I went to where I thought they would be and knocked on the thick wooden door. "Meliss? Leona?" I asked from the door, hearing a slight shuffling behind it come to a halt. I stepped back, realizing I was too close to the door, and wondered if I'd gone to the right room or had interrupted something else entirely.
After a few moments without a response, I turned to walk away from it but halted when I heard a bolt unlatch. I turned to find Meliss' eyes, peeping out of the tiny crack in the doorway. "Oh, it's you," she said quietly, excitement barely hidden in her voice.
I was puzzled.
"Who else would it be?" I asked. "Edryd was here a few moments before you knocked. He was looking for you," she said quietly. "Ed knew I was speaking with the others in Pyle's house, so why would he come here looking for me?" I raised an eyebrow. Just then, the two of us were interrupted by none other than Edryd himself. "Ah, there you are! So, what did they want with you?" he asked as he came down the hall.
You have terrible timing, I thought, wondering if Meliss was about to close the door on me.
"The Master told Pyle about that situation we had over in Codrean. He wanted to see if I knew more about you-know-who," I lied. "What did you tell him?" Edryd asked. "The truth, that we still don't know who it is, and that we still have to be careful," I replied with a shrug. "Well, with any luck, he'll be able to help us with that," Edryd said. He looked at the crack in the doorway and found the pair of eyes watching the exchange.
It's about damn time, I mentally chuckled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know…" he paused for a moment. "It's alright, Ed," I said with a smile. "I'll, uh, I'll be going, then," he stepped away, but the sly bastard gave me a wink and a childish grin that could hardly be out of the corner of his mouth. "Asshole," I muttered with a grin and a shake of my head.
I looked back at Meliss, who watched our brief exchange. "Well? Are you coming in or what?" she said quietly. I didn't really know what to say. Obviously, I wanted to go inside, but I was so inexperienced that I could only nod briefly and cautiously enter the room.
You're acting like an idiot, cut it out, I thought as I crossed the threshold.
The room was well furnished, with a few bear-hide rugs scattered throughout, a wooden closet, and a desk with a few bright candles on it that flickered as she shut the door behind me. "Listen, Thoma, I don't want to be too forward, but no one invites someone of the opposite sex to their room late at night for just a chat," she said, closing the door behind her, and bolting the latch.
"Oh, yeah. I knew that," I lied. I had no idea what I was doing, but I did my best to play along as if I did. "Oh, alright. Well, I think you should know that this isn't my first time doing something like this. Granted, it has been a while, but I'm not new to this," she said as she walked toward me from the door with an almost embarrassed look in her eye
"I appreciate the honesty, and almost wish I could say the same," I said, knowing anything else I thought of saying would either be a lie or reveal how shocked I actually was. "You've never been with a woman?" she asked.
No way to escape that one, I mentally sighed.
"Never really got the chance. My days, up until recently, have been spent mostly in Codrean, where the female synners there are more focused on their training, rather than messing up the sheets with someone. However, I do have a question," I said shyly, prompting her to tilt her head to the side. "Why me?" I asked bluntly.
She took a moment to think about it, but shook her head as if she didn't really understand why, either. "I guess I just felt like you weren't like the others who've tried to eat me with their eyes this whole time we've been riding together," she said with a half-shrug, pushing the corner of her mouth into her cheek. "Oh, I, uh, didn't know that," I scratched the back of my head, causing her to giggle, prompting me to do the same lightly.
"Well, come on then," she nodded her head toward the bed near the back of the room. She began taking off her nightgown, slipping her shoulder laces off as she went, and stepping out of it as she walked like it were some sort of practiced dance. Naturally, I didn't know how to react, and felt that the only thing I really could do was stare at the ground.
"Nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to bite you… hard, that is," she said calmly.
I could've sworn I heard the sly grin beginning to grow on her face.
I finally looked up at her, noticing she stood before me wearing nothing more than her skin. She motioned for me to come towards her, and as if I were in some sort of trance, I did so. Before motioning to the bed, she helped me undo the laces and straps to remove my jerkin, hose, and boots.
I sat down upon the soft, goose-feather mattress, and sank deeply into it when I did. She approached me, spreading her legs to envelop mine, and kissed my forehead, pressing her chest into my face. She kissed down my face, and I soon felt her soft, supple lips lock with mine.
"Lie back," she said sweetly, pulling her head back a little as she pushed her hand against my chest. I slowly fell backwards, gazing into her deep, green eyes as she followed me onto the mattress. She kissed me again, but this time, she moved away from my lips. She kissed her way to the backside of my jaw, down the side of my neck, and down my torso towards my hips.
Ah, so that's what that feels like, I thought.
Sparing further, and more personal details, we were at it for more than half the night. At the end of it all, Meliss lay on my bare chest as I watched her head rise and fall gently in time with my breathing. "You weren't bad for a first timer. How was it for you?" she asked quietly yet playfully as she looked at me with her dark green eyes. "You're incredible," I replied honestly, making her chuckle at my reply, but her smile faded faster than I'd thought it would.
"Thoma," she began, almost curling into a fetal position when she said my name.