The Arranged Marriage by Katie Epstein

softness.
    “Yes Ison?” She whispered, her eyes
still closed.
    “The rumours about me are all
true.”
    “What?” The anger of his deception
suddenly threw itself across her face and he took the opportunity
to thrust forward. She didn’t seem to notice that he was suddenly
inside of her as she started to rant on about his deceit. Ison
tried hard to stop laughing.
    “Rohesia, I’m jesting with you, it
isn’t true,” He felt a pinch on his arm. “I promise it’s not true,
I only said that to get your attention from the matter. Look.” He
looked downwards so her eyes would follow in the direction of their
joining.
    “Oh,” She said quietly, acknowledging
the feel of him between her legs. “But it didn’t hurt.”
    Ison started to thrust forward gently
as the delight of her soft tunnel threatened to consume
him.
    “Fear is half of the pain my sweet,”
He whispered as the gratification could not be hidden from his
voice. “This will get so much better with time.” He continued, not
knowing how much it could better with her. This was truly
amazing.
    He wanted her to feel the climax of
her pleasure with him inside her, so they could ride it together,
but he didn’t think he had the power to go against the spell she
was weaving on him.
    “Rohesia, I think I’m ready to feel
those feelings you just felt, but I want your pleasure also my
sweet. I just, oh my, I just don’t think I can, wait.” He managed
to say as his quicker thrusts were urging her to grow and feel more
and more of the intensity. She held on to him.
    “Take what you need Ison,” She
whispered, knowing that she was starting to fall deeply in love
with this man. “We have the rest of our lives together to do
this.”
    He kissed her, the last of his control
disbanding. He felt the pleasure come at him in waves, so explosive
he thought he would drown. Holding tightly on to her hands, he
moaned into her hair to drown out the volume.

Chapter Seven
     
    “ Tell me again why I am
subjecting myself to this my lady?” Ison asked Rohesia as they made
their way down into the first village. They were to distribute
invitations to their wedding personally and she had been very
insistent on him going.
    “It is tradition to do the Walk my
lord,” She said, whilst stopping to straighten the neck on his
tunic. Her body was pressed quite close to his, making him wish
they weren’t stood, exposed, in the middle of a public road. They
had not made love since the first time due to Argarth demanding all
of Ison’s attentions well into the eve, and Rohesia – even though
trying to wait up for him – would be asleep upon his return. It had
only been two days but it had felt like a lifetime for them
both.
    “ Newlyweds take the Walk,”
She continued. “Normally to obtain gifts from people in celebration
of their marriage but I hate that bit.” Ison hated that bit too. If
having to walk through a throng of people who believed ill of him
wasn’t bad enough, having to accept gifts they would begrudgingly
give would be even worse.
    “But don’t worry,” She continued. “I
asked father to add to the announcements yesterday that we would be
giving the gifts in apology for lack of invitation to the royal
wedding and its haste,” She waited for Kaya and some of the
children from the court to catch up to them. They were to join them
on the Walk with the basket of gifts. “Cook has baked us some
goodies to give them and Kaya has kindly dressed a gold coin for
each family. I hope it is enough for them not to feel antagonised
by this.”
    “You mean by having a bastard for a
potential king who is rumoured to ravish young women and burn
villages?” He whispered to her in jest, but it did not stop his own
worry for her; a feeling that was foreign to him. She looked at him
out of concern.
    “You know you really need to tell me
the truth of those rumours one of these days. I am certain you have
a way to quash them but refuse to due to