by J G Jerome
“Okay,” Daphne yells back as she waves. Then she sprints to catch Chelsea and Rottie. ‘Damn, that girl has a fine motor!’
Trina giggles as she hip checks me, “Stop staring at her ass and get in the truck, Master!”
“Yes ma’am,” I say as I back towards the truck. Daphne catches up and stops to look back. She catches me watching her, which causes her to stop, bend over, and spank her ass before standing and blowing me a kiss. I catch it, rub it on my face, and send her one back. Then I jump in the truck.
Trina starts up and backs out as I buckle in. She says, “Whaddya think about having Chelsea drive us home while you fuck Daphne and me in the back seat on the way?”
I nod, “As long as you or Daphne can keep a Shadow Veil up between the seats. You know how distracted you got when Myra and I were doing that while you were driving.”
“Good point,” she acknowledges with a wry grin.
A couple minutes later we’re pulling into the former parking lot and following the marked track across the property to the excavation site.
Kristina’s truck is parked in the saddle between the hills. As Trina pulls up next to it, I see Kristina and Tiphanae talking to two other exotically beautiful women I don’t recognize. One young woman is medium-tall with rich brown, wavy hair wearing a simple sleeveless, v-neck dress that reaches just below her knees. She has a slight olive tint to the skin visible on her face, lean, soft limbs, a long neck, generous breasts, and a narrow waist that flares to her curvy hips designed for delivering babies. The other is a little shorter, with creamy skin, a narrower face, and a ballerina’s figure. Her hair is a mousy blonde, but it has highlights of blue, green, and silver sparking periodically in the sunshine. Her dress seems identical to the other’s.
Trina jumps out and runs over to the two strangers. She hugs each of them and hooks an arm from each of them. She walks them over to me and says to me, “My Lord and Master, please allow me to introduce you to Meriam and Cassandra. They are nymphs sent here by their elders.” She wraps an arm around each and squeezes them, “Ladies, make your case.”
The brunette steps forward and bows to me. “Lord, my name is Meriam. I am a dryad. When we sensed your powers come to life, the Grove Mother sent me to you. Nymphs were created by your ancestors, and we have served the Green Lords ever since. I have come to your property here to create a grove, to be your Grove Mother. Please let me serve you.”
I walk up to her and offer her my hand, “Rise Meriam. I have barely heard of nymphs, and I don’t have any idea how you would serve my cause.” When she is standing I add, “I believe that you are a power of healing and life.” She nods as I continue. “I need that kind of energy to flourish. I am honored to have your service. For your service, I offer my service. Your family is my family. Meriam, welcome.”
She steps forward and grasps my face in her hands, kissing me passionately. “My Lord, I am yours.”
I kiss her again and tell her, “And I am yours.”
Meriam smiles broadly. “Excellent, Lord. Historically, the Lord takes his Grove Mother as a lover. I look forward to consummating our commitment!” She kisses my lips quickly and steps back.
I am fairly certain I looked shocked because Trina is standing behind the nymphs with her hands over her mouth trying to stifle her laughter. I cock an eyebrow in her direction and then turn to the other nymph.
The other nymph steps forward and introduces herself. Looking me in the eye, she says, “My Lord, I am Cassandra. Whereas Meriam is a nymph of the forest, I am a nymph of water, or a Naiad. I did not have a body of water to watch over, so I was afraid I would be useless. However, I found the underground reservoir under your mountains and created the small creek from groundwater. It’s not much, but it will keep me occupied and give me a way to serve you.” She drops her eyes, “Of course that is contingent upon you accepting me into your service, Lord.”
I look down and take in the young woman’s humble posture. I step closer and slide my hands up her elbows to her shoulders and pull her to me. “Honestly Cassandra, I’m ignorant of how you could serve my cause. You will have to educate me. That will be easier to do if you are here with us. I’m assuming there’s a consummation ahead for us? Or is that just a dryad thing?”
She finally looks up at me earnestly, “Lord, I’m not as beautiful as Meriam. I would gladly serve you, even if you don’t want to make love to me.”
I lean down and kiss her with all the passion that Meriam gave me. When I let her catch her breath I tell her, “Cassandra, you are different than Meriam and every woman in my family, but you are also exotically beautiful. I would gladly be your lover if you will have me.”
Her earnest expression slowly glows with happiness. “Lord, I will enthusiastically serve you in your waterways, and I will enthusiastically serve you in your bed! Please accept my service!”
I grin at her as I tell her, “Cassandra, I am honored to have your service. For your service, I offer my service. Your family is my family. Welcome.” I cup her cheek gently and kiss her passionately again.
Cassandra leans against my chest to catch her breath, then she looks up at me with a dazzling smile. “I’ll make you proud of me, my Lord.”
I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I already am proud of you, Cassandra.” That earns me another warm hug.
She steps back with a little “Khm” as she composes herself. She continues to shine her dazzling smile. “Lord, I don’t know if Oak Creek has a Naiad. I would like permission to find out. If not, I will make it part of your domain, Lord!”
I nod, “Of course, sweetie. Do what you think best. Remember my court is about using the power of love to make things better for everyone. If there is another naiad, offer to introduce us.”
She actually curtsies before jumping up to hug me and kiss my cheek, again. “Of course, my Lord.” She turns and runs down to the creek. She stops at the bank and strips off her dress. She turns to wave at me as I ogle her lovely figure. She turns into water and flows into Oak Creek.
Meriam and Trina sandwich me between them.
Trina whispers loud enough for Meriam to hear, “Thank the Goddess, I haven’t found anyone new for your bed since Supreet. You’ve been finding your own. I was afraid you would replace me as Chief Concubine!”
“Khm...fat chance of that, my Pet,” I tell her.
Meriam tugs on my arm, “My Lord, let me tell you a little bit about nymphs.” I nod, and she continues, “ Your ancestors bound nature spirits into bodies they created. As such, our nature drives us to serve the Green Lord. We are spiritual beings that watch over our respective parts of nature. There are a variety of different types of nymphs. I am a dryad - the living spirit of a tree embodied in a woman. My nature is to create and nurture a grove of trees and ensure it is a healthy biome for all the life in and near it. By the way, I will need to plant my seed to grow my tree, in which I will live, rest, and recuperate from being out in the world. I need to do it soon, my Lord, or I will fade and die.”
“Okay,” I say. “We’ll pick out a good spot before I leave and ensure it is well marked.”
She nods and continues, “Thank you, my Lord. Naiads, as Cassandra said, are water nymphs that nurture waterways. They clear pollution, keep the PH balanced, deal with polluters, ensure there is a diversity of life in the waters and along their banks in much the same way dryads nurture a grove. They are probably the most powerful of all nymphs. By the way, yours is smitten with you,” she grins at me.
“Finally,” she says, “I have with me thirty-two hamadryads, which are basically nymphs that are also trees. It’s a subtle difference from dryads, but important. Each hamadryad can sprout other trees of their type from standard process of natural trees. Additionally, they can breed with a male human, sidhe, dwarf, or a male of the line of Green Lords. This allows them to birth a new hamadryad of the same breed of tree. The number I have with me provide you with an immediate grove despite your court being in the desert. We may have to p
lant some natural trees for pollination, but we have multiples of most.”
“That’s great, Meriam. Uh...just how many of them am I expected to sleep with?” I ask.
Meriam and Trina both laugh. Once they start to slow down and catch a breath, Meriam tells me, “None, my Lord.” Trina starts laughing again at the expression of relief on my face. Meriam continues, “It would be nice if you gave each one a kiss to welcome them into your service, but even that is not required. You may of course sleep with any that desire you, but it is not traditional for the Lord to bed ALL his hamadryads. Jana will probably pass on her greeting kiss as she is ill.”
I ask, “Do I need to heal her?”
Meriam replies, “You could, my Lord, but I recommend you let the living shadows do their work instead. They will heal her in time for her to seed and be reborn, plus they will eventually inhabit the soil all through your lands here and ensure there are no soil-borne diseases for any plant. That’s one of their preferred food sources. In addition to Jana, our only elm, we have two walnut, two hazelnut, four aspen, a fir, two pine, a desert oak, two pin oak, two maple, three poplar, two sycamore, a pair of golden cherry, and three yew. Several will require nurturing as they are not native to the desert, but that is why I am here.” She smiles at me brightly.
“Okay, Meriam.” I look at her with a grimace. “Let’s get the kissing over with. I need to get on with my day.”
She laughs as I hear a new voice from behind me, “May I go first, Lord?”
I turn around to see a medium-height beauty with cherubic cheeks, skin the color of tree bark, and a short mini dress that appears to be made of leaves. She’s smiling hopefully at me. “I’m Cerise, and it’s my honor to serve you, my Lord.” Behind her I see a crowd walking up from around the back of the western hill. She walks up and lays a passionate lip lock on me, winks at me, and then saunters off with a saucy twitch inside her leafy skirt. She no sooner walks away than another lovely tree nymph is approaching, reaching her arms towards my neck. There is a crowd standing right behind her.
After thirty-plus kisses from thirty-one beautiful tree nymphs, I’m standing in the middle of the draw, light-headed and more than a little horny.
Trina walks up and wraps me in a hug. “Do you need some relief, Master? You could take me over the hood of my truck if you like.” She grins up at me as I process what she’s saying.
I grab a fistful of her silky hair and pull her in for a kiss.
“Is that a ‘yes,’ master?” she asks.
I spin her around and spank her ass, then pull her back to me. “You can translate that to ‘you are so getting fucked on the way home,’ my Pet!”
She wraps her arm back to pull my head forward for a passionate kiss. She turns in my arms and climbs up my body. I hold her firm tushy in both hands as she breaks the kiss and looks down at me. “The sooner, the better, my Love,” she says before pulling my face into her breasts.
As Trina slowly slides down my body, I hear a truck pull in the back of the property. As Trina puts her feet on the ground, I give her another warm kiss. Kristina runs up and jumps on my back. “Me too, me too,” she says. I turn back and give her a wet kiss, too.
Kristina slides down my back and tucks in to kiss Trina and hug us both as we wait for her uncle to join us.
Chapter 26 - Checking out the new house
When Merrill gets out of his truck and joins us, we walk the property discussing traffic patterns. We agree with Meriam to plant her tree next to the base of the western, or ‘vineyard,’ hill towards the northwest of the property. That should keep it out of traffic patterns. Meriam is certain she can get enough water for her tree to thrive as she will be fairly close to the source of Cassandra’s spring.
Then we walk back to Merrill’s truck, and he pulls out the architectural diagrams for the residence. There will be three floors for my family and an underground facility, or ‘sith,’ behind the residence inside the rock of the small mountain. I hesitate to call it a ‘sith’ as I am under the impression those are alive for some reason. Merrill says it may well come alive before too long given the nature of my powers.
He explains that the roof surfaces will all be solar. There is also a planned machine shed behind the vineyard and a guardhouse at the Echo Canyon Road entrance. Both will also be covered with solar collectors. Merrill has contingency plans to add another stand-alone solar array in case our expected demand exceeds the current expected production. We’ll also have two windmills and potentially a water wheel generating electricity for additional power production.
Across all the buildings, all lighting will be 5v DC. Appliance, electronics, and tooling circuits will be standard 60hz AC at 110 and 220 volts. Kitchen and music room will be 20 amp circuits. The garage and shop will have dual 20 amp circuits. We will have a boiler to power floor heat, main house hot water, and supplemental pool heat. We are planning to utilize localized on-demand water heaters in the outbuildings, and the primary pool heat will be passive solar.
AC will be a redundant array of 5-ton variable-speed units with the heat exchangers cached behind a wall designed to look like part of the landscape. Merrill isn’t certain if AC will be needed in the sith as being underground will keep the temperatures fairly steady, but he has planned all the duct runs and will have the anchors in place in case we decide we need to run them.
The residence itself will be very spacious. The bottom floor is the common space with a large kitchen and great room leading out to a large patio overlooking the creek. The plan is to put a huge U-shaped dining table in one half of the great room and small groupings of lounging chairs in the rest. It will have the largest amount of space at approximately 1900 square feet of living space.
The first floor up will be guest quarters with a concierge station at either end of a long hallway. Each guestroom will be a small suite. Creekside there is a small common lounging area inside leading to another significant balcony space - both with small groupings of lounge chairs. The common space will have an espresso station, bar, and kitchenette. The back concierge station acts as a welcoming center to inbound guests from the sith. I’m still not sure how that’s going to work, but Merrill, Trina, and Kristina all agree it’s a great idea. The front one oversees the hospitality services. Both are planned to be well armed and have security workstations.
The top floor is my immediate family’s home. It includes a master suite and the seraglio, each of which will be looking out onto a modest balcony, a ‘small’ kitchen, and spa for my immediate family.
I’m trying to figure out how guests that drive up will enter. Merrill concedes they’re still working through that with Trina. She doesn’t want an unguarded entrance, but Kristina and Myra both don’t want to make the guest experience seem like they are entering a fortress, even if they are. The current concept is to have a covered entry where two cars can pull in at a time to disgorge guests onto a covered, lighted walkway to a concierge desk. This concierge desk would be equipped much like the ones on the second floor, but with more ‘concierges’ and both technological and magical threat detection methods in abundance. They would enter onto the lounge side of the ground floor.
There are two lifts planned. One would be for guests, servicing only the lowest two floors and opening to the north of the inside concierge station; thus, allowing access to either the underground complex or the guest suites. The second lift will be for immediate family only, serving all three floors. Access to it is situated in a private alcove on each floor to the east side of the dwelling.
I tell Merrill how impressed I am. He gives Kristina and Trina most of the credit. He also mentions that he would like to run this all past Queen Myra, but that Christoff hasn’t found an open slot with her, yet.
Merrill continues to explain that he expects to start terracing the vineyard under Kristina’s supervision on Monday, as well as stripping the topsoil from the residence build site. That topsoil will be used to supplement the vineyard. Additionally, he plans to break
ground on the residence on Tuesday. All topsoil will be kept, any not used for the vineyards will be used to landscape around the residence once construction is finished. Rock is going to a fill location.
On Monday, Merrill also plans to establish two construction shacks at the Echo Canyon entrance. One will be the construction manager’s office. The other will be for security. Trina and I discuss putting another security station off Old Schoolhouse Road. Security will all be contractors at this point. We also agree to span the creek with a small bridge that will accommodate small four-wheelers in case the security teams need to move to support each other or bring in supplies, etcetera.
Kristina points out that we may want to hold off on digging the sith and garage. I ask Merril to relook that part of the design with the idea that we will own the property on the back side off the road. It shouldn’t change the excavation for the residence, but it could make a different on the sith, garage, and shop. It might be easier to bring the entrances to the east side rather than down that slope into the saddle between the hills.
Merrill is certain it will change the location for the lifts and drive-up guest entrance. We can focus on the vineyards until we get that settled. Merrill thinks he can have it ironed out by the weekend. He commits to doing a walk around the mountain before leaving today. Kristina will work with KC to get the land purchase completed rapidly.
I tell Merrill to consult with Kristina in my absence, as she is the Lady of the House. She glows when I say it. I also tell him to expect Myra here by the weekend to consult. He says that once we have the plans finalized, things will move quickly. The miner clan is between jobs; consequently, there is no shortage of skilled labor to do the work. It will move quickly. He already has people working on engineering beams for some of the larger spans needed to speed things along.
* * *
I thank Merrill and start to corral my ladies to start loading up. As they all congregate, I kiss Meriam and tell her, “I look forward to seeing you again soon, Grove Mother. Take care, sweetie.” She smiles at me hugely and steps back.