Part II: The Cunning Linguist

"As long as we're clear, then," she murmured, and wriggled her legs out from under her, sitting squarely on the edge of the table, her skirts tangled and her legs dangling over the edge on either side of Sand's chair. He was pulling her face so tightly against his that she could hardly breathe; her heart kept hammering erratically against her ribs and her lungs were straining to keep up, and mygods, he knows how to kiss...

She needed a breath...she pulled her lips away from his and pulled his head closer to her, wrapping an arm around his neck. Closing her lips over the edge of his ear, she began nibbling gently (and breathing slightly more regularly.) Her hands slid around the base of his skull, pulling the shell of his ear into her mouth as she whispered, "Eil Amin cyrn lle caelaer taji sar shalaelaer."And I know you helped make that bracelet.

And with that, she bit down, none-too-gently, easing the sting somewhat with a long, slow lick.

Sand's whole body gave a spasm when she bit his ear, the earlier tingle of sensation now turning into a full electrical discharge.

Oh the little Luskan wench knew his sensitive spot now...

She was practically straddling him; he could feel the heat emanating from her, from between her legs and it was causing a familiar heat to build between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her forcefully onto his lap.

She knew about the bracelet. Sand pressed his lips against the soft flesh of her neck, smelling how her skin now had a musky spiciness to it.

"Of course I did." He pulled her closer to him.

"How could I refuse..." He was nuzzling her ear now.

"...an opportunity to have the great Torio Claven..." His hands were now running up her back.

"...at my mercy?" And into her thick brown hair.

He firmly tilted her head back so he could look at her in the eye. "Amin pai byr ser lle - sai baes os sai thas." I do not trust you - too near or too far.

Torio gasped as he pulled a hand through her hair, tilting her head back to look at him. A slow, lazy smile curled her lips. "You shouldn't trust me, wizard," she said, her voice sounding breathless even in her own ears. "Anywhere." His hands roving up her back were making her spine tingle as if little flames were crackling up though the center of her, and her legs...the heat seared between her legs, making it nearly impossible to sit still, and she could feel he was starting to respond to her, as well.

She gripped the back of his chair and adjusted herself so that she was firmly in place on his lap, purposefully sliding against him as she moved. All's fair, after all... "And bracelet or no..." she leaned forward, her elbows resting on his shoulders, while her hands still clung to the high back of his chair, "...at the moment, I do not seem to be the one at anyone's mercy." She plunged her tongue into his mouth, kissing him fiercely, shifting once more so that her skirt no longer bunched between them.

Sand fought back a moan when she slid against him, pressing against her. He could feel himself engorging further when she shifted and the hindering skirt fell aside. He returned her fervent kisses, pushing his tongue insistently past hers. Her lips were soft and beneath the taste of the wine, he could discern the sweet taste of some sort of lip ointment. A prisoner and yet ever much the vain lady. If Sand were the type, he would have growled appreciatively.

Instead, he pressed his cheek to hers and replied, "Torio, dear girl, I especially don't trust you now." He led a trail of kisses down her slender jaw, letting his teeth scrape against her throat before kissing her collarbone. "Not at anyone's mercy, hmm?" His lips moved to the top of her full breasts. "And you think I'm at yours, Rwalaer?" Lusty One...

She exhaled long and low, attempting to maintain some level of control as his lips burned across her skin; her fingers made quick work of the leather thong that held the elf's hair off of his face, plunging her fingers into the thick, black strands as he bent towards her breasts. "Don't think," she said breathlessly, "that this bracelet will keep you safe from me, wizard. Or anything else, for that matter."

Neither one of them appeared to be willing to acknowledge the growing urgency or desperation between them - and that was fine by Sand.

He had no intentions of making this a regular occurrence.

Liar.

Semi-regularly?

Try daily.

His hands moved to her bare calves, sliding gently up her legs until he reached where her skit was hiked up. He fingered the bottom of her form-hugging shirt and gave it an experimental tug. Her skin was hot against his cool fingertips. "Helkaer, lle maes sai shi taelol."Icy One, you seem to be melting.

When his cool hands touched her over-sensitized skin, Torio nearly gasped. "You give yourself..." she raked her fingers back through his hair, sifting the strands between her fingers, "...too much credit..." she bent her mouth to his throat, sucking gently, "...you arrogant...pompous...sycophantic ...oh, sweet Deneir..." his cool, dexterous hand was sliding up her leg, making the muscles low in her stomach clench unbearably; the fingers of his other hand were plucking at her clothing, and she practically whimpered against his throat. Been too long, can't stand this, blast that elf and his infernal patience...

Each insult she threw in his direction was acting only to fuel his desire. Arrogant...pompous...sycophantic...He found himself subconsciously thrusting his hip into her with each word. So few women, elves or humans, understood his love of the verbal sword. He spoke, his voice taking on a ragged edge, "Oh Torio, dear, I'm afraid. Really." His chest heaved when she began sucking on his throat. "Pai llie shys eil shi mar mi shai air jhaes malol." Do your worst and we shall see who is left standing.

Torio furiously grasped the laces that held the top of his robe closed in one hand and twisted until they parted with a satisfying snap! Pushing the folds apart, she bent forward and ran her tongue along his collar bone. Like hell I'm giving up without a fight...

When she opened the front of his robes and he felt her tongue, he threw his head back against the chair. He could feel his loose dark hair around his shoulders. "Is that how you give your tongue lashings, dear giiiirrl..." The last word of the sentence ended in a groan. Without waiting further, he started pulling her shirt over her head.

Torio let out a muffle noise of protest as her delicate, form fitting shirt was yanked unceremoniously up around her ears. She wriggled helplessly for a moment, before releasing her hold on Sand and sliding it off, letting it fall down her arms. Her hair stood up around her face in a wild halo, and her face looked furious. "That's silk, you ignorant tool." The cool air of the Library felt positively chilling on her bare, heated skin, and she narrowed her eyes, sliding the shirt the rest of the way off of her arms with deliberate, exaggerated movements.

Sand smiled at her furious look. There was nothing better than seeing her angry, knowing he had somehow perturbed that cool exterior. "Oh silk - I'm sorry, your Grace - I had forgotten her Highness' penchant for expensive fabrics..." He kissed her bare shoulders, seeing the goose pimples. Her hair was a mess, a far cry from its normally obsessively neat appearance. He wanted to feel her, feel that twisted Luskan mouth of hers on him... But this game was proving much too enjoyable.

His brain gave one last, feeble attempt to pierce through his lust-clouded mind.

SAND! What are you doing?

It would appear I am about to sleep with the enemy, as they say...

Just so you are aware. All right, enjoy.

She let the shirt drop to the floor next to the chair, running her hands up to the torn laces in his robe. "This sets me at a disadvantage, you know. I feel I am forced to even the odds." She began pulling them apart with agonizing precision, her fingers brushing along his chest.

"Torio, in all the time I have known you, you have never been content to merely 'even the odds'." But Sand made no move to stop her; he merely raised his eyebrows. Sand could only lean back and watch Torio slowly, carefully pull apart the front of his robes. Her fingers were teasingly, flittingly brief on his chest. He took the opportunity to examine her bare torso, below lidded eyes. Unlike the warriors he was accustomed to traveling with, her skin was smooth without scars. Her breasts were full and rounded, the nipples erect in the cold library air. Her sight and her touch was pushing him to the limit of what he could take; he could feel his hardened member straining against his trews.

"Mmmm," Torio said absently, pushing his robe off of his shoulders; his body was lean, lithe, graceful looking and pale in the dim light, skin smooth and perfect...barring the few indiscreet burn scars on his arms, probably the results of some misfired spell or another. She leaned forward, sliding an arm around his neck as her bare torso pressed against his, shivering slightly at the relative coolness of his skin to hers.

"You are absolutely right, dear wizard," she murmured throatily, her nose nuzzling against his as she brushed her lips over his. Her other hand ran down across his stomach to his lap, sliding to where his thigh met his hip and pressing against his member. Her fingers gripped him through the fabric lightly. "Saesi'm aelaelol si or, paes shojas," she whispered against his mouth, "eil sael saesi'm val saes." There's evening the odds, dear wizard...and then there's playing them.

Sand nearly lost control when she grabbed him between the legs; he felt his organ tightened between her fingers and he inhaled quickly. "Oh...Mystra...gods..." His fingers gripped her wrist and he pulled her hand away and he steadied himself

A century without a real woman and she just touches you and you're nearly done...Quick! Distract her.

He held her to him for a moment, feeling the heat of her bare skin against his chest. "Val saes?"Playing them? He kissed her shoulders again; she had lovely delicate shoulders. "I have never known a Luskan to play fair. Amin shyl's vae thas shor lle, paes Torio." I won't play fair with you, dear Torio. He pressed his lips to her breast, taking the coral pink nipple inside his mouth, sucking back fiercely, using his tongue to flick against the stiffening flesh. His hands found the laces of her skirt and he began quickly undoing them.

A low, strangled moan escaped her throat before she could stop it as his mouth closed around her breast. "I expected..." she gasped, arching her back slightly as his tongue very capably began teasing her flesh, "...nothing less from you, Sand..." She felt those agile fingers brushing her lower back as Sand found the laces holding her skirt around her waist, and she wriggled slightly as her skin prickled and her muscles jerked. Being ticklish was never an advantage... She covered her lapse by cupping her hands around the base of his jaw, pulling his mouth harder against her body. "Playing fair never gets you anywhere, anyway." Bending down slightly, she took the tip of his sharply pointed ear in her mouth and suckled.

"Part of the Luskan philosophy, hmm, dear girl? Find your enemies weaknesses and exploit th-" She was suddenly sucking on his ear with such ferocity that Sand shuddered against her, her partially undone skirt momentarily forgotten. Oh gods - the pleasure was washing over him, threatening to drown him and he struggled to breathe.

"You Luskan harlot..." he moaned into her breast. Sweet merciful gods - if she kept this up, he was sure he was going to pass out from the sheer pleasure of it all. Could you die from carnal bliss? "Llie rafaelia cyrn cyrn sai iari sar tyr os lle." You really do know how to use that mouth of yours.

He was pressed firmly between her legs, and she was finding it difficult not to undulate her hips against his, wanting to feel the length of him fully. Half of her was protesting outrageously as he whisked out the last of the bindings that held her skirt together, but the half that seemed to be control was very eagerly arching against him.

And now she was gyrating against him - he didn't even have his trews undone yet. There would be no way he could get her skirt off and his pants off while sitting. "Torio...dear... Oh Mystra!... we're going to have to stand up...gods... just for a moment..." His mouth closed around her breast again, the other hand finding the supple flesh of her other breast. He grabbed her greedily, cupping her and then - cruelly, gave her nipple a twist as he bit down firmly on the other breast.

Find your enemies weaknesses and exploit them.

Torio threw her head back in a sharp, strangled cry, agony and pleasure rocketing through her with such force that she nearly fell back on the table, her body twisting violently; her fingers clenched in his hair painfully as she attempted to steady herself. She gasped for breath, glaring down at him in a mixture of indignant fury and something akin to pleased awe. "You seem to be following a bit of Luskan philosophy yourself, wizard."

Sand hated to admit it but her pained cry had excited him. "Thank you." he murmured lowly into her ear. "I am glad to see my years in Luskan have not been a total waste."

Torio had to concede, while sitting on his lap was downright exhilarating, it was also turning out to be inexorably frustrating, as they were somewhat... confined. Pressing her hands against his shoulders, she pushed him roughly back against the high-back chair, lowering her feet to the ground and standing. With a slight shift of her hips and a brush of her fingers, her loosened skirt fell into a pool at her feet. Stepping gracefully out of it, she stood before him and placed her hands on her hip, her eyebrow cocked expectantly.

When she extracted herself from his body, he found himself chilled by the night air and missing the warmth of her presence. She stood regally and her skirt fell away; Sand sat back momentarily and let himself enjoy the sight of her.

She was a warm-blooded woman, with full curves, and elegant legs and a mind that he hadn't encountered in years - quick, smart, ambitious. She was also his nemesis - because of her, he had to run all through the countryside, through destroyed villages, into foul-smelling caves with goblins, past insane dryads and gnomish werewolves, only to end up watching a Trial by Combat anyway...

And now she was standing, naked, before him.

Well, as a Luskan to another Luskan...

He stood and approached her. He pressed his body against her, pinning her back to the table. "Amin sol lle ordi amin thys Ember..." I think you owe me for Ember...

She arched a brow at him, the table digging into her bare back. His eyes were nearly glowing down at her, luminous with the dim, slanting light from the high ceilinged windows and his own lust. His dark hair fell in unruly strands around his face, and from her vantage point she could glance down and see the long length of him straining against his trousers.

"Aijh mi shar Amin tal pai thys llie." I'll see what I can do for you. He fingers traced the edge of his trousers, fingers pulling firmly at the laces of his trews. "Because I would hate," tug, "...to feel like I hadn't..." tug,"...paid my debts." The trews fell to the floor, and her warm fingers wrapped around him as she glanced down.

Well."Bai shylaes o'vi mai pas mel eir si sosti."No wonder you're so damn smug all the time.She bent forward and kissed his chest, then slid down, letting her tongue trace a trail along his abdomen. Her knees found the cold flagstones of the floor just as her hands slid around his lean, supple backside, and drew him forward, taking him into her mouth.

Sand's knees nearly buckled when she wrapped her lips around him. This was a technique that Sand had to admit humans tended to do better than elves. Elves were all about flowers and poetry and...

Gods.

Her tongue was running up and down the entire length of him. The blood was rushing out of his head, his limbs and into his throbbing organ. He braced himself against the table and looked down, fascinated by the sight of her kneeling at his feet, her naked body small and crouched, her head bobbing back and forth in a steady rhythm. Her hands held him tight to her lips and in the silence, he could hear the sound of her mouth working on him, a quiet lapping and wet sucking.

Gods oh gods.

If he wasn't so sure that she'd just laugh in his face, he'd bring her flowers and read her all the Elven poetry she wanted if she would only keep doing this. But this was Torio...

"Your... famed tongue's lashings..." He groaned and gripped the table harder. "Live up to its reputation." Sand could feel the muscles of his shaft starting to pulse and he threw his head back, whispering, "Oh Torio, air sor shar air sajaer sai tholalia molaeli lle?" Is this what it takes to finally silence you?

It had been a while...but the sound of Sand's normally succinct and elegant voice stretched out in a low moan made Torio's skin flush with heat and her mouth pull at him harder. She had heard him arrogant, patronizing, excited, intelligent, caustic, infuriated; but she had never heard Sand longing, and the mere sound of it made her want to crawl up his body once again and wrap her legs around his waist. Her hands stroked the front and insides of his thighs, feeling his leg muscles bunch and tremble with incredible tension. His skin was surprisingly soft and firm, unlike the coarsely haired bodies of human men, and she was particularly fascinated by it...she stroked, and stroked...

With a long, slow lick, she slid him out of her mouth, tilting her head back to look up at his face. "There is a custom, when forming treaties, of exchanging hostages," she murmured huskily, her hands still running up his thighs. She stared up at him, her mouth mere inches from his throbbing organ as she arched a brow and whispered, "Eil sor thys air tes tylaes sal os mol." And this floor is much colder than your skin. Her tongue flicked out against the tip of his head, and then she stood, dragging her body against his as she met him at eye level once more.

Sand met her eyes squarely, raw desire sitting openly on his face now. It was so nice to be able to look at her without having to crane his neck. He gently nudged his wet member between her legs, feeling the hot dampness of her body. He wrapped his arms around her, almost lovingly. "I like you better without shoes. Not quite on your pedestal, are you now, my dear girl."

He suddenly hoisted her up and leaned her back over the table, so she was lying on the wood with her legs dangling over the edges. He leaned over her body and kissed her fervently on the lips. "Amin shal sai caes lle mael ail Drow sai amin, oraesori Amin shor myr." I want to hear you speak in Drow to me, otherwise I will stop. With that, he slid his body down hers as she had done to him, nipping at her nipples, moving down to her soft abdomen and then finally kneeling between her legs. He pressed his mouth to her glistening folds, and let his tongue touch her swollen nub tauntingly.

Torio gasped, her fingers digging into the wooden tabletop as his tongue flicked against her. "Dos fa'la zatoast," she groaned. "Ka dos vrine'winith Usstan swariy Usstan orn elgg dos xuil ussta rahi." Threatening him came easy, and killing him with her bare hands was always something she'd always fantasized doing. Well...among other things. Although technically you're doing some of those other things right now... "Dos morfeth ussa ushdui lueth lueth ka dos xuat morfeth ssinssrigg ulu ussa ditronw nin, Usstan iglata Usstan orn lueth dos." You make me crazy and furious and if you don't make love to me right now, I promise I really will draw and quarter you.

She gasped for breath. Where in the hells had all that come from?

Sand slid his tongue along her slit, listening to her barrage of breathy Drow. He had no idea what she was saying, only that it sounded angry, lusty, insulting, and wanting all rolled together and was coming lowly from Torio's throat. And by Mystra - it was turning him on.

He could smell her desire; a sweet spiciness, a musky perfume that was in sharp contrast to moldy, stone smell of the Keep. He lifted her legs over his shoulder, hooking her knees up by his ears. Torio was gripping the table so hard her knuckles were white and he was surprised she hadn't left gouge-marks yet. He could see her heaving chest, her breasts rising and falling unsteadily. Sand leaned down and closed his mouth softly around the delicate pearl between her legs and began sucking back while with his free hand he let his finger gently probe the small wet opening, all the while keeping his ears alert for her words.

Torio let out a strangled, half-Drow, half-curse garbled moan as she was pulled into Sand's mouth. "Gods...dos lueth dosst...oh gods..." She was getting the words jumbled in her head, that wasn't right...that wasn't even a complete sentence. Sharp, shooting heat was piercing through her, clouding her mind and making her body tremble against the table.

If all of my language lessons were like this, I never would have learned anything.

She whimpered as she felt his long, agile, capable fingers probing her opening. "Dosst...lueth...zik...oh...lenith...my gods, Sand.." Her already intensely aroused body was tightening inexorably towards climax and she could feel herself shuddering against his lips.

In all fairness, if my language lessons were like this, I'd probably still be trying to be learning them...

Sand never thought, for all the gold in Faerun, that Torio would ever say his name in that way, short of a charm or domination spell. But when he heard her call out his name in that way and felt the rhythmic clenching of her muscles, he knew she was close, she was losing control.

So he stopped his mouth, feeling particularly sadistic, looking up at her from between her spread legs. His fingers were still inside her, sliding slowly in her wetness, but he said in a velvety, scolding voice, "My dear Torio - that wasn't Drow. I'm afraid... Shaer Ai't eirar Amin tol ber cali asi myr..." Well I'm afraid I might just have to stop...

How could he refuse an opportunity to have the great Torio Claven at his mercy?

Torio lifted her head with a snarl, her eyes narrowed furiously and clouded with passion. She pushed herself up into a sitting position; Sand's expression was a mixture of burning desire and a rather smug satisfaction. "Llie now llie naa kekuel?" You think you are so clever? Her legs hooked out around his waist, bringing his body up against hers at the edge of the table as she sat up straight and tall, her voice thick with the longing and frustration of failed-release. "I would advise you, dear Sand..." her hands slid below his navel... "to not attempt negotiations..." her hands slid to his hips, fingernails digging into his skin with purposeful savagery... "with a woman who always...always... finds a way out of a bargain."

With a thrust of her hips and a none to gentle pull with her hands, she guided Sand into her wetness, hard.

This time Sand's knees did buckle when Torio slid herself forcefully onto his stiff shaft. The sensation shot straight into the middle of him and he moaned, sagging at the table. If she hadn't been holding onto him with a painful viciousness with her taloned hands and her legs, he probably would have slipped out of her and onto the floor. Instead he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"Llie dhaeraow..."You traitor... He thrust into her, feeling the wet warmth of her walls, how she greedily took him in. He ran his hands up her sides and ensnared his fingers in her brown hair, pulling her face to his. "Llie loki..." You snake... Another quick thrust; Sand heard the table scrape back along the stone floor. He brought his lips desperately to meet her mouth.

Torio's clenched her legs around him tightly, the table sliding underneath her bare backside as Sand thrust into her. Her hands clutched around his buttocks, pulling him into her again and again as his mouth crushed into hers, the spitting, Elven insults rolling off his elegant, fierce tongue and shooting down her spine like liquid lightning.

Sand gritted his teeth, his eyes shut as she continued driving against him. Oh gods - waiting nearly a century for a woman like her was worth it. Her movements were quick, precise and he felt her hot sweaty skin sticking to his. She was so wet that she was sliding along him with no impedance, slipping nearly off his full member before slamming back down.

Torio pulled his lower lip between her teeth, sucking in a breath as his fingers delved into her hair. "Tharaesia shor kaer llie byrdaesi, llie madoros bodaes." Flattery will get you nowhere, you sadistic viper. Her hips riposted feverishly against his, one hand raking up the skin of his back to where his unbound hair fell across his shoulders. Her fingers wrapped around a particularly large handful of silky strands and she pulled his head back away from her mouth, catching her teeth on the underside of his throat.

Sand gave a shuddering whimper when she pulled his head back, exposing his pale throat. Her teeth were there now and he felt a rush of dangerous adrenaline. He narrowed his blue eyes at her, taunting her, "Os mar Amin tar llie melissa? di'thang?" Or should I call you lover? slave? He took her around the waist and pushed the length of him even deeper than before, forcing her legs even further apart. "Tarien?" Princess?

Torio let out a ragged gasp as his cool hands slid around her waist, his fingers pressing into her skin as he plunged mercilessly into her depths. Her body contracted impulsively, a pleased, aching, guttural noise rolling at the base of her throat.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, rolling her hips languidly, sliding his swollen member in and out of her with an almost exaggerated slowness compared to their previous frantic pace. "Tura, melissa, syr," she whispered raggedly, "Ilya naa saelaesyr varar, shor llie." Master, lover, tool...all are treacherous pathways, with you. Her tongue flicked out, brushing across the surface of his lips; her chest rose and fell in long, slow, trembling breaths as she undulated over him.

Sand sighed at her slow, almost lazy movements. He pressed his upper body to her, feeling her breasts against his chest, and nuzzled where her neck met her shoulder, eyes closed contentedly. Somehow, it felt like he was going deeper and deeper, to the very core of her. He moved his hips in time with her deliberate, sensual pace.

"Mmm, Torio..." He pressed gentle kisses into her skin.

Could I ever love her?

Don't be a daft elf, Sand - she's Torio!

He lifted his head, resting his chin now on her shoulder. "Saelaesyr?"Treacherous? Sand slid his hands from her waist to her breasts, feeling the nipples beneath his thumbs. "No more than you, tinu en lokirim."Daughter of snakes.

These long, slow strokes were building him with a latent passion to his peak in such a calculated fashion. Luskan meticulousness and premediation. He could feel the muscles of his shaft begin to throb; there was an insistent thrumming that was in his groin. Oh by the gods, he was so close... Sand needed to get her horizontal; he wanted to feel her entire body beneath him...

...or above you...

...to see her staring at him with those crystal clear eyes when she finally climaxed. "Tura. Amin jhoji si myl os sar." Master. I like the sound of that. He looked at her with an arched eyebrow, an amused smile at his lips. "Lle lava, di'thang?" Do you yield, slave?

Torio's nostrils flared imperceptibly, her eyes narrowing. She nuzzled deceptively close to him, one hand sliding up into his hair, pressing her palm against the base of his skull almost gently, cradling his head against her mouth as she kissed him...

She was no warrior, with steely strength or agile quickness...she was grace and form, and, above all, style...she merely clutched her legs tightly around him and let her weight roll them both back onto the table. Swinging herself around, she straddled him, hands pressed against his chest; his long, lean torso was stretched out below her, smooth muscle lines pressing against her fingers. His hair fell back form his high forehead, spilling across the wood of table, and as she settled herself firmly on him once again, she said, her voice dangerously low, "Do I yield?" Bending forward, she brushed her lips across his pectoral, exhaling forcefully. "I think not." She closed her lips around his nipple and nipped him with her teeth, her hips sliding up along his length before pressing down again.

Sand was surprised at the quickness and ease with which she pulled him onto the table and she used that surprise to her advantage. Before he knew what was happening she was straddling him, her form defiant above him.

By Mystra, she was beautiful when she was so insolently power-hungry...

And Sand - oh he was strangely pleased by this sudden reversal - pinned beneath her, at her mercy. But he couldn't let her know that - she'd never let him live it down, that he gave up control to her so readily. He lay there passively for a moment, underneath her weight, letting his eyes drink in the sight of her arched back and upturned breasts. The candles of the Library were dying - gods, how long had they been in here?

Her mouth was on his chest now, on his nipple - he moaned unabashedly - they were so sensitive and he gasped and arched into her when he felt her slide onto him once again. He twisted his body and tried to lunge up, making an attempt at rolling her beneath him.

Torio's surprised yelp was muffled against his skin as he bucked underneath her, rolling them both over. The table slid against her back, shifting slightly with their antics, and for a moment her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him. Well...that certainly didn't go as planned. He was looking down at her, black hair sifting over his shoulder like rippling shadow, and she felt her throat constricting slightly in a completely unfamiliar way; fading candlelight flickered against the elegant features of his face, playing the lines of his prominent cheekbones and delving into slanted shadows around his eyes. They gazed down at her, heated and triumphant that his tactic had worked, luminous and sharply blue.

When was the last time somebody looked at you like that?

Has anyone, ever? She couldn't quite remember...it was not familiar territory, thinking like this. Blame it on the candlelight.

His weight pressing insistently between her thighs caused her to practically purr with pleasure; she felt the tip of his member nudge against her slick folds once more, and she lifted her hips up slightly, taking him inside of her a few inches...before her hand slid down and wrapped around his shaft, holding him there.

A slow, calculating smile curled her mouth, her eyes glinting almost mischievously. "Vaelori sar thastyr aelael vyria thys ti," she whispered, "os Aijh myr."

Recite that famous Elven poetry for me...or I'll stop.

Torio was holding him at bay - and Sand didn't know whether to be mad or impressed she was turning this game back on him. He didn't know how he felt anymore about anything - the whole evening a turbulent journey through every single one of his emotions. He wriggled his hips, feeling the swollen tip inside her and trying to push himself further in. He tried nudging her legs further apart, then slipped his left hand down between her legs, finding the heated nub at the centre of her.

She wasn't giving in, her face below him one of firm resolve. Her pupils were dilated so wide with desire that as Sand stared into them, it was like he was looking into two midnight pools. He could feel her steady breath puffing on his cheek. He kissed her gently, his mind working out her motives for the request.

Could he have misjudged her earlier, when he made his snide comment about candlelights and poetry?

Try it Sand. She's the one that asked for it. You could always say she held you hostage with her feminine wiles later.

Sand exhaled and lay his head between her breasts, his hands gently massaging between her legs. "The odds are uneven here Torio, dear girl, and clearly in your favor - you can understand what I'm saying..."

Clearing his throat, a little embarrassed and praying that he remembered all the words and hoping she'd understand the meaning of the poem, he whispered softly the first verse:

"A'maelamin
Iire nauva I'ehtele' tula
I'Anoron a'urnu amin anta
Calen pant'lassea
Ar'tyav lle lisse' aestali..."


My beloved
When will the Spring come
The dawn to warm my face
Green leaves to open
And feel your sweet embrace

Torio had little experience with poetry; most of her time speaking Elvish was spent smoothing out the hackles that Garius usually raised wherever he went, including Evereska. But she knew enough of the subtleties of the Elvish language that the words made her eyes go wide.

Who knew those pointy eared elitists on their far off island were so downright earthy?

She twitched underneath his probing fingers, her eyes squeezing shut as they slid against her sensitive nub; by gods, she wasn't going to last long enough for him to even finish speaking if he kept on like this. She eased her grip on him somewhat, letting him slide deeper into her warm wetness...ha! Green leaves to open, indeed. She pushed her hips up to fuse the distance between them, and slid her hand around to his buttocks, holding him there.

She opened her eyes, staring up into his face. "And?" Her lips were parted, anticipation clear in her grey eyes. "What else?"

When Torio finally released her hand and allowed him the pleasure of sliding into her once again, Sand let out a breath. He removed his hand so that he could position himself more comfortably on top of her. Her eyes were open, watching him eagerly.

Oh gods, she liked the poetry...

Why would that arouse him so much?

"A'maelamin..." He watched her face, to see if she knew how intimate it was for an elf to call another that. It was not something an elf did lightly and he knew if the other elves could hear him, they'd be shocked and appalled. He wondered briefly why he hadn't chosen another poem - not that he knew many.

"Pyr i'duin rim'quanta..." He lifted his hips.

"Losa shor quell'eirdae." And allowed himself the pleasure of plunging into her. He muffled a moan.

"Shor i'kelvar kuile." Oh gods oh gods oh gods he couldn't break the rhythm of the poem; damn Elven poetry would lose all its meaning... He gave her another quick thrust, loving the way his hips smacked against her soft inner though, feeling her body yielding under his.

"Ar' lle mela a'mae."

My beloved
Does the river run full
Snow will fade away
Will the beasts awake
And your love to stay

Torio let her head fall back against the table, a deep, throaty sigh escaping her throat as his slid in and out of her, filling her completely and then drawing out once again; she bent her legs slightly, spreading them farther apart, her knees brushing against his hips as she allowed him to rise and fall inside of her.

My Beloved

A dangerous trill of excitement ran down her spine at those words. He had to know what he was saying, surely?

It's just poetry.

Her body ached all over; the multitude of pent up climaxes that had threatened her during their little interlude were bearing down on her, and she was suddenly angry at herself; what was she doing, lying on her back like some flighty milkmaid, begging for poetry? She lifted her head, covering his mouth with a hungry, insistent kiss, opening her mouth to tell him to stop.

Instead, her voice came out low, and wanting, and murmuring, "More."

Sand was starting to lose his head; there was only the building tension in his loins and Torio lying beneath him now. All thoughts of books, and libraries were gone completely. He couldn't even smell the dust anymore; just their intermingling lust-drunken scents, and it was fueling some primal part of him. He drove himself into her, again and again, panting with exertion as his stiff cock pushed against her mercilessly. The table was shaking violently under him and somewhere, far away in his consciousness, he thought he heard the wine bottle topple off and shatter on the floor.

More. She wanted more.

"A'maelamin! Oh...A'maelamin..." Sand stopped caring about the poem's iambic or whatever parameters. He returned her kisses, starving for her lips. "A'maelamin!"

"Tula, vasa ar' yulna...En mela'amin oiolaire almare...Oh gods Torio you insatiable Luskan demon...Lle kwayuln rim'vanwa..." He gritted his teeth; by Mystra he was close from the way his member was pulsating inside of her. He was utterly engorged and felt the entire girth of him against her tight slicked walls. But dammit- he'd finish the poem for her. "I'nekte en' lle aestali...Gods, Torio, get on top of me!" He rolled her over, knocking over the wine glass and the sheaf of papers.

Only one more verse to go.

My beloved
Come, eat and drink
Of my love's ever Summer bliss
Your cup runs overfull
The honey of your kiss

Beloved...beloved...beloved...

Each time he uttered it sent wracking spasms through her body that were almost painful, and yet the pleased flush that spread through her skin made her shudder; she was so close, too close, she could feel it all building up inside of her...his mouth moved hungrily over hers, the elegant, double-edged Elven words mixing with his sharp cries, and then he gripped her and turned them around. His half-desperate, half-commanding words shot through her, and as she thrust down over his shaft once again, it was too much.

She threw back her head, "Oh gods! Uum n' llie very neshan, quin amin ed ilya tanya naa selingue..." Don't you stop, or I swear by everything that is holy... But the threat fell unfinished on her lips as her body climaxed, tearing a long, wordless cry from her throat. Back arched and hands pressed spread-fingered against his abdomen, she rode out the throes of release with sharp, driving thrusts of her hips, fingers clutching at him.

When Torio reached her passion's peak, Sand could feel the muscles of her walls clench, pulling him deeper in. She was squeezing him tighter than he ever imagined possible. His hands grabbed her hips, feeling the violence of her onslaught, pinning him helplessly beneath to the table.

Sand tried finishing the poem for her, his voice coming out in choking gasps, the words punctuated by her driving frenzy, "Mela en'coiamin...Amin khiluva lle..." Love of my life...I will follow you... but then she climaxed, her whole body shaking, her gorgeous, impetuous, impertinent, luscious mouth letting out a cry that sent a bolt of yearning into his being.

Oh to hells with the poem...

Her hands were on his stomach, scrabbling at his flesh, likely leaving red marks. And gods oh gods she was impaling herself on him with such an intensity that some muted part of his mind couldn't help but wonder that the table hadn't collapsed under them yet.

Sand could no longer hold back - a century without a woman's intimate touch built to this point - and he felt his entire member and groin contract and tightened. "Torio!" The tension crested and Sand's whole body spasmed as he climaxed, writhing beneath her convulsing form. He dug his fingers into her hips above him as he felt the erratic pulsing in his throbbing member spilling his fluid into her; every spurt brought with it another crash of euphoria. He heaved into her as she thrashed against him - she was draining him, draining him of all conscious thought and words and he was left quivering and gasping in her wake.

Torio heard her name being shouted somewhere in the far off reaches of her mind, but all she could feel was the hot, spreading warmth between her legs and Sand's thrusting, pulsating hips as he drove inside of her. It was riding euphoria made tangible, and it carried her away, leaving her near senseless; all coherent thought was banished; the tug of war in her mind effectively silenced.

When Torio Claven finally opened her eyes again, even the near-blackened ceiling looked completely different than it had hours before.

She tilted her head down to look at Sand, stretched beneath her; angry red welts marred him low on his stomach where her fingers had dug in, and for some reason the sight of it filled her with a strange satisfaction. She inhaled deeply, trying to ease her ragged breathing; his skin felt slick and smooth as she ran her hands lightly over the marks, tracing them gently with her fingers. She bent over his body, stretching out against him, the warmth of her release still filling her in a dull, thrumming ache.

"Sand," she murmured scoldingly, her nose brushing against his lightly, "you knocked over my glass." And she kissed him.

"Mmm." Sand returned her kiss, pulling her close to him, satisfaction making his body hum contentedly. "You're right, dear girl, so it would seem I have." He draped an arm over her chest, resting it lightly across her breasts. "I will have to ask Sal to order more Elderwine; we'll see if he can't get some good Evereska too."

He sat up suddenly, the sweat cooling on his skin. He reached over to where his robe lay haphazardly on the chair and pulled it over their legs like a blanket. His eyes met hers briefly and then drifted across the Library, to the broken glass on the ground, tossed books and scattered papers, to the table where now they lay.

He laughed. "There is something absurd about this. Amin shor baelaes vaer eir sor sardi si masti shae eindral." I will never read at this table the same way again.

His laugh was sharp and clear and struck her deeper than an arrow. She curled against him, shivering at her cooling skin. "Ah, but reading at this table will help put Lucidia's infamous works of literature in perspective for you, wizard."

He lay back down and nuzzled her, the afterglow warming his mind. "Torio Claven. Luskan ambassador and fancier of Elven love poetry. Who would have known."

Gods, his skin was smooth. She should be on her feet already, pulling on clothes...she turned to him, sliding an arm around his waist as her face pressed against his chest. After a moment, she snorted derisively at him. "It would help if said poetry was finished." Damn... She should have never made him recite it. An orater of nations, and all it took was an exquisite moon elf to give her a taste for fluffy love poetry. Mmm...a very comfortable, warm, well-endowed, exquisite moon-elf...

Sand stared at the top of her head, unconsciously holding her tighter to him. He kissed her hair. Not finishing the poem had been nagging at him as well; it was consider a sacrilege to not complete a reading of any Elven poem and Sand, despite having lived among humans for decades, still remembered his Elven schooling.

But could he finish the poem? The last verse was the most candid one of all. He wouldn't be able to recite it without feeling something, whether he wanted to or not.

You're a fool, Sand. She's still Torio! Your nemesis!

But apparently she's also my lover now. And she's quite snug in my arms.

You're incorrigible.

He kept staring at the top of her head and said lowly,

"Mela en'coiamin
Amin khiluva lle
Imya i'Yavie en lye rea
Manke Amin sint'n'uma gorga
En' hrive meetima kaji"

Love of my Life
I will follow you
Through the Autumn of our days
Where I know no fear
Of Winter's final gaze

He exhaled slowly and waited for her response.

Torio released her breath in a low sigh, realizing she'd been holding it. She hadn't quite expected him to say the lines, but when he did it was as if a weight she had twisted between her shoulders had released. The words rolled over her like warm honey, and she shivered slightly, her skin prickling.

I could get used to this.

Well...not lying naked on a rough table with only a robe to cover me. But the elf...I suppose I could...

She tilted her head back to look up at him, a wry remark on her lips. The sight of his face stopped her. She stared at him silently, her insides writhing.

Say something.

Her hand reached up, brushing the backs of her fingers across his lips. "Molaes syler Bodaes," she whispered, her voice unsteady. Silver tongued Viper...

Sand gave her a small smile and kissed her fingers. "Diola lle. Ei tystostael i'Tari en' Lokirim." Thank you. A compliment from the Queen of Snakes.

All right, she hadn't taken the verse too adversely at all. Sand's fingers started absentmindedly tracing her stomach. Elven scripts, glyphs, symbols. He was getting sleepy... If he didn't get some sleep soon, he'd be useless tomorrow and good luck trying to explain to the others why without blushing with a stupid grin on his face.

I've slept with the woman who tried to get us all killed!

And it was fantastic!

No, no that wouldn't do at all...You'll have to come up with something better than that, Counselor.

"My dear girl, perhaps - ah, perhaps it's best we separate for now. Before Aldanon comes tottering back to the Library." He was reluctant. "I suspect this is something he'd likely notice."

Her arm instinctively tightened around him when he mentioned leaving. Hadn't she just been thinking that the moment before? She covered her lapse by brushing her mouth against his collarbone. "Mmmm...I think even Aldanon is going to notice the glass on the floor, bodaes." Viper. She liked the sound of that word; it rolled off the tongue full-bodied with a distinctive hiss at the end. His fingers trailing across her stomach made her skin tingle, and she stretched against him languidly, resigning herself to a very cold rest of the night in her narrow bed.

Why wasn't he standing up, taking his arm from her body yet? "Or...if your room is too far, mine is around the corner...I have an invisibility spell left..."

Sand cringed at how much like a forlorn lovesick elf he must sound like. Not that he loved her, or anything... Wonderful - you go from nothing for a hundred years to inviting an enemy back to your bedchambers in a night.

She attempted to keep the pleased smile off of her mouth, her voice wry. "I doubt both of us could fit in my room. I suppose Nevalle did his best... he gave me the cleanest broom closet he could find." But he had suggested it...and it was rather drafty in the Keep, anyway. She was seventy percent positive that this wasn't just some elaborate ploy to kill her in her sleep. The other thirty percent was giving her the silent treatment, at the moment.

"I suppose I wouldn't be adverse to your room..." Her insides were doing an unusual, twisting dance, and it was too difficult to keep the wicked grin from her lips, her eyebrow cocked slyly. "That is, if you still have the energy for an invisibility spell."

Sand sat up faster than he intended to when Torio agreed. He jumped off the table, being careful to avoid the broken glass, the papers, the books and oh - it seemed they had also knocked over the inkbottle. He scooped up her trade report and his books, tossing it besides her on the table. He would come back later and clean it up. Or pay somebody to.

"One little Invisibility Sphere spell is nothing for somebody of my considerable talents." He reached into one of the pouches and pulled out a gob of gum arabic and wincing, he plucked out an eyelash. He kissed her quickly. "We'll need to stay close together for this to work."

Holding both components in his palm, he quietly muttered the incantation and with a slightly overly dramatic flourish of his fingers, he poked Torio in the stomach teasingly -

POP!

They were now both invisible.

Torio let out an indignant, rather embarrassing squeak! as, first, Sand's finger jabbed her stomach, and then a strange, stretched, light feeling snapped through her skin like a rubber band. She blinked, looking down at where she should be standing...if she moved a certain way, she could see the dim light refracting in a way that suggested an arm or a leg, but otherwise there was nothing but flagstones, and a pooling mass of liquid in the midst of the broken glass that looked suspiciously like ink...

She slid off the table, standing on the cold flagstones, and stepped gingerly over the chaos scattered across the floor; the stretchingpop!shook through her body again as she moved away from Sand, becoming visible again momentarily. The broken glass, the abandoned reports, even the awkward angle the table was now standing at could all be explained ...(somehow)..., but a Proskurian silk blouse and a rather wrinkled looking skirt discarded carelessly on the Library floor would definitely raise a few eyebrows, and she scooped them up carefully. Her hands found her shoes, and then she turned back to the table, suddenly at a loss. This was not her element, as much as she hated to admit it...and Torio didn't like not being in her element. She had no idea if he'd moved or where he might be.

"As amusing as you might find it, Sand," she said dryly to the thin air, "I'd rather not grope around blindly trying to find you."

Sand voice drifted lightly over the air. "Oh please, do grope Torio, dear girl. We seem to have done a lot of that tonight." But instead of taunting her further, he moved closer to her and watched her strangely shimmer from view. He held out his invisible hands until they came into contact with her (Ah, a breast. A very nice breast at that.). He reached over with his other arm and grabbed his robes.

Wrapping his arms protectively around her small frame, he whispered, "We have 15 minutes to get to my room. We have to stay away from anybody we run into otherwise they'll become invisible too. I'm going to remove the Alarm and Lock spell now..." He quietly dispelled the two spells.

"Ready?"

Torio huddled close to him, feeling utterly ridiculous and strangely giddy as they slipped out of the Library and into the well lit hallways. You're invisible, naked, and running through a well guarded keep with your clothes in your hands. And one of your greatest enemies is doing it with you.

Sand could feel her warm body against his as they crept towards his room. He walked very slowly, his bare feet padding silently on the stone. His heart was racing but instead of feeling anxious and clammy, he found himself stirring slightly with excitement. He was naked in the hallway with Torio and nobody could see them!

He did have ... 10 minutes left of the spell...

No, don't you dare even consider it!!!

Maybe another night then...

Now was the hard part: slipping past the guard that stood at the junction of the halls. Nice enough fellow; none too bright. He pushed Torio into the wall; it would be all right if they saw him, but to see him and her?

No need for this tryst to become part of the Keep's gossip fodder. Especially for Nevalle - Sand didn't need to give the Knight another reason to keep him under his watch and control. They were already suspicious enough about his Luskan past...

She followed where his nudges led her, scurrying down the hallway towards a T-intersection that led left and right. There was a guard standing there, looking bored and sleepy, and she sucked in her breath a bit as they slowed their pace; Sand practically scraped her against the wall as they began slipping by him...

"Corporal!"

The guard snapped to attention as one of the duty sergeants came marching down the hallway, directly towards the spot that she and Sand were standing in. A thousand different curses ran through her head all at once as she heard the Sergeant's voice...she froze, ready to bolt, bare-skinned naked down the hallway if necessary...

Sand's head jerked up at the duty sergeant's voice. Oh hells! He looked left and right, then left and right again. He could feel Torio freeze, her breath catching. Sand then spotted a large painting behind the sergeant's head. Quickly, he cast Mage Hand and willed the magic to lift the painting off the hook...

Sand uttered something and the minute hairs along Torio's body stood up at the wash of raw magic that seemed to build around him. The painting at the far end of the hall clattered quite spectacularly to the ground, and both men turned, craning their necks to see what had happened.

She yanked on Sand's arm, and they hurried down the hallway, turning round the safety of the next corner. Sand's door was somewhere close by, she vaguely remembered...

Sand nearly gave a startled hiss when he felt her hand yanking him down the halls but he followed. He had to. If he let her run ahead, then she's leave the Sphere and all would be able to see her naked bottom darting away from them.

Not a bad idea, that.

Torio was furious and downright terrified and immensely relieved, and all of those curses rolling through her brain were just waiting on her tongue...but instead, to her never-ending surprise, she pressed her face against Sand's invisible chest and snickered uncontrollably.

They rounded the corner and suddenly Sand felt Torio leaning against his bare chest, laughing. A genuine laugh with none of the malevolent edge and he found himself enjoying the sound. His mouth twisted up in a smile and he found himself returning her laughter.

"Here." He guided her two doors down to his non-descript door. Waving aside the glyph he had inscribed earlier to protect his room from Neeshka, he guided Torio in, locking the door.

"Welcome to my chambers."