by Various
84
Earthwork
“I wondered where you were,” came his gruff, distracted voice from behind her.
Keli startled. Damn him for always being able to sneak up on her! No one else on the planet, not even Kik, could pull that off.
She stood, and in seconds, Wolf was holding her. Almost too tightly. Almost too hard. Not quite, though. Keli smiled inwardly. She could take whatever he had to give.
He told her about the compound scouting, and then silence fell between them again, broken only by moans, gasps, and the rustle of damp clothing as they slowly removed each other’s garments.
The relentless afternoon heat coursed over Keli’s flesh, adding to the naughty, stolen deliciousness of the moment.
“The door,” she murmured.
“Sealed,” Wolf answered almost in the same breath.
Keli massaged his back as they kissed again. Yes, he was muscled, and scarred, and as beautiful as any vision of the Goddess. His cock, indeed large and thick and tempting, was still enough to stir awe and draw out a small draught of fear whenever she felt it newly hard. But as always, Keli forced herself to maintain. This time felt different, though. Wolf felt different. Almost not present, and not the man she had come to know. There was a tenseness in his being she hadn’t felt before, and it concerned her.
Stop it, she told herself forcefully. This was probably the last time they could be together before the assault on the compound tonight. She would not, under any circumstances, allow doubt or worry to ruin even a second of this ecstasy. A dusting of hair on Wolf’s chest drew her lips, and he rumbled with pleasure as her tongue trailed across his nipples.
This type of touching had become relaxed between them, without formality or reserve. When she looked up, his eyes were closed and he was smiling. A few inches at a time, his fingers traveled from her shoulders down, down to her breasts. Keli swallowed hard as he cupped the sensitive flesh, then rubbed his thumbs over her swollen, sweat-dampened nipples. Back and forth, he moved with certainty, until they felt as hard as stones, and then he pinched.
“Wolf,” she gasped, unable to hold back the word even though by now, he would be expecting her to.
“Do you want a punishment?” he murmured. “Is that it?”
“No,” she said firmly and suddenly, separating from him with a force of certainty that surprised her—and Wolf, too.
His eyebrows lifted in silent question as Keli crossed her arms over her breasts.
“Not this time.”
Wolf looked puzzled. “Not this time what?”
Keli swallowed hard, wondering if he would reject her, but knowing she had to do this. “No protocols this time. No playing. I need to be your equal—and I need you to be mine.”
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A slight pallor took Wolf’s cheeks, followed quickly by a dash of color. His silvery eyes hardened, then relaxed, hardened, then relaxed.
“I’ve earned your trust, Dram Wolfel.” Keli dropped her arms. “Look at me, and see me! I’ve never let you down. Not once.”
Wolf tensed. He looked like a glowering totem as he clenched his fists, then released his hands and stood at ease. “Agreed,” he said in a tone that suggested compromise was not usually a part of his nature.
Keli approached him again, and kissed him. Soft at first, then deeper, and deeper.
She knew she was trembling. In seconds, he slipped his hands back over her breasts and worked the nubs to a fine point. She rode the waves of pleasure from his assault on her nipples, wrapped one hand around his hard cock, and slid it forward, stroking the thick vein beneath. At the head, she teased the tip of his erection with her thumb.
Wolf shuddered. His eyes flew open, and his gaze bored into hers. “Have you been practicing, Keli?”
“If I had, it would be my affair, and not yours.”
With a growl, he jerked her forward, rough yet tender. “Tell me.”
For a few seconds, Keli thought about lying, but something in his tone told her this meant more than control and conquest. There was a nervousness in his eyes, even as his features hardened once more to near granite.
“Only in my mind, with you.” She pushed against his chest. “The sight of you, the feel of you near me, it spoiled me for other men. And since we’ve been together… I couldn’t consider another lover, Wolf. Not now. Maybe not ever.”
His grip eased, and a flicker of shame softened his expression. Just as fast, desire transformed his face again, and he swept her off her feet, holding her tight to his chest.
Keli didn’t protest or even breathe as Wolf lifted her to the round oak table. In one fluid motion, he laid her on the smooth, warm wood, pulling her legs around his hips as he leaned forward to kiss her. His mouth, his lips—frenetic, possessive, beyond demanding. She moaned, head spinning from the sudden shift of power. Between her thighs, she felt his muscled frame pressing hard against her aching slit.
Another kiss, and then he slid two fingers into her tight, wet channel, turning and almost writhing in the slick heat. Helpless, Keli clenched against his fingers, arching against his thrust. Heat blazed through her so quickly she thought she might faint, but instead she came with a sudden, sharp cry.
“Goddess, so good,” she choked, shaking again as he moved his hands.
Wolf whispered against her ear, bringing a new wave of shivers. “You are exquisite, and your smell—I want to taste you, wish I could tie you to my bed and sample you for days before I satisfied you completely.”
That image brought Keli straight to the edge again.
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Earthwork
“I’ll make you scream even with no teasing,” Wolf promised as he slid down until he knelt between her splayed legs. His fingers never left her depths, and each movement wrought incredibly sensual torture.
Which was nothing at all compared to the steaming feel of Wolf’s mouth fastening on her clit. Storms of desire raged through Keli, blotting out sensation beyond her lover and what he was doing. Sucking, nibbling, running his tongue across her aching, swollen pearl again and again. His fingers kept a slow rhythm, punctuated by bursts of hard penetration. Keli clenched and unclenched her thighs, feeling Wolf’s soft hair tickle her exposed skin.
Her orgasm made her rock and moan like she had thoroughly lost her mind. Wolf growled as he lifted his head and leaned forward over her, positioning his cock for a deep, soul-wrenching thrust.
In that moment, he seemed less guarded than usual.
Keli seized her opportunity, gripping his face, forcing him to open his eyes and stare deeply into hers even as he plunged his cock hard into her wet, waiting quim.
“It will be different this time,” she gasped. “Fighting the dark magik.”
Wolf bared his teeth and tried to pull back, but she held him fast, digging her nails into his cheek and holding him tight between her thighs.
“It will be different,” she insisted. “Because I love you, and I’m here, and I’ll be with you. You can trust me just like I trust you.”
He kept still, staring at her, seeming half-crazed.
“Allow the possibility,” she urged, rocking against him to take him deeper.
The menace in Wolf’s expression eased a fraction.
Possibility allowed, came his rumbling voice in her mind, unbidden and unexpected.
She startled, slamming down hard on his shaft, seeing stars from that sensation and from the alien feel of his thoughts against hers.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
Teaching. Showing my best student a new path. His mind-voice was as resonant as his spoken words. Having Wolf in her mind felt more intimate than sex, more intimate than submission. And far, far more painful.
The horror. The black nothingness of the evil he had touched…
It made her cry. It made her want to scream. And yet she didn’t want him to pull away. She held his thoughts fast against hers just like she held his body. She wanted him in her min
d just as much as she wanted his cock buried deep in her channel.
Are you certain, wytch?
Goddess, more a challenge than a question.
“Yes,” she moaned.
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Then use your mind, or you get nothing past what I’m offering now. Wolf tantalized her by pulling his cock slowly, slowly, slowly out of her quim and holding the soft, rigid head against her opening.
I’m certain! Keli thought as forcefully as she could, directing her energy toward a spot directly between Wolf’s eyes.
His lips curled into a new type of feral smile. Certain of what? Tell me, Keli.
Certain I want you, darkness and light. She directed her thoughts with more certainty.
Now make love to me or I’ll show you I’m wytch enough to make you pay!
Then words seemed to be impossible between them. Wolf’s expression showed her his surprise, his delight, and his passion as he pressed into her just enough to make her groan.
She drew up her legs, giving him greater access.
Now, she demanded. There was no pleading left in the storm of her emotions—their emotions—mingling and stirring together.
Wolf stilled, then slowly, firmly, deliberately pushed himself deep. Keli screamed from blind desire as her sensitized walls clenched around his firm, hot cock. He filled her. He fit her. They held still for a moment, as if suspended over some great precipice.
You always feel better than I think possible, Wolf mind-spoke, and Keli felt the warmth and depth of his admission.
Oh, this was everything she had fantasized about, and so much more. His possessive, commanding thrusts, push and release, surge and relax. His hands came forward, gripping her legs, pulling them higher until her ankles rested against his shoulders. The feel of him ramming into her, pulling her to him, then barely easing his grip—once more, Keli felt near to overwhelmed. Her body burned despite a drenching sweat. The smell of musk and sex filled her nose, and she heard herself groaning in time with Wolf, felt herself taking him as deep as he wanted to go. Sweat-slick, he glided over her like some ancient deity, deigning to take what he chose.
Completely lost now, Keli rocked hard against him, wishing his cock could reach to her soul. The big oak table rattled beneath her, barely anchoring her to Earth.
Fuck me, her mind demanded, choosing the harsher word without her consent. Fuck me hard, like you mean it, like you’ll never stop!
Wolf’s roar of desire thrashed Keli’s heart. He drove into her once more, and her slit seemed to fold in on his cock, squeezing so hard they both came at once, shouting and shaking. Keli shook her head back and forth, trying not to faint with the intensity of the heat. She slid her ankles from his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his hips. He was muttering words of amazement, of blissful satisfaction. She couldn’t even mutter, but she could grip with all her might, holding his cock inside her, savoring the feel of their total, complete connection.
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Earthwork
When she opened her eyes, Wolf was studying her silently, with no hint of arrogance in his sated smile. His eyes were uncharacteristically soft and bright, and his armor of superiority seemed completely dissolved.
The Warrior had been disarmed.
Keli sighed and tightened her thighs. She didn’t plan to release Wolf, now or ever.
He might object. So be it. She intended to discover the power of the Crone within her, and explore the limits of love with the man she chose.
You, she mind-spoke, letting that one syllable carry the force of her feelings.
Wolf bowed his head above her. She sensed his wordless surrender, and then the reformation of his formidable defenses. Only this time, she was inside the fortress instead of stranded beyond the walls.
Me. His eyes narrowed. Your one and your only, wytch.
Keli shifted, feeling his cock quicken in her welcoming channel. “If that’s what you want, make it worth my while.”
Wolf growled and pinned her arms against the table. Lightning flashed through the depths of his temper, and Keli almost cried out from the force of her answering passion.
Yes, Goddess, yes. She moved her hips to meet his deep, claiming thrusts.
* * * * *
Midnight
Wolf held Keli’s hand tightly as they walked toward the military enclosure, leading two long columns of Warriors. Kik walked behind them, serving as a buffer between them and the other fighters. The energy pouring from their minds made the trees bend and the bushes bow, as if they had become a wind, a storm unto themselves.
They would tear apart the gates, the walls. Nullify any sentries or fighters.
They would…
The world rocked as the compound seemed to fold in on itself, then blaze upward in a flash of brilliant light.
Keli stumbled but kept her grip on Wolf’s hand.
What was happening?
Heat numbed her mind and seared her flesh. Dust, rocks—a billowing cloud of fire plowed toward them like a demon from the depths of Hades!
Someone was shouting. “They blew it up! The bastards blew up their own compound!”
“We’re dead,” said Kik flatly.
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And all Keli could see was Wolf. His eyes were fixed on hers as the fire roiled closer, closer, and closer still.
“You,” he said simply, holding her hands tightly in his.
Me, she answered, mind to mind. Your one and your only, wytch.
“Make it worth my while,” they both said aloud at the same time, then did the only thing that made sense. They threw the energy of their beings into a shield, covering the Warriors of Áis and as much of the living Earth as they could.
Fire broke over them all, pressing, hanging, menacing as screams came from every direction.
Keli’s last conscious thought was that Wolf looked handsome in the dancing orange light.
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Earthwork
Epilogue
“Wake up, damn it.”
Wolf felt a sting on his cheek and realized somebody had slapped him.
He opened gritty eyes to see the white walls of a healer’s tent and Kik glaring down at him, hand raised to slap him again. Her jaw worked double time, like it did when she was truly enraged about something.
“You arrogant, foolish, stubborn—I swear to the Goddess if you ever do anything like that again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Wolf didn’t respond. He shifted on the sturdy cot that held him, and felt glad for the sheet covering his naked body. He had burns, that much he could feel, but they weren’t serious.
Kik wound down, lowering her hand. “I didn’t think you’d wake up.”
“Keli?” he croaked, feeling like he’d swallowed all the fire from the explosion.
“She woke up yesterday,” Kik grumbled. “She’d be here now if the healers would let her up.”
Wolf nodded. His eyes felt heavy. His head throbbed. “Other Warriors?” he managed, wishing for ten gallons of water.
“All fine. Most of the island, too. I still cannot believe the two of you tried a shield spell of that magnitude. Could have sucked the life-energy right out of both of you on the spot!”
“But it didn’t, and everyone lived, right?” Wolf smiled, knowing it was feeble but wanting to needle Kik nonetheless.
“Bastard,” she cracked immediately. “Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant. It’ll be your downfall one day.”
“But not today. What about the…the dark magik? Were we wrong?”
Kik’s face clouded. “I think not. The compound was expendable, in my opinion.
Whoever, or whatever, we were fighting has just gone further into hiding. We’ll face him—or her—again.” She sighed. “And this time he or she will know about our secret weapons. The arrogant asses who shielded an entire island from a firestorm.”
Wolf ignored her smart remark and tried to sit up. “Am I allowed water?”
�
�I’ll get it.” Kik pushed him back down. “You—you be still.”
She left in a swirl of blue robes and black hair.
Wolf leaned back and closed his eyes, giving in to darkness once more.
When he became aware again, cool water was trickling against his face. But not from a glass. From a woman’s mouth.
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Keli. She was leaning down, letting the water flow from her lips to his.
He kissed her, gratefully swallowing the cool fluid she offered.
When he pulled back, he could see she had cuts and burns like his, and she was pale—but strong. Her hair stood out against her white cheeks like the flames they had so narrowly escaped.
“My Warrior,” he said, his throat soothed by her ministrations. “That was impressive shield work, student.”
She gave him a smile that hardened his cock, then let her hand stray down the soft cotton sheet to where it tented upward. As her fingers closed on his erection, she said,
“I have the best teacher, you know. Sir.”
“The door?”
Keli winked. “Sealed.”
From outside came a great round of cursing and storming from Kik, who no doubt would slap them both silly as soon as she could get through.
“Guess we better make this worth our while,” Keli added, squeezing his cock until he groaned and lay back, surrendering to her Earthwork with absolute trust and satisfaction.
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About the author:
Annie Windsor is 37 years old and lives in Tennessee with her two children and nine pets (as of today’s count). Annie’s a southern girl, though like most magnolias, she has steel around that soft heart. Does she have a drawl? Of course, though she’ll deny it, y’all. She dreams of being a full-time writer, and looks forward to the day she can spend more time on her mountain farm. She loves animals, sunshine, and good fantasy novels.
On a perfect day, she writes, reads, spends time with her family, chats with friends, and discovers nothing torn, eaten, or trampled by her beloved puppies or crafty kitties.
Annie welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337 Commerce Drive, Suite 13, Stow OH 44224.
