AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She grabbed on to the first branch and hauled herself up. It was a routine she’d followed many times before, but as she reached for the next step in her progression, she stopped. “What’s wrong?” he called up to her.
Steadying herself with one hand, she sat on the broad limb. He approached her and she hopped down, almost landing on top of him. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said, pulling him close to her. “I’ve been so preoccupied with building my endurance, I nearly forgot my favorite part of coming here.”
Stephen hadn’t wanted to say anything along those lines while she had been scaling the tree night after night, and he welcomed the delicate touch of her lips to his. Sensitive kisses soon fell to the compelling power of overwhelming lust. It wasn’t long before they discarded their clothing in the waving grass. Once they were both nude, she leaned back against the sturdy trunk and forced his mouth back to hers. Thoughts of this kiss had captured his mind during the days of hard work, and it was everything he’d hoped it would be.
He wanted her. He needed her. He loved her, and he couldn’t wait to surround himself with her. She indicated her matching desire by trailing her hand down his chest until she reached his enlarged cock. Stroking it until it was fully erect, she guided it toward the heat radiating from between her thighs. Never surrendering her control of his mouth, she rubbed his unyielding thickness against her pussy, teasing him with her juices and lubricating the head of his erection.
Regardless of how many fantastical encounters they’d had, Liora was still impossible to resist. Not content to remove himself from the intimacy of her embrace for a single second, he slipped his hands beneath her silky-smooth thighs and lifted her up. His cock glided inside her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, keeping them enmeshed. He rocked his hips, slowly at first, and fought to keep his balance as the first shock of pleasure almost caused his knees to buckle.
She broke the kiss to tilt her head back and moan. Stephen plunged into her as far as he could go, burying himself within her slickened warmth. Trapped between his torso and the tree, she was locked in place. She rode his cock until he was forced to submit to the pleasure wreaking havoc on his mind, body, and soul. Every time he’d had the privilege of delving into the world of shared ecstasy, he hoped he could savor the moment with her after he brought her to climax. Her inevitable disappearance always served as a reminder they were not together physically, and he wanted to make the dream a reality more than anything. As he slammed into her with increasing vigor, he wished for this to be the time he would be able to hold onto her, that this would be the time he wouldn’t wake up alone.
She whimpered in his ear, begging for more. He sensed the familiar tightening in his balls signifying the inception of carnal bliss. Burying his face in the cushion of her golden hair, he pushed against her with all his strength, trying to dispel the tension coiled in his every muscle. She writhed beneath him, and he prayed for the ability to somehow take her with him as he crashed back into the conscious world. Stay with me, stay with me, resonated his repeated mantra as his cum surged through her, her screams echoing through the growing shadows.
The disparaging pangs never failed to crush his spirit for a brief time every morning, though he knew how solitude would always accompany daybreak. He allowed himself a minute or two to wallow in his unhappiness before rolling out of bed and stretching his leg. Getting an early start on his daily tasks was a higher priority, as he had a new distraction to occupy his afternoons.
Following the suggestion of Thirvar, he had inquired about the possibility of art supplies the next time he’d run into his ruler’s right-hand man. Kai hadn’t seemed interested in catering to the idea of a useless hobby, but he had gruffly acknowledged the request. Days later, he discovered a large box had been left at his bedroom door when he returned to his quarters after work. The jars of paint were of a different consistency compared to what he had at home, and the brushes and canvas were not as fine as his own high-quality tools. They were better than nothing, though, and he vowed to make good use of them.
Obtaining the materials had been easy. Deciding what to paint was harder. He longed to depict the various scenes Liora had imagined for them, to attempt to recreate them in all their stunning glory. The notion that they were places she had physically visited in her previous travels lingered in his mind and, for safety’s sake, he abandoned those ideas. Their original meeting place still held a certain magic for him and reminded him of the home he had left behind. Returning to his preferred landscapes, he set out to bring the waterfall in the woods to life.
A quiet patio off the servants’ wing offered a suitable workspace. His chosen hobby occasionally attracted the attention of his colleagues, and he was happy to make small talk with them about his craft. For the most part, they left him alone during his free hours while he turned the blank canvas into his recurring dream with bittersweet contentment.
In some of his solitary moments, Stephen found himself more homesick than he cared to admit. He missed the house he hadn’t thought he’d grown so attached to, and he knew his disappearance couldn’t have gone unnoticed by his sister for very long. Jill’s frequent phone calls, once regarded as a nuisance, were looked upon with fond remembrance. His bouts of nostalgia mingled with thoughts of Liora, and he knew she had her own plans once she managed to spring them from Marindal. He’d chosen to follow her once before. Despite his emotional ties to the rest of his life, he wasn’t sure what he would choose when the time came.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Liora heard her name float through the pungent air, echoing from a considerable distance away. She had almost reached the upper limit of her climb, a line pushed farther and farther back with each passing day, but chose to begin her descent early. The danger of falling was always front and center in her mind, and she picked her way down her preferred path through the maze of branches.
She reached the last limb as Tirani arrived at the arching roots of the tree. “Dare I ask how the treetop pursuits are coming along?” asked her friend.
“Slowly but surely. Every day, I get a little closer!” Her feet landed on the dirt with a thump. “Let’s go inside.”
A fresh bundle of food sat atop the table in its usual spot. Liora removed a small roll, still warm from the oven. “Do you know the next time Thirvar is planning to leave?”
“No. I haven’t heard of any plans for upcoming campaigns outside of Marindal lately.”
Liora blew out an agitated breath, ruffling the hair that had fallen across her forehead. “Figures. As soon as I think I’m getting ready to finally break free, he’s staying close to home.”
“Maybe it’s for the best.” Tirani’s optimism was tempered with her usual caution. “Have you decided what you’re going to do once you get around the first barrier?”
“Find Stephen.”
“And then?”
“I’m not sure yet.” She cast a sidelong look at her. “You told me you came from a land near here. Maybe your home is a place to start, and then we can calculate our next move from there.”
Tirani huffed out a sigh. “Liora, it’s not my home anymore. I made my peace with this fact years ago.”
“But you—”
“I didn’t leave it of my own free will, this is true. I’ve never forgotten what happened, but it was all so long ago. I couldn’t let myself become trapped in the tragedy, to stagnate as a living being. My life is here, not there.” Tirani moved closer and nudged Liora’s leg with one of her own. “The people I care about are here, not there.”
“I don’t know what I would have done here without you.” A knot of stinging emotion formed at the back of her throat, and she tried to gulp it down. “But I don’t want to stay here. I can’t stay here. I don’t want this to be all that I am.”
“I understand, dear. I do.” Tirani’s voice was tinged with the same sensitivity. “And I know you’re going to be successful, because you’ve put your mind to it. I’m just going to miss you when you’re gone.”
Her words were poignant and sweet, and her continuing confidence touched her heart. “If I left, you could leave, too,” Liora whispered. “You don’t have to serve him.”
“I’ll think about it.” She crept toward the door. “Rest well, my dear. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
