by Zoe Blake
Her lower lip protruding out in a pout, Briar Rose shook her head no. “His family insisted on reading the banns. We were worried it would alert my father, but Frederick’s family is worried that if all the protocols are not followed then my father will use it as an excuse to have the marriage annulled.”
Knowing that reading of the banns was a mortal custom of announcing a pending wedding in their churches as least three times before a couple could be joined, I understood her frustration. Why must mortals complicate things so? If there was a connection of body and spirit, then that should be all that mattered. Who cares about rules of society or silly customs?
Perhaps I should follow my own advice.
Was I not complicating my feelings for Troylus, Regin, Gripir and Sigmun? Had these men not proved to me that we all shared some sort of connection? Wanted or not? Was I not still fighting them and it? Fighting the delicious thrill of pleasure and pain that each encounter with them brought me?
“His family probably knows best. You must not return again till you are safely married.”
“But Zellie!”
“I am resolved, Briar Rose. This is my duty and I will not be swayed.”
“Very well.”
“Where is Hrafn?”
“He figured you would seek out Theodora once you escaped the fortress, so he brought me here after I insisted. Theodora must be collecting mushrooms by the dark cliffs, so he went in search of her.”
Before I could respond, the thundering sound of hoofbeats shattered the calm of the glen. I never imagined they could track me down so soon. “Dammit. It is the kingsmen!”
Briar Rose gripped my hand. “Perhaps we can fall upon their mercy? They may help us.”
There was a part of me that was certain they might do just that but there was still a risk. My new found feelings of pleasure may be blinding me to reality. If it were only my life, I could perchance take that risk, but I could not with the life of Briar Rose and the others.
“No. I am still not certain they can be trusted. I must continue to hold them off and distract them until you are safely wed.”
“Zellie. Please, there must be another way.”
“No. I am resolved. Now stand back. I do not have the power to return you to Frederick’s side, but I can send you to the dark cliffs where you will find Hrafn and Theodora. Remember, stay on the north side of the cliffs,” I admonished. “The south side leads to the den of the enchanted wolves and therein lies danger.”
Briar Rose nodded, having heard my warning about the wolves countless times since she was a child.
“And do not speak to any of the huntsmen if you should encounter them. They are no friend of the kings or any monarchy for that matter, but we cannot have them spreading tales.”
Again, Briar Rose nodded. She gave me one more earnest hug before taking several steps back. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
Raising my arms, I began, “Hear me now….”
A swirling green cloud enveloped her middle, with each revolution, it became larger and larger till only the top of her head and the hem of her dress was apparent.
Just then, the door of the cottage crashed off its hinges onto the floor.
The tiny cottage was quickly filled with four very large, very angry men.
But they were too late…. with a clap of my hands the green cloud disappeared…with Briar Rose.
9
“By all that is evil! It’s the princess!” cried out Regin as all four men stared in disbelief at the vanishing form of Briar Rose.
In unison, they turned their infuriated gazes on me. It was obvious from their disheveled and bedraggled appearance they had made great haste in their pursuit of me.
“Well, well. I must admit I am impressed. How enterprising of you all to find me so very quickly. Should I be flattered at the heat of your pursuit?”
Troylus approached the scarred wooden table in the center of the cabin. Keeping his eyes on mine, he carefully placed a black crystal in the center.
It was both a threat and a peace offering.
“We all saw the proof with our own eyes, lass. Enough of your games.”
“That hardly seems fair. I’ve been playing your games for several days now,” I countered with mock affront. “When will it be time for my game?”
“Why do I have a feeling it is us who’ve been played by her this entire time,” grumbled Sigmun to Regin. I gave them both a knowing wink.
Regin sighed with frustration. “Zella, enough. It is obvious Briar Rose is alive if not unharmed. Release her. We will protect you. We have brothers in arms in faraway lands. There is no need for you to stay here.”
It was a shame I must continue to deceive them. If it were only me, I would have actually been inclined to believe them. For all their faults, they were loyal men of their word, that much was obvious. It especially pained me to continue to deny Regin. Out of each of the men, he seemed to be the one most determined to have me bare my soul. I also seemed to be forever disappointing Troylus who continued to hope I would see reason. I was not as concerned about Sigmun. I doubt he took much of this very seriously and seemed to only be amused. I did so enjoy that about him.
Now, Gripir was a bit of an enigma. Unlike his brother-in-arms, Sigmun, he seemed to take all of this infuriatingly serious. I could feel the fury radiate off him every time I delayed or prevaricated. Even now, he looked as though he were barely keeping a tight rein on his anger.
“My answer has not changed, men. I will not lift my curse off that odious man nor will I reveal what I have done with his precious daughter.”
Gripir charged straight for me. I was forced against the wall by the press of his body.
“You have gone too far this time, Zelladine,” he ground out.
Inhaling deeply, I could smell the musky scent from his exertions, a mixture of animal, sweat and leather. Like the others, his jaw was scratchy with stubble giving him a wilder and unkempt appearance than his soldier profession would normally allow. Raising my dark eyes defiantly, I slowly and deliberately pushed out my hips. Brushing the thick ridge of his shaft with my stomach, I watched as his bright blue eyes turned a deep midnight.
“You play with fire woman.”
Rising on my toes, I whispered, “Then burn me.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled free another black crystal. Taking a step back, he smashed it at my feet.
I did not try to resist as the tendrils of purple smoke twirled about me once again forming a cage. All I could think of was that Briar Rose was once again safe, the kingsmen were distracted with me….and without my powers I would be able to feel the full weight of whatever punishment Gripir was surely about to mete out. I bit my lip in anticipation of the deliciously wicked blend of pain and pleasure which awaited me back at their fortress.
10
“Queen Zelladine,” came Gripir’s voice, stopping me as I prepared to rise from the chair I sat in by the fire in my bedchamber. The kingsmen had placed me in the room to await my punishment. They had removed my dressing gown, but I was becoming accustomed to being naked around them, so it was hardly a punishment. The wait, however, was. “Did you think you could escape without anyone following?” The candlestick he held in his hand highlighted his masculine features.
Defenses raised, I rose and faced him. “Did you really believe that I would not try to escape?”
“I suppose you are right in that regard. We did expect you to try to escape, but we also expected a much harder opponent in you than what we have received.”
I bristled, anger brimming then overflowing at Gripir. How dare he? I was a vicious opponent and the kingsmen should quake in their boots. “And I suppose you think that I’m a weak-willed woman who cannot destroy you if I truly wanted to?” I was shaking now, knowing that the kingsmen had not only controlled my body, but they had dominated my strength. They were winning, and there was nothing I could do to resist. And the truth of the matter was, I didn’t want to resist.
“I do not think you are weak-willed at all,” he confessed. “But it is time for you to tell us where Briar Rose is. Tell me why you led us to believe her dead. I am done with your little games. I demand answers!” His eyes darkened as his voice boomed throughout the room.
The way he stared caused me to take pause, but I held firm. “No.”
He walked toward me, so he towered mere inches from my rapidly beating heart. He still held the candlestick, burning bright, in his hand. “What was it you told me to do to you in the forest when I told you that you were playing with fire?”
I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat. “To burn me.”
His stare bore down on me.
I raised my head, so I stared directly in his eyes. I would not cower, though I shook inside.
Gripir grabbed me firmly by the arm and pulled me down to the stone floor so I was on all fours. “Yes, Queen Zelladine, you did. I am about to show you that I am a man of my word.” Before I could even protest, he placed the sole of his boot onto my bare back. “Stay on your hands and knees, or your punishment will be far worse.”
I looked over my shoulder in shock at being treated like a mere animal. “How dare you?” The edges of the stone floor scraped against my knees, and the coolness of the room wafted over my damp sex. I was completely exposed to his view, as well as his mercy. Something from deep within held me in position.
He answered with a drip of the candle to my naked flesh, and then three more drips before I even knew what was happening. I tried to collapse to my stomach to somehow avoid the burning wax. He pulled me back up and said, “The burn has just begun. Stay in position.”
I turned my head to stare into his eyes before he slowly poured more searing wax upon me. The pain of the heated wax droplets caused me to gasp for breath. “Gripir, please! This has gone far enough!”
“No, my queen. You will learn that you are not to request something you do not mean. I warned you that you were playing with fire. I am now simply giving you what you quite literally asked for.”
The dripping of the wax continued, and I did everything I could to remain in place. The palms of my hands, my knees and my wax-covered back and ass screamed for mercy.
The candle continued to rain erotic pain down upon me. Each drip to my sensitive skin brought an alarming desire I couldn’t contain. His dominance and sensual discipline milked the wetness from my deepest core. I pressed my legs together, desperately hoping Gripir wouldn’t see the moisture dripping down my inner thigh. It would give him far too much power—more than he already had over me. My body rocked forward with each searing cascade of liquid torture causing tiny mewls to escape my clenched teeth. My body buzzed with life, even as my body blazed with heat.
“Gripir!” I hissed as hot wax ran down the crack of my ass.
“You are a woman, Zelladine. A beautiful, exquisite woman.” He paused with the dripping of the wax for a moment, a dead silence in the air. “I admire your strength. I respect your ability to defend what you feel is yours. I have even feared your power at times. But you are still a woman.”
I looked over my shoulder with daggers in my eyes. “So, what if I am a woman?” I spat. “Does that mean I should submit to man? That I should tell you kingsmen what you want to hear just because you demand it so? Never!”
“There is nothing wrong with submission, Zelladine. A powerful queen, and an even stronger woman, would understand that.”
He placed the candlestick on the windowsill and assisted me to a standing position. I tried not to focus on the burning not only on my backside but between my legs and stared at the ground. Looking at him now would cause such embarrassment. The act had humiliated me. Not because of the discipline, but because of how it lit my body with a passion I had come to love.
He tilted my chin with his finger, so I had to look into his eyes. “So tell me, Queen. As a feared ruler, what would you have me do to you?” I waited, staring at him. Seeing that he had my full attention, he continued. “For your continued defiance and resistance, what would you have me do? The kingsmen and I have all spoken. It appears as if you almost enjoy all these punishments. Is that true?”
I nodded, causing Gripir to drop his hand from my chin.
“I like the pain,” I continued with the confession.
He pulled away enough, so he could study my face. He raised an eyebrow in response.
I made eye contact with him. I refused to let my pride get in the way of my need. “I like the bite, and the raw and brutal sensations.”
I stood naked before him and whispered, “Hurt me.”
Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine myself being so bold, so open. But I had always been one to take the power of what I wanted into my own hands. If I desired something, I always did what I had to in order to make it happen. This was no different. I wanted to surrender to Gripir’s discipline, and I didn’t want him to go easy on me at all.
Gripir adjusted his body so he was on the edge of the bed. He patted his lap, silently ordering me to obey.
Without hesitation, I laid myself across his lap and awaited his punishing touch. I had once seen a submissive butcher’s wife do this act with her angry husband and had watched with fascination from afar. Never would I have thought then, that I would be in the same position and choosing to do so of my own free will.
A loud slap bounced off the stone of the walls, followed by another, and another. Gripir took no time to pause between spanks. My body tensed with each searing swat, and my hands reached for the fabric of the bed to squeeze. His hand felt as if he were using solid wood against me with the intensity of the strike.
Gripir swatted one cheek and then moved to the next. The rhythm burned my hide but soothed the raging emptiness and darkness that had forever been inside of me. My mind relaxed even though my body gave birth to a new kind of life. The pain of the discipline made me cry out his name, but never did I beg him to stop. I wanted more. I wanted so much more. I wanted to feel the pain until I could take no more.
As Gripir used all his strength to deliver blow after blow with his hand being the only weapon, he was truly defeating me. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth together. With time, the punishment almost became too much to bear. But I wanted to reach the edge of complete surrender and then dive in head first. Complete submission to my captor…to all my captors.
The sounds of a sound punishment blending with the sounds of a sensitive, delicate, woman crying, seemed foreign to me. What were these sounds? Never would I show my weakness. Never would I show my pain. But in this moment, across Gripir’s lap, I allowed myself to be the softest, and the most feminine woman I could be. I became mortal in more ways than a spell cast by a crystal.
When tears mixed with the sweat from my brow, Gripir finally stopped the simplest, yet oddly one of the most severe, discipline. He pulled me up, so I was sitting on his lap. He brought his lips to mine and mastered my mouth as only someone with Gripir’s power could do— fierce, powerful, and conquering.
“Fuck me now,” I begged between the kisses. “Make me cry in a different way. Make me cry out your name.”
Gripir froze and took a deep breath. “In time. Oh, my queen, you will not only cry, but scream. But first, show me your submission. I want to see it in your actions. Then, and only then will I grant you this cock in your tight little hole.”
I rested my hand on the bulge of his pants, feeling it flex beneath my touch. Resuming my position, kneeling on the stone floor as I had done with Sigmun, I knew exactly what I was to do to honor Gripir’s demand.
He freed his hard cock from his breeches before my face and placed his thickness to my lips. I looked up and into his eyes. No word needed to be said. I opened my mouth and allowed his cock to lay against my tongue. My natural instinct—so unfamiliar to me, yet so right in feeling—was to pleasure him. Nothing got in the way of how badly I wanted to make him scream out my name. Watching bliss blanket his face filled me with a purpose I did not know existe
d. As I sucked up and down his ready cock, I fully submitted to my captor. Up and down, I moved my mouth until I was rewarded by my name escaping his lips in the most passionate of ways. My name never sounded as good as it did right then.
I added my hand and began to pump his cock while licking all around. His body shook and tensed, and with a large groan, Gripir spent his satisfaction into the back of my throat. I swallowed his seed with the gratification of the most submissive of women.
Gripir picked me up off the floor and placed me onto the bed. He then lowered me to my back and lay on top of me. His weight, his closeness, and his heat caused my body to beg to be taken.
He paused and took a deep breath. Renewed animalistic desire soon danced along his sated features of only a moment ago. His tongue danced with mine again, claiming my mouth as his again as he slowly gyrated his renewed hardness against my responsive clit. The tip of his cock made small circles, pulling the sexual need from my body. He kissed his way down to my breasts. He sucked on my hard nipple, moaning around the softness. He devoured my flesh with his mouth as if my breast gave him life. The wetness of his tongue circling the nipple caused my body to burn far more than the wax discipline had. An inferno blazed inside my core to match the little burns on my flesh.
He positioned his body, so his hardness rested against my wetness and pressed the tip of his cock to my entrance, not yet pressing in. Kissing me again, Gripir pressed his cock into my tight hole in one fluid motion. I tensed for a moment, taking in the pain of the intrusion from the large size of his cock. He paused so I could adjust to the size of his girth buried inside of me. When the discomfort diminished, I began to move my hips.
In and out, Gripir thrust his cock past my silky folds. My pussy stretched with each thrust of his hips, sending jolts of lightening to my core. I could feel the orgasm building at a speed that threatened to take my breath away.
“Gripir,” I gasped, clinging to his back with my nails.
