Algo delivered Emma as he had been bid, ushering her into another grand house built to the same design as Gellir's. This house seemed darker, surrounded as it was by thick swathes of Spruce, and was almost empty of people. Compared to the home she had just left, which had bustled with servants and visitors, this appeared to be inhabited only by a maid and her new Master, Stefan.

The maid, a thin wretch who would not meet her eyes, took her forward into the Great Hall, where a man sat pouring over scrolls and heavy texts. The maid handed him the parchment Algo had been told to deliver and Stefan read swiftly. Cwen had confirmed that Emma was his gift, a treasure brought from Gellir's last travels, and glancing up only momentarily he took in her exhausted and dishevelled appearance and gave orders to the maid.

"You must feed her and bathe her, then return her to me, Ginna." He nodded in thanks and Emma was taken away.

Emma felt sick with nausea after her journey, and her fatigue was so great that she hardly cared what might happen next. The girl, Ginna, produced a plate of bread, pork and solid, white cheese, and brought her a cup of ale. She had not realised how hungry she had been, but couldn't recall the last time she had eaten something substantial. Left alone by the other woman she drank heartily and crammed the food into her mouth until her hunger was at last satisfied. The ale warmed her belly and the food made her drowsy, but the biting cold of the journey remained, and Emma felt weary to her very bones. She put her head against the table and fell asleep within moments.

* * *

Emma awoke with a start when Ginna hailed her in her own tongue and took her to a small ante-room, lit only by firelight, where she had prepared a huge tub of steaming water. At home bathing was the luxury of the wealthiest only and Emma had never experienced anything of this sort.

Ginna helped her out of her dress and she shivered in the cold of the room, but stepping into the heat of the water was one of the most wonderful things she had ever experienced. Tears began to course down her cheeks as the hot water stung her icy fingers, and began to seep deep into her limbs. In the midst of this misery the comfort of warmth and cleanliness felt like a gift and she felt a wave of gratitude for her new host.
Ginna took a huge cloth and washed her body, beginning at the tip of her toes. The feeling of her soft touch and the warmth was cosseting after so much hardship, and she felt a sense of safety, here in this great, dark house.

After the water had cooled Ginna helped her from the bath and dried her gently, rubbing soft fabric across her bruised and aching skin. She paid attention to every inch of her body, and when she parted her legs to dry between them Emma felt the unmistakable tingle of arousal. She wondered again what Cwen might have meant when she mentioned Stefan's penchant for 'dark pleasures'. She felt that her recent days had introduced her to so many new things that surely there was little left to surprise her.

If Gellir had indeed finished with her, and her new Master sought to care for her like this, then perhaps the change was to her advantage, and was one she could learn to enjoy.

Once dry Ginna wrapped her naked body in a cloak made of fabric so soft that Emma could not stop her hands from stroking it where it fell. She tried to indicate her nakedness beneath and ask for her dress to be returned to her, but it seemed that Ginna did not comprehend, and she ushered Emma back into the Great Hall.

By now night had fallen outside, with a darkness so complete that the Hall was shrouded in impenetrable shadows. At the far end an enormous fire blazed, but she could see no one. Ginna slipped away and Emma walked slowly towards the fire. She felt the soft cloak billowing away from her body as she walked, exposing her legs and opening wide to reveal her breasts and smooth, flat belly.

She stood in front of the fire, mesmerised by the flickering heat and comforted by its warmth. She heard only the crackle of the wood as it burned until Stefan spoke.

"Are you rested, my dear?" Emma cried out in surprise "I am sorry to startle you, but I was reading when you arrived and, if I am honest, I enjoyed watching you."

"You speak my language?" her appreciation and gratitude grew as he nodded.

"I have studied it for many years." He handed her a goblet, "Wine?"

She tasted the unfamiliar liquid, blood red in the firelight and felt it stir something in her belly, flooding her limbs with a kind of liquid heat. Stefan bid her take a seat on a broad flat seat in front of the fire and he stood by the hearth to watch her. He was surprised that Gellir had parted with this one; they had shared women before, but never one as fine as this. Even on her arrival he had seen her beauty, but now he felt captivated by the softness of her skin, the sheen of her hair and the fierce beauty of her eyes.

Emma too appraised her new host. He was smaller than Gellir, lithe and wiry with a quick intelligence in his eyes. They shared the same broad mouth with full lips, but beyond that the similarities were mercifully few.

"You understand that you have been gifted to me?" she nodded warily. "I can appreciate this is very new and strange to you, but I wish you to be happy and satisfied in your new home. There are," he paused "expectations." He looked as though he was weighing up what to say next.

"There are things that will make me a happy guardian, and if those expectations can be met you will have your rewards. If they cannot then you will be sold to whoever may bid for you – do you understand?" It felt that he was asking if she knew what that might mean for her, and she could imagine. He refilled her glass.

"I have certain preferences," his voice grew soft, "Activities that please me. I don't wish to engage in anything except those things, and I need your...contribution with some of them. I don't require anything from you beyond that which I will outline tonight and if you can learn to take pleasure in this your time here can be very comfortable."

"Remove your cloak." His voice grew softer still, and husky with desire.

Emma stood and the fabric fell quickly to the floor, revealing her nakedness. She felt astounded that she could be so shameless, that she could stand uncovered in the house of a stranger, without knowing what his plans might be. She also recognised that for the first time since Gellir had entered her home and taken her she was warm and fed, and could hear in this man's words the chance of some comfort and safety. Emma was a practical woman, and if she could serve her own needs through serving his she felt this may indeed be a productive union.

Seeing Stefan's eyes in the firelight lit her inside. She could see both lust and admiration in him, and to see him gaze at her with longing made her feel powerful and beautiful in a way she had never known before. He pressed his hand between her breasts, palm flat against her breastbone, feeling her heart quicken beneath his touch. He liked the way she met his eyes, unafraid and unashamed and he felt himself harden painfully within the restriction of his clothes. He began to undress himself, but she held her hand over his and began to untie his garments with her tiny hands. She felt that by taking charge she was keeping the balance between them, keeping this an action between equals, rather than the feeling of subjugation she had allowed in her desperation to have Gellir.

As she bared his chest she found his skin smooth with a swathe of fine hairs which led from between his nipples down below his trousers like a trail. She moved her fingers across it and as she reached down she felt the muscles of his abdomen tighten and heard a hissed breath escape him. Unaccustomed to removing a man's clothing she took much time to undress him and the delay was a delicious torment.

It had been a while since he had last had a pleasure like this, and whilst there were women to be had the delight at finding such a suitable and, it seemed willing one was maddening. He had to fight to keep his hands to his sides, to stop things progressing as fast as his loins were urging, he wanted to take time to savour the precious build up before discovering if she was truly as sweet as she seemed.

Seeing him naked captivated her, Emma had never seen a man fully unclothed, and the partial sights she had seen before were nothing to the rugged beauty of the unfettered male form. He was broad about his shoulders, narrow at the hips, angled with hard lines over taught skin – so different to her own soft curves that they might be of a different species.

She touched him, feeling his hot skin and firm muscled flesh, already sheened with sweat that had little to do with the heat of the fire beside them. Walking slowly behind him she loosened the plait that swung down the length of his back, the colour of wheat in summer, and felt the softness of his hair as it fell over his chest and shoulders. As she moved beside him she could feel the heat of his body radiating against hers, and every touch made them both more and more aware of the sensation of skin against skin.

His chest was rising and falling faster, and his longing showed as his erection pushed out before him, catching against her hips and legs, sending ripples across the hard muscles of his stomach, and building desire to a level he could never recall before. Stefan moved away from her reluctantly and crossed to step in very close to the fire; he bent and retrieved a tall bottle with an elongated neck. It appeared to be made of heavy green glass and contained a liquid that shimmered within its depths.

He removed the stopper with his teeth and spat it out into the dark recesses of the room without removing his eyes from hers. He tipped the bottle against his palm and the liquid ran across his fingers, along his arm and dripped to the floor. He pressed his hand to her chest and Emma felt the warm oil against her skin, dribbling from her breasts and down between her legs in a hot trickle.

Stefan began to move his hands in slow rhythmic circles, coating her high, budded breasts with a sheen of oil and feeling the warmth of it against the heat of her skin. She began to breathe heavily, smelling an unfamiliar scent within the oil which coupled in the air with their own musky scents. As his hand travelled down across her belly she was powerless to stop the moan escaping her lips, and she opened her legs to invite his hands between them, but he ignored her and moved behind to smear oil across the delicate skin of her back.

He coated every inch of exposed flesh, his hands firm against her, the oil hot and fragrant. She could feel her need mounting, could feel the dribble of her own hot juices running freely down her thigh, she wanted him to stop and take her, but she wanted the tortuous pleasure to continue forever, and when finally her arms, legs and torso were slick with oil she felt sure he must finish this wondrous game.

Kneeling before her he now allowed her to part her thighs. He trailed the path her juices had taken with his hand, and collecting them on his middle finger he placed it in his mouth to taste her, gazing up to see her expression of wonder and desire. Once again he oiled his hand and gently moved it between her legs, running his fingers from the thatch of soft hairs that hid her folds right across her to the deep and willing hole at her centre. He smiled as she moved to try and force his fingers into her, but he was not to be rushed and he moved again.

Behind her he tipped the bottle against the small of her back and watched the firelight catch a stream of oil disappearing between the rounded cheeks of her rump. He pressed on the small of her back, motioning her to bend forward and as she did so he caught his breath at the sight of her tight, puckered hole. With his fingers he smeared her oil against her and heard her moan again. He placed the pad of a slippery fingertip against her hole and just at the moment Emma recalled what Cwen had done to her not so long before, Stefan pressed to enter her anus.

She called out in surprise, but he was soothing "Don't be alarmed, it may feel alien at first but the oil will help. Trust me and there will be pleasure in it for you." She thought of the fingers of Amity and the mistress working between her legs and she recalled the shameful pleasure she had felt. This indeed was easier; his finger had moved in swiftly and felt less invasive coated as it was in oil.

She tried consciously to relax herself and allowed him to move his finger in slowly and firmly to fill her. It felt odd and mildly uncomfortable, but strangely exciting, and she could feel her other space clench in desire allowing more of her juices to mingle with the oil. She shuddered as Stefan began to move his finger within her, in and out, and she arched her back and whimpered quietly as she began to feel excitement build. She could feel his other fingers brush against her open folds and she felt that the now familiar feeling of orgasm was nearing.

Suddenly Stefan withdrew his finger and she growled in frustration.

"Don't worry, there is more to fill you up."

He motioned her to the broad bench in front of the fire, where she had been sitting, and he positioned her kneeling upon it, with her backside high in the air and her breasts hanging down, her oiled body shining in the firelight.

Once again her poured oil in a river against her beautiful rounded behind and before she was prepared she felt the nudge of his shaft at her anus. "No!" she struggled away and he grasped at her, slippery with oil. With strong hands he held her fast, pushing her face down towards the bench.

"Listen, I can see your pussy aches for me - you have your fine essence all over your legs, so don't be coy now, girl!"

"Not there, though!" She looked up at him pleading. "You can't put it there!"

"I can put it where I wish, don't forget. Or I could call the stable man and farm hand and we could all have you." Seeing her fear he relented, "I don't aim to harm you, but this is my passion and I will have it!" He stroked the length of her back with his hand.

"You are a great beauty, I want to see the look in your eyes you had just now, I don't want to force you, but I will have you. I will take care of you tonight and be with you gently, or I will rape you and sell you in the morning." He looked away, ashamed at his empty threats. His voice dropped enticingly "Let me show you the pleasure that I can give you. You can take this journey with me willingly and embrace it, and you may never want anything else!"

Seeing the choice that existed, and not knowing Stefan to be softer in his heart than his words might show, she relented and he felt her body relax. Determined that she would indeed feel pleasure he swallowed hard his desire, in an attempt to pace himself and give her the time she needed to relight her passions.

He began again to stroke her soft skin, his hand slipping easily over the oil and pausing to knead her soft ripe buttocks. He reached around to cup her breasts, hanging down below her and shifting invitingly with every minute move she made.

He could hear her breath quicken as she felt his fingers brush against her nipples, and as he ran his hands down across her taught stomach she tilted her hips in unmistakable encouragement. Stefan was amazed that she could go from open protest to obvious desire in such a short time – this woman was truly captivating him, and his cock hardening still further at thought of slipping between her cheeks to finally relieve the raging tension within him.

By now her hair was sticking to her back with the oil, and he himself was shining with oil that had collected on him as he rubbed against her body. In the firelight they shone, unearthly and beautiful, entwined together in the limited light, breathing heavily and crying out in passion.

When Stefan eventually felt he dared wait no longer he pushed her in the small of her back, so that her rump was pushed up in the air and her delicate rosebud showed in the glow of the fire. Again he introduced an oiled finger, which her anus accepted more readily and this time he heard her exhale gently. Drawing the fingers of his other hand across the drenched folds of her pussy he smeared her juices across her rump and spearing her hole again with yet more moisture.

He brought the tip of his shaft to her entrance, and almost nervously he began to press forward against her. She called out, but this time he could hear lust alongside her fear.

"Don't fear me, my beauty. Let yourself relax and I will fill you." He stroked her back with his strong hands, long fingers tracing a path down her spine, making her shudder and arch her back. He was indeed being cautious, and she could acknowledge his self control. Seeing his gentleness allowed her to relax her muscles and she felt the enormity of him within her tight space. He pressed forth again, past the tight grip of her entrance, sweating and praying that he could hold himself back.

The sight of her glistening body, his cock lodged in the entrance of her, was almost more than he could bear. He rocked his hips forward fractionally, feeling her tightness relent as she opened up to him. As he began to feel her accepting him, closing like the tightest sheath around him, he began to move in and out with a tormentingly slow rhythm, consumed by the desire to drive into her.

He could hear her panting, could hear the familiar route to a woman's orgasm, and he was overwhelmed. He had brought her to this, taught her the pleasures of his own particular passion, and now she was moving in rhythm to his hips, pushing back against him to accommodate him deep within her. She tossed her head back her hair clinging to her oiled, sweat soaked back, and her breaths became as hard, loud moans, filling the cavernous hall.

She could feel the muscles of her pussy clenching, empty but desperate, juices running freely from her, her behind filled completely. She reached between her legs and found her soaking, desperate centre, pushing two of her fingers into herself with one swift motion, feeling the friction of his motion so close to her fingers, pressing hard against the thin wall that separated him from her.

Her belly was on fire, her muscles rippling and tightening and as she pushed her own fingers as far as she could inside herself, feeling them rub against the large shape of him in her backside. She could think of nothing, remember nothing, and nothing mattered but the burst of sensation clutching at her. She shook and reeled, her head falling hard against the bench, her body held up only by his presence.

Hearing her cries alone would have pushed him beyond the brink of orgasm, but feeling her fingers against him, feeling her attempts to fill herself twice he could no longer contain his passions, and the flood began. He could not recall when he had last spent his seed, but it had been a number of days, and as he came he thought he may go on forever. His cock, enclosed so tightly, bucked and squeezed until every drop of him was emptied inside her velvety depths. He leaned forward to embrace her, feeling her heart racing against his strong arms, her breathing still rapid.

As he moved, he slipped from within her and he stepped back to admire her opened anus, still holding the shape of his shaft. She flagged, falling onto her back and panting heavily, with a broad smile playing on her lips. Stefan leant forward to kiss her fiercely on her mouth.

"You are the finest creature I have ever met." He gazed at her, spellbound. "Do you think you can be comfortable here, with me?"

Emma smiled her eyes glazed with spent passion.

"I think I can learn to please you, Stefan - as I think this may please me too."