Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
KIERAN
Over the course of the last few days, I had found there was very little in this life that I enjoyed more than tormenting Arken Asher.
I hadn’t exactly intended on leaving her all breathless and wanting like that, edging her before we’d even arrived…It just sort of worked out that way.
But I sure as Hel wasn’t about to make her come on horseback if I had the opportunity to do so on the secluded, white sand shoreline of Lake Eidrytch.
I was a selfish bastard. I wanted to watch the way she reacted to me, to bear witness to her writhing beneath my touch.
I wanted to see those pretty little tears well up in her eyes when I pushed her to the edge of ecstasy.
I wanted to lick them from her lashes as they fell.
Easy, now.
“We’re here,” I announced as we reached the clearing.
Muniin slowed to a trot, blowing and snorting as she sniffed the unfamiliar air. In all fairness, it had been quite some time since either of us had been here. I hadn’t been back here since I was a teenager.
The decently sized lake had been somewhat lost to the modern world, not appearing on most maps of the Wyldwoods these days.
There was only one trail that led to it, often so overgrown it wasn’t worth the effort trying to defy nature’s wishes.
The surrounding area was shrouded by dense forestry and jagged outcroppings of silt and stone, making this clearing the only available point of entry.
But the seclusion of this place and its secret, hidden beauties were exactly why I brought Arken here. And the look of awe on her face, taking in our surroundings as we dismounted, only further confirmed my suspicions. I knew she’d love this place as much as I did…Or, at least, I’d let myself hope.
From the edges of the clearing where I began tying Muniin up, the waters of Lake Eidrytch were a deep cerulean blue, her gentle waves lapping against the shore.
Upon closer inspection, one would find the waters were actually crystal clear and quite warm—it wasn’t a very deep lake, and there were hot springs in nearby caverns that shared groundwater.
For all my lascivious intents and purposes, this was essentially the perfect location to offer my new favorite houseplant the sunshine and fresh air she needed…while giving me the opportunity to sate other needs as well. I would have my way with her soon enough.
I drew a decent-sized flannel blanket from Muniin’s saddlebags, as well as the apple I’d brought along to keep her content for the next few hours. After the mare accepted my offering, I jerked my head toward the shoreline, beckoning Arken to follow me down.
“My gods, this place is borderline ethereal,” Arken murmured.
“Isn’t it?”
“I didn’t even know there were lakes like this in the Wyldwoods.”
“Most people don’t,” I said, shaking out the blanket for any debris and selecting a flat expanse of sand to lay it down. “And there aren’t very many left. At least not untouched like this one is.”
“Untouched?”
I nodded toward the rocky grotto across the way. “Astral quartz forms in those caverns. Many of the larger lakes were overtaken by mining endeavors.”
Arken’s face fell, as if mourning the loss of waters unknown, before she bent over to unlace her boots.
I did the same, kicking them off and proceeding to sprawl out on the blanket beneath us with a contented groan.
I was still stretching my limbs as she joined me, tucking herself right into the crook of my arm where she seemed to fit so perfectly.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my face. I really needed to stop thinking about shit like that as often as I did lately, lest I confess the words aloud. I never could seem to keep my mouth shut around this woman.
It’s true, though. She does.
Yeah, I knew that. I knew godsdamn well that every little thing about Arken Asher seemed to be plucked straight out of the aether with me, specifically, in mind.
As if the Source herself had wrapped the woman up in parchment and delivered her straight to my doorstep as a gift.
As if I could have possibly done anything to deserve such a thing.
And despite all the foreign, frightening feelings those thoughts evoked, I tried my best to bury them deep, at least for now.
We could deal with that later. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
The last four days had been, without question, the best I’d ever had—and I wasn’t ready to give any of this up. Not yet.
Not yet.
“Did you hear anything I just said, Vistarii?” Arken teased, poking me in the ribs.
“Forgive me, gorgeous,” I laughed, turning to nestle myself even closer to her. “I got lost in thought there for a sec. What were you saying?”
Warmth bloomed in my chest as Arken took the opportunity to lace our fingers together.
“I was saying that I don’t know when you decided I would be a houseplant, of all things. I’d like to imagine myself as more of a wildflower. Or perhaps a fern.”
“A fern?” I snorted.
“Ferns are pretty! And they do the thing.” She curled her forefinger inward to mimic the shape of an Atlassian fiddlehead, huffing passionately as if this were a matter of dire importance. “And did you know they reproduce via spores, not seeds?”
Ah, so they were like mushrooms. That would explain her enthusiasm.
“You’re such a fucking bookwyrm, Asher,” I laughed, burying my face against the warmth of her exposed throat.
“And you like it,” Arken said primly, mimicking our earlier conversation.
That I do. More than she knows. More than I should.
“Maybe,” I acquiesced on both counts, running my nose up the column of her neck, half-tempted to bite down. Fortunately for her panties, I found myself far too distracted to act upon the impulse. I had only just taken a slow breath, inhaling the sweet indulgence that was Arken’s scent.
“Gods. Have I ever mentioned that you smell so…so fucking divine?”
Arken let loose what sounded like a half-giggle, half-swooning sigh, and I felt the sound reverberate from her throat. “I don’t believe you have, actually.”
That seemed entirely improbable, given my tendency to run my fucking mouth.
Smiling, Arken stretched herself out a little further on the blanket and then made a small noise of approval when I tugged her closer.
“You drive me crazy, you know that?” I whispered, trailing slow kisses from behind her ear, back down her neck, from the hollow of her throat to her delicate little collarbones. Breathing in her mossy, lemon sunshine—the decadent, sparkling sweetness of her skin.
The very essence of this woman had always compelled me, from the very first moment I laid eyes on her. She was intoxicating.
“Yeah?” she murmured.
“Fucking insane, actually,” I corrected as I slipped one hand underneath her dress, drifting up her leg with a long, languid stroke.
“That,” Arken gasped as my fingertips ghosted the apex of her thighs, “is a very mutual sentiment, Vistarii.”
I smirked, teasing softly at the cotton and lace between Arken and my fingertips. The fabric was still fucking soaked from my earlier exploitations, and I felt my cock twitch in response to the discovery.
“That so? Tell me more about that sentiment, Asher. Say more words, if you will.”
Arken snorted. “Don’t act like you don’t already know.”
“Know what?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“Do not pretend like you’re not well aware of your effect on other people.”
“I don’t give a damn how I affect other people,” I replied, nipping at her lower lip affectionately before rolling over to my back. “Just you.”
Only you, Arken. It’s only ever been you.
She groaned, and whether it was in annoyance or pleasure was actually hard to distinguish. If I had to guess, it was a bit of both—because I was a bastard like that.
“What do you want to know?” Arken sighed sweetly, tucking one forearm behind her head. The other curled behind my head, allowing her fingers to play with my hair absent-mindedly as she, too, decided to close her eyes and absorb the sunshine.
“Oh, I thought I was quite clear,” I purred, squeezing just above her knee. “I want to know exactly how I drive you insane. In explicit detail, if I may be so bold. Consider it research and development.”
“Research and development of your ego, perhaps,” she said. “You preening peacock.”
I grinned, feeling deeply at ease as I watched the wispy clouds drift by overhead. The blue sky was crowned by the boughs of the surrounding woods, as if we were enfolded in our own little world this afternoon. And what I wouldn’t give for that to be the case.
“Perhaps,” I concurred.
I was a vain bastard; I’d give her that. But in truth, it was her praise, her attention, her attraction to me that did the most unspeakable things to my ego. And I was a greedy, selfish man who wanted more of it, constantly—always.
“Hmm,” Arken mused, glancing down at where my hand still rested on her exposed thigh, where I’d left her skirt upturned for easier access to her bare skin.
My thumb was still stroking the softness of the skin just above her knee, taking a brief break from more direct forms of torment. “That would be one of the ways.”
“What’s that?”
“The way you touch me,” she sighed. “Like it’s instinctive, somehow. Like finding every spot that makes me shiver is just…second nature to you.”
Because it is instinctive, sweetheart. Everything about touching you comes naturally to me.
“You touch me like you’re not even consciously choosing to do so half the time,” Arken continued. She had to be exceptionally at ease right now, because I could detect no shyness, no hint of hesitation as the confession spilled forth. “I swear, sometimes it feels like you just…”
Ah, there it is. The nervous pause. The lip bite.
“Just what?” I teased gently, nudging her with my shoulder.
She opened her eyes, tilting her head toward mine, meeting my gaze for a moment. “It feels like you can’t help yourself, and that is what drives me insane.”
Ah. It would appear I did certain things to my Little Conduit’s ego, too.
Good.
“That’s because I can’t,” I rasped, the raw honesty crawling its way out of my throat whether I liked it or not. The urge to match Arken’s vulnerability was a dangerous one, but oh, so satisfying when the words met their mark. Like now.
“Fates,” she whispered, so low I wasn’t certain I was meant to hear it.
It was in that moment I realized something strange had occurred. Likely still flustered by my teasing on the ride over or perhaps distracted by the beauty of this secret space, Arken had lain down on the right side of the blanket. My right side. My blind side. And I hadn’t even noticed.
Odd.
We spoke of instinct—and it was typically instinctive, automatic, for me to position myself optimally no matter where I was.
In our time together over the last year or so, Arken had tacitly come to pick up on that instinct, too—always orienting herself to my left, without being prompted. She was, indeed, very observant.
I had spent the last six years of my life carefully adjusting to the newfound weakness of my blind eye, learning to use my arcana and lean on my other senses, honing them to perfection to compensate for the gap in my vision and lack of a full periphery.
That included developing a certain muscle memory—a reflex—so deeply embedded that I truly couldn’t recall the last time I had allowed something like this to happen.
And yet…I’d just let it happen. Hel, I was the one who took the left side of the blanket, before she’d even sat down.
I was that comfortable around her.
“Your turn,” Arken wheedled, prodding at my ribcage.
“Oh? Are we going tit for tat with this, then, Little Conduit?”
“If you want me to stroke your ego, it’s only fair you reciprocate,” she sniffed primly.
“I’ll stroke whatever you want me to stroke, gorgeous,” I replied, still grinning like an absolute idiot. “But I suppose saying something along the lines of literally everything about you would be a cop-out, huh?”
Arken rolled her eyes. “Yes, it would be.”
“The sound of your voice, then,” I murmured.
You soft, soft motherfucker.
“Damn you!” she swore, swatting playfully at my arm. “You stole my next answer.”
“Well, I mean, if we’re being specific, the sound of your voice when you come,” I tacked on. “I particularly like those sounds.”
“Degenerate,” she scoffed, though I could see she was blushing. Hel, I really liked that I could still make her blush so furiously, and so damn often.
“Pretty sure that’s on your list, too,” I noted.
“Maybe,” she sniffed, pushing herself up to a seated position.
“Ah yes, the word of the day. Going somewhere, gorgeous?”
All I received in response was a cheeky, golden wink as Arken rose to her feet.
For a moment, I chose to remain on my back, arms tucked behind my head as I simply enjoyed the view.
Sunlight streamed through her windswept hair, casting her aglow as she side-stepped off the blanket on her tiptoes.
The aforementioned view got exponentially better as Arken’s pale fingers began to tug at the strings of her leather bodice, loosening them until she let it drop to the ground unceremoniously.
She reached for her skirts next, pulling the white linen sundress over her head without hesitation, shaking out her dark brown mane of waves and curls. All that remained were little scraps of cotton and lace covering her unmentionables, but she began to take those off, too.
“Fuuucking Hel,” I drawled as my eyes flickered over every inch of her exposed skin with starved appreciation.
Arken held searing, shameless eye contact with me the entire time, almost daring me to look elsewhere as she unhooked her bra and shimmied her panties from her hips.
She wanted me to break first, and I did.
I couldn’t help but watch the white lace slide down her thighs, the alluring goddess stepping delicately out of them and kicking the scrap of fabric to the side.
“I know you didn’t take me to a lake just to laze about in the sand,” she crooned, a hint of sultry smoke entering her voice as she looked down at me through thick lashes. She nudged at my leg expectantly with a bare foot.
Indeed, I hadn’t. I had plenty of other things in mind when I’d concocted this little adventure, but honestly? I had been enjoying myself. I might have been perfectly content to just lie in the sand with her all godsdamn afternoon. But I was most certainly enjoying this.
In direct sunlight, the freckles gracing Arken’s shoulder blades, her cheekbones, her arms—they were all much more pronounced, and her porcelain skin seemed to glow.
Metaphorically speaking, that is. Though I did catch a bit of arcana glimmering at her fingertips again.
As a gentle, slightly cooler breeze blew past, I watched her rosy, exposed nipples pebble and harden.
“Well?” she asked. “Are you going to come swim with me, or not?”