Starlight at Eventide
Chapter 9Aragorn would not take 'you are much too generous, my lord' nor 'I couldn't possibly' for an answer.
Estella had brought a satchel with blankets and a bit of food and drink in the event the evening went as she had hoped. It was, perhaps, wishful thinking, but she had wanted to be ready if her husband felt inclined to slip off into the starlit fields with her. Arwen was apparently quite confident of their success and had arranged to give the couple the use of the special sleeping coach the King had designed for her. Estella had not felt she had even the option of refusing, but when she stepped inside the luxurious little cabin and saw the expanse of red satin bed sheets and the softly padded headboards, she felt like sinking into the floorboards. It was embarrassingly clear what the coach's main and perhaps only purpose was.
The little satchel dangled forgotten from her shocked hand.
"Well!" said Merry, his face reddening so that she could even see it in the lantern light. "Isn't this an inviting little place?"
"Merry!" she hissed, certain her face was redder than his. "We can't accept this! It's positively indecent!"
"My dearest wife." Merry put his hands on her shoulders and bent so that his warm breath tickled her diamond-trimmed ears. "I would settle for a hayloft in a barn at this moment, but as the Man I hold dearest in all the world has offered me the use of this delightful accommodation, I feel it would be an insult to refuse him." His lips traced around the edge of her ear with a teasing, feather light touch.
"There's a coachman!" she groaned. "You can't expect me to…"
"And he's been instructed to drive us to the edge of the encampment, unhitch the horse and to bed down in sight but out of earshot for the evening." He found her neck under the mass of fine curls. "Aragorn is a capital fellow and would have thought of everything, love. I'd even wager we'll find a hobbit-sized breakfast delivered in the morning."
Each word's breath stirred the hairs on her neck, but she no longer cared what they meant, only that her beloved's cheek stroked hers as he spoke and his chin rested possessively over her shoulder. There was more than promise in his eyes now. The blue fire that had set her heart ablaze the first time they'd met had returned. She could feel his essence in her very soul, invading and claiming it, as it had that day in the meadow. They had not had the will to stop then and now there was no need.
"Oh Merry," she said through clenched teeth. She melted in his hands, as she always had. It was as though she was a moth drawn to that unquenchable flame, both powerless to resist and empowered by his love for her. She turned in his embrace and eagerly sought his mouth and the soft lips that could make any part of her body they touched sing with ecstasy.
"I beg your pardon, Master and Mistress."
The young driver bowed, keeping his eyes decorously focused away from the entrance to the coach. Estella jumped in surprise, but Merry would not let her back out of his arms. Without even a smirk in response to ruffle his professional demeanour, the Man continued. "My Lord King Elessar has commanded that I take you to a little place he knew of old. My own father took me there once while we were guarding the Shire borders. It's a pretty place, safe and very secluded. Just a little ways inside the land you call the Old Forest." Estella tensed, but Merry ran a warm hand up her back and comforted her with such untroubled ease that her fear faded.
"That'll be perfect," answered Merry.
"There's food and drink in the trunk there beside the bed and lantern oil and candles, should you need them, in the boot. I'll unhitch the horse and leave him with you, in case there is an emergency. Is there anything else I can do before we set out?"
Merry looked down at his wife, a salacious grin tugging at his lips. "I think we've everything we could imagine needing."
The driver allowed himself a smile then, but respectfully said nothing as he closed the coach door and set up its steps. They heard him doing a last check of the vehicle and speaking gently to his own horse, tied to the rear of the coach, before climbing into the driver's seat.
Merry had Estella in another eager kiss when the carriage jolted to a start. She lost her balance and fell against him, but Merry was as steady as a rock. Estella tried to calm her breathing, they were not even alone yet, but the feel of his arms, ardently firm rather than patiently gentle, enflamed her desire. It didn't even daunt her that he was unlacing her thin dress before they'd even made it out of the King's encampment.
Diamond had also made Estella a new cotton corset since all her others were now comically too big. Merry paused upon seeing the delicate garment and ran a hand over her supported breast in wonder. She watched the movement, captivated both by his touch and by the love with which he caressed her. The weight she had lost had revealed itself most disappointingly in her breasts. Once firm and large, they had only now begun to plump again, but without corset, they would not have displayed the enticing roundness that Merry now touched. He hesitated a moment and looked into her eyes. He understood her reasons for wearing it and was grateful for her thoughtfulness, but he shook his head with a smile.
"You were truly worried, weren't you?" he whispered. "I'm sorry I allowed you to question. I could never forsake you, no matter what changes the years bring, Estella. You could never lose your beauty, but what binds us is deeper than just skin. Maybe I needed tonight to prompt me to action, to remind me to open my mouth and say it, but I never really forgot it." He cradled her face in his hands, lifting her chin till she met his clear, steady gaze. "You have a strong hold, my love. Never doubt it."
It wasn't his looks alone that had bound her either, but Oh! how he looked at that moment! His broad shoulders and powerful body thrummed with desire and on his face was an expression of such tenderness that it almost brought tears to her eyes. She would have thought herself lucky had she only had the children and the memories of their love, but to have him back like this...
"Too much talk," she gasped, unable to produce anything more articulate. Deep laughter boomed in his chest and he clasped her to him. She gave a startled exclamation at the abruptness of his movement and then covered her mouth with both hands, remembering that they were not alone. That made Merry laugh more heartily still and he lifted her off her feet and tumbled with her into the bed.
The coach was so solidly made that it didn't even rock.
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She was vaguely aware that the coach had stopped, but the sound of the coachman's discrete departure was lost in a haze of pure pleasure. Merry hadn't even undressed her beyond the corset, but his hands and mouth were playing her like a familiar and well-loved instrument. She doubted there was an exposed inch of her skin that he hadn't nuzzled, kissed or explored with his demanding tongue.
Their lovemaking had always been intensely passionate, but now she felt every nuance as she never had before. Perhaps her leaner body, the long anticipation or something else intensified all sensation, but his first caress had left her gasping and trembling like a maid. Her fervid reaction also seemed to charge him as it hadn't in years. He manoeuvred her with familiar confidence and yet the barely contained excitement of a lovers' first embrace. She shivered. It made her want him so desperately she would not have cared if the coach's broad windows had been wide open to the world.
He had taken off his waistcoat and shirt and his braces hung forgotten from the waistband of his unbuttoned trousers. Estella buried her face in his chest and delighted in the tickle of the few golden hairs on his otherwise smooth, downy skin. He let out a shuddering breath and drew her up to deliver another searing kiss. This one continued down her neck, to the hollow of her throat and into the shadowed valley between her breasts. His hands encircled her waist and settled her where he could further delve into that tempting cleft.
Only then did he attend the corset. It was laced in the back, but a row of tiny hooks kept the front bound. With delicate care and talented teeth he set to work loosening them. His not-so-incidental movements were driving Estella mad; it was nearly impossible for her to keep still enough for him to finish the job.
"Careful there, love, this is a treasure I must unwrap slowly."
"If you wait too much longer, its coverings will erupt in flame!" she panted.
"Hmmm," he murmured through a mouthful of cotton. The catch released and cool air hit the damp fabric making her squirm. "I might enjoy seeing that."
"Merry!" she pleaded in exasperation.
He chuckled but did not relent, diving enthusiastically into her soft bosom and working his way downward. It was almost more than she could take. The building sensations seriously threatened the control she had of her body but she did not want him to stop. It was like sledding down a steep, snow-covered hill; the exhilaration of the moment was more than worth the tumble and crash at the bottom. She giggled, thinking of the analogy and that one moment's inattention did her in. Merry was nuzzling her inner thigh when she suddenly arched, drew in a ragged breath and felt the first inexorable ripple clench her belly.
Too soon, she thought as waves of sensation passed through her. Merry would not think so. He loved watching her peak, knowing that he had caused it, and would take advantage of her incapacity to insure she sustained that pinnacle. She hissed a word that would never have passed her lips at any other time as he expertly did so.
Shaking with too much pleasure to be really angry, she batted at him.
"You did that a-purpose," she scolded.
"I did. It was quite rewarding too."
"But I'm not even undressed! We've the whole night ahead of us and you've gone and spent me. However am I going to reach such heights again?"
Blue eyes glittered knowingly above ruddy cheeks and wetted lips. In the lamplight, he looked like a wild thing, as yet caged, full of power and excitement, and she suddenly knew her worries were groundless.
"Leave that to me, my dear."
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TBC