Sacrifice Ch. 04

Calliope slid slowly into the piping hot bath and eased in with a deep sigh. The hot water felt incredibly good as the heat slowly seeped into her aching body. Her body, and in particular her legs, had been well used chasing errant sheep all over the lovely, but uneven and rocky, terrain surrounding the caverns. Over the last while she'd been introduced to parts of her she didn't even know she had. She knew now because they hurt. One spot in particular, at the back of her thigh...she wished, and not for the first time over the past few days, that Thelios was back with those strong hands of his. He'd have the knots worked out in minutes and would be well on his way to...no, she was not going there. She was not going to moon over Mr. Nymphs-are-cold-fish.

She rubbed her leg absently and closed her eyes, forcing out thoughts of large, strong hands and replacing it with recollections her previous encounters in town. Bumping into Alexia had been awkward but not intolerable, and even if she did get strange or dirty looks the next time she went out, she wouldn't find it all that intolerable either. She was quite capable of rising above her discomfort, and as much as she'd grown to like both Demitri and Thelios, and enjoyed their company, it was nice to be in the world again even as an odd sort of outcast.

That thought naturally turned her mind to Thelios again. It must be lonely to be feared all the time, unable to find companionship. It was no wonder he resorted to sacrificing women. Or rather having them sacrificed to him. And she was that sacrifice.

She sighed and sunk into the tub, submerging her head and enjoying the buzzing silence as long as she could before emerging and pulling strands of hair from her eyes. When was he coming home? She wondered and absently soaped herself, lathering her hair and staring blankly at the water as she let her mind wander through her thoughts of her new master, or rather only master.

She'd never imagined a life like this, as a servant to an infamous monster. Who would? Being a wife perhaps, like all the other women in her family, all her friends. A merchants wife as her father had suspected, keeping books for her husband and tending his business in his absence. Then again what did she do here that a wife wouldn't? Even in the wealthiest homes a wife is expected to at least organize or oversee the cooking and cleaning, even if she didn't do it with her own hands. Though her own marriage, like her eldest sister's, would have no doubt seen her doing quite a bit of it herself. And of course there would be the 'other' responsibilities of a wife, which she was forced to admit were quite a bit more pleasant than she'd ever suspected, or even fantasized. She was aware that it was often painful, especially in the beginning. She had been prepared for that.

It was rather. Pleasurable that is. Sometimes painful, yes...usually a touch of both. She flushed deeper.

And he was not a delicate lover by any stretch of the imagination. By no means cruel or selfish, but not particularly gentle either. She imagined this was the norm, she'd been made to understand that there was sometimes pain involved, and that could only be intensified by the fact that he was significantly larger and stronger than most men.

In his own way, she considered, he was probably handling her carefully, even if he did leave her a little bruised and raw from time to time. Though she rarely noticed that until the next morning. And, of course, that ache was very different and Much preferred to the one she currently felt. There was something oddly satisfying about that particular kind of 'morning after' ache and it left her with a buzzing tingle from her top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Her lips twitched. She had no one to compare notes with, so she couldn't say if she was normal or if perhaps she had a higher pain tolerance than some women. The truth was she did find that the mild pain of it often accentuated and sharpened the pleasure of the act. It usually just resolved itself into one undifferentiated mass of overwhelming sensation by the end anyway. So with this, she could only be satisfied. To say the least. She shifted her thighs as an involuntary twinge accompanied that thought.

"I thought we agreed not to go there?" She muttered to herself. Her 'self' declined to answer. She gave a mental shrug and gave into her forbidden distraction knowing that it was pointless to fight the inevitable.

What else was there then to differentiate this life from the more expected sort...except for providing an heir? She paused and frowned. She'd never even considered that possibility...but then perhaps it wasn't even possible?

Many things were possible. Hadn't he said that once? She ran her fingers over her stomach contemplatively, automatically counting back the weeks of her cycle. It had been at least a month, more even. Maybe even nearing two...but then she was notoriously erratic in that regard, so she had no reason to get worked up. Though, she'd been skipping breakfast more and more lately...but again, she'd never had a strong stomach in the morning. It could be nothing...it was probably nothing.

Either way, the thought was now there, firmly embedded in her mind. She knew it would drive her mad until she could tell for sure.

'What would that be like? Should she be worried?' She had always assumed she'd have children some day, did it matter that they were his? She smiled faintly again. Yes, it did matter. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He had a commanding presence, yes, but also a calm demeanor to complement it, as he was neither rash in his judgments nor, in her experience, quick to anger. He was easy in his manners, but still firm in his convictions. She nodded, mentally checking off what she felt to be necessary prerequisites for respectability, and confirming to herself her decision that he would make a fine father.

Eminently suitable. But, she frowned, would he be content with it? Wasn't there something women take to prevent pregnancy? She'd heard of such things...had he been expecting her to be using something like that? Some kind of poultice or concoction? She hoped not, otherwise they'd both be in for a nasty shock if it turned out she could become pregnant and he wasn't expecting or wanting it.

She grunted with disgust and pushed the troubling thoughts out of her mind. This was just the sort of thing she had been avoiding thinking about. There was no use getting all worked up over nothing or over that which was too late to change. It was illogical.

She dunked herself again and shook the suds out of her hair with her fingers, hoping her thoughts would join them. She popped out again and stood up slowly pushing the damp, lanky strands behind her ears.

She rubbed the water from her face with her palms, blinked opened her eyes, and gasped.

"Hello little girl. Miss me?"

She usually gave him an arched look when he called her that-- 'little girl' indeed-- but she couldn't help but grin this time. He looked so unabashedly arrogant, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed over his massive chest, giving her that smile that said her missing him was obviously a forgone conclusion.

"When did you come in?"

"When you were soaping up." He smirked at her surprised look.

"I didn't hear you."

"Not surprising, you looked deep in thought. What were you thinking about?"

She crossed her arms and blushed, shrugging."Not much. Everything."

"Well which is it?" He left the wall and sauntered towards her crouching at the edge of the tub across from her, not waiting for an answer. He beckoned her forward and she waded over, pausing in front of him. She wanted to reach for him, to close the distance between them and satisfy her sudden and overwhelming need to touch him, an urge she'd never quite purged...though if she admitted it, she had never really tried all that hard. She resisted this time however, not wanting to appear too eager. After all, the nymphs and their charms were by no means forgotten. They both stood there for a moment looking at one another. He was smiling down at her and she returned his smile.

He moved first and wrapped his arms around her, hauling her out of the bath and up against his chest. He lifted her off her feet easily, no feat really, considering his great strength. She squealed embarrassingly as she dripped all over him. It only made him chuckle. She was about to order him to put her down but he cut her off with a long hard kiss.

He broke the kiss just as abruptly as he started it and growled hotly in her ear while sliding one massive hand under her bottom and running the other up her back.

"I think I've been spoiled by you."She wrapped her legs around his waist since he didn't look like he was going to let her down anytime soon.

"What did I do?" she asked softly nuzzling his jaw with her mouth. His skin was salty where the tip of her tongue flicked out to taste him. He tasted of the sea. More so than usual. She had found out rather early that she quite enjoyed the taste of him. And the smell.

He rumbled with pleasure, a sexy sound that sent shivers of anticipation through her. It still surprised her how quickly he reduced her to a weak kneed state of trembling desire. She seemed especially affected right now. Perhaps she had missed him after all.

"Well I'd gotten used to having you whenever I wanted you."

"What about your little nymphs?"He chuckled, no doubt at her sardonic tone and tightened his arms, squeezing her to him.

"Looks like you spoiled me there to...so now I'm feeling a little pent up." He lifted her and nuzzled her neck in return with a low growl. "What do you plan on doing about it?"

She felt an incredible thrill and wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed her body against his, grinding her hips suggestively. He wanted her, and what's more he waited for her. She could feel her stomach flip flop disconcertingly at the thought and she couldn't keep her voice from catching when she answered.

"Why don't you put me down and find out."He smirked and lowered her to her feet. She blushed and smirked back sliding her palms down his thick neck and over his broad, hard chest. She glanced up into his golden eyes and caught her breath. His flesh was cool as always, but his eyes were the fire of the sun itself, like smoldering embers flecked with shards of molten gold. His hands on her waist held her but lightly, yet she felt pinned to the spot.

His smirk faded and they stood there, for how long she couldn't say, but the intensity of his gaze was too much to bear and she looked away with a blush, something she hadn't found herself doing for quite some time. He caught her chin and drew her eyes back to his and smiled gently.

"What's wrong?"

She blinked. "Nothing," she rasped out, remembering herself suddenly and letting her hands drift lower until her fingers found and followed the edge of his wrap. She removed it deftly with now practiced fingers, and found his arousal, wrapping one hand around his thickness and dancing the finger tips of the other lightly over the already swollen head. She carefully set her eyes at his curved lips so as not to lose her nerve. Those lips parted in a low sigh as her hands moved automatically along his rigid shaft, finding the sensitive places she knew he liked best, along the underside and that spot beneath the ridge of the helm. He groaned. She smiled and her eyes traveled to the exposed points of his canines as she ran her tongue along her own teeth. She lifted her slightly parted lips to his and he met her part way opening her mouth more completely with his tongue.

She marveled, as she always did at how smooth and hot he felt in her hands as they caressed him, it contrasted the cool rough hands that wrapped tightly around her waist and pressed her hips to his.

He made love to her mouth slowly and thoroughly before capturing her hands and sliding them back up to his shoulders. Her body followed his lead and she hitched a leg up his thigh and wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her to him once more, having clearly changed his mind about putting her down and letting her show him how much she missed him. Calliope didn't mind, she was already anxious to feel him inside her and she couldn't help but let out little excited mewls of eager anticipation as that excitement built until she could no longer control it. His mouth captured the sounds with a groan and she tugged his lower lip with her teeth and ground against him in response.

He had taken her like this before, lifting her body and impaling her on his engorged cock while she clung to him as he stood braced and powerful. Usually it was in response to some pressing, immediate desire which demanded instant attention and that couldn't be postponed for even the few moments it would take to reach the nearest bench, and which usually meant he was going to take her hard and fast as a result. The memory made her squirm against him more fitfully with the usual contradiction of apprehensive eagerness. But, unlike the last time, or in fact anytime before, he didn't respond with his usual rough passion, but continued to mate his tongue with hers and pressing her tightly to him so that she could feel the heavy pounding of his heart in her own chest.

He cupped her and held her groin against his so that she could feel his hardness against the soft folds of her womanhood and slid the length of himself along her rapidly dampening slit making her mewls metamorphose into low moans. He turned slowly backing her up against the cool wall and lifted her so that the smooth head of his cock teased at her entrance. He paused there and caressed her breasts lightly, crouching over her to take one in his mouth.

He suckled, pulling nearly half of it into his mouth, his teeth grazing the smooth, globe of flesh as he tugged with long easy motions while his free hand still played over the other with light, teasing caresses. Her own hands merely gripped his his neck and shoulders, her fingers digging into his skin as she waited for the voracious attack that never came.

She gazed down at him with half glazed eyes, wondering at his deliberate gentleness, at the strange, almost tender, caress of his touch. A surge of intense feeling...affection, threatened to overwhelm her. She tensed and clutched him even more tightly with her hands and thighs, swallowing the sensation, but found that even when she had her hands still trembled as she released her grip and returned his gentle touch with her own light fingers, running them along the tendons of his neck from the base of his skull to his muscular back.

Calliope smoothed her palms along the broad span down as far as she could reach and closed her eyes dreamily as his mouth released her and his rough tongue flicked the stiff tips of her breasts.

He rose finally from his ministrations to recapture her mouth with the same unhurried thoroughness as before. This time, instead of more heady caressing, he lifted her again and let the thick head poised between her thighs part the now slick folds of her sex. Her hips shifted automatically, angling to take him inside of her. He responded in kind and bucked upward, forcing himself up even as she dug her heels into his back to leverage herself against him. She gasped against his mouth as they managed to filled her completely in one swift and eager movement.

He'd only been gone about a week, yet it felt like an eternity since she'd felt him inside of her like this. The sensation was incredible. The slow lingering stretch as he buried himself inside her set every nerve on fire and she could feel her body throbbing around its invader and gasped her pleasure, tearing her mouth from his and burying her face against his neck.

God it feels so good, she thought as he began to withdraw. He groaned into her hair.

"Yes it does." He agreed thickly.

Had she said that out loud? She moaned his name as he pulled his cock from her body entirely with a popping sensation before pushing inside her once more. She tried to arc her hips to meet him, to impale herself, desperate to feel him, but he kept her pinned easily to the wall with his body. He continued his slow assault, entering her completely before withdrawing all but the head, torturing her with his excruciating patience.

"Damn it, Thelios, I don't think I can take much more of this" she gasped into his ear. He chuckled back, but it was a broken sound. He too was nearing the end of his restraint.

"I love when you pant my name like that." He murmurer with a low grunt as he bottomed out inside of her, pressing his cock head against her deepest walls and grinding into her. She could only dig in her nails at the excruciating pleasure-pain his slow grind caused, and made various incoherent sounds as she twisted her hips against him, trying and failing to get him to move.

"Easy pet...I wanted to enjoy you. Don't want it to be over too soon, do you?" She pulled her face from the crook of his neck and looked up into his eyes. The strange mixture of amusement, affection and desire she saw there made her heart skip and her chest ache. She threw her mouth and body against his, and felt him take a step back in surprise, but he still managed to hold her steady in his arms.

He moved from the wall, his cock sliding from her body and walked them through the open door of his room, his mouth never leaving hers. Not that she was giving him much of a chance. Some nagging corner of her mind was aware of the display she was making of herself, and embarrassed by her emotional, and yes...even needy, response as she pressed kiss after kiss to his mouth, and face, and jaw and neck...but it was a tiny corner, and easily overwhelmed by the sudden urgency of her desire.

He lay her down on their bed of skins and followed quickly, covering her body with his and dragging his mouth away from hers and down her body. She closed her eyes again, relishing every kiss, every caress, and every press of cool flesh against hers. Her thighs clutched at the leg pressed between them and her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders. True to his word he continued with his careful and deliberate attentions. She could do little but give in and lose herself in his touch, which was by no means a difficult thing as her uncontrollable moans and whimpers testified.

His mouth finally found her heat and within seconds her hips were bucking madly against him. When his tongue was joined by his hands and he parted her once more with his thick fingers, her body clenched down around him and throbbed in sudden release. He curled his fingers inside of her and stroked her silky heat as she continued to twist and grind her hips like some desperate and half wild thing.

She writhed agonized against him, begging him, though for what was unclear to either of them as her heels were digging into his back, pulling him closer, even as her hands pushed against his shoulders as if trying to roll him away. Slowly he withdrew from her, watching her shudder beneath him with obvious relief.

He leaned back up over her, squaring his huge hands over her shoulders and dragging his mouth over hers. She caught her taste on his lips, and flicked out her tongue to capture the tangy flavor. The erotic scent made her moan low in her throat, a moan that elicited a deep rumbling sound from the massive body above her.

Her moan was followed by a gasp as he thrust into her, this time with the deliberate insistence she was accustomed to. He entered her easily and filled her quickly. She was jolted by the sudden thrust but wrapped herself around him immediately, threading her arms and legs about his torso, clinging to him as he drove into her again and again.

Her body broke quickly around his and in her sudden passion the emotions that had threatened her earlier reared up and overwhelmed her. She choked back a sobbing cry and clung even tighter, hiding her welling tears against his chest. She felt his muscles tightened under her fingers and was pushed into one last orgasm which left her weak and trembling. She released him, unable to find the strength to hold on, and went limp as he pumped his seed into her with an animalistic growl.