by Eric Vall
“No,” she cut in, and the tone of her voice made her suddenly seem much less innocent.
I chewed on my cheek for a second, while I tried to ignore how fucking sexy she was, before I nodded curtly. “Fine.” With a last glance, the Aer Mage turned and swayed her hips back toward the book, and I muttered under my breath, “I’ll just sit here on a slab of rock I guess … ”
She chuckled and came back to the bed. “You were fine with that slab of rock ten minutes ago,” she informed me.
“Yeah, ten minutes ago I wasn’t so bored,” I retorted. “Or restless. Now, you’ve got your nose in a book, and I’m stuck staring at a gloomy cave.”
She thought this over, then sighed and propped herself on the edge of the bed.
I felt her ass against my wrist, but didn’t do a thing to move out of the way.
“Fair enough. That does sound boring. What do you want to do?” she asked. “Without magic.”
I swallowed the words that jumped immediately to my lips. The supple edge of her thigh pressed against my arm was more than warm and welcoming, and I couldn’t help but nudge it gently as I thought over the options. “Hmmm … ”
Shoshanne glanced down at my arm, and I saw her cheeks blush. Then she looked at me from behind her curls, and the corner of her lip was tucked between her teeth. I couldn’t believe it, but she actually looked like she was trying to make up her mind. Then she peeked over her shoulder at the wooden door that was shut firmly over the small entrance of the cave.
When she turned back, she had the same coy smile on her face, and she began to fidget lightly. “How do you feel?” she asked.
“Good,” I answered immediately. “Perfect.”
The caramel beauty laughed, and the sound was soft and light as it echoed around the cave. Her eyes were bright when she looked back at me, and she started to bite at her lip again.
“You can’t move your back,” she said at last, and I grinned and nodded. “Is that … ok?” She blushed at the question, and I remembered she didn’t know anything about this.
I cleared my throat and removed my arm from under her thigh before I gently placed my hand on her knee. “I think I can manage.” Then I let my fingers trace a circle along her inner thigh, and I watched her eyelashes flutter in response. “Are you sure?” I asked as I met her eyes carefully with my own and looked for any fear.
She glanced nervously at the door once more, but when she answered, her warm brown eyes sparkled, and her cheeks blushed beautifully in the dim torchlight.
She smiled. “Mmhmm.”
I raised my brows, and began to sit up so I could kiss her, but she caught me with her hands on my chest.
“Lay down,” she said, and her voice was huskier.
“Sorry,” I chuckled.
Then Shoshanne stood up, turned toward the bed, and began to unwrap the crisp white robe from around her.
“If you move,” she warned as her hands parted the front of her robe, “then that’s it. I am your doctor after all.”
I swallowed hard as heat flamed in my groin. The healer had begun to slide the robe from her shoulders, and I found that she wore absolutely nothing underneath the thin fabric except for her tights. I admired her full and fresh breasts as the robe dropped to the floor, and her deep crimson nipples taunted me with their firmness. I groaned and reached for her hand, and the caramel beauty came easily to me with a giggle.
She let me trace her curves, running the length of her thigh, the tuck of her waist, and finally the plush underside of her breasts, just before I began to make teasing circles around the taut nipples.
Her long copper lashes fluttered again. “Mason,” she breathed.
“Come here,” I invited.
She lifted her leg to crouch on the edge of the bed, but I hooked it, brought it over my lap, and settled her warm thighs around my waist. She looked nervous, but I could feel the heat burning between her legs, and I slid my fingers into her while my other hand guided her hips forward. A soft sigh fell from her lips, and her head arched back as I began to move her in a steady rhythm and slid my fingers deeper into the moist tunnel below her copper tuft of curls.
“Is that what you want?” I asked her, and she moaned in response.
“More,” she whispered after a minute.
I teased her clit while I undid the ties on my breeches, and her eyes went wide as my full erection broke loose from the leather. Her cheeks were bright, and her breath came heavy, but she grinded into my hand more quickly, so I lifted her up and teased her entrance with the tip of my cock instead.
Her breasts were heaving above me, her nipples were perked out in pleasure, and her skin was flushed in the torchlight.
“This might hurt a little, just at first,” I warned her, but she nodded quickly and met my eyes with a desperate look as her fingers dug into the hand I had on her waist.
“Please,” she moaned, “just do it.”
I could feel her arousal pulsing against the tip of my cock, and I couldn’t resist for another second. I gripped the meat of her ass and pulled her down, and the soft, wet flesh parted as she sent a light shriek to the ceiling of the cave. I was about to stop, but she sank further, and her smooth thighs trembled as I felt the warmth of her begin to spasm around my erection, so I guided her hips between my palms to help her reach her climax.
A moment later, she tumbled over the peak.
The sound of her pleasure was like a feral moan, and her pussy clamped down on me like a vice as she spasmed and bucked. Her wild movements and uninhibited cries sparked a raging need in me to bury myself as deep as I could inside the caramel beauty. I hooked my arm around her waist and quickly flipped over so that she lay beneath me. Then I flicked my tongue across her nipple and gently pinned her with my hips.
I thought she’d get pissed I’d broken the rules and decide to play the doctor again, but she dug her nails into my back instead, and her creamy thighs wrapped around me and met my thrusts eagerly.
I gave her what she wanted and brought her legs up to my shoulders as her moans became desperate again. Then I thrust my full length deep in the woman and felt my release build and tip past the point of no return.
“Shoshanne,” I groaned as my seed poured into her, and I could feel her begin to tremble again as she reached her second climax.
“Mason!” A shriek of ecstasy burst from her lips and echoed all through the cave as she clenched around me, and we both stared into each other’s eyes as our bodies milked the last bits of incredible pleasure from each other.
Shoshanne was out of breath, with her breasts heaving against me, when I finally rolled off her. A moment later, she curled against me with a satisfied sigh before she quickly fell into an exhausted sleep.
I wrapped my arms around her and followed minutes after.
When I woke up, two of the torches in the cave had spent themselves. I looked down at the woman sleeping on my chest, and her body was completely exposed and flush against my own. Aurora and Cayla’s goddess-like forms had always been my favorite sight to wake up to, but the full and supple curves of Shoshanne just joined their ranks. Everything about her was soft, and I traced the heavy curve of a breast that looked ready to burst against my side. The woman let out a soft moan, and even in her sleep, her leg hitched up around me as she rolled her hips closer to mine.
It took every inch of my willpower not to wake her up for another round, but she’d been so exhausted when I finally rolled off her. With that in mind, I gently slid my arm out from around the beautiful woman so I wouldn’t disturb her.
She sighed as I rose from her side, and I froze to be sure she wouldn’t notice. From above, she was even harder to resist, and I dragged my eyes along the pleasing s-shape formed by her breasts and ass.
I briefly reconsidered waking her up on purpose, but I forced myself to leave the bed and pulled the covers over her naked body to avoid temptation. Then I silently but quickly got dressed before I could change my mind. The wooden door of the c
ave creaked slightly, but I managed to close it behind me without disturbing the Aer Mage tucked naked into the bed.
I let out a deep and quiet breath, then began to take stock of my surroundings. I was in a long and low tunnel that was basically a hallway, but in a mountain.
“Nice.” I nodded and tapped at the rock bolts arching above my head. Then I followed them along the tunnel and toward the dim blue light that I could just make out in the distance. When I exited the hall, the mountains stood stark and silent in the early morning. It was a hell of a view, and I took a minute to admire the lifestyle the dwarves had made for themselves in the peaks. I could see similar openings lining the edges of the path I stood on, and as I wandered down it, I saw there were at least a dozen more on the cliff across the ravine.
Further down, the path ended at the mouth of a cave, and my magic began to tingle in my chest. There were carts just like the one I’d travelled in lined along the walls of the cave, but these ones were piled high with cold, hard lumps of gold.
If I was wearing a hat, I would have removed it, like I’d seen in the movies when people walked into churches and fell at the mercy of God.
“Ohhh man,” I sighed and walked forward like a man possessed. I let my eager hands rest on the pretty stuff, and my magic felt stronger than it had in weeks. I hated to admit it, but Aurora had been right. The two days of rest really had restored me, even when I didn’t know I needed it. Now, I felt my metal power flexing in my fingers as the gold glinted between my palms, and excitement thrummed through me. The air was electric in my lungs, and I turned to see that the carts continued down into the mine, one after the other, and each was filled with different metals.
“Ohhh man,” I repeated with a grin, and I left the gold to take up a chunk of silver from the next cart. Then I found titanium, and I was like a kid on Christmas again.
So, so much metal. So much metal just … piled everywhere.
I wore the stupidest grin on my face as I took in the sight and cradled a chunk of titanium in my arms for a long while. Then I heard a cough behind me, and I dropped the damn thing right to the ground.
“Shit,” I cursed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m done.” I carefully put the titanium back on its mound and turned to face the dwarf who lorded from the mouth of the mine.
Thrungrig snorted. “Beautiful, ain’t it?”
The stupid grin returned with a vengeance. “Yep,” was all I could say.
“Aye.” He nodded. “We haul it all in from the few mines I’ve got down the way. This is the workshop.”
“I like it,” I said immediately. “I like everything about it.”
Thrungrig laughed and shook his head. “Good, ‘cos I got a bone to pick with ye’. Come on in.” He walked over to the wall of the cave, and I realized I’d gone right past the opening in the mine wall that led down another rocky hallway.
I took one last look at the long line of carts before I jogged to catch up with the dwarf.
The narrow tunnel opened to a chamber three times as big as the infirmary, but this one had a giant hole carved in the side like a window, and I could see for miles across the mountain range. A large metal work table stretched along a wall, and I realized the dwarves actually welded the legs on. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it was cool to think this realm had beings who utilized welding just like on Earth.
I studied the seams and was impressed to see there weren’t even any bubbles or imperfections. These guys really were experts to manage it in these temperatures. I had just started inspecting the strange and half-finished metal work that lined the shelving, when Thrungrig called me over to where he sat on a crude little work bench. I pulled a seat for myself from the rock of the floor, and the dwarf nodded his appreciation when it was finished.
“Think you could put a few of those over there?” he asked, and I looked toward their forging area in the far corner.
“No problem. I’ve been itching to get back at it.” Four more stools rose from the rock, but I gauged the height of Thrungrig’s seat in order to make them dwarf-style. “How’s that?”
He snorted. “Just fine. Now. You said you would help us,” he said, and his face was suddenly all business.
I nodded. “Of course.”
“Good.” Thrungrig took a deep breath and leaned on the work table next to him. “I’ve been talking with the others while ye’ healed up. Seems there’s been another attack while we were up in that tunnel of yours. Seven ice giants stormed the capital night before last. Twenty dwarves dead, many more laid up and injured.”
I blinked in shock. “Holy shit.” The numbers caught me off guard, and I tried to imagine how many had already died before them, if the attacks began months ago.
“Aye.” Thrungrig pursed his lips as he nodded solemnly. “It’s a day’s journey to the capital, and that’s not accounting for the time it’s gonna take us to come up with some kind of plan. I don’t doubt they’ll be back at it soon. The attacks are becoming closer and closer together.”
I nodded and scratched at my beard. The dwarf was right. We needed a plan before we left for the capital, and as I looked around the workshop, I racked my brain for the weapons of war I’d studied back on Earth. With the number of casualties this dwarf implied, I knew it was a war we’d be preparing for.
“You’ve seen these ice giants, right?” I asked.
Thrungrig nodded. “Fought in three battles with ‘em so far. What do you need to know?”
“Everything,” I told him.
The dwarf settled in with his arms crossed as he scowled at the floor of the cave for a minute. Then he spoke, and his voice reminded me of a fable again, like when he’d first told us about the trouble in the north.
“Dwarves know their swords, axes, and picks like they know their mining,” he began. “We move quick, and our weapons fall sure and strong, every time. It’s served us well against all manner of beasts. But the ice giants tower above us like trees, and our attacks can’t break the ice of their trunks.”
“Trunks?” I interrupted.
Thrungrig nodded. “No feet, no hands. Jagged trunks made of ice that crush everything in their path. Then they open their mouths, and shards of ice rain down like spears and slice through homes and dwarves alike. When they meet their mark, the ice spreads, and in minutes it’s covered whatever it struck. Thick walls of ice caked over buildings and the bodies of the dead, frozen in their last moments, the blood still flying from their flesh.”
I cringed. “That sounds horrible.”
He growled, and his face grew dark and menacing as he continued. “Nothing to be done. They come down the peaks like it’s nothing, avalanches start up and bury whatever minin’ village might be up there. Nothing stops them, even the trees fall under their legs. Then when all’s frozen over, they screech and move on back to where they come from. Nothing to be done,” he repeated again. His eyes were heavy with sadness, and he cleared his throat before he went on. “Melt it the best we can. Pull the bodies out to thaw. Some of ‘em still between life and death, and all ye’ can do is wait.”
When he finished, his eyes looked far into the dark rock around us, and I watched his anger wilt as he remembered the sight of it all.
A voice suddenly came from the entrance of the shop, and I turned to see the same dwarves who’d come with us through the tunnel.
Toromere spoke as he made his way over.
“They rest easy now, Thrungrig. But not one more will fall. You have our word,” he told his friend, and he placed a stout hand on the dwarf’s shoulder.
“Aye.” Thrungrig nodded, and he straightened himself a bit. “Not one more. So what do you think, Mason Flynt? Whatever your army can do, we’ll fight alongside ye’.”
The other dwarves pledged the same, but Toromere added, “So long as we don’t get crushed.”
I snorted, and then I froze. My mind shot through a dozen designs a minute and finally landed on the one I wanted. I slammed my fist so hard on the table that
the dwarves jumped, and I was on my feet to find a piece of parchment before I could bother to ask where to find one.
Thrungrig must have guessed what I was after, because he told a dwarf to get me a quill, and I quickly headed back to the table.
“Thanks, sorry, yeah,” I muttered frantically. “Parchment. And ink. And wood, do you have wood? Can you get lots of it, logs for beams and things?”
Thrungrig looked confused, but he nodded to all of my questions. “Yeah, we got timber. Plenty of it. How big ye’ need?”
“Huge,” I muttered to the parchment, but I was already halfway through my first sketch when my mind settled on an issue, and I straightened up. I looked through the giant window and tried to imagine my machine in action. “What have you got that you don’t mind getting rid of?”
The dwarf shifted in his seat. “What does that mean?”
“I mean … I don’t want to blast through your supply here, but I need something huge and heavy, something you don’t mind using to break these bastards into pieces.” I turned to Thrungrig and saw his eyes widen at the idea. Then the dwarves all huddled close to get a look at the sketch in front of me, and I quickly finished the last few details to make it easier to understand.
“See? This here is where it’ll sit.” I pointed. “And that’s just a huge chunk of metal, but it’s really a counterweight. I need something to put on there. Big enough and hard enough to do some serious damage.”
Toromere chuckled over my shoulder, and I looked at him.
“You have something?” I asked.
The red haired dwarf nodded and exchanged a look with a few of the other dwarves. “Yeah, I got something. Plenty of it too, don’t worry. You said your rock magic can reform anything from the ground?”
I nodded.
“Then how’s this thing work?” he continued.
I spent the next half hour on a prototype that would be about a foot tall, while the dwarves took stock of their materials and worked to match the measurements I would need for the final product. Thrungrig stood next to me and instructed the others here and there, while I explained every part of the mechanism for him as I built.