56. Nora
56
Nora
S purts of fuzzy colors and sounds formed incoherent images, all strung together, seemingly connected by nothing. Every attempt I’d made to focus ended up failing before the next time I thought to try again.
My body felt lifeless, serving only as a container to hold me while I could do nothing but acknowledge it. I pried my eyelids open and slowly settled back into awareness.
Walls. A ceiling. A room, I was in a room. Granted, one I’d never seen before, but the eventual clarity of the four-poster bed frame and blankets in the daylight confirmed it. Before my next breath, a pounding thrum assaulted my head, and I groaned.
“Nora?” A broken voice from someone beside me resounded. Male. Raspy, and deep.
Nicholas.
It took a strained effort, but I tilted my head toward him. Sorrow lined his usually glowing features, and his hand was stroking my hair before I could blink.
“Thank the gods.” He pressed a trembling kiss to my temple. Maybe it was from the lack of feeling in my body, but his usual strength seemed to wane with the small effort.
“W-where are we?” I asked, the sound of my own voice beating against my skull like one of Odion’s hammers.
“My room. Our room,” he corrected. He took my hand between both of his, working it between his tender hold. “I thought I lost you,” his voice shuddered, and I watched his ocean eyes line with silver, the drops spilling onto his sharp cheekbones. Upon closer inspection, the whites of his eyes were pink, an indication that this wasn’t the first time he’d become upset.
Most of my body hurt in some fashion, but that pricked a spot in my chest. “I’m here.” I wanted to reach out to him, to kiss away the worry, but found no energy to do so. He rested his forehead against my hand, his hold never retreating.
I stumbled over fragmented memories, trying to recall how I’d gotten here. I couldn’t organize the timeline on my own. “What happened?” I asked through a dry throat.
“Here.” Nick rested my hand on the bed before pouring water into a cup and bringing it to my lips. A stack of pillows propped me up into a near sitting position, so I didn’t have to work hard to take down a sip. Then another. He only stopped offering once my lips couldn’t open anymore.
“You ate some bad food. You’ve been resting since.”
Bad food? Where had I eaten bad food? When was the last time I had even eaten? “What day is it?”
“The luncheon was yesterday,” he said.
“Luncheon?” I repeated, scouring my memory. One of the luncheons I’d attended as a chaperone, but that couldn’t be right. Nick and I hadn’t known each other well at that point. That was one thing I did remember, that Nick and I knew our identities. That we’d fought in Odion’s clearing. That he kissed me and got down on one knee…
Married, we were getting married. The luncheon was to announce that. I wore a dress that looked like starlight, and the cramps… “Poison.” My eyes flew open wide, and my muscles screamed when I tried to sit upright. “Melody—my sisters. Everyone. What happened?” I reached out, clawing the air for Nick.
He climbed onto the side of the bed, letting me find purchase on his steady frame. “Everyone’s alright. A few got sick, but no one as much as you. You warned us in time. You saved them all, Nora.” He cupped the back of my head, and I sunk into his chest. If I took the brunt of it, and was still here… Relief momentarily counteracted the aches in my body.
The door clicked open, and a staff woman entered with a tray in her hands. When she saw I’d awoken, she rushed out of the room, claiming she’d gather more of whatever she’d brought in. Nicholas slid under the covers beside me, letting me lie across his chest.
He seemed exhausted, like he’d been awake for days. Grief takes an enormous toll on the body, of that I was well aware. The maid came back with a couple of others, all fussing over different details. One prepared wash cloths and new sleeping clothes, another poured a tea tonic for both of us, claiming it would help our strength.
I tried paying attention, but one moment they were swarming around us, and the next time I opened my eyes the sun had set, only the glow from the hearth in the corner lighting the room. We hadn’t moved. I pulled myself up with less difficulty this time, and Nicholas stirred awake.
“Where’s the nearest bathroom?” I asked, in desperate need.
“Here, let me take you.” He flipped off the covers and moved with the speed of an elderly man.
“I don’t think you need to be present for this,” I teased, already exhausted from working my way across the large fluffy bed. By the time I stood, I could barely hold myself upright. He caught me by my hips, letting the silence prove me wrong. “Fine,” I huffed.
Thankfully the bathroom was close, and I couldn’t find the energy to care about reliving myself in front of him. By the time I finished, I was actually grateful to have him support my weak limbs.
“We can go back to bed, but there’s a bath ready if you want it.” We stopped in front of the bronze colored clawfoot tub, echoes of candle flames licking the shiny sides. Only a few suds kissed the side on the water’s surface, evidence it had been sitting for a while.
He saw my interest and assisted while I leaned over to dunk my fingers. “It’s warm,” I said.
“They’ve been refreshing it every couple of hours, just in case,” he answered, swallowing a tight-looking knot in his throat. He’d no doubt commanded those orders, insistent that I’d soon be well enough to use it.
“I want to, but I’m afraid I’ll slip under,” I voiced my concern, feeling the unsteadiness in my muscles.
“I won’t let that happen.”
I craned my neck slowly to give him a wry look. “Are you saying you’ll watch me bathe, prince ?”
“What man of honor would I be if I didn’t see to it that my queen has her bathing needs met?” he countered, crouching to the floor and snagging the bottom of my long nightdress that someone had changed me into.
I laughed, slowly raising my arms above my head with silent permission. He lifted it over my head, then retreated down, pulling my panties to the floor. He rose without lingering, nothing sexual in the act as he offered his support while I climbed into the metal beast. The water shifted with me, soft fragrances whisking past my nose. The next thing I knew, my bath was being broken into by a god of a man, gloriously naked before covering himself in the water behind me.
“Move over,” he teased, working himself into position. His hands locked around my waist, and I leaned my head back against his shoulder.
“I don’t recall saying I wanted to share,” I said through already groggy eyelids.
His growl vibrated through my chest. “How else could I keep my promise?” he said, low in my ear, pressing a kiss to my cheek before resting his chin on my shoulder.
Playing with the suds and placing them along his forearm, I noticed my hands. Years of scars had been erased from my skin. Holding the back of them up, I flexed my fingers. “My hands. The scars. They’re gone.” Was I still delirious?
Nicholas adjusted beneath me. “While you were unconscious, I had healers attending to you. I had them try everything to get you to wake up.”
I noted the quiver in his voice, a reminder of how scared he must have been. At that, I didn’t care how my scars had healed. I no longer had to carry around the weight of a painful past now that I had him. We settled for a moment before the words came out without my control. “I love you.” I didn’t fear them, not even as I heard them out loud. They were the truth.
“I love you,” he replied.
We remained until the cool water forced us out.
By the next morning, despite still being sore, I couldn’t physically sleep any longer. How Nick remained dead to the world, I had no idea. Perhaps he’d been awake the entire time I’d been unconscious.
He didn’t notice when I snuck across the room, or coordinated breakfast with the server coming to replace the towels. I was still fairly certain that when he did wake, it wasn’t from the clattering tea cup, but from the aroma of bacon wafting into the air.
I couldn’t blame him. It smelled delicious. A brief scan confirmed no trace of herbs on the platter. I crawled on my knees to him, setting the tray over his lap.
I didn’t know what I looked like, but it must have been bad because his skin still held pallor. He adjusted himself upright, his bare chest exposed, his golden waves teasing his shoulders. I wanted to run my hands all over that big, broad chest, but found myself bringing a strip of bacon to his mouth instead.
He took a bite, not breaking eye contact with me. I smiled, taking a bite next.
“I’m glad to see you feeling better,” he said.
My hunger vanished in an instant. Admiring his handsome, yet still worn out, face reminded me why he looked that way. Why I’d fallen ill, and caused him heartache. He saw the shift in my disposition. I hadn’t tried to hide it.
“What’s wrong?” He stretched his hand across the soft sheets, reaching for mine.
I pulled it away before he could, staring down at my knees, barely covered by the silken nightgown. “Nick, I love you so much, but I have something to tell you.” Pounding in my head returned, but not from any poison, only my nervous coursing blood.
“Tell me,” he said, focus fully fixed on me, though I wanted to hide.
“You know how I felt about you before I knew you. It made me…get involved with some bad people. I thought what we were doing would be for the greater good, and I tried to stop it, but—”
My hands wrung the nightgown, twisting and bunching the thin fabric. When I gathered courage to drag my gaze to meet his, tears lined my eyes. Shame, regret, fear, all pooling my vision. “This is my fault, Nicholas. I was willing to take you from this world. A good man, with a loyal heart, who cares about his people. I was blinded for so long, blaming you and this place for the loss of my father, for the pains and hardships of everyone without wealth. It festered, mutated into something willing to hurt people. I’m no better than those monsters who stole Melody. I never expected to know you. I never expected to love you. I can’t undo it. I tried.” My lower lip trembled.
Not once did he look away, or show any of his thoughts on his face. Whatever he said or did or thought, I deserved it. Even if I was sent to rot in the dungeons, or meet the executioner’s block for conspiring to kill the prince, it seemed preferable to looking at his hurting state.
The tears spilled, darkening my nightgown. Silence surrounded us, save the crackling fire. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, or let me off the hook, but I just… I couldn’t have you look at me the way you do, not knowing who looked back.”
His throat bobbed, the only move he’d made since I began confessing. “If you think I didn’t know your fierceness, your dedication, your determination, then I must have failed you.”
I blinked away some of the pooling tears still lining my eyes.
“It doesn’t thrill me to hear you plotted my death, but I understood your hatred of me, of who you thought I was.”
“I’m sorry,” I blubbered, a new batch of tears replacing the old.
“Nora, I think I fell for you that night you threw a dagger at my head. I’ve known who you are this whole time, saw those passionate parts of you.”
I laughed, using the back of my hand to wipe away my runny nose.
“Even so, I don’t think there’s anyone I trust more than you. And watching you stumble into our engagement lunch, on the brink of death, with concern for saving the rest of us, that is everything I need to know. That is who you are.” He leaned forward, placing his palms against my cheeks and swiping his thumbs under my eyes. I held his hands against me, sobbing.
“I thought you would hate me,” I whispered.
His lips pressed against my forehead, and he pulled me back down with him, securing me to his side.
“I would die for you, Nora. Of course, I’d rather you not be the one to do it,” he teased. I smacked his chest before burying my face in it.
Lunch had been cleared by the staff, who I thanked endlessly for all they’d done to take care of me. To the last one on her way out, I hinted that we should be left undisturbed for the next couple hours. She blushed, but nodded in confirmation before slipping out.
I shut the door, clicking the lock in place, then turned to face Nick. He’d just changed into new pants after bathing, and when he reached for his shirt, I stopped him.
“Ah ah,” I tutted.
He stopped, drawing his stare to me.
Like a lion stalking toward her prey, my strides were graceful. Smooth, but direct. The shirt fell to the floor. I placed myself before him. “Get on the bed,” I essentially growled, my voice low with anticipation.
His lip twitched, but he merely dipped his chin and obeyed. Shirtless, I had a clear view of him in the daylight. Lovely golden skin, primed with cutting muscle and the lightest coat of hair across his beautiful bare chest. He looked sculpted from clay, not one mark or imperfection painted his complexion.
I closed the distance between us, running my fingers through his hair and gripping the strands tight. He exhaled in submission, angling his face up as I tugged down. Bringing my lips until they hovered over his, I said, “I am wholly yours.”
His hands gently slid along my hips, upwards until he settled on my ribs. The touch of this man ignited my core. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to bite me, dragging his bottom teeth softly against my bottom lip. I teased, lifting away with the tiniest of movements.
A dance, a game of temptation. A display of power requiring submission. I was his, but would only give myself when I saw fit. I’d already picked up on how much he liked me taking charge and bossing him around. His fingers dug into my skin with desperate anticipation.
“And you are mine ,” I whispered against his cheek, my lips flirting with his skin.
He groaned, his arms flexing, resisting the urge to pull me closer. I flicked my tongue under his earlobe before pulling away. His breath shuddered, and pure lust coated his eyes, the sign of his arousal clear in his pants.
“Keep your hands on the bed,” I ordered, settling to my knees between his legs.
He did it, his knuckles white as he clenched the sheets. My hands worked their way in a lazy rubbing fashion up and around his thighs. “And I want every part of you.” Slipping my fingers under his waistband, he adjusted so I could shimmy down his pants.
His exposed length stood before me, and my jaw dropped. I wanted him in my mouth as much as castle pastries. Peering up at him through my heavy lids and lashes, I took him between both of my hands and worked with a massaging rhythm.
His chest heaved, those hands gripping for dear life on the bed’s edge. I lowered, licking up the length of his shaft. He pulsed against my palms.
Heat stirred between my legs. “Do you like this, prince ?”
He swallowed. “Yes.”
I took his tip in my mouth, swirling my tongue over the grooves. He groaned again, and it was all the motivation I needed to plunge over him as far as I could. Again and again I dipped and bobbed, working my hands in tandem.
“Nora,” he panted my name.
I needed him. Now. I rose to my feet, whipping off my nightgown over my head and dropping my panties to the floor before practically jumping on him. “Take me,” I said before driving a kiss into him so hard that he almost fell completely backwards.
A moment later, he flipped me, pinning me beneath his muscular frame. A newfound appreciation grew for the strength in his body, the near-shadows of his defined muscles visible in the raging sunlight of the room emphasizing every bulge. He honed his body into a weapon, but knew how to control it enough to sneak silently in the night.
My core throbbed, and I spread my thighs wide to welcome him between them. He placed kisses along my jaw and neck, but my hunger for him was a raging wildfire. “Nick, now ,” I barked.
He thrust inside my slick entrance, and I cried out from the intense pleasure. I’d been so eager that he’d glided in with ease.
My nails dug into his back, practically tearing his skin on the way down. He sucked air through his teeth and pumped into me harder. A moan ripped from me, louder and more unrestrained than I’d ever been. His passion-fueled guttural grunts matched my volume, and it only spurred me on to hear how unhindered he became for me.
“Pull me on top,” I instructed, jaw hanging wide. A mess of limbs flew through the air until I straddled this perfectly carved man. His skin practically glowed, not one imperfection.
I wanted to change that. I worked myself over him, sinking down, but leaned forward and used my teeth to bite his chest.
His hands tangled their way into my hair, but didn’t pull me away. I nipped and sucked his sensuous smooth skin, still working my hips. Straightening myself, I placed my hands on his pecs, using them as an anchor. I moved in a way where I felt every inch of him, my dark hair forming curtains around my face. He pushed back the hair, tucking it behind my ears while staring into my eyes, as if not being able to see me was akin to torture.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he rasped, glancing between my eyes and where our bodies connected. A vicious smile took hold of his luscious lips, and his hand dove between my thighs. I gasped as he started stroking, an immediate building rising within me. “Come undone for me, Nora.”
I rode him like the incoming and outgoing tide until my pleasure crested and the waves pulled me under. I whimpered, and the world became a blur of stars. There was nothing but warmth, pulsing, and release. No castle walls around us, no troubles to deal with, no painful past. Ecstasy wrapped in golden velvet skin lodged deep within me. I collapsed onto his chest when my muscles forgot how to work. He braced me, his own body shuddering with a relieved moan.
In his arms, soaking in the aftermath of mutual bliss, for the first time in my adult life, I was whole.