Peregrine by Piper Scott
Peregrine
1508
“Do you want another?” Sebastian held a piece of colored marzipan to Peregrine’s lips. “Eat.”
It was the fourth marzipan of the night, and the seventh sweet Sebastian had asked Peregrine to consume. The first had been a piece of candied orange with a flavor as bright as the southern lands it came from. Next, a curious creation Sebastian had called a “rose sugar drop” that, upon entering Peregrine’s mouth, had dissolved into sweetness on his tongue. Then had come a candied pecan, and finally, the first piece of marzipan. Peregrine had never tasted anything so good. He’d had honey before, yes, but sugar—sugar was a rarity, reserved exclusively for the rich. It was not the kind of food meant for a Disgrace.
Sebastian, however, seemed to care little about that, because he kept selecting sweets and staring Peregrine down until he accepted them. It was uncommonly frightening. Peregrine had been taught that dragons were fearsome creatures, but truly, Sebastian was menacing to the extreme. It seemed to him that if he were to disobey, Sebastian would split him open where he lay and see to it that the sweets made it to his stomach whether he wanted them there or not. So he took the candies when offered and didn’t dare remind his lord that offerings like this were above him.
It was no hardship.
They truly were divine.
The issue was, Peregrine had made the mistake of humming in pleasure upon tasting the marzipan, and now it seemed to be the only treat Sebastian would give him.
“Eat, omega,” Sebastian repeated with some force when Peregrine did not immediately take it from his fingers. “Do you not like it?”
“I like it very much, my lord,” Peregrine assured him, then took the marzipan delicately between his teeth, making sure to brush Sebastian’s fingers with his lips in as alluring a manner as he could. It was important that he be pleased.
“Good,” Sebastian grumbled, then proffered Peregrine yet another sweet that he dared not refuse.
When the latest piece of marzipan had been eaten, Sebastian retrieved a goblet of wine from the table closest to the bedside and tipped it to Peregrine’s lips. It mixed with the sugar left on his tongue and produced a wine better than Peregrine had ever known. He hummed in appreciation again, prompting a grunt from Sebastian that was entirely too empty of emotion to decipher.
“Are you sated?” Sebastian asked when Peregrine stopped drinking.
Peregrine nodded.
“Good.” Sebastian set the wine aside. “Come here.”
Both of them were on the bed, having sat up but not otherwise moved since Sebastian’s knot had loosened and their bodies had come apart. Peregrine took a moment to consider Sebastian’s invitation, then crawled his way across the scant space between them, ever careful that he held his belly in and his head at such an angle that the light from the room’s window would best play across his features. Mistress Fokje had often bemoaned the fact that his beauty had been wasted on a Disgrace such as himself, so Peregrine knew he was attractive, but he also knew that even the prettiest face could be made ugly if one was not mindful of the eye of the beholder. It was why all Pedigree omegas were trained in the art of their own bodies. Even Peregrine. After all, treasure kept alongside garbage eventually became tainted by its filth. In order to keep the other Pedigree omegas pristine, Peregrine was expected to shine.
And shine he did.
Channeling all he’d learned, he straddled Sebastian’s lap and loosely looped his arms around the dragon’s neck. Sebastian’s gaze, which had been cold and intimidating, thawed. It seemed, for a short moment, that he knew not what to do, but then a lascivious look flashed through his eyes and he took Peregrine by the hips. “Mine,” he growled, dipping his head to speak the word against Peregrine’s jawline. A hot kiss followed, then another, until Sebastian arrived at Peregrine’s lips. “All. Mine.”
“Yours, my lord,” Peregrine vowed in a breathless whisper. “All of me.”
A sound like storms sweeping in from the sea rumbled in Sebastian’s throat, then, without further warning, his lips crashed into Peregrine’s like a wave breaking on a craggy cliffside. Peregrine’s spine went rigid, then relaxed as the kiss continued. Like the sea, Sebastian was fearsome and deadly, but he did not intend to be destructive—it was simply his nature. All Peregrine had to learn to do was ride his currents and tides and all would be fine.
“Mine,” Sebastian repeated into Peregrine’s mouth as he lifted him up and positioned him over his hardened cock. “Mine.”
“Yours,” Peregrine affirmed as Sebastian pushed his way inside. Like he’d been taught, he arched his back and moved his hips, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. With a cry, he rested his head on Sebastian’s chest and rode until his legs were shaking and his arms were so tight around Sebastian’s neck, he was sure he had to be hurting him. “Yours. Yours. Yours.”
The lubricant from before eased the friction between them, but Sebastian was large, and the intrusion stung. Still, he persisted. It was his duty. Sebastian was to be his lord until he returned Peregrine to his cloister. Peregrine would not fail him so soon.
“Please, my lord,” he uttered against Sebastian’s collarbone, as he’d been taught it was a proper thing to say when mating with a dragon. “Please, I need more.”
“Do not toy with me, omega,” Sebastian growled in reply. “Tell me what you really want, not what they’ve told you to say.”
Peregrine was so startled by the command, he pushed hastily back from Sebastian’s chest and looked him in the eyes. They were dark and determined, and in them, there was no sign of deceit or trickery to be found.
“I want…” Peregrine’s mouth fell open as he came down on Sebastian’s cock at a new angle, causing pleasure to arrow through him in ways it never had before. “I want this. I want you. And I don’t want to ever have to go back.”
The last part fell out of him, unprompted and unplanned. Peregrine gasped, but was silenced when Sebastian kissed him hard. It was savage, but then, so was Sebastian. Perfect and primal and raw. The force of their kiss ripped through Peregrine like fire through pine tar and left him burning, and as Sebastian pushed him onto the bed, Peregrine ignited. Like a wild thing, he bucked and squirmed and took. And while Sebastian gave with every thrust of his hips, he took from Peregrine in return.
“Yes. Be free,” Sebastian urged. His voice was dark with pleasure. The underlying satisfaction in it resonated in Peregrine’s heart. “Take. Own. Possess. And allow me to do the same in return.”
Peregrine could barely make sense of the words, but it didn’t matter—his body knew what to do. Nothing would stop him from it. He moved as Sebastian did, wild and unashamed, with no mind for his angles or his lighting, or even the expression on his face. Sebastian growled as if in appreciation, then bucked into him savagely, but as cruel as he could be, Peregrine did not suffer. Rather, he learned how to ride the waves.
Before long, Sebastian wrapped a hand around his cock, and from there, Peregrine gave in to pleasure. The light of the day ceded its place to shadow, and darkness crept across the room. When it had consumed them entirely, Peregrine jerked a final time into his lord’s hand, cried out from a place so deep his stomach curled, and came. Sebastian joined him, roaring, and as his hot cum spilled into Peregrine’s body and his knot stretched Peregrine to his limits, Peregrine began to cry.
“Hush,” Sebastian ordered, and while Peregrine obeyed, he could not stop the tears from falling.
He did not want to be sent back to his cloister or have to part from the dragon who’d plucked him off the streets, but he knew that, at some point, it would happen. Even were he to do the impossible and bear Sebastian a clutch, it would be taken from him before he could so much as touch the eggs and, duty performed, he would be sent back home and would never see Sebastian again.
“Omega,” Sebastian said. “Why are you leaking?”
Peregrine brushed an arm as prettily as he could over his eyes and smiled his very best smile. The hard look on Sebastian’s face crumpled, and without another word, he kissed Peregrine softly and sweetly.
“Mine,” Sebastian uttered as they kissed. “Mine.”
It was the truth, but there was a part Sebastian had omitted, and it was the most important of all. So for every “Mine” Sebastian gave him, Peregrine reminded himself of what his lord had neglected to say: for now.
* * *
Day had yet to break when Sebastian roused Peregrine from his sleep. A beeswax candle burned in a holder by the bedside, offering modest light by which Peregrine glimpsed Sebastian’s face. His expression was guarded but not overtly hostile, and the way he shook Peregrine by the shoulder was gentle, especially considering his size.
“Peregrine,” Sebastian said when he noticed Peregrine was awake. “Get up.”
The dragon was already dressed. Peregrine couldn’t tell the color of his doublet in such dim light, but it was plain to see by the stitchwork that the garment was expensive—worth more, perhaps, than the box of sweets Sebastian had plied him with the previous night.
“Is there something the matter, my lord?” Peregrine asked as he sat up in bed. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and squinted through the darkness in an attempt to make sense of what was happening, but came up short. The inn was quiet, as were the streets outside.
“No. Today we travel, and I must prepare you for the voyage.” Sebastian ripped the sheets from Peregrine’s lap and lifted him out of bed. “You are filthy. It will not do. I have ordered you a bath.”
Shame burned Peregrine’s cheeks. “I bathed yesterday, my lord.”
“And you will bathe again.” Sebastian set Peregrine on the floor next to the bed and ran a hand apologetically through his hair. Like magic, the touch lit Peregrine up from the inside and invoked memories of the night before, and all the passion they’d shared. Greedy for more, he leaned into Sebastian’s hand, hoping Sebastian might remember as well and come back to bed. To his delight, Sebastian squatted down, bringing them practically to eye level with one another. Certainly close enough to kiss. Peregrine’s heart pounded a wicked beat, and he began to close his eyes in anticipation of Sebastian’s lips on his.
Sebastian leaned forward, closing even more distance between them, and passed by Peregrine’s lips to withdraw the chamber pot from beneath the bed. “Use it,” he demanded.
Peregrine accepted the chamber pot with as much poise as he could muster. He did not want to let on that he’d much rather have something put in him than… well, the opposite. “Yes, my lord.”
“By the time you’re done, the bath will be cool enough to use.”
Peregrine blinked. “Has it already arrived?”
Sebastian gestured into the darkness in the direction of the door. “Yes.”
“I see. Why didn’t you wake me? I could have seen to it that it was drawn and—”
“No.”
Sebastian did not elaborate, and Peregrine knew better than to question a dragon, so he bowed his head and stepped aside to do as he’d been instructed. Once he’d finished and done away with his mess, he returned the chamber pot to its place beneath the bed and ventured into the darkness to find the basin. Sebastian followed, carrying the candle to light his way.
Sure enough, by the door was a wooden basin inlaid with several fresh linen sheets meant to prevent splinters. Steam rose from within. The innkeeper’s wife must have filled it with pots of boiling water. Peregrine could think of no other way the bath could stay so hot for so long.
He tested the water with a finger and found it tolerable, so in he stepped. The basin wasn’t terribly large, but it would fit him provided he tented his legs. There would be no room for Sebastian, though, a conclusion Sebastian seemed to come to as he stepped to the edge of the tub and watched Peregrine fold delicately into it.
“It’s small,” Sebastian said in a tone so sinister and serious, a smile wobbled into being on Peregrine’s face.
“Yes, my lord. Did you not see it when it was brought in?”
“No.” Sebastian paused, then added, “My eyes were interested in other things.”
It was unclear what those other things were, but Peregrine thought he might know, and the notion made him blush.
“It is of no matter.” Sebastian set the candle down nearby and crouched by the tub. He fished a folded linen rag and a glass bottle from somewhere on the floor, then wetted the rag in the bathwater before applying whatever it was that was inside the bottle. “It will do all the same.”
Peregrine watched, chin on his knees, as Sebastian rolled up the sleeves of his doublet then reached into the basin. He took one of Peregrine’s ankles in hand, then lifted his leg out of the water and ran the washcloth over his feet, paying great attention to the gaps between his toes and all the little places oft overlooked. The smell of something floral and sweet perfumed the air as he worked.
For all Peregrine’s training, he hadn’t a clue what to say. Dragons were not supposed to act like this.
“It’s too dark,” Sebastian grumbled after a time. Upon issuing the statement, he dropped the washcloth on Peregrine’s leg and swatted his hand through the air as if chasing away a fly. Quite suddenly, fire burst into existence in the air above them—dozens of flickering flames no bigger than the one burning down the nearby candle’s wick. They hung unevenly in the air like living jewels and cast reflections of themselves upon the surface of the water. Peregrine stared at them, awestruck. So this was dragon magic? He’d heard whispers that dragons were capable of wonders the likes of which no mortal man could ever duplicate, but to see it in person was something else entirely.
He sat in silence, too stunned to react, as Sebastian grabbed the washcloth and resumed diligently washing his leg. How was it the fire wasn’t tumbling down to burn them? Sebastian had to be extraordinarily powerful, even more so than Peregrine had originally believed. A creature who could control fire to such an extent was a dangerous creature indeed.
With a grunt, Sebastian tucked Peregrine’s leg back into the basin and pulled out the other. He cleaned it and returned it, too, then plunged his arm into the water to run the washcloth between Peregrine’s thighs. Peregrine noticed, but only peripherally. His attention was held rapt by the flames flickering overhead.
“The fire,” Peregrine managed in a small voice as Sebastian worked the washcloth over the more intimate parts of his anatomy. “If one were to touch it, would it burn?”
“Yes.”
“And if you were to touch it?”
“No. Only if I were to let it.”
How fascinating. Peregrine grinned. “So you control it, then? Every aspect of it? Whether it burns or not, and where it appears?”
“Yes.”
“And you can summon it at will?”
Rather than respond, Sebastian held his unoccupied palm over the surface of the water, which promptly caught fire. Peregrine gasped and scrambled back, tripping over the linen beneath his feet in an attempt to escape the flames surrounding him. With a loud splash and an ungraceful flailing of his arms, he tumbled straight through the flame, which yielded to his body and didn’t so much as singe the fair hair on his arms.
“It yields to me,” Sebastian stated as Peregrine struggled to catch his breath while fire harmlessly licked up his arms and swirled around his legs. “One day, you will yield to me, too, omega.”
“I do yield to you, my lord.”
Sebastian shook his head. “You do not yield to me any more than the water in this basin, meekly pushed aside when introduced to any kind of resistance. No. One day, you will yield to me like the fire does—shaped by my hand, but still vibrant and alive. It burns of its own volition, Peregrine. I may control its size and shape, but not even the mightiest dragon can control the way it flickers. I want you to yield to me like it does. Do you understand?”
Peregrine wasn’t sure that he did, but he bowed his head regardless. One day he thought he might, and for now, that seemed like enough.
The fire on the surface of the bath vanished, and with it gone, Sebastian washed Peregrine from head to toe until he was pristine. Once he was dried and dressed, they broke their fast with Sebastian’s brother, Alistair, who enthused endlessly about their upcoming journey and revealed to Peregrine their final destination—Persia—with their next stop on the tour being Beirut.