The World Beyond the Mirror - 10. The Vertical City

I blinked groggily, unsure where I was. Everything was black, and my head hurt. There was fabric covering my eyes, and when I moved to take it off I found my hands were tied behind my back. I shifted, trying to stand up from my kneeling position, but I lurched and almost fell over as the handcuffs pulled on my ankles.

Why am I tied up? I wondered, my head hurting as I tried to think. I was with Nate, and I left to try to find some way to have breakfast ready for him, and then…

Nothing. I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here, or even where ‘here’ was, but the pounding of my head indicated I’d taken a hard blow.

I took a deep breath, tasting the air, and from how rich with oxygen it tasted I knew we were still in the forest. I could hear the faint trickling of a stream nearby, and something was breathing heavily to my right, where splashing sounds were coming from. I tilted my head, curious and trying to hear better, and after a moment there was a soft whinny.

I wonder if the horses here are the same as in the other world? I forced myself to channel my curiosity to more useful paths, and tried to figure out how long it had been since I’d been knocked out. I couldn’t feel sun on my skin, but that could just mean we weren’t in a clearing. It still smelled like a forest, and wiggling my toes on the dirt confirmed it.

“Oh, you’re awake now?” A male voice asked.

“Unfortunately,” I replied, curious about this new person and not wanting to discourage talk. He sounded like he was standing near the horse – if that’s even what it was – and from the deep timbre of his voice he was probably a large guy.

“Yeah, your head can’t feel too good right now,” he commented, walking over. “Sorry about that, I needed to make sure you didn’t yell. I didn’t want to have to hurt anyone.”

Fabric rustled, and then something touched my lips.

“Hungry?” the voice asked. “It’s been a while, and I don’t know if you had breakfast.”

“No thanks,” I said, leaning back a little and noting that he had a backpack.

That could be useful, when I plan an escape attempt.

“How long has it been?” I asked, hoping he’d answer.

“About six hours,” he told me, putting whatever the food had been back into the bag and heading back over to the horse. “We’re about halfway there.”

“Halfway where?” I asked, my curiosity inflamed.

“Falay Falls,” he told me, the ease with which he said it betraying that it was familiar to him, probably either his home or somewhere nearby. I made a mental note of that, but decided not to let on that I’d noticed in the hopes of having more revealed.

“Why there?” I asked.

“There’s people there who want your friend,” he said. “They said they’d pay for any information about him, so I figured they’d pay more if I led him to them.”

“You’re some type of bounty hunter, then?” I asked, probing for more information.

“No, I’m just a hunter. I heard them talking in the bar, and I didn’t think anything of it until I saw your tracks, and then it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

“Why did they want us?”

“They just wanted your friend, not you. He probably deserted from a gang or something, they said he was dangerous and we should just tell them where he was instead of provoking him ourselves.”

“How’d they tell you to recognize him?”

“They said he has weird eyes and he’d be travelling with you. There’s not many people who walk the forests like that, just finding two sets of tracks made it obvious.”

“Wh-” I started, but he cut me off.

“Oops, we’ve taken too long already. No more questions, we have to go,” he said briskly, and my joints screamed as he picked me up by the ropes and tied me onto the horse.

Damn, I thought. Hopefully that was a long enough delay for Nate to catch up a little, at least.

“Why am I tied up?”

“They said not to underestimate you guys, so I’m not taking any chances. Your eyes are staying covered and I’ll keep you tied up like that, just in case.”

I sighed, trying to work some circulation back into my hands.

I miss Nate already.

___________

We’d been riding in silence for a while when we suddenly picked up speed, my captor snapping the reins excitedly.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “Isn’t it beautiful in the evening?”

“Stunning,” I agreed sarcastically.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot about the blindfold,” he said, embarrassed. “I’ll just tell you about it, then.”

I perked up a little bit, happy to be learning something, at least.

“Falay Falls is built into a cliff,” he told me, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. “The entire city is in the rock; the only way to travel is the stairs. They’re cut into the cliff, and they can be hard to navigate for newcomers.

“Most of the doors you’d be able to see if you weren’t blindfolded are for houses, but the few shops are easy to recognize because they hang signs out so you can see them from anywhere in the city. Most of the shops are clustered on the eastern side, and the western side is for houses, although there’s a few exceptions.

“The eastern and western sides are separated by a waterfall, in a similar way to how a river would flow through a different city, and we get our water from it. To cross from one side of the city to the other, you have to go behind the waterfall. It’s noisy, but refreshingly cool in summer.

“The cliff is about five hundred feet tall, and we’ve built from the top to about thirty feet from the bottom, which we leave so intruders can’t get access. There’s rope ladders to get up, and we have lifts to take things from the bottom to the top, or anywhere in between.

“It’s a simple city; most of what we need is provided by the waterfall in some way. We get all our water from it, it waters our crops on the cliff above the city, it makes the grass for our animals grow, and we can easily make showers by redirecting a little bit of the flow. We’ve built waterwheels behind it to turn everything from the grindstones for the mill to the bellows for the forge, and we can widen the falls to cover the entire city if we want defense. All we need to do is pull a lever to engage the gears at the top of the river, and a wall lifts from the riverbed to block the flow and push it into two other channels that branch out to cover more area. It’s thanks to this, and the thirty-foot wall at the bottom, that we’ve never been conquered; no enemy can use siege ladders under the barrage of water from five hundred feet up. Falay Falls isn’t called the Free City for nothing.”

“Wow,” I said, amazed. I was dying to see it now, but I had to satisfy myself with the visions I’d created in my head, so I asked questions to distract myself. “What stops someone from coming in from above the city and disengaging the gears again?”

Even more pride crept into his voice, and I could tell he really loved his city. “Falay Falls is the only way to the top of this cliff,” he told me. “The cliff is part of a mountain; it’s almost vertical at the bottom, but it flattens out to a ledge above Falay before sloping back up to a peak leagues above the city.”

I laughed softly in wonder, trying to imagine how incredible it must look.

“If you’re lucky, you might get to see the Shroud of Jewels ceremony,” he told me, his voice distant as he daydreamed about it. “It’s the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” I said to myself, my awe fading into sadness as I thought of Nate.

He continued, not hearing me. “They hold it once a month, to honor the passing of the dead and to attract Mol Vayar to carry their souls to Paradise. All the bodies from that month are put on a pyre behind the waterfall, and the priests use their power to make the fire burn high and shine bright. Most of the city gathers outside on the ground to watch it, because the light from the pyre sparkles through the waterfall, making it look like a jeweled shroud. When a loved one is on the pyre and you see the color of their jewel, it’s Mol Vayar picking their soul from the flames and dousing it in the water.”

“Their jewel?” I asked.

“When someone dies, their family and friends buy a jewel for them, to make sure Mol Vayar doesn’t forget that soul. They pick the jewel based on the person: a calm person would probably get a sapphire, a wild one an emerald, someone with powerful emotions, or an angry person, would get a ruby, a caring person who loved their friends and family would get kunzite, and so on. The gemstone is placed over the body’s chest, to show the color of their heart, and it colors the soul as it’s released by the flames, so when Mol Vayar douses it in the waterfall the loved ones can see and rest assured that the person has made it to Paradise.”

“Who’s Mol Vayar?”

“He takes the shape of a dragon, and he carries souls to Paradise. He likes the glimmer of beautiful things, which is why the gemstones are used as offerings. He never takes them, because his palace has enough already, but he blesses them so the families of the deceased one can pray to the gem to let their loved one hear. Since the soul passed through the gem, Mol Vayar’s blessing keeps that conduit open, and the soul is still connected to the gem. The connection lets the soul hear its loved ones, but it also stops it from being reborn, so it’s considered extremely selfish to keep the connection open for very long. Usually after a week or so, when all that needs to be said has been, the gem is brought to the priests of Mol Vayar, who thank the Mol for his blessing and let it end. Then the gem is cleansed of that soul and returned to the family, so they can sell it to someone else in need and it can continue its cycle.”

“Wow,” I said, lost for words. It sounded like a fascinating culture, so I wanted to learn more about it, but my… captor – I almost thought of him as a friend; he really wasn’t a bad person – snapped the reins to hurry the horse up.

“We’re almost to the stables,” he told me. “They’re the only building with an exit at ground level, but they don’t connect to the rest of the city. Even if invaders broke through the gate, they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere from here. We’re just stopping to get my horse stabled, and then we’ll be moving up into the city.”

He paused for a minute.

“I’ll untie your legs so you can walk, if you promise me that you won’t attempt to escape or hurt anyone.”

“I’ll promise… but only until I’m tied up again.”

“You won’t resist being tied up again?”

I shook my head.

“Good. We’ll be spending the night at my house, and then in the morning I’ll bring you to those people.”

I nodded, and we continued on in silence for a few minutes, until we reached the stables.

“Whoa there,” a gruff voice said, and the horse came to a stop. “Hey Clyde. Not your usual catch, eh?” the man I assumed was a stable boy asked, curiously.

“Nope, I decided I needed to hunt bigger game if I wanted to keep my wife happy,” he said. “She always complains that we never eat anything but meat; she’ll be delighted if I bring home enough money to feed us like royalty for a while.”

“Good, good,” the voice said, and I felt Clyde climb off the horse. “Will you be back for this old girl anytime soon?”

“Hopefully not,” Clyde answered, untying me from the saddling and picking me up. “I’m looking forward to being able to afford a little time at home. You can stable her as far back as you want.”

Their banter continued, but I was paying far more attention to how Clyde was untying me, and as soon as I was mostly free I jumped to my feet. Stretching hugely, I groaned in pain at how the blood flooded back into my extremities, and Clyde patted my shoulder.

“Sorry,” he said. “I should have thought of getting a promise from you before I put you on the horse, but I was worried about how much time we had.”

I shrugged. “You wouldn’t have trusted me anyway.”

He laughed. “Well I guess now we see if I was wrong to trust you this time. I need to tie your hands up again.”

I sighed. “Can you untie them again soon, so I can stretch more?” I asked, crossing my hands behind my back and turning so he could reach them.

“OK, when we’re at my house I’ll give you a little time for that.”

“Thanks,” I said gratefully, as he cinched the knot on my wrists and gave the rope a slight pull to tell me which direction to walk in. “I guess asking for the blindfold to come off is too much?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “There’s only so much I’ll risk.”

I shouldn’t have left Nate. I should have just woken him up, and then I never would have gotten captured, and I’d get to see this city with the guy I lo-

Like. My mind finished sternly. The guy I like.

I forced myself to think about something else, and Clyde guiding me away from the stables gave me something to focus on. He led me to a lift, where he briefly spoke to another person he seemed to know before handing over some money and leading me onto a shaky platform.

“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” he asked me.

“No, not at all,” I answered. “I’m assuming this goes high?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s another thing that’s powered by the waterfall.”

I nodded, understanding, and we went up. The platform blew a bit in the wind, but we got off with no problems, and Clyde led me through the city for a while before stopping. I heard him knock on a door, and after a few seconds it opened.

“Welcome home, honey,” a woman said, and I felt the rope get pulled up a little as Clyde’s arms raised to hug her. “Who’s this?” she asked, obviously a bit taken aback.

“He’s a friend of a gang deserter,” he told her. “I’m bringing him to those people I told you about, I think they’ll pay a lot.”

“Honey, you shouldn’t get mixed up with those types!” she scolded. “What if he was a member of a rival gang, and they want retaliation at you?”

“I… didn’t think of that,” Clyde admitted, embarrassed. “I just saw the tracks and didn’t consider anything; I wanted to bring home money for you so we could have the type of dinner you always want.”

I heard the sound of kissing. “Thanks, honey, that’s sweet, but please don’t involve yourself in anything like this anymore.”

Their happiness together made me miss Nate. This was what I wanted with him; I knew that now. I wanted to kiss him, I wanted to be able to call him pet names, and I wanted to be able to make him happy like these two did for each other – although I had little interest in settling down in any one place.

“OK, let’s get you settled in,” Clyde said, startling me out of my thoughts. He led me through a doorway, and then closed the door. “This is where you’ll sleep,” he told me. “I’ll untie you now, and you can take the blindfold off once I’m gone and the door is closed again, but you have to promise that you won’t do any damage or try to leave the room, and that you’ll put the blindfold back on when I ask you to and let me tie you up again.”

I nodded, grateful. “Sure,” I said.

“OK,” he agreed. “I’ll untie you now, but keep the blindfold on, 'cause I’ll be right back with food.”

I nodded again, and he untied my wrists and left. I stretched while I waited for him to come back, enjoying the feeling of relative freedom, but I froze when I heard quiet voices. I snuck over to the door, pressing my ear to the crack, and listened.

“How do you know he won’t break out and kill us in our sleep?” Clyde’s wife was whispering. “He’s too handsome, how could he have such flawless skin and nice hair unless he was a gang leader’s toy? That’s not natural, no human can look like that without constant effort. If he was a toy, like I think, then he’s probably used to seeing his master lying and killing, I doubt he’d even hesitate to do it himself!”

“He’s a nice guy,” Clyde said. “I don’t know who he is or where he’s from, but I don’t think he’d break a promise. It makes me wonder about his friend; I don’t think he’d stay with someone who was evil, so he can’t be part of a gang.”
“Who else could afford to keep someone as a toy, and to keep them looking so healthy?”

“I don’t know,” Clyde said. “The only glimpse I got of him was while he was sleeping, and he looked pretty harmless. I didn’t really notice your point about the skin and everything, but now that I think about it, his friend was the same.”

“Maybe they’re both toys, and they ran away together?”

“I don’t think so, he’s too curious and confident to be a toy. He doesn’t flinch when you get near or anything, so I don’t think he’s been used like that.”

“OK,” his wife said, acknowledging she was wrong. “Just… be careful, right honey?”

“I will,” he promised, and the sounds of kissing drove me away from the door and back to stretching. A few moments later, he opened the door again and walked in, his footsteps giving away his position.

“Here’s your food,” he said. “Directly in front of you, about chest height.”

I reached out where he indicated, finding a bowl and taking it from him. “Thanks,” I said.

“The bed’s behind you, you can sit on that to eat if you want,” he told me, doing it himself. I carefully felt behind me, finding the edge, and sat down on the blanket-covered stone slab. I began to eat the stew, until Clyde spoke up.

“So I’m guessing you won’t answer if I ask who you are and where you’re from?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Sorry.”

“Can you tell me what your name is?” he asked.

I paused for a minute, trying to think of any reason I shouldn’t. “…Erin,” I said finally.

“Oh,” he said. “Hey Erin, I’m Clyde.”

I laughed. “This is the politest kidnapping I’ve ever heard of,” I told him.

He laughed too, standing up. “Well it’s my first time, cut me a little slack,” he joked, but after a second he paused. “Really, though; I like you, and it’d be nice if you’d come back here for a visit when they let you go. No hard feelings for the kidnapping?”

“I never thought I’d find myself forgiving someone who kidnapped me,” I laughed, shaking my head. “Oh well, here I am. Friends?” I asked, holding out my hand.

“Friends,” he agreed happily, shaking it.

When Clyde left, I took off my blindfold and looked around the room. It was all stone, and there was a table, a chair, and the blankets on the bed. It was a fairly small room, but empty like this it would be big enough. I finished my stew before starting to do the stretches Nate was teaching me, but before very long they just made me long for his hands on my hips as he guided me again. I finished all of them anyway, but by the time I made it to the tenth without screwing up, my chest felt like there was a hole in it where my heart should be. As I became aware of the outside world again, I could hear faint moans and the quiet slapping of flesh nearby, and I blushed as I realized what I was listening in on. I tried to tune it out, but instinct couldn’t be denied, and I was started to feel aroused. The horniness mixed with my loneliness, and I found myself missing Nate even worse.

When I see him again, I’m gonna tear off his clothes and show him exactly how much he means to me, I thought. I want to hear him moan like they are, and I want that to be our bodies slapping together. I want to make him feel amazing, and then I’m gonna kiss him until we’re gasping for breath and tell him that I want to be his.

I grinned just thinking of my fantasy, and I could feel a bit of… tumescence… beginning. I shook my head, trying futilely to clear it, and lay down on the bed, covering my ears.

It didn’t help. I could still easily visualize things, and I couldn’t stop blushing at the pictures I was dreaming of and wanting so bad.

I want to feel him on top of me, I thought, stifling a moan as I imagined it, and then promptly trying to clear my mind, unable to stop a burning blush from covering my face. I had no problem imagining licking him all over, or anything else along those lines, but that image of Nate leaned over me, his bare chest against my back and all his muscles tensed as little beads of sweat formed on his skin…

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out these fantasies, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t make myself really want to erase the imagined feeling of Nate’s gentle teeth from my shoulder as his hands explored my naked chest, pulling me closer to him while he… I blushed again, forcing myself, through sheer willpower, to go to sleep.

I hope I dream of Nate, at least.

***

I looked around me at the roiling sea of mist, feeling strangely calmed by it. The way patterns and images seemed to appear for a second and then dissipate fascinated me, and I walked closer – only to have the mist recede. It was as if there was a perfect circle twenty feet across, centered on me, that the mist couldn’t enter. I fingered Erin’s necklace as I thought about it, but nothing seemed to make sense.

This is a weird dream, I decided. I’m aware that I’m sleeping, but I can remember everything from when I was awake. What kind of dream is that?

I decided to find out, and started walking in the first direction that pulled me. There was nothing to distinguish this way from any other direction, but it felt like I was slowly being drawn along, until the silence of the mists was broken.

“Nate!” a voice called excitedly, and a second after a body collided with mine, tackling me to the ground. I tried to look behind me, but the body was pinning me down. “Nuh uh,” Erin’s voice said playfully. “Guess who?”

I threw myself to the side, tipping him over onto his back and reversing the pin so he was looking up into my eyes. “Erin,” I breathed, disbelieving, and a delighted smile bloomed on his face. I felt my expression matching his, until I realized how we’d ended up when I’d flipped him. He was lying on his back and I was in between his legs, my hands splayed on either side of his head as our groins ground together.

“Sorry!” I said, pulling back, but that only set him free. He didn’t waste a second, pouncing on me again and laughing with joy as he rolled us over a few times, too excited to stay still. When we finally came to a stop, he was straddling my stomach as I lay on my back, and he looked down at me happily.

“I missed you,” he said simply, resting his hands on my chest absently.

“Wait, are you OK?” I asked anxiously, my eyes scanning him for injuries.

“Yep,” he assured me, grinning. “It’s been fun so far, actually. I made friends with my kidnapper, Clyde, and the only bad part is that I miss you. You don’t have to worry about me.”

I paused, and after a second my rising happiness felt empty and hollow.

“Are you OK?” he asked, obviously seeing my face and worrying.

“This is just a dream,” I told him sadly. “It’s just my mind making things up. Of course that’s what you’d say, it’s what I’d want to hear.”

He cocked his head sideways a little, looking down at me, and I realized how sexual our position was. I reached out to move him, expecting him to vanish when my hands got near him, but he just watched me. His hips were solid and sexy under my hands, exactly how they felt in real life, but having him sitting almost in my lap like this made me blush, and I tried to move him off me. He wouldn’t budge.

“What?” he asked, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.

“Can you… move a little?” I asked, blushing.

He shook his head. “You’re comfy. I like it here.”

“I feel like I’m taking advantage of you, though,” I said, trying to stop thinking about how nice this felt. “If this is all in my head, then I shouldn’t be imagining something like this, it’s not what you’d want.”

He grinned. “To me, this is my dream, but I don’t think you’re just a figment of my imagination. If you were, that’d mean you’d be doing whatever I wanted, so you wouldn’t be complaining,” he said, wiggling his hips mischievously.

My eyes shot open, and I couldn’t help my hands tightening a little on his hips.

“Wanna know a secret?” Erin whispered playfully, leaning in until his lips brushed my ear. “Even if this was just a dream for you, I wouldn’t mind you thinking about me like that,” he told me. “After all, it’s only fair…” he pulled back a little, his eyes dancing as he looked into mine.

“Wh…” I had to lick my lips to moisten them again. “What do you mean?” I asked, not daring to believe what I was hearing. Now I knew it was a dream, because this was too good to be true.

“Nothing,” he said too innocently, kissing my nose.

I shook my head, feeling like I was three steps behind, and moved my hands to his shoulders to fend him off. “Please don’t,” I said regretfully. “I don’t want to do that in a dream if the real Erin wouldn’t be OK with it.”

He sighed, getting off my stomach and sitting Indian-style in front of me. “So now I just need to prove to you it’s the real me,” he decided, resting his chin on his hands and watching me, trying to decide how he’d do it. “Information it is. Have you heard of Falay Falls?”

I nodded. “Of course,” I said. “I’ve been a few times.”

“I’m there right now,” he told me. “We’re in a house just on the western side of the waterfall. The reason I was kidnapped is because some people were in the bar here looking for you, and when Clyde saw our tracks he realized it was us and thought they’d give him more money if he brought you to them. They’d warned everyone not to try to capture you, because you were too dangerous, so he kidnapped me instead, hoping you’d follow. Tomorrow is when he’ll be bringing me to them.” A slight grin broke the solemnity on his face as he remembered something. “Oh, and they think I’m your toy.”

I snorted at that last part. “They couldn’t be more wrong about that,” I laughed.

He shrugged, a faintly amused smile on his face. “Hmm, I don’t think they’re that far off.”

“You know you had me convinced, until you said that.”

He laughed. “Maybe I don’t always show it, but I’d love to be your pet,” he said, the mischief returning to his eyes.

I hesitated. “I really want to believe that you’re real, and not just part of the dream, but I don’t know if I can,” I said regretfully. “I don’t think I could imagine the things you’re saying, and they’re just like you, but it’s just too far-fetched.”

“Then what can I do to prove it?”

I considered for a moment.

What would Erin know that I wouldn’t, that I’d be able to verify immediately?

“Why do you let me touch you sometimes, yet avoid me other times?” I asked, and he paused. I opened my mouth to explain my reasoning, but he shook his head, having figured it out already.

“It was affection,” he explained, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t want you to touch me if you were thinking about me. Lust I had no problem with, but affection I avoided.”

The more I thought about that, the more I realized he was right. “Erin?” I asked, feeling stunned now that I knew he was actually here.

He smiled happily. “Yep,” he said, reaching out to put his hand on my cheek.

“How…?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, and right now I don’t really care,” he said, moving closer to me and grinning. “We have better things to do with our time,” he told me, kissing my nose again.

I was still shocked, not really able to comprehend that this was real, and I didn’t resist as he gently leaned me backwards until I was lying on my back again. He stayed where he was, lying on his stomach in between my legs, and I inhaled sharply as he lifted my legs, spreading them apart and pinning them there with his hands.

“Erin?” I asked, surprised and a little worried, and he smiled up at me mischievously.

“Hmm?” he asked, pressing his lips to my thigh above my right knee and watching me through his lashes.

I felt my eyes widen, unprepared for the surge of lust that sent through me, and I moaned as Erin licked further up my thigh, pushing my shorts leg up towards my crotch so his tongue had more room to explore. It shocked me that he was doing this, but after how he’d acted before, telling me straight faced that he thought I was sexy, and that he wanted to be mine, I could at least believe it. I didn’t know why he was suddenly doing it now; maybe it was that this was in a dream, maybe he wouldn’t do it in real life, but something told me that was wrong. He’d given me all the hints, even telling me that he wanted me, and I hadn’t been able to believe it; with how he avoided my touch, it had been too easy for my self-doubt to convince me he was just kidding. Now, though, I couldn’t lie to myself; he wanted me, maybe almost as much as I wanted him. It made me incredibly happy, but a greedy part of me still wanted more, wanted him to be mine. I didn’t want this to be a purely sexual relationship; he meant too much to me for that. If that was all he wanted, though, did I have a choice?

I was reminded of what the guy I was beginning to love was doing as his hand slowly rubbed up and down my other thigh, the simple contact somehow feeling incredibly erotic, and I decided I didn’t need to think about this now.

I’ll just be thankful for whatever he gives me, I decided. It’s not like I know if he’ll ever want it again.

I let myself relax into the sensations he was sending through me, letting go of my thoughts. Something about his hands running along my inner thighs like that drove me crazy, and I moaned in desire as his teeth dug slightly into my leg and he grinned sexily up at me. I reached down to brush a stray hair back into place, and I let my hand trail down onto his cheek, reveling in being able to do this. He lifted his head to watch me, not seeming to have a problem with my touch right now even though it was chock full of affection, and I let my forefinger trace its way onto his lips to feel his smile. He kissed it, his smile widening, and then it turned playful as he opened his mouth and let my finger slip in. The expression on my face must have given away how arousing I found it, because he let his hands roam even further up my thighs and teased my finger with his tongue.

“Wh… what are you gonna do?” I asked, not sure this was real and wanting his voice to confirm it.

He let my finger slip out of his mouth and inched further up my body, his eyes dancing. “Anything you want me to,” he purred, rolling my shirt up and kissing under my belly button. After a moment, he looked up mischievously at me from beneath his lashes, pressing another kiss to my skin and making me shiver. “Anything.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, letting my head fall back and trying to regain control of my mind for a second now that I needed the power of speech again. Erin had other ideas, and I felt his kisses trailing downwards from my belly button, making me moan again as he reached my waistband. He paused, and I looked up to find a surprised and disappointed look on his face.

“I think someone’s waking me up,” he said, grimacing. He quickly moved up my body, his knees on either side of my hips as he leaned in to kiss me passionately. He pulled away the slightest bit, looking affectionately into my eyes.

“We’ll finish this soon, ‘K?” he promised. “Think of what you want me to do, until then,” he suggested, his eyes sparkling mischievously. I was trapped in their depths for a moment, but when he leaned further in and hugged me tightly I could think again, and I blinked, surprised. “See you soon,” he told me, his voice wavering a little. “I l-” he cut off and blinked, surprised, and then quickly pressed his lips to mine one last time. “Have sweet dreams,” he told me, pressing his body against mine suggestively in that sexily playful way of his and fading away to nothing, leaving me lying on my back with my legs open and my clothes tousled, wondering what in the worlds had happened.

Sometimes I could keep up with Erin, and other times I couldn’t. This was definitely one of the times I couldn’t; he bounced from one thing to another as quickly and unpredictably as a tornado. When I got caught in his spinning, I’d be so dizzy I couldn’t think, and it was all I could do to react to what he did. I loved every moment of it, but other times I’d dance with the storm and seem to keep up with it, and that was amazing too. He was just so wild and free; the thought of someone trying to restrain him was so wrong it infuriated me. I started to stand and rearrange my clothes, blushing as I tried to ignore how my cock was begging for release, but the misty world began to fade away, being replaced by a sunny forest. I felt myself losing hold of my consciousness as I slipped into the dream, and then reality ceased to exist, replaced by this new scene. Before I went fully under, I had one last thought.

Wait, his eyes! They were… his eyes were tinged with pink!