Warrior (25 page)

brought his lips down to hers. She

remained impassive for seconds, and

then, as he knew she would, she

began to respond to him. Her lips

parted and her tongue caressed his.

Vulcan deepened the kiss, wanting to

ingrain himself into her lips, onto her

body. When he came up for air, her

eyes were closed, her breathing was

erratic, and he could hear her heart

beating frantically against her ribcage.

“Witch,” he murmured against her

lips, trailing kisses down her cheeks to

her neck.

“Oh!” someone screeched loudly,

causing Vulcan to immediately go on

guard, moving off of Jaisyn and

pushing her behind him. His eyes

were searching out his sword when he

recognized who had interrupted them.

It was only Madga, who turned her

back to the couple immediately and

halted the men who would have

followed her into the solar.

Jaisyn rolled away from him

immediately, moving to the fireplace.

“Excuse us, Majesties. We’re to

prepare the bath for the queen,”

Madga said, her back still turned to

Vulcan. Vulcan turned to look at his

witch, whose back was similarly to

him. He almost chuckled.

“Have the men fill the tub, Magda,”

he told the woman, watching as the

servants came in to do as they were

bade. When the tub was filled,

everyone filed out, and Vulcan

approached Jaisyn. She stood facing

the fireplace, with her back to him.

He stepped behind her and pushed

her hair away from her spine.

“They are gone, wife,” he told her

softly, undoing the laces at her back.

***

Jaisyn remained as she was. She

was still mortified, but her husband

had awakened the hunger in her body

that usually lay dormant until he was

around. She hated to admit it, but at

time she wanted Vulcan of Morden

with a passion that belied everything

she stood for.

When she was standing in her thin

gauzy shift, he touched her arm and

she propelled herself around, tilting

her face up to his.

He lowered his head to her and she

eagerly rose onto her toes and lifted

her hands into his hair. As she

caressed his scalp, he groaned and

pulled her tighter against him.

“Remove your shift, Jaisyn,” Vulcan

commanded softly, lifting his head and

taking a step away from her. He

didn’t go far. Instead, he began

undoing his breeches.

Jaisyn was slightly uncomfortable

exposing her body to Vulcan, but the

look in his eyes as he stared at her

told her he found her stunning, that

the little insecurities she had about her

body were not even thought of by her

husband. He stepped out of his

breeches, exposing the stiff length that

sprung from between his thighs. She

felt the wetness pool at her juncture

and slipped the shift from her body.

She expected him to come to her, to

pick her up and move her to the bed.

He did neither. Instead, he sat down

in the armless chair before the hearth.

Jaisyn’s eyebrows drew together in

confusion. What was he doing?

A wicked smile touched Vulcan’s

lips as he called her over. “Come,

sweet witch. I will teach you

something different today.”

Jaisyn approached him cautiously,

stopping a few inches away. He

grabbed her wrist, forcing her to move

forward until she was no longer in

front of him, but above him.

“Sit,” Vulcan commanded softly,

and feeling a thrill run through her,

Jaisyn did as she was told. His thighs

were hard and muscular under hers

and when he pulled her body closer to

his, her nipples brushed his chest and

her pearl bumped against the rigid

length of him. She gasped and tilted

her hips slightly, enjoying the feeling.

He caught her lips between his once

more, worshiping her with his mouth.

And then he was lifting her slightly, so

that he could worship her breasts,

tease her.

Jaisyn’s moans filled the room as he

moved a hand under her and began to

run his fingers through the wetness

that eagerly awaited his length. He

flicked her pearl rapidly as he plunged

two fingers into her channel. She cried

out and caught his forearm before

tossing her head back. Removing his

fingers, Vulcan angled her hips, lining

her up for his invasion.

Jaisyn felt her husband’s bulbous

head at her opening and blinked down

at him. His teeth flashed white as he

slowly lowered her, inch by inch onto

his pulsing length.

***

When he was fully sheathed inside

her body, they both released small

sighs. Jaisyn’s arms went around his

neck

and

she

stared

at

him

expectantly. Vulcan laughed as he

remembered that despite her eager

responses,

Jaisyn

was

still

an

innocent. She didn’t know what to do.

So, eager teacher that he was, he

showed her.

Lifting her slightly, he brought her

back down on his shaft. She gasped in

pleasure and he leaned forward to kiss

her. As his lips held hers, he repeated

the motion, lifting her only to pull her

back onto him. She picked it up easily

and the arms that had been locked

around his neck suddenly took up

position on both of his shoulders. She

rode him slowly at first, bouncing and

circling against him, before she picked

up speed. Vulcan learned that his wife

was an exceptional rider. He took

pleasure in watching her face as she

moved on him, watching her lips twist

as a moan escaped them, or watching

them part as he ground against her

nub, or seeing her eyes close as she

contracted violently against him and

fell onto his lap. Grabbing her hips,

Vulcan lifted and lowered her onto his

swollen member, easily following her

into orgasmic bliss.

***

The messenger from Morden arrived

first, twelve days after the messenger

from Lytheria had set out. He brought

with him a letter from General

Tarkon, the man who currently

oversaw Morden, which congratulated

Vulcan on his new kingdom as well as

his new bride. Tarkon wrote about the

state of Morden, showing Vulcan that

he had indeed left his kingdom in very

capable hands. Nothing was amiss

except for the regular squabbles,

which had been taken care of by his

justices. Tarkon had also enquired

about Vulcan’s return, a question that

the king himself could not answer. He

truly believed that the answer lay in

the message that had yet to arrive

from Mitherie.

A day after the Morden messenger

arrived

at

Lytheria,

two

royal

emissaries from Mitherie arrived,

along with four of their soldiers.

Vulcan sat in the chamber just off

the side of the Great Hall, a room that

held an elevated dais, and a range of

portraits of the former royal family. It

was a room where international

meetings, among other things, were

conducted. In Morden, he had such a

room. It was much larger, and on the

necessary occasion, served as a place

for the balls and galas his stepmother

threw.

Seated against the high-backed

chair,

Vulcan

watched

as

the

messengers were brought in. Varian

stood to his side, a welcoming smile

on his face.

The two messengers faced them and

waited.

“What message does our Western

ally send?” Vulcan asked in a loud,

booming voice.

Both

shifted,

looking

nervous,

before one began to speak.

“King Vulcan of Morden, Prince

Tarbin of Mitherie congratulates you

on your marriage to his trusted friend,

the Princess of Lytheria. The prince

has received the second letter from

the princess explaining the situation,

and has accepted it as such. The

Katarals wish you two health and

hope that you can be allies in the

years to come.”

Vulcan was pleased with what had

been said but he needed to be certain.

“Does your king have any intentions

of disputing my claim to Jaisyn of

Lytheria?”

The emissary shook his head

vehemently.

“My

king

has

no

intention of disputing the claim.”

“And Prince Tarbin?” Varian added,

quirking a brow at the flustered

messenger.

“No, my lord. Prince Tarbin wishes

King Vulcan and his new queen well.”

Vulcan nodded and turned to look at

the other messenger. “Have you a

message for me as well?”

The

messenger

bowed

before

saying, “If it pleases Your Royal

Majesty, the Prince of Mitherie has

sent a parchment to the queen. I am to

deliver it directly to her and await a

response.” He opened his bag and

pulled out a folded parchment. Vulcan

could clearly see the seal imprinted on

the blue wax.

Vulcan’s lips thinned as he glared at

the messenger. A message for his

queen that he could not see? He

wasn’t so sure that Tarbin accepted

the marriage after all.

“Varian, send someone for my

queen. Have her know that her

presence is required.”

His brother immediately stepped

from the chambers and returned no

more than a minute later. Silence

reigned until Jaisyn finally entered.

“This is Jaisyn of Morden and

Lytheria, my queen. You may hand

her the parchment,” Vulcan told the

messenger who bowed low and

quickly did as asked.

***

Eyebrows lifting, Jaisyn took the

parchment from the man and turned

to Vulcan. His eyes were hard, his lips

thin, his jaw set. Her husband was

angry.

“A message from the Prince of

Mitherie for Jaisyn of Lytheria,” the

messenger told her and Jaisyn looked

down at the parchment once more.

She easily broke the seal and read the

contents, hoping that it wasn’t

something radical and that her

husband

wouldn’t

do

something

irrational, like take it from her.

My dearest friend,

I have received both of your letters

and am unsure of which to trust. They

are both written by your hand but are

so different that I fear you must have

been forced to write the second. News

has traveled to me of your father’s

death. I am sorry. Wilhelm was a

great king, and a great ally. News has

also reached me of Morden’s

invasion of Lytheria mere days after

your father’s passing. You have but to

s a y the word and I will rally my

troops. If your second letter holds

true, and you accept Vulcan of

Morden as the rightful ruler of

Lytheria, thank the messenger. He

has been given specific instructions

to bring this letter back to Mitherie to

prevent it from falling into malicious

hands.

—Tarbin of Mitherie

Under his name was the seal of his

kingdom.

Jaisyn rolled the parchment up and

returned it to the messenger.

Varian spoke immediately. “Is the

letter to be returned to Mitherie?”

The messenger answered as he

placed it into his satchel. “Yes, my

lord. Prince Tarbin has given specific

instructions to return with this letter.”

He turned to face the queen once

more. “Is there anything that you wish

to say to the prince?”

Jaisyn’s eyes moved to look at

Vulcan as she thought about the

question. If she said ‘the word’

Tarbin’s army would swoop down on