4. Chapter 4
Chapter four
T amaka was not in her own bed. It smelled wrong, it felt wrong, and someone was singing a love ballad, which anyone who knew her would know not to do.
The tavern. The bard. Her eyes flew open.
Anslo was leaning against the headboard next to her, his lute held carelessly as he quietly sang. He was naked, the early morning light gilding his hair and the stubble on his chin. He looked down at her, a half-smile on his lips, then broke off mid strum. "Sorry," he whispered. "You're not fond of love ballads."
Tamaka pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. "Maybe I could be persuaded." She shoved the covers down and sat up beside him. "You do sing beautifully."
He smiled, setting aside his lute and resting a hand on her thigh. "I didn't mean to sleep," he said with a sheepish smile.
"Neither did I."
His hand slowly caressed her skin as he leaned close. "I'm bungling this like a green youth," he chuckled.
"I'll let you know if you're bungling it." Tamaka pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, his lips chasing hers as she pulled back. "But so far I'm satisfied."
"Will you let me satisfy you again?" he asked.
"I thought you were leaving today." She'd known it before they ever kissed last night, but saying it this morning left her feeling oddly out of sorts. Gods forbid she was becoming attached. She'd only meant for him to be a brief diversion, a way to shake herself out of the depression she'd been in for so long.
He seemed similarly disappointed at the prospect of saying goodbye, his brows drawing together as he kissed her. "It's still early," he murmured against her lips. "We still have time."
She could already feel herself growing wet as his hand slid further up her thigh. Perhaps they didn't have time for everything she wanted to do to him, but they had enough time for a little more fun before the sun fully rose. She reached for his cock as his fingers slipped between her legs. He grunted against her mouth as she stroked his stiffening shaft.
Tamaka parted her legs and he pinched her bud with slick fingers, making her tremble in pleasure. His cock thickened in her hand, velvet flesh stretched tight over steel. He pressed a finger inside of her and she shoved him back against the headboard, straddling his lap. A finger was not enough; she needed his full length filling her.
The bard whimpered eagerly into their kiss as she ground her wet pussy over his cock. He gripped her hips, fingers digging into her flesh as she teased him, the head of his cock slipping through her lips and against her bud. "Should I use you like this to pleasure myself?" she asked.
"If you wish," he gasped, his jaw tight as he fought for control, his hips bucking up against her as he tried to slip inside.
She clicked her tongue, pressing his hands to the mattress by his legs. He surrendered, gripping the blankets. She pressed another kiss to his lips, murmuring, "Good boy," before cupping her breasts and lifting them to his mouth.
He needed no encouragement, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth. He tortured her with his tongue, his teeth, as she rocked against him, his cock trapped between her core and his stomach. He still flexed his hips, seeking more, but he kept his hands obediently at his sides as he kissed and suckled her breasts.
As much as she enjoyed teasing him, denying him was also denying herself. Her sex clenched, empty, as he bit her nipple, and she cursed. Gripping his length, she sank down onto his cock, letting the hard shaft stretch her slowly. His head fell back, his eyes closing as she took him to the root.
"Fast or slow?" she asked.
"Fast, please," he begged.
She bit back a smile. "Slow it is, then."
Tamaka lifted up and sank back down, savoring the slide of his thick head inside her. She moved slowly, feeling every inch as she rode him, and he moaned in impatience, his eyes snapping open. He held her gaze, eyes wide and desperate, but he didn't complain. He let her torment him, torment both of them.
She bent her head for another open-mouthed kiss, his soft whimpers sending bolts of pleasure straight to her core. She bit his lip sharply and leaned back, watching a pink blush of pleasure spread across his chest and neck. He gritted his teeth, eyes fixed on the sight of his cock stretching her wet folds as she rocked over him.
"Open your mouth," Tamaka ordered. Anslo's gaze snapped to hers again. He obeyed, his tongue touching his upper lip as he waited for her next order. Putting the fingers of her right hand into his mouth, she told him to suck. His tongue slipped between her fingers, swirling around them with an eagerness that had her pussy tightening around him. He groaned and she trailed her wet fingers down his chest and abdomen to where they were joined, circling her bud as she slowed her pace even further. He tried to arch against her, his hands gripping her thighs, and she shook her head.
"This is for my pleasure," she told him. "Be patient, and you'll have yours soon." He swallowed, nodding. "You're not to release," Tamaka warned, and he whined, his teeth closing over his swollen lip as he struggled to hold himself back. "Not until I tell you. Not until I'm finished riding you."
She increased her pace, rubbing her spit-slicked fingers over her bud until the pleasure became almost unbearable. The cords of his neck stood out, every muscle in his body straining as he sat perfectly still beneath her. It was the pained, blissful look on his face that pushed her over the edge, the knowledge that he endured deprivation for her pleasure, and that he enjoyed it. Tamaka trembled, letting her release wash over her, and he gasped at the tight grip of her sex around his shaft.
"Please," the bard begged. "I can't. Please."
Before he could lose control, Tamaka lifted herself off him and collapsed to the bed. She pressed a hand between her legs as she caught her breath, feeling tender and raw from so much pleasure after years of want and denial. Anslo whimpered again, fisting the sheets so tightly his knuckles were white.
"Have pity, woman," he gasped, his cock still jutting hard and swollen into the cold morning air.
"Come here," Tamaka beckoned, settling herself against the pillows. He scrambled over her eagerly, kneeling between her legs and aiming his cock for her sex, but she pressed a hand to his chest, stopping him. As pleasurable as it was feeling him inside of her, it was far more fun to torment him, see the look of sweet misery on his face.
Like now. He pouted down at her, betrayal in his eyes as he pulled away, instantly obedient at her touch despite his disappointment.
"Stop," she commanded, and he froze. "Touch yourself."
His hand flew to his manhood, stroking his shaft roughly, quickly. She could tell by his short breaths he was still close to release.
"May I, please?" he asked. "I was so close."
Tamaka spread her thighs wider to make room for him and removed her hand from her sex. His gaze immediately fixed on the glistening folds between her legs, a soft groan leaving him as the rhythm of his hand faltered. "You look so desperate," she teased.
"Yes," he choked out.
"Are you going to make a mess?"
He stared at her incredulously, his face flushed, and made a strangled sound of impatience.
"You can make as much of a mess as you need," Tamaka said with a wicked grin. "So long as you clean up after yourself like a good boy. Can you do that for me?"
He nodded sharply.
"Go on, then," she urged. "I want to watch you fall apart."
He worked himself faster, his free hand gripping her bent knee for balance as his gaze roamed over her naked body. "Gods, you're a vision," he gasped, and she cupped her breasts for him, brushing her thumbs over her nipples. He groaned, eyes darting to the window for a moment, to the light of sunrise filling the valley. "I need more time." A pearly drop of spend fell from the tip of his cock to her inner thigh. "One night with you isn't enough."
Tamaka pressed her lips together. It would be pure foolishness to agree with him, to ask for more. She would not allow herself. He was a traveling bard, had been one for much of his life. His fate did not lie here, and hers did not lie anywhere else. She had a duty to her people. He could not stay, and she could not go, and prolonging the inevitable served no one.
So she bit her lip and watched in silence as he surrendered to pleasure above her, gripping his shaft so tightly it looked painful. With a quiet cry, seed spurted from his cock, ropes of spend decorating her stomach and sex. Tamaka held perfectly still as his chin dropped to his chest, heaving breaths filling the stillness of the room. His hand trembled as he released himself and he looked up at the glistening white droplets on her moss green skin.
Tamaka had only to raise an eyebrow before he bent to his task, lying between her legs and cleaning her with his tongue. He licked the small drop on her inner thigh first, and her muscles clenched in pleasure at the hot swipe of his tongue, eager for him to move closer to her sex. He cleaned her stomach next, thorough long licks leaving her spotless before his gaze met hers and he lowered his mouth to where she wanted him most.
"Don't miss a drop," she warned, knowing he wouldn't, that he would spend the rest of the day between her legs if she demanded it.
He lapped his spend from her pussy, low groans vibrating against her sensitive flesh as his tongue played between her lips and over her bud. She reached down, tangling her fingers in his sleep-mussed hair and held him to her. She was already clean, but he was not finished until she peaked again. He drove his tongue as deep into her channel as he could, coating it with her honey before he pressed it to her bud, drawing wet circles around her that had her thighs trembling against his head. "That's it," she gasped. There was so much more she wanted to say: that he was perfect, so good and so obedient. That he could stay another month, or perhaps until the summer fully bloomed. Why travel in the spring when the nights still frosted over? He didn't have to pay for room at the inn. She had so much spare space in her home. She had a big, soft bed she slept in all alone, with more than enough room for the both of them, twined together.
It would be stupid to say those things, but her mind and her body were not in concert at the moment. Her greedy body only wanted more, and more, and more, whatever he was willing to give.
Instead of saying anything, she bit her lip, letting her head fall back to the pillows as he brought her closer to the pleasure she couldn't help seeking despite her near-overwhelm. Like a starving man, she was glutting herself after years of hunger, and no matter how much she had, she didn't feel full. "Don't stop," she begged him, but she knew he wouldn't.
His pace didn't falter as fell apart beneath him, limbs trembling as her cries echoed through the small room. He finally slowed when her grip on his hair turned to a gentle push, and he abandoned her bud, licking her arousal from her sex and his chin until they were both clean.
"I'll long for that sort of wake-up when I'm sleeping in a cold tent on the road," Anslo chuckled, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand as he sat up. He reached out and pulled her to sitting with him, and Tamaka smiled despite the unwelcome pang of loss in her gut at the reminder of his leaving.
This was one night of pleasure, she reminded herself. It was always only going to be one night. She'd done as Zoli suggested, shaken loose the cobwebs that had settled over her heart. She'd be a fool to think of him beyond this morning when he was already thinking of the road and his next destination.
"Where do you go?" she asked before she could stop yourself.
"Back to the Pearl Coast," he said, brushing a kiss against her cheek before he stood and washed himself with the cold water in the basin. "I often pass through there at least once a year. No matter where I travel, I still long to smell the ocean from time to time." He chuckled, pulling his wrinkled tunic over his head. "Then to Arpel. I have a standing invitation with the crown prince and his court."
"A busy life," Tamaka mused as she dressed, the last of the morning's languid pleasure floating away on the tide of her daily responsibilities. She had a full day to spend in the courts today before a meeting with her generals tonight, and she'd have to go up to the temple complex before any of that. The priestesses in the temple of Otuna, Goddess of Motherhood, cultivated erliti herbs that could be taken to prevent conception.
She felt him close behind her as she belted her corset. "Surely no busier than yours," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to the side of her neck. She leaned into his embrace before she could stop herself.
"You have no idea," she laughed, covering his hands with hers, her fingers skimming along the lean corded muscle of his forearms. She turned in his arms and kissed him, her tusks catching on his upper lip. She could feel his smile as the tip of his tongue touched hers. The taste of her pleasure was still on his tongue, and she moaned against his mouth, catching herself and pulling away before she could toss him down to the bed again.
The bard licked his lips, the corner of his mouth quirked up as he pulled up his pants and tucked his burgeoning erection away. "Seven Falls is a beautiful kingdom," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'd like to come through again someday. I think the tavern would have me back. Perhaps..." he shrugged, looking self-conscious for a moment. "Perhaps you come here often?"
"Often enough," Tamaka said, ducking her head to hide her smile as she sat and tugged on her boots.
He was silent for a long moment as she finished dressing, his usual glibness seeming to fail him, but she could feel his eyes on her. He cleared his throat as she pressed her ear to the door, listening for sounds in the hall. All was quiet. She could make her escape without being seen by too many orcs.
"I'll dream of you, Tam," he said softly.
She looked back at him in surprise. "That's a bit poetic for someone you didn't know a full day ago," she laughed. It sounded forced to her ears, but hopefully he hadn't noticed.
He shook his head, grinning at her. "Not poetry. Just the truth."
Tamaka didn't know how to answer that. She turned the doorknob silently and slipped out into the hall.