Chapter 30 #3
His fingers slid from Daven’s shirt to his throat, palm flattening there like he wanted to feel how badly he’d gotten to him, then he bit Daven’s lower lip sharp enough to sting.
A rough sound tore out of Daven before he could stop it.
Ryneth froze for half a second, eyes going wide like he hadn’t expected to get that much out of him. The flush in his face deepened.
Daven grinned. “There he is.”
Ryneth swallowed, still holding his throat. His hips jerked once against Daven’s thigh before he could stop them.
Daven felt it, and he went still in an instant.
“Easy.” He slid a hand down to Ryneth’s waist again, thumb pressing in just enough to make him shiver. “Don’t get impatient on me now, baby boy.”
Ryneth made that helpless sound again, and Daven wanted to ruin him for it. “You started this.”
“Mm.” Daven brushed his mouth over Ryneth’s again, giving him just enough to make him ache. “And I’ll finish it.”
He let his teeth scrape lightly over Ryneth’s lower lip before kissing him once, deep enough to make his knees soften.
“At my rhythm,” Daven purred against his mouth. “You’ll get what you want. I’ll make sure of it.”
Ryneth’s fingers tightened at his throat. His breath caught. “Daven…”
“That’s right.” Daven smiled against his mouth. “Use my name when you need something.”
He kissed him once more, deep enough to make Ryneth sway, then stopped with his forehead braced against Ryneth’s for one hard second while they both fought for breath. “Not yet.” His thumb brushed once over Ryneth’s jaw. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Ryneth blinked, flushed and dazed, his mouth swollen from Daven’s. “Now?”
Daven’s mouth curved. “Now.”
Taking Ryneth’s hand, Daven led him toward the open terrace doors. They moved into the night, the heavy curtains snapping in the wind and wrapping around them for a beat before the air broke over them.
The terrace curved out into the void, a shelf of stone and glass hanging over the glowing sprawl of Helion.
The wind met them at once, still carrying the last trace of rain.
Ryneth’s breath hitched as the city dropped away beneath them in ribbons of light thousands of feet below.
Daven walked him toward the edge but didn’t reach for Ryneth’s clothes.
He stopped there, his silhouette cut sharp against the glowing emerald veins of the city, and held out his hand, palm up.
I’ll keep you forever.
Ryneth stepped forward. The second his boots left the terrace, the air changed. Wind surged up beneath him, solid as stone, curling around his ankles until the height steadied. Daven’s hand slid to his waist, pulling him toward the invisible line where the terrace ended and the void began.
“Eyes here.”
Ryneth looked up into Daven’s amber gaze.
Daven’s hand tightened at his waist. “I’ve got you.”
“I know.”
“Then stay with me.”
Daven took another step, walking backward into the open air. Ryneth followed. His grip tightened hard in Daven’s hand the second he realized there was no floor beneath them. They were suspended thousands of feet above Helion, and the only thing keeping Ryneth there was Daven.
He reached for the light below and pulled it up into the dark. The colors fused, creating a suspended field of light in the heart of the sky.
He’d never shown this to anyone.
The light beneath them flared brighter, changed shape, and spread wider under their feet until the path in the void looked almost solid. Gold and blue fused into something he’d never made.
Ryneth turned toward him, breathing hard, eyes wide. “Daven?”
Daven looked down at their joined hands, at the light holding under them, at the way Ryneth’s power had threaded itself through his without tearing it apart. “I’ve never seen it do that.”
Daven forgot how to breathe.
Ryneth’s fingers tightened in his.
“I was trying to show you something.” Daven looked at the light under them, then back at him. “You made it ours.”
For a second, he couldn’t look away from the path beneath their feet.
He’d never brought anyone out here. Never wanted to. This had always been his. His sky. His height. His private place above the city where nobody could touch him and nothing could ask for more than he was willing to give.
But the light under them had changed the second Ryneth stepped into it.
It hadn’t broken. It had opened.
Daven looked back at him, something rough catching low in his throat. “I don’t think I want it any other way now.”
Ryneth’s breath caught. Then he reached up, his fingers brushing Daven’s chest. Static snapped between them.
Something in Daven’s chest tightened hard enough to hurt. He pulled Ryneth in, their joined hands trapped between them, and kissed him slower this time, deep enough to make Ryneth melt into him.
Ryneth made a broken sound into the kiss, then came back harder, his fingers digging into Daven’s shoulders.
The light under them flared brighter.
Daven tightened his grip, one hand locked at Ryneth’s waist, and kissed him until Ryneth was shaking against him.
“Good boy,” he murmured against his ear. “Look at you. Standing in the middle of the sky with me. You’re exactly where you belong.”
He nipped at Ryneth’s earlobe, and Ryneth let out a choked groan that went straight to Daven’s cock. Static cracked between them, bright enough to sting. The light under them surged, blue and gold flashing so bright it made Daven blink.
Then the last of Daven’s control gave way.
Dragging Ryneth back across the threshold, Daven kept him pinned against him, walking him backward through the glass doors and into the low light of the penthouse, his boots hitting stone with a heavy thud.
“Inside,” he growled. His hand closed around Ryneth’s throat. “You’re still vibrating. The static hasn’t left you.”
The terrace sealed behind them with a hiss. Low light spilled across black stone and glass. Beyond the walls, Helion still burned below them, too far down to matter.
“It won’t settle,” Ryneth admitted. “You left it there.”
Daven smiled and walked him backward until Ryneth’s heels hit the base of the glass wall. “Cold, baby?”
Ryneth let out a breathy sound that went straight to Daven’s cock.
Daven came in hot against him a second later, shoving both of Ryneth’s hands above his head and pinning his wrists to the pane with one hand. The other ripped Ryneth’s shirt open, leaving the front hanging loose.
He buried his face in Ryneth’s neck, teeth scraping skin hard enough to make Ryneth’s knees buckle.
“Look at the city, aethera.” Daven’s mouth stayed at his neck.
He nipped at the cord of it, licking the sting until Ryneth let out a broken sound.
“All those lights, and no one down there knows how you taste. Only me.”
Daven’s hand slid down, unfastening Ryneth’s trousers and shoving them past his hips before hauling one of his legs over Daven’s hip and pinning him harder to the pane. Ryneth gasped. Helion burned below them, bright and far away.
Keeping his eyes on Ryneth, Daven dropped to his knees. His hands closed on the backs of Ryneth’s thighs, pulling him forward and holding him open while he looked his fill. “Look at you. Already shaking. Already waiting for me.”
Ryneth’s breath hitched, his fingers scraping at the glass as Daven leaned in. The first touch of Daven’s mouth tore a strangled cry out of him. He didn’t stop until Ryneth was shaking in his hands.
“Just like that,” Daven muttered against his skin.
He stayed there until Ryneth was sobbing for him, static snapping in frantic blue arcs across the ceiling, his hands locked on Ryneth’s hips as he held him in place and took exactly what he wanted.
Pulling back just enough to look up at him, he slicked his fingers and pressed in, working Ryneth open at a measured pace until his breathing turned ragged. When he pushed deeper, Ryneth shook harder, his head knocking against the pane with a dull thud.
“Good boy,” Daven praised. “Look at you. Opening up for me. All of this is mine.”
He rose in one smooth movement. Guiding himself to the entrance, he pressed in slow at first, then lost patience and thrust deep in one hard snap. The glass rattled against the frame. Ryneth hit the pane again, static flaring as blue sparks jumped from Daven’s skin to his lips.
Leaning in, Daven found the hollow of Ryneth’s throat. He hummed against the skin as he picked up speed, fucking into him hard enough to wrench a cry out of him each time. He buried his face in Ryneth’s neck, his tongue tracing the frantic beat of Ryneth’s heart.
As he worked him, his hand slid down between their bodies and wrapped around Ryneth’s length, gripping tight. A broken sound tore out of Ryneth at the sight of their reflection in the fogged pane.
“Look at the glass, Ryneth,” Daven groaned into his ear. “Watch how you break for me.”
His hand moved with the same brutal rhythm, and the combination shattered what little control Ryneth had left. He screamed, nails digging into Daven’s shoulders hard enough to draw blood. The glass fogged from the heat of their bodies, turning the city below into nothing but light.
“Give it to me,” Daven groaned. “Every spark. Every breath. Break for me.” He licked a path to Ryneth’s ear. “Scream for me. Let the city hear who you belong to.”
Ryneth broke with a high, thin cry, shuddering hard against the glass. He was still shaking when Daven let out a guttural shout, drove in one last time, and came hard, holding him there through the last violent pulse of it.
They stayed like that for a long moment. The glass stayed fogged behind them, their breathing rough in the sudden quiet. Daven pulled back just enough to look at him. He wiped a tear from Ryneth’s cheek with his thumb and kept his hand there. “Now,” Daven whispered against his mouth. “You’re home.”
Ryneth leaned in until their foreheads touched, and the static between them went quiet.
Daven stayed there, breathing him in, one hand sliding slowly down Ryneth’s side like he was checking that every part of him was still here. “Still with me?” he asked, voice lower now.
Ryneth’s lashes lifted. He looked wrecked and warm and completely Daven’s. “Mm. Good.”
Daven’s mouth brushed his once, softer than anything that had come before. “Good.” His thumb traced the mark at Ryneth’s palm before he pulled back. “Bed.”
Ryneth made a broken sound when Daven pulled out, and his knees buckled. Daven caught him before he could drop and hauled him up, carrying him away from the fogged glass and the lights of the city.
The bedroom waited in low light. Daven laid him in the center of the mattress. Ryneth dropped into it with a broken exhale. Daven climbed in beside him, pulling the heavy duvet over them both and closing every gap as he drew Ryneth flush against his side and tucked his head under his chin.
“Go to sleep, aethera,” Daven whispered into his hair. “The world can wait for the sun.”
Ryneth closed his eyes. For a moment, the silence was absolute.
But the quiet stayed brief. A sharp chime cut through the room.
Daven reached for the nightstand. His multi-slate lit up, casting a hard blue glow over their faces. He sat up with his back against the headboard, bruises darkening across his ribs, his jaw set.
Ryneth pushed himself upright, slower this time. Static flickered once at his fingertips. “What is it?”
“Kylix. And he’s pissed off.”
“Why does that not surprise me?”
Daven snorted. “Yeah. Moody fucker. But he’s got a reason. Fucking Concordant. Look at that.” He turned his multi-slate toward him.
Ryneth took in the message thread, his expression tightening as he read. “All surviving Attica members are in custody,” he read. Then his eyes dropped to the attached transmission. “Good Light.”
“Yeah.” Daven’s mouth hardened. “They let us clean the blood and called it cooperation. It will be a joy to kill each and every one of them when the time is right.” He set his multi-slate aside. “It’s late, and we had one hell of a night.”
“What will happen tomorrow?”
Daven smiled and tugged his bonded in the crook of his throat. “Tomorrow, Helion will want to see you. They will want the bonding sealed properly.”
Ryneth frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Helion seals a bonding with blood,” Daven said. He reached for Ryneth’s neck and pulled him in for a hard, brief kiss. “They will want a sacrifice.”
Daven felt Ryneth tense. He tightened his hand at the back of his neck, not enough to hurt. Enough to keep him there.
“Easy,” he murmured. “Whatever they ask for, you won’t stand in front of Helion alone.”
Ryneth looked at him.
“They can watch,” Daven said softly. “They can chant. They can demand whatever old ritual makes them feel holy.” His mouth brushed Ryneth’s once. “But you’re mine. They don’t get more than I give.”
Catching the back of his neck, Daven tipped Ryneth’s head back so he could kiss him again, slower this time. “Sleep now, and meet me in the sky again.”