Swing and Thrust: A Harem Fantasy (Sword and Sorority Book 2)

by Scot C Morgan

  I shook my head as I accepted the hard facts. "Monica's right. We're going that way." I pointed toward the tower. I turned to Alara. "Hopefully we find the horses before we get too far. Then we can set north again."

  Alara grabbed my wrist. I looked into her eyes and saw fear.

  "Don't worry," I told her. "We're not going into the tower, or even close to it if we can help it."

  I felt the strength of her grip on me. I don't think she meant to squeeze me as hard as she did.

  "Promise me," she said.

  I glanced out at the field, noting how much land sat between us and the tower. I hoped the horses weren't far. I turned back to her and touched her hand. "Just tell me if you sense anything else. I'll listen to you. That I can promise you."

  As we walked, I pictured Pudding back at the stable where I bought her. I imagined her sipping margaritas and talking with the other animals about the crazy-ass adventure I made her go on. Then they'd laugh.

  I hope you prove me wrong, Pudding.

  We used the rest of the daylight to get across the field, somebody occasionally walking farther out to the side to search more area. Apart from that, we decided not to split up. After the first twenty minutes, the walk became just a pro forma exercise. The land was too flat for the horses to be anywhere even remotely close. We would've seen them. I gave up on the hope of finding them.

  When the sun sunk halfway into the horizon, I stopped walking. Alara did too. Tara, Nithia, and Monica noticed us and came over.

  Victoria kept going.

  I shook my head when it looked like she was just heading straight for the tower. "Hey!"

  She stopped and looked back.

  "They're not out here!" I waved her back.

  She didn't answer, but stood there for several more seconds.

  "What's she doing?" Tara asked.

  "She still wants to go to that damn tower," Alara said.

  Monica turned to Alara. "You're sure we should avoid it? I don't mean any offense. I don't understand how exactly you know. That's all."

  "I can feel it even now," Alara said. "The tower wants us to come closer."

  "Wait. What?" Tara said. "The tower?"

  Not the first weird thing since I got here. "If Alara says the tower's a problem, then it's a problem." I nodded my head to the northwest, back toward the trees, but still a direction that would keep us on the plains. "We're going that way. It's going to be night soon." I glanced to the tower. "And the last thing we should do is camp out here in the middle of the field."

  "Fine," Monica said. "I'll go get her."

  I watched from afar as Victoria appeared to be arguing with Monica. She stomped her foot. Monica reacted with some arm movements—gesturing out her plea to Victoria, no doubt. Victoria's arms crossed and the two stared at each other for a few moments, doing nothing else. Then they both walked back to the rest of us.

  After another long walk, we found a suitable place to camp for the night, near the woods, but not too close. We were far from the tower, though I could see it still. We cleared the ground of loose rocks and any twig which looked big enough to jab us in the back if we rolled over onto it while sleeping. I didn't like the prospect of sleeping without our gear. We'd been using the blankets from the horses' backs and our packs to make the ground more comfortable. I wished we had sleeping bags…and a tent…maybe a portable grill…and a shower.

  We'd gathered a little wood, in case we needed to make a fire—something I argued against, given the tower looming in the distance and Alara's persistence in warning us it housed dark forces.

  "It's much warmer than before," I said, stating the obvious. "Perhaps we can do without the fire."

  Victoria placed her small bundle of sticks onto the pile the others had made, beside the large log I pulled from just inside the woods. "Really?" She looked at the others, evidently waiting to see if anyone else had anything to say. "Won't the fire keep creepy crawlies away?"

  She had a point, I thought. But did I want to risk lighting a potential beacon for the resident of the dark tower just to keep bugs from crawling on us as we slept?

  "Ooh, right," Monica said. "There might be snakes." She turned toward the forest, then back to us. "Or spiders."

  Shit. "Alright, but we're going to keep the fire small. Agreed?"

  Everyone nodded.

  "Oh, yes!" Tara stood and went to the pile of sticks, taking several and forming a pile around the large log I'd retrieved.

  We got the fire going, but I made sure it was fed only a little wood at a time. I noted the slow movement of the few clouds overhead, none of them dark with a threat of storm. I allowed myself the hope we'd have a much-needed peaceful night.

  We broke out what little food we had left and shared, same with our water. In the morning, I thought, as we head north again, we'll scope out a stream and maybe go into the woods for a short time to gather or kill some food. Everyone else didn't give our dwindling resources much thought—at least nobody talked about. Maybe we'd had enough stress for the day. We were tired. We skipped the fireside storytelling and conversation, aside from a few short exchanges about what we'd been through on our journey so far.

  Alara kept an eye on the tower far across the plains, but still there in silhouette. I knew better than to bring it up. I didn't want to unsettle everyone again, or more. The way in the morning would be difficult on foot, I realized. We needed our rest.

  The heavy log in the middle or our fire burned slowly, underneath the smaller leaning branches, which we continued to replace as needed. The glow and heat from the log kept everyone cozy, especially since we all bedded down close to each other. Nithia used the one pack as a pillow, at the insistence of Tara. The rest of us used various body parts of the others, as we positioned ourselves in to accommodate everyone. I rested my head on the side of Alara's right breast, probably the best pillow available—though not conducive to sleep.

  I heard a few of us shuffling slightly, repositioning to get comfortable, I supposed. After a while, I heard only distant faint sounds from the woods—nothing alarming—and the beat of Alara's heart beneath my head. Her eyes fought sleep for a while and I could tell she wanted to keep the distant tower in sight, for which she'd positioned herself. Eventually, she drifted off.

  I tried to do the same, but I couldn't. What if there's nothing but wilderness for days? It'd be stupid to walk on without any idea what we'd encounter? If we'd find anything. I imagined the six of us standing in the field the next morning until a bus came, like the one in Austin I caught—or didn't—every weekday morning to get to class. If only.

  I'd worked myself up with anxiety about the coming day. As much as I enjoyed the edge of my mouth pressed against Alara's breast—okay, against her shirt, but still it gave me a nice feeling—I needed to get up and walk off my thoughts for a few minutes.

  I watched her eyes as I lifted myself off her. She turned onto her side and brought her hand up between her legs. Yeah, I'd go there too. I knew better than to wake her up, though.

  I stood and glanced at the others. All asleep. The fire had died down to embers. I walked to it and picked up one of the branches from the surplus pile. I looked to the distant tower. There appeared a soft light on it near the top, but when I rubbed my tired eyes and took another look I didn't see it. I turned back to our fire and used the stick to poke one of the collapsed halves of the log, stoking it back to an orange glow. A few sparks came out and I played the stick against the log to bring out more, watching the bits rise until their own glow faded and they disappeared into the dark of the night.

  "You couldn't sleep either?"

  Alara? No.

  I turned around and Victoria smiled at me. She stood so close I would've stepped back, but I knew the fire was directly behind me.

  "Hi," said. "I thought you were asleep."

  She shook her head slowly. "Nope." She glanced back to Alara, then looked at me again. "I had my eyes closed, but I couldn't sleep."

  I felt the he
at of the burning log against my rear. I wanted to move away from it but Victoria gave me no room to do so, unless I wanted to bump into her.

  "Oh," I said, glancing beside her, trying to cue to her that I wanted to move past her.

  She didn't budge. Her eyes were glued to mine. "Want to know why I couldn't sleep?"

  Something tells me I might know.

  I shrugged.

  She placed her hand on my shirt, over my chest. "You, silly."

  I heard a crackle from the log behind me. A glint of light reflected off one of her eyes. I assumed my poking at the log had stirred up a few flames—evidently more than I intended.

  Normally, at least back on Earth, before I came to this world and landed my harem of three—and sometimes threesome—I would've jumped at the chance to bed down with someone as sexy as Victoria. She really did remind me of a Victoria's Secret model. I didn't know the name. I'd just seen her on posters they plaster on the glass at the front of their store, for all passers-by to see—public service. But the timing, the situation, the fact I had committed to three of the women asleep less than ten feet away…oh, and I couldn't overlook the repeated hints of crazy Victoria exhibited throughout the day…

  But she's a babe.

  I tried to keep my head clear, despite my hormones muddying my thoughts.

  "Well?" she said. "We're both awake, and…"

  "And I think we need our sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

  She tipped her head to the side a little and looked away, as if she was considering my suggestion. "Yeah. We do have a long day." She stared at me again. "What's the chance we'll have some private time together again anytime soon?"

  Wait. We're not a thing, woman.

  "Sorry, Victoria." I moved my arm to her side, signaling I needed her to move out of the way.

  She grabbed my wrist and tugged my hand onto her breast. "You don't want to go."

  I pulled my hand off her—an act of tremendous willpower, but necessary. She's hot, I thought, but I'm not going to do my women that way. I'd set up some rules in my head which included being open with Alara, Nithia, and Tara about who tasted the barbarian's sword—ahead of time and only if they gave me the go ahead.

  She'd go back to Earth, though. They're on board with that. I chided myself for trying to justify giving in to her. I couldn't deny the allure she had.

  She got a wild look in her eyes. The flames behind me must have picked up, I thought as I became transfixed on the fiery reflection over her iris. I found it hard to turn away. She moved her hand down, pushing the neck of her shirt to expose as much of her breasts as the strained opening would allow. I shook my head, but felt I couldn't move my feet. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave her either. She kept going with her hand, bringing it lower until she reached below her pelvis. It was then that I noticed she'd already untied the split in the front of her pants at the waist—where a zipper would be on jeans.

  The heat from the fire behind me felt uncomfortable. I felt sweat building up beneath my clothes.

  "Take them off."

  "What?" I'd heard the words, but didn't see Victoria's mouth move, and the voice, though a woman's, didn't sound like her.

  She smiled at me and ignored my question. Flames danced in her eyes. They were bright. Need to get away from the fire. I wanted to move, so I wouldn't get burned, but I felt I needed to wait for Victoria to tell me where.

  She nodded to the ground beside us. I looked at the spot and decided it put us far enough from the campfire that I didn't need to worry about getting hurt, so I got down on the ground, my back to the dirt.

  Victoria pulled the front of her pants open more and slid them off, along with her panties. I couldn't move. She lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it into the fire. Heat built up inside me. I stared at her naked body.

  She positioned herself over me, standing with her ankles touching the outsides of my knees, which I then realized where bare. I had no pants on, but I didn't recall removing them. I didn't care. The view above me was glorious.

  I felt conflicted. I wanted to get up and put on my pants—to go back to Alara. But I also felt compelled to stay there on the ground, waiting for Victoria to climb on top of me. The more I wrestled with the decision, the more I felt the heat from the fire beside us. Victoria leaned over me, her breasts only slightly shifting their form as gravity worked against her toned body.

  "My eyes are up here," she said, drawing an imaginary line in the air to guide my attention from her chest up to her face. I complied. When our eyes met, I felt a sting in mine. Hers poured out a searing heat, the flames in them seemed hypnotic.

  I continued to watch the flames dance in her eyes as I felt her thighs settle across my hips. My head swam in confusion. I watched her hair bounce and toss repeatedly. I tried to move my arms, but they remained lifeless at my sides. Get off! I couldn't hear my voice.

  I pictured Alara walking on the beach with me. And then I saw Tara leaning her head against my shoulder when we were trapped in Ruja's stronghold after Cormac died. And memories of Nithia came into my mind. I saw her dressing my wounds, and making the medicine for Tara to rescue her from the spider's venom.

  I realized I could see each of them clearly, no longer seeing only the fire from Victoria's eyes. Sensation came back into my arms and I shifted my eyes downward to see Victoria hadn't actually come down upon my manhood yet.

  Apparently deeply involved in whatever bewitching magic she was using against me, she contorted and undulated her naked body just over mine. With her head tipped back slightly, her arms danced in the air like a Shiva.

  I'm not too late! Move, Dennis!

  Knowing I still had a chance to stop her, and that I hadn't wronged my women yet—even if Victoria had me down against my will—I found the strength to overcome her sorcery. I felt strong again and I moved to get out from under her. Sitting up, I tried to pull my legs toward me, but she squeezed her thighs together keeping me from getting out from under her. She stopped dancing like the oversexed oracle from the 300 movie and whipped her head down to glare at me.

  "You!" she said, only her voice sounded different. I chalked the difference up to the fact that she must be under someone else's control. No way a college babe from Austin can do sex magic shit like this, I thought—magic sex, sure, but this was an entirely different thing.

  I reached up to push her aside, but she grabbed my wrists before I got my hands on her.

  Damn, she's strong! I had a hundred pounds more muscle than she did, but she held my arms at bay. My wrists burned underneath her hands.

  "You can't say no to me!" She sounded really pissed off.

  "You're hot," I said. "That's for sure, but I'm just not that into you. So, if you don't mind." I pushed my arms harder to outdo her succubus super strength. As I inched my hands closer to her torso, she shook her head wildly and screamed. The heat from her mouth blew against my face, drying the moisture from my eyes and lips.

  "You need to be quiet and let me do what I need to do!"

  I know that voice. I'd heard that phrase before. It was in my English Lit class when one of my classmates wouldn't stop talking to the girl beside him. As surprising as it was to hear her, I knew when something weird happened in Galderia, I just had to roll with it.

  "Not going to happen, Professor!"

  "Den what's going on?"

  I glanced toward the other voice, but I already recognized it was Alara. She stood about six feet away, a look of shock on her face as she stared me and Victoria, both of us naked, her on top of me.

  "It's not what you think," I said, straining more to overcome the supernatural strength Victoria was getting from Ms. Thompson…somehow.

  Fire demon Victoria jerked her head to look at Alara. "He's mine!"

  Alara glanced at me and I shook my head to let her know that what she was seeing wasn't my idea.

  She turned her attention back to Victoria. "We'll see about that." Alara's eyes lit up with a bright white light.

&nbs
p; Oh, shit. It's on.

  Victoria—or I guess you could say, Ms. Thompson—screamed before Alara even did anything, letting go of my wrists at the same time. The skin on my legs burned where her thighs touched me.

  "Oh, fuck!" I said. The pain felt intense, like her temperature was shooting up a hundred degrees.

  The fire beside us roared and sparks shot out of it. Flames curved out unnaturally toward Victoria and me.

  "Alara," I said. "I could use a hand."

  Victoria's naked body burst into flames. A split second later, she disappeared along with the fire which enveloped her.

  "What's going on?" Tara sat up where she'd been sleeping.

  "Huh?" Nithia said, still half asleep. "It's too early."

  "Oh, my god!" Monica stood at Alara's side, looking at me. "Did you just fuck Victoria?"

  "What?" I said, sounding a little too defensive. "No!"

  Chapter 18

  "I'm sorry it didn't work out, my love," the old man said. "But you're doing fine without him."

  Ms. Thompson huffed, then turned her eyes toward the soggy pile of ash on the oak book stand. In her right hand, down at her side, she held the glass pitcher the old man had brought to her a minute before to douse the flames that ended the book from which she'd been reading—Distant Love.

  "I told you something could go wrong," he said.

  She threw the glass pitcher at him, but he lifted his hand and the vessel veered away from him, hitting the stone wall behind him. The pitcher shattered into a thousand pieces.

  He shook his head. "I wish you'd stop breaking things."

  "It should've worked," she said, tearfully. "I did everything as you told me."

  "Passions are hard to control."

  The way he looked at her, made her think he was talking about her as much as Den or Victoria. She wanted another pitcher to throw at him.

  "Now," he said, "I've helped you with this distraction quite enough. I think you should let the matter rest. I have much to keep me busy. It's not easy pulling in creatures from other realms, you know."