Chapter 22, Return

The delicious scent of boar stew assaults my nose when I return to the ground and approach the caravan. They’ve set up the camp as usual but there’s a chair left over for me if I want it. I guess it can’t hurt to sit with them now that we’ve arrived and the inviting gesture and grin from Gilbert says he’s pleased by my decision.

The new logs just recently placed upon the smoldering coals crackle merrily before bursting into flame all at once. The stew is bubbling with different ingredients such as boar, potatoes, carrots, leek and more surfacing at short intervals before diving back below into the almost opaque broth.

The forest has gone mostly quiet and there are only a few creatures contributing to the ambient background of rustling leaves and creaking branches. It’s a quiet and good night as Gilbert is offering the stew to everyone for free. There’s even a bottle of the Golsom Wine being shared among everyone and it’s actually quite good.

I spend the night listening to the elves speaking in low voices or the nature around the outpost. There’s no sounds of any stampedes close to us but they might have been rerouted to go further north or south.

At dawn I walk up the stairs and watch the sunrise before going back down and walking around, wasting time and trying to figure out what to do. No brilliant ideas come to me and I just laze around for the rest of the morning. The moss makes a very comfortable bed to snooze in and I find a good spot where a little extra sunlight makes it through.

In the afternoon close to dinner time the trade caravan from down south finally reaches us. They don’t look happy or whole and two wagons are missing from their number. What must be the caravan manager hops off the front most wagon drivers seat and walks up to Gilbert. Curious and wanting to listen to their conversation I leave my snoozing spot in a sunbeam and make my way towards them.

“Gilbert, my brother. Good to see you even if our circumstances aren't that great. Before we get to business, are any of your adventurers here healers?”

“Hello, Julrick. Yes there is a healer among them. I don’t know how much he wants for his services though. Tupon, meet Julrick. He’s the caravan manager for the stretch south of here towards Sun Yarn town.”

Tupon steps forward between Miranda and Clive and introduces himself with a bow. Quite the formal action but I won’t judge.

“My name is Tupon and I’ll heal your men as best I can for 1 silver per person. If you’d like to hire our party to escort you down south I can provide any additional healing free of charge until we reach our destination.”

“Alright those prices are reasonable enough. Come here and take a look at the wounded.”

“You decided to escort them down south as well then?”

I ask Melina as Julrick and Tupon walk towards the caravan to treat the wounded.

“Well, yeah. I think so at least. There won’t be an adventurer posting for the job obviously as there’s no clerk here to accept it for us but it’s basically free money as we’re going in that direction anyway. If Julrick can provide the coin we request we’re probably in for another long few weeks.”

“I’d rather be poor than spend more time in this low leveled area.”

Melina looks at me visibly confused.

“But you’re going back the way we came with the caravan aren’t you? Isn’t that even less exciting than continuing south?”

I sigh tiredly while looking up towards the heavens as if a god had wronged me.

“You’re not wrong but I have to go back to White Rock to finish some business and the payment for escorting both ways is triple what you’re getting from Gilbert. As I don’t have a copper to my name and I need more pipeweed I have to make this trip. Then I’m off to the Rhodolite Peaks!”

I finish my sad tirade with a smile on my lips and glow in my eyes as I look back at Melina. She laughs at my antics before looking back at the rest of her party and answering.

“You’re such a battle junkie.”

Ari snorts at that and I have to stifle a giggle as I quite agree to be honest.

All of us follow after the healer and caravan manager to take a closer look upon the damage caused by their roadside encounters. Most wagons look dented, scratched and cracked but only two are missing. One looks close to breaking down though and the driver sits before one of the wheels, knocking on it with a piece of wood.

I walk up to a driver of a more intact wagon in hopes he will be more amenable to conversation. There is something I have to find out.

“Hello, sir. Is there any pipeweed in any of the wagons which made it here?”

“I’m afraid not, miss.”

My shoulders slump as I walk away from the caravan. If there’s no grass I’m not really interested any longer. I just want to get this posting done and completed before I’m off once more.

It takes the rest of the evening for the trade between elves and humans to be finalized as there’s some missing cargo and it isn’t until the morning after that we set off on our return trip. I wave merrily at Melina and George as we separate, maybe forever, before Rolas and I settle in for a slightly relaxed and boring journey back north.

The two following weeks are exactly as boring as I’d feared and we only get 3 warg packs and a few smaller groups of different mountain dwellers as entertainment. The only good thing about these wargs are their brief entertainment value and monster cores which I can turn into pipeweed and food.

As we crest the hill with the most boulders yet seen on our return trip we finally come upon a welcome sight. White Rock town looks just as it did a month ago and there doesn’t seem to have been any stampedes this far north. It’s lucky as I couldn’t bear having to go look for another branch of the West Norman Bank to clear my debt if this town somehow fell in the month we were away.

As we roll up the incline towards the gate the bustling noise of the town inside the walls makes itself known. The only guard on duty at the moment is that whore-loving James and his eyes snap to me the moment I’m in sight. I sigh in consternation but just ignore him as we roll up and Gilbert hops down to pay the toll.

“Where is Pontus? He’s usually never away from guard duty.”

“He had to take care of something at home. Just come here in the afternoon and I’m sure he’ll be here ready to listen to whatever stories you brought back this time.”

With our caravan rolling in through the gate, Rolas and I hop off our seats on the wagon roof and stretch our legs before making our way over to Gilbert. He touches our tokens and speaks as we present them.

“Thank you Rolas and Zelaria for taking this posting this time. It was a pleasure working with you. If you’d like to take it on again I’ll be happy to have you. I guess you have things to do now that we’re back so take care and have fun. We’ll be here for a month or maybe two I think. We should give the different surrounding regions time to deal with whatever’s stirring in the Rhodolite Peaks before setting out again.”

Thanking Gilbert and saying our goodbyes both of us make our way towards the Adventurers' Guild. We can now finally get that sweet, sweet gold we’d been promised.

Going in through the door to the guild I come upon a much more packed guildhall than the last time I was here. It had been morning then but now, it being midday, all chairs at the bar are filled and people occupy almost every seat at the tables where barmaids walk while taking and delivering orders. One thin and tall guy must have ordered one of everything they have as several women continuously carry plates to his table.

Rolas and I navigate our way towards the two clerks standing behind the counter and I have to dodge barmaids carrying large pitchers of ale three times before we make it there. Once we do I almost break down laughing and Ari actually does. The clerk with the duster is still dusting the same spot on the wall. It’s like he hasn’t moved in a month.

The sultry female clerk on the left has a queue of 5 people while none are talking to the male clerk with the duster. I can’t really blame the young male adventurers standing in queue as she’s definitely one of the most alluring women I’ve seen since my rebirth. I’m not here to flirt though and neither is Rolas so we walk up to the male clerk and present our tokens.

“So the caravan is back now is it? We were all worried it had been overrun by wargs or something and that you were all bones in the dirt by now.”

Rolas and I look at each other. Does the guild already know what’s happening in the peaks? Of course it does… I internally roll my eyes. It’s the fucking guild after all and information on something as big as this would have travelled fast with their couriers.

“So you’ve heard then? About the Rhodolite Peaks?”

“Sure have. The news came about half a week after you left and only one week later a few packs of wargs made their way up north to the east of here. The guild is planning expeditions into the mountain range starting next week to figure out what’s causing it. It’s for gold ranks though so no luck if you want to join.”

“Is that why it’s so noisy here?”

I can’t help but ask the clerk while looking around at the cheering adventurers as a new song titled something like ‘The whore and the cave’ starts up from the bar after they’d finished singing about some rogue who stole women's undergarments. The songs sung by adventurers are usually crass but this is a whole other level.

“Sure are. A lot of excitable golden ranks have crawled out from whatever pleasure den they’ve been hiding in up until now to join an expedition. There will be expeditions from all towns and cities in the region affected by the stampedes and they will all set out on the same day. They’ll cover more ground that way.

"This means that there’s no need for all of them to go somewhere to prepare for the expedition and I’d hazard a guess that every guild offering a posting for the expedition is as festive as ours as of this moment. Hold on for a second and I’ll go get your pay.”

The clerk disappears through a backdoor, dusting the doorframe while passing through, and Rolas and I wait. I don’t think Rolas is especially keen on the expedition as he has his boyfriend at the forge to go find and start their several day session of fucking each other raw.

I’m not tempted to join in either as I’ve made enough money for now and waiting for the expedition will only slow me down as I explore the Rhodolite Peaks. It’s not like I’m gold rank yet so I couldn’t join even if I wanted to.

The clerk comes back with our money after a few minutes and after confirming the completion of our posting he gives it to each of us. It’s a small pouch containing 1 large shiny gold coin and 20 smaller silver coins. I send it into my storage ring after checking their contents before turning back to the clerk.

“Can I ask what the deal is with that duster of yours?”

He rolls his eyes at me before sighing. What? Did he think this normal or something? I continue staring at him, having a silent battle through eye contact with the clerk before he finally blinks and answers.

“It’s a cursed object.”

He looks at the duster with a grimace as he furiously slaps it across the spotless surface.

“An adventurer came in with it to complete a task and I touched it with bare skin by accident. I can’t stop using this fucking thing before my curse magic resistance reaches a high enough level. It’s already been 3 months since I picked it up.”

I try concealing my amusement but eventually break down laughing, clutching my stomach and wheezing when I just can’t stop. The clerk looks slightly annoyed but he doesn’t seem offended at my insensitive humor. I suppose I’m not the first one to find it funny. I’ll have to apologize after getting myself under control again.

“Sorry. It’s just such a ridiculous thing to get cursed by. I couldn't help myself.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know and don’t worry. Now off you go. Looks like someone else has decided to actually come here with business and not only to flirt.”

He shoots his collegue a scowl and she grins back at him. Her queue is now 8 people long and only one person has decided to stand behind us. Moving out of the way for the tall woman clad in chainmail standing behind me, Rolas and I make our way towards the exit before leaving the guild.

“I’ll, um, I have to go, um, fin-”

Rolas stutters embarrassedly as we move away from the guild and Ari sends me an eyeroll and mentally nudges me to complete the sentence, sparing him to try making up some excuse.

“You have to go fuck the brains out of your partner. I get it. Have a nice time and if we ever meet again I’d love to work with you once more. You were a great traveling companion. Take care!”

He splutters and goes red at my blatant and most likely accurate description of his next course of action but he composes himself enough to give me a smile and a nod before wishing me good luck and saying his goodbye.

Ari takes interest in our next course of action as he dashes away, almost running someone over in his haste.

“What now, Zel?”

“Now we’re going to restock on pipeweed!”

“Shouldn’t we go to the bank first?”

I consider it for a moment but eventually decide against it. We’re going to have enough money to repay the loan after getting the most important necessity so we might as well do it afterwards.

“We can go there later. Pipeweed first.”

Seeing the pipeweed store is a sight for sore eyes and it feels amazing to get back in a room filled with grass. I’ve been without it for two weeks now and it’s time for a large purchase to stock up. The counter’s empty though and there’s no sounds of anyone moving about as far as I can tell.

“Hello? I’m back to buy more! Is anyone here?”

No answer.

I start going around the different shelves, studying the different jars of pipeweed and reading their labels. There’s quite a large selection here for a town this small. Not seeing anyone here to stop me I open a few interesting looking jars and take a whiff at their contents before moving on.

It’s on my fourth jar, closer to the counter, that I smell something not quite right. I’m well enough familiar with this smell and I have never smelled it in pipeweed before. Curious and slightly apprehensive, I crane my neck and stand on my toes to look over the counter. The silence and smell of the shop can now be explained by the corpse.

Lying behind the counter in a pool of not yet congealed blood is the store owner with a crossbow bolt through one eye and one through the throat. It must have been a robbery or why else would someone kill a store owner like this?

Scrutinizing my surroundings a little more intently I notice several higher shelves lacking any jars and even a few pipe stands not having been restocked, all probably stolen. I know I can’t stay here like this or else I’ll be a suspect but I can’t leave without my goods either.

Taking a risk I jump over the counter and corpse, landing near the back door before opening it and stepping through. I probably don’t have long and searching through the storage room quickly I find shelves upon shelves filled with pipeweed in bags and in jars.

Feeling like the thief my class choices indicated I’d once been, my hand brushes over several of the bags and jars, placing them in my storage ring. Not feeling like robbing this place blind I run back into the storefront and close the back door before jumping over the corpse and counter.

I can’t be seen entering the store and lingering here with a murdered owner and have no other choice than to run out the front door. I would have liked to leave some money behind for what I took but I’m not sure if it could be traced back to me somehow.

Running towards the guardhouse at the gate I don’t use any enhancement but still make it there in under a minute without seeing any guards on the way. James is still alone on gate duty and not seeing Pontus anywhere I settle for speaking with him.

“Hey, James!”

He flinches and I press on.

“James! There’s been a murder. I don’t know if there are any other guard houses except here so I ran here as fast as I could. I didn’t see any other guards on my way here either.”

“A murder?”

That finally gets him to act serious for once and I explain what I saw when entering the pipeweed store. He can’t leave the gate but there’s apparently a barracks on the other end of town where there’s always guards stationed.

I’m off again in a flash like some sort of noble brat’s runner doing errands. I suppose notifying the guards is the least I can do for the deceased store owner though. I took some of the pipeweed without paying after all.

I run for several minutes before reaching the barracks, looking for guards out on patrol but seemingly miss all of them. Reaching the barracks I pick a random guard milling about before approaching him and speaking loud enough for others to hear me, almost shouting.

“There’s been a murder!”

After explaining in more detail about the incident to the steadily growing throng of guards who come running I move out of the way as they set off to investigate. There’s not really anything more I can do to aid them in looking for the robber and no one seems to consider me a suspect oddly enough. There’s still more business to take care of and staying here won’t do me any good. I might even get dragged in for further questioning.

My next stop is the bank to repay my debt and the same clerk who’d helped me take out the loan reluctantly takes my coin as we both sign the paperwork showing the debt paid in full. She isn’t exactly excited to help me with such small amounts of money but I don't care. I’m finally debt free and it feels great. The clerk will surely have more lucrative business opportunities in the future but certainly not from me.

“It’s almost afternoon, Ari. Should we go visit Gudrun?”

“Yes. Let’s just get it over with.”

Gudrun is pleased to see me and I try to mask my own inner feelings about the coming few hours. It isn’t as bad as I had feared though as she’s quite good at explaining the use and functionality of her strange devices even if her naming scheme is horrendous.

“This beauty here is one of my favorites in my Enchanting Appearance line of products. I call it the ‘Nail Clip Auto Adjust version 3.56’ or ‘NCAA 3.5’ for short, a nail clipper that automatically adjusts to each digit before trimming them down to a smooth edge. It can even trim 5 digits at once which means you only need to use it 4 times before every nail on your body is perfected.

"I even made an accessory to this device, lying here somewhere, that can paint the nails at the same time it’s trimming them. Getting everything done in record time! I’m selling this one for 50 silver and the price is non negotiable as I think it’s quite reasonable if you count the time saved over a lifetime of use.”

“It sure is impressive but who in their right mind would install this 10 KG monstrosity in their house to clip their nails??”

I privately agree with Ari while outwardly displaying some enthusiasm at its efficiency as Gudrun demonstrates by gleefully shoving her right hand into the slightly eerie, glowing compartment and withdrawing a hand with fingernails of perfect length.

It takes hours for Gudrun to showcase her different inventions and a few even get me to ask pertinent questions that she happily expands upon. She’s not even mad that I don’t buy anything in the end and simply beams at me as I wave, taking my leave. She must have wanted to show her creations off for quite a while.

“I’m exhausted but it was actually fun watching the strange contraptions Gudrun made reality for whatever mad reason.”

“I agree, Ari. How about now though? We have our pipeweed, probably more than we could afford to be honest. Should we go sell our monster cores somewhere? It’s getting cramped in our storage.”

“Sure, let's do it. I think I spotted an alchemist's shop a few blocks down from here. If I remember correctly, they use monster cores as potion ingredients and would surely buy from us.”

I walk down the crowded street of people doing their hurried evening shopping before everything closes down for the night. A few people bump into me but it’s just by accident as the streets are quite crowded. It takes a few minutes to walk through the chaos but I soon spot the intersection with the alchemist’s shop.

It’s a large corner store with displays of ingredients and different concoctions. Health potions, mana potions, potions of strength and so on. I don’t even know if they’d work for me as these are made for biological bodies but I’m not here to buy anyway. I might look into it in the future though. Above the door on a wooden sign, painted in emerald, slightly luminescent ink are the words ‘Alchemy Shop’. Quite the boring name even if it’s accurate.

Opening the door and hearing a small bell tinkling, probably one of those that Gudrun hates so much, I walk into the neatly organized space. Glass cabinets filled with different vials and glass containers of all shapes between square to round cover every wall where there isn’t a window. They’re filled with all kinds of different liquids in a variety of colors.

The long counter at the other side of the room from the entrance is blocking the way to the back door. It’s also stacked with different products that are no doubt popular enough to warrant such a prominent placement.

The evening light trailing in through the shop’s display windows and the dim greenish lanterns placed randomly in the room light up the two other customers already present. Waiting for my turn and inspecting the different alchemical products I eavesdrop on their shopping.

“No, miss. I’m afraid that our stock of Gillhag mud hasn’t been refilled yet. The delivery is late yet again and I can’t make the beautifying cream with the strength you desire without it. If you do find some and bring it here I can make it for you at a slight discount. Anything else?... No?... Goodbye, miss.”

…

“You want a poison strong enough to sedate someone with a constitution above 200 and have an aphrodisiac incorporated in the sedative strong enough to work through unconsciousness?

"I can’t say I approve but I’m only here to give you what you want and not to stop you doing something possibly illegal or immoral with it... Very well ma'am you can pay half now for the customized concoction and half when you pick it up tomorrow morning. That will be 2 gold total. 1 gold today and the same amount tomorrow.”

After the flustered and blushing woman leaves the store, having paid the exorbitant cost for the suspicious concoction, it’s my turn and I approach the counter.

“Welcome, young miss. How can I help you today?”

The man standing behind the counter is obviously getting on in years but extraordinary vigor is still showing deep in his eyes. His gray, white streaked hair and beard gives him a wise appearance more suited to a grand mage in a mystic tower, located in a foggy valley. He might actually be an ancient wizard or something. Better be respectful when dealing with him to not get cursed with ill fortune or the like.

“Hello, sir. I was wondering if you purchased monster cores? I have a couple to sell and I’d like to get rid of them today.”

“Not selling them at the guild? Good choice, miss. It may be more convenient to get everything done there but you’ll lose out on quite a bit of coin over time. I won’t pay you what it would cost me to purchase them from the guild but I can meet you in the middle. How does that sound? We’ll both be making a profit.”

You can sell them directly to the guild? Might do that in the future then to save time but it’s honestly not a bad idea to deal with some of the local shops. The Adventurers' Guild is powerful and influential enough as it is.

I summon all the cores currently in my storage ring onto the counter while swiping my arm over it. It’s 16 monster cores in total but I honestly have no idea of their grade. I only know grades exist and that high leveled monsters drop higher graded monster cores.

“These are all grade 0 cores, yes? It’s nothing special but I do use quite a lot of them in different potions. I’ll give you 1 silver and 50 copper per core. Deal?”

“Deal.”

He swipes the cores into his own storage ring before bringing out 24 silver and concluding our trade. Stepping out from the alchemy shop I guess that he might have paid a little less than he was willing but I couldn’t care less and I don’t want to waste time haggling.

Who knew that cores were this expensive though? The single murder rat core from the dungeon would probably have been enough to pay off my debt. Too bad I wasn’t willing to waste time on keeping them with me.

There was ultimately no need to spend so much time guarding a caravan but I suppose taking the posting was a good decision for other reasons. I made some friends and they shared a lot of knowledge with me that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I might even have passed by the Rhodolite Peaks in ignorance of the opportunity if I’d gone straight east from here and not south first.

“Where to now, Zel? Straight towards the mountains?”

“No, not quite. We still have another stop to make.”

I hide my thoughts from Ari as I make my way towards the closest inn I can find and it’s only when I start climbing the steps leading up towards its entrance that I can feel Ari getting all excited. Lust is practically dripping from her onto my mind, hurrying me to get a move on and I oblige her.

The inn isn’t fancy or run down but quite average. A few spots of dust can be seen but the furnishing is whole if a little worn out. The patrons eating and drinking seem like a decent sort, their laughter mixing with music from a stringed instrument played by a bard in a corner. I approach the bar and counter while avoiding getting too close to the drunkards swaying on the dangerously high stools.

The pretty barmaid asks for my order but soon fetches the innkeeper when I make it clear I’m not here to drink. He comes stumbling out from the back room looking a little drunk himself. He still has all his faculties though and swiftly brings out a book before approaching me.

“Evening, miss. What can I do for you?”

“I’ll need one room for two nights with no room cleaning during my stay. I’ll pay extra for the privacy if that’s needed.”

“Alright… That’ll be 4 silver.”

Summoning the money and receiving a key from the innkeeper who’s suspiciously eyeing me, I skip up the stairs towards the third floor and unlock the door to my room. It’s nothing fancy but it’s good enough. The bed is well made and the sheets clean and smooth. The room's walls are solid and no holes remove the occupant’s privacy as far as I can tell. A small round window in the ceiling lets in the soft moonlight, giving the room a slightly cold air.

Locking the door behind me I light a candle on the bedside table before dispersing all my clothes except my panties and socks. Crawling under the cozy fabric I simply lay there in comfort, enjoying my body heat slowly spreading through the cool sheets and the rising sexual frustration I feel coming from Ari.

We hadn’t really indulged in each other properly except for that time in the street behind the wooden boxes and she’d complained about it almost every day. Can’t blame her since I feel the same tension and could barely hold myself back from letting down all defenses during the trip. It wasn’t worth dying over it or failing my posting though.

“Come on, Zel! I’m literally burning up here and I need you now!”

“You need me, do you? Since you say that I’ll give it to you but first let's smoke some of our new grass.”

I sit up in bed cross legged with my back against the bed frame and pillow. The blanket trails down my front, tickling my already hard nipples pleasantly. I run a finger over them to tease her a little more before moving down and rubbing the embroidered golden heart with ‘Ari’ written in silver. It’s located just far enough from my clit to be teasing to rub on.

“Zel? Did you make that? Why didn’t I see it before?”

Ari seems confused but I’m even more perplexed by her puzzlement.

“I don’t know? I didn’t exactly showcase it and you probably thought I hadn’t added anything to our panties and just glanced over it.”

“Oh, Zel… It’s so sweet. I love you so much.”

“Love you too, darling.”

Summoning a random jar of pipeweed I open the lid and take a whiff of the contents. It smells really good, almost like roses but there’s something else to it that I can’t really place but feels familiar all the same.

“You like this?”

“Sure, just smoke something already.”

Shrugging I manifest my pipe and fill it to the brim with the green and slightly pink striped grass. Sending the jar back into storage and lighting the pipe with my golden flame I lean back in comfort, taking a long drag on the pipe and trying to discern the aroma more thoroughly.

It tastes like roses and the previously undefined aroma hidden within manifests more clearly as smoke. It’s the taste of sex. There’s really no other way to describe it as I’m unsure if anything else can have that defining taste.

“This strain really fits the occasion. A perfect appetizer before I get to taste you, Ari.”

Ari practically vibrates with impatience but keeps it barely contained to let me enjoy the pipeweed for as long as it lasts. I don’t really drag it out though and I pull in a new breath of smoke almost at once after exhaling the last, finishing the bowl in record time.

Dumping the ash on the tabletop next to the candle casting its cozy light all over the room, I disperse the pipe and lower myself back down into the covers. I start pleasing my nipples with my fingertips and squeezing my breasts with enough force to push them between my fingers.

The euphoria hasn’t arrived yet but the pleasure alone is almost enough to drive me over the edge as it’s been too long. My right hand snakes down my stomach and approaches the undergarments where I rip them off instead of dispersing them. The theatrics are mostly for Ari’s sake but foreplay is always important. Approaching my slit and running a smooth finger across its length it gets instantly coated in pleasure before even going in.

Bringing it up and licking it clean I go down once again, this time entering as far as I can reach. My moans of pleasure fill the small room as I hold nothing back and fully indulge myself, going over the edge in mere seconds.

The release coupled with the oncoming high drives both Ari and I into ecstasy and our mental defenses crumble. Coming into contact with each other on a different level than otherwise possible I welcome my other half joining with me.

I feel Ari settling herself on top of me, the one breast I’m not kneading now in her firm grip, nipple between teeth and soft lips sucking gently. I arch my back while letting out a whimper of delight at the sudden stimuli.

Releasing my second breast and letting her have her way with my upper body I enjoy myself. When she starts getting more rough and her teeth become a little too painful I grab her by the waist and turn us around with a swift motion, eliciting a yelp of surprise from Ari.

Her silver eyes, hazy with lust and love stare up into mine. Raven black hair is splayed out in a chaotic mess from our reorientation, covering her lush lips and cheek. I brush them aside with a gentle finger before going in for a long, deep kiss. Our tongues lock together like serpents in their hypnotic mating ritual and we let them have their way as we bask in each other’s embrace.

Letting our tongues untangle I pull mine back before biting Ari’s lower lip with enough force to elicit an ecstatic sigh and moan of pleasure. Playfully licking her bitten lip I look deep into her eyes before speaking.

“You said you needed me, right darling?”

Sitting up straight and arching my back slightly, rubbing my slit against her stomach and spreading pleasure all over her skin, I bring my elbows together to emphasize my firm and slightly flushed bust. Holding onto and kneading her breasts I imperiously look down into her silver eyes that hungrily travel all over my body before settling on mine.

“I remember you liking pain isn’t that so, darling?”

Before she can answer I pinch both of her nipples hard. Ari’s eyes go wide and she tilts her head backwards, gasping and whimpering in both pain and pleasure as I lightly twist her ever hardening nipples. She’s really into pain isn’t she? I should have figured it out sooner.

My idle thought doesn’t go unnoticed in our current state and Ari lets out another loud moan, interspersed with her answer.

“Oh, fuck yes! I love you, Zel. More, give me MORE!”

I do and she shudders beneath me, releasing again and again as I knead, twist and poke her sensitive parts. I continue rubbing my sex on her and spreading my pleasure as I go down for another kiss. That’s what Ari must think at least before I once again bite on her lower lip, simultaneously twisting her nipples in one last fierce push.

Ari practically goes crosseyed from the sensory overload. Slowly softening my bite I finally cover her keening mouth with my lips and close my eyes in satisfaction. Seeking her tongue I find it ready and we stay like that for a long time, moaning into each other's mouths as I keep grinding against her, oiling her up and letting her come down from the pain-filled ride.

“I need to taste you elsewhere now. I’ve missed it for too long.”

Announcing my plan and giving her another kiss before sitting up with my back arched, I slide a few fingers between Ari’s lower lips and bring them back dripping with pleasure. I deliberately lick them off slowly, enjoying the taste and attention immensely as Ari studies my every movement.

“And I need to taste you as well, Zel. Can’t let you have me and not get anything in return.”

I grin at her before swinging myself around and tantalizingly slowly push myself backwards towards Ari’s face. My dripping sex and thighs press down on her breasts as I push myself over them with enough force to once again elicit a moan from my counterpart so entranced with pain.

I lower my face towards Ari’s sex as my own reaches Ari but she’s the first to strike. Still breathing heavily she pushes her face and mouth against my sex and her tongue goes in without issue. She laps up my pleasure with her tongue and greedily sucking lips as I moan in ecstacy into her. Not wanting to be outdone I take part in the feast, leaving us both shuddering and moaning in synchronization as our releases flood into our counterpart’s face, trading pleasure and tasting it all.

We stay like that for an indefinite time to us but what must be an hour in the material as we both feel the waning high and our mental defenses struggling to remain down. It’s quite demanding to forcibly remain unguarded against each other to let us continue enjoying ourselves and I can’t keep it up forever.

Rising from Ari’s sex completely covered in her pleasure with even my hair being wet I grin and lick my lips. Ari refuses to let go of me as she continues to eat me out even more furiously while fighting against my half hearted struggle to free myself. Eventually I can’t help another release from escaping in concert with an ear splitting moan.

“I love you, Ari.”

My heavy panting and lust filled proclamation only encourages Ari to go in deeper. I can feel my mental defenses crumbling slightly with the increase in intimacy and pleasure but it won’t stay like this forever. Sighing both in pleasure and disappointment I increase my effort of freeing myself as I speak.

“Ari, darling. We’re not finished with this. I rented the room for two nights, remember? We have a whole day ahead of us and we have time to get our high going again before we continue. Alright?”

That finally gets Ari’s attention and she rises up behind me, completely drenched, panting as if she’d been in a life and death battle and still gripping me tightly to herself.

“Promise? I need you. I. NEED. YOU. We’re not done, you promise?”

The pleading note in her voice and the overwhelming bestial glimmer of carnal desire in her silver eyes is enough to make my heart quiver. I can feel the scene before me settling there as a memory I will forever treasure. Slowly and gently rising from her she reluctantly lets me go.

My sex still dripping I move down between her legs before licking and drinking up everything coating her skin as I make my way upwards. My mouth wanders all over her, collecting the pleasure and sweat as Ari shivers with tension. I slowly make my way up her breasts, making sure to bite a nipple with enough force to let Ari release the built tension with her love for pain. Then I’m once again a few centimeters away from her flushed face as she breathes heavily, smiling up at me.

“Ari,-

My breath is as hot as hers and the smell of sex between us is driving me insane.

“-my love and heart. If you give me a look like that I’ll have to go down and book this room for another night. I’m not sure we’ll have time for the things I’ve got planned for you.”

I bite her lip gently while keeping eye contact before releasing it and continuing with a slightly domineering tone, my eyes glowing like suns.

“I’m going to fuck your mind until you can’t think for a week. And you’re going to let me, to beg me, to NEED me to continue. Do you understand?”

Ari shudders beneath me from that alone and her gaze is burning hot enough to scorch, blinding moonlight reflecting from its counterpart. She grabs me around the waist before pushing our bodies and breasts together, her legs locked around me and providing the answer I’m looking for:

A long lust crazed kiss.