Strange Bedfellows Ch. 04

Hmm.

She looked at Kalus. They'd gotten off to a rocky start, but he was a good man, a good husband, and would almost certainly be a good father as well. He was a strong man, but he could be tender as well. She looked at Lyra, who she could see becoming her best friend in the world. It was a case of opposites attracting, but she could see them becoming close. She put her hand over her womb and vaguely wondered if Lyra was carrying precious cargo as well. She and Kalus had certainly been to bed often enough lately.

Her family.

It was strange to think how it had formed, but it had. There was only one thing holding her back from being truly happy with her new family: Kalus was part of the army invading her country. If only he were a citizen of Timarou and not at war with her country and father.

She sighed.

If only.

"I suppose we will discover King Tyso's intentions tomorrow." Kalus said, but his mouth was pulled into a thin line and he was staring intently into space.

He was worried.

Or at least that's how he looked to Shara.

"Well, this seems like a good time for this." Kyselius said, standing up. He walked over to Kalus and set down a small... rock? In front of him. It was about the size of the last joint on Shara's pinky finger.

"What is it?" Kalus asked.

"It's called 'rock candy'." The herald replied. "Apparently, it's made mostly from sugar and some berry juice. It's hard, so don't try to chew it because you'll break your teeth. Just suck on it; they're pretty good."

Kalus gave him an odd look.

"I found it at a street vendor earlier and the fellow claimed that he invented it just recently." Kyselius said. "He didn't have many so I got the last two. I already ate one, so they're not poisoned." He added with a wink. "Try it, you look like you could use something sweet."

Kalus picked up the piece of 'rock candy' and sniffed it. He gave Kyselius another quizzical look, then popped it in his mouth. He didn't say anything for several seconds, then got a smile on his face and nodded.

"That's quite good." He nodded as he sucked on it and looked at his herald. "Rock candy you say?"

"Yes sir." Kyselius nodded, then looked at the ladies. "Sorry, the vendor didn't have enough for you ladies as well."

Lyra nodded, then cocked her head to one side and got an impish grin on her face. She glanced at Shara, then at her husband again. "Husband, might I try some of yours?"

"I wouldn't try to break it in half with your teeth." Kyselius cautioned. "You're liable to chip a tooth."

"That's okay." Lyra said, her impish grin morphing into a more proper smile... but the sparkle was still in her eyes as she looked at Kalus. "I would be willing to um, get it from you." She said, and Shara could tell that the horsewoman was doing everything in her power to silently tell Kalus that she wasn't about to make a scene.

He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Please?" She asked, and again Shara could tell that she was trying very hard to non-verbally indicate that she wasn't about to cross the unwritten rules of decorum.

He scrutinized her for several seconds, then nodded.

The ash blonde stood and stepped over to him, then as properly as possible and withalmost no hint of sensuality or flirtation, she sat down across his lap. Not straddling him, but with both her legs together across his lap. Then she leaned in and placed what couldalmost be described as a chaste kiss on his lips.

Shara saw their mouths open while pressed together, and while she couldn't actually see the piece of rock candy pass between them, she knew it had. She knew their tongues must've touched, and even intertwined to pass the candy between them. For some reason, she felt slightly wistful as she thought about what that might feel like.

After several seconds, Lyra leaned away from their husband and paused for several seconds. "It's really good." Then she lowered her voice and whispered so that Shara could barely hear. "And the candy is too."

He smiled at her.

Shara felt a bit... well, jealous of Lyra. She wasn't sure when this happened, but she wanted to kiss him too. She didn't know when that had changed, but it had. It occurred to her that she had never kissed Kalus before, not properly anyway. They'd been married for over a week now, and yet they'd never kissed save for when they were wed and that wasn't a real kiss.

She'd never beenproperly kissed.

She was pregnant with her first child and she'd never been properly kissed. That was a problem. Since her kingdom had fallen, she would probably spend the rest of her life as 'Katia', former handmaiden to the princess. She hadn't been to the capital much in recent years so she didn't think that anyone from the common folk would recognize her here. If she was going to live as a former handmaiden, she wanted to at least know what it was like to be properly kissed.

Sadly, she didn't know how to approach it with him.

She didn't want to ask; it would just sound silly to say to him: 'could you kiss me so I know what it's like to be kissed?' No, that wasn't a good idea. However, she didn't know how to approach it otherwise.

Fortunately, Lyra seemed to.

The horsewoman stood up and returned to her seat, then looked at Shara. "Did you want to try it?"

Shara froze.

Was Lyra suggesting what she thought she was suggesting?

"Of course, you'll have to return it to our husband when you're done..." The horsewoman gave her a significant look.

Oh.

The ash blonde was actually trying to help her do exactly what she said she'd wanted to do earlier that day; tell Kalus that not only did she not hate him, but she liked him. Did she want to kiss him using the candy as an excuse? Of course she did. Hadn't she just been wanting to know what it was like to be kissed? Well, she had an opportunity right in front of her... if only she could summon the courage to do it.

"Do you want to?" Lyra gently prompted.

Shara felt her head nodding before she had formed a response.

"Then..." The ash blonde bit her lip. "Should I give the rock candy to you?"

Shara glanced at Kalus, who was looking wide-eyed at his second wife. The princess turned to Lyra and nodded mutely, having no idea how this could possibly work. The blonde winked, leaned in, and gently pressed her lips to Shara's.

Her lips were soft.

Very soft.

They were slightly moist, gentle, and tasted a bit like some kind of berry, but that might just be the rock candy. Moments later, Shara felt something hard push gently against her lips and opened them to accept it. The hard candy was followed by a very soft and smooth tongue, which seemed to linger inside Shara's mouth a moment or two longer than strictly necessary.

Then Lyra pulled back, but it didn't feel like she wanted to.

Her fellow wife subtly licked her lips and smiled at Shara, the ash blonde's cheeks going pink as she did so. Lyra then adjusted herself in the chair a bit, exactly in the way she often did when she was craving some 'alone time' with their husband.

"What do you think?" Lyra asked.

"It's um... it was..." Shara's brain was slightly fried as she too subtly licked her lips, only then becoming aware of the subtly sweet flavor of the rock candy in her mouth. That's when she realized her fellow wife had been asking about the rock candy, not the kiss.

Oh, dear Illuminar in heaven; she'd just had her firstreal kiss, and it had been with a woman! If her mouth hadn't been full, her jaw would've dropped. She'd just kissed another woman. Voluntarily. Her eyes went wide and she swallowed, though fortunately she had the presence of mind not to swallow the rock candy.

"Well?" Lyra asked again.

"It's..." She sucked on the candy for a moment, enjoying the subtle berry flavor and sweetness. "It's quite good." She grinned.

Lyra flicked her eyes pointedly towards Kalus.

Shara turned in her seat toward him. "Um..."

Her brain froze. She knew what she wanted to do, but she was having a bit of trouble getting started.

Kalus looked at her for several seconds. "Do youwant to return it?"

She bit her lip, hesitated for several moments and then nodded her head slightly.

His smile widened. "Are you sure?"

She closed her eyes and nodded again.

She heard a scraping sound and opened her eyes to see that he had pushed his chair back from the table slightly. Not much, but enough to make a comfortable space on his lap. He looked like he was exerting effort not to smile so broadly that he cracked the room's walls, but was failing in that effort.

He gently patted his lap.

Shara swallowed.

"Go on." Lyra gave her a gentle nudge.

She nodded, then pushed her chair out a bit so she could stand up. It was only a step or two, but seemed a lot further. She stood by the side of his chair for several seconds, knowing exactly what she wanted to do, but embarrassed to do it.

"I won't bite." Kalus said, and his tone was even softer than it usually was.

She bit her lip, then nodded.

She turned around, then sat down across his lap. It was more comfortable than she had guessed it would be. He was warm too; was he always this warm? He was a lot taller than she was and larger too. He had light brown eyes with flecks of hazel in them. He had kind eyes, too; why hadn't she noticed that when she'd met him? He was still a strict man and he could be stern, but he could also be kind and gentle too.

She realized that she was taking somewhat shallow breaths, and consciously took a deeper breath. "You're very comfortable." She nearly whispered because her voice was so hoarse.

"As are you." He replied.

She leaned in a bit, having to swallow again because the rock candy was slowly melting in her mouth. Her lips were only a few inches from his, but she was as close as she dared to come.

He put his arm around her.

It was such a small thing really, but it meant a lot. His arm was around her waist in a comforting fashion, and for some reason that made her feel safe enough to lean in a bit further. Her lips were perhaps only an inch away, but she couldn't bring herself to bridge that last gap between them, no matter how much she wanted to.

He did.

He leaned forward for a moment and she was only briefly distracted by the hair of his short beard before their lips met.

It was strange.

Nice, but strange.

She couldn't help comparing it to her kiss with Lyra just a moment ago. Her fellow wife had been very soft and gentle while Kalus was firmer and stronger. Neither was better than the other, but they were quite different. For some reason, she felt like she couldfeel it from her husband more. Like there was an attraction he had for her that Lyra didn't share, though the two women got along very well.

She liked it.

It wasn't quite what she had been expecting, but not better or worse; just different. She definitely wanted to try it again. Kalus's lips moved on her gently, and it felt like he was... was... Hmm, she couldn't think of any other way to say it than that it felt like he was 'savoring' her. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she liked it.

After several moments, she pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes.

They were sparkling.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him. "For... for everything."

He smiled at her and whispered in return. "You needn't apologize, but I shall always forgive you when you do."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"You can keep the candy." He whispered, his eyes twinkling.

She blushed; she had completely forgotten the excuse-- uh, the reason that she had kissed him in the first place.

He didn't seem to mind.

* * *

Kalus couldn't help but smile at his first wife voluntarily sitting on his lap. He and Katia had had a rocky road, but it seemed like things were finally smoothing out. They looked into each other's eyes for several seconds before the commander remembered that they were in a room full of people.

Titus had a knowing look on his face as he took another bite of dinner.

Katia seemed to remember that they had an audience too and she blushed, her pink cheeks complimenting her amber hair. She slid off his lap, giving him a strange look as she stood up. She had a very small smile playing around the end of her mouth as she looked at him. It almost looked like the smile was involuntary too; like her subconscious mind was more responsible for it than her conscious one.

He liked that.

Katia took her seat and his eyes shifted to Lyra, who unsurprisingly had a slightly hooded look around her eyes as she looked at him. Did she ever get enough time in bed? He was beginning to think she didn't, and perhaps never would.

The rest of dinner was a quiet affair, though he did discuss occupation business with his command staff. Overall, the citizens of Laerten showed remarkably little opposition to his legion occupying the city, with many of them even welcoming his presence. He was pretty certain that was primarily because his legion was de facto protecting them from King Tyso's other legions, which wouldn't be so gentle with the populace.

After dinner, he retired upstairs with his wives, Octavian's guards shadowing him the entire way. He didn't think it necessary but appreciated the men's care nonetheless.

"I'm ready for bed." Lyra said the moment the door had closed. By her tone, she didn't have sleep in mind.

Katia chuckled. "When are younot ready for bed."

"When I'm sleeping of course." The ash blonde said with a wink.

Kalus raised his eyebrow. "Sometimes you rub yourself against me in your sleep."

"Oh." She grimaced slightly, then shrugged. "I suppose I could try to stop, you'll just have to show me what exactly I'm doing so I know what I need to stop..." She trailed off, her fingers playing with the neckline of her dress.

"Is it truly that--" Katia started to say, but then went pink in the cheeks and fell silent.

"Yes, it's that good." The ash blonde replied. "I'm sure Kalus would love to show you, and I haven't been able to watch and see what it looks like from an observer's perspective yet..." She said the last part in a slightly sing-song tone.

Katia blushed scarlet.

Kalus shook his head with a smile and a chuckle. "You are quite the handful Lyra."

"I'm sorry, I just get so..." She looked down. "Is that still okay? I mean, that I'm so interested in the bedroom."

"I certainly don't mind, but occasionally I will need to getsome sleep." He winked at her.

"Okay, I'll let you getsome." She replied playfully.

"Um." Katia looked at him and then at the floor. "I um... may I call you by your first name?"

"Of course." He replied.

"Then, then Lucien..." She swallowed hard. "Could..." She glanced up at him again, then averted her eyes again. "Could you kiss me again?"

"Gladly." He stepped over to her and lowered his lips to hers.

She bent backwards away from him slightly as he approached, but stopped when their lips met. He kissed her tenderly, knowing she was less flamboyant and energetic than Lyra. However, she seemed to possess a deep well of feeling and emotion just beneath the surface. Whereas Lyra wore her heart on her sleeve, Katia was far more reserved.

She also kissed very differently.

Lyra was wild, diving in with almost no hesitation. Katia pulled herself against him with her arms and body while her head leaned slightly away. She wanted to kiss him, but leaned slightly away from the kiss even as she also pulled herself closer to him. She kissed with more emotion, but less passion. They were both wonderful, just different.

Their kiss broke after several moments and they looked at each other for several seconds.

"I would not have chosen how we married." Kalus said softly. "But I am glad that we are married."

She smiled slightly at him and nodded slowly. She didn't reply, but seemed to consider that.

"I don't know what Tyso has planned tomorrow at King Bracken's palace, nor who or what we'll see there tomorrow, but..." He trailed off at the look on Katia's face. "What?"

"I just realized..." The former handmaiden's eyes grew wide. "I'll be in the palace tomorrow."

"Yes." He said, not sure what his first wife was feeling, only that something she had realized was distressing her greatly.

"They'll recognize me." She took a step back and put and hand over her mouth. Her leg bumped up against the bed and she sank down onto it.

"But why is that a problem?" Lyra asked, moving over and sitting down next to her.

"Because..." Katia looked at the two of them and suddenly resembled a child who'd been caught stealing a sweet roll.

"Because... what?" Kalus asked.

The amber-haired girl worked her mouth soundlessly for several seconds with no sound coming out.

"Katia, if you know something -- especially if it's something that could put us in danger tomorrow at King Bracken's castle -- you need to tell me. Now." He said firmly but not unkindly.

She swallowed hard. "Please don't hate me."

"Dear Katia, I could never hate you." He replied and then sat down on her other side.

"But..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But my name isn't 'Katia'."

He stared at her.

"It's..." She took another deep breath and started examining the floor rather intently. "It's Shara; Shara Bracken."

TO BE CONTINUED...

STORY TAGS (For the whole series): blonde, teen, virgin, medieval, romantic, princess, threesome, impregnation, breeding