The King's Consort Ch. 10

Caitlin blinked at the revelation, her heart aching, both for herself and for Marianne. "Does- does Kalen know about it?"

Marianne's eyes only meeting hers fleetingly. "He's known for a few weeks, now, and he's been kind enough to offer me a severance package, as well as protection for me and my family."

Caitlin could hardly believe that the woman who'd been the keystone at the mansion was leaving. "Tell me you'll come and visit. This place won't be the same without you. No one can cook quite like you do, and I'm going to miss the picnics and the sign lessons, and everything-" She choked. "Promise me?"

The servant finally met her eye for a long moment, then she nodded, a guilty smile breaking through her somber mood. "Of course, dear. But you'd better take care of yourself," she chided, almost back to her old self. "-and listen to Dr. Gray. She knows her stuff."

Before Marianne could protest, Caitlin threw her arms around her, hugging tightly. "We're going to miss you," she said, squeezing tighter.

The matron's arms wrapped around her in a hug that suited a grandmother. "I'm going to miss all of you, too. But I'll write, and call, to see how you're doing. You've got a long life ahead of you, Caitlin. I think you're going to make a wonderful Queen."

Caitlin, who'd been holding the tears back all evening, finally gave up control and allowed the tears to come. She thought she felt the servant crying with her, and when she pulled back, it was confirmed by the redness in Marianne's eyes. "Thank you," she said, sniffing back another wave of tears. "For everything. You were always there for us."

That old guilt flickered in the matron's tearful eyes. "Not when you needed me most."

Caitlin shook her head. "No one blames you for it. And see? We're okay."

"Right, well-" Marianne inhaled a stabilizing breath and released her. She swiped tears from her soft cheeks. "I don't want to be keeping you on your feet. It's been a long night, and you really should rest up."

Caitlin's face reddened. She probably wouldn't be doing much resting in the next few hours, if Kalen's sultry look in the hall was any indication. "Yeah," she said. "You're right, as always, Marianne. Do you know your address in the city yet?"

"Not yet." Marianne looked past her thoughtfully. "But I will send a letter as soon as I do, and you can write me anytime."

Caitlin swallowed hard, hating this farewell, but knew it had to end sometime. "I- I love you, Marianne. I hope your move goes well."

For the first time in months, Marianne's eyes went large in surprise, then softened in a matronly warmth. "I love you too, Caitlin. Be good to yourself. You've earned it." She caught Caitlin's shoulders gently, then patted them and released her. "These bags aren't going to pack themselves."

"Right." She offered her one last smile, torn between strangling Kalen for not telling her and hugging Marianne until the sun came up.

"It's okay, Caitlin. We'll see each other very soon."

"Right," she said again, standing there long after Marianne shot her an amused smile and shut the door. The only true constant in her life was Kalen, and she hoped that would never change, for a long, long time.

*

The way down to the master suite was dim. It seemed Kalen hadn't bothered to turn on a light, making her way down the stairs more difficult, though not impossible. Caitlin wondered if it was another of his 'tests', though after a day like this, she was curious as to why he would do such a thing. Since the encounter with Eamon, though, her senses were nearly as good as Kalen's, though her reflexes and strength never returned.

That would come after the child was born.

She took one step at a time, securing each foothold before taking another. Slowly, and with great care, she reached the bottom, smiling to herself in triumph.

Kalen's trail, dimmed with time, still hung slightly in the air. She followed it to the door of the master suite and opened it, looking into an equally dark space. There was no sign of him or his energy trail, and she was beginning to wonder if she'd picked the wrong door.

Hands caught her hips, making her nearly jump from her skin. But she felt the familiar press of his body to hers, and his hands wandered up her frame, and over her stomach. One caught her jaw, lifting her face to the ceiling, while the other caught her hip and pulled her flush against him.

When she opened her eyes, he was above her, looking down with a soft expression. "You made it."

Caitlin smiled up at him, touching his cheek. "You thought I'd lose my way?"

"Never, never," he said, his rich hazel eyes never leaving hers as he leaned into her caress. "I only worried that you might be upset with me."

She took her hand back, confused. "About what?"

"Marianne." He thumbed her jaw, his eyes panning her face. "It wasn't my place to tell you."

Caitlin's head rested on his chest as she closed her eyes. "You're right. It wasn't. And I'm not upset with you." She glanced up, realizing his face was still troubled. "Really, Kalen."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face, then he turned her in his arms, so her distended belly was pressed to his, and she realized he was still wearing his clothes from the coronation ceremony. He cupped her lower back, carefully tracing a pattern along the small of her neck with the other hand.

She looped her arms around his neck, pulling herself nearly to his level. "Can we just forget everything tonight? I don't want to think about our 'royal' obligations, the coronation, what my mother was wearing this evening, none of it. Please, my King, take me to bed."

Kalen pressed his forehead to hers, inhaling her scent. "It's been a while since we've been intimate. Are you certain you're up for the task?"

Caitlin tasted his sweet breath in her mouth, irritated that he had all but implied it earlier, and now he was playing difficult to get? That was her job. "Damn it, Kalen. Yes. And the doctor okayed it, so you've got no excuse tonight." She met his gaze with a gleam and brushed her nose to his. "You're just not allowed to use those fangs on me, unfortunately."

His eyes flared slightly, then a sultry look set in. "It sounds as if you want me to."

"Well-" Caitlin could feel her face heat up. "It wasn't... entirely disagreeable."

Kalen observed her for a second before giving a slight shake of his head. "That, the doctor expressly forbade, unless you've forgotten. I promise, after you are free of this burden-" He ran a hand over the line of her stomach. "I will gladly oblige."

Caitlin could help but drop her gaze to his lips. "I suppose I'll have to wait."

"Oh, but you make it sound so terrible." His grip on her neck tightened as his gaze grew hungry. "I can think of several ways to distract you from your terminal ennui."

A breath hitched in her throat, so she could barely whisper, "you do?"

When he smiled, it was the smile of a predator. Without warning, he scooped her up, and, after a whirl of dark colors, she found herself on the bed in the master suite, with Kalen curled over her. She was pinned beneath him, letting out one shallow breath after another as he caught her wrists in one hand and brought them over her head.

Caitlin could feel the hardness of his cock against her pelvis, threatening to tear both pants and dress. But he seemed to have already thought of that, slipping his free hand behind her and tearing down the zipper, keeping her hands high above. "Don't move," he murmured, kissing her hot mouth, then her chin, then down her neck and to her collarbone. His hand tugged down the dress so she was only in her white slip and undergarments.

With her stomach so large, she'd worried that he would not allow them to be intimate. But since she'd grown, he'd found many ways to make her quiver.

Kalen curled a finger around her slip's strap and pulled until it snapped, glancing up at her with a gleeful expression, his teeth threatening to grow. He was teasing her, and she couldn't stand it. She stifled a whine, squeezing her knees together beneath him. If he didn't hurry, she'd mount him, herself. "You're killing me, Kalen."

His mouth closed over the curve of her shoulder, making her skin flare. He left a lingering kiss, without the sharp pierce of his teeth. "Impatient, aren't you?"

Caitlin threw her head back and sighed. "Oh, get on with it!"

A chuckle reverberated through him as his mouth descended on hers. He found her welcoming, inviting as he lashed her tongue with his. With her mouth occupied, she could only press into the kiss as he feverishly tugged off the rest of her clothes, leaving her naked beneath him. With the dress discarded at the foot of the bed, and her underwear tugged to her ankles, her heart raced wildly.

Kalen seemed to hear it and unbuttoned his own pants, his hardened cock resting between her thighs as he explored her mouth, more feverishly than before. She could feel his energy swell around them, that darkened shroud that she recognized so well. Her heavy eyes opened momentarily to observe his serene features.

His knee came up and pressed against her womanhood as he levered up, making her throb for release that he seemed to be keeping from her.

She tore her mouth from his and put her head in the crook of his shoulder, the only thing she could do besides dig her heels in and press herself against him. "I want you to take me, Kalen."

"I noticed," he said, and in one motion, caught her by the neck and swept her upright, so she was mounted on him. She could feel the throb of his cock on her leg, and the pressure of his own leg on her womanhood and it made her shudder with anticipation. She grabbed tight to his red velvet vest, wanting to tear it from his shoulders like so much packaging to be removed.

It was only getting in the way.

His mouth closed over hers again and she felt him adjust her, enter her, pushing against the pressure of her heavy stomach and making her nearly go faint. He slid in smoothly, watching her face as a heavy sigh escaped her. "Is this what you want?"

Gently, he eased back, then slid in once more, falling into a rhythm before she had the words to speak. "Yes," she whispered into the crook of his shoulder, clinging to him for dear life. "Yes, Kalen-" A cry ripped from her throat as he drove in hard. She also thought she heard him groan in satisfaction beneath her, which made her smile in her feverish state.

Caitlin's fingers worked at the buttons, trying her hardest to concentrate as his hips rolled back and thrust into her. Her hand slipped and she tried to look down, but his grip on her neck didn't allow it.

Twice more, he drilled home before slowing, then tore open his shirt. His sweet musk hit her all at once as she caught hold of his shoulder blades, trying to remain steady as he levered back, so he was all that held her to the earth. A smile formed on his lips as he got in closer, his eyes darkening.

Darkness swirled around them as he worked, and the room's features dimmed, so that she wasn't sure where they were. In this darkness, she could believe they were in a such a timeless place as the void, and joyous glee burbled up inside her.

She was nearly laughing as he thrust so deeply, she could feel that ache in her core. With her stomach so large, Caitlin could barely breathe besides the forced, heaving breaths of a woman overflowing. His speed increased, and she found herself on her back once more, with him drilling into her from the side.

In a daze, she cupped the hand over her stomach and enjoyed the delicate thumbing of her swollen lips as he worked her from behind, his pace slowing. Kalen's mouth was to her ear, nibbling her lobe with sharpened teeth. It sent a shiver down her spine, heightening her own passions.

Her body clenched and she reached that final stage, where the senses harmonized into blind bursts of electric frenzy that held little logic. Caitlin's skin was alive, and when she opened her eyes, was surprised it wasn't sparking with their joined furor.

When he touched her spine, her body reacted in kind, urging forward for that final peak of his own body. She was there, so very there, craving his body, his soul, where darkness and light converged and battled for the upper hand. She saw it in his eyes, which had long since gone dark.

He looked down at her with a hungry glee, but she didn't fear him this way. He was her monster, and nothing he might say could change that. Pinned under his gaze this way, under him, she found release, threw her head back and cried out her pleasure.

His mouth descended on her throat as if to bite. And maybe he intended to, but his soft lips stopped on the jugular. The flat of his canines bore into the skin but did not puncture as he thrust hard into her, making her loll beneath him.

Caitlin caught his hair as he rode her to their joined peak. Her body throbbed for him as he burrowed into her, finally, finally, spilling his seed with an inhuman growl. Kalen's teeth were bared as he closed his eyes, thrusting one last time, allowing it to linger before relaxing.

Her body quivered with the last spasms. She closed her eyes, feeling him shift above her, adjusting her spent body until he was curled up behind her, cupping her stomach. His head rested so that his mouth was on the crook of her neck, kissing softly once, twice, thrice. Caitlin caught her breath, enjoying the quiet absence of the outside world, his shroud still hanging like a veil around them. She sighed heavily, then whispered, "why don't you let it out all the time?"

Kalen rubbed her shoulder, passing down, over her stomach and rested on her hip. "You mean the shadow energy?"

She turned to him, too satisfied by their rumpus to feel irritation. Her gaze flickered to the soft curve of his lips and thumbed it absently. "Of course."

He caught her hand and kissed it. "Because, my Queen, it tends to scare people. Humans and vampires alike."

"Well," she said with a sigh, "I like it. You should wear it more often."

A lighthearted scoff caught in Kalen's throat, but the energy condensed around them, as if he was responding favorably to her inquiry. "Very well."

For her, it had analgesic properties, making her worries fade and sleep weigh down her eyelids. But she wasn't done with the waking world.

She turned in his arms until her heavy stomach was against his, and she could look him in the eye. They'd returned to normal, and she found herself missing that other half of his nature. She wasn't sure when she began to notice that it, too, was as viciously enamored with her as his waking mind, but somehow, she'd managed to tame that beast. She pressed her forehead to his, not wanting to ever leave this most private of places. "Your shroud looks good on you."

"I've never heard that one, before." He cupped her cheek, brushing a thumb over her the bone of her jaw. "Truly, Caitlin, you are a most contradictory creature."

"The worst, I know." She smiled blindly at him, her eyes closed. "I really should get another obsidian blade, just in case I need to compel you to do my bidding again."

"I don't think that will be necessary," he murmured, planting a kiss on her brow. "But if it makes you feel better, I will order more first thing tomorrow."

Her breath was a sigh as she opened her eyes, noticing that he was staring intently at her, his hazel brown eyes flickering, even in the dimness of the master bedroom. "You would do that?"

His smile was genuine. "For you? Anything."

Caitlin smiled back, content in his arms and with his child safely in her womb, realizing she could make it these next two years, and even further still, to the boundless reaches of time.

Just so long as Kalen was by her side.