by Morgan King
“Do you not return people to the earth here?” Katrine fiddled with the loose skin at the edge of a fingernail. “If you don’t mind me asking? It is just that that is what we do where I come from.”
“No, I don’t mind you asking, my dear. It is good for you to know the customs of our people.”
Katrine had no ulterior motive in asking, merely a curious nature.
“Sometimes we bury people, normally those who make their living from the land, farmers or woodcraftsmen. Royalty are usually interred within the vaults of the castle, the history of their lives strengthening the foundations of the building. But Carlton was not born into royalty. He was the prince of my heart.” She shot Katrine a look. “He came from a distant land, and it was always his wish to travel by sea to his next destination.”
“I think it will be very beautiful.” The queen’s nod reassured Katrine that she had said the right thing.
They returned to companionable silence, until the pangs in Katrine’s own stomach made her ask, “Would you like me to get you something to eat?”
“No, I don’t think I could, but you go, dear. The kitchens are under instruction to have food laid out in the hall. There will be no formal sit down time for meals today or tomorrow.”
“If you are sure?” Katrine asked, before the queen’s nodded head bade her depart.
****
That night Katrine didn’t expect Wilhelm to join her. She expected him to be too busy or too tired. His body sliding into bed beside her, the press of his firm muscles against her back roused her from sleep to semi-consciousness. Her body was not as slow as her mind and instantly became aroused. She was aware of her clitoris begging for touch, and deep in her womb there was the pull to be filled.
“Shh.” Wilhelm crooned in her ear as she stirred, stretching her legs against his. “I did not mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”
Hardly. If he was in her bed she wanted him.
“Are you too tired for more?” she whispered into the dark.
A chuckle came back to her. “No, I am not too tired. I should be keeping my mother company, but I couldn’t stay away. I needed to hold you. To keep you tight to me. Everything familiar feels so far from my grasp, and I do not want you lost to me as well.”
“Can I do anything to comfort you?” She turned in his arms to nestle close and so that she could stroke his back with her right hand, keeping her left out of contact.
“Let me love you, so that I know I have you,” he said groaning into her hair and pressing his unmistakable arousal against her leg.
“Yes, take me.”
“I wish to have all of you, all of your body. Will you let me take you in the most intimate way a man can take a woman?”
“Yes,” Katrine breathed her permission into his chest.
“Will you let me fuck you? Not just make love to you?”
“Yes.”
“Will you let me fuck you in the arse?”
She startled at his dark words. It surprised her that he had used such language, although why she wasn’t sure, especially given all they had already shared in this bed. Perhaps because she had not understood what he meant until he described his intentions so there could be no possible misunderstanding.
“Yes.” Her answer was a little quieter this time, yet no less honest. She wasn’t quite sure how it would work. It had never occurred to her that a man would want to love her like that, although she understood it was how two men shared physical intimacy with each other. But if it was something Wilhelm wanted from her, she wanted to give it to him. Her body definitely wanted to give it to him. A fresh flood of moisture had her slick between her legs from the moment he’d said the word “fuck”.
He pressed a fierce kiss against her head. “Thank you.”
Katrine didn’t answer. She waited for Wilhelm to show her what he wanted from her. It was not long before he encouraged her to turn in his arms and began using the weight of his body to press her front firmly into the mattress.
“I can’t wait tonight. I need you too much,” he said, already beginning to rock his erection against the swell of her bottom.
He paused to kneel up behind her so that he could drag her nightdress off. She had not lost the need for a last token of modesty and could not bring herself to climb into bed naked as Wilhelm had done. A shiver ran down her back, not from cold, but her body’s response to the kisses Wilhelm placed along her spine. When he reached her tailbone he placed one last lingering open-mouthed kiss to her flesh, finishing with a lick of his tongue. Then he rested his head on the right cheek of her bottom. This felt strangely more intimate that allowing him inside her body.
The soft curls of his hair were a little ticklish, and she lifted up as if, but not really trying to, dislodge him. He gave a pinch to her flesh, and she instantly stilled, her response rewarded with a soothing caress. He slid one hand over her bottom, moving it between her thighs to ease them further apart.
“So wet for me already.” He spoke with pride as his hand encountered the cream coating the lips of her pussy. “I’m going to be able to coat all of my fingers.” He suited his actions to his words, delving into her generous lubrication.
Katrine thought she might climax already. Just the way he played with her, rubbing his fingers against each other, not focusing on her flesh but knocking against highly sensitised nerve endings, had her completely on edge.
“Wilhelm,” she moaned.
“Yes, my Love.”
“I’m so close. I need more.”
His hand moved away abruptly. Was he teasing her again?
“I have so much more to give you, little one. Don’t you worry.”
Katrine felt his hand return to her, this time his slippery fingers sliding into the crease of her bottom. She held her breath as he touched a finger to her rosette. The anticipation fulfilled felt so good.
“Ahhhh…” she sighed. A second finger joined the first. It felt equally as good tickling against the small ridges of puckered skin.
She hadn’t imagined it would feel so good. The tip of a finger easing inside her dark hole felt even more intense.
“Is that okay, my love?”
“Yesss.” The one word was a tortured groan.
How long is his finger? Katrine wondered as it continued to push inside her. She pushed against it, needing to fight the bite of pain, even if it brought the feeling closer. She couldn’t possibly stay still.
A second finger began to press against the first, also seeking entry. Katrine began to pant.
“That’s it, such a good girl.” Wilhelm’s praise thrilled her. “You’re really opening for me now.
Was he watching her as he worked?
Katrine didn’t have time to worry about this. Her climax was really beginning to build as well. Her clit and the place where Wilhelm fingered her felt like two centres of pleasure getting ready to blow.
“I’m going to … going to … come,” she moaned.
With a harsh groan Wilhelm withdrew his fingers and yanked his body away.
“Not until I’m inside you. I want to feel those tight contractions on my cock. And it’ll feel much better for you if you’re still on edge when I push inside.” He grabbed a pillow and lifted her hips to slide it underneath. Reaching one hand around her leg, he also encouraged her to bend one knee. In her mind’s eye Katrine saw herself wide open and exposed.
For him she would not have it any other way.
She felt him place his cock against her entrance. An entrance she had not previously thought she would allow anyone to enter. There was a pressure, but no feeling of give.
“Can you push out?”
Katrine tried to do as he asked. It burned.
“God, you’re so tight,” Wilhelm said as he made his way an inch inside her.
“Are sure you want to do this? If I’m too small maybe it won’t work.”
“Trust me, it’s working,” Wilhelm grunted as he pushed a little further forward. “It feels amazing. I
t’ll be worth the struggle to sink inside of you soul-deep.”
Katrine was desperate to get to the soul-deep part. She needed an end in sight. “Can you do it all in one thrust?”
“I don’t want to hurt you. Can you reach underneath yourself, to touch yourself?”
Katrine wriggled her hand between her body and the pillow. She could just reach her clit with the pad of her index finger. She pressed on it and let out a long low moan at the sense of relief, as the feeling in her clit became a welcome distraction from the burn in her arse.
“Yes, that’s it,” Wilhelm said, seemingly sensing her efforts. On a loud grunt he stroked himself inside her in a move that Katrine felt might never end. “Ah, yes, I’m in, all the way in!”
If Katrine thought she’d felt full before, she’d been mistaken. The invasion of Wilhelm’s cock into her arse was a fullness she could never have imagined. There was no space left in her body, her mind, her heart for anything but him. “I need to come.”
At these words Wilhelm withdrew part way. It was an agonising drag of his cock against her sensitive tissues. Katrine rubbed her clit vigorously. He thrust back in on another grunt. It was as if he had been steeling himself, concentrating on moving with care and precision, and now he let go of that control. He slammed back into her, making the bed beneath them rock. Air punched out of Katrine’s lungs, and she gasped to find her breath as he repeated the motion. A hand upon her hip held her still, and Katrine gave in to his overwhelming dominance of her body and soul. He had gone soul-deep.
The explosion welling within her was going to be immense. The spring was so tightly coiled around his cock. There was no way she wasn’t going to scream. Behind her Will’s grunts and groans were also growing louder. Where their bodies slid against each other, their skin was lubricated with sweat. Katrine felt a drop splash against her back and roll down her spine.
Was it as good for him as it was for her?
Would he scream for her?
“Close … so close.” He was coherent. That was more than Katrine could manage. She was close, too. She humped herself against Wilhelm’s cock inside her, limited by the space between their bodies and the bed. Her end was just out of reach. Not quite enough pressure. Then Wilhelm slammed inside her for what was clearly his final time as he reared up and stilled above her, the warmth of his seed spurting inside her. A tortured groan came from his mouth, not quite a scream, but the force of his fulfilment was enough to tip Katrine over the edge into climax. Her body was out of her control as it spasmed, and pleasure shot through her.
It shot up her body, pushing at the confines of her mind, and out of her mouth in a scream. Wilhelm whipped a hand round to cover her mouth, and she bit down, using her teeth to transfer the intensity of emotion into a physical outlet. He didn’t curse or pull away. Instead he gave another pump of his hips, causing Katrine to moan through his hand as another, smaller, orgasm was triggered inside her.
They lay there panting, struggling for breath, entwined together in sweat and total vulnerability to one another.
Whereas before his weight trapping her had felt comforting, now she wanted to hold him. Be held. To know that it had been everything for him that it had been for her. And that it didn’t end with the withdrawal of his penis. She shifted a little restlessly. Wilhelm withdrew his softening cock. Katrine’s muscles clenched in objection despite the reduced size.
“Come here, my love,” Wilhelm said, turning her in his arms. She went gratefully. ”You are mine forever, are you not?”
“I am yours.” Katrine said, the three words all the comfort she could offer with uncertain times ahead.
Chapter Eight
The calm weather following the storm held, and on the night of the funeral the sky was clear of clouds, moon and stars helping to light the way. Katrine walked with the other women who had been staying at the castle, part of a crowd with its own momentum sweeping her along to their destination: the cliff tops overlooking the beach. Further back, walking more disparately, were the folk who lived in the towns and villages surrounding the castle, and those that had travelled from across the land to pay their respects.
The men who lived at the castle, those men that had been staying, and any other men with noble connections who had travelled the distance, formed a separate column processing down a winding path leading to the rocks and shingle that formed a rough walkway to the sea. At the head, surrounded by a halo of beacons, the boat carrying the body of King Carlton was balanced on wooden poles supported on the shoulders of those to whom he had been most dear. Wilhelm was one of their number, of course, but Katrine was surprised that he was joined among the group of men by his mother the queen.
“She’s something, isn’t she?”
Katrine turned to look at Serena, who had moved up beside her and had obviously seen Katrine following the queen’s movements with her eyes. “Indeed, she is truly noble. I think you are all lucky to have such a queen,” she said, trying to keep her voice low.
“Well, she is not my queen.” Serena was quick to reply, her voice sharp despite being hushed.
“Have you travelled from so far then? You seemed to know the royal family well. I assumed you lived in the region.”
“Well, we are neighbours. My father rules the land of Craglea, which borders Lerrendor to the east.” Serena paused to smile before saying smugly, “I am a princess in my own right.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realise.” Katrine apologised, her return smile disingenuous. “Should I have curtsied to you?”
“Why yes, that would be proper.” Unfortunately, Serena was undeterred by the hint of sarcasm.
“I shall endeavour to remember,” Katrine said, deliberately slowing her pace to try to slip back a place. Instead she caused a kerfuffle as the lady behind her stumbled into her back. She cast back a “sorry” and focused on where she was going. Serena at least was silent now.
It was not long before they all started slowing. They had reached the end of the path. The crowd started to spread out along the cliff top, as many sought to get a view of proceedings down below. Katrine herself stepped into a space that would allow her to see. Serena pushed close as if to look over her shoulder.
Where before there had been the shuffle of footsteps, the rustle of clothing, and more whispers than just those belonging to Katrine and Serena, now a quiet settled over the crowd.
“I don’t know why you cry, you know. You hardly knew the king. You are not even of this land. His death should mean nothing to you.”
Katrine wiped at the tear track that ran alongside her nose. “Maybe, since you do not cry even though you knew him, that means you cannot understand why I can feel grief at his loss and what it will mean for others.”
“I feel sorry for the queen, of course, and Wilhelm, but I cannot share a sense of loss. What it will mean for me is that I will be queen. Prince Wilhelm will have to marry me now.”
No, he was hers! Katrine felt in the pocket of her dress for her ring. They would be married. Katrine no longer cared that she had not come to him a princess. She genuinely believed he loved her. If it hadn’t been for the king’s death he would have made an announcement. “He has not wanted you as his wife before now. Why should he have a sudden change of heart?”
It was too late to change his heart. He had given her the ring.
“His heart has no say in the matter now. Lerrendor is left vulnerable with the king’s passing, and he needs to marry to show others that the royal family remains strong. He needs to marry me so that our two kingdoms can be joined.”“And if he doesn’t care to rule a bigger kingdom?” The challenge flew from Katrine’s lips.
“Then it would mean war to defend the one he has.”
Katrine shook her head. Serena must know that Wilhelm intended to marry Katrine—she was just saying these things to taunt her.
“You think I jest. You will soon find I speak the truth. Ask anyone, they will tell you the same. The prince will do anything to avoid war a
nd protect his people, and the price will be making me his queen. Don’t worry. I won’t kick you out with no home to go to. You can stay and see our wedded bliss. Even if he is unwilling at first, I know how to please a man like Wilhelm. I bet he likes it a little rough.”
The thought of Wilhelm laying his hands upon anyone else but her sickened Katrine. She tasted bile at the back of her throat. She was bound to him now. She could never lie with another. Surely he would not be able to do so either.
Except who knew what a man might do for the honour of his people? He had known Katrine but a few days. These people were his life. If she stayed, and Serena’s words were true, he would be forced to choose. And if he chose her and there was war, surely he would regret it. Katrine could not bear to stand beside Serena a second longer. She pushed past the other ladies around them, not caring if they thought her rude. She had to think. Would Serena’s father really be willing to start a war just to see his daughter married to Wilhelm?
To Wilhelm, and a kingdom.
Katrine knew there was much that men would do and risk for a kingdom. Particularly when they already had one and craved the power of another.
She stumbled in the crowd until she felt a hand upon her shoulder. Through blurred vision she looked into the friendly eyes of Helen. The other woman opened her arms, and Katrine stepped into the warm embrace.
“Shhh.” The other woman crooned, just as Wilhelm had done the night before, and Katrine poured out her worry onto the other woman’s shoulder, the material soon becoming wet.
Katrine’s were not the only tears. Muffled sobs could be heard rising into the night. From the beach below came the cries of the queen’s lament, the wind carrying the sound to her people. Holding tight to Helen, Katrine looked to the water in time to see the boat pushed out to sea, the queen striding into the waves behind it. Katrine watched Prince Wilhelm go to his mother, holding her but letting her stand on her own two feet. Others on the beach turned back to the path, but the two of them remained. Around Katrine and Helen people turned as well. Katrine looked at Helen. “I want to go home.”