That was the magic I had been looking for, ever since I came to Starkland.

In my mind, when Dad got the invitation in the mail, I couldn’t help but envision an ancient land full of princes and princesses. Of course, Starkland was ancient, and it did have princes, but it wasn’t a fairy tale. It was real life with real modernity butting up against the idealized image I had stuck in my head. I wanted it to be a storybook, but of course it wasn’t.

It was real and gritty and dirty and terrifying. But that afternoon in the forest was my first true moment of magic since we went on the vacation. I couldn’t deny it, and I wouldn’t even bother. Trip’s body against mine, his muscles tense as he lifted me into the air to fuck me deep and rough, that was what I wanted.

Sure, that sort of thing wasn’t exactly in Disney princess movies. They didn’t often show the prince’s bulging muscles as he slammed his thick cock inside Cinderella. But you know he did, and you know she loved it.

Just like I absolutely loved it when Trip took me and made me his. That was what I wanted from a king, all strength and raw power. His body was incredible as he worked me, fucking me rough and hard, making me come so deep that I could barely think afterward.

That was my real magic moment. There were no flying birds or magic pumpkins or creepy dwarves. There was just flesh and blood, Trip in his family’s ancient forest, surrounded by real magic and real history. I didn’t need the Disney crap anymore. I was beginning to realize that the real stuff was so much better than anything they could draw up in cartoons.

Real bodies, real sweat, real skin. That was what I wanted. And Trip gave it to me, more and more.

Life at the estate was simple. I didn’t see Trip much for a few days after that time in the forest. I spent my afternoons walking the grounds, hanging out with my father and sometimes Lucy, and basically trying to entertain myself. It wasn’t like I was bored, exactly, but there was no conflict, no real goals.

The estate was essentially the opposite of the rest of the country, though. As we spent our days in paradise, the rest of the country was getting worse and worse. The war in the south was intensifying as Trip moved his troops in and attacked the rebels. They kept getting foiled, though the rebels never actually won any battles or anything like that.

Meanwhile, Stehen itself was going through some stuff. During the day, people were protesting the use of a curfew and the Secret Police were blamed for several bad things. Trip publically denied that the Secret Police were doing anything illegal, but I wasn’t so sure. He had seemed so torn about using them to begin with, which had to mean that he knew they were capable of doing some pretty intense and bad things.

One report concerned the Secret Police breaking into a tenement house on the poorer side of town and terrorizing the citizens. There had been reports that a terrorist was hiding in their building, but eventually they figured out there were no terrorists there. People claimed the SP broke furniture, screamed at people, and threatened violence, though no claims of any actual violence were verified.

All in all, things were getting darker and darker, and Trip was getting more and more busy. He sent me notes and texts, but that was the extent of our contact over those few days. I knew he wanted to speak more, but he just couldn’t take the time away from his important duties.

He was the king after all. He had a duty to his people to rule them and to help them during this awful time.

I felt like I was in the way. I felt completely useless and unnecessary, just a distraction to him, though he never once said that.

Three days of not seeing him passed, and I found myself sitting in my room early in the morning, frustrated and a little bored. I sipped some coffee and looked out the window, wondering what I was going to do all day. I could try relaxing, but I’d been relaxing already.

I wanted something else.

As I sighed to myself, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I called out.

Trip opened the door and smirked at me. “Hey there,” he said. “Long time no see.”

“Trip.” I stood up. “Hey. How are you?”

“Better now.” He stepped into my room and shut the door. “Sorry that I haven’t been able to see you. Country is going mad, apparently.”

“I know. I’ve been following the news.”

“Yes, well, don’t believe everything you’re reading.”

“I’m not.”

“Good.”

I noticed that he was holding something behind his back. I cocked my head at him. “What do you have there?”

He laughed. “I thought you might like to try something.”

I felt a thrill run through me. “I’m up for anything.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he replied, stepping toward me.

“It’s true.”

“I don’t think you can handle what I really want.”

I bit my lip. “Try me.”

“I will.” He moved his hands out front, and he was holding a strange-looking black helmet. “But not right now. Instead, have you ever ridden a horse?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “No way. Never.”

“How about you try it?”

“Are you serious?”

“Very serious. Come on, I love riding.”

“I don’t know how.”

He smiled. “I’ll show you. We have this old horse named Jacques. He’ll be perfect.”

“I can’t. Really, Trip, I just don’t know.”

He walked over to me. “I promise it’ll be fine. You trust me?”

I sighed and nodded. “I trust you.”

“Come on. Let’s go.”

I stood up and he handed me the helmet. I held it up, inspecting it. “You want me to wear this?”

“You’ll look cute.” He opened the door and I followed him out into the hall.

“I don’t know about that,” I said.

“You can pull it off. I have faith in you.”

We walked through the house and out the back door. He led me down to the stables where Al and George were standing beside two horses.

They were gorgeous, big and broad. Trip walked up to the one Al was holding, a big black thing that snorted as he approached. Trip touched his flank and calmed him down.

“This is Destroyer,” he said.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a horrible name.”

“I know,” he admitted, smiling. “I named him when I was much younger. Isn’t that right, boy?”

Destroyer snorted.

My horse was smaller than Destroyer. Jacques was a beautiful white-gray color with dark spots along his body. I walked up to him tentatively, and George gave me a reassuring smile, which was unusual for security guys. I reached out and touched Jacques, and he moved his face to nuzzle my hand.

I laughed. “He’s nice,” I said.

“That’s why I picked him. He’ll do most of the work.” Trip got up onto the back of Destroyer and moved him slightly.

George helped me up onto Jacques. I strapped on my helmet, hating that I was actually wearing it, but as soon as I was up on top of the horse, I realized how high I really was. If I fell, I could get seriously injured.

George walked me through the basics. He showed me how to use my feet to tell Jacques to go, how to use the reigns to steer him, and other basic horse-handling things. Meanwhile, Trip rode Destroyer around the paddock slowly, talking to him the whole time.

Finally, George let go of the reigns and I took control. Jacques walked calmly forward, responding to my gestures.

“There you go,” Trip said. “Now, follow me.”

Al handed Trip a package, which Trip put on the back of the horse. Then he opened the gate and we were off. Jacques basically moved without my commands, following close behind Destroyer.

I couldn’t believe I was riding a freaking horse. This was just too unreal. I was up so high and I could feel how much power was inside the animal. I knew that if Jacques wanted to, he could trample me and run away faster than I could scream, but he seemed so calm and was happy to have me on his back.

It was amazing and terrifying all at once. Trip looked back at me, grinning as we rode.

We followed a new trail this time. It moved upstream, away from the forest. The view was beautiful. The land stretched out, green and lovely all around us. I knew that it probably went on for miles in all directions, and that I could probably ride Jacques for miles if I wanted to.

Not that Jacques seemed to care either way. I didn’t have to do much, as he was already just following after Destroyer. I guessed that Jacques had done this before and that Trip knew I’d be fine.

Up ahead, there was a grouping of trees. They weren’t aspens like the other forest was, and they were spaced farther apart. It took me a second to realize it was an orchard.

“Apples,” Trip called back to me.

“Amazing,” I said, laughing.

We rode right into the orchard. Trip reached out and grabbed an apple, biting into it. When Jacques got me close enough, I grabbed my own apple. It was delicious, tasty and as fresh as could be.

We rode farther on, past the orchard. The only interruption on the ideal journey was the scream of a helicopter up ahead, flying past us and away from the compound. If that hadn’t come past, I could have forgotten where and when we actually were.

Finally, though, we left the orchard. Trip grabbed another two apples on the way out and steered us toward an open meadow with a single tree standing in the center. We rode right up to the tree, where Trip stopped us both.

He dismounted and then helped me down.

“I can’t believe I just rode a horse,” I said.

“Amazing, right?”

“I can’t even begin to describe it.”

He grinned at me. “You looked good up there, like you knew what you were doing.”

“I didn’t, but you know that.”

“I could almost forget that you were some ignorant American girl.”

I laughed. “You’re the foreign savage.”

“True. Very true.” He took the reins of the horses and tied them to the tree. “I am a savage; there’s no doubt. At least in some things.”

He took the package down from Destroyer’s back and placed it on the ground. He unwrapped a blanket to reveal a picnic basket.

I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Seriously?”

“Very seriously.”

“You took me on a horseback ride and now you want to have a picnic. This is, like, the most cliché thing ever.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, grinning, “but I like riding horses, and I need to eat. I figured, why not combine the two things? Plus, it has been a stressful few days.”

I helped him spread out the blanket. He placed the basket on top of it and opened it up. He took out a bottle of wine, two glasses, a plate with small sandwiches, some cheese and meats and dips like the other day, and finally some cake for desert.

“I’m sorry you’ve been so stressed,” I said.

“I’m the king. I’m always stressed.”

“But it’s worse now.”

He nodded. “It is worse.”

We began to eat. The food was delicious, and I particularly loved the wine. Even though Starkland was known for their bread and their beer, they did know how to make decent wine, too.

“You can tell me about it, if you want to,” I said to him.

“I can’t for the most part,” he said. “Really, it’s just a lot of meetings and discussions on strategy. I’m not making that many decisions, thankfully.”

“When will you make some?”

“Soon,” he said. “Very soon.”

“I wish I could help.”

“You can,” he said. “Just sit there and keep looking so fucking sexy. It’s already working.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m not just some eye candy, you know.”

“Oh, I know. You’re mouth candy, too. You’re delicious all over.”

“Good one,” I said, making a face. “Isn’t all candy supposed to be mouth candy, though?”

“Yes,” he said, “but I was referring to the fact that I love licking your wet little pussy until your toes curl.”

I blushed slightly. “I got it.”

“I know, but I wanted that reaction out of you.” He smirked and tipped my chin toward him. “I love when you’re embarrassed. But you shouldn’t be. I love your body, your taste. You don’t need to feel embarrassed about that.”

“I just, I don’t know,” I said. “It makes me blush is all.”

“I know. It’s wonderful.” He laughed and then pulled me toward him.

“This place is pretty amazing,” I admitted.

“Good.” He kissed me lightly on the lips. “I want you to like it.” He kissed me lightly again.

“I like it a lot.” I kissed him hard this time, pressing myself against him.

This was what I’d been missing, Trip pressed against me, the whole reason I was willing to follow him out to the estate to begin with. I wanted to see more of his life, of course, but I also wanted more of him.

He returned my kiss, our tongues pressing together, his taste filling my mouth. He pulled me roughly against him, and I pressed him back, straddling his hips and getting on top of him.

He grinned at me. “This is better than a picnic,” he said.

“Shut up,” I replied, and kissed him hard.

He grabbed my ass as I kissed him. I reached back and found his cock, slowly stroking him over his black pants. He grunted into my mouth as I stroked him, clearly enjoying my hand slowly moving down his shaft.

I suddenly had a strong desire. Trip had been working so hard, so damn hard. I wanted to do something, and I realized I had my chance right here.

I slowly dropped back, kissing his neck. I moved farther down him until I was level with his belt.

He watched as I slowly unbuckled it, smirking at me. “Nothing better than watching you slowly undo my pants,” he said. “The anticipation makes me so fucking hard.”

“Does it?” I asked, unbuttoning his pants. “I thought I made you hard.”

“It’s the thought of what I want from you that makes me hard,” he said. “The thought of your tight pussy slowly sliding down along my cock, of filling you with my hot fucking cum.”

I bit my lip, soaking wet. I loved that kind of talk, but I had a mission.

I slowly pulled his slacks and his briefs off, revealing his thick, hard cock.

“Not wasting any time, I see,” he said.

“Don’t move,” I commanded.

“You’re giving me orders now?”

I smirked at him. “Right now, I’m the king. Now shut up.”

He opened his mouth and then grinned at me. “Yes, Your Highness,” he said softly.

I took his hard cock in my hand and let my saliva drip down onto his tip before slowly massaging it into his skin. I stroked him like that with my hand, using my spit to slide easily up and down his hard cock.

He watched me as I worked him like that, jerking his big cock off. Then I moved forward and slowly licked him, root to tip, taking my time, tasting him.

“Fuck,” he groaned when I finally took him between my lips. I slid my tongue down along his length and let him slip into my throat. He grunted, and his fingers wrapped in my hair as I began to suck him up and down.

“Fuck girl,” he grunted. “That’s fucking perfect.”

I worked him like that, letting his cock slide into my throat, sucking with my lips and working my tongue. I was soaking wet, and I couldn’t help but reach down and slowly slip my hands down my own pants.

“God damn, Bryce,” he groaned. “Fucking touch that soaked pussy while you suck my cock.”

I moaned with his dick in my mouth as I began to work my own clit, rubbing in soft circles. He pressed his cock deep into my throat and began to fuck my lips, pushing into my mouth.

That only made me want it more. I groaned, moaning with his cock in my throat as I worked my clit fast and steady, working in slow circles. He grunted and groaned before releasing me again, and I pulled back. I was balanced on one hand, so I couldn’t jerk him, but I slowly sucked his tip, my eyes locked on his.

He took my hair in his hands and let me slowly suck his tip like that. “You like taking my cock, don’t you?” he asked. “You can’t help but touch that pussy while you suck me off.”

I moaned and went back to work. He pressed me down, letting his cock push into my throat. I sucked him fast like that, moaning as I worked my own clit faster and faster.

I sucked him like that for as long as I could before pulling back out, gasping and staring at him. He grinned at me, his mouth hanging open. “I want to see you swallow every drop,” he said. “Can you do that? Can you take my cum down your fucking throat?”

“Yes,” I moaned, so fucking wet, out of my mind as I rubbed myself.

“Do it,” he commanded.

I went back to work, sucking faster and faster, working him as hard as I could. I wanted him to come in my mouth and throat, wanted him to fill my mouth with his hot cum.

He groaned, pushing me down, working his hips into me. I stopped rubbing myself and used my other hand to jerk his shaft off.

“That’s right. Keep going,” he groaned as I kept working him, faster and faster, harder and harder. His grunts and groans of pleasure got louder and faster as I kept at it, working his cock, jerking him off and sucking him.

Finally, he groaned and I tasted his hot cum as it filled my mouth. I didn’t let up. I just kept sucking him harder and faster. I took every single drop of his cum in my mouth and throat and swallowed it all, loving how he came in my mouth, how he groaned his pleasure.

And slowly it was over. I swallowed and licked him clean.

“Shit,” he groaned.

I smiled at him, but instead of collapsing back onto the blanket, he pushed me back over. I fell back and he was on top of me, kissing me hard. I was surprised but didn’t mind as he stripped my pants and panties off.

“Trip,” I gasped.

“What?” he asked, tossing my panties aside.

“We’re out in the middle of this field,” I said.

“Good,” he answered. “I want you exposed.” His fingers found my pussy and slowly pressed inside me, two fingers slowly working in and out. “I want you exposed for everyone to see. You’re my fucking girl, and I’m going to get you off wherever I please.”

I moaned, my head tossed back as he kissed my neck. I hadn’t expected this, but I was fully ready for it, primed and already so close. His fingers fucked my pussy as he kissed my neck. He worked my clit and then went back to fucking me. I groaned as he slowly moved down my body.

His mouth began to suck and lick my clit. He ate me fast like a starving man, and that tipped me over the edge. “Trip,” I gasped, holding his head close to my clit as his fingers kept fucking my tight pussy. “Oh shit, Trip. I’m coming.”

He worked harder, faster. I came, an explosive orgasm rolling over my body. I couldn’t control myself, but Trip could. He kept working me all through it, pressing me past the edge and beyond, to the point where I couldn’t think and could hardly breathe.

Finally, it was over. It was so damn intense, and I could only breathe deeply. He slowly came up and kissed me gently on the lips. I embraced him, pulling him against me, hungry for his mouth.

We kissed like that on the picnic blanket in the middle of the meadow. It was like a dream how my body felt, like a dream how Trip could make me feel.

We stayed like that, our bodies pressed close, breathing deeply, the horses tethered nearby. It wasn’t a dream at all. It was real, so real, and I could hardly believe it was me.