A Reason to Stay Pt. 04

"Sebs," I moan, "what's happening to me...?"

It seems to take him an eternity to respond. "The dwarf," he finally answers as he gazes down at me, winded from more than just his sprint up and down the stairs and wrestling my clothes back on. "His saliva...it's meant for one of his kind, but on a human it's ten times stronger. And you haven't eaten in the last hour, which means it hit your bloodstream even faster."

There's a huge thunk behind him, then an awful scraping sound. We scramble to rearrange our limbs into a less suggestive position.

"Will that be all for you, sir?" asks a tired looking individual. They look human enough, and between them and a second, even more exhausted looking human, sits a large metal tub full of ice. Neither helper seems eager to stick around for what's about to unfold.

"No, thank you, that will be all," Sebs replies, turning just enough so that I can admire his elegant profile against the amber lamplight. "Please don't disturb us for the rest of the night."

Something about the way he says this makes me shiver.

The motion brings Sebastien's focus back on me, even as the door slams shut behind him. I can see the torment in his pale eyes, though with every passing moment I am growing fuzzier and fuzzier as to why that is the case.

Without another word, he picks me up and carries me over to the tub. I cling to him as he lowers me ever so gently, easing my body into the ice. It's cold bite makes me gasp in shock, but with how hot my body has been running, the shock quickly turns into relief. I sink into the ice, no longer wanting to claw my own skin off.

"What happens now?" I ask him blearily. I know as well as he does that this can't be a permanent solution. I have all of maybe ten minutes before I need to leave the tub. I've learned as much about cryotherapy from my training with Aed.

Sebs looks at me for a moment, his expression unreadable. It doesn't occur to me why until his next words.

"I don't know," he answers, reluctantly but truthfully.

In all my years of knowing him, I've never seen this Scholar at a loss for a solution. He has always been hopelessly optimistic that way, a bit of trivia or insight forever up his sleeve. But now, for the first time ever, I am witnessing Sebs being totally stumped. Needless to say this does not bode well for my future.

I swallow, and then I ask, "Am I going to die?"

I can tell he wants to be honest. It burns in his eyes, his natural inclination to tell only the truth. But then something flickers in his gaze, and his demeanor changes. His voice hardens with resolve as he replies, "No."

As hazy as I feel, I still recognize that tone. It's the same level of assurance he offered me the first day we met. The confidence that I would survive, and that he would be there every step of the way to make sure I do.

Once ten minutes are up, he helps lift me out of the tub and back onto the bed. Bits of ice and water cling to me, slowly dampening the sheets. I still feel all woozy and tingly, and a part of me very much wishes for Sebs not to let go, but for the moment the threat of becoming a human bonfire is held at bay.

Up until now, I've been so preoccupied with Sebs and the tub and gnome saliva that I almost fail to notice a third person in the room. I hear them before I actually see them, their voice distinctly feminine. My eyes struggle to pinpoint where exactly they're hiding in the dimly lit space.

"Poor little bird," the newcomer coos.

I'm so afraid of overheating again that I suppress a knee jerk reaction to sit upright and scream. Instead I squint, barely able to make out the dark shape of someone seated in a shadowy corner. I glance to Sebs to gauge his reaction. He just looks vexed, maybe even a little ashamed.

"All drugged up on Swarven spit. So helpless, so vulnerable. So desperately in need of a cure."

As the figure rises and starts walking toward me, I feel myself tense. After the events of today, I'm expecting someone with too many eyes or ears. Or worse, a Neonian. Sebs sounded panicked enough to use his personal code for emergency assistance. And really, I wouldn't blame him if he did. Determined as I am to find Aed, I'm not sure it's worth dying in some random, shanty town tavern, and from being licked by a gnome no less.

As luck would have it, the day has not yet run out of curveballs. Because as soon as the stranger steps into the glow of lamplight beside me, I'm struck by their incredible, distinctly human beauty.

Standing at the edge of the light is a woman so lovely that it makes my chest hurt just to look at her. Waves of long, glossy midnight hair fall down to her waist, framing feline eyes, full lips, and deep, caramel skin. As she strolls nearer, I find myself mesmerized by the sway of her hips, her hourglass figure accentuated by the belt cinching her waist. She's wearing a dark blue workman's jumpsuit, but its plainness does nothing to diminish her divinity. She materializes into sight like some kind of Egyptian goddess, beautiful enough to inspire awe, ominous enough to strike fear. I don't know why, but I get the instant impression that she is not someone to be crossed.

The woman sees the look on my face and laughs, the sound low and seductive. Much to my own dread, I feel myself begin to heat up again.

"Oh, Sebastien, what a fortuitous day this is shaping up to be," she sighs wistfully. "So many birds with so few stones. I am a lucky, lucky woman, to have so many treasures fall right into my lap."

She stops at the edge of the bed. My skin prickles with her so near, close enough to touch. And god, do I want to touch. I am seized by the desire to run my fingers through her thick hair. To grab a fistful and yank her head back as I taste her luscious mouth first, then the smooth skin of her neck second. I want to find what's hiding beneath the drab fabric of her jumper. I want to fill my hands and mouth with her full, soft breasts, and then sink myself between her shapely thighs. A part of me senses the danger in the unfiltered potency of my urges, but it is fading rapidly into the background, usurped by blind, limitless hunger. Fire licks its way back up my limbs and I am increasingly too lost to care.

"Mmm," she hums softly, brushing the side of my face with her fingers. The simple gesture feels so good that I moan, desperate for her to touch me more. "What an exquisite thing you are, wasted on the likes of unimaginative Neonians."

She leans in, and I can smell the subtle, delicious scent of her perfume. "I'm going to enjoy curing you, little bird."

Sebs is suddenly at her side, pulling her back with more desperation than force. "Amira, stop. You're making her worse," he accuses, noting my labored breathing and slow, anguished writhing. "How can you possibly be sure this will work?"

Amira, aka beauty incarnate, simply cocks her head to one side and smirks. It is the loveliest, sexiest smirk I have ever seen in my life. "Because, dearest Sebastien, in low enough doses, Swarven saliva makes for a fantastic recreational drug. Sells for quite the pretty penny, too. The stuff accounts for at least a third of my profits every year."

I would be more upset if I wasn't so utterly turned on by the sound of her sultry voice. I feel like I'm an over tuned instrument, strings wound up dangerously tight, and everything she or Sebs does plucks a note of raging desire in me.

Thankfully, Sebs is upset enough for the both of us. "Don't tell me you're responsible for...for this!" he seethes, dropping his hand from her arm and shoving it in my direction. I've never seen Sebs so angry. It turns me on even more. Christ almighty, this needs to stop. Or does it? I have to admit I don't hate how I feel, only the fact that I might die...

"Me? Impossible," Amira scoffs. "I'd never use such a ludicrous amount when only a fraction would suffice. And I certainly don't need some smelly little Swarf to get it done."

She looks at me again with that sharp, appraising gaze of hers. "But I can see why he chose her. All of that potential, with none of the bullshit."

Sebs is about to ask her what any of that means when she bends over me, curtain of hair cascading down to block the light. She cups my chin in her hand. I barely have time to admire how long her eyelashes are before her mouth smothers mine. My breath is stolen by the scorching heat of her kiss. Like she said, no bullshit. Her tongue finds mine in less than a heartbeat, and I'm melting, melting, melting away. I become clay in her hands, hers to shape and mold and play with however she pleases. But when she starts to pull away for air, I rise up to deepen our kiss with a hunger that feels impossible to satiate. I don't want her to go. I want more.

It's her turn to be thrown off balance, even if only for a second. She tears herself away and gasps for air. A knowingness glitters in her golden brown eyes, and for a moment she looks disturbingly familiar.

"Can you please explain why you think this will help," Sebs asks with an impressive level of calm. I don't know if he spends much of his time watching women deep throat each other with their tongues, but I have the sudden, irrational idea that either he should join us or get the fuck out. My eyes never leave Amira's.

"I don't think, I know," she answers as she pushes me back down onto the bed. I yelp, more from being startled than anything else. "Most drugs can be excreted through piss or sweat after being metabolized, but not this one. You need two completely different types of fluids for top shelf stuff like this to leave the body." She looks meaningfully between my legs, then shoots Sebs a coy glance as she slinks onto the bed to straddle me. "Of course, with the amount her skin has absorbed, and so fresh from its source, I'd give her, oh..." She's pulling down the zipper to my top as she continues explaining. I feel like I'm breathing underwater. "...maybe an hour or two before her brain goes offline and her heart gives out."

Is it bad that the thought of dying no longer scares me? If it happens while I'm sharing a bed with the likes of Amira, I don't think I overly mind.

Before she can finish, however, she suddenly throws her head back and moans. Sebs and I stare at her, and I suspect for entirely the same reasons. The way she's posed has the swell of her breasts straining against her jumper and her throat illuminated by amber light, a glowing column of smooth, delicious vulnerability. I squirm beneath her, knees rubbing together and fingers twisting into the sheets. When she lowers her head again, her pupils are so dilated they almost swallow her irises whole. She smiles wickedly down at me, causing me to shudder in anticipation.

"Good gods, you've dosed yourself," Sebs breathes. "It's in her system, and now it's in yours." I assume he's doing what he always does: connecting the dots, fleshing each one out with scientific know how. I wish him luck with that. I, on the other hand, am sweating at the very idea of finding out what Amira looks like with no clothes on.

She's undulating her hips against mine, reminding me in every way of a cat, all fluid grace and predatory hunger. I'm completely at her mercy. The heat of her sex seeps through our clothes and sends another jolt of arousal through me. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Sebs," she purrs, leaning down to nuzzle my neck as she picks up where she left off with the zipper. "It's diluted in me, obviously. And I've done this a thousand times. "

My head lulls to one side, my breathing labored. I stare at Sebs through a fog of desire as Amira undresses me inch by excruciating inch. I wonder distantly if it's for her benefit or for his, or both, because it's certainly not for mine. I'm being tormented by how slow she's going. She's trailing behind the slider as it travels lower, her lips planting tiny, languid kisses down my chest. I try to raise my arms to touch her, but she pins them on either side of me. For a second, I wonder how she's going to do anything else, now that neither of us have use of our hands. But then she catches the tab between her teeth and pulls, grinning all the way down.

The black fabric parts, stopping just shy of the tips of my nipples. They don't need more than a light touch to fall away, but Amira leaves them in place, choosing instead to lap slowly and sensually along the underside of my breasts.

She's driving me crazy. I'm fighting to wrench my arms from underneath her, but she's disturbingly strong, weighing down my body in all the right places. Every time I even try to buck or writhe, she just finds a new spot to nuzzle, sending me into another spiral of bliss. There's a flash of doubt in my mind as I consider how she's a complete stranger. Aside from being on a first name basis with Sebs and drop dead gorgeous, I know nothing about her. I have no idea what her motives are or what she's capable of.

But then she's pushing aside the fabric with her lips, grazing my hardened tips, and all my doubts go flying out the window.

Sebastien makes a pained sound and averts his gaze. I can tell his face is flushed tomato red, but he's determined as always to maintain some measure of dignity.

I've left all of mine at the foot of Amira's altar.

"Ahem...should I...do you think I should leave? I think I should leave..."

Amira stops teasing me for a moment to give him a level look. I mewl beneath her in vain. "No," she counters. "Your friend absorbed a lethal amount and I may not be able to extract it all on my own. You need to stay as back up." A devious twinkle lights her eyes. "Or, you could join us now and save yourself the wait. Up to you."

Sebs stares back as though he's experiencing a fresh new layer of hell. I know why he wants to give in, and I also know why he doesn't. The aphrodisiac coursing in my veins yearns for him to join, but in the end he shakes his head and hangs back, pulling a book out of his pack and plopping down into a chair to read. Leave it to Sebs to find this situation a tolerable reading environment.

Shrugging, Amira turns her attention back on me. "Your loss."

Then she dips her head to suckle me in earnest, filling her mouth with one of my tits and her hand with the other. She massages me slowly, hips grinding against mine, toying with my nipple between her fingers while her tongue swirls and flicks across my sensitive skin. I squirm beneath her and moan uncontrollably. Somewhere in the corner, Sebs brings his book closer to his face, his pretense at studious concentration fooling no one.

Her second hand manages to snake down into the hem of my underarmour's bottom half, fingers stroking against the dampness of my panties, and the thrill of her invasion electrifies me. I gasp, my hands flying up to grab her by the shoulders. I barely register my newfound freedom when she starts to rub me in lazy circles, her face still buried in my breasts as her tongue and fingers work together to create a symphony of sensations. My back arches and my hips move in rhythm with her hand. I'm begging her to please, please put her fingers inside of me, but she refuses.

"Not yet, kitten," she whispers, her breath hot against my skin. "We have to start simple and work our way up. Who knows how many times we're going to have to make you come?"

Her use of the plural is not lost on me. Poor Sebastien, sitting over there like he has any choice in the matter. Whatever scheme Amira has concocted in her mind, I'm sure it is every bit as manipulative and conniving as I'm imagining it to be. Not that I'm complaining. My thoughts are rapidly being funneled onto one, single track and my body is screaming with insatiable need. I want someone, anyone to fuck me, and I'm not choosy about who does it first.

"Simple?" I echo, confused.

Amira smiles and draws back. "Oh, don't look so glum," she chuckles, "we're just getting started. Good things come to those who wait."

I'm about to protest her lack of touching and fondling when she pushes my knees together and grabs the edges of my remaining underamour. "Now be a good girl and help me get this ridiculous thing off."

Obediently, I lift my ass so that she can peel the fabric downward. She somehow manages to pull the tights off of my legs in a single, steady motion, putting both Aed and Sebs to absolute shame. I can't decide whether it's due to feminine prowess or lots of practice, but seeing as how it should be impossible for her to achieve the latter, I give up on the question altogether and spread my bare legs instead.

"Please..." I beg again. It's terrifying being this vulnerable, but I crave both her touch and my own release so badly that I can't bring myself to care.

Amira purrs with approval and plants herself between my thighs, spreading me wider with her silky hands. "Such a sweet little pet you'd make," she smiles slyly as she runs her fingers up and down my thighs. She throws Sebastien a backwards glance. "Are you sure I can't keep her?"

I look over to see that Sebs is no longer reading and instead has the book face down on his lap. "That's not up to me," he answers neutrally, his eyes staring off to the side. I know him too well, however, to miss the white of his knuckles as his hands grip the arm rests, or the odd tilt of the book in his lap.

Amira gives me a sly look. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to convince her that my hand feeds better." She brings one of her thighs to press flush against my aching vulva. I'm still wearing my panties, but they're completely soaked through at this point. "Now all that's left is for you to come. Do you think you could do that for me?"

I nod my head, groaning as she leans forward to add pressure against my clit. "Y-Yes," I pant, "fuck, yes."

She's rocking back and forth, eliciting all kinds of delicious pleasure without using anything but her leg. Finally unrestrained, I push back, building a rhythm with her. I'm no stranger to dry humping, but I've never had help and certainly never performed anything on myself with this level of finesse. Amira knows exactly where and when and how much to push, creating just the right friction to build up my pleasure.

And of course, she's got an absolutely filthy mouth to match.

"Does that feel good?" she murmurs, and when I emphatically, breathlessly answer yes, she adds, "Yeah? It does? What a good little slut. Just imagine how much better it's going to feel when I fuck you with my fingers."

As she says this, she pushes harder, causing me to arch and gasp. Her hot mouth brushes against my ear. "You must be so wet down there, your tight little cunt aching to be filled. I can't wait to taste your pussy before I stretch you wide, one finger at a time. How many do you think you can take? Three? Four? Or..."

She peeks over at Sebs, who has abandoned all semblance of indifference. He's watching us with naked terror and fascination, the book having slid off to reveal his raging hard on.

"Or," Amira continues, picking up the pace and pressure, "would you prefer something else fill you up instead? Something hard, and thick..."

She leans in extra close, and with a rough shove of her leg, she adds, "Would you like for Sebs to fuck that sweet little pussy of yours? Fill you up with his big, hard cock?"

"Fuck."

I can't hold on any longer. The thought of him taking me, sliding into me for the first time while Amira watches, is too much. Stars explode beneath my eyelids as I come quietly but violently against Amira's thigh. I'm convulsing under her, mouth parted in a silent cry as the force of my climax robs me of all breath. As the final wave of pleasure crashes over me, I moan once and go limp, my chest heaving as I gasp for air.

"Good girl."

I watch, dazed, as Amira admires the giant wet spot on her leg. "Not bad for the first round," she assesses. Then she slides off the bed and starts undoing the front buttons of her jumpsuit.