Trolls Wants Shoeses!

"I'm here to see Djikstra," I told Happen, who looked at me blankly. I guess he really didn't listen into our conversations, as I'd never called him by his assumed name. "Sorry, I mean Reuven."

"He's not here, Dragonborn."

"Ragnar."

"Yes."

"Where is he then?"

"He left a message for you. He asked you to meet him at the Passiflora. He will be there all day today."

"Has he told you anything about his plans?"

"No."

"Okay, thanks."

I understood why he wanted to meet at the Passiflora. After everything that happened recently, he probably didn't trust anyone in his employment except Happen, and he may have even been suspicious of him. And considering he was probably rather paranoid as it was, meeting in a whorehouse was probably the best idea available.

The Passiflora was always a delight, even if walking in not to enjoy one or more of the strumpets available. There were a couple of rather cute elven women that caught my eye. Triss had been aware of the fact I found elves almost irresistible at times, and contrary to popular opinion, they had high sex drives and certainly enjoyed the company of men, even human men, who could match them.

"Are you interested in one of our girls?" the madame asked. I knew she was as, being honest, she was the oldest woman there, so that suggested she was the manager of the joint. Some men enjoyed the pleasure of older women… Philippa told me she was maybe three hundred years old…

"I am. I most certainly am."

She stood next to me and I heard her chuckle. "Ah, you like elven women?"

"Love them at certain times." I cleared my throat. "And while I would certainly enjoy the company of both of them, I'm actually not here to enjoy myself in such a manner. I'm here for a meeting."

"You are Ragnar?" I nodded. "Say no more. Please follow me."

I followed her to a darkened corner of the next room. She barely tapped the wall to reveal a hidden staircase, beckoning me to climb them, as I heard the wall close behind. I could see a lever next to the hidden door, so at least I knew how to get out. At the top of the stairs, I was greeted by an enormous room, noticing Djikstra reclining on one of the lounges nearby.

"You know, Sigi, one would have taken the piss about all this cloak and dagger stuff… if it wasn't the fact we were meeting in regards to this particular matter."

He just gestured to a nearby lounge, a table between us covered in plates and bowls of food. I may have eaten breakfast recently but I couldn't resist tasting one of the cakes, while he placed a cup in front of me, pouring me a drink. "Never too early, I guess," I stated, saluting him before taking a sip.

"I'll admit, what you said in the bathhouse, I didn't have you picked as someone who would stick their nose into such matters. I know you fought for Temeria, but it was Triss who was involved in the courtly intrigue in Vizima, and you were nothing but a patsy for the Lodge."

I pointed my fork at him. "I wasn't a patsy."

"What were you then? Philippa fluttered her eyelashes and had you doing all sorts of little jobs for her. Rita sucks your cock and has you…"

"I'd have done it without any of that. I thought they were genuinely just working to ensure those with magic were safe."

"Then you were either naïve, an idiot, or too busy thinking with your cock."

"A little from all three."

"The fact you're protecting Philippa pisses me off, Ragnar. And I don't work well with people that piss me off."

Sighing, I placed the fork on the now empty plate. "Sigismund, listen to me carefully. The Lodge is done. But Philippa has been tortured enough. She's paid the price for her hubris."

"Not enough, as far as I'm concerned." Then he waved his hand. "But she is small fry compared to Radovid. You help me get rid of him, I'll forget about Philippa. Long as she doesn't get any ideas about wanting to remain in Redania."

"I'm sure I can convince her to move. Anyway, is it just us two here or…?"

"There is one more person involved. They should be here shortly." He sipped at his drink, taking an apple in hand, hearing the crunch as he bit into it. "You just doing this because of Triss?"

I nodded. "And the others. Come on, Sigi, you can't honestly walk the streets of Novigrad and think these are the actions of someone with a sound mind?"

"He's a fucking madman, Ragnar. A lunatic. Trust me, I've wanted this done for a long time."

Hearing footsteps on the staircase, we both stood up, hand going to the hilt of my sword, just in case someone had spilled the beans. Thankfully, only one person appeared through the doorway, but it was someone I would never have imagined being involved in such a matter. When he saw me, he didn't know what to think either. "Dragonborn?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked Roche.

"Could ask the same of you," he retorted, offering his hand, which I accepted immediately.

Taking a seat on a separate lounge each, Djikstra poured us each a drink before I had to ask, "Djikstra I can understand. I'm here for an obvious reason regarding my penchant for sorceresses. But why are you here, Roche? I mean, you're a soldier turned guerrilla, but assassination is a different game entirely."

"Not proud of it. Yet... I considered all the options and found none better. Radovid's proven many times he only ever forwards his own interests. When Kaedwen asked for help, he invaded. When I begged him to support Vizima's defence, he showed me the door. The war nears its end, we've come to a decisive phase. We must act quickly. I've no illusions. Only a dead Radovid means a free Temeria."

"So you're here for another reason entirely. You think he'd turn his back on any agreement made with you?"

"Our agreement is a verbal one at best. Our commanders that survived are scattered. Temeria no longer exists, Ragnar. At least for the moment. Only as long as my guerrillas do what pleases him, support his troops. Once he wins the war, he'll not acknowledge the previous borders nor wish to restore them. He dreams of a northern empire. As long as he lives, Temeria will never be free."

"So he's no better than Emhyr," I stated.

"He's fucking worse than Emhyr. He might have conquered Temeria, but at least he isn't burning anyone he doesn't like. I want a free Temeria, but I also want to see an end to the brutality."

"I agreed. Sigismund," I used his full name as Roche was there. I only tolerated him at best, but I also owed him respect, at least, "What's the plan? What do you intend to do?"

Djikstra gestured to Roche, who replied. "One of our co-conspiritors ventured out to meet an informer. He's not returned, yet the plan's success hinges on what he's learned. We've got to find him."

"Your best friend is one of the best trackers I know," Djikstra added, "I'm sure you could find him on your own, but let's be honest, it would take you three times longer. Ask Geralt to help and you'll find our informant in no time."

"Not sure Geralt will want to involve himself."

"All he needs to do is help you find him. Neither of us expect anything else."

"Do you want a free Temeria, Ragnar?" Roche asked.

"Fought and nearly died for it, Vernon."

"I know Geralt tries not to be political. But I knew he had a lot of time and respect for Foltest. I know you still feel his loss."

I sighed. "Vernon, I sometimes think Temeria died with him," I muttered.

Roche placed the cup on the table and leaned forward, meeting my eyes. "I know what you mean. Foltest was the glue at times. If he was still alive, we would not have collapsed. But Natalis is still alive, and he holds our hope for the future. The line is secure. But with Radovid, Temeria will never be free. The same can be said for Emhyr, but Cirilla…"

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed again. "Okay, I'll ask him to help me find this informant, but I don't think he's going to particularly want to help." I looked at Djikstra. "Particularly you."

"I don't give a fuck as long as he helps find the informant."

I looked back at Roche. "What can you tell me about this informant?"

"He's traveling as a journeyman. Itinerant cobbler, that's his cover. He was first to venture across the Pontar, most probably did so via the Redanian checkpoint. We've a man there who should know more. Calls himself Gregor."

"Okay, I'll talk with Geralt and we'll figure out what to do."

"Meet me back at the bathhouse once you're done and we'll plan our next move. I know you have your own shit to deal with, but the quicker we can sort this out…"

Walking back to the Chameleon, I passed a number of witch hunter patrols as normal, the urge to unsheathe and start swinging always in my mind. News had obviously spread about what happened at the barracks, but even after all this time, Menge was considered missing rather than dad. I had a feeling either someone had impersonated him, or word had spread about him taking Djikstra's treasure, and that he'd disappeared to live in a life of luxury.

Sharing a tankard with Geralt and Zoltan, I told him what I'd talked about with Djikstra and Roche. It was obvious he didn't want to be involved in all the political intrigue, but as I simply wanted to find the contact and help escort them to Novigrad, I was a little surprised when he agreed to help me find him. "These are the sorts of contracts I usually take, Ragnar. Help find someone missing. The only difference is that I generally have to deliver bad news. When do you want to leave?"

"Considering it's already afternoon, I'm figuring we'll be gone the night, so let me pack a couple of things, then we'll head to the stables."

Half an hour later, we had walked from the Chameleon to the stables, mounted our horses, and started our journey south. First time it had just been the two of us on the road, as we'd been rather busy with plenty of other matters since leaving Velen. He was as talkative as ever, barely saying a word between mounting up and approaching the Pontar. It was night time by the time we reached the checkpoint, and not wanting to begin the search in darkness, we camped a few metres away.

We ate a little dried meat and bread, but had the usual bottle of alcohol to share, looking up to see the stars bright in the sky as always. There were plenty of fires in the near distance from the refugees still stuck on the opposite side of the river. "Ragnar, I have to ask an important question."

"I'm an open book, Geralt."

"Do you want Ciri to take Emhyr's offer? To become empress?"

"What I want…"

"Yes, Ciri is her own woman and will make her own decisions, but what do you want?"

"Two things. I want Radovid dead, and I want peace. The second won't be achieved without the first, and the second won't occur with Emhyr out of the picture too. I have no doubt that man wants all the lands we know to be part of Nilfgaard. I don't want to be living in Kovir in two years' time and have Black Ones at the border. Ciri becoming ruler of Nilfgaard, and Radovid out of the picture, will result in the end of hostilities. I know for a fact Ciri would pull her forces back and return freedom to all those conquered north of the Yaruga."

"I'd rather she didn't, to be honest," he muttered.

I took a swig of the bottle before handing it back. "I think she has a rather idealised vision of what the witcher life is like. She might enjoy it, she might not. She's got the natural talent. But maybe her destiny isn't the same as yours. Maybe her destiny is to be the ruler of Nilfgaard. I know that isn't what you want to hear, Geralt, and I'm sure Ciri at the moment doesn't like the thought. But give her time, let her assess her options, and she'll make her decision, one way or the other."

"What would you do?"

"I'm going to Kovir with Triss."

"And Ciri?"

"I'm sure visiting won't be a problem for her. I know that a permanent relationship with most of my lovers, where we will live together all the time, isn't possible. In the end, I think it will be me, Triss and Jutta. Maybe Cerys if she isn't elected queen. What I do know is that Ciri wants children, and she wants me to be the father." Geralt grinned, patting my shoulder. "Though that was going to earn a different reaction."

"She loves you to bits, Ragnar. Two things will stop her taking Emhyr's offer. The fact she wants to be like me, and the fact she loves you."

"How about we worry about all this once the Wild Hunt are defeated? We'll worry about Radovid, then the Hunt. Anything else can wait."

"Not a bad idea." He waggled the bottle in his hand. "Hmmm. Want to finish this?"

"Why not?"

I woke up with a bit of a sore head the next morning, groaning as I crawled out of the bedroll, hearing Geralt chuckle at me as I managed to get up and somehow sit my arse next down to him on the log. I made sure I ate the breakfast he'd been cooking to have something solid sitting in my stomach before we packed up camp, mounted our horses, and headed to the checkpoint.

Aware of who we needed to meet, I had no problem asking to speak to a Gregor. When asked why we needed him, I pulled something out of my arse about him having papers we needed when we headed back to Oxenfurt. The guards believed me and pointed us in the direction of a lone guard standing by the river.

He didn't know who Geralt or I was, but once I explained who I was representing, he nodded and suggested we go for a walk. I wasn't surprised to hear Radovid's own soldiers were tired of the killing, not of Nilfgaardians, but of ordinary civilians who were being hung or burned for baseless crimes. But at least he was able to tell us about an abandoned cart further south, but as for our contact, there was no sign of him.

Thanking Gregor for the information, Geralt and I crossed the bridge and rode further south, through the refugee camp, back into the muddy wasteland that was Velen, the signs of the war still visible all around us. I was fairly sure bodies still remained unburied to either side of the road, no doubt decomposing by now, probably attracting monsters that Geralt might handle at a later date.

Finding the cart abandoned on the side of the road, we dismounted, tying our horses to the cart, all the signage starting it was a shoemaker. "Hmmm. Guessing it's a cover," Geralt muttered, "Any idea who it is?"

"None. Djikstra didn't say."

Using his skills, we ended up walking into the woodland, eventually finding a couple of shoes that suggested our contact may have been taken. But by what, we couldn't figure that out just yet. Or, at least, we couldn't figure it out until we noticed a rock troll in the distance. I almost laughed to myself at how many rock trolls I had met in the recent past. Thankfully, hadn't had a reason to kill one yet.

Geralt had as much patience dealing with rock trolls as I did, basically treating them like children. Dangerous children, who were capable of killing us rather easily considering their strength, and 'feral' trolls were known to eat humans, but most of them were relatively harmless, as long as you didn't piss them off.

The rock troll we talked to was friendly enough, and what amused me is the fact this troll wanted shoes, so it explained why our contact had gone missing. Why a troll wanted shoes, I couldn't exactly figure out, but his name was Rogg, and his friends were Ogg and Pogg, and they were the trolls that apparently wanted 'shoeses'.

Following the troll to his cave, it was rather dart, Geralt stopping himself laughing at me as I almost tripped over more than once, muttering at him about his ability to see in the dark and the fact I couldn't, so I just followed him as best I could until I could see light in the distance, walking into a large cavern, where we could hear a somewhat familiar voice conversing with a pair of trolls. Geralt and I stopped nearby and looked at each other grinning. "Thaler!"

Busy as he was teaching the trolls to use every swear word known to man, our presence wasn't noticed until they could see us by the cauldron. Thankfully, I don't think anything human was being cook. "Fucking hell, Thaler, these are innocent rock trolls, and you're teaching them to use the word cunt," I stated.

"Ragnar?!" Thaler exclaimed, "Geralt?! The fuck are you two fuckers doing in this fucking cave?" I burst into laughter. Only Thaler could use the word 'fuck' as a verb, adjective, noun and adverb. "Fucking hell, it's been absolute fucking years since I saw you two. The fuck are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, actually," I replied.

"Who this?" one of the trolls asked.

"These clowns? Ah, pair of old friends. Know them from the old days in Vizima." He stretched, trying to make himself look relaxed, but there was no missing he was shitting bricks regarding his predicament. "Well, gentletrolls, high time I travelled on. You, uh, practice what I taught you. Give you a fuckin' exam next time I come through."

"Tala no go! Tala sit...sit arsedown! Tala sockcuck shoeses make!"

"I can see you've made friends," Geralt stated, keeping his hands well away from his weapons, "But Thaler needs to come with me."

"Blood nowhere Tala go! Tala shoeses makes!"

"But we need him," Geralt retorted. Gently, of course. We didn't particularly want two pissed off trolls to deal with, and it didn't take much to anger them.

"Tala here stay. You shoeses got! Ogg shoeses gotnot, Rogg gotnot, Pogg gotnot. Tala shoeses make, Tala go."

"We need leather!" I exclaimed, the two trolls looking at me, already confused, "I mean, Thaler obviously needs a lot more leather to make your shoes. None of our shoes will fit your feet. We need special leather to make you some special shoes. For Ogg, Rogg and Pogg. You'll all get a pair. A good pair."

The trolls look confused, but Thaler picked up the hint quickly. "Look at your feet, they're fuckin' mammoth. Need a damn bale o' leather to make shoes for 'em. Understand? We'll get some cocksuckin' leather. Then I'll come back and make your blasted shoes for you."

"Shoeses Pogg for? And Rogg for?"

"Two pairs, for each of you gnarled pricks."

"Hmmm… Okay, Tala go. But backcome must!"

"Knew you buggers were good mates. Sit tight. Be back in a bit!"

I definitely sighed with relief as Thaler got to his feet, patted each troll on the shoulder, all friendly like, then looked at us and the relief on his face was clear. None of us said a word until we were well outside the cave, Thaler bursting into laughter as Geralt and I definitely relaxed now that we were out of danger.

"Thanks for savin' my skin, lads. I'll admit to shittin' myself, wonderin' if I was going to end up in that fuckin' cauldron."

"How did they manage to get their hands on you anyway?" I wondered.

"Ugh, I'd rather not say. Fuckin' embarrassin' though. Caught by a trio of fuckin' rock trolls. Oughtta be ashamed of myself." Finding his abandoned cart wasn't particularly difficult, Thaler looking into over. Sitting in a bit of a ditch, we hitched our horses and helped drag it out, his own horse having been killed by the trolls when they'd attacked the wagon.

"Okay, got to ask. Who sent you?" he finally asked.

"Roche and Djikstra," I replied.

That pleased him, at least. "Heard you three are planning to do some killing of your own," Geralt stated.

"They tell you?" he exclaimed, before muttering, "Pair of fuckin' clowns."

"No." He thumbed towards me. "Him."

"I've suggested I would like to kill Radovid, but when it comes to details, all I was told is that I was to find you. Don't suppose you'll be willing to share details?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, mate. If they were mum, I've got to be mum."

As he got his wagon back in order, he did explain what he'd been up to last we'd seen him, which was in Vizima. He was now posing as a cobbler to get within the ranks of the Black One's, using his position to overhear all the gossip. He'd apparently been posing as one for months, since even before Nilfgaard had invaded. If I didn't know any better, Djikstra and Roche had probably long organised it all, but only now was he being summoned to Novigrad for what they had planned next.

"You going to involve yourself, Geralt?" he asked.

"No, after everything with Foltest, I'm done involving myself with politics. You got any monsters to kill…"

"Radovid's a great fuckin' monster that needs handlin'."

"I'll leave that to Ragnar, considering he has more than one bone to pick with the man."

Thaler looked at me. "So we can rely on your discretion, and dare I say it, assistance when the time comes to make our move?"

"I'd be happy to be the one to put my sword through his chest."

"Fuckin' hell, Ragnar. You really don't like the man."

"I've met him once. That was enough to know the type of man I would be dealing with. There are personal reasons why I want him dead."

Thaler laughed. "Aye, you and your ploughin' of sorceresses. That's not a secret. Well, I'll make my way to Novigrad, safe and sound. No-one looks twice at a cobbler." He offered his hand, Geralt and I shaking it. "Thanks for the rescue, gents. Much obliged."

Geralt and I mounted up and rode away, no desire to do anything but just return to Novigrad. It was dark by the time we saw the fires being lit in the distance, thankful they were only the fires to provide evening light and not further pyres burning anything the Eternal Fire deemed unworthy.

No idea what time in the evening or morning it was by the time we walked back into the Chameleon, but it was late enough that the door was shut and locked, Geralt banging on the door to attract attention, a bleary-eyed Zoltan opening it, swearing at us, before stepping aside to let us in. "Thought you fuckers would camp out and return in the mornin'," he stated with a yawn.

"Ragnar wanted a soft bed this evening."

Zoltan looked at me. I shrugged. "While he's bullshitting, I am heading upstairs to get some sleep. Long fucking day."

"Find your contact?"

"Aye. Not without a hitch but, with lucky, we might have the matter resolved sooner rather than later. Anyway, I'm not sitting around to chat with you two. I'll see you in the morning."

Heading upstairs, what I found in our bedroom was rather amusing, Ciri spooned into Triss, the pair past asleep. The clothing strewn across the floor suggested they may have had a little fun that evening too. I was tempted to walk across just to kiss them, even only on the forehead, but they looked comfortable, so I figured just leaving would be best.

I ran into Yennefer outside, wearing quite the nightgown. I did my best not to look her up and down, earning one of those rare genuine grins from her. "Is Geralt downstairs?" she whispered.

"Aye. Just having a chat with Zoltan."

"Why are you out here?"

"Triss and Ciri are fast asleep. Don't want to wake them."

"Yeah, I heard them earlier." I raised eyebrows, Yennefer simply smiling. "Definitely given into temptation being together like that."

"What do you think?"

"Ciri is old enough to make her own decisions, and you know I love Triss. She's my best friend."

"What about Ciri with me?"

The smile remained on her face. "Ragnar, I've known how she's felt about you for a long time now. What has happened between you two surprised nobody. And, if you are wondering, or even remotely concerned, I approve. You're a good man… just with a penchant for sleeping with a lot of women."

"It is a failing of mine."

"Where were you planning on going?"

"Hadn't thought that far ahead."

"Philippa was still awake last time I saw her." My face must have reacted, as she laughed. "She could do with your company. Still not sure she entirely trusts me or Triss after everything."

"She just needs time."

"Go keep her company. I'm sure she'd love it."

She kissed my cheek before walking past. I almost wanted to follow to see Zoltan's reaction. It was rare for Yennefer to ever show that much skin, but ever since that day they'd found the djinn, she'd relaxed a lot more, confident and comfortable that the love she shared with Geralt was truly real. I was left thinking, once Ciri was safe, those two were going to finally retire to a quiet life. They deserved it.

Philippa was wide awake when I entered her room, a candle still burning on the small table next to her bed. I'm fairly sure she would have loved to read or something. Closing the door, I had to ask, "Stupid question, Philippa, for which I know I'm notorious but… Can you see me?"

She waved me closer, taking me by the hand and sitting me down on the bed. "My vision isn't perfect, Ragnar. As I'm sure you're aware, a little magic always helps. I can't see colour, but I can see you. It's not perfect, I can't see every little detail. The closer you are, the clearer you are."

"Still trying to get your eyes back?"

"I'm not going to give up. I'll figure it out eventually." That made her grin. "Would you like me with eyes again, Ragnar?"

"Of course."

"Why are you here with me now? It's late. What about Triss and Ciri?"

"Methinks they spent the night fucking. Clothes all over the floor. Sweet scent of sex in the air. Both of them look very content as they sleep. I didn't want to disturb them."

"So you thought you'd come see me."

"Yennefer suggested it, actually."

"Huh, is that so? Maybe she thinks if you make me cum a few times, I'll be pliable to whatever is on her mind."

I couldn't help chuckle. "Blunt as always, Philippa. Would you like my company though? Not suggesting sex. But…"

She chuckled this time. "You thinking just some cuddling will help me?" She sighed and squeezed my hand. "I'd actually like that," she said quietly.

I stripped off naked, as I figured something might happen, lifting back the blankets to see she was in her underwear, at least. Definitely wasn't her own, so assumed she'd borrowed it from someone. Looked good on her, though. Cleavage spectacular as always. In fact, her body was just fantastic. Lying on my side, she turned onto her side to face me, my hand immediately moving to her cheek as her hand ran down my side towards my crotch. She laughed as she caressed my cock. "You know I sleep naked, Philippa."

"You have any other ideas despite being here with me?"

"A few, but I know you're still recovering, so…" She shut me up by kissing me. And I immediately noticed the urgency behind it, the… want and need she had to be intimate again. I knew her better than she probably thought. I was no mind reader, but I knew her body and how she acted around me. Gently pulling her into my body, she smiled as we continued to kiss. The only thing I missed while doing that was her eyes. In those moments, when we alone, she had always looked at me with… adoration.

"You're still beautiful," I whispered once she pulled back.

"You keep making me fucking smile, Ragnar, my cheeks are going to start to hurt." Then she snuggled into me. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Fairly sure I'm still the only one who gets to see the real you."

"You believe this is the real me? That I'm not playing you?"

"While you are ambitious, dangerously intelligent and just plain dangerous at times, I don't think you're evil. You've made some bad fucking choices but I also don't think you mean genuine harm to most people. And I like to think I might have had a little influence on you and the others."

"You were a fucking distraction, Ragnar. A good one. God, some of those weekends were… incredible."

I think the memories caused what happened next, as her bra was quickly removed, my mouth finding its way from hers down her neck towards her breasts. As I sucked at them, my other hand moved down her body, feeling her legs spread as slipped my hand under her panties, smiling to myself when I felt her wetness. Just sucking her breasts was provoking some rather loud reactions, her body language suggesting she was rather turned on, so as I slowly kissed down her body, I looked up to see her looking down, licking her lips in anticipation.

Tearing off her panties, I inhaled her scent, earning a giggle, letting her know how much I was looking forward to eating her out. "Was hoping you'd come back for this," she whispered.

She was ever so excited, and once I'd teased her a little bit, I simply focused on making her orgasm. Her head was quickly thrown back as she released a loud moan, spreading her legs nice and wide, leaning back for a moment just to appreciate what I could see. Lowering my tongue again, running it along her slit, she almost arched her back in such a manner, any normal person would have heard a snap.

Nothing she said after that was particularly legible. It had definitely been a long time since she'd been with anyone. If memory served, it was either myself or another member of the Lodge around the time of Loc Muinne. Her body was soon moving in a manner that told me what she wanted, so I upped the tempo further, sliding a couple of fingers inside her while moving my tongue to her clit.

The result we both wanted happened quickly, watching as she used a pillow to cover her cries, her body shuddering, back arching again, as she enjoyed quite the orgasm, certainly one of the best I'd given her, though I think it was the moment too. It wasn't a surprise when she removed the pillow and begged me to keep going.

"How long?"

"Until your jaw aches."

"Ah, one of those nights. Very well."

She knew I loved doing it anyway, and definitely enjoyed doing it for her. I teased her relentlessly after that, making her moan, giggle and release the sort of guttural groan that suggested she utterly adored what I was doing. But I kept going until she asked me to stop, though only what I was doing, as she grabbed my wrist and dragged me up so I could kiss her, feeling her other hand reach down to grab my cock, guiding it inside her. "Fuck me," she whispered.

I barely lasted a couple of minutes considering I'd been pleasuring her for at least an hour. Feeling her legs wrap around me as I groaned, her fingers trailing up and down my back, she whispered into my ear, "I was expecting that. So you have ten minutes."

"Yes ma'am."

Ten minutes later, I grabbed hold of her, positioning her on top of me, which earned a grin, hands pressed down on my chest as she immediately started to ride me. My hands were all over her body, grabbing her by the hips to help keep balance, before they ended up covering her breasts, Philippa holding my wrists, asking me to squeeze them.

We must have fucked for quite a while before my hands found their way back down her body before moving back to her arse. I'd always thought she had a great one, and when she leaned down, giving me a soft kiss, before resting on her forearms, even without eyes I could read her. The smirk told me everything.

For the next five minutes, the Dragonborn fucked Philippa Eilhart. Then he came. Then he needed to rest. Philippa relaxed on top of me as always, just holding her in my arms, feeling her relax. "Definitely missed this," she whispered, "Before you, it had been a long time since I was with a man."

"Djikstra?"

She scoffed. "I used him to my advantage, Ragnar. His fault for thinking it was anything but that. Any soft spot I might have had has well and truly disappeared after his little performance in the bathhouse."

"And I'm different?"

She lifted her head. "Of course. I genuinely have feelings for you, Ragnar. I love you."

"In love or…"

She sat up and slid off me, lying next to me. I guess it wasn't a conversation for when my cock was still buried inside her. I cuddled her as her hand immediately started to stroke my chest. "It's difficult, Ragnar, because we both know this was never going to be permanent. We saw each other often enough that we could get to know each other, certainly each other's company, and the sex we do share when we are together is absolutely phenomenal. I do love you, I know that much, but I know it's different to how Triss and Ciri love you, for example. They're in love with you. I love you like… certainly more than a friend, but I don't see a permanent future with us together. I think we're both realistic enough to know that." She fell silent and then asked quietly, "Do you feel the same?"

"Philippa, I've adored you for a very, very long time now. First time we met, I was like 'Wow, this woman is a force of nature'. But I knew your reputation, so I figured we would be friends, at most."

That made her laugh. "While I certainly went through a period of only sleeping with women, I never lost my love for cock. I think that's obvious now, but at the time, before I met you, I was just tired of men and their bullshit. And many of the men I found myself with were… nothing like you, Ragnar. When you're in control, in one of those moods when you're just in charge…"

"Like that, do you?"

"I hate losing control, Ragnar. I'm sure you know that about me by now. And with most other lovers, it's a real battle of wills. I have interests which I know you're aware of, but I'm not interested in them when I'm with you. We enjoyed our own battle of wills before we slept together, but you were the first genuine lover I'd enjoyed in years. We both knew where we stood. You were with Triss and the others, I was enjoying many of my own love affairs. Coming together was simply a matter of time."

"In more ways than one," I joked.

"Thank you for saving me. And sorry for thinking you were there to kill me."

"After everything you'd been through, I certainly understood why you'd think nothing but negative thoughts, even about me."

"Still plan to kill Radovid?"

"Absolutely. But let's not discuss that now."

"Ah, you have plans."

"Aye. Sleep, Philippa. It's been a long day."

Blowing out the candle, I felt her snuggle into me, her hand continuing to run up and down my chest until it stopped and I sensed her breathing change. Kissing her forehead, I let myself relax and eventually drifted off myself. Waking in the morning at almost the same time, we made love before our stomach's rumbled, getting up and dressing before heading downstairs together. Triss and Ciri looked at us, Triss giggling as Philippa had no problem leaning into me. Even Geralt looked surprised by it, though he just shook his head and resumed talking to Dandelion.

Joining the rest at the table, we broke our fast together, and as I chewed on a piece of bread, Yennefer told me that plans were in place to locate Rita. That earned a grateful grin from Philippa as I asked, "When do we move?"

"Tomorrow, Ragnar. I'll let you know more once I know my contact is willing to meet with me."