Page 58 of The White Enchantress

“Everything happens for a reason, right? Anyway, I was also thinking about how my mom would take me to the beach every summer. She’d never take me to the popular beaches with boardwalks. Belmar. That’s where we’d go. It wasn’t a quiet, private stretch of beach like this but it was beautiful. I remember, as a little girl, looking out into the ocean, imagining what the other side looked like. If there even was another side. The ocean seemedendless. An infinite body of water. I wanted to go exploring, find a new land, one full of magic.” I laugh, pulling myself closer to Lancelot’s now damp body. “I guess that magical land found me.”

“Pizza?” Lance analyzes the pie with skepticism, then scans the dining hall from his seat at the head table, noticing everyone else eating the same meal.

“Yes, pizza. It’s one of my favorite things to eat. Just try it.”

“There’s barely any meat. I need more meat than this, Guin.”

“Think of this as an appetizer then. You can have the roasted chicken after you try a slice. A bite at least.”

“Hmpf.” Lancelot slumps back in his chair like a stubborn little boy at Medieval Times, wanting his turkey leg but getting the bean soup instead.

“You’re being ridiculous.” I cut a slice from the pie, fold it in my hands, stand up and sit myself down on his lap. A smile fights its way through the stiff stubbornness of his face. “If you’re gonna act like a child, I’ll feed you like a child. Now open up.”

I am met with no further struggle as Lance opens his mouth, accepting the bite I offer him. His eyes never leave mine. As he mulls the pie around in his mouth, those bright green eyes open wide in amazement.

“For bread and cheese, this is delicious. What did Faina do to the bread? It is as if I am eating a cloud yet the crust is wonderfully crispy.”

“That’s the perfect pizza crust. And it’s not just bread and cheese. It’s a whole meal in one bite.”

A boisterous laugh escapes Lance’s lips, coated in oil from the pizza. “However, I will still require that roasted chicken.”

“As long as you eat your veggies, love.”

“I have never eaten so many vegetables in my whole life since bringing you home with me. Though I am not complaining. I have not had backed-up bowels either.”

“It’s all that fiber. A well-balanced diet is important.”

“Whatever you say, my love.”

As I attempt to stand up to move back to my own seat, Lance places his strong hands firmly on my waist, sitting me back down on his lap. I don’t argue as I know I wouldn’t win. And to be honest, I found it sort of erotic. Besides the side smirks I catch from the people walking to and from the dining tables, no one seems to notice or care that we are intimately sharing our dinner with one another. We are the only ones sitting at the head table, far enough away from the rest of those dining in the hall to give us a little bit of privacy. Enough to flirt and play around.

I bend over to my plate, rubbing my ass against Lance’s groin as I reach for another slice of pizza. I feel the stirrings of a boner and hear a low moan of pleasure escape his mouth. A jolt of excitement runs through my body at the thought of arousing him in such apublic place. Not that I am into public sex but it is exciting to think that I have such an effect on my husband.

When I pull myself back against him, I grind harder against his bulge. A deeper moan echoes in my ears as his lips close over the fleshy lobe of my ear. A hand brushes against my thigh, dragging up my torso. He gives my breasts a quick squeeze before bringing his hand to my chin, pulling my lips to his. I let him kiss me but don’t give him entry inside, not wanting to make out in front of everyone in the dining hall.

“Lance,” I whisper against his lips, pulling myself back just enough to keep him a breath away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you.”

“Hmpf. You make my body come alive, Guin. Without trying. You tease me every minute of the day.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize for loving me, for showing me I can love. My heart is yours, my soul follows your every command, and my body vibrates with want of yours. I never thought I could be so consumed by another. You fill me with a love I did not believe was meant to be mine. You have made me the happiest man alive by loving me, by choosing me.”

“Who else would I choose? You are mine, Lance.” I plant a kiss on his lips, feeling the heat inside me expand. Before I melt into him, I pull my lips away, laying my head against his. I could stay this way for all eternity.

“Let us fill our bellies so we can spend the whole evening in bed before falling asleep in each other’s arms,” Lance whispers softly against my brow.

“I absolutely love this idea.”

We return to eating our meal in our own seats, cooling ourselves off. As I cut another slice of pizza, the castle steward approaches our table.

“This arrived for you earlier today, my lord. Apologies for not delivering it sooner.”

“Thank you, Augwys,” Lance replies in his business voice, accepting the letter from Augie’s hand. I call our steward Augie because I cannot for the life of me pronounce his name. I know he hates the nickname, but he never lets his annoyance show.

Chapter 28

Lancelot

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