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“Because I hae the smell of ye on me.”

My eyes wide. “Oh my God, Torin, I will try to take that as a compliment.”

He gruffly said, “Tis meant as one.” We passed through the main room, the innkeeper gestured toward our door. Torin didn’t stop to talk, but at the innkeeper’s inquisitive expression said, “The cat is with us.”

He shoved his good shoulder against the door and we were in our private room, the door bolted.

He dropped the bag on the ground and swept his arms around me, his mouth on my throat. Torin was all hands on me, rubbing me all over again, like on the horse, but more, harder, more frantically. He dropped his sword belt to the floor and then his hand dove into the front of my coat, rubbing my bare breasts. We were moving toward the bed as he pulled my coat dress off. And I undid his pants button while we kissed and stroked and alas, we had forgotten his shoes. He had his pants around his ankles and said, “Daena matter,” as he waddled to the bed while we kissed and I kicked off my shoes.

And then we got there — the bed was a wooden frame with a straw mattress, lumpy looking — and with his arms around me Torin dropped to the bed, but he and I both landed on his hurt shoulder, the bed creaked loudly, and he yelped with pain.

I jumped up from his arm. “Oh my god, Torin, are you okay?”

He held it, puffing air, trying to ride out the pain, eyes clamped tight.

“Torin?”

He continued puffing and groaned, “Och nae…”

I crouched down beside the bed and kissed his shoulder and kissed his bicep, and dragged my tongue tantalizingly slowly along his skin up to his shoulder again and kissed his neck and then his lips and then drew my tongue back down his skin to his shoulder again. “Are my magic kisses making you feel better?”

“Aye… yer tongue is like an angel, princess.” He lay there for another moment, gathering himself, getting on top of the pain, letting me lick along his skin.

His eyes had gone beast-like, he lumbered up by rolling from the bed to his knees and with a heavy hand on my shoulder, keeping me still, he pulled up behind me and pressed against me. He began fumbling with my pants button and I undid them and hurriedly shoved them off while he held on around my back, his hands on my breasts. He spread my legs and pushed inside me with an urgent rush, my front half on the bed, he held on, heavy and tight and rode me hard and fast and wildly rough. My excitement rose, heat filled me, damp with sweat, my breath catching, a moan grew from my insides, rising through me with waves, roaring out of me as I climaxed on him and he finished. His deep voice in my ear, like a growl, and then spent, we stayed there, tight, still, God, I loved him. The pleasure on every inch of me. I held on, trembling from the exertion.

He drew breath and exhaled, his chest rising and falling against my back, his heartbeat vibrating through me. The scarf over my hair had fallen to the ground. My hair was loose on my shoulders. He brusquely pushed it off my neck and pressed his mouth there and we continued holding on, heavy, tight, until gravity grabbed hold and pulled us down, releasing our hold on each other, until… Finally, after long moments, he whispered, “Ye want tae get on the bed?”

I nodded and together we got up and climbed onto the bed and laid down.

We lay there with our arms wrapped around each other. I pulled my thigh up to his hip. But then noticed his feet.“You still have your boots on!”

“Aye, daena think on it, Princess, I will handle m’business in a moment, my spent cock has taken all the thoughts from my head.”

I laughed. “I guess it doesn’t matter much, the bed is filthy anyway.”

“Aye, tis true, I daena think he did much tae prepare the room for us.”

“You also didn’t give him much time.” I looked around at the narrow, low-ceilinged room. The walls were rough plaster over stone, stained where damp had crept down from the thatch. A single candle was unlit — we would want to light that soon, because the light was dim. Beyond the smell of smoke and old straw, the room had the faint sourness of unwashed bodies having slept here.

Eww. Though likely Torin and I didn’t smell any better.

There was a coarse coverlet, patched, and two flattened pillows that had seen other travelers. I tried not to think about it. On a crude table there was a pitcher and basin for washing, a pisspot rested in another corner.

I said, “Do you feel that…? It’s like my head is aching, you feel it?” I pressed my fingers to my temple.

“Aye, it feels like I had too much to drink.”

“But the case could be made that you have not had enough to drink, or eat. I’m famished.”

I rubbed my temple. “It’s like it’s electric, was there lightning?” My eyes drew to the small window. “It’s dark, what time is it?”

“Tis mid afternoon, there is rain, but⁠—”

“But not our storms, you’re sure of it?”

“Aye, and there inna any thunder and lightning.”

I nodded and tucked my forehead against his lips, he kissed me dutifully on my hairline.