Unarmed (Unarmed Trilogy)

by Nina Monroe

  “What will we do now?” Tamzin asked in relation to Isabelle refusing the marriage arrangement. “Do you have another aunt or cousin we can pawn off?”

  “Don’t worry about it tonight, sweetheart,” Will said as he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “Tonight, we will eat, drink, and be merry. Nothing but happiness tonight.” His words made Tamzin smile brighter before she leaned in and kissed him softly. Their kisses had often been sexually charged, but this was different. This kiss was full of love and support and trust. The few girls he had kissed never kissed him like this; he had never wanted them to kiss him like this. Gently, he pulled away and placed his hand on her face. “I love you,” he whispered.

  “Still believe that?” Tamzin smiled as she turned her head to kiss the inside of his palm. “Are stern princes always so affectionate in public?”

  “I’m not stern,” Will laughed as he took a bite of his meat. “It’s hard to be jolly with so much death and destruction around us.”

  “Until now,” Tamzin replied as she pushed her curls over her shoulder. “We are at peace, and the only blood shed will be when I bear our child.” Her comment made his eyes dart to her flat stomach. A primal instinct overtook him when he imagined her body changing and swelling as she progressed in her pregnancy with their child—his child. It was an overwhelming feeling, but exciting and oh so new. “I’ve thought of some names.”

  “And you think you’re the only one who has a say?” Will smiled as he squeezed her hand gently. “What Roth name will you name our child?”

  “Nicola,” Tamzin said simply as she popped a meat medallion into her mouth and chewed slowly. “For a girl, naturally. It’s definitely a strong name, if you ask me. And for a boy, Nicholas.” The names made his eyes water slightly; Tamzin couldn’t possibly understand what the naming would mean to him. He never met his mother, but he missed her constantly. Will would miss her when he held his child for the first time or when he held his second, third, or fourth. “Do you like the names?”

  “I do,” Will said quietly as he smiled at her. “You are fond of the name Nicola?”

  “I am fond of the woman we are naming our child after. I may not have met her, but the woman who birthed you will always have a soft place in my heart,” Tamzin continued as she pushed her place away. “Would you like a little Nicola to cuddle or a small Nicholas to teach to spar?”

  “You don’t need to do this,” Will bit his lip, so unsure of what to say.

  “I’m not stupid, Will. The name will help smooth the tension between your aunt and your father, but I know the name will bring you something you have been missing. I see it in you, I see so much greatness, but there is a hole in your heart. I don’t ever want you to feel empty again,” Tamzin said as her eyes filled with unshed tears. They were not sad tears, but hopeful ones as she smiled when he laced their fingers together. “I pray our son looks just like you.”

  “I thank the Gods that you are my wife,” Will whispered before he pressed his lips against hers again. They didn’t notice his Aunt Isabelle gazing happily at the couple or the murmurs of his bannermen about how she would bring them peace and a chance at a life away from war. The couple also didn’t notice the glare from Lucy Johansson. She was a Princess, but no one could know. She was a Princess and she had no Prince that wanted her hand.

  There was no William Thurston waiting for her. But soon, she will have her prince and her kingdom.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  It was easy to forget his responsibilities for one night, but Will found the sun to be unforgiving. The next morning, he was reminded that his cousin would not marry the oldest Johansson girl, and he was out of ideas. He stared at the ceiling in deep concentration as he cradled Tamzin’s naked body against his. He prayed that he got her with child last night, and even that was pressure. Will had a hand and destroyed the marriage alliance and in three months, Tamzin’s belly hadn’t swelled. A messenger had been sent to Thurston Territory to tell Gregory of Isabelle’s answer, and Will swore he could hear his father’s yell from here.

  It would be later in the day when he received his father’s instruction, so Will wanted to enjoy as much of the day as he could. He smiled to himself as he decided there was no better day to spend the day outside with Tamzin. He remembered the lake deep in the woods that he and John would frequent as children. They would spend their days in the sun and the night nursing their sunburns, but it was a fond memory Will could never replace. At eighteen, Will was no longer a boy, but he longed for a day where he didn’t have to be a prince.

  “I can hear you thinking from here,” Tamzin murmured against his chest as her fingers came up and ran her fingers down his chest. “There is always later to be worried.”

  “Later is always now when you are to be King,” Will replied before he kissed her forehead. “I want to stay in bed.”

  “So let’s stay in bed,” Tamzin smiled as she kissed his chest. “You will be doing your duty by making an heir with me.” She sat up in bed and Will watched as the sheet slid from her naked body. Aunt Isabelle’s territory was incredibly warm and last night was no different. They were slick with sweat, after a few bouts of lovemaking, and exhausted, but the best exhausted possible. “You tossed and turned all night.”

  “My aunt decided against the marriage alliance. It doesn’t exactly restore faith in my father when it comes to my ability to rule,” Will said as he sat up in bed and ran a hand down her spine. “I didn’t think my aunt would actually say no. I know the Johanssons aren’t a strong house, but anything to avoid war.”

  “I’ve always thought Thurstons were too noble,” Tamzin said as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “I understand wanting to avoid war, but sometimes it’s better to have people be afraid of you. Douglas Johansson is a disgusting misogynist. His presence won’t be missed by anyone, not even his children.”

  “So you would have me kill him?” Will asked before he laid back down and kicked the sheet down his legs, leaving himself stark naked in front of his wife. It was so warm for only morning.

  “I’m not directly saying that, but I wouldn’t miss him if you did,” Tamzin smiled as she stood up and walked to grab the silk wrap that rested on the back of a chair in front of a vanity. She wrapped it loosely around her form and sat down at the vanity where she pulled out a quill.

  “Who are you writing?” Will asked as he rolled to the side, his back already covered in sweat. He couldn’t understand how anyone could live in this type of heat, but Tamzin seemed to feel differently. Her skin shined in the sunlight as she continued writing her note.

  “I’m writing to my parents. My mother will want to know about my married life,” Tamzin grinned to hide her lie. She was writing to her parents, but mostly to her father. She was telling him about Lucy; she needed his counsel on what she was meant to do. She couldn’t pinpoint on whether or not Lucy would betray her, or already had. She touched her stomach lightly; her monthly bleeding was due in a few days, but she felt no symptoms.

  “Your father probably wonders why you are not with child yet,” Will grumbled as he wiped his brow. “I don’t even understand why you are not with child.”

  “A woman’s body is a complicated entity,” Tamzin covered as she finished her letter. “A part of me is happy that I am not pregnant yet.” The comment made Will sit up with a look of shock on his handsome face.

  “You don’t want to have a child with me?” His voice was wounded and Tamzin watched his blue eyes dart to the ground like he was a child scolded. “My father doesn’t think I will make a good king and now my wife doesn’t feel I will be a good father.”

  “I didn’t say any of that,” Tamzin groaned as she stood to come and sit next to him on the bed. “We’re so young. I don’t want to have a child with a prince that goes to war as often as you do,” Tamzin said as she kissed his naked shoulder. “I think you will make a far better king and father than you think. Why are you so unsure?”

  “My fath
er questions every decision I make; he always has to question everything,” Will said darkly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “There are some things I know better than him, such as being a husband. My mother died nine months into their marriage.”

  “You were conceived on their bedding?” Tamzin asked with surprise. “It’s not unheard of, but it is rare.”

  Will didn’t reply, as he stood, naked, and walked towards his own robe that rested on the chair in front of the never used fireplace. He despised talking about his mother; it was too painful for him. He wondered all night if they should truly name their first child after his mother. Softly and slowly, Tamzin stood from the bed and came to stand behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her toes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” she asked as she pressed a hand into his skin.

  “I just didn’t think my aunt would say no. I have no secondary plan,” Will continued to worry. “I thought Aunt Isabelle would resist, but come through. Delay it a bit to cause drama and show her men she didn’t always do my father’s bidding. I wish most days that I wasn’t on track to be king. Who wants to be king?”

  Tamzin didn’t know what to say, but she did understand how he felt. Tamzin despised that she had to be held to the standard of people that barely knew her. While Tamzin was thankful that she was a princess, instead of a poor commoner in a southern territory, but the gossip is what got to her. She heard the whispers of the nobles as to why she wasn’t with child yet and there was always the thought that Tamzin may betray Thurston Territory. Tamzin knew she would never, but the Lucy problem weighed heavily on her shoulders.

  “We are luckier than most,” Tamzin said as she rested her head on his shoulder. “If you were not a prince and I were not a princess, we would never have met. We wouldn’t be married and happy together. Our countries certainly wouldn’t be peaceful now,” Tamzin reminded gently as she pulled his robe from his shoulders.

  “And what if I am not a good king?” Will asked solemnly as he placed his head in his hands. “I can’t even get you with child. I allowed a marriage alliance to go awry.” His comment about her still smooth belly made Tamzin swallow a hard lump. She knew if she had been receiving proper fertility drinks, she would have become with child by now. Her swollen belly would have solved the majority of Will’s problems.

  “You are not weak and you will not fold. You’re so smart and I know that we will figure this out together. This ring,” Tamzin said as she wrapped their fingers together, her gold ring glistening in the sunlight “means forever. I will be with child soon enough, though I do think we should increase the frequency we are in bed.”

  Will laughed as he squeezed her hand.

  “I’ve made a monster out of you. My future queen is addicted to my manhood,” Will nuzzled her neck as he let a hand trace her clavicle. He had just begun to untie her silk robe when a knock at the door stopped them. Without a beat, Garrett opened the door and strode in with Kendall and Lucy behind him. Tamzin nearly bristled at the sight of Lucy, but she hid her discomfort well. “And if we had been naked?”

  “I would have screamed in terror,” Garrett teased as he sat down on their mussed bed. “You know, my bed is in a very similar state,” he said as he looked at Kendall, who flushed. “Anyways, I am here to drag you two lovebirds out of this room and back into the real world. Your cousin told me about a lake he was going to, and we are going.”

  “Well, you’re going and I’m spending time with a guard I met last night,” Lucy gleamed as she stared at Tamzin. “I will always be thankful you brought me, Tam. So many delicious men.”

  Tamzin didn’t say anything as Will stood up from their bed. She feigned laughter but it was like Lucy could see through her. She stared at the princess with cold, hard eyes before her red lips turned upwards into a smile.

  “We’ll see you in a few?” Garrett asked, his playful tone masking a concerned one. Will may have been blind in some instances, but Garrett was not. “If you’re not ready to go in a half an hour, I will return to this room and I will drag your pasty white ass out of bed.”

  “And how do you know about my husband’s pasty white ass?” Tamzin teased as Will pulled on his breeches and tugged off his robe. Will rolled his eyes as Garrett and the women left them in privacy, while Tamzin pulled off her robe. She quickly tugged on her small clothes, a chemise, and a loose fitting pink dress. It was the closest to swimming clothes she had, and if others didn’t surround her, she would have just swam naked. “We really don’t spend enough time with them.”

  “I spend all day with Garrett in council meetings. It’s more important I build a strong marriage,” Will said as he tugged on a thin, white tunic. “Don’t you spend your free time with Kendall when I am unavailable?”

  “Of course,” Tamzin said as she sat down on the bed. “We embroider and Kendall is attempting to learn the harp.” She laughed with the memory of Kendall nearly tearing the harp chord. “Court life is very different here than it is at home. It’s warm all the time in Roth Territory, so we would spend nearly all day outside. I am frightfully pale in Thurston Territory.”

  “That’s not so,” Will laughed as he placed his arm against hers. “If you’re frightfully pale, then I am a ghost,” Will said before he leaned in and kissed her. He tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth as they leaned back into the bed, him on top of her. “I am the Prince, and it is my duty to take your clothes off with my teeth.”

  “The suffering I endure to bear you an heir,” Tamzin whimpered against his lips as Will’s hand slid up her thigh. Slowly, Will pulled away and kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you,” he whispered as he pressed feather light kisses all over her face. “The throne doesn’t seem quite so daunting with you by my side.”

  “You will have very many years to prepare to be King. Your father is as healthy as a horse,” Tamzin commented as he sat up and pulled her up with him. She ran a hand up his arm and kissed his shoulder through his tunic. “Don’t worry about official matters today, my sweet. It’s our last few days of peace.”

  “Do you think the Johanssons will declare war?” Will asked as he clasped her hand in his. “I’ve messed up.”

  “The Johanssons may, but only in word. Our family has slighted them but the Johanssons are definitely not the great house they once were. They won’t be able to stand against the Thurstons, let alone Thurston and Roth,” Tamzin soothed when a knock at the door shook them from their private moment.

  “I swear to God, if you two are naked again…” Garrett’s stern voice outside the door made the couple laugh before they stood together with hands clasped. Will opened the door and saw Kendall as she stood against the doorway with Garrett next to her. “I understand you two are married, but you truly monopolize my friend’s time.”

  “The second your manhood shrivels up and is replaced by a more womanly form, then maybe he will come back,” Kendall mocked as she grabbed Tamzin’s arm. “I need to talk to you!” Kendall squealed as she pulled Tamzin forward. Tamzin smiled at Will before she linked arms with Kendall. Once the girls were an earshot away, Kendall began to speak. “I think he’s going to ask me to marry him!”

  “Garrett? The man whore Garrett?” Tamzin asked in a hushed tone. “You’re blushing. Was this all said post coital?”

  “I assure you that we have not experienced anything post coital,” Kendall scolded lightly as the women stepped outside into the sunlight. “Reminds me of home.” Kendall said in reference to the warm and humid weather. “Do you miss Roth Territory?”

  “Sometimes. I definitely miss my family and our friends in court. I miss the weather and swimming every day. I miss how Lucy used to be,” Tamzin spoke quietly as she felt Kendall’s arm tighten around her.

  “Garrett asks me endless questions about her. He doesn’t seem to know where she is from,” Kendall continued as the girls walked towards the open stable in the courtyard where Angus and the other Thurston horses waited
. “You haven’t told Will, have you?”

  “She won’t betray us,” Tamzin spoke forcefully as she reached out and touched Angus’s mane. “We’re her family.”