Page 32 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

“This seems very unfair. Why do you get this massive room, with a full fireplace?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Well, I’m much bigger than you. I need more space to move around,” I said.

“Mine is half the size of yours, and we paid the same amount!”

“Ah. You see, I received the friend discount. You got the friend of a friend discount. Big difference,” I said, moving the plate toward her.

Elikki ate a big bite and pushed it back to me. “You need to try this. It’s incredible.”

I took a forkful, and it was like summer in my mouth. Bright, citrusy, both sweet and sharp—even Monty would be impressed with Saho’s creation, and she had notoriously high standards for any fellow chef’s cooking. I ate another large bite and tried to memorize the flavor. Maybe Saho would let me steal the recipe for my sister.

“Want some?” Elikki had uncorked the mead and was pouring a bit into a squat glass. It caught the fire’s light, a dark golden slosh.

“I don’t drink much,” I said. “But I’d take a dram.”

She poured a second small glass and handed it to me. Our fingers brushed, and I quickly sipped the mead.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Lightly sweet.” My mouth was somehow dry, and I took another gulp. “Rich flavor.” She was watching me steadily, her silver eyes tracking my movements. “Smooth.”

“Very smooth,” Elikki agreed, sipping. A smile played at the edge of her lips.

I set my glass down on the table, suddenly afraid of having any more. “Maybe we should call it a night.”

“Already?”

“Maybe.”

She ate another bite of cake. I watched a couple of crumbs clinging to her full bottom lip, again. Stopped myself from brushing them away, again.

“Why did you invite me in here, Barra?”

“I… I couldn’t finish all of this on my own,” I said, gesturing to the dessert. “And Saho would be devastated if they thought we didn’t like it.” That sounded reasonably plausible.

Elikki ate another forkful. And another. And another. When the cake was gone, she washed it down with a long drink of mead.

“Well,” she said. “We finished it. Should I go now?”

I was frozen. Muscles tensed, I clenched the arms of the chair, eyes locked on the dancing flames of the fire. I didn’t know what to do. If she stayed, I felt like I’d be gone for her. I’d lose myself again. Need her too much. But if she left…

After a long silence, I heard her sigh. She stood and began moving toward the door.

“Wait.”

Elikki paused, turning.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, frustrated, wary. “What is this?”

She walked closer. “I want to make you feel good.” Her voice was sweet as the mead, warm like the fire burning next to us. “Like you did for me.”

I drew in a ragged breath. “What if I just do that for you again? Would that be enough?”

Elikki stepped in between my legs, her thighs nudging them farther apart.

“I can make myself feel good,” she whispered.

She moved her left leg until she was straddling my thigh. Lowering her weight onto it, she began to grind, slowly, against my leg.