***This is for all of you who requested...nay begged...for more Rahl/Olivia fics, specifically "How they met". Well I have surpassed myself smutwise...is that a word? Just think, if you like this one...I can only get better from here...***

This fic is a Birthday present for Britishpixie...I will be handing over the reigns of Rahl and Olivia's story into her very capable hands. Be sure to PM her with Birthday Greetings for me, and...as always...enjoy!


Marry Me?

A Darken Rahl fic

The beginning of their tale:

Cold…that was the first sensation she felt upon awakening, head pounding a vicious counterpart to each beat of her heart. Shivering, she made the valiant attempt to open her eyes.

"Lord Rahl will be pleased with this last catch" she only caught part of the conversation, but the voice was husky with lust and want. Footsteps drew near…heavy breath stirred her hair…a calloused hand smoothed its way down her throat until it lingered over one plump, ripe breast.

Another man answered curtly. "He will be pleased only if she remains untouched."

The hand lifted abruptly, and she heard a wheezing chuckle above her head. "Of course…of course, untouched…so he can touch her himself." She felt his lips at her ear then, as he leaned down to whisper,

"When he's done with you, I am going to request for some time for us to be together, before you are…disposed of."

She glared at him with all the impotent rage in her system.

Lord Darken Rahl stood in his chambers and tried, albeit unsuccessfully to contain his nervousness…it wasn't often that he chose to fulfill his basest desires through hired wenches, but lately…the loneliness was driving him crazy. The creak of a heavy wooden door heralded her arrival. He turned, ready to offer a polite smile and settle the financial transactions up front…then froze, appalled at the sight before him.

She was a tiny thing, barely coming up to his shoulder, with a riot of brown curls cascading over her shoulders and a mouth-wateringly curvaceous figure that made him instantly hard…until he caught sight of the bruises that marred her face, and the scratches that scored her soft white skin.

"What is the meaning of this?" hard, angry strides brought him to within arms length of her, and to his horror, she flinched. The hand he brought to her face, however, was gentle as he touched her cheek. "Who did this to you? He will not live the night." His tone was implacable, his eyes hard.

She shivered, reluctant to send a man to his death no matter how vile he was, no matter what horrible things he'd done to her. Tears formed and tracked down her cheeks as she found her gaze pinned by his gray-green eyes…those demanding eyes…

Darkness encroached…enveloped her in its velvet arms, and she crumpled to the floor.

Darken Rahl was used to things going a certain way. When he sent for a village girl, he expected a willing wench, not one who had been beaten to within an inch of her life. Kneeling beside her, he gently brushed a trembling hand over her to ascertain if she had any more pertinent injuries before scooping her up to lay her down on the bed.

"Guards!!" he shouted. Immediately his entourage entered. "Find me the men who brought her in!" he gestured angrily to the wounded woman lying senseless upon his divan. His voice dropped to a low growl, "I wish to speak to them…at length."

She woke hours later to find a warm, muscular, and...holy gods...naked, man wrapped protectively around her, arms holding her tight against his chest. At first, panic won out and her heart thundered in her chest, triggering a fight or flight response and she tensed, waking him instantly.

He tightened his hold briefly before loosening his hold to reassure her. He raised a hand, wincing at her instinctive flinch, and combed it tenderly through her curls.

"Hush, you are safe here. I will not harm you. Can you speak, my dear?"

She nodded jerkily. Trembling still, she made a valiant effort to speak, intent on ordering him…no...begging him to let her go. "P…P-Please l-let me g-go…p-p-please…"

The obvious terror that gripped her in its icy claws caused his chest to tighten with emotion. Was it guilt, grief or…what? "You will come to no harm, you have my word." His tone was insistent. "Where did you come from? You clearly are not what I had expected when I requested a willing wench from the village…" his voice trailed off when her face registered confusion, shock, then anger. "What is it?"

"You…you…you think I'm a prostitute?" He was awed by the look of anger on her face…by the gods she was adorable! He gasped when her elbow connected with his sternum as she struggled in earnest to get away, so he merely tightened his hold. "Why you…let go of me! If you think I am going to…what are you…no…don't…mmph…"

Unable to help himself any longer he yanked her close and covered her mouth with his. With tender insistence he outlined her lips with his warm tongue until she moaned and opened for him to plunder and explore the warm cavern of her mouth. When his warm palm slid from her satiny cheek to cup one plump breast, reality trickled through the sudden haze of lust that clouded her vision…and she realized she was naked as well. A frisson of fear zipped down her spine and she made a half hearted attempt to escape his arms and then he…oh gods…he bent his dark head and took that plump globe into his mouth to suckle, to lave with his tongue the ripe bud, to gently pinch and mold it with his hand as he gave the same treatment to her other breast. Arching her back, she surrendered to the glorious sensations now rioting through her nervous system. Hands wandered, adored and introduced her to the most luscious delights of the flesh.

Calloused tipped digits roamed freely down dewy skin toward their ultimate goal…to make this precious creature purr with pleasure, moan in passion, vibrate in sated satisfaction within the safe circle of his arms. Longing to see this goal fulfilled, his questing fingers found her soft, silken petals and he registered her response as she froze…wondering what he'd do next. With elegant dexterity, he played with her…fingering through the dusky curls that hid the entrance to paradise, before plunging two digits into her quivering, white-hot sheath.

A cry burst forth from her as she bent backward, almost in two, and clutched his arm…ostensibly to pull it out from its place in between her thighs, instead aiding his marauding fingers in plundering the treasure that lay amongst those exquisite folds. Her hips soon began that age old dance that enticed and beguiled…that pulled the observer in, begging him to act out his basest desires upon silken flesh.

She lifted her lips to his and as a firestorm of cataclysmic proportion roared behind his eye-lids, he pushed her back on the mattress and nudged her trembling thighs open with his insistent weight before releasing her mouth and burning a path down the sensitive skin along the side of her neck. A heady moan urged him on and he settled in to lick, lave and suckle at her breast once more while agile fingers moved to an unexpected beat that drove her crazy.

Soon…soon my Own… heady thoughts raced through him as he set about memorizing a map of every delectable inch of quivering flesh that lay beneath lips, teeth, tongue and fingertips. When he reached the nectar filled petals between her wide spread thighs, he found her pliant, eager and…if he hadn't lost his instincts…insatiable. The hot, impatient cries that poured from her mouth at his caresses were working on his nerves, pouring energy through him like lightning. Blood roared thru his ears and filled his cock as she writhed against his mouth, crying out her pleasure while clutching his hair and pulling him closer to her.

With a fierce growl, hard-won control broke, and he surged over her…into her and smashed his mouth to hers, tasting blood, and caring neither if it were hers…or his. She clutched at him, trying to find purchase in a world suddenly thrown into chaos as his powerful hips pistoned fluidly between her straining thighs. He levered her up with big hands under her bottom, angling her so that with each thrust he hit that small spongy area, deep within her pulsing channel that had her snapping nearly in half with a strangled scream upon her lips. Her nails left half-moon scars in his hips as she clung to him for purchase at the height of the storm. Sweat glistened, bodies undulated…hands clasped, slipped apart, groped and found purchase again.

Darken felt the familiar, and anticipated, tingling at the base of his spine and had a sudden intense desire to watch her fall apart before he took his pleasure. Lifting up slightly, he brushed a calloused thumb lightly over her clit and she cried out, and her internal muscles clamping around him tightening intensely and causing him to grimace, thinking about anything other than how incredibly hot and tight she felt or he was bound to explode then and there. Pulling back from the brink he brushed her sweet spot again…and again…and ag-…she shattered, entwining herself around him, until he no longer knew where she ended and he began. Feeling safe and whole for the first time in his life…he let go, and poured his seed within her womb.

The next the morning she was gone, slipping out like a phantom in the night, and oh…but she haunted him. His sleep was interrupted with dreams of hot, sweaty intimacies and he woke hard, throbbing…aroused beyond belief and could do nothing more but relieve the ache himself; after her, any other village wench just would not do. He would not see her again for two long agonizing months, in spite of wide-spread searching. Sitting in his chambers, reading, he heard a commotion in the corridor. One of his personal guard rushed in and informed him that a woman had been caught sneaking into the castle. A wild hope surged through him…could it be?

"Bring her to me."

He stood at the window, schooling his expression and folding his hands behind his back, his deep crimson robe glowing in the firelight. She was brought in, fighting all the way…kicking, hissing and spitting out curses at the men who held her. Just as Rahl turned; one of guards, tiring of her scratches, backhanded her…stunning the girl and opening a deep cut on her soft cheek. A roar of rage, unlike any other they'd ever heard issued from their lord, filled the room and the offending guard was soon babbling excuses and apologies…neither of which saved his life.

Olivia woke to find herself cradled in Rahl's arms, wrapped cozily in soft sheets and a warm comforter, surrounded by his familiar scent. Mmm…home, he smells like home…she thought drowsily, nestling her nose deeper into the curve where his neck met his shoulder. Then reality hit her and she flew up to a sitting position. He remained reclining…sprawling languidly like an overly indulged sultan. He smirked at her, sure that she came back to him because she simply could not stay away; sure that she felt…something.

Then…she slapped him.

He was so startled at her audacity that he failed to respond immediately and just stared, dumbstruck. "I am pregnant. Do you hear me? Are you aware of what they call women in my position? With child and neither a widow or wife? I have been ostracized, driven out. I have no home, no food, no hope for marriage and love, because… of…you."

She practically spat the words into his face, her pain and anguish a surprising spear in his heart. His chest felt tight, and an unfamiliar burning sensation burst behind his eyes.

He had caused her pain.

She was bearing his child.

He raised glowing eyes to hers.

With just that one look Olivia's rage and hurt began to melt, a new warmth flowing through her body.

"Marry me." He said huskily.

***Well my darlings...you know what to do! Review!!!