“So beautiful,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes.
Very, very slowly, she began to lower herself over me. As the warmth of her body encompassed mine, I felt an incredible sense of belonging…of comfort…of rightness. I knew when I looked at my wife that she felt it, too.
Alexandra moaned as we merged as one, and she closed her eyes as she came to rest with me completely inside of her. I held her hips underneath her dress and angled myself backwards a bit more. The throne was not completely comfortable on my rear, but I barely noticed. I was far more interested in the tight channel of my wife’s body and the seductive way her breasts moved underneath the bodice of her dress.
I brought myself into a better sitting position as Alexandra began to move up and down over me. I placed my hands over her breasts and lifted them up through the material. I could feel how much heavier they were, not just larger. I moaned and placed my lips over where her nipples were hidden—moving quickly from one to the other and blowing hot air against them.
Alexandra shuddered and began to move faster against me, bringing forth more groans from us both. Leaning back again, I arched my body to meet her movements as she began to pick up speed. I reached up and twisted my fingers through her hair as she rode on top of me. With her nails digging into the top of my shoulders, I could hear the subtle sounds in her throat which always informed me of her impending pleasure. I closed my eyes because the sight of her above me with her head tilted back was just too much. I moved my hands to her thighs, under her dress, and I wished I had taken the time to completely remove her clothing.
Next time…oh yes, there would be a next time…
Just the thought made my muscles clench, and I had to try to breathe slower to control myself. Words still spilled from my mouth, unbidden.
“Alexandra…oh, my wife…I love you…so much…”
“Branford!” she cried out and seemed about to say something else, but her words turned into unintelligible grunts as she rocked faster against me and wrapped her arms tightly around my head. She called out again, and I felt her tense around me. The sensation was all I needed to release the tension inside of me, and I felt my thighs tremble as the wave of pleasure swept over me.
With my face buried against her chest, I cried out her name again and again as I tilted my hips to meet her. I felt my seed travel up and into her, and I silently thanked God for the child He had already given me.
If He wanted to grant me more, I would not argue with Him.
I continued to push up against her even as my body relaxed against the back of the throne. I looked up into her eyes and saw her looking down at me with a slight smile on her lips and her teeth firmly planted on her lower lip. She rocked forward once more and sighed.
I could not take my eyes off of her as I moved her back off of my lap, helped her smooth down her dress, and then stood before her, fastening my own trousers around me. Her hair was lying around her shoulders in haphazard strands where I had run my hands through it. Her eyes were bright, and there was still a glistening sheen around her forehead.
She was glorious. I had no other word for her.
“I do not think I have told you how in awe I am of you,” I whispered into Alexandra’s ear as we made our way up the staircase. “So beautiful and brave. You have endured so much, yet you are still my sweet, innocent Alexandra.”
“I did not feel brave,” she replied. “If it had not been for Branny, I am not so sure I would have fared as well.”
“You protected my son.”
“I knew I loved him before he was even born,” Alexandra said. She pushed herself against my side. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against me as we walked.
“I was far more afraid for him than I was for myself.”
“You are safe now,” I said, reminding her as I felt her shudder from her memories. “We are all safe.”
“I know,” she replied.
We returned to our rooms, and Alexandra blushed at Samantha’s knowing look as she handed the babe back into my wife’s arms. Alexandra’s embarrassment was quickly forgotten as she sat down near the fire and held the little prince to her breast.
As I watched my son’s mother nourish him as only she could, I began to consider my own role in the child’s life. He would look to me for guidance, just as I had looked to my father and to Camden. He would model himself after what he saw from me, and I thought of the years I spent hell-bent on revenge in a new light. With my eyes on my family, I knew how much more important they were than anything else that had previously seemed significant, and I thought of ways I could make sure my son learned from my mistakes.
Still, I could not completely reg
ret how I had arrived where I was because…well, because I was here. Alexandra’s face was lit up with her smile as she made soft cooing noises and sang to our son, who looked up at me with his eyes wide and his mouth full of milk. With his tiny hand, he gripped at his mother’s breast and he sighed, completely content with his lot in life thus far.
I had to swallow and blink rapidly a few times to keep myself in check.
“It is strange,” I said to Alexandra as I reached out and stroked Branny’s tiny hand with my fingers, “how quickly we take to our children.”
“How could I not love him when he looks so much like his father?”
“I am sure it is your looks in him that make it obvious to me,” I told her. “It is as obvious as when I knew about you.”
“When did you know about me?” she asked. She turned her eyes from the babe to look at me over her shoulder. “I mean, when did you know that you…you loved me?”