Blind to Men (7 page)

The ruler of Palance faced
Xandor. His anger palpable, he glared at his advisor as he would an enemy.

"It is one thing to
counsel me, wizard. It is quite another for you to overstep those boundaries.
Am I wrong in assuming your son is the tortfeasor?"

"No, Your
Majesty."

Unable to decide if the
king would indeed arrest Kylor, she watched him shift his eyes from father to
son.

"Are you both aware
of the penalty for such an offense?"

"We are, Sire."

They replied in unison.
Instead of softening the monarch, their harmony appeared to irritate him even
more. His expression couldn't have been more biting when he spoke.

"Yet, you
deliberately took on that responsibility without informing me. You defied my
orders and betrayed my trust."

Xandor raised his palms.
"Forgive me, Your Highness, but I thought it safer if the matter was
concluded in complete secrecy."

Anger wasn't an adequate
term to qualify the sovereign's ever increasing fury, but wrath would have been
more like it. Spit flew out of his mouth as he shouted at his advisor.

"I am not a peasant,
wizard. I am your king!"

The sorcerer looked down
at his toes. Trying to shut her mind from the ruler's enraged declarations and
to focus on understanding the situation, she observed the whole scene intently.

Kylor was being arrested
because he broke the curse. Xandor, the man who saved her life, was being
scolded for his wisdom and efficiency. The more she listened, the less she thought
of the king of Palance.

He didn’t sound sensible
to her. Not in the least. Folding her arms across her chest, she confronted him.

"Release Kylor."

The monarch swiveled his
head toward her like a dog after a bone. Then he inhaled loudly to bark in her
face.

"Silence! I shan’t
tolerate any more disobedience."

His haughty manners and
nonsensical orders were taking a heavy toll on her patience. She’d never seen
that man in her life and he didn’t mean anything to her. Only Kylor did. Right
now, he was being arrested.

"I don’t have to
obey you. I'm not from Palance. I'm not one of your subjects and my sole
allegiance is to my mother."

She heard the wizard’s
sharp intake of breath as she spoke her defiant words. Speechless for an
instant, King Harfayn stared at her, cheeks flushed. Too late she understood that
she might have gone too far.

"Heed my words,
child, for I shan’t speak them twice. You owe me everything. Willingly or not,
you will obey me."

"Why would I do
that?"

His unflinching gaze
riveted to hers, arms rigid along his sides, he took a step toward her.

"Because I am your
father."

It was her turn to remain
speechless. Was he delirious? Was he lying to her? What would be his purpose in
doing so? His statement didn't make any sense, but neither did Xandor's and
Kylor's lengthening silence.

She hesitated. Could it
be true? As she looked at the king’s infuriated but direct stare, she realized
he was telling her the truth. She was his daughter, his flesh-and-blood
daughter.

"My father?"

Compared to his icy and
authoritative tone, her voice sounded all of a sudden frail and uncertain.

"Why haven’t I been
told? Am I a disgrace to you?"

She also must have looked
distressed and a little scared because his anger seemed to abate.

"Nay, my child. However,
now is not the time for discussion."

He pivoted to stand face
to face with Kylor and order his guards with a grand movement of his arm.

"Take him to the
keep!"

As much as she wanted
answers from her father and king, her heart skipped a beat when the four men
escorted Kylor out of the room. She could not let him go. She would not be
separated from him.

Hastily bowing to King
Harfayn, she brushed past him and started following the guards outside. But her
father's incredulous tone stalled her.

"Where do you think
you are going?"

If she wanted to save her
guardian, infuriating her new sovereign wouldn't help much so she turned round
dutifully.

"Wherever Kylor
goes, I go."

He must have perceived
her determination because he didn’t add a single word, nor attempt to stop her.
He simply stared.

Without knowing him, she
gathered he would comply with her wishes, for the time being. Maybe give her
the night to compose herself and to reflect on her newfangled position. But she
also feared he wouldn’t waive.

She followed the silent men
surrounding Kylor along wide, cold corridors to the base of what looked like a
big watchtower. They came across so few servants while they walked that she
figured the prisoner was taken to his doom through the back way.

Her breathing had gone
harsher when they finally reached the top of the winding stairs that seemed
endless. Once the guards had locked them up in the keep, she turned toward her
protector.

"I’ve never been
inside a prison but I imagined it differently."

Situated at the top of
the castle tower, the single, round room was rather bare. Three high and narrow
windows gave it a deceptive air of freedom. The place looked a bit more
habitable after Kylor lit a few candles. With an encompassing gesture, he
smiled at her.

"The keep is a place
to confine noble men who have gone astray or shown signs of disloyalty to the
crown, but it's not a prison. The murderers, thieves, and traitors are taken
underground, beneath the fortress."

"What’s beneath the
castle?"

"The dungeon."

The name alone sounded
dreadful and ominous. Although she'd have followed Kylor down to the dungeon,
she had the distinct impression that the keep remained a much better place
considering their present situation. Probably more comfortable. She wanted to
inquire about her father but for the moment, her main concern was her guardian.

"Why did the king
have you arrested? You’ve done nothing wrong. What's going to happen to
you?"

He unfastened the belt
holding his sword, dropped it on the floor and gently took her hands in his.

"I won't lie to you,
Anya. I'll be hanged in a few days."

She panicked, a knot of fear
settling in the pit of her stomach, sweat breaking on her forehead.

"Kylor, what are you
saying?"

"I'm sorry I have to
be so blunt, but such is my fate."

"Why?"

She gripped his hands
like a drowning man in marshes hanging on to roots and long weeds.

"You can’t die
because you broke the curse. It was a good deed."

"And had you been
any other woman, I wouldn't be in trouble."

"I don’t understand.
What's wrong with me?"

His jumbled emotions
shone in his eyes as he squeezed her fingers and spoke with fervent tenderness.

"Oh, gentle Anya, you're
perfect to me. Unfortunately, you're the king’s daughter."

"So?"

"So any man not of
noble blood who deflowers a woman of royal blood is punished by death."

She could only stare at
him, unsure of the meaning of his assertion, yet recognizing ineluctability in
the tone of his voice. Fighting back tears, she took a long breath, unable to
discern if she felt crushed, sorrowed, or just rebellious at such meanness and
unfairness.

The man she loved had to
die because he’d saved her. Such injustice didn't seem possible and she
wouldn't let it go without fighting. But first, she needed to understand all
the facts.

"Kylor, what's
deflower? Has it got anything to do with picking flowers? Because you never
picked flowers for me."

A prisoner about to be
hanged he might be, yet a genuine grin stretched his mouth in spite of his dire
fate.

"I deflowered you
when we mated for the first time. I drove my cock into your body so you aren’t
a maiden anymore. You're a woman."

Thus, he was to die for
saving her and giving her unbelievable pleasure.
Unfair
was much too
weak a word to express her disbelief. Starting to seriously doubt King Harfayn’s
sense of justice, she raised her head to plunge into Kylor's blue eyes.

"Tell me the truth. Did
you know about the punishment before you agreed to break the curse?"

"I did."

"Then, why did you
do it?"

His gaze drifted and he
seemed to be swallowed by a rush of fond memories. Letting go of her hands, he
stood tall before her.

"I offered my services
because I wanted to fulfill my dream. I've spent my life hearing about you. I
thought your tale was fascinating and my deepest wish has always been to meet
you. To stand face to face with the cursed child and free her from her bonds."

He talked in a single
breath, his face a mask of sorrow. Looking at his strained features, she held
her breath, throat locked, glued to his every word as if her life was at stake.

 "Then, I discovered
you in the shed, all alone, down on the ground because you’d just fallen."

She'd judged him the
ugliest woman in the Four Kingdoms that day, and what little did she know. When
she looked at him now, her body called his and her heart melted with love.
Above her, Kylor's expression softened.

"A lovely face
filled with innocence. I saw only purity in your eyes. Anya, how can I say
this?"

He faltered, dropping to
one knee. He placed a light kiss on her fingers before raising his head to her.

"At that very
instant, you conquered me. My heart, body, and soul are bound to you. I'll die a
happy man."

Not long ago, he'd urged
her not to speak of love because he already knew his fate. The idea that this
great warrior was willing to die for her sent her pulse fluttering as heat
flared between her thighs.

His declaration of love
moved her in a way she wouldn’t have been able to verbalize. She'd only known
him for a few days, however she had been part of his life forever, and he loved
her.

Watching the man at her
feet, the unflinching guardian who pledged himself to her, she suddenly craved
his strong hands on her, the softness of his lips on her mouth, the hardness of
his cock inside her.

"I love you, Kylor. You
won't die, and that's my pledge to you. If I can't fulfill my promise—"

She unfastened her dress
in a swift motion. When the garment came off, she discarded it with an
impatient jerk.

"Then I'll die with
you."

Naked, standing in front
of the kneeling man, she took a final step forward and parted her legs inches
from his mouth. His nose brushed her navel as he inhaled her scent.

"Will my lady allow
me to lick her pussy?"

"Yes, my Lord Protector."

She closed her eyes as
his warm tongue touched her folds, slowly running their length. She sighed when
he began nibbling them with his teeth, pulling on the sensitive skin, taking it
fully into his mouth and sucking both sides, his face pressed against her
flesh.

Then his tongue was
inside her, hard and wet, his rapid strokes causing her to sway on her feet as
jolts of pleasure rushed through her. Keeping her hands on his buried head to
steady her balance, she reeled from the ecstasy of his hungry swipes, from the
feel of his calloused hands gripping her thighs.

She was sinking, the
force of his affection sending exciting images to her mind. As he withdrew, he
brushed with a devilish ease the tender spot she favored, making her cry out.

"Kylor, ride me like
a bull."

He settled on the bud's
roundness, darting his tongue to and fro. She gasped, involuntarily grabbing
his fair mane. But he stood up and looked at her while removing his garb, his
gaze already a darker shade of blue.

"I'm so hard for
you, Anya."

Shivers ran through her
limbs the longer she stared at the aroused, feverish look on his face. When the
last of his clothing fell down, she glanced at the rigid member he displayed.

"I do feel like a
bull in rut. Would you kneel on the bed, and I shall service you from
behind?"

He didn't have to ask her
twice. She climbed on the bed to offer him the fullness of her bottom.

"Yes, my Lord Protector.
Please, service me deep and well."

She was wet all over, her
flesh already breached. Taking hold of her waist, he drove himself into her and
groaned.

There was absolutely no
pain this time, only a wonderful pleasure as he penetrated her, his shaft
rubbing her special place, entering her with diligence and purpose. Her insides
quivered with desire. When her buttocks banged against his flat stomach, he
halted.

"Is my lady happy? Would
she like me to hump her hard and fast?"

Excitement hardened her
nipples at the sound of his rough voice. Her muscles tensed then loosened. Her
hands balled into fists as his first movements extracted moans from her throat.

"I would like that
very much."

He was indeed banging her
hard and fast, his powerful thrusts invading her flesh, blowing to pieces the
rationality of her mind.

Submitted to the
authoritative motions of his cock, his passion ripping her apart, delight
coursing through her from all sides, she relished the moment as if it was their
last.

She carved this instant
in time into her mind. With all her soul, she opened herself up to the love
they were sharing, the sucking sounds of her wet folds, the bashing of flesh,
the delicious song of his ragged breathing, the devastating strength of his
shoves.

He went in and out of her
to give her pure bliss. When she felt like wailing, he moved his hands from her
buttocks to her waist, encircling the soft skin, holding it tight, bringing her
to him harshly. He panted, his fingers implanted in her waist, his cock
implanted in her pussy.

"Am I servicing you
to your satisfaction, my lady?"

"More than I can
say, my lord."

He possessed the power to
heighten her senses beyond her most intimate expectations and she followed his
tempo.

"Your touch is magic
and I'll soon be struck by the amazing sensation you were so kind to reveal to
me."

Gently withdrawing, he
stroked her bottom, caressed her folds with one finger and dipped it into the
moistness. Her leg muscles quivered from the imminence of her shattering as she
heard the urgency in his voice.

"I want to see the
pleasure on your face."

He turned her over to
rest her back on the bed and settle between her thighs. She perceived the
finality of his demand, the desperation in his tone. He believed he was asking
her for the last time.

"Let me touch you,
my lady. Let me drive you to happiness."

His eyes burned with
fervor. Shaken by his passion, she spread her legs as wide as she could, coming
to rest on her elbows to get a better view of his long and stiff shaft.

"My body is yours to
use as you wish."

She watched him take his
glistening, swollen cock in his hand and place it between her thighs. Yet, he
didn’t enter her.

Tightly holding his
member, he started caressing her throbbing special place. A blinding jolt
spurred her at once, an uncontrollable sensation rushing up as he dabbed his
tip on the inflamed flesh.

"Oh, Kylor!
Oh!"

She panted hard, her gaze
riveted on the hand deftly holding the base of his rigid dick.

"I can't resist—"

"Look at me, my
beloved."

He began circling motions
that pushed her to the brink of entering the ethers. Muscles aching from too
much tension, she barely heard his words.

"I wish to see your
pleasure as you come."

They stared at each other
as he grabbed his shaft with a firmer hand and increased his speed. Her mind
disconnecting from her body, she felt sucked into a voracious vortex, engulfed
in a screaming emotion. She couldn't tell whether he was still stroking her
when her heart keeled over and she lost all sense of reality.

She emerged from it
gradually, her hearing recognizing the near silence of the keep, her eyes
focusing on the man in front of her. He smiled when she came back to him, plain
gratification drawn on his features, his eyes fixed on her face.

"I'm happy, my
beloved."

The rapture she just experienced
still clung to her like a second skin as he caressed her cheek.

"For I know you
won't forget me."

"You made me very
happy too, Kylor, but—"

She wasn't prepared for
the violent emotion tightening her heart and she had to fight back tears to
finish her sentence.

"Please, don't speak
of your fate in those words as fear and sorrow dwell in my soul."

She sat on the bed, their
faces inches apart. She kissed his mouth while she ran her hands up and down
his muscular back.

Glancing down, she saw
the proud member raised upward as her protector was still in the state of a
randy stallion. He followed her gaze and smiled humbly when she gave him a
questioning look.

"Pleasing you was my
sole wish."

His disarming honesty
drove away the distressing sensations she'd just been struck with, and sparked
the embers of her desire.

"Pleasing you is my
wish."

She repeated his words in
much the same manner while she encircled his thick cock with her fingers. He
gasped under the slight pressure, his voice taking on a gravelly undertone.

"Would you do me a
favor, my beloved?"

Anything for him.
Anytime. She nodded as his rapid breathing revealed the depth of his desire.

"I need to see my
seed on you."

She didn’t have to be
told the reason for his instinctive need. About to be hanged at the gallows, he
wanted a last visual memory of the love binding them, an image of the most
intimate part of him spewed on her naked body.

Her fingers crowning his
tip, her wrist moving up and down, she made him heave and grunt fiercely. His
respiration shortened as he was subjected to her spasmodic jerking.

She felt empowered with
life upon hearing his coarse cries of pleasure, and she shook with the
staggering notion that she also possessed the ability to spiral him up to the
mighty ethers.

Chest palpitating, he
closed his eyes to relish her gripping stimulation, his features taut from the
felicity he experienced. She slowed a little when she sensed his cock about to
burst.

"I'm coming, my
lady."

She watched him open his
eyes. Hit by his passionate gaze, she listened to the raspy words leaking from
his sensual lips.

"Point my dick
toward you and—"

He released his seed
while issuing forth an irresistible grunt. Goose bumps broke out all over her
skin. Stunned by the intensity of his body's response, she quivered at the incredible
sight of the thick liquid gushing out and splattering her breasts in hot bursts.

His limbs trembled from
the powerful discharge. She held her breath while he regained his senses and
looked at her, his member slowly retreating in the warmth of her hand.

"Mark me, Kylor, for
I am yours."

Her resolute tone
increased her sudden need as she took hold of his hands. She rubbed his palms
against her nipples, spreading his seed on her breasts and on the curve of her
belly.

He let her caress her own
body without a sound. She liked the touch of his hands on her bosom as much as
the texture of his vital fluid on her skin. But she enjoyed his declaration
even more.

"I love you, Anya."