Chapter 23
The exclamation surprised Lake, but he didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. He tasted the terrible moonshine on her tongue as he drank her in. Her emotions soared through him like fire as he pulled the arch of her back towards him. He felt steam build inside of him as she ran her hands through his hair. He only experienced this when other powerful spellcasters shared an emotional connection with him. As she bit his lip, he felt something chaotic burst against his skin. When he realized what happened, he cursed under his breath.
“What the—” She cackled, “What the hell is this?”
Lake moved from on top of her and tried not to sound embarrassed, “It seems I tried to turn into water.”
He sat on the grass and lowered his head as she tried to hold in her laughter. He chuckled along with her after she couldn’t hold it in.
“Turn to water? I’m soaking wet!” Her infectious laughter echoed into the night sky, “That isn’t how you’re supposed to get a woman naked!”
“That was not my intention—”
“I let you kiss me, and you just drench me,” She exaggeratedly threw her hands in the air, “Serves me right for giving you a shot.”
He scoffed at her teasing, “You started this!”
“I knew that’s what you wanted to do,” She snorted, “Wasn’t it?”
“I could lie and say you’re wrong, but somehow,” He brushed the hair from her face, “I have a feeling you won’t remember much of this tomorrow.”
“What makes you say that?” She stuck her tongue out.
“Because you drank a lot.”
“Then, make it memorable,” Her erotic tone surprised him, “I dare you.”
The flirtatious woman ran a hand down his chest. Lake did not appreciate that this was the time she chose to be seductive. He caught her hand with a bit of regret and shook his head.
“I feel that might not be for the best,” Lake kissed her forehead, “I don’t want to give you a reason to call me a pervert in the morning.”
“Boo,” She laughed, “Can we at least kiss more?”
“You are a temptress.”
Charlie quickly kissed him again. Unlike the surprise passion of the first one, their second kiss was sweet and nearly innocent.
“You’re no fun!” She grinned as his face expressed a myriad of emotions.
Before he said anything, she jumped to her feet and sprinted back towards the barn. He ran towards her as she laughed and tried to dodge his attempts to grab her. She screamed as she tripped, and Lake caught her. He spun to hit the ground first and keep her from slamming her newly stitched wound into the ground.
“You just can’t keep your hands off me, can you?” She smirked.
“More like it seems you can’t keep yourself from getting hurt,” He chuckled.
Lake helped her back to her feet. She stumbled her way towards the barn but stopped before they entered. She tried to remain serious but quickly fell into a fit of giggles. He anxiously looked her over for any signs of injury.
“L, what’s your actual name?”
“What?” He chuckled, “Now you want to know?”
“You know mine!” She pouted.
Lake studied her face as she looked up at him. This unusual woman captivated him. He didn’t know when he would get another chance to see her this way, so he decided to take advantage of her relaxation one last time.
“Kiss me again and I’ll tell you.”
Instead of forcefully kissing him or giving him a quick peck, she sweetly caressed his face. He leaned into her touch for a moment.
“Come here, then,” She whispered.
Charlie kissed him the way she wished she had experienced in the last few years. The delicate touch turned into a tender embrace as he held her close. He deepened the kiss to taste her again. She purred beneath him as his hand traveled up to the small of her back. Lake didn’t understand why he wanted to devour her. He gripped her leg as she rubbed it against him.
“Young goddess, you are a temptress,” He whispered in her ear as she pulled away.
“So, it’s working then?” She whispered, “I wondered how hard it would be.”
“You don’t even know my name, Charlie,” He looked into her eyes.
“That hasn’t stopped me before,” She nuzzled her face into his neck, “I can tell your interested.”
Her hand traveled down his chest to his belt. Lake couldn’t argue that his body reacted to her touch. He knew that since they first met that he wanted to have her. He wanted to kiss her again. His body and brain fought over what to do with the flirtatious temptress in front of him.
Charlie kissed up to his ear with a soft chuckle when she felt him stiffen against her. After her teeth gently pulled his earlobe, his hands gripped her waist.
“I want you,” Her sultry whisper broke his inner turmoil.
Lake lifted her from the ground and walked her further from the barn. She threw her arms around his neck as their lips passionately met. Her tongue slid against his as they explored each other’s mouths. His hands held her up by her hips as he lead them into the field of tall grass.
Due to word count and raunchiness... I'll just say they bang, ok?
“Are you saying I’m a good lover to have?”
“Shut up,” Her face burned, “That's so embarrassing to say out loud.”
Charlie also knew this man would act arrogant no matter what she said or did.
“Perhaps we should get dressed?” He moved to brush the hair from her face, “I would hate for the blacksmith to see you like this.”
She quickly sat up and redressed. Lake gripped his stomach in laughter as she hastily threw her shirt on. He grabbed her by the side and brought her against him.
“I’m honored you gave yourself to me,” He nuzzled into her neck and kissed it gently, “I look forward to the next time I can–”
“Hush!” She leaned into him, “Why do you say it like that, anyway?”
“When a goddess chooses to spend time with another,” He chuckled, “She gifts them a moment of her eternity.”
She hid her reaction behind her hat as she pulled her pants back up. Lake pulled the belt around her to keep them up because of the destroyed seam. After she buckled herself, he caressed her face as she tried to look away. He placed his forehead against her and looked into her eyes.
“I am honored to share a moment of your eternity,” His icy blue eyes held her gaze, “I can only dream to have another.”
Charlie tenderly blushed under his gaze, “You are something else, L.”
The pair shared another moment as he kissed her again. The tender moment lasted until he felt something wet on her face. Lake tore himself away from her to wipe the tears from her cheek.
“Sorry!” She covered her face and stared to run off, “I—”
“Wait!” He tried to grab her, “Charlie!”
Lake chased after her. Her hat flew off her head as she sprinted away. She tripped over her own feet, and he caught her by the wrist. He pulled her into a tight hug and fought against her trying to get away.
“Calm down!”
She thrashed in his arms, “Let go of me!”
“What’s wrong? I don’t understand why you cried. Was it because—”
Anxiety about their previous moments rattled through him. Never before had he worried about sleeping with a woman as much as he did with her. He could no longer blame his feelings on attraction. Even before their intimacy, Charlie entranced him. Now, he wanted to tie himself to her.
“I—I have to go.”
Lake took the drunken writhing. Charlie winced and placed a hand on her wound. He relaxed his grip on her as she fell to her knees and held her stomach.
“Did I—” His voice cracked, “Did you regret—”
“I wanted that!” Her voice trembled, “I just—”
She heaved once before she vomited. Lake took a step back to give her room. She rubbed her mouth against the back of her hand.
“Goddammit. I was trying to not do this in front of you,” She heaved again.
He couldn’t help but laugh, “Did you run away because you needed to vomit?”
“Obviously,” She scoffed, “Do you know how embarrassing this is?”
“Embarrassing? I’ve barely held this form in the last half hour from what you’ve done to me!”
“I don’t even know what that means!” She groaned, “Can you at least turn around, so I have some form of dignity?”
The water god waited until her stomach emptied. He formed a ball of water in his hand and extended it to her. She drank from it and cleaned her face. The chilling liquid felt great against her hot face.
“I thought I—” He sighed in relief, “By Ocean, you just ran off crying. I thought I offended you.”
“I’ve got a gaping wound on my stomach, remember?” Charlie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, “And we were pretty active a bit ago.”
“Or because you haven’t eaten and drank an absurd amount?”
“Alright, mister know-it-all,” She laughed, “I think I earned a name.”
“Lake. My name’s Lake.”
“Blake?” She laughed, “What a fuckboy name.”
“That’s not what I—” He ran a hand down his face, “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
As he led her back to the barn, she squeezed his hand. He raised an eyebrow when she stopped behind him. Her hair blew in the soft breeze as she moved the hat from her face. A shy smile and light blush turned her skin red.
“It has been a while since I’ve felt this comfortable with someone else, so...” She confessed, “I like you."
“I feel the same way,” Lake's heart screamed with joy.
"I would hope so!"
He embraced her after her childish confession. She buried her head in his chest and felt his heartbeat. He tilted her chin towards him and kissed her gently.
“I’ll stay by your side as long as you’ll have me, Charlie.”