by Kyra Alessy
Another menacing step. She felt the door behind her and took her arm from her chest to fumble with the handle. He’d seen her before anyway. But the rusty thing wouldn’t move; either stuck or her hand was too shaky.
His eyes landed on her breasts.
‘You don’t understand,’ she tried, but he just tutted.
‘Perhaps it is you who doesn’t understand. When a woman enters a man’s bedchamber looking ...’ his eyes slid down her body again, making her blush crimson, ‘as you do, there is only one possible outcome despite the second thoughts you’re having about your little scheme.’
It dawned on her what he meant, what he meant to do, the danger she was in. She had to get out of here! She redoubled her efforts to force the bolt. Suddenly it released and she pulled the door open only to have it slam shut in front of her. She cried out as she was pushed out of the way and face-first into the wall. Mace pinned her there with his immovable body while the room spun and she gasped for breath.
‘Mace!’ called one of the men outside. ‘Anything amiss?’
Kora struggled against him, using her arms to lever herself off the wall and finding, to her surprise, that it was working. She was stronger than she had been a few days ago. But she was still no more than a slight hindrance to him.
Mace merely chuckled. ‘Should I ask them to come in and join us?’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Would you like their cocks ramming into your arse and mouth while I take your cunt?
She shook her head adamantly. ‘No! Please.’
‘Then behave,’ he growled and slapped her arse lightly. ‘All is well,’ he called to the men outside the door. ‘Go about your rounds.’
She heard them walking off and let her arms go limp. How was she going to get out of this? She began to shiver. Her legs felt as if they would give way. She leant her cheek against the cool stone of the wall and tried not to cry.
‘There’s no need to be afraid,’ he said almost gently as his hands drifted down her sides. He took her arms and placed them over her head, holding her wrists in a firm grip. ‘Dark Brothers are no different from other men.’ She felt his smile. ‘Well, perhaps a bit bigger than you’re used to. But I’ll not hurt you overmuch.’
She squeaked as he kicked her legs apart and his hand travelled up her leg to the apex of her thighs. He felt her as Kade had done in the smithy and gave a small noise of approval. His fingers slipped through her folds, playing with her lightly. To her surprise, she found she liked his ministrations. She realised now that she’d enjoyed Kade’s touch as well – shocking as it was.
He pulled her from the wall and, not letting go of her arms, walked her across the room to his bed. He pushed her onto it and turned her so she was on her back.
‘Open your legs,’ he demanded.
She shook her head and his eyes narrowed.
‘It’s too late to play the blushing maid. Do it,’ he barked, ‘or I call the men back and you spread yourself for all three of us anyway.’
Lip trembling, she did as he commanded, her eyes not leaving his.
He groaned, visibly swallowing as he stared down at her, and then his head was between her thighs. She yelped as she felt his tongue lap at her core, and she pushed at his head.
‘What are you doing?’ she cried.
‘Tasting you.’ He glanced at her face in amusement. ‘Has no one ever done this before?’
Shocked, she shook her head.
He snorted. ‘Clearly you’ve chosen poor bed partners in the past.’
His head lowered again and he took hold of her legs, pulling her towards him. His mouth latched on to her in an indecent kiss and she cried out at the spark of feeling that seemed to dull the rest of her senses. Her hips lifted off the counterpane. She moaned loudly and gasped, pulling his pillow over her face to stifle the sounds she couldn’t help but make. What he was doing with his tongue felt better than anything she’d ever experienced. She shouldn’t want this, but a traitorous voice inside her whispered that she should take whatever pleasure afforded to her now because she wasn’t likely to get much in this life.
She writhed and panted as she seemed to get closer and closer to something she didn’t understand. It felt wonderful! But just as whatever it was reached its peak, he drew back without warning, leaving her wanting … something. She actually growled at him for stopping, but he just smirked as he pulled her lower lips far apart with his fingers, staring down at her, examining her. She felt a trickle of wetness at his perusal, though she didn’t know why she would enjoy such a thing.
A finger began to push into her.
‘Your channel is so narrow,’ he murmured. ‘Been awhile?’
She opened her mouth to tell him the truth, but the words turned into a cry as he stretched her opening, moving a thick, calloused digit in and out slowly. She moaned in pain and pleasure, understanding finally what Kade had meant at their first meeting. The pain of it was just as heady as the enjoyment. His finger left her and he suddenly rolled her over. He pulled her to her hands and knees, caressing the pink marks left from Lucian’s beating after her escape.
She tried to twist away in fear, but he only stroked her, softly inserting his finger into her once more. His hand rubbed the other part that she wanted him to touch until he felt her body relax and she whimpered with need. She began to move her hips towards his hands, craving more contact with him. When his fingers disappeared this time, she mewled in disappointment.
‘No, no, no, Kora, after all this mischief you don’t get to come,’ he admonished and her brow furrowed at his words. What did he mean?
He took her hair in his fist and pulled it, forcing her to arch her back, and suddenly there was a stinging pain as he thrust himself inside her. She cried out as his cock filled her, her fingers digging into the covers. He didn’t seem to notice her discomfort – or perhaps he didn’t care – as he pulled out and thrust in again hard. Grunting, he set a hard and fast pace, pounding into her until the hurt began to fade and was replaced again by delightful sensations that left her unable to do anything but give in to his body’s demands of hers.
Luckily he didn’t keep up his punishing use for very long, and with a final hard thrust, he roared. Fingers released her hair and gripped her hips tightly, digging into her flesh as his seed surged into her.
Breathing hard, he pulled out and sank onto the bed, dragging her with him and draping his arm around her. He snuffed the candle and a moment later she heard a snore. She lay in the dark next to him – her first, though she hoped he’d never know it – eyes wide, trying to sort out what had just happened. She knew she should leave now, go back to her pallet in the kitchen, but she’d never been in anyone’s arms before and wanted to savour it. Surely she could have a few moments after what had just happened to feel safe. Even if it was a lie.
She opened her eyes in the darkness, feeling deliciously comfortable while at the same time trying to get her bearings. A warm mass moaned and shifted in the bed next to her and she jerked away from it before she remembered she was in Mace’s room. She must have fallen asleep.
The man next to her shouted in the darkness, limbs thrashing. ‘No,’ he mumbled, his arms flailing as if he was trying to keep something away from him. Then he yelled again. ‘No!’
Kora startled, falling out of the bed in panic before she realised he was dreaming. Fearing his nightmare would wake the keep and send men rushing into his room, she sat beside him once more. She put a hand on his forehead and another on his chest gently, cooing softly and trying to calm him as one would a babe.
She thanked the gods as he quieted and seemed to relax back into a restful slumber. With a sigh, she got back out of the bed gingerly, wincing at the ache between her legs that drowned out all her other pains for the moment, and opened his door – thankfully without much noise. The hall was now completely deserted, so she made her way, finally, back to the kitchen and – after feeding the fire, of course – into her blankets by the hearth.
Chapter 8
/> The next morning she was awoken by Davas as usual. The older man enquired as to her lack of clothing and she spun him a tale of washing her dress but it not being dry enough to don as yet. He gave her an inquisitive look but went off, reappearing a few moments later with a replacement. He turned his back on her and she turned hers as well, doubting she’d get any more privacy than that this morning and finding that after the events of the past weeks, she didn’t much care anymore.
Her body was sore, but she couldn’t say whether most of the aches were from her daytime work or what Mace had done – except the tenderness between her legs. That was definitely from last night. She frowned as she thought back to what had happened. She wouldn’t have chosen it as her first experience with a man, but it hadn’t been altogether unpleasant, she supposed, and better him than Blackhale. But it had left her wanting something. It was as if she’d started down a path and not got to where she was going. She wished she had someone to talk to about it, but there were no other women here, and she couldn’t very well ask poor Davas.
At least one good thing had come out of it, though, and it gave her some measure of comfort. She no longer had her virtue. Perhaps if Blackhale ever did find her, that alone would make him consider finding a bride more suitable than she.
She let the blanket fall away and quickly pulled the dark-blue dress over her head. This one fit better than the sack before it and even had a bodice with lacings, though it showed off more of her chest than she’d like in her current circumstances. The cloth was still sturdy and coarse – she did miss her soft novice robes – but she supposed this thicker wool was better suited to her life for the moment.
She had to try to escape again. Sooner or later they would let down their guard. They had to. She wasn’t sure how she would do it, but with Lucian’s hostility towards her and what had happened last night, she couldn’t stay here. She wasn’t sure where she would go now, though, either. Uncle Royce might take her in, perhaps, but he spent much of his time at sea and she didn’t know where his ship usually berthed.
She turned back to Davas and found him facing her, eyes frozen on her now-covered thighs and looking disturbed.
‘Davas!’ she gasped.
He shifted his gaze at once. ‘I’m sorry, lass, I thought you were decent. I …’ He hesitated. ‘Are you alright, lass?’
Before she could answer, one of the soldiers sauntered through the side door of the kitchen. ‘Davas, where’s our fucking breakfast, man? We’re starving to death out here waiting.’
Davas swore and grabbed a basket of day-old sweet buns. ‘Take these and be thankful you have anything,’ he huffed.
The soldier took the proffered rolls absently, staring at Kora with a smirk on his face. ‘Yorn and Abos heard a girl in Mace’s room last night, moaning and screaming. Sounded like he was giving her a good, hard fuck, they said.’ He eyed her, his gaze lingering on the view of her figure that her new fitted clothes allowed him as he licked his lips meaningfully. ‘Let me know when it’s my turn, eh?’
Stupidly, she hadn’t realised everyone would know. With a shudder, Kora turned away from him to hide her pink cheeks, busying herself with stirring a pot of gruel over the hearth. She heard the man snicker and then leave them alone. She could feel Davas’s gaze on her back and wanted to melt into the floor.
‘Gods,’ she heard Davas sigh. ‘Kora?’
She turned to face him, a man she considered her friend, knowing that the judgement in his eyes would be worse than the other men’s whispers and lewd suggestions. But when she finally met them, she only saw his concern.
‘Did he … did he force himself on you, girl?’
Again, her answer was cut off by a new arrival as Lucian appeared. He scowled when he saw her dress, his lip curling in annoyance. ‘Gods, you’re never doing your work, are you, slave?’ He shook his head. ‘Take her to the barracks, Davas, and make sure she’s chained tightly for the men’s use.’
Kora gulped as her stomach clenched in dread. She glanced at Davas, who looked as shocked as she felt. He opened his mouth to answer when Lucian continued.
‘But then I suppose it’s early. The men won’t need you on your back until tonight.’ He turned to the cook. ‘We’re almost out of salve. She’ll spend the day on the hillside picking faerie flowers and you can make it tomorrow.’
His gaze bore into her and her skin began to prickle. Lucian’s anger was gone, but she knew that look. He had something up his sleeve. She looked at the floor, wondering what fresh trickeries he was going to subject her to today.
‘Riken can watch her.’ His fingers grabbed her chin and made her look at him. ‘And, mark me,’ he said, the tenderness in his tone belying the warning of his words, ‘if you try anything – anything at all – I will drag you up to that X, strip you naked, whip your flesh bloody and let the men have whatever’s left of you.’
She pulled away from him, not giving him the satisfaction of her fear, though she had no doubt that he’d do what he threatened. But if she had the chance, she knew she’d try to run while she was outside the keep’s walls. She couldn’t not. Gods only knew when she’d get another opportunity like this. So she nodded once with a demure ‘Yes, my lord,’ and that was that.
MACE
Mace woke late for once, relaxed and well-rested. The nightmares hadn’t woken him last night. He looked over, half-expecting the girl to still be curled up in his bed, making the most of having been bedded by a lord of the keep, but she was gone. Good riddance. So why was he feeling something that felt very much like disappointment? He frowned.
Someone pounded on the door and let themselves in. Mace didn’t bother to look. His Brothers would never knock and the men wouldn’t dare enter at all without his leave. Davas was probably bringing his morning meal, though if the noise was anything to go by, he was in a foul mood.
Hearing nothing more, Mace finally looked up and found Davas staring at him – no, not at him, at his bed.
‘Did you rape her, boy?’ he bellowed, clearly past minding who heard him. ‘I don’t care that I’ve been with you since you joined the Brothers nor that you’ve saved my life more times than I can count; if you did, I’ll beat you blue, I swear it!’
Mace let out a long breath, guessing what his old friend was talking about. ‘I don’t force women,’ he said in a bored tone. ‘She appeared in my room naked. She practically threw herself at me.’
Davas scratched at his greying auburn beard, looking agitated.
Mace stood, not bothering to cover his nakedness. ‘What is this?’ he asked, rapidly losing patience. ‘What’s this about?’
‘The girl. She’s good. Kind. Doesn’t deserve how you and Luc have been treating her.’ Davas paced the room, his boots thudding on the stone. He turned back, pinning Mace with an icy stare. ‘You took the girl’s maidenhead last night, so I ask you again – was she willing?’
‘Maidenhead?’ Mace chuckled. Kora had definitely got Davas wrapped around her deceitful little finger. ‘I don’t know what lies she’s been telling, but – ’
‘I saw the evidence for myself, boy,’ Davas interrupted. ‘She’s said nothing to me about it. But all the men know you bedded her, too, so you best let them know she’s yours before they get the idea that she’s anyone’s for the taking.’
His? Mace’s brow furrowed as he thought through the night’s events. She’d been afraid, but he’d thought it was just trepidation at seeing through whatever ridiculous plan she had decided to enact. He hadn’t been overly gentle with her in punishment for her machinations in trying to get into his bed, but he hadn’t actively been trying to hurt her either – though now he wondered: had she tensed in pain when he’d entered her?
‘No …’ he muttered incredulously as he drew back the counterpane. Blood. Not very much, but enough. He sat down on the bed and ran through everything he’d said and done, cringing inwardly. He was a bastard.
‘I didn’t know. She … she’s a slave,’ he said feebly. ‘She’s beau
tiful.’ He threw up his hands. ‘Gods, every house slave I’ve ever known … it’s practically part and parcel of their duties on most estates.’
Davas growled but didn’t say anything more in reply to Mace. Instead, he stomped back to the door. At the last moment he swore and turned back. ‘In case you care, Luc has her on the hillside this morning picking faerie flowers. Told her we have no gloves to spare and ordered me not to go finding any for her.’
Mace scowled. ‘But no one harvests those with their bare hands. The oils in the petals play with your mind.’
Davas fixed him with a hard stare. ‘Aye, we all know that but she don’t. He plays nasty tricks on that girl. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s the reason she ended up in your room last night without her clothes. I left her bathing downstairs. This morning her dress is nowhere to be found.’ He sniffed, his voice hard. ‘Sure she was willing?’
No, Mace wasn’t sure. He shut his eyes as the door banged closed behind Davas. She hadn’t fought him, but …
He ran a hand through his short hair, remembering how he’d threatened her with the two guards. She’d have done anything to stop him from calling them back. The memory of the fear on her face … He clenched his fists. He had been a brute to her.
Why had he cared about the reasons she was being sold in the first place? Loyalty was important within their Brotherhood, but she wasn’t one of them. She hadn’t betrayed them. Yet somehow the slaver’s words had lit a fury in him where she was concerned. He’d been so angry with her for the way she’d made him feel. She’d stood on the dais regal as a queen even as the slaver’s fingers were tangled tightly in her hair and he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. Mace almost hadn’t bid on her. But then he’d seen the other bidder, a man he recognised. No matter what, no woman deserved what that madman would do to her. And so he had bought her. What were the odds of her being a maiden still? Things just didn’t add up where Kora was concerned. She had to be a house slave. Everything about her confirmed it. Almost everything.