Page 27 of The Labyrinth

Next were her long, shapely legs. They were more muscular than I’d thought at first, perhaps strong from the work she had done in the village. I tried to ignore the pulsing between my legs, my cock growing hard with a naked Rissa so close, and my hands touching her everywhere. But I had just used her hard. Right now, I needed to give something back to her, before I took her again.

Her arms. Her back. Her supple shoulders, freckled from the sun. The dust washed away from her, leaving her tanned, honey skin in its wake. She had been beautiful through the dust, but now? Now she was a different girl to the one who had dared to look me in the eyes.

I ran some soap through her tangled hair, scooping up water in my palm to rinse it out. I’d have to find her some shampoo. Some of the stores carried it for the human woman. I’d get some for her next time.Next time?

Rissa turned around in my lap, desire blatant in her gaze. She wanted me. I could tell from her scent alone, even if she wasn’t grinding herself on my growing cock. But I knew I was bigger than she would have been used to. She had to be sore. But maybe…I reached between her legs, gently swiping my finger along her pussy. A grimace spread across Rissa’s face.

“You’re in pain,” I muttered. “You need rest.”

I couldn’t deny a part of me was pleased. I had fucked her to the point of exhaustion, and she still wanted me. She was in pain, and she still craved my cock. But if I wanted her to do all the dirty things I was imagining, she at least needed a bit of rest.

“I’m fine,” she protested. “Really. It’s nothing.”

I shifted beneath her, my cock brushing against her pussy. A flash of pain crossed her features again. I sat her up, and climbed out of the tub. Dripping, I walked across the cool floor for a towel while she watched. “I told you before I don’t like liars. So I’ll ask you once for the truth. Are you in pain?”

Rissa looked up at me and nodded.

I tipped my head in acknowledgement. I wanted nothing more than to fuck this girl until we both passed out, but she had been through a lot in the last day, and I wasn’t going to push her harder than necessary. Instead, I held the towel out for her. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your room.”

She emerged from the tub, water dripping off her perfectly pink nipples, and down the wonderfulvbetween her legs, and I wanted to eat every last bit of her. But I would be good. For now. Wrapping the massive towel around her, I grabbed her hand, and pulled her back through my room.

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want Rissa to sleep in my room. A part of me thought it was too personal. Too private. Like she would be seeing a side of me I wasn’t sure I wanted her to see yet. So I brought her back to the guest room, her room now. The curtains were still drawn, leaving the room dim. But she’d be comfortable enough in here. The bed was well made, and more than big enough for a human.

I turned back to her. She had wrapped herself up in the towel so just her face was poking out. “I don’t have any clothes to offer you,” I said. “I’ll have to find you some later. I can get you one of my shirts again though?”

I didn’t really understand the whole human “needing to be clothed” at all times thing. While we dressed inside the Labyrinth, we also didn’t stray away from nudity either. It was simpler to not be concerned about it. And where Rissa was concerned, I was more than happy to watch her naked form. Thankfully, she shook her head. “Honestly, I barely slept last night, and I’m really tired. I’m fine just sleeping like this.”

“Very well.” I was suddenly awkward, unsure of what to do. Did I pull back the blankets and tuck her in? Did I leave her to her own devices? Did I kiss her forehead? What was the appropriate protocol? I walked to the door to give her some privacy. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Come get me if you need anything.”

“Wait.” Rissa’s voice stopped me in the doorway. I turned around to see her still wrapped up in the towel. She was chewing on her bottom lip. “Will you stay? I’m not used to an empty bed. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep.”

“Oh.” I had assumed she’d sleep alone, and my instinct was to tell her just that. To tell her I had things to do, and to leave her in the room until I was ready for her once more. But something peculiar crept up my spine, asking me what the harm was if I stayed for just a few minutes while she fell asleep. If it meant she was better rested for me later, wouldn’t that be worth it?

“I suppose I could do that. For a few minutes at least.”

She nodded eagerly, dropped the towel, and climbed beneath the covers. I lay down next to her on top of the blanket, wondering how long it would take for her to succumb. “You can come under the blankets, you know. If you’re cold,” she offered, pulling the edge of the blanket up around her shoulder. “I don’t mind sharing.”

I grunted. “I don’t mind sharing,Master.”

Rissa laughed softly. “I don’t mind sharing,Master.”

It didn’t really mean anything for me to climb beneath the covers with her, did it? I slipped underneath the blankets, Rissa’s cool feet grazing the skin of my calves. I could do this without implying any sort of intimacy, a sweetness lacing our relationship that she might hope for when there was no possibility of such. At the end of the day, I would reward her for her good behavior, but there was no sweetness. There was no syrup, no sugar. There was only me, my wants, and my needs. And Rissa, who would eagerly attend to all of them. If she did well, I’d reward her like I had done with the bath. And if she didn’t…well. She would find out soon enough.

“It’s nice to feel like I’m not alone in the bed.” Rissa turned on her side, pressing her perfect ass into my cock, and her cold feet against my shins. How were her feet so fucking cold already? Maybe she wastoocomfortable with me. There was a possibility I had treated her with too much kindness, and she would grow accustomed to such. I couldn’t have that.

It would be best to warn her. To make sure she was aware that just because I treated her with respect, didn’t mean there was something else there. “Rissa,” I began. Silence greeted me. “Rissa?”

I grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back toward me so I could see her face. She was out cold, quiet snores slipping from her lips. She really had been exhausted. I sighed and shook my head, letting her body roll back to where it was comfortable. Our conversation would have to wait for another time.

I knew I should get out of bed. I had things to do, especially with the Ravens encroaching on our territory. I had to put feelers out into the world, to make sure no one else knew about Rissa. I had a stack of paperwork on my desk waiting for me to go through and initial. But my body was filled with sand and stone, weighed down with the comfort of being curled up around Rissa.

It felt like I was protecting her this way. Not that she needed protection. She seemed pretty capable of taking care of herself. But she carried the weight of that on her shoulders. I could see it in the proud stance of her shoulders, and the heaviness that occasionally drifted behind her eyes. It was noticeable in the way she seemed nervous to tell me she didn’t know what a fridge was, and again with the tap. And part of me, the part I hid deep inside away from everyone and everything, wanted to take some of the weight off her shoulders. To let her relax for a moment or two.

It wasn’t safe for humans—or us, anymore—in this world. We always had to watch our backs, both actual and metaphorical. Someone was always out to get us. But every so often a stolen moment came around, and we could let our guards down, and simply justbe. The way Rissa had sunk into the bed, giving herself over to sleep, her full lips open as she shamelessly snored…maybe this was one of those moments for her. The fact that I was the one to give it to her, after everything I had donetoher, well…I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I just knew I wanted to be here, next to her, watching her sleep.

My hand lifted of its own accord, trembling as it reached for her damp hair. It was even darker when it was wet, and I ran my hands through the strands. I didn’t want to wake her up. I just wanted to touch her, to reassure myself she was here and this was happening.

She shifted, and I froze, but she didn’t wake up. She moaned quietly, snuggling deeper into me and into the pillow far too large for her head. I smiled to myself, before playing with her clean hair once more.

---