Chapter 9

An old, rather smelly bag was pulled over my head and my wrists were tied. This wasn’t turning out to be a good night. The old curmudgeon’s words rang dramatically in my head. I couldn’t help but smile under the bag.

I was pulled along quite a distance till we finally went into a tent, I could tell that much. And it must have been pretty luxurious, too, for a battlefield tent. I was guessing that because I tripped over what seemed to be a pillow and fell to my knees on several more pillows. A soft landing was a nice surprise.

The hood was removed, but not the wrist rope. I was right, I was in what must have been the head honcho’s tent. Spacious, pillows everywhere. Oh, and huge broad swords, battle axes and spears laid out at the ready all over the place. Maybe not such a soft landing after all.

Something stirred over in a corner. Then it unfurled itself. He had to be six and a half feet tall. Crap. Between this lummox and the two holding my arms, there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to be able to punch my way out of this one. All right. Let’s talk. Not always my strong suit, but I could try.

When he turned around and finally deigned to look at me, I must admit, my breath was a little taken away. It was the eyes. Dammit, it’s always the eyes for me. That shade of blue that borders on silver. Very tan. Dark, curly hair. Strong features, full lips. I’d guess he was a few years younger than me, maybe 24 or 25. His eyes passed over me with barely a flicker of interest. Asshole.

“What is this?” Blue Eyes asked.

“Found her on the road to the castle, Majesty.”

Majesty? Oh shit, this was the prince? Heh. Not quite that sickly pale Englishman in ruffles I had imagined.

“Her?” Oh, suddenly, he found me much more interesting. Yeah, I’ll try not to be too offended.

“Yes, sire.”

Blue Eyes approached and eyed me a little more carefully. “Where were you going, girl?”

“I’m looking for someone”.

“Your accent is strange. Where are you from?”

“It’s quite a distance. The man I’m looking for is a stranger as well. If I can find him, we’ll be gone from your realm by morning”. It wasn’t a good idea to lay all the cards out just yet. No sense telling him we were after the same bastard till I was sure he was going to accept my help. Last thing I needed was for him to think I was going to get in his way and throw me to the rank and file for a treat.

Blue Eyes squatted in front of where I was kneeling. Sonofabitch still had to look down at me. Damn, he was big. And, as much as it pains me to say it, intimidating. And, even more painful, up close he was damn good looking.

“We’re at war with strangers from strange lands right now. Why would I let you go?”

I looked him straight in those big beautiful eyes. “So kill me.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t looking forward to dying again. Honestly, it doesn’t get any less painful or easier or anything like that. But I had the feeling that this company of soldiers hadn’t seen a woman in a while. And I also figured I was brought here in front of this guy to give him first dibs. Out of the two options I believed myself to be facing, I was thinking going back home was a little more palatable.

“You have the eyes of a warrior”. I liked that. Maybe I could get a little respect.

“Unfortunately, you have the body and weakness of a woman”. Yeah, that pissed me off. I struggled a little with the goons holding me, but from my knees and given their size, it was pretty useless. So I pouted intensely.

With a nod, Blue Eyes straightened and indicated to the goons he wanted them to do something. They hauled me up to my feet and pulled me over to the center pole of the tent. Yanking my arms over my head they lifted me a little and forced my still tied hands up and over a hook. Even though I’m pretty tall for a woman, I still had to stand on tip toes to keep my balance. Talk about compromising positions. The two guards bowed and left. Blue Eyes came over and gloated.

So I kicked him in the balls.

Except I missed. For a big guy, he was awful quick. And full of himself. He actually smiled. And I tried hard to maintain my dignity while swinging a little from the stupid hook.

“Come on, I’m not worth the trouble. Kill me.”

He came closer, too close for me to kick so I went for a knee. That didn’t happen either. He caught my leg and held it, then closed the distance between us, leaning against me. Yeah, I was obviously right about the not having seen women in a while part.

“I like your spirit, girl” he was growling low in my ear. “Tonight can be filled with pleasure or pain. The choice is yours. But you’re not going to die tonight.” I could smell wine on his breath. I could feel the serious muscle under the thin shirt and pants he was wearing. He had at least eight inches and probably close to a hundred pounds on me. Doesn’t matter how amped up I got myself, I wouldn’t be able to take him in a fight. Gorgeous eyes, slightly weathered skin, curly hair falling around his face. I didn’t have to work hard to start the pheromone production. No harm getting the boy a little heated up, right? If I couldn’t beat him, at least I could make it fun. Don’t judge me.

I stared at him for a few seconds. I had to be at least a little smart about this. Act like the fearful maiden, feed his ego. At least in this tent, I wasn’t going to be locked in chains. At least I didn’t think so. I’d been through worse indignities. I bowed my head.

“Fine. I submit.”

He pulled my chin up so I looked him in the eyes again.

“I have your word, you won’t try to escape?”

“Yes.”

He wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me a little so he could get my wrists off the hook over my head. He set me back on my feet but didn’t let go.

“Be aware. One word, one sound, and the guards outside will come running. And I’ll most definitely let them join in the fun.”

Using his free hand, he pulled out a knife and used it to cut the ropes holding my wrists together. Must have been a really, really sharp knife. One swipe did it. I mentally noted that.

“What is your name?” Blue Eyes was practically purring in my ear. I so want to tell you it didn’t have any effect, but, well, have you heard a brogue accent?

“Ashlyn”.

“Odd for a woman.” He started nibbling.

“That’s true on many, many levels.”

I actually got a quiet laugh out of him. A low throaty chuckle that somehow managed to tickle something deep inside of me. I managed to smile a little myself. He started kissing my neck and I hate to say it, but my legs got a little weak. Hey, like I said, I don’t just produce pheromones, I respond to them as well, and this guy was pumping them out by the gallon.

“What’s your name?” I asked. Always nice to get a name from the guy that’s fondling your breasts.

“Cayden.”

Unbelievably graceful and surprisingly gently, he knocked my feet out from under me and lowered me down to the pile of pillows. Funny to think I’d been kneeling on these, asking for death, a couple of minutes ago. And, of course, he lowered himself down beside me. The kisses were soft at first, then the pressure got more intense. And so did I. When I said that stuff about suffering worse indignities, I meant it. Remind me to tell you about 16th century sometime. This wasn’t bad at all. He ran his hand along one of my legs and repositioned me. Nope, not bad at all.

He’d pulled my coat off, as well as his own. He wasn’t so patient with the shirt I was wearing. He pretty much ripped it open in front and went in for the kill. He started licking at my nipples and I swear I almost screamed. Then came that deep rumbling voice against my chest.

“Pleasure me”.

All right, now I know what you’re thinking. That, as a self-respecting 22nd century woman, I really should have punched him in the nose for that. But you had to be there.

First off, I was more than a thousand years outside of my own time, currently unarmed, in a world where men ruled. Plain and simple. There was a very large man giving me a not entirely objectionable request and several more very large, well armed men outside willing to make me do anything the big guy wanted.

And, probably more relevant, damn if this wasn’t one really, really good looking man. And, remarkably enough, he actually smelled pretty good for someone in that century. And then there were those incredible lips working their way down my body.

Finally, come on, I work hard, get very few vacations. If once in a while I can have some fun on the job, albeit coerced, I’m going to do it. Dammit.

So I had some fun.

I worked the lacing on the front of his pants, making sure I did plenty of teasing while I was at it. He had laid back on the pillows, but I could still feel the tension in his body. He wasn’t going to relax around me just yet. He was watching my every move. I noticed the knife was within his arm’s reach.

Opening the front of his pants, I gave a little tug and freed him. Absolutely nothing disappointing about the boy so far. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips, which were then graced by a small smile. The first few teasing licks helped to grow the smile, but when I started working him in earnest, I was rewarded with a full moan. I pride myself on certain skills. This was one of them.

It only took a couple of minutes to get him really worked up. I think I surprised him, based on the way he grasped my head, and pulled me off of him, his breathing ragged, just a tiny bit of sweat on his upper lip.

“Pleased?” I asked, so innocently.

In one swift motion, he smiled, pulled me up along side him, rolled on top of me and entered. I don’t know if he was trying to teach me a lesson, but it hurt. He must have seen the complete absence of pleasure on my face and stopped. Instead of the next hard, graceless shove that I was expecting, he moved far more gently, moving around a bit to get himself (and me) a bit wetter before he proceeded. We were both ready for the next push. I gasped again, but it was in pleasure this time. He stayed braced above me and moved with a great deal of style. Someone’s been practicing.

I must have done a good job on the “pleasuring” bit, because it seemed it was only a very short time later when he increased his tempo to a telltale pace and gave one final push. His moan was long and loud. Yes, soldiers listening right outside the door; your prince just got lucky! I could practically hear them chuckle.

Cayden pulled himself out of me gently. A lot more gently than he put it in there. He looked down at me and said rather softly “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

I smiled, probably a little wickedly. “Uh huh. But only in the good way.”

He laid down beside me, running his hand down the front of my body. With a smirk; “So, who are you and are there any more out there like you I have to worry about?”

I stretched a bit against him. “Nope, I can guarantee you; I’m one of a kind.”

He rolled on to his back and closed his eyes. I lifted up on to my elbow. “Hey, you’re not serious, are you?”

“About what?”

I ran my hand down the front of his body again. Early twenties, healthy, horny. I’ll let you figure out what happened next.

My nose was cold. Everything else was wonderfully warm, but my nose was really cold. I snuggled deeper into the pillows and into the warm, body beside me. Birds were singing. I could sense, more than see, the light outside. This was a great way to wake up.

Then I remembered where I was. And who that was beside me.

My eyes shot open and I sat up abruptly. This, of course, woke up my hirsute bedmate who instantly locked his hand around my throat.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I started to lay back down, but Cayden’s grip didn’t lessen.

“I…nowhere. I just forgot where I was.”

He held on for another couple of seconds then he must have seen that I was telling the truth. He loosened his death grip on me and tugged me so I landed with my back to him, extremely close. I was reasonably sure that wasn’t a banana in his pocket. Especially since he wasn’t wearing pants. Despite myself, I smiled.

“Do you remember now?” he murmured in my ear. Between that and what was going on down below, I sighed and snuggled a bit more into him.

“Oh yeah, now I remember”. I wiggled a bit, just to tease. It definitely worked. Rolling over, I pushed him on to his back and straddled him. Then I realized it was really freaking cold. I pulled a blanket up over me. Just needed to get moving, right? Cayden was quite ready to cooperate. He held the blanket around me so I had my hands free.

And no matter how much time I spend in the past, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to people walking in on me while I’m au naturel and especially not when I’m, well, in the midst of sex. I know it’s a bit graphic, but there I am on my hands and knees, trying to keep my balance and Cayden’s behind me, riding me like he’s trying to win the Kentucky Derby and here comes the cabana boy with a big tray of food. Talk about being taken out of the moment.

The guy carrying the food, however, didn’t seem to give a crap. He set the food down beside the makeshift bed and left without as much as a second glance. And it didn’t seem to slow Cayden down one bit either. Honestly, though, the moment lost its magic for me.

A short while later, Cayden poured us both some water and reached for the food. Bread, fruit, looked like some sort of meat, but that’s not quite what it smelled like. Since the guards had taken my pack with my protein and my water purifiers, I’d have to make due with what was there.

I watched Cayden help himself to the food. He rolled back over to face me and put a piece of the meat to my lips. Cautiously, I tried it. Jerky of some sorts. Not as bad as it smelled, thank god.

“You need to let me go now”. I tried to look as harmless as I could.

“Really? And why would I do that?”

“You got what you wanted from me. And I need to find my targ – my compatriot”.

“Are you saying you didn’t want me?”

I smiled a bit. “Not at first. Being tied up and roughhoused isn’t exactly my idea of foreplay.”

He frowned a bit. Guess the concept of foreplay hadn’t hit big in the 13th century just yet.

“Seducing me. Your method of seducing me left a bit to be desired”.

“I wasn’t trying to seduce you. You were my prisoner”.

“Yours to rape?”

Hard to believe, but I think that actually hurt the big guy’s feelings. He backed off a bit and stared hard at me. He rolled on his back, bit off another piece of meat. Awww. Look at that. I hurt the poor little warrior’s feelings.

“Is that why you begged for death last night?” Cayden plucked a few grapes off the bunch, popped a couple in his mouth. “Death seemed better than the alternative?”

Ok, I had to throw the guy a bone. Honestly, he’d been pretty damn good to me, considering what could have happened. I rolled onto my side and looked down at him.

“At first. Maybe. I was scared.” Not something I liked to admit, but it was true.

He finally looked at me. Those damn blue eyes. “I won’t take you again unless you want me to.”

He gently forced a grape into my lips. I decided to play it straight, at least as straight as I could. He’d never believe me anyway.

“Actually, I wanted you to kill me so I could go home”.

“Ah. You’re a religious woman. That would explain why you kept calling on your deity last night”.

“Huh?”

“Last night, during our coupling, you continually called on your god. For strength, I assume”.

The twinkle in his eye was unmistakable. Damn, he was adorable when he was teasing. I could feel my lips curling into a smile despite my best effort to remain stony-faced.

“Oh, so you do smile”.

“Not often.”

“Not often enough” he agreed. “Eat.” He pushed another grape into my mouth.

“Where is your home?” he asked.

“Nowhere nearby. The man I was looking for, he’s from my homeland as well. He needs to go back there. I was sent to get him.”

“If it was so important for you to bring him back, why would you want to be killed?”

This was going to sound weird, but what the hell. “Like I said, death is going home for us. Let’s just say it’s the way of my people. If I’d died it would have been all right.”

“Your perception of right seems a bit askew”. Now he was carving up an apple. A piece for me, a piece for him. We chewed in silence for a moment.

“You could have slit my throat last night if you’d really wanted to escape. Or, if what you say is true, you could have slit your own throat, died, and gone home.”

Damn. Didn’t think of that. Stupid hormones.

“But something must have kept you here”. Bastard was smirking.

“Don’t flatter yourself”.

“I don’t. You do.” Cayden continued to look me square in the eye. What he was asking was unmistakable. The man was a machine. Then again, in a manner of speaking, so am I.

My brain screamed to me that it was time to get up, get away. My body? Whole different story.

I leaned down, kissed him. “I want you.” I whispered. And my host happily complied.