Chapter Thirteen
“Come along now, miss.” A strong tug pulled at Whimsy’s upper arm. Her body was limp and rung out. She didn’t resist.
A hard muscled arm tightened possessively around her waist. “No,” said Gaedrian’s deep voice, still husky with sleep. “Leave her.”
“But, my liege, your mother insists that she be taken to her new quarters. We were told that you had fulfilled your obligations where this one is concerned.”
“Leave her.”
There was a sharp intake of breath. Whimsy’s eyes opened in time to catch the surprise on the guard’s face before he could hide it. She frowned, wondering at the cause. Surely they were used to Gaedrian keeping women in his bed. After all, he’d bedded two women the night she met him. Whatever the cause for his surprise, Whimsy did not give it much thought. She was mentally and physically exhausted after the night she’d just experienced. She buried her face in a pillow and allowed sleep to claim her once more.
When next she woke, the drapes were open and sunlight was pouring into the room. Whimsy was in bed alone. Where was Gaedrian?
She ran her hands over her face. After last night, she would be an outcast in her own kingdom. She’d shamed herself and her family with her behavior. She shuddered to think of her father’s reaction should she ever see him again. Perhaps it was for the best no one knew what had become of her.
She waited for the horror and fear of her thoughts to sink in, but nothing happened.
Despite the consequences, she did not regret giving herself to Gaedrian. To not know the sensation of being completely his would have been far worse. The memory of his cock stretching her, completing her, made her heart beat faster.
Whimsy sat up to take in her current extravagant surroundings. Surely, she thought, she couldn’t expect to continue being treated to such luxury. The candles from the night before had been doused, and Gaedrian’s robe was draped across the end of the bed.
Whimsy bit her lip. She was alone, but that didn’t mean there weren’t guards stationed outside the door. She slid out of bed and pulled on the robe. It pooled around her feet and completely enveloped her hands. Tugging back the sleeves impatiently, she looked around the room. Her clothes were nowhere to be seen.
Despite the lack of clothing, she realized, this might be her last opportunity for escape. The thought of leaving Gaedrian behind tore at her heart, but she had to be realistic. Now that he’d had her, Gaedrian would be ready to move on. Editha would see to it. Whimsy knew she couldn’t stay here and watch that happen. It would hurt too much.
She wasn’t sure she could find her way out of the castle. When Dark had given her a tour, he had not taken her out of the castle other than to visit the gardens. Whimsy wasn’t even certain that she could fly one of their aircraft. But she had to try, for she didn’t feel comfortable resting her future in Editha’s hands.
She almost gave up before she reached the door. Her thighs were sore, as was her woman’s core. Her entire body was a mass of unaccustomed aches. He’d ridden her hard last night. Whimsy shook her head to dispel the images this thought gave rise to. No time for reminiscing. Barefoot, she made her way to the door. Locked. It never occurred to her that it would be locked. She was trapped. She gave the doors an experimental shove. They were as solid as they appeared.
She would have to trust that Gaedrian would save her from too harsh a punishment. Whimsy hoped she wasn’t being foolish by doing so. He’d never treated her with anything but kindness. Frustrated, she banged her head against the door. She would have to stay and wait for another opportunity to escape.
In the meantime, she needed to bathe to rid herself of the soreness from Gaedrian’s loving. Whimsy trailed her fingers in the water of the bathing pool and found it to be surprisingly warm this morning. Fresh flowers floated on the surface. She must have been dead to the world for the servants to have come in and done this without waking her.
Whimsy slipped out of the robe and slowly descended the steps that led into the pool. At the last minute she thought of her hair. She tugged it upwards and wrapped it into a bun.
Whimsy was submerged to her neck when the door opened. Gaedrian looked to the bed, scowled at seeing it empty, but upon finding her in the pool his expression softened. He was dressed in all black, and the color played up the dark hue of his long curls. He looked the same, but something was different. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
Whimsy held her breath as he neared her. Would he take her again? Her body pulsed at the thought, despite the fact that she was in no shape to accept him so soon.
“Please hurry with your bath. I would introduce you to my people.”
Whimsy stilled. Who was he introducing her to? Was this when she learned her new duties? “I have nothing to wear.”
He waved that aside. “Clothing will be provided for you.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What are you introducing me as? Your whore?”
He frowned. “What is a whore?”
“You don’t know?”
“Obviously not or I would not have asked.” He shook his head. “You may inform me later. We have more pressing matters to attend to. Do not worry about clothing.”
She scrubbed her arms vigorously. “Why not just give me back my clothes?”
“They were discarded. They are no longer fitting for your status. Do you require assistance with your bath?”
“No.” She ducked farther under the water, though she didn’t know why she should be shy with him. He’d seen, touched, and tasted practically every inch of her. When she finished she was hesitant to exit with him still watching her. Perhaps it was because this was the first time that he was completely clothed while she was bare. “Turn around. Please,” she added. He smothered a grin but did so. She dashed out of the water as swiftly as her aching limbs would allow and tugged on the robe. She did feel better after soaking in the warm water. Her aches weren’t screaming for attention quite so loudly. At home, she would have bathed in water left out in the healing rays of Myrna. None knew how the moon’s rays had the powers to heal. Scientists had been researching it since the Myrna’s gifts were discovered, but as yet no answers had been found.
Gaedrian turned back to her once she was covered. He ran a hand down her cheek. His other hand fumbled with her hasty bun, undoing it. “So lovely,” he murmured as he leaned in and kissed her neck.
Whimsy moaned, easily falling under his spell once more. She’d missed waking in his arms. The door opened as Editha entered without knocking. “You wanted to see me.” She stopped upon seeing Whimsy in his room. Her mouth tightened to a thin line. “I specifically recall ordering you removed.”
“And I said she could stay.”
Editha spared a momentary glare for Whimsy before turning back to him. “Son, you requested my presence and I assumed it was in reference to the volunteers.”
“In a way, it is. You may dismiss them.”
Editha glanced at him and then at Whimsy. Her eyes widened in horror. “No.”
“Yes.”
Editha fainted.
“Damn,” Gaedrian muttered.
His “people,” it seemed, turned out to be half the kingdom. Whimsy had objected when servants had rushed in en masse to do her hair and dress her. She hadn’t been so fussed over since the first time they prepared her to meet Gaedrian. Now she was glad they had made such an effort. They’d piled her mass of curls upon her head and found a violet gown that suited her voluptuous figure and butterscotch skin.
When she entered the meeting hall filled to the brim with people, she would have turned back if Gaedrian hadn’t been at her side. He held her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
A long oval table took up most of the room. Men and women of advanced years sat at the table. At one end was a large empty chair with a much taller back than all the others. She assumed it to be Gaedrian’s. At the other end sat Editha in a matching chair. She appeared resigned. Men and women of varying
ages stood around the room. Whimsy spotted Chaldor lounging near the back. His grin stretched from ear to ear. Dark was not present.
Gaedrian stood beside his chair. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Everyone grew quiet. “Friends, this has been a long time in coming. It is with great pleasure, that I introduce you to my fate, Gaedriana.” At his pronouncement, there were several gasps. Stunned applause followed.
She was confused and then embarrassed as he took her in his arms and kissed her in front of everyone. On C7, public displays were discouraged and punished by law if judged to be excessive. He kept the kiss light but her body was still so aware of his that Whimsy was immediately aroused.
People formed a line and took turns congratulating them. There was little chance for her to ask Gaedrian why they were being congratulated. Chaldor greeted her with an enthusiastic hug. “I knew you would be the one,” he said.
“The one what?” she whispered.
“The one fate chose.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “That clears up absolutely nothing.” She wanted to stomp her foot in frustration as he was jostled away by more well-wishers before she could get any further answers.
She turned to Gaedrian but he was engaged in conversation with a couple. Suddenly it struck her that this room was filled with men and women, and that the latter were not reacting to him. While she continued to feel the pull of her attraction to him, it was not the clawing aggressive hunger she’d experienced in the past. It was that difference she had noticed in him this morning. He had been cured. But how?
Editha cleared her throat, gaining Whimsy’s attention.
“It is my hope that not only can we come to terms with one another, but that we can become friends. I want you to know that all I did to you was out of love for my son. You will understand when you have children one day. It evokes a fierce protectiveness in a mother.” Editha hugged her. Whimsy was too stunned to respond.
When they were finally seated, Whimsy was given the spot vacated by Editha. Strangers were to her left and her right. Everyone treated her graciously.
Whimsy’s mind raced to piece together what was going on. Subsequently, she didn’t speak much during the dinner. She listened to those around her for clues, adding them to what she already knew.
“Gaedrian,” she said softly once the doors to his room closed behind them, “please tell me that I’m wrong in thinking that all those people tonight know what we did.”
“What we did?”
“Don’t smile at me that way! You know what I’m talking about.” He removed his shirt. She refused to be distracted and did not lower her eyes below his neck. “Do they know?”
“Yes.”
“And they were congratulating us about it?” She was incredulous. Could their worlds be any more different?
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I explained fate to you. You are my fate.”
“How can you know that? From what I heard, you had a chain of women come through here.”
“But you are the only one to appease my desire. Until you, I could not find pleasure. I could not be sated.”
“All those women and I was the only one to…please you?”
“Yes,” he said, his full lips curling once more. He began undoing his pants. “You please me greatly.”
She swallowed at his tone and his words. “Does this mean I can go home now?”
“No,” he said with a sudden scowl. “This means you belong to me now and forever.”
“Oh.” Her heart thumped with excitement. “And you belong to me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“No more women?”
“No more women.” His pants dropped and with them so did her gaze. He was impressively aroused. She wet her lips. Heat unfurled low in her belly and liquid desire pooled between her thighs. Her breath came in short little pants. Whimsy was suddenly as hungry for him as she’d ever been.
Without realizing it, she’d crossed the distance between them. “Gaedrian.” Her voice was barely above a whisper but it was full of want.
“Dessert,” he said, taking her in his arms and covering her mouth with his own. His kiss was deep but slow and gentle. He kissed her neck fervently. She moaned and arched into the heat of his mouth when he nibbled her hardened nipples through her gown. He undressed her slowly. She hadn’t been given panties, so once the dress was gone, she was bare. Gaedrian ran his finger over the back of her moist nether lips and groaned. “I regret my rough treatment of you last night.” She hissed as his finger slid over her clit with a teasing light touch. “So wet, so slippery,” he groaned. “My pussy,” he said and plunged a finger inside without warning. She cried out and gripped his bulging biceps.
He kissed her again, his tongue taking her mouth in the same rhythm with which his finger invaded her pussy. Whimsy melted in his arms. She was on the verge of an orgasm when he stopped kissing her. “I plan to treat my pussy much better tonight,” he said against her mouth. She could only whimper in response. If he treated her much better, she’d expire from it.
He lifted her and carried her to the bed, arranging her with her legs wide open. He mounted her, his cock nestling at her portal. He balanced his weight on his elbows. “So beautiful, Dessert. Beyond description,” he murmured, his eyes scanning her face, neck and full bosom. He rained soft kisses over her forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips. Gaedrian sucked her lower lip into his mouth and gave it a tiny nip before moving on to her neck and ears.
His seduction was slow and sweet, yet she found her passion burning along at a much faster pace. Whimsy arched her hips into his to feel his cock, soothing herself with the knowledge that he would enter her soon.
Gaedrian cupped her breasts, suckling one while taunting the other with his thumb and forefinger. She buried her fingers in his hair. He switched breasts before breaking away to lick his way down her belly. His tongue delved into her belly button before he kissed her inner thighs. He circled her clit with his tongue. He groaned before taking the sensitive bud in his mouth for a thorough sucking.
“Gaedrian!” She writhed beneath him. Her cunt convulsed as he inserted two fingers. “Please, I want you. Want to feel you inside me again.” He settled over her with a growl. She swiftly wrapped her legs around his waist, opening her thighs wide for him. He entered her leisurely. She was whimpering and practically begging him before he was fully seated. Her nails dug into his shoulders. When he moved, it was a subtle slide of his erection in her throbbing channel. He repeated it again and again, barely pulling out of her. She needed more. “Oh, please, please,” she pleaded on the verge of tears, “Please, harder.”
Gaedrian withdrew slightly more and then filled her again. It wasn’t enough. Whimsy gripped his buttocks when next he moved and tried to force him to thrust harder and faster. “Please!” she burst out again.
“I am being gentle,” he said between clenched teeth. “Even if it kills me.”
“Gentle is killing me,” she gasped. The feel of his large cock stretching her was keeping her on the edge, but his leisurely pace was torture.
“I hurt you last night. I will not repeat that.”
“It was my first time. Yes, I’m still a little sensitive, but I enjoyed, no, loved last night with you. Now, please, please, take me.”
His next thrust was hard and deep. Each plunge was more powerful than the last. “Oh, yes,” she panted. “Yes!” His thick cock tunneled through her tight tissues, igniting sparks within her pussy. She threw her head back on the pillow as Gaedrian braced himself on his palms and fucked her to her pleasure. The intense sensations spread from her belly to the rest of her body, causing her toes to curl and her back to arch. She cried out his name as she reached her peak. Her climax strengthened as he swelled and exploded inside her. He stiffened, buried his deepest within her, growling low in his throat. Whimsy wrapped her legs around his waist and enjoyed every second of it. Finally, he rolled over so that she was on top, his hand st
roking her back. She sighed and fell asleep in his arms.
Chapter Fourteen
“And the search continues for Princess Whimsical Featherstone. King Raul implores anyone with any knowledge of her possible whereabouts to come forward. The reward had been doubled as of yesterday. We spoke with a representative for the royal family earlier today…”
Serri turned off the flat panel screen built into the wall. He was certain he had done the right thing by not revealing Whimsy’s location. Her parents grieved, but he had saved them from the shame that would have ensued had they known the truth.
His mother Amarelle arrived home with his younger brother Dari and her assistant Charm in tow. He stood to kiss her cheek, well aware that no matter what he did, he was on her shit list these days. She blamed him for Whimsy’s disappearance. If he had been more of a suitor, she would not have gone wandering off. He should have had better control over her. It didn’t matter that he and Whimsy had been little more than friendly acquaintances. The betrothal didn’t require them to spend time with each other and he had always felt uncomfortable around her. She was too damned smart and opinionated for a woman. She reminded him of his mother in that sense.
“I hope you enjoyed your shopping trip.”
She sniffed. “I would have enjoyed it more if I were receiving the respect that I am due.” She handed her purse and hat to Charm before settling herself on the sofa.
Serri didn’t ask what she meant by that comment. His late father Serran Timmons had been an advisor to the king as was his father before him. Their family had long been in the service of the Featherstones. Their father had indebted King Raul to him by saving heir to the throne Prince True when he choked during his a dinner given for his seventh birthday. In his gratitude the King had betrothed his eldest daughter Whimsical to Serran’s eldest son.
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