The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 25

"Seriously, though, Leo," Avani said breathlessly as we lay on the grass in the warm sun some time later, "Where do you get all that energy? It seems like we'll have barely caught our breath before you're ready to go again!"

"Well, I do have several centuries of catching up to do," I replied, kissing her hair.

"That reminds me," she said, twisting around so that she could rest her head on my stomach and still look into my face. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Several centuries; I thought we'd just established that," I said, teasingly.

She poked me in my cheek, saying, "You know what I mean! I mean, how old were you when you were sealed?"

"Does it matter?" I asked her, amused by her curiosity.

"No... of course it doesn't matter," she replied slowly. "I'm just curious, that's all. You seem older than the other young single guys in town, but at the same time, you're more playful than them, too. I just can't guess."

I just closed my eyes and smiled, still not answering her question. After a minute, she wriggled restlessly against me, saying, "Leo? Are you going to tell me?"

I rolled away from under her and onto my stomach to let my tail finish drying. Instead of answering her, I simply commented, "The hot sun feels good, doesn't it?"

"Leeooo!" she exclaimed, mildly vexed.

"Maybe if you tell me how old you are, I'll tell you how old I am," I murmured.

"That's not fair!" she pouted. "You know I have no idea what my age is. Even my birthday is just a date Venti picked at random. Jones thought I was probably in my very early twenties when I arrived, and that's all I know."

She climbed onto my back and began to tickle my ears and neck. "H-hey! S-stop that!" I gasped, laughing as I tried to reach up behind me to grab her arms.

"Not until you 'fess up!" she exclaimed, tickling even harder. I flipped over onto my back beneath her, grabbing her waist to keep her away from my ears. That called to mind being in a similar position this morning as we made love in the early morning light, and I found myself becoming aroused again.

Avani eyes widened as she felt me poking against her, and she exclaimed, "Leo! Again? Already?!"

"Like I said, My Lady—you're addictive," I replied as I pulled her down to me and kissed her.

************

As I lay sprawled across her afterwards, our bodies still entwined and damp with sweat, I nuzzled and kissed her neck. "Twenty-eight," I whispered into her ear, then kissed her again.

She put her arms around my neck and kissed me back, then said, "Why didn't you want to tell me?"

"To tease you of course," I replied.

"Leo!"

"...or maybe not," I continued with a grin as I slid off and stretched out beside her. "Maybe because I'm older than most of the single guys in town. Maybe I was afraid you'd think I was too old for you."

"Oh, Leo, I don't care how old you are. Well, I mean, too young wouldn't be good, but no way could you be too old."

"Or maybe I'm teasing you even now, and I have been teasing you all along. The world may never know!"

"Ugh! Leo!" she said, giving me a push. "Anyway, thanks. And twenty-eight is hardly ancient—you aren't that much older than most of the others. Kiel's seventeen...."