Jessica pulled her hand back. The pull was telling her to go through the veil and into the other world. Jessica wanted to, but at the same time didn’t. The chance to see another realm was too great to pass up, but what if she couldn’t get back and she was stuck there? Then again, would she ever get another opportunity like this? Gateways to other realms didn’t pop up every day.
Taking a big breath, she held it and stepped through the curtain. Jessica felt herself spinning, and the force that pulled her through the veil made the air whoosh from her body. Her world went black and she thought she was going to pass out. Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more she was released from the veil, which sent her flying to the ground below.
She landed with a hard thump on the ground, leaving her winded and gasping for breath. She lay there until her breath returned and when she picked herself up from the ground she was light-headed and disorientated.
God, she felt like crap. She had really taken a beating. Her ribs hurt from the pressure that had squeezed her as she passed through the veil. Her back throbbed where she landed hard on the ground. She must have landed on a rock.
Jessica looked back toward the gateway. It was gone. Shit, how was she going to get home? She swiped her hands around looking for it, but felt nothing. The magical pull was gone and her internal radar sat silent once more. She was well and truly stuck.
Maybe going through the veil wasn’t the best idea after all? Jessica debated about whether to stay there and see if the gateway opened again or to take a look around the new realm. She had no idea where she was. It looked like she was still in rural England, but the village was gone and all she could see for miles were fields of grass dotted with the odd tree or bush. There was no path and no buildings. There wasn’t even a fence. A few boulders but nothing else. There wasn’t a soul to be seen either.
Jessica stood there and turned in a circle. No matter which way she looked there was nothing. The best option would be to find a village or shelter before dark. Then she could find out where she was and how to get home again. She just had to figure out which way to go.
The sky was overcast and she couldn’t see the sun. With no way to tell which way was north, she started to walk toward a large boulder in the distance. It sat on top of a small grassy knoll, and from there she thought maybe she might be able to see something that would lead her to shelter.
Jessica shook her head as she walked. She had really gotten herself in a pickle this time. Damn her inquisitive nature, and her magic. If she ever made it home, she was never leaving her shop.
Chapter Two
“Enough!” Baen roared and slammed his fist down on the table. “My decision is made.”
King Baen Caladh glared at the nobles gathered at the meeting table. He was tired. Tired of war and tired of the constant fighting amongst his nobles. He turned to the leader of his army and his lover of five years.
“Send out men to scout the border. The moment King Balfour’s men cross, I want to know about it. There will be no battle unless provoked.”
“At once, Majesty,” Carr replied. With a wave of his hand, a foot soldier rushed to do his bidding. The men were well trained and wouldn’t need to be told twice.
“You may all go.”
Baen sat back down and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. The nobles all quickly retreated. Carr was the only one who stayed behind. The meeting had taken place in the long hall of Baen’s castle. He held all his meetings in the room. Long and narrow, it had a large table that ran its length with a dark maroon rug underneath. Tapestries hung along the walls depicting battles that had been fought and won over time. A large hearth warmed the cold stone-walled room, and two heavy wooden doors at the far end were the only way in and out.
“How am I expected to win a war when my men are fighting amongst themselves?” Baen asked.
His lover stood and approached, coming up behind his chair. As he started to massage his tense shoulders, Baen relaxed into his touch.
“The nobles grow lazy and greedy. You have managed to keep the peace with Balfour for years. It has turned them in to milksop. Now that the peace has ended, most don’t want to leave the comforts of their hearths to fight.” Carr was more than just a lover and the leader of his army. He was Baen’s confidant and friend.
Carr was a tall, muscled man only slightly shorter than Baen’s great height. His shoulder-length brown hair was scruffy on his head. Baen wouldn’t call him handsome, but he had a presence that had always attracted him. He had soulful brown eyes that had small gold flecks and a scar on his face that ran from just below his left eye to his strong chin. His chest was covered with scars too. He was a warrior and had seen a lot of battle in his thirty-seven years.
Baen had seen just as much fighting. He was only older than Carr by two years and the men had grown up together. They were both sent to the same noble to learn to fight, but it wasn’t until they were back at his father’s castle that they had discovered their love for each other.
Baen was a giant of a man, and, even though Carr was a big man himself, he still seemed small when standing next to him. He had black hair that fell halfway down his back, and gray eyes, which Carr had often referred to as piercing.
“That slave-trading mongrel will never rule Marak. Not as long as I’m standing.” Baen stood and pulled his lover to stand in front of him. Roughly grabbing Carr by the scruff of the neck, he drew him in and took his mouth. He wasn’t gentle as he thrust his tongue into Carr’s.
Baen had ruled the kingdom of Marak since he was a young man of twenty-two. His father was taken by fever, leaving his mother a widow. He only had a younger sister, leaving the responsibility to him. He had taken to the throne well, and now, over seven years later, he still ruled with a compassionate but iron fist.
The familiar shiver, which he got whenever he was with his lover, ran the length of his spine and ignited his passion. Baen ground his throbbing cock against Carr’s as he tried to express his love for his scarred lover.
“You need to take a wife, my lover, and get an heir for our kingdom,” Carr told him breathlessly between kisses. Baen touched his forehead to Carr’s, but didn’t let him go from his tight embrace.
“Now is not the time for talk of women. I know my obligation and when we find a woman that suits us, she shall join us in our bed.” Baen replied.
“What wife would want to share you? One look at that gorgeous cock and I would be stricken from the bedchamber.” Carr took hold of Baen’s hard cock and stroked it through his breeches. He let out a loud moan and arched into Carr’s hand.
“I will not give you up, Carr.” He panted. “Not for anyone. If this woman, whom we have yet to even find, will not accept that, then she is not the one for us.”
“You may have no choice.”
“No! You belong to me and that is final.” Baen took Carr’s mouth in another brutal but passionate kiss. The love he felt for his battle-scarred warrior was strong and he would not, could not, give him up. He didn’t care that he needed an heir. They would just have to find a woman that could accept the strange relationship he wanted.
Baen didn’t want a wife that would only have him in her bed. He wanted one that would accept Carr as well. They would be a triad. Baen planned to marry both and they would be equally married to each other. He knew Carr liked women as well as men. They had talked about it often. They had even gone as far as bedding a woman together. They had bedded other men together too, for that matter, before things got serious.
No, they would just have to wait and find the right woman for them. She was out there somewhere, they just hadn’t met her yet. In the meantime, Carr needed to be reminded that his ass belonged to Baen, now and forever.
“Remove your clothes, my love. Then turn around and place your hands flat on the table.” Baen walked over to the mantel that sat over the hearth. Opening a chest, he removed a small jar and returned to Carr’s side. He removed his own clothes swiftly, leaving them where the
y fell.
As Carr moved into position, Baen ran his hand down his lover’s scarred back and over his hard mounds. He felt Carr shiver under his touch. Reaching around, he took hold of his long cock and slowly moved his fist up and down. Placing nipping kisses along his back, Baen continued to torture his lover, until he had Carr moaning and withering beneath him.
“Baen, please, I need you inside me,” Carr moaned. Baen tightened his fist, squeezing the hard length. He pushed on Carr’s back until his chest lay flat on the wooden surface beneath, exposing his tight puckered star to Baen’s gaze.
“Be patient, lover. I’ll give you what you need, but not until I’m good and ready.” Baen loved to make Carr wait. He craved the power he held over this usually strong dominant man. Baen felt pre-cum leak from his cock and drip to the floor below. He grabbed the jar and started to prepare his lover.
Scooping some of the grease onto his fingers, Baen circled Carr’s pink hole, before slipping a finger inside. Carr moaned again and thrust his ass up toward him. Baen slapped his left butt check with his free hand, leaving the flesh pink.
“Settle down or I’ll spank your firm ass until you do. Then I’ll make you wait longer for my cock, which you are craving so badly.” Baen used his firm, in-charge voice, but it was an empty threat. Carr loved to have his ass spanked, so it wasn’t a punishment. He was also too desperate to get inside Carr to hold off for much longer.
Baen added another finger and scissored them in and out, stretching and widening the opening. One more finger joined the others, as Carr lay panting beneath him. When he started to thrust back onto Baen’s fingers once more, he knew Carr was ready. He heard a groan when he removed his fingers and watched the little hole return to its normal shape.
Lining the head of his cock up with Carr’s back entry, he slowly pushed the head of his cock against the star. Once the head popped through the ring of tight muscle, Baen grabbed Carr’s hips in his large hands and rammed the rest of the way inside. When he was balls deep, he froze and savored the feel of the hot, tight passage wrapped around his long length.
Baen’s heart pounded in his chest and he thought he would explode from the love he felt for the warrior below him. He started to move his hips in and out, slowly driving them both mad with the pace.
Carr wiggled and moved beneath him, trying to get him to speed up. Baen chuckled at his attempt. It would be no use and he would just have to wait until Baen was ready to give him the ride he desired.
“Your ass is so hot and tight, my lover. I could stay this way all day. You feel so good.”
“Please, Baen. I need. Harder, please. Fuck me harder.” Baen could hear the desperation in his lover’s voice. But he wasn’t swayed. He kept up the slow and steady pace, grinding his cock into Carr’s ass. When he reached the bottom, he slowly retreated until just the head remained. Then he repeated it over again.
“Come on, Carr. Plead for my cock. Tell me how you want it hard and hot and deep,” he whispered. He was starting to sweat and pant as he tortured them both and knew that if Carr didn’t say the words soon it would be too late.
“Yes, yes, Baen, please. Fuck me. Fuck me hard and quick. Oh God.” That was what Baen wanted. He tightened his grip on Carr’s hips and pounded his cock into his lover’s tight hole.
The only noise in the long room was the slapping of flesh and the moans of the men as they fucked, bent over the meeting table. They often made love in this room. Baen took Carr in every way possible, but this was his favorite.
It wasn’t long before Carr was crying out beneath him, shooting his passion onto the floor below. Baen gave two more powerful thrusts and with a mighty shout, came into his lover’s waiting hole.
Baen laid his head on his lover’s back, as they panted for breath. He wrapped his arms around Carr and they stayed that way until they were both shivering again, but this time from cold, not passion. Baen slipped his softened cock from his lover and, grabbing a cloth from the mantel, cleaned them both before dressing.
When they were both dressed and back to looking like the fierce warriors they were, Baen grabbed his lover and planted another kiss on his swollen lips.
“I love you, Carr. Never forget that. No matter what happens in the future, you belong to me.” He placed nippy kisses along his jaw, and waited for Carr’s reply. It wasn’t long in coming, Baen needing to hear the words as much as say them.
“I love you too, Baen. More than you know, but I also understand that you are king and have obligations that will come before me and our love.”
“Nothing could ever be so important that I would put you second. No matter what you think or feel.” He kissed him one more time, before lifting his head and turning toward the door. No amount of words would get Carr over his insecurities. Baen would just have to prove with actions that Carr came first and foremost.
* * * *
Just as they reached the wooden doors to leave there was a loud knock on the other side. Carr pulled the door open and took note of the soldier that stood there.
“Well, what is it?” Carr snapped when the young soldier just stood there with a scared look on his face. He bowed low to the king, before straightening.
“Sire, I have news. I…um,” he stammered.
“Spit it out, boy. I’m not one to hurt the messenger.” Baen tried to reassure the young man, but he was having none of it.
“Your sister, Sire. She is missing.”
“Missing? How? Where are her guards?” Carr thundered. This wasn’t the first time the princess had flown the coop. She was renowned for giving her guards the slip and taking off on her horse. He knew that Baen would be worried. The royal family had enemies that would have no problem using the princess as leverage.
“Is her horse gone? How long has she been missing?” the king asked. “Have you checked the entire castle?”
“Yes, Sire. The guards have looked everywhere and are now riding out in search. Her horse is still in the stable.” He bowed his head continuously as he spoke and wrung his hands. Carr was used to the younger soldiers being afraid when in their presence, but sometimes it made it hard to get things done.
“Tell them to hold. We will ride out with them,” the king said and then turned to him. “When I catch up with that sister of mine, there will be hell to pay. I have a mind to marry her off. Then she will be her husband’s responsibility.”
“You never would, Majesty. You love her too much to take away such an important choice,” Carr reminded him. The king did love his sister and had always promised her she could find her own husband. Carr thought it was because Baen would feel like a hypocrite, to love a man and then choose his sister’s bed partner for her.
He followed the king out of the long hall and through the castle to the stables. He admired his lover’s form as he trailed behind. The king was a giant of a man, full of hard muscle and strong lines. He was a handsome man, not in the pretty-boy sense, but in a rugged, manly way.
Carr couldn’t picture himself following the rulings of another king with the same loyalty that he did with Baen. It wasn’t just because they were lovers either. Baen was a good ruler and had seen their kingdom grow and prosper despite the hardships that had befallen them. Baen had led them through not just attacks from the rulers that sat either side of Marak, but through a rainy season that had seen their crops rot and die, leaving the people hungry and without a place to live, as well as the fevers that had swept through the kingdom and killed a third of their population.
Carr loved his King with everything in him and though Baen said that they would always be together, he knew that there would come a time when he would be put aside for the good of the realm. It was just a matter of time, in Carr’s opinion. Baen would need an heir and that required a wife. What woman would want to have a battle-scarred warrior in her bed taking her husband’s attention? She would be queen and he couldn’t see any woman wanting to share her man.
Shaking his head to rid himself of his melancholy thoughts,
Carr walked through the door to the stable, to find his stallion already saddled and waiting. His horse had been with him for years and, not one for fancy words, Carr had called the big black horse Black. Pulling himself onto the horse, he adjusted the reins in his hands and waited for his King.
When Baen had finished talking with the stable master, he mounted his chestnut stallion, Selinus, and they nudged their mounts forward. Once they were over the drawbridge, they both sped up until the horses were galloping across the fields. It didn’t take long to catch up with the guards. They pulled the horses to a stop and Baen went over to talk with the leader of his sister’s guard.
While Carr waited, he shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. His ass was still tender from the reaming he had received. He wasn’t usually in the saddle so quickly after sex and his ass was paying the price.
Carr looked back toward the castle that he had called home since he was a boy. It was a great towering structure, made from large gray stone. A great wall wrapped around the outer bailey, with a large lake resting at the base of two sides. It protected the rear of the castle from attack. The empty fields on the front meant that they could see anyone approaching for miles. The keep towered in the center of the great wall, and with the drawbridge down it was bustling with activity from the daily market, which sat just outside.
A call from his lover pulled him back to the task at hand and they were soon riding away from the castle. He would hate to be in Elvinia’s shoes when her brother caught up with her. The King was getting tired of her antics, having to chase after her time and again. The idea of marrying her off wasn’t a bad one. Baen would just have to make sure it was to someone the princess agreed with.
Carr nudged his horse into a faster gait and caught up with his lover. It wasn’t his job to protect the King, but he would give his life for the man he loved. He took his role as the leader of the king’s army seriously and always tried to stay sharp and have the best-trained soldiers in the realm. So far that had proven true, with them defeating constant attacks from the neighboring kingdoms.
The Magic of You [Mystical Realms 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2
