In the Air Chapter 3
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The day had passed Halsin by much more quickly than usual, his mind taken off things by the book. He had chosen well, curiosity and a passion for the topic shone through in every word, and Halsin was glad to come along on the journey the author was taking him.
Unlike the cage, the small plug didn't bother him much after the first few hours. He left it alone and soon mostly forgot that he was wearing it, only reminded of it when he moved. And even then, it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he had feared it would be.
He had deliberately picked a heavy tome he would need spend days to finish, in the hope Mistress would allow him to keep it until he was done. Carefully marking his place with a length of thread, he put it aside and stretched, walking over to the narrow window.
It looked out over another part of the garden, filled with vines and flowers that glowed ghostly white and blue. They were enormous and Halsin would have loved to walk among them. Sometimes, Mistress would take him. It always meant wearing a collar and a slender chain, but it was well worth it. Maybe he would find a way to suggest it to her. She had been in a pleasant mood. Halsin thought he might try once she came to see him. Returning to the bed, he picked the book back up, wandering a forest of Sussur trees and getting to know its inhabitants.
The quiet was shattered by the smash of crockery on the floor. Halsin shot upright, snapping the book shut and rolling off the bed. He stood, unsure what to do, nerves and muscles humming with tension. Mistress voice cut the air, raised in anger. There was no understanding the words, but he understood the tone perfectly.
Doors were thrown open and Halsin barely had time to kneel in his place next to the bed before Mistress barged into the bedroom. Her white robes were splashed with drops of tea around the hem, staining them. A quick glance at her face made Halsin duck his head, cowardly glad he wasn't the target of her ire. Through the open bedroom door, he had a clear view through the hall and into the living quarters where one of the elven slaves stood frozen, a broken teaset at her feet.
Halsin had caught glimpses of her now and then. He didn't know her name, but she had been brought to the manor not long after himself. She would bring food up to the apartment and clean it away, silent and quick. This was the first time he had seen her for more than a few moments, and he realised she was even younger than him, barely more than a child. Even at a distance, he could see her trembling.
"Mistress?" He pitched his voice low, in the reverent tone he knew she loved. It did catch her attention and she rounded on him, a curled whip in hand.
"What?" Her tone wound Halsin's nerves even tighter. She had stopped, taking a step closer to him and signalling him to look at her, the handle of the whip under his chin. He could sense the rage rolling off of her in waves, even though she had schooled her expression into a blank mask.
"It would be a shame to spoil your evening even more by spending it with a task as boring as punishing a servant. I could entertain you better than that, a much more pleasant end to your day." He had seen what Mistress could do with that whip, and he had felt it. It had left him barely able to move for days until she had decided to heal him. He doubted she would be so kind to the girl.
Mistress stared down at him, still as a statue. Halsin had to force himself not to look away, remembering the pain of the whip flaying his skin to pieces. When she moved, her hand shooting out to grab his hair, he couldn't help the gasp of fear. She marched to the door, making him scramble after her on all fours and come to heel at her feet.
"Very well. You, clean that up and don't let me see you again." In the moment before Mistress slammed the door shut, Halsin caught the eye of the girl. The pity he saw there cut him as deep as any whip.
"Undress." Mistress let go of him, sprawling in one of the wide chairs next to the bed to watch. Halsin hurried to obey, taking care to fold his clothes and leave them in an orderly pile on the floor. "Good. Come here, stand in front of me."
A casual wave of the curled whip showed him where to stand. Hands behind his back, he towered over her so much she had to tip her head back to look at him. Yet he was shaking under her cool gaze, barely resisting the urge to rise on his toes when the smooth handle of the whip trailed up his thigh and rested under his balls.
"You won't be needing this." Without averting her eyes from his, Mistress took him in hand and pulled the rod from his cock in one movement. Halsin's knees almost buckled at the sensation, a shudder running through him at how stretched and empty it left him. A light slap against his balls made him flinch. "Lie on the bed."
Stretching out on his back, Halsin heard the rustle of Mistress' robes, carelessly shed and left to lie on the floor. The mattress dipped when she came to join him, straddling his chest. Her hair fell across her shoulder, brushing up against his neck and cheek as she bent down to kiss him, ending it with a sharp bite to his lip. It left blood on his tongue, and Mistress' sweet taste.
"You are shivering. Are you afraid?" Her tone was just as sweet as her taste, fingers petting the lines of his face. There was no trace of her anger. As hot as it flared up, it burned itself out fast most of the time. Often, it was replaced by cold indifference or a calculated indulgence in cruelty. Of all of them, Halsin preferred her quick rage. He knew how to handle it.
Now, he could see none of these. She seemed almost concerned, her soft smile reflected in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, his chest pushing against her weight, Halsin made an effort to let the tension flow out of his limbs.
"I am. I'm sorry, Mistress." There was no sense in denying it. She could read him too well for it, had been able to very soon after she had taken him in. Halsin had never been a very good liar, or been able to hide his emotions.
"There is no need. I won't punish you - you haven't given me any reason to." She took his hand and placed it on her hip, inviting him to caress her. Sitting up straight and raising her arms above her head, hands lifting her hair, she opened herself to his gaze and his touch.
Halsin let his hands wander up her sides, her waist almost slender enough for him to encircle. She leaned back a little, letting him support her weight, before falling forward and bracing herself on his shoulders. Her eyes half closed, she moaned under her breath when he teased at her nipples, trailing one hand down her belly. The almost translucent hairs growing there were soft as down, leading him between her thighs. She rocked into him when he sought out her clit, flushed a deepening purple already.
The sudden fear at her outburst had burrowed too deep in his mind for him to shake it off so soon. As determined to please her as he was, his cock remained limp. If she demanded otherwise from him, she might find a use for the whip after all. He tried to shut out the reason why they were here, but the look of terror and of pity on the girl's face refused to be banished. When Mistress reached behind herself, a flush racing up her chest and into her face, her hips grinding against his chest, she found him soft still. Bracing himself for another flash of anger, Halsin held his breath.
"It's a good thing you have such a talented tongue." The smallest frown appeared on Mistress' face, enough to make Halsin's heart speed up. She raised herself on her knees, moving forward until she could press her cunt to his mouth. He started slow, the way she liked it, small flicks of his tongue and gently taking her clit between his lips to suck on it. When she began to roll her hips, Halsin took it as the signal to speed up, thrusting his tongue into her and teasing her with his fingers.
"No. Use your mouth only." Mistress tapped his wrist with one finger, and he obediently stretched his arms above his head. She sank lower, making it easier for him to reach her, riding his tongue. Arching his neck, Halsin caught a quick breath when he could, not daring to stop pleasuring her for more than a few moments. Her soft moans grew louder, little cries as he touched her just right.
Being smothered underneath her took him by surprise, not allowed to breathe as she chased her peak, grinding herself against him. Clutching at the sheets, Halsin gasped for air and only caught her musk, trapped by her thighs and her weight on top of him. Panic rose unbidden in his mind and he fought it, struggling to keep still and not follow the frantic urging of his body to roll over, throw Mistress off, push her away.
When she slumped back, catching herself on his thighs, her knees firm against his sides, Halsin sucked down air in huge gasps, his chest heaving. His pulse was racing, her smell still suffocatingly strong in his nose. He was so intent on filling his lungs that he never noticed Mistress moving, not until she curled her fingers around his cock. It was already swelling, rapidly growing to full size as she stroked it. Halsin shivered with unspent tension, his fading panic only stoking his lust.
"Look at you, so eager to please me." Straddling him, Mistress teased herself with his cock, the head pressed to her clit. The rush of pleasure when she took him turned his gasps into a moan and he rolled his hips to meet her. Wearing the plug had left him sensitive in a way he had never experienced before, the ghost of its stretch still lingering.
Mistress gathered both his wrists in her hand above his head, bracing herself on them. It would never have been enough to stop him from moving by force but he knew better than to show that. A word would have sufficed to shackle him as well as any chain.
Her back arched and her body tense as a bow above him, Mistress cupped his face in her hand, trailing her thumb across his lips. He was in danger of slipping out of her but didn't dare move, for all that his body screamed at him to seek his pleasure in her.
"Move. Slow as you can." Her voice was breathy, her eyes half-lidded and when he raised himself to sink deeper into her, a shudder ran through her. Strands of her hair curled on his arms and against his neck, cool and smooth as silk. Halsin found a rhythm, planting his feet on the mattress so he could thrust into her to the hilt. Soon, she was panting, eyes closed and head turned to the side.
"Faster."
Halsin was only too glad to follow the order. He was getting lost in the pleasure, his mind drifting away from the fear that had lingered until he was only tethered by Mistress' hands on his body. Lust curled in his belly, racing up his spine, crackling under his skin. Her hand slipped down to his neck, fingertips caressing his throat. It sent shivers through him, urging him to move even faster.
The caress turned into a squeeze, fingers digging into soft skin and cutting off his air. In an instant, panic sunk its teeth into him, dragging him out of his haze. Halsin arched up, fighting to breathe. The grip on his throat softened, enough that he could suck down air in a heaving breath, and another.
"I didn't tell you to stop." Mistress' voice cut through the fear, cold and sharp. Halsin didn't have the breath to speak, to beg or to plead with her. And one look at her face told him it would have only made things worse. She cut his air off again, a ravenous hunger clear on her face. "I want to see you spend. Don't hold back."
He couldn't have. Every nerve in his body was alight, every touch almost too intense to bear. He couldn't help but throwing himself into the pleasure, chasing it to escape the panic. Halsin bucked up, rutting into Mistress with no care about being too rough. Every thrust pitched her forward, squeezing his throat even harder. He couldn't hear anything except the frantic beating of his own heart, all other noises fading, his vision greying out. His lungs burned with the need to breathe, but the need to spend won the race. His peak shook him, hips jerking in a desperate effort to find even more pleasure, his muscles seizing up hard and then going soft, quivering from the strain.
Mistress' weight was gone and Halsin rolled over, gulping down air. His throat was raw, every breath painful. For a time he could do nothing but lie curled up, struggling to fill his lungs. If Mistress had demanded anything else, Halsin wouldn't even have heard her. But she merely petted him, cooing praise in a soft voice until he had recovered enough of his senses to meet her eyes, trying to find out if he had pleased her well enough.
"You could have told me you like this." There was no reproach in her voice or her expression, only her truly content smile, the one that reached her eyes and turned them soft. "I'm more than happy to indulge you."
"I'm not—I didn't—" Halsin couldn't even deny it to himself. It had gotten him hard so fast, and his peak had been more intense than any he could remember. Certainly more than any he had had here, no matter how terrified he had been. Or maybe because of it.
"I didn't know." It was the only thing he could think of to say, and it was the truth. He would never have asked anyone to do this to him, and yet he had reacted with a wanton lust he had no control over.
"You're young. There's no shame in not knowing all the things you enjoy. I like that about you." Mistress brushed a few hairs out of his face, tucking them behind his ear. She stretched out next to him, tangling her legs with his and tipping his chin up for a languid kiss. "You were right, this is a much more pleasant way to end my day. Thank you."
Halsin didn't know what to say. But she didn't seem to expect an answer, so he merely held her and let her pet him until she sent him to get some warm water. She allowed him to clean her up and then did the same for him, placing a soft kiss to his throat when she was done. He found the plug lying on the side table and she took it out of his hand.
"Let me." Before Halsin had time to tense up, she had slipped it back into place with practiced ease. He took a surprised breath that turned into a painful cough. Mistress handed him a glass of water, blessedly cool to his raw throat, and watched him drink.
"You may share the bed tonight. And maybe we can take a walk in the gardens soon. I will make time for it." Lying down, Mistress patted the mattress next to her, inviting Halsin to join her. He gathered her in an embrace the way she had taught him to and fled into reverie, leaving his confusion and shame behind.
Chapter 4
Chapter 1