Witch Hunter: dark medieval paranormal romance (Witches of the Woods Book 1)

by Steffanie Holmes

  I shook my head. "If you are thinking about the witch in your father’s court case, then she is of a league unto her own. I can think of only two ways she might've performed that spell. In the first, she really did grow another hand, but she would need powerful and dark magic to be able to do that. What she probably did is cast a glamour around her arm, so you only thought you cut off her hand, but really, you cut nothing but air. Either way, she must've been a very powerful witch. I could do neither of those things."

  "What can you do?"

  "I don't know. Witches usually have a type of magic that they are drawn to, a specialty. My Aunt Bernadine manipulates the elements – she can make fire appear and winds blow at will. Aunt Aubrey has a way with animals, and she can read minds. She sees the thoughts of others in her head as if they were her own. She is impossible to lie to.”

  “I’ve had some experience of this.” He smiled.

  “You saw my aunts?”

  Ulrich nodded.

  “You better not have hurt them. They have done nothing-”

  “I did no such thing. I went to talk to them. I was hoping they could reverse this cursed hex you placed on me, but they said they couldn’t. Apparently, only you can do it. Although they both seemed doubtful you produced a hex at all.”

  “I’m not surprised, when it comes to witchcraft, I am pretty much useless. My magical power should be apparent by now, and yet, I show no aptitude for anything. I can mix herbs and potions to heal the sick, but that takes no real magical skill. The only serious spell that has ever worked for me was the spell that brought you to the grove." I paced across the cell. "And look at how that's turned out."

  "It could be worse," Ulrich said.

  I gestured around the cell. "How could it be worse?"

  "You could have been caught by a real witch hunter, the kind that will torture you for days before burning you at the stake. Instead, you have me."

  "So you are still going to help me? Even though I am … what you are afraid of?"

  Ulrich was silent for a long time. I could see him turning over my words in his mind, weighing up his own beliefs against what I told him, sifting through the anger he felt to come up with some kind of rational solution.

  Finally, he spoke softly. "If what you say is true, then what I feel for you is part of who I am. Your magic hasn't forced my hand – it has merely brought us together, where our paths might never have crossed.”

  “That is the truth, Ulrich. I swear it.”

  “Then, who am I to deny such a powerful bond?" Ulrich reached through the bars and clasped my hands. Relief flooded my body as I felt the warmth of his skin against mind, and tears of relief pooled in the corners of my eyes, spilling down my cheeks.

  “Ada, you have to … I have never felt this way for any woman before. Something horrible happened when I was a child, and since that day I swore that I would not love someone again, when they can be so easily taken from me. But you …” Ulrich shook his head, squeezing my hands tighter. “You make my whole body ache with longing. I can’t bear the thought of a world without you in it. But I’m not used to this … I’m not used to not being in control.”

  "I fear …" I trailed off, struggling to find the right words. It was hard to think with the warmth of his hands against mine. "I am now a cursed woman. Thanks to your kindness, I may yet escape the flames, but wherever I flee to I must forever remain in the shadows. For if I am caught again, I cannot expect to escape a second time. I fear for you, Ulrich, because what you feel for me – that tugging in your chest, the quickened heart, the dry tongue – all these things I feel too in your presence. I do not want you to come to harm because of me, and I cannot ask you to give up your life and fade into shadow with me, but I do not want to be without you."

  "We will find a way to be together," he said. "I will get you out of this village, Ada. I will take you and your aunts to a safe place, and as soon as it is safe for us to do so, I will return to you."

  “You can’t come with us?”

  Ulrich shook his head. “If your aunts go missing, it will be too suspicious if I too disappear. Besides, there is something I have to do first. Something I must do alone. Will you wait for me?”

  I squeezed his hands. "I will. Tell me what I must do."

  "You must do whatever I tell you. And I don't just mean in the dungeon when we are alone. You must cry or scream or curse when I tell you, and pour all of your energy into making your pain believable. We must convince the whole village that you truly are my prisoner. Do you understand?"

  I nodded.

  Ulrich rubbed his fingers across my knuckles. He pulled my hand through the bars, and pressed his lips to it lightly. The touch made my body flush with heat. "I must leave you again. I have to make arrangements. Your trial is in three days time."

  The thought of that upcoming trial made my blood run cold. "When will you come for me again?"

  "Tomorrow." Ulrich smiled, brushing my fingers one last time, and dropping my hand. My skin tingled where he had touched it. "I have something really fun in store for you. It will take your mind off your troubles for a time."

  I was so excited about the prospect of returning to the dungeon with Ulrich that I could hardly sleep. It didn't help that the tiny cell was extremely uncomfortable, and my limbs were stiff from days of being bent and cramped inside it. At Ulrich's request, Tjard brought me a small pile of straw for a bed, but it was damp and had clearly served as a home for an entire rat family for some months. I tried to sleep leaning against the stone wall. I would drift off, only to be woken by my face scraping against the rough stones. At least I could sleep now, even if only fitfully, knowing that Ulrich had forgiven me and I wasn’t going to burn.

  Shortly after the sun rose, Ulrich himself appeared at the door of my cell, his coat drawn up tight around his muscular body, and his silk hood pulled down low over his face. He looked both terrifying, and deeply attractive, the sight of him making my knees feel weak. Ulrich held out his hands, revealing a pair of cuffs.

  “You are to come with me.” Ulrich said gruffly, as he unlocked the door to my cell. “Do not try to struggle or to work magic, or you will be severely punished.”

  Now that I knew he’d forgiven me, his words sent shivers of delight down my spine. I hung my head, keeping up our game, and allowed him to slap the cuffs around my wrists. Ulrich pulled me from the cell and pushed me ahead of him, shoving me roughly down the passage to the dungeon, slamming the door behind him.

  As soon as he slid the bolt over the door and we knew we were completely alone, Ulrich grabbed me roughly from behind and slammed my body against his, his rough hands pulling my head around so that his mouth could envelop mine. He devoured me hungrily, his tongue probing deep, sliding over mine as it forced my mouth wider. I could feel his hardness pressing against my leg through the thin fabric of my filthy shift.

  The scent of him intoxicated me. My head spun wildly as his hands groped my flesh, pawing at me as if he were a wild beast. I wrapped my arms around his head, tangling my fingers in his hair and forcing his kiss deeper. I wanted to sink into him completely, becoming part of him.

  Finally, Ulrich pulled away, his breath coming out in short gasps. “I have waited for this,” he growled.

  “As have I,” I whispered.

  Ulrich swept his hand around the room, indicating the different instruments. “Today, I grant you one concession. You may choose the device of your torture. Tell me, Ada, which implement takes your fancy?”

  I stood in the doorway and regarded the room. Now that I knew what really awaited me there, the machines weren’t terrifying, but exciting. My whole body tingled with desire, longing to be trussed up and open, awaiting Ulrich’s treatment.

  I pointed at the X-shaped standing in the corner, my skin flaring with desire. “I like the look of that.”

  “The crux decussata, or the Saint Andrew’s Cross.” Ulrich’s voice was low, menacing, heavy with his lust.

  “Who was he?” I ra
n my fingers along with smooth wood, imagining what it would be like to be strapped against it.

  “One of the twelve apostles, the brother of Peter. Andrew was martyred on the crux decussata at his own request, for he did not feel he was worthy of being crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus. Do you not learn this in church?”

  “I don’t really pay a lot of attention,” I confessed. “All the Saints’ names confused me.”

  He smiled. “You and me both. Is this still the device you choose?”

  I nodded.

  “Very well,” Ulrich wrapped his big hands around my waist, lifted me off the ground and tossed me over his shoulder. He slapped my ass playfully, before setting me down in front of the Saint Andrew’s Cross. He pulled a black hood down over my eyes, and I was plunged into darkness.

  “But I want to see you,” I complained.

  “It’s much more fun this way,” Ulrich said, a hint of a smile in his voice. “You can’t anticipate what I’m going to do next. Now, let’s get you strapped in.”

  Ulrich’s fingers danced over my ankles as he strapped my feet into the bottom of the frame. My hands were next, tied up above my head, so that I was spread wide. Next, he tied a silken cord around my waist, so that I couldn’t wriggle away. I shifted my wrists and ankles, enjoying the sensation of being pinned in place.

  “Evil men like my father use this frame to whip and beat victims,” Ulrich explained. “Sometimes they will poke their skin with needles, pull it apart with tweezers, or burn it with branding irons. I’ve found that with some slight adjustments to these tortures, I can give a woman one of the most drawn out and intense orgasms of her life.”

  That sounded exciting. My skin flushed with desire at the thought of what Ulrich might do to me.

  I felt the air around me shift as Ulrich moved close to me. Suddenly, his hands grabbed my tunic and tore it away, leaving me naked. The cool air from the vent above tickled my bare skin. My whole body was stretched, taut, anticipating his touch.

  Something rough slid across my chest, and wrapped around my torso, again and again. A rope. Ulrich wound it around my breasts, and tied it in a series of knots down my back. Every time he moved, the rough rope dug into my skin, and the sensation of his warm fingers just brushing me as he fiddled with the knots made my hairs stand on end. Already I could feel the ache of desire between my legs.

  Finally, Ulrich stepped back, and sighed with satisfaction. My torso was completely bound in thick rope, the tightness pulling my shoulders back and forcing my breasts up and outward. My skin was tight from the bite of the rope, and my core throbbed with the anticipation of his touch.

  “There will be some pain,” Ulrich said, leaning close to me so that his breath caressed my neck, “but I’m told it is exquisite. If you do not like it, you can ask me to stop, and I will stop, but if you want to embrace this experience fully, you need to trust that I know what I’m doing, and that I will not truly hurt you. Do you trust me, Ada?”

  I nodded my head.

  “Are you ready to begin?”

  I nodded again.

  SLAP. Ulrich laid his hand across the top of my breast. I winched as the sting bit into my taut skin.

  “Your skin is cold,” he whispered. “Allow me to warm it up for you.”

  Ulrich slapped the other breast. I yelped as his palm stung me once more. “Ulrich, I’m not sure about this …”

  “Do you want me to stop?” Ulrich growled, his lips moving tantalizingly closer to my neck. I tried to push myself closer, to press my skin against his lips, but I couldn’t move an inch in my restraints. “I’ve barely even begun …” Ulrich grabbed my nipple between his fingers and rolled it between his fingers.

  “I …”

  “Ada, answer me!” SLAP! His palm landed on the first breast again. Despite the pain, heat flared between my legs once more.

  “Answer me!” SLAP! Another hit landed across my left breast.

  “Don’t stop!” I yelled, as the heat flared higher.

  SLAP, SLAP!

  I gasped as he continued to work on my breasts, alternating the slap of his hand with rolling and pinching my nipples. In the darkness I could not tell where he came from or what he would do next. It was painful, but so deliciously so that my body thrummed with energy, my core feeling like a furnace burning away, aching for him to grant me release. I could hear Ulrich panting as he drew his arm back for another swing.

  SLAP!

  Finally, I heard him move away, whistling as he crossed the room and selected some objects from one of his racks. My breasts throbbed from his rough treatment, and my whole body trembled with repressed desire. If he so much as breathed on the spot between my legs, I would come in an instant.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he came to stand in front of me again, and flicked his tongue across my earlobe.

  “In my hands I have a candle,” he whispered into my ear. “Can you feel the heat of it?”

  I felt something warm float in front of the hood. “Yes,” I said.

  “You’ve played this game with me before. So you know that if I tilt it a little, like this …” Something dropped onto the delicate skin of my breast, just above the nipple. I yelped as the heat seared me. I tried to wriggle away, but there was nowhere to go.

  Ulrich put his hand between my legs and flicked his finger across my swollen clit. “There, now how about this …”

  Oh, oooooh. My body tensed and flared. If only he would touch me again ...

  I yelled as another drip of hot wax landed on my other breast.

  “You may yell, my love,” Ulrich said, slipping a finger inside of me. “But you are already dripping wet. I know you like this.”

  At the same time as he pressed his wet finger against my clit, he landed a drop of wax right on my nipple. I screamed as the heat tore through my most sensitive skin, and he rubbed me harder, his fingers drumming against my bud. I could feel the heat rising within me, pulling against my stomach, like a fire demon fighting to escape.

  Ulrich pulled his hand away. Sweat rolled down my face. My legs shuddered as my body strained against the cross. “Touch me!” I cried out. “I beg you, touch me again!”

  Another wax drip landed on my right nipple, and the pain arced across my chest. Ulrich thrust his hand between my legs and rubbed even harder. My orgasm roared through my veins, the wave of warmth sweeping up from between my legs and meeting the pain, and the two became one. I rolled my head back and screamed as the pleasure rippled through me, more powerful now that I could not move.

  As the waves subsided, Ulrich removed my hood and unlatched me from the cross. I collapsed into his arms. But instead of lifting me away, Ulrich stood me up again, this time so I faced the wooden structure, and lifted the latches on my ankles and wrists, fastening me inside.

  Ulrich placed his hands upon my shoulders, and ran them down my back, caressing my body. My skin rippled and tingled from his touch. He skimmed over my thighs, pausing on my ass to knead and lift each cheek, as if inspecting them. He feathered his fingers down my legs, across the backs of my knees, causing me to cry out with laughter. Ulrich touched me everywhere, except where I most desired to be touched.

  “You are so beautiful,” he stood and whispered in my ear. “My beautiful witch.”

  Ulrich pressed his body against me, his hands reaching up to grasp mine. His hardness pressed against my thigh, and I moaned as my body ached for him to fill me, to complete me.

  He slipped his cock inside me, sliding into my moist depths. I sighed as my body closed around him, satisfied at last to be full. Ulrich began to move in and out of me, slowly at first, each stroke long and languishing, making my body beg for him to thrust inside me again. Ulrich started to pump faster, and I used what little movement I had in my hips to push back against him, grinding myself against his pelvis as he thrust deeper.

  Because I could not see him, I was surrounded by other senses. Ulrich’s skin against mine, the way the dark hairs on his chest rubbed against
my skin, his thick cock rubbing against my warm folds.

  The world began to swirl before my eyes, the grey stone walls shifting and melting as giant red dots swam in front of me. The dark dungeon disappeared, and the red dots rolled together to become a throbbing vortex. My whole body seemed to tip forward and spin upside down, as if I were floating through the wide expanse of space, the stars glinting and flickering all around me.

  “Oooooh!” I cried, knitting my fingers between Ulrich’s as a serene warmth spread throughout my body. My core thrummed with energy, and as Ulrich heaved against me, a final orgasm thundered through me, jerking my limbs against the wooden frame.

  Ulrich bit down on my shoulder as his own orgasm claimed his body. He shuddered against me, his thighs bucking as he pumped his seed into me. A faint moan, almost a sigh, escaped his lips as his teeth dug into my skin.

  And then, it was over. My vision returned, the swirling aurora fading from my eyes, and the warmth leaving my core. Ulrich sighed once more as he slunk away from me. I felt bereft without his skin touching mine, but he soon returned, his warm hands brushing my slick body as he unlatched me. My body was so weak from pleasure that I fell backward. Ulrich caught me, supporting my weight while he finished untying me.

  “Careful there,” he said, a smile in his voice. He turned me around so that we faced each other, our naked bodies pressed tight together.

  “Hello,” I whispered, gazing up into his intense eyes, running my fingers across the line of his jaw.

  “Hello back,” he kissed the top of my head, and carried me in his arms to the rack. Grunting, he pulled us both up on to the table, and lay down on his side, cradling me against his body and wrapping me in his arms, his body fitting perfectly around mine.

  The feeling of lying with him was so comforting, so safe, that for the longest time I did not dare to say anything, lest it break the bond that had formed between us. Ulrich’s breath warmed my neck, and his hands gripped my arm and breast, pressing me against him.

  But something he had said earlier began to play on my mind, and I knew I had to ask him. I broke the silence. “Ulrich, what did you mean when you said you couldn’t stay with me after we escape? What task is standing in the way of us being together?”