Besieged and Betrothed

still put a stop to this, but she didn’t want to. She knew that with every part of her being. Even if it were just going to be this once, she wanted this, whatever this was, to happen.

He carried her across the room, lips seeking hers again as he lowered her gently down on to the bed, then pulled back as if he intended to move to one side. She didn’t let him, tightening her legs around his waist to draw him down on top of her instead. He resisted for a moment, before his eyes seemed to spark suddenly, and then she lost all power of description. She was only aware of the weight of his body on hers and the intoxicating feel of his mouth on her skin, trailing a pattern over her throat and breasts, causing a hunger that seemed to eclipse every other thought or sensation.

‘You’re beautiful, Juliana.’

She heard the words through a haze, intent upon running her hands over the strong muscles of his back. His hands were busy exploring her, too, tracing the curve of her waist and hips as if he were trying to memorise every inch of her body. Was he? The thought made her go cold for a moment, reminding her that he was leaving.

‘Juliana?’ He lifted his head, as if sensing the change, and she forced a smile.

‘Show me what to do,’ she stretched up to whisper in his ear and felt a shudder run through his body.

‘It might hurt at first.’ He grasped one of her hands and pressed his lips against her fingertips.

‘I know. Alys and Maud told me.’

He shifted backwards and she sat up, thinking she must have said the wrong thing.

‘Where are you going?’

‘To remove my hose.’ He looked faintly amused. ‘Didn’t they tell you I needed to remove them?’

‘Oh... Yes.’

She lay down again and rolled on to her side, trying to hide her confusion. Alys and Maud’s description hadn’t exactly made matters clear, but she didn’t want him to guess just how little she knew. Then the bed dipped again and she felt a warm hand on her ankle, trailing its way slowly up her leg, past her knee, over her hip and the curve of her bottom, and she felt her fears start to dissipate.

‘Tell me if I hurt you.’ His voice sounded strained. ‘I’ll stop.’

She nodded and then his hands were back around her waist, rolling her over as he stretched his body on top of hers. She twisted her arms around his neck, pulling his face downwards, kissing him with all the hunger she knew she had only one day to satiate as he nudged her legs gently apart. This was it, the thing that Alys and Maud had told her about, and yet it didn’t feel painful. It felt...

She cried out as he pushed deep inside her, every muscle in her body clenching at once. A mistake. This had definitely been a mistake! She wanted to tell him so, but his lips were still moving gently, his body hovering motionless above hers in a way that was less painful already. She let out a breath of relief. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all. The tightness actually seemed to be easing, so much that she even wanted to move herself. She tried it and felt a rush of pleasure spread out from between her legs to her stomach, like the tremulous, fluttering sensation she’d felt before, only stronger. Curious, she tested it again and the feeling intensified.

‘Juliana.’ Lothar’s voice sounded hoarse.

‘Am I doing it wrong?’ She froze instantly.

‘No. Just tell me when.’

‘When what?’

‘When I can move.’

She hesitated. Would that hurt? She tried moving her own body again, rolling her hips in a slow circling motion, and this time he groaned aloud.

‘You can move.’

She said the words tentatively—was utterly unprepared for his reaction. He pushed so deeply into her that she cried out again, though this time the feeling was less pain than pleasure. When he moved back and pushed again, she felt as though she were in the grip of some fever, as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her stomach in a searing hot torrent. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. New, surprising and so unimaginably intense that she didn’t want any of it to stop. Instinctively, she followed his rhythm, advancing and retreating beneath him until he gripped her arms suddenly, pushing them both down into the mattress.

‘Wait.’

His voice was a growl, but she didn’t heed him. The feeling in her stomach was building to something, she could sense it. If she stopped now, then it would go away and she didn’t want it to. She wanted to feel it, whatever it was, right now. If he were leaving, then this might be the only chance she ever had to find out.

‘Juliana!’

The way he cried her name pushed her over the brink. She heard herself cry out, too, feeling as though she’d left the bed somehow, as if she were being tossed and turned in the river beneath her window. Her whole body was trembling, convulsing with some primal reaction that made her mind feel numb. She was vaguely aware of his body shaking, too, though he pulled away from her first, leaving her with a strangely empty feeling as he rolled on to his back. She hadn’t wanted him to go, but perhaps that was how it worked.

Then she forgot everything else, surrendering herself to the vibrating sensations still rippling through her body. Perhaps she’d ask him about that later, about why he’d moved away... It was the last thing she thought before she fell asleep.

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