by Rachel Red
I sat, considering his words, my heart softening. And actually softening a great deal. But then I remembered something.
"Hey. Even if this is all true, this is so unfair. You say you didn't tell me all this because you were kind of embarrassed, but on our wedding night, I told you about my inexperience and about my fears about not pleasing you, even though I was embarrassed. That would have been a great time for you to share all this with me. We could have been embarrassed together."
Victor winced. "You're absolutely right. I made my first blunder as a husband then, and it was a big one. Please believe me... I'm so sorry."
Fuming, I stood up from the couch and began pacing across the cream-colored rugs in the living room. "I actually don't know what to believe anymore. I actually don't know what to believe anymore, because you couldn't even be honest with me on our wedding night. I don't even know whether or not to believe if all that you just told me is the truth."
"Kate, it is; I swear it. The reason I haven't made love to you is because I'm extremely in love with you; your body drives me literally half-mad; and I'm terrified of pushing you away with the intensity of my passion once it's finally released."
I stopped pacing and looked him directly in the eyes, my hands on my hips. "Oh, is that a fact?"
"It is a fact. A very, very... intensely frustrating fact."
"Oh, yeah? Well, then, prove it."
"I-"
"Prove it!"
"All right, then. I will. But I've warned you."
"Good!"
I fully realized my retort didn't make a whole lot of sense. But I didn't care.
"Good! Prove to me how turned on I make you, because I don't believe you!"
Suddenly, Victor rose from the couch, crossed the distance between us in three long strides, and then took me by the face and kissed me. With an intensity that left me nearly breathless when he pulled away several seconds later.
I looked up at him, head spinning a little. "Still not convinced. Try harder."
He kissed me again, moving his hands to my bottom, pulling me against his already-rock-hard manhood. When he pulled away this time, his voice was a husky growl. "Convinced yet?"
I shook my head, his woodsy, masculine scent filling my nostrils. "No. Again."
He kissed me a third time, parting my lips and exploring my mouth with his tongue. I moaned into his mouth, pressing myself against his hardness. He slid his hands down the back of my jeans and underwear and began caressing my bare bottom, his hands perceptibly shaking.
This time, I broke the kiss, an ache developing low in my belly. "Please. Bedroom. Now. Still not quite convinced."
He scooped me up as if I were as light as a paper doll and carried me into the bedroom, kissing me the entire time. After setting me down on the bed, he began hurriedly lighting the candles on the dresser, filling the room with soft, golden light. The task didn't take him long at all, but by the time he turned around, I was already missing my shirt, jeans, and socks. I'd ripped everything off and threw it all on the floor, desperate to feel his strong hands all over my skin. He took one look and me and began ripping his own clothes off, taking his gaze off me for only the briefest fractions of seconds. But when he got down to his boxer briefs, I sprang up and took his hands to stop him.
"Can I?"
He grunted his permission, his eyes glassy and his breathing heavy. I crawled off the bed, stood before him, and took the sides of his underwear in my hands. With my gaze locked on his front, I pulled them down slowly, my own breathing becoming a little heavy. I sucked in my breath when I saw his fully erect manhood. Thick and long, it pointed skyward, straight as a steel rod. Before I even fully realized what I was doing, I wrapped my hand around it, making him throw back his head, groaning. I moved my hand up and down the length of it a few times, eliciting an even louder groan. His hands trembling even more than they had been before, Victor pulled down my underwear, and I stepped out of them while he did the same with his own before unfastening my bra, taking it off, and letting it drop to the floor.
We now both stood completely naked, our breathing becoming increasingly fast and ragged. Victor surveyed my full breasts and hardened nipples with a growl. I continued stroking his manhood while watching the action of my hand, the ache low in my belly intensifying. The bud at the center of my womanhood began throbbing. Victor moved his hands to my breasts and began circling my nipples with his thumbs, the sensation making me whimper with pleasure.
"Now touch me lower. Please."
He moved a hand to the swollen feminine folds between my thighs and began probing my slickness with his long, strong fingers. When he located my aching sensitive bud and began slowly stroking it, I released his hardness, throwing my head back and crying out. After probably not even half a minute, I could hardly take it anymore, the ache low in my belly becoming nearly unbearable.
"Please. I need you inside me now." The next words out of my mouth kind of tumbled out before I could even think about them, shocking me with their boldness. "I want you to take me from behind. I want to be on my hands and knees."
Sometimes late at night, in bed by myself, I had fantasized about being taken in this position.
His breathing now coming out more as a series of fast, low growls, Victor guided me onto the bed and climbed up behind me. Too desperate to feel him inside me to even be the slightest bit self-conscious, I raised myself on all fours, arching my back, presenting him with the parted lips of my womanhood. Needing no further invitation, he positioned the head of his shaft at my slick opening and then slid in with one long, powerful thrust, groaning. I cried out, reveling in the sensation of being so completely and intimately filled. After pausing for a few moments to let me get used to his size and hardness, Victor gripped my hips and began thrusting with long, slow, powerful strokes, nearly pulling himself out all the way before plunging into my slickness once again.
But before long, his thrusts became shorter and faster. I moaned with pleasure, my breasts bouncing. The candlelight created a shadow of our joined bodies on one of the stone walls, and I watched the erotic image for a little while before lowering my face and elbows to the bed, panting, raising my bottom even higher in the air. Several minutes later, I felt myself approaching climax, and at the same time, Victor slowed his pace, grunting, his movements becoming a little less smooth. But he didn't stop. And with coordination I never even dreamed was possible, he reached around and began stroking my sensitive bud while he continued thrusting. The sensation of being stroked and filled at once almost immediately sent me over the edge, and I cried out, my most intimate muscles clenching and releasing around his rock-hard shaft. With a long, loud growl, he thrust into me one final time, deep, shuddering with his own climax.
After several seconds resting with his body draped over my back, Victor rolled off me and pulled me into his arms.
"Convinced yet?"
I didn't answer right away, still panting, trying to catch my breath. "For now. But ask me again in ten minutes."
We made love several more times that night, each time in a different position. Before the final time, Victor guided me to lie on my back, then spread my legs, and positioned his face right above my feminine mound. When he gently parted my outer lips and began flicking his tongue across my most sensitive spot, I moaned probably longer and louder than I ever had in my life, clutching and twisting the bedsheets. Later, he and I agreed that this was probably an activity that we should engage in at least once daily, to help in my convincing.
We didn't fall asleep until nearly five in the morning. The last thing I said to Victor was that the intensity of his passion hadn't pushed me away at all, and that in fact, I thought I could get very, very used to it. He tightened his strong arms around me, twining his long fingers with mine.
I didn't wake up until very late in the morning, probably around eleven. The bedroom light was on, and Victor was rummaging around in the dresser, fully clothed, somewhat to my disappointment.
I
sat up. "Good morning. I-"
"You need to get dressed." He turned from the dresser, leaned across the bed, and handed me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "I'm sending you back to Haverbrook."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Victor's expression was completely serious.
"I'm sending you back to Haverbrook right now."
I sat clutching my jeans and t-shirt, completely uncomprehending, my blood turning to ice water. "Didn't I please you? I thought I-"
"That's absolute insanity. You pleased me on such a level that I can hardly even...." He paused, his gaze falling from my face to my bare breasts. "Comprehend." He swallowed, not moving his gaze, his breathing becoming a litter faster than it already was. But then he suddenly gave his head a quick shake and returned his gaze to my face. "So, no. That's definitely not it."
"Then, why are you-"
"I've just spoken to Sam. The Oppressors are coming. An army of them. Maybe all two hundred or so of them. They plan to attack us in a way they've never done before, a blitz attack with all of them dropping from the sky at once. But with this knowledge from one of my scouts, we'll be waiting for them outside the mountains, and we aim to beat them back, killing as many as we can. But there's a chance, however small, that some of them may enter Stonebrook. And I will not let you remain here if there's even a one-in-a-trillion chance one of them could come upon you and harm you. We only have an hour until they'll be here. I'm going to have Sam fly you back to Haverbrook. Tell the townsfolk whatever you like about why you're back temporarily. Just make up some story. Maybe that you've been allowed a brief visit home because you've been so terribly homesick. But don't tell them anything else. Now, the clock is ticking. So get dressed as fast as you can. I'll return for you in ten minutes."
And with that, Victor gave me a kiss and practically flew out of our rooms.
I jumped out of bed and dashed into the master bathroom, shaking. After quickly relieving myself, I turned on the shower and hopped in, a decided feeling of being very un-fresh after the long night of lovemaking rising above even my feeling of fear about the Oppressors. I washed with lightning fast speed and was out and toweling off within two minutes. I'd brushed my teeth and thrown on my clothes less than two minutes after that.
I stood in the living room, hair dripping, waiting for Victor to return. My mind raced. But I didn't have much time to think. He soon flung open the front door, came in, and grabbed my hand.
"Let's go."
"No." I pulled my hand from his grasp. "No. Stonebrook is my home now, and I'm not leaving. I'm staying here with everyone else."
"Kate, Sam is waiting to-"
"No. I haven't lived a very brave life. Deciding to volunteer myself as the bride was probably the first brave thing I've ever done. I was scared, but I did it. Then I was scared about the Mingling, but I did it. I'm going to continue living my life this way, for better or worse. I'm going to continue being brave. I'm going to stay here. And I'm not changing my mind."
Victor studied me for a long moment or two, muscles working in his strong jaw. "All right. You'll go in the great hall with the other women and the children. There will be guards outside the doors."
A short while later, I stood with Julia in the great hall while others filed in. Some women spoke to each other in panicked voices, talking over each other, their speech sharp and fast; some women remained silent, their expressions masks of shock; and some women held crying children, their faces white as sheets.
I turned to Julia and spoke in a low voice. "Victor said there's a chance, although slim, that some Oppressors could get in here, under the mountains. And if there's even a chance of that happening, I think we need weapons."
"But there will be at least a dozen guards outside the doors."
"Guards can be injured or disabled. And there are kids in here to protect. I really think we need weapons."
"But... what kind of weapons? And would they even do any good? Oppressors can only be temporarily stunned from any injury inflicted by a human. They can only be killed by being hit with fire from a Keeper's mouth in dragon form, and then stabbed in the eye by a dragon claw or other sharp thing."
"I know. But it doesn't even matter if we can't directly kill an Oppressor ourselves. If we can get some sort of weapons, we can at least temporarily disable or slow them, buying us a little time until a Keeper arrives."
Julia nodded. "Okay. Well, what kind of weapons should we try to get? Like knives, or-"
"I just had an idea. Are there any crossbows in Stonebrook? Like, anywhere?"
"Five in Sam's and my rooms alone. He uses them to hunt wild game in human form. I don't really know how to use them, though. And I don't think any of the other women here do, either. Do you?"
"Well-"
"Oh my gosh, I forgot! You won the Haverbrook crossbow competition three years in a row when we were teenagers! I just totally forgot. And with your last name …"
I gave her a little grin. "Yep. With a name like Archer, my family always took archery pretty seriously. I know I can defend us if need be. I can stand by the doors and protect us. Just on the off-off-off-chance that something were to happen to the guards."
"I'll go get you a crossbow and some arrows."
A short while later, Julia returned, just as the guards were preparing to shut the hall doors.
One of them glanced at what she carried. "You won't need all that. More power to you, though, I guess, if it makes you ladies feel better."
Once the doors had been shut, most everyone went to sit at the dining tables, murmuring. But Julia and I remained standing, and her gaze went to the large, high windows carved into one rock-walled side of the hall. Strips of metal had been drilled or fastened over the windows earlier so that Oppressors couldn't get in. Scaffolding still stood by one of the windows.
Julia turned to me. "Let's climb up and watch the battle for a little bit. I want to see Sam fight in dragon form. I want to make sure he's okay."
"How sturdy do you think that scaffolding is, though?"
"Very. I saw five two-hundred pound men on it at once a while ago."
"Okay. But if it starts wobbling even a little, we're coming down."
It actually was very sturdy scaffolding. Julia and I climbed up it, and it didn't even wobble or sway at all.
Once atop it, we peered through the metal strips covering the window in front of us. I spotted Victor in front of a massive group of Keeper men, only several hundred feet away in a clearing area at the foot of the mountains. He appeared to be giving a speech. Sam stood near him, on his right. Presently, everyone spread out and, in the blink of an eye, shifted into dragons. Victor was massive and dark, charcoal-colored, like his eyes. His wingspan was at least thirty feet. His enormous claws, probably each a foot long, glinted in the sun. He launched himself into the air, breathing fire, and all the other dragons did the same, though none of them was able to breathe flames that traveled as far as Victor's did. If I didn't know him, if he weren't my own husband, the sight of him would have been absolutely terrifying.
Julia made a low whistle, still peering out the window. "I'm not trying to be shallow in the midst of a pretty serious situation, but my God... how they shift into dragons like that... that's so hot, isn't it?"
I couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. It is."
She glanced at me, giggling herself, but then looked at me again, her expression sobering. "Not trying to be shallow again, but your cheeks are really pink today. Exactly the same way mine get the day after Sam and I have been up very, very, very late if you get me. Did you and Victor...."
My face suddenly became hot, and I was sure my cheeks were getting even pinker.
I fought a grin. "Yeah. Like, over, and over, and over. And it was...." I exhaled in a fluttery rush. "I don't even know if incredible is even the right word. Maybe absolutely mind-blowing beyond my wildest fantasies would be a better way to describe it."
Julia smiled, her big brown eyes twinkling. "I'm so happy for you. And just wa
it until tonight. Post-fight lovemaking is just... the best. Some of the other wives and I think it makes the men just... even more primal or something. Wilder."
The thought of Victor even more primal than he'd been the previous night made me exhale another fluttery little breath. I didn't have long to think about that scenario, though. Within moments, we heard a bizarre, screechy sort of shrieking and peered out the window again. Dark shapes that I knew must be the Oppressors were descending from puffy white clouds over Victor and the Keepers.
Julia shuddered. "Yeah, they shriek like that. Isn't it terrible? I hate that sound. Alexander, their leader, is the loudest. If you see an Oppressor that has kind of a greenish halo sort of thing around him, that's him. He glows green when he fights."
At that very moment, I spotted him descending from the sky. But he wasn't heading straight for Victor and the other dragons, like the other Oppressors were. He zipped past, avoiding the whole scene.
I swallowed. "He's kind of heading in the direction of the mountain door that leads to one of the hallways that leads to this hall."
Julia didn't answer right away. "There's guards outside that door, though. They'll shift and protect us. And guards outside the hall doors, too, of course."
