A Fairy Tale for Big Girls – 28. chapter

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“I need to know how things stand with Lili now,” Mark said once he and Martin were alone in the room and he had sat down as well.

“Whether Philip’s army is with her, and if so, where. Whether they are at the borders, at the castle, what the mood is like there. Everything. How quickly can you find that out?”

“Lili’s lands don’t even border ours. Two days, perhaps even three,” came the hesitant answer.

“I’m afraid I don’t have that much time,” Mark thought aloud, and after a moment he caught his friend’s disapproving look. He frowned and waited for Martin to begin.

“Lili is not only a free person, but also chosen by God,” Martin said. “Without her explicit consent, you are forbidden to do absolutely anything that concerns her in any way.”

“…I know.”

“You clearly have something in mind. If Lili knew about it, you would have this information from her. But you don’t,” Martin refused to be brushed off.

Mark worked his jaw in displeasure, but answered.

“Perhaps to continue doing to her what I have until now, I will need at least some consent from her. And it’s possible I won’t get it,” he failed to hide the nervousness in his voice. “But I can stop her from making the greatest mistake of her life.”

“You think so?”

“I won’t allow her to marry Philip just because she is afraid of him. Let her decide freely. And if she still doesn’t want me after that,” he paused and swallowed hard. “I will accept it. I don’t have to have her myself if she truly doesn’t want me. But I will not give her to him. And for that, I don’t need her consent.”

Martin hesitated for a while, then asked with a resigned sigh,

“What is the plan?”

“We must find out what the situation is there with her. If he already has soldiers at her castle, we must send ours there in a way that can prevent any possible attack.”

“We don’t have enough time to send a scout first and soldiers after. You need to learn this information from…”

“I won’t break Lili,” Mark cut him off. “I saw it in her. Even if I grabbed her outright, which I cannot, I would get nothing from her. Just as she never revealed who she was. And I did torment her enough. She can be incredibly stubborn.”

Martin gave him an indulgent, instructive smile and finished his sentence.

“…Philip.”

Mark frowned for a second, then understood and nodded with a smile.

“Of course. Good. At dinner.”

They spent several more hours discussing possible options and plans. Only late in the afternoon did Mark get up to leave.

“Before I forget,” he said, already turning in the doorway, “find me the man who dragged Lili in back then.”

He lay down on the bed, planning to rest for a while before dinner. He was even managing it a little, though his thoughts would not stop. He considered how he would stop Philip and how many allies he would need so that idiot would not even think of going to war. Whether Lili, at this moment, was an ally or an enemy. And whether, at the end of all this, she would want him, or vanish from his life forever. For half a year it had never occurred to him that one day he might need her consent. And now he wanted it madly, at any cost. What he wanted most was to storm into her chamber right away, ignore her attempts to resist, and tie her to the bed. Then do everything he wanted to her, whether she wanted it or not, until she promised him she would be his. He simply did not think that was the way to convince someone of blue blood to vow to love, honor, and obey him till death did them part. Irritated, he realized his thoughts of Lili had sent blood to his groin. He shook his head and tried, at least for a moment, to close his eyes and not think.

Dinner went better than Mark had hoped. From Philip, he managed to find out that Philip’s soldiers were not in Lili’s country. They had been at her castle until recently, but now they were escorting Lili’s uncle to Philip’s residence, where the wedding was to take place. Lili remained quiet and stiffly formal at Philip’s side, as always, so Mark could not tell whether she already had this information or whether it was new to her. Philip even agreed to stay one day longer. They would go riding together after breakfast and leave only the following morning. Mark was surprised to realize that with this idea, he had earned a furtive, grateful smile from Lili.

It pleased him, but he could no longer wait for the end of this social ordeal so he could begin to act. He slipped away as soon as possible. He arranged several things, issued orders. And later, in peace, from the window of his temporary room, he watched the group of riders leave the castle. He could not help feeling a new sense of hope, and with it, after a while, he finally managed to fall asleep.

—————————————————————————-

He woke in the middle of the dark night. He felt a gentle touch on his face and a person sitting beside him on the bed.

“Mark,” came a loving whisper.

Even half asleep, he immediately knew it was Lili.

“Little one,” he breathed in surprise and reached for her.

Before she even had time to react, he took her into his arms. One hand wrapped around her, the other went into her hair, and his mouth found her lips. He immediately pushed his tongue between them, pressing her to himself with his whole body. She placed her palms on his chest and gently pushed him away, but he did not notice. He kissed her, laid her on her back, and carefully settled over her.

“I miss you madly,” he whispered excitedly into her ear, spreading her legs with his hand.

“Mark,” she protested when he lay between them and pressed his hard dick against her through the dress.

He moaned aloud and filled her mouth with his tongue again. She turned her head away and pushed him back.

“I’m not here for that,” she objected.

“Oh, come on,” he whimpered pleadingly and pressed his dick against her harder. “How long has it been since I had you?”

“Stop,” she said more strictly and moved away from him.

“Please,” he whispered and leaned back toward her. He did not touch her, only whispered close to her ear.

“Come on. I’ll make you come so beautifully.”

She drew a ragged breath, and he could see that she was trying to control her arousal. But she shook her head and lifted the leg with the anklet onto the bed.

“Take it off,” she commanded.

He froze and slowly, hesitantly lay on his side beside her. He clicked his tongue in displeasure and tried to ignore the fading pulse of blood in his dick.

“No,” he answered irritably.

It was clear he had not surprised her. She moved closer to him.

“Mark. There is no other choice. Please don’t make this even harder for me.”

She looked worn down. He watched her and realized that this was how she felt now because of him. Just as he realized he must not yield to her.

“Lili,” he began. “If I take it off you, I allow him to torture you to death, and I will lose my mind without you. If I leave it on you, I have a chance to save us both.”

She frowned suspiciously.

“What do you want to do?”

He looked into her face but stayed silent. He wanted very badly to answer her, but he was convinced she would reveal everything to Philip.

“Mark!” she sounded nervous. “What do you want to do?” she repeated louder.

He shook his head.

“These are not matters for little girls.”

She clearly had not expected that answer.

“Don’t you dare. Whatever you are planning, stop!”

He remained silent. She got out of bed and was almost shouting now.

“You are speaking to a queen!”

He ran his gaze over her from head to toe and objected in a gentle but firm voice.

“At this moment, I am speaking to a frightened little girl.”

She lifted her nose and snarled at him.

“Go amuse yourself in that harem of yours instead! Women like that are better suited to you than marriage!”

And then she turned and left.

Mark sighed and spent a moment going over her words in his head. Slowly, he sat up on the edge of the bed, then immediately stood and walked out of the room with a decisive stride.

As he crossed the courtyard toward the eastern wing, he had no idea that from the bedroom upstairs, a pair of brown eyes watched him, flooded with tears.