Storm Crow
Page 12
Catli’s knee slid in the dirt. His cock changed angle by a hair and Alegan’s whole body lit up from the inside as his little nub was scraped. A moan, loud and full throated, pierced the air. Catli seemed to take that as encouragement. Hips snapped with the force of a hammer.
“Ah!” Alegan shook with the force of Catli’s thrusts. Pleasure coalesced in a hard ball somewhere deep in his spine. His shaft might actually hurt from the blissful knife edge he was balanced on.
Hands wrestled out of his hold and returned around his own wrists, keeping his hands pinned to the ground where he couldn’t relieve the pressure in his heavy cock. Alegan whined and his back bowed. Catli’s cackle was almost nonexistent without air to sustain it.
“Just like this,” he ground out into Alegan’s skin, against his heart.
Shivers raced up his body and down him limbs. He had never come like this before, caged and pinned in place like a hare in a trap. As Catli pummeled his body, sawing right across the secret jewel inside him, the ball lower in his belly contracted painfully tight.
Catli slammed home one last time and lifted Alegan’s hips with the force of the thrust. He ground in hard and the bliss erupted outward. Alegan shouted around the hot stripes of seed painting his belly, burning in the cool air. He clenched down on Catli’s rigorous shaft.
Pain tore a ragged edge into Alegan’s ecstasy as his Bonded bit down on his chest. White hot liquid filled his hole. Burned a streak of pleasure over his sweet spot and touched the edge of his entrance, trying to leak out from the volume of spend. Alegan swirled higher in the blind pleasure.
Catli collapsed, his full weight hitting Alegan like a stone. It didn’t make much difference to his lungs. He felt as though he was learning how to breathe all over again.
Often, their lovemaking was slow and thorough. Every once in a while the urge overwhelmed them and they came together like a thunderstorm. This was the first time they had done this in the open, where anyone could catch them. The thought didn’t put a damper on Alegan’s enjoyment of the aftermath, but it did make him more aware.
“We shouldn’t linger like this,” Alegan gulped and panted out the words. He hated to force them moving. Such was the downside of public relations. “In case someone comes looking for us.”
Catli grumbled a complaint, then lifted his head, reluctance clear in every line of his body. “You’re right. We can carry on with our bliss in our bed.”
That right there made Alegan smile. “I love you.”
In answer, Catli wound his arms under Alegan’s back and kissed him. It was a simple press of lips, firm and resolute, but it seemed to seal the words on the world. Or possibly, just on Catli’s soul. Alegan would ask later, when his mind wasn’t mush. “As I love you.”
They dressed in quick, efficient movements, trading clothing they picked up. Alegan was broader across the shoulders and he had torn more than one of the tunics Catli had given him in the beginning. The quiet joy of righting themselves was all Alegan needed to let go of his turmoil for the moment.
Hand in hand, they wandered back into the village. Catli wore a sated grin, though his attention was focused. “I came to find you earlier because Zusah requested our company on some matter.”
Alegan nodded because that made sense. Catli usually left Alegan to his musings when he went out to the cliff. “Any idea why?”
“No.” Catli guided him through the village, deserted during the height of the day while the adults were out on various tasks. “I know there is an ambassador here. An Osairan ship carrying the royal flag is docked in our port.”
“I heard there was a new Consort,” Alegan said. “When the king takes a spouse, I think it’s customary to renew ties with allies and vassal states, like the Fire Stars.”
Zusah’s home stood as a large sentinel over the Village. It dwarfed Zusah and a young man standing in front of it, talking with easy enjoyment.
“That’s not the regular ambassador,” Catli whispered. They shared a look, Catli worried by the frown on his lips. Alegan was confused. He had never seen the ambassador to the Fire Stars, so Catli was probably right, but who would come in his place?
The stranger turned. Green stars glowed like peridot in the sunlight, thirteen of them, outlined in black. It was the dark eyes that seemed almost familiar though. There was only one Singer he knew of though with the title of Archmage. “King Vius?”
Catli’s eyes rounded in surprise. “What is the King doing here?”
“I don’t know,” Alegan whispered back. He kept his steps light as they walked, to hide his own nervous surprise. “The last I heard, he was newly married and his Consort was gravely injured defending his right to the King’s hand. He should be at the Consort’s bedside.”
“Consort-” Catli clamped his mouth shut on the rest of his words when Zusah waved them closer.
The King smiled as he looked them over. Alegan shifted foot to foot, a cringe already folding his shoulders in and his cheeks flaming hot. The evidence of his and Catli’s intimacy must be written all over his body. This was no state to meet a King.
“Majesty,” Zusah dipped her head in diffidence toward King Vius as their ruler’s eyes flickered between her and them. “This is Koah Catli and his Bonded, Alegan of Sparrow on the mainland.”
Catli bowed first as they were introduced, low at the waist and Alegan followed his lead. They held still for the standard three seconds before they straightened as one, unintentional, but it looked as though they practiced just such a move. The King smiled and flapped a hand at them.
“Please, don’t trouble yourselves with the formalities here.” King Vius waved away Alegan’s argument before he even voiced the first syllable. “We wanted to update our lists of goods for trade on Toa and I thought I would come see the Fire Stars for myself. I’m fortunate you are here, though, Master Alegan.”
Alegan darted a look at Zusah, but she shrugged, confused as he was. “You are, majesty?”
Vius grinned. “My Consort keeps me constantly updated about affairs in Tanchar. It seems an old student of yours has found his way there with quite a group in tow.”
“Student?” Though he prodded his memory, nothing came to mind. He taught a few apprentices over the years, the basics most mages needed to know and could learn from any mage, but none stood out. Alegan remembered them all, of course.
“Tae’liamath is his name, I believe,” Vius answered.
“Oh!” Alegan huffed out a breath, relieved. Tae was his last student before his family died. A good young man who understood why Alegan couldn’t continue to teach him afterward. “How is he doing?”
“Good. Found his Bonded on his way to helping wake up a lost knight from an ensorcelled tree.” The laugh Vius had when horror washed through Alegan for his poor young student, was unnecessary. “Peace, Master Alegan. His group came through their ordeal splendidly. Due to his part, Osaire now boasts one of the strongest Earth Archmages ever born. We are pleased.”
That was the crown speaking, not King Vius. To know Tae was faring well in the world was one more weight off his mind. “Thank you for telling me. And if you see him before I send word, tell him congratulations.”
Their ruler turned to Catli. “Now, about your supplies…”
Alegan let the conversation wash over him, marveled. Awestruck. His life seemed to have weathered the storm and left him ashore of a new life. Here, on this little speck of the world, at the feet of a God-Child and Bonded to Its voice, Alegan found peace.
The wind rolled past with the faint hint of sulfur and sea. Catli’s quiet presence stood steadfast at his side. The great Toa rose tall at their backs. Alegan’s heart was calm.
Peace at last.
THE END
ABOUT T.A. CREECH
I’m a happily mated house-parent to a rambunctious small child and equally rambunctious military spouse. I began this adventure called writing with fan fiction and have never looked back. I enjoy delving into the stranger ideas and twisting
old tropes into something unexpected. For more information, visit tacreech.com.
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