“I care not about money and what you speak of, going off alone, is insane. No, this is for the best, the decision has been made.”
“It’s insane to think I can live with myself if you’re imprisoned.” She covered her face and wept into her hands. “Or if the others are beaten because of me, sold off, never to see each other again, and heaven forbid, if Muriel catches Ervin’s eye.”
“The risk is as great to Alice and Muriel if you were to escape again. I would be deemed an unworthy master and they would be taken from me.”
“Heaven help us,” she sobbed, “we’re damned if we go, and equally as damned if we don’t.”
Pulling her hands from her face, he held her dainty wrists in his grip while looking intensely into her eyes. “You have little faith in me, sweetling, but I will prove you wrong. There is no other option.”
“I don’t mean to doubt you, but I’m frightened. Lord Ervin is a very powerful foe.”
“I will protect you, Emilia. With my very life.”
“That’s what scares me most.”
He leaned in until their brows touched briefly, then he let out a long, heavy sigh and let go of her wrists. “Roll over and let me see to those welts.”
She did as she was told. Good thing, because his patience was waning and smart girl that she was, she must have sensed it and decided not to test him further. He opened the jar of salve and dipped two fingers inside, collecting a generous amount. It gave off a sharp, pungent aroma.
“That stuff smells foul!” Emilia protested, wrinkling her nose as she twisted to watch as he applied the thick herbal paste.
“It’s not that bad. You’ll appreciate it tomorrow when we have to ride from daylight until dark.”
With a grimace, she buried her nose in the pillow. “Any troops in pursuit will only have to use their sense of smell to track us. Or, follow the withered flowers where I have passed.”
He pinched her thigh, well away from the cane marks. And although he wanted to chuckle at the rebound of her wit and sass, he refrained. “Enough. We’ll put this on every four hours until the welts are gone and I don’t want to hear a fuss about it or there’ll be consequences. Understood?”
She twisted, gaping back at him. “You would spank me, after—? Surely not.”
“Perhaps not now, but I have an excellent memory. I also have other ways to see that you mind aside from swatting your naughty bottom.”
“In truth? Like what?”
“Never you mind!”
When she returned her head to the pillow, he murmured, “That’s my sweet siren.”
That drew a small smile, but she fell silent at last, relaxing under his massaging hands.
* * *
Heat along the length of her back awoke her. It was still dark, but a shaft of moonlight shining in through the double windows illuminated the room enough for her to see that she wasn’t in her own small room. She attempted to roll over, but a heavy arm around her waist held her in place. It flexed and drew her back, much closer to the hard muscled body behind her. Corbet’s head moved on the pillow, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder and settling there.
Smiling, she snuggled into him, tensing when the movement caused the lower curve of one breast to brush the back of his hand. Her nipples tightened instantly. How would it feel if that big hand flipped over and cupped the fullness in his palm, or pinched the tip lightly between his fingers? She wiggled slightly, pressing her bottom into the lee of his thighs. Although she was tender, when his shaft lengthened and nudged her thighs, she ignored it and arched into him, relishing the feel of his hardness against her.
“You’re playing with fire, naughty girl,” came Corbet’s husky admonition.
“I didn’t mean to wake you, sir.”
“You didn’t. How could I sleep with all that wiggling and squirming? Are you in pain?”
“I’m a little tender. Not so much, though. Alice’s stinky salve works wonders.”
He rolled and stretched, his long arm retrieving something from the nightstand. Upon rolling back an instant later, his body urged hers onto her stomach. The covers slipped away.
“It’s cold.”
“Nonsense. It’s the middle of July. I’m going to apply more of the wonder salve before you go back to sleep. We’ve at least another two hours before we must rise and begin our journey.”
She wasn’t really cold as she lay still, waiting for his touch. She was actually aroused; the feel of his naked body moving beside her had stirred the familiar ache between her thighs. She was also wet and it was only a matter of time before he would discover this for himself. But they were sharing a bed, and he planned to wed her; surely it would be okay if they enjoyed each other in advance of the formal vows.
As he applied the medicine liberally, she eased her legs apart ever so slowly to make sure he would notice her arousal. Before long, she became more blatant and lifted her hips to meet his fingers.
“Stop that,” he chided.
“I can’t help it. That feels good,” she whispered.
“You know how I feel about waiting. Cease tempting me and behave.”
She lay there a moment, trying to do as he asked. However, the tingling was too much to ignore and compelled her to move to bring it ease. She spread her thighs farther, wantonly angling her hips in hopes his fingers might graze her lips as he worked.
They did, though not quite in the manner she expected when the flat of his fingers found her lips with a smack instead of a caress.
“Ooh!” she squealed in surprise.
“I can see that you’re aroused, you are very wet, but you won’t tempt me into fucking you before we’ve said our vows, no matter how naughty you act. You may, however, find yourself punished in the other ways I mentioned if you don’t control yourself, bad girl.”
“I can’t help that your touch makes me ache, Corbet. It’s really your fault for teasing me.”
“Is that so, cheeky girl?” His fingers returned, except not with another swat. The tips glided between her puffy lips and found the moisture that had gathered. He wiggled them until the lewd sound of her wetness rose in the air. “All this honey is my fault, is it? It couldn’t have had anything to do with what were you thinking now. Or when you awoke and started grinding that delectable bottom against my cock.” She didn’t respond, not verbally; she couldn’t, not when he had begun sliding his finger lower and circling the tingling spot in front. Unexpected moans rose unbidden from her lips. “Emilia? I asked a question and expect a response.”
“With you curved around my back when I awoke, I couldn’t help thinking about you touching me.”
“Where?” he pressed. “And be specific.”
“My breasts.”
One hand curved under her body and lifted her up on her knees. When her breasts dangled above the mattress, he palmed one in his hand. After squeezing its fullness gently, his thumb swept out and across her nipple. Her pulse leapt with excitement. She arched her back, pressing the hard peak against his palm as she rocked back on her knees to increase the pressure on the nub he continued to abrade and circle.
“Where else did you think of me touching you?”
“That was the extent of it, before you awoke.”
“So, you didn’t think of me dipping my fingers into your channel.” He matched words to deed and delved into her virginal opening. Not going deep, merely playing in her honeyed wetness, staying shallow and thereby leaving her innocence intact. “Or did you think of me touching you here?”
His fingers withdrew and slipped between her bottom cheeks, seeking and finding the hole in back. Suddenly, she remembered how Lomb had taken the woman there, how she’d thrown her head back in abandon and rocked back to take more of him, crying out her pleasure. A need to know how that felt rippled through her. It was all she could think of, as he circled the delicate opening, making it slick with her own wetness before he dipped the very tip of one finger inside.
“Master,” she moaned, thrusti
ng up to meet his finger, her body on fire and yearning for more. “Something is happening to me. I feel… I’m not sure what I feel other than I’m hot, and restless, and my body is in knots waiting for something to happen. I can’t really explain it except to say it makes me yearn for more.”
“What you’re describing is lust and desire, but don’t fret. I understand it and know what you need.”
Keeping his finger inside her bottom, he slid another into her center channel, penetrating both holes at once, the silky wetness between her lips making the play easy for both of them. “You’re so wet,” he murmured as he bent his head and kissed her lower back, causing soft mewls and whimpers to pass through her parched lips.
He moved behind her, his lips trailing over her bottom, then both hands pulled free and moved to cup her inner thighs. Spreading her wide, he exposed her from the aching nub in front to her quivering hole at the back. She looked down and saw his face angle forward right as he put his mouth on her there.
“Corbet,” she gasped, unable to help it as his tongue swirled over her heated flesh, licking her folds and circling her weeping entrance. She moaned as his tongue darted inside, causing her sex to clench deliciously.
“So damn sweet,” he growled, as he speared into her repeatedly.
Panting, she found it increasingly difficult to stay still as he laved the pulsing nub several times before pulling back and looking up from between her widely parted thighs.
The gold flecks in his eyes glinted in the darkness and bespoke his hunger. “I’ll never get enough of the way you taste,” he murmured, in such a low, husky tone it made Emilia groan in response.
Leaning over her back, he put an arm around her waist as his hard shaft rubbed along her wet folds. As he drew near, she could see her juices glistening on his lips. He kissed her, sharing the taste, making her feel wicked as she craned her neck around, opening her mouth for more. Their tongues intertwined while his hand moved down her body, the heat of her sex like a beacon for his seeking fingers, which delved between her lips.
He splayed her wide and something else, something wide and smooth, slid the length of her slit. It was his cock and it was glorious. He didn’t penetrate, instead gliding back and forth, his fingers keeping her open so he touched every intimate inch. When she moaned and broke contact, his lips moved to her ear, latching on while stroking and pinching the small bundle of nerves that had made her explode with pleasure in the past. Her thighs started to tremble and she couldn’t keep herself from rocking her pelvis into the strokes of his cock. Upping the intensity of all these new and overwhelming sensations, Corbet reinserted a finger inside her tight, smaller hole.
She cried out, longing for the fullness of his cock deep within her, filling her full, joining with her and making them as one. She wanted to see his face as he pumped his cock into her and experience what it would be like when his seed surged inside.
That last thought along with his expert touch, playing her with skill like a minstrel would his lute, made her muscles tighten and her body begin to vibrate as her ardor mounted.
“You’re going to make me come apart!”
“That’s what I’m striving for, sweet girl,” he murmured, not letting up with his mouth, fingers, or the persistent gliding of his shaft. “I want you to come apart for me.” He slid his hardness directly over her sensitized nub. “Let go, I’ll be here to catch you.”
Moaning and panting, she threw her head back while her body shook, her passage spasming in uncontrollable waves of pure pleasure. His hands came to her hips and his knees nudged her legs tight together; as her cries of ecstasy filled the air, he rose up behind her and pumped between her closed thighs, riding along her slick slit until he too cried out his pleasure.
As his release splashed hotly upon her skin, he put his face into her hair, moaning along with her as they both rode the waves of climax.
When he could, he hummed in her ear. “Mm, sweet Emilia, you feel so good coming undone in my arms.”
As her orgasm started to diminish, she collapsed beneath him, trying to reclaim her breath while savoring the indescribable satisfaction.
He rolled off her. “Come here, dove,” he ordered gently, giving her no choice as he pulled her up his chest and draped her across his body.
“I’m sticky,” she protested.
“I don’t care.” The velvet bag clanked as it bumped into his ribs once more, and he growled as he repositioned it. “I can’t wait until you’re freed of that.”
She settled her cheek upon his lightly furred chest. “You called me dove. I’m still a maid, then?” she asked.
“Barely,” he acknowledged. “A virgin usually doesn’t scream her pleasure to the rafters. You are still intact, as I promised.” He found her bottom with both hands and squeezed gently. “How will I ever get you to Melbourne that way at this rate? You are a temptress.”
“I don’t mean to be, Corbet, but when you’re around that’s all I can think of.”
“Which will make me a very lucky husband, indeed. If I mean to be an honorable man and keep my vow, I need to stop touching you.”
“No.”
“Yes, although I don’t think it’s possible, perhaps a chastity belt will help me keep my word.”
“Master!”
“Mm,” he murmured as his arms tightened, “why do I like the sound of that from your lips?”
She tipped her chin up. Seeing the warm smile that graced his lips, she stretched until she covered them with a tender kiss, the first she had dared initiate. Her heart was full to bursting, and although he was half-joking, she felt the need to pour out her answer.
“It’s because you have enslaved me, both my body and my heart. And not with a fortune of silver, although I’m glad that you did that and saved me. You did it with your goodness and kindness, your patience and bravery, and your tender care. I love you, Corbet.”
His eyes dipped to her neck and the iron band that with their play, she’d all but forgotten.
“I’m afraid you haven’t encountered much kindness or tenderness in either Lancore or my care. Once I get you out of here and to safety, I promise to make it up to you. You’ll never have to suffer such indignities again.”
“No more public inspections, or collars and chains,” she deduced, as she eased herself onto his chest once more.
“Those are a few of the many. No more.”
“And no more spankings?” she dared to ask, cracking open one eye and peeking up at him between her lashes.
He seemed intent on ignoring that. “As soon as we get past the border, I’ll look for a smith with a saw. After the smith, we’ll search for a priest.” He rolled her onto her back and came up on his elbows over her. Catching her chin with one hand, he peered down at her, his extraordinary eyes blazing with intensity. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to. That’s when he laid down his law. “You’re exchanging a master for a husband, Emilia, but marriage vows won’t change the man. I will be the head of our household, wherever that may turn out to be. Knowing that, what do you think?”
“I think Alice better make up more of that salve.”
Corbet lowered his head, his breath warm brushing over her lips an instant before he smothered her lips in a demanding kiss. He then flipped onto his back, pulling her into his side where he held her, one strong arm wrapped snugly around her waist as her cheek once again found his chest and she settled into him. At length, his hand slid to her bottom where it splayed wide. “I’m up to curbing a rebellious streak with a sound spanking, siren, but I’d much prefer swatting your ass in the heat of passion.” His fingers flexed on her cheek for emphasis.
It was her time to pop up. Her forearm draped over his wide chest and with her chin on her fist, she stared down at him with open interest. “You’d do that?”
Amusement flashed in his eyes as his mouth curled up slowly. “Answer me first.”
“I never intend to be rebellious, master. It just happens sometimes.”
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“Only sometimes?”
“Corbet!”
“As for the other, the way your pretty cunt wept from my belt, and my hand, and yes, even the cane—don’t think I didn’t notice how wet you were when it was all said and done—I think you’ll enjoy a spanking given with the intent to make you scream with pleasure.”
An image of her lying naked over his lap, with a finger in each of her holes as he’d done only moments ago while he heated her backside with smacks from his free hand made her squirm. Her nipples hardened instantly, aching for his touch. She rubbed the hard tips deliberately against his chest, trying to bring them some ease. He didn’t disappoint, dragging her up his chest until her breasts dangled above his mouth like ripe fruit. He caught a breast in each palm while grazing his thumbs over her stiffly peaked nipples.
“My insatiable siren,” Corbet growled with a husky laugh as he lifted his head and in turn, took each beckoning point in his mouth and worried it, licking and sucking and drawing it deep until she was breathing hard. His thigh encouraged her to spread her legs as he tested her wetness again. “Yes, indeed, a very lucky husband.” He then gave a gentle tug to her damp curls. “Satisfying you further will have to wait until after our vows and we’re safely beyond Lord Ervin’s reach.” He gave her unmarked thigh a light swat. “Up with you now. You’ve enticed me enough with your tantalizing body and we’ve missed the chance for more sleep.”
“Corbet, are you certain this is the right path?”
She found herself flat on her back, his big body pressing her down into the mattress.
“This is the only path, Emilia, and I tire of having my decision questioned. Now, are you going to show me how obedient a wife you can be, or do I have to start curbing a rebellion before we ride?”
“I’ll follow your lead without another word of dissent, Corbet, by my word.”
He lowered his head and kissed her, hard and thorough, leaving her without the ability to utter more words if she wanted to. When he raised his head, he gazed down at her and grinned. “Apparently there are ways to make you mind other than a spanking, sweetling, and I look forward to exploring every one of them at length.”
Innocence Enslaved Page 22