Chapter 51

"You have to feed me, t'xoria," Rhobart said when Ayla put a bowl of broth in front of him. "I am hurt, and I can't use my arm!" he said in a dramatic tone.

Ayla narrowed her eyes while she sat on the blankets before him, "Five days have passed since you got attacked, and I have seen you use that arm! You can eat by yourself just fine."

"What if I use it and I bleed again?"

Ayla snorted, "Use your left one!"

Rhobart looked at his left arm, "I can't use it because someone used it as a pillow all night long. And not to mention all the time you asked me to kiss you while I tried to sleep!"

Ayla's cheeks turned red, "I did no such thing!"

"Last time I stopped and wanted to sleep, you asked me to kiss you for a little longer. I ended up kissing you for an hour," Rhobart said and smiled. "If you want more kisses, you need to feed me. Look how tired I am. And not to mention I am still recuperating from my wound."

Ayla took the bowl and the spoon in her hands and started feeding Rhobart, "I am starting to believe you got hurt on purpose."

"To have you take care of me and caress my bare chest while you think I am asleep? I would let another harpy hurt both my shoulders in a heartbeat!"

Ayla's face was on fire. She could not believe he had been awake when she traced the tattoos from his chest with her fingertips. She even kissed one rune, the one next to his pierced nipple–a rune that she found beautiful.

"You were awake? Why didn't you say something?" Ayla asked in a scandalous voice.

"But if I would have said something, you would have stopped touching me."

She looked away from him, "I was just curious about your runs."

"I wonder about what else you are curious about," Rhobart said and chuckled.

"You are terrible!" Ayla said and left to clean the empty bowl.

When she returned, she kneeled next to Rhobart and looked at his wound. She was pleased to see it was healing very well.

"How is it?" Rhobart asked while Ayla helped him put his tunic on.

"I think you can travel tomorrow," Ayla said.

"We better leave today."

"Rhobart, you need to rest more," Ayla said softly.

Rhobart looked at her with his onyx eyes, "If I have to spend one more night with you under the blankets and kiss your sweet lips for hours, I don't think I will be able to stop. I will take all your clothes off and–"

He stopped talking and looked away for a moment.

'And what?' Ayla asked herself.

While Ayla knew which plants were good for menstrual cramps, or even to delay the monthly cycle of a woman, or which plants were used to avoid a pregnancy, Ayla was clueless when it came to what happened between husband and wife. She read about those plants in a book, but it did not say how a woman got pregnant. She knew it took a man and a woman to create a baby, but that was about everything she knew.

Once, she asked her mother, but the only thing her mother said it was the duty of a husband to teach his bride about such things. So Ayla read books, hoping she would learn about the mysterious act, which some people, from what she heard, called 'fucking.'

She looked at Rhobart. He knew about it. Maybe he will tell her.

"Rhobart?" Ayla asked, and when he looked at her, she shifted uncomfortably. "What happens between a man and a woman? You know, when they are married?"

Rhobart growled like an animal and launched himself at her. Next thing, she was on her back, and Rhobart was on top of her.

He grabbed her left leg and put it around his waist, and when she tried to lower it, Rhobart growled, "Keep it there!" As he settled between her legs, his hips moved against her hips.

His lips claimed hers, and his tongue danced inside her mouth. His hand found the buttons of her cloak and undid them. When he finished with the cloak, he started working on her jacket.

Ayla was nervous and a bit scared, but she trusted Rhobart. She trusted him not to hurt her. When she felt something hard in his trousers pressing against her most intimate part, sparks of pleasure made her moan. She wanted to feel him closer, so she circled his neck with her arms. What did he have in his trousers?

When his hand brushed against her chest, she trembled. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. He stopped moving and just breathed her in. He put her leg down, moved to her side, and looked into her eyes.

"I am sorry," he said. "I lost control, and I scared you."

"You didn't scare me," Ayla confessed.

"I didn't?"

"I am just nervous. I haven't done this before, and I don't know what to do. But when you touched me, I liked it and...."

Rhobart grabbed her hand and guided it to his heart. It was drumming so hard against her palm.

"I understand because I am as nervous as you are. But we will take it slow, Ayla. It doesn't have to be right now. And I don't want it to be here and not like this. Not when there are many things unsaid."

"What things?" Ayla asked.

"Give me time, Ayla. But I want you to know that this is real. And I want you, t'xoria, like I never wanted anything else in my entire life."

Ayla bit her lip, "Not even your soulmate?"

Rhobart inhaled deeply, "I don't want to talk about that."

"Why? Is she the one that hurt you this badly?"

He closed his eyes, "Please, Ayla! Don't ruin this."

"I am sorry, Rhobart! I will stop asking about her." Ayla bit her lower lip," But I am curious about something else."

He opened his eyes, "Sometimes, your curiosity scares me." He sighed, "What is it this time?"

She bit her lip and blushed ."Earlier, while you were on top of me, I felt something hard in your trousers–"