by Randi Darren
The Orc shrugged his shoulders. It was supposition, but it helped Vince.
“Can you describe the corpses?”
“Eaten,” described the Orc helpfully.
“Okay, then. Anything else of interest?”
“Well, they almost caught it up on the Sauter place. North of Bellevue. They got there in time to drive the creature off.”
Interesting.
“They saved the lamb. It died ten minutes after that, though. No one wanted to touch it. They burned the corpse and then covered it with dirt.”
Ugh, superstitious idiots. Any evidence at all would be helpful.
Vince forced a smile on his face. “And that was two weeks ago?”
“About.”
Vince pulled out a scrap of paper from an interior pocket in his vest. Setting down another standard next to the pencil on the desk, Vince gave Jerod another smile. Picking up the pencil, he tapped the coin with it. “Mind listing off all the locations and dates of the attacks?”
Thirty minutes later and Vince was walking back to their room with a list. It’d taken some time to get the full accounting from the Orc, as he had had to help customers as they came in.
Grasping the knob, Vince stopped. With a smile at his own paranoia, he raised a hand and knocked gently on the door.
“It’s Vince,” he said aloud at the door after a few seconds.
Almost immediately after that, the door swung open and he was greeted by a wet-haired Dryad with a towel wrapped around her torso.
She gave him a smile and stepped aside to let him in.
Vince entered and looked around for a moment. The far bed had a lump in it that looked suspiciously like an Orc. Unmoving and likely sleeping.
Letting his eyes move back to Meliae, he watched as she slithered into the other bed. She pulled the covers up to her nose and then pointed at the bathroom.
“I’d invite you to share the bed… but you smell like horse and far too many miles under the sun. Go clean up, then come back and… dirty me,” said the Dryad. Her eyes watched him over the sheets, a mischievous light glowing in them.
“Nymph.”
Meliae made a musical sound and widened her eyes. It gave her an almost innocent look—if he didn’t know better, that is.
She wasn’t as combative as Fes, but she was more forward in their private moments. Especially when it came to the bedroom.
Chuckling, Vince stripped himself down to his birthday suit. Entering the bathroom, he felt a moment of confusion as he closed the door behind him.
Light came in through the slatted blinds to reveal that the bathroom was still in use. The tub, specifically.
It held a bathing green-skinned Orc. A lovely specimen of muscled athleticism. A towel was propped up under her neck and head. Next to the big tub on a stool was an empty cup, one hand resting nearby as if she’d finished it only recently.
The water had a faint pink color to it and Vince had to wonder if they’d scented and oiled it.
“The tea helped. The cramping stopped pretty fast. Hot water helps, oil smells great. Thank you,” Fes murmured.
Oh. Her time for moonsickness.
A couple things clicked into place for him.
Fes had gone straight to bed the last few nights, leaving him alone with Meliae. He hadn’t complained about the change. He had thought that perhaps they were merely shaking up the pattern to keep things lively.
Now it made sense. She hadn’t felt clean, or in the mood. Sending her second out to take care of him in her place.
“While I’m glad to hear you’re not in pain…” Vince said softly. Fes’s shoulders tightened up at the sound of his voice. Her hands griped tightly to the sides of the tub. “I’m not Meliae. Forgive me, she sent me in here to bathe. Said I smelled like the wrong end of a horse.”
Dark black eyes popped open and focused in on him. They then immediately fastened to his manhood before moving upwards to his face.
She always had a predatory look. He couldn’t deny the fact that her bold and brazen looks always sped his heartrate up a bit.
“You do smell like the wrong end of a horse. Clean up. When you’re done, you can have the tub.” Closing her eyes and settling back into the towel, she pointed with her free hand to the corner. “Use the scrub brush and bucket. Soap smells like Meliae.”
Vince interpreted that comment to mean that the soap was herbal in nature.
Smiling to himself, and pausing to get another eyeful of the bathing Orc, Vince went to the corner to begin scrubbing off their trip.
Fes and Meliae coming with him on this journey was a mile of a difference between his lonesome journeys. The fact that he wasn’t alone, on its own merit, was an already amazing change. There was no possible way to put a value on someone watching your back, sharing watches with you. Splitting camp duties.
Then there were the nightly romps.
Grinning at the thought of it, he realized there was something he could do for his ailing Fes.
Taking himself to the task at hand, Vince scrubbed at his skin until it turned red. Then lathered himself to excess. Washing himself twice after refilling the bucket.
Soap came with the room. Paid for it. Use it all up. My soap.
Water splashed out of the bucket as he tossed the filthy wash rag into it. Standing up, he stretched his arms back over his head and then settled back down.
Fes opened her eyes as he turned around. A small furrow creased her brow for a moment and flashed away. She gripped the sides of the tub to brace herself to stand up.
“No, no. Stay seated, Fes,” Vince said with a smile, holding out a palm to her.
Fes looked mildly annoyed but settled back into the tub.
“What are you doing?” asked the warrior.
Vince gave no response and instead moved towards the tub. Putting his hand in the water, he found that it was still quite warm. There was no need for him to change the water for her.
Sidling up beside her, he took the empty cup. Setting it to one side, he took the now empty stool and set it behind her. Taking a seat, he laid his hands on her shoulders and then began to work his thumbs and fingertips into her muscles.
“Mmmmpfffhhh.” Fes relaxed immediately, her head resting back on the towel. Her dark hair hung limply over the edge of the tub.
Vince worked slowly and methodically over her shoulders and neck, rubbing and pressing at the iron stiff muscles and soft slippery skin.
Expanding the area he was working on, he reached up under her hair and started to work the base of her skull.
“Please. Yes,” Fes murmured.
Grinning wide at the request, Vince pressed his thumbs to the back of her head and worked steadily at her. Fes’s arms went slack and slid into the tub, her mouth hanging open, tusks in full view.
Rubbing and pressing firmly he worked his way around the base of her skull. Inching towards her ears, he continued to knead her skin.
Over her brow, down her cheekbones, along her jawbone, and down under her jaw.
Black eyes slid open and watched him from an upside position.
Smiling at her, he felt her jaw tighten up. Imagining she was going to say something, he slid his fingers just behind her jaw and waited.
“My tusks don’t bother you.” It was more of a statement than a question.
To answer her question, he teased her mouth open with his fingers and then dragged his thumbs along those very same tusks.
Hard, sharp, deadly.
“Nope. Why should they?” He was feeling a little flirty right now. Fes didn’t tease him like Meliae did, which gave him the opportunity to do so himself.
Sure, she was physically aggressive, grabbing his ass or fondling him, but never flirty.
“Cood bi yu,” Fes said nearly unintelligibly. Her teeth closing down on his fingers. Her teeth sank in but didn’t break the skin. Her lips closed and she watched him, waiting for his response.
The sensation of her tender lips and strong teeth made
his skin prickle. He was already at half mast from rubbing a beautiful naked woman. With the added sensations of her mouth, he wasn’t surprised to feel himself go fully erect in a heartbeat.
“You could. You won’t. Now let go of my fingers or I’ll think terrible thoughts of what you can do with your mouth.” Vince quirked a brow at her and gently pulled back on his fingers. She had a good grip on him; not enough to hurt him, but he couldn’t get free without a little effort.
Both eyebrows went up at that and her teeth slid apart.
“You’d want that?” Fes asked, her eyes watching him.
“Why wouldn’t I? A beautiful woman servicing me like that? Can’t threaten me with a good time there. Not something for me to ask for, though.” Vince leaned forward and brushed her lips with his own. “Now, shall I get you a towel, or would you like to soak a bit more?”
She turned her head partway to the side and studied him for a few seconds. Her cheeks became a very dark green as she stared. Her eyes flicked down to his erect self nearly pointing at her.
Fes turned over in the tub completely, splashing water over the lip. Before he could respond to that, her right hand reached out and gently cupped his privates. Her water-soaked skin was pliable and soft as she started to fondle him.
Her left hand gripped his hip and pulled him towards her.
Not wanting to risk stopping her, as who would ever say no to what he assumed she was about to do, he went with her pull.
Her fingers massaged and rubbed the family jewels as her soft lips parted and slid around his tip.
Not content with that, she pulled him closer until his thighs were pressed to the tub. In that one motion, she had buried his tip in the back of her throat.
Giving him a firm squeeze with her fingers, she moved her head back. Easing herself forward again, she then started to smoothly bob her head back and forth.
She kept her tongue writhing and swirling around him as her lips slid from tip to hilt and back again.
Laying one hand atop her head and the other on her shoulder, he balanced himself, but made no move to direct her in any way.
It was her show and her desire; who was he to dictate it for her?
She’s really been paying attention to Meliae, shit.
Rolling her tongue and pushing his tip along the roof of her mouth and down her throat, she had him lost in the pleasure of it.
As she dragged her head back, she sucked firmly on him, her dark eyes moving up to watch him.
Fes’s fingers slid up along the back of his sack to press and rub. He could feel her fingers pushing at him in a way that mimicked exactly what Meliae did.
She hadn’t just been paying attention, but she’d clearly gotten pointers from Meliae.
She was eager and willing, if not confident. Where Meliae found out what he liked and then played to that, Fes seemed more willing to explore and try to find different things. New things.
Fes things.
She made a small, questioning noise as her left hand snuck up and circled his base with her thumb and forefinger. Her fingers pressed in as her right hand squeezed his sack firmly.
Between the vibration of her mouth and her fingers working him, Vince let out a rapid breath.
As if by magic, he was right at the cusp of losing the small bit of control he had.
“Fes, if you keep it up I’m going to cum,” Vince whispered, his fingers curling in her hair.
As if it meant something entirely different to her, she made another small noise. Then she sped up.
What had been a caressing yet steady suction up to this point became mind-numbingly crushing between her cheeks and tongue.
Her right hand closed up on his balls tightly and pulled, squeezed, and massaged them. Not leaving all the work to her right hand, her left started to travel back and forth with her mouth, giving him another level of friction.
Grunting, he felt his hand close into her hair and his girth swell up in size.
Fes dove down to his hilt, pushing him deep into her throat, her left hand sliding away to grab his hip firmly. Keeping him there.
Shaking, he felt his seed spurt out, his toes curling at the way Fes manhandled him. Her grip on his jewels tightened further, milking him.
An audible gulp reached his ears as he felt Fes’s throat constrict on him, swallowing him down. Another full spurt and another swallow could be heard as she contracted down on him, devouring him.
Then she pulled her head back rapidly as he felt a third shot leave him, followed by a final fourth ejection into her mouth, splashing her tongue and teeth liberally.
Coughing as he exited her mouth, Fes turned her head to the side and spat up a glob of thick seed and saliva. Coughing roughly, she got up another bit before taking a deep breath.
“Thick. So thick,” Fes muttered, her hand stroking him back and forth as her eyes turned up to him.
Vince only nodded his head, her hand slowly working whatever he had left out.
“Damn, Fes, that was fantastic,” Vince murmured, his breath fluttering at the continued attention she was giving his extremely sensitive manhood.
Fes gave him a smirk and kissed the tip, then dragged her tongue over it.
Vince shuddered from head to toe, wanting to curl up in on himself.
As if sensing his desire to pull away, she pulled on him, her hand tightening around him. Looking up at him, she kissed the side of his twitching member.
“Mine,” Fes declared, her hand giving him a squeeze to emphasize her point.
Damn skippy it is.
Fes sauntered out of the bathroom without another word after that, not even casting an eye at him.
He wasn’t sure what victory she had apparently claimed, either over him or Meliae, but it was clear she was feeling like she’d won.
Cleaning up quickly, Vince re-entered their room, only to find Fes fast asleep. She was sprawled out under the covers, taking up the entire breadth and width of the bed.
Apparently it’s naptime.
Looking to the other bed, he found Meliae under the covers, watching him.
“Well. A couple hours till dinner. Maybe we—”
Meliae flipped the covers off of herself to reveal she was nude. Nude and spread eagle on the bed.
Giving him a brazen smile, she crooked a finger at him.
His soldier jumped to attention and pointed Vince onward towards the Nymph.
“What a fun day.”
Chapter 9
Vince glanced at the map they’d purchased on their way out of town. Putting his hands on his knees, he shifted to get comfortable in the grass.
Meliae set a double handful of acorns on the corner of the laid-out paper. Squatting down next to it, she curled a lock of her hair around and ear, then turned her head and looked at the map in front of Vince.
Vince had been staring at the smooth neck of the Dryad. At the base of her throat was a purple bite mark that he’d given her the night previous. For whatever reason, she drew out the aggression in him. She seemed to be thrilled by it and wanted more of it every time they had a go of it.
Forcing his eyes back to the map, he pulled out a piece of paper. Flipping it open, he read over it. It was a list of all the places that had been attacked.
“Right, so if we start marking them out…” Vince’s voice trailed off as he began setting the acorns down on each location.
He could feel Fes leaning over him, watching him as he worked.
“There,” Vince said, leaning back from the map.
The acorns were spread out in a large area but were focused mostly around the farming area in the province of Salem. None of the attacks crossed north into Portland agriculture.
“Strange. It’s all in Salem. There’s only one beast I know of that would hunt one particular area over another when the only difference is a name,” Vince said, waving a hand over the area.
“Humans,” Fes muttered.
Meliae nodded her head in agreement.
“Th
at seems like it to me. Suppose we’ll find out. Matches up with the lack of tracks, strange leavings, and everything else. Well, up until…” Vince paused, checking his note. “Two weeks ago. Corpses started getting left behind.”
“A difference in the pattern?” Fes asked.
“Different pattern. Different source,” Meliae disagreed.
“Right. That makes even more sense if you check the last two attack locations,” Vince said, pointing out two different acorns. “Same day, same night, too far apart for them to have been the same creature, person, or otherwise.”
Fes grunted. “We take the pattern breaker first.”
“Agreed. Take the random element out first, and then we can re-evaluate our pattern,” Meliae said, nodding her head.
Standing up, she brushed her hands against her hips.
“Right.” Vince gave the map a flip, sending acorns everywhere. Rolling up the map, he looked westward.
“Amusingly enough, that one seems to be hovering around Bellevue. It hasn’t struck Bellevue yet, though, which makes it a likely target. That’s the site of the original attack.”
“We ambush it. Lay in wait. Then kill them.” Fes clapped her hands together, her armor rattling a little at the movement.
“That very well could be, Fes. Though I’d like to see what we’re facing first. Who knows, it could be someone who’s hungry and starving. Maybe they’re not quite as capable as they thought they were?” Vince asked with a straight face. His goal wasn’t to demean or humiliate her, but to make sure she realized that extenuating circumstances could put people in difficult positions.
Like attacking a Ranger and his two charges.
Fes’s shoulders bunched up, her brow creasing. She took in a breath as if to argue, held it, then let it out in a rush. Her body posture deflated immediately, her forehead smoothing.
Holding up a hand, she gave him a weary smile. “Thank you, husband. You prick me ever so gently.”
Meliae scoffed at that. “No he doesn’t, you scream louder than I do. Then again, that’s your preference to wrestle with him, not mine. I’m all for being conquered, just not fighting for it.”
Fes started laughing immediately, slapping a hand against her knee. Meliae gave the Orc a winsome smile as Fes lifted a hand in defeat. As the Orc met Vince’s eyes, she ended up only going deeper into hysterics.