He felt her body relax beneath him, and in that instant his shaft entered the portals of her femininity, gently easing into her incredibly tight sheath. Her virginity was tightly lodged, and he stopped a moment, kissing her closed eyelids, tenderly brushing back a stray lock of hair from her forehead. She whimpered, a half-passionate, half-fearful sound, and he could feel her heart pounding beneath his chest.
Zenobia felt as if he was tearing her apart. His manhood filled her, gorged her, and the pain was fierce. She tried to he still, keeping her eyes tightly shut so he might not know and have his pleasure spoiled. When he stopped momentarily, lying atop her, attempting to soothe her, she felt a slight relief; but then he drew back and plunged swiftly through her maiden barrier. She shrieked with the hurt, and fought to escape him, but he was firmly in control, pushing deeper into her resisting sweetness.
'No! No!' she sobbed, the tears beginning to come, and then suddenly she became aware that his manhood, which just moments ago had seemed like a red-hot poker, was suddenly the source of the most marvelous sweetness; yet the ache was increasing. She no longer seemed able to fight him off. His shaft moved back and forth within her, and the world about her seemed to pulse and spin with a myriad of sensations. Zenobia had never imagined that anything could be as magnificent as this joining of bodies. She was as lost within him as he was in her. The pleasure built higher until the ache dissolved without warning, and she was falling, falling into a warm and welcoming blackness.
She clung to him, lost within her private world, and the prince was ravished by her response to his passion. Tenderly he gathered her into his arms, so that when once more she became herself, she would feel cherished-for indeed she was. Pressing soft little kisses upon her face, he murmured reassuringly to her, 'I love you, my darling! My adorable wife, I love you so!' He said the words over and over until she finally opened her eyes and looked up at him.
'Oh, my Hawk, I love you too! I want to please you, but will it always hurt like that?'
'Never again,' he promised her. 'It was only because you were a virgin, Zenobia. I cannot understand Tamar not telling you.'
'Tamar has had only sons,' Zenobia replied, 'and perhaps she did not wish to frighten me.'
'Then why not your Bab?'
'It was not Bab's place to tell me those things,' she said primly.
Odenathus sighed with exasperation. 'Then I suppose it must be my place to school you, my flower.'
'Yes, my lord,' came the demure reply.
He looked sharply at her, then laughed, for her eyes were mischievous. 'Do you laugh at me, my wife?' he demanded in a teasingly threatening tone.
'Yes, my lord.' Her look was melting.
He could feel his desire rising once more, and wondered if he dare take her again. It had been a hard breach of her maidenhead, and he had not a doubt that she was sore.
'I want you again, my Hawk.' She punctuated her remark by turning her head to gently bite at his forearm.
A shiver ran through him as he realized that his bride was a passionate woman. Reaching out, he rubbed her nipple until it stood tall, a tough little soldier upon the rise of her delicious flesh. She pulled his head down, kissing his mouth, whispering against his lips, 'Take me now, my darling! I bum!'
Mounting her, he slipped into her sweet sheath, feeling her wince slightly. Slowly he moved within her, pushing deep, then pulling himself completely out, only to plunge once again into her burning body. He felt her nails rake his back, and heard her cry, 'No! I want the sweetness, my Hawk! Do not deny me the sweetness!'
He laughed as he sat straddling her. 'Do not be in a hurry, my flower. There is much pleasure to be gained by taking time to enjoy each other,' and then he commenced a tantalizingly slow movement that would drive her to the brink of madness.
Zenobia found herself helpless before the delicious sensations that began to assail her. There had been pain the first time, but then it had been good, and she had liked it. Now, though here had been a moment's discomfort when he had begun again, it was different, yet still good. She didn't believe it could be any better, but each moment brought new delights until she was spinning away, lost in time and not caring. All she could think was that she had been a fool to fear him. Above her the prince groaned with his own pleasure, falling across her breasts, but Zenobia was totally unaware.
Both fell into a deep sleep, but with the resilience of a healthy young animal Zenobia awoke after a few hours. It was the middle of the night, black and so very still. The lamps still burned, for neither she nor the prince had thought to snuff them out. A slight wind came through the portico and the lamps flickered, casting odd, red-gold shadows against the wall. She lay on her back, quietly observing the room in which she had become a woman. It was, she realized, a woman's room; it was her room, the room in which she would share tender, sweet intimacies with Hawk; the room in which she would birth her children; the room in which as an old woman, she would probably breathe her last.
It was a simple place, she thought as her eyes slowly swept the chamber; but then he had said that it had not been decorated because he thought she might enjoy planning the decor of their home. Here was something new and challenging.
'Are you awake?' His voice tore at the stillness.
'Yes.'
'What are you pondering, my flower?'
An honest reply sprang to her lips only to be swallowed back. He would hardly think it complimentary that on their wedding night she was thinking of how to decorate their home. 'I was thinking of you, Hawk,' she said.
'What were you thinking?'
'That I love you,' she replied.
He raised himself up on his elbow, and looked down into her face, smiling. 'We will be friends as well as lovers, as well as husband and wife. Oh, Zenobia, I am so glad that I have you! I have been so alone since my father died. Neither my mother nor Deliciae can be a friend to me, for they do not understand my feelings for Palmyra; but you understand, my flower, don't you? This is a great city, and we shall make it greater so that our son will be an even greater lord than his father and grandfather!'
'How can we be great as long as the Romans rule us?' she demanded.
'Soon Antonius Porcius will retire,' he explained to her, 'and he has told me that the emperor will send no one to take his place. The Romans trust us, Zenobia. I will shortly rule the city in my own right as the princes of Palmyra did before me.'
'How can you rule in your own right when the Romans still garrison troops within our city?' Zenobia demanded.
'My wedding gift from the emperor is command of those troops, my beautiful wife!'
She sat up, startled. 'You are to command Roman troops?'
'I am. Now what do you think, my flower?'
'I wonder why, after years of occupation, the Romans suddenly decided to let you rule without a Roman governor. I wonder why you have been put in charge of their troops.'
'Because the Romans know that they can trust me, Zenobia.'
'And once you have total control will you overthrow them?' Her gray eyes shone with pride.
'No, Zenobia. I need Rome's soldiers for Palmyra. The world is no longer what it once was. We are surrounded by dangers not even dreamed of in my grandfather's time. I need an army to protect this city.'
'Why Romans?!'
'Rome is the central power in the world. If I use her troops then I do not have to force my own people into the military service. Rome's troops cost me nothing. The tribute we pay to the empire comes from the caravans; and not from my people.'
'I cannot believe that you have bent your neck to their yoke,' she cried. 'Tell me you have been but jesting with me, my Hawk.'
'Zenobia, you are yet a child, and do not understand these matters,' he said gently. 'When you see how the government is run, the monies involved, then you will understand why it is necessary for us to cooperate with Rome. Come now, my flower, why are we discussing such weighty matters in the midst of our wedding night.' He leaned over and kissed her mouth.
She pulled back, her gray eyes serious. 'You once promised to share your responsibilities with me, Hawk. Have