The rest of the morning went as planned. Sera found an engine that she could salvage for her ship. We made plans to move it and have it fitted. However, I couldn't stop thinking about what she had said for the rest of the day and I wondered when I would have the chance to be with her alone again.

The next day I headed to the castle as usual for my advising duties a few hours earlier. I thought that if I wasn't given an opportunity to see Sera that I would make one. I headed to the spare wing of the castle and asked a servant which room Sera was staying in for a nice sum of gold.

Of course, she was staying in one of the larger rooms and I assumed others were in the room with her. I knocked and one of the handmaidens from before answered. "Is your mistress in?" She looked at me a bit confused and said something to another woman in another language. Another young girl came to the door and just said, "Yes?"

I repeated my question again. She looked behind the door and yelled something in the same language and I heard Sera's voice yell back, but I was unable to understand her. Sera appeared at the door in a long, thin robe. It looked like they were in the process of braiding her hair.

"I need to speak with you. Privately," I said urgently.

"Can it not wait?"

"No, it can not."

She rolled her eyes and opened the door. She turned and said something to the young women in her room and they all left, looking at me strangely and whispering in their foreign tongue as they departed.

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, before taking off my coat. She had walked back over to a floor length mirror to salvage the braid.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Do you forgive me for what I said about you being nothing to me?"

"Is that really what you rushed down here for?" she looked a bit confused.

"Part of the reason. Now answer me."

"Why should I forgive you? You haven't said anything to lead me to believe otherwise," she said indignantly as she tied the braid off with a strand of leather.

I moved a little bit closer to her, "Well, I shall say something now then. You are not nothing, especially to me. I pushed you away, because I thought I might feel something for you and I didn't want to watch you grow old and die."

She didn't say anything, so I continued to speak as I moved closer still.

"I was trying to protect myself. Do you forgive me?" I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her from behind, hugging her to me.

"Yes, I forgive you, but…" I cut her off as she spoke by tilting her head and kissing her. Those were the only words I needed to hear to proceed. I moved in front of her and pressed her up against me as I backed her up to the wall.

I began untying the knot on her robe and opened it, revealing her naked form. My eyes drank in her naked flesh hungrily before I leaned forward to kiss her again.

"Reaver, people will know. We'll be late," she said in a breathless voice in between kisses. I unbuttoned my trousers and placed one of her hands on my hard length. "I don't care. I can't think straight when I think about you being unsatisfied for so long."

I picked her up by the waist, her back still pressed against the wall and stepped towards her. "I'm not going to share you, you know?" she said somewhat aggressively as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders for balance. I chuckled softly and gave her comment little thought as I kissed the curve of her neck.

My touches seemed to encourage her and she was able to entirely give herself to me. I lifted her on top of me, sliding myself into her quite easily. God, she was incredibly tight. She wasn't kidding about her celibacy.

She cried out sharply as I entered her fully and I shushed her quietly. I didn't want a guard to think someone was attacking her and burst in here though it would be quite a sight. To quieten herself she leaned her head against my neck and began varying between biting and sucking at my flesh.

One of her hands slid to the back of my head while the other one gripped on to my shoulder. I held onto her hips firmly as I thrust into her, using the wall for leverage. Realizing I couldn't touch her in this position, I let her feet touch the ground and turned her around, moving her robe so that I could enter her from behind.

She rested her face against the wall as I pounded into her hard and fast. One of my hands slipped forward to fondle her breasts and then move downward to her wetness. I slowed down my thrusting so I could focus on giving her body attention and she came much faster than I had anticipated.

I felt her pulse around my length and I began moving faster and harder again, each thrust causing a small gasp to escape her lips. I felt myself swell inside her and I heard her say hastily, "Not inside, not inside!" So I pulled myself out at the last second and covered her backside entirely.

We were both covered in a sheen of sweat. I hastily looked for something to wipe her backside with and settled on a rag that was next to a washbasin. I cleaned her off and straightened her robe. "There. I'll discard of this."

Her eyes widened as she looked at me. "Reaver, your neck." I looked in the mirror and saw the mark she was referring to. She had managed to leave a deep purple mark the size of a plum on the curve of my neck. "You were a bit overzealous there," I said smirking.

She looked radiant with her mussed hair and flushed skin. She said, "I'm sorry," as she leaned up to kiss me softly. "It's fine, love," I responded, "I'm just happy that we made up."

"Would you like to go somewhere today? We could just skip court altogether and spend the day together," I asked while I stroked her cheek and neck.

"It would be impolite for me to not attend and people would wonder if we were both missing."

"Let them wonder."

"But, I don't want people to think that I bought you or that you have seduced me like the countless other women before me."

"You worry too much. Although I think I am worth more than two million gold," I said sarcastically. She wasn't that amused. "Come with me somewhere," I repeated.

"We'll be able to spend plenty of time together once we set sail."

"Fine. I will wait," I bent down to kiss her once more. There was a knock at the door and she shoved me into a closet. It wasn't the first time something like this has occurred in my lifetime, but for some reason it bothered me a bit more this time.

I watched as she straightened her hair and tied the sash around her robe, closing it. "I'm coming," she said as she walked over to the door and opened it. In walked the king of Albion himself.

He greeted her and they exchanged pleasantries. I could tell now, more than before, that he was quite taken with her. I wondered if I made it that obvious when I was around her. Surely not.

The king had just asked if she was going to be attending court today when I gathered my thoughts. She said yes and then he asked, "Would you like to go somewhere this afternoon?" She smiled at him as she spoke, "Ah, yes. I believe you were going to give me a tour of the city. That would be lovely." I felt my face redden.

His eyes fell on my coat, which was still draped over a chair. "Oh, my apologies. Did you have company? Where is Reaver anyhow?" he asked. She looked at the coat too, "He was here earlier. I'll take him his coat when I head to court. I'm not sure where he went, but my guess is that he's still in the castle."

The king nodded, "Very well. I'll see you in an hour or so, my lady." He bent down to kiss her on the hand and then turned and took his leave. I waited a moment before coming out of the closet.

I peered down at her, "You like to play with fire, don't you? What was it you said about not sharing? I should leave a mark on your neck like you left on mine and then perhaps he will know you've been claimed."

She rested her hands on my chest and began buttoning my vest. "Claimed is an interesting choice of phrasing," she said.

I watched as her hands moved down to the lower buttons and arched an eyebrow, "Was my performance so lackluster that you had to make other plans before I even left the room?"

She looked up at me mischievously, "Now who is worrying too much. It is more of a courtesy than anything. As I said, we can spend more time together on the ship."

"But-," I started to say but I had things I wanted to show you in Albion, but stopped myself after realizing how much that statement sounded like pouting.

"I will take my leave, before your servants return," I said instead and I grabbed my overcoat from the chair. I shrugged the sleeves over my arms and went to leave, but this time she stopped me.

"Reaver?" she said quietly as I turned towards her.

"Yes?"

"I would like a better goodbye then that." I was in the mood to tell her to shove it, but decided better of it. "And I'm tired of all this hand kissing business," she added.

"As you wish," I sighed. I leaned over and kissed her a bit roughly. I still felt annoyed and this show of affection made my mood worse.

She looked up at me as I straightened myself, "Would it make you feel better if I stopped by Millfields after seeing the king this afternoon?"

I scoffed, "Hm, so… the king will get you started and then I'll finish you off, is that it? No, I don't think that will make me feel better."

She narrowed her eyes. "I wouldn't be visiting you for sex."

I opened the door, "Then why bother?"