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Excerpt
The Tunsey Men 2: Victoria
By
Wendy Stone
Chapter One
In the forest, just outside the village gates, a young lad sat upon a
tree limb, his bow in his hands, an arrow notched and pulled, ready to
fly. He kept his eyes on the prey he’d chosen, a fine looking buck with
a rack to be proud of. Waiting for the perfect shot, he controlled his
breathing and was just about to let the arrow fly when the buck jumped,
a feathered projectile protruding from his side.
“Well, fuck me,” the boy growled, his voice sounding very young and
somewhat girlish. “Who’s poaching on my deer?”
Letting the string relax, keeping the arrow notched, he easily dropped
from the tree limb, his eyes on the surrounding area.
“Nice shot, Mall,” Safford said, slapping his brother on the shoulder.
“Lisette will enjoy the taste of a venison roast.”
“He should feed us well for quite some time,” Mall grinned, agreeing
with his brother. It had been a good shot. He kept walking toward where
the buck now laid, his side heaving in pain from the wound.
“What the…” he growled, when a young boy came out of the tree almost on
top of him. The boy was short, with dark curly hair and big blue eyes
surrounded by feminine looking lashes. There was enough dirt on the lad
to replant a field and his hair looked as if someone had taken a knife
to it and just chopped off bits and pieces to keep it out of his eyes.
“Get out of the way, boy. We’ve got men’s work to do.”
“That deer is mine,” the boy said, standing his ground and raising his
bow towards the men. “I’ve been stalking it for over an hour.”
“It was my arrow that done the deed, boy,” Mall snapped, tiring of the
boy’s interference. He was just plain tired after the problems of the
day. “Stand aside.”
“No,” the boy snapped. “I’m not letting you take that meat.”
Mall chuckled even as Safford rolled his eyes at the orneriness of the
boy’s reply. “And what’ll a little thing like you do about it?”
Safford bent over suddenly, grabbing his shin. “Damn me, but the little
bugger just kicked me,” he growled.
Mall was letting out a curse of his own, barely ducking the bow that
came flying out towards him. “Whoa.” He stepped back, watching as the
young boy took up a stance with the bow that was threatening. Mall put
out his hands, palms up, trying to soothe the youth. “Take it easy,
youngin’. Ain’t no reason to throw such tantrums. How about we give you
a leg to take home to your folks?”
“It’s my deer. I’m taking it all,” the boy snarled.
“How are you planning on getting it home, boy? There’s no way you’re
going to be able to lift that deer, it weighs more than you do.”
“That’s none of your concern. You’re poaching on the king’s lands and
killing his deer.” He stood straighter, relaxing his guard some. His
eyes were riveted upon Mall. “You leave now and I won’t report you to
King Maxim.”
Safford tapped the boy on his shoulder, waiting until he turned,
surprised by the sudden appearance of the man. Saff let his fist fly,
catching the boy on the chin and watching as he went down instantly.
“Saff, damn man, what are you doing?” Mall dropped his bow, hurrying
over to the boy. He put his hand on the boy’s face checking his chin.
“You could do serious damage, you idiot.”
“I pulled the punch, I barely touched him.” Saff grinned. He watched as
Mall checked his breathing and the bump that grew on his chin. “Bugger
it, Mall, quit mother-henning him. He kicked me.”
Mall rested his hand on the boy’s chest, making sure it rose and fell.
His eyes narrowed and he moved his hand on the slender youth. “Fuck me,
it can’t be,” he growled.
“What can’t be?” Saff said, Mall’s tone telling him something was amiss.
“This boy,” Mall said, staring up at his brother, “has tits.”
Safford sank down next to the boy that had tried to get between them and
the deer Mall had shot, his hand reaching out and landing on a soft
mound that was absolutely undeniable. “Damn, I hit a girl,” he said,
shaking his head in disgust. “Glad I pulled the punch.”
“You may have pulled it, Saff, but she’s out like a light.”
“Maybe we should loosen her clothes,” Saff said, a smirking grin on his
lips as he moved his hand over the breast he hadn’t released yet. “I
mean, to make it easier for her to breathe.”
“Yeah, that’s what you meant,” Mall said in disgust, reaching out and
taking Saff’s hand off the girl. “Quit molesting her. You already
knocked her out.”
“It was an accident,” Saff declared, looking over at his brother who
seemed fascinated by the difference of boyish looks and female body.
“You think she’s pretty?”
“Can’t rightly tell with all the dirt on her face. Maybe we should take
her back with us.” Mall glanced up at his brother, waiting for his
approval.
Safford just shrugged. “Can’t leave her here to become varmint food, I
guess. But don’t you think the king is going to be upset about having
some girl poaching his deer?”
“Fuck me,” Mall groaned. “I didn’t think of that. Would King Maxim toss
her in the dungeon for something like that?”
“Why you asking me?” Saff growled. “Do I look like I know what a king’s
thinking?”
“Definitely not,” Mall muttered. “Half the time you hardly know what
you’re thinking.” He easily ducked the fist heading his way. “Grab the
deer,” he said finally. “We can’t just leave her here, so we might as
well take her with us.”
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