Bound: The Inland Slave (9 page)
Read Bound: The Inland Slave Online
Authors: Kelsey Charisma
“Then send her away, in case she is with child. You can tell all the servants that she chose not marry to him, and you angrily sent her away. Rumors would be less severe, and no one will know she isn’t wed if she travels with Annett and myself. Do this before you send her suitor a letter explaining the wedding is off because she’s too young.”
“You’d have to travel far from here.” Cade said to himself, but then he fell quiet a moment as his eyes narrowed in on Felix. “And why are you so willing to help? Are you bartering your freedom? You don’t belong to me. I am not about to grant you anything!”
“All I ask is that my bill of sale stays with Katja so I can travel freely and safely, without question I break any laws. Transfer the sale into her name, and give it to her, so she will have proof I can travel with her.”
“That is all you want?”
“Nothing more.”
Cade slowly reached for Katja’s hand, cautiously taking it as if not sure she’d allow him to touch her. Katja however, was in shock, and could do little more than listen. “Darling, you understand I must send you away. I can visit you in the spring, but you must go
and now
. It’s of no fault to your own, and I’m sorry I even thought you’d disgrace me.” Katja stared at his white face, and was too petrified to speak. She was still absorbing the conversation that took her by complete surprise; Felix warned her by the next day they’d be leaving, and now they were. Her life was suddenly changing, and everything felt out of control. “Take all your jewelry, and I’ll give you as much money as I can to buy a livable home. Boeday is a nice town, four days travel from here…”
“That is not nearly far enough. Her former suitor’s city, Dresburg, is only six days from there. We’ll take four horses, one will carry supplies, and we’ll travel through the mountains to the cities near the border of The Inland. We’ll settle in Tresbecka. The safest roads lead there. And we shouldn’t take gold beyond what I can easily hide.”
“Tresbecka is too far!” Cade argued. “Annett is old, and could die from fever going over those cold mountains in the winter.”
“For an outlander, who doesn’t know this continent or how to survive it, I suppose he would think that.”
“You insult me!” Cade said and snarled at Felix. “You expect me to let my daughter wander from here with a Huntsman to the outer region thick with rebelling, trained warriors? You’d take the bill of sale, kill my daughter, and return to your old life. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you jump at the opportunity to flee with all legal rights. You’ve probably been planning on leaving with your hands on the bill of sale from the day you decided not to run into the woods. You were a chief of an army; you must be moderately clever. You knew you wouldn’t survive a day while so close to the ocean and your men far from here. You planned all this, didn’t you?”
Katja turned to Felix, and the bitter sting of doubt hurt more than his betrayal of telling her father she’d slept with a man. He obviously schemed, and now he would legally travel with no threat of danger. He wasted less than two months staying with Katja before finding his perfect way out. “Tell me that’s not true.” Katja said quietly. “You wanted the bill of sale so you can leave with absolute freedom?”
“I want you to have the bill of sale as proof I can travel with you, and for no other reason.”
Katja looked to her father. She didn’t know who to believe, especially while feeling hurt and betrayed by everyone in room. She bowed her head a moment, thinking. There was no possibility her father would let her stay. Felix was going to take her, but she had control over one thing. “Just give him his freedom for taking me abroad, father. At least I’ll have my life in return.”
“The slave is nothing to me.” Her father replied. “You can sign the bill for his freedom once you’re in Tresbecka. Hide it until you get there, or he will never take you there safely. Don’t trust him, Katja. He’s a traitor to the crown, and has done unspeakable crimes while claiming to be a vigilante.” He rubbed his brow as if a headache was setting in. “Go upstairs and ready yourself for travel. I’ll have the horses waiting in an hour. You must go quickly and quietly.”
“Father,” Katja whimpered. An hour was hardly any time to reconcile with having to leave, and she wasn’t ready to go anywhere. Yet, Annett squeezed Katja’s shoulders and lifted her from the chair.
“Come child.” Annett said, softly.
BEFORE KATJA GOT HER bearings, she was holding the reins of a horse, and looking over her shoulder as her father lingered at the gate. He followed them to the city’s edge, but went no farther. She watched him until he was out of site, and then she solemnly sat as they passed the hilled trees beyond Trata.
As they set out for the windy hills towards Tresbecka, with Felix leading the way and Annett trailing behind her, it began to pour frigid rain and hail. They were draped in layers of thick fur, but the rain still beat against Katja’s face. They had a month’s travel ahead of them, and the first day was sobering.
She spent the long hours concluding that her fornication made her deserving of such punishment. After sleeping with Felix, she could very well be pregnant, and would have disgraced her father. He showed her great mercy for letting her leave after what she’d done, and for sparing her life, she’d try hard to forgive her father of his unspeakable cruelty toward her slave.
As for Annett, she was offended that she’d go to her father instead of talk with her. Katja couldn’t look at her without thinking her trusted confidant spoke up against her when the effects could have ruined her life—and certainly affected it. If Felix wasn’t there, her father would’ve beaten her senseless as he had when he first demanded she show him respect in front of his peers. She wanted an explanation from Annett. She wanted to know why she did it.
She wanted to know Felix’s real intentions, too. She hoped, more than believed, that Felix intended to keep his word, but he proved that day that he thought ten steps ahead of everyone. He warned her from the beginning he would steal her away, and he did it effortlessly. They all underestimated him, her above all, and Katja began to realize there was so much more to him than she knew. Obviously, he had skills she had yet to see if he hid his cunning so well.
Katja kept a watchful eye on him and the horse of supplies he held onto, while trying to access the kind of man he was, as they traveled all day to the top of the hills where the woodland began to close in around them. His sudden dismount off his horse surprised her, as if affirming he was unpredictable and couldn’t be trusted.
“We will stop here.”
“There is nothing here! You led us off the road!” Annett snapped. “Do you expect us to sleep in the wild? Why didn’t we remain on the road and stay at the Idumeo Inn.”
Katja looked around the dark woods, and thick moss on the ground. Then she gave a wearily look at Annett, worried she’d be sick by the morning. “She’ll be fine, and couldn’t be in more capable hands. There is a safe house close by. We stay there.”
Felix held out his hand for Annett to help her dismount the tall steed. Katja slid off her horse, and then led it to a tree beside an old cabin, perfectly concealed to resemble a large, mossy rock. As they tied up the horses, Felix brought the supplies into the shelter and built a fire. There were few creature comforts, but no bed. They tightly huddled together under mounds of fur, and tried to sleep.
Hours passed before anyone fell asleep, but Katja was still wide-awake. Her dizzy thoughts from the day and her increasing warmth while sandwiched between the others made her restless. “Get some rest, Katja.” Felix said in a low whisper.
She turned her head, surprise to see his eyes wide open. “If you leave me anywhere but Tresbecka…” She threatened in a quiet hiss, which hid that she was more hurt he’d plot against her after sleeping with her, than being afraid he’d leave her. He scoffed, which only irritated her more.
“I leave you
nowhere
.” He lifted her chin to make sure she saw his honesty. “You’re mine now, little woman. Our roles have reversed, and you belong to me. Once we’re far from your father I’ll make it clear to Annett that you are my possession. When she hears us in the caves as we travel, she’ll realize it was us the other night she heard—not you and that suitor. You’ll tell her she did right by you when telling your father what she thought she knew.”
“I don’t like all your scheming.”
“She feels guilty, Katja. You’ll tell her it’s okay. Lift her spirits so she isn’t battling one more thing on this journey.”
She nodded, finding his reasoning sound. She would do it for Annett, but not because Felix told her to. “Fine, but I won’t show you that kind of mercy. I don’t care what you say, I’m not yours.”
He grinned, which once again didn’t hide his exuberant confidence and playful demeanor. He was so cocky, and she hated that she liked it. “My lips soften yours, and then you can’t resist me. Admit it. You’re damn glad to be with me and not that other man.”
“Well, I’d choose anyone but that pompous prick.” She said with a shrug.
He briefly kissed her with a single light peck. “Admit it, Katja, you stubborn little woman, you want me and no one else.”
It took her almost a full minute of trying to deny it, before she finally broke down, and said, “I want you, and no one else.”
He grinned. “I want you, too. I also want you certain I’ll never leave you. I did all of this to be with you, and not as your slave but your man. I will marry you in Tresbecka—and legally.” As if solidifying his promise, he sealed his vow with a kiss, which quickly became more passionate. If his caressing tongue could melt her and remind her that she truly wanted him, she could forgive him—and did. She wanted to be with him, confessed wanting him only the night before. Then he made it possible for her to be with him. Felix’s actions were romantic, and she could see that even if she lost her comfortable life. Katja knew she would never look back on the day in regret; slave or not, she’d allow herself to fall for him, and willingly follow him anywhere, but hopefully be a little stubborn now and then if it meant he’d tame her with long nights of sex.
About Author
:
Kelsey Charisma is a young stay-at-home wife, who started writing short, erotic stories for her husband as special treats to whet his appetite while they read them aloud.... Her husband encouraged her to publish her work for other couples that may want to share fantasies—though, they’re fun to read alone, too.
Thanks to fans discovering her, and then rushing out to purchase more tantalizing books after a first taste, Kelsey Charisma is a bestselling erotica author with several novellas that reached top bestsellers lists. Currently she’s writing her next sizzling fantasy for all her avid readers worldwide.
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