The ale flowed more freely than last time, and Liam was drinking rather fast compared to his usual pace. His inhibitions were lowered; then again, it seemed that whenever he was with Melissa, he was never truly on guard anyway. The ease with which she had calmed him and sat him down, despite his anger, was proof of that, if nothing else.
“You should come to my place.”
The words made Liam almost choke on his drink as they left her mouth.
“The healing I did in the dungeon was not exactly the best work possible, as it was a stressful situation. I would prefer to examine and heal you properly in a place where we will not be disturbed.”
The context provided did nothing to dampen the hammering of his heart inside his chest. The prospect of being alone with her in a place where they would be undisturbed by anyone or anything, for that matter, was intoxicatingly exhilarating.
“Well, you’re the healer. I won’t argue against your methods.”
He tried to be smooth, though he didn’t exactly pull it off. He quickly took another sip of his drink; he was entirely focused on finishing up so that they could leave and head into her private sanctuary. He downed the rest of his mug in a hurry and stood up.
“Lead the way!”
His excitement was, to his dismay, very audible in his voice. The velocity of his movement as he rushed to his feet made the chair wobble and fall; another dead giveaway of his internal struggle and utter failure to remain calm.
She lightly chuckled at his behaviour and apparent eagerness as she also stood up; unlike him, she was still full of her usual grace in movement.
“Careful, Liam; we would not want you to fall and get hurt or something. Try not to create extra work for me.”
She started leading the way as he followed behind, once again entranced by the sight of her swaying hips.
Home. Alone. With her!
His brain was short-circuiting. His mind was doing its damnedest to remain functional. His body, on the other hand, was not exactly cooperating, as his eyes were glued to the woman leading him towards the streets that led to her house. He wasn’t even being subtle anymore; he wasn’t sure if he could have been either.
The door slowly creaked open, revealing the inside of Melissa's small house. The place was neat, far too neat, as if it had not been lived in at all; not a single thing was out of place or in anything but perfect shape, apart from a little dust.
“Welcome to my little sanctuary.”
She smiled as she stepped inside and stepped aside to let him follow through.
“It’s nice.”
He muttered under his breath. He wasn’t exactly paying attention to the house, still hyper-focused on the fact that he was in her house and alone with her. This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
“Take off your top.”
The command landed like a physical blow. He coughed frantically as he choked on his own spit from the overload.
His hands went to the hem of his shirt and started to pull the fabric off. The beating of his own heart was practically the only thing he could hear as it rang inside his ear like a drum. Soon the tunic was off, thrown towards a chair and utterly out of place in the undisturbed living room.
“On the bed, lie down on your back for me. It is much more comfortable than being on the chair here.”
He obliged without missing a beat, his feet dragging him towards the double bed, towards the centre of the bedroom located behind the open door left of the hallway. He could hear the rustling of her robes from behind her, barely cutting through the pulse hammering in his ear.
He lay down on the soft bed shortly after, not even opening the sheets.
“Now, just try to relax.”
Her voice came out as a soft caress as she settled down by his side, sitting down.
Relax? How am I supposed to do that when she is right there?
He couldn’t understand how he could obey, but he tried anyway. For a few moments he managed. Then her hand glided across his back, and a shiver just ran through his spine as her warmth seeped into his skin before any magic was even used.
He’d been exposed to healing magic before; it was a part of his teachings in the academy. Healers in there would sometimes use other students as learning material as well, and since he wasn’t exactly a fantastic student when it came to not getting bruised, he was more often than not a volunteer for them. Her magic, though, didn’t feel like anything he had felt before. When she had healed him remotely before, he hadn’t felt anything, but now that the smooth skin of her hand was making contact with his bare back, the sensation was completely different; it was euphoric, intoxicating, and soothing all at once somehow. What he was feeling was dangerously close to proper pleasure.
She started humming softly as her magic made its way through the tissues of his organs, stitching together anything that had been missed during the time they were in the dungeon.
Gods, this feels too good! If getting hit lets me feel this again, then I may stop trying to avoid getting hit.
He tried to contain the groan building up. He failed.
“Just close your eyes, let your mind wander, and rest as I make sure you are as good as new, Liam.”
She whispered in his ear, leaning forward and down to get near his face. He listened, shutting his eyes and trying to clear his mind. He wasn’t very successful; her proximity, the scent, and direct contact were dominating every sense of his. His mind was anything but clear.
The process lasted only a couple of minutes. He could’ve sworn it had lasted hours, though. Simply trying to make sure he wasn’t completely unravelled and being a creep was a task that had taken every ounce of his rather considerable stubbornness.
“There we go. You are all better now.”
There it was again, the words feeling like a gentle caress as her breath ghosted over his ear. He tried to lift himself, but his limbs felt like lead and refused to obey. It was probably for the best; he wasn’t exactly looking forward to trying to explain what had happened downstairs during the healing.
The admission was a bitter pill to swallow; it was embarrassing. He hated to say he couldn’t do something, especially to her, or so it seemed. At least that’s how it should’ve been, but for some reason he didn’t feel the shame he thought he should’ve felt.
“That is quite all right; you can keep lying down there. You are welcome to sleep here too if need be. I do not mind.”
He suddenly felt very thankful about being face down on the sheets, for the cover the fabric offered for his increasingly reddening face.
Is she merely letting me stay the night or actively suggesting it? Do I even care?
He realised that, no, he indeed didn’t care about the distinction. He only cared that he could stay here, spend the entire night in her presence.
How am I even supposed to fall asleep with her right there?
He didn’t know, nor did he really care.
“Thank you.”
His voice was weak, his words sounding like a deflated, defeated whisper of a man unable to comprehend what was happening to him. To be completely honest, that was a rather apt description of him right now.
Her hands returned, this time gently caressing his neck and shoulders, lightly massaging.
“You are quite welcome, my dear.”
The alcohol, the caressing, and the soft humming were becoming an undeniable force that pulled at his consciousness.
“Just focus on my touch, my voice, and let your mind drift off, my chivalrous knight. You have done enough for today. Embrace the sleep and the sweet dreams it would bring to you.”
The words were practically a lullaby to him, his mind slowly drifting into nothingness as sleep claimed him.
Unconscious, Liam lay there. He was completely defenseless. His mind was slowly sailing from one dream to another, most of which were admittedly about the woman who had been his guardian angel since the first moment they had met. There was no way he could see the way her expression was twisting from serene gentleness to something else entirely.
Melissa slowly withdrew her hand from his skin, careful not to wake him as she stepped off the bed. She loomed over his sleeping frame, glancing down while her magic started to work from inside him once again, like it had when she had found him for the first time.
“Sleep tight, little warrior. We have so much more to do; I have so much more fun to have.”