Harems, eunuchs, torture, battles, love, and lust all converge in Reid’s experience as a hostage in the Balkans. After the fall of Rome, tribes ruled by local warlords are the norm and Reid’s father was a local king. The young prince is dispatched to a neighboring potentate to be retained as a token of his father’s submission to the warlord’s might. Reid soon realizes his attraction to the ruler’s older son, Enzo, a handsome and strong but gentle nobleman; but is repelled by the younger Galtero, a brutish youth enamored of the rough and tumble of a warrior. Galtero mercilessly teases Reid, encouraging other males in the entourage to also verbally harass the young hostage. After several years in which all three turn into young men, Galtero’s proposal for a sexual encounter with Reid is rebuffed, the resulting enmity turns out to be perilous for Reid. Enzo’s betrothal to Reid’s sister provided the opportunity for a coup d’état in which Reid’s family is captured, along with Enzo and his parents, by Galtero’s henchmen. Reid’s rescue and discovery of true love end this medieval tale.
EXCERPT:
“Will you be ready for
another lesson in the morning?” Emil asked as we prepared to leave the Great
Hall.
“Can it not be delayed
until the afternoon as the hour is rather late and I partook of too much wine?”
I attempted to stand and found my legs wobbly. “Let me assist you.” Emil
offered his shoulder for me to lean on as we made our way to my chambers. In
the room Phanes and Ryland were conspicuously absent as Emil led me to the
four-poster bed and tenderly lowered me onto the pallet. My stupor dispersed
when he unloosened my cravat and began unfastening my doublet. I vainly
struggled to sit up, thwarted by both my inebriated condition and the pressure
he applied to my shoulders.
“Please, do not rebuff
me.” Emil moved his face close to mine clearly intending to kiss me. “You are
so handsome, so intelligent, and well respected while I am an ugly brute of a
soldier. Can you not find some fondness for me in your heart?” Tears streamed
from his eyes as his face hovered above mine.
“I am very fond of you
and do not think you are unattractive or unintelligent; but it would not be
right for us to proceed as you wish. We are related and if anything became known,
there would be a great scandal, embarrassing our father as well as ourselves.”
“I do not care, my need
for your company and affection is so great I ache from desire.” My stepbrother
startled me by ripping his pantaloons open to reveal a hard cock with an angry
crimson head. “I have been like this for days, please do not turn me away.”
“I am truly sorry I can
not relieve your pain. We have been alone in here for a perilously long time.
Please leave immediately, knowing I value our friendship.” With effort I pulled
my eyes from his enticing shaft pondering: How
easy it would be to give us both great pleasure and succumb to his wishes. I
too have long been denied the warmth of another body in my bed; and he is both
comely and physically impressive. Emil surrendered to my pleas, pecking me
quickly on the forehead before departing.
Hearing Emil leave,
Phanes and Ryland approached me and assisted me to disrobe as usual. One of
them procured a damp cloth and soothed my forehead with it. “Master Reid,
surely a brief tryst with the handsome soldier would not have been unpleasant,”
Ryland suggested as his lover moved the cool cloth to my chest.
“Can we not provide the
solace he would have given you?” Phanes reached into my undergarment and
grasped my half-hard member gently sliding his palm up and down, eliciting low
groans from deep in my chest as my shaft hardened. When I did not protest, the
tall, olive-hued eunuch bent down and took my rigid pole into his mouth,
enveloping it in sensually wet warmth. Ryland bent over and kissed me on the
lips while caressing my breast with his left hand. Unable to resist, I lost
total control and filled Phanes’ mouth with my warm, white cream.
When normal breathing
resumed, I discovered the pair had removed the remainder of my clothing and
their tunics. Lying in the bed on either side of me they snuggled against me
slumbering peacefully. Responding to my stirring, Phanes draped an arm over my
torso and whispered in my ear: “Sshh, lie still. Let us bring you to even
greater heights of pleasure.” The warmth and firmness of his shaft pressing
against my hip precluded any protestation I might have wanted to make. Instead,
I sighed and leaned closer to the well-developed young man.
Ryland felt our movements
on the bed and rose up on his elbow. Reaching out he grasped my already hard
member. “I want you to take me with this,” he muttered and turned away from me.
Phanes assisted me in turning toward Ryland’s back then he moved his groin
against my buttocks. I felt his hardness slip between my thighs as his lover’s
ass cheeks trapped my pole between the curved mounds.
I knew our position was a
prelude to what would soon follow; a mimicry of what we were about to do.
Nevertheless, I savored the tenderness. Wrapping my arms around Ryland, I massaged
his bare chest with my palms, relishing the comfort of Phanes’ arms pulling us
all closer.
“I cannot!” I leapt out
of the bed and gathered my tunic around me. “You are most kind and I appreciate
your efforts; but this is not right. You love each other and will risk that to
provide me temporal relief when I most need sincere intimacy.”
“Your contentment is our
sole concern.” Phanes sat up on the mattress, a look of fear on his visage.
“Please do not hate us.”
“I have no hate for you,
only appreciation and fondness. Yet I must request you leave me alone for now.”
They exited my chamber, leaving me to ponder my situation: I have rejected both Emil and Sigimer when my body wanted either. Emil
is related and it would be proscribed for me to submit to my carnal impulses.
The prince, however, inflames my spirit yet I refuse because of my position.
How do I end this quandary? My only option is to maintain my distance from
both, return to Eugenei, and busy myself with my new position. Hopefully, Emil
will establish himself in Clunia supervising preparations for the nuptials.
