Prophecy, Child of Earth (64 page)

She slid back up to a sitting position again, her shoulders breaking the watery surface, and laid her head back against the pillow on the edge of the tub. The gentle waves swirled and surged around her, caressing her skin and lapping lightly at her breasts. She smiled, enjoying the tickling sensation as the heat of the water, then the coolness of the air, alternated against her upper body as the undulations came and went. Her nipples, normally pale pink as the inside of a seashell, warmed in the water and the sensation, and darkened to a deep rose.

Rhapsody sighed as the water continued to kiss her, and the porcelain skin rippled in tiny goosebumps. She settled a little further into the tub and slid her feet up the edge, her knees cresting the surface. Then she felt a vibration, much like a current within the depths of the water, swirling between her knees and gently separating them. Her body began to tingle as the current swirled lower, stroking her hips and back and then settling between her legs, whirling and rushing. She felt the water lightly surge around her thighs, growing in its intensity, darting in and around her most sensitive spots. Her body was beginning to tremble, and she felt heat, internal this time, rushing to the places it was caressing.

The waves became more insistent, whirling and throbbing into areas of her that were growing more excited at each motion. It was as if the water was becoming solid and was seeking out places to pleasure her. Rhapsody felt a flush course through her body as the water created a need within her that was beginning to beg to be met.

'Ashe," she said; the word caught in her throat and came out husky. "Ashe, what are you doing?"

'Reading."

She struggled to open her eyes and saw him, still leaning against the door, eyes still closed.

'Please," she said as the water began to pulse in and out of her, "Please stop it."

Her breath was growing shallow as she fought the growing excitement.

'Stop what?" He smiled, but did not open his eyes.

'This is turning into a sexual experience here," Rhapsody said, trying but failing to maintain her composure. "Now knock it off. Please."

'You have something against sexual experiences?" he asked playfully, still not favoring her with a glance.

'Yes, if they're not with you."

Finally Ashe sat up, opened his eyes and looked at her seriously. "My love, that is me," he said sincerely. "I can feel you every bit as much as you can feel me, maybe even more so."

'But that's the point," she said as the solid water began to throb, making her desperate. "It's not you, it's water, whether you can sense through it or not. You are the only thing I want touching me like this. Please, Ashe. Please don't do this."

There was a desperation in her voice and on her face that he suddenly recognized; it was the same as the day at the Tar'afel River when she pleaded with him not to carry her across. He jumped to his feet and came to the edge of the tub; the vibrations in the water immediately ceased.

'I'm sorry, Rhapsody," he said, watching her anxiety fade and calm return to her face. "I certainly didn't mean to upset you."

Rhapsody sat forward, drawing her knees up in front of her. "I know," she said; she reached out a wet hand and rested it on his cheek. "I know, and it's not your fault; it's mine."

Ashe wanted to take her in his arms, but he remembered his promise to wait for her invitation to be touched, and he held back. "How can this be your fault? All you did was try and bathe. I'm sorry for being an idiot."

Rhapsody looked into his eyes, and the confusion she saw there went to her heart. She drew his head forward and kissed him tenderly.

'No,
I'm
sorry, Ashe," she said softly. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that in the Past I've been used in unspeakable ways by men to vent their sexual excitement, and it was the worst part of my life. And the element of it I don't think I'll ever get over was being put on display and—" Her eyes dropped as her voice broke for a moment.

'I was happy to think that I would never have to experience anything sexual again when I came here—that I could live a chaste existence and be so much better off. And then you came along, and brought it back into my life, for literally the first time in a positive way. I never would have believed that could happen. You made love to me for the first time, really. And making love with you is such an incredible thing, a beautiful thing, that I've tried very hard not to let anything in my past touch it; I don't want them associated at all. And through sheer force of will I've prevented myself from becoming inhibited in most ways—I'm sure you've noticed."

For the first time, Ashe smiled, and Rhapsody caressed his face with fingers that were beginning to wrinkle from the warm water. "There are just a few things that still remind me of those days. The truth is I don't mind anything you want to do with me as long as you are holding me in your arms, or at least on the same side of the room as me. It's probably screamingly ironic that someone like me turns out to be so old-fashioned sexually, but I can't help it. Every charm, every fantasy, anything I can do to please you is yours, but only because it's one of my ways of expressing that I love you. And it's my choice to give myself to you. I'm no one's toy any longer."

He looked into the emerald eyes and it was as if he could see straight into her soul. The honesty of her heart and her words made him tremble. "Rhapsody, if making love reminds you of something you dislike—" "Don't say that," she said quickly. "That's not what I meant at all. I do want to make love with you, very much; so much so that when you said you were going to read instead I thought—well, never mind what I thought. It's just I want you to hold me, you yourself, not some disembodied force. There's a sort of communion that doesn't happen when one partner is on the other side of the room. Besides, it gives me a chance to reciprocate." Her words made his face flush, and he gripped the sides of the tub, straining to keep his promise.

Rhapsody laughed as she watched his knuckles turn white. "I do admire your forbearance," she said, and leaned forward. She gave him a warm, wet kiss and as she did she unbound the tie of his bathrobe. "Consider this your invitation," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and she moved back to the far end of the tub to allow him room.

Ashe dropped his robe and stepped into the tub. He knelt down and took hold of the edges of the tub and, holding his own body suspended over her, he leaned forward and gently kissed her.

She returned his kiss warmly, running her hands up his arms, feeling their strength. Her fingers traced the lines in his back, stroking the corded muscles as they held him hovering above her. As her tongue flickered into his mouth she wrapped her arms around him and pulled to draw him nearer. She rose out of the tub as unexpectedly he held his grip; he chuckled at the look of surprise that flashed across her face as her upper body and back were suddenly exposed to the colder air of the room.

'Show-off," she scolded in mock annoyance. "Very well, have it your way. Stay out here and freeze when it's lovely and warm in the water."

'I'm just enjoying the pleasant effect the brisk air is having on you," he said with a wicked smile, glancing at her chest. He laughed as her body grew suddenly rosier under his gaze, following the reddening glow up her abdomen as it crept into her face.

'Why, Rhapsody; you're blushing!"

'Don't tell anyone; you'll ruin my hard-bitten reputation," she answered, laughing with him. She gave him another impatient pull.

Ashe's lips brushed her cheek, moving up the line of her face until they were just above her ear.

'Your secret is safe with me," he whispered. Then his hands released their hold.

Rhapsody let loose a little cry as together they started to fall, but the water caught them as if it were a cushion, and her yelp turned into a laugh. Then Ashe felt the temperature of the water begin to rise until he was surrounded in a blissful heat. A silky leg brushed the back of his thigh and wound itself sensuously around his own, causing his skin to prickle into the same gooseflesh he was admiring on her a moment before.

Despite the warmth of the bath Ashe began to shiver and as he did, swirling waves swelled from the tub floor beneath Rhapsody and spun around her until they broke over her shoulders and toes, the few remaining areas of her outside the water. Ashe's hands followed the rhythm of the waves and flowed over her body, gliding upward from her back until they encircled her waist. Her own hands matched his movements, running up his back and over the broad shoulders to his strong neck, where they parted and came together again, cradling his face.

Ashe looked deep into her eyes, wordlessly communicating the depth of the love he felt for her that was rising now into a passion almost beyond his control.

Then his own eyes closed and his lips sought hers, crushing them with an intensity that made her tremble beneath him.

Their kiss grew deeper as his hands followed the tremors down her body, enjoying the smoothness of her skin, his palms and fingertips taking in the sensation of the pleasure his touch was giving her and making him tremble in response. One of his hands slid around her back and drew her to him in a strong embrace as the other continued its downward path, tracing the contour of her breast, her side and waist, down the line of her hip and her upper leg, turning artlessly inward. The water surged forward, from her toes, past her knee and met his hand as it moved to the sensitive areas of her inner thigh and upward.

Their lips parted and Rhapsody began to gasp at his touch and the simultaneous pulsing of the water, her back arching as her hands grasped his shoulders again.

Ashe's mouth moved to the hollow of her throat, caressing with fondness the area he had first come to desire when they met, tracing up the long slender neck until his lips touched her ear. In ancient languages he whispered his deepest feelings to her as his hands sought her pleasure, blending carnal delight with the expression of a passionate love the depth of which he could not measure. His own excitement grew as he watched her face transform into radiant happiness at the combination of his efforts to please her. "I love you," he whispered.

She echoed his words between broken breaths that grew shallower as his hands intensified their motions, his touch gently increasing in perfect rhythm with her desires. His lips returned to the hollow of her throat and then moved lower, lovingly caressing her breasts as they crested the water, warm with longing and arousal. Tiny whirlpools were left behind, tickling where his lips had been moments before as Ashe descended, brushing her slender abdomen with appreciative kisses.

His head disappeared beneath the waves that Rhapsody's trembling body was causing in the tub, tracing a careful line as he moved to the top of her thigh, then lower still. The soft musical sounds she was making became airy whimpers, and the water began gradually to warm, becoming almost too hot to bear. She gripped the edges of the tub, eyes closed, waiting for him to come up for air, but he did not stop his efforts until she cried out in delight, shivering beneath his hands that had closed around her waist again.

Warm, peaceful sensations began to take over her body as she languidly ran a hand over his hair, his head resting on her abdomen. Her eyes remained closed as he sat up slowly in the tub and positioned himself above her again, the warmth of his grin perceptible even without being seen.

At last his lips pressed gently against hers in a final loving kiss, and she opened her eyes. An inquisitive smile was on his face; his eyes, with their strange vertical slits, sparkled warmly in a way she was beginning to treasure. She returned his smile as she ran a lazy hand over his hair again. It was barely damp. He slipped his hand behind her and eased next to her in the wide tub, pulling her into his arms.

She snuggled against his chest and sighed, feeling totally happy.

'Now, was that more of what you had in mind?" he asked playfully.

In response, Rhapsody caught him off guard, pulling him over on top of her, aware that his needs were still unmet.

'Actually, no," she said, mischief making her eyes darken and flash like an emerald catching the light. "But if you'd like, I'd be happy to show you what I meant."

Rhapsody parted her legs, and as she wrapped them about her lover, Ashe let loose a deep sigh of pleasure. As always he was amazed at the depths of desire she stirred in him, and at the intensity of longing her touch brought forth. He closed his eyes and began to shiver uncontrollably as she drew him within her; when her warmth closed around him he clung to her, pleading with her softly not to let him fall too fast into the blissful oblivion that threatened to overtake him.

Her answers were tender, reassuring; she comforted him even as she pushed his excitement forward to new heights, assuring him of her love. Then she set about manifesting it physically, and Ashe felt her fire filling him, starting from where they were joined and flowing into the furthest reaches of his soul.

They rolled briefly beneath the surface of the water, Ashe turning in ways she found implausible, so that when they surfaced she lay astride and above him. The ribbon in her hair had been swept away, and as she broke the surface it fell like a golden waterfall around her shoulders. The sight of her reminded him of the legends he had heard long ago when sailing with the Sea Mages, of merrows and mermaids, and of sea nymphs, whose songs could enchant a man into losing his heart forever. He thought for a moment that perhaps this was what she was.

Ashe watched her face in awe, the feelings she was experiencing showing openly, changing like a kaleidoscope as the pleasure grew, transforming her beautiful countenance into something indescribable. She was lost in the joy of a man who loved her, and that man was able to see, clearly and without question, what it meant to her. And his thankfulness for that meaning was immeasurable.

With each caress, each motion, each touch of a wave, Rhapsody felt them moving together toward a dual ecstasy, one that would wildly satisfy their physical desires while, in a deeper, more profound way, comfort their wounded souls with the healing salve of trusting love that neither had believed in for many years. The heady, daredevil feeling of risk she felt in their earliest moments of exploration had given way as each barrier disappeared, and the sickening reminders of how far she had gone past the point of no return were fading away. Even the knowledge of the temporary nature of their relationship, the danger of what was coming, the lack of future in it all no longer dampened the happiness they were discovering, layer by layer, together.