Contentment

Charyic pulled Esus’ hand to her lips, kissing his fingers and palm, and felt him sigh contentedly in his sleep, his breath warm on her neck. Malav’s touch had been full of fire and hunger, but Esus, Esus’ touch was joyful and almost reverent. His concern for her pleasure had been almost annoying and when she had chided him for it he laughed with as much amusement at her expense as he had over the hare.

She nibbled his fingers playfully remembering the way he had laid her back onto the pillows to touch and tease her with his mouth and surprisingly nimble strong hands as he explained, slowly, how much he enjoyed pleasing her.

After she had returned the favor as thoroughly, he had only been able to murmur, “My beauty, oh, my beauty,” for what might have been an hour. She grinned to herself and teased the tip of one of his fingers with her tongue drawing a groan from him and making him stir and press closer behind her.

“My beauty,” Esus whispered as he began to kiss the back of her neck, “It’s the middle of the night you should get some rest.”

Laughing softly, Charyic kissed his fingers again. “I’m hungry, Esus. Do you think anyone would mind if I borrowed a few things from the kitchens?”

Esus laughed and she could feel him grinning, “We’re welcome to the food, but would you know what to do with it?”

She jabbed him with an elbow making him laugh harder and roll away. Charyic climbed out of bed as he pulled his tunic over his head still grinning. His beautifully crooked grin was almost enough to make her forget about being hungry. She pulled on her robe and grinned back at him. “You are just so mean, Esus!”

He laughed and held out his arm and she came to him with a smile shaking her head. “My falconer. I don’t know why, but I love it when you do that.” She gazed up at him watching his face intently as his ears began to turn red. “I love it when you do that too.” She reached up and touched his ear gently and he pulled her into a kiss.

“Food first, my beauty, or we may never leave our room.” Esus said softly as he broke the kiss.

“Food first.” She agreed with a mischievous grin.

Charyic followed him to the kitchens and hunted through the stores with him. Salted pork and gravy sounded like heaven. With fried potatoes. He began to laugh as she looked at him expectantly.

“I’ll cook. You need to peel and slice the potatoes, my beauty.”

“Done!” She grinned and settled onto a bench to begin.

The briny smell as he sliced the pork made her stomach growl. She was finished with the potatoes well before he was ready for them and she began to hunt through the stores for something sweet. A small locked box caught her eye. “Esus? Ah, I’ll be right back.” She grinned at him impishly as she stepped out of the storeroom and ducked back through the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” He turned away from the pork that was beginning to boil with a look of concern.

“Nothing! I just need something from our room.” Charyic tried to feign a look of innocence and he gave her a knowing look that was not entirely approving. “I’ll be right back.” She almost bounded over to kiss him before going quickly back to the room for her tools.

When she returned he was dredging the pork in flour and she ducked immediately into the storeroom to work on the box. As soon as it was opened she could barely contain her glee. Brown bars of rich smelling confections. She pulled out two and closed the box hearing it re-latch and lock on its own.

Returning to the bench and table with her tools and the bars she grinned at Esus. “I got one for you, too.”

Laughing, Esus shook his head, “You are more a thieving magpie than a falconet, my beauty. That is for special occasions. They melt them and dip fruit into it.”

“Ah. I was just going to eat it.” She gave him the bright smile that had gotten her out of trouble more than once as a child.

Charyic watched as he began to laugh and then sighed in resignation. “Fetch me the milk, my lovely troublemaker?”

She beamed at him and laid her things on the table, “Of course, dearest heart.” She brought him back a sizable pitcher.

“That. Is cream.” His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Were you banned from your mother’s kitchen for stealing her sweets?”

Her cheeks began to flush. “I may have gotten into things. It was easier to have my father keep me out from underfoot when she cooked.”

Esus looked as though he wanted to laugh, but Charyic narrowed her eyes. “I can teach you, my beauty. No need to be sour.” He shook his head at the cream before saying, “Cream can work just as well.”

He put her to work stirring the gravy as it thickened and he showed her how he fried the potatoes in the pork fat, letting them get brown and crispy. When the food was done he put it on plates, potatoes and pork with the thick gravy ladled over the top. Charyic hadn’t had better and she told him so. But it tasted like something was missing. Esus looked at her oddly.

Her eyes fell on the bars and she grinned, breaking off a corner and popping it in her mouth with a bite of pork and gravy. Esus began to laugh as she swayed in delight and crumbled the bar over her food. He refused to try a bite but seemed to enjoy watching her devour her entire plate of food and look longingly at the pans for more.

There wasn’t much left, but Esus scraped it out of the pans for her and gave her the last quarter of his own plate. She broke off a piece of the bar and offered it to him with a grin, and he politely refused it. She finished the food on her plate and the bar before sighing in perfect contentment.

The amused and admiring look on Esus’ face made her remember that there were other things she wanted to do before going back to sleep tonight.