by K. L. Thorne
“Lephas!” Lori growled through her teeth.
If he had been a younger man, Lephas didn't doubt he would have come right there along with her, no assistance needed. He barely held onto his self-control.
She was hot, tight and unbelievably wet inside, just as he had imagined she would be. Her internal muscles clamped down around his fingers with the tell-tale rhythmic force of an orgasm. One she had apparently been in desperate need of.
He watched her face, entranced by her. All too soon her body slumped, growing heavy with relaxation and he knew it was over. He pulled his fingers free, enjoying the soft moan he earned whilst doing so.
As soon as he had wriggled his hand free, Lori snapped her thighs shut. She lay back, catching her breath and still trembling. Lephas rolled onto his own back beside her.
Neither of them spoke for long moments, just stared up at the roof of the lean-to. Lephas waited for the blood pounding in his ears to fade.
“Wow, that was good!” Lori eventually whispered.
Once the heat of the moment had passed, Lori began shivering. Lephas sat up and groaned with pain as his ribs jostled.
The princess was already half-asleep and he pulled her fur jacket tight over her chest, buttoning it closed for her. She watched him vacantly, her eyes glazed with pleasure-induced exhaustion. Satisfied that she wouldn't freeze, he turned his attention to buckling himself back into his thick, warm leather jacket.
The fire was still flickering and crackling but the demon diligently threw a few more dried chunks of bark and twigs onto it. It wouldn't last the whole night, but if it only kept them warm until the early hours that would be better than nothing.
He yawned despite the raging hard on he was still sporting. The demon glanced over his shoulder. Lori was curled on her side, fast asleep and snoring softly. Alcohol and an orgasm would do that to a person. Lephas grinned.
Being careful not to knock himself, he eased down onto his side and tucked his body in tight behind her. The faerie sighed softly, contented.
Lephas pulled the woollen blanket over them and closed his eyes. He had no doubt what his dreams would be consisting of that night.
CHAPTER TEN
Lori awoke the next morning feeling rejuvenated with a wide smile on her face. Though the snow continued to fall steadily outside the lean-to, Lori felt warm and cosy, snuggled up under the woollen blanket with Lephas.
What a night.
She turned her head to gaze at her demon companion. He was still asleep, his handsome face relaxed and worry free. He lay on his back with one arm raised and tucked behind his head. She watched his wide chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths.
Lori fought a smug smile and took a moment to simply look at the commander. It was safe to admit she was officially smitten. Happiness bloomed in her chest.
Lori had foolishly thought she had experienced an orgasm before, but it had never been anything like last night. She had never been so glad to have been proven wrong. The princess marvelled anew at how great she felt.
Just when she had thought he couldn't get much more attractive. She shivered and stretched out sleepily.
The faerie rolled over, tucking herself in tight to Lephas and wrapping an arm and leg over his large, sleeping frame. She nuzzled into the warmth of his neck, pressing soft kisses against his skin. He stirred and brought his arm down to wrap around her waist.
“Good morning to you, too,” he eventually said, though his eyes were still closed. His voice was deep and coarse from sleep.
Lori just made a contented humming noise and continued to pepper his neck with kisses, squirming her body against him.
“Someone's affectionate this morning. Was last night that good?”
“Yeah it was,” Lori murmured and propped herself up a little to kiss the commander's mouth softly. Just remembering it had a familiar warmth growing between her thighs once again.
He kissed her back passionately. Usually self-conscious, Lori couldn't even bring herself to be too concerned with her morning breath; logical thought was already slowly being snuffed out. She clambered on top of the demon hurriedly and spread her legs over his body.
“Watch the rib,” Lephas grunted between kisses.
Lori broke away. “Oh, sorry – am I–”
“It's fine.” He cut her off, grabbing her bruised face and pulling her into a firm kiss. This time it was Lori who winced in pain.
“Shit, sorry. I forgot.” Lephas released her immediately.
“We're both in a bit of a sorry state, aren't we?” Lori laughed and ducked her head to kiss at the commander's neck once more.
He sighed, running his palms up her thighs and squeezing her appreciatively. Lori tentatively licked at the sensitive depression where his jugular vein lay. She felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and smiled when he groaned. Lori delighted in every overtly masculine sigh and moan she managed to drag from him. She feared she would never tire of it.
“We've got nothing important to do today, right?” she asked with a smile, pressing a hot kiss against the demon's cheek.
“I'm sure we do, though I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what right now...” he answered, laughing breathlessly.
They kissed for long moments. Lori took care to not rest too much of her body weight against the commander's chest for fear of knocking his broken rib.
“You sure know how to brighten a guy's day.” Lephas chuckled, placing one last chaste kiss against her mouth before effortlessly rolling her over onto her back. He untangled himself from her hold and sat up to roll his shoulders, undoubtedly stiff from another night on hard ground.
Lori was disappointed that their embrace had ended. She lay wrapped in the woollen blanket for a while longer, watching the commander as he sat beside her and looked out at the falling snow.
“Today is going to be a long day,” he sighed, scowling at the snow-laden sky above them.
“Can't we just stay here?” Lori snuggled her face into the blanket.
“If only.” Lephas shot her a tight smile before heaving himself up onto his feet with a grunt. He snatched his sword from the ground and re-fastened it at his hips, then hastily pulled his gloves back on and retrieved the thick woollen scarf from his pack.
“Where are you going?” Lori asked, sitting up.
“I'm going to go check those rabbit snares. I'm hoping we may have caught another one that we can carry with us until tonight,” the demon replied, wrapping his scarf around his neck and tucking it away beneath his armour neatly.
“Shall I stay here?”
“You're welcome to come with me, but I won't be long. Why don't you start packing things up?”
“Alright, deal.” Lori nodded and, bracing herself for the cold, threw the blanket from her legs.
“I'll be right back.” He smiled at her briefly before turning his back and hiking off through the snow.
Lori sighed, forlorn as her handsome demon disappeared from view. The camp felt empty without him. She dug through the travel bag and, locating the fur snood, tugged it back over her head. The snow fall was heavy, but the bitter wind was absent. It wouldn't be quite as cold as it had been two days prior, but the drop in temperature without the sun was still palpable.
Lori started by rolling up the mattress. She made quick work of it and expertly strapped it to Lephas's bag. Next, she folded the blanket up neatly so as not to take up too much room and shoved it inside. After taking a healthy swig from the freshly replenished water skin, she also attached that to the bag.
Though she didn't feel too nauseated, her mouth was dry and, now she was sat up, her head ached. A sure sign that she had partaken perhaps a little too much alcohol the night before.
It had been strong, but not wholly unpleasant once she had gotten used to it. Lori wondered if she could persuade Captain Sensible to drink a bit more heartily with her next time. The faerie grinned; she would like to see him with his guard down properly.
She retrieved
the whisky bottle and, after ensuring the stopper was firmly in place, slid it carefully back into Lephas's pack.
Deciding to brave the snow, Lori piled her curls messily into a bun and flicked her hood up. She stabbed her hands back into her gloves and clambered out from beneath the lean-to.
They had very few possessions between them. The faerie picked up the metal pot she had boiled water in and, after tapping some snow out of it, returned that to the bag as well.
All that was left was to dissemble the lean-to. She knelt and attempted to tug one of the tent pegs from the ground. It wouldn't budge. Lori scowled at it and reached for it again, this time with both hands. She pulled as hard as she could. Still nothing.
Just as she was about to give up, her gloves slipped and lost their grip on the frozen metal. The princess fell backwards gracelessly into the snow with a heavy thump.
“Ouch!” she squealed, air knocked temporarily out of her lungs. She scrambled back to her feet. At least Lephas hadn't see that - she could almost hear his mocking already. Lori smiled to herself.
It was nice, the banter she and the demon had. Lori had never spoken as easily with anyone besides her sisters. She didn't feel like she had to pretend with him, not that there was much left of her that he hadn't seen.
Lori had yelled, laughed, cried and come in front of him now. That was a pretty big deal for her.
The sound of snow crunching underfoot drew her attention. Lephas had returned, a bundle of brown fur in one hand and his homemade snares in the other.
“So, we got another one then?” Lori called to him, resting her hands on her hips.
He grinned triumphantly. “We did. I'm relieved, that'll make setting up a camp later tonight much easier.”
Though the sight of the lifeless creature was still unsettling to her, Lori fought with herself not to react. She was determined to 'toughen up' as Lephas had instructed.
The demon stood just in front of her. He deftly undid one of the snares, wrapping the wire tightly around the rabbit's back feet. Lori watched and masked the horrified expression on her face with cool indifference as he tied the other end of the wire tightly to his pack, leaving the rabbit dangling upside down. Lori bit her tongue and turned her attention back to the tent pegs.
“I can't get these free.”
“I'll get them now,” Lephas replied, striding over to join her. The demon knelt and grabbed the peg, as the princess had done before him. She waited, with a smug smile, for him to go flying backwards just as she had.
Disappointingly, the peg came free from the solid ground with a single tug, though the commander grunted in pain as he disturbed his injury. Lori wasn't sure whether to be irritated or impressed that he had managed to make that look so easy.
“Is everything else packed now?” he asked, turning his dark eyes up to look at her.
“I believe so. Just the lean-to now,” she replied.
Lephas nodded and threw the tent peg over his shoulder in her direction. Taken by surprise, Lori lunged to catch it but missed.
She grumbled under her breath and bent to retrieve it from the snow. The demon grinned at her before tugging the second peg free.
This time he paused, catching her eye before throwing it to her. Lori caught it smoothly and stuck her tongue out at him.
He laughed and got to his feet, trudging through the snow to the root he had fastened the sheet to. Lori eyed the bag with the dead rabbit attached to it hesitantly. She held her breath and reached out to move the small, furry corpse to the one side so she could put the pegs away.
Its body was solid and cold, no life left within the creature. Somehow that made it a little easier than seeing it limp and warm like the rabbit from the previous day.
The sheet fell free from the root as Lephas pulled the hooks out. The thin dusting of snow that had settled on it slid from the waxed surface easily.
The commander grabbed it, shaking it clean before quickly folding it up and tucking it back inside his pack. He also placed the two silver screw hooks back into the same pocket as the pegs.
“I think that's it. Let's get moving. You'll soon warm up.” The commander cast an eye over her and hoisted the bag up onto his shoulder before beginning to hike ahead.
Though the princess was loath to admit it, even in the short space of time that she had been stood motionless, she had already grown cold and begun to shiver.
“Do you still know which way we need to go?” Lori asked, tucking a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear.
“Honestly, it's only an educated guess. I've never been into this part of the forest before and I don't really know where we're going. I can only get the lay of the land and try to piece it together as we go,” Lephas admitted.
The faerie laughed. “Still more of a clue than I would have. Did your father teach you how to navigate as well?”
“No, not in any greater capacity than simple survival skills - how to track animals, find water... That kind of thing. I just have a pretty good natural sense of direction. The king usually relies on me to scout and draw up maps for him.”
“That's impressive,” Lori praised.
“I think if anyone spent as much time as I have wandering around in the wilderness, they'd eventually get pretty good at finding their way.” Lephas shrugged.
“How long have you been working for the king?” Lori asked curiously, already out of breath as they climbed a steep incline.
“I can't really remember. Ten years? At least.” Lephas replied, glancing over his shoulder questioningly when Lori giggled.
“I was only sixteen ten years ago, you know.”
“Fuck, don't tell me that.” Lephas shot her a pained smile. “That makes me feel old... And a bit of a pervert.”
“You are officially a dirty old man.” Lori teased.
In a flash, Lephas had grabbed a fist full of snow from a nearby pine branch. He spun and launched the snowball at her.
Lori squealed in surprise, losing her footing and falling inelegantly onto her bottom.
“You dick!” she screeched, laughing as she struggled to her feet.
The demon didn't respond, just grinned mischievously at her. Never one to be beaten, Lori made a mental note – pay back would be inevitable. She waited, biding her time. If she pounced too soon, he would be suspicious of her. The princess felt a sly smile tugging at her cheeks.
They continued on and, once Lori was confident the commander had forgotten his snow ball altogether, she came to a halt.
“Hey...” the faerie called to him, pretending to be struggling with her boot. “I think one of my snow spikes has come loose.”
“Hang on, let me see.” Lephas turned and walked to her.
Hook, line...
Lori subtly grabbed a small handful of snow as she straightened back up. The demon knelt down before her to check her boot and she struck. She roughly shoved the handful of snow down the back of his jacket.
Sinker!
Lephas jolted to his feet with surprise and Lori sped away as quickly as she could manage in the deep snow, laughing.
“Shit that's cold!” he exclaimed with a laugh, attempting to shake the snow out from underneath his clothes.
“Payback!” Lori yelled at him with a grin, still running.
“Get back here, you little witch!” he shouted after her playfully. Lori squealed as he gave chase, stumbling away faster still.
Lephas easily caught up with her. The faerie screamed as he tackled her to the ground. They both fell heavily into the snow.
“Ugh, I shouldn't have done that.” Lephas groaned with a hoarse laugh, clutching his side. Lori attempted to squirm away from him, but he rebounded quickly, grabbing her legs and tugging her back underneath him.
Lori fought for breath, laughing and fighting against his hold. It was a fight she would never win. In seconds the demon had her wrists pinned.
As they locked eyes, the playful vibe ebbed away. They both panted breathlessly and g
azed at one another.
It occurred to Lori in that moment that she had not had that much fun in years. More alarmingly, she couldn't recall ever laughing as freely. She smiled softly at the demon on top of her, who was looking back at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. She desperately wondered what he was thinking. Was he feeling this same attraction to her?
A few moments passed and Lephas released her silently. They both got to their feet and brushed themselves off.
“I think I won,” Lephas goaded, breaking the heavy silence. He smacked her behind as he passed her, making her squeal.
“Did not!” she countered with a small laugh.
“Did too!”
“How old are you – seven or thirty-seven?” She teased.
“How do you know I'm a thirty-seven?” Lephas paused with a quizzical look on his face.
“Haros told me.”
The demon cursed under his breath with a laugh. “That bastard. He needs to learn to keep his nose out. What else did he tell you about me?”
“Not much, really,” Lori hedged.
“I don't believe that for a second.” Lephas shook his head, his face turning grim suddenly. “I hope he's alright.”
“I wish I could tell you not to worry, but...” Lori’s heart sank.
“Haros is a tough nut to crack. I've seen the guy take a beating before and I know he won't give up any information, but it makes me sick thinking about what they'll do to him.”
“This is all my fault.” The princess sighed heavily, feeling a lump growing in her throat. She pressed her lips together.
“Don't say that, you know it isn't.” Lephas slowed his walk to come in beside her. “We came to get you, remember? We knew encountering your father's men at some point was inevitable.”
“I know, but–”
“No buts. Personally, I'm glad we were there in the end. I don't want to think about what would have happened to you if we hadn't been there.”
Lori didn't reply, but felt a violent shudder rip through her body. She looked down at the snow and swallowed thickly.
“I know my friend. Haros wouldn't have had it any other way either,” the demon's tone was low and gentle.