“I aim to please.”
“Believe me, you succeed.”
We smiled at each other, and my pulse ran faster. Her song filled me with desire as she bent the waters to her will.
“This reminds me of when we first got to know each other properly,” I said. “Exploring the marshes outside Qihin City.”
“That was a good day,” she said. “And not just for what we did in the bathhouse afterward. It’s a good thing there are no eligible young women out here; they’d be drawn to you as surely as I was.”
I laughed. “You did say that the Swordslinger should have lots of wives.”
“Only if he’s willing to take care of their needs. Otherwise, it would be a tragic waste.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want that to happen.”
By now, we had piles of fish on the banks. Some of the Pathless were gathering them in sacks while others collected the arid bushes growing by the banks of the streams. They dug fire pits in the sand and heaped the broken bushes into them.
“We would be honored if you would light our fires, Swordslinger,” Shadiy said.
I let the fire flow through me, then launched small Untamed Torches into the heaps of fuel. Each one burst into flames, and the Pathless applauded. There was a wonder in their eyes, as if their freedom was only now becoming real.
“Thank you, Swordslinger,” Shadiy said.
The Pathless slid the fish onto sharpened sticks and started cooking them over the fires. We still had plenty more to bring back with us inside the cart, but they seemed like they were enjoying their time out here. I figured we could spare a few hours while these former prisoners exercised their newfound freedom.
I looked for Kumi and saw her disappearing around a corner of the cave. I followed, curious to see what had drawn her away.
She stood at the edge of a pool, unfastening the guard’s robes she was disguised in. They fell to the floor, revealing her more familiar and far more revealing clothes beneath.
“I thought that I might go for a swim.” She removing her bodice. I smiled at the sight of her round breasts, their full glory released. “To reconnect with the water. Would you like to come?”
Her mouth hitched up in a smile that hinted at all that phrase could mean.
“I definitely would,” I said.
I removed my own disguise and the layers of clothing beneath. By the time I was half done, Kumi was fully naked and sliding into the water. I hurriedly pulled off my pants and splashed in to join her.
We swam across a wide pool of cool, refreshing water. It carried off the layers of sweat and desert sand that had been clinging to me for days. I felt cleaner than I had since we’d arrived in Gonki.
I sank fully into the water, letting it wash all my cares away. The war for the valley, the quest to become Swordslinger. . . these were distant concerns for another day. Here and now, there was only me and the water and Kumi.
She led the way down the length of the pool and into a channel beyond. The light from the torches was only the faintest glow now, but I could make out her shoulders and arms as she propelled herself forward with easy grace, the braids of hair trailing behind, the splash of her feet as they broke the surface.
At a bend in the channel, Kumi stopped and crawled out onto a smooth, flat rock. I followed and lay down beside her, our bodies an inch apart.
“So, Swordslinger,” she whispered in the darkness. “I believe I’m owed some marital rights.”
“Is that so?” I ran my hands up her body and followed them with my mouth. Her breathing grew deep and throaty as I kissed my way up her legs, lingered for a moment at her center, then went on across her flat stomach and the mounds of her breasts. I kissed her on the neck, across the chin, and finally on the lips. She pulled me in close, our tongues tangling in a moment of deep, unquenchable passion.
Kumi rolled onto her side, exposing her back to me. I kissed her shoulders and ran my fingers down her spine. She gasped and arched her body. One of her hands came back and took hold of me, working with steady strokes to build up my excitement, while I slid a hand around and stroked her breasts, teasing each nipple in turn.
She pressed back against me, and I slid inside, our bodies joining at last. I let out my own gasp as a wave of pleasure washed over me.
We moved against each other as the waves washed against the shore, a steady, mounting rhythm. At times, I would surge harder against her or she would pull me in deeper, like a tide dragging a sailor out to sea, and the two of us moaned together in delight. The water rose up in spiraling tendrils, responding to Kumi’s pleasured gasps.
With one arm, I pulled her close against me while my other hand ran up and down her, touching every inch of her body, lingering on those places that made the breath catch in her throat and caused her to press that much harder against me.
“The water,” she murmured. “I want you in the water.”
I drew away from her, my whole body still tingling from her touch, and slid into the pool. Kumi followed, then pressed me back onto the bank so that I lay submerged up to my chest, with smooth and well-worn stone beneath me.
Kumi straddled and then sank onto me, joining our bodies together once more. She leaned in close, her breasts pressing against my chest, and kissed me hard. Her hands took mine, fingers interlaced, and squeezed them tight.
She rose and fell on me, my ocean princess, and the water moved with her. Waves lapped in time with our pleasure, and the pool moved around us until it seemed
