A FEW WEEKS LATER…
Killian
Our favorite place to relax on sun-soaked summer evenings is in the highest tower, surveying our land. It doesn’t stretch terribly far. We don’t need it to. We have everything we need here.
The castle provides.
It took me some time to get used to the way its magic fulfills our every need, but it turns out that when respected and not abused, magic is helpful.
Fate has a vicious sense of humor. First making my mother addicted to the stuff, then having to rely upon it to save my life. The way it simmers in the background of our lives is the way I imagine the fae experienced it, as a natural element woven into the warp and weft of this land.
I glance down at the woman sleeping in my arms, her fair head cradled against my shoulder with a rose blooming beneath her cheek. A wave of love washes over me, as gentle as a calm sea lapping against the beach.
When I gently brush a tendril of hair away from her face, she stirs.
“I fell asleep again.”
“You needed the rest.” I kept her awake last night, and then rolled over and awoke Briar before she would have liked to get out of bed. Not that we got out of bed. The habits of a soldier are still ingrained in me, and despite having been raised on a farm, my sleeping beauty is a late riser by nature.
Or, perhaps, it’s the baby’s influence.
I drop a kiss on Briar’s soft head. The blanket falls down to reveal one creamy shoulder. I run my thumb over the curve.
“Are you hungry?”
Her low chuckle brings a smile to my lips.
“I’m fine, Killian.”
“You’re eating for two now.”
“He’s still very small.”
“You mean she’s still small?”
This has become a running argument. I am convinced we’re having a girl. Briar is equally sure the baby in her belly is a boy. Both of us will be happy no matter who’s right, but I confess to having a secret yearning for a daughter to coddle and spoil. I want to give her all the things I never had while growing up.
There are only so many things I can give to Briar, a woman who is happiest with the sun on her face and a chain made of flowers for her crown. With our needs cared for by the castle, I don’t need to provide anything, yet it’s ingrained in me that I should. I bring her books and artifacts I find while exploring the grounds. It’s hard to spoil her with anything but pleasure.
That, I lavish upon her at every opportunity.
I adjust my position on the comfortable padded chair we keep up here for evenings such as this one, and brush the underside of her bare breast. Briar’s ripe lips part in a sigh of contentment.
I tug her across my lap. The blanket falls, revealing both of our fully nude bodies to all the monsters who care to look their fill. The beasts are indifferent. As long as Briar is happy, they’re content to leave us alone.
Her teeth catch her lower lip. I trace the curve of her waist, reveling in the roundness of her belly and the fullness of her breasts. They were perfect before. Somehow, they’re even better now. I didn’t think it was possible.
“What are you thinking?”
She cups my face.
“I like your tits.”
Briar laughs.
“So predictable.”
“I told you I’m no poet, princess.”