Page 48 of The Witch who Trades with Death

Chapter Forty-Eight

The fire in Khana’s room had burned out, leaving it dark and chilly. She grumbled in annoyance as she re-lit the bones, Sava chuckling behind her. As light and heat returned, she became self-conscious. Her little bedroom was hardly the height of luxury. It didn’t even have any furniture. She carefully set her lute in its case in the corner while Sava tugged off his boots.

“Oooh, moose pelt,” he crooned, lying on top of it.

“Heimili and Amati gave it to me. For the festival,” she explained. Her face heated as her words stumbled. Why hadn’t they continued in the laundry room? This tension and awkwardness had grown as they walked up the stairs, and now it was unbearable.

She shivered. Even this close to the fire, the room was cold. Sava patted the spot next to him. “Come on. You’ll feel warmer under the blanket.”

She had promised cuddles.

She scrambled under the pelt. The two of them hid from the cold under the thick blanket, and with another body in her bed, it got a lot warmer a lot quicker. She was much less hesitant to cuddle up to his chest when he put an arm around her, not caging her, just resting against her back and hip.

Then he started humming. She couldn’t quite place the tune, though she was fairly certain it was a love song. She could feel the reverberations through his chest, and it both comforted and thrilled her.

When there was a break in the tune, Khana mumbled, “I think I should warn you that I’ve never done this before. Not unless you count…”

Sava shrugged. “We all start somewhere. The first time I bedded a girl I was terrified. I wanted it. Badly. But I didn’t want to disappoint her and ended up putting far too much pressure on myself. Luckily, she had a better idea of what she was doing. Still made an awkward mess of myself.”

Khana smiled, amused by the thought. She couldn’t help but tease, “Is talking about the other women you’ve bedded usually part of your seduction?”

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?”

She flicked his bearded chin, his chuckle rumbling through his chest. His gaze was unbearably soft. “Do me a favor?”

“Hm?”

“Help me undo this?” He lifted his braid. “It’s gotten rather tight.”

Her hands twitched, eager to get into his hair. “Of course. Roll over.”

They maneuvered themselves so Sava was on his stomach and Khana on top of him. The room had warmed, but was still chilly, so she kept the blanket over her shoulders like a cape as she carefully undid the braid, being sure not to tug or pull. His hair was soft as silk, a black river in her hands, and about halfway through she realized that she was touching him. Intimately. Willingly.

No panic.

She ran her fingers through his hair, the first few times to make sure there were no tangles, then again for the sheer, quiet joy of it. He hummed contently. Feeling bold, she started scratching his scalp. He stiffened.

She froze. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No,” he laughed. “You’ve found my weakness. You should stop if you don’t want to move beyond cuddling.”

Khana considered. That thread of unease was back – had never truly left. But it was easier to tamp it down as heat pooled in her body. Stopping suddenly seemed like a very unattractive choice.

She put both hands in his hair and scratched.

Sava dropped his forehead onto his arms with a groan. She didn’t gouge, but she was firm as she explored and experimented. Scratching particularly hard made him moan. Taking a fistful of hair and carefully tugging made him whimper. And scraping a fingernail or kissing the back of his neck made him gasp.

The more she uncovered, the more she wanted. Her voice was breathless when she ordered, “Turn over.”

She had to go up on her knees to let him do it without throwing her off. His face was flushed, his pupils the size of grapes. She straddled and kissed him, and he was hungry for it. Licking into her mouth while his arms enveloped her, his hands branding her skin as they moved along her back and sides, though always staying above her dress. She was grateful for it, especially when she felt his bulge through his trousers. His patience kept that constant, annoying unease from blowing up into panic. She could almost ignore it as delicious heat pooled in her belly, her underclothes getting damp.

Sava gentled the kisses, bringing a hand from her waist to curl around her cheek and ear, lightly pushing her away. Not far. They still shared air.

“What do you want?” he whispered.

“Uh… I don’t know,” she admitted. “It is very cruel of you to make me try to think right now.”

He grinned, sharp and wolf-like.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Anything.”

“That is not helpful.”

He gave her a little peck. “At the moment, I’d like to know what you taste like.”

Khana’s brow furrowed. “Don’t you already?”

Sava gave her a patient look and dragged his hand up her thigh, just under the hem of her dress, his thumb dangerously close to…

She blinked. “Really?”

“Only if you want to.”

That sounded very odd. She’d heard of people being “good with their tongue” before but had always figured it meant…

She couldn’t deny that she was intrigued.

Seizing that thought before it fled, she sat up and removed her dress, her skin prickling in the slight chill now that she was only in her breastband and underclothes. Sava reverently touched her waist before sitting up, gripping her so she wouldn’t lose balance, and kissed her again.

She’d thought his touch had been branding before. That was nothing compared to skin on skin. He grazed his knuckles down her spine, sending a shiver through her. A hand on her thigh helped stabilize her, and it was all she could think about even as Sava nibbled on her lip. Another hand massaged her breast, and suddenly her breastband became the most hated piece of clothing in existence.

He turned them both over, pressing Khana’s back against the furs, and dove in to suck on that spot on her jaw just beneath her ear. She whimpered, clutching his back and feeling slightly ridiculous for it; they hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet.

Being on her back was quite a bit more familiar than being on top, but that was the only similarity tonight had with her past. She had never been treated with such care and reverence, as if every inch of her was a precious new gem to explore. Sava slowly went from her jaw to her neck, kissing her skin and dragging his coarse beard as she whined at the new sensation. He nibbled at her collarbone, following it to her sternum and then down. She stopped him just long enough to remove her breastband, almost tearing the fabric.

His mouth on her nipple was a revelation. She dropped her head back against the blankets, giving herself over to the sensation of his tongue and gentle teeth. She almost didn’t notice his fingers trailing up her inner thigh until they reached her underclothes.

She gasped. Sava’s fingers pressed against her mound through the thin layer of cloth, sliding up and down, up and down. He gave her nipple one last kiss before raising himself on his other arm, studying her face as he kept stroking her.

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt ( why was he still wearing clothes?) and dragged him in for another, proper kiss. Those strokes against her most intimate part, even through clothing, wound her up tighter and tighter. He slowed down, breaking away from her mouth to chuckle, “Relax.”

She did her best, but that was nearly impossible. Especially when he shifted his hand so that his thumb was right over her nub, moving in a circle as he kissed down her sternum, licking at her other nipple.

Khana took a fistful of inky hair, right by the scalp, and gripped it tight. Sava growled into her skin, hand stumbling in its rhythm. “You’re impatient.”

“Mm- hm ,” she managed.

He removed his hand, which was not what she’d been aiming for. But she couldn’t complain as he slowly slid down her body, showering her stomach with kisses and licking into her bellybutton before going even lower.

She spread her legs wider, giving him room as he settled between them and tugged at her underclothing with his teeth. His hot breath against her inner thighs was the most erotic thing she’d ever felt, and she yearned for more.

He licked her through the fabric, and she had to strangle a moan before it escaped. None of the rooms of this inn had proper doors, only animal skins or wool blankets. If she wasn’t careful, everyone would hear her.

Sava continued to mouth at her through her underclothes, his tongue and lips teasing her. He finally removed her soaked underclothes – properly and quickly, with his hands – leaving her completely bare beneath him. He settled back between her legs, spreading them just a little wider, and finally slipped his tongue between her folds.

The moan was torn from Khana’s chest, muffled only by her own hand. He licked his way inside of her, thrusting his tongue in and out like tasting the inside of a jar of honey.

He pulled away, breath teasing her as he growled, “Delicious,” and slipped two fingers inside of her. The way he rubbed the inside of her had her seeing stars, and then he sealed his lips over her nub.

She gripped the blankets in a death grip with her free hand, rocking her hips between Sava’s fingers and his tongue. She tangled her hand in his hair as he licked and sucked at her most sensitive parts, fingers thrusting in and out. Liquid heat pooled at the base of her spine, and she found herself stammering, “Don’t stop, don’t stop, please don’t stop, oh – OH!”

She tipped over into her climax, crashing into it, and all the while Sava kept stroking and suckling, the pleasure heightening with each beat until it snapped, became too much, and she sloppily pushed him away.

Sava slipped his fingers out and kissed down her thigh, letting her catch her breath and recover. His touches remained soft, undemanding as her body slowly returned from liquid to solid. Everything was soft and hazy yet oversensitive.

When she could finally move, she tugged him back up to kiss him, tasting her own slick on his beard and mouth. Again, he was gentle, even as his restrained bulge brushed against her hip bone.

She flipped them over, Sava giving an oof of surprise before she grinned. “Your turn.”