by Marie Hall
The soft moans became gasps as he suckled the flesh. His right hand held the globe in reach as he ran his tongue around and over the stiffening nipple. He scraped his teeth over the newly sensitized flesh and Io cried out and arched up. The fingers on his left hand brushed along her flesh on the other side and Io tilted to bring the still mostly neglected tit into reach. Xavier didn't need to ask what she wanted, he moved and took the other mound into his mouth. Io cried out again, arching up and tangling her fingers in his hair to draw him down.
He sucked hard, pulling as much of the warm, sweet softness in as he could and not stopping until he heard Io make the sound he knew signaled her tolerance would end and pleasure would become pain.
There had been nights in the past he'd ignored that sound and driven Io to feel more than she cared for. Always before, the result was a blended mixture of pain and pleasure that sent Io into bliss and left her feeling him still on her hours after they had completed the act.
Tonight he was not as confident in what he might make her feel and he didn't want her to pull away. With a few more licks and a soft kiss, he backed further down her body. His hands glided over skin as perfect in its smooth, warm feel as the bolt of silk he'd purchased. He slipped back more. Io reached down and moved his left hand from her side before he passed over the last of her ribs. He allowed it was her being impatient because when he set his mouth on her stomach, she made a sound of approval deep in her throat.
He placed a kiss on her flat belly and swirled his tongue in her bellybutton. She snorted then reached down to push on his shoulders so he'd move lower. He slid back until his knees were on the floor. Her scent hit him and his cock jumped and hardened even more. Taking hold of her ankles he lifted her feet to sit flat on the bed then elbowed his way between her legs. Io gave him no resistance. She didn't tease or delay him. Her thighs opened and she even scooted closer.
"Ah, Io," Xavier called as he set a finger on the swollen lips of her sex. He stroked down causing a part to open. He dragged his finger back up between the folds. The wetness told of her readiness. The heat told what pleasures would be, but he held back. He'd go slowly. Io would know pleasure many times before he even thought to claim his. He set his thumb on her clit and rubbed in circles until Io began to pant and close her legs against him. He had no trouble spreading her wide again and again. She wasn't trying to fight him; he knew she wanted this. In between her panting, she called his name. He opened her legs wide again and this time dipped his head and covered her with his mouth.
Io cried out, arched up and grabbed a fistful of his hair. It took only a few swipes of his tongue and she cried out again, spending hard. He had her on the rise now. He wouldn't let off that she might come down. He sucked hard on her clit. Taking a firm grip on her hips when she tried to squirm away, and following with minimal breaks as she flexed down or twisted from side to side, Xavier kept at it until she again found rapture. He slowed and softened what he did with his lips and tongue so Io would still a bit. She was so wet she fairly dipped. He placed the tip of his finger at her entrance and rubbed softly until Io shifted towards the touch.
The hot folds clenched and relaxed on his fingers as he carefully stroked and stretched her. He'd shown her how to gain this pleasure on her own but he wondered now if she'd used the knowledge. The idea Io hadn't known any release in all the time between then and now only made Xavier want her to know as much pleasure as possible this night. He leaned forward and added back his tongue on her hard, engorged nub, flicking in time to the movement of his hand.
Io found her rhythm quickly and lifted and dropped to drive his fingers deep then nearly complete their withdrawal. Her breathing again became shallow and fast and he felt the muscles in her legs working to keep her moving in this dance.
"Yes, again. More," Io chanted over and over until she stiffened and spent for a third time. He slipped both hands under her arse. Momentarily distracted when Io took his right wrist and shifted his hold closer to the center, Xavier set about using his tongue the way he'd used his fingers.
Io was slowly coming down now and while he might take her there again with his fingers and mouth, he wanted to feel her bear down around his cock the next time she spent. He stood, looking down and wishing he'd not put out every light that he might see her flush with satisfaction and the want for him in her eyes. He could imagine both well enough and when he leaned over her and settled down, he couldn't think of any place he wanted to be more. Her legs came up and wrapped behind him so only through his superior strength was he able to hold back.
"I want to hear you, Io." Xavier rocked forward so he brushed against her. "I need to know your pleasure. Before I find mine, you must have yours." He rocked forward and again brushed against her. "Do not remain silent, I will be listening."
She pulled at him with her legs until she got him just inside. "Make me feel, Xavier. One more time make me feel."
"Io," Xavier said as he flexed his hips forward until the head of his cock passed into the heat, then he held. "Io, I want you to feel as much as you can. All the pleasure you can take. Take it from me. You owe me nothing, just take tonight." He eased in further and listened as Io moaned and gasped. "Yes, Io. You must take it." A little more and he was fully seated within the perfection he claimed as his wife. Pulling back, Io lifted to prevent his withdraw. Xavier dropped back down sinking in to his full length and pressing Io into the bed with all his weight. Her legs and arms lifted to hold him over and around his back. The physical closeness they shared now was familiar but Xavier could feel unease. The need to bring his wife back to him, willingly, might be the cause. Never could he think of a time when it mattered more that he please his lover. If this was to be a new start with Io, it needed to be enough that the momentum carried them through what was still sure to be a struggle. He'd right them. Io and he would again have a happy and well-settled union. They'd remain strong through all trials as long as they were together.
"Together, Io," he whispered in her ear before pulling back and thrusting forward. Io matched his every move. His arms found their way behind her back and his hands lifted her to an angle that opened her for deeper and stronger strokes. "We are stronger together."
Io's response was nothing more than a chanted out affirmation. "Yes, yes, yes."
Xavier leveraged himself to increase the pace making sure he met her in time and that he made contact with as much of her body as he could. Io found her release again and her cry echoed in the room and over his body. She clutched his cock so strongly he could feel her pulse and it was that steady beat that sent him over the edge. Still he continued to push in and pull back. He would wring one more climax from her if he died from the effort. He slipped his hand between their bodies and set his fingers on her clit. A few simple touches and he was rewarded with one last release.
Io recovered first and was trying to slide out from under him before he had his breathing under control or feeling back in his toes. He lifted so she could move but when she made to leave the bed, he grabbed her back.
"Xavier," she said with a sigh. "It was well enough done."
"Who said it was done," he answered ignoring her tone. "Stay."
"Do you suddenly find yourself a youth of fifteen again?" At least she didn't sound bored this time.
"Perhaps not." He pulled her against him and then reached to pull the covers awkwardly over them. It would do for now. "But that is to your advantage. At fifteen I did not know how to please a woman as I know to now. It is not the quantity Io, but the quality I offer."
She was quiet for a long time, so long he'd started to dose off. When she did speak though, he wondered if everything he'd just given her was all for naught. "How fortunate then for the women in your life now."
Chapter Fourteen
Io slipped from the bed and lifted her dress from the floor. The sky outside the window was starting to lighten and Xavier was fully visible sprawled in the bed. She took a moment to take in the sight of him relaxed in sleep.
The hard line of his jaw with a bit of growth like a shadow, the way that stray lock of hair fell over his left eye. His arms, thick and strong with well used muscles had crushed her last night. She knew she sported a few new bruises. They rested now holding a pillow against his wide chest. The covers were twisted and bunched mostly at the end of the bed but an edge covered his waist and one leg and, even after three of the best tumbles Io could remember having, the outline of his thick, long cock was growing in definition as it did every morning.
Xavier Brice was a capable man. And while last night was hers, she'd no delusion she'd have another with him. Last night was supposed to be a test for her. She needed to know if she could lay down with a man to gain something she needed. She wasn't going to allow it to become more than that.
Pulling her dress over her head, she began lacing it closed. In the bed, Xavier stirred. Io collected the rest of her belongings and headed for the door. She wouldn't be caught; she wouldn't be tempted back. In the light of day, she couldn't risk it. She'd kept his eyes and hands off her marred body. If she had to go and live with only the memories, she wanted to make sure, at least for a time, he too was haunted. If he saw the tragedy that was her body, he might rush to forget her. She left the room and turned to close the door behind her.
"You are nothing but a whore."
Io spun around at the words. Standing in the doorway, Sabrina glared at her. For so early in the day, the woman was dressed spectacularly. Io felt a moment of self-consciousness in the worn shift that was hanging loosely off her shoulder and more open over her breasts than was near modest. Then she remembered she wasn't long for this woman's company and she'd nothing to lose should insults fly.
"A whore?" She tilted her head a bit. "A whore perhaps. Strange though that a man, a lord such as Xavier; someone with so much status and power did rush back to be with this whore. That it was this whore, and not you, the lady, whom he wants in his bed. That he desired to keep company with, in private, all of yesterday. It might be that as much of a lady as you claim to be, you are still not as good as the common whore you think I am."
"You nasty bitch," Sabrina hissed and stomped across the room. Io braced for the blow. She'd let her get in the first one then bloody her the way she did last time they fought. And it might have come to blows had the doors to the bedchamber not swung open at that moment and Xavier, wrapped at the waist in nothing but a small fur, stepped out.
"Io, you left me." He almost sounded as if he were pouting and Io couldn't help the smug smile that briefly appeared.
"I have matters to be about… husband." She added the last for Sabrina's benefit, and seeing the woman grow red faced, she knew she hit a mark.
Xavier stepped out and using the hand not holding the fur in place drew her against him. "Can it not wait a while more?"
"I did surrender the whole of yesterday to you, my lord," Io purred and leaned closer. "And besides," she said, jerking her head toward the woman who now stood fuming over the lack of acknowledgment she had received, "you seem to have business to attend already."
Xavier actually jerked away then pulled Io to stand in front of him in some act of modesty. "Lady Blake, it is utterly improper for you to be in my chambers."
If it were possible, the lady flushed a deeper red. She dropped her head and curtsied deeply. "I beg pardon, my lord. I am only here as your mother has suggested a fine use for the blue silk and I came to fetch it so that work can begin." She rose, gracefully and seeming to have gotten past her outrage or embarrassment, walked over to the table still loaded with the bolts of fabric. Before her hand could even settle on the coveted material, Xavier called out.
"That cloth is for my wife only. No one save Io will make use of it," he said as he adjusted the fur around him and stepped out from behind Io.
"But your mother said," Sabrina protested and again reached for the blue silk.
"And now I have said. That cloth is for Io. If I find it on anyone other than Io, that person will be sent to the post for a score of cuts with a whip. Do I make myself understood?"
Even Io shuddered at that statement. Xavier must have been content he'd be obeyed because he turned abruptly and went back from the chamber he'd just exited. The door closed firmly behind him.
Io swayed from side to side and kept her eyes on her hands for a moment more before she lifted her head to meet Sabrina's dismayed look with a triumphant one. "Well," she said as she passed by on her way out the door. "Another show of preference for the whore. This could become quite sporting."
She was a good way down the hall before she was shoved aside by an angry, sputtering Sabrina. The woman muttered how she'd get Charlotte to fix this. Io let her go without comment. She struck a blow for herself and it was enough knowing she'd leave the woman with that stinging rebuke. Although it didn't just sting Sabrina. Io too was hurt by Xavier's late attempt to show her favor. Last night and now this morning; it was too much like before he'd been given a choice. Too much like when he settled for Io as his wife.
Lifting her hand to her neck, Io fingered the scar there. No, it was too late. It was too late and Io had no hope, and in eight days when the moon was waxing full, she'd be gone. She'd be gone and Xavier would forget as he made his life with that awful, spoiled, selfish woman who'd always be the one thing Io never would. A lady.
Xavier did speak with the men who made up her guard, and with their numbers reduced to just four, she'd little trouble working them into a less vigilant state allowing her to be away from them for longer periods of time. And over the course of the week leading up to her last in this house, Io finished every task she'd set for herself so when the time came, she was able to slip away without any suspicion.
She made it six days before she lost strength and had to sit and cry, but she started again strong and she continued on her way until she could go no further and pain, fever and darkness claimed her.
Chapter Fifteen
Xavier cheered for the victor and again looked around the tent for Io. He was told she was about by her guard—that she'd been determined to make sure those who couldn't attend today and tonight had received a basket of foodstuff. And while he didn't know the shire well or the people the way his wife did, he didn't think there could be so many infirmed as to keep her away all day from the very festivities she planned.
And she planned very well. Events overlapped so not one minute was wasted. Xavier was dragged into not only a few good wrestling and swordplay matches, but he was forced to judge a contest between pigs for the most beautiful. And while it seemed nonsense to him, the owners of the pigs were vocal in their competitiveness. Io, it seemed, had decided to settle a feud with the decision about whose pig was best. Surprisingly, it worked with the two most engaged pig owners agreeing to give it another try at the win next year.
Xavier wanted to tell Io he thought her brilliant. He also wanted to tell her the water project she'd overseen was an amazing testament to how much she'd learned over the last year. His wife solved the problem of this shire's lack of wells by constructing a sort of aqueduct from the river through the shire and out to the fields. The extra water flowed through back to the river to prevent flooding. It was a masterpiece of architecture reminiscent of the old Roman structures. The men who gathered to watch him inspect the creation, sung Io's praises, even pointing out the very last part she added only a few days before. The spiked wheels placed at various points along the flow path would break up any ice forming through the winter. The people in the shires would have water throughout the bitter season without need to travel far from their homes to get it.
Cheers rose up again as the two hulking men in the ring grappled for the upper hand. Xavier took a moment to take stock of those who lived in this boarder shire. It might behoove him to have a few formally trained to fight. If his holdings were ever set upon from here, men skilled and armed could give him time to gather a force and arrive to defend the land and people.
One more rousing call followed by a f
ew moans by those who'd not picked the winner and the event came to an end. Everyone was clasping hands and patting backs in friendships not spoiled by the competitions. Io must have selected each knowing it'd bring everyone together rather than divide. Again he looked over the crowd to see if Io had joined them.
Not seeing her, he made his way to the partially covered area where drinks and food were served and a sizable crowd gathered while waiting for the next event. Stepping up to the tables, he reached in his purse and pulled out two pieces of gold.
"Fill all the cups," he said as one was handed to him. The dark liquid sloshed over the sides and he laughed out loud, shaking his hand. The call for drinks, courtesy of the lord, caused cheers and laughter to break out. A few brave, or drunk, men slapped him on the back. He took it good-naturedly and returned the salute of cups raised in his direction.
"Xavier." The petulant voice spun him around and to his disappointment he found Lady Sabrina standing too close. She heaved a great sigh and set her hand on his chest in an intimate gesture. He tried to step back but the crowd had thickened and there was no place to retreat. "Xavier this is such a pathetic little showing. Could we not return to the house and find our amusements there?" The sharp retort that quickly built was almost out when a call for all to raise their cups went out.
"To our lord and his lady," the man in the middle of the room shouted. Xavier instantly looked around for Io. Surely she'd appeared to elicit such a call. But he couldn't find her in the crowd. The man went on. "May they live in health and happiness and may they have a harvest come spring as grand as the one we have had this fall."
The roar of cheers and laughter filled the small glen and Xavier felt his face heat a bit. Perhaps it was time to think of children. He knew Io wanted them but he also knew she was hesitant. Her own childhood instilled a fear in her that if she gifted him with a daughter over a son, the child would suffer a life even worse than Io's was. And with as much discourse as they already suffered with his mother in residence, he wasn't sure he wanted to add strain to Io. She shouldn't spend the whole of her quickening in despair of the unknown sex of their child. He'd be happy to see her belly swell, to feel the babe move within. He'd welcome with joy any healthy child God saw fit to deliver to him. Son or daughter it'd make no difference.
