They sat at a table in shadows, far from the fire.If anyone noticed the presence of the bridegroom, they said nothing.Ulric filled the goblets and then drained his own and put it down on the table with some force.“God’s breath.How long will these women take?”
“Wedding nights require ritual,” Trey answered.“Including making the groom wait.”
“And what’s the purpose of that?”
“Not being a woman, I can only guess, but I imagine it’s meant to impress him with the gravity of the vows he’s taken.”
“Gravity,” Ulric spat.“Priests, gowns, ritual.I’ve gone to war with less preparation than this marriage has taken.”
“If you make this into a war, expect to lose it,” Trey said.
“I don’t lose.”
“You frighten her, my lord.You can force her to obey, but she’ll take no pleasure from the union.”Trey set his own goblet down.“And neither will you.”
“I’ll make her want me.”
“By force?” Trey said.“Won’t work.Accept my help, instead.”
“What could a minstrel do?”
“The lady responds to my song.You saw that for yourself.”
He had.She’d shrunk from Ulric, even after she’d taken the vow to marry him.As soon as this Trey had set fingers to the lyre, she’d opened to him of her own will.That kiss.The taste still lingered on his lips, more potent than any wine.
“I have an elixir,” the minstrel said.“It soothes and excites at the same time.
“How can that be possible?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Speak,” Ulric commanded.
“’Tis your lady wife I’ll be discussing.You may not like what I have to say.”
“If I tell you to speak, you will do it,” he answered.
“The tonic uncoils fear, opening up the person to other emotions.Lust the most common one.”
“An aphrodisiac?”
“I’ve taken it myself a few times.It’s quite potent.”
“Then, I’m to drug my own wife,” Ulric said.
“Or, I’ll do it for you,” the man answered.“You’ll want to apply the salve yourself, though.”
“Elixirs, salves.You’ve probably made the whole thing up.”
Trey reached into the bag that hung from his belt and pulled out a vial.“Here, my lord.”
Ulric took it from him, removed the stopper, and sniffed the liquid.“Cinnamon.No more.”
“There’s some of that, but other herbs as well.”
Ulric handed the vial back to him.“Fakery.”
Trey reclosed the bottle and put it back into his pouch.“As you say.Deflower your wife on your own.”
“I don’t like you, singer.”
“But, you need me, don’t you?”
The man was too sure of himself.Either a master at deception or speaking truth.Ulric did have a problem with Lady Devon.She was tiny and a virgin.She hated him and feared him.She’d never planned to lie with a man and had no intention of enjoying the marital act.
And, here he sat, hard and eager to couple with her.All he’d have to do was show her his cock, and he’d terrorize her.
“You’re pondering it,” the minstrel said.
He crossed his arms over his chest.“How, exactly, do your potions work?”
“The elixir tastes good in wine.After a bit, it makes the person drowsy.Happy.”Trey paused, and a smile curled his lips.“Not unlike the first flush of sexual arousal.”
Yes, that might help, if the liquid worked the way this man promised.
“Now, the person drifts into a dream world where they’re reduced to little more than the basic senses,” the man went on.“Taste, hearing, most of all, touch.I’ll be playing and singing all the while.’
“Bawdy songs.”
“Fablaiux airs.Of lusty women and the joys of a cock in a woman’s chamber,” Trey answered.“You’ll kiss your lady and touch her gently.”
Yes, he could do that.An elixir to calm her fears, a musical accompaniment, and his hands softly plying her body.
“Once she’s ready, you’ll use the salve on her nether parts,” Trey said.
“To deaden pain?”
“The opposite, my lord.It creates a pleasant tingle that builds to a fire.”The man leaned toward him.“Your cock will receive a dose when it enters your lady’s queynt.”
“I see.”His cock needed no help.It already throbbed, rock hard and fully erect beneath his tunic.If he could make her feel the same way about wanting him…
“Your mind follows mine, I think,” the minstrel said.“Enough of my potions, and she’ll endure anything to have you inside her.”
“Very well.”Ulric reached for his purse.“How much?”
“Not coin, my lord.”
“Then what?”
“I want the chance to win her from you.”
“Are you mad?”Ulric pulled out his dagger and set it on the table where the bastard would have to look at it.“She’s my wife.”
“And the lady of the castle and all the lands around.She can act the part and still warm my bed,” Trey said.“In short, we can share her.”
“Why do you want her?”
Trey took the flagon and filled both their cups.“You prove my case, my lord.”
Ulric drank some wine and felt it curdle in his belly.“Stop speaking in riddles, minstrel, or I’ll cut your tongue out and you won’t be able to speak at all.”
Trey also drank and then smiled as though he’d already won something.“If you can ask me why I’d want the Lady Devon, you have no idea of her value.She’s a pearl beyond all price.”
He hadn’t thought in those terms, but her beauty had paralyzed him the first moment he’d set eyes on her.Her moss green eyes, the way her hair turned to flame in the light, the innocent ripeness of her body.“I know her value.”
“I don’t think you do.You only look at her as an asset with the people and a receptacle for your lust.”
How little the man knew.Yes, he lusted after the woman.What man wouldn’t?And yes, she’d already helped him win over the people of Randmead.But, she meant more.So much more he didn’t dare follow the thought.“Take care what you say, troubadour.”
“Her outward loveliness is the least part of her beauty,” Trey said.“There’s also her mind, her spirit, her integrity.”
“I value those things.”
“Would you have even thought of them if I’d said nothing?”
Ulric lifted his cup but then put it back down.“You have no idea what I think of her.”
“She deserves a lover who’ll value her for herself, not just as an object.”
“Why in God’s name would I agree to share her?” Ulric said.
“For my help tonight, and because you can’t resist a battle,” Trey answered.“Even a battle for a lady’s heart.”
“Courtly love?” he asked.
“’Tis what we troubadours traffic in,” Trey answered.“Other men would do wise to learn some of our tricks.”
How much more satisfying to split the man’s skull than to engage in a lover’s joust for Lady Devon’s affections.And yet, the minstrel had one thing right.He frightened her, and when her virgin’s body had to accommodate his swollen tool, he’d hurt her as well.Perhaps he could use the fool’s help with his wife.He’d not lose the fight, and so much the better to have her love.In truth, his feelings had already softened toward her.How sweet for her to return the gift.
“Agreed.”Ulric finished his wine and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.“I’ll send to see what’s taking the women so long, and then, we’ll introduce my lady wife to the pleasures of the flesh.”
They sat at a table in shadows, far from the fire.If anyone noticed the presence of the bridegroom, they said nothing.Ulric filled the goblets and then drained his own and put it down on the table with some force.“God’s breath.How long will these women take?”
“Wedding nights require ritual,” Trey answered.“Including making the groom wait.”
“And what’s the purpose of that?”
“Not being a woman, I can only guess, but I imagine it’s meant to impress him with the gravity of the vows he’s taken.”
“Gravity,” Ulric spat.“Priests, gowns, ritual.I’ve gone to war with less preparation than this marriage has taken.”
“If you make this into a war, expect to lose it,” Trey said.
“I don’t lose.”
“You frighten her, my lord.You can force her to obey, but she’ll take no pleasure from the union.”Trey set his own goblet down.“And neither will you.”
“I’ll make her want me.”
“By force?” Trey said.“Won’t work.Accept my help, instead.”
“What could a minstrel do?”
“The lady responds to my song.You saw that for yourself.”
He had.She’d shrunk from Ulric, even after she’d taken the vow to marry him.As soon as this Trey had set fingers to the lyre, she’d opened to him of her own will.That kiss.The taste still lingered on his lips, more potent than any wine.
“I have an elixir,” the minstrel said.“It soothes and excites at the same time.
“How can that be possible?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Speak,” Ulric commanded.
“’Tis your lady wife I’ll be discussing.You may not like what I have to say.”
“If I tell you to speak, you will do it,” he answered.
“The tonic uncoils fear, opening up the person to other emotions.Lust the most common one.”
“An aphrodisiac?”
“I’ve taken it myself a few times.It’s quite potent.”
“Then, I’m to drug my own wife,” Ulric said.
“Or, I’ll do it for you,” the man answered.“You’ll want to apply the salve yourself, though.”
“Elixirs, salves.You’ve probably made the whole thing up.”
Trey reached into the bag that hung from his belt and pulled out a vial.“Here, my lord.”
Ulric took it from him, removed the stopper, and sniffed the liquid.“Cinnamon.No more.”
“There’s some of that, but other herbs as well.”
Ulric handed the vial back to him.“Fakery.”
Trey reclosed the bottle and put it back into his pouch.“As you say.Deflower your wife on your own.”
“I don’t like you, singer.”
“But, you need me, don’t you?”
The man was too sure of himself.Either a master at deception or speaking truth.Ulric did have a problem with Lady Devon.She was tiny and a virgin.She hated him and feared him.She’d never planned to lie with a man and had no intention of enjoying the marital act.
And, here he sat, hard and eager to couple with her.All he’d have to do was show her his cock, and he’d terrorize her.
“You’re pondering it,” the minstrel said.
He crossed his arms over his chest.“How, exactly, do your potions work?”
“The elixir tastes good in wine.After a bit, it makes the person drowsy.Happy.”Trey paused, and a smile curled his lips.“Not unlike the first flush of sexual arousal.”
Yes, that might help, if the liquid worked the way this man promised.
“Now, the person drifts into a dream world where they’re reduced to little more than the basic senses,” the man went on.“Taste, hearing, most of all, touch.I’ll be playing and singing all the while.’
“Bawdy songs.”
“Fablaiux airs.Of lusty women and the joys of a cock in a woman’s chamber,” Trey answered.“You’ll kiss your lady and touch her gently.”
Yes, he could do that.An elixir to calm her fears, a musical accompaniment, and his hands softly plying her body.
“Once she’s ready, you’ll use the salve on her nether parts,” Trey said.
“To deaden pain?”
“The opposite, my lord.It creates a pleasant tingle that builds to a fire.”The man leaned toward him.“Your cock will receive a dose when it enters your lady’s queynt.”
“I see.”His cock needed no help.It already throbbed, rock hard and fully erect beneath his tunic.If he could make her feel the same way about wanting him…
“Your mind follows mine, I think,” the minstrel said.“Enough of my potions, and she’ll endure anything to have you inside her.”
“Very well.”Ulric reached for his purse.“How much?”
“Not coin, my lord.”
“Then what?”
“I want the chance to win her from you.”
“Are you mad?”Ulric pulled out his dagger and set it on the table where the bastard would have to look at it.“She’s my wife.”
“And the lady of the castle and all the lands around.She can act the part and still warm my bed,” Trey said.“In short, we can share her.”
“Why do you want her?”
Trey took the flagon and filled both their cups.“You prove my case, my lord.”
Ulric drank some wine and felt it curdle in his belly.“Stop speaking in riddles, minstrel, or I’ll cut your tongue out and you won’t be able to speak at all.”
Trey also drank and then smiled as though he’d already won something.“If you can ask me why I’d want the Lady Devon, you have no idea of her value.She’s a pearl beyond all price.”
He hadn’t thought in those terms, but her beauty had paralyzed him the first moment he’d set eyes on her.Her moss green eyes, the way her hair turned to flame in the light, the innocent ripeness of her body.“I know her value.”
“I don’t think you do.You only look at her as an asset with the people and a receptacle for your lust.”
How little the man knew.Yes, he lusted after the woman.What man wouldn’t?And yes, she’d already helped him win over the people of Randmead.But, she meant more.So much more he didn’t dare follow the thought.“Take care what you say, troubadour.”
“Her outward loveliness is the least part of her beauty,” Trey said.“There’s also her mind, her spirit, her integrity.”
“I value those things.”
“Would you have even thought of them if I’d said nothing?”
Ulric lifted his cup but then put it back down.“You have no idea what I think of her.”
“She deserves a lover who’ll value her for herself, not just as an object.”
“Why in God’s name would I agree to share her?” Ulric said.
“For my help tonight, and because you can’t resist a battle,” Trey answered.“Even a battle for a lady’s heart.”
“Courtly love?” he asked.
“’Tis what we troubadours traffic in,” Trey answered.“Other men would do wise to learn some of our tricks.”
How much more satisfying to split the man’s skull than to engage in a lover’s joust for Lady Devon’s affections.And yet, the minstrel had one thing right.He frightened her, and when her virgin’s body had to accommodate his swollen tool, he’d hurt her as well.Perhaps he could use the fool’s help with his wife.He’d not lose the fight, and so much the better to have her love.In truth, his feelings had already softened toward her.How sweet for her to return the gift.
“Agreed.”Ulric finished his wine and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.“I’ll send to see what’s taking the women so long, and then, we’ll introduce my lady wife to the pleasures of the flesh.”
Description: The castle and its lands were Ulric’s goal when he started the siege. Now that he’s seen the Lady Devon, his mind and his body demand he take her as his wife. He only needs to find some way to control his passions so that he doesn’t scare her on their wedding night.
A mysterious minstrel named Trey seems to have the solution with his aphrodisiac potions and salves. In return for his aid, Trey demands the opportunity to win the lady’s affection. The two men do battle to give Devon maximum pleasure. Will she choose the clever poet or the savage Viking who’s come to love her?
To My Reader: What woman doesn’t want a huge warrior with unquenchable passions and the right equipment to put them into action? I created Ulric to fill my own fantasies. I hope they energize yours, too.
My Lady’s Pleasure by Alice Gaines Publisher: Red Sage Publishing Genre: Historical Length: Short Story (94 pages) Other: M/F/M, M/F, Voyeurism, menage Rating: 4.5 Cherries Reviewed by Wild Plum
The castle and its lands were Ulric’s goal when he started the siege. Now that he’s seen the Lady Devon, his mind and his body demand he take her as his wife. He only needs to find some way to control his passions so that he doesn’t scare her on their wedding night.
A mysterious minstrel named Trey seems to have the solution with his aphrodisiac potions and salves. In return for his aid, Trey demands the opportunity to win the lady’s affection. The two men do battle to give Devon maximum pleasure. Will she choose the clever poet or the savage Viking who’s come to love her?
A beautifully woven story by an author I consider one of my new favorite authors of 2010! This story captures you from the very beginning and drags you into the author's world. You are no longer a reader, but a character on the sidelines viewing what is going on. The details in every scene are so descriptive you can smell the scents and taste the flavors.
When Vikings begin a battle against Randmead, Lady Josalyn sees no choice but to surrender in order to save the people. Viking Ulric takes her surrender and begins taking over the castle. After Trey, a minstrel, comes to the feast to play a seductive melody Ulric announces that he and Lady Josalyn will be married. After the marriage, Trey offers his services. He assures Ulric he has the potion that will help Lady Josalyn enjoy her wedding night. In return he wants to have the opportunity to win Lady Josalyn from him. Being a Viking and loving a battle, Ulric takes the man up on his offer.
Lady Josalyn felt a connection to Ulric when their eyes first locked, but she can’t help but fight the attraction because he took over her castle. But after there wedding night she starts to see another side of this man.
When Trey plays - he’s seductive and it takes Lady Josalyn to another pleasurable world. She finds she’s turned on by him as well.
Who will she pick in the end?
When I first started
My Lady’s Pleasure, I couldn’t help but wonder if rape or some sort of violence would be in the read because I hate books like that. But as I continued to read, the title sunk in -- the Viking may be strong and at first loathsome, but he does love Lady Josalyn and wants only to pleasure her by making her happy.
Ulric is definitely an alpha-hero and I think every woman who reads this story will fall in love with him. He’s tough on the outside, but on the inside, in the hands of his lady, he’s putty and very romantic.
Josalyn is a hero all women can relate too. She’s strong, independent and the leader of her people. She has a good heart and always tries to do what’s best and to please everyone around her.
This is a story of romance, lust, and pure want-need. It’s a story that takes you back in history to the days people feared Vikings, but with a new look. Not all Vikings are bad and most are sexy and dominating.
I think any historical erotic romance reader is going love this book from Ms. Gaines. After reading it I believe many will be adding her books to their TBR piles.
"A FAST PACED READ THAT LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE VIKING LOVE"
My Lady's Pleasure starts off strong with the siege of Lady's Randmead castle by the Viking conquerors. The head of the Vikings, Ulric, is a tall blonde whose hunger for power is matched only by his hunger for sexual pleasure. Lady Devon sees the "enemy" from afar and something in both of them changes. Upon her surrender, which she feels is the only way to save her people, Ulric gains control over the castle but not over the Lady Devon.
Ulric is at a loss on how to obtain the submission and companionship of the Lady. Determined to not repeat some of the mistakes of his father, the Viking decides that a new approach may be necessary. When a traveling minstrel offers Ulric not only a way to her bed but also her heart the Viking employs the minstrel, Trey in more ways than one. But soon Ulric soon learns that Trey may be vying for more than a place in Randmead's court.
Devon must choose between the romantic poet and the savage beast that will require some taming. But which one does a Lady need?
Alice Gaines' novella packs a punch from the very beginning. The siege of the castle builds to the siege of the Lady. Ulrich is more than a raping and pillaging Viking, or at least he becomes more in an attempt to be the man Devon needs for a husband. The triangle between Ulric, Devon and Trey is a fantasy worth exploring. A fast paced read that leaves you wanting more Viking love. The pace was great and kept me intrigued until I finished the novella. The setting was intriguing and the characters well developed and I plan to read more by this author.
SUMMARY
My Lady's Pleasure is part of the Three Kinds of Wicked series that follows a slider named Trey through space and time. His charge is to help human couples find happiness by entering into sexual relationships with him. My Lady's Pleasure tells the story of the Viking raider Ulric and Lady Josalyn of Randmead castle.
When Ulric overruns Josalyn's home, he takes everything in the castle as his own, including her. How can she take this huge beast of a man as her husband, especially in the marriage bed? Ulric has as his ally the troubador Trey, who has potions and salves to arouse her passions.
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