The Tickle Sprite, pt. 5: A Helping Hand (ff/m)

[Underscore Eleven]

SYNOPSIS: Alix tells the story of one of her past victims: a cartographer named Cory, who thinks he has stumbled into a fairytale when he finds a gorgeous naked woman bathing in a woodland stream. His accidental voyeurism is rewarded with a sharp lesson from the sprite – and his finacée Julianne is only too glad to lend a hand.


Hello all.

It's been a while, but I'm not done with this series yet. This one is almost entirely a flashback – so if you haven't read the previous installments, you can just ignore the intro and read this as a self-contained story.

Hope you enjoy.

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The Tickle Sprite, pt. 5: A Helping Hand

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Bethany lay stretched out on the sofa, head nestled in Alix's lap, giggling softly as slender fingers casually caressed her belly. "Tell me another story," she coaxed. "I bet I'm not the only girl you've lured into that glade of yours."

"Not by a long shot," Alix said. "Guys, too."

"Really?" Bethany looked up into her friend's eyes with eager interest.

"Oh, yes. Merchants, warriors, woodcutters, you name it. People get lost in that forest all the time. Not so much since they made the Path, of course, but I can still count on the occasional numbskull stepping over the warding stones. Like you did."

"I always thought the Path was ancient," Bethany said quickly, anxious to deflect attention from herself. "Like it was laid down by some extinct race."

"What? No, it was made about a hundred years ago. They wanted an easier trading route out of the valley, that's all. You know how fertile this area is; hordes of people came to settle here, and pretty soon they were growing enough crops to feed half a dozen colonies. But they couldn't export them without finding a safe way through the forest. At first they thought all they had to do was send in some cartographers to map it out, but that didn't work out so well."

"Why not?"

"Enchanted forests don't take kindly to mapmakers. They came prepared, of course – each one was paired up with a mercenary for protection, and they were loaded up with charms against every supernatural danger they could think of. But they didn't think of everything."

"Let me guess," said Bethany. "They weren't expecting tickle sprites."

"They were not," said Alix smugly. "You want a story? This is a good one..."

***

Cory jerked on the reins and brought his slow-stepping horse to a standstill. That silver elm with the forked trunk... He was certain he had seen that exact same tree not two hours earlier – only then it had stood beside a moss-covered boulder in the shape of a dragon's head. Now the boulder was nowhere to be seen, and there was a little rivulet winding through the roots that had definitely not been there before.

Was his imagination playing tricks on him, or was the forest really changing? Either way, he was completely lost. Cartographers were not supposed to get lost. And worst of all, he hadn't seen hide or hair of Julianne for over half an hour. She must have lagged behind for some reason, or maybe he had ridden too far ahead. And now he was alone.

His concern was more than for his own safety. Besides being his bodyguard, Julianne was also his fiancée. But after all, he told himself, she was a skilled huntress, perfectly capable of taking care of herself in a place like this. They'd probably meet up again any minute now.

He kicked his horse into motion and began following the flow of water upstream – and with all his senses on the alert, it wasn't long before he picked up a new sound up ahead. Somebody was singing.

For a moment his heart surged, but as he drew nearer his hopes were dashed. It was a female voice, but it wasn't Julianne's. Another lost traveller? Or one of the townsfolk, perhaps – someone who knew the hidden ways, someone who could help him. On the other hand, it might be bandits. He ought to get a closer look before he made his presence known.

He slipped out of the saddle and tied his nervously gamboling horse to a tree, then advanced carefully on foot. The musical voice was very close now, and accompanied by sounds of splashing. Cory positioned himself behind a broad oak and peered through a break in the screen of leaves.

His mouth fell open in astonishment at what he saw. Up ahead, two streams converged and fell into a rocky hollow, creating a shallow pool of clear water. A beautiful young woman, stark naked, was reclining on the rocks, luxuriously massaging her limbs, her dark hair soaked and her body sparkling with radiant droplets.

Cory stared, transfixed. He seemed to have stumbled onto a scene out of a fairytale – or out of one of his own fantasies. He felt the stirrings of arousal and told himself he ought to back away. This sight wasn't meant for him. But then again, a voice whispered in his head, this girl clearly didn't understand how dangerous the forest was. Maybe it was right that someone should watch over her.

Still singing softly to herself, the woman leaned forward and scooped up a double-handful of water, then tilted her head back and splashed her face, letting the exultant droplets fall to tracing lines along her breasts and midriff. Cory unconsciously shifted his position, carelessly rustling the undergrowth.

The woman looked up sharply. "Who's there?"

After a moment of painful indecision, Cory emerged out of hiding, making an effort to avert his gaze. "I don't mean you any harm, I... I'm lost. I heard your voice." He awkwardly unfastened his cloak and held it out to her. "Here, you shouldn't... Take this."

The girl had risen up to meet him, and now she took the cloak and wrapped it around herself, smiling at the novelty. "Thanks," she said, and turned to leave.

"Wait," said Cory. "I don't know who you are, but... Trust me, this forest is not somewhere you want to wander around n–... erm, dressed like that. I'm looking for a friend of mine; stick with me and we can... Hey, wait."

Paying him no heed, the girl was already wandering away, Cory's cloak flapping at her ankles. Forgetful of his horse, forgetful of the danger, Cory followed.

***

"You're so mean," laughed Bethany. "He was only trying to help you."

"He was a guy," said Alix. "He only had one thing on his mind."

"Cynic. So you led him into your enchanted glade. Then what?"

"What do you think? I tickled him."

"Oh, come on! Don't skip over the best part."

"I'm not," said Alix. "The best part is what happened when his girlfriend showed up."

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[Underscore Eleven]

Julianne's spirits rose as she spotted the unmistakeable imprint of horse's hooves in the soil. She had finally picked up Cory's trail. She spurred her own horse onward, and after a few minutes found the hoofprints curving round to follow the course of a trickling stream. Of course Cory would head for higher ground. She could track him easily from here.

Her relief turned to alarm when she found Cory's horse abandoned and her fiancé nowhere to be seen. For a split second, she feared the worst – but then she saw the horse's reins were looped around a solid branch. He had dismounted deliberately... but why?

Tying up her own horse, she climbed down to examine the ground more closely. She found the track of Cory's footprints – he had been stepping lightly, trying not to make a sound. Then he seemed to have stood for some time behind an oak tree, and then continued on towards a rippling pool. Now another set of footprints entered the picture – female, barefoot. Damp. Cory and the unknown female had moved off together into the trees.

A scream pierced the air, and Julianne thought no more about footprints. She charged towards the source of the commotion, crossbow at the ready – then, bursting into a wide, sunny clearing, she pulled up short. Cory was lying on his back on the mossy ground, laughing wildly. A dark-haired woman knelt on top of him, wrapped in his own cloak. Her hands were fluttering along his ribs. She was tickling him.

Julianne felt the red mist descend. All her anxiety, all her worry, and Cory had simply snuck off for some sordid woodland tryst? "What in Tartarus is going on here?" she demanded.

The dark-haired woman looked up at her – and vanished. Cory's cloak, suddenly empty, hung in the air a moment, then drifted down to settle over his thighs. "Thank the gods," gasped her fiancé. "Get me out of here."

Evidently Julianne had misread the scene. She realised now that Cory's wrists and forearms were wrapped in thick green vines, which seemed to have emerged out of the earth for the sole purpose of holding his arms above his head. More vines snaked around his ankles, keeping his body tightly stretched. Clearly some powerful forces were at work here.

"He was trespassing," said an apologetic voice.

The mercenary whirled around to find the strange woman standing right behind her. She was unashamedly naked, and even Julianne was taken aback for a moment by the creature's exquisite beauty. Then she leveled her crossbow. "What are you?"

"I'm a tickle sprite."

This simple and direct answer made Julianne shiver. She thought she knew every variety of sprite, but she'd never heard of a... She couldn't even repeat the words to herself in her own head.

"You can call me Alix, if you like," the sprite continued. Her hands were clasped behind her back, in the attitude of a guilty schoolgirl caught out by the principal. She spoke in tones of wheedling persuasion, watching the effect of her words through lowered lids. "This is my glade. Your friend was trespassing. No-one enters my glade without being punished."

"He didn't know," said Julianne. "He didn't mean to trespass."

"Yes he did," the sprite said. "He was watching me. While I was bathing. He was spying on me, and then he followed me."

The mercenary frowned and turned her head. "Is this true?"

"No!" protested Cory urgently. "It wasn't like that!"

But Julianne thought back to the tracks she had seen. It added up...

"I'm only teaching him a lesson," the sprite said. "I'll let him go eventually."

Julianne contemplated Cory's helpless form. She thought about the stab of panic she had felt when she'd found his horse abandoned. And it turned out he'd dismounted only to get a better look at some naked forest nymph...

Well, it might be interesting to see a tickle sprite at work. "Don't mind me, then," she said. "Carry on."

Alix's demeanor changed instantly. She clapped her hands in glee and vanished, reappearing beside Cory's feet. She plucked at his laces and began pulling off his boots.

"No, Julie!" Cory shouted frantically. "Julie, help! Please help!"

"You hear that?" the sprite said, holding back a smirk. "He wants you to help." Putting Cory's boots aside, she held his left foot loosely in one hand. His feet were still protected by thick grey socks, but his legs were twitching in sheer anticipation.

"Is that what you want, honey?" Julianne knelt down by Cory's side and eyed him with mischievous intent. "You want me to help teach you a lesson?" She placed a hand on his side and lightly stroked his ribs through his cotton shirt. The sprite, meanwhile, had lined its fingers up along the victim's sole, and was pressing down hard with each of them in turn.

Cory clenched his teeth and threw his head back on the ground, letting out a low moan of anguish. "Juulieee," he groaned. "You don't un— You don't understaaand!"

"I think I get the picture," the mercenary said. "You saw this pretty little creature bathing and you thought she might want to play with you a little. Well, guess what? She does. And so do I."

She brought her hand up higher, wriggling her fingers teasingly into his underarm. Cory thrashed, but there was no escaping the vines that held him tight. He was breathing fast now, in wordless, high-pitched grunts. The sprite continued her scientific probing of his soles.

"Maybe in future you'll think twice about looking at other women." Julianne curled both hands around his ribs and squeezed.

The laughter that Cory had been trying to repress burst out of him in a sudden torrent. "Ahahahaha stahahaha Juhuhuhu no pleheheheese Juliahahahanne!"

Julianne giggled and continued squeezing. Her anger had dissipated in a heartbeat, the moment Cory's first squeak of laughter reached her ears. She couldn't stay mad at someone who was in such a ticklish predicament. Besides...

She glanced sideways at the sprite, who was working on rolling Cory's socks away. Now that her first rush of anger had cleared, she realized that Alix couldn't have been telling the full story. Sprites didn't bathe in streams – they didn't take human form at all unless there was someone there to see them. She had obviously been lying in wait for him, to tempt him into trouble.

Still, Cory had taken the bait. The punishment was fair.

She moved her hands up and down his sides, digging her fingers into the flesh of his ribs through the red-and-black plaid shirt. Cory made an effort to bite back the laughter, helped by the sprite's temporary focus on de-socking him. "Please," he spluttered. "Julie, please. I'm sohorry! Just stohohopp!"

Watching him trying not to laugh was funny. Julianne prolonged the game by ceasing the torment of his ribs and bringing her hands up higher to caress the bare skin of his upper arms. Cory yanked fruitlessly at his restraints, unable to prevent a muffled scream escaping his clamped lips.

"I've never seen you so sensitive before," she teased, keeping her fingers moving in slow rhythmic motions. "Being all tied up like that must make it tickle worse, huh?"

Cory gave no answer, just screwed his eyes tight shut and shook his head desperately.

"That's usually the way," said Alix, in the seasoned tone of a professional. She had thrown Cory's socks aside and was delicately stroking the tops of his feet. "But if you think he's sensitive now, watch this."

She stopped tickling and sat back, gesturing at Julianne to do the same. Then she waved her hands, and an ethereal blue haze settled over Cory's body. "Now try him again."

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[Underscore Eleven]

Intrigued, Julianne reached out again to Cory's upper arms – her fingers tingled as they dipped into the light blue luminescence. Cory's muscles tensed in expectation; his eyes were still tight shut, and the set of his jaw showed that his teeth were locked together. But all his defenses came to nothing – the moment his fiancée's fingers touched his skin, he exploded into panicked laughter.

Julianne broke into a low chuckle. "Oho, now someone's in big trouble." The blue haze was obviously massively increasing her partner's sensitivity. Eager to experiment, she stretched out her thumbs and pressed them into the hollows of his underarms.

He burst into a high-pitched shriek. "Nononono hahaheeellpp!"

"I am helping," giggled Julianne. "Or were you talking to our friend here?"

"I guess he wants me to play with his feet a little more." Alix took a loose hold of the captive cartographer's wriggling feet, and ran a teasing finger down the insides of each arch.

"No no not that please!" screeched Cory through his laughter.

"Aww, does that tickle, sweetheart?" Julianne asked innocently. "How about this?"

She raked her fingers down his sides and gave his waist a sudden squeeze, provoking a renewed howl of anguished laughter. Pleased with this effect, she gave a few more squeezes, then let her fingers dance back up to tantalize his ribs. This time she refrained from digging in, but moved her hands in quick, spidery motions that sent the helpless Cory into paroxysms. Her fingernails, though neatly trimmed, were just long enough to give an added zest to every touch.

Alix was gradually stepping up her own attack, and now she started rolling all eight fingers up and down his soles. Cory twisted even more violently in his restraints, and Julianne struggled to keep up with his movements. Her fingers strayed across his chest as she fought to keep the focus on his sensitive sides. Then, as he gave a lurch to the right, two fingers slipped into the gap between two buttonholes. Wriggling nails touched naked flesh. Cory yelped and lurched away again – but Julianne had scented blood.

"That shirt must be chafing," she said slyly. "Why don't I make you a little more comfortable?"

First, though, she had to admit she wasn't exactly comfortable herself. She had thrown herself down without much thought for the crossbow quiver at her side, and now it pressed awkwardly against her hips. After a moment's hesitation, she unclipped it from her belt and placed it on the ground beside her. The crossbow itself was still slung over her back – its weight wasn't too much of a burden, but the straps across her chest were restricting her movement, so she unbuckled the whole assemblage and let it fall.

She hadn't forgotten that she was in the midst of an enchanted forest, but her well-honed instincts told her this glade was a safe haven. The sprite, for all its mischief, radiated friendliness, and Julianne had no doubt that her partner would be released as promised, once this little game was over. Until then, she wasn't about to miss out on the fun. Time to settle in and really get to work.

Unbuttoning Cory's shirt wasn't easy, against his squirming and his fervent protests – a couple of buttons were torn loose in the process. Still, it wasn't long before his gleaming chest and belly lay exposed to view. Cory was no athlete, but his work kept him in good shape, and the glimmerings of muscle were visible beneath his taut skin. Julianne sat back a moment to admire him. Here in the sunlight, against the backdrop of the dark green underbrush, surrounded by that strange blue luminescence, he'd never looked more beautiful.

"Julie, please," he whimpered. She realized Alix had let go of his feet, giving him a chance to speak. "I'm sorry. That's enough. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Julianne ran an affectionate hand through his hair. "Don't worry, sweetie. I forgive you. You're an incorrigible lecher, but I love you."

"I... I love you too," gasped Cory with relief.

"I know," said Julianne, smiling. "And that's why I know you'll forgive me ... for this..." With one hand still nestled in his hair, she placed the forefinger of her right hand on his chest and drew a line down towards his navel.

Cory jerked. "No no no don't! No please!"

"I can't help it. You're not the only one who can't resist temptation." She moved her finger in slow circles round his bellybutton. "And I'll never get an opportunity like this again. You understand, don't you?" Her fingers crawled over his twitching belly and gently caressed the left side of his waist.

Cory broke out into terrified laughter. "Nahaha stahahapp pleheheese no mooorehohore!"

Such a reaction from such a gentle touch, Julianne mused. This blue haze must really be something. Casting her eyes over the form of her poor helpless lover, she couldn't repress a little giggle of excitement. "Cootchie, cootchie, cootchie..." Her fingers slid up toward his ribcage, while her other hand skated down his right arm and joined in the attack on his other side.

Now that there was no barrier between her wriggling fingers and his bare flesh, Cory's squeals were more desperate than ever. Julianne kept her touch light, letting the anticipation build. Then she suddenly grabbed hold of his ribs and clenched her fingers. "Gotcha!"

"N–aaaaahahahaha!" Cory's attempted protest broke off immediately into high-pitched laughter. He swung himself from side to side, trying in vain to escape his tormentor's squeezing fingers. Julianne clung tight to his ribs until she decided it was time to let him take a breath, then treated him to another flurry of light tickles up and down his sides.

Meanwhile, Alix had resumed her foot massage. She wasn't using her nails – in Cory's present state, a full-scale attack on both flanks would probably destroy him. She simply stroked the pads of her fingertips over his soles, varying her movements with every stroke. An upward swipe from heel to toe would turn into a zig-zag pattern on the way back down, and then a spiral targeting the center of each arch. These delicate attentions were more than enough to keep Cory's legs convulsing, and to override any effort he might make to resist Julianne's more sustained attack.

The mercenary was exploring every inch of Cory's upper body, searching for more areas of extra sensitivity. Strangely enough, that spot she'd tried before, on the left side of his waist, seemed to elicit a particularly urgent plea for mercy every time. She brought her focus down to that one spot, digging in with the nails of her right hand.

"Ahahaha no don't don't don't do thahahahahaatt!"

Julianne ignored him, and kept her fingers working at the left side of his midriff. She had to reach her arm around a little, which meant her elbow continually bumped against the hilt of Cory's dagger, but that was small price to pay for the fun she was having. Cory slammed his head against the moss, tears flicking from the corners of his eyes.

But even while she worked, Julianne was already sizing up her next target. Her eyes were drawn to Cory's shirt-sleeves, which kept his underarms hidden from sight amidst inviting shadows. Those underarms, she decided, had been let off far too easy.

Without giving him a moment's rest, she ran her fingers up her partner's sides and dove into his sleeves. Cory drew a sharp intake of breath, and his laughter suddenly became silent. His face became as frozen as a theatre mask, except that his contorted lips continued moving, mouthing words he didn't have the strength to say.

His silent thrashing was a little eerie in this otherworldly glade, and Julianne's amusement was quickly overtaken by concern. She turned to Alix, but the sprite took the words out of her mouth. "He needs a break."

They both sat back, letting the panting Cory recover some semblance of self-control. Julianne couldn't hold back a rush of sympathy. "How long are we going to keep this up?" she asked.

Alix gave her a scrutinizing look. "Tell you what – I'll let you decide."

That changed things. Much as she felt sorry for him, it wasn't easy to be the one to call an end to the day's entertainment. Julianne's gaze swept over her boyfriend's heaving chest, his matted hair, his twitching limbs. Of course they ought to let him go. Stepping up the torture at this point would be... really funny. No – she pushed that thought back down. It would be cruel. Very cruel. And funny.

While her mind was still in conflict, her eyes were caught by a sliver of bright light amongst the undergrowth. Cory's belt was lying on the ground a few feet away – the sprite must have removed it before Julianne arrived. The sheath was still attached, but the dagger had been shaken loose – its blade was the shiny object that had captured her attention.

A question that had been niggling at her suddenly came into focus. If Cory's dagger was over there... what had her arm been knocking against?

The cloak that Alix had been wearing was still draped over Cory's thighs. Julianne plucked it to one side, and the mystery was solved at once. That was no dagger. The crotch of Cory's trousers was stretched to breaking point.

"Well, well, well," crooned Julianne. "Is someone enjoying this a little more than he's letting on?"

"No no no," Cory whimpered. "No more. Please."

"Something tells me," Alix said, "our little lech still hasn't quite learned his lesson."

"Just what I was thinking." Julianne's mind was thoroughly made up now. "Besides, I haven't had a turn at his feet yet."

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[Underscore Eleven]

Moments later, Julianne was sitting cross-legged on the ground with ten wriggling toes in easy reach. Alix had gladly exchanged places with her, and was already making teasing passes in the air over Cory's squirming body. A flow of pleading murmurs issued from his lips, but Julianne wasn't buying it for a second – not while the crotch of his pants was threatening to burst at the seams.

She focused her attention on the pair of feet in front of her, trying to decide where to begin. The vines around Cory's lower legs and ankles kept him absolutely pinned. All she had to do was extend a finger...

"Nahahaha no!"

She had only drawn a nail down the center of his left arch, but Cory had convulsed as if he'd been electrocuted. She tried the same tactic on his other foot, this time tracing up and down three times before relenting. Unstoppable laughter spilled out of him, and his right heel drilled inch-deep into the moss in its effort to escape.

This was better than she could have hoped. If she thought his upper body had been ticklish, his feet were off the scale. She understood now why Alix had gone so easy on him. Not that she planned on showing the same leniency. Keeping her fingers pressed together, she touched the backs of her nails to his heels, and dragged all eight nails up towards his toes.

"Yahahaha stahahappit please!"

"Too much already?" Julianne taunted. "I'm just getting started. If you couldn't handle that, how on earth are you going to cope with this?" She took the ball of each foot in a pincer hold and squeezed – then dropped her fingers half an inch lower and squeezed again, slowly working her way back down towards his heels.

Cory lapsed into wordless hysterics. His situation wasn't helped by Alix, who was tickling the side of his neck with her left hand, forcing him to scrunch his head up against his shoulder. To Julianne's annoyance, the angle of his head kept his gaze fixed on Alix's curvaceous chest. He could hardly help the direction he was looking, but nonetheless a shiver of jealousy rocked through her. She channeled it down her arms into her fingertips, digging in her nails a little more with every squeeze.

The sides of his heels were especially responsive – Julianne latched on to them, keeping up the pressure in quick incessant bursts. This finally forced him to drag his eyes away from Alix and shoot a wild stare in her direction – though his eyes were so filled up with tears, it was questionable whether he saw anything at all. The sprite's other hand was working at his belly, never quite getting low enough to risk setting off the hair-trigger fuse below his waistline.

Julianne was feeling pretty horny herself. Once again, her anger had vanished as quickly as it had arrived, and all that remained was a giggly kind of pleasure that filled her to the brim at the sight of her squealing boyfriend's predicament. Now that she had got his attention, she launched into an all-out assault on his bare soles, wriggling her fingers at lightning speed. Both she and Alix, when they had nothing else to say, were keeping up an endless stream of 'cootchie coo' and 'ketcha ketcha' noises – mostly for their own satisfaction, since it was unlikely Cory could hear them through his screams.

With his feet bound together so tightly, the cartographer's only means of defence against Julianne's attack was to curl his toes, letting the wrinkles of his sole impede the progress of her fingers. It was precious little in the way of armor, but even this slightest consolation was destined to be stripped from him.

"Still trying to wriggle out of this, huh?" Shifting sideways for a better grip, she pressed the heel of her hand against the toes of his left foot and bent them back. "Not if I can help it." The foot squirmed like a landed eel in her grasp. Alix, meanwhile, had switched up her technique, and was keeping Cory occupied with a barrage of tight pinches between thumb and forefinger.

Julianne took a moment to consider her next move. She was becoming adept at gauging the effect of her attacks by the pitch of Cory's squeals. She had already discovered that a heavy scraping worked best on the center of his arch, while his heels were more sensitive to a lighter touch. She hadn't given much attention to the ball of his foot while it was all crinkled up, but now she had it at her mercy she was curious to see which technique would get the best results. She pressed her nails down and dug in hard.

"Yahahahahahahahahaaa!"

That was good – one of the shrillest screams yet. Now she brought a gentler pressure to bear, letting each nail just glance over the skin with every pass.

"Whuh – nahahaha no! No! Naha! Stop!" This was even better. Cory thrashed more wildly than ever, breaking into a series of short, sharp cries as his body struggled to process what was happening. "Don't do – haha! Please!"

"So," said Julianne triumphantly. "Is this the killer spot? Does it tickle more than this?... Or this?" She played a little with his other sweet spots, then brought her fingers back up to the smooth expanse just below his toes. "Yep, I think we have a winner!"

"Haha please! Dahaha! Gods stahahp!"

"That looks fun," said Alix. "Can I try?"

"Be my guest."

Julianne stopped tickling while Alix got into position, eyeing her boyfriend with evil anticipation. He was staring straight up at the blue sky, hyperventilating, still struggling weakly against his bonds. He didn't seem to notice the sprite moving down towards his feet – and when the toes of his right foot were pulled back, his sudden cry of "Oh no!" was so utterly adorable that Julianne couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"Sorry babe, the lesson isn't over yet. We're having too much fun to stop now. Aren't we, Alix?"

"Way too much fun..." Alix drew a slow line across the ball of Cory's foot. "To ever stop."

Screwing his eyes tight shut, Cory let out a low murmur of "No no no no no!" It was almost enough to make a girl feel sorry for him – except that his rock-hard erection told a different story. Say what he liked, he couldn't hide what this was really doing to him.

Julianne exchanged a glance with Alix. "On three?" Alix nodded, and the two of them held their fingers at the ready. "One... two..." She let the moment linger, watching Cory's body tighten up in expectation. It wouldn't do to give him too much warning. She caught Alix's eye and mouthed Three!

Cory's scream must have reverberated through the entire forest. Julianne remorselessly kept her fingers working, even while her own toes curled in sympathy. She made a mental note to investigate this spot again some other time – to get such an extreme reaction, it must be pretty ticklish even without Alix's blue haze amplifying every touch. Julianne knew how she'd be winning every argument from now on.

She noticed that the sprite's fingers were roaming the length and breadth of Cory's sole, always returning to the ball of his foot but never staying there for long. Julianne saw the logic in this – Cory would have no chance to get used to the sensation, so each new assault on his weakest spot would tickle just as much as the first. She imitated Alix's strategy, finding it almost a game-within-a-game to keep the helpless victim guessing where she was going to tickle next.

She'd expected Cory to fall back into silent laughter, but his panic this time was on another level. His urgent need to communicate his suffering kept him sucking in breath after breath, squawking out one desperate plea for mercy after another. "Stahahahp! Nono hahahaha! Stahappit plehehehaha!"

If he thought this would induce his captors to go easy on him, he was wrong. "Do you hear something?" Julianne asked.

"Only the sound of these defenseless soles begging for more tickles."

"Well, who are we to disappoint?" Julianne sped up the movement of her fingers.

"Nohohaha! Dohohont! No mahahaha! Ah! Hah–ah!"

A sharp intake of breath turned into a hiccup, followed by a worrying gurgle. Julianne stopped instantly and gestured at the sprite, but Alix had released her hold at the same moment. Cory took another shuddering gulp of air, then breathed out slowly.

"He's alright," said Alix.

"Yeah." Julianne watched him a moment to make sure, then let herself relax into a smile. "I think he's had about as much as he can take. For now."

CONTINUED BELOW

 

[Underscore Eleven]

Crawling up a little, Julianne propped herself up on one elbow and brushed the sweat-soaked hair back from her lover's forehead. "Poor guy," she said with teasing sympathy. Every muscle in Cory's body was completely spent – except one. The bulge in his trousers hadn't subsided one iota. "Guess I owe him a little something after all that." Her hand wrapped lightly around his leg, just above the knee, and her fingers began sliding up his inner thigh. Cory tensed and gasped, and his breathing became fast and shallow.

Alix cleared her throat impatiently. "This is meant to be a punishment, remember?"

"True." Julianne's fingers skipped over the bulge and walked themselves up Cory's belly, coming to rest in between his pecs. Cory let out a moan of pure frustration. Julianne grinned and bent her head to kiss him on the cheek. "Maybe later," she said, "if you're good." Then, to the sprite, "You can let him go now."

Alix shrugged, clicked her fingers, and vanished. At the same moment, the vines unwrapped themselves from Cory's limbs and shrank back into the earth. They were suddenly alone in the midst of the glade, as if no sprite had ever been there.

Cory gratefully lowered his stiff arms and gave the hand on his chest an affectionate squeeze. Now that it was over, he felt no grudge against his finacée. Even after everything she'd put him through, it still made him happy just to see her smile.

She leant in to kiss him on the cheek again, and Cory turned his head so that she caught him on the mouth instead. Her smile grew wider, and she treated him to a prolonged taste of her soft lips. Cory returned the kiss with all the passion his depleted strength could muster, and eased his lover's hand down towards his straining crotch.

"Ah, ah, ah." Julianne laughingly pushed away from him, disentangling her hand from his. "I know what you're after. Not yet." She brushed the hair out of her eyes and got to her feet. "You focus on recovering your strength," she said. "I'll go fetch the horses."

Sighing, Cory rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. His overstimulated body instantly reposed itself for sleep, and his consciousness began to drift. He felt the moss gently tremble beneath Julianne's retreating footsteps – but then she came to a sudden stop.

"Oh... hello again."

"Where do you think you're going?" The sprite spoke softly, but her voice rang loud through Cory's mind, nudging him awake.

"I... I was..." Julianne seemed suddenly nervous. "Listen, this has been a lot of fun, but we really need to head off now."

"I guess you weren't paying attention," said Alix. "Didn't I tell you? No-one enters this glade without being punished."

"Wait – no, not me! Not mehehe hahaha!"

Cory opened his eyes just in time to see his girlfriend beng wrestled to the ground. He hadn't thought his cock could get any harder, but it did.

"Hahahaha heeelp!" Julianne had landed facedown, with the sprite sat astride her legs, eager fingers massaging her ribs. "Cohohory hehehehelpp!"

A surge of renewed energy coursed through Cory's limbs, and his mouth stretched out into a wicked grin. Sleep could wait.

She wanted him to help? He'd show her just how helpful he could be...

THE END

 

[milagros317]

Great story!