3. Chapter 3
Chapter three
T amaka followed the bard to his room down the hall. He walked unsteadily, adjusting the stiff cock between his legs, and she bit back a laugh. He'd looked like he was ready to spill in his pants right there in the hall, and as much as she would have enjoyed seeing that, she'd already been indiscreet enough. They needed privacy for what she wanted to do with him. To him.
He gave her a heated look as he opened his door and ushered her through, and she couldn't resist leaning close for a brief kiss. He huffed in impatience and closed the door behind them, turning the key in the lock.
It was a small room, but not cramped, one curtained window overlooking the courtyard at the side of the tavern. Faint moonlight filtered through the window glass and Anslo lit a lamp beside the head of the bed, a soft orange glow filling the room. Tamaka set his lute carefully on the small table by the door and leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms.
"Take your clothes off," she told him. "I'd like to see what I'm working with."
His nostrils flared and he whipped off his belt, tossing it to the floor. She nodded in approval. She'd missed this, the power and rush of having a man so desperate for her. She used to feel utterly invincible in the bedroom, Vagar kneeling at her feet and whispering, "Command me, my king," his eyes glittering up at her in the torchlight as he worshipped between her legs.
She'd expected this encounter might bring back those memories in a painful way, the ache of powerlessness she'd felt when she first lost him returning. But so far, it did not. Anslo was a handsome man, but he was nothing like Vagar. She couldn't look at him and see her husband, by mistake. She only saw him, the unruly wisps of blond hair and sharp cut of his jaw as he ground his teeth in impatience.
She liked how eager he was, how deferential. He was exactly what she appreciated in a lover. She only hoped she hadn't lost too much of her touch in the past four years of celibacy.
The bard unlaced the neck of his shirt and tore it over his head. She held out her hand for him to stop, and he froze, his chest heaving with shallow breaths. Tamaka walked close, reaching out and trailing a hand down the lean muscles of his stomach.
He shuddered slightly at her touch, holding still as she neared the trail of golden hairs disappearing into the waist of his pants.
"Do I pass examination?" he asked with a cheeky smile.
"So far, so good," she murmured. She circled him, admiring the corded muscle of his arms, the dimples at the small of his back. "Now the rest," she demanded, stepping back.
He tugged off his boots and socks, then hooked his thumbs into his pants, pushing them down and kicking them away. An impressively large cock sprang free and Tamaka clenched her thighs in anticipation. He straightened, his fingers drumming against his thighs as he awaited her command.
She inclined her head in approval.
"What about you?" he asked.
Tamaka shrugged. "All in good time. Put your hands behind your back."
He obeyed and she approached again, his breaths quickening in anticipation. She wiped a drop of seed from the tip of his cock and lifted her finger to her mouth. He watched, rapt, as she sucked it clean, the faint salt of his taste making her mouth water.
Bending her head, she kissed him, licking at the seam of his lips until he opened for her. She let him taste himself on her tongue before nipping his lip and kneeling.
"Oh Gods, Tam," he breathed, looking down at her with wide eyes. She might be on her knees, but they both knew who held the power at the moment. He almost reached for her, then clasped his hands behind his back again.
"Show me how well you can beg," she said, wrapping one hand around the base of his leaking cock.
"Please," he gasped. "Please stroke me. Please put your mouth on me."
"Like this?" She raised an eyebrow, brushing her lips along the side of his shaft. He shuddered.
"If you want. Anything. Anything you want. But please, I want to feel you."
"Perhaps I shouldn't," she teased. "If you spend in my mouth, you'll be no use to me after."
"I'll be ready for you as many times as you need." He shuffled his feet on the cold floor, shifting his hips towards her an inch. "I'll lick you until you beg me to stop. Please. Please let me feel your mouth."
Gods, she liked how he begged. She liked the desperation in his eyes as he watched her lips hover a few inches from his manhood. She circled him with both hands, pulling the foreskin back from the head of his cock, and sucked the tip of him into her mouth.
"Fuck!" His hips jerked forward and she gripped his thighs, keeping him in place as she swirled her tongue around his shaft, swallowing it slowly until the head of him tapped against her throat. He moaned, his body trembling with the effort of holding still, and she pulled back until he rested on the tip of her tongue.
"Please," he begged again. "Gods, please."
She laughed, wondering what the Gods thought of being part of such a profane prayer, but she gave him what he wanted, teasing the sensitive skin beneath the head of his cock with her tongue. More pleas fell from his lips, and she licked the thick length of him, slicking him with spit so her hand could glide over him easily. She tapped his inner thighs and he spread his legs for her, his lower lip bright red as hit bit down on it.
"Don't move," she told him, and he tensed as she stroked his shaft, milking another drop of seed from his tip. She gathered the liquid on her middle finger and reached between his legs, pressing against the puckered skin between his cheeks.
Anslo's eyes widened and he nodded sharply, closing his eyes and grimacing with pleasure as she slicked his hole, pressing a finger against his entrance.
"Oh, Tam, you're a liar," he gasped. "You haven't done this in a while? I don't believe it. I can't—" He made a strangled sound as she pressed her finger deeper, sucking him into her mouth again. She hummed around him at the salty taste of his pleasure filling her mouth, knowing he could feel the sound. His knees began to buckle and he rested his hands on her head briefly to catch his balance before clasping them behind his back again. "Sorry," he gritted out. "Please don't stop."
She wouldn't. Not yet. He wasn't close enough.
Tamaka worked her finger deeper, her lips releasing his shaft with a pop as she caressed his bollocks, rolling them in her palm. "You beg so beautifully," she praised him. "You moan so beautifully. What sorts of sounds will you make when you fall apart for me?"
He didn't answer, only whimpering again as she nipped at the head of his cock, stroking him so gently she knew it felt like sweet torture. She shifted on her knees, rubbing her thighs together to relieve the ache of desire, but it was useless. She needed his mouth as much as he needed hers. She wanted his clever fingers between her legs.
She pumped his cock faster, pressing a second finger against his back entrance. He jumped slightly, then leaned back against her hand, eager for more. Lapping the pearly drops of seed from him, she stretched him with both fingers until his hole clenched around her. He was achingly close to release, she could tell. She removed her hands from him and sat back on her heels.
His eyes snapped open and he looked down at her, his face a mask of betrayal. She bit back a smile as he groaned, the swollen purple tip of his cock bobbing before her, begging to be touched.
"Evil, indeed." He breathed heavily, his own hands straying to his cock to finish himself off. She batted them away.
"Not yet. You can earn that by pleasing me, and you want to please me, don't you, little bard?"
He wasn't little. He was quite tall for a human, but he seemed to like the term of endearment, his eyes darkening. He nodded. "Yes. I want to please you. Will you let me touch you? Lick you?"
She reached up and he took her hand, pulling her up from the floor. "Get on the bed," she told him. He hurried to comply, pushing the covers back as she unbuckled her corset. He knelt in the middle of the mattress, watching as she undressed and folded her clothes over the stool in the corner of the room. His lips went slack as she stepped close to the bed and his gaze roamed over her. She knew she was still beautiful, nowhere near old age, but perhaps she wasn't what he'd pictured. She was scarred from battle, though not badly. Her breasts had lost the perkiness of youth long ago when her son was still nursing, and despite her strength, her belly was soft, still carrying a small amount of padding from her pregnancy, though it had been more than a decade ago.
He closed his mouth. Swallowed.
"I can tell you want to say something," she said. "Go on and say it."
He looked up at her, patting the bed beside him. "May I touch you?" he asked.
Tamaka climbed onto the bed, kneeling so they were knee to knee. "Wherever you wish," she acquiesced.
He hesitated, then placed a hand on her chest, fingers skimming along her collarbone. "I knew it," he murmured. "Soft as silk." He trailed his hand down between her breasts, the backs of his fingers caressing her stomach. He explored for another moment, playing with the end of her braid, before he smiled up at her.
She cocked her head. "What?" she asked.
He seemed confused for a moment. "What do you mean, what? Did you expect me not to smile?"
Tamaka didn't know how to answer. Part of her hadn't. Vagar's love for her, body and soul, had never wavered. He'd touched every inch of her without hesitation, with eagerness and passion, and he'd always looked pleased. But he was of an age with her, he'd fought beside her in battle when she'd earned her scars. He'd been there every step of the way when she'd carried their son, when she'd birthed him. He'd known her body when it was youthful, and he'd grown and changed with her.
Someone who had not taken that journey with her could not possibly find her as beautiful as her husband had. Not a young, pretty man like Anslo who flirted so well she suspected he was quite familiar with strangers' beds. Probably lovelier strangers than her.
"You're thinking something quite serious," he whispered, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded sharply. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't know what to say. If he was as blind to her imperfections as he seemed, she didn't want to disillusion him. He dropped his hand, sitting back on his heels. "Tell me how to please you," he asked.
She was grateful he didn't press the issue, though he was disconcertingly perceptive. She took a deep breath, calming her pounding heart, and let the excitement of the moment overtake her again. She was already slick between her thighs; she needed his touch now.
Tamaka took his hand and placed it back on her abdomen. "Finish your exploration," she ordered.
The human bit back a lusty smile, his fingers dipping between her legs. He moaned at the feel of her hairless sex, coating his fingers in her honey as he teased the petals of her womanhood. Tamaka's breath stuttered, her hands gripping her thighs in impatience as he caressed her.
"Gods," he groaned, frowning. "I didn't think you'd be bare."
"You've never been with an orc before, have you?" she asked, and he stilled for a second. "We don't have hair on our bodies like you do."
"Was I rude?" he asked with a grimace.
She laughed. "No, and if you were I'm sure you could apologize beautifully." He shot her a cocky smile, his fingers sinking deeper into her and she bit her lip, leaning into his touch.
"How would you like me to beg for forgiveness?" he whispered, pulling his hand free and examining his glistening fingers in the lamplight. Before she could order him to, he sucked his fingers into his mouth, licking them clean, his eyes closed in bliss.
Tamaka pushed gently on his chest. "Lie back," she demanded. He fell to his back with an eager smile. His hand strayed to his cock but she batted it away, crawling up his body, her knees pinning his arms to his sides. Anslo squirmed in excitement. "Please," he begged, his eyes fixed on the soaked flesh between her legs.
"You want this?" she asked, dipping slightly to rub her wet sex against his chest. He whimpered, his arms straining against her hold. "I'll take that as a yes," she laughed. She parted the lips of her pussy with her fingers and he cursed, watching intently as she brushed a fingertip over her bud.
"How much more will you tease me?" he asked, his voice ragged with desire. "Have I not suffered enough?"
"You talk too much," Tamaka chuckled, climbing up him further until her sex hovered over his face. "No more words until you've satisfied me."
His neck strained as he tried to reach her, and she fisted his hair in one of her hands, holding him down as she lowered her pussy to his mouth. His tongue swept the length of her, a soft growl leaving him as he buried his face in her. He lapped at her honey, tongue delving deep inside her, before he sealed his lips over her bud, sucking it mercilessly. She bucked against him, gripping the headboard for support as he drove her towards her peak.
She had never been the sort of woman who climaxed easily, but she wouldn't last long if he continued to apply this single-minded focus. "Silver tongue doesn't begin to describe it," she gasped, the fingers of her right hand tightening in his hair as she rode him. He yelped slightly at the pain, gasping a quick breath before suckling her bud again, the tip of his tongue flicking over it. Her legs trembled and he wiggled for a moment, freeing his arms until he could grip her hips and hold her in place.
She thought about objecting, but it had been such a long time since she'd felt anything like this. She wasn't sure she had the strength to remain upright with the pleasure he was giving her. She bit her tongue and allowed him to hold her.
The climax swept through her before she was entirely ready, her fingernails digging into the headboard. It felt as if small bolts of lightning sparked through her, every nerve painfully alive. He redoubled his efforts, his mouth latched to her until she screamed for him to stop, her body trembling so much she could do no more than collapse to the bed next to him before she suffocated him.
Tamaka squeezed her eyes shut as her strength returned. She could hear him breathing heavily next to her, hear the soft wet sounds as he licked his lips clean. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything.
He hummed in contentment, and she felt the soft caress of his unruly hair on her cheek before his lips brushed hers. She opened her mouth to him, her tongue seeking his, and he deepened the kiss, one hand curving around her waist. She could taste herself on him, the sweet musky flavor of her pleasure smeared across his mouth, his chin. She reached up, tangling her fingers in his hair again, and held him to her as they kissed languidly.
The chill of the room slowly seeped into her skin and she shivered. He reached for the blanket and Tamaka shook her head, pulling him over her instead. He lifted his head from the kiss slightly, his eyes searching hers, and she parted her legs, leaving room for him to settle between them. "May I?" he asked, his cock twitching against her inner thigh.
"As if I'd let you stop now," she breathed, reaching down to palm his length. He gritted his teeth, pumping himself into her hand, his shaft feeling like steel, the skin taught and sensitive. He'd remained hard the whole time he'd pleasured her. She grinned. Perhaps he was even harder, now. Even a light touch seemed to almost pain him.
"Hard and rough," she demanded. She guided him to her entrance and his arms trembled with anticipation as he held himself above her. They both watched as the head of his cock parted her lips, rubbing against her bud. His hips flexed and the tip of him pressed inside her, her slick skin stretching tight around him. They both gasped and Tamaka released his shaft. Her hands slid around his sides until she gripped his buttocks and she looked up at him. "Make me scream again."
His hips snapped to hers, and he drove himself to the root inside her. Tamaka let out a choked cry. He set a frenzied pace, his teeth clamped around his lower lip until the skin went bright pink. She dug her fingernails into his arse and urged him on, bending her knees and tilting her hips to give him a deeper angle.
"You're bliss," he gritted out, and another wave of pleasure washed through her at the praise. She didn't think she could peak again, not like this anyways, but she didn't care. Just having him inside her, his control slipping further with every thrust, felt like coming alive again after years in a tomb. Maybe she should feel like that was a betrayal of her husband, but she didn't.
She knew what betrayal felt like. She knew what guilt felt like. This was nothing close.
This was something like... freedom.
His rhythm faltered, his breath coming quicker as strands of golden hair fell from his loose bun, sticking to the sweat on his forehead. "I can't last," he gasped, looking down at her in desperation.
She could see the plea in his eyes. He was so close, but he wanted her permission, needed it. Tamaka nodded, combing her fingers through his hair and pulling him down to her, kissing him hard. He whimpered as her tongue slicked along his. She bucked against him, grinding her hips against his, and he cried out. She swallowed the sound, feeling the hot release of his seed deep in her channel.
Anslo trembled, collapsing over her. Her breasts were crushed between them, but she held him close, stroking her fingers up and down his spine as his breathing evened. Long minutes passed, his cock softening inside her, but he still seemed weak from his climax, his breath hot on her neck.
Finally, she nudged him gently and he rolled off of her with a mumbled apology, sounding almost drunk from pleasure. She felt a rush of primal satisfaction at his exhaustion, smiling as she stood and cleaned herself with the hand towel beside the water basin on the bedside table.
"M'sorry," he said, his words still slightly slurred as he slowly sat up. "I should be doing that."
"Don't move," she ordered him, climbing back on the bed beside him and wiping his shaft clean. She appreciated his gentlemanliness, but she enjoyed caring for her lover. There had been times Vagar had been like this, so exhausted after lovemaking he'd barely been able to stand, almost dazed by the pleasure still lingering after climax. She'd loved caring for him, feeling indescribably powerful that she'd brought such a strong man to his knees, rendered him helpless.
She tossed the towel back in the basin and pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him to his back on the bed. He resisted slightly, his hand wrapping around her wrist. "I've made a poor show of things, haven't I?" he muttered. "I was supposed to pleasure you again."
"Were you?" She grinned, lying down beside him and pulling the thin sheets over them. The heat of their bodies was enough in the cold night, his skin feverish against hers as she rested her head against his shoulder. "Still plenty of time."
He chuckled, his arm tightening around her as she traced patterns on his chest, the golden hairs sprinkled across his skin tickling her palm. "Not enough hours, I fear," he murmured, his chin brushing the top of her head. She tucked her cold feet against his under the covers and he shivered, pulling her closer.
She worried for a moment that this was too intimate for two near strangers who'd met in a tavern, but he didn't seem to mind it. He seemed to like it, in fact. She would be a fool to object, when the warmth and contentment of his embrace was leaving her languid, almost drowsy.
She'd missed this as much as, perhaps more than, sex. She'd missed lying under the furs in bed with her mate, the ills of the world kept at bay by his arms around her. She closed her eyes, a small smile on her lips. It couldn't hurt to indulge in just a minute more, or two, to pretend she was not alone in the world.