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Gods could be cruel.
But Amara was used to that.
Seven months into her marriage, and she didn’t expect anything from anyone anymore.
Aerion Targaryen was a man that one should be careful around.
To have his favor, was not always a pleasant thing, but it had its benefits.
To be on the side of his dislike, was always a bad thing.
Amara remembered meeting him for the first time in her fathers great hall.
Handsome, was the only good thing she could say about him.
He’d taken one look at her that very first time, and she felt the soft judgment flowing through him.
She didn't know if he was disappointed with her appearance, or the simple fact that they were being forced into something that couldn't be undone.
She wasn’t his choice. She wasn’t the one he wished to wed. Wasn’t the one he wished to be tied to for the rest of his life.
Amara didn’t speak much. Never had since she was a child. She wasn’t weak, but rather careful in the words that she allowed to escape past her lips. For words were a womans greatest power in a world were a woman was mostly looked at as a breeding cow.
Amara remembered her wedding day four months after they had met.
She’d heard the rumors.
Prince Aerion Targaryen was a monster.
A beast, a dragon, in human form.
Cruel.
Vile.
She’d smiled at him softly, like any new bride ought to smile at her new husband when their hands had been tied together during the ceremony.
And he’d raised a soft brow at her then.
He had been respectful to her that whole day.
Softly guiding her when he needed to. Staying by her side. Dancing with her when it was required.
She remembered feeling fear when it had come time for their consummation, but he’d taken her gently. There hadn’t been any warmth in his actions. Any familiarity.
But there hadn’t been any cruelty either.
Just an act of duty.
One performed with respect.
And so their life together had begone.
They rarely exchanged words, even when he’d join her twice a month to perform their marital acts.
Amara adapted to their routine.
He’d have breakfast with her a few times a month. Amara didn’t know why he did it. Perhaps he liked the silent company that she provided. Perhaps he just did it for appearance.
He’d escort her to important dinners and stay by her side the whole night.
She didn’t think it was love, what she had grown to feel toward him. But rather a quiet surrender. Contempt. He didn’t demand anything. Didn’t request anything unlikable.
He just existed by her side when duty called for it.
She was fortunate, really.
Most arranged marriages were not this peaceful. Especially where the women's husbands were quick to lash out at those around them in anger and dislike.
Seven months pased, and Amara felt the heavy burden of not being with child.
Aerion never chided her on it. Never brought it up. But the court whispered.
The court made Amara feel like she had failed in her only duty to her husband.
Little did they know that Aerion never actually finished in her.
He’d always pull out before coming undone.
And then he’d leave her laying in her bed, alone, wondering if this was his way of silently punishing her for being forced to be his wife.
```
The journey to the tournament at Ashford had been a blur.
Aerion rode on his horse, and Amara was left to ride in the royal carriage. She only had a maid to keep her company.
Amara didn’t want to go to the Tourney.
Aerion didn’t want her to go.
But the King had declared that she should join and that was the end of it.
When the carriage came to the final halt, Amara could hear Aerion conversing with someone.
She stepped out of the carriage and raised a brow at a boy whose height made Aerion seem like a child.
Aerion wasn’t short per say, but the man who said that he was a knight, was extremely tall.
Amara was directed to the chambers with Aerion trailing behind her.
They were to share the chambers.
Amara stared at the one bed inside their room. Looked at Aerion who was also staring at the bed.
“Bloody hell.” Her husband whispered in distaste and turned to her. He shook his head. “Do not worry your mind, wife, I will take the sofa. Mmm?”
He said the words like they were meant to ease her discomfort, when Amara, more than anything, wanted to spend a night in her husbands arms.
Amara watched Aerion turn on his heel and leave her to herself.
He always did that when they were in private.
Flee.
As if her presence alone bore him to death and he set off to find something else to distract himself with.
Sometimes Amara felt like he thought that she preferred to not be in his presence and he happily obliged.
Amara set off on getting bathed and changed into evening clothes for supper.
It was a grand event, and as always, Aerion waited by the door to escort him.
Amara smiled at him when she saw him there but he just raised a brow and offered her his arm. She slipped her hand into it and let him guide her towards the hall.
Towards the feast.
Towards a whole night of pretense on account of being happy. And being in love with her husband.
AERION
The prince watched his wife from the corner of his eye as the feast began. She sat there, next to him. Regal. Composed. Smiling at anyone that spoke to her.
Her voice, the gentleness in it, made something in his chest tighten.
Aerion remembered meeting her all those months ago.
He’d come angry to the meeting.
Angry at the forced marriage.
Angry at the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see his lover again.
For Aerion knew what it mean to be loyal.
He’d expected to hate the girl. He was prepared to throw a slew of rude remarks her way, but instead his hate had been silenced when his eyes landed on her.
She had looked like a vision.
Soft edges.
Soft voice.
Soft eyes that sparkled with quite curiosity as she looked at him.
He had hoped that she’d be ugly and have an uglier mouth that spat venom, so that hating her would be easy.
But she was beautiful. She spoke in kindness, and it threw him completely off.
Aerion soon learned after getting married that she didn’t speak much. Not unless she needed to.
And he desperately wished to hear her soft voice more often.
He wanted to know what her voice would sound like if it were to raise. At a maid. At a guard. Even at him.
But it was like her soul refused to give him the satisfaction.
So he refused to strike out verbally at her.
He matched her quietness when they were together.
He joined her for breakfast a few times a month.
He made sure that he stayed by her side when they were out in public.
She was his.
Even if he’d never admit it out loud.
She belonged to him, even if he never let his seed flow inside her.
He felt it in his soul. The need to claim her fully. To fuck her like he did in his dreams. To trace his lips all over her body. To force her mouth to form all kinds of sounds. To fill her with his seed.
But he restrained himself.
She needed to be willing to submit to his whims of having her.
He needed to see a fire of desire in her eyes.
Aerion didn’t have a problem when it came to having sex. He wasn’t a stranger to the pleasure. To the fires that awoke when two bodies moved in passion. He never took it by force. He did pay the whores for the pleasure because a gold dragon coin gave them courage to be passionate with him.
It also helped that he was handsome when majority of the Lords that visited the brothels were old. Unsavory.
And he’d used to visit a specific whore often enough that he stopped having to pay her.
But not his wife.
She just laid there during the act. Performing her duty faithfully, but lacking in emotion. Sometimes her fingers would touch his arms when he was inside her, and he’d miss a beat, his mind twisting at his desire.
And then she’d retreat her fingers like she’d suddenly remember who he was.
He hated it.
And he hated the fact that they were forced to sleep in the same chambers for their stay here.
He hated that he couldn’t go to the safety of his chambers, fist his cock, and stoke until he saw white.
He hated the hold Amara had on him. And he hated the fact that her not even caring, not noticing, made him feel pathetic.
Aerion closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled. Then looked back to his wife, still engaged in soft conversation.
Then, to his surprise, a Knight approached their table. The man was in his late thirties, if Aerion had to guess. Handsome, for a worrier.
The Knight bowed his head in respect to Aerion. “Prince Aerion.” Aerions eyes narrowed when the Knight looked to Aerions right, his face softening slightly as he looked at Amara.
“Lady Amara.” Aerion didn’t miss the way the Knights voice shifted to something softer and he clicked his tongue in disapproval.
No one dared to look at his wife like that back at Kings Landing.
“Ser Gwayne.” Amara greeted the Knight with a soft voice, but there was no familiarity in her tone.
Aerion breathed out.
Good.
The Knights smile deepened. “My Lady, would you grant me the honor of a dance?”
Aerions blood froze. He turned his head softly to his wife, watched as her brows rose in surprise.
No one asked her to dance.
Aerion made sure that no one dared.
He danced with her often enough that she didn’t feel left out when she attended any party.
But he’d be damned if he’d let another man, besides maybe his family, lay their hands on her.
Aerion watched Amara shift in her seat slightly, her leg brushing his when she did.
“A kind offer Ser, but one I must refuse. I’m already promised to dance with my husband.”
Aerion felt the corners of his lips lift at her words. The Knight raised a brow, but didn’t say anything. His gaze turned to Aerion and he bowed his head before retreating.
Aerion sat frozen, flood boiling at the audacity of the Knights offer. But something else bloomed in his chest.
He leaned in suddenly towards her, his breath ghosting her ear. “You are welcome to dance with the men in attendance, wife. You are not a prisoner.”
The words surprised even him.
She was free.
To do as she pleased.
No one asked her back home because Aerion made it clear to any eligible man that she was off limits.
He hadn’t had the chance to do the same here as they’d only arrived today.
Aerion froze, his face still near her ear when she turned her head to him, and suddenly they were close. Too close for his eyes not to slide to her lips, then back to her eyes.
He was loosing his control and that wouldn’t do.
Aerion leaned back in his seat, eyes still on her.
Amara looked at him, eyes in soft confusion. “I know I am free to dance with anyone that asks, but usually…you and I dance.”
The words like an accusation and it made his heart loose a beat.
He was braking their carefully crafted dance of avoidance in private, and performance when they had eyes on him.
Aerion raised a brow at her, studying her futures. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that she looked almost hurt that he suggested that she dance with someone else.
Without thinking, and without speaking, he rose from his chair, bowed his head and extended his hand to her. A silent invitation.
His lips curved into a hidden smile when she immediately placed her hand in his, and he helped her up, pulling her gently to the dance floor.
And they danced.
Something shifted between them.
Aerion couldn’t place a finger on it. Did his words offend her? Did she think that he didn’t want to dance with her? Perhaps that was it.
Aerion had suppressed his feeling every day, and every day they grew stronger for her, his resolve be damned.
Another melody started, and he stayed on the dance floor with her.
His hands lingering a little longer on her waist. A little longer on her fingers when the dance required their hands touch.
Another song started, and Aerion breathed her in when she was near him, his eyes following her every move.
She watched him in return. Her eyes softly following his every move.
Amara had a soft smile placed on her lips the whole time they danced.
She didn’t retreat from his touches.
Didn’t look like she’d rather be anywhere else but in his presence.
Another melody started and they changed partners.
Some young highborn Lady smiled at him, but his smile was dropped as his eyes followed his wife. She was looking at him from the arms of another partner, her eyes going between Aerion and his dance partner.
For a split moment, he could have sworn that she looked jealous.
Aerion shook his head, and smiled when his wife was back in his arms.
“Did you enjoy the company of another partner?” He couldn’t believe the words that left his mouth in a soft whisper.
Amara raised a brow, and Aerion sucked in a breath. He’d never seen her do that before.
“Did you?” Amaras voice was soft.
Aerion shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m only capable of enjoying the company of my wife.”
He saw it then.
His admission so easily offered made her breath hitch, and her fingers tightened around his hand.
Another melody started, and he spun her in the dance, then spun her back and her back was to him now.
This dance was more intimate. And they’d danced it many times back home.
But it never felt this intimate before.
Aerions front was pressed to her back.
The dance did not require such a close proximity, but most overlooked any indiscretion when a married couple was closer to each other then what would normally be considered proper and polite.
Before he spun her back, his right hand grazed her stomach, and higher, under her breast.
A soft curse fell from Aerions lips in a whisper when she wasn’t close enough to hear it.
His cock twitched against the fabric of his garment.
What had gotten into him?
As the melody ended, and before the new one could start them in yet another dance, Aerion guided her back to their seats.
“Forgive me. I need some air.” He whispered at her confused stare. They tended to dance for hours.
Hours, and right now he didn’t even last four dances before his mind twisted with need to press into her and claim her lips.
Her body.
Amara smiled at him, the expression different this time. Aerion swore she looked at him with longing and hurt for the shortest beat of his heart.
But it had to be his own tricks playing with him. With his aroused state.
His mind was a mess.
Amara nodded her head then. “Of course. I understand.” Aerion felt a pang of guilt as she looked at her plate of untouched food.
He walked away then, seeking the closest balcony.
Perhaps he should just step on the ledge and spare them both this maddening marriage.
When Aerion collected his thoughts and manged to get his cock to stop throbbing, he walked back inside the hall.
His eyes immediately landed on the empty chair where his wife was supposed to be sitting.
His eyes narrowed and he scanned the room.
Perhaps the Knight had asked her to dance once more.
His heart thumbed in his ribs unevenly, but she wasn’t anywhere in the hall.
Aerion didn’t waste a moment.
He fled the party for their shared chambers. If she wasn’t there, he’d turn this whole castle inside out.
She didn’t wonder alone.
Never alone.
Amaras Kings Guard was still at the feast, oblivious to the fact that she was gone.
Aerions steps increased as he approached the chamber door, he sucked in a breath before he slammed the door open.
The sight that greeted him, made him still in his step.
Amara was in the middle of taking her dress of, her hands clenched over her chest and her eyes wide as she slightly jumped at the sudden intrusion and she stared at Aerion.
He let the door slam behind him.
“You disappeared.”
Aerion watched his wife shift her position where she stood, her shoulders relaxing.
“You were gone for over an hour Aerion.” She told him flatly. He blinked. He hadn’t even been keeping track of time.
“I had Ser Willen escort me back to the chambers.”
Aerion took a step forward, breathing in softly. She was half out of her dress, her slip under the gown thin, her chest all but bare.
He swallowed, hard.
“I didn’t mean to abandon you.”
Amara shook her head. “You didn’t.”
Aerion took another step. “Need a hand with your dress?”
“No.”
He looked up at her, his eyes searching hers, his cock coming back to life ten fold.
“Need a hand with anything else?”
He stared at her and she stared at him, confusion lignin her futures.
Amara shook her head. Aerion didn’t move when she let the dress pool at her feet.
His eyes slid down to her breasts. Plump and he swallowed. Her nipples were hard.
The fire was burning softly in their room.
A room that was warm enough to be naked in and not feel a single chill.
Amara slipped her robe on, and Aerion still stood there, like the ground sprouted roots that tied him to the spot.
He watched her turn, her body full of soft edges he wanted to sink his teeth into while he thrust his cock into her.
He swallowed when she walked over to the dresser and sat down, her fingers going to the pins that were holding her hair up.
“Do you want me to fetch you a maid?” He didn’t recognize his own voice, but it had been him that spoke up.
Amara shook her head as her eyes landed on his in the mirror.
Aerion didn’t think before he moved towards her, his eyes glued to hers as he approached.
Her hands stilled in their ministrations, and then lowered to her lap as his own hands lifted and his fingers started to pull the pins out of her hair.
She didn’t move.
And he could swear that she barely breathed.
When he was done, he stood behind her seated form, eyes still on hers in the mirror. Her hair hung loosely around her frame.
He liked seeing her like this.
The image only meant for him.
His wife.
“The bed is big enough.” Her voice startled him and he raised a brow.
“What?”
Amara shook her head slightly, as if unsure how to proceed. “You do not have to sleep on the sofa. The bed is big enough that we need not touch if you slept in it.”
Aerions breath hitched.
Not touch.
Not touch?
All he wanted to do was touch her.
“And if I want to touch you?”
It was her turn to inhale deeply and he smiled at the soft heat that spread across her exposed chest and up her neck.
“You are my husband.”
Aerion bit out a sound of frustration that wanted to give sound to the deafening silence between their words.
He would tread carefully for this was new to him.
And by extend, to her.
This is perhaps the longest they’ve spoken in one sitting.
“And you’re my wife.” Aerion whispered. He closed the distance between them and felt her shift against him. He watched her in the mirror.
“Tell me, sweet wife, do you ever wish for your husband to touch you?”
He watched her swallow, her eyes still glued to his. Amara opened her mouth then closed it again.
Alright. Aerion thought. He’d have to play this harder.
She would speak to him by the end of this.
Aerion gently moved his hand to the right of her neck and moved her hair over her left shoulder, exposing her skin to him.
Amara swallowed again, her cheeks burning slightly. Aerion smiled at her in the mirror and leaned into her ear. He felt her shiver, and it ran down to his cock that was begging to be let free.
“Does this frighten you?” He whispered against her neck and watched her shake her head no, slowly. Like she wasn’t sure.
Aerion kept close to her as his pointer fingers hooked on her slip on each side, and he helped the fabric slide down her arms, her breasts barely concealed.
Amaras breathing labored at being so exposed, but Aerion would have his way.
He’d show her how he wanted to love her.
How beautiful he found her.
He tugged softly at the fabric one more time, and swore gently under his breath, the curse carrying lustfully into her ear as he looked at her exposed breasts.
He looked up at her eyes.
“I’m going to ask once more sweet little wife. Do you ever wish for you husband to touch you in more ways than when we’re in public?”
The answer fell fast from her lips in a hushed wisper.
“Yes.”
Aerions breath hitched, and he placed a soft kiss against her neck, her head moving to give him better access.
His heart sang in a happy thumping rhythm at her action.
He sucked softly on her gentle skin, his teeth grazing ever so lightly as his hands ran up her sides before sliding over her breasts.
Amara breath shook softly at his touch and Aerion smiled against her neck.
He ran his thumbs against her nipples, her breasts filling his hands almost perfectly. They were larger then his hands and he desperately wanted to kiss every inch of them.
Gods above, his wife was perfection. And the little soft shaking of her breath, it did something to him.
He kissed her neck again and smiled when he saw her hands brace against the vanity stool, her breathing laboring at his touch, her back pushing against him.
Aerion brushed his lips against her ear. “Would you open your legs for me, sweet wife?”
She complied without hesitation, and Aerions eyes darkened. He’d been teasing until now. Taking it slow, or as slow as his own need to fuck her would allow him. But the sight of legs parting at his words, it made him want to turn her around and sink to his knees.
Instead, Aerion moved a hand to her slip and bunched the fabric before he slid his hand down between her legs.
His fingers ghosted her core, Amara took in a shaky breath again, her hips moving at his action slightly, and Aeration fingers slid further.
He nibbled at her ear with his teeth, his fingers sliding into her core easily at how wet she was.
Gods above, her arousal made him curse into her ear again.
“Fuck, my love.” It was lost on him that he’d whispered a soft praise paired with my love.
Amara turned her head, and caught him completely off guard when she placed her lips to his.
His fingers moved inside her slightly faster, his other hand kneading her breast and nipple as his tongue traced the inside of her mouth when she opened her lips to him.
He barely felt Amara move against his hand. He moved his fingers with her. Their tongues lapped around each other, and he felt her soft moans against his lips.
He was lost.
Completely.
To the touch of her wet core. To the feel of her breast spilling over his fingers. To the feel of her mouth, of her lips, her tongue, on his.
She’d never kissed him with such fervor before.
He’d never allowed himself to touch her in such a manner.
“Aerion.” His name fell against his lips, and he felt her walls clench against his fingers, her thighs closing around his hand.
He was griming from ear to ear at her now in the mirror as he moved his hand from between her thighs, brought it over her chest, leaned his head slightly more in, and licked his fingers clean. Then he moved his hand to her chin and brought her back in for another kiss, letting her taste herself on his tongue.
He released her then and stepped back, his eyes still on her rounded ones.
She turned slowly to face him, her slip still pooled around her waist. Her eyes scanned down his body, and his desire burned brighter when he noticed her eyes lingering on his erection.
Aerion ran a hand down his pants, closing his eyes softly for only a moment before he looked at her and his fingers went to work on freeing him.
Within moment he was naked in front of her, his cock straining to enter something warm and soft and tight.
Amara looked down his torso until her eyes landed on his cock and her cheeks burned even brighter.
She’d never seen him naked.
Gods, he’d never actually seen her fully naked either.
Aerion watched as she stood up, letting the slip pool at her feet.
He walked up to her, one hand going to her hip, one to the side of her cheek, cupping it.
“Perhaps we’ll touch in bed after all, mmm?” His voice was filled with lust, with a need to fuck her.
Amara managed a soft chuckle. Aerion didn’t know if it was because of nerves, probably if he was being honest. But her chuckle sent a warmth up his spine.
He guided her to the bed, she climbed in, and he followed, positioning himself over her.
“You can touch me, you know.” He whispered, his voice almost pleading.
He so desperately craved to feel her claim him. To feel her want for him. To feel her need to him.
Slickness between folds was one thing, but to have her hands on his body…
Aerion sucked in a breath when her hands went to his sides, her fingers gently brushing up. He watched her eyes fill with something akin to desire and wonder when she touched him. She moved a hand to the nape of his neck and pulled him into a kiss, and that was all it took for him to sink into her.
He moved slowly, differently.
This wasn’t natural for them, not normal, yet it felt like he was meant to live beside her.
He moved his hips, and her hands, slow at first, exploratory, slowly finding their balance. He kissed her as he moved inside her, her fingers scratching softly at his back as her hips moved up to meet him.
Amara kissed him with the same feverish desire that he felt towards her, and he knew that he wasn’t going to last long.
“If I come inside you, you might be with child soon enough and then you’ll be tied to me for the rest of your life.” Aerionwhispered in an attempt to give her a chance to…well, he didn’t know what. They consummated their marriage on their wedding night. But he hadn’t wanted her to feel forced to be with him.
Stupid, really.
But he wanted to be her choice, not something that was forced onto her.
Amara wrapped her legs around him then, her hands going to his face as she pulled him to look at her.
“I’m already tied to you. My body and my soul. There is nothing that will change that.” The way she whispered the words, the way she leaned up and captured his mouth with hers, her teeth sinking into his bottom lip as she came around his cock, and he followed suit, relishing in the feeling of filling his wife up with his seed.
He hoped that finishing inside her once wouldn’t get her with child right from the start. He wanted to savor these moments.
He wanted to spend more nights buried in her core.
Aerion helped her clean up, kissing her every chance he got before he pulled her into his side, wrapping his arms around her.
“Perhaps we could have this more often?”
Aerion looked down at his wife, a soft smile spread across his face.
“More of what love?”
Amaras cheeks burned slightly at his words.
“This. All of this. And you like this, letting me be by your side.”
Aerion stared at her, the smile still on his face, but his eyes glistening with unspoken need to keep her by his side for the rest of his life.
He nodded his head then.
“I think I can manage that.” There was a soft teasing undertone to his voice and she giggled softly when he brushed his fingers across her side, tickling her unintentionally in the process.
“I’ll keep you to that then.”
Aerion leaned his head down to capture her lips again. “Please do.” He whispered softly against her lips.