The oil. Where was the, ah. There. Anneal poured a generous amount on his hands, using it to make Feris' large shaft very slick.
Feris bucked up into his touch. "Oh, An neal. Feels good."
"Mmm." He took one last kiss, knowing the next part would take all of his concentration. "I love you."
"Love you, An neal. Love you."
He smiled, crawling up to straddle Feris' waist. "Hold still, Feris. Can you do that for me?" Without waiting for an answer, Anneal reached back and grasped Feris' hardness, lining it up with his own entrance and pushing back.
"An neal!" Feris' eyes were huge, amazed.
He could only grunt as he pushed back, bearing down to open himself, to take Feris in until he sat back on Feris' thighs, his lover fully sheathed inside him.
Feris was whimpering, moaning softly. "Oh, An neal. Tight. Hot. An neal, I am inside you!"
"Yes. In me. Where you belong." Anneal smiled, stroking Feris' chest and belly. "All right?"
Feris nodded, hands reaching for him, stroking his thighs and his waist and then sliding along his shaft. "Are you all right, An neal. I am not hurting you?"
"No. No hurt Feris. Just pleasure." And he did not lie, for while he was full to the point of bursting, there was no pain. Cautiously, slowly, he began to move.
"Oh..." Feris moaned, the sound long and low, the golden eyes rolling back in Feris' head.
"Yes. You see?" Anneal moved again, the feel of Feris in him a joy so great that he thought it might break him in two.
Feris opened his mouth, but no words came out, only sounds.
Once his body relaxed, Anneal moved faster, sliding up and down, taking Feris in over and over, thighs shaking. One of Feris' hands wrapped around his shaft, his movements pushing his heat in and out of it. Anneal cried out, movements becoming frantic as he rode Feris, balls drawing up. "Feris. Soon. I cannot...oh!"
"An neal!" Feris' cried out his name, bucking up hard as his body squeezed around his lover's shaft. Another cry and heat filled him deep inside.
All it took was the feel of Feris spilling inside him for Anneal to lose the last shred of control. His head fell back and his hips jerked as he spent into Feris' hand, coming harder than he ever had in his life. He collapsed against Feris' chest, gasping for breath.
Feris' arm came around him, his lover taking deep, gasping breaths that were almost sobs, holding him tight.
"I have you in me now. Forever." It was, perhaps, a stupid thing to say, but heartfelt for all of that.
"Oh..." Feris squeezed him, hand sliding down to where they were joined. "Inside you."
A shudder took him, an aftershock of the pleasure they shared. "Yes. Yours. No matter what."
Feris purred. "My An neal."
"Yours." He would not let his worries come back until the morning, Anneal decided. Tonight, he would sleep safe, knowing that he shared himself more fully with Feris than he had with anyone, ever before. And no one would take that away from them.
~Chapter Fifteen~
City soon.
Many men.
Growl.
Move closer to man.
Smells. Lots of smells.
Man smells.
Not his man smells.
Growl.
An neal's hand on his back, petting him. "I know, Feris."
Rub against An neal's legs.
His man.
Rub more.
His.
Other men must know this.
Soft laughter from An neal, but his man smelled sad, not happy. "It will all be over soon, Feris. But you must promise me you will let what happens happen."
Growl again.
Himself not happy.
Feris made promise.
Himself would honor.
But not happy.
Growl.
His man.
His.
***
The sight of the gates of Linai made Anneal's stomach clench painfully. They had traveled steadily south, meeting up with men only a short day after Anneal had thought they would, and making their way to the city along the trade caravan route.
Feris was unhappy. Terribly. It showed in every step the big cat took. Whenever Anneal had dealings with the men, Feris would watch carefully, guarding his safety, tail twitching. As Anneal was doing trading for things like meat and ink and vellum, these meetings happened more and more, and the men were frankly nervous of his feline companion.
For his part, Anneal felt more and more guilty dragging Feris into such a place, when the big cat so obviously disliked it, and he retreated into silence, a sick feeling sitting in his belly and staying there, building more and more with each step closer to his old home.
Linai sat at the crossroads of two great trade routes, one of which ran north and south, one east and west. It was a walled city that sat on a dusty plain, surrounded on each side by field upon field of grain, which the Linai used for making the sweet ale that was their stock in trade.
So familiar, and yet so alien to him now. The closer they got, the busier the road got, roadside markets springing up, with brightly colored tents and the scent of roasting meat and fermenting ale strong in the air. And the closer they got, the more people stared, not only at Feris, who drew frightened looks and curious glances, but at Anneal himself, and the tattooed cheeks he refused to hide. The people knew what they meant, those scars, and the whispers followed them like a wind in the wheat.
When the gates came into view, tall and unchanged by the passage of years, the great crest of the city easily discernable, Anneal stopped, hand in the heavy ruff of fur on Feris' neck. Feris growled low, body rubbing against him.
He took a deep breath. "Yes. We must," he said, as much to himself as to Feris. "You must promise me that no matter what happens, you will be quiet, Feris. I could not bear it if something happened to you because of me."
Feris looked up at him, those golden eyes staring at him, staring through him. The low growl was not a happy sound.
"I know. Please." To his own ears, the words sounded faint, less than convincing. But he needed to know that Feris would remain safe.
Feris' gaze left his again, the long body still and quiet next to him. He knew, if nothing else, no matter what happened, Feris would not leave his side.
One last scratch of Feris' ears, and Anneal began walking once more, feet set on the path he knew he could not alter now. Tomorrow was the day of his father's birth, and he had to be in the city before the gates closed at sundown.
The whispers grew as they walked, becoming louder, people openly pointing at him now. It would only get worse, he reminded himself, but he had Feris this time. Something to fight for, something to be proud of and Anneal held his head high, not stopping until the guard hailed him, asking his business.
The ordeal was bearable only because of Feris' solid presence. The suspicious guard, the difficulty of having Feris admitted to the city, the jeers of the people they passed, the meeting of an old friend on the street, a man who was once his lover and yet now treated him like a leper, all of it was mitigated by Feris' low growls and the heavy tail that wrapped about his legs.
That and sheer stubbornness carried him to his father's door. The house was the same, a great edifice of natural stone and yellow brick, stretching for more than a city block. The high double doors bore his family crest, and Anneal stopped, staring at them without knocking.
Feris nudged his hand, demanding attention. Low purrs met his inquiring look, that long tail sliding around his legs.
"Only one way to get it over with, hmm?" Right. Feris was his family now. The rest was simply details. Anneal pulled the great bell rope by the doors, and waited while a young girl he had never seen before opened them, gawping at him stupidly. "Good afternoon," he said politely. "I am Anneal Vere Faolin. I am here to see my father."
***
Small.
Smelly.
Close.
No air.
Growl.
Rub ag
ainst his man.
"Feris..."
Not happy man.
Front paws on shoulders.
Lick cheeks.
"Feris, stop." Man push.
Growl.
Pace to end of room.
Pace to other end.
Not look at man.
Growl.
Man sigh. "Feris... please. I am sorry. It is just... please, come here and sit with me."
Pace again.
Growl.
Go sit.
Head on man's knee.
Man pet. Man talk.
"I know. We will leave tomorrow, though, I swear it."
Lick man's hand.
Purr.
A little.
Man smile. Pet harder.
"You are far too good to me, Feris."
Purr more.
Lick man's hand.
Lick man's cheek.
"Yes. I love you, Feris."
Arms around him. Cheek on his cheek.
Rub cheeks.
Purr.
Good.
Lick man's face.
An neal laugh. "You're impossible. Oh, I wish I could talk with you, Feris. If I did not think we would be interrupted..." Man sigh. "But no doubt it is safer for you to stay himself."
Not like man sighs.
Nuzzle man's neck.
Lick skin.
Man smell hot. Pull him close. "Oh. Feris."
Purr.
Nuzzle.
Rub.
Rub. Rub more.
"Feris!"
Chuff laugh.
Rub more.
Man lay back, spread legs. Rub against the good smell.
Purr more.
Rub more.
Man smell good.
"Feris. Oh. I... oh."
Man hold tight.
Man like.
Himself good.
Rub.
Purr.
Rub hard and hot.
Make man shake. An neal yelling. Smell strong and good.
Tear cloth.
Lick man clean.
Good.
Purr.
Man breathe hard.
"Tomorrow, Feris. I vow, we will leave as soon as we may, and find a camp where we can be together."
Good.
His man.
Lie close.
Purr.
Man sigh. Pet.
Go soon.
Purr.
Lick.
Go soon.
Make man happy.
***
The footman treaded slowly down the grand hall to his father's apartments. Far too slowly for Anneal's liking, as he would have the entire meeting over and done. The measured pace also gave the memories far too much time assault him, as the bright silks on the walls and the graceful curved furniture that matched the arched windows had changed little since he was a child.
As a child he had thought his life idyllic. His father was stern, his mother loving, but he had traveled with his father's trade caravans in the temperate months and spent the heated summers and cold winters in this house, amusing himself for hours upon end.
Only when he grew to manhood, and discovered that he would not fit his father's rigidly compartmentalized role for him did he begin to see the manse as a prison.
It seemed even more so now, even with Feris pacing at his side.
They stopped in front of a dark wood door studded with iron headed nails that Anneal remembered opening into his father's study. Last year on exactly this day he had entered, stayed no more than an hour, and left. He doubted it would go any better this time, and as he was announced, Anneal rested his hand on Feris' back, taking strength from him.
Feris' tail slid along the back of his legs and for a moment wrapped around him, the big cat growling low. The sound made the footman jump nervously, or perhaps it was his father barking out an order for him to enter. Either way, it was time. Anneal patted Feris lightly and in they went.
There was another low growl and Feris' tail swished angrily. He could see Feris' nostrils flaring, a snarl curling the big cat's lip.
He suddenly had the urge to giggle hysterically, the vision of Feris leaving nothing but bits and pieces of his father strewn about strong in his mind. Which prompted his father to a waspish, "Take that smile from your face and come here."
The old man looked very much as he had, if more frail. Hair still dark in places, iron grey in others, with the same grey eyes that Anneal himself had. The face was pinched and drawn, the expression dour.
Feris made a quiet noise and he could almost hear the growling tones telling him that Feris could eat his father in two bites, all he had to do was say the word. Pleading silently, Anneal guided Feris toward the corner, and went to his father. "Hello, sir. A most happy birthday to you."
The cold look he received in return chilled him through, worse than his first winter storm outside Feris' cave. "I wondered if you were still alive boy. I see you are."
Feris growled again, the sound audible to all in the room now, and stepped between him and his father, tail swishing.
"No. Feris." Anneal knew his father would have no compunction about having his footmen try to kill Feris should he threaten. "Please."
Drawing back, eyebrows raising, his father pointed. "Control your pet."
The growl grew louder for a moment, Feris' ears going forward and he could see every muscle in Feris' body tense.
"He is not my pet. He is very much his own self. Please, Feris." Anneal could feel hot, righteous anger burning away his fear and pain. "This will only take a moment."
Feris turned to look at him, those golden eyes softening when they saw him. With a great show of disdain for his father, Feris sat by his feet, muzzle in the air.
Taking courage from Feris, Anneal stared his father down, something he never thought possible. "Are you ready to release me from my promise, sir? For I have no desire to leave my home every year and come to see someone who has no wish to see me."
A thunderous glare was his response. "No. You owe me that much. To know whether you live or die. After what you've done to me. To this family."
Feris snorted.
Anneal would not enter into the same tired arguments. "I will have someone send you word should I die."
"Are you tired of the inconvenience?" The old man advanced once more, apparently forgetting Feris. "I want you to be inconvenienced, Anneal. I want you to suffer."
Feris stood again, moving between him and his father, hackles raised. Feris' growl was menacing. For a moment, Anneal let cruel enjoyment at his father's sudden fear flood him. Then he immediately felt guilty for sinking to his father's level. "He is very protective of me. Please, Father. What use is it, me coming all this way to argue with you? It is not as if I am doing you any good. Or her family."
His father flinched at the mention of his late betrothed. "You are not even fit to speak her name."
"And I did not."
The silence stretched, broken only by the sound of Feris' tail hitting his legs. He did not know what else to say. It stayed that way for a long moment, the tension in the air growing as the stalemate between them remained unbroken.
Finally Feris stood and turned, mouth taking his hand and tugging, oh so gently. Clearly, Feris was ready to leave.
So was he. He had fulfilled his obligation, and there was no way the old man would let him see his mother. "We shall leave now."
"You will return next year." The command was sharp, drawing his back up.
"Unless you release me from my word. Yes." He would be better than they all thought him to be. He would.
Feris growled again, obviously unhappy with his acquiescence on this point. He smiled sadly at Feris. "I know. But I must."
"Is that all, sir?"
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