31. Consumation

[moonshadows]

When I emerge from the bedroom at dawn, wrapped in my dressing gown, I am startled to see Varian waiting for me on the couch. Slices of melon are arranged on the plate he holds and he has been awake long enough that his hair is damp, but not wet. He smiles at my astonishment and moves the plate as though attempting to lure me over, despite knowing that I need no luring. I seat myself on the couch and turn to reach for the delectable fruit, only to discover a morsel right in front of my nose. Amused, I open my mouth and allow him to feed me. The sweet flesh erases whatever stresses sleep had missed and combined with the attention my husband is lavishing on me, I am very quickly feeling relaxed but alert, pliable but affectionate.

The next tidbit that is presented for my consumption is accepted...but the fingers bearing it are also tasted. Varian takes the hint, and a sweet kiss replaces the slice of melon that would have been next to meet its fate. I part my lips and the kiss lengthens as he tastes melon on my tongue. He barely notices when I grope for the plate, take it from him, and set it on the table; the hand so freed moves to my side, then slides up and stops suddenly.

I run my hand through his hair, breaking the kiss when he does not. "Don't wait for my permission," I breathe, looking at him through half-lidded eyes. "If I stop to think about it, I'll freeze up. Just go slowly."

A low growl is all the answer I get before Varian claims my mouth again. Not long after, his hand resumes its motion up my chest while the other arm goes around my back to support me. When his thumb rubs over my nipple through the sheer cloth, it awakens a pulsing heat below my navel that makes my breath catch. He freezes, afraid he has done something wrong, but my low moan reassures him and he redoubles his attentions. My hands have found their way beneath his loose tunic and are exploring the rigid topography of his chest. As with his chin, he is clean where Blackmoore was not and another layer of fear dissolves in the hot rush of desire brought about by his strong, gentle fingers treating my other breast to the same attention its fellow received.

It surprises me just how maddening it is that his hands stray no further down.

"Varian," I moan when he releases my lips in favor of ravishing the tender skin of my neck.

Immediately, he pulls back and searches my face with worried eyes. Unfortunately, I am in no state to verbally express myself. My hand on his manhood gets the point across, however, as well as eliciting an involuntary groan.

"Taretha..."

He gets no further as my fingers wrap awkwardly around their prize, hampered as they are by the cloth that restrains it. With renewed passion he kisses me, even as his hands scrabble madly for the ties to my dressing gown. The laces to his trews are easier for me to find, and he groans again as my fingers brush the hot, swollen flesh.

"You're going to drive me mad, woman."

His voice is deep and rough, his breath hot in my ear. I can formulate no response, however, as he vanquishes my gown and his head dips down to tease my breast with his tongue. My grip slips as he lowers me slowly to the surface of the couch and crouches over me like a wolf on its kill, one hand teasing one nipple while he nips gently at the other. My legs spread of their own accord, calves caressing his powerful thighs. I can feel the head of his manhood tease my folds, rubbing until it hits the hotly pulsing bud his fingers had so cleverly manipulated once before. His name is the only word my fevered mind has retained, and with it I plead for what I have never wanted so badly in my life.

If he watches with concern as he gently eases his length inside me, I cannot see. My head is thrown back, eyes closed, moaning his name. Mine is breathed as a prayer as he finishes the long, slow thrust and begins an equally slow withdrawal. Again, deliciously slow, he penetrates me, teasing me, one long, hot finger searching for something no eye could ever see. He finds it, that secret spot, and I cry out as his member strokes it again and again.

Suddenly, he stops. I force my eyes open and reach up to touch his cheek lightly, concerned at his look of denial and tightly-closed eyes. At my touch they open, and he gives me a crooked smile.

"It has been a very long time for me," he says dryly. "I am trying very hard to not disgrace myself."

Before my heated brain can try to formulate a response his mouth is on my breast again and my concentration is shattered once more. A few moments later, he resumes moving inside me. I want to tell him how good it feels, how much more skilled he is - but all I can do is run my hands over his chest and back, moaning his name. His breathing starts sounding ragged and he stops a second time, whispering my name as he lavishes kisses on every inch of skin he can reach. I utter his in an inarticulate plea and he launches into motion again, each thrust pushing me closer to that delicious release Blackmoore never cared to grant me. My cries become more desperate and Varian grunts with equal urgency, control slipping.

The wave catches me on an inhalation, pleasure washing over me, stealing my voice. Above me, Varian exhales explosively as he allows himself to finish, honor intact now that I have taken my pleasure.

"Tari," he murmurs, nuzzling at my throat, and I remember to breathe once the wave has passed.

"Varian." Both hands in his hair urge his head up and I kiss him soundly before sighing in contentment.

He shifts so that we are lying on our sides on the couch, arms wrapped securely around me while I nuzzle into his chest, legs tangled in his. For several minutes we bask in the afterglow, and then he stirs.

"If we stay like this, we're going to fall asleep." Between  emotion and satisfaction, he's almost purring.

"Mmm. So?"

That warm, rich laugh rolls over me. "You're falling off the edge, my love."

"I'm comfortable. I don't want to move." To prove the point, I nestle a hair closer.

He mock-growls at me and with an impressive lunge, manages to stand up and swing me into his arms with the same motion. "Well then," he says lightly, "You just stay where you are and I'll do the moving."

Giggling, I open the bedroom door for him and he steps through, only to be distracted by a soft glow coming from my dressing table. He veers for it without needing my reaching gesture to encourage him, and sets me on my feet so I can grab the pendant with its two crystals. I press my thumb against the one that's glowing.

"Tari, is everything alright?" Thrall's worried voice spills out of the enchanted gem, which goes dark.

Varian gives me an inquiring look.

"Communication device," I say. "The first crystal stores incoming messages, while the second transmits them." I place my thumb over the second, which glows softly. "I'm fine, Thrall," I begin, but I am cut off.

"We're fine," Varian says, amused, "but isn't it the middle of the night there? Give Lady Jaina my regards."

I let go of the crystal. A few moments later, the first one lights up.

"Well, this is awkward all around," my brother says, sounding mildly amused. In the background, Jaina can be heard asking 'how did he know?'. "Serves me right for prying, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, Jaina's voice overrides him. "Yes, King Varian, it is the middle of the night here, and we are going back to bed. We can continue this discussion at a more decent hour."

The crystal goes dark and Varian laughs. "Sound advice," he says, taking the pendant from me and replacing it on the table before lifting me again and carrying me to my bed.

I grab his arm as he sets me down, shifting so that he can lay down beside me without climbing over me. Slightly surprised, he does so.

"Is this okay, Tari?" he asks hesitantly.

One finger on his lips silences him. I'm in too good a mood to worry just now. "Hold me," I command, and he does.

This time, there is no protest when we drift off to sleep.

================

I come awake all at once, heart pounding at the feel of male arms around me. Before I can drag my mind out of memory and back into the present, my bed partner stiffens as well.

"Bin mog g'thazag cha, Tari,"

The familiar reassurance does its job and I relax, noting as I do that the chest I am nestled against is smooth, the arms more muscled, and the scent completely different. Memory comes rushing back, and I feel myself flush slightly.

"Thank you," I murmur, and his arms tighten around me. "Varian...about earlier?" I worm one hand free to lay on his cheek. "You were wonderful."

He bends to kiss me. "Well worth the wait?"

"My lord," I laugh, "if I had known it would be like that, I'm not sure I would have been able to wait."

"Mm. I'd love to give you a second taste, but it's probably a decent hour in Durotar by now, judging by the glow coning from that pendant."

After a moment of fighting with my undone dressing gown, I simply free myself from it and climb out of bed, flushing at Varian's appreciative gaze. He takes pity on me and climbs out of bed as well, offering me the gown and helping me into it. I reward him with a quick kiss before thumbing the glowing crystal.

"Tari? When you get this, I think we should talk. Just tell us when."

"Tell us when?" Varian asks, eyebrows raised.

"...when it's safe to open a portal and visit." I grin at his expression. "We'll want to get dressed, at the least."

"Well, unless we want to keep them waiting, they'll have to be content with this." He crosses his arms, then promptly reaches for the ties of his trews as they threaten to slip off his hips.

I wrinkle my nose. "Well, go towel yourself off a bit, at least, while I dress. We don't need to be too obvious about this, do we?"

He pretends to consider it.

"Varian!"

"I'm going, I'm going," he laughs, retreating from my mock-wrath.

Instead of a more formal dress, I rummage in a wardrobe for the first frock the Frostwolf made for me: simple linen and blue trim. I am not yet comfortable with the idea of bathing in my husband's presence, but the ewer and basin in the corner and the small towel I keep by them will do for the moment. A dab of herb-scented lotion behind my ears, under my breasts, and on the insides of my thighs will mask most of whatever scent might be left. My braid is an absolute disaster, but not much worse than it usually is in the morning. I grab my brush as well as the pendant and venture into the sitting room to see if my lord husband has finished washing. To judge by the dampness of his hair, he has been as thorough as I could have hoped.

"You look beautiful," he says, smiling. "Let's invite your brother over for a visit."

I thumb the second gem at his gesture.

"Warchief Thrall, Lady Jaina. It would be our pleasure if you would honor us with your company."

A moment later, the first gem lights up. "Put the pendant down in a clear area," Jaina's voice commands.

I do so and back up, Varian watching curiously as the portal forms and my brother steps out, followed by the sorceress herself. The portal winks out and I throw myself at Thrall for a hug.

"Tari! You're looking well." He hugs me carefully and smiles. "Your Majesty. I'd say you're looking well, too, but I doubt you would appreciate it."

Varian's eyebrows lift. "I didn't know you cared, Warchief," he deadpans. Thrall laughs.

"Tari!" It's Jaina's turn for a hug. "..your Majesty," she adds, amused.

"Lady Proudmoore. Welcome to my wife's sitting room." He grins. "But let's not stand on formality. I think this morning has given us all the right to be a bit informal, don't you?"

Thrall laughs again. "Well said."

He extends his arms to Jaina and they sit on one couch - luckily not the one Varian and I had been using earlier. We seat ourselves on that one, and I swing my braid over my shoulder and begin untying the thong at the tail of it. No one misses the fact that we all seem to be garbed similarly.

"I won't ask if you're happy, Tari," Thrall says gently. "I can tell from your expression that you are." He grins at my blush. "After all, I saw the same expression on Jaina's face enough times. I just never thought I'd see it on yours. Well done," he says to Varian.

For once, my husband is flushed and speechless from flattery. "Thank you," he says at last. I smile at him as my fingers automatically separate the strands of my braid, and he smiles back.

"You've changed, Varian," Jaina says, also smiling. "For the better, of course. It suits you." Her eyes twinkle with mischief. "You also won me a bet."

Thrall mock-growls. "I still don't understand how you knew."

"Back at the Argent Tournament, the day he was brawling with Garrosh - you remember that day, Varian?"

"How could I forget?"

"Tari called your name-"

"-and I answered like a well-trained hunting hound," he finishes dryly.

"I remember that as well, but I still don't see how that could have led to..." Thrall trails off, coloring slightly.

"Led to what?" I ask, running the brush through my unbraided hair.

Jaina's eyes dance with mirth. "The bet hinged on whether or not you two would ever consummate your marriage."

Varian's jaw drops. "That's why you asked if everything was okay. You thought..." He trails off, warring with indignation and outrage.

"If you had hurt her," Thrall says steadily, "I would have killed you and damn the consequences."

"If I had hurt her," Varian replies, equally steady, "I wouldn't have fought back. And you would have had to stand in line behind Golthak. But Tari trained me too well," he continues in a lighter tone, smiling fondly at me.

Thrall's eyebrows go up and Jaina makes a quiet sound of glee. "You love him," he says wonderingly.

"I tried not to," I tease, separating my hair into three strands with the ease of long practice. "But he was relentless in his adoration, and he stopped being such a jerk, and I didn't really have a choice at that point."

Varian gives me a teasing look. "You forgot to mention my dashing good looks."

"You'd have to have them. Don't look at me like that." I pause in my braiding and free one hand to gently caress his scars. "I've seen paintings of you when you were younger, and I prefer your face like this."

"You...do?"

He looks so stunned, confused, and grateful that my heart melts. "Of course I do." I smile up at him. "I like your hair wild, as well."

"You didn't hide that one very well, my lady," he says, amused. "But...you don't mind...?"

I trace his scars again, slower, and he takes my fingers and kisses them. "They reassure me," I say quietly.

He pulls me into a tight hug. "Bin mog g'thazag cha, Tari," he says roughly.

"Oh, Thrall, they're adorable!"

When I glance at my brother, he's shaking his head slowly with a wide smile splitting his face. "If I'd known you taught him that, I wouldn't have worried. I still don't see how that one incident tipped you off, Jaina."

Jaina waves one hand dismissively. "Tari didn't have to say anything with you and Tirion there. The fact that she did meant that she saw Varian as her responsibility, and you know how Tari is with responsibilities."

My lord husband releases me, and I resume braiding my hair. "But you know how she feels - felt? - towards men. That means you thought..."

"That you had it in you to be a kind, gentle, honorable person? That underneath the hotheaded, impulsive jerk there was a gentleman?" Jaina raises one eyebrow. "You remained faithful to the memory of your wife for ten years, Varian. Don't try to pretend your softer side was well-hidden. I knew Tari would bring it out, and then once she did, you wouldn't stop until you had done everything you could to right the wrongs done to her."

“You could have warned me,” I say dryly as I tie the thong back around my braid.

Jaina shrugs. “You wouldn’t have listened.”

“Well, I for one am very glad that your marriage turned out not to be entirely political,” Thrall rumbles. “Tari’s been hurt for far too long, and there are no words to express my gratitude for making her this happy.”

“She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Varian says. “I would have sworn Stormwind into the Horde for her hand, I think. Actually, I’m surprised you didn’t wring more concessions out of me than you did.”

“I didn’t have to,” Thrall says with quiet amusement. “You were marrying my sister. I knew she would bring about more favorable policies than I ever could, so I focused on other things.”

I meet Jaina’s eyes, and we exchange a secret look.

“I’d invite you both to stay for lunch, but –“

“Oh, no, we need to be getting back,” Jaina interrupts me. “There’s something we have to do back in Orgrimmar.” She stands up and we embrace. “It was good to see you again, Tari. We’ll have to arrange a state visit sometime.”

“Of course,” I answer before giving my brother a hug as well. “Thank you for worrying about me.”

His enormous hands cover my back in a gentle hug. “What are brothers for? Be well, Tari. We’ll keep in touch.”

“Jaina, what were the terms of the bet?”

The sorceress shoots Varian an amused glance and laughs as the portal forms.

“Don’t ask,” Thrall growls, striding through the magical gateway before either of us can do just that.

Jaina gives me a wink and follows him, and the portal closes. I pick the pendant up and set it on the table by the abandoned plate with its handful of survivors, huddled miserably together in melony terror.

“What now, my lady wife?” Varian asks, arms encircling me from behind.

I lean back against his hard chest. “I’m feeling a bit hungry.”

“And what is it that my lovely bride desires?”

I smile, knowing he can’t see it. “You.”

================

"Wait."

One hand on the towel around his waist, about to step into the bathtub sunk into the floor, Varian freezes. His hair is messily tied back, trailing down between his shoulderblades, and his skin is bronze and smooth. He looks over his shoulder at me, curiously, and I can feel my cheeks start to burn.

"I...I want to see you."

Instead of leering or laughing, Varian nods once and faces forward again as I tentatively move closer and hesitantly run light fingertips over my husband's back and arms. My tactile exploration reminds me of checking a horse, a thought he seems to share when he asks with gentle amusement if I want to see his teeth. Instead of answering, I untie his hair and finger-comb it smooth before binding it again. His shoulders and chest are broader than Blackmoore's. Slowly, I slip my hands around to his chest, embracing him from behind, cheek nestled against his spine, inhaling his scent.

"Tari?" The hand not on his towel covers my hand. "Take all the time you need. I'm not fool enough to think that today has magically erased him from your mind. Whatever you need to do, or need me to do, in order to feel comfortable...do it."

As I slide around towards his front, he turns to face me. Again my fingers explore his exposed skin, attempting to overwrite the memory of what Blackmoore felt like against my hands. When I take a step forward to embrace him again, he stops me. Flushing slightly, he adjusts the towel so that it lays flat against his legs again.

"You're very beautiful," he says sheepishly, "and while civilized, I am still a brute."

My gentle smile seems to surprise him. "He would have had me on my back by now."

I step forward and embrace him, fully trusting that he will do exactly what he is doing - nothing - and duck my head slightly to lay it on his chest. After a moment, his other arm encircles my waist and he kisses my hair. Although I can feel his manhood hard between us, he does not impatiently grind his hips against me as Blackmoore would have. For a long minute I revel in the unusual sense of power it gives me, knowing that Varian both finds me attractive and will not act unless I will him to. Knowing that I don't have to do anything frees me, and I find that I am much more charitably inclined to the acts I once reviled for the indignity I thought was inherent in them.

"I'm keeping you from your bath. I'm sorry."

Varian chuckles as I step away. "I should be the one apologizing; it's your bath, and I'm keeping you from it. Unless you'd prefer to share...?" He leans forward to kiss me lightly as I blush. "My lady, are you still shy? You'll let me ravish you on the couch, but sharing a tub big enough for six is too much?"

"It's not that. Entirely." I can feel my blush deepen. "It's...going to take me a while before I'm comfortable seeing you...unclothed." A gesture at the towel hopefully explains what I mean; I don't want to have to elaborate.

"Taretha. What happened? Wait-" he holds up one hand as I open my mouth. "Is there someone still alive for me to kill to avenge you if you tell me what happened?"

"That depends on if Karramyn Langston survived the Plague."

My husband glowers. "I'll put SI:7 on it right after my bath. If he lives, I think I'll have him arrested."

"Charge him with conspiracy against the Alliance," I suggest. "He knew Blackmoore's plan for the orcs."

Varian hums thoughtfully. "If I did that, though, would I be obligated to turn him over to the Horde for justice?"

"Thrall pardoned him for the Horde in exchange for him bearing Thrall's message to the Alliance. He's all yours."

He bows to me. "If he lives, then we will discuss what happened and what will happen. Until then, my lady, I will not bring it up again."

"Thank you, Varian." I dip him a curtsy. "I'll let you take your bath now."