Fantasyland 01 Wildest Dreams (52 page)

Suffice it to say I was
super
happy and suffice it to say I
took great pains to convince Frey of that fact.

And I was even more pleased to note my
efforts succeeded.

Fire and Blood

Two months later…

“
Frey,” Finn
ie breathed into his mouth and gods,
gods,
every time she said his name
like that, from the very first time she did it when he felt the
unreal softness of her hair in his loft in his cabin, Frey Drakkar
felt the whisper of his wife’s voice saying his name right in his
cock.

Then she gave him her neck as her head
arched back, her fingers fisted in his hair, her other arm clutched
him tight and she rammed herself down on his shaft as she
climaxed.

Frey spun her to her back, her long hair
splashed across their bed, her four limbs held tight even as she
continued gasping through her orgasm and his hips pumped between
her legs.

He fought the climax that threatened to
explode so he could take in her beautiful face awash with pleasure,
the vision of her hair all over the sheets, the feel of her arms
and legs gripping him tight, the brilliant torture of her sex
spasming around his driving cock then he couldn’t fight it anymore
and through five, deep, hard strokes he poured his seed inside his
wife.

Frey dropped his forehead to the bed beside
her and focused on her soft body under him, her wet tightness
enveloping his cock, her hands drifting light along his back, the
smell of her skin and he rethought their plans to leave Hawkvale on
the morrow to return to Lunwyn.

He liked right where he was.

“Are you sure you want to go home,
wife?”

“
No,” she whispered and he lifted further
up on his forearm to look down at her, his other hand moving to cup
the side of her head, his thumb drawing circles at her temple. “But
there are places to go, people to meet, things
to do,
” she finished on an appealing, sated
grin.

That was his Finnie. Her feet itched.

“This bed is very comfortable,” he observed
but made his point by shifting his hips between her legs then he
watched with satisfaction as her eyelids lowered and her lips
parted.

Then she lifted her head to touch her lips
to his throat and dropped it back.

“
You’re right,” she agreed. “It is. But so
is your bed on your ship.” She grinned again. “I like the velvet
blankets.” Her four limbs gave him a squeeze as did her sex and a
short, low rumble slid up his throat which caused her to smile
a
very
appealing,
very
sated
smile. “And it’s narrow so we have to cuddle,” she
concluded.

“We cuddle even in this big bed,” Frey
pointed out.

“Indeed,” she whispered, her eyes growing
soft and moving over his face before she said quietly, “If you wish
to stay, husband, I’m good with staying.”

“And if you wish to go, wife, I’m good with
going,” he replied and she smiled again.

“Then we’ll go,” she decided, Frey smiled
back and dropped his head to touch his lips to hers.

“Yes, my wee one,” he said softly after he
lifted his head, “we’ll go.”

Her hand drifted up his spine and into his
hair as her eyes drifted to his mouth.

She touched her lips to his and repeated
quietly, “We’ll go.”

Then she kissed him, unhooked a leg from his
hip, planted her foot in the bed and bucked to roll him to his
back.

He allowed this because she went with
him.

Then he allowed his wife to make best use of
their big, soft bed.

Again.

* * * * *

Frey moved through the bedroom to get his
gloves. After her archery lesson with Annar, he was taking her
riding through his estate and the village one last time before they
left early the next morning.

Absently, his eyes moved through the room
which had been the setting for some very happy memories since they
arrived nearly six weeks ago after docking the ship in Bellebryn,
staying in that small city state for a week because Finnie was
enthralled by its charm and then making their way into Hawkvale to
his chateau.

Finnie had been even more Finnie as she
discovered the appeal of Hawkvale (though she surprised him by
telling him she favored Lunwyn, felt more at home there and
preferred the clothing of Fyngaard). She’d delighted in every
second they spent in Bellebryn, travelling to then being at his
chateau and, as always with Finnie, she didn’t hide it.

And Frey delighted in giving it to her.

Even so, without Finnie in his arms and Frey
in her, he had to admit he was ready to move on. He could not
remember the last time he’d stayed in one place for so long and as
enjoyable as it was with Finnie, he was keen to take her on her
next adventure.

His step slowed and his brows drew together
as he saw one of Finnie’s small trunks open on the dresser. Jewelry
and hair bobs spilled out and poking out of the top was the edge of
a small envelope used by herbalists to hold tinctures or powders to
prepare draughts.

Frey moved to it automatically, feeling mild
surprise. Except for the falsehood she told of being unwell when
they argued about Viola, Finnie had not ever complained of feeling
sick and he knew the adela tree bark used for tea was always
ritually held in a purple pouch as a nod to the goddess, not to
mention, she’d told him she only had enough for that one cup.

When he arrived at the dresser, he saw there
was more than one of these small envelopes in her trunk. In fact,
there were several. He lifted one out, folded open the top, put it
to his nose and he smelled a hint of citrus, rosemary, ginger all
of it nearly overwhelmed by the aroma of mint.

His body froze but even so heat burned from
his gut upwards, setting fire to his chest.

He knew that smell.

Pennyrium.

Pennyrium.

“Bloody hell,” he whispered, that whisper
shaking with fury.

His wife was dosing with gods
damned
pennyrium
to
guard against conceiving his gods damned
child.

Without his knowledge.

And without, except for a brief conversation
a long bloody time ago that by no means had ended in a definite
bloody decision, without discussion.

And further, without his permission.

He pulled in a deep breath to calm the fire
in his chest.

This did not work.

Then he reminded himself his wife was of
another world. Perhaps, in her world, females did this
regularly.

But he could not fathom that. He could not
fathom any world where such an integral discussion between any wife
and her husband, especially considering the bloody conception of a
gods damned child meant the continued peaceful rule of an entire,
bloody kingdom, for the gods sakes, would not only happen between
that wife and her gods damned husband but would be crucial.

And further, she was the one who introduced
the subject in the first damned place. Clearly, in her world, this
was discussed amongst partners and decisions made prior to any
action.

He stared at the packet in his hand.

Pennyrium. Taken daily it very rarely failed
to prevent a woman getting with child. And the longer it was
utilized, the longer it took for its effects to clear after it was
ceased. In some instances, when women had recklessly used it for
years, it had made them infertile.

She could have chosen differently but then
again, if she had, it would mean contacting a witch to cast a spell
or speaking with him to convince him to wear a sheath something,
admittedly, he had no bloody intention of doing with his
damned
wife
especially
since that wife was Finnie and he was not about to shield his sex
from hers and thus have a bloody, gods damned barrier between them
not to mention diminish the pleasure she gave him.

So she had decided on pennyrium.

Bloody hell.

Frey folded over the envelope and tucked it
back in her trunk. Then he found his gloves and exited the
room.

He did not, however, go outside to watch
Finnie finish working with Annar and her bow.

No, he found the first of his men he could
find, which was Oleg, then he ordered tersely, “Find Ruben and send
him to me in my study immediately.”

Oleg grunted, jerked up his chin and moved
away.

Frey went to his study which had a window
that faced the back garden where Finnie, looking too tempting by
half in her tight breeches with her skin now honeyed by the kiss of
Hawkvale’s bright sun, was at the bow, her target now thirty feet
away instead of the twenty where she’d started as she had improved
and Annar felt he should increase her challenge.

Annar was standing behind her, Skylar at her
side, his own target twenty feet away, his bow shorter and easier
for him to wield.

Frey tossed his gloves on his desk and
turned back to the window to watch his wife.

She was paying more attention to Skylar than
her task, as she always did and watching it, Frey’s mouth grew
tight.

She was brilliant with the boy and refused
to leave him behind with the crew on his ship as Frey usually did.
She had said she wanted his lessons to continue but this was
nonsense. She wanted time to light those dark places the boy had
haunting his soul.

And she did. She didn’t work miracles but
she tended him gently, cautiously and regularly giving him just
enough distance and closing in only when Skylar offered her a sign
he was comfortable with her doing so.

Then, not long ago, all her careful tending
broke through and the boy blossomed.

Hell, Frey heard their laughter while they
were in this same bloody room not two bloody hours ago while she
was working with him on his letters and numbers.

She’d make a brilliant gods damned mother.
Why in the bloody hell was she dosing with pennyrium?

“Frey?” Ruben called his name and Frey
turned from the window to see his man walking into the room.

“The door, Ben,” Frey ordered, Ruben
stopped, gave him a look then turned back and closed the door
before he walked into the room and stopped four feet from Frey.

“You don’t look happy,” Ruben observed.

“
This would be because I am
not,
” Frey
replied.

Ruben said nothing.

Frey did. “Upstairs, in Finnie’s trunk on
the dresser, you’ll find several envelopes of pennyrium.” Ruben
blinked, his chest expanded with his big breath and he crossed his
arms over it but Frey kept speaking. “Count them. Then go to the
herbalist in the village. Have her create a powder that very
closely resembles the sight, smell and taste of pennyrium but has
none of its medicinal properties. Purchase the exact quantity of
the exact same number of envelopes and then switch them with what’s
in Finnie’s trunk. Then dispose immediately of what’s in that
trunk.”

Ruben didn’t move and he still did not
speak.

“Ben, this has to happen today. We leave on
the morrow,” Frey prompted.

“I take it you didn’t know Finnie was dosing
with pennyrium,” Ruben remarked.

“You take that correctly.”

Ruben nodded but still didn’t move.

“Ruben,” Frey growled.

“You remember Olivia,” Ruben stated.

Frey did and that was why his jaw got tight
and he crossed his arms on his chest as well.

“I did not ask you here for a lecture, Ben,
I asked you here to give you an order.”

“
I am your man, Frey, but I am also your
friend,” Ruben replied. “And as your friend, I advise you to ask
your
wife
here for a
discussion rather than switch her draughts on the sly.”

The burn in Frey’s chest intensified.

“I appreciate you taking the time to give me
your opinion regardless that I didn’t ask for it,” Frey said
softly, his tone unmistakable and Ruben wouldn’t mistake it, they’d
known each other over a decade and he’d heard it many times.

He still ignored it.

“Frey,” Ruben returned softly, “Olivia made
this decision for us. Yes, if she hadn’t, I would not have Lincoln.
And yes, now, seven years later, I could not imagine my life
without Linc. What I can tell you is, when I was under the
assumption she was taking the pennyrium as this was what I told her
to do and she was not, she made that choice on her own, acted
without my knowledge and she told me she was with my child, I was
far from happy. You know this. You and Thad were called to pull me
out of her cottage when the level of my anger erased my common
sense after the news was delivered. I urge you to think about how
Finnie would feel if she learns you have essentially done the
same.”

“
I do remember this, Ruben, and you were
justifiably angry,” Frey returned. “She was your woman, you are a
man and it is your right to make this decision, not hers. You’d
informed her of your decision regarding pennyrium and she did not
bow to that decision. Your reaction was not wrong and your
anger
did
erase your
common sense at the time, though she did not feel the power of your
hand and many of the men thought she should. However, you also did
not bring charges as you could. I respected your decision and
understood you did not wish your son’s mother to spend the duration
of her pregnancy in bound service to her realm. Your leniency saved
Olivia that sentence but Olivia’s decision lost her
you
for you never went back to her
bed and, I have heard, no man does for fear of the same befalling
him.”