A Dance of Shadows and Light

Twenty-seven:

Twenty-seven:

The ride to Os Alta was long. The last time Alina had made the journey, Alina had been with her father. That was the real reason that Alina had wanted Kirigan to ride with her. She was worried that she would see his death over and over. When the soldiers had attacked, Alina had been trapped in the carriage with her father's body on her and it had taken a long while for her to crawl out of it. And then, she had had to run for her life to get away from her attackers.

She could still see her father's body crumpling on top of her from the sword that had stabbed him. Sitting in the carriage, it was impossible not to think about. "Are you alright?" Aleksander asked. "You've been awfully quiet since we got here."

Alina took a deep breath. "The last time I made this journey, I was with my father. He was still alive."

Aleksander's face fell. "I'm sorry." He squinted at her. "Is this why you didn't want to ride in the carriage alone?"

"Partly," Alina answered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you ride in the carriage if you didn't want to."

"Alina, we're husband and wife now. If you are scared of something, I'll be there to see you through it."

She smiled at him. "I don't know that it works like that. Grief isn't something that you can really get through. You just...wade through it. I haven't even had the time to process, everything just keeps on going around me..."

"That's life, Alina. Everything is supposed to keep on going on. Even in war when it seems like everything should be stopping. You keep on moving. The difference is how you handle it."

She locked eyes with him. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle it."

He was sitting across from her. He leaned forward and he took hold of her hand. "If it becomes too much, you can come to me. We're married, Alina, and we share in our grief. You should have been able to mourn your father properly, but the King and war has taken that away from you. And I'm sorry for that, my darling. So if you need to wade in your grief, you tell me, and I will wade in it with you."

She smiled up at him. "You're sweet."

He frowned. "Sweet is not something that has ever been used to describe me before. Intimidating, fearsome, tactical----"

Alina reached out and cupped his face. "There's nothing wrong with being sweet, husband mine. In fact, it can be a real asset."

"How?" he asked grouchily.

"Sweet is how we win over the hearts and minds of the people that our going to help us claim Ravka for our own. To turn it into a kingdom everyone can thrive and prosper instead of just a select few."

"I suppose you're right," he said, "but don't let anyone else hear you call me that. I do have a certain image to maintain."

She smiled. "As an intimidating, fearsome, tactical General?"

"Amongst other things." He grinned at her, flashing his teeth, and looking ever the predator that he was.

"Would you, perhaps, like to show me some of those things that you're good at, General?" she asked.

He smirked. "Of course, my dear."

The dress she was wearing was a light yellow, and he lifted the skirt of it. "Wait!" Alina blurted.

"I'm sorry, do you not want----"

"I had my pleasure the other night," she said, "but aren't there ways that I can pleasure you?"

He grinned at her. "There are plenty of ways. But they aren't lady like."

"I don't care about whether or not I'm lady like." Alina tossed her head back imperiously, in a way that made Aleksander think it would be hard for her to be anything but no matter how hard she tried. "You know what I care about is being with you, and making my husband feel----"

"Pleasured?" he offered, because he enjoyed watching her turn bright red.

"Yes, you scoundrel."

"It was your idea," he reminded her, "if anyone is the scoundrel, it's you."

"Show me," she said, "what can I do to make you feel good?"

"Unbutton my trousers, my dear."

From her seat across from him, she got on her knees, and undid the laces of his pants. His cock was there before her. "Take it in your mouth, Alina," he told her.

"My mouth?" she said, frowning.

"Yes, and then I want you to suck."

Tentatively, Alina reached out and took his cock in her hands. And then she put it in her mouth. He leaned forward in the seat a little bit and rested his hands on her shoulders for support. Alina wrapped her mouth around his cock, and then she was sucking on it. He hardened under her touch, and he clenched her shoulders tightly. "Oh, Alina....oh Alinaaa...." He grunted as she sucked him, and then she was playing with his balls, cupping them.

If they weren't in the carriage, he would have stood and thrust into her mouth, and watched as she took the whole thing. As it was, there was no comfortable position to do it in. He came in her mouth. Alina coughed a little bit as he did, but she swallowed it to his surprise.

"Did you swallow my cum, my dear wife?" he asked, as he reached out and stroked her face.

"It was...salty," she replied.

He laughed, and kissed her, and he could still taste him on her mouth. He liked tasting his cock on his mouth. He adjusted his cock, and then he did his trousers up. He helped Alina up too, so that she was sitting on her side of the carriage again.

"You were groaning," she said, "groans of pleasure?"

He smiled at her. "Groans of pleasure indeed."

Alina beamed. "It was very strange, and I wasn't certain what I was doing, but I could feel your cock growing in my mouth and you...you seemed happy."

He leaned across the carriage and kissed her on the forehead. "You made me very happy indeed. And we've a long carriage ride ahead of us..."

She smiled. "That we do."