A Grave Exchange (11 page)

I rounded two more large oak trees and stopped dead
. T
here before me was a
wide,
swirling river
.
I
nearly
fell to me knees in despair
. H
ow would
I
get across
?

“Ivy
,
you must swim
. Y
ou can do this
. L
ook how far you’ve already come.
It’s almost over; I promise you.
”

Laughing at myself and
at
the futility of the situation
,
I decided
I had no choice.
I would rather die trying than be beaten or raped by those bastards who I could
still
hear behind me
.
In a few moments, they’d be on me, and my life would be over, anyway. Between the two, the river was the better option.
After r
ipping the laces open on my boots
,
I pulled them off
and flung them aside. M
y feet screamed at me in protest
,
but I had no time to
rest them.
I
d
rew off my socks
,
yanked open the zipper on my parka
, and shrugged out of the heavy garment. I left everything behind, as
I took a deep breath
and then
hurled myself into the frigid
waters
. T
he
icy
coldness momentarily confused me,
but
I bobbed up
to the surface
and tried to get sense of my
direction.
I could hear tree branches cracking
off
to the left
,
so I swung to the right and
began swimming with quick, strong strokes. T
he cold stiffen
ed
my limbs
, and
I thanked the
g
ods that my parents had insisted I
take swimming
lessons
as a child. Despite my skill, m
y arms
still
ached, my breaths were
pained and small,
and
the frigid water
made
my thoughts
jumble into a state of
confus
ion. But
I kept going,
and
slowly
,
the other side
drew closer, until finally I looked up and saw him. Lucius, standing there
in the clearing,
waiting for me. His lips moved, and I sensed him shouting something,
but I couldn’t hear him above the choppy waves
. O
n I
swam
, forcing myself to keep
going, telling myself that soon—very soon—I could stop. Lucius would take care of me. Lucius would protect me.
I risked a glance b
ehind me
and nearly drowned
,
for
there
,
on the bank
,
stood
the
k
ing and
Fausto, grim
-
faced and
obviously
indignant o
ver
the fact
that
I appeared to have escaped him
. I
turn
ed back, and
with renewed vigor
,
I pushed myself ahead, kicking with everything I had
.
Lucius crouched down and placed his hands out toward me
. I grabbed on and held tight, and
he pulled me
from the river
as if I
weighed no more than a small child
.
Lifting me into his arms
,
he kissed me with punishing lips
. I turned my face, gasping
for air
, but I stayed safely in his grasp.

“Ivy
,
I am in awe of what you just did
. N
ever for a second did
the King
think a human woman could escape him, but you did
. Y
ou are amazing.”

The dawning realization of what I did
hit me like a freight train,
and
I started to sob,
making
silly
,
hiccupping
noises
.
Lucius
lowered us both
to the ground
,
and I curled up in his arms
as he
rock
ed
me gently
. He
wrapp
ed
his coat around the two of us,
and
we sat like this for the longest time
. S
lowly
,
my breath
ing returned to normal,
and
my
hiccupp
ing grew softer
.
Lucius lifted my chin
,
and I gazed into his molten eyes
with their red-rimmed
pupils
.
I stroked his face, loving the feel of his velvet skin
. With a sigh, I reached up and
kissed hi
m
, savoring the taste that
is
Lucius
.
I
i
nhal
ed
his woodsy scent
, so uniquely him, and
snuggl
ed
closer
in his arms
.
I felt
as if I’d come
home
.

“Ivy
,
you nearly killed me
,
and that truly is quite a
feat
.”

Laughing dryly
,
I looked up
at him, shocked to see
a single red tear fall from his eye
s
.

“I would have
found a way to
kill
myself had I lost you,
” he said. “N
othing is worth living for if you are not here to share it with me.”

I laid my head on his chest, questions swarming my confused brain
.
I wanted answers
,
but my eyes started to close
,
and I gave up the good fight
.
I was safe, I was in Lucius’ arms
,
and that’s all I cared about right then
.
Leaning
against him,
I sighed and asked him to
take
us home.

Chapter N
i
ne

I awoke suddenly with the dire need to use the bathroom
.
I was
back at
Lucius’ house
,
and
I slid out of the bed
but
almost crashed to the floor
as my legs gave out beneath me. E
very muscle in my body ached badly,
and I steadied myself with the bedpost for a moment before hobbling
toward
the connected bathroom. A
light
glowed softly from there, lighting my way. I closed the door
gently so
as
not to awaken him
, and then
quickly
sat down to relieve my full bladder.

A
s I sat there
,
I gazed down at my feet and winced
. T
hey were raw and bloody,
and
I wondered mildly if I had
stained
Lucius’ satin sheets
. T
omorrow
,
I thought
,
I would wash them
.
My thoughts turned to the previous day’s events. How
had
I managed to
escape
the
k
ing
and his cronies
? T
ruly
,
they were far stronger than
I was. Did the king have some ulterior motive for letting me go?
I looked down at my wrist and saw it was almost silver in color now
. G
ingerly
,
I rubbed it
,
but no sign of pain or heat came from
my touch. W
hat did that mean
?

A
soft
knock on the door stopped my contemplati
on.

“Ivy
,
are you ok
ay
?”

“Fine. Just give me one minute, please.”

Smiling shyly
,
I
finished quickly, then got up and
washed my hands
. I then
hobbled over to the door to open it
. A
s I pulled
open
the door
, I saw
Lucius’ molten eyes sh
one
with concern
. The look on his face
nearly stole my breath
away
. T
his man truly loved me
.
I slid my arms around him and kissed the tip of his nose
. G
iggling
,
I snuggled into him
,
inhaling the spot just under his ear.

Lucius lifted my legs up
and
around his waist and pushed me against the sink counter
.

“Ivy
,
your feet, they are so sore
. L
et me clean them for you and rub some salve on them to help heal them.”
He set me on the counter.

I shrugged and sat there waiting while he filled
the sink with warm water and some
bath salts
. H
e
then
turned me slightly and leaned me against him so I could place my foot into the sink
. E
ver so gently
,
he rubbed my left foot, kneading it
with his fingers
. E
very touch sent shivers down my spine, every touch pooled moisture
i
nto my panties
. S
quirming with awakened desire
,
I grabbed onto Lucius’ muscled arms
.

“
S
it still, I need to clean your poor feet.” Slowly
,
almost painfully
,
he administered tender care to my left foot,
before turning his attention to the other one.
While my foot soaked
,
he
used a soft towel and
dried
my
clean one. He then warmed some salve in his palms, before applying it to the sole and toes with gentle hands.

E
very
fiber
of my being roared into
desirous
awakening
.
My nipples hardened
,
and my throat went dry
.
I started rubbing my hands across Lucius’ chest, reveling in the feel of his beautiful skin
.
Leaning forward
,
I kissed his chest,
and then,
on a sigh
,
I found his nipple and sucked it into my mouth
.
Lucius let out a loud groan and roughly rushed through the washing of my
other
foot
. S
miling
,
I continued to suck his nipple into my mouth
. My body found the taste of him addicting. Q
uickly
,
Lucius slid my foot out of the sink and toweled it off
. He then
grabb
ed the salve and massaged some in, and all the while I continued lathing his hard little nipple.
When I peered up at him from beneath lowered lashes and teasingly flicked my tongue, he groaned, dropped the bottle of salve onto the sink, and grabbed me to pull me close. He lifted
my chin
, forcing me to meet his gaze. H
is eyes
shone
like stars
, filled
with passion for me
. I
ntense heat rippled off his body,
and
the red rings around his pupils shone like
passion
-
filled eternity rings
. G
asping
,
I reached up and pulled h
im
toward me
. H
is mouth crash
ed
down on
mine
, and
I plunged my tongue into his mouth
.
I wanted
him. Now
.

A trickle of sweat dripped off
his
brow
,
and I slid my finger along the line
,
following it as it dropped to his stomach
. I dipped my head and lapped the droplet up with the tip of my tongue.
On a groan,
Lucius dropped to his knees and pushed my legs wide open
. S
lowly
,
he kissed his way up my legs to my inner thigh
s
. Wr
iggling with urgent need
,
I arched forward
,
nearly falling off the sink
.
Lucius held me there and pushed his face into my soaking
,
inner core
. I
nhaling
,
he moaned loudly and bit my swollen clit. I screamed at the intense pleasure rippling through my body
.
Lucius
ran a
finger
along
my wet core and
then pressed it slowly
inside me
. I
nstantly
,
I gripped his finger
,
squeezing tightly
with my inner wall
s. M
y body finding its natural rhythm
,
I bucked into his finger
. He
placed a second finger inside me
,
and I rode them both wildly
.
I could not stop my wanton body’s need, slamming my drenched pussy around his fingers
,
soaking him with my desire
.
Lucius slid my legs up over his shoulders and
slowly danced up my body
.
I
noted somewhere along the way he had
lost his shorts,
and
I cried out with the
frenzy
of desire
building up inside of me
.

“Lucius
,
please I can’t take it anymore
;
I need you so badly.”

“How badly do you want me?”

“
P
lease, oh dear Gods, Lucius
,
fuck me
. F
uck me like you are mad at me.”

Grinning
,
Lucius slid forward and removed his fingers
.

“No
, don’t pull away.
I need you.”
I clutched at him, and m
y body screamed for release
.

Lucius leaned in
,
and on one hard thrust
,
I found my world becoming everything I ever wanted it to be
. O
h dear Gods
,
heaven must have sent this man.
H
e grabbed my ass and pulled me into him, slamming into me
. I
met his
thrust
s
,
O
ur bodies
became one
, sweat coated our skin,
and
I
could barely
breathe with the desire
mounting
in
side
me
.
I felt like a wild cat in heat
, and I use
my nails
on him,
scrapping and digging into his back
side
. E
very thrust he gave sen
t
me closer to complete bliss
.
Our tongues mat
ed
in a wild dance
,
choreographed by Venus herself
.
Suddenly
,
my body convulsed around Lucius’ cock
. H
e roared
,
throwing back his head like a proud lion
,
and
his seed shot into me over and over again,
filling me with a warmth that only we would share
.
I fell against his chest, unable to stay upright anymore
.
Lucius lifted me off the sink
,
and we slid to the floor of the bathroom
. He lay
on his back
, and
I wrapped myself around him
.
Lucius pulled my hair
,
and I looked up at him
.

“
Y
ou are mine,
” he said. “A
lways mine.”

Smiling at his caveman talk
,
I gave him a chaste kiss on his perfect
full
lips and
then
laid my head on his chest
.
I did not know what
it was like for
other couples
when they
made love
.
I
only
knew this was perfection
for me, for us
; there were truly no words in any language suitable for what we had
.
Smiling and content
,
I found myself falling into a
deep
sleep
.

“I love you
,
Lucius
,
”
I whispered as I drifted off.

A loud bang woke me up
,
and I sat there
a moment,
trying to figure out what it was
.
D
azed
,
I sat there rubbing my eyes, my heart banging wildly
.

“Ivy
,
it’s ok
ay;
it’s just thunder
. L
ay back down.”

Turning
,
I saw Lucius lying beside me in the bed
. H
is hair
was all mussed,
a delicious
,
rumpled look that begged to be ruffled
.
S
nuggling down into his open arms
,
I sighed
.