My heart pounded in my chest as he lowered his fangs toward my neck. His arms, like steel bands around my body, held me trapped. I felt the long, slow glide of his tongue along my skin, then the slight pinch of pain when he pierced my flesh.

I jerked as he started drawing my blood into his mouth with sensuous pulls. My vagina fluttered, the beginnings of an orgasm starting to ripple across my groin.

“Ptthtp!” The vampire flinched away from me, and spat onto the ground. “That’s just nasty!” He wiped his mouth on his shirt sleeve. Anger flashed red in the depths of his black eyes. “What kind of elf are you anyway?” He shoved me into the brick wall at the side of the alley where he’d trapped me.

I blinked stupidly at him, unable to form any words. I was as surprised as he was that I tasted bad. Okay, so part of me was pleased that he found me distasteful. I hadn’t asked him to suck on me anyway. But another part of me, the part that I was becoming all too familiar with these days, was only downright disgusted that I was proving to be a failure in just one more way.

“What you got here, Darius?” Two more vamps approached.

“Hey, is she an elf?” The taller of the new arrivals eyed me appraisingly.

“Taste her.” The first vamp pointed at me. “I think she’s spoiled or something.”

The tall one raised an eyebrow at this statement. Shrugging, he advanced, looked me in the eyes, then lowered his head to my neck. The now familiar swipe-sting of the bite did little to reassure me that I would make it home tonight, after all. Hell, if they got enough curious vamps to “taste” me, I’d still be bled out, one mouthful at a time.

“Blick!” The tall vamp spat my blood on the pavement. “Arno, you’ve got to try her.”

The third vampire was short and stocky, with a surprisingly beautiful baby face. He moved in close to me, tipped my head the other direction, and sank his fangs into my neck.

“Shit!” He muttered as he spat and spluttered. “What the fuck is that? I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

“What’s your name?” Darius asked me in a commanding tone.

I looked at him for several heartbeats, trying to determine if it would be better for me to tell him or not. Finally deciding that it didn’t matter, I relented. “Allie.”

“Well, Miss Allie, from now on, you will warn a man before he bites you that you taste like shit.” His tone was imperious, his features drawn into a grimace.

My face creased in a frown. “Get out of here. I’m not going to do any such thing. In fact, many men have found me quite tasty, thank you.” So it was a big fat lie. Who cared? This guy had been planning to drink my blood, and who knew what else, without my permission.

The three of them laughed. Great belly laughs. They took several minutes to wind down from their mirth. “You’ll forgive us if we have a hard time believing that,” the tall vamp said to me, a grin still on his face.

“Like I care,” I muttered to myself, as I pushed off the wall, and started walking away from them.

I had more important problems to think about than the way I tasted to a bunch of vampires. In fact, I had nothing but problems.

I was, after all, above and beyond the worst elf that had ever been born.

Chapter One

Sunlight sparkled on the dew in the clearing. The effect, looking like millions of diamonds, took my breath away. I moved to the very center of the area and twirled with my arms in the air, saying thanks for this glorious morning.

Taking deep breaths of the clean, crisp air, I failed to notice when my cousin Meridith joined me.

“What could you possibly have to dance about?” Her acerbic tone always grated on my nerves, even though it affected me far less this morning than usual.

“I’m alive.” I didn’t really feel she deserved an answer, but praise Mith, it was true.

“Heard you ran into some trouble last night,” Meridith said with a sneer.

Not knowing exactly what she’d heard, I kept the smart remark that flew to my lips to myself. “Thank you for your concern.”

Meridith laughed, a bright, tinkly laugh, reminiscent of tiny bells ringing. I wanted to puke.

“I don’t know what you are, Allie, but when you find out you must tell me.” Still chuckling to herself, Meridith glided out of the clearing.

“When you find out what you are...” I grumbled to myself, my good mood disintegrating. “I’m an elf.” I stamped my foot on the ground without much conviction. “I am an elf.” I said with more force. “I’m a really sucky elf, is what I am. I’m way too short, I have too many curves, my boobs and my ass are too big, my ears don’t come to a nice little point, and my magic is rudimentary, when I can get it to work. Oh, and let’s not forget that I taste--like--shit!”

I stomped around the clearing, my voice getting louder and louder as I ranted.

When I finally ran out of steam, I plopped down on the grass, and sprawled flat on my back. I decided to just lie there. It wasn’t like I could do anything productive, and this way I was at least staying out of everyone else’s path.

“Allie?” The beautiful voice of my lifelong friend Terethial intruded on my self-absorption.

“T.” I didn’t bother looking at him, I knew what I would see. He was tall, lean, and breathtakingly handsome. Absolutely the most sought-after male in the entire kingdom. I’d heard endless stories about his abilities to please a woman. Stories were all I’d ever have, though. He’d never shown an interest in me.

I heard the rustle of his clothing as he sat on the ground beside me. “I heard about last night and I figured I’d find you here.” He reached out and linked his fingers through mine.

“How long have we known each other, T? Most of our lives, right?”

“All of our lives, yes.” He smiled, and even that brilliant smile of his couldn’t brighten me up again.

“You know you can be honest with me, T. Tell it to me straight.” I swallowed the bile that was threatening to surge into my mouth. “I’m a human, aren’t I?” I’d often wondered if I was really a human that the elves had taken in for some reason. It made more sense than my being an elf.

Terethial laughed, a deep, melodious sound that actually managed to lift my spirits. “You’re no more human than I am.”

“Then what am I?” I tipped my head up and searched his eyes, trying to assure myself he was telling me the truth.

His features sobered as he scanned my face. “I don’t know, though I have always been told you are an elf. I do know that whatever you are, you’re something very special and I’m deeply honored to be your friend.”

With a huge sigh, I struggled to a sitting position, using Terethial’s hand for assistance.

“I need something to do, T. I need something to occupy my time with. I feel so useless this way.”

His face turned thoughtful as he looked at our clasped hands. When he started speaking again, his voice was so low I could barely hear him. “Perhaps you should go on a quest.” He raised troubled eyes to my face. “I’d miss you terribly, but my place is here. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t go with you even if I wanted to.”

“What are you thinking? What kind of quest?”

“When the Rangers pass through here next, I think you should see if they’ll take you with them. Perhaps if you go out into the world you will find the answers to your questions.”

I thought about this for a minute. Leave Ethinran? Leave the only home I had ever known? Leave the only people--well, person--I had ever loved? Could I?

“I don’t know, T. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to leave here.”

Terethial drew me into his arms and pressed his chin against the top of my head. “It’s a scary thought, I know, but you’ve got to ask yourself if you can continue to live the way you’ve been living. If the answer is truly no, then I think you should go.”

“When are the Rangers coming through next?” Maybe they wouldn’t be coming for months and I’d have time to make my decision.

“They’ll be here next week.” Terethial’s arms tightened around me before he let me go.

Perhaps it was for the best that I wouldn’t have a lot of time to stew over the decision. There were a lot of things I’d need to take care of before I left and I’d barely have time to myself if the Rangers were going to be here within a week.

“I’ll help you get ready.” Terethial offered, his voice cracking as he spoke.

“Thank you.” I hugged him tightly, then let him help me to my feet.

* * * *

The time flew by. Terethial did most of the actual work getting me set up with traveling clothes and a spelled bag that could hold a houseful of gear, yet be slung over my shoulder and weigh next to nothing.

Before I knew it, it was the evening before the Rangers would arrive. Terethial had made me a special going away dinner, which I could barely eat at the thought of leaving home.

He opened a bottle of Chivarous, an expensive and thoroughly heartrending parting gift. I drank more than I should have, and finally found myself in the warm glow of intoxication.

As only the drunk or the insane would do, I leaned across the table to Terethial and planted a nasty, wet kiss on his lips. “I’m goin’ to mith you,” I slurred.

The tall blond elf yanked me across the table and into his lap, laughing lightly as he brought my mouth back to his for a deeper taste. “I’m going to do something I should have done a long time ago.” He gathered me in his arms and carried me to his bedroom.

“Waz that?” I suddenly noticed the gap at the top of his tunic where his chest was exposed. He had a great chest. It looked so tempting that I had to lean forward and lick it.

“I’m going to make love to you,” he declared, as he set me on my feet and proceeded to undress me.

I tried to help him with his clothes, but my hands weren’t working quite right, so once he was done with me, I flopped down onto his bed and watched as he removed his own clothing.

When he slipped his trousers off, and his cock sprang into view, I nearly fainted.

“Fuck me,” I breathed. He was long, and thick, and very hard. The fine network of veins showed blue against his ivory shaft. The head of his cock flared larger and ruddier than the stem.

“I intend to.” He lowered himself to the bed beside me.

I looked at him in awe. I had never thought to be in this position with Terethial; we just weren’t that type of friends. Not that I hadn't seen his appeal--I’d had more than my fair share of erotic thoughts about him. Hell, I was usually aroused on some level whenever I was with him.

“I don’t...” Having been my closest friend all these years, he knew that I didn’t have much experience.

He brushed his lips across mine, shutting me up. “Just let yourself go,” he whispered to me as his hands began to roam over my body.

Nerves came to life and tingled under his touch. He brushed a hand to the base of my breast, then cupped the weight of it, thrust his tongue into my mouth, stealing my breath. As his tongue danced with mine, his fingers zeroed in on my nipple. When he snared the hardened peak and pinched it lightly, pleasure shot through my body to my womb.

I gasped, and he deepened his kiss, levering himself partly over me so that he could fondle my other breast. He broke the kiss, his eyes stormy with desire. Shifting again, I felt the hot, hard length of his cock press into my thigh. Then he was nipping the side of my neck, his heated breath raising gooseflesh in its path.

One hand left my breasts and stroked down my belly, but his lips found the abandoned nipple and captured it. I cried out as fire blazed a trail to my crotch. He dropped his hand over my mound and squeezed, fueling that fire. When he dipped a finger between my labia, he encountered the evidence of my arousal, and moaned as he traced my cream around my nether lips, then around my clit.

I rocked my hips against his hand, silently begging him to fill me. He teased my clitoris until I whimpered, writhing under his hand. Then he swept his way back to my vagina, and inserted a finger inside.

“Ahhhh.” I pressed into his hand, trying to get his finger to move deeper.

He abruptly withdrew it. “By Mith, you are burning my hand.”

I blinked at him, misunderstanding.

One side of his mouth curled up in a wicked smile. “You’ve got the hottest pussy I’ve ever felt.”

“Oh.”

He worked his hips between my legs, bracing his upper body on his elbows. “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he said as he teased my lips with his.

I drew my legs up, grasping his muscular torso between my thighs. I felt the head of his cock prod my opening, then he flexed his hips and drove himself in.

“Ohhhh.” He was huge, and it was wonderful. His cock stretched my sheath as he worked his way deeper inside.

“So tight,” he murmured, his breath rasping in his lungs.

I nearly screamed when he backed himself out of me, then slammed all the way in.

His eyes were wide, and slightly glazed, as he started to pump. “If I’d known you felt this good, I would have taken you years ago.” He buried his face in my neck.

My entire sheath burned with pleasure as his cock ground along it. He increased the pace, dragging the root of his cock against my clit on every inward stroke. “T!” I screamed as a violent orgasm ripped through me, jerking my body against his. My vagina vised down around his shaft, squeezing and releasing him as my climax continued to thrum through me.

Terethial started cursing, his thrusts coming faster and faster, harder, deeper. Then our eyes locked, his body tensed, and I felt the liquid heat of his climax flood into my core. He pumped rapidly, groaning my name, until his balls ran dry.

Dropping on top of me, he was a hot solid mass that anchored me to the mattress. His dick, still hard inside of me, twitched occasionally, eliciting a responding twinge from my vagina.

His eyes were wild when he pulled out of me. “On your knees,” he growled, grabbing my hips and flipping me over. Then he yanked my rear end in the air, and I braced it there, shivering when I felt his thighs brush the backs of mine.

In one strong, fast movement, he speared his penis to the hilt within me, butting up against the mouth of my womb.

A jolt of intense pleasure shot through me at the contact, ripping a moan out of my throat. “More,” I cried out, and he accommodated me by setting a brutal pace.

I rocked back to meet his every thrust, his fingers digging into my hips, helping me. A coil of tension began to grow in my core, tightening with each thrust of our hips.

Terethial was chanting words in ancient Elvish, which of course, I had never been able to learn. His fingers tightened even further, and I knew that he was close. Angling his hips, he increased his pace, his strokes growing erratic. I flew over the edge, screaming as I came.

He kept powering his cock in and out of me, his thrusts driving him relentlessly against my cervix, rolling my orgasm over into another, more intense one that lit a host of fireworks inside my head.

“Fuck yes!” he roared, and poured his semen into my body. I could feel the jerks of his dick as it spewed the heat of his seed. That alone threw me into yet another orgasm, blanking my mind, and causing my arms to give out under me.

He was holding me up by my hips, his body trembling, as my consciousness dimmed.

The last thing I heard before I passed out was a mumbled sentiment from Terethial, saying something about my staying.

* * * *

I awoke, and tried to make sense of what was happening. My brain felt full of fog, while my body seemed full of live wires all sparking at the same time.

“Good, you’re awake.” I heard Terethial say, then felt the hard length of his cock slip between my thighs from the back. He lifted my leg, and drew it over his hip as he thrust his way inside.

“Ohhh.” He felt even better than he had the night before.

He pressed his lips against the back of my head while he snaked an arm around my side and grasped a breast. “Mithra, you feel better every time.”

I could only groan in response.

Trailing his hand down my stomach, he lightly teased the skin until he reached the juncture of my thighs. He moaned as he stroked his fingers down my labia, pressing my flesh against his cock as he pumped.

“Stay with me, Al. I would never tire of making love to you.”

A shudder swept through my body, and I was tempted to say yes. Had my climax not exploded at that second, I might have.

“T!” He splayed his hand over my abdomen, his fingers toying with my clit, dragging my orgasm out, while he pounded into me.

“Allie!” he cried as his cum shot in bursts against my womb.

He pulled me tight against his body while he waited for his breathing to return to normal. “Will you?” He nibbled on the edge of my ear.

“What will I do when we’re not fucking?” That summed things up for me as far as I was concerned.

He was quiet for several minutes, then he sighed, his breath warming my back. “I guess that doesn’t really solve your problem.”

“It would make it easier for me to stay,” I told him. “For a while, anyway.”

“It would make it harder for me to let you go, when your frustration got the best of you.” He pulled out, and I rolled over so I could see his face while we talked.

“Believe me, you’re the best thing I have in my life. I doubt I’ll ever find a better lover. I know I’ll never find a better friend. But I contribute nothing here. I feel like a failure every day, and the others make sure to remind me I am. I love you, T, more now than before we shared the night, but I’m still the same person I was before we went to bed.”

He brought his mouth to mine. Tenderly, at first, then he slanted his head and deepened the kiss, strongly moving his tongue around inside my mouth, stroking my tongue aggressively. My pussy flushed with heat and dampness. My fingers tangled in his long blond hair, anchoring his face to mine.

Working me onto my back, he moved over my body, pinning me to the bed with his chest, as he grasped the cheeks of my ass and positioned me for his penetration.

The he slammed his way in.

We kept it up for the next three hours until the sun had risen.

Exhausted, but wonderfully sated for the first time in my life, I let him help me out of bed and into the shower. He took me again, while we bathed, and once more when we returned to the room to dress.

I wasn’t sure I could walk away later that day when the Rangers left, just as I doubted that I could go again without the sensations Terethial had awakened in my body. But I knew, even with everything that had changed, nothing really had, so I was going to have to try.

* * * *

Terethial stood with his arms around me, reluctant to let me go.

“I will miss you, more then you can imagine,” he whispered into my hair.

“I think I can imagine.” I already missed him.

“You have the charm?” His arms tightened around my waist as he canted his head to make eye contact.

I pulled on the slender silver necklace and brought the blue opal charm into the light.

“Call me on that whenever you want to talk.” He stared into my eyes until I nodded.

As he’d explained it to me, it was a communication device. I’d even get to see his face in real time in the small stone.

“Call me too, if you want to talk.” I tucked the jewel back into the neckline of my shirt.

There was nothing left to say between the two of us. He kissed me like it was the last time he’d ever get to, and I responded in kind.

“I love you,” he whispered as he let me go.

“I love you, too.” I blinked back tears as I turned away from him.

Standing a few feet away was Rainth, the leader of this pack of Rangers. I knew little about him, other than the fact that he was supposedly a cat shifter. He was over six feet tall, with raven black hair and deep golden eyes. His rugged jaw already showed a dark stubble. He was bulkier, more muscular then Terethial, and I found that a little intimidating. And arousing.

I couldn’t stop myself from scanning him from head to toe. The loose, easy way he stood caused my breath to hitch in my chest.

“Ready, little one?” He cocked a dark brow in question.

I nodded at him, finding myself unable to speak.

He waited until I had reached his side before he motioned for the others to head out. Instead of walking together as a group, as I had imagined, they fanned out, all but three of them disappearing into the forest around us.

“If you have any questions, ask them now while we are still in a protected area.” He had a deep voice, with an alluring burr to it.

“Did Terethial tell you what I was looking for?” What I really wanted to know was if T had told the man I was a dud as an elf and I needed to find out if there was anything out there that I didn’t suck at.

Rainth flicked his eyes to my face, and I was sure he wasn’t going to answer me. “Yeah, he told me.”

I cringed when I saw his lips curve in a grin. “Oh.” I dropped my eyes and studied the ground in front of my feet.

“So you really tasted awful to the vamps?” There was the lilt of amusement in his voice.

“If you laugh, I swear I’ll...”

He laughed.

I kicked him in the shin. Pain lanced through my foot and I fell backwards onto my ass.

Still laughing, he reached for me, and lifted me off the ground. I stumbled, and his big hand wrapped around my elbow, holding me upright.

We passed through the town of Brookmoor, where the vampires had attacked me, then headed out into, what for me, was the great unknown. Well, I knew about it, I’d just never been farther than Brookmoor before. A new worry added itself to my list of other worries. What if I didn’t know how to act? What if the outsiders wouldn’t accept me because I couldn’t fit in?

I sidled closer to Rainth.

“Can we talk?” I whispered, unsure if we were still in the “protected” area or not.

“Yes.”

“I’ve never been past Brookmoor before. How ... well, how do people act? I want to fit in, you know?”

Crap. He was grinning again. Well, so what if I entertained him? It was a serious question.

“That’s a very large question,” Rainth began. “I’ve known your House for a long time; they’re good people, but a bit antiquated in their ideas. The most important thing to remember about the human world is that they don’t believe in magic, weres, vampires, or elves. There’s a hard, fast edge to their lives. Maybe because they have such short ones. They don’t trust each other.”

“What about the others?” I’d learned of several different races, even met some as they passed through Ethinran.

“There are plenty of others to meet, as well. We’ll only take you to the places where their beliefs are similar to yours.”

I wondered about that comment for a moment, but set it aside, having no idea what he really meant. I was concerned more with my own troubles at the moment.

“Rainth? You’ve met a lot of different people?” I waited until he’d nodded. “What am I?”

I didn’t think I could surprise him, but it was evident I had.

“An elf,” he stated brusquely.

“I don’t think so,” I said with conviction.

Rainth stopped walking and moved close to me. He placed his hands on my upper arms and bent his head beside my neck. I felt a thrill of arousal, until I realized that he was only sniffing me. The gleam in his eye when he pulled away, though, let me know he’d caught the scent of my desire.

I rolled my eyes, disgusted with myself.

“As far as I can tell, you really are an elf.” The edge of laughter in his voice did not soothe me.

“Shit.” I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it didn’t really matter. If I really was an elf, then I was doomed.

“I’ll just have to learn how to do something useful,” I mused aloud to myself. “I don’t know what, but I’ll look for something along the way.” I felt a little better after reinforcing my decision to go on a quest with these men.

“What are you partial to?” Rainth asked.

“What?” He had startled me out of my thoughts with the question.

“What kinds of things do you like to do now?” His tone was casual, relaxing me into the conversation.

I thought about it, and the only thing I could come up with was having sex with T. I didn’t think that was what he was asking, though.

“I can’t do much of anything. I don’t have much in the way of magic, and I’m not incredibly smart. I look funny, and I smell funny, and I’m told I taste like shit. Doesn’t give me a whole lot to work with, does it?”

Rainth had stopped walking, and turned to stare at me. “You’re the most adorable, sexy bundle of curves I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

I squinted at him. “Are you insane?”

He gawked at me. “No, but I think you might be.”

Disgusted, I started stomping ahead of him. “Great,” I muttered to myself.

“I don’t get you. From what I’ve seen, you have the most desirable elf as your lover. Are you just too much of a princess to appreciate that or do you seriously think he’d choose an unattractive woman?”

“Pnnn fnnn” I mumbled.

“What’d you say?” He pierced me with a glance.

“It was a pity fuck.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes as shame clenched my heart. “He’s my best friend, and last night was the first time he’s ever touched me.”

“The men in your House are fools.” His voice was gruff and I had to look at him to see if he was just pulling my leg.

His expression was fierce and his anger palpable.

“Huh.” I had to think about that.

We walked in companionable silence for the rest of the afternoon. He’d chosen a trail that led us around the surrounding villages. When nightfall neared, he began angling off the path. Every now and then, one of his men would appear beside us, exchange hand signals with Rainth, then melt back into the undergrowth.

Not used to walking for such distances, I was stumbling with exhaustion when he finally called a halt for the night. There was a small cave alongside a swiftly running brook, high enough that its interior remained dry.

Setting his pack down, he removed a bedroll and spread it out on the floor of the cave. He invited me to sit beside him while he dug out dried strips of meat for our evening meal. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to gnaw the tough, unappealing substance. It took the remainder of my energy to swallow the muck.

I fell fast asleep as soon as I had.

* * * *

I heard the rustle of movement, and cracked an eye open. It was still dark out, but the area outside the cave was brighter than inside. I saw the outline of an immense feline pass before the entrance, then move off.

I snuggled against the body that held me wrapped in its arms, feeling safe and warm, as I drifted back to sleep.

*

Rainth drew the woman closer to his chest. He nuzzled his face into her hair, inhaling her fresh, warm scent.

He was still trying to figure out if she was serious or not. How could she not know what a desirable creature she was?

He’d known House Ta’Daanior for years, and while he thought they lived too much in the past, he’d never faulted them for their tastes before. Now, he wondered.

He vaguely remembered something. Some kind of trouble with one of the greater families of the House that had ended in two people’s deaths and an orphaned child. That wouldn’t have any connection to Allie’s current difficulties, though, he was certain.

So he eased himself further around her soft form, and settled in for the night.

*

The next time I woke, dawn was brightening the horizon. My body protested as I rolled onto my back. Without thinking, I felt around the ground beside me for the body that had kept me warm and safe throughout the night.

My eyes flew open when I realized that it had been Rainth who had held me. I shut them again when I saw that he had undressed me as well.

“You’re finally awake.” His deep voice reverberated in the small space around us.

I looked over at him, wondering if he still thought I looked sexy. Being an elf, I’d been raised to find joy in both nudity and sexual pleasures. Being a bad elf, I’d rarely had the opportunity for either. That is, without insults hurled my way.

“I can’t seem to move anything.”

Chuckling, he bent over and scooped me off the ground. “It’ll get better as you go.” He kept his arms around me after he’d planted me on my feet. Undoubtedly to keep me from collapsing.

I managed to raise my hands as far as his biceps. “Oh.” I lost track of everything else as I felt his arms. I squeezed, and found them to be rock hard. Impressive. “Oh.”

Still chuckling, he set to work on getting my clothes back on me, and by the time I was dressed, I could sort of move again.

“Thanks.” I shuffled towards the mouth of the cave. If I wouldn’t have felt like an even bigger failure I would have been saying “ouch, ouch, ouch” with every step.

I thought it instead. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I made my way down the short incline that led to the cave’s entrance. Ouch, ouch. I shuffled towards the edge of the brook with the idea that I’d like to stuff my head in it.

He halted me with his hand on my shoulder. “You’ll just tumble in, and I’ll have to retrieve you.”

I turned pleading eyes to him.

“Don’t think you can get me to change my mind with that look.” He narrowed his eyes, then tugged me around and pointed me in the direction that he wanted me to go.

“Ass,” I cursed, though without heat since he had dressed me that morning and he could have left that up to me. Then again, if he’d left it up to me, we’d still be waiting for me to drag my sore backside off the ground.

Though he kept the pace up throughout the day, it was a more leisurely hike then yesterday’s. We stopped midday and he fed me more of that God-awful meat, which I found easier to chew and swallow with a lot of water.

I was barely able to drag my feet along after him by the time evening fell. I could probably have continued along at a snail’s pace though, on a kind of autopilot that I’d fallen into some hours back.

Once again, he’d found a small, dry cavern for us to spend the night in. I was asleep as soon as I sat on the bedroll, never missing the dried meat that would have been my dinner.

*

Once again the ranger had the pleasure of undressing the elf. He brushed the pads of his fingers over the soft, soft skin of her breasts, his groin tightening, when, even in sleep, her nipple responded to his touch. That puckered bud was begging him to take it into his mouth. To suckle on it until he elicited moans of pleasure from the beauty it was attached to.

Restraining himself, he continued to explore her body as he drew her breeches down. Holding one leg bent at the knee, he stared at the apex of her thighs. He’d yet to see body hair on an elf, and this one was no exception. He didn’t know if it was common practice among their kind, or simply that their race didn’t grow any.

Reaching forward, he placed his fingers on either side of her slit, spreading them slightly. He would have enjoyed taking his mouth to her, tasting her essence. The scent of her alone had been driving him near insane since he’d met her.

Sighing, he withdrew his hand, then lowered her leg to the ground.

Once he was rid of his own clothing, he curled tight to her side, one leg thrown over her thighs, his arm across her stomach, his hand resting on her breast. With his face tucked close to the top of her head, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

*

My eyes snapped open as I was pushed roughly to my back. Rainth wedged his hips between my legs, and without preamble speared his way into my core.

I gasped as his cock stretched my sheath.

He began pounding into me, hard. Pinned as I was beneath his body, I could barely breathe, let alone move. He bit my neck, then purred deeply, rumbling against my chest. I felt a wash of arousal drench my passage, easing the burn of his driving shaft. The pleasure grew intense, the muscles of my groin tightening.

His thrusts became erratic, causing the root of his shaft to bump against my clit, sending me straight over the edge into ecstasy. As I writhed against him, my muscles spasmed around his cock.

He stiffened. “Merida,” he cried, then pumped his hips with abandon while he spewed his seed deep inside.

When the last of his tremors passed, he slumped over me. He breathed deep, then deeper, until I realized that he had fallen asleep.

Unable to move his body off of mine, I relaxed as much as I could and was surprised to find myself falling asleep as well.

* * * *

The next time I awoke the sun was shining outside the cave. I stretched, then groaned, sorry I had tried to move.

There was no sign of Rainth, so I struggled painfully to my knees, mindful of the stickiness between my thighs. I didn’t remember any stream outside this cavern, so I crawled around the dim interior of the cave searching for my bag. I removed my bota and a washcloth, dampened it and did the best I could to clean up.

With that accomplished, I eyed the bedroll and wondered if I could just go back to sleep. Sighing, I spent the next half hour working my way into a clean set of clothes. I’d just finished packing up my things, and was trying to stand, when Rainth returned.

He grabbed the bedroll, and secured it to his pack without saying a word.

I finally managed to lever myself to my feet, and headed unsteadily in his direction. When I got there, I grasped his arm for support.

He flinched.

“What?” My tone came out more acerbic then I intended.

His eyes were stormy as he looked down at me. “I didn’t mean to fuck you.”

My heart clenched at his words. Closing my eyes, I let reality wash over me. “I should be used to this by now.” I let my hand fall from his arm, my fingers going numb with the numbness I was willing over my soul.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he growled at me.

“Just that. I have yet to be fucked by a man who wanted to fuck me. A few have been drunk and thought I was someone else. One entered the wrong bedroom and in the dark couldn’t tell he’d crawled into bed with the wrong woman. One did it on a dare, another lost a bet. You already know about T.”

I pushed my way past him and exited the cave, suddenly feeling closed in. He was right about one thing--my legs, though sore, were working better already than they had yesterday morning.

He grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. “I was dreaming. I didn’t realize until--the end--that I was actually fucking you.”

Anger flared inside me, and I spun around to face him. “Look. I don’t care. I certainly don’t want any explanations, and I’ll be damned if you tell me who you were dreaming about.” I twisted back around and stomped away from him.

“I was dreaming about you.” His whispered words barely reached me.

Really good answer. I stumbled, but kept walking. He moved beside me, and nudged me in the direction that we were supposed to be going.

We’d been walking for an hour or so, still not talking to each other, when he pulled me to a halt. “Here.” He grabbed my hand and pressed it against his erection. “Ever since I laid eyes on you I’ve been walking around with a hard-on. And believe me, it’s not comfortable doing that.”

Mmmm. I let my fingers roam over the rigid flesh, unaware of the sweat that had begun to bead on his forehead. “Amazing.” I breathed. In all my years in the House of Ta’Daanior, no man had ever gotten an erection by looking at me.

“Can I see it?”

Rainth studied me, a look of incredulity on his face.

I licked my lips in anticipation, and that was all it took.

He unfastened his breeches and let them drop from his hips, revealing a cock that any man would be proud to have.

It was long, and straight, and thick. Ruddier then Terethial’s, with a broader, plum-shaped head. A bead of cum glistened at the very peak of it, and I felt a flush of moisture gathering between my legs at the sight.

“Like what you see?” His voice rasped out of him, his breathing noticeably heavier.

“Very much.”

I was suddenly on my back, on the soft blanket of leaves that covered the path we were on. He loomed over me, eyes dark and glinting with desire.

With strong fingers, he worked my trousers off and pitched them to the side of the trail. Hooking my knees over his elbows, his lips curved in a grin as he drove his cock into my depths.

“Oh.” He was definitely hard. His cock cleaved its way through my core, my muscles rippling aside at the invasion.

“Gods, you’re wet.” He pumped his hips a few times, my back arching at the sensations radiating outwards from my sheath at his passage. “You’ve got the hottest pussy.” He picked up his pace, his eyes glazing over as he thrust ever deeper into me.

My pussy exploded, surprising me, my body slapping against his as I convulsed in the grip of intense pleasure.

His strokes became harder, deeper, faster as he sought to join me in release. Grasping my buttocks, he tilted my hips slightly and I went over again.

“Rainth!” I screamed as he pounded relentlessly into me.

“Damn,” he growled. “You feel so fucking good.”

The muscles in his body snapped tight, his eyes ensnaring mine as I continued to shudder beneath him. He cried out, then stabbed me over and over, as hot cum pulsed from his cock into my core.

Dropping my legs, he collapsed on top of me, his chest heaving, his sweat mingling with my own. When his heartbeat slowed, he rolled to my side, his hand splayed across my stomach.

“Have any doubts left that it was you I wanted to fuck?” The intensity of his expression sent a shiver down my spine.

“Nope,” I said.

His hand slid to my breast, and my nipple pebbled beneath his palm.

“Good.” He gave it a quick squeeze, then rose swiftly to his feet, in one fluid motion. He pulled his breeches up and fastened them before giving me a hand off the forest floor.

It took me a moment to find my trousers, and when I did, I came eye to eye with one of his men, my pants dangling from his fingers. I didn’t know his name, not that it mattered. He cast me a wicked grin, then lifted my breeches towards me, and placed them in my hand.

I no sooner got them on then Rainth shoved me in front of him and drove me down the trail at a faster pace. We walked well into the afternoon, my thighs chafing where our cum leaked down them. He finally called a halt, just before I begged him for one.

“I’ve sent a couple men ahead to secure lodgings, and pick us up some appropriate clothing for moving among humans.” He leaned back against a tree, his lean muscular body thrumming with an energy that called to mine.

“They dress differently then we do?” I moved closer to him, willing my hands to stay at my sides.

“Have you ever been among humans?” His eyes drifted lazily down my body.

“Sure, in Brookmoor.” I scanned the length of his frame, caught by the bulge that was becoming more pronounced behind the placket of his pants.

“That’s it? That’s the only place you’ve been around humans?”

“Yes.” I must have been staring, because he placed a hand under my chin and lifted my face.

“The town we will be visiting is called New Hayden. It’s a much larger town than Brookmoor. Several thousand people live there. It is much more--sophisticated--than Brookmoor. Yet they do not believe in us. We will blend in. Do you understand?”

“I don’t know how to act any differently than I do.”

He brushed his thumb over my lower lip. “I doubt you’ll have a problem. Just remember not to talk about anything supernatural. Okay?”

I nodded, just knowing that I’d fuck this up somehow.

“Good. We’ll wait here for Derek and Martain.”

I allowed my body to slump onto the ground. Then I wiggled around until I was comfortable. I could feel Rainth watching me.

My mind, however, was telling me I needed a nap.