“Tomorrow,” he whispered into the night. “I will tell you tomorrow.”
*****
Romero slowed to a trot as we entered the meadow where Branford and I had spent time before. He had barely spoken on the ride here though he brought me to the stables because he had something to tell me. So far, he had not made conversation, and I did not wish to push him if he was not ready.
After our dismount, Branford removed Romero’s saddle from his back and released him. Romero wandered off to the far side of the meadow near a stand of bright purple clover flowers. Branford took my hand and led me to the center of the meadow, laying Romero’s saddle blanket on the ground before us.
He did not speak as he took my mouth with his or as he pushed my dress from me. His movements were hurried and desperate, which I could only assume was due to the lack of physical attention over the past two days. He had come back to our rooms so late, I was already half-asleep, an
d he still slept long after I woke in the morning. Since the day we took Amarra to meet the rest of his pack, Branford had only laid a hand on me once—just the night before—and it had been quick.
He made up for it now.
He pushed my dress down and away then cupped my breasts and brought them to his mouth. He kissed, sucked, and licked until I was squirming on the blanket below him. Branford paused only briefly to remove his own clothing before bringing his hands back to my bare skin, determined to run his fingers over every inch of my body.
His touch slowed, and his hands ran from my shoulders to my hips and back again. His mouth followed the trails his fingers made until it found mine, and he kissed me deeply. I felt his hand between my legs, pushing me open for him. His long fingers found me ready for him, and he wasted little time.
Branford circled around the back of my thigh with his fingers, and he brought my leg nearly to his shoulder as he pushed inside of me, connecting us again and making me feel so wonderfully full and wanted. He sighed my name as he entered; his mouth covered my nipples, and as he sucked on them, I reached for his hips, placing my hands on his backside and pulling his body into mine.
“Oh…Alexandra…” He moved his mouth in circles around my breasts and his hand grasped the back of my head. He brought his lips to mine, and his tongue ran over them for a moment before he trailed kisses over my chin and down my neck. He moved expertly within me, choosing the perfect rhythm and alternating the speed and depths of his penetrations.
“Branford!” I cried out as his hips circled, creating pressure exactly where I needed it most, and my body seemed to explode in pleasure. Branford began rocking back and forth faster, his strokes longer and deeper until he growled against the hollow of my throat, held himself deep within me, and called out my name once more.
With his head nestled near my neck, Branford stroked lightly with his fingers over my arms, up to my shoulders, and back over my breasts before resting his hand against my stomach. I gazed at his face and found his eyes closed, his lips moving silently. I had noticed before that Branford prayed every time he took my body though I had never asked for what he might be praying.
He opened his eyes slowly and smiled up at me though his expression was not carefree. He seemed anxious when he was usually his most relaxed after his release. His chest rose as he took a breath, and Branford traced the edge of my jaw with the tip of his finger as his breathing continued to slow. He placed an additional light kiss against my neck before sitting up and beginning to gather our clothing. He said we would need to head back soon, for we needed to speak with Sunniva though he did not give the reason.
“I wanted to be the one to teach you to read,” Branford said suddenly as he pulled his shirt over his head and shoved his arms through the sleeves, “but I fear I will have to turn the task over to a proper tutor.”
I laced up my dress and was about to ask him why he had changed his mind, but he continued before I had the chance.
“We will need to discuss the nobility of the surrounding lands as well,” he told me. “I will need to teach you which areas are truly friendly to Silverhelm and which only pretend to be. I need you to know whom I can truly trust, who can be trusted only to a degree, and who should be avoided—even those within the court here. Thankfully, Amarra is well-trained. I’m going to move her into our rooms tonight if you are still agreeable.”
“Yes, of course.” I did not understand his sudden sense of urgency, but the look in his eyes bade me not argue. He reached out and gently traced the side of my face. His eyes narrowed, and his expression was pained.
“I’m a fool, Alexandra.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because choosing a wife was probably one of the more important decisions I could have made, and I treated it with such…indifference. Now that you are here, I realize how important my choice was and how I should have gone about it. I have done it all wrong.”
I looked down at my hands. Though I had assumed he probably would not have chosen me if he had realized how inept I truly was when it came to matters of the court, I had not actually heard him voice it. My stomach clenched, and for the first time since our marriage was complete, I began to wonder if this was going to be the end of it—was he going to tell me now that it was all a grave mistake? After everything he had done, I had not thought such a thing possible any longer, but the reality was I was still a commoner, and he was a prince. He had every right to have me removed.
The fear this thought evoked went far beyond my uncertain station.
“I should have thought about all the things you would need to know and understand, yet I didn’t. I had but one goal in mind—refuse to marry Whitney, embarrass her, and anger her father. It was only a small step in my plan, but I should have thought it through so much more. Sunniva is right—how can I lead my people if I will take such an important decision and use it to further my own goals?”
I felt hot tears stinging my eyes and tried to blink them away lest he see me wipe them with my hand. I was not going to be good enough. I had no idea how to be his wife, let alone the queen of an entire kingdom. Even if Queen Sunniva were to help me, how would I ever learn everything I needed to know? Branford, who was destined to be a king, admitted to making mistakes. How could I possibly be what he needed? How could I ever be good enough to be the Queen of Silverhelm?
“I will try harder, my...Branford,” I whispered. “I swear I will. I—”
“Alexandra—no!” Branford rose up on his knees and grabbed my hands in his. “These are not your failings, my wife—they are mine! I can only assume it was God’s intervention that has saved me. That can be the only reason my plan has somehow delivered you to me. I just have to stop assuming and start actually thinking. There is so much I need to teach you—so much you need to know. My focus has been on the one aspect of our marriage I do understand, and there are so many more lessons you must learn—not for my sake, but for your own—to keep you safe and to prepare you for what is to come. Alexandra, please…please do not believe this is a reflection of you. You are perfect for me.”
“Perfect?” There was doubt evident in my voice. I listened to the sound of the word in my head and wondered if I may have heard him wrong. If I knew so little, how could I be perfect as his wife?
“Yes, perfect,” he repeated. He pulled at my hand until I was sitting in his lap. Though not in our chair, I still felt my body relax into him. “Do you not see, Alexandra? You are like most of the people in my kingdom, and I am just now beginning to understand how little I know of them. I need you to teach me, too.”
“But what can I teach you?”