by Devon Vesper
Snow started falling, and Valis looked up at the sky. With the lights of the city shining bright and making the overhead clouds glow, the fat snowflakes looked like jewels floating down in dancing swirls. Now that the battle was over and most of his friends were safe, the snow helped give Valis a moment of peace that he’d been missing.
A snowflake landed on the end of his nose. At that moment, Tavros tilted his head down and kissed it off, making Valis laugh. He kissed his husband back for being cute.
“Come on, love,” Tavros said as he leaned their foreheads together. “Let’s go get things done so we can settle for the night.”
With a sigh, Valis looked back at his people loading the wagons and tried to squash the guilt that he wasn’t there helping. But every time he tried to help, Venabi or Jintas would shoo him away and tell him to find something else to do.
Tavros hauled Valis back by his arm, spun him around, and gave him a shove toward the town hall. “Nope. You’re not allowed to feel guilty. Get moving.”
Valis grinned and glanced back at Tavros. “But daaad…”
“Asshole. Get moving.”
Chuckling, Valis let his husband herd him into the town hall where the city had set up a base of operations for Valis and his team in one of the larger rooms. Valis chose a smaller room and lit the lamps to cast a warm glow. He didn’t want to be around his men and women yet. He needed some semblance of silence to scry.
Tavros lit a fire in the hearth. Once the flames chased away the chill, Valis pulled out his pocket watch and got comfortable in one of the chairs. It took him a few moments, but soon his head was clear enough that he could scry.
A moment later, Thyran’s face appeared. He seemed frantic. And the moment the connection solidified, he said, “Please tell me Aenali isn’t there.”
Valis grimaced. “Well, I wish I could. But she’s safe. She’s with Jedai at the moment. We’re sending her home soon.”
“Thank the gods.”
Nodding, Valis shifted in his chair. “Yeah. She showed up after I lit pyres.”
“The battle?”
“Went well, for the most part. I ran into a mind controller of some sort in the first half, but once I shielded my mind, it went a bit smoother. When we regrouped, I shielded the entire army’s minds and gave them my own personal shields. We didn’t suffer many losses.”
“Good.” Thyran sighed and closed his eyes to rub the inner corners.
Valis cleared his throat. “We captured six of the highest ranks here. The others I drained of their magic and burned in the pyres.”
“He burned them alive, Thyran,” Tavros said over Valis’s shoulder. “He’s become a monster.”
The teasing way Tavros said it made Valis snort. “They didn’t know the difference. They were in stasis.”
“Still. That was creepy, Valis.”
Valis tilted his head up to say something, but Tavros met him with a kiss. “Shut up and give your report.”
“I can’t give my report if I shut up.”
“Asshole.”
“If you two are completely done being adorable…”
Thyran sounded wholly amused, and Valis kissed Tavros one more time before turning his attention back to the two-way scry. “Yeah, I don’t think we’ll ever be done. It’s impossible. You might as well get used to it.”
Thyran let out a long-suffering sigh, but he had a grin on his face, so it wasn’t one of his irritated ones. “Very well.” Then he grimaced. “Good gods, boy. What did you do? Bathe in the enemies’ blood? You look rather rank. I’m all too glad I cannot smell you.”
Valis huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Just had some issues with bodies spraying me. Anyway,” Valis said, changing the subject, “I’m going to send Aenali back as soon as she’s done loving on Jedai. I’ll have her report to you as soon as she gets back. I need you to ensure she doesn’t phase back to the army at any cost. I don’t need that kind of heart failure again.”
His mentor snorted and gave Valis a grin. “Just think of the heart failure I had when I saw the note she left that she went to visit you and Jedai. It was not a nice feeling, Valis.”
“I can imagine.” Valis sighed and stretched. “How is Papa doing?”
“He is doing well. Filling out nicely and getting stronger.” Thyran’s eyes softened and he gave Valis a tender smile. “He’s worried for you, of course. Every time I visit him, he asks about you and your progress. I’ve taken to scrying after you when I can so I can give him at least some kind of report.”
Valis’s heart melted a little and he grinned. “Thank you for visiting him, Thyran. That means a lot to me, and I’m sure it means a lot to him, too.”
“Yes, well, I often have to deal with a suite full of people. Trust in that he’s rarely, if ever, alone unless he’s sleeping. Even then, there is someone keeping watch in case he wakes and needs something. He has always been well-loved here from what I gather.”
Knowing that Kerac wasn’t alone made Valis feel better about being so far away. It didn’t alleviate the deep longing he had to be by his father’s side, but it did help. Now, all he had to do was rescue his other father and reunite them so he could have his family again. If only it was as easy as it sounded.
Nothing was as easy as it sounded.
It took a few moments to get himself out of those maudlin thoughts and back into the conversation. Instead of staying in that trap, Valis changed the subject. “We’re spending the night and the morning until sunrise in Setira City. The city has afforded us two extra wagons, food stores to last us until the next city, and a few of their militia to bolster our numbers.
“Once the sun rises, I’m taking a team with me, and we’re riding hard to Ges to assist the anchor team sent after Braywar. The rest of the army will be following us at a safer pace.”
Thyran frowned. “Be careful, Valis. I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen to one of you, and I dislike it.”
Valis glanced up at Tavros and his stomach pitted hard. The blood rushed from Valis’s face so fast it made him dizzy. Tavros frowned and kissed Valis’s forehead. “Don’t borrow trouble, love. Whatever happens, happens. We’ll deal with it like we always do.”
Sighing, Valis nodded. “Yeah. Like we always do.”
“One day at a time, Valis.”
“Right.”
They wrapped up the scry with Thyran shortly after, and after spending time with Aenali and Jedai, and sending Aenali home with a stern warning not to come back, Valis found himself in the inn.
“Bath is upstairs.” The innkeeper gave Valis the stink eye. “Get that armor off to have it cleaned. Your padding and clothing, too. You are disgusting, young man. What did you do? Bathe in their blood?”
How many people were going to ask him that question? That made four on the same day. Blushing, Valis took the key to his room and followed Tavros up the stairs to the bathing room. He relaxed immediately when he saw four tubs full of steaming water with bars of soap, washcloths, and towels sitting on a bench between them. More water sat warming by the hearth to refresh the bathwater if it got cold. It all looked so wonderful that Valis almost melted on the spot.
“You wash my back, and I’ll wash yours,” Tavros said. “We both reek.”
“Armor and uniforms outside the door, gents,” a man called. “Hand them over before you get in the bath.”
Valis grimaced and stared down at himself. Yeah. Yeah, he needed to get his armor cleaned. But what would he wear? He was just about to ask when the man spoke up again. “Wear the towels for a while. The mistress is going to do your laundry and have it for you by morning. Your saddlebags will be in your room momentarily.”
“And…” Then he paused and snapped his fingers as if he remembered something. “And Miss Seza—that’s her name—brought us your packs and bedding to wash. All we need is the nasties you’re wearing. Come on, lads. Give it up.”
Laughing, Valis stripped his armor off, and once he was naked, he and Tavr
os handed off their armor and clothing to the man on the other side of the door.
“That wasn’t awkward at all,” Tavros mused. “Well, maybe a little.”
“Awkward or not,” Valis said as he stepped into his tub, “I just want to get clean and collapse into bed. But I have work to do before the last part of the plan happens.”
Tavros frowned as he settled into his own tub. “What more do you have to do? The Kalutakeni and mercenaries are overseeing the restocking of our supplies. Phalin is making sure our injured are getting the care we need. There’s really nothing else that needs our attention.”
Valis let a soft smile cross his face. “The work I have in mind is spending some quality time with you while we have a bed.”
Tavros’s voice entered a deeper, huskier register as he growled, “Hurry up with your bath, Valis.”
Valis did hurry. But after his first bath, he realized why there were four tubs. His water from his first bath was a nasty shade of brown. He and Tavros had to take buckets of water from the clean tubs to rinse themselves off before climbing into the clean tubs to scrub again. He hadn’t realized how gross they were until they were finally clean.
Once they cleaned their teeth and Tavros braided Valis’s hair, they retired to their room with towels wrapped about their waists. And the moment Valis locked the door, Tavros spun him around and kissed him as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.
After forcefully attacking Valis’s mouth, biting his lips and sucking on his tongue until it hurt, he slowed down. He took his time mapping out Valis’s mouth, twining their tongues in a sensual rhythm that had Valis hard and leaking. He ground their cocks together until Valis mewled into his mouth and begged every time their lips parted for breath.
“Please… Fuck, please…”
“What do you want, my love?” Tavros whispered, his voice husky and so deep that Valis felt it in his spine and cock. “What do you want?”
“Gods.” Valis canted his hips as he squeezed Tavros’s ass. “Fuck me.”
“Not until I suck you first.” And then Tavros dropped to his knees and snatched Valis’s towel away. In the next breath, he swallowed Valis’s cock down to the root and sucked so hard, Valis feared Tavros would suck his brain out his dick like an overgrown straw. His back bowed from the sensation of Tavros’s throat working as he swallowed around the shaft and head. And when he pulled back, the way he fluttered his tongue roughly against his frenulum made Valis’s knees shake.
It took a long few minutes of Tavros sucking and swallowing for Valis to find his wits enough to start fucking his husband’s face. He grabbed both sides of his jaw, his fingers briefly trailing over Tavros’s distended throat, and held on hard as he thrust his hips. Tavros looked up, meeting Valis’s eyes with such trust, even as he slurped and gagged with each of Valis’s thrusts. Tears streamed down the side of his face from how Valis used his throat, but his hands dug into Valis’s thighs to spur him on, pulling him to go deeper, faster.
Every fifth thrust, Valis pulled back just long enough for Tavros to gasp for air before plunging back into that tight, wet heat. Valis thudded his head back against the door and moaned as Tavros grazed his teeth up the length of his shaft, but Valis wanted to keep that connection as long as he could. Something about it felt magical, made him feel whole.
He gripped Tavros hair in one hand and stroked his husband’s head with the other, gently petting him to let him know that he was loved and that Valis appreciated and adored the way Tavros choked on his cock.
Valis let himself get lost in the rhythm. Nothing existed except Tavros on his knees, and the way he made Valis feel—loved, wanted, needed, and powerful. The sensations built until Valis felt his balls tighten. He gasped, panting for each breath, sweating from the heat in the room and how hot Tavros made him feel. With a needy whine, he tugged on Tavros’s hair. “Gods… stop or I’m gonna come.”
Instead of stopping, Tavros sucked harder, redoubling his efforts. He bobbed his head faster while Valis hung onto his hair. It felt like, if he didn’t, he would shatter.
Then Tavros pulled off and swirled his tongue around the head of Valis’s dick. He squeezed and tugged on Valis’s balls, and grazed his teeth along Valis’s frenulum. And Valis was gone. He came so hard he saw stars. His knees buckled. Tavros caught him on the way down with a throaty chuckle. His voice came hoarse and wrecked as he said, “Rest a moment. Then I want you against that far wall by the windows so we don’t scare anyone in the halls with your needy noises while I fuck you.”
Valis’s spent cock twitched. Maybe he could get it up fast enough to come again.
Rather than thinking too hard about that, Valis tucked his face into his husband’s throat and tried to get his breathing and heart rate back under control. He’d come so hard that he thought he was going to die there for a moment, and his mind was still reeling.
But with the way Tavros stroked his hair and massaged the back of his neck, Valis was purring instead of panting in short order.
“Even after the bath, you were so tense. Are you okay now?” Tavros asked. He pressed a kiss into Valis’s shoulder and shifted him on his lap. “You seem much more relaxed now.”
Valis laughed. “I can’t feel my body. I’m good.”
“That’s from all that hyperventilating you were doing,” Tavros mused. “You need to start feeling your body so I can fuck you against that very clean wall. We need to get it dirty, Valis. It has to happen.”
Chuckling, Valis stretched and rolled his ankles. Could he walk? Possibly. Could he stand up long enough to get plowed into the wall?
Tavros distracted him from his thoughts by coaxing Valis’s face out from his throat. This time, when he captured Valis’s mouth, he kept the kiss sweet and lazy. He teased Valis with his tongue, licking into Valis’s mouth but pulling away before Valis could do much more than moan and chase after him.
Valis’s lips tingled from the way Tavros nipped at them. His body tingled as the sweet kisses roused his cock back from the dead. His heart tingled with the way Tavros smoothed his hands down Valis’s flanks and thighs, petting and soothing him. The well of comfort and love that the simplest touches brought made Valis fall in love with Tavros all over again. It was these beautiful, stolen moments that Valis lived for and craved.
And as his body responded to his husband again, Valis knew that forever would never be long enough with him. He knew that if anything ever happened to Tavros, his entire world would come crashing down around him.
But as those thoughts surfaced, Tavros deepened their kiss, forcing it into hotter territories that made Valis’s toes curl. Then he smacked Valis’s ass and growled, “Up against that wall. Now.”
The sting from his hand chased Valis to his feet, and before he even had his forehead pressed against the wall, Tavros was attacking his ass with the flavored gel they used to make penetration more comfortable.
They never rushed this step. Tavros took his time teasing Valis’s ass open, grazing his prostate with each gentle thrust of his fingers. He nipped along Valis’s shoulder until he was a shaking, moaning mess. Then finally, he wiped the gel off his hands and onto a towel and thrust his cock home.
They both groaned. Valis pressed his whole body against the wall, and Tavros draped himself over Valis’s back, gently rocking his hips until Valis relaxed enough for the more forceful fucking he loved. He licked the sweat from the back of Valis’s neck and moved his braid aside to kiss along his spine and across his shoulders. Valis gyrated his hips and clamped down until Tavros moaned into Valis’s ear, his breath tickling the flesh and making Valis shiver.
“Do that again. Fuck, Valis…”
Valis clamped down again and shoved his ass back onto Tavros’s cock. “Come on, Tav. I’m ready. Fuck me!”
Tavros reached around him and grabbed Valis’s dick, giving him a solid stroke from root to tip and back as he murmured, “Are you telling me what to do now?”
Valis moaned and wiggled his ass again.
“Telling, suggesting, it doesn’t matter. I need you.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Tavros snapped his hips back and slammed forward, thrusting Valis hard against the wall, driving him up on his toes. The only thing that kept his dick from getting smashed was Tavros’s hold on his hip with one hand, and the cage he made around Valis’s cock with the other.
With the way Tavros drove into him, Valis wouldn’t last long. He cried out as each thrust pegged his prostate just right. He moaned each time Tavros withdrew. His hoarse voice seemed to work magic on Tavros, because with each sound Valis made, Tavros fucked him harder, faster until they both trembled and gasped for each breath.
Valis’s orgasm took him by surprise. The first spurt made him double over and shout. Tavros milked his dick while the other hand came up over his mouth to muffle Valis’s screams.
After a few more thrusts, Valis felt waves of warmth spread inside him, and he sagged against the wall with a groan and licked Tavros’s hand. He pulled it back with a laugh. “You okay?”
“Do we have to get up early in the morning?”
Tavros chuckled. “No.”
“Then I’m better than okay. But I might need help to the bed.”
Laughing, Tavros kissed Valis’s neck and carefully pulled out of him. A moment later, he was on his knees, cleaning the cum off the wall with one of the towels. Then he cleaned up Valis’s ass and his own dick, and once he tossed the towels into a heap on the wood floor, he helped Valis over and into the bed.
“You still alive?” Tavros placed a string of kisses from the hollow of Valis’s throat, up to his chin, along his jaw to his ear. “Your eyes aren’t open.”
Valis groaned. “Tired. Need sleep. You ruined me.”
“In the best way?” Tavros asked. He pressed another chaste kiss to Valis’s lips.
“Always,” Valis mumbled into his pillow. When Tavros joined him in the bed and spooned up behind him just the way Valis loved, Valis scooted just a little closer and mumbled again, “Always, Tav.”
