“Marek,” Sei says, strangled.
Enough teasing. Marek releases Sei’s fingers to ask, “Do you want to come in my mouth or my hand?”
“Yes,” Sei answers, then covers his face. He watches Marek through his fingers, clearly at war with himself, before confessing, “Your hand. I’ve been thinking about your hands.”
Oh, fuck me.Marek will have to explore that later. He squeezes Sei’s hips. “Help me put the food away.”
Sei scrambles from Marek’s lap. If picnic basket-stuffing was a competitive sport, Sei would be the reigning champion. Marek only has time to toss the fallen berries into the river. As the deadly razor fish swarm to devour them, Sei latches the basket closed.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Marek says, amused.
Sei freezes for a second. “If I thought you were, we wouldn’t be doing this.”
Marek nods. There’s still so much they have to talk about. But that can wait until Marek solves the far more urgent problem visible through Sei’s trousers. “Set your jacket aside and sit down with me. Facing the water.”
He drops to the blanket, and Sei hesitates. Not nervous. Just assessing the logistics. Marek had thought somehow that Sei would be a nervous virgin. That’s part of what kept Marek away—not that there’s anything wrong with inexperience. Marek just knows himself. He’s big and gruff and hardly reassuring.
But Sei has never shied away from new experiences. Not since the day Marek met him, a stranger lost in a foreign land, without any friends or allies. At least when Marek was adopted into House Dire, he had Loska in the back of his mind. Sei is far braver than Marek gave him credit for. Asking for some guidance doesn’t diminish that.
Sei sits between Marek’s legs, his back to Marek’s chest. His hands tense against Marek’s thighs as Marek strokes his shoulders.
“If you tease me again, I’ll get myself off,” Sei warns.
Marek chuckles, his breath stirring Sei’s hair. “Message received. Reach up and loop your arms around my neck.”
The order is just to give Sei something to do with his hands. Something simple, because Sei tends to worry when he thinks he’s doing something wrong. Anything and everything Sei could do right now would be perfect, of course. But Marek doesn’t want the worry to even cross Sei’s mind. Marek just wants Sei to feel good.
The way the pose stretches Sei out against Marek, baring his entire torso for Marek’s wandering hands, is a happy coincidence. Sei’s head doesn’t even reach his collarbone, giving Marek a perfect view.
Marek unfastens Sei’s belt first. “Is that more comfortable?”
“Yes,” Sei says, fingers tangling in Marek’s hair.
Marek is hyperaware of his own hands as he rucks Sei’s shirt and undershirt from his waistband. What exactly has Sei been thinking about them? Marek’s hands are ordinary. Rough. He would have been a hunter, shepherd, or blacksmith if he hadn’t bonded to Loska. Dragonriding isn’t a soft life either.
Now, Marek enjoys how much of Sei’s smooth, tawny skin his hand can cover at once. The way his calluses make Seisquirm. Sei’s body clearly demonstrates the differences between them. No scars, no rough edges. He’s not soft, though. The muscles beneath Marek’s hand are firmer than he expects.
Marek promised not to tease, so he unlaces Sei’s trousers quickly.
“This wasn’t the plan, you know.” Marek grasps Sei’s cock. His own cock throbs with Sei’s full-body jerk. “I really just meant to take you out for a nice picnic.”
Sei arches up, hands tightening behind Marek’s neck. “What changed?”
“I opened my eyes.”
Sei’s cock is hot and perfect. He isn’t particularly small, but Marek’s hand completely engulfs him. Marek pulls Sei’s shirt up for a better view of the dusky head peeking between his fingers. With every slow stroke, Sei grinds instinctively into Marek’s palm.
Marek’s other hand wanders up Sei’s chest. He traces the pebbled skin of Sei’s nipple. “Do you like this?”
Sei responds slowly, breathlessly. “I think so.”
“What about this?” Marek asks, and rolls the nub between his fingers. The reaction is electric.
“Yes. Yes, definitely.”
The wonder in Sei’s voice is nearly enough to send Marek over the edge. Playing with Sei, tugging his nipples and cock, feels like Marek is touching himself. Sei’s every response is so erotic, so unrestrained. Marek’s cock pulses with every moan and movement.
It’s like Marek has never done this before either. He can’t wait to discover what else Sei enjoys. If Sei reacts like this to ordinary touch, how would he react to a tiny spark of Dire magic?
