by Leta Blake
“I suppose so. I’ve never considered it before.” Rion glanced about, and a bloom of colors reflected across his face.
Jack peered around, laughter bubbling up from his chest. “A rainbow!” The color seemed to exist all around them, as if they were inside the rainbow itself.
Rion smiled hesitantly. “Can you not see rainbows in the valley?”
“Not like this.”
The castle had seemed so dank and cold, but here the warmth and brightness of the rainbow seemed to warm Jack from the inside out, despite the chill of the rain. Rion stood before him, his tunic clinging to his lean, muscled chest and arms. His hair curled even more in the rain, and a droplet of water hung from the end of his nose.
Without another thought, Jack stepped forward and caught the drop on his fingertip. Their eyes met, and as one, they reached for each other, mouths connecting with a jolt that set Jack’s blood racing. Rion wrapped his powerful arms around Jack’s back, molding their bodies together.
As Rion took a ragged breath, Jack slipped his tongue inside Rion’s mouth, stroking deeply. Adair had never granted him even a single kiss, and Jack felt as if he wanted to consume Rion, tasting him and drinking him in until they both trembled with need. They were clumsy, teeth clashing, noses bumping as they devoured each other.
Jack’s head spun. Only hours ago they’d cursed one another as villains, yet now they came together as if it was always meant to be. As if they were made for it. Panting, they rutted against each other, stumbling back against the wall, crushing the flowers there and sweetening the air. Rion threaded one hand into Jack’s hair. “I want you. God help me, I don’t care if you’re an Outsider. I need…more. More.”
Jack nodded. “Then we’ll need oil.”
“Oil?” Rion’s head felt muddled, and he ground his hips into Jack’s, groaning.
With a firm tug on Rion’s hand, Jack led the way.
Rion tried to focus and get back in control as he followed Jack back into the kitchen. Their hands were clasped together, and he found himself smiling at the sensation. It was madness, he knew. Madness and sin and betrayal of his family all threaded together as tightly as his fingers were with Jack’s.
He was still trying to catch up mentally as they reached the kitchen and Jack disappeared into the pantry. Rion reached out to pull him back, heart pounding, but Jack reappeared a moment later with a bottle in hand. It’s all right. He couldn’t have seen.
Indeed, Jack appeared focused only on one task as he stripped off his wet clothes and dropped them in a pile on the floor. He faced the old table and poured a dash of oil into his hand. Bracing himself with his other, he spread his legs and leaned over, working one slick finger into his arse.
All other thoughts evaporated from Rion’s mind as lust and need took over. Throat dry, he watched avidly as Jack worked another finger into his hole. Jack glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow. It took Rion a few moments for his brain to command his hands to move, and he peeled off his sodden garments, releasing his rock-hard cock.
Jack’s moans echoed on the stone as he worked himself open, and Rion thought he might find release simply from watching the wanton display. When Jack pulled his fingers out, he shoved the bottle of oil at Rion. Heart thumping, whole body so alive he felt he might catch fire, he greased his straining cock.
Stepping in close behind Jack, they both sighed as their bodies met. Jack spread his arms on the table, waiting. Rion lined up the head of his cock with Jack’s hole and the oil dripped onto their wet skin. With a deep breath, he pushed. He moved but a fraction, his limbs tensing. “I don’t…it’s too…”
Jack pushed back against him. “It’ll fit. Trust me.”
Trust. How could he trust this stranger? This Outsider? Yet somehow he found he wanted to, quite desperately in fact. The truth spilled out. “I don’t want to hurt you.” The urge to ram into Jack and find pleasure in him warred with the strange desire to simply hold him close.
Looking over his shoulder, Jack gave him a reassuring smile. “You won’t. Even if you do, I don’t care. It’s been so long. Please. Do it.”
“I’ve never…” He felt foolish and afraid.
But Jack only spread his legs wider. “Do it,” he repeated. “Please.”
Using his hand to help guide him in, Rion pressed against Jack’s hole, inching his way into the incredible heat. Jack’s breath came in short pants, and he was so tight around Rion’s cock. Yet Jack still pushed back, urging him in deeper.
Deeper he went. His muscles were still stiff and sore from being bound, and he fought to stay in control. Once the head was inside he rammed all the way, his hips jerking against Jack’s pale arse. They both cried out, and Rion struggled to hold himself in check as his bollocks tightened. He rested his forehead on the back of Jack’s neck, breathing heavily.
He was inside another person—a man. So many nights he’d dreamed of this, and he pressed a kiss to Jack’s wet skin, profoundly grateful. He gripped Jack’s hips and began driving in and out. They quickly found their rhythm, grunting as they strove together. Jack pushed back against him, arms wide on the table as he bent over, opening himself.
The wet, tight heat around Rion’s cock was better than he’d ever thought it could be, even in his most fevered imaginings. He covered one of Jack’s hands with his own, threading their fingers together. He’d never felt such pleasure, but it was more than that. He’d never felt so alive. So connected. He never wanted it to end.
But end it must, and he hung on by a mere thread as he thrust deeply into Jack. Their slick skin slapped together and Jack squeezed around him. Rion gasped, a strangled cry from his lips as he pumped his seed into Jack’s body, shuddering as the knot of pleasure that had been building unraveled in bursts of ecstasy as he claimed Jack.
He leaned against Jack’s back, sucking in a breath. His legs trembled, and he reached down to pull himself out carefully before he collapsed altogether. Some of his seed dripped down Jack’s thighs, and he rubbed it onto Jack’s skin. When Jack turned in his arms, Rion realized with a guilty pang that he’d been focused only on his own pleasure.
As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Rion sank to his knees. Jack’s eyebrows shot up, and he seemed about to say something when Rion opened his mouth for Jack’s cock. Jack groaned and wound his fingers into Rion’s damp hair. He arched his hips, and Rion sucked ferociously, mimicking Jack’s earlier actions in the cell.
He seemed to be doing all right, since Jack moaned and sighed, fingers tight in Rion’s hair. When Jack tensed and pushed Rion’s head away, Rion sat back on his heels as Jack’s seed splattered his face. His tongue darted out to taste the cream, his cock twitching as he swallowed it.
Panting, Jack slid down to the floor. He licked his own spendings from Rion’s cheek and then kissed him deeply, their tongues sharing the taste together. Rion thought, for a fleeting moment, that he could very well die happy now.
Chapter Six
The fire crackled, drying their clothes where Rion spread them out on the hearth. Jack watched from the warmth of the bed, eyes drawn down Rion’s broad back to his round arse. Jack felt as though he should pinch himself, for he must be dreaming. After so many years, yearning to meet a man he could make his own, a man who would not cringe away from Jack’s cursed hair, he lay in such a man’s bed.
And that man was the supposedly evil giant Jack had feared and loathed all his days. Not a giant at all, but a man like Jack. A man like him in so many ways. Alone, craving the hot, strong touch of another. Perhaps it was fate they should find each other? Or luck? Whatever it was, Jack had never felt happier. He laughed.
Rion looked over sharply. “What amuses you?” He was on guard, suddenly defensive.
“Not you. Well, it is you. I was thinking of how content I feel here with you. I meant no offense. It’s just…unlikely. Is it not?”
Rion’s shoulders relaxed. “Indeed it is.” He paused. “I should probably toss you back in the cell, or down into the valle
y where you came from. Yet I find you most appealing in my bed.”
As he stroked his cock languidly, Jack pulled back the covers. “And I find I have no desire to take my leave.”
Eyes dark and glittering, Rion strode to the bed and covered Jack’s body with his own. They kissed with mouths open, tongues meeting. The embers of desire low in Jack’s belly flared to life, and he tangled his legs with Rion’s, holding him close as they rubbed together. He’d imagined it, but never known he could feel so safe and comfortable in another’s arms. So free to be his true self.
“You must be a siren. A witch or warlock. The devil’s own device. For I find I cannot resist you.”
Tensing as if doused with ice water, Jack turned his head away and wriggled out from beneath Rion. He suddenly felt naked not because he wasn’t wearing a stitch, but because he wasn’t wearing his cap. He ran his hand through his hair roughly and turned onto his side. My true self is cursed.
Rion’s warmth pressed against Jack from behind, a tentative hand reaching over to caress Jack’s chest. “Forgive me for bringing back those memories. I meant no harm.”
“For so long…I believed what they said about me. My father abandoned us because of me. I thought they must be right.”
Rolling Jack back over, Rion kissed him softly. “I don’t understand.” Rion stroked Jack’s hair with the gentlest of touches. “Your hair is beautiful. Sent from above. It should be cherished, not hated. Not feared.” He skimmed his hand down Jack’s chest where dark-red hair dusted his chest. He traced Jack’s skin with his fingertips, sending a shiver up Jack’s spine.
“I’ve always kept it hidden as best I could, but everyone in the village knew. I thought that was why I was different. Why I crave a man’s touch and not a woman’s. I thought perhaps I was as wicked as they say.”
Rion trailed his hand lower, sliding his fingers into the thatch of hair between Jack’s legs. “Then we’re both wicked, and my hair’s as dark as the night.” He massaged Jack’s bollocks in his palm as he leaned down and sucked one of Jack’s nipples.
A gasp caught in Jack’s throat as he grew hard, and he stopped caring about anything else but his unquenchable need. “Oil?”
Rion’s weight lifted off Jack for a moment and then he was back, urging Jack’s legs apart. As his slippery fingers pushed into Jack’s hole, Jack ignored the sting. He wanted Rion again despite it being too soon after so many years of chastity. He wanted Rion’s hot seed deep inside him.
As he took in another of Rion’s fingers, he wondered what it would be like to fuck Rion, to stretch him open and feel him quiver from the inside out. But a memory flooded his mind, unbidden. The force of Adair’s fist splitting his lip. The taste of coppery blood in his mouth as he’d begged forgiveness for the suggestion.
“What is it?” Rion’s fingers went still.
“Nothing. Go on.” Jack bent one knee and spread his legs farther. “Please.”
Yet Rion hesitated. “You looked pained. Is it too soon?”
For a moment, Jack considered telling the truth. Then he shook his head and pulled Rion down for a long kiss. He loved the feel of Rion’s tongue against his, the softness of Rion’s lips, the harsh rub of his beard, which had a few days’ growth. Jack reveled in Rion’s hard muscles and rough edges. He was so wonderfully…male.
When Rion urged him over, Jack went eagerly to his elbows and knees, offering himself, feeling truly desired and not used as he had with Adair. He and Rion were all grunts and groans as they coupled, their harsh breathing filling the air. Although Jack was tender, he held back nothing as Rion rocked into him, squeezing down with his inner muscles, which made Rion gasp.
“Is it always like this? With others?”
“No.” Jack pushed back, moaning. “Only with you.”
“I don’t ever want to stop.” Rion groaned.
There was a certain spot deep inside that sent sparks of pleasure cartwheeling to the tips of his toes, and as Rion brushed against it, Jack cried out. “Yes! There. Again.”
Rion obliged, thrusting against the nub. Jack’s moans grew louder, and he reached a hand down for his cock, stroking it roughly as the ecstasy overwhelmed him. He came with a shout, milking his cock as stars appeared before his eyes. Shuddering, he lowered his head to the mattress.
With a few more drives, Rion followed, pulsing his hot seed deep inside Jack. He caressed Jack’s back, pressing little kisses down Jack’s spine as he pulled away. They both flopped down, chests heaving. Jack seemed to fit into Rion’s arms as though he belonged there, and his eyes grew heavy.
He hoped this truce would hold.
* * * * *
There was someone else in the room.
As Rion woke, his heart skipped a beat and his limbs tensed. Not only in the room, but in his bed, nestled against him, snoring softly. In a rush, Rion remembered and relaxed back against his pillow. Jack head was on Rion’s chest, and there was wetness against Rion’s skin where Jack drooled.
Smiling to himself, Rion stroked Jack’s hair. For days they’d done little but fuck and suck, mating with each other like animals in heat. Even when they’d left Rion’s chamber, they invariably found themselves rutting together in passageways and on staircases. They’d taken turns on their knees, sucking and licking each other and swallowing every drop. He’d bent Jack over every surface he could.
He wondered what it would be like to offer himself that way, but Jack seemed to have no interest, and eagerly spread himself at every opportunity. Rion gladly mounted him, of course. He’d never spilled so much seed, yet the sight of Jack’s pale, freckled skin, or his fiery hair, or secret smile, made Rion’s flesh swell without hesitation. And more than his cock, it was his heart that filled until he thought it might burst.
Jack stirred briefly, snuggling closer before returning to his gentle snores. Here in his bed, as the sun filled the room with its golden glow, Rion could scarcely believe he’d hated this man so fiercely. Had cursed him to the heavens and treated him as a mortal enemy. An Outsider.
They’d fallen so easily into each other’s arms, their mutual distrust and dislike disappearing as their bodies became one. It all felt so inevitable now. Already, Rion could scarcely imagine being without Jack. The thought that this might—and likely would—end frightened him to his core. He pushed the thought aside quickly.
In the firelight, Jack had told him stories of his youth, of a man who’d used him most cruelly. A man Rion hated to the depths of his soul. A man Rion vowed he would punish, for such a man did not deserve to live and breathe and feel a moment’s happiness. Tightening his arms around Jack, Rion clenched his jaw.
Jack lifted his head, blinking. “Rion?”
“Mmm?”
“I can hardly breathe.”
Rion released his grip with a chuckle. “Apologies.”
Rolling atop Rion, Jack pressed their lips together. “Good morning.”
Rion kissed him back. Instead of crawling down Rion’s body to wake his cock with wet kisses, Jack sat up, straddling Rion’s hips. “I’ve been wondering about something.”
“What?”
“How do you get across the sea?”
The sleepy, pleasant haze evaporated. “Why?”
Jack caressed Rion’s chest. “I’m just curious. You’ve never mentioned it.”
Of course he hadn’t, as it was a secret only for Rion to know. Well, Rion and the wife he brought back from across the sea. Something he knew he’d never do now. He’d never want a woman, and it wouldn’t be fair to her. And you don’t want anyone else but Jack.
“It doesn’t matter. Does it?”
“No. Like I said, I’m just curious. I thought…” Jack shook his head and rolled off the bed. “Forget I asked.”
Sudden tension filled the air. They’d avoided speaking of anything but the past, trying to pretend the world didn’t exist. It was a delicate peace, and now it seemed to have shattered. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”
Jack la
ughed harshly. “I don’t think you’re supposed to fuck an Outsider from one end of the castle to the other. Somehow I don’t think Mummy and Daddy would approve.”
Rion clenched his jaw and rose from the bed, getting dressed with jerky movements. “Don’t speak of them in such a way.”
Exhaling slowly, Jack rubbed his face. “I had no right. Forgive me?”
After a moment, Rion nodded. “I’m hungry.” He strode out and made his way to the kitchen. Jack appeared just as Rion ladled out two bowls of porridge.
“Thank you.” Jack took his bowl and sat at the table.
Rion sat across from him, and they ate silently for a few minutes. Rion cleared his throat. “We should probably talk about all the things we’ve been avoiding.”
Jack smiled ruefully. “Yes, I suppose we should.”
“First, I want to show you something.”
He led the way out to the terrace. The sun seemed to be all around, its heat soaking into the skin, the glare making everything impossibly bright. There was a small door built into the stone against the castle. Rion opened it and pulled out the interlocked, folded pieces of oak, the silk sails were a vibrant blue.
Jack frowned. “Some kind of kite?”
“In a way.” Rion unfolded the two main parts of the frame, locking them into place. When he did, the kite came to life under his hands, sliding open on the terrace until it resembled a huge bird with wings spread.
Jack watched with awe. “It’s enchanted? It flies?”
“Yes.” Although he’d never been across the sea, he’d known from a young age how to use the magic kite. Rion lay down across its frame, and pieces of silk wound around him tightly. “It won’t let its riders fall.” He whispered an enchantment, and the ties fell away as he stood.
“This will take you all the way across the sea?”
“Yes. It’s the last one. When I have children, they’ll each have their own.”
“How? Where do they come from?”
Rion shrugged. “The castle provides what’s needed. This is the only one left now that my brothers and sisters have all gone. When my mother brought my father back, their kite vanished, since the castle knew they’d never leave their home again.”
