A/N: Well folks... officially M rated. Remember the story won't show unless you adjust your filters. As always, recognizable characters and places belong to Tamora Pierce.
Kas' arm stayed around her waist as he steered her down the street in the dark. He hadn't once said what his plans for them were, but Kel had a very good feeling she knew where the night would go. They had been some of the last people at the reception, mostly because Kas had been the one being honored, but also because Kas had been pulled into a conversation with some of the other masters about the new value of the sword and dagger now that they were marked as masterpieces. That conversation had evolved into different styles of ceremonial weaponry. So it had gotten late by the time Kas had finally extracted them from the Guild Hall.
"It's not too much further," he murmured in her ear as he turned her down another street. "I tried to stay close to the forge so I didn't have to go too far after working late hours. A lot of other journeymen tend to rent apartments or houses together to try and save on costs, but I found I liked having a place away from them at the end of the day. So it's not nearly as extravagant as the palace since I'm paying for it alone," he warned.
Kel rolled her eyes. She knew he was trying to prepare her for the fact it wasn't going to be as comfortable as her rooms at the palace but she didn't necessarily want that with him. The palace had given the rooms to her but she didn't always feel completely at home in them. They still belonged to the Crown and could be taken from her if there was need. Nobles were denied rooms all of the time. It was one of the main reasons most nobles kept elaborate townhouses in Corus.
"Here we are," Kas pointed out a building on their right that rose up several stories. The outside of the building was very clean and well kept, though she doubted any building in this district would be allowed to become run down. It was one of the nicer shop districts in Corus. Kas' arm detached from her waist to slide down her arm. When he had a hold of her hand he pulled her inside of the building and walked her back beyond a stairwell and down a hall to the very back of the building. At the last door on the right, Kas withdrew a key from his pocket.
The door opened to reveal a room with a worn couch pushed up against one wall, a table covered in papers and a writing kit with two chairs, and a small kitchen area off to one side. Along the back there was a hallway that showed two dark, open doorways. Kas let go of her hand to light several candles near the door to bring the room into sharper focus.
"I'm sorry, it's not much," he sighed when she looked around again in the light noting the mismatched table and chairs along with just how worn the couch was. It was likely he hadn't spent any money on furniture since he had moved to Corus, but that didn't matter to her.
"There's that perfectionist quality again," Kel turned and poked his side. "It's a very nice place," she admitted. It was nice for an apartment in the city. Most people living alone in the city had one room with a bed, chamber pot, and wash basin in the same room. "So what now, Master Lander?" Kel asked when Kas didn't seem to want to respond to her compliment of his home.
Kel found herself pulled back against him, his hands had a firm grip on her waist as he spun her to face him fully and pulled her in tight. Then his lips were on hers in the way that made her stomach flip and fizzing warmth she had come to hope for spread to every part of her body. One hand detached from her waist to start unlacing her bodice. Her overdress slid down her shoulders and gathered at her feet as Kas helped her out of it.
He backed her against the door and his hands drifted lower than her waist. One hand dropped down her backside, rubbing over her butt while the other slid over the front of her other hip to rub against her thigh. Then the hand on her bottom shifted, and she let out a squeak of surprise as he gave her butt a firm squeeze and lifted up slightly. The other hand moved around her leg to grip the other side of her butt and she found herself lifted off of the ground. As if she had done this a thousand times, her legs lifted up to grip his hips between her thighs and her arms went around his neck to help support herself.
"Kel," he moaned out her name in a way that made her breath catch. "I want this tonight," he told her honestly between kisses. "But you can tell me 'no' and we can simply go to bed like we have every other time we've spent the night together." He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.
She didn't want him to stop kissing her, to stop touching her. She didn't want him to remind her of where this was going to put her nerves on edge. She felt the insecurities of her lack of experience sneaking up on her the longer they sat back against the door, her legs around his hips, the warmth of his hands coming through the fabric of her chemise on her bottom.
"Perhaps we should go back to the bedroom?" Kel felt her cheeks grow hot at her suggestion. It felt far too suggestive. But she wanted him to take control again and hoped that back in the bedroom, he would.
"I mean it, Kel," Kas told her, his dark eyes staring down into hers. "We can simply sleep."
"I want more," she admitted, her mask failing utterly as the blush consumed her entirely. "I just don't know how to go about any of this…" her voice grew small as she admitted her worries. His hands shifted again and she realized he was setting her down in time for her to let go of his hips to put her feet back on the floor.
"I am your first in all of this, aren't I?" Kas asked quietly after a moment. "I knew, I suppose, but it's another matter to be faced with it so directly."
Kel felt her cheeks burn for a different reason than before. She was almost ashamed of her lack of experience. He wanted her to know what he desired from her, especially on this night. He deserved someone who knew how to give him a great end to the night he was honored and received his mastery. She knew she should move, should pick up her gown off of the floor, should step away from Kas and let him realize it was alright to not want to be her teacher when he needed a partner, but all she could do was stand there and stare at his chest where the medallion still hung on its ribbon.
Kas said nothing more as his hands gripped hers and brought them up to his lips before he pulled her back along the main room to the hallway and then the bedroom through the doorway on the right side of the hall. He sat her down on the low bed and then left the room again. Before she could worry for too long he came back with one of the candles from the main room and her gown. The gown he draped over a clothing rack in the corner and then he set the candle on the bedside table. Then he sat next to her in silence, feeding her nerves a little more.
"What is it that has you so worried?" He asked her after a few minutes. "Since I pointed out your virginity, you've withdrawn completely. Tell me what has you worried so I can help."
"You deserve someone that knows what you need tonight. I don't know any of this," Kel admitted with a weak wave at the bed. Kas' arm went around her waist and she was tugged backwards down onto the bed and turned until she was lying properly against the pillows before Kas knelt over her, pinning her in place.
"I can't say what I think I deserve, because every moment I have you here with me I don't feel deserving, but what I need tonight is to be with the woman I love," he leaned down to kiss her. Her worries melted away with the way his kisses made her feel and she gasped against his lips when she felt his hand moving up under the chemise, lightly brushing over her knee and thigh as it moved upwards to her stomach. "I'd like to take this off of you." He pulled back from her lips and gave the chemise a tug to indicate what he meant.
"Please," she begged. He moved off of her and sat her up just enough to pull her chemise up over her body. She heard his sharp intake of breath and looked away as the chemise cleared her head. He likely had noticed her scar on her shoulder. It was large and ugly. Perhaps not as bad as the one on her leg would be when it was fully healed, but still ugly in its own right.
"I have to have you," he whispered. She stared at him as she swore she heard something like awe in his voice. "I need to know you are completely mine. That this beautiful creature before me is mine." He told her when she did look him in the eye. "I need to have you."
Without asking for further permission, he pulled her breast band free and then tugged her loincloth down her legs. Then he turned his attention to his own clothing and Kel found herself able to appreciate the solid build that years of being a smith had given him when his tunic and shirt came off, leaving just his medallion hanging around his neck.
"Like what you see?" He asked as he flashed her a grin. She nodded, unable to trust her voice. "You're welcome to help you know," he nodded to his breeches.
Kel took the hint and sat up, inching towards the edge of the bed, and started on the ties of Kas' breeches. He stepped closer and she felt something slide over her head and warm metal rest between her breast.
"I think I'll leave that right there," he murmured as she looked down to find his medallion on her instead. "For safe keeping," he told her as he stroked her hair back. Then he began to pick out the pins holding her curls in place.
Kel felt bold as the last knot on the ties came undone in her hands and she gave his breeches a slight tug to bring them down his muscular legs. But she was startled by the very obvious hardness straining his loincloth right in front of her face. She knew the mechanics of sex to the point she was aware that he was physically aroused. The boldness she had felt only a moment before leaked away as she reached up to the waistband of his loincloth. It felt too daring to simply just pull his loincloth down. Kas put a stop to her hesitancy by moving his hands over hers and helping her reveal his member as the loincloth hit the floor on top of his breeches.
Kel felt her breath catch at the sight of him fully naked before her. She had seen naked men before but not a single one that had made her mind start to race with inappropriate thoughts like Kas' body seemed to be doing to her. She stopped herself as she realized she was just an inch from closing her hand around his member, but, again, Kas helped her through her nerves by guiding her hand over his member, allowing her to feel the doe soft skin moving over hardened steel. Kas let out a low moan that reverberated through her making her breath come quicker.
"I'd like to give you some attention now," he told her after a few moments, removing her hand from his member. "Lay back," he pulled a pillow over so she could lay back on it comfortably while her legs dangled over the edge of the bed.
Kas turned his attention to running his calloused fingers over her breasts, making her press her body up into his touch, and then down her stomach, over her hips, to her bottom and around to the front of her thighs to push them apart for him to stand between. He leaned down over her, his lips starting at her shoulder as he traced across to her collarbone and then down the length of the ribbon of his medallion to her breast. His tongue encircled one of her nipples twice before he pulled it into his mouth altogether. Kel bit back a moan at the sensation and abruptly lost the wonderful feeling as Kas wrenched away from her to glare down at her.
"Don't do that," he breathed out. "Don't hide from me when we are doing this." She felt her face flush at his anger. Already she had done something wrong and they had barely started. He glared down at her for a moment longer and then looked away from her, to the wall beyond the bed, to take several deep breaths before he looked down at her again, his glare softening to a tender gaze. "I love you. I love almost everything about you, except that you hide your emotions. And I understand, I do. But, here, like this," he waved at their naked bodies. "You have nothing to hide from me here. I want, no, need, to hear that I am doing something that pleasures you. It tells me that you are enjoying yourself and aren't just putting up with what I'm doing. I won't keep at something you enjoy if you don't tell me you enjoy it, one way or another." He reached down to stroke her cheek, his touch feather light. "I don't mean to get mad, but it's frustrating hearing you starting to enjoy yourself and then you cut yourself off from me." He leaned down to kiss her lips. "I'm sorry," he murmured after another moment.
Kel stared up at Kas, processing his words along with his frustrations. She understood why he was frustrated and he made good points. The problem was she couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again. She had spent so much of her life hiding strong displays of emotion and something like moaning out loud from pleasure felt like showing far too much. But she had no reason to be embarrassed from Kas hearing her moan.
"Please talk to me," he begged making her realize she had been quiet for too long.
"I want to be able to tell you I won't do it again, but I can't promise," she sighed, moving to cover herself. Kas stopped her and brought a hand up to cup one of her breasts, his thumb tracing across the nipple.
"I know," he breathed out. "I just want you to try and forget it here with me. It makes me very excited to hear you moan." He moved down to close his teeth on the nipple he had been tracing, tugging gently. She gasped, her arms coming up to drape over his muscled shoulders on their own will. She arched her back up trying to give him better access as he moved to assault the other breast.
Then he shifted downward, dropping to his knees on the floor between her legs. One hand moved to wrap under her hips, lifting them up. The other hand moved between her legs, calling her attention to the wetness pooling there. His fingers spread across her entrance, touching the most intimate areas of her. Very slowly, he pressed a finger inside of her while he leaned forward to press his mouth against something between her legs she couldn't see. The result made her moan loudly and grip the edge of the edge to keep still.
Kas kept his tongue assaulting the sensitive piece of flesh he had found while a wonderful tension started to build low in her abdomen with each small movement of his tongue. He seemed not to care about the fight she was having with her thighs to keep them from pressing against his head too much as the tension grew, making her whole body seem to contract in on itself. Then the tension broke and she let out a cry as fire and heat rolled through her entire body like a wave. The sensation ebbed away, leaving her feeling loose, energized, and tired all at the same time.
Kas worked his way back up her body, his grin nowhere near hidden as his kissed his way up her stomach, her chest, her neck, and finally her ear as he bit and sucked on her earlobe briefly.
"I love when you call my name like that," he told her, his breathing as short as hers felt. She couldn't recall calling out his name, but she didn't doubt she had. "I think we're ready now," he told her with a nod towards the headboard, an indication she needed to somehow move to lay properly on the bed once more. Kas helped her there, once again, supporting her as she shifted back against the pillows.
He moved to kneel between her legs and helped position her by wrapping her legs up around his hips. He moved his member up against her entrance and rubbed the head of it through the wetness there before pushing forward. She felt her muscles stretching to accommodate his size as he pressed forward slowly. He paused briefly at her maidenhood and leaned down to kiss her softly.
"I am honored to be your first," he told her as he pulled back. Then he pressed on once more and she felt a small pain that felt worse because of the sensitive area it was in that made her breathing come short and her arms squeeze around Kas' back as she tried to find some way to diminish it. Then his hips were against hers and he was kissing her again, letting the desire he felt leak into his kisses. Slowly her body relaxed again. "There," Kas breathed out. "That was the hard part. Now it's all just pleasure and fun."
He bent to kiss her once more and began to move, pulling back from her until he was almost completely out of her and then pressing back in once again. He moved slow and she could feel a small flash of pleasure as he rubbed against some part inside of her, but it wasn't enough at the pace he was going.
"Faster," she begged when he seemed to be holding steady. She hoped it would give her just a little more at a time. She felt Kas shift his weight and his pace increased just a little. "Faster," she begged again when she realized she was right, but she still wanted more.
"As my lady commands," Kas breathed out with a grin for her before he began a much quicker pace. The flash of pleasure became constant, bringing back the feeling of tension gathering in her abdomen. She found her body responding, wanting more to the point her hips were bucking upwards to reach his without any conscious thought from her. Kas was moaning in her ear, a low sound she loved hearing entangled with her name. Then the tension broke and the wave of fire rolled through her once more and after a moment she felt Kas go still on her and slowly lower himself down to the pillow next to her.
"I suppose I don't need to ask if you enjoyed it," he puffed out as he pulled her in against him. "Not with how you were calling my name." He pressed his lips against her hair.
Once again, Kel could not remember calling out his name or making any noises but that had not been where her attention was. Her attention had been on that building feeling of pleasure. Had Kas felt something like that too?
"Did you enjoy it?" She asked when she realized she hadn't paid much mind to him at all, or at least, not as much as he had paid to her. In response, Kas simply laughed and pulled her closer to shower her with kisses.
"How is your leg feeling? I didn't pull on it too much, did I?" He asked suddenly. For a moment Kel had to wonder what he was talking about. Every last inch of her was tingling with sensation after what he had done to her. When she did remember she had been injured, she almost laughed at herself for forgetting. She didn't feel injured, certainly. She hardly even remembered she had scars that Kas could see now. He hadn't called any attention to them.
"I don't know if I can answer that question honestly right now," she breathed out, realizing he wanted an answer.
"Oh Mithros," Kas pushed away from her to sit up. He buried his face in his hands and refused to look at her. "I did hurt you. We should have waited."
"No!" Kel reached for him wanting his comfort and warmth back against and around her. "I just, it's hard to tell when I feel like this," she blushed. "I doubt I could feel pain right now," she added.
Kas looked down at her between his fingers and she heard him let out a shaky breath. "I really didn't want to mess this up tonight," he informed her. "Yet I can't help but feel I did, somehow."
"Perfectionist," Kel giggled and reached up to him. "Come back. I want to cuddle up to you."
Kas obliged but only after blowing out the candle on the bedside table and tugging the blankets out from under her to cover them with. It was a different experience to lay against him naked, feeling every inch of her body touching his bare, warm skin. She found she liked the intimacy it provided on a very different level. A very sordid part of her mind questioned if she should ask they never sleep clothed again, but she imagined Neal barging in on them one morning or a call for the Own coming in the middle of the night. Certainly men had answered the door in nothing or with their hands concealing themselves, why couldn't she answer in a dressing robe?
"I guess we will see in the morning how much you hate me for all of this," Kas whispered as he adjusted the blankets to wrap around her shoulders a little more.
"As if I could hate you at all," she told him. "I love you, Kas. I truly do."
"Good, now get some sleep. If you don't hate me in the morning, I plan on broadening your education in the bedroom a little and perhaps a little more outside of the bedroom," he squeezed her tight to him once and then let her settle in.
In the morning, Kel woke alone in bed, wrapped carefully in the blankets. When she sat up she felt something cool come to rest between her breasts and looked down to realize she was still wearing the credential medallion Kas had been given the night before. She slipped it off to put it on the bedside table where Kas would be able to find it later and then moved to get out of the bed.
The apartment was quiet so she began to stretch to take inventory of herself. Her abdomen held a slight ache like any muscle would after a good exercise and she was quite pleased by the feeling. Her thigh was a bit stiff when stretched but nothing that indicated she had torn it open. The rest of her felt wonderfully loose as if she had let go of every tension she had ever held.
She heard the main door to the apartment open and looked around for the chemise she had worn the night before to at least cover some part of her nudity. When she did locate it, she pulled it on and went to peek out of the door to see it was simply Kas returning with several canvas bags and a basket that he was setting in the kitchen area. When he glanced up at the bedroom door, he gave her a brilliant smile that made her feel like she was the only one that mattered in the world to him.
"I meant to stay in bed with you this morning," he told her. "But I started thinking about breakfast and realized that I didn't have one thing here that I might be able to provide or cook for either of us." He blushed. "And I wasn't sure if you wanted to use your gown from last night to go with me to find anything. And you were sleeping so well, I really didn't want to disturb you."
"One day you won't be able to use that excuse anymore. You're going to wear it out," she stepped further out into the hall. The least she could do is help him with whatever he had brought back.
"But I like seeing you sleep," he took her into his arms when she neared and held her close for all of a moment. "And you're walking a little slow this morning. I suppose I did some damage."
"Just a little stiff, but not damaged," she assured him. "No tearing."
"So you'll live?" He teased as he dropped to his knees in front of her. He lifted the skirt of her chemise enough to get his hands under and began massaging her thigh right above and below where the scar was forming, helping to loosen the muscle. Kel put her hands on his shoulders to brace herself and then giggled as Kas let one hand drift upwards. "No loincloth?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I can go locate it if you'd like," she informed him. "But someone told me they wanted to expand my education this morning."
"Food first," he breathed out. When she looked down at him she saw his eyes were dark with his desire and it made her very much recall the way he had made her feel the night before. "I want to make sure you don't faint on me."
He pushed himself up off of the floor and steered her towards the table, pushing papers aside to make a space for her. When she was sitting at the table, he left her side for the kitchen with a brief kiss. Kel glanced at the pile of papers with interest. She could see sketches of swords, daggers, and to her surprise, glaives. She pulled one of the drawings of a glaive out of the pile to inspect it. There were etchings sketched into the steel of the blade that were delicate and almost floral in design. When Kas came to place a pastry on a linen napkin in front of her, she noted his blush when he glanced at what she was looking at.
"An idea I had for a masterpiece. Not necessarily fitting for a swordsmith but," he shrugged rather than finish the sentence.
"It's very beautiful. I think you'd make a fortune selling this design to the Queen's Ladies. Most of them learn the glaive and would likely prefer something prettier than the standard glaive," she set the design down. "Have you ever heard of a shukusen?"
"It's a fan, isn't it? I know Master Reeves had the apprentices look into them when the Queen started wearing one," Kas sat down across from her.
"Steel fans where the edges are blades and there is beautiful silk strung between. Beautiful, delicate, and deadly," she breathed out.
"Much like you," Kas informed her.
"Well perhaps minus the delicate," she informed him. There was no arguing if he thought she was beautiful and she wasn't going to go fishing for compliments by trying to deny it. "This design reminds me of those in a way. Beautiful and delicate on something very deadly."
"I will have to keep that in mind," he told her. "I'd likely need to consult you should I ever decide to try and construct a glaive."
"Or you could visit the Yamani Islands and study with the smiths there for a time now that we have an alliance," she tried.
"Perhaps if you ever return for a visit, I will find some way to go with you. I can't imagine going there without an expert guide and I don't speak the language. Likely they'll look at me like some hulking barbarian." Kas' hand slid under the table and over her knee.
"So what exactly are you planning for furthering my education," she asked after another moment. She was curious for several reasons. She liked knowing the plans. She wanted to know what to expect. And she certainly wanted to be prepared for whatever he was going to do.
"I'm thinking you'll just have to see as we go," he gave her a grin that promised she was very much in trouble in a good way. "Now eat. You may need your strength." He winked at her and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Part of her bet she wouldn't be seeing the outside of the bedroom much for the rest of the day, but she found she didn't quite mind.
