Sons of Destiny Prequel Series 003 - The Shifter (37 page)

It was his turn to play the earth-priestess, the comforter, the distraction needed. Turning around in her arms, he lifted her chin with one finger and dusted kisses over her brow, cheeks, and nose. Words from his own counseling came back to him. They applied to her, as they had applied to his younger self. "You were very brave today."

"But I didn't do much," she pointed out.

"You were willing to, and that's what matters," he reminded her. "We may have to face more of them in the future, but for tonight, we won. Your friend is saved, as is that woman Parma, and you and I still have a few hours left in our wedding night. Whatever the future may bring, we will celebrate our victory and our joining, tonight."

His choice of words made her smile. "Is that what they call it on the Plains?
Joining
instead of twining?"

"I meant our marriage," he countered, chuckling. Looking into her hazel eyes, he smiled. "Though whatever label we use, from near or far... it will be making love, between us."

"Making love?" Solyn asked, caught on that last word. She knew how she felt about him, but his feelings were a mystery. "Is that how you feel? Do you love me?"

He hadn't had time to truly consider how he felt about her, yet. Kenyen wasn't going to lie to her, but neither would he lie to himself. "I
think
so. It's a bit sudden, and tangled up with everything else," he admitted, "but... I think I do."

Solyn hugged him. That was good enough for now, in her opinion. "I feel the same way about you. I think we will make love, between us."

His arms tightened reflexively around her, holding her close. Making love. He liked the sound of that. Kenyen was a warrior and merchant by trade, not a craftsman, but that was the one thing he knew he could make, with her. Instinct brought his lips to hers. His training helped him to tease her with little nibbling kisses, until she slid her hands down to his feathered backside, pulling their bodies closer. Desire deepened their kiss, banishing modesty from his aroused flesh.

This is my wife. Whatever may happen in our future, I am determined she will not be displeased with her choice, tonight.

Smiling at the thought, he reached for the buttons of her tunic. In her haste to trade clothes earlier, they were misbuttoned, offset by one. He shifted to kiss the skin he exposed, but she turned the tables on him, moving from his mouth to his throat, seeking the best, tender spots to suckle and lick. Such was her enthusiasm that he found himself backed up under her assault, until his legs hit the frame of the bed, and he toppled with a push from her. A push, and a giggle.

Solyn smirked at him, feeling confident in her task. Undoing the last two buttons, she shrugged out of her tunic, then unbuttoned the waistband of her skirt and stepped out of that. The only things left to drop were her sandals and her undertrousers, and the sandals were easily removed.

Scraping her toes against the straps cupping her heels, she stepped out of the footwear, then toyed with the ties of her undergarment. He watched her with heat in his gaze, his mouth curved up on one side and his elbows supporting his body. Wanting to see the other half of that smile, she dropped to her knees in front of him and kissed his thighs.

He lost the smile, mainly because his lips parted for an indrawn breath. They stayed parted in anticipation as she kissed her way toward his now featherless groin. Pleased with the hitch in his breath, she swayed forward and licked his half-hardened shaft. It twitched against her mouth. She snickered and licked it again, amused that she could make his flesh jump at her demand.
I wonder what other things I could do...

Her teasing was going to drive him mad. Kenyen couldn't quite bring himself to move, however, not when a swirl of her tongue made his toes tingle. But when she started stroking him with her hand as well as her lips, he knew he didn't want things to end that quickly. Twisting out from under her, he scooped her up and laid her on the bed. She groaned in disappointment, reaching for him; catching her hand, he kissed her fingers, then knelt on the bed and licked her knees.

The ties on her undershorts were tangled. Knotted awkwardly. For a moment, he debated just breaking them. A wicked thought changed his mind. Kissing his way up her cloth-covered thigh, he pressed his lips to her mound and patiently picked at the strings. A kiss, and a tug. A lick, and a pluck.

Frustration made her growl. Batting away his fingers, Solyn focused on unknotting the string herself. She succeeded on her third attempt, but only barely; the dampness along her gusset wasn't just from the teasing of his tongue. It was her turn to squirm free, giving her the room to kick off the garment. For a moment, they faced each other, both of them on their knees. Then he shifted forward, rubbing his cheek against her arm and purring very much like an overgrown cat.

Lifting her hand, she stroked her fingers through his long, soft hair. His head twisted under her touch, and a moment later his tongue flicked around the tip of her breast. Caught off guard, Solyn shuddered. He did it again, and again, before nuzzling his way down her belly to her thighs, where he nipped just enough to sting.

Her thigh jerked up and out reflexively. That was all the room Kenyen needed to twist onto his back. Hands reaching for her backside, he pulled her down, onto his mouth. She moaned, knees parting wider, sinking deeper into his nether-kiss. Teasing, flicking, suckling, he coaxed more of her personal honey from her depths until she shuddered in bliss.

Curling low, trembling with pleasure, Solyn didn't realize how close she was to his own groin until his shaft brushed her hair. He kept licking her folds, prolonging her desire. Determined to repay him, she cupped the turgid flesh, coaxed into bending close enough for a hungry kiss. He grunted and licked harder, tongue swirling and dipping in parody of the next step.

Parody wasn't enough. The hunger inside her needed to be filled. He clutched at her hips when she tried to pull away, growling and lapping harder, patently hungry for more. She stayed in place, his shaft half forgotten, until a second set of spasms rippled through her nerves. In thanks, Solyn swirled her tongue around his manhood, dampening the skin and encouraging it to stiffen further.

It wasn't easy, focusing through his own continuing attack, but she persevered until his head dropped back onto the bed, lungs heaving for air. Faint whimpers escaped him with each pant. Satisfied he wouldn't resist, Solyn crawled off him and turned around. His hands did reach for her, but when she came back, they helped her to straddle him.

That one-sided smile was back. Grasping his shaft, he teased her slick folds with rubbing strokes of the tip. Solyn rocked her hips, at first trying to find the right spot to seat him, to finally twine fully with him. The feelings evoked from his flesh rubbing against her pleasure nub made her rock her hips harder, until both sides of his mouth curled up in masculine smugness. She didn't care. It wasn't like his mouth, but it did feel good, and she wanted more.

Kenyen brought his other hand into play. Twisting his wrist, he teased her with his fingers, coating them. One slipped into her depths, following the rocking motion of her hips. A second soon followed, gently fluttering as they worked. There was only so much he could do in the height of passion to change the size of his shaft; it wasn't a matter of skill so much as focus, so he wanted her body as ready for him as possible. He was definitely ready for her.

She shivered and bit her lip, hips slowing, then shifting direction. Now it was his fingers she stroked. It was his thumb that rubbed her little peak. His touch that guided her passion. His fingers, which weren't enough. Pulling his hand free, Solyn grasped his shaft. Together, they guided it to the right spot, but the act of sinking onto it was all hers.

It was a tight fit, and it stung just getting the head inside. Both of them drew in a sharp breath at their joining. After a moment, Solyn sank a little lower. That stung as well. His thumb brushed lightly against her peak, distracting her. With teasing little touches, he coaxed her hips into circling. Into sliding up, then down. Each circle lengthened the depth of her strokes, until he grabbed her hips and thrust, impaling her fully.

Solyn gasped. His move was a dual shock of stinging pain and sweet fullness. The former faded after a few moments, letting her know that the latter was what her body craved. It helped that he held her tightly in place, letting her get used to the feeling, until she rocked her hips, rolling them a little.

Pleased she was no longer so tense, Kenyen resumed his teasing thumb strokes. She was hot, wet, and tight, the perfect sheath for his flesh. The trick now was to hold on to the reins of his own pleasure while giving her lead to rediscover hers. Moving his other hand up to her belly, he splayed his fingers over her skin, rubbing a little. Her stomach muscles trembled. They shuddered when he tickled his way up to the undersides of her breasts, and tightened when he rubbed one nipple.

The combination of circling strokes, identical in speed but opposite in location, brought her pleasure back in a rush. Biting her lip, Solyn moaned low and long. Her hips moved again. His thumbs stroked harder, faster, until she just had to move. This time, the stinging was negligible, enough to ignore.

Instinct made her thighs flex, made her rise and fall. Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, she found herself restrained only by the hand that shifted from her breast to her hip, keeping her from rising too far. Wanting more, she dropped harder with each stroke, wresting faint grunts from her lover. Her husband.

He couldn't take much more. Whether or not she had learned of this in her Healing lessons, Kenyen would have sworn on a Truth Stone that Solyn was an absolute natural. Her pace was the perfect tease, deep and strong, the kind that had him whimpering, but not fast enough.

Giving up some of his control, he grabbed her hips and braced his heels, thrusting up into her as soon as he had enough purchase to move hard and fast. It was her turn to whimper, her turn to brace herself with one hand on his chest, her turn to rub his nipple with her thumb. Her other hand slipped between her thighs, playing with herself.

The sight, the sound, the feel, and the smell of their lovemaking made his senses reel. Even the taste of her lingered in his mouth, driving him harder. She cried out, a wordless keen of pleasure that tensed every muscle before they released with a quiver. He let himself go as well, stroking into her heat.

No sooner had she slumped to his chest, slick with sweat and limp with pleasure, than he groaned in his own climax. A few final thrusts were all he needed to complete his pleasure. Relaxing into the bedding, he struggled for air. Not because she was heavy, though she wasn't a feather on his chest, but because he just needed to breathe.

After a while, she started to rouse. Kenyen shifted his arms, wrapping them around her body. Holding her close, he kept her on top of him. She mumbled something into his shoulder, then tried speaking again after a moment.

"Mmm... too heavy?" Solyn managed to ask coherently.

"No. Perfect," he replied.

She sighed and relaxed against him for a while, then shifted again. "Cold. Want blanket. And you."

Chuckling, he kissed her, then released her. When she slid off of him, he dredged up enough strength to pull down the covers and help her under them. He climbed in as well, pulling them up to his waist. She snuggled up against his side, pulling the covers a little higher up her back, and yawned. Then kissed his chest.

"So... since you have all the experience in these things," she murmured, peeking up at him. "How soon will we have enough energy to try that again?"

He grinned at the ceiling, glad she had enjoyed lovemaking enough to want more of it. "Oh, one or two times a day for me. More often for you."

"More often for me, but not for you?" she asked, pushing up onto an elbow. "Are you trying to hold back on me?"

"Only if you want me to spend all my sap at once and thus have me wither away from overuse," he retorted, amused by the turn of their conversation. "I'd have thought your Healing lessons included the fact that men can only climax so many times a day before it becomes painful."

"Well, I suppose Mother did mention something about that." She mock-sighed. "Whatever shall I do for twining, if I let you wither away? I suppose I'll have to ration it out... though it might help if I keep you well watered with my dew, since you seem to like it so much.
If
you give me a good reason to water you."

He tickled her for her impertinence, fingers drifting over her ribs. Squeaking, she tickled him back, finding his own sensitive spots. Sheer self-preservation had him pinning her to the bed with his greater strength, though she weakened him when she twined her legs around his hips.

"Plow me, farmer boy," Solyn whispered, teasing him about his pretend role as her best friend. "Plow me, and I'll water you all you want."

Half laughing, half groaning, Kenyen kissed her, giving in to her demands.

"My, but you two slept in rather late," Reina observed late the next morning, chopping fresh herbs for some posset decoction. "Even for the newly wedded."

Solyn blushed. Reaching for the gathering baskets, she barely refrained from smacking her forehead when she didn't find them. They weren't under the table because they were somewhere to the south, smelling of lanolin and having carried two newly liberated bottoms on the hunt for a Magister who would listen to them.
I'll have to dig some of my thronai out from under my bed and go buy a couple more,
she realized.
Megra, down-valley, weaves that style a lot. She usually has a few spare ones for sale...