Saved Between the Sheets: An Anthology of Stories that Get to the Point

by R. M. Walker

He gripped her hair, holding her in place, and fucking her face. Each time he struck the back of her throat, reflex kicked in and she ignored it. She wanted to consume him. To please him. To become one with him.

  “My huntress, please.” His voice was dry croak. He tried to tug her to her feet.

  He was close, and she wasn’t interested in stopping. She tightened her grip, and set a pace in time with the thrust of his hips. She needed to taste him.

  And then the salty fluid filled her mouth, some dribbling free and down her chin. She licked him clean, smiling in satisfaction when he shuddered at her touch.

  Surprise filtered through her when he knelt as well. He kissed her face, licking himself from her skin, before moving to claim her mouth. His touch consumed her.

  He broke away to look her in the eye. “You’re my huntress,” he said. “From now until eternity. And I’m your servant for as long if not longer.”

  The intensity of his words, of his promise, should have terrified the hell out of her. Instead it was a soothing promise. It brought back Gwydion’s words about what she believed in. She was starting to understand.

  Min rose, and helped Kirby to her feet. He was gentle and meticulous as he stripped her clothing off. It was the most tenderly intimate thing she’d ever experienced, but it was also familiar. The way he looked over her sent chills and heat racing over her at the same time.

  Gwydion pressed into her back, his bare skin contacting with hers. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who had lost her clothes.

  “You don’t have to be quiet in here,” he whispered, his breath teasing her cheek. He snaked his palms up her stomach, and rolled one of her nipples between his fingers.

  She half-squeaked, half-sighed at the sudden sharpness of his touch, and whirled to face him.

  This was the first time she’d seen him nude in full light. She wanted to revel in his naked form—sculpted muscle, intricate tattoos, and girth where it counted. When did he put on a condom?

  Gwydion had other plans. He settled his palms on her cheeks and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss.

  She roamed her hands over his body, memorizing each contour, and trying to feel everything.

  He stumbled back to the bed, and pulled her with him. “Did you know…” he said between light bites along her neck, “… you make the most stunning faces when you come?”

  If her skin got any hotter, she’d combust. “I can’t say I spent a lot of time watching myself.”

  “No?” Min molded his body to her back. He was naked now too, and his half-hard cock pressed into her. “You deserve to be watched and worshipped. Your room covered in mirrors to display the beauty that is you.”

  He spoke like he knew from experience. According to their wacky story, he did.

  She almost believed it. Not quite, but it didn’t discourage her from being sandwiched between them.

  Gwydion lay on the bed, tugging her down. When she lost her balance and landed on her palms, he gripped the back of her neck, leaned up, and crushed his mouth to hers.

  “I want to see as much of you as possible, all weekend.” His voice dropped an octave. “Beneath me. On top of me. Anywhere and everywhere.”

  “I like that idea.” She crawled up his legs. When she lowered herself onto him, sliding down slowly, she moaned at the penetration. This was so much better when she didn’t have to keep the noise down.

  She tried to set a fast pace, needing release after the build-up of pleasing Min.

  Gwydion tightened his grip on her hips enough to leave marks, slowing her down.

  Maybe she could do slow. For a little while. This was good. Incredible even. Feeling him slide in and out as he rocked against her.

  Min moved in behind her again. His bare chest against her back wrapped her in ribbons of desire. He was attentive, rather than demanding. Kissing along the back of her neck. Gliding his fingers along the creases where her thighs met her hips. Teasing her clit, while Gwydion filled her.

  She sank into the layers of touch and caress. It was easier to wind it all around her than try to pick one sensation that was her favorite. Lust and arousal mingled and grew, spreading from her core to reach every inch of her body.

  Gwydion dragged his palms up her stomach to tease her breasts. When he rolled her nipples between her fingers, it was another flavor in an already intense parfait. Min circled her clit, and Gwydion thrust harder. Faster.

  Orgasm engulfed her. The only thing she felt… tasted… smelled… was pleasure. Making her head light. Dancing like a million fireflies in her mind.

  And then the sound of Gwydion’s climax joined in. She floated in the intensity of it all, until the edge faded, and the world slowly drifted back in.

  Kirby curled up against Gwydion, head on his chest, the hammering of his heart matching her own. She pulled Min’s arm to cover her, sinking into the security of his being wrapped up in him.

  This all felt so right. Like the memories really were hers. That she had centuries of love holding and comforting her.

  She faded toward sleep, and a new warmth engulfed her. Vibrant and timeless. A part of her whispered these were her memories. She didn’t care what they were or where they came from, as long as she could follow the sensation.

  As she stepped into a new room, the edges of everything were fuzzed. There were voices. So many voices. And faces hidden behind masks. Min stood in the middle of it all. His face was hidden as well, but there was no mistaking his body or the way his gaze burrowed to her core.

  He stretched a hand out to grasp her fingers, and pulled her to him. Some of the people watched. Others stripped bare aside from the masks. Hands roamed bodies, and talking blurred into moans and whimpers.

  It all raced over her skin like a million simultaneous touches. Their desire and attention filled her and buoyed her. Min removed her clothing slowly. Sensually. Letting each piece fall aside, until she wore nothing.

  People reached for her. For Min. But he held her away from them all. He roamed her body with his mouth and hands. Sucking on her nipples. Biting her shoulder. Dragging his nails up her back.

  And then he held a flogger. Her anticipation spiked, and the need between her legs became impossible to ignore. As leather knots struck her behind, pleasure and pain spilled inside.

  She lost count of how many lashes there were. All she knew was the euphoria.

  Min returned to kissing along her skin. His touch was tender and soothing on the fresh marks. Envy and desire flowed over them from the crowd. They all wanted to be her or use her.

  But she only belonged to Min.

  He stroked between her legs, teasing her but never letting her come. He knelt at her feet, to kiss down her stomach. To part her folds with his tongue.

  She lost track of where one orgasm ended and the next began, as she floated through countless nights of orgies.

  And then it was Gwydion wrapping her in his embrace. Laughing with her. Falling into a pile of straw in a tangle of limbs. He knew where to kiss, to tickle, to stroke, to make her gasp. She returned the favor.

  His open mouth was hot on hers. His touches the most delicious kind of fire.

  And when he slid inside her, she felt like they were one.

  The surreal wash of moments blended into an abstractly erotic burst, with her reliving each orgasm as if it were new. Her body sang from one climax after another, across centuries of attention.

  Something lingered in the shadows, though. Growing stronger with each new scene.

  Terror nudged her heart, carrying more pain than one person could be expected to endure.

  She couldn’t see a source, or give it a name beyond really fucking bad, but it came from knowing Gwydion and Min.

  She forced herself awake. Her pulse screamed in her veins and her heart felt like it was going to burst.

  She tore away from the bed, unable to shake the fear and lingering agony. What was going on?

  Chapter Eight

  Min saw the terror in Kirby’s eyes as she
stumbled from the bed.

  “Kirby. Talk to me.” Gwydion was by her side in an instant. He pressed a hand to her chest. “I need you to breathe for me, then tell me what's wrong.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Min did. His heart shattered for her. She was remembering more than just the sex. It was all coming back to her, and she was unraveling in the process.

  He didn’t know how to lessen the pain. If she remembered more of the good, admitted it was real, before the intensity of the bad came back, it might help.

  He rose from the bed, and approached Kirby and Gwydion. He held out his hand. “Come here.”

  Kirby rested her palm in his, and he wrapped her in his arms. Her bare skin against his was always tempting, but now it also amplified his desire to protect her. If he could hold her like this forever, maybe she wouldn’t die again.

  Gwydion stood close, hand on her back. The concern on his face matched Min’s.

  “Are you able to talk about it?” Min would let her do whatever she wanted, as long as it made her happy and kept her safe.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what it was. But…” She shuddered. “I don’t want to find out. And I definitely don’t want to sleep again.”

  “I have a solution to help distract you.” He wanted to help calm her. He crouched enough to sweep his arm under her legs, and lift her up.

  Her chuckle was strained. She hugged his neck, and leaned into him. “Are you going to carry me away from reality?”

  “Something very much like that.” His desire was still there. A constant vibration that wanted more from her. To make up for all the nights they’d been apart. But his concern was stronger. Kirby needed to be looked after.

  He carried her into the bathroom and set her on her feet by the shower. Gwydion joined them.

  She hugged herself, and a tremor ran through her. Lingering traces of the dream, or an onset of modesty? The second one wasn’t like Kirby.

  Min turned on the water, and gave it enough of a magical nudge that it was the perfect temperature for Kirby—a hair below scalding.

  He took her hand and they stepped over the lip of tile. When all three of them were in the shower, he slid the glass door shut.

  She turned her gaze to her feet. “I’m not up for sex.” Her voice was quiet.

  “This is about comfort, not arousal,” Min said. “But you don’t have to stay. And if you don’t like it, you can leave any time.”

  She looked up. Shadows of whatever haunted her marred her face. “You’ve told me that before.” She was starting to remember.

  “I always tell you that. And I always mean it. What do you need?”

  “I need…” She let out a shaky sigh. “I need to not be alone with my thoughts.”

  “We’ll help with that.” Min grabbed the bar of soap from its dish, and a worked up a lather. He handed the bar to Gwydion, who stood behind Kirby, then glided his hands down her chest.

  As he worked his fingers along her skin, he applied light pressure. Enough to gently massage. To keep her grounded. He washed her stomach and her legs. Caressed her arms and her shoulders. Gwydion performed a similar ritual.

  Kirby’s skin was soft under his touch. The flutter of her eyelids as she began to relax was a stunning tie to the past. He grew half-hard when he slipped a hand between her legs, to clean her.

  But he didn’t linger.

  They stayed under the water until the knots faded from her muscles, and the fear vanished from her eyes.

  When they stepped out, he and Gwydion gently patted her, and themselves, dry with towels, then wrapped up on white, fluffy hotel robes.

  Min lifted her again, and carried her back to the bed. Feeling her cradled in his arms clenched like a vise around his heart. The familiarity of it all, and the lingering fear of what may come next, disquieted him.

  But her calmness, and soft body pushed that away.

  Min sat with his back to the headboard, and Kirby lay with her head on his outstretched leg. He trailed his fingers through her hair. The blond strands were silken against his fingertips.

  Gwydion sat next to Min, legs crossed. He stroked Kirby’s hip with his thumb.

  “The dream wasn’t all bad.” She spoke more calmly now. “Until the end it was… Wow.”

  Wow. Min appreciated the sound of that. “Would you like to offer more detail?”

  She laughed, and sat up. “You were there.” She pointed to Min. “And you were there.” She looked at Gwydion. “Just call me Dorothy. Dreaming about guys in my life.”

  “Pretty sure the Scarecrow never seduced Dorothy,” Gwydion said.

  “I’d ask how you knew what I was dreaming about, but you lived it with me, didn’t you?” She studied her hands. “It was so real. All of it. They’re memories. Everything you said earlier was true. You’re really a god?”

  Min nodded. “I’ve been many things to you, as you have to me. However, I’ve never lied.”

  “Who are you?” she asked Gwydion.

  “I’m a god of art.”

  “And a trickster god.” Kirby furrowed her brow. “You… used to tell people you were King Arthur.”

  Gwydion nodded. “And no one believed that I wielded supreme power just because some watery tart threw a sword at me.”

  Kirby laughed. It was good to see her relaxing, despite what must be spilling through her mind. “It’s all in there. Some of it’s clear, and some of it’s not there, but the more threads I tug, the more the knots unravel.”

  “Do you know who you are?” Min rested his palm on her cheek and pulled her gaze back to him.

  She studied him, so many questions reflected in her blue eyes. “No. I remember you. Both of you. And someone else. I remember loving you all intensely. I feel that passion, bright and vibrant.”

  “You lived all of that,” Gwydion said. “Several lives. Since meeting you, we’ve looked for you in each life. That love is real.”

  “What if I don’t want to love you?” Her question cut Min to the core. But he heard it each time they found her. She wanted to choose and love for herself, not for some past life iteration.

  Gwydion’s expression remained neutral. “Then you don’t have to. You’re not a separate person. It’s a new body, but every life is you. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind, or grow in a different direction.”

  She pulled from Min’s touch, turning her gaze back to the blanket. “What if I don’t want you to hurt me?”

  “I would never…” Min stalled on her question. “Why do you believe that’s a possibility?”

  “There’s something else in my past, the thing that scared me in my dream, it’s tied to knowing the two of you. It always happens after I meet you.” Her voice had gone quiet, and she clenched her hand in tight fists.

  * * *

  Kirby was conflicted. Her memories said both of these men were good and wonderful. She felt their love for her, and her adoration for them in return. It was so potent it threatened to stop her heart. Lifetimes of love and affection.

  But there was also pain. Terror. A shape she couldn’t define, but that cut through her soul like razors.

  “Do you trust me? Us?” Gwydion asked. He didn’t look upset by her revelations. Min tried to hide his reaction, but she saw his hurt. “Nothing we say will matter unless you do.”

  “Yes.” Kirby didn’t know why, but she did. Her mind insisted she was an idiot, and her heart sang a beautifully persuasive song that she was right to give them her faith.

  “I can’t say for certain what’s there, but I can guess.”

  I was a starting point. “Tell me.”

  Min frowned and worked his jaw .”In order for you to have lived so many lives, you’ve had to die that many times. We always look for you. To help you remember. To save you.”

  “We always find you before you die, but we’ve never been able to save you,” Gwydion said sadly.

  “Oh.” It made sense, but it was still difficult to p
rocess. Hearing that she’d died… how many times had it been?

  “Twice now we’ve seen you remember everything.” Min’s voice was thick with regret. “It's never easy on you to go through that. Considering the past is coming back to you again, the death is probably what’s threatening your dreams.”

  Kirby thought she understood, but didn’t want to put it to words. Because it was one thing to accept she’d lived before and was remembering loving two gods, but it was a whole new universe to relive what killed her. “But you try? To save me?”

  “Of course we do. Always.” The way Gwydion watched her, concern in his eyes, reinforced the words.

  And she saw the reality of what he said. The memories were there. Fifteen hundred years and they’d never given up on her.

  “We fall in love with you again and again,” Min said. “You’re the same person, but each life teaches you more. Enhances how distinctly you you are.”

  Kirby focused on him. “But some things about me, and you, are always the same.” She could almost grasp this sensation. It was that second fear that only came from knowing Min. It wasn’t the same kind of suffocating terror. This was a gnawing sensation that made her question who she was.

  “It’s true.” Min let out a long sigh. “The person you are at your core never changes. And that means each time we meet, some things keep us apart at first. What else did you dream?”

  She wouldn’t be distracted by his question, but she needed to better put her thoughts together. “Passion. Love. Desire. Decades of it. Over centuries.”

  “What else?” The way Min watched her, he was waiting for her to pick at and delve into whatever scared her when it came to him.

  Chapter Nine

  Min expected this, but that never made it easier for him to hear Kirby was scared of any part of him. “You fear me because I demand things of you that you’re reluctant to give.”

  And as much as it was in her nature to hesitate, it was impossible for him to not require it.

  She frowned. “Demand? Totally sounds like something I’d be opposed to. What are we talking about? That I walk ten paces behind you at all times? That I surrender my life to live the one you choose for me?”