When? Derek silently lamented. Doc had told him the fire between Febra and Grumpy would burn out, but When?
The night they'd had alone had been torturous for him, sitting outside in the chill overnight, trying to block out the sounds. "1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13..." He'd counted stars in prime numbers, wanting not to hear Febra moan, laugh and scream enough to bring the animals out of the forest.
After assuring themselves she wasn't in distress, they'd gathered around him, a doe laying her head on his shoulder, while a scrawny brown bunny hopped into his lap and he continued his sad, celestial inventory. "...2069, 2081," until they'd faded with the moon. "5003, 5009, 5011..."
The group revelries moved to her room built on the left side of the cottage. Derek moved his bed to the loft opposite her on the right, citing the extra room for his books. He sat with his back to the room, shoulders hunched over Voltaire, Aristotle or Euclid, his face tense and words blurring as light from the crack in the door flickered with movements and Grumpy directed the activity.
"She likes to be sucked harder than that, Sneezy. They're nipples, not breakable eggs. Bear down and stop dragging your anchor, Bashful. How long can it take a man to come with such a beautiful mouth bobbing on his spar?" Derek threw his book across the room.
"You can't leave," Doc said on the march home the next day. "It would be suicide."
"I can take care of myself," Derek said, trudging along at the back of the line again.
Doc shook his head. "Dopey, think about what you're saying. Tarik wants you dead. We've done so much to protect you. It was Grumpy's idea that we all take new names when you joined us, like we'd given the Stefens earlier. Who would expect a scholar to be named Dopey?"
"I know all this, Doc, but I hate the house now."
Doc turned his head to eye the younger man through the spectacles tilted on his nose. "Is it still because of the princess's generosity to them?"
"No." Derek picked up a stick to strike things along the trail. "I don't care about that anymore. I have more important things to think about than a promiscuous runaway and her devotees."
"As you say," Doc said with a snicker and walked ahead for more pleasant conversation.
Sneering, Derek smacked a bare elm with his stick as a high-pitched chitter like that of an excited chipmunk, interrupted his thoughts. He raised his head. No rodents to be seen, but was that a flash of yellow in the distance?
"Bilge dump," announced Grumpy, separating himself from the parade. "Go ahead. I'll be home later." He ran into the trees, the same direction as the chitter.
Derek's face set in a wooden frown, as the remaining five Dwarfs disappeared around a bend, he crept after Grumpy, hoping to find him squatting over a bunch of dead leaves.
The air cooled in the thicker woods, fortresses of trees refusing admittance of heat and light, except ahead of him, where the red sun sat as if its purpose was to warm that one spot. Grumpy's grunts came from there but no other sound. Perhaps he was just taking a shit, but still, Derek darted between the trees, bile rising to his throat when he espied him.
Grumpy stood on a fallen log, naked from the waist down, his hands on Febra's hips and her leg wrapped around him. Her tiny yellow skirt was hitched up to her waist. Her blue vest was undone, breasts bouncing as she and Grumpy thrust against each other.
Derek tightened his grip on his stick as she raised her arms over her head and clasped her hands behind the sturdy young oak she was backed up to, pulling her vest up and her breasts into Grumpy's mouth. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted, her body shaking with her pants as she silently reached climax and collapsed on Grumpy.
Derek grimaced as he turned away, tiptoeing from the scene. Knowing his buttocks were higher and rounder and his genitals bigger than Grumpy's was small consolation because Grumpy had Febra. He'd put that look on her face, made her want to sneak into the woods with him, like Lon and Mira. And, just as when he was sixteen, he could only watch and envy.
Back on the trail, he ran, angry and determined and, he admitted, aroused. He arrived before Grumpy but Febra was already there.
"She said she had a headache and went to her room," said Sleepy with a deep frown under his white beard. "Guess I'll go to bed too. Nothing to be awake for."
A quiet boredom settled on the cottage, with Bashful and Happy playing chess, Doc fiddling with his medical pouch and Sneezy...sneezing, his face betraying complete disappointment. Derek settled in the loft with an old volume of Homer, casting surreptitious glances at the door across the room. He was the only one there who knew how Febra looked when she slept.
"Who died?" bellowed Grumpy when he finally stamped into the cottage later. "This place is like a tomb. Got a gully washer brewing out there. We won't be going to the mine tomorrow. Wake up, Sleepy." He kicked the man's bed. "I call for a vote for me to have the princess to myself tomorrow."
"Again?" wailed Sneezy. "I was going to."
"Didn't do it fast enough," Grumpy said with a smile. "If you vote for me to have her tomorrow, I won't again until everyone else has, if she wants you."
Derek sneered, acid curdling his voice. "That's nice of you, after treating her as a token up to now."
Grumpy whipped his head to him and strolled to the loft. "I haven't done anything with her she didn't know about and want." Derek glared and Grumpy returned the hard look, as if challenging Derek to blink first, before patting his arm. "Go back to your books, Dopey. We already know you vote Nay. Now, what say the rest of you?"
When? Derek asked again as Grumpy and Febra went to her room after breakfast. Rain beat on the flagstone in front of the cottage and the sky was so dark, he couldn't pretend to be reading, but clutched his book in tight frustration as the chorus of orgasm and teasing went on all morning.
The sun broke through around noon, and the downpour stopped. Febra's door opened and she and Grumpy walked out. She carried the cherry rapier made for her by Sleepy and wore tight green breeches Derek had given her and a tunic in light tan. Grumpy was bare-chested, his black rat's nest tangling on his shoulders.
"She wants to train," he said. "Not too long though." He winked to the room in general as he strutted out with her. "We don't want to tire ourselves."
Derek rolled his eyes as he chinned himself on the side of his sleeping platform and pulled himself up to the down tick. Since the sun was out, he could read by the window.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Febra flashing her sword toward Grumpy, who jumped and ran from one place to another, flipping when necessary and taunting her, denying her an easy target.
Clouds gathered again, and thunder boomed. Derek put aside his book. They'd be returning any moment. The slanting rain blew into the cottage and Happy closed the door. Still, the couple didn't come. Derek glanced out his window again, his heart shattering at the sight.
Dripping wet, Febra straddled Grumpy. She pulled off the tunic and the water streamed down her breasts more forcefully than when he'd seen her in the creek. She gyrated on Grumpy and took his hands to clap them first on her soaking chest, up to her neck and face, then down to her stomach and around to her buttocks, painting her with muddy streaks. Grumpy pushed up on her so fiercely, Derek imagined he heard their shouts from their wide-open mouths.
When?
He rolled away and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, pillow over his head to block out sound. He slept and slept, rivaling Sleepy. He awoke to the quiet of a dark, water-tight home after a storm.
As he adapted to his surroundings, he could hear dripping from the roof to the ground, the tree frogs venturing from their shelters to greet each other, and the rhythmic panting of a couple.
Febra's door was open. Her brazier for heat created shadows on the wall. She lay on her bed with her legs bent up and Grumpy between them. Her chest lifted and lowered in a sigh as they moved in tandem and she touched his arms and fisted his wild mane. She slid her hands up to her chest, fingertips circling her nipples as she arched, frozen with Grumpy in climax, soft and quiet.
The shadows were unmoving, Febra and Grumpy appearing to stare at each other, until Grumpy got out of bed. Febra's body still made the beautiful silhouette with her taut breasts, a sweep down to a flat stomach and rising again for her buttocks. Grumpy's shadow put on his breeches, patted her head and left her to fall into his own bed.
Febra's shadow turned on its side, the shape changing from sharp angles to gentle curves. Derek stretched out an arm, as if he lay next to her. Her form faded as the coal in the brazier burned out along, finally, with that other fire.
But did that mean that Grumpy no longer satisfied her? Did that mean that none of them could individually for more than a couple weeks?
Derek frowned at the open door and turned around with his back to her.
Saying his name no longer made her tingle. Hearing his gravelly voice in her head didn't quicken her pulse. Picturing the scarred, hard body draped by frizzy black hair no longer set a tumult in her vulva.
Febra's fascination with Grumpy was over, as was his with her. She'd tired of all his nautical terms, and he'd suggested her training was just a hobby because she'd never be in a real fight. The thought made her frown and sapped her libido and The Dwarfs would be home soon.
She looked down on her slender body. Soft, recessed nipples wouldn't do. She brushed her hands over the front of her tunic to stimulate them and stir her memory. With all the sexual positions and locales she'd experienced in a short time, still, her most erotic, satisfying moments were her dreams featuring Lon and Derek.
She rolled the center of her areolae, feeling the first twinges between her legs, closing her eyes and recalling the fantasies with Lon's tongue inside her and Derek giving her long, arousing kisses and tracing her body with sensitive fingers.
She pinched her nipples and bit her lip, allowing Derek to move his head to her breast, locking his mouth on it while twirling his tongue around in lazy seduction.
She pinched harder, vaginal muscles throbbing and nipples stinging as Derek replaced Lon between her legs. He continued his tweaking of her breasts while his tongue probed her, exciting the muscles he'd awakened. "Derek," she mumbled, lowering her hand at the sound of male voices outside.
"Hi ho, we're home."
She ran to greet them, her breasts now at proper attention. "Where are Bashful and Happy?" she asked after a head count.
"Bashful forgot his gloves so Happy went aft with him to fetch them," explained Grumpy with a sullen face.
She rolled her eyes at another sailor reference. "Then there will only be five of you for me tonight?" (While Derek and Doc had never participated in the orgies, she always wanted them to know they had an open invitation, particularly tonight. She smiled at Derek.
"Four," he snapped, slamming down his bowl of stew and eating without another word.
Febra's eyes shuttered as if she'd been slapped, her heart dropping from her breast. Why is he like this? Hurt bristled into anger as the men ate and Derek pointedly ignored her. Hmph, how much can he ignore?
She stood and lowered her leggings. "Since Bashful isn't here, I don't suppose anyone else will object." She smiled at them, seeing their eyes perk up as she pulled off the tunic and walked naked to her room. "I'm waiting."
Chairs scooted back and Grumpy, Sleepy and Sneezy followed her through the door.
"Doc?"
"You said you weren't interested, Dopey. It's not fair for you to deny the rest of us."
She smirked, hearing the exchange as she sat on the floor and helped Sneezy with his breeches. Derek was paying attention, whether he wanted to or not.
"Doc, you dear man," she said, crawling over to him standing in the doorway. Derek, she noted, was in the loft, turned so he could either ignore or study what transpired.
She hugged Doc around the waist and pressed her breasts into his groin. "You saved my life. I wanted to show you my gratitude," she said, grasping his buttocks. Derek, she saw, flipped a page with an angry whoosh.
"Do you want to touch my breast, Doc? You're always such a gentleman, but you can if you want. Oh, that's nice. She lay down on the soft , furry mat over the wooden floor. "The rest of you, gather 'round me. May I take off your leggings, Doc? I'd like to see what's under them."
She positioned him next to her where she could watch the quietly fuming Derek and he would see her licking Doc, see her legs opened wide, the right one pulled up to her hip, to accommodate Sleepy between them.
"You have the finest arse, Princess," said Grumpy, rubbing first her buttocks then her breast.
She muffled a giggle, still with Doc's cock in her mouth. She turned him on his back and leaned over him, eliciting a moan. From the corner of her eye, she saw Derek put his hands around his head, as if to keep from hearing, and rock in agony.
"Ahh," she sighed. "You have the best fingers, Sleepy. Yes, Grumpy. Harder." That was enough to infuriate Derek. She turned her attention to the four pleasuring her, tingling and warming, addressing each of their needs, until all were satisfied.
"I'll tuck you all in," she said, taking Doc's hand and walking nude, reeking of men, into the main room. "Did you enjoy yourself, Doc? Will you want to do it again?"
"You're a lovely and generous girl, Princess. And I will be pleased to join you again."
She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Sir."
"Goodnight, Sleepy," she said, moving to his bed. She put his fingers in her mouth. "You made something beautiful again."
Febra turned to Grumpy, sitting up in his bed, showcasing his chest and tattoo. She snickered as she lay over him and bit his chest. "Good night, you old sea dog." He pinched her as she rolled off his bed.
"Sneezy, do you have enough cloths for the night? Good." She gave his rubbery buttocks an affectionate pat as he sneezed. "Sleep well."
She strolled to her room, moonlight playing on her form, and said in a short tone. "Goodnight, Dopey."
When she knew they were asleep, she slipped out in the long gown Doc had given her to the well. She'd requested a small grill next to it and now lit the plate and set a pail of water on it. When it was warm, she pulled off the gown and scooped handfuls of water to splash on herself, washing away traces of all of them to be herself, Febra—pure.
An owl at the top of a fir tree gave her warning someone approached. She grabbed her gown and stepped into the shadows as Happy and Bashful appeared arm in arm.
"I don't want to go in yet," Bashful whispered, leaning his head on Happy's chest. "I don't want to leave you."
Happy caressed Bashful's shining russett hair. "We'll still be together."
Bashful raised his head, slinking his arms around the taller man's neck. "That's not what I mean. I want to be lovers a little longer."
Febra clutched the gown to cover her front, tingling with surprise. Bashful and Happy?
"Anything you wish, my beautiful boy," Happy said, sitting on the table and pulling Bashful next to him. "You know I can refuse you nothing."
"Nothing?" asked Bashful. The faint light of the grill fire caught a mischievous, white smile as he rubbed the inside of Happy's leg.
"Bashful, we've been doing this all night."
"And we're not finished," Bashful said. He pushed Happy down to the table, covering his mouth with his own, a deep, hot kiss. He lifted the bottom of Happy's tunic to bestow small kisses and licks all over his chest. "Do you know how hard it is to watch you with the princess?"
Happy tugged at Bashful's shirt, rubbing his hands over his back. "Of course, I know. It's difficult for me to see you with her also, but it would be suspicious if we didn't."
Bashful snickered, opening the fly on Happy's breeches. "I'm better than she is, aren't I?" He lapped Happy's balls.
"No one is better than you, Bashful," Happy sighed, lifting his hips, as the younger man took his cock into his mouth.
"That's because I love you," Bashful said. He claimed Happy's hand and led him closer to the shelter of the trees, to a warm pile of leaves. He lay down, gesturing a turn with one finger.
Happy stretched on top of him with his mouth between Bashful's legs and vice versa. They sucked each other, touched each other, murmured love over and over.
Febra was trapped. She couldn't appear in the open. What they were doing was illegal, yet so beautiful. They were quiet, not just because they enjoyed being sneaky, as she had with Grumpy, but because they were risking their lives to love each other.
Her heart went out to them as she recalled walking in on her mother and father when she was a little girl. Her mother had told her the noises they made were a sign of their love, but it wasn't the noises. It was what she was witnessing now, that she'd never had, and might not ever.
From the window in his loft, Derek watched her in the shadows. The wistful look was one he hadn't seen since their day in the moss. The longing was something he shared, beyond simple desire. It represented an ideal they'd created but then quashed. Was it possible to recapture?
He pretended to be sleeping when Bashful and Happy entered, squeezing each other's hands before separating. When Febra tiptoed in, clean and covered in the voluminous gown and sniffling, he lifted his head. "Goodnight, Edel."
She turned around at her door. Squinting in the dark to make his blond head out, she raised her lips in a thin, sad smile. "Goodnight, Derek."