Fostering Faust 2, page 18
part #2 of Fostering Faust Series
“You think she’s pretty, too?” Alex asked. “She didn’t seem to think herself pretty.”
“I do,” Valeria said, looking back at the document.
“I imagine she’s been judged as lacking in all things and compared to her brothers,” Sylvia said, not looking up from the document. “If it was something only she had, I bet it simply wasn’t accredited because it couldn’t be compared to her brothers.
“Whether they were dead or alive.”
That sounds more like personal experience talking.
Though that would line up with the control issues. No control in her life, turning to wherever else she could find it. Driven to succeed, and to push regardless of which way it went.
Alex ran a hand over his face and sighed.
“Alright. I’m going to go relax. Day starts early tomorrow morning, and I’ll be leading commanders I’ve never worked with,” Alex said. “You two figure out if we need to do anything with that. At the least, let’s get an official copy and have it sent back to Brit.”
“Yes, Master,” the two noblewomen said in unison.
Getting up, Alex started to pull off his clothes as he entered his bedroom.
It was a simple thing, with a single candelabra casting light into the room. The sun had set an hour or two previously.
Shutting the door behind him, he made sure to pack away the clothes he’d worn today correctly.
He doubted he’d remember or have time to take care of it tomorrow morning.
Stripping to just his undergarments, Alex went over to his bed. He paused after opening the curtains, looking into his bed.
Nestled in the middle of it, wearing a pitch-black night dress, was Riley. The dress was a thin, strapped thing that didn’t become wider till it reached her nipples. It came down to her hips in a simple gown-like cut. It only barely covered her womanhood.
Her pale skin practically glowed in contrast to the dark nightie.
She was lying on her side, her breasts stretching against the thin fabric. Her chin was propped in her hand, her elbow between the pillows. Her eyes were locked on him.
“Hello, my Master,” Riley purred at him. “I bought a new nightgown in the city for you. I think it fits me well. What do you think?”
Riley ran her left hand down her side. She trailed her fingers over her breast, across her ribs, and across the flat of her stomach. Moving down, she pulled her hand up and over her hip. In the same motion, she pulled the gown that barely reached her thighs to one side.
The pitch-black sheer fabric hissed as it moved, giving him just the barest glimpse of her privates before it slid back down.
Now that I think about it, she’s the only one who buys lingerie for me to see her in.
“You’re as beautiful as always, One. Though the black definitely sets everything else off quite wonderfully,” Alex said. All thoughts about sleeping were gone now.
“Thank you. Drop your smallclothes for me, beloved Master?” Riley asked in a warm murmur. Her left hand came out and she drew a finger down along his hidden half-erect length.
I really shouldn’t let her take co—
Fuck it. She can have all the control she wants.
Alex pushed down on his underwear, letting it drop to his ankles.
“Oooh, that’s quite nice. Thank you, Master,” Riley said. Her left hand immediately cupped his length, her thumb brushing up and down it.
Grabbing a pillow, she pushed it under him and then laid her head down. With gentle fingers, she guided his tip to rest against her lips.
“I’ll never be able to show you the depths of how I feel for you, Master,” Riley murmured against his swollen head, her lips brushing over it as she talked. “Alex. My love. My Master. I’ll do anything for you. Anything.
“I reacted so poorly to your deeds. I didn’t understand them. I’ll make sure you know how much I love you going forward.”
Riley nuzzled his tip with her lips, then let it slide past them toward her ear. It made a sticky wet trail up over her cheek before she turned her head back the other way and caught it with her lips again.
Guiding it past them, Riley ducked her head, taking his girth into her mouth halfway.
Sucking gently on him, she moved him back and forth a little.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed more like she was nursing on him.
Reaching down with one hand, Alex lightly began to comb his fingers through her hair.
“Anything, you say?” he asked.
Riley nodded, her green eyes moving up till her gaze rested on his face.
Pulling her head back a bit, she let his tip rest between her lips.
“Anything,” she confirmed before slipping him back into her mouth. With a short bob down to his hilt, she drew him back out.
“I’d stop taking Mother’s Bane today if you asked. I’d take other’s lives. I’d let you use me in whatever way you want. Because I now know you love me, as I do you,” Riley said.
Closing her eyes, she started to slowly rock her head back and forth. Her lips pulled at him as she moved from hilt to tip.
What?
There was a desperate part of him that wanted to demand she immediately stop taking Mother’s Bane. To put a child in her and claim her fully.
It was a strange dominance he hadn’t felt until Valeria. One that seemed to be lurking under the surface now.
Truth be told, it didn’t feel vindictive or violent to him. It just felt needy. Greedy.
Wanton.
Riley had kept blowing him this entire time, using all the expertise she’d gained with him. She found a perfect rhythm for him, her mouth pulling at him wonderfully.
Easing her head back, she slurped at him as he fell away from her lips. As she smiled up at him and swallowed, he watched her throat constrict.
“My dearest Master, would you like to mount me? Do you want me to lie on my back? Bend over the bed and take it from behind?
“Or do you want me to finish you with my mouth?” Riley asked.
Alex almost pulled her head back into his crotch. She really did know how to work him over perfectly.
“Bend over for me,” Alex said huskily.
“Of course, Alex. Anything for you, Master,” Riley said. With a gentle press of her hand to his hips, Riley got out of the bed in front of him.
She arched her back toward him, bent over at the waist, and laid herself down over the pillows on the bed.
“Please enjoy me, Master. Enjoy all of me. Tell me not to take Mother’s Bane, give me your child to claim all of me. Know I’m all yours till we die, and I’ll take you to bed every night I’m able,” Riley said, giving her hips a slow sway back and forth. “Take me, Alex. Take my love. Take what’s yours. Give me whatever you wish.”
Reaching back, Riley pressed her hands to either side of her entry to peel it open with her fingers.
It was wet. Very wet.
Grabbing a hold of her hips, Alex pushed himself into her. He went slow, easing himself into her.
“Oooh, Master. Yes. Thank you for taking what’s yours so gently,” Riley murmured, her hands moving back to the bed.
Reaching the hilt, Alex adjusted his hold on her. In response, she ground herself into him, her rear end pressed tight to his lap.
“I love you, Master,” Riley said as he started to pull back. “I love you.”
Pushing forward and drawing away, Alex started to glide in and out of her.
Moaning deeply, Riley pushed back into him as he moved forward, her back arched low.
“I love you. I love you. I’m yours, Master. All yours, Alex,” Riley murmured as he took her.
Alex was awash with whatever magic her words had done to him. He held tightly to her sides and loved her exactly as she asked him to.
“Master, are you close? You feel so close,” Riley said.
“Yeah,” Alex said, realizing he was indeed close.
“Let me get on my back? It’s said I’m more likely to catch a child like that,” Riley said. “Please, Master? Let me, Alex?”
There was an unspoken question there. To let her get pregnant.
On top of that, Alex had a monstrous desire to do exactly that.
“Get on your back,” Alex said, pulling out of her. “And no more Mother’s Bane, my One.”
“Yes, Master. Immediately, Alex. My love,” Riley said, quickly getting on the bed faster than a whip crack. “Anything and always.”
She grabbed her knees, pulled them back and spread herself wide for him.
“Claim all of me, my Master,” Riley murmured, her face bright red. “My Alex, my only love. Take everything of me.”
Not waiting, encouraged by her words, Alex drove it deep into her.
Riley moaned loudly, her feet curling as they hung in the air.
Now pummeling her with his hips, Alex found his peak quickly.
Groaning, he curled up over her, his shaft expanding inside her. Then he did something he didn’t do often with Riley.
He kissed her, pressing his lips hard to hers as his seed spilled out into her.
Pumping up into Riley as she kissed him back, moaning all the while, Alex rode out his climax in her.
Filling her.
When the deed was done, Riley didn’t release him. Instead she continued to kiss him, drawing him into the bed.
She pulled him down atop her into the sheets, her legs wrapping around his hips, and held him there.
Then she finally released him and pulled his head into her neck. Her fingers immediately began to smooth his hair with one hand and pet his back with the other.
“Sleep, my loving Master,” Riley whispered.
Alex did just that.
Chapter 16
Riley woke Alex up for a second go in the middle of the night. Then for a third round in the morning before breakfast.
Even with all that, they were off toward the east before the sun had even risen, army in tow.
Alex had elected to take his carriages rather than ride horseback. It would provide him and his people with an extra layer of protection, giving his people a fortified position to protect rather than a person atop a horse.
Not to mention a certain amount of privacy. From the way Nannie and Riley had looked at him when he’d mentioned the carriage, they had their own plans.
Especially since Carla seemed to be sated for the time being with taking all of Alex’s free time. Mostly due to the fact that she was suffering from some type of stomach problem.
Carla was in the carriage behind his own, laid out on a bench. Valeria was tending her, as she surprisingly had the most experience. In learning how to kill someone, there was a certain amount of knowledge gained of human anatomy.
Sylvia was sitting with them in case something was needed.
Which left Alex alone with Nannie and Riley.
Riding with the two women wasn’t unpleasant, though. Or even awkward, as he’d feared.
They were both very interested in him, and both seemed to want to be alone with him. Though each apparently recognized how the other felt for Alex.
Somehow, that turned them into comrades, and they’d been chatting quietly the entire ride so far.
From life in the commons, to inns, to dealing with soldiers. They had many a story to share with one another.
To be fair, they’re fairly similar. One just went ‘white collar’ crime and the other ‘blue collar’ crime.
There was a light tap on the door.
“Master, may I borrow Five?” Sylvia asked without opening the door. “Two says she needs to get up and satisfy nature. Three has been putting water in her non-stop and thinks this is a good sign.”
She must think I’m fooling around with the two of them since she didn’t open the door.
Nannie looked to Alex.
“Go. Take care of her and come back to me,” Alex said with a grin.
Nannie frowned, then glanced to Riley.
The other woman pointedly looked away from Nannie, staring at the interior wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
Turning her head back to Alex, Nannie moved forward and kissed him. Nuzzling him carefully, she kissed him twice more.
Then she drew away, smiling at him. Opening the door, she stepped out of the carriage.
“Lead on, Four,” Nannie grumbled.
With a clack, the door shut.
“She’s such a sweetie,” Riley said after several seconds. “She’s far more bashful about it than I am.”
Moving over to sit at his left side, Riley wrapped up Alex’s arm, then laid her head on his shoulder.
He hadn’t thought she could become clingier than before, but she was somehow managing it.
Riley pressed her face into his shoulder and rubbed it back and forth.
Oh my god.
Alex was seriously contemplating leaving Riley with Anna the next time he went out. Just so he could get some time away from being cuddled to death.
The carriage shuddered with a jolt, and then a horse screamed.
Leaping forward, the driver got Alex’s coach moving at a blazing speed. The wheels felt like they were bouncing along the dirt road rather than rolling.
“What the shit?!” Alex exclaimed.
Riley gave up on holding his arm and now held on to his front, her face wedged up against his neck. She was making a high-pitched keening sound, but she thankfully wasn’t screaming.
The crack of the reins was audible as the driver drove the horses on.
Alex wasn’t about to demand what was going on of anyone. They had their orders, and they would perform them to the best of their abilities without him adding to their problems.
Rumbling along, he heard the distant sound of metal clashing on metal.
Managing to keep himself calm, Alex let his people do their jobs. He remained in the carriage and didn’t ask for answers or a status report.
It felt like an hour had passed before the coach slowed down to a reasonable base. Almost in the same instant, there was a solid knock on the door to the coach.
“Enter,” Alex said.
The door opened, and a helmeted head stuck partway through the door. The visor was up, but Alex couldn’t see who the guardsman was.
“Count Brit, there was an attack on our column. The majority of our army made it out with almost no losses. There was a problem, however,” said the man. “The other two carriages were attacked in such a way that they were unable to keep up.”
What?
“One was forced to a stop and boarded. The second careened off the path and down into a ditch to one side of the road,” said the man. “Scouts were sent back to see if they could secure any of your belongings or household, but they haven’t returned yet.”
Ok. Alright. Ah… alright.
I’m sure… I’m sure they’re alright. Nannie and Valeria could get Sylvia and Carla out. I’m sure of it.
Focus. Focus. We can ask Leah about it later.
Leah.
Leah? Are you there? Are you listening? I could use some assurances right now!
There was no response to his mental shout.
“I understand. Let me know the moment you know anything,” Alex said, his voice as calm as he could manage. “And where are we?”
“On the road to the capital for the earldom of Gers, by the name of Terk. It’s his borders that were violated, sir,” said the guardsman.
“Alright. Get us there as quickly as possible. The fact that there is an enemy ambush on the road between Tann and the front means they’ve already gotten some of their troops through,” Alex said.
“Yes, sir,” the guardsman said, then closed the door.
Riley lifted her head from Alex’s neck.
“Master… do you think they’re ok?” she asked.
“I don’t know. But I sure hope so,” Alex said with a small shake of his head.
Riley sniffled and pressed her face back into his neck.
He almost missed the fact that she was crying. She was so silent, it was only the tears trickling down his neck that gave it away.
Leaning his head back, Alex stared up at the interior of the coach.
All he could do was press on for now. There were people already trying to reach his Numbered.
Even if he was a wreck right now.
***
They rolled into the capital without any more trouble. The simple fact that it happened, though, had Alex beyond on edge. If the enemy was already in their backfield, that meant this wasn’t just the front line.
They were more likely already behind enemy lines.
When the coach came to a stop, Alex got out to his mercenary commanders waiting for him.
He had reviewed the landscape prior to their arrival and planned out multiple trench lines, stands, and fortifications.
But none of that mattered now. Not if the enemy was ambushing an army of two thousand mercenaries in an attempt to kill their leader.
With any luck, the situation was grossly overinflated in his head.
“Sir, I took the liberty of reviewing all the scouting reports,” said the most senior commander. Alex had to think hard to remember his name was Matias. “The countryside is teeming with enemy forces. If we’re not already surrounded, it’ll happen in the next day or so. There is no retreat from this position.”
Or maybe it isn’t inflated at all.
Alex closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his head. This was more or less exactly what he’d been afraid of.
“We were able to push back down the road and find both carriages,” the man continued. He had Alex’s full attention again. “The scouts weren’t able to completely secure them, but they did have time to inspect the sites.
“The one that was forced to a stop was empty. It appears that was the one that held your luggage. I’m afraid you have nothing that wasn’t in the carriage you rode in.”
Alex didn’t care about any of that. Clothes and things were replaceable.
His Numbered weren’t.
“The second carriage we found on top of itself in the ditch. There were no signs of battle, though the immediate area was covered in boot prints. The soldiers swarmed the coach,” Matias said. “The scouts ranged a bit further out and found there were four sets of tracks leading off into the woods. One had a strange gait, as if they were being carried, but there were no tracks following them.”
