Sacrifice Ch. 06

She groaned and let her head flop back in defeat as she felt his tongue run up the length of her slit and burrow its way into her already slick flesh. "Alright," she breathed, "you win. I surrender."

He chuckled again, but didn't stop lashing her. Thelios was relentless, as always, and easily held her pliant body up to his mouth as if she were some sort of...of girl-shaped cup. She giggled at the image, then moaned again at the sensation. It crossed her mind that he was apparently determined to get to the very center of her using nothing but his mouth and tongue.

He lifted his face to look down at her. "Something funny?"

"Girl-shaped cup." She murmured languidly, arcing her hips in response to his pulling away.

He grinned and lowered her hips to the couch before leaning over her. "Perhaps I should fill you with wine."

She laughed— though with less certainly when he cast a suggestive glance at a pitcher of wine sitting on the table next to them.

She did grin, however, as she spotted a telling sheen on his chin. He looked very much like he was up to no good.

"You've got a little something..." she quipped pointing to his chin.

He reached up and wiped it off with another chuckle and moved to kiss her. Feeling playful she turned her face and whispered in his ear instead.

"Missed a spot." She took his face in her hands and before he could stop her, or pull away, ran her tongue up from the bottom of his chin and languidly across his bottom lip. She bit it playfully, with another giggle of her own, and pulled away, expecting him to be returning her suggestive leer with one of his own.

He wasn't.

Her own smile faltered...or rather it melted. Anything would have melted in the heat of the look he was giving her just then. As proof positive she felt her entire body from navel to knee turn into a pool of liquid heat. The same liquid heat swirling in those fiery, golden eyes.

A loud knock on the door jolted her, and tore her out of his eyes.

"Sir!"

Calliope blinked and struggled to sit up just as the door to the sitting room swung open. She was grateful she had managed to pull her skirt back down to her thighs, but her half prone position with one of Thelios's knees between her legs was rather telling. Her face burned as Demitri's head appeared in the doorway.

He nodded to her with a wince. "Sorry." He turned to the master and looked appropriately contrite. "I know...I wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't important." As embarrassed as she was, she felt worse for Demitri. She would hate to be on the receiving end of the glare Thelios was giving him just then.

"Phineas again?" She asked unthinkingly.

Thelios gave her a sharp look, similar to the one Demitri had given her earlier. "That conversation I mentioned earlier." She offered as explanation. "I overheard someone talking about it, and told Demitri. I was going to tell you but..." She gestured helplessly to his form still looming over her.

His gaze lingered a moment, then, with a sigh, he disentangled himself from her, and assisted in drawing her shirt lower down her legs as he withdrew.

"Hold that thought" he murmured as he rose and turned to walk away...then paused and leaned over her to impart kiss on her forehead before leaving. It was gentle...and oddly chaste, considering what they'd just been doing.

She heard other voices besides Demitri's and was unspeakably grateful it had been he who'd opened the door. It was a little embarrassing to be caught in such a compromising position by him, but it would have been untenable to be seen like that by anyone else.

She adjusted herself in case someone did decide to enter and waited. It didn't take long.

When he returned, however, there was a very different fire in his eyes. The playfulness which had at first mitigated his intensity had vanished. Now his face was nothing but hard lines and shadow, and his expression was punctuated by a dark scowl that would probably set even an experienced soldier's knees to quaking. If memory served, it was very much like the one he'd worn just before he'd nearly ripped that man's arm off the first day they'd arrived.

So much for telling him tonight, she thought with a sigh. And it had seemed like such a good time for it. His mood had been so perfect. Ah well.

She wasn't surprised when instead of rejoining her, he poured himself wine, drank it, repeated the process, then turned and paced with his back to her. She watched him silently, sensing he needed a moment to consider whatever was troubling him.

When he finally made up his mind to quit his pacing and sit, she decided to speak. She watched as he poured another cup and settled into what she was coming to think of as 'his' chair.

"Trying to get drunk?" She quipped lightly, hoping humor might alleviate some of the dourness of his mood.

He gave her nothing but an ambiguous grunt at first, but she was heartened when he eventually added a derisively snort and spoke. "It would take a hell of a lot more than what's in that jug to do it."

"Then I shall call for more."

He cast a side long glance in her direction as she rose from the couch and retied the cord holding her dress in place beneath her breasts, allowing the sides to hang partially open. Since he hadn't reacted to her announcement other than to finally look in her direction, she made good on the offer. The girl wasn't around but she caught the eye of the man from the other side of the garden. He hastened over when she waved.

"Would you be so kind as to bring more wine for my master?" He made a half bow in response and made to do so. Half way to the door she called after him as an after thought. "Make it a large carafe if you don't mind..." He simply glanced back to acknowledge her voice and tipped his head. She eyed the door to Thelios's rooms, simultaneously anxious to rejoin him and see if she might be of help, and hesitant to return until she felt more certain about how on earth she could do so.

Well, there was nothing for it, she decided. If history proved true he'd be tight lipped about what ever was bothering him, and just glower. So all she could do was wait and see. She found it difficult to repress her smile when she saw him emptying the carafe into his cup with a jerk, as if trying to shake every blessed drop from it.

"You shouldn't drink that," she chided gently, "you'll just get dregs...wait a moment for a fresh pitcher." He gave her a rueful look and tossed it back anyway. She winced, but said nothing. His expression was still grim. Calliope watched and waited, not knowing what else to do. He stared back, then after a silent eternity straightened. "Demitri told me what you were going to tell me."

She felt the color drain from her face. "Oh?" she asked softly. Was...was this anger for her then? Had he told him about the child. She felt her eyes prickle. "I...had intended to tell you tonight..."

"I know." He interrupted, and sighed, shaking his head. "The bastard. I still don't understand what he was thinking, or how he could have done this. It's so unlike him."

Him? Phineas...oh thank gods. She felt the color return to her cheeks in a rush and it made her light headed.

"I'm sorry. Demitri said you were friends."

"Past being the operative tense."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No." He looked down at his empty cup and placed it on the table, then beckoned her over. She was pleased to obey, even more so when he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. Confirming once more that his mood has nothing to do with her.

She touched his face lightly. He said nothing more but simply held her there while he stared contemplatively at the far wall. Eventually she gave up waiting for him to speak and leaned in against him. There was a tension in him which made it less comfortable than usual. It didn't seem to get any better as the time passed...if anything, it became more palpable the longer she let him stew. She was grateful for the interruption when the wine came but since he seemed determined not to let her off his lap and instead called the man in, it did little to alleviate her own awkward position. It simply made it worse.

The young man was deferential...more so than usual. No doubt because of the irritable giant in the room. He seemed almost fearful in fact, and kept his eyes down until he was able to beat a hasty retreat. Once he'd gone Thelios deigned to move, though still without letting up his death grip on her.

"Here, let me." she offered when he tried to lean forward for the wine. He finally allowed her to slip off his knee to fetch the jug. She opted to stand as she poured, and when she was finished continued to do so, though this time she maneuvered herself between his legs.

Because of the way she'd tied her dress, the sides were open and allowed easy access to the skin beneath, access he wasted no time in taking. He slid a hand beneath the fabric and across the small of her back, up to where the high belt halted him, then back down over the curve of her hip and buttock, finally stopping to grasp the back of her thigh.

She could help but notice his grip was a little harder than normal. Hard enough to make her suck her breath in through her teeth and to cause her back to arch involuntarily.

It was becoming apparent that he'd lost interest in the wine.

He glanced up at her when she flinched, watching her eyes, but didn't seem all that interested in relenting. For some reason she could feel her pulse echoing in her temples.

His hand slid higher, this time slipping between her thighs from behind until his fingers were pressing tight against her sex. She arched again, but made no move to escape the touch. He was eying her as if waiting for something, and she was watching back, trying desperately to determine his mood or what exactly he was waiting for.

Again he squeezed, his fingers digging into her flesh. Still he seemed to be waiting, ignoring his wine and watching her with a strange intensity.

The thought gave her an idea...well several, in fact.

She took the wine from him with both hands, and sipped from the broad cup, watching him over the rim as she did so. Still holding the wine in her mouth, she climbed back into his lap, this time straddling him with her knees on his massive thighs so she could look down into his eyes rather than up.

His eyes bore into hers and she smiled back as well as she could without losing the wine. Tipping his face back with her free hand, she angled her mouth over his, teasing his lips with her own. When they parted accommodatingly she pressed her lips firmly to his, letting some of the libation slip through into his mouth. Not much, just enough to let him know her intent.

She felt his cock jump against her leg and his lips parted further, inviting her to continue.

Calliope took the prompting and let the rest pour carefully from her lips to his. His now growing erection twitched against her again, and her own body responded in kind with a warm, deeply felt throb. She took more wine in her mouth, glancing at him over the rim again, feeling more playful and mischievous now that she knew he appreciated her game.

He tipped his mouth up to meet hers willingly this time. His eyes were still intense but she could see the smile he was suppressing. It made it hard to suppress her own...but she was determined. Still, she was fighting to control her breathing as she parted her lips against his. Most especially because his hands had begun wandering over her once more.

Just before the last of it had left her mouth, she tipped her chin and let the last few drops spill against his lower lip. She let it fall to his chin before she caught most of it with her tongue, gasping as his fingers dug that much deeper into her bottom and thighs.

She glanced into his eyes, hoping he'd understand what he saw in hers. "Oh dear." she whispered. Her voice was already growing thick, "Forgive me, my lord. I hope you won't punish me for my clumsiness." She paused and hoped her eyes helped convey her intentions as she added, "unless...that's your wish?"

She could feel herself growing hotter and wetter with each second that he silently stared back into her eyes, his own becoming progressively darker until she felt like she was staring into two burning red pools of pure, raw, lust.

His hands left slipped out from under her dress and one moved instead up her back while the other shifted forward to slide slowly up over her stomach. In one swift move he clenched his fingers around the nape of her neck, holding her still, while the other pulled the cord from around her waist.

She inhaled sharply at the suddenness of his movement, but didn't struggle as he held her, or as he then tugged the loosened material down over her shoulders and breasts until the material hung loosely around her hips.

With a far more leisurely caress, he ran his fingers back over her belly and lightly over the swell of one breast. "And how do you propose I do that...slave?" He growled lowly.

She felt something inside of her pulse...something warm and electric. She knew that her skin was probably flushed pink and that she was half panting for breath, but she could hardly bring herself to care.

"I wouldn't presume to instruct you, master."

She gasped again as the fingers around her neck rode higher to tangle themselves in her hair, tilting her head sharply back. She couldn't see what his other hand was up to, but she certainly felt it when he pinched her nipple, hard, and twisted until she couldn't hold back the whimper of pain it produced. She refused to cry out. Even when he pinched harder, pushing her she knew, and daring her to cry out and end it.

"You're sure?" He rumbled. "No preferences?" She shook her head as he gave her other breast a similar treatment. What could she say after all? She had proposed the game, but he knew best what would amuse him most.

He saved her the effort of responding further by lifting her off of him and setting her back on the floor. Her dress made the rest of the journey down her body on its own, leaving her standing nude in the pool of cloth.

He stood as well, forcing her to step back to give him room. Her hands flew to cover herself instinctively. She knew her whole body must be bright red from the flush of heat burning through her.

Thelios towered over her, filling her sight with his powerful, intimidating frame, his eyes piercing down into hers from above. Part of her was pinned to the spot, anxious and afraid, but another, stronger part just wanted to melt into him completely. It was a curious feeling.

The later impulse must have been stronger for when he reached out and pulled her arm from her body, uncovering her, she acquiesced easily. Nor did she hesitate when he turned and bent her over the chair. She knelt on the seat and leaned over the back. Already she was beginning to tremble with nerves and excitement.

He didn't tease her or make her wait. She jumped and winced in surprise and pain as his hand came down firmly against the soft flesh of her hindquarters. It came down again, then again, and again. She bit her bottom lip and tensed against the next...which didn't come. She shifted anxiously and heard him chuckle behind her. His hand smoothed down over her ass, lessening the sting somewhat. But then his fingers bit into her roughly, negating the effect.

"Is this what you want? Did you enjoy it when I spanked you before?" He teased, leaning in so she could feel his breath against her neck and ear.

She could feel a different kind of heat rising up her throat and into her cheeks. She didn't answer...she couldn't bring herself to.

His hand came down again. Hard. Harder than before. She couldn't hold back her cry this time.

Another excruciatingly long pause followed. Her fingers gripped the back of the chair and she clenched her jaw, determined not to let it unnerve her. She failed miserably.

"Well, is it?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Why do you want me to do this?"

He struck her again when she didn't answer.

"I thought," she gasped, "it...you seemed upset. I...thought it would help...improve you mood."

The hand gripping her left. There was a terrible silence which followed. One in which her head spun as she waited on pins and needles for his touch...what ever that touch entailed. It became more than she could stand. She turned and looked back over her shoulder.

He was gone.

Concerned, she rose from the chair and entered the bedroom proper. She shivered and covered herself with her arms. He wasn't there either. The room was dim, as only a few lamps were still lit, but there were few shadows which could hide someone as large as he.

"Master? Thelios?" She called out softly. He appeared in the far doorway, the one which led to what was ostensibly her room. She watched him as he approached, tilting her head questioningly.

He pointed to a couch near her. "On it. On your knees." He held something in his hand. It looked like cloth of some kind, but she was more concerned by the expression on his face. He no longer looked amused.

She frowned but nodded and knelt. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable with what she had started and her stomach flip-flopped accordingly.

His next words did nothing to ease her nerves. "Hands behind your back." Once again she obeyed, swallowing hard. She was more than a little surprised when he stepped behind her and tied the cloth he was holding over her mouth, and took her wrists in one of his hands.

Her nervousness turned to real fear. She panicked and tried to pull away but his grip was like steel, and her struggles ended with her cheek pressed into the silken cushion beneath her and her hips high in the air. She didn't go completely still, however, until his hand came down against her backside with a resounding crack. She screamed against the gag, half in shock, and half in pain. It didn't stop at one either. Though she couldn't have said where it did stop either. Twenty? Thirty? It felt like hundreds.

It wasn't at all like the first time, when he'd "punished" her on their second night together. Or like any other time he'd playfully slapped her rear. This time it was so much harder, and the omission of the erotic caresses which had accompanied them before was a glaring one.

Was he actually punishing her? She wondered as she wracked her brain, desperately trying to figure out what it was she'd done to upset him. Was it goading him? Was it what she said about his mood? Did he already know about what she'd done that night?

Calliope grit her teeth and shut her eyes tight, trying desperately to swallow her cries as he continued to strike her bottom and hindquarters, and to think of something other than the intensely hot burn beginning to suffuse her skin.

What ever this was, she was determined to bear it. She had begun this, after all, and even if she hadn't...she was his to use as he liked, wasn't she?

But then he stopped...and the caress was back...confusing, but back. His fingers even slid between her thighs to test her sex. To her horror she realized how readily they were slipping through her sex, and as they probed deeper into the swollen, aching flesh. She could even hear the wet sound his fingers made as they slid in and out of her body in a slow, easy rhythm. It was humiliating to think that she was that wet, practically dripping, when he'd done nothing that should have brought her to that point. Pleasure mixed with pain she could comprehend...but just pain?

The only thing that consoled her was the evidence that he wasn't upset after all. At least not with her. Not really.

The now damp gag was pulled from between her lips and she felt hot breath against her ear. "Are you sure that was the only reason? To 'improve my mood?'"