Missy Jane - Born of Stone

She clutched his shoulders, short nails biting into his flesh while she squealed. He froze and waited for her to relax again beneath him. It only took seconds for her to moan and thrust her hips against his.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes…very all right.”

He chuckled and pushed in a bit more. Though he didn’t consider his manhood overly large, he’d never taken a woman’s virginity before. The act both humbled and frightened him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

“A little more?” he asked.

“Yessssss…oh yes, please.”

He pushed in again until he was fully seated within her. They moaned in unison and he took a deep breath.

“I’m going to move now. Tell me if I hurt you.”

She nodded, eyes tightly shut but no look of pain on her face. He pulled out slowly before easing his cock back into her warmth.

“Oh, it feels so good, Nel.”

That was all the encouragement he needed. He thrust again slowly twice more before picking up the pace. Soon he was fucking her in earnest and growling low in his throat with pleasure.

Her nails continued to scratch the skin of his shoulders and chest but he barely noticed. All his attention centered between her thighs and the paradise he had found there. He sped up then slowed back down. He used short strokes then longer ones as he ran a hand over her body. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin, making it glisten in the firelight. She fairly glowed and he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

She slipped one small hand over the back of his neck and tugged him down in an uncharacteristic show of aggression. He eagerly went with it and allowed her to claim his mouth in a searing kiss. As if that was all he needed, the pleasure tore through him until he was pounding his hips into hers and gasping with his release.

He remained over her, leaning on his elbows so he didn’t crush her smaller frame. They both fought for breath but he recovered first. “That…was amazing.”

She nodded and slowly opened her eyes to stare at him in wonder. “Yes…yes…it was.”

He grinned and rolled onto his side, pulling her to his chest. “As soon as you feel up to it we’ll do it again.”

She smiled and then her stomach rumbled again. “All right. But you have to feed me first.”

He was still laughing after they’d dressed and made their way to the kitchen.

Albain watched the human woman writhe on the cold stone floor and scowled. He had no idea what was wrong with her. The sleeping potion had worn off the other humans with no ill side effects. However, this one was obviously in great pain.

Or was she? It had crossed his mind she could be faking it in order to escape. Though he didn’t see how. The room he was using to hold the human captives was heavily warded on all sides, top and bottom. They were in the dungeon of his lavish castle, deep in the Ilstred Forest.

He was watching through his scrying bowl, keeping an eye on them lest they hurt themselves or each other. But so far there had been no commotion other than that woman. Astra? No. Astrid. He knew she meant something to Master Orestes and that was incentive enough to take her. However, her beauty had also been an enticement. He had hoped to woo her over wine, but the moment she woke, she began crying out. He hadn’t known what to do with her so had dumped her in a cell with the others.

Now the other women were around her, wiping her face with the hems of their dresses and speaking in soothing tones. It didn’t seem to help. She was still crying and holding her belly in great pain. He turned away from the sight and paced across the room. He was a floor above them in his library. It wasn’t nearly as opulent as the one the Masters boasted, but for one of the Twenty it was more than sufficient. He pulled a book from a nearby shelf and set it on his desk. It fell open to the page he needed on its own and he read the spell once again.

Once he had unlimited access to the Wizard’s Stone, he would be able to take full control of Halstrid. King Kadmos was an aging fool, one ripe for a revolution. His only heir was a woman few knew anything about. Her mother had run off with her shortly after becoming pregnant. The Twenty had been trying to track her down for nearly eighteen years. Bastien seemed to believe she had been found, but he kept his secrets well. Bastien’s only confidante, Corbin, was no better. So now Albain had to move swiftly if he wanted the throne for himself. Who better to rule over the greatest kingdom in the land than a wizard?

He chuckled over the thought and closed his spell book. With the blood of one innocent human, he would be able to cloak himself so not even another wizard could detect his presence. Slipping past the walking stone blocks who called themselves Master should be no problem. Leaving his captives unattended wasn’t ideal but he had no choice. No one knew his plans. He trusted none of the other wizards to share in his vision for Halstrid. So he walked alone and would therefore reap all the benefits.

A piercing cry broke into his thoughts and he ran back to his scrying bowl. It was the woman again, but the others were so tight around her he couldn’t see a thing. With a huff of impatience, he strode from the library to descend the stone steps leading him to the dungeon. If she planned to get the others riled up then he’d best remove her and quiet her himself.

Another pain tore through Orestes’s abdomen but he was getting better at ignoring them. Aside from the pain was the unmistakable pull centered in his chest and leading him toward Ilstred Forest. The four wizards had warned him about going into the land Albain called home, but Orestes couldn’t stop himself. Astrid was there and in pain. He would pull up every tree in the vast forest from its ancient roots to find her if need be.

Soon, in the darkness, he spotted the outline of trees. They were monstrous, great behemoths of oak, fir, pine and elm. Here were some of the oldest living things in the kingdom and they garnered respect. Orestes landed at the foot of a massive oak and waited for Bastien to slide from his back. The others landed silently around him.

The wizards immediately went to the oak and set their hands upon its ancient bark. They spoke to each other in lowered voices in a language the Masters had not been taught. Orestes waited impatiently, biting his tongue to keep from yelling his need to move on. Finally Corbin turned toward him.

“He has them in his home deep in the forest but he has set up wards. We can unravel them as we go but you must step lightly. There are many traps set and even one will alert him to our presence.”

Orestes looked up into the darkened sky. “What about flying above the trees?”

Bastien nodded. “You can, but the house isn’t visible from above. His wards will keep it hidden from your sight until you are right upon it.”

“So our best bet is on foot?” Goran asked.

All four wizards nodded.

“On foot then,” Orestes said before walking toward the nearest clearing between the trees.

Albain unlocked the heavy wooden door and shoved it open. The humans immediately fell back to the farthest corner of the cell. He smiled to see their easy obedience, then frowned at the woman crying on the floor. When he neared, the coppery scent of blood filled his nostrils and his smile returned.

“What have we here?” he asked.

She turned a tear-streaked face his way and shook her head. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. Please…please, help me.”

A glance at the others revealed them far enough away for comfort. He had demonstrated his powers as soon as they started waking and most were afraid of him. He went down to one knee and laid his hand on her stomach. It was hard like stone and slightly protruding. Her figure was hidden by her gown so he had no idea if her stomach was always like that, but from the rest of her frame, he doubted it.