Blueberry Brownie #2
Blueberry Yogurt #6. Alibi with Hot Fudge, Chopped Nuts, and a Brownie
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : R (sexiness)
Timeframe : mid-late 1250's
Word Count : 5436
This is probably the beginning of what, once I figure out where it's going and get back to it, will be a multi-part AU. The premise is "what if Reida was Sham's mom?"
Sethan was up and half dressed before she’d had the time to more than roll over. Hand curled in the covers and eyes shut tight, Reida tried to block out the rustling as he fastened his pants.
“She seems to think it a success this time.”
Her nails dug at the blanket. “Oh?”
More rustling. He was probably putting his shirt on now. Bastard. Reida rolled back over, slowly, grimacing as the wet sheets clung to her thighs. She pried open an eye, just in time to catch a glimpse of pale flesh before he forced the last of the buttons through its hole. Sethan paused a moment to look at her, one dark brow stiffly arched, before returning to straightening his clothes.
He reached for his belt. Business as usual. How he could stand there, looking so beautiful, all porcelain skin and velvety black curls, so perfect that even now she still found herself wanting to touch him, and just… “You know you’re a bastard?”
Sethan shrugged. “We’re done now.”
As if that made things better. No more lying in his bed with false hopes. No more counting cracks in the ceiling, waiting for him to finish and put his pants on. She looked herself over, her blouse shoved up off her hips, the laces still fastened across her breasts, not a knot out of place and, trite though the thought may be, found herself picturing her belly swollen and sighed.
“You are,” she said. She grabbed the blanket crumpled off to the side and used it to wipe off her legs.
Sethan made a face, and Reida grinned and made another pass with the blanket between her legs. With a shudder, he turned away. “You offered, you know.”
Reida chucked the wet blanket at the back of his head. It struck his shoulder with a satisfying thump and fell to the floor. Sethan turned back around to offer it a scowl.
“On with the plan, I suppose,” said Reida, feeling just a slight bit vindicated as she rolled out of the other side of the bed. She grabbed her pants, neatly folded on the bedside table, and shoved a foot through them.
Sethan shot her a grin over the damp bedding he was holding at arm’s length. “Maybe you’ll find Kairn to be more accommodating.”
“Why?” She fixed him with as flat a stare as she could while she cinched her waist. “Do you?”
The grin faded from Sethan’s lips as he tossed the blanket down on the empty bed.
“I think I will.” She snatched up her cloak from where it had lain beside her pants and tossed it over her shoulder as she headed for the door. “I don’t suppose he fucks like a dead fish.”
Reida grabbed the back of a chair and gave it a pull. The legs scraped and skidded loudly across the floorboards. From the seat beside it, Sethan looked up, studying her with his typical air of boredom.
“Where’s Kairn?” She scanned the dining hall full of people ducking and weaving between the trails of gold and orange crepe hung from the rafters.
“He went to get a plate,” said Sethan, laying down the charcoal with which he’d been scrawling at the loose papers spread between the basket of dried blooms and empty goblets on the table before him.
Reida settled into the chair with a grunt and plucked at the silky green tablecloth. “What is with Berwyk and the tacky decorations?”
“It’s the Solstice,” said Sethan with a shrug.
Reida sniffed and let the cloth drop. “It’s not like we even have anything to harvest. Seems silly to celebrate it.”
“You know Berwyk’s a sucker for holidays.” There was a pause before Sethan retrieved his chalk and started tapping it, end over end, on the table with a frown. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.”
“I haven’t wanted you to.”
“So, have you…?” He made a wave of his hand that really could have meant anything, not that Reida needed the clarity.
“Yes.” She slid one of the papers away from him, avoiding his eye by focusing on the dusty black lines that criss-crossed its surface.
“And are you…?”
With a snort, she shoved the page back at him. “Haven’t been back to let you bore me to sleep, now have I?” The charcoal clacked against the table and Sethan cocked his head to stare at her. “Yes,” she said, and it was strange how the word itself felt like a lump in her throat. “Yes, I am. Is that yours?” She indicated the solitary glass of water perched among the wine goblets scattered around his work.
“Kairn’s,” he said, already turning back to his drawing. Question answered, no need to bother himself any further. She curled a fist around the glass and took a gulp before setting it closer to herself.
“Good.” She fished about in a pocket until she came up with a packet. The scratch of chalk on parchment stilled as Sethan watched her tear the corner from the paper and dump the powder into the water.
“You’re drugging him, are you?” said Sethan. The cloud of white flecks diffused through the water.
“Solstice is a good time to get drunk, don’t you think?” Reida gave the glass a tap with her finger and the powder swirled inside, individual spots winking out of existence, swallowed by the liquid. “I’ve done worse things for this already.”
“You’re never going to let that drop, are you?”
She snickered as she gave the glass another rap with her nail. “I don’t seem to be the one with a problem with letting things drop.”
Sethan rolled his eyes but let the remark pass. “As I have reminded you more times than I can count, you offered. In fact, as I recall, you insisted.”
“Like you had better offers anyway.” The last of the powder was fading from sight. She gave it one last tap.
“You’d better hurry with that.”
Reida looked up. There was Kairn, steaming plate in hand, weaving his way through the tables. Shasa was trotting along at his side, a plate in each of her hands, a bottle tucked under her arm, and her mouth flapping with some inane chatter or other. Reida shoved Kairn’s glass back where she’d found it. “Oh look,” she said, cheerfully. “He’s bringing that wretched sister of his to eat with us. Now there’s an option, huh? Could have had a piece of that instead, you know.” Sethan, busy gathering his papers back up, made a sour face and shuddered. “That’s what I thought. Doesn’t matter anyway. You only want him.”
Sethan glared at her over the top of the papers as he tapped the edge of the stack against the table to straighten it. “You’re never going to let that drop either, are you?”
“Nope,” she said, then quickly turned in her seat as the pair drew near. “Hi, Kairn.”
Kairn’s plate wobbled in his outstretched hand as her shot her a nervous look. “Reida.” He nodded. “Sethan. You know, I- Hey, that’s mine,” he said, catching Reida with her hand on his glass. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Reida grinned and shoved it his way.
Shasa set a plate on the table with a flourish. “Sethan! I got you a plate!” She set her own and the bottle beside it as Sethan sat stiffly, still clutching his papers.
“What?” said Reida to Kairn as he deposited his own plate. There was a pile of roast drenched in gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots. Her stomach gave a painful rumble. “You couldn’t bring one for me?”
Kairn scowled at her as he picked up his fork. “You have legs.”
Reida sniffed. “I have hands too.” She snatched the plate from in front of Sethan, who still hadn’t moved. Her mouth watered at more of the same fare that was in front of Kairn.
Across the table, Shasa was pouring wine. Her jaw dropped with an indignant “Hey!”
Arm curled defensively around the dish, Reida smirked at Sethan. “You didn’t want that, did you?”
“I suppose not.”
Lower lip thrust out and eyes wide, Shasa edged her plate and her chair a little closer to Sethan. “You can share mine,” she offered. “I’m too excited to eat much anyway.”
“Over what?” said Sethan. “A few fireworks?” When he didn’t touch her plate, Shasa gave it another shove towards him, and another until he reluctantly plucked a carrot from it with the very tips of his fingers. Reida snickered.
“Come on, Sethan,” said Kairn around a mouthful of potatoes. He swallowed and reached for his water. “Berwyk puts on a good show and you know it.”
“For goodness sakes, Kairn.” Shasa stretched up out of her seat and grabbed the bottle. “It’s a holiday, have a little wine.”
Reida snorted, already scraping the last of her potatoes onto her fork. “You know Kairn’s too much of a little girl to handle a glass of-”
But Kairn was already reaching for a goblet and Shasa was uncapping the bottle. “It’s a holiday,” he said as she tipped the bottle. “Just one won’t hurt.” Reida shot Sethan a nervous look, but he only answered with a shrug.
“You know,” said Reida, spearing a more than ample mouthful of greens with her fork, “last year I missed the fireworks entirely. Too much work to do.”
Kairn turned her way with a sympathetic frown and an already half-empty glass. “That’s too bad,” he said. “You really should go this year.”
“Well, I was planning on a quiet evening at home.” She hoped the smirk she shot Sethan passed as subtle. “But I suppose I could be persuaded.”
Kairn was nodding at her over the rim of his glass as he took another swig. “It’s only once a year. It’d be such a shame to miss it.”
Reida shrugged. “It’s only a few little explosions. I do quite like the feast though,” she added with a gesture of her roast-laden fork.
Kairn smiled as he attacked the potatoes on his own plate. “Berwyk does know how to throw a party, doesn’t he?” He gulped them down and reached again for his wine.
“You might want to slow down there.”
Across the table, Shasa made a disapproving noise in her throat. “It is a holiday. You’d think you were his mother. Or his girlfriend.”
Reida shot the girl a scowl. “He gets sick when he drinks. You should know that.”
Kairn hastily set down the glass, a blush creeping into his cheeks, and waved her off. “Really, Reida, I, uh, I appreciate the, uh concern…however sudden and unnerving it might be, but I’m fine. It’s just one.”
Shasa leaned in with what Reida presumed was meant to be a coy smile at Sethan while she quietly refilled Kairn’s drink. Kairn was too busy shoveling in potatoes to notice and the snarl Reida sent her was met with a childish thrust of her tongue. “So,” she said, turning back to Sethan, forcing her lips wider and batting her lashes at him, “do you want to go with me?”
Sethan simply raised a brow as she set down the wine and slid back into her seat, still grinning. “Go with you where?”
“To see the fireworks, of course.” Sethan grimaced and Shasa fell into a pout. “Oh please, it’s so romantic!”
Kairn made a face at her over his glass as he brought it to his lips. “I thought we were going together.”
“You could come with me,” said Reida, throwing an arm across his shoulders. Kairn choked on his wine.
Shasa, not the least bit perturbed, kept beaming at Sethan. “See?” she said. “Kairn has a date. So now I’ll need someone to take me too.”
Reida scooped up her empty plate and slid from her seat as Kairn made a futile attempt at dabbing the purple spots from his shirt with his napkin. “Yes, Sethan,” she whispered, leaning in over his shoulder, “take her to the fireworks. Somewhere far away from us.” She braced a hand on his shoulder and pushed herself straight, grinning as he glared at her. “I’m going to go get more food,” she announced.
Shasa blinked. “You’ve already eaten all that?” she said, pointing a timid finger at Reida’s plate.
Reida cocked her head and stared her down. The girl quickly stuffed her hands back into her lap with a shudder. “You have a problem?”
“No!” said Shasa, with a squeak to her voice just like her brother‘s. “No, not really, I mean, you just might want to think about watching your fig-” She swallowed. “No.”
“What I thought,“ said Reida. She turned to Kairn, who had given up on stain removal and gone back to drinking. “You want anything?”
He blinked for a moment before snapping his jaw shut and turning a look on his plate as if he’d never seen it before. “I, uh, sure, more potatoes?”
Sethan leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the empty table next to Shasa’s plate, which seemed to be creeping ever closer to him. “My dinner could use replacing,” he said.
“You have legs,” said Reida, waving the back of a hand in his face.
“You can have as much as you want of mine. Really,” said Shasa, and her plate inched even nearer.
“Yeah, Sethan.” Reida slapped him across the back as she turned from the table. “Eat out of her hands, would you?”
Sethan glared after her and plucked another carrot off the plate.
When she got back to the table, Kairn’s glass was suspiciously more full than it had been when she’d left. She looked at Sethan, but he was probably too busy warding off Shasa’s advances to have noticed just how many times she’d refilled it. He just shrugged at her.
Kairn was sitting a little low in his chair, absently blinking at his own plate. Reida sighed. “Potatoes?” she said, waving her plate under his nose.
He jumped a little and blinked some more. “Y-yes,” he said, with neither the gratitude nor the edge of terror she was used to her offers eliciting. She grabbed a spoon and shoved a heap of them onto his plate as she took her seat.
“Thanks,” said Kairn. He picked up his own spoon and gave the food a weak jab.
Shasa scrunched her face up and tipped it sideways to peer at him. “You don’t look so good.”
“I…” Kairn steadied himself on the edge of the table, “I don’t feel so good.”
Without so much as looking up, Sethan picked up the glass of water and held it out to him. “Water?”
“Thanks,” said Kairn, eagerly taking it from Sethan and gulping the water while Sethan and Reida exchanged looks over their plates. The cup drained, Kairn pushed himself shakily to his feet. “You know,” he said, “I think maybe I need a little fresh air.”
Reida was out of her chair before he’d taken two steps, hastily wiping her mouth and pushing her plate aside. “Me too.” She caught Sethan smirking at her and gave his chair a subtle kick. “I’m not feeling so well myself.”
She found him just outside, slouched against the wall with his head pressed to the stone. Not sure there was much point, she figured she’d ask anyway. She leaned up against the wall beside him, tipping her head to peer up around his arm, and fixed him with her least threatening smile. “Any better?”
Kairn pushed himself from the wall with a groan. “Worse actually,” he said, catching his head in his hand. “Now I’m a little dizzy. Maybe I should just head to bed.”
“Nonsense,” said Reida, taking his arm and turning him around. Kairn shuffled a bit, blinking and swaying as he tried to focus on her with eyes that were already glazing over. Reida gave him a pat on the back as she steered him gently forward. “Walk a little and you’ll feel better. Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss the fireworks, would you?”
“No.” His fingers wove through his hair as he rubbed at his temple. “I suppose not.”
Her hand crept down his arm until it found his. “I sure don’t want to miss them anyway,” she said, firmly pressing her fingers between his own.
Kairn frowned down at their entwined hands but didn’t pull away and for a moment Reida held her breath. “What’s gotten into you tonight?” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re being…nice to me.”
She shrugged and pulled him forward. “I can be nice sometimes if I want to, can’t I?”
“You just don’t usually… want to,” said Kairn, his hand still in hers but lagging a pace behind.
“There’s a first for everything.”
“I…suppose there is.”
There was a tug on her hand, pulling her to a halt. “What?”
“Nauseous,” said Kairn, and he was looking a little green. Damn Shasa and her wine.
“No, no, no,” she muttered through clenched teeth, even as she tried to face him with a sympathetic smile plastered across her lips and pat him on the cheek. “I’ve worked too hard for this.”
“Huh?” Kairn was swaying enough now to make her stomach a bit ill.
“I said-” she held him by the chin so he was forced to meet her eye and enunciated every word “-why don’t we find a nice quiet spot to watch the fireworks?”
They found just such a place at the base of one of the enormous maples that ringed the yard, close enough to see Berwyk and Wil and Dal scurrying about with their forms and kegs of dust below but far enough that they wouldn’t get hit with the sparks when they started flying. A fork low in the trunk gave it enough of a shadow that Reida was sure whatever she might try would go unseen, and she settled in the grass, waiting for a show she hoped not to see much of.
“You know,” Kairn was saying as he plucked at the grass, and he swayed, even seated as he was, trying to keep his balance, “last year I was here with a girl.”
Scowling at the back of his head, Reida loudly cleared her throat.
Kairn turned to regard her with much blinking and frowning, and she rolled her eyes.
“This year you’re here with a girl,” she said.
Kairn’s face fell. “I…I’m sorry,” he said, raking a hand through his hair as he tripped over the words. “I guess I just never think about you like that. As…as a girl. I mean, you don’t exactly…“ A deep red spread through his cheeks as he fumbled on. “Though I suppose you are always flinging yourself at Sethan. And I know you make enough passes at me too, but see, they seem more like threats than…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Shut up,” said Reida, leaning in.
“Huh?” He was staring dumbly at her now, green eyes wide, lips slack.
“I said shut up.” Her hand bridged the slight distance between them and slid around the back of his neck. Her fingers curled in his hair as she pulled him and kissed him firmly on the lips.
Kairn’s hand found her shoulder, as if to push her away, but then he stilled and his lips bent to hers with a soft eager motion and a taste of wine. He pulled away slowly when she released him, blinking at her as he impotently opened and closed his mouth. “You… you know,” he said, “this is, well, it’s making less and less sense as it goes. First you-”
Reida tightened her grip on the back of his head. “Didn’t I just tell you to shut up?”
The look he gave her was that of an animal cornered, of a deer caught in a searchlight, but her mouth was on his again before she could properly enjoy it.
This time he did push her back. “I…I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Oh?”
“I mean, not that we-” He blushed again, then shook it off. “Look, my head is pounding, and my stomach…”
“You had a couple of drinks. This is just your little girl body telling you it was too many. It’ll pass.”
Kairn offered a weak smile, his head cradled in one hand. “Now that sound more like Reida.”
Reida scowled and poked a finger in the grass. “Am I really so insufferable to you?”
Kairn’s smile wavered. “Am I really supposed to answer that?”
“You know I don’t mean half of what I say to you.” Her hand crept up out of the grass, fingers slowly walking their way over Kairn’s thigh.
“Oh?” said Kairn, nervously eyeing her hand’s progress as it made its way up the front of his shirt. “Which half?”
“Very funny.” This was taking far too long. She could only hope he took the narrowing of her eyes for playful indignation.
“Tonight though,” he said, seeming not even to notice her irritation, “there’s something… something different.”
“Like the fact that you’re drunk out of your mind?” she grumbled, her hand now toying with the top button of his shirt.
“Huh?”
Reida forced a slick smile in place. “I said you never know what you might find…” She slipped the button through its hole and she could feel him swallow. “If you give me a chance.”
“Oh,” said Kairn, and there was that delicious look again, like he just knew it was a trap but there was nothing to be done for it now.
“Kiss me,” she said, moving down a button. Kairn cocked his head and their lips met again. His hand slid through her hair and hers back around his neck. When they parted, she was breathing hard and he was blinking again. “Even drugged you’re a better kisser than Sethan,” she muttered, licking her lips. She’d stopped asking him to try months ago.
“Wha-?”
“I said you’re a good kisser,” she said, with another overdone smile. “I’d like to see what else you’ve got.”
“I bet you would,” said Kairn, and now he was grinning like an idiot. At least the wine hadn’t spoiled all the drug’s effect.
“Just as impressive, is it?”
“I, er, I s-suppose I’ve had a, uh, a few chances to practice, but I-”
“Do you sputter like that in bed?” said Reida, and Kairn went red from ear to ear. “Because I wonder if I could take you to a place where you couldn’t find the words at all anymore.”
“I-”
She grabbed him and kissed him again before he could finish. This was more fun than a night with Sethan already, and if she played her cards right, maybe she wouldn’t even have to drug him next time.
Kairn came away breathing heavily and trying to focus his bleary gaze on her. “So’s all this being nice to me just so you can get in my pants?”
About to free a third button from its hold, Reida frowned. “If I say yes, will it keep me out of them?”
Kairn grimaced and braced himself a bit more firmly with a hand to the ground behind him. “Depends,” he said. “You gonna be nice to me tomorrow?”
“Well, that depends too, doesn’t it?” She reached for a fourth button and his eyes followed.
“Your, uh, your idea of a good time…it doesn’t involve pincers, does it?”
Reida laughed. The button came free. “No pincers.”
“Blood?” said Kairn.
“Not unless you want there to be.” She slid her hand inside his shirt and Kairn gasped.
“N-n-no,” he said. “I-I don’t think I’m that drunk.”
“Oh?” She paused, her hand curled over his chest, to shoot him a grin. “How drunk would you have to be?” Kairn’s jaw fell in horror. “Kidding,” she said, giving him a squeeze.
She’d just leaned in to press her lips to his neck when he stiffened. “Look!” he said, an arm reaching over her shoulder to point. “The fireworks are starting.”
“I know,” said Reida, as another swipe of her hand beneath his shirt brought another groan to his lips.
“Hmm? No, up there.” The first sizzling streak of sparks erupted overhead with a deafening bang.
“I like the show down here better,” said Reida, wrapping her lips around the side of his neck again.
Kairn moaned again at her touch, then his whole body went rigid as another blast sounded above.
Reida pulled back to look up at him and found his eyes pressed tightly shut. “Are you alright?”
“No, not really.” Another explosion sent a shudder through him that looked downright painful.
“Maybe we should get you to bed after all.” She grinned as she pushed herself back up to her knees. “Yours or mine?”
“Reida…” He was looking greener by the minute. “I…I don’t…”
“Come on,” she said, a hand out to him as she got to her feet. “Up you go.” He caught her hand and she pulled him, swaying, to his feet.
“I…” He threw out a hand and got her by the shoulder, bracing himself against her. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Not now.” She curled an arm around his back and dragged him forward a pace. “You’re going to be fine.” She wasn’t sure which one of them she was more determined to convince.
They made their slow, shuffling way over the outskirts of the yard, past lounging couples and excited children all camped in the grass, watching the display over head. Kairn leaned heavily on Reida and she did her best to keep shoving him on despite the groans and protests he kept issuing.
There was a frantic squeezing of her shoulder and a weak “Stop a moment” as they neared the door.
“You’re not going to be sick,” she said, drawing him up along the wall. “Don’t think about it and you won’t.”
Kairn threw a hand out over her shoulder to prop himself on the wall. “I…I had fun tonight,“ he said, trying and failing repeatedly to lock eyes with her. “If…if I don’t remember this when I’m sober, you tell me and maybe sometime…”
“Tonight’s not over yet,” she said, making a grab for him as he started to slump.
“I’m in no shape-”
“Come on.” She all but threw him across her shoulder and carried on towards the door.
They were almost back to her room, Reida breathing hard under Kairn’s nearly dead weight, while their feet tangled beneath them. Kairn groaned now and then, and his hand kept flying to his mouth, but he was still conscious so Reida’s hopes were still intact.
“Reida, stop.”
“For the last time, you’re not-” If she had waste one more minute propping him on a wall and talking him out of retching…
“No, really.”
“You hear me, you are not going to-” She snapped to a stop, hands on his arms, spinning round to face him, just in time to see the look of horror pass across his face before he pitched forward and vomited all over her shoes.
Her jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between her feet and the man in her arms. Struggling for breath, Kairn wobbled in her grasp.
“I-I’m so sorry,” he said, before descending into a bout of incoherent coughing. He made what might have been some sort of apologetic wave or a fumbling attempt to steady himself. Either way, the fact that it caught her across the breast just angered Reida further. “I-I can’t believe I-” And then he did it again, launching another wave of hot bile over her feet.
Before Reida could send more than a few curses his way he’d collapsed into her, pinning her to the wall with his head on her shoulder. The coughing and convulsing quickly lapsed into ragged snores and Reida only swore louder.
“Alright.” She sucked in a deep breath. “This can still be salvaged.”
Reida turned around, swung both Kairn’s arms around her neck and arched her back up under his chest. She tested his weight with one careful step, grimacing at the loud squelch her shoes made.
“Well, at least you managed to miss the rest of me. And yourself.”
Kairn snored.
Reida wrinkled her nose at the stench of his breath. She pried one hand free of his shoulder and shoved his head around so his mouth no longer faced her.
“The things a girl has to put up with.”
The first thing she did when she got to her room was give Kairn a nudge towards the bed. It wasn’t really all that far from the door, she reasoned. She quickly corrected that assessment as Kairn went tumbling straight for the bedpost. A quick lunge caught him, and she heaved him none too gently onto the mattress.
“Stay put,” she said, as if he had much of a choice in the matter.
The second thing she did was peel off both her filthy shoes, wrap them in a rag from her desk, and toss them out the door. Someone from laundry would be getting a nice surprise come morning.
“Now then,” said Reida, brushing her hands on her pants as if she could shake off the smell like dust. “Shall we get back to our romantic evening?”
Kairn was face down on the bed. She rolled him over, and his head hit the pillow with a heavy thump and a loud choke of a snore.
“No shoes in my bed.” She pulled one off and then the other, dropping them each with a loud thump beside the bed. Kairn didn’t so much as stir.
“No pants in my bed either,” she said, and she would have quite liked to have seen his reaction to that had he been conscious. She climbed into the bed with him, straddling him on her knees.
It took her a moment to work the laces loose, Kairn’s body being as unresponsive as it was. She peeled the pants off his waist and let out a low whistle. “You owe me.” Reida jabbed a finger at his chest. “You hear that? You owe me.”
Kairn just snored.
“Stupid bitch and her wine. Here have a drink, Kairn,” she mimicked Shasa’s squeaky tone. “Have another.” She jerked the pants down over his knees. “I could be having a piece of that now, thank you.”
Kairn’s head lolled on the pillow, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
“Or not,” said Reida, with a wrinkle of her nose.
The pants cleared his feet and she hurled them across the room where they caught the corner of a shelf and dangled like some sort of pathetic flag.
“You had a fit of passion,” she told the body sprawled before her with a smirk as she tossed his undershorts in the opposite direction.
Her hand lighted on the ties to her own shirt. “Care to help me with mine?” She wasn’t really expecting a response, but it didn’t make her any more pleased not to get one. With a sigh, she undid the laces, pulled the shirt over her head, and chucked it at the shelf from which his pants dangled. Her pants came off in a similar huff and she stretched out in the bed beside him.
She swore he smiled a little in his sleep as her breasts pressed against his ribs and her hand snaked around his middle. “You know,” she said. “Aside from the…unfortunate loss of my shoes, tonight wasn’t half bad.”
She dragged her hand up his ribs, slowly trailing a finger around his chest and across his collarbone. “You are a good kisser, you know. And that…” She gave a wave in the general direction of his groin, his legs still splayed shamelessly across the sheets offering more than an adequate view. “Well, if that’s not worth a ride, I think I’ll just give up on men now.”
Kairn’s only response was yet another loud snore that left her gagging on the stench of bile.
Reida gave his cheek a firm pat that sent his head lolling to the other side. “We’ll just save that for another time though, shall we? I even promise not to drug you”
She curled up with her head on his chest, her nose carefully pointed away from his mouth, and pulled the covers over them both. “Well, I suppose this worked out well enough anyway,” she said, with a pat to his chest, before she closed her eyes. "Goodnight...Daddy."
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : R (sexiness)
Timeframe : mid-late 1250's
Word Count : 5436
This is probably the beginning of what, once I figure out where it's going and get back to it, will be a multi-part AU. The premise is "what if Reida was Sham's mom?"
Sethan was up and half dressed before she’d had the time to more than roll over. Hand curled in the covers and eyes shut tight, Reida tried to block out the rustling as he fastened his pants.
“She seems to think it a success this time.”
Her nails dug at the blanket. “Oh?”
More rustling. He was probably putting his shirt on now. Bastard. Reida rolled back over, slowly, grimacing as the wet sheets clung to her thighs. She pried open an eye, just in time to catch a glimpse of pale flesh before he forced the last of the buttons through its hole. Sethan paused a moment to look at her, one dark brow stiffly arched, before returning to straightening his clothes.
He reached for his belt. Business as usual. How he could stand there, looking so beautiful, all porcelain skin and velvety black curls, so perfect that even now she still found herself wanting to touch him, and just… “You know you’re a bastard?”
Sethan shrugged. “We’re done now.”
As if that made things better. No more lying in his bed with false hopes. No more counting cracks in the ceiling, waiting for him to finish and put his pants on. She looked herself over, her blouse shoved up off her hips, the laces still fastened across her breasts, not a knot out of place and, trite though the thought may be, found herself picturing her belly swollen and sighed.
“You are,” she said. She grabbed the blanket crumpled off to the side and used it to wipe off her legs.
Sethan made a face, and Reida grinned and made another pass with the blanket between her legs. With a shudder, he turned away. “You offered, you know.”
Reida chucked the wet blanket at the back of his head. It struck his shoulder with a satisfying thump and fell to the floor. Sethan turned back around to offer it a scowl.
“On with the plan, I suppose,” said Reida, feeling just a slight bit vindicated as she rolled out of the other side of the bed. She grabbed her pants, neatly folded on the bedside table, and shoved a foot through them.
Sethan shot her a grin over the damp bedding he was holding at arm’s length. “Maybe you’ll find Kairn to be more accommodating.”
“Why?” She fixed him with as flat a stare as she could while she cinched her waist. “Do you?”
The grin faded from Sethan’s lips as he tossed the blanket down on the empty bed.
“I think I will.” She snatched up her cloak from where it had lain beside her pants and tossed it over her shoulder as she headed for the door. “I don’t suppose he fucks like a dead fish.”
Reida grabbed the back of a chair and gave it a pull. The legs scraped and skidded loudly across the floorboards. From the seat beside it, Sethan looked up, studying her with his typical air of boredom.
“Where’s Kairn?” She scanned the dining hall full of people ducking and weaving between the trails of gold and orange crepe hung from the rafters.
“He went to get a plate,” said Sethan, laying down the charcoal with which he’d been scrawling at the loose papers spread between the basket of dried blooms and empty goblets on the table before him.
Reida settled into the chair with a grunt and plucked at the silky green tablecloth. “What is with Berwyk and the tacky decorations?”
“It’s the Solstice,” said Sethan with a shrug.
Reida sniffed and let the cloth drop. “It’s not like we even have anything to harvest. Seems silly to celebrate it.”
“You know Berwyk’s a sucker for holidays.” There was a pause before Sethan retrieved his chalk and started tapping it, end over end, on the table with a frown. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.”
“I haven’t wanted you to.”
“So, have you…?” He made a wave of his hand that really could have meant anything, not that Reida needed the clarity.
“Yes.” She slid one of the papers away from him, avoiding his eye by focusing on the dusty black lines that criss-crossed its surface.
“And are you…?”
With a snort, she shoved the page back at him. “Haven’t been back to let you bore me to sleep, now have I?” The charcoal clacked against the table and Sethan cocked his head to stare at her. “Yes,” she said, and it was strange how the word itself felt like a lump in her throat. “Yes, I am. Is that yours?” She indicated the solitary glass of water perched among the wine goblets scattered around his work.
“Kairn’s,” he said, already turning back to his drawing. Question answered, no need to bother himself any further. She curled a fist around the glass and took a gulp before setting it closer to herself.
“Good.” She fished about in a pocket until she came up with a packet. The scratch of chalk on parchment stilled as Sethan watched her tear the corner from the paper and dump the powder into the water.
“You’re drugging him, are you?” said Sethan. The cloud of white flecks diffused through the water.
“Solstice is a good time to get drunk, don’t you think?” Reida gave the glass a tap with her finger and the powder swirled inside, individual spots winking out of existence, swallowed by the liquid. “I’ve done worse things for this already.”
“You’re never going to let that drop, are you?”
She snickered as she gave the glass another rap with her nail. “I don’t seem to be the one with a problem with letting things drop.”
Sethan rolled his eyes but let the remark pass. “As I have reminded you more times than I can count, you offered. In fact, as I recall, you insisted.”
“Like you had better offers anyway.” The last of the powder was fading from sight. She gave it one last tap.
“You’d better hurry with that.”
Reida looked up. There was Kairn, steaming plate in hand, weaving his way through the tables. Shasa was trotting along at his side, a plate in each of her hands, a bottle tucked under her arm, and her mouth flapping with some inane chatter or other. Reida shoved Kairn’s glass back where she’d found it. “Oh look,” she said, cheerfully. “He’s bringing that wretched sister of his to eat with us. Now there’s an option, huh? Could have had a piece of that instead, you know.” Sethan, busy gathering his papers back up, made a sour face and shuddered. “That’s what I thought. Doesn’t matter anyway. You only want him.”
Sethan glared at her over the top of the papers as he tapped the edge of the stack against the table to straighten it. “You’re never going to let that drop either, are you?”
“Nope,” she said, then quickly turned in her seat as the pair drew near. “Hi, Kairn.”
Kairn’s plate wobbled in his outstretched hand as her shot her a nervous look. “Reida.” He nodded. “Sethan. You know, I- Hey, that’s mine,” he said, catching Reida with her hand on his glass. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Reida grinned and shoved it his way.
Shasa set a plate on the table with a flourish. “Sethan! I got you a plate!” She set her own and the bottle beside it as Sethan sat stiffly, still clutching his papers.
“What?” said Reida to Kairn as he deposited his own plate. There was a pile of roast drenched in gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots. Her stomach gave a painful rumble. “You couldn’t bring one for me?”
Kairn scowled at her as he picked up his fork. “You have legs.”
Reida sniffed. “I have hands too.” She snatched the plate from in front of Sethan, who still hadn’t moved. Her mouth watered at more of the same fare that was in front of Kairn.
Across the table, Shasa was pouring wine. Her jaw dropped with an indignant “Hey!”
Arm curled defensively around the dish, Reida smirked at Sethan. “You didn’t want that, did you?”
“I suppose not.”
Lower lip thrust out and eyes wide, Shasa edged her plate and her chair a little closer to Sethan. “You can share mine,” she offered. “I’m too excited to eat much anyway.”
“Over what?” said Sethan. “A few fireworks?” When he didn’t touch her plate, Shasa gave it another shove towards him, and another until he reluctantly plucked a carrot from it with the very tips of his fingers. Reida snickered.
“Come on, Sethan,” said Kairn around a mouthful of potatoes. He swallowed and reached for his water. “Berwyk puts on a good show and you know it.”
“For goodness sakes, Kairn.” Shasa stretched up out of her seat and grabbed the bottle. “It’s a holiday, have a little wine.”
Reida snorted, already scraping the last of her potatoes onto her fork. “You know Kairn’s too much of a little girl to handle a glass of-”
But Kairn was already reaching for a goblet and Shasa was uncapping the bottle. “It’s a holiday,” he said as she tipped the bottle. “Just one won’t hurt.” Reida shot Sethan a nervous look, but he only answered with a shrug.
“You know,” said Reida, spearing a more than ample mouthful of greens with her fork, “last year I missed the fireworks entirely. Too much work to do.”
Kairn turned her way with a sympathetic frown and an already half-empty glass. “That’s too bad,” he said. “You really should go this year.”
“Well, I was planning on a quiet evening at home.” She hoped the smirk she shot Sethan passed as subtle. “But I suppose I could be persuaded.”
Kairn was nodding at her over the rim of his glass as he took another swig. “It’s only once a year. It’d be such a shame to miss it.”
Reida shrugged. “It’s only a few little explosions. I do quite like the feast though,” she added with a gesture of her roast-laden fork.
Kairn smiled as he attacked the potatoes on his own plate. “Berwyk does know how to throw a party, doesn’t he?” He gulped them down and reached again for his wine.
“You might want to slow down there.”
Across the table, Shasa made a disapproving noise in her throat. “It is a holiday. You’d think you were his mother. Or his girlfriend.”
Reida shot the girl a scowl. “He gets sick when he drinks. You should know that.”
Kairn hastily set down the glass, a blush creeping into his cheeks, and waved her off. “Really, Reida, I, uh, I appreciate the, uh concern…however sudden and unnerving it might be, but I’m fine. It’s just one.”
Shasa leaned in with what Reida presumed was meant to be a coy smile at Sethan while she quietly refilled Kairn’s drink. Kairn was too busy shoveling in potatoes to notice and the snarl Reida sent her was met with a childish thrust of her tongue. “So,” she said, turning back to Sethan, forcing her lips wider and batting her lashes at him, “do you want to go with me?”
Sethan simply raised a brow as she set down the wine and slid back into her seat, still grinning. “Go with you where?”
“To see the fireworks, of course.” Sethan grimaced and Shasa fell into a pout. “Oh please, it’s so romantic!”
Kairn made a face at her over his glass as he brought it to his lips. “I thought we were going together.”
“You could come with me,” said Reida, throwing an arm across his shoulders. Kairn choked on his wine.
Shasa, not the least bit perturbed, kept beaming at Sethan. “See?” she said. “Kairn has a date. So now I’ll need someone to take me too.”
Reida scooped up her empty plate and slid from her seat as Kairn made a futile attempt at dabbing the purple spots from his shirt with his napkin. “Yes, Sethan,” she whispered, leaning in over his shoulder, “take her to the fireworks. Somewhere far away from us.” She braced a hand on his shoulder and pushed herself straight, grinning as he glared at her. “I’m going to go get more food,” she announced.
Shasa blinked. “You’ve already eaten all that?” she said, pointing a timid finger at Reida’s plate.
Reida cocked her head and stared her down. The girl quickly stuffed her hands back into her lap with a shudder. “You have a problem?”
“No!” said Shasa, with a squeak to her voice just like her brother‘s. “No, not really, I mean, you just might want to think about watching your fig-” She swallowed. “No.”
“What I thought,“ said Reida. She turned to Kairn, who had given up on stain removal and gone back to drinking. “You want anything?”
He blinked for a moment before snapping his jaw shut and turning a look on his plate as if he’d never seen it before. “I, uh, sure, more potatoes?”
Sethan leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the empty table next to Shasa’s plate, which seemed to be creeping ever closer to him. “My dinner could use replacing,” he said.
“You have legs,” said Reida, waving the back of a hand in his face.
“You can have as much as you want of mine. Really,” said Shasa, and her plate inched even nearer.
“Yeah, Sethan.” Reida slapped him across the back as she turned from the table. “Eat out of her hands, would you?”
Sethan glared after her and plucked another carrot off the plate.
When she got back to the table, Kairn’s glass was suspiciously more full than it had been when she’d left. She looked at Sethan, but he was probably too busy warding off Shasa’s advances to have noticed just how many times she’d refilled it. He just shrugged at her.
Kairn was sitting a little low in his chair, absently blinking at his own plate. Reida sighed. “Potatoes?” she said, waving her plate under his nose.
He jumped a little and blinked some more. “Y-yes,” he said, with neither the gratitude nor the edge of terror she was used to her offers eliciting. She grabbed a spoon and shoved a heap of them onto his plate as she took her seat.
“Thanks,” said Kairn. He picked up his own spoon and gave the food a weak jab.
Shasa scrunched her face up and tipped it sideways to peer at him. “You don’t look so good.”
“I…” Kairn steadied himself on the edge of the table, “I don’t feel so good.”
Without so much as looking up, Sethan picked up the glass of water and held it out to him. “Water?”
“Thanks,” said Kairn, eagerly taking it from Sethan and gulping the water while Sethan and Reida exchanged looks over their plates. The cup drained, Kairn pushed himself shakily to his feet. “You know,” he said, “I think maybe I need a little fresh air.”
Reida was out of her chair before he’d taken two steps, hastily wiping her mouth and pushing her plate aside. “Me too.” She caught Sethan smirking at her and gave his chair a subtle kick. “I’m not feeling so well myself.”
She found him just outside, slouched against the wall with his head pressed to the stone. Not sure there was much point, she figured she’d ask anyway. She leaned up against the wall beside him, tipping her head to peer up around his arm, and fixed him with her least threatening smile. “Any better?”
Kairn pushed himself from the wall with a groan. “Worse actually,” he said, catching his head in his hand. “Now I’m a little dizzy. Maybe I should just head to bed.”
“Nonsense,” said Reida, taking his arm and turning him around. Kairn shuffled a bit, blinking and swaying as he tried to focus on her with eyes that were already glazing over. Reida gave him a pat on the back as she steered him gently forward. “Walk a little and you’ll feel better. Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss the fireworks, would you?”
“No.” His fingers wove through his hair as he rubbed at his temple. “I suppose not.”
Her hand crept down his arm until it found his. “I sure don’t want to miss them anyway,” she said, firmly pressing her fingers between his own.
Kairn frowned down at their entwined hands but didn’t pull away and for a moment Reida held her breath. “What’s gotten into you tonight?” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re being…nice to me.”
She shrugged and pulled him forward. “I can be nice sometimes if I want to, can’t I?”
“You just don’t usually… want to,” said Kairn, his hand still in hers but lagging a pace behind.
“There’s a first for everything.”
“I…suppose there is.”
There was a tug on her hand, pulling her to a halt. “What?”
“Nauseous,” said Kairn, and he was looking a little green. Damn Shasa and her wine.
“No, no, no,” she muttered through clenched teeth, even as she tried to face him with a sympathetic smile plastered across her lips and pat him on the cheek. “I’ve worked too hard for this.”
“Huh?” Kairn was swaying enough now to make her stomach a bit ill.
“I said-” she held him by the chin so he was forced to meet her eye and enunciated every word “-why don’t we find a nice quiet spot to watch the fireworks?”
They found just such a place at the base of one of the enormous maples that ringed the yard, close enough to see Berwyk and Wil and Dal scurrying about with their forms and kegs of dust below but far enough that they wouldn’t get hit with the sparks when they started flying. A fork low in the trunk gave it enough of a shadow that Reida was sure whatever she might try would go unseen, and she settled in the grass, waiting for a show she hoped not to see much of.
“You know,” Kairn was saying as he plucked at the grass, and he swayed, even seated as he was, trying to keep his balance, “last year I was here with a girl.”
Scowling at the back of his head, Reida loudly cleared her throat.
Kairn turned to regard her with much blinking and frowning, and she rolled her eyes.
“This year you’re here with a girl,” she said.
Kairn’s face fell. “I…I’m sorry,” he said, raking a hand through his hair as he tripped over the words. “I guess I just never think about you like that. As…as a girl. I mean, you don’t exactly…“ A deep red spread through his cheeks as he fumbled on. “Though I suppose you are always flinging yourself at Sethan. And I know you make enough passes at me too, but see, they seem more like threats than…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Shut up,” said Reida, leaning in.
“Huh?” He was staring dumbly at her now, green eyes wide, lips slack.
“I said shut up.” Her hand bridged the slight distance between them and slid around the back of his neck. Her fingers curled in his hair as she pulled him and kissed him firmly on the lips.
Kairn’s hand found her shoulder, as if to push her away, but then he stilled and his lips bent to hers with a soft eager motion and a taste of wine. He pulled away slowly when she released him, blinking at her as he impotently opened and closed his mouth. “You… you know,” he said, “this is, well, it’s making less and less sense as it goes. First you-”
Reida tightened her grip on the back of his head. “Didn’t I just tell you to shut up?”
The look he gave her was that of an animal cornered, of a deer caught in a searchlight, but her mouth was on his again before she could properly enjoy it.
This time he did push her back. “I…I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Oh?”
“I mean, not that we-” He blushed again, then shook it off. “Look, my head is pounding, and my stomach…”
“You had a couple of drinks. This is just your little girl body telling you it was too many. It’ll pass.”
Kairn offered a weak smile, his head cradled in one hand. “Now that sound more like Reida.”
Reida scowled and poked a finger in the grass. “Am I really so insufferable to you?”
Kairn’s smile wavered. “Am I really supposed to answer that?”
“You know I don’t mean half of what I say to you.” Her hand crept up out of the grass, fingers slowly walking their way over Kairn’s thigh.
“Oh?” said Kairn, nervously eyeing her hand’s progress as it made its way up the front of his shirt. “Which half?”
“Very funny.” This was taking far too long. She could only hope he took the narrowing of her eyes for playful indignation.
“Tonight though,” he said, seeming not even to notice her irritation, “there’s something… something different.”
“Like the fact that you’re drunk out of your mind?” she grumbled, her hand now toying with the top button of his shirt.
“Huh?”
Reida forced a slick smile in place. “I said you never know what you might find…” She slipped the button through its hole and she could feel him swallow. “If you give me a chance.”
“Oh,” said Kairn, and there was that delicious look again, like he just knew it was a trap but there was nothing to be done for it now.
“Kiss me,” she said, moving down a button. Kairn cocked his head and their lips met again. His hand slid through her hair and hers back around his neck. When they parted, she was breathing hard and he was blinking again. “Even drugged you’re a better kisser than Sethan,” she muttered, licking her lips. She’d stopped asking him to try months ago.
“Wha-?”
“I said you’re a good kisser,” she said, with another overdone smile. “I’d like to see what else you’ve got.”
“I bet you would,” said Kairn, and now he was grinning like an idiot. At least the wine hadn’t spoiled all the drug’s effect.
“Just as impressive, is it?”
“I, er, I s-suppose I’ve had a, uh, a few chances to practice, but I-”
“Do you sputter like that in bed?” said Reida, and Kairn went red from ear to ear. “Because I wonder if I could take you to a place where you couldn’t find the words at all anymore.”
“I-”
She grabbed him and kissed him again before he could finish. This was more fun than a night with Sethan already, and if she played her cards right, maybe she wouldn’t even have to drug him next time.
Kairn came away breathing heavily and trying to focus his bleary gaze on her. “So’s all this being nice to me just so you can get in my pants?”
About to free a third button from its hold, Reida frowned. “If I say yes, will it keep me out of them?”
Kairn grimaced and braced himself a bit more firmly with a hand to the ground behind him. “Depends,” he said. “You gonna be nice to me tomorrow?”
“Well, that depends too, doesn’t it?” She reached for a fourth button and his eyes followed.
“Your, uh, your idea of a good time…it doesn’t involve pincers, does it?”
Reida laughed. The button came free. “No pincers.”
“Blood?” said Kairn.
“Not unless you want there to be.” She slid her hand inside his shirt and Kairn gasped.
“N-n-no,” he said. “I-I don’t think I’m that drunk.”
“Oh?” She paused, her hand curled over his chest, to shoot him a grin. “How drunk would you have to be?” Kairn’s jaw fell in horror. “Kidding,” she said, giving him a squeeze.
She’d just leaned in to press her lips to his neck when he stiffened. “Look!” he said, an arm reaching over her shoulder to point. “The fireworks are starting.”
“I know,” said Reida, as another swipe of her hand beneath his shirt brought another groan to his lips.
“Hmm? No, up there.” The first sizzling streak of sparks erupted overhead with a deafening bang.
“I like the show down here better,” said Reida, wrapping her lips around the side of his neck again.
Kairn moaned again at her touch, then his whole body went rigid as another blast sounded above.
Reida pulled back to look up at him and found his eyes pressed tightly shut. “Are you alright?”
“No, not really.” Another explosion sent a shudder through him that looked downright painful.
“Maybe we should get you to bed after all.” She grinned as she pushed herself back up to her knees. “Yours or mine?”
“Reida…” He was looking greener by the minute. “I…I don’t…”
“Come on,” she said, a hand out to him as she got to her feet. “Up you go.” He caught her hand and she pulled him, swaying, to his feet.
“I…” He threw out a hand and got her by the shoulder, bracing himself against her. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Not now.” She curled an arm around his back and dragged him forward a pace. “You’re going to be fine.” She wasn’t sure which one of them she was more determined to convince.
They made their slow, shuffling way over the outskirts of the yard, past lounging couples and excited children all camped in the grass, watching the display over head. Kairn leaned heavily on Reida and she did her best to keep shoving him on despite the groans and protests he kept issuing.
There was a frantic squeezing of her shoulder and a weak “Stop a moment” as they neared the door.
“You’re not going to be sick,” she said, drawing him up along the wall. “Don’t think about it and you won’t.”
Kairn threw a hand out over her shoulder to prop himself on the wall. “I…I had fun tonight,“ he said, trying and failing repeatedly to lock eyes with her. “If…if I don’t remember this when I’m sober, you tell me and maybe sometime…”
“Tonight’s not over yet,” she said, making a grab for him as he started to slump.
“I’m in no shape-”
“Come on.” She all but threw him across her shoulder and carried on towards the door.
They were almost back to her room, Reida breathing hard under Kairn’s nearly dead weight, while their feet tangled beneath them. Kairn groaned now and then, and his hand kept flying to his mouth, but he was still conscious so Reida’s hopes were still intact.
“Reida, stop.”
“For the last time, you’re not-” If she had waste one more minute propping him on a wall and talking him out of retching…
“No, really.”
“You hear me, you are not going to-” She snapped to a stop, hands on his arms, spinning round to face him, just in time to see the look of horror pass across his face before he pitched forward and vomited all over her shoes.
Her jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between her feet and the man in her arms. Struggling for breath, Kairn wobbled in her grasp.
“I-I’m so sorry,” he said, before descending into a bout of incoherent coughing. He made what might have been some sort of apologetic wave or a fumbling attempt to steady himself. Either way, the fact that it caught her across the breast just angered Reida further. “I-I can’t believe I-” And then he did it again, launching another wave of hot bile over her feet.
Before Reida could send more than a few curses his way he’d collapsed into her, pinning her to the wall with his head on her shoulder. The coughing and convulsing quickly lapsed into ragged snores and Reida only swore louder.
“Alright.” She sucked in a deep breath. “This can still be salvaged.”
Reida turned around, swung both Kairn’s arms around her neck and arched her back up under his chest. She tested his weight with one careful step, grimacing at the loud squelch her shoes made.
“Well, at least you managed to miss the rest of me. And yourself.”
Kairn snored.
Reida wrinkled her nose at the stench of his breath. She pried one hand free of his shoulder and shoved his head around so his mouth no longer faced her.
“The things a girl has to put up with.”
The first thing she did when she got to her room was give Kairn a nudge towards the bed. It wasn’t really all that far from the door, she reasoned. She quickly corrected that assessment as Kairn went tumbling straight for the bedpost. A quick lunge caught him, and she heaved him none too gently onto the mattress.
“Stay put,” she said, as if he had much of a choice in the matter.
The second thing she did was peel off both her filthy shoes, wrap them in a rag from her desk, and toss them out the door. Someone from laundry would be getting a nice surprise come morning.
“Now then,” said Reida, brushing her hands on her pants as if she could shake off the smell like dust. “Shall we get back to our romantic evening?”
Kairn was face down on the bed. She rolled him over, and his head hit the pillow with a heavy thump and a loud choke of a snore.
“No shoes in my bed.” She pulled one off and then the other, dropping them each with a loud thump beside the bed. Kairn didn’t so much as stir.
“No pants in my bed either,” she said, and she would have quite liked to have seen his reaction to that had he been conscious. She climbed into the bed with him, straddling him on her knees.
It took her a moment to work the laces loose, Kairn’s body being as unresponsive as it was. She peeled the pants off his waist and let out a low whistle. “You owe me.” Reida jabbed a finger at his chest. “You hear that? You owe me.”
Kairn just snored.
“Stupid bitch and her wine. Here have a drink, Kairn,” she mimicked Shasa’s squeaky tone. “Have another.” She jerked the pants down over his knees. “I could be having a piece of that now, thank you.”
Kairn’s head lolled on the pillow, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
“Or not,” said Reida, with a wrinkle of her nose.
The pants cleared his feet and she hurled them across the room where they caught the corner of a shelf and dangled like some sort of pathetic flag.
“You had a fit of passion,” she told the body sprawled before her with a smirk as she tossed his undershorts in the opposite direction.
Her hand lighted on the ties to her own shirt. “Care to help me with mine?” She wasn’t really expecting a response, but it didn’t make her any more pleased not to get one. With a sigh, she undid the laces, pulled the shirt over her head, and chucked it at the shelf from which his pants dangled. Her pants came off in a similar huff and she stretched out in the bed beside him.
She swore he smiled a little in his sleep as her breasts pressed against his ribs and her hand snaked around his middle. “You know,” she said. “Aside from the…unfortunate loss of my shoes, tonight wasn’t half bad.”
She dragged her hand up his ribs, slowly trailing a finger around his chest and across his collarbone. “You are a good kisser, you know. And that…” She gave a wave in the general direction of his groin, his legs still splayed shamelessly across the sheets offering more than an adequate view. “Well, if that’s not worth a ride, I think I’ll just give up on men now.”
Kairn’s only response was yet another loud snore that left her gagging on the stench of bile.
Reida gave his cheek a firm pat that sent his head lolling to the other side. “We’ll just save that for another time though, shall we? I even promise not to drug you”
She curled up with her head on his chest, her nose carefully pointed away from his mouth, and pulled the covers over them both. “Well, I suppose this worked out well enough anyway,” she said, with a pat to his chest, before she closed her eyes. "Goodnight...Daddy."