The Taken Bride: A Medieval Romance

by McCormick, Kaley

  He was about to kiss me and I was about to let him, when were interrupted. “Unhand her you foul smelling animal.” He turned and looked over his shoulder at a man that was dressed in a black pair of pants, black boots and a cowl that he had over his head. I knew that this was an assassin sent from the royal family. I’d seen him several times skulking around and now he was brandishing two knives, one in each hand and was about to do battle for the honor of the royal family.

  “Let us fight then and see who stands the victor.” Conner drew his broad sword and they began to fight. The longer reach of his blade made contact with the skin of the assassin. There were deep cuts in the cloth of his clothing, leading to droplets of blood that were now falling to the ground. This did not stop the assassin and he continued to circle, looking for an opening that he could use.

  I’d heard that he was quite adept with that blade and was known for his prowess at killing in close quarters. I could see that young Conner was getting a little fatigued and swinging that sword back and forth was making him lose a step.

  The assassin came in and stabbed true into his shoulder, but at the same time he had walked right into the point of the broadsword. It came out the other side. He died almost instantly, but he had gotten his pound of flesh.

  Conner sat down on a rock and I ripped open the tear to see the blade sticking out. I pulled it out without thinking and it began to bleed. He reached into this satchel and he passed me what looked like a poultice. I opened it and it was pungent, but I stuck my fingers in and pulled out a wad. He motioned to his shoulder and I knew that he wanted me to put it on his wound.

  I did so, and soon it stopped bleeding altogether. He stripped off the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped his shoulder. “That is something that we acquired from one of our many Allies. I do not know what it’s made of and apparently the recipe is a family secret. All they require in return is that we bring them food and clothing.”

  “I hope you know that that is not going to be the only one they send. Once he doesn’t come back, they’ll know that he was not able to get the job done.” I don’t know why I was warning him, but deep down I think that I was falling in love.

  Chapter five

  He was looking at me kinda funny and it was an awkward moment that lasted a little longer than necessary. We walked away from the scene of the crime. We continued down the beach, till we found this alcove and suddenly he twirled me around and were now body to body.

  “Luna, I need to tell you that I had a strange dream last night. Or maybe it wasn’t a dream at all.” He kissed me out of the blue and it was something that had taken me by surprise, but it was not unwelcome. His hand was now undoing the kilt that I was wearing. “I knew that it wasn’t a dream, from the moment that I saw you wearing one of my discarded kilts. I remembered destroying your dress and how I went down and gave you pleasure with my mouth.” His hands were on my shoulders and he was forcing me to my knees, although he didn’t have to. I was more than happy to reciprocate.

  I was not wearing anything under the kilt and it had fallen onto the ground with my bare ass now saluting the sky. I was eye level with his kilt and I pulled it aside to see that his cock was now ready to receive his own form a pleasure. I squeezed from the bottom to the top, until a drop of his cream was now spilling over the top. It was thick and I easily swiped it off with my tongue, before taking him deep into my mouth. I did not stop, until his balls were nestled up against my chin.

  I had barely started, when he stopped me with his two hands on my shoulders. I relinquished my claim, leaving a wet sheen of my spit clinging to his shaft. It was something to see and it was bobbing up and down with an excitement evident by the way that it was, as hard as I had ever seen any cock. That’s not saying much, because I’d only seen Henry’s and it paled in comparison to Conner’s magnificent beast of a tool.

  That thing was all encompassing and was, so thick that I could barely wrap my fingers all the way around it. The knob was bigger than the shaft and reminded me of a mushroom. The small hole on the tip got the flicking motion of my tongue. It made him jerk intensely in my grip. He finally was able to step away, breathing heavy and looking at me incredulously.

  He attacked me and ripped open my shirt, so that he could see the object of his desire. “I think I told you this last night, but let me say it without the need for alcohol. You are a beautiful ass…I mean lass and you deserve a man that’s going to treat you right. You need somebody that’s going to take control and allow you to be the woman that you want to be.” His knees were now pushing mine apart and I could feel the granulars of sand sticking to my skin from behind. I did not try to stop him, as he lifted me by putting his hand underneath my ass. He pulled me towards him, so that my legs were wrapped around his waist and his love muscle was now, so close to my hole that he could probably feel the heat striking against the head.

  “Conner, you are all man and I’m glad that you came into my life.” I may have not liked how he had come into my life, but he was here now and I never want to let him go. Last night, I had given into a feeling of euphoria. I felt regret and guilt afterwards, but now all that had changed. I’d gotten to know him and found out that he was a single father. His wife had died and that was something that I could see in his eyes. There was damage and a vulnerability that made his strength even that much more overwhelming.

  With that first thrust, I arched my back and took him into my arms for a kiss that had me biting into his tongue. He struggled in vain and was staring at me, as he pushed in and out of me. My ass was continually slammed down into the sand. I could feel the heat of the sun baking my skin to a golden brown.

  He drove into me with insistence, the power of the true warrior behind each thrust of his hips. I slapped lightly at his chest, scratching with my fingernails and making him moan with desire and want.

  “Take me, Conner. I’m yours and I will always be yours.” This was exactly what I had been missing. There was no passion with Henry and I was just going through the motions. This was different and even though he was rough and demanding, I gave back as good as I got and then some. “Fuck me… God damn it…like you mean it.” This only fueled him into slamming up against me repeatedly. That sound of our skin coming in contact with each other was like beautiful music.

  “I’ve never met a woman like you, Luna. I know that you can feel how much I need you. You have captured something that I thought was long dead and buried with my wife. I never believed that I would find love again.” This was sudden, but it was like we were destined to find each other. I wasn’t sure if I believed in such nonsense, but the proof was in the way that he was looking at me.

  “I’m cumming…cum with me, Conner… Please…cum with me.” I began to strangle the invading presence between my legs. That pillar of strength had grown another inch and I could feel the head expanding like it was ready to explode.

  “I’m there, Luna…I’m there with you all the way.” As I was in the middle of my own, I felt him burying his man sword. I felt it let go and experienced that same sense of euphoria that I felt last night. I could feel him inside me and the rippling walls of my sex were now milking him dry. I still had my legs wrapped around him and I could feel him jerking against me, as he finally came to the end of his rope.

  He hovered above me with sweat dripping off his body and down onto me. He smiled and then he slumped forward, so that he was lying on my chest. I caressed his hair, twisting it in my fingers, until he looked up to me with an expression that could only mean that we were at home in each other’s arms. It did not matter what they threw at us. We would be ready. Whatever assassin came next, would find themselves in exactly the same position as the first one. I might even have to pick up the blade myself. I don’t think it would take much convincing to get Conner to show me a few tricks of the trade.

  I think his men knew that something had changed when we came back to the ship. It might have been the way that we were looking at each other, or maybe Conner couldn’t
keep his big mouth shot. Either way, none of his men ever touched me again. When we arrived back in Scotland, he took that opportunity after a week at sea to get down on his knee and give me a bauble that he had gotten on one of his raids. I accepted it gleefully and I knew that this was the man that I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

  THE END

  The Highlander’s Mail Order Bride

  Chapter one

  My family has always given me nothing, but the best. I don’t know any way to live that doesn’t include all the privileges that come from having a wealthy background. England is on the cusp of becoming a great nation onto itself. We have several boats that go out frequently to do trading and find the necessary resources to make this growing community better than what it was. I wanted to be a part of that. The Kensington name was synonymous with greatness. We were known, as humanitarians, business owners and those that were willing to make the tough decisions.

  “Elizabeth, as your brother, I forbid you to go out with him. He is uncouth, he doesn’t shave and his family are farmers. What are our parents going to say when they find out that you are slumming it with a farm boy? I don’t want to do this, but I think that it’s my right, as your brother to put my foot down. Stop this madness, before it goes any further. We are aristocrats and we do not sully our good name with those that are commoners.” My brother Richard has always had my back. I think deep down he knows that I’m the one that is going to give this family a baby to carry on the name.

  “Just because you had a string of disastrous relationships, doesn’t make you an expert on love. In fact I think it’s just the opposite. How am I supposed to trust your judgment, when all you can do is find some young thing and defile her? What makes you an expert on my love life? If it’s all the same to you, I would like you to stay out of my business. If you even hint at telling our parents, then I’ll have no choice, but to blab your little secret.” He knew exactly what I was talking about and it didn’t look like he wanted any part of that.

  “If you don’t want to do it for me, then do it for our parents. They will be a laughingstock if it gets out that you have been having relations with those that are below you.” I could understand his reasoning, but I couldn’t stop, even if I wanted to. He was underneath my skin and Henry had a way of making me feel like a natural woman. I didn’t have to put on airs and I could be myself. I wasn’t sure that it was love, but it was something.

  “I know that you’re worried about me, brother, but there isn’t anything to worry about.” I think he didn’t want me to make a mistake and have it come back and bite me where the sun didn’t shine. We never admitted it to each other, but we had heard the stories of how marauders from Scotland had brought their Highland ways to our shores.

  “I just think that there’s a need to be cautious. I don’t think I have to tell you the reason why.” Those highland warriors were getting closer and each town that they decimated had this English community on high alert. There were soldiers stationed at the edge of town, taking up guard and making sure that there were no undesirables. The stories that I had heard were repulsive. It made me almost sick to my stomach.

  There was a letter in the back of my brother’s pants and I motioned to it with my head. He grabbed it and put it in my hand. When he left, I used the letter opener to strip away the paper. I opened it and I began to read and the smile on my face turned to a frown. I thought that it might be from Henry, but it wasn’t.

  “You don’t know me, but my name is Patrick Mcdowell. I am a highland warrior of the highest degree. I have been charged to take this land and pillage and plunder whatever I can find. I have recently been to your town and I’ve seen you from afar. I’m going to make a proposition and I do hope that you don’t take offense. I want you and if you don’t consent to be mine, then I will have no choice. I will not only destroy your town but take you by force. This is very serious and I hope that you will take this in the spirit that it was given.” For an uncouth and uncivilized gentleman, he had shown a remarkable understanding of our language.

  His letter was forthright and to the point. He wanted to make it well known from the very beginning that he was not going to be denied. I decided to chalk it up to one of those things. There was no way that I could pay this any mind. It had to be some sort of joke that was being perpetrated at my expense.

  Over the next few weeks, I continually got these sweet and very condescending letters. Each one was getting a little more on the scary side. I decided to share it with my brother and Richard was not exactly happy that I had kept this from him and the family. Our parents were off on the other side of the world in America. They were not going to return for several weeks, which left him the one in charge in their absence. We were not royalty, but we did have the ear of the magistrate.

  “I can’t believe that you never told me about any of this. I understand that you may have thought the first letter was some kind of hoax. I’m standing here with five separate letters and they make some bold claims that are hard to ignore. We know that these highlanders are consummate warriors. They take what they want and they leave nothing behind. I’ve heard the stories from several soldiers that have seen this first hand. We need to fortify and be ready for them, but even then it might be in vain. I need to take this to the magistrate.” I was going to accompany him, but it seemed pointless to gain up on the man that held this town in the palm of his hand.

  “I thought that he would never leave.” The voice made me smile and I turned to see Henry with a bouquet of wildflowers that he had probably picked on the way here. “I haven’t heard from you in a while and I was getting slightly worried that something happened. I heard what you were talking to your brother about. Is it true?”

  He was wearing his Sunday best with a vest and his hair made up. I was in my proper attire as a lady of the Kensington Empire. People saw me and they bowed politely, even though we really didn’t have any kind of say in judicial matters. I was afforded nothing but the best and I don’t think that I would want it any other way.

  “It’s true that this Patrick Mcdowell wants me, but I can assure you that that’s never going to happen.” I don’t know who I was trying to convince him or myself. If the leaders thought that it was the only way to prevent certain disaster, then they might take his proposal to heart. “My heart has always belonged to you.” I wasn’t sure if that was true and I might’ve been just doing this to get the goat of my brother. It was nice to see him sweat for a change.

  “I don’t know if my opinion matters, but I would really like you to stay away from this.” Unfortunately, his opinion didn’t hold much water. This decision would have to be made higher up, but I couldn’t believe for a second they would even consider such an option.

  “There’s nothing to worry about, Henry. You really shouldn’t be here and I told you that the only that we could see each other was if I came to you and not the other way around. I know that this is hard for you to understand, but people may not understand what we mean to each other.” I thought that I was in love with him, but maybe I was just in love with the idea of sticking it to my brother. Henry was a strong and confident man, but he did not have that edge that I was looking for. I wanted somebody that was going to stand up in the face of overwhelming odds. I wanted a man that could treat me like a real woman.

  “I know that I’m taking a risk, but I just couldn’t get you out of my head.” That was sweet, but it was also a little on the sickening side. I didn’t want him to become obsessed and that would only take away the purity of what we had. I couldn’t help, but to notice that Henry was looking at me with thoughts that would have made a lady blush.

  He grabbed me and pulled me towards him. He kissed me and made me feel desired. He wanted me and it was in his eyes that told me that I was all that he thought about at every waking hour. I had gotten to him, but he wasn’t the first one that had fallen underneath my spell.

  I had to literally push him away. I pointed and made it quite clear t
hat it was time for him to go. When he was gone, it wasn’t more than a few minutes later that my brother was standing in front of me with this expression that told me more than I wanted to know.

  Chapter two

  “I know that you don’t think that this is fair, but it’s the only way. If we don’t do this, then those highland warriors are going to come here and desecrate our land. I have been charged by the magistrate to talk on their behalf with this Patrick Mcdowell.” It had been two weeks and we had just received a letter that Patrick. He was willing to talk.

  “I think that you’re having way too much fun and underneath this caring brother act is a man that is hoping that I will never come back.” I’d gone over this several times with the magistrate and they were quite insistent that this was the way that it had to be. They didn’t give me much of a choice. If I didn’t go willingly, then they would have the guards take me by force to the location that was mentioned in the letter. It was agreed upon that only one guard and my brother would accompany me.

  “Don’t blame me; I take no pleasure in handing you over like some sort of cattle. Unfortunately, you and I both have to abide by the rule of those that hold court over the rest of us. We may have their ear, but the ultimate decision falls in their hand. I got this feeling like he may have had some part in the decision-making process. There was something insidious about that smirk that I had perceived on Richard’s face.

  We arrived on horseback on the outskirts of town away from prying eyes. The public didn’t even know about this arrangement and it was agreed upon that they would never find out. I was tempted to scream it from the rooftops, but I knew that it would make no difference.

  I dismounted the horse and waited in this clearing, until we could hear the hooves of horses that were coming this way. The Scottish flag was in this man’s hand and he was wearing a green and white tartan. It covered one shoulder and the other one was bare. I thought that my heart would stop, as he jumped down and approached with his sword in hand.