“I will wear it proudly.”
Rodian took the box back and withdrew the ring, the bright gold inlaid with reyndeer horn polished to a high shine. It was simple, and Rodian would never apologize for that, but he was giving it to a man who understood that. Who understoodhimand where he came from. Slipping it onto Arkadi’s ring finger settled something in Rodian he hadn’t known was knocked out of place, like a misaligned gear. He drew Arkadi’s hand to his mouth, kissing the ring, staring into pale blue eyes full of want.
Rodian let his hand go and reached up to slowly pull free the pair of stilettos from Arkadi’s hair, watching as the thick mass unfurled and fell down his back. He carded his fingers through it, drawing some over Arkadi’s shoulders, the length of it reaching his waist. Arkadi twitched beneath his hands, pressing into his touch.
“I want to lay you across the bed and spread you out beneath me,” Rodian said, leaning in to steal a kiss. “I thought about you that way every night I was gone.”
“I’m here,” Arkadi murmured against his mouth. “You can have me any way you want me. I’m yours, Rodya.”
When faced with such devotion, there wasn’t a man or woman Rodian knew who could say no to what was on offer. With a groan, he picked Arkadi up by his thighs, hauling him easily up into his arms. Those long legs wrapped around his waist, arms going around his shoulders as Arkadi drew him into a biting kiss. Rodian carried him over to the bed and leaned over to place him on it before reluctantly pulling free.
He hurriedly divested himself of his clothes, but when he would have removed his crown, Arkadi sat up and snagged Rodian’s wrist, expression heated. “No.”
Rodian arched an eyebrow. “No?”
Arkadi drew his hand away, pulling Rodian down on top of him. “No. Keep it on.”
Rodian took his mouth in a deep, lingering kiss. “Very well.”
As if Rodian would ever tell Arkadi no.
He settled his weight more firmly in the cradle of Arkadi’s hips, taking his time mapping out the shape of Arkadi’s mouth. He could feel Arkadi’s cock growing harder against his stomach, hips trying to move against him, but Rodian’s weight kept him pinned. Only when Arkadi yanked desperately at his hair did Rodian finally give in and pull away.
“Stay there,” he ordered.
Arkadi pouted at him, lips swollen from their kisses, skin reddened slightly from the scrape of Rodian’s beard. Rodian managed to slip away, but he didn’t go far, reaching for the drawer for a vial of oil kept there. He pulled it out, uncapping it to pour some oil over his fingers. Then he settled himself back between Arkadi’s legs, using his own thighs to keep them spread.
Arkadi slid his arms up the bed and over his head, hands fisting at the covers beneath him. He stared up at Rodian with half-lidded eyes, the flush on his cheeks beginning to spreaddown his throat. His cock was curved toward his stomach, but Rodian ignored it in favor of sliding his fingers behind Arkadi’s balls and rubbing them over his entrance.
“The curtains and window are still open,” Arkadi said, voice hitching in his throat when Rodian pressed one thick finger inside him.
“No one can see inside here, but I do hope they hear you,” Rodian said. He pressed his thumb on the soft skin behind Arkadi’s balls, keeping it there even as Arkadi began to squirm.
“So you don’t want anyone to watch, but you don’t mind them listening?”
Rodian allowed himself an indulgent smile. “I don’t mind people knowing I can make you scream my name.”
The flush on Arkadi’s face deepened, and he opened his mouth for a retort that never came, instead choking on a gasp when Rodian’s finger found that sensitive spot inside him and pressed against it hard. Arkadi arched his body up into the touch, crying out when Rodian didn’t let up on the pressure both inside and outside his body, finger and thumb relentless in their touch. Rodian kept up the pressure for a few minutes, enjoying the way Arkadi thrashed beneath him out of pleasure.
Eventually, Rodian let up, sliding his finger out just far enough to make it easy for him to insert a second. Arkadi cried out at the intrusion, panting heavily as Rodian stretched him. His own cock hung between his legs, hard and heavy, but Rodian knew he couldn’t yet take Arkadi. His beautiful little Blade needed to be stretched, needed to be played with, needed to be handled with exquisite care before being used.
“You’re so hot inside,” Rodian said, thrusting his fingers inside Arkadi as deep as they would.
“And you’re such a tease,” Arkadi gasped out, trying to close his legs against the sensation Rodian was giving him.
Rodian let out a tut, using his free hand to grab Arkadi’s left knee and press it outward again, spreading his legs. “Keep yourself open for me.”
“Is that what you’ll expect anytime I’m in your bed?”
“It’s what I’ll expect wherever I let you take my cock, be it here, in my office, or on my throne,” Rodian said heatedly, drawing his fingers out so he could add a third, stuffing them deep inside Arkadi without pause.
Arkadi let out a little scream at the intrusion, feet kicking out as Rodian pressed his fingers against that sensitive spot inside and started to rub at it. “Rodya!”
“Oh, I think you can say my name louder than that.”
He let go of Arkadi’s knee and wrapped his hand around Arkadi’s reddened cock, not needing oil to strip it, the precum there more than enough to help his fingers glide over velvety, hard flesh. The way Arkadi’s spine bent at the touch, heels digging into the bed, trying to pull away from the fingers in his ass and only driving himself forward into the grip of Rodian’s other hand was delightful to watch.
Rodian slid his hand up and down Arkadi’s cock, twisting his fingers against the tip even as he steadily thrust his fingers against the spot inside Arkadi that made the younger man scream. And just when it looked as if Arkadi was going to come, Rodian wrapped his fingers around the base of the younger man’s cock and squeezed, depriving him of his release.
