The Fallen One (22 page)

She
watched him drape the mail over the table to dry it out. He then began to pull
off his other clothing; tunic and then undershirt, revealing his naked and
magnificent chest.
 
He was very broad in
the shoulders, neck and chest, with heavily muscled arms.
 
His torso was trim, with a fine matting of
dark hair from his neck to his belly.
 
Cathlina stared at him, absorbing the sight, digesting it, and realizing
that it made her very hot simply to gaze on the man.
 
Her cheeks were flushing madly and she
lowered her gaze to focus on her own clothing.

Nervous
fingers fumbled with the ties on her surcoat.
 
She could hear Mathias moving around, no doubt removing the rest of her
clothing. The mere thought made her fearful and excited at the same time. She
was just moving to unfasten the back of the dress when Mathias came up behind
her.

His
body was big and warm against her back. “Here,” he said huskily. “Allow me to
assist you.”

Cathlina
merely nodded, removing her hands and feeling him deftly undo the stays.
  
She lifted her arms and he pulled the dress
up over her head, leaving her clad only in her shift, hose and boots.
 
Mathias pulled up a stool and sat her on it.
Carefully, he lifted her shift to her knees and began untying her boots.

“I
realize we have only known each other a very short amount of time,” he said
softly, “and in essence, you married a stranger. Nothing is more nerve
wracking, I am sure, than being a bride on her wedding night.
 
But did you stop to consider it is fairly
nerve wracking for the groom as well?”

She
smiled timidly, watching him as he pulled her right boot off.
 
“I had not thought on it.”

“You
should,” he said, setting her boot aside and moving to remove the other. “I
have never had a wife before.”

“But
you have had… a woman before?”

He
paused slightly in removing the boot, thinking carefully on her question,
before continuing.
 
“Well,” he murmured,
“I suppose if we are to establish honesty in our marriage,
 
I cannot lie to you about such things.”

Cathlina
grew serious. “You do not have to tell me if you do not want to,” she said. “I
should not have asked.”

He
looked up at her. “As my wife, it is your right to know about me, even the
personal things.
 
Aye, I have been with a
woman before.”

Cathlina
expected that answer.
 
She tried to
imagine the women he might have been with, wondering if she could compare with
their beauty.
 
Surely they must have been
the most beautiful women in England.
 
But
she didn’t want him to suspect her thoughts so she lowered her gaze, trying to
think of something to say, when he interrupted.

“This
concerns you,” he ventured softly. “I assure you I have not spread myself
around like some men have. I have no bastards that I am aware of.
  
I do not carry diseases of any kind.”

She
looked up at him as if horrified by the thought but wasn’t fast enough to mask
her shock.
 
Mathias, seeing the
expression on her face, looked rather stricken himself.

“I
do not believe I am doing myself any favors by running off at the mouth,” he
said. “I am sorry. I did not mean to disgust you.
 
I simply meant to ease your mind.”

Cathlina
nodded faintly, thinking on his words and trying to figure out how to explain
her thoughts. “I must agree that there should be complete honesty in our
marriage,” she said. “Therefore, I must confess my own.”

“What
is that?”

“I
am not virgin.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

    
Mathias stared at her.
 
After a moment, his manner cooled
dramatically. “You will explain.”

    
Cathlina could see, in that instance, that
her honesty had not been well-met and she struggled to explain to him in a way
that wouldn’t send him in to a rage.
 
In
fact, she started to tremble, now very sorry that she had opened up to him. It
had been a mistake.
 

    
“I was very young,” she said, struggling
not to cry from the expression on his face. “I was around fourteen years of age
and… at Lincoln where I fostered… the servants and soldiers constantly
coupled.
 
As young girls, we used to spy
on them. When the lady of the castle explained the ways of men and women to the
young women in her charge…
 
the way she
told us of coupling made it seem so… she spoke of it as if it was nothing
precious or unusual.
 
She spoke of it in
little detail and told us that we must discover for ourselves one day what a
curious and detestable act it was. We decided that one of us would find out
what she meant and tell the others and… oh, Mathias, I was stupid and
irresponsible. I was so young… I did not know at the time that my virginity
belonged to my husband. My foolish companions at Lincoln never told me that
part of it and when I found out, I swore never to tell my parents. I could have
very easily not told you but… well, you said we must have honesty in this
marriage so I told you. I am sorry if I disappointed you.”

    
Mathias continued to stand there, staring
at her.
 
He truthfully had no idea how to
feel.
 
Cheated crossed his mind, as did
deception, but she had made it clear deception was not the case.
 
She had told him something she very well
didn’t have to; she could have explained away the lack of blood on the marital
sheets a number of different ways and that, of course, would have been
deception.
 
More than anything, he
realized he felt vastly hurt and disappointed.
 
Someone had touched his sweet Cathlina first.
 
It was his own fault really; he married her
so swiftly he never discovered such things. Now it was too late. But truth be
told, even if he had known, he would have married her anyway.
 
He felt too strongly about her not to.

    
With a heavy sigh, he planted himself on
the bed, pondering her revelation.
 
His
expression was like stone until he looked up and saw the tears in her
eyes.
 
He could feel himself ease up
somewhat, understanding the fear and regret she was feeling. He could see it in
her face.

    
“You will tell me in exact detail what
happened,” he said quietly.

    
She sniffled, nodded, and quickly wiped the
tears that were starting to spill. “I was in the great hall and he was….”

    
“Nay,” he cut her off.
 
“The act itself. Tell me what he did to you.”

    
She blinked at the request but dutifully
recalled the event in as much detail as she could. “He…,” she said, swallowed
hard, then began again. “It happened so fast. He put his hand up my shift and
his fingers… he put them inside me.
 
I
could not see very much because my skirts were up around my neck but he lay
atop me and… are you sure you want to hear this?”

    
“Go on.”

    
She reluctantly obliged. “Very well,” she
said quietly. “He lay atop me and I felt something… you know, like his fingers,
only it seemed bigger, but then he groaned and climbed off of me.
 
He told me how beautiful I was, kissed my
cheek, and that was the end of it.
 
When
I tried to put my skirts down, there was a big wet spot on them.
 
My friends said it was where he spilled his
seed.”

    
“Then he did not penetrate you?”

    
She shrugged. “His fingers did,” she said
softly. “I do not really know if anything else did.”

    
“Did you feel pain? Was there blood?”

    
She shook her head. “There was no real pain
at all,” she said honestly. “To be truthful, I do not recall seeing any blood.”

    
Mathias thought on that, realizing he felt
marginally better about the situation.
 
He was coming to see a very clumsy attempt that evidently went
nowhere.
  
From what she described, it
was barely anything at all but she had bared her soul as if she had wildly
fornicated.
 
That seemed not to be the
case at all and as much as he found it rather shocking that a well-bred lady
should have behaved so, he realized he was fighting off a smile.
 
His little Cathlina was a bit of a foolish
rebel, which oddly pleased him. He was starting to feel rather inadequate
against her perfection.

    
“Then I would wager to say that you are
still virgin,” he said. “From what you have told me, it does not seem as if he
completed the deed.”

    
Cathlina stared at him, shocked to hear
words of understanding coming out his mouth.
 
It was not what she had expected at all.
 
She nearly collapsed with emotion, with relief.

    
“Mathias, I am so sorry,” she hissed,
squeezing her eyes shut as she put her face in her hands. “I was so young and
stupid. I had no idea how serious it was until later. You must understand that I
am truly and deeply sorry. I pray you will forgive me.”

    
He looked at her lowered head a moment
before reaching out a hand to touch her silky hair. “I suppose we have all been
foolish in our life,” he said. “You have been truthful with me and I appreciate
it.
 
But I will say this; coupling
between a husband and wife is sacred.
 
If
no one has told you that before, I will tell you now.
 
We are married now and I am the only man you
can have relations with. Is this clear?”

    
She nodded before he even finished his
sentence. “You do not need to even say such things,” she said. “I understand it
all too well and I would be true and faithful to you in any case.”

    
“Just so we understand one another.”

    
“We do indeed,” she assured him. “Even if I
did not adore you, you are still my husband and I would never so much as look
at another man.
 
You are the only man in
my world, now and ever more.
 
What I did
those years ago… as I said, I was very young and very foolish. I did not
understand the gravity of it. I have grown up since then.”

    
“Say it again.”

    
“Say what?”

    
“That you adore me.”

    
Cathlina smiled, her eyes glimmering.
 
“I do adore you,” she said softly. “Did you
not realize that?”

    
He smiled in return, a genuine smile,
somehow feeling closer to her after her heartfelt
 
and astonishing confession. He’d never felt so
close to a woman and as the moments passed, he could feel himself being sucked
deeper and deeper into her world.
 
Leaning forward, he captured her face in his
big hands and his lips slanted hungrily over hers.

    
By the light of the fire, Mathias kissed
Cathlina as passionately as he had ever kissed a woman in his life.
 
She was so very soft and sweet, pliable to
his whims, and soon enough he picked her up and set her on his lap.
 
It was a rough movement but one of extreme
excitement; she ended up straddling him, still in her shift and hose. But other
than those items, she wore nothing underneath.

    
Mathias knew that and it excited him almost
beyond coherency.
 
Cathlina’s arms were
around his neck as his big arms encircled her, his mouth suckling the breath
from her.
 
His hands began to roam,
feeling her slender torso through her shift before moving to the flesh of her
ankles.
 
As his mouth moved to her jaw,
her neck, his hands moved up her silky legs until they came to rest on her
knees.
 
He couldn’t even remember feeling
anything so wonderfully soft and it fed his desire.

    
She didn’t flinch as his hands snaked down
her thighs and came to rest on her hips, but he did feel her tense.
 
When his fingers danced up her torso, he felt
her shudder, and he couldn’t resist gently groping her breasts.
  
When he did that, she tried to pull away
purely out of embarrassment and apprehension, but he stopped her.

    
“Stay, stay,” he whispered, holding her
fast with one big arm while his free hand very gently fondled her. “This is
something you will like, I promise.”

    
Cathlina was torn between overwhelming
sensations and natural anxiety. “But…
 
is
this what men do?”

    
He laughed softly as he kissed her mouth.
“This is what husbands do.”

    
Her eyes were open, watching him as he
kissed her.
 
When his mouth trailed down
her jaw to her shoulder, she looked down to see his big hand fondling her soft,
full breasts beneath her shift.
 
Her
nipples were hard and he toyed with them, causing her entire body to
tremble.
 
It was curiosity and it was
fascination, watching her husband as he touched her body. She should have been
very frightened by it all but she truly wasn’t.
 
Something about Mathias’ touch made her feel warm and wriggly
inside.
 
When he finally pulled the shift
over her head and latched onto a nipple, sucking tenderly, Cathlina’s reaction
was to gasp and clutch his head.
 
The
sensual sensations were too much for her to contain.

    
Mathias could hardly believe how responsive
she was to him.
 
The harder he suckled
her, the more she bucked and groaned, until a hand moved down her belly to the
thatch of dark curls between her legs. Since she a straddling him, her legs
were already wide apart and he stroked her, feeling her leap.
 
In fact, she put her hands on his shoulders
and tried to climb off of him but he wouldn’t let her; he suckled her breasts
steadily, holding her against him with one hand while the other went to work
between her legs.

    
She was already very wet and hot, and he
carefully inserted a finger into her.
 
Cathlina gasped at the tender intrusion but stopped trying to push away
from him because he was holding her too tightly. There was nowhere to go so she
sat atop his lap, her head back and eyes wide open to the ceiling, struggling
to process everything he was doing to her.
 
She knew she mostly liked it but there was natural fear there as well.
 
It was nothing like her silly tryst with the
young knight back at Lincoln Castle; this was an encounter between a man and
his wife.
 
This was an encounter between
her and Mathias...
 
her
Mathias.

    
Therefore, she simply wrapped her arms
around his neck and held on fast when he stood up and carried her over to the
small rope bed.
 
He laid her down in the soft
light of the fire, pulling off his tunic and lowering his breeches between
heated kisses.
  
She was wet and ready
for him, and he wouldn’t wait any longer.
 

Very
carefully, he edged his phallus into her quivering body, feeling her tense as
he gained headway.
  
He nursed at her
breasts to distract her as he recoiled and thrust again, listening to her grunt
as he seated himself deep. She didn’t cry out or try to push him away, but
rather seemed willing to accept all he was doing to her. He found that kind of
bravery admirable, adding to his already- strong feelings for the woman.

    
When he was finally deeply embedded in her,
he began to thrust, gently at first but with increasing power.
 
Cathlina lay beneath him, her legs spread wide
apart as she welcomed her husband into her body for the first time.
 
He was skilled and he was gentle, and he
succeeded in building an odd heat with in her loins that made her want to
wriggle her hips against him. She learned early on that bolts of lightning
surged through her body every time they came together and she was intent to
seek the lightning that seemed to grow brighter with each successive thrust.
 

Something
was building inside of her the more he moved until finally, the thunder rolled
and the lightning exploded deep within her loins.
 
She began gasping so loudly as wave after
wave of ecstasy rolled over her that Mathias had to put his hand over her mouth
to keep her quiet.
 
But her pleasure
threw him over the edge and in one great and powerful thrust, he spilled himself
deep.