Chapter Four
Braemuir was furious. What had almost happened could have cost him his life as well as that of his mate and his child. The Clan would have been left to the tender mercies of Oidhche. How many more women had been so desperate they’d taken their lives and those of their unborn children because they’d been abandoned by some deceiver? It was not to be borne. It wasn’t going to continue if he had his way. He was Braemuir of Braemuir and would have his way.
The interview with Mairi wasn’t a pleasant one. Braemuir was hostile. She was defensive.
“How many of those potions have you dispensed in the past?”
“About a dozen, over the years,” she said, defensively.
“You will give all you have to me now. You will never, ever make another one of those.”
“What of the women who need those potions, on account of the men who abandon them?” she asked belligerently. “It’s easy for you to say ‘no more potions.’ What of them?”
“You will inform me, at once, if any woman comes to you for such a potion. I will make sure she isn’t cast out. She will be cared for, and her child will be accepted into my Clan. We aren’t barbarians to be killing children.”
Mairi was dumbfounded. Never had she expected to hear such a promise from a man. She knew this Braemuir well enough to know that, if he promised to do something, he would do it. He hadn’t held the position of Braemuir for long. His father had resigned it a couple of years back, as was the custom when the Clan chief believed himself too old to defend his people in battle. All she had heard of this sprig was that he, like all his ancestors, had an eye for the women. When Eilidh had come for the potion, she hadn’t told Mairi he was the father. If Mairi had known, she could have told the girl that many a man would glady wed a girl pregnant by Braemuir.
She’d seen a few Braemuir Clan Chiefs in her time. She knew that there was speculation over her age. She enlightened none of the fools. They could whisper, but they’d do no more. They were afraid of what she might do, and it amused her to keep them in the dark. Now, she willingly gave him all those potions. She swore a sacred oath never to make another one. She watched him sigh with relief. The world was changing.
* * * *
Unbeknown to either of them, Braemuir’s interest in Eilidh had been noted. Had he not been so afraid for her safety, he would have been more circumspect. He strode through the settlement, looking neither to the right nor the left. He had neither noticed nor acknowledged greetings. This was unusual in him. He was gregarious and always courteous. Glances were exchanged, and Ciarda, seeing the worried look on his face, followed him at a distance. Usually Braemuir would have sensed her presence, but, in the state he was in, he paid no heed to her. This, too, was so unusual that Ciarda was even more determined to discover what ailed him.
When he came out of Mairi’s cottage, she waited a short while then knocked on the door. Mairi was reluctant to open the door, but, when Ciarda called out her name, Mairi did open the door.
“A Mhairi ’s mise, Ciarda.”
Ciarda pushed her way past the old woman, who fell to the ground. Ciarda looked down on her.
“If you value your life, you’ll tell me what Braemuir wanted.”
Mairi was old and infirm. It was plain she was no match for Ciarda, who wasn’t afraid of her like the other fools. It was just a matter of waiting until Mairi realised that. Eventually, the old woman sighed, took a deep breath, and told Ciarda what she wanted to know. Ciarda aimed a kick at the old woman, who was not agile enough to evade it. Ciarda heard the crack of broken ribs.
Too bad, she’ll get over it. She’s a healer after all, so she can heal herself. It will give her something to think about, Ciarda thought.
She walked quickly to the shore. She got there in time to hear a large part of what Braemuir and Eilidh said. Ciarda was furious. That simpleton to be the mate of Braemuir. It wasn’t to be borne. Ciarda would never swear fealty to her. Ciarda had been so sure that Braemuir was fast in her own toils. She’d never dreamed he would dismiss her. When she’d left Braemuir, it was to fulfill her need for Oidhche and his brand of violent sex. She was sick of the Braemuir’s milksoppy tenderness and gentle loving. She wanted a hard, fast fuck, as only Oidhche could give her. She was so sure of Braemuir. He would take her back with no difficulty at all. She’d been wrong. Braemuir had found a mate, and Ciarda had lost her opportunity.
She became her dragon and flew to the sea cave where Oidhche waited for her. She changed to her human-form, and she reported all she’d done and heard. She didn’t understand why he had to remain hidden, but she daren’t ask him why. He paced inside the cave.
“This is all going wrong. He should have been with you. You convinced him he was your mate, so why did you leave him? Answer me that. If you’d stayed with him, he wouldn’t have had the strength or the will to look elsewhere. You may be a useless bloody woman, but you can fuck a man’s brains out.”
He rounded on her, and she saw the fury in his eyes and quickly looked down. What a foul mood he is in. It’s fortunate for me we’re in human-form and he can’t read my mind.
“Lord, he’s not half the man you are. He’s soft and gentle. I prefer it hard and rough. He won’t stay with this silly village slut. I can get him back any time I like. I want to be with you, Lord, not him.” She sidled up to him and knelt on the floor at his feet. She saw he had a bundle of birch rods in his hand, and her cunt clenched in anticipation.
“Well then if it’s hard and rough you want…” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her over to the mouth of the cave. “Head on the ground and arse in the air. Hold still and don’t dare move out of position.”
Before she’d time to think, the birch rods came down across her bottom and she yelled. Without thinking, she clutched at her behind.
“I see he must be soft. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Take those bloody hands away, now. That didn’t count, so we start again.”
She heard the air whistle through the birch rods, just before they were applied to her behind, with vicious accuracy. She screamed. Her nipples pebbled, her cunt clenched. She had missed this. He yanked her head back with her hair.
“Do I need to stuff that mouth with something, or can you shut the fuck up?”
“Please don’t, Lord, I’ll be silent,” she begged.
“Very well, but one more scream like that and I will stop your mouth.”
He gave her a dozen strokes with the thick bundle of twigs he held. He only stopped when they began to splinter. He threw them on the ground then, and, seizing her hips, he entered her from behind. His hands cupped her breasts. He squeezed and kneaded them as she moaned in pleasure. He pinched and tweaked her nipples then rasped his nails over them. She arched her back and sobbed in ecstasy, but she didn’t say a word. She knew better.
His huge cock filled her as he pumped in and out of her. She tried to rub her clit with her fingers, but he was having none of that.
“You want pleasure? First you have to earn it. So far you’ve done me no bloody good at all.” He came inside her with a guttural roar, then withdrew.
“Get up and go. See if you can do as I tell you this time. Make friends with that insipid girl, and find out if she is his mate. I shall make you pay dearly if you mess this up.” Ciarda struggled to her feet and left the cave. Her nipples were bruised and sore. Her backside throbbed. She wanted to soothe it and the ache between her legs. She hadn’t come, and she daren’t stop to pleasure herself yet.
Ciarda did as Oidhche had instructed. She cultivated Eilidh, pretending to be her friend. Eilidh didn’t reveal any of what had passed between her and Braemuir. Nevertheless, Ciarda could sense the girl had a secret. Ciardah knew that Eilidh was no longer a maiden. It was obvious to many people, and there was speculation, but no one knew for certain. Eilidh was hiding things. Ciardah had tried to discover what, but she’d failed. She reported to Oidhche.
“Well, what did you discover?” he asked.
&n
bsp; “My lord, Oidhche, I know she’s no longer a maiden.”
“Half those in the settlement know that. The other half are either children or senile. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“She does have a secret, but I can’t read her mind to discover it. I’ve never seen a shield so strong in one so young,” Ciarda stated.
“Mm, it could be that she’s had help to develop that shield. Who do we know with a strong shield? One who would be able to instruct her? Who has she been seen with?”
He looked at Ciarda and waited for her to answer. She knew what he wanted her to say, but she was afraid to admit it. She didn’t want to admit that where she had failed, this young, innocent girl had succeeded. Oidhche didn’t like his tools to fail.
“I’m waiting!” he said, deceptively softly.
“My lord, it can’t be her. She isn’t strong enough nor beautiful enough to be Braemuir’s mate!” she protested.
“Is that your considered opinion?” he asked, sarcastically. “Just because you failed to hold him, to interest him long enough for my plans to reach fruition, doesn’t mean that another couldn’t do it.”
She trembled at his words, at the implication. Could this slip of a girl have captivated Braemuir? No, she didn’t believe it. He couldn’t want her.
“I don’t think she’s going to be the one, my lord. He’s amusing himself with her, that is all there is.”
“How do you explain the potion then? By all accounts he was beside himself, running through the settlement, acknowledging no one. This is Braemuir we are talking about. He’s always polite and correct. He cares for all that riffraff in the settlement. What state was he in, that he neither saw, nor heard anyone? Whom did he seek?”
Ciarda saw that Oidhche had made up his mind, and, while she didn’t share his opinion, she’d better not contradict him. She scoffed to think anyone at all would prefer Eilidh, and what she had to offer, over her own abundant charms.
“Well, you have failed signally to bring me any information, so punishment is due.”
Ciarda was incensed. Now he was going to punish her. She supposed she’d better play along, so she fell to her knees and raised her clasped hands in suplication.
“Please, my lord, don’t punish me. I’m your faithful slave. I will go again to visit Eilidh to see if I can persuade her to tell me what’s going on.”
Her protests were halfhearted. She well knew if he’d a mind to punish her, it was useless to protest, beg, or plead. He would do it, morover, she would enjoy it! She loved the pain he inflicted upon her. She’d been bored with Braemuir, who wouldn’t beat her, like Oidhche did. That’s why she’d left Braemuir to return to her dark lord.
“Strip!” was all the answer she got.
Hiding a smile of satisfaction, she stripped out of her clothes. He walked over to her, and took her by the hair.
“Bitch, you’ll pay for that smile. You’ll pay for leaving him and spoiling my plans! Did you think that I wouldn’t know you’d disobeyed me?”
At that she trembled. So he’d known all along. How foolish I’ve been to believe otherwise.
He dragged her, by the hair, to a post in the corner of the cave. He gagged her, and then he placed manacles on her wrists and hauled them above her head. He left her feet flat on the ground. She was glad of that, but she soon came to see it was for a purpose. He always had a purpose in what he did.
“Bend forward and stick out your arse,” he ground out.
When she didn’t move fast enough, he gave her a sharp cut with the cane he now held in his hand.
“You won’t move out of position. You will remain with your plump arse, presented for my attentions, or you will earn extras.”
She noticed he hadn’t said how many. That was a bad sign. If he was in the mood, she was going to be very sore. Her nipples pebbled and the cream ran down her legs. He noticed.
“It seems you are looking forward to this. Let’s see if you are still so happy by the time I finish.”
The first cut of the cane caught her by surprise. She moved forward, realised what she’d done, and got back into position, quickly!
He began to wield the cane with vicious efficiency. She felt the first dozen or so, then came the floaty, far-away feeling. She was in heaven. He can keep it up for as long as he likes, she thought. Then he stopped. He took up a paddle, released her arms, and arranged her over his knees. He pinched her bottom, making her squirm. Then he began to spank her, first with the paddle, then with his hard hand. It stung. It burned. She wriggled and tried to evade the worst of the blows, but he always connected with her sore behind. When he stopped, her bottom was red. It felt as if it was on fire. He asked, “Did you enjoy that?” He removed the gag so that she could answer.
“No, lord!” she said.
“Time to make amends,” he said, dragging her over to a bench. He tied her hands and arms behind her back and used rope to bind her breasts. The rope made a diamond pattern over her breasts and back and rubbed against her in a deliciously arousing way. He added a double strand of rope over each nipple, pinching them tightly. Then, he bent her over the bench, gripped her hips with both hands, held her legs together with his rock-hard thighs, and entered her. He was big and thick. In this position, with her hands and arms bound, she couldn’t move. He had all the control. He seated himself inside her. Then he began to fuck her hard and fast. This was not Braemuir. Oidhche had no consideration for her comfort, or her pleasure, although the rope was giving her some. The dark lord used her for his own pleasure. He didn’t care if she got release or satisfaction or nothing at all. Luckily, this time, he lasted long enough for her to attain her release. She felt the familiar tingles in her extremities, as he pumped in and out of her cunt. The muscles spasmed and tightened around his cock. He increased the speed of his strokes, then roared his release as he came deep inside her.
He released the ropes, and the blood flowed back into her pinched nipples, leaving her aroused and frustrated. She squirmed and tried to rub her legs together, but he noticed.
“None of that. You haven’t earned your release. Now, this is what you will do. Go and get Eilidh. Take her for a walk on the beach just before the tide turns. I’ll be there. I have a plan to keep Braemuir occupied wth a boundary dispute and out of the way. He won’t be with the two clods forever, so hurry now.”
“Yes, lord,” she answered.
Quickly, she dressed and left his cave. She was sore, her behind was still throbbing, but she was well content. She changed into dragon-form for the long flight back to the settlement. He did the same. She sensed his thoughts. “I’ve taken her this way many times. Strangely she has never conceived. I don’t understand why.” Then he used his powerful mind, second only to Braemuir’s in power. He looked deep into Ciarda’s mind. She felt him probing to discover if she’d visited Mairi for a potion. However deeply he reamed her mind, he could find no evidence. He never would find it because it didn’t exist. “I shall have to do something, or, if she’s barren, find another mate.” She heard his thoughts in consternation. She had the power to prevent herself from conceiving, and she’d used it with Oidhche, because she’d wanted to conceive with Braemuir. Oidhche had sent her to do just that. But that hadn’t happened. Now, out of self-preservation, I’d better allow Oidche to get me with child, and soon, or I’ll have no mate at all.
Walking through the settlement, she thought about what Oidhche had told her. She could see no reason for taking Eilidh to the shore, but she dare not disobey him. She went to Eilidh’s house, banged on the door, and, when Eilidh opened the door to her, she said, “Will you come to the shore for a walk with me?”
Chapter Five
Eilidh was reluctant to go with her. Although Ciarda had been very friendly toward her. She’d also claimed to be Braemuir’s mate. When Braemuir had opened his mind to her, Eilidh had seen how Ciarda had seduced him. Eilidh could understand that no red-blooded man, who had not yet found his mate-for-life, would turn down an attract
ive woman who offered to fuck him. He hadn’t known what a mating was like. Eilidh hadn’t known what it was like either. Most girls just married the man that came to court them, with their parents’ permission. With Braemuir it had felt so right, as if it was meant to be. She had expected to marry someone and hoped he’d love her, and she him, but no one had told her about the overwhelming love she felt for Braemuir and he for her. Maybe it wasn’t everyone’s fate to have that bestowed on her. Ciarda had offered herself to him, she’d fucked him and pretended to love only him. Then she’d left left him when he wouldn’t be as rough as she desired. Now, she could see no reason for Ciarda to try to be her friend. Braemuir had told her to be careful, but he hadn’t told her to have nothing to do with Ciarda. It wasn’t in Eilidh’s nature to be unkind. Moreover, this was a small settlement and it was unadvisable to be at odds with anyone.
Once outside the house, Ciarda said, “You must come with me. Old Mairi is in trouble and needs your help.”
“Where is she? Why didn’t you say so to start with?”
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