Page 17 of Elemental Truth (Mysterious Fields #3)
17
DECEMBER 20TH AT brYN GLAS
“ W ill you stay? I don’t want to be alone.” Thessaly’s voice was steady until the last word, then it cracked and she turned away, toward the fireplace in the library. The house was decked out for the solstice, though they, of course, weren’t entertaining guests. Or not besides Vitus and possibly Cousin Owain. But it was the solstice eve. Cousin Owain was busy at the Council Keep, and would be all night.
Vitus had taken a step back, rocking on his heels, visibly surprised. “Stay?” It was only a tiny consolation that he sounded as uneven as she felt. “I hadn’t planned on it, but I could. You’d like me to.”
She swallowed. “I mean, not just in the guest bedroom. If you’d like that?”
“That’s sudden.” He rubbed his face, then immediately said, “It’s not that I don’t want. It’s just we hadn’t been talking about it, hadn’t been doing, erm, more than we had? That’s a leap.”
“I don’t want anyone else deciding for me.” Thessaly turned back to him. Mother had made it clear the day before that Father was looking to sell her virginity, and she was having none of that, for several reasons. Now she pulled her wrapper closer to her. It was a reasonably festive design, a medium green embroidered along the edges with holly and mistletoe, the red and white dancing among the darker green of evergreen boughs. “And I don’t want to be alone.”
Vitus took a step closer to her. “The first one’s a good reason. The second one’s a— that’s not the best choice for doing something like this.” She flushed, shivering, and he took another step, a hand cupping her shoulder. “I’m not angry, but it’s the sort of thing we should talk about.”
“All right.” She turned to face him. Thessaly could be brave, even if it felt like she’d lost the knack of it the last six months. Childeric had torn it away and ground all the roots of her courage into dust. She watched his expression, and before he could say anything else, she went on, the words tumbling out in a heap. “I don’t want to be alone, I want to be with you, I want to be like we were at All Hallows. Us in the dark and the quiet and all of it good. Only, maybe, with some new kinds of good.”
His mouth opened and closed twice before he managed to reply. “It may not be delightful. Something that new to your body. Did duelling feel good the first time?”
That made her grin, the sort of savage grin that her mother had trained out of her— well, as it happened, not long after her first duelling lessons. “Actually, it did. But I’m old enough to know that the first of something doesn’t limit the last of it. Or the later. Will you?”
There was a long pause, his face still. But there was a burning in his eyes, to match the fire in the fireplace, and she knew what his answer would be when he worked around to saying it. “I’ve not told you a tenth of the dreams I’ve had about being with you.” Then he let out a puff of breath and stopped.
Thessaly touched his cheek. “I am sensible. I’ve got a potion. I can take it now.” Aunt Metaia had taught her the charm against pregnancy, but she’d not practised it for a good while, and she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted it. And while she could ask Collins or Emeline, that was not a conversation to have on no notice. The potion would do nicely.
It also seemed to answer some of his concerns. Vitus rubbed his face. “Look, if I’m going to stay, I should let Mama know at home and gather up a few things. Especially since I was planning on going to the Council rites tomorrow. I know you can’t, not with a lot of fuss.”
“But you can. And then you can tell me what the news is.” Her mouth twitched a little more. “And the gossip.”
“All right, I’ll— I’ll be back in a few minutes. Twenty, thirty? Where should I come find you?”
“The bedroom. Begin as we mean to go on, yes? There’s food waiting in the sitting room, but I find I’m not hungry for it right now. And Collins and Emeline and the staff, they have their own celebration tonight.” She wished them well, but that wasn’t for her. There were lines of class and expectation that couldn’t be crossed.
Vitus took a step back. “I’m going to ask you again, several times, what you want. So you might think about that some more.” It came out a little harsh. Not that she blamed him. This was sudden. But then he leaned in to kiss her, rather tenderly. When he pulled back, he was gathering up his cloak and headed out the door. Thessaly watched out the window to see him cross the garden, even more pleased she’d added him to the wards.
It was more like forty minutes before he came back, long enough that she was restless. She’d made her way upstairs and checked the fire in both the bedroom and the sitting room. She’d peered at the food, she’d changed the lighting at least three times. And, because she knew when to admit what she was up to, she’d summoned Collins while her housekeeper was still expecting it. She’d let Collins know Vitus would likely be staying. It would do no one any good to be surprised in the morning.
Collins set about laying out clean towels and producing a man’s dressing gown from a cabinet cunningly set into the wall that Thessaly had never taken much notice of, other than it had not held papers. Then Collins put out various small items in the bath. All without any comment at all. At least there was also no disapproval, but honestly, Thessaly wondered what Collins and Emeline, in specific, thought of the situation. They arranged Thessaly would ring in the morning when she was ready.
When Vitus reappeared, Thessaly had been sitting on the bed, her legs hanging off the side, thinking. He knocked, first at the sitting room, then at the bedroom, and she held out her hand. “You came back.”
It sounded ridiculous, and she blushed. Vitus came over, taking her hand, then bringing it to his lips to kiss the palm as he bent over. “I wouldn’t leave you like that. May I leave my things— erm...” He glanced around.
“The bench there, or if you’d like to hang things up, Collins told me apparently that cabinet is for the purpose? Things I had not known about my aunt.” She then held up the potion. “And let me take this.”
“Ah, well, if you’re taking after her, I suppose that might be a little easier on the household.” Vitus glanced around, taking the bottle from her hand and setting it aside as soon as she’d drunk it. “May I?”
“Please.” Now, Thessaly was suddenly shy. “I— I want to do this. If you’re willing. I mean, I should have said something sooner. Only there wasn’t a really good time. We were both busy.”
Vitus considered, then sat next to her on the end of the bed. His feet touched the floor for a moment before he worked on removing his shoes, then his jacket. “We have been. I’m still busy, but everyone else is busy for solstice. And besides, I can’t possibly fit any additional lightning talismans into January at this point.”
“You’d still like to do them here? I mean. Whatever tonight’s like, you can do that.” Thessaly felt insistent about that. “Not the grove, but anywhere else is fine.”
“I don’t really know what the effect would be in that grove, so no, let’s not add ancient unspecified magic to the problem. Especially when we’re dealing with lightning.” Vitus was now in shirtsleeves, and Thessaly found that decidedly distracting. She’d almost never seen another man that way, not since her school years. Not even Father. He tilted his head. “Look, are you nervous?”
“Yes?” Her voice squeaked. “I want— whatever it is we do. I just, I don’t know how to get from here to there. And I want you to enjoy it.”
“It is a bit of a surprise, yes. But I’ve now had, what, forty-five minutes of anticipation. I, for my part, am nervous about making it excellent for you, but I don’t think my enjoyment is at all in question.” He took a breath, reaching to touch her shoulder. “Eventually, we’ll want more of our clothes off, but we don’t need to start there. May I kiss you?”
Thessaly nodded, and then he was leaning in, kissing her, one strong hand coming up on her back, spread so she could feel each of his fingers. They didn’t dig in, they just were solid and there. It had been a long time, she realised, since she’d been able to lean into a touch and trust it. Well, except for Vitus, and they were still so new to what they were doing together that leaning in felt different.
When he pulled back, he let his hand come up and cup her cheek. “How is the rest of it going? Are you still trying to make sense of the papers?”
Thessaly nodded. “I left them in the order she had them. Surely that means something? Or it’s relevant in some way. But I still can’t make sense of it. I’ve made copies onto other sheets, so I can rearrange them, see if there are patterns, but I’m missing something. I let Cousin Owain know, but there’s nothing obvious there. It’s all coded. And they’ve all been frantically busy.”
Vitus considered. “Let me think about it. And maybe, if we have time, have a look tomorrow? Or sometime. If you’re willing. You could decide you don’t want to trust me that far.”
She blinked at him. “I think trusting you here and now is— well, it’s a sign of how I trust you, yes?”
“Did your aunt trust everyone she took to bed, do you think?” Vitus asked it, half teasing and half something else. Thessaly looked at him, frowning, because now she was thinking.
“She never wanted something lasting, I think. Not someone having control over her. I have to say, I understand that. I just don’t know how she did it, especially earlier. Once she was on the Council, once she had her own money, I suppose it was easier. But that wasn’t the original, um. Set of materia to draw from.”
Vitus ducked his chin. “Money changes things.” Before Thessaly could say anything, he went on. “I’m glad you have more freedom. Or will, when everything settles, I suppose. Do you get a pause in it for the holidays?”
“More or less. I’m sure the Fortiers will have me out to Arundel again. But Cyrus and Andie were hosting something small, just before New Year’s, and he offered an invitation to that, if I’d like. Council and various other connections. I can’t ask if you’ll come with me. It would be too obvious, but...”
“That sounds like a good thing to go to.” Vitus hesitated. “And you’re fine with him taking an interest in me, my work?”
“Oh, absolutely. Better you than other people.” Thessaly looked away. “I— you don’t mind, my continuing to not tell the Fortiers no?”
She watched Vitus closely now. He took a breath. “I don’t like it. But you’re right, there’s something odd there. And I don’t think anyone’s going to figure it out who isn’t there, on the estate, sometimes. I can’t do that. Cyrus or anyone else on the Council can’t do that. You can.”
“And whatever Laudine knows, or her husband, they’re not likely to tell me much more.” Thessaly let out a long breath. “All right. I’ll think about it.” She added, after a moment’s consideration. “And Cyrus has nudged someone he knows for an afternoon of duelling. Half a dozen of us, likely.”
“That will be good for you.” Vitus sounded absolutely certain of that. Thessaly wished she felt the same. It had been months— well, just about six and a week— since she’d had a proper duel that was any challenge other than with Emeline. Who was quite good, but who was also unwilling to risk injuring the person she was hired and oathsworn to protect. It made for somewhat limited scope.
Before she could get too snared in that, he moved, kissing her again lightly, and then he whispered in her ear, “Perhaps we might remove some of our clothing, both of us?” She shivered, feeling it run up her back. She let him guide her, loosening the wrap, then the buttons, tiny ivory ones, on her nightgown, as her fingers fumbled at undoing his shirt.
Once the gown was falling off one shoulder, exposing a broad triangle of her skin, it felt scandalous. He paused. “Do you like being seen?” Thessaly blinked, not sure what to make of the question. Vitus kissed the bare skin of her shoulder. “You dress, in public, for the face you want to show. You’ve been dressing here, at Bryn Glas, for your own pleasure and comfort. This is something different. Do you want to be seen?”
“By you.” It caught in her throat. “What do you see when you’re looking at a gem you might carve?”
Something in that brought him to a low chuckle, a rolling purr of one, as if she’d asked the perfect question. “I see the potential of what could be there. Several ways to get to that potential, usually. May I move your hand?” She nodded once, though she wasn’t sure what he had in mind. A moment later, he was guiding her fingers, her palm, into his lap, into a swelling hardness there. He rocked into the touch, once he could, letting the fact he got pleasure from it show. “In a little, if you permit, that’s the part of me that will slide into you. You did pay attention to your aunt’s books, in all the particulars?”
Something in the way he put it, certain that she’d been attentive, made her moan with it. He took advantage to press her back on the bed; the wrapper discarded now, his shirt on top of it. His hands were roaming over her skin now, as he could, from the neck, from under the hem. She had no idea what to do with hers, until he paused, and encouraged her to undo more of his clothing.
Within a few minutes, they were in a tangle on the bed. Her hair was coming down out of its braid, and her nightgown was mostly up around her hips. “More?” Vitus lifted his head. “Or just this?”
If she stopped now, she might never talk herself into more again. Or she’d let herself be pushed into a marriage she didn’t want, with someone who wouldn’t have nearly the care for her Vitus did. His eyes were shining, bright like gemstones she didn’t know how to name, pink on his cheeks from a flush of pleasure. “Show me more. Please.” She stumbled over the words, but she’d got her point across.
A moment or three later, he’d encouraged her to lift up enough that he could draw her nightgown off. One of her hands got stuck in the billowing fabric for a second. Then he was pushing his trousers and the rest of his clothing off, until they were both on the bed, skin bare. The fireplace and the charms meant she wasn’t cold, not exactly, but she was suddenly entirely aware of her skin, and she didn’t know how to go on.
“Here, focus on what I’m doing. Or kiss me. Kissing is also excellent.” Vitus stretched out beside her, one of his hands stroking down her hip, her thigh, before moving between her legs. As his fingers came closer to there, the spot that was beginning to ache, he kissed her. It was not a polite kiss, it was an eager one, tumbling over in delight, like a puppy. Only, much more adult than a puppy, because his fingers were deft, his other hand was, he knew exactly what he was doing.
Sometime, perhaps, she’d be brave enough to ask him where he’d learned his skill, so she could thank whoever it was, if only in her thoughts, for the gift. That got pushed out of her mind, though, as his hand became more active, urgent. She whimpered at a sensitivity that wasn’t like anything she’d managed on her own. She knew where she liked to be touched, but it was predictable. She knew where her hand was and where she was telling it to be.
This was like a duel, gloriously like a duel. There were a set of likely things that might happen, some of which she understood better than others. But she had no idea which she would find now, or next, or in a few minutes. His fingertips teased. As soon as she thought she understood that, they were stroking. Then there was a long finger sliding into her, pressing inside her, that made her hips twitch and arch, trying to make sense of it.
“There we go. Just like that. Does that feel good, my sweet?” It was an endearment he hadn’t used before, and Thessaly liked it. She opened her mouth, he did something slightly different, and she moaned, her head back. “Oh, yes, more like that. You needn’t find words, that was clear.” His fingers did it again. Then there was a second finger inside her and she arched more.
“Can you work a hand down between us— gentle, though?” Thessaly managed it, though she had no idea how. She felt like she was fumbling every time she moved. But then her hand grasped around something hard and hot and swollen, and it was Vitus who was moaning, pushing into her hand. He managed to suck in a breath, focusing on her so intently it almost hurt. “Last chance, my love. Do you want this? Nod if you do.”
Thessaly managed the nod. Almost instantly, he was shifting, moving as nimbly as any master of the duelling salle, to settle between her legs, his hands braced on either side of her shoulders. Then he moved one, arranging himself. “This might pinch. You let me know when I can move.”
What she felt wasn’t a pinch, not exactly. Oh, there was a stretch. There were new feelings she didn’t have names for. But it was the heat, the solidness, the presence that got to her. She whimpered, not sure how to express what she was feeling at all, before just staring at him, meeting his eyes, and nodding.
Vitus began to move inside her, slowly at first, walking her through the dance of it at half-speed. That didn’t last long, though, because her hips kept insisting on rising to meet him, like responding in the moment to the mazurka. She wanted the speed and the rush, everything slipping together into perfection.
Whatever it was he saw, it lit him up. He was grinning like a fool, then he put his right hand back beside her shoulder and began thrusting in earnest. He put his hips into it, the weight and leverage of his body, over and over again, and she let herself delight in the feelings. One of her legs came up, curling around to try to pull him closer.
Then, without warning, he did something else. Vitus flipped them around so he was on his back, her thighs were on either side of his hips. He was even deeper inside her. Vitus’s hands came up to guide her, moving like on a horse, though astride, something she hadn’t done since childhood. He arched beneath her. Then once she had the feel of it, it meant his hands could tease and stroke her body. He seemed to touch everywhere, now her breast, now teasing that place that brought so much pleasure, now cupping around her hip. She drove on and on, her back arching, then her thighs lifting her.
It couldn’t last. Humans were frail. She could feel herself dripping with sweat, like the aftermath of the best bout in the salle. Thessaly could feel her thighs becoming exhausted. She felt herself rising to the pleasure, over and over again.
In the end, he decided for them. He flipped them once more, so she was on her back again. His hand darted between them to tease, as he began to thrust even harder and faster. Everything was urgent. Each movement shoved her breath out of her, until she was gasping with it. She hovered on the edge for a few final strokes before he was begging her in an undertone to please, please, that, please.
She finally understood what the books were on about. Everything came down to a surge of pleasure that made everything fade out of existence except Vitus and her joy in having him. Thessaly felt her body clench on him, hard, over and over again, far stronger than she’d found with her own fingers. He grunted, and then, just as her pleasure was easing a hair, she felt him deep inside her, and a sudden heat and liquid. He managed a few more rolling thrusts before lowering himself to his elbows and nuzzling at her breasts and her neck. She got a hand up into his hair, stroking, but that was all she could bring herself to do.
It took a few minutes until he slipped out of her and nestled beside her. By then, she didn’t want to move. She wanted to linger in well-earned satiation and exhaustion for as long as she could. He arranged them so there was a blanket over them, pillows under their heads, and she curled into his arms. Everything else in the world could wait.