Darkness Embraced Page 11

  Dredd was pushed up against the front bars, gripping so tightly she was sure they would snap. His large erection was plainly visible through his tight breeches. And his eyes, they smoldered. He looked like he wanted to swallow her whole. She shivered and felt a wetness between her legs. How wicked she was, to enjoy this so much…

  “Did you mean what you said today in the arena, Ivy?” Dredd asked.

  She slipped one strap of her shift off her shoulder, “More than I’ve ever meant anything. No ordinary male would ever be enough for me. You are the only one I have ever wanted, my big strong Ajax,” The other strap fell, her top barely covering her nipples.

  Dredd was so rigid she thought he might explode through the cell at any moment. This had reached a point of no return, and Ivy knew it, craved it. Just as her top slipped too low, exposing her nipples, she said, “I know what it must have taken for you to sacrifice what you did today. For me. I am yours, now and always.” Ivy bent over, grabbed the key ring from the pocket of her now sagging gown, and smiling, held it up for Dredd to see, jingling the keys. “Now shall we find out which one works?”

  Dredd’s control snapped. The two bars he had been gripping bent slightly, as if they were made of clay. Ivy’s eyes widened, and she wondering if he really would have been able to escape without her help. She quickly fumbled through the keys on the ring, trying each one until, on the fifth try, the locked unlatched with an echoing “click”.

  Dredd pulled the cell door open, enough for Ivy to slip through. He grabbed her, and before she knew it she was naked and beneath him on the cot against the back wall. He took her mouth with his, devouring her.

  “Ivy, I do not wish to hurt you but I don’t think I can be gentle,” Dredd said between kisses.

  “Good. I don’t want you to be,” Ivy responded, arching against him. “I was afraid I might never see you again after today.”

  “It is the night of the full moons, Ivy. I have my fangs. And I don’t know if I can fight the urge to bite you, to claim you.”

  “Do what you must,” she breathed. “We just have to be very quiet, so we don’t alert the guards—”

  Ivy lost her words as Dredd moved to her breasts. “Gods, you are so beautiful. You make me crazed. I can’t think for wanting to claim you night and day.” He then licked around her nipple, waiting until it pebbled into a hard point before sucking it into his mouth.

  Ivy moaned. Everything that was happening felt so right, despite the fact she was on an old hard cot in a jail cell. Dredd moved his right hand down to cup her between her legs. He used his fingers to massage her slit, and then pushed one finger inside. Ivy grew wetter at the exquisite touch, any tenderness from the previous night forgotten.

  Dredd groaned. “You are so tight and wet. I could come just from touching you.”

  Ivy clenched around his finger, aroused by his words. She began rocking her hips, needing fulfillment. “Dredd, please, now.”

  The Ajax needed no further invitation. Not even taking the time to remove his breeches, he simply undid them, pulled out his length and pushed it inside her. He was so large, stretching and filling her, but still she wanted more. Ivy wrapped her legs around his waist and met his thrusts. Dredd leaned down and clasped her nipple in his mouth again, this time grazing the peak with his fang.

  Ivy cried out. “Yes! Dredd, yes!”

  Dredd grabbed her hands, pinning them over her head. He continued to nip and lick at each breast as he thrust deeply inside her, rotating his hips each time. The movement drove Ivy wild. She arched and panted beneath him.

  He replaced his mouth with his right hand so he could lean above her. “Look at me, Ivy.”

  She opened her eyes, meeting his. There was something so intimate about making eye contact as they mated, and Ivy felt tears sting her eyes. The way he ground against her put delicious pressure on her sex and places deep inside her, and she knew she would come soon. She wasn’t ready for it to be over but as he stared down at her with all the intensity that was her Ajax, growling with pleasure, Ivy couldn’t stop herself.

  “Dredd, Oh, I’m going to...it’s too much!” Ivy gasped, feeling the spasms beginning inside her.

  “I love to see you come, naya ceela.”

  She did. As Dredd pistoned in and out of her, Ivy climaxed, surrendering to the intensity as she chanted his name. Dredd chose that moment to bite her. He sank his fangs deep into her neck, drinking from her.

  “Oh!” Ivy cried out at the exquisite feeling of Dredd being so deep within both her neck and her sex. His bite caused another orgasm to cascade through her, coming hard on top of the first. This one was much more intense, and all Ivy could do was shudder and buck.

  The walls of her channel gripped his shaft as her continual climax ripped through her. Dredd couldn’t help but join her, going rigid as he filled her, his release exploding from him as he continued to drink at her neck.

  ****

  Dredd wondered if he was dreaming. It was too good to believe that Ivy had shown up at the jail to rescue him, offered herself to him so sweetly, and then had proceeded to blow his mind for the second consecutive night.

  Joining with her was beyond his wildest fantasies. She was everything he ever wanted in a mate, and certainly more than he had dared to hope for. He had wanted to be angry at her for coming to help him, but that feeling fled the minute she undid her cloak.

  Ivy had a contented expression on her face as he looked down at her. He was still nestled deep inside her, and he had no desire to break the contact.

  “I’m not sure we were very quiet,” she whispered, giggling.

  Dredd grinned back at her. “Do not worry. Those guards only come up here if absolutely necessary. The one that brought my dinner tray earlier practically threw it at me and ran.”

  “What did you call me?” She said dreamily, gazing up at him like he hung the moons.

  “What?” Dredd asked, not understanding.

  “At the end, when you...you know, you called me something you never have before. You called me naya ceela.”

  Dredd hesitated for just a moment. “It means my love.”

  “Oh, Dredd,” Ivy cried wrapping her arms around him, “I love you.”

  Dredd leaned down and placed his forehead against hers. “I do not know much of love, Ivy. But what I feel for you...it must be that.”

  Dredd began trailing kisses down Ivy’s body, past her breasts, her stomach, until his face was between her thighs. He had longed to taste her here, had spent hours upon days imagining what it would be like.

  Now he knew. It was like heaven.

  “Dredd,” Ivy said nervously as he kissed and nuzzled her upper thigh. “I don’t know—”

  He moved and licked her folds from bottom to top, and then sucked her most sensitive spot into his mouth. Ivy cried out, her uncertainty of a moment ago obviously forgotten.

  It was a long while before he came up for air. Afterwards, Dredd pulled out of her reluctantly, fastened his breeches, and sat up. “You can’t stay here. It isn’t safe. I need you to go back to Doves and I will come get you after I have dealt with things here.”

  Ivy sat up, her expression hurt. He regretted having to cut their moment short and he cupped her face with his hand. “I’m sorry, I know you deserve better.”

  Ivy’s face softened. “It’s all right. I understand. But I’m staying with you and that is final.”

  “Go back to Doves and I will come for you.”

  “And then what? You will be a fugitive, Dredd. It isn’t safe for you to wander the village to get me.”

  Real life was sinking back in all too quickly

  “Mulu Vertan,” Dredd said with warmth in his eyes. “So be it. We will leave together. We will go back to the Dark Woods. Once we cross the river they will not even try to look for us.” Dredd could tell that was not a favorable option for her. She was terrified of the woods. And he couldn’t blame her. But she said nothing as she donned her dress, trusting him to take care of her. H
is heart swelled at that knowledge. “Are you agreeable with leaving your life here to come with me?”

  Ivy gifted him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. “I am. But I will need to tell Sloane and Folley somehow before we disappear for good. They are down in the courtyard, helping to keep the guards—” Ivy slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my gods, I forgot all about that. Poor Sloane and Folley are doing their best to help me and I was up here with you and we were—”

  “Let us go relieve them then. Did you spot any weapons on your way in?”

  She shook her head.

  Earlier in the evening, Dredd had looked out the window in front of his cell to size up the guards in the courtyard. There were eight in total, two at the gate and six patrolling the courtyard. He noticed they all seemed visibly relaxed, as if they were breathing a collective sigh of relief that the evening meal had been served and the Ajax was locked up for the night.

  Now, there were two prostitutes down there helping to provide just the extra relaxation and distraction he would need. He owed Ivy and her friends a debt of gratitude. Because if he had his way, by the time the sun rose the guards would all be long dead, their body parts scattered to the four winds.

  ****

  “Halt!” An authoritative voice rang out from the darkness, sounding the alarm.

  Dredd, thinking authority could go bugger itself, ignored the command. He and Ivy were half-running, half-crouching in a darkened corner of the courtyard, well on their way to escaping. Sloane had one guard preoccupied in the guardhouse and Folley had the other one at the gate. Another four had already been taken care of—swiftly and silently—by Dredd before the pair began to make their way across the courtyard. He was feeling confident now that freedom was imminent. So if the other two guards had shown up late to the party, barking orders, he could handle them easily.

  But a commotion began on the other side of the courtyard, and it sounded like more than two bumbling guards.

  No!

  Could they have alerted reinforcements so quickly? Worried about the use of arrows, Dredd grabbed Ivy’s hand and pinned her between him and the wall. He could barely make her face out in the shadows but he felt her trembling.

  “Dredd, I’m scared.”

  Dredd caressed her cheek. “Shhhhh. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about—”

  Tttthhwwwwiiiink! An arrow hissed by and lodged itself in the water barrel an arm’s length away. His concern over arrows was an astute one. More arrows followed, raining down all along the wall they were plastered against, one hitting its mark and embedding deep in Dredd’s arm. Dredd sucked in a curse, grimacing at the sharp pain but refusing to give away their location.

  “Oh!”

  Dredd heard Ivy’s dismayed gasp when she felt the jolt, realizing he was hit. There was movement all over the courtyard now, as guards rushed in with torches to illuminate their search for the escapee. But the arrows stopped and Dredd knew their supply had run out. There were still sporadic calls to “Halt” and “Surrender” and Dredd distantly registered that the two prostitutes, Sloane and Folley, were being manhandled by the guards who now realized they were duped. The black-haired one let out a string of curses as Sir Lionel shoved her against the now closed gate by, a sword pointed at her throat. Dredd tried to block Ivy’s view but it was too late. She saw it too.

  Ivy whimpered. “They are here because of me...”

  “No, you are all here because of me.” Dredd comforted her, steeling his resolve. He reached over and snapped off the tail of the arrow, gritting his teeth at the pain. Then he took a deep breath, and pulled, wrenching the tip of the arrow out of the muscle of his arm. The pain was white-hot and blinding, but he didn’t stop until the arrow was free and blood trickled from the open wound.

  “Dredd, what are you doing!” Ivy’s whispered as she bent to tear off some fabric from the bottom of her skirt. She quickly rent a section free, and tied it around his wound as a makeshift bandage.

  Dredd held up the arrow, his eyes cold. “I am going to end this.”

  “Dredd, no—”

  He jerked his hand up quickly to silence her. On the breeze he caught the scent of horses. The guardsmen of Dimm didn’t have horses. Someone was coming. This could provide just the additional distraction they needed, though he would still have to figure out a way to free Ivy’s friends. He stayed motionless, assessing the situation.

  “Halt!” A new male voice barked. This one too was laced with authority but it was altogether different. Unlike the guardsman, it fit, as if the authority was innate. This was not authority granted by a uniform, it was authority granted by will. “Cease what you are doing and release the Ajax at once!”

  Dredd and Ivy shifted to see who issued the command. It was a stern blond man on horseback in front of the gate, wearing chainmail and a black tunic over his large frame, the Royal Sign of the Domini emblazoned across the front. There were at least four score of soldiers at his back.

  Everyone’s attention now focused on the imposing man wearing a royal uniform. The sword in Sir Lionel’s hand, currently pointed at Sloane’s throat, wavered slightly. Dredd eyed it, knowing he could lunge over there, snatch the sword, and flay Sir Lionel open in the blink of an eye. But he waited. Why had the man in the royal uniform demanded his release?

  “What is happening?” Ivy whispered.

  “I do not know,” Dredd replied honestly.

  None of the guards wished to obey the man’s order, yet no one wished to openly ignore it either. The House of Domini ruled the entire Dark Isle, and they could exercise their Dominion when they saw fit. To disobey an order of the Domini could mean certain death.

  “Excuse me,” Sir Lionel finally began softly, “But the Ajax is a prisoner of Dimm, guilty of the crime of murder and—”

  The man on horseback stared Sir Lionel into silence and turned to study Sloane with a long hard look. Then he addressed the guards again. “I am the general in charge of the Royal Armies. The Ajax will be released immediately with full pardon at the behest of the Domini Royal Seat. Anyone failing to comply will be arrested for treason. I act upon full authority of the King.” He handed a scroll to the nearest guardsman, his blue eyes ice-cold. “Release those females immediately.”

  Sloane slid out of the way of Sir Lionel’s sword, which sagged like a wilting flower. “You heard the man. I’m free to go. That’s not the first time you have pointed something limp at me, Lionel, but it will damn sure be the last.” She swaggered over to Folley, whose lips quivered, and wrenched her from the other guardsman’s grip with some choice words that had the man’s ears turning red.

  The corner of the general’s lip turned up slightly as he once again watched Sloane. The still disbelieving guardsmen let the women walk away. They reviewed the scroll and talked amongst themselves for a moment, at a loss for what to do.

  Ivy began tending to Dredd’s wound; no longer worried their movement might mean certain death. Neither one of them knew why Dredd was being pardoned, but at that moment neither cared.

  She pulled Dredd into a shaft of moonlight to better see her work.

  Dredd leaned down and kissed her.

  The general cleared his throat. “Tell the Undefeated Ajax that once he is released, he is to meet with me in my tent at his convenience. My soldiers and I have made camp at the bottom of the hill, near the stream. But first tell him to visit the healer’s tent so he can tend that arrow wound.”

  With that, he turned his horse and trotted back from whence he came. It was obvious he saw much.

  “Can this be real, Dredd? You are free?” Ivy’s voice trembled with hope.

  “We will see,” Dredd was more reserved, wondering what sort of catch he would find in the Domini man’s tent.

  Once the wound was bound to Ivy’s satisfaction, they walked through the now open jail gate, as a bewildered looking Sir Lionel did nothing but stare, mouth agape. Sloane and Folley turned to fol
low them, Folley blowing a sarcastic kiss to the young guard as they left.

  ****

  A short time later, Dredd ducked under the flap opening of the tent. After visiting the Armies’ healer, he had finally convinced Ivy to go back to Doves with the other women while he met with the mysterious man of the Royal Army.

  Dredd knew right away which was the general’s tent, heading toward the largest one decorated with a black and red flag. Once inside he could see the blond-haired man, as he sat at a large desk, writing by candlelight. Dredd was fully prepared to cut the man down should the need arise, but he was hopeful he wouldn’t have to.

  For once, he was hopeful. He never dared hope before Ivy said she loved him, but now he found himself greedy, wishing that the gods would grant him favor just once more this night. He stood just inside the tent flap, saying nothing.

  The general finally rose and assessed Dredd with intelligent eyes. “The Undefeated Ajax. I believe you are called Dredd?”

  Dredd nodded.

  “How is the arrow wound? Did the healer treat it?”

  Again, Dredd nodded.

  “Good. You are a warrior without equal; it would do none of us good to have you fall ill to fever. Please, have a seat. Would you like a drink?”

  “No.”

  “A man with purpose, then. I like it. My name is Reicher Saint, and I am the General of the Domini Armies. I have a proposal that I think you will find attractive.” The general poured himself a glass of wine from a pitcher on the desk and turned back to Dredd.

  “I have heard of and seen your prowess in the arena. You have a skill for hand-to-hand combat that far exceeds anything I have ever witnessed, which is saying much. I could use a man of your expertise to train the soldiers of my Armies. These are days of unrest, where Domini soldiers are often required to travel to far corners of the Isle to settle disputes with any manner of creatures. I am prepared to offer you housing and a salary, if you will come to Domini Territory with me and—”