by D. R. Rosier
I pondered that for a moment.
I said not sounding sure of myself, “The attraction is there, and I already value her highly if not love her as a friend. But I’m not sure about some things. I am assuming there is no taboo against it?”
She shook her head, “It’s just very rare. The Elves generally stick to their forest so mostly I think it’s a lack of opportunity. There is also the age thing, you know Elves live just over a thousand years and age accordingly? She may look twenty, but she must be close to two hundred, maybe a little more. There probably are some that would be disgusted by it, but only closed minded bigots.”
I nodded, “That’s all good and well, but isn’t she the Elven representative to the king? I value her friendship too much to start something that is doomed to failure just to gratify some urges. That wouldn’t be very respectful of you either.”
Sienna kissed my cheek, “You’ll have to ask her about that. If she needs to go back to report, then we can go along, if she needs to go back and stay… Really, all I am saying is I approve and that I’ll get along with her famously, you need to take care of the rest.”
I asked softly, “Are you tired?”
Sienna shrugged, “A little, you?”
I grinned and rolled on top of her, pushing her legs apart with my knees.
I tried to look innocent but probably failed when I said, “Not yet,” while I slipped inside her…
Chapter 11
I woke up the next morning and rolled out of bed. After I dressed and belted on my sword I went out. With the three of us, Ari didn’t need to go off anywhere and was doing the sword dance right there in the same field we camped in. I stirred the fire to get it going again and sat down to watch.
Her dance was too complex; from start to finish it was about twenty minutes. I studied and broke it down into parts; much like a kata is done. I still wasn’t sure that I could teach it to myself, it wasn’t that simple and sometimes what feels right in the beginning is actually way off from what you think it is while learning a kata, or sword techniques.
Without an instructor to straighten and correct me it would be… beyond difficult. Still, it was worth learning it in my mind if only so I could prepare moves in my own style that would better counter an attack from an Elf in the future. I didn’t want to contemplate that, but I was sure not all Elves would be so solidly on my side as I knew Ari was.
Sienna was up and she looked so hot with a bow. I wondered if that said anything about me, that I liked my women to know how to bring violence to the enemy if necessary.
We ate a simple breakfast and broke down camp. It wasn’t long before we were miles down the road.
I had been using my magic to detect both air and water so much over the last two weeks that it was pretty much automatic now as we rode down the road. I wasn’t really thinking about it at all but my mind was taking it all in. A deer was fifty yards to our right and a family of rabbits were in the woods to the left. Squirrels, birds, and insects were plentiful all around me.
I would have thought all the information I could pick up from how things interact with the air would become overwhelming, but truthfully the magic helped somehow. I was both aware of all of it, yet it didn’t dominate the front of my thoughts.
The second day was ambush free as well and we set up camp an hour earlier. With me not having to drain off my magic to figure out how to measure it, we could start other training. Both Ari and I came up with creative moving targets for Sienna to shoot at. We also used our magic to randomly tickle, poke, make loud noises, and shouted war cries at Sienna to test her concentration and ability to shoot accurately under pressure.
Although she missed a few in the beginning, Sienna quickly learned the trick of how to lead the target based on distance and speed, almost as if by instinct. She was disgustingly good at archery and I was tempted to try and teach her sword as well at some point. Her prowess with the bow was also getting me a little hot, and I could hardly wait for dark.
We trained until my magic reached the half way to empty point. Ari insisted I had a little more raw power than she did, but that I needed to practice more to learn to conserve my magic better. Her magic was still quite a bit above half full.
It was still light out when we sat down for dinner and we were all in a good mood from the fun and successful training.
Sienna groaned, and then laughed as she sat down.
“Learning to shoot a bow has been great, but I have muscles screaming at me I didn’t even know I had until yesterday.”
I grinned, “That will get better after a week or so.”
She groaned and shot me a glare.
I coughed to cover a laugh, and then said, “Until then I’ll have to relieve you with a massage every night.”
We ate silently for while.
Ari broke the relaxed mood, “We need to be careful tomorrow. It’s the halfway point between Star’s Cove and Hunter’s Ridge and four days since the failed ambush. I just hope the king isn’t involved in whatever is going on, otherwise we are riding in the wrong direction.”
Sienna got up and moved in front of me, pointedly tapping on her shoulder and rubbing her arms.
I started to massage her neck and shoulders softly, then slowly worked my way up to enough pressure to work out her knots.
“I don’t know? I would imagine we would have been taken into custody in Star’s Cove if the king were behind it. There is something else going on. Is there some other reason for you going to the capitol besides renewing the treaty with a new king and learning any discovered spells that were made since last time?”
She shook her head, “Not really no. I had planned to be there a few years then go back home in peace.”
I pondered that a moment, “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but if they are trying to kill you, maybe there are some mages that don’t want the king to renew the treaty?”
Ari asked, “But then why the both of us, why target you?”
I shrugged, “They had a mole in the camp. Kendra may have told them I was spending time with you training. They will also know I’m a lone power since I assume Serina back in Cliff’s Edge reported my presence. Perhaps they feared without any connection to any mages here I would be inclined to take your side, and they would be right about that.”
Sienna moaned softly as I worked out a particularly hard knot.
Ari considered me for a moment, “Even if the king was involved?”
I replied, “You are my friend and my teacher. That means a lot to me. At the very least I would help you get back to your people. But I really don’t think the king is involved, he wouldn’t have to depend on unstable personalities and setting up bandit attacks. So I shall have to watch your back in the capitol instead.”
Sienna melted against me so I started massaging the front of her shoulders and up and down her arms.
Ari nodded with a small and mysterious smile on her face, “I will have yours as well.”
Sienna mumbled a prevarication, “I think it’s going to take much longer than a week for my muscles to acclimate… yes, much much longer. I’m afraid I’ll have to endure these massages for a long time to come.”
I snorted in amusement.
Ari said innocently, “You know, my neck’s been sore all day. I swear I must have slept wrong last night.”
Her silver eyes were twinkling.
Apparently I was taking too long in Sienna’s view to respond to Ari’s flirting comment, because she offered up my services.
Sienna stood and said, “He’s all yours, I’m wiped out and so relaxed I’m going to sleep.”
I watched as she sauntered over to the tent and disappeared inside in her unsubtle attempt to give us privacy and throw us together.
Ari got up and with a now shy smile sat where Sienna had been. I had been wondering what her silver hair would feel like in my hands for two weeks, and I wasn’t let down. It was lighter than human hair and it was soft and silky when I ran my hands through i
t. She shivered and let out a sigh. I wrapped her hair around to her front, splitting it on either side.
I gently ran my fingertips down the slope of her graceful neck, onto her shoulders. Her scent, that I had only taken in that one time two weeks ago from so close, hit me like a hammer and I felt myself grow hard. Except now I knew her much better, as we had gotten close in friendship over the last two weeks and closer still in how I regarded her.
I felt I could scarce describe it, but it was like an instant chemistry that some might feel with someone of the opposite sex. It was the kind where pheromones work perfectly between two people creating instant desire and lust. But her scent was so much more than that though, I wanted her right there in that instant so badly that my body froze.
I fought through the haze of lust firmly reminding myself I wasn’t an animal and that I cared very deeply for the woman in front of me as a friend and more. I started to caress her neck and shoulders, slowly ramping up the pressure of my fingertips. Her fair skin was so smooth and perfect under my touch. Her breath and heart picked up in speed and she made soft contented sounds.
Ari asked, “Is this alright? I can feel how tense you are. Does it bother you to touch me?”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips and felt her stiffen under my hands.
“No Ari,” I whispered, “Quite the opposite in fact. In all honesty the way I feel about you has gone past the bounds of friendship. To touch you is something I have wanted to do for a while now. But it is your scent that is driving me crazy.”
She asked, “My scent?”
I grinned, “Yes it… calls to me and creates a need in me.”
She rolled her neck and I felt her relax under me again.
I could hear the smile in her voice, “And why do you hold back?”
I grunted. “I would hear you feel the same, I would have your consent and desire first. I would have this be more than a simple rut out of physical attraction.”
I feared she would say she doesn’t feel the same, and I hoped she would say she does.
She didn’t say anything at all though, choosing action instead. She turned her body and straddled my legs and stared into my eyes as we sat face to face, our upper bodies pressed together. There were a lot of things we needed to consider and talk about, but none of it seemed to matter at all in this moment.
I leaned in with my hand behind her head and kissed her softly before we broke apart.
She rocked her body slightly, grinding through our clothes on my hardened length. She leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“I do, and want the same.”
Her musical voice was breathy, sultry and filled with need, “Take me here under the stars. My second name is Lira, and giving you the knowledge of it means we are more than friends.”
I had a feeling there was more significance to her telling me that than I understood, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
Our second kiss was far from soft; it was hard, needy, and animalistic in its lust and desire. I released the hard hold I had on my burning desire and breathed her scent in deeply. We tore at each other’s clothes and explored each other’s body feverishly. She seemed to be as lost in lust as I was and I moaned as she ran her fingernails harshly against my flesh as we kissed almost desperately.
I had the sense left to push her back onto our pile of clothes instead of the rocks and dirt. I gasped as I felt her heat against the tip of my manhood. I pushed forward while she wrapped her legs around my middle and tightened. Her body arched up as mine went down and I speared hard into her body.
She gasped my name and ran her hands through my hair and pulled my lips to her neck. The taste of her soft silky skin seemed to intensify the affects of her scent. The sensation of being enveloped in her hot silken sheath was bliss. I started moving in and out of her quickly as she bucked up against me. We were both consumed with lust and it took us a minute to find and settle into a perfect rhythm.
I had fucked before, but nothing like this. There was only her and the claiming of her sweet soft flesh. The bliss of being inside her and hearing the pleasure of my name on her lips was all that existed as we rutted desperately together. I felt her body tremble under mine, and felt a fierce satisfaction at her pleasure, causing me to start to move even faster in and out of her slick tunnel.
I gasped then stopped breathing all together as I exploded into her, filling her with my seed.
I caught myself on my elbows as the haze of lust finally cleared. I looked down to see a very satisfied smile on Ari’s face and a twinkle in her eye.
We kissed again, this time softly. Her scent was still there, it still drew me inexorably to the woman under me, but it had lost its hard edge. I pulled out slowly and rolled on my back, pulling her to her side and against me. She started drawing circles on my chest with her fingertips as we looked up to the stars.
I said softly, “So Ari Lira, what does it mean that you told me another name?”
She grinned, “Names are more important to the Elves, we believe they hold a significant power over a being. Conversely, having only a part of someone’s name means that pull is less. We have four names. My first is Ari. Everyone knows the fourth, Arinith, it is our tribe name. The third is only known to our parents who named us, and our mates who we give up all that we are too.
“To give you my second name means… more than friend. It is something you would tell to family and lovers, someone deserving of my trust and loyalty past the normal bounds of friendship.”
I nodded, “So I won’t be using that name unless we are in private then…”
She added, “And if you’re wondering about what just happened, it won’t be quite so intense next time. Although that pull we both feel for each other will always be there.”
We talked then for a while, about plans and obstacles we might face pursuing this further. She was fierce and powerful, but didn’t seem to have an issue with Sienna marrying me first, or even the idea she would have to work with Sienna and develop their own balance about things. It just seemed that this was how their society worked, and I wasn’t going to argue.
Neither of us was ready to declare ourselves to each other for life, but I thought both of us hoped that was where it would lead.
If we did decide to commit, I was positive we could come up with a compromise on where to live. She didn’t seem overly concerned about that either. She also wouldn’t be my mistress and I imagined she might gut me if I suggested it. If anything I thought me dating her would raise my status, she was pretty much an ambassador after all. We were definitely going the dating or courting route.
It all seemed like semantics to me anyway, I felt like I had been courting Sienna anyway despite the money involved. It had started out as a convenience but that had lasted all of two days.
It was a little daunting truth be told, I’d have to keep two women happy. I assumed if any others came up, they would both have veto rights, but we didn’t talk about it. I had no plans or desires for a third woman; it had only been a random thought. It would get too complicated if I didn’t have Sienna and Ari sorted out on what we were doing first.
Although, I already knew Sienna would be my wife, it just hadn’t been done yet.
Ari asked tentatively, “Should we hide this when we get to court? Things will be difficult I think and our enemies might play us against each other.”
I replied, “No. That would just make it easier for the politics to get between us. We need to keep that separate from our personal lives. If someone threatens you to get to me, I’ll just tear their heads off.”
She giggled, “You say the sweetest things.”
I pulled her in for another kiss, I couldn’t get enough of her soft lips. But she pushed me away.
She grinned unrepentantly, “I need to show you how to ward first, we should have done it earlier but I couldn’t stop myself.”
I nodded seeing the wisdom. I had redone my dam during the day. I still had the large gates but I had
added a series of pipes in my head. They were all hooked into my imaginary reservoir and joined again at the other end. I thought the smallest one would work. I also had an idea to improve learning how much magic it took to make something happen.
I could send a small stream along with the thought and just leave the stream on until the elemental received enough magic to cast it. Then I could measure my mental reservoir and see how much it took.
It would work well for figuring out amounts during training, but would be a horrible idea during battle. If I did it then, it would take seconds to cast a single spell, instead of an immediate thought with a fast stream of precise magic which made it as close as possible to instantaneous.
I almost wish I could have the elemental take what it needed, so I wouldn’t have to bother with learning all the precise amounts to conserve my magic better. Maybe I would experiment one day, try to communicate the idea to the elemental. Although, if I did that it would be possible to try and do something that took so much magic it would drain me, and if the elemental controlled that side of things I couldn’t just cut off the magic and abandon the spell.
Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea after all. Being lazy generally wasn’t.
I asked, “So what do I do?”
She replied in her soft toned teaching voice, “Think about the size you want, a hundred yard radius circle. Then think about the three of us in the middle, it’s important to the spell that the elemental knows who belongs inside it.”
I did that and nodded after pushing it into the small pipe filled with a trickle of magic.
She continued, “Now just think about him waking us up under two conditions. One, if the spell ends. That will cover you in case your magic stops for some reason during the night, it will also serve as a wakeup call. The second thought of course, is if any intelligent beings are inside the spell outside of the three that belong.”
I thought that sounded pretty easy. I added those thoughts.
“Anything else?” I asked.
She shook her head, “No, that’s it.”