Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
JAKE
Late May, 2013
“Okay. All good to start back up.” Shelby said, a little out of breath.
I was touched that she’d hurried for my ego’s sake. After she’d kind of shit all over it, that is.
“We left off with clenching and weeping,” she giggled.
“Shut up.” I laughed. I cleared my throat and continued, “Balthazar swept Iliza into his arms and laid her gently on the bed. He pressed his lips to hers before teasing them open with his tongue, her hands raking through his hair, nails dragging across his back, arching her body upwards to get closer to him. He licked and nibbled his way down her neck and the front of her chest before pulling his head back to once again admire and worship the most beautiful breasts he’d ever laid eyes on. The breasts that defied all gravity and made him shift and readjust his trousers whenever Iliza would wear her ball gowns with the tight bodices. And now they were finally his to play with. He cupped one in his hand and swirled his tongue around the sensitive peak of her taut, pink nipple. She inhaled sharply and arched her back, further pressing her body into his mouth. She was so perfect, so responsive.
Iliza moaned with pleasure as Balthazar continued his oral assault. He made his way down her body, and she shuddered when she felt him pause at the apex of her thighs. He reverently whispered her name into her most sacred place before swiping his tongue across her wet and swollen flesh. She wriggled and writhed as he teased and tasted every bit of her with his greedy mouth until she could no longer contain her ecstasy. She screwed her eyes shut and screamed his name as she unraveled beneath him.
Balthazar propped himself up to look deeply into Iliza’s eyes. Pride washed over him as the flush on her face, her neck, and her chest let him know just how much pleasure he had given her. She had completely melted under his touch. But he was nowhere near finished with her.
Just as Balthazar was about to gently instruct Iliza on how to handle a man’s erection, her delicate fingers had already wrapped around his. He watched with wide eyes as she moved her mouth toward it like it was a vessel containing the elixir of the gods. She locked her eyes with his as she teased his tip with her tongue. If she had truly never been with a man before and this was just sheer instinct, he said a silent prayer of thanks to have been blessed with a goddess such as this. Iliza took Balthazar fully into her mouth and worked his length with her hand at the same time.
Knowing he was on the verge, in one sudden and fluid motion, he grabbed Iliza by the waist and twisted her around to lie beneath him. She spread her legs wide and stared in wonder as he positioned himself at her entrance. ‘Oh, my sweet Iliza,’ he said, ‘I’ve waited for this moment for so long.’
He slowly guided himself inside her, watching her face contort with pain. He was careful, so careful, but every inch of her felt like pure heaven and he was hardly able to contain himself. She whimpered and clawed at his shoulders, but as he began his tempered and measured movements, Iliza’s facial expression softened. Her whimpers turned to soft moans, and she wrapped her legs tighter and tighter around his waist, meeting his every thrust with her hips. Balthazar could no longer hold himself back. He let her inner muscles grip him tightly as he thrusted unabashed until finally spilling inside her. He pressed a kiss to her lips and smiled as contentment and peace he’d never known settled over him.
For several months, the lovers snuck off to various places to continue their secret affair. Balthazar convinced the king to allow him to instruct Iliza on how to better handle herself on a horse lest she suffer the same fate as Prince Ossian. The king had agreed and their options for seclusion became limitless.
After nearly a year had passed, it was clear the king had been arranging for Iliza’s marriage once again, and before long she was betrothed to Prince Elden of Gyllian. Gyllian was what was known as a border kingdom. Located just outside the Seven, the inhabitants were allowed the privilege of the pilgrimage in exchange for helping to protect Mount Eptou.
Iliza was heartsick at the thought of leaving Balthazar.
One night, soon after the engagement had been announced, the bells in the courtyard began their furious ringing.
This meant only one thing.The kingdom was under attack.
The villagers began to scatter, frantically seeking shelter as the front gate seemed to be under the assault of a battering ram. Fiery projectiles began raining down inside the courtyard and against the castle walls. Iliza raced through the halls desperate to find her mother and father, all the while consumed with worry for Balthazar knowing his place was at the front of the battle.
She passed by a window and heard a scream, a voice she recognized. She looked down and saw Greta crying out in the courtyard, trapped beneath a large wooden beam. Iliza ran down to her as fast as she could.
Once Iliza had reached Greta, she yelled out for someone to help her. A passing guard grabbed her by the arm. ‘Princess, you must get to safety at once!’ He shouted.
‘I cannot leave my handmaiden!’ Iliza urged.
Just then, a crack louder than thunder echoed through the courtyard.
The gate had been breached.
Warring soldiers wielding swords came rushing in, and Iliza crouched over Greta to protect her. She looked up to see her father standing side by side with Balthazar, both armed with swords and ready for the onslaught.
Iliza bent over Greta trying desperately to wish the violence away. She felt so helpless and vulnerable and terrified that something would happen to Balthazar.
In a flash, the violent grip of one of the warriors crushed her arm, dragging her across the ground and laying her at the boot of the menacing war lord, Gregor. Gregor yanked Iliza to her feet, holding her in front of him as he faced her father.
‘This looks to be someone important to you, King. What say I spare her if you surrender?’ Gregor growled.
King Gohran tried to bluff to protect his daughter, but the panic on his face was evident. He bowed his head and whispered, ‘I cannot surrender. There is too much at stake.’
Gregor held Iliza’s petrified body in front of him. Just before he could cross her throat with his blade, he lurched violently forward as the tip of a sword burst through his chest barely missing Iliza’s body. Eyes wide, Gregor dropped to his knees before falling dead.
Behind him stood Balthazar enraged, blood dripping off the end of his weapon.
Iliza collapsed onto the ground. Balthazar lifted her to him gently with one arm, careful not to surrender to his overwhelming relief and betray their secret. He released Greta from the beam and demanded the king get the women safely inside the castle.
With Gregor dead, the warriors lost their vigor just as soldiers from neighboring kingdoms had come to lend assistance. The battle ended just as the sun rose.
The next day, the king approached Balthazar. ‘I come to you with more shame than I have ever felt. More shame than a man can bear. I made the vow to protect the mountain at all costs, but I never thought I would have to choose between it and my daughter. I had been willing to sacrifice her life, but I never would have forgiven myself for having done so. You not only saved her life, but mine as well. Please. Please name your price. To show my undying gratitude, I will give you anything you want.’
‘There is only one thing I want more than anything in this world,’ Balthazar said.
King Gohran replied, ‘Anything my son. Whatever you ask for is yours.’
That evening, the king summoned Iliza to his chambers. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Balthazar standing there.
‘Iliza,’ her father said, ‘I don’t know if you can ever find it in your heart to forgive me for the choice I made that nearly cost you your life. If not for Balthazar, neither of us would be standing here. I have offered him anything of his choosing from my kingdom in gratitude. He has chosen… your hand. Would you have him?’
She stared in wonder at her father as tears sprang to her eyes. She ran to Balthazar and leapt into his waiting arms. ’Yes!’ she cried.
He kissed her tenderly, ‘I love you with everything I am, Iliza. I am yours forever.’
Throughout the previous year, Balthazar had not only lusted after Iliza, but he had fallen madly and deeply in love with her. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she was to be married and would leave the kingdom. On the night of the last Great Wishing, just one week before the invasion, Balthazar had made his way up the mountain with the pilgrimage. He began his search for the perfect stone. And there, with the full moon casting its light in affirmation, was the one. The one that spoke to him. The one that felt right and true in the palm of his hand.
He stood at the edge of the lake and whispered his fervent wish over and over as he held the stone tightly to his heart.
The End.”
Shelby was quiet. Too quiet. The thought of her having fallen asleep as I laid my soul bare in a bedtime story was horrifying. But more horrifying was the thought that maybe she was quietly trying to formulate the right words in order to break my heart.
Finally, she spoke. “Oh, wow,” her words barely above a whisper, “I…I didn’t expect…Jake, that was incredible. Did you make that whole thing up yourself?”
“Not exactly. Most of the Wishing Lake stuff was from an actual story my grandmother told me when I was little.”
“That’s so sweet. But… do you feel guilty for sexing it up?” Shelby giggled.
“Nope. She would have loved it. She was a feisty lady. I owe practically every dirty joke I know to her.”
“Now I love it even more,” she said.
“I’m so happy you liked it.”
I planned to leave it at that and not say any more. Let it all germinate. Then, when she came to visit, I would confirm every suspicion that had bloomed in that beautiful brain of hers.