They kept to the secondary paths for the next two days.
Low hills, scattered woodland, the occasional abandoned farmhouse. Renji walked in the middle with both girls close. Aya’s summons stayed dismissed to avoid attention. Lira’s wings remained hidden under the deep hood. The wanted posters had thinned the farther they got from the last town, but the feeling of being watched never fully left.
The first group of assassins came at dusk on the second day.
Four of them. Professional. Dark leather, muffled boots, short blades coated in something that smelled metallic and wrong. They dropped from the trees without a sound, two in front, two angling for the sides.
Aya’s hand was already moving toward a portal when Renji spoke.
“Erase.”
The two in front ceased to exist mid-step. The remaining pair froze for half a heartbeat too long. Renji looked at them next.
“Erase.”
Empty air. Disturbed leaves. Nothing else.
Lira stared at the spots where four living people had been. Aya exhaled slowly through her nose and lowered her hand.
“They’re getting more serious,” she said.
“I noticed.”
They didn’t camp near the bodies that weren’t there. They pushed another hour into the dark before finding a shallow ravine with enough cover. No fire again. Just bedrolls and cold food.
Night settled hard and quiet.
Lira fell asleep first, curled on her side facing away, breathing soft and even. Aya sat up longer, back against a sloping rock, eyes still scanning the tree line out of habit. Renji waited until her shoulders finally loosened, then moved.
He didn’t ask.
He simply pulled her down onto the bedroll, settled over her, and started with her mouth—slow, deep kisses that gave her no room to speak. One hand slid under her shirt and found the heavy weight of her tit, thumb circling the nipple until it hardened. The other hand stayed on her hip, pinning her lightly.
Aya made a low sound against his lips.
“Renji… we should keep watch—”
“I am keeping watch.”
He took his time.
Mouth on her neck. Teeth scraping the places he knew made her breath hitch. Fingers rolling both nipples in alternating slow pinches while his thigh pressed between her legs, giving her just enough friction to stay restless and nothing more. Every time her hips tried to grind harder he eased the pressure. Every time her breathing turned sharp he slowed further.
He kept her there for a long while—kissing her deeply, sliding his tongue into her mouth, invading it, biting, teasing her tits and the soft skin under them, occasionally sliding a hand down to cup her through her clothes without ever giving her direct contact where she needed it.
Aya’s hands gripped his shoulders, then his hair, then the bedroll. Soft, frustrated noises kept catching in her throat.
When he finally pushed her shirt up and took one nipple into his mouth, she arched hard. He sucked slowly, deliberately, switching sides whenever she started to shake. His free hand finally slipped under her waistband and found her already soaked. He stroked her outer folds only, avoiding her clit entirely, spreading the wetness while his mouth kept working her tits.
“Please,” she whispered eventually, voice rough. “Just—”
“Not yet.”
He edged her like that until her thighs were trembling and her stomach kept jumping. Only then did he circle her clit properly—light, precise, maddeningly slow. Aya’s head tipped back. Her mouth opened. He brought her right to the brink, felt her walls start to flutter against his fingers, and stopped completely.
Aya’s eyes flew open, glassy and accusing.
Renji waited until the peak receded, then started again. Same slow build. Same denial. He did it three more times, each edge longer and meaner than the last, until she was actually shaking under him and soft, broken pleas were spilling out of her without restraint.
On the fifth climb he finally let her fall.
He rubbed her clit in tight, perfect circles and pushed two fingers inside at the same time. Aya came with a choked cry she tried to muffle against his shoulder, body locking up, cunt pulsing hard around his fingers. He worked her through it until the last tremor faded, then pulled his hand away while she was still sensitive.
She didn’t get time to recover.
Renji stripped her lower clothes the rest of the way off, pushed her thighs open, and sank into her in one slow thrust. She was scorching and dripping and still fluttering. Both of them exhaled hard. He stayed buried for a moment, forehead against hers, then started moving—deep, steady strokes that dragged against every sensitive place inside her.
He fucked her without hurry. One hand stayed on her tit, pinching and rolling the nipple in time with his thrusts. The other braced beside her head. Aya’s legs wrapped around him. Her nails dug into his back. Every time she got close again he changed angle or slowed just enough to keep her hovering, until she was nearly sobbing with the need to come a second time.
When he finally gave it to her, she clamped down hard enough that it pulled him over the edge with her. He finished deep inside, grinding through the pulses while she shook under him.
They stayed locked together for a while afterward. Aya’s breathing was ragged. Her body still twitched with aftershocks.
Eventually Renji pulled out, cleaned them up just enough to be functional, and helped her redress. She walked back toward the main camp area on slightly unsteady legs. Lira was still awake, sitting up in her bedroll, watching them approach with wide, knowing eyes.
Aya dropped onto the bedroll beside her without a word, face flushed, hair messy, clearly not herself. Lira glanced at Renji, then at Aya’s wrecked state, and simply looked away with pink cheeks.
Renji sat down, pulled Aya sideways so her head rested in his lap under the blanket, and spoke quietly.
“Lap pillow. Keep watch with me.”
Aya made a tired, skeptical sound, but she didn’t fight it. Renji guided her down so her head rested in his lap under the blanket, her cheek pressed against his thigh. He waited until her breathing started to even out, then slowly pushed her skirt up under the fabric, hooked her panties aside, and lowered his mouth between her thighs.
Aya’s entire body tensed.
“Renji—Lira is right there—”
“Then stay quiet.”
He licked her slowly, thoroughly, focusing on her still-sensitive clit with long, deliberate strokes of his tongue. The first slow drag made her hips jerk. He held her thicker thighs open with both hands, thumbs pressing into soft flesh, and kept going—flat, wet licks that covered every fold, then focused pressure right on the swollen peak. Aya’s hand fisted in the blanket. Soft, muffled whimpers leaked out of her no matter how hard she tried to stay silent. Lira had gone very still on the other side of the camp, clearly awake and pretending otherwise.
Renji didn’t rush. He worked her with patient, relentless focus, circling the sensitive tip with the point of his tongue, then sucking lightly, then returning to long, messy strokes that left her dripping. Her thighs trembled harder with every pass. When she tried to close them he simply tightened his grip and kept licking, tongue sliding lower to push into her briefly before returning to her clit. Aya’s breathing turned sharp and uneven against his leg. Her free hand found his knee and squeezed hard.
He didn’t stop until Aya came again—thighs shaking around his head, a fresh rush of wetness against his tongue, a broken little cry she buried in the blanket. Only then did he ease back, fix her clothes, and let her stay as his lap pillow while the night stretched on.
Lira eventually fell asleep for real, breathing slow and even.
Renji waited a little longer to be sure.
Then he started on Aya again.
He kept her head in his lap and worked under the blanket with quiet, relentless focus. Fingers circling her oversensitive clit in tight, slick circles. Mouth on her ear, biting the lobe, voice low and calm while he teased. “Still so wet. Even after coming twice.” When she tried to twist away he simply adjusted his grip and kept going, two fingers sliding into her easily, curling against the spot that made her thighs jump. He pushed her shirt up just enough to reach her nipples, pinching and rolling them slowly between thumb and forefinger while his other hand fucked her in short, deep strokes.
At one point he lifted her arm and dragged his tongue through the soft hollow of her armpit, slow and deliberate, while his fingers stayed busy between her legs. Aya jerked hard, a shocked, helpless sound leaving her before she could stop it. The combination—wet heat on her armpit, the constant pressure on her clit, the stretch of his fingers—made her whole body lock up for a second. He did it again, licking deeper, tasting salt and skin, and her cunt clenched hard around him.
He edged her twice more in the dark, drawing every reaction out. Each time she got close he slowed, or switched to light brushes over her clit that left her trembling and empty, or simply held still with his fingers buried inside her while she pulsed helplessly around them. Soft, broken pleas slipped out of her despite the risk. Her hips kept rolling against his hand even when she tried to stay still. Wet sounds filled the small space under the blanket every time he moved.
On the fourth orgasm of the night he finally pushed her over—two fingers buried deep, thumb grinding her clit in firm circles, mouth on her neck—and held her through the full-body shudders while she came in near silence, completely spent. Her thighs clamped around his wrist. Her breath hitched against his stomach in short, desperate gasps. He worked her through every pulse, slower and slower, until the last tremor faded and she was left twitching and oversensitive in his lap.
By the time the sky started lightening, Aya could barely keep her eyes open. Her whole body felt used and raw. When they packed up and started walking again, every step pulled a faint, involuntary wince from her. Her gait was careful, thighs pressing together more than usual, the residual ache between her legs making the long road ahead feel significantly longer.
Renji walked beside her like nothing had happened, one hand occasionally brushing the small of her back, already thinking about the next stretch of road and whatever assassins the kingdom would send next.
The journey west continued.