful, and he wore his long gray hair in a loose ponytail. A man of wealth and leisure, he enjoyed the finer things his position bestowed upon him to the full.
“How fares her ladyship?” Rogan inquired as he accepted a goblet of wine a serving girl offered him. “I feared she may have come out the worse for wear.”
“My little Gwen is much better, all praise to your bravery.” Edenton beamed at him warmly. “She has narrated most of the daring act to me… and however much I reward you, it will be less compared to your selfless service, my boy.”
Choosing Hearts - The Fighter's Passion (Gritty, Explicit Romance Novel) (A Lusty Stand Alone Story) Page 2