Before she drifted into a restful sleep, he kissed her forehead and caught her eyes in a lingering stare so intense she feared his earlier anger had returned, but his words dispelled her worries. “I love you, Claire. With all that I am, I love you.”
She smiled and kept her eyes open as long as her fatigue allowed it, never wanting this day to end. “I love you, Galien.”
* * *
The next day she watched him ride off into the snow-covered forest with his men, her heart heavy and light at the same time. His dire sense of duty dictated he hunt down the Hohenzollern men and she wished he didn’t have to endure such danger, but he had confessed his love to her oh so tenderly the night before. She wavered between heartbreak and absolute elation during the next three days as she awaited his return. She wished to stay in her chambers and keep vigil at the window, but she was the lady of this household, and she had duties to attend to just as Galien did, so she made herself busy with her normal routine and maintained a presence in the halls. She also comforted the women whose husbands had accompanied Galien on his search, hugging them to her side and promising the men would return soon.
She hoped she spoke the truth, and it took all of her strength to hold her head high around the keep and project confidence. In the privacy of her chambers at night though, she curled into a ball beneath the blankets and cried silent tears, wrapping her arms around her body to fight off the pervasive loneliness. Apprehension ravaged her senses, leaving her sick to her stomach and barely able to eat. Was this how her mother had felt each time her father rode off to battle?
The clouds blocked out the sun most days, but at least it didn’t snow again. The cold wind blew across the village and whistled against the walls of the keep. She prayed for Galien’s safe return at least ten times during every hour of every day, keeping a constant vigil in her heart. The men who stayed behind kept watch over the keep and reported back to her often, though there wasn’t much to report. A lack of news was preferable to somber news, she knew, but when a full six days passed, the bleakest scenarios played out in her mind.
She stared across the darkness of Minrova at the end of the sixth day, watching as the sun set beyond the snow-covered mountains. She felt as cold inside as the top of the farthest peak. Standing at the window with a blanket draped around her shoulders and her hair cascading down her back, she willed Galien and his men to ride into the keep. Come back to me, husband, please.
A sickeningly familiar sight lit up the sky, and Claire rushed to get dressed and put on her boots, once again wishing for her knife. If she lived through this, she would get another weapon, even if she had to sneak it behind Galien’s back.
She glanced outside and spotted three distinct fires. Panic crashed over her, and she rushed out of her chambers, determined to ensure the survival of Galien’s people. Her people. They were her people too.
A white-faced Erwyn rounded a corner and bumped into her. “Milady! We’re under attack!”
Claire reached for the girl’s hands. “I know, and I have a very important job for you, Erwyn. You must gather all the women and children and head for the storage rooms off of the kitchen. It’s warm there and close enough to the back entrance and the great hall that you have two options of escape if the walls of the keep are breached.”
The fear marring Erwyn’s face soon gave way to a purposeful, confident expression. “Aye, milady. I will do so at once.” The girl turned and hurried away, knocking on doors as she moved down the hall to summon the women and children into hiding.
Claire ran past her and stomped down the stone steps into the great hall, and exited the keep and found Galien’s men mounting their horses in the bailey. She sought out Sir Ceryn, one of her husband’s cousins, and the knight in charge of his remaining men.
“Sir Ceryn! Sir Ceryn!” She bounded to him just as he prepared to mount his horse. He paused and peered at her through the slit in his helmet, and the sight of his full armor filled her with dread. Their keep was under a true attack, and judging by the shouts spilling in from beyond the walls of the outer bailey, she feared the enemy outnumbered them.
“My lady, you must remain in the keep. We will protect you, but you must stay inside.”
“Any sign of Galien or his men?”
“I’m sorry, my lady, but no.” Sir Ceryn mounted his stallion and looked down at her, then nodded at the keep. “Please return inside, my lady. I will not leave the bailey until I see that you’re safe inside.”
Claire surveyed the two dozen men assembled and ready to rush out to meet the enemy, and she realized she was holding them up. Frustration welled up at her inability to help them, and she gathered up her skirts and inclined her head to Sir Ceryn and all the men in a manner of respect. “God be with you, sirs.” She rushed into the warmth of the keep and turned in time to witness two dozen armored men storming out of the bailey with their swords drawn.
* * *
An eerie orange glow flickered on the horizon, and Galien urged his horse to full speed and shouted for his men to follow him into the heart of Minrova. Screams and the familiar sound of clashing swords reached him, and his thoughts at once shifted to Claire. Was she safe within the fortified walls of the keep?
He struck down a man wearing Hohenzollern colors, and his men did the same as they worked their way toward the keep, felling the enemy as they took the assailants by surprise. Judging by the way many of the Hohenzollern deserters staggered to hold their swords, they must have imbibed too many spirits before committing the folly of attacking Minrova. The cowards had evaded Galien and his men for days, until they found a fresh trail leading in the direction of the village in the late afternoon. They’d ridden hard for hours hoping to reach Minrova in time to assist the men Sir Ceryn commanded in Galien’s absence.
Galien surveyed the village during a lull in action and counted five blazes, but the villagers were bravely working to extinguish the flames, and two of the fires were nearly put out. The recent snow kept the deliberately set fires from spreading between buildings, and he moved on through the horde with his men following his lead, striking down every Hohenzollern man who dared cross their path, and riding down those who attempted to flee into the forest. Galien had no mercy for these assailants. “Kill them all!” he shouted over the clashing of weapons. “Take no prisoners!”
Halfway through the village Sir Ceryn rode up with his sword drawn and turned his horse to trot beside Galien. “The keep? Has it been breached?”
“No, my lord. All in the keep are well, including your lady wife. We rode out of the bailey while the Hohenzollern men were still setting the fires, and none of them managed to climb the walls or breach the portcullis. They were ill prepared to fight.”
Galien thanked Sir Ceryn, and the men swept through the village carefully in search of any remaining attackers. The few they found offered little resistance were easily felled, and once the village was secured and Galien assessed the danger had passed, he helped to douse the flames of the last two fires, heaping snow atop the diminishing flames until only ribbons of smoke remained to whirl into the dark sky.
His heart slowed from its erratic pounding and he rode for the keep with his men, anxious to hold his sweet Claire in his arms. The Hohenzollern men had obviously lured Galien out of Minrova with the first fires they set, and the cowards had misjudged the capacity of Minrova to defend itself even in his absence. Galien was confident Sir Ceryn would have prevailed over the assailants, but he was still glad to have ridden into the village at the height of the attack. His people were safe, his men were safe, and most important of all, his lady wife hadn’t been harmed. He hoped the ordeal hadn’t frightened her too much.
After passing his horse off to a squire, Galien strode into the keep, his heavy armor clinking against his chainmail. “Claire!” He searched the great hall and found no one, and he rushed upstairs to their chambers, only to find it just as empty. The blankets were pulled up tight on the bed, and the room appeared tidy except for Claire�
�s open trunk and a pair of slippers in the middle of the floor. He frowned as his concern deepened. “Claire!” Had Sir Ceryn erred in his report? Had some of the Hohenzollern men managed to breach the keep after all?
Galien searched every wing and bellowed his wife’s name, and he rushed to the great hall after it became apparent that no one, not even a servant, was to be found in any corner of the keep. His men searched about the keep as well, shouting for someone, anyone, to make their presence known. Beyond the kitchen and near the storage rooms, he paused at a door in the dimly lit hallway. The shrill sound of a crying infant had him flinging the door open.
“Claire?”
He blinked and stared into the blade of a knife, and his gaze traveled beyond the weapon to the blue-eyed beauty grasping it between shaking hands. “Claire.” He reached for her hands and lowered the knife, then drew her into his embrace. She threw her arms around him and shuddered, and behind her many of the servants waited in the shadows, anxiously peering out the open door. A servant girl rocked and cooed her wailing child.
“I’ve been calling your name, wife. Why didn’t you answer?”
“I’m sorry. We couldn’t hear much on account of the baby. Are you all right?” She pulled back and her gaze swept up from his feet to his head, and back down again.
“I am fine. All my men are safe as well. We tracked the bloody Hohenzellorn men in a long circle through the forest that led back to Minrova. They are all dead. They won’t hurt anyone else again.” He stared at the ladies, servants, and children in the storage room. “All is well. You may come out now,” he shouted over the baby’s cries.
He escorted Claire to their chambers and called for the servants to bring up a bath. His squires removed his armor and made a hasty retreat, and Galien bolted the door before turning to his wife, a fervent longing for her mixing with his relief at finding her safe, and amusement at discovering her armed and protecting the women and children of the keep, just as she’d done at Hohenzollern.
“Where did you get the knife?” he asked, nodding at the weapon she’d placed on a table next to his sword belt.
“I swiped it from the kitchen,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “I used to have a larger one with a bejeweled handle, but a beast of a man made me drop it.”
He grinned and backed her against the bed and worked her dress open and pushed it down over her shoulders. “A beast of a man? Is that so?” he asked, biting the soft lobe of her ear.
“Oh!” she said, reaching for him as a shiver rippled through her. “Aye, my lord, the beast made me drop my knife, and then he stole me out of a castle and forced me to marry him.”
“Forced you to marry him?” he asked with a mock gasp.
“Aye, and he spanked me for resisting him on our wedding night.”
“I’m sure he had a very good reason to redden your little arse, Claire.”
She trembled as she stood before him in her thin chemise, the taut peaks of her breasts tenting the sheer fabric. He cupped her mounds and squeezed, thinking her size had increased as he trailed kisses down her neck when her head fell to the side. She moaned and her hips lurched toward his, her center pressing hard against his straining cock.
“Tell me,” he said. “Does your story have a happy ending?”
She smiled against his lips after he kissed her. “Aye, my lord. The ending is most romantic. You see, the beast conquered my heart, and likewise I conquered his. We love each other very much.” She placed his hand on her stomach, her eyes lighting up the room. “And soon we will have a child together, our first of many, I hope.”
Excitement abounded in his heart, and he clutched her face and kissed her again. “Are you certain?” He returned his hand to her stomach, rubbing in a circle.
“Aye, my lord, I am quite certain. I just realized it myself not long after you rode off in search of the Hohenzollern men. I haven’t bled in two months, and I feel different.”
He slipped her chemise off and stared at her breasts before caressing and weighing them in his hands. The slightest swell of her stomach protruded from her narrow waist, and he pinched her nipples until she gasped.
“Oh! Gentle, please. I find I am especially sensitive there.”
Of course he responded with another squeeze to her stiff peaks and grinned at her gasp. “My wife,” he said with reverence. “My sweet Claire. You have made a fine wife, and I know you will make a fine mother.”
She glanced down and blushed under his compliment, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink as her hair tumbled in front of her face. He brushed the locks aside and tipped her chin up and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “I have a surprise for you too, my lady.”
“What is it?”
“The duke of Leuthold is coming to visit in a fortnight. I have been in correspondence with him and as long as the weather holds out, you will see your brother soon.”
She stood on her toes to rain kisses all over his face. “Thank you, my lord!” She paused and tucked her hair behind her ears, a thoughtful look coming upon her. “Oh, I have so much to do to prepare for his arrival. I have to speak with the cook, and the servants, and we must see about…”
He pressed a finger to her lips, stilling her speech. “You have plenty of time to prepare, and I am certain your brother will be impressed with the proficient manner in which you manage the keep. Now,” he said, stepping back to remove his leggings and his tunic, “into the bath with you, and be careful not to slosh the water over the sides. Last time you took a bath I nearly slipped on the wet stones.”
She slipped into the water with a pleasurable sigh and gave him a mischievous smile, then flicked a drop of water onto the floor. “Oh, dear,” she said. “Look what I’ve done.”
He stalked to her and arranged her on her hands and knees in the water. “Naughty Claire,” he said. “Now I must punish your wet arse.” He rubbed more water atop her backside, as well as a dollop of lavender oil, and he slipped one finger into her bottom hole.
“My lord!” She shot him a pleading glance over her shoulder. “Are you really cross with me?”
“I know the last time I touched you here, it was meant to punish, but this is for your pleasure, Claire. And for mine. Try to relax.” Keeping his finger submerged in her tightness, he crawled into the water behind her and continued rubbing the oil over her arse cheeks, admiring her glistening backside. He pumped in and out of her bottom hole and paused to smack her cheeks, his hand lightly cracking over her wet mounds.
She moaned and lifted her rump, and he added a second and third finger, increasing the pace of his thrusting while the water sloshed around them. His cock throbbed against her thigh, and his balls drew up tight. Watching her responses for any signs of distress, he withdrew all the way from her shy hole and his desire heated at the sight of her puckering entrance pulsing in the wake of his touch. He applied more oil and nudged her again, this time with four fingers, taking them deep without more than a whimper. Once he felt she was adequately prepared to accept a much larger, harder intrusion, he pulled his fingers from her tightness and situated his cock at her tempting arsehole.
“You forgot about this part in your story,” he said, jerking her head back with a hand fisted in her hair.
“What part?”
“The part where the beast fucks your tight virgin arsehole.” He surged into her before she had the chance to protest, and her tight entrance clamped down around his cock. “Be a good girl and let me inside, Claire.”
“You’re too large, my lord. I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.” He stroked her back and withdrew from her hole in a slow movement before pushing forward again, surging deeper and deeper still. Almost to the hilt, he paused inside her and felt her gradually relax around his manhood. “That’s it, Claire. Good girl.”
“My Lord Galien.” She uttered his name like a plea for him to continue, and he was happy to oblige her. His cock throbbed within the tight confines of her arse, and he had to concent
rate to keep from spilling inside her just then.
He pulled out and nudged her dark pink pucker with the tip of his hardness. “Ask me to fuck you hard, my lady.”
Her hair flipped about as she shook her head. “My lord, please, I cannot.”
“Ask me, or I shall drag you out of the water, turn you over my knee, and smack your bottom until it turns bright red. Do you want a spanking, Clare?”
“No, my lord. I don’t want a spanking, I want you to, to take me, please.”
“I’ll give you one more chance to ask me properly, Claire. Use your manners, say ‘please, my lord’ and ask me to fuck you hard. Tell me you’ve misbehaved and need your lord husband to teach you a most memorable lesson.”
Her shoulders rose under a deep breath, and she lowered her head until it almost touched the water. “Pl-please, my lord, I have been a naughty girl and I require a memorable lesson from my lord husband.”
“What kind of lesson?” he prompted.
“A hard fucking in my arse, my lord, if it pleases you.”
Oh, it pleased him just fine. He rubbed her back and moved his hands to grip her hips, and he worked his way into her tightness again, surging deep and withdrawing fast only to thrust into her again, going deeper and deeper with each plunge of his cock into her arsehole.
“This is what naughty wives get, isn’t it?” He reached around to stroke her most sensitive spot, locating her nubbin and swirling her moisture around the stiff peak. “Naughty wives get fucked in their bottom hole by their husbands.”
“Mm. Yes, my lord,” she gasped out, writhing as she met his movements and gyrated against his hand.
A tingle raced up his thighs and his balls felt heavy and tight, and he upped his pace and pounded her faster, delving deep with each thrust as he held her in place. She cried out and shuddered, her body tensing as she found her release. Her soft whimpering as she came down from her peak drove him over the edge, and he pumped into her with a groan, spilling his seed in her most private, naughty hole.
The Conquered Brides Collection Page 45
