Binti

…The Flesh is Weak

I gave him a good fight as he pulled me along, but none of my struggling caused him to even miss a step or falter. I had been 5’9 for sometime, and it had never occurred to me that I was small enough to be so easily dragged, perhaps because I had never imagined I would be in a position like this. No, being forcefully married to a man who easily hit 6ft. 4" and weighed possibly twice whatever I did, had never been something I envisioned.

I only stopped fighting him off when I realised how stupid I must look, trying to fight off a man even men wouldn't be able to fight off. Instead, I kept mute and waited for his end game. What was the worst Hannon could do?

His worst was his chamber.

He pulled me inside and tossed me on the bed like I weighed nothing, "You're an insufferable wench, you know that?" He spat.

I flew off the bed like I had been burnt, and walked up to him, a resounding slap landing on his cheek. The echo in the room would have caused a smile on my lips if I didn't feel so tired and frustrated at being tossed about by someone I had only known for 24 hours. I had been ridiculed, shamed and my people disrespected by this man and his subjects. All my life, I had never known such disrespect.

"I curse you!" I spat with all the venom I could muster, "You brought me here for your entertainment, you rabid mutt!" I shoved at him, knowing I didn't have it in me to actually move this mountain of a man, but caring little of that fact, "What do you think I am? A silly little girl, with whom you can regain whatever male pride you've lost?" I asked. I shoved him again, "Answer me!"

"It is you who has been acting like a child since you arrived! Throwing tantrums, being disrespectful, speaking carelessly, you have been nothing but a child since your arrival!" He fired at me.

"You stole me!" I shoved him again, "You took me away from my home to ridicule me!"

"I would advise you to refrain from putting your hands on me princess."

“Or what?” I asked, “What more can you do, oh great king of Medira?”

He closed the space between us, his look and aura menacing, so that I had to steel myself to not step back in the face of intimidation, “Your father warned me of your petulance, so, be rest assured that none of your tantrums will get me to return you to Adavi, as you came. So you can kick, you can scream, you can bring down the roof of this castle, but the only reprieve you will get is when I lock you up in a dungeon like the animal you are, after you bear me a child or two.”

For the third time today, my hand shot out and slapped Hannon, but even the sting of my palm meeting his cheek did nothing to placate my bruised ego. I wanted so much more, I wanted to pluck his eyes out and feed it to crows, I wanted to cut his tongue off and throw it to hyenas, I had known rage, but this heat moving inside me was nothing like I had ever felt. So, I moved to slap him again…because I was foolish, and angry, and anger made me impulsive. This time, Hannon wouldn’t let me. He caught my wrist mid-air, and pulled my hand behind my back with a force that sent a sharp pain at my shoulder. The second hand quickly followed suit, so that my chest was thrust out at him.

He had my hands bound behind me, one hand easily holding down both my wrists. I could hear my breathing, ragged and loud, although I couldn't say now, if it was from how much I had argued or something else.

His free hand came up to cup my jaw, and his thumb stroked my bottom lip, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine as I was immediately transported back to earlier this morning, when he had had me in an almost similar hold.

"Having you submit to me will be most enjoyable, princess." He murmured.

I had a rebuttal on the tip of my tongue, but it was snatched when Hannon's lips crashed onto mine. I was ill-prepared for everything. The instant tingle I felt, and the surge of some foreign feeling when his tongue gained access into my mouth.

I didn't know what the warmth I felt was in my tummy, nor the throb between my legs, as his delicious tongue traveled through my mouth in a manner I never knew possible. I just knew I liked this strange feeling. I knew I wanted more of it.

By the gods! Why did I want more?

Why did my lips move with his, wanting to have more of this elixir he was feeding me? Why did a moan tear out my throat when that hand that had been holding down my wrists grabbed onto my bum? Why did my legs instantly come apart when Hannon's body covered mine on the bed?

And…."oh!"

My back arched, and I felt something wet ooze out of me at the first stroke of….

If I hadn't heard Hannon's grunt above me, I'd have thought it was just my imagination, but even with the obstruction that was our clothes, I had indeed just felt the hardness of my husband and my body welcomed the invasion.

"What in the heavens…?" His voice was gruff above me, even as he took another stroke, as if to confirm what he had felt…what we had both felt. I let out a soft gasp, my hands fisting the sheets beneath me. Was it his length? Was it the fabric? I had no idea, all I knew was that throbbing had intensified, and I felt more wetness. What was happening to me? Why did it feel this good?

"Your lips say you don't want to be here, yet your body is warm, wet and willing princess."

I would have denied him, denied whatever my body was reacting to, if Hannon's hand hadn't snaked up my thighs and cupped my middle. The breeches! I had foregone them in a bid to defy Hannon’s requirement that I wear dresses I thought rather large. Back in Adavi, I only had to wear dresses for major occasions, my father had allowed me prance around in pants, and they were rather comfortable wears. Dresses this large though, were alien to Adavi. The breeches had seemed like overkill, so I only settled for the cotton underwear I had come along with. Niasse had seen it and given me a puzzled look, mentioning how brief it was compared to breeches.

I had laughed at her ignorance, glad that the Adavi people had a version of underwear that was comparatively better than whatever Medira women had to deal with.

I was not laughing anymore. No, I was writhing and moaning because the thin underwear I had chosen had exposed me to a man I knew better than to feel anything other than loathing for.

"You're soaked."

My ragged breathing was probably the loudest sound in the room, as I fought off whatever Hannon was doing to me. His determined hand continued to knead at my centre, and my treacherous hips moved to meet him, seeking a high I had never experienced.

"By the gods! I'm going to enjoy burying myself deep inside you."

Was it his hands? Was it his words? I couldn't say, all I knew was, one minute I was chasing a high and the next…the next I could feel my entire body stiffen and my toes curl as I bit back what should have been a loud moan. My fingers released the sheets, my breath went from haggard to even as I came down from the high.

As if to hasten that descent, a sharp knock came at the door, jarring me back to the present. Hannon didn’t move off my body as fast as I expected or would have preferred.

“Han? Is everything fine?” A male voice asked from the other side of the door. It wasn’t a familiar voice…then again, how many other male voices had I heard since I came here?

“Yes, Mekka, all is well.” Hannon replied, as he got himself off me. His eyes raked over my form, I was vaguely aware that I was still splayed on the bed, I quickly pulled my leg shut and rearranged my dress, my face flushing in embarrassment.

A soft chuckle escaped Hannon’s lips, as he looked away from me and toward the door, “I will be back in some minutes.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

Mekka’s retreating footsteps were heard next, but it still wasn’t as loud as the voice in my head cursing me out for my stupidity. My body was still humming from whatever Hannon had done to me, my mind unable to make sense of its reaction.

“Niasse will prepare you for our wedding ceremony later tonight.” He stated, as if he was telling me the state of the weather. His eyes roved over me once more, and if I could, I would have buried myself deep in the ground to avoid his gaze after my shameful display. His eyes lingered at the apex of my thighs, and I placed both my hands at my center to block his gaze, as if that would do anything, “That undergarment you have on, wear it tonight.”

I failed to respond, mostly because I didn’t want to keep him here any longer than he had to be. However, as he turned his back to me and made his exit, the only thought in my head was all of the breeches I would be putting on tonight.