"Okay, okay... deep breaths. You've fought dragons, Dai. This is just... talking." His boots scuffed against the castle's stone floor, the echo too loud in the empty corridor. (Why does my throat feel like I'd swallowed a pinecone? And why are my palms sweating more than after sparring with Popp?)
A maid rounded the corner, humming. Dai jerked sideways into a suit of armor, it clattered ominously. "S-sorry!" he yelped, steadying the helmet before it toppled. The maid blinked, then giggled. (Great. Now even the castle staff think I'm a disaster.)
He rehearsed it again, muttering under his breath. "Princess Leona, I... no. Leona, I've been thinking... ugh." His stomach twisted. (Why were words harder than sword forms? Avan never mentioned *this* in hero training.)
Then, her door. Right there. Light spilled from the gap beneath it. Dai's pulse hammered in his ears. (What if she laughed? What if she just stares at me like I've grown a second head?) His fingers flexed, brushing the scar on his cheek.
"Ah! Dai!" Marin's voice, bright, sudden, spun him around just as she rounded the corner, her sapphire circlet catching the torchlight. Before he could yelp, her arms were around him, lifting him clear off the ground with alarming ease. "You're early for once!" she laughed, oblivious to the way his toes dangled uselessly above the floor.
His face smashed into the pillowy warmth of her cleavage, the scent of frostbloom and something muskier flooding his nose. "M-Marin...!" The protest died muffled against her skin, her dress's fabric pressing into his lips. (Why is she so strong?! And why does she smell like, like cookies and snowstorms?!)
Her grip tightened. "Oh, don't squirm! Leona's been asking after you all morning," she cooed, oblivious to his flailing legs. One of her gloves slipped, her bare fingers accidentally brushing the nape of his neck, a jolt shot down his spine. (This is worse than facing Hadlar. WAY worse.) His hands flapped against her back, patting frantically. "Mngh! Air...!"
Marin blinked, then gasped. "Oh my gods!" She dropped him like a hot potato, Dai's knees buckling as he sucked in a ragged breath. Her cheeks flared scarlet, her circlet tilting askew. "I... I'm so sorry! I keep forgetting you're... you know..." She gestured vaguely at his height, her voice cracking. (Great. Now I've made it weird.)
Dai coughed, rubbing his throat, then grinned up at her despite the lingering warmth in his cheeks. "S'okay!" He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her waist in a quick squeeze. "You hug way better than Popp. Less... bony."
Marin froze, her pulse hammering against his temple where his face pressed into her stomach. (He smells like sunshine and steel polish. And, wait. Why am I noticing?) She swallowed hard. "Dai...?" Her voice came out softer than intended.
He tilted his head back, hazel eyes earnest. "Can I tell you something?" The torchlight caught the ruby in his headband, casting a crimson gleam across his scar. "It's kinda... important."
Her fingers twitched against his shoulders. "Of course," she breathed, (please don't say it, please don't...)
"I think I'm in love with Leona."
Marin's stomach dropped like a stone. (Of course. Of COURSE it's her.) She forced a smile, her nails digging into her own palms behind his back. "That's... wonderful." The lie tasted like ash. (You selfish idiot. She's your princess.)
Dai scuffed his boot against the floor, suddenly shy. "But I don't know how to tell her. What if she... y'know." He mimed an explosion with his hands.
Marin exhaled sharply through her nose. (This is wrong. So wrong.) Yet her traitorous fingers closed around his wrist, tugging him down the hall. "Come on," she muttered, her voice thick. "I'll... help you practice."
His face lit up. "Really? You're the best, Marin!"
(No. I'm really, really not.) The door to her chambers loomed ahead, the sapphire on her circlet glowing like an accusation in the dim light.
Dai smiled up at her, all bright-eyed sincerity, his fingers still twined with hers. "So... how do I start?" His thumb brushed the inside of her wrist, just an absent-minded fidget, but the contact sent a jolt up her arm like faulty magic.
Marin bit her bottom lip hard enough to taste copper. (He's a kid. And you're...) "Sit," she managed, shoving him toward the bed with more force than intended. The mattress dipped under their combined weight, his thigh pressing against hers through the thin fabric of his pants. (Too close. Too warm.)
"I'll pretend to be Leona," she blurted, voice strangled. Her gloves creaked where she clenched them in her lap. "Go on. Try."
Dai gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Um. Princess Leona, I..." He scrunched his nose, suddenly flustered. (Why does Marin smell like that? Like wintermint and, and something sweet?) His pulse thundered in his ears, drowning out common sense. "I really like your... hair?"
Marin's choked laugh came out as a sob. (Gods. He's terrible at this.) Her fingers hovered near his knee, trembling. "No. Look at me like you mean it."
Dai gulped, the sound wet and audible in the quiet room. His calloused palm slid over hers, rough, warm, all wrong for a princess's skin, and his grip tightened. "Leona," he tried again, voice cracking mid-word. His thumb traced the ridge of her knuckles, a nervous tic. (Why are his hands so big? Why do they feel like this?) "You're... you're the bravest person I know."
Marin's breath hitched. His earnestness was unbearable, his brows furrowed, lips slightly parted, the scar on his cheek stark under the flickering candlelight. She reached up, her fingertips brushing the raised X-mark without thinking. (Avan's last gift. The boy he raised.)
Dai's eyes widened. He leaned into her touch, exhaling shakily. "I... I wanna protect you. Not 'cause you're the princess, but 'cause..." His free hand pressed against his own chest, right over the frantic thud beneath. "When you smile, my heart does this stupid thing where it feels too big for my ribs."
The confession hung between them, raw as an open wound. Marin's pulse roared in her ears, drowning out reason. (He's looking at you like you hung the moons.) Her thumb swiped across his cheekbone, once, twice, before she caught herself. "Leona would say..." Her voice broke. She tilted his chin up, forcing steel into her tone. "That's what matters, Dai. Not titles. Not bloodlines. Just... this."
His fingers tangled in the hem of her dress, crumpling silk. "Then... then you'd let me stay by your side?" The question was a whisper, a plea. His knee bumped against hers, the contact burning through fabric.
Marin's throat closed. (He's practicing. He's not talking to you.) But the way his lashes fluttered when she traced his jaw, the hitch in his breath, felt too real. "Always," she breathed, and it was a lie wrapped in truth.
Their foreheads touched first, an accident, a wobble as Dai leaned in. Then his nose bumped hers, clumsy, earnest, and Marin's traitorous hands gripped his shoulders to steady them both. "You're supposed to..." His whisper ghosted across her lips, warm and sweet with stolen honey cakes from the kitchen.
The first kiss was barely a brush, feather-light, Marin's pulse stuttering when Dai made a tiny, surprised noise against her mouth. (Too close. Too much.) But his fingers curled into her arms, tugging her closer, and the second kiss was deeper, slower, his chapped lips parting under hers with a sigh that tasted like summer storms and desperation.
By the fifth kiss, tongue sliding against hers, his thigh pressing between her legs, Dai gasped, wrenching back so fast his headband slipped. "M-Marin?!" His voice cracked, horror dawning in his wide, hazel eyes as he registered her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips, the way her dress looked like it slid down a little bit more down her breasts. (What have I done?)
The silence between them was deafening, broken only by the ragged sound of their breathing. Marin's fingers trembled where they still clutched his tunic, the fabric damp with sweat beneath her palms. (You fool. You absolute fool.) But the way his gaze flicked back to her mouth, dark with something hungry and confused, made her stomach twist with hope she had no right to feel.
"I... I'm sorry," Dai stammered, his cheeks burning crimson as he scrambled back, nearly tumbling off the bed. His voice cracked like a boy's, but the way his hands flexed at his sides, fingers curling like he wanted to reach for her again, betrayed the man straining beneath his youth. "I didn't mean to..."
"Shh." Marin pressed a finger to his lips, her own still tingling from the scrape of his teeth. (Lie. Lie now or lose him forever.) "You don't have to apologize," she murmured, forcing her thumb to stroke the corner of his mouth where it shone slick from their kisses. "Practicing was... a good idea." The words tasted bitter. "Leona will love the way you kiss."
Dai bit his bottom lip, his throat working as he swallowed hard. The motion drew her eyes to the faint bruise blooming on his collarbone, her doing, her mark. "Th-thank you," he whispered, but his gaze dropped to the swell of her breasts where her dress gaped, his pulse jumping visibly in his neck. (He's looking. He's still looking.)
Marin exhaled sharply through her nose, her thighs pressing together under the sudden, aching heat between them. (One last sin. One last stolen moment.) She caught his wrist, guiding his rough palm to the curve of her waist, her voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Dai... do you want to practice how to please a woman?" The offer hung between them, thick as honey. His answering whimper, high and desperate, was all the permission she needed before pulling him back down.
As Dai was pushed down to sit on the center of the bed's edge. He looks up at Marin as she stands up and asks her "Marin, what are you doing?"
She steps out of her boots with a soft thud, the leather hitting the floorboards with finality. "Teaching you," Marin murmured, peeling off her gloves finger by finger, the lamplight catching the sheen of sweat on her palms.
Her cape pooled at her feet like spilled ink as she tugged the sash of her dress loose, the fabric sighing open to reveal the swell of her breasts, unbound and already pebbled at the tips from the evening chill, or perhaps something else.
Dai's breath hitched audibly as she straddled his lap, the heat of her bare thighs bracketing his hips through the thin fabric of his pants. "Like this," she breathed, guiding his calloused palms to the softness of her breasts, pressing his fingers into the yielding flesh until his thumbs brushed her nipples. "Gentle, at first."
His hands trembled against her skin, the contrast of rough sword-callouses and boyish clumsiness sending a shiver down her spine as he squeezed experimentally.
Marin arched into his touch with a gasp, her head tipping back as pleasure coiled low in her belly. (Gods, his hands are so warm.)
Dai's pupils dilated, his grip tightening instinctively when she moaned, his hips jerking up against the cradle of her thighs.
Marin's fingers tangled in his hair, tugging his face closer until his lips hovered over her collarbone. "Now kiss me like you mean it," she whispered, her voice ragged with want.
Dai obeyed with a hunger that startled them both, his mouth hot and insistent against her skin as his hands kneaded her breasts with newfound confidence.
The wet heat of his tongue tracing the curve of her shoulder drew a whimper from her lips, her back arching to press herself harder against him.
Marin's hands slid down to fist in the fabric of his tunic, her nails scraping against his chest as she gasped, "Dai..."
His name dissolved into a moan as he captured a nipple between his lips, sucking gently before flicking his tongue against the peak.
Marin's thighs clenched around his hips, her body trembling with the effort to stay still when all she wanted was to grind against the hardness she could feel pressing against her.
Dai's hands wandered lower, skimming over the dip of her waist to settle on the swell of her hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh there.
Marin's breath came in short, sharp gasps as his touch ignited a fire low in her belly, her skin flushing with heat.
Dai's lips left a trail of kisses down her chest, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin just above her cleavage.
Marin's fingers tightened in his hair, tugging him back up to meet her lips in a searing kiss that left them both breathless.
Dai's hands roamed over her body with a reverence that made her heart ache, his touch equal parts tentative and eager.
Marin's hips rolled against his instinctively, the friction drawing a choked gasp from his throat.
Dai's grip on her hips tightened, his fingers pressing into the soft flesh there as if to anchor himself.
Marin's lips found his again, her tongue sliding against his in a rhythm that mirrored the slow, grinding motion of her hips.
Dai's breath hitched as her movements grew more insistent, his hands sliding down to grip her thighs.
Marin's fingers traced the line of his jaw before tangling in his hair, tugging his head back to expose the column of his throat.
Dai's pulse thundered beneath her lips as she pressed open-mouthed kisses to his skin, her teeth grazing the sensitive spot just below his ear.
A shudder ran through him, his hips jerking up against hers in a silent plea for more.
Marin's breath was hot against his ear as she whispered, "Tell me what you want, Dai."
His voice was rough with want when he finally spoke, the words sending a thrill down her spine. "You. I want you."
Marin's lips curved into a smile against his skin, her hands sliding down to the hem of his tunic.
Dai's breath caught as she tugged the fabric over his head, her nails scraping lightly over his chest.
Marin's fingers traced the lines of his muscles, mapping the terrain of his body with a reverence that left him trembling.
Dai's hands found her waist, his thumbs brushing the sensitive skin just above the waistband of her panties.
Marin's breath hitched as his touch sent sparks dancing across her skin, her body arching into his. "Ah... Dai..." she gasped, her voice thick with desire as she felt his fingers curl into the delicate fabric of her panties.
Dai hesitated for only a second before instinct took over, his grip tightening as he tugged the lace down her hips. Marin lifted her hips, helping him peel the soaked fabric away, her skin tingling where it finally met the air.
His eyes went wide as saucers, staring down at the soft curls and flushed folds now bared before him. "Whoa..."
Marin smirked, sliding off his lap onto the floor between his legs. "Now, let me show you something," she murmured, her fingers hooking into the waistband of his pants and underwear in one smooth motion.
Dai let out a startled noise as his cock sprang free, already hard and slick at the tip. Marin blinked, six inches of flushed, throbbing boyhood, thicker than she'd expected for his age.
He fidgeted, suddenly self-conscious. "Is... is it okay?"
Marin chuckled, wrapping her fingers around the base. "More than okay," she assured him, her thumb swiping over the leaking head. "Leona's gonna love this."
Then, before he could reply, she leaned in and gave him one teasing lick from base to tip. Dai whimpered, his hips jerking, and Marin smirked before taking him fully into her mouth.
"Marin... ah! Oh gods, that's..." His fingers twisted in the sheets as she hollowed her cheeks, swallowing him deeper, her tongue pressing against the throbbing vein beneath. The wet heat of her mouth was unbearable, too much and not enough all at once. His toes curled against the floorboards. (I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die and Brass is gonna kill me again.)
She pulled back just enough to swirl her tongue around the flushed head, her fingers stroking what her lips couldn't reach. "Tell me," she murmured against his skin, her breath hot, "do you know how sensitive you are here?" Her thumb rubbed circles under the ridge, and Dai's back arched where he sits on the bed with a choked cry.
Marin laughed, low, wicked, before diving back down, bobbing her head with slow, deliberate strokes, her moans vibrating against him as if she were the one being pleasured. (He tastes like salt and sunlight, and the way his thighs tremble...)
She sucked harder, and Dai's grip on the bedframe turned white-knuckled. "W-wait, I can't..." he gasped, but she only hummed in response, her nails digging into his hips to hold him still as she took him deeper, her nose brushing the wiry curls at his base.
"Marin...!" His voice cracked, high and desperate, as his spine arched like a drawn bowstring. (What is this feeling going through me? It feels like the sky is going to split open!) His fingers twisted in her ponytail, too tight, too rough, but she didn't pull away, only moaned around him, the vibration shooting straight to his groin.
"Please... I-I can't hold..." Dai gasped, his hips stuttering, his thighs quivering against her shoulders.
(I'm sorry, Leona,) Marin thought, even as her lips sealed tighter around him, her tongue pressing flat against his frenulum in one last cruel tease.
Then he came with a broken cry, hot and sudden, flooding her mouth with the bitter-salt of him. Marin swallowed instinctively, her eyelashes fluttering at the unfamiliar taste, like lightning and iron, like youth itself given form. Dai collapsed backward onto the bed, his chest heaving, his limbs loose as a puppet with cut strings.
Marin wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her own breath ragged. (He looks ruined.) His cock still twitched against his stomach, pearly drops beading at the tip. She traced the inside of his knee with a fingernail, watching the goosebumps rise in its wake. "Dai?" Her voice was hoarse, unrecognizable even to herself.
He blinked up at her, dazed, his lips kiss-swollen and red. "...Did I die?"
Marin burst out laughing, the sound too loud in the stillness, and Dai's answering grin was brighter than dawn.
"I can't believe you just..." She cut off mid-sentence as Dai surged forward, his hands gripping her waist with shocking strength, lifting her clear off the floor. Marin gasped, her legs kicking uselessly in the air. (Since when could he...?)
"I recover quick." Dai admitted sheepishly, but his grin turned wolfish as he tossed her onto the bed with surprising ease. Before she could react, he was between her thighs, his nose brushing the damp curls there. "You smell... different," he murmured, voice rough with curiosity.
"Dai..." Marin's protest dissolved into a strangled moan as his tongue swiped up her slit in one long, slow stroke. (Gods, his mouth is...!) Her fingers fisted in his hair as he groaned against her, the vibrations making her hips jerk.
"Tastes like..." Dai licked his lips, pupils blown wide. "Like the sea after lightning."
Then he dove in with all the enthusiasm of a starving man, his tongue circling her clit before plunging inside, fucking her with quick, desperate strokes. Marin arched off the bed with a cry, her thighs clamping around his ears. (Too much... he's too much...!) Her heel dug into the small of his back as he sucked her swollen bud between his teeth, the dual sensation of sharpness and wet heat unraveling her in seconds.
"Wait, I..." Marin's warning came too late; his fingers joined his tongue, curling just right, and she came with a sob, her climax crashing over her like a tidal wave. Dai moaned against her, drinking her down as she shuddered, his name a broken chant on her lips. When she finally collapsed, boneless and spent, he peered up at her with a messy, smug grin. "So... did I do it right?"
Marin's laugh was breathless, her fingers carding through his sweat-damp hair. "Too right," she admitted, tugging him up her body with trembling arms. Their skin slid together, still slick, and she gasped when his cock brushed her inner thigh, already hard again. (Gods, dragon stamina...)
Dai whimpered as she guided him to her entrance, his hips stuttering when the head caught on her wet folds. "M-Mar..."
"Shh." Marin kissed him, slow and deep, as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in. The stretch burned deliciously; she arched against him with a gasp, her nails scoring down his back as he filled her completely.
Dai buried his face between her breasts with a choked cry, his hips jerking instinctively. Marin's breath left her in a rush (so full, so tight) her thighs tightening around him as he began to move. Each thrust dragged against her walls, sparking fresh pleasure, her moans mingling with his as their bodies found an imperfect, perfect rhythm.
"Look at me," she demanded, tilting his chin up. His eyes were hazy, his lips parted on ragged breaths, but he obeyed. Marin cupped his face, her thumb tracing his scar. "This time... don't hold back."
His answering groan vibrated through her chest as his pace turned frantic, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise. The bedframe creaked in protest; Marin barely noticed, too lost in the way his cock hit that sweet spot deep inside, the way his sweat dripped onto her collarbone, the way his voice sounded as he said her name over and over again.
"Gods, Marin... you're so... so..." Dai's words dissolved into a ragged gasp as she arched up to meet his next thrust, her breasts bouncing tantalizingly against his chest. His gaze locked onto them, hungry, mesmerized, as if he'd never seen anything more beautiful.
Marin reached down to squeeze one herself, rolling the nipple between her fingers just to watch his pupils blow wider. "Like what you see, hero?" she teased, her voice wrecked from moaning.
"Y-yeah," Dai stammered, hips stuttering mid-thrust, his cock twitching inside her as if agreeing. The bed groaned louder than she did when he pistoned back in, his calloused palms replacing hers on her breasts, kneading roughly. (Little hero learns fast.)
She arched off the mattress with a cry when his thumbs flicked her nipples in time with a particularly deep thrust, the dual sensation short-circuiting her thoughts. "Fuck... right there, Dai, don't stop..."
Her climax hit like a collapsing star, muscles clamping down on him with enough force to make his back bow. "M-Marin!" Dai's hips jerked erratically before he slammed home one last time, his release flooding her in hot pulses as his fingers sank into the soft flesh of her inner thigh. (Marks on a sage. Brass would flay him alive if he knew.)
They collapsed in a tangle of limbs, Dai's face still buried between her breasts as he panted against her oversensitive skin. Marin carded her fingers through his sweat-damp hair, her other hand tracing the fresh bite mark on his shoulder, her own claim. (Leona's knight. My dragon.) The thought should've tasted like guilt. It didn't.