He laughed breathlessly and answered, “How could I tell you no?”
He pulled his fingers away to spread lubricant along the length of his cock, hard and heavy with anticipation. Then he braced himself over Volkmar with one arm, and with the other he took the human’s chin between his fingers and murmured, “Look at me.”
Again Volkmar obeyed, blue eyes meeting his own. Adrissu released him to line himself up, and pushed into Volkmar’s entrance slowly, feeling the friction of their skin as Volkmar’s eyelids fluttered.
“Oh, fuck,” the human groaned as Adrissu pushed all the way in, watching his face all the while. “Yeah, just like that.” Adrissu rocked his hips, finally breaking eye contact with Volkmar to close his eyes with a gasp. He drew back just as slowly, until only the head of his cock remained inside, before pushing back in. “Fuck, you feel good.”
Adrissu nodded, panting. He had almost forgotten how good it was, how long it had been. His instincts were roaring to move faster—to fuck him hard and make him his own—but he loved how the human writhed and moaned in response to the slow slide of their bodies. He kept the same languid pace for as long as he could manage, until Volkmar was trembling beneath him.
“Adrissu,” he groaned, and the sound of his name on his lips made his cock twitch. “You’re going to drive me mad.”
“You don’t like this?” Adrissu teased, rocking his hips a little bit faster.
“I’m a big fan,” Volkmar said, shaking his head. A few strands of his long hair were sticking to his sweat-dampened forehead, and his cheeks were flushed pink with arousal. “But I would love to watch you come all over me.”
It was as if he somehow could hear the voice in the back of Adrissu’s head, urging him to mark and claim his mate. Adrissu growled, hips stuttering, and could not stop himself from speeding up. Long, languid strokes soon gave way to short, rapid thrusts; Volkmar cried out in pleasure, his head tipping back. Ruan would so often cover his mouth or bite back his cries, but Volkmar clearly had no qualms about being vocal.
“Gods, yes,” he moaned, one hand fisting in Adrissu’s sheets, and the other moving down to stroke his cock. “Nngh, right there—don’t stop—you’re going to make me come.”
Adrissu groaned, curling his body around Volkmar’s so he could press his mouth to the side of the human’s throat, feeling the thrum of his rapid pulse against his lips and the salt of his sweat on his tongue. His cock was the only thing that mattered in the world, Volkmar’s tight hole around him the only place he’d ever belonged.
“There, there, there,” Volkmar panted, words seeming to escape his mouth without thought. “Fuck, you feel good—gods, I’m so close—”
His head fell back with a wordless cry as his hand around his cock stuttered and squeezed. Adrissu leaned back just enough to watch him come, cock pulsing in his hand and shooting come up the length of his torso. Adrissu’s hips continued to piston, mostly of their own accord; but Volkmar clenched and pulsed around him as he came, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer.
He nearly said Ruan’s name as he came, stopping himself just as he felt his cock pulsing hard. He pulled his hips back, making Volkmar gasp, and bit back a moan as he shot his release onto Volkmar’s chest. Heat coiled around his cock, making him gasp and shudder as his orgasm pulsed through him. Volkmar hissed as Adrissu painted him with come, their seed mingling on his chest.
“Do all elves run so hot?” Volkmar panted, grinning in amusement with eyes half-lidded. Adrissu barely heard him. “Gods, you feel like fire.”
“Just me, I think,” Adrissu grunted, leaning back. Volkmar’s legs were still around him; they had loosened, but he didn’t seem eager to try and push him away. They were both panting and eyeing the other, Volkmar with a soft mix of affection and a hint of apprehension—Adrissu suspected that perhaps he had not expected to enjoy himself, but it was only conjecture. Idly the human’s fingers were trailing through the come on his chest, swirling the sticky mess together.
“Here,” Adrissu said, pulling up a sheet to wipe him down. When he had been mostly cleaned up, and the sheet was tossed aside, Adrissu tentatively crawled into bed with him, though the sun had not yet begun to set. Volkmar leaned into him, so he wrapped his arms around the human’s waist, breathing his scent in deeply.
“Stay the night?” he murmured. “...I’ll make you dinner.”
He could hear the smile in Volkmar’s voice as he answered. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Sixteen
Adrissuwokethenextmorning to sunlight streaming in through his window and his mate sleeping in his arms. It was not Ruan, but it was his mate. It felt strange and right, all at once, for Volkmar to be in his bed: his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even. Adrissu watched him as he ran his fingers through his hair, until the human stirred and his eyes slid open. Blue irises flickered back and forth, taking in his surroundings, then met Adrissu’s gaze. A slow, sleepy smile spread across his face.
“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice low and raspy with sleep. Adrissu smiled back at him, affection bubbling low in his chest.
“Good morning,” he replied softly. “Are you hungry?”
Soon he had set up a platter of bread, cheeses, and dried meats for Volkmar to pick through. Since Adrissu did not have to eat as often as humans did, most of the food he kept were things that would last longer than a few days, or things he could keep in his small icebox. He hated the hassle of continuously getting blocks of ice, so when one of the enchantment students at the academy developed an icebox that did not require ice to keep food cold, he made sure to review the student’s notes and diagrams carefully when the project was submitted.
Volkmar had been very interested in the little magical icebox, but was now happily munching on bread and cheese as Adrissu made tea. Vesper had wandered over to them and was now coiled on the table, watching Volkmar eat with a low simmer of contentment radiating from her.
“So,” Volkmar said over his last bite of bread. “How long do you have me for?”
For the first time that morning, Adrissu’s happiness at having his mate with him faltered. He still had not told Volkmar what he’d done, but he couldn’t exactly hide it much longer. For better or worse, he couldn’t avoid telling Volkmar how he’d bought his freedom.
“Well,” Adrissu said slowly, setting down the tea kettle and slowly turning to face the human. “Yesterday, I went to speak with the proprietor of the Garden, Madam Crowe, and...”
It felt impossible to say.
“And?” Volkmar prompted, lifting one eyebrow quizzically. It was an expression that he had never seen on Ruan’s face, and a soft swell of affection broke through his nerves for just an instant at the sight of it. Adrissu thrummed his fingers on the table for a moment before answering.
