Leif
stretched his arms out and groaned with pleasure, there was nothing quite like
the release Meli offered. She lay splayed on the bed before him, watching him
with a keen eye. They had met on the journey to Lyle, and her company had cured
him of the boredom of travel. Although he had thought to stop his involvement
with her after they arrived, her closeness and availability had made that
difficult. She was quite pretty, in certain lighting. She had a plain face with
dreary brown hair, but it was the blue of her eyes that had drawn him in.
“Are you
off to see the king?” She asked him, perched on the bed.
“Maybe,”
Leif answered mysteriously.
He loved
the way she doted on him, always looking up at him as if being a member of the
church somehow made him divine.
“Is the new
queen beautiful?” She asked.
“I haven’t
seen her face.”
He was
getting annoyed with her, despite a part of him understanding her curiosity
about such things. He went to turn away, hiding his disgruntled frown.
She
whispered, “I think I’m carrying your child.”
“What makes
you think that?” He looked back at her, scanning her naked body for any
noticeable signs.
“I have a
feeling,” Meli grinned at him.
There was
something magical about her smile, something that broke the barrier of
seriousness in him, causing him to smile as well.
“I can’t
marry you,” he said, still smiling.
“I know.”
It was true
although senior priests were allowed to take wives and have families; he was only
new to the church. And if he ever did decide to marry, he doubted it would be
to someone like Meli, as much as he did like her.
“If it’s a
boy –”
“I know,”
she repeated, interrupting him. “If it’s a boy then I must send him to the
Brotherhood.”
“Yes, and
I’ll be able to recognise him as my son.”
“And if
it’s a girl?”
Leif
shrugged, finally turning away from her, a girl would not concern him.
