Wild Desire Ch. 07

Daniella bobbed on his cock, taking him deep and fast in response to his silent command. She fondled his balls with one hand and reached up to pinch his nipple. She followed each subtle cue of his body, taking his cock hard and fast in her mouth until she was rewarded with hot cum filling her mouth.

He untied his hands and pulled her up into his arms for a lingering kiss. He ran his hands over her body drawing shivers and moans from her, enjoying how responsive she was. He decided that as soon as he was sober enough to manage it, he'd take her again. Until then he would see how many orgasms he could bring her to with just his hands.

***

Daniella woke up bathed in the sound of birdsong and the sharp scent of tree sap. She looked around and found herself swaying in a hammock strung up on a platform two hundred feet in the air. It took her a moment to remember where she was and more importantly, how she had gotten there.

In the grey dawn she saw her Lord deep asleep in his own hammock. She stretched, deeply satisfied and slightly achy in all the right places. She considered sticking around for breakfast and round two — round three? Four? But she was eager to enjoy a bit of solitude now that she was able to roam the Wood without fear of Hemlock and Oleander.

A little investigation led to the trapdoor down into the Lord's main residence. Daniella looked around the platform before leaving. There were some cushions and blankets, a cabinet with books, a cozy looking sweater and a few other odds and ends. No pens, no paper. She chuckled a bit at herself as she stole her Lord's sweater and arranged a few blankets into the best message she could come up with under the limitations: C U. She wasn't sure he'd get it, but at least Hemlock and Oleander were gone. Hopefully he wouldn't leap to conclusions.

There was a wonderful joy in walking through the Wood alone, wearing her Lord's sweater and a pair of his lounge pants she'd liberated from his closet. For the first time in weeks it was just her and the quiet sounds of the forest, the soft press of needles under her feet, the caress of the morning breeze against her skin. She wasn't anything to anyone, she just was.

When she got back to her treehouse Daniella brewed herself a pot of tea and put together a plate of sweetbread and fruit. She sat on her balcony and dangled her legs off the edge, her breakfast and full pot of tea beside her.

She watched the sun as it turned the sky a radiant array of pinks and oranges. Her mind wandered over the experiences of the last month. There was so much to unpack. Part of her was crowing in triumph over their handling of the two envoys. She had loved every secret look with her Lord, every stolen touch, the thousand ways he had cared for her. He trusted her strength. He knew her limits and pushed them in the most devious ways. Her cheeks warmed just thinking about the night before. The way he had melded pleasure and pain was mind-melting.

Another part of her mourned for every ounce of real pain she'd felt, every humiliation and threat she'd endured from Hemlock and Oleander. There was a deeper hurt than that. Her Lord had let her down the night before because he loved someone else. She blinked back a tear. She and her Lord had been an unstoppable team in the face of every vile threat from Hemlock and Oleander. In the face of Feldspar everything suddenly slipped through her fingers like quicksand. She sighed and thought about what she really wanted.

"Good morning," Gneiss said from behind her. Daniella jumped. She'd been so deep in thought that she hadn't even heard the door open. She tossed her roommate a perfunctory smile. Gneiss took it as an invitation and settled next to Daniella, dangling her legs off the balcony as she gazed into the sunrise. They sat in silence for a long time, Daniella sipping her tea, Gneiss playing with fallen leaves.

"Did they give you any trouble?" Daniella asked, breaking the silence.

Gneiss shook her head. "I believe the Lord frightened them." She looked sidelong as Daniella. "It has been some time since any of us saw that side of him. It was a bit of a shock."

Gneiss fiddled with a twig. "I had forgotten, in a way," she added. Daniella looked sharply at her, surprised by the sheepish tinge to her voice. Gneiss was never lacking in confidence, nor was she shy about offering up opinions.

"That is why I was so angry with you, you understand. I thought you were putting us and our Lord in danger. I suppose I had forgotten what he is capable of."

Daniella didn't know what to say. After an awkward pause she said, "It's okay. You were just trying to look out for your people."

"You are one of my people," Gneiss said.

Daniella was taken aback. "I am?"

"Of course. You are of the Wood."

Daniella gave her an incredulous look. The woman literally referred to her as "Disruption" for weeks and weeks.

"Our Lord wields great power, but I have never seen him call up an earthquake like that before," Gneiss said. "I slept little last night, preoccupied as I was with how he was able to do that. The only explanation that makes sense is that you joining the Wood, coming into his life, has made him stronger.

"I know I have not been kind to you, but I am not blind to your kindness to Nephrite and Feldspar. Offering yourself as a distraction for Hemlock and Oleander these last weeks... And last night — I saw the way you encouraged our Lord to comfort Feldspar, and I saw what it cost you."

Daniella blushed. This was so unexpected from Gneiss of all people.

"Does this mean you're going to give me a new name?" Daniella asked. Gneiss let out a short bark of a laugh.

"When you are ready, I would be honored to know your true name. And until then, I hope you will feel comfortable calling me by mine," Gneiss said, with so much sincerity that Daniella was thrown. She placed her hand on Gneiss's, grasping for the appropriate response.

"I'd be glad to have you for a friend, Gneiss," she said after a long pause.

An unnatural, autumn-tinged wind swept across the deck. "You have a visitor," Gneiss said dryly. She hoisted herself up and went back inside. As the door clicked shut the Lord appeared from thin air, sitting cross-legged beside Daniella.

"I've been looking for you," he said. Daniella poured a cup of tea for him wordlessly.

"I was not expecting you to be gone when I awoke. I had thought you would want to spend the morning with me, after last night."

She slid the tea to him. "Well, you're here with me now, aren't you?" she said drily. She looked up, expecting him to return her teasing. His hair was still rumpled with sleep. He hadn't bothered to put on a diadem, nor had he put on one of his impeccable outfits. He looked vulnerable. He looked — nervous?

"Do you not remember what happened last night?" he asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"I mean, I think I do. You kicked the psycho twins out of the Wood after they drugged me. You took something to get on my level. We had a wild night under the stars. Trust me, even if I'd forgotten my body still remembers that this morning — in a good way, I mean."

He took a long sip of tea, not meeting her eyes.

"Did something else happen?"

"Last night, you offered me your name," he said quietly. As he spoke, the Wood fell silent. The wind paused, expectant. Birds and squirrels settled into stillness. Daniella couldn't even hear the far-off sounds of the stream. A wall of taut silence surrounded them.

She scooted away so she could face him more fully, suddenly aware of how fraught this conversation was for him. "Was that a bad thing?"

"No," he said, sounding uncertain. "I did not reciprocate, and I thought perhaps that was why you had left this morning."

"No," she said immediately. She lingered over what to say next. He was looking at her intently, concerned, waiting. She sighed. There would never really be an easy time to talk about the things that were heavy on her heart. "After everything that happened, I needed some space."

"Ah," he said. He looked down at his teacup. Daniella didn't want to open herself up and look at all the hurt places inside. If she was going to have to, she didn't want to do it alone. She plucked the teacup from his hands and scooted over to lean against him, silently asking for the comfort of his arms. He wrapped and arm around her and nuzzled her hair.

"I was so scared," she said finally. "I trusted you, but it was so scary all the time. When you left me last night they could have done anything. They could have killed me."

He squeezed her against himself and kissed her head. "I am so sorry."

"I'm not mad exactly. I know they did something so you couldn't see what was really happening. The thing is, you had a choice and you chose Feldspar. I know I told you to go to him. I know he needed you. But that doesn't change that when I needed you, you weren't there because you were with him. After all the trust I put in you, all the things we've experienced together, you let me down."

He propped his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his face. "What would you have me do? I am the Lord of the Wood and I am bound by duty to care for every inhabitant of it."

"It's not duty when it comes to Feldspar. You love him," Daniella said simply.

"Of course I love Feldspar," he replied, nonplussed. Daniella sucked in a breath. It hurt to hear him say it so easily. He put his arm around her again and tipped her chin up to look at him. "My love for him is irrelevant to you and I."

Daniella almost laughed. "It's not irrelevant to me. Some people are fine sharing their lovers with others. I've tried to convince myself that it's not my business or it's not my place to get between you two. I know you were with him long before you were with me. But this morning I was sitting here and I just realized I deserve every good thing for myself. I deserve to be loved in the way I want."

"What is it that you want?" he asked, his voice low and laced with just the barest hint of desire. Daniella looked at him incredulously, wiping the amorous look right off his face.

"I want to be with you without making myself small. I want to be the only one for you." Because you might be the only one for me, she added silently.

"Feldspar and I are... complicated. In truth, I am nothing more than an accessory to him and Gneiss. They enjoy my participation. They can easily find some other man to play with."

He looked relaxed, even relieved that she demanded so little of him. "Okay," she said slowly. "I don't think Feldspar feels the same. I think he's in love with you."

Her Lord looked down at her with a hint of wistfulness. "May I tell you a secret? Feldspar and I have been friends a great many years, and every so often he does seem to want more. I do believe this time it is because he sees the way I look at you. I have never looked at him like that and it is making him a touch jealous."

Daniella blushed and smiled in spite of herself. A knot of tension in her chest eased and she snuggled up to him again.

"Now, may I make demands of you?" her Lord said teasingly.

"You already do all the time," she shot back with a sly smile.

"Why did you tell me your name last night? After everything that had happened you still wanted to take that step. Why?"

"Lord, I don't even really know what exchanging names means to you." He gave her a baleful look. Daniella tried again. "I mean, I kinda know, but I don't know-know the way you do. It's just not a big deal to me."

He look unconvinced. "Then why tell me?"

Daniella stared out across the treetops and sighed. She wasn't sure exactly how to explain her thinking at the time. "Don't you ever get tired of people only seeing the parts of you they want to see? Like, to Hemlock and Oleander I was just a slave. And to most of your subjects I'm just a human, barely a step above an animal. After months of living in that, I wanted to know you saw me for me."

She peeked at his face and found his eyes glowing with intense feeling. He leaned down to her and she stretched up to him, meeting his lips halfway. The kiss was soft and sweet, full of promise. She wound a hand around the nape of his neck, cording it through his wild, black hair.

When they parted they were both panting. Her Lord tipped his head back and stared up at the sky. "It has been a great relief to be with you not as the Lord of the Wood, but simply as myself. Yet, for as much as I love that, I am the Lord of the Wood. I cannot give my name to you without risking the safety of the Wood."

Daniella could see that the Lord expected her to be hurt and insulted. She tentatively took his hand and placed a kiss on it. "Let's agree to this then: You can call me by my name without giving me yours. All I ask is that you only be with me."

He opened his mouth to agree, relief written all over his face. Daniella held a hand up and added a bit of detail to cover herself. You never knew with faeries. "So that means no kissing, no blowjobs — giving or receiving — no sex, no nothing with anyone who isn't me. And you have to be the one to break it to Feldspar. Agreed?"

He gave her one of his rare megawatt smiles and kissed her so soundly she thought she might still be under the influence of whatever she'd taken the night before.

When he pulled away he was still grinning. "Why, Daniella, I would think you should like to sample Feldspar's charms yourself someday. But I suppose if you insist, it's a bargain."