Page 90 of Unseen

His hunger for pleasuring me with his mouth was inhuman. He outright longed for it. Most nights he would not penetrate me until he had tasted me, my sex quivering against his tongue as he moaned, then drove me through sweet torture again.

And then there was the night when he poured oil all over my backside, after I was a spent and trembling mess on the bed, and he told me he would stop if it hurt. I was anxious and yet thrilled, this act that was so vile, so lewd that it was indeed criminal.

And hurt it had, for my husband was endowed with amember that I was sure was simply another sign that was sent straight from hell. But once the pain had subsided, once my body had welcomed the intrusion after more liberal splashes of oil, I had moaned and panted and sweated my way through the act, coming to completion in a way I had never expected nor experienced.

The soreness I had felt the next day made me implore Azriel to not do it again, but he had laughed and said that all I needed was practice. He did not, to his credit, attempt it again.

I was sure it was a kind of addiction, a dependency, that I was developing on this man. Unraveling me, taking me apart piece by piece, discovering my innermost secrets, I had begun to question what I truly felt for him. Could I love him?

The next time my monthlies came, I stared at my soiled undergarments, and felt true shock, for the very first time.

“Oh dear,” Mary murmured, and crossed the bathroom to help me finish undressing. “Now, now, madam, you mustn’t be upset.”

“I-I’m not, truly.” My hands shook as I wound my hair atop my head, and secured it with a long pin.

“Sometimes the blessings can take some time to come,” Mary said gently, taking my hand and helping me into the tub.

“I am not at all concerned, Mary.” I pasted a smile on my face, and sank into the warm water. “I am still young, there is plenty of time.”

“You are right, madam. You shall have a beautiful baby in your arms before you know it.”

Those words sent a completely foreign sensation into my very being. Where I had never once entertained the idea of being a mother, where I had indeed done all I could to prevent becoming one, I was now with a husband whose seed I was no longer washing away. He filled me, sometimesmore than once, every night. I should have been abundantly sired by now.

For the first time, I felt dread.

What if I had somehow damaged myself? What if I had been a fool listening to the one devious piece of advice from a girl at school about contraception, and it had in fact rendered me infertile?

Or worse still - what if I had always been barren?

“Mr Caine’s Christmas gift arrived.” Mary’s bright voice tore me from my reverie, and I met her bright smile. “Fashioned just as you asked. I am sure he will be thrilled.”

“Yes, I hope so.”

A knock sounded in the distance, followed swiftly by heavy footsteps through my bedroom. Mary instantly squeaked and hurried out, her figure passing through the door moments before Azriel strode into the bathroom.

“Hello, beloved.” He smiled widely, looking over me hungrily in the tub. “I love finding you like this when I return home.”

“I am sure you do.” I tried to return his smile, but it was weak and insincere, and instantly his brow furrowed.

“Evie? Has something happened?” He stepped towards the tub, and I huffed out a breath.

“I am convinced you are a witch. How in heaven’s name can you always sense when something is wrong?”

“Because to me you are an open book.” He knelt down beside the tub, and took my hand. “I can see all is not well. What has happened?”

I sighed heavily, staring at the water pooled around me, one tendril of hair come loose from my head now floating on its surface. “My… monthlies have arrived. I am not pregnant.” I felt almost sheepish as I glanced back at him. “I am sorry.”

“What the devil for?”

“For… Well… Not doing-”

“If you say, ‘Not doing my duty’, I am going to put you over my knee, and not for fun.” He eyed me sternly and shook his head.

I covered my mouth as an embarrassed laugh escaped me. “You are a cad.”

“And you are a little fool.”

“You did say you were going to breed me like a brood mare as you saw fit.” I splashed some water at him, and his frown was replaced by a grin.

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