Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance Read online

  “Oh God, I'm about to cum,” gasped Jude as sweat dripped freely from his red, contorted face. “I'm about to cum, I'm about to cum!”

  “I'm cumming now, I'm cumming,” screamed Annie as the second orgasm hit her sending its brightly-colored electricity through every molecule in her body.

  Then Jude began his own orgasm, still thrusting at a maddened speed inside her as he spurted out his load. He cried out, squeezed one more deep, long and powerful thrust as deeply into her as he could, and then he collapsed onto her, gasping violently and sweating profusely. Ripples of pleasure were still coursing through Annie's body, and she held him tight, squeezing his body with both her arms and her legs.

  They lay like this for quite some time, enjoying the aftermath of their lovemaking as the pleasure lingered in the heated air, taking time to dissipate, like water vapor on a humid summer's day. Jude stayed inside her; he did not pull out. She felt him getting softer and softer and smaller inside of her – but then he reached up to her face, brushed her cheek gently, and then leaned in and gave her a long, deep, passionate kiss.

  And then she felt it – down there, inside her, he started growing again. Growing larger, and harder, much harder, with every passing second. And then, he started thrusting again. Slowly at first, but gaining in speed with every push.

  Annie smiled to herself as the stirrings of a third orgasm began to glow.

  It was going to be a long, beautiful night.

  CHAPTER 7

  Jude and Annie lay fast asleep, entwined in one another's arms, when a sharp rap on the door woke them.

  “Who's there?” asked Jude as he sat up straight, startled by the loud and sudden noise.

  “Master MacTavish, it's me, Simon, the stable boy.”

  A look of confusion washed across Jude's face.

  “Simon?! What are you doing here, at this hour?”

  “May I come in, master?”

  “Um, er, wait a second,” stammered Jude as he scrambled to grab his clothes, which were scattered around the room. He dressed hastily, while Annie climbed out of bed and did the same. After they were both dressed, Jude went over to the door and opened it.

  “What's the problem, Simon? It's the middle of the night! Are you alright?”

  Simon's young face was haggard with fear and anxiety. He stared past Jude, straight at Annie.

  “Annie, m'lady... You have to leave the castle, right now. Get your things and go!”

  Jude grabbed Simon by his narrow shoulders and shook the boy roughly.

  “What?! What's gotten into you, boy?! You can't speak to her like that! She saved your leg, for God's sake!”

  Simon's eyes were wide with fright.

  “You don't understand, Master MacTavish! Annie's in terrible, terrible danger! She has to leave right now! This is a life or death matter, sir!”

  “How?! What?! What on earth is going on?!”

  “It's your sister, sir. She went in town this afternoon and told that horrible friar that Annie is a witch, that she's moved in here to bewitch you! The friar has been rousing up the townsfolk in Edmond Village all evening, and now they're drunk and full of bloodlust, and a mob is on its way up the hill with weapons and fire as we speak!”

  Annie's face went deathly pale.

  “Oh no,” she gasped. “Oh no!”

  “Those ignorant fools!” roared Jude. “I'll stop them, I'll send them away!”

  “Begging your pardon, but you can't, master!” cried Simon desperately. “There's only three guards here, and you. I'm too small to fight, and I'm still injured anyway. This castle isn't built for defense, it's not a war castle – and the front gates haven't been repaired yet, they can't be closed or locked! I've just ridden up the hill, as fast as I could through the darkness. There's a mob of at least forty men, all armed with pitchforks, scythes, butcher's knives, and even a hunting bow or two. If you try to stop them, they'll kill you and your guards, sir. They're drunk on whiskey and ale, and that friar's blind drunk too, and leading them on with all sorts of terribly hateful things that he's shouting, riling them up more and more. The only thing we can do to protect Annie is for her to run. And I mean, right NOW, sir! Please, look out the window!”

  Jude hurried over to the window and parted the drapes. Sure enough, there was a snake-like line of fire coming up the hill; a mob of villagers carrying flaming torches as they advanced up the road toward the castle.

  Jude spun around and rushed over to Annie. His eyes were now wild with panic.

  “The boy is right, my love. They're coming, and there's a lot of them. You have to flee, right now. I'll stall them for as long as I can. Can you ride a horse?”

  “N-, n-, not well,” stammered Annie as fear-laden blood sent ice running through her veins. “And not in the dark, in the forest!”

  “I'll take her, sir!” volunteered Simon.

  “Simon! You're just a child!”

  “But I've been riding all my life, sir. And I know these woods like the back of my own hand. I can get her to safety, sir.”

  Jude nodded, his face still a mess of panic.

  “Go down to the stables and prepare a horse. Annie, take only what you absolutely need and go with him. I'm going to put my armor on, and get the guards to do the same.”

  Jude hugged Annie tightly, and then stared deeply into her eyes with a look of piercing intensity. “I will come for you Annie, when it's all safe. I will come for you.”

  Tears began to run down her cheeks, and she embraced Jude and kissed him one more time.

  “Promise me you won't abandon me,” she whispered to him. “I can't lose you. I've already lost everything else, so now you're everything to me.”

  “And you're everything to me as well. If I have to give up my riches, this castle, everything for you – I'll do it. But now, there's only one thing you can do. Run! RUN! GO!”

  “Come on my lady,” urged Simon as he took Annie's hand. “There's no time to waste. We have to go. We have to go NOW!”

  With that, they all hurried out of the room. As Annie ran along beside Simon, she shot one last glance over her shoulder at Jude. She wondered, with a sinking sense of dread, whether it would be the last time she would ever see him – and whether, indeed, she would live out the night. With these thoughts eating away at her mind, she vanished with Simon into the darkness outside.

  CHAPTER 8

  Annie could hear the shouts of the mob quite clearly as Simon saddled up the horse, moving as fast as she could. It sounded as if they had almost reached the castle gate – which couldn't be closed, as it was broken – and she felt surges of icy panic boosting through her limbs.

  “Hurry Simon, please!” she urged.

  “I'm going as fast as I can, m'lady!” he replied.

  Annie looked out of the stable door and saw the guards and Jude, who was dressed in a full suit of armor, striding out to block the gate, with their swords and shields in their hands. At that moment she felt a hand on her forearm.

  “The horse is ready, m'lady. Come on!”

  Simon helped Annie up onto the horse, then he climbed up in front of her and spurred the beast on.

  “Come on boy!” urged Simon as the horse started trotting.

  He looked over his shoulder at Annie.

  “There's a small gate out back,” he said. “It leads directly to the forest. We'll be able to get out there without the mob noticing us.”

  “Thank you Simon... I owe you my life.”

  “Don't say that yet, m'lady. We haven't made our way to safety just yet.”

  Simon directed the horse around the back of the castle, moving as quickly as he could. There, just as he had said, was the secret exit that lead out to the forest. Simon reached it, then sprang nimbly off the horse and opened the gate. He lead the horse, with Annie still on it, out the back and then closed the gate behind him.

  “Excellent!” he said, looking a lot more optimistic. “We've made it out without anyone seeing us.”

  He mounted t
he horse again and they moved off into the dark shadows between the trees.

  Simon, however, had been wrong, for a pair of eyes had indeed seen them. Casey watched from her tower room as Simon and Annie disappeared into the darkness.

  “You're not escaping that easily, you bitch,” snarled Casey.

  Outside, Friar Beeton and his mob, with their weapons and burning torches, arrived outside the gates. Jude and his guards stood defiantly in front of them, blocking their way. The drunk friar, whose eyes and cheeks were red with drunkenness, stepped out in front of the mob to talk to Jude.

  “Sir MacTavish!” he said jovially. “Good evening to you!”

  Jude stared at him with an icy glare.

  “What do you want here, Friar Beeton?”

  “There's no need to be rude, sir!”

  “You've come to my house in the middle of the night, leading an armed, drunken mob who are baying for blood. I have every right to be rude. Now I'm going to ask you again, why have you come here at this hour?!”

  The friar clasped his hands together and shook his head.

  “There are dark forces at work here, in this castle, sir. I'm not sure if you're aware of it – in fact you're probably not, because you've been bewitched – but there is a servant of the Devil living in your castle with you, working her dark and evil magic.”

  “That's preposterous! Take your superstitious nonsense elsewhere and leave us alone.”

  The friar smiled knowingly.

  “Ah, you see, that is the witch's magic talking! It's obvious, isn't it my friends, that she's controlling this poor man's mind with her evil magic!”

  The crowd roared with approval.

  “She's a servant of the Devil!” shouted one man.

  “She's cursed you, MacTavish!” bellowed another. “But we can help you!”

  “Aye!” screamed a teenage boy. “We can save you, sir! Let us burn her!”

  “Burn her!” everyone started shouting. “Burn the witch!”

  “There's no witch here, and there never has been!” roared Jude. “Those are lies!”

  “Well sir, if they are lies, then why don't you just let us in to have a look around?” asked the friar. “I'm the expert in such matters, you see, and if there truly is no trace of witchcraft here, well, we'll all put our weapons and torches away and go home. Everyone will be able to sleep easily, knowing that there's no trace of evil here, right?”

  The crowd shouted with approval, and began to move forward aggressively.,

  “Sir,” whispered the closest guard to Jude, “I suggest you cooperate and let them in. They're on the point of exploding, and if they do, they'll kill us all. There's madness in their eyes sir, pure madness.”

  Jude gritted his teeth, shaking with anger and frustration, but he knew that the guard was right.

  “Fine,” he hissed. “Go inside and have a look around. I guarantee you won't find any witches in there. And if any of you break or steal anything, there will be hell to pay!”

  The friar smiled.

  “That is a wise choice, sir. I tell you what – just myself and two of my assistants will go inside and conduct an inspection. The rest of these fine townsfolk will wait outside.”

  “Go ahead,” growled Jude, knowing that he had no other choice.

  The friar and two dirty, ragged-looking men went on into the castle while Jude and his guards stood by and watched helplessly. After a few tense minutes, the friar and his men emerged from the castle, looking very disappointed.

  “I'm sorry,” said the friar sadly, “but, um, er, it would appear that Sir MacTavish is right, and there is no-”

  “Wait!” shouted a shrill voice from behind the friar.

  He spun around and saw Casey running out, holding Annie's medicinal formulas and scrolls.

  “These are the witch's papers!”

  She handed them to the friar, and Jude felt his heart sinking, while at the same time panic prickled his skin with sharp needles.

  “Witch's papers!” shouted the friar triumphantly after he had finished reading them. “Witch's papers!”

  The crowd began howling and roaring as bloodlust surged through their packed ranks.

  “I know where she's hiding too!” shouted Casey.

  “No!” bellowed Jude. “You traitorous bitch!”

  Casey ignored him.

  “Come with me!” she shouted to the mob. “I'll take you right to the witch! She thought that she could escape justice, but that's not going to happen, not tonight! Justice and good will prevail!”

  “Yes!” shouted the friar. “Come on good people! We have a witch to burn!”

  With that Casey raced off toward the back gate, with the friar and his bloodthirsty mob hot on her heels.

  Jude watched them go, and realized that there was only one thing that he could do now. He raced over to the stables, saddled up his fastest horse, and charged out into the night, galloping in the opposite direction to the charging mob.

  CHAPTER 9

  Simon and Annie traveled with slow caution through the dense forest, picking their way through the tangle of branches and vines and trees as carefully as they could. It was a moonless night, and seeing through the darkness was almost impossible. Still, nobody knew they were here, and Annie saw no reason why the mob would come this way. What she could do when the day broke, and where she would go she did not know, but for now, all that mattered was surviving through the night.

  “We're going slowly, m'lady, but don't worry, we're putting good safe distance between us and the mob. They won't find us in here, and I'm sure they won't even think to look back here in the woods. Don't worry,” said Simon.

  That was when the arrow flew through the dark.

  Annie screamed as the arrow whizzed past her head and slammed into a tree trunk just next to them.

  “I told you she was in here!” yelled a harsh female voice. “Get her!”

  Casey.

  Suddenly, the forest came alive with movement. Fire crested the rise as the mob poured over the top of the slope and started swarming through the trees. Now the forest was alive with light and dozens of men came charging headlong at Annie and Simon.

  “Go!” shouted Simon as he spurred his horse furiously on, and the poor beast tried to gallop, but because of the thickness of the trees and the denseness of the undergrowth, they were soon trapped and encircled by the mob.

  “That's the witch!” shouted Friar Beeton as he came waddling over the rise, panting and sweating heavily from the exertion of the chase. “Get her!”

  A burly man dashed up to the horse with his hands outstretched. Poor little Simon aimed a kick at the thug's face, but the man grabbed the boy's leg and hauled him, kicking and screaming, off the horse. Then, as Annie desperately tried to take the horse's reins, another tall, powerful man grabbed her around her waist and hauled her off the horse.

  “I've got her!” he shouted.

  The mob roared with madness as they closed in around Annie, who was struggling with all her might and screaming with terror.

  “Take her to the village,” shouted Friar Beeton. “Then we'll make a bonfire and send this servant of Lucifer back to hell!”

  “You heard him, love,” growled the man who was pinning her down. “Lights out now!”

  He cocked his fist behind his head, and then unleashed a crushing cross that smashed across Annie's jaw, sending her in an instant into the darkness of unconsciousness.

  Annie awoke with a pounding headache and a throbbing jaw, and the acrid smell of smoke filled her nostrils and forced its way into her lungs. She opened her eyes and found that she was tied to a stake at the top of a large conical pile, around which huge bundles of dry twigs and sticks had been placed – and she saw, with terrible alarm, that men were using their torches to light the ends of these bundles.

  At the bottom of the great pile of wood, Friar Beeton was drinking whiskey, and shouting out a babble of hateful words about witches and evil and the Devil. Annie tried to cry ou
t for help, but nobody could hear her over the clamor of the baying mob and the ranting of Friar Beeton.

  This is it... This is how I die. This is how my life ends. I never pictured it being like this, but here I am. All those people I helped and healed, all those diseases I cured... Now they don't count for anything any more. I'm going to burn to death, and the only way people will remember me is as an evil, devil-worshiping witch.

  Annie felt tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, and she started sobbing. This was it, this was really it – this was the end.

  The sun was rising over the distant horizon, and with a pang of heartache, Annie realized that this would be the last sunrise she would ever see.

  But then, on the horizon, silhouetted against the rising sun, she saw something else. Men – hundreds of them – mounted on horseback, carrying long lances and shields. Charging – charging straight towards Edmond Village.

  The flames started spreading now, and were getting higher and more intense. Annie could feel the heat from the fire now, and she was starting to find it hard to breathe from the billowing, hot smoke blowing up into her face. She looked down, and through the flames she saw Casey staring up at her. There was nothing in her eyes but triumphant malice; she had won. She had gotten rid of Annie.

  As the flames edged their way towards Annie's feet, blistering the ends of her toes and the soles of her feet, Friar Beeton climbed up onto a wooden crate at the base of the fire.

  “God's work is done!” he shouted, raising his hands to the brightening morning sky., “God's work is-”

  His shout of victory was cut abruptly short as an arrow slammed into his outstretched hand, piercing it and transfixing it. He stopped and stared with wide, shocked eyes at the arrow sticking through his hand – and then screamed. At that moment, the charging soldiers who had been galloping down the hillside began swarming into the village square, with weapons drawn. And leading them, on his froth-sweating, exhausted horse, was Jude. The soldiers forced a path through the mob, using their lances and swords, and Jude jumped off of his horse. The poor beast promptly collapsed, but Jude, even though he was on the point of exhaustion himself, ran through the crowd with his sword drawn. He shoved Friar Beeton aside and jumped straight into the flames, screaming as they heated up his steel armor, but he fought through the smoke and fire and pain until he had climbed to the top of the pile, and when he was there he cut the ropes off of Annie and carried her down to safety. At that moment, a knight attired in golden armor came trotting through the ranks of the soldiers, and as people in the crowd saw him, they immediately went down on their knees – for this knight in the golden armor was the King of Scotland.