Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Julia was stunned with his anger. Brogan hadn’t been that explosively angry since the first few days of their marriage. He snarled and yelled, making her actually fear her husband. She clenched her belly protectively, watching him with wide eyes until he stabbed her in the heart with the words that he had promised to never use again. He talked about her with Ciaran.

And then he was gone, leaving a dark cloud in his wake as he stormed from the keep. It was a few moments later when Marri came rushing into the room, Emma on her heels and Valentina not long behind. They all looked in shock, having heard the yelling from Kitty’s room.

“What happened?” Marri asked, taking in Julia’s pale apperance. “Julia, what happened?”

“I…I…” Julia stammered, her hands clenching desperately at her belly as she felt it tighten and she gave a whimper of fear.

“Shhhh…it’s alright.” Marri murmured, knowing that she had to calm the frightened woman down. “We’re going to take you to Kitty’s room. Val, would you get your father, please?” Marri took one of Julia’s arm and Emma the other, gently escorting her from the room where the fight had occurred.

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo was there when Julia arrived, sitting her down. "I need you to calm down, my dear," he said softly. "This stress isn't good for you or the baby." He had her chew some herbs that were naturally relaxing along with a glass of water until at least her muscles had relaxed.

"Val, where is Brogan?" Vincenzo looked up, but his daughter shook her head. No one but Julia knew where he'd gone. "... Leave him be, he needs to cool down." His eyes then turned to Julia. "What's happened, Julia?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“We had a fight.” She said, her tears coming swift and violent as she felt the relaxing pull of the herbs that she’d been given. “We had a fight and he ran off.”

Kitty was soon sitting at her side, pulling her daughter-in-law tightly against her side as she cooed and soothed her, looking at Vincenzo with a soft look. Marri watched the scene and felt her blood boil. She would find Brogan, she thought to herself, and give him a piece of her mind. She slipped from the room without anyone noticing, storming from the keep on a warpath to find her wayward brother-in-law.

 

[KieranSoares]

Marri would find Brogan at the shore of the Loch, standing in enraged and hurt silence, trembling with... he knew not if it was anger or pain or guilt. How could Julia think he was unfaithful? How could he have said those awful things to her? As Marri approached, she saw him crumble to the ground in silence, not knowing she was there.

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri stood there, watching him for a long moment after he had crumbled to the ground. She was so angry with him that she herself was shaking. She wanted to yell at him, to tell him that he was the worst kind of person for yelling at his heavily pregnant wife, but she held her tongue. She knew with the Ghis men, she needed to tread lightly.

She stood next to him for a moment before she took a seat beside him on the shore of the loch, silent for a long moment before she finally cleared her throat. “I think we need to talk, Brogan.” She said softly, looking at him then.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She thinks I'm 'avin' an affair..." he whispered. "She asked me if I was seein' another woman..." Tears filled his eyes. "I know I've been busy gettin' th'harvest in, an' I'm not m'self 'cause I'm so tired when I come 'ome, but... Gods, I can' believe I did tha' t'her..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri sighed softly and looked over at her brother-in-law. “Brogan, the rumor’s going around that there’s a maid having an affair with one of the Ghis. I know it’s not Durban and I know it’s not Boar. You being gone so late in the evenings, certain people have started to talk.”

She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. “She’s pregnant, Brogan. Women with child say strange things and get overly emotional. She needs you there with her for the little things. You miss a meal and it hurts her. You don’t come home and to bed and she feels like you’re abandoning her.”

“She’s upset but Vincenzo calmed her down. He had to give her herbs and Kitty is fawning over her. I think you need to go back and clear the air.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're right, but... gods, I can' face 'er... Not after what I said..." He shook his head. "I'm a bloody fool..." He looked up at her, and she saw the pain in his eyes and the rage at himself. "I... I'll be in soon, jus'... tell 'er I'm comin'..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri nodded and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Brogan. Just a little thick headed sometimes.” She said with a smile, rising and leaving him by the loch as she went back in to help tend to Julia.

Between herself and Emma and Val, they got Julia dressed and tucked into bed, the herbs that Vincenzo had given her making her sleepy and calm. Once she was in bed, Kitty sat at her side, soothing her daughter-in-law until her son returned.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan came about twenty minutes after Marri returned, and he entered the bedroom in silence, standing before his mother in the doorway with pain and guilt in his eyes. "Evenin' Ma..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia heard her husband’s voice and lifted her head from the pillow, looking at him with a miserable glance and slowly lowered her head back to the bed, rubbing the side of her belly as Kitty patted her shoulder. Kitty rose, stronger than she had been since Vincenzo had arrived. She looked at her son for a long moment, not saying a word before she swept out of the room to leave the husband and wife alone.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kitty's silence hurt worse than if she'd have struck him in the face, but Brogan focused on Julia. He came to kneel beside her and he laid his head on the edge of the bed. "Love..." he spoke lowly, "I... I'm so sorry... I shouldn' 'ave reacted like that..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia’s eyes were hazy, filling with tears as she heard him speak. She watched him closely, sobbing as he apologized. She wanted nothing more to be swept up in his warm embrace, held tightly against his strong chest. He hadn’t done that in so long, always afraid of hurting the baby.

“You’re gone all the time, Brogan. I’ve just missed you so…” It was a feeble excuse and they both knew it, but her fears had been very real. She had seen the way the serving maid looked at him. She had noticed when the girl had left shortly after Brogan and had reappeared shortly before he did.

“And then that girl. She follows you, love. I thought…I thought the worst of you. I know you aren’t like me. I know you’re stronger than that…” She still beat herself up over her affair and though he had forgiven her long ago, the wound was fresh and open still.

 

[KieranSoares]

"What girl?" He met her eyes with genuine confusion. He didn't even know her, she could see it. "Julia... y'are strong, an' beside tha', th' past doesn' matter any more. I... I shouldn' 'ave mentioned it. I just... couldn' believe y'thought I'd do that t'ya..."

 

[heartofcourage]

“The new serving girl.” Julia muttered, her eyes unable to meet her husband’s as he told her that he couldn’t believe she thought he would cheat on her. “Look at me, Brogan. I couldn’t blame you if you wanted to.”

Julia had been self conscious about her changing body. Her breasts were bigger, her hips fuller, and more importantly her belly was swollen. Being the queen, everyone was very aware of those changes and she felt like a prized heifer more than a beautiful woman. Everyone seemed to have a vested interest in her now that there was an heir possibly on the way. The kitchen staff kept her well fed. The people at the market plied her with delicious fruit and different foods. There wasn’t anywhere she could turn to escape the constant scrutiny.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I am lookin' at you, an' yer e'en more beautiful'n th'day I met ya." Brogan picked himself up and laid behind her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her, letting his hand lay across her swollen belly as he gave her neck a warm kiss. "Other'n bein' gone all th' time... what else made y'think I'd go off an' cheat? What'd I do wrong?" He practically begged for her answer so he could fix it immediately.

 

[heartofcourage]

“You haven’t made love to me in so long, Brogan.” She said miserably as his hand rested across her belly, his lips finding a warm spot on her neck. “If you are not loving me, I thought you must be surely loving someone else.”

Julia sobbed openly now, her emotions and senses completely running crazy. She took comfort in his strong arms around her body, but she couldn’t control her emotions.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Aw, darlin'," he laid his cheek against hers, letting her cry out her emotions as it was the best medicine for her pain. "Ye've been s' tired lately... I didn' think y'wanted t'be exhausted jus' fer my pleasure... I told ya b'fore, love, anytime y'want me, y'just let me know. I'll ne'er look t'another woman fer somethin' like tha'."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia sniffled as her tears ended, his cheek pressed tightly against hers as he tried to soothe her emotions. She gripped his hand tightly against her belly, listening to him as he told her that he would never go to another woman for what she could give him freely. She turned her head to look up into his dark gaze, nibbling her lower lip as she saw nothing but acceptance there.

“You must think I’m losing my mind.” She said softly, a bit sheepishly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No," he shook his head and his lips met hers in a soft, comforting kiss, before he continued, "I think yer pregnant, an' I think I've been neglectin' ya." He stole another kiss, this one much warmer and much longer, trying to convey that his love for her was still just as strong without words.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia whimpered as he kissed her gently, showing her what his words couldn’t convey as they lay there in their bed. She raised her hands to cup his cheeks, enjoying the contact that she had so sorely missed in his time working on the harvest. She wanted his hands on her, loving her, but she was so afraid to ask him for that. He had denied her recently, saying that he was tired or that they might hurt the baby. How she wanted that contact so badly…

“Love…would you…?” She couldn’t continue her words, a dark blush coating her cheeks that he hadn’t seen since their early days of marriage.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Only if y'let me do th'work," he nodded with a loving smile, and he decided to try something new that would ensure as little stress as possible for her. He remained behind her, keeping her laying on her side as such. All she currently wore was a nightgown with nothing beneath, and it was easy to pull up over her hips. He sat up and pulled off his own shirt and trousers before returning to her, and she could feel the familiar hardness of his erection pressed against the back of her thigh.

Her husband kissed at her neck sweetly, offering nothing but warmth and love as further apology for how he'd hurt her not just with his words, but his neglect. Slowly but surely, he lifted her leg and parted her thighs, guiding his hard shaft between them and into her long-untouched pussy, slow and steady and unrelenting.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia whimpered hotly as Brogan kissed at her throat sweetly, his large hand guiding her thighs apart before he slipped into her body from behind. She sighed at the touch of the head of his cock between her thighs, his thick shaft fitting snuggly into her body once more. It was so hard to simply lie still and let him do all the work when she wanted to ride him like she use to.

“Oh, love…” She whimpered as his strong hand braced against her hip, making sweet love to her like they hadn’t done in so long.

Her fingers tangled in the sheets, her throat exposed for his attentions as she kept to the agreement and simply let him do all the work.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan had been just as deprived of such contact as she, and though he kept his head clear enough to be gentle and careful of her, he let himself enjoy his wife immensely with slow, deep strokes. He let a soft moan escape him, and nipped ever so lovingly along Julia's jawline. He knew what she wanted to do, though, and she felt his lips curl into a smile against her skin before he whispered, "D'ya want t'be on top, love?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“Yes…” She whimpered as he asked if she wished to be on top. His lips caressed her jaw, drawing into a smile as he loved her ever so carefully. “Please, Brogan…”

She suddenly found his strong hands on her hips, pulling her upright until she was straddling his hips, her swollen belly making her a bit clumsy. She reached down and braced her hands against his chest, looking into his eyes as she moved her hips slightly, experimenting in this new position.