The Hunted Bride

“Am I a horse?” she said indignantly.

“More like a bird.” He stopped short of her. “All your plumage will be covered, my dear, behind your finest gown. These men will ogle you, but they wouldn’t dare, on pain of death, touch you. That being promised, I shall make sure they know you are mine, that you obey me and your grace will be all they see.”

Grace. She was lacking somewhat in grace according to her father. She was known to stomp up and down when angry, pluck at her hair when distracted, and roll her eyes when bored.

“What of my beauty?” she asked. “Will they see that?”

“It will be inferred.”

“With that?” She pointed at the strange device.

“Take off the towel and I will show you.”

Sara retreated into the darkest corner of the room. Over the weeks, she had heard and seen much, but never spoke a word out of respect for her mistress.

Matilda hesitated. Fear was absent—she trusted him—but she could not quell the anxiety of either hating his idea or displeasing him by refusing to cooperate.

“Tilda,” he said pleasantly, “you will wear this, or we will visit the tower room. There’s time for a swift spanking.”

The towel slithered onto the rushes by her feet. It wasn’t that a spanking terrified her—she doubted he had time for anything thorough—but that she nearly considered it a preferable option.

He loosened a buckle on the harness. It appeared to have two shoulder straps closely aligned to two hoops, and at the bottom end there were additional attributes, which upon closer inspection were bulbous appendages, each one shaped like a thin pear and crafted from polished wood. She pictured the formation of the various straps, how they might fit against her body, and the image in her mind was atrocious.

“Oh, no, sir.” She pressed her hand to her mouth to stop the exclamation. “You can’t mean... I shan’t be comfortable.”

“Perhaps not at first.” He took her hand and guided it to a dangling strip of leather. “Feel. The tanners made this leather from the softest hides. They’ll not cut you. But you must wear it tight. I’ll help you.”

“Why, why must I wear such a thing under my dress?”

“You’ll see. Now, step into these holes and put your arms into these.” He held out the harness ready for her. “Go on.”

She leaned on him for support and lifted each leg in turn into the stipulated locations. Rising, he drew the harness up with him until the wooden appendages slipped between her thighs. The upper part of the straps fitted over her shoulders and against her back. As for the two hoops, stiffened and fitted with miniature straps, their function was quickly revealed when he ringed each breast with a hoop and snared them. Moving to stand behind her, he drew the straps together and fastened them.

She winced. “My lord—”

“Hush,” he said smoothly. He faced her, admiring her pert breasts sticking through the hoops, then frowned. “They are not as proud as I would like.” He unfastened the small straps attached to the hoops and drew more leather through the buckles. Her breasts were contained, the skin flushed pink and she cried a little whimper. The hoop squeezed tighter and blood rushed into each nipple. He had turned her crescent breasts into neat buns that lifted up and out of her chest.

“With your gown covering them, nobody will know what contrivance keeps them so pronounced and abun

dant in appearance. Except you and I.” He winked.

Her lips trembled as his attention turned to the lower part of the harness. It reminded her of a chastity belt she’d once found in a chest in the convent, although that contraption was metal and lacked any additional features.

“These will rise up and in you,” he said. “I suggest you bend over while I insert each one.”

“My lord.” She swayed. “You cannot expect me to sit and dine with these strange men with these... things inside me.”

“I do, and I shall. What better way to control your lust than have it desperate and hidden. You can say nothing. Do nothing. I shall watch you while you stare blurry-eyed across the table, unable to move, to utter a word, entirely focused on your sex. A concentration of mind that will render you incapable. All these men will see is a meek creature, destined to be fucked unchecked by her man. They will be envious, but also offer you great respect.”

“Why? I will be humiliated.” She had not bent over for him.

“Because they are men whom I have toasted, hunted alongside countless times, and they know whomever I choose to wed must be of great integrity and worthiness. They will honour you, bow, and ponder on their own lives. Perhaps they will leave here determined to find a good wife for themselves.”

“I am to perform some service to them by wearing this ridiculous harness.” She drew her lips into an unseemly pout. “I care not for what they want in life. This is despicable, sir...”

He moved so swiftly, she had no time to react. He caught one of her pebbled nipples in his mouth and sucked hard on it. She gasped and held her breath for the duration of his intimate act of persuasion. He fluttered his tongue around the sensitive nipple, triggering a wave of shivers that extended down her belly and into her cleft. Releasing the tender bud, he rose with a gleeful smile on his face.

“Does it hurt now?” he asked.