The Florist

"Weinotia. I am named Weinotia."

I reached for her hand and was about to kiss it with delicate difference when I recalled what she requested. Instead, I gripped her forearm and pulled her towards me. Her surprised was plain in her widened eyes. I gave a soft, sucking bite to the inside of her wrist and let the skin slip slowly from between my teeth. I had the peripheral impression of inkwork at her right arm, though my gaze remained on her face.

At first she stared at my mouth. When she looked into my eyes I saw interest. There may have been a trace of humor, too, because I swore I noted a flicker of a smile--not on her lips but just a hint of one around her eyes.

"Dear Weinotia, there are certain protocols I must, unfortunately, subject you to before I may provide what you desire. I am not at liberty to deviate from these mandates. It is for your protecting and your fulfillment--"

"I am ready now!"

I stepped toward her and she backed away a half-step. She met my stare without blinking then stood her ground.

"I must insist--" I grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her close enough that we felt each other's breath. Hers grew shallower with every heartbeat. "or... you must leave."

As her wide pupils played across my face, I knew how this episode would unfold--at least for the next half-bell.

She whispered, "What must we do... first?"

"I must have you sit with me for an interview. Let me lead you."

Without waiting for her answer I reached around her shoulder and gripped her upper arm. Weinotia let me steer her into the sitting room where she settled into one side of a deep sofa. It was only then that I removed my hand from her.

"May I get you something?"

"Like what?" Her eyes began darting again as though this was some sort of trap. I waited until she gazed up at me.

"May I offer you something to eat, or a beverage?"

"No, I--"

"I'll just get us some refreshments and will be right back." I turned and went to the kitchen before she could reply. She called after me but I ignored her.

The preparations were completed quickly, but I waited another little while. Then I breezed into the room and set the tray before her.

"Eat. Let me pour the rootade."

What looked like thoughts of escape flashed over her face, but her focus was completely on the food. She picked up a rice bun and took a timid bite. Then she took a not-so-timid bite. Then the rice bun disappeared. She reached for another, paused and glared at me.

"What?"

"Please, help yourself."

"Are you mocking me?" Her hand remained poised over the food, but I felt it could just as easily strike at me.

I set her glass near the tray and leaned back in my chair. "Weinotia, let me assure you that I will not mock you. Ever. Nor will I harm you, physically, mentally or emotionally. At least not intentionally. And I pride myself on my ability to read people so the odds of unintentional harm are practically nonexistent. Please," I prompted--she had reached for another bun as I spoke. She appeared annoyed for an instant, but she took the bun.

"My duty is to provide the perfect service you request. We will need to establish a level of trust in order to reach the desired result."

She finished the pastry and nodded. "All right."

"Good. I am going to ask you several questions and you must provide me with thoughtful, honest answers."

She stared at me, and nodded.

"Good. And as part of this exchange, you may ask me questions to which I shall reply with thoughtful, honest answers. Agreed?"

"Then I shall go first. Why do you not have a large home?"

"I choose to live a simple lifestyle. I am also an apprentice artisan so I alternate and spend two eight-alls in Gatekey and two here. This home suits me best. All right?"

A brief eye-flick, and she nodded. She sampled her rootade, set the glass down and sat back as though prepared for an inquisition.

"When did you eat last?"

Anger flashed in her face like the light from a shutter-lamp on a dark night. "That is none of--" Weinotia snapped her mouth closed. I watched her sigh and saw her shoulders slump. She mumbled, "Three alls."

"Why?"

"Bloch. So I could pay you."

I stood, angered. The fear in her hurt me. "Please excuse me. I will be right back. Eat."

I consider myself a good Florist. As I told Saliana and Tallani--and many others--once I accept an agreement I set my needs aside and do the best I can. The better Florists all work this way; thus it is common for the services to cost. But this was the first time someone admitted to me that I was taking food from her mouth.

I put together a much more extravagant platter with chesses, meats and fresh garden harvestlings. This was placed before Weinotia with a flourish.

"You are a guest in my, humble, home." I bowed to her until she smirked. I knew that was as close to a smile as I was going to get, at least for now. "You shall not want for anything that I may provide you as long as you are in my home."

"I have no need of your charity, Florist. I am here for a vigorous mating then I will be on my way. If you cannot provide one then I shall find someone who can."

"How long have you been alone?"

"It's not your turn--" Her voice caught and she tried to hide her face from me.

I sat next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. She resisted but I kept a steady pressure on her until she softened. Weinotia slowly melted against me. With one last deep breath the lingering tension ebbed from her body. She began to weep very quietly against my chest.

"Dear Weinotia, you are not an object of pity or charity. You are my guest, in my home, and you shall be treated with respect." I rocked her and said, "Please be honest with me. I want to understand."

"I, have, been, a, lone, for, so, long. Too, loo, ong."

"Parents?"

She shook her head.

"Relatives?"

Another negative gesture.

"Anyone special at all?"

"All, a, lone," she sobbed in a tiny voice, her bravado gone.

I wrapped her in both my arms, leaned back and pulled her with me. My hand stroked her hair as she cried.

"The human touch can be so profound, so emotional, and so healing," I murmured to her. "Just let me hold you and revel in my touch, in my warmth, in my comfort. Everything will be all right, dear Weinotia. Just relax and let me keep you safe with me, for a little while. All right?"

Her body shuddered as she filled her lungs. She nodded and I felt her regain some self-control.

"And when you are ready, then we shall feast together and get better acquainted, all right?"

"I, I think, I, would, like, that, Kelline."

"Good. I look forward to it as well. Now relax."

We swayed slowly together as the shadows lengthened.

* * * * * * *

More than a bell later Weinotia seemed to be her old self, feisty and direct, but with one important difference in my view--she acted with more respect. Her manners no longer betrayed a frightened and insecure girl. Just the brief intimacy we shared let her feel comfortable as a woman. It made her beautiful to me. But during dinner I also got to know some of her life's pain.

"So just like that my mother was gone. I was pushed from one relative to another. And the relationships grew more distant each time. First I lived with an aunt, then a cousin. After that it was a second cousin, then in-laws. I hated each home and none of them warmed up to me, either."

"And you were twelve?"

"Eleven-fourteens when my mother passed. I was fourteen-fourteens by the time I left my last... 'family'." She nibbled away her last rice bun. "These are excellent, Kelline." She smiled. There was something coy, and quite charming, in her face.

"I'm sorry I don't have more."

"I'm not," Weinotia laughed. "I'm ready to burst as it is. If I ate one more, whew!"

"You have a fine laugh."

Her expression changed in an instant. "You are not teasing me, are you?"

"No! It's just that that was the first time I heard you laugh. It is a joyous and lovely song, Weinotia. Truly!"

Her eyes sparkled and her lips curled. I think it may have been the first heartfelt compliment she had received in a long time. I also suspected she had laughed very seldom for the last several fourteen-moons.

"Thank you, Kelline."

"Are you... Weinotia, are you blushing!"

"No, I am certainly not!" She covered her face with both hands and turned away from me.

"You are," I chuckled. "Do not be embarrassed--"

"Listen to you!" She spoke between her fingers.

"What?"

"Do not be embarrassed... about being embarrassed!"

"No, that..." I began laughing at myself, and at her astute comment.

"A point, Lady Weinotia.' I laughed again and heard her join me. She peeked at me from behind her hands.

"You are lovely, and I am honored you chose me to be your Florist."

Her mirth faded. Weinotia turned serious. "So, what else do we have to discuss?"

"Well, it is a bit unusual to enter into an arrangement with someone who is not at least 'leaning' towards another--"

"But not unheard of, right?"

"You are right. It is not unheard of, just--unusual. Normally I would feel compelled to determine your motives. But I think--"

"My motive is I want to experience physical intimacy because I have heard how wonderful it is. And--" she continued, holding a palm towards me to quiet my interruption, "I want that intimacy to be vigorous because, well, because it is what I want."

"Weinotia... do you feel that, you... deserve to be... hurt, or punished?"

She turned her head and looked at the floor. The time dragged. At last she answered, "I did. When I got here, that was what I thought I deserved, though I had not thought of it in those terms." She met my eyes with a calm gaze that refused to waiver.

"And now?"

"No, Kelline, I do not think I deserve punishment."

"All right. There are other ways that we may be together."

"I know, but I still prefer something more... physical. And I must be allowed to be an active participant."

"My training is in 'sprinkling rain', but I am familiar with other 'disciplines'." We both smiled at the word. "However, I am not schooled in anything more than 'bloodlessly force', nor will I attempt anything more with anyone. Is that acceptable?"

"Kelline, I want to be taken, to be possessed by a lover. I am not interested in being bled, injured, scarred, or worse. All right?"

"That I can do, Weinotia."

"Then I accept your terms, Kelline."

"I accept yours, also, Weinotia."

I stood and offered her my hand. She took it and I helped her stand then pulled her hard against my chest. My hands gripped the shoulders of her blouse and yanked it down her arms until it held her like a cocoon. At the same time I bent to her throat and nipped my way from her collarbone up to her jaw.

Her body pressed tight to me. She wriggled, but did not struggle to escape. The firm mounds of her breasts rubbed into my chest and her head went back to give me access. My hands gripped the small of her back. Her arms remained completely immobilized by her torn blouse and my strong forearms. I shoved her hips to me. One of my legs slipped between her thighs and her legs clasped mine. She moaned and her hips rocked.

I grabbed a handful of her thick, wavy hair and tugged back and down, baring even more of her throat.

"Is this what you had in mind, Weinotia?"

"Oh, yesss," she hissed as my teeth pinched her skin.

I bent and nipped at the upper swell of her breast. "And this?"

"Oooh, yesss!"

I pulled on her hair again and her back arched. My hand ripped her blouse once more to expose all of her chest. I watched her nipples harden from her arousal and the cool air. My mouth fastened on the nearest swell of her flesh and her erect tip dug into the flat of my tongue.

"Oooh!" She tried to reach for my head but her clothing and my grip denied her the room to move. Her hips remained free enough, though, and they rolled up and down my thigh. I ravished her swollen bud, and the wrinkled flesh surrounding it, then moved to her left side. This time I dug my tongue into the center of her nipple and pressed it deep into her yielding areola. She gasped, her body shuddered and her thighs gripped my leg.

"Is this what you imagined, Wenotia?"

"It is much more than I hoped. Take me. Now!"

I sucked on the taught skin of her throat and asked, "Take you right here? Standing up?" Another soft bite on the base of her neck. "Or would you like to hang from my shoulders with your smooth thighs about my waist?"

"Oooh, ungh." Her hips convulsed.

"Or would you prefer lying back in my bed while I thrust deeply into your luscious body?"

"Here. Ungh, now. Please!"

I slid the remains of her blouse off and freed her arms. She wasted no time in pulling off my trousers, ignoring my shirt. She bent down to shove my pants to my ankles and gripped my thickening muscle in her right hand. The way in which she stroked my length was surprisingly schooled and effective. I groaned in spite of myself.

She removed her skirt and undershorts in one hasty motion and spread her palm with saliva. She applied it between her legs and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Take me, Kelline," she breathed.

I gripped her lush bottom in both my hands and her feet left the floor. Her thighs encircled my waist and I felt her wet heat envelop my tip. As I played her weight and began to enter her there was resistance.

"You are not--"

Before I could finish she thrust down onto me. I noted the flash of pain in her eyes, but in the next instant her lust returned.

"Take me, Kelline. Please!" Her low whisper was hoarse with need. Her hips met mine as I reached fully into her.

I controlled my anger, channeled it instead into fulfilling her desires. I crushed her mouth with mine, tasting her lips and tongue with ardor. As we found our rhythm I could feel her nipples harden through my shirt. Once more I pulled backward on her hair and chewed my way lower. As she leaned away from me she put more pressure on the joining of our hips. There was a hard nub of flesh and nerve endings that she ground into the top of my base and her body rocked at the contact.

"Oooh! Ungh, yesss!"

I arched downward and took one nipple in my teeth, applying just a hint of pressure. My thrusts remained long and full, with a steady rhythm that Weinotia tried to accelerate. But I held back, opting instead for a metronomic cadence that ended each thrust with my tip firmly nestled into her very depths.

By now Weinotia's gasps had become ragged sobs of pleasure. She teetered precariously on the edge of bliss but I felt she wanted to prolong the pleasure her body enjoyed. From her responses, though, I knew she could not hold back much longer.

I stood and pressed her sweaty chest to me. "Is this what you desired, Weinotia?"

"Yee, ees, Kel, line. Oooh, yesss!"

"Deep, full, hard?"

"Yesss!" Her fingers dug into my shoulders. If not for my tunic she would have left scratches. Her legs tightened until my body hurt. My hands guided the rocking of her hips. I thrust forward each time, with vigor, to intensify her pleasure.

Weinotia was unable to speak. She clung to me for dear life as her body shook in the electric buzz of sexual union. Her pelvis sought to shove tight to me and hold still, but my hands and hips insisted that her fulfilling, intoxicating thrusts kept on until--

"Oooh, ooo, OOH!" Ungh! Now, har, arr, ard, derrr!"

Her climax slammed her body in powerful spasms of joy. She hung on tighter and buried her face in my neck, sobbing and grunting her finish. Her convulsions milked at me until my final thrust enveloped me in her molten flesh. There, I bathed her with my own fiery essence. Her thighs shuddered and we melted with one another. The inside of my thighs were coated with perspiration and our nectars.

I held her tightly as we cooled and regained our breaths. My own legs began to shiver as I shrank within her.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She kissed my neck and my jaw. "Yes, Kelline." She kissed my lips. "I am really quite fine."

When I began to relax my grip and lower her, she said, "No, wait! Hold me. Just a little longer, please?"

"My legs--are failing. Here, come with me." I sat on the couch and she nestled into my lap. As I sat back she moved her ankles so her legs were alongside my hips rather than behind my back.

"Mmm, thank you, Kelline." Weinotia kissed my neck again "That was absolutely perfect."

"But I have to ask, you told me you had prepared--"

"Oh, Kelline," she interrupted, "please do not be angry with me."

"You told me--"

"I heard that this was the proper way, the best way, to feel taken, to feel possessed. The best way to feel my entry into womanhood. I needed to feel that way...."

I tried to lean back and look at her, but she kept her face against my neck and shoulder. I felt her squeeze the muscles surrounding me. It made me twitch inside her.

"Whoever told you that is an idiot!"

"Please spare me your anger." She squeezed me again. It tickled even as it aroused. The truth was that my anger faded very quickly, but I certainly did not want her knowing it. If she thought she could alter my mood too easily it might be at my peril.

As I slipped from her she finally looked into my eyes. Her gaze seemed demure, seemed to seek approval. Her head tilted to one side and her lips brushed against my own.

"May I freshen myself?"

"Of course. There," I gestured.

She was gone for a short time and returned with a warm washcloth. Weinotia knelt and cleansed me. The contrast of the initial heat that faded in the cooler air focused my mind. She folded the cloth and laid it on the side table. With trembling fingers she undid the buttons on my shirt and slid the garment over my shoulders until it caught on my arms. Her kisses grew hungry.

I tasted her mouth and let my tongue explore. Her breasts pressed into my chest and I felt her stiffened nipples brushing my skin.

She left my mouth and I felt her tasting the skin of my shoulder. I stroked her wavy hair as she descended along my ribs, trailing kisses all the way. She nipped at the skin of my stomach as her hand caressed between my thighs. She hummed her approval when I stirred against her palm.

"Ohh!" I could not help but moan as she cupped my sensitive tip.

"Mm, you like that, dear Kelline?"

"Oh, yesss. Mmm, you are naturally adept."

Weinotia emitted a low, throaty laugh. "'Naturally adept?' Do you always sound so formal?"

"I was just being proper, though you may make me forget my mann--mmm, my manners. My goodness, that feels very nice indeed."

"And this?" With that she held me to her lips and began to lower her mouth onto me. My hips thrust toward her as if they thought for themselves. I cannot be sure, but I believe I may have groaned.

In one of my more lucid moments, I reminded her, "This night is for you--I should--"

She slipped me from between her lips, but her hand maintained the same intoxicating and infuriating rhythm. It was becoming difficult to think.

"You should let me have my way, then. I want this." She devoured me once more.

I lay back with as masculine a whimper as I could manage, closed my eyes and played with her hair. Her mouth and hands kept on performing their magic. I knew my ultimate response would soon follow....

But the very next instant the fire of her mouth left me. My eyes flashed open in surprise.

Weinotia stood. In a fluid movement she turned away from me, straddled my thighs, and lowered herself. She licked her palm, cupped my tip to wet me then guided me to her. She settled with a long moaning sigh of pleasure. My legs flexed on their own as I slipped into her depths once again.

For the next several pounding heartbeats I watch the rippling of her back, thighs and bottom. She braced her hands on my knees and moved with rhythmic purposed, driving herself toward fulfillment even as she covered me in her musk.