All was quiet save for the scurry of small animals, the deep hooting of owls, and the crackle of the fire. Well, there were also the horses munching on oats but I've gotten to where I hardly notice Ahern's darlings anymore. Sometimes I half suspect that he loves them more than me.
I was glad of the fire because of the chilly air wafting down out of the mountains beneath which we were camped. And too, it was pleasant company while Ahern was out prowling, doing whatever it is that he does when he goes out into the woods at night. Just one more nocturnal predator slinking around the forest.
Lord Mulchay would have had a conniption if he'd known about this little scouting excursion. If not for Ahern's friendship with him he'd have tossed us out of court long ago. That, and the fact that Ahern and I had built the militia into the capable fighting machine that it now was. So far it had been a deterrent against any hostility on the part of the usurper. So far.
Lithe and lean, Ahern emerged from the trees as silently as a spirit. He blended into the woods so well that he seemed a natural part of it. A switched dangled casually from his hand.
I hate it when he uses a switch on me. The belt I like with it's snapping leather and the soft metallic clink that it makes when he unbuckles it. It's even better when he lets me remove it for him. But I hate switches. Switches sting and cut and put me into a rare agony that leaves me begging for mercy. Of course he never has any and begging and tears turn him on.
I kept my expression coolly impassive so as not to betray my concern. I was still recovering from the paddling he'd given me just a few days ago. He had come home from breaking in a new horse in an especially foul mood. It was my own fault I suppose for volunteering. He looked like he would benefit from it and knowing that I'd get a long, hard fuck afterward was enticement enough for me. I had overestimated his annoyance and the paddling had been much more severe than I'd counted on. Still, I hadn't been disappointed afterward when he slammed me up against a wall and fucked me until I screamed.
Nevertheless I would not have volunteered had I known I'd be taking a lengthy trip on horseback just a few days later.
He sat down across from me with a smug look in his face as though daring me to ask about the switch. I decided that I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"Had a comfortable ride?" he asked casually
"Of course." I answered in the same tone. Two could play that little game.
"Do you know it would interest me very much to see you naked right now?"
"Would it?" I asked, my voice full of unconcern.
"It isn't so very cold by the fire."
"You take your clothes off then."
He laughed. "I would enjoy feeling your lips wrapped around my cock." he told me. "You have a very talented mouth."
We were out in the middle of nowhere with no one around for miles. I felt a stir of interest. I know many women don't, but I love pleasuring my husband that way. Still, his words reminded me of a rumor I'd been hearing around the castle lately. "Is that what you told the innkeeper's daughter down in the village?"
Ahern laughed again. "No. She propositioned me actually. Business is slow and she's taken a side job."
Somehow this did not annoy me as much as it should have. "Does her father know?" I asked, curious.
"Actually, it was his idea to put her to work. I told him that I'd send some of the militia that way."
"And it doesn't bother him?" I asked, incredulous.
"Why should it? They need the money and she's not a child. It goes on all the time, Aurora. She's not too bad either."
"Is she?" I asked, curious. I knew I should be angry but a voyeuristic interest was rising in me.
"She was a bit shy at first but she warmed up. I've heard that she was a virgin until about a month ago and that her father sold her virginity to one of the lords. I'm not sure which although I have my suspicions."
I shook my head in disbelief that they could all be so casual about it.
"It goes on all the time." he reiterated. "It's just sex. If she wants to sell it, why not? Does it bother you that I fucked a whore?"
"I know that you love me so what you do with her doesn't matter." I said after a moment of reflection. "Did you...were you rough with her the way you are with me?"
"Of course not. I save that only for you." When I had no response to this he added evilly. "She has a quiet little room on the top floor. Her mouth is very warm and soft but I don't think she likes to swallow."
"Silly girl. That's the best part."
