by Brynn Paulin
This past week, she’d commented that it had been a mild winter indeed. She’d been too busy submitting to him to paint the land with frost and snow. That night, they’d left the fortress, and Wyn had taken him to see the countryside as she’d delivered a healthy dose of storms to the land.
In the early hours of morning, they always lay in bed beside one another, inches yet miles apart. When he’d woken a few hours ago, his body pressed to hers and his hand creeping toward her bare skin, he’d decided it was time to get up.
It hurt him that she didn’t love or trust him enough to make their union permanent. Tonight, he’d ask her to return him to the village before spring descended and it was too late for her to travel.
“Kai,” Wyn said, entering the hall and yawning. “You’re up early.”
“I almost touched you,” he told her flatly, without offering details. She knew he was angry with her over not giving him the shard. He wasn’t going to argue with her on the day he’d ask her to take him out of here.
“There is another chamber,” she murmured. Neither of them wanted that. Until now, he’d refused to leave her alone while they slept. He’d wanted to be near the woman he’d come to love. The last time she’d offered that option, he’d commanded her not to mention it again.
He shook his head. “You know what I want. Why—”
She held up her hand, cutting him off. Her head cocked. “Someone’s coming.”
“Who? How do you know?” In all the time he’d been here, no one had ventured nearby.
“I don’t know. Several people… A hunting party perhaps.” Her brow furrowed, she hurried from the room. Kai rushed after her. She didn’t pause until she’d reached the highest turret of the fortress and she stepped outside into a driving wind.
“There.” She pointed. “About a mile away.”
“You heard that?” Kai squinted his eyes to see the tiny figures barely visible to him through the snow.
“They won’t come near. The wall will keep them out.” She indicated the band of snow and wind that had thickened around the fortress. “It will disorient them and turn them in circles until they’re far away from here.”
Too bad. He would have appreciated talking to the men.
“That girl is with them,” Wyn rasped out.
“Who?”
“Gerda. The one your family was forcing you to wed.”
“Gerda?” He looked again at the figures. What on earth would she be doing out there?
Wyn nodded then went back inside.
“I want to go down there.”
“Why?” she asked sharply. He tried not to notice the hurt in her eyes.
“I need to leave. I can’t stay here, chancing that I’ll accidentally touch you every night. I can’t be here—” He cut himself off before he told her how much it hurt not to be able to be fully one with her. He hoped she’d call his bluff, though he wasn’t bluffing. In fact, he couldn’t be more serious. Maybe if he were gone, she’d understand how much they needed to be together.
She stared at him. “I thought…”
“You were never meant to be submissive to me. You won’t give all of yourself over.”
“I can’t…”
“I know, but it’s what I need most.”
Her head bowed for a moment, and when she looked up at him again, she appeared as if he’d ripped the very soul from her. Her eyes glassy, she locked her jaw. A moment later, she disappeared in a swirl of ice that battered the room and whipped at his clothes.
In the deadly silence that followed, Kai wondered if he’d done the right thing. He had. He knew he had. To think otherwise would send him down a path of destruction—well, faster down that path. He was already well on the way.
With heavy heart and feet, he headed up to the bedchamber he shared with her. He’d intended to get his things then realized all he had was the box of toys they’d shared. He opened the lid and gazed at the items nestled in the box. These things wouldn’t be shared with anyone else. There was no need to take them.
Going to the wardrobe, he requested a piece of parchment and a quill with ink to pen her a note. He supposed she could read, though he’d never seen a book in the fortress. Due to his father’s insistence and the work in Peter’s shop, he knew how to write as well as read. In minutes, the message had been inscribed. As soon as it dried, he folded it in half and placed it atop the devices in the chest, then shut the lid. One day, when the loneliness hit her, she’d get it.
He took up his coat, hat and gloves. Walking through the fortress for the last time, he headed for the huge iron-reinforced doors.
The magical snow band would grab him as soon as he stepped outside and would propel him away from the castle. At the door, he turned back to the empty hall. He didn’t know where Wyn had disappeared to. He supposed this was easier than a tearful goodbye.
“I love you, Wyn,” he said. “I wish you could have trusted me.”
* * * *
From a high window that hid her from view, Wyn watched Kai trudge from the castle. His final words, carried to her on the wind, echoed in her heart. I love you. But she hadn’t been enough.
The wall protecting the fortress latched onto him as soon as he stepped outside. Her heart breaking, she held out her hand and guided him quickly through it and toward the search party that had come for him. As soon as Gerda saw him, she cried out and ran across the short distance. She plowed into Kai’s chest and her arms flew around his shoulders.
Wyn blinked away the tears blurring her vision and watched her lover. He didn’t push Gerda away. He hugged her as if she was the only thing holding him to earth. His face pressed into Gerda’s neck and he didn’t let go. His arms shifted to slide inside Gerda’s coat where Wyn knew he’d find the girl’s warm, curvy body.
Wyn turned away. A last fit of anger rose behind her and sent a burst of winter fury after the group to drive them down the mountainside to the village. She didn’t need to witness it. She could control the season without seeing it. As soon as she felt them move, she sank to the ground and curled into a ball. She was done for the season. Spring could arrive early. Wyn wasn’t casting one more snowflake. In fact, she might never again.
Chapter Seven
“Get up!”
Wyn pulled a pillow over her head and ignored the grinding voice that interrupted her sleep. “Go away,” she begged.
“I will not.” The blanket was tugged away from the bed. “It’s January and your ass should have been out of bed and wrecking havoc across the countryside over a month ago.”
She cracked open one eye and stared up at the redheaded bitch who was dragging her from bed and into consciousness. She didn’t want to be awake. When she was awake, she thought of Kai. Worse, she thought of Kai with Garda’s arms around him and his face pressed into her.
“You’re a mess.”
Only a sister could be so kind. She glared at Autumn, wishing she’d just go away. There was only one method. She has to bring on the winter freeze and drive the wretch from the land. Autumn was right. She was a mess. She’d completely ignored the Southern portion of the world this year, content to let them have autumn until spring arrived.
“You know there are only so many leaves to go around,” her sister complained. “The trees have waited around ugly and bare for months. I can only bring on so much drizzly, gray rain.” She paused in her tirade. “What’s wrong with you? You never sleep like this. Usually, you hide out in this monstrosity and play during our seasons.”
“Nothing that concerns you.” Wyn swung her feet from bed and knocked her ankle against the chest she’d moved to the floor before she’d climbed into bed. Kai’s chest. She sighed and stood. “I’m up. I’m fine. Snow is on the way.”
“Hmph.” Autumn disappeared in a whirl of crackling leaves. She’d always been grouchy when overtired.
Stretching, Wyn moved to the window. The barren land below repulsed her and she sent out a blast of weak snow to give at least minimal cover to th
e land surrounding her fortress. She’d dredge up the will to do more throughout the day. She was a stronger woman than this. The fact that she’d let her heartbreak over Kai send her into such a spiral disgusted her.
Angrily, she sped through her home, giving it its annual winter refreshing. Ice was patched, any trace of the other seasons was removed, the wall around the fortress was bolstered. Winter was late, but once she got started, it would be a season to remember for a hundred years to come. Kai would rue the day he’d left her. The village would be so thickly coated with ice it would be mid-summer before they saw bare ground. He could cuddle with that girl all he wanted, and she wouldn’t warm him. It would be too cold.
The thought of Kai with Gerda brought her up short. Had they married in the months she’d hidden? Could Wyn have convinced him to stay with her? Was she to blame? She had the means of keeping him here. She had only to fully submit and to allow him to become her consort.
No!
She was glad now that she hadn’t given him the shard. He’d left at the first opportunity. An eternity with her would have been too much for him. They would have hated each other before a decade had passed.
Bent on her plan for total world icing, she climbed the tower and stood on the precipice. The world was gray around her, a mire of gloom. Surely Autumn could have done better. She was the most colorful of Wyn’s sisters. Perhaps she just didn’t have it in her, much like Wyn. Had a man broken her too?
From habit, she focused on the village and sought Kai’s presence. He wasn’t there. Who cared? She didn’t want to see him. Going inside, she considered finding another companion for the season. It would distract her, and maybe, he’d know how to use the toys Kai had left. Her stomach knotted. She couldn’t imagine being intimate with anyone but the man she loved. Oh how she loved him.
Going back to her chamber, she sat on the floor next to the bed and leaned against the side. She wasn’t going to sleep. Her sister was right. She had a job to do. She couldn’t stay in bed. Absently, she stroked the chest, tracing the ironwork with her fingers. It was all she had of Kai. Could she use his obsidian column and pretend it was him and, just for a few minutes, forget she was alone. Or perhaps put on the clamps and envision him commanding her.
She shook her head. It would be empty without him. Still, she flipped open the lid. She wanted to touch what he’d touched. She’d thought she was fine in her ice world, but she needed touch as much as he did.
Her eyes widened when she saw the parchment inside the box. Hands shaking, she opened it and read what he’d written.
My dearest Wynter,
With a heavy heart, I leave you today. You might not read this for years, but even if you do not see this letter until I am an old man on my deathbed, know that I love you. I will love you my entire life, and when I die, it will be your name that last passes my lips. I would have happily spent eternity at your side. Instead, I’ll have to live with you only in my heart. Being fully united with you is all I’ve ever wanted.
Yours, now and forever,
Kai
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had to find him. Normally, she’d search for the happiest man standing amidst the snow, but since she hadn’t sent it, that wouldn’t be possible. How would she find him?
The wardrobe. She hadn’t mentioned to Kai it could work in reverse. She’d never really used it that way, and she’d been too much of a coward to chance that he would. Opening the door, she stepped inside.
Please do not let me find him in Gerda’s bed!
She closed her eyes and ordered, “Take me to Kai!”
The first thing she heard was screams. The second was a stampede of feet running away from her. With a sigh, she opened her eyes.
“Discretion isn’t your strongest skill,” Kai said drily.
Her eyes drank him in. He looked sad, his face drawn and tired, but he was the sweetest sight she’d ever seen. “I didn’t think you’d be in a crowd,” she replied.
“It’s Epiphany. You’ve just landed next to the manger.”
She glanced around, seeing the stable setup and vaguely remember the human’s holiday traditions. “Your…wife isn’t with you?”
His features hardened. “I don’t have a wife. I don’t even have a lover. After you…” He scowled. “How could you think that!”
“You left and went right into Gerda’s arms!” she retorted.
“Because I was starved for touch!” He took a deep breath. “Why are you here?”
Her head bowed. It wasn’t enough. She had to show him before all the eyes that were peeking through the cracks of windows and doors of the nearby homes. Praying he’d accept her submission, she knelt before him. Her head leaned against his thighs.
“I made a mistake.”
“And?”
“I want to be with you forever.”
“And?” The edge that had filled his voice now softened, and hope filled her.
“I want to submit fully to you. And have you as my Master.”
His hand landed on her head. “Stand up, Wyn.” He wore gloves and as soon as she’d risen, he cupped her face. “When was the last time you brushed your hair?”
She shrugged, remembering that she hadn’t even changed from her sleeping rail once she’d woken. She must look a mess.
“You’ll let me brush it?” he asked.
“Yes, Master,” she replied.
“Then paddle your lovely behind with the hairbrush.”
She quivered at the thought. “Oh yes.”
“Take us home, Wyn. Make me your consort, and I’ll make you mine.”
* * * *
Kai looked up at Wyn as she entered the room. She’d left him in the bedchamber and gone to retrieve the shard from where it had been locked away. It was endearing that she was in such disarray. She looked like his insides had felt since leaving her.
“This won’t be pleasant,” she said. “Some say this comes from a troll’s mirror, but that’s just legend. It is pure winter. It will be painful, but that will pass quickly. It must go into your eye.”
She sat on the edge of the bed where he lay and opened her hand.
In disbelief, Kai looked at the tiny glass-like sliver in her palm. That was all it would take?
“I’m ready.” He was ready for whatever was necessary to be with her. Still, he tried not to instinctively wince at the idea of it going into his eye.
“You’ll have to hold open your eye. I can’t touch your skin until after.”
“Which one?”
“Your left. Nearest your heart.”
Taking a deep breath to bolster himself for the moments to follow, he pushed open the lids of his left eye, exposing it to her. He stared at the ceiling, hoping not to flinch as her fingers came near.
“I love you,” she said. Before she’d finished speaking, her hand obscured the vision in that eye, and pain arrowed through his body. Like the time he’d almost been frozen when he’d touched her, ice flowed through him, seeming to freeze his limbs and racking his being with agony.
“Wyn!” he cried out. Was he dying after all?
“I’m right here. Shh…just a moment longer. I promise.”
Almost as if her words had made it so, the ice receded and warmth flooded through him. Blinking his eyes and feeling no irritation from the shard that had pierced into him, he turned his head to look at the woman he’d spend eternity with. Where once there had been the whitest of skin, she now glowed like the picture of health. Her once white-blonde hair now fell in thick, gold waves over her shoulders. Her lips were rosy pink, and he could see the shadow of her dark nipples through her cotton rail.
Smiling, she shed her nightdress and knelt on the carpet. “What do you wish of me?”
He was already pulling off his shirt and shoving off his pants. “Get up here. I want to feel you against me.”
He heard her getting something from beside the bed, then she was climbing onto the mattress. Without hesitation, he pulled her to him. He groa
ned at the warm contact of her breasts to his chest.
Rolling so she was beneath him, he captured her mouth and plundered the depths. His tongue thrust with all the lonely desperation he’d felt while they’d been parted. Filled with need, he jousted with her tongue, tasting every part of her.
Wyn groaned, arching beneath him. She parted her legs to cradle him between. Her pussy rubbed against his cock, the lava-like heat so different from the iciness of the past.
Shifting from her mouth, he kissed a path down to her breasts. Wyn cried out as he nipped and pulled at the tips. He loved her reactions, loved that he could have her bare flesh against his tongue.
“Can we use these?” she asked. He glanced over to see the clamps in her hand. She liked the pain, and they could explore that forever.
Rising to his knees, he took them from her. After opening the two bars, he pulled each of her nipples through a device then tightened the screws to the chorus of her cries.
“You’re a very naughty girl,” he told her. “Winter never came this year.”
“I think you can make her come,” she replied.
He shook his head, laughing at her rejoinder. “See…naughty, naughty, naughty. How should I punish you, my little slave?”
She bit her lip, but it didn’t hide her smile. “Fuck me until I beg you to stop.”
“I think you’ll suck my cock, and you’ll get that spanking. Later.”
“Whatever you say. You’re going to fuck me first?” she asked hopefully. “Master,” she added.
The thought of being inside her was coming close to undoing him. He had to possess her. He didn’t hesitate. Parting her, he pushed his cock against her creamy opening and slid right in. Her passage was like fire and so tight as it squeezed him. Reaching between them, he pinched her clit and groaned as her folds immediately grew even tighter. Grasping her wrists, he pressed them over her head then pounded into her pussy in a relentless rhythm that had her screaming and twisting beneath him. The caress of her skin against his enflamed him.
“Yes!” she cried. “Oh yes. Master, fuck me hard!”