Communal bathing was a celebratory event.

  I spent two treks heating up the bathwater. I felt Aelyn looking at me anxiously as I cast spell after spell to warm the tub.

  “I’m fine,” I said for the third time. “Really, Aelyn. You worry too much.”

  “No one should spend this much mana.”

  I waved my arm at the crowd. I had grown numb to the sight of naked bodies. “Look,” I said reasonably, “they’re happy. What’s not to like?”

  Alea appeared before us, loosely draped in a towel and holding an open bag. “Your turn. I need your clothes. I’ll have your laundry done by the morning.” She looked askance at Aelyn’s blood-stained shirt, “I hope.”

  I hesitated, looked about, and mentally shrugged. I pulled off my dress, dropped it into the bag, and followed it with my undergarments. I stepped over to the tub and lowered myself into the water. I winced, wondering if I’d overheated it with my last fireball. Aelyn slipped in beside me.

  “Oh,” he said, “that’s wonderful.” He stretched like a cat, and I tried not to watch his muscles tense and relax. “I’ve not had a bath like this since…” he paused, “since home.”

  “Where is home?” I asked.

  “Kla'Nath”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “It’s the capital city of Sha’Na’Lyona. Where I grew up; my parents still live there.”

  “What do they do?”

  “Ah,” he waved his hand vaguely, “Governance. Administration.”

  “What brought you here?” I tried to picture the map. “You’re a long way from home.”

  “Members of my family always travel when we are young. We are given a…goal. Something to strive for.”

  I looked at him and resisted the impulse to fondle the tip of his right ear. “And yours?”

  He blushed. “It is a private thing.”

  “Fair.” I leaned back in the tub, and glanced at his back, then sat up. “Lean forward.” He complied. I ran a hand down his flank, and he winced.

  “You have a nasty abrasion here. Why didn’t you see me earlier?”

  “It’s nothing.” He shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

  “Men.” I snorted. “Hold still. I am going to sort this out.”

  He opened his mouth, and I laid a finger on his lips. I cast a minor spell over the wound, and watched as the skin puckered, smoothened, and then repaired itself completely. He relaxed and moved his right arm experimentally.

  “That does feel better.”

  “I should hope so.” I brushed a strand of hair off my face and picked up a piece of soap. “Shall I wash your back?”

  He froze for a moment and nodded. I splashed some water on his neck and shoulders and watched it run down his trapezius and lats, then drew the soap over his skin. I picked up another handful of water and ran it over his back, not quite caressing him.

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  “Thank you,” he said, “may I?”

  I turned to face away from him. His hands began to clean me, and I saw Raina smiling at me from over a pile of laundry.

  “If there was only less of a crowd.” I said, “you could do my front as well.”

  I heard a strangled gasp behind me. I stepped out of the bath and picked up a towel that I wrapped around my chest. It hung only to the upper thighs.

  “Would you like one of these?” I asked Aelyn.

  He nodded. I took pity on him and passed it to him as he slowly rose from the tub, draping the towel around his waist as he stood. I took his arm.

  “It’s time for bed,” I said.

  I closed the wagon door, removed my towel, and tossed it over the chair.

  “Help me lower the bed, will you?” I said.

  He pulled it from the wall and bent down.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Laying out my sleeping pad,” he said hoarsely.

  “Oh, you won’t need that,” I said. I took his shoulders and turned him, so the back of his knees touched the edge of the bed. I reached down and undid his towel and pitched it on top of mine. Then I pushed his chest until he sat down facing me. I slid onto his lap and curled my hands around the sides of his head. My fingers stroked the tops of his ears, and he gasped. I leaned forward and kissed him deeply, sliding my tongue into his mouth. I could feel his cock harden against the edges of my slit.

  I moved my mouth to his earlobe and licked it slowly.

  “You know,” I whispered, “you’re really making me work for this.”

  His hands came up to rest on my hips.

  “I wouldn’t want to take liberties with you, my lady.”

  I pulled back so I could gaze into his eyes. I brushed his lips with mine.

  “I suppose,” I said, “I’ll just have to take liberties with you.”

  I slid back and knelt on the floor before him. For a moment, I remembered Charlie, and hesitated. Then I shook myself. I was Circe. And I desperately wanted this man.

  I ran my tongue around the tip of his cock. It tasted slightly sweet and musky. Then I ran my tongue along the underside, from the base back to the tip. Aelyn moaned, and I felt a tingle of delight. A bead of moisture ran down the inside of my thigh.

  I took the end of his cock into my mouth cautiously. The aching in my pussy mounted, and I slid my lips almost to the base of his penis. Aelyn’s hands brushed the sides of my face and fondled my ears. I began to slide back and forth, taking his whole length into my throat, then pulling out and swirling my tongue around his glans.

  He was crying out constantly now, and I shivered with happiness. I sped up my rhythm until his breath was coming in staccato gasps.

  Aelyn shuddered and came with a hoarse cry. I swallowed and kept my mouth fastened around his cock. He whimpered, and I slowly withdrew my head, looked up, and smiled at him.

  “There,” I whispered, “was that so difficult?”

  He caressed the side of my face, then squatted down beside me and slipped a hand under my buttocks. He lifted me up, turned around, and placed me in a sitting position on the edge of the bed. He knelt before me, our previous position reversed. He separated my thighs and ran his tongue up the inside of my thigh. My legs rested on his shoulders, and I leaned back on my elbows to watch.

  His tongue moved up and drifted over my labia in a slow circular motion. I felt my hips lift as I tried to thrust into his mouth. His hands pushed me gently back onto the mattress, and his tongue dove into my slit. I moaned as he penetrated me, slipped out, and re-entered in a steady rhythm.

  When he finally pulled out turned his attention to my clitoris I was gasping with desire. His tongue flickered back and forth, increasing in force and frequency as his fingers entered me.

  My orgasm shook me like a theranaq at a kill. I called out, uncaring about who might hear. Waves of pleasure spread from my pussy to my breasts, until I collapsed on my back, completely spent.

  Aelyn kissed my mons softly and rose to look down at me. I stared at his body. His cock was rigid again, standing straight out from his thighs. I reached out and took him, running my palm along its length. I patted the bed beside me wordlessly, and Aelyn sat down. I turned to face him, but he grasped my hips, turned my back to him, and slid his hands down my thighs. He lifted me up into a seated position and lowered me in a single motion that impaled me on his cock.

  I gave an involuntary moan and leaned back into his body. His lips and teeth began to nibble on my ear as his left hand reached around to fondle me. His finger and thumb moved from one nipple to the other, tugging and pinching.

  My hips moved up and down as I rode him like a steed. His cock stroked the walls of my vagina and it spasmed in bursts of pleasure. His other hand began to stroke my clit. I cried out with pleasure and tried to rub against his cock and finger at the same time. As my pleasure reached a peak, I felt him tense and contract inside me with a series of pulsations.

  We sat in the same position for a few minutes. I luxuriated in the sensation of him softening inside of me. I finally pulled myself off his lap and turned to wrap my arms around his chest. His eyes were green this evening.

  “Aelyn,” I said, “that was wonderful. Will you please share my bed from now on?”

  “Always, my Lady,” he said.