Hunt- Red Riding Hood Retold Page 11

  So he set one foot in front of the other and trudged into the forest, hoping and praying he would find his way.

  Thirty-Five

  Rosa woke in unfamiliar warmth, though it took her fuzzy head some time to realise why it felt wrong.

  "Sir Chase?" she whispered.

  A gentle hand touched her forehead. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

  "No," she said. "Should it?"

  "You flew into a tree and knocked yourself out on a branch, I think, so I brought you back here. I gave you some of the same mead you made me drink to help me heal."

  Medicinal mead? No wonder her head felt fuzzy. But it didn't hurt, either, which meant he must have given her a lot.

  "What about the wolves?" she asked urgently.

  "You shot the big one full of arrows and he collapsed in the snow, dead. The rest of the pack ran off when the lamp oil burned out." Chase paused. "I figured we could go back for the body tomorrow, or whenever, but it was more important to get you home to bed, as I didn't know how badly you were hurt."

  She remembered now. She'd been so busy trying to shake the wolf free that she hadn't noticed where she was flying.

  "How long was I out?"

  If she'd slept through Midwinter Night, the gods of the forest would definitely be displeased.

  "Maybe an hour? I came straight here, and gave you the mead, before I even put a fresh log on the fire. It's still burning, look." Chase pointed.

  Relief washed over her. It wasn't too late.

  "Then we should celebrate," she said, pressing her lips to his.

  She half expected him to pull away, but he returned her kiss eagerly, cupping her head in his hand to prolong it.

  Rosa let her hand trail down his chest to the hem of his tunic. He wasn't ready for her yet, but a few pumps of her hand and he would be.

  "Hey!" Chase pried her hand off his cock. "You've had a lot of mead, Mistress Rosa. I'm not sure you're thinking clearly."

  "But it's Midwinter Night," she said impatiently, reaching for him.

  Chase jumped out of bed, backing toward the fire with his hands up in a shield against her. "Now, that's no reason to get drunk and give in to all our desires," he said cautiously.

  Ha! So Sir Chase the Chaste had been entertaining lustful thoughts for her. Good.

  "Of course it does – it's Midwinter Night!" When he still looked mystified, Rosa continued, "Remember when I told you the story about the mead competition between the god of fire and the goddess of winter?"

  He nodded.

  "They drank so much mead they forgot to name a winner?"

  Another nod.

  "That's the children's tale my grandmother told me when I was younger. You see, the goddess of winter was a maiden, and all the other gods wanted her for a wife, because she was also a fertility goddess, but she wanted none of them. She was a huntress who hunted alone. They'd all tried to woo her, but failed. The fire god, being a trickster at heart, waited until all the others had given up, and he joined her for a drink when she came back after a long hunting trip. That's when he issued his challenge."

  Chase still looked puzzled.

  Rosa went on. "They had their contest, each proclaiming the other the winner. And every time they did it, they toasted their win with another cup of mead. Cup after cup, until they'd drunk most of the jars dry. Then the god of fire began to woo her in earnest. Complimenting her on her beauty, her skill at the hunt, anything he could. Then he laid a wager that he could kiss better than she could.

  "Of course, the drunk goddess kissed him. She liked it so much that she did it again, and again. Each time they kissed, he gave her a breath of his heat, until she was so hot inside, she took off all her clothes. But they kept kissing, so she started taking off his clothes, because his skin was as hot as hers. He let her do it, until they were both naked.

  "Then she insisted upon taking him for a roll in the snow to cool him off. So she took him to the snow in the far north, and beneath him, the snow began to melt until it had formed a pool around him. Then the water began to steam and bubble, turning into a hot spring. So hot the goddess of winter feared for him, so she jumped into the pool to save him.

  "She laid his body on the snow, terrified that his body had cooled too much, and tried to use her own body to warm his. Being the trickster he was, he was only pretending to be injured, so he immediately began to respond to her caresses with his own, until their shared passion overcame them both and…they melted the snow around them, which started the spring melt.

  "Mortified at what she had done, the goddess went and hid her face, until winter came again the following year. She brought snow down to cover the land, hiding the scene where she'd shared such passion. But at Midwinter, the fire god returned, to share some mead with the goddess, and she wept so many tears of shame, she set off the spring melt again. But her salty tears turned the land barren, where nothing would grow.

  "The following year, the fire god arrived early, and hid, where he could see her without being seen. The goddess thought he had not come, and drank the mead alone, bemoaning that the fire god was not there to share it with her, for if she was fated to melt her own snow just thinking about him, it would be better to share passion and make the soil fertile again.

  "When the fire god heard this, he jumped out of his hiding place, finished off the contents of her cup, lay her down on the snow, and together they made love with such passion that all the snow melted early, washing away all the salt and making the land fertile again."

  Chase was nodding once more. "I wish you could tell this to my brother. Back where I grew up, the sea flooded the land so often that whole swathes of it are lost to salt. He'd happily bow down and kiss your goddess's feet if she would make the soil sweet again."

  Her shoulders slumped. He'd missed the point of the story. She would have to explain even more.

  "In the villages, most people know the shorter tale, not the full story. The priestesses learn the full story as a novice, when they first spill their maiden's blood at Midsummer." She paused just long enough to see that this wouldn't be enough, then rushed on with, "But they do not graduate from novice to priestess until they have played the part of the winter goddess at Midwinter. First they must make the Midwinter Night mead, which takes a year, and when it is ready, they choose a lover.

  "Grandmother said some of them chose a man from among the fire god's priests, or they were paired with a novice priest, but as the new faith took hold and there were fewer and fewer of us, more and more, the priestess picked her own lover. Unless she becomes the High Priestess, a lover is all she is allowed, for that one night of the year, so – "

  "What about the High Priestess? Is she allowed to sleep with whoever she pleases?"

  Rosa's cheeks glowed red. "No, of course not. On the years when there is no novice, she must take the place of the goddess. She may choose a lover, but as High Priestess, she is allowed to marry, as long as her marriage ceremony is performed in the old way, and only at Midwinter. The High Priestess and her husband reenact the goddess's first night of passion with her fire god lover, while the other priestesses…"

  "Dance around naked?" Chase suggested.

  Rosa frowned. "If you already knew, why did you make me tell the whole tale?"

  Chase laughed. "I meant it to be a joke – I had no idea it would be true. Dancing naked in winter sounds like a good way to lose some toes, or worse. But there are stories, like witches and their broomsticks, that witches like to dance naked in the moonlight. I didn't think it would be wise to ask if it was true."

  Rosa let out a breath she hadn't been holding. "All right, then."

  Chase folded his arms across his chest. "You still haven't explained what this has to do with you trying to seduce me."

  Rosa pressed her lips together. "My grandmother was the High Priestess, and I am still a novice. There are no other priestesses, so I must take the role of the goddess tonight."

  Silence swelled between them.

 
Finally, Chase said, "You want me to pretend to be some pagan fire god, and seduce you outside in the snow?"

  Rosa could feel the emphatic NO about to leave his lips.

  She forced a smile. "Actually, it doesn't snow much here, and as there isn't anyone else to dance or observe the rites except the gods themselves, maybe they wouldn't mind if this time, the rites take place in a bed." She swallowed. "Please, Sir Chase."

  Thirty-Six

  Between the beseeching look in her eyes and her nipples poking through the thin fabric of her shift, Chase didn't know where to look. He'd be a fool to say no, but what sort of honour would he have left if he said yes?

  "If you don't do this, it will be a whole year before the gods have a proper priestess. In their anger, who knows what they might do to me, or the village?" She took a deep breath, and his gaze darted down to her swelling breasts again. "Worse than a wolf pack. Perhaps they will send a dragon to destroy us. It is said the fire god alone can control the fire breathing beasts."

  So he'd be honour bound to defeat a fire breathing dragon after all. Good for his reputation, if he survived. If.

  Chase opened his mouth to tell her he'd do it.

  "You promised to serve me. A week, you said. If you do this for me, give me just one night, I will consider your debt repaid."

  By all that was holy, yes! If she brought honour into it, he had no choice.

  He tried to keep his expression calm, though he was singing inside. "When you put it that way, Mistress Rosa, then it becomes a matter of honour that I do as you ask."

  Her eyes lit up. "Truly? You will help me?" She whipped off her shift and lay naked on the bed. "Then take me, Sir Chase. For tonight, I am yours."

  Chase swallowed. Now was not the time to admit he'd never made love to a woman before. But for the first time in his life, he wished he had, for he wanted to do this right.

  If her gods helped him to make this a night for her to remember, he would serve them faithfully until the day he died.

  Thirty-Seven

  Gods, Chase looked as nervous as she felt.

  "So, we should maybe start with a drink, like in the story?" Chase suggested, pouring two cups brimful.

  Rosa sniffed hers. "Which mead is this?"

  Chase shrugged. "You're the expert, not me."

  She took a cautious sip. "This is the medicinal mead. There's precious little left, and no knowing if I'll be able to make it as well as my grandmother. Best pour it back in the jug and put it somewhere safe. I'll go down to the cellar and find us something more suitable to drink." Clumsily, she wrapped a blanket around herself and headed down the stairs.

  "Right. I'll…stoke the fire, so it's warmer up here, for when you come back," he called after her.

  Definitely as nervous as she was. She considered backing out of the deal altogether, but she knew she couldn't. She had to complete the rites, so she could serve the gods as priestess. Nothing else mattered now.

  She found last year's Midwinter Night mead sitting untouched, where she'd left it a year ago. The goddess runes on the barrels were wonky on some of them, as it had been the first year she'd made it. If she'd known a year ago that she would be using the brew in her own rite of passage…Rosa shook her head.

  In her haste, she'd forgotten to bring a jug with her, so she decided to float the whole barrel up the stairs to the cottage. Probably for the best, as they might need more than one jug of mead to calm both of their nerves before the night was over.

  She set the cask on the table, then knelt down to tap the barrel. Her blanket kept slipping down, forcing her to yank it back up again, until she bunched it up in her fist to keep it in place. Try as she might, she could not tap a barrel with only one hand.

  "Let me do it," Chase said, placing a second blanket around her shoulders. "You get back into bed, and warm. Unless half freezing to death is part of the ritual?"

  Rosa shook her head. "I've never seen the ritual performed before. I know only the story, and how there must be mead, and sex."

  Chase looked alarmed. "I'll…I'll get the mead, then, and you get into bed, ready for…the other stuff."

  She felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh, but one look at Chase's face told her that might not be the best idea.

  This was a mistake. Curse the gods for placing her in this position.

  "If you don't want to, we don't have to," she said in a rush. "We can – "

  He slammed the jug of mead on the table. "I want to."

  "Oh." It was the tiniest sound, barely a word at all, escaping without permission as she tried to assemble her scrambled thoughts.

  He wanted…her?

  Chase poured these cups more carefully than the first, not spilling a drop.

  But when he handed a cup to her, Rosa's hands shook so badly she spilled it down her chest. She swore.

  "Here, let me." Somehow, he'd found a cloth and a bowl of water, and he squeezed the water out of the cloth as if he'd been a healer all his life.

  Rosa released the blanket, baring herself to the waist.

  With the cloth, he traced the line of stickiness between her breasts and down her belly, then back up again, as if he couldn't decide which breast to wash first. His hand went right, but then he leaned over, peering at her left breast. The cloth rasped over one nipple as he took the other in his mouth, sucking hard.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair. "Gods, Chase!"

  He looked up, and his eyes were full of mischief as they met hers. He let go, tracing a circle around her nipple with his tongue. "I'm not sure what tastes sweeter, you or the mead."

  And then he kissed her mouth again, his arms around her, as he climbed into the bed beside her. She helped him undress, still kissing him, except when they had to stop to pull some item of clothing over his head.

  Once he was naked, she could run her hands over his chest, stroking the firm muscles like she wanted to. Down his chest, his belly, and the hard length of him…

  "Don't," Chase groaned, pulling away again.

  "But…I thought…you wanted…"

  He tipped her onto her back. "I want, all right, but if you get your hands on me like that, I won't last more than a moment, and I think for us to have sex, I must at least make it inside you."

  She thought for a moment. "If you're so sensitive, then perhaps we should leave off on the stroking and sucking and move onto the sex."

  "Are you sure? Are you ready for me?"

  Before she could answer or even nod her head, he'd slipped a finger inside her.

  "Not yet." He knelt between her thighs, pushing them open wider, before he traced her lower lips with his finger, as if he was trying to memorise them. Then he touched a place that left her gasping, and she opened her eyes to see him grin. "That's the spot." He rubbed harder, and she thought she swooned, unable to focus on anything but his finger and what it was doing to her.

  Her breath came in great, ragged gasps, as his finger sent ripples of desire rolling through her body. Bigger, and bigger…until she arched her back, digging her fingers into the mattress as she exploded at his touch.

  She was still panting by the time her vision cleared enough to see his face. Still grinning.

  "Rosa, I want you more than any other woman I've ever known. But I need to know if you're ready for me. If you want me."

  He had his cock in one hand, ready to enter her, while his finger still stroked her lightly, sending small ripples through her.

  Rosa swallowed. "If you're going to do that to me again, I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for it." When he frowned, she hurried to add, "But if you're asking if I want you to do that again, and to make love to me…then yes. As many times as you like."

  He slid a finger inside her again. "You're wet enough, that's for sure. Tell me if I hurt you, Rosa, and I'll stop."

  She nodded. The first time with Alard had hurt, but that had been mercifully quick, and from what Chase had said, this would be, too. Then he could back to doing the thing he did with his fingers.<
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  Except…his fingers hadn't stopped, still rubbing her until her vision started to cloud again. Then she felt him enter her, in one slow, smooth stroke, stretching her but not hurting her.

  But the ripples were getting bigger again, as she panted faster, clenching her muscles hard like she had before, only with Chase inside her that set off more ripples. Caught between the two, she was lost in love for him.

  He started sliding in and out of her, no longer slow, and she lifted her hips to meet him, keeping pace as he sped up, until each frenzied thrust pushed her closer and closer to what felt like it would be an even bigger explosion and she couldn't stop but she wasn't sure if she could bear it when it did come and…

  "Oh gods, Chase, Chase!"

  Some time later, she opened her eyes to find him grinning at her again. She could still feel him inside her, but he'd stopped moving and somehow, she didn't feel quite so full any more. And she was shaking. Couldn't stop shaking. Didn't know why. And yet…

  "That was amazing. I want to do it again," she said, her voice hoarse from…had she truly screamed his name?

  He reached for the bowl and cloth. "First, let's get cleaned up. Then, I want to spend some time stroking and sucking, as you called it, before we find out if I'm even capable of making you scream like that again."

  She winced as he eased out of her, hating how empty she felt without him. "My first time was nowhere near as good as that," she said, to distract herself from the way he stroked the cloth down his own length, before using it on her. "Are you a very experienced lover, or is that what royalty require from their husbands?"

  He dropped the cloth in the bowl, then stared at her. "Well, I guess that explains why there wasn't any blood, and why I didn't hurt you, if I wasn't your first. But I wouldn't know anything about what royalty require from their husbands or their lovers. That was the first time I've ever made love to a woman, and it was better than I dreamed it would be." He filled the cups, and held out hers. "If you spill it this time, I promise you, I'll use my tongue to clean every drop that lands on your skin."