This could serve as a chapter 3 to Taking the Course, but also stands alone. Please enjoy!
Everything is Tamora Pierce's, I own nothing.
Numair shifted in his sleep, brow furrowing slightly. With a small smile, Daine, reached up to move the brown curl that had been tickling his nose. He face smoothed out and he settled back into his slumber.
It's no wonder my hair's in his face, she thought, glancing down at their bodies. In the months since they'd begun their relationship, they'd had to learn to sleep in the same bed or bedroll. After an initial period of adjustment (Numair was unused to small, furry animals in his sheets and Daine was only used to small, furry animals in her sheets), they'd learned to lie together comfortably. They always slept close, touching somehow, whether they were spooned together or their hands found each other's in the night.
But they'd never slept like this before.
Daine was pressed against him, completely entwined from feet to fingers. She was draped across the top half of his body, with her thigh between his legs. She had been in this position since she'd fallen asleep, right after they'd… So this is what it's like to no longer be a virgin, she thought. She bit her lip to keep from making noise and willed her body to be as still as possible. On her other side was a small, softly snoring dragonet.
Sometime in the night, Kit had snuck her way into the bed, and Daine had woken to find her curled in the space at the small of her back. Now, pressed between Kit and Numair, Daine breathed in the warmth of the room and basked in the pre-dawn silence. Moving as softly as possible, she angled her head up on Numair's shoulder to better see his face.
He looked young in his sleep, she thought. And Daine had never thought of him as old…or young for that matter. To her, he simply was. Even when they'd first met, with her a bumbling thirteen year old, she hadn't thought of him as a 'grown-up' the way she'd thought of Onua and Alanna. He was just Numair.
And now he's mine. She thought, allowing herself a moment of complete and utter giddiness. They'd had plenty of long discussions (too many discussions, in Daine's opinion) about how they would finally consummate their relationship. Would it be with wine and candles, or at an inn along a road they were travelling? At first, Numair had wanted to plan the whole thing out. That is, of course, until Daine had reminded him that nothing in their relationship had ever gone as planned, and hadn't that worked out swell without his interference?
Daine bit her lip again to hold back what would have been a happy and wistful sigh. Oh, how glad she was that it hadn't been planned! Her lips broadened in a grin as she re-lived the previous night. The feeling of Numair pressing inside her for the first time, that sound he'd made deep in his throat as he pressed their hips closer, the crest of pleasure that had burst within her…
This time, she could not stop herself from sighing. Numair had given her countless orgasms over the past few months but that… that had been spectacular. Daine had never known she could feel so free, so good…She wanted to do it again.
At her sigh, Numair shifted in his sleep, eyelids flickering. If the hard pressure against her leg was anything to go by, he wanted to do it again, too. Daine narrowed her eyes, quickly weighing whether it would be worse to wake him and the dragonet, or worse to go one more second without the feeling of his hands on her skin once more.
After a brief deliberation, desire won, and Daine shifted closer, rising fully above her lover and stroking a lock of hair back from Numair's cheek. He stirred at the same time Kitten chirped, annoyed at her mother's movement.
"Kit, go into the study and sleep by the fire," Daine whispered as she watched his eyes blink once, twice, focusing on her face above him. She pressed soft kisses to the underside of his jaw, his neck, anyplace she could reach. Simultaneously, her other hand moved down his cheek to his neck, stopping to toy with his flat nipples.
Kit chirped louder, very indignant at being kicked out of bed so suddenly.
"Go, Kit," the mage said, his voice dark and gravelly from sleep. His hands slid up her thighs, stopping to squeeze the soft mounds of her rear and rock her against his cock. A low growl rumbled through his chest.
"Tell me I'm not dreaming," he implored, seeking her lips for a kiss. His hand moved higher, playing across her spine and reaching up to where her breasts lay cushioned against his chest. As his hands wandered, they heard the young dragon shut the door loudly behind her, grumbling all the way in her annoyed, grey scales. But the sound was heard as if from far away, both of them were so completely absorbed in the other.
"You're not dreaming, Numair," she whispered as they came up for air. "Not unless I am, too."
"Thank the Gods," he murmured, the hand on her back sweeping down to her thighs, then back up to the warmth between her legs. "If I were dreaming, I would do anything to keep from waking."
Daine's breath hitched in her throat at the feel of his fingers. He teased her slowly, drawing the slick wetness, making her even more ready for him.
"Anything?" She gasped. He flipped them over suddenly, settling his forearm above her head and sinking his body between her thighs.
"Name it," Numair could hardly get the words out of his mouth, his heart was pounding so loudly in his ears. His fingers returned to her and he watched her neck arch slowly, perfectly, at the feel of him rubbing small circles against her folds. He brought his other hand down to delve fingers through her hair.
"Name it, Daine, and it's yours," the words were whispered against her cheek, and she shuddered at the way they waivered with emotion. He removed his hand only to drag it slowly up her body. She shivered again as she felt the slick trail it left behind on her hip, evidence of her arousal. He sought her hips with his, pressing his shaft against her curls and driving them both mad. He groaned and kissed her again, unable to resist.
"Magelet, I adore you."
Daine shivered again, feeling him between her thighs, his fingers slowly circling her nipple. The overwhelming feelings between them were palpable.
"Numair," she whispered, her own voice heavy with the emotion thrumming through the room. His composure cracked when her hand reached down to guide him to her entrance. She was wet and hot, ready for him.
He pushed in slowly, just like before, but the urgency that had been in his movements last night were replaced by a slow reverence that she felt down to her toes. They moved as if they were underwater, slow and deliberate. Her legs rose to flank his hips while he set a slow, grinding pace that made her hips tip forward, seeking to be closer.
They moved together as one, their eyes locked as they whispered words of love to one another. Numair's hands clenched where he held her hip. Bending to kiss her, he brought his fingers to where they were joined, toying with her in a way that made her hips move of their own accord.
Breaking away from her, Numair fought to control his movements once more, but found that his body would not obey him. On the precipice, he shook his head hard and slipped out of her, making her cry out at the loss.
"Shh, magelet, hush," pressed a kiss to her neck and slid down her body. "Let me please you, love. I'm about to explode I need you so much. Please…" he implored her, coming to rest between her thighs, settling his shoulders there to keep her knees from closing.
Daine's hips churned, desperate to feel him back inside her. Just as she opened her mouth to beg him to come back, his tongue darted out and licked up through her center. Her breath froze in her lungs and he did not give her a chance to recover.
He pressed his mouth firmly to her, sucking gently in a way that made her cry out, loudly. While he licked and sucked her, his hands reached up and cupped the weight of her breasts. Her body twisted in response, almost bucking him off of her. He quickly drew his hands back to her hips and lifted her slightly, granting him better access.
He speared his tongue into her and she screamed, her hips pumping in earnest now as he wrung the pleasure out of her and she reached the peak. She panted as she came down from her climax, aware that Numair's hips were pressing steadily against the sheets between her legs. She pulled on his shoulder to bring him up to her and he needed no more urging.
Rising above her, he plunged into her core, causing them both to yell. His hand shackled her wrists above her head and he set a punishing rhythm, slamming his hips into hers as they both reached for orgasm. Numair hiked his knee up on the bed and the new angle rubbed Daine exactly where his tongue had been, setting her off once more. Numair pumped once, twice, before following her into oblivion, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from roaring his pleasure.
His hips continued to pump into hers, his body twitching with pleasure he'd never known before his time with her. Finally, he stilled, breathing harshly, and became aware of Daine's arms and legs twined around him and her soft voice in his ear. She was whispering sweet, reassuring words to him and he felt wetness on his face. He pulled back several inches to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"Why are you crying sweet? Did I-"
"You didn't hurt me, Numair. Gods, that was just so…." Her breath hitched as another tear slowly rolled down her cheek. "That was just so…" She repeated, not finding the words.
Numair relaxed against her, rolling to his side to crush her body against his. "I know," he said, holding her closer and feeling is own throat close up at the emotions rolling through him.
"I love you," she murmured, her breathing returning to normal. Numair looked down at her.
"I love you, too," he said, willing every piece of adoration and respect he had for her into his voice. She smiled, settling back in as the sun began to rise above the hills outside their window.
"I meant what I said, sweet," Numair spoke sometime later. Daine pulled back slightly to look at him.
"That you love me? I believe you," she smiled up at him and he grinned back.
"That, too," he said, tweaking her nose in an old and beloved gesture of affection. His smile faded and he took a breath. "I meant… I meant I'd do anything for you. Give you anything. Just name it."
Daine's brow furrowed as she watched him speak. For the first time, the importance of her romance with the Black Robe Mage wound it's way into her mind. She held his heart, and with it a full weight of his magic. Nothing, she knew, would stop him from making her happy, avenging her hurts, reaching her goals. By giving himself to her, he gave the use of his substantial magic, as well. He would use every drop of it for her, for any reason, if only she requested it. Gazing into his eyes she understood this and felt the weight of the responsibility.
She nodded slowly, showing him that she understood the gravity of his words. It was no empty offer and she wasn't treating it as such. They breathed softly for several seconds as she thought of what to say.
"I only want you, Numair," finally, was the only thing she could think to respond. His eyes closed briefly and he rested his forehead on hers.
"I don't understand you, magelet," he said. "I've offered you the world on a silver platter and you…" He trailed off and shook his head. Daine shrugged.
"I'm not very - what's that you say about the court ladies? - High maintenance," she grinned at him. "'Sides I already rejected a place in the Divine Realms to be with you. You're a smart man, perhaps you can see a pattern."
He kissed her lightly on the nose.
"You just want me?"
She nodded and he sighed, a small smile playing across his face.
"I still don't understand you," he said, kissing her again and smoothing unruly curls off of her face. She sighed, also smiling.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, Master Mage," she lifted her eyebrows and sent him a cheeky look from under her eyelashes. "The next time someone vexes me, I'll have you turn them into a tree." Numair chucked at her teasing tone.
"One time I did that and you'll never let me live it down!" They both laughed and settled back into bed. He wrapped a long arm around her as she settled against him and played with his fingers.
"I've thought of something I want," she said, her attention still on his hands.
"Already?" He feigned surprise. "Did you recall some court lady who gave you the cut at a recent ball?" She giggled at the elongated, overly courtly drawl he added to the words.
"Not exactly. I don't want to leave this bed today," she looked up at him in time to see him smile quickly.
"Granted," he murmured, twining his fingers through hers. She nodded, satisfied with the response.
"And I still want a proper canoodling!" She added, jerking her head around in fake indignation. He blanched at her.
"Wha… Haven't I just given you two proper canoodlings?! You're very bad on my ego, magelet," he scolded, laughter twinkling in his eyes.
"No," she shook her head adamantly. "The first time you said it was 'much more' than canoodling. And if that wasn't a proper canoodling than this time was…" She continued to shake her head, a yearning smile on her face. Numair laughed again and wondered if he'd ever had this much fun with a person in bed without actually canoodling them.
"Aright, alright," he told her, lifting a hand in surrender. "You've asked for a proper canoodling, a proper canoodling you shall have."
He rolled her fully on top of him and her legs fell to straddle his waist.
"Right now?" She asked, stunned. "But we just… we just. And Kit is likely still madder 'n a hot poker and-"
She was cut off by his lips, his face beamed into hers.
"You've asked for a proper canoodling, magelet, and a proper canoodling you shall have," he repeated, pulling her in again and both of them groaned at the feeling of him hardening against her.
"Well, then… When you put it like that, by all means…" She waved her hand airly and giggled when he lunged at her, pulling them closer together. The last thing that was said, before they were both pulled under the heavy wake of their passion, was by a laughing Daine as she twisted up to reach his mouth again:
"Commence canoodling!"