7. IN WHICH A HASTY EXIT, A PRESENT IS UNWRAPPED AND STOCKINGS ARE STUFFED

Chapter seven

T hough she’d not wanted to attend this ball, what little girl didn’t dream of being whisked across the floor, the envy of everyone, in the arms of some gorgeous suitor? Asterion’s chiton matched the red of her dress, and there was a large, gold medallion at his shoulder depicting the crest of his people. He danced her across the floor, her feet light and effervescent in a way she’d never felt. She knew, nominally, how to waltz, she’d learned on the tops of her father’s feet, and with such a confident partner, it came back to her. It wasn’t easy, per se, but it was at least fun.

As Asterion led her through a turn, she could feel his chain where it hung between her legs, swinging and tickling against her. Her skirts floated around her, and she smiled, noticing the sprig of mistletoe he’d tied to his horn.

“I see even your horns are festive tonight,” she teased.

“Of course!” He smiled, his ears wiggling. “It’s a minotaur thing. Obviously wearing a sprig on one’s horns is seen as bad form on any other night, but on Yule? We have a bit of leeway. And really, can you blame me? Very few people here actually know about the kissing tradition, but the only one I care about does.”

“Does that mean you are looking for something?” All the spinning must be making her dizzy, or maybe it was simply being with Asterion. Her stomach was a mass of nerves but there, with him, everything felt just right.

On their next turn, Asterion leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Yes,” he said, stealing a quick kiss on his way back.

“Very sneaky.” Cora couldn’t help blushing, nor the silly smile that graced her face.

When the song came to a close, Asterion bowed and she curtsied. They kept eye contact the whole time, and the giddy feeling that had been building in Cora’s chest all night was fit to burst.

Asterion held out his hand for hers, and she allowed him to lead her off the dance floor. He walked back toward their friends but pulled her aside before arriving.

“With that magical moment complete, would you like to leave or stay?”

“What?” Could Asterion even leave? “Didn’t you plan all of this?”

“Yes, but I also planned it knowing that you might want to leave before it was all done. At this point, it’s hands off for me.”

“Hands off… are you sure? Maybe your hands would really rather be otherwise occupied?”

“You little minx.” Asterion lifted her, his hands sliding effortlessly under her ass and lifting her until her face was level with his. “I would like nothing more than to have them otherwise occupied, but only if you want to leave. I know this sort of thing is overwhelming for you–”

“Yes, let’s leave.”

Over and over, Asterion showed how well he understood her, how his time spent had truly been about observing and understanding her. She had a great deal of catching up to do, it seemed. While coming to the ball, and even dancing in front of everyone had seemed overwhelming, she’d done so because she’d wanted to show Asterion how she valued the hard work he’d done. Perhaps a ball wasn’t her personal idea of a good time, but it was clear, from the happy faces around them, that this was many people’s cup of tea.

They returned to their friends, Asterion cupping her hand tenderly in the crook of his arm.

“Well all, we are headed out. I have been working on this all day, and frankly I am worn out. Cora has graciously allowed me to call an end to the night.”

With a round of goodbyes and hugs, they saw their way out of the party. As they ascended the grand steps at the entrance of the hall, Cora was able to take in the true beauty of everything Asterion had wrought. No longer nervous, she was able to appreciate the swags of fabric that softened the harsh cavern walls. The color-coded gemstones that shone and the sprigs of greenery that festooned nearly every surface.

“You really did a lovely job,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.

“I’m glad you think so. I tried to pay attention to what decor you seemed to favor, even if you had something against mistletoe…” He smiled out of the corner of his mouth, looking down at her.

“In my defense… you were dangerous.”

“Was I? How so?”

“Well, to my heart, I mean. And every time I saw a sprig of it, I remembered that it seemed a minotaur tradition and it made me think of you.”

“In that case, you were entirely right.”

When they left the ballroom and ventured into the cavern of the city proper, Cora gasped.

Soft snow was falling, inside! Roofs of houses had barely a dusting, but from where they stood, elevated on the border of the cavern, the city sparkled with it. She held her hands up, to catch the flakes on her hand. She looked up at the cavern ceiling in wonder, half expecting it to be gone entirely. But no, instead, soft clouds rolled across the roof. A steady fall of snow descended. Asterion tugged her hand to the side, tilting his horns for her to look.

Sitting on a balustrade that led to the ballroom entrance was another nymph. This one seemed male, and he had a smirk on his face, very aware that she was watching. Sparkles extended from the hand he casually gestured with, a current of snow magic flowing from him to the clouds above. Like her, he had white skin, though his own hair was white as well. Perhaps she should have been confused about his nature, having never seen him, or really any other nymph before, but she felt an instinctive, tangible kinship to him. On sight, she knew he was a nymph, and knew that he was tied to the element of snow.

“You truly thought of everything, didn’t you?” she asked. Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with emotion. While she could experience snow on outcroppings of her mountain, she’d never seen Berggeheimnis look so beautiful. While others could visit other places and experience the joy of a magical walk through town in the snow, she had assumed it was just one more thing denied to her based on her nature.

“Cora, I want to give you everything, not just the things that you think you deserve. Everything.”

“I don’t know about everything, but I am certainly excited to see what you come up with, especially if this is the result!”

Asterion whisked her up into his arms, clopping down the steps and onto the street below. When they arrived on level ground, he spun them in a circle, smiling like a giddy boy. “He said that in the morning, there should be enough to make snowmen! ”

Cupping his cheeks, Cora pulled his face toward hers, fingers snaking up to his horn to tousle the mistletoe he’d tied there. Their lips fit together so easily, so perfectly aligned, that it was hard not to read into what it might mean. Asterion’s kisses were like long pulls of wine, complex and warming her through, drugging her deeper with each taste.

“Will you make one with me?” she whispered when they separated, heat pooling in her core as he surrounded her. “In the morning, I mean?”

“Of course, we could meet up early outside of the library and surprise the patrons!”

“No, I mean, well, yes that is a lovely idea, but I was sort of hoping that we wouldn’t need to meet up…”

Asterion’s eyes went wide with realization. “Oh! Yes, that would be even better. Obviously…” His ears wiggled, which might just be Cora’s new favorite of his expressions.

He lifted her and took off walking toward her home at a quick pace. “I can walk, you know!”

“Yes, but your legs are shorter. It will be faster this way.”

“Is ‘faster’ your main concern then?”

“If seeing the inside of your bedroom is what is at the end of the trip, then yes. ”

“My bedroom? You don’t want to go to yours?” Her bed wasn’t exactly sized for a minotaur, nor was she sure if he would fit through her doorways without needing to duck.

“Yours is closer. Plus, that way we won’t have to travel across the city to get to the library in the morning.”

He was apparently quite serious about making those snowmen in the morning.

Her house was indeed close by, as the library and the ballroom were both located in one of the cultural hubs. As they approached the great, two-story edifice of the library, Asterion slowed.

“Do you really not close the doors?” he asked, referencing the large stone doors that could be pulled shut to protect the two-story glass windows and smaller entrance doors.

“Can you imagine me trying to close them? Trust me, I’ve tried. They are much too heavy for me.”

“Well, I assume I can help with that.” His head was tilted to the side as if in thought.

“I never thought it mattered much. The library is for everyone, what does it matter if they can see inside after hours?”

“It will matter if I am ever to fuck you on one of those study tables.” He said it so nonchalantly, and then he blushed deep red, ears wiggling again. “I mean, well…”

“Have you thought about that, then?” She raised an eyebrow. Normally, such a thing would likely have appalled her–think how messy it would be in her library–but she was hard pressed to deny the appeal of it.

“More often than you might think.” He dipped his head and looked away from her.

“Well then, I think I should happily accept your help at some point… but today I think you wanted to see where I slept?”

Asterion lowered his head to hers and pressed his soft lips on her forehead. “Yes, please.”

Asterion allowed her to walk as they approached her door, and she pulled out her crystal to place it against the lock. There was a small click as the lock released and allowed her to push the door open. Her home was dark for the time being, but her lamps flared to life as she turned on the gas and lit the pilot light near the door.

“Here we are then, though I suppose you already knew where I lived.” She wrung her hands in front of her and turned around, rocking on her toes.

The lintel was indeed too low, and Asterion had to duck to get inside. It was almost comical, watching this hulking beast of a man bend himself in half to come through her doorway. Once inside, though, she was pleased to see that he still had several inches of clearance above his head. Despite the clearance, he was obviously still large . The walls were close around him and Cora could scarcely believe that she’d nearly forgotten how much bigger he was than her.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. His eyes held fast to her and the only way she could describe the look on his face was hungry. Here was a man ready to devour her. Asterion’s chest heaved, eyes dilated and he huffed a breath out of his nose. She’d never really appreciated his nose before, but now, staring at her like a man starved and with his ring hanging between her legs, teasing the lips of her pussy? She could just imagine where it would pierce through. It would hang there, under his nose, marking him as hers for all the world to see… and she couldn’t wait.

Though he looked seconds from bursting into action, Asterion drew in a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. He raised his hands and pressed them against the walls on either side of him. The action seemed to ground him, because his breathing leveled and when he opened his eyes, they still held desire, but it was one he now held the reins of.

“I like your house.” It was a simple statement, but his body language went beyond. His thick fingers roamed over the stone walls, trailing along as he walked toward her. “The walls… they are nice and close, and I can’t see what’s beyond this corridor. It’s good.”

“I’m glad. The uh, parlor is through there and–” Cora squeaked at Asterion lifted her and pressed her at the back wall of the hall where it split into a T.

“Sugar plum, I am certain the parlor is lovely, but I am sure I won’t remember a thing about it. I’m in your home. Everything smells like you, and for the first time in over a year, I feel properly walled in. My chain is hanging between your legs, you’re wearing the dress that I designed while choking my cock thinking about you, and gods help me, these thighs…” he squeezed them for good measure. “These fucking thighs are wrapped in the finest gossamer silk I could find, and I am afraid I will destroy them. So, if you don’t mind, do you think you could show me your bedroom first?”

Heat pulsed through Cora from every place where Asterion touched her. Had anyone ever been so affected by her as Asterion?

Had she ever been so affected?

She was a nymph, after all, and no stranger to sexual desire, but this was the first time that she felt true, genuine care from a potential partner, and it only stoked her higher. Emboldened, she leaned forward and captured his lips with hers once more. There was an urgency to his kiss this time, a desperation that was certainly flattering.

Grabbing his horns, Cora tugged in the direction of her bedroom, and Asterion, bless him, followed her direction. He held her against him with one hand, while the other explored the back of her dress. It had buttons, round and flat, instead of the more ornamental buttons she would have expected. They hadn’t required a button looper for her to get on, nor had she needed assistance, thank the Lady. Because of this, her dress easily fell away from her shoulders, draping down her front to reveal her ivory satin chemise and frilly, special occasion, stays. Asterion hooked his hoof underneath the dress and tossed it up into his hand, muttering about how “pretty things don’t belong on the ground

As they neared her room, however, Cora felt anxiety rise in her chest. Her room wasn’t exactly… normal, she’d learned in the past. And though she’d already decided, before the ball, that she’d like to bring him back, she had entirely failed to make it seem any more… normal.

Before she had much time to think about it, though, they tumbled through her doorway and Asterion released her to bounce down onto her bed.

He towered over her, entirely too big for her bed, and took her in with wild eyes. The lights were low, but several deep breaths later, he seemed to center himself enough to look around the room. Cora was torn between squeezing her eyes shut and watching his reaction, so she settled for turning beet red and peeking out from between her fingers.

At first glance, her room did, in fact, appear quite normal. She had a large canopy bed swathed in thick red curtains, and a few select pieces of furniture. Further inspection, however, revealed the humanoid depression in the wall where she could retreat into her mountain when she needed the pressure and quiet. According to others, though, it was highly odd. The true thing that had made others uncomfortable, and her self-conscious, in the past, was her collection of toys that sat above her bed.

Sculpted crystal phalluses and teasers lined the shelf above where she slept, ready to be retrieved at a moment's need, but outright beautiful of their own volition. She loved the array of sizes and shapes, colors and textures.

Asterion took it all in, his head cocking in curiosity when he looked at her depression. When he saw the head of her bed, however, his eyes widened... in interest?

Asterion licked his lips, and did his ears wiggle? Yes, he lowered his head, perhaps blushing a bit, but obviously interested.

“You’ve got quite the collection,” he observed.

“I’ve been alone for a long time.”

“You’ll have an even bigger one now that you aren’t.”

And there it was. That was truly the essence, the perfection of Asterion. He didn’t question who she was, because–wonder of wonders–he liked who she was.

“Will I, now?” she asked.

“I don’t think it’s any surprise that I like spoiling you, Sugar Plum. And I like spoiling your pussy best of all.”

He knelt at the end of the bed, licking his lips, his eyes flicking between her and her toys as if torn. “I’ll have to investigate those further at some point, but let’s get back to the subject at hand. My favorite subject. You.”

Leaning over, he reached beside her to grab a pillow. Lifting her head, he slipped it underneath .

Cora could not have feigned disinterest if she tried. Her mouth hung open and her eyes tracked his every movement as if her life depended on it. She gasped when he cradled her foot in his thick palm, lifting it, and her slipper, so gently, so reverently, that it made her breath stutter. With those same, worshipful hands, he slipped behind her back, untying her skirts and sliding them down the bed beneath her. Cora took the opportunity to unlace her stays, allowing them to flop down onto the bed on either side of her. Asterion snapped his hungry eyes back to her, licking his lips and devouring the soft mounds of her breasts outlined in the thin fabric.

Asterion draped her dress over a chair set at the corner of her room and placed her foot on his chest, nestled between his pectoral muscles, teasing the edge of his chiton. He slipped a finger inside and tickled her arch with a wicked smile before sliding it off. Cora squirmed, giggling.

With her slipper placed gently on the floor beside him, Asterion glided his hands up her calf. He met her gaze, watching her every reaction, as if ensuring that all was well. The scrutiny stole her breath and made her heart flutter. His large hands reverently consumed each inch of her flesh until he’d pushed her chemise up to reveal her thighs. In addition to the dress, he’d also included a set of stockings so paper thin she could feel each minute shift of his hands on her. At the top, they were scalloped, mimicking the pattern of her dress, though not beaded.

Asterion licked his lips, as if she were a meal to be consumed.

“I hoped I’d be able to see your veins through them,” he whispered. He traced one such vein of gold with his finger, as if mapping the path to her heart and her pleasure. Then, with a gentle tug, he began rolling the thin fabric down her thighs and lowered his head to trace the same vein of gold with his lips. His kisses were brief and soft, teasing rather than consuming. He lavished her with attention, and when he reached her foot and pulled the stocking off, both of them were flushed and breathing heavily.

“I can’t tell you how often I dreamed of these legs,” he whispered against her other leg, where he was poised to repeat the process.

Cora shook her head, it was more than she could have ever imagined. The soft caresses across her skin, the tender words, and most importantly, the disbelieving expressions he kept giving to match her own. This was everything. Someone who truly seemed to believe themselves as lucky as she did when it came to being with her. It was what she’d always wanted. It was what she’d always deserved.

Tears pricked at her eyes, and she blinked them back. No, she would not become overwhelmed in this moment, she would not allow herself to be overcome with emotion. She needed to be here. To feel all the tender acceptance in Asterion’s touch.

Once both of her stockings lay draped across her dress, Asterion returned his hands between her legs, his eyes focused, strangely, along the end of the bed, rather on her. She didn’t need to wait long to see what he was looking at though, because she felt the chain move against her core when Asterion picked it up. He rolled the delicate chain between his blunt fingers, a slow smile spreading across his face. Even with just that, the small twists of it tickled the front of her chemise and sent fissions through where it teased her clit.

“I’m beginning to see the appeal of these chains,” she panted.

“This chain is gorgeous, but I’d rather see it against your skin.” His hands tracked higher, but Cora was pulsing with need and had no time or patience for his slow exploration. Instead, she stood, putting the chain, and his ring, level with his face, and whipped her chemise over her head. Her nipples pebbled at the sensation and then she was completely exposed to him.

Wide hands grasped her hips and Asterion’s thumbs toyed with the chain on either side of his ring. His gaze seemed riveted there, thumbs and eyes fixated on the chain that claimed her. Asterion tipped his head back, his tousled hair falling away from his forehead. Asterion tucked his thumbs underneath the chain and slid it up her body, until they teased the undersides of her breasts.

“I–” Asterion shook his head, though he was careful with his horns. “I never thought we’d actually get here. That you’d be wearing my chain.”

He sniffled, and his eyes were watery when he next met her gaze. How could a man this beautiful ever think such a thing?

“Truly? Asterion, you are–perfect? How could I do anything but end up here, with you? I was already half in love with you, though I would never have admitted it, when you started this magical scenario.”

“Well, I do love that…” He ran the tip of a finger along the underside of her breast, making her shiver.

Cora gasped, as the rush of sensation heightened. She buried her hands in his hair and breathed deep. The mistletoe, tied on his horn, caught her eye, and she slipped it off the top. She lowered it, so that it was between them, and twirled the spring.

“So, this mistletoe…” she started, feeling bold. “What if I held it, say… here?” She moved it until the clipping hung over her nipple. “You’d have to kiss me there?”

Asterion didn’t bother answering, instead, he leaned forward and pulled it into his mouth, sucking and toying with it until she arched against him. He released her only to show the other the same level of care and Cora couldn’t hold back the moan of desire that released from her lips.

“That’s the idea. Though, now you’ve given me another.” With a smirk, he snatched the mistletoe from her hand and wrapped his arms around her, lifting and pulling her until she was fully on the bed.

She giggled as she bounced down. When she opened her eyes, Asterion was unlatching the shoulder of his chiton. It fell off his shoulder and down to the ground to pool at his feet. Cora could hardly believe her eyes. Just as he’d said, and so constrained it was nearly purple, was Asterion’s cock. She’d expected it to be large, of course, he was so much bigger than her, but she hadn’t understood the implications of their prior conversation.

Indeed, he’d lashed his cock to his leg, the bulbous head an angry deep purple. She frowned because it actually looked fairly painful, and she was annoyed on his behalf.

He chuckled. “It’s normally not like this. Usually, I am used to it, but today I think this situation is understandable.” Asterion grimaced as he unwound the length of leather, and his cock leaped back up to what she presumed was its normal position as soon as it was released.

Without the leather constraining it to his leg, Cora allowed herself to take in what he looked like. He was long and wide, with a prominent swell midway down his shaft. When he pulled foreskin back, Cora could see a glint of metal on the underside of his head.

He stood next to the bed, and Cora was certain that he was about to hold the sprig over his cock, it’s what she would have done of course, but instead he picked her up so that she straddled him and turned to lay on the bed. She sat atop him now, and the faint warmth of his shaft just barely teased at her ass. He dangled the mistletoe between them, as she had, and moved it so that it was over his mouth.

He was smiling when she bent over to kiss him, loving the soft expanse of his skin beneath her. He was lightly furred, with hair so short that it was barely detectable. It didn’t appear as if he would grow a beard as a dwarf might, but Cora liked that he was so different from everyone she’d ever known.

While they kissed, Asterion dragged the mistletoe up Cora’s arm, toying with her heightened feeling. He traced it across her back and around her neck, circled each breast, and when he teased it right above the golden curls of her sex, she was writhing with need.

“Well, I can hardly reach to kiss there,” she teased.

“No, but I can.” Asterion dropped the mistletoe over the side of the bed and grasped her thighs. With ridiculous ease, he lifted her forward so that her knees were on either side of his head, and her pussy hovered over his face.

“Now, it’s time for my present, Sugar Plum.” His eyes left hers, drawn first to her cunt, and then closing in bliss when he settled her over him and inhaled.

Asterion didn’t bother with tentative licks, he dove straight in, sucking on her labia and licking up her slit as if every taste gave him sustenance.

“I really hope you like this, because I am going to want to eat this pussy every day,” he gasped against her .

Cora would certainly have no complaints because it was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Asterion licked and suckled, teasing her clit and lapping up every bit of wetness she produced as if it were the font of all that was good in the world. As if he wasn’t seeking her pleasure, but reveling in his own. Cora gasped and moaned, and it wasn’t long before she was rocking above him, grinding down onto his face to chase sensation.

Asterion tore himself away from her cunt, his face glistening. “Look at that pretty pussy. No wonder you like shells so much, with her perfect pearl, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He licked up the side of her folds, savoring her between words. “Now hold on Sugar Plum. Horns...”

Cora was only too happy to oblige. She wrapped her hands around his horns and Asterion let out the most delicious growl in response.

“Oh fuck!” Cora couldn’t hold back her cries. With her hands around his horns, Asterion sucked her relentlessly, demanding her pleasure as much as coaxing it.

When she neared her peak, Asterion concentrated his efforts on her clit, increasing his suction and humming. A shift of his hands was all the warning she got before Asterion flipped her onto her back. Suddenly, she was staring at the ceiling as Asterion thrust two of those thick fingers into her, curling them and lapping at her clit.

Cora bowed off the bed, every muscle in her body taut as her orgasm rippled through her. Like the waves that, had she concentrated, she could feel lapping at the shores of her mountain, so too did the pleasure that ran through her. Asterion eased her through it, prolonging her orgasm with each curl of his fingers.

When Cora lay limp and sated on the bed, Asterion pulled back, licking his lips and fisting his cock.

“Can I fill you now?”

“Please,” Cora mewled, lifting her hips toward him.

“You never need to beg me for anything, love. But, I have to admit you do look pretty doing it.”

He was true to his word and didn't make her wait. In a breath, his cockhead was nestled against her opening, already straining for entrance.

“You’re so big.” Cora wasn’t sure if it was a benediction or a complaint, but it was true. Taking him would be a trial, but she wanted him inside her so desperately that she was prepared for whatever it took.

With slow, steady movements, Asterion eased himself into her, breaching her with increasing pressure. Getting past the wide lip of his head, brought relief just when she needed it, and allowed her to enjoy the bump of his piercing as it slid inside. The stretch of him was glorious, she’d never felt so full in all her life, not even when stuffing herself with two toys. He slid into her, and stopped at the thick swell of his shaft, panting as he checked in with her. “How are you doing, gorgeous?”

“Wonderful,” she breathed. It was a stretch, but she was a nymph after all, and perhaps those stories about them being extra pliable were true because she probably should have been in pain, but there wasn’t even a twinge. There was pressure, so much pressure, and it was overwhelming, but she’d expect having all your dreams come true to be overwhelming.

At first, he pumped in and out of her, gently working her onto the second swell of his cock. Cora moaned through it, each thrust breaking her open until she felt entirely exposed to him. Her mouth fell open and she keened. Asterion surrounded her, consumed her, and filled her to the brim. He leaned back on his knees, gaze fixed on where they were fused .

“Oh, fuck,” he moaned. His hand flew to her stomach, twining one finger into her ring. “Look at you, wrapped in my chain, stuffed full of my cock.”

Cora looked down and was surprised to see that her stomach bulged where he filled her, the distinct outline of his cock highlighted just how obscenely large he was compared to her.

Asterion placed his other hand on her stomach, over where he bulged out of her, his mouth hanging open. “I never knew this was possible.”

Pulling back, they watched as the mound went away and reappeared when he slid home once more. With each piston of his hips, Asterion cemented their bond, the look of awe on his face capturing Cora’s heart.

Nervous in spite of her wonder, Cora’s hand shook as she lowered it to feel. When she did, she moaned. She could feel as he filled her up, even the distinct swell of his cockhead inside her. Asterion covered her hand with his and locked eyes with her.

In that moment, time stood still, and Cora had no question in her mind that they were meant to be together. With his other hand, Asterion dragged his chain across her clit, teasing her pearl with every thrust. Air huffed out of his nostrils and he frowned, as if in concentration. Releasing her hand, Asterion wrapped his hands around her hips, lifting her ass in the air and teasing her clit with his thumb. He bit down on his lips, working them.

“One more, Sugar Plum, I know you can give me one more,” he growled.

She could certainly give him one more, and she was quickly approaching her orgasm, but it was his next word that sent her over the edge.

“Please,” he whined. Knowing Asterion rode the edge of holding back his orgasm, that he was trying to wait for her, and was about to fail, was so erotic that she didn’t stand a chance.

“Yes!” she screamed. “Oh, fuck yes!”

She clamped down around his cock, her orgasm squeezing him tight, and in seconds he fucked her once, twice, and was roaring as he held her firm and spurted his hot cum inside her.

Asterion shook as he came down, leaning over to kiss Cora tenderly.

He rolled them onto their sides, held her close and toyed with her chain again. “Thank you, you are the best Yule gift I’ve ever gotten,” he whispered.

“Thank you. And happy holidays, Asterion.”

“The first of many, Sugar Plum.”