Page 135 of Blood Fist
“There,” Ridan said, holding the stone to his chest. “That’s my courting gift.”
Brune’s eyes widened. Shaking his head, he looked down at the stone and then back up at Ridan. “No, Ridan, that can’t be?—”
“It is if I say it is,” Ridan stated firmly, sliding the stone into his pocket. He looked up at Brune’s shocked face, and he felt all his nerves ebb away.
“I haven’t proven myself!”
“Haven’t you?” Ridan asked him. “I don’t need an alpha to be my sword, Brune. I am sharp enough on my own.”
Stepping in close, he looked up at him through his lashes. “You aremyrock, Brune.”
His hands lifted to the shield’s buckles. “My shield.” It thudded to the ground behind him, settling on the soft bank beside the pond,
“My savior.” Brune’s hammer and belt fell next. “My shadow.” Ridan slipped his shirt off next, tossing it to the side.
The twilight sparkled in Brune’s wide eyes, his full lips parted as he watched Ridan with something so soft, Ridan couldn’t believe it was directed at him.
With a soft smile, he tilted his chin to meet Brune’s eyes. “My love.” He kissed him, arms looping around his neck as he pulled him close. “My alpha.”
There was a split second of indecision. It couldn’t have been longer than the time between heartbeats, but to Ridan, it felt like an eternity. Like he had leapt from a cliff, certain he would be caught, only to flail as he began to fall. A terrifying swoop in his gut as he realized this was the end, a terrifying drop he would never recover from.
But then Brune’s arms tightened around him, and he kissed him back, sighing into the touch as his entire body melded into Ridan’s and he felt foolish for ever questioning him. Ridan would jump, and Brune would always catch him.
Brune reached for the cloak clasped at Ridan’s throat, removing it without lifting his lips. The thick material fluttered to the ground, and Ridan followed, pulling Brune with him.
“Ridan,”Brune breathed, his lips caressing the shellof his ear as his weight pressed into him, solid and steady.
There were no more words. Ridan had never been good with them anyway, so he didn’t try. He let his body speak for him. Let the instincts that had known he would end up here from the beginning take control.
Once again, Ridan bared his neck for Brune. It felt raw, like pulling the bandage from a wound that hadn’t quite healed.
Brune’s breath caught, his eyes wide and unblinking as he took in the exposed column of Ridan’s throat. And then he smiled, something soft and sickly sweet, maybe even a little shy. But then he was burying his face in Ridan’s neck, his lips trailing across the potent gland as he peppered it with feather light kisses.
Ridan shivered. Brune’s lips felt hot, pinpricks of electricity snapping across his skin. His big hands traced down his body, slipping under his shirt and finally laying against his skin. They’d done this before, but this time was different. That last time there was a sense of urgency, a rush to an inevitable end that they couldn’t avoid.
But this time was different. It was languid, passionate touches that sparked promises of more to come. A heavy heat of inevitability that tasted like the beginning of forever.
His shirt slipped off, skin pebbled with oversensitivity. Brune sat back, his eyes dropping to the planes of Ridan’s exposed skin. It almost made him feel shy. Ridan squirmed under his scrutiny. Brune looked at him like he’d never seen him before, like this was some sort of precious treasure he’d spent a lifetime looking for.
The sun had dipped, and the sky was a myriad of purples and deep blues creeping into black. Theylooked good behind Brune, with his hair falling out of a messy knot and his sun kissed skin warm from the sun. Ridan had seen him shirtless more times than he could count, but now hewas lookingand once he started, he couldn’t stop. From the way Brune’s thighs strained against his pants where he’d knelt between Ridan’s legs to the definition on his abdomen. Thick muscles rippling under skin dotted with scars—some Ridan knew the origin of and others he would eventually learn. They stood white against his burnished skin, contrasting with the dappling of fine hairs that caught the very last rays of sunlight like a thousand small candles.
Maybe Ridan understood why Brune was staring after all.
He reached for him, and his alpha met him halfway. His fingers slipped into his hair, and they kissed until they were breathless, until Brune’s tongue tapped against his lips and they parted. His tongue was sure in its quest, invading Ridan’s mouth to stroke behind his teeth and along his tongue in a way that was inexplicably gentle and commanding at the same time.
Their chests touched, skin to skin, and Ridan gasped. It was hot, molten waves of pleasure cascading across his skin and boiling in his gut in a way he had never felt. He was hard, his erection so stiff it hurt, and his thighs were soaked with slick.
“Brune,” he begged, not sure what he needed, but knowing Brune would give it to him anyway.
Heavy hands stroked down his ribs, blunted nails dragging too hard to be a tickle. They stroked across his pebbled nipple, pressing and twisting in a way that had Ridan gasping for air. He rutted up against Brune, seeking relief in friction.
Brune let him, kissing down his jaw and neck. Hetrailed down his neck, lips, tongue, and teeth, interchanging as he found spots of pleasure Ridan didn’t know existed. He was just the right amount of rough, leaving possessive marks against his skin that had Ridan trilling in excitement.
A warm tongue slipped across the nipple Brune had tormented earlier, and Ridan cried out in surprise, his entire body jolting as he dug his heels into the ground. His fingers tugged at Brune’s hair. The alpha chuffed in response, his chest rumbling to soothe Ridan. Reassure him.
But it wasn’t reassurance Ridan craved. He rocked his hips up against Brune, stuttering when he felt the alpha’s cock, hard and firm. Big and enticing. A shaky growl rolled against the nipple between Brune’s lips as his hand snatched at Ridan’s pants, yanking them down until the fabric tore.
He shivered when the cool night air touched his wet thighs, Brune disappearing so he could slip down his body and settle himself between Ridan’s legs.