A Young Lady Who Wants to Be Honest (3)

She wants to do what the elf did?

Theorad could scarcely make sense of Ashley's offer. While he hesitated, she leaned forward, pressing his hands more firmly against her breasts. His fingers trembled at the soft contact. Ashley didn't seem to mind.

“When you were with the elf… did it feel good?”

Her face was so close that he felt as though he were being interrogated. Still, he couldn't bring himself to lie. He nodded gravely.

“I can't say it felt bad. I'm a man in the prime of life, after all.”

“Then what did you like?”

“That's hardly a proper thing to discuss—”

“Please tell me!”

Her sharp insistence made his ears ring. The usually demure Ashley had seized on the question with a stubbornness he didn't understand.

Is she jealous?

Perhaps she wanted to surpass the elf at giving him pleasure. That would explain it, but why should she feel obliged to compete?

I would love you no matter how well we suited each other in bed.

His feelings for Ashley had never depended on her body or her beauty. He loved the person she was.

Despite being born into an exalted noble house, Ashley knew when to apologize, and she could feel shame when she had wronged someone. She never used her family's standing as an excuse for cruelty. Instead, she shared its wealth with the people of the territory, spending time among them, laughing and talking with them as equals. That generosity was beautiful to him.

When her father had spoken of their engagement, he'd been happier than he could say.

Ashley. Your heart is even more beautiful than your face.

Had she never understood that? He loved her just as she was.

Rather than try to explain, Theorad lowered his head and kissed her.

“Wh—Theorad? What are you…?”

Startled, she tried to draw her head back. He caught her by the hair at the back of her head and pulled her lightly toward him. After a moment of resistance, she parted her lips; their tongues met, and their breathing quickened.

Almost instinctively, he began to caress her breasts, his fingertips brushing over her nipples as they stiffened beneath his touch.

“Ah… Theorad…”

Ashley's flushed face looked close to yielding entirely to the sensation. She seemed ready to lose herself in it, then abruptly recovered her composure and pushed him back.

Their lips parted. A fine strand of saliva stretched between them and broke.

Theorad withdrew his hand and struggled to steady his own breathing. Ashley let out a long, unsteady breath. She looked up at him with what she must have intended as a dignified, commanding gaze, seemingly unaware that her body still betrayed her excitement.

“You… have to answer.”

It almost sounded like an order. He still couldn't fathom why she needed to know the details of his encounter with the elf, but after such insistence, he could hardly keep evading her.

“Nothing especially unusual happened. Setting aside the things she brought with her, we had sex much as anyone would.”

“Nothing… unusual?”

That came out badly.

He paused, then decided that a frank answer would be kinder than trying to mislead her.

“Well… she also used her breasts to give me pleasure.”

“Her… breasts?”

“Yes. But you needn't do anything of the kind. It would hardly be in keeping with your dignity.”

“…I don't think dignity is the issue. Having sex before marriage is already unforgivable by those standards.”

It was an indirect answer, but Theorad took it to mean she would keep what happened today between them, and that she remained willing to go further.

While he was still taken aback by her unexpected boldness, Ashley nervously moved her fingers and asked again.

“Then… did that feel good?”

Theorad could not answer at once. The elf had frightened him at the time, but the physical sensation had undeniably pleased him. Otherwise he would not have reached release. He hesitated, fearing that the truth would hurt Ashley.

She read the answer in his silence. Nodding to herself, she slid down from the bed.

“I… can do that too.”

She knelt in front of him, drew a deep breath, and reached for the fastening of his trousers. With trembling hands, she undid it and lowered his trousers and underwear, exposing him.

“Ah… um…”

He was larger than she had imagined. Ashley tried not to show her surprise, afraid he might take offense. Her eyes stayed on the unfamiliar sight; it seemed almost like a living thing, and the thought of taking it inside her made her anxious.

“Ashley.”

“Y-yes?”

She looked up to find him watching her with concern.

“Do you truly want to do this? If you're only thinking of what happened with the elf, please stop. You don't have to force yourself. I love you without any of this.”

“…I'm not.”

She wanted him to feel good because she loved him. She wanted to show that she could give him what the elf had given him, even if this unfamiliar, indecorous act demanded courage. She had made up her mind.

Still kneeling, she raised herself a little and spoke in a voice sweet with embarrassment.

“I'm doing it because I love you, Sir Theorad.”

That was difficult to argue with. Half resigned, he nodded, and she bent forward.

She pressed her breasts together around him.

“Oh…”

The unfamiliar warmth made her body react of its own accord. Theorad, too, felt the soft pressure and stirred against her. The change surprised her, but knowing that her touch affected him gave her some confidence.

“Shall I… begin?”

She said it before she had quite worked out how. The head maid had told her that men liked stimulation there, but knowing that much was hardly the same as knowing what to do.

After a moment's thought, she held her breasts with both hands and began moving them slowly. Theorad gave a quiet moan. She kept the motion gentle and measured; unlike the elf's aggressive handling of him, hers was tentative, and the contrast intensified the pleasure.

“Sir Theorad… does that feel good?”

Ashley looked up, earnest and anxious to know whether she was doing it correctly. Her innocence made Theorad oddly ashamed of himself. She was nothing like the elf, who had approached their encounters with the determination to overpower him.

Her careful movements brought him closer to release, although Ashley couldn't tell. Still holding him between her breasts, she lowered her head.

She said to use my tongue, too…

The head maid hadn't explained precisely how, only that the tongue could be used to stimulate him. Ashley cautiously followed the advice, running her tongue over the tip. The movement embarrassed her so much that she blushed again.

Looking down at her, Theorad could no longer contain himself. A rough moan escaped him. His body jerked, startling Ashley; he slipped lower between her breasts and ejaculated against her skin.

“Ah… oh…”

Ashley huddled her shoulders as she felt the sudden warmth, but she kept her hands in place until he was finished. She did not quite know what to make of the sensation. Her heart was beating hard.

“Whew…”

At last Theorad leaned back and withdrew. The semen left between her breasts began to run down her skin. Only then did Ashley release her hands and look down at the mess.

Her chest was covered. Mortified, Ashley looked up at him with an unmistakable trace of satisfaction.

“W-was that all right?”

She resembled a pupil asking her professor whether she'd demonstrated a difficult spell correctly. A daughter of one of the empire's most distinguished families, seeking praise for something so unladylike—the absurdity only made Theorad love her more.

He caught his breath, then gathered her into his arms and laid her on the bed. He moved above her.

“Oh, wait…”

Ashley stared up at him, cheeks blazing. His faint smile only made her more flustered.

“What…? All of a sudden…”

Her words were startled. Her body was aroused as well, but that was a separate response. Moisture gathered between her thighs. She was a woman in the prime of life, no less susceptible to desire than he was; watching him respond to what she'd done had affected her deeply.

She was embarrassed by how much she wanted him, especially with the evidence of their earlier act still on her skin.

Theorad laughed softly. She turned her face away, stung by the sound. He suppressed his smile and bent to kiss her lightly, which made her blush all over again.

“Forgive me. You're simply too adorable.”

“And ‘forgive me’ is all you have to say…?”

“What else should I say?”

Ashley glanced back at him in bewilderment, as though he ought to know the answer already. Theorad waited no longer. He brought his still-erect penis against her crotch.