Right now I'm taking so many classes that I feel like my head might explode so I'm just gonna leave this here and hope that you guys can feel my appreciation for your reviews and follows oozing from the pages.
Chapter 30: A Sudden Change
I woke with a jolt, my breath leaping from my lunges in a way that bordered on panic. It was the kind of tumble into consciousness that only came from sleep given to someone who didn't have the time. My heart thumped unevenly against my ribs, mouth dry as I scrambled to collect my surroundings.
Dewy morning light filtered in through the curtain that separated us from the rest of the rooms below, the sound of cattle distant. They had more than likely been released to roam the fields already, leaving behind the stale scent of musty fur and trampled grass. The morning was still yawning, barely old enough to give the first burst of light.
It would have been an unsettling way to wake up - this strange morning that was too quiet in this strange place that didn't feel entirely safe. It would have been unsettling…if it wasn't for the broad back that I had flattened myself to in the night. The feel of strong muscles rolling and stretching beneath a worn tunic, the smell of sweet, fresh bread and earth filling my lunges in an intoxicating breath.
Sometime in the night my hand had slipped beneath his top, my hand pressed possessively to the hard slab of his abdomen, our legs tangled together so that he's just as tied to me. Heat sears my insides, that same harsh aching that I felt last night flaring back to life like a fire being tended once more. I gulp against the sudden urge to bite down on his neck, sinking my teeth into him like he's sunk into me.
His deep, even breath changes pace slowly, wakefulness slipping through him from one breath to the next. His muscles tense against me, shifting as he stretches in my hold with a deep, gravelly groan that slides down my spine. My hands instinctively tighten, nails scratching over his belly and he gives another rumble, this one low and hungry, his stomach flexing.
I had always known that Fili was strong. It was hard not to see it every day in the ease which he held his swords and moved. But smashed up against his back, the lethal strength that his body held was unmistakable. My heart slipped, skipping over itself as I took in the fact that I was pressed so close to him, that he wasn't pulling away, that he wanted me-
"You're up early, hamamul amrul." His voice was rough with sleep, all gravel and half-lidded eyes. "Last night you were plastered to my back as well. It's becoming a bit of a habit."
Memories flash through my mind. Of my fingers tangled in his hair, my legs spread to accommodate his broad form as I put beads in his hair. Of his fingers on my skin. Between my thighs. I let out a shaky breath.
I finally found my voice, stretching up so that the hair at his nape tickled my nose. "A habit that annoys you?"
He grunted out a pained husk of a laugh, the sound rumbling through my front. "One that drives me out of my bloody mind."
My hand slid lower, toying along the sharp v at his abdomen, the soft dusting of hair that I knew led-
"Tori." His voice was a growl, thick with warning, one that inexplicably made my whole body feel like it had been zapped by lightning. His hand slid over mine, pressing my fingers flat for one moment before he was groaning and dragging my touch away. "You're testing my patience."
"It seems very odd that you would…" I blushed, memories of last night searing me. "Give me pleasure and take none for yourself."
He let out a tight laugh, pressing a hot kiss to the center of my palm. "Amrul, if you need me to make a list of all the ways that last night pleased me, I can."
That would be nice, actually. I enjoyed knowing that I pleased him. But…
"You didn't… I didn't…" I fumbled through a few more words, pressing my face tighter to Fili's nape as heat seared me. His lips pressed along my thumb and wrist, waiting for me to continue. "You didn't…orgasm."
There was that low grating laugh again. Slowly, his teeth nipped into the pad of my hand before he was licking along the center of my palm. Everything caught fire. My whole body tightened, my lunges cinching up like a cord was wrapped around them. My brain went hazy with how much I wanted to slip on top of him and take his lips. How much I wanted to make him mine. In other ways.
"I want you, Tori," he rasped out into the tips of my fingers, his other hand reaching back to grasp onto my hip and dragging me closer to his back, making me gasp. "I want you on your back, whimpering my name, and on your knees, moaning. I want you so high on pleasure that you can't do anything but beg me to get you there. I've dreamed a hundred different ways to take you, and when we get to the mountain, I will."
I was suddenly on top of him, his big body rolling with feline grace as he tugged me to his chest. His hands slipped over my ass, grasping until I straddled him. He was a sight to behold, his eyes heavy-lidded, burning with such intensity that I could barely catch my breath. His golden hair spread beneath him like a mane, and I caught the glint of my bead still there, twined through a braid.
My core ached, the image his words painted flushing me with heat. One hand slowly drags up my spine before curling into the mess of my curls. And he's all business and heat then, his eyes boring into mine.
"But right now, you're not safe. We're not safe," he whispers, and his eyes flash an icy blue so cold I shiver. His hand tightens in my hair a fraction, causing a twinge of pain through my scalp. "When we finally get to you and me, I'm going to need time. And right now, we don't have that."
"We just have enough for you to make me cum on your fingers," I whisper tersely. I'm pushing him. I know it. A part of me can't help it, delighted by every flicker of possessiveness I see darken his eyes.
And I'm rewarded by his nostril flaring, his eyes narrowing a fraction as he grits out a hard "Yes." A muscle in his jaw feathers. He blinks down at me, slowly reigning himself in. "So until then, I'll give you pleasure when I can, but I won't be taking my own."
"Doesn't seem fair," I murmur, unable to help the slight roll of my hips. Yes. He's definitely affected. Another feathering of that jaw muscle and his hand clamping down on my hip.
"Life's rarely fair," he gritted, glaring down at me. "Especially when you have a naughty little dwarf trying to get herself off on your lap."
I gasped, heat searing my face at the description. He barely blinked at the sound, his hand tightening again in my scalp as he drew my attention.
"So what we're going to do is get up because I hear the others starting to stir, and we found out last night how many pretty noises those lovely lips let slip-" I gulped, blushing furiously at the assessment catching the glimmer of sly satisfaction in his eyes as they track over the coloring. "And you're going to let me braid your hair once more since it came out last night."
He was serious. I could see it in the set of his jaw and the way his eyes roamed over me like he was one wrong word away from devouring me. I stretched up a little bit, sliding my lips along his in a chaste kiss, watching his face closely.
"Tori-" he gritted, narrowed eyes flashing, that tantalizing muscle in his jaw working some more.
"Morning kiss," I breathed into his lips, my insides melting. "I always wanted to have a morning kiss. We can do that, can't we?"
Scathing curses in khuzdul slipped from his lips to mine before he was dragging me closer, that hand knotted in my hair sliding so that he grasped my nape, tipping my head for his access. I expected the kiss to be hard, punishing in return for my continued pushing at his nerves. Instead, I got slow, drugging.
His tongue met mine, sliding across my lips before he took my mouth. Like he had all the time in the world. The hand on my ass pressed down, and I whimpered as I felt him through my pants, a temptation so agonizing that I felt a groan snare in my throat. He had a way of touching me like he couldn't get enough of the feel of me. His head tilted his lips, capturing mine slowly like he didn't want to let go of the taste of my lips.
The hand in my hair loosened lazily before dragging along the nape of my neck, sliding along the column of my throat before slipping along the curve of my ear. TIngles followed his touch, my own hands twisting in the front of his tunic. I lost my train of thought as he continued that aching exploration, his teeth nipping at my lips in playful assaults before his tongue was there to soothe. And all the while, his fingers explored my jaw, the tip of my ears, the slope of my shoulders, and how they turned into my spine.
As if I was something that needed to be memorized whenever the opportunity presented itself. The very thought made my heart lurch, stumbling and tumbling over itself until he finally pulled way with one lingering kiss.
"Have mercy on me, hamumal amrul," he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine, his eyes burning into me. "Don't make this more difficult for me."
When he said it like that a twinge of guilt tightened my stomach. Sighing, I pressed another quick kiss to his lips before pulling back. Facing the others would be delightful this morning after being cloistered away with Fili.
It turned out that sitting at breakfast with the others wasn't too bad.
Well…
"You're close," Nori said tightly, glaring at Fili as he pulled some oil through my curls, his touch sure and comforting.
When we had come down, it had been to a house slowly waking up. And a host that looked halfway between tossing us out on our asses and tossing us into a fire. Even now as he poured frothy milk into each of our mugs, his eyes were fathomless wells of pure, unguarded distaste. The only thing keep his hands from us seemed to be the giant wizard at my side, huffing thoughtfully at his pipe.
Boern, the skin-changer was everything of legend. He was so tall that he resembled the pillars holding the thatched roof in place. His hair was wild and untamed, streaked with salt and pepper. He wore a sort of sleeveless robe that tide at his waist - something that I assumed would be easy to slip off when he transformed. His skin was bitten by sun, an angry red along his chest like he had been working out in the fields one too many days in the past week without the proper covering. Dirt caked his skin and I had the distinct impression that he wasn't used taking care of himself… Or to anyone caring if he did. A stab of sadness burned through my chest as I watched him.
"I need to be close to braid her hair properly," Fili replied calmly and he was exactly that. His thighs draped around me, bracketing me as he combed through my hair in a slow, methodical way that was maddening.
The dwarf was unflappable. It utterly baffled me how little he let on that we had been rolling around in the hay loft only hours before. Me on the other hand…
"You're blushing a lot." Ori blinked over at me dolefully and I had the sinking suspicion that he was trying to cause trouble.
"It's hot," I muttered, shivering as Fili's fingers stroked over the pointed tips of my ears, his big body cocooning me. If it wasn't for the adrenaline currently pumping through my veins at the very public way he was taking care of me, I think I might have turned into slug. He made me want to absolutely melt into him.
"Oh." Another doleful blink. "I thought it was because Fili has you draped across his lap like a-"
"We don't need any imagery for that, Ori," Dori cut in demurely, sliding a cup of piping hot tear in front of our youngest brother.
"Yeah, because it's right in front of us," Nori breathed out hostilely, his eyes murderous as they took in the way that Fili's hands were currently combing through my hair with enough care to make my eyes droop. "Very close. Some would say too-"
"Nori, will you please stop fuming all over the room," Dori questioned politely. "It really dampens the courting process." His pleasant expression went cold and sharp in a matter of seconds, his silver eyes flashing. "The courting that we agreed to. And endorsed. For Tori's happiness."
Behind me, Fili leaned in farther, his lips nestling into the hair behind my ear as he tried to hide a smile.
"If you would let me finish," Nori grated out, looking like someone had just stabbed him through the top of his boot. "Some would say too close but I would say…just right."
The last two words came out like he was choking on raw vegetables.
Across from me, Kili rolled his eyes. "I would say gag," he drawled, snatching up a roll from the basket at the middle of the table.
"Kili," Thorin warned from his place just behind Fili and I, lounging against a pillar in a way that made it clear he wanted to be anywhere but inside of this house.
So…you know, just generally making it seem like we weren't incredibly grateful to have even found a resting place with a pack of orcs at our tail ready to tear our very flesh from our bones.
Gloin snorted down the table, his brother giving him a knowing look that ended with a chuckle. "Ah give the happy couple a little space, ya overbearing bears."
I wanted to die.
My face burned even hotter as my brothers gave indulgent scoffs and grumbles to the rest of our party, laughter ringing through the air.
"Honestly, they'll never have any fun with you lot breathing down their necks," Dwalin piped up, winking at me.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"Please, for the love of Mahal, stop," I begged, staring down at my half-eaten breakfast in horror as my back vibrated with Fili's laughter.
Nori didn't hear me at all, his teeth flashing as he glared around and then settled on Fili's face. He jabbed a finger in the prince's direction, looking livid. "No fun. You hear me? Fun is for marriage. You're running for your lives right now - that's the fun. Understand?"
If he knew about last night, he would take Fili out back and skin him alive. I agreed quickly. "No fun. Got it."
Fili made no such promise; his lips sealed as he tied my hair off, fingers smoothing back the stray hairs around my ears with such care that I blinked.
"So you are the one they call Oakenshield." Up until this point, Beorn had remained silent, his golden eyes watchful as if he were observing mice trying to escape a honey pot and deciding whether to tip the jar or keep it as is.
Behind me, Fili shifted, his legs tightening around my hips and arms coming to band around my waist. His familiar scent engulfed me, his head tipping into the side of mine as his entire body cocooned my own.
"Eat, hamumal amrul," he whispered to me, his blue eyes sharp and steady on the skin-changer currently eyeing our king.
Silently, I complied, buttering a piece of toast and dabbing some fresh honey on it before I offered it to Fili.
"Tell me," Beorn murmured, sliding around the table with a jug of fresh milk. "Why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
Giving me a small smile, his beard tickling my cheek as he nuzzled me in thanks, Fili took the bread.
Thorin's eyes sharpened. "You know of Azog? How?"
"My people were the first to live in the mountains before the orcs came down from the north." There wasn't a hint of sadness in Beorn's voice. There was only…bitterness. Rage. "The defiler killed most of my family."
Beside me, Ori drew in a soft breath. I gulped the food in front of me suddenly sour.
"But some he enslaved." Like a string drawing taut, my eyes slid to the heavy chains around his wrists; dirt crusted around the edges. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."
"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked, his eyes tracking the giant man with gentle interest. He was the softest of us, the most able to empathize.
"Once there were many," Beorn murmured, doling out some more honey from a wide terracotta pot.
"And now?" Fili's arms tightened around me, and I held on to that touch.
"Now there is only one," Beorn said simply.
My insides rolled with discomfort and sadness. Sadness for Beorn. Discomfort that those same people who had tortured and widdled away the skin-changers to only this one were currently right outside our door. My fingers curled into Fili's forearms, holding on tightly.
"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn," Beorn murmured, his gaze flicking to Gandalf, who had sat eerily still at the edge of our group for the entirety of the exchange.
The gray wizard leaned forward, his brows furrowed. "Before Durin's day falls, yes."
"You are running out of time," Beorn observed and Nori's lips twisted in wryly.
"Which is why we must go through Murkwood," Gandalf said bracingly.
I felt all of my breath leave me in a gasp, the morning light filtering through the windows dimming.
"You might find clarity in looking to the elves of the woodland," Lord Elrond had told me, too kind even to the last. "I suspect your bloodline might mix with the Silvan elves."
My throat closed, my lunges tightening as Dori worried gaze slid to me.
"A darkness lies upon that forest," Beorn was saying. "Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the necromancer in Dul Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."
"There has to be another way," I choked out, my heart thumping unsteadily in my chest. I tried to ignore the pointed stares of the rest of my companions, the pity that was sure to be there. "There… there has to be."
Gandalf's face softened with sympathy as he caught my frantic gaze. "We will take the Elven Road, which is safe from…unwanted attention." His lips thinned as he kept my gaze for a moment longer. "The elves there don't usually bother with travelers that stick to the path."
Not usually. I let out a low, choked breath, turning into Fili's arms until he folded me closer, his lips brushing over my ear as he tried to offer me a bit of comfort. "We don't know that your family is there, amrul."
"There's still a chance," I whispered, feeling shaken and slightly unmoored.
"The wood elves of Murkwood are not like their kin," Beorn ground out. "They are less wise and more dangerous…but it matters not."
Thorin stopped his pacing, turning sharply to the skin changer. I could feel Fili's body knot up against me, his eyes sliding to the giant of a man with more than a little violence. Every dwarf at the table shifted, seemingly taking stock of the weapons nearest them.
"What do you mean?" Thorin asked, voice sharp and low with warning.
"These lands are crawling with orcs." If Beorn saw the tension on our faces, he didn't seem to care. "Their numbers are growing. And you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."
Thorin looked halfway to tearing Beorn's face off as the other man stood, his eyes intense golden pricks on the king as he drew closer. "I don't like dwarves." Fili's hand slid to the knife I kept at my thigh, his fingers brushing me as he clasped it, his eyes watchful. "They're greedy…"
Nori stiffened, each member's hand disappearing to locate their weapons beneath the table.
"And blind," Beorn continued, leaning down to pick up a tiny mouse from the table that Gloin had been about to whack. "Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."
I wasn't sure how we would fair against a skin-changer. The small quarters might be an advantage. I leaned forward, slowly slipping loose from Fili's tight hold, his body lightly caging me now, his hand still at my thigh. Ori's book slid shut beside him, his eyes on the skin-changer as well as he put away his journal and charcoals with deliberate movements.
The tension held for one suffocating moment longer…
Before Beorn's lips were curling slightly, his strides taking him to our king. "But orcs I hate more. What do you need?"
I've had a really shitty day so this is me trying to blackmail you guys into giving me a review lol