Chapter 44.2

Tired as the metaphor is, it is no less true that most people are a lot like onions, replete with layers and all the rest.  The tragedy of it all is that everyone seems to think themselves unique in this.  Or worse, they forget that no matter how deeply you peel, an onion is still an onion.

This specific garden vegetable was proving to be quite the little bundle of contradictions.  She was cocksure yet uncertain, a warrior from an apparently sorcerous background, and maintained a bearing that screamed of a pampered upbringing.  Yet her sport was as violent as they came.

So it was less surprising than it probably should have been to discover that a person who was so sexually aggressive would also turn out to be a virgin.  Though, whether she now acknowledged them or not, her roots as a laoi helped to explain some of that.  She acted like a young boy trying to put on a tough face for her more-experienced peers.

And yet, even in this she was proving true to form by showing a sensitivity about her body.  Just like a girl.

Or human girls, anyway.  Alright, maybe not all of them.  That would be a bit reductive.

Never mind.

The point is, I did not know what to make of her.  But I could at least make certain she was at ease.

“Shall I take the lead?” I asked.

She swallowed.  “That isn’t…  N-normally the woman does that.  Right?  But… Well… I—I guess it’d be okay.  If you want.”

I caught Jax rolling her eyes from over the girl’s shoulder before she dipped out of sight to peel the leather away from her legs.  Lynnria let out a cute, little squeak of surprise, and briefly covered herself before straightening again, feigning a degree of confidence.

She need not have worried.  Her legs were easily her best feature, and seeing the lines of hard-won muscle working beneath her soft skin was a treat.  She was even wearing panties!

Which… I probably should have expected.  But Jax had never owned a pair, and if Arx had been wearing any prior to stripping herself half-naked in that goblin battle way back when, I had never had the pleasure.  Nor could I expect to any time soon.  As Dolilim, their preference was commando.  At best.

Still, there was something to be said for a nice set of lingerie that spoke to male sensibilities.  What that is specifically is hard to pin down.  Perhaps the variety?  The different designs and colors one might discover?  And combined with the unknown and forbidden nature of it all?

Whatever the cause, hers were a simple model, favoring practicality over enticement.  They were just a bit of white cloth protecting the sensitive skin beneath from rubbing against her tight leathers, then secured with a pair of strings at her hip-line.

However, if they had ever been intended to protect her modesty, they had failed spectacularly.  Lynnria might just have invented a new barroom favorite—if that sort of thing existed on this world.  The wet pantie competition.

Hers were so soaked through, I could see near every contour of the cleft between her legs.  I could smell her, too.  Now exposed to the air, her aroma had exploded into the room, announcing her presence as clearly as a master of ceremonies.

Or that was how it seemed to me.  No one else seemed to react.

Her scent was… smoky.  Acrid, in a way.

And familiar.  It was still a little unsettling to me how sensitive I was becoming to that sort of thing, but I now realized I had been picking up traces of her intermingling with the others since waking up.  From what Mia had told me, it was Life Energy I was sensing, so did that mean Lynnria’s… discharge contained it like the others?

It was possible.  I would have to sample her to be certain, but one thing I could say was that Lynnria’s did not call to me quite like the others’ did, nor could I put into words precisely what was so different about it.  Still, I did wonder: what might she taste like to give off a scent like that?

My manhood pulsed back to life at the thought, still sore and aching like the well-used muscle it was.  Still, I did not allow my impulses to rule me.  Her body might have been more than ready for me to do whatever I liked to her, but her spirit had yet to settle.  This needed a delicate touch.

I took a step forward.

“Oh, Hands…” she whimpered.  Trembling.  Her eyes raking over every inch of me but mostly at the length beginning to protrude from my center.  Unconsciously, she stumbled back, right into Jax’s arms.

“Easy now, lassie,” she murmured, gently encircling the girl’s biceps with her clawed digits.  A low growl rumbled out of her throat, almost like a contented lioness.  “Don’t pop afore he even touches ye.”

“I—I…” she gasped, starting to hyperventilate.  Her eyes were beginning to shine with unshed tears.  “Oh, Hands!”

I let the corner of my mouth tug upward, savoring her near uncontrollable excitement.  My second step put me close enough that she had to crane her neck upward to look at me.  Her eyes were wide, her breathing uncontrolled and frantic.

Slowly, I began tracing up the side of her with my fingertips.  Feeling the slight protrusion at her hip bone, but leaving the cord securing her panties alone for now.  Letting my fingers dance up through the all-but-invisible hair at her wrists, up and over the leather still encasing her arms.  Briefly intertwining with Jax’s—her own eyes raking over me like molten suns.

My finger’s path soon rounded Lynnria’s shoulder. I hesitated there a moment, drawing out the tension.  Letting my eyes entangle with her own.  Reveling in their liquid pools of anticipation.  Without her even noticing, I had cupped the back of her neck, and ever-so-gently pulled her toward me.

The second I did, her panting redoubled, so fast now, I was afraid she might pass out.  Every exhale was accompanied by little moans of excitement, as if she were caught somewhere between a cry of exultation and a scream.  I could feel them beating against my face.  Warm.  Excited.  Wanting.

Our lips met.  Only for the very briefest of moments.

Then she jerked away, contorting and writhing against Jax’s support, but her face told the tale more than her body ever could.  She did not cry out nor wail her pleasure.  Her wind had locked itself away while she seized.

“Told ye, I did,” my First chided her softly.  “Yer head’ll melt afore long, ye keep on like that.”

I chuckled, more entertained than anything.  I was beginning to see why Arx had delighted in teasing me so much when we had first met.  “It’s alright.  Let her enjoy herself.”

“Sorry,” Lynnria gasped after she had regathered some semblance of herself.  “Sorry.  I didn’t mean to.”