Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“What are you thinking about?” Thalia asked Caspian.
“Hhmm?” he said back without looking at her. His stare was saved for the ceiling, which he had been looking at for the past few minutes without so much as a word said.
“What are you thinking about?” she murmured as she turned on her side and shifted closer to her husband.
“Nothing.”
Despite herself, Thalia laughed. It wasn’t that Caspian had said something funny. Nor was it laughter designed to mock. Rather, Thalia was starting to understand her husband better than she ever had before, and his simple response was so perfectly ‘Caspian,’ that she could not help but laugh at it.
“What?” He shuffled onto his side to better look at her. “What did I say?”
“Practically nothing.”
“Then what is so funny?”
She flashed her eyes at him but was still trembling from withheld laughter. His brow was furrowed in confusion, and she could literally see him trying to figure out what she was laughing at; whether he needed to defend himself or play along.
“You are what is so funny,” she said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Exactly,” she laughed. “And I love that about you. Once, I might have thought you were being purposefully closed off or hiding something from me. And now…” She shrugged. “It is just your way. It’s funny, is all.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“My point exactly.” Thalia chose the moment to shuffle in that little bit closer so that they lay body-to-body and face-to-face. Then, without hesitation, she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.
Caspian narrowed his eyes as he tried to discern what she meant…
but was just as quick to relax and accept the kiss, as well as the very real fact that in some instances he wasn’t always going to understand her.
But that he was willing now to accept Thalia for who she was, as she was for him, was a huge part of why they were starting to work as a married couple.
And if that doesn’t do the trick, we can always revert back to the one thing we seem to have in common… in fact, once I recover from the last time, I might insist that we do.
That thought made Thalia’s cheeks flush bright pink.
“Now what?” Caspian asked, noting the flush of her cheeks.
“Nothing…” She went to wiggle away.
“No, you don’t.” Caspian latched out and wrapped his arm around her. “Tell me, what is that look?”
“There is no look.”
“Liar.”
She grinned and pretended to try and wiggle free, knowing too well that he wasn’t about to let her go. She did not want him to.
“If you must know…” She rolled her eyes but shifted her body in close again. “I was just thinking about before and I became a little embarrassed.”
“Before?”
To that, Thalia raised an eyebrow and indicated to the two of them.
“Oh…” A smirk found its way to his lips. “Well then, feel free to keep thinking about it. I certainly won’t stop you.”
“I didn’t think you would,” she laughed.
“Based on previous experience, I would think that you want me thinking about it as much as possible…” She flashed her eyes wickedly at him.
“And I must say, Caspian, the more I think about it, the more I cannot believe some of the words that come out of your mouth while you and I –”
“Thalia!”
“—are entwined,” she purred and then kissed him on the forehead again. “What an animal you are.”
It was his cheeks that started to flush pink now. “I don’t know what you mean…”
“Yes, you do,” she said. “But I am not complaining. Not even a little bit.”
He looked at her, noting the smirk, noting the humor in her eyes. He rolled his eyes in response and then wrapped her in his arms. “No, I can’t imagine that you would. Certainly not, when considering the words that came out of your mouth also.”
“For which, I blame you.”
Caspian laughed; a sound that was becoming more familiar by the day. “For which, I am glad to be blamed.”
They lay in bed together, wrapped about one another’s bodies like vines growing up a tree.
Their clothes were strewn across the bedroom, leaving them completely naked beneath the sheets.
And while Thalia might have once been more reserved about lying naked next to her husband…
that he was also naked made it a non-issue.
And that he looks so good without his clothes on certainly helps…
The entire day had been a most unexpected surprise for Thalia.
What started as a morning with no plans whatsoever changed quickly when Caspian asked her to spend the day with him.
Even then, she had been careful about getting her hopes up, not for a second imagining that what he had planned would even touch on the romantic. This was Caspian she was talking about.
However, as was starting to become a common theme in Thalia’s life, she had grossly misunderstood her husband.
That he had chosen a secret location for them to have a picnic was one thing.
That this location was secluded and deeply personal was another.
But that the day had been spent talking to one another, opening themselves, and revealing past secrets with the express purpose of growing closer was a development in their relationship that Thalia was still getting her head around.
Even if Caspian’s revelations weren’t wholly personal, that he was choosing to share them was what mattered. Slowly, bit by bit, she was learning more about her husband. And slowly, this marriage was becoming something real.
It still has so far to go. We are far from being a perfect couple. But he is trying, I am trying, and considering where we started, what more could I possibly ask for?
And none of that was to mention what happened when they returned from their secluded picnic. Thalia thought the day to be over, and she washed herself and dressed in her night shift, looking forward to a quiet evening.
That was when Caspian asked her to see him in his room.
That was when Caspian invited her to sit on the bed beside him.
That was when Caspian kissed her deeply and passionately and refused to stop.
They made love that evening. It wasn’t the same awkward affair as the first time. Nor was it the wild and uninhibited debauchery of the second time. This time, it was a more personal feeling, softer and more tender, and infinitely more pleasurable because of it.
And to add a final cherry on top of what was a near perfect cake of a day… once they were finished, he asked her to stay.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” Thalia asked him. She was nuzzled into his body, with her back to him, and his arms wrapped around her nakedness.
“Nothing comes to mind,” he said, kissing her on the shoulder.
“What a coincidence,” Thalia purred. “I am also free.”
“How lucky for you.”
“Lucky for you, you mean,” she shot back at him.
He chuckled deeply and she felt the vibrations of it ripple up her body. “Now you are being entirely too presumptuous.”
They hadn’t spoken about their agreement once.
They hadn’t mentioned the need to have an heir, as if that was the only reason they might sleep together.
It felt to Thalia now that they were beyond such circumstances as that.
In her mind, they were not sleeping together because they had to, but because they wanted to.
And while my husband might still be stiff and formal in his day to day life, once I get him alone he transforms into another beast entirely. Which means that in some ways, I was right. There are two sides of him.
Where would they go from here? Thalia could not say.
What did she expect from the future? Thalia preferred not to think about it.
For now, she was simply happy living in the moment that the two of them shared. They were in a good place, they both seemed to want the same thing, and so long as things continued in this way, Thalia could not foresee a situation that might ruin what they had.
For the first time in a long time, Thalia was happy.