“No,” Braern said, shaking his head. “I came here for a reason. I came here to get away from... from him. You’re my home. Like you said. I have no doubts about his own faithlessness, so...”
The spark of rage, which he’d kept so firmly contained, roared at the mention of the other man, but he clamped down on it. He wanted to ask about what they would do about Lorsan, to fully make a clean break from the other man, but even that seemed too presumptuous—and would certainly detract from what Braern would obviously rather do right now. Instead, he raised his hand and gently pushed a strand of Braern’s hair behind his ear, searching his wide, eager eyes.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” Braern replied, nodding quickly. Adrissu smiled, then pulled his face closer to press a quick, chaste kiss to his lips.
“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that,” he murmured, and Braern laughed, eyes crinkling with mirth. “But I think you will like it better if I bathe first, and maybe we can have a meal together.”
“I’d like that,” Braern replied softly, pulling away to head for the kitchen. “I can make something.”
Adrissu bathed quickly, observing himself in the mirror as he preened. He could make himself look however he wanted; this form was handsome, though, and he did not think anything needed to be changed. If he altered his appearance too much, anyway, it would probably have the opposite effect on Braern now. It had been a hundred years since he’d done this, but that was not so long when he had already lived for three hundred.
When he came back down, Braern was still cooking, so Adrissu watched him with hunger in his eyes as he finished the meal, obvious enough that he was certain Braern felt his desire as intensely as he did. The elf enjoyed cooking and often prepared elvish dishes for them, making modifications with local ingredients that were easier to procure here, far in the southeast of Autreth. Today was no different: he had prepared a light broth that was a common elven dish, alongside a plate of grilled fish with vegetables, which was more like the standard human cuisine found in a seaside city like Polimnos.
They chatted while they ate, as casually as they had over every meal that the two had shared together during the last few weeks; but when he caught Braern’s eyes on him from across the table, they were full of heat, flickering up and down his body with the same hunger that ached in Adrissu’s groin.Thiswas going to be worth it.
“Delicious,” Adrissu murmured when he was done, smirking over at Braern. The elf flushed, a prideful smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “Are you done?”
“Yes,” Braern said quickly, pushing his plate away. “Your room?”
Adrissu nodded, standing. He took Braern by the hand and led him upstairs, the points of contact between their skin tingling with anticipation. Vesper started up the stairs after him, but he shooed her away with a pointed look and a nonverbal order to stay. She remained on the ground floor, but he could practically feel her rolling her eyes, if she had been physically able to do so.
Braern’s hands snaked around his waist, bringing him back to the moment. “Lay down,” the elf murmured in his ear, as he nudged Adrissu toward the bed, sending a shiver down his spine.
“Like this?” Adrissu teased, falling back onto his pillows and pulling his shirt open seductively. Tight, high-waisted breeches with looser, flowy shirts tucked into them were in fashion now, so between his open shirt and his obvious erection straining beneath his pants, he must have been a sight. Braern laughed, but straddled him still fully clothed.
“I want to... go slow,” he murmured, running his hands up the length of Adrissu’s exposed chest.
“Be my guest,” Adrissu groaned, back arching to follow the path of Braern’s touch. It had been so long,so long, since his mate had touched him—this alone had him so painfully hard that he couldn’t imagine lasting at all, but if Braern wanted to go slow, they would go slow.
“I sort of remember...” Braern started, then frowned, flushing. “I think I dreamt once of doing this but in your, ah... true form.”
The memory made Adrissu’s body flood with heat all over again. It had been a rare occurrence; it had never happened with Volkmar, of course, but Ruan was sometimes particularly adventurous. He remembered Ruan’s hands on his slick cock, teasing the slit where it emerged from his body, until he came so hard his vision would blur and embers would spark from his mouth.
“Yes, sometimes,” Adrissu panted, bucking his hips against Braern. “Not often, but sometimes. If you want to again, we can, but maybe not now. Not yet.”
Braern nodded, eyes wide as he seemed to consider what exactly such activities would entail. He stilled on top of Adrissu, distracted, until Adrissu frowned and grabbed him by the waist, rocking their hips together so he could feel the elf’s erection pressing against him.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” he teased, and Braern laughed breathlessly.
“Can I undress you?” he asked softly, hands hovering at Adrissu’s waist where his shirt was tucked in.
“Please undress me,” Adrissu urged, and without any further encouragement, Braern was pulling his shirt off. Adrissu leaned forward so he could pull it over his head, tossing it to the side as Braern unbuttoned Adrissu’s pants. He panted when the first layer was pulled away and only his underwear separated them, then he gasped when Braern palmed him through the thin fabric. The elf stifled a groan of his own, squeezing his hard length.
“You’re big,” he murmured, looking down at the outline of cock with his eyes dark with lust. “You’re going to feel so good inside me.”
Adrissu stifled a whimper; he wanted to be inside Braern more than anything he had ever wanted. But Braern made no move to pull down his underwear, instead leaning back to start pulling off his own clothes.
Adrissu had bought him a few new articles of clothing in a more human style to help him blend in, but he still mostly wore his elven robes. Beneath the multiple layers of open robes and long tunics, his body was lithe, but soft in a way that spoke to his upbringing in a wealthy family. A faint dusting of light hair made a small patch in the center of his chest, almost imperceptible; and around his navel there was a bit more that trailed down and disappeared into the waistband of his pants, just a shade darker, but still quite light. With the layers of robes gone, Adrissu could see the evidence of his arousal as well, tenting the front of his breeches. Every instinct in him wanted to reach out to touch, but he stretched his arms up and kept his hands firmly away, both to ensure that Braern stayed in control and to encourage his mate to touch him again.
Braern descended on him then, kissing and licking his way down Adrissu’s body–starting along his neck, slowly meandering to his collarbones and the divot of his sternum, getting tantalizingly close to his nipples before moving away. Adrissu groaned, half in pleasure and half in frustration. Braern smiled against his skin.
“You’re teasing me,” Adrissu protested, and Braern laughed.
“Of course I am,” he said, tilting his head to smirk up at Adrissu. “Not a fan?”
He couldn’t exactly say that hedidn’tenjoy it, so he only made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat and let his head fall back onto the pillows.
