I said this chapter was my favourite, and I meant that. Once you've read it though, you might think differently of me for that ;) Just a warning that this chapter is a little on the racy side. I've never written anything like this before, so I don't know if it's too much or too little for the story and the characters (but let's face it, Athos isn't really going to be the Fifty Shades type is he? I think he'd just be pleased to get action in any form). This is how it happened inside my head though, so I tried to keep to that as closely as I could. I think it certainly suits Amorette. Athos; I'm not so sure on! You can let me know what you think!
In this chapter, we finally have the explanation in a way, of why Fabien was in this story at all. I'm sure Amorette running off to marry him did irritate some of you who wanted Amorette and Athos together a little sooner, but there's a bit of speech in this chapter that was the first thing I thought of when I began this story. That was why I invented Fabien.
I only own Amorette.
"Athos!" Amorette sobbed as she felt the lump on the side of his head again.
With a dragging sound and a sickening thump the set of drawers and door gave way to Porthos' Strength. Once through the door he pushed the set of drawers back the way they had come and stepped into the room. He strained his eyes against the near-darkness, turning in the direction of Amorette's sobs. She glanced up as Aramis and D'artagnan followed, a worried frown encasing all of their features for a few seconds until from below a gruff voice groggily said, "Stop being so dramatic."
Amorette's head shot down to stare at Athos who lifted a hand gingerly to the side of his head. He sat up with a groan and ignored Amorette's attempts to push him back down. He didn't protest though when she helped him move backwards a little to lean his back against the bottom of the couch.
"Someone should fetch a doctor," Amorette called to the room as D'artagnan lit a few candles.
Porthos chuckled lightly. "Yeah, good luck with that one!" he said as he nodded towards Athos.
"I'm fine," Athos muttered. "Aramis can examine me if he so wishes but there's no need for a doctor. If we called for one every time one of us hit our heads we would need one in permanent residence at the garrison. He raised a hand then to wipe away some of Amorette's still falling tears. "Are you alright?" He asked her.
Amorette stared at him incredulously. "You were the one who took a knock to the head!"
"I meant about that," he said with a reserved nod towards the other end of the room.
Amorette's shot had hit Gaspard in the chest, killing him almost instantly. He lay upon her rug in a pool of his own blood. Amorette couldn't bring herself to look at him any longer than to ascertain yet again that he was very much dead. "He would have killed us both," she muttered only loud enough for Athos to hear. Aramis retrieved a sheet and placed it over the corpse as they all watched.
"You don't have to justify your actions to me," Athos replied.
Amorette shook her head as she started to cry again. She hit him lightly on the chest. "Why did you come bursting in like that Athos? You're lucky he only knocked you on the head! He could have shot you as soon as he set eyes on you! Why would you be so foolish?"
Athos sighed heavily as he tugged at Amorette's ostentatious pink skirts until he was able to drag her onto his lap. "Most likely for the same reason that you stepped between me and him just now! That could have been called foolish too! Perhaps we will simply have to look upon those actions differently."
Amorette felt her jaw dropping as his cobalt blue eyes bore into hers, as bright as a pair of sparkling sapphires despite the knock to the head. Was he saying what she thought he was saying; without actually saying the words? She felt his hand resting gently at her waist and let him pull her into his chest. In that moment Amorette didn't care who saw; she leaned in as he captured her mouth with his in a passionate kiss.
When they finally broke away for air, Amorette didn't even need to turn around to know that all eyes were upon them in that moment. She felt her cheeks heat at the silence throughout the room and scrambled away from Athos back onto the floor where she had been sitting a few moments ago. No one else seemed to share her trepidation though; they were all grinning rather mischievously.
Little over an hour later, Amorette had changed into a more demure dress and was standing on her tiptoes in the doorway of the tavern where she knew the musketeers often drank. It was still busy despite the lateness of the evening and Amorette afforded that to the Bastille breakout. Everyone had congregated here to wait for more news, although there wasn't likely to be any until morning. The city gates had been closed and any prisoners still within the city would have likely one to ground for fear of being caught by one of the many patrols. Treville seemed to have shared that opinion for he had ordered that his four best men take leave of their duties to rest until morning.
Amorette caught sight of D'artagnan as he approached the bar and began to push through the crowd to meet him. "How is he?" she yelled to the younger musketeer above the din and he didn't need to ask her meaning.
D'artagnan smirked. "You know Athos! He wouldn't tell a soul if he were at death's door; but on the whole of it he seems fine. I'd say it's nothing a few more glasses of wine won't fix."
He paid the proprietor, lifted the two bottles of wine presented to him and led Amorette further into the tavern, towards the back wall where his three friends were sat. D'artagnan ignored his earlier seat beside Athos and took another empty chair at the other side of the table. Amorette hesitantly slid onto the bench beside Athos and glanced at him warily. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.
Her hand came to rest on his upper arm and as Athos turned his body towards her, his hand found her waist. It was a very affectionate display for both of them, but it seemed that every part of their private lives was oozing into the public domain in times of strife or worry. "I feel fine," he muttered. "I barely felt any pain at all."
Amorette raised incredulous eyebrows at him. "Athos there is a great big lump on the side of your head! I felt it myself!"
Even as Athos' hand came up to gently touch the affected area of his head he shook it gently at her. "Aramis says there's no lasting damage! As I said to you, we've all taken knocks to the head before, most of them with the butt of a musket or two. In fact, the boy didn't swing his weapon with a great deal of strength."
"It was enough to render you out cold!"
Aramis let out a light chuckle. "Madam, he will have a headache for a few days but that's about the sum of it. It's nothing new to him after all," the marksman said with a nod to Athos' near empty bottle of wine on the table before him.
Sensing herself outnumbered, Amorette gave up her protests and let herself slide along the bench a little more until she could feel Athos' outstretched arm snake its way around the small of her back. He was talking to Porthos now, but Amorette thought she caught him turning to glance at her every so often. She sat in silence as all four of them conversed, but she heard very little of the conversation. Amorette's mind was so far removed from the room that they could have called her by name and she would not have known.
It was remarkable, how the simplest of actions had changed everything within her mind. Her thoughts were not what they had been earlier that day at all and Amorette knew she would never think that way again. Athos had once again proven himself not only as a musketeer and as her friend, but as the man she loved who might just love her in return; even if he had not been able to bring himself to say the words to her earlier. He might have died when he had burst into her room like that alone and Amorette couldn't for the life of her think why his friends would have agreed to such a plan. Surely they must have known the danger it entailed; but then again Amorette had been on the wrong side of a temperamental Athos more than once. She knew he was not a man to be argued with once his guard was up.
She leaned into his space ever so slowly and let her hand fall gently to his inside leg. Athos head snapped around towards her so quickly that Amorette was sure the others would have noticed her action but it appeared the table had concealed it. She let her gaze wander back to Athos', which was now trained on her. In that split second Amorette knew how the night would end. There was a tension so thick between them that Amorette couldn't look away from his eyes even if the world were crumbling away around them. He knew that it was in the air too, for he inconspicuously let his hand fall on top of Amorette's where it lay and squeezed in mutual agreement.
The motion had Amorette sucking in in an audible breath and a few seconds later Athos did the same. Amorette tried to religiously school her features back to something resembling simple curiosity for the benefit of the others around the table. She pulled her hand away from his, sure that if he held it any longer, neither of them could be held responsible for their actions. It was going to happen; tonight.
"I still don't understand why you burst in alone like that," Amorette spoke in an attempt to return to normality. "How did you even know to come to me?"
"I think we'd have been hard pushed to get him to go anywhere else!" Chuckled Porthos.
"One of us would have been needed at the Palace eventually," agreed Aramis.
Athos sighed heavily as he lifted his glass and took a large gulp of wine before eventually explaining his earlier thought process. "When Porthos brought the news that there had been a break out of the Bastille, I knew I should warn you. There was the slim chance that Gaspard might have been amongst the men who escaped. Although I did not seriously consider that he would head for the Palace. You should have locked your door though. I tell you that often enough."
Amorette sighed heavily as he finally turned back to her to throw an admonishing look her way. Whilst it was true that she did often leave her door unlocked in case he should come to her late at night, it had not been the case that evening. "I did lock my door! That's just it," Amorette announced as all four men suddenly grew much more interested. "Gaspard came into my room the same way you did Athos! He knew about the passageway that links mine and the Queen's rooms. That's how he got into the Louvre. The Queen herself, Henry Fitzgerald, Treville and all of us currently seated at this table are the only ones who know about that passageway, so someone had to tell the boy. This is what I'm worrying over; he said that the breakout was caused and led by a man who spoke English in an odd accent."
"How did a boy like Gaspard even know it was English that he spoke?" queried D'artagnan.
Amorette shrugged. "Perhaps it was only a few words that he recognised but all of that points to Henry Fitzgerald. Why though would one of my oldest friends plan a mass breakout of the Bastille to coincide with Gaspard's riots and send him to kill me? It makes no sense!"
Athos' troubled expression told Amorette that she wasn't going to like what he said next, but she would have to hear and consider it thoroughly. Her bridges with Henry Fitzgerald were now well and truly burnt and Amorette needed to stop defending the man who had more than likely tried to have her killed.
"How do you know the break out and Gaspard were connected?" Athos asked then in a slight change of tack.
"Gaspard told me so himself," Amorette replied.
"We have no proof that it was your Scottish friend," mumbled D'artagnan. "But the fact remains, he's the only one with knowledge of that passageway who would pass it on to another."
Aramis gently scratched his chin through his beard. "We are overthinking this. So, the riots and the breakout are linked? There are Spanish and English prisoners in the Bastille who could wreak havoc in France and their own countries if freed. If Henry Fitzgerald is involved, it doesn't necessarily mean that he intended Gaspard to kill you Madam. Perhaps the boy was given some other task? They would need money to get themselves far from Paris and the Queen's jewels would make a fair amount if pawned. Perhaps that was Henry's intention and Gaspard took other matters into his hands?"
Amorette smiled gently at Aramis. "I appreciate you saying that Aramis even if you don't believe it yourself. Henry's been a loose cannon for a while now. I must come to terms with the fact that he's not the person I once knew. I think it's time I stopped putting so much faith and belief in those who do me wrong. Perhaps I should think the worst and prepare myself. If we discover that Henry had nothing at all to do with any of this, it will be a welcome surprise."
"Doesn't seem likely that will be the outcome though Madam," mused Porthos.
"I know," Amorette said wistfully. She felt Athos' touch at the small of her back again. Suddenly eager to change the subject, Amorette asked, "How many men did escape the Bastille?"
"Five, not including Gaspard," said Athos. "We are still unsure as to how it all actually took place, but we are lucky that it was not more. It does seem to have been orchestrated as somewhat of a distraction. They wanted all militia brigades engaged in the business of the breakout, and a lot of men did leave their posts at the Louvre. That's why The King and Queen were moved to the other side of the Palace. The patrol should have alerted you also!"
Amorette shook off his concern. "I feel asleep. Even if someone had knocked upon my door, I doubt I'd have heard anything. They probably thought my rooms were empty. As I said, my door was locked anyway."
Athos nodded slowly. "As Aramis said, those escaped prisoners will likely have gone to ground now that the city is on lockdown. They'll more than likely hide themselves away for a few days until the city returns to normality. The Governor will demand that the city gates be opened tomorrow, so for now there's nothing for us to do. Treville wants us alert and ready to stop them leaving the city should they try to do so tomorrow."
"So, you all immediately came here to drink?" cried Amorette.
"I had to finish a card game," exclaimed Porthos.
He earned a laugh from all around the table as Aramis moved towards the bar with the intention of ordering yet more wine. It was a short while later that D'artagnan left to return to Constance and Porthos wandered over to another table to begin another game of cards. Within a short while, they had lost sight of him within the throng of people. Only when yet another bottle of wine had been drained did they begin to think of turning in soon.
"We should leave soon if we do not wish to risk the ire of Treville in the morning, and you can't walk home alone after that knock to the head Athos," mused Aramis as neither he nor Athos made any attempt to get up.
Strangely, Amorette was reluctant to leave the relative safety and comfort of Athos' side. "Aramis if you wish to leave, then go. I can see Athos gets home well enough."
Athos snorted. "Aramis, weren't you the one who confirmed that there's no lasting damage to my head?"
"There wasn't before you drank the guts of a casket of wine!" jeered the marksman. "And Madam, if you walk him home, then who shall walk you back to the palace afterwards? I'll stay."
Amorette said no more on the subject as the two men began to think of finishing the contents of their wine glasses. She had no intention of returning to her own rooms within the Palace that night, not least because only a few hours ago, she had killed her attacker there and his blood likely still stained the rug of her parlour. Just the thought of entering the room again so soon made Amorette feel nauseous. There was also the matter of wanting to remain in the company of Athos. She didn't know how well received it would be amongst his friends, but it seemed Athos was certainly open to having some company for once.
When they finally did venture out into the dark streets again, it was to find the rain pelting down almost in sheets. The three of them ran against the rain in the general direction of the Rue du Bac, only stopping when they reached the shelter of an alleyway a little way away from the garrison. Amorette didn't quite know why they had stopped there at all as the other end of the alleyway led out into a courtyard overlooked by some apartments.
Aramis nodded once at Athos. "Think you can find your own way from here with that sore head of yours? Come Madam, I'll fetch you back the Louvre."
Amorette didn't move. One hand held tightly in Athos' she used the other to try and brush away her wet hair that was plastered to her face. "Don't be ridiculous Aramis," called Athos gruffly. "She's soaked through. You both are! There's no sense in you both turning into drowned rats trying to cross the river in this rain! She can wait with me until the weather dies down a little."
With a light tug on her hand Athos propelled Amorette further up the alleyway. She didn't miss the glance that passed between Athos and Aramis though. It was a strange look that told her Aramis knew exactly what was about to take place. The marksman shrugged his shoulders in an appearance of nonchalance and tipped his hat to them both. "Very well. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he whispered as he tried for a smirk. It was the look that Aramis threw her own way that told Amorette what he was really thinking. If she were unhappy or unsure about staying with Athos, Aramis wouldn't hesitate to intervene. Amorette shook her head lightly at Aramis and offered him a gentle smile of reassurance.
Seeming satisfied, he tipped his hat to them once more and vanished back out into the rain. Still panting from the exertion of the run, Amorette broke into a gentle jog as she followed Athos across the deserted courtyard into a small hallway. It came to her then that Athos must have taken rooms here and moved out of the garrison. He led her up a staircase to the upper floors of the well-kept boarding house and unlocked the door of what was quite a large and well-furnished room. Immediately Athos moved to the fireplace to try and create some light and heat. Amorette turned to observe the large bed with crisp ivory sheets and deep red counterpane which matched the thick drapes at the window. Beneath the window were chairs and a small table; the surface of which was littered with parchment and reports. Amorette turned back towards Athos and the long couch there that separated them. Within minutes he had stoked the fire to a gentle heat and stood back to let it grow. He pulled off his own sopping wet hat and shook his hair sending droplets of rainwater scattering around him. Amorette pulled off her cloak and Athos took it to hang on a hook near the fire.
"I wasn't expecting this," she said aloud rather than inside her head as Athos handed her a towel for her own drenched hair.
The only response he made was a dry chuckle as he removed his doublet and kicked off his boots. Squeezing the water from her hair, it was a few moments before Amorette realised that Athos was gazing at her intently. She watched his eyes follow the path of a droplet of water made as it rolled from the base of her neck down her chest and into the hollow between her breasts. It was almost as if her skin burned under his scorching gaze. Athos had never before let himself look upon her in that why whilst she could see him. Now though, it seemed he was throwing cation to the winds.
"You should um…" he gestured silently to Amorette's sodden skirts and she nodded briskly.
"Will you help?" she asked brazenly before he could finish his sentence. Her breath caught in her chest suddenly as his eyes met hers, understanding flickering across his features. Wordlessly he slowly moved towards her and Amorette turned away as he reached her. Amorette's own hands were shaking from the cold and wet weather, the effects of a little too much wine and more than anything in anticipation of what was about to happen that night, but Athos' hands remained solid and steady as he tugged on the laces of her bodice until she was able to slip out of it and her skirts fell to a puddle at her feet. Stepping out of them she was now in only her corset and undergarments. She was very aware of the rise and fall of her large chest as her breathing quickened and deepened. Athos seemed to catch himself as he gazed at her and made to reach for something for Amorette to cover herself with. Amorette beat him to it though, catching hold of his arm just before he tore the counterpane from the bed. Turning him away from it she caught his face between her hands and pulled him down to meet her kiss.
His hands found her waist immediately and pulled her against him, the swell of her breasts pressing against his chest through his linen shirt. Amorette pushed against him further, rewarded with the softest of groans that he let slip into her mouth. She grinned into the kiss and felt him begin to step backwards, pulling her with him down onto the couch to sit astride him. Amorette didn't know how long it was that she kissed him for in that position. All that she really knew was him sitting beneath her, holding her against him with one hand behind her back, the other tentatively reaching down to stroke her thigh through her underskirt. Amorette let out her own groan as he shifted beneath her and he pulled away slightly, only to move back in again to nuzzle her neck. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back gently as his kisses grew hotter and more illicit. They tapered their war around her neck until his lips gently caressed the tops of her breasts. Something within Amorette snapped and she grabbed his face and kissed him roughly, a hand moving down to pull up his shirt. Athos pulled away slightly to dispose of his shirt and then his hands found the ribbons of her corset. He made quick work of them, the only hesitation coming when he placed his hands on either side of her corset to prise it apart and free her.
He drew away to gaze at her as they both panted heavily. "Amorette are you sure this is what you want?"
For a few seconds, she let him stare at her, the light of the fire illuminating their red and flushed cheeks. She smiled softly at him as she took one of his hands in hers. "Athos I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life." They continued to stare at each other, still panting heavily and Amorette felt the first beads of perspiration forming between her breasts. Still bound by her corset, she returned his hand to the boned stays and leaned closer to his ear. "Pull it…" she whispered.
Athos complied and yanked both sides of her corset apart until he was able to let go and it fell to the floor. Within seconds his mouth was upon hers again, hotly this time. One hand made short work of finding one of her breasts through her linen shift and Amorette pulled away from his kiss to let the side of her face rest against his, her mouth forming a soft O shape. Suddenly she felt his touch upon her bare leg as he batted away the material of the underskirt. Amorette gasped in surprise and placed her hands over his quickly to still his efforts. He looked at her questioningly as if waiting for her to tell him to stop.
Amorette had no intentions of telling him to stop, but there were things she needed to say before they went any further, things he needed to know. Even if this were the only night they ever shared together that way, she needed him to know. Amorette didn't care anymore how their relationship unfolded from here for she was finally seeing things as she ought to have done for a long time. "There is something I need to explain to you Athos," she whispered as she shifted her weight. "What I mean to say is that I have come to understand it all now. You see, for so long I had a very singular view of love. You know how I have always felt about you! I have loved you since I was a child and quite frankly, no one else ever came close for me. I thoroughly believed that everyone had one soul mate in the world, one person they should love until the end of time. For me you are that, and always have been. I know that my sister Ann was your great love and so I instantly questioned the first advances that you did make towards me. I thought you were perhaps confused, wanting to take your anger and loss over my sister out on me. I thought you would throw me away like a discarded toy after a while. Perhaps you would have even seen her in me; that part frightened me. I don't want to be like my sister, and I know I'm not.
"I am independent and strong-willed, but through my own volition. I was not so because I saw those traits in her and admired them. That was a part of me before I ever knew her. It has taken time though for me to see that. You see, if I had not married, I would not be sitting here with you like this. I didn't think you could truly care for me as I wanted you to, so I eventually thought that to marry and take myself away from you was the best course of action. Of course, I only considered that because I met Fabien and liked the man. I realise now that I had no understanding of love at all. I thought all of those simpering Mademoiselles at court who were in love with five suitors at any one time were losing their minds. I did not think it possible to love more than one person, and perhaps I still don't.
"What I'm trying to say is that when I married Fabien I did come to love him. It was an entirely different kind of love to what I feel for you, but it was a kind of love all the same. Perhaps if he had lived on for many years then my feelings for you would have weakened, but we will never know. They lay dormant all those months though! So, I understand it now, that you once loved my sister and now you can also love me. I could not see that before Fabien, but he opened my eyes in so many ways. Your actions tonight only further proved all of this. I cannot dispute now that you do love me, and although it is a different love, it is a love all the same. It may not be a great love like the one you harboured for my sister and perhaps you always will harbour it; but that's alright.
"I see now that it doesn't have to be that way, that we can still be happy despite all of all of that other stuff. I think that's why I acted like a petulant child earlier today. All this new emotion was just being discovered in my mind, that you were finally mine and someone came along and showed the slightest bit of threat so I lost my composure. I may have been a little underhanded with Ninon and I got it into my head that she was here to ensnare you in some way."
Amorette took a deep breath and waited as Athos gazed into the fire. Slowly he turned to look back at her. "I appreciate your jealousy and protectiveness, but there's nothing to worry yourself over on that front. Ninon and I are strangers to one another. I bare the woman no ill and wish her well, but my feelings have resided entirely with you for quite some time now. I'm also sure that Ninon had many other matters besides me to return to Paris for."
Amorette snorted. "You overestimate her, and all women. Why could she not have simply returned for you, I know I did!"
Athos gazed at her quizzically. "I thought you returned on the Queen's business; and on some matter of Buckingham's?"
Amorette laughed. "No Athos. The Queen and I conducted our business via letters for two years. I had no need to come to Paris to pass her information. Buckingham was coming here, and I confess that I couldn't overlook the chance to see you again. I had the strangest feeling though when I did return, that I somehow belonged here this time around."
Athos nodded as he mulled over her words. "I suppose you may be right in some regard though. Ninon did come here last night to me. I told her in no uncertain terms that I no longer bore any interest for her in that regard."
Amorette sat up straight in shock, almost falling off Athos onto the floor. "She came here to proposition you?" Amorette cried indignantly as Athos took a better grip of her. He nodded slowly. "That officious cow…I was right then!"
Athos shook his head in annoyance. "She's been lonely and devoid of any company. It hasn't been an easy life for her these past few years."
"I suppose it hasn't," mused Amorette. "I do mean to apologise to her not for what I said, but how I said it. It was unfair of me to accuse her of wanting to usurp me."
Athos's face remained devoid of all emotion. "I told her last night that I was intending to continue my relationship with you, but she was persistent."
"Then why did she act so aloof with me earlier?" growled Amorette.
Athos shrugged. "Why are we talking of Ninon? Surely you are assured of my lack of interest in that party now?"
Amorette sighed heavily as she realised she was wasting valuable time talking of another woman who mattered very little to either of them in the grand scheme of things. "I know, I do know that now. Didn't you listen to a word I said before I mentioned Ninon?"
Athos smirked. "I heard every word! I also appreciated it all. I think I did not consider all those months ago, how hard it must have been for you to deal with the fact of my marriage to your sister when I was suddenly making advances towards you. I thought you were being foolish, but I comprehend it all now very clearly after what you just said."
Amorette let herself fall forward to rest her head against his chest and listened intently to his heart beating. He snaked his arms around her and for a time they sat in silent contemplation. Later, they would both know that one another was not contemplating the gravity of their relationship or anything so serious. No, there was still an elephant in the room that neither one of them could take their minds off. Eventually his lips found hers again in the orange glow of the fire, much as passionately as they had done before. Hands wandered freely as both minds dwelt only on capricious thoughts.
Eventually Athos stood with Amorette in his arms and fell back onto the bed. Still atop of him, Amorette knew it wouldn't be long before her linen shift was no more. Athos' hands fingered the hem of it perilously, but he seemed to be letting her make all of the decisions now. She guided his hands back to the hem when they strayed upwards and let him pull it off. She sat up slightly as for the first time he gazed upon her completely bare form. It was the most peculiar of stares. Lying on the bed, he looked upon her not with lust or merriment in anticipation if what was about to happen, but with something else entirely. He had not looked at her in such a way ever before and Amorette found herself almost quivering under such a gaze. She grabbed his hands and pulled him upright so that he was facing her and in the most brazen move she had ever made in her life, she planted his hands atop her breasts as she gazed intently into his eyes. As he lost himself in fondling and caressing, Amorette made quick work of his belt and threw it out of the way. It landed on the floor, the belt clattering against the wooden floorboards. The buttons of his breaches soon followed and when Athos realised what she was doing he fell back down to lie on the bed again, that same unreadable look upon his face.
Amorette shifted her wait a little so that she could remove his breaches. She had half expected him to make some kind of movement, but he lay with his arms slightly outstretched and flat against the mattress. He was leaving all of this to her.
When Amorette woke, there was a thin strip of early morning sunlight cutting through the drawn curtains. She lay on top of Athos, with her head resting on his bare chest. The only barrier was his linen shirt. Amorette vaguely remembered waking in the middle of the night to find herself lying in exactly the same position, minus the shirt. Feeling cold she had sat up in bed to retrieve her clothes. Athos had sat up behind her, plucked his shirt from where they had thrown it earlier and yanked it over her head before he pulled her down to lie on top of him with a possessive growl.
She lay there for what felt like an age, letting the hair of his chest tickle her cheek as she relished in the feeling of their bare legs entwined with one another. Every bit of her body ached not from pain, but from exertion and illicit touch. It also burned for more. Ever so gently, his chin moved and he planted a chaste kiss to her forehead.
Amorette grinned. "How's your head?"
"How's your cold?" came his gruff reply.
"Touché," she countered with a giggle as she gently swatted his chest. He brought his hand up to capture hers. "It's light. What time is the changing of the guard? No doubt I'll need to leave soon if I want to miss making a spectacle of myself."
With that Amorette groaned and attempted to sit up but Athos was quicker. Taking his chance as she hesitated to yawn, he grabbed her wrists in his own and rolled, earning an excited yelp from her as he came to lie on top of her with her hands pinned above her head. He glanced down at his shirt that she wore and smirked. "Somehow I don't think we'll be needing this!"
When the shirt had been pulled over her head, Amorette tried not to let her jaw drop as she stared at him. It was almost as if he had transformed overnight into an entirely different person. If he kept saying things like that, Amorette didn't know how she was going to control herself.
The evening before had been something that they had both needed. Athos had let her take charge, asking permission even just with a look for everything that he did. They had both been drunk and frustrated and had taken their needs of one another gratifyingly. The morning after though, was something else entirely. It was gentle. Caressing and loving. He had lain still on the bed the evening before and let Amorette straddle him. She had understood that action, as he had wanted her to feel wholly and completely comfortable and in control of the situation. Now that he knew she was though, it was his turn to take the lead.
Amorette had been kissed before, but never like the way Athos' lips burned across her own that morning. He also kissed her in other places that she had never been kissed before. He nipped and sucked at her breasts for such a length of time that he had her pining for him eventually. Then his hands ventured lower, gently prising apart her thighs to gently caress her white alabaster skin. Suddenly she felt him take her in his mouth and her eyes fluttered shut as she mewled loudly. Panting as if she had run around the perimeter of the whole city of Paris, when Athos finally came up for air he did not seem to plan on giving her respite. He kissed his way up the plain of her now too flat stomach towards her breasts, but suddenly he stilled. His hand gently traced the scar just below her ribs that he had completely missed in his intoxicated state the evening before.
He glanced up at her as she nibbled her lip, the longing look in his eyes slowly disappearing. "This was never just a flesh wound, was it? I've seen many scars in my time Amorette."
She sighed heavily as her head fell back to the pillow with a thump. She could still feel his eyes staring at her expectantly. "It happened and it's over with, it made no sense to make a big deal of the fact that someone stabbed me. Either way it healed and I'm fine."
"I wish you had made a big deal of it. I gave you such a hard time when you returned to Paris. I had no idea that you must still have been recovering from this."
"Athos I couldn't tell you even if I had wanted to-"
"Yes yes, I know," he interrupted. "You were in the employ of the Queen. I understand. The idea of you suffering alone is what does not sit well with me."
Amorette was silent before a wicked smirk graced her features. "If that's so," she whispered playfully, "Then why have you stopped?"
An hour later, she lay with his weight still upon her, gazing at the strip of sunlight. "Athos I really do need to go now."
With an irritated groan, he rolled off her onto the other side of the bed and Amorette sat up. "I should be going too," he mumbled. "Treville will want to see us soon no doubt."
"A little tip for you," giggled Amorette as she threw her shift over her head. "Blame the hungover mood on the blow to the head."
He laughed too as she reached for her dress which seemed to have dried of its own accord by the fire. He laced her clothing back up just tightly enough so that she could make her way home, but loose enough that she could get out of the dress herself when she returned to her rooms. His hands fell onto her shoulders when he had finished. "you're still having those dreams? You were talking in your sleep last night."
Amorette moved away from him, reluctant to have any sort of serious conversation. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"I'm not!" he exclaimed. "You sounded frightened. I was considering waking you."
Amorette turned to shake her head at him. "Please don't wake me if it happens again. I want to be able to get as far in the dream as I can. I still don't understand it."
"Tell me?" he questioned.
Amorette gave in as he approached and touched her upper arms gently. "It was the same as before, walking through early morning Paris towards the bridge, but this time I was moving faster, almost running. Is it wrong that I think it's trying to tell me something?"
Athos dropped his hands and looked away. "I was actually going to suggest that you see an apothecary about taking something to stop the dreams, so in a way I suppose it is wrong that you think it's telling you something. Every night I've been with you, you have a disturbed sleep, and you're barely eating. Now before you storm out, you know I am not the kind of man who makes bones about what women eat or how they look. I'm not going to force food down your throat but all I'm saying is that I'm worried about you."
Amorette took his hand and squeezed. "You expect me to fly off the handle, don't you?" He nodded stiffly, as if waiting for an avalanche of harsh words. "I appreciate that you worry Athos; but I want to get to the bottom of these dreams. I think the only way to do that is to let myself come to the conclusion of what I see in them, whatever that may be. I will go and fetch something to help me sleep but I will not take it every night. I think that's a fair compromise."
She watched him frown as he wondered why she was being so compliant and laughed at his vacant expression. "What's got into you Cometess; being all agreeable for once?" he asked.
"You, evidently!" she said with a wink as she reached for her cloak. She pulled it over her shoulders and turned up the collar, hoping she would appear inconspicuous.
"Here," Athos said as he reached for his own hat and placed it on her head and pulled the brim down to cover her face.
"Won't you need this?" Amorette asked of him as he fastened the clasp of her cloak.
"You can give it back later." With that he leaned down to kiss her again, the brim of his hat bashing against his head.
Try as she might, Amorette couldn't let go. She let him push her up against the wall as he began to nip and suck at the side of her neck. It was only as one knee attempted to prise apart her legs that she pushed her hands against his chest. "I really do need to go if we don't want all of Paris knowing about this just yet."
She kissed his cheek sweetly and unlocked the door to step put into the hallway and threw him one last smile as he ruffled his hair in frustration, and then she left him standing there.
Well, what did you think? The explanation for Fabien is finally here. I couldn't put it in earlier chapters because I didn't want to spoil the story, but without him it wouldn't have been entirely believable. Obviously Amorette was a complete virgin before she married Fabien, and I can't imagine the prudish woman that she was ever getting to a point when she would have been able to behave with Athos as she did in this chapter. Fabien was kind, sweet and romantic. He was the perfect practice in a way for Amorette, but practice sounds mean. She did come to care for Fabien and 'love' him somewhat. Perhaps it was because she knew that he loved her in return, but I think we all know her greatest love is Athos!
