The thundering waves are calling me home to you
The pounding sea is calling me home to you
On a dark new year's night
On the west coast of Clare
I heard your voice singing
Your eyes danced the song
Your hands played the tune
T'was a vision before me.
We left the music behind and the dance carried on
As we stole away to the seashore
We smelt the brine, felt the wind in our hair
And with sadness you paused.
Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go
My world was not yours, your eyes told me so
Yet it was there I felt the crossroads of time
And I wondered why.
As we cast our gaze on the tumbling sea
A vision came o'er me
Of thundering hooves and beating wings
In clouds above.
As you turned to go I heard you call my name,
You were like a bird in a cage spreading its wings to fly
"The old ways are lost," you sang as you flew
And I wondered why.
The Old Ways: Loreena McKennitt (1991)
Part Seven: Ceremony
The morning of our nuptials dawned clear and crisp. The mountain air seemed to vibrate with the bells from the cathedral as they rang in celebration of the Voivode's marriage to me. I was awakened early by Alina, my maid, and dressed in the best finery as befitting the bride to the most powerful man in the surrounding area. My gown was of the finest silk, the palest of peach hemmed around with rich bronze shot through with gold thread and beautifully embroidered with some of the prettiest of the country's native wildflowers. Upon my head was a fall of lace so fine it seemed to be spun of spider silk, and so intricate it floated behind me as I ran toward the arched doorway, and the coach that would take me to my Prince.
The actual Handfasting ceremony was to take place that evening at the Castle, before a small crowd of Vlad's friends and family. I had not the chance to meet many of his circle, as we had spent many of our days getting acquainted with one another, but I would meet many this night. The ritual in the village church was one of Pomp and Ceremony for the sake of the public. After the monstrously boring speeches made by differing Voivodes and other vastly important people we must attempt to impress, Vladislav and I were finally able to make our way slowly back home…home…I smiled broadly when I thought that. My home now, as well as his.
Finally, I'm home.
Evidently he had been watching me, because he asked in an amused tone what I was smiling at. So, I told him. He sobered and had a…strange and sad look on his face, and pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
"Soţia mea iubita(5)"he whispered into my ear. "You will always have a home in my heart…"
A swelling in my chest had me choking back tears as I literally launched myself into his arms. Our lips met in a fiery, cataclysmic showdown where only the truest of lovers could hope to survive. Pulling me onto his lap, he cupped my cheeks in his elegant hands and held my head still so he could sip, soothe…take and devour.
Hot, urgent sounds escaped me and, of their own volition, my hands fisted in the soft lawn of his shirt for an instant before grappling with the unfamiliar fastenings, so focused was I in my monumental task that I didn't take heed of his actions, so it came as a surprise when I felt an instant's rush of cool air caress my bared breasts before the scalding heat of his mouth claimed the rosy peaks.
I threw my head back and cried out in relief at the feel of the sweet suction, the lave of his tongue on my flesh. Threading my fingers through his silken hair, I held fast to my anchor…my rock in a world sent topsy-turvy into a sea of ever deepening desire. He rocked me gently against the hardness swelling between solidly muscled thighs…and I nearly swooned with the pleasure swamping my system. Sliding a sure hand up under my skirt, he quickly found what he sought…nirvana.
He held liquid fire in his arms. She was his…at last…at long last…his. The enormity of it all should have frightened him…should have terrified him beyond all reason. Instead it humbled him, and gave him hope for the future, for their future. As he touched her core, he watched her face, reveling in the intense pleasure he saw mirrored there. His eyes held hers…held and wouldn't let go. See me…they told her…watch what you do to me, watch me fall apart in your arms, love.
Gently, he stroked her center, then entered her one finger at a time, until she could take no more of him. Hristoase, e atat de mica (6)…he thought…amazed she could take him at all. He curled his fingers and began slow, gentle circles while he lightly nipped and tongued the side of her neck. Her gasps were replaced quickly by small cries of ecstasy and joy. She began to roll her hips in a dance even older than time and soon was begging, nay, pleading for release.
He drew his fingers from her, wet and slick, and knew she would take him easily. Opening the flap of his leggings, he centered her and with one thrust, impaled her onto his throbbing shaft. She let out a keening wail and began using her hips to ride him, using the swaying of the coach as impetus for her movements.
Feeling himself caressed by the entire length of her satiny sheath, Vlad hissed out a breath and clenched his teeth in violent pleasure. She heard him and answered the primal call of her lifemate, smiling at his gratification and, wanting to heighten the power she felt surging within her, bent forward and ran her tongue along his throat and behind his ear before capturing his lobe with her teeth for a light nip. His shudder of bliss was an incredible aphrodisiac, so she did it again, only this time her nip held bite. He growled low and wrested control from her easily, and surging forward, he tossed her easily onto the opposite seat and thrust deep…hips hammering into her sweet heat over and over, until his name was a mantra on her silken lips. Watching intently, he was acutely aware of the very moment her eyes lost their focus and she snapped taut in his grasp…before a joyous cry burst forth and she exploded in his arms inviting him to follow her to paradise.
5. My beloved wife
6. Christ, she is so small…
Part Eight: Revenge
We made love three more times in the dark, lush confines of the carriage. The third time, Vlad sat me on the opposite seat, skirt pushed up as high as it would go. He knelt on the swaying floor in front of me, lips ghosting over my flesh, reaching my breasts and stopping to suckle the hardened tips. I threw back my head and let out a sensual moan, to which he hummed in satisfaction.
Letting go, he continued to move, his mouth following the opened tunic of my gown, pressing adoring kisses until he reached my naval, where he plunged his tongue in and out…in an imitation of the glorious act of physical oneness we would share for a lifetime. Unconsciously I spread myself open as wide as possible and thrust my hands into his silky black mane of hair…pulling him as close as humanly possible. I could not tell you how his touch made me feel…how I longed, nay burned to be filled with him.
Yet, even when we were joined, as intimate and complete as God had intended, I felt that there was something…more. Something else that needed to be done which would entwine our souls to forever be as one, a bond unbreakable even following death.
Now, when all I felt was the scorching heat of his mouth moving toward its intended goal, I just allowed myself to be swept away in the tide of trust, passion and lust that accompanied it.
He paused and I opened my eyes, heavy now with arousal and need, and watched in fascination as he gently drew my knees further apart and set my feet on the two footstools to the left and right of where he knelt. I felt very vulnerable and exposed, neither emotion being comfortable at all. He looked up and read my face…then, giving me a gentle reassuring kiss, he again pressed my trembling knees apart…then stared down at what he'd uncovered. I could feel a blush rise to the surface of my skin, but before I could mutter a single protest, his finger lightly skimmed the down of my mound…and all rational thought vanished in to the back of my fevered mind.
He touched me as though I were the most delicate of china…stroking my dewy petals with one gentle finger…up…down…before tapping the rapidly swelling button primly hiding beneath the folds. I gasped aloud and my hips surged up at the bolt of pleasure that raced through my body. His lips curled back in a grimace that bespoke of his iron-clad control. Swiftly, he pulled my feet up over his shoulders, spreading me even wider to his hot gaze. Whimpering now, I half reclined on the seat cushions and opened for him, knowing he only sought my pleasure. Knowledgeable digits slid into my crease to tease without mercy…to tempt without pity.
He settled into a slow, deep rhythm watching as his fingers disappeared within her quivering flesh, then re-appeared seconds later with her fragrant juices filling his nostrils until his head overflowed. Her legs were spread wide for him, her head thrown back, her mouth issuing husky moans of longing and desire. He curled up his middle digit and hit just the right spot…and had her doubling over in pleasure.
"Vlad!" his name sounded like pure sin on her lips just now. With care and precision, he used his finger to rub in gentle circles until she was all but incoherent, babbling and calling his name as her hips danced in time with his touch. He settled his mouth over hers just as she came apart.
He allowed her to settle after the high, but was soon back…stoking the fire he knew would always be theirs. When she was mindless once again, he bent…and fastened his mouth on her.
She froze in shock.
He could not, nay…he could not mean to…ah, god…yes, dear heaven there…more, harder…
He smirked as he felt her hands fist in his hair and yank him into her. With the greatest of pleasure, my love, he thought to himself, and applied his mouth in the sweetest of suction. Her entire being snapped tight, and she gave out little cries of uh…uh…uh…that he found quite erotic coming from that sweetly innocent mouth. Her hips, undulating now, coaxed him into finishing quickly and sinking himself into her moist channel. He pulled the little nubbin out from its hiding place and tongued it, loving the sweet/salty taste of her. Then, without warning, he drew it in his mouth and sucked HARD …causing her to scream in pleasure and convulse in his arms as she shattered into a thousand pieces.
Unbeknownst to us, a familiar figure drove the carriage that evening while we gained a glimpse of paradise in the arms of one another. Unfortunately, this…person…was not a friend. We would not find out until we reached the castle that our dear coachman, and friend to the family for years, was lying in the graveyard just outside the church where Vlad and I were married that afternoon.
His throat had been bitten savagely and his body drained of its blood. Upon hearing this, I was instantly transported back to the night I was attacked by the creature. Was it still after me? I could not believe I never told Vlad about it!
However, to tell Vlad I would have to uncover the man who'd rescued me. The one who'd brought me to the castle and…and… That night, did we…? Here, something in my mind threw up a brick wall, and I could not penetrate it without suffering severe head pains. It had something to do with my having no maidenhead when he took me in the carriage.
It was but a dream…that voice, it sounds so familiar.
She almost guessed…he cursed his impatience in the same breath as he praised his wife…her intelligence was equal to his own, and she was filled with strong magick. But he had the feeling that his sweet-tempered wife would not be so understanding if she found out about his seduction the night he had rescued her from the werewolf attack. Vladislav was filled with pride that was tempered with worry when his coachman was found with injuries that could only have been sustained through a direct attack from Dragos' kin. He should have known that they would have guessed who was responsible for his death.
Taking slow, even breaths, placing his body into a deep trance, he sent his consciousness winging through the night sky searching for
the Head of the Lixandroiu family. As head, Lucian was bound by unspoken law to avenge the death of his first-born, or risk being seen as weak by his people. To be seen thusly, would bring great dishonor to his family, and leave the entire region in danger of being overthrown and in the hands of one of the nearby warlords. He was met with success and probed gently when he finally made contact with the elderly gentleman's mind.
With shock, he felt the complete innocence and lack of guile right away, so he concentrated harder to better focus the connection. The old man was arguing with his next-born against the kidnapping and murder of Evangeline!
With a low, feral growl, Vladislav felt his canines burst forth from his gum line as the adrenaline rushed through his veins at the mere thought of danger for his mate. Come, and you will face me…you will get more than you bargained for. She is mine…and I will not allow you to harm a hair on her precious head…