“I was afraid you weren’t coming,” Aiden blurted out and then regretted it. She didn’t want to seem like some nervous beginner, even though that was exactly what she was.
“I’m sorry. It took me longer than I expected.” Kathryn smiled sweetly, as if she hadn’t noticed how anxious Aiden was. “I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous of me that I dressed for bed.”
Aiden looked down and was reminded that she was still in the clothes she’d worn to dinner. “No, that’s fine. I…I wasn’t sure if I should get undressed or…” Her voice trailed off when she felt the warmth of Kathryn’s hand on the center of her chest.
“I can help you get undressed.”
Aiden’s pulse rate increased exponentially as she watched Kathryn drop her velvet robe over a nearby chair and then return to face her. She could see that Kathryn was nude beneath the sheer fabric of the loose fitting nightgown. The fabric clung to the sensuous curve of her hips and then draped loosely from the swell of her breasts. Aiden swallowed and tried to focus on Kathryn’s face.
“Let’s get in bed.” Aiden felt Kathryn’s fingers moving next to her skin as she unfastened the buttons of her trousers and pushed them down until they pooled at her feet. She stepped out of them, and then Kathryn assisted her in pulling her shirt off over her head. She was now only wearing boxy undershorts that were tied at the waist.
Kathryn realized that Aiden was allowing her to take the lead. She had to fight the urge to throw Aiden back onto the bed and ravish her. Hopefully, there would be time for that later. This time, Aiden’s first time, she needed to focus on going slow. This would certainly test her self-control since she’d done little else but imagine making love to Aiden since the second time she’d seen her with her shirt off bathing beside that stream.
She put her hand in the center of Aiden’s chest and gently pushed her back onto the bed. As Aiden sat watching, she pulled the drawstring at the neck of her nightgown untied and let the sheer fabric slowly glide off her shoulders onto the floor. Aiden stared, wide-eyed, at her teasing display.
They pulled the covering back and slid into the cool sheets. Kathryn wondered if Aiden had ever slept on a feather mattress before. The wonder on her face indicated that she hadn’t. Or maybe that expression had to do with other things.
Kathryn wanted to rid Aiden of her last bit of clothing, but she also wanted to give Aiden a little time to adjust. She snuggled next to Aiden and let her fingertips trace the contour of Aiden’s broad shoulder, across her ribs, and then down to her pronounced hipbone. Then she followed the waistline of her undershorts; she felt Aiden’s stomach muscles shudder as her fingertips touched skin.
“Don’t be afraid. We won’t do anything you don’t want to.” Kathryn spoke softly as she slowly tugged the knot of drawstring at the front of her undergarment.
“I’m not afraid.”
“But you’re trembling.”
“That’s not fear. That’s…something else.”
Kathryn smiled. She left the drawstring to hang untied and let the shorts stay for the moment. Right now, she needed to focus on Aiden’s mouth. She moved partially on top of Aiden and kissed her, as she continued to explore the landscape of Aiden’s chest and torso. Her small breasts came to sharp points as Kathryn pressed her palm on top of them, massaged them tenderly, and then let her hand drift down across Aiden’s clenched stomach muscles. She sensed underneath the taut muscle a building fire. Aiden’s skin was warm to the touch.
Kathryn wanted to become intimately acquainted with the topography of Aiden’s body and intended to study its secret spaces in depth. Kathryn was emboldened by the knowledge that she was the first to explore this sensual terrain. Her desire was to tread gently for now and focus on reading the signals Aiden’s body was sending her.
Aiden felt Kathryn’s fingers at the waistband of her shorts. She teased them across her hyper-sensitive stomach just before she slipped her fingers inside Aiden’s shorts and teased at the stiff patch of curls at the apex of her thighs. Aiden made no move to stop her, so she traveled farther south to explore the place between Aiden’s legs.
Aiden felt unmasked, as if her chest was a dark cavern of need; the need to be touched, the need to be held, the need to be seen. Aiden felt the muscles in her thighs stiffen as Kathryn continued to caress her.
She’d touched herself before, but to be touched by Kathryn was something else entirely. She had no control over her body’s response to Kathryn. She wondered if Kathryn sensed the power she wielded over Aiden in this moment. The instant Kathryn’s skin had pressed against hers she’d burst into flame.
Kathryn kissed her deeply, and with the fingers of her other hand, fisted Aiden’s hair. She filled Aiden’s mouth with her tongue, and Aiden imagined Kathryn’s tongue in other places. Aiden moaned against Kathryn’s mouth. A tremendous, magnificent rush began to build and pulse through her body emanating from Kathryn’s touch between her legs. The tension in her body was excruciating. Every nerve and every fiber of every muscle was strained, pulled painfully taut. Release would be her only salvation, and only Kathryn could release her. She stood at the edge of infinity prepared to be splintered into fragments and cast into infinite nothingness should Kathryn pull away.
Kathryn sensed Aiden’s rising climax. Aiden’s hands tightened on her ass, pulling their bodies firmly together. Aiden’s hips matched the insistent caress of her fingers between Aiden’s legs as they moved in a sensual dance, grinding their bodies into a singular exploration for release.
“Oh, Kathryn.” Aiden broke the kiss and buried her face in Kathryn’s neck. She wrapped her arms around Kathryn and held tightly.
“That’s it, let me take you there.” Kathryn increased the rhythm of her caress. She felt Aiden tighten around her fingers and the strength of her body as she shuddered beneath her.
Aiden muffled a cry against Kathryn’s neck, and as the orgasm rippled through her body, she trembled in Kathryn’s arms. For Kathryn, this was just a taste. She wanted more. She wanted to be inside Aiden, and even beyond that, she wanted Aiden inside her. She desired possession and to be possessed. She pressed her lips to Aiden’s forehead.
Kathryn focused on her face as Aiden released a shaking breath and let her head drop back onto the pillow. Her eyes glistened beneath heavy lids. Kathryn stroked her face and then trailed her fingers down the center of Aiden’s chest, lingering momentarily in the hollow space above her pounding heart.
“Can we take these off?” She tugged at Aiden’s undershorts.
Aiden simply nodded. Aiden pushed the shorts over her hips and then kicked them free somewhere under the covers. Warmth and desire coursed through her body when she draped her thigh over Aiden’s. The sensation of skin on skin sent shivers up Kathryn’s arm and along the fine hairs at the back of her neck. Aiden’s body was exquisite.
Intellectually, Kathryn knew that they were apart from one another, distinct, separated by their own experiences, but she felt sure this sensual communion brought them nearer. The connection she felt for Aiden was untested, but strong. Kathryn smiled down at Aiden, braced as she was on her elbows.
“How are you feeling about all of this? Is this okay?” Kathryn punctuated the question with a light kiss.
Aiden guessed that Kathryn was trying to be solicitous knowing it was her first time with a woman, but she couldn’t imagine anything that Kathryn might do that she wouldn’t enjoy. Even if that meant doing nothing except holding each other, even if that meant doing everything, whatever everything entailed. She was smitten with Kathryn. Her heart felt huge and aching. She felt consumed, exposed, but for some reason unafraid.
Lost in the soft perfection of Kathryn’s skin, Aiden realized she’d forgotten to answer Kathryn’s question. “I want to do whatever you’d like to do, as much as you’d like and as often as you’d like.” Aiden hoped that covered everything. Even though she still didn’t quite know what that word, in this context, meant.
Kathryn laughed softly. “I like the s
ound of that.” She brushed hair away from Aiden’s forehead and searched her face.
“Kathryn, you are so beautiful.” Aiden had thought this many times; she wanted to make sure she’d remembered to say it out loud.
“So are you. I don’t think you have any idea how attractive you are.”
Aiden felt heat rise to her cheeks.
“You’re blushing. So cute.” Kathryn kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m serious. Once my tailor gets through with you there won’t be a single maiden in my kingdom that won’t have the inclination to drag you into bed.”
Aiden laughed at the obvious absurdity of that. “Not likely.”
“I’ll have to place armed guards around you. Mark my words, Aiden Roth.”
Aiden felt a shiver run through her body, and she was filled with a sudden realization that she was more than some nameless orphan.
“What’s wrong?” Kathryn shifted her weight to one side.
Aiden shook her head, and despite her best effort to hold it back, a tear trailed down her cheek.
“Oh, Aiden, what happened? What did I say?”
“It’s nothing, really. It’s just…that’s the first time anyone has ever used my full name.” And she was marked with a birthright. She didn’t know what all that meant yet, but she would think about it later. All she could think about now was Kathryn.
Kathryn pressed her lips to Aiden’s. Then she kissed the wet path of the tear on her cheek. She held Aiden’s face in her hands. “Aiden Roth, you are stunning, beautiful, sexy, and I’m begging you to make love to me.”
Aiden couldn’t help but smile. “Show me.”
Kathryn returned the smile and shifted their positions, pulling Aiden on top of her. She spread her legs so that Aiden’s could slide her thigh between them. Kathryn began to grind slowly against Aiden’s leg. She could feel wetness against her thigh. She knew she didn’t really have any idea of the proper technique, but she had an insatiable urge to touch Kathryn, so she did.
She covered Kathryn’s body with hers and traced the soft rounded contour of Kathryn’s stomach until she found the place between her legs. Tentatively, she began to explore. Kathryn directed her fingers showing Aiden where she wanted them.
Aiden watched Kathryn’s face. Her eyes were closed and she bit her lower lip as she moved against Aiden’s hand. Then she opened her eyes, darkened with desire, and smiled up at Aiden. She pulled Aiden’s ear close to her mouth.
“I want to feel you inside.” She guided Aiden’s fingers, and Aiden slowly pushed inside. Kathryn moaned softly and spread her legs farther, moving against Aiden’s hand. “Deeper…more.”
Aiden adjusted her position, braced on one arm, and began to thrust deeper. Kathryn’s breasts heaved as she rose to meet each thrust. Aiden bent down and took Kathryn’s breast into her mouth.
“Yes.” She felt Kathryn’s fingers at the back of her head, pulling her more firmly against her breast.
As their movements became more fevered, Aiden relinquished Kathryn’s breast and focused on what she was doing with her fingers. She felt herself getting close to climaxing again with just the friction between their bodies. She tried to push back her own desire so that she could focus on pleasing Kathryn.
Kathryn arched up and kissed her deeply. And as she did, she moved her hand between them and slid her fingers inside. Aiden inhaled sharply and then allowed herself to adjust to the sensation of Kathryn’s fingers inside. She slowed her movements as she wrapped her head around the fact that she was making love to Kathryn.
“That’s it, Aiden. Slow and deep.”
Kathryn’s voice snapped her back to the moment. She moved on top of Kathryn, against her hand, while she continued to thrust inside Kathryn. Aiden felt every muscle in her body hum as she drew close to the edge. Beneath her, Kathryn’s body tensed and thrust with force against her once, twice, a third time, and then Aiden felt her own orgasm push her over the threshold. Her entire body tensed as she climaxed. Kathryn pressed against her, holding her in place until Kathryn cried out. Kathryn’s eyes were closed, her body convulsed. She pressed her open mouth against Aiden’s shoulder, and then drew her close, not moving her hand. Kathryn shuddered beneath her.
Aiden started to withdraw her fingers, but Kathryn stopped her.
“Don’t. Not yet.” She kissed Aiden’s neck and held her tightly.
They were both breathing hard and covered with a light sheen of sweat. Aiden couldn’t brace herself any longer on one arm and allowed her full weight to sink onto Kathryn. She felt weak and sated and content. She had the unfamiliar sense of belonging, for maybe the first time ever. Emotion threatened to overwhelm her. She focused instead on tactile things—the warmth of Kathryn’s skin against hers, the candlelight flickering beneath the glass of the lantern, the scent of Kathryn’s hair.
Kathryn pressed her lips to Aiden’s.
Aiden could have lain there all night, never moving, just to soak in Kathryn’s essence. But after a little while, they separated. Aiden rolled onto her back, and Kathryn snuggled into the hollow space in her shoulder. Kathryn’s leg was draped over Aiden so that she could still feel how wet Kathryn was. She fought the urge to touch her there again.
They lay luxuriously in each other’s arms. The fire had died to glowing embers, and the bedside candle had burned to a nub. Moonlight danced through the room. Aiden caressed Kathryn’s back with her fingertips, tracing small circles on her velvety skin.
The reality of what had just happened began to slowly sink into Aiden’s brain as she lay looking up at the heavy timbers cutting across the ceiling above them. She wondered if Kathryn thought this was a big deal or if Kathryn had other women she slept with. Surely as a queen she could have whatever or whomever she wanted. Aiden began to doubt their connection. Could she really hope that the first woman she slept with would fall madly in love with her? That seemed unrealistic, regardless of how Aiden felt about her.
Kathryn held herself apart. She was with Aiden but somehow still slightly distant. Aiden could see it in her eyes despite their physical closeness. She had the insatiable desire to reach Kathryn and win her heart; she just had to figure out how. Aiden drifted off, to thoughts of possibility.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The creaking of the door woke Aiden the next morning. She blinked and then panicked, thinking that Kathryn was still in her bed. It was probably best if the entire royal household didn’t find out through gossip that she’d slept with their queen.
A second later, her sleepy brain caught up with the present, and she was reminded that Kathryn had left her side in the wee hours of the morning. Well before the sun was up.
Aiden leaned up on one elbow and rubbed sleep from her eyes. Juliet carried a tray to the bedside table. The smell of food made Aiden’s stomach growl. And then she realized she wasn’t wearing any clothing. Quickly, she sank back under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
Juliet smiled and pretended not to have noticed.
“Good morning, miss. I’ve brought you some breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Aiden’s voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Do you know the time?”
“Oh, it’s almost eight. The queen told me I should bring your breakfast because she said you might be tired.” Juliet stood over her with her hands on her hips. “Well, are you?”
“What?”
“Tired.”
“Um, no, but obviously I overslept. Please thank the queen for me.”
Juliet smiled slyly as if she had a pretty good idea of what had happened the previous night. Aiden felt heat rise to her cheeks. She was sure she was blushing.
“Thank you for the food.” Aiden thanked Juliet again in hopes that would be the cue she was waiting for to leave. She wasn’t about to sit up and eat with Juliet still lingering.
“All right then. I’ll be by later to retrieve the tray. Oh, and the tailor is due to arrive at nine.” She pulled the heavy door closed behind her.
As soon
as she’d gone, Aiden reached for the plate of eggs. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so late. She’d still be asleep if Juliet hadn’t woken her. As she chewed her food she wondered where Kathryn was and what she was doing.
She put a generous slathering of butter on one of the slices of bread and sank back into the pillow reminiscing about the previous night with Kathryn. She’d been a bundle of nerves, and she hoped it hadn’t showed too much. Kathryn was a remarkable woman. As she evoked Kathryn’s touch, she shivered. Chewing contemplatively, she sank further into the feather mattress. So far, her time at Starford Keep had been nothing but an indulgence for the senses.
Aiden polished off breakfast and then pulled on the clothes she’d been wearing when Kathryn arrived. They were strewn about on the floor and a bit wrinkled. She shook them out as best she could and then used water from the basin to wash her face. She felt almost awake and presentable when she heard another knock at the door.
A portly man, probably in his fifties and a few inches shorter than Aiden, stood on the threshold. He had an intricately patterned, deep red jacket draped over his arm and a basket of sewing tools.
A lanky teenaged boy hovered at his elbow. He was holding a
small stepstool and a wooden case with latches and hinges at the sides.
Aiden invited them in. She had never been to a tailor. She prepared herself for yet another unfamiliar experience.
*
Kathryn looked up from the stack of papers on her desk as one of her servants set a cup of hot tea beside her. She sighed and again attempted to make sense of the dispatch she’d been trying to read repeatedly despite her distraction. Lack of sleep wasn’t what was hindering her ability to focus this morning. Her thoughts kept drifting to Aiden. And when she allowed them to go there, she completely lost the thread of what she was reading.
Birthright Page 14