Thandi is surprised. She had never thought that the Lord Vanderbee cared for her in one way or another. The way he spoke, she had assumed he was just using her. A mutual exchange: her, for whatever she wanted in this world; him, to be able to do as he pleased without the pressure of marriage from his advisors.

But tonight…

He steers her backwards, toward her bed, and forces her to sit. “I said, where did he touch you?”

“Nowhere of consequence, my Lord.”

He growls, now speaking through grit teeth. “All of you is of consequence. Or did you forget your vows? Did you forget who you belong to?”

You will be the only one I have eyes for. My beloved spouse, I vow to give my heart to only you, to give every bit of my being to you, to be yours til the day I die.

She hadn’t forgotten. It’s the standard East Istrian wedding vow. She did not think it particularly important, as theirs is a marriage of symbiotic parasitism. His own vows were shorter.

You are mine, and I am yours. For as long as you’ll have me, this will remain true.

Did he… mean those words? 

Thandi stares into the severe eyes of her husband. He kneels on the floor in front of her, glare hard. Determined. She sees… something unexpected. No, it can’t be. She takes a deep breath. “I’ve not forgotten, my Lord.”

Another growl.

“He kissed my hand.” 

The Duke nods, removing his cravat pin and slipping it into a pocket. He carefully undoes his cravat, white muslin as clean and bright as the coils on her head. He takes her hand delicately, wiping her skin with the soft cloth, massaging her. The intense concentration on his face only makes Thandi blush.

What could be going through his mind? As he finishes, he lightly brings her fingers to his lips and lays gentle kisses upon the knuckles. He glances up at her. “Where else did he dare to touch my wife?”

Don’t tell her that this is his way of…! Claiming her! She’s nervous as she says next, “My shoulder…” She gestures to her right, and he nods. Lord Vanderbee pauses to undo his boots and toss them aside, climbing into her bed to kneel behind her. Thandi finds herself tilting her head, letting him get at her shoulder and neck.

His cravat suffices as a way to wipe her clean, as if refreshing the sensations of her skin to make his own leave an impression. Or maybe she’s overthinking it?

Lord Vanderbee massages both shoulders, and she hadn’t realized how tense she was until he’s in the midst of relaxing her. “My Lord… you are certainly… intent on helping me to forget.”

He leans forward, hands not stopping as his breath hits her ear. “Enough my Lords for the night, my wife. Thandi. Call me by my name.”

“Charles?”

“Don’t be insufferable. You know how much I dislike it.”

At this, she giggles. She leans back to lay against his chest. He no longer massages— there is simply no room to do so! “Charlie.”

“There we go, my moon. Much better.” He lays kisses along the curve of her neck. The sensation of his lips on anything but her hands is new and fresh and exhilarating. And yet he moves so gently.

“Any other requests, my… Charlie?”

“Quite a few. Keep on with my Charlie and tell me where else he touched you.”

“My… my waist.”

“That bastard.” Charlie’s hands move to her sides, carefully wiping… and then his hand sits there and rubs. “Never let anyone else come near you again. You are mine. My wife. I haven’t got faith above or below and certainly not enough for those who step away and linger unseen for the next opportunity to avail a man of his partner.” 

He buries his face into the crook of Thandi’s neck as she turns her face to kiss the top of his head. His hair is silky soft, smelling only vaguely minty. There’s a masculine scent about him right now and it makes her all the more aware of the way he is pressing to her. 

He only shifts to sit properly, hoisting her to sit neatly between his legs, his arms wrapped around her. 

“You are mine. Not a single soul may touch you without my permission. Not even the gods. You are my wife. Mine. Never for anyone else. I refuse them the privilege.” His lips meet her neck again, and then he nips. It’s so light. Kiss after kiss. It makes her squeeze her legs together. His voice is low and sultry, rumbling through his chest and into her. She feels something else now. Pressed hard into her back. His arousal. 

It makes her tense, and yet… she’s not against the idea. They’re married. It was bound to come up eventually.

She’s making puns to comfort herself. 

And yet. That flicker inside of her. Fanning the flame. His hips rock slightly, grinding his cock against her as his hands rise to cup her breasts. He lays yet another kiss upon her neck. “My wife. My moon, my stars, my wife…” His fingers find the tips of her nipples through the silk of her dress, teasing them. Thandi’s breathing becomes shaky and one of his hands come up to turn her face toward him, the kiss he presses to her lips strong. 

And yet. His lips are soft. It leaves her tingling. His eyes meet hers, the shocks of honey in them making her ache. Whyever did she marry a man who couldn’t love her? Another kiss. His eyes flutter closed as his tongue seeks permission to enter. Thandi parts her lips and the taste of him is exhilarating. His tongue is smooth, and it feels like he wants to taste her thoroughly. 

A purr runs through him and shocks them both. He pulls back, hand rising to his chest. And then he jerks himself up to stalk away, though she manages an eyeful of his straining erection against his trousers.

Oh, no.

The curiosity is killing her… not to mention her own arousal…

At this, Anahera lets a smile curve on her lips. He is an Istrian noble, after all, and men like this always want to be demeaned or humiliated— at least in her experience. She chuckles, though. Charles Vanderbee is a tish outside of the norm from what she’s observed and she knows better than to trust what’s on the surface. “Let’s make this interesting. I’ll bet you five hundred gold that he’s an absolute top.”

“Where in all the disc are ya gonna be pullin five hundred gold? Last I checked, you have forty silver and a shaker’s wortha copper.”

“I told you if you go through my bag one more time…!”

“Well, it weren’t once. I’ll take it. Five hunderd.”

“Better be ready to pay up.”

“Like we’ll ever get to find out.”

five years later

“Aren’t you a good girl? You work so very hard, dearest…”

Savon stands, pale-faced in front of the door at the end of the hall. Anahera smirks at them, a spark in her eye that says I haven’t forgotten. Both of them have to be careful not to make any noise and risk alerting the couple in their inn room of eavesdroppers. Whoever gets caught gets the ire of Briar and no one wants to shit on the honeymoon phase of the newly reunited couple.

So Savon can’t even argue with Ana on it.

“Oh! F-feels! So good! Yes! Briaaar!!“

“You can’t come yet, beloved. I’m not done with you yet.” It’s not fair that the virgin couple get to have wild monkey sex right now while Savon has to come up with five hundred gold!!

“It’s perfect. He’ll step up his game and finally ask you out, girl! There’s no way this could go wrong!”

“Are you… sure? Charlie can be a little… unpredictable…”

“It’s foolproof, Thandi. You got this.”

Foolproof. But not in the way Thandi had counted on when she told Dr. Vanderbee that she had a date to go to.

So she’s here, staring up at a snarl-faced Charlie. He grips her forearm tightly, leaning over her, forcing her to back up. “A date? No. Absolutely not.”

“I don’t need your permission, Charlie!” She bumps into her desk, keeping her gaze firm on his. He’s not been angry with her for years. He’s not so much as snapped at her for a long time. She can’t even remember the last time. But this display…

It reminds her of when he used to frighten her, when she first joined Charity.

“Are you displeased with me? Am I not enough for you?” The growl in his voice is dangerous, and he grabs her roughly to lift her onto her desk. “A date. Why the fuck are you going on a date?!”

She hadn’t thought of a why. Just the other details. Who her pretend date is. Where they work. How good-looking they are. “I! I need to…! Move forward with my life! I want a family, you know that!”

Another snarl. “Move forward? Thandi, you’re here.” He pushes her onto her back, covering her mouth with a gloved hand as he leans over top of her. She hears him sniffing at her, and a million things run through her head. Who had touched her today? Who’s in danger? Who is he going to target? He’s growling into her neck. “You’re mine, you realize. You’ve been mine. You want a family? We’ll start one right now.”

She feels an icy thrill run through her body. It’s… terror. And… something else. His teeth run over her pulse as his other hand moves to her waist. He grabs under her thigh, opening her legs with a force she’s never known from him. Her gentle Charlie is a beast right now. And she’s scared.

“A fucking date. Absolutely not. We’ve belonged to each other for a long time. I know what your arousal smells like.” His hips sit between her legs, and she feels him press his groin to her. Feels him rock his hips against hers, grinding against her. “I know what you like. I know every little fucking detail and you want to go on a fucking date.”

His hand leaves her mouth as he straightens, shedding his labcoat and tossing it aside carelessly. He tugs off his gloves and her ring glitters on his… left ring finger. Has he been wearing it since she gave it to him? Charlie reaches out, both hands sliding over her ribcage before halting at her waist.

“Well? Last chance to stab me before I fuck you on your own desk.” 

Thandi’s heart is racing, the thrill of the moment capturing her. Sense is out the window. He’s about to take her and use her and do whatever he likes… She hears him undo his belt, sees a sizeable strain in his underwear  as he unzips. He reaches down to her blouse, hooking a finger onto her buttons. They pop off one by one. He pulls the cups of her bra down, pausing to admire her chest.

“Gorgeous. Always so godsdamned gorgeous. I can smell how much you’re enjoying this, dearest. I know you have the power to stop me. Come on. Look at me.” He pulls his cock out of its prison and… oh. He’s… bigger than anticipated.

“Charlie… um…”

He rests his cock on her mons, purring as he grins mischievously at her, massaging her tits gently, his thumb brushing over her nipples. Thandi can feel herself soaking her panties, fluttering each time she recalls his cock is there. “Speak, my love. Spit it out.”

“Go… go slow?” 

His brows rise and he shakes his head. “I’m going as fast as I like. Now. All you’re allowed to say is my name, Thandi. Anything else and I’m going to leave you alone, mussed in the office.” One hand reaches between her legs and slides along the wet line of her panties before pulling them aside. He lines his cock up to her, playing with her clit as his hips move forward slowly. Thandi is trembling as she feels him press deeper and deeper inside of her.

She squeezes her eyes shut and she feels a rough hand on her chin. “Look at me. Watch me fuck you.”

She looks up shyly, cunt squeezing down on him when her eyes meet his. Despite the anger, despite the terror, there’s a sense of intensity beyond anything she ever thought possible. Charlie is inside of her, grabbing her hips as he sighs, relishing how she feels.

He goes shallow and hard first, as if to defy her earlier request. The desk rocks and squeaks loudly, her painfully organized everything falling over. Pens and pencils clatter onto the floor as he moves, the feeling of him becoming her sole focus. It makes her squeak as much as the desk. It’s reaching so deep! And somehow the sensation of him abusing her innermost parts like this, sweating and red-faced and savagely handsome…

He groans with pleasure as his hips clap into hers, and Thandi grabs his wrists, her back arching. He’s hitting something in her, something so…! So…! 

A pure explosion of pleasure as she cries out, cunt spasming around him. It makes his breathing stutter as he leans over her and slams his cock deeper inside of her, that pleasure deepening as she feels heat spreading from him. She can’t help it. “Charlie!! Gods!! Ch-Charlie!!”

And he leans over her to kiss her hard and press his body to hers, hips picking up speed again. His lips are soft, despite the force behind the kiss. Thandi opens her mouth and straightaway, she feels his tongue. He’s absolutely mad for her! He’s still fucking her! 

Charlie opens his eyes and sees her staring.The look only makes him do longer strokes, emptying and filling her over and over. “I love you. I always have. So no dates.“

“Y-you’re! Ah! My! Hhmmmnnn! Date!”

He pauses in his thrusting, leaning over her still, shocked. “What?” She… can feel his cock twitch inside her. She can feel how excited he is, to the point he’s forgotten his threat. It gives her a moment to catch her breath. His hands move to her tits, massaging them and teasing at her nipples as she wraps her legs about his waist.

“I was! It wasn’t my idea! But… it worked?”

Charlie pouts down at her and glares into her sheepish smile. His anger dampens her attempt at levity, and he sighs, shaking his head. “I think you need a punishment.” 

“Wha—”

Charlie’s cock slips out of her, throbbing from stimulation, covered in a mix of his cum and her slick. Her cunt drips with the rest, and he pulls her off the desk to kneel in front of him. Seeing him up close… this bit she’s never seen and was just inside of her… Charlie glares down at her. “Clean me up. And then I’m going to fuck you again. And if you’re a good girl, I may say yes to a date. You’ve rather offended me, Thandi.” The tip of his cock presses to her lips and she’s nearly overwhelmed by the scent of their sex.

She opens her mouth and he buries his hand in her hair, pushing his shirt up slightly. She’s seen so little of his skin, and now she’s got his cock in her mouth and she’s greedy for more. Her eyes follow his hand to take in the soft musculature of… her… friend turned lover.

“Thandi. I said clean my cock.” He growls down at her, pulling her head back. It makes her heart jump into her throat, just before his cock meets it there. Her hands grasp his hips as he pulls his cock back out of her throat. She takes a breath before sucking on his tip, licking his length. She does want to be a good girl. If she had been good, he wouldn’t be so upset with her right now.

She looks up to look into his eyes as she looks for a hint of approval. A hint of the Charlie she’s used to. A hint of… forgiveness for trying to mess with his feelings. He watches her with serious eyes. 

“There we are. She’s learning. Good girl, Thandi. Kiss my cock now. Tell me how you feel.”

Kiss it… her eyes flick to the tip of him and she presses her lips to him gently. He throbs in her hand, prompting a pleased growl from Charlie. And slowly, she takes a breath in. “I love you. A lot.”

“I love you. Go on.”

“For… for a long time… And… um…”

“No room for um, dearest.”

“I’m sorry I tried to make you jealous.”

“Good girl. Stand, now. There we are.” He turns her to face away from him, leaning her over her desk. She spreads her legs slightly, prompting a chuckle from him, as his cock teases at her entrance. Dipping in and out of her. It has her whining. And then he pushes a bit further and grabs her hips to drive his whole length into her at once. “Yes! Your pussy is more amazing than I could have thought, Thandi. This is your reward. Thank me for it.”

Thandi, barreled forward by the force of his fuck, the way he slams deep into her, tries her best. “Th-thah! Thaaaank…! Yooooh….oou!” 

“Good girl.” He’s bouncing against her ass. He’s filling her deeply. She feels herself building up again. He reaches out and grabs her by the breasts, heaving her up to stand her straight. “Such a perfect woman you are. I forgive your mistake.” He’s breathing hard, teasing her nipples as he fucks her, purring loudly. “I suppose you were bound to make one eventually, my love.” He kisses her neck, one hand sliding over her stomach to keep her steady. “I want you to understand that you deserve this. A good, hard fucking from your Charlie.”

“My… Charlie?” She whines out the question as she reaches back to grasp at him.

“Yours. Always yours. Just as you are mine.” He lets out a small grunt of pleasure and kisses her neck again. “And you always have been. Now play with yourself. I want you to come on my cock.”

Her hand immediately slides between her legs, finding her clit. Charlie’s fucking has found a steady rhythm, one that builds up her pleasure easily. Her fingers rub herself in time to his thrusts and soon her cunt is clamping down on him, making him groan and purr against her back. It rumbles through her and then—

“Charlie! Oh! Oh gods!!” Her thighs squeeze together as her body quivers. He whines into her ear, slamming himself into her again as he fills her with his spend. Again. And again. And again. He holds her up, breathing hard, coming down from his orgasm as she shakes. He wraps his arms around her, swaying her slightly.

“There we are. That’s my good girl. My beautiful Thandi… I love you so much.”

She sniffles as he pulls out. It feels empty without him, and their mixed fluids begin to drip from her before Charlie rights her panties. He turns her around, adjusting his pants to put his cock away before hugging her to him. She grabs at his vest and cries. “I love you, too. It. It felt good.”

He strokes her hair. “I know. You’re not bad for enjoying it. I’ve known for a time now that you do.”

“You…”

“You read from my collection. I can smell when I excite you, my love. Rest assured I did not want to hurt you. You weren’t in pain, were you?”

She shakes her head as she presses her face into him. She had read before that it hurts, but all she felt… was… pleasure. “No.”

“Experiment success. Magic is handy for the strangest things, my love.” He kisses the top of her head gently. “You were very good. Thank you, Thandi.”