by Daya Daniels
Just big.
And oh, so marvelous.
A serpent of massive proportions…
A gift?
Or, a curse?
And for honesty’s sake, I must admit that I do not know if I could handle it.
I’d be in tatters for days…
Alexander traces my eyeline, and with a hand, he shifts his cock. “I told you…” He regards me with a look, silently confirming that he knows what I am thinking. With a smirk, he continues to caress my thighs, only using more force now. “You want it. You don’t want it. You are not sure if you want it.”
“No.”
“I want you to beg for it, Princess.”
My top teeth clamp down on my bottom lip.
“You cannot be my queen if you are unable to handle what I have to give.”
I look him right in the eye. He does the same, without blinking.
Is he challenging me?
“I told you, Briar…” The words leave him in a whisper.
I fortify my spine, feigning that I am not afraid, lifting my chin. “It is one thing to possess such size, Alexander, and another to know how to actually use it.”
Those grays of his settle on me.
I wait for a snappy response from him but it does not come…
A squeak rips from me when he yanks me forward with an incredible force.
“Do you dare to speak to your king in such a way?” Offering me a lazy gaze, he cocks his head.
“Yes, I suppose I do.” Lashes fluttering, a helpless moan rips from me when his fingers dip into my wet folds and then they circle, teasing and taunting my pussy like he has all the time in the world.
“Do you dare to rile your king up with statements like that?” He fucks my pussy with his thick fingers.
“Yes.”
RIPPPPPPPPPPPPP.
His other hand shreds the fabric of my nightgown and exposes my breasts.
Unable to think clearly or being affected by any shame, I squeeze my breasts and tease my nipples allowing him to see. His hooded gaze sweeps over me and every groan which leaves him spurs me on until I am going with the motion and sending my hips forward, chasing his thick fingers as they part my pussy and tease its quivering walls.
I cry out!
It bounces off the stone.
The powerful sensation strikes. It forces my thighs to quiver helplessly. It makes me scream!
Alexander stops.
Everything crashes down all around me.
I am a sweat-covered, mewling and whimpering mess. “Alexander.”
A kiss is pressed to the inside of my knee and then he licks, licks, licks, moving higher.
Tortured, I regard him with stunned impatience. So many questions swirl around at the front of my tangled mess of a mind. “Alexander.”
The groan which leaves him sinks into my bones and crawls its way up to my heart, capturing it.
My mouth falls open when his lips encircle my swollen clit. It rolls and flutters. Teasing. He purges on my pussy! Then sucks on the tortured bud of nerves! I SCREAM! I make a weak attempt to escape his ministrations, but he clutches me tight. The sensations are too strong, too foreign, too incredible. Wet lips rush over my flesh, and when my thighs shake helplessly, I am gifted with a beaming white smile from my future husband. My love. My king. Like a madwoman, I buck against his mouth, whimpering out his name.
“Oh, dear God!” My legs scrabble over the sweat-soaked leather. “Oh, holy fuck!”
He is ravenous as he eats my pussy.
An eager tongue glides over my tender flesh. Large hands cup my bottom, shoving me upward. Gray eyes regard me with mischief and that perfect pink tongue slides over my folds and slips down, down, down and skates over a place I vowed I’d never let a man touch again! I yelp at the shock and almost snake out of Alexander’s grip, but his beautiful mouth is back on my pussy just as quick, licking and sucking on the tender flesh.
Writhing and whining out incoherent words, I allow myself to be consumed!
With the roll of his tongue, a squelch fills the air and behind it follows one delicious wave.
It causes my eyes to water and ungodly sounds to rip from my throat.
I cannot stop them.
I cannot stop the raging of my heart as it threatens to beat right out of my chest.
I cannot still my quaking thighs.
With my fingers tangled in Alexander’s hair, I feed him everything he seeks to take from me, willingly.
I offer it all…
Tis a gift for a king!
“ALEXANDER!” The orgasm strikes me like a rebel force.
He grips me tight.
My face twists into the most euphoric expression and I allow myself to be taken away by the intense pleasure, whimpering and crying out as it clutches me fiercely until it decides to let me go.
I peer up at the rafters high above us, panting.
My tummy quivers when Alexander presses a kiss there and peppers more of them in a line along my flesh until he is hovering above me and his face is in mine. “I won’t ask if you enjoyed that?”
“There is no need to.” Smiling, I reach down and palm his cock.
“You shouldn’t beg for things which you are not prepared to handle.” His laugh is deep and arrogant!
“I am prepared to suffer through pain and agony and everything which comes with it to have you, Alexander. I am prepared to sacrifice myself if it would make you happy. And I mean that with all of my heart.”
His gray eyes sweep over me before they soften. “I do believe your words…”
“You should.”
“I do.” He teases the tip of my nose with his own. “Say the words, Briar…”
A little giggle leaves me. “I do, Alexander, I do.”
Alexander
WE ARE APPROACHING THE end of fall.
Soon, these lands will be covered in snow and it will be much too cold to venture outside.
The sky above is gray. The air is cool. And the salty breeze washes over my skin as the waves crash into the shoreline. Above me, the seagulls dip and dance in the sky. And in the distance the ocean is rough and covered in white caps as the waves tumble in. It is a perfect morning, except that I am without her…
I shut my eyes for a moment and breathe it all in.
Traveler’s whinny yanks me out of my thoughts.
“Okay, boy, I know you’re anxious.” I tap him on his flank a few times, assuring my friend that although we are in a new place observing an unfamiliar view and that the turf under his hooves is foreign, that all will be well because we are together. “Just relax.” My mouth nears his twitching left ear.
Traveler’s temper remains agitated and even more so at the sight ahead of Briar.
I urge Traveler to trot on.
And it seems the closer we get to her, the more anxious the horse becomes to gallop her way.
She stands at the shoreline, wrapped in a cloak and with arms folded across her chest. Her mahogany locks are taken away with the wind and her cheeks are even more pink from the chill.
Briar backs away from the shoreline when she spots us approaching.
The wind whips around us and the boom of the waves when they crest and hit the sand is nearly deafening.
“Whooooa, boy.” Tugging on his reins, Traveler comes to a complete stop and lingers near Briar.
She squints.
“Good morning!” I smile.
“Good morning!” She runs a hand over Traveler’s coat.
“What are you doing out here?”
She laughs. “Please you do not have to worry, I am not alone.” Her brows lift and she gestures with her chin in the direction of the five guards who patrol the beach. They are close enough to keep a watchful eye on my future wife but far enough away that she is allowed to have some time alone if one could call this that.
“Yes, you are correct in that you are not alone!”
I laugh out loud.
“This beach is spectacular!” She brushes her hair back and away from her face.
“Yes, it is.” Reaching down, I offer her my hand. “Please join me for a ride this morning.”
Hesitation skates across her features.
Hand suspended in the air, I grin. “Is it not a wonderful proposal?”
She scans the beach and then her hazel eyes settle on mine. “Yes, actually, it is a perfect proposal!” Her small hand slides into my palm.
And with one big tug and a hoist, Briar chuckles as she is positioned in the saddle along with me.
I link an arm around her waist, pull her close to me and press my nose into her hair, breathing in her strands. “We will not get to do such things often, Briar, so we should enjoy them when we can.”
The ocean spray hits us when a wave comes crashing in.
We are windswept and salt-dusted.
We are free!
A sincere smile sits on her lips. “I am quite aware the time which we have here in Cornwall, like this, we may never have again, or at least not any time soon.” She grows sad.
Self-sacrifice is the true and noble mark of a ruler…
The life of royalty is not one of freedom, and after we are married, our movements will become even more restricted. We will much of the time be confined to Berkhamsted Castle, mostly for our own safety.
I gaze out at the tumultuous sea. “It was important for me to bring you here before we are married.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to show you a little piece of my life before it became so complicated.” With the nudge of my boot into his side, I urge Traveler to ease into a trot and he does.
“What do you mean?”
“My father brought me here once…when I was just a boy…to this very beach.”
“Oh.” Briar’s chin lowers.
We share a sadness which cannot be spoken.
Traveler trots on.
Briar’s warm hand rests atop mine. “Alexander.” Her hazel orbs meet mine.
“Yes.”
“How long will you leave your mother and Jean-Baptiste in the dungeon?”
“I do not know.”
“What if they decide to repent?”
It would make no difference…
“There is nothing that will ever bring my father back.” My jaw sets tight. “I miss him.”
And I know you miss him too…
“I just want to know why and exactly what happened…” Her eyes shine with sadness.
Pressing a kiss to her temple, I pull her small frame closer to my chest as the salty English wind hits us from all sides and remain silent.
“To keep them there indefinitely, Alexander, is like condemning them to a lifetime of torment.”
Is that not what they have done to me?
“One’s death should be swift if it is possible. If not found guilty, you should set them free, Alexander.”
I heed her words…
“Don’t you want to know why and exactly what happened, Alexander?”
What does it matter?
He is gone. Wiped off the face of the earth never to return. Taken away from me on that evil night…
Briar faces ahead. “I just want to know why…”
You will never have your answers, Briar, for they will not set your heartbreak free…
“She-is-my-mother.” It is a statement which provides no clarification at all yet says everything. “It is not a matter I wish for you to worry about, Briar. We will be married soon. I wish for you to revel in that fact. I wish for you to simply be happy.” I smile.
“I know.”
I hold her close to me as we trot ahead, surrounded by the sea breeze and the gray sky above.
“Still, I urge you to make a decision as to their fates, Alexander.” Turning her head to look up at me, she frowns. “You must.”
“I promise you that I will make a decision as to their fates soon, Briar.”
And a promise is a promise…
Briar
INTO THE COLD WIND and with the salt spray washing over our faces, we ride!
The breeze whips my hair around and floats into my nostrils, and when I breathe it all in, my head suddenly becomes clear and free of worry. I glance over my shoulder at Alexander, adoring the chiseled lines of his face and how the wind makes his ash-brown strands messy as it slips through it.
My heart rate soars. The English air fills my lungs. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
I feel like a little kid again.
And in this moment, Alexander seems like just a boy.
Not a king.
He seems less like a man who has the heft of England on his shoulders.
It’s as if for just a short moment, as we gallop these spectacular shores of Cornwall it is just us in the world. Because we truly are in our own world…Settling against his hard chest, I reach up and palm his bearded cheek. A kiss is pressed to the inside of my hand. Shifting, I snuggle into the curve between his chin and neck and breathe him in. Then I face ahead once more and regard our beloved England with awe.
The stormy sky.
The endless shore.
The green, green land.
It is lovely, as always.
I am swept away…
Shutting my eyes for a moment, I revel in the sensation of the wind which whips around us and hits my cheeks. The cry of the seagulls which fly high above fills my ears. The surrounding sea envelops me, bringing a calm I’ve never felt before with it.
My eyes sweep over Traveler.
He is a magnificent horse.
The most magnificent one I’ve ever seen—black, shiny, powerful, and at least sixteen hands.
A spirited horse which often doesn’t let people get too close to him.
He is guarded to the ultimate degree.
Yet, he is always so afraid.
And cannot find that he can be calmed just by anyone.
But, he settles when I am near.
Traveler is much like his master…
“Come on, boy!” Alexander urges Traveler to gallop faster.
Craning my neck to the gray sky, I laugh loudly, finding myself wrapped up in an endless giggle.
Alexander’s arm is secured around my waist and his free hand grips the reins tightly. Traveler has settled into a gallop. His ebony mane flows and he pants harshly with his powerful gait.
Alexander laughs.
It is unbridled and free and sincere.
He is happy in this moment.
Free.
As am I.
The rolling waves crash into the shoreline and send salt spray up to the sky.
“Eeeeeeeasy, boy.” Alexander urges Traveler out of his gallop and the horse settles into a slow gait along the shore. “I quite enjoyed that.” He huffs out a breath and gazes out at the sea. “It brings back fond memories.” He smiles.
I meet his watery eyes with my own.
“I remember everything about that day, Briar, even though it was so long ago…”
Traveler comes to a complete stop and soon his long whinny drifts on the wind.
A gush of salt spray hits us.
“It is in your spirit, Alexander.”
His Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows. “Yes, Briar, those memories will live forever within me. He will live forever in my blood. He-is-in-my-blood. And no amount of time which passes will ever make me forget him. It’s as if he is locked in the cage of my heart and I have thrown away the key.”
I smile.
“I will never let him go.”
With a hand, I urge Alexander’s lips to come to mine.
And we kiss.
Alexander
LATER THAT EVENING…
The night is calm. A brisk briny breeze slips in through the window ahead. A candle flickers and burns signally it’s on the last of its wick and t
he fireplace roars.
Looking around, I absorb the simple details of Bond Manor.
Alabaster and porous limestone walls. Oak floors. Maple beams which run the length of the pitched ceiling overhead. It is simplicity. It is nothing compared to the size nor opulence of Berkhamsted Castle.
And then my eyes settle on the large vase of white hydrangeas…
The delicate flowers placed around this house were a specific request and one that I knew would make Briar feel as if she was home, even though we are so far away from it. I find that the flowers comfort me also…
Briar slouches in the chair across the table, eyes tired and fiddling with her fork. “It is quiet here.”
Beyond the window, my eyes find the line of guards which surround this manor. “Yes.”
“It is just you and me.”
“Yes.”
“I feel like we are worlds away from our real lives when we are here.”
I scan the den. “Do you like this place?”
Briar smiles. “Yes, I very much do.”
The distant sound of the waves crashing into the shoreline fills my ears.
“I have never been anywhere like this, Alexander.” She shifts in her seat to sit straighter. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Her teeth bite down on her bottom lip. “I love this place. I know I will miss it dearly when we must leave.” She huffs.
I laugh softly. “I suppose I will too.”
The day has been long…
After our time on the beach, I had retreated to what felt like another endless gathering with the nobles and the barons. Briar had returned here, and against the cook’s insistence, she had prepared a meal of roasted duck, fingerling potatoes, and carrots. The plates which rest in front of us are bare of the meal we’d just eaten.
I take a swig of the wine in my goblet.
Briar will not touch hers.
We meet eyes as I set the goblet down slowly.
“A man full of the devil’s nectar does wild things…” Briar teases.
In the Gospel of John at the Marriage of Cana, didn’t Jesus turn water into wine?
“Is that so?” I lift a brow.
A girlish smile curves up on her lips. “Yes.”
“Or, do you mean a woman full of the devil’s nectar does wild things?”
With her lips pursed, she edges closer to the table. The breeze which slips in through the windows ruffles the thick tresses which frame her pretty face. She looks absolutely stunning beneath the warm golden light dressed in a pale blue nightgown. She snatches up the goblet in front of her, puts it to her lips and drinks.