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“He... He kissed me.” I stutter. I am tongue-tied. “I resisted... at first, but there was a fleeting moment when I did not. His hands touched my waist. This was no love affair.”
“Do you believe what he said about your sister?”
“Why would he lie about Beth-Ann?”
“Because he is a liar and a fucking thief, you simple woman.” Christian bites out. “How do you know he is not trying to take you for himself? Do you know how much a witch like you would sell for to the right buyer? More gold and land that you can wrap your head around, or maybe he wants to keep you for himself to gorge himself on your blood and your body.”
I am angry because everything he is saying is true. I know nothing about him. I doubt if Victoria does either. She probably fell under his charm the way I did. Rumi probably left with half of the kitchen’s silver and my best jewelry. I am not a very good wife. He will leave me for this, I just know it. And then I will be alone.
“I am not leaving you.” Christian says gruffly. “I saw what happened, and you did not encourage him. In fact, you warned him that I would kill him, if I knew what he was doing. You are a good wife.”
“I should have told you.”
“You kept it a secret because you wanted to spare his life, not have an affair with him. I love your kindness. It is a kindness that I have come to expect from you.”
“What did you do to me?”
Christian knows what I speak of. When he touched me and walked around inside my head without permission, he trespassed in places that I have long forgotten.
“I needed to know.” He answers unashamed. “My powers are received differently with every witch, or infidel that I use it on.”
“That is your answer?” I yell at him. “You needed to know?” I want to hit him again. “I feel mind-raped right now. You had no right to do what you did to me.”
“Do not try to make me the villain, Maeve. I needed to know the truth. I will do anything to protect my faithless wife. I did not know that you were so unhappy that you would welcome the attention of a thief. What more do you want from me? If my love is not good enough for you, then you should leave. I cannot stand to look at you after what you have done. It seems I am surrounded by those I cannot trust.”
He turns and snaps orders at the servants in the corner on his way out. The thought of leaving him brings me to tears.
“You hate me.” I cry. “I will die if you send me away from you.”
Christian turns around and approaches me with hate burning in his eyes. His anger makes me cower in fear. Foolish me. What was I thinking lying for Rumi Widowmaker when this man is my heart? Now I have pushed him away and he will never trust me again.
“Do you want me to leave?”
I have my answer when he pulls me close and kisses me.
“You lied and entertained another man in my bedchamber. I very well should send you back to your kind and be done with you.”
“Maybe you will be better off without me.”
“I know I will be better off without you, witch. But my heart could not survive the separation.” Christian holds me close. “You are not to blame for this. I disrespected you in my jealousy. I spoke in anger, and for that I apologize.”
“You called me a whore.” I sob into his chest. “I am a whore for not screaming when he touched me. I do not deserve a husband. I should be whoring myself in some alleyway.”
“Darling.” He begins. “You are not a whore. I was wrong to say it.”
“I pissed myself, Christian. It is humiliating.”
“My powers are received differently by every witch, or infidel that I use it on. I will order you a bath and have our supper sent up tonight. I mistreated you, wife. Please, forgive me.”
I feel embarrassed when he falls to his knees before me. I know that he is my husband, but he is a king. A fearsome and powerful king. The Butcher of Beaumont. Titled men bow in his presence. They tremble at the knees when he speaks because he kills without warning. Few can tell you the color of his eyes because they cannot look him in the face. The ground shakes under his feet when he walks. He is the man that none wants to see coming.
“It is I who must beg for your forgiveness, husband.”
We were both wrong and I do not want to fight with him. I want him to love me so that we can be the way we were before he was angry with me.
“I do love you, Maeve.” My husband assures me. “However, your betrayal cannot be undone with a kiss.”
“Will you take a lover now?”
I am crying and slobbering like a babe. He has every right to take a lover, especially now that I have proven myself unfaithful and underserving of his loyalty.
“I should fill the palace with my lovers.” His amused smile makes me chuckle. “It is what you deserve. But I cannot hurt you that way. My only lover is my faithless wife.”
He kisses the bandage on my forehead. The wound is healed underneath, and it is purely for show. I cry in relief and hold on to him.
“Princess.” Christian lifts my face. “This is probably the first of many fights that we will have in the years to come. It does not mean that we stop loving each other. It means we make up and get past it.”
“I have never been married before. I am sure to make mistakes.”
“And I will still adore you.” He turns me around to help me out of my dress. “Your bath is ready.”
I must admit that living in a palace has its pleasures. Nowhere else can I have a hot bath in minutes and a handsome Prince to bathe me like a servant.
“I am your servant.” Christian palms my dark, soapy breasts. “But the next time you let another man touch you, I will leave our bed until I forgive you.” He promises. “If it happens again after that, I will kill you.”
“There is no next time, my love.”
I cover his hands with mine and push one down my belly between my legs. His fingers need no encouragement. Christian kisses me as his fingers play between the lips of my slit. He finds the bud that controls it all and pinches it between his fingertips. I moan against his lips when my hips lift out of the water. I gasp when his finger slips inside me.
“You are either mine or you are not.” His tongue traces my lips. “If you want to leave, leave. But if you stay, you will abide by my rules. One of them is saving yourself for me.”
“I am yours, husband.”
I will never take another man to bed. He is the only lover that I will ever have, and I am grateful for him. I am in love with everything about him, that includes the dark parts that murder men. And the part that broke my heart when he stole my family away from me. I move against his hand impaling myself deeper on the finger that he has lodged inside my tight cunt. Christian groans before he lifts me from the tub. Water pours off my body onto the shiny, white floor soaking him through. He does not break our kiss when he carries me to the bed and lays down on top of me. We tear and pull at his wet clothing until he is naked. I roll him over onto his back and kiss a trail down his chest and over the hard ripples of his stomach. His cock is so damn hard. I offer my soft lips and pink tongue. I close my hot mouth around the head and suck him the way he likes.
“Suck it, Princess.”
His fingers lock in my hair when he thrusts his hips, burying his cock deeper into my face. I do my best to keep up with his strokes and fit as much as I can handle. Christian pushes past that and he makes love to my face with his face a mask of ecstasy. It makes me so wet that it is smearing between my thighs and my cunt is hurting for his touch. I reach down and touch it myself until he can. His moans and encouraging words make me want to suck his cock forever. I want to curl up with it and love it forever too.
“Yes, Maeve.”
The first burst of his seed in my mouth is shocking. It is shocking because I am tasting something that I know is not meant for consumption. It is the taste of life itself blended with the essence of him. I am tasting a secret part of him that is only for me. Something that I never have to share with anyone else. My throat constricts when I swallow.
“Maeve.”
There is power in the way he cries my name. It fills my chest with pride and makes me eager to fuck him all the more. I am so damn hot for him I can barely think straight. Christian pulls his cock out of my mouth when he is good and ready to. He grabs me up and kisses me until I taste his seed on his tongue. We are destined for the same hell, if such a place truly exists. He kisses me until I am weeping in need. I need him. I need him inside me. Christian shoves me down onto my back and spreads my knees to expose my swollen lips. His yellow head bends over, and he takes a nice, long lick before sucking my lips into his mouth. His tongue flickers out to assault the bud of my pleasure. This is where he pays his dues to the lust goddess inside me to get the ultimate prize. My beautiful climax. I bite my lip when he crawls up my body and wraps his hand around his big cock. He lines up and pushes inside me. I am moving before he is fully inside.
“You are the best lover I have ever had.” His crooked smile makes me smile. Then he gives me what I need. Christian grabs my ass and fucks me slow and deep. “I want to fuck you hard, but the baby.”
I understand, and this is exactly what I need to get where I need to be. I wrap my legs around him and cry out as I climb higher and higher up the hill of passion until, I reach the top and cry out again into the valley below. Anyone who has ever been here understands that a climax with the man you love is not a thing, but a place. It is heaven and dessert and all things good at once.
“Yes, Darling.” Christian whispers into my ear as he rolls his hips between my thighs. “I love it when you cum for me. Do I make it good for you?”
“Christian.” I moan as he rides out the last waves of pleasure coursing through me, pinning me to the bed. “Oh, Christian.”
“You are mine, Maeve.” My husband hisses when our eyes meet. “The next time you do something like that, I might lose my mind and kill you.” He rolls me over on top of him. “Ride me.”
I ride him with our eyes locked and wide open to each other. I love this man more than I can tell him. He knows it. That is why neither of us will ever let go. This child is a product of love no matter when it was conceived. My mind is wide open for him to peek inside, walk around in, fuck, or whatever. His eyes darken before he rolls me over onto my back again, holding one of my knees in his hand while he takes me. The love that I have for him makes this so much more special. I give myself over to him because he knows what to do with me.
When my naked, limp body is entangled in his colors, he stands over me watching me sleep. His heart is beating fast, and his gut aches from the love that he has for me. Christian is dressed in full mail with his crest bright and proud on his chest. He carries the battle-axe that has been passed down through the generations. Tonight, someone will die, and it will not be a good death.
“Wake up! You, stupid bitch.”
The Princess is shaking me frantically. “He is killing him!” She screams at me. “Christian is killing Rumi and it is all your fault!”
I sit up because she looks ready to kill me.
“What?”
“Christian hunted him down dragged him back here. He’s down in the square beating him to death for touching you.” Her dark eyes are bright with hate. “I doubt if it was by force.”
I do not have time for modesty when I leave the bed naked and grab the first dress that I touch in the wardrobe. I shove my feet into a pair of slippers and lead the way down. I am not prepared for what I find when I follow the sound of commotion. I hear Christian’s blows falling on wet, open skin before I see him bathed in Rumi Widowmaker’s blood. What is left of him, I should say. The only reason that I know it is Rumi is because of his curly hair. I cannot explain the sickness that I feel right now. His face is a pummeled mess. He is so still, that I fear he is already dead. I want to throw myself on Rumi and beg Christian to stop but I do not. It would be unforgivable to him. It would be admitting that I welcomed his affection. I might be the cause of this, but it is not my fault. I did not invite him into my husband’s bedchamber. He trespassed because he wanted to see me. I tried to protect him, but it failed. This is between him and the King that he disrespected.
“Please, Christian.”
A voice cries. It cannot be mine. My heart wrenches.
“Please spare him. I beg of you.”
The Princess throws herself on the heap of bloody flesh that was Rumi Widowmaker.
“Move, Victoria, or I will have you moved by force.”
“He wanted only to speak to her. He meant her no harm. I swear it!”
“You knew.” Christian shakes his head in realization. “You knew that he would accost my wife.” He accuses her. “We are no longer friends, Victoria. I want you out of the palace. Take your whores and that traveling circus with you. Except this one.” He points to Rumi with the axe. “His curiosity and disrespect has cost him his life.”
Her eyes are pleading when she turns to me.
“Say something, Maeve.”
She begs me as she is dragged away from Rumi who falls back to the stone path. I flinch when his body hits the ground with a thud. I am filled with guilt and helplessness. There is nothing that I can do to help him, except weep for him later when I am alone.
“He helped you and this is how you repay him? By standing there watching your husband kill him?”
“Stop speaking to her. This is not her concern, but it is ours since you are the one who sent him to her. Did the two of you have a plan to abduct her? Kill her maybe?”
“I love him.” She hisses at Christian. “Your wife is a barbarian whore, and he wanted to know more about her. I warned him, but Rumi is inquisitive. He has to know everything.”
“That is all and well because today he learned how to die”
Christian kicks him so hard that I hear something snap. The Princess screams. I close my eyes to make the horror go away. If I am not seeing it, then it is not happening. That is what I will tell myself. Say something, Maeve. Anything. Does he deserve to die like this? After the beating that he is taking, I am not sure that he will want to live after. I have to do something. Christian... I reach out to him with my mind. Kill him and get it over with. He is out cold and does not know that you are still beating him. My husband’s eyes find mine in the crowd. He looks down at the fallen Rumi and back at me. The swiftness with which he swings the big axe is astounding. I turn my face when part of Rumi’s head goes flying. The Princess screams in agony before falling to her knees.
I see a motion out of the corner of my eye. It is Minette backing into the crowd of Beaumonts, where she disappears. What will become of her without Rumi? I am sorry for her loss and I hope that she goes on to live a good life. What if she blames me and wants revenge? She opened that cage with the turn of a hand and I am afraid of her. She is mankind, and I am still afraid of her. What if she wants revenge on us both? And the Princess hates me. I should have told Christian to make him leave once I was freed. A stolen kiss cost him his life and me any link to my sister. What if she is dead and he was trying to lure me out of the palace? What if she lived? What if her Payne blood kept her alive and she is somewhere burned up and in need of my help? I can heal her.
Christian chops him up like firewood. I look down at the mutilated body of Rumi Widowmaker with sadness. His dark life’s blood flows through the crevices between the cobblestones; like water in a stream. It takes with it any hopes or dreams that he had and the chance to see them through. The half-caste magician known as Rumi Widowmaker is no more. All because he kissed me.
When I think about it, most men are drawn to me. It is strange. They call me beautiful when I am not and look at me with warm eyes. I see my reflection almost daily. There is no raving beauty looking back at me. I was not blessed with curves like the Princess, or beauty like my sister. I am more moth than butterfly. So, what is it that draws them to me? Is it my power? I have never considered it before. Do men want me because I draw them to me? Did Rumi not tell me that he could not stay away? I look up at my wild husband who is snapping instructions to have his remains dumped in Huntington forest where his kind will find him. It sounds cruel. But if he was anyone else, Christian would dump him outside the palace walls to be made an example of. At least this way, he will get a proper burial.
My husband takes my arm and pulls me through the crowd, down the cobblestone road lined with shops and stables. His men surround us like a human shield. He releases my arm when we are inside the palace gates. His bloody hand transfers to the small of my back. I have a bad feeling about this. I do not think the death of Rumi will be taken very well by his kin. He is not a nobody. In fact, he is popular among our nobles and peasants alike. They will all blame me. Why did I not stop it? I could have saved him with a thrust of my knife. But I chose to stand behind my husband and watch him kill for me. I am a curse. I curse everyone close to me and now my curse has fallen on this Prince. It is the only way that a Beaumont would turn his back on his church to save a witch. Christian is so deep in his own thoughts, that he is not in mine for once.
“You were not supposed to be there.”
He says when we are alone in the palace hall. His helmet drops to the floor with a clang and his armor falls next. I stare at his bloody hands when he reaches for me. The blood staining his hands is my fault as much as Christians. Rumi did not deserve to die the way he did. Punished, yes. Not beaten to death because I am what I am.
“I will bathe first.”
I watch his straight, muscled back and firm ass when he walks away on his long, lean legs. I sit down hard when I am alone in our bedchamber. What have I done? No one will ever trust me again after this. I am a traitor to the bone. Rumi said that Beth-Ann is alive. How can I know for certain now that he is dead? No one will tell me the truth while I am in bed with a Beaumont. If my sister is alive, I will find her. There is no other choice for me. She is my only family and we need each other. But I need to know for sure. I have no friends to help my cause. What is left of that one chance, is painting my lover’s hands red. I am so sorry, Rumi. But he knew better than to cross Christian. Everyone knows who and what he is. What did he think would happen? I fall asleep in the chair waiting for my husband to return.
