by Marie Hall
That was, until Lord Whitby, who'd rejoined the party as it traveled, walked right through the designated battlefield, breaking dozens of twigs, which served as cavalry, and smashing the stone infantry into the dirt.
"That was rude," Io shouted as the man kept walking through.
"You would do better learning things that are in the purview of women and not filling your head with that which is better left to men," Whitby said, turning back to face her.
"You would do better attending your own, rather than worrying what any other does," Sir Howard said, getting to his feet as another man slipped his hands under Io's arms and pulled her halfway up and then back. "Or do you worry you will face her on the battlefield and lose. Because, as far as I can see, she already is better at such than you are."
The jab struck home, and Io watched Whitby's face turn red. "You would do well to remember your place, Howard," he snarled, but Io noticed and stepped back when the knight stepped toward him.
"And you will remember you have no support at court. Dogs like you who follow a master whose usefulness fades often find themselves dying in a ditch with no one mourning them," Richard Howard warned, Io glad to know she wasn't the only one to find the man unpleasant. She'd some concern he might make her time at court harder. If Sir Howard was correct in his popularity, it was not likely he could do her ill.
The two continued to stare at each other until Xavier stepped into the group and set a hand on her champion's shoulder. "Do you not have duty to attend for Balbroke?" Xavier asked
"Lord Balbroke," Whitby bit out, but he said nothing else before spinning around and stomping off to do whatever bidding he was to do.
"Watch that one, Brice," Howard warned. "He has ideas to be more than he is."
"I am aware," Xavier said as he pulled Io closer. "I know, too," he added, pressing his lips on the top of Io's head, "my lady is more than capable of setting him down, should he act."
Io heard Howard snort before he patted Xavier's back and walked away. "What does Sir Whitby wish to be?" she asked, letting Xavier lead her back toward the wagon.
"He wishes to be your husband," Xavier said rather casually. Io tripped but recovered.
"Xavier, eew," she said, not sure she could accurately convey her disgust. Xavier laughed out loud and pulled her against his side. "I should say, as a woman most have not wanted, I do not want him." She turned so he could lift her and set her on the end of the wagon bed. "Beggars should be grateful. I would not have been, had he been who came for me."
Xavier leaned forward against her, sitting on the wagon, he put her just right for his head to settle between her breasts. "They would have had to send me anyway, Io," he said, his breath rippling warm over her skin. "You would have ended him before you even left Drahmoore. He would have dropped dead of fright, the moment you showed your vulgar self in the hall."
Io leaned back, giving Xavier more access to her flesh. "Are you saying, my lord, you are the only one who can handle me?" She did her best to help him step up into the wagon.
"My lady," he said, settling his weight on her. "Even I cannot handle you."
"No?" She slid her hands down to his groin and tugged at the strings.
"No, my only blessing is I do not have a weak heart, to fail at your first vile fit." He bit at her tit through the dress she wore.
"Should I give you more peace then? Be less vulgar, brash, or unseemly?" She wiggled back so they were more in the wagon than out, and Xavier went with.
"I have given this some thought," he said then moaned loud when her fingers brushed his cock. "And I know I have told you I would have you no other way. Now, though, I might wish to know what you would be like if you were perhaps…" Io held her breath, praying he wasn't changing his mind because he knew he'd be embarrassed by her at court. "More vulgar than unseemly or perhaps if you took occasion to be more brash than vulgar. You might please me greatly if, once in a while, you would give all effort to being unseemly."
It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, she burst out laughing. "You cannot mean that I should be… unbalanced, unpredictable?" She laughed more when he lifted his head and gave her such a look.
"You well could have a point; I may not have thought it through well enough," he said, laughing softly. "Or," he said and sat back straddling her. "I thought it through just well enough." His fingers nimbly worked the laces on her bodice loose, working their way beneath the material to knead and stroke her until her nipples strained against the fabric. When he pulled the mound free and bent his head, Io moaned in anticipation. "Yes," he said, his breath puffing out over the peak, "I think I thought it through just the right amount." His mouth closed over, and Io gasped out as he was not gentle in his claim.
Io lifted her arms and stabbed her fingers through his hair. "Xavier," she ground out, now impatient to have more of this. She lifted her hips and ground into his, but he didn't give up his prize. "Xavier," she complained before working one hand between their bodies and taking a firm hold on the stiff shaft. She gave but one stroke and was rewarded by his teeth clamping down on the very sensitive nipple. "Xavier," she cried out and began stroking his cock in earnest, as that was usually enough to tell him to bring their bodies together in that final way.
"I think," he said, lifting his mouth from her but pausing to flick his tongue over the hard nub, "I do very much enjoy when you are more unseemly than not."
"I think I prefer being more vulgar," Io griped, gripping his hair when he made to bend again to her tit. "Leave my tits and put some effort toward my cunny."
She saw the heat flame up in his eyes and a wicked grin spread across his face. "Boldness suits you, my love," he said, lifting off her and tugging her skirts up. He pushed back and dropped down, wasting no time in covering her clit with his mouth.
Io tried to put all her focus on the small hook right above her head, doing all she could to stave off the climax she already knew would come quickly. Xavier commanded her body with as much ease as he commanded armies. She did have a moment to wonder if it'd be so with any man, but as the pleasure built to a point she couldn't hold it any longer, she knew it wouldn't. Xavier gave her this only because he believed truly it was his duty to do so. It was his duty to please her this way, even if his own pleasure was not to be had.
Every man she'd encountered through her life was only ever worried for his own pleasures. Xavier's stance was unique and declared very early on, before he knew she'd always work to see to his. For Io, it was not only easy to see to him, but it gave her a satisfaction beyond the physical. She knew both ease and enjoyment were because Xavier didn't take it for granted.
If there was uniqueness about what they had, she wasn't sure, but she'd always remember to treat it as if she'd never find it again.
More thought on the matter fled as Xavier pushed her into bliss a second time, leaving her gasping and aching in more ways than one. "Xavier, more."
He pushed off her, pulled her up, spun her away, and then shoved her face down over the side of the raised platform serving as her bed. She shifted her feet apart as he hiked her skirts up over her back. She reached out to grab the edge and brace herself as Xavier slammed into her, the force lifting her up on her toes and holding her there with each subsequent thrust. The space wasn't high enough for him to stand at his full height, so he leaned forward, bracing on one arm and wrapping his other around her waist and lifting her off her feet. His hips slammed into her arse and his shaft worked her passage hard and fast.
"Touch yourself, Io," he growled out. "Reach down and work that bud."
The command sent a hot wave rippling through her, and she let go her grip and obeyed. Her fingers finding her sex wet and slippery, through several thrusts, she couldn't keep them where they needed to be in order to complete the task. But like with most things, when they fell in together, they were strong and the deep, long thrusts soon created the perfect rhythm. Io worked her clit so she'd find the most pleasure. That pleasure caused h
er body to clamp down on Xavier's, which increased the delights created by the movements. There was little point in trying to hold back, and when Io's release came, she dropped her head into the furs and screamed them out. Xavier's climax followed right behind hers and his arm gave way, causing him to fall over her.
She listened to him work to take a deep breath, savoring his weight over her. As vulnerable as she was right now, he made her feel safe. A few more ragged breaths and Xavier lifted up enough that she, too, could fill her lungs. "It matters not how you are, Io," he started as she felt him slide out and then lift her onto the bed completely. "I will always be satisfied you are mine."
His words warmed her and she refused to let doubt steal that warmth from her now. Those doubts could be saved for later.
Chapter 11
Xavier groaned and rolled to his back. "Io, have you not had enough?" he asked, trying to tuck his hips back so she couldn't keep stroking his cock. Not at all worried, his hand lingered between her thighs, teasing her clit so she couldn't be still.
"I could ask you the very same," she said with a sleepy voice. Her hand wrapped around his cock, stroking it back to almost erect. "I think perhaps you have found some of what you had at fifteen."
He chuckled. She took some great delight in teasing him about his prowess as a boy compared to as a man. But as a boy, it was all about his wants. As a man, it was about Io's. For all the women he'd known before, he didn't know any who could take her pleasure so easily. Sure, he'd tried as a younger man, but those women he'd lain with did so purely as a means to survive or advance. Sexual pleasures were a weakness to them. Io's unwavering ability to be happy with what she had, even when she had almost nothing, gave her an advantage no other would ever know. She took pleasure when and where in came because she didn't trust it'd always come. She didn't squander any chance to know it.
Rolling over and then shifting to cover her body with his, Xavier settled his face against the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent. "I would never want you to know what I was at fifteen. I was not worthy of a goddess like you." He slid a bit more forward, nudging her opening with his cock. "But I would also not want to waste any chance to give you anything I might give you." Settled further down, he entered her slow and easy, her amazing warmth enveloping him, coaxing his cock back to life. He heard the soft moan slip from her and pushed in a little more before stopping and putting his full weight on her.
He'd done this a few times before. He held still as Io's cunny clutched and released him. She hardly moved more and he moved not at all, but somehow Io could find release. Already, he could feel her building toward it. Nibbling a little at her neck, then moving to bite her ear softly before placing little kisses along her jaw, he watched the gasp slip from her lips, felt the flush climb up her face as she found that soft climax. He waited for her lips to curve into a smile before claiming them in a deep kiss.
"Ah, yes, my lord," Io whispered and stretched under him.
"Yes?" he asked as his cock jumped inside her. She nodded and he pushed up, sat back and flipped her to her belly before covering her again. He reached back awkwardly to take hold of each side of her arse and pull her cheeks apart. He heard her gasp when she understood his intent and he gave her a chance to protest. She didn't, not that he expected her to.
Entry was not easy, but Io seemed to revel in the pain, pushing back when he might hold to give her a chance to adjust to being taken like this. The head of his shaft pushed past the resistance and Io bore down and pushed back until he was swallowed up to his sac. That was enough to make her shudder in delight. Her cries and whimpers, muted by the covers, grew more desperate as he pulled nearly all the way out then pushed back in. Within two strokes, her body accepted his invasion and gave over to his will.
Xavier let go her arse and worked his hands under her hips until he could curl his fingers into her cunny and pinch down on her clit. "You are a goddess," he told her before he began to thrust in earnest.
Her sweet, hot body drove him toward a pleasure that neared pain in how intense it was and he selfishly worked to find his own release as he felt Io give in to hers. He took advantage of her satisfaction and committed to his own before he built her back up.
The pull in his groin felt as if it came from all the way in his back and he gritted his teeth as he tried to control it. It was no use. His cry echoed in his ears. His blood pounded through every limb and his chest burned for lack of air. For a moment, the world seemed to be tilting and he dropped down, gasping. Beneath him, he felt Io chuckling, but it took a bit more time before he could bring his thoughts to order and consider why she laughed.
He rolled to the side and waited until she turned to look at him. Her smile and shining eyes were answer enough, but her words filled him with such pride of her. "I am wicked that I so much enjoy making you lose to me like this."
"What loss?" he scoffed, only to see her bury her face to smother more laughter.
"This loss, your loss to me," she teased. "I have felled you, great knight. I have stripped away all your strength and will, and now the victory is mine."
"I think you get ahead of yourself," he said, pulling her on top of him and waiting until she settled. "I always rise and will again, to challenge you to a rematch."
"Well, I will accept your challenge when it comes, but I know I will again leave this field of battle victorious," she said, yawning. "It is the way of things."
Xavier tucked the covers around her and stroked her hair before whispering, "As it should be," between her soft snores.
Xavier watched Io's eyes flutter open. A second long night of her restless sleep concerned him. He'd tried a few times to get her to tell him what had set her on edge, but she couldn't seem to articulate it. She'd tried. He knew, but she always seemed lost for words. It left him feeling helpless as he watched her shrink back from shadows and jump at a snapping branch. She didn't ride her horse anymore because she constantly dropped the reins when she'd wrap her arms around herself.
Even with him beside her each night, she tossed and turned, waking suddenly and then struggling to fall back asleep. It was nearly dawn this time when she was overtaken by exhaustion, and Xavier choose to stay with her, letting Gerald take the lead on the road.
He'd a moment of hope when Io's lips turned upward in a sleepy smile, but then her eyes took in where she was and the bright light of day that filled the wagon and that joy quickly passed.
"Where are we?" she asked, even as she rolled against him and tucked in closer.
"Nearly there, an hour or so." He put his arm around her.
"What time is it?" she asked, rolling to her back and looking around again.
"Midday," he said, tracing her brow with a finger. "We thought to push through, so if you could eat for me…" He leaned over her and pulled his pack from the floor, adjusting them both to be sitting up more.
"I am not much for food," she muttered but accepted the little bag holding the foodstuff when he handed it to her.
"Eat a little for now; we will be in a real house and able to eat a real meal before dark," he encouraged, but she made no move to take a bite.
"I cannot be here," she whispered. Wrapping her arms around his chest, she tipped her head back and looked up at him. "I cannot be here, Xavier."
"Io, you worry yourself needlessly," he said, trying for a light tone. "Nothing is going to happen that we will not be able to handle."
"I cannot be here," she repeated and pushed the food away, lying down and drawing the covers over her head as she curled up.
She remained like as they pulled into the yards of the large house made available to them only a few hours later. She refused to leave the wagon as it was emptied of her belongings, and when Xavier made it a command that she come out and go inside, she burst into tears.
It was full dark when she was finally coaxed inside by Liam and Jon, but she hung by the walls, not wanting to go into the center of the room. It again took great coaxing to get her seated
at the table, and again, she didn't eat.
Xavier watched her as she sat staring off toward the hearth, her left hand gripping her right shoulder to the point her knuckles turned white. But he could read nothing else. Her face was expressionless. She wasn't biting her lip or narrowing her eyes. She didn't even seem to blink. It felt like he was looking at an empty chest; she wasn't with him, with any of them. Wherever she was, the distance was vast and frayed his nerves.
As dinner was cleared by servants he'd had to select, Xavier took a deep breath and tried once more. "Io, there will be baked apples and tarts if you like." He waited. Nothing, not even a notable taking of breath. It had to end. For her sake, for his, for those who sat in the strained silence with them all waiting for some clue as to what would put her at ease. The maids set the sweets on the table, but Io took no notice.
"Io," Xavier yelled, coming part way out of his chair across from her. "Io, damn this, you will stop. You will eat. We will go home as soon a—"
"Home?" Io said, surging to her feet and slamming her hands down on the table. "Home?" She slammed her hands down again. "What the fuck is home? It is nothing," she yelled louder and shoved back from the table. "Home is at best a lie, a fairy tale. At worse, it is blood splattered walls and ashes." She moved to stand behind her chair, the rage not quite as pure as Xavier might have known, given he knew her feeling on this subject. "Home does not exist. All there is, are places like this." She waved her hands around, indicating the house they stayed in. "Buildings where I am brought and shoved inside to be forgotten. Left to rot. Until the smell is so putrid, someone complains and I am again taken to some new building." Her hands took hold of the chair and, with a shocking amount of force, lifted it and sent it smashing into the wall. "Home does not exist." With that, she was gone.
Xavier didn't see her move, but she was gone and so were her four personal guards from the table. He heard some shouting from the far side of the house and then more from outside.
