Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
THREE MONTHS LATER
N ate lay on the bench in the center of the maze, watching the sky turn pink as the sun set. It was one of his favorite places to sit at the end of a tiring day. Now that the weather was warming, he was enjoying being outside in the evening again. While there were guards nearby, he was alone, and it felt as if he was miles away from everyone.
He’d spent the day either teaching people about Earth—the humans in Calla were keen to know about the place their families had come from—or learning about Tariko. He’d also met with the Strega as another city had reported the unexpected arrival of a Ferris wheel and other fairground items, as well as people, coupled with an earthquake that damaged part of the city.
He’d spoken English for a few weeks so that others could learn the language. The way they used magic to learn was fascinating. He still struggled to sense the magic, maybe because he hadn’t been born here. Or maybe it would just take more time.
“I thought I’d find you here.” Rohan’s deep voice dragged his attention from the sky.
He sat up, making room for Rohan on the bench. “Are you done for the day?”
“Yes.” Rohan sat and pulled Nate down so his head rested on Rohan’s thick thigh, the way they had sat so many times. His hand rested on Nate’s chest. “There was some deliberation between the knight and the head of the city guard. Then, after the official hearings were done, they asked what I was doing with you.”
Nate tensed. “They are aware I have been teaching. They have been to my classes.”
The Strega has insisted that he teach the knight and the city guard about Earth and English so that if more humans arrived, they’d be better equipped to help them. After the initial lessons, more followed, three mornings each month. She had also learned from him, though her questions were more specific, and Nate was sure she then informed her sisters.
“That is not what they meant.”
“Oh…is there a problem?” His pulse quickened. Everything had been perfect. Too perfect. He’d made a life here. Found love and a purpose and he enjoyed learning about Tariko and its people.
“Not a problem, exactly. My brother also asked about my intentions.” Rohan’s fingers traced the leather collar. “And yours. They believe you have gone above what was needed to repay the debt, but they do not want you to stop teaching.” He smiled. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
“It’s only been four months.”
He put a finger beneath Nate’s chin. “We have both been acting as if we had the year and a day before we needed to think about the future.”
“I don’t understand.”
Rohan’s thumb pressed on his lower lip, and Nate licked the tip. “The knight is ready to commute your sentence, which means you can plead your case with Ishtar. You might be able to go home, Nate.”
Home.
Earth didn’t feel like home anymore. The life he’d had back there felt as though he’d dreamed it. Sure, there were things he missed, like the internet and ice cream–though an elf had made something close with goat’s milk and honey and magic to keep it cold. Though it was rather too magically costly to be anything other than a very rare treat.
He liked his life, and he loved Rohan.
He sat up and climbed onto Rohan’s lap. He put his hands on his cheeks. The perfect man for him was a minotaur. “This is home. You are my home.”
While he couldn’t remember when he’d started thinking of the palace as home, or when he’d stopped referring to Earth as home, it was the truth, and he hoped Rohan sensed it in his words.
“I don’t want to go back…unless you want me gone?” Nate frowned. Rohan had never given any indication that he was done. He could have assigned Nate another room in the palace and never crossed paths with him again.
Rohan put his hands on Nate’s hips and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I do not want you gone. Ever.”
“Then let’s not talk of it again.” He stared at his lover. “Wait…do the others want me gone?”
“No one wants you gone. My brother asked if I am going to make my claim official or if you will be moving out.”
“Official?”
“With your debt paid, you are no longer under my protection. You will be free to leave?—”
“I don’t want to leave.” This was one of those laws that split hairs and had specific requirements. He was protected by Rohan because he owed Rohan—the reasoning being that someone had to be alive to repay their debt, and if the debtor died, it was a bad look for the person holding the debt. Someone had clearly done something to result in protection becoming part of the laws. “I love you.”
There was a tingle on his tongue as magic caught in his words. He’d been wanting to say it for a while but had never been sure of the timing, so he’d bitten his tongue, hoping that Rohan would say it first. Sometimes, it seemed he was about to; they’d look at each other, and Nate’s heart would grow light, but the silence remained.
“I love you, too.” Rohan smiled.
Nate frowned. “Do you?”
“Did you not feel the magic?”
“Just then?”
“All the other times. When I called you mine. When I felt you in my heart.” Rohan placed his hand over Nate’s heart. “I didn’t need you to say it.”
“I needed the words. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to mess it up, and magic is… Sometimes, it’s there, and sometimes, it’s not.”
“Magic is always there. Sometimes, you try too hard to find it. Magic brought you to me. You were mine from the moment I saw you. I love you. And we will wed, and I will change this…” He touched the leather collar. “To something finer and more suited to a prince’s consort.”
There was that little reminder that Rohan was a prince with responsibilities to his brother, to the city, and to his people. That is what he’d be marrying into.
Nate nodded. “I think rings are more traditional.”
Rohan touched the end of Nate’s nose. “Yours is too dainty to get a ring through.”
Nate smiled and lifted his hand. “On my finger.”
“You will get a city ring like mine.” Rohan wore a gold ring decorated with the city’s knotwork.
“I meant a wedding ring.” Which, from Rohan’s puzzled expression, was not something they had in Calla. “That’s not what you do here?”
“Is it important that you have one? If it is, you will need to describe it to me.”
Nate considered him for a moment. He didn’t need a wedding ring, but he had gotten used to the weight around his neck and the way Rohan sometimes attached the leash and tied him to the bed. “I would rather wear your collar.”
“Then I will have the jeweler create one.” He tapped between Nate’s collarbones. “With a ruby calla hanging from the center.”
Nate smiled, trying to imagine wearing such a thing. “Will a wedding satisfy everyone or cause more trouble?”
“My brother will be most pleased that you are staying. He already has other cities asking to visit for your lessons. He has been holding them off until…”
“He wanted you to formalize your claim so they couldn’t woo me away.” Nate laughed and leaned in and kissed him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“They might offer you jewels.”
Nate shook his head. “I don’t want them.”
“Elvish princes.”
“Not interested.”
“A pack of werewolves to serve you.”
Nate pretended to consider that for a moment.
Rohan tickled his ribs. “One minotaur is not enough? You need a pack of werewolves?”
Nate laughed and squirmed. “You’re more than enough.”
Rohan pulled him closer so Nate sat on the hard length of his cock.
Nate glanced at the guard not that far away and lowered his voice. “Perhaps we should celebrate our engagement inside?”
“Perhaps I should chase you through the maze like your people’s tales so I can capture you and haul you back to the palace over my shoulder?”
“Are you planning to eat me?” He wriggled his ass, grinding against Rohan’s cock.
Rohan grabbed his ass cheek and squeezed. “I am. And then I’ll mount you.”
Nate’s heartbeat quickened as Rohan slid his other hand over the ridge in Nate’s pants. “I want to fuck you first.”
Rohan on his knees, with his meaty ass in the air, was as enticing as being scooped up and thrown into whatever position Rohan wanted him in. Add in his devious tail, fucking him while he fucked Rohan…
His tail often got involved, teasing Nate’s ass or tickling his balls as he straddled Rohan and they ground together. Tying the minotaur’s hands to the bedhead so he was on display did nothing to control his tail, and Nate wasn’t inclined to change that.
Rohan grinned. “Do you intend to tie me to the bed first?”
He hadn’t been, but since Rohan had dropped the bait, Nate picked it up. “Yes. But as much as I enjoy playing in the maze, it’s too cold out to be naked, so perhaps we should go inside…and there is already oil there.”
“Agreed,” Rohan laughed. “I want you shivering with need, not cold.”
“Now? Or do you have other plans before dinner?” Nate lifted one eyebrow. He didn’t know how he was going to sit through dinner if Rohan wanted to wait.
“My only plans involve you, little human.”
“You’ll need to catch me first.”
“I already have.” Rohan used the collar to pull Nate in for a kiss. And Nate didn’t even pretend to resist as Rohan scooped him up and carried him inside.