The Elven King (8 page)

“Are you ready?” Aranion asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“As ready as I’m going to be,” Sade said. “Let’s get this done.”

Meldigur nodded. He walked to an open space between two trees. Holding his arm out straight, he carved a large circle in the air with his finger.

A line of liquid light followed his movement. And, when he had completed the circle -- the center fell away. It was like looking through a clear window, into another place. Although, unlike the gate that had brought Sade here, Meldigur’s portal didn’t shimmer or move at all.

On the other side of the window there seemed to be a common space of some kind: a floor made from a patchwork of woods, with colorful throw pillows scattered around. Beyond, a break between brightly flowering branches showed what seemed to be an endless vista of treetops. The sun shone brightly; its rays passing through the portal and struck the mossy ground with shocking brilliance.

It was beautiful.

Meldigur gave an ironic grin, and waved them toward the portal with an exaggerated flourish.

Aranion stepped through first. Sade followed.

The room smelled of flowers, and birdsong filled the air.

Sade stood close to Aranion, and suddenly reached for his hand as what she’d assumed to be flowers started hopping about the tree branches, flexing their wings and chattering to each other.

Meldigur stepped in behind them, and the portal closed.

Sade looked around the elf’s home in amazement. She’d never seen anything like it before. For one thing, it was so open! She supposed that, this high up, mosquitoes wouldn’t be a problem (if they were a problem for elves at all!) But this room didn’t even have windows. What if it rained?

The birds seemed to have open run of the place, although, at least, they kept to the branches that served as the room’s borders. Sade glanced down at the floor. It didn’t seem as if they were relieving themselves inside -- a profound relief.

Of course, the only explanation for this had to be magic. Which meant that Sade was totally out of her league.

Meldigur waved his hand again. On a short, round table in the middle of the floor, a tray of sliced fruits appeared, alongside a cup of nuts and a flask that held some kind of beverage. Even though they’d just eaten, Sade was startled to find herself ravenously hungry again. She eyed the plate of food longingly.

“Eat,” Meldigur said. “We may have covered the distance in an eyeblink, but your body feels the strain. Especially those of mortals.”

Not waiting for further permission, and grateful for the offer, Sade went to the table, dropped slightly awkwardly onto a cushion, and started to eat.

Some of the fruits vaguely resembled ones she knew. There was something soft and light orange, like cantaloupe, and something else green that had the texture and heaviness of a watermelon. To Sade’s delight, the nuts tasted like coconut almonds. She tossed a handful into her mouth and crunched them joyfully.

She hadn’t realized that her hunger had been making her feel ill until she’d begun to eat, and the nausea lifted. Though Aranion and Meldigur were quite casual about it, they too ate heartily, which made Sade feel better. At least it wasn’t just her.

She did find herself hoping that the elves had more substantial food for their major meals. If this was their staple fare, Sade could see why Aranion and Meldigur were both so thin.

When Sade had finished, and was licking fruit juice from her fingers, Meldigur said to her and Aranion:

“Make yourselves comfortable. Upstairs I have a bath area where you can both get cleaned up,” he added, “and take care of your private needs. Unfortunately, Sade, I will have to alter some of my older clothes to fit you, until Aranion works out things with his father. But it’ll still be better than those ill-fitting rags you’ve been wearing.”

Ill-fitting rags? Sade tried not to look annoyed. She hadn’t exactly been dressed for a party when she’d crossed over, but her yoga pants and T-shirt weren’t rags, and they fit just fine. Still, it was better to keep her mouth shut – she didn’t want to seem to spit on Meldigur’s hospitality. He did seem to be doing his best to help them out, and for that Sade had to be grateful.

So she only said, “Thank you.”

Aranion said, “It’s midday, and my father will be meeting with his council for at least a few hours. That would be a good place to start,”

“Ahh, yes,” said Meldigur. “The council. A more boring group I’ve never had the misfortune of meeting.”

Aranion frowned. “Just…don’t make a scene.”

“Me?” Meldigur grinned.

Sade didn’t like the look of it, but before she could protest, Meldigur said again, “Make yourselves comfortable. You’ll have at least a couple of hours. I’ll lay clothes out for both of you, on the upstairs bedding.”

He did as promised, and then made ready to go. Before he left, he admonished them both again not to go outside or call attention to themselves.

“And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he added, with a wink and a wave. Then he stepped off the edge of the room.

Sade ran to where he’d jumped. Of course, she knew he wouldn’t be stupid enough to accidentally kill himself by jumping out of his own house! But still, she stared, disturbed, out over the breathtaking vista, half-afraid she might see some sign that he’d fallen through the canopy of trees below.

“He’s fine,” Aranion said, stepping up behind her. After a moment, he placed his large, warm hands on her hips. “Mel just likes to show off,” he said quietly, near her ear. “He hasn’t had an audience so quickly impressed in decades.”

Decades? Sade found herself wondering about that. How old was Aranion, anyway? He didn’t act old, nor did he look old. But then again, how would she know what an old elf looked like, anyway?

Though, on the other hand, Sade doubted that he would be on the run from his family and an arranged marriage, if he was very old by the standards of his people.

She found it hard to focus her thoughts on such matters, though. Now that they were alone again, Sade couldn’t ignore the powerful attraction Aranion’s presence lit in her.. The touch of his hands on her hips reminded her of the time they’d spent together last night in the hollowed tree. He’d taken her to heights of pleasure beyond her dreams… and, more than that, the way he had owned her body made her want him to take and use every part of her again. It created an expectancy between them.

“I need to get clean,” Sade said.

“Yes,” said Aranion. “I, too.”

He pulled her back from the ledge and into his arms.

She turned, for a brief moment thinking to step away. But then her eyes met Aranion’s storm-blue gaze, and all she wanted to do was kiss him.

She lifted her chin, her lips parting, and he took the hint, lowering his head and claiming her mouth. They kissed, and the pleasure of it coursed straight through Sade’s body. Aranion must have felt it too, because his grip tightened, and he started walking backward, pulling her along.

“This will be better done in the bath,” Aranion said, his breath tickling her lips.

Sade was too addled with lust to notice how they made it up to the second floor -- it some kind of circular staircase? -- but even in her haze of desire, she couldn’t help but gape when they made it into the bathing room itself. The room was closed off by a thick wall of entwined vines and branches. Some of the vines gave off a warm, ethereal glow that bathed the room in comfortable light.

How had Meldigur managed to fit an entire hot tub into a tree? Sade had no idea, but the smooth, gleaming wood and the inviting pool of steaming water enticed her.

She quickly stripped off her dirty clothing, leaving it in a pile on the patchwork wood floor. Aranion did the same.

On the side of the tub sat two large, wooden bowls. “It’s traditional to clean ourselves first, before we enter,” Aranion explained.

He knelt beside the pool and picked up one of the bowls. Holding it with both hands, he dipped it into the water, filling it, and then poured the contents over his head. Water streamed down his face, hair and shoulders, making him shine with fey beauty.

Sade longed to run her fingers over the streams where the water had fallen, to explore the dips and valleys of his body with her tongue.

Aranion looked up at her. His irises had been reduced to a ring of storm blue. “Come to me,” he said.

His look was fierce, possessive, and Sade let herself be drawn in by it, closing the distance between them, and kneeling by his side.

She lifted her hands her head to undo her braid. But Aranion pushed them away. “Let me,” he said.

He moved so that he knelt behind her. He ran his hands along her temples and then back, lifting her braid, and laying a tender kiss on the nape of her neck. Then, with deft movements, he unbraided her hair.

As tangled as it was, his fingers should have gotten caught in a knot somewhere, pulling at her scalp, but nothing of the sort happened. Her hair came free, falling in uncertain waves to her shoulders.

Aranion lifted it up, pulling it back, and kissed her fiercely down her neck. Sade shivered. At her backside, she could feel the rising strength of his desire. The heat rising from the bath—the largest bath she’d ever seen—combined with the heat of him was dizzying.

The peril of their situation formed in sudden, sharp reality in her mind. Here in this beautiful room, it was easy to forget, but their situation was still all too dangerous. What if Aranion was still forced to marry, despite his soul-bond to her? Or, worse, what if the other elves discovered that Aranion had crossed the border into her world – a terrible crime -- and he was sentenced to a horrible death?

Either Sade had known Aranion – at least in some sense -- since that day in her Nana’s garden, or only she’d only known him for a day. But in either case, she couldn’t, nor did she want to, imagine life without him. What if these were their last moments together?

The urgency grew as they rocked together by the side of the bath. Aranion touched her everywhere, running light fingers over her collarbone, circling her breasts and pinching her nipples, giving just the right amount of pain to temper the relentless pleasure of his presence. She was wet, dripping in her need. Sade trembled at his touch until she couldn’t take it any more, and then turned around, grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him down for a bruising kiss.

Aranion moaned into her mouth. His cock was fully erect now, flushed and shining. Sade wanted to take him apart, watch him shatter inside her until they both forgot their uncertain future. Until it was erased, and there was only the two of them, the bath, and the bond they shared.

Sade straddled Aranion’s hips, pushing herself down over his cock, taking it in.

“Not yet,” Aranion choked out, voice rough with need. “Too soon.”

“Take me,” Sade said. “Take everything.”

Their eyes met, and then he pushed into her in earnest.

They were moving together, and now somehow he was on top of her, her hair falling into the bath as he buried his cock in her, pulling out and pushing in with strong, level strokes that brushed her clit tantalizingly with every movement.

Sade met him with every thrust, taking him deeper.

Aranion kissed her shoulder, scraping his teeth over her flesh. Sade closed her eyes, the short, sharp pain bringing her pleasure up to unbearable heights.

“Look at me,” Aranion said hoarsely. His voice was rough, but his fingers were gentle on her jawline. “I want to see you.”

Dizzy with heat and pleasure, Sade opened her eyes. Aranion was on top of her, his legs shaking as he pushed his flushed, velvet cock into her. Each thrust ended with a snap, his balls tickling her perineum as the head of his cock massaged her g-spot. The slow build of it maddened her beyond endurance.

“More,” Sade begged, hoping that he would recognize her desperation and stop torturing her. He had to touch her
more
. More deeply, more firmly – something! She didn’t even know how he had the discipline to keep up this measured, agonizing pace.

Sade reached up to yank his hips closer to her, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled them away. His legs were shaking with the effort. His whipcord strength was incredible, and she vaguely wondered how long he would be able to keep it up. He’d have to break soon. Please, she thought desperately, please let him break soon.

“Hands down. Eyes open,” Aranion ordered.

“Yes,” Sade said, the agreement somewhere between whining and speech. Anything he wanted.

Aranion let go of her wrists and plunged his thumb into her pussy, finding her clit and circling it in a firm, wondrous motion.

Sade raised her hips, eager for the touch, eager to feel his cock pounding into her.

The orgasm crested, breathtaking and sharp. For a brief moment, her eyes shut.

“I want to see you,” Aranion’s voice said. “I want you to see me.”

Sade forced her eyes open. She was pulsing, drawing him into an endless wave of pleasure.

Aranion thrust into her, the control of his movements breaking as he took her. The head of his cock thickened just before he came, his rear tightening as he thrust into her, filling her with his hot juices.

They collapsed together beside the bath, breathing into each other.

Sade ran her hands through his thick, almost white hair. She marveled at him, the presence and the beauty of him. It was foolish for her to feel lucky -- lucky to be in his arms, lucky in this moment -- but the joy welled up in her.

Aranion gave her a smile, strangely gentle after the raw passion of their joining. “We still need to bathe,” he said, and kissed her deeply.

Sade fell into the kiss. Her desire for him was struggling with her own exhaustion.

“Yes, we should,” she managed. “You’ll have to dump the water over me, though. I can’t move.”

“Oh, that’s just a tradition,” Aranion said. The quirk of his smile at that moment had a definite air of mischief. “The water cleans itself.”

Once they had collected their breath, they went together into the bath. In the hot, fragrant water, the made slow love again. Unlike before, this time was sweet, and had an overtone of sadness.