Chapter 7

In the dead of the night the Lord Chancellor of France hurried throught the deserted vaults of the castle. He was accompanied by his personal guards and henchmen Pierre Bertrant and Fabrice Darntelle, who carried a torch to illuminate his master's path. The men came to a halt just in front of the Queen Mother's chambers. Her own guards, a heavily built older man and an insecure young lad, jumped to attention and varily eyed the nightly intruders. The older man's hand that was resting on his sword's knob visibly tensed.
"Stand at ease! You're dismissed, Fabrice and Pierre are going to take over your watch this night," Narcisse said firmly.
"My Lord, Her Grace quite expressly ordered us not to permit anyone access to her rooms tonight." stuttered the young fellow who seemed very upset by this situation.
"This I believe without any doubt. Anyhow, that certainly doesn't apply for her husband." The sharpness of his words did not allow any further protest. The two guards gave each other a questioning look but then they gave in to their Lord Chancellor's order. Narcisse pointed at one of the chambersticks that was enlightend by Fabrice and handed over to the Lord.
"I wish no disturbances."
His guards nodded in agreement and pushed the doors open for him.

With the candlestick in his hand, Stephane stepped into the darkened room to see his wife. The door softly closed behind him. He carefully traversed the room and came to a halt in front of her bed.
Catherine had curled up into a tight ball on her right side and was deeply asleep. Her red-blond hair was tied into a simple braid that had begun to loosen at the ends. He just stood there for a moment, absorbing the image of his sleeping wife. She wore a white nightdress with plenty of lace that nestled snuggly to her body. The blanket merely reached her waist which gently and oh so invitingly stood out under the sheet and his fingers tingled with the desire to tenderly caress these curves.
He put down the candlestick and carefully circled the bed.
Never before had he witnessed Catherine de' Medici being so relaxed, she almost seemed tame. Sleep had obviously softened her otherwise so tense features and every part of her body seemed soft, feminine and tremendously inviting. Her previous paleness had disappeared from her cheeks and her face had once again assumed a healthy, rosy complexion. Involuntarily a tender smile appeared on his lips.

He didn't know what kind of surprises this marriage would hold for him - but the possibilitiy of being able to enjoy a sight like this every evening from now on seemed like a sacrifice he was willing to make. This was a new, never experienced form of intimacy between them. He may have been on the receiving end of Catherine's devotion in the past but these where nothing more but stolen moments full of passion, desire, and despair. They might have physically satisfied him but still left him feeling empty and with a different kind of frustration.
They had fought for and against each other, declared themselves allies as well as enemies and were drawn to each other like two magnets quite as often as they have repelled each other. And now they had to find a way to heal the wounds they had inflicted on their own and each others souls. Not an easy task. Especially not in consideration of the fact that Catherine had already made efforts to boycott their marriage. However - without success – and he was going to take care of this now.

It was time to legitimize this marriage and to win the first battle in this war. More determined than ever before, Stephane stripped off his clothes and made himself comfortable in the bed right behind his sleeping bride. She didn't react to his presence even as the mattress sagged under his additional weight. Either the drug she had previously taken did contain some sort of sedative or she made use of a sleeping pill. All the better for him and his plan. The more addled her otherwise razor-sharp mind was, the simpler it would be for him to break through her barricades. To test his theory Narcisse let his fingers run over Catherine's arm. She still showed no reaction.

"Catherine," he muttered and his fingers affectionately glided from her shoulder to her waist while he moved closer to her to burry his nose into her hair that heavenly smelled of roses. His hands caressed her body as though of their own accord. They found their way over beloved and familiar tracks but also completely new ones, outlining an intimate map of soft hills and sweet valleys he would now have time to explore his whole life.
To his delight he felt a still half asleep Catherine press her bottom against his crotch. A hoarse groan escaped his throat and his growing erection impatiently poked against her lower back. There has never been any woman with such a glorious ass even thought he would never admit this to his wife. He clasped her midsection with one hand and drew her even closer. And while he breathed feathery kisses onto her nape, his fingers ran up to her breasts. Catherine started to stir and Stephane self-satisfied registered her arched back to offer him better access to her breasts. His mouth wandered down her neck and teasingly nibbled at her earlobe.
"Ma Belle, wake up."

Catherine muttered an indefinable tone and stretched her neck with catlike elegance to give his lips more room for his attack. Accepting this sweet offer, Stephane placed several more kisses along the nape of her neck. Meanwhile his hands slid down her hot little body and pushed her nightgown upwards. His fingers found her wet center and gently rubbed over her swollen clit. At his touch Catherine let out a hoarse moan and pressed her butt more firmly against his already painful erection. With a firm grip he rolled his wife on her back and positioned himself above her.

The fire that blazed from her now open eyes heightened his desire. His lips passionately found hers as he placed his erect penis between her legs.
"Catherine, I'll take you as my wife," Narcisse whispered and penetrated her with one single, violent push. "I will love you, respect and honor you all days of my life," he promised breathlessly as he slowly raised his pelvis only to re-enter her a second later.
"Oh God, be quiet," Catherine hissed but involuntarily shuddered as his fingers slid down her side with a gossamer touch. His attempt to continue his marriage promise was prevented as she pulled Stephane's head down to her and ferociously kissed him.

"You treacherous son of a bitch," she whispered against his mouth whereupon he gently nibbled on her lower lip. He could feel the soft vibration of her body that was exquisitly twitching under his so he bit down a little bit harder until she wildly reared up against him.
He braced himself and began slamming into her over and over until he forgot where he ended and she began. Her alluring body writhed underneath him and her squirming movements drove him to madness. Narcisse slipped a hand between them, stimulating and teasing Catherine until she began to twitch in ecstasy beneath him.
It was only now that he allowed himself to completely let go. About two minutes of powerful pounding was all he could take before he exploded and a wave of pleasure washed over him.

Stephane bonelessly slumped upon Catherine and buried his face in her neck. He covered her soft skin with numerous kisses while his heart pounded wildly against his chest. Laying completely still in this position he waited for his erratic pulse to slow down. He was gently drifting into sleep until his wife forcefully started to stir benreath him.
"Don't you dare falling asleep on top of me. As I've now attended to my duties as your new wife and you've had your fun you can just as well leave, Stephane." She tried to push her husband off her body once again. Getting frustrated, Narcisse gave in to her urging and rolled onto the cool sheet right beside Catherine.
"You have attended to your duties?", he asked in amusement, leaning on his elbowd to get a better look at his wife.
"Quite obviously," Catherine snorted, pointing at his naked body. Her reaction gave him a laugh.
"My dear wife, be glad that I am too relaxed to start a discussion with you about the general conditions of this brand new union. And now be so kind and let me sleep. I'm tired and we still have the rest of our lives for quarreling." To let her know that the last word was spoken, Narcisse pulled out the blanket from under their bodies and covered both of them with it.
"Oh no, what exactly do you think you're doing? Do you really think anything between us has changed by this? Get out of my bed! We may be married,however, this comes not even close to a real marriage for crying out loud," Catherine growled and furiously rose to kick away the blanket.

He mutely counted to three, then he rose. Before his spouse could put on a self-satisfied smile he took out the treacherous letter from the pocket of his coat, cornered her bed and angrily threw the document into Catherine's lap. Even in the dim room only brightened by candlelight he could see that nearly all color had vanished from her red cheeks. She swallowed hard upon seeing the evidence of her betrayal.

"I AM YOUR HUSBAND, CATHERINE! This matrimonial bond has been established by God and finally consumed a few minutes ago, despite the fact that you have spared no effort to prevent this. Is the idea of being married to me that terrible that you had to ask for an annulment from the Vatican with the help of the Medicis? Not to forget that you swallowed pills that could harm you just to keep your husband out of your bed. I actually planned on giving this marriage a fair chance, to give us a chance. I wanted not only to be your husband, but also a partner and confidant, Catherine. But if you want to be in wedlock the hard way, then don't let me stand in your way. And since you have already shown me that I can not trust you as early as in our wedding night, you will move to my chambers as of tomorrow. You may try to prove that you want to work on this marriage but for now I'd like to ask you to let me go to sleep." His last words sounded tired, almost resigned.

"How dare you talk to me like that? That's ... " Catherine did not come to finish her sentence as she was pushed back into her cushions by Stephane's weight like a flash of lightning.
"I said I want to sleep now," he growled menacingly, raising her hands over her head in a steel-hard grip. His lips were only a few millimeters away from hers and she could feel his hot breath on her face.
"Normally I do not manhandle my wives, but I swear to God if you don't shut up right now I will tie you to this bed and silence you with a gag!"
Catherine's eyes shot poisonous darts in his direction but Stephane calmly returned her look. Cautiously he let go of her arms, rose to blow out the candles and then made himself at home on the other side of the bed.
"I hate you," his wife murmured and for a millisecond he considered putting his threat into action, but then he reached for her hand in the darkness and placed a kiss upon it. Catherine only snorted.
"I love you too. Good night, my lovely wife."


So what do you think? Will Catherine give in or is Narcisse in for some more surprises?

I want to thank you for your ongoing support. It means a lot to me - I've never translated any of my stories and this kind of unnerves me. :-)