Rogue and Rake Ch. 01

Aranda and Therin collapsed together, thoroughly spent, onto the soft mound of flour sacks. He fell asleep still inside her. It was the first time he had slept in months.

******

Aranda was first to wake. For a moment, she had no idea where she was. Her first impression was that she was back in the Fivers' warehouse, behind another water barrel. But this was softer. And warmer. She opened her eyes and glanced around, taking in her surroundings with sleep-blurred eyes. A pantry? Stock room? And there was someone beside her...

Oooooh, she mused, the realization dawning.

Their encounter came flooding back in a rapid-fire sequence of images that could have made a courtesan blush. Slowly, so as not to disturb her sleeping companion, she shifted her weight, turning to nestle up against his chest. Her head rose and fell with his deep, rhythmic breathing as she reveled in the warmth of his bare skin against hers.

So it would seem my perfect record remains intact, she thought contentedly as she snuggled closer.

A few moments passed and Therin began to stir. He came out of sleep slowly, a stranger to the process of waking. Aranda raised herself up on one elbow and watched him. He gazed at her blearily and blinked sleep from his eyes. Then he gave her the goofiest grin she had ever seen. She laughed seeing his expression and bent to kiss him. Wordlessly, he pulled her atop him again.

Aranda straddled his waist as she felt his hardness return. After a few moments of kissing and exploring one another's bodies with their hands, Therin's cock was fully erect once more and she shifted to allow him to enter her. Though she was thoroughly impaled, they made love slowly, the desperate urgency of their previous coupling having evaporated. She rocked forward and back atop him in smooth, gliding motions as her hands continued to play across his skin. Her fingers ran lightly along his collarbone and shoulders, then down his chest where they traced along the faded patterns of his scars. Therin gasped whenever Aranda's fingers brushed against one of his nipples, and every time he did she would give his earlobe a slight nip, eliciting an even louder gasp. She relished the sound. As they continued their lovemaking, Aranda felt Therin's cock grow ever harder and begin to throb, indicating he was close to climax. Abruptly, Therin caught her hips in his hands, staying her motion. Lifting her from him, he laid her down in the spot he had been as he rose to his knees. He slowly trailed his hands down either side of her body until they rested on her knees, which he gently parted as he moved between her legs. He kissed her right knee, then the inside of her leg and slowly up her thigh, as if laying a trail with buried treasure waiting at the end. In a sense, he supposed there was.

With one hand he began to lightly massage her swollen clit, and she moaned her approval. Smiling at her reaction, Therin used two fingers to part her labia, now slick with a combination of both of their juices, and flicked his tongue once over her clit. All pretense of stealth was lost as Aranda cried out in pleasure. Therin moaned in response as his tongue returned to play over her slit, relishing their combined taste on her. His ministrations sped up, becoming almost frantic as he licked, sucked, and prodded her eager sex, and Aranda's body responded by bucking her hips against Therin's face. He moaned again, a feral sound deep in his throat, as he sucked hard on her clit, the added vibrations driving her wild. Aranda reached down and gripped the back of his head, pulling him close to her and urging him to bring her to climax. But Therin wanted to be inside her when she came.

He sat up and moved his body atop hers, kissing her hard so that he was sure she tasted her juices on him. That thought alone caused his already engorged member to throb, a drop of precum to forming and smearing across her stomach where his cock was pressed tightly between them. Resting back on his haunches, Therin took her ankles and placed one of her feet on either of his shoulders, forcing Aranda to curl her body as he leaned into her, exposing her eager slit to him. He drove deep into her in a single swift motion and they both gasped at the sensation of his penetration. Reaching far deeper than before, Therin drove into her in earnest, knowing his cock stimulated her g-spot with every stroke. Neither of them could last for long in such an overwhelming state, and Aranda felt the climax crash into her as Therin's own orgasm began. He thrust hard and deep into her as he felt his control waiver and she began to spasm around him. Therin's vision was again invaded by those black roiling tendrils, but they were not all-consuming as it had been the first time; more foggy than blinding. They both cried out in oaths of ecstasy as the orgasms washed over them, until finally their movements slowed and Therin lowered himself to lay beside her once more, utterly spent. They both drifted off into a light sleep again, waking several minutes later in much the same position as before, with Therin on his back and Aranda curled up against him, using one of his shoulders as a pillow.

"I've no idea how long we've been here," Aranda mused from her beside him. "It could be years for all I care."

"I sense a 'but' coming..." Therin said, opening one eye to appraise her own expression.

"But," she continued reluctantly, "we still don't have what we came for."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Therin chuckled, lightly kissing her forehead.

She punched his side playfully and laughed.

"We will have to leave this room eventually, you know. Immediate thieving aside, I'm actually famished!"

"Sessions of fervent lovemaking does tend to do that to a person. And we've had two now. Unless you'd care to make it three...?"

He arched a questioning eyebrow as he slid a hand around her waist, beginning to pull her to him again. Before he could complete the action she rose, first to her knees and then to stand. The air away from their little burlap nest was chill and she began to shiver, her skin breaking out in gooseflesh. Crossing her arms over her breasts to ward against the cold, she made her way to the other side of the room, near the door, where their garments lay in a heap. She bent and stepped into the legs of her bodysuit, tossing Therin his smallclothes and trews as she rose.

"Put those on before I change my mind," she said with a wink.

They proceeded to dress without too much distraction and attempted to make themselves look as descent as possible, considering their circumstances. Aranda ran her hands through her wildly tangled hair. There would be no getting it back into a braid at present, so she settled for a low-set horsetail as Therin was doing with his own tousled locks.

Once they were both situated, Aranda moved to the door and silently slid the bolt back to unlock it. Before she could open the door, Therin stepped forward and pulled her into a final kiss. If it had been up to her, Aranda would have been content staying in that very room another night, another week, another year, continuing to do precisely what they had been doing all evening. But she could no longer ignore the real world intruding, and the ledger still waited.

Status boost with the Fivers. A personal favor owed by the Hand. Big payday.

She had to repeat the phrase several times, chanting it like a mantra to convince herself to open the door. Aranda cracked the door just wide enough to stick her head out. She peered left, then right; finally, with a deep breath, they plunged into the darkness of the hallway.

As the fates would have it, they found the ledger in the very last room of the treasury labyrinth. There, amidst massive shelves overflowing with moldering tomes and parchments, they found the volume they had come for. It was far smaller than Aranda had expected, given the large payout the guild was offering. All told, it was about the size of her hand and no more than 20 sheets thick, bound in a soft leather cover. It slipped easily into one of the large pouches on her belt. She smiled as she turned back to the door, and to Therin.

"Well, it took a little longer than I had expected, but we've got our target." She said with a grin. "Now how about we get out of here before we get caught and stop tempting fate?"

They made their way easily back along the main corridor. It was a far quicker journey now that they were no longer going room to room. A moment more spent traversing the dark, winding staircase, and they arrived back at the door that led onto the estate's ground floor, the same door that they had entered from just outside the sparring room. Aranda gave a quick listen to ensure no one was present in the hallway, and, hearing nothing, she opened the door and they exited the cellar. She was surprised to see the windows in the sparring room still shone with silvery moonlight. Surely they had been gone longer than a few short hours? It had seemed a blissful eternity down in that room.

They made their way quickly away from the door into the main hall and on to the living quarters. It was not until she reached the door to her chambers that Aranda realized Therin was not with her. She glanced up and down the hall but saw no sign of him. After a moment's pause, she slipped into the room, feeling far too conspicuous in her burgling attire to go traipsing through the manor in search of him. Quickly shrugging out of the suit, she donned a pair of nondescript tan trousers and a loose white fencing shirt, cinching a plain belt around her waist. The ledger she tucked into a hidden pocket sewn into the lining of her rucksack. She quickly ran a comb through her disheveled hair and emerged into the hall once more, the irritation at being suddenly abandoned mounting rapidly within her. If anything, she reasoned, he'd likely be back in the sparring room. She strode quickly down the hall, only to find the room deserted. Everywhere she could think to look turned up nothing.

So this is how it's going to be? she wondered bitterly. One night's fling to get it out of his system, and we're supposed to simply go back to status quo? Gods knew she had loved and left her fair share of companions, but they had all been anonymous strangers. This was different. She and Therin were partners and would have to see each other again, likely working together for some time yet. Resigned, Aranda finally decided to return to her quarters; at least there she could brood in peace. Making her way down the residences corridor once again, she paused as she heard muffled sounds coming from one of the of chamber suites. Curious, she crept into the common room and the sounds became more discernable.

Water sloshing and splashing.

A sharp intake of breath.

Muttered oaths... in Elvish?

She followed the direction of the sounds, quietly pushing open a door to reveal a room of shared baths. In the far corner she saw Therin, naked but for a plush white towel draped over one shoulder, attempting to lower himself into a bathing basin large enough for perhaps a dozen people sunk into the floor. Apparently, he had made the water too hot. He withdrew his foot rapidly with another hiss as steam curled up from the bath.

"The lever on the opposite side of the basin is for unheated water," she called as she entered the room, amusement playing across her face. "What are you doing?"

Therin glanced up in surprise and was annoyed to feel a slight blush rise to his cheeks.

"Unheated. Yes, that would probably be appropriate. I know your penchant for bathing and thought..." he shook his head, embarrassed. "I thought you might appreciate the same of me."

Aranda couldn't help smiling at the odd sweetness of the sentiment as she moved toward the lever that would pump in unheated water from the manor's cistern. After a few moments she closed the pump and secured the lever, mixing the water in the basin with one bare foot to distribute the temperature. She was surprised to find the water smelled of lavender.

"I don't have a 'penchant' for baths," she told him, looking up and cocking an eyebrow.

"It's half of every sentiment you express when we're on the road. And I thought the elves in the Fhiáine were obsessed with fastidiousness."

"Well perhaps it's a reflection of my human blood then," she quipped. "At any rate, I enjoy baths. They feel good. And make me smell good. Is that such a bad thing?"

"Not at all," he smiled. "I've come to find it rather endearing." He dropped the towel at the edge of the basin and lowered himself into the finally comfortable water. "I can certainly see the appeal," he sighed as he settled against the side. "What it lacks in practicality it certainly makes up in comfort."

"You'll smell like you belong the baron's garden by the time you're done in there," she teased, squatting down on her haunches and flicking water at him.

"You know, you don't smell much like a rose yourself," he said, gazing up at her. Then, with a wicked glint in his eye he asked, "Why don't you join me?"

"These are shared baths," she pointed out.

"Then draw the curtain." He nodded to a bundle of scarlet brocade gathered against the wall.

The fabric hung from the ceiling, and Aranda saw there was indeed a subtle inlaid track that could be used to partition the separate bathing basins. With her eyes fixed on Therin, she first drew the curtain, then quickly shed her clothes. Lowering herself into the basin, she luxuriated in the feeling of being caressed by the silky warm water, inhaling the rich fragrance of the lavender oil. It wasn't long before she felt Therin's hand on her waist, preceded by soft ripples of water lapping against her skin. He drew her onto his lap, straddling his rapidly growing erection. For the third time that evening they made love.

It was the first time Aranda had fucked underwater. She had heard from several acquaintances—particularly those aboard ships in her seafaring days—that it was an experience unlike any other. The way they moved frictionless against each other, how they seemed to glide, weightless, in the warm water while still clutched to one another, was unparalleled in her experience. The sex was not hard or fast, but it was the most sensual she had ever had. Finally, as the water grew cool around them, they agreed to move to Therin's quarters. Therin left first—noticing the multitude of water puddles they had caused around the basin with some amusement— and Aranda followed a few minutes after so as to make their appearance slightly less conspicuous.

They lay side by side in Therin's bed, both gazing up toward the ceiling but neither actually seeing it. Eventually Aranda found her way back from being lost in her own thoughts.

"So where does all of this leave us?" she asked reluctantly, propping herself up to look at Therin. "I don't want to just go back to the way things were before."

"I don't think I could, even if I wanted to," he replied. He raised himself up to look at her, allowing his eyes to roam over the form of her naked body set before him, before finally returning his gaze to her face. He studied her features and read the trepidation in his lover's eyes.

That's precisely what she is, he realized. A lover. Not a courtesan or a fling or an amusement. Something more; a lover. Though he was no stranger to physical pleasures, he had had very few relations with people he could qualify as "lovers" over the course of his life.

"You stir something within me," he told her, raising a hand to caress the side of her face.

"I've noticed," she grinned, arching her eyebrows in a comically suggestive expression.

"Yes, that," he chuckled, "but something more. I'm not even precisely sure what it is yet; all I know is that I need this—us—right now." His tone grew serious, eyes pinching in concern at the corners. "I make no promises for life in the long run, but for the present, I can say with unwavering certainty that I need you."

I need you to be my new drug, he thought, but left unsaid. That was a conversation for another day. Right now, he allowed himself to be content with this newfound companionship.

Aranda broke into a sly smile. "I'm not exactly what you would call a 'long run' type of girl. But in the here and now, if every time is going to be like tonight, rest assured that I most certainly need you, too." He kissed her deeply then, and it was several minutes before they could resume their conversation.

"About the others..." he started.

"I see no reason to make a public announcement."

"It may complicate things unnecessarily," Therin agreed.

"And Galen will probably get grumpy. Well, grumpier than normal." They both laughed.

"Are you still famished? I could go to the kitchen and probably convince the cook to give me at least some bread and cheese to bring back."

"I think I'm more exhausted than hungry," Aranda said around a yawn. She arched her back in a languid stretch, causing her chest to thrust out, accentuating her breasts. "Would it be alright with you if I stayed? We'll not likely get another chance for a while."

"How could I possibly deny that?" he asked, eyes lingering on her breasts even after the stretch was completed.

Aranda stayed that night. And the next.