~3~
Her nose twitches against the cold as sleep threatens to leave her for the brisk embrace of awareness. Gelda is determined to fight against it though. She'd woken in the very early hours of morning to check up on Zaneta, even if the little girl was starting to sleep soundly throughout the night. This coupled with the fact that Zeldris hadn't returned by the time she'd gone back to sleep had made her sleep far from restful. Dreams of him suffering, him wounded, or worse had drifted in and out of her consciousness and quite frankly she's exhausted from worry by now.
So the brush of cold air against her skin when she was sure she was covered up nicely before starts to become a nuisance. And the feather light trails she notices on her chest and along her stomach start to gradually pull her away from the rest she would like to have gotten.
Her mind takes a moment to track the paths she isn't fully positive are there. Slowly one dusts around the side of her breast before tickling down her ribs. The other smooths across her stomach which flinches as she sucks in an unsteady breath. The sensation travels downward over her hip then sluggishly begins to make a path towards her pelvis. This more than anything pulls her eyes open in hurried blinks to gaze around the shaded room in hopes of figuring out if her mind is playing tricks on her.
Instead she sees the very real image of Zeldris leaning over her from her side. His hands are roaming sensually across her exposed flesh from her open gown as he gazes down at her with a quiet intensity that nearly pins her to the bed.
But even his quiet study of her with his eyebrows in a calm set hinting at the heavy thoughts swirling in his mind doesn't stop her for long from surging upwards and circling her arms around his shoulders. The touch of his bare chest against hers is comforting, especially when his arms move into the opening of her nightgown to press into her shoulder blades. His life beats steadily against her torso and her mouth goes to his cheek, laying a relieved kiss there. "You came back. I was so worried…"
One of his hands travels up her spine, slow and steady. She feels the curl of his fingers in the back of her hair pulling her head back gently so that she's subjected to the deep swirling of something undefinable in his eyes. His tone is low, a grated murmur as he responds, "You worry too much."
Even as he says this she gets a churning tightening in her stomach that tells her her worry isn't misplaced. But he continues on, tightening his fingers in the back of her hair just the slightest. He breathes low, impassioned as his eyes go to her lips, "Let me make it up to you."
His mouth slants over hers and Gelda shivers as her nerves tingle. She breathes out slowly through her nose as he kisses her languidly. Her fingers travel up his shoulders and weave into his hair as he presses atop of her, tangling his tongue with hers in a growing passion. His weight is heavy, firm, and she arches into him, moaning as he begins to nibble her lips, sucking them plump as she trembles with a growing heat. He wants to make it up to her. A slow moan leaves her as his mouth descends along her jaw, her eyes fluttering beneath closed lids. She'll let him then.
Her breathing is a little rushed when he presses an aggressive kiss behind her ear. His teeth pull her skin roughly making her whimper as her fingers move to dig into his shoulder blades. She feels her heart thud recklessly when he climbs over her, feels his hot breaths brush down her neck with his open mouth kisses and something begins to kindle in her belly, a roar she hasn't felt in so long. Zeldris shivers with a groan when she scratches her nails along his spine, her want to please him in this great as he takes his time to leave marks along her flesh, suckling her collarbone, her breast bone...
Gelda gasps as her eyes peel open blearily when his tongue drags along her breast. The wet feeling like a moist graze as he teases her. Her fingers curl into his biceps as he kisses around her nipples, making her suck her lower lip between her teeth at the tempting yet sensitive feel. He hasn't even touched her nipples and she feels the buds hardening, wanting his attention, no needing it . He chuckles against her and she knows he must feel her racing heart, her excitement already. The demon kisses under her breasts now as she groans in dismay.
"Oh, Zeldris…" She sighs as she looks down at him, seeing how her nipples perk in the air. "Please," she whispers as his lips brush her sternum once more, feeling a blush tingling in her cheeks.
He lifts up and very carefully laps his tongue across her hardened bud without question and a sound of pleasure swirls deeply in her throat, her eyes falling shut. She's tender, but he's ginger in flicking the bud with his tongue as she softly sighs, a heat burning under her skin. Gelda thrusts her pelvis up against his when he trails his mouth towards her other breast, rubbing against his bulge so that he groans into sensitive flesh next. The sound stirs through her veins as desire dampens her core.
She pants and shivers as he leaves wet kisses along her stomach his voice meeting her ears rousing as she whimpers. " Gelda… ooh, Gelda…" Again, his tongue darts out, like sparks to her skin, this time circling her belly button as sweat dots her skin. She's almost embarrassed by how loud she breathes, but his hands gentle on her thighs, stills the worry. And instead she moans loud, her legs parting as he kisses her lower belly where heat pools and pleasure charges.
A high noise leaves her when his tongue slides between her folds suddenly, the feel of his fingers guiding her thighs up and open further making the flush in her cheeks bloom to her hairline. The throb in her slit pulses against his tongue and a heady moan floods the room. Her body quakes as he suckles and kisses, turning the heat under her skin to a dizzying blaze. She tries to twist as her stomach tenses, her noises sharp and quick as he groans and murmurs against her in praise. It's so good after so long. Her body missing the feeling of pleasure so deeply, her head is thrown back with an almost pained shout. She feels her heart leaping like a speeding rabbit, her mind fuzzy from need as she grows wetter and hotter around his persistent tongue.
Then she feels a pressure start to build like a wave of heat and she's gasping for breath, her thighs trembling in his hands. She does not want to end this way however as he sucks wetly against her throbbing bundle of nerves. She does not want to tip over the edge as her toes curl and her head tosses from side to side, her hair a mess in the throes of ecstasy.
Zeldris pulls away abruptly and she falls limp, the feeling slipping away from her like the sand between her fingers.
She brings a hand to her hair as she breathes desperately and opens hazy eyes to see Zeldris staring at her heatedly from between her flushed thighs. "You want more, do you not?" He asks in a throaty voice.
Gelda whimpers as she nods weakly. Then he's climbing over her and her arms are around his shoulders grasping him as he kisses her fervidly. She tastes herself on his tongue with a thick moan, her body hot and ready as she slides her thighs around his waist. But she yelps when he flips them over, her now on top as he kisses her lips tenderly again and again, taking her breath away. She feels him shift beneath her, his legs shimming out of his pants so that there's nothing between them and Gelda's heart gives a loving thump . Her want for him as strong as ever as she looks down at him curtained by her pale blond locks.
He lifts a hand to brush her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering over her flushed cheek like intoxicating sears before his hands grip her shoulders. She lifts up at the guidance and slides her hips over his, but then she gasps when his fingers brush her gown off her shoulders making her shiver against the cool air that threatens to seep into the heat between them. Zeldris trains his eyes on her face, something hard, and hungered rimming the black pools, but she melts into the love she sees at their core. The intensity of it enough to make her shudder and look down.
'Why am I… so nervous?' She thinks, her hands lying flat on the burning muscles of his stomach. It's then she notices the stretch marks along her skin despite the healing of Elizabeth's magic, certain things remain. Her stomach twists so tight she can't look at him. He has to have seen them, noticed the changes in her body. Will this actually be the same as it was before? Can it be?
He must notice her hesitation because he slowly beging to trail his fingers along her stomach making the muscles there twitch and a soothing warmth flare in their wake. He's tracing right over them tenderly as her breath continuously sticks in her throat. Maybe he doesn't' care? This all seems so different, with how patient he's being, and yet the same the depth of his want for her prodding beneath her. She won't bow down to nerves not when they both want this so much.
She lifts herself and he takes note, holding himself steady, then her eyes close, her heart flutters, and a heady sigh melts from her, succulent and thick, when she begins to lower herself, their bodies join together lusciously. His hand goes to her hip when she's seated, tense and twitching as she bites her lip trying to hold back a few broken sounds. It feels unbelievably good to be connected to him in such a way again. The hard heat inside of her rubbing alongside her nerves like an inferno he strokes continuously getting hotter.
Gelda starts the rocking motion with a roll of her hips, hearing him grunt as he meets her hips with steady strokes of his own. It's mesmerizing how they move, her breaths catching with each graze inside of her. Zeldris slides his free hand up her thigh, a fire trail that makes her chest tremble as she rocks over and over. His fingers grip into her skin, biting but wanted, then lick up her twitching stomach sticky with sweat, and finally they cup her bouncing breasts. The sound that leaves her is long and shocking, their bodies now slapping together as she's consumed in his touch.
She feels her skin prickling as she claws at his stomach, feels his length being strangled as her core jolts with each surge within her. But then he says something rough and deep, his own pleasure obvious in the way his hearts beat beneath her fingertips. "Gelda… Look me in the eyes."
And she does as desperation lengthens her tones. His irises don't seem to reflect light the way they are now, devoured by his hunger for her and it makes feeling him inside her more intense being trapped by such a stare. It makes her bounces in his lap stutter only kept steady by his own thrusts within her, his own grip on her hip. Then he say something once more as his hand on her breast fondles with care, making her gasp as her toes curl. "You are beautiful… Gelda."
Her stomach clenches and her heart skips several beats. She rides him long and thorough as fresh waves of slick gush around his need. His words echoing in her mind like volatile bolts to her core. She doesn't look away once.
His hand slides between her breasts and tingles up her neck before cupping her cheek. He seems to swallow around a shaky sound before saying, "I love you, Gelda…"
Something pricks behind her eyes as her fingers curl into his sides and he must feel the dramatic shift in her body because he sits up, so that she's seated in his lap crushed in his arms. Her arms curl around his shoulders as her emotions swirl within her like a collapsing wave. Her eyes slam shut, her mouth pressing into the point of his shoulder and neck to muffle her noises, when her core starts to spasm, hot and slick, gushing her release around his pumping length. She makes tiny sounds as she rides him slowly, the burn within her hot and overwhelming as she takes him deeply. His fingers bite into her flesh as he groans heavily, him pulsing within her as her core milks him viciously.
It's only when her sounds taper off does she realize tears are in her eyes, not exactly of pleasure, but of deep seated love. She sniffs and presses her mouth to his neck. A croaked, "I love you too," sticking to his skin.
She sinks into the way his hands smooth up and down her back, their breathing labored as they attempt to calm from their bliss. But then Zeldris stiffens around her and pulls back. His eyes stare at something behind her before he lifts her sliding from her body as she hisses in dismay. "Stay here," he urges with a fleeting look and her worry from before coils tight within her chest.
She watches as he slides on a black pair of pants before slipping into the room that connects to Zaneta's. Her mind surfaces from the relief pleasure grants it in an instant. Zaneta. Their daughter must be up and ready for breakfast by now! She looks down at herself and realizes she's covered in various bruises and sticky with sweat and release. Her lips thin at the hinderance and she crawls out of bed and onto weak legs regardless. She'll clean up a little and then go to her daughter.
Being a mother is a full time job after all.
~.~.~
A meeting was to be held at breakfast sharp. Possible loopholes to be looked for in certain peace agreements. Of course two of his most important Commandments failed to show up forcing him to go after them. Meliodas feels a throb beat against his temples as a sigh of utmost annoyance edges from his throat. Zeldris is usually so punctual, while Estarossa slides into meetings a minute or two before they begin. The metallic thuds of his boots echo off the corridors as he rounds the corner leading towards Zeldris' wing. His fingers shift and curl tightly beneath leather gloves that flare around his wrists. "What the hell could be holding him up?"
A few servants rightfully scramble out of his growing storm's path, making way for him to stop outside of the sheeny wood that stretches towards the ceiling. He's about to rap his knuckles against it like thunder when loud, sensual moans and deep answering groans catch his ears. A dry grin forms on his face without thought as he takes a step back from the door. So Zeldris is taking Gelda to bed…
Meliodas turns away slightly as the fingers of his right hand moves to rub slightly along the band hidden beneath his left glove, a new habit of his, slipping into thought. He can let his brother's tardiness slide… just this once . He knows what it's like to need to satisfy your mate. And with Elizabeth's hormones being through the roof lately, he's been lucky enough to leave their home in Britannia, let alone the bed. His hands drop to his sides as he recalls most recently, the slight grin of his lips vanishing into the thin line that takes its place. Though she did take things too far, unknowingly, begging to let her tie him up as she had her way with him, something he would have had no problem with before . Before what happened in the lair.
When he'd been hesitant in agreeing, she'd reasoned that he'd tied her up before as well and she'd enjoyed it. His hearts had nearly lurched from his torso, twisted and squeezed until the pain became too great, but… she hadn't been accusing him. She wasn't trying to use that moment against him. She said she enjoyed the moment and was simply disappointed that he didn't want her to tie him up and show him pleasure as well. It was different. The situation was different and he had to believe that.
It was difficult, incredibly difficult, to pretend being tied up as his wife loomed over him the same as the Elizabeth from before was different . But it had been different. Elizabeth had cherished him, had loved him as she brought both of them pleasure like never before. She hadn't said hurtful things as she teased him salaciously. She'd praised him and practically worshipped him completely to the point when their ends finally came together, he had been brought to tears once more. She had been shocked and even worried that she'd done something wrong as she'd freed him from his binds and cradled him against her bosom.
He could not tell her why his tears fell. The salty rivers she had never seen before being present because of her love and care and devotion for him that, for all good reason, should not be. But he'd held her tightly and silently cried, fruitlessly trying to will them away, because her feelings for him do exist and are true. Elizabeth had carefully brushed the trails away from his cheeks and chalked them up to something she had heard when he wouldn't explain, saying that sometimes men can share in the emotional turmoil women go through during their pregnancy. The goddess felt like they were closer for it.
He had simply agreed holding onto his vow to never let her in on the suffering he tries and mostly keeps locked away.
Meliodas sighs and shakes his head, striding away from the sounds emanating from his brother's chamber, deciding to let him have his fun. He has another brother to go after who doesn't have such an excuse to hide behind after all. Only, after several steps down the mutely lit hall, something causes the hairs along his neck to stand on end, a keen prickling under his skin scraping at his senses. The door to his brother's sitting room, now Zaneta's, holds two energies.
Estarossa is closer than he'd assumed.
"What the fuck is he doing in there?" The words come out of his mouth like a quiet build up to the calm before. His hand encircles the ornate doorknob, twisting to gain entry without pause. The grandeur of the room manages to encompass the essence of his growing niece in dainty yet simple elegance. And yet it doesn't feel overdone with useless objects thrown here and there to show off status. The rocking chair in the corner, the warm rug that swallows up nearly the entirety of the stone flooring, the toys strewn about over the chest of drawers, spilling from the box where they should reside, and the softly tinkling mobile turning over the crib all bring a quaint feel to the room.
It's too bad that feeling is torn away, swapped with something oily and unpleasant as he spies Estarossa's hand in the crib across the room, back away from him.
"What do you think you're doing in here?" Meliodas asks in a rumbling tone practically feeling his anger pulling in tightly along his limbs, a storm about to strike.
Estarossa straightens up after a moment, then turns to face him after a beat. The taller's face is a mask of careless lines only making the outrage twist Meliodas' stomach cruelly. "I was merely checking on the little one. I payed a visit to Gelda yesterday after the, eh, incident. And I just wished to make sure this one was fine as well."
They hold gazes for several moments, Meliodas gauging the truth in his brother's words in any unnecessary shifts or wavering of eyes. But of course Estarossa is too skilled to give himself away so easily. So the King walks around him to the crib where Zaneta stares up with bright blue eyes, all smiles as her feet kick and are occasionally grabbed by tiny hands. The thought to pick her up and carry her in the crook of his arm isn't a conscious one. The little girl squeals quietly with flailing arms as he subconsciously checks her energy over, sensing those four little hearts… Only easing in his tense stance when she seems absolutely fine.
Still he gives Estarossa a cool look over his shoulder, the cogs in his mind working relentlessly to put a true reason to his brother's presence. Not once has the younger shown an interest in Zaneta. In fact it was quite clear that he despised both Meliodas' and Zeldris' choice in mates. So what could be his game? "You've never cared before. Why start now, hmm? Care to enlighten me?" Meliodas grins a bit on the menacing side as his hand slides up the girl's back soothingly.
Estarossa's stance becomes perfectly straight as if carefully choosing his move in the deadly game they play. His blasé grin doesn't give under Meliodas' unwavering stare. "As I said before, brother, I simply wished to check on her after the encounter with the vampires yesterday. She seems perfectly well however. A spitting image of the happy couple copulating in the next room." The mockery in his tone isn't missed and Meliodas' fingers twitch, a spark ready to set off the devastation just waiting beneath his skin. "I shall take my leave now, my King."
Meliodas listens to the casual steps trailing out of the room until he and Zaneta are alone. His eyes fall down to her then as a breath holding all of his tension leaves him. The little girl notices none of this as she blinks happily and proceeds to raise a hand to grip the strands of hair near her face and yank without a care. A pained groan bounces around in his throat and he tries and fails not to wince. Why does he put himself through this madness?
Elizabeth likes to tease him about the excitement he shows in his visits with his niece, saying he's a thrum of restless nerves waiting for the birth of their little one. It's true however. when he's not spending sleepless nights wondering if she's going to vanish on him one day, he wonders how he's going to handle their own child. Of course he wants to raise them to be strong, relentless, and never back down from opposition. But what about all the gentle crap that comes with these things too? Elizabeth will be a big help with that, but what about him? He doesn't want his child to fear him exactly. And yet he's going to have to find some balance between unyielding and encouraging. Kids are easy to break. He thinks of his brother Estarossa, the perfect example.
His scowl lacks heat as he stares down at Zaneta squeezing and pulling his blond locks, essentially entertaining herself as he cradles her. Eyes focused on her the frivolous thoughts begin to fade when a certain smell causes him pause. It's not the usual powdery baby scent he's used to. It's more of a… metallic scent?
The small door to the back suddenly opens allowing the heavy scents of sex to fill his nose. Meliodas locks eyes with Zeldris bare from the waist up and the ankles down. Zeldris' usual black look turns suspicious as he looks between Zaneta and Meliodas. "What are you doing in here?"
A sharp tug against his scalp and he answers with, "Going bald early."
Zeldris smirks and closes the distance with his arms stretched out. "You know, she's going to get confused between us one day."
Meliodas hands the girl over, extracting his hair from her little hand gratefully. The cut of his grin holds something the younger doesn't understand, until Meliodas points out matter of factly. "I doubt that. Every time she sees you she—"
The moment Zaneta's bright blue eyes land on Zeldris a squeal like never before, high in pitch, and only something a delighted baby can make, fills the room.
"—does that."
Even in the dim lighting from the sun's rays attempting to break through the curtains, it's obvious the way Zeldris' cheeks fill heavily with an embarrassed, yet pleased, flush. From the way he bounces the blissful baby in his arms, it's clear he adores her.
Meliodas is almost chagrined he has to break up the scene. But stone lines his resolve heavy and unmoving. Words fall from his mouth, low and on the verge of straying into dangerous waters. "I came to find out what could be keeping you from the meeting this morning and what I found was Estarossa leaning over the edge of Zaneta's crib."
The choked look that passes across Zeldris' eyes is fleetingly before a trembles of barely controlled rage threatens to send him out the door and after the grey haired demon takes its place. "Did he do anything?"
Meliodas is certain Zeldris is looking Zaneta over the same way the blond did before. "I don't know. He simply said he wished to check her after yesterday's incident with the vampires. Same as what he apparently did with Gelda yesterday." He responds clean cut as his mind again tries to analyze Estarossa's motives.
Zeldris has gone quiet. His eyes are the vicious kind of cold that gives nothing away while his jaw tenses every so often. His chest rises and falls evenly, his only way to keep in check. "He's planning something, I know it. He did something to Gelda, she won't tell me—"
Just then the mother in question rushes into the room barely covered in a robe, hair uncharacteristically cascading down her back as her blue eyes search around like a seeking device for the baby in Zeldris' arms. Once discovered, she extracts her without so much as a glance to the raven haired demon. Meliodas even wonders if she notices him she's so lost in her mothering mode as she begins to coo to the baby. The vampire quickly finds a seat in the rocking chair and with practiced ease her robe is pulled open and... Meliodas has never looked away so fast before in his life.
Clearing his throat with a wry grin he raises an eyebrow at Zeldris who crosses his arms tersely. Before the younger can announce their departure from the room for a more private talk, Gelda seems to take notice of them with a stuttered breath. "General, I mean, S-Sire! I did not notice you. I apologize."
He ignores the burn of Zeldris' warning look and turns to face Gelda again, inwardly relieved that she's mostly presentable. It makes it easier to grin wickedly into her cowering visage. "I don't mind you calling me General. You seem pretty attached to it."
She swallows and looks down, voicing a shaky. "Thank you."
"Gelda, Meliodas and I need to discuss something outside for a moment. There was a meeting I was to go to this morning and I missed it," Zeldris slides in impatiently already heading towards the exit.
But Gelda bites her lower lip in distress. "I made you late…"
Meliodas knows he's trampling on Zeldris' last nerve by putting their talk on hold for the moment, but he simply can't pass up the moment to tease the vampire as a dark light of mischief flickers in his eyes. "Oh I"m more than willing to let it slide. A good morning fuck only comes by every so often, right?"
The shades of pink the blossom across her face leaves him feeling accomplished as he paces past his brother whose eyes give away his wish to strangle the blond. "You just love to put her on edge, don't you?" Zeldris questions once they're safely outside of the room.
A dark chuckle bubbles past his lips briefly. "She must know I'm only teasing her of course."
A scornful noise is thrown harshly from Zeldris. "Yeah, only the way a bastard can."
"She's family. She'll get used to it." His eyes roll carelessly.
Zeldris' eyes harsh like the pull of oblivion suddenly settle on him and he feels the atmosphere shift like the change in air; the silent rage that appear like embers in the fronts of his eyes but rage like hellfire deep within is so recognizable to Meliodas, he instantly stiffens prepared for his lead Commandments' next words. "I have to go after him, brother. He's threatening my family."
Meliodas watches silently as violet seems to pulsate around Zeldris' hands, black flames crackling in and out of existence apparently without the other's notice. "Gelda is afraid of him." He laughs bitterly for a slow moment before baring his teeth in a snarl. "She's not even afraid of you."
The idea of such a thing is insulting, but clearly true from Zeldris' reaction. What could Estarossa do to make her fear him that she wouldn't expect from Meliodas? "Before you go heedlessly clashing swords you need to figure out what he could do to make her fear him that I apparently haven't. When you bring me solid evidence, I'll let you do as you please."
"But, Meliodas—" Zeldris hisses through clenched teeth.
Meliodas eyes are harsh and unyielding beneath the edge of his bangs. "That is an—"
"Your Highness!" The clanks of armor echoing against the stone headed in their direction force him to halt in his command and turn to face the oncoming guard, feeling just a few notches short of driving a wedge through the next person that says the wrong thing. "We received an important message for you at the gates. Said it had to be delivered to you immediately."
The rolled up parchment falls into his gloved palm a moment later and upon seeing the goddess seal closing it, his chest strains so tight he can't afford another breath. Quickly breaking the seal then unraveling it as the guard scurries off, most likely sensing the King's sudden change in mood, Meliodas begins reading with haste.
King Meliodas,
Elizabeth grudgingly admitted to being in pain this morning and while that can be normal, the amount plaguing her seems… worrying. We are in your home on Britannia. You should come swiftly.
—Margaret
Three sentences. Three sentences is all it takes to flip his world upside down, cause all the color to drain from his skin, and force his hearts to slow dangerously, then hastened until he becomes dizzy in panic. Three sentences and it's as if someone put a knife to his throat, cutting off his airways in a single slit. 32 words and he's dashing off, a fading black streak, forgetting to give the command that would hold Zeldris at bay.
By the way, if you want an actual detailed description on how the love making scene with Meliodas being tied up goes, go check out Lickitysplit's Forever Bound. She does an incredible job with it.