Surfacing Ch. 38

I heard his laughter much louder in my head as his teeth showed in a silent grin. *Right. I let him check. Size, shape, hardness.*

*Was he impressed?*

Another wink. *You'll have to ask him. I promised you details, Sirana, but I only possess a third of them. Did you hear me before when I suggested you ask them, too?*

I was a little flustered at the gentle reprimand. *Well...there hasn't been time...*

*That's fine. Time and place, I get that. Just don't forget.*

*Ha! Not likely.*

*Good. Then may I only give you enough detail to whet your appetite, Commander-in-training.*

*What, you think I'm a young version of Vian?*

*In general philosophy and proclivity, I'm sure you are, Sirana. No wonder Mourn got to trusting you pretty fast for a Red Sister from the City.*

I grimaced. *And no wonder Vian 'likes' me for her 'son'? She just sees herself?*

*Hey, now. She sees you, Sirana, and only you. The 'Commander-in-training' was my jest, and probably in poor taste. I apologize, I'll not say it again.* A comforting hand stroked my back. *I can tell you Shyntre's hand felt very good. Firm and experienced compared to Auslan's light touch. Did he have more males in his past somehow, even being half a century younger?*

Our voices paused as I barely registered that a short miscommunication had just happened between us but it had resolved itself before it became a road block. I had my choice right there to reach back for it and bring it back to inspect it, or to just let it go.

*Not exactly,* I found myself answering. *Or not to my knowledge. What I do know is that the Red Sisters trained Shyntre for a time in an all-female barracks, and you've heard of the Feldeus?*

He nodded.

*I'm sure he received some punctuated practice stroking a variety of them. He would have had to make sure it felt good to the Red Sister who owned it."

Eallo's brows were lifted high. *Wow. Yes, I can imagine. Well, the experience showed. Thank goddess I only expressed how good it felt and didn't ask him about it.*

*Dodged an arrow,* I replied, grinning.

*No shit! Hmm. Well, once Shyntre demonstrated that he had the hang of things, he started undressing me himself, and I let him. They were both studying me—just as you thought earlier, Sirana, I was the oldest male they'd ever had opportunity to look at up close, and I have my share of scars showing the years and the fights.*

*Were you self-conscious?*

*No reason to be. Neither drew back in disgust. Auslan actually looked even more turned on.*

I felt the desire to chuckle aloud; instead I teased, *No distractions with stories of how you got those scars?*

Now he looked smug. *Not when I was offering my mouth for a much better purpose."

My eyes widened. *For whom?*

*Shyntre, if he wanted it.*

*Did he take it?*

*That was an interesting part. I could see he approved of the offer, and I can say why. Sign of submission to the 'permanent' partner, usually a good thing for a 'guest' to show a little humility. But he didn't accept until Auslan got bold all of a sudden and undressed the sorcerer himself, whispering that he wanted 'very much' to see this. That seemed to do it and soon enough your sorcerer was naked and I was deep-throating his cock.*

*Jeez, fuck...*

Eallo had commented that my breasts were hot; I had noticed by now that his crotch was about the same. Slowly I eased my thigh slightly between his legs, and he easily adjusted to take advantage of the firm platform to give himself a rub, to relieve an ache, no doubt. He was watching me intently, and my face felt very warm.

*So did Auslan just watch?*

Eallo shook his head; that smile didn't not dim for a second. *Oh, no, Shyntre ordered him to strip down and start sucking on me like I was on him.* The fighter's erection pulsed against my leg. *Let me tell you, where the healer's hands might be very light, he sucked all my wits out right through my rod. He might've been used to serving Noble slits with that mouth, but he transferred the experience to serving cock extremely well... your sorcerer could pretty much use my mouth however he wanted because I couldn't concentrate, my eyes were rolling back, I think... Fuck!*

Eallo was a fantastic storyteller to be sure, but the mindlink left that indelible taste of truth across our tongues as well and there was no doubting his word. We took turns writhing against the other's thigh as our breathing deepened and eyes stayed locked.

*How it went from there,* the older fighter told me, *was very fun. Not without its moments of awkwardness or surprises, but I went in with a goal of one climax and I had no expectations how I'd get it—including by my own hand watching Saida and Jahn later on if it just wasn't the right situation. What I got from them... was much more, and I hope you believe me when I tell you thank you, and that they're lucky to have your interest and protection, Sirana. Thank you for allowing it.*

I almost—almost—looked down at the intense praise, which I wasn't expecting, but managed a shift of my hands to let me feel a different part of his skin and heat, and it was almost like regathering my own confidence when I did.

*You're welcome, Eallo. Thank you in return... Uhm. But that's not all, is it? You only got started then shifted right to the afterglow?*

He had one incredible, handsome smile when he wanted to show it, and it crossed my mind that Vian was pretty lucky herself. *Hells, no, that's not all. But answer me this honestly, Sirana. Who might you like to hear tell that middle part for the first time, if you had your choice? Is it really me?*

I hesitated to answer, and I knew why.

*You're ready to fuck whoever tells that part of the story, Sirana,* Eallo said, and nailed down just what I'd realized. *An important part of sharing partners is not to get greedy, and I'd be unforgivably greedy convincing a pregnant young mother to take some mutual relief with me, here and now, when the cherished sire of her child is just inside the manor and my own mistress is right over the hill. Auslan was there, too. He could tell you more of what you want to hear, Goddess Champion.*

Jeez fuck.

Jeez fucking Hells...

I leaned forward to kiss Eallo on the mouth in gratitude, and he accepted. Our eyes closed and we finally broke eye contact during the kiss, allowing me to more easily disentangle the mindlink. I was quivering as I stepped back out of the comfortable warmth of the fighter's embrace and attempted to catch my breath.

At a loss for words, I nodded shakily in thanks, and he made a hand sign of admiration and farewell before I turned and hurried toward House Thalluen.

********

I did attempt to "sense" Auslan without having to ask someone, hoping I could find him rather quickly and that he wouldn't be in the middle of a healing trance of something. While I wouldn't know of the latter until I located him, I found myself too shaken and distracted to be able to sort out any particular sense of my Consort amid the startled and quick-moving workers and patients as they assumed something external was happening to cause the intense frown of concentration on my face.

It had the side-effect of summoning my Mother to the area rather quickly.

"Sirana?" Rohenvi asked, coming into the hall as I finished skimming a wing.

She had Vekika dozing in a snugly secured to her back, and for a brief moment I paid attention to how it was put together, for when I needed something like that later...

"What news? Is something wrong?"

*Ohhh well....*

I sighed and faced her with a chagrinned smile; I shook my head. "No news, and nothing's wrong, Mother. Sorry to startle everyone. I was looking for Auslan. Is he busy, and if he is, could he take brief a rest? I'd like to see him alone."

Rohenvi was hard for me to read right then as she evaluated me quickly, but at least the tension had dropped from her shoulders, aside from what was necessary to hold up my baby sister. She smiled a bit and nodded, looking to her left. "You need to see him now."

"Right now," I agreed.

"Follow me."

I did, but also decided to ask, "Who made that baby-bag for you?"

"Gaelan and Rewin, a supply merchant who knew her mother. They put their heads together and came up with this." The former Matron looked over her shoulder at her sleeping Daughter. "I like it."

"Me, too."

I could see why it hadn't caught on, though. Too hard to protect the baby from two-legged threats at your back. At least, that would have been the justification in the old system. I could sure use something like that in the mountains, though.

We walked a bit farther and I asked, "Where's Ruk?"

"Overseeing deliveries being brought in. He'll return in the eve." A pause. "Would you care to join us for a meal? Things have settled some since Kennitha left."

"Umm. Sure. Who will be there?"

"Just me and him, Gaelan and Natia, and Auslan."

*Like-minds are definitely attracting each other,* I thought, but nodded. "And if Morix and Jael wished to join?"

"They're invited."

While I might have wondered if my Mother would take me the "long" way around to Auslan in order to talk more, it was right then that she found him in one of the makeshift infirmaries, two shadows dressed almost exactly like him and escorting him among the patients. She did me a favor by leaning in, blocking the sight of me from those inside, and getting the Consort-healer's attention.

"Auslan, please finish up and take a break. You have a visitor."

Fortunately he recognized me even in a darkened hallway and smiled briefly before doing exactly what my Mother said, finishing up his rounds and sighing in anticipation of a brief respite before joining my Mother and me out in the hall.

The moment he got within reach, his smile and his scent struck me at once and I remembered very quickly where I'd just been, and what Eallo had been telling me about the beautiful male in front of me.

"Is all well?" he asked.

*Consort,* I told him through a swift mindlink, *if we were back on that little farm where we first met, you'd already be on your back with your wrap pulled up around your hips.*

His eyes went wide. *Oh...*

"Now...um," I said aloud, failing utterly in separating that randy thought from my next request. "Can we get a room?"

Rausery's two shadows had looked both baffled and wary at my staring at the Consort in apparent silence, but now they grinned and my Mother blinked, then both hers and Auslan's faces warmed at the same time. My Consort showed no protest; even better his smile returned. Although it still had that old sense of being demure, he was the one still in the habit of public manners as he said nothing.

"Expectant mothers do have hot spots rise up with striking power." Mother excused my behavior while poking fun as she gave my healer a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Follow me."

Rohenvi led us one floor up, checked that the particular room she had in mind was empty, then the shadows themselves swept it to be sure it was safe. I waited tensely, trying to remind myself over and over this was smart, this was necessary, this was...

*Oh, my fucking Goddess, a little impulse and spontaneity will be so fucking welcome when we get up top!*

Auslan's smile was even more like a blow to my nose because his eyes twinkled in full agreement. When the shadows allowed us in, they stepped out of the door with my Mother.

The one holding the door said, "We'll be right out here if you need anything."

"Thank you," Auslan managed with grace and sincerity, while I nodded and probably grunted something, slightly missing the mark.

Finally the door was closed.

This wasn't a bedroom; I didn't have a lot to work with, but there was a wide, two-Drow seat with plenty of padding covered by a sheet pushed up against the side wall. That would have to do. I took Auslan's shoulders and steered him toward it, trying not to give in to impulse and shove him—play-acting forceful dominance, something like our first encounter—simply because he wasn't cringing at my horny arrival.

Auslan still didn't know exactly what had spurred my arrival—right now demanding his attentions—and given his background he likely wouldn't ask. While it would have been easy to simply fuck him without saying where I'd just come from and why I was so hot and bothered, I got the feeling that would be the lazy way out of my state of mind. Eallo would probably shake his head and "tsk" me.

At the same time, my healer had to be given a chance to catch up with me, preferably in mood, never mind that I could tell he was already growing a stiff one between his legs. A Drow like him could become erect for some of the most unappealing Nobles in some of the more disturbing scenarios to preserve his own life, so his cock alone told me exactly zero of where his own mind was at right now...even if I did hope he was genuinely aroused to see me.

"Sit," I breathed, allowing him to do that much as I removed my belt, cloak, and gloves and draped them over the back of the couch.

The next moment I was crawling onto his lap facing him, snuggling my crotch up against his. He put his hands on me and lifted his hips in welcome, rubbing himself against me as he tilted his head back, offering his lips for the kiss that he expected was coming.

I wanted to... But I didn't kiss him; not quite yet. I did have my hands in his hair and caressing his ears, studying his face. His expression shifted from practiced allure to slight confusion and disappointment, soon joined with concern.

"Sirana? Have I done something wrong?"

I smiled with slight amusement at myself, reaching to gently rub the pad of my thumb across his lips, first one way then back across again. It surprised him but he liked it; he opened his mouth a little and let his mouth relax. His lips were very soft.

"No. You've done nothing wrong," I managed through my hazy mind. "I came to ask you to tell me about you and Shyntre with Eallo."

I heard his heart speed up, felt his pulse beneath my fingers—he couldn't help it, it seemed—and I noticed the hardening of his genitals against mine. I took it as a good sign; no regrets about being with the Rin'oveaus Second, or how Shyntre adapted to the desire, but I could guess what was going on here.

Auslan had been too well conditioned to keep any attraction to other males secret from females, either because he'd be punished or because he believed they didn't even want to hear about it. Having a female—even me, or especially me—directly asking about it left him in limbo that first moment. We both knew I'd approved it but it had been a week already and we hadn't had time to talk and....maybe he assumed I didn't really want to talk about it, despite what I'd said when he'd just been jolted awake, naked and fragrant in the sweat of other males.

Maybe he had even welcomed the immediate distraction and work we all faced. Old habits were hard to break.

I could leave him floundering in this doubt, or I could give him a hint.

I kissed him, gently, and rubbed both my crotch and my belly against him; the former was deliberate, the latter I would have avoided if I could. He relaxed some with the reassurance, and lifting my mouth I kept touching his neck, his nape, his ears, just as I'd been Eallo not long ago as I watched his beautiful eyes. My healer looked at my mouth much more often and eye contact was made only in brief snatches.

"Here," I offered. "Eallo just told me how Shyntre decided the pace you'd start at, that you talked first, touched each other through your clothes."

The Consort-healer's eyes widened but he said nothing, sensing I wasn't quite finished.

"He gave me that you both undressed him, noticed his scars. He offered to suck our Dark Priest as a first act of submission, despite Shyntre being the youngest there. You encouraged them, undressed our sorcerer, and both to please you and to acknowledge the ranking order, Eallo said Shyntre pushed his cock into his mouth."

"Goddess, Sirana..." Auslan breathed, staring at me with wide, scarlet eyes.

"Well? Is this true?"

His cock pulsed again beneath me. "Y-yes. It is."

"Then Shyntre instructed you to strip naked and start servicing Eallo with your mouth?"

His breathing had quickened significantly. "Yes."

I leaned to take in his scent, warm and mouth-watering at his neck. I murmured in his ear, "That is as far as Eallo went with me, Auslan. He said he lost every bit of intelligence when you put your mouth on him."

"H-He did?" my healer gasped, shuddering as I lightly kissed his neck.

"Yeah. He did. He said he was very grateful to us, that what you two gave him was far more than he expected to receive. That it was extraordinary, for it being your first time exploring something like that, and me for allowing it. Then he stopped. He said he wanted you to tell me the rest." I grinned slowly. "What do you think? Is he right?"

Auslan's fingers were holding tight on my thighs, though I didn't think he realized it; it felt like he was trying to keep himself from falling off some edge. Now he had locked eyes with me, held my gaze; some of what I saw was disbelief but there wasn't a measure of fear in his expression. I saw only outright astonishment and an "inappropriate," uncontrolled arousal that was rare and authentic in this former Consort.

His hands slid gently to touch my hips, exploring the shape of my ass. He nodded. "Yes. I think he is right."

I began unlacing the sides of my adjustable armor, and Auslan immediately reached to help me. "So what happened? What did you do with Vian's Second? I want to know, then I want to fuck you blind."

He tugged on a partial knot we'd formed, untangling it despite his hands shaking. We loosened the light armor before lifting it up over my head and not quite tossing it onto the floor. Bracers followed, and then my shirt. He cupped my breasts so tenderly, leaning forward to touch his lips to my left nipple, wetting it lightly with his tongue, barely sucking. I wanted to moan much louder than I did; those were one part of me I didn't really want the "firm touch" and he could sense it.

We left him clothed in his shadow outfit and me topless as we touched and kissed with continued urgency, and he told me more of what I wanted to know.

"Neither of them wanted to cum yet, e-even as they got close," he whispered as we ground together. I knew we must each be making a bit of a mess in our clothes. "Shyntre pulled out first and his voice was enough to get me to stop. Eallo was trembling but patient, I remember his smile."

"Why?"

"Because I could t-tell he approved, that we were figuring it out s-somehow."

"Because Eallo wasn't going to fight Shyntre's position with you?" I asked, rubbing along his length.

"Ugh! Y-yes. He was...is...he is able to switch. H-he could be dominant with me, as I wanted him to be, y-yet he could guide Shyntre from the bottom without challenging him. A-and Shyntre knew this, he was not being played. He took the guidance offered, thank Goddess. I...I admire Eallo very much, Sirana, I never knew there could be one like him."

My Consort paused, touching my skin all he could as I undid and opened his own clothing, sliding my hands inside to caress his chest and shoulders. We kissed, hungry and wet, sloppy in a way I never really recalled the few times—the very few times—I'd actually been with the sire of my son. Everyone had asked me, "Who is the sire?" and yet *the sire* was the one I'd not been able to truly get to know.

That was the single major difference being here in this room with the Life Priest: the lack of glamor, outside of reverie or ritual; the mundane, even grungy surroundings, the lack of an audience or any need for show or appearance.