Christina's Tapestry (5 page)

Bending its large head towards her, it butted her chest. Grabbing the bridle with one hand, she steadied herself. Carefully, she reached up her other hand and touched the beast. It chuffed happily when she rubbed its long neck. The smell of the horse, the creak of the leather saddle when the animal moved, and the feel of the wiry coat under her fingertips was all too real.

She glanced back at the two men. They were both watching her, their eyes devouring her from head to toe. If the horse was real and she couldn’t wake herself, then she had to face the possibility that the men were real as well. However impossible it was, it seemed that she had traveled to another place and time. The hand that was petting the horse trembled and she dropped it and turned and walked towards the woods. She needed to get away from them and think about this.

“Where are you going?”

She ignored Marc’s question and kept walking.

She heard Jarek swear under his breath and she turned in spite of her resolve not to. He strode to the horse and swung himself easily into the saddle, his long legs clamping around the sides of the animal to control it. Man and animal whirled around and started towards her. Christina shrieked at the sight of them bearing down on her. 33

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Spinning around, she raced for the protective cover of the forest, but knew she’d never make it.

Man and horse were breathing down her neck and for a moment, she feared they might run her into the ground. At the last possible second, Jarek swerved around her. Reaching out with one long arm, he snatched her mid-stride and scooped her up into the saddle in front of him.

It was all too much for her. She felt dizzy from the fear and the desperate run. The throbbing in her head increased and the edges of her vision got blurry. “Please don’t hurt me.” It was barely a whisper, but she knew that he’d heard her by the appalled look on his face. For some reason the black scowl that followed made her feel safe and she followed the blackness covering her into oblivion.

Christina was so warm and cozy that she was sure she was in her own bed, and it had all been nothing but a dream. Then her pillow moved and she realized that it was a flesh and blood man and not a pillow that cradled her. Somehow she knew that it was Jarek holding her and not Marc.

When Marc had kissed her, she’d been surrounded by his unique masculine scent of hot maleness mingled with the pleasant tang of grass and trees. The man holding her smelled more of leather and horses, but there was an underlying masculine aroma that made her entire body clench with desire.

Jarek cradled her body tight against his. His cock was hard and straining against the front of his breeches, but his hold on her was gentle. She felt his breath ruffle her hair and then his lips touched the side of her temple. Sighing, she relaxed and allowed the rhythm of the horse to rock her. It was such a pleasant feeling that she dozed off again.

It was the sound of voices whispering that awoke her. Not so much the voices themselves, but the anger underlying them. “You shouldn’t have chased her down like that.” She recognized Marc’s smoother voice.

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“I wasn’t the one who mauled her.”

“I didn’t maul her, I merely gave her a kiss of welcome.” A leather saddle creaked as if someone was trying to settle in their saddle. “In the face of such beauty, I could not resist.” She thought for sure that they must know she was awake, Marc was laying on the charm so thick.

“She does not understand our ways, Marc. But she will learn.”

Christina stiffened slightly at his words, but otherwise didn’t move.

“Ride for the castle and find Mara. Tell everyone to make the castle ready and to prepare a feast. The prophecy has been fulfilled. After many years of waiting, the magic of the tapestry has brought us a potential bride and that I am bringing her home.”

All this talk of prophecy and magic were making her very nervous. And what was that whole thing about a being a potential bride? A bride for whom? She kept her eyes shut and her breathing calm, willing them to keep talking. Christina said a prayer of hope that Jarek still thought she was asleep, but her hopes were dashed the moment the sound of pounding horse’s hooves faded into the distance.

“It is good you are awake.”

Jarek didn’t give her time to respond before he shifted her so that she was now sitting in front of him, astride the horse. The long skirt of her nightgown rode up over her legs as they draped over either side of the horse. She pushed at the fabric, but it barely covered the tops of her thighs. With her legs spread wide, her sex was pressed against the leather of the saddle and her ass was pushed back against Jarek’s cock. She squirmed, trying to get comfortable. Groaning, he clamped his hand over her stomach. “Be still,” he growled.

Christina froze as his fingertips rested just above her pubic bone. If he moved them one inch lower he would be able to touch her through her nightgown. She was filled with an unbelievable need to arch her hips towards his hand. 35

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She licked at her dry lips and tried to concentrate on her situation. “Where are you taking me?”

“Home.” There was a wealth of satisfaction in his voice and the hand on her abdomen tightened.

“What will happen to me?” She meant for her question to sound firm and authoritative. Instead she sounded lost and slightly forlorn.

“The competition will begin, and in the end, you will choose your champion.” His hand slipped from her stomach and down to her exposed thigh. It was almost impossible to think with his fingers making small circles on her thigh. With each circle he made, his hand rode up higher on her leg. She sucked in a breath when the tops of his fingers disappeared beneath the lavender fabric. “What competition?” Her question was little more than a breathy gasp. His breath brushed her skin in a feathery caress as his lips trailed a path down the side of her face. “The one which will establish which of us you will belong to.”

His large hand cupped the back of her head, tilting it up so he could hold her captive as he leaned down and captured her mouth. This was no soft kiss like the one Marc had given her. This was a claiming. A statement of intent. She was gasping for breath by the time he finally released her mouth. He lifted her, shifting her until she was lying across his lap again, her side pressed against his hard chest and her shoulders cradled by one of his arms. Seeming satisfied, he bent his head to kiss her. When she opened her mouth to protest, he thrust his tongue inside. Gripping her hair in his fist, he angled her head for better access and growled his approval as he plundered the inside of her mouth. The heat was incredible. Her entire being was pulsing with desire and she couldn’t resist stroking his tongue with hers. He rewarded her by sucking on her tongue. The hand on her thigh crept higher and she shifted her hips, wordlessly pleading for his touch. She felt a smile form on his lips just before his fingers sifted through her pubic hair. 36

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But he didn’t stop there. His long, thick fingers slid past her aching clit and over her slick, wet folds. He circled her opening once before gently pushing his fingers inside her. Greedily her sex grasped his fingers, drawing him deeper. Moaning, she clutched his thigh for support, her nails digging into his leather pants. Releasing her mouth, he nipped at her earlobe and her neck. He eased his fingers out of her sex and brought them to his mouth where he licked them clean one at a time. The sight of his dark hand covering her sex was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen in her life. She couldn’t take her eyes off his fingers as he dipped between her thighs once more and coated his fingers with her cream. But this time, he brought his fingers to her lips. “Taste how sweet you are.”

She parted her lips and he slipped his fingers inside. Her tongue flicked out and she tasted not only her own arousal, but also the salty taste of Jarek’s skin. Jarek moved his fingers in and out of her mouth as she sucked and licked them with growing enthusiasm.

Groaning, he pulled his fingers from between her lips. His eyes burned with desire as he shifted her in his arms. He turned her until she was straddling the horse and facing away from him again.

His hands came to rest on her shoulders. Gripping both straps of her nightgown, he tugged them down over her shoulders until they were just above her elbows. Her breasts were totally exposed, but she couldn’t move her arms. His palms covered the large pale mounds. “Beautiful.” He circled both nipples, which were already swollen with desire.

Intense pleasure rocketed through her. She felt totally helpless trapped inside the fabric of her gown and his arms. With the fabric bunched up over her thighs, she could glimpse the damp curls of her sex. She was totally at Jarek’s mercy. The thought appalled her even as it turned her on more than she’d ever thought possible. Just the idea of his controlling her sexual pleasure had the juices flowing from between her legs and coating the saddle beneath her.

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“I can smell the heat from your sex.” Capturing her turgid nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, he squeezed gently.

Christina cried out, startling some birds from the trees around them. She struggled to free her hands so that she could touch him. He was so gorgeous, his muscles rockhard and gleaming with a fine layer of sweat. She wanted to touch him everywhere, lick him everywhere.

Pushing her ass back against him, she tried to rub herself against his throbbing erection. It was so big and thick, her mouth went dry at the thought of touching it, tasting it. The movement spread her legs wider on the saddle and she pushed her aching sex harder into the leather saddle, trying to ease the growing arousal. One of his hands slipped between their bodies and she felt him fumbling with the leather ties of his pants. Opening them, he released his cock even as he pulled the fabric of her gown out of the way.

“Bend down over the horse’s neck.” His hands gripped her hips, his fingers digging into her stomach.

Christina was burning for completion now. She’d never felt this kind of desire before, a desperate need to find sexual release. She didn’t hesitate, but bent over the horse. Her arms were still trapped, but she was able to wrap her fingers around the edges of the saddle. The motion opened her wide, exposing her ass and her sex to him. Her breasts brushed the shaggy coat of the horse, the rough hair abrading her sensitive nipples.

He hesitated and for a moment she was afraid he would stop. She wiggled her butt against him, gasping when the motion rubbed her clit against the leather saddle. Jarek swore even as he angled her hips back towards his cock. As the tip sank inside her opening, her inner muscles gripped it tight.

Christina was panting for breath, wanting him deeper inside her, but unable to move. Jarek tightened his grip on her waist as he pushed forward, slowly easing himself into her tight sheath. God, he was so big. She wiggled and squirmed, trying 38

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desperately to get comfortable, but he filled her so completely that it was almost painful.

“Relax.” Jarek kept her steady with one hand and cupped one of her breasts with the other, skimming his thumb across her nipple. Surprisingly the steady motion of the horse and the light play on her breast calmed her slightly even as it aroused her. The moment her inner muscles loosened slightly, he thrust his cock deeper. “You’re not all the way in yet?” Surely, she couldn’t take any more of him inside her body.

“You’re too big. It’s too much.”

“You can take all of me,” he crooned as he pushed a little deeper. “Your hot, wet pussy wants all of me.”

His words startled her. She wasn’t used to such frank sexual talk, but she found it incredibly arousing. She surprised herself by pushing back against his erection. He was right, she did want him. All of him.

Bringing both hands back to her hips, he withdrew partway from her body and then thrust heavily. He repeated this over and over, each time going deeper and deeper.

“That’s it. Take it all.” The next time he plunged, he buried himself to the hilt. He hissed out a breath.

The pressure grew inside Christina as each inward stroke pushed her clit against the saddle, stimulating her further, driving her higher. Her fingers dug into the edges of the saddle for support.

Jarek drove into her from behind, his cock stretching her pussy with each heavy stroke, pushing her to her limit. The pressure grew inside her until it exploded. She screamed with pleasure and convulsed around his cock, gripping him tight. She heard him yell and felt the hot spurt of his semen inside her as her muscles milked his cock to completion.

Christina slumped across the neck of the horse, trusting Jarek to keep her steady in the saddle. He leaned heavily against her back, his lungs working hard as he tried to regain his breath. His lips kissed and licked the curve of her spine as he sat back up in 39

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the saddle. She shivered and then moaned when he withdrew his cock, her sex contracting hard to keep it there.

She could hear the sound of Jarek lacing the front of his pants and knew she should try and cover herself, but she was just too darned content to move. Tenderly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into a seated position. Settling her back against his chest, he kissed each of her shoulders before tugging the strap of the gown back into place.

His hands massaged and shaped her breasts as he settled the folds of the material back in place over her torso. She trembled with the aftershocks of her orgasm when he smoothed the length of the gown back over her thighs, his fingers grazing her clit.

“You will remember this when Marc takes you. I have been first.” The smugness of his voice and the meaning of his words sank through her sensual haze.

“When Marc takes me?” She remembered that he’d spoke of a competition, but surely he didn’t mean a sexual one…did he?

“We will both pleasure you individually and together.” His hands continued to stroke her tender breasts as he spoke. “When the competition is over, you will choose one of us as husband.”