by Scarlet Rose
The crowd in the room consisted of each of their immediate families. The groll attacks kept the usual celebrations for this type of occasion to a minimum.
He was curious to see Veronica’s reaction after last night. He imagined she would be furious. He didn’t blame her for what she did. Benard blamed Aaron. Younger men had a way of thinking with their cocks, and Benard didn’t want young Aaron anywhere near his future wife. At age nineteen, she was six years younger that he was, but that wouldn’t matter.
She’d mature quickly as his wife.
The harpist began playing as the double wooden doors on the far side of the room swung slowly open.
Princess Veronica stepped into the doorway wearing a shiny pearl-colored gown with silver beading that accentuated her ample chest. Her hair was pinned up with brown ringlets hanging down to the sides of her face.
Benard was instantly turned on by the sight of her. She will look amazing at my side as my Queen—as long as she doesn’t get fat.
She glided into the room to the beat of the music, and Benard swore he could freeze water with the look she gave him. It made her look amazingly sexy.
She stepped forward until she was standing just across from him. They were required to face each other during the ceremony. If looks could kill, Benard knew he would have been dead the second she stepped into the room and saw him.
“Welcome all to the engagement ceremony celebrating the joining of Princess Veronica and Prince Benard,” began the Priest.
Benard didn’t pay much attention to the ramblings of the Priest. His attention was drawn to the tight dress that covered Veronica’s milky skin. It accentuated her every curve perfectly, and left just a peak of cleavage showing. He couldn’t wait to get her alone and naked, though he feared she would be mad at him for what he’d done after they met the night before for a very long time.
There were ways around anger, though. With the right amount of temptation and desire she would crack and let him in—eventually.
At the end of the ceremony, he was asked to take her hand and kneel before her. She held out her hand to him reluctantly. He took it gently, and kissed the back of her hand as a gesture of acceptance.
That was it. They were officially engaged.
He knew their engagement would be short. King Doogan was near death, and wanted to see Veronica married to a proper Prince who could look after the kingdom before he died. The details had yet to be set by the two Kings. He and Veronica didn’t have much say in the process, but none of that really mattered to him.
He was ready to step up and be King as soon as they would let him.
People began filing out of the room. Tradition allowed them to have a short time alone together before they attended a reception to greet the guests.
Once they were alone, Veronica let her anger fly.
“What did you do to them?”
Benard raised his eyebrows at her, intrigued. “I hardly feel it is appropriate for your lover and his sister to attend our engagement ceremony.”
Her voice went higher. “I don’t really think it’s your decision if my two best friends attend or not. Nayla and Aaron have been my support since we were children. You had no right to throw them out!”
This wasn’t exactly how Benard imagined meeting his Queen-to-be, but the decision had been clear when he’d found her with another man’s tongue down her throat in public, no less.
They didn’t even have the decency to keep it hidden.
“What was I supposed to think when I found you two down there? I want this marriage to work, Veronica. I’m offended that you would find his presence here appropriate.”
Swallowing hard, she opened her mouth to speak without looking into his eyes. “I apologize for what you saw. I have loved Aaron for a long time, and until the death of my mother and brother, we were to be wed. Things changed very quickly. We were only saying goodbye.”
Again she swallowed and sighed. “I will do my best to be a dutiful Queen … and wife. I wish that you had not sent Nayla away too.”
Benard nodded to her. “Come. We have a reception to attend.”
Tradition would have them celebrating, and surrounded by people all day long. He hoped some of her anxiety and anger would blow off as the day passed. Benard hoped for a chance to get to know her better after the sun went down. He couldn’t wait to see what she looked like without that stunning dress on.
They sat together throughout the afternoon. People approached them for conversation, which Veronica pretended to enjoy, but she ignored Benard completely. During the dinner she started drinking wine to numb her anger.
Benard’s parents chatted away politely with King Doogan. No one seemed to notice how tipsy she was becoming, except Benard. Finally, she began to speak to him.
“Do you consider yourself a gentleman, Prince Benard?”
Benard held back a smile. “I do.”
“Do you know how to take care of a woman?”
Benard feared she would make a scene if her voice grew any louder. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I do. Can we go somewhere to be alone? I brought some of my favorite wine with me for celebrating.”
Veronica’s head was beginning to spin with the wine catching up to her. She’d only been allowed to drink on special occasions before, but she’d never drank this much. She needed something to numb the pain of missing Aaron. All she could think about was how it felt to have his lips against hers, his warm skin touching her, their bodies colliding together in unison.
She had to stop herself from groaning aloud while she pictured it.
She knew Benard had been right. Having Aaron there was inappropriate, but she missed him. I will never love anyone else, she thought. She also felt it was unfair to have sent Nayla away, but they were safer traveling together than separately, so she’d come to accept that too.
Soon, she’d find a way to go visit her best friend and see Aaron again.
Now, she had to find a way to face being married to someone she didn’t love and knew she never would. On top of it all, she’d have to pretend to be happy because she would be Queen of Palinna, and her life would be under constant scrutiny.
She decided to give Benard a shot because he seemed like a nice guy, in spite of the fact that he kicked Aaron and Nayla out.
And because she knew she didn’t really have much choice.
She took another gulp of her wine, and set the glass down as a wave of dizziness roared through her. Loudly chattering voices and booming laughter overwhelmed her. The tantalizing words of her cousin, Anna Marie, drifted toward her as Anna Marie shamelessly flirted with one of Prince Benard’s brothers. Her aunt’s voice was a cackle, as she laughed at everything Benard’s father said.
In the back of her mind she thought she could hear voices speaking around her. They belonged to the people surrounding her, but were saying things that clearly weren’t being said aloud.
“I can’t believe Anna Marie wore that dress.”
“Does Jarron know he has food hanging out of him mouth?”
“When will this dinner be over?”
Closing her eyes to steady herself, she pushed her chair back away from the table. She’d heard the thoughts of people around her before, but never when she wanted to hear them. She never told anyone for fear they would call her crazy. She’d been tested as a small child for magic, as all children were, but had been deemed untalented. A gift for magic was rare, but when found in a child they were scooped up, and hauled off to be trained before their abilities killed them.
Veronica stood and slid her chair out of the way. She held her hand out to Benard. “Yes, let’s get out of here. I can’t stand to be around these people any longer.”
Chapter 5
Prince Benard held Veronica’s elbow to keep her steady as they headed toward his new room. She was of average height, which made her just a few inches shorter than him. As they walked she stumbled and wavered, sometimes leaning on his chest before continuing on. The buzz
in her head had calmed some.
Once they reached his room, he held the door open for her and helped her over to the couch. “Did you want me to get the wine?”
“No. I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Any more wine and I’ll be getting sick all over this pretty floor.”
Benard laughed. His voice was deep and strong. He certainly looked strong. He took a seat beside her, and draped his arm loosely around her shoulders, though his body wasn’t close enough to touch her. “Good choice.”
“Tell me about yourself. Where are you from exactly?” Her speech slurred some. She wasn’t quite as drunk as she wanted him to believe.
“I’m from the East. Yarinna. I’m the second-born son of King Tiblis.”
“I see. Sucks to be born second in your case, right? I mean … your brother is the one who gets to take the throne.” She paused while he nodded. “I didn’t mind being second myself, because it meant that I could stay out of the spotlight. But now …”
“Now, I get to be King, and you get to be the beautiful woman by my side.” He said it as if he was a great dramatic storyteller.
“Yeah,” she agreed blandly.
“I know that I’m not Aaron, but being married to me won’t be the worst thing in the world. I promise.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “As much as I appreciate that you won’t be making my life miserable, I’m not quite ready to sign you off as not being ‘the worst thing in the world’.”
Benard nodded. “Fair enough.”
More thoughts drifted into her mind through her drunken state. This time they were clearly Benard’s.
I wonder if she’s drunk enough to let me kiss her. God, she’s beautiful.
Veronica wasn’t sure what to do about Benard. Yes, she was attracted to him, but also she was heartbroken over Aaron. She pulled herself up and stumbled to the door. “I think I need to go lie down.”
Benard hopped right up to help her. “Are you sure? We’ve barely gotten to talk.”
She nodded. She pretended that a wave of dizziness washed over her, so she braced herself up against his warm chest.
“Easy there,” he said. “Maybe you should just sleep here.”
Veronica laughed. “You think you can get me into your bed that easily?”
“I am extremely attracted to you, but I have no desire to take advantage of you.”
She stared into his eyes, and found only truth in his words. His thoughts didn’t make him sound like he was a womanizer, just an average man with desires to fulfill. The warmth of those brown eyes pulled her in. For a moment she lost herself in them, and pushed her arms up around his neck. She wanted to push her night with Aaron out of her mind to ease the ache, and wondered if loosing herself with Benard would help.
He leaned forward as if in invitation and she met him halfway. The kiss started slow. Veronica held herself back, not wanting to risk it all. She felt his hands slip around her waist and pull her body closer. As the kiss grew hotter she could feel her body start to crave his touch.
She wanted to know what his hands felt like on her breasts and between her legs.
She began to think she could push Aaron out of her mind and be with Benard.
Aaron.
She panicked and pulled away. Veronica knew that crossing the line with Benard meant saying goodbye to Aaron, but she wasn’t quite ready for that. Breathing heavily, she kissed him once more on the cheek, and moved toward the door.
Once she reached the door she turned back to him. “I need a little more time to clear my head.” Suddenly feeling very sober, she pulled open the door and dashed toward her room in a daze.
Chapter 6
Night had fallen, and the caravan that carried Nayla and Aaron home had stopped for the night. Nayla went out in search of someone to keep her company in the dark.
Twenty guards accompanied the two of them on the trip. They took turns on guard for portions of the night.
She found her brother growing increasingly drunk. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Aaron, go to bed. Getting drunk won’t heal your hurt. It will just make your head hurt tomorrow.”
“Mind your own business,” Aaron said with a grunt, and took another swig from the bottle.
Nayla stiffened at the force of his words. “Don’t take your anger out on me. None of this is my fault.”
Aaron refused to acknowledge she spoke to him, so she moved off in the direction of an off-duty guard she knew well.
Herron stood talking to another guard she barely knew. He was only a year older than her, but he seemed to have a lot of experience with women. She liked that because it meant he would do more fun things with her than some men were willing to do.
“Herron!” Nayla walked right up to the blond-haired, muscular guard and hugged him, flashing him a naughty smile.
“Hey there, pretty girl.” He gestured to the other guard. “This is Jarrod.”
Jarrod was a man of average height in his mid-twenties. He winked at Nayla.
“Nice to meet you, Jarrod. Are you both off duty for a few hours?”
“Well that depends,” said Herron with a sly smile.
“On what?” Nayla flashed him her most innocent looking smile.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Well ... if you must know … I was going to invite Jarrod to come keep me company in my tent.”
“What about me?” Herron asked, faking exasperation.
“You can come too if you’d like.”
Jarrod grinned from ear to ear. Herron pulled her up against him and whispered into her ear. “You naughty girl. What ever will your father say?”
“I don’t really care what he’d say.” She turned and walked toward her tent. “Are you two coming or not?”
Once inside her tent, Nayla turned back around to face the two men. “You guys will have to go easy on me. I’m a lady.”
The tent was large enough to stand in. Enormous pillows were sprawled into a corner to provide a soft bed.
Herron stepped up to her. “Since when do you like it easy?” He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her against him. His other hand hooked her knee and pulled it up around his waist. He let his hand slip slowly up her leg underneath her silky yellow dress until he gripped the soft skin of her bottom. Then he kissed her deep and hard until she grew weak in the knees.
Nayla pulled herself out of Herron’s tight grip, her breath quickening as her excitement grew, and walked over to Jarrod.
He looked eager to have her hands on him. She hooked one arm around his neck and pulled him into a sloppy kiss. The other hand found its way to the tie that held his pants up. Within moments she had her hand wrapped around his thick cock.
She stroked it slowly with the tips of her fingers while she kissed him, tracing one finger around the head. She felt a shiver run through him that made her smile.
She pulled out of the kiss and beckoned Herron over with her finger. He obliged without hesitation while he pulled off his pants.
Nayla knelt down in front of the two men. She had one hand on each of them, stroking them gently, while she let her tongue caress Jarrod’s shaft. He moaned as his thickness grew harder.
She moved her tongue over to Herron. He was longer and thinner than Jarrod. The thought of a little variety spicing things up made her grin. After a few strokes with her tongue she wrapped her mouth around him, and slipped down his shaft as far as she could. She sucked on him slowly while fondling his balls.
“Oh, Nayla … yeah … just like that,” he groaned. His hips rocked slightly back and forth, pushing his length deeper down her throat. He was clearly enjoying it, but she felt bad for Jarrod being left out, so she switched to him.
It wasn’t hard to suck on Jarrod’s entire length. She whipped her tongue against him as she sucked on him faster and faster. His hips pounded harder than Herron’s. His moans grew in intensity.
She pulled away from him. Pulling the silky yellow dress off of her, she stepped over to
the giant pillow that served as her bed while she traveled.
She dropped down and beckoned the two of them over.
Herron moved straight to the base of the pillow between her legs. Jarrod moved more timidly up beside her. He fondled her breasts and they kissed while Herron took his time entangling his tongue in her eager pussy.
His hands moved up her tanned legs and pulled them apart. Nayla gasped as his finger found her pulsing clit and massaged it. A moment later she felt his tongue on her and she was lost in the sensations that coursed through her. It was as if her entire body was lit up like a glowing ball of fire.
She gripped her hands into Jarrod’s hair and pulled him hard into a kiss. Then she shoved him away. “I want your cock in my mouth. Give it to me.”
Nayla propped herself up as Jarrod positioned himself beside her so she could suck on him. At the same time, she felt Herron slipping himself inside of her.
The fullness she felt with him inside her made her gasp. “Oh, that feels amazing!”
She urged Jarrod into her mouth with her tongue dancing along his shaft. The groans she heard coming from his mouth urged her to take him deeper down her throat.
Herron’s strokes started off slow at first as he pushed himself in the entire length. Then he picked up the pace. He knew she liked it fast and hard.
Nayla matched the pace of her mouth to the pace of Herron’s hips. As he grew faster, so did she, but she could tell Jarrod wouldn’t last much longer. She put all of the attention she could spare into making him come.
His grunts grew louder, and a moment later he pulled out of her mouth, and exploded onto her chest with a loud moan.
Nayla ran her hands over her chest and pinched on her nipples as Herron picked up the pace. She couldn’t help but sigh as he started pounding into her. “Oh … yes … you know how I like it.”
Her orgasm built up until she screamed in pure pleasure. A moment later she heard the grunts that meant Herron wouldn’t be much longer. His hips slammed hard into her.
