Page 24

Chapter 24

Good-bye Old Life

The room assigned to us wasn’t as elegant or over-the-top fancy as the one we had in Ulmenor, but that was understandable considering this was a place built for war, not to house royals on vacation.

Still, there were heavy velvet curtains to block out the early morning light and to protect the occupants from drafts during those cold winter nights. The bed was narrow, but right now, all I wanted to do was snuggle as close to Nylian as possible while wrapping my arms and legs around him.

But that was not what he needed.

The man needed to explode. He needed to shout and possibly break a few things.

Yet, he was simply standing in the center of the room, his hands balled into fists at his side, every muscle in his body taut and trembling with tension. The slightest thing was going to make him snap. I didn’t want him to direct that destructive energy at me, but I’d take it if it meant him feeling better.

“Let it out, Nylian,” I ordered when we were alone.

“There’s nothing to let out,” the elf bit out, turning his back to me.

“Oh, bullshit! That’s complete and utter bullshit.”

“You forget, Prince Victor, that elves don’t feel intense emotions like humans.”

I rolled my eyes and stomped over so I was standing in front of him. “Don’t give me that arrogant nonsense. You’re so pissed that every muscle is tensed. If I shoved a piece of coal up your ass right now, you’d shit out a diamond come morning.” That at least got him to blink at me as though I’d lost my mind, but the distraction lasted only a second before a scowl formed on his face. He started to turn away again, but I grabbed his arms and forced him to remain looking at me. “Let it out!” I shook him. “Your father is a fucking asshole! He used you as a distraction! He soiled your good name and let you think your twin brother was dead.”

Nylian fought to shake off my hands, but I wasn’t letting go. “There was a good reason.”

“Fuck his reason!”

All of Nylian’s control finally snapped. He cast off my hold, nearly knocking me to the floor. He zipped across the room, snatched something up from a table, and threw it at the nearest wall. The decoration shattered into a thousand pieces, creating a glittering starburst. He continued his destruction while I scrambled to get out of his way. Two small tables were smashed, and a set of teacups and a pitcher joined the other broken glass. I didn’t step in until he drew his sword and seemed as if he planned to attack the bed.

With my hand wrapped around his on the hilt, I forced his arm over his head while placing my other arm on his waist, pulling him in close. His breathing was rapid gasps, and his pupils were blown wide, the black nearly consuming the sparkling green I loved.

“You can destroy anything you want, just not with weapons. One of us will get hurt,” I bargained.

Gritting his teeth, Nylian shoved me away. He lifted the sword and took a step toward the bed, but froze. The sword dropped but slowly, as if I were watching all the anger drain out of his body. The weapon slipped from limp fingers to clatter loudly on the stone floor. He stumbled back to the center of the room and I caught him as his legs gave out, guiding us both to sit on the floor.

Now, I got the chance to wrap him up tightly in a comforting cocoon, pressing my face into the crook of his neck that was covered in an icy cold sweat.

“Why?” Nylian’s voice trembled as he choked out that single word. “Why…why didn’t he tell me? Couldn’t he have pulled me aside for five seconds to let me know Orian was still alive? That he didn’t believe that I’d betrayed him and my brother? He-he played me for a fool ,” he snarled at the end.

I brushed light kisses across his jaw and up to his temple. “I don’t think this was about you being played for a fool. This was about protecting you as best he could. Someone inside the castle had mortally wounded one beloved son and framed another. If you stayed, they could have gotten to you. The king probably sent you away to get you out of the reach of the assassin.”

“How can you be so sure of him? You don’t know my father,” Nylian countered in a stubborn voice.

He was right. I’d yet to meet the king of Wolfrest, but I’d already had an idea of him when I was crafting the book. I didn’t want all the royals to be complete douche tools. In my mind, King Dorwynn had always been more compassionate and more thoughtful. He cared more about his people and his children than the power he wielded.

But I couldn’t tell Nylian that I knew his father wasn’t an asshole because I hadn’t created him to be an asshole. On the other hand, I simply didn’t know. There were a lot of things that had turned out differently than I’d originally planned. *cough* Nylian’s sexuality *cough* We wouldn’t know the king’s true motives until we saw him. The best I could do right now was try to comfort his son.

“True, but I struggle to believe that a cold, calculating, ruthless man could have raised such a warm and tender son.”

Nylian made a derisive noise. “My father didn’t raise me. Teachers, mentors, and a series of nannies brought me up.”

“Stubborn,” I groaned before nipping the spot just under his ear. “You’re right. I don’t know your father, but I choose to believe that he didn’t intentionally hurt you. Besides, who else is he going to trust to help him get to the truth of what happened to you and Prince Orian? Banishing you meant he had someone outside the kingdom to investigate what happened. To dig into the other kingdoms that have been jealous of Wolfrest for so long.”

“Lockhart,” he whispered wearily.

“Let go of your anger toward your father for now. You won’t know for sure what he was thinking until you can confront him. If it turns out he was an inconsiderate asshole, you’ll be able to tell him as much to his face.” Nylian’s shoulders shook in a silent laugh, and I knew he was picturing that exact scene in his head. “The only thing that matters is Orian is alive . It’s not too late to save your brother. We’re going to Lockeheim to get the antidote and uncover once and for all the bastards who did this to you and your brother. You are so close to having your old life again.”

Nylian stilled in my arms. A moment later, his head whipped around and his expression was fierce as he locked eyes with mine. “I don’t want my old life back. You weren’t in my old life. I refuse to have a life that doesn’t include you.”

“I…” My voice cracked, and the rest of the sentence became lodged behind a lump in my throat. What could I tell him? That it wasn’t up to me? The magical coin had brought me here, and there was no way of knowing if it planned to zip me to my old life as soon as this story was concluded. I didn’t want to make any promises I couldn’t keep. That wasn’t fair to either of us.

But I could tell him what I wanted.

“I don’t want you to return to your old life. I want to stay with you.”

Nylian’s lips crashed against mine in a violent kiss that I returned with the same desperation and hunger. The road ahead of us was perilous, but it didn’t feel so impossible or lonely. I’d follow him into whatever battle waited for us, so long as I knew he was going to be at my side.

Tongues thrust and slid sinuously along each other. Teeth nipped and tugged. Little pains were licked away and searching hands pulled at clothing in blind desperation, fighting to find bare skin. It was the hottest kiss of my life, and it still wasn’t enough. I wanted everything, even if it scared me to death.

“Bed,” Nylian breathed across my damp and sore lips. “We need a bed.”

No argument from me. Broken glass and bits of wood covered the floor. Not exactly the best spot to get naked.

I unwound my arms and legs enough so he could regain his feet. I then took his hand, letting him pull me up. My chest bumped his, and we fell into another hungry kiss as we tripped and stumbled our way to the bed. We pulled apart only when Nylian jerked my shirt over my head.

Grinning, I shoved him back onto the bed, where his body bounced nicely on the mattress. A cackle broke from his throat, and I grabbed one of his boots and jerked it off, tossing it over my shoulder.

“I think you’ll have to give my valet a few lessons on undressing me,” he snickered.

I wrapped my hand around his other boot and tugged hard, nearly falling over the moment it came free. “If your valet is this hands on, Your Highness , you can kiss that valet good-bye, because I’m not letting him touch you again.”

Deep belly laughs filled the room from Nylian while I slipped off his stockings and threw them gods knew where. “Godfried is a thousand years old and nearly blind.”

“Fine. I’ll give him a hand. He can take care of your wardrobe, and it’ll be my job to dress and undress you.” I climbed onto the bed, placing my knees on either side of his narrow hips, and leaned down so that the tip of my nose touched his. “Can you guess which will be my favorite?”

“I wonder which of us will enjoy it more.”

In the blink of an eye, the evil elf rolled me onto my back. He tore off the rest of his clothes before moving on to my boots. It was when he was attacking my pants that reality switched my brain on.

I was about to have sex with a man for the first time.

Anal sex.

Snicker all you want, but there are few things a straight man—or in my case a bisexual in denial—is more protective of than his asshole. Particularly as it comes to trusting another man to cram something large and hard into that hole.

That was not to say I wasn’t turned-on and extremely curious. Not to mention horny after two weeks straight of behaving while we were on the road with Adeline and Jasper. We’d enjoyed stolen kisses and a little groping, but getting off hadn’t been in the cards.

“What’s wrong?” Nylian demanded. The laughter disappeared from his voice in an instant, and he gave up trying to remove my pants to climb into the bed beside me.

I opened my mouth to reassure him that everything was fine, but I stopped myself. I didn’t want this first time to be tainted with a lie. “Nervous,” I admitted. “First time. With a guy,” I rushed to add. “Had sex plenty of times with women. Lots of sex there.” Nylian’s eyebrows shot up, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. That was not helping.

“I mean, not lots. Average,” I said, my words muffled behind my hand.

My lover’s expression softened, and the smile that appeared squeezed my heart. He didn’t speak as he got us rearranged on the bed so that our heads were sharing the same pillow as we lay facing each other. Nylian was completely naked while I wore only my pants, but that was too much. The memory of the feel of his body against mine while we were in the bath flitted through my brain, leaving my cock aching for a return to that rather than talking.

“We will do nothing you are not comfortable with,” Nylian reassured me as he brushed the lightest kiss across my lips. His fingers grazed my dick where it strained the front of my pants. “You’ve enjoyed when I used my hand. And we’ve both enjoyed when I took you deep in my mouth.”

A moan slipped past my lips and into Nylian’s mouth as my body recalled that tight, wet heat.

“No,” I exhaled once my tongue and brain worked together to make words. “Want more.”

“Then tell me what scares you, so I can take the fear away.”

I blinked open eyes I hadn’t realized I’d closed and stared into his handsome face filled with such warm concern. How the hell had I gotten to be so lucky?

“Pain. I’m afraid of how much it’s going to hurt,” I admitted. “I’ve always heard the first time hurts a lot, but it gets easier with practice.”

Nylian’s smile never wavered. “No.”

“What?”

“No, I won’t allow it. We won’t continue if it hurts you. How could I possibly enjoy it if I knew you were in any kind of pain?”

“But that’s just the first time, right?” Shit . Had I talked us out of sex? That wasn’t what I wanted at all.

“First time, hundredth time, doesn’t matter.” Before I could argue, Nylian seized my mouth in a slow, draining kiss that made me forget what we’d been talking about. The hand that had teased my cock with teasing touches now squeezed, forcing out a needy cry as I ended the kiss while thrusting my hips upward into his hand.

“Trust me, Adam. I can take care of you. There will be no pain,” Nylian promised, his voice a wicked temptation.

“No pain and you’re going to…” My words drifted off and Nylian’s stroking fingers froze.

“Going to what?” he rasped. His pupils had blown so wide his eyes were almost entirely black. But where rage had consumed him the last time, this was all desire. My elf did so love the dirty talk.

I licked my swollen lips and whispered, “You’re going to fuck my ass, aren’t you, Nylian? You’re going to stretch my tight hole, slide your hot thick cock inside me, and fuck me until you fill me up with your cum.”

Nylian’s entire body shuddered. “Yes. I want that. Need to be part of you. Make you mine.”

“I will always be yours.”

No matter what happens.

Even if I were permanently pulled away from this world, I knew my heart and soul would forever belong to Nylian.

We kissed over and over, each kiss growing more hungry than the last so that fears were forgotten. Even my growing terror over being forced to leave Nylian’s arms drifted away. There was only the sexy elf driving me so crazy I was about to come in my goddamn pants.

Sliding my hand up to cup the side of his head, I grazed one of his ears and his entire body froze. I looked up to see Nylian’s eyes were wide and his breath erupted from his parted lips in short, hard pants.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean?—”

“Don’t stop,” Nylian cut me off. “Our ears are one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies. When you touch my ears, it’s like I can feel you touching me everywhere.”

I bit my bottom lip to hold in a very undignified squeal of excitement. I had wanted to run my fingers along those long, pointed ears since we first met.

Carefully, I extended both hands, lightly placing the fingertips of my index fingers at the base of his lobeless ears. I ran them up to the very tips, squeezing the most delicious moan out of Nylian. You would have thought I’d just deep-throated him to the point of my lips brushing his balls. I started back down, still taking my time, exploring every inch. But he couldn’t take it any longer.

Nylian flew into action, kissing me like a man possessed. My pants disappeared amidst the chaos, and I hissed to feel his feverish body pressed to my own. Silken skin slid along mine and I was in heaven. I couldn’t keep rubbing his ears. My hands desperately needed to touch the rest of him.

I ran my fingers along the powerful muscles of his shoulders. I spread my legs, fitting his body perfectly between them. My elf was so close, but not nearly close enough.

And then the wicked imp began kissing his way along my chest. He sucked and licked each nipple until they were almost painfully hard. He crawled lower, licking a stripe along my stomach to brush the swollen head of my cock. With one hand tangled in his blond locks, I pulled him up while wrapping my other hand around the base of my cock to stave off my orgasm.

“No cocksucking.”

Nylian’s grin was the filthiest thing I’d ever seen. “But you like when my mouth is full of your cock. You fuck my face so?—”

I seized his dirty mouth in a brutal kiss to stop his words.

“I don’t want to come that way. Only when you’re in me.”

“I can arrange that,” Nylian promised.

But instead of returning to sex, he hopped out of bed and tiptoed across the room, dodging debris while his hard cock bounced with every step. He was a gorgeous sight, and it was not helping me regain control.

“Be careful! The glass!”

He ignored me as he dug through a basket of colorful jars and vials. After a few seconds, he held up a round blue jar with a look of triumph and returned to the bed.

“What’s that?” I asked as he sat between my legs.

“This,” he said proudly as he removed the lid, “is a special salve that helps to heal everything from basic aches and pains to speeding up the closure of wounds. It even soothes abrasions and burns.” He dipped his fingers inside and held them up to reveal a thick viscous gel with a pale-blue tint. “ And it works very well as a lubricant during sex.”

Fuck, yes! Elf-made magic lube. Bring it on!

That insane thought had barely crossed my brain when Nylian pressed one slick finger into my hole. There was a stretch and a flash of pain, but it was gone by the next breath.

“Are you okay?” Nylian inquired, still moving incredibly slow despite the magic elf goo.

“God, yes. Please don’t stop,” I groaned. My legs fell even wider apart while I stroked my cock.

Nylian added another finger, and I winced at the brief pain but continued to urge him on. I didn’t know whether the pain wasn’t as bad as I’d expected because I was so horny or because of the lube, but I needed more. This felt like a wicked tease, as if I were getting a lick of icing while Nylian was holding the whole damn chocolate cake inches out of my reach.

“Nylian,” I moaned. “I can’t take this. You got to fuck me before I lose my mind.”

The elf bent low, pressing a series of open mouth wet kisses on my thigh, sending chills through my entire body. He paused as he reached my hip bone and licked across the head of my leaking dick, causing my eyes to roll into my head as curses tumbled off my tongue.

“Anything for you,” he murmured.

Nylian removed his fingers from my ass and added some of the slick salve to his dick. The thick head brushed my hole, and I forced myself to release the air from my lungs, refusing to let fear strangle me.

He pushed forward, stretching my ass even more. My brain instantly overloaded. Burn, stretch, slick slide, and breath-stealing fullness destroyed my ability to think. I could only feel, and it was amazing.

The first thing that made sense was the tender brush of Nylian’s lips against mine.

“Just relax,” he whispered. “You’re doing so well, my precious one. Your body was made for me. Every thrust feels like you’re pulling me deeper.”

“Yes. More.” Those two words came out as a thin whimper. I lifted my hips with his next slow thrust, nearly taking all of him. For a second, it was too much, but then he was withdrawing and I immediately missed him. I needed everything.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and dug my heels into the mattress, meeting him for each thrust until the room was now filled with the sweaty slap of skin and the wooden bang of the headboard against the wall. In the candlelight, sweat glistened on Nylian’s brow and dampened the hair at his temples. His eyes were black pools of need, swallowing me whole and I loved it, loved everything about his moment.

“Grab your cock,” Nylian ordered through clenched teeth. “Want to watch you come. Need to feel it.”

Even as he spoke, I could feel his dick growing thicker, edging closer to his orgasm. God, I was so fucking full. This feeling was so perfect. It was almost enough to send me over the edge, but not quite.

Leaving my left hand on Nylian’s neck, I grabbed my dick with my right. Between the sweat and pre-cum, I had no problem stroking myself. Every muscle tensed and my breath caught as those first sparks gathered at the base of my spine. I wanted to fight it, stop the rush. This couldn’t be over. I wanted it to go on forever.

But it was too late. Nylian sped up, fucking me so hard I could see stars. The world exploded in a white ball wrapped in electric ecstasy. The feeling stretched on and on as Nylian continued to move in and out of my body at a frantic pace until he finally threw back his head and shouted my name at the top of his lungs.

He collapsed on top of me, smearing my cum into both our stomachs and chests, skin slick with sweat. I wrapped my arms about his waist and smiled against his shoulder. “I love when you say my name.”

Nylian wheezed, and it took me a second to realize he was laughing and not simply gasping for air. “I love when I say your name, too.”

I didn’t ask why he only used my given name when we were alone and usually in the throes of passion. The truth was that it had grown on me. I liked my name falling from his lips in these secret moments, and only we could hear it. My name was linked with a moment of pure joy, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

After a few tender kisses, I climbed out of bed, pulled on my boots, and crunched through the mess to get a damp cloth. The water was tepid, but it did the job to clean up our mess. We’d worry about arranging baths tomorrow.

By the time I finished cleaning Nylian off, the elf was asleep. It wasn’t that late in the evening, but the trek to Blackscar had been long and exhausting. Not to mention, Nylian had suffered through an emotional roller coaster. We could all use some sleep.

I extinguished the candles, kicked off my boots, and settled under the blankets with my elf. Lying on my side, I stared at his face as it slowly came into focus as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I marveled at those graceful eyebrows, his high cheekbones, soft lips, and sharp chin. He was elegance and beauty in sleep, sex and snark when he was awake.

Somewhere along the line in all these weeks of travel, danger, and chaos, I’d stopped thinking about Nylian as a character I’d created in a world I’d designed to pay my bills. Nylian had become real. His pain and joy were real. The danger and betrayal were real. And so was the love growing in my heart for him.

Regardless of magic coins and fate, I couldn’t leave here. I had to find a way to stay. I belonged with Nylian, and nothing was going to change that.