Chapter Three

Attila gazed out over the expanse of his village from his vantage point high up in his personal chambers. Fires burned brightly as his men sat around and talked about battles long ago as they drunk ale. A peaceful quietness had settled over his lands as the dark curtain of night fell over it. A cool late autumn breeze blew in through the window. Behind him, slaves hurried to ready their king for bed. The bed was turned down, as the windows were pulled closed for the night. Candles were lit, casting the room in an orange sensual glow. He turned from his position to look at Kiera, one of the slaves. "Where is she?"

Kiera froze and stared up nervously at Attila. "I was told she is being fetched, Sire. She should be here momentarily."

The slaves finished readying his chamber when the two large doors at the entrance began to swing open. Attila's head turned as he watched Mhari walk into the room. She kept her head down as she came in only to stand near the doors. "Leave us." Attila ordered the slaves.

Mhari watched as the slaves scattered around trying to leave quickly. She felt them brush against her on their way out. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving her alone with Attila. Lifting her head a bit, she snuck a peek at her husband. A shiver of apprehension ran down her spine as she noticed how handsome her husband really was.

Tonight Attila was still partly dressed, wearing the black leggings as he left his chest bare. His dark hair was free, flowing down over his shoulders. His green eyes watched her from his side of the room. Mhari found she couldn't keep her eyes off the broad expanse of his chest, nor the sun kissed skin that covered it. He had arms that came from the strength it took to win the numerous battles he had been through. She took notice of the sparse gathering of dark hair along the center of his chest.

"You came." Attila's voice barely lifted above a whisper. He found he was very nervous, which surprised him. This woman was his wife, yet she was a complete stranger. He took small steps as he walked over to her. By gods, she was beautiful. Tonight she wore a silk gown of white, with wide opened sleeves and attached at the shoulder with gold-jeweled pins. The skirt was slimming with a slit, giving him a glimpse of her bare leg. Her chestnut colored hair was braided and draped over her shoulder.

"You commanded it." Mhari answered him as shivered as he came nearer. "Even I am not above your orders."

"Is that why you came?" Attila's eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "Are you afraid I'll punish you?"

"Can you blame me?" Mhari knew she was once again letting her mind speak freely, and she knew that was dangerous. It was as if she were embracing death. No one talked to the great king as she did and lived.

Staring at her, Attila suddenly chuckled. "You have spirit, Mhari. I like that." He reached out and took her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb. "Come, would you like some wine?" He began to lead her deeper into the room.

"No Sire." Mhari started but froze when Attila whipped around to stare at her, one eyebrow raised. "No Attila."

He smiled mysteriously at her as he reached over and took the end of her braid in his hands. "I want your hair free so that I may run my fingers through it." Mhari nodded as she pulled the ribbon that tied the end of the braid. As she did so, her hands began to shake. She looked down nervously as she yanked on her hair. Suddenly she felt his large hand cover her's, and she looked up. She found him staring at her with a look of concern on his face. "Allow me."

She sucked in her breath as she felt his fingers make short work of the braid. Biting her lower lip, she tried to keep in the groan as his fingertips slid through her hair as he loosened it. "Thank you, Attila." She tried to find her voice.

"You have such beautiful hair." He whispered in her ear as he continued to slide his fingers through the silky locks. "Everything about you is beautiful, Mhari. I have been a fool to ignore you for so long." He lowered his head as he brushed her hair away from her neck to lay soft kisses on the smooth column of her throat. "Forgive me."

Mhari swallowed hard as she tried to keep her eyes open. "You need no forgiveness from me, Attila." She put a hand on his shoulder, the hotness of his skin scorching her hand. "You are too much of a great man to be asking forgiveness from a woman."

Lifting his head Attila looked into her eyes. "I don't ask forgiveness from a woman. I ask it of my wife." He cupped her head as his lips came crashing down on her's. The kiss was hot and meant to prove a point. He opened his mouth and his tongue parted her lips without struggle this time. Mhari didn't resist him, instead opening up her mouth, accepting him.

His hands came up to her shoulders and pushed the silk from her body, shoving her gown to the floor. The instant the gown was removed from her body, Mhari's hands came up to shield her body from his gaze as she blushed. She looked down and shook her head. "No, I am not worthy."

Attila took her hands, intertwining their fingers, as he lifted them from her body. "Do not hide from me, my Mhari. I have wasted too much time as it is. I want to see you." He brought her hands up to his face, kissing each palm. His eyes darted down until he got a full head on look at her body. He fought a moan as he saw how plump and full her breasts were, topped off by coral colored peaks. Her waist was tiny, flourishing into a set of curvy hips. She had long perfectly shaped legs that he could only imagine wrapped around his waist. By now, his body had taken notice, his shaft growing hard as Roman marble.

"Attila no, please?" Mhari begged softly as she felt his hands come up and cup her breasts. "I know what my purpose is. I am not meant to love you." She turned her head to look away from him.

Her words gave him pause as he jerked his head up. He let go of her breasts to cup her face. "I do not know who has told you these lies, but they are false." His eyes burned into hers with a look so intense her body shivered. "You have been tossed aside and the blame is mine, this I know. I am the one asking you Mhari for a chance. You must not believe what you have been told. Tonight is ours, a fresh beginning. Let me show you what it is to be loved by a man, by your husband." His lips found her's as they came together in a fiery kiss.

Mhari could not hold back the moan any longer. It was true Attila was a man of great strength but she no longer had the will to fight him. The sensations he was creating deep inside her begged to be felt over and over. Her palms slid over his chest as she opened up to him. The kiss deepened as they dueled with their tongues. A stroke here and a retreat there, the kiss soon became passionate.

Attila reached down and picked up Mhari in his arms, cradling her against his chest. He continued to kiss her as he walked towards his bed. He moaned as she nervously attempted to suckle on the tip of his tongue. He reached the bed, lying her down as he continued to kiss her. Breaking the kiss softly, he pulled back to look at her. Her hair was spread out like a curtain on the pillow and she looked up at him with nervous eyes. Reaching down, he stroked her cheek. "You are beautiful."

Mhari watched as he reached for the ties to his leggings. She wanted to look away, but she found her eyes glued to him. She swallowed hard as he tugged on them, sending them falling softly to the floor. Her eyes widened as she got her first full view of her husband's nude form. He looked like a God. His body was like chiseled marble, muscles rippling under his tanned skin. His dark hair fell down around his shoulders, with several strands coming down over one of his eyes. Nevertheless, it was another part of his anatomy that drew her attention. In all the years of living as his wife, she had heard Cerca and the others speak of how big Attila was. Remaining a virgin, Mhari had no such knowledge, forced to rely on their word. Now she could see they were not lying.

Attila crawled on the bed, settling himself between her thighs. He ran a calloused palm over the soft skin of a thigh. "Tonight we make up for old times." He whispered as he placed a soft kiss on the inside of her left thigh, his beard lightly scraping across the soft skin. He slid his body up, his mouth leading the way, the tip of his tongue flicking along the inside of her thigh.

"What are you doing?" Mhari blushed furiously as she tried to take a deep breath. She placed her hands on his shoulders as he moved over to the right side, kissing and licking his way up. "Attila…"

Reaching the apex of her thighs Attila cupped her in his large hand, rocking the heel of his hand against her. "There is going to be much pleasure in what we will share, Mhari. I am going to show you what we have been missing for the past five years. I am going to show you what true pleasure is." He let his fingers brush over the dark curls that covered her folds. He couldn't hide the smirk that appeared when his fingers came back damp. "You want me just as badly as I want you."

Mhari shook her head back and forth as she closed her eyes. "No. It is shameful to do this. Just take what is yours and get it over with. Why must you torture me like this?" There were tears in her voice.

"Mhari look at me." Attila spoke softly. When she refused, he put a hint of anger in his voice. "Look at me!" Mhari's eyes snapped open and he cupped her cheek as his face softened. "Nothing we do tonight will be shameful. Everything we do tonight is for our pleasure and that is never wrong."

She could see the sincerity in his eyes and allowed herself to smile shakily at him. "I do not know what to do." She looked down, blushing. "I will fail you."

"You could never fail me, Mhari." Attila soothed her with his soft voice and soft words. "Let me love you tonight. Let me give you pleasure beyond imagination. Just lay back, my wife." He kissed her on her stomach just a hint below her navel. His fingers delved into her slick folds, his thumb brushing against her bud. Hearing her cry out as her body jerked, he smiled. "You like that." It wasn't a question but a bold statement.

Mhari bit her lip as she felt Attila's palms on the inside of her thighs, prying them apart as he slid in to lie between them. She felt the blunt tips of his fingers begin to probe deeper into her folds. At first shame flooded her when she realized how her body was betraying her. With one stroke from his fingers and any thoughts of shame flew from her mind. She felt his fingers enter her and her body tightened up.

"Let it happen, Mhari." Attila encouraged her. "I yearn to touch you. You are mine and I have not yet had the pleasure. I feel like almost like a boy with a new toy." He slid his fingers in deeper, feeling the tightness of her virginity bearing down on him. He nuzzled against her thighs as he slowly began to move his fingers inside her. He looked up to see how she resisted against his hand. "Move with me. I will rid you of your barrier now so it will pain you less when I enter you with my cock instead of my fingers."

Hearing him use such base words, Mhari knew she should be shocked and repulsed. But as the words left his lips she almost cried out, wanting to tell him that she wanted him inside her now. His fingers were playing her like an instrument, continually stroking and teasing. Then it only got worse. The instant she felt his tongue touch her, her hips jerked upward as she cried out. Her fingers flew downward and found his head buried between her legs. She slid her fingers through his dark locks in an effort to try and hang on.

Attila knew that it would hurt the first time her barrier was breached. As his fingers began to pump inside her, his tongue circled around her bud in order to deliver pleasure instead of the pain. Knowing that he was the first man to ever do this to her, had his body throbbing. He gently scrapped his teeth lightly over her bud as his fingers thrust hard, her virginal barrier becoming a distant memory. He winced when he heard her cry out her surprise, but quickly tried to distract her by suckling on the bud as a newborn babe would a mother's breast. He began to move his fingers faster, finding that he couldn't get enough of her taste. Her juices were now coating his mouth as his fingers had become saturated with every stroke. He loved how she began to pump her hips to meet his hand.

Mhari felt her breath coming in near pants as she felt her body start to shake. Attila's fingers continued their sensual assault as his tongue slipped down to join them. As she felt his tongue enter her, she cried out his name. Soon his tongue replaced his fingers as he began to make love to her with it. Thrusting in and out, going deep inside only to circle around and around brought her first climax quickly. She screamed out as tiny pinpricks of sheer pleasure pierced her body all at once. Her body shuddered as the orgasm swept her away. However, Attila refused to quit.

Before her orgasm was full over, he quickly raised his body up and entered her with one long single hard thrust. He began to pump his hips as he clenched his jaw. He threw his head back as he began to pump ferociously into her. His chest was now coated with a fine sheen of sweat that glowed in the candlelight. His hair was wild as if befitting his behavior. "Put your legs on my shoulders." He growled low in his voice. When Mhari looked at him in confusion, he moved back and let her legs rest against his chest, her feet dangling over each shoulder.

The change in position only drove him deeper and Mhari moaned long and low. He kept his hands on her hips as he pushed and pulled her to him with each thrust. She dared to open her eyes, only to find him staring back at her. The look in his eyes was something she had never seen before, even when he was with his other wives. It was untamed yet something soft and caring.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Mhari decided to test the waters. She pulled back playfully, teasing him. Hearing the growl that erupted from his throat, and the way his eyes began to twinkle, she knew she was safe. She began to squeeze her body around his, erotically torturing him. He moaned her name as he let his head fall back. "Mhari, you'll be the death of me woman."

"We can not have that my husband." The word flowing so freely from her lips. "Many depend on you." Mhari swallowed hard as he thrust harder and deeper into her. The last thrust sent her over the edge, spiraling down into another orgasm. She arched up hard as a small scream left her as she gripped the blanket that lay underneath her.

Feeling her body squeeze his, Attila's body jerked hard as his shaft twitched deep inside her. He threw his head back and roared out his release. He held onto her legs as his body emptied itself deep inside her womb. His chest rose and fall as he began to pant heavily. Mhari's body fell back into the bed, as her legs slipped from his shoulders. He collapsed on her chest, his arms wrapping around her. His head nestled onto her breasts as he laid there with his eyes closed.

For several minutes, Mhari held him. Her fingers slid through his soaked hair as her other hand ran up and down his back. Neither said a word as they laid there just enjoying the silence. For the time he laid her arms, Mhari wondered what it would be like to be cherished by this man. She was sure that now that the novelty wore off, she would be banished back to her quarters. She knew that the humiliation would be more than she could bear. Pushing at his shoulder, she looked down. "You need sleep, Attila. In any case, I should go back to my quarters. I will send Cerca to you, if you wish."

Attila looked at her with confusion on his face. He put a hand on each side of her body, pinning her underneath him. "Why do you run from me, Mhari?" He stared into her eyes as he uttered the point blank question. "You say you are not afraid of me, yet you run."

She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "You have tried out your, toy, and now you should rest. The last thing you need is to have me here in the morning."

"I am King of the Huns. I know exactly what I need and what I want, Mhari." Attila's voice was deep and husky. "My other wives may profess to know what I yearn for, yet it has been far too long since I have confided in them. Perhaps you should not be like them and assume what I want. Perhaps you should ask."

Staring into his eyes, Mhari knew she was walking on a very thin line. Taking a deep ragged breath, she spoke softly. "What do you want, my husband?"

"You." The answer was short and sweet.

Her eyes widened as her nostrils flared. She was about to tell him she didn't appreciate his jokes or his taunting when she realized how deadly serious he was. She felt his hand come up to caress her face as he let a gentle smile cross his face. "Me?" She barely managed to get the simple word out.

"I do not know what it is about you, Mhari. Something happened today when I saw you. When Orestes told me that you were mine, I cursed myself repeatedly for being such a fool. I have done you a grave injustice." Attila lowered his head and kissed her softly.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Mhari looked at him. "You have no need to make up for the past."

Attila felt his breath catch in his chest. "You stir something inside of me Mhari. Something I believed long dead. I have not felt this way since my first wife. With her, I knew it instantly from the first time I saw her. Today with you, I felt it again."

Mhari swallowed hard as she mentally shook her head. "Are you trying to tell me that you love me, Sire?" She knew it would infuriate him using his title like that. But she had to keep a grip on reality. "How can you love someone you just met?"

Attila sighed as he gazed down at her. "I do not know if it is love at this moment. However, given time, yes I do believe I will fall in love with you. You are different from my other wives. With them, I am polite and keep my thoughts private. Even with Cerca I cannot let her in here." He thumped his hand on his heart. "With you Mhari, I find myself wanting to lie with you for hours just talking to you, telling you all my fears and secrets. Then there is the way you are with my son."

Her eyes snapped up to look at him. "I love your son. I would protect him with my life." There was a defensive streak in her words.

"But why? When all of my other wives turned their backs on him, why do you protect and love him? What caused you to become his champion?" Attila asked softly. Suddenly he saw her eyes fill with tears, spilling down onto her cheeks. "What makes you cry? Tell me, Mhari."

"The first moment you came into my village, I knew there would be death and destruction. Yet you did not kill my father, instead insisting on his loyalty. When he bargained me off as your bride to secure the peace, I wanted to hate you and him. During our wedding ceremony, I kept looking at you, surprised that the man who stood before me was the bloodthirsty Attila the Hun. Even though you do not remember, you treated me with such kindness. When I came to your village, I kept to myself. When I saw you with your son, my heart melted. Then I saw the way Cerca and your wives treated him, I grew angry." The tears fell from Mhari's eyes as she looked away.

Attila cupped her chin and turned her head towards him as he whispered. "You did not answer my question. Why?"

"You never came to me on our wedding night, so I had to find other means to gain your attention." Mhari's lower lip trembled. "How else would a virgin bride get her husband to love her? So I became a surrogate mother to your child. As the days became a year, I began to love him as my own. Now I would do anything for him."

Without warning, Attila's mouth came down gently to kiss her lovingly. He poured all the emotion he was feeling into this one kiss, knowing that it was that important. His hand reached out to take her's, intertwining their fingers. Mhari kissed him back, not caring if he knew that she was in love with him or not. Even if all she had was right now, it was worth it.

As the kiss broke, Attila looked down at her. "You will stay with me tonight and every night hereafter. I will sleep beside my wife every night." He vowed as he stroked her face. "I need you with me, Mhari. Our sons need you. You will not leave me or them."

She looked at him confused. "Sons? I have no sons."

Attila gave her a crooked smile as he kissed her softly again. "Yes you do my love. We have our son who you take care of while I am away. Then we have our unborn son that will soon be growing inside of you." He moved his hand to rest over her stomach.

Mhari gasped softly at the feel of his hand on her. "You will allow me to claim your son as my own?" She felt fresh tears fill her eyes. "But his mother is the redhead woman. He should know about her."

"He will." Attila's voice was steel. "He will know about the woman who gave him life by giving him her own. However, he will also know his second mother, the woman who gave him love when no one else would. He loves you; I see it in his eyes when he is with you. Now we will have a second son to love."

"How can you be so sure, Attila?" Mhari moved her hand over to cover his. "This is only the first time you have touched me."

He smiled as he bent down and kissed her stomach. "I can see it. I finally believe Galen about her visions." He looked at her with a boyish grin. "Besides I am king and I say its so."