Myths and Gargoyles

by Jamie Hawke

  “The nudes aren’t of my brothers, so… no.” She shrugged. “They’re actually ones I had commissioned as I’m something of an art connoisseur. You should see some of the work by the Huntsman of Snow, though she doesn’t often allow others to see it. Bashful, you see.”

  “I can understand,” I said, guessing she meant the paintings of Snow were nude too.

  “Not me,” Elisa said, starting for the stairs with me close behind, “although I’ve posed for my fair share.”

  I wasn’t going to ask more on the subject, but as we reached the top of the stairs, I saw that I didn’t have to—there in front of us, covering the entirety of the wall, was a very realistic, very detailed nude portrait of her reclining on a sofa.

  Stepping up to the painting, I was one part amazed at the detail and brushwork, another part stricken with how beautiful her small breasts were with their cute little, pink areolas and perky nipples. She was reclining in a position on her side so the top one sagged in, giving it a feel that it was larger than seemed the case, and they’d captured the shadow of that curve perfectly. Honestly, sometimes smaller breasts like this were a real turn-on, and in this case, one hundred percent so.

  Damn, it was perfect. A perfect painting, perfect body, perfect everything.

  When Elisa cleared her throat, I realized she was still standing there, watching me stare at this nude painting of her. All I could do was smile and say, “It’s really well done.”

  She laughed, and turned back to the painting with a nod of her head, and when I saw we weren’t moving yet, I turned back as well.

  I could stare at that thing for hours, but as my eyes moved to the hips, to the golden hair between her legs, there wasn’t much more I wanted at that moment than to see the real thing.

  “Nothing to be ashamed of,” Elisa said, standing still so properly, staring at that image of herself nude.

  “Not at all,” I agreed, feeling that lately all-too-familiar pressure in my pants.

  She glanced over, then down, and smiled. “I see you enjoy it as well. Thank you for your compliment.”

  With nothing more on the subject and leaving me quite embarrassed, she took the left hall. I quickly adjusted myself and followed, eyes wide as she told me about this and that famous vase that she’d acquired from Ancient Greece or a wine rack from Pompeii, Italy, three months before the volcano that buried the place.

  “I actually paint,” I blurted out suddenly, and totally not on the topic anymore.

  She paused, pushing open a door that led to a room that looked like an internal garden. “You don’t say?”

  “Yeah, just something I was studying in college, a passion of mine.”

  “And you’d like to paint me nude?”

  “I—Oh, I didn’t mean it like that.” I took a step back, feeling like I needed to find some way to recover from this, fast, but she laughed.

  “You just saw the painting of me back there, and you heard me say I’m not shy about all of that. Why should you be nervous?”

  I took a big breath, paused, and then let it out. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love to paint you, I would, of course. It’s just not what I meant by the statement. I was making small talk, shared interest stuff.”

  She considered me, then looked me up and down. “I’ll make a deal with you. Jack, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Jack. When we have some down time and know the plan, I’ll let you paint me nude if you let me do the same to you.”

  The idea of standing or lying across from this woman nude, both of us painting each other, would normally have made me reach near orgasm on its own. But now, with everything going on with Red and Pucky, I actually said, “Maybe, yeah. Maybe.”

  She laughed, then pushed the door the rest of the way in and wasn’t shy about letting her curves show as she walked through it. My eyes were so focused on the way her blue skirt clung to her beautiful ass, I didn’t notice the lush jungle and flowers surrounding us until she turned around and chuckled.

  “This is where I come to think,” Elisa said, guiding me along to a group of flowers and a small pool at the edge. “Sometimes,” she said as she kicked off her sandals and pulled her skirt up just enough to not get it wet, then stepped into the water and sat at the edge, “I come here and soak my feet. Sometimes I strip and just let the sun shine down on me from the skylight.” She leaned back, looking up and letting what little sunlight was left glow on her, highlighting her blonde hair in a way that made it appear gold. “How do you relax?”

  “Me?”

  She smiled, patted the edge of the pool. “Who else? Come on, soak your feet. You must be exhausted.”

  If not for the nap in the car, I was pretty sure I’d have passed out by now. Still, even with that rest, she was right. I sat next to her, undid my shoes, and put my feet in the water. It was warm, comforting, and now I noticed the hint of a eucalyptus to it.

  “So?” she asked.

  “Oh, to relax.” I leaned back, thinking, and traced a circle in the water with my foot. “Play games, I guess. Me and my buddy, Chris…” She glanced around nervous, and I paused, then asked, “What?”

  “We should be safe here,” she said. “But… still probably good to not mention Normies anymore. If the Legends hear you and go after one of your loved ones, well, you can imagine that wouldn’t be optimal.”

  “Not at all,” I said with a laugh. “Okay, my buddy, we used to put on a good shooter, get a bottle of coke and some chocolate chip cookies, or sometimes a couple of pizzas, and just unwind. That was until this friend realized that getting in shape would get him laid, and he kinda gave up our time in favor of pussy.” I put my hand over my mouth. “Oh, damn, sorry—I don’t mean to be so crude.”

  She laughed. “What? Pussy?” She raised an eyebrow and smiled in her pleasant way. “There’s nothing wrong with that word. I happen to like it quite a lot. Pussy—see how it rolls off the tongue?”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped, processing her words, and laughed. “Anyway, yeah, nowadays I’m not sure how to relax, I guess.”

  My mind said other, more inappropriate answers that maybe she’d be fine with based on what she’d just said, but I chose to stop it there.

  “Anytime you’re here and want to use the pool, feel free,” she said, and then nodded to see Red and Pucky approaching. “And them, they’ve been treating you right?”

  “Better than I could’ve ever hoped.”

  She stood, leaving her sandals, and said, “Ladies, we all need to unwind before the big day of training tomorrow. What’ya say?”

  “I’d say the man has had enough training for today,” Red said. “What’d you have in mind?”

  “I was trapped in there with that witch, unable to move. Now I want to break loose. Dance!”

  Red laughed. “We can help you there.” She turned to Pucky. “You did say something about salsa, no?”

  Elisa laughed, clasping her hands together. “This will be fun.” She went over to the wall, where she started selecting music on a screen that appeared similar to how others had worked in the first safe house I’d been to.

  “What’s the deal?” Pucky asked, eyeing Red.

  “What?”

  “You’re… goading me on.”

  “Am I?” Red turned to me with mock innocence.

  “Actually, I agree,” I admitted. “Pucky, is there… you have a problem with…?” I nodded to Elisa.

  “Of course not,” Pucky said.

  “So then, what’s going on here? Because you act differently around her.”

  “Pucky here was raised in the forest,” Red started, but I held up a hand.

  “Sorry,” I said, “but I’d rather hear it from her, if she wants me to know.”

  Pucky rolled her eyes, craned her neck to look around Red and see that Elisa was still fidgeting with the screen, and said, “Yes, I was raised on a lot less than this, and some of that time was spent in the woods, living among the trees. We didn’t have
any of this and it feels so over the top, so ridiculous.”

  “And…” Red said, but stopped at a glance from me.

  “And I might have had a crush on Elisa’s eldest brother once, but she totally taco-blockoed me.”

  “So you see her as wasteful,” I said, “and are annoyed that she stopped you from getting with a guy who, if you had gotten with him, possibly would’ve prevented us from having whatever it is we’re having?”

  Pucky frowned. “Yes.”

  “And does all that seem like a good reason to be annoyed?”

  She rolled her eyes, tried not to smile, and then hit my arm playfully. “Shut up.”

  “Fine, fine,” I said, laughing and rubbing my arm. “I’m just saying, I’m sure she’s not the only princess to be over the top, and we’re not only limited to fairy tales there.”

  “As for the other thing,” Red said, and then turned with a twinkle in her eye as Elisa approached. “Elisa, did you know Pucky here used to have a thing for one of your brothers?”

  Elisa looked genuinely surprised. “Never. Oh, that would’ve been grand. We could’ve been like sisters!”

  “But you cock-blocked her,” Red went on, much to Pucky’s annoyance. “Oh, sorry, pussy-blocked.”

  “I don’t know what you…” Elisa started, but then she brushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ears, lost in thought for a moment before saying, “Ohhh. Oh, shit.” She looked up and then took Pucky by the shoulder, staring very seriously into her eyes. “You poor thing. That time at the lake, right? When I insisted my brothers fly off—you don’t understand, there was a mission, one I couldn’t talk about. And oh! I—I never realized why you were…” She blushed, looking at us, and then hugged Pucky tight. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Come on,” I said, flustered. “Now we’ve gotta know.”

  Elisa backed off, hands up, and again mouthed, “Sorry.”

  “For what?” Red asked, looking excited.

  “So…” Pucky put her hands to her face, shook her head, then looked up again. “Thing is, I thought I’d seduce him. I told him we’d go for a swim, and to follow me in. I went down first, undressing as I approached the water, all sexy-like, thinking he was watching. Imagine my surprise when my foot hits water and I give a little shriek and a giggle, then turn and see I’m all alone!”

  “That’s too good,” Red said, laughing, and even I had to stifle a laugh.

  “So she came walking up, not wanting to tell me it was about my brother, and all this time I thought she’d had been hitting on me that day.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Pucky said.

  “Well, I’m there, watching my brothers fly off, and suddenly you come walking up completely nude. What was I supposed to think? I figured you just got scared or nervous, and that’s why you ran off.”

  Red and I were both laughing now, and Pucky joined in.

  “You can’t be serious with this stuff,” Red said, her laughter finally fading. “I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  “With that cute little bod?” Elisa arched an eyebrow, eyes moving up and down Pucky. “I was about to give it a try, honestly. Not that I was into women before, but…”

  “Shut up,” Pucky said, thinking she was joking. But judging by the seductive stare the princess was giving her at that moment, it wasn’t likely.

  An awkward silence followed.

  “Um, the garden?” Red said, and the other two snapped out of it, so Elisa continued with the tour, but I was left imagining those two with their bodies pressed together, tongues intertwined, hands fingering each other.

  Some guys weren’t into lesbians, but that wasn’t me. I’d always found the idea of a dick repulsive, unless it’s my own. I once made a joke to Chris that I wasn’t gay, but if I met myself I’d totally go down on myself, and he never let me live that down. Point being, I thought I was hot for a nerdy guy, but other men in the picture—or porno, if I was in the mood—just kinda ruined it for me.

  Woman-on-woman action though? Give me the double showing. As Elisa ascended a short stairway that led to an upper ledge of bright red flowers, I couldn’t help but imagine her hopping up that ledge, Pucky kneeling between her legs, with her little pink tongue flicking at the princess’s clit.

  “Hello,” Red said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. “You with us?”

  I shook out of my fantasy and laughed. “Yeah, what?”

  “Dude… You were standing there staring with this goofy smile on your face for like a minute. We were walking on when I realized you were still back here.” She glanced down and laughed. “Wow, really? Does that thing ever stop?”

  I wasn’t surprised, and honestly didn’t think she should’ve been either, and said as much. “What do you expect, with me constantly surrounded by beautiful women?”

  “You think I’m beautiful?” she asked.

  “Red, of course. You’re stunning. This dark hair and clothing in contrast with those blue eyes, and the way your lower lips slightly pouts sometimes, it’s so cute. If we were…” I stopped, realizing I was going overboard.

  She smiled, reached out and gave my crotch a caress. “You’re not so bad yourself. Now don’t fall behind, we should touch base about the plan.”

  “Right, the plan,” I said, remembering that more fighting was likely in store, so these crazy fantasies and any hope of actually being able to paint Elisa nude quickly vanished. That is, until we joined them and I saw that here was a bit of a dance floor surrounded by all these flowers, and at our arrival Elisa clapped her hands and salsa music kicked on.

  “Hmm, maybe not yet,” Red said. “For the plan that is. Don’t worry, it’s not a rush.”

  “Good,” I said, watching Elisa start to dance around Pucky, even taking her hands and getting seductive.

  I was so ready for this to happen.

  17

  Red went to get drinks, winking at Pucky in a playful way, while Elisa continued dancing next to Pucky and then moved over to me. I wasn’t exactly a salsa dancer, but started mimicking them with the steps and hips as best I could while still trying to keep a manly feel to it. Elisa laughed playfully while whipping her hair back.

  She approached me, and Pucky watched as if enchanted. Elisa was moving her hips, circling around me, and then came in close, her large, blue eyes taking me in. She took my hands and let me spin her, then moved in even closer, holding my hands around her as she pressed her ass against my crotch. She continued to shake it and move, pressing herself into me so that she could feel the pressure of the bulge in my pants growing against her.. Then she motioned for Pucky to join.

  The petite woman set her drink aside, moving over to join us, so that I was spinning both of them now. Elisa moved around to my back, going down with the music and running her hands along my side. Pucky was in front caressing my chest.

  At one point they gestured to Red, but she sat there with her margarita in hand, watching with a hesitant smile. She found this too humorous to let herself get involved.

  The other two, though, had no problem, and soon Pucky reached behind herself, massaging my crotch. Elisa was moving with me from behind, hands wrapped around and feeling my chest, and then they slipped down and she gave my ass a playful slap.

  How the hell this was happening with these two beautiful women was beyond me, but I was totally going with it.

  Elisa danced away for a moment, lost in the music and moving sinuously like a snake about to strike, then turned, watching us with anticipation.

  “Hey, if you want me to do this,” Pucky spoke in my ear to be heard over the music as she leaned in while still dancing, “you’ve got to make it worth my while.”

  “What’d you have in mind?”

  “Tonight… I know we just met, but… let’s make tonight the night.”

  If I was right about what she was talking about, there was no need to convince me. I was all in. But not wanting her to think it was so easy, I spun her around, wrapping my arms around her with my groin
against her ass, and whispered in her ear, “Earn it.”

  She moved her ass up and down on me, and leaned back so that I could kiss her neck and then she was nibbling on my ear as she replied, “I fucking will.”

  With that, she whirled out of my arms and strutted over to Elisa, moving with the beat of the music. The two started moving almost as one, and then Pucky’s hand was on Elisa’s hip, sliding up under her shirt, and Elisa wasn’t stopping it. They both looked my way, putting on the show for me, and signaled me over.

  Red laughed, watching until I was there and both women with their hands on me, then said, “That’s my cue.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, more trying to be polite than the way she apparently took it when she gave me a skeptical glance, laughed, and made for the door.

  “I’ll grab a snack and see you all in the morning,” she said before exiting.

  When she was gone, the dancing got really heated, with Pucky moving around behind me. Both women were having fun although Elisa played more of a teasing game while Pucky went straight for what she wanted. Her hand even dipped into my pants at one point, grabbing hold as she kissed me deeply.

  “Let’s take this to the bedroom,” she said, turning back to Elisa and running a hand along the side of her breast, over the shirt.

  Elisa motioned us to follow. We did, Pucky and I like two horny teens caressing each other, kissing, and giggling. We weren’t drunk, but we weren’t exactly sober either. Just enough to be loose, to not care.

  When we finally made it to the bedroom, Pucky was already tearing my clothes off the second we made it through the doorway. I glanced over to see Red down the hall, where she’d stopped to watch us.

  She gave me a playful thumbs up, then disappeared into another room. Pucky yanked me the rest of the way inside and immediately started pulling off my shirt and pants, while Elisa went over to the cushions by the window, watching us.

  “Come on,” Pucky said, motioning her over.

  Elisa considered us, then said, “Not yet. I want you to… You know. While I sit here.”

  Pucky looked intrigued by that, although I wasn’t sure how to take it. When Pucky pulled off my boxer briefs, leaving me exposed in front of Elisa, I really didn’t know what to think. A deep breath, rising chest, and the way Elisa repositioned herself, all made me feel more confident. She was liking what she was seeing.