It was freezing. Nick made a mental note to extend the enchantments keeping his face warm to cover his entire body. The suit kept him perfectly toasty, no matter how thin it was, but if Nick ever wanted to get naked in the snow, which he very well might, he didn’t want to be unprepared.
Billy, in his short-sleeved green shirt, tight pants and pointy shoes, looked utterly unconcerned with the temperature. Elves were lucky that way. They were fine with anything from fifty below to pretty much boiling.
Nick frowned when he realized that Billy’s tolerance of pretty much any temperature would take all the fun out wax play.
“Hello!” Billy said, sounding a little out of breath as he crossed the final distance between them. He was grinning wide, his cheeks rosy and red, and Nick’s cock pulsed at the sight of him.
“Are you finished already?” he asked. Billy nodded, looking excited.
“I am. With this much magic in the castle, the work went much quicker. All my bikes have been wrapped and prepared for shipping, so I’m free until tomorrow.”
“There’s more magic in the castle than usual?” Nick asked. Billy nodded vigorously.
“Oh, yeah. So much more! I blew up my shaping rods before Tulip could warn me to be careful. It was awesome.”
Nick blinked, pleased by Billy’s enthusiasm and worried by the idea that he’d done something that might have hurt any of the elves.
“Was it too much?” he asked. “I could have pulled a lot more magic into the castle, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I thought I’d shown pretty good restraint.”
Billy stared at him, eyes wide. “You mean you could have channeledmoremagic into the castle? That’s incredible! You probably shouldn’t, though. None of our tools are really equipped to handle that much magic.”
Nick smiled and made a mental note to keep in mind the fact that the elves worked with tools that were calibrated to work within a specific range of magical reserves.
Was that what Pat had been talking about that morning when he mentioned the process? Was there a way to measure just how much magic was needed?
Nick decided he would have to swallow his pride and ask. If it turned out there was, he’d owe the little elf an apology.
But he could think about work in the morning.
Reaching out, Nick grabbed Billy by his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. Once again he had to almost crouch down to make it work. The position was awkward, so Nick decided to changeit. He reached under Billy’s arms and hoisted him into the air, making him call out in surprise, and pinned him against the stable wall.
“This is fun,” Billy said, his pupils blown wide open by the sudden manhandling. Nick grinned and captured his mouth in a kiss, showing him just how much he agreed. When he pulled away, Billy’s lips were puffy and wet, and his eyes were glazed over with pleasure.
It was a beautiful sight.
“Are you ready for our date?” Nick asked, his voice low and hot. Billy shuddered and nodded his head.
“Good,” Nick said, lowering Billy back down to the ground and making sure he was steady before letting go. Billy looked up at him, dazed and smiling, and couldn’t help but wrap his arm over the boy’s shoulder and pull him into his side.
Leaning against him, Nick jumped when he felt Billy’s hand land on his ass, cupping his muscular cheek about as shamelessly as you could get.
“Having fun?” he asked, looking down. Billy stared up at him, confused, and then he seemed to realize what he was doing. He blushed crimson and snatched his hand away, only for Nick to laugh.
“No, keep it there,” he said, reaching up and tugging on Billy’s hair when he didn’t obey. “That was an order, boy,” he growled, low and hot, making Billy’s breath hitch. The hand found its way back to his ass, sliding over his cheek and making Nick’s cockthrob.
“I like it when you touch me,” Nick said, leading them down the path toward the castle. “Feel free to do it any time.”
Billy didn’t say anything, but Nick didn’t need him to. He’dmade his point.
Now he just needed to figure out how he was going to get through the date without bending Billy over the table and fucking him senseless.
He wanted to get toknowBilly. Having sex was a huge part of that, sure, but not everything.
In the end Nick decided not to worry. Sure, he wanted to get to know Billy to see if they were compatible, but it wasn’t like that wouldn’t happen if they slept together again on the second date.
He was worrying for nothing.
Billy wasn’t sure what he expected to happen when he stepped back into Nick’s quarters, tucked under the alpha’s arm and breathing in the scent of his body, but it wasn’t this.
