Taniel (The Taverner's Daughter I)

57: Taniel

After much rumpling of the bedclothes and trying to stop my brain from replaying the disturbing events of the day, I slept.

Mother came to me in my dreams, holding out a folded paper, a kind smile on her blurred face. Every time I reached for her words, she grew further away. At last, I reached the letter but she vanished, leaving me sobbing with outstretched hands. An ugly hoary wizard took her place and beckoned. Silently screaming, I turned and ran and ran but my legs barely moved and the leering wizard floated along the ground behind me. A green dragon swooped overhead, and Jarryd looked down at me and laughed before wheeling away. The wizard clapped his hand on my shoulder, whispering that his baby was ready to come out.

I woke to a drenched nightdress and a parched mouth.

Tossing back the bedclothes, I tried gathering my senses for a moment before getting up. I drank from the wash jug. I needed more light.

I was crossing to the lamp when a thud sounded outside my window.

Startled, I rushed to the bed, sure that the wizard was coming for me, for real. I rolled over the bunched bedclothes and dropped into the space next to the wall, straining for another noise out of the ordinary. Maybe it was only a fox blundering through the yard. I dismissed that when the hens stayed quiet.

Kneeling, I peered at the rustling curtains.

A breeze, I told myself.

The curtains jerked — not the wind, then. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and I wished I had locked the window instead of running to hide. Too late now.

Would this day never end? I did not think I could cope with any more surprises: I wanted sleep.

"Taniel, it's all right, it's just me."

Was it Jarryd's quiet entreaty or had Dax sounded much the same?

"It's me, sweetheart."

"Jarryd, you're back!" After throwing myself over the mattress, I raced to the window. A pace from my goal, I ran into him.

He grunted.

"What the ..." Horror filled me as I sprawled on the rug, unable to see anyone. I scrabbled back until I encountered the side of the bed. I waved my hands, fending off whatever was in the room with me pretending to be my dragonrider.

"Shush." The thing spoke again. "Sorry, I should have warned you before I came in. I'm invis-. Ow!"

My flailing hands had connected. My mouth would not work until my panic subsided. I pulled myself up.

"Jarryd," I finally managed to gasp. I stared at where I thought he stood. Calmer, I breathed in his sweet man scent, heavily spiced with the burnt earthy aroma of dragon.

"Be still. Let me come to you," he whispered. "Then you can feel me."

His fingers brushed my shoulder.

I took him at his word and felt him thoroughly, kissing every bit of his face until I eventually fixed on his lips.

Soon, passion carried away the last of my fears about everything: dragons, letters, wizards, mothers, babies, and the reluctance of committing to a man for life.

I did not know how to tell him that I was ready. I did not need to wait for the official ceremony. The vows we had already exchanged were now enough. Deciding I did not need to say anything, I let my actions speak for me.

I undid the buckle of his belt.

Jarryd moaned. Still, he pulled back.

I kept a tight hold on the leather ends, one in each hand. Though he had been manly enough to take my refusal in the cave, I would not be denied.

"Taniel, are you sure you want to do this?"

I hesitated. His voice was heavy with passion. He wanted me, too.

"Sweetheart?"

His need of me spurred my own desire. "I'm certain," I murmured against his lips. I blushed at my wantonness, knowing I could not blame it all on the wizard's spell put on me earlier. I unbuttoned his shirt, giggling when it became visible in my hand once peeled from his body. I let it float to the floor.

He lifted me and flung me on the bed.

I squealed and smothered his apology for the unintended roughness.

His dragonrider boots materialised as they hit the floor. My heart pounded as the rest of his clothes joined them.

Many years had drifted by since I had last lain with a man.

The bed boards creaked and the mattress sank as he climbed in beside me. My desire escalated and I was glad my bedroom lay at the end of the passage and the sitting room separated us from Father.

I shrugged off my nightdress.

I slid down. My dragonrider's sigh eclipsed my own as our bodies met for the first time without the chasteness of clothing. I shut my eyes. It no longer mattered that I could not see my betrothed.

All my other senses were engaged to the full as I pandered to the spell still pulsing though my veins.

***

29 March 2017 - replaced with revised scene

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