Bliss(26)
Author: Lynsay Sands

"Aye. Stephen," he answered solemnly. "I want to see him as soon as he returns to the keep."

"Shall I go find him? Bring him back to you?" William asked uncertainly. He appeared as troubled by the news as Hethe himself had been.

"Nay. It will wait until he returns," Hethe decided wearily, then glanced toward the bed. His anger faded somewhat at the sight of his wife lying there, so he turned back to his first. "Go on below and break your fast. I will join you shortly."

He waited until William left the room, then moved around the bed to Helen’s side and gave her a light pat on the hip. Smiling to himself, he sat on the edge of the bed. When she pulled the linen down to peer at him questioningly, Hethe swooped in to press his lips to hers.

Helen remained still under his kiss at first, then relaxed against him. Her hands crept up to slip around his neck as she obviously remembered the night before and began to respond.

"Mmmm," Hethe murmured when he finally broke the kiss. "Good morning, wife."

"Good morning, husband," she said shyly, toying with the hair at the back of his neck.

He found himself grinning for no reason. She was just so adorable with her hair all over the place, her face salve-streaked and sleepy looking, and her lips swollen from his kiss. He raised a hand, caught the edge of the bedcover and dragged it down to her waist. His wife blushed but didn’t protest, and he reached up to draw a finger between her nak*d br**sts, then cup one gently.

"Your rash is nearly gone," he murmured, rolling her nipple between thumb and forefinger.

"Aye." She arched slightly to press her breast more fully into his hand, her own fingers reaching out to slide curiously over his chest.

Hethe cupped her other breast, too, squeezing gently. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well, but not long," she murmured, eyes suddenly sparkling. "Mayhap we should go back to bed."

"Back? You have not left bed yet," he pointed out with amusement. He let one hand slide down over her stomach and smiled when it quivered in reaction.

"True," she agreed breathlessly, squirming slightly as his hand continued across her hip, ran lightly down her outer leg, then fluttered up the inside of her thigh. Her legs spread for him, her breath catching in her throat, and her eyes dilated as he pressed his hand against the core of her.

"Are you coming back to bed?"

Hethe chuckled at the plaintive question and the way she was now tugging at his head with her hand, trying to pull him down for another kiss. Giving in to insistence, he leaned forward, kissing her as she wanted to be kissed, his tongue plunging into her mouth as he slid a finger inside her. He could feel her flesh close around him and shifting beside her on the bed, he drew his legs up, resting one across her shins while fondling and kissing her.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Hethe was breathing heavily when he broke their kiss.

Raising his head, he glanced the length of their entwined bodies, then toward the door, debating whether to answer.

"Ignore them. They will go away," Helen gasped, trying to pull his head back down to hers, but Hethe resisted.

"It could be Stephen," he pointed out solemnly. "And I have neglected that situation for far too long."

Helen released a little sigh of regret as her husband’s hand slid away. She knew he was right, of course.

It was morning. There were things for him to do. She was glad that he intended to take up his responsibilities here, but –  Her thoughts died as the knock sounded again. Anxious, she drew the linen back up to cover herself as Hethe shouted out, "Enter!"

It seemed Templetun had heard the request for a fresh bath. The door opened to reveal servants bearing another tub. As they entered, Hethe remained seated on the bed, completely oblivious of his nudity as he watched them quickly fill the tub with fresh warm water. Once that was done, the servants emptied out the used water from the night before, then lugged their pails and the used tub out and away.

Hethe waited until the door had closed once more before he sought out Helen’s hand and stood, dragging her up with him.

"What are you – "

"You don’t expect me to bathe alone, do you?" he asked wickedly, urging her across the floor to the newly filled bath. Helen glanced from his sparkling eyes to the tub with dismay.

"But there is not enough room."

"Want to wager on that?" Stepping into the water, her husband settled down in it, then drew her closer with the hand he still held. "Come."

"But…" Her protest died as he gave her a tug. Shaking her head, she stepped cautiously into the warm water, then stood eyeing him doubtfully with one foot on either side of his upraised knees. "There really is not enough room – Ah!" she shrieked as he caught her other hand and pulled her down. Caught by surprise, she stumbled slightly, dropped to sit on his knees, then slid down to rest on his hip, her eyes wide. She could feel his manhood beneath her, a hardening shaft pressed between their bodies.

"See? There is room," he said huskily. Cupping water in both his hands, he lifted it to pour it over her br**sts.

"Not much," Helen replied with some amusement as he dug around the side of the tub until he found the soap. Rubbing it between his wet hands, he built a slight lather, then reached for her chest. A moment later, each hand found a breast and began to massage it expertly, spreading suds everywhere.

"You can wash my back, and I shall wash yours," her husband murmured, concentrating on what he was doing.

"That is not my back, my lord," Helen pointed out on a near groan, leaning closer with each breath.

Hethe didn’t bother to respond, merely continuing to touch and fondle and soap her. She almost protested when his hands finally slid away over her stomach and arms. Opening eyes she didn’t recall closing, she snatched up the soap from where it landed between their two bodies and began to return the favor. She had barely finished covering him with soapy lather when he pressed her nearer, so that they were chest to chest, and began to soap her back.

Helen squirmed against him, then leaned back slightly to peer into his eyes. "I…" she began, but he silenced her with a kiss, devouring her mouth as his hands slid over her. After a moment, his hands dropped lower. Cupping her bottom, he urged her forward, pulling her along his engorged shaft. Helen groaned into his mouth as the hard flesh caressed her, aware but uncaring of the water slopping out of the tub, as they shifted. She continued to grind against him when his hands left her, making a sound of protest as he broke the kiss and leaned to the side, but then she glanced over to see what he was doing. He was reaching for one of several full water buckets the servants had left behind. She had just enough time to close her eyes and mouth before he spilled it over them both, rinsing the soap away.

"What?" she gasped, pushing her now damp hair out of her eyes and peering at him in confusion. Hethe stared at her chest and smiled, making her glance down curiously. "What?" she asked again.

"There was something I wanted to do last night, but was not sure if I should," he explained. He set the now empty pail he was holding back on the floor.

"What was that?" Helen asked huskily. He met her gaze, a fire in his eyes she was beginning to adore.

"To lick and suckle your br**sts," he answered slowly. "But I was not sure if it was safe with the salve on."

"Oh." Helen’s eyes widened, her breathing becoming shallow as she suddenly imagined his head bent to her br**sts, his lips caressing her in place of his hands. The image was incredibly erotic. Helen closed her eyes to enjoy it more fully, then popped them open as she felt his lips close warm and firm around one nipple.

Oh, dear. The reality of it was even more erotic than the imagining, and a moan slipped from her lips as she peered down at the top of Hethe’s head and arched into his caress. Oh, yes, this was very nice. She felt his hands slide around her waist to pull her closer, then sighed as she was again rubbed intimately across his lap.

She caught his head in her hands, knotting her fingers through his hair as he suckled at first one breast, nipping and tugging gently, before moving to the other. Then she felt one of his hands drop down over her back, slide over her bottom and between her legs from behind. Fingers brushed lightly over the center of her, but he was at an awkward angle. She wasn’t surprised when he drew his hand away, sliding it between them instead, and lowering it between her thighs.

She moaned at his first touch. Her legs instinctively tried to close but were stopped from doing so by his body. Tightening her hands in her husband’s hair, she ground against his hand as he caressed her, tugged his mouth away from her breast to kiss him, aggressively plunging her tongue into his mouth as he had done to her countless times. Her kiss became desperate as his caress became more forceful, and she rode his hand, her movements instinctive rather than practiced. He was driving her mad – and she wanted more. Letting go of his head, she reached down between them, leaning into the kisses he trailed across her cheek to her ear, then down to her neck as she sought, then found, his manhood. Hethe stopped kissing her and leaned his forehead into her neck with a groan as she firmly clasped it. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what to do with it now that she held it, but it seemed enough for Hethe.

"Witch," he murmured, slitting his eyes open as she curiously squeezed him. "Enchantress."

Helen smiled wickedly, but her mouth went round when, with the hand that caressed her so intimately, he plunged a finger inside. The sudden explosion of pleasure caused her to stiffen in shock, but a moment later he withdrew the finger and shifted beneath her. Before she could ask what he was doing, he had taken her by the waist and was rising out of the water, lifting her with him as he went.

Scooping her off her feet once he was standing, her husband stepped out of the tub and crossed the room, dripping water everywhere. Helen hit the bed with a bounce, and he came down on top of her, his mouth covering hers briefly before it slid away, brushing her neck, her collarbone, then taking turns at each breast as his hand worked between her legs.

Moaning and writhing, Helen clasped his shoulders and twisted her head, her h*ps jerking even as her legs closed instinctively around his hand. She felt him replace his mouth with his free hand at her breast; then he was pressing little nips and kisses across her belly, then to the crease of her thigh. She didn’t realize where he was headed until he was there, and then she didn’t care as he pressed her thighs further apart and his mouth took the place of his hand between her legs.

Helen cried out in desperate desire, her fingers clenching in the linens she lay upon and her head twisting wildly on the pillow as he feasted on her with his lips and tongue, pleasuring her in a way she had never imagined possible. She felt his hand slide up her thigh, then felt a finger slip inside her again; she nearly tumbled them both from the bed in her excitement. Hethe chuckled against her heated flesh, and she felt it all the way to her toes and back. Her body shuddered and convulsed, and she called out to him desperately, clasping him to her as she slid up her body and pressed his arousal against her spasming flesh.

His hard heat filled her, and as his mouth closed over hers. She rode the wave he set her on, her body tightening around him. He stoked her fire with long, slow strokes that seemed to prolong her pleasure, intensifying it even after its cli**x.

Swept away, Helen couldn’t tell where the first wave of ecstasy ended and the second began, for he continued driving into her. Her body was singing beneath him.

Suddenly he shifted, straightening enough to draw her legs up over his shoulders. Leaning against them left his hands free to cover her br**sts, and he took advantage of that, fondling her as he drove deeper inside her, each stroke coming harder and faster than the one before until they both cried out and found release.

Chapter Fifteen

Light spilling across her face woke Helen up some time later. Blinking her eyes open sleepily, she peered toward the window. There Hethe stood, framed in the morning sunlight, wearing nothing but a pensive look. It was sexy, Helen thought with a self-conscious smile. They had drifted off to sleep after their little

"bath"; she supposed they must have needed the rest. She felt much better now, had replenished some of her energy from the night’s lovemaking.

Sitting up silently, she slid from the bed, retrieved and donned her chemise, then crept up behind her husband. She wrapped her arms around his waist and peered past him at the world beyond the window.

The sun was high in the sky and shining brightly. It had to be near the nooning hour.

"Good morning," Hethe murmured, covering her hands with his own.

"Good morning," she answered, briefly pressing her cheek to his back. "It is a beautiful day, is it not?"

Hethe grunted in response, and Helen frowned. He seemed distracted and she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the intimacy they had shared.

Helen smiled wryly at her fickle thoughts. At this time yesterday she could never have imagined feeling this way. But then, at that time, she had believed Hethe a cruel man and believed that the bedding would be unpleasant. She had learned a lot since. If what he had said was true, her husband was not the cruel bastard she had thought. And, as for his attentions being unpleasant, nothing could be further from the truth. She knew he had had shown extreme kindness and gentle patience with her last night. Which had resulted in great pleasure rather than the pain her aunt had warned her about. Helen was grateful for that treatment, so grateful she thought she just might like to give him some pleasure back.

With that thought, she let one hand slide daringly down over his stomach until she found his manhood. It was flaccid again, and Helen turned her face into his back, pressing her smiling lips against his warm, salty skin as she recalled her reaction to her first sight of the member. She knew now, of course, that while it may not be very impressive in its relaxed state, once awakened, it could grow to rather intimidating dimensions. Just as it was growing now beneath her touch.