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“My needs are to serve you, Gregory.” Her eyelashes flickered with a vulnerable look in her gaze, though by then he had his eyes closed in an effort to calm a growing headache that was by no means her fault.
“No. You like being held. You like slow, soft, and sensual. The teasing and the steady rise of heat is part of what gets you off. I feel it when we’re together. It’s fucking spectacular, by the way.” His eyes opened to look at her and he offered a slight raise of the corner of his mouth. “It’s just that I’m not exactly in a slow, loving mood right now. I’d want it rough and hard. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”
“I want to serve-”
“Be honest, Lydia.”
She fell silent for a few moments and considered his words.
“No, master. I suppose I wouldn’t. I could go summon Fiona for you? She would-” Lydia’s voice quivered slightly when he so bluntly told her she wasn’t what he wanted.
“Why would I ask you to fetch Fiona when I have you here? I’m sure Fiona would love me to fuck her like that. I’d be rough, forceful and for a moment or so I’d feel great and I’m sure she’d love every minute of it. Then when it was over I’d go home still in a bad mood. I’m sure Valise would enjoy it if I went to her tent and took her like that. The problem is that the poor woman thinks she deserves to be punished because she believes herself to be wicked, and that’s not a thought process I want to encourage. Janette would enjoy it for better reasons, and Algra would probably turn it into something resembling an erotic brawl. Again, all of those scenarios would get me hard and get me off. Except I’d probably still go to bed feeling frustrated and angry with myself. So I came here looking for you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Lydia, but you’re very good at cheering me up.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
“I am?” She was momentarily uncertain of herself.
“You are.” He nodded. “So, would it be alright if you helped me wash up and maybe rubbed away some of the boulders of stress I can feel building in my back right now?”
“Of course, master.” She nodded her head eagerly, and felt the cold sensation in her chest begin to thaw to a tingling warmth at his words. “Would you like to hear a story whilst I bathe you?”
“Sure.”
“What kind of story would you like to hear?”
“I’d like to know more about this world.”
Lydia shifted herself to settle behind him, and soaped up her hands with the water before lathering the suds across his shoulders. In the process of her sweeping movements, she sought out the knots of stress he’d mentioned in preparation for a series of surgical strikes.
“Very well, master. I shall tell you the story of The First Emperor.”
“Sounds like a good one.” He nodded, shortly before groaning when her fingers kneaded out a particularly tight clot of muscle in his right shoulder.
“A long, long time ago-”
“In a galaxy far, far away?”
“Master?”
“Never mind. Please continue.”
“Alright. A long, long time ago the human realms had fallen into a near-constant state of war. None more so than the central realm. With five other kingdoms surrounding it, its borders were always being tested and its people suffered greatly. Seven times, its greatest city was conquered, but none held it for more than a few years before its people would rise up against them.”
“I’d imagine if all the kingdoms were regularly kicking the shit out of each other then it’d be difficult to hold any large new territory for long.” Gregory added.
“Indeed. Alliances between the kingdoms were frequent but fleeting, and the central realm was torn apart by the constant state of war. Thousands suffered and died on the battlefields, and amidst the pillaging and looting.
It wasn’t until the last king of the central kingdom appointed a steward to reign after him that things began to change. The king had no living sons or daughters, and so instead he made his closest friend the ruler of his realm. The steward was a teacher, and a man of great wisdom and cunning. He built spectacular fortifications across their borders, and was content never to step outside them. His name was Leonaric, and his efforts helped to stabilize not just the central kingdom, but all others beside it.
Yet despite Leonaric’s efforts, the long-held feuds between kings could not be entirely doused. So, it was Leonaric’s son, Eduran, who finally arose to that particular challenge. Eduran was tutored by both his parents, and inherited their intelligence and their great qualities of leadership. His mother had also been a teacher in her earlier years, and together they appointed him a fiery-hearted young woman named Rila to teach their son in the ways of the world.”
“The ways of the world, huh?” Gregory looked at Lydia over his shoulder. “Does that mean…?”
Lydia flashed him a beautiful grin at his summation.
“It shouldn’t have. Rila was ten years Eduran’s senior when she began tutoring him. He seemed to fall in love with her even as a young boy, but as he grew older and realised that she did not appear interested in his love, his eye began to wander. Unlike his stalwart father, Eduran was more of an adventurer. Sitting behind fortress walls wasn’t his way, and he wasn’t they type to sit waiting upon a forlorn hope when there were other adventures to be had. He loved Rila, but he saw her only interest in him was that of a teacher to her student.”
“Plus, I’m guessing that if his parents found out that Rila had been doing things she shouldn’t have been with their son then they’d have been a little bit head-choppy-offy with her, right?”
“That, my dear master, is exactly what Rila thought. She was also an exceptionally noble lady, and had a reputation to preserve. However, Eduran’s assumption that she felt nothing for her student could not have been more wrong. In the beginning she merely thought his affection for her was a harmless crush and it would soon pass. Yet as she saw him grow from boy to man, and a fine man at that, she began to reciprocate those feelings.”