**DAPHNE**
I wake on my side with something wicked pulsing inside of me and my center throbbing upon the edge of release. A strong warm arm is locked about my waist and the muscles of another lay under my shoulders, wrapped around to clasp my breasts.
For a moment, I think that I am dreaming. That I am on the brink of another of those wildly intoxicating dreams I was having about Ash when I was still at the palace.
But no, this is real. It is Ash's hand that fondles my bosom, I can see his markings and Ash's lips that suck at my neck, because theirs are a touch I have never been able to duplicate in any fantasy of my own. And the groaning that fills my ears as he pumps himself inside of me slowly, could belong to no other. Each stroke is more punishing than the last and each is meant to tease me toward my pleasure.
"Goddess, you are heaven. I am desperate for you. Helpless," he hisses, as a knee rises between my own and his tempo increases tremendously. Deeper and deeper he plunges in time with my every gasp. As I push backward against him, he says, "You have me at your mercy, taking everything from me."
My hands clasp over his forearms, keeping his grip tight about my person as I bounce against his hips. His moans are loud in my ears and each one brings me to new heights. With every grunt a tingle of ecstasy attacks my core. Making me want to touch myself and him in the same sweep of hand.
He hisses, "Whose child do you carry? Tell me."
"Wh-what?" I gasp, the words riding out on a moan as I shudder on the brink of climax. Did I hear him properly? On the end of a particularly undulating thrust, I whimper, my nails going into his flesh. He lifts one hand toward my lips - to quiet me perhaps - so I bite down with yell. "Oh Ash, oh my God," I croon, as his grip becomes near painful and I begin falling apart at the seams.
"Whose child is in your womb?" His voice is deep and low, laced with disbelief. Another thrust, "Tell me. I want to hear you say it." He shudders, plunging so deeply that I swear I can feel him in my throat.
"Yours," I scream and again he thrusts. "Yours!" And again. I am exploding over the edge of pleasure and shattering into exquisite bliss. His moans growl out to match my own and he rides out the current on a roar.
"Mine," he whispers against my neck, biting and licking as his body jerks inside of me. "Goddess, I pray that is the truth." Panting and spent, he nibbles my ear to whisper, "Good morning love. Was it everything you wanted?"
Just that tiny word - *love* - as it spills from his mouth is enough to pull a smile from mine. His hands continue to grope my bosom. His wet mouth feasting on the back of my neck as his shaft pulses inside of me still, warmth flooding through me with each slight vibration. "Oh yes," I pant out, humming my satisfaction with a bite of my lip.
"I could take you again," he claims, behind open-mouthed kisses. "And again. I swear you will be the end of me."
I am on the verge of telling him to do exactly that when he lifts from the bed and cleans himself with a wet cloth that he must have had at the ready.
"Get dressed," he whispers, dabbing me between my legs, his eyes sparkling. "Then come up on deck. You won't want to miss it when we arrive."
I marvel at the beauty of his body as he slips on his trousers, my eyes locked on his incredibly taut derriere. All the muscles there should be illegal, they are so absolutely deadly.
He turns around to smile at me as he pulls on his tunic and I bite my lip in disappointment, the view of him now completely covered. "I am seeing the best that Faery has to offer now, so why should I want for anything else?"
He laughs. "Sweet talking me now, are you?" Tossing me my clothes, his eyes twinkle. "Come, I will meet you up on deck."
I smile as he exits the room and I do as he bids. Slipping the clothes on carefully I note the tenderness of my spine burning only slightly at the contact. With a smile and a sigh, I slide into my boots.
My hair is in tangles, but I see no way of remedying that now, so, I pour myself another glass of juice and stare at the mattress as I drink it.
I promised I wouldn't touch the book again until after we docked.
"Damn me," I say and roll my eyes heavenward, heading up the companionway.
On the deck I am surprised to see Petra pressed against the mast with Dionie's lips on hers.
"Well, well, well," I say as I pass him. "Of different flesh indeed."
I hear him chuckle as I head toward Klyesque at the bow of the ship. We are moving more slowly now, with only the strengths of the wind pushing us on. The shores all around us are so covered in fog it is as if we move through the clouds above. Walking through the mists that lay over the ship, I praise the heavens that they don't swallow my sound.
"Where are we?" I ask, meeting her eyes as I approach the railing.
She smiles, her turquoise gaze lighting with joy. "We are nearing the House of the Five Rivers. Once the mists clear, we will be there and I promise you have never seen anything as beautiful as you are about to."
"Your homeland?" I question.
She shakes her head, her eyes going dark. "No. My origins are that of the Lunar Ocean. Land waters are a bit different. The Fae, much gentler."
I balk, "Really? Even the sprites?"
She nods, "Oh yes. You'd not want to take a ship over the Lunar Ocean. Not unless you have magic." Her eyes take on a sad, faraway look. "It has been too long since I drenched myself in the waters of my homeland."
"Why do you not visit?" I ask. "I'm sure Ash would allow-"
"I cannot," she snaps. Then, she smiles, taking my hand. "Not until my queen is dead. Or another rises."
I sense that I should not pry and I don't. Instead, I turn my body toward the shore, noting the mists are giving way to sparkling white rocks. Twinkling like quartz that dazzles under the bright blue sun. The stones break the light into a sparkling of colors that quiver and dance about the air.
"Oh my," I say, as more and more of the fog evaporates and I gaze down into bright teal waters that glitter under the sun. Clean and bubbling, is is almost as if I can see the pebbled ground beneath. Trees begin to come into focus along the river. Beautifully thin, with white bark phantom arms that stretch toward the sky in worship. They are emerging everywhere I look, with blossoms of yellow that flutter from their branches, falling along the shoreline and into the water like rain.
But there, just up ahead, I see a magnificently tall palace. White alabaster stone rising above a tall blanched cavern of rock. Five towers carved into curling, intricate designs, rising high into the sky tipped with pointed rooftops, sharpe as the end of a spear. Tiny waterfalls spilling from the windows and showering onto cave pools below tumble about the place like jewelry. The entire structure absolutely sparkles with light, casting out waves of gently shimmering rainbows. "What is this place?" I whisper, noting the different arms of the river that branch apart in all directions to circle the anterior cave.
Ash's voice sounds against my ear. "That, my little peasant, is the House of the Five Rivers."