The Lion Soul by Amy Sumida
Chapter Fifteen
After dinner, Kaelen and I went for a walk through Murra. At his urging, I left my swords behind. I felt strange without them, but also free. The night was crisp, what with it being late winter, but the Lion Kingdom was situated in the lower part of the continent, along with Stalana, and so had a warmer climate. Kae said that it sometimes got cold at night, but never snowed.
I found the night air refreshing and the walk invigorating. Everywhere I looked there were amazing sights to behold. From the Pixies whirring overhead, their iridescent wings shimmering in the light of street lamps, to the enormous Trolls who navigated the crowds with surprising grace, the residents of Murra alone were fascinating. Then there was their brilliantly colored clothing, amazing devices, and casual use of magic. I tried not to gawk, but I couldn't help staring when a woman came gliding down the sidewalk, her transparent lower half floating just above the ground and her hands in a leather bag that appeared to be empty. To my astonishment, she pulled out a large, wooden box.
“It's an infinite satchel,” Kaelen whispered to me. “They're enchanted to hold an unlimited amount of items without adding weight to the bag. When you want something, you stick your hand in and focus on the item. The bag pushes it into your hand.”
“That could come in handy for soldiers.”
“Yes, but the enchantment is an expensive one.”
I grunted in understanding. Although soldiers risked their lives, often to protect their people, they usually lived in meager conditions and were rarely afforded luxuries. Unless, of course, you were an officer, or, even better, a warlord.
We came to an establishment that looked to be a tavern, but it was unlike any tavern I'd ever seen. The front window was half-draped in velvet curtains, giving a glimpse of a low-lit room packed with faeries. Music with a primitive pounding beat thumped out from it, despite the door being shut. Then a man came striding out of the tavern, and I was blasted by sound. I winced away from the place.
“I take it, you don't want to go dancing,” Kaelen said with a chuckle.
“Dancing?” I asked in confusion.
“Dancing,” he repeated. “You know, you and a partner move to music.”
“I know what dancing is, Kaelen,” I huffed but did so with a smile. “We don't do that in Nazaka.”
“You don't dance?” Kaelen was horrified.
“Not together.” I frowned. “Women dance to entertain people.”
“Men don't dance?”
“No. But I've seen it done in places I've visited. I've just never heard such loud music in an enclosed environment or seen an entire establishment dedicated to dancing.”
“Well, you can get a drink in there too.” Kaelen grinned and grabbed my hand. “Come on, I'm taking you dancing.”
I pulled back. “No, thank you.”
“Rie, it's fun, I promise.”
“No, thank you,” I said more firmly.
“Rieyu.” He gave me a chiding look.
I shook my head.
“Your fighting movements are a lot like dancing. Trust me, you'll like this.”
I sighed and let him pull me back toward the dancing establishment. When he opened the door, I cringed at the audio assault, but once we were inside, the volume seemed less abrasive. It was still too loud, so loud that I'd have to shout if I wanted to speak to Kaelen, but it wasn't hurting my eardrums as I'd expected.
The interior was larger than I'd thought and a bit darker. A bar extended several feet along the right wall, starting near the door, and was crowded with faeries of all races, drinking in such tight quarters that they had to hold their glasses close to their chests. And yet they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Further in, there were a few small tables and several stools along the black, enameled walls, but no other furniture to speak of. The rest of the place was reserved for dancing.
The lights weren't just dim but also roving; they moved over the shadowy forms of faeries, giving glimpses of rapturous expressions and glistening skin. I stiffened. What kind of dancing was this? I squinted into the dark and then widened my eyes at the press of bodies, writhing to primal drumbeats. Hands roamed freely and hips pressed together, both front-to-front and front-to-back. The sound of moans drew my attention to a couple who was locked in an intimate embrace. They weren't having sex, but it looked as if that option wasn't off the table. In fact, it could be happening on a table very soon.
I pulled back on Kaelen's hand and gave him a furious look. Kaelen's expression went pleading. I scowled. He pulled. I shook my head. He grinned. Somehow, I wound up in the middle of the moving mass of faeries with Kaelen's hands on my hips, pulling me against him. I stared around us at the mixed couples, mixed in both race and sex. Glastigs, Dwarves, Red Caps, Leanan-Sidhe, and even Pixies danced with the beautiful Sidhe—men with men, women with women, and men and women together. The crowd was like a great beast in heat, its sides heaving and breath steaming.
I was about to leave when Kaelen moved my hands to his shoulders and slid his hands around my waist. I looked down at our bodies, scandalously close to each other, then up at his face with a frown. He grinned brightly and started to move. It was slight at first, just a gentle sway, but once my body began to move instinctively with his, Kae sped up, taking us into an undulating series of rhythmic movements that matched the music. His hands stroked my back and his hips pressed closer.
Kaelen lowered his mouth to my ear and said, “Let go of everything you think is proper and just feel.”
With his chest prodding mine, Kae shifted me with him and taught me to let the music direct the dance, that this wasn't a rigid performance but something done for pleasure. For joy. The drumbeats pounded through me, inspiring my muscles into an almost sexual clenching while the melody made me sway. I closed my eyes and did as Kaelen suggested; I let go of my beliefs on what was proper. I wasn't in Nazaka; I was in a magical land, and I was one of its magical inhabitants. I deserved to celebrate that, and my body seemed to know this.
My eyes shot open when Kaelen's lips brushed my ear, and when I didn't pull back, he moved them down the column of my throat. I felt him growl against my skin, then nip me gently, and it sent a shock through me like lightning striking land. I gasped and jerked against Kae, arching into his body. With another growl, his hands slid down to my ass, fingers spreading to cup both cheeks before he squeezed.
I don't know why I didn't stop him. Maybe it was the music. Maybe it was the darkness and faceless crowd moving just as we were, intent on their own partners. We were in public but it also felt private. Whatever it was, it was alluring and instead of being scandalized by his behavior, I was intrigued. My body rolled and bent as if in battle, but with a shivering excitement driving it. I felt powerful in a new way, making a man tremble in arousal instead of fear. And the music—it was so foreign and yet so familiar. My body recognized it; my blood took the rhythm and sent it surging through me.
The Lion Lord lifted his head and sensually rubbed his cheek against mine, like a cat scent-marking. He started kneading my ass, his big warlord hands covering nearly the entire expanse. I groaned in aching need and slid my hands down his chest to learn the feel of his body. His nipples pebbled beneath my questing fingers, and I rolled them under the fabric of his tunic, thoughts of taking one between my teeth tormenting me. Kaelen made a rumbling sound of pleasure; I couldn't hear it, but I felt the vibration in his chest.
Then, right when I thought it was too much, right when I was about to pull away from him, Kaelen spun us and took me back into the sway of the dance, easing away from me so we weren't touching so intimately. Kae expertly navigated me around the small space we'd carved out for ourselves, guiding me through the movements once more with the pressure of his hands. It became both less and more sexual at the same time. Those brief touches had aroused me, nearly to the point of asking him to take me back to the hotel, but then Kaelen had turned down the heat, taking my boil to a simmer. I was still in a blissful haze of lust, but not lost to it.
He was teasing me.
I realized it with amusement. How very like Kaelen to bring me into a room overflowing with eroticism, ramp up my desire, and then refuse to take me over the edge. It wasn't just a tease, it was play. Like a kitten with a ball of string, he was batting me about, trying to unravel me because he could sense how tightly wound I was. By the time the song finished, my erection was gone, but I was laughing in delight.
“I win,” Kaelen said in my ear. “You like it. Admit it.”
“You win,” I agreed, meaning much more than the dance.
