*The Messenger by Kate Hill writing as Anastasia C. was 
previously published by EroticSF.


The Messenger 
by
Kate Hill



"Choose another.  You really don't want that one."

Reana tore her gaze from the towering slave she’d offered to 
buy and glanced at the trader.  The woman was a brute - even 
by Reana's standards.  Thickly muscled with hair under her 
arms almost as long and matted as the hair on her blond head, 
the trader obviously had no qualms about using the 
steel-tipped whip clutched in one massive fist.  Most of the 
slaves cowered in corners of the pen, keeping their distance 
from their mistress. Several nursed oozing wounds, while 
others were marked with old scars.  

The tall, dark-haired one who'd caught Reana's interest bore 
lashes - old and new - across his chest, arms, and back.  
Unlike the others, his eyes - the color of sapphires on steel - 
gleamed with hatred and obstinacy.

"He's the one I want."  Reana opened her coin pouch.  "How 
much?"

"I'm warning you, he's more trouble than any slave is worth.  
Do you know how many times he's been returned?  Ten.  Ten 
dissatisfied women."

Reana raised an eyebrow.  Though lean, the man's big-boned 
physique looked hard, his muscles solid.  His broad shoulders 
and curved biceps were made for a woman to clutch in the 
throes of passion, and his sinewy legs had to be the longest 
she'd ever seen.  The bulge of his cock pressed against the 
tight leather loin cloth that left half of his firm buttocks bare. 
"He looks able to please."

"Able is one thing.  Willing is another."  The trader snorted, 
wiping her nose on her forearm and prodding the slave's flat 
belly with the butt of her whip.  "We tried beating, starving, 
hard labor.  Everything.  He refuses to submit.  This one 
would be a waste of your good money."

"It's mine to waste."

"Wouldn't you rather have a younger one?  At the very least, 
he's thirty and seven."

"Thirty and six, ugly." The slave curled his lip.  The whip 
shot between his legs. He turned in time for the blow to strike 
his hip instead of a more delicate area.

"I should have had his tongue cut out weeks ago,"  muttered 
the trader.

"That would have really lowered his value."

"Any woman who lets that mouth near her privates has got to 
be suicidal.  He'd chew her up just for the hell of it."

Reana noticed the slave's gaze roaming over her.  Some of the 
venom seemed to drain from his expression, and she sensed 
something from him.

"Take my advice and pick a younger, less stubborn one.  In 
two days, I'm sending this one to work in the mines.  That's 
all the good anyone will likely get out of him."

The mines.  Even the strongest prisoners only lasted a few 
years before succumbing to disease caused by filth and 
overwork.  For some reason, Reana shivered to imagine this 
particular slave there.

"How much for him?" she repeated.

"Why do you want him so badly?"  The trader folded her 
arms across her huge bosom. Her harsh brown eyes stared 
into Reana's.  

Reana's jaw clenched.  She was sick of arguing with the bitch.
If she didn't get what she wanted in the next moment, she'd 
knock the grubby sow's teeth down her throat.  Reana circled 
the slave, noting how his gaze followed her every movement, 
and said,  "Because he's beautiful."

"Him?  He has the forehead of an ape and teeth like my 
horse." The trader laughed.  "You want beautiful? I have a 
blond gladiator with a cock like a bull and a redhead with the 
face of an angel.  Both are more than willing to serve.  Take a 
look at them."


"I'm not leaving without this one."

"You can't bring him back once he's bought.  I'm done with 
returns."

Reana jingled her coins. The trader named her price.  

Moments later, Reana left the pen, the slave behind her.   

"What's your name?"  she asked as they walked to the local 
stable to collect her horse.

"Zareb."

"Sounds like a Kennian name."

"It is."

"So if you're from the Kennas, where did you get those blue 
eyes?" 

He didn't reply and waited in silence as Reana paid the fee to 
the stable boy to retrieve her dapple gray war stallion.

Zareb hesitated when she motioned for him to mount behind 
her.  His bare legs felt so warm and hard against her 
leather-clad ones that she repressed a shiver of desire.  

When they were out of the city and plodding across the 
meadow toward the woods, he said,  "You trust me untied on 
this horse?"

"He only listens to my commands.  Unless you want to go 
running across the countryside half naked, you haven't got 
much choice but to stay with me."

"I'd be half naked and free."

"So why aren't you running?" She glanced over her shoulder 
at him.  The tip of his tongue moistened his full lower lip. 
Reana wondered what that tongue would feel like in her 
mouth.  She'd know soon enough.  The trader had said Zareb 
refused to perform.  The stupid women simply hadn't handled
 him right.  Lust gleamed deep in his eyes. She felt desire in 
the warmth of his body and heard it in his deep, 
lightly-accented voice.  This slave was a creature of passion, 
but like a spirited horse, he had to be tamed properly. Force 
wouldn't work with him - at least not the kind of force the 
trader had applied.

"Why did you buy me?"  

"Because I think you're beautiful."

He lifted his eyes skyward.  "Uh huh."

"Do you have a wife, Zareb?"

"Would it matter to you?"  he asked.  She held his eyes.  "No, 
I’m not married.”

Reana smiled.  "Maybe that's why you're not running."

"You bought me because you want a husband?"  His brow 
furrowed.  "So sad."

Reana glanced at the road, her teeth clenched.  She wouldn't 
allow him to manipulate her  temper - at least not until she 
got what she wanted.

They rode deep into the woods and stopped in Reana's 
favorite clearing on the edge of the mountainside.  A cave 
mouth gaped amidst mossy rocks.  Inside, a hot spring 
formed a pool that Reana loved to bathe in.  Sharing it with 
Zareb tonight would be even more pleasant.

Dusk settled in as Reana and Zareb dismounted.   The forest 
had grown cooler, so she offered him a woolen robe.  Watching
 as it concealed his body, she sighed.  Soon.  Very soon. . . .

While she unpacked the horse, he volunteered to gather 
firewood.  She agreed, wondering if he’d take the opportunity 
to flee.  If he didn’t, her suspicions regarding his interest in 
her would be confirmed.  

Most women knew when men found them attractive, and 
she’d felt desire from Zareb the moment she’d approached 
the slave pen.

She’d just tethered her horse when Zareb returned with an 
armload of wood.

“We’ll camp inside the cave,”  she said.  “Come.  We'll have a 
swim before sleeping.”

“A swim?”

She smiled at him over her shoulder before lighting a torch 
and leading the way inside.  The heat from the spring made 
fire unnecessary for warmth, but they needed the flames to 
see and to cook supper.  Reana lit several more torches, left 
from earlier visits, and placed them in hollows in rock walls 
beaded with moisture.  The trickle of running water sounded 
from the pool that filled half the cave.  Flames were mirrored 
on the dark surface, muted by a layer of steam.  Reana could 
already feel the soft, wet heat enfolding their bodies and 
soaking their skins.

She glanced at Zareb who squatted, arranging the firewood.  
He studied her as she slipped off metal wrist cuffs and peeled 
off her leather armor.  Bare breasted, she tugged off her 
boots and rolled her pants up to her knees.  Testing the water 
with her toes, she closed her eyes and sighed. 

She felt Zareb’s body close behind her, his presence warming 
her back, though he didn’t touch her.  Apprehension gripped 
her when she realized she hadn’t heard him move.  She spun, 
looking up at him.  He’d discarded the robe, his naked chest 
inches from hers.  Glancing lower, she stared at the snug loin 
cloth now stretched to its limit with the weight of his arousal.  

Repressing a smile, she tugged off her trousers, tossed them 
aside, and waded into the pool.  She gasped, the water almost 
too hot, but quickly grew accustomed to the heat.  It felt good 
against muscles aching from several days of hard travel.  

Water glistened on her torso as she stood, the nipples of her 
plump breasts hard with anticipation of pleasures soon to 
come.  Zareb’s eyes fixed on the soft globes, though his 
expression remained impassive.  Other parts of him weren’t 
so cooperative.  His cock popped free of the loincloth almost 
before he could unfasten the ties. Reana’s heartbeat 
quickened at the sight of such a fine weapon.  The shaft was 
long and thick. Lavender veins created a sensual pattern 
beneath ruddy flesh.  The stout, smooth head was flushed an 
enticing shade of red, the sack beneath much more than a 
handful.  Reana understood why ten women had spent good 
money on him.  Too bad they didn’t know how to work the 
bull they paid for.

Reana ducked underwater and surfaced, brushing tendrils of  
wavy chestnut hair from her eyes.  Zareb stood a short 
distance from her, his dark brown hair a mass of wet curls 
clinging to his neck and forehead.  Droplets of water beaded 
on his lips and eyelashes.  One clung to the tip of his nose, 
and Reana brushed it away, her fingertip lingering.  She 
touched his mouth before standing on tiptoe to kiss him. He 
remained immobile yet didn’t draw back as she kissed his 
upper lip then his lower.  The tip of her tongue traced the 
length of his mouth and tasted the corners as her hands 
splayed across his chest. The lean muscles were solid as 
armor, the flesh dusted with soft hair.  His heart beat fast 
against her palms. She nearly smiled.  He seemed to enjoy 
feigning immunity, but by the end of the night, she’d reveal 
the true nature of this stubborn slave.

Sliding her hands down his water-slicked hips, she clutched 
his buttocks.  Gods, it felt as hard as the cave walls!  She 
gripped the solid mounds, her pelvis pressed against him, 
trapping his engorged shaft between them while her lips and 
tongue continued teasing his mouth.  

Touching him drove Reana insane with desire.  Lust stabbed 
her belly and torched her pussy.  She knew she was wet from 
more than just the spring water.  

Suddenly his arms locked around her, crushing her against 
his warm, slick flesh.  His lips parted, his tongue slashing hers,
running along her teeth, tasting every corner of her mouth.  

Reana buried her fingers in the hair at his nape, uttering a 
soft moan of pleasure as his hands caressed her back and 
shoulders.  He cupped her buttocks, half lifting her out of the 
water, holding her close, his cock a delectable pressure 
against her  crotch.   She relished the power in his body, 
having known few men with the ability to truly satisfy her 
warrior’s physique. The weight of her tall, sleekly muscled 
form was apparently nothing to Zareb.  

Hot, deep kisses plundered her lips, refusing to stop even to 
allow breath.  She gasped into his mouth, her heart pounding.
His breathing was ragged, his eyes closed.  She tore her 
mouth from his and he buried his lips in her neck, nipping 
and sucking the sensitive flesh until she shivered. Reana 
gently bit his earlobe and circled his ear with her tongue until 
he groaned.  The sound made her blood catch fire. So this was 
the slave who was unwilling to perform?  Reana nearly 
laughed aloud.

“Come.”  She tried pulling away from him, but his grip 
tightened, forcing her to shove hard to release herself. A 
pulse fluttered in her throat as she grasped his wrist and 
tugged him to shore.  Almost before she’d spread the blanket 
on the dirt ground, Zareb’s body covered hers, one arm 
snaking around her waist, the other cupping her breasts 
while his mouth devoured her neck and ear.  His chest hair 
was a soft cushion against her back.  One of his knees slipped 
between her legs and she arched back, wishing to slip into his 
very skin.  

Turning in his arms, her lips found his while she reached 
between their bodies and wrapped her fist around his cock.  
Soft flesh covered hard steel that swelled even more in her 
grip.  She pumped him, sliding her hand up the shaft.  
Dipping her fingers into her pussy to gather moisture, she 
clutched him again, running her wet thumb over his cock 
head.  He drew a sharp breath and she smiled, sliding down 
the length of his body.  Pushing him to his back, she knelt 
between his legs. Her hands rubbed his hard, hair-roughened 
thighs.  She looked up and found him watching her through 
half-closed eyes, his lips parted.  She sensed he was 
attempting to control his breathing.  Nails gently scraped his 
inner thighs before she  kissed him from groin to ankle, first 
one leg, then the other.  She lingered over his erection for a 
pleasure-filled moment before burying her mouth at the base, 
enjoying his clean, masculine scent and the rough tickle of 
hair against her lips and chin.  She licked the length of the 
shaft, traced the ridge on the underside, and finally took the 
ruby crown into her mouth.  At that moment, he seemed to 
lose all control of his breathing.  He panted as she sucked, her 
tongue swirling around the top, the tip toying with the 
sensitive eye.   Fingers gripped her hair, not painfully in spite 
of the tension that tightened his every muscle.  

Taking him deeper in her mouth, she drew hard upon him 
while her hands kneaded his balls.  His sharp cry made her 
belly quiver.  She throbbed with desire, almost on the verge 
of climax just from arousing him.  

“Stop!” he growled, pushing her away and grasping her 
upper arms.

He dragged her beneath him, his eyes dark with lust as he 
slid his big body over hers. Instead of satisfying his desire 
with a few massive thrusts, he kissed her from throat to hip.  
He took one of her nipples in his mouth and circled it with his 
tongue until the pleasure became unbearable.  He paid the 
same attention to her other breast, his wet tongue lapping the 
erect, pink flesh, making her heart beat out of control.  She 
was so aroused that she guessed he’d only have to enter her to
send her over the edge.  

When he reached between her legs and gathered moisture 
from her slick pussy, using two fingers to smooth over her 
engorged nub, she marveled at her self control.  He stroked 
her, running the entire length of one long finger up and down 
her clit until she mewled with passion, her body convulsing 
beneath his hand.  He continued rubbing, drawing out her 
pleasure until she lay calm and contented beside him.

“What’s your name?”  he murmured against her ear, his 
tongue tracing the shape of it.  

“Reana.”

“Reana,” he repeated, his body covering hers. Using his well 
muscled arms to support most of his weight, he rubbed his 
cock along her thighs and crotch before sliding deep inside 
her.  

She clutched his shoulders, locking her legs around his waist. 
His hips thrust into her with long, fast strokes, driving her to 
a climax that made the world go black and her limbs ache 
from the force of her grip on his body. 

“Reana,”  he whispered against her lips when her senses 
returned. Still hard within her, he began the sensual motion 
again, driving her to another fevered peak.  Two more 
followed, each one miraculously stronger than the last.  Her 
hands tightened on the slick flesh of his back, the heat of the 
spring combined with their frantic motions drenching their 
bodies with sweat.

As she ascended the heights of ultimate pleasure again, 
Reana  wondered how much longer he could possibly last.  
Her body, strong as it was, began tiring.  Who the hell needed 
a younger slave? 

She forced her eyes open and stared into his intense blue ones.
A flush rimmed his high cheekbones. Spirals of wet hair 
clung to his perspiring forehead.  His breath came in short 
gasps of pleasure/pain.  

“Zareb, that’s enough,”  she panted, her legs trembling and 
nipples sore as they scraped his chest.   “Please.”

His kissed her, his body pounding into hers. Tensing, he tore 
his mouth away and gasped against her neck as his essence 
poured into her.

They lay entwined for several long, silent moments before he l
ifted his head and brushed his lips across her brow. 

“I’m not staying as a slave,”  he said.

“I had no intention of keeping you.  I don’t believe in slavery.”

“Come away with me.”

Reana’s heartbeat quickened.  She scarcely knew him.  But 
she wanted him.  

“How did you end up in the slave pen, Zareb?”

“I was a Messenger in the temple of the Goddess in Ademene. 
I was lending aid to a village on the coast of Lower Kenna 
when we were invaded by slavers.”

“A holy man from the Kennas.” Reana narrowed her eyes.  
“I thought your kind were castrated to honor your Goddess?”

“Only the priests.  I became a messenger because I wasn’t 
yet sure I wanted to give up the prospect of a woman and 
children.”

“And now?”

“Now I know what I want.”

“I’m a warrior, Zareb, not a fitting wife for a holy man.”

He took her face in his hands, staring into her eyes.  “Let 
me be the judge of that.”

Reana smiled. Her arms locked around his neck. “Looks 
like I’m heading for the Kennas, and it’s probably not a 
bad idea.  Maybe if you had a warrior around in the first 
place, you wouldn’t have gotten captured.”

“If I hadn’t gotten captured, I’d have never found you.”  His 
fingertips trailed up her stomach and caressed her breasts.  
“The Goddess works strange wonders.”

So it seemed.  Reana couldn’t help smiling.

The End