Valentine

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Wally knew what he was doing, the bastard.

I spent the whole elevator ride flush-faced and quivering, my heart beating like a drum, and what does he do?

Lousy oaf sits down at the couch and starts work on his stove enchantment. He'd explained it to me, and I'd done my best to follow. He called the squiggle of heavy metal wire a heating element, and explained that it turned electricity into heat. He planned to make it work with magic, therefore drawing less upon our electricity budget.

I spared only the barest moment to check he wasn't actively working a spell, and then pulled the useless twist of wire out of his hands. I leapt at him, and he caught me with a chuckle, pulling me down to sit across his lap.

I shivered as I took his face in both hands and drew him into a deep kiss. I struggled to get out of my flight suit without letting go of him and felt an irrational surge of anger when I realised that wasn't going to happen.

Finally, I let go. One hand found the zipper at the front of my suit, while the other moved to grab his hair and hold him close.

Wally kissed me back, laughing all the while. He put a hand on my chest, not to help me out of the suit or excite me as I'd hoped, but to push me back so very slightly. Just enough that our lips just barely brushed tantalisingly close to one another. I fought and growled to have him as deeply as I needed, but was helpless in his hands.

I got the suit down around my waist as I fought against him, but he grabbed my ankles with a free hand, trapping them both in his massive grip. I couldn't kick the suit free with him holding my legs. I could hardly move at all.

He pushed me back and grinned, "Right, so tattoos."

His hand circled my neck, and for a moment I thought things were going to get really exciting until I felt his fingers searching for the clasp on my amulet. He found it, and the heavy necklace dropped into my lap.

"I was thinking that maybe we could get a running tally of all the times I get one over on you. Maybe here," he suggested, as his hand brushed lightly across my chest.

My breath was coming short and fast, and I felt myself beginning to get dizzy. I fumbled for it, but my vision had begun to swim, and Wallace chose that moment to flip me over onto my front.

He held me down with a hand held lightly against my back, and pulled my flight suit down to my thighs and patted me on the bottom, "Or maybe here," then he flipped me onto my back. A six-fingered hand glided down my body until his thumb was resting against the inside of my thigh, "But you seemed to like the idea of thigh tattoos, so maybe we do that instead. That'd be a lot of tally marks though."

I tried to take deep breaths, to get enough air, but it was miracle enough that I was still conscious. By this point, any other fey would be unconscious, unused to physical exertion and sabotaged by their own biology.

My vision had faded to a blur, and I was limp in Wally's arms as he gathered me up, leaning down to kiss me with the depth I'd been begging for. He held the kiss, and as he did what was left of my vision narrowed to a single point, until that too was gone.

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Upon waking I was excited at the prospect of more, gratified that Wally had taken things so far, frustrated at not being allowed a proper conclusion, and filled with a level of desire that was suffocating.

I felt carpet against my back and bottom, and realised with a thrill that I'd been discarded on the floor. I still had the flight suit tangled around my thighs, and my hair was matted to my body- my whole body -with sweat. Gods, I looked like an utter mess.

I pushed myself to a sitting posture and only then realised Wally had left. The heating element was gone as well. Had I been out that long, that he could finish his enchantment and leave?

Wally had opened the windows. I couldn't recall if I'd lost control of my pheromone glands, but it was a distinct possibility. The scent of my sweat mixed with the clean breeze, along with an odd artificial odour I couldn't quite place.

I only realised what it was once I pulled my legs free of the flight suit and began to gather up my hair. The artificial smell was from one of the human writing devices, a marker, as evidenced by the series of tally marks on the inside of my thigh.

I rubbed at the marks idly and sighed. Boy was it ever fun being the outlet for Wally's frustrations.

I've got to see if I can get Constance to wind him up some more. He'll come down hard on both of us, gods, what new torments will he come up with?

The tally marks smudged only a little. They'd come off in time, but they'd be sticking around at least for a little while.

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I ran the shower as cold as it would go, and while I came out smelling fresh, it did nothing to cool my desires.

When I dressed, I put on the diaphanous silk shift I'd picked up for Wally in Parabuteo, and checked that the shower hadn't washed away the tally marks. If the ink had run, I didn't notice.

I cursed the others as I pulled on my flight suit. I would have been happy to wear only the slip of silk, or less, while roaming the hotel, if not for their presence.

It was good we had them, and not just because Wally wouldn't have been so wound up without them. But sometimes, I wish there were more time to indulge my fantasies.

Though, in that way, Wally was undoubtedly a positive influence. He could be self-indulgent at times but had much better self-control, and that kept me from getting too wild. This was a fortress, not a brothel after all.

I slapped my cheeks twice in an attempt to clear my head.

Of course, with Wally, there was the added benefit that he somehow turned restraint into foreplay.

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I only realised how long I'd been out when I reached the ground floor and found that Amity had already returned with Aldith. The girl was seated with Felicity near the fire, learning to read from the look of it. Wally's bassy tones led me through a pair of double doors near the front desk, through to the pool.

The two stood on the tiles at the water's edge, and though I got a nod from Amity, they didn't pause their conversation when I approached.

"We can tie into the building's existing plumbing," Amity was explaining, "It was already laid out to carry water to the tower on the roof, but we will need to enchant several pumping stations to achieve the pressure required to reach the roof. As for purification, I spoke with Regina, and we think it would be best to do it twice. Once where we pump it out of the pool, and again before it feeds into the water tower. I don't like the idea of running greywater through what should be a white water pipe."

I frowned and glanced at the pool.

"Grey as in usability," Wally provided, "Granted, high levels of chlorine are probably not what greywater usually means, but it's not as if I can come up with something better."

"I also have some plans for limited water reclamation, but I think we both know we require an actual source of new water. Rationing and recycling what we have, though sizeable, will only last so long."

Wally nodded his agreement, "Do you need help with the enchantments?"

"Just the purification," Amity replied, "There are already small pumps in the plumbing system, meant to get water to the roof, and enchanting those to work is relatively easy. But water purification is a touchy business. I'm not as comfortable trying that myself, sorry."

"It's no problem," Wally assured her, "I've got nothing better to do anyway."

The hell you do.

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I followed Wally back to the ground floor restaurant. He took two pitchers, and after a moment to think on it, one of those metal human drink cans. The can he put in his pocket, and the pitchers he filled with water from the pool before returning to the penthouse.

"So!" He began, upon our return, "What do you think?"

A bone-deep shiver ran through me as I watched him carry the pitchers to the dining table, and retrieve several glasses from the cabinet.

"I think I want to call in that rain check."

Wally gave an absent wave of the hand, "No no, I mean about how to purify the water. Come, sit."

"I don't want to talk about magic, I want-"

Wally speared me with his gaze, and beckoned me with a finger, "Come, sit."

"Oh, this is so not fair."

I found myself obeying all the same, and he helped me up into his lap.

"So a couple of solutions come to mind. Protect Water might work," as he spoke, he began to draw down the zipper at the front of my suit, and I felt goosebumps rise on my skin, "But I think that would be sort of like a super water filter. We'd need to clean it, maybe a lot, depending on our source. The other idea that came to mind was using Weaken on everything but the water. But I don't see how we could do that without several different versions of Weaken. Weaken Earth, Weaken Metal, and so on."

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, "Wally, this isn't something I've given any thought. I know that enchantments like this exist, but I've got other things on my mind at the moment."

Wally slipped his hand into the front of my suit, and I gasped and squirmed back against him as his fingers brushed lightly against me.

"Well, maybe you should give it some thought," he murmured, "Because unless we figure out a solution, you're going to bed very frustrated."

"A-ahh, maybe Transform?" I gasped, as his hand slipped lower, "Transform whatever isn't water into- gods, you are an utter bastard -into water."

"Interesting idea," he agreed, and I could hear the bastard smirking, "But that leaves us with the same problem as Weaken."

He lifted the pitcher, filled one of the glasses, and set it before me.

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"Mmm-Movement maybe? You could lift the water ah-ah-against gravity."

With the hand that Wally wasn't using to drive me wild, he took hold of my hair and drew my head back until I was looking up at him.

Well I'm glad one of us is enjoying themselves.

He rewarded me with a deep, but frustratingly brief, kiss.

"That's actually a really good idea for foreign objects, we might want to do that anyway, but it doesn't work for everything," still with a hand in my hair, he guided me to look at the glass of water before me, "The chlorine for example. It's dissolved in the water, and it's not as if it's gathering at the bottom of the glass."

"H-heal. Movement to mmm- gods, I'm going to kill you -Movement to ensure only water is in the pipes, and then Heal to make sure the water is safe to drink. Now p-please, I've been good."

I felt Wallace shrug behind me, "I mean, it's a good idea. Does it work, though?"

I growled, "You cannot expect me to cast spells like this. I'm a mess."

"I think maybe we'll need to make a habit of this. If you can't focus on magic under pressure, well."

"Fine, fine, whatever you want," I panted.

I fumbled around in the pockets of my suit until I found a few loose pennies, and clutched one in a white-knuckled grip as I stared at the glass. Wallace did not make my task easy, and while he didn't put his hands where I really wanted them, it did mean I fumbled the spell nearly a dozen times. My frustration built with each failure, and each time there were fewer coins on the table to use. Finally, I got the spell off, and I slumped back against Wallace, panting.

He lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip.

"Hey, that worked," he grinned, "Good girl."

I squirmed around until I was facing him and pawed at his chest, "Put the glass down."

"Not so fast, this is just the first step, proof of concept. Next, we've got to test the Movement solution, then try them together, and then we can start looking at turning it all into an enchantment."

I pounded my fists against his chest, "You've been teasing me for days," I wailed, "Just take me already."

He shrugged, unperturbed by my sorry state, "What do I get?"

I thumped him again, "What do you get? What do you get?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up to growl in his ear, "What you get," I seethed, "Is a beautiful fey noblewoman who men would kill to possess. A fey noblewoman at whom you need only to twitch a finger or whisper a word to have her eagerly satisfy any desire you might have. A fey noblewoman not blessed with an abundance of patience."

Wally sighed and shook his head, "Noblewoman," he repeated.

Wallace gathered me up in his arms and started towards the stairs that led up to the sleeping area. A shiver ran down my spine, and a nervous giggle passed my lips. But it turned out even better than I hoped.

He didn't carry me up to the bed. Instead, he pinned me to the stairs, face down. One hand held me by the hair and kept my face pressed against the carpet, and I laughed as the other roughly relieved me of my flight suit.

"I thought I was pretty clear with Constance about such things being irrelevant here?" he murmured, "Besides, I think I remember you selling your stake. Did you forget you're just a lowly commoner now?"

"Remind me," I gasped.

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I pushed off the blankets and rose to my haunches. I yawned and stretched my arms languidly to the ceiling. My limbs were heavy with relaxation, and I felt sore in some very intimate places, but I'd slept like the dead and upon waking, felt as rested as I'd ever had before.

I felt something brush against my bare hip and turned to see that Wally had woken. Rising to my haunches had pulled the bedcovers down to his waist, and he lay bare-chested with his hands behind his head, looking up at me with a soft smile.

Last night had been outstanding, and I savoured the way my body ached, but such experiences could be bought. Had been bought, actually. Give the governesses at The Blushing Maiden a fistful of coins, tell them not to let you out for a week, and you could have a hell of a time.

I'd never had anyone look at me the way Wallace did though, no matter how much money I had to spend.

I bit my lower lip and gently touched his cheek, "Good morning."

Wally slid his hand up from my hip to glide across my back and goosebumps lifted at his gentle touch. I draped myself across his chest and kissed him hungrily.

With a finger, he traced a line down my spine from the nape of my neck to the small of my back, and I marvelled at his sheer size. His hand was large enough that resting on my back, it spanned from shoulder to shoulder. And his chest, so broad that if I wrapped my arms around him, my fingertips couldn't meet in the middle.

I pulled away and rested my cheek against his chest with a sigh. It felt good just to lay there and let him stroke my back.

"Finally got it worked out of your system?" he asked with a grin.

"For now," I replied airily.

"Good, because we've got a big day ahead of ourselves."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I want to be in Caniforma by dinner," Wally pushed himself up on an elbow to look out the window, "It's still early yet. I should have time to put together the water purifiers Amity needs. I'm thinking we leave after lunch."

"Are we heading south through the pass near Parabuteo and then north through the rest stops, or do you want to see if we can find a pass at the northern end of the mountain range?"

"Remember our first night here, or nearly our first night here? Whichever it was, we saw those fires on the horizon. It was near the mountains to the north. The lights must have been awfully high for us to see them out so far. I'm thinking they were either camping out just at the mouth of the pass- assuming one exists -or there's another settlement in the foothills of the mountains."

I nodded my agreement, "It would be good to know in any case."

"If it doesn't work out, we can always turn back and go the long way 'round tomorrow morning," he pointed out.

"You do your enchantments, I'll get us packed, and make sure Aldith is ready for the journey," I promised, and then hesitated for a moment, "Ah, one more time in the shower?"

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Aldith furrowed her brows, "The Blushing Maiden, what kind of name is that?"

I was frank, "It's a brothel in Caniforma."

Aldith turned her head to the side, looking at me askance, "A brothel? What's that?"

"It's somewhere one can go to purchase a night of companionship," I spread my hands placatingly before Aldith could launch into a tirade, "Others may find something shameful in it, but I do not. In any case, I'm not suggesting you work there as one of the maidens-."

"Maidens?" Aldith asked incredulously, "Is that what you call them?"

"Aldith," I began sharply, "They are my friends."

"Friends? You would take a whore as your friend?"

I clenched my fists, "Yes. And if you're wondering, yes, I paid them to fuck me. But I didn't pay them to be my friends-"

"Does Wallace know you dirty yourself by cavorting with-"

I slapped her.

She stood there dumbstruck, her cheek bright red, while I stared daggers at her, shaking slightly.

"You're a pretty young woman with neither trade nor family. If not for Wallace's good graces and my patience, you would be a whore, getting buggered in back alleys for pennies. The girls at The Blushing Maiden are my friends, I care about them, and they're who I trust to keep you safe. With the elven and goblin guards they keep, there are few places as secure, and yes, it is a brothel, but it's also one of the nicest places in the city to stay. There are few inns as well-appointed, even in Parabuteo. If you want to keep your virtue, for all the good it will do you, then fine. I'm not suggesting you sell your body in the first place. They need drivers, runners, cooks, maids, all manner of things. Being a worthless whore-monger, I'm well known there, and if I make the introduction, they will teach you what you need to know to make a living while keeping your legs together. And those are your choices," I insisted, my voice raising of its own accord, "You can work at The Blushing Maiden doing whatever odd jobs keep the business functioning, you can go back to your damned village and its mud huts, or you can refuse what help I have to give and earn your living with your knees on the cobbles. We're leaving after lunch. Come, or don't. I honestly do not know why I care."

I left her sitting there in the lobby and hammered the button that summoned the elevator.

I searched all over. First the penthouse, then the private bar down on the ninth, and even the basement, getting more and more frustrated as I went. Finally, I found him in one of the conference rooms and became even more frustrated as I realised I'd just missed him the first time through.

His face changed the moment I stepped through the door, and he pushed aside the book he was working on.

"Val? What's wrong."

I crossed the distance to him quickly, and with my head bowed to hide my face, nearly tripped over one of the chairs, which only made me yet more irritated.

Even with Wallace sitting and myself standing beside him, I wasn't tall enough to be at eye level with him. I hugged him close, the top of my head just under his chin.

"You give very good hugs," I muttered.

Wally brushed my hair back out of my face, but I kept it pressed against his chest, "Are you okay Val?"

I nodded weakly, "Wally, do you- um. It's just- Do you have any problem with anything I did before we met?"

Wally tilted his head from side to side as he sometimes did when thinking over a matter, "You did take part in a system that's built on the backs of slaves, I'd be lying if that didn't bother me at least a bit, but on the other hand, it's not like you chose to be born into that society. And it seems to me that you got out as quickly as you could."

"No, I mean, um- You recall how sometimes I make reference to The Blushing Maiden when I'm teasing you?"

Wally frowned and shook his head, "So? Val, you were pretty explicit. Pretty sure you told me once that one of your original ideas after ditching the whole nobility thing was to live there permanently, at least when you weren't busy exploring. If you're going to tell me that you paid men and women to sleep with you, then I'll be honest, not exactly a surprise."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

Wally shrugged, "Should it? You're your own person, Val. What's even the matter? Usually I'm the guy who's all shamefast about naughty adult stuff."

"I spoke with Aldith. She made certain remarks. The words 'dirty' and 'whore' came up."

"And why do you care what she thinks?" Wally demanded.

"She's human," I replied matter-of-factly, "Wally, I hardly know what Earth is like. And here's the second human I've ever spent much time speaking with, and she has a very strong opinion about the people I consider to be my friends. The people who have- Gods, Wallace. Just about anything you can do to a woman, they've done to me. Often two or three at a time."

"Val, for this sort of thing, I think about what it would be like if the situations were reversed. I'll be honest, the idea of anyone else laying a finger on you does make me feel pretty possessive. But if I'd had the opportunity you had, I absolutely would have taken it. Assuming I could stop blushing long enough to stammer out what it was I wanted."

That made me giggle softly, the very idea of the eight-foot-tall beast that was Wallace, walking into The Blushing Maiden. Only for the girls to find that he blushes like a little girl. Gods, they would tease him endlessly.

"And if after that I met someone I connected with, I wouldn't want them to hold it against me if they found out," he continued, "So why should I expect different for you? It's not like you kept it to yourself either, I knew- well not the specifics -but I had a pretty good idea. I appreciate knowing ahead of time, not that it would have been unreasonable for you to keep that part of your life private. There's only one expectation I do have of you, and this one isn't negotiable."

I pulled away just enough to meet his gaze.

"As long as we're together, it's just the two of us. No one else," he finished, his tone serious.

I nodded weakly and pulled him close again, "Gods Wallace, you're amazing."

"I know," he replied wryly, "You were pretty clear about that last night."

I laughed, "There, ah- There is one thing I suppose I should ask you about then."

Wally lifted his chin, "Yeah?"

"I was toying with the idea of arranging something special for you once we got to Caniforma and The Blushing Maiden. There's a half dozen or so people I'd like you to meet and I- Well, I like to watch," I admitted.

Wally smiled, but shook his head, "No. It's thoughtful of you, in a very Val sort of way, but it's not my thing. I don't want to share you with anyone else, and I don't think it's fair for you to have to share me."

I acquiesced. I honestly didn't mind a one-sided arrangement, particularly since there were some governesses at The Blushing Maiden I'd like to see him get the better of, but if this was the one line he drew, then who was I to argue?

"So you don't think I'm dirty?"

"Oh, don't you fucking start with me. It took me all night to get you calmed down. We're supposed to be leaving soon. I don't have time to waste undressing you."

I hugged him tighter. I could not wait for him to meet my friends at The Maiden.

"Then why are you bothering with this?" I teased, flicking a wrist at the book on the table, "I thought you were supposed to be finishing those water purifiers for Amity. Don't we have enough of these?"

"Purifiers are done. Amity's going to test them before she goes and plumbs them into the building, and if they need any tweaks, she'll tell me once we're back," Wally pulled the book he'd been working on across the table towards him and flipped the cover closed, "But you are right. We did have one for every member of the team, and one for each city, true. But not one for your sister. That's why I made this."

I took the book in both hands but kept leaning hard against him, unwilling to give up his touch.

"Thank you, Wallace. That's very thoughtful of you."

As if I needed further proof that there was a sentimental little girl inside the eight-foot-tall berserker. In truth, I didn't terribly mind the distance I'd put between my sister and myself. I hated Pelignos and all the fey in it. It's why I left. But Vivian was happy to stay, she promised that she'd work to make it better for the sprites, and I trusted her. But it remained that she was profiting off, living off, the sweat and blood of slaves. Once I considered her to be the person I felt the closest to. It was only once I met Wallace that I realised how distant we were. I still loved her, she was still my sister, but I could not ignore her flaws.

"You're very welcome," he replied, and I was rewarded with another smile, "What about Aldith, is she ready to go? Do I need to have a talk with her?"

I shook my head, "I told her what her options are. If she doesn't want to end up standing on the street corner with her tits out, then it's either The Maiden working odd jobs, or back to the village."

Wally raised his eyebrows and leaned back, "Is that what you told her?"

"More or less."