Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
R ohan had enjoyed watching the elf work the tension out of Nate's muscles and making his skin gleam with oil. It had been even better when the human had turned onto his back, and his hard cock slapped against his belly, causing his face and chest to turn red.
While he hadn’t put the rope around Nate’s wrists for the robed walk to Rohan’s chambers, he had kept a hand on the back of his neck.
On the low table in the outer room were the items he’d requested. He released Nate and shut the door.
“What is that?” Nate appeared rooted to the spot.
“A replacement for the rope.” Rohan picked up the leather leash.
“Not that, the collar.” He pointed at the other piece of leather.
“Then you know what it is.”
“No.” He shook his head and backed away. “I’m not going to run away.”
Rohan held up the collar. “It bears the red flower of the house of Calla, placing you under its protection, and will give you some leeway should you make an error. Though I prefer that you remain within the palace walls for at least one turn of the moon.”
“I had no intention of leaving them, so I don’t need it. You can’t collar me like you own me.”
“It’s not ownership. You cannot own another person.”
Nate stared at him.
Rohan lowered his hands, a sick feeling taking over his stomach. “You can own people in your world?”
“Not anymore, but in the past… You never could here?”
“No, Nate.”
“Oh, so this place is perfect?”
Rohan shook his head. “If Tariko were perfect, there would be no wars or violence. All diseases would be curable, and no one would go hungry. But we value free will, love, and respect, and we understand that actions have consequences, the same as magic. I am troubled that you do not share the same values.”
Nate’s shoulders slumped. “We have different expectations of normality.”
“We do. And I dislike the sound of your world.” It seemed callous.
Nate nodded. “I understand. I don’t like all of it either. But I am taking your word that the collar is not ownership.”
“Yes. Is my word not good enough?”
Nate opened his mouth. “People break their word all the time.”
“Should I swear in front of an elf?”
“What would that change?”
“An elf can make the words binding, so if they are broken, it becomes painful. I am within my rights to ask you to swear your loyalty for the year. Accidents happen, Nate. Think carefully.”
The human man frowned as he fought an internal battle. Rohan didn’t like the binding words of elves or vampire compulsions, but he understood their place and their many uses.
Nate jerked his head in a nod. “I will wear it.”
“Will you attempt to uphold your words?”
“Yes. I…I think promises are more easily given and broken in my world.”
“You lack the magic for there to be consequences.” Rohan walked toward him.
Nate turned, allowing him to fit the collar. “Perhaps.”
The collar was a narrow strip of leather, with a stamped disk hanging from the center, with a simple clasp Nate would be able to undo. “I am trusting you to wear this.”
“I understand.”
Rohan turned him and tipped his chin, forcing Nate to look him in the eye. “Do you? I am offering you the protection of my family. Your behavior reflects on my family.”
Nate nodded.
“Say it.”
“I accept your protection and understand the responsibility.” His lips remained parted as if he sensed something different in the words.
“You tasted magic on your tongue for the first time.” He tapped Nate’s chest. “If you speak with your heart instead of trying to think of the right word, you will not stumble so often.”
Nate touched the collar and the disk with the red flower stamped on the center. “You make it sound easy. You have lived your entire life with magic and think nothing of it. It is like…like air.”
“Magic is a part of all of us. Part of our society. The gods are direct conduits and are very powerful. They see the world differently than the rest of us. The Strega are connected to the magic, and together, they have the power of a god. Elves and vampires can draw little threads of it while the rest of us can sense it, taste it, and appreciate it. You will learn.”
“I want to learn, but every question leads to ten more.”
Rohan smiled. At least Nate was curious and wanted to learn. Unlike some of the others the Strega had told him about. “That is usually what happens. The more you learn, the more you realize how much you do not know.”
“I have one more collar-related question.”
“Then ask it. No one will reprimand you for asking, though they may not have the answer, or they may not have the time to explain in that moment.”
Something flickered over Nate’s face. Was it shock or a memory that he didn't want to share?
He touched the collar again. “This isn’t a sex thing?”
Rohan laughed. “No. Though, there is a place in the city that allows people to surrender control. It is run by vampires. Some people go for the bite, which can be euphoric. Others enjoy taking the experience further.”
“Euphoric?”
That was the bit he got stuck on?
“Would you like to experience the bite?”
“No…” Nate shook his head, but the color of his cheeks and the scent of his skin told a different story. He winced. “Maybe? Have you?”
“Yes. Though they do not like my blood.”
“And you’d let me?”
“You are not mine to control.”
His eyebrows pinched together. “You paid my debt but don’t own me. I sleep in your bed, and…and more? But then the bath? And you’d let me be bitten?”
“You are confusing me, human. Dress so we can have dinner.” Before he was tempted to make sure Nate went to dinner smelling of him.
“What is between us?”
Rohan cupped Nate’s jaw, enjoying the smoothness of his skin. “There is an attraction, is there not?”
Nate gave a single nod. “Why?”
“My brother will say it is because I like my men small and pretty. Which is true.” He was glad his brother was king, not him, and already had two heirs. “Or was that a question for yourself?”
Nate closed his eyes. “Both.”
Rohan lowered his head and kissed him. It was more like a whisper than a proper kiss, giving Nate the time to pull away. He didn’t. His lips parted, inviting Rohan in. And he took the invitation. He stepped in closer. One hand cupping Nate’s jaw and the other on his hip. It had taken everything he’d had not to do the same in the bath. To touch him and ask to be touched.
Nate’s hands pressed against his chest, finding the gap in the robe. That wasn’t the only thing that found the gap. His erection brushed against Nate’s robe as if seeking an opening in his. Nate made a little noise and moved his body to rub against Rohan’s cock.
“You either pull away now, or you go to dinner smelling of my cum.”