Spanking of an Elf Priestess Ch. 04

"This will be your room for the night. You must be sweaty and a bit tired from our meeting today. All the servants are asleep at this hour, as you can imagine. I'd prefer not to disturb them, but I will draw your bath myself. If you require anything else, my room is next to yours and I always keep the door unlocked in case I am needed."

"Thank you, my lady." Stunned as he was by her hospitable manner, Stormcloud had not forgotten his manners. He had admired her for her good will and restraint. Peering into the guest quarters, he took note of the modest accommodations. Near the door sat a light wooden chair that could easily be moved about the room to the guest's preference. A wooden canopy bed sat perpendicular to the door. An intricate climbing vine design creeping up its posts, the frame housing a feather mattress which seemed to call out to his heavy limbs. The only non-wooden piece was a metal wash bin that sat atop the wooden dresser at the foot of the bed. It even had a window that seemed to look out to the garden. Though there was not much filling the room, it still managed to have a welcoming feeling, certainly more so than his own private chamber at the castle.

A small, genuine smile crept across his face as he pictured the bright sunrise in the morning. Maybe the bird would even sing if he woke up early enough. The thought reminded him of home. When he was a lad, he had worked on his parent's farm, often getting up before even the daylight had peeked over the horizon. After feeding the animals and a few hours in the field, the sun was kind enough to keep him company.

He began to tug at the straps of his massive chest plate. It was cumbersome, and he found it difficult to remove it without a squire to assist him.

"Um, my lady?" He didn't know why he called to her as she drew his bath, but it was too late. He stood rather sheepishly, towering over her. His gesture said it all: Can you help me out of this damn armor?

A tinkling laugh escaped her mouth before she could stop it. He was so delightfully helpless.

"Elanor is just fine." She said as she placed a hand on the strap of his armor. Her finger making quick work of the fastenings, eyes trained on her task.

Soon his armor was placed on the ground near the door and out of the way and he stood there in his tunic, breeches and boots. She worked her fingers over his straps and he caught a whiff of her hair, summer lilac and jasmine. More than once he felt her chest brush against him through her white blouse. Without a doubt, she was the picture of a generous host and here he was having to calm down a surprising wave of arousal at her scent. Telling himself that it was unintentional seemed to help quell his involuntary arousal.

"Elanor, then." He said before patting the linen that stretched across his massive chest. "You may call me Thomas." Her eyes regarded him curiously, obviously wondering if he was mocking her. She seemed to search his face for a trace of irony. Finding none, Elanor changed the subject to something more innocuous.

"Would you like to see something wonderful?" She asked, opening the window on the far side of the room. A small brook babbled on the greens outside. Waving her hand in a series of motions, the priestess used some of her magic to coax the water into the basin. Steam rose from the water as it gathered. Thomas was spellbound as he watched while the spell weaver conjured the water and it flowed clear as crystal into the bath

"Is the temperature to your liking? I imagined you wanted it hot to soothe your muscles, but I can cool it down if need be." Her words came rushed, spilling over each other to reach his ears. Biting her lip, she stopped talking and waited for his answer. Taking a step away from her, he swept a hand through the bath water, testing the temperature. It stung a bit, but past experience had taught Thomas that that was often the best if one wished to avoid soreness the next morning.

"This is more than excellent, thank you," he said, tugging at the bottom hem of his tunic and pulling it over his head. He was more than comfortable removing his clothes in front of her. Well, his shirt anyway. It was normal to be bare chested in his day to day work sparring with his recruits. His chest was scarred in places but mostly his torso simply rippled with muscle and sinew. Closer to forty, Silvercloud was older than many of his own men but his looks made him seem younger. The only giveaway being his silvery hair. Anxious to get into the bath, he kicked off his boots and hooked his thumbs into the drawstring of his breeches.

Elanor stood there frozen for a moment, so transfixed was she on the man before her. While she had been aware that he was a military man, but she never considered the marks it would leave, especially the physical. Most women would look at that body and see the sexy form and well-toned muscles. But Elanor, true to her healer schooling, immediately took note of the scars. She noticed the tension in his shoulders and the defensive way he carried himself, always ready to be attacked. Her heart went out to him as it would with any of her patients.

He looked at her for a moment, almost embarrassed by the stark emotion in her eyes, uncomfortable at the sympathy he saw there.

"Elanor." he paused. "Thank you and goodnight." He simply couldn't bring himself to say any more. She seemed to be in a similar position as he. Her mouth worked itself briefly without sound coming out before she could find her voice.

"Thomas," the word rolled off her tongue in a surprisingly easy manner. She expected the transition to his given name to be clumsy and was pleasantly surprised when it was not. However, the offer came out with more awkwardness than his name had. "would you like help with your bathing? I know I'm not one of your men, but I hate the idea of leaving you without assistance. I can turn around while you get in the bath, for modesty's sake."

Now it was his turn to assess if she was being sincere. Her large eyes seemed genuine, though they did move from holding his gaze down to his chest a few times. He smiled a little more than he should have.

"She's no evil seductress." He thought. "She's a sweet girl when she isn't disrespecting the royal family and giving me a blasted headache." His head cocked to the side and gave her a sly grin.

"I will allow it." More like he wanted it. It had been so long since he'd had a caring set of hands had worked him over. Her offer was too good an offer to pass up. "Turn around then." It was all he could do to hide his stirring member. That blouse had a neckline that tempted a man to gazed down the valley of her breasts. However, Thomas would resist the urge as he couldn't afford to offend his host in such a crude manner, though he was sorely tempted.

Her hands found their way to rest on her hips, expression one of light disapproval at being ordered around in her own keep. Nevertheless, she turned around and kicked off her riding boots, so she could claim that she had turned away because she had wanted to, not because he had told her to.

"Don't be so smug, Captain." She said without turning around to face him. "I would hate to have to freeze that water just to teach you a lesson."

While she waited for the telltale sound of water splashing to tell her he was in the tub, she dropped her boots by the door so that she would remember to take them on her way out. Elanor then made her way to the small table by the bed to pick up a silver bowl filled with a bar of soap and a washcloth as well as an empty pitcher for rinsing him off.

Thomas smiled at her back and slipped his breeches off his hips and let them fall to his ankles before stepping out of them and stepped gingerly into the water with a sigh. The heat was inviting, and the water smelled of lavender. He let himself sink down into the bath to his chest before resuming a more comfortable position with the waterline at his chest. His arms draped over the sides of the tub and his back and shoulders begin to relax and pop.

"I needed this. Just this one thing for me. Just this one time." His head rested on the rim of the tub and he closed his eyes, already feeling the water healing him.

Silently, Elanor moved to the side of the tub, placing the bathing materials next to her. She dipped the soap in the water before running it across the captain's shoulders. It smelled like lavender and formed bubbles on his skin. He looked so relaxed, his muscled uncoiling and he as the bar touched down on his skin and the scent mixed with the scent of the priestess.

Once Thomas was sufficiently covered in soap, Elanor placed the bar in the water and began to use her hands to knead out the muscles. Her thumb and pointer finger on either side of his neck pinched lightly and massaged in circles, increasing pressure as she continued. Her fingers worked his neck and easily seemed to find the knot there.

"Ow," he uttered it only once, feeling foolish for having been vulnerable for only a moment. A deep breath and he tried to relax into it. Just this once, he told himself again. Then, using both hands, Elanor began to work on his massive shoulders. When she didn't hear any protest, she slid closer behind him so that her arms could reach around his thick torso and began to wash his chest. He felt her soft hands work down to his chest and breathed deeply, unconsciously broadening his chest.

"Does that feel alright?" She whispered as to not startle him from his relaxed state, breath tickled the shell of his ear.

"It's all very nice." Letting another sigh escape his lips, he sank back into her, feeling the dark curls of her hair against his cheek. "Thank you."