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Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.
—A. E. Housman
Merlin smiled at Escanor across the tavern, watching as he laughed at Meliodas and Ban as they hung over the bar and joked together. It was nice to have nights like this now that Liones was out of the hands of the Holy Knights. His deep voice rumbled with every laugh, and she lifted her wine glass to hide her own smile as she watched them closely.
"What's going on over there?" she called.
Escanor waved her over, and when she walked to the bar he put her arm around her and pulled her close. "Captain got some fancy new ale," he said. "Want to try it?"
"Why not?" Merlin replied laying her glass on the counter. Ban laid out four glasses on the counter and filled each with a deep amber liquid. "Where is it from?" she asked.
"A fruit from the Fairy King's Forest," Ban grinned. "New ale we are thinking of selling here."
She lifted her glass and took a little sniff. It smelled sweet, and Escanor clinked his own mug against hers before they took a sip. Merlin gave a little gasp, surprised by the sparkling flavor on her tongue. "Wow!" she laughed, taking another long drought. "This is delicious!"
"Mmmm." Escanor slowly drained his own, tipping his head back. She watched his throat work as he swallowed, her brows going up a bit. He finished off the rest, sighing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's good!"
"Careful there," Merlin laughed as he handed his mug out for another.
But Escanor winked at her. "You know it takes more than an ale or two to take any effect on me ."
Merlin rolled her eyes a bit as she sipped her ale. Meliodas and Ban discussed possible names for the new flavor, and she was so distracted by the list she didn't realize Escanor had drained the new glass as well... until his hand went firmly on her backside and gave her a squeeze.
She jolted, spluttering a bit into her glass. Escanor never held back affection from her, but it was never so forward , preferring a kiss on her cheek or hand on her back, and maybe maybe an arm around her. But he rarely would just grab her up, especially in public, particularly in front of their friends, unless they were already in a passionate embrace.
Her eyes slid to his, but he did not seem to notice. When he handed his mug back to Ban, she tugged on his sleeve until he leaned over. On her toes, Merlin murmured, "Are you all right?"
"Of course," he chuckled. But his hand did not leave her body; in fact, it curled around her curves as he gave her another pinch.
Merlin jumped and gave him a playful slap. "What has gotten into you!" she hissed.
Escanor wiggled his eyebrows and then turned to accept the next mug of ale. Heat flooded her cheeks as she watched him in shock. Escanor never behaved this way! He was always respectful, a total gentleman who would ask her permission before touching her, even after all their time together. Rarely was he so aggressive, not unless she took the lead, and he would match her kiss for kiss and touch for touch.
Then he glanced over and winked, and Merlin knew something was going on.
"What exactly is in this ale?" she demanded. She stepped a bit to the left, not leaving his side but wanting a bit of relief from his roaming hand. His palm rested on her hip, and Merlin kept one eye on him working on his third glass while she glared at Ban.
Ban and Meliodas looked at one another and shrugged. "Little of this, little of that," Meliodas laughed. "Why? It's good, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's delicious, but it seems to be having an effect—Escanor!"
She cried out in surprise when his arm went around her and yanked her against his body. The other slammed his half-empty mug on the bar as he tipped her backward. Then his lips went to her throat, leaving a trail of wet kisses along the white column. "Mmmm, yes, delicious," he growled.
"Ban! What did you do!" Merlin hissed, her hands on Escanor's shoulders.
"Me? I didn't do anything!" They both laughed when she dodged another one of his kisses, and as Merlin managed to get herself upright Ban leaned on the counter. "Come to think of it, there was this one flower..."
"Merlin! I have something to tell you!" Escanor announced.
Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. I'm going to curse them both for a year , she thought to herself, but smiled up at her husband. Escanor seemed completely sober, his eyes clear of the glassiness that normally overcame them when he had a bit too much. "Yes?" she asked.
"I've written a poem for you," he said.
The chuckles behind her made her fingers dig into Escanor's arms. "That's lovely," she cooed. "Why don't we head home and—"
"Oh Merlin!" he began. "Your beauty is unmatched, untouched. Your eyes are jewels, your lips a dream, your hair the finest silk. And your body..."
His eyes dragged down her, making her cheeks flare again. Meliodas and Ban erupted into laughter, calling, "Keep going, Escanor! What else is there?"
"Shut it!" she snapped, sending a half-hearted bolt of magic their way, which they easily dodged.
"Your body..." He sighed, and his hands began to drag along her sides. "Never have I seen such a work of art. Your skin smooth and fair, the power and grace of your limbs, your smile. You could bring men to their knees for that smile."
Merlin had tensed, expecting something completely ridiculous; but she smiled, relaxing a bit. That wasn't so bad! And along the lines of what Escanor would usually say. "Thank you, my darling," she said, grazing his cheek.
"Mmm," he said. Then his eyes went hooded and continued, "When I slide inside your body, you feel—"
"Escanor!"
Merlin yelped in surprise, but he seemed intoxicated, not by the ale but by her . "Ban! Captain! Do something!"
"Oh, he seems to be doing plenty," Meliodas laughed.
She scowled at him as his hand covered her breast. "Escanor!" she huffed. "We're in the middle of the tavern!"
He blinked and shook his head before looking around. He seemed surprised, as if realizing just now that they were being watched. Merlin found herself righted again, his hands on her back, and she grinned to herself when he frowned at their two friends grinning foolishly at them.
"Captain, Ban, I apologize for my behavior," he said.
Meliodas waved his hand. "No problem. It's nice to see you two lovebirds being so... open."
Merlin made a face at him. "You've had quite enough," she said as she turned back to Escanor.
He looked down at her, then snapped his eyes up. "Captain, I'm very sorry, but I find that I must make love to Merlin immediately. Do you have a place for us to go, or shall I have her here at the bar?"
"What!" she screeched.
Ban lost it completely, nearly falling over with laughter, but Meliodas had the nerve to answer, "Well, there's the supply closet, or you can go upstairs and—"
"The closet will do nicely, thank you," Escanor answered, and a moment later Merlin found herself hauled inside with the door shutting firmly behind them.
Merlin turned to give him a piece of her mind, but she was immediately pressed against the wood and smothered by his body, his mouth descending on hers. Her protest died as he kissed her deeply, one hand reaching into her hair to yank her head back sharply as the other grabbed her backside. A shiver of pleasure went through her as he kissed her soundly; as ridiculous as this entire thing was, he was an incredible kisser, and it took her a few moments before she regained her senses enough to press him back.
"Escanor, stop," she whispered as his mouth trailed to her neck.
He immediately stilled, his hands leaving her body to press flat against the door. "I'll stop if you want me to," he said, his voice strained. "But fuck, Merlin, I need you. Please."
Her eyes widened to saucers at his words. He never used such language around her, not even when she would whisper her own dirty thoughts to him in bed! "I... I mean..." The change in him had thrown her, the look in his eyes somehow unfamiliar even though she knew them as well as her own. It was strange to see them so full of hunger, the desire for her raw and plain... but it also made her mouth go dry.
"Let's... let's go home..." she whispered.
"I can't wait." He leaned closer until their lips nearly grazed, his mustache tickling her a bit as he panted. "Either I take you now, or you can go and I'll—I'll take care of myself. But choose, because if I have to stand next to you another minute I'm going to bend you over one of these stock barrels and fuck you like you've never been before."
She made a noise in the back of her throat, but she could tell he was dead serious. Merlin glanced down and saw the evidence between them; his pants were tented, his cock straining towards her through his trousers. For a moment, she wondered if he was bigger now, if something about the ale that had made him so amorous had also affected him physically ... but that was impossible, right? Besides, he was plenty big enough, and she wasn't sure if she could handle any more. "I..."
"Merlin."
She looked up at him and made her decision. Curiosity now won out; what else would be different? Escanor was a careful lover, meticulous in giving her pleasure, worshipping her body as though it was the temple of a goddess. Would he be the same way? Or was she in store for something she had never experienced?
Her hands pressed on his chest before sliding up to cup his face; then she pulled him into a kiss. Escanor groaned into her mouth, sinking against her, and Merlin felt his hard member scraping against her midsection as he began to pump his hips. But the kiss —it was possessive, and sensual, and took her breath away. It was if he was tasting her for the first time, and he sucked on her tongue and her lips, teasing with his teeth before slanting his mouth on hers to take her again. He was making love to her mouth, and by the time he pulled away, she felt as though she was melting.
Her body was melting as well, her skin flushed and her legs weak. She reached for her shirt, unbuttoning it quickly, smiling at the sharp intake of breath. But she wasn't prepared for him to fall to his knees and yank her leggings down, tugging them off with just a few sharp pulls until she stood in only her boots and her opened top, shivering with anticipation.
Escanor pushed her shirt open even further before his hands dragged over her breasts. He stared at her as if he had never seen her body before, thumbing her nipples and shooting little sparks of pleasure through her. "Oh... Escanor.." she moaned when he squeezed her body, and then his fingers slid down her stomach, making her flesh jump. When he reached her thighs, they moved around her hips, and he pressed his face forward to kiss over her mound.
"Open for me," he ordered. It was a voice he used in battle, when dealing with the enemy or with a few rude customers, but never her . Yet she obeyed immediately, spreading her thighs, and his mouth kissed downwards over the soft patch of hair until he reached the top of her slit. His tongue darted out and began to rub against her slit, curling to nudge against her clit and making her gasp.
Merlin's hands slid against the door for purchase, but all she could do was press against the wood and feel him kiss her. Eventually, he gripped her thigh and lifted it, exposing her sex to his hungry gaze. "You are so fucking beautiful," he murmured, sliding his nose along the crease in her thigh.
She bit her lip, whimpering just a bit, and then his tongue pressed inside of her. Merlin's back arched as she lifted her hips to give him access, and then he was lapping at her slowly, fucking her opening with his tongue, his hand holding her upright by her trembling thighs.
"Please.. please..." she panted. When she looked down, he glanced upwards, and seeing this powerful man and his broad shoulders between her legs, and looking up at her as he kissed her body, was enough to make her slit flush with a fresh wave of wetness. His eyes pinned her to the door as his mouth opened wide, kissing her body as he had her mouth, and with every sweep of his tongue inside of her tunnel and feathering on her clit, Merlin huffed out a shallow breath.
After a few minutes he pulled away, and she groaned to see his lips and chin wet from her body. "Do you want to come, my darling?" he murmured. His voice was deep and dark and sent a jolt up her spine. "You want me to fuck you with my tongue? Can I taste you as you come in my mouth?"
"Yes! Escanor, gods, please!"
He lifted her legs with one easy movement, hooking them over his shoulders. He gripped her backside and braced both of them against the door; she was fully exposed to him now, unable to escape as he gazed at between her open legs. "You're so wet, Merlin," he groaned. "Come in my mouth."
Then he dove towards her, his mouth covering her as he lapped at her steadily. She cried out, throwing her head back, the lavish rhythm of his tongue driving her steadily towards an orgasm. Merlin bucked against the door, her palm banging on the wood of the door. Her other hand grabbed his hair, tugging his face upwards just a bit so his lips could grind against her clit; then it was an explosion, his name a long, low groan that rose in pitch as wave after wave crested through her body. It was sharp, intense, the contractions not stopping as he ate her thoroughly, until she was gasping for air and pulling hard at his hair.
Finally, finally, he left one long lick along her slit, then allowed her legs to slowly slide to the floor. Merlin panted, trying to catch her breath, and through her lashes she watched as he slowly stood, pulling his shirt over his head and opening his trousers.
"Escanor... I..."
Her words were cut off with his mouth, and he lifted her easily in his arms. Her own went weakly around him, and she felt him shift for a moment until the head of his cock was pulled free and aligned to her entrance. "I'm going to fuck you now," he growled.
"Yes," she breathed, nodding her head.
He pushed inside of her, drawing a low groan from her throat. She was wet enough from her orgasm that there was no resistance, and Escanor let go his own long moan as he fully sheathed himself inside of her. "Hold onto me," he said, and she tightened her arms around him.
Merlin expected him to move fast, to pound into her body with abandon; instead, he rocked his hips at an agonizingly slow pace. She could feel every last inch of him, feel his pubic hair on her thighs when his sex went flush against hers, felt the curve in the thick length as he dragged out of her body, felt the way his head nudged against the top of her hood before sinking back inside. She could barely breathe, her lungs squeezing as the most electric pleasure danced through her veins with the drag of his body.
His mouth pressed against her throat, and Merlin felt his breath, hot and heavy on her skin. This was familiar at least, and it brought her from the dizzying height back to herself when she recognized the stutter in his breath that she had heard so many times before.
But then: "Your cunt is so tight... I can feel you squeezing around me... You want it harder, Merlin?"
Her eyes flew open. She didn't know what to say, the dirty talk making her almost embarrassed, even though they had had sex against plenty of doors before (although not in public like this, and not with their friends in the next room— oh gods, Meliodas and Ban are in the next room—)
"I know you want more. Your body is hungry for my cock." Then he chuckled as he thrust his hips upwards, filling her with another long stroke. "I want to fuck you hard, Merlin. I'm going to make you mine, all mine."
What does that mean? she wondered. He already had her naked and trembling in his arms; just a little faster, and she would be coming apart again around his cock. As if he could read her mind, he pushed inside of her and held there, squeezing her body as he took the opportunity to suck on her neck.
It was good, too good , and soon Merlin needed him to move . She squirmed in his grip, trying to ride him a bit, any friction at all better than this, poised and waiting and filled against the door. Just a little more, that's all she needed, just a bit more...
Escanor smacked her backside, shocking her from the haze of pleasure. "You bad girl," he murmured. "If you want my cock that badly, I'll give it to you my way."
He pulled out of her, dropping her legs, and Merlin cried out from the sudden shift. But then he had her around the waist, and he made good on his promise from earlier: she was bent over a crate, her breasts flattening on the wood as he pushed her thighs open. His hands grabbed her shirt and pulled until the fabric was wrapped around her wrists, and he knotted it so her hands were tied behind her back, leaving her nearly helpless and squirming underneath him.
"Oh Merlin," he groaned. His hands traveled along the back of her thighs before dipping between her legs. He teased her sex with his fingertips, leaving her gasping for more when he continued the path with his palms on her backside, then along her arms. "You look so good like this. Like my woman to fuck. Mine to take however I want."
She squeezed her eyes shut at his words, imagining what she looked like, if he liked it. But he must have because his hands spread her hips wider, and then his cock was once more penetrating her, pushing until he was buried completely. "Mmmm..." he groaned.
Then he started to move, his thrusts long and powerful, the head of his cock battering her walls until her body clenched around him. Merlin was spinning with another orgasm, her tunnel fluttering around his thick length, her body so slick that every snap of his hips brought the sound of a loud, wet slap. One of his hands held her hip, keeping her steady as he continued to pound into her from behind, while the other held on to her shirt, keeping her hands firmly held against the small of her back.
Finally her release began to subside; then there was just him long and thick and filling her over and over until there was nothing else. He ravaged her like never before, her sweet romantic Escanor truly fucking her, and he grunted as his thrusts went faster. "Fuck, fuck ," he panted with each surge of his hips, and Merlin whimpered, completely in his control.
Suddenly he stopped, and she blinked, wondering if something was wrong. His cock was buried inside of her again, and Merlin felt his lips on her shoulder, kissing her almost sweetly. Was the ale wearing off? Would her Escanor return and be mortified at the way he was taking her?
His teeth sank into her shoulder, biting softly, and she jolted with a cry. It was the perfect mix of pleasure and pain, and as her hips lifted he somehow pressed in deeper, just on this side of hurting. Merlin realized how sensitive her body was, and she cried out as he bit her again.
Slowly he rolled his hips, and then the hand holding hers slipped around her waist and between her legs. She gasped when Escanor found her swollen clit, the electricity of his touch and the heat of his fingers dipping into the wetness seeping from her body to make them slippery as he stroked her.
"You're going to come again," he ordered. "Come around my cock as I fuck you and fill you with my seed."
His words, his hands, the way his hips started to move, it all came crashing around her. The fingers so clever against her clit inflamed her, and incredibly she found her body quickening again. "Fuck, Merlin, I need to come," he gasped. His fingers rubbed an incredible rhythm, and she found herself pumping her own hips in time with him, grinding against his touch. "Please, please," she gasped. "Fuck me, please."
Escanor growled her name, and as his hand reached around to cradle her throat, she felt the first spurts of his release filling her. There was so much , the thick seed coating her tunnel so he could take her harder. Then a scream tore from her as her body seized; and for a third time, she was wracked with ecstasy, this time forming deep inside her body and exploding through every nerve and every part of her body.
Afterward, he pulled her against him, and Merlin was positioned in his lap as he sat on the floor with his back against the door. "You are amazing," he moaned, his hands massaging her tired thighs as her head sank against his shoulder. "Did I hurt you?"
"No," she whispered, her mouth dry.
"Good." He kissed her cheek, but when she peeked at him, he was frowning. "I don't know what came over me. I might have had too much to drink."
They were startled when a loud rap came on the other side of the door. "Hey, you two done in there?" Meliodas' voice called through.
Escanor looked at her as if suddenly realizing where they were, but Merlin's mouth twisted into a grin. "Almost!" she called back.
"Well hurry up, service is starting in less than an hour!" he yelled.
Merlin chuckled, then kissed Escanor's bright red cheeks. "I—I don't know what came over me—"
"Don't worry about them," she laughed. "We are going to get dressed, and walk out of here like there is nothing to be embarrassed about." She leaned in to whisper into his ear, "And we're taking a keg of that ale with us."