Spreading my wings, I rose over the chaos of fire and flood, taking my woman with me.
Twenty-Three
Timur
The house in Teneris looked as cold and deserted as when I left it. But at least the bed was already in. Made with fresh, soft bedding, it had an extra blanket laid out on it in the foot area. Instead of laying Elaine on the bed, however, I grabbed the blanket from it, then took her to the bathing area.
The pool here was much bigger than what we had in the cave back in Ashgate. I lowered myself into it with Elaine in my arms just the way we were. She was naked, and I wore only my skirt and the dagger sheath on my thigh. I hadn’t drawn a single one of my throwing daggers during the battle, though I had killed plenty. The blades just seemed pathetically inadequate now that I had my wings, my claws, and my fire.
The water was warm, but as I carefully lowered Elaine into it, she hissed as if I submerged her into a tub of acid or hot oil.
“What is it, my love? Is it too hot?” I asked, worried, then realized it wasn’t the temperature of the water that she reacted to but the caress against her skin.
“God…please, help me,” she moaned.
Her eyes were open but looked unseeing. Just like during our flight from Ashgate to Teneris, she appeared conscious but with her mind locked in a place I couldn’t reach. She didn’t respond when I called her name, didn’t answer my questions, didn’t seem to hear or see me at all.
“Is that cursed tea still tormenting you?” I asked softly.
“Fuck me,” she moaned, arching her back.
Her hands moved over her body, uncoordinatedly grabbing her breasts or sliding between her legs, but she couldn’t focus long enough on any one gesture.
“Hush, sweetheart,” I cooed into her ear soothingly and rested her head on my shoulder. “Let me make it better.”
I ran my left hand down her side, cherishing the sensation of her skin under my palm. She whimpered with need, shutting her eyes. A tear fell from her eyelashes and ran down her cheek.
“I can’t,” she sobbed. “I can’t stand it anymore.”
My heart all but broke, and I promptly touched her where she needed me most. She moaned in relief from the contact.
She didn’t need my kisses. She didn’t hear my words. But I talked to her anyway, gently rubbing the hard swollen bud between her thighs that I knew was the epicenter of her pleasure.
“Just like this, sweetheart,” I whispered into her ear. “You’re doing so well.”
Rage pulsed inside me against everyone who had made her suffer. But all of them were now dead. Every single one who dared lay their hands on her had paid with their lives. I made sure of that.
Elaine and I were here, however, alive and together. And I would spend the rest of my life taking care of her in every way I could.
She gripped my wrist with her fingers, coming fast and hard on my hand. Panting, she slacked against my chest, and I gave her a few moments to catch her breath.
“Let’s wash your hair now,” I said, trying to gently free my arm from her grip.
She held on to my wrist, as if she were drowning in the ocean and my arm was the only thing that kept her afloat.
“It’ll start again soon,” she croaked in a hoarse whisper.
“Then we’ll do it again. And again. As many times as you need, my love, until you feel fully yourself again.”
“Will you stay with me?”
I kissed her forehead. “I’m not going anywhere ever again, my sweet. I’m staying right where you are.”
I washed her hair the best I could without soap. At some point, I’d need to go to the market to get things like toiletries, food, and clothes. But right now, Elaine needed me to be with her more than any of those things.
After the bath, I wrapped her in the soft cotton blanket and took her to the bedroom. I left my soggy skirt on the floor and took off the dagger sheath, then climbed into the bed with her, trying not to trip over my hard cock. It was up, like it almost always was when Elaine was close enough for me to breathe her scent or to touch her skin. But it would have to wait. For now, I only kissed her, lying on my side next to her. Then I used my hand again to make her come when she begged me for it.
She buried her face in my chest, drifting down from the crest of her next orgasm. Tension then slowly drained from her body, and she rolled over onto her back.
