I returned to the room only moments ahead of Vali, her sweet voice drifting through the door as she rounded the corner at the hall’s end. I waited at the door, stifling a smile as Vilkurn pushed her in front of him. He had gift-wrapped her for me, with a red bow on the top of her head and a black silk blindfold over her eyes. Her dark hair hung in curls down her back, and the crimson dress she wore was tighter than we encouraged in public.
I could see every curve she had, and my hands itched to reach out and trace each one just slowly enough to make her whimper.
“Vilkurn, why do I have to be blindfolded? It’s not your night, it’s Axe’s, and I won’t let anyone keep me from seeing my mountain of a ma—oof!” Her hands landed on the buckle of my belt, and she sucked in a deep breath. “Axe!” Before I could remove the blindfold, she had plastered herself against my front, her arms wrapped around my lower back and her cheek pressed below my chest.
Goddess, she was so small. My heart ached with wonder at the way she trusted me to care for her, how she accepted me. Vilkurn let out a short bark of laughter as he noticed me shifting my arousal away from Vali’s searching hands.
He signed behind her back, “Have fun, brother.” Then he winked, pulled the bow away from her hair, and vanished into the shadows at the end of the hall.
I led Vali into the room and removed her blindfold. She was right; I wanted her to be able to see me, so we could communicate.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Of course,” she signed back, “but what are we doing in the guest suites?” She knew so much more sign language now—all the daily words, and most of the dirty ones—and I loved watching her brow furrow slightly as she fought to recall what she’d learned.
Her love shone in every small gesture. I hoped she would recognize what I was giving her tonight. The love I was trying to show in return. I didn’t answer, but led her over to the bed, placing her in front of me so she could see the bedding.
“Axe, what’s going on?” Her voice sounded strained as she glanced back.
“I brought you these sheets, blankets, and pillows. I ordered the velvet ones from Mirren, and the silk sheets from a weaver near the Verdanian border—”
“You ordered sheets for me?”
“I promised you a nest, my queen. A proper nest.”I stopped. She wasn’t even watching my hands now, only staring at the bed in shock and… amusement?
“Did you make a nest for my kitten?” My eyes followed hers to the head of the enormous bed.
There, tucked up and almost all the way under the velvet pillows and satin sheets, lay her cat, Mischief. Her sides were distended, and she was panting, her head low. Two small, squirming bundles of gray and white moved on the wet linens, and as we watched, another sac of kitten emerged. She took a moment to lick the tiny thing clean, then panted a bit more.
“She’s having her kittens!” Vali whispered. “You did this for my Mischief?” Her arms were around me then, and I couldn’t tell her the truth, couldn’t let her see how disheartened I was that my plans had ended up in shambles.
I smiled weakly. “You know I love you… and your cat.”
It wasn’t a lie. She did love that cat, and that meant I loved it too, even if it spat hairballs into my boots every few weeks. And scratched my jerkin hard enough to leave permanent marks. And left dead mice on my pillow every so often.
At least it didn’t hate me like it did Rigol. His arms would probably never heal from the constant scratching the cat doled out.
“I love you, too, Axe,” Vali murmured, and climbed the edge of the tall bed. She grabbed hold of my neck, her small legs wrapping around my waist, and peppered my beard and face with kisses. “And I know you love me enough to give my cat velvet pillows to have her kittens on. But this was supposed to be for me, wasn’t it?”
“I wanted you to have a perfect nest,” I signed when I could get my hands free. “Our first time wasn’t right, both of us covered in dirt, and me chained to a wall in a dungeon.”
“Our first time was perfect,” she disagreed, her dark eyes snapping. “Even if I didn’t have anything to make a real nest then.” Her hands traced my brow and ran down my hair, tugging at the ends. “This is her first litter, you know. She won’t want us in here, making noise. She’ll be here for hours, my Axe. We’ll need to bring her food and water bowls into the room.”
“I know.” I tried not to let my disappointment show as I stepped outside and clapped for a servant to bring Mischief’s dishes.
Vali stared over my shoulder at the kittens, entranced. “Little Mischief babies,” she murmured. “What a wonderful ending to this day.”
Not the ending I had anticipated, but I smiled anyway. Her joy was all I could ever want. “I suppose we could go have a drink with the others to celebrate…”
“Or we could go to the place where I started to build my very first nest ever. Your room.” Her lips nipped at my ear. “And you could play me a song on your harp while I see if I can make it even more perfect for you.”
I wrapped my arms around her so she wouldn’t fall and ran as fast as I could down the hallway, her laughter filling the dark castle with a shimmering rainbow of joyful sound.
Axe
Asweet melody rose into the quiet room as I plucked gently at the strings of my harp, watching Vali slip out of her dress. Lorn found intense pleasure in buying her body-hugging dresses in vivid colors. This one was scarlet, with bright golden roses embroidered on the panels, and the front of the corset laced up on the outside.
Slowly, her eyes on mine, she tugged at the long laces, loosening the bodice. She pulled the corset free, then slid her skirts down her legs and her blouse over her head, until she was wearing nothing but her white undergarments. She perched on the edge of the chair, fidgeting.
