A/N: The chapter contains Geralt & Yen smut, in tune with the fraught relationship they have.

Geralt watched from afar as Ciri danced by a campfire, surrounded by strangely dressed men and women. The flames crackled and sparks flew towards a night sky that was peppered with stars and had no moon. A drum beat to a steady rhythm and claps accompanied it while a woman's voice sang along with a man's in a language unknown to Geralt. Wherever she was, it wasn't on the Continent, but Ciri's face was lit up by a large smile as a girl twirled around her, waving her colourful rainbow skirt from side to side. She smelled of fresh grass, cedarwood, and mulled wine. Exotic and adventurous, just as Ciri felt while her feet danced a jig. She was safe and happy, and that was all that ever mattered.

A small creak interrupted his dream.

He grunted and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to summon back the lost image, to no avail.

Yen purred next to him, deep in sleep. She looked so peaceful with her lips barely parted, breathing in slowly, her lovely curls a mess over the pillows. He combed his fingers through her hair, arranging it behind her ear before planting a kiss on her cheek. It had been ages since he last had the good fortune to wake up next to Yen. She stirred in her sleep and a frown creased her brow, but a smile bloomed over his lips. Ciri was well. He was alive, and Yen was next to him once again. Soon they'll all be together again, perhaps in the world where Ciri danced in his dream. Or so he hoped, emboldened by his peaceful dream.

His eyes landed on the empty bedroll on the floor and it reminded him that a girl a few years older than his Ciri was paying the price demanded for their health and life. Nothing was free. And that thought chased away the bliss he had sunken into. Even if his dream held hope, there was no guarantee of a happy end. Not until Ciri was by their side gain.

The cabin had grown cold, so he got out of bed without disturbing Yen and went to feed the fire. It was all but extinguished, so he placed a few logs in the hearth and used Igni to light them. The fire blazed warmly, and he thought of the foreign night sky Ciri danced under.

The door creaked as he went out into the night. He longed to see the stars, hoping that by gazing at the same sky, he'd somehow be closer to his daughter. Yet, as he stared up, he saw nothing. Not even a single star, and his heart sunk. Just the mist casting a dull light over the sandy beach as his eyes swept the scenery.

He thought about crawling back into bed next to Yen, hoping for a few more hours of sleep, but he feared that at most, he'd manage to wake Yen by mistake, and that meant there'd be hell to pay for the rest of the day. So, he walked down the path to the beach, intent on recovering his sword from the boat.

As he strode down, his eyes caught a shift in the mist covering the lake. Something was moving through the water. His medallion hummed constantly, as it had since he first set foot on the sandy shore of the island. He focused his eyes, dilating his pupils fully to catch as much light as he could and readied himself to draw power and cast a sign if needed. As he got closer, the shape gained consistency.

He relaxed. There was no danger. Just a water nymph bathing naked in the night. It was a rare sight, even by witcher standards, so he observed her with undisguised curiosity. Long, dark, straight hair shifted from side to side as she moved, covering her features. The water around her floated in translucent blobs and strands, surrounding her slim body, curving around a supple neck, angling down over collarbones, drifting over shapely breasts, then trickling down the valleys and slopes of naked skin below. She was as alluring as the stories had made nymphs to be, but she wasn't singing as he expected. Then he saw the bandages and realised who he was looking at.

A single pitying thought came to mind before he averted his eyes and the shape dipped underwater, her eyes wildly darting over the beach like a scared animal. He stopped himself from thinking any further, as he did when Yen dug into his mind and walked back up the path to the house to give the girl her privacy.

The door creaked as he went back inside to find Yen still asleep. He threw another log on the fire and laid back down on the bed. His arm wound around her waist as he drew her flush against his chest and buried his nose into her curls, revelling in her lilac and gooseberries scent.

To his surprise and against all odds, he fell asleep and awoke again at the break of dawn – or whatever passed for such in a timeless place like this. Yen stirred in his arms and turned with a sly smile before kissing him. Her pale lips parted for him as he sunk into the kiss, blissfully happy to have her close to him. A silk tongue stroked along his, smooth and adept. Deft hands moved under the covers to caress and grasp, eager and hungry. But the moment was short-lived, for his ears caught muffled steps outside, moving around the house, and he remembered they weren't alone. He broke the kiss and Yen caught his thought and gave him a scolding look.

"That's what you're thinking about now?"

"She could walk in on us," he excused his hesitancy.

"Since when have you become a prude, witcher?"

"Is that what common decency is called by sorceresses?"

"When it stands between us and pleasure, yes. And we tend to lose our patience with prudes who fail to provide us with the pleasure we demand."

"Yen..."

"Fine," she acquiesced and for a moment, her eyes almost glazed over as she bore a silent conversation with the girl outside. He couldn't listen in, but he sensed the magic travelling between the two. Then it ended just as abruptly as it started and the footsteps outside moved away. "She's going for a walk along the beach to give us some privacy."

"You really are shameless, chasing her away so we could..."

"First of all, it was her suggestion. And secondly, you love it when I'm shameless," she said with a grin.

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt to pull him closer. "Now, witcher, I believe you were about to wag that sharp tongue of yours in a more useful way."

He almost rolled his eyes at her, but instead, he pressed a kiss to her lips as his hand sought a way under her shift. His fingers ghosted over her smooth thighs, trailing up to the heat between her legs. Their time apart had driven him ravenous, yet he didn't rush. He couldn't. Not with her. Each touch, each kiss, he cherished like rare blossoms, nurturing her desire.

He caressed her tenderly, fostering the fire that burned for him until her kiss turned into a series of nips on his lips, broken down by soft gasps. For a moment, he thought of how wonderful her slick warmth felt against his fingers and of how amazing she felt, purring pliant under his touch. The next instant, he was tossed on his back, his arms magically pinned and bound above his head.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Pliant?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

He chuckled. "Should have known better than to even think it."

"Yes, you should have," she said in response to his thought as she raised her shift up and over her head, baring her whole enticing naked body to his heated gaze. Soft skin without a blemish, lush breasts with pale nipples, a porcelain doll with perfect features framed by wild, untamed, raven curls loomed over him, shifting on top of him, moving up to straddle his chest. The scent of her arousal made his mouth water.

"Let's see if you're still as mouthy when I'm done with you," she said, staring him down without shame.

"Thinking counts as mouthy now?"

Her fingers coursed through his hair before she yanked his head back and lowered herself over his lips. "Shut up and put that big mouth of yours to good use."

He couldn't help his smug grin when his tongue swept over her slick cunt for the first time in a long time, and she tilted her head back with a breathy sigh.

"Wipe that grin off your face or I'll get off and leave you tied to that bed for the rest of the day," she said as she rocked against his lips, guiding him to pleasure her.

"Empty threats," he thought while he kept his mouth busy. "You're enjoying this too much to get off before I get you off."

"You are talented, I admit." Her voice was already getting breathier with each word and gasps became punctuation. "But don't test me."

He didn't intend to. Tasting her was a privilege he didn't want to squander.

She leaned back, holding herself up with her hands resting over his stomach as he laved over her soaked lips. Her taste was as delicious as he remembered. Every drop of her desire tasted like the sweetest nectar, knowing it meant he was pleasing her. And even beyond that, the sounds she made coursed through him like feather-light touches, arousing him, driving him to madness.

"If only she hadn't tied me to the bed," he thought.

"Is that a threat, witcher? What would you have done, I wonder?"

He made to pull away, but her fingers clenched in his hair to keep him still while she rode his mouth.

"You can think of the answer. I don't want you stopping just this moment," she moaned.

"For one, I could also be using my hands."

She chuckled. "You'll just have to manage without them. You seem to have forgotten your place. But worry not, I aim to make you remember and I'm not letting you off until I'm satisfied you've learnt your lesson."

"Then I'll just have to do my best to make sure you're satisfied," his thought came in response.

His tongue swept over her in long strokes, tending to her needs while listening for her breaths, counting her moans, and replying to each one, constantly adjusting to make every pass of his tongue feel as pleasurable as possible. He devoured her with fervour, making her come was his single wish.

"Geralt," she breathed, low and heavy.

He tilted his head and slanted his mouth over her, the tip of his tongue rolling over her lips, then her clit until she twitched under his touch and called his name again. "Ah, Geralt," she moaned, her hips stuttering over his mouth, driving herself forward, one hand grasping a breast. He moaned against her skin in return, wishing that hand had been his. She looked so good on top of him, riding him with no remorse, beads of sweat forming on her chest, trickling down on the slopes of her breasts, over her stomach towards the valley below and into his willing mouth, the salty taste mixing with her slick.

He pulled on her clit with his lips and sucked it into his mouth to kiss it as thoroughly as he would her beautiful pale lips, devoting his full attention to it. As he hit the perfect cadence, her fingers clenched over his stomach as she fought to keep herself steady, but she was already sliding down into the abyss while he waited to swallow her whole. She moaned his name again as he flicked his tongue over her clit a few times, steady and firm, and it was the last drop needed to push her over the edge.

"Geralt, yes!" she cried as she gushed over his tongue, covering his mouth and chin in her wetness.

He lapped at her without pause, slow and thorough, making her whimper softly through her orgasm, her chest rapidly rising and falling with every staggered breath, her heart pounding so hard it blocked all sounds to his ears.

"You plan to untie me now?" he asked through thought alone.

"Who said anything about untying?" she replied with a dark chuckle as she straightened herself above him. "I think you look rather nice on your back like this. Big strong witcher relegated to being a bedroom toy for me to use."

She shifted down his body until her knees sat astride his hips and she unlaced his trousers, then pulled them down under his ass, not even bothering to remove them or his shirt. A smile curled her lips at the sight of his hard cock waiting for her. With delicate fingers, she grabbed the base of it and her gaze burned like violet fire as she bore into his eyes while caressing his cock, up and down, twisting around the head. He smiled as a vain thought crossed his mind, admiring how huge it looked in her small hands, fingers barely meeting around his girth.

Her hands worked him incessantly with zeal. But in a careless moment, he thought it was slightly too dry to be fully enjoyable and her fingers stopped their up and down movement. His mouth gaped slightly as she leaned over and, for a second, he thought she'd take him into her mouth. Just the thought of her pretty mouth stretched around him was enough to make him dizzy. Instead, she stopped an inch away, making him grunt in frustration.

"You wish," she said and spat over his cock, then began to stroke him again. "I didn't intend to suck you, witcher, but I did plan to ride you. At least I was until you started complaining."

Her hand stopped again and this time, only her thumb traced the underside of his cock, following the path of a thick vein from balls to tip. "Now I'm not sure you've earned the right to any pleasure." The pad of her thumb rubbed against his tip, teasing him to madness.

"Please, Yen." At this point, he knew the only way to satisfy her pride - and get out of his literal bind - was to beg his way out of it.

"Not good enough, witcher. Begging for me to pleasure you won't get you anywhere."

"Please, Yen..." He thought of a better way to rephrase his plea. "Please let me earn it by making you come again."

"Mmm," she hummed with a sly smile. "That's an interesting request. One I might even grant."

She thought for a second, then shifted up and guided the tip of his cock inside her, biting her lip. A low moan was his only response. It felt so good to have her around him and he desperately wanted her to slide down his entire length, but she stubbornly remained still. "I'll ride you, but this will be for my pleasure, not yours. You're not to come until I say so. Is that understood?"

He swallowed thickly and nodded. If she had asked him to walk over hot coals, he'd do it just to be inside her.

"That's a good boy," she said with a grin and patted his cheek as she lowered herself over him until he bottomed out inside her.

She rolled her hips against his in a grinding motion, and he closed his eyes in ecstasy. Fuck, she felt good! Wet from her previous orgasm, hot as the sun, the inner muscles of her cunt tightened around him to make the friction all the more delicious.

Her slim fingers wrapped around his throat, tightening just a little while her other hand perched on his chest as she picked up speed. It had been so long since he had felt her like this that he almost lost himself. And looking at her breasts as they swayed and bounced with every movement wasn't making his restraint any easier. What he wouldn't give just to be able to take one of those pale nipples into his mouth and suckle at it until it blushed red under his affection. Even to grasp it would be a treat. To pinch it between two fingers, roll it... He grunted and threw his head back.

"Don't you dare fucking come!" she warned between laboured breaths.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as she relentlessly rode him down the path to insanity. The fire of her tight cunt around him was fucking bliss. It was all that occupied his mind. She needed to come first; he needed to make her come first. His heels dug into the mattress as he pushed up to meet her thrusts, setting a steady rhythm until her nails sunk into his skin. It felt so good to thrust into her, to feel her so hot and wet around him, to hear the obscene sound of his cock slapping against her dripping lips.

Even if he couldn't touch her, he could still think of what he'd do to her if he could, knowing she'd be reading his lusty thoughts. So he thought of how his fingers itched to be able to dig into the soft flesh of her ass and hold her firm as he pounded into her hard, just as she liked while his mouth roamed her neck, wandering down, laying kisses and bites on her pale skin, aiming to grasp a nipple and pull on it with his lips. Then he thought of how he'd love to flip her face down with her cheek against the sheets, lick another orgasm out of her before sinking into her warm cunt again. Oh, how he'd fuck her if only she'd let him! But he only served at her pleasure, gladly obeying and agreeing to be used like a toy at her disposal. Just a thick, hard cock for her to ride, every part of him at her beck and call. Anything to make her happy. Anything for her to come. His mouth, his fingers, his cock all would serve her as she wanted, for as long as she wanted them, asking for nothing in return. Her walls clenched around him. She was so fucking close, he could feel the build of her orgasm tightening around him and his lewd thoughts were only spurring her on.

"There's nothing more I love than making you come! Use me as you like, my love. Let me feel you come around me!" And with that thought, her walls clenched around him, spasming, pulsating in time with her ragged breath. She collapsed over his chest and sought his lips with eagerness. Her kiss was messy and possessive, but there was nothing he loved more than being hers. Being the one to hike her to the peak of ecstasy as many times as she demanded until she was sated.

She cupped his jaw and looked into his eyes. "You did good, witcher," she hummed as she rocked against him again, slow at first, then faster and faster. She wasn't done with him yet. The roll of her hips against him was the sweetest torture he could imagine, and he badly wanted to come, but she hadn't given him the right to yet, so he clenched his jaw and held on, waiting. Hoping she'd give him some release.

"Your obedience is pleasing," she said with a chuckle as she rode him at a gruelling fast pace that had him moaning her name, every fibre in his body fighting to keep from coming until she finally uttered the words he wanted to hear: "You may come."

It took no more than those words for him to spill inside her with a gasp. Only then did she untie the magical bonds that held him fast to the bed, and the first thing he did was to draw her over him to kiss her while his cock still throbbed inside her, his orgasm raging through him like wildfire, relieving him of all senses.

"I love you, Yen," he thought as he twisted to bring himself on top of her. His tongue delved deep into her mouth and stroked along hers. "Oh, how I fucking love you!"

"I love you too, witcher," she said when he finally broke the kiss and pulled out of her.

He rested his forehead on hers and smiled, his thumb caressing her cheek tenderly. She closed her eyes and hummed, then spoke in a soft voice as her hands stroked up his arms.

"But this love will be short-lived if I don't bathe soon. I can already feel your come tricking out of me and onto the sheets."

So much for the tender moment. He huffed and rolled off her, lacing up his trousers, the spell broken.

"I saw a tub out back. I'll fill it up for you."

"That would be appreciated. And..." She hesitated, and he raised a curious eyebrow at her. "And it wouldn't be the worst thing if you took a bath yourself."

Even if there was a well behind the house, he grabbed a bucket and made his way down to the lake to fill it. Perhaps he'd find the girl there, ask if she had bathing products Yen could use and subtly let her know that they were done. But as he reached the shore, there was no soul in sight. He filled the bucket and returned to the house.

The rest of the water he brought from the well and heated it over the stove to draw the bath for Yen. She had already rummaged through the various cupboards in the cabin and came up with towels and apple-scented soap.

While she enjoyed her warm bath, he went down to the lake again. He collected his belongings from the boat and placed them on the sand. His sword was among them, as well as another pouch full of herbs in which he occasionally hid some coin. And since the tub would be occupied for a while, he undressed down to his underclothes and dived into the water.

The water was pleasant, neither warm nor cold, and surprisingly clear for a lake.

He swam until he couldn't touch the bed of the lake with his toes, then dipped under the surface to see the sandy bed below. Nothing grew at the bottom of the lake. Then again, he wasn't even sure this was a lake. He just thought of it as such due to the stillness of the water. Through the thick milk-white fog that permanently hung over the water, no other shore was visible. And just as the stars weren't visible in the night sky, the sun wasn't showing its face during the daytime. By then, it should have been at least noon, but the sky was a cool grey lit by diffuse light. At first glance, one could think it was covered in clouds, but it was, in fact, eerily clear.

Soft footsteps reached his ears as he swam through the calm waters and he turned to see the girl walking down the beach. She stopped near his discarded clothes and looked towards the water, unable to see him through the thick fog.

He swam towards the shore and stood in water up to his neck. Her brow creased.

"There's a tub behind the cabin," she told him.

"I know. Yen's using it." He scratched his neck, embarrassed. "She borrowed some things, hope you don't mind. I know we should have asked first."

"It's fine. Use what you need. There's enough for all of us."

He took a few more steps towards the shore and into shallower water. For a moment, her eyes dropped. She was staring at the myriad of scars that branded his chest and stomach. The newest ones were the three equally spaced marks over his chest that were still red and only partially healed. Her mouth twisted almost unperceivably in disapproval before she turned on her heels and strode up towards the cabin without another word. It wasn't the first time he got a reaction like that to his scars. They were ugly, and few had the strength to look at them without cringing. At that thought, her steps faltered and lost their rhythm. She hesitated, then turned back to the shore just as he got out of the water.

"I don't think they're ugly," she said in response to his thought.

He huffed and grabbed his shirt from the pile, and dipped back into the water to try to scrub the blood off its front.

"They're not pretty, that's for sure. Not if they're enough to make a girl run at the sight of them."

"That's not why I ran." She made to cross her hands over her chest, then grimaced and left them hanging by her side. "Nevermind," she said and half-turned away again.

"They remind you of yours," he realized in a second. Her head dropped and her eyes pinned the ground. "How did you get them?" he asked aloud this time.

"An accident."

"Bullshit," he thought.

"It's not," she said unconvincingly.

"It is, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. And you don't have to reply to my every thought. It would be nice to have a plain conversation."

"As I told Ciri, I'm listening for the Hunt and I'm catching all your thoughts as a by-product." She sighed. "I've started placing wards around the island, so I won't have to listen much longer. I'll be done tomorrow."

"Hope she wasn't listening to me and Yen earlier," he thought.

"I wasn't. I'm not a creep who spies on people." She shot him a sharp look, and he knew what she meant.

"About last night..." He cleared his throat. "I didn't know you were here. Just wanted to get my sword from the boat and saw you bathing. Thought you were... something else. Promise I wasn't spying on purpose."

"No, of course you weren't," she said, then turned and left him to finish cleaning his clothes.

Later, he returned to the cabin, carrying his still wet shirt to find the women sitting on stools next to the stove, carving out apples and munching on the slices. The girl's bandages looked fresh and a strand of the old ones laid in the flames, steadily burning down with the logs.

"Come eat with us," Yen invited him and cut a slice of apple and offered it to him.

He took it, then sat on the floor next to them and grabbed an apple from the bowl that stood between them. At the same time, another one floated away to be cut by a magically wielded knife into slices.

He bit into the slice of apple with delight. It was perfectly ripe and sweet. The best-tasting apple he had ever had.

"This is delicious," he said in earnest.

Criss huffed. "You say that now. I thought the same the first time I had one, but after a week of eating nothing else, you might change your opinion."

"We'll see in a week. For now, I'm grateful for this." He held up the half-eaten apple. "There are far worse things than having to eat the same food for days on end."

His mind went to the countless dungeons he had graced over the years, the slop they fed them, the filth they laid in, and the daily beatings. He'd take a steady diet of apples over that any day, even if that would be the only thing he'd ever get to taste again.

The girl eyed him thoughtfully and munched on her apple in silence, this time refraining from replying to his thoughts.

He took another bite and gazed into the fire. The flickering flames dancing in the hearth brought back the image of the campfire and the men and women dancing around it, as well as Ciri's smiling face. The corner of his mouth curled up at the memory.

"You didn't tell me you dreamt of Ciri," Yen said.

He shrugged. "Didn't get a chance." He recollected the whole dream so she could see it through his mind.

"She looked happy," Criss commented.

Yen smiled and moved from the stool to sit next to him on the floor. He shifted to make room for her and curled an arm around her shoulders. The girl looked at them wistfully for a second, then got up and headed for the door. A few apples and the knife followed her out.

"I'll go place a few more wards. I'll be back before nightfall," she said on her way out. Perhaps it was her subtle way of telling them they had the cabin all to themselves for a long while.

A/N: I always wondered how weird it could turn if someone constantly read your mind, and this chapter is a partial render of that thought. More weirdness in the next one!

Feel free to drop a comment if you liked it! Thanks!