Night had fallen; I was pacing the cham while Diandra sat at the table sipping from her third chalice of wine.
She was sucking back liquid courage.
I didn’t need liquid courage; I was coasting high on adrenalin and emotion.
I did not allow myself to consider why the possibility that Lahn was having sex with other women and allowing them to bathe him and do his fucking hair upset me so much.
It just did.
A lot.
A lot, a lot.
And like when I saw something I wanted badly, I got irrational and emotional when I got upset. The difference was, when I got upset, I got extremely irrational and emotional and this, unfortunately frequently, mingled with a whole lot of stupid.
So I didn’t question it in this world just like I never did in my own.
I just let that tidal wave sweep me wherever I got swept.
Which was what I was going to do the minute Lahn got home.
I was wearing my apple green nightgown and my long hair was pulled up in a messy knot wrapped with a piece of ribbon that I’d tied into it. I was too wound up to have it in my face and on my burned shoulders, it was driving me mad, so up it went.
“I wish you would sit, my queen, you’re making me nervous,” Diandra mumbled and then sucked back more wine.
I stopped, turned to her and started babbling. “I can’t sit. I’m wound up. And, by the way, I wish you’d stop calling me your queen. I know I am to the people out there but you’re just my friend. No one but us knows what it means anyway, all my friends from home call me Circe mainly because that’s my name and I’m not a queen there but even if I was… not that that could ever happen but still… I wouldn’t let them. And you’re my friend. So, I’d like you just to call me Circe.”
She gave me a crooked smile that looked alarmingly tipsy and I wondered with some concern if Diandra was a lightweight.
“I’d love that… Circe,” then she giggled.
Oh shit.
The cham flaps slapped open, I turned to them and then stopped breathing when Lahn bent low and entered.
Here we go.
His eyes cut through Diandra, across the bed and hit me standing at the far end of it. Then his face went soft. Then he took a step toward me.
I lifted my hand swiftly and said, “Stop.”
Diandra translated.
Lahn stopped and his brows drew together in a way that didn’t loosen me up one bit, his gaze sliced to Diandra then back to me.
“We need to talk,” I told him in a soft voice. “It’s important. I asked Diandra to translate for us. Please, Lahn, will you talk with me?”
Diandra interpreted and Lahn stared at me with that scary look for awhile then he jerked his chin up, crossed his arms on his chest and cleared his expression.
“I think that means yes, Circe,” Diandra translated his look.
“I think I got that, honey,” I said to her, Lahn’s brows snapped right back together again and he looked over at Diandra.
“Lahn,” I called and his eyes came back to me. “Did you have sex with one of the Xacto last night?”
His face darkened ominously when I said the word “Xacto” and it darkened more ominously when Diandra translated what I said.
I held my breath.
He scowled at me.
I felt my heart start to hurt.
He continued to scowl at me.
My heart squeezed.
“Me,” he finally grunted.
“No,” Diandra translated a word I actually knew and I felt my chest release.
“Okay, baby,” I whispered to Lahn, watched his eyes flare briefly when I did but the scowl didn’t shift. “Now,” I went on carefully and quietly, “I know I’m living in your world, I get that. But I want to explain something about my world, something I want you to get and I want you to get what it means to me. Will you listen?”
Diandra translated. When she finished, Lahn kept scowling but jerked his chin up.
“Shahsha,” I whispered, got nothing but continued heat from his eyes and then forged ahead. “In my world, men are faithful to their wives. They don’t cheat on them, they don’t have sex with other women or do anything with them, sexually or not. They don’t allow other women to touch them, bathe them, um… etcetera.”
Diandra translated and her translation became tentative as the raw, brutal energy Lahn normally exuded ratcheted up to the danger zone.
“I get that you do, here, I mean, the warriors do and all that,” I said swiftly, Diandra translating with me, “but in my world we don’t. We so don’t, if a man does that to his wife, she has the right to leave him.”
This was a mistake. A bad one.
I knew this when his body tensed so fiercely, it seemed to grow and expand and I heard the growl escape his throat.
No words, just a growl.
“Circe, my dear, I didn’t know… you shouldn’t… warrior wives do not ever –” Diandra started but Lahn spoke over her and his words were clipped and seriously fucking pissed off.
When he was done talking, Diandra translated.
“You will not leave.”
“I wasn’t saying I was going to, just –”
Diandra spoke with me and Lahn spoke over her and she translated but she didn’t have to. He simply repeated his pissed off words.
“You will not leave.”
“I wasn’t –”
He kept talking and Diandra interpreted.
“You will not call the wife of Seerim after me.”
I blinked at this sudden change of subject as well as his words which I did not get.
“What?”
Diandra translated, Lahn spoke and then she spoke again.
“You will not call Seerim’s woman ‘honey’. That is mine.”
Oh man.
“It’s an endearment,” I explained. “In my world we say it to –”
“It is mine. You will not use it with anyone but me.”
I studied him and decided this was not going very well.
So I decided to agree in order to try to soften him up for the hard part.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay,” he bit off.
Then we started talking with Diandra translating.
“We need to talk about the Xacto,” I told him.
“I will not discuss the Xacto with my wife,” he told me.
“Um… this is important to me,” I explained.
“This matters not. I will not discuss it.”
Oh man. Now I was getting pissed.
“But Lahn, I’m telling you this important to me!” I snapped.
“It is not your place,” he replied.
“I’m your wife!” I shot back, my voice rising.
“And as my wife, it is not your place,” he returned.
“That’s crazy!” I cried.
“It is not,” he retorted.
“Doesn’t it matter to you that this is important to me?” I asked.
“No,” he fired back, saying it in my language.
Oh yeah. Now I was pissed.
“I beg to differ, big guy,” I retorted. “And I will tell you right here, right now, right in this cham,” I pointed to my feet then at him, “you will not let them touch you.” I jerked my finger at him again. “You will not let them bathe you.” Again with the finger. “You will not let them massage you, touch your gorgeous fucking hair, your fantastic fucking body or anything to do with you because that, baby,” I swept him top to toe with an up and down sweep of my hand then jerked a thumb at myself and leaned in, “is all mine.”
“Vayoo ansha,” he ordered, uncrossing his arms and planting his hands on his hips and I retorted before Diandra could translate because I knew what that meant.
“I will not come there until you promise me you won’t have anything to do with the Xacto. You want someone to bathe you,” I jerked my thumb at myself again, “your wife will do it. If you need someone to braid your hair,” another thumb jerk, “I will do it. You need someone to massage the muscles in your body,” this time I tossed my head, “you guessed it, big guy, that will be me too. And you need someone to fuck you, suck your cock and make you come,” another jerk of my thumb, “that’s me too and only me. Do you get me?”
Diandra quit talking and the instant she did, Lahn ordered, “Vayoo ansha.”
I instantly retorted, “No, Lahn, I won’t come there until I know you get me.”
Diandra translated and Lahn repeated, “Vayoo ansha.”
“Do you get me?” I shouted.
He spoke and Diandra said, “Lahnahsahna, sheathe your claws and come to your husband. Now.”
“No!” I snapped.
He spoke then Diandra said, “Last time, Circe, you come here or I come get you. Do you want that?”
I stared into his dark eyes. Then I realized I didn’t want that. In fact, the look in his eyes, I really didn’t want that.
Damn.
I stomped to him trying to look as pissed as I was, an endeavor which I was pretty sure succeeded.
I was four feet away when he leaned forward, reached out with his long arms and yanked me to him so I was plastered to his body and his arms were super tight around mine.
Um. Uh-oh.
“Lahn,” I whispered, pressing my hands against his chest.
He spoke and when he did, it was soft and his eyebrows went up.
Diandra translated, “My wife will bathe me?”
Um. Uh-oh!
Shit. Now what had I done?
“Uh…” Shit! God, there was nothing for it. “Yes,” I confirmed.
More from Lahn, more from Diandra.
“Plait my hair?”
Me and my big mouth.
“Yes.”
“Paint me?”
I bit my lip because I liked the idea of doing that then whispered, “Yes.”
He grinned.
Then his face dipped close and his eyes got hot before he spoke.
When Diandra translated, I realized I really had to learn the Korwahk language and fast. She was now a serious third wheel and if it wasn’t embarrassing for her, it was for me.
“My wife will take my cock between her legs and in her mouth?”
“Y… yes,” I stammered.
“Her mouth?” he reiterated.
Oh man, I felt a tingle between my legs so they shifted.
He felt it, he knew what caused it and his eyes got hotter.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Then he spoke and Diandra translated.
“Your king will grant this request. No more Xacto, Lahnahsahna, only my golden queen.”
I stared at him.
Oh my God.
He gave in.
He gave in!
My warrior king gave in.
I felt my belly melt. Then I whispered, “Shahsha, honey.”
Lahn smiled.
Then I relaxed in his arms, held his eyes and licked my lips.
He watched me do that then he grunted, “Veeyoo,” and Diandra didn’t translate.
She got up instantly and headed to the cham flaps.
She stopped at them, I looked around Lahn to her, mouthed “Thank you,” and in return she winked before she mouthed, “Well done,” then slapped the flaps back and she was gone.
The minute she was, one of Lahn’s arms went from around me, his hand curled around my jaw and moved my face to looking up at him all the while shuffling me back to the bed.
His head dipped to mine so his lips were so close, I could feel his breath.
“Kah Circe wahloo boh,” he murmured and I could tell by the heat in his eyes and the words I understood in that sentence that he meant I was starting now.
Oh man.
He turned us then sat on the bed, pressing me down to my knees before him.
Yep, I was starting now.
Right now.
His long legs were on either side of me, knees bent. He reached for my hands and guided them to the sides of his hides where both our fingers tugged the ties. Once we had two sets undone, he left my hands where they were, put his in the bed behind him and my head tipped way back to catch his eyes.
When I saw the look in them, my breath caught in my throat. There was no need to translate that look. That look spoke volumes.
One could say my king liked his queen on her knees between his legs.
Mm.
“Kah Circe wahloo boh,” he murmured, his voice thick.
I bit my lip. Then I reached out a tentative hand and rested it against his crotch.
He was, as ever, ready for me. My eyes dropped and I had visual proof.
Mm.
I felt a rush of heat between my legs and automatically my eyes went half mast.
I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this so I decided I might as well do as my king commanded and start now.
I peeled his hides back and my present was instantly revealed.
“Oh yeah,” I whispered, wrapped my fist around the base, moved in and my eyes lifted to my husband to watch his face as I commenced with performing my wifely duties.
I was right, I enjoyed it.
But I knew for a fact my husband enjoyed it more.
* * * * *
The tent was filled with candlelight and I was naked, on my side in bed with Lahn, the sheet up to our waists, his arms around me, our eyes were locked.
My hand slid to his chest.
“Chest,” I whispered.
He tipped his face forward until his forehead was resting against mine.
“Fantastic,” he whispered back, I blinked then remembered I called his body fantastic when I was ranting and I was surprised, and impressed, that he heard the word and remembered it through the translation.
Jeez, he was good.
“Yes, baby, fantastic,” I replied softly and slid my hand up his chest to his face. “Cheek,” I told him when my hand rested against his, it moved and I touched his eye with my fingertips, both of them closed and I kept going, “Eye,” then down, his eyes opened and then I whispered, “Lips,” when my fingers touched there.
Those lips smiled then my hand sifted back into his hair that I’d let loose earlier.
“Hair,” I said quietly.
He grinned. “Gorgeous.”
There it was again.
I grinned back. “Yeah, definitely gorgeous,” I agreed, my fingers gliding down through the thick mass and his hand moved from my waist, over my hip, down my thigh which he lifted and hooked over his hip.
Then it slid back up my thigh to my hip and up to my breast where he cupped it, gave it a gentle squeeze and lightly pressed his forehead against mine.
I got what he wanted. “Breast,” I told him on a whisper.
“Fantastic,” he whispered back and my belly dipped.
His thumb slid gently over my nipple and I pressed my lips together at the sensation that caused then breathed, “Nipple.”
I watched his eyelids lower slightly and damn, it was sexy.
“Gorgeous,” he murmured and my belly warmed.
His hand released my breast and glided down, his fingers curled in so when he stroked my belly, he did it using the backs of them.
“Belly,” I said softly.
“Mm,” he mumbled and that rough sound glided through me like a soft touch.
His hand moved down between my legs and he filled me with a finger.
I said no words because I couldn’t. My lips had parted and I’d pulled in a soft breath as my hips twitched.
“Sweet,” he whispered and my body melted into his.
“Shahsha, kah Lahn,” I breathed.
His finger slid out and he rolled it once, hard against my clit. I gasped softly again then it slid back down and filled me.
“My Circe is sweet,” he told me and my hand went from his back to wrap around the side of his neck.
“Lahn,” I whispered and his thumb went to my clit as his finger moved in and out. “Yes,” I breathed.
“Oh yes, baby,” he corrected, his thumb pressing deeper, I vaguely realized my king really paid attention but mostly I was concentrating on what his fingers were doing and the fact that my hips were jerking.
“Oh yes,” I agreed, ducked my head down and shoved my face in his throat as my hips moved to ride his hand.
He added another finger and I tipped my head back to run my tongue along his throat.
He kept at me and I kept riding his fingers until he suddenly turned me so my back was to his front, he shifted my hips with his big hands, then he drove his cock inside. His arms moved around me, his finger going to my clit, his other hand cupping my breast to tug at a nipple as he stroked deep.
My head reared back and my body bucked.
“Oh yeah, baby, that’s better,” I breathed.
“Yes,” he grunted, “better, kah Circe.”
“Fuck me, Lahn,” I begged and I guessed that was sort of universal because he added hard to the deep. “Yes.”
I felt him shove his face in my neck and his tongue touched there as his thrusts drove even deeper and started to go faster.
Then I covered both of his hands with my own, my neck arched way back, pressing against his shoulder, my lips parted and I moaned a long, silent moan as I climaxed a long, really fucking great climax.
A few minutes later, Lahn’s forceful, rough groan wasn’t even close to silent.
He stayed planted deep for a long time, his hands cupping me in two places, my hands covering his and my breath evened out as I listened to his do the same.
Then he gently slid out but the minute I lost his cock, his long finger slid back in and his mouth came to my ear.
“My Circe is sweet,” he growled then his teeth nipped my ear.
I smiled into the candlelight.
His head settled to the pillows and I pressed back into him as deep as I could go, my hands still over his where they claimed me.
And about two seconds later I fell asleep in the same position, claimed, in more ways than one, by my king.