“Maybe you should explain that to me.” Darin looked back at the assistor and then at the exit of the room of need.
Fearing that he would run again or become so desperate that he would toss himself over, Axoev picked him up, cradling him in his arms.
“I can walk,” Darin pointed out.
“Until we come to a full and binding agreement, I am not letting you toss yourself from my tree.”
“Because it would make you look bad?”
Axoev didn’t answer. Perhaps it was for the best that he thought everything Axoev did was to appear strong in the eyes of his followers. That was not such a bad thing overall. It wasn’t true in this case, but it was better for Darin to think that than to know the truth that Axoev had grown genuinely attached to him in a very short span of time.
Holding tightly to him, Axoev went back into the main part of his home. “Are you still hungry?”
“I am. As scared as I was and still am, I can’t stop thinking about food.”
“You did not have any ball juice.”
“Wh—what?” Darin made a very strange noise that seemed to be some kind of suppressed laughter.
“Ball juice counteracts the feeding scent emitted by the vines.”
“So the tree makes you hungry but also gives you a way to stop it. Neat.” Darin snickered again. “But you really should call it something else.”
“You are new here yet think you should change the names of ancient things?”
“Ball juice?”
“Yes.” Axoev didn’t understand why that was odd.
“Wait. You are actually using a different word. Never mind. I’m so childish it really hurts.”
“I do not understand you.”
“You don’t need to. Never mind. I thought you called it fruit.”
“It is fruit. But they are also called balls.”
“Right. Just give me some ball juice. I guess I’ve got to grow the hell up sometime.”
Axoev was reluctant to let go of Darin. He needed a way to contain him while they discussed the terms of his surrender. Since his hobbling device was with Sieg for reasons he hadn’t wanted to know, Axoev fashioned a crude containment device by wrapping leather straps around Darin’s ankles. He could walk, but he couldn’t run. It was also unlikely he would be able to work himself free before Axoev noticed.
“I would say this isn’t necessary, but I doubt you’d believe me.”
“I no longer trust your word.”
Darin made that ugly face that Axoev didn’t like at all. “That’s not fair. I didn’t understand what you wanted me to do. It’s like agreeing to a liver transplant without knowing the details.”
“I do not know what that is.”
“See?” Darin nodded proudly. “If I got you to agree to it before you understood what it was, that wouldn’t be very fair, would it?”
“I suppose not.” Once he was assured of Darin’s containment, Axoev grasped one of the balls from the hanging basket. “You rub around in a circle with your thumb, like this, to remove the peel.”
Darin was now making a strangely interesting face. Only one side of his mouth was curled upward. “So you stroke your ball in a circular motion to release the fluid. Got it.”
“I do not—never mind. I will never understand you in full. Here.” Axoev handed him a ball. “You try.”
While making a strange face and laughing, Darin did as Axoev showed him, then sucked at the hole he’d made. “Oh, wow. That’s really good. I mean, I always knew I liked ball juice, but this kind is good, too.” He laughed so hard he had to grasp the wall to stay upright.
“Do not drink too much as it can make you sick.”
“Now that’s a real shame. Death by ball juice.”
“That’s enough.” Axoev took the fruit away from Darin and tossed the empty rind in the refuse shoot.
“Where does that go?”
“Down to the bottom of the tree.”
“You throw your garbage into the tree?”
“It uses what is left over for food.”
“Like compost!” Darin lifted his finger and almost fell over.
Axoev picked him up and put him in the sleeping room. “Stay here.” He returned to the eating area and put the rest of the food away. Once it was cleared up, he went into the sleeping room and found Darin snuggled into the pile of furs.
“Comfy.”
“We will talk first.” Axoev held up the faunsha clothing. “Explain to me what is wrong.”
“Fine.” Darin got up rather clumsily, took the clothing, and pulled it on.
Axoev’s cock hardened. He was never going to be able to sleep peacefully next to Darin without having another release. Perhaps if he was kind, he could talk Darin into doing again what they’d done in the forest. That had been surprisingly satisfying. Far more so than using his hand had ever been.
“I mean really just look at this. My nipples are displayed like I’m some kind of slutty girl prancing around on spring break.” Darin stroked his hands over his own nipples, hardening them while inadvertently making Axoev’s cock twitch. “What’s the point of this?”
“So that I can arouse you by touching them.” Axoev reached out and gently but firmly pinched one of Darin’s nipples, making him gasp. “What else is wrong?”
“My sides and my belly. Why are those displayed?”
“So that I can see your smooth skin and touch it without hindrance.” Axoev kissed his bared shoulders, showing him rather than telling him why the shirt had no sleeves. “What else?”
“The…the skirt.” Where Darin’s voice had been harsh with criticism before, it was now quieter and far less certain.
“What is wrong with that?”
“Well, it’s a skirt, and only women wear skirts.”
“It’s a strip of fabric that knows not sex.” Axoev reached under what Darin called a skirt and cupped his buttocks. “It is short so that if I am in dire need, I have only to bend you over to expose you.” Axoev showed him by stepping close and leaning Darin forward. By bending his knees a bit, he lined up his cock perfectly with Darin’s hole. “You see?”
“Yeah.” Darin’s voice was now decidedly husky.
“It gives me access to you.” Axoev held his position but slid his hand down between Darin’s buttocks and pressed against his hole. Tight didn’t even begin to describe the snug outer ring of flesh. Darin squirmed but didn’t say anything.
“Also, it shows me very clearly when you are aroused, too.”
Darin looked down and seemed to realize his cock was causing the front of the skirt to lift up. The more he tried to push it down, the higher it rose. Rather than let him struggle any more, Axoev reached around, grasped Darin’s cock, and began to stroke slowly along the length while pressing against his very tight hole.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” Darin rocked back and forth with Axoev’s movements. His breathing hitched, and it was clear he was very close to another orgasm.
“Swear to me that you will wear this tomorrow at the fire.”
“No.” Darin didn’t struggle in his grip, not until Axoev tried to move away. “Don’t stop.”
“I want you to wear this tomorrow.” Axoev held Darin’s release tauntingly out of reach.
Rather than answer back, Darin moaned and extended his hands behind his body, fumbling with Axoev’s trousers. It was clear his intent was to offer an exchange of a release for a release, just like they had today. But Axoev wouldn’t be moved. He discovered that by breathing softly into Darin’s ear while simultaneously fingering his ass and fisting his cock he caused Darin to become a very willing slave.
“Promise me and I will release you.”
“I…please.”
“You must agree, He who Dares.”
“Only for tomorrow?”
Axoev grinned. He was close to getting his way. “Only for tomorrow. We will work out a detailed agreement later.”
Darin rocked back and fo
rth between Axoev’s powerful hands, probably considering how good Axoev’s method of persuasion was. From the way his expression changed, it was clear he was enjoying himself immensely, but having that release at the end would give him such a pinnacle of pleasure he’d be able to sleep until the sun rose.
Whispering softly in his ears about how good a strong climax would feel, Axoev lessened the intensity of his touch. He didn’t want his stunning faunsha to go off prematurely. Not until he had his consent. Before, they had not been clear about their deal, where this time the terms were practically etched in bark.
“I will. Just one time.”
“Say exactly what you are swearing to do, Darin. I want to make sure we are both clear on the terms.”
“I’ll wear this outfit for the fire tomorrow. I’ll sit on your blanket and be a perfect faunsha before the tribe.” Darin’s agreement came out like a confession, breathless and determined.
Pleased, Axoev lowered his trousers.
Immediately, Darin tensed.
“I’m not going to penetrate you. Just join you in finding satisfaction.” Rather than disrupt the rhythm he’d already established, Axoev added to the mix by slipping his cock between Darin’s thighs while continuing to finger his snug hole and fist his prick.
“Tighten your legs.”
Darin drew them together so that Axoev’s prick now sawed between his soft thighs. It didn’t take him long to get close to the summit where Darin already was. Faster he moved until he was so close to the top he could almost feel the release.
“Slide your finger in. Please. Just press—ah!” Darin shuddered as Axoev plunged his finger within his tight ass. His cock spurted, the unusual color enchanting and arousing Axoev as he continued to thrust his hips. While he was wrapped up in the intensity of his orgasm, Darin relaxed his legs, but then he seemed to become determined to make Axoev climax and pressed them together so firmly Axoev had to fight to push between.
Into Axoev’s mind came the notion that this was how snug it would be to fit his cock into Darin’s hole. Visualizing himself bending Darin over one of the assistors in the room of need compelled him to thrust one final time and climax.
Darin reached down and cupped the tip of Axoev’s prick, giving it a solid twist that made another wave of pleasure rock through his body. Afterward, he clung to Darin, bracing him as they both recovered.
“I have never known it would be like this.”
“Like what?” Darin’s voice sounded dreamy and far away.
“Intense and—Nemro would be so cutting if he knew—but magical.”
“Magical. It is that. I was always so afraid to be touched there.”
“Where? Here?” Axoev wiggled his still-imbedded finger, eliciting another shiver from Darin and then a nod.
“Who is Nemro?”
“Only a man who wants to be leader when he is not a good man and would make a terrible leader.”
“Oh.”
It was clear Darin was very tired.
“I will clean us up before we sleep.”
“Good idea. I don’t want to get jizz all over those very nice furs.”
After the translation kicked in, Axoev laughed. “Your words are sometimes strange to me. The sound of them tickles my ear and then my head.”
“Same here. I mean with your words.” Darin took a step and stumbled. Clearly confused, he looked down at his feet. “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
“You won’t run away?”
“I won’t. I’m too happy and relaxed.”
“And we are in agreement about what will happen at the fire tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Darin made a face that was quickly wiped away by a smile. “You really are way too concerned about what your clansmen—clanspeople?—think about you.”
“I am the leader.”
Darin’s judgmental look softened. “I get it. Really. I do. I will be a very dutiful faunsha.”
As Axoev dropped to his knees and removed the binding device, he wondered if he should warn Darin about all the things that would happen at the fire. Not all fires were the same. He looked up and saw Darin’s blissful face and thought maybe it wouldn’t be such a huge issue. They’d already brought each other great pleasure two times over. Another time in front of the others shouldn’t be much of a problem. Or at least he hoped not. Although, given Darin’s curious issue with the clothing, Axoev honestly didn’t know how he was likely to react to what usually happened at the passion fire.
Chapter 7
“I thought you said the women fight over you.” Darin warily eyed two women who hadn’t stopped glaring at him from the moment he’d settled down on the edge of Axoev’s blanket. There had been a meeting of the men alone, but that was over surprisingly fast. Once business was finished, all the men settled on their blankets. Darin hadn’t understood why the men were teasing Axoev about finally bringing a blanket. Apparently, Axoev generally stood rather than sat. Still, Darin might never understand all the nuances of these people. For a simple folk, they had some surprisingly complex social interactions.
“The woman did argue over who might share my blanket with me, but now that you are here, sitting on my blanket, they can’t.”
“Why does it look like they want to fight me?”
“They are angry at you, but they will not attack you.”
“Good.” The women of Clan Shadow were almost as big and scary as the men. They, too, had long hair twined with all kinds of curious items. As Darin looked around at the thirty or so couples sharing blankets, he realized only he and Axoev didn’t have anything in their hair. “What’s the deal with the hair decorations?”
“Look there.” Axoev moved so that he was right behind Darin. He was struck by two things at once. Axoev smelled so good Darin swore he could happily lick over his entire body, and Axoev felt so good Darin wanted another fast and furious rubbing session like they’d had last night.
“Look where?” Distracted by Axoev’s proximity, Darin struggled to remember what he had asked about.
Axoev pointed a few blankets over from them.
Darin looked over to see that Sieg was sitting in the center of his blanket with two women, one on either side of him. A grin of pleasure turned his face into something beyond handsome while his cheeks were a little ruddier and probably not from the fire. Darin had discovered that the balls used to counteract the feeding scent were often stored for a few days, fermenting the juice into something like alcohol-laden Kool-Aid. No wonder Darin had gotten all relaxed and happy last night. Axoev was just lucky he’d stopped Darin before he drank too much and puked on him. It was obvious Sieg had been drinking plenty of the things since there was a small pile of empties by the top of his blanket.
Looking behind him, he noticed that Axoev had removed the weapon he wore slung on his back and placed it at the top of his blanket. Darin wasn’t one hundred percent certain, but he was pretty sure that showed Axoev as the leader. He was the only one of the men who put his weapon at the top. The other men either didn’t have a weapon or placed what they did have at the foot of their blankets. Then again, for all he knew, it could be completely meaningless.
As Darin continued to observe, the women were gently combing Sieg’s hair and rearranging the objects there and probably adding new ones. It was difficult for Darin to tell when he was quite a distance away and his night vision sucked. Still, it was clear they were primping him, and since Axoev had not ever taken a lover, he had nothing in his hair.
Axoev placed his mouth right against Darin’s ear, making him melt and harden in a curious battle of physical reactions. How in the world had he grown so physically attached to Axoev so fast? Even wearing the ridiculous faunsha clothing had not curbed Darin’s lust in the least.
“They groom him, but also it is a subtle way of marking him as their lover.”
“He has two women?”
“He has many more than those two.”
Darin spared Axoev a glance over his shoulder and realized
that while Axoev was clearly happy for his friend, he wasn’t actually envious of Sieg. If he was, Axoev could and would have a blanket filled with women. Obviously, there was something going on here that Darin simply wasn’t getting.
“Why don’t you have any finery in your hair?”
“To lie with a woman is to give her children. I am not ready for that.”
“Oh.” Darin heard what Axoev left unsaid, and that was that someday he would lie with a woman. “So I am only to keep them away temporarily?”
“You are to give me release so that I can stay away from them.”
Darin had never felt worse. He thought there was something between them, something that might turn into love and maybe a happily ever after. He felt foolish for believing in either. He was a mathematician. His world was one of clear-cut formulas, functions, and a stunningly beautiful complexity that always obeyed the rules. No wonder he’d never had any success in the dating world. He didn’t get it because it wasn’t logical. Not like he was some kind of Mr. Spock or something, just that his emotions were messy where his work wasn’t.
“That’s why this outfit isn’t about trying to make me be a girl. All faunshas are male because they can’t be impregnated.”
“Yes.” Axoev licked along the edge of Darin’s ear, exciting him but also making him somewhat ashamed of his arousal.
“So you’re not gay then.”
After a moment for the translation to work, Axoev laughed lightly. “I am extremely happy. You have pleased me greatly because you are beautiful.” Axoev smoothed his hand over Darin’s hair. “None has hair like yours. So stunning in the firelight. I would put a mark of mine on you, but not in your hair. It’s too wonderful on its own and thus needs no decoration.”
It was sweet and almost poetical, but Darin still felt uneasy. He was gay. He’d always been gay. From the time he saw his first naked guy—other than himself or his brothers—he knew he was gay. Worse, at the time, he’d been devastated. Being a nerd and being the runt were both pretty tough, but adding homosexual on top of that made Darin wonder if he’d ever go more than a week without the shit being kicked out of him.
Enslaved by a Barbarian [Sold! 6] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 6
