Chapter 66: A Quiet Interlude
Nimbrethil sighed and stretched in the oversized hammock in her quarters. This would be their last day at the keep, for on the morrow they were heading off to find the Ruins of Arvahn, much to Zjhaeve's delight. The gith had been applying gentle pressure to seek out the ruins, for she had been convinced that time was running short. While Nim acknowledged her concern, it would do absolutely no good to run off to those ruins if it meant leaving the keep vulnerable to attack. She had flatly told the cleric that she would leave nothing to chance and would see the keep as best prepared as was possible just in case their enemy tried some sort of trick. Zjhaeve had nodded acceptance of the decision and then gone on to express her opinion that Torio could be a weak point and cautioned them not to leave the woman alone for any reason. As if she needed the gith to tell her that, Nim thought with a snort.
"Care to share your thoughts kitten?" Bishop murmured to her. He had been lying beside her idly tracing his fingers over her as they lazily idled the afternoon away. He felt so comfortable with her now, mostly becuase they needed no words when they were together. They were both quite content to just lie there and think their own thoughts.
"I was just thinking about the gith and what she said about Torio," Nim replied quietly.
"I think everyone feels the same way about that Luskan harlot," Bishop chuckled. "No one trusts her as far as they can spit, and certainly everyone wonders if she has any useful information to share with us at all. I mean, nothing she has told us so far has been a great revelation. We pretty much had figured all of it out ourselves."
"True, but I agree with Sand that she knows a great deal more than she has revealed so far," she retorted. "However, there is no rush to pry the information out of her yet."
"What do you plan to do if she proves uncooperative?" Bishop queried. "She grew up in Luskan, same as me, and I can tell you that you learn very quickly how to keep secrets in that wretched city. Ordinary methods of persuasion will not succeed in loosening that harpy's tongue."
"I have already discussed the possibility with Sand and I have agreed to allow him to use more drastic measures should it become necessary," Nimbrethil said coolly. "From the time she brought those false accusations against me, I have plotted ways to make her sorry our paths ever crossed. I hold her just as responisble as Lorne and Garius for everything, including Ember, and I would have no problem killing her outright. If it becomes necessary to use torture to loosen her tongue then I will have no problem with it."
Bishop smiled grimly at her words. "I have witnessed the way Luskans torture people, and I have even used a few of their methods myself. It is not for the faint of heart, trust me, and Torio is probably adept at resisting. All those with any kind of power in Luskan prepare for such a thing. Extreme methods may be called for with her. You have lived most of your life in the wilds, and are only now learning how truly ugly some of the world and the people in it can be. I would rather you not see more of it than necessary," he told her and then hesitated. "If you would prefer, I will be happy to oversee any such matters for you."
Nimbrethil stared at him for a while, seeing nothing but concern for her in his eyes. She saw the lingering pain in his eyes caused by those horrible memories of his past and felt a warmth spread through her that he cared enough to shield her from such things. "Thanks for the offer, but if I have to give the order, then I must be the one to see it carried out. Remember, I have had to do a similar thing before. This is one responsibility and burden that must be my own and no one else's. Besides, you have seen too much darkness in your life, and I'd rather you not witness any more than you have to."
Bishop merely stared at her for a while, wondering what he had done to deserve her support and kindness. It was something he had not recieved since he was a little boy and he had almost given up on ever finding even a small amount of happiness. Then she had wandered into his life and changed everything. While it scared him, it also made him happier than he could ever remember being. Bending his head he gently kissed her, teasing her mouth open so he could probe the honeyed depths with his tongue. His hands gently caressed her arms as she leaned into him, returning his kiss. He wanted to savor every moment of this last afternoon of privacy and wanted to bring her to new heights of passion.
Nimbrethil felt little shivers of delight run through her limbs at the feel of his mouth and hands on her. Something was different this time, although what it was she couldn't fathom. As he slowly removed her tunic, she felt his lips and tongue licking and nipping at each inch revealed. The touches were so light that at times she wondered if she had imagined them. They were also fanning the flames of desire higher than she had thought possible. She wasn't even aware of the soft whimpers issuing from her mouth, so lost was she in the feelings he was stirring up.
Bishop heard her soft sighs and felt the shivers run through her and clamped down on his body's demand to take her. He wanted to worship her, drive her to the edge and back, give her an experience she would remember forever, showing in this way how much she had come to mean to him. Bending his head, he nuzzled at one firm breast, his tongue teasing the nipple into a hard peak while gently caressing the other with his hand. He switched back and forth between both breasts until she was gasping and arching against him. Glancing up, he saw that her eyes were closed and her lips were open as she gasped for air. Loosening the laces on her trousers, he slowly slid them off, licking and kissing his way down her legs to her feet. Tossing them to the floor, he shifted his weight down and gently parted her thighs, kissing along the inside of them as his fingers traced gently along her legs.
Nimbrethil opened her eyes to stare fuzzily at him as he knelt on the hammock at her feet. She expected him to remove his clothes and take her like so many times before, and therefore was puzzled when he didn't. "What are you doing?" she managed to whisper.
"Shh..don't talk," Bishop purred back before lowering his head between her thighs. He lightly flicked his tongue across her little nub, hearing her gasp and jerk away a little in shock. Holding her hips firmly in his strong hands, he began to lick steadily, but gently, along her folds as he slid a couple of fingers into her now very wet opening. From her reaction, he knew she had never experienced anything like this before and smiled a little to himself.
Nimbrethil was too shocked at first by what he did to even think of stopping him, but that soon gave way to waves of pleasure so intense that she found it difficult to breathe. Never had she imagined such pleasure was possible, and was unable to keep from moaning aloud and thrusting her hips towards him. She felt his tongue plunging inside her, mimicking the actions of his manhood that she knew so well, and her moans turned to cries of rapture as the pleasure rolled over her in waves.
Bishop kept up his assault as the elf writhed under him, her movements becoming wild and frantic. He felt her muscles starting to tense and redoubled his efforts to bring her to climax. With a long drawn out wail, she finally came, her body thrashing and bucking under him in the throes of orgasm. He continued to lick soothingly at her as she started to relax. Then he quickly removed his own trousers and grabbing her legs, wrapped them around his waist as he thrust into her with one long, hard movement. He began to slowly drive himself inside her hot, wet channel, groaning at how good it felt as her muscles clamped around him. As her passion started to rise again, she began matching his pace and movements, and he was barely able to maintain control over his own desire for release. He wanted to drive her over the edge again before that happened.
Nimbrethil, lost in her own passion, barely comprehended that Bishop was now thrusting inside her. All she knew was that the feelings were like nothing she had ever experienced. She felt as if she was soaring high on a cloud of pleasure. She eagerly matched the man above her thrust for thrust, trying to get him as deeply as possible within her body. It seemed to go on and on, and the pleasure was building in such intensity that she felt she would pass out. When she finally came, the explosion was so intense that she screamed loudly, absolutely certain her body must have shattered into a million pieces.
Bishop felt her muscles clench around him and heard her scream and only then let go and found his own release inside her. He cried out her name as he jerked and shuddered over her before collapsing down on her. He simply lay there trying to catch his breath as she lay beneath him gasping for air herself. Coming to his senses, he rolled off her to the side, but dragged her body into his to hold her close. He could feel her limbs trembling and she was completely pliant in his hands.
Nimbrethil was in a daze and barely aware that she was now snuggled up against him and he was holding her. It was in that moment that she realized she cared for him more than she had thought possible, perhaps even loved him. She could no longer deny it to herself, but she dared not admit it to him for he surely would leave her then. She didn't want to even think about life without him and so pushed such thoughts aside and snuggled even closer to him, feeling a deep contentment fill her as she drifted off to sleep.
Bishop held her close as his heart rate slowed and his breathing calmed down. He had never given so much of himself to another and thought about why he did so this time. The truth hit him sqare in the face: he loved her. She had gotten past his defenses and under his skin. She had challenged him, taunted him, teased him, drove him mad with desire and longing for her. She had also made him laugh and given his life meaning and purpose. It scared him how much she had come to mean to him for he always lost everything he ever cared about. He also knew he could never speak such things aloud for that would surely ruin everything. He felt sleep coming over him and closed his eyes with a sigh.
"Well, at least now they have admitted to themselves how they feel," Thorondor told Karnwyr. They had been waiting for this moment since the two had first shared a bed. "Now, I wonder how long it will be before they can tell each other the truth?"
"Bishop not ever feel this way," Karnwyr answered. "He knows lots of females, he not like them like he likes the elf. He's also scared cause he's lost so much in his life. Might be long time before he tells her."
"It is the same for her," Thorondor replied. "She too is afraid to lose again. Hopefully, they both get over their fear soon."
Karnwyr mentally shrugged before dozing off again. Humans funny that way, he thought. Though the elf and human may not know it yet, they were mated for life, just like he would be when he found the right female. Dreams of him and a mate roaming the land with Bishop and Nimbrehtil filled his head as he fell asleep.
Thorondor tucked his head under his wing and drifted off himself. Eventually those two would speak aloud their feelings and then life would be just about perfect, he thought.
In her room at the end of the hall, Zjhaeve allowed a small smile to curve her lips. Some would see it as spying and dishonest, but she knew it was necessary in order to combat the devices of their shared enemy. She had set up a very tentative, unobtrusive link to the Kalach-Cha, for the express purpose of detecting when such a thing would occur. Now, she destroyed the link, for it's purpose had been served. The Kalach-Cha had admitted to herself the depth of her feelings for Bishop, and he for her, removing one potential weak spot. Their shared enemy would now have a more difficult time sowing discord between them because of this. The only thing remaining would be to get them to tell each other of their feelings. Zhjaeve knew that, until that happened, they were both vulnerable to the enemy, for he was adept at twisting such things around so that they became weapons. Once spoken aloud, their feelings would provide a shield that nothing could break, for the two were, for want of a better term, soul mates, and as such only could be seperated in death. Getting up, she left her room to bring Sand up to speed on what just occured.