Festival
by Christine Morgan
"This is going to
be such fun!" Natalia said as they descended the wide stone steps leading
to the
Cathedral Cavern beneath the plateau village of On the High Place.
Rick slipped his arm
around her waist. "I hope you enjoy it."
He couldn't help but
marvel at his good fortune, to be on his way to a holy Dorianite festival
with a
loving and lovely woman, his bride-to-be.
Here, finally, was
a mate who saw things as he did. None of Kellina's possessive jealousy.
None of
Nikolia's aura of reserve and untouchability. A clean and pure desire
instead of Raven's dark (albeit
intoxicating) passion. And mixed with a courage and sharp wit that
would have been unthinkable in a
simple Stonebridge girl had he taken Jeffor's advice and remained home.
Of all the other women he'd known
and loved, only Bevri had come close to the mixture that made Natalia
perfect.
Villagers and travellers
gave the both of them appreciative looks as they came into the warm,
spacious temple of stone. Down here, sheltered from the winter weather
above, the hot springs made the
caves almost tropical. At the guidance of some of their new acquaintances,
they had dressed accordingly.
Rick wore a maroon
silk shirt that did little to conceal the width of his shoulders and the
sculpted
muscles of his chest and arms. His cream-colored trousers clung to
his long legs. His hair, clean and
shining, was tied back in a simple horsetail that dangled most of the
way to his waist.
He felt mildly self-conscious
as local women pointed and stared. He knew he was tall, dark and
handsome, but that was Dorian's doing and not his own. As for his impressive
build, well, anybody could do
the same with enough sword practice. It wasn't as if he was anything
special.
Natalia, on the other
hand ... in her every step, her every movement, he could see Dorian's
generosity at work. She had inherited her mother's ivory skin and changeable,
northern-sky eyes, not to
mention the glossy blue-black hair that would have fallen to below
her hips if she hadn't twisted it into a
redoubled plait.
Her father's legacy
had finally come out as she had learned the ways of a warrior. Many times
over
the course of her training, Rick had been amused to suddenly see Andre
reflected in her mannerisms. And,
occasionally, in her language when she was displeased with her progress.
He teased her about that,
wondering if the royal court knew that their precious princess even
knew what those words meant.
She had traded a pair
of tabuk horns for some new clothes, clothes unsuited to the icy peaks
of the
Chaos Mountains but perfectly appropriate in this warm cave. And, Rick
was sure, perfectly appropriate to
wear to a Stonebridge summer festival when they returned home.
Her long shirt was
fine, snowy-white linen trimmed at the neck and sleeves and hem in frothy
lace,
and was so thin that a bodice or vest should have been needed to preserve
modesty. Natalia had opted to go
without, which left the ripe curves of her breasts clearly defined
and visible. Her nipples, already tight with
anticipation and excitement, stood out in little pinpoints and made
Rick feel somewhat delirious.
She also wore a colorful
skirt, purple and blue and silvery silk all woven together. It was drawn
high on one side, exposing shapely leg to well above the knee. A matching
scarf tied off the braid in her
hair, and a pair of low blue slippers finished the outfit.
Yes, by the gods,
she was beautiful and strong and gutsy. All the things he'd admired in
women, all
the things that he and Damon both had looked for ever since they met
Raven and their lives had changed
forever. And best of all, Natalia was accompanying him to this festival,
not that they might just share each
other's pleasure but that they might share each other's delight in
the pleasures of others.
He still shivered
when he recalled that night with Sorcha. How he and Natalia had begun talking
about it, how he'd been tempted to lie and declare her the only woman
he could ever want. But she had been
understanding, no, eager, to invite Sorcha to share their bed. Not
grudgingly, as if she feared that she would
have to make allowances to keep him. Not angrily, planning to make
him pay by witholding herself from
him. Openly, honestly, with a sincere and reverent wish to make all
three of them happy.
He hadn't wasted any
time, but swiftly fetched Sorcha to their room. Natalia's only wish after
witnessing and enjoying their copupling had been that their wedding
might be speeded along, that she too
could finally, fully experience the entirety of Dorian's Gift.
Rick, too, was burning
with readiness for their marriage bed. It was a testament to their willpower
that they had been able to refrain from taking that last, final step.
But, he knew, the worse test would be the
weeks and months yet to come, when they had returned to Tarlak and
were bound by the social niceties. In
Tarlak, they wouldn't be permitted to share a room, or even to spend
time unchaperoned. For, in Tarlak, she
was their princess, Andre and Nikolia's "little snowflake," and such
things simply weren't done.
He firmly put those
thoughts out of his mind. There would be time enough to worry about Tarlak
when they got to Tarlak. In the meantime, they were here.
The Cathedral Cavern
was not actually a cathedral, although it was certainly a cavern. The ceiling
soared, majestically adorned in rock formations and glittering crystals.
The floor was a sea of smooth,
frozen ripples.
At one end, several
springs both hot and cold trickled down the walls and through a series
of ponds
and basins before all ending in one large pool. Already, the shores
of that stone lake were littered with
discarded clothes as people swam and played and caressed in the water.
At the other end was
the temple-area. Although it wasn't a true, official, Church temple, the
cave
had the feel of a holy place about it, and nowhere more strongly than
at that spot, where a magnificent
image of Dorian looked down kindly from the wall, Her eyes like many-hued
jewels glittering with the
reflected glow of hundreds of candles.
Candles lit the entire
cave, filling it with the scents of berries and spice which had to compete
with
the tempting aromas drifting from the banquet table. Roasts of meat,
fresh-baked bread, a dozen kinds of
cheese, dwarven ale, imported Turan wine, sweet vetch pudding, custard
pastries, mushrooms stuffed with
sausage and herbs, and many more treats were awaiting devouring.
Low tables were stacked
high with soft blankets, furs, cushion, and woven mats for the comfort
of
the festival-goers. Several were already in use.
Natalia gasped in
surprise, this being her first sight of so many men and women entwined
in so
many different ways. Rick glanced at her, and was thrilled to see only
excitement in her eyes. Rising color
pinked her cheeks, and she leaned to press the whole length of her
side and hip against him. He dropped the
arm around her waist to give her bottom a good squeeze.
He looked about for
his friends, half-expecting to see Damon behaving in a manner most
unbecoming to the Queen's Companion. Probably with Trish, the confectioner.
Since the dam of his
Damonite single-mindedness had broken, he'd been wallowing in it happy
as a pig in mud. But he wasn't
currently in attendance. Maybe he hadn't yet gotten over the Damonite
thing about carrying on with an
audience. Or maybe he had decided to remain true to Quinlan.
Trish was here, and
if she was disappointed by Damon's failure to appear, it didn't show. She
was
laughing merrily with several young people, all of them clearly having
a fine time. Trish's uncle, Curley the
town mage, was seated on a barrel, a pint of ale in one hand and the
other free to goose passing girls as he
enthralled some travellers with his stories.
Taren wasn't here
either, although that was no big shock. His faithfulness to Nuna went beyond
the
bounds of all things normal. What he had to think about to keep his
mind off women, Rick didn't even want
to begin to imagine. Even when Sorcha had all but thrown Mavis at him,
Taren had kept his vows. It was
one thing when Nuna was around to threaten to turn him into something
weird, but Nuna had been asleep in
her tree for more than a decade. Surely nobody would blame Taren if
he faltered, just once. But he wasn't
going to now, evidently.
Rick did see Jesse
and Selvaine, and now knew for sure what he'd suspected for some time.
The
princess, heir to Mithasfeld if Dame Quinlan was successful, and the
one-time captain and son of Castle
White paladins, were lovers. And in love to boot, Rick could tell.
Selvaine was a golden
girl. Her hair was a darker blond than her mother's platinum locks, her
eyes
were the same tawny brown of her father Hunter and her aunt Marion.
She was much shorter than Natalia,
and because she'd been wearing heavy concealing garments to hide her
identity most of the time they'd
known her, Rick had never really gotten a good look at her figure.
Now, though, as she was clad in a
fluttery tunic more suited to one of Taren's nymph friends, he could
see that she certainly was a ripe and
nubile lass of sixteen.
Jesse seemed even
more self-conscious than Rick felt, but for different reasons. He was bothered
by his scar, a quarter-inch wide white line which extended from just
below his ear to his chin. Someone
under Dame Quinlan's command, possibly even that lady herself, had
laid open the face of a young squire
during the fall of Castle White. It hadn't been given proper healing,
and he would carry it with him to the
end of his days.
The scar wasn't nearly
as disfiguring as Jesse seemed to think. He was still a handsome young
man,
with rich blond shoulder-length hair and direct blue eyes. His features
were good, strong, determined. Years
in the silver mines and still more years working the river had hardened
his body, which was already off to a
good start by his squire's training.
"Maybe I should talk
to him," Natalia murmured, as if she was reading Rick's mind. "In Tarlak,
a
scar is the mark of a man."
"Is that the saying
in your village? Besides, to hear Dawn tell it, a beard is the mark of
a man."
"Well, that too,"
she laughed, laying her hand on his hairless cheek. "That's some people's
opinion,
anyway."
"Maybe you should
do more than talk to him," Rick suggested with a grin.
"Mmm. Maybe." She
sighed. "I'm only worried about offending someone. You know, because I
can't ... won't ..."
"They'll understand,"
he assured her. "And if they don't, they're not letting Dorian guide them."
"You're right, of
course."
"Any man here should
be happy to do whatever you'd like. There are plenty of other women if
they
want more. If someone doesn't accept that, give him a good kick."
"Is that letting Dorian
guide me?" she teased.
"Not exactly."
"So," she said as
if they were strolling through the marketplace, "see anything you like?"
He let his gaze sweep
the room. "Oh, yes."
The women of On the
High Place were on the short side, and rugged as many of the mountain
people were. Some of them had an aristocratic beauty that bespoke Turan
heritage, while others had the
wiry build of Crysians. They all conducted themselves with an openness
that would have been unusual even
in an Orelarian village. Here in the Chaos Mountains, marriages involved
many people, and there was no
such thing as adultery.
Even more unusual
was the number of dwarves in attendance. The village atop the plateau looked
as if it held a mere couple of hundred people, but the rocky bluff
was honeycombed with caverns and
tunnels where hundreds more, human and dwarf alike, lived in very close
harmony. Even co-mated
harmony.
Rick had visited more
than a few dwarven settlements in his travels, and until now found them
all
to be the same. Strict social structure, that "Elder races" arrogance
that they shared with the elves although
the dwarves weren't quite so outspoken about it, and a general well-meaning
disdain for impetuous short-
lived surface-dwelling longlegs. It had been the same in Kibrok Durva,
in Kazdarak, in Volta, even in
Firehills despite the hill dwarves' protestations of being different
from their mountain kin.
Here in On the High
Place, all those rules seemed suspended. The dwarves were friendly,
outgoing, free with their friendship and their secrets. They lived
as neighbors, business partners, and even
co-mates with the humans. Those co-mate unions didn't seem to produce
half-dwarves, at least as far as
Rick could tell. Although, with the general shortness of the humans,
who could know?
In his experience,
though, he'd seen scant few of their females. There weren't many; according
to
legend, when Reghar made the dwarves in the first place, He neglected
to craft females, and it was only
because of the malign teasing of one sister and the benign assistance
of another that He'd even bothered.
Because of this, the
dwarves tended to be protective and jealous of their women, often binding
them with severe social strictures. They weren't as bad as Rakvians,
but then, nobody was as bad as
Rakvians when it came to that sort of thing.
Therefore, it was
a surprise to Rick to see dwarfwomen, and especially ones in various states
of
undress, cavorting with dwarven and human males alike. He'd seen (and
felt) naked elfmaids aplenty, and
had sampled beauties from a variety of nations and regions, but if
someone had told him a few weeks ago
that he'd have the opportunity to get better acquainted with Reghar's
rare jewels, he would have greeted this
with some disbelief.
Still, here he was,
and as he looked at them he saw that they were quite different from what
he
would have expected. For one thing, they didn't all have beards. Some
did, but these seemed to be the older
females, and the beards were fine and downy. They did all have long,
thick hair where a man's sideburns
would be, and many of them had braided these and adorned them with
gold beads or jewels.
Their faces were broader
and flatter, with thicker brows and more deep-set eyes, but there was a
rugged beauty about their features that made Rick think of a view of
mountain peaks against the sky.
Their coloration tended
toward earth-tones, though here and there would be a blond. From
something Mokik had said a long time ago, Rick knew that golden hair
was muchly admired.
Evidence of their
greater physical strength was apparent in their thick, densely-muscled
limbs. The
smallest dwarven female looked capable of combatting the average human
male, with a better-than-even
chance of winning. But, despite their sturdy, compact bodies, they
were undeniably feminine.
Rick and Natalia crossed
to the more temple-like section of the room and stood before Dorian's
image. The sweet smells of candles and incense were all around them.
The light touched Natalia and made
her glow as she gracefully knelt and bowed her head in prayer.
He did the same, thanking
the Great Mother for their victories against Hell's Army and the Nine,
for Her healing, for the new friends they'd made.
He prayed for Dame
Quinlan, that she might be successful in Argosa and that she and Damon
might even have some chance at happiness.
He prayed for his
son Mithas and hoped to reach him in time. Stones on the Hill was only
two
weeks away, and they had found a guide to lead them there.
He prayed for his
daughters and grandchildren, his parents and friends. He prayed also for
Raven
and Shade, and baby Obsidia, and thanked Dorian for letting Raven finally
find true happiness, even if only
for a while, even if it hadn't been with him.
When his silent communion
was finished, he rose and lit a candle, swearing to honor Her this day
and always, and to do what he could to bring the true church back to
Tura.
Natalia joined him,
touching flame to a candle of her own. Rick heard her whisper the names
of
her parents and brothers, and promise to see them in a matter of months.
Their devotions, at
least of this nature, finished, they made their way to the banquet table.
Rick
couldn't pass up the sweet vetch, a taste of home that had been his
favorite as a child, but their appetite for
food soon turned to other things as they became involved in observing
the activities of others.
"Hello, handsome and
beautiful," someone said. "Going to stand here watching all day, or are
you
going to join the fun?"
It was Deegie, the
seamstress who had outfitted Natalia. She had gotten her voluptuous body
into a
tight emerald-green tunic, left unlaced so far that her full breasts
bulged into the V of the neckline.
Her skin was the shade of almost-translucent white that was often
found in redheads, so pale that
the veins could be seen tracing along beneath a smattering of freckles.
Her red curls, much more carroty and
springy than Sorcha's auburn hair, were fluffed about her heart-shaped
face.
"There's just so much
to see," Natalia replied, smiling.
She and Deegie had
hitten it off at once despite their many differences. Deegie, for instance,
was
involved in a loose orbit of six co-mates and ten children all sharing
the same house. Deegie was bouncy,
flippant, quick to laugh. She also had the expected firey temper, but
hers was more like a spark landing on
the skin -- a sudden pop and a sting and then gone.
"Like Trish's candy
shop," Rick added. "Too many treats and not enough pennies!"
Deegie brushed her
breasts against his arm. "Oh? That looks like a full purse to me!"
"Want to count my
coins?"
She deliberately let
her eyes rove over his body. "Hmmm ... I think I can change a shilling!"
"Yes," Natalia said,
"but can you change a crown?" In a distinctly Turan gesture, she rubbed
her
hand along Rick's thigh in such a way as to pull the fabric of his
trousers taut over the swelling at his groin.
Brought on by the anticipation and sensually-charged atmosphere, he
was already well-aroused.
"Honeypot," Deegie
laughed, stroking Natalia's arm, "give me two bells and he'll be lucky
to
manage sixpence!"
"Oh, yeah?" Rick grinned.
"We'll see about that!" He gathered the redhead into his arms and
claimed a long kiss from her soft, ready lips. She was an enticing
bundle, rounded in all the right places.
"In two bells," Natalia
predicted, "you, Deegie, will have gotten your year's wages and an extra
tuppence for Yuletide cheer!"
"Is that so? Well,
mayhap I should introduce you to my friend Iduna. She's a moneylender's
apprentice and needs to study ... foreign currency."
"Rick's always interested
in extending the hand of diplomacy," Natalia said. "It's just a matter
of
where he puts it."
He was proud and pleased
at their clever banter, although mildly embarrassed to be the center of
their attention. He paused a moment to thank Dorian for letting him
meet Natalia and letting her be all that
he ever hoped for. The goddess image on the far wall seemed to smile
lovingly at him.
"Iduna!" Deegie called.
"I think I need your financial expertise over here!"
A dwarven woman turned
toward them, flinging her earth-brown tumble of hair out of her face.
She had eyes like diamond ore, dark yet glittery, and wore a topaz-colored
velvet skirt and halter. She was a
striking beauty by any standard (except possibly elven), and Rick was
even more intrigued.
Natalia, a sly smile
playing about her lips, glanced up at him. "Should I find Damon? Are you
going to need to borrow from the group fund?"
He kissed her firmly.
"I've got the group fund."
She returned the kiss,
darting her tongue into his mouth. "Don't spend all of it!"
"I'll save a few farthings
for you."
"That's very good
of you, Rick. A few farthings, eh?"
"Well, a couple of
pounds, then."
"Better." She pushed
him toward Deegie. "Have fun! I think I'm going to go ... talk ... to Jesse."
He wasn't the only
one to watch her cross the room, and by the way she carried herself, she
knew
it. Many eyes were upon her, and she was loving it.
"We don't often have
visitors who see things our way," Deegie said, walking her fingers up his
chest. "Oh, sure, Paskaarni men will join us, but only if they are
traveling without their wives or
sweethearts. And the Turans -- ha! Amazing, the things they believe!"
"I've been all over
the world," he said, turning his attention to the buxom young woman, "and
I've
never seen anyplace quite like this. It's refreshing."
"Well, Deegie, who
is this?" Iduna asked, looking up at Rick.
She was four, maybe
four and a half feet tall, the top of her head coming to just above his
waist.
But she was far from diminutive. No slightly-built elfmaid, no wispy
fairy lass. Solid female, he thought,
taking in his fine view of her cleavage.
"Iduna, this is Rick,
a visitor and a warrior. Rick, may I introduce Iduna, apprentice to Roald
the
moneylender."
She held out a hand.
"It is a pleasure to have the gift of your acquaintance," she said, with
emphasis on the words 'pleasure' and 'gift.'
"Likewise!" He clasped
it, pleasantly surprised at how warm and smooth her skin was. Her grip
was strong as a man's, her fingers stubby but well-shaped. "I didn't
know many dwarves followed the faith
of Dorian."
"I can't speak for
my kinsfolk in distant lands, but we here have always worshipped both our
Creator-Father and His Sister. We females, especially. For don't we
have reason? Without blessed Dorian,
we wouldn't be here! Our males would have to craft their sons of gold
and iron, had Dorian not given them
females with forges better suited to childmaking."
"And better suited
to tempering iron rods," Deegie giggled.
"Yes, that too." Iduna
laughed, and drank deeply from a mug that was more of a thick bowl with
a
handle. When she lowered it, a smudge of rich foam remained at her
lip. Rick bent low and kissed it off in
one swift move, tasting hearty dwarven ale.
"Not shy, I see,"
she remarked.
"Never have been,"
he agreed.
"Well, what would
we like to do first?" Deegie asked, taking one of his arms while Iduna
took the
other. "I was thinking a swim might be just the thing."
"I'd love a swim!"
Rick said, letting them lead him along.
"Have you tried these
springs yet?" Iduna asked. "They are rich in Reghar's sacred minerals,
cleansing the skin as well as the spirit. In another cavern, there
is water is so blessed that even my kind can
stay afloat, while your kind can all but walk across the surface."
He caught her scent,
and suffered a pang of nostalgia, for it reminded him of roasting briar
nuts.
Mr. Carter bringing back a huge sack of them from one of his visits
to Briarglen (and oh, how they'd envied
him, the great traveler!), the Nut Festival, Curtis the blacksmith
yelling about stick-man, good times, simple
times, times the world would be long before seeing again.
Wide, natural stone
steps descended into the spring-fed pool. Other couples and groups splashed
and played. Whatever apprehension Rick may have felt about his size
being an impediment to sharing
pleasure with Iduna vanished as he got a glimpse of two healthy dwarven
males laughing and tossing a
squealing girl back and forth. They were enormously endowed, disproportionate
to their height, but far as
Rick could tell, nobdy was complaining.
Deegie dipped a toe
in the water. "Oh, good, it's nice and warm." She stripped off her tunic
and
stretched, showing off her curvaceous figure. She was soft and cushiony,
with a plump jiggling bottom and
a mound lightly covered in fine orange hair.
"Yeah, a swim, definitely!"
Rick said eagerly.
"Here, let me help
you." Deegie unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off.
"By the stones, he's
hairless as a boy," Iduna said, reaching up to stroke his smooth chest.
She
could just barely reach the discolored spot, remnant of a bruise, a
souvenier of a joust with Andre.
"But he's no boy,"
Deegie replied, her own hands running over his shoulders and arms. She
squeezed a bicep, and Rick flexed obligingly. "Look at that! He's strong
as a stallion!"
"That's not the only
resemblance," Iduna noted. She undid his belt and lowered his trousers.
His manhood sprang
forth readily. He was stiff to the point of almost being in pain. Much
as he
loved Natalia and much as he thrilled in their nights together, he
yet ached to be fully buried within a
woman. Or two. Or many; the night was young.
"Ooh," Deegie murmured.
"Dorian, we thank You for Your bounty!" She caressed the length of
him.
Rick closed his eyes
and sighed as the delightful sensations coursed through his body. He reached
blindly for Deegie, finding her large pillowy breasts by pure instinct.
"I thought you wanted
a swim," Iduna chuckled, and gave them a playful shove. Her great strength
and better leverage proved sufficient to topple them both into the
pool.
Rick surfaced, flinging
back his hair in a shower of spray. The water was bath-warm and unusually
bouyant. It moved over him like silk and oil, faintly tingly. Deegie,
sputtering, came up beside him. He
reached to steady her, and their skin slipped and slid excitingly.
He pulled her into his arms.
Iduna had removed
her skirt and halter, and was descending into the pool. Deegie wiggled
free of
Rick and doused the dwarfmaid. The two of them began splashing each
other thoroughly. Rick watched for
a moment, then joined in. If there was one thing a Stonebridge boy
could do, it was water-fight. He jetted
huge fans of water over the two women, until they teamed up and started
soaking him.
When that subsided,
all of them laughing and breathless, Deegie paddled over to stand next
to
Iduna, who had both feet firmly planted on the bottom.
"Now, Rick, you tell
us," Deegie said. "Whose are bigger?" She lifted the twin globes of her
breasts from the water and held them near Iduna's.
"Yes, whose?" Iduna
thrust her chest out.
He was briefly dazzled
by the two pairs of breasts glistening with water. It was a feast far better
than the one offered on the banquet table, and it was all he could
do to keep from just diving in. Which set
was bigger? Did it matter?
But the ladies had
asked, and no knight worth his shield would refuse to cooperate with their
request. He held himself in check and moved closer, examining them
both.
Deegie's were great
soft islands, floating on the water. The nipples were large and so pale
they
almost blended with her white skin. Up close, he could trace the delicate
path of her veins beneath the
freckles. He touched them, kneaded the flesh, hefted them like he was
testing produce in the marketplace.
They were the sort of breasts a man could sandwich his rod between,
something he longed to try soon as
this informal contest was finished.
"Beautiful," he remarked.
Deegie beamed.
He turned his attention
next to Iduna's. Round and firm as ripe melons, with no sagging or floating,
solid mountains capped with pebbly nipples the color of garnets. He
rubbed his thumbs over those nipples
until they stood out in hard points.
"I think Deegie's
are a bit bigger, but these are magnificent."
Iduna smiled proudly.
Unable to resist any
longer, he lowered his head and started licking and nuzzling, switching
from
one woman to the other, engulfing his face in female flesh. Iduna,
he noticed, was much warmer, as if
fevered, as if her body temperature was higher. He freed his mouth
briefly to comment on it.
"Coal burns hotter
than wood," she replied matter-of-factly.
"That's why they call
it the forge," Deegie added. "Or so I've heard, from many a man!"
"How is steel different
from a man?" Iduna asked in a jesting tone.
"Steel hardens as
it cools!" a nearby dwarf male called over.
Deegie reached below
the water and found Rick's erection. "And a man hardens as he heats up!"
The slippery-slick,
tingly water turned her caress into something electric. When Iduna's sturdy
hands joined Deegie's, Rick groaned and buried his face in their ample
breasts again. He felt their bottoms,
noting the same differences: Deegie's soft and bouncy, Iduna's rock-solid.
"Pool's getting crowded,"
Deegie gasped. "Maybe we should move to somewhere else."
Rick agreed. He waited
until the two of them clambered out, enjoying the view of their water-shiny
bodies as they toweled off.
He paused in his admiration
of them to see how Natalia was doing, and found her sitting by Jesse.
Selvaine was on his other
side. Jesse's expression was almost comical, as he evidently could hardly
believe
that he was holding a lovely royal princess in each arm.
Natalia and Selvaine,
ivory and gold. Natalia's long legs moved restlessly, her skirt shifted
to show
a length of creamy thigh. Jesse, the soul of fairness, kissed first
one woman and then the other.
Deegie was holding
out a towel. Rick emerged from the pool and dried himself vigorously,
wringing out his hair. By the time he was done, he saw that Selvaine
had accepted an invitation to join two
handsome local youths in a romping game of strip tag, and Jesse had
turned all of his attention to Natalia.
Rick watched how she
moved under his touch, and felt a surge of mingled desire and pride. He
had
shown her how to unlock those feelings, the passion Dorian had given
her. He had shown her what a man
liked, and she now used that knowledge to Jesse's benefit. She was
confident and free, and while that was
going to be a difficult and scandalous thing in Tarlak, in Orelar it
would be wonderful.
He thanked Dorian
again for Natalia, and silently vowed to make her as happy as she made
him,
and devote his life to her and her children, whether they were his
or not.
Then, satisfied that
she was enjoying herself, he grabbed Deegie from behind and hefted her
off the
ground. His stiff organ rubbed against her back and buttocks. She laughed
and squirmed against him, not
trying to get free, just increasing the tantalizing sensations.
He shifted Deegie
to one arm, feeling a bit like a Nordseen raider making off with all the
tastiest
village girls, and attempted to sweep Iduna up in the other. Her feet
didn't budge, he nearly threw his
shoulder out of joint, and almost dropped Deegie back in the pool.
Iduna laughed and
waved her finger at him. "Forgot, didn't you?"
He had indeed. Despite
her short stature, she weighed close to what he did himself. The legends
said that dwarven bones were laced with iron, and now he believed it.
Still carrying Deegie,
he let Iduna lead the way to a place where the cavern wall sloped to the
floor
at a reclining, comfortable angle. Some previous revelers had left
the spot padded with mats and blankets,
so it was an easy matter to deposit Deegie comfortably on the makeshift
bed.
The redhead rolled
onto her back and stretched sinuously. She raised her arms to Rick and
spread
her legs invitingly.
Never one to refuse
an invitation of that nature, Rick knelt and began caressing her inner
thighs. As
he did so, Iduna stepped behind him and embraced him, pressing her
body against his back and shoulders.
Deegie writhed on the blankets, almost a dance in slow motion. His
fingers brushed her mound, combing
gently through the sparse hair, and moved lower to the gates of her
pleasure. She rolled her hips, stroking
and squeezing her own breasts.
Iduna reached around
and grasped him with both hands. He shifted, laying half on his side, and
ran
his tongue up Deegie's leg to her sweet center. Surprisingly sweet.
He raised his head. She saw his
expression and giggled.
"Before a festival,
I always tuck a chocolate or other treat in there," she explained. "A little
offering to Dorian, if you will."
He grinned hugely
and dipped his head to her again. Yes, chocolate, she tasted of chocolate
and
berries. Soon she was gasping, her hands in constant motion over her
body, spreading her inner lips so that
his tongue could delve her depths.
Iduna took just the
tip of his rod in her mouth, then rained nibbling kisses along the length
of it.
Her firm breasts pushed against his thighs. He groaned low in his throat.
Deegie's hips rolled.
Her head flung from side to side, her breath coming in ragged pants. She
was
on the edge of a tremendous climax.
As much as he was
enjoying Iduna's teasing mouth, Rick gently nudged her away and rose to
position himself between Deegie's legs. She clasped his shoulders,
trembling from the nearness of her
release.
"Oh, Dorian, yes!
Fill me!"
"Glad to," he said,
and in one long smooth thrust drove into her. She couldn't take all of
him, but
he was careful and only gave as much as she could.
Her pealing cry echoed,
mingling with the sounds of others' pleasures. She quivered beneath him
like a lute string. He began moving within her, quick but controlled,
gritting his teeth against spending too
soon. But no sooner did he think of how long it had been since he'd
spilled his seed inside a woman than the
sensation of irrevocable orgasm overtook him. He added his voice to
Deegie's, calling out to Dorian.
"Ooh," Deegie whimpered.
Her arms fell limp to her sides. Her heels, which had been drumming
his buttocks, slid off. "Ooh, you are quite a man!"
Now that he was no
longer fully engorged, but still somewhat stiff, he slowly eased his entire
rod
into her, eliciting another sigh from them both. He relaxed as much
as he dared without crushing her, letting
his breathing and pulse return to normal. As he did so, he heard another
voice, Natalia's low wordless cry.
Just the sound of that, knowing that she was finding as much pleasure
as he was, caused him to begin to rise
anew.
"Oh, no!" Deegie wailed
in mock despair as she felt him begin to swell, turning wide bleary eyes
to
him. "I think I need a rest!"
"You deserve one."
He nodded and withdrew, his rod slick with their mingled juices. His own
limbs were in that curious state of quivery leadenness, ready to collapse.
He would have done so, but for the
impatient throbbing of his organ.
"Hammer or anvil?"
Iduna breathed hotly into his ear.
"What?"
"Which do you want
to be? The hammer, or the anvil?"
He understood. "Oh,
I think this time I'd better be the anvil." He reclined on a sloped pile
of rocks
covered with cushions, so that he was half-sitting and half-laying.
Then, making sure he was braced and
ready, he wrapped his hands around Iduna's sturdy waist and hauled
her bodily into his lap.
She gasped at his
strength and settled her bottom firmly onto his legs. His manhood stuck
straight
up between her thighs, rubbing against her solid little mound which
was covered with wiry, tightly-coiled
brown hair.
"Here is the miner
before the gold mine," she said, rolling her thumbs over the tip of his
rod.
He moaned at her touch.
"And is this the gold mine?" he asked, spreadng her thick folds with his
fingers, feeling her heat and dampness. Her button, the center of her
pleasure, was the size of an acorn. He
flicked it gently and felt her shudder.
"It is," she replied,
shifting until he was positioned at her opening.
Rick thrust upward
as Iduna came down, and cried out as he was engulfed. She was almost too
hot,
volcanic. He fancied he could see the steam rising from their locked
bodies, heat ripples blurring around
them.
He grasped her hips
and held on as she began a slow, purposeful rocking. He could actually
feel
the coolness of the air on his skin as his rod slid out, then renewed
heat as they joined again. Had he not
taken the edge off his passion with his previous encounter with Deegie,
he would not have lasted more than
a moment with Iduna. Even so, he knew he wouldn't last long.
"Good prospecting,"
Iduna said hoarsely. "I think you're about to ... oh, yes! find the mother
lode!"
Her steady rocking quickened into a rapid bounce, and then she stopped
moving altogether as her insides
closed about him tight as an oiled fist, crushing him pleasurably.
He uttered a cry of
mingled surprise and delight as he felt that strong constriction surrounding
his
rod. He could no longer move within her, but did not need to as the
walls of her tunnel squeezed and
released rhythmically.
A gruff voice spoke
in his ear. "We call it the collapsing mine shaft."
He managed to turn
his head and found a dwarven male nearby, gold-bearded and handsome, with
a slender human woman snuggled at his side. She, a young and dark-haired
beauty, gave Rick an inviting
smile as she massaged the dwarf's huge erection.
"Don't distract him,
Berego," Iduna said, eyes closed, head thrown back, motionless except for
the
flexing of her inner muscles and the involuntary spasming of her own
ongoing release.
Rick felt his climax
building. Iduna's juices, molten gold in her pleasure, drenched him. He
drove
up far as he could, arching his back, and his voice rang again to the
ceiling as he emptied himself into her.
When it felt as if
every last drop had been milked from his rod, he relaxed his taut body
against the
cushions. Iduna's inner muscles eased, letting him slip from her. His
skin there looked red from the heat and
the friction. He felt pleasantly abused.
"Collapsing mine shaft,"
he muttered.
Berego laughed. "And
none are better at it than Iduna! You're a hardy miner, lad! I've known
full-
blooded dwarf warriors who couldn't have outlasted you!"
Iduna brushed back
her fall of rich brown hair. "But I suppose you think you could."
"Now, Iduna, you know
Kepla wouldn't approve ..." Berego protested weakly, his coal-black eyes
hungrily sweeping over her figure.
"Kepla is his wife,"
the brunette human explained to Rick. "She's not from here, and doesn't
mind
Berego cavorting with human girls because she doesn't consider them
competition."
"Who's in competition?"
Rick shrugged, somewhat strengthlessly. He felt like an empty wineskin,
drained, limp, and exhausted. "We're all here to honor Dorian, not
outdo each other."
"Well-said," Iduna
remarked, turning as if by accident to better display herself to Berego.
"And Kepla isn't here,"
the brunette murmured quietly.
"Ah, Reghar, you made
us of strong stuff," Berego said, "but not strong enough to resist such
temptation!" He glanced at Rick. "Trade you?"
Rick looked at the
brunette, who darted her pink tongue over her full lips. She had lips like
Lisann,
he thought, and that stirred a variety of emotions in him. "Introduce
me first?"
"Relah, this is --"
Berego looked to Iduna for help.
"Rick," she supplied.
"This is Rick. Rick,
this is Relah, sister of my brother's co-mate."
"Pleased to meet you,"
he said, and meant it. She was petite, slender, almost elfin in appearance
although clearly human. Her black hair was cut short, and was very
straight and shiny. Her eyes were large
and brown. She was wearing nothing but a skirt tied sarong-like around
her slim hips, leaving her small but
sweet breasts exposed.
"So, is it a trade?"
"Berego drives a hard
bargain," Iduna said slyly.
"It's fine with me,
if Relah doesn't mind." Rick gave her his best smile and she immediately
disentangled herself from Berego's arm and crawled over to him.
"That's that, then."
Berego reached for Iduna. "Let's see if your fire needs stoking! Ah, the
coals
are still glowing!"
"I'll need a few minutes,"
Rick apologized as Relah stretched out beside him.
"Take all the time
you want. It's a festival. We have the entire night." She kissed him open-
mouthed, a flirty kiss that got his blood moving a little less sluggishly.
"And watch ... Berego's been wanting
Iduna for years. Now that he's finally got his chance, it ought to
be something!"
He watched, one hand
idly caressing the girl's slim body. She was right, it was something to
behold. Berego, playing the hammer to Iduna's anvil, had the rhythm
of a blacksmith. Each hard pounding
thrust was counterpointed by a second, less-powerful one. Rick could
almost hear the clanging of metal,
could almost feel the ground shake.
He tore his attention
away from the dwarves to search for Natalia, and saw her still with Jesse,
although the two of them seemed in a brief lull. Her head was pillowed
on his leg, her lips curved in a
contented smile, lashes a smudge on her fair cheek as she rested. Jesse's
hand lay upon her hair, fingers
combing through it. A third man, a handsome stranger with a wiry build
and chestnut-colored hair, was
curled behind Natalia, his arm draped over her hip.
To his surprise, Rick
also saw Taren, his fully-dressed form unmissable in the room of mostly-
unclad bodies. He was exchanging friendly kisses with a few girls,
keeping their playful hands at bay.
Deegie inched over to press herself against Rick's other side.
She was still flushed, but had gotten
her second wind. "Relah! Hello!"
"Hi, Deegie!"
To his astonishment,
the two women leaned across his body and kissed each other, a wet,
unsisterly kiss. He vividly recalled the vision he'd had in Shadowdale,
of the elven festival. The archbishop
himself had said it was all right, he reminded himself as Deegie familiarly
stroked Relah's breasts. Nothing
wrong with two women enjoying each other, as long as they didn't exclusively
stay with their own gender.
And nothing wrong with a man enjoying the sight. Which he surely did.
Although he thought
Iduna had worn him out, he felt a stirring at his groin. A woman on either
side
of him, pleasuring each other without a shred of modesty. He slid a
hand down each of their backs to cup
their buttocks.
Deegie sighed against
Relah's mouth and pushed her bottom against Rick's questing hand. He sent
his fingers to probe her yet-moist center.
Relah, more lithe,
decided to swing her leg over him so that he was presented with her pert
bottom
and silky-furred mound. He leaned forward enough to slip his tongue
along her pearly-pink folds. She
whimpered as he found her tiny button and circled it, then lapped long
and slow. Her hips quivered.
He was abruptly ready
again, in a sudden rampaging fullness. Deegie turned her attention from
Relah's breasts to Rick's rod, sucking it deep into her mouth. He stifled
his groan by burying his face
between Relah's legs.
Deegie quit what she
was doing much too soon, but Rick didn't protest because he then felt her
large cushiony breasts imprison his stiffness. He bumped his buttocks
up and down, sliding his rod between
them.
Relah shifted, though
not moving away from his tongue. At the top of his next stroke, he felt
her
quick mouth take in the tip of his rod as it emerged from between Deegie's
breasts. It soon became most
delicious torture.
"Relah, stop," he
heard Deegie say. "He'll spend too soon, and you've got to have him in
you. It's
like being filled with light, Dorian's own light."
Rick blushed and tried
to argue, but Relah heeded Deegie's words and reversed herself so that
she
was positioned above him. She seemed small and delicate, but if she
was Berego's lover, Rick didn't doubt
that she could handle him. He seized her waist and impaled her, eliciting
a throaty cry.
Deegie remained stretched
out between Rick's long legs, and used her mouth and hands on both of
them as they rocked and thrust. Rick sat up as much as he could, wrapping
his arms around Relah's waist,
jouncing her up and down. He also managed to work one foot up against
Deegie's mound, teasing her that
way until she clamped her thighs around his ankle and pumped her hips.
Relah was gasping
and shuddering, clutching his shoulders. Sitting up as he was, he could
see the
image of Dorian behind her. The jewellike eyes held him captive. The
world seemed to blink, and it was as
if he was inside the goddess Herself, surrounded by Her divine warmth.
Deegie fell back,
releasing them, once more exhausted by her pleasures. Relah clung to him,
beyond speaking, rising fast toward the heavens.
He rolled with her
and braced himself over her slender form. She raised her legs, twining
them
around his waist. He withdrew all the way, and then sank back in, the
new angle causing new friction that
pushed Relah into ecstacy. She became like a river below him, churning
and turbulent.
Rick looked up at
the image, into the eyes of Dorian. His mind and body were awhirl with
pleasure. Relah could stand no more. She was gulping small sips of
air, her pulse fluttering visibly in her
throat.
With a final tender
kiss, Rick eased out of her and let her curl up beside Deegie. He rose,
aware of
many women watching him as he strode across the room, bronze skin shining
in the candlelight, his rod
jutting out in front of him. A few of his admirers beckoned, but he
did not stop until he had reached the
section of the cave directly in front of Dorian's image.
She seemed to smile
at him, and then it was as if unseen hands moved over his body. He knelt,
strengthless. When he closed his eyes, he saw or imagined angelic forms
surrounding him. Unearthly beauty
and passion. He gave himself over to their caresses.
Just when he found
himself near the brink, the golden misty forms faded away. He looked
beseechingly up at the goddess
A soft footstep nearby
caught his attention. He glanced over and saw a pair of ivory-smooth legs,
well-honed by kaiila riding and swordplay. The legs knelt, bringing
a fall of satin-black hair into view.
Natalia reached down
and stroked his hair back from his sweaty brow. Her eyes shone with love
and longing.
For a long moment,
they just looked at each other. Words couldn't describe, words weren't
needed.
He touched her cheek.
She brushed her fingers
over his lips. He nipped gently at them.
"I love you," she
whispered.
He gathered her into
his arms, still unable to speak. She gracefully lowered herself, leaving
a trail
of kisses over his chest and stomach. Her touch, tangible and earthly,
was every bit as delightful as the
unseen touches that had been pleasuring him moments before.
Her lips parted and
slid along him like silk.
"Oh, yes," he gasped,
losing his hands in the midnight of her hair. There before Dorian, Natalia
loved him with mouth and hands and lips and tongue, murmuring sounds
of encouragement.
"Oh, Natalia, oh,
Dorian, yes!" His hips quickened, and Natalia timed her motions to match.
"Aaaahhhh!" Rick cried,
every muscle going rigid. His seed poured out of him. Golden flowers
seemed to bloom and burst behind his eyes. His cries trailed away to
an echo and he felt himself begin to
shake from the reaction.
Natalia raised her
head. He lifted one trembling hand to touch her face again, and then fell
against
her. Kneeling face to face, they supported each other, her arms warm
and strong around him. He let his head
fall onto her shoulder.
Her skin was so soft,
marred only by the scars on her back where she'd been shot during the battle
in Argosa. Feeling those patches of roughness, he remembered how he'd
nearly lost her, and emotion
tightened his grip.
"I love you," he said
fervently, kissing her. "More than anything!"
"Likewise." She giggled,
glancing back at Relah and Deegie. "You've left a trail of bodies in your
wake, my dear paladin. As usual. But this time, I don't think any of
them object."
He chuckled and kissed
her again. "You've done pretty well yourself."
"Thank you. I haven't
had nearly as much practice as you."
"You'll get all the
practice you need, I promise."
She winked at him
and ran a hand down his back to his buttock. "Starting when?"
Rick groaned and collapsed
onto the floor. "Starting tomorrow!"
Natalia fell down
beside him. "Good! I don't think I could manage again tonight."
"So, you had a nice
time with Jesse?"
She purred like a
larl. "He has marvelous hands! He shouldn't be wasting them as a riverboat
captain!"
"I'm sure Selvaine
will find plenty of other things for him to do with them."
"I'm sure she will!"
She stretched against him and sighed contentedly. "Tell me, Rick. Are all
festivals like this?"
He rolled his head
enough to see Iduna and Berego, still going at it with ground-shaking
enthusiasm. "Not exactly, but mostly."
"And we're going to
have festivals in Stonebridge?"
"Count on it."
"Hmm. I think we'll
wind up spending a lot more time in Stonebridge than in Tarlak!"
He found the energy
to put his arms around her. "It doesn't matter. Wherever we're together,
it will
be like a festival every day."
* *
Copyright 1995 by Christine Morgan