Sera's body wrapped around me, shutting out the world and everything in it. Shadowfen Valley, its dangers, its creeping silence, its lurking monsters, faded into nothing. For once, it wasn't the monsters or the threat of death that weighed on me.
It was her.
Her lips pressed against mine, soft but hungry, and I swore the taste of her spread through me like fire and honey all at once. My thoughts stumbled, broken and clumsy, but my body moved as if it had been waiting for this moment forever.
I pulled her closer, my hand pressing into the curve of her chest. Her heartbeat thudded against my palm, fast, strong, alive, and I could almost convince myself it matched my own.
Her thighs tightened around me, firm and warm, caging me in. Not a prison. More like a vow. A claim. And I let myself sink into it, into her, into the intoxicating heat that erased everything else.
No, Rune, get a hold of yourself, I thought, the primal command echoing in my skull. The monsters here were B-rank threats, patrolling the vallley, hungry.
Distraction? That could be deadly. My palm, flat against the cold, damp cave floor, pressed down, a desperate attempt to leverage my body, to create a distance between Sera and me. Her hips still cradled mine, a soft, insistent pressure. My other hand rested on her chest, feeling the frantic beat of her heart against my palm.
I needed to move. But as I began to push, A blue window flared into existence, blocking my view of her face for a split second.
[Activating skill - Soft Touch (F).]
[Required MP: 10. Available MP: 103.]
No, no, no! Nexaar! My mind screamed, but it was too late.
[Skill activated - Soft Touch (F).]
A jolt surged from my palm into her chest. "Ahhnn…" The sound was a soft, breathy moan, escaping her lips. Her thighs, which had loosely embraced my waist, suddenly hardened, clamping down with surprising strength. The cave air grew thick, charged with something raw and undeniable.
"Ahhnn… Nnng…" The moans came again, a cascade now, each one deeper, more resonant than the last. Her head tilted back, and her eyes rolled, the whites gleaming in the low light, lost to some inner tempest of pleasure.
"Rune… Rune…" The name was a murmur, less a call and more an involuntary sigh, a rhythmic punctuation to her growing ecstasy. "Sera… it's not safe here…" I tried to force the words out, to break through the fog that had begun to descend, but she cut me off.
She threw her weight, a sudden, powerful lurch, and I felt myself topple backward. My single bracing hand, still on the ground, twisted beneath me. "Ugh!" A sharp, searing pain tore through my shoulder. A sickening pop resonated through my bones. Disjointed? The thought barely registered.
She moved with an almost animalistic grace, scrambling atop me. Her skirt, a simple linen affair, rode high on her thighs, revealing the soft, pale skin beneath. My hand, still on her chest, now felt the frantic, rapid heaving of her breasts.
Another blue window shimmered into existence, before my eyes.
[I can access your mana reserves, hence perception. Don't worry about getting distracted. I will tell you if a monster decides to show up.]
"Hey, but still…" I started, but Nexaar, the sly bastard, cut me off again.
[So keep going. I will keep a watch outside. Hehe.]
My jaw clenched. This… this absolute menace!
"Ugh…" A fresh wave of pain erupted from my shoulder, a sharp, insistent throb. I glanced down, finding Sera's delicate fingers already at my arm, guiding my hand towards her other breast. She leaned into me, her full weight pressing down, channeling it through her soft, yielding flesh into my waiting palms.
"Nnnhh…" A guttural sound vibrated from her throat as she drove herself against me, her body arching and twisting with pleasure. My hands, now cradling the supple weight of her breasts, absorbed the shock of her movements.
Her lips, soft and demanding, descended onto mine. This wasn't a gentle kiss; it was a hungry, desperate claim, her mouth moving vigorously against mine, a frenzied dance of seeking and taking.
"Mmnn… nnhh…" Her chest felt like silk beneath my palms, delicate yet firm, threatening to break from the sheer force of her pleasure-induced jolting and twitching.
I met her fervor, matching her hunger, my lips moving with hers, my tongue seeking hers, tasting the sweet, earthy tang of her mouth. My palms, still cupping her breasts, worked their magic, kneading and teasing, eliciting fresh moans.
Her eyes, still rolled back, signaled her impending loss of consciousness, her mind teetering on the edge of oblivion. I went all out. My mouth broke from hers, trailing a hot, wet path down her neck, past her collarbone, until it landed squarely on her chest, suckling at the peak of her breast.
My arms, driven by an instinct I hadn't known I possessed, tightened around her thighs, pulling her closer, pressing her hips flush against mine.
"Ahhnn… Ahhnn…" The moans were a continuous stream now, her body a taut bow string, twitching and arching under the spell of my skill.
My primal instincts took over. I broke contact with her breast, my lips searching for hers once more, a desperate, greedy quest. But then I stopped, my gaze falling upon her face.
Her body, once so alive with frantic motion, now lay still, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
.............
She had lost consciousness.
The cave, for a moment, was silent, save for the echo of my own ragged breathing and the distant drip of water.
"H-Hey, Nexar." My voice, a ragged whisper.
[What now?] Nexar's script scrolled across the window.
[Wait, what!] The text pulsed, growing bolder, as Nexar registered Sera's still form. Her dress, a silk whisper of midnight, lay askew, revealing too much.
"She... she suddenly fell unconscious."
[I suspected it from the amount of sound she is making… she can't handle soft touch for long, it seems.]
My jaw tightened. "Then why the fuck would you activate that?"
[Who knew an eternal virgin like you could do this much!] Nexar shot back, the words practically radiating a digital frown.
"Waahh… you are pinning blame on me now?"
[Sigh! Don't worry. She just fell unconscious, unable to handle sudden surge of pleasure. She would be fine once she wakes up.]
My gaze drifted over Sera's body, tracing the soft curve of her hip, the delicate line of her jaw. A flush, faint as a rose petal, painted her cheeks.
I moved, my hands gently coaxing her dress back into place, covering the pale expanse of her skin. Then, I gathered her into my arms. Her warmth, pressed against me.
I carried her to her sleeping mat, which lay crumpled from our earlier... activities. I smoothed the rough fabric, then eased her down. The silver glow of the etherium crystal, nestled in the cave wall, kissed her cherry-coloured lips, highlighting the exquisite lines of her face.
[Rune, you should sleep too. Tomorrow won't be easy.]
I nodded, my eyes still on Sera. "I should ask Tugneir about Sera's sword too. She's thinking it's just her father's keepsake."
[You can't blame her. She never got to know who her parents really were.]
"Yeah." A soft sigh escaped me. "I suspected this much the moment I saw her stance. The stance created to optimise the effect of the technique, Flutterdeath."
[Sera would need to learn that technique at some point if she wishes to hone her swordsmanship in the way her mother did.]
I arranged my own sleeping mat, the rough wool a familiar comfort. "Well then, I am off for the night. Keep watch outside, watchdog."
[Such gratitude.] The blue window flickered, then dimmed, leaving only the soft luminescence of the etherium crystal to guard our sleep.