Page 5 of Boundless
The next room was a small dining room, really just a small square table and a few chairs beside a short sidebar, a bowl of fruit and a pitcher of water set out despite the looming feast.
Then it was the bedroom, and this was where they found her things, neatly stacked at the foot of the bed. “They didn’t unpack?” Len muttered, his face creased with confusion.
“I asked them not to,” Daega told him, making her way to her bags to begin rummaging through the case that held her month’s worth of clothes. “Didn’t want to trouble them.” In truth, she hadn’t liked the idea of strangers—and elves, at that—poking through her private things unobserved. Especially when she had her kit tucked away under her clothes. She’d debated whether or not she’d bring the little case filled with the most essential of her sex toys, but shewasgetting bleeding married, was she not? Ultimately, she’d decided she rather liked the optimism of packing along some goodies to have fun with—like it made it more likely that she’d have a chance at cutting loose andhavingthat fun.
She eyed her husband out of the corner of her eye. He was at least a head shorter than her, and perhaps only a third of her weight. She found him pleasing to look at, but would there be problems fitting together? Would his prick be big enough to fit in her? Would he be able to mount her at all? She could always mounthim, of course, which she’d never deny her love of, but not all men liked that.
She shrugged internally. They’d figure it out. Pleasure took so many forms, and Daega was always game to try new things.
Finding her good leathers, she pulled them from her bag and turned her back to Len. “Help me with the laces on this?” she asked, tucking her wings in tight against her back so they were out of the way. “I’m useless at delicate things like that. And I’d hate to rip it.”
She heard him swallow behind her, but it was followed by quiet footsteps, and then she felt his fingers on her back. He plucked at the laces holding her dress on gingerly, doing his level best not to touch her skin, and Daega wasn’t sure if it was more of his nerves or if it was because she was Other.
There was a lot of bitterness and animosity between the elves and the Istarii Drakan. Decades of it. It had been baked into their blood over the course of several generations, and she didn’t expect that her husband would be able to set all of that aside in the blink of an eye. She didn’t expect it ofanyone. But she was trying so hard to show him she wasn’t angry, that she was open and hoping for more. For friendship, to be companions as much as spouses. What her parents had was so beautiful and perfect, even when it was messy, and she couldn’t stop a part of herself from praying to somehow find it with the prince of her former enemies. Her husband.
So she drifted backwards, just a hair, forcing his fingers to touch more of her. It was still as good as nothing, a feather-touch, and he froze when he realized it…but he didn’t pull away. He gulped again, shifting a little, and then finished pulling her laces loose. And when he was done he patted her shoulder, his palm damp and clammy.
“Th-there you are!” he said, his voice tight and trembling but trying to be cheery. “All done.”
“My sincerest thanks, husband,” she said, tossing a smile at him over her shoulder. She shimmied out of the dress, doing her best not to let it fall to the floor. The roomlookedspotless, but it felt like that would be something they’d consider rude.
Len choked and scrambled back, knocking something over in his panic. “What are you doing?!” he squeaked.
Daega’s brows drew together. “Changing. Why, what’s wrong?” She turned to face him, her wisp of a dress in her hands now.
Len was a bright and splotchy red, his hands flying to cover his eyes as soon as she was facing him. “B-b-but—but I’mright here!”
“Aye,” she chuckled, realizing the issue. “And you’re my husband, now. So even if youhadn’talready seen it—and may I remind you, you have—you’d be seeing it eventually. If it truly bothers you I’ll not do it again, but it doesn’t bother me.”
It took him several moments of looking like a fish gasping in air before he could speak. “But it’s not—it’s notproper.”
She shrugged. “Maybe for you, but for me the only issue would be if you were stealing an eyeful when I didn’t want it.” She stepped into fresh panties, then wrapped a band loosely over her breasts to protect them from chafing against the leathers. “But I just said I don’t mind. So does it botheryou,Lenlethael Felthenethor? Or is it just that loads of people have been telling you it’s not done?”
It was hard to tell with him covering his face, but it seemed like he gave it real consideration. “I suppose…I guess i-if you don’t care it’s—it’s silly formeto. But I don’t th-think I can manage it just now.”
She huffed a laughed, admiring how adorable he was, to be so afraid of catching sight of a tit. She pulled her leather breeches up and laced them quickly, then her thin leather under-tunic. “Well, I’m decent now, anyway. Nothing improper here at all unless you have something against my face.”
He chuckled. “Not at all. I-it’s a good face.” The shade of red that crawled up his throat was remarkable.
It would seem that the wee elf prince was a bit of a charmer. Daega rather liked that. “Why thank you, my prince,” she teased, gently tugging his hands away from his face, since he still hadn’t done so himself, yet. “Shall I leave the room to give you privacy to change?”
He squirmed, biting his plush lip. “It f-feels silly, to make you leave. Maybe just—just don’t l-look?”
She nodded, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and covering her eyes dutifully. “You honor shall remain intact,” she promised, even though she was dying for a peek. There were rumors that elves were built different, that they were all so pretty because they were all female, or at least all had the same bits living in their pants. But Len was so sweet and delicate that she couldn’t bring herself to abuse his trust. Even if shewasmighty curious.
She sat still, suppressing the urge to wriggle in anticipation, for long moments. She didn’t hear the prince walking around, and didn’t hear the telltale rustle of shifting cloth, either. Eventually, she heard a sigh, and then her husband spoke once more.
“You know what, n-nevermind. That f-feels just as silly. I’m not going to be naked, so go ahead and look if you want.”
Daega dropped her hands immediately, her tail flicking across the bed behind her in excitement. She smiled wide, keeping her hands in her lap. “Don’t mind if I do, then,” she purred, wiggling her eyebrows at him. It had the desired effect: Len chuckled, the tension in his shoulders easing a fraction, then hastily stripped off his ceremonial clothes.
The poor lad was painfully thin, his belly concave and the outline of his ribs clear even when he was relaxed, but she was surprised to find she liked the look of him. Usually her taste leaned meaty, but there was something about the delicate lines of his slim body that was beautiful, elegant, captivating. And with his skin so pale, he looked like he was a doll, something exquisite and delicate in sore need of protection.
And it was Daega’s job to protect him, now. He had guards, of course, but as his spouse it was her honor to be his shield. Daega rather liked taking care of others, and Len needed all the care he could get, she reckoned.
And a fleeting glance at his loose-fitting underwear indicatedhe, at least, had a cock. She didn’t much care either way, but her and her sisters had debated endlessly on the long ride from the camps.
“Do you want any help with that?” she asked quietly.
