Owen and the Beast

by Marie Medina

  “Yes, but I’m part of it. I have been ever since you saved me. It hurts me to see you alone and unhappy.”

  “I’m not unhappy.”

  Lane smiled, though he looked sad. “Me amusing you every now and then isn’t the same.”

  Edmund frowned. “Don’t pretend you haven’t made an unbelievable change in my life. In my happiness.”

  “I don’t mean to. But you know what I’m really talking about.” Lane began to back away, his more mischievous smile returning a bit. “Now don’t screw this up.”

  Edmund rolled his eyes. “And here I was thinking of your feelings and trying to boost your ego.”

  “I can take care of myself. You take care of … well, I won’t actually say it.”

  “Thank you for that kindness,” Edmund said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  Lane laughed heartily and left, the room feeling quite empty without him. Edmund stood staring at the door until it opened again.

  Owen smiled at him, fumbling with the door as he closed it back. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Edmund couldn’t help looking at Owen’s leg. “Your ankle seems to have healed completely.”

  “Yes. It’s all better. Just need to watch my step and not trip over any kittens.”

  They both laughed, but the tension in the air didn’t dissipate completely.

  Owen moved to the table. “Ready to eat?”

  “Yes.” Why did things feel so awkward? Had they made too much of the significance of this night? He didn’t want them to be self-conscious all evening, but saying something would only make it worse.

  They continued the stilted small talk as they ate, and Edmund was actually startled when Owen put his utensils down and laughed loudly. “Oh, gods, look at us.” He laughed again.

  “What?” Edmund asked, despite knowing exactly what Owen was laughing about.

  “We’re acting like a couple of virgins in an arranged marriage and talking about the weather and kittens and furniture. And I haven’t even told my story.” He chuckled. “Completely slipped my mind.”

  Edmund had forgotten as well, and he laughed. “I forgot, too. We had something to talk about all along but sat here fumbling for,” he sighed, trying to smile, “well, it doesn’t matter.”

  Owen looked around the room, his gaze settling on a very plush rug before the unlit fireplace. “All right to sit on the floor? Just relax?”

  Edmund nodded, knowing full well lying on the rug would have them halfway to their goal. “Sure.”

  They took the wine with them and settled down, and Owen reclined on his side, very close to Edmund. “This story is my favorite for many reasons, but most importantly because there’s more than one kind of love in it.”

  “Is there?”

  “Yes. You’ll see at the end. There are nearly half a dozen variations on this one, but I prefer this one above all others.”

  Knowing that made Edmund want to hear the story even more. “Then I can’t wait to hear it.”

  Owen blushed a little as he cleared his throat. “Once there was a hunter, an arrogant man who thought of nothing but bragging and boasting. When his wife died, he grew worse in his grief, thinking a new bride would ease his pain. He tried harder and harder to impress the local women. One day, he and his young son came upon a mama bear with her cubs. The hunter planned to kill them all. His son, who was tenderhearted, cried and begged his father not to do such a thing. But the father didn’t care. He wanted a new trophy. When the papa bear came along, the hunter was even more determined.”

  “Men can certainly be like that,” Edmund said as he refilled their wine.

  “Yes,” Owen said before continuing. “And when the hunter had killed both of the adult bears, he advanced on the cubs, ignoring his son’s cries of grief and distress. When the cubs transformed into a trio of demon halflings, the hunter trembled and tried to apologize. But they saw his words were false. They cast a curse upon the hunter, but his son got in the way. Even though his father had just done such a wicked thing, the boy still loved him and couldn’t bear to see him harmed. He was transformed into a bear. Then, the hunter broke down, seeing how his own pride had led him astray. He begged the demons to reverse the spell and take him instead. They would not, and the hunter begged to be punished as well by being transformed into a bear. He only wanted to be strong enough to care for his son and protect him, to atone for his sins. Instead the demons transformed him into an enormous tree. The roots of this tree were so large and twisted that they made a cavern, which would protect the hunter’s son and be his home.”

  Edmund shifted positions and moved a bit closer at the sadness he saw in Owen’s face. “You miss your parents.”

  Owen only nodded.

  “Don’t go on if this will make you sad.”

  Owen inched closer as well. “I don’t plan on being sad for long this night.”

  Edmund longed to pull Owen to him and kiss him on the lips finally, but he held back. “Then go on.”

  “The demons told the boy he would be free one day when a fair maiden loved him despite his appearance and bore him a child. So of course, the boy despaired of ever being free. What kind of woman would lie with a bear? He couldn’t even talk. The years passed. One day, a girl’s cries woke our transformed hero. He ran to her aid and found three men trying to kidnap her. Once he had frightened them away, he turned to slink away because he felt sure the girl would be frightened if she had not already run away. She stood there a moment and then ran and hugged him. He was shocked. He hadn’t been touched by another human in over twenty years. He was confused, and she laughed. She said, ‘You’re like me. I can feel it.’ The bear was very confused because he had no idea what she meant. And then, she laughed again and transformed before his eyes.”

  When Owen only smirked at him, Edmund said, “And?”

  Owen took his time sipping his wine. “And what?”

  Edmund licked his lips. “Go on with your story, or I’ll send you to bed alone.”

  Owen reached out and caressed his hand. “You will not,” he said softly.

  Taking Owen’s hand, Edmund lifted it and kissed his fingers. “We’ll see.”

  Clearing his throat, Owen kept hold of Edmund’s hand and went on. “The details I give depend on my audience, but let’s just say our hero wasn’t lonely anymore because the girl he’d saved was a bear shifter. He used his claw to write in the dirt, struggling to recall the right words, and tell her of his curse. She wept for him and reverently touched the tree he lived in. She also was alone in the world, her parents dead, and they comforted each other. Soon, she was pregnant. When the blessed day came, our hero finally became a man again. He’d always cursed those demons, but when he held his twin sons, he thanked them for making it possible for him to meet the woman he now loved so much.” Owen ran his hand over Edmund’s arm, pausing a few moments. “But then he began to weep. The babies reached up to touch his face, but he still cried and seemed heartbroken. The door flew open, and one of the demons from long ago came in and asked the man why he wept. He said he was happy, but he grieved that he would be different from his sons. That he would never be able to run and play and hunt with them as a bear.”

  Edmund watched the emotions moving over Owen’s face. He imagined this handsome man keeping audiences enthralled with his tales, and again he longed to touch Owen but waited so he could hear the rest.

  “And the demon smiled and waved his hand. Our hero felt a tingling all over, and the demon told him he was now a bear shifter as well. He reached out to touch the tree, as he had grown accustomed to talking to his father despite his inanimate state, and he realized they were in an ordinary cottage. The young man gasped, but the demon smiled again and pointed. An older man sat in a rocking chair in the corner, dozing. He had aged, but our hero recognized his father. As his lover wept for joy at all of their blessings, he took his sons to meet their grandfather.” Owen grinned. “And then they had a wedding. A big one. They were a family, and th
eir love for each other was everything to them.” He cleared his throat. “That’s not the original final line. I just throw that in.”

  “I see why it’s your favorite. It does show many aspects of love.”

  Owen lay on his back and smiled up at the ceiling. “I’m glad you liked it. I haven’t been perfectly on form, but it’s been nice to share stories like this.” He glanced over at Edmund. “Nice to watch one person reacting to my words.”

  Knowing he was stalling, Edmund asked, “You said there are many variations?”

  “Yes. In one of them, the bear can talk. He meets the girl in the woods and begs her to help him when he’s injured. It’s sort of a romantic comedy in places. The girl comes to love him and asks how to end his curse. He tells her it’s hopeless because no beautiful girl would give herself to a hideous beast like him.” Owen laughed and sat up. “She storms out after berating him and slapping him several times. He has no idea what he’s done to offend her until she transforms into a bear before his eyes.”

  Edmund laughed. “Hmmm, that’s a hard one to come back from.”

  “Yes, it would be.” Owen shoved their glasses aside and drew very close to Edmund. “I won’t pretend we aren’t both nervous, but … please kiss me, Edmund.”

  Edmund let out a shaky sigh. “Will you answer a question first?”

  Owen’s face fell a bit. “You want to know about Jonah.”

  “Jonah?”

  Owen nodded and said softly, “That was his name.”

  Edmund cupped Owen’s face. “No. I don’t want to know about him. I want you to tell me in your own time, not as a condition. I won’t make you do anything to earn something I want to give you freely.” He ran one finger over Owen’s parted lips. “I want to know if this is really what you want.”

  “Of course it is. Why are you even asking?” Owen pressed even closer.

  “Because once I finally kiss you, I won’t let you go until morning,” Edmund said, their lips inches apart.

  Owen shuddered and brushed their lips together, not quite kissing Edmund. “You just made me so hard,” he said, his eyes flicking up and darkening with need.

  Edmund captured Owen’s mouth and kissed him deeply as they tangled their bodies together.

  Nothing had ever felt so perfect, and no one else had ever tasted so sweet.

  ****

  Owen melted against Edmund, enthralled by the passionate kiss and enflamed by the feel of the larger man’s hot, hard body tangling with his. No one had ever kissed Owen like this before. He gave in to the rough, possessive kiss and tried to match it with his own passion. They both gasped as they parted, and Owen sighed when he felt Edmund trembling.

  “Take me to bed,” Owen said against Edmund’s neck as he nuzzled against him. His breath caught in his throat when he was very quickly lifted into Edmund’s arms and carried across the room. He wrapped his arms around Edmund’s neck and relaxed in his arms. Once Edmund had put him on his feet again, they made short work of getting out of their boots and shirts and then began kissing again as Edmund pushed him back onto the bed.

  As they kissed, Owen let his hands wander. The fur on Edmund’s chest was very light, almost imperceptible to his touch, but the fur on his back was much thicker. Owen ran his hands through it, loving how soft it was, and massaged the hard muscles beneath. He opened his legs and wrapped them around Edmund when he saw his lover’s expression seem to waver.

  “I told you the day we met that you were stunning,” Owen said softly. He arched against Edmund’s groin. “I can’t wait to admire every inch of you.”

  Edmund kissed and licked his way over Owen’s cheek and neck, then down his chest. Owen shuddered at the feel of that rough tongue on his skin. As Edmund moved lower and pushed Owen farther up the bed, Owen clutched at a pillow and moaned.

  “Something wrong?” Edmund asked, his voice teasing as he slowly unlaced Owen’s pants.

  “Thinking how that tongue will feel on my cock,” Owen said, making himself meet Edmund’s heated gaze despite his own blushing. “Forgive me if I come too soon.”

  Edmund made a noise that sounded like a blend of a growl and a purr. “I’ll get you hard again if you do.” He yanked Owen’s pants off and spread his legs, nuzzling his thighs and balls. First, he lapped at Owen’s balls before letting his tongue travel down his crack.

  Owen cried out as his pucker was massaged by that strong, rough tongue. He made an even more undignified sound when Edmund licked the entire length of his cock. The sensations all blended together as Edmund tortured and teased him. Owen had no idea how he held on through Edmund sucking him and delving his tongue deep into his ass.

  Owen had never felt more needful in his life. Edmund rose from the bed and dropped his pants before reaching for a vial of oil. Owen panted as he watched Edmund slick his cock. Its length seemed average for a man Edmund’s size, but the girth and thickness made Owen bite his lip in anticipation. When he licked his lips, he heard Edmund growl again. Owen looked up and noted Edmund watching him, a hungry expression on his face.

  “Now that’s something a man can truly admire,” Owen said as he rolled to get up on his hands and knees. He reached down and stroked his shaft before rubbing his balls. “Get over here before I shoot just looking at you stroking that magnificent thing.”

  Edmund got on the bed behind him and covered Owen’s body with his. He slid his slicked cock along Owen’s ass crack a while before fingering him and spreading the excess oil around. His gentle kisses to the back of Owen’s neck were almost too much. Owen arched against him. “Take me. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

  Edmund shuddered and spread Owen’s cheeks. He slid in carefully, but when Owen moaned, he drove home roughly, as if he could barely hold on. Owen sprinkled the word yes in with all of his cries to assure Edmund he felt pleasure. They rutted—there was no other word for it—and Owen came harder than he’d ever come before.

  As his channel flexed, he felt Edmund spilling into him, a hot blast of cum that filled him to the point that it ran down his thighs. He murmured incoherently as Edmund caressed and kissed him, and the pleasure only grew. It was more than his orgasm. He loved feeling Edmund against him and inside him, loved how passionately Edmund had taken him. He flexed his channel as he sighed.

  And he realized Edmund was still hard inside him.

  Owen pulled away and rolled to his back under his lover. Edmund’s beautiful hair flowed all around them, almost like a curtain. He pulled Edmund down into a soft kiss and reached down to stroke Edmund’s cock.

  “Make love to me again,” he said as he nibbled on Edmund’s earlobe and listened to his gasp of surprise.

  ****

  Edmund still reeled from his first orgasm as he gazed down at the beautiful man who had come so sweetly to his bed. “I feel more like I savaged you,” Edmund said as he kissed Owen’s neck and shoulders.

  Owen repositioned to wrap his legs around Edmund again. “Call it what you like, you heard and felt how I loved it.” He arched and caressed Edmund all over. “I’m full of your seed. Slide back into me.”

  “Like this?” Edmund asked, still slightly amazed at the way Owen reacted to him and touched him.

  “Yes.” Owen drew him down into a long kiss and then gazed up into his eyes. “Look into my eyes as you take me. You won’t doubt that I find you beautiful ever again.”

  Edmund closed his eyes and shuddered as he slid back into Owen. They both made strangled noises as they moved together at a much slower pace this time. He opened his eyes and watched Owen as they set their rhythm.

  Edmund’s chest tightened as he watched the different emotions flow over Owen’s face. Owen came a second time without even one touch to his cock, and Edmund pulled away briefly to lap some of the cum off Owen’s chest. Then he slid home again and quickened his pace, cradling Owen close as he came into him again. He almost collapsed onto Owen, who welcomed him with another deep kiss. They kissed and fondled each other until the
y were exhausted, and then Edmund lifted Owen into his arms again and set him in a large armchair.

  “What’re you doing?” Owen asked sleepily.

  Edmund threw the bedspread back, glad he hadn’t turned down the bed before. “Just cleaning up a bit. So we can sleep.” He carried Owen back to the bed and then retrieved another blanket for them to lie under.

  Once they were curled up together, Owen said sleepily, “I wouldn’t mind the scent of our lovemaking, but,” he yawned, gazing up at Edmund, “the way you care for me makes me happy.”

  Edmund kissed his neck. “That’s all I want.”

  Owen gazed at him a moment, as if he wanted to say more. Edmund knew they both had a lot in their hearts in that moment, and he kissed Owen’s forehead and drew him closer. Soon, Owen slept peacefully, and Edmund lay awake for hours simply enjoying the feel of Owen in his arms.

  ****

  Owen awoke to the feel of a hard chest behind him and a strong arm wrapped around him. He sighed Edmund’s name and rolled over to find the man wide awake, watching him. Those blue eyes enchanted him even more this morning.

  “Good morning,” Owen said, tilting his head for a kiss.

  Edmund returned the kiss sweetly and then nuzzled his neck. Owen loved the way that felt, though he didn’t want to say anything and make Edmund self-conscious. He settled deeper into his lover’s embrace.

  “A very good morning. I haven’t slept so well in a very long time,” Edmund said.

  Wanting to take advantage of the intimate mood, Owen said, “I’m not making promises, but I’d like to stay a few more days. I know I’m healed now, but I can’t leave you just yet.”

  Edmund’s hand caressed up and down his back. “You really think I’d want you to leave for any reason other than your own good?”

  “Just want to be honest. Be with you longer. I need to go to my aunt, but I’d like to come back and—” He was silenced by a finger on his lips.