26. Elrik

26

ELRIK

I ordered and then picked up dinner from Kraken's Keep, and we sat at a table in the backyard shelling our lobsters and dipping the succulent pieces into bowls of butter, accompanying it with garlic rolls, corn on the cob, and twice baked potatoes.

After, we went inside with Grannie Rose and took care of the dishes.

"You really don't need to keep doing all these things for me," Rose said after Melly mentioned laying out her pills and getting a new glass for water. "I'm mobile now that I have Fredrick."

Melly's eyebrows lifted. "Frederick?"

Grannie hefted her cane and shook it, her eyes sparkling. "My new dance partner. He's quite polite and helpful. The point is, I don't need help any longer. You two go have fun together." She winked my way. "I can take care of things from now on, Melly, though I greatly appreciate your help when I couldn't do it for myself."

"We'll still have meals together," Melly said with a touch of sadness, closing the dishwasher and starting it. "Right?"

Rose chuckled. "You're a wonderful cook and with Elrik here bringing us lobster, I'd be a fool to turn that down."

"You're sure?" Melly asked. "I'll just set things up for your dentures. Put out your nightie. You can—"

"Melly." A hint of warning came through in Rose's voice. "I can do this. I know the time is coming when I'll need you to do it for me forever, but for now, I want to handle it."

Melly sighed and gave Grannie Rose a hug. "Alright." When she looked my way, her eyes sparkled with tears. "I love you. I like doing things for you."

Rose patted Melly's back. "I love you too, honey. But I want you to enjoy your evening with Elrik. Don't worry about me."

Melly stepped back and crimped her lips together, blinking fast to dispel the tears. "I'll check in before I go to bed. Keep your phone nearby."

"I will." Rose patted her pocket. "I charged it this morning, so it's nice and juicy." She waved toward the door. "Go. Lock up for me, would you?"

We stepped outside, and Melly tested the knob to ensure it was locked, before we walked down the back steps.

"I feel like a parent sending their child off to school for the first time. My little one is getting independent." Her low laugh rang out. "An eighty-year-old little one, but you know what I mean. "

"You love her. You worry about her with good reason. But she's doing well. No more walker."

"The cane they left will be safer. I worried the walker would snag on a rug and she'd fall again, but she refused to let me take the rugs up and put them away."

"We'll check on her later, if you want."

"Thank you." She looked up at me. "What sort of icy treat do you have in store for me tonight?"

"Let's go to the beach, and I'll show you."

We walked down the sidewalk and like before, we left our sandals by the bench. The sun had set, and it was a clear night, the inky sky peppered with stars. Wispy clouds drifted across the half-moon that shed just enough light to see where we were walking.

"I'm very curious about this," she said. "I'm picturing a mini glacier with a crevasse we can climb down into."

"I wish I could show you that. Instead . . ." I waved toward the small table ahead I'd arranged to have Kraken's Keep deliver. Two chairs waited, and we sat. The staff who'd helped set things up nodded my way before turning to stride toward the restaurant.

Melly rapped her knuckles on the table with a clang. "This sounds like metal, not ice." Wiggling in her chair, she smiled. "My seat's not cold either."

"How about this?" I tugged the basket out from beneath the table and dropped it on my lap, setting glass dishes on the table and bottles of colorful syrup. A flick of my finger toward the table, and snow overflowed the bowls. Another nod, and a big ice sculpture appeared on the sand beside us .

Melly gasped and shot me a grin before rising and walking slowly around it. "It's beautiful."

I'd crafted a wave cresting, even included beads of ice clinging to the tip.

"A whale!" She pointed toward the sea below the long wave. "And dolphins. So pretty. How did you do it?"

"Some would say I used magic, but I'm an ice lord. Snow and ice respond to my command."

"Wow." Striding back over to the table, she sat again, looking down at her bowl of snow.

"This isn't as impressive as the sculpture, but it's tasty." I pointed to the bottles. "Raspberry. Strawberry. Blueberry. And chocolate syrup. Your choice."

"Maybe I want it all."

I suspected she wasn't only speaking of snow flavorings. "It's yours. You just have to hold out your hand."

She reached across the table, and I took her hand and kissed each of her knuckles.

"Thank you," she said. "This is special."

"You're welcome. Only the best for you."

We coated our snow and ate some while the sculpture melted. I hadn't expected it to last long in this heat.

A few people stopped to admire it, their gazes gliding across us.

When we'd eaten our fill, we rose.

"The staff at Kraken's Keep will take care of the table and the heat will melt the sculpture," I said. "I have one more icy surprise."

She looked up at me with so much happiness in her eyes, it humbled me. I still couldn't believe this woman liked me, that she wanted to be with me .

"What is it?" she asked.

While waves swished up the shore and danced across our ankles, I snapped my fingers, and created an icicle about six inches long and an inch and a half thick. "For you." I held it out with a smile.

"That's . . . amazing."

"That's me. Amazing." My low laugh rang out.

Her smile grew sly. "Your icicle is rather phallic looking. Is that the point?"

A low hum ran through my bones, and my cock stirred, sensing action. Leaning close, I whispered by her ear. "Suck on it for me, would you? I want to watch."

Her eyes widened as she took it from me. "It's cold." A quiver went through her. As she held it, water trickled down her arm, falling to the sand.

"Suck on my ice cock," I said softly. "If you do a good job, I'll let you suck on something else after."

"This . . . This . . ." Her breathing came out in startled gasps.

The heat pouring through me would melt a glacier. "I have all sorts of ideas for things we can do with ice."

"I'm sure you do." Her swallow took a long time to go down.

"It's melting."

"So it is." After shooting me a mischievous smile, she lifted the icicle. At first, she was tentative, barely taking the tip into her mouth.

"It's cold," she said.

" Icy ."

"At least your cock isn't this cold because . . ."

"What if it could be? "

Her breath caught. "Not this cold. That would be . . ."

I kissed her cheek. "I can adjust the temperature."

"Why didn't you do that the first time we were together?"

"I didn't want to scare you away."

"Elrik. This is an incredible turn-on. You know that, right?"

My grin made my face ache. "I was hoping it would be."

"No frostbite down there, however," she warned.

"No frostbite. I swear."

She sucked more of the icicle into her mouth and swept her tongue across the tip.

My groan ripped out.

Her eyes sparkling, she pumped the icicle in and out of her mouth, taking more of it than I'd expected.

"Tastes good," she mumbled. "Spicy."

"Plain ice is boring, don't you think?"

She pulled the icicle out of her mouth with a pop. "You're right. I still can't believe you can snap your fingers and create ice." With a hum, she sucked the icicle back into her mouth.

She worked it well, and my poor cock turned into a rod in my pants. I kept picturing tugging the icicle from her mouth and replacing it with my cock. Her lips and tongue would be cold on my overheated flesh.

I was breathing heavily, as if I'd been running.

She slid the icicle out of her mouth. "I want the real deal, Elrik." She took my hand and started running, dragging me down the beach.

I laughed as I kept up, not sure where she was going but determined to follow this woman to the ends of the earth if that brought her joy.

Finally, she stopped in a section of the beach with dunes overgrown with grass. Only a few homes had been built in this area, and they sat well back from the shore.

Peering around, she pointed. "I can't believe I'm even suggesting it, but there's a park bench up there that's shielded by beach grass and wild rose bushes. It's quite isolated."

"Lead away."

After tossing the icicle aside, she took my hand and guided me up the shore and along a narrow, sandy path weaving through the dunes. The edges of the path were roped off to keep anyone from climbing the small hills overgrown with delicate vegetation. We walked out into a small open area where they'd placed a wooden bench. She guided me there and turned me to face her.

With a sultry smile, she undid my pants and tugged them down. "Sit, ice lord. It's time I heated you up."