“It’s good there?” Ruan murmured, pushing his fingers further inside. That was far more than Adrissu could bear. This part of him had never been touched, but it sent white-hot pleasure rocketing up the length of his spine, and instantly he was coming.
He felt more than heard Ruan yelp as he came: the first burst shooting past the human’s head to splatter against the stone ground, while the rest shot out with less force to coat the human’s body with his come. He thought Ruan would pull away, even with only one hand to wipe the sticky fluid from his face—but he didn’t pull away, rubbing encouragingly at the tender flesh just inside his sheath at the very base of his cock, and Adrissu didn’t stop coming.
He felt like an animal, rutting mindlessly, tongue lolling from his mouth, and unable to focus on anything but how fuckinggoodRuan’s deft fingers felt against him, as he touched where no one had before. It was all he could do to keep thrusting against the human, until the unbearable pleasure eventually became pain, and even then his cock still twitched and leaked with each motion of Ruan’s hands.
“Enough,” he growled, unable to pull himself away. “Ruan—Ruan—enough—!”
“But I have you entirely at my mercy,” Ruan protested, the wicked grin obvious even in his voice. His hands squeezed harder around the base of Adrissu’s cock. Even with both hands, he could not envelop its girth; but with how sensitive he was there, Adrissu could only gasp and shudder at the continued sensation. Ruan worked him in short, rough movements until a second orgasm was pulsing through him. He had no seed left to spill, but still his cock twitched wildly; and Adrissuroared, turning his head and biting down on his own claw to stop the embers that began to spark in his mouth from becoming a full stream of flame. He was going to go mad if Ruan didn’t kill him first.
When the pleasure wracking his body finally ebbed away, and his wits had returned to him, Ruan had finally released his grip. Adrissu’s cock began to retract back into its sheath as it softened. Somehow, even though the human was naked beneath him and absolutely coated head-to-toe in dragon come, Ruan managed to look as smug as if this had been his very intention from the moment he’d stepped into Adrissu’s tower.
Adrissu grumbled, more to himself than in any discernible message to Ruan, and curled himself protectively around the human, instinctively defending his vulnerable mate, more precious than his entire hoard combined. Ruan laughed, reaching up to stroke his face.
“Can we do this every time?” he asked. Adrissu scowled.
“No,” he said. He would have said more, but Ruan had leaned up to press a soft, careful kiss to the side of Adrissu’s face, just above the corner of his mouth. Ruan did not speak again, only shifted slightly to get more comfortable in Adrissu’s embrace, and eventually the human’s eyes slid closed. Adrissu watched him silently in the darkness of his lair for a little while, but soon his eyes closed, too, and they slept.
Chapter Nine
Whyhadheeverwanted to be apart from Ruan?
The thought plagued him incessantly in the days following; now that he had given into his embrace, their past interactions were bathed in an entirely different light. Where before he had unconsciously waited each day for Ruan to arrive at his post, now they could wake up in each other’s arms; and when Ruan invited him to dinner again, he could readily, eagerly say yes. Keeping the human at arm’s length had felt so wrong. Instead he could have hadthisfor a year, maybe more, but had denied himself—for what? He almost couldn’t remember.
But, of course, he had avoided the human for a reason and was eventually reminded of it none too gently, when a few weeks later, Ruan told him he’d be taking a job that would take him to the next town over for several weeks.
“I guess this farmer’s had a bunch of livestock taken in the middle of the night,” Ruan sighed, stretching his arms casually as he explained, completely unperturbed. In stark contrast, Adrissu’s heart had been suddenly seized with all the fear that he’d forgotten, remembering Ruan’s meager lifespan and soft, vulnerable body. “Must’ve gotten pretty bad for him to put up the job with us, but I guess we’re the closest city that has fighters for hire.”
“I see,” Adrissu said evenly, hoping his worry wasn’t obvious on his face. “And he doesn’t know what’s been stealing his livestock?”
“No, but the letter he sent says there have been some signs of violence—blood, drag marks, all that,” Ruan replied, then grinned. “Don’t think it could be a dragon, could it?”
Despite himself, Adrissu scoffed. “Certainly not. If any dragon came so near to my territory just to eat a few sheep, I’d be very concerned for its mental well-being.”
Ruan laughed, and Adrissu smiled. Maybe it could be worth it, if most of their moments together were like this.
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” he asked.
“Hmm, probably about two weeks. Maybe less if I don’t have to go scouting after something in the woods for days on end,” Ruan answered.
“And you’re sure you want to take this job?”
Ruan blinked, the slight grin on his face faltering. “Well, sure. It’s not exactly one of the more glamorous jobs I’ve taken, but I like being able to travel.” He paused, tilting his head. “You’re worried about me?”
Adrissu tried to scoff again, but this time it came out sounding more like he was choking. His first instinct was to deny it, but, he told himself, he was done with pushing Ruan away.
“Yes,” he said. “Every time you’re gone I worry about you.”
Ruan grinned again. “You know, I don’t think you’ve ever seen me fight, but I can promise you I’ve risen through the ranks of my own accord, not just because you overpaid me for years. I can handle some rabid animals or some sort of monster. It’s only gone after livestock, so I’m not concerned.”
There was much Adrissu wanted to say—that it would only take one well-aimed strike, one festering wound, to cut his tiny life even shorter than it already was. Humans were adaptable and resilient in some ways, but in others they were shockingly vulnerable, their bodies soft and easily harmed. But even now, weeks after Ruan had finally come to him again, it felt like too personal an admission to make. So instead, Adrissu forced himself to smirk over at Ruan.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said.
Ruan laughed. “I’d invite you along, but it might raise too many eyebrows.”
Adrissu agreed, but the comment set him thinking for a long while afterward. He would not presume to follow Ruan where he went—he had no desire to risk his own position, despite his worry over the human—but maybe he could help protect him in other ways.
Ruan left the next day. After he had set out, Adrissu went into town, following the main road until he was at the forge of Yue Lang. An apprentice was working the forge as he approached: a human woman probably barely out of her teenage years with familiar dark hair and soft, full features, who looked like she might be related to Yue. The girl smiled nervously at Adrissu and waved as he approached.
