Chapter 5: Pain and Pleasure
Igraine felt the elf’s hot breath as it caressed her forehead. He lowered his head a bit, inhaling deeply. She knew he was taking in her scent. Despite her fear, the urge to touch him was growing so strong that she started to reach out to him. He caught both of her wrists with one of his large hands, pinning them against the wall so she was his helpless prey once again…
“Too long have I lived in this darkness, human,” he said, so close to her that his lips touched her earlobe, light as a butterfly’s wing. “Alone.”
Igraine stood perfectly still. His nearness confused her senses so she could hardly think, even forgot to breathe for a moment. And his incredible voice, she couldn’t describe what it did to her. It was different from a human voice: slightly husky, but deeper and richer, with an indefinable soft melody when he spoke. Sometimes his tone was so cold that she shivered; but now it was filled with emotion, sounding like the deep vibration of a bronze bell after it had stopped ringing. She could feel the pain that tortured his soul. He had the battle-hardened body of a warrior, but inside he was bleeding out of too many wounds that had never been healed.
There was no doubt she would be playing with fire if she tried to reach out to him. His hatred for humanity was too strong. Elathan would never trust her.
“Your people are responsible for this. Humans!” he spat out bitterly. “Enslaved by your greed, your lust for destruction. You spread across the earth like insects, and you will not rest until every form of life, every kind of beauty this world has ever seen is gone forever. The only reason for all this is to try and fill the emptiness in your worthless souls, but you’ll never succeed.” He growled deep down in his throat. “Because of your kin, I have lost my people, the companionship of my family and my throne. Once I loved the humans like brothers, for I believed that the world was large enough for all of us. I trusted them to honor the truce for which my people sacrificed so much. But you betrayed us. You can’t help it. It’s in your nature.”
She gasped when she felt his tongue touch the sensitive spot right below her ear, licking her very softly as if he wanted to taste her before he ate her alive. His beauty, his seductive voice, it was all, as she had felt before, a predator’s way of lulling his victim into a false sense of security before he killed without regrets.
No regrets, she thought. How peaceful that must be. If only she could convince him that not all humans were the way he described them, but she didn’t even try. He wouldn’t be persuaded by simple words. And maybe he was right, after all.
His voice spoke very softly to her now, which made him sound even more dangerous than before. “You deserve to die, all of you. I do not care if you destroy yourself or your world. But first I will make any human stupid enough to come within my reach suffer. This is the only joy left in my life. I will let you pay for what you did to my people.” His lips moved downwards, along the side of her neck where the blood rapidly pulsed in her carotid artery. She felt his teeth graze her skin right there.
Elathan seemed to enjoy her fear. “So warm, so alive,” he murmured. “And yet you are doomed to die, with every breath you take, human.” His voice touched her like a caress, almost lovingly. Igraine noticed that she had indeed stopped breathing, so she gasped for air. It only made her inhale more of his wonderful male scent. Heavens, she was so hot and ready for him. She moaned softly before she could stop herself. A hoarse sound in the darkness reached her ears. Was it possible that the elf had just laughed?
She never saw it coming. If he had attacked, intending to kill her, she wouldn’t have been surprised. But Elathan moved so quickly that she couldn’t comprehend what had happened to her. Still imprisoning her hands above her head, he used his free arm to pull her nearer to his body until only a thin layer of fabric separated them. He crushed her to him so forcefully it hurt, but she didn’t care. Breathing was difficult, anyway. Suddenly, he let her wrists go and entwined his fingers in her curls. He lifted one of the auburn tresses to his face and rubbed it against his cheek. “Beautiful,” he murmured so softly she wasn't sure if it was only her imagination. Then he grabbed a fistful of hair at her neck and pulled her head back. Trapped, she faced him in the darkness while the prince bowed his head to capture her lips.
And then Elathan kissed her. His lips weren’t gentle, but claimed hers boldly, like the warrior he was. The prince didn’t ask for anything. He simply conquered her, took what was his. At first he pressed his lips to her mouth and ravished her almost brutally, still gripping her hair so she couldn’t escape even if she wanted. He dominated her completely, showing her that she belonged to him now. When he drew her even closer to his body, she could feel the furious beating of his strong heart, and the heat radiating from his skin.
She felt strangely weak in his arms, like a helpless prey. After a while, he opened her lips with his mouth and began to seductively explore her, tasting her sweetness with his tongue. It was amazing how wonderful his tongue felt, soft like velvet, though also slightly rougher than a human man’s did. Igraine sighed and melted into his arms, holding onto him for dear life while he kissed her wildly, again and again, delving deep into her mouth, mating with her tongue, then drawing back again, just to tease her. His kiss couldn’t be compared to any other she experienced before, so incredibly reckless, so wonderfully exotic was it. The way he tasted was sweet and sensuous, but undeniably male. Elathan’s seductive scent was all around her. She wished to wrap it around herself like a cloak, savoring his presence. Her whole world seemed to vanish, and he alone was left to fill the emptiness in her soul.
His lips touched her more softly now and then, nipping at hers, teasing her. Elathan’s hands were everywhere on her, exploring her body, marking her as his own. He caressed the back of her neck until she relaxed in his arms. Then, his fingers moved down her spine, very slowly, until they came to rest on her buttocks. He put his other hand down there, too, and grabbed her hips to press her tightly into his hard manhood. So far, she had known this expression only from romance novels, but he was throbbing with desire for her. Unable to resist, Igraine moaned and instinctively rubbed herself against his body. Elathan stiffened with passion and bit her neck for punishment, just hard enough to cause her a slight, exquisite pain. Never had she assumed that so much uncontrolled passion lay behind the prince’s cool, restrained demeanor.
Elathan continued to bite her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth before he repeated the action with her upper lip. Igraine began to tremble violently. His lips and tongue did things to her she never could have imagined before. Igraine’s fingers went through his beautiful hair that cascaded over her hand like liquid gold. As she grabbed a handful of it and pulled, a shudder ran through Elathan’s body. He lost all control and kissed her like a wild animal, licking and biting her mouth while his strong warrior’s hands were everywhere on her body, grabbing her, sliding up and down her back. The elf crushed her against his muscular chest so hard she moaned into his mouth, desperately wanting to become a part of him.
Suddenly he scooped her up in his arms while he kept kissing her, again and again. Igraine was shocked that he could carry her so effortlessly. Quickly crossing the room, he carefully laid her down on the heavy wooden table at the wall. The mug and water bowl hit the earth with a loud crashing sound. Before Igraine knew what happened to her, strong fingers found their way into the neckline of her dress and ripped it in two parts with a single movement. She gasped, mortified. In bed she had been wearing nothing underneath, which now left her stark naked before him. Feeling self-conscious about her body, she hoped that he couldn't see too well in the dark, after all. He pulled his soft black shirt over his head and carelessly dropped it on the cave floor and was left wearing only his loose trousers.
Igraine didn’t have enough time to wonder what would happen next. In the blink of an eye, he covered her body fully with his own, obviously enjoying the feeling of her naked flesh against his. She loved to feel all of him, smooth skin over hard, heavy muscles. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, her nipples tightening and aching for his touch. The heat of his skin threatened to burn her alive. The fact that he was a different species made the experience even more exciting, although she didn't care what he was as long as he kept kissing her like that. She cursed the darkness, wishing she could see this magnificent male in full sunlight. Sighing, she used her hands to explore his body instead, reached around his lean waist to touch the broad back she had secretly admired during their pole fight. Her fingers traced every muscle, every scar that had been left as a reminder of battles he once fought.
Elathan kissed her neck wildly, his mouth wandering deeper and deeper while he marked her skin with tiny bites of his sharp teeth. His hair fell around them like a silken curtain, caressing her arms and shoulders. When his hands finally moved to her breasts, he groaned deep in his throat while he enjoyed their full softness. There was no doubt that the prince was boldly claiming his new property. She was a slave, inferior to this immortal being. Maybe someday soon, there would be a chance to flee from this strange underground realm. But right at this moment, Igraine felt nothing but pure, intense joy. She wanted to belong to him, give herself up to the overwhelming pleasure he was causing inside her. Never in her whole life had she felt so ecstatic, so alive.
When he lowered his head and started to graze her breasts with his teeth, she screamed softly, arching her back under him. He buried his face in the cleft between, deeply inhaling her scent that was so intensive there. Then she felt his lips lightly touching one nipple, stroking, kissing, light as a feather. She pushed herself up against his mouth, wanting more. Softly laughing, he leisurely continued his sweet torture. Unable to stand it anymore, she let a moan of frustration escape her lips.
The prince circled her with his tongue before he suddenly sucked her into his mouth so hard that it almost hurt, then all at once released her and caressed her with his lips again. Igraine wriggled under him, demanding more. But Elathan left no doubt that he was the one in control. He played her like an instrument as he pleased, no matter how urgently her body begged him to spread her thighs and succumb to her needs. Very slowly he repeated his little game with her other breast.
By now she was hot and dripping wet, ready to take him. She rubbed against the hardness of his manhood, wishing nothing more than to have him inside of her. When she reached for his trousers, he stopped her, grabbing her wrist.
“Beg me,” he said, breathing heavily in the darkness.
Igraine moaned, shamelessly opening her legs for him. His hand traveled deeper, over her belly, right down to the place where she needed him so much. She screamed when he touched her gently, opening the soft swollen lips with his long fingers, stroking, exploring. He found the little pearl hidden between the wet folds and caressed it ever so slowly, making her heart stop for a moment before she began to shake violently. Then he let one finger slide into her, probing her. Igraine lifted herself up from the table to meet his hand. Elathan chuckled deeply. “You are ready for me,” he said. “Beg me, wench, and I might give you what you need.”
Igraine didn’t give a damn about her pride right now. “Please,” she breathed desperately, “please…“ She nearly spoke out his name, but became aware that he had forbidden it. “Master. Take me.”
Elathan moved so quickly she couldn’t sense him coming to her. His trousers suddenly gone, he pressed his hard shaft to her moist, aching womanhood. Igraine threw her head back, sighing with pleasure when she felt him pulsating against her wetness. And he was huge, probably too much for her body to take. But she didn’t care if he ripped her apart, as long as he loved her right now.
She waited for him to enter her. To her surprise, the elf took hold of her hips with both hands and pushed her down on the hard table so she couldn’t lift her lower body to meet him. Slowly rubbing his arousal up and down between her silken folds, he caressed her tiny pearl every time he moved until both of them groaned with desire. Igraine buried her face into his neck, kissing and licking the delicious notch she had tasted before at the base of his throat. It made him ride her even faster, playing her body with expert knowledge until she ran her nails down his back, whimpering for more. Tears of frustration streamed over her face. The only thing she wanted was to have him inside her body, filling her painful emptiness.
But he continued mercilessly, sliding up and down, up and down again, always stopping at the brink of her release. Just when Igraine thought she could take no more, tiny stars exploded behind her eyes. Crying out, she was lifted up into the heavens, flying, before she slowly drifted back into reality. Elathan held her tight in his arms, whispering soothing words in his elven tongue to her. She hardly noticed that the prince had not found his own relief. Her entire body was still shaking with aftershocks, trembling violently.
Elathan picked up her limp, naked body and carried her back through the cave to her bed, gently laying her down. Igraine was so exhausted that she drifted into sleep almost instantly. The last thing she heard was Elathan’s deep voice speaking to her.
“Sleep well, human. On the morrow you will continue your training, but you'll also learn how to serve your prince properly. You will be allowed to enter my chambers for the first time. I want you to bathe me.”