Apprenticed to Pleasure
Page 11
“Come on, then. We’re almost there.”
She scurried down the corridor, and Ander followed. In a matter of seconds a greenish light began to glow in front of them, and the floor slanted upward. They arrived at another staircase and began to climb. The air rapidly got humid and warm. Light increased to a misty green intensity as they emerged from another stone portal.
Ander gaped at the garden inside the greenhouse. Palm trees soared above lush ferns, orchids hung from branches, and exuberant flowers hung in thick profusion from vines. A small stream meandered through the thick foliage. Heat and humidity made it feel like the middle of summer. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“This is just the beginning. But you’ll have to explore some other time. Come this way.” She led him down a narrow path into a stand of bamboo that concealed the back half of the garden.
The trail twisted and turned, making the short distance through the bamboo seem far longer than it really was. Vines had been trained to grow among the trees and flowers; flowers and fruit hung heavy along the trail. They emerged on an embankment above a pool of shimmering blue water surrounded by dark gray flagstones.
Thane lay beside the pool, nude, sprawled on a thick white robe. A red clay jar lay beside him. He looked up and waved as they emerged from among the slender trees.
Katy thumped Ander on the back. “Good luck.” She waved to Thane, then turned and retraced her steps along the trail.
Ander felt a sudden reticence as he descended the short slope. Though the mage appeared to be his own age, he had a commanding physical presence.
Thane stood and clasped him on the forearm when he reached the side of the pool. “Relax. This isn’t the kind of test you’re used to. We can’t start until you stop worrying. There’s no chance of success if you’re distracted.”
He glanced at Thane’s strong body. “How could I not be distracted?”
“Don’t worry, I know some ways to keep your mind focused. But first let’s take some sun and talk. It’ll help you relax.”
Ander attempted to match Thane’s casualness. He took a deep breath and peeled his shirt off. “I spend a lot of time sunning by the river in the summer with my friend Leif.” He tossed the shirt aside and bent to remove his moccasins. “I’ve never done it in the winter, though. Or inside a glass castle.” He put the moccasins on the flagstones next to the shirt and then reached for the waistband of his pants. A tug sent them slipping down his legs.
Thane admired Ander’s body with friendly openness. “Nicolai and Sorel didn’t exaggerate. I see why they chose you.” His cock twitched, starting to thicken. He let a hand graze over Ander’s hip. “I’ve wanted to feel you against me since the night we met. But first we’ll talk. It’s important that you understand what we’ll be trying to do.”
Thane stepped back, then crouched and unfolded his robe to make a larger cushioned area. He looked up at Ander. “Let’s just be friends, all right? Get to know each other. Tell me how you feel, or whatever you want to talk about.” He smoothed the cloth, waiting. “I owe you something for what you did yesterday. Please, don’t be afraid of me.”
Ander settled onto the robe, feeling a surge of sympathy at the hint of loneliness in the mage’s voice. He met Thane’s gaze, felt his anxiety. As Nicolai had said, his spirit had stopped aging at nineteen along with his body. Rapport bloomed between them as he realized how deeply Thane wanted his friendship.
“I admit I’m afraid,” he confessed. “Of what I’ll lose if I can’t learn the art. You don’t frighten me—far from it—but I don’t really feel like I understand you.” Hesitantly, he put a hand on Thane’s shoulder. “I want to know you better. I liked you the moment I saw you. There’s no reason for my feelings to change.”
Thane leaned forward. “Will you kiss me again?” he asked softly. “Like the night we met? Like I just work in the kitchen?”
Ander obliged, closing his eyes and letting his hand slip from Thane’s shoulder to the back of his neck. They clung together, kissing gently, while nervousness burned away in the heat of mutual attraction. Ander opened his eyes and pulled back. A glance revealed that the kiss had given Thane an erection as hard as his own. He narrowed his eyes and gave his companion a sultry survey. “There’s at least one good reason you’d never make it in the kitchen. Nobody would get any cooking done.”
Grinning, Thane released Ander and stretched out on his back. Sunlight filtered through the finely cut leaves of a nearby tree and dappled his honey-brown skin. He stretched his arms overhead, shoulder muscles bulging and the planes of his torso stretching in clean curves. He made no attempt to conceal his arousal. Ander was entranced.
Thane met his gaze. “There’s no rush. Let’s just relax and feel the sun. I’ve reserved the greenhouse for a few hours. We won’t be disturbed.”
Ander eased onto his back, ignoring his erection. He looked into Thane’s eyes and then moved his hand a few inches until they touched. They laced their fingers together and lay silently, basking in the warm sun.
Sweet fragrance of tropical flowers drifted across the water, and he began to truly relax. He gazed at Thane, sensing his longing, and wondered if he was thinking about Lucian. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to feel such a loss for years, to have a magically preserved spirit that doesn’t allow the easing the passage of time usually grants. A gentle squeeze of his hand brought his mind back to the present.
“You’ve been reading the gramarye curiosa?”
Ander nodded. “It’s fascinating. And beautiful.” Just thinking of the illustrations made him breathe faster. “But I still don’t understand how you learn to feel the kei.”
“No words can describe it. You can open your mind, but you can’t force it to perceive the kei. Trying to force it would block your awareness. You have to discover it, like you would a waterfall in the wilderness.”
“That means you have to go exploring.”
“Perhaps it’s time we start. I’ve brought an oil that will increase your sensitivity. Ready to give it a try?”
“I think so.”
“Sit up, then. I’ll start by rubbing some on your shoulders.” Thane rolled to his feet and crouched beside the clay jar.
Ander sat up and swung around so his feet dangled in the pool’s comfortably cool water, leaning back and supporting his torso with arms extended behind him. His erection pressed against his taut midriff in anticipation of what lay ahead. He slipped a thumb behind its base and pushed it upright. A strand of clear fluid stretched between the glans and the hard muscle of his belly, glistening in the sun like a strand of pure energy. Nobody had ever made him feel like this merely by holding his hand. He let it snap back and took a deep breath. Maintaining control was going to be hard.
Thane knelt on the robe and rubbed his hands together, spreading oil over his palms. A mint fragrance filled the air.
“Let me know how you’re feeling,” he said as he put his hands on Ander’s shoulders and started rubbing oil into the firm flesh. “This is new to you. At least the magical part is. But nothing we’ll do today can harm you. So try to forget about magic and enjoy yourself. If you find the kei, it will happen when you’re not looking for it.”
Ander nodded, flexing his shoulders and enjoying the massage. The warm oil connected them with a liquid magic of its own. Thane worked oil across his shoulders and then down his arms. After getting more oil, he moved closer. He knelt on Ander’s right side and slid one hand over his torso in a slow circular motion while putting his other hand behind Ander’s back.
Ander trembled. “It’s working. Your hands, the sun…. I’ve never felt like this!” They gazed into each other’s eyes as the mage stroked skin, making Ander’s whole torso glisten. Slippery fingers molded themselves to sleek muscle. His hand bumped into Ander’s hefty cock, and fluid oozing from the glans mingled with the oil as he continued his caresses. As he leaned down to extend his reach, his upthrust phallus pressed against Ander’s ribs.
Ander slipped free and picked up the jar of oil. “Can I use it on you too?”
“Oh yes. I like to be touched.”
He dipped his fingers into the jar and scooped oil into his other hand before rubbing them together. The sensitizing fluid made his fingers tingle. Then he placed his hands on Thane’s chest. Slowly and deliberately, he spread warm oil over the tan flesh.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of Thane’s skin. It was fascinating. He could feel every muscle, even the flow of blood beneath the skin. His fingers grazed over Thane’s nipples, stroking their knobby surfaces. Each bump of flesh in the aureoles was distinct, and the hard nubs in their centers quivered as he caressed them. The aroused responses resonated through his hands, compounding his own excitement.
Thane sighed. “You have a light touch. The touch of a lover.” He closed his eyes and stretched, the muscles sheathing his abdomen etched as he arched his back and lifted his hands behind his head. Hard curves of shoulders, back, buttocks, and thighs shifted in tantalizing relationships. His rigid cock lay taut against his belly.
Ander massaged with both hands, observing the effect on the mage’s strong body. As he watched, the foreskin on Thane’s cock pulled the rest of the way back to reveal the bottom ridge of his glans. His balls were pulled up tight, and a pool of fluid glistened beneath the head of his erection.
Ander scooped up more oil and expanded the massage, reaching down to slide both hands along Thane’s hips and then up the insides of his thighs. He kneaded the powerful muscles, concentrating on the sensitive area just beneath the scrotum. Thane writhed, responding fiercely.
It helped to think of him as a kitchen servant. The mage wanted a lover, not a student. Ander leaned closer as he continued the massage. His movements slowed, the strokes becoming lighter, until he brought his hands to rest on Thane’s hips. He lowered his head and took the head of Thane’s cock into his mouth. He wrapped his lips around the flared corona and gently pulled.
Thane groaned and tried to push further into the warm mouth, but Ander pressed down and restrained him before slipping his lips an inch further down the shaft.
Thane was breathing hard as Ander lowered his head in a slow glide until the thick cock was engulfed in his mouth, its head lodged snugly in his throat. Without releasing it from his throat’s slippery grasp, he shifted his position so his legs straddled Thane’s head.
Thane pulled Ander’s erection downward and tilted his head to take the glans in his mouth. Moving his hands to Ander’s hips, he urged his lover to penetrate more deeply.
Ander began a slow glide up and down Thane’s cock, moving with sensuous grace as his phallus slid in and out of Thane’s strong body.
He was swept by a torrent of sensation. He could feel the muscles of Thane’s torso moving against his skin whenever their bodies touched, the ridge of each finger as Thane’s hands moved along his sides.
Intense pleasure soared, and he sensed the same feeling in the hardness of Thane’s flesh. His lips tightened on the straining erection in his mouth.
Suddenly Thane’s hands gripped his sides. He plunged full-depth into Ander’s throat and moaned.
The frantic pleasure coursing through his lover’s body was unmistakable. Ander thrust in short strokes, reaching orgasm in an instant. At the same moment, Thane’s cock began to geyser come down his throat.
They held each other desperately, bodies pressing together as they were jolted by spasms of pleasure. Ander barely managed to continue nursing Thane’s cock, coaxing a flood of milky semen from it. He was oblivious to everything except his ecstasy and the convulsing body beneath him.
When the sensations finally crested, he opened his eyes and let Thane’s cock slip from his mouth. Come still oozed from its tip. He licked it gently, savoring its flavor. Thane shuddered and then loosened his grip on Ander’s hips.
Ander rolled to his side and turned around to face his lover. Thane gazed at him in wonder before wrapping him in an embrace and kissing him tenderly. They lay together, repeating the kiss while their racing hearts slowed. Eventually Thane put a hand on Ander’s chest. His eyes were troubled.
“I’m sorry. I ruined the test. I… I couldn’t stop myself.”
“But I felt something! When I came, it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It was incredible!”
Thane sighed. “Yes. But it wasn’t the kei you felt. I’d have known if you had touched the kei.”
“What happened, then?” Ander asked softly.
Closing his eyes, Thane took a shuddering breath. “The way you touched me, the way you moved. The way you feel. It… it reminded me of someone.” He paused, his eyes moist. “Don’t ask. Please. Just hold me.”
Tightening his embrace, Ander cradled Thane against his chest. The garden was profoundly quiet. After a time Thane opened his eyes. His expression was chagrined.
“This wasn’t your fault. We’ll try again.”
Ander ran a hand along Thane’s side, still puzzled by his reaction. “Would it be better if somebody else did the test? I’d like it to be you but don’t want to be a problem.”
“No! It’s just… you caught me by surprise. But we got far enough for me to see your promise. We started to form a link at the very end. I’m sure you’re sensitive enough. But we still haven’t learned if you have enough control.”
“I’ll keep studying,” Ander promised. “And control might get easier. I need practice with these oils. The first time is overwhelming.”
Thane grinned. “You’re kind of overwhelming yourself.”
They got to their feet and collected their clothes before Thane led the way through a clump of ferns to a stairwell and down to a washroom beneath the greenhouse. They washed each other, their bodies still sensitive. Despite his tenderness, the troubled expression never left Thane’s face.
Chapter 12
ANDER prowled the library, eager to get outside after spending the previous afternoon studying. Thane had promised him a tour of the estate before they made another attempt at the test, but he was already half an hour late.
He picked up a rock encrusted with deep purple crystals and examined it. Light refracted within the crystals, creating shimmering rainbows, but it failed to hold his attention. He put the rock down and looked for something else to do while waiting. The bookcase beckoned to him with its rows of richly bound volumes, but he was still leery of going near it. He wanted to be with Thane, and nothing else would suffice.
He sighed and collapsed on a chair. At least he had warm clothes now and could go outside without freezing. Thane had outfitted him with a soft leather shirt and trousers, the same light brown as Nicolai’s and Sorel’s. He wiggled his toes in his new pair of fleece-lined boots.
“Good morning.” Thane entered the room. “Sorry I’m late. We were distilling an elixir and had problems.”
Ander leaped out of his chair. Despite anxiety over what lay ahead, the sight of Thane chased fears from his mind. The mage cut a dashing figure, and Ander’s heart raced at the sight of him.
“I’ve got a lot to show you,” Thane said. “And it’s a beautiful morning. Its time you had a rest from all that studying.” He held the library door open, ready to go.
“I have been studying a lot. But it’s not hard, with your books. I like the subject.”
“That comes as no surprise.” Thane beckoned and led him outside. “We’ll go up the ravine first. That’s where most of the students go to practice the art. Serenity is helpful when developing control.”
Two hills rose a short distance to the east of the castle. They were separated by a rushing stream of clear water. A trail paved with pebbles wande
red through gardens before inclining upward beside the stream. Long-needled conifers covered the hills. Even in winter the smell of resin filled the air.
They followed a narrow trail around boulders and over log bridges, climbing steadily as they worked their way into the ravine. Thane walked slowly, hands thrust into his pockets, keeping his eyes on the trail. “I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. The… interruption. I shouldn’t have let that happen.”
Ander had been admiring the cataracts beside the trail, and the remark caught him off guard. He looked sidelong at Thane and was surprised at his troubled expression.
“There’s nothing you need to apologize for. I’m the one with something to prove, not you.”
Thane looked up. His face relaxed for an instant, as if he was about to say something. Then he shivered and looked away. A few seconds later he stopped at a point where a break in the trees provided a clear view across the ravine. “Only women use that hill,” he said. “And only men use this side of the stream. Never violate that rule. The men and women at the lyceum take a solemn pledge to respect each other’s secrets.”
He pointed at a small log cabin on the far side of the stream. It perched on a rocky outcropping, almost seeming suspended above the cataracts.
“See that hut? They’re scattered throughout these hills.”
“Students live in them?”
“Sometimes they stay for a day or two, meditating. But usually they’re used a few hours at a time, when people want more privacy than they can get down at the lyceum.”
Ander nodded. “I know what you mean. It can be easier to think when you’re alone.”
“They’re not necessarily alone.”
“Oh. Um… were you planning…. That is, will we be going back to the greenhouse?”
“We’ll go wherever you’d like. But let’s spend some time out here first. We can get to know each other better.”
Ander shrugged, wondering why Thane seemed so wary. “There’s not that much to say about me. I grew up at Lady Tayanita’s house, where my mother worked before she died. The companions were my friends, and they taught me a lot. That’s how I learned music. Now I’m mostly an entertainer, though I have other chores too.” A frown flashed across his face. “Or I used to be an entertainer. I’d like to find out how Lady Tayanita’s doing. Help her if she needs it. She has a lot of friends, though they might not be able to protect her if the seraskier wants revenge.”