Page 13 of Through the Veil (Endangered Fae #2)

Chapter nine

Surrender

D iego knelt in the river holding Finn’s broken body for what seemed like hours.

The lightning had torn up the right side of his body, a gaping rip in his black, scaled armor from his hip to his shoulder.

Charred, bloody skin showed through the tear and covered the right side of his face.

His torso had twisted in an unnatural way, indicating a broken spine, and his right ear had been ripped in half.

“They told me it was someone else,” Diego whispered into Finn’s whole ear. “It was supposed to be this huge, powerful wolf-warrior. Someone born for battle. Finn…my poor Finn…”

“My love, do you suggest I was lacking as a champion?”

Diego nearly dropped Finn in shock at the gentle touch on his mind. “Oh, God… caro , I wasn’t even sure you were alive.” He heaved a shaky breath and hugged Finn closer.

“Hmm, well, I’m still not entirely certain, myself. My heart, my light, I need to go for a bit. Will you be all right?”

“Go? Go where? No…don’t leave me, not when I just found you!”

“Hush, now, my hero. You know where I will be. It won’t be so long this time. At least I’m in one piece.”

Finn’s body shuddered and faded into the water, leaving Diego holding the empty black-scaled armor. “Damn…oh, damn…” Yes, he knew where Finn had gone, into the Dreaming to let his body heal. It was just too much to bear to have found him only to be separated right away again.

He crawled up the bank and curled up on the grass with the armor clutched tightly to his chest. No more.

His heart couldn’t take any more. Diego closed his eyes and reached outside himself in a desperate attempt at what he had been told should be impossible.

The eddies and tides of magic flowed all around him, but he ignored all the tugs on his concentration, searching for that one bright spark that was Finn.

A featureless twilight stretched before him without color or substance. Diego turned his attention in the direction he thought should be up and, yes, there they shone, the multitude of stars in the midnight blue firmament. He had found his way into the Dreaming.

“Finn?”

“There you are, love. I thought you might never arrive.” Finn’s image manifested on the empty plain, a dream image, whole and well.

“Brat. You just did this to see if I could follow you without the seizures,” Diego grumbled.

“It had occurred. And I certainly could heal wrapped in your arms in the physical plane, but it would take days.” Finn’s mental image looked away. “This will speed things.”

Diego settled by him. “Ah.”

“Am I to have my hearing now? Since you no longer seem furious with me?”

With the connection between them so close, Diego didn’t need to ask what he meant. “You don’t have to.”

“It would ease my thoughts if I could share the memory of that day, my heart.”

“I guess I owe you that much for almost turning you into pooka-kebab.”

“Kebab,” Finn said wistfully. “I like kebab.”

“How the hell can you think about food right now?” Diego hovered between amusement and revulsion.

“I’m hungry.”

“You’re half-charred and broken like some discarded toy, and you’re hungry.”

“It has been an anxious few days. I haven’t eaten. And now you appear miraculously. Does wonders for the appetite.”

Diego smiled. “I missed you, too, mi vida .” He waved a hand at the stars, each one of them representing one of Finn’s memories. “Which one is it?”

“There.” Finn reached up and pointed to one near his right hand.

It took three tries, but Diego managed to pull the memory to him of the day he had surprised Finn with that girl.

The whole, heart-pounding day rushed past him from the moment Finn had woken that morning, the girl’s desperate cry for help and Finn’s valiant rescue, to the moment Diego had stormed out of the house.

“ Carino,” Diego murmured. “I’m so sorry. Here you were trying to do something good. You wanted me to be proud of you. And I—”

“I have thought on this long and hard, love,” Finn cut him off. “And despite good intentions, I still must beg your forgiveness. I broke my promise.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I promised I would never take another to my bed. And she was, without a doubt, in our bed.”

A laugh leaped from Diego. “Finn, mi amor , that’s an expression. A euphemism.”

“I know. I do recognize some of them by now.” Finn’s image huffed in irritation. “Still, I think it was the shock that made it so terrible for you. I should have found a way to prepare you.”

“Would have been nice to have a call.” Diego wrapped mental arms around Finn.

Dios , this was all his fault. If he hadn’t overreacted…

if he’d insisted Finn learn the numbers on the phone…

Though teaching Finn numbers and letters had proven frustrating.

Pooka concentration didn’t lend itself to such things.

“When we get home, I’m ordering you DVDs of Sesame Street . Maybe then we can get you to use things besides speed dial.”

“Tell me I’m forgiven?” Finn said plaintively.

“If I am.”

“I will think on it.”

Diego snorted.

“Love? Where are you lying?” Finn asked after a long silence.

“I’m on the riverbank.”

“Ach. Soaking wet, in Lugh’s gods-be-damned armor. You will be ill.” Finn stood and held out his hands. “Come. We’re going back.”

“Isn’t it too soon?”

Finn shrugged. “Perhaps. Come. I won’t have you back only to have you catch your death.”

Diego returned to his body to find that Finn was right.

He was chilled, his teeth chattering. Finn sprawled naked nearby, his body half on the bank, legs trailing in the river.

The open wounds had healed to angry red patches, his spine had straightened and his ear had regained much of its shape.

Amazing what Finn could manage in a few hours.

Human doctors would have given their right arms for such things.

“ Caro .” Diego smoothed the tangled hair back from Finn’s eyes. He got a weak moan and fluttering eyelids in response. “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.”

He lifted Finn again, cradling him against his chest, always grateful that he weighed less than his size implied.

With a sigh, Finn opened his eyes and found him with a smile. “There’s my handsome hero,” he got out in a scratchy whisper. “I will say you look grand in Lugh’s armor. Quite virile.”

“Great, thanks,” Diego grumbled as he trudged up the bank. “I want it off. My balls itch, and I can’t scratch.”

“I have several itches I want scratched.” Finn nuzzled at Diego’s jaw.

Diego snorted. “You’re barely back in one piece.”

“I don’t recall that being an impediment before.”

An ancient willow provided the best available shelter, its trailing leaves acting as a curtain against the breeze. Soft moss grew thick under its branches and here Diego laid his passenger down. He stroked Finn’s hair and bent to kiss his forehead.

“Will you be taking the armor off?” Finn asked. “Or did you intend to play the conqueror and keep it on while you take me? I suppose you could simply unlace the crotch. I’ll have no difficulty playing the helpless, vanquished foe for you if you like, but—”

Diego cut him off with a soft kiss. “I think I’ve missed your touch too much for games.”

“Could I still be helpless?” The husk of desire in Finn’s voice was unmistakable.

“I don’t think you have much choice.” Diego ran a finger down Finn’s long, perfect nose before he took his hands back to undo the silver laces. Damnably frustrating things, Lugh had done them up so tight, but he managed to get them loose enough to slither out of the silver scales.

“My conqueror is so beautiful. I think I shall surrender gladly,” Finn murmured, his eyes traveling up and down Diego’s body.

“Good.” Diego ran a hand down Finn’s uninjured side, tracing over his ribs and hip. Already half-erect, Finn’s uncut shaft expanded at the gentle caress. “You tell me if anything hurts, okay?”

“Okay,” Finn repeated, the modern phrase still sounding strange from him.

With gentle nudges, Diego urged Finn’s thighs apart so he could move between them, keeping his weight on his arms. His cock was already hard and aching, and a shuddering groan tore from him when it brushed up against Finn’s.

It had been too long, the urge to just thrust in and hammer away savagely was so strong it frightened him.

Instead, he curled over to brush Finn’s lips with his.

Finn’s left hand slid up his shoulder, fingers tangling desperately in his hair to pull him down for a more serious kiss.

So much for helpless. But Finn didn’t press further, waiting for him to lead.

Diego ran his tongue over those soft, full lips, and plunged within.

The heat of Finn’s mouth, the answering thrust of his tongue sent a spear of searing longing through his groin.

“Here, mi amor .” Diego broke off the kiss to offer Finn his fingers. “Get some of these wet for me.”

Finn’s prehensile tongue wrapped around his forefinger, hot and incredibly flexible, and he thought he might come right then and there. Diego bent his head to lap at Finn’s nipple, breathing in the soft scent of his arousal as the nub pebbled and hardened under his strokes.

A moan vibrated around Diego’s fingers where Finn had stuffed three in his mouth. “My heart, my own,” Finn whispered. “I’m in dire straits. Please don’t tease too long.”

“You and me both.” Diego hissed a breath as Finn licked his palm. “All right, caro , give that back. I need it now.”

He bent Finn’s leg up on his uninjured side and slid his wet fingers between his cheeks.

Flexible in so many ways a human wasn’t, Finn needed far less preparation than a human lover.

Still, Diego hated to rush. He teased at the puckered entrance and Finn tilted his hips, pressing into the touch, silently pleading.

Diego’s forefinger sank inside his tight channel and Finn let out a soft moan, hands gripped tight on Diego’s shoulders.

“More?”

“Yes, more, please.” Finn writhed on that one finger, head flung back, lips parted.

Diego inserted a second finger, slowly working his way inside to press against the gland shared by fae and human males alike. Finn whimpered, his erection jumping with each stroke.

“Tell me you want me,” Diego murmured, taking some advantage of his role as conqueror.

“Oh, goddesses of stream and spring,” Finn moaned. “I want you so. I want you buried inside me, joined with me, one with me, please, love, oh…”

Diego leaned over to kiss the glistening head of Finn’s shaft and withdrew his fingers so he could replace them with the head of his cock.

Finn spread his thighs wider and lifted his hips to give him better access, black eyes shining with desire.

Slowly, deliberately, Diego sank inside his tight heat while Finn begged and pleaded for more, faster.

It was the first time since he had first made love to Finn that he truly felt in control, an unfamiliar but intoxicating sensation.

When he had buried himself to the hilt, he wrapped his arms around Finn’s torso and lifted him to sitting so he ended up impaled on Diego’s lap.

Finn’s eyes went wide in surprise, then closed on a deep groan as Diego thrust upward.

The position apparently stimulated every sensitive nerve bundle at once for Finn, his ass thoroughly filled and stretched, his cock caught between their bodies against the hard ridges of Diego’s stomach.

His head fell back, his hair tumbling down in a wild, black cataract.

Diego felt the long, lean muscles relax under his hands as Finn surrendered completely and let Diego move him up and down as he pleased. Finn’s legs locked around him, and Diego groaned as he was pulled in deeper still.

“Finn, I won’t last.”

“It’s all right, my hero.” Finn cupped Diego’s face between his hands. “Neither will I. I’m—” He kissed Diego softly, his breaths coming short. “Oh…gods…Diego!”

The hot splash of Finn’s seed hit Diego’s chest at the same moment his channel clamped hard around his cock.

Diego slammed in twice, and the white-hot pressure exploded up from his balls.

He cried out, loud enough for his ecstasy to echo off the opposite shore.

Finn jerked and bucked in his lap, the movements and the erotic sounds he made tearing hard aftershocks from Diego’s core, the nova intensity of his orgasm sending black spots dancing before his eyes.

Finn’s head flopped down on his shoulder, and they simply held each other gently, panting hard. After a moment, though, Finn’s breaths began to hitch.

“What is it? Finn? Did I hurt you?” Diego stroked his hair and tried to lift his head.

“I thought I’d lost you again,” Finn got out in a choked whisper. “I thought you were dead. I’ve been so miserable, so frightened.”

“ Mi vida, mi amor ,” Diego murmured against his hair. “I thought so, too. About you. I’m here now. Don’t cry.” He had never been able to fathom why those gentle words often guaranteed tears but, right on cue, Finn began to sob. “Hush, hush, I’m here, I’m here. I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

The storm passed quickly and Finn soon quieted in his arms, apparently content to be rocked and held.

“Finn.” Diego kissed his cheek. “From everything I’ve heard, we may never make it home again. The Veil shut behind us. We could be stuck here.”

“I have you back,” Finn said on a heavy sniff. “Naught else matters. I am home.”