Pleasure Before a Rest

I had helped Maxym to his room on the third floor, carrying the heavier packs for the old man before I stepped into my own room to divest myself of some of my own gear. Don't look at me like that. I've been using my Word-A-Day calendar. Anyway, I took a load off my shoulders, quite literally, then I headed downstairs to the tavern on the first floor of The Wolf's Head Inn. I stopped on the steps to look the place over and smiled faintly. It really wasn't all that different from the bars back home, other than the rather large fireplace and the noticeable haze of various kinds of smoke hanging over the room. Behind the bar, I saw a bustling kitchen through the serving window framed in mirror and the room was filled with the scent of cooking meat and potatoes, stale alcohol, staler smoke, and people who've been on a long journey.

I slipped swiftly and silently down the stairs to the table in the shadow of the fireplace, where I'd be able to watch the room in relative anonymity. Considering where I'm from and where I've found myself, can you blame me? The patronage was diverse, but not crowding the room despite the week-long festival that started that day. I studied the room and the people, hearing odd inflections, intonations, and even languages in the mix. I was so lost in thought that I nearly jumped in surprise when I sensed someone standing nearby that I hadn't spotted coming toward me. I opened my mouth to talk as I turned toward the person and ended up staring, jaw dropped and speechless, when I found myself at eye level with a very lovely pair of breasts encased in a rich, purple, velvet, cup-less corset and a black, sleeveless blouse untied clear to the top of the corset. "Uhh..." I uttered, to which my mind replied, "Khakis?" That's me, alright, the master of witty remarks.

I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear the image that now seemed burned into my memory and looked up saying, "Sorry, I..." My voice trailed off as, this time, even my brain's jaw dropped. Yes, I know my brain doesn't have a jaw, I was being metaphorical. Stop interrupting. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Nari. My eyes opened on the lightly freckled, pale face, red hair, and sparkling, bright green eyes of the waitress, sorry, serving wench of the tavern.

"Greetings, stranger," she smiled at me. "My name is Nari. How may I serve you?"

Being of the male gender in the presence of such a curvaceous creature, I will

not

apologize for thinking, "On your knees," but I was able to swallow that back with a clearing of my throat and instead choked out, "I bet you say that to all the rugged travelers during the market festivals." I gave her what I hoped was a charming smile to hide my libido screaming at me to just grab hold of her. I swallowed hard and fought the urge to let my eyes wander further down her body.

She lowered her chin and looked at me through half lidded eyes with an expression both innocent and seductive and answered, "No, sir." Her voice was breathy and gave me chills of the pleasurable variety. "I usually ask them what they would like."

"Oh," I said, off guard. "I meant, um..." my voice trailed off as my brow furrowed in thought. "Wait, what?"

Her giggle was downright intoxicating as she rested her hand on my shoulder, leaning forward and drawing my attention downward. Her giggle also caused intoxicating things to happen with her anatomy too. I felt a strong tingling feeling where her hand was like a low-grade but strong electrical current. My eyes opened wide and I was freed of my libido, for a few moments at least, by the shock itself. I stared up at her, but she didn't seem to notice anything. "I like you, sir. May I have your name?"

I grinned, suddenly relaxed for some reason, and quipped, "No, but I'll tell it to you," The mildly confused look on her face should have tipped me off, but I was distracted. I'm Westley, Nari. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Her giggle was a little uneasy as she answered, "Hello, Westley. Now, how may I serve you?" This time, there was no mistaking her smile or her wink and I urgently needed some privacy, but that wasn't going to happen.

I flashed a wolfish smile and said, "We can discuss the details of that later. For starters, though, what would you recommend from the kitchen?"

Nari steps back and looks me over with a discerning eye. "You truly do not hail from our country, sir?"

I could feel my heart speed up another couple of notches every time she called me that. "No, I'm not," I said, a little suspiciously. How did you know that?"

She smiled disarmingly and said, simply, "Your speech and some of your attire is unusual though I am unable to place either. Which kingdom do you hail from?"

Uh oh,

I thought.

This is what Maxym was warning about. Be careful.

"I come from the borderlands to the north east. I've avoided travelers as much as possible since the relations have been strained for so long. Please forgive any ignorance on my part." I looked at her with hesitant expectancy while internally tensing to bolt for the nearest exit, just hoping that any of my mistakes would be overlooked thanks to my story. I very slowly exhaled the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding when she smiled warmly at me.

"That is entirely understandable, Westley," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Our most popular dish is the spiced potatoes, but if I can let you in on a secret..." Her voice trailed off and I leaned forward to hear her whisper and I caught the whiff of some light airy scent from her. "Our best dish is our sandwiches. Since you hail from distant lands, you may not know that we call them subs in Her Majesty's kingdom." She pulls a scrap of paper from a pouch on her belt as well as what looked like a small piece of charcoal. "So, sir, what would you like on your sub?"

Without thinking and unable to stop myself, I blurted out, "A collar and cuffs." I blinked when I'd realized what I'd said and started to apologize, but the words died in my throat as I watched the blush spread from the roots of her hair downward. I gasped silently as the red flush reached the edges of first, the blouse, followed by the rich purple of the corset and I suddenly ached to see just how far that blush would travel. Instead I smiled at her and said, "I'll trust you to choose for me."

She swallowed hard, drawing attention to the smooth, pale skin of her neck as she stammered, "And how would you like to quench your thirst tonight, sir?" Her voice had gone from breathy to breathless and I could see a small but noticeable tremble in her. "Would you like me to choose that for you as well?" She bit her lower lip in anticipation, her eyes almost glazed, her expression pleading as if begging me to say yes.

I clenched my teeth for a moment, regaining control of myself and willing myself

not

to say, "Between your thighs". I took a deep breath, looked her right in the eyes, and gave her the answer she wanted. "Please do." I had to reach out for her as her eyes closed and her knees buckled, causing her to stumble toward me and my hand slid slowly over her breast. Luckily, or unluckily, my other hand caught her shoulder which kept her from falling face first in my lap.

After a couple of moments, she shook her head and regained her balance before she opened her eyes and gasped. For a moment I wondered if something had happened and she was hurt until I caught sight of where her eyes were focused. "Blessed stars! Is that...?" She looked up at me with an expression like awe for some reason. "I do apologize, sir. It won't happen again." She took a moment to recompose herself and said, "I shall return shortly with your order."

Somewhat taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, I sat back and thought about what had just happened. While I waited for the beautiful woman to return, I scanned the room again. I was looking at the door when they entered, six men in gleaming armor and deep, crimson cloaks. As they sat down, I noticed a strange symbol on their chest plates. I recognized the stylized Wolf's head with the crossed swords behind it and I got a little angry. I knew the symbol because it was my clan's crest, so what was it doing on the armor of some foreign soldiers? My hands clenched into fists and I didn't realize how much tension I was feeling until a voice whispered in my ear.

"Do not approach them, Westley. The Queen's Guards are her elite soldiers. They have killed lesser men for far more petty excuses." Nari stepped from behind me and leaned over to set my order down, giving me a pants-tightening view down her blouse. In fact, I was almost sure she'd even opened her blouse a little more when I spotted the edges of her areolae peeking at me from the edge of the fabric. My breath caught as I tried to thank her and she flashed me a smile and a wink. "I cannot have anything to happen to such a... well-equipped patron." This time I blushed as I reached into the pouch at my belt and pulled out a small, polished amethyst and handed it to her as payment. "Oh, no, sir," she said, shaking her head. "That is far too generous. The meal is naught but a mere three coppers."

I smiled at her. "You've earned it. I am new to this place and, I'll admit, very unsure of myself here and you've been kind to me." I closed her hand over the gem and made her take it, the electrical current feeling even stronger. I could feel the thrum of it running up my arm, down my spine, and settling in certain anatomical zones that really shouldn't be as insistent as they were. Stupid hormones.

Her eyes seemed to glow in the shadow beside the fire as she leaned in close with that intoxicating view and scent, and whispered, "I have yet to earn so much, sir, but earn it I will." Her lips brushed my jaw line and the sudden jolt of power nearly brought me to climax.

As she turned and walked back toward the kitchen, I clenched my jaw hard, breathing in deep gasps of air as I tried hard to reign myself in. How can a woman I just met cause such an intense reaction in me? Ok, yeah, it had been over a year since I'd been with a woman. My ex, Anna, vanished without a trace about a year and a half ago which put me into some hot legal waters until it was proven that I wasn't involved. Unfortunately, the neighborhood still had their suspicions which caused me employment and financial troubles as well. I had barely been hanging on when I found myself here with a clean slate and no history. No wonder my libido was doing back flips over this hot little redhead. I needed to retain my control, however, as strangers have a tendency to be easily noticed and just as easily forgotten. I frowned at myself and kept my eyes on the room as I tucked into my meal. The cheesesteak sub and spiced potato hash was like ambrosia after the near month of road travel and I made it through the entire goblet of cider before I realized that it was fermented and strong.

I was about to see if I could spot Nari when she appeared again, almost as if she could read my mind, and set another goblet down beside my plate. I turned toward her to say thank you, but noticed her glancing around the room almost fearfully, as if she didn't want to be seen. Before I could say a word, she dropped quickly to the floor and disappeared under the table cloth of my table. I lifted the part in front of me discreetly and whispered, "What's wrong," as my eyes scanned the room for danger. I should have been looking closer as the next thing I know there is a hand rubbing the length of my cock through my leather pants. I gasped and jumped a little which, due to her hand on me, caused the comfortably tied pants to slip down revealing more skin than I'd intended. "Nari," I hissed, trying to get her attention and find out what was going on, but I never got any further than that.

Her emerald eyes caught my hazel ones and held them like that, freezing my words in my throat as I realized her blouse was gone. She slowly ran her hands up her body to cup her breasts and her moan as she pinched her nipples destroyed any willpower I might have had left. I just stared as she leaned forward and elicited a deep throated growl from me as the tip of her tongue traced the length of my shaft. I found myself seeming to drown in a pool of liquid emerald as I got lost in her eyes. A moment later, I was lost in darkness and ecstasy as I felt her soft lips wrap around the head of my member and ever so slowly slide down. All the way down. I jerked in my chair as her tongue ran over my balls and I reached down to tangle my fingers in her hair. I realized that I'd thrown my head back at the feel of her when I had to lean my head forward to see her again as she slowly started to slide her hand lips and tongue along my throbbing dick and I was unable to hold back my moan of pure pleasure.

I stared down at her, awed by the site of my cock disappearing into the mouth of this incredibly sexy redhead that I had only met maybe thirty minutes earlier. That was when I stopped thinking and held tight to her as I thrust into her mouth all the way to the back of her throat. I pulled back so she could breathe and, as she pinched her nipples and caught her breath, slid my slick shaft between her bare breasts. I watched her eyes flash open wide at the feel, gasping as my throbbing cock caressed her cleavage as she twisted her nipples gently. Seemingly without her volition, Nari leaned forward, squeezing her tits around my cock. That thrum of power surged through me again, this time enveloping my shaft and causing me to simultaneously want to both climax and spend eternity thrusting between the soft skin of her luscious breasts.

Her eyes bored into me as she began to move, sliding down every time I thrust up and then the reverse. She tried hard to keep her eyes on me as she lowered her head and ran the tip of her tongue over the head of my prick and I nearly cried out at the feel. I looked down at her, breathing hard, and whispered, "I'm gonna cum." Her eyes narrowed in mild confusion and since she didn't stop moving, neither did I. A lascivious smile spread over her face as her eyes widened in understanding and she started moving faster. I bit my lower lip hard, my mind screaming, "FUCK YES!" as my cream shot all over her face and chest. The sight of her there on her knees, my cock still between her tits and her pale skin gleaming with my seed made me want to just grab her and bend her over the table, but the sounds of the room rushed back in and I realized that it could be a very bad idea since she had ducked under the table to hide before... well, you know.

She stared up at me with that smile still on her face, still moving, only slower. My breathing came fast and hard and yet I felt a surge of energy, my body and my member still perfectly ready for another round... or more. I felt my dick twitch as she licked my cum from her lips with her breasts still cupped in her hands before peeking out into the room and disappearing into the room without a word. I sat there stunned, part of me wondering if it had even really happened when I remembered that I needed to pull my pants back up. I was glad I was in the shadows so it was easy to be discreet in pulling them up and I finished my meal in contemplative silence.

Once I was done, I sat for a moment trying to figure out if there was a protocol to be followed, but I'd already paid for my meal along with tip and got far better service than expected. I decided that I'd wait a few minutes to see if I might get a chance to talk to her. I looked around the room slowly and noticed one of the soldiers glancing curiously in my direction. I figured it was a good time to head for bed and nearly collided with Nari as I turned for the stairs. She was a little shorter than I was, which I hadn't noticed before, and her blouse clung to her more than before. The damp material pointed out that shed only wiped off her face and there was another twitch in my pants.

"You should not still be down here, Westley," she hissed at me. "You should have returned to your room not long after I came to you. Why are you not?

"I'm not sure what you mean, Nari, but I wanted to talk to you."

"We may speak later," she said, looking around the room. "You must return to your room now, however, or we may not get that chance."

"What do you mean," I asked, starting to look around when she grabbed my arm and started pulling me insistently toward the stairs. "Is something wrong?"

"The Queen's Guard are here looking for a stranger in town," she replied.

I frowned, confused. "It's a market festival though. There's got to be plenty of strangers."

"None who are described as you, entered the walls with an old vendor, and speaks strangely," she answered, taking a moment to look me directly in the eyes.

I looked carefully for a moment and saw the truth in her words. "Shit," I said, glancing over at the soldiers' now empty table. My mind suddenly spoke up;

Did I leave the stove on?

Despite the bad timing, I was unable to completely stifle my laughter so it came out as a snort. I stopped where I was, my eyes narrowing on the table where the soldiers had been sitting. I stepped toward the door with the thought that maybe I could slip away if I could get through the door, but stopped as I realized that I hadn't seen where they had gone. What if they were just outside the door? I turned back toward Nari and the stairs beyond added another thought followed by another.

If they are looking for me, and they already know about Maxym, then they'll grab him for questioning if I get away. If I go to my room, they'll find my gear and probably go after Maxym anyway.

I didn't have time to stand here deciding. I looked at the stairs and muttered, "If they catch me first, I might be able to talk them into leaving him alone." I looked back at the door and nodded firmly as I decided. "Did they step out or could they have gotten upstairs without me seeing?"

Not understanding that I was talking to myself, Nari answered, "There are the service stairs through the kitchen, Westley." She frowns at me, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What are you planning?"

I leaned in close and kissed her deeply. "I'll be back to collect on the rest of your wonderful service, Nari, but I gotta try to get a friend out of some hot water." I saw her mouth open to say something, but there wasn't time for her to speak as I bolted up the stairs. My hooded leather cloak billowed behind me as I ran for my room, my speed overcoming the weight of the material as I reached my door and saw that Maxym's door was still untouched as I slipped silently into my room. As I started recovering gear, I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the door latching behind me. My sword was woefully out of reach, but I wasn't thinking about that as I turned toward the door and reached my hand out for my blade. I felt a sharp pain just above and between my eyes that was bad enough to make me wince at the same time as I felt the leather-wrapped handle in my hand.

Nari froze mid-step and the blade stopped short of her neck leaving her wide-eyed and trembling in fear and surprise. "I knew not what your intentions were," she said, her voice shaking. "Do you expect to fight your way free of here?" She could see in my eyes that a fight was the last thing I wanted and reached out to me. "Where you come from, can you fight a trained swordsman?"

I frowned at her, considering. I had done quite a bit of training with a broadsword both back home and during the trip to the festival, but against trained soldiers in plate armor? I shook my head and said, "I don't know, honestly. I don't want them getting a hold of my gear either, though. I need to hide these things."

She looked down, thinking hard. "What must you have should you find a way to escape? The necessities only, give them to me."