Aftermath (12 page)

“Have you ever penetrated yourself back here?”

“No.”

“I’m going to. First with my finger and then with my cock.” She shuddered at the thought of his thick cock inside her anus, wondering if it would hurt. She’d heard of couples fucking that way but had never experimented on herself. Braedon slipped his fingers into her juices again and poured more of them between her buttocks.

“So wet and slick there, so hot. It will feel good, my sweet faerie, I promise.” He swirled his finger through the moistness and around the tight rosette.

Stars, it did feel good to have him tease her back there. She had not expected to feel such pleasure.

“Relax and you will enjoy it more. I will not hurt you. If it does, simply tell me to stop and I will.” She believed him and relaxed the tension in her body, closing her eyes and once again concentrating on his touch. Soon, she was enveloped in the sensations of his hands on her, touching her clit, sliding inside her pussy, while the other hand circled her anus. When he pushed one finger past the tight barrier there, she tensed, but only for a moment as the sharp pain shocked her, then quickly subsided. Braedon dribbled her juices around his finger from his other hand, coating it and lubricating it, allowing his finger to glide easily inside the tight sheath. Then he maneuvered his other hand underneath to cup her mound and caress her clit, making her forget about any sort of pain.

How could she feel pain when she felt such amazing pleasure? She lifted her hips as he swirled his hand over her sex and plunged his finger deeper into her anus. The pressure built, bringing her closer and closer until she could not hold back.

“Braedon!”

He withdrew his finger partially from her anus and then thrust it in deeply as she cried out, over the edge with an orgasm that made her magic burst within her. She held tight to his thigh and screamed her pleasure while he caressed her clit and slid the fingers of his other hand into her pussy, holding her in place while she rocked against him and rode out the sensations that threatened to topple her off his lap.

She shuddered against him and finally gained her balance while he withdrew his hands and pulled her off his lap, then laid her on her back on the soft grass while he cleaned his hands in the water.

She expected him to invade her anus with his cock right then and she prepared herself for it, trying to remain relaxed but knowing there would be a big difference between one finger and his thick shaft.

But he did not. Instead, he leaned over her and captured her lips with his, teasing them back and forth across hers and licking at the tip of her tongue.

She shuddered at the tenderness. Her lips parted and she reached for him, spreading her legs to accommodate his weight as he settled on top of her to take her mouth fully. Heat exploded inside her once again and she threaded her fingers in his hair to bring him closer, needing to feel him fully against her.

But he withdrew, sliding down her body to capture one nipple in his mouth, flattening it against the roof of his mouth and his tongue, suckling it until she could not bear the exquisite torment and lifted her hips, wanting his cock buried inside her instead.

“Patience, my faerie,” he murmured against her breast, staring at the nipple he released from the clutches of his mouth.

Patience? She had no patience. Not when he licked around the other nipple and then drew it between his teeth to tug at it until sparks burst behind her eyes and she cried out with the pleasure of it.

When he trailed his tongue across her ribs and lower, excitement bloomed like dolaberries after the first rain of spring, bursting from deep inside her and covering her skin in a warm flush. He cradled her buttocks in his hands and lifted her bottom.

“Spread your legs for me, Trista,” he commanded.

She did, opening herself for him, offering whatever he asked if he would only take her once again.

When he circled his tongue around her clit, she laid her head on the soft grass and sighed in delight. He slid his tongue lower to capture the juices of her pussy and she tangled her fingers in the grass, felt the burning heat surround her. But then her world shattered as Braedon moved lower and lapped her anus with the warmth of his tongue. Her head shot up and she cried out, eyes widening in shock.

“Braedon!”

“Shh, relax, faerie,” he murmured, “for I wish to taste you everywhere. To make you mine everywhere.” He bent down and teased her anus again with his tongue, sliding it around the small opening again and again until she thought she’d die from the pleasure of it. She laid her head down and closed her eyes, biting her lip as the new sensations took her places she had never been before. He invaded the small hole with the tip of his tongue, fucking her ass as he had with his finger, as he soon would with his cock. She bucked against him, these strange sensations sending her spiraling out of control. She did not want them to stop, for they were truly magical.

But then she grew cold as he moved away from her and opened her eyes to see what he was about. On his knees between her legs, he positioned his cock at her slit and slid inside her pussy.

Magic. Her muscles gripped him as he pushed inside, welcoming him, squeezing him as he drove deep.

She pulsed and came, crying out and grasping his arms, golden dust surrounding them as she rode out a hard and fast orgasm. Braedon rocked slowly against her until the waves subsided, then withdrew, letting her juices seep from her pussy to her anus, coating the small hole while he positioned his cock head there.

“I want to be inside you there, my love,” he said.

She nodded, still pulsing, still needing to feel part of him. He lifted her legs and bent her knees, then pushed them back toward her head, opening her wide for him as he pushed against her anus with his cock head.

He smiled down at her, his blue eyes as dark as a gathering storm in the heat of summer. Her heart filled with love for him and she reached out to touch his chest even as he leaned over her and pushed past the tight barrier within her. She gasped and he stilled, then reached down with one hand to coat his finger in her juices and caress her clit. Soon the pain subsided and all she felt was pleasure. Fiery hot pleasure and she wanted more of it.

“More,” she said and he inched deeper, sliding more fully inside her, still petting her clit, still taking her closer to that magical place again.

“So tight,” he said, pushing further until he was fully sheathed inside her. He leaned back and grasped her knees. “Touch yourself for me while I fuck you, Trista.”

She reached down and found the hard knot, flicked it with her finger, watching his brow arch as she did so.

“That excites me,” he said.

“I know.” She patted her pussy and slid two fingers in her cunt, feeling his cock inside her anus. She fucked herself in tandem with his strokes in her ass, using her other hand to swirl over her clit. The sensations were maddening, like being fucked by more than one man. Soon she could not speak, could only watch Braedon as he reared back and thrust forward. Sweat beaded on his brow, lines furrowing there as he concentrated on watching the movements of her hands as she fucked her fingers in and out of her pussy.

She felt the tightening around her own fingers as her climax approached. Braedon pumped harder then drove deep and shuddered, roaring as he came. She screamed into the night and golden dust covered them both as her orgasm burst from her in a wave of shattering magic, lifting them both off the ground to hover until they were both spent and in each other’s arms.

When she took them to ground again, Braedon withdrew, picked her up and took them both to the water, where he bathed her tenderly and brought her back to the soft grass.

She expected him to dress and return to the castle as he had every other time, but this time he pulled her into his arms and placed her head on his shoulders, caressing her back. Astounded at this change in him, she looked up at the night sky and stared at the stars, afraid to move or speak lest this magical spell be broken.

“I have much to learn about this woman thing and how to deal with you. I know I have made mistakes.” Her eyes widened.

“But I am willing to try.”

She leaned up to gaze into his face, certain the real Braedon had been replaced by someone else. “All right.”

He grinned and pulled her down for a kiss.

Perhaps this man she was falling in love with was not such an ogre after all.

She laid her head on his shoulder once again and thanked the stars, for the first time filled with hope that her life here at Greenbriar might work out after all.

Braedon knew the moment they stepped from the forest that something was not right. Several dozen of his guard stood at the entrance, their faces grim.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Wizards,” Lavare said. “Attacked.”

Damn. “Casualties?”

“A few guard. Injuries, no fatalities.”

But there was more and he knew it. He felt the squeeze of Trista’s hand in his. “Tell me.”

“They took your brother, my king.”

Trista gasped and cried out, “Oh, no!”

Donny. For a brief second Braedon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again and pushed away the emotion threatening to swallow him whole. The nightmares of the past came rushing back at him. “Tell me everything so we can plan an attack and rescue.”

“I can help,” Trista said, tugging on his arm as he began to walk away.

He whirled on her, too furious to speak.

“Braedon, please. Let me help. I am familiar with the wizards and their magic. I can help. My people can help.”

Unable to hold his anger in, he said, “You will do nothing. It is because of you that he is gone. We have not had a wizard attack since my father was killed because we were always on guard, always prepared. But since you arrived and arranged frivolity and this idiotic celebration, look at what happened! Because of you my brother has been taken! Because of you we relaxed our standards and because of you I might lose another one of the people I love! Go to your room, faerie. You have done quite enough to ‘help’.” He turned and walked away, ignoring her stricken look. He had neither the time nor the desire to make her feel better. ‘Twas the truth that it was her fault Donny was taken and he would not let her hide from the facts.

There was much to be done. He would get his brother back. The wizards would not harm another member of his family.

Not this time.

Never again.

Trista paced the great room, her belly twisting in knots as she watched Nadine rock an inconsolable Erin in her arms. Tears streamed down the young girl’s face and she would occasionally give in to racking sobs, only to stop and start again, wailing about her brother.

She wished she could do the same but would not allow herself to wallow in self-pity. Hurt beyond the ability to do much other than pace back and forth, Trista refused to shed a single tear over Braedon’s words.

How could he think this was her fault? Did he not know what the wizards were after? Did he not recognize the coincidence of her arrival and the attack? ‘Twas not the party or the relaxed atmosphere that caused the wizards to attack. ‘Twas her presence, her magic, that made them appear.

‘Twas her they were after. Donny was the bait. She was the prize. She felt their pull, their call to her, their insidious, sickening magic trying to weave their way inside her mind. She knew where they were and what they wanted.

Despite her fear and inexperience, she had to do this and she had to do it alone, knowing Braedon would not believe her, would not allow her to help in any way. He blamed her for all this and she had to show him she could help.

She would free Donny and give Braedon back his family and peace of mind, even if it cost her own life to do so.

Escaping the castle grounds was not a problem since by now they were used to her coming and going into the forest. Besides, they were all busy looking for Donny. And Braedon avoided her. She waited a day to make sure he would not seek her out, though she was not certain if she did so to make sure he would not come to her or to see if he would. Or hope he would.

But of course he did not. He would not. He had told her he did not need or want her help. Even the people of the castle who had started to approach her, to befriend her, had withdrawn from her. Once again, Greenbriar had become a tomb of silence, a castle of ice in the heart of the hottest lands of summer. The only ones who would speak to her were Nadine and Erin, and they spent much of their time together consoling each other. ‘Twas easy to slip out late the following night when no one was about.

But as she headed downstairs she ran into Erin.

“What are you about so late, Erin?”

“I cannot sleep.”

“Where is Nadine?”

“In my room. Snoring.”

Erin managed a slight smile and Trista tried the same. “You should go back to your room in case she wakes up so she will not worry where you are.”

“Where are you going, Trista?”

“For a walk.”

Erin tilted her head and looked at Trista. “You are fully dressed and it is the middle of the night. Are you leaving us?”

Erin was much too intelligent for one so young. “Of course not. Like you, I am having trouble sleeping.”

“I miss Donny. He will never be returned to us, will he?” Trista sat in a nearby chair and pulled Erin into one next to it. “Of course he will. I will see to it.” As soon as she said the words she regretted it.

Erin’s eyes widened. “You will? You can bring him back to us? How?”

“I will try, Erin. But you must not say a word to anyone, especially not to Braedon. He does not think I can help.”

“You will use your magic.”

“Aye.”

Erin pondered for a moment. “Is it dangerous for you?” She patted Erin’s hand. “I will be fine. Now you go up to bed and I promise to try my best to bring Donny home to you.”

Erin nodded and they stood, then the girl threw her arms around Trista. “I love you, my sister. Please be careful. I do not want to lose you too.”

Trista’s eyes welled up with unshed tears. She nodded and hurried from the castle.