Chapter 20

Stephane collapsed feebly into the grass and dragged Catherine with him. Their hearts were hammering wildly against their ribcages and he loved the sensation of feeling her sweaty and exhausted body that was trembling softly in his arms. There was no woman on earth who harmonized better with him in amorous matters than Catherine de' Medici. His stubborn, unfaltering wife.
The grip of his fingers on her buttocks loosened some but Stephane didn't want to release her warm flesh just yet so his fingers started to caress her soft skin there all the way up to her hips. He loved the soft texture of her skin, the gentle curves that were just created to fit into his hands.

On her face was that little tired but overall satisfied smile he hadn't seen for quite some time. One that made the question whether it has been good for her completely superfluous.
"I have missed that," he whispered in a husky voice. "I have missed you."
At this revelation Catherine's right eyebrow shot up and she straightened to look at him with a piercing glare.
"I hope you do not plan to make a habit of this kind of sweet talk after having admittedly good sex. This kills the mood." He felt her move over him and in doing so his slackened penis slipped out of her body.
"Who's telling you it's not quite simply the truth, Catherine?" He wanted to know and fought against feeling insulted by her words.
"If this reflects the truth, then you have chosen the worst possible way of showing me."
All of a sudden that dreamy, almost happy expression had disappeared from her face. Though her cheeks were still glowing, however her eyes shone down at him coldly and her lips became a thin line.

Before Narcisse could even react, Catherine rose and tugged wildly at the front cords of her dress to cover her bare breasts.
"Is this the moment when you're going to accuse me again of obtaining intercourse?"
How was it possible that this woman could send completely different signals from one second to the next?
If Catherine were a month, then she most certainly would be the capricious and unsteady April. Only she could manage to beat all seasons down on him on one single day. Just now she had impressively demonstrated a change from a stunningly bright spring day to an arctic blizzard.

"No, Stephane, maybe I just want to remind you that I am not some naive little girl you have to schmooze or dish up some lame sentiments for keeping her in a good mood." Stephane rose as well and straightened his clothes.
"I was not schmoozing you, I merely told you that I've missed you. Is that so despicable?" He wondered why she had to weight all of his words so precisely and misinterpreted every single one on purpose.
"If it sounds like it's all my fault from your mouth, then yes. You have made your choices a long time ago. You've married Lola, then you threw me to the wolfes and you've accepted this marriage only for one good reason - to satisfy your need for power. So please don't insult me. Maybe you've missed good sex, but certainly not me, Stephane." Catherine did not even wait for his reaction but marched off in anger to get her mare who was grazing peacefully beside Demon at the shore.

Narcisse stormed off after his wife and roughly pulled at her wrist for her to face him again. Basically he wasn't a man who handled women with force or physically pushed her around, but Catherine was able to provoke such a behaviour in the blink of an eye. She mad him feel powerless, which led to such uncontrolled actions from his side.
"Has your heart already turned to stone that you immediately have to go into defensive mode upon hearing me say such a harmless and value-free comment? Am I not allowed to miss you despite the fact that Lola was my former wife before I married you? I think there is no denying that there is still something between us. Something that's deeper than some meaningless affair."

The angry sparkle in her eyes and her rigid posture with her chin raised up defiantly, frustrated and excited him at the same time. Stephane pulled Catherine closer to him but she resisted him and grabbed the reins of the mare instead, who took an reluctant step back at this rude treatment.
"Is it too much to ask to finish this exhausing discussion once and for all instead of fleeing in the spur of the moment?" The Lord Chancellor had to grindingly contain himself as not to lose his composure over the mulishness his wife displayed.
"There is nothing left to discuss. Your view significantly differs from mine. And that will not change. So just leave it be." Meanwhile Catherine had positioned herself right beside her horse and before her husband could even wonder whether she could get on the mare without his help, she had already unladylike pushed her skirts aside and leaped onto the animal. Catherine de' Medici obviously didn't need any help from any man, even less when the man in question was her husband.

"Catherine," he snarled angrily but she already rammed her heels into the mare's flanks so her horse galloped off with a graceful jump. "One day, I swear to you, I will put you over my knees and knock some sense into you!", he shouted after her.
His threat made her look back at him one last time. Then she provocatively yelled:
"Just try it... nothing more but empty words."
Stephane cursed in annoyance and mounted his own horse. No, he would not pursue her. By all means, should she rage and sulk. Sooner or later she would calm down. If there was one thing he had on his side, then it was time. He would find ways to tame his temperamental and stubborn wife. And the way he knew his Catherine, she would not make this an easy task for him. He knew, however, that she was worth it.

I'm sorry but I like this pairing and their strong personalities way too much to grant them some peace of mind now...

at D: Thanks. I also love sweet and hot moments between them, but on the other hand, I love her being a trouble-maker. I hope you approve of this approach.:-)

at Mediciqueen: Yes, Ma'am, even more is on it's way...

at Callmecordelia1: I love tender Catherine and I love how soft she becomes when she's with kids. I had to pick this up and I think it was a nice way to soften her up for Narcisse. Well, now it's gone to hell anyway... haha

at G: Thank you. I'm not sure how good their times will be once they return to the castle. We'll see.

at A: Oh, danke für die lieben Worte, ich gebe mein Bestes. Schön, dass du dabei bist!

at demedicigirl: Well thank you! I also imagined them doing these szenes while writing... ;o)

at Leryn: hot indeed - more to come - well after some more drama... :-)