This hurts me more than it hurts you. [M] [Aeyt!]

[Rhindeer]

Dirk moved in close, and Briar's belly tightened in anticipation--and more than a little nerves--because though she wanted the contact, it was new and different and sort of intimidating? Most times, she just found touch uncomfortable, even skin-crawling, even through her clothes. A casual pat on the shoulder by a stranger, a grab of her arm during a fight. Her body was so unused to contact that it hardly knew how to process it, didn't know what to do with the sensation, and most of the time if she was being touched, it was during a violent moment.

But as Dirk took her wrist and lifted her arm, and as his hand began to scrub, she shuddered, and despite the heat from the water her entire body broke out in goosebumps. She bit her lip and squirmed where she sat, her other hand twitching; it was an effort not to curl it up into a fist. She'd scrubbed herself down thousands of times, but it was leagues different having him do it to her, and despite the teeth digging into her lip, a soft little whimper escaped her as she shivered, electric chills racing up her arm and raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

She felt like she could just melt, and at the same time, she wanted to curl against him like a cat, complete with purring. For the moment, at least, her foul mouth was speechless, and her nervousness was forgotten from the sheer pleasure of it all.

Briar hardly heard Dirk when he spoke. She processed his words several long seconds later.

"Uh?" she blinked her eyes open, realizing then that they'd slid shut, and let out a heated breath. "Oh, uh. No significance. Just thought it was--ah..." Another shudder went through her, her eyes fluttering. "Just thought it was...neat," she said, lying through her teeth, before she bit her lip again.

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk was glad to see Briar's obvious enjoyment of his scrubbing. It excited him further, to his bewilderment, and resulted in a full erection that he was careful to aim away from Briar. He wondered if it was true that the tattoos meant nothing. She seemed too deliberate to put something on her body, that would last forever, and had no significance. It was of little consequence to him though, so he let it go.
        As Dirk finished Briar's other arm, he put gentle pressure on her elbow, lifting her to stand, and spinning her around. She seemed almost as pliable as when she was unconscious, but was glad she did not crumple as she had then.
        With Briar's back toward him, he scrubbed the back of her neck, behind her ears, and forward on her shoulders to her clavicles. He then began scrubbing her back. As he moved down, he stopped just at the top of her butt. It would be an awkward angle to go down much further.
        "If you step up onto the ledge," Dirk told Briar, "I will continue down your buttocks and legs."

[Rhindeer]

If this was heaven, she was okay with being dead.

It was difficult to stand. Not because of the injuries to the tops of her feet, but because she was trembling so much she felt her knees might buckle. The touches to her neck just about made her collapse, and then he was scrubbing her shoulders, her collarbone, and down her back in a way that made her spine arch. She shivered, glad her back was to him now, because she was pretty sure she was making a funny face right then and she couldn't be assed to care, it felt way too good to be legal.

Standing up as she was, the cooler outside air hit her upper body and made her skin prickle and nipples stand erect, though she hardly noticed then. Her eyes were closed, her muscles twitching whenever he hit a really good spot, and it was an effort to keep from wriggling too much--or moaning. Because that would have been awkward.

And then he stopped, and she let out a breath she'd been holding in a loud whoosh, before she flushed hot at his words.

...Well. Go big or go home.

Not daring to look back at him, because if she looked back at him she'd realize once more that they were naked together (which was somehow easier not to think about when she wasn't staring at him), she stepped gingerly up onto the ledge and winced as her feet ached and sore muscles protested. Her legs wobbled, weak from pleasure, and she pitched forward with a gasped curse and caught herself on the edge--thankfully having the presence of mind to land on her forearms instead of her palms.

Which effectively bent her over the rim instead.

Shitfuckballsshit!

Face on fire clear to her ears, she levered herself back up and stood, swayed once, and steadied her legs, her shoulders hunched and arms crossing over her chest. "Y'know, you're being awfully nice, Dick-Dirk. What's up with that, huh? You're treating me like a bloody princess right now--which, ain't complaining! I've got half a mind to think you're the real prisoner right now, doing my bidding. I like that. Never had a manservant before, I think I could get used to this," she babbled, trying to cover up her awkwardness with her usual bullshit.

[Aeytrious]

        When Briar toppled forward, Dirk began to reach for her, but she caught herself well. In the fall, and his movement to forward, he got his first up close look at a woman's vulva. In that moment, it wasn't just an organ for reproduction, it was a beautiful woman's center of pleasure, and he found himself even more curious. She stood, the moment passed, and he brushed the thought aside.
        "I realize your actions were criminal," Dirk stated, "but I am responsible for your injuries. I take responsibility for my actions. Plus, I am actually enjoying this."
        Once Dirk realized Briar was steady, he finished the small of her back and moved to her butt. As he did each cheek, he gripped the opposite hip to prevent her from pitching forward. Beyond scrubbing, he gently massaged her buttocks, as he had her arms and shoulders. Not shy or aware of personal boundaries, he even made sure to scrub in the crack of her ass. He wanted to be thorough.
        Next Dirk moved to tending to Briar's legs. He started at the knee, scrubbing and massaging his way up. As finished each thigh, his scrubbing gloves just barely grazed against the edge of her vulva.
        "Turn and sit," Dirk gently commanded Briar. He took one of her hands and put light pressure on her hip to keep her steady as he helped her turn. He noticed her erect nipples, but didn't think it significant. He thought the contrast of temperatures in the air and water was the cause, as well as for her goosebumps.
        Once he had Briar sitting, Dirk lifted each foot in turn, inspecting the stitches, and gently cleaning them. He then scrubbed and massaged up her shins and calves, being gentle at the knee, as he knew it could be sensitive. Almost all of Briar had been scrubbed. All that remained, was her front.
        Dirk took one of Briar's hands again, intending to have her stand facing him. "Stand close to me," he told her, "and I will scrub your abdomen and chest for you."

[Rhindeer]

"Enjoying this? Pffft, yeah, that was pretty obvious to me. Is this, like, the closest you've ever gotten to sex or something? First time you've ever touched a lady? Wouldn't surprise me! I mean, unless of course you like the menfolk and I ain't judging there, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the wettest your dick's got is from the water right here and--"

Briar cut off, her usual insults fading away as his hands moved over her ass. Of course, she had no idea whether ever he'd gotten laid or not, and didn't really care--nor did she care that she was actually more talking about herself, because this was the most sexual thing she'd ever done in her life. Which was saying something, since this was totally platonic.

Totally, completely, one hundred percent platonic! Totally platonic, the way he was massaging her ass, in the way his hand gripped her hip, and the way heat was coiling between her thighs as she thought of him behind her and imagined his toned, wet body and kissable lips. She sucked in a shaky breath and rolled her eyes up to the sky above, nibbling her own lip and biting back the little sounds that wanted to escape as her skin sang, one part of her thinking maaaybe this was going a bit too far, and the other part curious to see just how far it could go.

Then his fingers dipped in her butt crack and she yelped in surprise and jumped, shooting him a wide-eyed look from over her shoulder.

"Whoa, geez, where you going there, huh? Spelunking? That ain't a cave, there's no diamonds in there, gods!" she barked, but he was already done and moving to her legs.

And her protests died.

Because oh, that felt dangerously good, and he could no doubt feel her trembling as he washed her. Her leg twitched and she let out a breathy laugh when he got behind her knee, which was surprisingly sensitive, and then as he moved up--shit. By then, she was wet from more than just water, every part of her on fire, and when his hands touched her thighs and just barely brushed against the edge of her vulva--

She couldn't quite keep that whimper in, and her belly fluttered when she realized she was disappointed that he'd stopped--and how fucking crazy was that? To think that about this guy, who was her enemy, who she'd literally just met and assaulted today...

And yet strangely, that was part of the thrill.

She was putty in his hands by the time she was seated and he was finished with her legs and feet, in the blissful throes of pure sensory overload so she couldn't even command her tongue to work, and when he lifted her to stand again, her knees buckled--

And, well, she wound up standing close to him, indeed, as she stumbled and fell right against his chest.

[Aeytrious]

        Or she would have fallen against his chest, if Dirk didn't have lightning fast reflexes. The hand holding Briar's shifted to her wrist to avoid injuring her, while the other hand caught her by the shoulder, steadying her there.
        "Easy now," Dirk said as Briar got her balance back, "I don't want you to hurt yourself. I'll just scrub your abdomen and chest, and you can sit." He immediately put one hand behind her hip to steady her, as he pressed the other against her mon pubis. He slid his hand from there, across to her other hip, then brought the other hand forward. He moved up her abdomen, which was soft in comparison to his own muscular body.
        Dirk used a circular motion starting at Briar's navel, and moving outward. Once he'd scrubbed all of her stomach, he slid his hands up and down her sides. From under her arms he slid his hands up to her shoulders. Keeping a hold on one to support her, he scrubbed under her chin, and down her neck.
        Dirk had never touched a woman's breasts before, not really. Corpses, and unconscious people with wounds weren't the same. In those cases, he hadn't actually paid attention to the breasts. It had been clinical, uninteresting. These were breasts he wanted to touch, and his time amongst other people taught him that it was kind of a big deal. Well there was no time like the present.
       Dirk scrubbed her clavicles again and the top of her chest. Down the center of her breasts he slid his hand, and around the bottom of one breast. Then he went for it.
        It wasn't a sexual groping Dirk made. He slid his around the side of Briar's right breast, then across the top of it and down from the top across the front. He was only mildly surprised at its texture, but was more pleased than he expected. He followed up by matching his motion on the other side. Then he put a hand on each breast, and did his best to massage them, as he would his own pectorals.
        "I've never massaged breasts before," Dirk told Briar honestly. "Is this good," he asked, as he continued kneading.

[Rhindeer]

Briar was vaguely aware of how terribly that could have ended, if she'd smacked chest to chest with him, skin to skin. It would have very quickly put an end to their...very platonic shenanigans. A little dazed as he caught her, she gulped down a breath and nodded, her tongue failing her. Overwhelming was putting it lightly, but it wasn't the bad sort of overwhelming; it was the I don't know what to even do with myself sort of overwhelming that had her every nerve singing with pleasure and heat.

She had never done anything remotely like this before. And never thought she would. And as his hand pressed dangerously close to a place that ached for another person's touch (though that would be a Bad Idea, with those coarse gloves he was wearing!), she gasped in shuddering breaths and sucked in her belly as his hand moved upward, higher and higher.

By that point, she had given up all pretenses of resistance. He scrubbed her neck and she tilted her head back, sighing and letting him support her, and then--

Oh shit.

Oh gods.

He was so close to her breasts, and the anticipation coiled tightly in her core as his touch felt like teasing and she forgot who they were entirely. He was no longer her enemy, not right then; he was just a man who she desperately wanted to touch her where no one else had, and she shivered as he circled one breast, and then caressed over it, and she could no longer control her little gasps and whines. Holyshiiiit, she hadn't realized she was so damned sensitive, but each brush over her hardened nipples had her legs shaking and hands trembling, her eyes clenched shut, her breathing shallower, but faster. She felt like she was burning up despite the chills racing over her skin and hot pressure building up deep between her legs, and then he started to not just caress, but to massage them, his fingers kneading and his palms brushing over her nipples with that strange, slightly coarse material.

He was asking her something, but she could hardly parse what he was saying, and certainly couldn't answer him except with a nod as it was all she could do to keep breathing, keep standing as she arched into his touch and let out breathy little whimpers, lewd sounds that would have left her mortified if she wasn't currently drowning in pure sensation that built and built until--

Oh.

Oh no.

"Ohfffffuu--" Briar managed to gasp, but it was too late to stop Dirk then. For Briar hardly realized what was happening before that building sensation crested and she let out a strangled moan as pleasure erupted, spreading out from her core in waves of heat that stole her breath away and left her shaking uncontrollably. Her knees buckled and she splashed back into the water, curling in on herself and gasping for air as her mind reeled because holy fuck what was THAT?!

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk could tell Briar was enjoying his massage. More so even than he was enjoying giving it. The nod in confirmation and the whimpers and sighing was more than enough evidence. He was glad that he could make up for injuring her so thoroughly, even if he had simply been stopping her crime.
        From Briar's body language and sounds she was making, the intensity of her pleasure seemed to be building up a lot more than Dirk expected. He enjoyed a good massage, but Briar seemed to be experiencing something more intense than what he was accustomed to.
        Suddenly Briar was tensing up and spamming as she moaned. She fell away, splashing into the water, gasping for breath. Had she just...? Could it be? Dirk had heard lewd stories and songs, read some lewd stories as well. That seemed like an orgasm. He was a bit confused, but also thrilled at the experience.
        Did it really work like that for women? Was his massage really that good for her. Those thoughts raced through his mind at lightning speed, and then he realized she could drown in the basin if she didn't sit up. She was already in the shelf, so he stepped up to her.
        Dirk put a hand beneath Briar's chin, gently lifting it so she was no longer spluttered in the water. With his other hand he brushed her hair from her face, and he gave her one of his rare smiles.
        "I did not mean to do that to you," Dirk told Briar. "I hope you can forgive me. I only meant to massage you, not give you sexual pleasure. I know that's supposed to be something you have consent for." Briar's wet hair flopped back into her face, and as Dirk shifted to brush it out of her face he forgot to direct his erection away from her. So it happened, that their first skin to skin contact while Briar was conscious, came from Dirk's fully erect cock brushing against Briar's leg while she was still in the throws of an intense orgasm.

[Rhindeer]

Briar was still trembling uncontrollably when Dirk lifted her chin, and she spat out a mouthful of water and sucked in a lungful of air. Oh gods. Oh gods oh gods oh GODS. Her entire body felt tense yet euphoric and, impossibly, extra sensitive as Dirk touched her. Almost hyper-sensitive to the point of being unpleasant, though she felt too weak and shivery to even pull away. All she could do was just sort of sit there, hunched in on herself as her muscles contracted and her body practically vibrated.

Had...had she just...?

...Could she just drown now...?

Somehow, she mustered up the courage to lift her eyes at Dirk's words, and the blood rushed to her face anew. Right before she glowered death at him, a difficult feat to muster when she was still riding out...that. She opened her mouth to snap something at him, but he brushed her hair from her face and her body jerked in pleasant shudders instead, her words coming out as a soft moan instead. Fuck him. Fuck this! ARGH!

"You know what--!" she finally got out, ready to launch into a tirade--

Except that was when something hard yet surprisingly soft brushed against her leg.

There was a brief second of confusion, then a split second of realization, as she froze with her mouth still shaping her next word.

And then it was all awfulness.

It was like an explosion in her skull. Colors, sounds, scenes, emotions. Dirk's confusion and arousal and earnestness and concern, scenes of strange places in the stars, countries she'd never heard of, creatures she'd never seen, metal shapes that flew in the sky and languages she didn't recognize. There was pain and yelling and an abused little boy, a strange man with different colored eyes, and scenes that whirled past her mind's eye faster than she could keep track in a confusing mess that blended and blurred until she didn't know where he ended and she began.

Her head screamed, or maybe that was her, as her skull felt tight, too tight, and her eyes rolled back and, with a sigh, she fell limp against Dirk.

[Aeytrious]

        Had Briar just died? Had Dirk just killed her? What just happened? Why had she screamed? He lifted her up from the water, cradling her in his arms. He put his mouth close to hers and felt her ragged breathing. She was alive. Her pulse was racing, but slowing. He sat in the warm water, keeping her head above the water, waiting to see if her breathing would steady.
        In her comatose state, Briar was so peaceful. Dirk had enjoyed her expressions of enjoyment, as he had scrubbed and massaged her. This was almost better. She didn't curse or insult him when she was unconscious.
        As her breathing steadied, he lifted her up and laid her in the shallow stream. The water was still warm there as it flowed toward the magical boundary that would rob it of its heat. The cool air on her skin, though she was unconscious, gave her goosebumps, and made her nipples stand erect.
        That was all that was erect right now. Dirk was too concerned with Briar's well being to feel aroused. He removed the scrubbing gloves and set them aside. Then he stroked through Briar's hair, waiting for a sign that she would recover. If she didn't wake soon, he'd carry her back to the camp. For now, he just continued to stroke her hair, while using his other hand the pour warm water across her nude form.

[Rhindeer]

It was a good five or ten minutes before Briar stirred again, her head heavy and eyes achy. Groggily, she cracked her eyes open with a soft groan, and reached up to rub at her face before the twinge in her hands reminded her of her stitches. She let her arm flop back into the water, then shivered powerfully when she felt gentle fingers running through her hair, those tingles traveling down her spine.

With a soft whimper, she jerked her head to the side, still hyper-sensitive and disoriented above all else, and blinked when she saw she was laying down. Shit. What the hell had even happened?

All she remembered was his caresses and...erm...then she'd sort of...um...

Had she...had she passed out from...that?

She bit her lip hard, mortification taking root, and crossed her arms over her chest. "What the fuck did you do to me."

[Aeytrious]

        Dirk was happy to see Briar was rousing. He was very worried she'd been hurt. When she asked what he did to her, for a moment he didn't know what to say. Whatever made her scream couldn't have been him. He'd already stopped.
        "After your orgasm," Dirk began, "you were limp with euphoria, and about to swear at me, when you let out a blood curdling scream and passed out. I'm not sure what happened. Are you feeling okay? Should I carry you back to camp?"
        Dirk continued to stroke Briar's hair as he talked to her, and poured the warm water across her body with his cupped hand. His hands were conspicuously bare now. It is was only a matter of time before he inadvertently made skin contact with Briar again.

[Rhindeer]

After her orgasm. Oh gee, thanks for the reminder of the thing she was trying not to remember!

Briar grimaced, shaking her head carefully. "No, no, I'm fucking dandy, I'm just--"

She froze, her eyes traveling to the movement of his hand--his bare hand, hovering so near her bare skin--and she jerked in alarm, her eyes going wide. "Where's your gloves?!" she blurted, shrinking back as much as she could, considering she was laying down and had nowhere to really go.

[Aeytrious]

        "I took them off after I moved you." Dirk was really confused as to why the gloves were of any importance. Briar even seemed a bit afraid of him in that moment. He took his hands away from her, looking at them, wondering what was wrong with them that she wanted them covered. Then he moved to continue as he had been, a hand stroking her hair, while the other kept her warm.
        "Are you sure you're okay," he asked her. "You're behaving differently than your usual crass bravado."

[Rhindeer]

"I said I'm fucking dandy which means I'm fucking dandy! Are we speaking the same language here or what? Ah!"

His hand was in her hair again, his other pouring water onto her far too close for comfort, and she twitched reflexively and jerked her head to the side to dislodge his hand. Hinting, apparently, wasn't doing it.  He was one careless brush away from her skin. "Just...just don't do that. With the touching. Don't touch me. Alright? We're done with the touchy thing."

Another twitch as she grit her teeth, knowing good and well her behavior probably looked very strange but not wanting to cave and confess the why.

[Aeytrious]

        "You are a very confusing humanoid."
        Dirk's pleasant mood was quickly melting away. Briar's attitude shift was so drastic that he felt like he'd been slapped.
        "You seemed to quite enjoy my touching only a few minutes ago," Dirk said exasperated. He didn't understand why Briar was behaving this way. Perhaps he had crossed a line when he'd made her orgasm without consent. So now he was feeling guilty.
        "I suppose I should apologize further for making you orgasm without first getting your consent," Dirk said, as he stepped away from Briar. He grabbed his exfoliating gloves and slipped them back on.
        "I didn't know that's what I was doing," he explained, as he began scrubbing himself quickly and roughly. "I thought vaginal penetration or clitoral stimulation was required to achieve female orgasm."
        Dirk's scrubbing routine was quick, and efficient. He got every part of his body, missing not a single spot. He even scrubbed his face with the coarse gloves, and his genitals. Afterward, he fully submerged into the water, rubbing his hair to clean it. When he stood, the water cascaded through his hair, over his face, and down his tightly muscled chest.
        "I was going to offer you a much more thorough massage when we returned to camp."

[Rhindeer]

"Oh my goooooods, shut uuuuup," Briar groaned, and slapped her hands to her burning face--which drew a sharp wince from her. How was it that his clinical speech made this like ten times more embarrassing?

"You talk like a fucking doctor. Look, I dunno what the shit happened back there or how or whatever because I wasn't expecting that either! Okay? It was kinda weird, alright! You gotta admit it was weird! So let's smile and nod and never discuss this again and--wait, what?"

Briar rolled over onto her side, squinting her eyes at him as the water rippled down the lines of his body. Stupid ass with his stupid handsome looks. Fucker.

"What do you mean more thorough? 'Cause you were pretty thorough. Spelunked my ass and everything."

[Aeytrious]

        "I can't help my speech," Dirk said a bit sheepishly. "I was trained and taught by an all powerful immortal being for sixty years. I'm learning very quickly, that he is quite strange by the standards of mortals."
        Briar was returning to her normal bitchy self, and less the freaked out attitude. Her interest in Dirk's offer to massage her, seemed to perk her up as well. That was good. He preferred happy and bitchy to freaked out and bitchy.
        "I have extensive knowledge on how to massage," Dirk said matter-of-factly. "I can ease the tension in your body, and work out all your knotted muscles." He thought for a moment about her enjoyment of the orgasm she experienced, before adding, "I'm very well read in many topics. I believe I could help you achieve another climax if you like. Perhaps it will be less weird if you're expecting it?" Dirk hoped she'd agree. He wanted to experiment with her body. Reading was not the same as the real thing.

[Rhindeer]

Briar choked out an incredulous laugh and flopped onto her back, her hands over her face. "Uh, nnnnnoooope! There you go again, saying those freakishly weird things! Word to the wise, offering to get me off is really really weird! I mean, like, thanks I think? Or something? But holy geez, man, you don't just come up to a girl like hey baby, I can make you climax. Unless you know her really well. Or like she's into that I guess. 'Cause that's creepy and she's just gonna run. Unless ya put knives in her feet or something."

But she was blushing again like mad, because she'd let him, a total fucking stranger and enemy, play with her freaking tits and...holy hells. It was embarrassing. Why the fuck had she let him go that far? And why was her heart beating so damned fast now?

The spell was starting to wear off, though she had never known she was bespelled. But not everything had been the spell's doing; it had only made her less inhibited, more daring, where she usually avoided contact at all costs. And dammit, she'd liked it, and her body craved more. And maybe that confused and frustrated her all the more, too.

"Especially sleazy since I'm like your prisoner and shit! What happens next, huh? Gonna turn me in and shit?" And she looked at him again, putting on her most pathetic expression. "You know they'll hang me, right?"

[Aeytrious]

        "I don't intend to turn you over," Dirk told Briar without hesitation. "I apprehended you, and I feel in that capture you were punished enough. I do not intend to set you free either though." He pulled off his gloves and stepped out of the water.
        "I will endeavor to rehabilitate you Ms. Briar," Dirk told her as he tossed his gloves onto the heating rack. He then pulled the soaked robe from the water, rang it out, and hung it there as well. "Perhaps you can become a better person," he continued, reaching into his haversack as he passed it.
        Dirk had pulled a soft silk ribbon from his pack. He whispered to it and it went rigid. "Take this," he called to his strange new companion as he tossed the now stiff ribbon to Briar. He returned to the basin and sat in the warm water, waiting to see Briar's reaction to the device, or perhaps the device's reaction to Briar.
        "I will carry you back to the camp once the robe is dry," Dirk said as he settled into the water. "If you desire a massage, or anything else, I will tend to you. You're my responsibility now. Enjoy a soak until then."