Chapter 7
Stony Creek Cavern
Bishop led her but two miles up the road to a spring nestled among the mountains. A small dock and broken fishing boat lay at the edge of the pond, covered in moss. They left their horses to graze on the grass around the creek. Rona stopped by the dock and watched as tiny tadpoles swam around a nook in the boat.
Bishop wandered up to a small cave opening in the pond and drew his dagger, Karnwyr followed him. "This is Stony Creek Cavern, a usual hiding spot for bandits. I'll clear the place out and then we can bathe at ease," he said.
He vanished into the cave. Rona sat down on the edge of the dock, pulling her boots and gloves off and slid her feet into the cool water. The sounds of barking and shouting came from inside the cave, but she waited patiently. She had full confidence that Bishop could handle it, not to mention she was beat.
He came out shortly and wiped at his brow, smearing more blood across his forehead. Karnwyr padded along behind him and stopped at the pond to take a drink. Bishop walked over and plopped down on the grass beside Rona and pulled his own boots and gloves off, he splashed his feet into the water and said, "Aaahh, that's better!"
She said, "I'll let you wash first, you're way filthier than me."
"Who says we have to take turns Ladyship?" He stood up and started unbuckling his top and slipped it off revealing his trim physique. Rona's eyes widened and her cheeks burned.
"We – we – I – I don't have a bathing suit!" she stammered.
"You've got underwear don't yah?" he inquired wryly and started to unbuckle his pants, "That should be good enough."
He dropped his pants to reveal his short, off-white underwear and a substantial package bulging under them. Rona threw her hands up to cover her eyes and felt the tips of her ears burning. Bishop just laughed at her and dove in, splashing her in the process. Karnwyr took this as a sign that the water was okay and jumped in next.
"C'mere boy!" Bishop grabbed the wolf and ran his fingers through his fur, "Aw, you're covered in fleas!"
Rona peeked at him through her fingers, still stunned that he'd just disrobed in front of her. He was too busy washing his wolf to seem to care though. Then he looked up at her, grinning, "C'mon on in Lightfoot! The water's fine, 'sides I've already seen your ass. There's not a whole lot more to discover."
She jumped up and dashed over to the horses, flustered. She'd never, ever disrobed in front of a man before. The very idea of it was so - thrilling. Thrilling? She thought to herself, exasperated. What is wrong with me? To want to do that with...him? Still, she could hear him splashing and playing with Karnwyr and it sounded...fun. Maybe just once, just this once, she could do something crazy. As if everything in my life isn't crazy enough already.
She started rummaging through the saddle bag on her mare and pulled out a bottle of perfumed tonic and a bar of soap. A mischievous smile curved over her lips. She came back over to the tiny dock to find Bishop digging into one of Karnwyr's ears and muttering, "Looks like you got ear mites buddy. God damn those bandits were filthy."
He looked up to see Rona standing on the dock, barefooted, hands on her hips. He blinked at her then said, "Sooo, you joining us, or?"
"On one condition!" She had his full attention now and he waited, eyebrows raised. "That you use this soap," she foisted the soap up in one hand, "and you let me wash your hair with this tonic," she held the bottle up with her other hand.
He chuckled, "Ladyship, I don't know if you can count or not, but that's two conditions."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "You want to see me in my underwear or not?"
He looked at her, veryeager and yelled, "Toss me the soap!"
She threw it to him and set the bottle of tonic down on the dock. It was almost comical the way Bishop stared so intently at her while using the soap to scrub an armpit.
She took a deep breath, sighed and reached back to undo a button under her hair. Her dress came loose and fell down to her feet revealing her lacy white bra and simple white panties. She was petite, with light pink skin, a tinge of gold in certain light, and her breasts weren't very big, but just big enough to suit her small frame. She turned absolutely crimson as Bishop drank in the sight before him and as usual, couldn't seem to help but comment, "Mmm, you temptress."
She kicked the dress aside and shouted, "Coming in!" She leapt into the chill water making a tiny splash. The pond wasn't too deep, but enough that her feet couldn't quite reach the bottom. She came up for air allowing her hair to pull back on her head.
Again she caught Bishop gaping at her, so she splashed him. "Hey!" he laughed, "I'm not done soaping up Princess, but I'm glad to see you're having fun now."
She smiled, "This is fun. Awkward, but fun."
"Awkward? Are you telling me that two people - who hardly know each other, I might add - swimming around in a pond in their underwear is somehow awkward? I couldn't disagree more Ladyship."
"No...but, seeing your umm...that," she pulled a hand above the water and pointed downward, "is awkward."
The water was fairly clear in daylight and he glanced down, then moved a hand to cover his crotch and said, "Ah, yeah...the raging erection. Yeah, that would be awkward."
She rolled her eyes at him and swam back over to the dock grabbing the bottle of tonic. She came up close to him, taking him by surprise. She gave him a sensual smile and said, "Close your eyes."
He closed them and said, "Oh, you gonna surprise me?" And then she dumped the syrupy concoction all over his head. He grunted and leapt back in the water opening his eyes, "What the hell is this? Ah it burns! What are you doing to me woman!"
"Keep your eyes shut and hold still!" she scolded and swam around to his back where she started to rub the tonic into his hair, making it foam.
"Augh, it smells like - like a woman!"
"It's just honey lavender and rose petal, they're flowers," she insisted.
"I do not want to smell like a woman or like flowers!" he growled.
"Quit moving and let me wash your hair! It's disgusting. You've got dried blood from two days ago still in it."
He sulked but held still as she ran her hands through his hair, picking out a few twigs and some dead bugs. After scrubbing for a few minutes she couldn't help but notice the scars outlining his back, some small, others deep, but all healed over and dulled with age. She mindlessly traced a finger over one of the deeper, longer gashes, wondering what had happened to him.
Bishop's low sounding voice startled her, "Thought you were washing my hair? You done back there?"
"Ah, yeah," she said pulling away, "You can rinse."
"Finally," he mumbled then dunked his head underwater forcing the soap bubbles to rise up. He swam over to the water's edge and pulled himself up and out of the pond grabbing his boots as he went. He didn't dare to turn around though, Rona figured for a very pointed reason. When she asked him where he was going, he waved a hand back and said, "Gonna go make camp and get us some dinner."
He left his clothes behind, no doubt intending to wash them later. Rona decided she'd wash them up for him, along with her dress. She spent a good hour bathing herself and then another thoroughly rinsing their clothes and used a spell to quick dry them. She dressed herself and fixed her hair up. Feeling refreshed she wandered over to where the horses were grazing and where Bishop had set up their tents. He was nowhere to be seen, though a pot was simmering over a fire. She pulled the lid off and stirred the stew.
A piece of meat flew through the air and landed in the grass nearby. Karnwyr rushed over and tore into it just as Bishop was seen strolling through the trees, still in his underwear, with just his boots on. He was carrying his bow and had two dead rabbits skewered on an arrow.
"Got dinner," he said as he set the rabbits down by his bedroll.
"Washed your clothes," she said and tossed him his trousers.
He caught them and said, "Hey thanks!" He kicked his boots off so he could pull his pants on, though he left his shirt up on Whiskey's saddle. He took a seat on the ground withdrew his dagger and started skinning the rabbits. Rona watched as he did it with ease, something he'd obviously done hundreds of times before.
"Nice knife," she said, "Where'd you get it?"
Bishop swiveled it in his palm, "This dear right here is a token I took from one bandit back in the day. I was seven, barely learned how to use a bow, some bandits attacked my village and well, we fought them off. I took this one from one of the corpses and killed the last bandit who thought I was just a lad unable to make a quick decision."
"I see you use it all the time. Does it have any enchantments?"
"No, it just cuts, Princess," he looked up at her, the firelight dancing in his eyes, "want to feel?"
She cringed, "Are you trying to be sensual? Because if so, it's just creepy."
He sighed, "Ah, and here I thought I was being clever with my innuendo. Here," he tossed her the meat of the first skinned rabbit, "Mind peeling the meat off that one and mixing it in the stew?"
She obliged and finished helping him make their dinner. Rona spent the evening telling him stories from her time in the Fighter's Guild, sharing some of the more absurd contracts she and her comrades were sent on. Such as the time they were enlisted to hunt for a unicorn out in Harcane Grove at the request of a very wealthy noble, to no avail of course, or the time they had to clear out an infestation of smelly scamps in some woman's home after she offended a daedra when she stole his staff. He laughed particularly hard at the story about the Oblivion gate some amateur conjurer managed to open in the middle of his house, blasting it to pieces and unleashing an army of dremora and daedroth on the local townsfolk.
She always seemed to be the only one telling him about herself though. He rarely opened up about himself or his past, and when he did he kept it brief and vague. Because he doesn't trust anyone, she reminded herself, not even you.
As they said their goodnights and laid down to sleep Rona resolved that she would make a new dagger for him, one that didn't have such a sad story attached to it.
The next morning Rona was finishing packing up their supplies while Bishop struggled to hold onto his wriggling wolf to check in his ears. "Just hold still you damn animal!" Karnwyr pulled himself free of the headlock, barked and ran off around the camp.
Rona giggled at the sight of the happy wolf chasing the birds and rolling in the dirt, his tongue lolling partly out of his mouth as he panted.
Bishop laid back on the grass, put a hand to his head and sighed, "He's got a bad case of ear mites, think he's still got some fleas too."
"I know," Rona said, "They chewed me up last night."
"You too? Ah, damn it."
Rona pulled a potion and a piece of jerky from one of the pouches on her horse. She knelt down, whistled and clicked her tongue at the wolf. Karnwyr looked over at her, wagging his tale. Bishop pushed himself up on his elbows and said, "Careful princess, don't want you to get bit."
She smiled at him, "It'll be fine." She clicked her tongue at the wolf again and showed him the piece of jerky. Karnwyr's ears perked up and he licked his chops. He got up and warily padded over to her, cocking his head slightly. She tore it into smaller pieces and dangled one in front of him. He lunged forward grabbing the small piece and ran off with it to drop it in the dirt and tear at it with a paw.
Bishop just shook his head at her, "Nice try, Lightfoot. You won't get him to trust you that easily."
She smirked back at him, "Just give me a minute."
After Karnwyr finished scarfing down the dried meat Rona held her hand out again and clicked her tongue. He cocked his head curiously and came up closer, pausing by her hand this time. She held the piece in her fist and pressed her hand to the ground. Karnwyr laid down and sniffed and licked at her hand.
She scratched behind his ears and pet him, then let him have the piece. "Good boy," she praised him and continued petting him. But as soon as Karnwyr finished his piece he ran off again.
Bishop shook his head at her and said, "Told yah."
"I'm not finished yet!" she exclaimed, "Be patient."
Again she put a piece of jerky in hand and clicked her tongue at the distracted wolf who was barking at some birds up in a tree. As soon as he heard her clicking he turned around and padded right over to her without hesitation. She pressed her hand to the ground and he laid down to sniff at it again. This time she held it there as she scratched his back and pet him more on the head.
With her free hand she pressed his ear back and got a glimpse of the festering mites inside. She grabbed the potion beside her and uncorked it with her teeth then dribbled some around on the side of his head where she was able to massage it into his ear all the while praising him, cooing and saying what a good boy he was.
Bishop stared at her open-mouthed. She gave Karnwyr the piece of jerky and while he chewed it up she grabbed one more piece and clicked her tongue showing it to him. She got him to turn around so she could work potion into his other ear and for good measure poured the rest of the potion across his back and rubbed it into his fur.
By now her hands were all sticky and covered in fur but she'd managed to apply the whole bottle which would kill any parasites on the wolf. After chewing up his last piece of jerky he whimpered at her and rubbed his nose against her hand, probably looking for more food. She showed him her empty hands and he rolled over exposing his belly to her, tongue lolling out of his mouth. She laughed and rubbed her sticky hands all over his belly.
Bishop pushed himself off the ground and as soon as he did so Karnwyr leapt to his feet and started racing around their camp again. Rona stood up, holding her hands out so as to not touch anything.
"I can't believe he let you do that," Bishop said, stunned. Karnwyr barked at him playfully, butt in the air, tail wagging and Bishop called back, "Traitor!" He sighed and crossed his arms, "He must take after me, he's got a weakness for pretty women."
Rona smirked and turned towards the pond, "I'm just gonna go wash my hands and then we can get going."
"Sounds good," Bishop said as he pulled himself up into his saddle.
Rona rinsed her hands in the water and pulled her mother's urn from her pouch. She held it to her chest and looked over the crystal clear surface. She opened the urn and took a pinch of ash and scattered it across the grass and smiling to herself she whispered, "Where I did something...thrilling."
She turned on foot as Bishop called, "Hurry up Ladyship! Before the sun sets already."
She mounted Karinda and they both watched as Karnwyr rolled around in a particularly muddy patch of earth.
"Honestly, I'm thinking of doing the same thing," Bishop said, sniffing himself, "I still smell like a bouquet of roses."
"At least you don't smell like dragon breath anymore," Rona quipped.
He gawked at her as she snapped her reins and sped off down the path.
Bonus Piece
Stony Creek Cavern (Bishop's POV)
He finished off the last bandit and sheathed his blade, calling to Karnwyr who was busy gnawing on another dead bandit's arm.
As they stepped back into the sunlight he brought a hand to his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow. He noticed Rona soaking her feet in the pond and strolled over to sit down beside her. He plopped onto the grass and pulled his boots and gloves off, then splashed his feet into the water. "Aaahh, that's better!" he breathed.
Rona smiled down at him and said, "I'll let you wash first, you're way filthier than me."
A thought crossed his mind, what did it matter if they bathed together or separate? No one could stop them either way. He was sure she'd decline, being the prude she was, but he enjoyed making her blush all the same. Still, she was getting so used to his comments that she hardly got so embarrassed anymore. He'd have to be more bold to get a reaction.
"Who says we have to take turns Ladyship?" He stood up and started unbuckling his top and slipped it off. Rona's eyes widened and her face flushed red traveling all the way up to the points of her ears. He couldn't get enough of it.
"We – we – I – I don't have a bathing suit!" she stammered.
"You've got underwear don't yah?" he inquired wryly and started to unbuckle his pants, "That should be good enough."
He dropped his trousers to reveal his underwear. Rona threw her hands up covering her eyes. He just laughed at her and dove in. Karnwyr took this as a sign that the water was okay and jumped in next.
"C'mere boy!" Bishop barked, grabbing the wolf so he could run his fingers through his fur and noticed tiny bugs crawling all over the poor beast, "Aw, you're covered in fleas!"
He started scratching and washing Karnwyr's fur, trying to get as many bugs off as possible. He noticed Rona peeking at him through her fingers and looked up at her shouting, "C'mon on in Lightfoot! The water's fine, 'sides I've already seen your ass. There's not a whole lot more to discover."
She leapt up and ran off towards the horses. "Heh, that didn't take long, but we don't need her, right boy? C'mere!"
Bishop grabbed the wolf as he paddled around the pond and pulled back one of his ears getting a look inside. Sure enough, parasites galore. "Looks like you got ear mites buddy. God damn those bandits were filthy."
He heard the padding of feet on wood and looked up to see Rona standing on the dock, hands on her hips. He blinked at her then said, "Sooo, you joining us, or?"
"On one condition!"
He stared at her, brows raised.
"That you use this soap," she foisted the soap up in hand, "and you let me wash your hair with this tonic!" She held up a red bottle up with her other hand.
He chuckled at her sudden bravado and teased, "Ladyship, I don't know if you can count or not, but that's two conditions."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "You want to see me in my underwear or not?"
He perked right up at those wordsand yelled, "Toss me the soap!"
She threw it to him and set the bottle of tonic down. Bishop took the soap and started scrubbing as instructed, though he wondered if she'd chicken out.
She took a deep breath, sighed and reached back behind her neck. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as her dress came loose and fell down to her feet revealing everything. Of course she wears white, he thought. She had on a lacy white bra and pristine white panties. Her breasts were perfectly sized for her petite frame, each the size of a small melon and very perky. Her lovely rose colored locks draped slightly over her shoulders and fell just between her shoulder blades on her back.
She was incredibly sexy, especially when her face turned crimson, redder than he'd ever seen her before. It was charming, sexy, beautiful. Everything about her was exhilarating. He really wanted to make her blush in other ways though. As he drank in the sight of her - because he had to memorize it - all he could muster was, "Mmm, you temptress."
She kicked her dress aside and shouted, "Coming in!" then leapt into the water with a tiny splash. As she came up, soaking wet he noticed her bra had become sheer, he didn't dare mention it, if he did she'd just run off again and he wasn't about to let her do that, not right now. Annoyed by his leering she splashed him.
"Ah hey!" he laughed, alright, I deserved that. "I'm not done soaping up Princess, but I'm glad to see you're having fun now."
She smiled, gods he loved her smile.
"This is fun. Awkward, but fun," she said.
"Awkward? Are you telling me that two people - who hardly know each other, I might add - swimming around in a pond in their underwear is somehow awkward? I couldn't disagree more Ladyship."
"No...but, seeing your umm...that," she pulled a hand above the water and pointed downward, "is awkward."
The water was fairly clear in daylight and he glanced down at his erection. Gods, really penis? You couldn't keep it under control for one day?
He moved a hand to cover his crotch and said, "Ah, yeah...the raging erection. Yeah, that would be awkward."
She rolled her eyes at him and swam back over to the dock for a second before she came back around and up close to him, taking him by surprise. She gave him a sensual smile and said, "Close your eyes."
He felt his cock twitch slightly underneath his hand, she never sounded like that. So he closed his eyes and said, "Oh, you gonna surprise me?" And then she dumped a heavily perfumed tonic all over his head. He grunted and leapt back in the water opening his eyes and rubbing his head, "What the hell is this? Ah it burns! What are you doing to me woman!"
"Keep your eyes shut and hold still!" she scolded and swam around to his back where she started to rub the tonic into his hair, making it foam.
"Augh, it smells like...like a woman!"
"It's just lavender and rose petal, they're flowers," she insisted.
"I do not want to smell like a woman or like flowers!" he growled at her.
"Quit moving and let me wash your hair! It's disgusting. You've got dried blood from two days ago still in it."
He sulked but held still as she ran her hands through his hair. Her fingers felt nice and he almost hoped she'd lean in a little more perhaps and press her chest against him. A minute or so went by before he felt her finger tracing his back.
"Thought you were washing my hair," he said,"You done back there?"
"Ah, yeah," she said pulling away from him, "You can rinse."
"Finally," he mumbled then dunked his head underwater and ran his fingers through his hair to get the rest of the smelly foam out of it. He swam over to the water's edge and pulled himself up and out of the pond, grabbing his boots as he went. He didn't dare to turn around though. His erection was harder than ever and he wasn't about to completely scare her off. He started walking towards their horses when he heard her ask him where he was going. He waved a hand and said, "Gonna go make camp and get us some dinner."
He grabbed his quiver and bow and wandered off into the forest trying to get as far from her as he could. Bishop did not want to admit to himself just how badly he wanted her. She was so damn naive undressing like that in front of him. What was she thinking? His cock was ready to explode, he was so aroused.
He stopped in a thicket and glanced around. Nobody around except Karnwyr chasing rabbits and birds. Good enough. Bishop slid his erection from his underwear and wrapped his fist around it and began pumping. He couldn't stop seeing those perfectly perky tits, her nipples poking through her sheer bra, the way they bounced when she dove into the water. And gods her thighs! Not to mention everything in between. He stroked faster now, the tip of his cock thoroughly lubricated, which he rubbed all over his shaft.
He imagined her under him, moaning and blushing bright red as he penetrated deep into her tight, wet, sex. Her breasts swaying, naked in front of him, where he couldn't help but play with her nipples, licking and teasing them, making her squeal with pleasure.
He'd move faster, spread her gorgeous legs far apart so he could thrust deeper inside. She'd call out his name and beg him for more, then scream in orgasm. Bishop felt the tip of his prick throbbing, his shaft expanding and pumping as he grunted hard and shot thick ropes of come across the ground. He dropped to one knee and sat back against a tree, panting. His cock still twitching and dripping with semen. He rubbed it on the inside of his underwear and pushed it back under his clothes and sighed. What the fuck is this woman doing to me?
Karnwyr padded over to him and dropped a mangled rabbit beside him. Bishop looked over at the wolf and said, "I have to bed her, it's the only way to get her out of my head."