by Viola Grace
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Keeping you from hiding again.” He used a branch to tuck all of the clothing safely into the flames.
“What do you mean, hiding?”
“Hiding, concealing yourself from your friends, and your lover.” His eyes twinkled in the firelight. “I had a talk with John this afternoon. He agreed with me.”
“John was here?”
“Of course. He was concerned when you didn’t return at your usual time.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That you were having a nap, and that the concealing clothing was for self-defense. You had no disfigurements and were only dressing in that god-awful getup to keep men from flinging themselves at you.”
“How exactly do you suppose that I do that now? If I show up in this getup the farm hands will be all over me.” She was angry now. He had burned her camouflage.
“It won’t be a problem.”
“Are you nuts? I work in a tavern for gods’ sake.”
“You will stay with me tonight and tomorrow it will all be taken care of.” He seemed smug.
“What will be taken care of?”
“You’ll see.” He beckoned her to come over to him.
She cautiously approached him, still not sure what to expect from him. She had known him for two months, but this whole intimacy thing was new to her.
Anya walked within arms' reach of Orthias. It was really quite a substantial distance. He gently reached out and drew her against him. Her head came up to the center of his chest as he towered over her. Her arms circled his waist and her head leaned against him. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the scent of man and fire.
“Did you have a nice nap?”
“I guess so. I slept for six hours.” She rubbed her cheek against the laces of his shirt. Every muscle in her body was relaxed, she was at peace for a few moments in time.
“Good, I have something planned.”
“What?”
“You’re going to find out in a few minutes, I don’t want to spoil the surprise.” He began to lead her back into the darkened house and when she balked, he simply picked her up and carried her.
Back in the bedroom, he removed the new clothes from her with teasing slowness, kissing her flesh as he uncovered it. When he had her completely nude, clothed only in a blush, he removed his own clothing
Once again, he laid her down on the bed, but this time he stretched her arms above her head. She relaxed and let him move her limbs about as he wished, but was still a little surprised when he tied her wrists to the iron headboard.
“What? What are you doing? Why are you tying me?”
“I had to keep completely still the first time you forced yourself on me. This is only to even the playing field.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and began to explore her as thoroughly as she had him.
When he dropped his head to her belly and began to trail his tongue down lower, her back drew taut. She arched against him and started to plead for him to end the torture. Sweat coated her body as the slick dew coated her thighs. With a swift move, he parted her thighs and dove between them. His tongue and lips danced over her slick folds. She squealed as he stabbed against the nub at the top of her sex in a movement that sent her over the edge. Her body arched and her thighs gripped his head as she came apart under his ministrations.
The night became endless as he drove her over the edge of climax more times than she could count. Somewhere around the third time she screamed her release with his fingers deep inside her, he untied her arms. By that time, she was in a stupor of pleasure.
When dawn came, she awoke in Orthias’ arms, his body curled around her spoon-fashion. She was sore. Every muscle in her body ached, but there was a smile playing around her mouth that she couldn’t subdue.
“Enjoyed your surprise?” His voice was husky in her ear.
“Mmm…very much. Thank you.” Her own voice was a hoarse whisper, the result of a long night of moaning and screaming.
“Good. I’m glad. Let’s have a bath, and then we’ll go into town and meet with John.” He rolled out of bed and tugged her up with him. He laughed when her legs gave out as he caught her against him. In what seemed to be a developing trend he scooped her up and carried her outside into the early morning.
“Where are we going?”
“The bath house, you haven’t seen it before. It’s fed by a hot spring.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Walk faster.” She trailed one hand up to caress his neck, toying with the hair at the nape.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Around the back of the house was a small building that was built into a hill. She lifted the latch and he opened the door with his shoulder. Inside, the air was warm and moist. He shut the door and walked forward to lower her into the stone pool in the center of the room.
Her muscles sighed in relief as the heat began to penetrate her tissues. Her head fell back to the rim of the pool as Orthias took a seat next to her with his own groan of pleasure. She drifted over and put her head on his shoulder as they soaked out the stiffness caused by the night of excess. They took turns soaping each other and washing each other's hair until their fingers pruned up.
He left her in the pool as he retrieved large drying cloths from a nearby shelf. They were large enough for him, so as she exited the pool and he draped one around her it fell to her knees and swallowed the rest of her.
He carried her wrapped in the linen back into the house where he supervised her dressing. Adjusting the fabric of her blouse just so, helping her maneuver into her skirt, were things that seemed to give him pleasure. A possessive gleam lit his eyes as they walked into the village munching apples he had liberated from a nearby tree.
People stopped and stared at the couple as they made their way to the tavern. Anya smiled and nodded at people she knew, accepting the startled looks she noticed as she passed. After all, they didn’t know her. In a reflex she didn’t even know she was developing, she reached out to twine her fingers with Orthias’s. He squeezed her hand gently and tugged her into the gloom of the tavern.
Anya was astonished. Every table was a hand-carved masterpiece flanked by two matching benches.
“When did you do this?”
“Before you arrived and after you left for the last two months. I delivered them yesterday, while you were napping.”
“Anya! Orthias! Welcome. And congratulations! I didn’t think I would see you for a while.” John came toward them and absorbed Anya’s altered appearance. He held out his hand to Orthias.
“Minya would be here, but she is with her sister. She went into labor last night and wild horses couldn’t have stopped Minya from going to her side.”
“Anya, you look…great. I had no idea that you were so…fit.” John flushed as his eyes lingered on her bust and narrow waist.
Anya did not take offence. She had watched him flirt with the wenches since the day he hired her, but he was all talk and no action. Minya would skin him alive if she ever found out he had touched one of the girls.
“Ok John, since Orthias won’t tell me, you have to. What is all this furniture doing here?”
John looked at her closely to determine if she was joking with him. She raised her brow over one eye and waited.
“Orthias sold the furniture to me for cash. It’s your dowry. And with the addition of the new furnishings people are coming from villages over one day away to eat in the tavern and stay at the inn.”
“Dowry?”
“Well, I figured that you wouldn’t agree to marry me if you had nothing. So I arranged for you to have twenty gold pieces as a dowry.”
“Orthias, I can’t believe you would do something like that.” Anya fixed a scowl on her face and watched his expression falter for a moment. “To go behind my back and sell furniture for cash so that you could give it to me, so that I can give it to you when we wed. That is despicable.”
She turned to walk out of the tave
rn, hiding a grin. She heard him sputter and call her name behind her, but she kept on walking. When she had exited the tavern, she ducked quickly to the side and waited.
He came rushing out the swinging doors and she grabbed him by the arm. He stopped in his tracks, began to sputter explaining his actions in a fury of garbled words. Laughing at his discomfiture, she hushed him by the expedience of grabbing his neck and pulling his head down to hers.
She locked her lips on his, her laughter quickly stilling as she drew her tongue along his lips to coax them to part. He quickly caught on, and took control of the kiss, lifting her up to meet him so that he didn’t need to stoop.
“You only had to ask you know,” was the only thing that came to her mind as she came up for air.
“It was a lot more fun this way.” With a silly grin he joined their lips and kissed her once again. When they parted, flushed and happy, they noted the large collection of villagers standing and staring in open astonishment. John stood in the door of the tavern watching them in amazement.
“Do you think that we have given them enough to see for the day?” Orthias was blushing slightly as he took in the gaping faces.
“I think so. Let’s go.” She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “And I have an urge to test your self control once again. This time, your hands will be tied to the headboard…”
Lust flared in his eyes as he swept her into his arms and carried her off. As he walked back to the path into the woods, her laughter trailed behind them.
Laughter that was cut short when he asked her, “Did I ever mention that Kenyon raises imps?”
A sharp slapping noise echoed from the path, and birds scattered at the resounding “Ow!” that followed. A giggle followed that last interaction which was cut off by a kiss as they disappeared into the forest.
And they lived happily ever after.
About the Author
A
n obsessed crafter who hates housework, Viola has been interested in inflicting her writing on others for years. She finds enjoyment in watching others, and taking notes.
www.violagrace.com
