Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Four

W scornver snide comwork forcets Dorian and Maiwenn capability make, Tucson is the beat forth dimension in the world to live.Standing at the desert crossroads the by- business evening, I paused a moment to rest claim in my surroundings sooner crossing oer. Dorians kingdom was certainly beautiful, simply it equitable wasnt the same. It wasnt home. A velvety wind cut done the dry air, ruffling my hair and whispering that bouncing would yield to summer soon. The breeze carried two in exclusively the delicious smells of the desert, and I caught the measuringific scent of mesquite not the barbecue gentle but the beautiful perfume emitted by its fuzzy yel low gear blooms. Above me, the sun beat d go for with bulge remorse, warning the weak to get the hell let surface. The tourist sequence tended to drop off with the sharp increase in temperatures, but I loved this term of year.And whole rough me, in this dry and unrelenting heat, I could feel the unseen water. It was in the saguaros and the cactus wrens and the mesquite trees tap roots. in that location were even tiny bits in the air, despite the ostensible aridness. Everywhere on that point was life, there was water. Sensing it was second nature to me at present. Calling it windlessness remained a challenge.Closing my eyes, I let my mind r distributively through the boundaries and s exact me into the Otherworld. Practice really did make perfect with these transitions they were effortless now, just similar sensing water. My bole slipped through, pulled toward the corresponding thin spot arise Dorians home. in the first off seat I could arrive there, however, I reached out toward the Slinky, using my sto chromatic essence as a magnet to pull me there instead of the road. Moments newr, I appeargond on Dorians bed.Presumptuous, I muttered, swinging off of it and standing up. I picked up the Slinky and tossed it nearly, watch its rings arch and fall.Is that you, my lady? I hear d a dubitable voice call. Seconds later, Nias young side of meat peeked in from the opposite board. His majesty is in the conservatory. If youll follow me?Wow. Id neer heard of any(prenominal)(prenominal)one actually having a conservatory, outside of the spicy Clue. When Nia led me indoors, I found Dorian standing in sc ber of a pottyvas with a painters palette and brush in his communicates. Dorian, in the conservatory, with the candlestick, I persuasion. Er, paintbrush.He smiled when he saw me. Lady Markham, youre just in sentence. Perhaps you can amuse Rurik. Hes become terribly unreasonable.I glanced every nursing home to the side of the room where Rurik, the massive warrior with platinum blond hair, sat on a delicate chaise lounge upholstered in lilac-colored velvet. He wore full leather and copper armor, and the entire juxtaposition do me wince.I dont mean to be unreasonable, your majesty. He spoke through gritted teeth. but seance here and not moving whil e in armor isnt all that easy.Bah, youre whining. most(prenominal) unseemly for a man of your station. wherefore, Lady Markham can adhere still for hours and in far more than uncomfortable circumstances likewise, I might add.Rurik glanced at me, both produceled and pleasantly intrigued.Dont move fancy spur here.Ruriks leer faded as he turned dressing toward his king. Dorians canvas memorial tabletd aside from me, so I had no report what his masterpiece looked charitablered. I started to walk around and check it out, but he waved me off with the brush.No, no. non until Im finished.Shrugging, I pulled up an separate lavender chair the entire room was that color, actually and slouched into it. Dorian spoke without feel up from his work.So what have you done today, my dear? Any liaison entertaining?Not really. Slept in. Banished a shade. I actually conduct for most of the day. Kind of lame.What are you requireing? I really enjoy that one humans worksoh, I forget hi s name. He was very popular for a while. Shakemore?Shakespeare?Yes, thats the one. Has he written anything new?Um, not in, like, four or five centuries.Ah, pity. So what did you read intimately instead?The weather.He paused midstroke. And what did you learn?Storm-formation stuff. How water molecules build up and condense, how charged particles discharge to form lightning. Oh, and there was approximatelything else about high and low pressure, but Ive got to go back and reread that. Kind of confusing. both(prenominal) men treated me to brief, blank looks, and therefore Dorian returned to his work. I see. And do you conjecture back this will facilitate your learning?Not sure. precisely I kind of like fill outing what the end result is supposed to be.Silence wild as Dorian continued painting. Rurik persisted in flavour miserable, occasionally sighing aloud to express his discontent. Id never entirely forgiven him for the ice elemental thing, so beholding him suffer had its p erks. Unfortunately, it grew boring later a while. I crossed my coat of ordnance and slumped farther into the chair, catching his notice.Sire, your ladys sojournless. Im sure you have more interesting things to do with her. We can work on this an early(a) time. I dont mind.Nonsense. Im roughly done.The first happy expression Id seen since arriving showed on Ruriks face. It vanished when Dorian turned the canvas around to dis knead his work.We stared.Sire, am Iwearing a bow?I cocked my draw. It does kind of look that mode. But the restman, thats actually some total. I didnt know you could do faces so well.Dorian glowed. why, thank you. I can paint you too somewhatday if youd like.Its a bow, protested Rurik.Dorian glanced at the canvas, noncurrent back to the warrior. It matches the chaise. I had to add it otherwise you would have clashed.Back in his bedroom, Dorian went through his usual motions, flinging off his silver-gray cloak and pouring a glass of fuddle. He drank some type of blush to bleakness.Ready to start?I nodded, sitting d induce in the chair in the essence of the room. As Id said, I didnt really compute the meteorology books would give me that oermuch of an edge and, but I tangle more em situationed after reading them. Like I was starting to take my training into my own turn over.He took another drink of his wine, procured more cords, and approached me. Putting one buy the farm on his hip, he surveyed me carefully, not unlike how hed scrutinized his canvas.Thats a very pretty garment. I glanced down. It was a black tank top with a range of mountains of red daisies embroidered near the top. Hmm. Lets try this.He abandoned the pastel-colored ties he held and replaced them with red and black ones. Placing my arms flat against the chairs arms, he wrapped each of mine down with black first, making X patterns. The style reminded me of the way a ballerinas slippers laced up. When that was finished, he went back over each arm with r ed.These are more like ribbons than your usual ones, I observed. Or maybe sashes. Do you own, like, every possible form of constraint cognise to man?Nearly, he said. either discipline. Lets get started. The waters over there.He indicated a table near the window where my old friend the pitcher sat, but Id already cognise it was there. Settling as comfortably as I could in the chair, I stared at the pitcher and immediately let my mind reach out to the water. It flared like a beacon to me. Beyond it, I could sense all the other water in the room too. Me and Dorian, the wine, water vapor. I tell my attention to the pitchers water.I can feel you, now come to me.But, as many practices had already demonstrated, pauperisming didnt make things happen. God, that pissed me off. I honestly didnt know how Dorian could stand waiting around through all of these sessions. It had to be boring as hell. I was bored, and I actually got to do something. Sort of.No, no. That was a bad attitude. For get the boredom. Focus on the task at hand.Hours passed again. If Dorian was still awake which I doubted I knew hed close off the session soon. The knowledge irritated me, but I understood. I was already feeling tired, my eyes bleary. I kept blink of an eye a lot to regain focus and keep them from drying. I think that do me notice what happened next.Dorian, look at the pitcher.He sat up counterbalance away(p) and followed my gaze. A moment later, he walked over and go(p) the pitcher, brushing his fingers along its side. Water quietly ran down the ceramic surface, pooling on the tables glass surface. A slow, delighted smile spread over his face.Youve seized it. Its audition to you. Now make it come farther all the way out of the jug.With tangible get along with before me, my excitement grew. I thought unenviable about what Id been doing, trying to repeat it. About a minute later, I could see water spilling down the sides of the jug, much faster and in greater amounts. The puddle on the table grew too full, dripping onto the floor.Im ruining your carpet. neer mind the carpet. Bring it farther. I could hear the anticipation in his voice. rough logical part of me saw carpet as tough terrain to navigate, and the waters progress slowed. Soon, I decided, that was only in my head. The carpet had nothing to do with anything. alone my get over of the water mattered.As soon as I do that leap, the water shot over the carpet in a curving rivulet, almost like a snake. It reached my feet, and I could feel it waiting for some further instruction. Only, I didnt know what to tell it. I simply valued it to come to me.Id simply given form to that thought when the water sprang up before me and hovered in the air. My utter dropping, I watched it splinter into hundreds of drops. They hung there, suspended like strings of crystal beads. I gaped, fascinated, but had no idea what to do next. My grasp on them slipped away, and the drops disintegrated further into a fi ne fog. Seconds later, the cloud outspread al unneurotic, evaporating into the rest of the air. As they faded, so did the tingly, euphoric feeling racing through my blood.N both Dorian nor I did anything right away. thus, I started laughing. And I couldnt stop. It was too wonderful. I wanted to do it again and again but had no more water. The wine would be too messy.An idea occurred to me. Sensing the moisture in the air, I sent my power out to the air right in front of me. Suddenly, tiny flecks of water condensed on my skin, like Id been sprayed by a light mist. I laughed again.Dorian, grinning as broadly as me, walked over and ran his fingers over each of my cheeks. Touching his fingers together, he rubbed the water into his skin, almost as if testing it was real.I did it.You did do it.His eyes shone with unadulterated diversion. You might have thought hed been the one to do this. Funny that he should take such joy in this, I thought, when it was a paltry thing compared to h is magic. He unbraced me and clasped my hands to help me rise.I think a celebration is in order. He poured another glass of wine and turn over it over. We clinked our glasses together. To clever pupils.With good teachers.He took a sip. Hardly. I actually slept most of to nighttime.I laughed as I drank. Do youwhen you use your magic, do you feel somethingI dont know, something good burning in you? Like pleasure or exhilarationand not just from, like, mental satisfaction eitherI couldnt put it into words, but his face told me I didnt have to. Yes. I know exactly what you mean. Wonderful, isnt it?I drank more of the wine. Yes. Yes, it is. Just wait. Youve just had a sip of it. Once you come into your full power, you wont know how you did without.I grinned at him. I felt so thoroughly pl eased with myself and life, I could scantily stand it. When had I been this happy? Aside from being with Kiyo? And if I had this kind of reaction now, what would happen when I really moved into the b ig leagues? Dorian spoke of it like an addiction, but it sure sounded like a good one.Looking up, I saw his eyes all over me. He set his glass down and spoke in a slow voice, almost wonderingly. You shinedid you know that? Power suits you.He made me as happy as everything else in the world just then. Warmth construct in my chest and radiated out through the rest of my ashes. I dont know how that feeling expressed itself on my face, but it must have conveyed something because he leaned over and kissed me.I could savouring wine in that loopy kiss, wine and heat. maven of his hands pulled me against him while the other carefully distant my glass. whitewash pressing us together, he eased me onto the bed. I answered his sweet, taunting kisses with hard, demanding ones. It didnt take him long to adjust to this shift in style. He rolled me to my back and lay down on top of me, twining one hand in my hair to hold my head in place as an overeager need suddenly filled his kisses. He consumed my backtalk with them while his other hand slid unabashedly between my thighs, rubbing me through my jeans.My body bowing up against his, and I felt an ache cry rise up in my throat, only to be lost in the pressure of his mouth on mine. I knew then it would finally happen. The perilous allure of thisthe exotism of sleeping with someone who was still such an unknown quantityit all enflamed me that much more. We would do this. We would come together, and I would give myself to him.Give myself to him.A tightness seized my chest, conflicting sharply with the burning pleasure in the rest of my body. His touch made me crave more, almost made me beg for it, and yet that angry part in the back of my mind was screaming again. It told me if I made this choice, if I deliberately chose to do this with him, then I was cock-a-hoop in to the enemy. I didnt really know who that enemy was exactly, but it didnt matter. The inherent aptitude pulsed through me, defensive and afraid. It war red against the rest of me, against my bodys needs and even against my own conscious wishes. I knew and liked Dorian. Why couldnt I overcome that base concern? In some ways, the fear was titillating. I had a feeling if I could just get over that first crest of difficulty, the problems would go away.But damn it, that was a high peak to get over.And like survive time, Dorian could feel my reluctance. He broke our embrace, almost jerking away from me. Before he turned his face from mine, I saw emotions Id never seen before. Frustration. Unhappiness.Dorian I said. DorianIm so sorryHe rubbed his face with both hands and exhaled. His voice was flat when he spoke. Its late, Eugenie. Too late for you to leave. He stood up and stretched, and when he finally turned around, hed once more cleared his face of its bluish expression. His cheerful countenance was also wanting he simply looked tired. Ill take the sofa in the parlor you bear on on the bed.No, I He gestured me off as he walked into the other room without a backward glance, saying only, Take it. Itll be the best night of sleep youve ever had.Elaborate French doors connected the twain rooms. He closed them, leaving me to my own misery.I sat on his massive bed, attempting to sort out a tangle of warring emotions. What was victimize with me? Why couldnt I make this work? Id slept with guys I liked a lot less than Dorian. Why couldnt I cross this last line? Why keep fighting it?I blew out all the candles and torches in the room before taking off my jeans and sliding under the covers. Dorian was right. This had to be the most comfortable bed Id ever been in. Unfortunately, there was no way I could sleep. I kept thinking about my wizardly elation, alleged desire, and subsequent breakdown. My body wanted him. My mind did too. Only my instincts still fought it.The worlds most comfortable bed must have felt insulted over all the tossing and spell that followed. At least its size gave me all the fidgeting room I could want. My eyes grew accustomed to the darkness very quickly, and I could signalise the shapes of furniture and corners in the partial do work. Outside the giant window, stars glittered thousands more than Id seen the night with the astronomers. Wed lost the stars in the human world, despite our success in stretch them. Humans and gentry were almost like two sides of a coin, each supplying what the other lacked.The answer to my problems with Dorian was a long time in coming, but come it did. It was still pitch black when I finally got up and padded into the adjoining room. The doors opened silently, and I paused upon comer him. He couldnt quite fit on the sofa, so his legs dangled off the end. He still wore the same clothes and had pulled a flimsy throw top over his body. He faced the direction I stood, eyes closed. One hand draped above him, and his hair spilled onto his cheek, its fiery color insensible(p) in the poor lighting.He was a king, with thousands of people w ho answered to him, yet he lay crammed onto this couch because of me. I had hurt someone I didnt think could be hurt. I stood there thinking about this in the still, dark room before finally kneeling down beside him.I tentatively reached out a hand, but his eyes opened before I made contact. Whats the matter? he asked. He sounded alert, concerned.I couldnt talk right away. Silence pooled as thick as the blackness around us. He neither spoke nor moved as I deliberated he simply watched and waited.I want you to tie me up.That was the great thing about Dorian. Most people would have hesitated or asked questions. Not him. He followed me out to the other room and promptly retrieved the same sashes hed used earlier in the chair.I settled on the bed, unsure where to position my body, but he mildly adjusted me. He started to extend my arms up over my head but then stopped. Moving his hands down to my stomach, he caught the edges of my shirt and gave me a questioning look. I nodded, and he c arefully pulled it off and over my head. Returning to my arms, he raised them above me toward the headboard and tied my wrists together, still unable(predicate) of rushing his careful bindings. With the next sash, he bound my wrists to the intricate scalloping of the headboard and then used another to reinforce the binding. When he finished, my arms lay moderately relaxed on the pillows above me, but my hands and wrists were tightly secured. Weirdly, something inside of me eased upon realizing I was trapped.The length of the tying process surprised me. I would have thought he would want to expedite things, but his patience seemed undaunted. He settled back on his knees and studied me, just as he always did after completing one of his tie-ups. Near darkness or no, I felt exposed in just my underwear and wondered if it was my naked skin or the silk sashes that so captivated him. Probably the combination of both.He slid off the bed and stood up so he could take his own clothes off. As they fell to the ground, more and more of his body was revealed. The moonlight caught his white skin, and it practically gleamed. He reminded me of some ancient Grecian or Roman statue, all marble and static lines.He crawled back onto the bed, sounding down on me, and my heart started racing again. Shadows bathed him now that he was away from the windows full light, and he seemed larger and more powerful compared to me. I had no means of getting out of this unless I wanted to attempt some crazy kicking maneuvers.The time and tension stretched out between us. It made me anxious yet stimulated as well. Why the delay? Why wouldnt he touch me? Why did he just keep looking at me like that?Finally, he knelt by my feet and kissed my toes. Such a down in the mouth touch, but it made my body shudder after all that waiting. He alternated between both feet, his lips caressing toes and ankles before steadily moving up my legs. Kiyo had done a similar physical examination during our first night together. I wondered if there was some sort of psychological or character analysis you could make based on whether a guy started at the top or the bottom.Up, up. Dorians mouth moved on. My pelvic muscles tightened in anticipation, and I felt wetness growing between my thighs. But then, he simply skipped past my underwear, continuing with my stomach. He ran his hands along the smooth skin, still taking his time, cautious around the healing fachan cut. When he finished there, he moved to my neck, bypassing my breasts. My neck was pretty sensitive too, and his mouths intensity had increased. The sensation forced my breathe into anxious, ragged gasps, but a frustrated complaint slipped out nonetheless.Why are you skipping all the good parts?He paused, just barely lifting his lips from my skin. Do you want me to go back?I bit my lip. He was trying to make me dictate the terms here, but that wasnt what I wanted. For once, I didnt want the power here. That was why Id asked to be tie d up. I wanted the choice taken away from me. I stayed quiet.He returned to my neck, moving his mouth along my collarbone and shoulder, then up to my cheek and ears. Our lips soon came together again, and I tried to channel my eagerness and passion into that kiss, as I had done earlier. But now he kept himself just out of reach, just enough to tease but not fulfill. I shifted my body upward, touching as much of his as I could. That, too, he held slightly away. It was frustrating, and in my need, I forgot about who was supposed to be in control. hunky-dory go back.He complied as efficiently and quickly as he had to my initial bondage request. His hands and their delicate fingers cradled my breasts, holding them in place for his mouth. I closed my eyes and tilted my neck back, lost in those burning twirls of his tongue as he woke the nerves in my framing and delicately sucked the nipples. When he finally broke away, I made a soft sound of protest until I realized where he went next. loop his fingers through the sides of my panties, he pulled them down, stopping abruptly when they reached midthigh. For a moment, I thought it was more of his teasing until I suddenly grasped the situation.Its, um, called a Brazilian wax, I explained, voice still breathy.Oh. His own voice held wonder. Oh my.His fingers ran over that delicate area, both for sensuality and his own curious exploration. With a happy sigh, he removed the underwear altogether and carefully spread my thighs apart. Then, his mouth was upon me, his tongue racecourse along that most sensitive of spots in one smooth motion.It was like a spark to a powder keg. My whole body bucked up as heat exploded throughout me, and I made some sound vaguely like a whimper. Both of his hands slid up and held me firmly in place, reminding me again that Id given up the power here. That same conflicting mix of fear and need flared up inside of me, scared that he could do anything he wanted to me and half-hoping he would.When he grew convinced I wouldnt thrash anymore, he let one hand slide back to my thighs. His mouth had never stopped in its intense feeding, and now his fingers moved in, pushing into me with smooth motions timed to work with his mouth. I moaned against his touch, my head thrown back and upper body arched. He had an unearthly knack for pulling back each time orgasm was about to occur. So, when he finally allowed me that release, it almost caught me by surprise.My flesh ignited, electric and glorious. I shivered as my muscles contracted, as that scorching ecstasy poured through my body. Even when that scend broke, he kept his mouth down there licking and probe until I begged him to stop, too overcome by the flood of sensation. He took his time in obeying the request, finally moving away and laying his body on top of mine.Every part of him pressed against me, hard and wonderful, and I squirm under him, yearning for more. He moved his hands back up to my arms, again firmly pinning me in place. His mouth crushed mine, forcing me to taste myself on his lips. Struggling did no good.When he released me from the kiss at last, his face moved only a fraction of an inch away from mine.I know why youre doing this, he said. Why you wanted to be bound. Its because you want the decision taken out of your hands. You knew once you were here, thered be no turning back. You wouldnt have to be burdened with the decision of willfully coming together with me. You would have no choice in the matter and hence calm yourself of any guilt or anticipation.He kissed my cheek and then lingered on my ear a little. In a moment, I swear I can ravage and take you as much as you want, if thats what makes it easier. But your choices arent gone yet. We can stop if you want. Or I can untie you. You can tell me you want this and join with me not in submission, but as an equal.The words were on my lips. Yes, untie me. Make love to me. cope me. I want to be with you. I could have said any number of things to change the balance of power. I could have gained both control and freedom again. Yet, I said or did nothing. Maybe it was because it was the only way I could go through with this. Or maybe I just wanted it this way. Maybe I even enjoyed it. Regardless, I stayed quiet, and he read the answer in that.He rose up, looming over me. He was a conqueror, coming to collect, and I was a prize, open flesh waiting to be seized. That fear lurched up in me, and I thrived on it. It was delicious. Thrilling. I gave up my power. I gave myself to him.Almost on his knees, he spread my legs apart and pushed in. I screamed, almost more from mental than physical sensation, my arms straining uselessly against the ties. He filled me, punctuating each powerful movement into me with a soft grunt in his throat I thought even he wasnt aware of.I wanted to reach up and wrap my arms around him, pull him against me. But all I could do was lay there, lay there and let him push into me over and over, t he enemy Id someway come to crave.He shifted his body so that he was completely on top of me, still moving urgently and possessively, save that now I had even less mobility than before. He held me down, grip tight. And me? I was all aching and burning flesh, letting him take whatever he wanted from me. I floated in a warm, liquid place. It was like being wrapped in golden silk, molten bliss spreading over my body.I told you, he said through his labored breathing. I told you youd come to me. And nownow I realize I could have simply taken you the blatant Id tied you up. You didnt need any of the rest. Youve had this desire and never even known itthis desire to simply be had in any way your buff wanted. He paused a moment, swallowing and catching his breath. Im right, arent I? I could move you into any position I wanted, make love to you in any place I wanted, and youd love every moment of it.I couldnt really bed any coherent answers, and most of my noises had lapsed into primal, un intelligible cries. All I wanted to focus on was us being together, the way it felt to have him pushing and rubbing, the way it must feel for him to be inside of me. Id slid up on the bed my head was practically in danger of hitting the headboard soon.Suddenly, he pulled out abruptly and hovered back over me. His eyes, dark in this light, watched me, and I sensed that laconic, playful expression on his face. Both of us panted. I waited for him to return, feeling irate at this interruption. Id been on the baton of coming again. Somehow I suspected hed known that.What are you doing?waiting. Waiting for you to tell me to keep going.He wasnt being cruel or mean. He was teasing me, toying with me the way he so enjoyed among the people around here.You fucking bastard, I said. Somehow the profanity carried mild affection.He laughed. Should I take that to mean you want me to continue?You know I do.Then say it outright. Unless youre going to get up and take me yourself.Did I allude youre a bastard?Tell me you dont want me to stop. Beg me. Beg me, and well do this for the rest of the night.It was merely a game, another dimension of this power play and his dominance over me. And, much to my chagrin, it was a turn-on. recreate, I whispered.Please what?Pleasedont stop. I wantI want you to keepKeep what?I sighed. I want you to keep fucking me.He was back in me almost before the words had left my lips. I yelled out again as moments later, the delayed orgasm exploded in me. I shook and burned as that glittering sensation crackled through me. All the while, our bodies kept moving together. His face was near mine, watching with pleasure as I panted and struggled against a joy that was almost too intense.I hate you, I gasped out.He laughed and rained kisses down on my face. No, you dont.He was right.