“We got out just in time,” Sparrow said with a note of sorrow in her voice. “Advanced scouts reached Hedgewild this evening. It will be crawling with men soon. She shuddered at that thought. Silence couldn’t blame her.
They ate in silence that evening. They’d lost their home, Their true home. And these caves were beginning to feel more like a prison than a cozy hideaway.
Silence hoped that this madness would not continue much longer, but he could see no end in sight, and from the silence of the others… neither could they.
Chapter 21
We werea somber group that day as we tried to come up with some solution to stop the terror Elista planned for Vauphan. But no resolutions were forthcoming. After supper, when Alvere asked me if I wished to walk in the woods, I accepted happily. We walked, hand in hand, through the camp and then into the woods to the north.
The edge of the woods was mostly open, with large swaths of mostly flat ground and little underbrush between the sparsely placed trees. But very quickly, heading deeper, the trees grew closer together, and the bushes and brush thicker. Yet Alvere was sure-footed and seemed to know a path. So, I followed, still holding his hand as we began the climb up a heavily forested hill. I could feel his tension, the weight of the coming war upon him. He didn’t want his men to die, and I believed he didn’t want the mostly innocent men who’d be on the front lines for Elista to die either. It was all so senseless. He sighed repeatedly as we walked, then the forest suddenly gave way to a clearing at the top of the hill. A single tree stood at the peak of the knoll, tall with a wide tangle of sprawling branches and a thick trunk. Alvere took me straight to it. When we drew close, I noticed something odd: small, low branches, which seemed to have been carved flat on top, progressing up around the tree… like steps! We mounted those, circling tightly upward — we had to release hands for this part — until we came to a wide platform in the high branches of the tree. From the bottom, this had looked like a tangled web of branches, but from the top… they were perfectly flat and smooth with not a hole for several feet. The trunk continued up and there were branches above us, but this entire level was open and level, all the way around the tree.
Oh, this is wonderful!Auwei said in awe.
I had to agree.
Alvere stood there, ignoring the wonder of this strange tree and instead looking out over the forest and the plains beyond. Admittedly, it was a rather spectacular sunset beginning as the low sun dipped behind a bank of clouds, turning the sky turquoise and the clouds to yellow and orange flame.
I grasped his hand again and squeezed it. “Thank you for bringing me here, it’s wonderous!”
He smiled faintly. “I found it not long after coming here. I was drawn to this place. I think it’s a Fey lookout.” Those beryl-blue eyes twinkled at me, but only for a moment before growing dark and dim, and he looked away. “What are we going to do Legs?” he asked, sounding a bit hopeless.
I didn’t know and couldn’t answer. But… I thought perhaps I could take his mind off his troubles, even if only for a moment. But… not here. It was a bit too exposed and open at the top of this tree. It was my turn to pull him. I tugged his arm and got him moving, I descended out from the branches, and at the base, feeling a little less exposed, I turned to him and threw my arms around him for a surprise kiss.
His eyes widened, and he was stunned only for a moment before I could feel some of his tension drain away as he held me.
I lingered in the kiss for some time, allowing it to develop organically until our mouths were wide: desperate and deep. Then I drew back with a mischievous grin. “I want to give you something,” I said softly. “Help you forget about everything and think only of me, even if only for a time.”
He smiled and raised a brow in question. I don’t think he was expecting me to slip down to my knees and undo the tie on his breeches.
“Oh, Legs, no. Prince or King or whatever, you will never have to kneel before me. I—” he gasped as I ignored what he’d said and, pulling out his stiffening erection, ran the tip of my tongue along the underside of his shaft.
“Legs… Oh!”
My mouth enveloped him and I drew him deep, moving my hand down to his heavy sack and testing its weight in my palm. He went rigid as I worked my tongue and teeth over him. His protestations stopped, turning to shuddering, gasping breaths. When I stole a glance at him, his head was tilted up, looking at the branches above us.
My intent was not to work him to release as I had with Silence. No, I wanted him hard and ready for the next bit.
I withdrew my lips but grasped him hard with my hand, squeezing a little. He looked down at me as I ran my tongue around his tip. “Are you thinking only of me now?” I asked playfully.
“Gods, yes!” he breathed.
“Good, because I want you concentrating fully on me for this next part.” I rose and went to untie the belt of my skirt.
“Allow me,” he breathed.
Curious, I moved my hands away, waiting for his touch… but instead he simply waved a hand and the belt undid itself and my skirt fell away. With another wave the tie at the bottom of my blouse — to keep it up over my belly-button, just in case — undid and the loose shirt lifted off.
I blinked.
He winked. “I’ll tell you later,” he said as he came to me, hungry and with an erection throbbing from my previous ministrations.
I always seemed to forget how strong those slender arms of his were. He lifted me easily, and I threw my arms around his neck, legs around his waist as he lowered me upon his solid flesh.
It was my turn to gasp at his sudden thrusting, but I quickly progressed from tight and pained to receptive and eager. He turned, pressing my back to the rough bark of the tree, but I didn’t care. It was the price of sex in nature, rocks and bark and roughness.
Raised as I was upon him, his lips found my breasts, kissing around their fullness as he picked up his pace, hard and needful inside me.
With my hands behind his head, I hugged him to me, encouraging his work upon my breasts as I tilted my head back. “Yes, my love!” I urged him.
