Page 14 of The Hunchback

Still smiling, Esmeralda closed the distance between us. “I hope you haven’t eaten yet,” she said, showing me a basket I hadn’t even noticed her holding. I’d been so enthralled by her beauty and at having her here with me again that nothing else had mattered. “I brought breakfast for us and a present for you.”

My brain froze, struggling to process all she had just said. As far as I could recall, I’d never received a present. But, more importantly, we would share a meal together. This meant she would stay with me for at least thirty minutes. Could I dare hope longer even? Esmeralda raising a perfect eyebrow questioningly snapped me out of my dazed trance.

“No, I have not,” I said, relieved that my voice came out firmer than I’d expected. “I would love to share a meal with you. But first, I should clean up.”

“Wonderful!” Esmeralda exclaimed, her stunning eyes sparkling with joy. That did something to me that I couldn’t explain, but that I wanted more of. “Where would you like to eat? Inside your house, or a picnic on the grass?”

I’d never had a picnic before, not in the traditional sense and in good company. I opened my mouth to choose that option, but the sight of her pristine white skirt made me hesitate.

Catching me frowning at her skirt, Esmeralda immediately understood my dilemma. “Do not worry about my skirt. I brought a picnic blanket, just in case,” she said, puffing out her chest proudly.

I beamed at her, feeling like a child having been handed a bag full of sweets. “Then a picnic would be great,” I said. “I know just the place, too. I often eat there, by the river. After training, I normally bathe there then eat something sitting under a pear tree near the water.”

“Sounds perfect!” Esmeralda said with enthusiasm. “Lead the way!”

I suddenly felt intimidated at the thought of turning my back on her, which would put my bare hump in plain sight. Sure, she’d already kind of seen it, but it was with me in a flurry of movements. Now, she’d get an up-close view of my deformity.

“You can go on ahead,” I said with false enthusiasm. “It’s straight ahead, down that trail. I’ll go grab a change of clothes and catch up with you.”

Heat crept up my cheeks knowing I hadn’t fooled her in the least. But instead of calling me out on my cowardice, Esmeralda smiled gently, and nodded, playing along.

“See you soon then,” she said, before turning around and walking down the path.

I ran into the house and picked up a flowy black shirt and a pair of loose black pants. A part of me wished I could don one of the tight shirts I usually wore when blacksmithing as they nicely hugged the muscles of my abs and chest—which I was quite proud of. But they also outlined my hump too much. What I wouldn’t give to simply be able to slice it off. After grabbing a smart washcloth, I rushed back out of the house in a jog to catch up with my woman.

“All set?” she asked as I adjusted my step to hers.

“Yes,” I replied with a smile, freeing her of the picnic basket. It proved surprisingly heavy, which made me all the more curious as to its contents.

Guessing where we were headed, my imps flew past us in a cacophony of happy chirps, doing aerial acrobatics in front of us. Esmeralda burst out laughing at their antics, making me grin in turn. In that instant, I felt happy and carefree; emotions I couldn’t recall ever experiencing before filling me.

On instinct, my free hand reached out for hers. Panic set in when I realized, too late, what I’d done. Electric coils swirled around our joined hands for a second before fading. Esmeralda’s lips parted with a discreet gasp. Her steps faltered so briefly I wondered if I’d imagined it. Bracing for her to recoil in disgust or scold me harshly for daring to touch a Vestal without her express consent, I cast a wary look towards her. Esmeralda looked up at me, a sweet, almost shy smile blossoming on her lips. Rather than pulling out of my grasp, her hand tightened around mine.

Despite the energy coursing between us through our connected hands, and the fierce attraction I felt for her, it wasn’t lust that dominated my current emotions; just joy in its purest form. And gratitude…

For the first time, the trickling sound of the running river getting stronger saddened me. I didn’t want to let go of Esmeralda’s hand any time soon, if ever. With much reluctance, I released her after indicating an ideal little plateau created by a large, flat rock by the river. A tall tree with a thick trunk next to it would partially hide me from view while I bathed.

“I’ll be swift,” I said, feeling more self-conscious than ever.

“Take your time. I have no plans for the rest of the day,” Esmeralda said.

My heart leaped in my chest at the underlying meaning of her words. With Frollo out of town, I effectively could keep her all to myself for an entire day. Wanting to make the most of that precious gift, I nodded and hurried to the river, walking as straight as my hump allowed without making it too obvious.

The weight of her stare burned holes in my back until I broke her line of sight by moving around the tree. I put down my bundle of fresh clothes, quickly discarded the ones on me, and then ran into the river. The cold water bit into my flesh and made my half-erect shaft want to curl in on itself. And yet, it failed to cool the fire in my veins. What I wouldn’t have given for Esmeralda to be right here in the water with me, her golden body pressed against mine.

I had touched Mera, and she had welcomed it.

That thought boggled my mind. I frantically rubbed myself with the smart washcloth, eager to get back to my woman. Even as I washed myself, the memory of her soft hand in mine was messing with my head. She’d looked happy about the bold way in which I’d just claimed it and had allowed such brazen behavior. Esmeralda genuinely seemed to enjoy my company… to like me.

And I want her to like me even more.

A million thoughts crossed my mind as I mentally inventoried all the things we could do, the topics we could discuss, the places around Paris that I could safely show her. But one thought kept interfering with my more rational meanderings: how could I get to touch her again?

Making quick work of my ablutions, I hurried out of the water to the ‘safe’ side of the large tree. While in the water, the nanites of the smart washcloth had worked on removing dirt and dead skin from my body, wherever I rubbed it. Now, out of water, it absorbed all the surface moisture on me to help dry me faster. A part of me, turned on at finding myself entirely naked with only a large tree between us, wanted to prolong the exquisite torture of having her so close and so vulnerable. The other part was utterly terrified she would somehow get a glimpse and be repulsed.

Are similar thoughts of my nakedness crossing her mind?

That she could potentially be fantasizing about me in this compromising position had my shaft instantly reawakened. My physical response to Esmeralda shamed me. She was stunningly beautiful, and the mere sight of her made my blood turn to liquid fire. But I wanted to believe that I wasn’t so shallow. The powerful emotions that seized me in her presence couldn’t be purely driven by lust. Every other Vestal who had stayed in Our Lady of Paris, each more attractive than the other, had left me indifferent. No, some deeper feelings and a far more meaningful connection existed between us, despite the primal urges Esmeralda awakened in me.

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