Savage Kingdom

by Deanna Ashford

  “Have you been awake for long?” she murmured, unsure what she should do now. If he’d already left the tent, she could have acted as if this had never happened and tried to forget about it. She couldn’t do that when she was still clasped in his arms.

  “Not long.” He kissed her cheek. “You looked so sweet and innocent lying there. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

  She couldn’t ignore the fact she was naked and her body pressed embarrassingly close to his. She had to get up and get as far away from him as she could. She needed some time to pull herself together and try to think rationally. Such intimacies must not occur again. Copulating with him was bad enough, but sleeping like this, clasped in his arms, was a foolish indulgence.

  “I should get up.”

  “Not yet.” Jaden’s arms tightened, crushing her bosom even harder against his chest, welding his flat belly to her stomach. She couldn’t ignore the bulky hardness of his erection digging into her groin.

  She’d no desire to give in to the demands of her own body, yet she was suddenly filled with the unaccountable need to feel him thrusting deep inside her again.

  “Did you sleep well?” she asked, not knowing what else to say.

  Her mind was full of so many conflicting emotions. What was wrong with her? The sensual desires of the flesh had overwhelmed all her logic and reason and made her vulnerable to Jaden’s seductive charms.

  “Very well, as it happens.” He slid his hands over the curves of her buttocks. “I must thank you for letting me share your tent, Nerya.”

  “We should be on our way soon—should we not?” Her voice sounded breathless and shaky to her.

  “So we should.” He nuzzled her ear, his lips fastening around the lobe. He sucked on it gently, and desire surged through her loins again. She was undone. Jaden had only to touch her like this and all was lost.

  “We can’t,” she protested. “Not again.”

  “Is there a law against coupling too often?”

  His hand moved down between their bodies and eased its way into the valley of her sex. Nerya gave a soft moan as those erotic digits slid inside her, thrusting her hips forward to allow his fingers to burrow deeper. Yet, to her frustrated surprise, he pulled away from her and propped himself on one elbow.

  “Tell me, Nerya. Now that we’re on our way—why exactly are we going to Harn?”

  “I told you when I asked you to accompany me. Queen Danara needs to know more about what’s happening in the land surrounding ours. Aurora has had troubling reports of unrest in these kingdoms. You were traveling to Kabra to negotiate a treaty. Such a strong military alliance could threaten the welfare of Freygard, could it not?”

  Because Freygard was kept deliberately isolated from its neighbors, Nerya knew little of the surrounding countries, only what Aurora had told her over the last few days. Apparently, peace existed between Percheron and Kabra, but their monarchs were far from being friends. Many years ago, Lord Sarin had invaded Kabra, and he’d ruled the land for a decade or more. After his father had died, Tarn had led a rebellion which had driven out the forces of Percheron and regained him his throne.

  “Aurora thinks it strange Kabra and Percheron might even consider signing such a treaty, considering the unsettled relationship between King Tarn and Lord Sarin of Percheron.”

  “She’s right,” Jaden agreed. “They’ve been at odds with one another for decades. Now they need to work together as they face a far greater threat.”

  “A greater threat. What might that be?” Nerya wished she knew far more than she did. Knowledge was power. If she was eventually to rule Freygard, she needed to learn much more about the outside world.

  “The threat is Acheron.”

  “Acheron?” She’d expected it to be Marquab. Aurora had told her that the ruler of this vast empire in the far south, across the Sea of Marmara, was very powerful and had a massive army. Aurora had never mentioned Acheron at all. “I’ve heard that the rulers of Acheron have knowledge of magic. Is that true?”

  “Unfortunately, yes, and it’s rumored that the Dragon Lords of Acheron are marshalling their forces. For what reason, we don’t yet know. But if they’re considering an invasion of the Western Kingdoms, then we’ll all have to work together to even have a chance of survival.”

  “Freygard could be in danger as well, could it not?” The fear of the unknown was far more difficult to contend with, and the mere thought of magic terrified her. Human weapons would surely be no protection against wizardry.

  “It could,” Jaden agreed, “and because of the policy of your queen, you’ll have no allies to stand with you to repel an attack.” He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face in a far too intimate gesture. Whatever he was to her now, he was no longer her slave. She supposed she would have to accept that. “Your people have kept themselves apart from others for centuries. What makes you think that Gerek of Harn will even agree to speak to you?”

  “He will speak to me,” she insisted, “because I believe Gerek of Harn to be my father.”

  “Your father?”

  “His wife Kitara is from Freygard. I told you when you were in the infirmary that my real mother had deserted me. What I didn’t say was that my mother is Kitara. I’ve no idea why she never acknowledged me, but I know now I have a sister, and I want to make myself known to her.”

  “So Rianna is your sister?”

  He knew of Rianna? It appeared he knew more about her family than she did. “Yes. Danara told me all this only a short time ago.”

  Jaden frowned. “If you wish to see Rianna first, we need to go to Kabra, not Harn.”

  “Why?”

  “Didn’t Danara tell you Rianna is married to King Tarn of Kabra? Perhaps if you speak to Rianna, she’ll agree to approach Kitara on your behalf. Gerek and Kitara will soon be traveling to Kabra to discuss the treaty. As you know, I was on my way there, to aid in the negotiations of the final terms.”

  “Kabra?” Surely he wouldn’t be lying to her purely for his own end? She’d no way of knowing if he spoke the truth or not, especially as he’d never mentioned before that Harn was involved in these negotiations.

  “I know how your mind works, Nerya. I’m not lying to you. I swear on the lives of my men that I speak the truth.” She shivered as his hand kneaded her breasts. His fingertips circled the aureole of one nipple, and desire for him flooded her senses again. “You must believe me. I promise on my honor that if you go to Kabra, your sister will be there.”

  Lowering his head, Jaden brushed his lips against her right nipple and pulled it into his mouth. Nerya sighed with pleasure as he sucked on the tiny teat, while he rolled the other pert cone between thumb and forefinger. He pulled at it gently while his mouth continued to suckle her other breast. It was as if her bosom and her feminine parts were joined by an invisible cord, and each tug of his lips tugged at her senses, making her sex grow wetter and wetter, until she ached to once again feel his cock buried between her thighs.

  “Then I have to accept your word. Do I not?”

  She meshed her fingers in his hair, rubbing her body against his. She wanted him to couple with her, but she dare not tell him that. It would be far too humiliating to admit how much she hungered for him.

  To her infinite relief, she didn’t have to beg him for anything. Jaden reached down with his other hand and stroked her stomach, then eased his way between her legs and into the slit of her sex. His fingers delved deeper, inching their way inside her. Nerya gasped with pleasure and thrust her hips hard against his invading hand.

  Jaden pulled his lips from her breast. “Do you want me?”

  “Yes,” she murmured. “You know I do.”

  He smiled. It was a satisfied expression of masculine dominance that at any other time might well have irritated her. At present she was far too desperate for him to care. As Jaden rolled onto his back, he pulled her astride his hips.

  “Last time we were like this, I was chained and yours to command.”
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  “And I enjoyed commanding you,” she said with a teasing smile as she straddled his thighs. Taking hold of his shaft, she stroked it, feeling it twitch against her palm as she ran her hand up and down its magnificent length.

  “I prefer it like this. When I was chained, I couldn’t return the pleasure you gave me.” She caressed the organ, and it lengthened and grew even harder. “It was so frustrating not being able to reach out and touch you.” Jaden brushed his fingers against the curls that guarded her sex, and she grew desperate for them to delve inside her.

  “Yet I’m still in control of your pleasure,” she teased as she tightened her hold on his cock and caressed it with long, smooth strokes.

  “Not if you want me to climax inside you, my lady.” He gasped as she ran her fingers over the bulging tip, smearing the pre-come that seeped from its tiny mouth over the entire head. “A few more tantalizing seconds and I’ll climax in your hand.”

  “I’ll not let you, Jaden.” Nerya lifted herself onto her knees and edged forward, guiding his shaft toward the opening of her sex. She wasn’t apprehensive now as she had been on the first occasion. This time she desperately wanted him inside her. She pressed her hips down with slow precision, and his cock slid smoothly into her until the entire magnificent length of it was buried deep inside her body. The fullness was delicious.

  Nerya moved, lifting herself, letting his shaft slide partway out of her and then pressing down again—grinding her open sex against his groin. Her movements were deliberately slow and measured. She wanted to extend her pleasure, draw it out as long as she could and prevent herself from peaking too quickly.

  “I can’t wait,” Jaden growled. He grabbed her hips, trying to force her to thrust harder and faster.

  “I want to take my time, Jaden.”

  She stopped moving at all and crouched motionless above him, while he lay submissively beneath her. The first time she’d coupled with him, he’d been chained and at her mercy. The erotic image invaded her thoughts, increasing her desire for him even more.

  “Nerya!” With a gasp of frustration, Jaden clasped her shoulders and pulled her toward him, capturing her lips with his. Kissing her with unrestrained passion, he thrust his tongue into her mouth.

  Nerya gave herself up to the kiss, not fighting him at all as he wrapped his strong arms around her. He rolled onto his side, and she twined her legs around his lean hips, melding her body to his. Jaden dug his fingers into her buttocks as he ground his hips against hers, forcing his huge cock as deep as he could.

  A second or so later, Nerya found herself lying flat on her back on the blanket with Jaden towering above her, his shaft still buried in her soft depths. He began to thrust hard and with a brutal fervor that aroused her even more. The pressure inside her increased, the pleasure growing stronger, expanding until she reached a climax that almost took her breath away.

  Chapter Five

  Once again, Nerya wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. They’d been traveling for a good few hours now across this flat, near-endless plain. The sky was a clear azure blue and the sun beat down on them unrelentingly. She screwed up her eyes in a vain effort to protect them from the glare. It was so bright at times the countryside around her seemed to shimmer in the intense heat. She’d never known weather like this. Oddly enough, even though Freygard was farther south, it had a far more temperate climate.

  They’d forded the river soon after dawn and left the valley. Ever since then, they’d been riding toward the distant range of mountains. She knew it must be an illusion, but they seemed to be as far away from them now as they were when they set out. Jaden had told her they had to skirt those mountains before they reached the boundary between Percheron and Kabra.

  Jaden rode in front of her, so she could see only his back, but he appeared quite at ease, while she certainly was not. The irritating, arrogant bastard wanted to be in control of everything. Were all men outside Freygard like him? She hoped not. What she couldn’t understand was that, regardless of his attitude, she was still drawn to him, and it was a weakness she must conquer. She shifted awkwardly in her saddle, but it wasn’t physical discomfort she experienced. She was unable to forget what had happened this morning. After they’d had sex, she’d been very unsure about allowing their liaison to continue, but she didn’t know if she could stop, even if she wanted to. Jaden had only to lay a hand on her and she was lost.

  Their sexual dalliance had delayed them far longer than they’d intended, so they’d decided to be on their way as soon as possible. While Jaden watered and saddled the horses, Nerya had cut some bread and spread it thickly with the gooseberry conserve she’d found in their supplies. Aurora, bless her, knowing it was Nerya’s favorite, had slipped a pot of the conserve in her saddlebags.

  Nerya had been in a reasonably good mood until she’d tried to mount the white stallion. To her frustration, he’d shied away from her. She’d attempted to mount the beast again, but this time he’d tossed his head, reared up on two legs and ripped the reins from her hands. Jaden had been standing there all the time, watching her. He’d not said a word, but, by the way his lips twitched, she’d known he was amused. Trying to hide her angry frustration, she’d made another grab for the stallion’s reins, and the creature had jerked away from her. She’d stumbled and almost lost her balance while the horse had trotted over to Jaden and nuzzled his arm. Having no intention of making a further spectacle of herself, she’d told Jaden she didn’t care; the stallion was a useless, untrained creature, and he’d better ride the beast in future.

  Now here she was stuck with the good-tempered, sturdy roan and, if that wasn’t bad enough, she’d been forced to let Jaden take the lead from now on. Aurora had given her a map to guide them to Harn. It showed only Freygard, Harn and the small portion of Percheron they had to travel through. She’d no idea how to get to Kabra. Of course Jaden did, because he’d been traveling to Kabra when he’d been captured. It stuck in her throat that he now had to ride ahead, while she trailed along behind him, leading their packhorse as if he were the master and she the slave.

  They’d been traveling for a few hours, but he’d not pushed the horses. It was a wise decision. If they rode them too hard, the poor creatures would never survive in this heat. She glanced around her, preferring not to look at Jaden and be reminded of her humiliating encounter with that damnable stallion. There was little to see here, just patches of thick scrub, the odd, stunted tree now and then, and grass burned brown in the intense heat. It wasn’t surprising there was no sign of habitation. Who would want to live in a place like this? Just ahead, she noticed a group of tumbledown buildings—perhaps the remains of a small settlement. They must have been deserted some time ago, as the ruins had all but been swallowed by the land and sparse vegetation.

  “Most of the peasants left these plains years ago,” Jaden said as he pulled back on the reins so her horse could catch up with his.

  “Was the land too difficult to cultivate? It doesn’t appear to be good farm land, and there’s no sign of any water.”

  “It’s barren, but in the past it was reasonably fertile. I’ve been told you don’t have to dig very deep to find water. I find it hard to believe, but some say there’s a huge lake fed by underground streams only about twenty feet or so below us. The inhabitants left mainly because they no longer felt safe here. Bandits have been the scourge of this part of Percheron for almost a decade. Most of the people fled deeper into Percheron, gravitating toward the large, walled town where they knew they’d be protected by Lord Sarin’s soldiers.”

  “It’s sad they had to leave their homes.” Perspiration dripped down her forehead and stung her eyes. It was so hot, sweat now welded her clothing to her body.

  “About this morning,” Jaden said with an uneasy smile. “Don’t be angry about Barsan. I raised him from a foal and I trained him to obey only me. I could have made him throw you the moment you first mounted him, but I didn’t want to cause you any untoward embarras
sment.”

  “Then I should be grateful,” she said, still filled with resentment. He could have at least warned her earlier about the horse.

  There was something else worrying her. Something she couldn’t talk about to him just yet. When they were having sex this morning, her hands had strayed from his buttocks to his damaged back. She’d been very gentle, as she hadn’t wanted to cause him any discomfort because of his wounds. The odd thing was that her fingertips hadn’t detected any sign of damaged flesh. She’d expected rough scabs, or at least raised, half-healed scars. Yet Jaden’s skin had felt smooth and unblemished, and that had confused her. Of course she’d been enmeshed in the throes of sexual passion at the time, but she was certain she’d not been mistaken.

  She’d intended to try to get a glimpse of his back before he’d dressed, but to her annoyance Jaden had pulled on his shirt before she’d been able to do so.

  “I know you were angry and probably rather embarrassed,” Jaden continued. “But I can’t help the fact that my horse is loyal to me.”

  “I suppose you can’t.” It wasn’t as if he could explain the situation to the animal, she supposed. However, if it was as well trained as he claimed, then he could have let her ride the stallion and ensured it did as she said. Yet if she’d been in his position, she too would have wanted to take possession of her own horse again.

  Nerya unhooked her canteen from the saddle and took a couple of swallows. She grimaced at the warm, unappetizing taste of the water.

  “In Freygard, you live a very isolated existence,” Jaden said. “Did you not learn anything about the lands bordering yours?”

  “Such knowledge is forbidden to us. It’s not considered necessary for us to know about other cultures and customs.”

  He frowned. “No doubt your queen fears if you discover how different life is elsewhere, you may begin to question your own ways.”