1"Come on Suri! HELP ME!" Briar roared at his unwilling student.
"Oh fine," she grumbled. Suri quickly drew her hair raven locks back into a knot and moved to Zeeba's side. Taker her elbow, she followed Briar's guidance and led the younger girl towards the door.
"How many times have I told you spirits and magic don't mix?" Suri asked not unkindly.
"You're pretty," Zeeba giggled. "I've always thought so. Everyone says it, especially the boys."
Suri smiled mischievously at her teacher. "I think I like her drunk better than sober."
"Stop joking around," he snapped. "We need to get her to her room before something bad happens."
"Ooh, like-hic-what?"
Suri struggled with her mirth for several moments before shaking her head. "Who knows." When she was sure Zeeba wasn't paying attention, she added, "If you want to ravage her now would be the best time."
Briar blushed scarlet and looked absolutely horrified. "You know I don't work like that."
Suri shrugged. "I'm just saying."
"Saying what?" Zeeba wanted to know.
"That it's a wonder you haven't blown anything up yet."
"Oh, I'm not that drunk."
"Yes you are."
"Don't you ever drink?"
Both Suri and Briar shuddered at the thought of the older girl's first drinking experience. She had nearly brought every lake in the vicinity to a healthy boil.
"No intelligent mage will."
"Aren't I intelligent?"
"Of course, you're just young."
"Does a year age difference between us make such a difference?"
Suri chose not to answer. She had known that Zeeba was just a year younger than she. Yet it felt like so much more. Why? What in life had made Suri grow up so fast? The though troubled her. Briar had always been with women his age, claiming he didn't have the patience with younger girls. But Suri was at least three years younger than she, and he had no problems with her. Suri had always known that her childhood was short-lived, that she was forced to grow up faster than everyone else. But she never had the learning experiences others had. She hadn't had her first kiss until she was almost 15. Briar had no problems kissing her. He had never told her she was inexperienced, something that briar would be the expert on. He most certainly was a wonderful kisser. Suri blushed at the thought of their escapades the night before. He was most certainly experienced. But the way Briar kissed her was different. From other boys? Or from the way he kissed other girls? She was not sure. Yet she knew the moment she had wanted to stop, to not go any farther, Briar stopped. He didn't question, persist, or beg. He had stopped, and that had been the end of it. He had certainly never shown any inclination to take his pupil to his bed. This thought made Suri's breath hitch. Would she ever sleep with Briar? This intimate thought sent a blood rushing to her cheeks. At the rate they were going, it was a certain possibility. Yet that would change things. What she and Briar ahd at the moment was a fling, a simple way to pass the time. She cared about most certainly. Quit a bit as well, even before their blooming romance. He was her teacher, her companion, and her friend. But sleeping with him...that would make them lovers. Did she love Briar? Not in a romantic sense, she didn't think. At least not yet. She would never give up her virginity to anything less than love, of that she was certain. But would it be to Briar? The one that had plucked her from her nameless past? Due to their simple lives on the road, she and he were forced to make accommodations. Privacy was a rare luxury. She had seen him without a shirt many times, whether it had been a hot day, he had just returned from the baths, or him just changing shirts. Occasionally, their kisses would end with him being bare-chested. And she had absolutely no misgivings that he had seen her in only a breast band or loincloth. It had become normal on the road, them not having anywhere else to change but in front of one another. Yet, somehow, it was far different in the rose garden, or in his bedroom. She felt modest and uncomfortable allowing him to see her without a shirt when they were kissing, even though he had seen her before. But Briar was enough of a gentleman to never point this out. After the initial question, he never brought it up again, something for which Suri was thankful.
Someone knocked on his door.
"Come in," Briar called.
He was startled to see Suri enter, he hair down and covering her face.
Sitting up in his bed, he set his book aside and looked to his student. "Is everything alright?"
Without an answer, Suri cam upon the bed and pressed her lips against his. Briar's shock knew no ends, yet he kissed her back immediately. His hands wound themselves in her hair and he felt Suri straddle him. Their combined wait pushed his back onto the bed were they kissed with abandon. His hands moved to wrap around her waist and onto the bare skin exposed on her stomach. He felt her exploring the hard muscles of his back and stomach, as he felt her supple skin. He weight was a comfortable warmth upon him. They came up for breath, and Briar panted against her neck "Is everything alright?" "I just missed you," was the husky response. That was all Briar needed. His mouth was on hers, his tongue exploring the sweet caverns of her mouth. His hands began to undo the first clasp on her blouse, and she did not resist. He was dimly aware that he no longer had a shirt on. When did that happen? Beads of sweat rolled down his neck from their combined heat. When was the last time he had kissed someone like this? Never. He was both awed and amazed at how snugly her body fit against his. They were pressed so close together that he couldn't tell where Briar stopped and Suri began. They was a soft moan. Was that from him or her? He didn't care. Her blouse was not halfway off, going at a damnably slow rate. He kissed her collarbone, her shoulder, the valley between her breasts. She was now on the bed with Briar above her, leaning on his elbows to support his weight. Briar pulled away from her with the intense desire to merely gaze upon her. Her raven locks were mussed, arranged on his pillow like a crown about her lovely face. He fair skin was flushed and shiny with sweat, and her pales eyes bright and happy. He blouse was completely unbuttoned, revealing a flat stomach and a breast band that went around her neck in a loop. She closed her eyes for the longest time, until Briar was sure she was asleep, only to open them again. Sitting up in the bed, she turned, leaning herself against his chest. He stroked her hair, timing his breathing so that it was the same as hers.