by Raven Li
She thought that his kiss would be rough, demanding, so she was unprepared when his lips tenderly brushed against hers. All of her logic turned to ash, and she pressed back against him, rubbing her body against his. He held back, though, deepening the kiss only slowly, taking the time to explore her mouth with such tender thoroughness that she wanted to scream with need.
“Ah, beautiful Sasha,” he whispered when he ended their kiss. A part of her noted with pleasure that his breathing was rough and uncontrolled. “You drive me mad with desire. Even though I know it would be folly, I can barely keep from making love to you now.”
She drew back from him, disturbed. “What do you mean, ‘making love?’” It sounded terrible.
He frowned and tilted his head to the side, clearly puzzled by her question. “You don’t know this term? It means...what we did earlier tonight.”
“Sex.”
He was touching her again, making it hard to think logically. “More than that,” he murmured. “But yes.” His mouth found her throat, wandered down to the juncture of neck and shoulder.
“Arath says...that is, Osan has decreed that romantic love is an abomination,” she managed to say even as her breathing went ragged.
He stilled for a moment, then pulled back. The look on his face was a combination of outrage and fury. “What?” he snarled, hands tightening hard on her shoulders.
In that moment, she felt the power that lived in him. He was the Dark Mage: strong, dangerous, and skilled. His eyes were flat, black orbs, revealing nothing. She remembered how easily he had defeated the Hieromancer, and fear went through her.
Her fear must have shown on her face, because he let go of her and stepped back. “I didn’t realize how deeply twisted Arath is,” he said, running a hand through his long hair. “Damn him!”
She folded her arms over her chest, giving him a skeptical look. “Let me guess. Now you’re going to tell me that romantic love isn’t an evil curse.”
Elodan sighed, and for a moment his weariness showed on his face. “It’s not. It’s the most wonderful thing that can happen to a person.”
“So you claim.”
“Was I wrong about the night?”
Sasha frowned. He had been right about that, as far as she could tell, anyway. But this...this went against her very upbringing. There were only so many beliefs she was prepared to overturn in one night.
“I don’t expect you to take everything I say at face value,” Elodan said, taking her hand and starting off once again. “Arath never wanted anyone to question his decrees, but I’m not like that. I’ll welcome any questions you have, and do my best to answer them. And you need to listen to your own heart, analyze with your own mind. I only ask you to keep yourself open to whatever answers you might find, and not reject them out of hand.”
His statements were so dangerously close to her own questioning nature that she wondered if he could see her thoughts. If so, he did not respond to them, only walked beside her wrapped in a brooding silence.
Chapter Six
They walked the rest of the night. On the other side of the orchard, they came upon a dusty road that ran through low farmland, and set out upon it. Sasha didn’t know where they were going and was too tired to ask.
As dawn broke, a farmer’s cart pulled up beside them. As the man approached, Elodan called upon air elementals to create a small illusion to hide his obsidian eyes. The incantation he used was unfamiliar to Sasha, for it contained no threats of punishment if the elementals should not do his bidding, but was rather an entreaty.
Sasha was too embarrassed by what to her seemed revealing clothing to look at the farmer at first, but as he chatted unknowingly with the Dark Mage, she slowly realized that he was barely giving her a second glance. Apparently, Elodan was right, and peasant women didn’t routinely go covered from neck to toe the way the nobility did.
The farmer offered them a ride, for which Sasha was grateful. She curled up in the sweet hay in the back of his cart and fell almost instantly into a deep sleep brought on by exhaustion. By the time she awoke, it was almost nightfall.
The cart trundled to a halt in the center of a small village square. Sasha sat up sleepily, pulling bits of hay from her hair. Elodan was perched up by the farmer, looking as refreshed as if he had not been awake for an entire night and a day. “Thank you,” he said, hopping down with a wave, before turning back to help her out.
“And you—you made a long trip go much faster!” called the farmer, a smile on his broad face.
Apparently I’m not the only one Elodan can charm, Sasha thought sourly.
The village they found themselves in was tiny, nothing more than a few houses and an inn huddled around a central square. A large fountain stood in the center of the square, and women clustered about it, talking happily as they filled jugs with water for their homes. For the most part, they were dressed in bright colors, and their blouses certainly didn’t come all the way up to their necks. Why, some of them were even showing off small amounts of cleavage! The thought of dressing like that made heat come to Sasha’s face...but at the same time, it also made her feel curiously daring.
Elodan led her to the inn. “I Summoned some gold from Arath’s personal vault,” he said with a conspiratorial smile, then laughed at her scandalized glare.
The smell of baking bread filled the inn, making Sasha’s stomach growl. The late sunlight slanted in through the windows, washing the warm wood of the interior with gold. A few patrons sat at the tables in the common room, eating and drinking in small groups. Most of them paid no attention to her or Elodan, but one or two glanced up with interest. She wondered if they were locals, curious about outsiders come to their little hamlet.
A buxom young woman stood behind the bar, showing off more bare breast than Sasha had ever seen in her life. The maid’s blue eyes were friendly, and her cheeks glowed with health. Looking at her made Sasha feel pale and flat.
As they approached, she leaned over the bar, revealing even more of her charms. “Good evening, love,” she said brightly, all of her attention fixed on Elodan.
He gave her a charming smile. “Good evening,” he replied in that melodious voice. “Have you a room?”
The woman’s smile grew larger, and her eyes did a slow run over Elodan’s figure. “Oh, that I do, honey,” she murmured, licking her lips.
The realization that this—this woman—was showing an interest in Elodan’s body made ice form in the pit of Sasha’s stomach. How dare she, when he was clearly with Sasha? Without realizing it, she leveled a scowl at the barmaid.
Elodan’s smile never faltered. “For myself and my companion,” he corrected gently.
With a sigh of frustration, the barmaid nodded and began to negotiate payment. Sasha ignored their conversation, preferring to seethe in silence. When it was concluded, Elodan received a small key, took Sasha’s hand, and led her to the stairs in the back of the room. Their chamber was on the second floor, at the end of a long hall. Elodan unlocked the door and motioned for her to enter, and Sasha went inside, so angry that she barely saw the warm fireplace, cozy chairs, and large bed.
“You have nothing to be jealous of,” Elodan said with amusement in his tone. He locked the door behind them and tossed the key casually on a small table.
His words shocked her. “I’m not jealous,” she denied automatically.
The amused smile didn’t leave his lips. “Aren’t you? Then why do you care if another woman looks at me?”
“I—I don’t,” she protested. It sounded feeble even to her.
“Really?” He crossed the space in between them suddenly. She started to back away, but found her spine pressed against the back of a chair, blocking her retreat. The illusion had disappeared from his eyes, and she found herself staring into a pair of burning, black orbs. The heat from his body seemed to scald her even through their clothing.
Before she could protest, he had captured both wrists in one hand, holding them behind her back. His to
uch was light but firm, refusing to release her, although in truth her struggles were half-hearted at best. Elodan’s hard body pressed against hers, and her nipples stiffened instantly under the thin fabric of her blouse. His erection felt hard and hot through the layers of clothing that separated them, and she rubbed against him instinctively, needing to feel his arousal.
His free hand found the drawstring that held her blouse closed. It came loose, and he pulled the fabric down to reveal her breasts. She moaned helplessly as his fingers toyed with her nipples, teasing them into hard peaks of desire. “I think that you are jealous,” he whispered. “I think you want to keep me all to yourself, isn’t that right, young one?” When she didn’t answer, he laughed softly. “You don’t want to admit that you want me, is that it? But you do. I can feel it.”
He dropped his hand from her breasts and caught up her skirt, sliding beneath it. Unable to stop herself, she spread her thighs apart for him, heard his low chuckle of triumph. His fingers caressed her, tugging gently on her clitoris, then parting her labia to slide deep inside. She groaned, grinding against his hand, desperate for the release she knew he could give her.
“I’m not going to make it so easy for you, my dear,” he murmured, pulling his hand away. Holding her gaze with his own, he deliberately licked her juices from his fingers. “You taste so good. I want you, Sasha. Feel how I want you.”
He let go of her wrists, guiding her hands to his erection. She rubbed at it through the taut fabric of his trousers, incredulous at its thickness and length. Surely it wasn’t so big as it seemed.
He moaned at her touch. Enjoying the feeling of control, of power, that his reaction gave her, she slid her hands up to his shirt, pushing it aside to reveal his nipples. Experimentally, she tugged on one with her fingers, eliciting a gasp of pleasure. “Harder,” he whispered urgently, then moaned when she did as he asked.
In a single, swift movement he pulled his tunic over his head and discarded it onto the floor. Intoxicated by his scent, by the sight of his bare flesh, Sasha rubbed her face against his chest, then seized one nipple in her mouth. His skin tasted of salt, and she licked it enthusiastically before nibbling on it with her teeth. He groaned again and arched against her. “Goddess, Sasha, that feels so good!”
Emboldened, she slid her hands down to his trousers and began to undo the ties that held them about his slender hips. As she eased them down, his erection sprang free. Startled, she automatically ran her hand over its heavy length. “Surely all that wasn’t in me last night,” she said in disbelief. “It’s too big!”
He grinned and stroked his cock, as if admiring its length and thickness. “More like a perfect fit, my Sasha.”
Intrigued by his organ, she dropped to her knees to study it more closely. Fluid beaded at the tip, and he angled his hips towards her, gently brushing it across her lips. The skin felt like the finest velvet, and his precome tasted wonderfully salty. Unable to resist, she licked it off, then slid her lips around the flared head of his cock. Elodan groaned, gathering bunches of her hair in his hands. Pleased by his reaction, she took more of him into her mouth, enjoying the fit and taste. One of her hands caressed his balls, which were drawn tightly up in their little sack.
“Enough,” he gasped, pulling her head away from him. Bringing her to her feet, he kissed her passionately, his tongue thrusting aggressively into her mouth. Her skirt fell to the floor, puddling around their feet, and the hot tip of his cock pressed into her thigh.
Strong hands lifted her, carried her a short distance, and then set her down on the edge of the table. Spreading her thighs, he pressed the tip of his cock against her clit, moving it in small teasing circles. “Please, Elodan,” she begged, wanting to impale herself on the cock that remained torturously just out of reach.
“Look,” he whispered, leaning his body back a little so that she could get an unobstructed view of his cock. The head slipped lower, pressed against her opening, then began to penetrate her with an agonizing slowness. She moaned, feeling the opening to her cunt stretch to accommodate the flared head, then close tightly around his shaft once it was in.
He paused, then, just the head of his cock in her. “Still think it won’t fit?” he asked teasingly.
“More,” she gasped frantically.
He pushed in, maintaining a slow, steady pace that she thought might drive her mad. Deeper and deeper she felt the head penetrating, while his thick shaft kept her opening wonderfully stretched. “You’re so wet, so tight,” he groaned.
Then he was in her, totally in her, so that his hips pressed against her body. She felt stuffed, stretched, wonderfully filled. Then he withdrew slightly, pushed back in a short, hard thrust, his cock scraping the bottom of her clit as it passed, his hips pushing hard against the little button, and she exploded. Her cunt contracted hard around his incredible stiffness, and he moaned, holding her hips still while he pounded into her. “God, I thought you were tight before,” he managed to gasp as wave after wave of ecstasy poured through her, each one clenching her even harder around him.
Once her orgasms had eased, though, he slipped out of her. Before she could protest at the sudden emptiness, he dropped to his knees, burying his face between her legs like a man dying of thirst. His thumbs spread her labia, then she felt his tongue thrust into her stretched cunt, lapping at her wetness. She arched her back, thrusting her hips at him, and his mouth moved, sucking insistently on her clit until she thought she would go mad with pleasure.
“I need you...back in me,” Sasha managed to gasp.
He drew back, a little reluctantly, then stood up and kissed her deep. The salty, musky taste of her own passion was on his lips, adding an erotic intimacy to the kiss. His arms slid around her, and he lifted her from the table, carried her across the room, and gently laid her back on the bed.
Elodan stood beside the bed a moment, looking down on her. The evening light through the window turned his skin into gold, making her want to lick every inch of it. The clean, strong features of his face were twisted into a look of such intense desire that it was hard for her to believe that she could have inspired it, and his cock jutted out proudly in front of him. At that moment, nothing else mattered except him and what his body could do to hers.
She reached for him, tugging him gently towards the bed. A smile of satisfaction flitted over his lips at her eagerness. “Roll over,” he murmured.
A little confused by his request, she complied nonetheless. His hands slid down the length of her back, kneaded her buttocks, then gripped her hips and lifted them off the bed. The hot tip of his cock pressed insistently against her slick opening, then slid back in, feeling even larger in this position. Sasha gasped and pushed back against him, her buttocks against his belly. His hands tightened gently on her hips, holding her steady as he began to thrust into her.
It felt incredible, but there was no pressure on her clit this way. She whimpered softly and heard his low, sexy laugh. One hand snaked around, found her hard little button and began to fondle it, tugging and stroking. The sensation, combined with the feel of his hard cock stuffing her, sent her over the edge again. Her hands clenched on the bed sheets, and she smothered a scream of ecstasy in the pillow.
Elodan made a noise like a soft growl, bending over her so that his chest pressed against her back. She felt the scrape of teeth against the skin of her neck; then he nipped at her gently, not enough to break the skin but more than enough to send another surge of erotic heat through her body. While one hand remained occupied with her clit, the other moved to clasp one of her swaying breasts, cupping it, fingers pinching the nipple.
The intense sensations of his teeth on her neck, his hand on her breast, his fingers on her clit, and the stiffness of his cock burying itself over and over in her cunt were too much. As another orgasm tore through her, she could feel her vagina clenching his cock, milking it in wave after wave of pleasure. Elodan’s thrusts took on a sudden, urgent rhythm, his cock seemed to swell even larger—then he fr
oze for an instant, the warmth of his seed gushing deep in her as he pushed hard into her body. Forgetting all inhibition, she cried out, climaxing with him in an orgasm that seemed to wring her entire body. His hips moved in a series of short jerks, carrying her through it, until the final wave subsided.
Slowly, Sasha came back to herself. They crouched together on the bed, still connected, as if reluctant to be separated any further. Elodan’s breath stirred the short hairs on her neck. His mouth kissed her where his teeth had bitten, gently, small kisses that unexpectedly stole her breath with their obvious affection.
She moved to pull away from him, suddenly confused. The Dark Mage cared about her, she realized, befuddled. But why should he do so? And did she care only about the pleasure he could give to her...or was there affection on her part as well?
Elodan slid out of her, and the fluids of their combined passion trickled down her thighs. He stretched out, pulling her against him. The gesture so surprised her that she obeyed, finding herself lying by him, her head pillowed on his shoulder and his arms around her. The embrace made her feel cherished, protected, even safe, although she didn’t understand why it should. She fell asleep pondering the strange feelings that had taken hold of her.
Chapter Seven
Elodan awoke after sundown to see Sasha kneeling on the rug in front of the fire. It was still early enough in the spring for the occasional cool night, and a small fire burned brightly to take the edge off the chill. The windows stood open, he noted with pleasure, and let in a fragrant breeze.
He took the opportunity to study Sasha though half-closed eyes. She had dressed again—that was a bit disappointing, but hardly unexpected, given what he had learned about Arath’s pollution of the Order. She would not be entirely comfortable with her own body yet.
He wondered what she was thinking about as she watched the fire, and a shadow of doubt touched him. Perhaps she was considering how he had destroyed the life she had known. Even though the prison of the Order’s strictures had been strangling her generous and passionate nature, he still felt a surge of guilt that he had brought sorrow upon her. No doubt she had friends that she was missing, and who wondered where she was tonight. And what about any family? They would certainly not approve of her liaison with the Dark Mage.
