Leofric and Godiva Pt. 03

Reverend Palmer nodded, as if this answer was not unexpected. With his other hand, he offered her his kerchief to wipe the tears falling down her face. After settling herself and drying her face, she handed the kerchief back to him. Giving her hands a final warm squeeze, he stood. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. You always have so much to do, so many to please. I, myself, only have my pew plan to go over today..."

"The church seating? Why are you looking at that?"

"From what you've said, if Sir Leofric is truly Northman's brother, not to mention the Ealdorman of Twywell, we can't have him sitting just anywhere. He'll need to sit along with those of his rank... aside from you, he's probably the most notable person in town."

"You're going to make me sit next to him every Sunday, aren't you."

"Well, if he's still in town, I'll have no choice. One of those niggling things that they never tell you about when you go to seminary... all the politics of seating. It's a nightmare, really. You'll probably be sitting next to Sir Leofric every Sunday for the rest of your life... next to him and whomever he takes to wife... watching his children grow up. Of course, if he's no longer in town, you'll have nothing to worry about, will you?" he said, smiling fondly down at her.

Through her veils, she shot the holy man a baleful look. "You're so full of shit, Eric. You're doing this on purpose. You can't tell me God has arranged seating in heaven," Godiva grumbled under her breath.

"If there were pew plans to work out, they wouldn't call it 'heaven,' my dear," he said leaving the sanctuary before he paused at the door. "And Cousin, a thought before you go... if your every fervent prayer is for the health and happiness of your people... what is it you think they are praying for just as fervently?" he asked, before leaving her alone in the sanctuary.

*** *** ***

Godiva leaned forward in the saddle, letting Bree gallop hard out of town, needing to feel the freedom and exhilaration of speed. She couldn't spend another minute in the church after picturing herself sitting next to Leofric and some faceless woman and their children for the rest of her life. Until Eric said it so offhandedly, the fact hadn't crossed her mind that if she didn't marry Leofric, he would marry someone else. Leofric would marry some other woman and she would be the one that he teased, that trembled when he looked at her, that felt him cup her face as he filled her again and again. What would it do to her over the years to see that woman's happiness... knowing she had thrown it away with both hands?

She urged Bree faster and the wind pressed her veil against her face, her tears soaking into it and making it cling to her. She'd never ridden so hard with her veil on. Riding hard was something Godiva did, feeling the wind wild on her face and in her hair. Now, she couldn't even have that release. She probably couldn't even ride Elva anymore, since she was known to be Godiva's horse. Bree was fast, but young, flighty and prone to startle at the slightest things. Elva was swift and ran smooth as oil, seeing dangers and outsmarting them while they were still miles away.

If she had been less distraught, Godiva would have slowed and prepared better for the terrain she knew was coming, but when she reached the creek, she was going at such a speed that she barely even needed to jump to clear it. The problem was that as Bree fairly flew over the brook, a fish chose that moment to jump out of the water. Spooked, Bree suddenly twisted in midair and flung Godiva off her back. Time seemed to slow as Godiva flew through the air, her robes and veils spreading out behind her like sails. Strangely, the last thing she remembered thinking as she saw the distant ground begin to come closer was, "At least if I die now, I won't have to see him loving someone else instead of me..."

*** *** ***

"Ow..."

"GODI-GIFU! FUCK! WOMAN! an approaching voice shouted above the sound of thundering hoofbeats and burbling water.

"Owwww..." Godiva moaned, once more of her breath returned, opening her eyes to see an enormous black beast charge up to the far bank of the creek. She pushed herself up on a sore elbow and squinted upward at her irate visitor.

"You dewbeater! You fucking harecop!" Leofric shouted, his eyes crazed as he leapt off Harold and ran down, splashing into the water until he was at her side.

"Nnnnn... ow... don't be such a gnashgab..." she retorted, pushing herself up on her side before collapsing back into the water.

"Shut up, and stop moving before you make it worse, you... you... gowpenful-o'-anything!"

"Oh, that's a good one... ow, ow, ow... for a klazomaniac..." she added, slumping back down into the wet sand of the creekbed, her entire body aching and her blood still filled with the lightning of fear.

Leofric paced frantically, sometimes bending to help her as she tried to get up again, then turning away quickly as if he feared he would strangle her the moment he touched her. "Goddammit, woman, you skelpie-limming idiot! This morning you actually had me asking myself if anyone actually wanted to break their neck, but now I'm shocked to find I was wrong!" he yelled.

"Yeah... well, that's only because you haven't been married... once you do, you'll get used to being wrong," she panted, bent over with her hands on her knees. At this point Leofric's face actually turned purple and he fell to his knees in the water next to her, his eyes closed, breathing hard. "Hey... hey, it's okay... I'm all right," she said, patting him on the back.

"I saw you leave town from the roof of the inn and followed. You were riding like the devil was chasing you before you went airborne. My heart stopped and all I could think was that I'd find you dashed on the stones," he said, his breath shaking. "Why in God's name were you going so fast?"

"Just... people... and pew plans and... I... I don't want to talk about it," she said, pulling her wet robes away from her legs so she could climb out of the creek without tripping. As she began climbing the bank, she heard Leofric splashing water on his face and neck before following her out of the creek.

Godiva stumbled over to a large oak and sat down, testing various places on her body for injury. Leofric mounted Harold and rode off, quickly coming back holding Bree's reins in one hand. "Is she okay?" Godiva asked, beginning to shiver in the breeze and her wet clothes. "I worried she hadn't landed properly..." Godiva called, earning a glare from Leofric.

"Oh, you were worried about that, were you?" he called, piqued. "She's fine. Harold's more jittery than she is. Take off your dress," he ordered brusquely as he dismounted and took the bridles off the horses to let them roam in the pasture.

"You know, I don't know how they do things in Twywell, but it's not actually a courtship requirement that I get naked for you every time we meet. I think I've actually given you the wrong impression of how we normally--" Godiva said, her teasing ending with a yelp when she turned around to find Leofric standing over her glowering. Raising her hands in acquiescence, she pulled the wet fabric up and over her head.

Leofric helped her tug the rest of it off, cursing as he saw the bruises beginning to bloom on her slender back. He flung her dress over a high branch of the tree to let it dry in the breeze before pulling off his own tunic, "Should have left you in jail..." he grumbled, lying on his back in a patch of sunshine on the steep bank.

Godiva looked up at her dress, realizing that it was up so high in the tree that there was no way for her to retrieve it quickly by herself, which was surely Leofric's design. Then, she lowered her gaze to where his mountain-like body lay shirtless in the sun, one arm spread in invitation. Rolling her eyes resignedly, she went to him and curled up in a ball on his broad chest and torso, putting her face into the crook of his neck as he spread his tunic over them.

His body was so warm, she fairly purred as he put his arms around her and let his heat seep into her naked form. She had never lain like this with her late husband Wilfred. Indeed, she had trouble remembering a time when she had been exposed more than absolutely necessary for him to briefly lay with her. She remembered feeling ashamed when Wilfred first lifted the hem her shift high enough that she felt the night air on her nethers, before he quickly covered her with his body. With Leofric, though, nothing felt more natural than to lie naked in his arms in the sunlight.

"Why don't you tell me what's troubling you," Leofric said, leaning over so she felt his warm breath in her hair.

"Right now, I can't think of a thing that's troubling me," she murmured, snuggling closer to him. She felt his mouth smile against her head.

"Well, I did take you to jail last night... I worried you'd be vexed with me over it, but I wanted to see what foul acts were planned for me while I was dead to the world," Leofric said, casually stroking his fingers through her hair, trying not to laugh as he felt her body go tense.

"And um... did you... find anything?"

"Oh... a little," he said, now massaging her scalp with his fingertips. "A little last night, a little when I poured you into Sir Hulgar's arms early this morning, and much more than enough just now," he said, adjusting his embrace when she began squirming uncomfortably. "Sir Hulgar's surprise was completely forced when I told him you'd accidentally drunk dwale this morning. And just now, he let you leave the town without guard after what could have been an attempt on your life, which would be beyond belief -- unless he knew exactly where the dwale came from. How long has he been disposing of your suitors for you?"

"Um... since I've had them, I guess. After they stopped listening to the word 'no' at any rate. He wasn't supposed to do that anymore, though... not to you," she said.

Leofric's mouth quirked. "So, you don't want me drugged and carted out of town, now? My lady's affections are increasing. Of course, you could have just told me not to drink the mead, or even tipped the glass over so I couldn't. Instead, you drank it and showed me there was a plot against me, all the while leaving yourself completely helpless in my care. Why did you take such a risk?" he asked.

Stunned, Godiva lifted her head off his chest, meeting his eyes. The thought hadn't even occurred to her at the time. She could only think of putting herself between him and the danger she thought he faced, "That was pretty stupid. I... I guess I'm just not cut out for intrigues," she said, her face coloring.

"Hm. I've met many stupid people, Lady. You don't strike me as one. You're impetuous... restless... and passionate, but you are no fool," he said, gently stroking his thumb over her soft lips. "It couldn't possibly be that you trusted me... that part of you was aroused by the thought of letting me do anything I wanted with you... that you wanted to let me to take care of you?" he murmured.

Godiva felt something clench needfully at his words, and she squeezed her legs tightly together, wrestling with the feelings inside her. Oh, God, she wanted this man. His eyes that looked into her, seeing things she never intended to show him, his smell that calmed her and enflamed her at the same time, his lips that looked like they could have been sculpted from stone but felt so warm and alive when they started moving to capture hers. She blinked, realizing he was curling up to kiss her and knowing where his lips would effortlessly lead her, she quickly ducked under his tunic and hid from him.

Leofric burst into laughter, shaking her entire body with it. "Stop that!" her muffled voice yelled from under the leather. "Stop kissing me and making me go all squishy! I can't think when you do it! Maybe all this is easy for you because you just do as you're told out of duty... just marrying someone you don't even know, but I have responsibilities! I actually have to think about what I do!"

"Wonderful! When did you intend to start thinking?" Leofric laughed, moving his hands to tickle her ribs. Godiva screamed and moved to cover them, when he swiftly flung away the tunic and rolled her to the grass under him, still laughing.

Though still trembling, she immediately grew still under him, the weight of his body creating a heavy heat inside her. Stretching her arms above her head and holding them by the wrists, Leofric lowered his face close to hers, his eyes glowing as they held hers in their gaze. "Leofric, please... please... d-don't kiss me..." she whimpered.

"I'm not kissing you..." he said softly, coming closer and brushing his nose and cheek against her face. His cheek was not shaven, but it had grown in enough that it didn't feel prickly or scratchy and without thinking, she rose up to him every time he touched her with it. A man true to his word, Leofric didn't kiss her, but instead drove her mad with all the things he wasn't doing to her.

She felt his warm breath curl into the hollow of her collarbone, and slowly travel up her neck as she shivered and moaned under him. "Now, I'm not nibbling on your ear," he whispered, his lips barely brushing against her lobe.

"Leofric, I... I can't just... marry you because the king tells me to and because you make me... make me..." she gasped, shuddering in pleasure when he began pulsing his hips against her.

"Yes? I make you...? Incoherent with lust? Forget which name you're supposed to answer to?" he prompted, grinning down at her.

"Yours..." she whispered, a stray tear trickling down the side of her eye. "I can't keep letting you kiss me, and touch me and make me feel all these things... because what if you make me yours and then, for whatever reason, I can't marry you?" she said, closing her eyes, her face twisting in misery.

Leofric's face grew serious and rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him again, spreading his tunic over her shoulders and back again. "You're right, of course... forgive me," he said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Wh-what?" she asked, taken aback at his sudden capitulation.

"You're right. It's not fair of me to overly tempt your heart before I've made it safe," he said, simply.

"Well, it's... it's not like I'm a child! I have--"

"No, no. You're absolutely right... I mean, certainly, I was overwrought at the thought that you had just died, but there's no excuse for me losing control like that. You have obligations! The people of Coventry depend on you for their happiness! You can't just marry someone because you like them. The Lord of Coventry needs the support of the people--"

"Well, yes, but--"

"And you can't risk marrying some blaguard with a tainted family name, either. You should hear the whispers at court about Northman. If I became Lord, the counties would build roads ten miles around Coventry just to avoid it, and then what would happen to your horse tax?"

"Don't be ridic--"

"No, I won't hear another word. When you're right, you're right. I've behaved as a cad. Here, put my tunic on--" he said, wrestling the tunic over her head, muffling the sounds of her protests.

When Godiva's head popped through the neck hole in his tunic, she looked furious and began slapping his hands back, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop doing that!" she yelled.

"Doing what?" he asked, innocently.

"Stop running yourself down like that! Stop making me argue your side! Stop being ridiculous!"

"Well, those *are* your arguments against marrying me, aren't they? I mean, you certainly like me enough to take me as your husband," he said, gesturing to her obvious affection as she turned to slap at his thighs that had moved to trap her between them.

"Not at the moment, saddle-goose!" she snarled.

"And I daresay, you could suffer through performing your marital duties, as required," he chuckled, thrusting his hips up under her lasciviously.

With a noise between a screech and a growl, Godiva scrambled up and marched back toward the tree where her dress hung drying in the breeze and began climbing up to the lowest branch, his tunic hanging on her like a short, loose dress.

Leofric leisurely followed her with his long loping stride, watching her inch out onto the lowest limb, looking for another that was closer to her dress. Seeing him stop directly beneath her, Godiva ignored him out of spite and took a long step onto another limb, grabbing a branch for balance. Leofric shifted slightly to remain directly below her as she climbed, his gaze never wavering from her. "If you think throwing my dress up higher than I can reach will keep me here against my will, you've got another thing coming!" she called down in annoyance. "I can climb with the best of them, longshanks!"

"Oh, I don't doubt it, my Lady. With a stature like yours, climbing must be second nature. Don't mind me, I was just enjoying the view!" he called back, smiling when she yelped and squeezed her legs together to hide her naked womanhood from his appreciative perusal. Unfortunately, the branch she had grabbed broke and left her dangling down by one arm.

"Of course, I would much rather have our picnic together, if you can delay your other endeavors," Leofric called up.

"What? What are you talking about? Help me, you fustilarian!" she yelled, kicking her legs angrily.

"Our picnic! You kindly offered this morning to share an outdoor meal with me this afternoon. Several ladies in the town seemed to think you'd forget about it, so they kindly filled Harold's packs with delicious foodstuffs for our sup! What say you?"

Incensed, Godiva began swinging, trying to reach another limb with her foot, making Leofric sway side to side as he tried to stay beneath her. "Fine! Yes!" she yelled, adjusting her grip as her hand began slipping. "Just help me!"

Leofric smiled magnanimously and whistled, bringing Harold directly below her and mounting him to reach her better. "Now forgive me, my Lady, but I'll need to take some liberties with your person to affect your rescue..." he said, reaching up his hands to grab her bottom in one hand and her hip in the other. She felt his fingers slide through her slippery crack as he adjusted his grip. After some maneuvering, he lowered her carefully to the saddle in front of him, deftly sliding two fingers inside her in the process. "There we are," he murmured against the top of her head, "isn't that better?"

Godiva moaned, going limp in front of him as he began slowly thrusting his fingers through her passage, feeling his hard cock pressed against her. She was shocked at how ready she was for him, as if simply by arguing with her and aggravating her, he had set her blood on fire. Fumbling behind her, she released his cock from his pants, rubbing it against her bare bottom. "Leof... Leofric... I need you. Please..." she whimpered, afraid he wouldn't understand her readiness.

"Stand," Leofric commanded. Obediently, Godiva sat up, reaching her feet down toward the stirrups, trying to stand in the saddle on wobbly legs, but her legs were far too short to reach. "Harold, dearest, not you," she heard his voice amend with a smile. "You, lean forward and lie still," he instructed.

Godiva leaned forward along Harold's neck and groaned as Leofric removed his fingers, missing the fullness and demanding presence of him inside her. She felt him shift in the saddle and began to sit up, expecting him to dismount and help her down, but then his hand clasped the back of her neck and held her where she was. His other hand pushed the tunic up her back, exposing her bottom.

Realizing his intentions, she scooted her legs up under her, kneeling now on Harold's back and arched, presenting herself to him. Looking over her shoulder, she met his eyes, watching him stroke himself slowly. Quivering, she closed her eyes and lay her head down in the coarse hair of the mane and waited. She felt the hot head of his cock slide into her entrance, then with a thrust, sink in deeply. Her shuddering cry and his soft grunt announced their reunion. "Ohhhh... I've missed you, my good girl," Leofric groaned, flexing his hips, "Let's never fight again..."