Dirty, Filthy Fantasies- The First Collection

by Sarah Hawke

  “Are you kidding?” he stammered, turning and hacking another barbarian. “What if it’s hungry?”

  “Get on!” I demanded, and mercifully Cassel finally hopped up in the saddle behind me.

  We rode so hard I doubted that even Whisper could keep up. A few arrows streaked past our heads, and I saw a few of the sentries trying and failing to wrangle their own mounts to pursue us. But as the camp gradually rolled into the fire-lit horizon, an exhausted smile tugged at my lips.

  We had done it. Against all odds, we had done it. Icewatch might have a hope in hell of surviving yet.

  Chapter Four

  We abandoned the wolf a few miles later, and after giving him some water and dried meat for his troubles we started running across the Crystal Flats on foot instead. I could have easily passed out right then and there, but I still wanted to put as much distance between us and the Roskarim as possible. We didn’t stop until the sun had cracked over the horizon.

  “Escar’s…fuck, I don’t know,” Cassel said, tossing his sword on the ground and collapsing on his back beneath a tree. “We’re alive. How in the bloody hell are we alive?”

  I tossed my bow and scabbard onto the ground and flopped down next to him. As difficult as it was to catch my breath, the burning muscles in my leg were far more annoying. I had almost certainly reopened last night’s wounds.

  “You fought well,” I said, and meant it. “Very well.”

  Cassel snorted softly. “All I did was stab some people who were next to me. You’re the one who shot a guy in the head from two hundred yards away.” He slowly shook his head. “Gods, I still can’t believe it.”

  “To be honest, neither can I.”

  He clapped his hand over mine. “When the bards in Highwind start singing about it, the Council will be forced to build you a statue. Kastrius got one when he killed the last Roskarim warlord.”

  I shook my head. “You’re the one who was brave enough to walk into the camp. I’m just the one who almost got you killed.”

  “I knew the risks. It was a good plan.” Cassel chuckled. “Okay, well, it wasn’t a good plan, exactly, but it was the only one we had. And it worked…more or less.”

  “Only because we got lucky. I should have known they would see through the disguise.” I sighed. “If I had missed they would have killed you. I’m not sure I ever would have forgiven myself for that.”

  Cassel rolled his head to face me, and his fingers squeezed mine. “Hey, we won, remember? I just wish I’d brought a cask of ale with us so we could celebrate.”

  I smiled and squeezed back. It felt like we laid there forever catching our breath, and I closed my eyes tried to ignore the fire in my leg. Considering what we had accomplished—considering that by all rights we should have been dead—a little personal discomfort was a small price to pay.

  “Say what you will about the cold and the snow and the people who live here,” Cassel murmured after a moment, “but I’ll be damned if the sunrises aren’t pretty.”

  I reopened my eyes and glanced up at the crimson horizon. The view really was majestic without all the lights and buildings from the city, especially with the greenish aurora winding across the sky like some kind of celestial serpent.

  “The forenya me'a,” I whispered. “The ancient Avetharri believed it was the Aether made manifest in the heavens.”

  “Whatever it is, it’s beautiful,” Cassel whispered.

  He squeezed my hand again. I was so tired and sleep-starved I could have easily passed out right then and there if not for the pain in my leg. The longer I laid here the more my thigh felt like I had dipped it in lava.

  Cassel must have heard me wince. “Is your leg bothering you?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

  “That’s a ‘yes’ if I’ve ever heard one,” he muttered. “And you think I have a martyr complex.”

  “I just need to put on a bit more salve.”

  “Considering how far we just ran across the tundra, I doubt it,” Cassel said. “You should have been lounging around for a few days to let the muscles heal. A bit of salve won’t cut it.”

  I grimaced, remembering what had happened the last time he’d touched me. You can’t let him do this. Not now, not after you’re still high from a battle. Not when you’re lying together under the sky…

  “I can handle it,” I insisted. “Besides, you took a few bruises yourself. You should worry about them.”

  “And I will once I’m done with you,” Cassel said. “No more excuses, General. The heroine of Highwind can’t be seen limping back to Icewatch. It just won’t do.”

  I started to protest again, but then he placed a hand on my shoulder and held me firmly in place. I bit down on my lip as he removed my boot and opened up the ragtag stitching holding together my trousers. The warmth of his hand on my skin sent a shiver down my spine.

  “None of the gashes reopened, but the swelling is even worse than I expected,” he said as he closed his eyes and reached out to the Aether. His hand grew warmer and warmer as he channeled healing magic into my flesh. “How’s the pain?”

  “Better,” I rasped. My leg was basically numb at this point. My quim, unfortunately, was not.

  “We still need to get the swelling down or you won’t be able to walk in another hour or two,” Cassel said. He reached back and retrieved the salve from his pack, but his cheeks flushed when he opened the lid as if he had belatedly remembered what happened the last time. “Just, uh…just make sure you rub enough of it in.”

  “Maybe you should do it,” I said. “I’d rather not take any chances.”

  His eyebrows lifted in confusion, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if mine did to. What the hell are you doing, Serrane? He gave you an out—why didn’t you take it?

  “If you want, sure,” Cassel said. “Just, um…just try and relax.”

  I bit down on my lip as he began gingerly smearing the salve up and down the length of my thigh. When I closed my eyes, I swore I could feel his hands on every other part of my body, too. My waist, my belly, my breasts…

  “I can’t believe you ran all the way across the Flats like this,” he said, gently massaging my knee.

  I swallowed and nodded. “I’ve endured worse.”

  Cassel smiled. “It’s difficult for you to let other people help you, isn’t it?”

  No, it’s difficult for me to let you help me. The more you touch me, the better the chance you’ll realize I’m the same woman who has debased herself in front of you over and over again…

  “I prefer to be self-sufficient,” I said instead.

  “There’s nothing wrong with self-reliance. But after today I’d say we’re a pretty good team.”

  His fingers began crawling towards my inner thigh. It felt good—too good. He was stoking the fire in my quim without even touching it.

  You can stop him. You need to stop him.

  “Yes, we are,” I said.

  “When we get back to Highwind, I’d still like you to try and teach me a few of those channeling techniques,” Cassel said. “We could spar if you wanted, too. Your footwork is pretty impressive.”

  His fingers moved within an inch of my quim, and my legs reflexively parted for him. Stop him, Serrane. Stop him now!

  “I’d like that,” I said, my voice trembling.

  “Who knows? Maybe I’ll accidently teach you something.” He smiled again, and two of his fingers gently slipped beneath my thong. “I may be young, but I still know my share of tricks.”

  Stop him. Stop him! STOP HIM!

  He leaned down over me until his lips were barely six inches from mine, and he gently eased his fingertips inside me. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”

  I grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. The fire in my quim spread across my entire body, and when he slid his fingers all the way inside me I clawed his back so hard I was surprised my nails didn’t pierce right through his armor. He k
new exactly where and how to touch me.

  In that moment, I knew there was no going back. There would be no more games, no more tricks, no more silly deceptions. He wasn’t going to fuck Faewyn—he was going to fuck Serrane. And I was going relish every second of it.

  Once I finally told him the truth.

  “Wait!” I said, abruptly pulling away.

  He looked down at me, stunned, and I could see the confused worry in his eyes. He feared he had done something wrong—he feared that I was going to push him away again.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” I said, swallowing. “Something you definitely need to know.”

  Cassel shook his head. “What?”

  I took a deep breath and braced myself. I had known all along that this wouldn’t be easy, but I hadn’t realized it would be harder than taking on an army of barbarians.

  “That illusion gem we used to create your costume,” I said, my voice trembling more and more with each word. “For the past few months I’ve been using it to disguise myself. I’m…”

  I swallowed again, and I couldn’t help but imagine him running off the moment I spoke the words. But it needed to be done, and I would just have to live with the consequences.

  “I’m…” I stuttered, locking eyes with him. “I’m Faewyn.”

  Cassel stared right back at me. “I know.”

  My heart stopped, and my breath turned to ice inside my lungs. “What?”

  “I’m a Knight-Captain of the Silver Fist,” he said matter-of-factly. “We’re trained to see through the illusions, even powerful ones created by illegal items sold by the Black Mistress.”

  My mouth fell open. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything. I was completely paralyzed, and I would have given literally anything to be somewhere—anywhere—else.

  “I haven’t told anyone,” he assured me. “It’s none of their business.”

  My fingers dug into the frozen dirt, and my entire body started shaking. Cassel frowned and cupped both of his hands over my cheeks.

  “It’s all right—there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he assured me. “I get it, believe me. You are the leader of the Duskwatch and a member of the Council…and on top of that, you’re an outsider in a city full of humans. You’re under an enormous amount of scrutiny, and you probably feel like you can’t even sneeze without the gossipmongers harassing you. That’s no way for anyone to live. You needed a way out, and you found one.”

  The embarrassed heat in my cheeks was so intense I couldn’t believe I didn’t pass out. My mind was screaming at me to run right back into the heart of the Roskarim army. Being slashed to pieces seemed a thousand times less painful than this…

  “You have no idea how good it made me feel to know that you kept picking me of all people,” Cassel said. “I couldn’t understand why, but I was determined to make sure you enjoyed yourself. It seemed like the least I could do—any man with half a brain would sell his soul just for a chance to be with you.” He smiled. “I’ve been desperate to get to know the real you, and now that I’ve had a chance…well, somehow she’s even more beautiful.”

  Cassel leaned down and kissed me again. My mind was still reeling and my body was still shaking, but moment by moment, nibble by nibble, my muscles stared to unthaw. My arms wrapped around his neck and my legs wrapped around his waist.

  How could he have known this whole time? How could I have been so deluded to think I had fooled him? How much time have we wasted with this stupid little game?

  Another wave of embarrassment threatened to wash over me, but then I felt the bulge in his trousers press up against my aching quim. If he didn’t care about what I had done, then why should I? There was no scandal here. We were two consenting adults, and that was the only thing that ever should have mattered.

  Cassel pulled back after another moment, and he brushed a blonde lock from my face and smiled. “Now relax and stop squirming for a moment,” he said. “I’m trying to eat here.”

  Smiling impishly, he leaned away and brought his lips to my quim. I cried out the moment his tongue lashed my clit and again when his fingers slipped back inside me. I couldn’t understand how he was so good at this—he was one quarter my age!—but apparently enthusiasm was just as important as skill. He desperately wanted to please me, and he had succeeded time and time again. He brought me so hard I was surprised I didn’t snap my own back in half.

  He eventually glanced up from his feast, obviously quite pleased with himself. I grabbed his arms and pulled him back on top of me. My toes curled in delight when I tasted myself on his lips and tongue, and my hands wriggled between us until they reached his trousers. When I sprang his cock free, I guided it into my burning slit.

  He moaned in delight when he finally plunged into me, and once again my nails dug into his back so hard he was lucky he was still wearing his leather breastplate. I had felt him inside me a dozen times before, and yet somehow this was different. This was better.

  This was real.

  “Oh, gods!” I gasped, locking my ankles behind his back. Faewyn had been with plenty of men these past few months, but for Serrane it had been a very long time. I pulled him down until his chin was on my shoulder, and I churned my hips to meet him thrust for thrust.

  “You are so tight,” he breathed into my ear. “You’re so…perfect.”

  I could feel the last of my inhibitions melting away with each and every thrust. I didn’t care that I wasn’t in disguise. I didn’t care that he knew my darkest secret. I didn’t care about anything besides the thick human cock relentlessly pounding my elven cunt.

  “Harder,” I begged, nibbling at his earlobe. “Fuck me harder!”

  Cassel clutched my slender waist and hammered into me so hard we cracked the permafrost. My pitiful whimpers echoed his euphoric moans, and I could feel him rapidly losing control.

  “Here it comes!”

  He started to pull away, but my arms and legs locked around him so tightly he couldn’t escape if he tried. I desperately wanted to feel his cock pumping inside me…

  And I got my wish. Cassel didn’t just spill—he injected me with volley after volley of his seed, and every single twitch sent a shudder of delight ripping through my body from my tits to my toes. My skin hadn’t tingled this much in ages, not even after Aluriel and I had spent an entire night on our backs or on our knees. It wasn’t just that it was “real,” whatever that meant—it was that it was honest. Faewyn was dead, but Serrane was very much alive.

  And she couldn’t have been happier.

  “Escar’s mercy,” Cassel panted. “You feel so good…”

  I kissed him again. For one perfect moment, I didn’t care about the Roskarim or Icewatch or anything else. All that mattered was his heat of his body pressed against mine.

  Epilogue

  “Enter.”

  The door to Knight-Captain Cassel’s new office opened, and I heard the clod of heavy plate boots upon the wooden floor. “Sir,” a young knight—Broderick, if I remembered the voice correctly—said in a crisp but tentative tone. “I have the latest scouting reports from the Flats. I’ve been looking for Ranger-General Serrane, but I can’t seem to find her anywhere.”

  “She’s probably out on her own patrol somewhere,” Cassel said, gently placing his hand on my head beneath his desk. “Give me the short version.”

  “Our scouts described the old Roskarim camp as a ‘bloodbath,’” Broderick said. “There are hundreds of bodies and dozens of burned wagons and tents.”

  “Any sign of where they went?”

  “The tracks lead in almost all directions. Our best guess is that they scattered further north in the Ridge. Only a few groups were headed anywhere near us, and all of them were small—probably a handful of wolf riders or outcasts.” Broderick grunted in amazement. “You did it, sir. It’s a bloody miracle!”

  “General Serrane deserves most of the credit,” Cassel said. “I was mostly just there to watch her back.”


  Broderick leaned his gauntlets on the desk. “I highly doubt that, sir. But either way, at least you had a nice view to keep you warm.”

  “That’s not very a professional attitude, Lieutenant.”

  The other man snorted. “Oh, come on, Julian. You spent how many days alone with her? Is she really as much of a bitch as everyone says?”

  Cassel smiled thinly. “She’s quite personable, actually.”

  “Really,” Broderick said, leaning forward even more. “How well did you get to know her, exactly?”

  “Enough to realize that the Council should listen to her advice more often. She’s a one-woman army.”

  “That’s it?”

  Cassel shrugged. “What else do you want? We were trying to save the fortress, in case you forgot.”

  “I know you better than that, sir,” Broderick said. “You must have tried to lay on the charm at least once.”

  “Unlike everyone else in the Silver Fist, I am actually capable of staying focused on my mission.”

  The other man snorted. “Uh huh,” he muttered. “She rejected you, didn’t she?”

  Cassel sighed. “You delivered your report, Lieutenant. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  “I knew it,” Broderick said, laughing. “You’ve been grouchy ever since you got back, and I’ve never seen the two of you in the same place at the same time.”

  “As usual, you have an overactive imagination,” Cassel muttered.

  “You probably annoyed her so much she decided to go and kill a hundred barbarians out of spite. That, or she just hates humans.” He leaned over the table again. “You should have told her you have experience. I mean, we must have fucked those slutty elf sisters a dozen times. They always seemed satisfied when we finished with them.”