by Tara Rose
She grinned at his words. The man had a sense of humor that was dry and understated, but very sharp.
“She used me horribly, but at the time I thought I was in love. I even told her I was, and she led me on for a long time.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He smiled slightly and shook his head. “Don’t be. We go through such things to strengthen us and to build character. I found out she had a string of men all vying for her affections throughout the castle and in most of the nearby villages. When she took my innocence, my parents found out and were furious.”
“Do you mean she took your virginity?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean, and it was forbidden for her to do so. I am a prince of this land, and not just any prince. I’m a descendant of King Reginald. I may seduce any woman I like, but not just any woman may seduce me, and especially not a tutor.”
She frowned. “Double standard much? Or was that because you were so young?”
He laughed. “It was due to my age and the fact she was a tutor. I suppose by your mores it is a double standard, but not according to our laws and customs.”
“You told me that the princes seduce servants and peasant girls. How is that allowed, but a tutor seducing one of you is not?”
“We may seduce any woman we like once we reach eighteen, but they may not do the same to us.”
“So, the seduction has to be initiated by one of you, not the other way around?”
He nodded, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“Venus’s seduction of me while I was underage was a crime, just as it would be where you’re from. She also committed a crime in seducing me as a prince. This is part of our law and it’s all we know, Dakota.”
“Wait a minute. You were sixteen. It’s not like you couldn’t have said no. Are you telling me you had no blame in it at all?”
“Oh, I didn’t say that. My backside was red for three weeks. My father made sure of that.”
“You were sixteen and he spanked you?”
“He didn’t spank me. He used a hickory switch on my bare skin and it hurt like crazy. He gave me fifty lashes and it broke the skin.”
She put a hand over her mouth at the image his words produced. “What happened to Venus?”
“My father is a Council member, and has been since he turned twenty-one. He’s one of the most respected men on it and has been there longer than almost any of them. He took pity on her, and instead of recommending to His Majesty that she be banished to the Wastelands, she was sent home and may never again set foot inside the castle.”
“I suppose that’s harsh but justified, per your laws.”
“It was actually very generous toward her, especially when the details of all the other men she’d put under her spell became known. She could have been put to death for what she did to me, and should have been banished at the very least.”
“Did your father get grief for his recommendation?”
“Not too much. He’s a man known for his compassion.”
“Thank you for telling me about it.”
“You’re welcome. Here comes Bramwell. Perhaps when we return to our suite, you will tell us of your past?”
“There isn’t much to tell, but sure. I’ll tell you anything you’d like to know, Sire.”
As they made their way back, Dakota thought about everything Kelton had told her concerning Bramwell’s upbringing, and concerning his introduction to sex by a piano teacher named Venus. They were such normal stories, and could be the same as she would hear from almost anyone she knew.
Underneath all their formal ways of speaking at times, the fancy clothing, and the titles and privilege they held, they were simply men. They wanted the same things most people did—love and stability, a place to call home and someone to care about them. Wasn’t that what she’d been searching for most of her adult life?
Once they were back in the suite, Kelton told Bramwell what they’d talked about, and he said he was glad she knew so much about them now. He, too, asked her about her life back home.
“I’m an only child. My mother almost died after I was born from complications because she ended up with an infection. It shouldn’t have happened, but apparently someone screwed up at the hospital where I was born. My father is an artist, like me, but made a living with his photography studio. My mother helped him run the business and also kept his books.”
“Did he teach you to paint?” asked Bramwell.
She smiled. “Yes and no. They both said I came out of the womb painting, but I remember him sitting next to me helping me draw first with crayons, and then later with watercolors and colored pencils.”
“When did you become interested in digital art?” asked Kelton.
“That came from watching my parents touch up photographs. I realized how easy it was for me to not only alter existing photos, but to make my own. I was doing digital designs in middle school. That’s roughly ages eleven through fourteen where I’m from.”
They both nodded. “What about boyfriends?” asked Bramwell.
She shrugged. “I dated a lot, but not too many second or third dates. I was looking for someone who understood why I wanted to stand outside at night and take pictures of the moon, or why I’d stop in the middle of taking a drive and grab my camera to capture an owl in flight or the look on a child’s face as she laughed at a kite in the sky. You’d be surprised how many guys just don’t get it.”
“Actually,” said Kelton, “I believe I’m safe in saying we both know exactly what you mean.”
“I seemed to only attract men whose vocabulary was limited to phrases like, ‘So you paint and shit. Cool,’ or ‘Can you draw porn with this program?’ when they saw my digital art. As for sex…well, let’s just say what little I had was uninspiring and leave it at that.”
Bramwell gave her a deep look of longing and lust. “And now?”
“Are you kidding? You both are incredible. I can’t even believe you’re real.”
Kelton took her hands. “Thank you for telling us all this. I do have one question, and I hope you’ll answer it.”
“I will. What is it?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No.” She glanced from one to the other, the blood pounding in her ears. “But I want to be. I’ve always wanted that.”
“So do we,” he whispered. She held her breath as he gazed into her eyes. Then he kissed her, rough and hard, and she melted into his embrace as he pulled her close. When his tongue pushed her lips apart, she moaned into his open mouth.
Behind her, Bramwell undid her laces, and then he reached into the back of her dress and unlaced the corset. It wasn’t as easy getting undressed wearing all this stuff, but they seemed to know what they were doing.
Kelton released her mouth and cupped her face. “You’ve stolen our hearts, Dakota Larson.”
“And you’ve stolen mine, Sire. Both of you.”
He held her gaze as he undid the laces on her bodice, and then he stood her up and pushed the dress and the corset down. As she stepped out of them, he pulled down her tights and helped her get them and her boots off.
She stood naked in front of her princes as happiness flooded her senses. This was where she wanted to be. It was where she’d always dreamed of being, only she hadn’t had a name or a place for it. She understood that now in a way that had never crossed her mind before. That portrait had been the culmination of years of fantasies and dreams that had its conclusion inside this castle, with these two men.
Kelton picked her up and carried her to the sofa, and then he bent her over the arm of it and caressed her skin until she cried out and begged him to fuck her. Bramwell disappeared for a moment, and when he returned, he carried the oil and condoms, as well as a leather strap and a thick flogger.
She moaned at the look in Bramwell’s eyes. “I think she can handle some play on her lovely ass, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” said Kelton. “We need to toughen up the skin
, and we haven’t yet used any of our toys on her breasts or her pussy. That’s an oversight on our part that we must remedy immediately.”
“I agree,” said Bramwell. He placed the items on a table and walked over to the doors to lock them.
Kelton nuzzled her neck and then he pulled her hair, hard enough that her head came up. “Are you ready for this, sweetheart?”
“Yes, Sire.” Ready? She couldn’t even think right now. Erotic images danced through her head and her entire body was on fire for them once again. They rendered her speechless and unable to do anything except submit with the slightest touch, and with mere words. It was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
They laid her on her back, and then they told her to put one leg over the back of the sofa and the other on the floor. She did, giggling at the image it must present to them.
Kelton dusted the leather falls of the flogger over her nipples. “Is something funny?”
She moaned softly as the leather caressed her. “No, Sire. Just feeling very wanton right now.”
“You look very wanton.” He brushed the falls over her pussy. “And very seductive. But what will you think of this swatting your tender parts? It’s my favorite one.”
“I like the feel of it, Sire.”
Bramwell pulled a chair over, close to her head, and she sighed as he began to pull on his cock, which he’d taken out of his breeches. Kelton was also still dressed, and that was sexier than if all three of them had been naked. It gave the entire scene an ambiance of forbidden sex and secrecy.
She shivered as Kelton struck her lightly with the flogger first on her pussy and then across her nipples. It didn’t hurt, but the thudding sensation sent tiny jolts of electricity straight to her clit.
“She likes this,” said Bramwell, his voice rough and raspy.
“She does indeed,” said Kelton. He struck her harder now, increasing the intensity of the strikes and landing the falls mostly on her pussy and nipples. Dakota kept her arms overhead and closed her eyes, letting the emotions wash over her as a nice, warm burn began to settle across her breasts and pussy. This was heavenly. She never wanted him to stop.
When he did, she waited to see what they wanted her to do next, and then smiled as Bramwell pulled his breeches down and settled between her legs. He sank his dick into her pussy, and she cried out in pleasure as he fucked her rough and deep. It was so raw and dirty, and she loved the intensity.
Kelton stood next to them watching, pulling on his cock, and she couldn’t look away. Just as abruptly as Bramwell started, he stopped, and took his place again in the chair. Kelton left his cock exposed and picked up the leather strap. “This will feel differently than the flogger did. Keep your arms and legs open, understood?”
His voice held a note of command that sent shivers down her spine. “Yes, Sire. I understand.”
He hadn’t been kidding. The strap burned and stung, but at the same time, Dakota nearly came at the combination of pain and pleasure it produced. He didn’t use it for as long as he’d struck her with the flogger. It was as if he knew exactly how much she could take, and he stopped as she neared her limits.
Then he fucked her as Bramwell had done, fast and deep, and when she came, she cried out loudly as the contractions rocked her core. Kelton kissed her, and then he withdrew. Neither man had come yet, which no longer surprised her.
They bent her over the arm of the sofa again and told her to rest her torso and head on the cushions. “Try not to move,” said Kelton, caressing her ass cheeks. “I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”
“Yes, Sire.”
He used the flogger on her ass cheeks, and because they were still a bit sore, it caused more of a thudding sensation on them than it had on either her pussy or her nipples, but she didn’t mind. Memories of the paddling she’d taken from him flooded her senses, and with them came an endorphin rush that sent her arousal to crazy heights.
When Bramwell reached underneath to play with her nipples and clit, she drew close to another climax. Kelton stopped and pushed his dick into her pussy from behind, fucking her hard and deep. His balls slapped her pussy with each thrust, and when she came, she cried out louder than she ever had before. She was certain anyone standing in the hallway could hear her.
He withdrew before her orgasm had stopped and Bramwell took his place, fucking her with wild abandon. These strong, sexy men sent her to places she’d never known existed and she’d gladly go, as long as she went with them.
When Bramwell pulled out, Kelton picked up the leather strap and Dakota tensed. “This is going to hurt, sweetheart.”
He said it in a voice that caressed her as gently as if he were brushing his fingertips over her skin, and the effect was that she wanted to take it for him. All of it. She wouldn’t ask him to stop this time. Her need to please them both was overwhelming.
The first few strikes across her ass cheeks had her trying to dance away from the burning pain, and Kelton stopped to nuzzle her neck and caress her breasts. “I don’t want to restrain you.” His voice was tender, loving, as if he were showering her with endearments instead of commands. “You must learn to hold still when I tell you to.” He slipped two fingers into her pussy and she moaned loudly. “I want you to stand there and take this, Dakota. Take it for my pleasure and yours.”
“Yes, Sire,” she whispered. How could she refuse him? She was putty in his hands. He moved his fingers in and out, cooing in her ear softly, and then he withdrew them and kissed her ass cheeks.
When he began to smack her with the strap again, Dakota closed her eyes and let the sensations wash over her. The familiar combination of pain and pleasure enveloped her, and soon she was floating above the scene, watching it. She could feel every swat, and heard her voice mutter incomprehensible words, but she wasn’t in her own body.
Sweat dotted her hairline and her breathing grew rapid. Her pulse raced. Every happy thought she’d ever had rushed to the surface until she wanted to sing, dance, and fly. This was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and she didn’t want it to end.
When it did, she was surprised. “Did I not please you, Sire?”
Kelton wrapped his arms around her from behind and pushed his swollen dick into her pussy. “You were magnificent. I am overwhelmed by how much you took.”
She cried out as another climax washed over her. He fucked her slowly this time, torturing her with each long thrust, in and out completely, until finally they grew faster and deeper. Then he cried out and she knew he’d come at last. His strength and stamina amazed her.
He pulled out and Bramwell wasted no time in sliding his cock into her. He didn’t fuck her slowly. Instead, he slammed into her so hard and rough that she could barely stay standing, but it felt incredible. She came again, and soon afterward he did, too, crying out her name over and over.
The men took turns holding her on their laps and stroking her hair and back, whispering how much they’d both enjoyed that. She could do nothing but lean into their warm, musky bodies and breathe in the mixed scent of their lovemaking. This was the only place Dakota wanted to be for the rest of her life.
Chapter Thirteen
The next two weeks passed by in a blur for Dakota. The men took her outdoors for short periods of time so she could see the snow, and they engaged in a short snowball fight that left her covered in it and both men barely scathed. She declined to have a second one with them unless they gave her a couple of guards for her team, which of course they laughed at.
She listened to Kelton write songs and sing, as well as play various instruments. When Bramwell went to the archery range, she went with him, and he began teaching her to shoot. It took a lot of upper arm strength which didn’t have, so the men promised to help her work on that. Of course they meant by making her balance on her arms during sex. Dakota wasn’t amused, but neither was she surprised.
They kept their promise about the paints and canvas. Dakota spent what little free time she had experimenting with design i
deas, and was lost in a familiar world each time she picked up a brush. She began work on a series of scenes inspired by her life in the castle, and secretly thought it was her best work yet.
News spread throughout the castle of Keira’s imminent arrival. She had to take a circuitous route through the kingdom of Oakbrook, which was east of Wythmail. Oakbrook had friendly relationships with both Galatyn and Wythmail, so allowed Keira unrestricted travel. But it delayed her journey by longer than a week if she’d simply been able to take a path straight through the Wastelands to reach Ashdown.
Before Keira arrived, more news reached the castle that set everyone on edge, but this time for a good reason. The kingdom of Dearth, which occupied the land across the Great Lake to Ashdown’s north, sent delegates to meet with Atheron and the Council. They were a vast kingdom, and owned three times the land that Ashdown, Wythmail, and Enfield together did. Ashdown had never had dealings before with Dearth, and had often surmised they might be friendly with Enfield. That turned out to be wrong.
The delegates arrived, and once they met with Atheron and the Council, news spread that Dearth had plans to invade Enfield within the month. The current king of Enfield had attempted to place a curse on the men of Dearth, just as one had been placed on the men of Ashdown, but the sorcerers of Dearth had second sight and had foreseen this.
Dakota listened to Bramwell and Kelton relay this to her with wide eyes. “What did they do to Enfield when they found out what they had planned?”
“They sent delegates across the lake,” said Kelton, “but Enfield refused them admission into the kingdom. So then they sent military delegates and told Enfield if they refused to talk peacefully, they would find themselves wiped off the map.”
“I like them already,” said Dakota.
“We’ve never had a relationship with them,” said Kelton, “but our king realizes it’s time to rectify that. He will let them do to Enfield what they will, and has promised our army if they need it, but I doubt they will. Their kingdom is vast, and it’s said they have fifty thousand troops ready to cross the lake and invade Enfield. The entire population of Enfield is not that large.”
