Which was what she wanted, so he did.
THIRTY-EIGHT
When Sativa woke, the sun was high in the sky, but she felt well rested.
Reidar stepped out of the shadows. "I brought you breakfast, but I fear it is cold now. I will send for some more. I didn't want to wake you."
He was as chivalrous as she'd always dreamed he'd be. But the time for chivalry was done. She would marry this man – this king – and she would pledge herself to him so irrevocably that he would truly know she meant what she said. Reidar was everything she wanted in a man, and despite what she'd said in the forest, in her heart, she belonged to him and him alone. It was time he knew that.
"Come here," Sativa said, her voice a little shaky. She'd never seduced a man before, and she was sure her inexperience showed. When Reidar turned to face her, she pulled her shift over her head and threw it on the floor, so she sat naked on the bed.
His eyes raked her body before returning to her face. "Princess..." Lust smouldered, just as it had in the forest.
She patted the bed. "Here, Reidar. My name is Sativa, not Princess. You will need to remember that, when I am your wife."
He took one tentative step closer, then another. His eyes held something akin to awe. Another step. He stopped beside the bed, as though something held him back. "Sativa." It sounded like a prayer.
"Take your clothes off, too," she said, her voice shaking even more. "I wish to see the man who will be my husband."
To her delight, he shucked off his tunic. The hard muscles she'd held onto during their ride here were everything she'd imagined. Arms, chest, back...everything.
She rose up onto her knees, reaching out to touch.
He took a step back. "Don't," he begged. "If you touch me, I'm not sure I'll be able to restrain myself. I want you, the way a man wants his wife."
Looking down, Sativa saw that what he said was true. And she wanted him, too.
"Show me everything," she said, her voice breathless. "Take all your clothes off."
His eyes burned into hers as he did as she asked. Shoes, hose, until he stood as naked as she.
Then she rose from the bed, her steps as tentative as his had been before. She forced herself to stop when she was only a step away so she could gaze at his body before she said, "What a glorious husband you will make." She swallowed, then added, "I want you the way a woman wants a lover."
Then she pressed her body against his, softness moulding around hardness, and lifted her lips for a kiss. His arm was firm at her back as his other hand cupped her cheek. No more words were necessary for his eyes said it all as he kissed her, tenderly at first then with an urgency that rivalled her own. Long and deep and so delicious he made her dizzy.
"I have dreamed of this," she gasped.
"So have I," he said. "Tomorrow, after we are wed – "
"No," she interrupted. "I don't want to wait. I want you now." She reached down and wrapped her hand around his manhood. So hard, and yet so soft. What would it feel like inside her?
Gently, he pried her hand loose. "Sativa." Another prayer, as her fingers stroked his length before she let go.
Her eyes met his. "Show me how you will love your queen." Taking his hand, she led him to the bed, then lay down.
Something warred in his eyes. Sativa didn't care what, as long as she won.
"You said you would take me as your queen. So, take me."
He smiled. "As my queen commands." He climbed onto the bed beside her, his hands brushing lightly over her skin so that she shivered. His smile broadened, before he covered her body in kisses. She gasped and sighed under his caresses, until he said, "Sativa, have you ever taken a lover before?"
She sat up in surprise. "Of course not. I've been promised to you since I was six!"
He chuckled. "That never stopped the ladies of Viken from taking lovers if they liked. Marriage means being faithful to only the one. But if I am your first...then I must make sure you are prepared for me."
His caresses and kisses grew more fervent, making her gasp with delight as he drew pleasure from her body that she had not thought possible. After an eternity of foreplay, finally he declared that she was ready.
Sativa opened her mouth to say that she had been ready long before, but the sensation of him entering her took her breath away. She opened her legs wider, welcoming him inside. That first thrust seemed to take a glorious eternity, until she could take no more, for he had filled her completely.
She closed her eyes, relishing the pure pleasure she had never before imagined.
Reidar leaned forward, pushing deliciously deeper into her as he cupped her face in gentle hands. "Sativa, please tell me if I am too much for you. I will stop, I swear."
She opened her eyes, smiling in joy. "Don't stop, my king. Don't stop until we are both spent, and need to rest, before we can make love some more." At this, he moved within her and she moaned in pleasure. "Yes, more!"
Their bodies melded together in a union so perfect Sativa could not have dreamed it before this moment, and this moment was one she never wanted to end. A moment of unfathomable bliss between two shared souls. A promise joyfully fulfilled.
Much later, when the sunset light streamed through the window and kissed their naked bodies, lying side by side on the bed, Reidar turned to her and said, "Tomorrow is our wedding. After today, what will I have left to give you on our wedding night?"
Sativa laughed softly. "More of the same, I imagine, unless you have a different kind of lovemaking in mind. If we do this enough, we are sure to have a child. But until we do, give me the gift of your body, and your love, and I shall give you mine in return. Every day and every night, so that we may live happily ever after."
If you'd like to read the story of Rudolf and Portia, it's in Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold, which you can get HERE.
If you'd like to read the tale of Melitta and George (and the dragon), it's in Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold, which you can get HERE.
If you're looking for more of Demelza's medieval fairytales, you can find the rest of the series HERE (http://www.demelzacarlton.com/fairytale/).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by her suspense thriller Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
Want to know more? You can follow Demelza on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ , YouTube or her website, Demelza Carlton's Place at: www.demelzacarlton.com
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