Stics & Stones

Careful to avoid the loose gravel, Deirdre descended the slope and finally reached the path that crossed the mountain pass higher up. For a long moment she just stood there, listening, her eyes straining in the darkness. She didn't hear anything and by now it was really dark - she could see no more than a few feet ahead. With a sigh she started walking again. She had to take her chances, as it was far too cold to stay out on the mountain.

She didn't know how long it took her to reach the branch that lead back to the village, but she was glad she could stand still for a minute. It was dead quiet. Maybe her luck was coming back and those soldiers had moved on. Deirdre was still cautious as she slipped into the village, creeping from shadow to shadow till she reached the other side. Duncan's place was dark and to her dismay she found it empty. Apparently the daughter had already left for her own place in the next village.

Gnawing on her knuckles Deirdre stood in the dark house. She could stay here. Nobody would come looking here and it was dry and sheltered from the wind. She would not be able to warm herself with fire, but she would survive that. Something felt not right about this idea however, she could not exactly say why, but it made her feel uneasy, as if she took advantage of the death of the old man.

"Damn", she muttered under her breath as she made her way back to the center of the village. Most houses were already dark for the night, but not all and she had to be careful. The only other safe place she had been able to come up with, was the merchant's house. That was also the house that received a lot of attention from the rest of the village, which made it also very unsafe. Even so, the merchant was the only one possibly willing to give her shelter for the night.

She had already decided to go back in the morning to collect the bare necessities from the cave. She didn't know yet where she would go, but she had come to the conclusion that she had to leave the area. It was too much of a risk to stay now that the cave was no longer a secret. She snorted at her own thoughts.

Hell, the priest would want to find her, if it was only to save her soul if not his own.

The merchant's house showed a faint light through a crack in the blinds, but Deirdre circled to the back of the house. She felt safer in the shadows and tapped lightly at the backdoor. She hoped Conn would come to the door himself; his wife was not as broadminded and would have liked her husband to cease all dealings with Deirdre.

With a sigh of relief Deirdre saw the door open a crack to show the grey eyes of Conn. The stout merchant raised his eyebrows in surprise and opened the door wide to let her in. A quick look outside convinced him no one saw the herb lady enter his home and he quietly closed the door again, bolted it and only then turned to have a look at his unusual visitor.

"What's wrong?"

He gestured towards the bench near the big hearth; the fire already banked for the night. He waited for her to sit down, then lifted a jug of ale from the table and held it up with a questioning look on his face. When she nodded he poured two mugs and settled himself at the table. He observed her taking a sip of the cool liquid and noticed the shiver that went through her.

"Come on, out with it. What happened? You look exhausted."

Deirdre took another sip and tried to come up with a simple explanation. She failed and looked a bit helpless at the grey-eyed, grey-haired man opposite. He had always treated her with respect; she shouldn't be involving him. It could be dangerous. She almost stood up to leave again but it seemed as if Conn had read her mind.

"No." He reached out and took hold of her wrist. "Stay, talk."

"I need a place to stay, only for tonight. I'll leave again in the morning." She took a deep breath to steady herself. Scared to see a denial she bent her head and studied the grains of the tabletop.

"You know I will help you if I can. You have served the people of this village more times than they will ever say out loud." He let go of her wrist and took a swallow of his drink. "Care to tell me why?"

He watched the woman in front of him with something of alarm. He could not remember ever having seen her this upset, so uncertain. She was a tall woman with an aura of competence but right now she looked more like a girl that wanted to cry or twist her hands.

"Conn, it could be dangerous to help me." She laughed a little, as that was nothing new. "I mean, more than normal. I did something real stupid." She sighed before she continued. "I found a wounded man about a week ago, near the ravine on the east slope. I was soft-headed enough to take care of him."

Conn said nothing; he merely raised his eyebrows.

"He is a priest, the one they are searching. They are still searching aren't they?"

"I see." Conn whistled softly between his teeth. "Yes, they want to find him real bad. Seems he's sorely missed by that fanatic inspector general. For the Inquisition. Father Edward I believe."

The moment the words left his mouth, the merchant looked sharply towards his visitor. "I seeee..." This time he almost sighed the words.

"But

he

won't turn you in, will he? Not after...saving his life?" For a minute his voice rose to something more than a whisper.

Deirdre felt the color rise in her cheeks, but she did not intend to tell Conn the whole sordid story.

"He wants to take me with him to save my soul. He's convinced this Father Edward will help." She shrugged her shoulders as if in apology. "I lost my temper at that, but I can't go back to... to where I used to live. He is still there and I can't take the risk. You know what will happen if I go with him."

Conn nodded, guessing from her face there had been more to it than she was telling. Hell, he wouldn't blame any man for wanting her. "Yes. No need to explain further girl. You can stay the night. But what will you do next? He knows your place now, doesn't he? Can he lead them to it?"

Deirdre lifted her shoulders. "I don't know. I'm not taking the chance though. I thought to go back in the morning, take the essentials and leave."

The grey-haired merchant eyed her thoughtfully, his brain obviously doing overtime as his hand rubbed his chin. With his eyes squinted, he took another sip of ale, swallowed it and placed the mug back on the table. He nodded a few times and a small smile crept over his face.

"You got my message? About me leaving the village for a few weeks?" He saw her nod once and patted her hand in answer to her curious look. "How about, if you went with me?"

She opened her mouth, but he stalled her questions by putting his finger against her lips. Conn knew he was old enough to be her father. Nevertheless, he grabbed every chance he got in touching her. As always the sight of her made his cock twitch in his pants. He let his fingers trace her lips. "Don't say no yet. Listen first."

"Ok, I will." The words were barely more than a whisper.

"I have planned a visit to a big city, not Kilkenny, another one, near the sea. Lots of stuff for me to trade there. I have a few connections to put me in touch with traders there. Now, here's the important part. There's a seaport nearby. Maybe folks there are less superstitious."

Deirdre looked at Conn with eyes wide from wonder.

The sea, he wanted her to go live by the sea?

Her throat was suddenly dry and she grabbed the mug of ale, downed nearly half of it in one gulp and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Have you ever been to this city? Or the seaport?"

"The city, yes. The seaport, no." Conn smiled reassuringly. "I have been to Wexford once before. It is big, but it has a cathedral. That's why I think you should go on to the smaller town by the sea."

She saw the look on his face, satisfied with his plan, expecting her to agree, and she could almost believe it was possible. Almost. Then reality kicked in again. How would she explain herself? How could she provide for herself? She shook her head and smiled a bit sadly as she put her questions to him.

Conn nodded as he took hold of her hand. He turned it palm upwards and caressed the sensitive skin on her wrist, trailing his fingers up to her elbow. When he felt her trying to get her hand back, he made his hold a bit firmer as he smiled at her frowning face.

"I agree. We have to come up with something. Let me think on it a bit. A good night's sleep does wonders sometimes."

He didn't wait for an answer but stood up and stretched, still holding her hand. He realized this would be the last time she ever visited his house. With a swift movement he brought her other hand up as well, holding both of them above her head.

"Conn, what are you doing? Conn?" She sounded more bewildered than scared.

"Guess I want what that priest got. At least I will not turn you in. You know that, don't you?"

He stretched her a little backwards and one hand stroked her neck, caressed the soft skin of her cleavage and slid inside the shirtwaist, cupping the firm breast. She tried to stop him, but he had her hands firmly secured. Next she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but that only resulted in him touching her all the more. He quickly undid the buttons and her breasts sprang free, showing him her nipples were starting to harden despite her protests.

"I have been wanting you for ages. Didn't you know that?"

He smiled down at her, taking in the angry eyes, the flushed face and the luscious breasts with the pink tips. His cock stirred anew, starting to rise. He ignored her as she tried to reason with him, reminding him of his wife upstairs. His wife was nice enough but the body right in front of him was much more enticing. He bent his head and kissed a path from her neck to her nipples, touching the peaks only lightly with the tip of his tongue.

The renewed squirming excited him. The feeling of power over her body turned him on more than he would have thought and he stretched her a little more, forcing her to thrust her breasts out. The movement made the creamy white globes quiver and he licked his lips. He decided to have her right then.

Deirdre squirmed to get loose. She had never looked at him as a partner, but she was shocked at her own response. The way he held her hands and forced her to present her breasts, made her hot. She was getting a bit desperate to get away from him. So she tried to resist, reminded him of his wife upstairs, but he ignored her and kept teasing her nipples with the tip of his tongue. It was no good; soon she ached to feel his mouth on them, sucking on them. The risk of his wife coming down only added to her excitement, maybe to his as well. Without warning, Conn suddenly spun her around and pushed her on her back, down on the bench. He tied her wrists above her head, using a length of cloth he had been examining earlier.

He followed her efforts to get loose with a big grin on his broad face. "It's no use girl and right now I'm going to have a good look at you first." With that he flicked her skirts back and straddled the bench between her knees. Both hands were free to stroke the soft skin of her thighs, his thumbs touching the black curls between her legs. He kept his word and looked her over with burning eyes. His hands fondled her breasts till she closed her eyes. To her own horror she started moaning and she felt her pussy getting moist.

Conn slid forward on the bench, forcing her legs further apart as he lifted them over his own. With her pussy in his lap he could easily suck her nipples while at the same time caressing her hips. His fingers slid between her thighs, opening her to his touch and he felt the moisture starting to well up.

He looked down at the black curls surrounding the now dark folds, unfolding under his fingers, glistening with her desire. He knew it was a bit perverse but the fact she still tried to resist him excited him tremendously. In an effort to make her acknowledge her body's response he bent further down and licked her pussy. It tasted rich, like cream with honey and he thrust his tongue in, spreading her wide with his hands.

"Stop it. Conn, don't."

He heard her getting more frantic in her denial and pinched her nipples in response. Her gasp was enough to spur him on and he freed his cock from their confines. Rubbing his tip over her slick folds and touching the small pearl at the top made her moan again. Finally silencing her protests he slowly entered her body, savoring the feel of her hot, wet flesh taking him in.

Once inside, he kept perfectly still for a few moments, letting his hands roam the body laid out in front of him, making her realize he was wielding all the power. Still seated on the bench with her legs over his, he started playing her body. He fondled her breasts, stroked her clit and kneaded her thighs till she started whimpering at the back of her throat.

All that was needed to send her over the edge then was a few thrusts of his cock. Her climax rippling through her body caused her inner muscles to massage his cock to its own release. His seed hitting her cervix made her buck her hips again, thrusting her clit against his fingers.

"Yes, oh God, Conn, oh God."

Conn looked at the gorgeous body, sated by the efforts of his hands and his cock, and felt on top of the world. He vowed to make sure this enjoyable flesh would not be wasted on the stake. With a final touch to her clit he kissed her hard on the mouth, pleased that she was no longer resisting him. He watched her open her eyes again and smiled down at her.

"That was very nice. I hope that priest at least enjoyed you as much as I have."

Deirdre made a face. "He hardly knew what he was doing. I didn't want you, but you at least know how to satisfy a woman."

Conn raised an eyebrow. "Was he that bad?"

He bent his head and kissed her nipples again, his fingers stroking her folds as his slackening cock slid out of her. A sound from upstairs stopped him from arousing her a second time.

Deep down Deirdre felt a little disappointed that Conn stopped touching her. His thick fingers and sturdy cock made her horny like hell. Not to mention the fact how he had tied her to the bench and had her spread out before him. She had fantasized about being taken like that, but had never experienced something like it for real. She sighed. Now she had and it had felt great.

He stood up, fixed his clothing and released her wrists. Next he ushered her to the storeroom, grinning that he didn't want to upset his wife so late at night. Deirdre understood perfectly well. He had no desire to risk a sour mood on the eve of his departure. She felt a little wicked as she squeezed his cock before sending him to his wife. With his promise to wake her early next morning and a last kiss, he closed the door softly behind him, leaving her to find a spot between the bales of cloth ready for trade.

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