All too soon the day passed and reality in the form of a guard knocked on the door of the private atelier. The conversations between the two cousins were still going on for a long time, but in return the paintings were far from finished. It would take them a few more days before the paintings could be presented, and at the same time, it gave the two more time together.

Edith had really enjoyed the time with Daeron and was already looking forward to the next painting session with him.

The guard at the door reminded the two of the upcoming dinner and that they had to get ready now. The guard escorted Edith to her chambers, while Daeron went to his own.

The young woman quickly locked the door behind her and then took off her dress. Despite the apron, paint had still landed on the green fabric. She tried to rub the fabric clean, but she couldn't manage it and would have to give the dress to one of her maids for cleaning.

Thoroughly she cleaned her hands and arms until there was no trace of the paint left, which made her sad at the same time. The day had been really nice and relaxing.

Edith then combed her brownish hair and put it up into a bun and before she could even go to her closet to get a new dress, there was a rattle at the door.

"I'll be right there!" exclaimed Edith with a pounding heart, thinking it was only the guard who would escort her to the hall. Briefly she got scared and thought it was Maester Ludwig.

The doorknob turned, but the door did not open. Then the door was rattled and someone knocked angrily against the door. "Open the fucking door!" She heard angrily from the hallway.

Without hesitation, Edith ran to the door after the announcement and opened it. Immediately the door was pushed open and an angry Aemond came into the shared chamber. The young woman swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly locked the door again. "Hello Aemond." She greeted him shyly.

"Why was the fucking door locked?" he asked her angrily. Aemond was wearing his typical leather gear, which he now took off. He undid his weapons belt and dropped it on the floor with his sword and knives.

"You know exactly why..." she said so softly that she almost whispered. His angry manner visibly intimidated her and she pressed her back against the cold wooden door. Edith was still wearing only her short thin undergarment.

"And you know you don't have to worry anymore, because I'm here to protect you now, Edith." His voice was still angry, but at least he wasn't shouting anymore. By now all his clothes were on the floor and he was only wearing his pants.

"But you weren't there!" she retorted, now daring to let go of the door. With careful steps she walked up to him and eyed him. "Aemond, you are my husband and I haven't seen you since lunchtime yesterday! Where have you been?"

Surprisingly, Aemond now replied nothing more and instead ran his hand through his silver hair. Only now did she notice his disheveled appearance and his dirty and bloody clothes. Edith examined his naked torso and discovered traces of injuries that had not been there yesterday morning.

"Aemond..." she gasped, "what happened?"

Without thinking further about the last seconds, she took the last steps towards him and put her hands on his arms with the abrasions. Gently, she turned his arm, looking for other injuries. They all didn't look bad, except for one above his hip.

Edith's hands moved to his shoulders before she pushed him dominantly backwards and pushed him onto the bed. Of course, he was stronger than she was, but he let her take it and sat down.

"There's no harm here. I'm fine." Sighed the man annoyed as she went into the adjoining room and came back shortly with a damp cloth and a bowl of water. Edith stood between his legs and first cleaned his wound and then freed his body from the dirt.

"Stop that."

"When you stop whining." She replied cheekily, ignoring his words. She then fetched a second cloth to dab his wound. The wound above his hip was no longer bleeding and it wasn't particularly large, so he didn't need a bandage. Still, she worried about her husband.

An unfamiliar feeling towards him.

Aemond remained sitting silently on the bed and let it wash over him, even when Edith had already put everything away again. The young woman then lifted his leather top and saw several small rips, as well as on his shirt. She would have to give his clothes to her maid to mend as well.

Being especially careful, she picked up his belt and took out each weapon one by one and placed them on her dressing table. Even the weapons no longer looked clean, yet they still looked sharp. She ran a finger over the blade of one of the knives and her suspicions were confirmed because they were still sharp.

"What are you thinking about right now?" asked Aemond with a raised eyebrow, watching her closely as she picked up a knife and turned around.

"I'm just imagining things about where my husband has been hiding." She answered him, her eyes on the small blade as she leaned against her dressing table.

"And for this you have to hold one of my favorite knives?"

"Are you scared?" she challenged, grinning cheekily at him.

"Try me." Aemond propped his arms on the bed behind his back and looked at her with equal challenge. Forgotten was the argument between them and his anger just minutes ago.

Of course Edith got in on the fun and clutched the wooden handle tightly as she took the few steps toward him. She skillfully twisted the knife in her hand, tossed it up and caught it again without hurting herself, then held the blade to his chin and lifted it with it - a trick her father had once taught her.

"Now what?" Edith bent down slightly to him and propped her free hand on his shoulder.

Aemond remained relaxed on the bed, letting his gaze wander from the blade to her blue violet eyes. "No fear, but something else in return..." he breathed to her.

"Tell me about it." She whispered pleadingly in his ear, stroking his chin with the tip of the blade without hurting him.

The young man moved quickly and grabbed her hand with the knife with one hand and her neck with the other. Before Edith could react, he took the knife from her and threw it against the wall, where it stuck perfectly straight. Then he put his hand on her hip and threw her to him on the bed and immediately bent over her.

"I can show you." He suggested seductively and started kissing her neck.

Ever since Edith more or less got along with Aemond, or rather stopped fighting, she was like blind every time she was with him. With him she was a different person and only had eyes for him when the two of them were alone. It was like an unhealthy addiction, which was based on one-sidedness.

The relationship of the two was based on physical desire a dependence which seemed to become more serious at least with one of them.

"Show me." She asked him, putting her head to the side to give him more room for his lips, as he was sucking on her skin there by now.

The princess' hands traveled down his torso to his pants, which she pulled down. Only too glad to help her, he pushed the pants down to his ankles, then pushed up her undergarment. Automatically Edith put her legs around his waist and she pulled him closer with her arms around his back.

"What do you want me to show you?" he asked, playedly unaware, running his left hand over her curves and then moving between her legs to stroke her there. Edith could not suppress an amused sigh.

"Show me how you'd like to take me." Escaped lustfully from her seductive mouth.

"Oh believe me, I will." Aemond murmured to her, stroking the wet spot between her legs one last time before placing himself between them and entering her unannounced.

The pleasured sigh from her now turned into a surprised moan and she clawed her fingernails into his bare back. Aemond barely waited for her to get used to his length and thrust into her, making her moan loudly.

Edith threw her head back into her neck and closed her eyes. The two of them had shared a bed together only yesterday morning, but it felt like it had been forever. The addiction and longing for her husband was strong and she wondered if that passion would ever diminish or if the two of them would actually develop feelings for each other someday.

Her thoughts circled only around him, as his circled only around her. The moans of the two increased with the thrusts, as did their heartbeats and breaths.

The silver-haired man then slid out of her in surprise, then turned her body around as if he never did anything else. Aemond grabbed her hips and pulled her up by them until she was kneeling in front of him and he could enter her again.

"Oh Aemond!" escaped her in surprise as she held on to the headboard, enjoying his every touch.

Only when they were making love did he touch her, touching her gently and passionately or gripping her tightly as he was doing right now. He never did this when they were outside the chambers. Sometimes she wished for his touch and affection outside these walls. Just a kiss on the forehead or the touch of his hands would not kill him.

At the same time she was glad he didn't, on the other hand Aegon would see it and she didn't know how he would take it. Even if Aemond was her husband and it was his right to touch Edith, she didn't want to provoke anyone.

But right now she was not thinking about her beloved Aegon, nor about the beautiful day or the paint, which would no longer go out of her green dress. Right now she was only thinking about the handsome man behind her and how good his skin felt on hers.

Amond's hand went over her hips and back between her legs, where he massaged her with two fingers in addition to his thrusts. It was the first time he touched her like this during the act and helped her climax herself. So far, the passion had always been one-sided and it hadn't bothered him, but things had changed for him and he hoped to make her dependent on him as well as he already was.

Only he didn't know that she already was as well. Now even more than ever.

Closing her eyes, she savored the moment and the erupting feelings in her body, then straightened her upper body and pressed her back against his chest. "Please don't stop." She begged him addictively.

A grin formed on his lips and his grip around her hips tightened as he thrust into her again. Over and over until he too climaxed with a moan.

For a moment neither of them moved until Edith slid forward a bit and lay down on the bed, exhausted. Aemond then also lay down next to her and tried to control his breathing.

Edith didn't even let him get a word in edgewise and before he got up and left as he often did, she lay down in his arms and bent her one leg over his legs. Dreamily she stroked his bare chest and held him close. Aemonds arms wrapped around his wife's delicate body and he held her tightly as well.

When she felt his arms around her, the young woman lifted her head and looked into his relaxed face. Far too rarely did he look relaxed and peaceful.

She had to smile when she saw his eye patch. The band had slipped slightly, but still the fabric hid his beautiful spare eye made of a sapphire. The chain around her neck from him automatically became heavier and she wanted to see him. The way Aemond really is.

"Don't." He nudged her and turned his head away when he saw the look on her face. He knew her well enough by now to know what she was up to.

"There is no need to hide you from me, my precious husband." She stroked his cheek gently and smiled honestly at him as her chin rested on his chest. "You are beautiful."

Aemond didn't quite know what to say back, as her statement had left him speechless. No one had ever called him beautiful before, not since the accident.

"I'm sorry." She then breathed softly, feeling guilty. After all, she was responsible for this.

"What?"

"The accident...I never meant for it to happen, and it hadn't been my intention to hurt you." It had been weighing on the young woman's mind for a long time and she had never had the chance to apologize.

They had been children then when the quarrel had broken out. Aemond had claimed Vhagar shortly after Lady Laena's funeral and actually her half-sisters had the right to the old dragon, since he was the dragon of their late mother.

The quarrel was terrible and she had only tried to protect Luke. Edith only wanted to scare Aemond and wanted to pull Luke away from him when it happened.

Edith felt sick at the memory and what she had done just moments ago. She had held a knife to his chin - almost like she did then. It certainly hadn't been a good feeling for him, but at the same time he had thrown her on the bed and thrust into her hard again and again.

"Sorry for earlier with the knife, too. I feel bad." She sighed. Her heart beat fast and guilty against her ribcage as she lay on her back, leaving his protective and warm arms.

"Don't be." He replied in an equally soft voice. "That was hot."

"Hot? Did I take your eye or your mind?" she asked him, immediately regretting her words. Edith bit down hard on her lip and sat up, leaning her back against the headboard. "I'm sorry...that was inappropriate."

"You kind of took both from me." Aemond answered her honestly and thoughtfully at the same time, staring at the ceiling.

Surprised, she looked at him. "What do you mean?" she wanted to know, running a hand through her brownish hair. Her bun had already come loose and her long curls fell over her shoulders.

"I don't know either." Aemond sat up straight now as well, and unexpectedly put his arm around her so he could pull her back against him. "I liked it because I know you can handle a knife, and that was hot."

"What about your eye?"

"You said I was beautiful? So look at me, my dear." The man with silver hair looked down at her and put his hands around her lovely face.

Edith didn't quite know how to handle the situation. The guilt was still heavy in her stomach and made her nauseous, but his gentle smile calmed her somewhat.

"You really are beautiful, Aemond. Please don't tell yourself otherwise." She begged him and put her hands to his cheeks as well.

"Then look at me as I am."

The young woman hesitated for a moment, but his prompt nod convinced her to reach for the band of his eye patch and pull it off. Revealed was his second shining blue eye made of a sapphire.

Made of the same sapphire as her necklace was of him.

"You are beautiful." She repeated her honest words and she meant every word.

"You did and do make me beautiful, my dear."

Aemond bent down to her and put his lips on hers to kiss her gently. So softly as never before and so lightly and romantically that Edith became quite warm. With his hands on her cheek, he pulled her closer to him and pulled her onto his lap, but not to seduce her, but to hold her tightly in his arms.

Edith's legs wrapped around his hips and her arms around his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder and just enjoyed the moment.

The removal of his eye patch and that intimate embrace showed her that he trusted her, and showed her how devoted he really was to her. Until a moon ago, until before their forced marriage, he would never have dared to show himself to her or any other woman.

"Thank you."

***

I am curious what you think about this chapter! :)

I look forward to your comments♡

Take care, see you in the next chapter♡♡