by Nina Monroe
Tamzin left the chambers and found the hallway guarded by a few soldiers. They eyed her warily and some openly sneered at her. She didn’t look at them and kept her eyes forward as she walked down the back staircase towards the kitchens. Just as she turned around the corner, she ran into someone.
“Tamzin!” Garrett yelled in shock as he continued to maneuver the plates in his hand to stop them from dropping. “I haven’t seen you in a few days,” he said awkwardly as Tamzin observed the two plates of cake.
“Do you have a guest?” Tamzin questioned with a smirk on her face. “I know Kendall loves chocolate.”
“Maybe I want two pieces?” Garrett said with a furrow brow as he huffed. “Are you going down to make yourself a plate of dinner?”
“Yes, why?” Tamzin asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Well, because someone else in this castle hasn’t had dinner either. After training and meetings, he went to his study for the evening and he hasn’t come out since. Maybe you shouldn’t mock me for carrying two plates,” Garrett said as he returned her smirk. “He misses you, you know.”
“I know,” Tamzin said with a blush as she looked down to the floor. “Thank you, Garrett.”
“I would say that you know where to find me, but I don’t want any interruptions,” Garrett grinned as he continued to balance the plates. “Goodnight, Princess.” He brushed past her and up the stairs as Tamzin followed the stairway down to the kitchens. Some of the kitchen girls were still awake and gossiping when they noticed Tamzin.
“Your Highness!” one of the teenage girls said as she stood up quickly. “May we get you anything?”
“Yes, would you mind making up two dinner plates and two dessert plates?” Tamzin asked with a smile before she noticed the two other girls. They eyed Tamzin with suspicious eyes as they whispered frantically to one another. Tamzin straightened her shoulders and raised an eyebrow at the girls. Her stare stopped the gossiping and the girls returned to washing the dishes.
“Here you are, Your Highness,” the girl said as she brought the plates to her. “Will you need help?”
“No, just a tray, please,” Tamzin smiled again as she watched the girl place the plates on a tray. “Thank you.” Tamzin nodded as she lifted the tray and turned to walk up the stairs. She ignored the muffled whispers from the girls as she left the kitchens and kept her head held high. Tamzin hoped that this would be enough of a peace offering to Will that he might at least sleep next to her tonight. Since she had come to realization about her feelings for him, the bed felt that much emptier.
The castle was chilled but warmed as she continued to walk up the flights of stairs. The tray was heavy in her hands and it was difficult to open and close doors without help, but Tamzin made do. Garrett had told her that Will would be in his private study, which may have meant the study attached to his old chambers. Tamzin had never seen this study before as she opened his door. She hadn’t thought to knock as she opened the door to find Will lounging in the tub.
“Tamzin!” He yelled as he grabbed the dagger that rested on the edge of tub. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“I’m sorry!” Tamzin squeaked as she nearly dropped the tray. “I heard that you didn’t have dinner, so I thought I would bring you some.” She watched as Will relaxed back into the tub and motioned for her to put the tray on the bed.
“You brought two plates,” he observed before he dropped his eyes back down to the water.
“I was hoping you would let me join you?” Tamzin asked, though her voice began to crack. “If you want.”
“I have a lot to do, Tamzin. I have to eat and do more research on the type of weaponry used in Johansson, along with trimming my beard and my hair…” Will began as he watched Tamzin raise her hand.
“I can do that,” she interrupted. “I can trim your beard and cut your hair for you. I had to learn to when I became a healer,” Tamzin said as she observed the dagger on the side of the tub. “Please, let me take care of you.”
“I’m not a child that needs tending to,” Will scolded lightly, insulted by her comment. “You’re not my mother.”
“I know that. The strongest urge that I have is to take care of you. I never want you to be in pain and I know I caused you pain when I lied about Lucy. Please let me make it up to you,” Tamzin pleaded as she stared at him.
“Why?” Will asked; he knew he was pressing her buttons as he watched her take her lip between her teeth.
“Because I love you,” Tamzin said in a firm voice as she stood up straight. “I want to take care of you because I love you. I do want to say that I am sorry, but you need someone to care for you. I don’t mean that in a demeaning way, but you never let anyone love you. I want to,” Tamzin said as she watched his eyes glass over with her statement. It felt like the pressure on her shoulders was lifted when she finally told him. Even if Will didn’t say it back, Tamzin knew he still loved her.
“Okay,” Will whispered as he let his arms slip back into the warm water. “On the table is my razor. It usually takes a while…”
“It’s okay,” Tamzin smiled as she came to stand behind him in the tub. She got down on her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders. Gently, she began to knead his shoulders and almost immediately, Will let out a sigh. She felt the tension and knots in his shoulders and neck as she continued to press her fingers into tense spots. “Worried about something?” she asked.
“I’m worried about everything,” Will laughed as he felt her fingers trail up into his curls. Her nails scraped against his scalp and he groaned. “That feels good,” he said as his head lulled to the side as she continued to massage his scalp. Tamzin removed one of her hands from his scalp as she reached for the hair oil next to the fire. “Dip your head into the water.”
Will did as she asked. He dipped his hair into the water and his thick curls were patted down by the weight of the water. Tamzin poured some of the warm oil into the palm of her hand before she swept her fingers through his tangled hair. Will sighed as she began to scratch and massage his scalp again, working the oil deep into the root.
“It feels good,” Will almost whimpered when he felt her lips on his cheek. She peppered a few kisses on his cheeks before she ran her teeth over his earlobe. “That feels better.”
“Dip your head back into the water,” Tamzin said as she gently pushed his head back into the water. She watched as Will ran his fingers through his hair beneath the surface before he resurfaced.
“Use my dagger,” Will said as he reached for the dagger at the edge of the tub. “Do you know how to make the cream?”
“The oils will work fine, my love,” Tamzin said as she leftover oil on her hand and ran it across his cheek. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, and Will smiled at her, like he used to before Lucy. “I’m going to miss your beard.”
“It will grow back,” Will said as he felt her gently press the blade against his cheek and moved down. Tamzin watched as his heavy beard thinned out and she could see the pale, smooth skin beneath. Carefully, she continued to pull the blade up against his beard and soon, his skin was as bare as the day he was born.
“You look much younger,” Tamzin said as she trailed a finger down his cheek. Will looked eighteen, perhaps even younger. “Is this why you always have a beard?”
“I do look much more intimidating,” Will said with a grin as he stood up in the tub. Though they had been intimate countless times, Tamzin still flushed when she saw her husband naked. Will didn’t seem to mind his nakedness around her as he grabbed the nearby towel and ran it over his body. Tamzin reached out and gingerly touched the foul bruise on his side. “It still hurts.”
“I’m sure,” Tamzin said as she felt the frown on her face form.
“It’s better than being dead,” Will said as he reached and took her hand from his side. “It hurts too much to touch.”
“Does it hurt too much to sleep? I can give you something?” Tamzin immediately began to sputter before W
ill silenced her.
“Your scalp massage relaxed me more than anything,” Will said as he smiled softly. He wrapped the towel around his waist and Tamzin led him to his chair in front of the fire. Will took a deep breath and sat down slowly, his hand holding his injured side as he sat down.
“I think I may be more upset about cutting your hair. I love you curls,” Tamzin said as she ran her fingers through his hair.
“That makes me feel masculine,” Will laughed as he tilted his head up to look at her. “You don’t need to cut it too short.”
“I will keep that in my mind,” Tamzin said as she let her eyes wander around the room for the scissors. “Do you have a pair of scissors?”
“In my desk,” Will said as he nodded to the open door to his study. “Just use the knife. I don’t care.”
“Excuse me, but I will not maim my husband’s hair with a dagger blade!” Tamzin scolded lightly as she trailed her fingers down his face. Without another word, Tamzin walked quickly from his chambers to his study, where she found his desk. In the first drawer was the scissors.
When Tamzin returned to his chambers, Will was touching his face like there was something foreign on it.
“Are you already missing it?” She asked as she approached him in quick strides. Will didn’t say anything as he leaned into her hands as she began to cut his hair. Tamzin didn’t take too much off, just enough for it to look tame and smoothed back. “You look very handsome,” Tamzin said as she cupped his cheek. She felt Will turn his head as he pressed a kiss to her palm.
“I want to look fearsome and ferocious,” he responded as he ran his hands through his curls. “But we both know I will have some stubble by the morning. You can see for yourself.”
“Is that an invitation?” Tamzin asked uncertainly. She didn’t want to push her luck or assume anything about Will.
“Only if you say it again,” Will said as he reached out and untied the knot of her robe. He pushed the fabric open to see her chemise and Tamzin’s breath hitched as his fingers pushed up her chemise from her thigh.
“I love you,” Tamzin whimpered as she felt him pull her closer to him, their pelvises aligned.
“Again,” Will said with his breath hot on her face. “That’s how you can make it up to me. Keep saying it.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Tamzin moaned as he dragged her to the floor. He rolled her onto the bear rug where he leaned up over her body and took off his towel.
“I think I know how to properly punish you, my sweet,” Will said as he gently opened her legs with her chemise pushed up to under her chin. “I know just how to make you pay for it.”
His wording made her nervous as his fingers touched her between her legs. Tamzin took a deep breath as he slid a finger inside of her and she nearly cried out from the contact. Will smiled before he slid another finger in and began to pump in and out. His thumb massaged her and he hit all the right places; he played her like a fiddle.
“Will,” Tamzin sighed and moaned as she reached out for him but he resisted her. “I want your mouth. Please,” Tamzin cried out as she felt herself approaching climax when his fingers slid out. “What?”
“I’m not a cruel man, truly, but I know to punish people properly. You take stock in what they need and what they want and you break them like that. I don’t want to break you, but I want to get your attention. This certainly got your attention, didn’t it?” Will smirked as he palmed his manhood. “It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? I can take care of my problem so easily but it’s just a bit more difficult for you.”
“I know how to touch myself,” Tamzin said angrily as she sat up and pulled her chemise down over her legs. “I may have had to keep my maidenhood intact, but don’t believe that other boys haven’t entertained me.”
“I doubt they were as good as me. Who else can bring you to such a frenzy in a few strokes? We may not have been together long, but you’re easier to read than any book or map,” Will growled as he forced her onto her back and she felt his manhood press against her. “If you don’t want this, I won’t make you.”
“I want this,” Tamzin moaned again, despite her better judgment. “Kiss me down there,” she urged but felt the warm breath of his laughter against her face.
“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but this I know is certain. I will bring you so close to the edge but I won’t let you fall of it. Maybe I am a cruel man,” Will teased as he leaned in and gently bit her neck. “I assure you, my love, that I will make you sorry.”
He spent hours worshipping her body, while leaving bruising kisses on her ribs and hips, gentle bite marks on her breasts and stomach, and fingerprints where he gripped her thighs as he lapped at her cunt. He was exhausted; his jaw ached as did the rest of his body but he kept pushing and pushing. Tamzin was quite literally crying as she begged him to let her finally climax.
“Please, please,” she whimpered as she felt his breath on her over stimulated skin. She was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and she was beyond hot from her back against the bearskin rug. She was so close, again, as she watched Will lift his face from between her legs. His lips and chin were covered in her juices as he wiped his face clean again. Tamzin watched in anger and frustration as he allowed himself to come from his own ministrations, but when she tried to do the same to herself, Will threatened to tie her up.
Tamzin had never felt this way before. She felt like madness was looming in the back of her mind as she felt Will press more kisses to her stomach and ribs. Between her legs, she was pulsing and every gentle brush of his skin was pushing her too far. If he still had his beard, Tamzin would literally be a pile of goo from feeling the roughness against her body, in her current state.
“I won’t lie,” Will began as he wrapped his arms under her back and lifted her up to press her body against his. “From the first moment I saw you, I was undeniably attracted to you. Some of the men want a little thing for a wife, but you’re perfect. You’re softness and warmth and not hard, like my body,” Will laughed at his own joke before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Your hips are perfect for my hands. I worship what is between your legs and your breasts are so perfect,” he said as he ran his teeth along her shoulders. “My sweet Princess, I love you so much. Do you want me to make you feel good?”
“Gods, yes,” Tamzin groaned out and felt Will smile against her neck. “I won’t ever lie again, I promise.”
“You won’t, won’t you?” Will asked as he rolled her body so her front was facing the ground. “You liked it when I took you this way?”
“You could make me swing from the chandelier, I don’t care,” Tamzin said as she got on her all fours and stood that way unsteadily. “This is how you make men spill their secrets?” She laughed as she felt his smooth face trail kisses up her spine.
“Only you, my love,” Will said as he swiped his tongue across her shoulder blades and ran his hand up to her shoulder, where he gripped her for support. With his other hand, he guided himself inside of her. “You’re so wet, sweetness,” Will grinned as he slid so easily between her folds. “It won’t take long, will it?”
Tamzin cried out from the contact and nearly began to contract around him immediately. Her arms gave out and she collapsed on the ground as she felt Will slide in and out of her easily. His arm wrapped around her midsection and his fingers touched her lightly when she began to shake. Like Will predicted, Tamzin didn’t last long before she was crying out in ecstasy, with the tears running down her cheeks from it. Her body rolled and contracted nearly violently as her hips began to jive up and down uncontrollably. It was like Tamzin wasn’t in control of her own body and the feeling was so overwhelming, she was convinced she would die.
A few moments later, Tamzin felt Will spend inside of her. He gently touched her hips and moved her to the side as he came to lay down on his uninjured side. Instantly, he wrapped his arm around her hips and pulled her close enough for their noses to touch.