Unarmed (Unarmed Trilogy)

by Nina Monroe

  “I need you to be healthy. I need you to be strong enough to fight in battle,” Tamzin ached at the loss of his fingers. “Let me help you,” Tamzin said as she tried to slide to her knees, but Will stopped her.

  “It’s my turn,” Will moaned as he dropped to his knees before she could protest. He shoved her small clothes out of his way before his tongue delved inside her sweet cunt. Tamzin cried out from the sudden feeling of warmth and fullness; it was nothing compared to his cock, but it didn’t stop her from sliding her fingers into his curly hair.

  Will’s hands gripped her behind as he forced her to nearly sit on his face as he lapped at her. He had meant to do this earlier, after Tamzin had serviced him so graciously, and he wouldn’t let himself be the selfish party this time. Will had decided, since her bedding, that his face could take up residence between Tamzin’s pale thighs. He deftly moved his tongue from her entrance to trace her clit with the tip as she continued to cry out softly. He swore that she was ripping out chunks of his hair, but it was such a delicious pain.

  Will’s fingers pressed into her fleshy skin like he wanted to mark her. He didn’t want Tamzin to be able to sit properly for the next few days without remembering how he pressed her against the outer wall of a chapel and fucked her with his tongue. With his nose buried in her curls, Will felt Tamzin’s thighs shake almost uncontrollably before he tasted more of her sweetness as it seeped from her during her climax. Despite the screaming pain from his side, Will continued to eat from her like he was a starving man. When he missed home terribly or the war wasn’t going the way he wanted, Will would remember his quivering bride sitting atop his face as she chanted his name like he was her God.

  Will pulled his face away from her cunt as Tamzin’s feet touched the ground again. She was shaking furiously from both the cold and her orgasm as she felt Will readjust her small clothes and pull her dress back down over her lower body. She peered down at him as his face glistened from her juices. Slowly, Will rose to his feet where he grabbed her face and kissed her possessively. She tasted herself on his tongue and lips as Will nipped almost brutally at her lips. With love bites coating her lips, Will pulled away as he tangled his fingers in her hair.

  “Maybe I should join you,” Tamzin laughed. “If you need to release stress, I am all for helping you if that’s how you wish to treat me.” Her hand brushed over his thick beard as her eyes began to fully open again. “I think you’ve given me a beard rash.”

  “Do you need me to lick it better?” Will whispered in her ear as his hardness pressed against her between her thighs. “Or, if you’ve changed your mind, I can truly make it better.”

  Tamzin reached around and wrapped both arms tightly around his neck as she pressed a gentle kiss to his neck.

  “To make it better, you need to come home. You need to come home, make love to me, and father all my babies,” Tamzin said as she kissed his neck and cheeks. “If you die, I will never forgive you.”

  “My beautiful wife,” Will kissed her lips softly. “I would never dare induce your wrath.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  No matter how early he rose, Will would never have enough time. A quiet day left them alone as Will and Tamzin spent their entire last day together in bed. A reminder he was leaving made Tamzin forget his cracked rib, though he knew she was staring at the ugly mark as he walked to his desk to retrieve his robe. Will allowed his men to sleep in as he decided to travel with the sunlight shining. This didn’t stop him from rising at dawn as Will wrapped the robe around his body and stared absentmindedly at the fire.

  “I could come with you?” Tamzin spoke softly behind him as she wrapped the fur duvet around her shoulders to shield herself from the cold. Will turned to look over his shoulder where he saw her slightly red eyes. The closer dawn came, the more he felt her shoulders shake next to him and the wetter his shoulder became as she rested her head close to him. “You say I am your best council. You will have great need for me.”

  “You are worth more to me than all of my council,” Will responded as he ran a hand over his cheek. The night before, Tamzin had carefully re-trimmed his hair and beard for battle; the shorter the better, but she couldn’t bear for him to lose the hair she loved most dearly. “Your place is here as the Queen Regent. If we need more supplies, we will have to send word.”

  “You leave very little soldiers here and they are mostly injured,” Tamzin remarked as she felt the sun touch her eyes as it rose over the horizon. “I know you need the most men possible, but what if…”

  “The walls can’t be breached, love,” Will comforted lightly, though he didn’t move from his spot. “I don’t imagine I will be gone long. It is not as if I am fighting your father’s army,” Will chuckled though Tamzin didn’t return the gesture. “We are far too north for anyone to come here without your father noticing.”

  “There are other routes, Will,” Tamzin said as she stood from the bed and wrapped the duvet tighter around her shoulders as she crept closer to him. Her bare feet froze on the floor before she felt the warmth of the bear rug in front of the fire. Tamzin rested her chin on Will’s shoulder as she stared into the flames. “The men that called you the Black Bear. I’ve only heard that term down south. I fear for you.”

  “Your confidence is astounding,” Will teased lightly as he turned to wrap his arms around her. “I am undefeated in battle. No one will stop me, not with my beloved Queen back home. I promise you are safe within these walls.”

  “And the people outside?” Tamzin asked as she ran her nail over an old battle scar on Will’s chest. Though he was very pale, the scar was even whiter than his skin, slightly raised but he tensed when she touched it. “Does it hurt?”

  “It’s a reminder mostly,” Will murmured as he took her hand and placed it around his waist. “I have far too many reminders and memories for my head to contain.”

  “That’s why you don’t sleep much?” Tamzin asked as her concerned eyes trained on his face. Though he was very young, Will had worry marks on his forehead and too few smile wrinkles around his mouth. “You never just wake. You toss and turn; you jolt awake.”

  “Taking a man’s life keeps you awake for a night. I feel as if I’ve taken thousands of lives,” Will said as he touched the gold ring on Tamzin’s finger. “My father says the southern kings do not ride into battle like we do. They are content to sit on their throne while their men die. There’s no honor in that. My men will know me if they fight for me. They may not like me, but I will be no cowardly king. If I can sign a paper to send men to their deaths, I will risk my life with them. I want the world to fear me.”

  “I will never fear you,” Tamzin smirked as she kissed his cropped beard. “I’ve seen too far underneath your skin. I know all of your secrets.”

  “You are the only person in the world that knows my secrets. There is no shame in finding comfort with my wife,” Will said as he pulled her closer to him. “In many ways, you are just as brave as the men I will lead into battle.”

  “There is nothing brave about the dainty southern Princess from Roth Territory,” Tamzin laughed. She hid her fear well; in many ways, Tamzin was not ready to be Queen, even temporarily. She felt sick when she wondered what could go wrong, because so much could.

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Will pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “When the time comes, you will show how brave you can be. There’s a mighty girl beneath that sweet demeanor.” His lips brushed against her face and Tamzin moaned lightly from the sharp hairs of his beard as it brushed against her soft skin. “I must begin to ready myself, my love.”

  She trembled lightly as he pulled away from her gently and walked to the grand oak armoire. The doors creaked as he opened them to reveal his suit of armor, something she had seen before. Will shed his robe and stood naked as he stared at his armor. His back was clean of scars but seeing him from behind, Tamzin could still see why men feared him. His stance was rigid with proud shoulders and a strong back. Will was six
feet tall and stood with the confidence of a man that large. He grabbed his leather breeches and pulled them over his legs and hips, followed by a thick brown tunic with the ties in the front.

  With his boots on, Tamzin listened to the armor clank together as she sat back down on their bed. With the duvet hiding her movements, Tamzin pressed a gentle hand against her belly. If she gained any weight, it was very little, but she noticed it. When she knew she was alone, Tamzin relaxed her stomach muscles and stared at the slight protrusion of her stomach. With her chemise on, she stuffed a small pillow beneath the light fabric to mirror a mother’s stomach. Tamzin smiled at the memory and couldn’t wait for Will to return so she might tell him. There could be no better news in the world to give him when he returned home from battle.

  The clang disrupted her thoughts as Will slid his breast plate over his chest and Tamzin made note of the small disconnects in the armor, where the swords or small knives slipped in to leave him his scars. He can’t be killed. Tamzin had heard that rumor, but those people had never seen her husband naked. He bore no true injuries, but he bled and his body ached. He made mistakes and suffered like everyone else; there was nothing godly about her dear husband.

  “Your thoughts are deafening,” Will commented as he continued to fasten the various pieces of his armor. He turned to watch her with concerned eyes. “I have no words to comfort you.”

  “The rumors they say about you. You won’t ever say it, but you like that they think you’re more than a man,” Tamzin remarked as she stared at her gold ring. It glinted in the soft light like her crown would one day. “Do you think you can be killed?”

  “Any man can be killed. Any woman or child can be killed. People just like to believe there is something glorious about dying on the battlefield, but these words are spoken only by people who haven’t been on a battlefield,” Will sneered lightly as he slid his sword and axe around his waist. “A noble death is one in old age. What kind of a man am I if I die on a battlefield? I am a murderer that never got to chance to prove that I am more than just a soldier.”

  “And what kind of man do you want to be?” Tamzin asked as she watched him place his robe on their bed. She slid the duvet off her shoulders before she covered herself with his heavy robe. The smell of him gave her comfort.

  “A fierce protector to my allies and more than a man to my enemies. I want to be the man who can’t be killed to my enemies. I want to be a song in the future; the legend of a king who could kill an enemy with one swipe of his sword so no person may ever question my crown. I am the one true heir, as you are my one true wife,” Will growled like an animal as he pressed his forehead against hers. “Feared by everyone, but you.”

  “Will they sing songs about the princess who could tame a beast?” Tamzin asked as she cupped his face in her small hands.

  “And how the beast loves the princess so fiercely. I fear the only people I will love more than you are our children,” Will said as he kissed her nose and cheeks.

  “You love Garrett. He is like your brother,” Tamzin smiled against his lips as he leaned in and kissed her softly. “And your father.”

  “I do love Garrett and I do love my father, but not like you. You are the only voice that silences the battle cries in my head. I have no bad memories when you are with me,” Will murmured sweetly as he brushed her hair out of her face delicately. “You have stolen my heart.”

  “Please let me come with you,” Tamzin breathed deeply as she tried to control her shaky voice. Fear and dread seeped into her like the cold through the stones. Her hands searched to clench the cloak that was not there and she winced as her fingers found the unforgiving armor. “I will do anything.”

  “Your place is here, love,” Will said as the sun began to shine defiantly through the closed drapes of their bedroom. “I may leave, but I will always come back. I could never curse you to spend countless hours in councils or solving the problems of the townsfolk.” He smiled as she laughed as the tears ran down her cheeks. “Please dress soon, sweetheart. I have something to show you before I leave. I should have shown it to you yesterday, but I can’t satiate myself when it comes to you.”

  Tamzin blushed lightly before she heard a knock at the door. The door opened a second later to reveal Kendall, who had her own swollen and red eyes to match Tamzin’s.

  “I apologize, Your Highness, but I need to ready the Princess for the day. Your men have begun congregating in the courtyard,” Kendall said obediently, though she couldn’t meet Will’s eyes.

  “Give us one more minute, Kendall,” Tamzin smiled bitterly as she wrapped the robe tighter around her body. “Will just needs to have another word.”

  Will felt his defiant confidence begin to melt as he watched Kendall. There was no one he wanted to come home after every battle than Garrett, the man with whom he had a closer bond than his own father. Kendall curtsied obediently before she left the room and closed the door behind them.

  “There are many hidden passages in this old castle,” Will said as he touched the mantle of the fireplace lightly. “Technically this room is a hiding place, but there is always more.” He pushed the wall directly next to the mantle, which slid open to a room that was blinded by sunlight. Tamzin stepped forward to see a fire pit with fresh wood resting in the center. “Black smoke that can be seen by my aunt and only her. Black smoke means invasion. Black smoke will be your salvation.”

  “I just need to light it?” Tamzin asked as she looked to his face. “The fireplace is closer than I am to you.”

  “You light it and I will return. I promise,” Will said as he cupped her cheek with his glove-covered hand. “Ready yourself, Tam. I will not leave until I give you my final goodbye.”

  “Don’t say goodbye,” Tamzin bit her lip as she watched Will close the heavy door to the fire pit. “It means you won’t ever return.”

  “They say I can’t be killed,” Will said cheekily.

  “So if you do not return, it’s safe to say you’ve found a better wife?” Tamzin smiled as Will pulled her closer to his chest. The armor made her shiver and she regretted the fact that she could feel the warmth of his body.

  “I would have to search far and wide to even find a comparable one,” Will kissed her forehead before his gloved hand touched her stomach. “Can I ask you to do one thing before I come home?”

  “Anything,” Tamzin said as her stomach fluttered from excitement.

  “Can this belly be full when I come home? A strong and healthy boy?”

  “So fickle,” Tamzin teased lightly. “No more one hundred daughters?”

  “As long as you are their mother, I will love any child you give me.” Will’s hand ghosted over her lower stomach, where their secret child was resting comfortably.

  “I think I can do that,” Tamzin said as her lips touched his. It wasn’t a heated kiss or sexually charged; it was a quiet kiss filled with love but tinged slightly with sadness. “You need to see your men.”

  “I won’t leave until I give you my final goodbye, ah, farewell? No. I can’t think of a better word,” Will laughed before Tamzin slapped him lightly. “Didn’t feel a thing.” He swept her up in his arms as Tamzin laid her head on his hard shoulder. “Do not think I want to leave you, wife. My place is always with you by my side.”

  “It won’t be long,” Tamzin’s voice edged. “I will be very cross with you if you miss my name day next month. I may never let you lay with me again.”

  “You couldn’t resist me long enough. You think I’m divine,” Will said before he kissed her chastely. “Your lady waits outside. I will see you soon, love.” He gently ran his thumb across her bottom lip before he smiled sadly and pulled away. Tamzin watched as he left their bedroom as Kendall entered, a somber look framing her pretty face.

  “Will you wear red or a dark color? I don’t think Will would be offended if you wore your family’s red,” Kendall said softly as she opened the armoire belonging to Tamzin. “Or a dress that is black, but with a red tiara?
”

  “Kendall, right now, you are my friend. Two women who will watch their husbands go to war,” Tamzin said as she placed her hand lightly on Kendall’s shoulder. “Will won’t let anything happen to Garrett, just as Garrett will protect Will.”