STORY EXCERPT

After one very trying debate, which ended with the Duke of Germany storming out angrily, Jann stayed behind and approached her. His guards stood by the door, but otherwise the court was empty. Marewyn had been in low spirits, head bent as she gathered together her belongings.

“Smil min dame, det vil blive bedre. Smile, my lady, it will get better,” Jann said softly as he watched her pack. Her mannerisms could at times be so childlike. While he watched her, she tired of carefully placing each piece of parchment into her sack and eventually just shoved them all in. Her shoulders rose and fell as she flung the pack over her shoulder, and looked into Jann’s hazel eyes. She didn’t lower her eyes or fumble for words like others who were awed that he was a king. And while her words stung him at first, she was wise and made sense. “I’m tired, my king. I simply want peace for all. Mayhap you could help by trying a bit harder to ally with the Germans instead of behaving like a child that needs a spanking.”

He’d smiled down at her with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ll try harder to be nicer, if only to see my lady smile again. And from now on you shall call me Jann when you verbally spank me.”

“Ja, Jann. I will address you correctly when you are naughty from now on.” Marewyn smiled. And that little exchange had started a friendship so deep and unexpected that neither one would ever be the same.

Jann wanted to know more about Marewyn, so he instructed his lead guard to conduct an inquiry. He discovered that she was thirty, fifteen years younger than him, even though she looked and acted a lot younger. She had no children. He was told she came from a mysterious background and had been raised in the woodlands of England and taught the extensive use of herbs and roots to heal, and Galdur, the ancient Icelandic chants. Marewyn used her herbal knowledge and intuitive powers to help women.

When Marewyn married, she’d relied on her husband as all women did. The guard told Jann that he had been a heavy drinker, and fighting had been a common noise coming from their cottage. After his death, she’d made enough money as a midwife, lived on her own, and didn’t remarry.

Marewyn blended her pagan roots with the present-day world beautifully. He was drawn not only to her beauty and brains but also to the magical aura that surrounded her. The more he learned about her, the more taken he became. She had the intelligence and determination far greater than anyone he had ever met. He spent as much time with her as possible.

“Don’t you get scared or lonely out here all alone? And why don’t you have children, Mare?” he asked while they were lying behind her cottage and looking up at cloud formations. Jann made it part of his routine to visit her daily. Each day it was his goal to learn something new about her.

“No, I enjoy my own company,” she said while chewing on a blade of grass. “As for being scared? It’s mankind that scares me, not nature. Men are unpredictably violent. I feel much safer amongst the animals and trees.” She took a deep breath before continuing.

“As for children, I was pregnant once. I lost the baby in a fall. My husband died shortly after that,” she said quietly. “Being a midwife and helping women with their newborns has filled my needs for now. That, and my writing.”

“I see.” He absorbed her words. Her pronouncement that she lost the baby in a fall didn’t ring true for him. He wondered what other pain had been inflicted on her. He reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’d never hurt you, Mare. I hope you know that. Whatever that husband did to you was unforgivable. I hope you see someday that not all men are like that.”

“I know you would never purposely want to hurt me,” she said quietly, squeezing his hand back. “People usually have the best intentions at first, and then things go wrong. I just find that being alone prevents anyone from getting close to me in the first place. I can’t handle any more pain. I just want to live my life in harmony and feel safe.” The mood had grown somber, and Marewyn tried to lighten it.

Jann took a deep breath and was about to say something, but Marewyn stopped him with a giggle. “Look, Jann. That cloud looks like a, um, you know, a man’s organ!” She laughed out loud when she tilted her head and saw the comic look on his face.

“I can’t believe you said that!” He laughed out loud. Then he tilted his head and looked at her. “And I hate to admit it, but I was thinking the same thing!”

“You are my twin, Jann, 'tis no denying it!” Her eyes twinkled with laughter. He looked at her lush body lying next to his big stocky frame.

“Yes, people can’t tell us apart,” he whispered and pinched her cheek playfully. Never had he met anyone quite like Mare. Her jokes and comments still surprised him at times, but he now took them for what they were. As long as she didn’t speak that way in public, it was acceptable to him. And she knew this for in public she was the perfect companion. She was a delight to be around. Marewyn began to accompany him to various political functions and social gatherings. The two of them became a common sight. But what he looked forward to most was his alone time with Marewyn. Then he could literally and figuratively take off his crown and be himself.

ADULT EXCERPT

They glanced at each other shyly from lowered eyes. It seemed they were not as brave away from the enchanted oak door. Jann was sweating and seemed to have trouble breathing, and she was so scared that her heart was beating uncontrollably. She tilted her head to the left and looked at him as she fondled her necklace, both pendants tinkling against each other. It was obvious that the ball was now in her court. She took a deep breath, gave him a slow sensual smile and held her hand out to him. When he placed his large hand in her smaller one, they both visibly relaxed and sighed. He pulled her closer and leaned down to kiss her.

“I’ve thought only of you the past days. I can’t sleep or work. I’m useless without you,” Jann said breathlessly. Marewyn shivered with delight as he kissed her neck. He had to hold her up when he began to kiss her ear. She felt as if she was melting into his very core.

“Well, make yourself useful and show me how much you missed me,” Marewyn said huskily. Jann kissed her on the tip of her nose and smiled.

He pulled her down the hall to her bedchamber. Both of their hearts were racing with excitement as he pulled her to him again. He held her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Marewyn leaned her body fully into his and felt his member dig into her belly. He yanked down the top of her nightgown and sucked her breasts hungrily, taking turns with each one. When he squeezed them together and sucked both nipples at once she moaned with ecstasy.

Jann reached down and rubbed her mound through her nightgown. Her vulva pulsated deliciously. If he kept rubbing her he would make her explode even before they coupled, she thought. So she forced herself to pull away from him so she could at least get undressed this time.

She lifted her nightgown over her head and tossed it on the floor as she stalked slowly to her big bed. She’d show him what a woman could do in the bedroom. She crawled onto her cushy mattress and sprawled out tantalizingly on her back. Jann drank in the sight of her luscious body as he moved closer to the bed, pulling off his tunic as he walked.

The drapes of the canopy were tied back with pink ribbons, the same pink of her glistening lips. She spreads her legs and slipped a finger into her wet slit as he walked toward her. He held the canopy bed post as he kicked off his loafers and leaned over to suck her finger. His eyes never left her body. He still couldn’t believe that she wanted him so much, but Marewyn’s desire was obvious. She wanted him very much.

Marewyn crawled seductively over to him and nuzzled into his neck. She licked his cheek playfully, and he smiled. He now only wore his hose, and the bulge in there was huge. She absolutely loved every inch of this big man. His body excited her.

She playfully nibbled his cock through the fabric and felt it become even harder. When she yanked his hose down and wrapped her lips around his member it grew even more. She lavished his cock with all the attention he deserved. She started by slowly sliding her tongue up and down, tasting the semen that leaked from its tip. Jann held her head as it bobbed up and down. Her slurping and licking sounds drove him wild. “Ja, Mare, yes,” he panted.

Marewyn kept at it until she felt he was ready to come. She wanted that to happen inside. “Now, please,” she said huskily.

Jann didn’t think twice. He pulled off his hose completely and climbed onto the bed. He pushed her back and looked down at her face as he slid into her wet opening. Jann watched the dreamy look on her face as he moved in and out slowly “Is this what you want, Mare?” Her eyes were glazed with lust. She could barely speak, could only nod. Her fantasy she’d had on the ship was coming to life. He was saying the exact words that had excited her back then, and it drove her wild now. Jann increased the tempo of his thrusts until he was making love to her hard and fast. Marewyn spread her legs high up in the air to allow full penetration. He had learned to hold back with other women during sex, which was frustrating, but Marewyn was the first female he didn’t have to worry about hurting. The more he gave, the more she wanted. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, Marewyn got on her hands and knees.

“I want it all,” she whispered huskily, banging her pelvis into him. Jann grasped her hips as he slid in. The position allowed him to go very deep, and he almost passed out with pleasure. He rammed deep and hard, holding her long chestnut hair and yanking her head back gently. Her breasts swung with each thrust. The sound of his balls slapping against her fanny filled the room. Marewyn lay flat on her stomach and raised her butt in the air. He slid in even deeper. Marewyn rubbed her clit very fast. The excitement built to the highest level of intensity for them both. Jann leaned over and panted again in her ear one more time if this was what she wanted before she arched her back and cried out.