Choosers of the Slain

by John Ringo

  "You can cook?" Lydia asked, surprised. "I don't mean ..."

  "Keldara men can't cook very much," Mike admitted, going over to the stove and taking down an apron. "But I learned to a long time ago. Lydia, we both know what this night is all about. But ... hmm ..." He took a sip of the champagne, tied on the apron and then poured some olive oil into the pan, working it around and then turning on the heat.

  "In the U.S., we have a custom called 'dating', " Mike continued, tossing precoated slivers of beef into the saucier pan. The sides were rounded and hammered so he could use it as a wok. "It's also a custom in about all big cities. Now, you're a country gal. The only people you know are the people of the Keldara and a few townspeople. But in the cities, girls don't know the men around them, generally, from birth. And the guys don't know the girls. So they have to meet somehow."

  "I guess," Lydia said, crossing her legs and taking a sip of the champagne, then looking at the glass. "What is this?"

  "Champagne," Mike said, not looking at her as he smiled. "Sparkling wine."

  "It's good," Lydia said, taking another sip.

  "Have more," Mike replied. "Anyway, where I come from, a guy meets a girl, however, and generally asks her out on a date to test the waters. They have dinner, maybe see a show and then, if the chemistry is right, maybe more. The bottomline from a guy's point-of-view is the 'maybe more' ..."

  "So I'd heard," Lydia said pointedly.

  Mike turned to look at her and grinned.

  "Different strokes," Mike said shrugging then getting back to cooking. "In the States, reasonably casual sex isn't that big of a deal. Different cultures and, trust me, I don't treat this evening casually. But the point is, when I was dating I was interested in getting the young lady interested enough to really test the waters."

  "Were they?" Lydia asked, interested. "This wine is good, by the way. Dry."

  "Makes you want to drink more," Mike said, looking over his shoulder again. "Go ahead. With the way that you Keldara drink, you're going to have a high tolerance. Anyway, to answer your question, a few. Okay, more than a few. But being a good date is the important point. There's a saying in the States: 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' "

  "We say something similar," Lydia said, giggling. " 'Food makes the softer bed.' "

  "Well, what I found out," Mike continued, slooshing some wine into the vegetable mix and setting a cover on it, "is that it's really the way to a woman's heart. Most men can't do much more than grill. So, instead of inviting a young lady out to an expensive restaurant, where you'd then have several other steps to getting to the point, I'd invite her to my place for dinner."

  "I'd have said 'take me to the restaurant,'" Lydia said, then giggled again.

  "Ah, but that's because you're a good girl," Mike said, looking at her and grinning. "I was very careful to only date nice girls. Do you know the difference between a good girl and a nice girl?"

  "No?" Lydia said, pouring her third glass of champagne. Part of the requirements that Mike had laid down was, since there would be dinner involved, she hadn't eaten since lunch. The champagne also had more of a kick than she realized. He didn't want her to get drunk, but alcohol would tend to reduce her tension and that was a good thing.

  "A good girl goes to a party, goes home and goes to bed," Mike said, turning back to the stove. "A nice girl goes to a party, goes to bed and goes home."

  "That's terrible," Lydia said, laughing.

  "Anyway, I'd invite a nice girl over," Mike said, stirring the vegetables, then adding some oyster sauce. The latter had turned out to be nearly impossible to obtain and he'd resorted to making it from scratch. However, he'd tried the recipe out in advance and the homemade worked fine. "Then I'd cook for her and wine and dine her, maybe watch a movie on video, and when it came time to close the deal, voila! There we were already in my apartment. No 'your place or mine,' no 'would you care for a cup of coffee.' "

  "Sneaky," Lydia said.

  "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'," Mike intoned.

  "And if you get caught, you ain't a SEAL," Lydia finished, giggling. "So I should expect sneaky?"

  "Up to you," Mike said, transferring the Chinese beef and vegetables from the pan into a serving dish. "But let's just have dinner, shall we?"

  He'd already had rice prepared and he brought that out as well, setting it down at the bar. Then he shifted her over to her place, carefully holding her chair out and pushing it back in. The last step was to light the candle and turn out a couple of lights.

  "This is interesting," Lydia said, looking at the food dubiously.

  "I think you'll find it edible," Mike said.

  Lydia picked out a bit of meat to start and then, with a look of surprise, took more.

  As they ate they chatted about conditions among the Keldara and the condition of the farm. Every time that they got near touchy subjects, Mike carefully steered them away. He didn't want to talk about the previous mission, or upcoming ones, or where he was going with the Keldara. Light and easy was the tone of the evening. And he made sure he kept her champagne glass topped up.

  As for sneaky, she'd missed the first "cheat." Mike had been careful to keep the wineglasses separated by at least an arm's-length. That was because her glass was at least twenty-five percent larger than his. Even if he matched her glass for glass, she was getting far more wine. And it was showing. The alcohol, and food, was making her less nervous as time went by.

  "This is fun," Lydia said, sighing and setting down her fork. She'd eaten lightly, which was good. "There should be more things in life like this. But there is always too much work."

  "That will get better," Mike said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "You'd be surprised how much better. Dessert?"

  Lydia had also never been exposed to chocolate cake. Certainly not the deep, rich chocolate fudge cake Mike brought out.

  "Better to eat this by the fire," he said, grinning. "Bring your glass; there's more champagne out there."

  He led the way to the parlor area, where a fire had been laid, and set the plates and his glass dow,n then flopped on the couch. The centerpiece of the coffee table was a heaping bowl of strawberries.

  "This is nice, too," Lydia said, grinning happily and sitting down next to him. "I was thinking that you'd just ... you know ..."

  "Nah," Mike said. "The idea here is to have fun. You can't have fun if you're worried sick about what's going to happen. And you shouldn't be. It's important, don't get me wrong. But it's also something natural and very fun. If it's done right and I've rarely had complaints."

  "I talked with Mother Savina about ... it," Lydia said, nervously, her grin fading. "And Anastasia. I'm ... it seems ..."

  "There is no way to describe it," Mike said, getting a bite of cake on his fork and holding it out to her. "Try the cake."

  "That's good," Lydia said, her eyes wide.

  "Alas, this I didn't do," Mike said, picking up a strawberry and offering it to her. "I don't bake well."

  "You do other things well," Lydia said, taking a delicate bite of the strawberry while looking into his eyes.

  "So do you," Mike said, for the first time in the evening actually getting horny. He'd been working the situation so hard he had forgotten to have fun.

  She offered him a strawberry and he bit into it carefully, then got in a quick lick on her fingers that elicited another giggle.

  They traded strawberries like that for a little longer and then Lydia, unexpectedly, took one in her teeth and leaned forward.

  Mike took the bait, biting off his end of the strawberry and then following up with a kiss, flickering his tongue against her lips. Whether Lydia had ever had sex or not, it was clear that she had been, as his mother used to put it, "spooning." She had no problem with kissing whatsoever.

  However, when Mike's hand crept up her leg, she tensed for a moment, then went back to the kiss. He slid his hand up the back of her leg, checking with his other hand on her arm. Goosebumps were always
an indicator that a girl was getting turned on by caresses and she had plenty.

  "Kildar," the girl said, huskily, drawing away and wiping at her lips. "I want ... I think ..."

  "Don't think," Mike said, smiling. He took her hand and had her stand up. "But, yes, time to progress. Lydia, take off your dress."

  The girl stood there for a moment and then, closing her eyes, lifted the dress up and over her head. It had a built-in bra so all she was wearing once she'd doffed it was her heels, panties, a garter belt and stockings.

  "You are very beautiful," Mike said, taking a pillow off the couch and tossing it on the floor. "So, we progress. But before we get to other things, there is one thing that I require."

  He stood up and cupped her breast, eliciting a shiver. She still had her eyes closed which made him almost chuckle.

  "What do you ... need?" Lydia asked, opening her eyes.

  "There is a very old saying," Mike replied, pressing down on her shoulders so she knelt on the pillow. " 'Stand before your god, bow before your king and kneel before your man.' "

  "I was told about this," Lydia said, looking up at him. "But I have never ..."

  "I know," Mike said, unzipping his pants. "Later I will show you other things. But this I require. Later, I'll tell you why."

  "Very well," Lydia said, softly, looking down. "I ... would like to."

  "And you will take it all in your mouth," Mike continued. He wasn't right up on her, but back a bit. "I take it you haven't seen a man undressed."

  "No," Lydia said, uncertainly. "They told me about it."

  "Your turn," Mike said, stepping forward.

  Lydia slowly reached for his pants and then just as slowly pulled them down, an act that caused Mike to almost lose it. He stayed calm, though, while she considered ... him.

  Lydia cautiously held out one hand and touched him, tilting her head to the side to consider.

  "It is bigger than I thought," Lydia said, nervously.

  "And, frankly, Oleg is bigger than I am," Mike said. "Anastasia discussed what to do?"

  "Yes," Lydia said, biting her lip and wrapping her thumb and forefinger around the base of his dick. Then she shifted forward on the pillow and took him in her mouth.

  She had a bit of trouble getting the rhythm of hand and mouth together at first, but she quickly caught on.

  Mike took her hair in his hand and sped her up. Again she got out of rhythm but soon got the feel for it, speeding up quite a bit.

  Mike knew, though, that her neck muscles wouldn't hold out for long. However, being fellated by a delicious blonde virgin on her knees was more than enough for him. He quickly came into her mouth.

  She stopped and gagged at that but he grabbed her hair and held her in place, pumping in and out to get the last drop.

  "Catch it in your mouth and swallow," Mike said, gruffly.

  "Yes, Kildar," Lydia said, after she'd swallowed.

  "And now," Mike said, picking up her champagne glass and pulling his pants back up, "have a drink of champagne. It helps with the taste."

  "It ... wasn't bad," Lydia said, her brow wrinkling. She still swilled the champagne around.

  "Orange juice," Mike said, picking up his own glass and having a sip. "It does something to the chemistry." He knelt down and kissed her. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," Lydia said, frowning.

  "Now for the rest," Mike said, lifing her up to her feet and then into his arms. "You'll be fine," he added at the look on her face.

  "I know I will be," Lydia said, still nervous.

  "Keep ahold of that glass," Mike added, chuckling.

  "I will," Lydia replied, smiling and then finishing off the champagne in it.

  He carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed, sitting down next to her and picking a strawberry from the bowl by the bed.

  "Strawberry?" Mike asked, grinning.

  They replayed the strawberry game until she was smiling again. During it Mike had managed to get rid of his boots, pants and shirt, sometimes with help.

  Finally they were both more or less naked. Lydia still had her panties and shoes on but Mike was starkers. Lydia was starting to show some signs of nervousness, among other things trying to cover her lovely breasts, so Mike decided to take a detour.

  "Roll over," he said, giving her a slap on the side and a smile.

  "Why?" Lydia asked nervously.

  "You'll like it, trust me," Mike said, more or less pushing her over.

  When he had her on her stomach he opened up a jar and smoothed some of the massage cream onto her back. The cream was a mixture of almond cream with a bit of sesame oil, a trick that a former girlfriend who was a masseuse had taught him. She'd also taught him the proper way to give a massage so he started working Lydia's muscles with strong strokes from his thumbs, rolling them along the grain of the muscle in the girl's back.

  "That feels good," Lydia said sighing.

  "Better if we had a massage table," Mike said, continuing to massage the girl's back and neck, then working downwards.

  The massage, unfortunately, was counteracting the earlier blowjob. The point of that, besides Mike just enjoying it, was to let him blow off some steam. But Lydia had a truly gorgeous butt, rounded and firm, and while Mike wasn't planning on going for any back-door action, it was tempting as hell.

  He massaged down her back and onto her ass, sliding her panties off in the process, then down the legs to her calves. Then he worked back up until he was up between her thighs and slid his fingers into her pussy. That elicited another surprised gasp, but she was also wet, which was a very good sign so Mike rolled her quickly over and pulled her head back by the hair.

  He slid his tongue down the side of it to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, digging into that tender nerve point strongly and eliciting a moan. More goosebumps had built up on her arm, which was another good sign. The idea at this point was simply to keep her mind off of anything other than the moment. If she started to stiffen up it was because she was thinking about secondary concerns; what Oleg would think, what her family would think, the Keldara. He had to keep her mind centered on what was happening now to the exclusion of everything else. And that meant keeping up the stimulae so she couldn't think of anything else.

  While he continued to stroke at her neck with his tongue, his right hand was busy, first playing with her nipples, which seemed particularly sensitive, then sliding down her side, eliciting a giggle at one point. Ticklishness was another good sign. It showed she had a degree of sexual nervousness that was on the good side. Girls who had virtually no tickle reaction were generally either asexual or just not into sex, period. That would make this evening rather trying. But Lydia had always had a natural sexiness that had to have some depth to it.

  Finally his hand had crept back down to the bottom of her stomach and he slid his fingers between her legs. They tightened for a moment as she half struggled to get away, then parted as his fingers did their magic. Some women got off on having their clit played with while others preferred penetration. From Lydia's reactions she was more of a penetration gal, so Mike slid his fingers in carefully, rubbing them along the clit as he did so.

  He'd moved his mouth down to her breasts and found that the nipples were definitely an erogenous zone on Lydia. The combination of stroking and playing with her nipples had the girl writhing and panting.

  The question at this point couldn't really be answered. Some women wouldn't orgasm without penetration while others rarely did with penetration. Without having experience with Lydia he wasn't sure which she would be. But the question was answered a moment later as the girl gasped and arched in a hard orgasm.

  While she was still arching Mike quickly slid over and spread her, entering her quickly but as gently as he could. He could tell from the grimace on her face when the hymen was broken but he didn't relent, beginning to drive hard into her.

  Lydia was clearly up for that, as her fingers dug into his ass and pulled him in, hard, as he stroked
. Her eyes were closed and she was panting hard as he varied the rhythm, never letting her get bored with the action. She came again in less than a minute, then again almost immediately after with a scream of pain and pleasure.

  The last orgasm was hard enough that Mike knew he had to stop for a second anyway. As he paused she opened her eyes and shook her head.

  "I never knew ..." the girl whispered.

  "It's impossible to know," Mike said, kissing her on the forehead. "But I'm not done, yet." He paused for a moment and then grinned evilly. "I think that's enough of a rest."

  "Oh ... All Mother," Lydia whispered as he started again. "Oh ... Gods ..."

  * * *

  Lydia paused as she pulled the horse into the compound, biting her lip nervously. There weren't many choices. She could probably turn around and ride back to the Kildar and beg him to take her as one of his women. And there were ... attractions to that. Attractions that worked hard against the fear of shame from the night before.

  But, then, there was Oleg. They had been friends as children and even before they were betrothed she knew that she loved him. She would always love him, no matter what. And he had promised that he would not hold this night against her.

  She finally loosened the reins on the gentle mare and let her continue into the yard, pulling to a stop not far from the front door. It was early for most people but she was surprised by the lack of activity around the house; it almost looked deserted.

  However, as she stopped the front door opened and Mother Mahona came out with one of Lydia's female cousins, Nastya. Nastya held the reins as Mother helped Lydia down.

  Mother Mahonas face was a picture. It was clear that she was glad that her daughter had returned, apparently unharmed. But that was combined with discomfort over the reason she had been out all night and curiosity at what the large leather satchel attached to her saddle contained. The case was tooled and formed leather with bright silverwork around the edges and it was heavy as Lydia undid the ties that held it to the saddle.