Aftermath (5 page)

When Trista tilted her head back and screamed, Braedon let his release flow, shuddering as he spilled his seed onto the leafy floor of the forest. He continued to pump as Trista trembled through her climax until her body stilled.

Barely able to move, he somehow managed to refasten his breeches, lingering for a few seconds to watch the rhythmic rise and fall of Trista’s breasts as she regained normal breathing.

He had loitered long enough. Shaken with an all-consuming lust to pound his cock hard and deep into his betrothed, he hurried away.

Before he did exactly what his desire told him to do. Fortunately she had not seen him, would never know he had caught a glimpse into her passion.

The vision would stay with him until his dying day.

Trista smiled as Braedon tiptoed away.

He did not know she had seen him arrive. Her faerie senses had picked him up long before he had appeared in her line of sight. She had expected a battle, had waited for him to storm over to her and demand she return immediately to Greenbriar. When he didn’t appear but hid out instead, she had considered confronting him, then decided to wait and see if he had anything to say to her.

Apparently not, so she had done exactly what she had come to do—bathe in the crystal D’Naathian pools. The forest stretched for lengths too far to walk or fly back to her homeland, but at least here she felt closer to home. The fact Braedon had defied laws and entered the forest to look for her both pleased and perplexed her.

Why not simply send some of his guards? Why did he come himself, and alone?

Most likely because if any faerie discovered him in the forest, only he would be blamed.

Though she wanted to think he came after her because he cared for her. He had certainly lingered, especially when she had begun to undress. Thinking he would flee when she disrobed, she was surprised and aroused when he stayed on. Then her intent to shock him had turned into a fierce need to pleasure herself, and possibly him.

Her original desire had been to swim in the pools, think on her plight, then return to the castle. She had not intended to touch herself, but Braedon’s sudden appearance had spurred her on to new heights of desire.

Perhaps she wanted to show him that she was not some simple little girl with no brain, that she was a woman fully grown. A woman with desires, needs and perfectly capable of satisfying those needs on her own.

When she saw him unlace his breeches and remove his cock, she knew then that despite his insistence that he was cold, remote and unfeeling, underneath the surface King Braedon of Greenbriar was a very passionate man.

Perhaps this could work out after all, especially now that she had a glimpse into his fire. She had felt his gaze on her the entire time, and it accentuated her pleasure. So much, in fact, that she had let out a wild scream when her climax came upon her. It had been so intense, and she knew it was because Braedon watched, because Braedon had obtained his release at the same time. Her belly knotted in spasms of desire, needing to feel his strong cock between her legs.

But he had left, though not without imparting a bit of himself to her. And that revelation had been very interesting, indeed. Now it was time to go back to the castle and think on all that she had learned.

Perhaps tomorrow would be a very different day indeed.

Trista rose and stretched, smiling at the sunlight streaming in through the windows of her chamber. She slipped on a gown of pale yellow, allowing her wings to spread out fully through the slits in the back of her dress. After tightening the laces of the dress across her stomach, she splashed water on her face and braided her hair, prepared to face the day. Though yesterday this room held no cheer for her, today it seemed brighter, more pleasant and welcoming. Even the tapestries seemed friendlier and filled with color.

She hurried downstairs to find Braedon, hoping she could share a few words with him over breakfast.

Would his demeanor toward her change after what they shared in the forest yesterday?

He was seated in the center of the room, surrounded by his men. Clearly this was not the time to speak with him. She searched out Erin and Donny, finding them seated at the end of Braedon’s table. She slipped into a chair next to them and dived into the morning meal. She was starving!

No more than two bites into her meal, she looked up to find Braedon standing in front of her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Eating.” Was that not obvious?

“You were up too late to help with the morning meal. See that it does not happen again.” Embarrassment flamed her face as she felt hundreds of pairs of eyes upon her. “I did not know my duties.”

“If you would drag your lazy ass from bed early enough to come down to the hall and ask, perhaps you would then know what is required of you.”

Apparently last night’s events changed nothing. If anything, Braedon was more surly this morning than he had been the day before. Mortified, she stood and picked up her bowl, taking it into the kitchens and throwing out the food, flinging the plate onto the massive stone counter.

How dare he embarrass her that way? In front of everyone at the castle, no less. The pig! The arrogant ass! She had half a mind to cast a spell and give him warts on his ass.

“Do not ever walk away from me again when I’m in the middle of a conversation.” She whirled around and shot him a venomous glare, uncaring that the kitchen staff gawked at them both.

“Do not ever lecture me in front of the castle population again.” He arched a brow. “I will speak to you whenever and wherever I choose. As my betrothed, you have duties. It is time you started doing them.”

She crossed her arms, determined to push away the hurt at his treatment of her. “I am not staying and I am not going to marry you. So it is pointless for me to do anything but wait until my father returns for me.”

“Your father will not be returning except to attend our wedding. You might as well push thoughts of leaving from your mind. I am in charge of your welfare now. You will answer only to me.” Fury boiled inside her. “My duty is to marry someone else, not you.”

“Are you daft, woman? Did you not understand that your father authorized our marriage? You would defy D’Naathian law?”

“I defy no laws. I am simply not marrying you.”

“You are mistaken. You will abide by my rules and my wishes.”

“And if I do not?”

His lips curled in a mocking smile. “Then I shall drag you into the middle of the courtyard, pull you over my knee, bare your ass and spank you soundly.”

Anger warred with desire as the visual of his hand swatting her naked bottom had the opposite effect of what he intended. Arousal coiled like a sensuous flame deep in her belly. She pushed aside thoughts of spankings and what would follow, letting indifference take control.

She laughed at him. “My father threatened that all the time and never followed through.”

His brows knit together and his face contorted. She felt the barely leashed control simmering on the surface and found it rather exciting. She wondered how far she would have to push him before he lost that control. “I am not your father. Do not challenge me, faerie. You will lose.”

“I will do whatever I like,” she countered, raising her chin and letting him know that she would never be ordered about by the likes of him.

“Then you shall suffer the consequences. I will only issue the warning one time.” He turned on his heel and exited, leaving her simmering hotter than the midday soup boiling on the stove next to her. She wondered if the heat was due to anger or something entirely different, deciding it was safer to choose ire as the reason for the flames shooting through her.

How dare he treat her this way? She would make him pay. Somehow, he would suffer
her
consequences!

Two hours later she had it figured out. Nadine had engaged her in assisting with the evening meal preparations. Having never supervised or worked in the kitchens before, she felt helpless and did not know what to do. Fortunately, Nadine was quite patient, instructing her how to oversee the kitchen staff and what decisions to make for meal planning.

Since she was also required to taste what was being cooked and to help serve the men their meals, she took it upon herself to personally serve Braedon, trying to hold back her smirk when she placed the bowl of hearty stew in front of him. He arched a brow at her innocent smile but said nothing. She turned away and continued to serve the men their meals, hiding her face when she heard Braedon’s loud bellow.

“Are you trying to poison me, woman?” he asked, sputtering, his face an angry red.

Ah, so the red pepper was a bit hot. See, she was learning already. Casually walking toward to his chair, she clasped her hands behind her back and waited while he gulped his entire mug of ale, choking and gasping the entire time.

“This is horrible!” he exclaimed, then turned to his men who frowned at him as if he were daft. “How can you eat this?”

“Tastes quite good, m’lord,” the man next to him exclaimed, followed by “ayes” from those nearby.

Braden turned his head and glared at her.

“You are right,” she said in her sweetest voice. “Cooking is not my strongest talent. I had meant only to season yours in a special way, since I wanted to please you. My apologies ‘twas not to your liking.” His face colored even darker than it had been after he had tasted the stew. “Work on it,” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes as he grasped his refilled mug of ale and guzzled deeply.

As she walked off, her heart lightened and she felt supremely satisfied that she had showed him exactly who would be dealing with whose consequences. The rest of the day passed quickly as she spent it with Erin and Donny. Donny was a delightful child, full of mischief and exuberance and clearly looking up to his brother. He constantly spoke of Bradeon and how he wanted to be just like him when he was older.

Erin was more soulful, always deep in thought and observing those around her with a keen insight that showed maturity far beyond her years.

But the one thing she noticed most of all was how much they both loved Braedon, despite the fact he spent no time with them. They made excuses for his neglect, claiming the running of Greenbriar as a very important task and how he had taken it upon himself to protect all the people.

Regardless, he had a family and he needed to see to them.

The more time she spent with Erin and Donny and Nadine, the more she missed her own family. In many ways, she understood Erin and Donny’s feelings of abandonment. How could her father leave her with all these strangers? And what of her sisters? Were they well? Did they miss her? What of Solara? Had she returned by now? Had she and Roarke been able to come together? Oh, she hoped so. Solara’s happiness was all that mattered. If her sister was able to love Roarke the way she wanted to, this nightmare would be worth it.

And if Solara and Roarke did find happiness, would she ever know it? Would she ever see her family again, or would she be trapped here forever?

Stop thinking of them. You will make yourself crazy if you allow your mind to wander into places
that bring you sadness
. Though she could link to her sisters through her powers, she knew it would only bring unhappiness right now, and she refused to open herself up to more misery, so she kept herself closed. She was not yet ready to face them. What if they were all unhappy because of what she had done?

Sometimes she acted before thinking. Her heart thought it was doing the right thing, but the reality did not always turn out the way she intended. She hoped her family was not in misery because of her actions.

Magic, she missed them all so much, needed the counsel of her sisters right now. She was so alone.

Long after the rest of the castle had retired for the night, she wandered outside in the gardens near the ocean, taking a seat on the wooden bench underneath a copse of trees. The oppressive heat was not unbearable in the night and the breeze from the ocean cooled her heated skin.

Trista leaned back and thought of all she would miss if she were required to actually stay here. Though she had developed an immediate fondness for Erin and Donny, she could not marry a man who did not care for her. She would be willing to suffer much in her role as queen, but she could never survive indifference and neglect.

Loneliness settled around her like a cloak against the whipping breeze, enveloping her in its shroud of solitude. The only way back home to her family was to ensure Braedon did not wish to marry her.

Judging from the way he treated her, even after his enjoyment of watching her the night before, it would not be long before he cast her aside and sent her back to her parents.

The thought brought about both hope and despair, though she did not know why.

* * * * *

She appeared lost in thought, but what really captured him was the look of loneliness, of isolation on her face. The glistening of golden tears filled the corners of her eyes and he felt a pang of guilty pain stab his middle.

Which was ridiculous. What did he have to feel guilty about? He did what was required to protect his people. He had no time to cater to a half-woman, half-child with no sense of duty. Perhaps choosing the young faerie as his betrothed had been a mistake. He could easily return her to her family and ask that one of the older faerie sisters be given to him as part of their marriage merger of lands.

Yet the thought of exchanging Trista for one of her sisters left him cold. How quickly the little minx had wormed her way into his household and his life. She was exasperating and taxed his patience, yet she also lit a fire in his blood that had never been there before.

He should stay far, far away from Trista. But his body ignored the urgings of his mind and he found himself walking toward her.