The Consolation Prize (Brides of Karadok #3) - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,11

a noise of husky approval as he lowered his face to her breasts and she awkwardly patted his head. She felt oddly touched he was even bothering to cuddle and kiss with her like this. She had heard enough soldiers’ talk to know that such things could be dispensed with during a coupling.

After a few moments of this, however, she started to wonder if he was going to get to the main business. He didn’t seem in any hurry and his movements were definitely slowing now. She was beginning to suspect he was going to fall asleep, face down in her bosom. That would be an indignity she could do without.

She felt a pang of dread lest the sheets not be stained with a drop of virgin’s blood come morning. The whole court would be awash with talk of the ugly princess whose husband could not bring himself to tup her.

“Sir Armand?” she ventured. Was he snoring? Panic forced her to become forthright. She dug her fingers into the thick dark hair at the back of his head and lifted his face from her breasts.

“Wha …?” he asked blearily, looking like he could not quite focus on her.

“Sir Armand, it is our wedding night,” she said urgently. “You must do your duty to King and country now.”

“Duty?” he echoed with a puzzled frown. Then his gaze seemed to wander down to her breasts and distract him. He sighed. “Gods,” he said and licked his lower lip in a distracting manner. “Gimme a taste.”

“You’ve already had a taste!” Una replied shrilly, though her color rose. “You must proceed now to the next step!”

He glanced about them in confusion. “Step? S’not a staircase, love. S’a bedroom.”

“Sir Armand!” she said sharply. “You were a soldier were you not? In the late war?”

Sadly, this approach, which had worked well for Una in the past, did not seem at all efficacious with Sir Armand. “Shh,” he said. “Too pretty to talk about ugly things.”

This astonished Una so much that she was struck dumb for a moment. Of course, he was sotted, she reminded herself when she felt herself blush violently. Pretty?

He sighed gustily. “I’m drunk,” he said confidingly.

“Yes, you are,” she spluttered. He was honest, if nothing else. She bit her lip. “Are you incapable?” she asked forthrightly. He had not actually presented his … well, “manhood,” to her. She had felt brushes of something against her thigh. She had thought it must be that, but what did she know?

It was no good just lying here like some shrinking maiden, she thought. He was simply too sotted to take the lead. But from everything she had ever been taught, men were base creatures with essentially two drives ruling them. To fight, and the other. Steeling herself, she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and rolled him fully atop her. He grunted and stirred, and she opened her legs to anchor him against her.

“Sir Armand,” she panted, out of breath from the exertion, for he was a good deal larger and heavier than she had anticipated. She was tall for a woman and well-built, but he felt like a felled tree against her. If a tree were made of solid muscle. His eyes flickered open as she gripped his hips firmly between her thighs. Something was lying, heavy and hard against her stomach now, wedged between them.

“Mmm,” he grunted and moved against her.

Una felt her whole body grow hot. It was happening! Flushed with triumph, she felt a tremor of fear nonetheless, for his manhood felt even larger brushing against her intimately like this. She struggled a moment to think of the right encouragement. What did men like? She had no idea. He had not responded well to reminders of duty. “Please?” she ventured timorously.

His head lifted and his eyes focused on her a moment. “You want me, sweetheart?” he asked with a sleepy smile. Una felt a pang. Why did he have to be so good-looking?

“Yes,” she answered truthfully and saw a flicker of pleased surprise pass over his face. “I really do.”

He huffed out a breath. “That’s nice,” he said thickly, and Una caught her breath as one of his big hands caught her under her thigh, urging her to open wider to him, as he moved against her with a breathy sigh. She complied eagerly, suppressing a momentary wobble at how open and vulnerable she felt to him now. He breathed heavily as he bunched the thin material of her shift to