by Nina Monroe
Will gently stood up and walked to her. Tamzin kept her eyes locked with his; they were hazy from lust. He took her thighs gently in his hands and opened them wide as he came to stand in between them, before he dropped to his knees. His face was placed in front of her chest, where he leaned in and pressed kisses to her heated skin. His tongue swept across the drying juices; her skin was sticky. Tamzin let out a breathy moan as his beard scraped against her chest.
She wound her fingers in his hair as Will's hands reached up behind her neck and untied the knot. He pulled her dress down to reveal her breasts and the beginning of her stomach. Will trailed wet kisses across her collarbone and sternum, when he felt Tamzin huff in frustration.
"You know what I want," she said as she gripped his hair roughly and pulled his head up to her face. Tamzin leaned forward where she kissed him fiercely. Will groaned as he wrapped his arms around her and forced her out of her chair. He splayed Tamzin on the floor where he grabbed her dress and pulled it down her body. "I don't like lying on my back," she said as she turned to the side, where her belly could rest comfortably.
"Does it hurt you to lie with me?" Will asked with sudden concern. His eyes focused on her belly before he splayed his hand across it. "If I've hurt you..."
"It's not painful for me to be on my back, just uncomfortable. And it doesn't hurt me for us to lie together, but we may need to become more adventurous in our positions," Tamzin grinned like a Cheshire cat as she took his hand in hers. "If I had my way right now, we would never leave this room."
"If you were constantly naked, I would be fine with that," Will said as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her stomach. "I didn't think you could become more beautiful to me."
"I'm large, Will," Tamzin said with an eye roll. "My skin is stretching and now I have these ugly marks," she said as she ran a finger down her shiny stretch mark. "After I have our child, my body won't be the same. I may never be completely thin again."
"I love you and you're perfect," Will said as he pulled his tunic over his head to show his scarred torso. "You're not disgusted by my scars, so I would never be by yours. Besides, when you have a little bit more weight on you, your breasts are larger. How could I not like that?" Will said as he laid on the ground beside her. He continued to cradle her body as Tamzin pulled more at the ties of his breeches.
"I don't know exactly how to do this," she laughed as she watched Will pull his breeches down and laid completely naked next to her. Her eyes traced each scar on his chest and shoulders as his fingers trailed down her stomach and dipped between her legs. Tamzin took a deep breath as his finger slipped inside her and Tamzin felt herself pull closer to his body. Will rested his head on hers and pressed gentle kisses to her face as a second finger entered her.
"Roll over," Will whispered in her ear as he gently pushed on her hip with his free hand as Tamzin rolled over, so her back was facing him. He pulled his fingers out of her and brought them to his mouth. After he licked them clean, Will lifted her thigh up a bit and used his other hand to guide his manhood inside of her. Tamzin took a shallow breath as she felt Will fill her completely. He placed her thigh over his and he felt the tightness increase. Gently, Will pressed his chest into her back and gripped her hip lightly as he began to thrust gently and shallowly. "Does this feel good?"
"Yes," Tamzin nearly cried out from the intimacy of the position. Will stopped gripping her hip and let his hand wrap around her to touch her between her legs as his other arm dipped under her neck and extended down to hold her breast in his hand. He pressed kisses to the inside of her neck as he continued to pump in and out of her. Tamzin moaned softly as her stomach began to tighten and her eyes rolled back. With a small cry, Tamzin felt herself stiffen around Will's member as he bit gently into her shoulder. Will took that time to grip her hip again as he began to thrust into her a bit quicker before he spilt himself inside of her.
"We should have made it to the bed," Will breathed as he reached over and wrapped his arm around her stomach and held her close. "I don't like that position much."
"I did," Tamzin laughed as Will traced her slight bite mark on her shoulder with his tongue. "Why didn't you like it?"
"Well, if I'm going to punish you, I want to see your face when I make you climax," Will said as he slowly sat up and reached for his discarded breeches. He leaned back onto the floor to pull them up over his hips before he sat back up. "Come on," he said as he took her hand and helped her up. "Would you like me to call a girl to bring you a bath?"
"I'm fine," Tamzin said as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Will didn't reply as he pulled her closer. She forced him back and Will fell against her bed. "I don't know why you bother to put your breeches back on," she whispered as she pulled on his breeches again.
Will decided then that he would just keep Tamzin with child if she was going to act like this.
Chapter Six
After they laid together, Will returned to the table where he finished his dinner as Tamzin slept. She was correct; he did love the meat with fruit gravy. As she slept, Will picked at the fruit and explored her chambers. Before her eyes slid shut, she had japed that she finally had a man in her chambers and there was nothing her father could do about it.
Will stood before her vanity, where her hairbrush rested, along with vials of her perfume. The vanity was slightly dirty with brushes covered in the makeup that brought out her eyes, the juice used to make her lips appear redder, and the odd brush that made her eyelashes longer. Though she was to be a Queen, a mother, and continue to be a wife, Tamzin was barely a woman. Will felt the guilt when he realized he had missed her name day and she had spent it in captivity.
He pulled open the center drawer of the vanity and found various papers, mostly related to her lessons. Tamzin's penmanship was beautiful, especially in comparison to the chicken scratch that was Will's handwriting. Beneath the papers was a bound leather book with a leather strap wrapped around it to keep it closed. Will felt his interest hit its peak as he began to slowly unbind the book before he looked over his shoulder to see if Tamzin was still asleep.
She wasn't.
"My husband is a nosy bastard," she teased, though Will noted her tone was also laced with a slight animosity. "I do not snoop through your things."
"I also have nothing to hide," Will countered as he put the book back into the drawer and closed it.
"You think I am hiding something? You can inquire about it," Tamzin said as she sat up with the sheet falling from her chest to reveal her breasts. Will admired her chest for a moment before he began to think clearly again. Tamzin made no move to cover herself.
"You had an entire life before you came to the North to marry me. I suppose I am merely curious," Will said as he walked from her vanity and sat at the edge of the bed. "I know you were a virgin when we first laid together but I know you had lovers," his voice strained at the word, "before you came to me."
"Just as you laid with a prostitute before you married me. I do not question you, so why do you question me?" Tamzin asked as she rested her hand on her belly. "Who I chose to spend my time with here is irrelevant now. Though I am slightly annoyed my husband chose to investigate me, I am still deliriously happy with him and I swell every day with his child."
"I am not interested in judging you, Tamzin," Will said with a slightly pained voice. "I just want to understand what your life was like here before me. That doesn't make me a bad man."
"Maybe you should spend time with me during our time here. Your men need a break and so do you. Sleep past dawn, relax beneath the sun, get drunk. You deserve a break, Will. Think of this as a holiday of sorts," Tamzin said as she reached for his hand and placed it on her belly. "In a few moons, we will be parents and how can you raise a child if you've never been one yourself?"
"I will try to relax," Will said as he tapped his fingers against her belly. His child did not move or kick. "He must be sleeping."
"And it rarely happens when I want to sleep, so s
hush!" Tamzin laughed as she laid back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "Come lie with me, husband."
Will said nothing as he crawled into bed and found himself resting his head on her chest, with her arms around him. When he was a child and longed for his mother, he imagined this was how she would have held him. Granted she wouldn't be naked or very pregnant, but Tamzin held him gently. The last thing he remembered was Tamzin pressing a kiss to his forehead as his eyes slid shut.
~~~
The sun was shining in the room brightly, but it wasn't enough to wake Will just yet. What woke him was the sound of someone walking around the chambers. When Will opened his eyes, he saw Tamzin secure her dress over her shoulders. The dress was made of a light and flowy fabric that moved seamlessly when the wind glided over the material. Her hair was put up into a bun with a red flower woven in alongside her crown. She was adjusting the dress in the mirror, when she saw his reflection.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Tamzin smiled before she turned around. "I am thankful my dresses all still fit me. I think they may even look better," she said as she held up the dress so Will could see her sandals with a slight heel. "Do I look beautiful?"
"You're always beautiful to me," Will responded as he sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "What time of day is it?" Will said as he looked out to the ocean. The water was a clear blue, where the sun hit the water just right.
"Nearly midday. You missed breakfast," Tamzin said as she kept the material in her hands and came to sit on their bed.
"No doubt your father called me a lazy bum," Will said as he fell back into the pillows. "I needed to make a good impression."
"I informed my father that you and your men fought a war and traveled hundreds of miles and this was your first real rest in months. He can say what he wants, but you've earned this day of rest," Tamzin said as she straightened the sheet over his breeches. "Your men have been well tended to. I met with a few of them this morning while you slept. I was just going to leave to fetch myself some lunch. Shall I wait for you or do you want me to bring you lunch in bed?"
"I need to make an appearance to your Court, when your father isn't attempting to disembowel me in public," Will said as he pushed back the sheet and rolled out of bed. "Have I any clothes to wear?"
"Here," Tamzin said as she stood and walked to her armoire. Inside were a few of her dresses, along with fresh tunics and breeches. The tunics were nicer than the casual ones Will wore in private, but he hardly believed they were the type to be worn in front of the nobles.
"This is appropriate?" Will asked as he grabbed the white tunic and pulled it over his head.
"Yes, due to the heat. What you wore yesterday is as nice as we wear. It's too warm to wear the fabrics that look best," Tamzin said as she came and adjusted the ties of his tunic. "What shall we do today?"
“Can you show me around your kingdom?" Will asked as he reached out and touched the flower in her hair. "What is this flower?"
"It's a Jasmine," Tamzin said as she touched it lightly to readjust it. "Jasmine and Lavender are very important in our region. We use them most for healing."
"I like how it smells," Will said as he sniffed his fingers after touching the flower.
"You should. It's one of my favorite perfumes," Tamzin smiled as she took his hand. "Come along," she said as she brought him out onto the balcony. Down the side of the balcony was a staircase made of stones that descended down the rocky terrain. "We can go this way to avoid prying eyes. Just around the bend is the town."
"I'm sure that is all you used these stairs for," Will replied suggestively as she led him down the steps, though he held onto her hand tightly. Tamzin slowed her pace as the terrain became less even and Will came and wrapped his arm around her waist for support. "Let me lead you."
"This is my home," she said as they made it to the final step. "It is my turn to take care of you."
"I want to make sure you don't fall, especially while you carry my child. You need caring for, after what you've been through," Will reminded gently as he felt the rocks beneath the thin sandals provided for him.
"This makes me forget," Tamzin said as she looked at his arm around her waist. "When I take care of you, I know I am helping. I can't fight so keeping you healthy is my way of making sure what happened in Thurston never happens again."
"Why do you think you cannot fight?" Will asked as Tamzin led him down a sandy path and at the end, Will could see the edge of the town.
"You certainly proved that to me during our practice session," Tamzin laughed bitterly as she looked up into the sun. The light made her skin glow.
"You're a Roth girl. There are other ways to learn how to fight," Will said as he looked down at the rocks. "Your father never allowed you to be taught how to shoot with a bow and arrow? It is your territory's number one defense."
"I wanted to. I was always curious, but my father said I needed to make sure I knew the arts and how to properly take care of a husband before that. As I became older, I lost interest because other things became more important," Tamzin said as she looked out at the ocean in the distance. "Can you teach me that?"
"Of course," Will smiled before he leaned in and kissed her softly. "Tomorrow, my love. Right now, will you show me around?"
"Follow me," Tamzin grinned as she took the lead and dragged Will close behind her. They walked up a small hill made of mostly sand, with small patches of what appeared to be grass. Will felt himself already begin to sweat, his body unused to any type of heat. He could see a bit of perspiration on Tamzin as well, but of course, she glistened as opposed to the globs and drips of sweat on Will. He was thankful for the light breeches and tunics when they came to the top of the hill, where the sun hit them perfectly. It was exactly midday now. "The people will probably start their break soon. For the next few hours, the town stays mostly quiet because this is when it's hottest. The people in the field will stop collecting, the vendors won't stop completely but business slows down, but the taverns and places to eat should still be operating normally."
"It's not good business practice to stop in the middle of the day," Will said as he looked off into the distance where he saw the many miles of groves and then the miles of cotton fields on the opposite side.
"But it's better than having rioting and dying workers,” Tamzin said as she stopped to watch the grove workers come in. "They pick the trees for our fruit. They do the most work in the morning when it is cool and after their break, they only work for an hour or so longer. When the workers are happy, their productivity is much higher, so my father tries to keep them happy."
"Douglas Johansson probably does not do that for his workers," Will said to himself and watched as Tamzin turned to look at him.
"And that is why his people are dying and the living ones start constant rebellions. A King's success should not be measured in his wealth, but by the state of his territory. My people live long lives and poverty isn’t nearly as much of a problem as it is Johansson. When I become Queen, that is the kind of territory I want to rule over," Tamzin spoke regally as she nodded to the men and women who came in from the groves. "These people love my family because they are treated kindly. No one works more than five days a week, taxes are relatively low because of our high population, and law is kept firmly in place. Like you, we tolerate no crime."
"Which means you cannot be softhearted to everyone," Will pointed out as he laced their hands together. "It is hard to be a Queen; it may be harder than a King."
"How do you figure that?" Tamzin asked.
"Because those laws you have mentioned sound like something your mother would have suggested, but your father receives all the credit. It must be hard to be the backbone of a kingdom when no one thanks you for it," Will answered as he watched the people sit on the sides of the street and pour water over their heads. It was unbearably hot out. The streets began to quiet and it was then that Will heard it. It was the sound of swords clashing and grunts of men. "Does your army normally train
now?"
"That's probably Rolf trying to show the Northern Army his strength," Tamzin said with an eye roll. She lifted her dress and walked quickly, as quickly as her swollen belly would allow, with Will on her tail. They walked across many streets and to the other side of the palace, where Will saw some of his men, including Garrett, watch two Roth men spar.
"Their stance is atrocious," Will said to Tamzin as he stood in front of her, as the men became rowdy. "Stay behind me in case someone accidentally strikes out." Will observed the area around them; it was extremely green grass covered by trees with red flowers, like the one in Tamzin's hair. Though it was mostly shaded, the heat still did not escape the men.
When Garrett noticed Will and Tamzin, he and the Northern men that watched, stood in attendance for the royal couple. Garrett smirked at Will. It was time for the Northerners to begin to show off as well. "At ease, men," Will called out, his voice louder than the two Roth men fighting and the jeers from their men.