“I’m just going to show you how good I can make you feel,” assured her. “Better than Vargan I bet.”
“We never…” she said, staring up at the night sky while he continued opening her top. Her breath came a little faster, and she felt a clenching between her thighs, remembering his kisses.
Lora had thought he was going to kill her because of what Vargan did, but now she realized he intended to keep her for himself. She could try to escape when he went to sleep. Where would she go if she did? She had barely been out of the village her whole life. She had repeatedly been warned that something like this could happen if she did.
But those delicious berries were so tempting, so sweet and juicy. She didn’t believe there was any danger that close to the village of Diamond Bay.
It never occurred to her that picking berries would get her kidnapped by one of the mountain clansmen. She had heard that Vargan had killed Camron McKell, so this man had to be Darwick… Wicked Wick McKell.
He was wicked all right---wickedly handsome with a toned muscular body. Vargan was attractive, but Wick was gorgeous. If truth be told, Lora was more afraid to be wed to Vargan than of what Wick was doing to her. Vargan had a well-known mean streak that seemed to run in his family. There had been talk that he was rough with women and didn’t take no for an answer.
Lora couldn’t believe he father had made a deal for her to marry Vargan Rode. She had no more choice in her fate with her own family than she had with this mountain man. Somehow, he seemed much more exciting, especially the way he was looking at her.
Wick slowly pushed open the sides of her tunic and pushed down the wrap she wore to support her full breasts, staring down at them under the light of Oltarin’s two moons. As the cool night air hit them, her rosy nipples peaked.
The ground was cool, and the air was damn. The air smelled of grass and soil and she got an occasional whiff of wood burning from the fire. Wick’s body was warm as he lay down beside her.
He smelled of leather, sweat and his horse, and his warm breath fanned out over her face. He cupped his calloused hand against her cheek and turned her face toward his, pressing his mouth to hers, gently teasing her lips apart with his tongue.
Lora opened for him, unable to stop herself from responding to his tender request where she might have resisted a forced invasion.
His hum his approval vibrated into her mouth, then she felt him drawing circles around her nipples with his fingers. He plucked at them and pinched them gently, then kneaded them in his hand.
Wick was an enemy of her clan. Lora didn’t want to enjoy his kisses and caresses, but she had never felt such sweet sensations shimmering through her body like waves on the water. The moist heat of his mouth dragging over her skin made her breath come faster.
She could find no will to fight him or protest when she only wanted more of what he was giving her. She vaguely thought there wasn’t much she could do with her hands tied behind her back and his leg holding her down. But in truth, the delicious feeling rippling through her body stole away here will to fight him.
Then his mouth closed over her erect nipple, and he suckled it at length while rolling on the other between his fingers. Then he switched sides to suckle her other nipple.
An intensely pleasurable sensation surged through her body, and she gasped. Her feminine center clenched and she was unable to stop the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips. This was unexpected. She had only ever shared a few kisses with Vargan, and she hadn’t exactly enjoyed them. This…she had never felt anything like this.
“See,” he murmured, “I’m not going to hurt you at all.” Then he went back to pleasuring her breasts.
Her breathing quickened between moans and sighs. She might have resisted him more earnestly if he were actually hurting her. She couldn’t find the will to resist the flood of pleasing sensations rushing through her and making her core throb with an unfamiliar need.
Was it because he bound her hands behind her back and held her down that she could let herself enjoy the exquisite sensations from his mouth and hands. She should feel appalled, but she felt pleasure in his touch.
Next, she felt him untie the tie on her pants and slip his hand inside, down over her belly and into the curls of her mons. Then his fingers found the core of her sex and her hips jerked and she moaned. She had never felt anything like this.
Her body felt almost like she was floating on the water with the waves rocking her along with the waves of pleasure undulating through her. It was hard to think it wrong to enjoy something so pleasing to her senses.
Did she really want him to stop? He slid a finger inside her and rubbed his thumb against her clit making her press against his persistent massage. As she let out a moan, he moved from her breasts and kissed her mouth, coaxing her to open for him. She knew she was lost as she started kissing him back.
Wick kept kissing her while he worked her pleasure center with his finger inside her and rubbing her clit until he made her come. She moaned into his mouth and bucked her hips as he kept her writhing against his hand. She had never felt anything like he had just made her feel. Lora had become completely submerged into a haze of sexual pleasure and let it envelop her.
Wick McKell no longer scared her, not when he could make her feel like this by touching and kissing her. Each time her shudders quieted he moved his thumb against her center making her body quake all over again.
He kept her writhing for some time and held her mouth hostage to long deep kiss after kiss.
Lora thought she would lose her mind before he finally stopped. Then he lay on his side holding her close with his strong arms around her and her head against his shoulder.
“You’ve never been with a man,” he murmured, rubbing her back.
“No. Vargan wanted to, but I didn’t want to---said we had to wait till we were wed,” she murmured. Then with a rueful sigh, she said, “I was hoping it would never happen.”
“Are you going to take me now?” she pulls back to look at his face.
He pushed her hair back from her face. “I sure would like to, but not tonight,” he murmured. “I just wanted to show you the pleasure I can give you.”
“Are you then going to kill me?”
He shook his head. “Now that I have held you and pleasure you, I could kill you---not even before. I claim you as mine. Don’t say you don’t want to be, your body says differently.”
“Could you please untie my hands? It’s really uncomfortable with them behind my back,” she whispered. “We are too far from the lake for me to find my way home.”
“If you run, I will find you,” he asserted. “You won’t like me then.”
“I’m not sure I like you now,” she said with a touch of humor.
“But you want me.”
“It doesn’t mean I like you,” she retorted.
“Have it your way.” He laughed softly and started putting her clothes back together the way they were. Then reached behind her, untied her and covered them both up. She turned over, and he held her spooned against him. Soon was snoring softly near her ear.
Lora lay in his arms troubled by her conflicted feelings. She didn’t want to be taken from her family and her village on Safire Lake. But if she somehow escaped and found her way home, her father would make her wed Vargan Rode.
She never wanted to be touched by Vargan the way Wick had touched her. Vargan’s kisses made her want to wipe her mouth afterward.
Wick’s left her with an aching emptiness that she felt sure only he could fill.
Chapter Three
Surprisingly, Lora actually slept pretty well under the circumstances. When she woke, she was lying alone on the pallet, still covered with the blanket Wick had shared with her the night before. As she opened her eyes and looked up, he was standing over her looking down at her.
“I see you didn’t run away,” he said, stating the obvious.
“You going to tie me up again?” she asked.
Wick shrugged. “D
o I need to?”
“Where am I going to do? We are miles from Diamond Bay and without sight of the lake, I have no idea how to get home.”
“Here,” he said reaching for her arm. “Let me help you up, and can go relieve yourself. If you run, I will catch you, and you will not like me, then.”
“What makes you think I like you now?” she said, flashing him a defiant look.
His eyes flicked to her breasts she felt them tighten and a frisson need shivered through her. She flashed on the memory of what he had done to her the night before.
She felt her face heating with embarrassment and hurried away to find a private place to empty her bladder.
When she came back to their grove, Wick was munching on a dry biscuit and offered her one. “It’s not much, but it’s all I got right now. When we get to Macon River, I can probably find some crusties or an amphibian we can cook for next meal.”
“It’s fine.” She took it from him and glanced up at his face. “Thanks.” She went to sit on the pallet a munch on it while he saddled the horse.
It gave her a chance to really look at him. Tall with sculpted muscles, he wore his dark hair pulled back in a long tail that extended to the middle of his back, tied in a leather thong. He wore the dark brown leathers of his clan, as well as a wide-brimmed leather hat. The lower half of his face was covered by a short beard. His blue eyes flickered astutely when he looked in her direction periodically.
He probably thought her a whore because of the wicked things she’d let him do without protest the night before. No, he couldn’t think that she corrected herself. He’d had his fingers inside her stopped by the barrier that proved her virginity. But just thinking about it made it hard for her to sit still.
Lora watched as Wick tightened the cinch on his horse’s saddle. His leathers hugged his tight ass and muscular thighs, emphasizing the bulge at his crotch in the front. She felt a now familiar tightening between her legs as her thoughts kept straying back to the memory of his hands and lips playing over her body, confused as to why it had felt so right.
Wick McKell had stolen her from her village and claimed her as his like a stray horse he had found. She shouldn’t want to be with him and like having him touch her. But when she thought about what was waiting for her back at the lake village, staying with Wick seemed preferable.
“Okay, finish up, Lora,” he said. “We need to get going if we want to make the river before second meal.”
She nodded and put the last morsel into her mouth and got to her feet. She picked up the blanket and shook it. He came over and picked up the pallet and shook it as well. The blanket was twice the size of the pallet which was a thick, handwoven rug. Lora folded it in half and held it out for Wick to take it and roll it into the pallet. He took it and folded it into the pallet and rolled it up to tie on the back of his saddle.
“I won’t tie you unless you try something,” he told her and held out his hands to give her a leg up on his giant of a horse. She accepted the lift and was quickly mounted. Wick took a few steps back and leaped up to catch the stirrup with his left foot and levered himself up onto the horse too.
Taking up the reins in one hand, Wick put his other arm around her waist and held her tightly to him and set his horse off at a gallop. He let the horse set a comfortable pace that he could sustain for a few hours at a time. He felt pretty sure that he hadn’t been followed as the lake people may only have discovered Lora missing this morning. He was already many miles away. They could only guess who had taken her until they learned Vargan killed his brother.
Vargan might brag about killing Camron McKell, but Wick had his woman, and he was keeping her. Let Vargan think about that.
Lora was not used to riding a horse for any length of time so by the time they reached the river to stop for second meal, she was pretty sore. She thought a nice soak in the cold water would make her aching buttocks feel better. The only problem with that was that Lora had no clothes except those she was wearing. If she wanted to soak, she would have to do it naked.
Lora groaned as Wick helped her off the horse and set her on her feet.
“What’s the matter? Saddle sore?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve never had the chance to do much riding. My father is a fisherman, and we only have one horse. If you don’t mind, I would like to take a bath and soak in the water.”
“Sure, but stay where I can see you,” he asserted.
“Well, I thought I might go behind those two bushes there… I have no dry clothes, so I either have to take these off or wear them wet until they dry.”
“Stay where I can see you,” he insisted. “I’ve already seen most of what you’ve got.”
“Fine,” she grumbled and walked over to the river in his line of sight but as far away as possible. What difference did it make anyway? Sooner or later, he was going to fuck her, and she knew it. He had taken her as revenge on Vargan, and he thought about killing her, but he didn’t. So, it stood to reason he would fuck her---fuck Vargan’s woman and make her his woman.
It didn’t scare her so much after last night. Thinking about it made set her quiver at the memory of how Wick had played her body. His kisses and caresses had taken her to a level of pleasure she had never experienced before.
Lora walked stiffly to the water’s edge, unbuttoning the top three buttons of her tunic, then pulled it off over her head with her back to Wick, who paused to watch her. She untied the wraparound bra and dropped it in the grass then untied her pants and let them fall, and toed off her slippers.
Wick let out a low whistle at the sight of her shapely ass. He could see himself gripping those nether cheeks and driving his cock deep inside her. Tonight, he thought, Wick would take her tonight. No sense waiting, now that he knew he could seduce her. She was ripe for awakening her sexuality, and he was more than happy to do it.
He watched her until she had waded into the water and sat down in it up to her chin. Apparently, she wasn’t going to let him see any more than she could help, and he needed to find them some food. They would need the energy.
Chapter Four
Wick was roasting some sort of eel-like amphibian over a small fire when Lora had dressed after her long soak in the river. She was feeling refreshed and hungry. He gave her an appreciative grin when she came and sat down in the grass across from the fire.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes, but still sore.”
“Sorry about that, but I didn’t bring a wagon. You can’t make it up this steep mountain trail with anything but a horse.”
“Well, if you didn’t kidnap me, it wouldn’t be a problem,” she retorted, then thought better of it. Wick might decide not to share his food if she showed him a snide attitude.
He smirked at her and shrugged. “That’s just how this feud works. I could have just killed you instead.”
Right. She was fucked either way. Damn Vargan. It wasn’t like this for women on Earth where their ancestors came from. This damn feud had set women’s rights back to the seventeenth century. They were treated like property again instead of equals as they had been when the McKells and the Rodes had traveled to this planet 200 years before.
Wick’s ancestor and Vargan’s ancestor ruined it for everybody. Victor Rode killed Grant McKell’s wife, so Grant tortured Rode to death. That started it all. If the Corporation ever came back to check up on their investment, maybe they could straighten it all out. But they hadn’t been back in two hundred years. It was doubtful they ever would.
It wouldn’t help her situation. Things could be worse she reasoned. Since she wasn’t going to get a choice of which man she would mate she guessed Wick was as good as any. Vargan didn’t seem like the type who would bother much with her pleasure, judging from the few kisses they exchanged. He’d left her feeling like she wanted to wipe her mouth afterward.
Wick hadn’t. He had made her want more. She probably wouldn’t see her family again, but at least she wouldn’t have to submit to
Vargan. Lora wasn’t too happy with her father anyway, giving her to Vargan for his own gain. Her mom had been no help. Still, she would miss her mom. But not Vargan.
They ate the simple meal in silence. The meat was tastier than Lora expected and roasted to perfection. She thanked Wick politely for the food, and he inclined his head in acknowledgment. Then all too soon he was putting her on the horse again, and they were galloping toward the mountain trail. They hadn’t finished the meat, so Wick packed in his saddlebag for them to eat later.
The ride went smoother than it had before because Lora was learning to flow with the horse’s steady rhythm. When they finally stopped for the evening, the sun was just setting beyond the horizon. Wick found a sheltered spot among some trees for them to camp for the night. He took Lora with him to gather wood for the evening fire. He seemed unwilling to let her out of his sight.
When they had gathered enough wood, they went back to where he had tethered the horse to graze. Wick laid a fire and lit it with a flint he carried in his pocket. While he did that, he asked Lora to take out his pallet and lay it out for them to sit on. She finished spreading it out and sat down watching him. The fire was mainly for warmth. They planned to eat the meat cold.
Lora was too hungry to worry about what would come after that. The meat curbed their hunger but was not all that filling alone. Wick said maybe they would find something else in the morning. After eating, they shared water from the water skin he’d filled at the river. Then it was time to go to bed.
“You know what we’re going to do now,” Wick said, looking at her intently. “It’s not just because of what Vargan did. I want you. I knew that as soon as I kissed you the first time.”
He moved beside her and reached for the top button on her tunic. He kissed her cheek and unbuttoned a couple buttons, then he nuzzled her neck and unbuttoned a couple more. Then he reached inside and untied her bra and took it off her, and undid the last two buttons of her tunic. He pushed it off her shoulders, baring her torso and her lovely breasts.
Korjh's Bride Page 13