“So understanding,” he murmured, releasing his hold on Braern’s hips to grip his cock instead, where it jutted out above his abdomen. “You deserve to be rewarded, don’t you?”
Braern whimpered again, nodding and biting his lip, as his gaze dropped down to watch Adrissu’s hand working his cock—squeezing it and stroking in long, slow motions.
“Does this feel good? My cock still inside you while I’m touching you,” Adrissu panted. Braern moaned, pulsing around him. That was answer enough. “I want to make you come. Will you let me watch you come?”
“Fuck,” Braern gasped, thrusting against Adrissu’s hand. He could feel his own over-sensitive length sliding in and out of Braern, as he pushed his cock in and out of Adrissu’s hand.
“Will you let me watch you come?” Adrissu repeated, stroking him fast without warning. The elf cried aloud, the rhythm of his hips stuttering—Adrissu could feel him clench and pulse around him, harder now—he lifted his gaze to watch Braern’s face as his cock pulsed wildly in his hand, painting his abdomen with come. His eyes were squeezed shut, eyebrows drawn together, and flushed lips open as he came, moaning and gasping in pleasure. Adrissu’s cock twitched from where it was still buried in Braern’s ass; one of the only drawbacks to this form, Adrissu thought, was that he could not come again so quickly. Still he rocked his hips to keep fucking Braern through his orgasm, ignoring the almost-painful edge of sensation shooting up his spine, so he could watch him come utterly undone.
“Good boy,” Adrissu murmured encouragingly, relishing the shiver it sent up the elf’s spine, then released his cock to drag his fingernails along the length of Braern’s thighs, feeling the muscles tremble then relax.
Afterward, Braern laughed under his breath as he rolled over, pressing himself close to Adrissu.
“Sorry,” he said, covering his grin with one hand at Adrissu’s quizzical eyebrow. “I... I guess I feel free now. It’s strange. Like it’s real that he’s not... part of my life anymore.”
Slowly Adrissu nodded, considering. He had wanted to ask Braern what they would do about this apparent husband, waiting for the elf to bring it up himself; yet still it seemed too serious of a conversation to have now, naked and messy in the immediate aftermath of their coupling.
“You are free,” he finally decided on, flashing Braern a small smile. “I’ll make sure you’re entirely free from now on. You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’ll always take care of you.”
Color had crept into Braern’s face as Adrissu spoke, and now the tips of his ears were a flushed red.
“I know,” the elf murmured, pressing his face into Adrissu’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“I love you,” Adrissu said, pressing his lips to Braern’s hair. While they had known each other in this form for only a short while, and he knew Braern might consider it too soon to have such strong feelings, it didn’t feel too presumptuous for Adrissu to say. For him, it was only a continuance of where they had left off a hundred years ago. Braern as a person was new, but Adrissu had never stopped loving his mate. It would never be too soon to say it.
“I know,” Braern repeated softly, sounding shy. “I...”
“You don’t have to say it,” Adrissu said quickly. “I know it’s different for you. I know you remember a little bit, but I remember it all. I’ve loved you longer than you’ve been alive.”
“You know, that only makes me feelmorepressured,” Braern laughed, but his eyes were full of affection as he looked up at Adrissu. “I get it. At least I think I get it. So I... I’ll say it when I’m ready.”
“I wouldn’t want anything else,” he replied, and kissed his forehead again. The rest of their evening was spent in bed, Braern laying curled against Adrissu’s side, exactly where he belonged.
Chapter Twenty-Five
ThetopicofBraern’shusband did not come up again for a long time. Not for lack of trying—Adrissu thought of the mysterious, cruel elf from whom his mate had fled almost every day, turning the situation over and over in his mind. Something would have to be done, but he knew Braern was the one who needed to take the reins going forward. He had learned that lesson with Volkmar and had no intention of making the same mistake in this lifetime.
A thought came to him, when he was reorganizing his notes on his soul-transference studies, which he had largely paused in the past decade or so to focus on the academy. He had all of the theoreticals worked out, and his experiments on animals had all been successful. All that was left was to try it on a humanoid creature, but doing so was far more difficult to justify to himself, thus the experiments had ceased. But would he have the same qualms if the creature was evil: someone who had harmed others and would likely continue to do so if left to their own accord? No, he thought—and he already had someone in mind.
Bringing that up to Braern seemed nearly impossible, though, so he would continue to wait for him to broach the topic ofwhat they would do about the husband, then perhaps they could discuss his experiments and Lorsan’s potential role in them. It was aggravating to wait, but he hoped that they had many years left together. It had not occurred to him that his mate might come back as an elf, but now he was grateful for the extra time that it allowed them to spend with each other. Maybe, he hoped, Braern would agree that even that extended time was not enough.
Several months passed, and Braern had fallen into place in Adrissu’s life quickly, taking on some clerical work at the academy to keep busy. As an elf, he had notably more magical prowess than either Ruan or Volkmar, though it was still nothing remarkable. Adrissu told him that he could take any classes that he wanted at no cost, but so far he hadn’t taken him up on the offer. For the most part, he seemed happy with the busy work and spent the rest of his time quite leisurely. He had a fondness for elven poetry, so Adrissu bought him as many books of it as he could find.
It was late in the evening when Braern finally spoke on the matter. They were both in Adrissu’s study: Adrissu at his desk, and Braern sitting in a lounge chair on the other end of the room. Adrissu was reviewing lesson plans that his instructors had submitted for the following year when he felt Braern’s gaze on him. When it lasted longer than a few seconds, Adrissu glanced up with a questioning look.
“Sorry,” Braern said quickly, flashing an apologetic smile. “I was just thinking about something.”
Adrissu set down his notes. “About?”
Braern’s eyes flickered down to the book that he’d been reading. “I was... considering what we should do about... well, about Lorsan.”
Adrissu’s pulse quickened—now was the moment he’d been waiting for. But he kept his breathing calm, clasping his hands in front of him, as he turned his full attention to Braern.
“What doyouwant to do about Lorsan?” he asked. Across from him, Braern bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth for a moment, before speaking.
“I’m... not really sure,” he finally admitted, sighing. “Part of me doesn’t want to do anything. As long as he’s not nearby, it’s like he doesn’t exist, you know?”
Adrissu blinked slowly, unsure. “I... see.”
