The Kiss

The trip back to the Hall felt much shorter this time, but as we approached, the three of us arm-in-arm, I hesitated a little. There were quite a number of people gathered around the door. At first, their demeanors were relaxed, as they talked jovially and patted full bellies. As we approached, however, they stiffened and silenced their talking, preferring to address us formally.

"Good afternoon, Chief!" one nervous-looking wolfman said.

Gharret bobbed his head genially as he led us through the doors. Leigh detached from my arm and went darting in.

As we entered, I caught a whisper from the group that had been just outside the door. 'Wow! The Chief will be eating with us today?! He must be in a good mood.'

I smirked a little in Gharret's direction as a wry smile appeared on his face. He heard it, too, it seemed.

Inside, the tables were set up, fully staffed with chairs, which a butt in each chair. The hall was filled with laughter and conversation as primarily males populated the tables. Food was laid out in an orderly fashion on the tables and everyone ate their fill.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, tugging gently on Gharret's arm. He chuckled.

"Lunch," was his only reply.

As we moved down the center of the hall, more whispers of excitement about the Chief joining them could be heard and I glanced around. Even more excited whispers bubbled up about the 'strange new female' on the Chief's arm.

"Word hasn't gotten round very far about me, has it?"

He shook his head and led me to the throne up on the dais, where he withdrew his arm and sat. I paused before him, glancing around for a chair of my own as a table was brought out, but found none and so I frowned at him.

He grinned wolfishly at me, leaning his head against his hand, his elbow on the arm, as he shifted his thighs before patting one. My face lit up at the implication.

"We have an audience, you know. Imagine how difficult things may become if you don't put on a little show…"

Oh…THIS asshole…Whenever the village was involved, he switched to his devious, blackmailing self. I wanted to punch him.

Instead, with a bright red face, I huffed at him and turned around. Sure enough, all eyes were on us, many of whom were staring, open-mouthed with food therein or food on it's way via a frozen fork.

Tucking the skirt of my dress in, I took a seat in his lap, shifting to his opposite side and crossing my knees delicately. He wrapped his free arm around me and I could feel his fingers curl against my belly as he held me close.

When the silence prevailed, I became a little nervous and glanced at him, but he seemed ready. He lifted his head from his hand, gripped my chin gently, and planted a full kiss against my lips.

The spark between our mouths was electric, fueled by the sudden burst of cheers and round of applause, but that didn't stop him.

Our lips slid over one another and I found that my mouth parted as one hand slid over the one on my belly and the other clutched desperately at his open coat as his tongue slipped over mine. I felt a ball of heat welling up in my belly during the kiss, which broke far too soon for my body's liking.

A little string of saliva connected our tongues as he pulled back and he left me a panting, blushing mess.

And still, the crowd cheered.

"You jerk," I murmured and he laughed softly, pecking my cheek.

"Don't tell me that the Princess disliked her kiss…?" he jeered, shifting his fingers below mine so that he could intertwine with mine. "I can smell that you did."

If my cheeks could redden any further, they would, but I dropped it fairly quickly as I turned my head away to look out at the crowd. He, meanwhile, returned to his previous 'bored prince' look with a smarmy grin on his face.

I hadn't noticed before, but several others had finished bringing out a small table for us and had loaded it down with food. I DID notice, however, that these people had no idea about portion control. A whole spit-roasted chicken sat on a wooden platter, coated with all manner of herbs and spices. Around it were smaller bowls and containers of fruits or chopped vegetables. There was even some rice and what looked to be similarly-cooked wheatberries. Two smaller plates, each with forks, had been presented for us to eat from.

At the sight of the food, my stomach let out a violent roar. Evidently it was enough that Gharret felt it through the sheer snakeskin of my dress.

"Oh my…let's get you fed, shall we?" he said with a smirk. "I'm afraid if we don't feed that monster in there, it might break out and start eating people."

Because we had an audience, I avoided any sort of physical reaction…I was civilized enough to do that, at least…but I still stuck my tongue out at him like a child. He licked his lips in return.

"Careful…I might have to suck on it again…" He growled lustfully at me, which made me suck my tongue back in fairly quickly.

Meanwhile, he leaned forward and loaded up his plate with meat and veggies before pressing the plate into my hand. When I reached for my fork, however, he snatched it away and tossed it out of reach onto the table. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, again.

"More acting…?" I asked blandly, though a smirk was present on my features. He shook his head.

"This time is my own self-indulgence…"

Just like before, he'd picked up a small piece of chicken and fed it to me. Unlike before, I licked his fingers clean every time.

His physical reaction made my seat slightly uncomfortable, but I felt the need to put up with it a little longer if it meant torturing him for all this…