The Ward Ch. 06

Close to tears, Sage turned her face, realising the trials of the night were far from over. There were many retorts on the tip of her tongue, but she knew verbal insolence would be punished. The problem was, she was unaccustomed to resisting fresh jibes.

"You are strangely wise, for a girl," Nicholas remarked with infuriating condescension, observing her deliberate silence.

It took little for Sage's true nature to surface. "I'm sure you find every girl remarkable, when measured alongside your mother!" She spat.

In response to the insult, Nicholas looked curiously alert. "Have care, Sage. My mother is a force to be reckoned with, and she would have no qualms taking you in ways which would make you question the existence of deities. It would do well to remember that when we are married. I cannot protect you from her, if she is displeased."

Though Sage rolled her eyes, she fully believed him.

"Now..." Nicholas approached, and Sage saw he carried a tiny thread between his fingers. "I wish to revisit earlier in the evening, when you suggested an old servant might find me a worthy wife."

Sage breathed heavier, frozen with horrified anticipation. It was several hours till dawn. She closed her eyes.

Aleksis. Aleksis. Aleksis. Aleksis-

Sage shrieked; her meditation interrupted by an unpleasant sting.

"Hush," Nicholas admonished, gently holding the thread tails. "I only fastened them."

Ignoring her better judgement, Sage glanced down her body and saw he'd looped the biting string around her nipples. They firmly coiled around the soft flesh, keeping the peaks erect.

Sage shook her head with a wince. "What do you want?"

"To talk," he murmured, his eyes on her writhing torso. "If I dislike what you say, then..." He lightly tugged the strings and Sage jumped against the table.

"STOP!" she cried, more enraged by the rude act than the pain it created.

"Gods," Nicholas said huskily, his cock twitching against its confines. He dropped the strings to undo his breaches. "I do not know if I can resist till dawn, I truly do not."

Sage's eyes widened fearfully. "You promised!" she exclaimed, turning away with disgust when his cock came to view. She had yet to see a naked man. She did not want to see him.

"Your mouth is divinely innocent," he slurred.

"My teeth are sharp!" Sage shot back, still straining away.

Nicholas was fascinated by Sage's unusual shift in temperament. At times she appeared a helpless young virgin, enticing him with her desperate struggles. The next moment she was a vicious tigress, challenging him to tame her.

"Turn to me," Nicholas ordered, his free hand collecting the threads and pulling until she yowled in response. "Take me into your mouth."

Despite the sharp pinch to her breasts, Sage silently shook her head, now openly weeping with distress. Nicholas' hand felt her cheeks, the streaks of wet on her sleek skin. A satisfied sound rumbled up his chest, a lusty growl.

"You will do it, until you like it," he swore, his deep voice unsteady.

"I'll never like it!" Sage griped, her voice thick with tears.

"Then you are in for an ordeal. By the end, you will perform convincingly, Kitten. Turn to me," he repeated, speaking roughly from arousal. "Open your mouth and use your tongue. Accept your role as Wife."

"K-Kill me, f-first," Sage managed between sobs.

"I'll fuck you first," Nicholas snarled.

Sage stilled on the table, calming herself with deep breaths.

"Sage," Nicholas prompted, slowly jerking his member by her head, his other hand holding the strings connecting to her chest taut. "I can fuck you another way that will not affect your virtue. The act will hurt far more than your dignity is currently smarting."

Nicholas maintained a firm grip on the strings, like a coachman controlling two horses. His other hand left his cock to smugly smooth down Sage's body, over her belly to dip between her legs. His fingers brazenly walked down her sex, making her twitch with discomfort. His fingers strayed lower, and Sage's eyes shot open.

"Wait!" she yelled, unable to close her legs.

"Yes?" Nichola's breathed, so tempted to tug the strings, but more focused on reaching her back channel. "What do you wish to say to me?"

His finger probed the back entrance in an unspeakable violation that Sage could not withstand.

"Wait! R-Remove your hand, I will comply!" she ground out, gasping a deep breath of relief when the threat of his hand retreated.

Nichola's grip was back on his cock, a tight fist. "Tell me I am your Lord. Tell me you want me in your mouth. Tell me you want to pleasure me, and no one else. Say it."

"Nicholas, you have me, why do this?" she wretchedly reasoned, though really, she knew he was a cad. She could think of nothing else to say.

"Because this is what I want."

Before Sage could respond, Nicholas bent over the table, his hand firm on her neck. He kissed her; his mouth hungry to devour her.

Sage made a disgusted sound, tasting her forced arousal on his lips. But she presumed the longer he kissed her, the less time he would have for other, more deplorable things. Chest tight with revulsion and hatred, she let her lips part, teased his mouth with her tongue and readily kissed him back.

Nicholas indulged in her compliance for several delicious minutes. He groaned, his hand wandering her exposed chest, rolling her stiff nipples, still harnessed by thread.

"Good, Kitten," he panted. "But the night is so young. If you refuse to pleasure me, then I will use another part of you to pleasure myself. Choose."

***

Dismounting as he drew near the destination, Edmund led his horse through the forest, one hand on the reins, the other on his sword.

The forest was dark and quiet, this particular section unusually tranquil. There were no crickets or bird calls; even the evening breeze seemed to have abandoned the surrounds to a strange stillness.

Edmund peered at the clearing ahead and tied the reins of his horse to a lower branch. With a stroke of his hand to affectionately calm the doubting animal, he ventured into the clearing, step by step, one hand outstretched, the other tightly gripping his sword.

If Sage had not directed him, he'd never have found the place. But standing close by, he could clearly sense something amiss with the area.

Edmund was unusually brave, but not foolhardy. He was intelligent enough to be afraid, to know he approached an unusual danger. But Joel had been taken, and unlike most nobles, Edmund could not sit idle in his fine home and abandon his faithful servant to an undeserved fate.

Closing his eyes, he continued to search, his sword now half-drawn from the scabbard. Cold air swirled about his hand, not night air, something else, and he frowned heavily, focusing on his purpose.

Edmund lightly jumped with surprise when his hand brushed a brick wall, the black concrete smooth against his trailing fingers. He stepped back, feeling faint as he stared up at the great castle looming above, several stories higher than even the Stiles' manor.

"Gods," he breathed, beginning his search for the entry. Before he made much progress, a cracking stick alerted him, and Edmund turned with his sword, ready to fight.

Joel unsteadily rounded the corner, clutching his chest. "My...Lord..." he wheezed, stumbling closer to lean on Edmund. "We...must..."

"Are you harmed?" Edmund sharply whispered, easily holding the elderly man upright. "Joel? What happened?"

"Not...hurt..."

Edmund's blind relief was suddenly trumped by paranoia. Joel was abruptly released and collapsed against the wall; his eyes wide at the sword pointed to his throat.

"How do I know you are Joel?" Edmund quietly asked, holding the weighty blade with easy strength.

"My Lord," Joel answered, still gasping for breath. "Devise a test, if you will, but please hurry. I have reason to believe Sage is in trouble."

Edmund narrowed his eyes but slightly lowered the sword. "Tell me how you escaped."

"I released him."

Joel cried out with fright and fell down the wall. Edmund immediately raised the sword and faced Aleksis.

The tall vampire coldly inspected the expensive blade. "A fine piece," he observed, his eyes flashing when they returned to Edmund's face. Once again, he was reminded of Sage's desire to settle with another.

With warm hazel eyes and a charming demeanour, Edmund was a handsome young man of noble character. The fact he was also very rich certainly added appeal. It was terribly unfortunate that the one suitor who Aleksis might consider worthy of Sage happened to chance upon her in the woods.

Aleksis suppressed his stray thoughts and pointed at Joel. "Take your Steward home, Edmund. I will return with Sage by dawn."

"What?" Edmund spat. "You cannot take her."

Aleksis' teeth gleamed white in the moonlight. "It is by your own foolishness that she has already been taken."

"My home is not a sheep-filled barn," Edmund scornfully answered. "My servants are more than capable of protecting her."

Aleksis scathingly shook his head. "Not if she leaves voluntarily."

Though Edmund lowered his sword, his eyes burned with hostility. "Such confident wisdom, from a creature who disposed of an entire castle's-worth of servants!"

Unable to forget what the old bookmaker shared; Edmund felt his ire build. "Will you have Sage meet their fate?" he shouted, again raising his blade.

Aleksis stepped forward, then pulled back, his angelic face strangely tight.

"All of my 'staff'," he began softly, his voice trembled with anger. "Every one of them was witch; sheltered by my 'employ' before they could be tortured and burned by the Guard. I never required servants. I merely saved witches and set them free. And I would do it again, if need be."

Edmund blinked, and Aleksis was gone.

***

"I want to speak with your mother!" Sage shouted as Nicholas drew closer.

"Whatever for?" Nicholas leered, still jerking his cock with dark intentions. "She has retired for the night."

"She might have enough sense to listen to me!" Sage bitterly replied.

"Believe me, Kitten, if I interrupted Mother at this hour for an unworthy cause, you would certainly live to regret it." Nicholas slowly shook his head. "I believe by my own affection for you, I would spare you that experience."

"What affection?" Sage sneered, recoiling from him. "If you cared for me at all, you would leave me in peace!"

"I said 'affection', not 'weakness'," Nicholas grinned. "Enough stalling. Choose, Kitten. Your delicious mouth, or an undignified penetration."

Faced with two repugnant options, Sage's eyes were closed again, beautiful long lashes fanning her elegant cheeks. Nicholas sinisterly observed her, still jerking his cock, already imagining using it to defile her sweet lips, gazing into her pleading eyes and watching his seed spill from the edges of her pretty mouth to mingle with her tears.

Sage felt her ire build when tears flowed down her face in abundance. She had never felt so afraid and alone. Though her upbringing was unrestricted in many ways, she was nonetheless very sheltered where it came to dealings with men.

She did not know how to mentally prepare for an abhorrent assault by a predator. But she was not going to blubber for mercy if she could help it.

"I require an answer," Nicholas mused, his smile widening when Sage hissed through her teeth as he tugged the strings.

"My mouth," she ground out, her eyes burning midnight blue.

"Good, Kitten," Nicholas muttered, extending his cock to trail down her cheek. "Gods, you do excite me." The head of his member rubbed the corner of Sage's pursed rosy lips, leaving a glistening string of pre-cum.

"Open your mouth, show me your tongue," he thickly instructed, tensing with lust when she slowly complied.

Sage's hands were tightly clenched, her nails buried into her palms. The pain of it helped distract her, but it wasn't good enough.

Nicholas dropped the strings and gently fondled her breasts, his hand slid up her collar bone to massage her neck. His other hand guided the tip of his cock to her tongue, and he shuddered, delighting in the soft moist surface obscenely rubbing a sensitive part of him.

Slightly bending over her, he dragged his shaft over her tongue from base to tip. Then he slowly placed the head of his cock into her open mouth and let it rest there.

"Gods," he muttered, licking his lips at the sight. One hand stroked her cheek then cupped it, the other slid through her hair and clenched to a fist. "Open your eyes, Sage," he ordered, preparing to fuck her mouth. "You will be present for this. You are going to witness my pleasure."

Fighting the urge to retch, Sage silently refused, her eyes tightly shut. The act disgusted her, and she couldn't bear to see the smug triumph on his face. Perhaps if she bit down effectively...

"Sage," Nicholas warned, feeling the restless graze of her teeth. He withdrew from her mouth, frustration interfering with his lust. Sage was not a broken slave, or a docile maid. She was as dangerous as she was desirable.

"I have given you enough opportunity to please me," he softly concluded, leaving her side to retrieve a glass vial from the bedside drawer. He poured a small amount into his palm and began to massage the oily substance over his hard cock.

"Clearly you cannot be reasoned with at this stage. So I will start with punishment. You will be more compliant once you understand the true meaning of consequences."

Still refusing to look at him, Sage frowned with concentration. Then her eyes snapped open, wonderingly; tears on her cheeks glinted in the candlelight, no longer bothersome. The strange calm on her face was a drastic shift from her recent terror and struck Nicholas with an inkling of uncertainty.

"You have a visitor, Lord Stiles," she breathlessly announced, staring confidently, her body slack against the table, exhausted but relieved.

Before Nicholas could retort that she bluffed, he stiffened, hearing the echo of a thunderous knocking on the great front door.