The King & His Queen (Pict King Series Book 3) Page 4

  Talon caught the sudden movement of Verity out of the corner of his eye. She had stood abruptly and Wrath had followed suit, his hand firm on her arm. They seemed to be arguing and he had an idea of what it was about.

  Surprisingly, Paine was sitting with an arm around his wife and a smile on his face. Paine was not one to smile easily, though since he had joined with Anin, his smiles were more frequent. This smile was different. It was almost as if he knew something that others did not and he was enjoying the secret.

  Talon was surprised when Verity yanked her arm free from her husband’s grasp, though he was not surprised she headed his way. Wrath would let Talon deal with his wife’s anger over hearing that he was having a husband found for Hemera, especially since Wrath did not bother to follow her.

  “Forgive me, my King, may I have a word with you?” Verity asked.

  Talon turned to Gelhard and, without a word, the man excused himself and left the two alone. He turned back to Verity, though he did not offer her a seat. It was wiser she remembered who she spoke with. He nodded for her to continue.

  “Wrath tells me that you plan to find Hemera a husband.”

  “One suited to her,” Talon clarified, wondering if any could truly suit Hemera.

  “I beg you, my King, to rethink your plan,” Verity pleaded, a slight tremor to her voice.

  “Why?” Talon asked curious.

  Hemera prefers being on her own. She has no wish to marry.”

  “She needs someone to look after her.”

  “I look after her.”

  “Not well enough. Besides, you will have a bairn to look after soon enough and probably more bairns to follow. You will have no time to keep watch over Hemera. A husband will solve the problem.”

  Verity shook her head. “Hemera will never agree to it.”

  “It is not her choice.”

  Verity nipped at her lower lip as if holding back her words and shut her eyes for a moment before finally speaking. “She will leave here if you force a marriage on her.”

  Talon shook his head. “There is no place for her to go. This is her home now and I will see her kept safe.”

  “You cannot keep Hemera safe. No one can.”

  Talon rose quickly to his feet, bringing Wrath to his wife’s side just as quickly, but before Talon could voice his anger that Verity should think him incapable of keeping Hemera safe, his eyes caught sight of several warriors entering the hall. Snow covered the hoods and shoulders of their cloaks.

  “It is snowing?” Talon shouted.

  Silence filled the room as all heads turned to the warriors.

  One spoke up. “Aye, my King, the ground will be covered by morn at the way it is falling.”

  “Damn,” Talon muttered and grabbed his fur-lined cloak off the bench beside him, rounded the table, and hurried out of the hall. He turned on the two personal guards that followed behind him. “Return to the feasting house now!”

  If only he could get Hemera to obey as quickly and without question as his guards did.

  Hemera stood outside her door watching the snow fall and waiting. He would come. He had lost the wager and she had no doubt that he did not like to lose. The snow looked heavy, but the flakes were light and the wind strong, making it appear worse than it was. It was also a late snow, buds already breaking through the soil and on the tree branches, which meant it would not last long on the ground.

  The King would come and he would not be happy.

  She tucked her cloak more tightly around her and squinted as she attempted to see through the swirling flakes. A large shadow suddenly rushed through the swirling snow at Hemera and she took a quick step back.

  The King had arrived.

  The wind whipped his cloak behind him, making him appear as if he had wings and his long dark hair blew around his head while the drawing on the side of his face made it appear as though a shadowy hand had claimed hold of him.

  Talon stopped directly in front of her.

  “I won the wager,” she said with a smile before he could say a word.

  He grabbed hold of her chin and did something he never expected to do.

  He kissed her.

  Chapter 5

  Shock froze Hemera and by the time she regained her senses, Talon had ended the kiss, shoved her away from him, turned, and disappeared into the swirling snow.

  Her fingers went to her lips, still warm and sensitive. It was then she realized that she had tensed when he kissed her, but her lips had not. They had responded to his demanding ones. She had felt the hunger in his kiss and was surprised at her own ravenous taste for him. The more he had demanded, the more she willingly gave, the more she enjoyed the kiss.

  She had not stopped him when his tongue had forced her lips apart and entered her mouth. Her tongue had welcomed him and his demand softened, his tongue cajoling, and a warm tingle had wrapped around her. She had felt a familiar comfort, one she felt only when embraced by the forest, and she did not know what to make of it.

  That was when he had ended the kiss and pushed her away, then disappeared. She wondered if he had been sorry he had kissed her or if the kiss had disappointed him. It had not disappointed her, an unexpected thought, but then the kiss had been unexpected. Had it been so to him as well? If so, why had he kissed her? A more surprising thought was that she hoped he would kiss her again.

  She shook head and entered her dwelling, hanging her cloak on the one of the two pegs by the door to dry. She went to the fire pit to warm her hands that were cold from the chilling wind, though the rest of her had been warmed by his kiss.

  Her fingers once again went to her lips to touch them lightly. It was almost as if she could still feel his lips upon hers, his kiss had been so strong, so memorable. She had never been kissed. Talon had been her first, but she had not been his first. She would be wise to remember that and wise not to let him kiss her again.

  There could never be anything between her and the King, and she would have no man dictate to her. She had suffered enough of that and she would suffer no more of it.

  Hemera gave a firm nod and spoke to the empty room. “There will be no more kisses from the King and no husband to tell me what to do.”

  Talon walked around the village, angry with himself for kissing Hemera, though more angry that the kiss had been more enjoyable than any he had ever had. And he had wanted to do more than just kiss her. His swollen manhood attested to that.

  He should go and appease his hunger with one of the women who always lingered nearby in the evening and were always willing to please the King. He had no favorites, anyone of them would do. The thought annoyed him even more. He had never felt complete satisfaction with any woman. He had always been left with a lingering ache and nothing, he did or a woman did, had ever appeased that relentless ache.

  What if Hemera could?

  He was a fool for thinking such an unwise thought. He should have never kissed her. He had not planned to kiss her, but when he saw her there, her red hair blowing wildly in the wind, the snowflakes kissing her cheeks, her nose, her lips, jealousy had surged up in him and he had responded to it. Where it had come from, he did not know. He only knew that his lips were the only ones meant to touch hers.

  “I must see her wed,” he muttered and his words sent his anger soaring. He fisted his hands and with heavy footfalls turned toward the feasting house.

  The feasting hall was empty except for Wrath and the two guards waiting on the second floor outside his private chambers.

  Talon stopped as Wrath approached him. “Find Hemera a husband right away.”

  Wrath grabbed the King’s arm as he went to walk away. “What have you done, Talon?”

  Talon looked to Wrath’s hand gripping his arm, then to him, a deadly warning in his eyes.

  Wrath apologized quickly. “I am sorry, my King—my friend.”

  Talon shook his head. “It is not what I have done. It is what I will do if a husband is not found for Hemera.”

  Knowing Tal
on would never take a woman against her will, Wrath said, “She would not be willing.”

  Talon gave a brief laugh. “She would be more than willing.”

  “This cannot happen.”

  “I agree. Find her a husband.” With that, he stormed past Wrath.

  “I will send a woman to you.”

  “Do not bother,” Talon shouted and climbed the stairs.

  He stripped off his garments and climbed into his sleeping pallet, hoping sleep would claim him quickly. While solitude was often his friend, this evening it was his enemy. It tormented him with thoughts of Hemera.

  Though she had tensed in his arms, her lips had welcomed him with an intensity that had surprised and pleased him. She had responded as if she had been waiting forever for him to kiss her. Or had he wanted to believe that? Had she responded so eagerly because it had been too long since she had been kissed? How many men had kissed her? How many had joined with her?

  The annoying thoughts had a low growl rumbling in his chest.

  He tried to chase thoughts of Hemera away and being a disciplined warrior, he eventually did and sleep eventually claimed him.

  Her hair faintly brushed his face, the silky soft strands sending a shiver through him before her lips settled over his, strong and demanding, as his had done to hers earlier. He reached out, his hand cupping the back of her neck, holding her firm, keeping her locked to him.

  The kiss grew more frantic, then she suddenly tore her mouth away from his, though he fought to keep her lips on his.

  “I want more,” Hemera whispered and brought her mouth down on his neck to nibble along it.

  He moaned when her teeth nipped at his flesh, sending a stinging pleasure racing through him. His moan rumbled when her lips trailed down along his chest and swirled her tongue around his nipple before suckling on it. She continued on, trailing down along his middle, kissing and nipping until his moan sounded like a roar in his ears when she finally took his hard manhood into her mouth.

  It was like nothing he ever felt before. Every part of his body sparked with an intense passion that continued to build and build and build until he thought he would surely die from the pleasure and be happy about it.

  The passion intensified. Soon he would explode. Soon he would climax like never before. Soon he would finally feel satisfied. Soon the relentless ache would be gone.

  Talon woke to find his hand pleasuring himself and not Hemera’s lips, and he had no choice but to finish. He tossed the blanket off himself and swung his legs off the sleeping pallet to sit on the edge and finish what he wished Hemera had truly started, though he got little satisfaction from it.

  He went to the bucket of water kept near the fire pit when done and cleaned himself. He could not recall the last time he found it necessary to pleasure himself. He had always found a willing woman and now being King, there seemed to be an endless stream of willing women.

  Talon returned to his pallet, resting his arm behind his head. His future queen would be here soon, perhaps she would satisfy him.

  Hemera will satisfy you.

  Several oaths flew from his mouth at the thought.

  She was an innocent or was she?

  He shook his head. It did not matter. It would not be right to join with her. She deserved better than to be one of the King’s endless streams of women. He would see that she got a good husband and it would be done, for he would not touch another man’s woman.

  His hand went to push against his middle, his insides feeling as if they were being twisted into endless knots. He let several more oaths fly, then swore over and over that he would keep his distance from Hemera, until finally sleep once again claimed him.

  “Hemera. Hemera.”

  Hemera looked up from where she sat on the bench in front of the fire pit to see her sister waving as she approached. She stood and with a forced smile walked over to greet her. Verity was not there for a visit. She was there to find out why she had not seen Hemera for the last three days. And that would not be easy to explain to her sister.

  Hemera had been busy watching each one of the King’s personal guards, trying to determine if any one of their sizes or their gaits were recognizable. None proved familiar. That had gotten Hemera thinking that it was more likely that someone had borrowed one of the guards’ cloaks without him realizing it. She had tried to speak with Talon about it, but she had been turned away every time she attempted to see him. She finally came to the conclusion that he was avoiding her, which got her wondering if it had something to do with the kiss.

  Verity hurried her arms around her sister and hugged her tight. “I have missed you. Why are you keeping your distance? Are you not feeling well?”

  “I should be asking you how you are feeling since you are with child.”

  “You heard,” Verity said, feeling contrite. “I wanted to tell you before the news spread, but I have not seen you for the last three days.”

  Hemera shook her head. “I did not hear the news from anyone. I knew you were with child for some time now. I was waiting for you to realize it and tell me and,” —Hemera shrugged— “I could wait no longer.” She hugged her sister. “I am so thrilled for you and so excited about becoming an aunt.”

  When they parted, Verity asked, “How did you know?”

  Hemera shrugged again. “Signs. You shied away from food in the morn. Some foods made you pale or you would make a face at them.” She demonstrated by wrinkling her nose dramatically, which had Verity laughing.

  “You should have told me.”

  “No, it was for you and Wrath to know first.”

  “I am glad you are happy for me and I will be just as thrilled for you when you are wed and with child.”

  Hemera gave a hardy laugh. “Never will I wed.”

  A frown gripped Verity’s face and she paled.

  “You are not well,” Hemera said concerned and hurried Verity to one of the benches by the fire pit and made her sit. “I will get you a warm brew.”

  “No,” Verity said, reaching out and taking Hemera’s hand. “I am fine, sit with me.”

  Hemera sat. “Something troubles you.”

  “Aye, even more so now that I know that you knew I was with child and failed to tell you when you should have been the first to know after Wrath. We have not kept things from each other and I do not want to start now.”

  Hemera felt her stomach lurch. She had kept things from her sister, but her silent tongue had been born out of necessity. “You have something to tell me that you fear I will not like?”

  Verity nodded. “I do not want you to hear it from someone else and since the search has already begun, tongues are wagging.”

  Hemera cocked her head and wrinkled her brow. “What would a search have to do with me?”

  Tears gathered in Verity’s eyes and since she had suffered much at the hands of the Northmen without shedding a tear, it had been another sign that had Hemera thinking Verity was with child.

  Verity took hold of her sister’s hand and she hesitated a moment as if unwilling to speak, then the words rushed from her mouth. “King Talon has ordered a husband to be found for you.”

  Chapter 6

  Hemera remained silent, staring at Verity.

  “The King will find you a good husband and you will be happy like I am,” Verity said, hoping to help her sister accept her fate when she would have preferred to protest it, as she had done with Wrath when she had learned that the King was adamant about a husband being found for Hemera immediately. And Wrath had agreed. He also had agreed with the King that a husband would serve Hemera well. He would protect her and keep her safe.

  Verity had disagreed most strenuously. She wanted someone who would care for her sister, a man who would willingly give his heart to her. She wanted for Hemera what she had with Wrath and Anin had with Paine.

  Verity raised her chin, not realizing the weight of her thoughts had brought it nearly to rest on her chest, when she felt Hemera’s hand on hers.

 
; “This troubles you,” Hemera said softly.

  Tears rushed up to pool in Verity’s eyes. “I do not want to see you forced to wed.”

  “I will not wed,” Hemera said. “I want no husband.”

  “The King—”

  “Will be disappointed he does not get his way,” Hemera said with a smile.

  “The King always gets his way,” Verity warned.

  Hemera laughed and gave Verity’s hand a squeeze. “Not this time.”

  “You need to take this seriously, Hemera. The King will see you wed and you will not be able to stop him.”

  “I can and I will.” Hemera’s smile faded. “We have been through much, you and I, and I did not see us escape only to be forced once again into a life I have no wont of.” She squeezed her sister’s hand once more as her smile returned. “Do not worry on it.”

  Verity continued to try to make her sister understand. “The King’s word is law.”

  Verity sighed softly when Hemera glanced at the fire, drifting off into her thoughts instead of responding to her. Her sister did that often. They would talk and suddenly Hemera would grow silent until she once again spoke.

  “All will be well,” Hemera said, turning her eyes on Verity.

  Verity could not help but smile at the familiar words that had always made her feel better and oddly enough often things had worked out for the better. This time, though, Verity was not so sure.

  A sudden thought brought a smile to Verity’s face. “I know what we can do. We can have Anin touch the men that are interested in being your husband and see which one best suits you.” She jumped up. “The King surely would not object to that.” She reached down and grabbed Hemera’s hand. “We will go speak with Anin right away.”

  Hemera stood. “You go and speak with Anin. I have no wont to be around anyone right now.”