Here She Rules: The Chronicles of Erla: Book 1 (12 page)

Cassie released his hardened flesh and let her hands glide up his silken skin to scrape her nails across his taut nipples, enjoying his groans of pleasure.
 

Turning him around, she pulled his head down and ravaged his mouth with her own, biting his full lower lip gently as her hands found his round firm buttocks, stroking and kneading. His cock pressed hard against her belly, and he carefully caressed her shoulders and slid his hands up to cup her face softly, hesitantly.

Still holding his buttocks, Cassie slowly rolled her hips against his, enjoying his gasps and moans as she ground into his erection.
 

Her tongue was doing magical things when Taylyn looked at her, saw the desire plainly displayed on her face and it sent shivers up his spine and lust spiraling through his groin.
 

Cassie was very ready for him now. She led him to the bed, lying down with her knees up and parted. Taylyn looked confused for only a heartbeat as his gaze narrowed on her exposed womanhood. Then, he responded in the manner in which Mika had told him.

Cassie tensed a bit, as he was a little clumsy at first, but he made up for his lack of skill with pure enthusiasm and brought her to her peak without much delay.

Gripping his hair, she pulled him away and rolled him over, pausing to run her thumb across the dampness which had accumulated on the tip of his hard, throbbing cock.
 

Taylyn groaned in bliss as she straddled him, rubbing him across her opening, and she teased the both of them with the feel of it before slowly lowering herself along his lengthy hardness and beginning to slowly rock atop him.

The men of this land are a pure delight!

“Taylyn, look at me,” Cassie demanded, and his sex-drugged gaze met hers. “Do not look away; I want to see your eyes when you come,” she said as she quickened her pace, bringing him and herself to a shuddering completion. She then swung one leg off of him as she lay back on the bed and pulled him to her, as the afterglow faded, she fell into a deep sleep.

VIII

Light filtered through Cassie’s eyelids, eliminating any thoughts of sleeping in any longer.
 

She sat up, finding herself alone in a bed which had held such delight for her the night before. Glancing towards the window, she could tell by the light that she had slept later than she had initially thought or intended.
 

Stretching and yawning, she rose from the bed and put on her robe, listening to her men speak quietly as they moved about the room on the other side of her bedroom wall.

Tying the belt on her robe, she entered the lounge area and saw they had indeed been busy. Trunks and leather bags were readied and set near the door.
 

Without being told, they had gathered what she would need for the coming campaign. Cassie hoped there would indeed be a swift end and that she could return home to them as quickly as possible.
 

Home
.

She truly did think of Erla as her home now.
 

The suburbs of Atlanta seemed like a distant dream, and she vaguely wondered again what had happened to her house, her things . . . and then she realized that she really didn’t care.
 
The only shadow of sorrow was for the friends she left behind.

She saw they were all staring at her strangely and realized she had been in a daze for a moment—lost in thought.

“Sorry, deep thoughts. Good morning!” she greeted with a bright smile.
 
“Mika, I would speak with you privately,” she said and walked to the food preparation room. Mika followed and closed the door behind them, looking at his Mistress expectantly.

“Mika, I want to thank you for how you have welcomed Taylyn and mentored him. He pleases me greatly, and I know it is your influence that refines him. Please continue while I am gone.”

“My Lady, I am humbled by your praise.” Mika was relieved. For a moment, he had thought he had done something wrong. “Taylyn has been no trouble for me. I am sorry for the way his life has been . . . Such a thing could have happened to any of us. I remember Taylyn from when I was growing up; he was highly favored and even being groomed for the Queen’s mother.”

“Well, I am happy he stumbled into that kitchen . . .” She looked into his face. “He has such raw magnetism and sex appeal—both qualities I appreciate.”
 

Mika was ashamed to feel envy, but he wished he had spent the previous night with her instead of Taylyn. He would love to be alone with his Lady today, since she would be leaving for an uncertain fate tomorrow. They had no doubt of Cassandra’s battle prowess and strength, but, in a battle, any number of things could occur, and accidents
did
happen.

Cassie pulled Mika’s head down and stared into his eyes for a moment, loving the way they turned into molten gold whenever she was close to him. She pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him softly at first and then more passionately, moving closer as he enveloped her in his arms.

Mika would never question any chance to receive affection from his Lady, and he was thrilled by the attention he was receiving; he would treasure these moments and use them to remember her when she was not there. Cassie reveled in his kiss and she enjoyed his strong arms being wrapped around her. God, how she loved him! Her eyes flew open, and she broke the kiss, leaving a stunned Mika breathing heavily.
 

She loved him? Her hand flew to her mouth and Mika reached out to steady her.
 

“Mistress, are you unwell?” Mika asked with a hint of alarm tingeing his voice.
 

Cassie’s stomach did flips. She
did
love him! Her mind raced, and she realized she loved them all—each in very different ways. She was in love with her slaves, and, more than that, she was in love with more than one
man
.
 

Taking Mika’s hand and looking into his beautiful eyes, she said, “I am fine, Mika.” His concern showed on his face as Cassie took a deep breath, exhaled, and took his face in her hands.
 

“I love you, Mika.” His eyes closed and reopened. Tears gathered in his eyes, and he could hardly breathe.
 

She loved him?

His heart felt like it would burst from his chest. “Mistress, I love you so . . . more than anything I have ever felt,” his words sobbed out in a breath, and she pulled him into her arms and held him.

“Mika, you, Aidan, Kai, Arn, and now Taylyn.  . . You are all so wonderful, so sweet, that I think I have loved you all for a while and just haven’t realized it.” Mika looked up, and at that moment, he did not care she admitted to loving them all. All he knew was that she loved
him,
and he clutched her tightly to him.
 

“Come back to me safely, Mistress. I beg you, be safe, and hurry home!” Cassie squeezed him back tightly.
 

“I will, Mika. I will.”

They rejoined the others after Mika had composed himself.
 

He felt superior in both the knowledge of her love for him and of the fact that the others did not know yet.
 

Cassie sat at a small table and buttered some bread as Aidan brought her a cold glass of milk. Cassie never asked what type of beast the milk and meat she was eating came from as she figured ignorance was bliss on this topic; it was cold and delicious, and that was all she needed to know.

The remainder of the day was spent together with her slaves. Wherever she went, they trailed not far behind, and surprisingly, this didn’t bother her. She wanted them close. They sat, talked, ate, and played games. One of the games turned out to be the card game she had seen them play previously, and to her delight, she discovered it was a gambling game which was very similar to poker.
 

Her men were chagrined to see her excel because she would wager intimate promises instead of the highly polished stones they used for chips, and each one desperately wanted to be the winner of such prizes.

Cassie hadn’t felt this light-hearted in days, watching their serious looks as they concentrated on winning her favors and laughing at their dismay when they lost.

A knock on the door startled all of them, and Taylyn rose to admit the sword smith’s assistant, who was carrying Cassie’s new sword. She was delighted and admired the workmanship; it had the perfect balance. The handle felt like it had been in her grip for years. The sword smith was clearly a genius.
 

“I cannot believe how quickly she accomplished this!”

The assistant grinned and bowed saying, “When my Mistress heard of the troubles, she knew you would soon be in battle, and she wanted you to have your own sword in time.”

“Please give her my thanks. Tell her that when I return, this sword will have led us to victory, and I will bring her something of the spoils.” The assistant bowed and headed towards the door. Just before she slipped out the door, however, she turned to Cassie and said, “My Mistress has a preference for females, My Lady.” She then turned away with a laugh.
 

Cassie smiled ruefully. It seemed she would need to find a comely
female
slave for her sword smith.

At bedtime that night, Cassie called all of her men to sleep with her. Before the battle, she wanted them all near to her, and as they drifted off to sleep, Cassie prayed she would indeed return safely to her men.

IX

Rising early the next morning, Cassie’s men helped her don a very “Warrior-Princess-like” outfit comprised of a thick leather corset accented in gold with a leather skirt which fell to mid-thigh and was accompanied by short, soft leather shorts. She looked down and laughed as she slid her feet into knee-high, lace-up leather boots.
 

She fastened the scabbard of her new sword to the belt that rode low on her hip, slipped a small knife into the top of her boot, and inserted matching daggers into slim holders on both sides of her waist. Quickly pulling her hair into a French braid, she looked into the mirror. Her reflection was indeed very Xena-esque, and her mouth curved into a smile at her image.

Her men however, wore masks of abject misery which they didn’t even try to conceal. They were so frightened that their beloved Lady wouldn’t return that they didn’t know what to do with themselves except follow her mutely out the door, arms laden with her baggage. When they reached the Palace doors, she sent them ahead to load her things into the supply wagons.

She took a private moment to breathe and center herself. She was ready; she knew that. Physically, she was at her peak and strong. Mentally, however, she wasn’t so sure. She had never taken a life before, but she knew she had to do her duty, and she needed to stop the depredations being committed by the Trevians.
 

Shifting her saddle bag, she squared her shoulders and walked to the Palace steps. The troops had amassed and were mounted, waiting for Cassandra and the Queen.
 

Her warriors bowed to her. She returned the salute and swung up into the saddle. Her slaves waited on the steps, and she inclined her head at their obeisance, receiving watery smiles in return.

A fleet of supply wagons filled with provisions and camp slaves awaited the order to commence.
 

With a flourish of horns, Queen Nera emerged from the Palace, descended the steps, and gracefully mounted her horse. With a wave to the crowd and a nod to her warriors, Nera looked to Cassie to lead out the troops.
 

Cassie bowed to her liege and turned her mount, waving her arm forward and nudging her horse into a trot. Over five hundred female warriors followed her out of the city with the Queen and Kara at her side.

The day was bright and seemed a poor match for their grim mission. The women talked of their attack as they rode. They had decided a full-out assault was in order. The Trevians totaled no more than a hundred and fifty at present, but they were ferocious fighters, and Nera vowed to see their entire complement ended with this campaign.
 

Cassie had decided to hit them hard and fast, hopefully catching them unaware and ending this quickly with no siege. A siege was unlikely in her opinion because the village had no fortress to garrison the Trevians. The longer the fighting drew out, however, the higher her casualties were likely to be.
 

It had been decided that no survivors would be left—no prisoners taken. They intended a complete decimation of the Trevians this day. The slaves and any plunder would be taken back to Erla and distributed to the deserving amongst the ranks.
 

No survivors
 . . . The words echoed through Cassie’s head, and her stomach tightened. She pushed away any thoughts other than those pertaining to what was required of her.

Much to her chagrin, the procession moved excruciatingly slowly.
 

Nera had attempted to soothe her impatience by reminding her that the number of troops and supplies would require a slower pace, and once they neared the village, they would leave behind the supply wagons and surplus personnel which currently slowed them down. Cassie well understood, but she still chafed at the pace.
 

They traveled throughout the day without stopping to eat, using the travel food they had brought with them instead. Cassie’s men had sent too much, and she shared some of Aidan’s baked goods with Nera and Kara.

“I will give you one hundred gold pieces for him!” Kara cried, tasting the cookie-like treats.

“Nay! I will give you five hundred!” Nera said, and Cassie laughed and shook her head.

“Part with my redhead? Heavens, no! He delights me as well in the bedroom as he does in the kitchen.”

“Careful. You
will
have to send him to me soon. I am very curious to see how he has put that smile on your face!” Nera laughed back.

“Your Highness, I shall be honored for you to enjoy Aidan. Kara, I make this offer to you as well. Just let me know when you wish for him to come to you,” Cassie said.