Chapter Text
When Helaena entered his chamber, Aemond was already halfway to completion. He swiftly brought his hand out from beneath his counterpane and sat higher up the bed than he had been, hoping to conceal the fact that his cock was forcing the material over it into a slight tent. It wasn’t the case that he was embarrassed. He rarely felt that emotion as he generally didn’t care deeply enough about anything to feel ashamed of errant behaviour. However, he would prefer to avoid being chided by Aegon for misbehaving in front of his sister-wife.
Helaena halted just inside the door, her expression transforming from downcast to curious. “What were you doing?” she queried, her cheeks colouring prettily.
Aemond drew a deep breath. She’d caught him in the act, and he didn’t see the benefit of lying to her so long as she could keep quiet about it. He huffed. “You don’t know?”
Helaena shook her head, but something in the way she looked at him caused a sense of doubt to rise in Aemond’s mind. She’d been married to Aegon for a while now; surely, she had seen him take himself in hand.
“Our dear brother is remiss in his instruction of you, it would seem. If I am to believe you, that is...” Aemond leaned forward, noting that Helaena watched him intently, her gaze flicking between his good eye and his bare torso. “Sometimes, in order to relieve tension, one may touch oneself... intimately. You have never done so?”
Helaena’s eyes widened. Her head moved from side to side again as the pink of her blushing deepened to red. “I have not,” she murmured. “And Aegon, he— I have only lain with him once. It was our wedding night. It was quick and unmemorable. He has taught me nothing.”
Aemond struggled to veil his surprise. Aegon had boasted of his regular use of their sister ever since said wedding. It hadn’t occurred to Aemond to disbelieve him.
“And why are you here?” he asked gently.
“I had to escape Mother; she is so oppressive of late, questioning me about whether or not I’m yet with child. I knew this was the last place she’d seek me. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
Aemond smiled slightly, pleased to be the one Helaena had come to seeking respite. Although she was his older sister, she tended to look to him for protection and support, as if he were the elder. Her husband was the last person she would turn to. In truth, Aemond still believed himself to be a superior choice of spouse for her. She would certainly struggle to forget the things he’d have done to her had they spent a wedding night together. His cock twitched at the notion, and he readjusted himself in the hope of concealing his additional arousal.
“Well, despite the position you have uncovered me in, you are welcome here. Take a chair by the fire, and I shall be with you momentarily. I must dress.” He looked about for something to put on. “Oh, and please don’t mention this to Aegon.”
Helaena did not move.
Aemond frowned at her. “Why do you hesitate?”
She stepped forward, timid, her head bowed a little. She watched Aemond through half-closed eyelids, and he wondered if she intended to be coquettish. Surely she was not practised enough in the ways of seduction to put on such a performance? Especially if Aegon had indeed given her no lessons, the idiot. What a waste. Helaena inched closer. She had clasped her hands, her thumbs brushing over one another in a gesture that betrayed her nerves.
“Hel?” Aemond pressed. He sat up straighter than before as it became clear that Helaena did not intend to stop.
His excitement intensified tenfold as she perched on the edge of his bed, inadvertently pulling the bedspread taut across his thighs. Her eyes appeared drawn to his pelvis, where he still tried but failed to disguise the reality that he was ready for action.
“I'm aware of what that means,” she uttered, nodding towards the area in question.
“Well, that’s something, at least,” Aemond replied, unable to temper his tendency towards sarcasm.
Luckily, Helaena was not offended. She gave a tinkling laugh. “Yes.”
“So, what do you think it means?” Aemond inquired, removing his hands so that she could see him fully.
“It means you wish to couple; you’re ready to,” she breathed.
Aemond licked his lips. He had imagined scenarios such as this countless times, but he never dared believe that Helaena would be in his chamber, inspecting him in such a vulnerable state. With any other woman, he may have put an end to the proceedings purely through lack of interest. But not with Helaena. He couldn’t remember when he had begun wanting her, but the yearning had lasted for many years. He’d lain with a few whores; in fact, his first experience was forced upon him by Aegon, with one of his brother’s favourites no less, but he never felt anything for those women. His heart had always belonged to his sister.
“I do want to,” he admitted. He felt a twinge of apprehension for the first time in recent memory. He did not wish to deal with Helaena’s rejection, so he forced out a chuckle. “Let us abandon this game. We both know it cannot happen.”
“Why can’t it?” Helaena asked, her voice very quiet.
She reached out with the forefinger of her left hand to touch his chest. Then she moved her arm downward. He observed her face, his eye locked with hers, as she traced her way over his navel. She ventured further down still, drawing her fingertip across the bedsheet covering him. She came to a halt, finally, when she touched his protruding tip. The woven fabric covering his cockhead was relatively thick, and so he did not feel Helaena’s fingers as they came around him as much as he wished to. She proceeded to grasp his length as she continued to watch him.
“Do you know what to do?”
Helaena looked away, but only briefly. “I do not, though I have often wondered. If ever I imagine it, I always think of you.”
“Not Aegon?”
“No.”
Aemond swallowed thickly. He forced himself to master the speed of his breathing lest it continue to increase. “Would you like me to teach you?”
“Yes,” Helaena whispered. “I would like that very much.”