Far sooner than I expected, the sun lowered, signaling us to think about where we were going to lay our head down for the night.
As soon as we found a clearing near a stream, Emerald picked a spot with the most cover and we set our bags down. She unstrapped her two short swords and hung them on a tree, claiming it was easier to access than a weapon on the floor. Which just made Ajax pick up his long, nasty looking dagger and looped it around a branch. I only got to have that beauty in my hands for less than twenty-four hours when he paid me on the way to Emeralds the day we left.
Ajax, Zayden and I all slumped down on the ground. My back and legs screamed at me as I sat, my limbs sore from all the damn walking. Ajax was leaning against a tree, hunched over and breathing heavily, glaring at Emerald and how at ease she looked. I looked over at Zayden, who looked like a drowned rat, sweat dripping down around his face, matting his hair. If he saw himself in a mirror right now, I would bet all the money I had that he would shriek and disturb all the animals in the forest, demanding we take him back to the inn.
When Emerald looked like she was going to hand out more of her special bars, Zayden looked at us both with panic in his eyes, begging us to do something, say something. Ajax sighed and asked if he could borrow my handheld crossbow that I packed for this trip. I eyed him, not knowing why he would want it, when he opened his hand for it.
He proclaimed to the group, “I’m going to head the way we came. I saw some rabbits and deer that way. I will get us some meat for the night.” He looked back at me with a smug smile.
I reluctantly took the weapon out of my bag and handed it over to him, a little miffed that I didn’t think of it myself before he proclaimed it to the group.
Emerald nodded, putting the bars back into her bag. “Then I think I should go get wood for the fire.” She went in the opposite direction and I leapt at my chance.
“I’ll go with her.” I threw over my shoulder. Zayden’s mouth left open as Ajax walked off in the other direction.
“You’re going to leave me alone!” Zayden cried in fear, and I snickered as I caught up to Emerald.
“You’re a big boy!” I called out.
“No, I’m not!” He immediately responded, but I ignored that part.
Emerald was scanning the ground, looking for the right pieces to start a fire for meat, picking up a few and then throwing them down. After a few minutes of searching and finding, we went further into the woods and found pieces that were perfect.
I couldn’t help myself as I watched her, her eyes were hyper focused on the task at hand. Instead of us both trying to search around for wood, I offered to carry it while she picked the wood we needed. I thought this was best, since it looked like she was particular about the wood we used.
I also noticed that she was more energetic than the rest of us, like her skin was vibrating. Her pace was quick, steps light, even her skin had a healthy glow to it when the light hit her. For taking us on a grueling trek across the forest, she looked even better than when we left. It was odd since she complained about not having this kind of training for a while. You would think that if her body was tired, like the rest of us are, she would be sluggish or even break a sweat.
“How long do you think before Zayden freaks out and we can hear him wailing about a bush moving?”
She faced me, beaming at my joke, stepping closer to me as she whispered, “I think as soon as someone comes back, he will yell at all of us for leaving him to defend himself against the horrors of the woods.”
I snickered, knowing that was probably exactly what was going to happen, until I realized how close she was. How close her mouth was. My heart pounded, remembering that I only felt this all-consuming need once in my life. I was glad that the gods gave me another chance, another person to feel this way for. Someone who challenged me, matched me. Someone who won’t take my shit, but at the same time, made my pulse quicken and my mouth go dry.
At this moment, I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. To show her why I was still in the running of this race. I was an observant person. You have to be when you’re a thief. Planning was part of the whole gig. I noticed how Ajax was around her, like he was mad at her for something, something more than just getting us to work for her, but that he also couldn’t let her go. His anger didn’t outweigh his desire for her. You don’t get that way with just looks and casual conversation.
I saw how Zayden used to look at her, how she was the unobtainable goddess that he wanted to trap and make his. After last night, something changed and now he looks at her like she’s his new obsession, one he wants even more now.
Something happened between her and both of them, and I felt like I was being left behind, getting ostracized because I didn’t have some kind of horrible childhood or I didn’t kill people for a living. I lied, stole and took from people for a profession. I didn’t kill people, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have darkness in my soul, that I didn’t have things I wasn’t proud of. It was just easier for me to bear because I had a true north; I had my parents and my guild, which I believed in. I needed to show her I wasn’t a hold back and observe goodie boy like Vance. I needed to show her I could connect with her in the darkness but also bring in a little light so we didn’t drown.
My eyes closed in on those plump lips, watched as a small breath escaped between them before I dropped all the wood and surged forward, colliding our lips together as I pressed her up against a tree.
I was prepared that she might push me back, break some body part for trying or I might need to apologize, but what I didn’t expect was for her hands to slide up my neck into my hair, yanking me forward, and kissing me back with fervor.
I moaned at the taste of her. Longing, want, and need overwhelmed me with the faint fragrance of a flower, one that I had smelt before, but my mind was so focused on this woman in front of me I let that thought go and just felt how we crashed together.
It was intoxicating.
My hands roamed all over her body, not knowing where to touch or grab because I wanted it all. I wanted to touch every inch of her skin. I wanted to know it like it was my own. I wanted to sink into it and let her overtake me.
Her legs lifted with ease as she circled them around my hips, not taking her mouth off mine for a second, trying to get as close to me as she could. My cock sprang to attention between us, ready to take this to the next level at a moment’s notice.
She writhed and bucked against me, rubbing the tip of my cock between the valleys of her ass, and that just broke something in me. I slammed her down on the ground, pinning her arms atop her head as she smiled up at me.
“You want me to lose control with you?” Then I remembered that I just slammed her into the ground, “Is your fucking head ok?” I barked out with worry. I know I started this, but I thought it was going to take more effort to get her to want me. I was prepared to show her why she should want me. I was not ready for her to want me just as badly.
She raised her left leg, her thigh working its way up the side of my body before it hooked around my back and pushed me down onto her. “Yes, I do.” Then she rushed towards me, her teeth gripping my bottom lip, not hard enough to break skin but just hard enough to pull me where she wanted me. She let go as her eyes flashed and her skin visibly shook. “And my head is fine. I’m not breakable Rykon… and I want more.”
I had to make a split decision at that moment, either tell her we needed to cool down and take this slow or I do what the lady said and give her more. Apparently, it wasn’t a choice at all, as I moved one hand to hold both her wrists above her head as my other hand trailed down the side of her body. My fingers hit the lip of her pants and without ever taking my eyes off hers, I popped out the button on her pants, fingers diving right in as I played with her pleasure spot.
