Eft looked fully ready to argue, his brows heavily furrowed, his mouth opening — but then he grimaced, his eyes squeezing shut, his head tilting a little back against the wall. “Right,” he rasped. “Sorry.”
Gods, he could not be apologizing for that, and suddenly Kesst had to touch him again, find his face again, draw Eft’s hazy gaze back toward him. “You know I want it,” he breathed. “So much. But I want you more. I need you, Eft. You have no idea how much I — how I —”
He couldn’t finish, shaking his head, and oh, Eft was smiling, smiling at Kesst with those dazed, shining eyes. “Yeah,” he whispered back. “Forgot to even try the magic when you were sucking me. Gods, Kesst, nothing has ever felt so good in mylife.”
Kesst barked a hoarse laugh, smoothing a shaky hand against his hair. “Agreed,” he replied, breathless. “Enough thatIcould barely take you halfway, and apparently forgot how to swallow.Me! I’ll have you know, Eft, I am usuallyverygood at this.”
Eft was still smiling, so reverent, so affectionate. “It was perfect,” he whispered. “Gods, you’re perfect. Beautiful.Fallegur.Stórglæsilegur.”
An undeniable heat was swarming Kesst’s cheeks, and he felt himself giving a slow, shy-feeling smile back, even as he tossed his hair over his shoulder. “You just wait,” he replied, “until you fully heal this mess, and I suck your gorgeous prick properly. I will have youscreamingfor me, love, while I bury you all the way down my throat. And in return, you’ll pour outallof that delicious load, straight into my hungry belly. Right where it damn well belongs.”
Eft’s breath had given a deeply satisfying catch, his head tilting. “Really?” he asked, almost tentative. “That’s really… something you’d want?”
The hunger was again flashing across his eyes, his tooth actually biting his lip, betraying a surprising glimpse of that innocence. Of how he’d never done any of this with a human, let alone with a greedy, shameless, seed-loving orc.
“Fuck, yes,” Kesst whispered back, his own breath hitching. “The more of that sweet seed you can pour into me, Eft — or onto me — the fatter and happier I will be. I want those massive bollocks working for me every damned day. I want to bereekingof you.Always.”
And oh, the way the craving kept flaring in Eft’s eyes, his tooth again biting his lip. “You already do,” he breathed. “Smell of me, now, with the others.Me.”
There was unmistakable wonder in his voice, in his eyes — but curse it, that mention of others, others likeSkald, was suddenly twisting hard and cold in Kesst’s belly. Enough that he had to drop his gaze, fight to keep his smile pasted on, try not to let Eft see. Because yes, yes, gods damn it, Kesst was still a scent-stained tart, he was still tainted and weak and broken. And once again, he was completely losing his head over yet another nice cock, over a good bellyful of seed. Over an orc actually wanting his touch, wanting to taste him, and smell of him. And surely Eft was just — he was just —
“Hey,” cut in Eft’s voice, stronger than it had been yet, snapping up Kesst’s ashamed, blinking eyes. “Perfect, Kesst. Beautiful.Fallegur.Stórglæsilegur. And how do I say,I will never, ever forget this?”
And why did Eft keep doing this, keep comforting Kesst like this, shattering him when he was supposed to be the one shattered, and Kesst swallowed hard, and attempted a smile at his face. “Ég mun aldrei gleyma þessu,” he whispered. “Or maybe,ég elska þig.”
It meant,I adore you, and it was once again Kesst being a greedy, needy, pathetic fool — but oh, the way Eft was smiling, like he really didn’t care, he didn’t. “Ég elska þig, Kesst,” he whispered back. “I’m so glad you’re here. Stay with me?”
Stay with him. For now, he surely meant, not for always, not with everything that was sure to come next — but even so, Kesst’s heart was skipping, swooping, shattering again. And when Eft drew him close, right into his bloody chest, Kesst didn’t even hesitate. Just curled up against him, and breathed in deep.
14
When Kesst’s awareness next returned, it was to the feel of Eft’s hands. Eft’s strong, gentle hands, carefully shifting Kesst sideways on the floor, and then releasing him again. And then Eft’s warm body was gone, and there was only the sound of his voice, speaking low and urgent. Speaking about — aboutSkald?
Kesst snapped to full wakefulness, shoving up onto his bare arse — and found himself blinking up at a bemused-looking Grimarr. Who was standing together with Eft, and now glancing back and forth between them with rapidly increasing disbelief in his eyes.
“Ach, and our brothers allsleptthrough this?” he was saying to Eft, waving around at the room of unconscious orcs. “I ken this may help with their healing, but you shallno moredo this, ach? Why else do you ken I sent them to you?”
Kesst had been intently studying Eft, the way he seemed to be easily standing, his hand absently rubbing against his now-bared chest. Which was still streaked with blood, and marred by a long, thin red line where Skald had sliced him — but even so, Kesst couldn’t find a trace of pain in Eft’s scent, or on his face. And instead he was looking almost sheepish, his eyes glancing briefly, helplessly, toward Kesst.
Kesst’s relief — his affection, hisawe— seemed to swarm up all at once, so strong he nearly felt dizzy with it. Eft had truly done it, he’d healed himself, he was standing here whole and well again. And not only that, but Kesst had sucked him off, they’d slept together all night, and even at this distance, Kesst could still smell his own scent on Eft, and most of all on his wry, supple mouth. On where Eft had said,I’m so glad you’re here. Ég elska þig.
Kesst belatedly pushed up to his feet, wincing as he straightened out his stiff body, and stalked over toward Eft. Stepping close against his side, inhaling deep — gods, he smelled so, sogoodlike this — and then shivering all over at the feel of Eft’s arm easily, willingly, slipping around his bare waist, and drawing him closer. Wanting him here.
“Look, have you evermetthese blockheads you sent us?” Kesst demanded flatly toward Grimarr, as he slid his own arm around Eft’s back, too. “Eft had no choice but to shut them up, or else we’d both have gone mad from all their incessant griping!”
Eft’s glance down at Kesst was so warm, so grateful, sending more shivers up Kesst’s spine — but before them, Grimarr loudly snorted, and shook his head. “Ach, I shall grant you Silfast or Olarr, mayhap,” he countered, “but Abjorn?Drafli? Drafli cannot even speak aloud!”
Eft was looking even more sheepish than before, rubbing at the back of his neck with his other hand, while the hand still behind Kesst fired a rueful little flare of magic into his skin. And far too late, Kesst realized that Eft had intentionally kept all these orcs asleep — clearly with a shocking amount of force, judging by their still-unconscious states — in order to keep spending time with… with him?
“You cannotpossiblyexpect Eft to remember who talks, and who doesn’t,” Kesst belatedly pointed out, as airily as he could. “He is very busy workingmiraclesdown here in Ka-esh hell on our behalf, and therefore he isfullyjustified in doing whatever he damn well pleases with these infuriating imbeciles!”
Grimarr was glancing back and forth between Kesst and Eft again, now with an expression that was somewhere between aggrieved and amused. “Before this, mayhap,” he said, with a sigh. “But henceforth, they stay awake. I seek to keep you bothsafe.”
His gaze had dropped to the still-visible wound on Eft’s chest, his eyes narrowing. And that was surely anger, studding through his scent — and perhaps even a whispering twitch of fear, too. Fear that suddenly seemed to catch and flare in Kesst’s belly, in his surging circling thoughts.
Skald. Skald would remember, and return. Soon. And when he did, they would die.
“We aren’t safe here,” Kesst said, his voice sharp, his head shaking. “We’ll never be safe here again, Grim.Ever.”
