Chapter 107
Though Caleb is amped up to return to the capital and reclaim his throne, Tristan and the rest of the soldiers are showing a bit of fatigue.
In a quiet moment, away from the ears of the others, I speak gently to Caleb, "Tristan doesn't look like he's slept since he's been gone. Perhaps leaving in the morning, after everyone has eaten and rested would be best."
Caleb glares at me for the unsolicited advice. I expect a lecture, yet, the longer he looks at me, the more his features soften.
"Fine," he says. "But feeding all of them is your responsibility."
He likely means it as a punishment for my suggestion, but I know there is enough fish in the icebox. There's also some ripe vegetables in the garden. We have enough food to feed the soldiers and ourselves. Honestly, I'm pleased to see none of it going to waste. To Tristan, he says, "We'll leave in the morning."
Tristan nods, hiding his relief until Caleb's back is turned.
Inside, I cook alone. Compared to having Caleb helping me, it feels slow and lonely, but I'm slowly moving toward acceptance once more.
In front of others, Caleb cannot act as anything less than a king. It would be an embarrassment, I suppose, for him to prepare
his own food.
I much prefer Caleb the man to Caleb the king, but I know I have no say in the matter.
When everyone has eaten, floor
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is divvied and claimed Caleb looks at me, then tips his head toward the stairs.
up
"We'll leave at dawn," Caleb announces, then starts upstairs. Obediently, I follow along behind him. He enters the bedroom first. After I've entered, he closes the door behind me.
It's our last night together like this - two people together in a country farmhouse. Back at the capital, any moments we share will be only ever between a king and a member of his harem. I will lose whatever human privileges I have.
As I stand at the foot of the bed, facing it, Caleb steps up behind me. Gently, he begins to undo the buttons of my dress. Leaning my head forward, I close my eyes, trying to burn each second of this softness to my memory.
Not that I mind when he's rougher with me. Caleb always delivers on pleasure. But this tenderness... I know I'll never have it again. That makes this moment all the more bittersweet.
Once the last button is undone, the entirety of my dress is only held up at the shoulders. Caleb pushes at my sleeves, tugging them off my shoulders. At once, the whole dress drops down to my waist, exposing my bare breasts. With another light tug, the dress rounds the curves of my hips and pools down on the floor.
He slides his index fingers under the sides of my panties and shifts them down. They fall to my ankles.
Behind me, I hear the shift of clothing. After a moment, when he presses his front against my back, I feel his hard muscle and warm skin. His dick is throbbing, pressing against the meat of my ass.
He lowers his lips to my ear. "We have company tonight, so you will have to be quiet. As much as I love hearing you scream..." He licks a long swipe up the shell of my ear. "Your noises are for me alone tonight. Do you understand?" "Yes," I say.
"Good."
Chapter 107.
Grabbing my shoulders, he turns me to face him. When I do, I look up into his eyes.
He holds me at a distance at first, as his eyes drag down the length of my naked body. Then, when his gaze meets mine again, he drags me in and kisses me.
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Without breaking our kiss, he slowly lowers me down onto the bed. He drags me up so that my head rests on the pillow, all while staying on top of me, crawling over me.
His hand finds my breast, his thumb flicking over my nipple.
"Caleb..." I gasp.
"Quiet, Harper," Caleb whispers, his voice a deep rumble. "Or I will stop."
"Don't stop," I whisper in reply.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
"Don't make me..." Dipping his head, he catches that same nipple with his mouth, lapping at it with his tongue.
I squeeze my eyes and mouth shut, as I push my head back against the pillow. My back arches upwards, giving him more access. He hums, pleased.
After a moment, he pops off that breast to give the other the same attention. This time, however, he also slides a hand low, teasing my clit.
I clench my teeth to keep from making a sound.
Keeping his thumb over my clit, he angles his hand around to simultaneously slip two fingers inside of me. What he feels as him removing his mouth and his fingers, so that he can look down at how wet they are. "Your pussy is impatient," he says, his voice a breath. "I better not keep it waiting."
Pushing my legs apart, he angles himself between them. Holding his dick with one hand and my thigh with the other, he aligns himself with my entrance and slips inside.
Even biting my bottom lip, I can't stop my moan. So I cover my mouth with one hand. With the other, I claw at the sheets, bunching them together in my closed fist.
Eyes hooded but watching me, he pushes in all the way to the hilt. The way he's up on his knees, I anticipate a deep, rough ride. Instead, he leans over me, covering my body with his own, bringing his face very close to mine. Like this, his thrusts are shallow, but gods, it still feels good.
What makes it more intense is, with how close his face is, I can look nowhere else but his eyes.
The way he looks at me, the way his hands find mine, even the way he's thrusting in and out of me...
It is all so terribly tender it makes my heart sing and ache at the same time.
This isn't fucking...
This is making love....
A sob claws at my throat, but I shove it down as I do all my other noises.
He doesn't love me. This softness is a fluke. He just needs to be quiet.
My heart doesn't understand though.
Gods, it feels so good... But it hurts so much...
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I close my eyes.
"Look at me," Caleb whispers, voice as deep as a growl. "Don't you dare look away."
I open my eyes again, watching his as he takes his pleasure in my body, and I find mine with his.
When I cum, he sees every inch of me, deep down to my soul. This close, I can hide nothing from him.
After, I find no sleep that night.
I roll out of bed before dawn and sneak downstairs to make breakfast. The soldiers all awake to the scent of what's left of the bacon and eggs. I throw in some potatoes, and there's enough for everyone.
After breakfast, I clean the kitchen, leaving it much how we found it.
While everyone else prepares the truck to leave, I stay in the kitchen, holding my small wolf keepsake in my hand. I'd meant to carry it forever as a memento of this adventure. But. Knowing the life I'm going back to, maybe it would hurt too much to be reminded of the freedoms and the softness of what happened in this farmhouse.
With a heavy heart, I place the figure down on the counter and turn my back.
"It's time," Caleb says. I didn't notice him watching me from the doorway.
"I'm ready," I say and moving past him, walk out of the house and to the truck without looking back.
Caleb watches Harper go, before turning his attention to the small steel wolf she left on the counter in the kitchen. She'd looked at it first. Her leaving it behind was intentional.
Maybe she wants to forget this place.
Maybe he should too.
Yet he still walks toward the counter and pockets the little wolf, before he turns to leave.