Page 13 of Lord of the Lone Wolf (Bonded Hearts #3)
The idea of sharing his beloved mate with someone as intellectually stimulating as Liros, of watching the Knowledge Power’s legendary wisdom turn toward the art of pleasure, stirred desires Kisano hadn’t known he possessed.
“You’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?” Sephen asked. “Tell me what you’re imagining.”
Kisano’s reserve crumbled under the weight of desire and curiosity. “You would enjoy being the subject of such scholarly attention?”
“From both of you?” Sephen’s laugh was breathless with arousal. “Thinking about the two smartest people in all the realms using discourse as foreplay is the sexiest thing I can imagine.”
Kisano captured Sephen’s lips in a kiss that was hungry and desperate, pouring all his confusion and unexpected desire into their connection. It surprised him that his dragon didn’t experience jealousy or insecurity over the possibility of sharing their beloved mate.
“What if it’s not a fantasy?” Sephen whispered against Kisano’s lips when they parted.
“What if there is a chance that someone like Liros could want us the way we want him? Someone whose love for knowledge matches our own, who could see the beauty in what we’ve built together and want to be part of it? ”
“Someone who could love us both without ruining what we already share,” Kisano murmured, the possibility sending another burst of arousal through him.
Sephen’s eyes grew brighter. “Someone who could strengthen our bond, who could challenge us intellectually and satisfy us physically, who could turn our quiet library into a space filled with more passion and sexual discovery.”
As they lost themselves in another kiss, deeper and more passionate than before, Kisano wondered if Sephen’s bold fantasies might not be as impossible as they seemed.
The way his mate spoke about Liros, with arousal and affection in his voice, suggested they weren’t idle thoughts but genuine desires.
After all, if trinity bonds were possible for the Ariake clan, and if Powers occasionally took more direct interest in the Living Realm than most believed, who was to say what fate might have in store for them?
Sephen worked at the ties of Kisano’s robes with increasing purpose, his touch growing bolder. “But until that impossible dream comes true,” he said, affecting a playful, seductive tone, “maybe you could give me a taste of what that kind of intellectual seduction would feel like?”
Kisano chuckled. “What do you mean?”
“Teach me something complex and beautiful that I don’t know yet.
Use that brilliant mind of yours to seduce me the way Liros might.
” His touch became more reverent as he spoke, as if Kisano’s intellect was something he could worship through physical contact.
“Show me how knowledge can be the most powerful aphrodisiac.”
The idea of combining his greatest passion with his deep love for Sephen intoxicated Kisano and his dragon. “You want me to lecture you while?—”
“While I prove how much your intelligence turns me on,” Sephen finished, exploring the contours of Kisano’s body with the same reverence he showed ancient texts.
“Do you have any idea what it does to me when you explain complex theories? The way your voice changes, how passionate you get about ideas, watching your brilliant mind at work makes me so hard. Think of it as practice for when we have a certain Knowledge Power to impress.”
Kisano’s control wavered as his mate’s arousal spiked with each mention of learning and wisdom. “Very well. But if I am to be your teacher in this endeavor, you will have to be a very attentive student.”
“I’m always attentive when you’re teaching,” Sephen replied with a grin. “Especially when the subject is this stimulating. Nothing makes me want you more than when you’re being smart.”
Kisano stood, lifting Sephen with him, his mate’s legs wrapping around his waist. “Very well. We need a proper setting for such specialized instruction.”
“Where are we going?” Sephen asked, pressing hungry kisses along Kisano’s jaw.
Kisano carried his mate through a narrow aisle of tomes on celestial divination. “To our favorite sanctuary.”
When they reached what appeared to be an ordinary silverwood bookcase filled with rare Valzernan historical texts, Kisano shifted Sephen to one arm and pressed his palm against a particular volume. The case responded to his touch, pivoting on hidden mechanisms to reveal a secret alcove beyond.
“It’s been too long since we’ve come here,” Sephen murmured as Kisano carried him inside. The bookcase swung closed behind them with a soft click, sealing them in privacy.
The half-circle alcove had a domed ceiling painted in deepening shades of midnight blue. Silver constellations caught the light that filtered through the tall, arched window.
“I’ve missed this place,” Sephen said.
Kisano stood before his mate, drinking in the sight of him sprawled across the cushions. “I believe I promised you a lesson in intellectual seduction.”
Sephen’s breathing quickened. “Yes, you did.”
Kisano let the fine Valzernan silk of his outer robe fall to the floor in a whisper of fabric.
Beneath it, he wore a simpler tunic of deep blue, cinched at the waist with a belt of intricate silver links.
“The philosophers of pre-Sundering Tiora developed a theory that true intimacy could only be achieved when mind and body were equally engaged.”
Sephen’s eyes followed Kisano’s hands as they moved to his belt. “Tell me more about these philosophers,” he urged, his scholarly curiosity genuine even as desire darkened his gaze.
“They were members of the Order of the Sacred Sigil,” Kisano explained, unfastening the belt with deliberate slowness. “They were an elite society of runemancers who believed that physical pleasure was an extension of intellectual connection.”
The belt came free, and Kisano let it fall to the soft navy carpet. “They documented their findings in a text called The Ecstasies of Knowing . Only three copies remain in existence. The necromancers attempted to destroy all runemancer texts because of the danger they posed to their dark magic.”
“And you’ve read one?” Sephen asked, running his hands along Kisano’s still-clothed thighs.
“I am the only one who possesses a complete version,” Kisano admitted, stepping between Sephen’s knees. “It resides in that cabinet behind you.”
Sephen’s eyes widened as he half turned to look at the small cabinet built into the curved wall. “You never showed me that before.”
“I was waiting for the right moment,” Kisano replied, his fingers finding the ties at Sephen’s collar. “For when you were ready to understand its teachings not only intellectually, but experientially.”
Sephen shivered under Kisano’s touch. “And you think I’m ready now?”
Kisano untied the laces of Sephen’s fine linen tunic. “You have been ready for some time. I simply needed the courage to be your guide.”
As the tunic loosened, it revealed the column of Sephen’s throat and the upper curve of his chest. Kisano traced the exposed skin with his fingertips, sensing his mate’s pulse quicken beneath his touch.
“The first stage of intellectual arousal,” Kisano began, adopting the rhythmic cadence of a formal lecture, “is what the Order called ‘Intellectual Awakening.’ It begins with the presentation of a compelling idea that captures one’s complete attention.”
He unlaced Sephen’s tunic, revealing more of his chest with each word.
“The physical manifestations are subtle but unmistakable. The pulse quickens.” His fingers traced the vein in Sephen’s neck, feeling the rapid beat there.
“Breathing becomes shallow. Awareness narrows to focus on the source of stimulation.”
Sephen hung on every word. “Is that what happened when you first read the text?”
“Yes,” Kisano admitted. “I stayed awake for three days, unable to set it aside. My body forgot its need for food and rest. There was only the knowledge, unfolding before me like a revelation.”
“And the physical response?” Sephen asked, drawing Kisano closer.
“Unmistakable,” Kisano said with a small smile. “Much like yours now.”
He pushed Sephen’s tunic off his shoulders, baring his torso to the blue-tinted light. “According to the text, the first stage is characterized by a state of heightened receptivity. The mind opens itself completely to new information, while the body prepares for deeper connection.”
His fingers found a sensitive spot below Sephen’s ribs, and his mate gasped.
“The scholars believed that certain points on the body correspond directly to intellectual centers,” Kisano explained, circling the spot with his thumb.
“This one, for instance, connects to the capacity for abstract thought.”
“That explains why it feels so good when you touch me there,” Sephen joked.
“Tell me,” Kisano murmured against Sephen’s skin, “what is the most interesting idea you have encountered recently? What subject has awakened your intellectual hunger?”
Sephen’s hands tangled in Kisano’s hair, holding him close. “The possibility of trinity bonds,” he answered without hesitation. “Three souls connecting as perfectly as two intrigues me. Knowing their love could expand without taking away from what already exists. I have so many questions.”
Kisano smiled against Sephen’s skin, pleased by the answer.
“An excellent example of Intellectual Awakening,” he praised, shifting his attention to another sensitive spot below Sephen’s collarbone.
“The concept captures your imagination, makes you want to explore further, and leaves you hungry for more knowledge.”
“Yes,” Sephen agreed, arching into Kisano’s touch. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“And does your body respond when you contemplate this idea?” Kisano asked. His hands moved lower, tracing the waistband of Sephen’s breeches.
“You know it does,” Sephen admitted, his cheeks flushing. “Especially when I think about specific applications of the theory.”