This story is Part VI of the Series and is rated M for graphic scenes of sexuality and nudity.
Volume 2, Part VI: Mind's Eye
Torio's snicker was smothered against his mouth; she pulled back, eyeing him shrewdly. "And just how patriotic are you, Sand?" Her eyes quickly darted around the small, enclosed carriage; by the gods, would they even have enough room? His hand was tugging at her skirt, and her skin was instantly aflame at the thought of those fingers peeling off her clothes, running along her body...
"I suppose I must follow your shining example, hero of Neverwinter." She spoke between fervent kisses, reaching for his robes and untying the laces that held them together, pulling them through the eyeholes as she pulled the fabric apart.
"I am very patriotic, dear girl, when it comes to matters such as this. I would be willing to sacrifice my human virginity for this cause. But I won't insult your intelligence by making a quip about saluting or standing at full attention..." He undid the laces of her skirt as quickly as his slow human fingers would allow and pulled the skirt as far down as possible in the cramped carriage.
Well this was going to be interesting...
He could feel his erection building at the sight and touch of her bare skin. He wondered briefly what making love to her as a human would be like.Well only one way to find out.
Torio stifled a gasp as she felt her skirt pull below her hips...but Sand's robe was finally undone and she could reach inside to where his trews were fastened, unceremoniously yanking his undershirt from the waistband. She flicked her feet, her shoes flying across the short span of space in the carriage and smacking into the far wall with twin dull thuds. He was already hardening against her fingers as she worked at the knot at his waist; she could feel her spine shivering with anticipation; would he look different as a human?
She found, almost at the exact same instant, that a flickering and almost identical thought about his changed state passed through Sand's head. Well. This would be intriguing.
She pulled Sand's trews off of his hips, wriggling her skirt down so that it slipped off of her ankles; the wooden bench beneath them was rough against her legs and creaking ominously at their movements, and she let out a rather un-sensual, smothered laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
Torio pulled him off of the bench and in front of her, so that he knelt between her legs...she wrapped them around his now bare waist, and ran her hands up the front of his chest, nonchalantly pushing his robe off his shoulders and down his arms, letting it fall to the floor of the carriage. She could feel the coarse, curled hair that scattered down his legs rubbing against the inside of her thighs as she nudged her legs around his waist. "Not even a quip about triumphantly running the colors up the flagpole?" She tsked at him, and bunched her fingers around the bottom of his undershirt, pulling him close and catching his mouth with hers.
He closed his eyes, letting her mouth roam over his, and letting his mind roam through his own thoughts and fantasies and impressing them upon her. His mouth on her breasts, his hands pulling her backside to him, her teeth on his throat, the feel of the wetness between her legs...
He pulled her shirt up, stopping the kiss for a moment to pull the fabric over her face. He studied her nakedness in the afternoon sunlight, picking out the way the sun shone on her pale skin, bringing the mental image of her breasts to the forefront of his mind and his enjoyment of seeing the pinkish-brown nipples on breasts that were bouncing around along the rough road. This was going to be interesting; she would be able to see how he saw her.
Torio's legs were now wrapped around him, tickling the new dark curly hairs found below his navel. The head of his shaft was bobbing between her legs, touching her hot flesh as the carriage jolted up and then withdrawing when they hit a dip in the road. He might have to accidentally let himself pierce her with the next bump on the road…
Torio could feel her body tightening and thrumming in response to the imagery he was sending her; and he had hardly touched her yet, only to pull her blouse up over her head. She could see how she looked in his eyes as he brought it up in his mind; there was an unfamiliar, soft intensity to her face that she had never seen before when looking in a mirror. Was this how Sand saw her...or how she looked when around him? He nudged the image of her naked body into her thoughts; she felt his arousal at the sight of her reach down through her brain and spread through her skin like a physical caress, and she shivered, pulling his undershirt up; she thought up an image of him stretched out, her mouth closing around his stiffened manhood, her fingers sinking into his backside and pulling him between her lips...
The carriage bumped unexpectedly, and she felt him slide into her partially, the sensation piercing her already moist flesh and tearing a startled cry from her throat. His arms were still through his shirt, the fabric stuck behind his head where she had pulled it up, and she slid forward as the carriage came down again, her arms clutching at him. Her face rocked forward, inches from where his neck lay exposed...and without hesitation, she promptly sank her teeth into the white, perfect flesh, biting him viciously in a parody of the mental image he had sent her, her tongue flicking against the flesh as she sucked at it.
Sand moaned aloud when he experienced the image of her lips around the head of his shaft - he could almost feel it, relive it - it felt wet and hot, as if truly in her mouth. It was bizarre and arousing to be watching her memory or fantasy of her administering her sexual favors to him; it was like he was in the room, spying on himself. Which was fitting, considering both their professions at the Keep...
"Oh by the gods, dear girl, you'll finish me without even having to touch me..." Sand cried out in both pleasure and pain as she bit him fully across the throat. He gave a low growl (ooh he'd have to get used to that deeper voice) and grabbed her around the hips, forcing himself inside her and holding her against the entire length of him as the pain on his neck subsided.
Torio let out a ragged exhale, feeling the entire length of him push insistently into her body. She felt her walls clench and pulse around him, the rattling of the carriage making their bodies shift and move ever so slightly against each other.
"Without having to touch you?" She said haltingly, her throat thick with desire. "Oh come now...there must be some touching involved." She moved her hips against him slightly, feeling his throbbing head slide down the length of her canal and back up again. She stifled a moan, pressing her mouth against his neck for a moment. Feeling decidedly lewd (she was positive the mage who perfected Rary's Telepathic Bond never knew it would be used for such things), she ran her tongue slowly up the side of his throat, easing the sting of where her teeth had marked him; in her mind, in the image that she held there, her tongue ran up his shaft, flicking lightly against the head just as it flicked against the base of his ear in the physical world.
Sand nearly started hyperventilating at the combination of the delicious images of her mind, her tongue on his neck and the feeling of her muscles pulling his member in. There was a building synchrony of the three as formed a blissful synergism of sensation so that it appeared to Sand that she was everywhere on his body at once, thrusting, licking, sucking. There was a sharp, shooting white hot thrill that ran from the base of his spine up through the top of his head.
He pushed her shoulders back slightly, supporting her weight easily with his arms with his new strength. He closed his mouth around her nipple, suckling her flesh, his tongue massaging the coral pink flesh of her breast while his mind flashed back to their first night in the Library, with her lying on her back on the table, her knees over his shoulders as he sucked on her delicate nub and her voice hoarsely whispering in Drow.
Her lolled back between her shoulders, gasping unabashedly as she felt his mouth close around her skin; she found herself unconsciously whispering along with her own words in Sand's mind, shooting heat building between her legs; She could almost feel his tongue sliding against her, and coupled with the ever pulsating presence of his manhood resting inside of her folds made her entire body tighten. For a moment, she was lost between fantasy and reality, unsure as to whether the wood that scraped against her back and buttocks was the wood of a carriage bench, or that of a library table.
She intertwined her legs around Sand's waist, pulling up into her mind the first night in his chambers; the flirtatious talk of Luskan trade routes and then his body stretched out over her, riding her down into the mattress, his hips smacking against hers so fiercely. Her own hips thrust in sympathy, then pulled back and thrust again, feeling the wracking lances of pleasure rocket through her body as she impaled herself again and again. "Yes," her voice called out in the memory, and her own voice echoed it, her fingers cupping the back of Sand's head and pulling his mouth harder against her flesh.
His chest was heaving, his breath coming in short, staccato gulps even as he continued to work his mouth wetly on her breast. She was making love to both his mind and his body at the same time. The carriage was too small for him to try laying her out on her back so instead...
He closed his eyes, bringing up the memory of her on all fours in front of him - his mind's eye followed the curve of her back, the narrowing of her waist, the flare of her hips. He remembered the way his thrusts shook her body and the bed, how easy it was to move quickly and with precision from that position, how the release had caused him to lose all control of his muscles holding him up...
He thrust into her in real life, in the carriage, feeling the new sensation of her now and the traces of his memory lingering in his mind. "Oh gods, dear girl - you feel wonderful..." The last word was caught in a moan as his manhood tightened in response to the friction. The shaking of the carriage seemed to send the vibration of bodily ecstasy through him.
One of her hands clamped against the seat, fingers gouging into the wood as the carriage rattled and shook them, sending her body rocking against his. Her spine was tingling with the memory of him behind her, fingers digging into her hips, thrusting into her with quick, sharp, precise movements until it had all rolled into one unstoppable wave of pleasure...
She heard a rhythmical, whimpering noise interspersed with her breathing, biting her lip as he shoved in to her, his voice moaning raggedly against her flesh. She brought to mind a night with silk sashes, arms and legs tied and bound to the bedposts...
...except that this time, in her mind's eye, it was Sand lashed to the bed, with her working between his legs; her mouth, her fingers, exploring his body while he lay there helpless, just as she had been. She exhaled raggedly in the carriage; the stubble on his cheeks was rubbing against the sensitive skin of her breasts, a sharp contrast to the soft wetness of his tongue, and she writhed against him, her hips pressing forward eagerly against his. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take without bursting at the seams...
It was surprising in a way, but it was her fantasy of him secured firmly to his bed that finally sent Sand over the point of reined-in pleasure. He understood the power he had had over her that night, the trust she had placed in him to allow him to do that to her. Now he delved uncontrollably into her imagination, feeling the silk ropes the way she had felt them, her sweet mouth and tongue, her skilled fingers, the glint in her gray eyes, the exposed way she held him to her mercy... She was dangerous and power-hungry and was probably still tempted to kill him on occasion...
I'm yours, dear girl, you don't need the ropes to keep me...
The thought came forward, unbidden, from one of the only truly honest parts of his mind. Sand nearly sighed at the strange mental release that came from the truth. The carriage hit a hard rut in the road, causing Sand to impale himself roughly into Torio. He gasped, pulling his mouth from her breast and buried his face against her shoulder. "Oh my gods..." Using his hands, he began physically lifting and sliding her whole body hard against his stiffened erection, her slick walls slipping around the head. His whole shaft was throbbing, the constriction tightening around his entire groin.
And then the carriage hit another bump in the road and Sand lost the final inch of self-discipline he had. He groaned so loudly he was certain the driver would stop the horses but he didn't care. He pumped himself hard into her, the muscles contracting rhythmically, his breathing erratic, his skin shiny with sweat - he felt himself spilling inside her, each spurt seeming to say, to promise, I'm yours...
Torio clung to him, eyes squeezed shut, the images in their minds blurring together as she felt his hands lift her off of the bench, guiding her against him with hard, rapid strokes.
I'm yours.
It echoed through her head, underneath their passionate, intertwined memories; she gripped him, clawed at his shoulders as her body jolted in a spasming climax, her mouth pressed against the side of his neck and smothering the sharp, longing cry that tore from her throat. The pulsing of his shaft inside of her body seemed to send ripples of heat throughout her, and she clutched at him as he gave himself to her, emptying his essence deep into her body, his hands cupping her buttocks and holding her hips against his; she could see the sunlight flickering through the curtained windows and skittering across his damp, shining skin, could hear his voice moaning insensibly close to her ear; she could almost feel the pulse in his throat against her mouth from where she pressed it against his skin. Mine, mine, mine, mine...
Still she clung to him as the last traces of her orgasm fled, and the images in her mind were effectively silenced. He was breathing raggedly, his body sticking to hers. Her cheek was wet...she nuzzled his shoulder, wiping it off, choosing to believe that it was merely perspiration rolling down her skin. "Sand," she said, breathing hard...but nothing else would come to her lips.
Sand lifted his head, and gently pulled her face back to face him. He could feel a turmoil of emotions raging in her mind but refrained from probing deeper. It wasn't right. Wordlessly, he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, noticing the way the wetness in her eyes made her eyelashes darken and clump together in a reconciled, beautiful way. He kissed the tip of her nose.
"Torio." He whispered, pulling her back to him. They weren't supposed to be using their real names, but gods be damned if he would call her Nagendra at this moment. His heart was racing and not from the coupling; there was something else, something he didn't dare acknowledge. Not now anyway, not when they should be focused on the task at hand. It would only serve to distract them. Plus, if either one of them didn't make it back, it wouldn't be fair to the other.
She sighed raggedly against him, calming her heartbeat down; she nestled against him for a moment, feeling the way his larger body seemed to envelope hers.Dangerous waters, Claven. Maybe the imminence of their probable deaths was the cause of the torrent inside of her. And Sand had left her everything...She had to survive to make it matter, anyway. Technically, so did he.
She flinched mentally at the raw, firey pain that shot through her at the thought of Sand's will actually needing to be executed, and pulled back from him, her mouth curling into a wry smile to cover her lapse. "I think you've managed to instill a little patriotism in me after all," she said lightly; she touched his cheek briefly while she disentangled her legs from around his waist, reluctantly letting him go. She kissed him and twisted on the bench, reaching for her discarded clothes on the floor. "I must say, none of my other rides across the countryside have ever been like this."
Sand snorted. "This has to be the most pleasant trip I have ever taken. No gnome, no ranger, no paladin, no sorceress, no dwarf...ahh...basically none of my companions. Go figure it would be a trip to my impending doom. The gods do have some merciful considerations." He pulled on his trews but left his robe off, wearing only the undertunic. The sun was beating down on their carriage now and the air was stifling so he pushed opened one of the shuttered windows carefully. He pulled himself back onto the bench, "We likely won't reach the border until dark, dear girl." Sand leaned back and closed his eyes. "They'll probably want us to switch carriage under the cover of night."
Torio wriggled back into her clothes, her skin protesting against the stifling fabric, and leaned forward towards the open window; she daren't lean outside of it, but she brought her face as close to it as she could, closing her eyes and letting the breeze caress her flushed face. "At least you never had to travel with Garius; it never mattered how long I served under him, I still never could get a wink of sleep when we traveled over land, or by ship. He never seemed to sleep, himself..." She snorted, glancing at him over her shoulder; the wind rushing by the carriage caressed her long hair and flitted soothingly against the heated back of her neck. "And don't get me started on Lorne...by the gods, I would trade him for the gnome any day."
"Well...the mystery of the bags under Garius' eyes is now partially solved. At least now as a flaming skull, he doesn't have to worry about that." Sand stretched and then without asking, lay out as best he could across the small bench, resting his head on her lap. "Lorne was a beast. I'm surprised Garius tolerated him as long as he did though I suppose he had his uses. I'm guessing the two of you didn't get along?"
She looked down at him in amusement, leaning against the wall; she let one finger lazily trace through his hair as she answered, "Lorne and I were completely different; and Garius used us for completely different purposes. Some doors needed to be broken down with words and manipulation." She chuckled coldly. "Some needed brute strength."
She relaxed, settling against the back of the bench contentedly. "Lorne didn't really believe in Garius' cause." Her voice got quieter. "Nor did I, I suppose. The only one who followed so devotedly was Garius' apprentice Ahja." Her lip curled disdainfully. "A powerful little mageling, but gods, I never knew a boy so naive...I wouldn't have believed he was Illuskan if I hadn't known it as fact myself." She found it odd to be talking about the people that had used to surround her daily life, of her past; but what harm could it do? Both Ahja and Lorne were dead...and Garius too, in a technical sense. And they couldn't reach her here.
She thought of her dream from the evening before, and a chill crawled up her spine...but she merely curled a handful of Sand's hair through her fingers. "Besides, Lorne was lacking the conversational skills needed to trade coherent words with a ripe vegetable, let alone myself."
Sand snickered and then closed his eyes contentedly as she began running her hand through his hair. "Did you know Lorne was a Harborman like our glorious Knight Captain? That says something about fate. Or destiny. Or just the strange intricacies of the world we live in." He made a happy noise as her fingers brushed the hair at the back of his head. "I would have liked to have tested my skill against this Ahja. But, let me guess, he died due to an untimely visit of an axe to the front of his head?"
"A Harborman? I heard them muttering something to the effect at the trial by combat." As different as things were now, she still remembered the look on Sand's face when she strode to the center of the courtroom and shouted to the heavens for a trial by combat. He'd looked murderous. He did look particularly delectable when murderous.
Sand fell silent a moment. "What are you willing to do for the success of this mission?"
Her hand froze against his head as the silence fell thick in the small carriage compartment. She glanced down at his face in her lap. "The success of this mission would include retrieving the map, killing this Asrar, and returning to Neverwinter alive and with all of our pieces in tact." She added after a moments pause, "Both of us." She stared at the opposite wall, feeling a familiar, cold heaviness in her stomach. "For that, I'd be willing to do anything I had to."
"Anything you had to?" Sand shifted his position so he could better see her eyes. She seemed oddly determined. He could see why Garius had hand-picked her. Her desire to see something through successfully to the end, despite the cost, was impressive. "Careful, dear girl, when you say that. Luskans can be rather creative and... exorbitant... in their prices, when it comes down to it. This...Asrar - is he a Luskan? Have you heard of him before this task? Creating such a map is no small feat."
"Don't tell me to be careful, Bodaes," she snapped; the Elven word that had become an endearment sounded more of a curse as she spat it out. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "If our lives are on the line then we must prepared to do anything to survive, no matter how distasteful. You do not have the option of running to Neverwinter for protection, this time."
They were out of her mouth before she really thought about them. They were words she had lived by her entire life. The things she had done to survive were beyond distasteful, some of them, but whatever other horrible things she was, she was alive, at least.
The dead assassin's words rang in her ears once again...he's too good for you...
She looked down into Sand's eyes and sighed, suddenly weary. Her head dropped forward into her lap, her forehead pressing against his. "Amin eidylyndror," she whispered. My apologies. "But you must know that if it keeps us alive, I will do it. If it means the success of our mission, I will do it. You do not have to understand it; but I know all too well the prices Luskan demands from its 'children.'" The words were bitter as they rolled off her tongue. "And that is why I think Nasher risked sending me."
"As for the man behind the map, I have not heard of him; I don't think he's originally from Luskan; very few true members of the city would risk so openly flaunting a magical artifact without fearing the Hosttower's reaction." Her fingers remained lightly against his head, but she stared blankly at the window open, her mind churning as the trees whizzed by outside.
Sand shook his head. "No need to apologize, Helkaer. I shouldn't have asked if I was only going to...lecture you." He took her hand and lightly kissed the fingertips. "I have done my fair share of distasteful Luskan activities, best not to be mentioned on a full stomach. At the time that I...left, tailed tucked between my legs as you so like to remind me, I felt as though I had paid enough; I just wonder how much more I will have to pay before I am finally free of that accursed city."
Sand closed his eyes. "Let us hope Asrar's ignorance of Luskan serves our purposes then. We may not have to kill him; he may get himself killed. The less blood on our hands, the better."