Chapter Fourteen #3
She simply lifted her eyebrows at him before averting her gaze, looking over to her plate and pulling it back onto her lap.
Seeing that he’d somehow hurt her feelings with his clumsy confession—which wasn’t really a confession at all, because he hadn’t even come to the point of it—he went over to the bed.
“Although I cannot defend my actions and I cannot erase them, I hope you will let me explain,” he said softly.
“Men have needs that most women do not have. Aye, I’ve done…
this… before, but I was young. Women were exciting to me back then, and the world, as a man, was new.
It sounds stupid to say that it is the way of the world, but it is.
It does not mean I have a stable of lovers in my past, or that I bedded tavern wenches, but I was trying to make a point in all of this, and it wasn’t to announce my conquests.
It was to tell you that, quite simply, I am nervous. ”
Her head came up, and she looked at him curiously. “Why would you be nervous?”
He sighed heavily, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“Because the last woman I was with… she was older and a widow,” he said, stumbling over his words.
“She was rich and took a liking to me. She bought me horses and swords and anything else she thought I might like, and I finally succumbed to her advances. When it was over, she told me that I was a terrible lover and had no idea how to please a woman. That was about fifteen years ago, and I’ve not had a woman since, so I am looking at our wedding night with a good deal of anticipation and dread.
You wanted me to be honest, so I am. I hope it does not cost me. ”
Andromeda hadn’t been expecting that. She could see how ashamed he was, and she was seized with pity for the man.
Her big, strong husband had what he considered a personal failing, and he was ashamed to admit it.
So very ashamed. She began to feel bad that she’d been outraged over any past lovers he may have had.
It had been foolish of her.
Standing up, she silently put her plate back on the table and took his away from him, placing it beside hers. Moving over to the bed, she began to pull the coverlet back as he sat on the bed and watched her somewhat anxiously. When their eyes met, she smiled warmly at him.
“I think she is a terrible woman who did not deserve your attention,” she said softly. “And I think we should prove her wrong.”
He relaxed somewhat, breaking into a grin as he stood up so she could pull the rest of the coverlet down. “Not that you have a choice, but that is a brave declaration,” he said. “I can only say that I will do my best.”
“But there is a difference with me.”
“What’s that?”
“I am your wife,” she said simply. “And I love you. That other woman did not love you at all. If she had, she would have never said such terrible things.”
His features softened. “Do you, Andie?” he murmured. “Do you truly love me?”
She nodded. “Of course I do,” she said. “And you love me, so that is why this will be a perfect moment. You must not worry.”
He had to chuckle at her, telling him what he was feeling and being so very certain about it.
But it was true—all of it was true. He did love her.
He couldn’t remember when he hadn’t. With a smile on his lips, he peeled off the dark blue tunic he’d been wearing, revealing his gorgeous muscles and slightly freckled chest with a faint matting of red hair over it.
“I do love you,” he whispered. “Until there is no more God and no more heaven will I love you.”
With that, he came down on the bed, on his knees, and reached out to pull her to him.
Andromeda threw her arms around his neck as their lips met, instantly seeking one another with an inherent need that was driving them harder and faster than it ever had.
Andromeda wanted to be touched. She wanted Tristan’s hands upon her.
It was time.
Tristan lowered her back onto the bed even as he moved to pull off her sleeping shift.
She could feel his hands on her waist, pulling at the garment, as his kisses grew feverish.
She could feel him quivering with anticipation.
Or perhaps fear, considering the last time he did this, he’d been called a failure.
But he wasn’t failing now. Andromeda was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath between heated kisses, encouraging him onward.
There was something building in her body, liquid fire coming to life, and she had no control over it.
Every time Tristan kissed her, the fire grew.
This shift suddenly came over her head. There was nothing left between her and Tristan as their flesh came into contact for the very first time.
Heat against heat, skin against skin. His mouth left hers, seeking her neck, her collarbone, and points farther south.
Kissing the swell of her bosom, his hands began to roam.
They drifted to her waist, her belly, and moved across her back.
Soon enough, they moved away completely, and she could feel him fumbling with his breeches until he finally rid himself of his last bit of clothing.
His mouth then moved from her bosom to her breasts, and Andromeda groaned with pleasure as he captured a tender nipple in his mouth.
That took her to an entirely different level.
She writhed beneath him, unaware that he had pulled her legs apart and settled in between them.
She had her hands on his head, her fingers in his hair, experiencing his mouth on her breasts with the greatest enjoyment.
She began to realize what the serving wenches at the tavern in Ruabon had found so delightful.
What every experienced woman throughout time had found so delightful.
She felt shameless, but she didn’t care.
Legs open wide, she gave herself over to him completely.
Tristan’s fingers moved to her private core, that warm and wet junction between her legs. It was a new sensation, something that initially startled her, but he settled her down with a few whispered words, stroking her in a way that made her entire body tremble.
She wanted more.
More kisses, more suckling on her breasts.
More of everything he was doing to her. Andromeda was adrift on a sea of desire when he abruptly stopped kissing her.
Disappointed, she opened her eyes to question him, only to see that he was on top of her, his arms braced on either side of her body and his legs between hers.
She could feel something hard pushing at her virginal core.
Then he was thrusting into her.
But her nubile body was ready for him. His manhood pushed into her wet body, and in two thrusts, he was fully seated.
There had been no pain, only a sensation of fullness that she very quickly realized she liked.
She liked it very much. Tristan took her bringing her legs up as a sign that she didn’t find any of this a failure on his part.
Her hands went to his chest, caressing him gently, and he coiled his buttocks, thrusting into her again and again.
Andromeda couldn’t have loved it more.
“Sweet Jesus,” she breathed, her hands moving to his waist, his hips. “Is this… this…?”
“This is how we were always meant to be,” he whispered, biting gently at her soft mouth. “This is our moment, Andie. You are my wife and I am your husband, and this is our moment.”
She pulled his head down to hers, latching on to his lips as he plunged into her.
He kissed her deeply, a gesture full of the power and emotion they were both feeling.
A few more thrusts and Andromeda felt an explosion between her legs, the likes of which she had never experienced in her life.
It was like a burst of stars that radiated outward, pleasurable in the most intimate sense, and her entire body stiffened with the thrill of it.
But he continued to move within her, thrusting in and out, and twice more she felt the burst of stars.
Each time, it drained her a little more until she was nothing but a mass of limp, pleasured flesh.
But Tristan wasn’t finished. He continued to make love to her, and she experienced at least one more burst of stars in that time, but she couldn’t do anything more than softly moan as her body twitched.
Dazed, she let him have his way with her until he made one hard, final thrust and she heard him grunt with pleasure.
She could feel his manhood twitch as he released his seed deep into her womb.
But she continued to lie there, overcome, as he gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.
He was warm and sweaty, but the comfort she derived from it was immeasurable.
His steady, if not heavy, breathing in her ear was enough to lull her into a deep, exhausted sleep.
Tristan held her in his arms all night.