Sold To The Master

by Hollie Hutchins

  Sidney’s instruction to us is to stay calm, and quiet. We’ll be fine.

  The fear stabbing through my chest disagrees with him.

  We won’t be fine. Or more to the point, I won’t be fine, and Stacey probably won’t be fine, and Sidney most definitely won’t be fine.

  I have visions of Stacey being taken as some sort of prize, and Sidney dead, and me… well, there’s only one thing they do to witches when they catch them.

  “The Master has lawyers reviewing the wording of the will,” the servant says. “As soon as that is sorted, the brothers will just have to withdraw their guards, and accept their brother’s luck.”

  Except it wasn’t luck, was it? It was magic. And at least one brother knows of my powers. What’s going to happen when he puts two and two together, and realises I’m the one who made his brother fertile?

  It doesn’t take long to find out.

  We’re out in the gardens, desperate for fresh air after several days stuck inside. The fact no one has yet breached the walls, despite all the noise and carry on on the other side of those same walls, has given us a feeling of safety, and foolish us, we trust it, venturing past the safety of locked doors.

  We’re in the garden a moment, when we hear a call, and a huge black dragon rises above the wall, blasting at us with a huge ball of flame from its mouth.

  There are screams as we run, but as we do I realise it wasn’t trying to hurt us, but to corner us instead. The flame scorches the earth between where we were gathered and our quarters, sending us, quite literally, into the corner of the yard.

  The dragon lands, two men jumping down from its back with crossbows, pointed at us.

  “Stay still, and no-one gets hurt,” one of them shouts. “We’re only here for the witch.”

  My heart sinks in my chest, as the other women look at each other in confusion, and then, with dawning realisation, at me.

  “It’s true?” Nancy’s friend asks.

  I give a little shake of my head. I won’t take my eyes off the dragon or the men.

  There’s mutters among the group. “Nancy was right,” I hear behind me. “We should’ve listened to her.”

  I wish I could point out that they have no power, none of us, not even Nancy, and that listening to Nancy would not have done them any good, anyway, but now is not the time.

  “Come on, now. Step forward, and let your friends get on with their lives.”

  I don’t need to step forward, I feel the group move, almost as one, taking a step back, away from the approaching men.

  “All right, the rest of you, slow and steady to your rooms.” The second man, gestures with his crossbow, and behind me the women move off.

  I want to move with them, but it’s a though I’m frozen to the spot.

  Which brother is this? Is it Frensen? Capturing me for his own good? And if it is, then does that mean he already has the contract? Or is it one of the other brothers, Kress, or Mitchell, the ones Frensen said were superstitious, and likely to have me burned?

  The women have reached the door to our quarters, the men are now either side of me, crossbows still trained on my head, though they seem too cautious to approach my directly.

  “Come on, witch. Onto the dragon’s back.”

  I shake my head again, though tremors are starting to run through my body.

  “I said move!”

  His words are accompanied by a roar so loud I find myself cowering on the ground before I even know what I’m doing.

  There’s a whoosh of flame, close enough that my hair singes, the smell stinging my nostrils, followed by another roar, and the distinct sense of something large above me, just as the sound and vibration of four large legs echoes around me.

  I’m going to die. I know it.

  There’s another roar, another belch of flame.

  Somehow, I don’t die.

  I risk a glance, and realise there is a dragon over me, I was right about that, but he’s not attacking me, he’s fighting the other dragon.

  Sidney?

  Please let it be Sidney, fighting to save me, and not Frensen, fighting to have me as his own. I’ve no doubt the other brothers wouldn’t care if I was burnt to a crisp right where I’m standing. They’d probably even boast about it.

  There’s another rush of flame, and more roaring, and then the first dragon takes off, the movement of his wings sending huge gusts of wind that make everything rustle.

  I close my eyes again, too scared that I’m wrong, that this other dragon is Frensen, claiming me for his own.

  There’s a flap, and the large presence above me disappears.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Sidney puts a hand on my shoulder, and when I look up into his kind, worried, human eyes I just want to burst into tears.

  I sit up, checking myself all over.

  Aside from those few singed hairs, I seem to be fine.

  “I thought I was going to die,” I admit, letting him pick me up and carry me through to his rooms.

  “You probably were,” he says. “That was my brother, Kress. Word got out that you’re a witch, and he and Mitchell have been demanding that I bring you out for a public burning.”

  He shudders, and I can’t help but cling closer to him.

  “I’ll never understand how people can let that sort of fear control them like that.”

  He looks at me, and my face is inches from his, and his pupils dilate, and my breath quickens and then his mouth is on mine, my hands either side of his head, holding him there.

  His lips are so soft, and his tongue, when it pushes between my lips, tastes like cinnamon and sugar.

  He tries to pull away, but I hold him, pressing my lips hungrily against his.

  In the end he tilts his head, so his forehead presses against mine.

  “I’m sorry. I should stop.” His words are whispered, and I can hear the regret in them.

  “Why?”

  “Because I shouldn’t do this to you.”

  “Do what?”

  He set me down, so I’m standing beside him. “I can’t force you to have sex with me, Lauren. It’s not okay.”

  I raise a brow. “You’re happy to force those other women, but not me?”

  He shrugs helplessly. “I have to produce children. It’s super important that I have heirs. I have to impregnate someone.” He glances at me. “But you… you are something different. You have a confidence about you, a power. I don’t want you to lose that. I don’t want to damage you, anymore than you already are.”

  “Those other women all had their own confidence, too, once, their own power. Even if it’s not of the magical variety. Someone has taken it from them.”

  Sidney’s gaze drops to the floor, his face colouring.

  I cup his cheek with my palm.

  “If I’m not forced to do things I don’t want to do, I won’t lose my power.,” I say. “And if those women are given some sort of choice, then you can help them regain theirs.”

  He opens his mouth as though to defend his actions, and then closes it again. Instead his gaze meets mine.

  He sighs. “I’m sorry,” he says. “For all the terrible things I’ve done. Of which I’ve no doubt there must be plenty. I can’t stop trying for more children. But I will be kinder about it. I promise.”

  “Why can’t you stop trying for more children?” I ask. “You have one on the way, your brothers will never have any, unless they find a witch of their own, and if what Frensen told me is true, then Kress and Mitchell would rather kill a witch, than have her do magic for them.”

  Sidney pauses, and I continue.

  “Why do you even have to be King? Couldn’t you just step down, let your brothers fight over it amongst themselves. Wouldn’t your life be better for all that?”

  “I...” He frowns. “I’ve always… I guess...”

  I can’t help the smile that comes to my lips.

  “Just something to think about,” I say. “If you ever have a sleepless night, yo
u might ponder these thoughts. See if your current lifestyle actually matches what it is you truly want out of life.”

  I lean forward, and press my lips against his.

  He pulls away.

  “Are you telling me you want this?”

  He looks so scared.

  I run a thumb over his bottom lip. “You are the first Master I’ve had, where I actually do want this.”

  I push myself up on my tip toes, and press my lips against his again.

  He groans, and pulls away.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Lauren. This isn’t a normal relationship. I mean, I’ll have to think about what you just said, I guess. But if I continue, as I’ve been going.” He’s stumbling over his words, and I can see I’ve really confused him. He shakes his head. “For now, I have to sleep with those other women, I have to be seen to be keeping up my end of the bargain. If I don’t attempt to produce more heirs, I lose everything.”

  I raise an eyebrow.

  “I know all this, Sidney. I know what your position in this world is, and what you believe you have to do to keep it. I will always hope you change your mind, of course, but if you don’t...” I shrug. “I’ve accepted that.”

  He holds my gaze, and something in his eyes changes, hardens, almost.

  He licks his lips. “You want to be with me?”

  “I want to be with you.”

  “You haven’t seen the real me.”

  I think of the vulnerable, scared individual, hiding behind the brave face.

  “I think I have.”

  He shakes his head. “No. You haven’t seen how the dragon side of me presents in human form. How it likes to dominate, to feel powerful, to show it’s power. Especially—” He hesitates. “Especially during sex.”

  I raise a brow. “You like to dominate during sex?” I’ve experienced that before, and it wasn’t nice.

  “In what way?”

  “I like to be in control.”

  I frown. “But aren’t you always in control? What is the difference?” I find that though I’m cautious of what he’s talking about, I’m curious, too. What sort of dominating could this secretly vulnerable man do?

  “I can’t explain it,” he says. “I have to show it.”

  I watch him for a moment, and then nod my head slowly.

  “If I ask you to stop, will you stop?”

  He holds my gaze. “Every time.”

  “Then let’s see it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “If I know you will stop, then if I don’t like it, I can stop it. And I trust you, Sidney. I trust you will stop if I ask you to. I don’t know why, but I do.”

  I don’t tell him I’m attracted to him, that I want to see what it is that he does, that his words have sparked my curiosity, and my desire is winning out over any fear I may have.

  He nods, his jaw set. “Then I’ll show you the real me.” There’s a growl to his voice that sends a shiver up my spine. “Then we’ll see just how much you think you want me.”

  He lifts me by the waist, and throws me onto the bed. I can’t help but squeal as he moves me through the air, laughing as I land with a bounce on the soft bed.

  He pulls off his boots, and straddles me. “Let’s see just how much you like this.”

  He nips at my shoulder, just enough to feel pressure, not hard enough to cause pain.

  A hand grabs my breast through my clothes, kneading and massaging the soft flesh, as his mouth continues to gently bite along my shoulder and up my neck.

  He sits up, the bulk of his weight on my thighs, and rips off my top, literally tearing the material.

  He takes a moment to admire my breasts, before he bends down again to suck, hard, against the flesh of a breast, then biting again. He nibbles and sucks on one nipple, as a hand attacks the other one, and I realise with a start that I’m wet already.

  I would never have imagined it possible, after the way my previous masters treated me, but there is something so sexy about this, this pressing against the boundaries of pain, but not quite crossing over.

  He slides down my body to tear at my loose trousers, a hand delving between my legs to stroke against my cleft, his thumb finding my clit and rubbing.

  My back arches, and I can’t help but moan in pleasure.

  “Oh, Sidney.”

  He seems to glare at me, moving to bite the other nipple, sucking as much of my breast into his mouth as possible as her forces two fingers up between my legs.

  I gasp.

  I’m so wet, his fingers slide in easily. His presses against my clit with his thumb, and when he starts thrusting his fingers inside me, his thumb rubbing my clit at the same time, I almost feel like I’m going to come there and then.

  “Are you going to come for your Master?” Sidney asks, his voice a husky growl.

  It’s enough to tip me over the edge, and soon my whole body is convulsing as I gush all over his fingers.

  “Yes, Master.” I gasp the words. “I am. I’m coming. I’m coming.”

  He grins, withdrawing his fingers and sitting up, as my body sinks into the blankets.

  He stands, pulling off his trousers and shirt, to reveal a muscled torso and strong legs. His erection is thick, and almost stands straight upright, and I feel the wet between my legs again, just at the sight of it.

  “Don’t rest yet,” he says, his voice harsh, but I see there’s a twinkle in his eye.

  He climbs back onto the bed, kneeling between my legs.

  “Are you going to be good?”

  I nod, almost panting in anticipation.

  He leans over me, sucking on a nipple again, his teeth grating over my skin, as he presses the head of his cock against my opening, and thrusts hard to push his way inside me.

  I cry out, but what I’m feeling is a mixture of pleasure and pain, the pain adding to the pleasure in a way I’ve never experienced before. Having never felt pleasure at all before, I guess that’s not so strange a thing.

  Already I can feel that surge travelling my spine, as all the sensations mash together to turn my body into a quivering mess.

  “You like that?” Sidney asks, his voice gruff.

  I nod. “I do.”

  “You want me to keep going?”

  I nod again. “Please. Keep going. Fuck me. Hard.”

  His eyes narrow, and he pulls out, and once again slams into me.

  My cleft is absolutely dripping now, I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  He does it again, a slow withdrawal, and fast thrust back into me, deeper and deeper each time.

  In no time the orgasm is shooting through me, my head thrown back, my eyes rolling back into my head as I’m no longer really aware of the outside world, but only the sensations riding my body.

  Sidney builds up speed, grunting as he thrusts inside me, his gaze holding mine as his pupils dilate and he gasps, and then I feel the thick warm spurts of come filling me.

  He rolls off me, collapsing next to me on the bed.

  “That was incredible.” I whisper the words. “I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life.”

  He glances at me concern creasing his brow.

  “I didn’t hurt you?”

  I shake my head. “No. Well, a little, now and again, but you pleased me, too, in a way no one else ever has.” I smile. “I loved it.”

  His gaze searches out mine. “Are you sure?”

  I shake my head, but it’s in amazement, not denial. “I would never have expected to ever say this. But yes. I’m absolutely certain.”

  “I haven’t let myself go like that, for a long time,” he admits. “It’s too easy to hurt people, and then they aren’t interested anymore.”

  “What about with the other women?”

  He shakes his head. “Hard and fast thrusting gets me where I need to get, in the shortest possible time,” he says. “Though I never allow myself to go as deep as I did with you.”

  I a
rch my neck, so I can place a kiss against his cheek.

  “You can go as deep as you want with me, anytime.”

  “Thank you,” his voice is husky when he replies.

  He pushes himself up.

  “We’d better get you back to your quarters. The other women will be wondering what happened to you.”

  I nod.

  Sidney picks up my clothes, looking shocked when he realises they’ve been literally torn in two, and sends for a servant to get me another outfit.

  When I’m dressed, he kisses me on the cheek again.

  “I won’t call on you for a few nights,” he says. “Though I want you to know, if I had a choice, I would only have you.” His voice almost seems to be breaking. “I have to restrain myself, and keep myself restrained for the other women. I can’t forget who I’m with, and let loose.” He brushes a stray hair from my face, his gaze holding mine.

  “Look after yourself,” he says. “Stay hidden in that building. My brothers can only get you if you come outside.”

  Chapter 11

  We cower in our quarters for what feels like days, as all around us the city is torn to rubble.

  Sidney carries on as usual. We dress, we line up for his viewing, he selects someone, and we go back and undress.

  I can’t help but wonder if he’s taken the time to think on what I said.

  He never meets my gaze, not once, but I can’t help but feel, and see, his attraction to me. It’s like a magnet, and I can feel how much he’s fighting it.

  As am I.

  Three nights in he calls me again, and I feel the butterflies dancing in my stomach as I follow him up the hallway.

  When the door clicks behind me he turns, wrapping his arms around me, his lips pressed against mine.

  “I couldn’t put it off any longer,” he says, his breath heaving. “I’ve never found anyone before who likes that side of me, let alone someone who is as turned on by it as you are.” He covers me in kisses, and I wrap my arms around him and return them just as fiercely.

  He takes a deep breath, and pushes me away.

  “Wait,” he says, his eyes shut. He takes a deep breath, and calms himself. “I want to show you I can be gentle, and careful, that I can meet your needs, too.”