Bringing Claire Home [Elinor's Stronghold 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Deep inside her, pleasure began to rise, a feeling of joy such as she’d experienced when Mitchell touched her, but much stronger and more powerful.

  “I can’t hold on any longer. She’s much too wonderful,” groaned Ivan, and hot seed exploded in her ass as his cock thrust in and out very fast.

  Mitchell forced a hand down between their bodies until he found her nubbin. But instead of rubbing it as he usually did, he pinched it hard between two fingers. The shard of pain roared through Claire, causing the excitement deep inside her to burst into life, and her belly rippled and quaked with pleasure. Mitchell slammed into her faster and harder over and over again, and then his essence filled her cunt as she continued to shake around him. Her ass was gripping Ivan’s cock hard, too, and she noticed he thrust inside her a few more times as well.

  For a long time, the three of them lay tangled together, until Ivan pulled off her and cuddled beside her body. Mitchell pulled out, too, and turned her onto her side, so both men could hold her.

  “Sleep now, our bride. The marriage is consummated. Soon Father Augustus will say the words over us,” whispered Mitchell.

  “I love you,” whispered Ivan, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.

  * * * *

  Later, Claire woke to hands teasing her breasts, rolling the globes, stretching and tugging on her nipples. “I want you so much. Please say I can swive you again,” said Ivan.

  “Of course,” she replied.

  Quickly Ivan pressed her onto her back and slid between her legs, his cock pushing deep into her core. The walls of her channel were a little sore, but soon she was enjoying his deep, full thrusts into her, and the wicked things his hands were doing to her breasts. A ball of pleasure was growing ever larger, deep in her belly, and her hips rose into his every stroke.

  “So hot, so tight, so perfect. You unman me. I can’t last as long as I should,” Ivan groaned.

  A thick finger pressed into her ass, and the exciting feelings deep inside her instantly intensified. With Mitchell finger-fucking her ass and Ivan teasing her breasts and fucking her cunt, it was an overload of sensations for Claire, and the joy inside her exploded, shattering her into a shaking mass of limbs. As soon as her cunt rippled and gripped Ivan’s cock, his seed burst out of him, the heat of it bringing her even more pleasure and satisfaction.

  Ivan leaned over her and kissed her sweetly, gently, pressing tiny, light touches of his lips to her forehead, her eyelids, and her cheeks. “You’re pure perfection, and I love you,” he whispered, before rolling off her body.

  Mitchell pulled her hips up high into the air. “Turn onto your hands and knees. This time I get your ass,” he said.

  Her body still hot and shaking from her pleasure, Claire obeyed.

  Mitchell had wet his own cock and pushed it hard at her ass. At the last moment, she remembered to push out, and he breeched the tight ring of muscles and slid into her dark channel.

  One of his large hands gripped her hip, the other he placed over her cunt, which was still hot and wet from Ivan. Mitchell sent a finger deep inside her cunt, as his cock powered in and out of her ass. Then he used two fingers, and finally three, her body once again so full and stretched she was highly aroused. Her nubbin was still very sensitive from her release, and Mitchell pressed the heel of his hand into it as he fucked her with his cock and his fingers.

  Already more pleasure was building inside her, and Claire was amazed that it could happen again and again like this.

  Then Ivan slid his head under her body and sucked a breast deep into his mouth, both his hands touching her breasts. He sucked her deep and hard, pulling her breast and tormenting her nipple. The pleasure inside her broke with a shattering burst, her entire body shaking like a tree in a thunderstorm. Her arms and legs could no longer support her, and she whimpered with the intense sensations as pleasure roared through her body, from her breasts, her cunt, her nubbin, her ass.

  Claire sank onto Ivan’s torso, no longer able to control her body, while Mitchell held her ass high, ramming his cock into her again and again, until he groaned his release and his essence filled her ass.

  The two men rolled her between them, and instantly she was asleep.

  * * * *

  It was full daylight before Claire awoke, and she was alone. The men had wrapped her in a cloak, but she was stiff and sore in every inch of her body. Carefully she sat up, wondering if she could even sit, but although her ass was sore, as was her cunt, it wasn’t too bad. A mug of water and pile of soft inner bark had been left for her to clean herself, and she was grateful for their consideration.

  Her thighs were sticky with the essence from the men, and there was a small amount of blood but not much. Once again she was glad she didn’t have to display the bed sheets—not that she had bed sheets here anyway!

  She cleaned herself and dressed then left the shelter. Outside she was surprised to see the campsite had been almost demolished. The fire stones had been taken away, as had the big log the three of them usually sat on. The brush that had covered the top of the shelter was also gone. The men must have been working for hours, for to disperse the rocks through the forest would have been a long job. Then she remembered the horse. Of course, he could carry far more than a person and would make the task easier. But still, they had achieved a lot this morning.

  She walked over to the cooking pot and helped herself to a cup of water. Beside it was some meat on a stick, which she also ate. Suddenly she was ravenously hungry, although her body was still quite stiff and a little sore.

  Just then the men returned, Mitchell leading the horse.

  “Good timing, my sweet. We only have to load the horse, and we’ll be ready to leave,” said Paul.

  “What about the shelter?” she asked.

  “We decided to leave it. There’s no way we can fill in the deep hole we dug, and someone else might find it useful. The area doesn’t look such an obvious campsite anymore, so I think that’s the best we can do,” said Ivan.

  Paul and Mitchell disappeared into the shelter, returning with all their cloaks and few possessions. Claire rolled her good dress and her cloak into a bundle and tied her mug and knife onto her girdle.

  They each had a long drink of water, then tipped the last of the water out of the pot, and put their few bits of food and other things into the pot. Mitchell tied it onto the horse, along with all four of their bundles.

  “That’s it?” Mitchell asked.

  Paul looked around the now-empty campsite and nodded. Ivan ducked back inside the shelter, then came out and said, “Yes, we’ve got everything.”

  “All right, up you get on the horse then, Claire, and we’ll leave,” said Paul.

  “Me? Not Mitchell?”

  “We decided it was best if you ride and we walk. With three men and no luggage, it should be perfectly safe travelling. Besides, we’ll be able to walk faster and for longer than you could,” said Mitchell.

  That made sense. They were stronger than her, and she was still tired and a bit sore from the night’s activities. But what a night it had been. Never had she expected to experience so much intense pleasure. Never had she even imagined such things were possible. And now her life stretched before her, being loved by two men. But would people accept them back at the stronghold? Was Paul’s land still safe? Besides, how were they going to manage living between two farms when she would need to keep house and care for Old Mary as well as the three men? It’d sounded so easy when they’d talked about it last night, but in the cold light of a new day, it suddenly seemed overwhelmingly complicated. And first they had the long journey back. Who was to say the road wouldn’t be watched by masterless men and other people, waiting to attack them?

  Maybe on the way they could plan how to manage their new lives. Or would that distract the men from their main task of watching for danger? Claire sighed. It was going to be long, long trip.

  Chapter Five

  Mitchell had left her with plenty of food and fuel,
but Mary was well aware that when he came back with Claire—not if, when—the season would be well advanced toward winter, leaving him very little time to replace what she’d used. Besides, she was happy in the stronghold, sitting in the courtyard watching the little ones play or sitting by the fire in the great hall, warming her old bones, talking to the young mothers nursing their babies and the other older people like herself.

  Certainly she missed Mitchell, no one could have been given a better grandson than him, but he was a man now and needed to bring his chosen bride home. Her time was almost over. She just hoped to live to see him and Claire wed, and possibly even to welcome a great-grandchild should God grant her such a blessing.

  The stronghold was much more orderly and better managed than when Lord Huart had been lord. She remembered children always running between people’s feet, getting up to mischief, setting the horses loose or throwing stones into the well. Under Lady Elinor’s rule, the older children all had specific tasks to do each day. Many of them had been trained as watchers to help relieve the guards on the battlements. Others were messengers, and they competed among themselves as to who could remember correctly long and complicated instructions. A few were even learning to read and write, a rare skill indeed.

  Of course, children had always helped in the fields, scaring the birds away from freshly planted seeds and weeding between the new, young grain, but that was only for a few months each year. These children all had ongoing tasks that gave them status and position in the stronghold, and made them aware they had a part to play in the life of the entire community.

  Even Mary, old as she was, contributed by teaching the children some of the stories of the stronghold’s past. She remembered Lady Elinor’s three younger siblings who’d died of the coughing sickness many years ago, when her daughter-in-law and grandchild had also died. Other children had died then, too, children who would have been aunts and uncles of these little ones, and several older people. It was always good to remember those who had passed on.

  Long before that, when Lord Huart had first married Lady Ann, they’d gone to Court, and Mary told the children the stories she’d heard from Lady Ann about Court. More recently Lord Rhys had gone to Court to tell the King he’d reclaimed his demesne and had two heirs. Every child knew the story of how Lord Coll had ripped Lady Rhyannon’s Court gown in spite and how the sewing women of the stronghold had repaired it and made it more beautiful than ever using a design, developed by Garnet, of a tree with branches and flowers.

  “You see,” she told the children, “no problem is too great to be solved. All you have to do is think hard, use your skills, get your friends to help as well, and the greatest disaster can be averted.”

  “Like learning to swim.”

  “And defeating Lord Jeffrey,” called the children.

  “That is so,” said Mary, pleased at their bright smiles and eagerness to learn.

  But as the weeks passed, she really missed Mitchell and prayed fervently that God would bless his quest, that he would find Claire alive and well, and bring her home.

  As winter drew closer, the stronghold became busier than ever. Women and children went out into the wooded lands almost daily, collecting fuel and foraging for any remaining edible roots, nuts, and berries.

  The soldiers and some of the freed men formed hunting parties to kill large animals which would feed many people. Almost everyone knew how to trap a few birds, or fish, or rabbits, but to kill a deer or a boar required much more skill and the cooperation of a larger group.

  For the past few years, Lady Elinor had encouraged the stronghold to keep some baby animals through the winter as breeding stock for the next year. There was always the possibility food for the animals would run out, and the animals would need to be killed and eaten, but so far, they’d managed to raise piglets, ducks, and chickens successfully, and once again some young animals had been gathered. When it became really cold, the animals would be kept in a big new barn the men had built, but for now, they foraged for their own food in the field by the river under the watchful eyes of a group of older children.

  Mary smiled. This was yet another example of a woman thinking differently from men and proposing some new ideas. The men were focused on protecting the stronghold, building strong walls, and keeping a good watch to avoid danger. That was very necessary and not to be diminished in any way. But women had other thoughts, and everyone needed to eat. Any new way of providing food for the harsh winter months was worth trialing. Thus far, all the ideas they’d tested had worked, and the people of the stronghold were healthy and well fed as a result.

  * * * *

  After a while, the days began to blur together in Claire’s mind as each was almost exactly the same as all the others. At first she’d hoped they’d stop at Lord Ceadda’s stronghold and rest there, but Paul and Ivan knew a much shorter track through the forest that saved them almost a day’s travel, so they didn’t go close to Lord Ceadda’s.

  At night they rolled up in their cloaks just a little way off the road in the woods, usually hidden under low bushes. The men took turns to stay awake and watch over them and the horse, but never was there any sign of masterless men or soldiers. The land was silent and peaceful.

  “Everyone is busy preparing for winter,” said Paul.

  “And we are three men. Too many for an easy attack, and with no wagon of goods to make such an effort worthwhile,” added Mitchell.

  Which sounded very logical and good, but she knew they were all as alert for danger as she was, always looking ahead and behind them, scanning the fields and forests on either side of them, ever wary that masterless men may be desperate enough to attack even a group like theirs. Starving men had nothing to lose and everything to gain in such an attack.

  Both Mitchell and Ivan held her against their bodies at night, and sometimes they touched her breasts or cunt or ass, but they made no attempt to fuck her. Claire could only assume it was because they were out in the open and wanted to remain alert and on watch. She knew they wanted her. Their long, hard cocks pressing against her clothing demonstrated that quite clearly.

  Because she wasn’t used to riding a horse, at first Claire’s thighs and ass and back had ached, but after a few days, she developed a rhythm and moved with the animal in its slow and stately walk. Thereafter she enjoyed riding and the higher view of the surrounding country it gave her. Her mind often wandered to what would happen when they arrived at Lady Elinor’s stronghold again, but like the men, her gaze was ever watchful on the road ahead and behind them, and the bushes or forest or fields beside the road.

  The days were becoming shorter. They began traveling as soon as dawn lightened the sky and didn’t stop until dusk, but even so it was evident they were not covering as much distance daily as Mitchell had on his journey north. Fortunately, the weather held good most days, as when it rained they had to take shelter. None of them had clothing to spare to change into dry clothes if they got wet, and it was much too cold to travel in wet attire, which meant stopping, gathering wood, building a fire, and waiting until their garments dried.

  Then there was the endless worrying about food. What if they couldn’t catch any animals? What if this was a long, hard winter and their stores, which would not be large, ran out while the snow was still deep on the ground? How would they survive?

  But finally Mitchell started to recognize landmarks, and then Paul did, too, and Claire knew another night on the road and at last they’d be home. At once, all her worries and doubts overwhelmed her. How would this strange marriage work? How would she manage to care for two homes a long walk apart and to look after Mary and all the men? Would she stay at one house one night, and prepare food for two days, before moving to the other house and doing the same thing there? And how would she sleep with both Mitchell and Ivan if Ivan was working on Paul’s land while Mitchell worked his own land?

  They’d said they’d build her a little house out on Paul’s land where they could all be together, but how then c
ould Mitchell work his land? Or would he just visit her there sometimes? How would she care for him and Mary then? It was all too hard. She could imagine many problems, but she couldn’t envision any solutions. They really needed to talk about it. Maybe now they were back in familiar countryside, closer to the stronghold, it would be safe to ask questions of the men.

  “Where will I be living? How can I be with Ivan and Mitchell, yet care for Paul and Old Mary as well?” she asked.

  “Over winter we’ll all be living in my house. Paul will obviously want to look at his land and his house to see what maintenance needs to be done, but it’s much too late to do any work in the fields, and we’ll need to concentrate on gathering food and fuel for winter. My house is larger, better maintained, and closer to the stronghold, so that’s where we’ll winter. We’ll be out every day gathering food and fuel though. I expect you’ll want to come with us and gather, too, at least at the start. I’ll have to return the horse to the lord as soon as we arrive, but with three of us we should be able to catch and kill at least one large animal which will feed us well,” said Mitchell.

  “After winter, we’ll help Mitchell prepare his land, then all move out to my land. As soon as we can, we’ll build a separate house for you and Mitchell and Ivan. Mary can stay with me in my house,” added Paul.

  “We’ll see how it works for the first year. We can always do things differently in future if we see problems, but using Mitchell’s house for winter and Paul’s, then our own the rest of the year, should be quite a good system. Obviously, at harvest time, because we’ll have planted Mitchell’s crops first, we’ll be back to harvest there first. But if we only grow vegetables at our own house, that should save a lot of walking back and forth,” added Ivan.