Chapter 9

It was his laughter; the sound was loud and strange. Eddard rarely laughed, he only did so when Jon made animal noises.

He was in his cups it seemed by the way he swayed and came to her. He kissed her right on the mouth. "Cersei, my lady wife." He slurred as he kissed her again. She kissed him back for Jaime's sake and her own. This was a stranger who was demanding and wanted her. Jaime needed to hear this; he needed to know that she belonged to another man. She moaned when Eddard tugged at his hair. It was not hard to pretend. Her husband was virile and his hands were doing wonders tonight.

She gasped when his longer fingers tried to undo her gown roughly. She could feel his arousal through his breeches. "Ned stop." She said breathlessly.

He groaned, "Call me Ned again." She moaned when he tried to put his hand inside of her gown. She forgot about Jaime. Cersei had never heard her lord husband's voice so passionate.

"I want to touch you, my lady. I have seen my son touch your lovely teats and I must admit I've grown quite jealous of him touching you." He whispered slowly and bit her neck again. She looked to the side and was pleasantly surprised when she enjoyed his ministrations. Lady Stark wanted Eddard to make her forget. Jaime was nowhere to be seen, she exhaled a sigh of relief and closed her eyes when Eddard pushed the door open and closed it with a slam. Cersei groaned when she heard Jon whimper. Eddard ripped her gown, he grabbed the front and suddenly she was in her shift. He growled again. She could hear Jon whimper again. "Your son is about to wake up Eddard." He grabbed her right breast and kneaded softly. She gasped, it felt so good to have his hands on her body again. The last time he took her was before she accepted Jon as the heir of Winterfell. They worked well in the bedchamber. She heard him growl at her and they tripped against some useless furniture no doubt. "Be quiet, he'll wake up if you make noise." She whispered.

"I want to hear you scream my lioness." He tugged at her shift until it joined her ripped gown. She was naked in front of him; there were lines in her stomach from when she had been pregnant with Joffrey. She wanted to cover but Eddard didn't give her time. He pulled his tunic up and his breeches down. He cursed when he forgot his heavy boots. Cersei looked at his body with desire. She wanted to have him; it had been such a long time since she felt his weight over her. She looked at his proud erection and felt herself become wetter. Jon again whimpered but he was sound asleep. "Not here. I don't want the babe to hear us." She said and pushed the door to his chambers open. She had never been inside of them but knew her husband slept through there. His quarters were minimally decorated, she didn't take it all in because, in a matter of seconds, Eddard was completely naked and pushing her to a big warm bed. The bed felt like a fluffy cloud would feel like. She was delighted when Eddard mounted her. She was so wet, and her husband kissed a trail of fire to her intimate place. He kissed her there, passionately without restrain. Cersei closed her hands around his hair and pulled. She cried out when his tongue delved deep into her crevices. She saw stars and whined when he licked her overstimulated parts. Eddard pleasured her in ways she hadn't experienced before.

Her lord husband was extremely adept at pleasuring her quickly. Whenever he came to her bed he had been swift with his ministrations. He usually used his fingers first and then entered her. She enjoyed herself but longed for something else. That night Cersei finally comprehended what was missing. She needed passion, this man wasn't her stoic, proper, and honorable lord husband. This was a man who desired her; he wasn't licking her and bruising her hips with his grip out of duty. Eddard brought her to a world-stopping orgasm when his tongue left that special place. She fisted his hair once again and said his name in a strangled gasp.

He looked up from her mound. His eyes were the darkest she had seen. They looked like one of those grey snowstorms that happened so frequently in the North. "Call me Ned again." He pinched one of her nipples and then looked at them lasciviously. "I want to bite and lick them." He was disinhibited and didn't wait for a response from her. She was used to him being polite and asking for things. She felt her toes curl when he licked her left nipple and blew air on it. He bit it and then proceeded to suck. She arched to him and bared her chest to him. She wanted to rub her legs together and ease that delicious tingle between her legs but Ned pulled her legs apart and finally entered her. She was sufficiently wet to gasp and enjoy his harshness. He pulled at her hands and thrust oh so deliciously hard and fast.

"Gods." She murmured and came with a force unknown when he bit at her neck. Eddard pumped inside of her like a man possessed and she felt no shame. She loved and encouraged him to take her harder, faster. Ned thanked her, promised her things, and told her how good she felt around him. Cersei was sweaty, tired and sated. Her lord husband had her four more times that night. He was insatiable, he licked, bit, and touched all of her. He even pulled her hair when he took her on all fours. Cersei was taken aback when Ned told her to get on all fours. She did so only after he coaxed her with his mouth. She trashed and screamed when he pounded her into the featherbed. He pulled at her half-loose braid and tugged at it until it came loose completely. He growled and slapped her right ass cheek as he came. He put his mouth to good use after that and she was so aroused, she felt so desired she helped him get aroused with her mouth too. She never thought she would do that to anyone other than Jaime but she sucked and played with her lord husband's cock like a proper whore. He told her so; he smirked when he saw her surprised face. He laughed a dirty laugh and when he was sated he pulled her back to his chest, his hand over her mound, in a rather possessive gesture.

She woke up when a servant called her, "Lady Stark." the woman said urgently. Cersei was naked, a pair of strong arms held her. She gasped when she saw one of Jon's nursemaids in front of her. "M'lady, the little lord is having a proper tantrum. He's asking for you." The woman said a little fearfully.

Cersei could understand her hesitation. She was about to speak when she heard a rumble. "Leave. My son can wait a few more minutes. Have Luwin come at once." Eddard groaned and tightened his hold on her. Cersei took notice of his hand in her left teat. He rolled a nipple gently.

She didn't know how to react to her husband. Last night had been very satisfying for her and him too. She didn't know if he would return to his cold demeanor. "Cersei, I apologize. I was not a true gentleman last night." He said in the gentle voice she was used to. His fingers traced over her teat. She turned around and saw his tired face, he wasn't as dashing as Jaime but he was handsome. He was manlier and gruff, his body had more scars and he didn't care much for his appearance. "You have nothing to apologize for Ned." She used the nickname and it changed his demeanor somewhat. "I like it when you call me Ned." He said and the grey in his eyes turned darker. He closed the gap between them and kissed her softly. The kiss progressed rather quickly until a knock on the door interrupted them.

"That has to be Luwin. My head is pounding, I shouldn't have let Robert talk me into drinking so much ale and wine." He said mournfully. "I am sure the king is regretting drinking so much too." She said with a placid smile, she was surprised to note it wasn't rehearsed at all.

She was sore in places she hadn't been sore in quite a while. Maester Luwin brought need some tea for his aches. Cersei put on one of his husband's robes and left to attend to Jon. The Stark heir was in tantrum mode this morning. "Mamma, mamma, mamma." He screamed. Cersei glared at the handmaiden, "Leave you, useless girl."

"My poor pup." Jon smiled through his tears and hugged her legs. "You smell, a bath is in order Ser."

She bathed the babe and waited until Myra filled a tub for her. She was scrubbed and pampered until propriety dictated she make an appearance in the Great Hall of Winterfell. She chose a green gown, her hair was loose, and she didn't bother braiding it.

Jon was to have a play date with Princess Myrcella later that afternoon. Her lord husband was in the Hall breaking his fast with King Robert who looked unaffected by his exploits the night before. Queen Catelyn smiled at her; the little princess was eating a soft-boiled egg. Jon saw his father and ran to him. "Papa, papa." He tripped on the steps. He looked back at Cersei as if to know whether it was safe to cry. She remained smiling and Jon got up on his chubby legs. He ran to his father waiting to be picked. Ned smiled pleasantly and scooped him from under the table. "Up we go, lad." He sat Jon on his lap. Cersei chuckled when Jon tried to grab some oatmeal with his fists. She sat next to her husband. She was relieved by the absence of her younger brothers. "Your graces." She addressed the royalty.

Jon continued with his antics. Cersei was a little mortified by the little lord's behavior. Ned and the king laughed uproariously when the babe tried to grab some black bacon and throw it at Ser Barristan. "Let me." She smiled at Ned and grabbed Jon. She seated him and fed him some oatmeal with some soft bread. She ate her fill and spoke with the queen about fashion and child-rearing.

"Ned does not want me to coddle Jon so much but I almost lost him last year to a bad fall. I have been trying to explain to him but he doesn't understand." Cersei said to the queen. "Last week, they went riding, said he needed time with his father to learn about the weirwoods. He's a baby." She laughed trying to lift the queen's spirits. Lord Tywin Lannister taught her to keep her network of allies and friends charmed but the queen was anything but. "I should hope Robert spent any time with his daughters. He ignores them most of the time." Cersei didn't say anything more. Ned took special care with Jon. After that afternoon in his quarters, he had built an indestructible bond with the dark-haired child.

The kings stayed in Winterfell for three weeks. Cersei learned many things; first, the queen was miserable and prayed night and day for a son. The king had at least three bastards. One in the Eyrie and two in King's Landing, he was too prone to drinking and whoring. She learned that Catelyn's love for him diminished every day. Tyrion was to remain in Winterfell for the rest of the year. He wed a whore; Cersei almost pissed herself laughing when her father wrote her about it. She wasn't too happy about having him but so far the Imp had been out of her way. He drank too much, read too much, and by some of the whisperings she heard frequented the local brothel too much.

Jaime hadn't spoken to her since that night outside of her quarters. He was too hurt and enraged, the day the royal party left Winterfell had been sad indeed. "Goodbye, sweet sister." He kissed both her cheeks and hugged her. Cersei hugged him back. Ned patted her shoulder, "You will see him again my lady. There will be plenty of opportunities." Her husband thought her sad because she missed her brother. She was sad because she said goodbye to the love of her life, the only man she could ever truly love.

Days passed, and Tyrion sulked away from her. She didn't care; it wasn't like Lady Stark had time to tease her baby brother. She was too busy taking care of Jon and surprisingly Winterfell. Ned gave her more responsibilities now. She was in charge of running the castle and its surroundings. She of course excelled at it; she felt powerful in the North and was starting to see the benefits of being Lady Stark. The common folk didn't love her as much as they did her lord husband but they respected her and little by little she felt as if she gained some of their affection.

She corresponded with the queen and her lord father. Tywin demanded she produce an heir as soon as possible. She didn't heed any of it; she had requested moon tea from Maester Luwin. The thought of losing another child cut her deep. Ned didn't know about the tea but Cersei didn't find him too keen on having another child. They had Jon and he would be enough. She pitied the queen; she had given birth to another girl by the name of Alayne. Tyrion stayed with them until the Greyjoy rebellion. Father summoned him back to Casterly Rock, no doubt with the hope that he would die while making the trip to the Westerlands.