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She’d never been so glad to be back in camp since she’d started traveling with her companions.
The group had barely traveled more than a few miles, and the worst encounter for the day had been a pack of gnolls terrorizing travelers heading towards Baldur’s Gate. A simple fight, but one that had completely sapped Tav of her energy, leaving her irritable, sore, and ready to get away from everyone and everything. So once evening approached and the crew had all found a suitable place to bed down for the night, Gale got to work erecting all the tents with telekinesis, Karlach and Wyll worked together to start a fire and get their meal for the night prepared, and everyone else separated to go about their own business.
Tav retreated to the river for a soak. She was always grateful when they’d all found a place to camp that was close to a lake or stream; the chance for a bath was a rarity that she’d come to value nearly as much as the warm meals prepared. But today, she was especially grateful. Her cycle was not gentle with her this month it seemed, and she’d paid the price for pushing herself so hard. Clean up was due, and a refreshing soak was just what the cleric ordered.
She should have known it was coming. She’d been on Halsin like a woman starved for touch for the last three nights and gods bless him, he’d taken her ravenous lust in stride, and laid her down with expertise and ease every single night, satisfying her until the both of them were spent and sated. Tav had thought that it was just a stroke of need that had worked into her bones, driving her to such starving heights for the man she loved, but she’d been wrong. Hormones worked through her body like a damned tidal wave, and now she was left with the aftermath.
Horrendous cramps, a pounding headache, irritability, and fatigue all weighed on her as she settled down into the riverbank, rinsing off her scented soaps and ensuring she was well and thoroughly washed up. She just wanted to curl up in her bedroll and waste the night away. She almost always sat with the others at the end of their days traveling, exchanging stories and wine, sometimes even playing card games or charades until the moon hung high in the sky, and everyone found their rest. But not tonight. Perhaps she’d even skip the meal.
After her bath was finished, she dried and dressed, throwing her hair up into a mess of tangled curls atop her head before trudging back to camp. Her back hurt. Her legs hurt. Her feet hurt. Her stomach hurt. Damned near everything in her body just ached, and it must have been written all over her face by the time she got back to camp, because Astarion peered at her with a familiar, mischievous glimmer in his eye.
“My, my. Must have been quite the bath for you to look so worn out, darling.”
The glare Tav shot him was uncharacteristic of her, and icy. “Don’t,” she growled, pushing past him, and away from the group to retreat into the tent she and Halsin shared.
The Archdruid wasn’t there yet, thankfully. Perhaps he’d gone out to hunt their supper with Karlach, or had taken to his meditations early tonight. In truth, Tav didn’t mind the free space in the tent at the moment. Halsin was a large elf, and while most nights she cherished being damned near smothered by him in their shared space, tonight she valued solitude. With a horrendous stomach ache and a pounding head, she curled into her bedroll and covered up, hugging her knees tight to chest. She wouldn’t sleep with this kind of discomfort, but at least she could wait it out in quiet and privacy. Perhaps when Halsin returned, she’d be in better spirits.
A cool breeze that wafted into the tent a few hours later awoke her from a slumber she hadn’t realized she’d fallen into. With sleep-laden eyes she peered around the tent, only to find Halsin entering, wearing nothing but the warm, gentle smile she’d come to love so dearly. He must have just returned from his own bath.
Tav reached up to wipe her eyes. “What time is?”
“About midnight, I would say. The moon is at its zenith.” He ran the towel over his head a few times before hanging it on one of the tent pegs close by.
“Gods, I slept that long?” she groaned, pushing herself up to a seat. At least her headache was gone, and her cramping had subsided to a manageable level. “Everything’s alright in camp, right? No…random fires or fights, Shadowheart and Lae’zel haven’t gotten into it, have they? Is Scratch–”
“Everything is just fine, my heart,” the Druid replied, easing down to a seat beside her. He leant, pressing a soft and easy kiss to her temple. “There is stew left, if you are hungry. You should not rest on an empty stomach.”
The thought of eating was the last thing she wanted. “...I’ll make sure to have a hearty breakfast.” She glanced at him, chewing her lower lip. “I’m sorry, I…know I have not been the kindest today. I’ve not been myself, but…know that it has nothing to do with you.”
Halsin chuckled softly and reached, running his hand back through her hair. “It is alright, my love. You have your blood – I cannot expect more of you than you are capable of giving, right now.”
Tav’s eyes widened, and she felt a warm flush rush into her cheeks. “How did you know?”
The old Druid smiled. “...There were signs. You riding me like a woman starved being only one among them.” He drew her close, bringing her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her midsection, palms laying flat over her lower belly. “That, and I saw you running to the water this morning to wash your smallclothes.”
Tav groaned, reaching up to cover her face with her hands. Gods, how embarrassing. “I thought I’d managed to get up without waking you. I’m sorry.”
He rested his chin in the crook of her neck and hushed her, lips nestling against the side of her jaw for a tender, affectionate kiss. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for. You think you are the first woman I’ve known to get her blood while traveling with me?” He chuckled, his hands running in slow, easy circles around her lower belly. “Kahga was a damned banshee when her cycle would arrive. Yours is…delightfully mild.”
“It’s only the first day,” Tav reminded him, sinking easily back against his hulking torso, letting her eyes drift closed as he massaged her lower abdomen. “I could be even worse, come the next few days. Perhaps I’ll be the next banshee you’ve come to know.”
Halsin chuckled, pressing his nose into her hair. “I doubt it,” he said with that familiar, warm ease. “How is your pain?”
She felt herself melt at his words, his worried tone. She’d never known anyone else to be so considerate of how she was feeling, during her cycle. Any other traveling companions she’d had, even family and friends, typically gave her a bit of a wide berth. To be doted on was…comforting in a way she didn’t anticipate.
“A bit better, now that I’ve had some rest.” How honest should she be? Did he want all the details? “...My head is clear, but…the cramps don’t cease until a few days in. And my breasts and lower back ache.”
She felt the tender touch of his lips to her neck again, as well as a shift in his body as he adjusted his positioning, drawing her back even more against his torso, so much so that she had to lean. He took her weight, encouraging her to let him hold her up.
“Do you still have that elderflower oil that we bought back in Last Light?”
Tav’s brow creased, and she looked over her shoulder at him. “...I think so. Why?”
The Druid smiled, reaching to rest his fingers at her chin, and guided her face towards his for a brief, but tender kiss planted to her lips. “Undress, my heart,” he told her, shifting to rise from his seat, and go rifling through their shared supplies. “- and lie down when you’re bare.”
“Halsin…I don’t know if we should, right now. …It will be…uh…messy.”
She saw the old bear grin, and he shook his head. “We need not make love if you do not wish to, but I am not intimidated by your cycles. Some women find even deeper, stronger release and pleasure during their moon time. But that’s not why I want you to undress.” Finally, he fished out the vial of elderflower oil she had stowed away.
Tav did as she was bid, and stripped off her leathers and clothes, reaching to snatch Halsin’s towel from its hanging spot to lay it beneath her hips before she laid down on her belly, her cheek resting on folded hands. She felt…strangely vulnerable. She’d been naked with Halsin dozens of times by now, but never on her cycle. His confidence was not lost on her, but she didn’t quite share it. Why would he ask her to strip down to nothing at a time like this?
Her question was answered when she felt the slow dribbling of oil slide down her spine. The sensation of it drew goosebumps to her skin, and she looked over her shoulder to eye her lover with a lofted brow. “That was expensive, you know,” she teased, smirking.
He was going to give her a massage, to ease her discomfort. Gods and heroes, she loved this man.
Halsin chuckled darkly and shook his head, summoning fire to his palms to heat them for a few moments as he spoke. “It may well have been, but your comfort is worth far more, in my opinion.” He bent down beside her and pressed a kiss into her hair. “Now hush. Let me take care of you.”
Tav snickered herself, but nodded her assent. She was unaccustomed to being doted on like this, but if Halsin truly wished to provide such luxurious comforts to her…who was she to refuse him? She felt his legs come to rest on either side of her hips as he straddled her, and the heated, soothing touch of his hands against her bare back brought a delighted hum to her lips. That touch slid up and down her back from shoulder to the crest of her hips, coating her in the oil he’d poured. The scent of elderflower filled the space soon after, a delight to Tav’s nose, and Halsin began to work slow, easy circles into her tense back with his knuckles.
“That feels good,” she cooed, letting her eyes drift closed.
Truthfully, any time she had his hands on her skin felt good. But to feel such tender touches, and to know the intent behind them made it feel that much better. He was ages beyond her, capable of calling upon powers that put her meager fighting skills to shame. He led a grove of Druids, protected them and kept them safe, all while following in the path of Silvanus, the Oak Father, and maintaining the natural balance. And now…he was here, in the dim firelight of their shared tent, working the tension from her muscles with sympathy for her pain, and with tenderness in every touch.
Tav smiled. She did not deserve him.
“Good,” Halsin rumbled, rocking his weight into each upward stroke of his hands across her back. “I want you to feel good. It brings me no greater joy than to see you happy.”
She peered at him over her shoulder, an eyebrow quirked. “Not even seeing me in the throes of pleasure?”
His lip curled up on the side in that mischievous smirk, and he gave an acquiescing nod. “...Well. You have me there. It is a beautiful sight.” He swirled his thumbs into the contours of her shoulder blades, working out tension. “You are a beautiful sight.”
Tav chewed her lip in thought, suppressing the groan that wanted to pour forth as he kneaded her shoulders. “What about…seeing me atop you, as I ride you like a woman starved? As you so eloquently put it.”
Halsin grinned. “Aye…that is beautiful as well. But I think that falls in the category of 'the throes of your pleasure'.”
He traced the lines of her spine with his fingertips, easing his touch into the gaps between her ribs. She was sensitive here, and stiffened a bit before the discomfort melted away into that blissful, soft feeling.
“Do you have a favorite?”
She felt his body lower down a bit, scooching back from where he perched at her hips to sit at the backs of her thighs instead. She felt her insides clench as his length dragged over the swell of her backside. He was thick and stiff already, just from working his hands over her body.
“A favorite what, my heart?” he asked, pouring more oil across the backs of her legs before the gentle massage resumed, strong hands working over cool, delicate flesh.
“A favorite position. I don’t think I’ve ever asked.”
Halsin hummed a moment, working down her legs until he rested at her feet, where his thumbs worked into her heels. That felt delightful.
“There was a time that I favored taking a partner from behind. There is always something…quite primal, in that space. There tends to be lots of…biting and scratching. The pulling of hair. Sometimes the occasional swat to the backside, if consent is given.”
Tav’s brow creased in confusion. Of all the times they’d laid together, he’d never taken her from behind. He’d never even seemed like he wanted to. She looked back at him, propping herself up on her elbows.
“With you, though,” he explained, moving to the other foot. “...I crave your gaze. Your body is wicked in its own right, and you unman me without even trying.” Those warm, amber eyes of his traveled up to meet hers, and he smiled an effortless, knowing smile that stole her breath. He looked erotic, in this light. “But your eyes touch me more deeply than your hands on my skin. And when I am inside of you, taking what is mine, and you stare up at me with that look in your eye…” He bit his lip, hands slowing for a moment for the first time since he’d begun. “I dream of it. When I think back on the nights I’ve made love to you, that is the image that stands in my mind. Your eyes.”
Tav softened. How this man could melt her heart and ignite her body all at once was still a mystery, even after all the time she’d spent with him. He spoke with such earnest honesty, baring intent and heart and soul to her without a moment’s hesitation, or a thought given for shame. He didn’t fear judgment. It was as though, in Halsin’s mind, honesty and openness about his desires was of paramount importance. She loved that about him. She strived to be that open with him in turn, though it wasn’t quite as simple for her. But he took her quirks in stride, meeting her where she was and picking up what slack she could not quite carry, yet. How she’d gotten so lucky to have been chosen by him was a mystery to her.
“...C’mere a second,” she told him, reaching back to beckon him with a hand.
He relinquished his hold on her foot to crawl up her body, settling himself down atop her. Again, she felt her insides jump as his length nestled between her cheeks, and he rested down over her, hugging his arms in against her sides. His lips were at her ear, his cheek resting at her hair. She was surrounded in his scent, his warmth, and his strength.
“Hmm?” he mused, still holding that knowing, coy smile on his lips. They descended down to her ear, to kiss and gently tug at its edge before he bent into her neck, inhaling the scent of her before kissing her there, too.
She’d had a thought to share with him…she knew that. But the touch of his lips and the weight of his body bearing down over her was…terribly distracting. Even more so when she felt the slow, rhythmic pulse of his cock thrumming against her backside.
“I…u-uh…” She chewed her lip, finding his hand to lace her fingers with his and hold loosely. His lips pressed into the crook of her neck, then shifted to her nape where she felt the nip of his teeth. Gooseflesh rose over her skin and she clenched at the sensation.
“What is it, my heart?” he rumbled, his free hand cascading in a slow, tempting caress down her side, squeezing at her hip before trailing fingertips up her ribs. He tempted her with every touch.
Tav breathed a melodic sigh, her eyes half-lidded. “You know I can’t focus…when you do that…”
Halsin hummed again, lifting up and off of her body just far enough to urge her to flip, and turn onto her back. She did so, and hands came up to rest on his broad chest as soon as she could reach him, fingertips gliding through the dusting of hair atop his skin. He lowered down once again, his russet-brown hair framing his face as his hands framed hers.
“You will recall…that I want to take care of you,” he began, bending just enough so that his nose brushed against hers. So close, she could taste his breath. “...You do not have to focus for me to do that.”
Tav licked her lips, finding them buzzing for the taste and texture of his. She wanted to kiss him. To chase his tongue with hers, and surrender her body to need once again, and crash into him. From the lurid look in his eye, she had a feeling his mind was traveling to similar places. But the slick between her legs made her hesitate.
“...I’ve never…u-uh…been with someone during my cycle before, Halsin…” She swallowed, nervous. “...Are you sure?”
The Druid bent to press a reverently soft kiss against her mouth. One that lingered, but did not press. One brimming with affection, and tenderness.
“Do you trust me, my love?”
Her hand came up to cup his cheek, thumb passing over his cheekbone. “Of course. More than anyone.”
Halsin’s smile was warm and easy, and he nuzzled his nose to hers once again. “Then close your eyes. Surrender your mind to the sensations of your body, and let me heighten them.”
She did as he bid her, closing her eyes and trying to relax. Another kiss landed on her mouth, melting and deep, and she returned it with an equal, scorching fervor. She’d had other lovers in her past, but nobody had ever kissed her the way Halsin did. Every tug on her lips was laden with a slow-burning intent, and a languid intensity that stole her breath. As though he knew the destination, but had every intention of taking all the time in the world to get there. She could drown in his kiss.
But a moment later, he’d pulled away. She wanted to open her eyes, to watch him, to be able to anticipate where his touch might land…but he’d asked for trust, and she would give it. She willed her body to relax, forcing muscles to release their tension so she could sink down into the bedroll beneath him.
“That’s it,” he breathed, his lips landing at her cheek. Then her jaw, the side of her neck, and below her ear. A leisurely, wet line was carved with his tongue down the length of her neck, his teeth grazing her throat before he descended further. She felt her flesh tighten under his tender assault, her nipples stiffening and gooseflesh rising over her skin for the thousandth time since she’d known him.
She was reactive to his touch. She had been from the very start. Their first night together had been earth shattering, and she’d lost count of how many times he’d drawn her to climax. He was a master of pleasure, of drawing out desires in her that she’d never even known, and meeting nearly every want she could ever have. She’d been hooked ever since.
And now, laying before him as he moved at that familiar lazy and sensual pace, she felt her pulse quicken. She loved the way he took his time. With closed eyes, she felt every touch more intensely. Every pull of his lips and teeth drew a gasp from her. The soothing lap of his tongue made her shiver and melt. When his mouth closed around her nipples, she all but arched into his touch, fingers crashing into his hair to hold him there; she so loved the way he lavished her breasts.
“- tastes so good,” he murmured, words half cut off by his own affectionate ministrations. From one nipple to the other, he sucked and licked, drawing each into rigid, sensitive peaks. “I never tire of how your body responds to me.”
“Good,” Tav breathed, combing her hands back through his hair. “...Just means you’ll never…mmph~...s-stop touching me.”
She could feel his smile. “Never,” he purred, and she felt the tip of his tongue slide down the length of her stomach, dipping into her navel, before he urged her legs apart and nestled in between them.
A stab of uncertainty settled in her gut, stealing her focus away from the blooming pleasure in her center, and she reached down to urge him away. She expected her touch to find purchase on his cheek, or in his hair, but her hand landed at his hip. He’d shifted, kneeling between her legs, rather than laying between them to devour her. That eased her mind.
She opened her eyes – she couldn’t resist. Beholding him in the low candle light of the tent, looming over her in all his broad-chested glory sent a shiver down her spine. She reached a hand up to drag it down the front of his chest, to feel the contour of every muscle beneath her touch. So much strength sat beneath such a gentle and loving exterior. She felt so lucky to be beholden to his softer side, and even luckier that he was comfortable enough to show it to her. She knew he did not show many.
“You’re striking,” she told him, licking her lips and smiling. “...Have I told you that lately?”
Her gaze fixated as he took himself in hand, twisting out a few long, lazy strokes from base to tip. “...You have. But I long to hear it, nonetheless.”
He adjusted his grip, tapping the thick weight of his cock against her mound a few times, bouncing it against her swollen, sensitive clit. She jumped, toes curling at the level of sensitivity, from just a few touches.
“Tell me what you want, my heart.” He bent down, coming to rest on top of her and wedging his length between their bodies, nestled right between the lips of her sex. “...I ache to have you…but I will not enter you if it’s not what you want tonight.”
She swallowed, at war with herself. On one hand…her insides shuddered with a gnawing need to be stretched and filled by him again. She’d had him every night for the last three, but she couldn’t deny that her body craved his just as much as he did her. But on the other…well. They’d both likely need another trip to the river once they were through, to rinse and clean off.
“What about just like this?” she asked him, hands rising to clutch at his hips, hers arching up to grind her mound against his trapped length. His nostrils flared, his eyes growing dark and heavy.
Taking her hint, he rocked his hips forward, grinding himself down into her. The slickness of the elderflower oil mixed with her own honey, and his drooling preseed made for an easy glide, back and forth. Each pass pressed directly down against her aching pearl, stimulating her.
“Like that?” he asked, his voice low and intimately close. She nodded fiercely, hands caressing up and down his sides, gripping at his back.
“Mm, just like that…” she breathed, chewing her lip and bringing her free hand to curl at the back of his neck. She tugged him down, drawing his lips in against hers for a heated kiss.
Halsin groaned against her mouth, bringing his hand up to cradle her head as he chased one kiss after another from her mouth, his tongue dipping past her lips to find its partner. He tasted of mint leaves and herbal tea, rather than the wine the others in camp passed around. He never partook, and she’d grown quite fond of his flavor.
Sucking down kiss after kiss, she soon sank into his unhurried rhythm, lifting her hips to arch against his length as it passed through her soaked slit. His knees had planted at the backs of her thighs, his body weight heavy and thick as he laid over her, trapping his cock between them so it had nowhere else to go but to slide between their bodies, and tease her.
“More,” she whispered against his mouth, chasing the words with her tongue curling over his. “Please, Halsin…more.”
His teeth closed at her lower lip for a slow nibble, drawing her lip out only to release it with a pop, and marvel at how kiss-swollen it had become. His pace increased, rowing himself forward and back, his hips humping a generous, thick roll against hers. The scent of elderflower and sex hung heavy in the air, like a carnal perfume to mark the insides of their tent.
“Give me your eyes,” he growled to her, bending to nip at her jaw and beneath her ear before he propped himself up over her, looking down with molten amber in his gaze as his hips worked.
She peered up at him with half-lidded, sex drunk eyes, reflecting back every ounce of carnal desire that he showed in his. The Archdruid groaned, holding her gaze with a fierce intensity…a growing urgency.
“You…unman…me…” he rasped, pumping his hips faster, grinding deeper. He bucked against her with a frenzied, wild abandon, sliding the veined underside of his length against her clit with every hastened pass.
She could barely stand it. It was wicked temptation, and indulgence all at once. She wanted him inside of her like never before, but the blossoming pleasure in her core yearned for him to continue just as he was. It felt so good, like fire igniting beneath her skin, tingling in fingers and toes, with heat creeping up the back of her neck. Heightened sensation, just as he’d said.
“I feel it,” she whispered, almost in warning. Deep in her core, coiling in her lower belly, was the tell-tale tug of a building climax. Akin to a spring, winding tighter and tighter, threatening to snap with each buck of his hips.
“Give it to me, my love. Please…cum for me. I long for your pleasure,” he husked, bending low to press his lips in against her neck, her shoulder, teeth sinking down against her skin as his chest brushed against her stiffened nipples. Thick, strong arms curled in around her body, tugging her down against his frame each time he thrust upwards, desperate to chase after pleasure for the both of them.
“Yes, yes, yes~!” she shrieked, biting down into his shoulder as the final snap of his hips pressed her over the precipice, and into sweet ecstasy. Breaths heaved into her lungs at a rapid pace until all at once, her back arched sharply from the bedroll, and the spring within her core finally reached its breaking point. Her cunt erupted into a flurry of wild, rhythmic pulses, a warm gush of honey flooding from deep in her core. Without him buried inside of her, she felt every clenching pulse with such intensity, and his rolling hips drew her pleasure out longer and longer, until she was nearly weeping and breathless from the crashing wave.
“That’s it….f-fuck,” Halsin rasped, pressing his brow against hers and gazing deep into her eyes as his thrusts grew erratic and strained; Tav could feel the way his cock swelled, and the drawing of his sack as his release crested as well. He drove his pleasure on her body, humping wildly down against her slickened cunt until he erupted in turn, thick spurts of warm seed spilling out over her belly and hips, painting her in his spend. His groan was low and long, strangled in his throat as his cock twitched out every last drop he had to give.
And then his lips were melting down against hers again, deep and sensual and slow, drawing soft, mewling sighs from her as they coaxed one another down from the frenzied high. Tav’s heart pounded in her chest, so intense was the pleasure, and she could feel the sweat clinging to Halsin’s skin, soaking his hair. Hands roamed the broad, muscular surface of his back, nails grazing his skin. He shivered, finally collapsing the whole of his weight down over her, like a warm and weighted blanket.
“Gods I love you…” she whispered against his mouth, framing his face with one hand. “You know my needs even better than I do.”
And it was true. …Her cramping was gone. The ache in her back, faded to nothing. It was as though he’d driven the symptoms of her cycle right out of her body, replacing them with warm, sensual, mind-numbing pleasure.
“Only because they match so well to my own,” Halsin replied, smiling against her lips before he pulled away, just enough to curl at her side. One leg hooked between hers, his arm outstretching in invitation for her to rest her head. “I love you, my heart. You are so beautiful in your rapture.”
She reached to smooth his sweat soaked hair from his forehead and face, combing back through the damp tresses with shaking fingers. Then her hand pressed flat to his chest, resting against his own racing heart. They’d each reached an intense peak, it seemed.
A few minutes were taken for her to catch her breath, and she’d nearly drifted off in his arms before her eyes blinked open to the sound of dripping water. With one arm, Halsin had reached behind himself to fetch a washcloth, now soaked with water from his waterskin. Wordless, he moved it down to begin to clean the mess he’d made on her abdomen, and the mess she’d left between her own thighs.
Tav smiled gently, having never felt so loved, cherished, seen, and smitten than she did in that moment.