by Randi Darren
“You’ve done nothing wrong. I just find that… maybe we don’t mesh that well. I wouldn’t ask you to continue down this path any further. Bearing a child isn’t something you can undo, after all.
“Would you want that? A divorce? An amicable one?”
Holly let out a shuddering breath, then held up her hands as if in defeat.
“I worry for answering you honestly, and what you would do to me afterward. But I have never seen you act cruelly. Ruthlessly in your deals and how you work, but never cruel.
“What would be the reason for the divorce? The peerage frowns on that, to a degree.”
“You could claim it was on your part, and that you heard tale of me sleeping around during the campaign. It’s reasonable, and true,” Alex said easily.
“It’s not ideal, but it’d give you a valid excuse.”
“Most noblemen have mistresses; it isn’t unheard of. At all.”
“No, but it’s reasonable for a lower-house noblewoman to back out with that type of excuse. I don’t think you’ll suffer much for it. If anything, it might give your family a bit more on the status side of things.
“Though you might need some time to find a second husband willing to take all that on.”
Holly nodded her head slowly.
“I would accept. It is not that you’re a poor husband; it’s simply that… you’re not who I would choose for myself, Alex,” Holly said, finally meeting his eyes.
“I understand completely. I’ve already had the paperwork drawn up on the off-chance you agreed.
“Well, Anna did, actually. She was already miles ahead of me on this one. All you have to do is sign, and you’re a free lady,” Alex said, pointing to the paperwork on the desk.
Holly looked from him to the desk, and then back to him.
“I’ll sign,” she said finally.
Alex felt a small pang inside.
There was a worry there now.
A kernel of doubt.
Once I get everything from them, do I have to send them away? If that’s the case, what will I be left with in the end but a never-ending need to fill a crystal?
Chapter 28
In the end, Alex hadn’t waited for a return missive from the duchess.
He’d simply sent the note, then left a day later. There’d be no point in waiting, and even less in expecting her to be able to respond quickly.
No, this was quicker, easier, and with less worry.
Or so he told himself, right up until Carla had forced herself onto a horse to join him.
After throwing up for the second time after an hour, she actually seemed like she was doing better as they rode fast down the roads.
Keeping his party to something small and swift, they made excellent time. Much to the concern of everyone other than him when he got the room and immediately fell asleep like the dead.
“Master, are we sure this is the best idea? I don’t think it is the best course of action,” Valeria said, eying him from across the room. “As far as we know, the duchess only arrived day before yesterday. Along with your messenger.”
“That’s why we waited a day before we announced our presence. And here we are. I don’t think she would have agreed to see us if she was angry,” Alex said, indicating the waiting area they were in.
Carla and Valeria had been taking turns telling him how bad an idea this all was.
Most especially since he’d amended their plan when they’d arrived. The three of them would travel on to see the king if the duchess didn’t honor the duel he’d had with the count of Ridge.
“Is there reason you’re bent on doing this now?” Carla asked.
“Yes, Two. There is. I don’t want to give Ridge time to recuperate. I’ll take a chunk from him or all of him. Now. Waiting just gives an enemy time to get back on his feet.
“I’ve seen you club a corpse in the back of a head, ya know, Two. You’re don’t differ in opinion.”
Carla frowned, then shrugged her shoulders. “True enough.”
“You’re not supposed to agree with him,” Valeria said, peering up at the other woman standing beside her.
“He’s not wrong. I don’t want them getting back up. As if you’d do anything different,” Carla accused.
Valeria opened her mouth, then shut it. Then she shrugged as well. “Fair. This just seems like a foolish idea, though.”
“It isn’t,” Alex said decisively. “They’re all hurt. We’re not. If anything, we’ve nearly doubled our military capacity. Using it to our advantage right now is the proper leverage.
“Waiting any longer will only tip them off to the change, and they’ll increase their own troops.”
Carla and Valeria both said nothing after that. And the silence settled over them.
“It’s your turn tonight,” Carla said, smashing the silence as quickly and abruptly as she could.
“What?” Valeria squawked.
“It’s still your turn from last time; you never ended up doing anything. Anna kicked us all out,” Carla said.
Valeria pressed a hand to her brow. “Why do you all insist on tossing each other at him?”
“Because it isn’t our turn.”
Valeria looked at him and pointed her finger. “This is because you keep hiring commoners. The next Number better be a lady, or so help me I’ll make your life hell somehow.
“No offense, Two. I think you’re rather lovely for a commoner.”
Carla didn’t even bat an eye. “None taken. I’ve killed more of your kind than I’m sure is my due. You’re pretty easygoing for nobility.”
“The duchess will see you, Count Alex. She’s requested your guards remain here,” said a liveried man at the door.
Oh, thank Leah.
Alex got up and left without even addressing the man, simply signaling him to lead the way with a hand.
The corridors and hallways passed quickly, leaving Alex in a situation that Carla would later flog him for if she found out. He had no idea how far they’d gone or where his guards were.
“Sir,” said the man, opening a door.
Alex went through and found himself in a rather cozy receiving room.
“Count Brit. I’m afraid you’ve come faster than I expected,” called Regina from a small table filled with a light lunch setting. “Or even faster than I daresay would be polite.”
“I do have my reasons, Duchess,” Alex said, bowing at the waist to her. She’d done nothing wrong to him in any way so far and deserved a modicum of respect.
Right up until she did what he expected her to. Deny him his victory.
“I suspect,” she said, pointing at the chair across from herself as she fussed with a teacup, “this has something to do with that duel father spoke of.”
“That it does, Duchess,” Alex said, taking the indicated seat. “I wanted to seek your either approval to commit to war against the count of Ridge, or your upholding of my victory over him and granting me his title.”
The duchess froze, her cup halfway between the table and herself. After a single beat, she finished the motion, taking a delicate sip.
Alex touched nothing on the table. He had no intention of being side-stepped, and wouldn’t even allow an inch on this.
“I see,” Duchess Tanulf said, folding her hands in her lap. “You put us in an awkward position.”
“Not as I see it, Duchess. It was an appropriate duel, witnessed by the entire vassalage of the duke and approved by himself. The conditions, the means, and even the act itself.
“If there has ever been such a sanctioned action previous to this one, I’d love to see it.”
“So I was told,” the duchess muttered, shaking her head. “No, I’m not speaking of the duel. I’m speaking of upholding it.
“Count Ridge is a… bitter pill… so to speak. As the duchess, I’d love nothing more than to simply uphold your win, but at the same time, he has a strong hold in a faction within our holdings that I cannot ignore. The moment I agreed to uphold
the victory, they would rally against myself and you.
“My father was… not a tactical man. As evidenced by his demise. I’ll be rebuilding my army for the foreseeable future. I’m afraid that I will not recover as quickly my vassals will, either.”
“Then simply approve of my victory and ask the count to hand his title over. Doing that much would be enough for me, Duchess. I can pursue the matter beyond that.”
Regina immediately shook her head, not even considering the idea, he thought.
“No. Our duchy is now at the mercy of Gaelis. It’s only because of that stop-gap fortress you threw together that they aren’t ransacking our lands now.
“We must consolidate, rebuild.”
As you like, then.
Alex nodded his head once to her.
“As you will,” he said, neither agreeing or disagreeing.
“As you’re here,” Regina continued, clearly looking to change the subject. “I heard that you’re no longer married to the nobility? Your marriage was granted a divorce?”
“Indeed. I’m afraid I dallied as men at war are wont to do. She forgave me, but couldn’t look at me the same way. I offered her an exit, and she took it.”
“Awfully serendipitous. Her family squirms out from under their debt, you avoid the king’s attempt to corner you, and she gets a free pass after a throw or two in your bed.
“One would almost imagine it was all planned,” Regina said, smiling at him.
“If I’d planned it, I wouldn’t be married at all.”
“One would argue a marriage with a commoner is by no means an actual marriage. But that’s beside the point. My condolences at your failed union. I do hope your next goes more smoothly,” Regina said.
Well. We more or less saw that coming. Though it’s a surprise how quickly she seems to want to move on it. Will need to curb that somehow in the future.
“Thank you, Duchess. I’m sure I’ll manage.”
***
Valeria and Carla were packing up for their morning departure. After Alex finished his meeting with the duchess, there wasn’t much point in remaining.
Alex sat on the edge of the sofa in the room they were renting.
It was a nice inn, certainly fit for traveling members of the peerage—but it was still a room at an inn.
“Are you sure about seeing that dumb ass of a king we serve?” Carla asked, cinching up her saddle bags tightly.
“I do have to seek permission from the next in line for the claim to be valid. I think… so long as I present it to him in a way that conveys I’ll go to the emperor next, he’ll agree.
“I doubt anyone would want a count in their kingdom going to the emperor over a matter such as winning a duel.”
“I should think not; that’d be like a burgher coming to you to talk about a problem with a neighbor,” Valeria said, shaking her head. “That’d do no one well at all in the entire situation.”
“And yet it’s what I must do. I cannot let this pass. This is a perfect opportunity,” Alex said.
Especially if I manage to capture any of his family members. Then I can swing hard for the fences and hope I get that crystal pillar filled faster than a tax collector’s sack.
Or bed.
Carla stood up and put her hands on her hips. Inspecting her belongings.
“I don’t think I was quite ready for this trip, but I’m glad I went. Cleared my head,” she said. “Was a good way to right everything inside.”
“Is that what you call tossing up your innards all over the road while riding?” Valeria asked, fiddling with something in her own pack.
“Speaking of throwing up,” Carla said, turning to look at Valeria with an evil grin. “Do be sure to service our Master appropriately. If I don’t miss my guess, I think it’s your knees you’ll be working out tonight.”
Valeria closed her eyes, then dropped her head with a grunt.
“Suppose I deserved that,” she muttered.
Alex simply nodded his head with a smile. Agreeing wholeheartedly with the entire direction of the conversation.
“See? Master agrees,” Carla said, pointing at Alex as he nodded. Valeria looked to him with an annoyed pout.
“Here, I’ll even help you out,” Carla said suddenly. She snatched a belt out of her pack and held it loosely.
Before Valeria could react, the bigger woman closed in on her, shoved her to the ground face first, and stomped a foot down on her shoulders.
“Gimme those birdlike hands,” Carla growled, snatching at Valeria’s fingers.
Valeria squirmed, trying unsuccessfully to fight off the ex-bandit.
A minute later and Carla had tied up Valeria’s hands behind her back.
“There. Been a bit since I had to do that,” Carla said, inspecting her work. “That’ll hold for at least an hour.”
Moving around to the front of her, Carla pulled Valeria’s dress down until she was completely exposed from her navel to her chin. The fabric gathered at her elbows and waist.
“That should do it. Anything else I can do for you, Master?” Carla asked, looking up towards Alex.
“No, that was rather skillfully done. Just bring her over here,” Alex said, motioning to the two women.
“Master,” Valeria panted out between breaths, her hair mussed and her eyes with a skittering look to them. “Maybe… I could…”
Carla grabbed the woman by the shoulder and her wrists, marched her over to Alex, and dropped her there in front of him.
“I’ll finish up with her gear and then hit the sack. Let me know if I need to rough her up again,” Carla said, then went over to Valeria’s pack.
Alex leaned down to one side to peer up into Valeria’s face.
“Same safe word as last time? Or just standing up, maybe?” Alex asked.
Valeria didn’t immediately respond. Then she nodded her head a bit.
“Be a dear, Three, and repeat the word for me?”
“Red,” she said softly.
“Good.”
Alex stood up right in front of Valeria, unfastened his pants, and unbuckled his belt.
Letting his trousers hit the ground, he sat back down on the sofa and settled in comfortably.
He reached out and sank his fingers into the hair behind Valeria’s head, guiding her downward.
He maneuvered her head until her cheek was resting on his inner thigh, his slowly hardening member hanging before her face.
“So,” Alex started, his free hand carding through her hair. “You’re going to do your best. And if your best isn’t enough, I’m going to do it for you.
“And when you’ve finally gotten your prize, I expect to see you enjoy it to the last drop.
“And if you throw up, we’ll start over again in an hour. After you’ve cleaned up your own sick.
“Any questions?”
Valeria didn’t respond, her eyes locked to his now fully erect member.
“Grand,” he said. His left hand curled into the hair atop her head, and he grabbed himself with his right.
Before she could respond, he simply pushed it into her mouth up to the halfway point.
“Get to work, Three,” Alex said, letting go of her hair and leaning back.
Valeria sat there for only a second before she shuffled herself around, getting properly positioned between his knees. All the while not letting him fall from her mouth, nor looking up at him.
Alex let out a soft sigh at the feel of her tongue and soft lips, and truly relaxed into the sofa. He let his eyes roll across her bare shoulders and chest. Admiring her figure and form from where he sat.
Slowly, Valeria moved her head down, her lips tightening up around his girth.
He could feel her tongue sliding up around the sides of his length as she went.
“That’s definitely a good start, Three,” Alex said, laying his right hand down atop her head but not guiding or forcing her in any way.
Glancing up as Valeria started to pull her head back, he caught Car
la watching from the other side of the room.
Before she could turn away, he held up his left hand to her in a stop signal. Then he pointed to a chair nearby.
You get to watch. Maybe you’re the voyeur amongst the group.
You or One.
Valeria slurped loudly on his tip, causing Alex to look back at her. Only to catch her sneak a glance up at him as she started to move back down his shaft.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Carla sit down where he’d indicated, her eyes fastened to him.
Languidly, Valeria started to bob her head up and down from hilt to head.
She gave him her full attention, her tongue scrubbing at him as her mouth pulled at him.
He couldn’t help himself when he started to pull at her head a bit, trying to speed her up.
Her eyes moved from his crotch up to his face at the insistent pulling of his hand, but she didn’t speed up.
Ah, you want it rough. That’s fine.
That fits your needs.
Grabbing a handful of her hair, he began to force her head up and down.
Valeria groaned but didn’t fight in the least, her neck and shoulders providing no resistance against his control.
Using one hand, he made her work faster. He made sure to pull her all the way down, her nose pressing to his abdomen and his tip getting lodged in her throat.
Valeria coughed once around him after he pulled her head back, but she again made no move against him or to try to stand up.
Alex found himself enjoying not just the feeling, but watching her, using her.
He was fascinated as drool and precum dripped from her chin down along her throat and onto her chest. Straight down her cleavage.
Reaching out with his other hand, he took a handful of hair on both sides of her head and began to push her faster each time.
Her breathing became erratic as he worked her, soft grunts coming from her as he pushed himself down her throat.
Groaning, Alex realized he was at that point.
Standing up quickly, he kept hold of Valeria while thrusting into her face at the same time.
“Want it?” he asked, staring down at her upturned face.
She nodded her head a bit, or at least he thought she did. Then she moaned deeply in a way that tickled his spine.
