16. Rothgar
ROTHGAR
The instant her lips answer mine, every careful distance I preserve since the day she crossed my threshold dissolves with startling ease. A low growl escapes me before I can suppress it, and I feel her smile against my mouth as she presses closer, utterly unafraid of the storm she has awakened.
She tastes faintly of honeyed wine and the lingering sweetness of the feast she scarcely touched. Her fingers tighten in the front of my coat as though she fears I might vanish if she lets go. I feel the same way. Everything beyond her fades away until breathing alone forces me to break the kiss.
These chambers have belonged to duty for longer than I care to remember. I entered this marriage because it strengthened my court and solved a political necessity. Those reasons still exist, yet before Calla, they no longer explain why I reach for her.
My hand rises toward the jeweled clasp resting against her shoulder. She studies me, and whatever uncertainty lingers between us melts beneath the quiet trust in her eyes.
The fastening slips free beneath my fingers, followed by the silver ornaments woven through her hair. I remove each one with quiet care until soft chestnut waves tumble over her shoulders. With every jeweled pin I set aside, the woman who stood before the court falls away, leaving only Calla.
I lift my hand to her cheek, my thumb tracing her warm skin. She leans instinctively into my touch, and something inside me gives way with startling finality.
“I have stood beside queens adorned in gemstones,” I say softly. “None of them have ever held my attention the way you do.”
A blush blooms across her cheeks. Before she can search for an answer, I step back into her space.
My own clothes dissolve with a flick of my wrist. The feel of her bare skin against mine sets every nerve beneath my own alight.
Surprise catches me when Calla pushes herself onto her elbows to kiss me again. I meet her halfway, deepening the kiss as a groan escapes me the instant her tongue brushes against mine.
“Calla,” I breathe into her neck as I trail kisses down the slim column, my fingers playing with the soft skin of her breasts. I bring my mouth to a peaked nipple and growl when she arches into me. “You feel and taste even better than I could have ever imagined.”
My hands trace the outline of her body before slipping lower to gently part her legs. I take my time, savoring every quiet sound she makes as I draw closer to where she wants me most.
“My lord,” she gasps when I brush the knuckles over her pussy. I trace over her clit lightly, slowly until I feel her rocking her hips against my hand, chasing the pleasure only I can give her.
She is already glistening with want. She calls my name, and I can hold back no longer. I push a finger inside her wetness and relish the way Calla claws at my shoulders to bring me closer.
“Rothgar,” she mewls, and it is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. “Please, more.”
Smirking, I insert a second finger. Her groan carries equal parts protest and pleasure.
“That’s not what I—”
“Not what you what?” I ask, teasing her entrance with my unrelenting fingers. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Calla shakes her head frantically, but her moans betray her.
“What did you want, Calla?” I ask as I add another impossibly thick finger. “This?”
She gasps but shakes her head. “I—I want your c-cock, my lord. Please, I need it.”
The growl that leaves me is primordial. No woman has ever called to the beast sleeping beneath my restraint, especially not a human. Yet hearing Calla beg for me tears, the last of those restraints away.
I pump my fingers deeper. I need to make her come before I can even attempt to push myself inside her.
My cock is already painfully hard, but hurting Calla is the last thing I want.
“Come for me, darling,” I whisper against her lips as I claim hers for a deep kiss. “Coat my fingers with your sweetness.”
I stroke her faster while my kisses trail down her chest and across her stomach.
I feel her tighten around my fingers before she cries out my name.
Quickly, I pull out my fingers and replace them with my tongue, lapping up her sweet nectar.
I nearly come like a whelp discovering victory for the first time.
I drag myself back up Calla’s body before nuzzling her neck. “Storms,” I say against her skin. “You smell divine.”
My body hums with electricity. I want nothing more than to feel her wrapped around me.
She crashes her lips against mine with a deep groan as she tastes herself on my lips. Her small hands run across my shoulders, scratching at my skin as she pulls me closer.
I roll my hips against hers, grazing my cock against her wet heat, and the contact causes us both to moan in unison. I repeat the motion, grinding my erection against her pussy, coating myself in her juices.
Leaning forward, I brace my forearms beside her head and position the head of my heavy cock at her entrance.
“Take a breath for me, darling,” I mutter against her lips. Her soft mouth opens with a moan as she stares deeply into my eyes.
This intimacy is unlike anything I have ever known. I wonder how I ever endured centuries without knowing how she feels, how she smells, or how she tastes.
“You take me so well,” I praise her, pushing in a little bit more with each of her breaths. “Breathe, love. It’s only halfway.”
Her eyes widen at my words.
“Halfway?” she asks, surprise coloring her cheeks.
Her perfect pussy tenses around my cock and the added pressure feels heavenly. I bring my hand down between us and roll her clit with my fingers.
“I won’t hurt you,” I assure her, keeping a steady pressure on her clit as I sink deeper into her. “Relax for me, Calla.”
I take slow, steady breaths once I’m seated inside her. Nothing compares to the feel of her around me. I roll my hips once, slow and deliberate, savoring the feeling.
I move slowly at first, letting her get used to my size. I pull out to the tip before pushing back in to the hilt. I don’t care how torturously slow it is, because it feels so good. I keep my pace measured, learning every subtle response of her body and committing each one to memory.
“Rothgar!” she screams my name, and I push deeper, harder until she screams it louder.
“What is it, Calla?” I ask, continuing to tease her by grinding deep into her hips, grazing her clit as I do so. “Do you want more?”
“Yes!” she gasps into my neck as she pulls herself closer to me. “More please. Give me more.”
Gradually, restraint gives way as my pace quickens, each movement answering the urgency building between us. I’m feral with the need to release my seed inside her, to mark her in the most primal way I know. The bed creaks beneath us as she begins meeting every movement with one of her own.
“That’s it,” I encourage her, wrapping one hand around the base of her neck to bring her lips to mine, while the other continues to circle her clit. “I’ll give you everything you want, my sweet Calla.”
“You feel so good, Rothgar.” she mewls, her eyes nearly rolling to the back of her head.
Before long, the careful rhythm unravels, and we lose ourselves in the pleasure we’ve awakened together.
With one sharp pinch on her clit, Calla falls apart around my cock. The spasms squeeze me harder than ever, and after a few more thrusts, her name tears from my lips with a roar. I bury myself fully inside her as release overtakes me pushing deeper into her, marking her insides with my cum.
When the last waves of pleasure subside, we remain tangled together, our breathing softening into the quiet that follows.
Calla’s eyes drift closed, and when I glance down, sleep has already claimed her.
A quiet laugh escapes me. I rest my forehead against the crook of her neck, breathing her in.
“You choose an interesting moment to surrender,” I sigh, though she is already beyond hearing it.
Careful not to wake her, I gently pick up the pitcher beside the bed and coax her into taking a few sleepy sips of water. She obeys without opening her eyes, mumbling something unintelligible before curling instinctively against my chest once more.
I pull the blankets higher around her shoulders and brush a loose strand of hair away from her face. The gesture comes so naturally that I scarcely think about it until my hand lingers there.
She entrusted herself to me tonight with a certainty I have done nothing to earn. This marriage began as strategy. Somewhere between the vows we exchanged and the music she carried into my House, it became something else entirely.
I draw her closer beneath the blankets, listening as rain whispers against the windows. For once, I allow tomorrow to wait.