“And now you always know where to find me,” the human purred, and Adrissu’s grin faltered for only an instant. Telling Volkmar what he’d done now was the right thing to do, but he selfishly did not want such an interruption, not yet. After, he told himself. Even if they did not have sex—although it seemed readily apparent that they would—now that they’d finally found each other again, he wanted to be in the company of his mate in peace. Everything else could wait.
When they arrived at Saltspire Tower, Adrissu ushered Volkmar in and closed the heavy door behind him.
“Oh!” Volkmar exclaimed, just as a burst of excitement welled in Adrissu’s chest—Vesper had seen him and knew.
“Oh, my apologies,” he said quickly, moving to intercept her for fear that her rapid approach would frighten him away. “My pet snake. She’s harmless.” He could hear the familiarthud-thud-thudof her body sliding down the stairs, and as she slithered up, she only had eyes for Volkmar.
“Aww,” he cooed, kneeling down and holding a finger out for her to sniff. Her tongue flicked rapidly, tasting him; but she hardly seemed to care, as she went straight for his hand and bumped her head against his palm, the way she used to with Ruan. “She’s sweet. What’s her name?”
“Vesper,” he said softly, remembering how Vesper and Ruan had gotten along right away, too. Somehow she had an affinity for him, as if she too felt the pull of fate that drew Adrissu toward him. “She likes you.”
“Vesper,” Volkmar repeated, lightly stroking the top of her head. “I like her, too.”
Adrissu watched them for a moment, his heart aching in his chest. The world had righted itself again.
Finally, Volkmar straightened, glancing back at Adrissu. “There’s another snake I’m much more interested in, though.”
Adrissu stifled a laugh. “You have a sense of humor.”
“Of course,” Volkmar replied, as he stepped closer to Adrissu. “Don’t you?”
“I have been told I come across as stern,” Adrissu said, keeping his gaze on Volkmar’s eyes as the human sauntered up to him, until their bodies were barely an inch apart. “Or perhaps that I am too serious. Humans tend to be wary of me.”
Volkmar grinned. “I’m not wary of you,” he said. He ran his hands up Adrissu’s chest again, and he hummed softly in satisfaction, his eyes slipping closed. The human’s hands were smaller than Ruan’s, and softer by far, but somehow the sensation still felt familiar.
As Volkmar’s hands snaked along his sternum toward his collarbones, Adrissu reached up and clasped his wrists, stilling the movement. Volkmar glanced up at him curiously, and Adrissu hesitated for only a moment before dipping his head down to kiss him.
He felt Volkmar smile against his lips, before returning the kiss eagerly. Adrissu was chaste, kissing him softly; but when Volkmar’s tongue swiped against his lips, he groaned and pressed his own into the human’s pliant mouth. He tasted like mint and summer melon, sweet and fresh.
Volkmar was the first to pull away, looking up at Adrissu through his lashes. His blue eyes had gone dark, pupils blown wide with lust.
“Is your bedroom upstairs?” he asked. Adrissu nodded.
“Come,” he said, his voice rasping, maintaining his hold on Volkmar’s wrists to lead him up the stairs and into his bedchamber.
They tumbled into bed, Volkmar laughing as they went. He easily fell into place underneath Adrissu, his hair splayed out around his head. It was more wavy than curly, soft beneath Adrissu’s fingers as he ran a hand through and leaned down to kiss him again.
“I thought you said you were going to unwrap me,” Volkmar teased when he finally pulled away, both of them breathless.
“I did say that,” Adrissu agreed, leaning back on his knees over Volkmar, straddling him at the waist. He could feel the human’s erection pressing against him, but remained focused on the task ahead of him, as he slowly moved his hands down the length of Volkmar’s body. The human sighed, eyelids drooping closed. Adrissu untied the loose knot of the sash holding the robe shut, then slid his hands beneath the opening. Volkmar’s skin was warm and smooth against his palms as they ran up the length of his torso—the golden chain that had adorned his bare chest before was gone, which gave him a strange sense of relief. He pushed the robe open when his hands reached Volkmar’s shoulders, and Volkmar slid his arms out of the sleeves so the full expanse of his torso was bare.
Now that Adrissu could look at him more closely, he noticed that both of Volkmar’s nipples were pierced, along with his navel. Tiny gold beads adorned each side of the small pink peaks, and a similar gold bar affixed a flat disk just above his belly button to what looked like an opal that protruded from just inside his navel.
“You like them?” Volkmar asked, seeing his interest.
“Yes,” Adrissu said softly, lightly touching one of his nipple piercings.
“I have more,” he said, grinning; and from the heated way he met Adrissu’s gaze, he was quite sure that Volkmar was not referring to the studs in his ears. If Adrissu had not already been achingly hard, he would be now at the thought of Volkmar’s pierced cock. “Don’t you want to see it?”
Adrissu smirked. “I think I’m going to take my time with you.”
Without waiting for a response, he leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth, relishing in the slight gasp that escaped Volkmar and the shiver that coursed through his body. The metal was warm against his tongue, the same temperature as the rest of the human. Adrissu licked and sucked it for a moment, before moving to the next, and this time Volkmar made a low, throaty moan in response and writhed underneath him.
His hands traveled lower, even as his mouth remained occupied, unlacing Volkmar’s trousers with little effort. Volkmar gasped and bucked his hips as Adrissu palmed him roughly, stopping to lean back and watch himself peel the human’s trousers down. His hard cock sprang free, slender and warmly pink. The piercing was on the underside of his cock, through the skin that connected the head to the rest of his shaft: a gold bar like the others with a golden bead on either end. It suited him somehow, Adrissu thought—delicate and pretty.
“What do you think?” Volkmar murmured from underneath him, wiggling his hips so his cock swung back and forth along his belly. “People always ask if it hurt.”
“Seems like a foolish question,” Adrissu said, and Volkmar laughed.
