by Jean Johnson
Warmed by his open regard for her abilities, Solyn wrapped her arms around Kenyen in an impulsive hug. Tucking her cheek against his shoulder, she inhaled his distinct scent, male, musky, and a hint of something animal-like. The scent of fur, she realized. It clung to his smooth skin even though he had retracted everything above his waist. Impulse moved her head, turning it enough to taste his skin.
Kenyen stilled at the touch of her lips. Warm and willing, he fought back the conflict of maiden versus outlander, and reminded himself to treat her with the honor due to—oh, dear Gods... The feel of her tongue licking the skin just below his collarbone made him tremble. Let her make the first moves... let her... ohhh...
His head tipped back as she kissed higher, giving her access to his throat. Her soft growl startled him. She followed it with a giggle, squeezing her arms around his chest and nipping at the base of his neck. "You're not the only one with an animal inside. Rrrawrrr."
Chuckling at her silliness, he brought his head down and his hand up. Tilting her face toward his, he captured her mouth in a slow, succulent kiss. Her hand explored his back, first feeling each muscle, rubbing and kneading them, then sliding down to his rump. From the way she hummed and scratched her fingernails lightly through the fur covering him, she apparently liked the feel of it. So did he; the light scrapes sent shivers of pleasure up his back.
Solyn felt his body stir against hers. Not wanting him to back away this time, she pulled on his hips, keeping him close. Only a few young men had stirred her feminine interest in the past. Of them, only this man stirred it enough to want to twine fully with him. What she did know of such things, she applied to him by alternately scratching Kenyen's skin lightly with her nails and soothing the marks with her palms. In nibbling licks and nips, she returned each taste in their kiss.
Not sure how far he wanted to take this, Kenyen only knew that it would end in pleasure for her, at the very least. He would respect her willingness to make love, as he would respect an earth-priestess' willingness, but he was also aware of her inexperience. So I will be a sort of earth-priest for her, he decided. This is her first time, and I will treat her like her... like her husband would.
The thought was forbidden, because they weren't mated. Illicit.
It took him only a moment to decide they would not go that far. No intercourse. But, warm and willing, soft and sweet, she felt right in his arms. She excited him despite the illicit thrill, not just because of it. This was Solyn Ys Rei, a wonderful, sweet, funny outlander woman. There was still much they could do that would share pleasure, and Kenyen made up his mind to show her the many things he knew.
The first thing he did, aside from continuing to kiss her, was stroke her soft, tanned skin. At first, he kept his touches firm, soothing, then shifted to tickling, featherlight touches. When she shivered, when he felt the goose-prickles on her arms, he kissed her chin, then her throat. Clothing was not an impediment; the only things she wore were the blanket and her belt, and the belt was easily discarded.
Solyn didn't notice him unfastening it. Her attention was on holding on to his shoulders, with her head tipped back to give him willing access. When his fingers slipped beneath the soft wool, cupping her breast, she shuddered again, breathing deep to press her flesh into his palm. His thumb brushed over her nipple, circling the desire-tight nub.
"Mmm, that feels good," she murmured.
At that, he lifted his lips from her throat. A smile curved his mouth. Nipping at her bottom lip, Kenyen smiled and murmured, "Let me make the rest of you feel that good."
A swirl of his thumb accompanied his promise, as did an answering shiver of pleasure from her. Solyn knew he meant it; Kenyen's confidence was one of the things she really liked about him. That, and the competence underlying it. One of his hands stroked her body through the blanket, caressing her left side. He followed it with the hand touching the bare skin of her right side. The feelings through the blanket were soothing, gentle. The ones generated by his palm on her flesh were arousing, sensual.
Solyn squirmed. Her right side kept growing more sensitive, but her left side was beginning to feel dissatisfied. Needy. Hungry, and quite possibly jealous, she decided, watching him as he let his gaze follow his hands. At least I can take care of that, myself. Pulling the knotted blanket over her head, she tossed it on the ground and waited to see how he would react to her boldness.
Light flickered from the mouth of the tunnel, followed by another nearby crack and rumble of thunder. Kenyen blinked and looked at what she offered so willingly, then smiled at her. Solyn held her breath. Brown eyes gleaming with masculine interest, he returned his gaze to her breasts but didn't touch them. Instead, he teased her ribs with the backs of his fingers. She squirmed, not quite stifling a giggle.
Changing tactics, he smoothed his palms around her waist, sending them down to cup the curves of her backside. That pulled them together, allowing her to feel the growing lump of his erection despite the soft, dark fur shielding it from immediate view. The feel of that fur made her quirk one brow. "This isn't fair. Here I am, all naked, but you're still, um... Wait, does your fur count as being clothed?"
He grinned. "It does." A ripple of flesh left nothing but skin and the natural curls of their nether-hairs pressed together. "Is that better? Of course, you've already seen me naked."
She blushed at the memory, but not for the fact he was naked. "For one, that was Traver's body you were wearing, not your own, and for another... I still can't believe you put the ring down there!"
"Blame him for its location! Besides, most of what you saw was me," Kenyen countered. "It wasn't as if he was unusually large or small, or deformed, or... or had two of them."
That thought first horrified, then fascinated her. "Two of them?"
It was his turn to blush. "It, um... there was a group of young men at the City this last winter who had experimented with, ah, shaping two, and... well, I personally didn't try it with a lover, but it, um..." He cleared his throat. "It sounded like those who did try it had fun."
Solyn blinked. "Two... but... where would the second one go?"
Face heating further, Kenyen reached a little lower, sliding down her nether-cheeks enough to glide a fingertip between them.
"Oh!" She jumped a little when his finger hit the suggested second spot. It wasn't unknown to her; as part of her Healer's training, Solyn had learned that particular location was the cheapest form of contraception, since not everyone had access to a Healer who had enough magic to craft the sort of amulets her own mother could make. But the thought of two... Flushed, she shook her head. "I don't think I can. I mean, not the first time, and um... not..."
Kenyen rescued her. Shaking his head, he kissed her forehead. "Relax. We're not going to do any of that."
Solyn mumbled, "Well, I've heard it can be pleasant, and I'm not, um, objecting to a future possibility... distant future..."
He chuckled and hugged her, moving his hands back up to her waist. "Pleasure on the Plains is all about what both people want in a particular moment. Right now, we're not going to do that."
She hugged him back, grateful the discussion was being shelved. When he just stood there, hugging her, she finally asked, "So, what are we going to do?"
Kenyen released her. Smiling, he stooped and picked up her makeshift toga. It didn't take long to unknot the blanket, nor to flip it out so that it lay flat on the floor. Kneeling on the soft, felted wool, he held up his hands, inviting her to step on the makeshift bed. More thunder rumbled as she moved, though the flash wasn't as apparent. He waited for it to pass, then spoke. "We will do whatever we both find pleasurable."
With that, he leaned forward and licked her stomach, circling his tongue around her navel. Solyn sucked in a breath, startled by his choice. It was both ticklish and sensual at the same time, nerve-racking in the best sense. When he dipped the tip of his tongue into her belly button, she could feel it down in her loins and up in her breasts.
She shivered, moaning so
ftly. He licked again, this time working his way toward the underside of her breasts. Stroking her fingers through his hair, Solyn found and freed the tie holding his braid in place. Her hands weren't all that steady, thanks to the way he licked the sensitive underside, but she loosened the plait, enjoying the silky-soft, mostly straight texture, so different from Traver's curls. The strands did have a slight kink to them, thanks to the braiding, but most of it was different from her own.
The man also had a slight kink in him. Rather than going straight for her nipples, tight with desire, he licked the line of her sternum, rising up on his knees. Hands coming up on either side of her breasts, he cupped them together against his cheeks, humming happily. That made her laugh. The play of his thumbs against her peaks made her bite her lip, stifling a moan.
Glancing up, Kenyen noticed her restraint. Licking one soft curve, he admonished, "Don't hold back. I want to know it whenever I please you. I want to hear it... I want to taste it."
He lapped at the tip of one breast, matching actions to words. Solyn let herself moan. They were alone, deep in a cave devoted to the boring task of storing cheese, isolated by a summer storm. Not that she hadn't heard the sounds of passion before from other couples, but this was the one place where she felt free, uninhibited by eavesdroppers, Mongrel cur or otherwise.
So when he switched breasts, flicking her other nipple with the tip of his tongue, she sucked in a sharp breath and let it out on a loud moan. "Ohh, yesss..."
Encouraged, Kenyen smoothed his fingers over her skin, caressing her curves. Her breasts were a little on the small side, but delightfully sensitive when he brushed his fingers over them, judging from the way she gasped and squirmed, pressing them into his touch. Her hips were full and shapely, the kind he liked to hold. And her smell... he buried his face against her abdomen, nipping and inhaling, enjoying her womanly scent, augmented by some sort of herbal soap and hints of sweat.
Licking his way back to her navel, he teased it some more. The hands playing with his hair clenched at his more ticklish touches. A twist of his neck to either side let him lick her inner wrists as soon as her body relaxed. Her fingers brushed his cheek. Rubbed along his jaw. Kenyen caught the first two of her digits with his lips. His tongue danced over them, tasting and suckling hungrily.
His right hand, still on her hip, felt her flesh tremble under his touch. Abandoning her fingers, he ducked his head and kissed her hip bone instead. Both hands held her in place when she instinctively tried to twitch away. With his head so close, he could smell her most intimate scents, the kind which no perfume could match. Inhaling deeply, hungrily, he licked a path to her inner thigh.
Tickled and unnerved, Solyn pulled out of his grasp, stumbling back two steps. He let her go, but dropped to his hands and knees, his gaze still on the apex of her legs. She stared at him. He looks rather... predatory, doesn't he? Male and predatory.
That thought made her nervous. Yet at the same time, the Shifterai crouched before her didn't move, didn't chase after her. He did, however, lick his lips slowly, his gaze firmly fixed on the focal point of his attention. That sparked a thrill behind her unease, charging her indecision with instincts as old as femininity. I trust him. I know Kenyen would never hurt me. Thrill me, tease me... but not harm me.
Mind made up, she centered herself on the blanket. Lowering her body to the ground, she leaned back on her elbows—and lifted a foot, planting it on his shoulder when he swayed forward. A slow smile of her own teased him, tested him to see what he would do. He didn't disappoint her. Turning his head, Kenyen kissed her ankle. Saluted it in a slow, sensual suckling that made her thigh muscles quiver.
Nipping, licking, even rubbing his cheek sensually against her calf, he worked his way up her leg, lowering his shoulder so that her heel slipped upward. With her leg supported by his back, Kenyen slowly advanced on his goal. Shivers kept rippling over her skin. Solyn knew they weren't from the cool air of the old mining tunnel; no, she ached with the heat he stirred in her blood.
Her breath caught in anticipation when he paused mid-thigh. He liked the sound of that; it meant she was growing ready for him. Not wanting her to relax just yet, Kenyen traced lazy circles with the tip of his nose, followed by the tip of his tongue. A lightning-fast lap—accompanied by a distant rumble of thunder, amusingly enough—tickled her other leg, making her gasp and lift it a little. That opened the way for the flesh he did want to taste.
Crawling closer, Kenyen dipped his head. A slow, deep inhale infused his senses with the scent of her. A long, equally slow lap made her gasp. It wasn't salty, it wasn't sweet, but it was exactly the flavor he wanted. Exploring each fold with lips and tongue, swirling and flicking over her peak, he did his best to coax forth more of her dew. Each little sound she made drove him to lap and nip and suckle more at her flesh.
A corner of Solyn's mind wanted to move to the Plains. If this was how all Shifterai men were taught to pleasure their women, she really wanted to move there after this whole mess with the evil face-shifter invasion was over. The rest of her was busy melting and tensing, gasping for air. That thing he did with his tongue, circling and flicking rapidly, stole most of the breath from her lungs. And when he probed gently at the same time...
Wait... what? Struggling to think through the pleasure his caresses invoked, she asked. "Wait, you... Ohhhh... Two tongues?"
His chuckle did its own naughty thing as it vibrated against her flesh, connecting her loins to her ears and back, detouring through her breasts. Kenyen pulled back long enough to murmur a simple explanation. "Forked tongue, actually." He dove back in with a groan. "Mmmm, delicious..."
That did it. Bucking in her climax, Solyn clutched at his hair. Spasms of pleasure washed through her, followed by trembling bliss. Thankfully, he eased his attack on her now-sensitive flesh. Switching instead to gentle kisses and stroking her stomach with one hand, he soothed her into a gentle afterglow.
"More?" Kenyen offered when her heavy breathing had calmed.
Blinking sleepily at the tunnel ceiling, fingers stroking through the locks she had tugged on moments ago, Solyn quirked one brow. "... More?" It took her a moment to realize what he meant. Oh, right. Now it's his turn for pleasure. She found enough strength for a smile. "Mm, yes, more."
He licked her just as she started to sit up. It was not what she had expected. Apparently he had meant more pleasure for her. Unsure if she could, since normally once was quite enough, Solyn lay back on the blanket, tensing a little. She expected him to work more on her still-sensitive nub, which would not have had the desired result. Thankfully, he instead licked up and down the sides of her nether-seam, then kissed his way to her inner thigh.
Once there, he teased her with a soft growl and a gentle, scraping bite. Pushing up onto one elbow, Solyn's uncertainty was met by the mischievous grin he aimed up the length of her torso. Strokes of his fingers soothed and stimulated her nerves, coaxing her into lying back down. Closing her eyes, she gave herself to the mix of gentle caresses, exploring licks, and teasing nips.
Exploring her body, Kenyen discovered her toes weren't particularly sensitive to pleasure, unlike some women, but the backs of her knees decidedly were. Squeaking, she jerked her leg up away from his tongue, and giggled when he caught her thigh and pulled her back.
She squirmed when he flicked his tongue, and moaned when he sucked gently on the delicate hollow. Nipping his way back to her loins, he lapped at the fresh dew seeping from her flesh, before making his way to her other knee. By the time he returned to her center, she was panting unsteadily again, rearoused.
This time, she didn't question the dual use of his tongue but instead strained into each probing, flicking, swirling taste. This time, she moaned loudly with each thrust and suckle, and cried out hoarsely when she climaxed again, tugging once more on his hair, though only with one hand, this time.
His own arousal was quite strong. It took effort, bathed in the scent of her dew, to refrain from crawling up the length of her
body and claiming the depths he had so thoroughly pleased. He did move upward, but shifted so that he settled on his side next to her.
As her panting eased, awareness seeped back into her bliss-filled senses. Specifically, awareness of the hot shaft pressing against her hip. Breathing deeply to regain some energy, Solyn twisted onto her side as well. Licking her lips, she looked at Kenyen. He was studying her with a very male smile.
She couldn't help but return it. "Pleased with yourself, are you?"
"I should think so," he quipped in a murmur, teasing her. With his right hand propping up his head, he used his left hand to caress and cup her breast. "The real question is, did I please you?"
Solyn rolled her eyes, blushing. "I know you were paying attention just now." Daringly, she touched his shaft, curling her fingers around his erection. "At least, this tells me you were."
He grunted softly, closing his eyes against the urge to thrust against her palm. The gentle, explorative way she caressed him didn't help. Opening his eyes, he caught her wrist, stilling her movements. At her questioning look, he managed a smile. "I'm going to let you rest for a little while, then pleasure you again."
"You don't want to twine fully?" she asked, puzzled. In a flash, it occurred to her that, as an outlander, he might not actually know what that meant. "As in, share intercourse? The act of copulation, procreation, only of course I'm wearing an amul—"
His fingers covered her lips, stopping her explanation. Kenyen managed another smile. "We're not going that far." At her disappointed frown, he explained. "My sense of honor will only let me take this so far and no further."
Pulling her head back, Solyn asked, "But don't you want some pleasure? It's not fair for me to have all the fun while you have none."
"Intercourse should be saved for when you marry your future husband," Kenyen countered quietly. "Whoever that is. Whether that's me, or the real Traver, or..." He broke off and chuckled at the wrinkling of her nose. Kissing the tip of it, he looked into her hazel eyes. "Or whoever it ends up being. That is an intimacy you should share with your mate alone. I will not spoil such closeness for you."
