by Lisa Andel
He pulled me tight against his body while he waited for his breathing to return to normal. “Will you?” He nibbled on the edge of my ear.
"What will I do when we're not fucking?” That summed things up for me as far as I was concerned.
He was quiet for several minutes, then he sighed, his breath warming my back. “I guess that doesn't really solve your problem."
"It would make it easier for me to stay,” I told him. “For a while, anyway."
"It would make it harder for me to let you go, when your frustration got the best of you.” He pulled out, and I rolled over so I could see his face while we talked.
"Believe me, you're the best thing I have in my life. I doubt I'll ever find a better lover. I know I'll never find a better friend. But I contribute nothing here. I feel like a failure every day, and the others make sure to remind me I am. I love you, T, more now than before we shared the night, but I'm still the same person I was before we went to bed."
He brought his mouth to mine. Tenderly, at first, then he slanted his head and deepened the kiss, strongly moving his tongue around inside my mouth, stroking my tongue aggressively. My pussy flushed with heat and dampness. My fingers tangled in his long blond hair, anchoring his face to mine.
Working me onto my back, he moved over my body, pinning me to the bed with his chest, as he grasped the cheeks of my ass and positioned me for his penetration.
The he slammed his way in.
We kept it up for the next three hours until the sun had risen.
Exhausted, but wonderfully sated for the first time in my life, I let him help me out of bed and into the shower. He took me again, while we bathed, and once more when we returned to the room to dress.
I wasn't sure I could walk away later that day when the Rangers left, just as I doubted that I could go again without the sensations Terethial had awakened in my body. But I knew, even with everything that had changed, nothing really had, so I was going to have to try.
* * * *
Terethial stood with his arms around me, reluctant to let me go.
"I will miss you, more then you can imagine,” he whispered into my hair.
"I think I can imagine.” I already missed him.
"You have the charm?” His arms tightened around my waist as he canted his head to make eye contact.
I pulled on the slender silver necklace and brought the blue opal charm into the light.
"Call me on that whenever you want to talk.” He stared into my eyes until I nodded.
As he'd explained it to me, it was a communication device. I'd even get to see his face in real time in the small stone.
"Call me too, if you want to talk.” I tucked the jewel back into the neckline of my shirt.
There was nothing left to say between the two of us. He kissed me like it was the last time he'd ever get to, and I responded in kind.
"I love you,” he whispered as he let me go.
"I love you, too.” I blinked back tears as I turned away from him.
Standing a few feet away was Rainth, the leader of this pack of Rangers. I knew little about him, other than the fact that he was supposedly a cat shifter. He was over six feet tall, with raven black hair and deep golden eyes. His rugged jaw already showed a dark stubble. He was bulkier, more muscular then Terethial, and I found that a little intimidating. And arousing.
I couldn't stop myself from scanning him from head to toe. The loose, easy way he stood caused my breath to hitch in my chest.
"Ready, little one?” He cocked a dark brow in question.
I nodded at him, finding myself unable to speak.
He waited until I had reached his side before he motioned for the others to head out. Instead of walking together as a group, as I had imagined, they fanned out, all but three of them disappearing into the forest around us.
"If you have any questions, ask them now while we are still in a protected area.” He had a deep voice, with an alluring burr to it.
"Did Terethial tell you what I was looking for?” What I really wanted to know was if T had told the man I was a dud as an elf and I needed to find out if there was anything out there that I didn't suck at.
Rainth flicked his eyes to my face, and I was sure he wasn't going to answer me. “Yeah, he told me."
I cringed when I saw his lips curve in a grin. “Oh.” I dropped my eyes and studied the ground in front of my feet.
"So you really tasted awful to the vamps?” There was the lilt of amusement in his voice.
"If you laugh, I swear I'll..."
He laughed.
I kicked him in the shin. Pain lanced through my foot and I fell backwards onto my ass.
Still laughing, he reached for me, and lifted me off the ground. I stumbled, and his big hand wrapped around my elbow, holding me upright.
We passed through the town of Brookmoor, where the vampires had attacked me, then headed out into, what for me, was the great unknown. Well, I knew about it, I'd just never been farther than Brookmoor before. A new worry added itself to my list of other worries. What if I didn't know how to act? What if the outsiders wouldn't accept me because I couldn't fit in?
I sidled closer to Rainth.
"Can we talk?” I whispered, unsure if we were still in the “protected” area or not.
"Yes."
"I've never been past Brookmoor before. How ... well, how do people act? I want to fit in, you know?"
Crap. He was grinning again. Well, so what if I entertained him? It was a serious question.
"That's a very large question,” Rainth began. “I've known your House for a long time; they're good people, but a bit antiquated in their ideas. The most important thing to remember about the human world is that they don't believe in magic, weres, vampires, or elves. There's a hard, fast edge to their lives. Maybe because they have such short ones. They don't trust each other."
"What about the others?” I'd learned of several different races, even met some as they passed through Ethinran.
"There are plenty of others to meet, as well. We'll only take you to the places where their beliefs are similar to yours."
I wondered about that comment for a moment, but set it aside, having no idea what he really meant. I was concerned more with my own troubles at the moment.
"Rainth? You've met a lot of different people?” I waited until he'd nodded. “What am I?"
I didn't think I could surprise him, but it was evident I had.
"An elf,” he stated brusquely.
"I don't think so,” I said with conviction.
Rainth stopped walking and moved close to me. He placed his hands on my upper arms and bent his head beside my neck. I felt a thrill of arousal, until I realized that he was only sniffing me. The gleam in his eye when he pulled away, though, let me know he'd caught the scent of my desire.
I rolled my eyes, disgusted with myself.
"As far as I can tell, you really are an elf.” The edge of laughter in his voice did not soothe me.
"Shit.” I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it didn't really matter. If I really was an elf, then I was doomed.
"I'll just have to learn how to do something useful,” I mused aloud to myself. “I don't know what, but I'll look for something along the way.” I felt a little better after reinforcing my decision to go on a quest with these men.
"What are you partial to?” Rainth asked.
"What?” He had startled me out of my thoughts with the question.
"What kinds of things do you like to do now?” His tone was casual, relaxing me into the conversation.
I thought about it, and the only thing I could come up with was having sex with T. I didn't think that was what he was asking, though.
"I can't do much of anything. I don't have much in the way of magic, and I'm not incredibly smart. I look funny, and I smell funny, and I'm told I taste like shit. Doesn't give me a whole lot to work with, does it?"
Rainth had stopped walking, and turned to stare at me. “You're the m
ost adorable, sexy bundle of curves I've ever laid eyes on."
I squinted at him. “Are you insane?"
He gawked at me. “No, but I think you might be."
Disgusted, I started stomping ahead of him. “Great,” I muttered to myself.
"I don't get you. From what I've seen, you have the most desirable elf as your lover. Are you just too much of a princess to appreciate that or do you seriously think he'd choose an unattractive woman?"
"Pnnn fnnn” I mumbled.
"What'd you say?” He pierced me with a glance.
"It was a pity fuck.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes as shame clenched my heart. “He's my best friend, and last night was the first time he's ever touched me."
"The men in your House are fools.” His voice was gruff and I had to look at him to see if he was just pulling my leg.
His expression was fierce and his anger palpable.
"Huh.” I had to think about that.
We walked in companionable silence for the rest of the afternoon. He'd chosen a trail that led us around the surrounding villages. When nightfall neared, he began angling off the path. Every now and then, one of his men would appear beside us, exchange hand signals with Rainth, then melt back into the undergrowth.
Not used to walking for such distances, I was stumbling with exhaustion when he finally called a halt for the night. There was a small cave alongside a swiftly running brook, high enough that its interior remained dry.
Setting his pack down, he removed a bedroll and spread it out on the floor of the cave. He invited me to sit beside him while he dug out dried strips of meat for our evening meal. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to gnaw the tough, unappealing substance. It took the remainder of my energy to swallow the muck.
I fell fast asleep as soon as I had.
* * * *
I heard the rustle of movement, and cracked an eye open. It was still dark out, but the area outside the cave was brighter than inside. I saw the outline of an immense feline pass before the entrance, then move off.
I snuggled against the body that held me wrapped in its arms, feeling safe and warm, as I drifted back to sleep.
* * * *
Rainth drew the woman closer to his chest. He nuzzled his face into her hair, inhaling her fresh, warm scent.
He was still trying to figure out if she was serious or not. How could she not know what a desirable creature she was?
He'd known House Ta'Daanior for years, and while he thought they lived too much in the past, he'd never faulted them for their tastes before. Now, he wondered.
He vaguely remembered something. Some kind of trouble with one of the greater families of the House that had ended in two people's deaths and an orphaned child. That wouldn't have any connection to Allie's current difficulties, though, he was certain.
So he eased himself further around her soft form, and settled in for the night.
* * * *
The next time I woke, dawn was brightening the horizon. My body protested as I rolled onto my back. Without thinking, I felt around the ground beside me for the body that had kept me warm and safe throughout the night.
My eyes flew open when I realized that it had been Rainth who had held me. I shut them again when I saw that he had undressed me as well.
"You're finally awake.” His deep voice reverberated in the small space around us.
I looked over at him, wondering if he still thought I looked sexy. Being an elf, I'd been raised to find joy in both nudity and sexual pleasures. Being a bad elf, I'd rarely had the opportunity for either. That is, without insults hurled my way.
"I can't seem to move anything."
Chuckling, he bent over and scooped me off the ground. “It'll get better as you go.” He kept his arms around me after he'd planted me on my feet. Undoubtedly to keep me from collapsing.
I managed to raise my hands as far as his biceps. “Oh.” I lost track of everything else as I felt his arms. I squeezed, and found them to be rock hard. Impressive. “Oh."
Still chuckling, he set to work on getting my clothes back on me, and by the time I was dressed, I could sort of move again.
"Thanks.” I shuffled towards the mouth of the cave. If I wouldn't have felt like an even bigger failure I would have been saying “ouch, ouch, ouch” with every step.
I thought it instead. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I made my way down the short incline that led to the cave's entrance. Ouch, ouch. I shuffled towards the edge of the brook with the idea that I'd like to stuff my head in it.
He halted me with his hand on my shoulder. “You'll just tumble in, and I'll have to retrieve you."
I turned pleading eyes to him.
"Don't think you can get me to change my mind with that look.” He narrowed his eyes, then tugged me around and pointed me in the direction that he wanted me to go.
"Ass,” I cursed, though without heat since he had dressed me that morning and he could have left that up to me. Then again, if he'd left it up to me, we'd still be waiting for me to drag my sore backside off the ground.
Though he kept the pace up throughout the day, it was a more leisurely hike then yesterday's. We stopped midday and he fed me more of that God-awful meat, which I found easier to chew and swallow with a lot of water.
I was barely able to drag my feet along after him by the time evening fell. I could probably have continued along at a snail's pace though, on a kind of autopilot that I'd fallen into some hours back.
Once again, he'd found a small, dry cavern for us to spend the night in. I was asleep as soon as I sat on the bedroll, never missing the dried meat that would have been my dinner.
* * * *
Once again the ranger had the pleasure of undressing the elf. He brushed the pads of his fingers over the soft, soft skin of her breasts, his groin tightening, when, even in sleep, her nipple responded to his touch. That puckered bud was begging him to take it into his mouth. To suckle on it until he elicited moans of pleasure from the beauty it was attached to.
Restraining himself, he continued to explore her body as he drew her breeches down. Holding one leg bent at the knee, he stared at the apex of her thighs. He'd yet to see body hair on an elf, and this one was no exception. He didn't know if it was common practice among their kind, or simply that their race didn't grow any.
Reaching forward, he placed his fingers on either side of her slit, spreading them slightly. He would have enjoyed taking his mouth to her, tasting her essence. The scent of her alone had been driving him near insane since he'd met her.
Sighing, he withdrew his hand, then lowered her leg to the ground.
Once he was rid of his own clothing, he curled tight to her side, one leg thrown over her thighs, his arm across her stomach, his hand resting on her breast. With his face tucked close to the top of her head, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
* * * *
My eyes snapped open as I was pushed roughly to my back. Rainth wedged his hips between my legs, and without preamble speared his way into my core.
I gasped as his cock stretched my sheath.
He began pounding into me, hard. Pinned as I was beneath his body, I could barely breathe, let alone move. He bit my neck, then purred deeply, rumbling against my chest. I felt a wash of arousal drench my passage, easing the burn of his driving shaft. The pleasure grew intense, the muscles of my groin tightening.
His thrusts became erratic, causing the root of his shaft to bump against my clit, sending me straight over the edge into ecstasy. As I writhed against him, my muscles spasmed around his cock.
He stiffened. “Merida,” he cried, then pumped his hips with abandon while he spewed his seed deep inside.
When the last of his tremors passed, he slumped over me. He breathed deep, then deeper, until I realized that he had fallen asleep.
Unable to move his body off of mine, I relaxed as much as I could and was surprised to find myself falling asleep as well.
* * * *
The next time I awok
e the sun was shining outside the cave. I stretched, then groaned, sorry I had tried to move.
There was no sign of Rainth, so I struggled painfully to my knees, mindful of the stickiness between my thighs. I didn't remember any stream outside this cavern, so I crawled around the dim interior of the cave searching for my bag. I removed my bota and a washcloth, dampened it and did the best I could to clean up.
With that accomplished, I eyed the bedroll and wondered if I could just go back to sleep. Sighing, I spent the next half hour working my way into a clean set of clothes. I'd just finished packing up my things, and was trying to stand, when Rainth returned.
He grabbed the bedroll, and secured it to his pack without saying a word.
I finally managed to lever myself to my feet, and headed unsteadily in his direction. When I got there, I grasped his arm for support.
He flinched.
"What?” My tone came out more acerbic then I intended.
His eyes were stormy as he looked down at me. “I didn't mean to fuck you."
My heart clenched at his words. Closing my eyes, I let reality wash over me. “I should be used to this by now.” I let my hand fall from his arm, my fingers going numb with the numbness I was willing over my soul.
"What's that supposed to mean?” he growled at me.
"Just that. I have yet to be fucked by a man who wanted to fuck me. A few have been drunk and thought I was someone else. One entered the wrong bedroom and in the dark couldn't tell he'd crawled into bed with the wrong woman. One did it on a dare, another lost a bet. You already know about T."
I pushed my way past him and exited the cave, suddenly feeling closed in. He was right about one thing—my legs, though sore, were working better already than they had yesterday morning.
He grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. “I was dreaming. I didn't realize until—the end—that I was actually fucking you."
Anger flared inside me, and I spun around to face him. “Look. I don't care. I certainly don't want any explanations, and I'll be damned if you tell me who you were dreaming about.” I twisted back around and stomped away from him.
"I was dreaming about you.” His whispered words barely reached me.
Really good answer. I stumbled, but kept walking. He moved beside me, and nudged me in the direction that we were supposed to be going.
