Re: Mercenaries of Wresllo (M/L, adult)pt10(pg6)8/15
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:22 am
Warning: sexual scene between Tess and Kyle occurs in this part
Part 11
The day dawned bright and sunny for the group who stood in the clearing that had been chosen for their latest stop to continue practicing their skills. Ever since they had discovered Isabel’s ability to manipulate water which Liz claimed made sense because Isabel had the healing ability, Max decided she needed to learn how to develop her powers in a controlled environment.
When the others inquired as to why it made sense to Liz, she had gone on to explain. “Even among my people water is sacred and symbolizes a sort of renewal. It flows through all life forms where it both sustains and gives life to. Just like Isabel’s healing skills, water also heals and refreshes. Water also appears in certain life events such as in the creation of new life and through the tears we shed. Of course, that’s just a few things her healing ability has in common with water.”
So with that brief explanation, they had found an area with a small lake nearby to practice. While Michael, Maria, Kyle and Tess practiced more fighting techniques as a group, Isabel was helped by Liz and sparred with Alex’s fire magic while Max looked on. At first Liz just tried to make sure Isabel figured out how she controlled the water and made it do whatever she wanted it to.
Once Isabel had managed not only to make the water in the lake ripple and build to massive waves, she had moved to actually making shapes with the water as if it were clay to mold. Then when Isabel felt ready to move on, Alex started little fires which Isabel had to put out. They built up the mock battles until Isabel got to the point where she was using walls of water to block things and created long tendrils of water to attack with.
Liz was amazed at how easy it was for Isabel to learn how to use her powers and the ease with which she came up with ways to defend and attack. In no time at all Isabel seemed to have her water magic powers perfected. However, Liz wondered if Isabel could use her powers even without a body of water nearby, so she suggested to Max that the four of them move to another area far away from the lake.
Once they were away, Liz informed Isabel that she was to use her powers to try to draw moisture from around her, but not from the lake. At first Isabel was confused about how to do that but then realized that Tess, Alex and Liz all seemed to call their magic up from literally nothing. She knew each of them had ways of asking their magic source to help them with whatever it was that they were trying to accomplish.
With that in mind, she set out to try something similar. At first she simply stood still and closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses. She knew after working with the water in the lake and from her experience with the moat water that there was a certain feel to any source of water. It took a little while, but eventually she sensed the cold wetness seeping from the ground. There was also some in the air around her, but mostly it was in the ground.
Since it was a bright, sunny day she knew her best bet was to call the moisture from the ground and not the mostly dry air. So she pushed her senses towards the ground and silently asked the moisture to respond to her call. Soon she could literally feel the cold wetness rising from deep underground as it traveled towards the surface.
Max and Alex watched in amazement as water seemed to seep from dry ground at first until Isabel was lifting her arms and seemingly commanding the expanding water to form into waves and leap through the air. Liz on the other hand knew Isabel was smart enough to get the gist of it and simply looked on proudly. However, this summoning of water from almost nothing was much harder than working with a plentiful source so it didn’t take long before Isabel began to tire.
Liz simply went over a few exercises with Isabel at that point before they stopped for lunch. The exercises she taught Isabel were for her to do whenever she had some down time. They would help her strengthen her summoning abilities and build up her stamina and clarity of the mind. Isabel knew that these exercises would come in handy to keep her from easily tiring when using her water magic.
With her new exercises learned, Isabel joined the rest of the group around the campfire for some lunch where they all seemed to have something new to talk about. She had her new powers, Tess had learned hand to hand combat from Maria and Michael and Alex and Kyle simply were amazed at the diversity of the group as a whole. Even Liz commented on both Alex and Isabel’s growing magic abilities as well as Tess’ new physical abilities.
Only Max remained silent for the most part. He listened to the others talking leisurely about their morning activities while he ate his lunch. When the majority of them seemed done eating, he decided to speak up about the afternoon activities.
He got up to dispose of his leftovers, thus capturing their attention. “Well I guess we should discuss how we are going to divide up for the next practices. Maria, I think you should show Isabel…”
“Wait a minute Max,” interjected Maria. “I think we all know enough for now. Michael and I want to take advantage of this nice day to relax together for a bit.”
“She’s right Max,” added Michael. “We can practice more later. It’s not like we’re that helpless anyway and I think we deserve some time off.”
Max frowned at Michael, who was normally the hardest working one next to him.
“That’s not a bad idea actually,” said Isabel. “I’d like to go for a stroll through the woods and maybe look for some herbs since my supply is running a little low. Liz, want to join me?”
“Sure,” piped up Liz, “Tess, you should come with us!”
Tess smiled at Liz, “No thanks. I think I’ll just hang out here for a bit.”
She looked at Kyle out of the corner of her eye and was glad when he leaned over to ask her, “We could go sit by the lake for a while. If you’d like?”
“I’d like that,” she replied as Michael and Maria cleaned up after themselves then headed off hand in hand.
“Now wait a minute,” started Max.
Liz got to her feet and sighed. “Give it up Max. Everyone’s been working hard lately. We all deserve a few hours to just relax, even you.”
As Tess and Kyle made their way towards the lake, Isabel and Liz got ready for their stroll through the woods. Just before they left, Alex approached the two of them.
“Ladies, I hope you don’t mind me asking but would you allow me to accompany the two of you during the stroll? I’d like to learn a bit about herbs and I know the two of you could help me the best.”
Liz looked to see if Isabel was okay with it. When she nodded, Liz gave Alex a smile. “We’d love to have you come Alex, just make sure you’re comfortable to do a lot of walking as well as some work in the ground. This may get a little dirty under the nails, you know.”
“Not a problem. Thank you ladies.”
Alex went to quickly prepare himself before joining Isabel and Liz for the walk to the woods. As he passed a stoic Max, Alex stopped to ask him, “Care to join us Max?”
Max looked up from where he’d been banking the fire. “No thanks. I’m just going to finish setting up camp for the night and keep watch over our belongings. The horses also need tending to.”
Alex shrugged before moving away. “Suit yourself. See you later Max.”
He reached Liz and Isabel just as they were nearing the edge of the lake which they had to walk by to get to the woods. Kyle and Tess were walking hand in hand towards a small grove of trees on the opposite side of the lake and it was obvious that the two of them were as absorbed in each other almost like Michael and Maria tended to be. As Alex started asking Isabel about her potion mixing skills, Liz looked towards the couple heading to the grove on the other side of the lake.
Her wistful gaze followed the happy couple as they smiled at each other’s conversation. Their body language said they were becoming very comfortable with each other in much the same way as Michael and Maria’s did. However, the latter couple’s body language suggested much more intimacy than this former couple did. Still, she knew it was just a matter of time before Tess and Kyle exhibited the closeness of Michael and Maria.
It was a closeness she couldn’t help but envy if she really stopped to think about it.
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Michael and Maria had walked into the woods far ahead of Liz and the others. Eventually the two of them had found a shaded area where dappled sunlight filtered through the trees. They sat together for a while simply talking and relaxing on the blanket Michael had brought along. Soon, one thing led to another and the two of them enjoyed a little leisurely tryst there in the woods.
While that couple spent the next few hours enjoying each others company, Max remained at camp attending to setting up camp for the night. At first he simply tended to his and Liz’s belongings but before long he grew bored and began tending to the entire camp. He was still trying to figure out why Liz wasn’t talking to him as much as she used to because he noticed she now spent a lot more time with Isabel now. She even seemed to talk to everyone else a lot more than to him and he had even started to notice that her smiles came easier with everyone else except him.
However, the thing that had disturbed him the most was when she began to ride on the back of Isabel’s horse with her while leaving him on his own horse alone. She gave him the excuse that she had a lot to discuss with Isabel about powers and potions and such, but that had been days ago. Ever since then he had been trying to figure out why she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder even though he went out of his way to be nice to her.
As he continued to muse over Liz’s behavior and ignorance of him, he finished setting up camp before taking the horses to have a drink at the lake. He tethered them nearby then unburdened them and brushed them down before allowing them to graze on their own. Then he went about gathering more wood and restarted a fire for the group’s evening meal.
Liz listened to Isabel and Alex as they continued to discuss ideas about making various potions. She smiled as she saw how animated the two of them had become as their conversation continued. She was glad the two of them had that in common and that Isabel seemed extremely receptive of Alex’s friendship. She knew that Alex had more than a passing interest in Isabel, but kept that knowledge to herself and allowed Alex to work on his own. However, if she felt he needed assistance, she would be more than happy to give it to him. Luckily he seemed to be doing just fine on his own.
The three of them continued to gather herbs and other ingredients they found within the woods as they chatted among themselves. As the light began to fade they began making their way out of the woods and back to camp. Just as they walked out of the woods, a very content and happy Michael and Maria joined them and all five of them crossed the clearing to the camp where Max was beginning to prepare a meal for the evening.
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As Kyle held Tess’ hand during their walk around the lake towards a small grove of trees, he couldn’t help the thrill he felt that she had joined him rather than go with the others. After the talk the two of them had a couple of nights before, they had seemed to grow closer. After that they had seemed to talk about anything and everything when they were together.
It was incredibly easy to talk to each other, thus learning each others quirks, since they both shared the same horse. For that, Kyle was grateful since it meant they were together more often than not. The plus was that he realized that Tess actually wanted to spend more time with him rather than with anyone else.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the contented smile she wore. When she turned to look at him, he graced her with a smile of his own and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Not that she was weak, but she did deserve to be treated like a lady. Even he had manners when he wanted to use them and Tess was one of the few who deserved it.
Granted, he did have a hefty dose of respect for any woman who could hold her liquor and drink him under the table, but part of his respect for her was the way she seemed to be able to pick herself up and keep on going. Nothing seemed to hold her down and judging from the little she had told him about herself, he knew she had been through more hardship than he could even imagine.
They made it to the grove of trees and continued to walk among them until they found the perfect spot to sit down in. Once they had made themselves comfortable, they had continued their light hearted conversation. Before long, they had quieted down for a bit and Kyle decided to see if Tess would talk about a more serious topic.
“Tess?” he asked as she leaned in closer to his side, allowing his arm to drape completely over her shoulders.
“Hm?” she replied.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
He hesitated a moment before softly saying, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
Tess tilted her head back and gave him a puzzled look. “What is it Kyle?”
He sighed as he decided to just come out with it. “Why don’t you talk about your childhood much?”
She blinked as she seemed to think about it before she finally gave a little shrug. “I guess I never really thought about it. There’s not much to tell really.”
Kyle just sat there looking into her eyes and Tess could tell he was trying to figure out what she was hiding. She knew she had to set him straight.
“Kyle, there’s nothing bad. I mean my life wasn’t exactly an easy one, but it wasn’t bad either.”
When he frowned, she reached out and tapped his cheek. “It’s the truth Kyle. My parents died when I was a baby so I never knew them. I was raised in an orphanage that could barely keep everyone fed or clothed but somehow they did. Then when I was old enough to fend for myself, they let me go and I did what I could with what I had to make a life for myself.”
Kyle quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you grew up with Isabel.”
“I did.”
“How did you know about your powers if you grew up in an orphanage.”
Tess gave him a small smile while the look on her face said she was remembering the past. “Izzy was an orphan just like me. We both seemed to gravitate towards each other but we didn’t know why. It was around that time that Isabel also seemed to make everyone around her feel better with just a touch.
Of course no one knew that she had powers, not even the two of us saw them as magic. We just thought maybe she was the kind of person everyone just wanted to be friends with.
Then one day, I think I was about twelve, Izzy and I were playing outside away from everyone else. This dog came running towards us and tried to snap at Izzy so she threw our ball at it. When it tore our ball to shreds then came after us again, I got scared that it would hurt us so I remember thinking ‘go away’ and that’s just what it did. It just stopped growling and snapping, looked right at me in confusion, then turned and ran away from us.
When Isabel asked what that was all about, I told her what I had been thinking so she asked me to try it on her. I gave her a few mental commands and that’s when we both realized that I had mental powers, but we both swore to keep it between the two of us. Then Isabel was adopted the following year but she did what she could to find out stuff for me about magic. So by the time I was free to leave the orphanage, I had an idea of what I could do and what I hadn’t tried yet such as weather magic.
Izzy helped me find a place to live and I began to hone my powers on my own. By the time I was doing okay for myself, Isabel was taken to another village by her stepfather and I was alone until she showed up at my door a few years later. Then it was my turn to help her out after all she had done for me. After that she returned to her father’s village but we kept in touch.”
When she finished Kyle just looked at her in amazement. Here was a woman who had grown up an orphan with no one to turn to except another orphan her own age. He knew her life could have turned out much worse if Isabel hadn’t turned out to be such a great friend to her. If not for Isabel, someone might have found out about Tess’ powers and used them for evil. Either that or Tess would have been killed if anyone thought she was evil herself.
Despite having Isabel in her life, Kyle knew Tess’ life wasn’t that easy. He knew what orphanages were often like. With kids stuffed into every space available and never enough food to feed them with. In fact, he was certain that what they ate couldn’t even be called food plus the living conditions were often unsanitary and uncomfortable.
Yet the woman who sat next to him gave no indication that she had led a hard life. She seemed healthy and whole despite her upbringing. The only thing that might give away the fact that she had a hard life was the way she carried herself when dealing with obstacles and the way she fought. Tess was stronger than what a woman raised in a home where the man was the protector of the family would be. She was stubborn at times, could think on her feet and could celebrate like the hardiest of men.
He smiled at the image of her on the nights the two of them got into drinking contests and the like. No guy, big or small, ever seemed to stand a chance against the petite Tess, not even him. But that was what he liked the most about her, the fact that she could put him flat on his back if he wasn’t careful.
Tess returned his smile. “What are you thinking?”
His smile grew wider. “I’m thinking that I’ve got to be the only man alive who thinks a woman’s attractive if she can easily put a guy on his back.”
She smirked at him. “Oh yeah?”
He chuckled. “Yep.”
The next thing Kyle knew was that he was flat on his back with Tess straddling his hips as she leaned down over him still smirking.
“How’s that for attractive?”
Kyle lay there with a stunned look on his face. He’d barely felt her pushing him to the ground and pouncing on him which attested to her air magic. She was quick as the wind and just as silent.
However with her face hovering just about his own and the feel of her thighs resting on his hips, his thoughts turned to something much more heated. He looked up into her ice blue eyes that were twinkling with merriment and lifted a hand to brush his fingers over her soft cheek. Her amusement turned to seriousness as his thumb trailed over her lips.
He watched as her eyes darkened as she searched his eyes with her own. “Kyle I…”
She stopped whatever she was going to say and suddenly leaned into him, covering his lips with her own. It didn’t take long before the kiss deepened and her tongue was in his mouth dueling with his. Moments later, her lips had trailed down his neck as her hands made quick work of his shirt.
He gripped her wrists for a moment, effectively stopping her. When she gave him a quizzical look, he gave her his puppy dog eyes and stated, “Go easy on me, huh? It’s my first time.”
Tess looked stunned for just a moment before she started laughing. “No it isn’t axe man!”
He growled as he flipped them over so that she was beneath him. “You’re right, it’s not.”
Then he went back to kissing her as she went back to removing his shirt. While neither one of them was new at it, this would be the first time they did it with each other but they both knew that after this neither one of them was going to want to find their way into anyone else’s bed.
Before long, Tess had them flipped over again so that she was on top. She’d managed to get all of his clothes off before flipping them over again. Now, she stood over him and removed the last of her clothing. As she let the fabric drift to the ground, she slowly sank back onto his hips allowing him to take in the view.
Kyle lifted his hands to her hips, helping her settle over his body. When her heat met his groin, both of them moaned at the contact. She leaned over to place her hands on his shoulders before sliding against him, slicking him up with her moisture. Their lips met again, tongues mimicking what their centers would be doing soon enough.
Tess took her time grinding into him, feeling him get harder with each stroke of her body. Then when she felt they were both ready, she lifted up slightly with his hands still on her hips and took him into her hand. He pulled her down as she guided him in until he was buried deep. As soon as he was, she tilted her head back with her eyes closed and simply sat there enjoying the feel of him inside of her.
Kyle slid his hands up her sides until he was cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples with his thumbs. She groaned.
“Gawd, that feels sooooo good!”
He grinned at her vocalization. She’d never sounded sexier.
Within moments she was lifting up with her knees and sliding back down over him without his help. He just kept right on enjoying the way her breasts felt in his hands and let her ride him to her hearts content.
She was enjoying the hell out of him. He could tell by the gasps and other sounds she was making as she picked up the pace. Then there was the feel of her walls fluttering around him. He gritted his teeth as he felt the end nearing and slid one hand down between her legs to find the spot he knew would get her to where he needed her to be.
Sure enough, a few strokes of his fingers later and she dug her fingers into his ribs, threw her head back and screamed his name to the sky. That image of her as well as the way she said his name was more than enough for him to jerk up into her and let go with a shout of his own. He was vaguely aware of her walls milking him and the feel of her hips still riding him as if she were trying to prolong both of their highs.
It would be a long time before she collapsed on his already dozing body and an even longer time before they both dragged themselves up and got decent enough to be the last two back to camp for the evening.
TBC
Part 11
The day dawned bright and sunny for the group who stood in the clearing that had been chosen for their latest stop to continue practicing their skills. Ever since they had discovered Isabel’s ability to manipulate water which Liz claimed made sense because Isabel had the healing ability, Max decided she needed to learn how to develop her powers in a controlled environment.
When the others inquired as to why it made sense to Liz, she had gone on to explain. “Even among my people water is sacred and symbolizes a sort of renewal. It flows through all life forms where it both sustains and gives life to. Just like Isabel’s healing skills, water also heals and refreshes. Water also appears in certain life events such as in the creation of new life and through the tears we shed. Of course, that’s just a few things her healing ability has in common with water.”
So with that brief explanation, they had found an area with a small lake nearby to practice. While Michael, Maria, Kyle and Tess practiced more fighting techniques as a group, Isabel was helped by Liz and sparred with Alex’s fire magic while Max looked on. At first Liz just tried to make sure Isabel figured out how she controlled the water and made it do whatever she wanted it to.
Once Isabel had managed not only to make the water in the lake ripple and build to massive waves, she had moved to actually making shapes with the water as if it were clay to mold. Then when Isabel felt ready to move on, Alex started little fires which Isabel had to put out. They built up the mock battles until Isabel got to the point where she was using walls of water to block things and created long tendrils of water to attack with.
Liz was amazed at how easy it was for Isabel to learn how to use her powers and the ease with which she came up with ways to defend and attack. In no time at all Isabel seemed to have her water magic powers perfected. However, Liz wondered if Isabel could use her powers even without a body of water nearby, so she suggested to Max that the four of them move to another area far away from the lake.
Once they were away, Liz informed Isabel that she was to use her powers to try to draw moisture from around her, but not from the lake. At first Isabel was confused about how to do that but then realized that Tess, Alex and Liz all seemed to call their magic up from literally nothing. She knew each of them had ways of asking their magic source to help them with whatever it was that they were trying to accomplish.
With that in mind, she set out to try something similar. At first she simply stood still and closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses. She knew after working with the water in the lake and from her experience with the moat water that there was a certain feel to any source of water. It took a little while, but eventually she sensed the cold wetness seeping from the ground. There was also some in the air around her, but mostly it was in the ground.
Since it was a bright, sunny day she knew her best bet was to call the moisture from the ground and not the mostly dry air. So she pushed her senses towards the ground and silently asked the moisture to respond to her call. Soon she could literally feel the cold wetness rising from deep underground as it traveled towards the surface.
Max and Alex watched in amazement as water seemed to seep from dry ground at first until Isabel was lifting her arms and seemingly commanding the expanding water to form into waves and leap through the air. Liz on the other hand knew Isabel was smart enough to get the gist of it and simply looked on proudly. However, this summoning of water from almost nothing was much harder than working with a plentiful source so it didn’t take long before Isabel began to tire.
Liz simply went over a few exercises with Isabel at that point before they stopped for lunch. The exercises she taught Isabel were for her to do whenever she had some down time. They would help her strengthen her summoning abilities and build up her stamina and clarity of the mind. Isabel knew that these exercises would come in handy to keep her from easily tiring when using her water magic.
With her new exercises learned, Isabel joined the rest of the group around the campfire for some lunch where they all seemed to have something new to talk about. She had her new powers, Tess had learned hand to hand combat from Maria and Michael and Alex and Kyle simply were amazed at the diversity of the group as a whole. Even Liz commented on both Alex and Isabel’s growing magic abilities as well as Tess’ new physical abilities.
Only Max remained silent for the most part. He listened to the others talking leisurely about their morning activities while he ate his lunch. When the majority of them seemed done eating, he decided to speak up about the afternoon activities.
He got up to dispose of his leftovers, thus capturing their attention. “Well I guess we should discuss how we are going to divide up for the next practices. Maria, I think you should show Isabel…”
“Wait a minute Max,” interjected Maria. “I think we all know enough for now. Michael and I want to take advantage of this nice day to relax together for a bit.”
“She’s right Max,” added Michael. “We can practice more later. It’s not like we’re that helpless anyway and I think we deserve some time off.”
Max frowned at Michael, who was normally the hardest working one next to him.
“That’s not a bad idea actually,” said Isabel. “I’d like to go for a stroll through the woods and maybe look for some herbs since my supply is running a little low. Liz, want to join me?”
“Sure,” piped up Liz, “Tess, you should come with us!”
Tess smiled at Liz, “No thanks. I think I’ll just hang out here for a bit.”
She looked at Kyle out of the corner of her eye and was glad when he leaned over to ask her, “We could go sit by the lake for a while. If you’d like?”
“I’d like that,” she replied as Michael and Maria cleaned up after themselves then headed off hand in hand.
“Now wait a minute,” started Max.
Liz got to her feet and sighed. “Give it up Max. Everyone’s been working hard lately. We all deserve a few hours to just relax, even you.”
As Tess and Kyle made their way towards the lake, Isabel and Liz got ready for their stroll through the woods. Just before they left, Alex approached the two of them.
“Ladies, I hope you don’t mind me asking but would you allow me to accompany the two of you during the stroll? I’d like to learn a bit about herbs and I know the two of you could help me the best.”
Liz looked to see if Isabel was okay with it. When she nodded, Liz gave Alex a smile. “We’d love to have you come Alex, just make sure you’re comfortable to do a lot of walking as well as some work in the ground. This may get a little dirty under the nails, you know.”
“Not a problem. Thank you ladies.”
Alex went to quickly prepare himself before joining Isabel and Liz for the walk to the woods. As he passed a stoic Max, Alex stopped to ask him, “Care to join us Max?”
Max looked up from where he’d been banking the fire. “No thanks. I’m just going to finish setting up camp for the night and keep watch over our belongings. The horses also need tending to.”
Alex shrugged before moving away. “Suit yourself. See you later Max.”
He reached Liz and Isabel just as they were nearing the edge of the lake which they had to walk by to get to the woods. Kyle and Tess were walking hand in hand towards a small grove of trees on the opposite side of the lake and it was obvious that the two of them were as absorbed in each other almost like Michael and Maria tended to be. As Alex started asking Isabel about her potion mixing skills, Liz looked towards the couple heading to the grove on the other side of the lake.
Her wistful gaze followed the happy couple as they smiled at each other’s conversation. Their body language said they were becoming very comfortable with each other in much the same way as Michael and Maria’s did. However, the latter couple’s body language suggested much more intimacy than this former couple did. Still, she knew it was just a matter of time before Tess and Kyle exhibited the closeness of Michael and Maria.
It was a closeness she couldn’t help but envy if she really stopped to think about it.
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Michael and Maria had walked into the woods far ahead of Liz and the others. Eventually the two of them had found a shaded area where dappled sunlight filtered through the trees. They sat together for a while simply talking and relaxing on the blanket Michael had brought along. Soon, one thing led to another and the two of them enjoyed a little leisurely tryst there in the woods.
While that couple spent the next few hours enjoying each others company, Max remained at camp attending to setting up camp for the night. At first he simply tended to his and Liz’s belongings but before long he grew bored and began tending to the entire camp. He was still trying to figure out why Liz wasn’t talking to him as much as she used to because he noticed she now spent a lot more time with Isabel now. She even seemed to talk to everyone else a lot more than to him and he had even started to notice that her smiles came easier with everyone else except him.
However, the thing that had disturbed him the most was when she began to ride on the back of Isabel’s horse with her while leaving him on his own horse alone. She gave him the excuse that she had a lot to discuss with Isabel about powers and potions and such, but that had been days ago. Ever since then he had been trying to figure out why she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder even though he went out of his way to be nice to her.
As he continued to muse over Liz’s behavior and ignorance of him, he finished setting up camp before taking the horses to have a drink at the lake. He tethered them nearby then unburdened them and brushed them down before allowing them to graze on their own. Then he went about gathering more wood and restarted a fire for the group’s evening meal.
Liz listened to Isabel and Alex as they continued to discuss ideas about making various potions. She smiled as she saw how animated the two of them had become as their conversation continued. She was glad the two of them had that in common and that Isabel seemed extremely receptive of Alex’s friendship. She knew that Alex had more than a passing interest in Isabel, but kept that knowledge to herself and allowed Alex to work on his own. However, if she felt he needed assistance, she would be more than happy to give it to him. Luckily he seemed to be doing just fine on his own.
The three of them continued to gather herbs and other ingredients they found within the woods as they chatted among themselves. As the light began to fade they began making their way out of the woods and back to camp. Just as they walked out of the woods, a very content and happy Michael and Maria joined them and all five of them crossed the clearing to the camp where Max was beginning to prepare a meal for the evening.
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As Kyle held Tess’ hand during their walk around the lake towards a small grove of trees, he couldn’t help the thrill he felt that she had joined him rather than go with the others. After the talk the two of them had a couple of nights before, they had seemed to grow closer. After that they had seemed to talk about anything and everything when they were together.
It was incredibly easy to talk to each other, thus learning each others quirks, since they both shared the same horse. For that, Kyle was grateful since it meant they were together more often than not. The plus was that he realized that Tess actually wanted to spend more time with him rather than with anyone else.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the contented smile she wore. When she turned to look at him, he graced her with a smile of his own and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Not that she was weak, but she did deserve to be treated like a lady. Even he had manners when he wanted to use them and Tess was one of the few who deserved it.
Granted, he did have a hefty dose of respect for any woman who could hold her liquor and drink him under the table, but part of his respect for her was the way she seemed to be able to pick herself up and keep on going. Nothing seemed to hold her down and judging from the little she had told him about herself, he knew she had been through more hardship than he could even imagine.
They made it to the grove of trees and continued to walk among them until they found the perfect spot to sit down in. Once they had made themselves comfortable, they had continued their light hearted conversation. Before long, they had quieted down for a bit and Kyle decided to see if Tess would talk about a more serious topic.
“Tess?” he asked as she leaned in closer to his side, allowing his arm to drape completely over her shoulders.
“Hm?” she replied.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
He hesitated a moment before softly saying, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
Tess tilted her head back and gave him a puzzled look. “What is it Kyle?”
He sighed as he decided to just come out with it. “Why don’t you talk about your childhood much?”
She blinked as she seemed to think about it before she finally gave a little shrug. “I guess I never really thought about it. There’s not much to tell really.”
Kyle just sat there looking into her eyes and Tess could tell he was trying to figure out what she was hiding. She knew she had to set him straight.
“Kyle, there’s nothing bad. I mean my life wasn’t exactly an easy one, but it wasn’t bad either.”
When he frowned, she reached out and tapped his cheek. “It’s the truth Kyle. My parents died when I was a baby so I never knew them. I was raised in an orphanage that could barely keep everyone fed or clothed but somehow they did. Then when I was old enough to fend for myself, they let me go and I did what I could with what I had to make a life for myself.”
Kyle quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you grew up with Isabel.”
“I did.”
“How did you know about your powers if you grew up in an orphanage.”
Tess gave him a small smile while the look on her face said she was remembering the past. “Izzy was an orphan just like me. We both seemed to gravitate towards each other but we didn’t know why. It was around that time that Isabel also seemed to make everyone around her feel better with just a touch.
Of course no one knew that she had powers, not even the two of us saw them as magic. We just thought maybe she was the kind of person everyone just wanted to be friends with.
Then one day, I think I was about twelve, Izzy and I were playing outside away from everyone else. This dog came running towards us and tried to snap at Izzy so she threw our ball at it. When it tore our ball to shreds then came after us again, I got scared that it would hurt us so I remember thinking ‘go away’ and that’s just what it did. It just stopped growling and snapping, looked right at me in confusion, then turned and ran away from us.
When Isabel asked what that was all about, I told her what I had been thinking so she asked me to try it on her. I gave her a few mental commands and that’s when we both realized that I had mental powers, but we both swore to keep it between the two of us. Then Isabel was adopted the following year but she did what she could to find out stuff for me about magic. So by the time I was free to leave the orphanage, I had an idea of what I could do and what I hadn’t tried yet such as weather magic.
Izzy helped me find a place to live and I began to hone my powers on my own. By the time I was doing okay for myself, Isabel was taken to another village by her stepfather and I was alone until she showed up at my door a few years later. Then it was my turn to help her out after all she had done for me. After that she returned to her father’s village but we kept in touch.”
When she finished Kyle just looked at her in amazement. Here was a woman who had grown up an orphan with no one to turn to except another orphan her own age. He knew her life could have turned out much worse if Isabel hadn’t turned out to be such a great friend to her. If not for Isabel, someone might have found out about Tess’ powers and used them for evil. Either that or Tess would have been killed if anyone thought she was evil herself.
Despite having Isabel in her life, Kyle knew Tess’ life wasn’t that easy. He knew what orphanages were often like. With kids stuffed into every space available and never enough food to feed them with. In fact, he was certain that what they ate couldn’t even be called food plus the living conditions were often unsanitary and uncomfortable.
Yet the woman who sat next to him gave no indication that she had led a hard life. She seemed healthy and whole despite her upbringing. The only thing that might give away the fact that she had a hard life was the way she carried herself when dealing with obstacles and the way she fought. Tess was stronger than what a woman raised in a home where the man was the protector of the family would be. She was stubborn at times, could think on her feet and could celebrate like the hardiest of men.
He smiled at the image of her on the nights the two of them got into drinking contests and the like. No guy, big or small, ever seemed to stand a chance against the petite Tess, not even him. But that was what he liked the most about her, the fact that she could put him flat on his back if he wasn’t careful.
Tess returned his smile. “What are you thinking?”
His smile grew wider. “I’m thinking that I’ve got to be the only man alive who thinks a woman’s attractive if she can easily put a guy on his back.”
She smirked at him. “Oh yeah?”
He chuckled. “Yep.”
The next thing Kyle knew was that he was flat on his back with Tess straddling his hips as she leaned down over him still smirking.
“How’s that for attractive?”
Kyle lay there with a stunned look on his face. He’d barely felt her pushing him to the ground and pouncing on him which attested to her air magic. She was quick as the wind and just as silent.
However with her face hovering just about his own and the feel of her thighs resting on his hips, his thoughts turned to something much more heated. He looked up into her ice blue eyes that were twinkling with merriment and lifted a hand to brush his fingers over her soft cheek. Her amusement turned to seriousness as his thumb trailed over her lips.
He watched as her eyes darkened as she searched his eyes with her own. “Kyle I…”
She stopped whatever she was going to say and suddenly leaned into him, covering his lips with her own. It didn’t take long before the kiss deepened and her tongue was in his mouth dueling with his. Moments later, her lips had trailed down his neck as her hands made quick work of his shirt.
He gripped her wrists for a moment, effectively stopping her. When she gave him a quizzical look, he gave her his puppy dog eyes and stated, “Go easy on me, huh? It’s my first time.”
Tess looked stunned for just a moment before she started laughing. “No it isn’t axe man!”
He growled as he flipped them over so that she was beneath him. “You’re right, it’s not.”
Then he went back to kissing her as she went back to removing his shirt. While neither one of them was new at it, this would be the first time they did it with each other but they both knew that after this neither one of them was going to want to find their way into anyone else’s bed.
Before long, Tess had them flipped over again so that she was on top. She’d managed to get all of his clothes off before flipping them over again. Now, she stood over him and removed the last of her clothing. As she let the fabric drift to the ground, she slowly sank back onto his hips allowing him to take in the view.
Kyle lifted his hands to her hips, helping her settle over his body. When her heat met his groin, both of them moaned at the contact. She leaned over to place her hands on his shoulders before sliding against him, slicking him up with her moisture. Their lips met again, tongues mimicking what their centers would be doing soon enough.
Tess took her time grinding into him, feeling him get harder with each stroke of her body. Then when she felt they were both ready, she lifted up slightly with his hands still on her hips and took him into her hand. He pulled her down as she guided him in until he was buried deep. As soon as he was, she tilted her head back with her eyes closed and simply sat there enjoying the feel of him inside of her.
Kyle slid his hands up her sides until he was cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples with his thumbs. She groaned.
“Gawd, that feels sooooo good!”
He grinned at her vocalization. She’d never sounded sexier.
Within moments she was lifting up with her knees and sliding back down over him without his help. He just kept right on enjoying the way her breasts felt in his hands and let her ride him to her hearts content.
She was enjoying the hell out of him. He could tell by the gasps and other sounds she was making as she picked up the pace. Then there was the feel of her walls fluttering around him. He gritted his teeth as he felt the end nearing and slid one hand down between her legs to find the spot he knew would get her to where he needed her to be.
Sure enough, a few strokes of his fingers later and she dug her fingers into his ribs, threw her head back and screamed his name to the sky. That image of her as well as the way she said his name was more than enough for him to jerk up into her and let go with a shout of his own. He was vaguely aware of her walls milking him and the feel of her hips still riding him as if she were trying to prolong both of their highs.
It would be a long time before she collapsed on his already dozing body and an even longer time before they both dragged themselves up and got decent enough to be the last two back to camp for the evening.
TBC