The tavern bustled with the activity typical of a late-evening crowd. The smoke from the peat fire carried shouts and jeers from men already gulping the dregs of their third or fourth ale. It wafted and mixed with the scent of bodies, the heady musk of a day spent laboring in the sun, to spread a thick blanket over the chattering patrons.
She deftly carved her way through the fog of smoke and song, dodging tables and grasping hands, made bold by the empty tankards they clutched. Her full skirts brushed between stools occupied by men whose eyes lingered on the tightly laced bodice that accentuated the smooth curves of exposed flesh that spilled over the top, gently rippling as she walked. Those eyes followed her confident gait but then turned downcast again as lips that would speak of their desires were instead pressed to the rim of their tankards, a slight shift in the position on their stools the only indication of any residual need. Those who had been more brazen in their ogling stares might find themselves casting furtive glances to the corner where a man sat alone at a table. He was not particularly imposing of stature, but there was something in his confident air and bright, intelligent eyes that made the others in the room leave him to his solitude.
She reached around and placed a fresh ale before him, the frothy head sliding in rivulets to pool on the table. As her hand withdrew, it lightly traced the lines of taught muscle that snaked up his arm, a silent promise of a reward for his patience. His eyes slid briefly to hers as a slight smile quirked the corner of his lips, the curve deepening as he caught the flash of fiery lust he beheld in her eyes. Her hand slid from his shoulder as she swept away, the heavy air and press of bodies doing little to cool the embers smoldering in her core.
At long last, she struck the large bell above the bar and listened to the groaning of men and tables as the patrons pushed themselves onto unsteady feet and staggered toward the door. They spilled into the cool night air, stumbling into each other and breaking away again, winding their ways to homes and beds. The tavern slowly cleared as the patrons muttered their thanks and farewells, carefully keeping their eyes from roaming to the table where the man still sat, silently sipping his ale with casual ease.
As the last man crossed the threshold and sucked in a breath at the bracing night air, she closed the door and pulled down the crossbar across the lock. No sooner had she done so than she felt a gentle caress of breath on the shell of her ear and the warmth of a body pressed behind her own. Two large hands, bearing the calloused proof of a life spent laboring with them, were nevertheless heartbreakingly gentle as they traced her waistline to pull her flush against his body. She sighed and relaxed into his touch as his hands roamed higher, pulling at the strings of her bodice. Her head fell back as he trailed feather-light kisses down the line of her jaw, the stubble on his chin scraping against her neck and contrasting deliciously with the silken burn of his lips. His fingers finally loosened her bodice enough to free her breasts, the skin of which rippled with gooseflesh at the sudden exposure to the air. He took one heavy breast into his hand and massaged it gently, all the while nuzzling and licking at her throat. She hummed with pleasure as his thumb flicked over her quickly hardening nipple and he rolled the peaked and sensitive tip between his fingers,
With a sudden change to their lazy pace, he turned and pressed her into the door, his mouth hungrily moving to hers in a kiss that bordered on violent. The force of his lips was belied by the questioning sweep of his tongue against her lip, imploring, but not demanding, access. She opened for him and relished in the claiming sweeps of his tongue, the way his breath hitched when she scraped her teeth along his bottom lip. His hand traced down her back to grasp at her thigh, pulling her leg to his hip and she threw her arms around his neck and he repeated the motion on the other side, lifting her feet from the floor to wrap around his back. She could feel the hard length of his need for her pressed firmly against the place where she needed him the most and they did not break their kiss as he turned and walked toward the nearest table.
