He wasn’t at all certain how he’d lucked out and wound up with such a life, but he was extremely grateful.
They rolled around on the bed until Kinan pinned him on his back, hips pressing Cormal into the mattress, hands twining with his and stretching his arms above his head before he leaned in to take Cormal’s mouth.
Cormal leaned into the touch hungrily, wanting everything this man would give him.
He’d never touched someone as much as he touched Kinan, and he loved it, the constant physical reminder of what they meant to one another. He knew it was partly a reassurance for Kinan, who woke sometimes from frantic nightmares where he hadn’t really been cured. Cormal would wrap around every inch of the man and hold him tight until he was able to sleep again. Cormal hoped the nightmares would ease with time, but the touching never would.
“I want to be inside you,” Kinan murmured against his lips. “Would you like that?”
“So much,” Cormal said, trying to buck up against him, but Kinan was the perfect solid weight above him, holding him down. “Please.”
Kinan got the oil, and Cormal spread his bent legs wide, feet pressed into the mattress. Kinan teased him open, and Cormal had to practice his non-existent patience, because he’d learned that Kinan loathed the idea of hurting him, so he had to be patient here.
Kinan always smiled a very particular smile when Cormal was stretched on three of his fingers, cursing and begging the other man to get on with it. It was clearly a key part of his experience.
“Please,” Cormal gasped. “I need you inside me. Right now.”
Kinan’s eyes flashed, and then he was removing his fingers and lining up his cock so that he could sink inside Cormal.
They’d both teared up the first time, which was a bit embarrassing, except that it had been a shared moment of overwhelming emotion. Now they could do it whenever they wanted. And each time Kinan filled him up, there was that moment of recognition again, that they were able to do something precious and almost unbelievable.
Cormal had never felt so possessed, but in the best possible way, like it was impossible to know where one of them ended and the other began, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. They were together, and it was glorious.
Kinan started to move, pulling out and then thrusting home, making Cormal cry out as pleasure sparked through him. Kinan grinned at him and repeated the movement. He was entirely capable of making Cormal come without even touching his cock, a talent which Cormal was very grateful for. (Cormal always touched Kinan everywhere he could. Kinan liked touch morethan anything.) Their favorite positions were ones where they faced one another, because they liked that connection.
Kinan looked at Cormal in a way that no one else did, not even now that things had improved so very much between Cormal and everyone else. He looked at him like he wasKinan’sprince, precious and worthy, and Cormal would always strive to live up to that.
Snapping his hips again, Kinan pushed back into Cormal, and Cormal groaned and clutched at him.
“Yes!” he groaned. “Please!”
Kinan grinned at him fiercely and began to speed up his tempo, driving into Cormal again and again, showing off yet more of his very much appreciated strength. Cormal tried to match him thrust for thrust, striving to get just a little bit closer, to sink a little bit further into him.
“Come for me,” Kinan panted, gray eyes bright. “Want you to come, and then I’m going to fill you up.”
With a groan, Cormal obeyed, cock pulsing between them. Kinan’s rhythm stuttered, and after a handful more thrusts, his orgasm overtook him as he buried himself as deep inside Cormal as he could.
Kinan pulled out with a pout; he liked to stay in Cormal as long as possible, but it wasn’t very comfortable for Cormal in this position. They shifted so that Kinan could tuck himself up against Cormal’s back and wrap his arms around him, no longer inside him, but plastered against his skin with so much of them touching. He snugged his chin over Cormal’s shoulder and kissed his cheek.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Cormal smiled, feeling more content than he could ever have imagined. “And I love you.”
He could never thank Kinan enough for helping him to see the truth and make way for this beautiful new future.
It had taken time and a lot of negotiating with the Queen, but they were now making visits around the country to talk to people and help demystify children of two worlds, Life Mages, and carnalions. To humanize them, even if that was a bit of a misnomer. It was either Cormal and Kinan, Brannal and Perian, or Molun, Arvus, and Trill. They all knew that Perian and Trill were more likely to be in danger, and their partners weren’t about to let anything happen to them. Each group had extra protection as well, so that watches could be set and couples and triads could still sleep the night through together.
So it wasn’t really much like Cormal and Kinan going to Perian’s estate, when they hadn’t known the danger and had ridden off on one horse together. The Queen had insisted on adequate protection for her son, and it wasn’t like Cormal disagreed. But there was still something of the spirit of that visit, even if there were more trappings now.
They’d all agreed it was important to be seen and counter some of the rumors that had sprung up no matter how much work they’d done with the Warriors and Mage Warriors taking notices and answering questions around the country.
“I’m not very important by comparison,” Kinan liked to point out, faced with what Perian and Trill could do. It was certainly eye-opening to see them actually heal people. They tried to do it wherever they went, and it only made sense to have their partners with them to make sure they had all the energy they needed.
“You’re a crucial part of this,” Cormal always countered. “You’re living proof of what they’re able to do, and it’s more important than you know to have people see you reacting positively to all this.”
Like it or not, Kinan’s opinion held sway. No, he wouldn’t convince every single citizen that Life Mages and carnalions were safe, but he had the power to influence more than most. And he was so very committed to creating that better world for his friends and everyone like them.
Plus, it got them away from the wedding planning for a little while. Sometimes, strangers asked them about the wedding, but they didn’t have any power over it, so Cormal didn’t mind.
