Chapter 124: Above the Stables

Nyra’s ears tipped forward.

For a breath, the loft held only the muffled sounds of the stable below and the dry smell of hay around them.

Then she walked the 2 steps between them.

"I was already staying."

Severin caught her at the waist. "I noticed."

"Of course you did."

Her voice stayed dry right until he kissed her.

Nyra answered hard enough to make her folded scrap crumple between them. A small irritated sound left her throat when the paper caught against his coat.

"Nnh... stupid thing."

Severin broke the kiss. "Put it down."

"Yes."

She crossed to the west edge of the loft, slipped off her belt, and set the sheathed utility knife over the scrap on top of her folded outer clothes. Her boots went together beside the pile, clear of the hatch. She checked the paper once with her fingertips.

Still Nyra.

Severin glanced toward the square hatch. Alicia remained below, where he’d ordered her. No warning. No reason to turn a private moment into another operation.

He swept a loose coil of rope away from a clear patch of hay with his boot, pressed the boards beneath it with his heel, then stripped off his coat and spread it over the flattened hay.

Nyra watched him. "Romantic."

"You stayed in a stable."

Her mouth twitched. "Fair."

He went back to her.

The next kiss stole the rest of the joke. Severin pushed his hand into her hair, angled her face, and took her mouth until her breath warmed his cheek. Nyra gripped the front of his shirt and kissed him back, tongue meeting his without hesitation.

"Mmh..."

Her tail brushed his shin.

He stripped the cloak from her shoulders and dropped it onto her clothes. Her shirt followed. Cool loft air touched her breasts, tightening her nipples before Severin’s hands did.

Nyra inhaled. "Hah..."

He filled his palms with her.

She had the compact strength of a woman who trusted her feet and knew how to run a bad street, but her breasts were heavy and soft in his hands. He squeezed both slowly, thumbs passing over the stiff pink nipples.

"Nnh... Severin."

"What?"

"You’re very pleased with yourself."

"I’m pleased with these."

A short laugh escaped her. "Gods."

Severin bent and closed his mouth over her left nipple.

"Ah...!"

Her fingers caught his shoulders. He rolled the nipple under his tongue, drew it between his lips, then released it wet and moved to the other breast. Nyra’s back arched as he licked beneath the soft weight and sucked again.

"Mmh... don’t rush that."

He didn’t.

He bit lightly, just enough to sharpen the pull.

"Nnh!"

Then his open palm struck the breast he’d just left.

SLAP!

"Ah! Gods..."

Her breast jumped under the impact. Severin caught it before the movement settled and squeezed.

Nyra stared at him, cheeks warm, ears angled almost accusingly forward.

"You liked that," he said.

"I didn’t say I didn’t."

"Then remember it."

He kissed her again and walked her backward onto the coat. Her knees met the cloth first. Severin followed her down, a hand behind her back, keeping their mouths together until she lay over the dark fabric with hay whispering beyond its edges.

Her trousers and underclothes joined the pile at the west edge. His shirt, trousers, and boots stayed separate to the southwest and southeast, clear of her knife and the hatch.

Nyra looked down at herself, then at him.

"You’ve got that face again."

"What face?"

"The one that says you’ve decided how this goes."

Severin put a hand on her inner thigh and spread it wider.

"I’ve decided."

Her breath caught.

"...Thought so."

He lowered his head.

Nyra’s reply became a gasp when his tongue dragged through the wet pink folds between her thighs.

"Ah!"

She was already slick. Severin licked her again, slower, tasting the heat that had gathered while they undressed. He opened her with his fingers and sucked directly over her clit.

SLURP!

Nyra’s hips jerked.

"Nnh... Severin..."

He held her down with a hand across her lower belly and worked his tongue over her with his other hand keeping her thigh open.

"Mmh... hah... right there."

He sucked harder.

"Ahh!"

Her tail dragged over the coat. Her heel dug into the hay beside his shoulder.

Severin licked lower, then back up, slow enough to make her try to follow him with her hips.

"Don’t chase it."

Nyra let her head fall back. "Then stop moving away."

He looked up.

Her eyes were half-lidded, but the dry challenge survived.

Severin smiled against her wet skin and sucked again.

"Ah... gods..."

The word dissolved into a moan, aimed at the sensation rather than him. Her thighs trembled against his shoulders.

He kept her there until her breathing lost its careful rhythm, then rose before he pushed her over the edge.

Nyra blinked at him. "You stopped."

"Yes."

"Cruel."

"Up."

She obeyed.

Severin sat back on the coat. Nyra moved between his thighs, still breathing faster than she wanted him to notice. Her gaze dropped to his cock.

"I remember you."

"Use your mouth."

"Yes."

Her right hand closed at the base while her tongue passed slowly over the head, her eyes lifting to his.

Severin’s abdomen tightened.

Nyra noticed immediately.

Her lips curved before they closed around him.

SLURP!

"Mmh..."

Warm suction drew down the shaft. Her tongue worked underneath while her hand covered what her mouth hadn’t taken.

Severin pushed his fingers into her hair.

"Deeper."

Nyra took another breath through her nose and obeyed.

GULP!

Her throat moved.

Severin’s hips shifted forward.

GULK!

"Mmmgh..."

The pressure of her mouth and throat dragged a rough breath from him. Nyra heard it. Her ears lifted around his wrist, and she tried to take more on her own.

He stopped her with the hand in her hair.

"My pace."

Her eyes met his.

She nodded as much as his grip allowed.

"Mmh."

Severin guided her down.

GHK!

"Nghk...!"

Her throat tightened sharply around him. Tears brightened the corners of her eyes, but she stayed in place until he let her back for air.

"Hah..."

Saliva shone across her lower lip.

"Again," he said.

Nyra wiped nothing away. "Yes."

He fed his cock into her mouth again, slower at first, then deeper when her jaw loosened.

GGK!

"Mmmgh... nnh..."

Pleasure clenched through Severin’s abdomen. His thighs hardened under her hands.

Nyra’s eyes sharpened when his thighs tensed under her hands.

He pulled her free before she could enjoy the discovery too much.

She drew in a wet breath. "Hah... still not finishing there?"

"No."

"Greedy."

"Turn."

Nyra bent forward to shift her knees over the coat.

Severin’s palm struck her ass.

SLAP!

"AH!"

The soft curve jumped under his hand. Nyra looked back over her shoulder, smoke-black tail flicking high before she caught herself.

"That was unnecessary."

"You liked that too."

She gave him a long look.

"I hate your memory."

"Lie down."

"Yes."

Severin drew her back toward him instead of letting her settle flat. He lay supine on the coat, head toward the south side of the loft, then pulled Nyra across his hips until she straddled him face-to-face. Her knees planted outside his hips. Her feet tucked beside his upper thighs.

Nyra looked down at him.

For once, she had the higher position.

Severin’s left hand locked over her right hip. His right took her left.

"Come down."

Nyra reached between them, guided his cock to her soaked entrance, and obeyed.

SQUELCH!

"Ah...!"

Her pussy opened around the head, already soft and wet enough that the first pressure became a slow, tight slide. Severin pulled her hips lower as he drove upward.

"Nnh... gods..."

She took him deeper.

Her hands spread over his chest. The muscles in her thighs tightened around his waist.

"Still thinking?" he asked.

Nyra breathed out through parted lips. "Unfortunately."

He thrust until her hips settled flush against him.

"Ahh! Severin..."

Her pussy clenched hard around him.

The sensation hit him cleanly: hot, soaked, soft until she squeezed, then tight enough to make his grip deepen on her hips.

Nyra saw his jaw set.

A breathless smile appeared. "Found it again."

Severin pulled her down into a hard upward thrust.

CLAP!

"AH!"

Her breasts bounced heavily between them.

He did it again.

SQUELCH! CLAP!

"Nnh...!"

Again.

"Ah... hah..."

Nyra tried to roll her hips into the rhythm. Severin let her meet him, but his hands decided where she landed and his hips decided how deep.

"Mmh... harder."

He gave her harder.

CLAP! CLAP!

"Ah! Severin... gods..."

Her tail lashed over his thigh. The low rafters and rough loft disappeared from her attention each impact.

Severin watched her breasts jump with every downward pull of his hands, felt her ass meet his thighs, felt the wet grip of her pussy tighten around him whenever he struck deeper.

He dragged her down and drove all the way to her deepest felt limit.

Nyra’s eyes flew open.

"Ahh—!"

SQUIRT!

Hot fluid spilled between them and over his lower abdomen.

Her pussy convulsed around his cock.

"Nnh... nnh... Severin...!"

The orgasm shook through her thighs. Her hands slipped on his chest, then caught his shoulders instead.

Severin kept moving.

"Hah... wait—"

CLAP!

"Ah!"

"Take it."

Nyra bent forward, mouth finding his before the next thrust could knock another cry loose. She kissed him messily, breath breaking across his lips.

"Mmh... yes..."

Her contractions kept squeezing him.

Severin’s pleasure climbed too fast. The way she clenched around him after coming dragged the pressure through his abdomen and down into his thighs.

Nyra felt his cock throb inside her.

"Severin..."

He thrust high into her and kept her pinned at the depth.

SPRUTT!

His release pulsed into her.

A rough groan escaped him. His hands tightened on her hips while heat spilled deep inside Nyra in heavy pulses.

"Ngh..."

Nyra shivered above him.

"Ah... warm..."

Severin didn’t withdraw.

He didn’t stop.

His hips drove up again while the last pulse was still fading.

SQUELCH! CLAP!

Nyra’s mouth fell open. "Ah! Gods... you’re—"

Another thrust broke the sentence.

"Nnh!"

"What?"

"Still... hah... hard."

"Keep moving."

Her ears flattened. "Of course you’d say that."

He pulled her down harder.

"AAH!"

The fresh semen and her own wetness made every stroke louder. Nyra’s pussy worked around him in helpless little squeezes even when she tried to steady her breathing.

SQUELCH!

"Mmh... too wet..."

"You’re complaining?"

"No."

"Then take it."

He accelerated.

The coat dragged against his back. Hay scratched at its edges. Nyra’s breasts bounced hard enough to brush his chest whenever he pulled her low; when she lifted, they swayed under the next impact.

"Ah... ah... Severin..."

CLAP!

"Nnh..."

CLAP!

"Hah... don’t stop."

Her pussy tightened again.

Severin kept the strokes hard but shortened them just enough to keep the deepest contact away.

Nyra noticed after 3 breaths.

Her eyes narrowed through the pleasure. "You’re doing that on purpose."

"Yes."

"Cruel man."

"Still thinking too much."

"Fix it, then."

Severin drove her down as he thrust upward to the bottom of her sensation.

"AHH!"

SQUIRT!

Her entire body seized.

"Nnh...! Severin!"

Another orgasm hit in tight, rapid waves. Her nails pressed into his shoulders. She folded forward, forehead almost touching his, then jerked upright when he kept fucking her through it.

"Hah... hah... gods..."

"Look at me."

Nyra’s eyes found his.

"Yes."

He kissed her, tongue pushing into her mouth while his hips kept the rhythm below.

"Mmh... nnh..."

Her kisses were losing precision. Her body wasn’t.

She still met him when she could, thighs flexing, hips following the pace he set.

Severin broke the kiss and pulled her upright again.

"Stay there."

Nyra swallowed. "Trying."

"Do it."

A shaky laugh slipped out of her. "Yes..."

He drove deep.

"Ah!"

SQUIRT!

Fluid splashed over their joined hips.

He pulled back only enough to strike deep again.

"Nnh—!"

SQUIRT!

Nyra’s tail went rigid behind her.

"Severin... hah... that’s..."

"What?"

"Feels like... you’re hitting my womb..."

Severin’s grip tightened.

He drove her down to the same deepest limit.

"AAH!"

SQUIRT!

The next orgasm broke what remained of her careful voice.

"Nnh... ah... ahh...!"

Her thighs shook violently. Her hands slipped from his shoulders to his forearms. Her eyes unfocused for a heartbeat before locking back onto his.

"Hah... still... here."

"Stay with me."

"Yes... Severin."

Her thighs were close to giving out. Her eyes still tracked him, and her pussy kept squeezing in weak, uneven pulses that turned suddenly hard when he thrust again.

Severin held her easily, careful not to let his real strength into the grip on her hips.

He drove upward in a hard, steady rhythm.

CLAP!

"Ah..."

SQUELCH!

"Mmh..."

Another deep stroke made her gasp, but he held just short of the deliberate bottoming contact that had been making her squirt.

The pressure inside him built again.

Nyra’s pussy clenched once, hard enough to pull the last control out of his breathing.

Severin drove up and held her tight without striking that deepest point again.

SPURT!

The next release filled her in hot pulses.

"Ngh..."

Nyra whimpered and folded forward onto his chest.

"Mmh... full..."

Severin held her against him until the final throb faded.

After the last pulse faded, he pulled out.

Wet heat spilled almost immediately from Nyra’s pussy, semen and her own fluids running down the insides of her thighs and onto the coat beneath them. A thin red streak mixed into the mess at her entrance, no more than the raw friction from the hard rhythm.

Nyra flinched when her thighs shifted.

"Nnh... sore."

"I know."

Her knees stayed outside his hips, but the strength went out of them. She sagged over him, cheek against his chest. Severin wrapped his left arm around her lower back and steadied her left hip with his right hand.

Her body trembled against his. The worst of the shaking was already easing, slowly, while the soreness stayed.

Nyra gave a weak breath that might have been a laugh.

"Stable was a terrible idea."

"You picked it."

"I picked staying. You supplied the hay."

"You survived."

"Barely." Her tail twitched once over his thigh. "Ask me again when my legs remember their profession."

Severin’s mouth almost moved.

Below them, a man’s voice carried through the quiet stable.

"I just need the feed measure. Horses still eat when nobody’s allowed upstairs."

Nyra’s ears moved before the rest of her did.

Severin went still beneath her.

Alicia answered from near the south entrance. "Master is upstairs. You don’t go up. What do you need?"

"Feed measure, I said. And the gray gelding’s tally. Foreman will blame me tomorrow if the numbers don’t match again."

A second worker muttered something too low to catch.

Then the first man said, louder, "Tell him it isn’t my damned tally. Those men used our hay, our feed, our horses, then the charges went into the tannery books like the stable never spent a copper on them. Front office can explain its own mess."

Alicia paused.

"The men who used the loft?"

"Them too. Any of that lot. Stable work gets written here. Their costs didn’t."

Wood creaked below as somebody shifted his weight.

"Fine," Alicia said. "Wait there. Master is still upstairs."

Nyra lifted her head from Severin’s chest. She was flushed, hair disordered, breath still uneven. Her ears had gone completely alert.

"That’s better than another empty shutter," she murmured.

Severin looked toward the hatch.

"Proof?"

Nyra’s tired mouth bent sideways. "No. A trail. If their horse and feed costs were pushed into the tannery books, somebody had to keep writing them somewhere."

Marienne already had the front-office records in hand.

What they needed now wasn’t another hour waiting above a stable for a collector who might never come.

It was everything the tannery had tried to make add up.

Severin rested a hand against Nyra’s lower back.

"Tomorrow, Marienne and I go through the complete accounts."

Nyra let her cheek fall back onto his chest.