30. Yera

Chapter thirty

Yera

No one prepared me for what porting would be like. Arrick said it was uncomfortable at first. Kalevi said I would get used to the sensation after a time, but fuck all of that.

It felt like my soul was being ripped from my body. When we landed just outside the village, my decadent breakfast threatened to spill out of me, but I choked it back.

Our goodbyes this morning broke me a bit, as well. I wouldn't doubt half my stomachache was attached to the heartache blooming in my chest. Never in a million years would I have suspected I would make friends with Orcs, harpies, and a daemon-snake-witch—the best description I can muster.

Arrick is rubbing slow circles around my back with his big palm. The motion is so soothing that it wrenches my guts again to think of its loss.

I blink back the next wave of nausea and guilt, steadying myself enough to turn upright with Arrick's help.

The mountains surround us. Our mountains , I realize, when I glance up to see the steep crags we snaked down what seems like a lifetime ago.

The considerable village sits in a valley with a massive river running to the right side and countless thatched rooftops as far as the eye can see.

I look at it, mouth gaping. "You weren't kidding. This place is much bigger than I pictured."

"Well, how did you picture it?"

"I don't know, maybe like the Newwin village in Willow ." He looks at me, confused, as he should be. "Sorry, I just meant that I thought it would be small and quaint."

"This is the major hub in the Greenlands, and there are smaller villages out there, if you ever want to visit them with me one day," he says, that sentence shooting through me like a bolt of lightning. He wants to make plans with me, to show me more of his land. To be with me.

Every moment I'm with him, the stronger my urge to stay gets.

I straighten with Arrick's help. Once the black spots that dance in my vision finally clear, I take in this strange, colossal place.

Creatures of every variety walk from place to place. Some sprites walk past in a cluster, and from their coloring, my guess is they're flower sprites, given the breezy pastel hues they come in.

"They are flower sprites. They care for the botanical gardens and wildflower fields surrounding the village." Arrick's breath is soft on my neck and the shell of my ear. Every cell in me wants to be shocked that he read my thoughts, but it's oddly comforting. Feeling that close to him makes some of my anxiety ebb.

"And what are those?" I point to a shop where three massive blue and green-tinged creatures walk out. They look like bodybuilders, similar to the Orcs, but with long, braided chestnut hair adorned with metal clasps. They are, for lack of a better word, stunning. Hard-set jawlines and black-rimmed eyes. They resemble warriors from a sci-fi fantasy novel.

"Those are ogres. Most of them own large family farms in the surrounding areas. They are loyal almost to a fault and value their families above all else."

"Ogres? But they look like tattooed gods." This, out of everything I've seen so far, shocks me. "You're telling me that those are Shrek?"

"Well, I don't know what a ‘Shrek' is, but if he is an ogar, then yes."

Holy shit. I watch the creatures go about their business in the crowded streets, mouth agape.

Arrick pulls my face to him in a gentle gesture. "It's not polite to stare." His black eyes rake over my face and body.

"Jealous?" I ask, infusing my voice with a sultry tease I didn't even know I was capable of.

He growls low at me, a promise in his intense stare that I can't wait to take him up on. He looses a slow breath, almost as if trying to keep his composure. Everything he wants to do to me floods my consciousness with a barrage of images and feelings—a deluge of dirty thoughts that instantly make my breath catch and my core heat.

His arms wrap around my waist, and he pulls me to him, meeting my mouth with his in a fierce, wanton kiss that promises many dirty things to come .

When our lips finally part, not before a few people—creatures—have stopped to gawk, he whispers low to me. "Can you wait until tonight, or should I have you right here and now?" Oh fuck, I want that. I want that so badly, but the pragmatist in me knows exhibitionism isn't exactly my thing. Especially in broad daylight, with children around.

He reads the argument in my head and loosens his grip on my waist. "I'm just teasing." He pauses for a moment, considering, and then continues. "Though the thought of you splayed out for all to see while I lick you from head to toe is...thrilling, to say the least." Heat rushes to my core again, and wetness pools there.

"You need to stop that if we want to get anything done today."

"Oh, well, then maybe I'll continue doing it so I can keep you locked up all day, wrapped about my tongue and cock until you can't see anything but pleasure."

"Fuck it," I say, closing my eyes, trying to rid myself of the filthy, filthy thoughts in my head. I grab Arrick and lead him back out of the village. "You're going to talk a big game, you'd better be able to back it up, buddy," I say, while dragging Arrick behind me. I can hear his light laughter crackle in my head.

"How did I get lucky to find a woman who lusts after me as much as I do her?"

The number of people around grows more sparse as we beat down the dirt path that leads out of town and towards the river. To my right, a large outcropping of boulders lines the riverbank. Some reach ten to twelve feet in height and double that in circumference.

Arrick follows my train of thought and scoops me off my feet when he realizes what I intend. I'm slung over his brawny shoulder, bouncing with his movements until we reach the outcropping .

The entire scene is ridiculous, but I'm so frantic with desire that I don't care.

We slide in between two huge rocks, sheltering our forms. The river rushes beside us, sending rogue water drops over our heated skin. We are hidden for the moment, and I won't waste it.

I pull Arrick's face down to mine, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, and kiss him.

When our lips meet, he slams me up against the rounded boulder, not hard enough to hurt me, but hard enough that I know how desperate he is for our bodies to be closer. His hands are everywhere, digging into the flesh on my ass, kneading my breasts, and then running up the back of my spine to place a barrier between my head and the hard surface.

Once I'm tightly in his grasp, he grinds into me, causing my back to arch and a gasp to escape my lips. His insistent need rubs up against mine in the most maddening of sensations.

I've never been more thankful for a skirt in my life. The only barrier between him and me is my scrap of underwear and his pants.

He seems to catch on and moves his hand between us, rubbing his finger on the outside of my panties, just brushing my swollen clit enough to send a shockwave up my body.

"Oh fuck, you're already so wet for me," he purrs into my ear. "Do you want me to lick you first, or do you want me inside you?"

Oh shit, I want his tongue on me, but my need to have him inside me outweighs all the other options. I can make him suck on my clit tonight when we have all the time in the world.

He obviously heard that and growls again. "I will gladly put my head between your legs for hours tonight if you so wish it," he says, his fingers bypassing my underwear and dipping into my core. My thighs clench around the heated intrusion. "But right now, I want to be inside you. I want to watch your face and feel your body squeeze me as you come on my cock."

His words are going to be the death of me. "Rip them!" I cry out as he drags a finger into my core and curls it, hitting the right spot.

Not a moment passes before the delicate fabric rips, falling from me. The next thing I hear is his belt unbuckling and the heavy weight of his leather pants striking the ground.

Sweet, agonizing anticipation overtakes me, and then his hand is beneath me, gripping his length and moving it to my entrance.

The head of him is seated right where I need it to be, and he pushes it in slowly. We both hiss and moan when his cock moves into me, inch by agonizing inch. "You feel so good, so hot. You're gripping my cock so well," he says into my ear before seating himself to the hilt. My legs are wrapped around his torso, and he's holding me taut against the rounded rock surface and digging his fingers into the flesh of my ass and hips.

Slowly, he moves, dragging his massive length in and out of me, rolling his hips in time with mine, working deeper and deeper into me.

He moves faster. Thrusting up and anchoring my body in such a way that it also grinds my clit against his taut abs. I am dizzy with pleasure. I moan and dig my fingers into his skin. "Arrick. Oh, fuck. Right there. You feel so good."

His body jerks, and he pistons into me harder, fucking me like it's his life work. "I want to make you come. Tell me what you need, Yera." The sound of my name on his lips at this moment sends another jolt of pleasure down my body. "Just keep fucking me like this. Don't stop. I never want you to stop. I want your cock in me always."

He rasps out a small laugh at my absurd statement before ramming into me, grunting with his efforts. My vision darkens as pleasure threatens to overtake me. "Arrick, I'm going come. Keep doing that. "

He stays at the same pace and intensity, building my orgasm. "I can feel you. Oh yeah, come for me, baby. Come all over my cock. Then I'm going to fuck you until I spill inside. I want to fill you so completely that it runs down your thighs."

My pleasure rips through me like a tidal wave, lighting every nerve, every cell on fire. My legs shake around his body, and he holds me in place as my body ripples and clenches around his. "That's right, I've got you," he says, stroking slowly in and out of me, wringing every drop of my orgasm out.

"Now it's your turn," I rasp, unwinding my legs from his hips and sliding off his cock. His look of confusion is adorable until I turn and press my ass up to him. "You want to fuck me from behind?" I ask, grinding myself onto him.

Calloused hands grip my hips, and he kicks my foot over to spread my legs wider. His cock notches at my entrance again while his hands roam my skin in pure appreciation.

He slams into me with no pretenses, no gentleness about it. He takes me hard and fast, pistoning into me with the force of a madman. Our bodies make wet slapping sounds as he thrusts and thrusts and thrusts.

His pace is becoming erratic while he slams home. "Are you going to come for me, Arrick?" I say between thrusts.

"Are you going to come again with me?" With that, his hand unlocks from where it was dug into my hip and finds its new home between my legs.

His rough fingers circle my clit while his body still slams into mine. Fuck, this man. The force of his thrusts and expert hands have me bucking and moaning again. "Yes, I'm going to come with you. Keep doing that," I moan out. His body tenses behind me as he ratchets up his speed. "Fuck, I'm there, Yera. Are you with me? "

"Yes. Oh, hell yes, I am." My voice is ragged and needy.

He shutters and rocks back, slamming home a few more times before I feel his cock twitch and pulsate. He spills into me, moaning and growling with every pulse of his release. His fingers still rub me while I come around him for a second time.

The tension leaves his body, and his weight sags on me, but he holds his arm out to steer us away from the boulder's surface.

He kisses up my spine while slowly pulling out of me. The sounds alone indicate what a mess we have made.

He lowers my skirt over my bare ass and gives it a little slap. "Wait here," he purrs into my ear, kissing me one more time before I recognize the loss of his heat on my skin.

A moment passes, and I hear boots on stone. He has his canteen out and a fresh cloth. "Let me clean you up, lovely," he says, reaching for my skirt.

The delicate fabric brushes my legs, and he kneels before me, propping my leg on his knee.

The fresh spring water is freezing, and I jolt when it hits my skin, causing goosebumps to spread.

He snickers a bit at my reaction but keeps up his ministrations, running the cloth up and down my legs and through my center, cooling the heated, raw skin at my core.

Once satisfied with his work, he moves my leg back to the ground and stands up to his full height. His black eyes rake over me with a stare akin to reverence.

"Once we go back," he says, sucking in a breath before he continues and brushing a stray strand of my hair off my face, "I don't know how, but I'm unwilling to let you go." Fear and longing line his eyes. "Completely, that is. I understand that you have a life and people who need you. So, I will follow you to the ends of the earth to help you find them, but I need you. I need you like I need air." He pauses again, seeming to gather strength from an unknown source. "I realized it when you were taken, and I chose to go after you. Because, really, there was no choice. Even my body, my spells, begged me to go after you. Nothing has ever terrified me like the idea of losing you. I know what I'm asking is selfish. But if we can find a way to stay in each other's lives, I want that more than I have wanted anything else in my hundred and fifty years. I love you."

There are no words. I'm so taken aback that I don't know where to start. I want him too—and I love him.

I don't know when it happened, but a pit has grown in my stomach at the thought of leaving him. My hand goes up to cup his face, but he catches it. Then, he holds it to his heart before bringing it to his lips, where he kisses the pad of each finger individually.

"I love you too, and I want to find a way." My words sound choked, and I swallow hard against the lump in my throat. "I don't know how it's going to work, but I would imagine there is going to be some magic involved."

I shift my brightened eyes to him, trying to project something akin to hope.

"Well, my lovely one, we are in the right place to find some magic."