Ranger's Apprentice: The Tantalizing Tales

Uncharted territory

In which Will and Alyss share a kiss, which is followed by more that trail down the jaw and neck. 

DISCLAIMER: this is not what you'd call ,,,,children's literature'''' anymore (if you get what I mean). I think this would be teen rated? Definitely not overtly sexual, or graphic, or explicit. Though not very subtly hinting at mature content as well. 

~~~

The couple enters the small cabin just as the first rays of the morning sun shine through the open windows. They map out the way through the main room, through the door that separates it from the bedroom.

It's like the early morning sun is telling them something, Will thinks. He grins. Hasn't stopped grinning since the moment Alyss returned the kiss, there, at the little clearing in the forest, in front of all their friends.

After the kiss, his right hand had taken her left hand and had barely let it go as the evening and the night progressed. Now, still, their fingers are intertwined. Will looks at their locked fingers, the rings that shine on them, and his eyes follow the arm up until he's looking at her face. His wife - wife - is smiling brightly at him, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. It's a look of pure happiness that he knows is mirrored on his own. A look that doesn't go away as he leads her through the cabin, over the marked path of golden sunshine, to the bedroom.

But Alyss hardly seems interested in exploring her new home. Instead, the hand that is holding his pulls him towards her.

They had kissed during the wedding, of course. But those kisses were short. Simple. Fleeting. They were quick acts, driven by passion and the heat of the moment, in an environment rich with distractions. But this- this kiss is nothing like the others. It is so much more.

Their lips touch, in a blissful encounter of pure love. They break contact as one of them is gasping for air, then lock again as desire takes over. Alyss's right hand is tracing up and down Will's spine. His left hand is playfully pulling down her hair from the simple yet elegant half updo. Their other hands stay locked, fingers intertwined, another physical embodiment of the bond that has been created between them tonight.

Finally, after Alyss's fingers have gotten to know Will's spine better than the letters of the alphabet, and there's not a single strand of Alyss's hair that remains in place, Will's hand lowers down her back. His fingers start playing with the laces that keep her wedding dress in place.

He also breaks the kiss. Increases the distance between their faces so their gazes can meet. Alyss's eyes are a liquid silver in the early morning sun. She smiles at him. Lets go of his hand that she was still holding and slowly turns around so that his fingers can work the laces that form tight bows on her back.

Alyss could unlace her own dress, of course. But there is something about Will doing it, something about the way his calloused fingers come into contact with the soft fabric and the skin underneath it. The touches are gentle, and soft, and careful, but she can feel that his fingers are unsteady.

"Will..." she says softly. She turns her head to look over her right shoulder to where her husband - husband - is standing.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

The fingers stop what they were doing. There is a moment of complete silence, of absolutely nothing. Then, the man standing behind her moves a little closer still, until his breaths can warm her skin.

"More than ready," Will whispers. His mouth is near her ear, but finds the corner of her mouth and presses a kiss against it. Alyss can hardly turn her head further, but she still leans in for more. More than Will wants to give. His lips break the contact with hers, instead tracing along her jaw. They reach her neck and keep moving down. As Will's hands continue unlacing her dress, bow after bow after bow, his mouth explores the soft skin between Alyss's neck and shoulder. Her skin is tingling and the butterflies in her stomach flutter wildly.

So wildly, that it takes a few seconds until her brain registers the words that are spoken to her.

"'Lyss?" Will repeats softly.

"Mhm?"

"Are you ready?"

Truth be told, Alyss has been ready for a long time. But she waited. Waited for him. Waited until he was ready. Waited until this day would arrive. And now that it has, she fully intends on soaking in every second of it.

"More than ready," she echoes his response. As she does, the last lace is loosened and her dress, no longer being held in place, slips off her shoulders, down her body, and onto the ground.

It's chilly in the cabin, without a fire cackling in the living room, and the windows above the bed wide open. But it doesn't bother her. The rays of the sun they left behind in the living room. Here, it's something inside her that warms her. Something that starts in her heart and makes its way through her body, that makes her blissfully unaware of the cool and fresh summer morning air.

Alyss turns around to meet Will's gaze. As she does, her fingers find the buttons of his vest. She undoes them. Every single one. Makes her way down. Loosens his belt. Loosens the laces on his boots. Centimetre after centimetre of his bare skin reveals itself to her. Until it's all there. The only things left on his body are the silver oakleaf hanging on a cord around his neck, and the two rings on his fingers - one marking their engagement, the other their wedding.

Pushing the covers away, they climb onto the bed. But Alyss stops.

"Shoes," she whispers, barely holding in a laugh. A snort escapes Will's throat as he realises that for all his mindful undressing, they forgot to take off her shoes. They each take care of another foot, quickly and smoothly untangling the web of laces. It's only after both sandals have slipped onto the ground with a soft boom that they can fully climb onto the bed. They sit there, for a little bit. Just sit.

Alyss remembers that time in the woods in Macindaw, when she had to change, when Will had looked away the minute a millimetre of her skin was visible. He doesn't look away now. Not once.

Will has crossed foreign land many times before. Has travelled through unknown areas. Has outlined completely new regions. But this... this was uncharted territory. This was something he would spend ages discovering.

They move towards each other, practically at the same time, so in sync that it's unclear who initiates what. They've lost count of how many times their lips have come into contact in the last few hours. But they come into contact again.

This time, the kiss is delicate. Sweet. Uncertain and nervous and yet confident. It's slow. Careful. It's mindful and sensitive and full of desire.

It's the anticipation of being together. Of being together in a way that's more than words. A way that is completely tangible. A way that provides physical, touchable proof of the love that they feel for each other. A way to be intimate as they never have been before.

They lock eyes. Share a moment. Share an experience. Share a lifetime.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, they both lean in again. Alyss's hands envelop Will's face and make sure it stays close to hers as she lowers herself into the pillows on the bed. Will's right hand finds her left hand again and takes it. Holds it. Will breaks the contact between their faces to press a kiss against their interwoven fingers, before pushing them down into the mattress next to Alyss's head. She smiles up at him. It's a smile he wants to taste.

The kisses return to her mouth, but it isn't long before they move to her cheek. Slowly, they begin trailing down her jaw, then lower to her neck. They stay there, for a little while. Playing with the skin in such a way that makes her squeeze his hand tighter and tighter.

But then the kisses begin trailing down again, lower this time than any of the times before.

And lower.

And lower.

And lower.