Sensitive ~ Paranormal Erotica (6 page)

From Derendrea:

I hope you enjoyed SENSITIVE. All of my
stories are based on dreams I’ve had. Please enjoy the following
teaser to my historical erotica short story FOR THE KING:

I woke up alone. I knew I was alone
before I opened my eyes, not because of the silence or the chill,
but because of the ache in my chest that remained in his absence.
Although it wasn’t typical for him to leave our bed without waking
me, this welcome to the day did not surprise me. Last night he was
so distant. He had turned from me and laid there without our
nightly ritual of making love, without even speaking to
me.

Every night for the past thirteen
years we have made love, except for a rare occasion when he was
indisposed or I was suffering some minor ailment. Even on nights
when he returned late from planning campaigns with his court, or
from a hunting party or troop rally, when most of the night was
spent, he would wake me with the gentle feel of his nakedness atop
me. With the smell of soft wood smoke in his hair, he would kiss my
neck, push up my nightgown and slip inside me.

Most nights we went to bed together,
and always trying to please me, he would kiss and massage my body
until I thought I would burn from the inside. Thirteen years had
passed and we had barely ever fallen asleep without our shared
juices covering our thighs and wrapped in each others’ arms. And
yet, last night I fell asleep cold, alone, and confused.

Despite our efforts, and the pleasure
we experienced from them, I still had not conceived him any
children. Sometimes after making love he would trace circles around
my abdomen with his fingertips, and I knew he was silently praying
for a miracle to happen.

Such a stark difference to the way he
acted last night. I sighed and turned on my side, trying to find
comfort on the plush bed and pillows. Not only had my husband
ignored me yesterday, my lady in waiting had posed some very
disconcerting questions while she prepared my bath.

“
His lordship has been
very good to you, Lady Rainha.”

Wondering why she was deviating from
her usual gossip of the affairs of lords and ladies, I responded
warily. “Yes, he has.”

She dipped her hand in, testing the
temperature of the water. “It is too bad that no little children
have filled our halls.”

The look I gave her made her quickly
turn her gaze away, and I hoped it ended the conversation. I could
tell she wasn’t through when she hesitantly approached me. She
pursed her lips, holding back something she wanted to
say.

“
What?” I
demanded.

Her eyes glittered with mischief.
“There are many handsome men in the court.” She leaned forward, her
bodice only half covering her full chest. I sighed in annoyance,
not wanting to hear another tale of her escapades. “Men of
integrity. Ones who do not share the names of their
mistresses.”

“
I’m sure there are.” I
clenched my jaw to prevent the insults that came to mind when I
thought of her and the names of men of the court she had shared
with me.

She blushed and softened her voice.
“Lady Rainha, have you ever considered taking one of the nobles
into your bed?”

“
What?”

“
Just for one night. His
lordship would never know.”

I opened my mouth but no words left
it. After a moment, my pride overpowered my surprise. “Never.” I
turned my back to her. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have been able to
contain my anger.

What made her suggest such
a thing?
I wondered as I stretched out on
the bed. The urge to get up and start my day drowned out my desire
to hide in bed and pretend I did not exist. I started to sit up
when the door opened. I lifted the blankets over my chest to cover
the thin, dainty nightgown, until I saw whom it was.

He wasn’t smiling, but his expression
was easy. He had tamed his ear-length wavy black hair, that usually
was wild when he woke. He wore his tan flax linen tunic and a
leather vest, black pants and leather boots. I tried to figure out
what occasion he was dressed for. Not a formal meeting with his
court or knights. Something casual...

He left the door ajar and started
walking toward the bed. I bent my legs to stand and meet him, but
something in his eyes held me. Did he want to make up for last
night? Determination in his step and intensity in his gaze
suggested he might, but then why did he leave the door
ajar?

He sat beside me on the bed and laid
his tan, sturdy hand on my arm. His eyes slid over me, my hair,
which was probably falling out of its braid, the lace along the top
of my nightgown, the outline of my body beneath the blankets. His
gaze returned to my face, but he hesitated meeting my eyes. And
when he did, his brows knit together. Something was
wrong.

“
Good morning, my
beautiful Rainha.”

“
Good morning Lance,” I
returned, but tilted my head letting him know I wanted in on his
secret.

“
The night before I
married you your father made me promise to always take care of
you.” I laughed a little, easily able to picture my tall, burly
father cornering the young knight I had fallen in love with. “To
the best of my ability I have kept that promise.” I laid my hand on
his chest to comfort the tension that rippled through his
muscles.

“
You have, Lance,” I
assured him. He took my hand in his and turned very
serious.

“
No, I haven’t. I haven’t
provided you with everything you need.”

“
Yes you...”

“
Just hear me out,” he
said and placed his finger on my lips. “You need an heir. I haven’t
been able to give you one.”

“
But...”

His warm finger pressed on my lips
again. “I’ve been to see the apothecary.” I chuckled, picturing the
shadow-loving hunched men with glass bottles jingling from chain
belts that lived in a lower room of the castle. “And the midwives,”
he added quickly, his serious amber eyes curting my response. He
snaked his hand beneath the covers and pressed his palm on my
abdomen, causing a short breath to rush through my teeth. “You are
the perfect woman,” he said with a smile. “They confirmed my
suspicion: it’s my fault you have borne no children.”

Anger rushed through the sides of my
head and my vision blurred. “That’s not true,” I spoke through
clenched jaw, more angered at the archaic scholars who fed him that
lie than at him.

He closed his eyes, taking in and
releasing a long breath. When he looked at me again, the sadness I
saw hurt more than my previous anger. “It is true. I am the reason
we can conceive no children.”

I shook my head. “We can keep trying,
they can’t know that for sure.” He listened, but his expression
didn’t change. He moved his hand lower. His fingertips touched the
dip between my legs.

“
We haven’t stop trying
since the night we were married.” My lips parted and warm breaths
filled my lungs as he made light, slow circles on top of my
nightgown. I eyed him, wondering what he was up to. He moved his
mouth to my ear, speaking soft but earnest, “You are the only heir
to your family’s long heritage. Five centuries of peaceful kingship
over the twelve provinces.”

“
I know that.”

He pressed his hand deeper and cupped
my sensitive folds to keep me quiet.

“
I’ve always known I was
lucky to catch the eye of the princess of Lenaneir,” he spoke onto
my skin, “but I was not born royalty. It’s your blood that will
ensure the peace of the kingdom.” I tried to push against him so I
could see his face, but he held me. “Without you, the provinces
will fall into civil war.” He kissed my neck with his moist lips
and caressed my folds, enchanting my hips to lift in response.
“Your time is now. I won’t be responsible for breaking a lineage
five centuries strong.” I opened my eyes and moved my pelvis away
from his hand.

“
What do you mean?” my
voice cracked.

His hand rubbed my abdomen again and
stopped just above where I held my legs tightly together, demanding
an answer. He pressed his hand into my stomach and I held my
breath.

“You have to let another plant their
seed in you.”

Shock coursed through me. I gasped and
pushed him away, but his arm caught my hip and pulled me back
toward him.

“
Never!” I said between my
teeth.

He smiled a little. How could he smile
after suggesting such a thing? “I know you would never agree to it.
You are too loyal to me.”

My thoughts went to the strange
conversation with my lady in waiting yesterday. He had put her up
to asking me those disturbing questions. I angrily pushed his arms
off me.

“
Wait,” he coaxed, holding
my hands. “Listen to me.” I could feel my body shaking within his
grip.

“
No!” I said forcefully.
“I swore an oath to you. I will never be with another.”

“
It’s your blood that will
make the child rightful king or queen, not mine.”

“
I don’t care!”

His fingers traced my jaw. “Yes you
do.”

I breathed out my angst, staring at
the shades of gold and green in his eyes. I wanted to argue with
him, but no words formed.

He rubbed his hands down my arms and
nodded.

My eyes darted to movement at the
door. I held my breath as someone entered our bedchamber. It was
Jalin, Lance’s long time friend and governor general. Light leather
armor covered his torso and arms, engraved with the black bird
insignia of Lenaneir. A chain holster around his waist held a
scabbard and sword. Similar to the king in stature, they only
differed in hair and bone structure. I looked over his short,
combed blond hair, neatly clipped gotee framing his set jaw, and
light colored eyes that revealed nothing of his
intentions.

“
What are you doing here?”
I raised my voice to ask across the spacious room. I had been
around armored men so long that the sight of one didn’t disturb me,
but coupled with my husband’s strange behavior it sent a chill down
my spine.

Before he or Lance could answer,
another man stepped into the room. He was a stranger. I tensed,
drawing the blankets back over my chest.

The man stood beside Jalin, nearly
half a head taller and a hand’s length broader. Muscular arms and a
broad chest lifted and fell beneath a simple v-neck cotton shirt.
His defined facial features shone through well sunned skin.
Partially damp, long curly black hair surrounded his face. Oval
lines beside his mouth hinted at his age. His eyes were bright, and
he stared at me without expression or movement.

I didn’t have to ask why he was here.
I knew when Jalin escorted him in. And it meant that Lance was
serious about every word he said.

“
Get him out of here,
now,” I commanded, turning to Lance.

“
Please listen to me first
Rainha.” His handsome face kept my attention. My eyes traced the
curving lines of his etched chin, the subtle rise of his
cheekbones, and his back-set narrow eyes. The same face I kissed
hungrily while we made love. The same that used to find me during
pauses of tournaments, lifting off his helmet to reveal his
attractive features. The face of the man I loved, the
king.

I said nothing to him, but kept his
gaze.

“
You swore an oath to the
kingdom before you swore one to me,” he said with deliberate words.
Lance nodded towards the door and Jalin closed it and pushed the
bar to lock it. I shuddered. Jalin and the stranger began to
approach the bed. I shook my head, hoping Lance would start
laughing at the joke he had played on me. He remained serious and I
felt my stomach cramp.

“
This man is a loyal
citizen of Lenaneir.” I looked back over to the stranger. He
stopped a few steps from the foot of the bed with Lance beside him.
His expression didn’t reveal any embarrassment or smugness. He
clasped his hands behind his back and stared back at me. “His
family has carried on a proud tradition of skilled craftsmanship
for many generations.” Studying him, I figured he was also chosen
because his complexion and hair color were similar to Lance’s. “He
is a good, wholesome man. But most importantly,” Lance squeezed my
arm to make sure I was listening, “I’ve seen his children.” I
turned to meet his gaze. “Healthy, strong, playful
children.”