At that, he hesitated. “Much older than you.”
“But how old exactly?” Volkmar pressed. “And don’t try to tell me you don’t know. I won’t believe you.”
Adrissu sighed, leaning back as he considered it. He did not pay much attention to his birthday, and had to think in earnest about how old he was.
“I am getting close to two hundred,” he finally said. “One hundred and sixty.... four, I think.”
Volkmar blinked, eyes wide. “How long do elves usually live for?”
“Over two hundred and fifty is average,” he replied. “Some make it over three hundred.”
“I see,” Volkmar said, as he looked away with a thoughtful expression, eyebrows furrowing. Whatever he was thinking of, he did not speak aloud, so Adrissu didn’t press. He didn’t need to ask.
Volkmar did not have his memories as Ruan, at least not consciously that Adrissu could tell. It had become more and more obvious as they spent time together, and Adrissu was unsure how to address it. How could he casually just ask if he had memories of another life? How could he bring up Ruan, the ritual, his reincarnated soul? It seemed easier not to. What Volkmar didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, after all. It was easier to just enjoy their time together.
He found that Volkmar dearly wanted to travel and see new things; he had lived in Polimnos his entire life, but had heard stories of many other places. When he mentioned it to Adrissu, he planned immediately to bring Volkmar with him on his next trip to Gennemont. It was usually a business trip, but he would take some extra time for leisure. Normally he would fly, but this time they took a carriage along a scenic route, so Volkmar could watch the countryside go by. It was tedious and boring by his own standards, but the joyful expression on Volkmar’s face as they traveled made up for it. He was entirely enamored with the city as well, following Adrissu down the bustling stone-paved streets with wide eyes.
“This is amazing,” he murmured, looking out from the window. They had rented a room for one month, near the college so Adrissu might still attend to his research. “I can’t believe how big the city is. I knew it was bigger than Polimnos, but...” He turned to face Adrissu, smiling. In the months they had been together now, his smiles came easier, his affection feeling more true. Whatever he had felt toward Adrissu at the beginning, and whatever he thought about being “bought” by him, had started to melt into genuine regard.
“Thank you,” he said softly. He stepped toward Adrissu and pushed himself into his arms, his slim hands snaking around Adrissu’s waist. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“I’m glad to have you with me,” Adrissu murmured, pressing his lips to the soft skin along the crook of his neck.
“I love you,” Volkmar said, barely above a whisper, and Adrissu stilled, heat flooding his veins. He felt Volkmar tense.
“I love you too,” he said quickly, before Volkmar could pull away, before his silence became damning. He squeezed his arms harder around the human’s slight frame. “I loved you the first time I saw you. I knew right then I had to have you all to myself.”
He felt more than heard Volkmar laugh slightly against his shoulder, as he squeezed around Adrissu’s waist in response. “I know.”
“You didn’t know,” Adrissu muttered, only to be cut off with a stifled groan, as one of Volkmar’s hands released his waist to palm at his cock through his clothes.
“Let me thank you properly,” Volkmar murmured, tilting his head up. Adrissu leaned down to devour his mouth, kissing him roughly, as Volkmar eased his hardening cock out of his pants. They broke apart, and Volkmar dropped to his knees, lips parting to take him into his mouth, as Adrissu’s hands fisted in his hair. A moan escaped each of them in turn, Adrissu gasping as Volkmar sucked him eagerly and whimpered around his length. He rocked his hips and watched his cock slide in and out of Volkmar’s pink lips stretched around his girth, pleasure shivering up his spine at the sight.
“Look at me,” he panted, pulling Volkmar’s hair so his head tilted up. The human looked up at him, eyes dark with lust, and groaned around him as Adrissu pushed himself as far into Volkmar’s mouth as he would go, until the head of his cock pressed to the back of Volkmar’s throat. “So good for me,” he muttered, smoothing back his mate’s hair to watch him. “Thanking me properly like this. You’re being so good, aren’t you?”
Volkmar only whimpered, his pace quickening. One hand fisted around his shaft, so he could focus his mouth on the head of his cock, and the other reached down to slip beneath the waistband of his own pants. Adrissu groaned, imagining Volkmar’s slender fingers wrapping around the pink length of his cock slicked with his own precome. His own cock twitched, eager to bury itself in a different warmth.
He pulled back, withdrawing his cock from Volkmar’s mouth with a wet pop.
“Get on the bed,” he growled, hauling Volkmar to his feet. The human shook his head stubbornly.
“I want you to fuck me right up against this window,” he panted, pulling Adrissu with him as he took a step backward.
“Filthy boy,” Adrissu murmured, though his cock jumped at the prospect. Their balcony was high up enough that it was unlikely anyone would be able to fully see them, but evidently Volkmar did not care either way. “Wanting everyone to see you. Wanting everyone to know you’re mine.”
“Yes,” he gasped, quickly pulling his robe off and letting it fall to the floor in a heap. “I’m yours.”
Adrissu pushed him forward until his back was against the glass-paneled door to the balcony. He hauled Volkmar up, and obediently the human lifted his legs to wrap them around Adrissu’s waist. Adrissu held him up almost effortlessly with one arm, back braced against the door, and reaching up with the other, he shoved his fingers into the human’s mouth. Volkmar groaned around his fingers and sucked eagerly, his mouth flooding with saliva. Once his fingers were wet, he pulled them back out and reached down to find Volkmar’s asshole, pushing two of his slick fingers into the pliant ring of muscle. Volkmar panted, voice ragged with half-pleasure and half-pain; but soon the tight channel relaxed around him, and he slipped a third finger in, fucking him until the human was moaning and trembling against him.
“I’m ready,” Volkmar urged, pressing feather-light kisses to his neck, up his jawline. “Come on. I want to feel you.”
Adrissu growled, pulling his fingers out to grasp his cock and line himself up. Volkmar yelped as he pushed himself in roughly—hardly giving him any time to adapt to the intrusion before rutting against him with his hips. The glass rattled in its frame in time with each of his thrusts, but was nearly drowned out by Volkmar’s cries.
“I love you,” he whimpered, one hand fisting in the cloth of Adrissu’s robes, the other curling around the base of his neck. Adrissu groaned, eyelids fluttering in bliss. He was buried to the hilt, his mate whispering in his ear, his mate wholovedhim. He would never let Volkmar out of his sight. Why had he ever let Ruan leave him for weeks, months at a time? All he wanted was to bask in Volkmar’s presence forever. His mate belonged nowhere else but here, in his arms, tight and hot around his cock.
Adrissu dipped his head down to bite at the tender flesh between Volkmar’s neck and shoulder, relishing in the gasp it drew from Volkmar’s lips.
“I’m going to come inside you,” he grunted, lips still pressed to Volkmar’s skin. The human’s legs tightened around him encouragingly, shifting his hips so he thrust even impossibly deeper. With his free hand, he found Volkmar’s cock bouncing between them, making him moan as he stroked, squeezing hard. “Want to feel you first.”
