The Necromancer’s Light by Tavia Lark
❧
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shae
Shae barely breathes as Arthur sinks to his knees in front of him. He always thought that once he got rid of his powers, he could try to seek out ordinary things. Friendship. Sex. When he was an ordinary man without silver in his ears and gravedirt under his nails, without winter in his heart.
But Arthur wants him already, as twisted as he is. Arthur grins up at him so wickedly that Shae can forget for a moment that he’s the monster here.
Careful fingers unlace Shae’s trousers, brushing his cock through the fabric, and his legs threaten to buckle. He’s very glad of the tree supporting him. His hands fall to Arthur’s head, then his shoulders, then away.
“You can grab my hair if you want,” Arthur says, leaning his cheek against Shae’s thigh. One of his hands slides from Shae’s hip up under his shirt and traces the line of his waistband. Shae flinches at the delicate touch, already close to the edge.
Arthur mouths his cock through his trousers, breathes through the fabric, and Shae bites his lip on a moan. He can’t help rocking his hips against Arthur’s face, and Arthur groans in response, like he’s just as turned on by this as Shae is. Arthur’s lips reach the head of his cock, sucking faintly through the fabric. Shae’s eyes roll back at the sensation.
He’s certain he’s going to come before his trousers even come off, but Arthur pulls away just before he loses himself. He strokes Shae’s thighs and hips with the same hands that wield both sword and sunlight with brutal strength, the same hands that gently bandage Shae’s injuries. Now, Arthur uses them to take Shae apart, leaving only instinct and desire.
“How’re you doing?” Arthur asks, and he has every right to look that smug.
Shae’s breath hitches. “Doing fine.”
“Fine,” Arthur repeats, laughing. The corners of his eyes crinkle. “Yeah. Lovely weather we’re having, huh?”
It could be a hurricane and Shae wouldn’t care, because Arthur’s pulling his trousers down his thighs and wrapping a broad, strong hand around his cock. Shae curves over with the pleasure and friction, swearing when Arthur’s thumb slides over his leaking slit. He can’t even tell if he’s swearing in Charaini or Lyrisenian. There aren’t words in either language to describe how good this feels. Not just the touch, but the aura consuming him.
Arthur’s other hand slides up, shoving his shirt to his waist. Fingers splay against his stomach, not holding him down, just touching him. Anchoring Shae to earth even as his other hand drives him into the tempest.
Shae’s never been exposed to someone else like this, his cock hard and red against his pale stomach and dark curls, but somehow, he doesn’t feel afraid or nervous. Arthur knows what he is, but still wants him.
He touches Arthur’s hair again with his gloved right hand. When Arthur doesn’t stop him, he pulls the wave of golden hair back so he can see better. Arthur’s flushed under the dirt and stubble. There’s still blood on his face. The intensity in his green eyes flays Shae open.
Arthur licks the base of his cock. Kisses a line up the shaft, then sucks his head again. The wet heat of Arthur’s lips is a thousand times more intense without fabric between them. Arthur’s tongue flattens over Shae’s slit, and Shae can’t bite back his groan of pleasure.
His hand tightens instinctively in Arthur’s hair, and Arthur moans around Shae’s cock. He sinks halfway down his shaft. Up again. Down. His hand pumps in time with the movement of his mouth, covering the parts of Shae he isn’t swallowing. It’s so fast compared to the teasing before. Shae braces himself with his bandaged hand against the tree, not caring about the pressure on his injury, fully enthralled with the sensation of Arthur bobbing his head over his cock. His hips thrust forward, and Arthur’s hand pushes down on his stomach, holding him in place.
The sight is almost better than the sensation. Arthur’s lips are red around his cock, his eyes lowered in concentration. Even on his knees, he’s overwhelming.
“Gods,” Shae pants. “Arthur. I’m close, if you—”
Arthur’s gaze flicks up at him. He sucks down hard, and bright white magic flares around the hand on Shae’s stomach. The energy blazes through them, lighting Shae’s every nerve with impossible pleasure. Gasping, he jerks forward and comes into Arthur’s mouth.
Pleasure and magic still race through him, tingling from the tips of his fingers to his toes, as Arthur pulls off of him and rises to his feet. He conscientiously pulls Shae’s trousers back up and tucks his cock away. His hair is a mess, his lips are red, and he’s clearly incredibly pleased with himself. Despite doing all the real work, he doesn’t look half as exhausted as Shae feels.
Heart still pounding, Shae winds his arms around Arthur’s shoulders and pulls him in so he can taste himself on Arthur’s lips.
Arthur’s own untouched erection presses against his hip. He should probably do something about that, he thinks dazedly, even though there’s no way he could be anywhere near as good at this. But right now, he feels on top of the world. He can try anything.
He murmurs against Arthur’s lips, “Can I blow you too?”
“I want to just keep kissing you,” Arthur murmurs back, like a confession. “But I wouldn’t say no to your hand. Come here.”
Shae follows him to a patch of grass and winds up straddling Arthur’s lap, groin pressed to Arthur’s hard cock. His hands brace on Arthur’s chest, then slide down.
Unbuckling Arthur’s belt and unlacing his trousers is a feat in itself, with the way Arthur seems hell-bent on distracting him. Shae keeps losing focus, but he eventually gets Arthur’s clothes out of the way enough to draw out the man’s cock. It’s just as thick as it felt through his clothes, already slick with precome.
The angle’s awkward as Shae wraps his hand around it, feeling too hesitant and too forward all at once. But if he’s doing this wrong, Arthur doesn’t seem to care—he groans, jerking into Shae’s hand, and seizes Shae’s head to draw him into another kiss.
They barely part for air as Shae strokes Arthur’s cock. Arthur’s fingers tighten in his hair, and every once in a while Shae’s scalp stings, but the edge of pain just makes the kiss all the sweeter. He wants to devour every groan Arthur makes, wants to feel every shudder through their bodies.
He doesn’t realize Arthur’s about to come at first, until Arthur makes a brand-new, strangled groan against his lips, and spills. Shae breaks the kiss to watch the last pulse of seed shooting over his fingers.
Looking up, he finds Arthur staring at him. That smug expression from earlier is gone, replaced with something so soft and gentle that Shae doesn’t believe his eyes. He wants to, though.
“We should clean up,” Shae says eventually. They’re absolutely filthy, and he should probably rewrap his injured hand.
“Definitely,” Arthur agrees.
But instead of getting up, he pulls Shae down to the grass with him. Shae curls up under his arm. The cool grass tickles through his clothes, and the breeze from the river soothes the flush from his neck. They fit together like they were made for each other, and Shae could get addicted to this man’s touch.
He closes his eyes and savors the warmth.
***
By the time they get up, it’s too late in the evening to travel farther. Arthur takes care of Duchess while Shae awkwardly makes dinner with a hand and a half and spends the whole time thinking about Arthur’s mouth.
Then he spends the entire time they eat looking at Arthur’s mouth.
“I was distracted for a while there,” Arthur says, “but I don’t like that your demon and the vaidkos were able to take us by surprise.”
“He’s not my demon.” Shae grimaces. He’d rather think about that perfect mouth around his cock, those bright green eyes staring up at him. “Unless both our magics are drastically malfunctioning, the most logical reason we didn’t sense them sooner is that they weren’t there sooner. They teleported in.”
“Really don’t like that.” Arthur swigs from his water flask. His throat moves visibly as he swallows. “Radiance, it’s too much of a coincidence that we’ve run across them this many times. Are you sure your warding’s working?”
“I’m fucked if it isn’t.” Shae twists the ring in question. “But I actually think they were looking for you this time. I just happened to be there.”
Arthur’s eyebrows rise. “Me?”
“They’re feeding on souls, right?” Shae gestures towards him. “So they went for the brightest soul within range.”
Arthur sighs. His hair looks fire-gold under the setting sun. “We’ll reach Lanwatch soon at least, and we can ask if they’ve had a problem with vaidkos too. Besides that, the most we can do for now is keep our guard up.”
They fall into silence, and Shae resumes his surveillance of Arthur’s lips until Arthur rubs his hand over his chin.
“Do I have something on my face?”
Shae jumps, nearly dropping his travel bread. He bites his lip, then says, before he can overthink his way around it, “What is this?” He waves his hand. “Us, I mean. Not the bread.”
Arthur tilts his head, a familiar smug grin spreading across his face. “I was going to wait until I’d blown you again before asking,” he says, uncapping his waterskin, then recapping it without drinking. “Make sure you were in a good mood. It’s up to you. If you want me to just be your hired mercenary and portable fireplace, and maybe we fool around a few more times before parting ways, I can do that.”
Shae has to forcibly unclench his hand from crushing the travel bread. “Is that what you want?”
“I want this to be the start of something.” Arthur leans forward, focused entirely on him. “And I’m not eager to part ways that quickly.”
Relief blooms through Shae as powerfully as his earlier orgasm. He ducks his head, hiding what he’s sure is a stupidly happy expression. “I’m not eager to part ways either.”
He’s not surprised when Arthur scoots closer to him and pulls his face up. He’s always doing that, drawing Shae out of himself, forcing him to look at the world outside his shell. This time, the entire world is the kiss that Arthur drags him into.
The start of something. After ten years of endings, Shae likes the sound of that.