The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (58 page)

“Alice, I am not saying I want to have sex with Carin, I mean you did see her right? I am saying that depending on how the potion works I may have to.”

“So it would just be a huge sacrifice on your part?”

“Exactly.”

She stood there for a moment. “Turn around and face the wall.”

“What?”

Alice reached down and hauled him up to his feet. Grabbing his shoulders she faced him towards the wall and away from her. “Just stand there and don’t you dare move or look over here until I tell you to.”

“You’re not going to suddenly attack me are you?”

“Only if you turn around before I say.”

Standing just a few feet behind him she took a couple deep breaths.
Do I really want to do this
? These were not the circumstances she had pictured for this moment. She had always imagined her husband carrying her to the bed, speaking tender words of love and devotion. Having him casually tell her he might screw a total stranger just to get his hands on an ugly beast, had somehow never entered her imaginings of her wedding night.

Nothing about him is normal or what I expected, but I really love him
.

She slid off her skirt and let it fall to the floor. Next she unbuttoned her blouse and then removed her small clothes. Finally she stepped out of her shoes so that she was well and truly naked.

Her knees pressed together and she instinctively wanted to cover herself up. She had to force her hands to stay by her side. It was so embarrassing.

“You can turn around now.” Alice said nervously.

When he did so his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “What… what are you doing?”

The way he was staring her hands twitched and she had to make a deliberate effort to keep them where they were. “I swear, if you make fun of me or mention your mother I will kill you.”

“Why are you naked?”

“Oh, in Cannassa’s name! You need to ask?” Her eyes darted to the floor. “I love you and I don’t want another woman to be your first. I want to have our wedding night.”

“You mean right now?”

“Yes! Now!”

“I thought you wanted to wait.”

“I did, right up until you said you might be with someone else. I don’t like the idea of you being unfaithful to me, but given the situation I suppose I can forgive it, once. But I absolutely refuse to let the first woman you ever make love to, to be anyone but me.”

He didn’t say anything. His feet were the only part of him she could see. He didn’t move or make a sound. As the moment dragged on she began to fidget.

“Damn it! Am I ugly to you? Are my breasts too small? Does it sicken you that I am not human? Would you really rather have Carin or the ogre you kept ogling? Do you have any idea how many men would kill to be where you are right now? I’ve had brawls started just over who I should give myself to. Your wife is naked and willing and you just stand there! What do I have to do to make you look at me like you want me? Tell me!”

There was another momentary silence, and then he answered her.

“I am sorry.”

Her eyes snapped up. “What?”

His tranquil eyes stared back into hers. “I’ve hurt you haven’t I? I can feel rage and pain and despair through our connection. I’ve never meant to harm you, yet I have.”

Through their bond Alice could feel his concern for her. There was no anger there, no mocking, all she could sense was worry.

“I know you don’t do it on purpose,” Alice said. “But it would be nice if you could act normal once in a while.”

“Honestly Alice, I have no idea what normal is. I have my own idea of normal, and the more time I spend in this world the clearer it becomes that my ideas are a world apart from everyone else’s.”

He took a step towards her.

“I will tell you something though; if I say things that wound you it is not my intention. You are more precious to me than anything. You are my treasure.”

Waldo took a second step that brought him standing right in front of her.

“When we first met you saved my life when any other familiar would have let me drown. You took care of me and fed me. You helped me with Roger even when it went against your beliefs. You faced an archlich and were ready to nearly die for me. You have stayed by my side and been there for me even though you were always free to leave, even though it would have been easier and safer for you to go.”

He took both of her hands into his own. His tender words and the way he was looking at her made Alice fee as if she were going to melt. This was the gentle, kind side of him that she loved best.

“I am not well versed with apologies, but I am sorry for hurting you. I think you are wonderful, and I truly thank you for all that you have done for me.”

He let go of one of her hands and carefully placed it on the back of her head. He got up on his toes as he pressed her face towards his.

He kissed her with his soft, warm lips. Through their connection she understood his feelings.

He loved her.

He never said the words, but that was all right. In his own way he had shown her what she meant to him. He was strange and full of weird notions, but she understood that in his own way he really did love her.

That was all she’d wanted.

XXX

Somehow or other they wound up on the bed and his clothes ended on the floor.

He might have been a virgin, but she quickly discovered he had a pretty good notion of what to do. His hands fondled and squeezed and he licked and kissed her all over her body. His touch was light and certain. His affection was patient and thorough and brought her mounting pleasure.

When the key moment came he hesitated.

“Are you sure?” He whispered.

The concern in his voice made her happy. As much as he wanted it, he didn’t want to hurt her.

“Yes darling, I am.”

He paused, and then drove the stake in. She gasped at the pain, but it was not as bad as she expected. It very quickly faded into the background as pleasure began to fill her. She knew from stories that the first time wasn’t supposed to be this enjoyable for a woman. Alice momentarily wondered if it was because she was a succubus.

She quickly stopped worrying about it and simply enjoyed all the things Waldo was doing to her.

XXX

“Ooooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!”

All the men down in the common room were staring up at the stairwell. It turned out Alice was a moaner and they could all clearly hear her erotic cries. A few of the men laughed and made some naughty jokes. Many more were weeping tears of pure jealousy.

The Innkeeper lifted a mug. “To the luckiest bastard on the face of the Earth.”

“Yeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!” Came another shout from upstairs in seeming agreement.

All the men lifted their mugs in salute.

Chapter 42

Women Make No Sense At All

Waldo was lying in bed with Alice resting on top of him. His heart was just beginning to slow down. Sex was quite a bit more strenuous than he’d expected. It was also more enjoyable.

With one finger Alice began to lazily draw little circles on his chest.

“There is no way you were a virgin.”

He noticed her voice was back to normal. It was too bad; he’d rather liked the sounds she’d been making before. “I assure you that I was.”

“Not possible.” Alice planted a slight kiss on the side of his neck.

They had shared a bed for a week now, but somehow he had never realized just how amazingly soft she was. The delightful feel of her moist skin sliding against his, had it always felt so luxuriant? How had he not noticed before? Just having her close to him like this was pleasant.

When they performed the physical act of love… it had felt better than he had ever imagined it could. It was so much better than doing it alone. He could understand now why Walter had spent so much time with the sex slaves.

“I suppose I should take that as a compliment. Why do you not believe it?”

“I’ve heard stories about what men are like when they do it the first time. All the girls say they’re like bulls; rough, hard, and quick. They’re eager to see what it’s like and in too big a rush to even think about the girl they’re with. It’s never any good for them; it’s almost like a chore.”

Waldo couldn’t help but smile. “I take it I was different?”

Alice giggled. “Darling, if you were any more different I swear I would have lost my mind. You were wonderful.” She placed another tender kiss on his neck. “There is no way this was your first time.”

“It was.”

“Oh really?” She propped herself up on one elbow so that he could see her face clearly. Her amethyst eyes had a playful twinkle. “How were you so good then? Natural talent?”

“No,” he said matter of factly. “It just comes from observing the sex slaves when they performed.”

“You… you actually watched people do that? Even at the Inn that was always done behind closed doors.”

“Really? So you never had people perform for the enjoyment and entertainment of others?”

“Entertainment?” Alice sounded scandalized. “You had people do
that
just to put on a show?”

“Certainly, we would also have plays performed, have singers, dancers, jesters, jugglers, and sometimes we would make slaves fight each other to the death. My mother wouldn’t allow any of us to leave the castle grounds until she was certain of our strength. Since we were confined she thought we should at least be properly diverted.”

Alice’s mouth opened, and then closed.

“By the way, do you like being tied up or spanked? Some of the slaves seemed to really enjoy that.”

Alice shook her head. “You would think by now I would know better than to ask you certain questions.”

Waldo raised a curious eyebrow. “I was being truthful.”

“I know, that’s what worries me.” She paused a moment. “Do you want children?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“It’s a normal thing for a married couple to discuss. So do you?”

“Well of course, I am heir to one of the Seven Great Families of Alteroth. Fathering children is one of my duties.”

“That’s not what I asked you. Do you want to have children?”

“You mean just to have them?”

“Yes.”

“I have never really thought about it. Becoming a father isn’t something I’ve had to worry about.”

“Well you’re married now and you’re going to be having sex with me, a lot, you should begin to think about it.”

“No,” he said firmly. “We can’t have children until my return to Alteroth.”

She frowned and he could sense her disappointment through their bond. “When will that be?”

“Not until I complete my quest.”

“You mentioned before that you need to beat a knight and find a treasure. What sort of treasure is it? Is it hard to find?”