Page 19 of The Laws of Nature (Heirs of the Empire #3)

Harok slices the roast boar with a huge knife he pulls from his belt.

Serving men and women appear and take plates of meat to the lower tables.

Harok puts a selection of rich cuts in front of Tobi.

He looks at Tobi with steady eyes. He says something that ends with “Suskara,” as he picks up a morsel of the meat and holds it to Tobi’s lips.

The big ring with its dark stone glitters on Harok’s middle finger.

Tobi takes the meat, plucking it from Harok’s blunt fingers with his tongue. It is delicious, richly savoury and luscious. But he is so hungry. He wants more than just a tiny piece of meat given as ceremony.

Harok smiles and touches Tobi’s cheek, his fingers a little greasy.

On a sudden instinct, Tobi reaches for Harok’s big wrist. He pulls Harok’s fingers back to his mouth and sucks the grease from them.

He is not sure why he does it. Is he simply hungry or is it some other appetite he feels?

But he does it slowly. And he sees Harok’s eyes go narrow again.

He sees it clearly. Harok’s bold lust. Harok wants him and it feels sweet as a honeyed plum.

He does not think anyone has ever looked at him so. Even Cyrus when Tobi was younger. Harok looks at Tobi like he wants to devour him.

And, Tobi thinks with a shiver, he will. He will and Tobi plans to let him.

When Tobi pulls his mouth from Harok’s finger, Harok laughs.

His laugh is quite delightful. It lights his entire face.

Harok takes another piece of the meat and feeds Tobi again.

Tobi eats the second piece then selects a plump piece of meat from his own plate and offers it to Harok, “ Ga, Suskara, ” Harok murmurs as he takes the piece with his lips, “ Garan, garisiana. ” His mouth is hot as his lips touch Tobi’s fingers.

And the praise — Tobi is certain that the phrase, ga, garan, garisiana is praise — makes him feel far sweeter and warmer low in his belly than the strange flowery drink that he was given with his bath.

The feast continues in this manner, with Harok feeding Tobi.

He takes Tobi’s cup too and has him drink ale.

Tobi does not care much for the taste of ale.

But this is refreshing against the rich food and after a while he feels a soft calm from the drink.

He relaxes back in the cushions. He has long forgotten how angry he was about the outfit Harok insisted he wear.

The sun is setting but the braziers keep him quite pleasantly warm.

The night around them grows darker. Lanterns are lit in the trees. The music grows darker too, the chanting accompaniment so intense it makes Tobi’s skin prickle. When Harok feeds Tobi some honey cakes and berries, he says, “Lymok,” then something in Ambolk he clearly wants him to translate.

Lymok leans forward from his seat along the table. He smiles as he says, “Harok is asking if you like the sweet things?”

Tobi nods, feeling his cheeks growing flushed. “ Sho, Irgorye,” he says, voice sounding breathy as Harok’s thumb trails over his chin.

Harok nods, eyes narrowing with amusement. “Sweet things,” he echoes. The words sounding strange as he gazes at Tobi for a moment. “ Meluce,” he says. Is that the word for sweet? For a sweet thing?

Tobi bites his lip. He hopes for a kiss, but Harok takes his hand from Tobi’s face and claps his palms together.

He shouts something in Ambolk and a moment later a serving man appears with a golden cup.

Harok takes it without a word and shows it to Tobi.

It contains a golden liquid with a soft sweet scent.

“ Meluce-lil, Suskara ?”

Tobi gives a small shrug, “ Meluce-lil, Irgorye. ” He reaches out and places his hand on the golden cup, over Harok’s own, and pulls the cup to his lips.

He tastes the sweet, strong drink it contains.

Mead. His favourite. Meluce-lil , Harok called it — he ought to try and remember that.

Meluce is sweet, meluce-lil is mead. The mead dances on Tobi’s tongue.

It tastes like sunlight, warm and golden.

Tobi sucks a drop from his lower lip as Harok takes back the cup.

Their eyes meet. Harok’s blue eyes are so dark they look black.

Harok sets the cup down, leans close and takes a delicate kiss from Tobi’s lips, as if Tobi’s mouth is the sweet goblet he sups from .

When he pulls back, Tobi says, “It is delicious, my Irgorye.”

Tobi looks at Harok, raised above him on the ornate carved chair. He looks even more imposing.

He slides a hand onto Harok’s forearm.

Harok smiles. “Suskara,” he says in a soft purr.

Tobi finds himself biting his bottom lip.

He cannot deny that he desires Harok. Harok is pig-headed and stubborn — but that body, that power.

If Harok wanted to take him to bed and behave in that infuriating way, ordering Tobi to kneel, to lie back and open his thighs, Tobi wouldn’t mind his stern manner at all.

Harok lifts an arm and reaches behind Tobi. Tobi turns his head, realising Harok is waving to Lymok.

He leans forward and says, “Irgo.”

Harok gestures with an arm for Lymok to come closer. Lymok rises from his place and walks along the table until he stands between Tobi and Harok.

Harok smiles and says something to Lymok in Ambolk. He nods and turns to Tobi.

“His Grand Majesty Irgo Harok would like to know what you want?”

“What I want?” Tobi says, leaning back a little.

“He thinks you are trying to ask him for something? Are you?” Lymok wets his bottom lip. He seems a little awkward. Tobi can’t help thinking that Lymok is translating Harok’s words delicately.

Oh.

Tobi shivers. Is he really going to have to ask Lymok to ask Harok to fuck him? Tobi looks at Harok. Harok is watching him. His eyes are bright. This is clearly amusing him.

Tobi takes a breath. If Harok wants to play games, he is about to find Tobi can play them right back.

“You can tell Harok,” he says, “that if he is asking what pleasure he may take with my body when this feast is over, then he may order me to my knees to suck his magnificent cock. Or, if he would prefer to command me to spread my legs so he can take my hole, would he require me on my back, like a maiden, or bent over so he can take me like a dog with a bitch?”

“Ah,” says Lymok. Tobi enjoys his surprised expression. But he quickly composes himself, lifting his chin and speaking to Harok in Ambolk. Hearing his words being relayed to Harok makes Tobi’s mouth go dry.

When Lymok finishes Harok looks at Tobi, then replies to Lymok, a torrent of expressive Ambolk. Tobi concentrates. He picks out words. Kushir is definitely in there. Dek , the Ambolk word for cock. And esich , which Tobi is quite certain means fuck or something close to it.

Lymok turns back to Tobi. His expression is placid, but there’s something behind his eyes that seems to tell Tobi that he is not impressed by being made to use his skills to help Tobi play games with Harok.

Coolly, he says, “Irgo Harok has asked me to remind you that you are his kushir. Your body is his to use for his pleasure however he wishes.” Although Tobi is certain Harok’s true words were far lewder.

Harok says something in Ambolk, then he turns Tobi’s face back to his own, with big fingertips on Tobi’s jaw. He looks at Tobi with a broad smile on his handsome face, like he just won a game.

Tobi swallows. He thinks of what Lymok just said.

Harok will use him for pleasure however he wishes.

Every time Harok has touched him it has lit a fire in his belly.

He is sure that being covered by Harok will be pleasurable.

He wants Harok’s mouth on his, Harok’s hands on his body.

Harok’s fingers, Harok’s cock inside him.

But he can say none of that, so he does the best he can with the few Ambolk words he has.

“ Irgorye. Esich. Irgorye dek. Suskara kush .”

Tobi dreads to think how this clumsy collection of Ambolk words sounds to Harok.

And his question is answered when Harok bursts out laughing, loud and long, giant shoulders shaking.

Tobi looks at Lymok. “What did I say?” he asks.

Lymok presses his lips together before he says, “You said: Master fuck, Master cock, dark light hole.”

Harok is still laughing when he suddenly stands.

The grove seems to react as one. People all around them still and turn to look at him.

Harok removes his crown and places it on the table with a shout in Ambolk that sounds like a cry of triumph.

The Ambolk cheer as Harok turns, bends and scoops Tobi up in his arms, lifting him like he is a bag of rags.

Tobi yelps as he is borne into the air.