The Toll

by Jeanette Lynn

  At first sight of the bald, thick grey skinned, squalling infant, Niniane’s eyes shot up.

  “What have you done?” she whispered in a choked, shocked voice. “Don’t... don’t do this, please! I... take me! Curse me! And only me! Not my... no... Please! I beg... Don’t... no.”

  “It is too late. The will of the Fates has been set.” Not an ounce of remorse or pity in her gaze, Atropos pointed to the abnormal babe. “You have no one to blame but yourself. A curse was called, a curse it shall be.”

  “B-b-but... What... what is he?” The new mother ignored her crying young as it wailed in her arms, little, thick arms flailing desperately, crying out for his mother’s warm comfort.

  “A product of your selfish, calloused nature. He, my dear, is an Ornthren—your cursed one.”

  “No! NO!! NO!!!”

  Turning, the Fates left in a swirl of mist and smoke, Niniane’s screams carrying out across the land.

  Faint but still there, I could hear Atropos’ voice, whispering softly, “Heed the warning, claiming Ornthren. Distance weakens, minds do forth rend.”

  The dream immediately faded out as the curse, in its entirety, registered, the small babe with grey skin flashing before my eyes, brilliant orange eyes wide as his hands reached out, but once more I was swept away, left in a sea of nothingness.

  Somewhere In Between

  Lips, hot and searching, nipped mine before a thick tongue dove in, wide, sturdy fingers gripping my hips as he tugged me towards him.

  We were naked and panting, skin to skin, perspiration dotting our sweat soaked bodies as his broad, fat cock nudged my hip.

  “Ah, luv. Was beginnin’ ta think I couldna even have ye in dreams,” a deep, rumbling voice murmured huskily, lifting my leg over his hip as he lined us up, his thick member nudging the lips of my dampened sex. “Closin’ me eyes weren’t good fer nothin’ ‘cept makin’ me bellow out. Right nasty ones I’ve been havin’.”

  Fingers drifting down between us, tickling over my mound before they unerringly found my sweet spot, they eagerly dipped into my body’s wet heat, a low hiss slipping past his eager lips at how ready I was for him.

  “Have ta say, nothin’ nasty about this, luv.” Thick fingers delved deeper, twisting slightly and pressing down as my sheath adjusted to the sweet invasion. “More than ready for me, nugget, eh?” His thumb circled my clit, swollen and needy, quickly withdrawing his wickedly teasing digits as my throbbing channel clenched, grasping at nothing.

  “No... Don’t...” Gasping, my back arched, pressing my breasts into his thick, meaty chest hard, that furnace like warmth he emits surrounding me as he grumbled low.

  Everything in my foul-mouthed Troll lover froze and he tried to slowly withdraw. Taking my ‘no’ as a sign to stop, he went to pull back.

  “No, not don’t stop. I mean, don’t stop.”

  Hairless brows beetled as he stared down at me, a puzzled, little boy look marring his brutally fashioned face. It was an odd look for him, and my stomach knotted at the sight of it. To me, it made him more human, somehow.

  “I know what happened ta ye can...” he stopped himself and his lips thinned, tightening, the runes along his skin flashing quickly before dying down.

  The last thing I wanted to talk about at this moment was what happened, and I’d love nothing more than to forget.

  “No. Now. We’re doing this now.” My mind was a bit of a jumble, only one thing I found imperative right this moment, and frustratingly so. Everything else could wait.

  Licking his lips, he cleared his throat roughly and forged ahead, as if I hadn’t even spoken. “We dinna have ta-”

  Taking his hand in mine, I brought it back to my aching sex, leaning in and up enough to nip him on the chin.

  Jerking back, he grunted, but his eyes flashed a deep orange, a low toned groan rumbling out of him. Without another word, I took his lips roughly, our teeth knocking as I pressed my advance. His fingers picked up where they’d left off, moving in time with mine as I reached for him, running my fingers soothingly over the head of his cock, smoothing up and down his length loosely in a light tease.

  “Now. Ah. Now,” I whimpered against Troll’s thick, full lips, clawing at him in my desperation. “I need you now!” The heat raging through me, the very core of my being lit up, aching from the inside out, was driving me mad.

  “Now, ye say?” Pausing intentionally, eyelids lowered over blazing orange eyes, his nostrils flared and he inhaled deeply. Heartbeat kicking up a notch as it thumped wildly, his chest pressed to my breasts, he nipped my lips.

  “Stop teasing me.”

  “Who’s teasin’?” Holding himself perfectly still again, his thumb grazed my clit slowly—oh, so slowly—as a deep, throaty growl crept up his throat.

  Grrr. He’s playing with me!

  “NOW!” Plastering my lips back to his, I shoved his hands away, nudging him until he rolled to his back. Not wasting any time, I climbed right on, gripping his chest as I aligned us perfectly.

  “Feisty wench,” he muttered, but pleasure lit his features. “Ride me, sweet. Yes, like tha’.” Eyes about to roll back in his head as I ran my wet folds over and over the underside of his shaft, scalding him with the throbbing heat building inside of me as I rode him steadily, he groaned out my name.

  Pulling back, I smirked and crawled down his thighs, a rush of feminine power pulsing through me as he leaned forward, glancing down curiously. Grinning wickedly, I took the head of his shaft into my mouth before he could protest.

  Sweet and salty, my own essence mingling with his, I swirled my tongue around the crown experimentally, tasting my own juices as well as my mate’s, ignoring the shocked bark he let out, along with his hands, grasping at me, desperately trying to drag me back up his chest.

  “No... ah, nugget, this isna ‘bout me... an’ it’s,” he moaned, thighs twitching beneath me as he thrashed about on the bed. “This isna a dream. I... I... You...I canna...”

  That gave me a moment’s pause, and I frowned, mouth suctioned around him tight. Really? Felt kind of like a dream to me—a very good one—and I planned on making some new memories to replace all the bad ones—if he’d just quit squirming—very soon.

  Tightening my lips around his cock, I took another inch of him into my hot, wet mouth, and then another, until I finally felt him hit the back of my throat.

  “Nugget...” Back arching, teeth gritted, he tried to pull back, hissing, his huge chest heaving with the effort. Not willing to let go, I dug my nails in and held on tight.

  “We canna... what happened ta ye... ye dinna...” panting heavily, he let out a sigh of relief when I blinked a few times, swallowed convulsively, his shaft twitching at the action, and slowly let him slide out of my mouth.

  “This isn’t real. It’s not.” I’d be tearing you apart if it was. Anger typically cools a bit when the mind boggling sex dreams take over. Pure proof that this is most definitely a figment of my frazzled brain’s imagination.

  No...

  Leaning closer, my brows pulled down, scrunching into a frown while I mulled that over. It gave me a moment of pause, but I shook it off.

  This is something different, and yet not. It’s like all the ones before—the dream visions. It’s a test or something—another odd lesson, or some strange way to make a point.

  What? I didn’t know, but the aching in my loins prompted me not to question it.

  “In the dream realm, Mid-Realm nugget, but it’s real. Been here enough to know that.”

  “Where is here, then, exactly?” I inquired dubiously.

  “Fer ye or me?” he asked carefully.

  “Uhm, me.” We’d start there and then, uhm, go from there. Not that I entirely believed it, mind you. “No... wait. You.”

  Blinking up at me slowly as I hovered over him, he rumbled. “Be in me own bed... Under.” He muttered the last part reluctantly, watching my reaction closely.

  Brow furrowing slightly in confusion, I didn’t unders
tand, his thick grey hands latching onto my hips, holding onto me tight, as if to keep me in place.

  “You’re under your bed?” Face scrunching in confusion, I squirmed, prominent parts of my person, waiting for a mouthy troll to tend them, made their demands known.

  “No. Under.”

  Scowling down at him as my nipples tightened to hard, needy buds, angled straight for him pointedly as they swung pendulously with every heavy breath I took.

  “Troll... I don’t have time for your games.” I need him, damn it!

  “No’ playin’ games, woman. Under. Under Under Hill.”

  Which just led to more befuddling confusion. Under a hill? My sex still throbbed, dripping with proof of my unspent passion, making me want to lash out or jump his ass, talking be damned. Who cares about fucking hills?! But, despite the flash of heat rushing through me, momentarily ruled by my body’s rampant sexual state, a niggle of sensibility was starting to trickle in.

  “Then what was the point of all the other stuff before...? If only to send me to you in the end? No.” With quick, jerking motions, I shook my head, long orange hair haloing around me in a fluffy, frizzled cloud. “It’s another weird dream. A dream-dream. It’s meant to tell me something, erm, or something. They felt real too, they did.” Face pinching, a shudder rippled across my frame at the memory of the first one. I’d died in his arms, for our love. Instinctively, my hands tightened on his chest and I tensed.

  Troll, scowling up at me, was clearly growing frustrated. “What kinda dreams?” A guarded look entered his flashing orange eyes, a shuttered expression washing over his blunt, harsh features.

  Peering down at him worriedly, I bit my lip and readjusted myself atop him, wiggling my hips to get him to release me.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Grunting, I managed to nudge the head of his swollen shaft against my soaked sex. “Now let go so we can get this over with. The bad always comes after the good.” Or, in some cases, bad, a smidgeon of good, more bad, and then so bad it’s disastrous. “Hopefully, this time I won’t...” Pausing, I saw Troll’s expression, and the fact that it looked like he’d suddenly stopped breathing, he was so still, and stopped myself. I didn’t think it would help the, uh, mood, any.

  “Ye won’t what?” Troll grumbled slowly, his hands loosening as they shook ever so slightly.

  Haunted was the only way I could describe the sudden flash of emotion, the look of stark panic crossing his stern face.

  Glancing around quickly and clearing my throat, I shot a hand out flippantly. “Oh? What? I don’t know. Forgot, I guess.”

  As he continued to stare up at me, not believing a word, a frisson of fear crossing his features quite briefly, he shook my hips a little, none too gently, prompting me to finish. I wasn’t about to tell him, so, I clamped my lips shut and just shook my head.

  This seemed to anger him, more than usual, and he growled fiercely, “So... it’s ta be tha’ way, then?”

  Still silent, I tried to give him an innocent look, as if truly befuddled. Anger suffusing him, radiating off of him in waves, it was obvious he didn’t buy it. I didn’t know why I was so surprised by that fact—stupid me—but there it is.

  “Not makin’ much sense ta me, an’ I’ll no’ be havin’ liars in me bed, dafty. Not real, ye say? Tell me nothin’, huh? Maybe ye be needin’ some proof, then.” With a snarl, Troll rolled us over, looming over me as he spread my legs wide, lowering himself quickly and efficiently, diving right for my sweet spot hungrily, thick forearms supporting my knees as he held my thighs open wide for his sensual attack. Lapping me hungrily, I cried out, his tongue pressing into my slit, thrusting in, thick and long.

  “Ah!” Head tossed back, neck arched, I gasped when he growled into my succulent flesh, burying his face between my nether lips, the sound vibrating against my pleasure spot.

  Pausing, he slowed suddenly, growling at the taste of my honey, licking his lips hungrily as he snapped, “This feel like a dream ta ye?”

  Before I could even utter a word, he was back, face buried deep between my ample thighs, lapping at my folds, stabbing my cunt with his thick, fat tongue, thumb strumming my swollen pearl. Soon enough, and faster than I’d ever imagined, I found myself twitching in the beginnings of a climax. I was on the verge of a screaming orgasm when he jerked back.

  Stopping suddenly to roll over, chest heaving as he stared up at the ceiling, erection hard and throbbing, pointing towards the sky, he looked to me, expression unreadable, and muttered, “Sleepin’ now, me fiery beauty?”

  Lips pursed, eyes narrowed, I glared at him. “I’ve been fooled before.” My hand sliced through the air, tremulous as my fingers shook. I ignored its trembling in favor of glaring at him, along with my racing heart. “This proves nothing. Even in dreams, you’ve always been a bastard.”

  Fingers reaching out hesitantly, he leaned in and surprised me, brushing a thick strand of frizzy, bedraggled, orange hair aside, nuzzling the side of my temple.

  “I’ll never understand you,” I stuttered, shocked at his sudden show of affection, unable to contain the deep sigh that slipped past my lips as he let out a happy rumble, rattling around in his thick chest. “Call you an asshole you and you want to cuddle.”

  “Bastard,” he muttered, a small smile playing at his lips.

  “What?” Trying to keep my senses about me, I was failing miserably. He’s just too close, and I can’t seem to think straight when he’s doing—gah—that.

  Pausing, his tongue darted out again, tasting the sweat beading my flesh. “Ye said bastard, nugget, no’ asshole.”

  “Oh. Well, that too.”

  A small, amused chuckle slipped past his lips. “An asshole, am I?”

  “Yes.” Voice clear and precise, I didn’t hesitate, then added, “A really big one.”

  Shoulders shaking, he snorted into my nape. “Where’d ye pick up such a vile tongue, woman, eh?”

  “A curmudgeonly old troll. Ever met one?” I mocked, deadpan.

  “Mmm.” There was a long pause after that, and I could feel him squeezing his eyes shut tight. The silence stretched on and I could feel his jaw clenching, body tensing, teeth gritting hard. “We need ta talk, nugget, there’s...” he slowly gritted out the words, hands fisting around me tight. After a few deep breaths, he froze, jerked, and sniffed at my cheek, inhaling deeply before working his way down to the crook of my shoulder.

  “Hey, what are you... Oh!! Ah!”

  Burying his nose in my armpit, I squealed, swatting at him as he snuffled and sniffed my ticklish spot, my sharp cries deepening as I bellowed at him to get out of there.

  Shrieking and slapping at his head, he ignored me and yanked my arm up, dragging me across his massive chest.

  Tongue whipping out, he licked along the underside, then just below the crease of my breast, and I thought I might lose my bladder.

  “This is indecent... you- Eww!”

  As troll caught a long whiff of my skin, he grumbled, “Where are ye, nugget?” Pulling back, he growled. “I said where are ye?” Tone sharp and gruff, his eyes flashed orange and black.

  Flopping back on the bed, I gripped my aching stomach muscles, wondering at his strange behavior. “What do you mean?”

  Giving my shoulder a none-too-gentle push, he barked, “I mean, where are ye sleepin’?”

  “Not in a field, I can tell you that much. Why?” I muttered, rearing back as a deep, angry growl rumbled up in his chest, rolling out of him like some kind of angry, feral animal ready to kill. Reaching up without thought, I soothed a hand over his wide brow, willing the deep creases to ease.

  Leaning back in to nuzzle my skin again, thankfully not my sweaty underarm but my collarbone, he relaxed fractionally. “Ye smell... funny,” he muttered confusedly.

  “You do too now,” I mumbled petulantly. “You just cuddled my arm pit. Pervert.”

  “Familiar but different,” he mused, thoughtful, not paying attention to a word I’d just said. Left eye twitching, his exp
ression sobered and he grew stern, pulling back to glare down at me balefully. “But dinna be jokin’ ‘bout shit like that.” The bite in his tone set my teeth on edge, making mine seem just as sharp.

  “My armpits?”

  “No. The other. Dinna be obtuse, woman. Ye aint stupid. Be knowin’ that much.”

  “But I’m dafty?”

  “Nugget.”

  My lips pursed and I gave him what he wanted. “Believe me, I wasn’t.” The joking, that is. Well... I had been, really, but wasn’t in the mood to discuss my own rationality, or lack thereof, at the moment.

  Lips pressed together so tight they formed a thin, dark line, he swallowed thickly, releasing a deep, steadying breath.

  “Wanted ta kill the bastard tha’ hurt ye, touchin’ what’s mine. I’m owed a name. Seems fate had other plans.” Grunting, he mumbled something low under his breath I couldn’t quite make out. It almost sounded like ‘hateful bitches’.

  Feeling the same kind of anger flowing through me, I felt my runes flashing. “I took care of him,” I’d never feel satisfied with Trystan’s punishment, no matter the outcome—what Trystan had done was unforgiveable—but I resolved myself not to dwell on it, at least, at the moment.

  It would always haunt me, there was no debating that, and no way around it, but I’d deal with it one day at a time, and take life, and all its ups and downs, as they came. Trystan took something from me I’ll never get aback, but I’ll be damned if I let him have the rest.

  Blinking, Troll eyed me warily. “An’ how’d ye do that? He dead? Was it slow?” The idea pleased him immensely, I could tell from the look on his face, the gleam in his deep, glowing eyes.

  “No... not dead...” But if Trystan dares even think of me he’ll be very, very sorry, particularly his nether regions. “More of... eternally punished.”

  Having just seen the whole curse/vision thing of moments ago, I refrained from giving him a straight answer. Though I didn’t think for a second he’d bat a lash at me cursing Trystan’s... uhm, junk, I feared it might hit a sore spot.