Dreams of Love Ch. 01

Marikay glanced around the bare room. She concentrated and instantly, the room was furnished. In one corner, a king-sized, four-poster bed stood, inviting her to lay her weary body down. The floor was covered in beautiful throw rugs. Four armchairs were situated around the room artfully. In another corner, an armoire stood with its doors open, revealing the deep hanging space with gowns hung tidily up. Satisfied, she turned to the two beside her. "Oh, Marikay! It must have taken you forever to learn to do that," eighteen-year-old Linaross said in awe. "How do you do it so well?"

"I concentrated on that feeling inside me. The one that's unlike any other feelings so that you can feel its power. You just sort of grab and use it. Everyone has it, just most don't know how to use it," Marikay answered, smiling. She brushed her long, dark blonde hair out of her face and turned violet eyes on Linaross's adopted brother, Topain. "Do you need some more help Topain?" she asked the twenty-year-old. Topain sneered and shook his head. He flicked his eyes toward the room and changed it back to its bare state. Then instantly, it was furnished again, only more elaborately. He tried to hide the flicker of fatigue that crossed his handsome, sculpted features, but Marikay caught it.

"Topain, if it tires you out to conjure, maybe you should start out small? Not furnish my room just to show that you can do it better than I can. I have had years of practice. You and Lina have had only a few months. This knowledge is a gift, don't abuse it. If you do, you'll lose this ability and the thought reading ability. You may be heir to the throne, but that doesn't mean you can purposefully disobey me. You're father gave me full reign to do what I felt is needed to make sure you learn this," she lectured. Topain's sneer only got more spiteful and he stormed out of the room, cutting her off in the middle of it. As soon as he was out of the room, Linaross relaxed visibly.

"I can't do this anymore Lina. I'm so tempted to leave. I would if it wasn't for you and your quickness and eagerness to learn. It's so hard to teach him, even though he is heir to the throne, he acts like a spoiled disobedient child!" Marikay said.

Marikay tightened her lips and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, Linaross left the room and her mentor. Running swiftly to the throne room, she dreaded what she had to do. The attentive guard nodded her in the instant he recognized her. Running across the large throne room, she skidded to a halt at the edge of the throne dais. She fought to avoid her mother's judging eyes. Falling to her knees, she bowed her head and gasped out, "Dearest Mother, Honorable Father, I bring you news of Marikay and Topain."

"Speak Lina, and get up. You are a princess, act like it. A princess does not grovel except before her father when she has done something wrong. Which I'm sure you have not," Linaross's mother said. Linaross stood and looked into the kind green eyes of King Paintin. Purposefully, she avoided Queen Shelakay's brown gaze.

"Dear Father, Marikay is thinking of resigning her position as tutor to Prince Topain and me. She told me she could not teach disobedient heirs who refuse to cooperate."

"That's the third one in two months Shelakay. What are we going to do about Topain? If he doesn't learn how to behave he will never be a good king and my duty is to make sure my heir will rule as well and as fair as I have," Paintin said to his wife, his brow furrowed in concern. Shelakay laid a hand on her beloved's arm and opened her mouth to speak before another voice cut her off.

"And what does that mean Paintin? That you will give your precious kingdom to Linaross here? Your bastard with a peasant woman? Do you honestly think that the kingdom will accept that?" Linaross turned sharply, dread rising to grab her by the throat. Leaning casually on a marble column, Topain regarded them coldly. Pushing away from the column, he walked over to them. He avoided Linaross's eyes and instead glared at his mother and father. "They won't and you know it. So you are stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"Topain, apologize to your sister and father. First of all, you know that your sister is adopted into this family and we do not know who her father is. Second of all, treat you father with respect, call him Father, not Paintin," Shelakay snapped, standing in one quick fluid motion. She stepped down to where Linaross and Topain stood.

"You don't deserve this and until you can, Lina will be heir," she added, snatching his silver crown from his brown curls. He stared at her shocked, then stormed from the throne room. Linaross stared at Shelakay as the older woman came down from the throne dais.

"You are now heir Lina. Don't abuse the privilege like Topain did." Placing the crown, to signify her rank on her adopted daughter's blond hair, she smiled grimly. "You are our last hope Lina...please, be more than a princess, and be a perfect heir. This means being all that you hate."

"Yes Mother," Linaross whispered, then, dismissed, turned and walked out of the throne room. As soon as she was out of sight, she picked up her skirts and ran toward the stables. Summoning a stableman, she signaled for him to saddle Milky, her large, white stallion. She petted his velvety nose, giggling as he nudged closer, looking for treats.

After pampering the large horse for a few minutes, she mounted, then turned him toward the main road. "Go Milky...go!" she murmured into his ear. Instantly, the horse took off, flying down the road, sending Linaross's honey colored hair flying out behind her, coming out of the proper upsweep Shelakay demanded she wear. She laughed out loud as she bent over him, murmuring words of encouragement.

Finally, without any directions from her, he slowed, and then turned off the road, following a path into the forest. Linaross straightened, out of breath, as they came to a small clearing about half a mile from the main road. Sliding off Milky, she tied his reins to a sapling, letting him tear up mouthfuls of tender clover and new grass. Then she sat down by the small river that ran through the clearing making the clearing peaceful and tranquil. Staring into the moving water, she felt her hair fall forward, held back only by the crown. Sighing, she slipped the surprisinly light piece off her head and placed it on the ground beside her. "Oh Mother, why did you have to go and die? Why did you beg the king to take me in and raise me as his?" she moaned aloud, beseeching her birth mother to answer her.

"You know she won't answer Lina. She is dead. Has been dead for years. Why do you insist on talking to her?"

Startled, Linaross turned, her heart going cold. Seated on a chestnut mare was Topain. He looked down at her, smiling. "What do you want? To torture me more?" she cried, paling as she cringed away from him.

"No. Torture is far from what I have in mind...I only wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Topain said as he slid from the horse. He tied the mare next to Milky and walked over to her. He towered over her five foot two form by a good foot, but she stared him down, masking the fear in her eyes. When his mind tried to touch hers, mental blocks stopped him, something she would never have used on him before. He grimaced at this symbol of her fear and dislike of him.

"Thank you Topain. But I know you are here for another reason. What?" she asked, her blue eyes shielded as well. He reached out to touch her then gathered her in his arms with a strangled oath.

"Shithell Lina...I love you. I miss you, need you. I know I have been acting like a jackass these last few months, but I was scared after we were together. I was worried you wouldn't want me or love me anymore. Please forgive me," he whispered into her hair, his voice tortured. He felt her stiffen when he had first touched her, but relax slowly as he talked. Her hands slid around him, holding him close. "Do you really love me?"

"Of course, haven't I told you that before?"

"No."

"I thought I had Lina. I must have shown it tons of times. If not, I am terribly-" She stopped him by placing her finger over his mouth, her mind opening to his again so he could feel her joy and happiness. His heart swelled and he lowered his lips to hers. The second his mouth brushed over hers, she melted, her arms sliding up around his neck, pulling him down closer. He lifted her in his arms, and then laid her down on a bed of soft moss. Then he broke the kiss, smiling at her whimper of protest. "So you did miss me," he whispered. Then his eyes roamed over her petite body, so perfectly formed it took his breath away. From her golden curls lying over the bright green moss, to her glazed blue eyes and her full pouting, red mouth. From her full breasts, heaving beneath her lace bodice, which revealed the first swell of her breasts, to her thin waist, which needed no corset, to her shapely legs, hidden by the long folds of her gown. She was his and he loved her. "You are so beautiful," he breathed before leaning down to kiss her again.

She pulled him over her, one of her delicate hands slipping down the length of his body. He tensed, delighting in her soft touch. He deepened the kiss, showing her again how to respond more by tilting her head to better receive his kiss. Finally, he pulled away when her hand cupped his hardness through his breeches. He moaned when her fingers started caressing him tentatively. His fingers tangled in her hair, as he kissed her again. "Don't stop," he murmured against her mouth. Her touch grew more confident as he shifted over her, bracing his weight on his elbows. His gaze traveled over her silk clad form, making her heat under him.

Slowly, giving her time to say no, he started to push the scalloped bodice of her gown down, baring her full breasts to his hungry eyes. But instead of resisting, her free hand captured his and placed it over one enticing mound. Her blue eyes were filled with passion, desire, and need, driving him crazy. "Oh Topain, of course I missed you. How could I not? After what we have been through? After what happened that night. What happened?" she asked her voice soft and musical.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me...Something went wrong. Did I do something?" she said, and then moaned in pleasure. For even as they talked, he had been caressing her breast, making the nipple harden under his warm palm.

"No!" he exclaimed, stopping, his eyes widening for emphasis. "It wasn't you. It was I, I was scared. And Prince Adarin tried to turn me against you. I don't know why though. But it worked, feeding me the lie that you were my half sister, making me hate how I felt about you. Doubting my father and myself. So I tried to make you hate me, so that I wouldn't feel like a jerk whenever you looked at me with those blue eyes so full of love. Instead I turned that love to pain...and that hurt more than anything else did," he finished, dropping a kiss on her eyelids. Then to his dismay, a tear fell down her cheek. He kissed it away, and then held her close.

"But why Topain, why? Mother and Daddy are half brother and sister, and look at how the world accepted them. I see no reason why they would not be as accepting, if not more, of you marrying me, your adopted sister," she asked, distress in her eyes, replacing the desire.

"Adarin told me it was wrong, that Mother and Father were wrong in marrying and having me. I believed the son of an ass for some reason. Shitfire, if I couldn't stop loving you, then I was determined to make you stop loving me. But I couldn't do it. And after I lost the title today, I went to see Adarin, and he refused to see me. That is when I knew he had been playing me for the fool. He had got what he wanted; now he had no more need for me. Only problem was, I couldn't figure out why he wanted us apart," he said. Then a terrible thought crossed his mind and he shuddered. But he didn't voice his fear, fearing it would come true if he did.

"I don't know. But kiss me again love, hurry. Let's put this all behind us. I love you too much to think of another man. Just kiss me..." she murmured in his ear, pulling his mouth to hers. He kissed her tenderly and pulled her even closer. Her golden hair tangled around his fingers as he cupped her head to allow control over the kiss. He caught her moan in his mouth as his other hand cupped her breast again. The hard nipple grazed his palm, sending a shot of something close to lightening down his body. It pooled below his belt line, threatening his self-control.

"Oh Gods Lina, I want you so bad, want you under me, moving with me...I want to be inside you, loving you. Lina, Lina," he whispered against her mouth, covering her pliant body with his hard one. She strained against him, her body demanding him inside her even as her eyes denied him. She shook her head, closing her eyes to block out the plea in his eyes, though her body betrayed her remembered pain and arched against him, her hands drawing him down over her.

"Topain, we can't. You know the law. I am supposed to be a virgin. When I get married and my husband finds out I'm not, then a war could be started. As it is, I'm going to have to hope I get a really ugly man who hasn't had anything other than paid women so then he won't know the difference. You may not think it matters little now, but I do. Why tempt fate?" She avoided his mouth, her eyes still tightly closed.

"You are only going to marry me. Or I will start a war to get you back. I swear to the Gods above, that you will be my bride. Or I will never marry," he cried, kissing her, wiping all her hesitations and denials and making her his with his passionate words. He felt her relaxation and submission. His hand left her breast and slid down her body, tugging her skirt up. His fingers grazed her moist heat and he lifted his head. "You want me Lina, don't deny me," he said, looking into her eyes.

Numbly, Linaross shook her head, pressing her hips against his hand. Deny him? How could she? When his touch made her heart sing and her senses soar? She closed her eyes as the intense pleasure ran through her body, making her skin flush, her lips part. He kissed her hard, drawn wild by the look of pleasure on her face. He continued to please her, drawing his pleasure from hers as he slipped his long fingers deep inside her. As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, she felt the first tremors of completion start. She shook her head, not wanting it to end so soon.

"No, not yet...please," she pleaded.

"Yes, now. It's not over with, love, not even close," he whispered, kissing her. And as though his words were as pleasurable as his touch, she cried out, her muscles tightening around his fingers. Her lips fed hungrily on his as the waves of pleasure coarsed through her body, sending her shooting int the stars. Slowly, she started to come down, his fingers still moving inside her slowly to help ease the fall. Afterwards, her climax finished, she relaxed, her breathing labored. Her eyes opened to meet his as he kissed her lightly, just brushing his lips over hers. He lifted himself off her, stretching out beside her and smoothed her skirt with his free hand. Then he slid his fingers out of her and brought them up to his mouth. He sucked on one, tasting her sweetness, closing his eyes in bliss. Linaross watched him, love in her eyes. "How do I taste Topain?" she asked, so softly. Her question was innocent yet erotic. He smiled and opened his eyes. He let her taste for herself. She licked his finger then drew it into her mouth, sucking greedily. It amazed her that the taste on her tongue, so sweet and heady, was her, her pleasure and love for Topain in the physical.

"Perfect Lina, so very sweet and perfect," he answered. He lowered his mouth to hers, letting her taste her sweetness on his tongue. She gently scratched his back, her hands slipping under his silk shirt. Her innocent touch aroused him more than the most seductive woman could. He groaned and whispered, " I want you fully so bad. But we can't. The ball is tonight. It'll take us awhile to get ready. And we have to talk to Marikay about leaving. She was right...I see that now." She sighed in disappointment and pulled out of his arms.

"Oh my beautiful Lina, I'll love you for forever; until the end of time. If I can't marry you, then I will never marry." Linaross's heart swelled with love and joy as he proclaimed his never-ending love. Her bright smile echoed her thoughts. Milky neighed, startling the two out of their world. Linaross looked up at the stallion that was peering down at them worriedly. "Shithell, that horse is so damn protective. He's like an oversized guard dog. Tell him you are all right. He only listens to you," Topain said, standing up. Linaross nodded and stood up, fixing her clothes. She pulled Milky's head down close to hers and whispered in his ear. The horse's ears swiveled toward his mistress to catch her words. Topain came up behind them but the big bay snorted, pawing at the ground in agitation.

Topain hastily stepped back and Linaross laughed. "It's alright Milky. It's just Topain, my lover and friend. He won't hurt me," she said, soothing the horse. He calmed and allowed Topain to come up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. Nuzzling her neck, he slid his hands up to cup her breasts through the bodice of her silk gown. His thumbs brushed over her nipples, causing her to moan. "Topain stop. Not now. We have to stop Marikay from leaving," she cried, not sounding convincing, even to her. He ignored her and instead turned her around in his arms and lifted her up against him. Her feet dangled above the ground as he kissed her fully, bruising her tender lips.

"Gods, I want you, my own sister. Others may see you as my sister, but I, I see you as a beautiful goddess sent to make me love and see my own foolishness. May the gods help me, but I love you," he groaned into her hair. Gently, she untangled his arms from around her and turned to mount Milky. He helped her mount, his hand lingering on her hip. She settled herself then looked down at him.

"Topain, in everyone's eyes, I am your sister, adopted or not. So in front of them, that is what I must be. So mount your mare and let us go home," she said. He frowned, displeased, wondering if she was having doubts, and then nodded. He mounted then moved the mare beside Milky. He leaned in for one last kiss, which she eagerly gave. Then he led the way back to the main road. As soon as the horses touched the dirt road, Linaross swore softly, "Shithell."

"What? What's wrong?" Topain asked, concerned.

"I left the crown back by the river. Let me run back and go get it," she answered. Without waiting for an answer, she wheeled Milky around and plunged back into the forest. When she returned, the token of her new station was placed safely on her head, holding her untamed curls back. Just then, watching her, Topain was reminded of a fairy princess. Her wild untamed look made him wonder just why she played the charade of heir to the throne when it was obvious she didn't want it. That she belonged in the wilderness, not a palace.

But all he said was, "Ready to go?" She nodded and he set his mare into a run, flying past her. She slapped the reins and soon she was closing the distance between them. When she passed him, his breath caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful. Her form was perfect, her back as straight as a board. Her curls flew out behind her, catching in the same wind that made her skirt billow out. She glanced back at him, her blue eyes laughing and she spurred Milky faster. Cursing softly, Topain dug his heels into the mare's side, crouching low over her neck.

But when he reached the palace stables, Linaross was already there. She smiled at him as he slid from his mare. When he reached up to help her off Milky, he could tell she had hardly tried. Tossing the reins of the two horses to a stable hand, he barked orders, "Take them and give them a rubdown and a walk."