by Megan Derr
Cadmus's mouth dropped. "You didn't."
"Oh, but we did." Paali grinned. "Right up until we crashed headlong into the village mayor, who'd just finished sharing lunch with my father. Who was not remotely amused with any of us. Nor was the mayor, as it was his son who had stolen our clothes."
Cadmus laughed so hard he had to lean against the side of the carriage, arms wrapped around his middle. "What in the world happened then?"
"We put our clothes on, then we were dragged home and grounded most of the summer. We were only allowed to leave the house to attend certain extremely dull social events. Otherwise we were trapped inside, cleaning or studying or inventing all new games to play to keep ourselves from going mad. That was the very last time I went naked anywhere except my bath for a very long time." Paali's grin then was all mischief and heat. "Eventually I found plenty of other reasons to be naked, but even then, I made certain we were behind closed doors and the curtains were shut. To this day, the people in the village still tease me about it, and you should see the grief they give our dear police chief." He winked. "So when next you see Imperia, be sure to ask him about the first summer he stayed with me."
"I will do so, though he might not be terribly amused with either of us."
"He will be, though he'll try to deny it." The carriage rattled to a stop. "Here we are then, and thank you for spending time with me." Paali climbed out and helped him down, but instead of then letting go of Cadmus's hand, he lifted it to his lips and dusted the knuckles with a bare kiss. "Goodnight, toymaker."
Cadmus swallowed. "Goodnight, my lord."
A brief smile and Paali was gone. Cadmus hastened inside, running away from thoughts he shouldn't be having, ideas he shouldn't be pondering, fearing they would catch up to him again all too soon.
Chapter Three
Cadmus didn't see Harren again for three days, though he did receive several notes, wry and amusing and occasionally sweet. But the last note invited him to dinner at Harren's home, since his daughter would be away visiting a friend and Harren was thoroughly sick of people.
So Cadmus closed up early and tidied the shop as quickly as he could, meticulously checking over his hoard and making certain all was locked up before going upstairs to dress.
Since this was a private dinner rather than a soiree, he didn't have to wear cumbersome formal clothes, which were beautiful but stiff and requiring of so many layers. No, if this private dinner went the way he was hoping, the last thing he wanted was a whole lot of layers to remove.
Humming softly as he finished dressing in a simple but still elegant ensemble, he locked up his apartment and headed off through the streets. It wasn't a short walk across town, but it was a fine day for walking, with a fair temperature and the slowly setting sun. Harren had offered to send his carriage around, but Cadmus had refused.
He arrived precisely three minutes early, deftly swinging the knocker and waiting patiently for someone to come.
To his surprise, it was Harren himself who answered the door. Though he looked a little tired and ragged at the edges, his smile was all warmth and welcome as he pulled the door open wider. "Thank you for indulging me."
"I think you're the one indulging me," Cadmus murmured as Harren took his coat and hat. "You have a handsome home."
"Thank you," Harren said. "It's not much, according to some, but it serves us well. Serena dreams of living in a palace, but this humble abode is more than enough for me. Come, dinner is nearly ready. We can have drinks in the parlor." He offered his arm, and Cadmus gladly took it, soaking in the heat of him and enjoying that ever-present scent of cinnamon, this time mingled with some sort of spiced vanilla cologne. "What would you like to drink?"
"Port, if you have it."
"That seems to be heavily favored by the paranormal set, so I always keep a supply." Harren poured a glass and brought it to him. "I am sorry I had to abandon you, and that this is the first time I've seen you since. I am terrible at courting. Once I had to run out in the middle of my late wife's birthday dinner. She was untroubled, but her family was at my throat for at least a week, and stone cold for several more. They considered it a miracle I did not get called away in the middle of the wedding."
Cadmus laughed. "I cannot imagine what a rage that would have caused, or how frustrating it would be for you. I'm glad you got to enjoy your wedding." He took a sip of the port, which was the best he'd had in ages. "So did you resolve the matter that's kept you preoccupied these past days?"
"Yes. I shan't relate the details. Suffice to say it was a particularly unpleasant murder, the husband was responsible, and the newspapers will burst from excitement at having such a grisly tale to relate tomorrow." He sighed. "What have you been doing?"
"I finished the piece your daughter commissioned. I'll be delivering it to her true love tomorrow." Cadmus winked and laughed again when Harren groaned. "Focus on the positive: they're commissioning items from me, not the woman directly across from me."
Harren looked pained. "If my daughter ever goes into that shop, I never want to be told. There are some things parents just do not need to know."
Cadmus almost spilled his port laughing that time.
Taking the glass and setting it aside, Harren grasped his wrist and reeled Cadmus in close. "I think you're having a lot of laughs at my expense, toymaker."
"Only a few," Cadmus said, cradling Harren's face gently and bending to kiss him.
Harren made a soft, pleased noise and pushed up into him, twining his arms around Cadmus's neck as Cadmus slid his own arms down to wrap around Harren's trim waist. He fit wonderfully, warm and soft, but with firm muscle flexing, promising countless untold delights in the near future.
After several minutes of marvelous kisses, Harren drew back, licking his lips before saying, "I do want to feed you, and my cook would hate to have her efforts wasted, so we'd better stop before I forsake good manners entirely."
Cadmus chuckled and let him go. "A reasonable request, much as I'm perfectly happy to be unreasonable."
That got him one last, thorough kiss before Harren stepped out of his arms—just as a rap came at the door and a handsome woman stepped in to tell them dinner was ready.
Harren offered his hand, almost shyly, and Cadmus took it gladly as they headed down the hall to a small, pretty dining room decorated in shades of blue and white flowers. Soup had already been set out, fragrant and rich, smelling of lobster and spice.
The lighting was low, just candles at the table and on the buffet line holding various bottles of wine and champagne. Cadmus smiled softly. "You did not have to go to this much trouble for me."
"It's hardly trouble to act civilized for once in my life, and even if it was, you certainly deserve this and more."
Cadmus's smile widened. "I appreciate it. Where is your daughter this evening?"
"I allowed her to go spend the night with a friend who is not feeling well. I think she is doing her best to return to and remain in my good graces after our horrifying behavior at your shop."
Cadmus chuckled. "When I was still a kit, maybe seventeen years old, my mother hosted a dinner party. She is unusually social for a dragon and loved to throw parties and the like. This particular dinner was important to her, so I had been stuffed into a suit, made to look reasonably presentable, and told to be a pleasant child to her guests, or I would regret it sorely for a very long time. I no longer remember why I got angry with her in the middle of supper, but I refused to back down, we both started shouting, and there in front of all her important guests I called her an ice-cold strumpet."
"Oh, my gods have mercy," Harren said, mouth agape, spoonful of soup hovering forgotten over his bowl. "You did not."
"I did," Cadmus said with a chuckle. "As promised, I sorely regretted it for a very long time. Amusingly, it made the guests like my mother all the more, so her dinner party was a raging success at the end of it all."
Harren laughed and laughed, nearly dropping his spoon right into his soup. Event
ually recovering himself, he finished off his soup and rang for the next course.
Cadmus had been invited to dinner by clients several times, but he could not recall enjoying himself even half as much as he did at that private meal with Harren, exchanging humorous stories and fond anecdotes of family, tales of work and gossip from the various fetes they'd attended.
By the time the meal concluded with a marvelous chocolate pudding, Cadmus vowed he was half-ready to propose. It had been a long, long time since his loneliness had been so thoroughly banished.
Pushing his chair back and rising, Harren offered a hand. "Shall we adjourn for a brandy in the library?"
Cadmus accepted the hand as he rose, but then reeled Harren in and got an arm around that trim waist, dusting a whispering kiss across his fine lips. "Or we could forget the brandy and adjourn somewhere more private."
"If that will keep my guest happy," Harren murmured, smiling against his mouth. When Cadmus kissed him, he tasted of bitter chocolate and sweet wine.
Eventually they made it up the stairs to Harren's room, which very much resembled the man himself: elegant without frills or fuss, small and tidy, smart and handsome. Cadmus would be more than happy to admire it in detail later, but right then his attention was wholly for the man before him—a man he'd thought would never pay him a second look after their single dance, but here he was returning Cadmus's heated gaze full measure.
He would be dangerously easy to hoard, and the reckless part of Cadmus he'd inherited from his mother, that had led to his automatons, wanted to do precisely that. He distracted himself with more of those devastating kisses and working on the buttons of Harren's beautiful jacket.
Clothes eventually required ceasing the kisses, but it was worth it to see Harren naked, bathed in flickering firelight, his lovely hair loose about his shoulders. His cock was heavy and full, wet-tipped and demanding attention.
Cadmus was more than happy to oblige, stepping close and skating hands down Harren's chest before wrapping one hand around his cock. Harren groaned, head tipping back, hands gripping Cadmus's arms, throating working. "You're absolutely lovely like this, Chief."
"You're hardly a chore to look at yourself," Harren replied, taking advantage of his shorter stature to kiss and suck at Cadmus's neck. "Did you have particular ideas in mind for tonight?" He started to say more but broke off with a groan as Cadmus stroked him harder. "I hope so, because I'm rapidly forgetting mine."
Chuckling, Cadmus let go of his cock and took another kiss before slowly working his way in kisses down Harren's body. His throat, feeling where his pulse beat. His collar bone, licking the line of it and leaving a stinging nip. His nipples, biting more firmly and blowing cooling air across them. Down the line of his torso until he finally had to kneel. He lingered at a surprising tattoo of two heart-shaped cameos, joined by a ribbon, one of a woman, the other a little girl. "These are wonderfully sweet."
"Thank you," Harren said gruffly. "I'd rather focus on lewder thoughts for the moment."
"I suppose that's reasonable," Cadmus said, and laughing at the not so subtle tug on his hair, teasingly kissed along the length of Harren's cock. He then licked a stripe down it, followed by sucking kisses and licks all along the length before a firmer tug of hair finally persuaded him to cease with the torment.
Looking up playfully through his lashes, drunk on the hungry, needy look in those beautiful brown eyes, Cadmus finally pulled Harren's cock into his mouth and sucked hard. His cheeks hollowed out as he settled into his delightful task, using his tongue to stroke and tease, taking Harren as deep as he could, working that cock until his eyes watered and his jaw ached, come and spittle slipping free to drip down his chin and run down his throat. It mingled with sweat induced by his efforts and the nearby fire, making him itch, adding to the delightful torment of a mouth full of cock, his own achingly hard cock neglected.
Harren's fingers were tight in his hair, his moans and pleas and the stuttered cry of Cadmus's name filling the room. He came a moment later, spilling hot and bitter down Cadmus's throat, shudders wracking his body.
When he finished, he pulled gently from Cadmus's mouth and knelt on the floor, throwing arms around him and kissing him with messy enthusiasm, sending them tumbling to the rug.
Cadmus held him close, delighting in the kisses, the eagerness, the thrill of a pleased lover and rush of all that was to come.
Harren slid down his body, black hair tumbling over his shoulder like a velvet curtain, and took Cadmus's cock deep with no delay or hesitation. Cadmus groaned out his name, head thumping against the soft, plush rug, tangling his fingers in the fibers and thrusting shamelessly into the tight heat of Harren's throat. The man was wickedly skilled, mouth sliding, tongue positively evil, so delightful that Cadmus could think of nothing save how it felt to be fucking that perfect mouth.
He enjoyed it for as long as he could possibly manage, but finally his climax took him, punctuated by the crying of Harren's name at a level that would probably be heard by any servants on the second floor.
Gently pulling off his cock, Harren crawled back up his body, trailing kisses, and finally pressed one softly to Cadmus's lips. "You are delightful, sir."
"You're rather marvelous yourself."
"Shall we finally move to my bed?" Harren asked with a chuckle. "It's more comfortable than the floor, and at least as warm as this fire once we settle in."
"By all means." Harren climbed to his feet, offered a hand to Cadmus, and led him over first to the wash basin so they could clean. One they were clean and dry, he pulled Cadmus into the large, soft and cozy bed. It smelled of soap and Harren's rich cologne. Buried in blankets, cuddled in close to Harren, it was impossible not to drift into sleep.
*~*~*
He was woken by the loss of Harren's warmth and the rattle of a tea tray. Cadmus sat up, dismayed, as he saw Harren was getting dressed for work. "Oh, no, did I sleep the whole night? I'd rather hoped for another round, or to at least simply spend time with you."
Harren dismissed the servant fussing with the tray and ventured over to the bed. He tugged Cadmus close and kissed him soundly. "My dear toymaker, this was the finest night I can remember having in a long time. I wish I could enjoy such nights more often. I hate that I must leave you but work already calls. If I can, I'll stop by to see you. Please linger here as long as you like. I'm fairly certain I heard a certain brat downstairs waiting to corner you with a hundred questions. Feel free to mortify her as much as you like."
"You're a horrible father," Cadmus said with a laugh and swung out of bed to smooth the front of Harren's jacket and fuss with the collar until it lay properly. "I do like you in uniform."
"I've not forgotten," Harren said with a grin. He drank down a hasty cup of tea, stole a croissant to eat on the way, and with a last ardent kiss, was gone.
Cadmus pulled on the dressing robe someone had left for him, the one Harren had used discarded over a nearby chair, and sat down to enjoy breakfast at a more leisurely pace. When he was finished, he washed and dressed and finally ventured downstairs.
He'd barely cleared the stairs when, as promised, Serena came bursting out of a nearby room, resplendent in a sky blue morning gown and with a million questions on her face. "Good morning, Master Tulari. It's a pleasure to see you again. How did you find our home?"
"Absolutely lovely, my lady. Your cook excels at her job."
"Yes, she's magnificent. Bigger homes have tried to steal her away, but she was too fond of Mama to leave us even now." Serena smiled sadly for a moment, but her curiosity quickly overtook again. "Did you and Papa have a good night?"
"Are you asking if we had a good time at dinner?" Cadmus asked, mouth quirking. "Or are you asking if we enjoyed each other's… company."
Her skin flushed at that, and she prodded him with her fan. "Behave!"
"I promised your father I would not."
"Of course you did," Serena muttered, fanning her face and pouting. "I am not trying to pry. It's
only that I have not seen Papa like this since… well, ever, though I've heard stories of what he was like when Mama was alive. The only other person who ever seems to cheer him is Lord Paali, and it's not quite the same."
Cadmus almost laughed at that, but then he'd have to explain why. But the guilt and worry gnawed at him more than ever. Perhaps it wasn't his problem, but neither could he ignore it. Not when he knew what it was like to be in Paali's position. "That is gratifying to hear. My last lover was an odious bastard who stole something from my hoard."
"I hope you spit-roasted him," Serena said.
"Nearly."
She snapped her fan shut. "Well, I am happy to see that you and Papa get on so well."
Cadmus grinned. "Very well."
She turned red again, and this time swatted him on the shoulder with her fan. "Stop that this moment! Toymaker! I thought you were more civilized than this!"
"That is your mistake. Would you like to come along to the shop and see your purchase before I deliver it to its new home?"
Mortification immediately forgotten, along with her fan, Serena clapped her hands together. "That would be marvelous!" She stooped to retrieve her fan, then rushed off up the stairs. "Let me get ready. I'll be down in a trice!"
Nearly an hour later, they were on their way, and Cadmus couldn't deny it was nice being able to ride a carriage through the bustling city rather than contend with all the foot traffic—especially in an area that was mostly humans who did not always regard kindly their paranormal fellows.
