Episode 223: Evening Again (Liam)

It had been a day. He’d learned how to shoot an arrow, which turned out to be a lot different from shooting a gun. More fun, he thought. He’d had a sword-fighting lesson, just with sticks, from some tall blonde guy that moved his body like a dance and not a fight.

He kind of liked this place. And he hoped maybe, when they decided to move on and look for her parents more seriously, maybe those sword lessons would help them a little, if they needed it. Keep them safe.

He had plenty left to learn there, but a little training was better than nothing.

Mim found him under some lilac tree things, only the lilacs were bright orange. Still smelled perfect, though, even if they looked different.

She was in a long skirt and some kind of blouse all tucked into the skirt, and she was barefoot with her hair down. Gorgeous.

“Hi,” she said.

He pulled her real close. “Hey, Mim.”

He could say hey to her forever and not get tired of that. He kissed her, nothing fancy, just to feel her close again.

“I found something,” she said. She pulled one hand out from behind her back and showed a movie. “It’s in English.”

“Yeah?” They had all kinds of things here, surprising things. “Well I guess we have to watch it, then.” He put his arm around her. “What all did you do today?”

“I tried the crafts here. They made soaps almost the same way your mom makes them.”

Maybe his mom could learn some new tricks to making her soap the best around. Or maybe Mim could do it herself and take over the store someday.

Or maybe they’d never go home again.

“What did you do?” she asked him.

“Explored mostly.” They ambled into the palace, towards the stairs that let them climb on up to the room they shared.

“And ate.” There’d been just about some of the best food he’d ever had, there, but he wasn’t about to tell his mom that next time he saw her. “You been to the barn yet?”

“I went for a minute, to look for Onyx,” she said. “Have you?”

“Yeah, I spent most of the day there. Some of the animals…wow.”

She kissed him, real quick, and he trailed his hand down her arm. He wanted more of that kiss.

“And they’re real,” she said, like she couldn’t hardly believe it. He felt the same. “Did you ask about your mom?”

“Not yet. They all seemed real busy today.”

She nodded her head. “I think something big is about to happen.”

“Kinda makes you wonder if being here is smart,” he said. With the way they all seemed worried, worked up, distracted by something…

“Do you think we should go? Onyx is going to look for my dad.”

“I think we should talk to them tomorrow at breakfast and find out what they aren’t telling us.”

It was selfish, but he wasn’t done kissing her yet and they’d all gone off to wherever it was they went. He and Mim might as well enjoy themselves until morning.

“Okay,” she agreed. She held his hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too. This place…is life changing.” He never would have expected anything like this to happen to him, never mind her on top of it all. “And being here with you is so good.”

Mim rested her hand on the door to their bedroom. “And you still like sharing a room?”

Hell, yes, he liked sharing a room.

“No, I think we should stop before I forget to be careful with you,” he teased. He kissed her, there in the hall, pressing her up against that door.

She slid her hand up inside his shirt. “You sure?” she teased.

Mmm. He kissed her again, opened the door, and pushed her into the room. He kicked the door shut behind them, and the next second she was lifting his shirt off over his head. He moaned again, slipped his hands inside her shirt, up over the goosebumped curves of her breasts.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Maybe different rooms.”

Her breath was hot on his shoulder, her forehead pressed against him.

He stepped back, breaking the connection. If she wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready. He wasn’t pushing that.

“I can, if you want,” he said.

Her voice came out gravelly and low. “No.” She closed the distance between them and drove her hips against his, grinding.

He kissed her, he pulled her down onto the bed on top of him, as his hands felt all her curves, tracing them, memorizing them. He wanted this, her, all of her. He was so…

What did he just say not five minutes ago? He wasn’t going to push her.

He rolled away from her and tried to center himself.

No way they were going to survive that night if he slept in here with her.

“How about that movie?” he asked. His voice was all weak and creaky from holding himself back.

“Yeah.” She sounded some kinda mix of frustrated and relieved. He guessed that made sense. “It’s around here.” She got up from the bed and slid the disc into the player. “I’ll be right back?”

“O…kay?” Her leaving just felt so wrong. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back before it starts,” she promised. She grabbed ahold of her bag and headed into the bathroom.

While she was gone, he tucked himself into his pants better and tried to remember how to be a person and not just some kinda lust monster that wanted her real bad.

He was doing alright until she came back, in some kind of short shorts and a button up blouse pajama top, with no bra.

“You look nice in those,” he told her.

She sat down right next to him, so he put his arm around her and didn’t touch her and tried to watch the movie, but she kept on massaging his thigh while she watched it and by the end he couldn’t think even a little.

As soon as the credits came on she turned and kissed him and slid her hand inside his pants.

He moaned real loud. Too loud.

“Mim Whitaker,” he breathed. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I was just curious,” she said. Her cheeks flushed a nice healthy red color. She ran her hand over him, around him. “What else do you like doing?”

“This is good,” he told her. “So good.”

He pulled her hand out of his pants and spread her down on the bed so he could unbutton her shirt and splay it wide open. He looked at her, her gorgeous body that wanted him, and he reminded himself to be good.

“I had that tea,” she told him.

He kissed her body.

Tea or not, he wasn’t pushing her tonight. He’d made a promise and he was bent on keeping it.

“Not tonight,” he said.

It was gonna just about kill him, but he wanted to do right by her. Lust was taking her in his arms tonight.

Love was more, and he wanted more.

<- Episode 222 | Episode 224 ->