( A Darkniciad story. About 8 mos. after "Queen Alicia" )

Arilee checked her blonde locks in the mirror, and then turned to the half-elven woman at her side. “Thank you for coming, Cris.”

“I have seen the change in Christi’s letters as well. I share your concern and love,” Crystania said, and gave a little bow of her head. “I pray you may aid her, as such emotional turmoil could prove troublesome for her pregnancy. If you are ready?”

Ari nodded and closed her eyes, having discovered that it did much to lessen the disconcerting effect of the spell that Crystania was weaving. The magic wrapped around her when Cris’ beautiful voice reached a crescendo, and she felt as light as a feather for a moment. When the sensation faded, she opened her eyes and smiled. She was back within Blackhawk Hall once more.

Even as she stepped from the teleportation pattern, someone walked into the room. Sharon let out a laugh and bounded across the floor to gather her old charge in her arms. “Oh – it’s good to see you, Arilee.”

“It’s good to see you,” Ari agreed.

The matronly woman stepped back and held Arilee at arm’s length. “I hear that you’re turning the place upside down. We’ve had nobles sneaking in here to complain ever since you took over up there.”

“I’m afraid they will have to endure,” Ari said with a smile. “The people will not struggle to eat while those of noble blood bask in fineries, so long as it is my place to judge.”

“And good for you.” Sharon put an arm behind the Baroness. “We’ll have to catch up later. Christi will never forgive me if I keep you any longer.”

“Does she know I’m here?” Ari asked, having hoped to surprise her dear friend.

“I’m sure she knows someone is,” Sharon answered, assuaging that worry. “She’s in her room. Go on and surprise her.”

“Has she found someone to replace me, yet?”

“Replace? Ha! She’s got a girl to fetch and such, but there’s no replacing you, Arilee.”

Ari blushed and turned away a little, still unable to take such unabashed praise without feeling somewhat self-conscious.

Sharon laughed again as she playfully pushed Arilee out into the hall. “You never change – and don’t you dare.”

After offering a final smile and a wave, Sharon returned to her duties. Arilee looked down the familiar hall – still more familiar to her than her new home – and felt her heart soar from the memories.

She took a few steps forward and ran her fingers over the oak door of the bath room. Within, she’d faced and conquered two demons. One had its claws in her heart, and the other did its best to dig its claws into her flesh. It was Christi who had helped her fight both those demons, and now she was determined to return the favor.

She could almost hear the laughter of the gentle half-orc Kronk as she looked toward the stairs. Just beyond was the door to her old room. Though the door was closed, she could see every detail of the interior in her mind’s eye – despite having spent more time in the ducal bedchamber.

The ornately carved double doors to that very room suddenly burst open.

The Duke stumbled out, and quickly ducked to the side. Almost immediately, a dagger slammed into the stone wall opposite the door with a loud clang. Arilee winced, now having a good idea of what had caused the sudden dark turn in the letters from the Duchess. Pregnant women seemed to develop a propensity for hurling the nearest object. When such a woman dwelled in Blackhawk Hall, it was twice as dangerous, as the nearest object was usually pointed, and very, very sharp.

Duke Cerebus rubbed his temples, his hand covering his eyes, and muttered under his breath as he walked to the stairs. Absorbed in his own inner turmoil, he failed to notice Arilee at the other end of the hall as he descended.

A steady stream of curses emerged from the now open doors.

Arilee approached, doubting that waiting would improve Christi’s mood. When she reached the doorway, she wisely paused before stepping into the portal and called out “Knock, knock.”

“Fucking gutter...” Christi’s curses continued for a moment, and then ceased in a gasp. “Ari?”

Stepping into the doorway, Arilee smiled, and bent to pick up the dagger lying at her feet. When the Duchess planted her hands on the feather-stuffed mattress in apparent preparation to rise, Ari chided, “No, no, no, no,” and hurried into the room. She closed the door behind her, and deposited the dagger on a nearby table, which was stacked high with various documents.

Christi sat back against the stout walnut headboard again, wearing a look of relief. Then she groaned and laid her hands on her very pregnant tummy.

“Oh, you must be miserable,” Ari said in sympathy, and then sat down next to the Duchess on the bed.

“Gods, I’m so glad to see you,” Christi responded, and then held out her arms for a hug.

Ari pressed her cheek against Christi’s and slipped an arm behind the woman’s back. The Duchess’ tummy prevented more of an embrace for that. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Miserable doesn’t even begin to describe it,” The Duchess said, her voice weary. “I thought you couldn’t get away?”

“I probably shouldn’t have, but I knew that there was something wrong that you weren’t mentioning in your letters. What happened?”

“It’s been getting worse for a while. We can’t work out our frustrations with each other down in the courtyard, so we’re taking them out on each other with spite. I managed to get over it at first, but now I haven’t had sex in a month...” Christi’s voice steadily rose with every word that followed. “And I’m about to lose my mind!”

The first was bad enough, as the key to the unique relationship between the Duke and Duchess was their ability to engage each other in combat, and walk away afterwards with any disagreement settled in their minds. The last surely had to be devastating, as Christi had a deep sexual appetite. Ari doubted that the Duchess had regularly gone a day without sex, let alone a month.

“Has he lost interest?” Arilee asked.

Christi snorted. “Gods, no. All he does is stare at my tits, and I’m about to kill him over it. I don’t need him to remind me about how huge these things are.” She cupped the heavy globes as she finished, and then let them fall.

Ari found that she had a hard time keeping her eyes off of them as well.

The Duchess sighed, shook her head, and patted her tummy. “It’s this. I can’t even find a comfortable position to sleep, let alone fuck. My pussy has more hair on it than my head, because I can’t even see it to trim the mess. I can’t get there because I’m uncomfortable, and he’s afraid of hurting the baby, and...”

While her friend sucked in a shuddering breath, unable to continue, Arilee felt her heart break. Christi’s eyes were misting with unshed tears, something that Ari thought that she would never see from the tough-as-nails Duchess.

“We’re going to fix this,” Arilee declared, her voice full of confidence and conviction.

“H-how?” Christi asked, fighting back a sob.

“First things first. You’re going to have a nice long bath, and I’m going to help you with that over-abundance of hair.”

Christi sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you. The bath is one of the few places that I can actually get comfortable for a while.”

“All the better,” Ari said, and offered a wide smile. “I’ll go find Kronk, and get everything ready. You just relax as much as you can.”

“Bring me my dagger back, in case Cerebus is dumb enough to come back in here. The ass had the nerve to come in complaining about some stupid dispute between some herb peddler and a potion brewer.”

Arilee crossed the room and retrieved the dagger, though she had little doubt that several more were well within the Duchess’ reach, even with the limited mobility of her condition. “I don’t think that sticking him with a knife is going to solve anything.”

“It might make me feel better for a few seconds. Besides, if I actually wanted to hit him, he’d already be stuck.”

Knowing Christi’s deadly aim, Arilee had no reason to dispute that claim.

“Try not to skewer anyone while I’m gone,” Ari said, and felt heartened that the remark brought a smile to Christi’s face.

Yet another familiar sight greeted Arilee when she stepped back out into the hall. The dusky-skinned wizard Ashtar approached, his eyes and teeth both shining in brilliant white as he smiled.

“Glad I am to be seeing you, Arilee. Much good you must already be doing, if the cursing and crashing has already stopped.”

Arilee had a sudden flash of inspiration, and prayed that Ashtar might be able to help her follow up on it. “I need to find Kronk to draw a bath, but I wonder if you could do me a favor?”

“If being within my power it is, yours it shall be. Doubly shall you have my help, if helping our dear friend it will, as I am suspecting.”

A nod indicated that Ashtar had guessed correctly. “I’ll come see you in your room as soon as I find Kronk.”

“Waiting will I be,” Ashtar responded, and then bowed his head before turning back to the room always set aside for him in the Hall.

Arilee hurried for the stairs as soon as the wizard turned.

****

The door to the bath opened, and Arilee hastily secreted a seashell amulet beneath a washcloth on the edge of the bathing pool.

“Here we are, Milady,” Kronk rumbled, easily supporting the Duchess on one muscled arm, while she held onto his neck for balance.

Christi grinned and leaned over to suckle his earlobe for a moment. Then she swirled the tip of her tongue around the circumference of his ear, making the hulking half-orc shiver.

“That’s not fair,” Kronk pouted as he lowered his passenger to the floor.

Christi laughed, the sound cut off by a groan as she laid a hand over her tummy.

“Thank you, Kronk,” Arilee said as she went to help support her very pregnant friend.

“Welcome,” Kronk responded, and then left the room, closing the door securely behind him.

As Christi was wearing loose clothing with easily accessible ties – or horrible, ugly sacks, as she called them – undressing her for the bath took only a few seconds. Far from finding her unattractive, as the Duchess so often expressed feeling in her letters, Ari could barely contain her desire for the dark-haired beauty. Christi only looked all the more delicious with the glow of motherhood about her.

The Duke had ordered new steps that didn’t have such a steep grade for the tub as well, making the climb less of a chore for his wife. With Ari’s assistance, Christi sank into the steaming water and let out a moan of relief.

The Duchess relaxed in the water, and Arilee turned to the task of removing her own clothing. She still wore a rather ornate gown, as she hadn’t bothered to change after holding court, when Crystania arrived to transport her to the Hall.

Christi opened her eyes when Arilee took her first step into the water. “Oh – now you’re teasing me.”

Suspecting that saying what she truly felt would only feel like mockery to her uncharacteristically self-conscious friend, Ari held back the words of desire on the tip of her tongue.

Her painfully stiff nipples likely spoke to the truth, anyway.

“Now, let’s do something about that thicket,” Ari said, and reached for the scissors perched on the rune-covered wooden lip of the bathing pool. She let out a little moan when Christi’s fingers stroked her taut bottom.

The look in Christi’s eyes certainly said that she had something far different in mind from trimming the wild hairs between her legs, but resignation crept into her features a moment later. Inability to reach orgasm due to her difficult condition made her hesitant to give in to her desire. “Let me scoot over to a higher step.”

“No, you’re more comfortable with your tummy in the water. It may take a little longer, but you’re fine where you are.”

“Just shave it bare. Cerebus will have to get over it.” She let out a mixture of a groan and a sigh. “If he even sees it before it grows back...”

Ari had every intention of making sure that he did far more than see it.

“I learned a new spell,” Ari began, keeping up a conversation while she worked against the depth of the lapping water confusing her eyes, to trim the dark curls between Christi’s legs.

Arilee did most of the talking, as Christi had little energy to do anything at the late stage of her pregnancy. The Duchess was more than happy to listen – living vicariously through her friend.

Once Ari determined that she’d done all that she could with the scissors, she reached for the razor. Though the smile that graced Christi’s face was a little sad and longing, Arilee continued to relate some of the more interesting things going on in her new life. Any smile was a good one, in her eyes.

The shaving proved even more difficult, and Ari actually had to hold her breath to dip her head beneath the water several times. She had an alternative, but wanted to save that surprise.

Perseverance won the battle, and Ari said, “Float up a little, so I can make sure that I didn’t miss anything.”

Christi put her hands beneath her, onto the impossibly smooth wooden step, and pushed so that the water buoyed her toward the surface. Ari supported her friend’s knee in the crook of her arm, and looked for any stray hairs. When she didn’t see any, she finally surrendered to the arousal that had built inside her, and stroked her fingers over the Duchess’ smooth nether lips.

“Oh, Ari,” Christi quietly exclaimed, and then let out an almost pained whimper. Now too desperate with need to worry about her recent inability to climax, she started trying to scoot back onto a higher step, so that she could lift her pussy above the water.

“You’ll be too uncomfortable,” Ari observed as she put down the razor and picked up the seashell amulet that Ashtar had provided.

“I don’t care. I need you,” Christi argued.

“I need you, too,” Arilee agreed, as she slipped on the amulet and let it settle between her breasts. Before Christi could say anything more, Ari followed Ashtar’s suggestion, took a deep breath, and dunked her head beneath the water. Only complete trust in the magic allowed her to take the next step – though she still felt almost mind-numbing terror as she considered what she must do.

She let her breath out in a column of bubbles, and breathed in.

The magic of the amulet worked even better than she had anticipated. Though water now filled her lungs instead of air, she felt absolutely nothing different. She knew that Christi would panic in short order, not knowing the power of the charm, and so she moved between the Duchess’ legs, to give her something far more pleasant to think about.

The moan that rumbled in Ari’s throat as her tongue delved between Christi’s folds made almost no sound, and she could hear nothing of the Duchess’ loud gasp. Arilee slipped her fingers beneath her friend’s bottom, to lift her slightly up from the step, and then truly loosed her tongue.

The water seemed to have no ability to dilute the sweet taste of Christi’s juices, which Arilee hadn’t savored in far too long. Her duties as the new Baroness of Dalebord had consumed her, leaving her with little time to take pleasure alone in her bed, let alone with anyone else. She had gone far longer than a month without knowing the touch of a lover.

Christi writhed and twitched under the slippery caress of Ari’s tongue. The Baroness took her time, letting the tip of her tongue roam all over her friend’s needy, newly shaven sex. Her hair floated in a golden halo around her, caressing Christi’s thighs, adding to the sensations.

Arilee pressed her tongue deep whenever desire overwhelmed her, awakening her senses with even stronger tastes of Christi’s nectar. She knew her lover’s body as well as her own, and gave the Duchess more, exactly when she needed it. Her tongue steadily slipped more often to the swollen bud at the apex of Christi’s nether lips, ever stoking her friend’s flames of passion higher.

Though she couldn’t hear them, Ari could imagine the gasps and moans that were indeed emerging from Christi above the lapping surface of the water. One of Ari’s hands left the Duchess’ taut bottom, and two fingers slipped into her tight embrace. Christi stiffened, and trembled. Arilee knew that her friend now teetered on the edge. With another silent moan, she suckled Christi’s hood between her lips.

Christi’s trembling intensified as Ari massaged the pearl with her lips, and tickled it with flicks of her tongue. Soon the trembling was a quake, and then Christi lurched, an orgasm taking control of her body.

Arilee’s heart soared as her lover went into throes of passion. She could actually hear a distant, muffled hint of the loud scream of release that burst from the Duchess’ lips. Her fingers and tongue changed positions, letting Ari stab her tongue in deep for the reward of Christi’s cream, while her fingers rubbed her lover’s throbbing clit.

She was still eager for more when a weak push from the Duchess’ right hand silently begged for reprieve.

Ari sat back, smiling beneath the water, and mentally prepared for what was to come. She breathed out, emptying her lungs as much as possible, and then popped to the surface for a breath of air. As Ashtar had warned, a short fit of coughing shook her, but she recovered within a few breaths.

Christi floated in the water, quivering and squeezing her breasts. She gasped for every breath, and then immediately released each one in a whimper. The Duchess forced her tightly closed eyes open after a few attempts, and at last took a deep breath that emerged as a quavering moan. “Oh. I... I need... Needed that.”

“Me too,” Ari said with a grin, and pushed with her arms to float over for a kiss from her lover’s trembling lips.

“T-that was a... A sneaky trick,” Christi chided, though the beatific smile on her face belied her words. The tender caress of her hand over Ari’s breasts made the blonde Baroness join her in quivering.

“A-ashtar?” Christi guessed.

Ari giggled and nodded her head. “He must have felt as if his face was on fire, he blushed so much.” She cuddled up next to Christi in the water. “You said that the bath was one of the few places where you felt comfortable, and that you couldn’t get there because you were always uncomfortable, so...”

“It worked.” Christi let out a long, low moan, her eyes closing for a few seconds. “Oh gods, did it work.”

“You should have told me,” Ari said before kissing Christi on the cheek. “You wouldn’t have had to suffer so long.”

The Duchess let out a sharp, sensual growl that sounded almost like a bark. “I know, but it was almost worth letting that build up.” Then, she gasped and snapped a hand to her stomach. “I don’t think somebody is quite as happy about all the shaking and fluttering that’s going on in there, though.”

“He’s kicking?”

“Like a mule. Here, feel.”

Ari let Christi guide her hand, and a few seconds later, she felt a sharp thump. She laughed and said, “He has his mommy’s kick.”

“And a fondness for doing it to my bladder. I’ve pissed myself twice when the little bugger did that.”

“It won’t be long now.”

“Not soon enough. I’m starting to get worried.”

“You’re just going a bit long. It happens. He’s just not quite ready to come see us yet. Everything will be fine.” Ari chose that moment to steal a long, soft, but passionate kiss. Christi’s right hand immediately found Ari’s thigh.

When their lips parted, Christi said, “There’s something else that I haven’t had in a long time.”

A high-pitched moan of anticipation accompanied Christi’s fingers slipping to Ari’s nether lips.

“I thought about that, too,” Arilee revealed, once she caught her breath – arousal surging within her.

A slight push from her legs sent her drifting toward the center of the bath on her back. Once she was as flat as possible in the water, she summoned up another power of her borrowed amulet.

Ari bobbed to the surface, floating on her back like a boat.

Christi needed no explanation that the magic was meant to allow her to remain buoyed by the water, and thus comfortable. She also needed no encouragement. When she grabbed Arilee’s ankle with a hungry, sexy growl, the blonde Baroness bent her knees, using the anchor to draw her toward Christi’s waiting mouth.

“Ah! Oh!” Ari cried out, unprepared for the intensity of her lover’s appetite.

Christi’s stiff tongue seemed to reach far deeper than Ari remembered, swirling over her walls to gather up the abundant wetness. The Duchess’ lips and tongue felt as if they were everywhere at the same time, the vibrations from her moans concentrating in Ari’s clit.

A lurch of Arilee’s hips prompted Christi to curl her fingers around the blonde’s thighs and dig in. Held tight in her lover’s grasp, Ari squealed in delight, her entire body alive with pleasure. All the while, when she could keep her own eyes open, Ari could see Christi’s eyes looking up at her, filled with a mixture of love and lust.

Arilee grabbed her breasts, squeezing with far more strength than she usually found pleasurable. She pinched the stiff pink tips, again matching the ardor of the dark-haired beauty between her legs. Though the Duchess kept her hips from doing more than wiggling, Ari’s upper body was not so restrained. The Baroness writhed atop the water, often dipping into the magically unbreakable surface deep enough to see the water rising up beside her face.

The sensation started as warmth, and then changed to an itch that grew stronger by the second. Arilee whimpered as her building orgasm swelled to near painful intensity. Christi kept up the pressure with her fast-moving tongue, holding her blonde friend on the edge of ecstasy. After long, torturous seconds, Ari came.

A cry that combined a scream and a moan erupted from Arilee’s lips, rising and falling in pitch with the shockwaves wracking her body. Her thighs tightened around Christi’s head, and her fingers twined into the Duchess’ dark locks.

“Mmm – oh yeah,” Christi moaned when Ari’s muscles relaxed. She continued to moan as she returned to the sweet, quivering treat before her.

Though the waves of bliss traveling through her body lasted for minutes, Ari still wasn’t ready for them to end when her orgasm at last waned. Her sigh somehow managed to convey both disappointment and contentment at the same time when Christi gave her folds a final kiss.

“I... I don’t think that I realized how badly I needed that,” Ari remarked in languid tones.

The Duchess licked her lips and said, “You’re lucky. I knew damn well how badly I needed it.”

Ari chuckled, and summoned up enough presence of mind to release the magic of the shell between her breasts. Her legs sank down into the water once more, and she’d barely settled upright when Christi swooped in for a kiss.

The sweet kiss – made all the sweeter by her own juices on Christi’s lips – lasted for some time. When their lips parted, Ari’s curled up into a mischievous smile.

Christi’s eyebrows arched upward, her expression revealing that she knew her friend was up to something.

Arilee revealed nothing, and instead climbed the steps of the bath. Rivulets of water poured down her body as she looked over her shoulder to see Christi admiring her bare backside. She continued down the stairs to the floor, and a knock sounded on the door.

Perfect, Ari thought, doubting that Sharon’s timing could have been more impeccable. “Come in,” she called while walking toward the door.

The Duke looked wary at first, then surprised and shocked. Only trust in Sharon’s word that she would keep anyone else out of the hall allowed Arilee to walk toward Mindblind, water still dripping down her nude body.

Ari giggled and instructed, “Close the door,” when he showed no sign of remembering that it was open. Even as he turned to do so, she reached him and jerked the tail of his shirt free of his pants. “And get undressed,” she added.

The Duke cleared his throat and began, “When did you get...”

“Shush. Clothes. Off. Now.”

She allowed him only a moment more of hesitation before taking charge – fighting against a blush all the while. She reached for his belt buckle and popped it open. A quick look revealed that both Duke and Duchess looked somewhat uncomfortable. “The two of you have something to attend to.”

An insistent tug upward on his shirt finally prompted Mindblind to remove it. Arilee’s deft fingers worked the buttons on his pants at the same time. When it looked as if he was about to speak again, Ari snapped out of her admiration of his bare, muscled chest.

“I know that you’re worried about hurting the baby, but you’re hurting Christi right now. She needs you, Cerebus.” Upon finishing with the buttons of his pants, and shuddering at the sight of his hard cock straining against his undershorts below, Ari said, “Your boots.”

The Duke leaned back against the door to pull off the boots, and Ari barely let his foot reach the floor again before jerking down his pants and underthings, leaving him revealed in all his hard glory. While he wriggled and stepped out of the cloth, she wrapped her hand around his throbbing manhood.

Mindblind groaned. “It’s just...”

He grunted in surprise, and Christi’s tension evaporated when Arilee used the convenient handle to pull him toward the tub. The Duchess laughed as he stutter-stepped forward, until Ari took his hand instead.

“I’m not going to let you hurt her, or the baby. The water will help to keep you from pushing too hard, and it makes her more comfortable,” Ari continued as she led him up the stairs to the tub. “Alicia even says that it might encourage your son to stop being so shy, and come out to meet us. Now, in you go.”

The Duke strode down into the water, the sight of his muscles working making Ari tingle all over. She followed him as he waded over to his wife. He smoothed back a shock of coal-dark hair, revealing the point on his left ear. “Babe, I...”

Once again, Arilee interrupted him. “We’ll have classes on apologizing without swords later. There are more important things. Your wife needs you. She needs you deep inside her.”

Both Duke and Duchess shuddered at those words.

“Gods, I do,” Christi agreed, her voice thick with emotion so uncharacteristic for her. “I’m going mad, I swear.”

Passion flared within the couple, and they kissed – hard. One of Christi’s hands went to the back of his neck, while the other wrapped around his cock. The Duke twined his fingers into her dark tresses, while his other hand squeezed her ass.

Arilee had to push two fingers into her aching sex as she watched the sheer primal need that the couple shared unleashed before her. She managed to push down her own ardor sufficiently to wade next to the Duchess, just as the couple parted for a second with twin gasps.

Her hand joined Mindblind’s on Christi’s bottom as she said, “Turn around.”

The Duchess needed no further instruction or prodding. She let out a lusty growl and turned in the water to grab the edge of the bath, leaving her bent slightly at the waist. She looked back over her shoulder at her man and said, “Don’t make me wait.”

He was throbbing with desire, and had absolutely no intention of doing so.

Arilee took his cock in hand, as he pushed through the water toward his wife. Ari moaned when he pinched her nipple while she guided his tip against Christi’s folds. Then, his hands went to his wife’s hips.

“Ah!” Christi cried out as the head of his cock slipped inside her. “You feel fucking huge,” she groaned, and then demanded, “More,” because he hesitated with her first cry.

A loud, growling moan accompanied the Duke pushing deep into her warm embrace. “Damn, you feel good, Babe.”

Ari tickled his balls with her fingertips and felt his shaft, convinced that the angle was perfect to give Christi a feeling of fullness, without letting his long, thick cock bump against the entrance of her womb.

“So fucking good. Fuck me, Baby,” Christi demanded.

In hopes of providing some added comfort, Arilee supported the Duchess’ tummy with one hand, and slipped the fingers of the other between Christi’s legs to her clit. The position was both awkward and uncomfortable, but Ari decided that it was well worth it.

Mindblind started slow – still cautious – but his wife’s ever more fervent cries of fuck me prodded him on. As soon as he realized that Arilee’s prediction about the water was true, slowing his thrusts enough to stem his worry; he gave in to his passion.

Water lapped against the edges of the tub and out into the floor as Mindblind pumped his cock into Christi’s depths. Ari’s fingers danced over the Duchess’ clit, helping to stoke a bonfire within the gasping, dark-haired woman. Though the Duke was pounding his cock home, his wife’s pregnant tummy barely moved, supported by both the water and Arilee.

Mindblind picked up the pace, and Ari could feel the pressure waves rushing past her fingers as she circled them over Christi’s bud. The Duchess cried out, and then loosed a sultry laugh. “Oh yes – right there,” she encouraged her husband.

The water now slapped, rather than lapped, at the edges of the tub. Though Christi’s belly rocked a little, Ari didn’t think it felt as if it was too much. She, on the other hand, actually had a little trouble keeping her footing in the sloshing water. Her nipples and sex tingled from the stimulation of swirling currents, and she could only imagine how good it must feel for her friend.

“Oh yes. Oh, Baby. I’m gonna come so fucking hard,” Christi blurted out in a tight, high-pitched voice.

His teeth tightly clenched, Mindblind bit off the growls escaping him unbidden to warn, “Close too, Babe. Too fucking good.”

“Don’t stop. So close. Fucking give it to me.”

Her own pussy aching for attention, Ari concentrated on Christi’s pleasure, rubbing her fingers over her friend’s clit in quick, side-to-side strokes. She could tell that both husband and wife were on the edge. They had gone far too long without sharing the primeval sexual need that always bubbled within them, and it was bringing them to a peak with remarkable swiftness.

“Can’t hold it,” Mindblind grunted, the words clipped almost to the point of incomprehensibility.

He need not have worried.

“Ah! Almost! Oh!” Christi screamed, and then she tried to cry out, “Coming,” but only managed the first syllable before her orgasm hit her, turning it into a screech.

Mindblind simultaneously slammed his hips forward with a loud growl. “F-fuck yeah,” he groaned as his cock pulsed, filling Christi full of pent-up cum.

Between loud vocalizations of the pleasure coursing through her, Christi managed to whimper, “Yeah, fill me up, Baby.”

With the couple locked in place and trembling through their climaxes, Ari could ignore her own needs no longer. Her fingers left Christi’s clit to find her own. Two more digits from her other hand plunged into her pussy, while a third finger tickled the puckered star of her ass.

Urgent whimpers arose from somewhere deep inside Arilee and her eyes pinched closed. Caught up in the synergy of her friends’ pleasure, she swelled to a crescendo at the same frantic pace. In less than a minute, she came as well.

The first jolt of orgasm arched Ari’s back hard enough for her to lose contact with the floor of the bath. Before she could sink, one of the Duke’s powerful hands cupped her bottom, and dragged her toward him. Ari’s feet, and then bottom, found a step in the shallower water as pleasure continued to ripple through her.

When Ari regained her senses, she was sitting next to Mindblind, one of his hands between her legs, replacing her fingers, which had started shaking too much to keep stimulating her. The Duchess sat on a lower step, the water lapping at her chin, her arms wrapped around her husband’s leg in a hug, and her cheek resting against his side.

“Oh!” Christi suddenly cried out, and then laughed. When both of her bathmates looked at her, she explained, “This one is complaining again.”

“He’s kicking?” Cerebus asked, his eyes coming alight.

“Yes. Hurry,” Christi said as she scooted up the stairs to where he could reach. “The little bugger has never kicked for him,” she told Ari as she moved.

The Duke let his wife guide his hand on her tummy, and then snatched it away in surprise mere seconds later. “Damn me. I wasn’t expecting that. Is he trying to kick his way out?”

Christi and Arilee stared at each other for a fraction of a second, and then broke out into simultaneous snorts that turned into joyful laughter.

****

Ari awakened in the ducal bed the next morning. She felt no sense of disorientation, despite the change in scenery from her room in Dalebord. Even after being away for so long, this still felt more like home than anywhere else she’d ever known.

Though she’d felt a tug of responsibility to return to her duties, Arilee had let the couple convince her that she had able administrators who could handle things for a night. Truth to tell, she didn’t need much convincing.

Discussions with a midwife at her new home over the last several months had prompted Ari to suggest something that helped Christi sleep. The nest of pillows, placed just so, helped support the Duchess’ awkward body, giving her one of the few good night’s rest that she’d had in some time.

It also proved quite advantageous just before dawn, when Christi had awakened from an arousing dream. The support allowed her to reach a peak with her husband taking her from behind, while they both lay on their sides. The angle was too restrictive for him to come as well, but – with Christi’s aroused encouragement – his cream soon found a home within Ari’s depths.

Arilee shifted position a little, not yet ready to get up. Her knee slipped into a warm, wet spot, which she assumed was from the earlier fun, until Christi spoke up.

“Oh dear.”

“Hmm?” Ari realized that the wet spot was spreading at about the same time as she emitted the moaned query.

“My water just b...” The rest of the word broke transformed into a growling cry when the Duchess experienced her first contraction.

The Duke sat bolt upright, his eyes blinking rapidly and his hand fumbling for a weapon. “Who? What?”

Arilee tossed back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. In a loud, but steady voice, she said, “The baby is coming. Go fetch the midwife, and the cleric that your brother sent. Then, go tell Ashtar.”

“Midwife. Ashtar.” Mindblind mumbled, his expression turning from one of sleepy confusion to worried confusion as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

“The midwife and the cleric your brother sent first,” Arilee reiterated as she pulled on the panties that she’d discarded earlier in the morning. “Then Ashtar. Hurry.”

“Hurry,” he repeated in monotone, and bounced out of the bed. He stalked toward the door with zombie-like singularity of purpose.

“Put on your pants, Cerebus,” Arilee called out when she realized that he was going to walk straight out of the bedroom nude.

“Pants.” He looked around, located his trousers, and snatched them from the floor to dress.

“What in the hell is wrong with him?” Christi asked while staring at her husband with amused incredulity.

Arilee laughed as she pulled on her top, having already put on her skirt. She could offer nothing more than a shrug as an answer. The Duchess joined her in laughing when Mindblind stepped out into the hall and bellowed the midwife’s name at the top of his lungs, followed by the cleric’s, and then Ashtar’s. He then stomped off toward the room set aside for the midwife.

The midwife, a matronly woman in her middle years, scurried into the room a minute later. She was wearing only a nightgown and shaking the sleep fog out of her head, but set about her task with practiced speed.

“It will be a while,” the midwife announced after a quick examination, at just about the same time as the cleric of Heraklan arrived.

She was even more indisposed looking than the midwife before her. Arilee would later learn that the disheveled robes and mussed hair that she could see was only a part of it. The Duke had interrupted her in the afterglow of borrowing an off-duty guard for her needs, leaving the woman with cum-filled panties.

A few prayers from the chestnut-haired cleric of Heraklan helped Christi relax, and made her more comfortable. The magic did little more than take the edge off of the next contraction when it came, though.

Mindblind finally returned, looking little more sensible than before. “Got ‘em. Ashtar’s...”

The midwife turned and snapped a finger toward the Duke. “Go boil water. We need lots of hot water, and hot towels – now.”

Mindblind nodded his head in an exaggerated motion. “Water. Towels. Got it,” he rattled off before spinning on his heel.

“What’s that for?” Christi asked.

“For getting him out of the damn way,” the midwife muttered, prompting gales of laughter from the other three women in the room.

Only a few minutes later, the door opened again, revealing the nightclothes-clad noble ladies of Egoria, led by Queen Alicia. “Oh good, we haven’t missed it,” she declared with a wide smile while waving the rest in. Laughter and excited voices from outside revealed that the male half of the group had arrived at the Hall as well, likely on the wings of magic conjured by Ashtar, Darkni, and the rest.

The atmosphere in the room was joyful, and full of conversation as Christi labored to bring her child into the world. The Duchess treated the birthing as she would any other battle, and won it with ease. Soon enough, she held the spoils of victory in her arms, in the form of her son.

The cleric healed the tears from the birth, allowing Christi even greater ability to bask in the moment. At Alicia’s insistence, Arilee was the first to hold the baby after his mother. She marveled at the boy in her arms, daydreaming of the day when she might have her own.

The heir to the ducal seat made the rounds of the other noble ladies before the men were finally permitted into the room. An excited Duke led the procession, his timidity as he took his son in his arms just as unusual as Christi’s emotionality the day before.

“He’s so tiny,” Mindblind muttered, his eyes wide with amazement.

“Tiny?” Christi said, and then scoffed. “He’s ten pounds if he’s an ounce. You didn’t just have to shove him out of your...”

Laughter from those gathered to share in her joy drowned out the rest.

A weary Duchess stood over the cradle with Arilee some hours later. The others had all returned to their duties – with great reluctance – as the day wore on.

“It almost doesn’t seem real. He’s so beautiful,” Christi remarked.

“Of course he is,” Arilee agreed, and then kissed the Duchess on the cheek.

Christi chuckled. “Now I’m right back to square one, though. No sex.”

“You probably won’t even notice.” Ari paused, thinking better of what she’d just said. “Well, you probably will, but I think that you’ll be busy enough to endure. They did say that the healing magic and your constitution would probably mean that you won’t have to wait long.”

“And we’ll be able to get back down into the courtyard before long, too. I’m feeling all flabby and soft, and I owe Cerebus a few licks.” Christi laughed. “He owes me a few, too.”

“I wish I could stay,” Ari said, and sighed. It was all she could do not to pick up the little boy and cuddle him some more.

“I wish you could, too. I’ll probably be sick of company before long, though. Alicia and everyone else will sneak away every chance that they get.”

“So will I.”

The Duchess turned to her blonde friend, and drew her into a kiss. “Thank you, Ari. You couldn’t have given me a better baby gift.”

“You’re welcome. No more hiding things from me. Promise?”

“Promise,” Christi agreed. When the baby stirred, she whispered, “We’d better go. I guess I’m going to be praying for him to be asleep before long. Better take advantage of it while I can.”

Feeling a little naughty, Ari leaned in to whisper in Christi’s ear, “And I’ll be taking advantage of you as soon as I can.”

Christi let out a purr. “I can’t wait.”