Lancelot

I don’t want to let her go. Gwen is finally, finally in my arms again, but this time I won’t accept her denial of me. Gwen is mine and I’m going to keep her until my dying day.

Scooping her into the cradle of my arms, I carry my queen to the bed, strip the singed quilt, and place her on the mattress. She giggles. “What are you doing?”

“We’ve no worry of discovery, no king to concern ourselves with. I’m taking you to bed and keeping you there until we near starvation.” I climb over her until I’m resting next to her beautiful form.

Her laugh is music, a balm to my soul. All my time in purgatory, I’d known something was missing, a piece of me lost to the time and place. As soon as I touched Excalibur I knew. She was my missing piece.

My hand trails over the softness of her skin, lightly brushing her arm until our fingers twine together. “Why did you tell me you’d chosen Arthur? That night we were supposed to run away. Why break me into a thousand shards and leave me?”

She stiffens. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please stop pretending it didn’t happen. We’re together now, but I need to know why.”

“Lance…I never made the journey to meet you. Morgan made a very public scene and Arthur had me locked in the tower that very night.”

My mind drifts to the moment Guinevere cut me down with nothing but words. Under cover of our hawthorn tree she’d stood, her hood shielding the long, dark hair I craved the feel of. I’d been so filled with joy and possibility, ready to start a new chapter with her. But her eyes met mine with a coldness I’d never seen before.

“Come now, my love. The horses await.” My voice was nothing more than a tense whisper, and she shook her head.

“I’m not going.”

Disbelief curled in my gut. “What are you saying? This is our plan. To be together. To love one another somewhere we’re free.”

“No. It was a mistake to make you think I loved you. I don’t. Arthur is my husband and I love only him.”

“Stop. Don’t lie to me.”

She shook her head as she brought down my world. “You were nothing more than a distraction. Now, leave this place. Leave me be before I call the guards."

Gwen's soft touch pulls me back from the painful memories. I can't keep her hurtful words out of my mind. There's nothing to stop her from doing it again, nothing but knowledge of my love. Maybe if I tell her. If I make her see that we belong together, she won't reject me again.

"You can't possibly have forgotten all you said. You told me I was a distraction. You said you never loved me."

She places a hand on my jaw and tenderly strokes my cheek. "I swear on my life, I never uttered those words. Someone enchanted you or sent you a vision. I promised you I'd never lie. All those things you believe I said are lies."

"Then who?"

A heavy sigh falls from her. "There was only one woman out to destroy me. Calista. And what happened after your meeting with the me who wasn't me?"

Guilt and shame join forces in my chest. How do I tell her? "I...I'm not sure. I woke in purgatory with no memory."

It hurts to lie, but she can't know of my bargain. If she does, she'll try to save me and end up lost herself.

”I’m certain Calista had a hand in that." Her arm wraps around my chest as she tucks herself close to me. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. She has spent every waking moment since cursing us to try and ruin all possible happiness."

"But now?"

"She's dead. She's gone and we don't have to worry about her."

But we do have to worry about Morgan. I just can't tell her that. I stroke her hair and press a kiss to the crown of her head. "Sleep now, my Gwen. We've got all the time in the world."

She laughs. "Except for that pesky apocalypse we're tasked to stop."

"Yes, except for that. But it will still be happening in a few hours. Right now, can we just be here? You and I in this bed together. Nothing looming, no fears. A knight and his queen."

"No." That one word sends ice through my veins.

"What?"

"No. I've told you before, I'm not a queen. We can be here together, but not as a knight and queen. We are a man and woman. Lance and Gwen. Lovers with no titles other than that."

I want to kiss her and tell her how I've longed for this moment, but I don't. I still have to tread carefully with this woman. Her life has been fraught with pain and betrayal. The feel of her nestled against me has my eyes heavy with the need for sleep, and soon I drift through the haze of a dream.

No. Not a dream. This is anything but a dream. The world around me fades to shades of gray, Gwen disappearing and a forest taking shape around me rather than the comfort of a bedroom. Purgatory. I can't possibly be back here.

"You're looking well, Lancelot. Better than I thought you would. Less...tense." Morgan's rich voice slithers over me, a serpent ready to strike, but I can't see her.

"Take me back. Take me to her."

Her laugh is dark and deadly. "Not so fast. Did you really think you'd get a happy ending? We made a deal, you and I."

No. No. No. I can't lose Gwen again. "You took my freedom and imprisoned me. We have no deal."

"Oh, my gallant knight, so righteous. You have to be more careful when making bargains with demons. I gave you what you wanted. Your heart and mind were cleared of Guinevere. I had to keep my prize safe until I needed you."

Demons? "You're a witch, not a demon."

She appears before me, her tall, thin frame clad in a tightly fitted gown of deep green. Morgan would've been beautiful if not for her now glowing red irises.

"I've lived a long time, amassed great power, and the demon who gave me the gift of his blood had faith in me. I'll never go back to being a paltry little witch again." She presses her fingertips to the glowing pendant which hangs between her breasts, a smile curling her lips. "Now, time for a little payback."

In an instant, she's next to me, her clawed hands gripping my forearm. "Release me," I say, reaching for Excalibur but finding my hand empty.

She tuts. "Forget something? Your sword can't help you now."

Her claw slices through my wrist and in one smooth movement, she slashes her own skin and presses our flesh together. The blood burns as it mixes with mine and she groans. "What are you doing?" I tug on her in an attempt to free myself, but she holds me fast, her demonic strength giving me no chance at escape.

"You are mine, Lancelot. Do what you will with your whore of a witch, but know that with every passing day my blood grows stronger inside you. I control your heart. You'll be by my side before this is over and it will be my name on your lips as you take your pleasure."

I wake with a gasp, my body on fire. My beautiful Gwen sleeps next to me, her soft breaths a comfort. Pulling her close, I work to control the pain coursing through me, remnants of the nightmare, nothing more. I tell myself this over and over as I breathe deeply and surround myself with the scent of my love.

But still, I can't help myself as I brush my fingers over my arm. A chill covers my skin at the feel of a thin puckered scar in the exact spot Morgan melded our blood, but the worst part is the discomfort is accompanied by an unwanted rush of arousal.

Gwen

I wake with the scent of sulphur in my nose, a strange and unnerving feeling settling over me. The last time I smelled this we were attacked by demons. I reach out for my knight but find cold sheets instead. Apprehension grips my chest. Has something happened?

A clatter from the bathroom has my stomach churning. “Lance?” I call. He doesn’t answer. Pulling every ounce of magic I possess into myself, I ready a paltry defensive spell. I don’t even know if it will work, but I can’t face a demon without some sort of protection.

My legs shake as I stand, the fear of what I’ll find on the other side of the door making my heart hammer against my ribs. The door isn’t closed completely, a sliver of golden light coming through and the sulphur smell getting stronger with every step I take. “Lancelot,” I say again, this time stronger.

A soft groan is my only answer, and now I’m really worried. I push open the door slightly and find my handsome knight, his hand wrapped around his very erect cock. I watch, hidden by the door, and feeling very much like a naughty voyeur. His eyes are closed as he moves back and forth over his length, soft grunts leaving him every time he reaches his crown. “Guinevere,” he whispers and I almost gasp, worried I’ve been caught staring.

Then he begins fucking his fist, hips pumping, muscles bunching in his abdomen. He takes his full bottom lip between his teeth and his breaths come faster. “Fuck.” His guttural groan has me clenching my thighs as desire pools between them. And then his body jerks, rope after rope of his pleasure jets from him and onto the towel he draped over the counter.

The door creaks as I inadvertently press my palm against the wood and Lancelot’s head jerks in my direction. I fall back a step when his eyes lock with mine. Eyes that aren’t the beautiful blue I’ve memorized, but glow a strange rust color.

What the fuck? “Lance?”

He closes his eyes and when he opens them, they’re the blue I’m used to seeing. I must be hallucinating. Clearing his throat, he glances down and then back at me. “I’m…you weren’t supposed to see that.”

His cheeks are slightly pink and his dick is still jutting out proudly. “You know, I could’ve helped you with your little problem if you’d asked.”

“Little?” He arches an eyebrow and smirks. “Interesting choice of words, my lady.”

“Okay, so maybe not little, but still…why would you come in here to take care of yourself when I was right there…ready for you?” Just the thought of him sinking inside me again makes my nipples harden.

“It’s too soon for me to take you again. I’ll hurt you.”

He’s right. My body might cry out for his, but I was a virgin in this life and the soreness between my legs proves his point. “There are other things I could do for you.” I step closer. “Things I could still do for you.”

He shifts and when my finger brushes the taut ridges of his abdominals, his breath comes out in a tight groan. “Guinevere…”

I kiss him then, the strange shade of his eyes a distant memory as I give myself over to our physical connection. The scent of sulphur still lingers, but I want him more than I want to figure anything else out. The air around us feels heavy with arousal and everything is colored by my need for him. I have a moment of panic, a sense of clarity that this isn’t normal, but then his fingers slide down my belly until they play between my legs.

“I want you,” he whispers. “I want you all the time. It never stopped. The wanting. God help me, Gwen, I fantasized about you even when I couldn’t remember you.”

The unbridled desire in his voice has me aching for him. I have to taste him. I slide to my knees and wrap my hand around his pulsing shaft. He shouldn’t be so hard after already spilling his orgasm all over the towel, but he is. He’s in need of me and I can provide relief. His long fingers thread in my hair, gripping a little too tightly but sending a wave of crushing desire through me all at the same time.

“Yes, take me in your mouth.” His words are a mixed demand and plea.

I lick his crown, tasting the salt of his earlier orgasm and he shudders. Everything below my waist tightens at the sound he makes. It’s a pained groan, a desperate sound begging for more, and I want to give it to him. His hand grips me tighter and he thrusts his hips forward, pushing the blunt head of his cock between my lips.

The length of him is almost too much, but I wrap my hand around his base and stroke in time with my movements. I take him as deep as I can, moaning around his width.

“Oh, do that again,” he says, and I do. I give in to the wanton in me, the woman who cares more about his pleasure than my next breath.

His cock pulses in my mouth, balls tightening as I cup them. He’s close and I want every drop he has to give me. With a swirl of my tongue and a light scrape of my teeth over the sensitive head, he shudders and hot jets of his release fill my mouth.

I swallow him down and get to my feet on shaky legs. “There we are,” I say, a grin spreading as he takes in long slow breaths.

“That’s certainly one way to help me manage my lust.”

“Oh, there are many ways. So many ways.”

He runs his large palms over my arms and stares at me with an un-nameable emotion. I see that strange rust color in his irises and can’t help but frown. “What is it?” he asks.

“Your eyes. And I swear I smell sulphur. Can’t you smell it?”

The instant the words leave my mouth he tenses, then steps back, his hands leave my skin as though I’ve burned him. “No.”

His answer is so soft I can barely hear it, but I don’t understand why he is so upset. “Lance?”

“I’m sorry. I just…need a moment.”

“A moment?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’ve just sucked you off and made your damn toes curl, now you need a moment?”

“Don’t. This is a lot to take in. I finally have you and I’m terrified something is going to take you away.”

I can’t remind him of the truth, that he and I won’t end up together. He will leave me and I will marry Brooks. That’s what my visions tell me. “I spoke to Helena and Izzy.”

He frowns. “And?”

“They reminded me that I can’t live my life like I know the future.”

“But you think you do.”

“Because I absolutely know what’s going to happen. My visions aren’t wrong.”

“Except for the one that made you leave me,” he reminds me.

Closing my eyes, I take a long breath. “Except for that one.”

“But they were right. If I let myself, I’ll miss out on life because I’m hiding from something I can’t stop.”

“So, what do you choose?”

“Us. I choose us for as long as we have together.”

He relaxes and pulls me into his arms. “I’ll do everything I can to ensure we have forever.”