Chapter 27
“You’ll take the hay loft.”
That was the pronouncement from the farmer who greeted us at the door to the little farmhouse. He was a man of forty with a gruff demeanor and a petite wife. His rough overalls showed the long day’s work, and his beard was flecked with the straw that hinted at our soon-to-be bed.
Cassian smiled and bowed his head. “That’s most generous of you, sir.”
The farmer plucked a gas lamp off the interior wall to his right and nodded at the barn. “Follow me.”
The warm barn smelled of sweet hay and soft grains. The animals in the stalls looked up from their chewing long enough to give us indifferent looks before returning to their supper. Niveus whinnied at a particularly pretty filly, who countered his call with a flip of her mane.
The farmer led us over to a ladder, where he stopped and raised the lantern up the rungs. “You can stay up there for the night, but mind you, no candles or the like.”
Cassian smiled and bowed his head. “Of course.”
Our host looked us up and down. “You got any food or drink on ya?”
“We have food enough, but nothing to drink,” Cassian replied as he took my hand and guided me to the ladder.
“Then wait a moment before you go up, sir,” the farmer requested.
He hung up the lantern on a nearby hook and hurried out of the barn. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, but Cassian squeezed my hand. “We have nothing to fear from him.”
A snort escaped me. “More of that intuition?”
“He is rough in his ways, but the man has kind eyes.”
The farmer soon returned with a large canteen. The sweet scent of water wafted out of the container. He held it up to us. “Take this. It should get you through the night.”
Cassian accepted the drink with a smile and a bow. “Thank you so much.”
“You can thank me in the morning by helping me with the chores. They start just before sunrise in here.”
Cassian swept his eyes over the barn and grinned. “We’ll be sure to meet you on time.”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Well, see that you do, and don’t take the lantern up the ladder. You can let it go out or shut it off yourselves.”
“Thank you, and thank you again for letting us stay here.”
The farmer wrinkled his nose. “Well, I wasn’t going to let anyone sleep out on a cold night like this. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He left, and I turned my sights on the ladder. “I suppose we should check out our new accommodations.”
I climbed the ladder first. Cassian removed Niveus’ saddle and set it aside, though he threw the blanket over his shoulder before climbing the ladder after me.
Niveus stood at the bottom of the rungs and snorted at us.
Cassian paused halfway up the ladder and grinned down at him.
“You’ll have to find your own bed for this night, old friend. ”
Niveus threw his head back, and his bright eyes stared up at a clump of hay that stuck out from the loft.
Cassian laughed. “I see. You’ve worn through your green grass. I’ll push some hay over the side for you.”
Niveus pawed the ground and bobbed his head.
I peeked my head above the boards that made up the floor of the loft. They were sturdy, though the hay meant they weren’t exactly clean. The sweet scent of the dry grasses filled my nostrils and made me a little light-headed.
Cassian’s voice broke the pleasing reverie of the hay scent. “Are you feeling well?”
“I’m fine!” I assured him as I hurried up the rest of the rungs and crawled across the boards to an especially fluffy stack.
I flopped back-first onto the hay and let out a deep sigh. That is, until I adjusted, and one of the dry sticks stabbed me in the back. I sat up and tried to fluff up the hay.
“I think this will help,” Cassian spoke up as he crawled over to me and set the pale nearby. He draped the blanket over the stack and smoothed it out before presenting it to me. “For your pleasure, my bride.”
I repeated my flop and grinned. “Thank you, my husband.”
A heated look passed through his eyes. The incessant neigh from Niveus interrupted his thoughts. “I’m coming!” he assured his steed as he moved to the edge. He pushed a large pile over the side, and it landed with a soft plop, followed quickly by munching.
Cassian returned to me and sat down on the boards beside the mound of hay. He reached into his coat and drew out a few packages of food, one of which he gave to me. The food eased the strain in my body, and the open hay loft window revealed a sky of twinkling stars.
“It’s nice here,” I mused.
“Very.”
“So much different from a lot of the places we’ve been,” I teased as I set my half-finished sandwich on my chest and stared up at the ceiling.
He chuckled. “Yes. Less dangerous.”
“Is there any other place in your kingdom that won’t try to kill us?” I asked him.
“I hope my palace can provide that safety.”
“Is it a big palace?”
“Very.”
“And filled with lots of priceless treasures?”
“A great deal.”
“And bedrooms?”
“A great many.”
I shifted atop my ‘bed.’ “Are they filled with straw?”
“Wool.”
“No feathers?”
“Only by request.”
A sigh escaped my lips. “That sounds nice.”
I licked my lips and found them dry, so I sat up and set my sandwich to the side.
The pail was my objective. I took it up and looked at the crystal-clear, cool water that shook inside.
There was a slightly sweet scent to the liquid, which only made me thirstier.
I tipped the water jug up and against my lower lip, and that’s when things went awry.
My inexperience with such a wide-mouthed container meant I attempted to drown myself.
The water cascaded down upon me like the biblical flood, and I was soaked in a matter of seconds.
I dropped the container on its bottom on the loft floor and sputtered out an ocean’s worth of water. My companion had all the concern of a man about to have a hernia from suppressing laughter. Cassian crawled over to me and drew out a handkerchief, which he handed to me.
“Thanks…” I mumbled as I wiped my face and hair.
Cassian drew out another handkerchief and nodded at my clothes. “May I?”
I lifted an eyebrow at the cloth. “How many of those do you have?”
“Many,” he replied as he began to dab my damp clothes. “A king must have one for every occasion, especially cleaning a fair damsel.”
He was doing more for me than cleaning me.
His little attentions were definitely getting the attention of my feminine parts.
I had a hard time keeping my breathing even, especially as his hand traveled lower down my chest. He did away with the cloth and wrapped his long, slender finger around my hip.
My heart pounded in my chest as he leaned over and brushed his lips across mine.
His soft voice enveloped me in a cloud of desire. “You are very fetching in starlight.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. “Should you really be doing this?”
“Shouldn’t I?” he teased before he pressed our lips together.
The heat between my legs became a furnace of lust. I was out of breath and panting hard by the time we separated. My mind shouted at me to stop this nonsense. He was a king! I was nothing!
But who was I to argue with a king’s demand?
Cassian pressed his body down on mine, pinning me to the blanket.
He deepened our kiss, and his wandering hand resumed its journey.
His fingers danced along my hip and up to my buttoned shirt.
The buttons were plucked open one by one, revealing my chest to the cool, open air.
I wasn’t cold, though. Not with his warm body pressed against me.
My foggy mind barely noticed as he drew off his shirt and our pants.
Our naked bodies pressed against each other, fiddling us into a feverish ache that increased with each brush of his fingers, every touch of his lips.
He broke our kiss and trailed hot ones down my throat.
His guttural growls left me throbbing and moaning.
My moans filled the loft, and the hay crunched beneath us as he pushed my legs apart to lie down between them.
He captured my lips in another kiss as his throbbing manhood penetrated me.
Cassian wasn’t my first lover, but he definitely wasn’t the worst. His hands glided over my quivering flesh, heightening my lust even as he pulled out and pushed back in.
I broke our kiss and leaned my head back. A soft sigh escaped me. My body was awash in sensual pleasures that tingled every nerve, teased every muscle, and promised a hell of an ending.
Then he paused. Cassian reached down and drew the locket into his palm. “What’s this?”
Some of the mood died with my shock. “Just, um, just a souvenir.” I snatched it from him and pulled the locket around to my back. The chain still refused to slide up my neck. “I never take it off.”
“Not even now?”
“Nope, but is that really going to stop you?”
A lecherous grin slipped onto his lips as he leaned down. “No…”
Cassian wrapped his arms around me and rocked against me, pushing his hips forward and back.
I shut my eyes and reveled in the feel of him sinking deeper and deeper into me.
My muscles quivered. My wetted walls squeezed him.
I could hardly breathe, so great was the pleasure.
Ecstasy enveloped me, capturing my thoughts in its frenzied grasp.
I clutched onto his shoulders as he thrust faster and faster. Each penetration was another inch closer to heaven. My heated center throbbed and ached, begging for release. Begging for the climax he promised.
“Yes,” I moaned as I shut my eyes. “Oh God, yes. Yes!”
He grunted and pushed hard, sending me toppling over into a world of brilliant lights and rapture. My body twitched and jerked as my orgasm hit hard and high. I hadn’t come back down before he spilled into me, pouring himself into my womb.
I slumped atop the blanket, covered in sweat and lingering satisfaction. Cassian set himself on his arms and grinned down at me. I gasped when I felt his manhood stiffen again. His voice was hoarse, but eager. “Ready?”
I squeezed his shoulders and grinned. “Always.”
We rutted most of the night, moaning and grunting like the animals beneath us. It was wonderful. It was beautiful. It was exhausting.
I finally fell asleep with my head against my lover’s warm chest, and his coat over my sweat-soaked body. His arm was draped around my back, pinning me against him. I snuggled and smiled.
“Wow,” I breathed.
He chuckled. The vibration rumbled through me. “Indeed. Now sleep.”
And so I did. The best I had in a long time.