I watched her full breasts gently settle from the bounce she'd given them when her top came off. Her large flower-petaled nipples were visible through her sheer blue bra.
"They're a matching set," I said, meaning both her underwear and her breasts. "I do like them very much."
"Good. I'm glad. I hoped you would."
"I do. But I wonder what they would look like…" I glanced to the floor where she'd thrown her shirt. "Over there on the floor."
She laughed. "Well, why don't we find out?" She reached around behind her with both arms, pushing her already large breasts out to anime-girl size as she undid the tied strings on her back.
I imagined a boing sound when her bra dropped from her breasts, claiming a little more space in front of her than they could restrained.
She threw the bra on top of her shirt, and I looked down at her panties.
"Oh, yes," she said, reaching down to the sides of her panties and tucking her thumbs under them as I'd done. She shifted her hips as she pushed down the sheer blue cloth, then bent her legs so she could pull the panties up and off them. Holding her arm out from the side of the bed, she dropped them onto the other clothes.
"There. All better," she said.
"No." I undid my belt and took my pants off, then my shirt, and everything else. "No, I think I need to look at you more closely…to make sure everything's working okay."
"Oh, yes. You should."
"Where did it hurt, again?" I said.
She reached her hand up to her bare chest and caressed her nipple. "Here."
I leaned over and kissed where she'd touched, then she moved her hand down to her stomach.
"And here," she said, and I kissed her there too.
She looked at me with false innocence as she slowly slid her hand down further, bringing her fingers between her legs. "And…here."
I went down to come to her aid.
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back against the pillow, at first moving her arms out to her sides as I worked kisses against her. Then, as I began to lick across her, up and through her folds, she flung her arms back in and over me, rubbing her fingers around through my hair.
I felt her hips lift slightly from the bed in steady rhythmic pulses. After several moments, she raised them up again but held them in place. My hands were on her ass and I felt her muscles there squeeze while I continued to taste her. Her knees began to quiver and she let out a moan. She lifted her hands off my head and I briefly saw out of the corner of my eye that she had them out to the side of me and they were shaking. I felt the warm spill from her against my lips and she collapsed back onto the bed.
I pulled my head up and wiped my chin with my forearm, then looked at her. I could tell she felt bliss and peace…and exhaustion.
"Everything checks out okay," I said, then I smiled at her.
She was breathing heavy, so she only nodded in response. Then, a few seconds later, she said, "Thank you. But…" She took a couple more breaths. "I think I need to check on you too. Just to make sure you're alright."
Alright, alright, alright.
"I trust myself to your healing hands," I said, stretching across to lie down beside her. I gave her a kiss on her cheek and, as I reached my arm up to put it under her, she raised her head and shoulders. I tucked my arm under her and pulled her close to me.
Chapter 5
We came to the stables at the edge of town, hoping to find six horses for our trip. We'd only walked about a mile from the inn, but I was ready to get off my feet. Yeah, I was a probably the fittest guy in town thanks to my barbarian transformation—certainly the most muscled—but carrying ninety percent of the supplies Jan gave us for the journey wasn't doing my back any favors. She loaded us up with food and some camping supplies—flint and steel, a few knives for cutting up any game we managed to catch, some herbs and ointment for compresses, and a few other things. She gave us some heavy wool blankets too, along with a heads up about how cold it got up north.
With that in mind, we made a pit stop at a shop on the way to the stables and bought some warmer clothes. The last thing I needed was to have my manhood frozen down to a twig in the company of five beautiful women. And there was the whole not freezing to death thing too. I got some heavy-duty pants and a thick shirt, and a new cloak which was lined with fur. The ladies did the same, unfortunately covering up some of my favorite parts.
I had my winter cloak mostly tied together behind me, to keep it off me for now. It was cool outside, but not cold enough to bundle up. The pack on my back was overly full and I had another pack slung over each shoulder. Alara wore one too, though not as full, as did Monica. The others each carried a few things tied to the belts they wore—a waterskin, a knife, some pouches with bits to nibble on or herbs.
My sword was sheathed. Alara walked with her staff. Tara and Monica each had a bow and quiver of arrows. I had no idea if Monica knew how to shoot a bow, but having another person who might be able to add some firepower in a pinch was a good thing.
We were as geared up as I could've hoped given the lack of an REI or Cabela's store. We even brought spending money, the gold Cormac had given us—minus what I gave Jan. Head north out of town was all Jan had told us for directions. With the sea to the east and mountains to the west, it sounded easy enough to stay fairly on course.
There were only four horses for sale at the stables. They looked decent, but my experience with horses was seeing the ones in Austin who pulled the carts around town at night for guys who wanted to romance their dates. Tara confirmed the horses looked healthy and capable. So, we bought them—two brown ones, a black one, and one a mix of brown and light tan, almost white in areas.
I first conferred discreetly with Tara to make sure the man wasn't charging us too much, then I dug out a couple of coins from a pouch and paid the man. I had no reason to suspect he was dishonest, but I had no idea what a horse normally cost on Earth, let alone on Galderia. When the man took the money, I noticed how weathered and scarred his hands were. He had one finger much shorter than all his others. It only came to where the first knuckle of the finger would have been. His hands were thick, strong, like he'd been laboring hard all his life. I figured he was in his sixties. Wisps of silver-gray hair covered only half his wrinkled scalp.
"And there are no other ones for sale?" I asked the man, noticing a large silky black horse eating at a pile of hay next to the man's cottage, which was beside the open stables. "What about that one? We'll take that one over there?"
The man turned slightly to look at the horse. "Pudding? No, she's not for sale. She's not really the sort of horse you'd want anyway."
Of course, her name is Pudding.
"Oh, what's wrong with her? Is she sickly or something?" I looked at the horse, trying to find some sign of a problem with her, but she looked strong and capable. In fact, she was quite a bit larger than the four horses we'd bought.
"Oh, no. Not sickly at all. Strongest horse I've ever known. Brave too."
"Sounds perfect," I said. I reached back into my pouch and pulled out two more gold coins and held them up to the man.
He eyed the coins. I saw he wanted them. "It's just that she's…a little unpredictable sometimes." His eyes darted around for a second. "Not too much, though. I suppose…"
I glanced to Tara. She shrugged.
"I'll take her, if you're willing," I said, moving my hand with the coins closer to him.
He was still for a couple seconds, then he snatched the coins from my hand. "Done," he said. "I'll get her bit and tackle, and for the other ones too."
"Thanks." I tied up my pouch and put it away. "Well, ladies," five will have to do, I guess."
"Victoria can ride with me," Monica said.
Victoria took a few steps toward the horses. "Thanks. They look friendly enough, I suppose."
"Can you ride well?" Alara asked Monica, stepping over to one of the horses to look it over.
Monica approached another horse. "My dad took me to l
essons when I was little. I think I can handle it."
You don't know how to ride a horse, Dennis.
Twenty minutes later, we were all mounted and on our way out of town. Ten minutes after that, I was regretting the fact that I had no underwear to keep me situated and was therefore in the worst possible way feeling each step Pudding took.
Chapter 6
We rode for a long time. Thankfully I learned to use my feet in the leather loops which served as stirrups, saving my manhood. But the soreness stayed with me, since I didn't learn this lesson until well after an hour of riding.
The ride, or rather the terrain was easy for the first few hours. The land north of Pertlass was a mix of shallow hills and wide plains. We followed a dirt road until it faded into the high sea of wild grasses. I hadn't realized how distinct a smell Pertlass had until we got far enough away from it. The smell of the town—fish, people, smokestacks, whatever else it was—gave way to fragrant flowers, pine, and all those other trees, which I couldn't name. Oak maybe. Yeah. Certainly oak. Birch. I tried to remember any other tree names. Elm. Then I realized the Galderian trees likely were entirely different.
The sun was halfway to its apex and the air was warm. I must've gotten used to running around in my barbarian loin cloth over the past week, because I felt a little uncomfortable now wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt. I could see Alara, who was riding beside me, was glistening with perspiration on her forehead. She looked at ease, though. Truth be told I think all of us were enjoying being out in the open air…and not having to walk for a change.
Pudding was a great horse, so far. The only trouble I'd had with her was when I loaded my pack on her. We'd divided our supplies more evenly, putting some on each horse, except Monica's, since Victoria was riding with her. All the horses took their loads without complaint, except Pudding. She was the biggest and strongest horse, so I know it wasn't the extra weight that was the issue. Each time I hoisted the pack of supplies onto her back, she sidestepped and shook her hind quarters before I could tie the pack down. Tara was the first to laugh when it happened. By the third time, everyone was laughing, except me. And I mean everyone. I swear I heard Pudding laughing too. We had a stare down for a few seconds, eye-to-eye, inches apart. After that, she let me put the pack on her. Maybe she's telepathic and she knew I was five seconds from punching her in the face. Who knows, but she hadn't given me any trouble since.
We rode as the land allowed, sometimes alongside each other, other times moving into a single file line to get through narrow paths through clusters of trees or to take the easiest paths across shallow waterways—creeks, brooks, that sort of thing.
Monica suggested we stop occasionally when passing through the high grass, to allow the horses to eat a little of it. It seemed obvious when I heard it, but I wouldn't have thought of it. She was easily the best rider too, despite Victoria riding on the horse with her.
Nithia rode beside me, blocking my view when I was admiring how Monica handled her horse—and also how Victoria's chest pressed into Monica's back in rhythm with the horse's movements.
"What're you thinking about?" Nithia said.
"Uh, I…" I thought about making something up, but then decided I didn't want to have that kind of relationship with Nithia, or any of them. "I was admiring how Monica and Victoria were riding."
Nithia's eyes lit up. "Oh, you were, were you?"
"Yeah, but watching you is making me forget all about them." I knew it was a cheesy line, but I meant it. Of all the women riding with me, Nithia looked the most sensual, even fully clothed now, as they all were. She moved with ease and a sensuousness which made me think of her as Lady Godiva—but with clothes. I think she knew it too. Maybe I was mistaken, but I think when she pulled up beside me she started giving a little exaggeration to each movement her pelvis made as it dipped and bumped against the horse's back.
"Nothing like a long ride, is there?" she said with a wink.
A second later I remembered I didn't have my boxers on. Probably should've taken the time to find those.
We rode on until the afternoon sun was upon us. Warm had turned to hot. Thankfully a forest was ahead. We were coming down a small hill and I could see the trees ahead went on for quite a distance, running to the horizon, with foothills of the mountains to our left.
"Should we head for the coastline?" Victoria asked. Evidently, she'd been paying more attention than I thought when Jan described the way to Yedia. "The ride may be easier."
It might have been, but it wasn't a certainty. What I did know was the trees would give us shade from the hot sun. If that meant our pace had to slow, I was okay with that.
"Not a bad idea," I said. "But we don't know how far a detour that is, and I wouldn't mind getting out of the sun for a while. Let's keep on course and push through the forest."
I glanced to Alara and she nodded to me.
I heard Tara let out a sharp high-pitched grunt, evidently to stir her horse to ride faster. It caught me off guard more than it should have, but it sounded close to a high-pitched sound I'd heard her make once before. The image of her seated on my lap with her legs out to either side of mine made me stumble slightly out of sink with my horse. The resulting jolt shook my attention back to what I was doing. A moment later she rode past me, swiftly moving out in front of us. "I'll scout ahead!" she called out without looking back.
I was going to tell her to be careful, but she was moving so quickly she'd distanced herself beyond earshot before I could reply.
"I hope she knows what she's doing," Alara said as she came alongside my left.
"I just hope the forest is ready for her," I said.
Alara chuckled. "Yes. Good point."
I looked at her. Somehow she made riding a horse look much more dignified than what it felt like to me. Of course, she wasn't coping with having her balls busted the first hour of the ride. Her staff was strapped at each end to the side of her horse, her ankle dangling over it. Only my horse had the leather stirrup straps. I wondered if it was more difficult riding without them. "How are you holding up?"
"It's not me you should be worried about," she said, nodding her head back toward Monica and Victoria.
She was right. "They've both been through a lot."
"We all have," Alara said. "But at least this is our world. Oh, wait. Sorry." She looked a little embarrassed. Evidently, she forgot I wasn't a local either.
I raised a hand from the horse's reins and gave a dismissive wave to let her know her misstep was okay. Fact was, I didn't think of myself as out of place anymore. With each passing hour, Galderia became more my home world.
I glanced over her shoulder to make sure Monica and Victoria weren't too close. "Monica knows she has a way home, when she's ready."
Alara gave a slow nod. "And Victoria?"
A scream came from the woods ahead! I was sure it was Tara.
I saw alarm on Alara's face, and I'm sure mine looked similar. I kicked against Pudding to get her into a run.
"Hiya!" Alara was driving her horse too. I listened for another scream from Tara as I neared the woods, but all I could hear was the pounding of horse hooves, the clatter of our equipment being jostled, and my breathing.
I ducked under a branch as Pudding took me into the grove. Glancing around and moving my head here and there to see as far in front of me as possible, I ran Pudding as fast as I could without striking a tree. She was sure on her legs and able to shift direction quickly, carrying me around the trunks and deeper into the woods. There was no sign of Tara. I heard Alara riding close behind me. I assumed the others were following too.
Then I spotted Tara's horse. Thirty feet ahead. She wasn't on it. The horse was still.
"Tara!" I rode up to her mount, hoping to see her, perhaps on the ground, with only a minor bump from a tree limb or something equally unserious. "Tara!"
"Where are you?" Alara called out.
I stood up in the stirrups to get as good a view as possible through the surroundi
ng forest. Still no sign of Tara. Her gear was still on the back of her horse.
I heard Nithia, Monica and, Victoria coming up behind me, and Alara drew her horse to a stop beside me.
"Where is she?" Nithia said.
I held up my hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet. "Shhh."
I tried to ignore the horses' breathing and the shuffling of their hooves in the leaves.
A faint crack sounded in the distance. Then I heard a muffled voice. I knew it was Tara, but she was either gagged or someone was covering her mouth. More snapping twigs.
I leaned toward the sounds and stirred Pudding. "Kiya!" The horse needed little guidance. She ran toward the sounds, jumping over a huge log and bolting side to side around trees as we raced to Tara's rescue.
We jumped a small berm and as soon as Pudding's legs had landed, she jerked to an abrupt stop and reared back, nearly tipping me off her. She whinnied from surprise or fear, or both. I held tight to her mane until she'd brought her front hooves down. Then I saw more clearly what I'd only briefly glanced before Pudding had reared back.
Twenty feet in front of me I could see a lock of Tara's red hair sticking out of the grayish-white wrapping which covered the rest of her body. And attached to the enveloping cocoon, a thick strand ran from the part covering her feet tethering her to the back of a massive hairy black spider. Tara didn't look to be struggling—or even moving.
"Oh, fuck!" I jumped from Pudding and drew my sword as I ran toward the disgusting vile didn't-deserve-to-live creature.
Ever since I was little, I had made a point of smashing any spider I saw. I knew the arguments of how they were good to keep around—how they ate bugs and fought off wasps. Didn't matter. They always gave me the creeps. It was the fact that some, even though they were tiny, could kill you. Growing up in Texas meant learning black widows and brown recluses might be under any old log or rock or pile of leaves. Most spiders were harmless, and I was taught to let them be. Screw that! I wasn't inclined to take any chances. Kill 'em all!
Swing and Thrust: A Harem Fantasy (Sword and Sorority Book 2) Page 4
