by Sara Fields
I did and gasped at what I saw.
I looked like a model in a fancy magazine, dressed to the nines to go to a fancy ball in a dress that probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. My hair was perfection, as was the light dusting of makeup that brought out my eyes and pink of my blush along my cheekbones. I looked both like myself and then nothing like me at all.
My waist was cinched beautifully, creating a gorgeous curve down to my hips where the dress billowed outward to the floor. When I was ready, Maria guided my feet into a pair of gold kitten heels, and I sighed in relief. I wouldn’t have to try to balance myself on too tall heels while wearing a gown of this magnitude, which was an incredible relief.
“I’m nervous, Maria,” I admitted finally.
“Don’t be. The king is going to be at your side, and he will make sure that dinner goes smoothly for you,” she said lightly.
“Will you be there?” I asked.
“I will. I’ve been assigned to be your personal maid, so if you need anything at all, I will be there to serve you. Wine, food, whatever you desire, Bella,” she answered.
I chewed my lip, worrying if the ladies of the nobility would be kind to me or if the men would look at me like I wasn’t worthy, but I quickly shook it off. That wasn’t me at all. Just because this was a new place with new rules wasn’t reason enough to make me less strong and less sure of myself.
I’d pushed a man out a window and killed him, for god’s sake, in order to stop him from raping me. I think I could handle a dinner amongst the rich and royal.
There was a knock on the door and Maria tensed before she nodded and stepped away.
“It’s time I took my leave. The king will be in presently to escort you down to dinner,” she explained.
“Thank you, Maria. For your kind words today,” I offered with a smile.
“It was my duty, Miss Isabella,” she said. She left rather quickly after that. All alone with my thoughts, I walked back over to the window and looked out with a new vision of this place and the mountains surrounding it. It was indeed an isolated valley and when I searched the horizon, there didn’t appear to be any paths that led out. The sun was beginning to dip below the high cliffs of the mountains, casting a red glow over the town that made it look like an oil painting. I pressed the backs of my fingers against the window, feeling the chill of the glass against my skin.
Dressed up like a perfect princess in a castle, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I should be jailed or dead for murder, but instead I was here and about to escort royalty to dinner.
I heard the door open behind me and I didn’t turn around, listening instead to the footsteps against the hardwood floor. They sounded firm and distinctly masculine and when I breathed in, I could smell his scent. I licked my lips, remembering the taste of him on my tongue.
He’d come back for me.
Chapter Five
Isabella De Luca
“Did you miss me, baby girl?”
A shiver raced down my spine at the sound of his voice. I drew in a breath, trying to prepare myself for his presence once again after he’d made me come for him more shamefully than I ever had before in my life. I finally turned my head and gazed back at him, watching as he looked at me warmly. He seemed content and at once, I relaxed.
He was dressed in an outfit that screamed royalty. He was wearing an incredibly well-tailored black suit, complete with a scarlet tie that matched the color of my gown. On his wrists was a pair of ruby cufflinks that put the ones that his cousin had been wearing to shame. The way the gemstones caught the light was both eye-catching and so intensely beautiful.
I adored men in suits, but that wasn’t what held my attention. Instead, my eyes were drawn to the glittering crown atop his head. It was made of brilliantly polished gold, as well as massive diamonds and even more rubies laid out in intricate patterns that must be worth several millions, if not billions. It was a show of wealth like I’d never seen before.
“I should have this image of you captured in a painting,” he whispered. “Don’t move.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Quickly, he snapped a picture of me, and I smiled wistfully at him, feeling myself blush at his kind compliment.
“I did miss you, Your Majesty,” I offered quietly.
He grinned widely, raking his eyes up and down my body in clear and open appreciation.
“You look beautiful. Complete and utter perfection,” he whispered, the gravelly tone of his voice doing strange things to my insides, leaving me wet and wanting for his touch. I turned away, unable to look his way as he openly complimented me with such clear admiration. I blushed and turned my eyes to the floor.
He noticed.
He moved closer to me and used a finger to lift my chin, forcing me to look up into his eyes even though I didn’t want to.
“Don’t look away from me, baby girl. You’re such a beautiful little thing and you deserve to know it. Own it for me,” he said softly and for a moment, I looked back at him like he was a complete stranger. This morning, he had been ruthless as he used me, especially in front of his subjects, ensuring that he left me well punished, sobbing, and entirely sated. Now there was a certain sweetness in the way he spoke to me in the privacy of this room.
“Thank you,” I whispered in return and his smile widened, causing his eyes to crinkle with warmth.
“That’s my good girl,” he said quietly, and my heart jumped at his words.
“So, you’re really a king then?” I asked, touching the edge of the crown with my fingers just to prove to myself that it was real.
“I am,” he answered.
“Of just this place?”
“My reach extends far beyond the borders of my castle here,” he answered elusively. His eyes glimmered with whatever knowledge he was holding back. “Tomorrow, I plan to show it to you.”
“I look forward to seeing it,” I said softly, and I meant every word.
His fingers squeezed gently at my chin and he cleared his throat.
“Now, bend over the bed and lift your skirts,” he instructed, and I was caught off guard by the casualness in his tone.
“Excuse me?” I replied, unable to help myself. I stared back into his eyes, searching for an answer and I saw them harden just the slightest bit.
“I left the maid with explicit instructions and I intend to inspect you to ensure that they’ve been completed to my satisfaction,” he explained. “You can either obey or I will do it myself and make sure that your little bottom is striped from my belt before I lower your skirts back down. Do you understand?”
I shivered hard and nodded. I did understand, quite clearly. I strode over to the bed, trying to feign whatever confidence I could muster as I bent over the bed. I reached back and lifted my skirts to the best of my ability, but there was an awful lot of fabric and I found it difficult to raise them. I heard him move behind me though and my nerves made me pause. His fingers grazed against the bare skin of my ankles, as he gripped the skirt carefully himself. Slowly, he lifted it, baring me slowly, one layer at a time. When he finally lifted the petticoat out of the way, he gently pushed my feet apart.
I felt so completely exposed.
I was wet. I could feel it dripping down my thighs and I knew he’d be able to see it.
His fingers trailed up my legs, sliding right along my recently shaved skin.
“Very soft. This pleases me,” he murmured.
They ventured up the backs of my thighs and then along the completely smooth skin of my pussy. I couldn’t help myself as I moaned at his touch. He cupped my pussy, before sliding his fingers back between my folds until he found my clit.
“So very smooth,” he said next as I gasped as he played with me, toying with my arousal and making me crave another release at his hand.
“So very wet, baby girl,” he murmured, and I blushed heavily, ashamed to hear the words out loud.
“I have a gift for you,” he said next and he leane
d over the bed and placed something in front of me. It was in a small velvet bag. I reached for it, feeling a certain heaviness to it. When I opened it and pulled out the rounded object inside, I gasped in nervous surprise.
It was a plug designed to be inserted into my bottom. It was a bulbous metal thing with a glittering sapphire gemstone at the end. The sapphire alone had to be worth at least several tens of thousands of dollars, if not more.
There was no doubt in my mind that it was real too.
“What is this?” I asked, even though I was already quite sure of his intentions with it.
“I only want you to wear one piece of jewelry for me tonight, for me. No one else is going to know about it, aside from you and me, but it will remind you to be on your best behavior during dinner tonight so that you might make the best impression that you can in my court. If you misbehave though, I want you to know that I won’t hesitate to replace it with something far worse. Remember that, baby girl,” he warned.
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but I had no intentions of pushing him.
Carefully, he plucked the plug from my fingers and moved behind me once more. I found it impossible to relax knowing that he meant to push the plug into me. I could feel my thighs trembling and when the cool metal object pressed against my pussy, I jumped. Slowly, he slid it up and down my wetness and I gradually calmed. When he pushed it inside my entrance, I gasped, and my inner walls clutched greedily at the toy. He slid it in and out of me multiple times, taking care to swirl it and thoroughly coat it with my wetness. For a moment, I hoped he just intended to tease me with it, but when he pulled it back and used his fingers to spread my cheeks apart, I knew that I was wrong.
The pointed tip of the plug pressed against my asshole and I squeaked in surprise.
“This will hurt a little bit, baby girl, but you’re going to take it for me. If you’re very good and wear it all night for me, I will reward you when you are put to bed tonight,” he said.
He took his other hand and dipped his fingers between my thighs at the same time that he pressed the plug into me. I found myself split between pleasurable sensations that burst through my clit and the painful burning stretch as the un-giving metal toy spread my bottom hole wider than it ever had been before.
My thighs trembled hard and I whimpered, at once overwhelmed. I tried to calm my body and relax my tense muscles, but it was impossible and for several long moments, pain rushed up and down my spine as the plug was mercilessly pushed inside my reluctant hole.
“This is the smallest plug I have for you, sweet girl, and will simply remind you to behave. This isn’t a punishment, but I can have larger ones made for when you need to be taught a lesson about what happens to bad little girls,” he said darkly, and my pussy clenched as the plug finally popped all the way inside me. A fresh wave of pain washed over me and I keened loudly as I struggled to take it.
At once, he slid two fingers into my pussy, and I moaned as I tightened around him.
The plug felt heavy in my bottom and I trembled.
“It pleases me to find you were a good girl and allowed yourself to be shaved for me,” he said softly as he slowly pumped his fingers in and out of me. “You won’t be allowed to come just yet, because I want to ensure that you’re a good little girl for me tonight.”
I whined with disappointment. My entire body was humming with arousal now and I was sure that he knew it too.
“Please, Your Majesty,” I pleaded.
“You beg so very prettily, baby girl,” he murmured, increasing the pace of his thrusts as my hips arched back to meet them.
“Oh, please,” I tried once more. He didn’t give in though, instead pulling free of me after that. He grasped me by the upper arm and lifted me, allowing my skirts to fall down to the floor and hide the fact that there was a plug nestled firmly between my cheeks.
He held up his fingers and I could see my wetness all over his skin. They glistened with the evidence of how very wet it had made me to be bared and plugged before him. He pressed those same fingers forcefully against my lips and I opened for him.
“Clean them off,” he directed, and I did, tasting the musky sweetness of myself across my tongue. I suckled him gently and he groaned. I didn’t even have to look to know that he was hard for me.
“I will introduce you to the court today. You will be safe with me because no one would dare lay a hand on the property of the king,” he explained curtly. I stilled.
“Your property?” I responded unbelievably.
“Yes. You are mine and you would do well to remember that,” he answered.
I opened my mouth to say something sassy in return, but the challenge in his eyes and the heavy plug in my bottom made me hold back. There was no doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t hesitate to bare and punish me again if I questioned what he had to say. When I closed my lips, he smiled gently.
“Good girl. I’m proud of you for remembering your place,” he murmured, as he brushed a stray curl behind my ear. “You’re so very beautiful when you’re blushing for me,” he added after a heavy pause and I dropped my eyes, feeling myself flush even more brightly.
His smile was warm as he lifted my chin and captured my lips in a kiss. I was a bit taken aback by his gentleness as he kissed me, and my heart leapt in my chest. His kiss was tender and haunting, and I pressed myself deeper into it. He claimed me harder and more thoroughly with each passing second and my clit throbbed, awakened with need.
“If you’re a very good girl tonight, I’ll reward you with my tongue and my cock between those pretty thighs,” he whispered as he pulled away from the kiss, and a jolt of desire raced straight down to my core. His thumb traced my sensitive lips and my mouth opened slightly, pleasure rolling through me and making my heart race.
“I’m nervous,” I admitted finally.
“Don’t be. My court is going to love you,” he offered, curling his fingers around mine and squeezing just a little. I wanted to trust him, but I hardly knew him. In my heart, I felt that I may be able to, yet my mind was telling me that it was far too soon.
I stared back at him for a moment and decided it would be best to proceed with caution. I’d protect both myself and ignore the fact that every time he looked at me and said the words baby girl, it made my heart race and my pussy pulse. I wouldn’t allow myself to fall for him.
I couldn’t. I wouldn’t let myself love him, not when he’d spanked me over his knee. Not when he’d punished me in front of everyone watching below his window.
Maybe I felt this way especially because he’d done just that.
I swallowed heavily, alarmed by how very much I felt off-balance by his presence and how he consumed my thoughts after knowing him for less than a day.
He tugged my arm gently, breaking me of my overwhelming thoughts.
“Come now. Let me introduce you to my kingdom,” he ventured softly.
“Okay,” I whispered, hesitantly smiling in his direction.
* * *
For the first time, I was led out of the bedroom that I’d been confined to all day. For a while, I just took in my surroundings, feeling very much like a princess in a fairy tale castle. The walls were made of stone and I traced my fingers along their coolness, allowing myself to be led through the maze of hallways by the king. There were flickering candles that lit the hallway, leaving much of it in shadow. I absentmindedly wondered if the servants here lit and changed them every day, ensuring that they always were glowing bright.
The floors were polished hardwood, thick solid planks that were aged and knotted. My heels clicked against the wood and they gave me a small measure of confidence as I followed Matteo. The plug in my bottom swayed side to side with every step and I soon realized that I wouldn’t be able to forget about it for even a moment throughout the night.
I also couldn’t ignore the way my thighs slid against each other, slick with my own arousal. Did I like being controlled this way? Did I like being reminded of his power over me by such
a simple thing as a plug in my backside?
Maybe I did, but I didn’t want to think about what that meant, not right now. I had more pressing things to worry about than the way my pussy was throbbing hard for his cock right now. I shivered, winding my arm around my cinched waist like it offered some form of protection even though I knew it didn’t.
The two of us walked down a curling staircase made of stone and it looked exactly like I imagined one would look like in a tower from long ago. Our shadows were long in the flickering light and Matteo’s hand squeezed reassuringly around mine. I found it oddly comforting, and I took a deep shuddering breath.
We exited the staircase after descending for some time into a great hall. The walls were covered in more extravagant tapestries down here, an elegant time capsule that showcased knights and round tables and more kings and queens and nobility dressed so beautifully. To the left were two massively carved wooden doors that were open. Men and women in fancy suits and gowns were walking inside, escorted by butlers and servants alike. All of them filtered across the foyer into another set of double doors. I turned my head and peered inside, seeing lines of tables that were already filling with people.
Matteo took my arm in his, pulling me close as he walked into the room too. People moved aside for him, giving him a wide berth as he strode through. They also bowed their heads as we passed and some of them gave me a curious look at the fact that I was at his side. I was a strange face and they didn’t recognize me. There was one woman dressed in purple who met my eyes and I was taken aback by the vitriol in her stare. I didn’t have time to really study her though or ask who she was because the king pulled me along to a table up on a slightly raised platform at the front of the room. There were a few men and women already seated there and they rose to their feet when we approached.
“My king,” they all said respectfully, bowing their heads at the same time.
“My friends! It is good to see you!” Matteo bellowed, before taking the hand of the man to his right and shaking it vigorously.
“Isabella, this is Angelo. He holds the honor of the title Hand of the King, as well as Duke of Savoy. He’s practically my brother,” he added, while cocking his head in my direction.
