Demon's Promise: a high fantasy femdom novella by Em Shimizu Page A

looked around out of idle curiosity.
    The frescoes on the walls were long faded and would
have been impossible to make out even under bright daylight. As it
was, they simply appeared as blotches of dusty color, dancing with
the shadows cast by their globes.
    His attention was soon drawn by a thick fur spread
out on the ground in the corner, incongruous against the dust and
cracked walls.
    He smiled at the sight. Nervous though she may have
been, Nairee was certainly well prepared.
    They settled down on the fur, leaning against the
wall and each other, and found themselves at a loss for words.
    “You come of age at daybreak, don’t you, milord?”
Nairee whispered after some time.
    He had forgotten.
    “Yes.”
    “I was so disappointed when Amma told me there
weren’t to be any celebrations.”
    “Less work for you, isn’t it?”
    She pouted, playfully shoving his arm. “It’s worth
it, though. After all that ruckus with everyone running around and
trying to get things done, all the mistakes that must be patched up
and smoothed over, and Amma just about blowing her top – When
everything falls into place at last –”
    Ruen couldn’t understand the passion sparkling in her
eyes, but did not have the heart to say so.
    “So you see,” she was saying. “That’s when I decided.
To – to…”
    He grinned. “To what?”
    Her cheeks darkened with a flush, obvious even in the
dim lighting of the globes.
    “To give you a… a gift. A special gift. To mark the
occasion.”
    “Oh? What sort of gift?”
    She held his gaze, still blushing furiously.
    Then she leaned up and brushed her lips against
his.
    She was soft and warm and tasted faintly of
berries.
    “That was nice,” he said, smiling, his pulse
quickening despite the cold. “Very nice.”
    Nairee grinned back with a downright wicked gleam in
her eyes.
    “That’s not all.”
    “Really, now.”
    “Really.” Her voice shook a little, and she looked a
bit nervous again. “It’ll be fine, milord. Amma taught me how to
brew the tea years ago. There shan’t be any unintended
consequences. I promise.”
    The thought hadn’t even occurred to Ruen, and he
found himself touched by her consideration. Briefly, he wondered if
a child of his would be just as impotent as he. But the thought was
utterly distasteful, and he had far more interesting things to be
worrying about at the moment.
    He lifted a hand to cup her soft, heated cheek.
    “You do realize I’m not of age just yet?”
    A look of mischief crept back into her face. “Well,
after all, what’s a few hours’ difference?”
    He chuckled. Leaned close so that their foreheads
touched. “What a terrible influence you are.”
    Then he kissed her again, this time slipping his
tongue between her lips. She tensed with a sweet little gasp, then
leaned into him, kissing back, twining her strong slender arms
around his back and neck. He could feel her heart racing beneath
the layers of her tunics – or was that his own heart?
    He snuck his gloved hand under her inner tunic, then
pushed up her fitted bodice and closed his grasp around the gentle
swell of her chest. She squirmed, giggling and gasping at his touch
as he rubbed his thumb over the puffy softness of her stiffening
nipple.
    She unwrapped her arms from around him, slid her own
hands down his front, loosening the sash of his robes. He was
growing hard already just thinking about her softness, her warmth
pressed against him, those eager, clever little fingers. He
wondered if his cock would feel as good inside her as it did in his
own fantasies, or better. He wondered if she’d lain with any
others. One of the hirelings, or one of the apprentices from the
village. If she had found them pleasing. If he could please her
just as well, though the extent of his knowledge was limited to
dusty texts and faded illustrations and brief scraps of overheard
gossip.
    And watching the animals rutting, but that was hardly
any exemplary behavior for a civilized human to