Lovers of Legend (5 page)

I plopped myself in my own chair and scowled at him across the table. My mind rummaged for some sort of compromise. I hit upon an idea. "If I were to kiss you would that fulfill the contract?" I asked him.

"In part," he replied.

"If I kissed you and still rejected you, would you then release me from the contract?" I persisted.

Ethan leaned back in his chair and furrowed his brow. He thought over my proposal for a few long, quiet moments, then gave a nod. "Yes, I will agree to that," he answered.

I jumped to my feet and moved to stand before him. "Then let us perform this unsavory task and let me be gone," I demanded.

He smiled and stood. "Very well, but I must warn you this will not end as you wish it."

"I will take that chance," I replied.

I squeaked when Ethan's arms wrapped around me and brought me against his chest. My cheeks reddened and I tried to turn my face away, but he clasped my chin between his fingers and gently turned me back. His eyes sparkled in the dim light of the fire and for a moment I wondered why I rejected this gentle, handsome man. He leaned down and captured my lips in a searing kiss. There was passion and lust in the kiss. I lost myself in those powerful emotions. Our lips fought against one another, demanding more contact, more body pressed against body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself against him.

I wanted to remain forever as we were, but Ethan pushed me away. He clutched his head and stumbled back into the table. His eyes slammed shut and he shuddered. I hurried to his side and steadied him. "What's wrong?" I breathlessly asked him.

"The. . .the change," he answered through gritted teeth.

"Change?" I repeated.

I didn't understand the word until I noticed the changes come over him. His ears sharpened to points and his dark, short hair untangled itself and lengthened to drape over his shoulders. His skin changed from tan to pale, and he grew taller to stand nearly a head above me. The rough beard shrank into his face, leaving him clean-shaven. When he opened his eyes I saw that though they were still dark there was a brightness to them that bespoke near-immortality. He straightened and I stumbled back to gather a full view of him. He was no longer human, but an elven man in all the splendor of youth.

Ethan noticed the admiration in his eyes. "What do you think of this change?" he wondered.

"H-how?" I stuttered.

"My ancestor guessed a woman of the elven line of Stethana wouldn't accept a human male as her husband, so he enchanted our line to change into an elf at a kiss from the daughter of the lord," he explained. "First, though, the male descendant needed to gain enough of her trust to garner a kiss."

"Then you are truly an elf?" I asked him.

"I am in body, but I am still myself beneath this new exterior," he replied.

I blinked and my eyes wandered over his lithe, new form. He was tall, smooth of skin, and magnificent. Though Ethan retained his unruly clothes and a wildness to his hair and skin, Steven could not hold a candle to him in appearance. Most especially, Steven could not compete against this man-no, this elf's kind character.

"You study me very carefully, but you do not comment. Is this still not to your liking?" Ethan spoke up.

"I-I do not know," I admitted. I strode over and ran my hand over his rough shirt.

He chuckled. "Perhaps you would like to see if I am entirely elf," he teased.

I blushed, but less from his comment than the first word that came from my lips. "Yes," I replied.

His eyebrows shot up. "Truly?" he wondered.

I turned away with my cheeks glowing brighter than the fire. "I-I mean you are very fine looking," I rephrased.

He gently grasped my chin and turned me to face him. His eyes seared into me with their lust and need. Standing as we were, two elves alone in a warm room with a bed, I, too, felt a need for him. "But do you accept me as your betrothed? Do I have the honor of becoming husband to a spirit of the woods?" he asked me.

My options flashed before me. Visions of Steven's cruel face and my parents' indifference lay in one future, and in the other was the solitude of the forest with this man who was better than any human or elf I had ever known. He was real, kind, and gentle. I smiled and covered his hand with my own. "I accept you as my husband," I whispered.

His face lit up with indescribable joy. He grasped me around the waist, lifted me off the floor, and twirled me around. I gasped and held on as the room spun around me. He set me down and engulfed me in a warm, tight hug. "You will never regret your decision," he promised me.

I smiled and buried myself into his warm, soft shirt. "No, I believe I will not," I replied. He pulled us apart and looked down at me with his warm smile. "You stare at me so intently," I commented.

"I wonder if you're saying yes has fulfilled the contract and we are truly betrothed. Otherwise, I fear your father will not allow this marriage," he replied.

"What does it matter that the contract is fulfilled if I have said yes to you as my husband?" I countered.

"The contract binds us, and even your father will not go against it, but if it is not sealed then he may attempt to separate us," he pointed out.

"How will we find out if the contract is completed?" I returned.

His face fell. "By your leaving my home. If the contract is fulfilled then the wolves will not appear," he told me.

I pulled us apart and glanced at the door. The entrance dared me to answer the question of whether or not I was free. "I suppose then that I must try."

Chapter 7

I strode over and grabbed the handle as before. The sound of wolves drifted to my ears. I turned back to Ethan. "This means that the contract is not fulfilled?" I guessed.

"Yes. Merely saying yes is not enough," he replied.

I strode over to stand before him. "But what more can we do?" I wondered.

A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "We must consummate our marriage to prove to the woods the contract is fulfilled."

"Consummate. You mean-?" My eyes wandered over to his bed.

He chuckled. "Yes, but only if you wish it," he told me.

I glanced at his strong, muscular body and his gentle eyes. A strange, unfamiliar heat arose in my own body. I had never known lust before, but I knew it now. The feeling was not unpleasant, but it created an ache deep inside me that I wished dearly to be satisfied. "I. . .I don't know," I replied.

Ethan gently grasped my chin between his fingers. He lifted my eyes so they caught his own, and I saw a reflection of my need in the depths of his eyes. They were consumed by a heat that beat at the restraints of his kind, civilized demeanor. One word, one whisper from me and it would break loose to fulfill both our desires.

A flush swept over my body as I was filled with a strange, soothing heat. It pooled between my thighs and pulsed with its own life, its own demands. I shuddered and flicked my tongue over my dry lips. Ethan leaned forward and caught my lips in a hot, passionate kiss. It swept my breath away and filled me with such carnal desire. The desire of my ancestors before we left the forest.

He pulled us apart and we both gasped for breath. His voice was husky with his need. "I-I'm sorry," he whispered to me.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck to bring us closer. "Don't be," I replied.

"Then you-?" His hope wouldn't allow him to finish the question.

I leaned forward and pecked a dainty, teasing kiss on his lips. "Yes," I told him.

He grasped my hips and pressed me against him as he caught my lips in another searing kiss. I groaned as the heat inside my body blazed with a new life, one that could only be satisfied with his hands stroking and teasing me. His hands performed as I wished as they slid around to massage my rear. I pulled away to catch my breath and he softly kissed a trail down my trembling neck.

I yelped when he lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the wide bed. He set me atop the covers and quickly covered my body with his. I lay beneath him a bundle of heated nerves and tense muscles. His hands toyed with me, teasing me by remaining atop my troublesome dress. I cursed every fold, every thread that interfered with our desires. His kisses traveled down my neck to just above my covered chest. When he pulled away I whimpered.

His chest heaved and his smoldering eyes flickered over my body with a passion that made me tremble. He slid a hand up my side and slipped around my back. The strings of my dress lay back there, and with deft fingers he untied the knots. The bodice of my dress loosened and my swollen breasts were glad for the freedom. I grasped the shoulders on my dress and pulled them down, drawing with it my undershirt. My naked breasts were revealed to him, and he swooped down and captured the sensitive nubs between his hot, wet lips.

I gave a soft cry and clutched his head. He suckled me slowly, achingly slowly. Each feeling of his lips rubbing against me was sweet torture. My body was aflame in desire. My lust demanded more touches, more heat. I slid a leg up his hip and rubbed myself against him. He grunted and pushed against me, and I felt his stiff, thick need in his pants. He raised himself on his arms and clenched his teeth.

"You make this very hard to please you," he moaned.

"I am glad I make this very hard for you," I teasingly whispered.

He couldn't stand it any more, and I was glad for it. He grabbed at my dress and rendered it in two. I lay naked beneath him as he tore his own shirt and pants from his body. He was a fine specimen, pale and well-muscled. Our bodies were covered in sweat and glistened in the soft light of the fire. He half covered me with his own, and his heat heightened mine. I wrapped my arms around him as he did the same, and his pants cast a warm breath over my neck. I gasped when he nibbled on my ear.

"So beautiful," he whispered.

One of his hands slid down my bare thigh and dipped between my legs. His fingers gently touched the coarse hair there, and slipped deeper to graze my wet folds. I gasped and thrust my hips up, demanding more of something I was only beginning to understand. He pressed his body down on mine and pinned me to the bed. His fingers slowly rubbed against my folds. The friction of my sensitive part made me shudder and I clung to him. I reveled in the moist heat that pooled between my legs and drowned the rest of me in its delicious pleasure. Each stroke of his fingers was like a thousand hands touching and caressing my body.

I whimpered when he removed his hand, but it was quickly replaced with the tip of his member. With a quick thrust he pushed deep into me, filling me with himself. There was pain, sharp pain, but he held still so it only lasted a moment. Then he pulled out and slowly pushed back inside me. He stroked every inch of my trembling body, touching me as I never dreamed to be touched. His thrusts quickened and the heat inside of me burned with a fever that demanded attention. I wrapped my legs around his waist and gasped when he penetrated me more deeply.

He grunted and moved faster. I was delirious with lust. The heat filled my mind with desires and passions I never could have imagined. I pushed against his every thrust seeking to make us as one. One hot, sweat-soaked body straining to fulfill the carnal desires inside of us.

The tremors started slow. My muscles tightened and I clutched harder to him as he thrust faster, too fast for me to follow. I closed my eyes and arched my back, allowing for a deeper union. He pushed harder, deeper, and the tremors rose to a feverish pitch of waves. Each wave was hot and warm, and brought in its waters a pleasure that enveloped me like a soft blanket. I gasped for breath and clung to him. The waves grew higher. My muscles strained to reach the tops. I cried out my pleasure as I hit the heights of bliss. My voice rang through the small room and were echoed by Ethan's as he, too, reached satisfaction. He thrust one last time and collapsed atop me. His breaths came out in harsh gasps and he clung to me with his shivering arms.

We lay like that for several minutes before the tremors died down. Our sweat dried and a chill ghosted over me. I shivered and Ethan raised his head to look into my eyes. "Cold?" he whispered.

"A little," I replied which was true. His body covered most of mine with his own heat.

Ethan reluctantly slid off me and grabbed a quilt from the foot of the bed. He wrapped me in the cloth and slipped on his pants to walk over to the fire and stoke the dying embers. In a moment the flames flickered high in the hearth and cast a bright glow on the room. I clutched the blanket and sat up, and blushed when his eyes fell on me. He smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside me.

"How do you feel?" he asked me.

"Tired," I replied. I shifted and winced. "And a little sore."

He chuckled. "You'll feel better in the morning."

I looked over his changed self. His ears were still pointed and his skin remained as pale as alabaster. "Do you. . .do you regret what you have done?" I wondered.

He noticed where my eyes lay, and reached up and touched his ears. "No. The consequences were worth the reward," he told me.

"My. . .my wealth?" I wondered. My mind still harbored doubts regarding his intentions.