Page 22 of Hexes & Heartstrings (Shifters of Bastion Keep #2)
"Well, getting ready shouldn't take a full half hour. So…"
Bruin knelt on the ground, running his hands up and down Ser's calves.
"It wouldn't, no." Ser put his hand on Bruin's head. "But as much as I want to choke you with my cock, I'll have to pass."
"My lord…"
"She'll smell it," Ser said, disappointment in his voice.
"So? Let her." Bruin slid his hands up beneath Ser's towel. "Why should she interrupt all of our plans? A proper fuck might be off the table, but surely there's time for a blowjob. Twenty minutes?"
Ser hissed as Bruin's hands reached his inner thighs. With a look, Bruin summoned Russell, who was more than happy to stand up behind his lord and begin planting kisses on his shoulders.
"I shouldn't. It's… rude, showing up smelling like sex."
Bruin rose, putting his hands on Ser's chest as he leaned his head down, and Russell heard him speak quietly.
"I know a scent-removing charm that's normally used for approaching wild animals. You'll smell faintly like an evergreen instead of your musk. I'll cast it right before you go. Good enough?"
Ser straightened, then gripped Bruin's head in his and began forcefully kissing him, all resistance gone in a flare of desire.
Then he turned around and did the same with Russell, who was so pleased at the change in his boyfriend's attitude that as soon as he received his kiss, he couldn't help himself from shifting into his wolf form and thundering in circles around Ser's living room before returning, his tail wagging madly.
They moved matters to the bedroom for the extra space, wasting no time in stripping their lord and servicing him, not when time was so limited.
Letting Bruin have first go at Ser's cock, Russell retook his human form and ran his hands up and down his proud lord's torso, then bent down so that Ser could grab him by the back of his head, growling as he was pulled in close.
It wasn't long, though, before Russell was using his broad werewolf's tongue to swallow every last drop from his Ser while his lord panted into Bruin's mouth as they kissed.
Afterwards, Russell stretched himself out fully on the bed while Ser dressed himself, and Bruin ran back to his room to get the witch ingredients that he needed.
"I don't know how long I'll be," Ser said to him a few moments later as he closed a dresser drawer and added a finely-crafted Usenko family pendant to his outfit as a final touch. "I'm hoping for just a couple of hours, but don't wait up, okay?"
Russell wuffed, then rolled over on the bed, crossing his arms as he presented his back to Ser. He heard a rueful hiss.
His tail still wagged when Ser gave him a parting pat, though, and he couldn't help but listen intently as Bruin returned to hurriedly cast his charm before bidding their mate farewell.
Once he heard the door close, Russell heaved himself out of bed and padded to the threshold between the bedroom and living room, putting his hands up against the doorframe. He watched as Bruin approached, his eyes immediately going down to where Russell's red cock still protruded from his sheath.
"Okay, so two options for us. We could have sex together right now, or we could instead have dinner, and float the idea of sex later. Do you have a preference?"
Russell closed his eyes so he could consider the question. Having Bruin's mouth around his dick felt nice, as did the feeling of his cock inside his boyfriend's ass. On the other hand, he also liked food, and his belly felt empty.
He opened his eyes and shook his head.
"In that case, I'm leaning towards food.
So how about we spend ten minutes snuggling on the couch until you're no longer in danger of poking someone's eye out with your cock, and we use that time to browse my phone for some dark eyewear, or maybe there's something else that exists that can help with light overstimulation for the next time we go to the arcade.
Afterwards, we go have dinner, and then come right back up to sit on Sergiy's balcony.
If he comes back on time, then we can ask if he wants to fuck. Does that sound fine?"
Russell licked Bruin's face for answer, then followed him to the couch to act as the big spoon while Bruin laid back against him.
It was nice that Bruin was willing to make the choices so straightforward for him. As his witch started typing into his phone, it was clear to Russell that he had made a good choice in boyfriends.
◆◆◆
Much later, the sensation of someone laying on the bed woke Russell, and he lifted his head. He saw Ser trying to slide himself beneath the blankets, and Russell made a short growl to say hello.
"Sorry if I woke you."
Russell stretched big and tall, his sleepy erection poking a slumbering Bruin in the butt as he did so, which caused him to stir.
"Mm," he said without any real emphasis.
Ser's blanket adjustments woke Bruin the rest of the way, and he jerked up with a snort, peered around blindly with his unfortunate ability to not see in the dark, then started patting the bed until he found Ser.
Gracelessly, he clambered over and behind their boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him.
As Ser snorted in amusement, they settled into their new position—their beloved Ser in the middle, Bruin as the big spoon, and himself flat on his back with Ser's arm thrown across him.
"How was it?" Bruin asked. "Wait, what time is it? I thought you'd be back right after dinner."
Ser's misery came flooding back, and Russell licked his face in response.
"It's nearly midnight," he said. "She's quick and to the point in the field, but by the flagstone of the keep, she dances prettily around a subject when she wants to.
It was a lot of old arguments, rehashed in nicer words.
She wants to push the training harder for both guardians and garrison forces, conveniently ignoring proven science like work-rest cycles.
It took a lot of arguing, but I think I got my point across. "
"Arguing, bleh," Bruin said.
Ser was quiet for a moment, then he spoke.
"Listen, I know that I haven't been the best mate these last few months."
"You're fine."
Russell patted Ser's hand. "Yes. Busy lord."
"That means a lot to me. But I'm going to do better. All the expected garrison troops and new trainees are finally here, so things should stabilize. I won't really be comfortable until we have Lord Kerry taken care of, but for now, there's finally going to be less demanded of me."
"Steady pace, Sergiy," Bruin said. "There's still more than a month of preparations to do. Pace yourself."
"Yeah. Thank you both. I mean that. You're both the best mates I could ask for."
"I mean, Mother Moon did put us together," Bruin teased, then looked over Ser's shoulder at where Russell was.
In addition to a more pleasant Ser, Bruin was smelling deep fondness.
"And you're the bestest of boyfriends too, Russell!
I don't know if this is rude to talk about, but if the moon had made you Sergiy's promised instead of me, I wouldn't be part of this group. Right?"
Russell thought about that. Would he still have pursued Bruin, if Ser had never turned him away?
Ser would probably have felt that the moon's fated blessing was more important than Ser's still present but controlled fear of the danger of living at the keep, so at least the two of them wouldn't have broken up.
No, unless Bruin had turned out to be a second promised mate, Ser would never have thought of dating him. That made one thing clear…
Reaching over, he poked Bruin on the shoulder. "You and Auguste."
Ser tensed at that, then laughed.
"Hell. No. Don't even say such things, Russ! Wind and stone, my mate, with him ?"
"Makes sense to me!" Bruin said, and Ser grumbled. "He's a fun guy, and flirty. But you think it would be him, not Yacob? He's got that forceful, direct nature, he's handsy, and he's got all those muscles…"
Ser spun out of Russell's grasp and on top of Bruin, pinning him to the bed. Lowering his face down, Ser growled.
"Mine are more defined."
Bruin planted a darting kiss on his scowl, smelling far too mirthful. "And Yacob is just so big , which as an orc, I can really appreciate. It means he can move heavy things."
Russell shifted into his werewolf form so that he could have the right vocal cords to really whine properly.
"Oh my gods and spirits, what have I done?"
Russell put his snout next to Bruin's ear, then whined again.
"No, I'm sorry!" Bruin laughed, struggling against his pin. "I'm so sorry, Russell. Besides, as big as Yacob is, you're bigger, and you're always helping people. You're way more amazing."
Ser shook his head. "I don't think a simple apology is going to cut it. What do you think?"
Russell nudged Ser off of Bruin, then lowered himself down, putting his hardened shaft into place. Bruin lifted his legs and angled his hips properly.
He growled, pleased to be understood.