In the Air Chapter 8
back to Chapter 7
"Did you enjoy your time in the garden?" Mistress had stayed up late, and Halsin had thought he would spend the night alone. But she had come to bed eventually and invited him to join her. She was already sitting against the headboard, the blanket pooling around her hips, barely hiding her naked form.
"Yes. Thank you, Mistress." Halsin had spent most of the day in a daze since Meryla had brought him back. Meryla hadn't touched him and barely spoken to him, but the pleased smile had been on her lips and in her eyes still. He had taken a shower and undone the braid, forcing himself to eat something before hiding in the bedroom. Reverie had stayed out of his reach, but sleep had not, and it had been blissfully without dreams.
After undressing himself, he climbed up on the bed. Mistress frowned, taking hold of his chin and making him sit on his heels.
"Why are you not wearing your plug?"
Oh no. He had forgotten about it. The fright ran through him like icewater, and there was no excuse he could think of he even wanted to try.
"I am so sorry, Mistress, I forgot to put it in again. Please let me—"
"Why did you take it out?" Mistress was still forcing him to look at her, and there was more curiosity than anger in her gaze. For now.
"I was told to by Lady Meryla." Halsin wondered if he should have lied. But Mistress had ordered him to obey Meryla. And she would know a lie for what it was.
"Oh?" Letting go of him, Mistress sat up straight, folding her hands in her lap. "And why would she do that?"
Halsin squirmed under her steady gaze, blood rushing into his face and setting his ears aglow. His heart raced and his body was ready to flee, tension humming in his muscles. The words to describe what had happened danced out of his reach. Silence bloomed around him, waiting to be filled, but he couldn't find his voice.
Mistress slapped him, so fast that he didn't see it coming. It startled a pathetic yelp out of him, his hands held up to protect himself before he forced them down, his cheek burning and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.
"Tell me!"
"She wanted to see—they wanted to know what my cock looks like and how big it gets. They had me show them. I forgot to put the plug back in afterwards, I am sorry, Mistress. I should—"
"Who is they? Meryla and who else?" Mistress waved his excuses away, her voice so calm it made Halsin cringe, his breath catching in his throat.
"I cannot say. Friends of hers, they were waiting in the garden. I am sorry, I don't know their names."
"Did they do anything else?"
"No. Yes." Halsin dug his fingernails into his thighs, holding on to the pain to steady his panicked mind. "They touched me. My cock. I didn't spend, but they tried to make me before Lady Meryla put a stop to it and sent me away."
"I see." Mistress stayed silent for a moment before she reached out to him. Halsin almost flinched away, but she merely ran her hand up his arm, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. "You did well."
Relief flooded Halsin's body, making him lightheaded. He followed Mistress' wordless invitation of patting the mattress next to her and stretched out, his head in her lap, one arm thrown across her legs. She trailed her fingernails up and down his back, following the ridges of his spine.
"Please, Mistress, I want to stay with you. Don't give me away." He hadn't meant to say it, not wishing to push his luck. But the mere thought of Meryla becoming his owner terrified him more than whatever punishment Mistress might have for him for speaking out of turn.
"Why would I give you away?" Mistress shifted under him and he rolled away until she had lain down, pulling him close so they were face to face. "Did Meryla say I would?"
"She said she would ask you."
"She already asked once, and I told her no. My answer will not change." Tipping up his chin, Mistress kissed him, slow and lingering. "I have no intention of giving you away to anyone, you are far too unique for that. I will not let her near you again. She disappointed me. You, on the other hand", another kiss, sweet and soft, "did not."
The praise soothed away the last of his fear, the taste of pomegranate on his tongue drowning out the tang of copper. Halsin swallowed, licking his lips to have more of that taste. Mistress' hand wandered to his chest, gently tugging on the hairs there, following their trail down his belly. She moved one of her legs between his, nestling so close into him that her breasts pushed against him with every breath she took, her nipples pebbled up hard.
When her fingertips brushed against his cock, Halsin whimpered softly, the ghosts of greedy hands fondling and pinching and the echoes of voices demanding ever more drowning out his senses. Mistress brought him back with another long kiss, the pomegranate reminding him of where he was and who he was with. She rested her head against his chest and he buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent to keep the memories at bay.
Cupping him in her hand, Mistress caressed him, her other hand trailing up and down his flank. Halsin moved into her touch, hungry for the pleasure and for the chance to reassure himself of her interest in him. He wrapped his arms around her in a loose hold, petting her back and her thigh. She stroked him to hardness while peppering his chest with kisses and the gentlest of bites, her tongue circling around his nipples until he was shuddering with need. Canting his hips, he pushed his cock through her fingers and she rewarded him with murmured praise.
"You are such a sweet man." Rolling over on her back, Mistress signalled with a touch that he was to follow, and she made space for him to kneel between her legs. "Always so eager to please. You are precious to me, never think you are not."
Halsin sought for words, but she shushed him with a kiss. It left him breathless, even a little dizzy, and he gladly let her pull him on top of her, bracing himself on his elbows next to her head. She moved under him, taking him in hand to tease herself before letting him slip inside. He hid his face against her neck, moaning at the heat of her around him.
Wrapping her legs around his thighs, she nudged him forward. He moved, slowly and deliberately, rolling his hips to thrust into her. Being stretched out on top of her made him acutely aware of his size. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her by accident. But she clung to him, her arms slung around his shoulders, her legs pushing him deeper, urging him to a faster pace.
He pushed himself up, daring to kiss the side of her neck right under her ear. Mistress lifted her chin and turned her head to the side, baring her throat to him for more kisses. Her pulse beat strong and fast under his lips and she closed her eyes when he caressed her ear, following the line of her neck and chin to brush his thumb across her lips.
She slipped a hand between them, teasing herself, moving into his thrusts. Her breath came in little cries and she held on even tighter to him, leaving long scratches down his back and along his flank. Halsin barely noticed the pain, too lost in the sight of her pleasure and in the freedom to please her the way he thought best.
Mistress arched up under him, her body shaking with her peak. Still she rose up to meet him, demanding more, allowing him to find his own release. He came undone under her enraptured gaze, her eyes fixed on his face, a hand buried in his hair. She drank it all in and he let himself fall over the edge with no more thought of being too rough for her.
They clung to each other, catching their breath. Halsin kept his face pressed into the crook of her neck, unwilling to let the moment end even as he softened and slipped out of her. Mistress seemed just as unwilling; petting his back, her legs resting against his hips.
Eventually, she turned her head to nuzzle at his neck, giving a quick nip to his earlobe to get his attention. "Go get some water to clean up. You don't need to wear the plug tonight."
Halsin did as he was told, taking a moment to look down at her once he was done. She was sprawled out on the bed, the flush of arousal slow to fade from her skin. Strands of her hair had spilled out of her braid, softening her appearance, and the content smile she wore emboldened him.
"May I braid your hair?" It wasn't something she had ever asked of him, and even as he was speaking, Halsin feared he had overstepped. But after a moment's consideration, Mistress invited him back on the bed.
"You may." Sitting with the blanket pooling around her hips, Mistress turned her back on him after showing him where to find the brush.
Halsin sat with his legs curled under himself, undoing the braid and starting to brush out any tangles from the tips, working his way up. Mistress' hair was silky in his hands and surprisingly heavy. The scent rising from it was a little bitter but pleasant, reminding him of wormwood. Worn out of the braid, it reached down to her waist. Gathering it all together, he parted it four ways and started to braid, moving slow so the strands wouldn't tangle and so he wouldn't be done too fast.
"I want you to tell me if anything like today happens again. I know you enjoy walking the gardens and I don't intend to keep you locked away. So if anyone happens to think that they can touch you just because I'm not with you, I want to hear about it." Mistress reached back to touch his leg, lightly petting it.
"I will. Thank you, Mistress." Halsin finished the braid and placed it over her shoulder. She leaned back into him, pulling his arms around her in an embrace, her hands laying on top of his. Turning her head, she rested it against Halsin's chest, letting him nose into her hair.
Tarlyn had healed him the last time he had visited. Halsin hadn't given it any thought at the time, but he did now. He thought about how Tarlyn had been careful not to leave bruises for some time now, surely not out of any consideration for him. In the beginning, and when he was with Mistress, he showed no such concern.
Halsin opened his mouth, and shut it again. The enormity of what he wanted to say made it stick in his throat, choking him.
"What is it?" Mistress didn't move away from him, but she shifted around so she could look at him. "Speak your mind, I will not punish you for it."
She never had broken that promise whenever she had made it. Halsin found his voice.
"Tarlyn. He has been—visiting me on his own." He braced himself for Mistress asking what happened during those visits, holding the memories at bay for now.
"When was that?" Mistress petted him, soothing strokes of her palm down his chest. But there was an edge to her voice that quickened Halsin's pulse.
"The last time was not long after you had given me the plug." It was hard to keep track of time, Halsin could not have said how many weeks or months ago that had been. "He threatened to pull it out of me."
"He wouldn't dare." Turning around to cup his face in both hands, Mistress placed a quick kiss to his lips. "I haven't given him permission to seek you out on his own for months. Certainly not for this. He has been overstepping his boundaries for a while now, I will need to think about what's to be done. I have been patient with him for too long. For now, I will refuse him entry to the apartment, you will not have to worry about him."
Halsin was faint with relief. He hadn't expected her to believe him, but maybe he should have known better. The thought of Tarlyn hearing about Halsin betraying him to Mistress was terrifying,. Halsin could imagine Tarlyn's rage only too easily. But he pushed it aside. Mistress would protect him. The taste of pomegranate on his tongue, Halsin sought and was granted another kiss, letting it reassure him.
"Rest with me. I will make some time for you tomorrow, I have been neglecting you. I have missed your company." Nudging him to lie down, Mistress rolled into his arms, her braid curling on the pillow like a silvery river against the deep blue.
Exhaustion caught up with Halsin the moment he had pulled the blanket up to Mistress' shoulders, spooning her from behind the way she loved. What had happened this morning seemed impossibly far away, and he preferred to keep it that way. Finding his way into reverie, he carefully sidestepped those images like he would a trap he came upon in the wild, and found a path to more pleasant things.
Chapter 9
Chapter 1