The first touch of Maya's lips was like ice, frigidly cold against his skin. Eskel carded his fingers through her hair, cradling her against him. He closed his eyes, the movement of her mouth on his wrist perversely erotic. Slowly her skin warmed and as it did, he felt a strange sensation, like whispers in his head, voices, electricity cracking at the edge of his consciousness.
He felt her hands clutching at him, grabbing at his arm, pulling his body closer. Her fingernails felt razor sharp, yet were still delicate against his skin. He didn't dare open his eyes. Maya made a sound, low and supplicating, muffled by her mouth against his wrist. Her lips, her tongue felt like fire licking against his skin.
Eskel had no idea how much time passed. All he knew was that he felt so strange, disconnected from the world around him, and yet unbelievably aroused, focused on the sensations of his body and hers as if they were the only things left that existed. There was more than just an exchange of blood happening. There was no denying it. He pressed himself against her, every nerve on edge, his cock unimaginably hard.
Maya pulled her mouth away from his wrist with a groan, panting. Eskel finally opened his eyes. She was breathing hard, her lips smeared wet with blood; blood on her chin, a smear splayed up her cheek. Her cheeks were no longer pale, but rosy instead, flushed with his blood. Her eyes were glassy and her pupils blown.
He was still bleeding, blood running down his arm, blood getting everywhere and he realized didn't care.
He had to have her. Now.
He grabbed her face, wanting her to focus on him, trying to focus on her. It was hard to see but he willed himself to cut through the fog in his vision. Maya blinked, closed her eyes and then slowly opened them again. The corner of her mouth curled up into an expression far too dark to be called a smile.
"Maya?" he said. His voice sounded strange to his ears. "What's happening?"
"Kiss me." Her voice was hardly a whisper, but it felt like a compulsion. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to...he kissed her. He couldn't think about anything else. He couldn't even tell if it was his own desire, or hers or something else, but he didn't care.
He kissed her and her mouth tasted of his blood, coppery, foreign and familiar all at once. Heedless of how weak she was before, he rolled on top of her, pawing at her, tearing at her clothes. He couldn't get close enough. She clutched at him with erratic and hurried fingers. He heard fabric tear, felt the sticky hot mess of blood on his arm where he held her. Then he was inside her, not even sure how they accomplished it.
It felt like all the emotions his Witcher mutations suppressed and despite all the years of training to push those remaining down, they just exploded out of him. He couldn't get close enough, couldn't touch her enough. His ribs ached as if there was too much inside them, as if his entire body wasn't big enough to contain them. He thought he heard her say his name, but he couldn't hear over the pounding of his own blood in his ears. He couldn't even move, couldn't bear to move away, even to seek the friction his body was screaming for.
Maya flipped them over, her strength suddenly magnified. She sat up, straddling his hip, looking down at him, the scraps of torn white fabric that was once her nightgown spattered with blood. She tore off a piece of fabric and grabbed at his arm, wrapping the scrap around his wrist to stop the bleeding. Just that tiny movement made him feel out of control. Eskel closed his eyes, overwhelmed.
It was too much, he was coming apart.
She said his name again. Quieter, her hands putting pressure on his wrist, blood soaking through the linen and staining her hands, already sticky with it.
"Eskel," she said his name again and this time it seemed like a real word. He struggled to focus his eyes. One hand still wrapped around his wrist, Maya leaned down over him, her hair brushing over his cheek. Rosemary and mint. It was so familiar. It felt real, even as his head spun. He felt his cock throbbing inside her, screaming for release, but he still couldn't move.
"Listen to me." Her voice danced into his head, a thread he tried to hang on it. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be so strong. Please just try to focus."
"I'll do whatever..." he panted, his voice hoarse, ragged. "Whatever you want."
"Shh," she hushed him, her lips soft on his cheek. "It'll pass. I only want you. I didn't mean..." She sighed. Her breath felt like a cool breeze. "Come back."
He felt like he was drowning and she was pulling him out of the water. Her lips brushed his cheek again, just a flutter of movement but so heartfelt.
"I love you. You saved me." Her voice was warm fingers down his spine.
His chest clenched.
Then, with the suddenness of a thunderstorm, something snapped. It was like surfacing from water, waking from sleep, the clarity of battle. Eskel heard himself cry out, grabbing her face to kiss her. He could move again, the paralysis lifted. He rolled them back over, hips moving against her by pure blind instinct. Any finesse he might have acquired in making love to Maya over the last months was gone, replaced by animalistic need. His body set a frenetic rhythm and it was all he could do to keep himself from hurting her. He wasn't sure if he wanted to or not as the haze faded from his mind.
What had she done to him?
He struggled to keep his train of thought, but it was washed away with need. It wasn't even pleasure at this point, but pain, wanting nothing more than to have release. He struggled towards it, fought for it. Finally, the agony crescendoed and climaxed, like a wave breaking against the rocks. He screamed, a ragged, pained sound.
Maya wrapped her arms around him when he momentarily collapsed on top of her, even as he tensed and tried to pull away. She was stronger now. He couldn't move.
"Shh," she hushed him again. "Wait. I warned you. But you're okay now, I'm okay now. " He heard her swallow, his sensitive hearing returning as his breathing calmed and his mind found its balance again. "Please, don't make me regret this more than I already do."
He tried to remember.
I'm begging you not to leave me.
He was the one who insisted. He remembered. He'd be a piece of shit if he blamed her for what happened. Some compulsion. A painful orgasm? He was ultimately unharmed. He no longer felt the dampness of blood on his skin, only the sticky, crusty remnants left behind.
He took a breath and tried to calm himself, letting his muscles relax. When he did, Maya loosened her grip. That would have been when he held on tighter. He was trained to be paranoid. Despite her longer years, her legitimate fear, she released him. She trusted him, yet again.
Eskel raised his head to look at her. She looked as she had before, hale and healthy, the curve of her cheeks pink, her eyes sparkling up at him. Her face was still filthy with his blood, but she was beautiful underneath it, maybe even because of it. She gave him a sad, forced smile.
"Did I hurt you?" she asked.
It had hurt, a little, but so much less than losing her. She was still here. She was...it worked.
He shook his head, too much still swirling in his head to form the words he wanted. He tried to smile, to frown, to express something, but it was all jumbled together. A part of him wanted to run away from all these feelings, all this complication, but a bigger part of him finally understood.
Dangerous women. There was no getting away from them, especially when you didn't want to.
Maya's hand was on his face. "You saved me, again. I'll never be able to repay you."
He looked at her, wondering if she could see all the conflicting emotions waging their battles in his head. But she was just staring up at him, expectant and maybe a little frightened. But she was here. She was still here and they were both alive, at least for one more day.
"I love you," was all he could manage. This time, she smiled for real.
