Page 19 of Once Upon a Fable

I plummeted down, sinking to the bottom as fresh water consumed me. Wetness washed away my sweat, cooled the nasty aches in my belly, and reminded me, like all the times before, that it was okay to have needs. I was no different from the bears and squirrels who fucked in the forest. It was nature. It wasnatural.

Still doesn’t mean I’m interested.

My hands went to my hips and shoved off the boxer briefs. Ripping them down my legs, I bunched them up and swam nude. Swimming naked was pleasurable. Running naked was not.

At least with nothing cupping me, I could forget the tightness of cotton. I could calm down and allow the heat in my blood to vanish.

The temptation to let the boxers float away came strong, but I ignored it.

I’d done that one too many times, and the available options in the house had dwindled to just a few pairs. Once they wore out, I’d have nothing. Therefore, I’d keep this pair even though I preferred to wear nothing for as long as the season permitted.

I didn’t know how long I remained in the river, floating on the surface before ducking and gliding along the bottom. Hunger for food finally overshadowed my hunger for sex, and I climbed reluctantly from the watery embrace.

Droplets cascaded down my torso and legs as I strode back toward the ivy-shrouded house. My cock bounced against my thighs, once again turning hard despite my self-disgust.

I’d thought, as more time passed, that those urges would fade. In the beginning, I’d been blessedly free from wanting any form of sexual release. Unfortunately, it’d become rather insistent the past couple of years.

The cramping in my balls. The hardness between my legs. My body’s demands for pleasure always went unanswered, but it cost me. It mademy temper spike and frustration bubble.

Stop it.

Ignore it, and it will pass.

Fisting the boxers, I focused on getting home. Once I’d eaten and done my daily chores, I could lose myself in a book. Perhaps, I’d find one I hadn’t already read. Or I could finally lower the chandelier in the entrance hall and clean the crystals. I hadn’t done that for years and had been putting it off for too long.

It was a bitch of a job, but it was the only part of the house that hinted at the filth existing within the walls, and it bothered me.

My mind continued to bounce from work to what I should cook. I’d have to start conserving crops soon. The endless task of freezing, drying, and preparing a larder for winter.

I’d gotten pretty good at prepping. Supposed it was thanks to the third winter when I’d finally exhausted the large amount of produce that’d been stored here and almost starved.

I hadn’t planned ahead.

I’d gone hungry.

For months, I survived on scrawny game and river water. By the time spring came and the snow left, I’d read every book in the library on cultivation and put the many packets of seeds in the storeroom to use.

If it’s this hot this summer, it means an equally cold winter is on its way.

Urgency made me walk faster, ticking off a mental checklist of things to do. The veggie patch needed weeding, the celery needed harvesting, and the cucumbers re-stringing. I also had the shit job of fertilizing, which included raiding the septic tank, scouring the woods for animal scat, and enduring the stench in the sun.

But at least those chores were outside.

I preferred those over the indoor ones.

When winter hit and boredom found me, I methodically cleaned Fables from top to bottom. Every inch of that monstrous mansion was buffed, waxed, and dusted, hoping that this year, I might achieve the impossible and clean away the dregs of disaster, despair, and desolation that existed within its walls.

My hands curled into fists.

Today really wasn’t my day.

Not only had I sleepwalked and suffered from lust that crippled my balls and thickened my cock but I’d also slipped into old habits.

This house wasn’t Fables anymore.

This house wasmine.

And if I had my way, it would never remember why it had such a title or why I’d spent one spring chiseling out the engraved name from all the keystones above the wooden doors.