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Euphemia could be needy.
Before she met Halsin, to ask for affection was something she couldn’t do, not beyond the wet sparkle of her honeyed eyes when she gazed up at a client that she hated a bit less than the rest. A few stuck out to her in her mind’s eye- a barbarian bounty hunter who had been surprisingly gentle with her despite her being the prize to make up for a lack of proper remuneration (Maerin owed the bounty’s placer a favor), a tall and pale prodigal son of royalty from a far off land with eyes of ice and hair of snow but a heart as warm as the sun… the barbarian’s silver hair and scarred skin indicated a rough life, but he held her softly. The royal boy laughed with her rather than at her expense, and that alone had been enough to make her fantasize about him taking her away.
Now, things were different in many ways, but the same in others. Halsin always held her softly, tenderly, and he could make her laugh so hard that her sides split and her cheeks ached. He loved her. He made it clear with every touch of his hand, blink of his eyes, breath in and out of his lungs. She needn’t settle, ask or beg for scraps off of someone else’s table- he would build her a table and give her a feast.
The feeling settled slowly in her bones, grew on her like ivy on the side of an old building as nature reclaimed its stone. When she wanted a hug, he seemed to gravitate to her, as though her heart’s desire was a magnet. If she were feeling small, if the memories of a painful past were poking about inside her brain, she could count on him to kiss her crown until all that she felt was the warmth of his love. He wanted to hold her as much as she wanted to be held, and she would never have to beg again.
A lack of necessity for begging, let alone requesting made her rather tentative to make her needs known, especially when he seemed to know them without a word. Perhaps it was a gift of their more primal connection- unabashed physicality lended a better understanding of what either one of them wanted. Occasionally, the pretty rogue forgot the power in an ask.
It started so simply. In the decades since the day they met and the conflict that brought the two elves together, they had settled into such an idyllic life. The commune was flourishing- to call it a commune wasn’t so true as much as a very community oriented village. He spent his days patrolling their borders in the comfort of his bear, helping to build houses and shops as the need arose, leading in a way that felt more natural to him- it was much easier with Euphemia by his side, and now, he could return to some of his more scholarly studies that he had begun in his time at the Emerald Grove. Medicinal uses of various local flowers and roots still leftover from the Shadow Curse were his focus, for which Halsin enjoyed the peaceful quiet of his study.
A large oak desk pushed up against the furthest wall with a window so that he could watch their garden. The overgrown field of wildflowers, herbs and lush grass swayed in the moonlight- Luc and Kara had long since gone to bed, no longer tumbling and giggling amongst the green with their owlbear companion. He drew in a puff of his pipe, brows furrowed as he looked down at his notes. The heady aroma of exotic tobacco mixed with delicate flowers and fruit was more to cover the noxious fumes that wafted from the beaker ahead of him than anything else. Shadowroot had the most peculiar smell.
Light footsteps made his ears prick up as he turned his head. “Honey?” Euphie had knocked before she entered, but she didn’t need to- his heart was always welcome. She was still clad in her leathers- earlier that morning, she had taught some of the local children to use a bow. Despite her spending more time kneading bread now than she did knocking arrows, her hand was still steady as ever. Jingling within them was a small tea-tray, complete with a warm mug of tea, appropriately honeyed and served with a few biscuits that she’d baked earlier in the day. He’d rather ‘softened up’ since they’d met, and he wagered that was due in no small part to how much she loved to dote on him like this, with her ambrosian cooking. It made no difference to her- his body had only grown more ‘bear-like’. Evidence of his comfort and happiness, she thought.
Halsin pushed his chair from the desk, far enough away to look at his beautiful mate in all her glory. He couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips- even after all this time, she seemed to only take up more space in his heart. It fluttered at the sight of her. She was a far more welcome vision than the grisly green fluid that bubbled like tar in the flask.
Slowly, she sauntered over. With a breath of her scent, a switch in the way she walked, he could sense the intention. Mossy hazel green eyes were heavy as they watched her, languidly taking in her shape, her softness, her smell. Euphemia took her time in bending from the hips, setting the tray down so delicately that it made only the smallest tinkling noise. The curve of her ample bum was just there, right within his grasp… but he did so enjoy her show when his Euphemia was in this kind of mood.
“I brought you some tea. It’s real sweet, ” The blonde purred as she took a seat, arching her back almost obscenely to set herself softly and sensually atop his hips. It was the elven equivalent of a cat wrapping its tail around one’s leg, her expression of a desire for affection and closeness. “Just like you like it.” She leaned back just enough to kiss his cheek before she pushed herself back up out of his lap, gone as quick as she’d come. The gloss of her lips would leave a light mark. He could never quite find it in his heart to wipe them away, no matter how his hair got stuck.
Halsin had to fight the urge to grab her hips and pull her right back into his lap. It was where she belonged, as far as he was concerned… but it would be far more enjoyable to savor the hunt before he indulged in his prey.
After all, the sweet and silly thing loved to tempt him so very much.
The low hum in his chest accompanied drooping lids, heavy with lust that was so easily activated and accessed by her presence. “Thank you, my heart.” His hand smoothed over the small of her back before he turned, adjusting his chair back into its original position with a short chuff. “Are you heading to bed?” The corner of his lip quirked upwards at the small twitch of her brow. Not alone, she’d hoped.
“I think I’ll have a bath,” She began, shrugging the sleeves of her blouse off of her shoulders. Just a bit more of her milky skin came into his peripheral view, little purpled marks from the night before no longer hidden. He could be a tad overzealous when he claimed her. The cream linen fabric billowed out from her burgundy leather corset, nipping in just enough at her sumptuously curved waist. “I worked myself rather hot and sweaty earlier.”
Halsin chuckled. “Mm, indeed you did.” The memory was a fond one- she was a gentle, patient teacher, but the most impactful thing in his mind was the way her face, if not her very aura, would change as she knocked an arrow. Focus etched over her otherwise softened features, and the hunger of her ever so aptly named bow seemed to glow in her eyes like a smoldering flame. An errant bead of sweat dripped down her dark, fluffed up brow, and with a blink, she fired. The thud of the arrow striking bullseye was almost as loud as the thump of his heart. She was magnificent .
“Would you like anything… else… with your tea?”
A chuckle tickled at his diaphragm, deep in his chest. Halsin could surmise what anything else was. His hands floated up, waving as if to dismiss the thought or waft a scent away. “No, my dove. You spoil me far too much already.” He blinked slowly at her, catching her gaze once more. It delighted him, how her cheeks flushed a rosy pink, so bright that the blush could even be seen in dim candlelight. She practically glowed for him.
Her breath was cool over his face as she blew out slow, then nodded. Euphemia was no fool, but even a woman as clever as she could be possessed by the sort of excited, nervous indecision of a lovesick schoolgirl when faced with the man she loved so much. “Okay.” The reply was small, half-hearted before she shook her hair out rather elegantly in an effort to reset herself. “Well, you need only shout…” The blonde ran her hand over the breadth of his strong shoulder before she turned on her heel.
“ As do you , my doe.”
The tightness of her worn burgundy leather trousers creaked a bit as she left the room. Halsin wondered how long it might be before she returned to him. Watching the flask boil away the more noxious aspects of the shadowroot sample was far less exciting than her precious attempts to entice him.
Just over a quarter of an hour had passed when she traipsed back into his study. She stepped so lightly, her hands gingerly stroking the leaves of the vines and flora that grew between the bookcases, over the door frame and across the windowsill. Pink wisteria, bleeding heart… it was his study, but he seemed to take her essence with him in blooms that brought her memory to the forefront of his mind. Only the lotus would call her forth more quickly.
Once more he pushed out his chair. “Hello again, my love.” The little pet name made the apples of her cheeks so prominent as she smiled. More meekly, her shoulders rose, dangerously close to kissing the lobes of her ears before she sighed out, slow and demure.
“I’ve run the bath…” Euphemia said, almost as though it was an invitation.
It was.
Her bare feet were silent against the wooden floor, elven grace lightening her step to a feather’s weight. “I was just checking to see if you needed anything?” With a sweet hum, she was standing behind him, her fingertips tracing up from the leather straps that decorated his biceps towards his neck. The touch made his skin pebble with goosebumps.
Sharp, stiletto-filed nails worked gently into his trapezius muscles, thumbs rubbing out the little knots that had formed from an evening of sitting over a desk and bubbling flask. Halsin sighed into the feeling. It wasn’t something he expected from her, but moments of intimacy like this where she chose to show him such tender affections made his heart feel warm and cradled. “More tea…” Euphemia pondered aloud as his head tipped back to rest against her stomach with a muffled groan. “I could clean and repack your pipe…” Her lips pursed, gloss catching the candlelight. She watched as his eyes fluttered shut, submitting to the feeling of her magic hands and soft voice. “...maybe some fresh ink?”
She paused her prodding while she waited for his answer. When his eyes opened again, he could see just how expectant she was, how ready she was to jump at any means of his pleasure. “You truly are a dream.” He breathed, his smile easy and warm before his brows raised somewhat more assertively. “Now go enjoy your bath. ”
This time, she didn’t reply much beyond a mumbled ‘mhmm’ . Euphemia shut the door with just a bit more force, a small display of frustration like the thumping of a rabbit’s feet. At that moment, he wondered if he was perhaps being cruel. He knew what she wanted. He wanted to give it to her. He just also liked to play.
Time ticked by so slowly as he wrote down his findings, the quill pen scratching across the page with less finesse than before. Admittedly, he was nowhere near immune to her charms- he found himself thinking about what she might look like just those few moments away in the bath. Halsin imagined the bubbles, the way they sparkled in the candlelight, sitting atop her breasts like a mound of icing on a cake. He could hear her tender sighs in his mind, depleted muscles enjoying the warm water as it swallowed her up. In juxtaposition to the malodorous shadowroot vitriol, her soaps and tinctures smelled of patchouli and rose, kissed with honey and so earthly sweet. The pen fell out of his hand, clattering to the desk… whether she was in the same space as him or not, she was distracting. Tantalizing.
He’d had half a mind to reach his hand into his trousers to give himself a spot of relief when he heard the door creak open again. All of those floral notes filled his nose at once, hand steadied away from where it had been floating above the front clasp of his leathers when she came into the room. Euphemia was all fluffed hair, sweet smells and soft silk as she entered, her eyes avoiding his as their golden hue scanned his bookcases.
Her hands were at chest level as she continued to peer around, their gesture apologetic. “Sorry, I know you’re busy with your studies,” She chirped, popping up onto her tiptoes in an attempt to look at the topmost shelf. The motion made the back of her gown flip up for a fraction of a second, gifting Halsin with a little peek of the bottoms of her asscheeks. It was enough to make him gulp.
“I only wish to see if one of my old journals was in here.” Euphie flitted around the north side of the room, carefully analyzing each shelf before a small defeated sigh left her lips. Her hands found her hips, one jutting out slightly. That silk nightie enrobed her form so splendidly- though Halsin preferred her naked, he did enjoy her dipped in a red so deep it was nearly black. The sanguine hue suited her.
“Ah!” The little noise of success had his ears pricking as he tilted his head to the side. She seemed to have fixated on a stack of books that hadn’t yet found their way into the ranks of his shelves, and with a small step forward, she reached for one of the volumes.
As she bent over, there it was. He should have known that she wasn’t looking for a book. Roguish ways died hard, though these little performances of hers were no hardship from him, not when this was the view. No frilly lace or smooth satin hid her petal-pink cunt, puffy and desperate and sightlessly dripping pheromones that he might as well have been a thrall to. It made his mouth water and his stomach grow tight as she pretended to continue to search the stack for the book, her hips switching as she hummed curiously.
“Where is that damned thing?” She huffed in dissatisfaction, flicking her hair up and back as she rose back to a stand and looked over her shoulder at him. “You haven’t seen anything, have you, honey?” That faux-pout of hers, jutted out bottom lip and batting lashes would be his end. Two little cartoonish blinks of her caramel eyes and Halsin had had enough.
His forefinger found the uppermost corner of his journal’s page, ironing out the creases with a controlled, slow exhale. He looked up at her with that warm, hopeful smile that she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. “Would you close the door, dove?” The question left his lips lightly, casually, but she raised up onto the balls of her feet with such excitement. Eagerly, she spun on them to face him. The blonde tipped her chin down, her ears pricked up to listen. Would he ever get used to how it felt for her to look at him like this, as if the answer to all the world’s problems waited on his tongue, and all the love and peace that existed swam in the emerald waters of his irises?
“I would like to show you something.”
Halsin waved her over and within two lithe steps, she was by his side. “Yes?” Her voice was as clear and sweet as a bell.
The palm of his hand swept from between her shoulder blades, down the curve of her spine until he found the fleshy pad of her tailbone. His thumb ran over the wine red silk that covered it as the other hand gestured to a set of notations- instructions for distilling the shadowroot vitriol into a dry, absorbent and astringent form. “What do you think?” He asked, following her eyes as she read.
Her brows raised as she pored over the page- to get to read through his thought process, let her eyes trawl over his sketches of how something might be used was a treat. The druid’s mind was one she loved to see working. A small simper pulled at her lips. “Maybe as a—” She’d begun to speak when she felt something… wet?
A sharp gasp left Euphemia’s lips. Her immediate reaction would have been to yank her leg away until she saw it- with a swirling motion of his index finger, soft, slick vines were curling their way up her calves. Quickly, her gaze shot to her incredibly cheeky mate.
He simply wiggled his brow up. The smirk on his face was both settling and exhilarating- this was his doing, and it seemed that his doe would finally receive the attention that she had been so stubborn about asking for.
No matter, Halsin thought. His pretty mate could beg instead.
“Is this what you wanted?” Halsin spoke, his voice low and somewhat taunting. He adjusted his chair, the heavy oak groaning against the wood floor before he was entirely turned to face the she-elf that was becoming more and more swallowed up by crawling vines by the second. “I cannot read your mind, Euphemia, as much as I might like to…” The tips of his fingers delicately closed his journal before he leaned far back in the chair.
His hums rumbled through the air. “I have a feeling that these needy thoughts of yours are almost as lewd as my own.” As he exhaled, he began to twirl his middle and ring finger in tandem with the index until she was lifted into the air. There she was, suspended and sighing, the silk of her nightie pushed up above her breasts and exposing them to the cool night air.
The view was truly breathtaking.
“Halsin,” Euphie mewled as the thickest of the vines wrapped around her creamy thighs and soft waist. He was careful to ensure that she was supported and comfortable, each stem taking great care to cradle her blushing body. Her lips popped open into his favorite ‘o’ shape as an errant vine slipped over her breast, twirling around her nipple until the pink bud was pert.
The green that had wound around her thighs pried them apart until her waiting holes were on full display. “Pervert,” She teased in a moan. Halsin chuffed. Perhaps he was, but he couldn’t be bothered to care when he watched her writhing like this as another vine slipped between her folds and down towards her ass.
“Gods,” She whimpered, head lolling to the side as more vines swept over the swell of her tender breasts, her sensitive tummy and across her pelvic bones like verdant tongues. Slowly, the nethermost tendril seemed to lick at her hole, making her hips jerk and squirm. Her dripping cunt had gone entirely ignored as the vine swirled around the tight ring of muscles, lubricating her before it pushed in ever so slowly. Halsin delighted in the sight of her face as it changed, the little spot of stretching discomfort before the pleasure of fullness overtook.
His head tilted to the side, a few errant strands of chestnut hair falling into his eyes. “All you have to do is ask and you shall have it, my love…” His voice was like honey, covering her in slow, warm sweetness. She’d opened her mouth to speak, but it was no use- the vine that had been snaking its way betwixt her breasts and up her neck slipped so tenderly into her mouth. Mindlessly, she began to suck.
“Though, I do suppose you can’t now, can you?” He chuckled. “I love you, pretty doe.” As he watched her glossy lips wrap around the vine, greedily suckling on it like she would his cock, his hand slipped to the clasp and tie of his trousers. “You’re so pliant, so sweet…” The words flowed from him like wine, intoxicating her with more with every syllable. Pliance wasn’t something he demanded from her, though he did love it when she offered it so freely. “ You take everything I give you so beautifully.”
It was true. As he freed his now achingly hard cock from the confines of his leathers and began languidly stroking it, there was nothing else on his mind. He palmed the head, circling before he teased it, watching her pupils frantically focusing on his movements. It wasn’t the only evidence of her desire to please- as his gaze trailed downward, her spread-open folds did little to hide how she pulsed and clenched. It was just her nature- why would he ever need to tend to himself when she was right there, at his disposal and always hungry for his taste and touch? His poor mate was already two-thirds full, but she was still so incredibly desperate for him.
The tendril slipped out of her mouth, and she gasped. “ Hah…! Please, Halsin… baby… need you, need you to fill me up.” Her hips bucked against the entangling restraints, legs spread wide and cunt splayed out and weeping with arousal. She shook her head, her crown of spun white gold falling into a frantic mess as the vine teased at her lip. “Please… I’ll ask so nicely… please, can you fill me up with your cock?”
Halsin’s jaw clenched as he quickly stroked his tip. “I thought you came for a book, my heart.” Fanging teeth pierced into his lip- to watch her eyes watering in desperation had the power to send him over the edge… if he weren’t careful. Precum glistened, dampening the head of his cock more with each little expelled pearl.
Pathetically, she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. She was desperate to taste him, feel him, be absorbed in him. “No… just wanted your attention.” Euphemia admitted with a whine. “I wanted you to fuck me, please.”
“Mm. Greedy girl. Are two filled holes not enough for you?”
The question had barely left him and she was shaking her head emphatically. “No…!” It almost hurt to say. She would hate to intimate to him that anything he did for her wasn’t enough, but perhaps, this was different. Euphemia simply needed more of him. She needed him in the very fluid of her cells, if he could be.
Silvanus preserve him, he could see the need in her irises. It swam in the golden honey, as native to her ecosystem as the flower that bloomed between her pretty thighs. A long, controlled exhale left his nose, nostrils flaring in desire. What use was it to wait another moment? He’d enjoyed his show, and she had been begging him in one way or another for the last two hours.
The sigh of relief from her skittish lungs washed over him like tepid water. The feeling of being the one she wanted, needed , above all others in the world would never have an adequate comparison. She looked at him like he was a god, and yet, he couldn’t think of a creature more holy than her. Fumbling fingers couldn’t seem to work fast enough as he shed away his shirt- only his bracing bicep straps clad his form.
A seething hiss left his grit teeth as he slipped into her, watching as her eyes went round and needy. The stretch was always just a little too much- his heart skipped each time she’d whimper, wordlessly begging for him to be mindful of how wide he wrought her. Despite the whines, her cunt would clench around him, the grasp a desperate beg for him to fuck and fill her until she cried for rest. Every part of her body held him so tenderly.
“Oak Father guide me…” Halsin breathed as his hands found the rounds of her hips. His thumbs pressed into their plush- her body had become so beautifully soft in motherhood. She had already been so silken, but with every passing year, she seemed to age like the finest mead. Delicious and smooth felt too lackluster of descriptives. “You grip me so tightly, my heart.” Graciousness weaved itself into the rich tenor of his voice.
His doe was trembling, body held up in the slithering green that seemed to relish in how it overwhelmed her. Tendrils caressed every fortress of erogenous stimulation on her body. They danced over her nipples, licked at her neck, generously filled her ass. It was just as he liked it- Halsin had saved the crux of love between her thighs for himself. “I need you , Halsin… please.” She all but sobbed. “ Harder…! ”
A shiver ran down his spine at the sound of her pleading. Harder, faster, more … she would never dilute him or ask for less. Praise for her would flow like water from his lips. “I love how you take everything I give you and beg me for more…” Halsin let out a ghost of a chuckle- the urge to cry swept over him at once. He settled for a kiss to the blush-kissed tip of her nose instead. “ Gods , you are perfect for me.”
The words fluttered in her chest, far too big to be butterflies as they careened so haphazardly into her lungs and took her breath away. He’d looked straight into her eyes as he said it, seaglass meeting amber and bathing her in his sincerity. She’d wished on stars, prayed to gods, cried and lamented for so very long… but there were no wishes or prayers here, no cries or laments. He loved her. Euphemia need not beg or plead, disintegrate and resculpt herself into something worthy of him.
As she was, as she had been, and as she always would be, she was perfect.
“Halsin…” Euphemia whimpered his name against his lips, sweet submission in the form of licking at his mouth with such reverence and fondness. “Fill me,” She commanded with a squeak, brows knit and lips puffed into the most deliciously innocent pout. “Pump me full… full of you. ”
He chuffed affectionately. “As always, my heart…” If he did not want to keep her full, one could presume that he had finally been taken by doppelgangers. The cadence of his hips quickened, the wet noise of their bodies colliding a salacious symphony to their pointing ears. Halsin could drown in the sound of her moans, how she howled and cried for him.
It was a blessing that they did not have neighbors aside from wildlife. Her screams were muffled in his study, but even a silence-charmed door and window could only do so much when she was falling apart in his hands like this. Euphemia was trembling, her leaves shaking in the wind of his pleasure. She made such a beautiful, elegant mess.
His breath fanned over her face, warm and heavy as their gaze remained locked. Each pant came with another pound of pressure, pulling her hips closer to him. “With me,” The druid whispered. Her nods were frantic and sent her sparkling pleasure tears flying off of her cheeks. As badly as she wanted to answer him, she couldn’t push a single syllable past her gasps.
If Halsin could truly control himself, then he might have been able to maintain concentration through their shared ecstasy. The slippingly wet sound of her bliss, gushing and redolent with salty sweetness, however… it could break any trance, shatter focus, fracture concentration. His face had twisted up into mind-melting pleasure when he suddenly felt her gravity.
Oh, dear.
Once verdant and tangling vines vanished faster than a blink. “ Halsin! ”
Her amber eyes had gone wide and her full lips tight as she clawed his shoulders with a shriek. Though he did not appear so dextrous, the druid was faster than he looked. The throes and afterglow of pleasure were interrupted with his arms gripping her tightly to him, the rapture replaced with an innate need to keep her safe and secure. He was often rather prideful over just how strongly her thighs closed around his waist, but today, he was grateful for it . It had kept her from clattering to the floor and hurting them both in the process.
Before her expression shifted away from shock horror, he sucked in a deep breath. “Euphemia, I am so sor–” Halsin began solemnly, his voice slightly higher in contrition. Before he could finish, the song of her laugh paraded through his now tremendously flattened ears.
“So much for that fabled archdruid concentration,” Euphemia teased before pressing a series of kisses to his cheeks, his nose, his lips… Her forehead met his own with a tender bump! as she hummed so happily. “Breaking focus like that,” The blonde sucked her teeth, feigning disappointment through ghosts of more giggles.. “ I reckon you fancy me…”
Halsin grinned. The muscle of his heart clenched whenever she looked at him like that, with doe eyes, silky lashes, lips that seemed to magically retain their gloss no matter how vigorous the activity. “I might do.”
The quip made her mouth drop open wide. “You might do?!” The blonde gasped, swatting playfully at his upper arm. Laughing with her like this was one of his biggest gifts. She soothed away any fears, doubts or discomfort. Gentle palms grappled to let her down from her throne around his waist and against his hips, but it would be to no avail as her ankles locked behind his back. “Come here, you big bear bastard- I’m not done with you, yet.”
Halsin chuckled as she somehow managed to maneuver him down onto the floor of his study, his senses overwhelmed by the confetti of her kisses and giggles. The short pile of the floral rug tickled at his back.
She was more than right… he did rather fancy her.