Chapter Fourteen
Florian and Elodie blinked back into existence, right where they’d been standing in front of the fireplace. The embers had burned down to nothing, and the air was cool and still around them.
“This won’t do,” Elodie muttered, snapping her fingers over the empty fireplace. In moments, it was roaring to life; a log floated over from a small stack of firewood that was piled against the wall and into the flames, crackling and sending embers sparking through the air. “Much better.”
“How long do you think it’s been?” Florian asked worriedly, looking around now that the light illuminated the cottage once again. It didn’t look any different from before, so it was impossible to tell how long it has been since they’d left. Elodie shrugged, wholly unbothered.
“My guess is three days again,” she said. “Why don’t we head outside to see?”
Florian nodded and headed for the door, Elodie following at a much more leisurely pace. Outside of the tree, Florian could see the little camp where Kade and the others had been waiting; it must have been nighttime, though, as all three were in their tents and appeared to be sleeping. Past the tents, Florian saw the training setup they had made, too: all the equipment was neatly stacked and gathered together. A small smile spread across his face, relieved that everything seemed fine, however long it had been.
“Want to sleep in here?” Elodie asked softly, peeking over his shoulder. Florian shook his head.
“No, I think I can sneak in with Kade,” he replied quietly, grinning at the soft huffing sigh she gave in response—it was almost a laugh, he thought.
“I’ll start work on your pendants, then,” she said. “I’ll get you all again once they’re ready. Shouldn’t take too long, I don’t think.”
She muttered something else to herself, but it was lost as she was already turning and closing the door behind her.
Their conversation must have roused Kade, though, who was always a light sleeper. He stirred as Florian stepped closer to his tent.
“It’s just me,” he said softly, ducking to slip under the tent.
“Florian?” Kade murmured from his sleeping bag, blinking as he tried to focus. “It’s you?”
“It’s me,” Florian chuckled, sitting down beside him. “Can I sleep with you?”
A sleepy smile spread across Kade’s face as he nodded and rolled a bit to the side, making room for Florian. Quickly, Florian snuggled in next to him, one arm wrapping around Kade’s waist as he buried his face in the other man’s chest, breathing in the scent of him. Kade’s arms wrapped around him just as tightly.
“How long has it been?” Florian asked, his voice muffled.
“Tomorrow would have been the third day,” Kade replied, his voice a low murmur. “So you’re a little earlier than I was expecting.”
Florian chuckled, hugging Kade tighter with relief. Between them, he could feel Kade’s cock stiffening where it pressed against his hip; he was sure it was more like morning wood than any active desire, but still it made him want Kade very badly all at once. He snaked his arm down from where it was wrapped around Kade to gingerly rub against his hip, trailing closer to his cock. When Kade didn’t protest, he closed his fingers around the clothed erection; the soft sigh Kade let out in response made his own desire spike even more urgently.
“Florian,” Kade whispered, his voice rough. “Everyone will be able to hear us.”
“No,” Florian replied, grinning. “No one can see or hear us.” He felt his magic settling over the tent like a thick blanket as Kade chuckled, stretching beside him. His cock flexed and jumped in Florian’s hand—fully hard and eager now.
“I’m convinced,” Kade said. “Not a lot of room in here, though.”
“I’ll make it work,” Florian answered, wriggling out of Kade’s grasp. He moved down to Kade’s waist, pulling down his underwear to let his cock spring free.
Kade groaned as Florian took his cock into his mouth, sucking eagerly all the way down to the base. He was thick and salty against Florian’s tongue, making him realize all at once how badly he missed Kade when he was gone. They were almost done with all of this, he thought, as he bobbed his head up and down along the length of Kade’s cock. Soon, they would never have to be apart again. Kade’s fingers laced loosely in his hair, curling protectively around the base of his skull.
“Fuck, Florian,” he sighed, hips flexing. “Not what I expected when you came back.”
A faint huff of a laugh escaped Florian’s nose. It hadn’t really been what he had in mind, either, but...
He pulled away with a soft, wet pop to grin up at Kade, barely visible in the darkness of their tent.
“I missed you,” he said, pressing soft kisses along Kade’s hip bones. “I had to make sure you knew.”
“I missed you too,” Kade murmured, fingers still curled in Florian’s hair.
“I’m gonna get on top of you,” Florian said, propping himself up onto his knees as he struggled to get his own clothes off. Kade nodded and helped him clamber up over his waist; it was a tight fit in the tent, but Florian’s head just missed brushing against the fabric. He straddled Kade’s waist and ran his hands up the length of the other man’s torso, fingers skimming along the ridges of muscle and tender scars, as he pushed Kade’s shirt all the way up to bunch around his armpits. Kade had him like this the first time that they had done anything together, he remembered, but now the tables were turned.
“I love you,” he blurted out, and he felt more than saw Kade smile in the darkness.
