Unbroken (Unarmed Trilogy #2) (14 page)

"I guarantee you she doesn't think that," Tamzin said as she pulled on his arm and made him look at her. "I know she wishes she was here with you, but I also know that your mother would have given up her life for you to live. I may not have known her, but I know that much is true."

"I need to sleep," Will said blearily as he wiped his eyes hastily. She could see the droplets on his eyelashes and the smears across his eyes. Her heart sunk to her stomach as he pulled away and walked towards the bed, where he pulled down his breeches and climbed into bed naked. Somehow, Tamzin wondered if this was the worst birthday he ever had.

Tamzin sat down at her vanity and watched the waves for, what felt like, hours. She listened to Will toss and turn and his small sounds of sadness. She wished she hadn't said anything about his father, as to not open the floodgates, but he needed to know. The more Tamzin thought about it, and with the new information provided by Will, the more it made sense that Gregory Thurston could not be trusted. She thanked the stars that she and her child were well out of Gregory's grasp in Roth, but Tamzin wished she knew how to soothe Will's pain. Like everything else, pain could be washed away.

"Will!" Tamzin whispered as she approached him and shook his shoulder. She sat down on the bed as he opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He shook his head and pushed his hair out of his face. "Come with me."

"Tam, I just want to sleep..." he began, his voice slightly hoarse. He tried to lie back down, but Tamzin stopped him.

"You said you wanted to swim in the ocean. As you've learned, the hard way, you can't swim much in the sunlight," she smiled before he rolled his eyes and batted her hand away.

"Don't mock me," Will growled playfully, but paid closer attention as he watched her play with the bodice of her dress. He felt his mouth go dry as her heavy breasts nearly spilt out. His hand splayed across her breast and the weight of her in his palms made his problems slowly melt away. "Will you be naked in the ocean?" His eyes traced the curves of her body before they settled on her face.

"What do you think?" she teased as she reached up and pulled the bodice down. Her breasts came free and Will sat up, where the sheet pooled around his waist. His hand cupped her breast and his thumb swept over her nipple, which made Tamzin mewl. "We can take the stairs outside my balcony down to the beach."

"Or I can spread you across these sheets..." Will said as his lips latched onto her pulse point, where he sucked mercilessly. Tamzin moaned as her fingers fisted his hair and he used his weight to push her to the bed. He sat up quickly and pulled her dress down over her stomach and over her hips. The dress pooled on the floor, where her legs dangled off the bed. Will grinned wolfishly as he spread her legs. He had been ready to put his mouth on her, when he felt Tamzin stop him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I want you in my mouth," Tamzin whimpered as she rolled to the side and made him lie down. She sat up and moved forward to straddle his knees. Will groaned as he felt her take his member in her hand. Her hand was impossibly soft, like she had never used her hands before. When Will would pump himself while away at war, it angered him that he couldn't mimic her movements or the feel of her hands. He missed her warm mouth and even hotter...

"Oh, God," Will moaned as she slipped off his body and leaned down, where she engulfed him in her mouth. Tamzin didn't do this nearly as much as she wanted, so she took her time and ran her tongue down his length. Will quivered as her hand came up and cupped him before she took him in her mouth again. She ran her teeth gently across his sensitive skin, which made Will shiver as he wound his hand in her hair. There, he used her as leverage as he gently began to pump in her mouth.

His eyes rolled back into his head as he lifted his pelvis clear off the bed before Tamzin released him from her mouth with a slight pop. She stared down at him with a devious smile as she climbed on top of him. Will's hand held onto her hip and the other massaged her breast as she slid onto him. She was wet, but it didn't stop Will from asking. "Are you sure you don't need me to take care of you?" he asked as she smiled again and slid down slowly on his member.

Tamzin felt the familiar stretching as her knees settled onto Will's side. Slowly, Tamzin leaned forward and began to move on top of him. He slid in and out of her as Will pressed his fingers into her hips to help stabilize her movements. His other hand tweaked her nipple and he growled as Tamzin's eyes slid shut and she moaned in ecstasy. Will began to thrust inside of her and continued to hold onto her hips to help her keep steady as Tamzin lead forward to support herself. Tamzin began to increase her movements as she grabbed Will's shoulders, where her nails dug into his skin. He groaned from the perfect combination of pain and pleasure before he leaned up and took her nipple in his mouth. Will leaned against the headboard to continue to suck and his fingers began to play with the bud between her legs.

Tamzin let out a fierce cry as she felt the familiar tensing and the explosion in the pit of her stomach. Will smirked as he rolled her to her back and sat up, where he slid out of her briefly. Will placed his hands behind her knees, where he pushed them back to rest against her stomach. He then came to stand on his knees where he slid inside her. Tamzin groaned from the tightness of the position as she stared up at Will's face as he pumped in and out. He didn't look pained anymore and it wasn't until their eyes locked that Will lost control. She felt him come inside her and her knees slid from her stomach and fell open. Will slid back and out of her, their legs intertwined. Will sat up and pulled Tamzin gently from the bed, where he hugged her from behind.

"Thank you," he said as he kissed her shoulder. "Thank you for being the best wife I could ask for."

"All I have to do is lie with you and I'm the best wife you could ask for?" Tamzin laughed as she leaned her head back and lulled it to the side.

"Listen to my sob story and still feel the urge to lie with me," Will smiled as he kissed the tender spot on her neck, his love bite. "I wish I could apologize for that, but honestly, I can't wait for Rolf to see it."

"And my father?" Tamzin asked as she gingerly touched the spot.

"He already hates me," Will shrugged as his fingers came to her shoulders, where he began to massage her gently. He strengthened his stance as Tamzin came to lie against him completely. As his arm came to rest across her stomach, Will felt a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time. Though he had come to terms with many things that night, Will would not forget the utter tenderness Tamzin showed him. He had been saying he loved her for nearly their entire relationship, but it was the first time Will realized that this was love.

"Are you familiar with your target?"

"Will, it's literally a target," Tamzin said as she rolled her eyes. "You said you would help me learn to shoot properly."

"And what do you call this?" Will asked with a grin as he held out the bow to her. "This is a bow."

"At the rate you're going, you're never going to sleep with me again," Tamzin warned warmheartedly before she took the bow from his hand. "I will save you some time; I know the difference between a bow and an arrow."

"That's all fine, but you need to inspect your target. No one hits their target without knowing it well," Will said wisely as he watched his wife shift her feet to accommodate her aching lower back. "Are you sure you don't want to go lie down?"

"You promised you would help me. It's not my fault that you got a child on me before you got around to this," Tamzin said as she reached around to massage her back. "Okay, I see the target. It's freestanding and has a large red circle in the middle of five large black circles. Have we been well acquainted enough?"

"I suppose," Will teased as he handed the arrow to her next. "Inspect the arrow, now. Different arrowheads are used to pierce different things. For example, this arrow will easily pierce clothes and skin, along with the target, but probably wouldn't scratch my armor. However, some arrows could dent my armor, while other arrows are designed to be a clean shot through skin, while others purposely become lodged in skin."

"I have had to remove arrows as a healer," Tamzin said as she looked at the small arrow. "Is this a child's arrow?"

"You learn to walk before you run," Will replied as he watched her inspect it with a scrunched nose. "Show me the proper stance again."

"Will, we have been doing this for nearly an hour now!" Tamzin cried as she let her hands drop to her side; her fist still gripped the arrow. "Am I not a Roth girl? Shooting arrows is in my blood."

"I'm a better shot than your father, so you can discard that argument," Will teased as he held up the bow, straightened his back and shoulders, and released a breath. "Shooting a bow and arrow is a difficult task. Taking a man's life is a difficult task."

"It's a task I know too well," Tamzin replied solemnly as she let her eyes focus on the target. "Do you ever imagine someone is the target when you shoot?"

"Every time," Will replied. "Who do you see?"

"Douglas Johansson mostly, but sometimes Junior. I know I killed him, but I wish I made him suffer. I held Kendall as she died. If he was to kill her, why couldn't he make it quick?" Tamzin asked as she looked to him, her brown eyes framed by unshed tears. "What kind of man kills women and children?"

"A coward," Will replied without a beat. He reached out and touched her shoulder gently. "We will kill them all, my love. We will kill them for Kendall and every person they harmed or murdered." Realization flickered on Will's face as his fingers slid down her bare arm. "That's why you want to learn how to shoot..."

"It's agreed upon that it was nothing but luck when I killed Junior. That won't happen again. I'm going to be a mother soon, and I'm going to protect our child. No one will hurt my family again," Tamzin said with the thick tone of vengeance. "I'm going to burn Johansson Territory to the ground, if it's the last thing I do."

"Then show me the proper stance again, Your Grace," Will ordered her like she were a soldier. With an imaginary bow in her hand, Tamzin mimicked the stance Will had shown her. "Very good, my sweet."

"Kendall and I wanted to learn how to shoot when we were younger. Lucy wanted to get to know one of the soldiers better, so she joined us," Tamzin laughed as she felt Will come to stand behind her, where he adjusted her posture a bit. "Kendall was the only one of us to hit on the target. I think she was a natural."

"Why don't you talk about her? It's not good to keep your emotions bottled up," Will said as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder blade. His beard scratched her sensitive skin and Tamzin felt a chill go down her spine. "I would listen."

"I talk to my mother during our daily tea. It's hard to talk to you about her because you didn't know her well. She and I were supposed to do many things together. We got married together, we should have had our babies together. When she married Garrett, it was like something out of a fairy tale. Childhood best friends marry childhood best friends. I thought our children would be best friends and maybe if she had a girl, our boy could have..."

Will listened to this story with a heavy heart as he was reminded of Garrett's betrayal. One of his men had told him that Quincy, Turner’s bodyguard, had interrogated Seraphina, after he saw her acting odd. She had snuck away in the middle of the night and she claimed that all she tried to do was send a letter. Will had begged Quincy to forget about the incident and to not tell Tamzin. He vouched for Seraphina being a Northern girl, but he could tell that Quincy was observant for signs that she may be Will's mistress.

The townspeople talked about how odd it was to have a comfort girl continue to travel with an army after the war was over, but it was only gossip. Tamzin rarely put stock into most gossip and she hadn't brought it up to him at any point.

"Will? Will?" Tamzin said as she tapped his shoulder. "Were you listening to me?" she asked with slight irritation before she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I am sorry, love, I was thinking about what you were saying. It would have been a good match, our boy and if Kendall and Garrett had a girl." Will frowned slightly before he looked back at the target. "When you shoot at a target, you shoot at something small on the target. For example, if you wish to hit the red, look for something smaller, like the very center where it is slightly redder. If it were a person, try to shoot for a button or a brooch. Do that and you will hit the larger target." Will reached out and held out her arms again before he slid the bow into her arms. The arrow rested uneasily across the bow and he felt her exhale as she shot.

The arrow landed at her feet.

"It's alright," Will soothed as he kissed her shoulder. "It is difficult to learn how to shoot. With practice, you will do very well, I think."

"Or it's just another reason why she should go put her feet up," Rolf said as he approached the couple from behind. "Teaching your swelling wife how to shoot? That doesn't sound dangerous at all," Rolf said sarcastically.

"Maybe you should mind your own business," Tamzin spat as she lowered the bow and turned to look at him. "If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it."

"Princess! Those aren't kind words. If you weren't swelling, I would dismiss it as your womanly time of the month," Rolf said as he took the bow from her arms. "A child's bow as well?"

"She has never shot before. It is normal protocol, as you know," Will said as he leaned forward and grabbed the bow from Rolf. "Where I come from, nobles don't insult royalty like you just did."

"I also heard that you rarely use utensils where you come from," Rolf said as he eyed Tamzin's chest in her dress. "You are looking lovely today, Your Grace."

"I am much lovelier when I am smiling, something I cannot seem to do with you around," Tamzin bit back like a ferocious dog before she turned back to Will. "Will, help me with my stance again, please?" she asked sweetly. Will nodded as he took her arms and extended them again. With her in the correct position, Will leaned down and grabbed the arrow before he placed them between her fingers.