‘In flesh perhaps, but not in spirit. You gave your heart to Tarn when you tended his wounds. I would venture to guess that you gave even more than just your affection.’ He squeezed her nipples hard, making her wince with pain. ‘Soon I intend to find out the entire truth.’
‘You’re mad,’ she said, terrified by the lust in his dark eyes.
‘I’m frighteningly sane.’ He pulled up her skirts and touched her sex. ‘It’s a shame you’re denuded,’ he commented as he caressed her naked mound of Venus. ‘I’d hoped you might have retained your fleece like Jenna. Sadly, Sarin prefers his maidens hairless. However, I’ll enjoy you just the same.’ He parted her labial lips, his fingers feeling the sudden rush of moisture as he stroked the entrance to her vagina. ‘Sarin has taught you well. Your flesh readies itself for me.’
Rianna wrenched herself away from him, and tried to run, but he grabbed hold of her, digging his fingers cruelly into her arms. ‘You’re wrong about everything,’ she gasped. ‘I love my husband. He’ll not forgive you for this.’
‘Tell Sarin anything and you’ll regret it,’ he threatened. ‘I can bring witnesses who will testify that you spent many hours alone with Tarn. Once his suspicions have been aroused, Sarin will do anything to find the truth. He is merciless and cold-blooded, and will not balk at torture to aid his investigation. How long do you think it will take him to discover the true extent of your involvement with Tarn?’
‘I keep telling you that you are mistaken,’ she insisted, as he began to pull her towards a divan in the shadowy depths of the room.
‘So there you are.’ For once Rianna was pleased to hear Niska’s voice. Her captor swung round, still holding on to her tightly. ‘Don’t you think this a little foolish?’ Niska sounded angry. ‘Are you really prepared to risk everything for a quick coupling with her?’
‘I just wanted to punish the whore,’ Rianna’s tormentor replied.
‘Because Tarn cares for her. And all that was his must be yours? Is that not right, Cador?’
‘Yes,’ he hissed. ‘Everything.’
‘So you risk alienating Sarin.’ Niska looked derisively at Rianna. ‘Believe me, Cador, she’s not worth it. Lord Sarin is still enamoured of her. It won’t last, it never does. You can find your pleasure elsewhere until Sarin tires of Rianna.’
‘Just like he tired of you,’ the nobleman sneered.
‘None of this is important.’ Niska stepped over to Rianna. ‘I should introduce you to my good friend, Cador, nobleman of Kabra. This is Tarn’s kinsman, and he is an even greater enemy to Tarn than Lord Sarin. Cador wants Tarn dead, while Sarin only wishes to slake his lust upon him. Sarin’s desires for Tarn are a weakness he’ll eventually regret.’
‘Are you the man Lord Sarin threatened to harm if Tarn did not submit?’ Rianna asked in horror.
‘Incongruous, is it not?’ Niska said gleefully. ‘Tarn sacrificed himself in order save Cador, believing him Sarin’s prisoner. Cador might have been in the dungeon for a brief moment to help Sarin fool Tarn, but he was not a prisoner; on the contrary, he is Tarn’s betrayer. If it wasn’t for Cador, the rebellion might well have succeeded and Kabra would be free.’
‘Why?’ Rianna looked at Cador in disbelief. ‘If you are his kinsman, why betray him?’
‘Because Tarn’s father, the puppet king, is dying. Now that Tarn is enslaved, Sarin intends to make Cador heir to the throne. Soon he’ll rule as king, with me by his side.’
Rianna looked from one to the other, hardly able to believe how cruelly Tarn had been betrayed.
‘Before you retire, I have something to show you,’ Niska said, having insisted on accompanying Rianna back to her chambers. Rianna had no wish for Niska’s company, but it had at least protected her from Cador’s unwanted attentions. Now she knew the truth, and as soon as the opportunity arose, Rianna planned to tell Tarn about Cador’s treachery. Sarin would no longer be able to blackmail Tarn with threats against his kinsman.
‘I’ve no wish to see it,’ Rianna replied coldly.
‘But this involves Tarn. You wish to see him, do you not?’ Niska added with a smile. ‘There’s no point in denying your feelings any longer. Both Cador and I know you care deeply for him. Why else would you have fallen to your knees and begged Lord Sarin to show him mercy? Cador knows your mother is no distant kinswoman of Tarn’s. Fortunately for you, Rianna, Cador has decided not to tell Sarin that you lied in an effort to gain clemency for the former Prince of Kabra.’
‘I did so because I pity him,’ Rianna countered.
‘Your pathetic attempts to conceal the truth do not convince me,’ Niska sneered. ‘It is this way,’ she added, taking hold of Rianna’s arm.
They moved through a number of unoccupied, dusty rooms, into a narrow passageway, and through a metal-banded door which Niska opened with a brass key. The chamber they entered was tiny, only a few paces square, and there were wide, wooden steps leading up to a narrow slit set high in the far wall.
‘You must keep silent,’ Niska warned. ‘It will be the worse for us if we are discovered.’
She led Rianna up the steps. Breasts pressed against the smooth wall, they peered through the slit. Rianna found herself looking down on to a spacious chamber which contained nothing but a wide bed. Tarn was lying face down on the black satin coverlet, naked and chained hand and foot, his arms and legs spread wide apart.
Niska drew in her breath sharply, her eyes fixed on Tarn’s naked body. ‘I want him,’ she whispered very softly, as she turned to smile challengingly at Rianna. ‘And one day soon, with Cador’s help, Tarn will be my slave.’
Rianna ignored Niska’s pointless threat, all her attention directed towards her beloved. Desire flooded her veins. She longed to feel Tarn’s thick stem thrusting inside her again. Despite Sarin’s seductive charms, she had never felt such bliss in his embrace. Her sex grew hot and moist with yearning.
She stiffened nervously as she saw Sarin, wearing only a loose velvet robe, enter the room. In his hand he carried a short, leather-covered switch. ‘Tarn, you displeased me this evening,’ Sarin said with soft menace.
‘So now you’ve come to beat me into submission, and take pleasure from my pain,’ Tarn mocked, his words muffled by the coverlet.
‘You know you like the punishments,’ Sarin said teasingly, as he stood by the bed looking down at his naked slave. ‘You have to learn that it is most unwise to even consider disobeying my orders.’
‘You asked too much of me. I could not debase myself completely in front of a former friend and ally.’ Tarn was angry and resentful as he turned his head to stare at Sarin.
‘Still so much pride, Tarn?’ Sarin chastised, as he ran the tip of the switch slowly down Tarn’s back and over his taut buttocks. ‘I also noticed the look you gave Lady Rianna this evening. It appears you have a fondness for my wife.’
‘I’m grateful to her, that is all. The noble lady was once kind enough to tend my wounds. She’s beautiful and tender-hearted, far too good for you, Sarin,’ Tarn grated, taking a hissing breath as Sarin placed a stinging blow across his left buttock.
‘Will you never learn?’ With great care Sarin laid a number of blows across Tarn’s back and buttocks. ‘You will continue to be chastised until you accept that your only function in life is to serve, obey and respect your master.’
‘It seems I am unable to grasp that lesson,’ Tarn jibed.
‘It’s a pity, because I’ll have to continue marring your beautiful flesh,’ Sarin said softly as he traced the red line of the last lash mark with his fingertip. ‘You’re quite the handsomest slave I’ve ever owned. I hate to damage you so badly that you lose your worth.’
‘If I were not well-favoured, would you still lust after me?’ Tarn questioned contemptuously. ‘I think not. Would that I were as ugly as sin.’
‘But you are not ugly.’ Sarin brushed Tarn’s long, blond hair to one side and gently kissed the nape of his neck. ‘Let me give you a choice, the lash or my lips?’
Tarn tensed. ‘The lash causes me less pain,’ he groaned.
‘Remember the last time I beat you, slave,’ Sarin said as he stroked Tarn’s back, running his fingers teasingly down the curve of his spine. ‘Eventually, your abused flesh welcomed my caressing touch and you found pleasure in the feel of my hands and lips.’
‘No,’ Tarn said in a voice wracked with anguish. ‘I just could not find the strength to resist any longer. My unwilling release was no pleasure, Sarin.’
‘Deceive yourself if you must,’ Sarin said, as he removed his velvet robe. ‘But you’ll soon be forced to accept the depth of your need for me.’
Sarin’s penis was already erect, standing stiffly out from his body. The head and shaft glistened as though the organ had recently been oiled. Rianna shivered, knowing what Sarin intended to do in order to further subjugate Tarn.
She stared at the two men who had possessed her. One she loved, one she hated, yet in a perverse way she desired Sarin almost as much as Tarn. How this could be she didn’t know. She failed to understand the complex nature of her own emotions. She wanted to tear her eyes away from Tarn and Sarin, run from this place and pretend that none of this was happening, but conversely she had to stay and watch.
As Sarin climbed on to the bed, Tarn began to pull at his chains, struggling uselessly to get away. ‘No,’ he grated.
‘Why resist the inevitable?’ Sarin appeared excited by Tarn’s struggles. He brushed the underside of Tarn’s arm, where the muscles stood stiffly out as he strained to escape.
‘I’ll never submit,’ Tarn said, cursing under his breath.
‘Your resistance only serves to increase my arousal,’ Sarin replied, lust lighting his dark eyes as he watched Tarn try to pull away from him.
‘If you take me now, by force, you lose, Sarin,’ Tarn gasped breathlessly. ‘You vowed that when the time came I would be all too willing to surrender.’
‘Perhaps I’m just tired of waiting,’ Sarin retorted. ‘If you continue to fight, Tarn, it will only cause you pain.’
Sarin knelt between Tarn’s thighs. His muscular arms strained with the pressure as he held down Tarn’s hips. Employing his full body weight, he pinned down his captive and parted the globes of Tarn’s buttocks.
‘Damn you,’ he spat, as Sarin rubbed the pads of his thumbs over Tarn’s exposed nether mouth.
‘Have you so swiftly forgotten your imprisoned kinsman?’ Sarin asked with cruel menace.
Tarn ceased his struggles and collapsed limply on the bed. ‘No,’ he said in a strained voice. ‘I’ve not forgotten, but I fear I cannot do this, even for him.’
‘You fear the consequences, because deep inside you desire me. That one thought terrifies you, Tarn. Accept your need for me, accept your slavery and you will find freedom in the very act of submission,’ Sarin said in a low hypnotic voice.
Tarn shivered, but made no more efforts to resist as Sarin pressed the head of his cock against Tarn’s exposed nether mouth. Gently, Sarin parted the puckered ring with his hard, oiled shaft. As Sarin’s organ slid inside the virginal opening, Tarn gave a deep groan of anguish.
‘You’re so tight, so delicious,’ Sarin purred as he thrust into his helpless captive. Tarn made a faint sound and pressed his pelvis down against the satin coverlet, but there was no escape from the invasion of his most intimate flesh and the ruthless onslaught on his senses.
Rianna held a hand to her mouth, biting her knuckles as Sarin plundered Tarn’s defenceless body. He grasped hold of Tarn’s hips and thrust harder, employing a smooth seductive rhythm that caused the glowing fire in Rianna’s sex to burst into life. Tarn lay limply on the bed, his face buried in the satin coverlet, now and then giving a soft moan, whether from pain or pleasure Rianna didn’t know. She hated herself for continuing to watch, knowing she was unable to help him. She still found the sight of the two men powerfully arousing and a warm damp heat invaded her pudenda.
Then something changed, Rianna didn’t quite know what. Sarin’s movements became slower, more seductive, and she saw Tarn lift his buttocks to meet the next thrusts. ‘You see, Tarn.’ Sarin leant forward, pressing gentle kisses on the muscular planes of Tarn’s back as he meshed his fingers in his slave’s long blond hair. ‘I knew you would be willing in the end.’
‘I’m not willing,’ Tarn grunted harshly. ‘I’ve no desire for this.’
‘You still continue to deceive yourself.’ Sarin, smiling confidently, reached up to free his captive’s wrists from their chains. Withdrawing from Tarn, he bent to remove the chains from his ankles. ‘Now you may fight me unhindered. Will this be a battle of strength or self-will?’
He employed the head of his cock to the rim of Tarn’s nether mouth with exquisite tenderness before he slid his shaft into the tight male sheath. Despite the fact that he was no longer chained and helpless, Tarn made no attempt to resist. He lay silent, his face still pressed to the satin coverlet as Sarin thrust into him again. This time Sarin’s movements were tenderly erotic. It appeared he was doing all he could to arouse Tarn as he varied the pace and depths of his thrusts, sometimes pausing to lovingly rim the pulsing mouth before sliding deep inside again.
Sarin buried his cock deep inside Tarn, until his pelvis was pressed close to his slave’s buttocks. Gently he rolled over on to his side, pulling Tarn with him. Cradling the slack body against his, Sarin mouthed the nape of Tarn’s neck while stroking his copper-coloured nipples, pulling teasingly at the teats until they hardened into firm cones.
‘Please,’ Tarn moaned, agonised confusion apparent in that one brief word.
‘Tell me you want me,’ Sarin pressed, his hands sliding lower to stroke Tarn’s trembling stomach.
Tarn pressed back against the hard, male flesh that pierced him so completely as Sarin’s hand brushed tantalisingly against his penis. It was already engorged and achingly hard. Curving his hand around the solid shaft, Sarin began to milk it with slow precision. As he increased the pace, he began to move his hips, thrusting into Tarn in an accompanying rhythm.
‘Tell me,’ he urged in Tarn’s ear. ‘Or would you prefer me to desist right now?’
Rianna felt a sharp spear of jealousy pierce her heart as she heard Tarn reluctantly whisper, ‘No, don’t. I want you. By the gods I do and the wanting mortifies me,’ he continued in a guilt-filled voice.
Sarin laughed triumphantly and began to thrust harder and faster, while continuing to stroke and caress Tarn’s engorged penis, moving his hand briskly up and down the stem, and collaring the bulb as it throbbed against his palm. Tarn’s suppressed passion was unleashed. He pressed his sweat slicked flesh against Sarin, his body welcoming the plundering of his senses.
With a loud grunt of pleasure, Sarin’s orgasm came. He spilt his seed inside Tarn as he too gained his release. The creamy liquid spurted from the head of Tarn’s cock, coating his belly and Sarin’s hand.
‘Don’t you find that arousing?’ Niska whispered in Rianna’s ear. ‘I look forward to joining Tarn and Lord Sarin in bed. I’ve no doubt that my lord will soon afford me that privilege. Never you, Rianna, only Sarin’s seed can be allowed to take root in your belly.’
‘I loathe and despise you,’ Rianna flared in a low voice, her eyes never leaving the two figures still melded together on the bed, her agony, her unrequited desire and her love for Tarn combined into a fierce emotion that almost rent her asunder.
‘Would you like me to ask Lord Sarin to allow you to watch Tarn pleasuring me?’ Niska smiled, her eyes cold and cruel.
‘Damn you, Niska.’ Rianna turned to glare at her tormentor. Her pain magnified as she looked back into the room to see Sarin tenderly caressing Tarn. He was unresponsive as he struggled to regain control of his shattered emotions. Rianna was certain that she could see tears on Tarn’s cheeks.
‘Now you have your victory,’ Tarn said tremulously. ‘Will you not gloat over one you vanquished, and tell me how wrong I’ve been?’
‘Do you wish me t
o?’ Sarin eased himself away from Tarn and moved over the prone body of his humbled opponent so that they lay facing each other. Lifting his hands he cupped Tarn’s face and stared deep into his pain-filled blue eyes. ‘I’ve always desired you, Tarn. Your betrayal hurt me more than you’ll ever know,’ he continued, a faint catch in his voice.
Bending forwards, he claimed Tarn’s mouth with a fierce possessive passion. Tarn responded, returning the kiss with an unfettered need that left Rianna breathless with jealousy. It felt as if she had been betrayed, yet she knew that she had betrayed Tarn in a far more terrible way. Tarn had endured unimaginable misery to reach this point, while she had succumbed so willingly to Sarin’s demanding onslaughts on her flesh.
Sarin was evil. He’d woven a dark erotic spell around them both, and she feared that neither she nor Tarn would ever escape its consequences.
All was well in the castle of Nort. Gerek, the Protector of Harn, laughed aloud as Elise, his new mistress, pushed him down on to the bed. Tossing back her midnight-black ringlets Elise leapt astride his naked body and sheathed herself on his sex.
Gerek stifled a loud moan of pleasure as she ground her pelvis against his. Elise made love with a wild abandon that reminded him of Kitara. Physically they were very different. In contrast to Kitara’s tall, auburn beauty, Elise was tiny with narrow boyish hips and small sharp-pointed breasts. However, she had the same proud fire in her eyes, the same energy and sheer exuberance for life.
The first time Gerek had laid eyes on Elise she’d been dressed as a boy, living among a group of travelling mummers as they moved from town to town performing their plays. Elise never stayed in one place long, but Gerek had persuaded her to remain at the castle.
‘You have that far-away look in your eyes again, my lord,’ Elise said. She treated Gerek with far less respect than his other bed-mates, but he enjoyed her company all the same, and found her irreverent manner refreshing.
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